During the Tibetan language specialization, students will embark on a grand journey through time—from the 7th century to the present—where the language instructor serves as their guide. The first great adventure will be to familiarize themselves with and thoroughly master the Tibetan script and grammar, created by Thönmi Sambhota at the request of the first Tibetan king, Songtsen Gampo, in the mid-7th century. Throughout this journey, students will gain fascinating insights into Buddhist ways of life, ethics, and wisdom. Riding on the wings of thought and imagination, armed with linguistic skills and translation methods, the undergraduate program will take them from the 7th century to the 13th century, uncovering the contents of the texts encountered along the way.
The following stations will serve as points of exploration, research, and translation:
The Station of the Wise and the Foolish (Tib. མཛངས་བླུན་ཞེས་བྱ་བའིམདོ།, Wylie: mdo mdzangs blun, Skt.: Damomurkha-nāma-sūtra), where we will study the stories of the Buddha’s previous lives.
The Station of Verse Dharmateachings (Tib. ཆེད་དུ་བརྗོད་པ།, Wylie: ched du brjod pa, Skt.: Udānavarga), where we will read poetic aphorisms attributed to the Buddha.
Kamalaśīla: The Stages of Meditation Station (Tib. བསྒོམ་པའི་རིམ་པ།, Wylie: bsgom pa’i rim pa, Skt.: Bhāvanākrama), where we will delve into the work of an 8th-century Indian master who arrived in Tibet with Śāntarakṣita at the request of the Tibetan king Thisong Detsen. This text discusses śamatha and vipaśyanā meditation practices.
Sakya Paṇḍita: The Treasury of Wisdom Station (Tib. ལེགས་པར་བཤད་པའི་རིན་པོ་ཆེའི་གཏེར།, Wylie: legs par bshad pa’i rin po che’i gter, Skt.: Subhāṣitaratnanidhi), where we will explore a collection of 457 moral teachings compiled by a 13th-century Tibetan spiritual leader and Buddhist scholar.
Classical Tibetan serves a function similar to medieval Latin in Tibetan Buddhist culture. It was the language into which Indian Buddhist works, historical sources, and scholarly texts were translated. Later, it became the medium for original philosophical treatises of Tibetan Buddhism, chronicles of Tibetan state history, and significant scientific treatises on medicine, astrology, and linguistics. This Indian-rooted Tibetan Buddhist tradition remains unbroken and vibrant today, making the study of Classical Tibetan an extraordinary opportunity for those who wish to engage deeply with the original texts of Tibetan Buddhism and culture. Moreover, knowledge of Classical Tibetan allows students to access Indian Buddhist sources that have been lost in Sanskrit but preserved in Tibetan.
Since Buddhism is the main subject of this program, students must be familiar with the texts that have traditionally preserved the words of the historical Buddha in their most authentic form, at least in their most essential parts, along with the culture that can be discerned from these texts. Several courses contribute to this goal. In this course, students will deepen their previously acquired knowledge of Tibetan and apply it to translating and interpreting texts. One of the paths to a deeper understanding of Buddhism is reading in the original language. Having completed prerequisite courses, students will already possess the foundational knowledge needed to embark on this journey.
Reading Tibetan texts in their original form clarifies the meanings of technical terms and makes the connections between sutra teachings more transparent, as students are not confined by the limitations of intermediary languages. By understanding Tibetan expressions, students can approach the tradition more independently, gain deeper insight, recognize the motivations behind different interpretations, and comprehend the reasons for variations in translations, enabling them to argue for or against these differences. Their entire perspective on Buddhism may become more conscious—aligning with the Buddha’s own intent, as he encouraged his disciples to uncover the meaning of his teachings for themselves.
