Classical Tibetan 5: Reading Life Stories of Buddhist Masters (rnam thar)
28 March – 1 April 2026 (5 full days)
In cooperation with the University of Malaga (UMA), the International Institute for Tibetan and Asian Studies (ITAS) is offering a five-day intensive Tibetan language course. We are happy to offer a possibility to continue with this next level of Classical Tibetan. The course can only be attended on-site in Karma Guen or online, but on-site participation is strongly encouraged this time.
Course Description
Building upon the theoretical foundations established in previous modules, this course transitions students from isolated grammatical study to the rigorous philological analysis of continuous text. The primary pedagogical objective is the syntactical synthesis of complex grammar rules—consolidating knowledge of case particles, verb classes, and sentence structure—to facilitate accurate reading.
Course readings are drawn from the rnam thar (hagiography) genre, a cornerstone of Tibetan literature. Students will be introduced to the genre’s stylistic conventions before applying their grammatical knowledge to “decode” and translate selected excerpts. By the conclusion of the course, students will possess the analytical skills necessary to independently parse and translate simple hagiographical texts using standard dictionaries and grammatical reasoning.
Prerequisite
Successful completion of Classical Tibetan 1–4 (or demonstrated equivalent competency)
Dates: 28 March – 1 April 2026 (5 full days)
Schedule:
Morning session: 10am-1pm CEST (every day)
Afternoon session: 4pm-7pm CEST (every day)
Post-intensive phase:
Students are expected to consolidate their learning through independent revision, followed by a summative translation assignment. This homework requires the independent translation and grammatical analysis of a selected text. Submission date: Some weeks after the course (exact date to be determined).
All sessions will be recorded and made accessible to the participants of the course.
Credits: 2 ECTS points
Location: Karma Guen (encouraged) or online (Zoom link will be sent to you before the course)
(Buddhist Center Karma Guen, Aldea Alta, 1, 29718 Vélez-Málaga, Spain)
Price:
Normal price: 250€
Reduced price: 200€
Students on a low budget who struggle financially to take part in the course, may apply for the reduced price via the scholarship section in the registration form. A committee will decide about the applications for the reduced price before you receive the payment link.
Registration link: To be announced
Timeline:
- Date t.b.a.: start of pre-registration
- Date t.b.a.: opening of the payment period and announcement of the scholarship recipients (the students will receive a payment link from UMA by that date)
- Date t.b.a.: final payment deadline
ITAS Contact: info@itas-uni.eu (questions about course content)
UMA contact: asiacatedra@uma.es (questions about registration, payments, reduced price)
Accommodation:
For those who seek accommodation in the Karma Guen Buddhist Centre during the course, please contact karmaguen@diamondway-center.org about your request and state that you are coming for the Tibetan course.
Transport:
If you need a shuttle from Malaga airport or from the bus station in Velez-Malaga to Karma Guen, please contact kgtd@online.de.
Remark:
Please, note that Karma Guen will also host a dharma course for Diamond Way practitioners in parallel to the Tibetan course with travelling teachers followed by a programme with Jigme Rinpoche (t.b.c.). For further details, see here:
https://www.karmaguen.org/event/easter-course-2026/
Outlook:
The next course, Classical Tibetan 6, again a reading class, though on a different genre, will probably take place in autumn 2026.
