Interviews

Erik Pema Kunsang (Erik Hein Schmidt) arrived in India from Denmark in 1975 and soon found his way to the exiled Tibetan communities of Nepal and Darjeeling. After a few years of intensive study, he began translating and accompanied his main teacher, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, on a long teaching tour of Europe, America and the Far East. Apart from his regular translations for Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche in the following years, he also translated for countless great teachers, including Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and Thrangu Rinpoche, and soon gained a reputation for his amazing memory and unparalleled ability to translate Dzogchen and Mahamudra instructions on the nature of mind. This interview took place in Ka-Nying Shedrup Ling Monastery, Boudha, Kathmandu on December 3, 2003.

Lama Chökyi Nyima (Richard Barron) has studied and translated Tibetan Buddhist texts for over forty years. He completed the first three-year retreat held for Western students under the direction of Kalu Rinpoche. Since that time he has focused on both oral interpretation of teachings (for lamas from all four schools of the Tibetan tradition) and the translation of texts. His published translations include Buddhahood without Meditation, The Autobiography of Jamgön Kongtrul, and several of the "Seven Treasuries" of Longchenpa. This interview took place in a Japanese restaurant on 2nd Avenue, New York on April 24, 2004.

Peter Alan Roberts began learning Tibetan at Samye Ling in Scotland in 1976. Since then, he has translated for many lamas all over the world, and especially for his root teacher, Thrangu Rinpoche. He is renowned for his humility and eccentric sense of humour. Lotsawa School interviewed Peter by telephone at his home in Los Angeles on May 20, 2004.

Sangye Khandro went to Dharamsala in 1971, with the hope of meeting His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and arrived just as the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives began to offer courses for western students. For the next seven years, she made annual trips to India and Nepal to continue her studies, and by the late seventies was ready to translate for the many great masters passing through North America for the first time, including Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche. Over the years, she has translated for many of the greatest masters of the Nyingma school, such as Kyabje Penor Rinpoche, Kyabje Khenpo Jikme Phuntsok Rinpoche and Dungse Thinley Norbu Rinpoche. She spent many years working closely with Gyatrul Rinpoche in his centers in California and Oregon, and in 1999, she founded the Light of Berotsana Translation Group together with Lama Chönam and Jules Levinson. Her published translations include Generating the Deity, Ancient Wisdom, Perfect Conduct: Ascertaining the Three Vows and The Lives and Liberation of Princess Mandarava. This interview took place in August 2004 near Montpellier in France, where Sangye Khandro was translating for Khenchen Namdrol Rinpoche.