Letters to the Editor

Lotsawa House

Buddhism is the fourth largest religion in the world, but its message of peace and contentment has influenced many more people than practicing Buddhists. Translator Adam Pearce had his first brush with Buddhism when he came to India to teach English at two Darjeeling mosteries, in the early 1990s. He started learning the Tibetan language in 1994, and 10 years later started his website.

Lotsawa House, a virtual library of translation from Tibetan, has since grown into a collection of more than 1,000 origil texts by 100-odd writers. The translations are now offered in nine languages, including English and six other European languages. The works taken up for translations are chosen in consultation with Tibetan lamas and scholars, and include the writings of not only Tibetan gurus like Patrul Rinpoche but also the ancient Indian masters like garju and Shantideva, besides some that are said to be the Buddha's own words. The writings are vsorted by topic, such as 'advice' (for instance, how to cut down on sleep and increase diligence), meditation, mind-training, Buddhist philosophy, etc. and also by writers. Most of these texts are impossible to find in a bookshop, or even on e-commerce sites, but on Lotsawa House they are free to download in epub, mobi (Kindle) and PDF formats.

It will be wise if the university libraries and the district libraries of our State try to collect the books on Lord Buddha's life and teachings.

Satish Kumar Sarma,

Kalyanpur, Biswath Chariali.

Once Again Well Done

Assam Police, under the captainship of Commissioner Hiren th, is  scaling new heights. After successfully cracking the kidpping case of a minor boy a few weeks ago, it once again arrested the culprits of the murderer of a city-based businessman in quick time. Both the cases were complicated and police were clueless in the initial stages, but the police department, under the guidance of Hiren th, solved the cases based on their efficiency. Our opposition parties recently staged a walkout citing deteriorating law-and-order situation in the city, citing the recent murder in the Hatigaon area. An humble request to the Congress-led opposition, please do not politicise everything. Their such behaviour is a direct sign of their frustration like a fish out of water. Kindly have faith in the abilities of the police, else they would be digging their own grave.

Lanu Dutta Chowdhury,

GNB Road, Guwahati.