Ippolito Desideri (1684-1733), Tibet, Buddhism

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Development and results of Desideri Project

    Highly important for a full promotion of Desideri’s work is the publication and translation in English of his still-unpublished Tibetan manuscript by two of the leading experts in Tibet and Buddhism, American Donald Lopez and Tibetan Thubten Jingpa (official translator of the XIV Dalai Lama).

    This website, apart the present document contains various articles, correlated information and a news column. The site does not only contain articles about Desideri but also important writings and news linked to the two great areas of discipline, history/geography and philosophy/religion, connected to the East and its dialogue with the West, Buddhism and the related problems concerning comparisons between Christianity and Buddhism or more generally with Eastern religions.

    My commitment to this subject aims to culminate in the creation of an institution in Desideri’s name on themes of East-West and Christian-Buddhist dialogue, open to all in the geographical, historical, linguistic, ethnographic, geopolitical, philosophical-religious aspects of an extremely significant geo-strategic Asiatic region in political and economical terms and also in terms of our relationship to it. The institution, which I can supply with a very well-stocked bibliography of monographs and documents, should propose the publication in Italian and in other languages of Desideri’s works, as well as researches concerning the missionary and related topics.

    My intentions are recorded in the abovementioned review-article in “La Civiltŕ Cattolica” (a. 156, vol. IV, quad. 3730, 19.11.2005, p. 368, note 4) and in Stefano Caciolli’s piece in “L’Universo” (a. LXXXVII, n. 2, March-April 2007, pp. 299-300: 300) reproduced below:

Among the long-term projects we would like to mention […] the creation of a foundation dedicated to Ippolito Desideri on which Bargiacchi has been working for some time: it involves some important institutions determined to bring this project into being.

    As well as directly promoting Desideri’s work, an institution like the one I propose could fulfil the functions of study, research and encounters on the themes listed above, thus bringing to productive life the pioneering teachings of a great and noble figure who is a credit to a religious order, a city and a nation and a valuable heritage for all humanity.

Enzo Gualtiero Bargiacchi 8^th December 2009).

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