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July 7, 2022 6:02 pm Back to Home
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people and a global icon renown for his tireless advocation of world peace. His Holiness the Dalai Lama has travelled across the world for more than six decades, working towards human rights, freedom, compassion and the oneness of humanity. Over this time, His Holiness has produced an extraordinary body of work. Each single word is a treasure.
The Dalai Lama Library and Archives endeavours to house this treasure trove of information. The lifelong works of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, which are respected and admired by millions all over the world, span a myriad of topics, media and languages. From oral teachings and interviews, to books and texts, from historical documents to honorary citizenships, degrees and awards. This enormous body of work is a precious resource which we aim to preserve, protect and promote.
Over the years, several efforts have been made across many organisations, groups and individuals to produce the works of His Holiness, however there was a need to centralize this massive undertaking. The Dalai Lama Trust recognized the importance of compiling and promoting these valuable works and preserving them for posterity. To this end, ‘The Dalai Lama Library and Archives’ was envisioned and created. The Dalai Lama Library and Archives building is situated above the Lha-gyal-ri or area for fire offerings on the Lingkor road or circumambulatory path around the Dalai Lama Temple.
The Dalai Lama Library and Archives is an activity of the Dalai Lama Trust and a space where the public can access the many works of His Holiness. It holds these works across several media from physical to digital photographs, video, audio, books, texts and more. From His Holiness’ teachings to special exhibits and memorabilia, The Library and Archives house the entire collected works of His Holiness.
The main objective of the Library and Archives is to make available all of His Holiness’ works in one place, to provide access to these works and to honour His Holiness’ tireless efforts. We are honoured to be housing the precious wisdom His Holiness so generously and freely provides and we look forward to sharing it with you.
The Library is situated on the first floor and houses His Holiness’s collected written works and other books written about His Holiness’s life and deeds. The Library also contains the collected works of all previous Dalai Lamas. There is a dedicated section to translated books in several languages as well. The books and texts can be enjoyed in silence in the reading area or in the online reading room. For those who require particular solitude or focus, a research cabin is provided.
Left to right: Library entrance, Reading tables and online reading area, Research Cabin.
The Archives, also on the first floor, contain both physical items of significance and all digitised forms of these items. Audio and video recordings of His Holiness’s teachings, interactions and deeds are collected and archived appropriately. The physical items, like photographs, important documents, thangkhas and other materials are archived so that they may be protected from natural disasters and decay.
Archiving goes hand in hand with our database. All the works of His Holiness are being catalogued within the database and organized accordingly. This allows for a streamlined process which can hold this large body to work and for ease in the searching and finding of any particular works.
A research section is also projected within the purview of the Archives, to create materials for workshops and seminars around His Holiness’ philosophy and insights. We believe that it could be beneficial for those so inclined, to be able to engage with His Holiness’ works in this way.
Left to right: Digital Archive, Paper Archive
The gallery is positioned on the second floor and displays photographs and assorted memorabilia. The photographs depict the lifework of His Holiness, including his meetings with important dignitaries, His Holiness’ philanthropic work and important historical events. Thankgas depicting His Holiness’ life, prizes, honours and awards bestowed upon His Holiness and other memorabilia are contained in the gallery. The gallery showcases the many milestones in His Holiness’ life and his extraordinary achievements.
Different sections of the Award Gallery showcasing various prizes, awards, honorary citizenships, degrees and historical memorabilia
On the second floor, you will find a large and comfortable multi-use hall for conferences, seminars and workshops which can hold upto 400 people. This space may also be used for smaller teachings and meetings and contains a spacious green room.
Conference Hall
There is a large demand from all over the world to translate His Holiness’ words, be it from his oral teachings to his books and texts, to be translated into several languages. This is an enormous project that is currently well underway. Several of His Holiness’ books have been translated into approximately 30 languages including 173 books in English, 19 books in Hindi, 105 in Chinese, 40 in Japanese, 56 in Russian, 156 in in German, 176 in Spanish and several more in Korean, Vietnamese, Mongolian, French, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Arabic, Farsi, Hebrew, Turkish, Norwegian, etc.
The Translation office is on the ground floor of the building and has the capacity to host multiple teams of translators at any given time. A large project is ongoing to translate His Holiness’ books from English to the Tibetan language with over 40 books due to be published shortly.
The project of ‘Compilation and Editing of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama’s Writings and Discourses’ has been in progress, funded by the Dalai Lama Trust, and is one of main projects of the Dalai Lama Trust. This is an essential part of centralizing His Holiness’ collected works. This work includes transcriptions, the compilation of materials pertaining to one particular subject, editing and finally publishing.
The compilation and editing section has already published 25 volumes, transcribed 15 volumes and is preparing 12 volumes for publication. As we add to our staff, there is a great hope that in the near future more volumes will be added to this collection.
The Audio-Visual section is also on the ground floor and occupies a large portion of it. The Audio visual section has been collecting audio and video records of His Holiness’s teachings and deeds since 2013. The responsibilities of the Audio-Visual section include making audio and video recordings of His Holiness’ activities, cataloguing available audio clips and videos in an archive, creating a database and broadcasting His Holiness’ live teachings and talks on the internet in many different languages.
It is especially their responsibility to broadcast live teachings, speeches and interviews on the internet and on social media, such as the official Dalai Lama website, Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Instagram, and the Dalai Lama App. They also archive photographs of His Holiness’ activities and distribute photographs of audiences with His Holiness to those attending.
The Audio-Visual section comprises an expert team of photographers, sound engineers, videographers, technicians and various collaborators, for example, translators providing simultaneous live translations of His Holiness’ teachings. The enormous amount of data collected by the Audio Visual Team is housed and processed in this office which includes a Photo Studio, special servers, translation booths and a comfortable room in which to view videos on a large screen.
The Dalai Lama Trust is overjoyed to officially announce that this very special activity is now operational. As our staff and teams settle into this new space, we wish that their activities may be blessed under the auspice of His Holiness and that this building may be a space which allows for greater comfort, ease and high-calibre work. We also wish to welcome the public through our doors in the near future and look forward to the impact that this wonderful new activity will have.
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