A translation of the Large Prajna Paramita Sutra???

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jikai
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A translation of the Large Prajna Paramita Sutra???

Post by jikai »

Hi all,

I recently stumbled on a what claims to be the first two volumes of Xuanzang's Chinese translation of the Large Prajna Paramita Sutra, Bore Jing 大般若経. See link:
https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/aw/d/162787 ... ichen+chen

And:


https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/aw/d/162787 ... ref=plSrch

The author claims to have completed the translation of the entire work with later volumes awaiting publication. Amazon gives the following about the author:

"Naichen Chen, PhD, is a retired professor of philosophy, Buddhism, and education. His previous works include a translation of The Samdhinirmocana Sutra from Classical Chinese to English and six books in Chinese on education and religion. He will publish volumes two through eighteen of The Great Prajna Paramita Sutra over the next three years."

This all sounds rather too good to be true. Does anyone know anything about the author? Are his academic credentials legitimate? Has anyone seen the translation? Is it genuine? And well done?

If it is legitimate, and properly done this would be a magnificent achievement, and a great resource. But...so many questions unanswered...

Hopefully someone here knows something about it, and can tell us if its worth looking into!

Gassho

Jikai
"止觀明靜前代未聞"
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"此妙法蓮花經者本地甚深之奧藏也"
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Sentient Light
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Re: A translation of the Large Prajna Paramita Sutra???

Post by Sentient Light »

Found their thesis from the University of Florida: https://philpapers.org/rec/CHENAW

A scholar of Asian Studies/Philosophy, not necessarily Buddhism. The paper was over thirty years ago, so probably got more interested in translating Buddhist scriptures afterward? Looks like he spent some time working for an academic institution associated with Hsi Lai Temple in LA (I know they invite scholars in to speak in dharma-talk-like fashion from time to time, I'm imagining he was the one organizing these).

I would say that the author is legitimate, but hasn't actually done very much in their career since receiving their doctorate, so maybe wouldn't consider this a definitive version.
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Javierfv1212
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Re: A translation of the Large Prajna Paramita Sutra???

Post by Javierfv1212 »

I am reviving this post because I too would like to know if anyone has any information about the author Naichen Chen and the quality of his translation of the Large PP sutra (大般若波羅蜜多經 - Dà bōrě bōluómìduō jīng).

I am very interested in the PP sutras and if his translation work is accurate and decent, it would truly be a great resource to invest in. Has anyone with some knowledge of Chinese / PP literature looked into these translations and is able to comment and vouch for them?

BTW the books can be previewed on google, here's the link to the preview for Volume 1 - https://books.google.com/books?id=yCU9D ... &q&f=false
It is quite impossible to find the Buddha anywhere other than in one's own mind.
A person who is ignorant of this may seek externally,
but how is it possible to find oneself through seeking anywhere other than in oneself?
Someone who seeks their own nature externally is like a fool who, giving a performance in the middle of a crowd, forgets who he is and then seeks everywhere else to find himself.
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Zhen Li
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Re: A translation of the Large Prajna Paramita Sutra???

Post by Zhen Li »

It looks like the translation is without major issues. There is some awkward or non-standard vocabulary and wording, but it gets the job done. The real difficulty is usually in the confusing doctrinal passages, I can't find any issues in the available previews. It's also kind of hard to get a good evaluation of these things because issues with this kind of literature are really something that only a specialist in Chinese Prajñāpāramitā literature would notice (Matt Orsborn/formerly Huifeng, comes to mind)—it goes over the heads of most other readers. Since this is self-published, it's unlikely to attract scholarly attention or reviews, and unfortunately, it is likely that scholars will pretend it doesn't exist—which should definitely not be the case.

I think the real question is whether he has truly translated the whole sūtra, which would be an immense undertaking. Volume 4 takes it up to fascicle 80, but there are 600 fascicles in the entire sūtra. This means the full version will need 30 volumes. With, on average, one volume per year (or a bit less), if the current pace is continued it will only be finished in 2047. If there's some way the pace can be increased, that would be ideal.
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Javierfv1212
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Re: A translation of the Large Prajna Paramita Sutra???

Post by Javierfv1212 »

Thanks, yea I was pretty amazed that he had somehow translated 600 fascicles. That is insanity. But even if he has, it still has to be copy edited, set for printing, etc. But the biggest question is, if he has translated all of it, why not just put it online ala 84000 or suttacentral? It would be way more beneficial that way.

I guess the best one can do at the moment is compare his work with the current reputable Prajnapramita translations and see if there are any glaring or obvious mistakes.

Thanks anyways for your response!
It is quite impossible to find the Buddha anywhere other than in one's own mind.
A person who is ignorant of this may seek externally,
but how is it possible to find oneself through seeking anywhere other than in oneself?
Someone who seeks their own nature externally is like a fool who, giving a performance in the middle of a crowd, forgets who he is and then seeks everywhere else to find himself.
— Padmasambhava

Visit my site: https://sites.google.com/view/abhayajana/
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Zhen Li
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Re: A translation of the Large Prajna Paramita Sutra???

Post by Zhen Li »

My opinion is that his version still lacks copyediting and has big issues with the flow of the English. There are some basic things that someone with academic training would catch, but which a skilled native reader of Chinese (but not necessarily sutric Chinese) would miss: e.g. dragons on the first page is actually elephants (or at the very least, nāgas). But if all of the fascicles have been translated, at least an English speaker can get the general idea of the contents, and scholars can then look to the Chinese for a more detailed look at problematic areas.

Yes, posting it online is the obvious solution. The only thing I can think of is that he wants to edit his drafts to make them more readable in English. Editing can sometimes be more time consuming than the initial translation work.
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