RESEARCH

RESTORATION AND CONSERVATION

  • The National Mission for Manuscripts, Govt. of India has designated CIBS, Leh as the Manuscripts Resource Centre and Manuscripts Conservation Centre for the Ladakh region. Accordingly, the Institute is carrying out the assigned job by engaging scholars on contractual basis. At present, seven Resource Persons are working on the project from March to November every year. The documentation works are kept closed for three months from December to February due to severe cold weather. The Institute so far has documented about 37722 manuscripts from 2389 different Monasteries/Palaces/Individuals of Ladakh region. The Institute is trying to document all available manuscripts in the region. Besides, the Institute also carries out the conservation of rare manuscripts available in different monasteries of the region. So far, the centre has conserved 2515 folios.

 

  • A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) and Central Institute of Buddhist Studies (Deemed to be University), Leh with the intent to develop programmes for Thangka conservation, manuscript conservation, developing a laboratory for art conservation, organizing exhibitions on art and crafts, developing stores in the monasteries for preventive conservation, developing documentation centres and exchange programmes.

COMPILATION OF ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF HIMALAYAN BUDDHIST CULTURE : 

The project was initially approved for a period of five years and it has been proposed to compile the Encyclopaedia in 10 volumes. The project is launched by engaging scholars on contractual basis. The project is in progress under the supervision of a Chief Editor assisted by two Editors and three Research Assistants. Two volumes of the Encyclopaedia covering the Ladakh region have already been published. One volume on Lahul-Spiti and Kinnour valley of H.P. has already been completed and ready to be published. The works on philosophical and theoretical bases of Himalayan Buddhist culture is in progress.

 

TRANSLATION : The institute runs a translation project for the translation of Buddhist philosophical texts into Hindi/English and the compilation of Bhoti-Hindi and Hindi-Bhoti dictionaries. It supports scholarly research in all fields of Tibetan thought and translates rare and important texts into English and Hindi and other related resources into Tibetan for publication.

 

PUBLICATION : The Research Department of the institute publishes rare and valuable books on various subjects including the proceedings of national and international seminars (Ladakh-Prabha). The institute also has initiated an annual National Journal of Buddhist Studies in English. The books are sold for minimal rates from the institute. In addition, the students also publish monthly newsletters in Bhoti, English and Hindi languages.  An annual tri-lingual students’ magazine is published under the title of Rig-pa’i Dud-tsi. A Bi-monthly students’ newsletter “The Green Grove” in English, monthly students’ newsletter sLob-ma’i dGa-tsal in Bhoti and sGrol-lJang gi sGron-me also in Bhoti by Green Tara Girls’ Hostel are being published. more >>