"Esoteric Community"??

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Shunyatagarbha
Posts: 45
Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2022 3:08 am

"Esoteric Community"??

Post by Shunyatagarbha »

The Robert Thurman group of pandits has for a since a long time ago hit upon this creative English translation of the name Guhyasamaja: ' "the esoteric community" which has always bothered me. I have even seen it termed as "the secret society"...! Which gives it an unwanted connotation. What do people think about this translation and what is a better one? "Gathering of Secrets"? I really don't know how they came up with "esoteric community". Does anyone with more knowledge of the text know if there is material from within it that specifically supports this curious translation?
Malcolm
Posts: 42974
Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2010 2:19 am

Re: "Esoteric Community"??

Post by Malcolm »

Shunyatagarbha wrote: Tue Aug 02, 2022 12:51 am The Robert Thurman group of pandits has for a since a long time ago hit upon this creative English translation of the name Guhyasamaja: ' "the esoteric community" which has always bothered me. I have even seen it termed as "the secret society"...! Which gives it an unwanted connotation. What do people think about this translation and what is a better one? "Gathering of Secrets"? I really don't know how they came up with "esoteric community". Does anyone with more knowledge of the text know if there is material from within it that specifically supports this curious translation?
You should read some commentaries of the text to see how the name is parsed by Indian commentators.
jmlee369
Posts: 693
Joined: Tue Aug 09, 2011 1:22 am

Re: "Esoteric Community"??

Post by jmlee369 »

Shunyatagarbha wrote: Tue Aug 02, 2022 12:51 am The Robert Thurman group of pandits has for a since a long time ago hit upon this creative English translation of the name Guhyasamaja: ' "the esoteric community" which has always bothered me. I have even seen it termed as "the secret society"...! Which gives it an unwanted connotation. What do people think about this translation and what is a better one? "Gathering of Secrets"? I really don't know how they came up with "esoteric community". Does anyone with more knowledge of the text know if there is material from within it that specifically supports this curious translation?
Based on my limited understanding, Gathering of Secrets would align with the commentaries better than Esoteric Community.
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