A Beginners’ Tibetan Dharma Language Course

Tibetan is a sacred language. It is a perfect recipient to contain and convey all of the Bon and Buddhist teachings. It is used by the practitioners of all related paths to explain the Doctrine and the Practice, to induce the experience of true reality, to evoke the content of their visualisations, to proclaim the attainment of the fruit of practice, and so on. The sheer beauty of the Dharma is mirrored by the clarity and imaginative creativity of the Tibetan language. For these and many other reasons, the study of tibetan language represents a crucial step towards a closer relation with the teachings and particularly with their practice. As many people put it, it is a marvellous experience to be able to directly understand the words you are reciting during the practices; it cuts through the distance between the mind, the sound of the words, and their actual meaning. Even more than that, it is certainly very fulfilling to be able to follow Dharma teachings while reading the text on which they are based.

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Our course is intended as an introduction to Tibetan Dharma Language.

Schedule:

The course is articulated in three modules of ten, two-hour weekly formal lessons (with a short break) followed, three/four days later, by a one-hour exercise session.

The course will start in the second half of February 2026.  The second module will be held in spring, and the third in fall. 

All formal lessons will be recorded and made available to students.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdnJyDvbqYHToERHx_Eop3TQuYBvwQfbEn4P5W-VmGp7VH2hQ/viewform

First Module Contents:

- The importance and beauty of the Tibetan language.

- The structure of the language, grammar as a sacred science, the Dharma Language (chos skad).

- Sanskrit and Tibetan.

• The alphabet, the syllable, reading, and writing.
• The words of Tibetan language and their formation.
• Basics on the Tibetan verb.

-  Presentation of available materials for the study of the Tibetan language.

Second Module Contents:

- Translation: history, principles, techniques, problems.

- Syllables, words, sentences, and discourse.

• Names (ming tshig) and Connectors or Particles (tshig phrad).
• The eight cases of Tibetan grammar - presentation, Genitive, and Agentive.
• The verb in depth.

Third Module Contents:

• The eight cases: Locative, dative, ablative, and so forth.
• Non-case connectors.
• Verb structures, special verbs, and verbal suffixes.

All topics will be presented and demonstrated using quotations from a large variety of actual Tibetan Dharma texts. This will also be an occasion to explain the vocabulary and technical language of the teachings in utmost detail and depth. 

For information, please fill this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdnJyDvbqYHToERHx_Eop3TQuYBvwQfbEn4P5W-VmGp7VH2hQ/viewform 

Fees: 108€ for each module, or 270 for three modules (discounts available in special circumstances)