It has been almost eight months since the LRZTP 9 two-year intensive Tibetan language course began in Lotsawa Rinchen Zangpo school in Dharamsala. On 14th December students gave their final exams for Module 3 of the first year of studies and started their long awaited and well deserved winter holiday. And although the first year of the program is not over yet, there will not be any more classes in 2023 and both students and teachers will return to school only after Losar, on 12th February 2024.
2023: What a year it was!
It has definitely been a year of hard and dedicated work on the part of the current twelve students of the program. Throughout three modules they have gone from basics of Tibetan colloquial language and simple conversations to advance grammar and being able to talk about such topics as the life of Lord Buddha or the significance of the Three Jewels. They have also started their training in translating classical Tibetan texts. Additionally, the students can now write and read the U Med script and began their practice in handwriting.
Certainly the year has been an adventure to everyone, and not always an easy time. The intensity of the program combined with first the monsoon humidity and rains, and more recently the winter cold have been a tough test of perseverance and motivation. But everyone has gotten through it and now charging their batteries before returning to school in two months’ time. Some of the students have gone to their homes, others have stayed in India to travel around and still others will continue practising their Tibetan either in Dharamsala or in south India.
Over the course of the last year the school has had quite a few very interesting guests. Following the visits by Ven. Kartsön, Isabelle Henrion-Dourcy and Ven. Tashi Choedup (you can find a brief mention of these in one of our articles), we welcomed Wendell – student of the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics and one of our graduates Ana, who studied in LRZTP 6. They visited and met our students to give them advice and support.
Towards the end of the year we had the honour to welcome Michele Martin, one of the most accomplished translators of Buddhadharma from Tibetan, author (Music in the Sky – about life and teachings of the 17th Karmapa) and student of His Holiness the 17th Karmapa and Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche. She helped Gene Smith establish BDRC and continues her work as a translator nowadays. She offered many inspiring stories from her life and encouraged everyone to keep on working hard for the benefit of the teachings.
Another wonderful guest was Donagh Coleman – a famed director of Tukdam. Between Worlds. He was extremely gracious to organize a screening of this documentary at our school. LRZTP had the privilege of participating in the creation of the movie by providing assistance in translation. After showing the film the director had interesting discussions with the students at dinner. His other films which pertain to the topic of Tibet are Stone Pastures and A Gesar Bard’s Tale.
Apart from having twelve students in the main course the school continues the online program “Foundations in Tibetan Language” which is now also on holiday, albeit shorter than the course in Dharamsala. Its students will return to their classes on 3rd January 2024 to begin Module 5, the advanced level.
The school never closes its door and always welcomes new students. If you would like to study Tibetan and train to become a translator/interpreter of the Buddhadharma, LRZTP is definitely a place for you. For those who already have knowledge of Tibetan language, there is always possibility to join. The registration for the online advanced level is now open. The same is true for the course in Dharamsala. The one year advanced level Dharma Tibetan language course (the second year for the current batch of students) will begin on 6th May 2024. Registration for both courses is now open. And the school always welcomes anyone who wishes to study one on one with our wonderful teachers (online and at school in Dharamsala) regardless of the level. You will find all the necessary information how to join the courses and individual classes on our website.
