Dharma Online: Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche Launches New Wellness Resource “Creative Resilience”

Coinciding with the “Moon Festival” on September 17, a mid-autumn celebration observed across East Asia, the Kumarajiva Project, a translation initiative of the Khyentse Foundation, hosted a livestreamed event to launch a new free online resource initiated by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche called Creative Resilience, which aims to offer “a toolkit for happiness, mental well-being, and resilience during stressful and emotionally challenging times.” (Creative Resilience)

“Through the lens of the five elements (space, wind, water, earth and fire), this project offers creative and unique psychological tools to help individuals master their own minds and transform emotional challenges into the joy of consciousness,” the Kumarajiva Project announced.

Launched by the Khyentse Foundation in the summer of 2019, the Kumarajiva Project (圓滿法藏-佛典漢譯計畫) is an ambitious undertaking to translate canonical Buddhist texts from Tibetan into Chinese, aiming to complete the translation of the Tibetan Buddhist canon, both Kangaroo (the translated words of the Buddha) and the Tengyur (translated commentaries on the teachings) — in Chinese in 60 years.*

“The Kumarajiva Project aims to translate Buddhist canonical texts into Chinese and to spark passion for Buddhist wisdom. It hopes to collaborate with initiatives like Creative Resilience to integrate the wisdom contained in these texts into our daily lives.” (The Kumarajiva Project)

At the online event, organized in collaboration with Siddhartha's Intent International, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche bestowed the bodhisattva vow on participants live from Bhutan, noting:

“I am sure that under this same moon, billions and billions of countless bodhisattvas of the past have taken the bodhisattva vow. And I am sure that countless bodhisattvas of the future will take the bodhisattva vow under this same moon. . . . A vow is like a direction. A vow is like a premise. But a vow is also like the key to freedom.

“As human beings, we need a direction, a premise, a foundation. We need it because we are always going through what Buddhists call duhkha (and even though we can sometimes feel joy or a festive mood), after a while, all of that doesn't last. And even when it does, it's never 100% perfect. (…) And so, there is (…) a constant feeling of insecurity. And because of that insecurity, we jump to conclusions, trying to fix things, trying to apply all kinds of remedies. And quite often, those remedies or solutions end up becoming some kind of problem themselves. So I think it's very important to have a good premise, a good ground, a good foundation, a good direction.

“If you think about it, there is no greater, more sober, more non-deceptive, more non-illusory premise, foundation, or direction than the Bodhisattva Way: the Bodhisattva way of thinking; the Bodhisattva way of seeing things; the Bodhisattva way of living with the Bodhisattva way of seeing things. And that is why I would say that there is no greater value than the Bodhisattva vow.”

Following Rinpoche's speech, two of the key people involved in the manifestation of the Creative Resilience project, American psychologist Sandra Scales and Deepa Thakur, director of the non-profit organization The Khyentse Foundation India, presented the new wellness initiative and resource.

On the new website, the team of instructors and artists who manifested the project explain:

“CreativityandResilience.org was born out of the unusual challenges that recent years have brought to people around the world,” explains the team of instructors and artists who manifested the project. “With the idea that challenging times require new and evolving resources, teacher, problem-solver, and filmmaker Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, aka Khyentse Norbu, commissioned a team to develop this site. An international group of psychologists, writers, teachers, and artists worked to create a platform that offers a suite of flexible tools to enhance our own innate creativity and resilience and also to transform challenges in a truly unique way.” (Creative Resilience)

Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche. Excerpt from khyentsefoundation.org

Born in Bhutan in 1961, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche is the son of Thinley Norbu Rinpoche and was a close student of the Nyingma master Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (1910–1991). He is recognized as the third incarnation of the 1820th-century Tibetan tertōn Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (1892–1893), founder of the Khyentse lineage, and the immediate incarnation of Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö (1959–XNUMX).

Rinpoche’s projects and initiatives include: the Khyentse Foundation, established in 2001 to promote the Buddha’s teachings and support all traditions of Buddhist study and practice; Siddhartha’s Intent, an international collective of Buddhist groups supporting Rinpoche’s Buddhadharma activities by organizing teachings and retreats, distributing and archiving recorded teachings, and transcribing, editing, and translating manuscripts and practice texts; 84000, a global nonprofit initiative to translate the Buddha’s words and make them accessible to all; Lotus Outreach, which runs a series of projects to provide education, health, and safety to vulnerable women and children in developing countries; and Lhomon Society, which promotes sustainable development in Bhutan through education.

Rinpoche is the author of several books, including: What makes you not a Buddhist? (2006) Not for happiness (2012) The guru drinks bourbon? (2016) and Poison is Cure: Clarifying the Vajrayana (2021), and has gained fame within and outside the global Buddhist community for the feature films he has written and directed: The Cup (1999), Travelers and Magicians (2004) Vara: a blessing (2012) Hema Hema: Sing me a song while I wait (2016) and Looking for a woman with fangs and a mustache (2019)

* Khyentse Foundation plans ambitious undertaking to translate Tibetan Buddhist canon into Chinese (BDG); Khyentse Foundation Kumarajiva Project celebrates second year with 7 Buddhist texts translated into Chinese (BDG); and Khyentse Foundation Kumarajiva Project now focuses on training translators (BDG)

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Creative Resilience

The Kumarajiva Project
Siddhartha's Intention
The Kumarajiva Project
84000
Lotus Outreach
Khyentse Foundation

Dharma Online: Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche Launches New Wellness Resource “Creative Resilience”

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