Purpose and Mission
Asian Legacy Library is dedicated to discovering, preserving, and ensuring the eternal safeguarding of the profound cultural and literary traditions originating from the East.
The present moment in the world is marked by profound changes across various domains of life. With the emergence of new scientific knowledge and innovative fields, there is a growing risk of losing personal equilibrium and integrity, as well as shared moral values and wisdom. In the search for direction, the deep contemplative traditions—both religious and secular—of the world beckon individuals. These traditions boast thousands of years of history dedicated to crafting a wide range of practical methods aimed at enhancing human well-being.
Throughout history, wisdom holders, scholars, artists, and educators have provided insightful perspectives on the fundamental existential challenges concerning suffering and identity. They have also developed an array of contemplative practices focused on alleviating suffering and fostering new identities—crafting pathways for both personal and communal transformation.
For the world to fully benefit from this rich cultural inheritance, it is essential to transcend conventional religious boundaries and explore how these contemplative practices can be utilized within various societal contexts.
Official website of this project – https://asianlegacylibrary.org/
Cultural Heritage Defined
Cultural heritage encompasses the diverse ways of life that societies cultivate and pass down through generations. It includes customs, practices, objects, artistic expressions, and values, typically divided into two categories: tangible and intangible.
Tangible cultural heritage often manifests as physical representations of a society’s values, beliefs, traditions, and lifestyles, such as artworks and architectural designs. Conversely, intangible cultural heritage embodies voices, values, customs, oral histories, spiritual practices, and storytelling.
Asian Legacy Library is committed to the preservation and protection of both tangible and intangible aspects of heritage. A shining illustration of this mission is the invaluable cultural wisdom traditions of the East, thoroughly documented through a rich literary legacy that has evolved over centuries.
The Asian Legacy Library: A Treasure Trove of Rare Wisdom Literature
The Asian Legacy Library stands as a prominent repository for some of the world’s rarest texts in wisdom literature. Its collections are meticulously organized according to geographical origins, encompassing three distinct regions: the Himalaya and Inner Asia, South Asia, and East Asia.
The library’s conservation initiatives reflect a deep respect for the importance of textual traditions and their significance in the lives of individuals from various regions and cultures. The mission of the library is to promote this understanding by establishing preservation hubs in areas where traditional learning, knowledge systems, and the transfer of enduring wisdom practices continue to thrive.
Preserving the Wisdom Literature of the Himalayan and Inner Asian Region
Over the years, in collaboration with preservation partners, the primary objective of ALL has centered around safeguarding the cultural wisdom literature of the Himalayan region. Nestled among the highest peaks on the planet, this area is distinctly set apart from the other influential cultures of the East, creating a unique cultural threshold. For thousands of years, it has served as a central hub for spiritual practices. The predominant religions practiced in this region include Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam.
The Himalayan region has been instrumental in documenting the teachings of the Buddha, facilitating their journey from India to wider global audiences starting in the 4th century. One of the most significant endeavors has been the identification and preservation of texts belonging to the Buddhist wisdom tradition originating from the Tibetan plateau, as well as their subsequent migration to the Mongolian plains.
The Rich Tapestry of South Asian Knowledge Traditions
South Asia stands out as one of the most linguistically varied regions globally. Its communities have historically contributed to an extraordinary array of knowledge traditions. The origins of these collections can be traced back approximately 1,500 years before the Common Era. Initially transmitted through oral traditions, they began to be documented in written form only in the 1st century BCE, marking the onset of a significant literary tradition.
The preservation initiatives undertaken by ALL primarily focus on the collections rooted in Ayurvedic and Sanskrit Buddhist literary traditions found in South Asia.
The Rich Tapestry of East Asian Buddhism
East Asian Buddhism stands out as the largest segment of the global Buddhist community, boasting a significant number of adherents. This tradition encompasses a variety of forms, each of which is deeply shaped by the cultural and philosophical influences of China. Among the most prominent Buddhist schools within this region are Chan (known as Zen in Japan, Sôn in Vietnam, and Thiền), Pure Land, Huayan (also referred to as Kegon, Hwaŏm, or Hoa nghiêm), Tiantai (or Tendai in Japan, and Ch’ŏnt’ae in Korea, and Thiên Thai in Vietnam), as well as Esoteric Buddhism.
Official website – https://asianlegacylibrary.org/
Central to these schools is the emphasis on the study of Mahayana Buddhist scriptures, regarded as a fundamental aspect of their practice. The collection dedicated to East Asian Buddhism highlights the importance of preserving and expanding access to these scriptures and treatises, particularly those found within the Chinese Buddhist Canon. This revered collection has long served as a cornerstone for the Buddhist practices of various East Asian nations, including China, Japan, the Korean Peninsula, and Vietnam.
