Keith Dowman (born 1945) is an English

Dzogchen Dzogchen (, "Great Perfection" or "Great Completion"), also known as ''atiyoga'' ( utmost yoga), is a tradition of teachings in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and Yungdrung Bon aimed at discovering and continuing in the ultimate ground of existence. ...

teacher and translator of

Tibetan Buddhist texts Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...

. Dowman travelled to India and Nepal in 1966 where he practiced Kriya Yoga with Ganesh Baba and

vipassanā ''Samatha'' (Pāli; sa, शमथ ''śamatha''; ), "calm," "serenity," "tranquillity of awareness," and ''vipassanā'' (Pāli; Sanskrit ''vipaśyanā''), literally "special, super (''vi-''), seeing (''-passanā'')", are two qualities of the ...

meditation with the Indian

Theravadin ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...

teacher

Anagarika Munindra Anagarika Shri Munindra (1915 – October 14, 2003), also called Munindraji by his disciples, was an Indian Vipassanā meditation teacher, who taught many notable meditation teachers including Dipa Ma, Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg, and Sur ...

. After connecting with

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

, he met and trained under many Tibetan masters, including his root gurus

Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje Kyabje Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje (, THL ''Düjom Jikdrel Yéshé Dorjé'') was known as Terchen Drodül Lingpa and as Dudjom Rinpoche (10 June 1904 – 17 January 1987). He is considered by many Tibetan Buddhists to be from a line of importan ...

and Kangyur Rinpoche, Longchen Yeshe Dorje. He lived near these masters in

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, ...

, West Bengal, for many years. He studied

Classical Tibetan Classical Tibetan refers to the language of any text written in Tibetic after the Old Tibetan period. Though it extends from the 12th century until the modern day, it particularly refers to the language of early canonical texts translated from oth ...

at Queens College, Sanskrit University, in

Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...

, India, under Lama Jamspal. In 1973, at the Nyingma Institute in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

, his translations were first published under the auspices of

Tarthang Tulku Tarthang Tulku () (born 1934) is a Tibetan teacher ( lama) who introduced the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism into the United States, where he works to preserve the art and culture of Tibet. He oversees various projects including Dharma P ...

, while he taught on Tibetan language at

Sonoma State University Sonoma State University (SSU, Sonoma State, or Sonoma) is a public university in Rohnert Park in Sonoma County, California, US. It is one of the smallest members of the California State University (CSU) system. Sonoma State offers 92 Bachelor's d ...

. Dowman has written books and translations focusing on various aspects of Tibetan Buddhism and

Tibetan culture Tibet developed a distinct culture due to its geographic and climatic conditions. While influenced by neighboring cultures from China, India, and Nepal, the Himalayan region's remoteness and inaccessibility have preserved distinct local i ...

including travel literature in particular on

Vajrayana Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...

and

. In his later writings, he has focused increasingly on Dzogchen and in particular on the works of the 14th Century

Nyingma Nyingma (literally 'old school') is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It is also often referred to as ''Ngangyur'' (, ), "order of the ancient translations". The Nyingma school is founded on the first lineages and transl ...

master scholar

Longchenpa Longchen Rabjam Drimé Özer (), commonly abbreviated to Longchenpa (1308–1364, an honorific meaning "The Vast Expanse") was a Tibetan scholar-yogi of the Nyingma school ('Old School') of Tibetan Buddhism. According to tibetologist David Germ ...

. Since 1993 he has been teaching and leading retreats on Vajrayana and Dzogchen throughout the world.

Bibliography

*''The Great Secret of Mind: Special Instructions on the Nonduality of Dzogchen'', by Tulku Pema Rigtsel, (translated and edited by Keith Dowman). Snow Lion, New York, 2012 *''Spaciousness: The Radical Dzogchen of the Vajra Heart (Longchenpa’s Treasury of the Dharmadhatu)''. Vajrabooks, Kathmandu 2013. *''Maya Yoga: Longchenpa's Finding Comfort and Ease in Enchantment'', Vajrabooks, Kathmandu, 2010. *''Old Man Basking in the Sun: Longchenpa's Treasury of Natural Perfection'', Vajrabooks, Kathmandu, 2006. Republished as ''Natural Perfection: Longchenpa's Radical Dzogchen'', Wisdom Publications, Boston, MA, 2010. *''Eye of the Storm: Vairotsana's Five Original Transmissions'', trans. & comm. Vajrabooks, Kathmandu, 2006. Republished as ''Original Perfection: Vairotsana's Five Early Transmissions'', Wisdom Publications, Boston, MA, 2013. *''The Sacred Life of Tibet'', HarperCollins, London, 1997. *''Power-places of Kathmandu'', with Kevin Bubriski, Inner Traditions International, Rochester, Vermont, and Thames & Hudson, London, 1995. *''

Flight of the Garuda Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be ...

: The Dzogchen Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism'', Wisdom, Boston, 1993. *''Masters of Enchantment'', (illustrated by

Robert Beer The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

) Penguin, London 1989. *''The Power-places of Central Tibet: The Pilgrim's Guide'', Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd., London & New York 1988. *''Masters of Mahamudra: Songs and Histories of the Eighty-four Buddhist Siddhas'', State University of New York Press, Albany, NY., 1985. *''Sky Dancer: The Life and Songs of Yeshe Tsogyel'', RKP, London 1983; Arkana Series, Penguin 1991; Snow Lion, New York, 1997. Finlayson, Iain (21 April 1984)
"Cultural Cross-fertilisation"
''

Glasgow Herald ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...

''.. *''The Divine Madman: The Life and Songs of Drukpa Kunley'', trans., Rider & Co., London, 1982 and Dawn Horse Press, U.S.A., and Pilgrim’s Publishing, Kathmandu 2000. 1983, 1998; Dzogchen Now! Books, Amazon, 2014. *''The Legend of the Great Stupa'', trans., Dharma Publishing, Berkeley, 1973.

References

Works cited

External links

Keith Dowman's websiteMaitreya Institut GutensteinDream Talk Radio interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dowman, Keith Buddhist translators Tibetan–English translators English translators 1945 births Living people