Padmakara was founded in 1987, in Dordogne, France and is directed by Tsetul Pema Wangyal Rinpoche and Jigme Khyentse Rinpoche. As a department of SONGTSEN, Padmakara is responsible for the preservation, translation and publication of Tibetan texts. Its principal aim is to preserve and communicate to a Western audience the major texts of classic and contemporary Tibetan literature, particularly works on Buddhist philosophy and practice.
The Padmakara Translation Group, composed of translators and editors of a variety of nationalities, translates in as many languages as possible, all the depth and flavour of texts originating in the four great schools of Tibetan Buddhism.