Đôi điều về bản dịch Anh ngữ GƯƠM BÁU TRAO TAY

 

Ghi chú: Bản dịch Anh ngữ Gươm Báu Trao Tay  (Handling down the Precious Sword) do Diệu Hạnh Giao Trinh (Paris) thực hiện sẽ được Thiện Tri Thức ấn hành song ngữ trong thời gian tới. Diệu Hạnh Giao Trinh đã viết thêm đôi dòng như một “Lời ngỏ” cho bản dịch này.

Trân trọng cảm ơn Diệu Hạnh và họa sĩ Duy,

Và xin được chia sẻ cùng bạn bè thân hữu.

DHN.

 

 

TRANSLATOR’S INTRODUCTION

 

Like most of Dr Do Hong Ngoc readers outside of Vietnam, I began to read his writings on his blog. First I was amazed, then interested, finally I was hooked, and became his “fan”. Why so? Because a doctor and scientist who is interested in Buddhism is not a rarity but it is not common either. Above all when he expressed it in a gently humorous and beautiful style.

Once Dr Do Hong Ngoc told me that many of his friends would like his books to be translated for the younger generation living abroad, but his style is so “unique” that no one wanted to attempt it. Forever prone to be game for challenges, I was unsuspectingly willing to make a try. I chose Guom Bau Trao Tay (Handling down the Precious Sword) because it is about the Diamond Sutra, and I believe I have strong affinities with this sutra.

The Diamond Sutra is known for being very difficult, even for the “professional” Buddhists or Buddhist scholars, let alone for “new born” ones.

But Dr Do Hong Ngoc, a scientist as well as a newly Buddhist student (his words), has “decoded” expertly the difficulties in this sutra to facilitate its reach to the mass of young readers, who most of them are his students.

Prior to the “Handling down the Precious Sword”, he had studied the “Heart Sutra” and ended up writing “Thinking from the Heart”. Recently he studied the Lotus Sutra and wrote “Green are the Thousand Lotus Petals”. But he also immersed himself into meditation studies to write “Meditation and Health”. As I just learned, he is now dabbling into the awesome Vimalakirtinirdesasutra…

His writings, not really Buddhist (but still very Buddhist in nature) and not really scientific (but still scientific in his explanations) are like the leaves and blades of herbs that the physician of olden times ascended the highest mountains to gather. These crops would then be transformed into medicine, to be sampled and treat his own ailments first before sharing with acquaintances and friends.

This book is my offering to all the young Vietnamese who were born or grew up out of Vietnam, and who unfortunately do not read their mother tongue.

Translating Dr Do Hong Ngoc’s book is not an easy task.  Not everyone can  faithfully express in another language his deep love for the Vietnamese culture, his broad understanding of Buddhism (all of which coated in a light humorous yet profound style…) not to mention the countless puns that he seemed to be delighted to use.

I would like to thank my brother Vo Ta Huân to whom I am indebted for his kind help and invaluable advice, and to Dr Do Hong Ngoc’s for his patience and gentle encouragement whenever I happened to lose heart before the difficulties of this translation.

This is the first translation of Dr Do Hong Ngoc’s numerous books, and although it is well known that “translation is betrayal”, even if I I’ve been as careful as possible in not betraying the Vietnamese text, I still am responsible for any errors that may have occurred in this work.

Dieu Hanh Giao Trinh