BERKELEY, California (CNN) -- Some of the sacred writings of Buddhism, imperiled by Communist China's invasion of Tibet in the 1950s, have been collected, in some cases after being smuggled out of the country, and reproduced for posterity by a Buddhist institute in Berkeley, California. Tulku But Dharma Publishing says its real goal in preserving the ancient texts is to return them someday to Tibet, an isolated land in the Himalayan mountains that was left in ruins by the invasion. "There were 6,063 monasteries destroyed," said Leslie Bradburn of Dharma Publishers "The libraries disappeared."

The effort to preserve pieces of Buddhist teachings and heritage (1.1M QuickTime movie) now scattered around the globe is led by a Tibetan lama, Targong Tulku. He fled his native Tibet for India, later coming to the United States, where helped found Dharma Publishing. "We lost most of this literature," he said, pointing proudly to wall shelves filled with hundreds of leather-bound books, "so we try to collect as much as possible." monk Tulku and his followers have published the world's largest collection of what are called the Nyingma teachings of Tibetan Buddhism. The 720 volumes, now on exhibit in Berkeley, are "a way to introduce people to the vastness of Tibetan culture," said Dharma Publishing's Leslie Bradburn. library. The collection, costing $15,000, has been reprinted on high-tech paper, guaranteed to last at least 300 years, a feat hailed by Buddhist scholars who say the Nyingma treasures would have been lost had they not been preserved in this way.

But preservation is only the beginning, said Bradburn. "The main goal is to restore these books and this art to the monasteries in India and Tibet where they belong. ... It's a big job."

But perhaps not an impossible dream.