Add dictionary data from nti
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iacore
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---
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name: dharma-translation
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description: Translate Chinese Buddhist Dharma talks into English djot with annotations. Use when the user asks to translate a Dharma talk, 开示, Buddhist lecture, or similar material from Chinese to English.
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description: Translate Chinese↔English Buddhist/Dharma content using the MPI term database and Mindfulness Bell corpus for register guidance.
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category: research
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---
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# Dharma Talk Translation
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# Dharma Translation
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## Trigger
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When translating Chinese↔English Buddhist/Dharma content, consult TWO resources before producing output:
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User asks to translate a Chinese Buddhist Dharma talk (开示, 讲座, 法义) to English, or convert a PDF of such material into a translated djot file.
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1. **Terms database** — for established term translations
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2. **Mindfulness Bell corpus** — for register/style patterns in English Buddhist prose
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## Resources
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### Terms DB
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- DB: `/home/user/documents/mpi/terms-search/termlib.duckdb`
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- CLI: `terms-search <query>`
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- HTTP API: port 8910 (`/search?q=...&src=...&limit=...`)
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- Source tables priority: DoT定稿 > 内部特色词 > 佛教术语 > 经论名
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- See `terms-search` skill for full API details
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### Mindfulness Bell Corpus
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- Location: `~/meta/www.files/public/The Mindfulness Bell/`
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- 6 issues: MB92–MB97 (2023–2026), each ~84–116 pages
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- Index: `index.yaml` (article titles, authors, pages)
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- **Articles**: `~/documents/jingxin-lessons/Mindfulness Bell/articles/MB{92..97}/*.md` — 93 individual markdown files with YAML frontmatter. Read directly with `read_file`.
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- Extraction script: `/tmp/extract_mb_articles.py` (re-run if PDFs change)
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## Register Reference (from MB corpus analysis)
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Four registers observed, useful as style targets:
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| Register | Example | Key features |
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|----------|---------|-------------|
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| Dharma talk | Thầy (MB94 "Roses and Garbage", MB97 "Go as a River") | Short sentences, concrete images, coined terms ("interbeing"), oral address ("It's clear?"), Sanskrit kept with narrative explanation |
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| Teaching lineage | Sister Đoan Nghiêm (MB93 "Our Patriarch Liễu Quán") | "We" voice, terms explained, cultural bridging ("like Jesus"), dates woven into narrative, still oral |
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| Personal narrative | Mick McEvoy (MB94 "Touching the True Nature") | First-person, confessional, borrowed Dharma vocabulary, emotional directness, vernacular |
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| Editorial | Brother Pháp Lưu (MB94 welcome letter) | Polished but warm, conceptual framing, "we" address |
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## Translation Principles (observed from MB corpus)
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1. **Terms**: Either keep Sanskrit w/ narrative explanation (bodhisattva, Māra) OR coin new English (interbeing, inter-are). Avoid clunky calques.
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2. **Cultural bridging**: Add bridges for Western readers. A Chinese text mentioning 孔子 can stay; explain the function. Đoan Nghiêm's "like Jesus" is the pattern.
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3. **Tone**: Chinese Dharma texts are typically more formal than English equivalents. Decide consciously: keep formality or warm up (Thầy style).
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4. **Voice**: Direct address ("you"), concrete images, and oral rhythm make Dharma land in English. Abstract noun chains (common in Chinese→English translationese) kill it.
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5. **Sutra quotes**: Use standard English Buddhist idiom. Check terse-idiom conventions (e.g., Diamond Sutra "lives" not "bodies").
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## Workflow
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### 1. Extract source text from PDF
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1. Load both `terms-search` and `dharma-translation` skills
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2. For each key term in the source: search the terms DB first
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3. For register decisions: scan relevant MB articles matching the target register
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4. Translate directly in the response — never call external translation APIs
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5. After translation, offer to align against the terms DB for verification
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Prefer `pdftotext -layout` — it's the most reliable fallback and almost always available:
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## MB Article Quick-Find
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```bash
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pdftotext -layout input.pdf /tmp/extracted.txt
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```
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pypdf and pdfplumber may not be installed; pdftotext (poppler-utils) is the safe default.
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### 2. Convert to structured djot
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Clean the extracted text into a djot file (`original.dj`) with this structure:
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- `# Title` — h1, the talk title
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- Subtitle line — date and venue, prefixed with `——`
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- Opening remarks — body paragraphs before the first section
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- `## 一、Section Name` — h2 for each numbered section (一、二、三、etc.)
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- Closing line — revision date in parentheses
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Strip page numbers (standalone digits separated by form feeds `\f`). Join broken lines within paragraphs — Chinese text joins cleanly with `''.join()` since there are no inter-word spaces.
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### 3. Translate
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Translate directly — no external translation APIs. The model IS the translator.
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Key approach:
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- Preserve the djot structure exactly (headings, paragraphs)
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- Translate section headings preserving the Chinese numbering (一、→ 1., 二、→ 2., etc.)
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- Keep the original Chinese in `%` comment lines alongside the translation (see annotations below)
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### 4. Annotate in djot comments
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Use `%` comment lines before relevant paragraphs to annotate:
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- **Buddhist technical terms**: Sanskrit equivalents (e.g., 五蕴 → five aggregates / skandhas), doctrinal context
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- **Cultural references**: Historical figures, place names, sutra names with explanation
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- **Structural notes**: Why the speaker frames something a certain way, organizational philosophy
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- **Recurring metaphors**: The McDonald's analogy throughout, the lamp/light metaphor
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Format:
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```
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% Chinese term (pinyin) = English gloss, Sanskrit if applicable. Brief context.
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Paragraph text here...
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```
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For sutra quotes, annotate the sutra name with both Chinese and Sanskrit.
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For organizational terms (传帮带, 分灯, 三种精神), explain their meaning within the community's framework.
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### 5. Output files
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- `original.dj` — cleaned Chinese djot
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- `translated.dj` — English translation with `%` annotations
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## Pitfalls
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- Do NOT call external translation APIs. Translate directly.
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- Do NOT delete comparison/对照 files — they are intentional work artifacts.
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- pdftotext may produce hard line breaks at column boundaries; join within paragraphs using `''.join()` for Chinese.
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- Page numbers appear as isolated digits between form feeds (`\f`); strip them with regex.
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- Djot `%` comments work line-by-line; place them on their own lines before the relevant paragraph.
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- Keep annotations concise — one or two lines, not an essay.
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Common article types to search for register examples:
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- Thầy's Dharma talks: search index for "Thích Nhất Hạnh" + page ≤ 10
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- Sister/brother teachings: search for "Sister" or "Brother" + "DHARMA TEACHING"
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- Personal narratives: first-person voice, often pages 8–60
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- Lineage/history: "Patriarch," "ancestor," dates in text
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