Sonom Gara Explained

Sonom Gara (fl. 13th century) was a Mongol Buddhist monk and translator.^{[1] [2] [3]} He was a Tantric priest.^[1] Sonom Gara is best known for translating, in the late 13th century, Sa-skya Pandita's Legs-bshad ("Elegant Sayings of Sakya Pandita";^[4] "Aphorisms"). His version is not literal, but still faithful to the original. However, Sonom changed the sentence pattern and added and removed words; further, he reformulated the negative original message of the work into a positive one: "While the Tibetan says that wealth acquired by sin or violence is not genuine wealth, Sonom Gara states that only wealth acquired by knowledge is genuine."^{[5] [6]}

Notes and References

1. Monumenta Serica: Journal of Oriental Studies . Monumenta Serica: Journal of Oriental Studies . 32–33 . 496 . . 1976 .
2. Book: Inner Asia . 1–2 . 15 . White Horse Press . 1999.
3. Book: Suomen Itämainen Seura . Studia Orientalia Volume 45. 188. Finnish Oriental Society. 1976.
4. Jackson, David P. (1997) The Entrance Gate for the Wise (Section III): Saskya Pandita on Indian and Tibetan Traditions of Pramana and Philosophical Debate. Wien: Arbeitskreis für Tibetisch und Buddhistiche Studien Universiteit, p. 2.
5. Book: Kara, Györgi. Dictionary of Sonom Gara's Erdeni-yin Sang A Middle Mongol Version of the Tibetan Sa Skya Legs Bshad. Mongol - English - Tibetan. XVII-XXI; 265. Brill. 2009. 978-90-04-18224-0.
6. Web site: Mongolian literature. Britannica. 18 May 2021. https://archive.today/20210518095116/https://www.britannica.com/art/Mongolian-literature. 18 May 2021.