Thomas Cleary (Translator)

Thomas Cleary
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thomas Cleary (born 1949) is a prolific author and translator of Buddhist, Taois
t, Confucian and Muslim classics, and of the Chinese Art of War tradition of str
ategy and statecraft.[1][2][3] He lives in Oakland, California in the United Sta
tes.[3]
Life and work
Cleary "got into Buddhism... in [his] teens",[1] and was driven to research Budd
hist texts because he "wanted to learn".[1] He usually translates texts that are
not yet available in English; however, he has made some exceptions for books he
felt had English translations that were "too limited," such as Sun Tzu's The Ar
t of War.[1] Cleary received a PhD in East Asian Languages and Civilizations fro
m Harvard University as well as a JD from the University of California, Berkeley
, Boalt Hall School of Law,[4] but has had minimal involvement with the academic
world, claiming that "there is too much oppression in a university setting,[1]"
and that he wants "to stay independent and reach those who want to learn direct
ly through [his] books.[1]" He reserves some praise for his alma mater, though;
"a good thing about Harvard was language training was done by native teachers. Y
ou did not find that everywhere.[1]"
Cleary's first publication, with his brother J.C. Cleary was the translation of
the Zen koan collection, The Blue Cliff Record (ISBN 1-59030-232-X). Cleary also
translated the monumental Avatamsaka Sutra (Huayan Jing / Flower Ornament Scrip
ture).
Cleary's most widely disseminated translation has been of the Chinese classic Th
e Art of War (Sunzi Bingfa) by Sun Tzu. Another major translation is of the comm
entaries of the 18th century Taoist sage Liu Yiming, who clearly explains the of
ten impenetrable metaphoric coding of the main Taoist texts dealing with the tra
nsformation of consciousness and the fusion of the human mind with the Mind of t
he Tao.
In 2000, Cleary's various translations of Taoist texts were collected into 4 vol
umes by Shambhala Publications as The Taoist Classics. Following the success of
these publications, a five volume collection of Buddhist translations was collec
ted as Classics of Buddhism and Zen. Cleary's recent translation of the Qur'an h
as been praised by Muslims who know English[who?] and Arabic.[citation needed] A
nother outstanding translation from the Muslim wisdom tradition is Living and Dy
ing with Grace.
Partial bibliography of translations
Thomas Cleary (translator) (1999). Zen and the Art of Insight. Shambhala Pub
lications. ISBN 9781570625169.
Thomas Cleary (editor and translator) (2000). Zen Essence: The Science of Fr
eedom. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781570625886.
Thomas Cleary (translator) (2002). Secrets of the Blue Cliff Record: Zen Com
ments by Hakuin and Tenkei. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781570629129.
Thomas Cleary (translator) (2002). Transmission of Light: Zen in the Art of
Enlightenment by Zen Master Keizan. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781570629495.
Thomas Cleary (translator) (2003). The Book of Balance and Harmony: A Taoist
Handbook. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781590300770.
Thomas Cleary (translator) (2004). Zen Lessons: The Art of Leadership. Shamb
hala Publications. ISBN 9781570628832.
Thomas Cleary; J.C. Cleary (2005). The Blue Cliff Record. Shambhala Publicat
ions. ISBN 9781590302323.
Thomas Cleary (editor and translator) (2005). Classics of Buddhism and Zen:
The Collected Translations of Thomas Cleary (Volume 1). Shambhala Publications.
ISBN 9781590302187.
ISBN 9781590302194.
ISBN 9781590302200.
ISBN 9781590302217.
ISBN 9781590302224.
Thomas Cleary (translator) (2005). Book of Serenity: One Hundred Zen Dialogu
es. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781590302491.
Zhuge Liang; Thomas Cleary (translator) (2005). Mastering the Art of War. Sh
ambhala Publications. ISBN 9781590302644.
Liu I-ming; Thomas Cleary (translator) (2006). Awakening to the Tao. Shambha
la Publications. ISBN 9781590303443.
Cheng Yi; Thomas Cleary (translator) (2006). I Ching: The Book of Change. Sh
ambhala Publications. ISBN 9781590304037.
Miyamoto Musashi; Thomas Cleary (translator) (2006). The Illustrated Book of
Five Rings. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9780834805651.
Thomas Cleary (editor and translator) (2009). Vitality, Energy, Spirit: A Ta
oist Sourcebook. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781590306888.
Thomas Cleary (translator) (2009). Minding Mind: A Course in Basic Meditatio
n. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781590306857.
Sun Tzu; Thomas Cleary (translator) (2009). The Art of War. Shambhala Public
ations. ISBN 9781590307434.
Thomas Cleary (editor and translator) (2009). Training the Samurai Mind: A B
ushido Sourcebook. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781590307212.
Thomas Cleary (2009). The Way of the World: Readings in Chinese Philosophy.
Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781590307380.
Miyamoto Musashi; Thomas Cleary (translator) (2010). The Book of Five Rings.
Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781590308912.
Torei Enji; Thomas Cleary (translator) (2010). The Undying Lamp of Zen. Sham
bhala Publications. ISBN 9781590307922.
Lao-Tzu; Thomas Cleary (translator) (2011). Tao Te Ching. Shambhala Publicat
ions. ISBN 9781590308967.
Thomas Cleary (editor and translator) (2012). The Taoism Reader. Shambhala P
ublications. ISBN 9781590309506.
Thomas Cleary (editor) (2012). The Zen Reader. Shambhala Publications. ISBN
9781590309469.
References
Staff. "Interview with Thomas Cleary". Sonshi.com. Retrieved 2009-07-10.
Burton-Rose, Daniel. "The Lit interview: Thomas Cleary". San Francisco Bay G
uardian Online. Retrieved 2009-07-10.
Staff. "The Qur'an, Translated by Dr. Thomas Cleary". Fons Vitae. Retrieved
2009-07-10. Brief biography.
Staff. "Thomas Cleary". Shambhala Publications. Retrieved 2011-01-01. Brief
biography plus book titles.
Authority control
VIAF: 64046437
ISNI: 0000 0001 2136 4581
BNF: cb121647431 (data)
Categories:
ChineseEnglish translators
Buddhist translators
Translators of the Quran into English
Harvard University alumni
1949 births
Living people
Shambhala Publications books
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