The mission of the Library

PRESERVE 2500 YEARS OF KNOWLEDGE

The Buddha met different types of people with different mind sets; hence he adapted his teaching to his listener. During the spread of Buddhism in India and throughout Asia, these teachings were commented on by many masters throughout the centuries. Thus, there came to be thousands of texts and commentaries clarifying the meanings of Buddha’s teachings. In order that these writings are not lost, the team at the Dhagpo Kagyu library searches for and collects texts that have been dispersed, damaged and often threatened. They have travelled through India and Tibet in order to unearth rare texts and gather oral teachings of old masters. They ensure the conservation of this multi-millennial knowledge, veritable human heritage.

RENDER THIS KNOWLEDGE ACCESSIBLE TO ALL

If preservation is capital, it does not constitute the final goal: the goal is to make this knowledge accessible to the greatest number of people. The Dhagpo Kagyu library is therefore not a sanctuary separated from the world, but a place of culture, open to all. To render this knowledge accessible, the skilled team assures not only the classification and the cataloguing of texts, but also the analysis, the compilation and the translation of texts. This extensive work will allow new works to be published in French and in English. Expositions can also take place, like that of “Sacred Books” organized in Perpignan, at the Palais des Rois de Majorque, in 2009.

A library is a place of dialogue with the past, of creation and of innovation, and the conservation only has meaning as a catalyst of information and a motor of knowledge. CHRISTIAN JACOB

USEFUL KNOWLEDGE FOR THE GREATEST NUMBER

he book, whether it is in its traditional form or a modern format, has always been a powerful instrument in diffusing knowledge. Buddhist texts, which vehicle human values and universal principles, can bring responses to questions and current needs in the West in a multitude of areas: education, medicine, psychology, etc. They propose simple methods that are easily applicable in everyday life to ease the mind and manage the pressure and emotions generated by the instability and concern that characterizes our time. This knowledge allows for increased clarity, stability and efficiency and to live in peace and harmony with one self and others.

That since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed. PREAMBLE OF THE CONSTITUTIVE ACT OF UNESCO