AN OPEN RESEARCH INITIATIVE
Ancient wisdom.Open inquiry.A shared future.
Bringing Buddhist traditions into dialogue with modern science and artificial intelligence — for the benefit of all living beings.
COORDINATION BASEVarna, Bulgaria
CURRENT STAGEFounding initiative
SHARED PURPOSEThe benefit of all living beings
WHY MATREYA
A meeting place for wisdom, curiosity and care.
Matreya is an independent, non-commercial research initiative. We are creating a space where Buddhist communities, researchers, translators and technologists can work together across traditions and disciplines.
Our purpose is to preserve knowledge, ask careful questions and develop useful tools. Each tradition retains its own voice. Scientific findings, philosophical arguments and lived experience are identified clearly and examined on their own terms.
DIRECTIONS OF INQUIRY
Three paths. A common purpose.
These are our planned areas of work. Projects develop as participants, expertise and resources come together.
I.Buddhist heritage & living traditions
Preserving texts and oral teachings, tracing their sources and making knowledge easier to study across languages. Collaboration grows through respect for context, distinct traditions and the conditions of transmission.
SOURCES · TRANSLATION · DIGITAL HUMANITIESII.Mind, experience & scientific inquiry
Developing precise questions about consciousness, contemplative practice, compassion and lived experience. We distinguish interpretation from empirical evidence and develop methods appropriate to each question.
PHILOSOPHY · CONTEMPLATIVE STUDIES · METHODOLOGYIII.AI & trustworthy knowledge
Building and evaluating tools for finding sources, checking citations and studying Buddhist literature. We document methods, examine errors and keep human responsibility at the centre of the work.
LANGUAGE MODELS · OPEN DATA · RESPONSIBLE TECHNOLOGYOUR FIRST PLANNED STUDY
In preparationCan access to sources help AI cite Buddhist texts more accurately?
A small, reproducible pilot comparing citation checks with and without retrieved source passages. The method, corpus and limitations will be documented before broader conclusions are drawn.
A SHARED HORIZON
Beginning online.
A place to grow together.
Our work begins with people, sources and open questions. A future physical centre in Varna is a vision to explore as the initiative develops.
WHERE WE ARE TODAY
An honest beginning.
Matreya began on 22 October 2026 as an independent, non-commercial initiative founded by Dmitry Orlov. Coordination is based in Varna, Bulgaria. We currently work online and are developing our first projects and collaborations.
The institute is in its founding phase. Its organisational structure, research programme and future physical centre are being developed.
Follow the open project on GitLabBUILD WITH US
Bring your curiosity.
Make a contribution.
We welcome practitioners, translators, researchers, developers and volunteers. Tell us what interests you and how you would like to take part.
Participation starts with a clear task, a realistic commitment and recognition of your work. Enquiries from communities and potential collaborators are welcome.
Coordinated from Varna. Open to the world.