Do you want to learn to read Classical Tibetan? If you know how to read the Tibetan u-chen script (know the Tibetan alphabet and how letters combine to form syllables -- i.e., be able to recognize a root letter, vowel, prefix, superscript, subscript, suffix, and know how to pronounce the syllable) and how to recognize words, How to Read Classical Tibetan will show you--at your own pace--all the relationships that make Tibetan easy to read. It is a complete language course built around the exposition of a famous Tibetan text on the Summary of the General Path to Buddhahood written at the beginning of the fifteenth century.
All the language tools you need to work at your own pace are in one place. You won't need a dictionary because all of the words and particles are translated and explained upon every occurrence, and there is a complete glossary at the end of the book; every sentence is diagramed and completely explained so that you can easily see how the words and particles are arranged to convey meaning.
Because everything is always explained in every sentence, you will easily learn to recognize the recurrent patterns, making the transition from learning words to reading sentences much easier for you. As you study How to Read Classical Tibetan, you will learn to: recognize the syntactic relationships you encounter, understand the meaning signified, and translate that meaning correctly into English.
"Using this book, I improved my own comprehension and knowledge of Classical Tibetan. I am delighted to recommend it to all students who wish to deepen their understanding of this sacred language. Learning to read Classical Tibetan will give you direct access to the words of the great masters."--Ven. Segyu Choepel Rinpoche
Craig Preston has been studying Tibetan Buddhism for twenty-five years, beginning at the University of Virginia where he worked with American scholars and with many wonderful lamas. After moving to Ithaca, New York, he taught Classical Tibetan at Namgyal Institute for two years. He continues to teach Tibetan and Buddhist philosophy privately in Ithaca, New York at the Nagarjuna Language Institute (www.giganticom.com) which he founded. He has taught Classical Tibetan at Dharma Farm in Charlottesville, Virginia, and in Taos, New Mexico; and he teaches regular seminars at the Healing Buddha Foundation in Sebastopol, California. During the winter of 2002, at the request of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition in Taos, New Mexico, he taught a course on how to translate technical Tibetan Buddhist texts into English to a group of geshes from Sera-jay Monastic College.
"I can't think of a better way for English speakers to learn classical Tibetan than to study Preston's book. It's top-notch and easy to follow."-- Ani Thubten Chodron, author of Buddhism for Beginners and Working with Anger.
SNOW LION
06/28/2005
PAGES: 247
SIZE: 11 X 8.5
ISBN: 9781559391788
