ROUND TABLE – 01 “ISSUES IN TRANSLATION OF BUDDHIST TEXTS: FROM TRANSLATION TO INTERPRETATION”
A proposal was put forth for a collaborative effort with Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies), University of Sri Jayewardenepura to convene a roundtable discussion, on Languages of the Buddhist World, during the second part of 2025 with the Foundation for Promotion of Buddhist Education and Research, Russian Federation. Accordingly, the first round table discussion session was held on 23 of June via virtual platform, which was moderated by Dr. Ruwini Dharmawardene, Director of the International Affairs Division.
The discussion concentrated on the challenges inherent in the translation of Buddhist terminology across the languages of the Buddhist world (Sanskrit and Pali, Chinese, Tibetan, Japanese, Sinhalese, Tamil, etc.) into European languages, Russian and languages of the Buddhist peoples of Russia (Kalmyk, Buryat, Tuvan, Altai (Oirat)). The project title of the plenary report by Alexey Maslov, President of the Foundation: “Buddhist terminology: from translation to interpretation on the example of the ‘New Buddhist Encyclopedia’ project”. This report presented the Foundation’s comprehensive Russian-language dictionary of Buddhist terminology, including terms from Sanskrit, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Tibetan, and Mongolian. The project’s objective is to develop a complete understanding of Buddhist philosophy, key Buddhist figures worldwide, and the regional diversity of Buddhism. The Foundation intends to collaborate with international specialists from Sri Lanka, India, China, and Myanmar in the project’s implementation.
The participants for the round table – 01 from Foundation for Promotion of Buddhist Education and Research:
1.Professor Alexey Maslov, Director of the Institute of Asian and African Studies at Lomonosov Moscow State University, President of the Foundation for the Promotion of Buddhist Education and Research (Moscow, Russia)
Topic: “Transformation of basic Sanskrit terms in Chinese and Russian in the consecutive translation of Buddhist texts”
2. Professor Boris Zakharyin, Senior researcher, Research Laboratory
Topic: “Concepts ‘jaati’ and ‘gotta’ in Theravada Buddhism”
3. Andrei Fesiun, Deputy Director for Science, Head of the Department of History and Culture of Japan, IAAS MSU
Topic: “Buddhist texts in Russian-language translations: completed and planned”
4. Boris Volkhonsky, Associate professor, Department of Indian Philology, IAAS MSU
Topic: “Translation of Buddhist terms in classical Sinhala poetry into Russian (translator’s experience)”
5. Luidmila Khokhlova, Associate professor, Department of Indian Philology, IAAS MSU
Topic: “Traditional structure of the Pali Jataka”
6. Sofia Kamadanova, PhD student, Department of Indian Philology, 2nd year of study, IAAS MSU
Topic: “The Buddhist Concept of Renunciation; in Sanskrit and Pali: On the Problem of Interpretation and Translation”
The participants for the round table – 01 from University of Sri Jayewardenepura:
1. Venerable Professor Elamaldeniye Sarananda Thero, Professor in Buddhist Civilization, Head of the Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka
Topic: Introduction to Panel Discussion/Moderator of the Round Table Discussion
2. Venerable Senior Professor Medagampitiye Wijithadhamma Thero, Senior Professor in Pali, Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka
Topic: Theories of Pali Translation
3. Venerable Senior Professor Medagoda Abayathissa Thero, Senior Professor in Pali, Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka
Topic: Introduction to Tripitaka
4. Venerable Professor Witharandeniye Chandrasiri Thero, Professor in Pali, Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura Sri Lanka
Topic: Pali Texts’ Tradition and its Language Style