Subject Guide Sections
- Dictionaries, Grammars, Tools
- Buddhist Texts: Databases, Catalogs, Digital Libraries
- Translation and Translating
- Tibetan Language Programs
“Studying Tibetan language at the textual level is one of the best ways to learn the practice and philosophy of Tibetan Buddhism…”
— José Cabezón, PhD, XIVth Dalai Lama Professor of Tibetan Buddhism at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a founding member of the Board of Trustees of Maitripa College
Dictionaries, Grammars, Tools
- Calendar Converter — Tibetan-Western
- Classical Tibetan Language Lab — Classical Tibetan language instructional (University of Toronto)
- Classical Tibetan Wiki — resources for Classical Tibetan grammar (Andrew Hughes)
- Digital Tibetan — Information and tools for working with digital Tibetan
- Online Transliteration Converter – Unicode-Wylie (Tibetan & Himalayan Library)
- Rangjung Yeshe Dharma Dictionary — Tibetan-English dictionary, Dharma glossaries, Resources
- Tibetan-English Dictionary (Christian Steinert)
- Tibetan Classical and Colloquial Translation Dictionary (Hughes)
- Tibetan to English Translation Tool (THL)
- TISE – Tibetan Wylie Input Utility for Windows
- Tsadra Foundation Resources & Tools
- Wylie Transliteration Overview: (Steinert)
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- Hackett Paul G. 2019. Tibetan Verb Lexicon: Second Edition Updated and Expanded. Shambhala. JABL
- Magee, William and Elizabeth Napper. 1993. Fluent Tibetan: A Proficiency Oriented Learning System. Snow Lion Publications. JABL (audio files)
- Preston, Craig. 2005. How to Read Classical Tibetan. Snow Lion Publications. JABL
- Wilson, Joe. 1992. Translating Buddhism from Tibetan. Snow Lion Publications. JABL (audio files and guide)
Buddhist Texts: Databases, Catalogs, Digital Libraries
- 84,000 — Kangyur
- Adarshah — Kangyur, Tengyur, Sungbum, and Yungdrung Bon works
- Asian Legacy Library Portal — Catalogs, scans, input, and translations for Himalaya and Inner Asia, South Asia, and East Asia Collections
- Buddhist Canons Research Database (AIBS and Columbia University) — Bibliographic information and full-text search 5,000 texts
- Buddhist Digital Resource Center (BDRC) — Digitized, cataloged, and archived over 17 million pages of Buddhist literature
- Digital Library of Library of Tibetan Works and Archives (LTWA) – Digitized collection of 3000+ rare and sacred manuscripts from the LTWA collection
- Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon – Original Sanskrit scriptures, over 600 texts
- Darma Downloads – Text collections, puja texts, audio, teachings
- Jangchub Lamrim Texts — Critical editions of all 18 Lamrim texts (5 vols), which His Holiness the Dalai Lama gave His discourse on during the Jangchup Lamrim Teachings.
- Lotsawa House — Tibetan texts and translations
- Tsadra Foundation Digital Resources – Publications and catalogs
- UMA-Tibet — Annotated translations of textbook literature in English and Chinese
Translation and Translating
- Cabezón, José Ignacio, chair. “Translating the Dharma.” 2010 International Conference on Tibetan Buddhism, Emory University. – Jeffrey Hopkins and Thupten Jinpa, keynote speakers; Gerardo Abboud, Sarah Harding, Timothy McNeill, and Geshe Dadul Namgyal, panelists.
- Doboom Tulku, ed. 1995. Buddhist Translation: Problems and Perspectives. Manohar. (Includes chapters by Cabezón, Napper, Ruegg, Wilson, and other noted scholars) (archive.org, JABL)
- Hackett Paul G. 2019. Learning Classical Tibetan: A Reader for Translating Buddhist Texts. Snow Lion. JABL
- Jinpa, Thupten. [n.d.] Thupten Jinpa on The Art of Translating Tibetan. A Wisdom Masterclass. (wisdomexperience.org)
- Ruegg, David Seyfort. 2016. “On Translating Buddhist Texts: A Survey and Some Reflections.” In Wangchuk Dorji, ed. Cross-cultural Transmission of Buddhist Texts: Theories and Practices of Translation. Department of Indian and Tibetan Studies, Universität Hamburg. (academia.edu)
- Translation and Transmission (Tsadra Foundation) — Meetings and conferences themed around the transmission of Tibetan Buddhism.
Tibetan Language Programs
- Dharma Farm – Classical Tibetan translation school founded by Bill Magee and Craig Preston
- Library of Tibetan Works and Archives Language Courses
- Lotsawa Rinchen Translator Program — Colloquial and Classical Tibetan
- Rangjung Yeshe Institute – Colloquial and Classical Tibetan, Sanskrit, Nepali
- UBC Sanskrit Learning Tools — University of British Columbia
- Tibetan Language Institute – David Curtis