"Tom was known for his prodigious accomplishments as a translator. Born deaf in one ear, he had an unusual innate ability with languages and, while still an undergraduate, decided he would be a translator. He began translating at the age of 18 and went on to write and translate close to 100 books. His translations from classical Chinese, Japanese, Sanskrit, Pali, Bengali, Arabic, and Old Irish are recognized for the clear, accurate, natural style in which he made accessible both well-known and little-known classical texts: Buddhist and Taoist works, works from the Art of War tradition on leadership and strategy and building strong organizations, the Qur'an, the sayings of Muhammad, the counsels of Hadrat Ali, the counsels of Cormac. Tom Cleary believed that the works he selected for translation spoke urgently to our present time, a present in which he always remained deeply interested."
Thomas Cleary (1949–2021), a prolific translator of nearly 100 books died on June 20th. His contribution to the growth of Buddhism in the West could not be underestimated as more than 30 of his translations were from traditional Japanese and Chinese texts. His obituary explains his passion and his purpose for translation which are highly regarded among academics as well as the general reader:
"Tom was known for his prodigious accomplishments as a translator. Born deaf in one ear, he had an unusual innate ability with languages and, while still an undergraduate, decided he would be a translator. He began translating at the age of 18 and went on to write and translate close to 100 books. His translations from classical Chinese, Japanese, Sanskrit, Pali, Bengali, Arabic, and Old Irish are recognized for the clear, accurate, natural style in which he made accessible both well-known and little-known classical texts: Buddhist and Taoist works, works from the Art of War tradition on leadership and strategy and building strong organizations, the Qur'an, the sayings of Muhammad, the counsels of Hadrat Ali, the counsels of Cormac. Tom Cleary believed that the works he selected for translation spoke urgently to our present time, a present in which he always remained deeply interested." Comments are closed.
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Victor M. Parachin ...is aVedic educator, yoga instructor, Buddhist meditation teacher and author of a dozen books. Buy his books at amazon or your local bookstore. Archives
April 2024
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