Philosophy and Language Programs
TIBETAN LANGUAGE PROGRAM
Thosamling Institute offers a two-year Tibetan language program. It provides all the necessary tools to bring students from a beginner level through to communicating directly with their Tibetan teachers. It has been developed for people looking to deepen their understanding of the Dharma by studying it in Tibetan and serves as a solid foundation for those wishing to follow the curriculum of Tibetan monastic institutions or to become translators.This program is for students who consider their study of Tibetan a priority and there is regular assessment so that they can monitor their own progress. It is a full-time course running for ten months of the year from February to November. The yearly course is divided into two semesters separated with scheduled holidays.
English required: In order to facilitate the progress of individuals and the group, students must have a good understanding of English so that they are able to understand the explanations of the colloquial Tibetan and Dharma given in English.
Commitment
We ask for a one-year commitment to enter the program. Each term of six to eight weeks will be followed by a one-week break to allow time to really "digest" all the material from the class. There will also be a one-month holiday break during the Monsoon, the timing of which depends upon the schedule of the teachings of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, special events related to Dharma, and the visa situation of the majority of students.We request that students consider this program as their main practice for this short time in life and reduce other Dharma activities. The purpose of this request is to create an environment where students will be able to focus on learning the Tibetan language thoroughly; a strong motivation to achieve this goal should help avoid absenteeism during the study period.
Tests and exams will occur at regular intervals. They are mandatory, with the intention to assess the students’ progress. However, a competitive atmosphere will not be encouraged. At the end of the first year we will conduct an evaluation with the entire class, after which a second year might be organized depending on the outcome of this evaluation.
FIRST YEAR: This class will run from 30th January to 14th December 2012.
Subject Focus and Class Structure: During the first semester, the class will mainly focus on colloquial Tibetan language. In the second part of the year we will prioritize the basics of Dharma and grammar.
Each week there are ten hours of class time in which new vocabulary and grammatical structures are introduced and explained by the teacher. In addition, there are nine hours of conversation classes, at which time the students practice the material with native Tibetan speaking conversation partners.
Term I: Colloquial Language: After learning the alphabet, we will study basic sentences and vocabulary and then introduce "honorific language" and more elaborated sentence structures. The goal is to learn a vast repertory of colloquial structures and vocabulary to be able to communicate in daily life with Tibetan people.
Term II: Dharma Literature and Grammar: We will study basic Dharma vocabulary and general teachings such as refuge and so forth, and combine it with traditional grammar. The texts to study will be chosen by the teacher.
Daily Schedule
Morning: 2.5 hours, 5 days a week. Formal Language instruction; a Tibetan teacher will lead the course.Afternoon: 2 hours, 5 days a week. The conversation class’s main purpose is to put into practice the material given in the morning class, with review of new and old material as well as chatting. Each Tibetan conversation partner will assist two students only. The conversation class is compulsory.
SECOND YEAR:
Thosamling is offering two different courses for the students who completed the first year program and wish to learn Dharma in Tibetan.
I) Foundations of Buddhist philosophy : This class wil start on 12th February 2012.
This course, given by our resident teacher, Geshe Tsewang Nyima, is lasting for two years and gives a great overview on Buddhist traditional philosophy, following briefly the principal texts studied in the great monasteries.
The first year is based on learning fundamentals of Debate and Buddhist traditional philosophy. It start with ‘Dudra’ (collected topics). This is a collection of information needed to follow the actual philosophical program as well as a tool to train in classical debate procedure. Then, as the student’s skill in debate increases, they will study ‘Lorig’ (mind and cognition) as the topic of debate.‘Lorig’ is an observation of the subjective mind, showing the way in which consciousness relates to its’ object. This is all the way from our usual, confused way of apprehending reality through to a ‘direct realization of emptiness.’ Next topic will be ‘Tarig’, the analysis of correct reasons which are to be applied in our analytical meditation on reality. If time allows we might start to study ‘Drubta’, translated as ‘tenets’. This is an essential part of Buddhist traditional philosophy. ‘Tenets’ refers to the presentation of some non- buddhists and mainly the four Buddhist schools of thought in relation to reality, both conventional and ultimate, including all phenomena categorized in three points, the basis, path and result.
The second year might be spend completing the study of ‘Drubta’ and include a brief presentation of ‘Parchin’, using a concise text such as ‘the seventy topics’. ‘Parchin’, or ‘prajnaparamita sutras’ is a very extensive map of all the paths up the the attainment of the four bodies of a Buddha! Everything except the Madhyamika Prasangika view on reality is included in ‘Parchin’!
This is a rare and precious opportunity to make a connection with Geshela, a great scholar and practitioner who is dedicated to giving westerners a pure and comprehensive understanding of the Buddhist teachings.
Furthermore this class will give students a whole new perspective on Dharma teachings. It also serves as the basis to engage in further studies in traditional Tibetan institutions such as Shedras or monasteries, to become a qualified translator.
The weekly program includes three formal explanatory classes given by Geshela (known as ‘petri’ classes) and three sessions of actual debate. The ‘petri’ is translated into English and the debate class is only in Tibetan, guided by Geshela. Please be aware that you need to be comfortable with Tibetan language and quite a few hours of personal study are required to be able to process the new information and refresh the old!
II) ‘Spoken Dharma’(also called ‘Lamrim class’): This class will start on 4th March 2012 and conclude at monsoon break, mid-July. It is leaded by Katy, Geshela’s translator.
The goal of this class is to acquire the skills needed to understand oral teachings on the general topics of Dharma. The material to study is drawn from a series of teachings that our resident teacher, Geshe Tsewang Nyima, gave specifically for use in the second-year language program, using the outlines of the Lamrim Chenmo. They are a clear and comprehensive introduction to important Dharma terminology used by all schools of Tibetan Buddhism. They serve as a very effective tool to familiarize students with the format of an oral teaching by a Tibetan Lama.
III) Students might wish to combine those classes with private class of conversation with our well-trained conversation partners.
The students of the second year might choose only one or both of the two main classes (Philosophy or Lam rim class).
This program is not definitive and may be modified depending on the number and need of the students.
The schedule is a tentative one, to be adapted to His Holiness Dalai Lama’s teachings and other factors.
