“Studying Tibetan language at the textual level is one of the best ways to learn the practice and philosophy of Tibetan Buddhism…”   — José Ignacio Cabezón, PhD

Dictionaries, Grammars, Tools

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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

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

Tibetan Language Teaching Tools and Class Exercises for Maitripa College Students

  • Resources to support students of Classical Tibetan classes at Maitripa College, including recordings of Yangsi Rinpoche pronouncing the alphabet, suffixes, prefixes, superscribed and subscribed letters, as well as short glossaries of terms with definitions, phonetics, and audio recordings of Yangsi Rinpoche pronouncing each term.  Special access to Maitripa College translations are also available. 
  • Click here for details and access to these resources