The major practice traditions are often referred to in Tibetan
literature as the Eight Chariots of the Practice Lineages of
Tibetan Buddhism. The Eight Chariots refer to the eight major
practice lineages of Tibetan learning and attainment, traditions
which can be traced directly back through the centuries of the
history of Tibet and beyond that into India. These traditions
encompass the major schools and lineages within Tibet:
1. The main doctrinal lineage of Kama, the Ancient Translation
School known as Nyingmapa
2. Atisha's lineage, the Old Kadampa School, and the New
Kadampa
3. The lineage of the glorious Sakyapa
4. The Four Major Schools and Eight Minor Schools of the lineage of
the Marpa Kagyü Tradition
5. The Shangpa Kagyü
6. Phadampa Sangye's and Machik Lapdron's lineage
7. Vajra Yoga Instruction Lineage
8. The Great Yogi Orgyenpa Rinchenpal's Lineage
Each of the Eight Chariots of the Practice Lineages of Tibetan
Buddhism has developed its own individual terminology within the
context of specific practices, oral explanations and regional
understandings. An image of Padmasambhava, the originator of many
of the oral traditions and written texts used by one of the Eight
Chariots, the Nyingma schoolSimilar or identical terms are used
differently within the contexts of each tradition's systems, and
carry different meanings. Accordingly, there is enormous confusion
among research scholars and translators in explaining and
translating terms from different traditions.
The Tibetan tradition, which continued and developed Indian
philosophical and soteriological traditions begun over 2500 years
ago, is highly nuanced and complex, and the vocabulary of the
written works which embodies those traditions is commensurately
difficult to understand outside Tibetan traditions. Moreover, oral
explanations and practical experience are a necessary accompaniment
to any living tradition of scholarship and practice. In Tibet,
these oral traditions are even more necessary for understanding
Tibetan texts, for each text is interpreted within the context of a
living lineage which passes down its critical understanding and
applications of the text. Thus, the Tibetan traditions cannot be
preserved merely by reading Tibetan books -- the next generation
must be taught how to read and understand the terms found in those
books.
The Compendium of Buddhist Terminology will provide analytic
explanations and comparisons of the key terms used by the major
practice traditions of Tibet. Though these traditions share similar
goals and outward clothes, each tradition provides a discipline and
vocabulary specific to the tradition. The vocabulary used to
transmit the wisdom of the tradition has been finely honed over
thousands of years by great scholars and practitioners of the
tradition. These terms are used in specific ways, and the
traditions cannot be understood without a precise understanding of
the nuances of the terms.
The abilities to use computers to digitize the Tibetan corpus and
use electronic search and data extraction techniques provides a
scholarly resource that was unavailable in classical Tibet. Thus,
we have a unique opportunity to create reference works today that
were not available in Tibet. But these advances will be misdirected
if they are not commenced by scholars familiar with traditional
Tibetan methods as well as modern resources. Nitartha
international, through its combination of scholarly and technical
resources, it thus in a unique position to make major advances in
Tibetan scholarship.
Nitartha international was founded by The Dzogchen Ponlop, Rinpoche
to aid in the support of Tibetan educational systems, and to
preserve the precious heritage of Tibet, which is in such great
danger of being lost. Under his leadership, Nitartha international
has amassed an extensive digital library of Tibetan texts that can
be searched electronically to assist in creating references for the
Compendium. Nitartha has completed over 80,000 pages of text input
at its input center in Nepal, and edited several thousand pages of
text so far, despite limited manpower and resources.
Read more at : http://www.nitartha.org/compendium.html