Newsletter 01/2010

ITAS K

Preview Courses

Translating
for Khenpo
Ngedon

Staff-Meeting

ITAS in Russia

ITAS Wishes for 2010

Newsletter 01/2010
About ITAS Easter Course 2010 Preview Courses 2010
Translating for Khenpo Ngedon 1 +2 Staff-Meeting
ITAS in Russia ITAS Wishes
About ITAS
Our Academic Programme is an intense
exploration of Buddhist languages and
texts along with the study of Tibetan Bud-
dhist history and culture. ITAS offers trai-
ning in a wide range of subjects including:
• Classical Tibetan
• Colloquial and modern Tibetan
• Indian languages, such as Sanskrit
• Linguistic skills: the theory of
translation and techniques such
as interpreting, lexicography etc.
• History of Buddhism
• Research skills in academia,
particularly in the field of Buddhist
and Tibetan studies
• The study of the Buddhist teachings
A Part-time Study: ITAS-Certificate
Tibetan Studies
Our academic programme is designed as a
part time study course covering a period of
six years. Students are required to attend two
block-taught courses per year which focus on
language skills. In between the blocks intense
self study is required (approx. 20h a week).
This study is supported by distance teaching
in the form of e-learning. All courses are deli-
vered in English.
ITAS K
ITAS in Short:
ITAS aims at academic level teaching and
research on the subject of Tibetan Bud-
dhism and its languages for Diamondway
Students and Scholars. It combines the
Anglo-American BA system, philological
precision from continental universities,
and knowledge and experience of the Ka-
gyu tradition.
ITAS helps to save the transmission of
knowledge and to support the whole line-
age by producing adequate research and
translations and by representing an Insti-
tute of Higher Education. With the aim to
build cultural ties between east and west,
we are collaborating with western uni-
versities and strengthening our contacts
with Tibetan lamas and scholars. You can
find more detailed information on our
website: www.itas-uni.eu
Newsletter 01/2010 ITAS K

About ITAS Easter Course 2010 Preview Courses 2010

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ITAS in Russia ITAS Wishes

Easter Course 2010

27.03.-10.04.2010

Course Introduction: 27.03. (Evening)

Days free: 03. - 04.04.2010
Exams: 09.04.2010 Class. Tib. II Cohort 1-3
10.04.2010 Convers. II Cohort 1-3
Winter 2010 Class. Tib I Cohort 4

Classical Tibetan I (New intake / Cohort 4)

This module is the beginning of our certificate programme and the first part of an
introduction to the Classical Tibetan language using important Kagyu texts such as
the Jewel Ornament of Liberation, the 9th Karmapa‘s Ocean of Definite Meaning, the
3rd Karmapa‘s Mahamudra wishes, Milarepa‘s life story and his songs, and life stories
of the Karmapas. The exam will take place in winter 2010 before Classical Tibetan II
starts. The next new intake will not be before 2012/2013

Participation and Entry Requirements

You need to have a good command of the English language and you are expected to
know the Tibetan alphabet before the course starts. Please use the following ressour-
ces in the internet: http://www.lrc.cornell.edu/medialib/ti/twc
You‘ll find small video sequences on this page showing how to write Tibetan letters
Please study the following parts: „The Alphabet“, „Writing Tibetan“, „The Superscri-
bed Letters“, „The Subscribed Letters“, „The Prefixes“, „The Suffixes“, „The Syllable“,
„The Sentence“, „Irregular Pronunciation“.
Newsletter 01/2010 ITAS K

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ITAS in Russia ITAS Wishes

Reading Classical Tibetan II (Cohort 1-3)

In this course we are going to read texts for the study of Tibetan Buddhist history.
This course will deepen reading capacity in a particularly challenging genre and im-
prove the ability to research historical contexts.

Colloquial Tibetan Conversation II (Cohort 1-3)

This course will continuue to focus on spoken Tibetan in conversation. We will engage
in intense conversation about daily life and the Buddhist teachings.

Participation and Entry Requirements

Reading Classical Tibetan II is open to all who have successfully completed Reading
Classical Tibetan I at ITAS. We also welcome participants from other universities who
have a documented comparative qualification in classical Tibetan (ca. 4-5 semesters
of study) from a recognized university. Colloquial Tibetan Conversation II is open to
all who have successfully completed Colloquial Tibetan I+II and Conversation I at
ITAS or a comparative course at a university. ITAS students will also need to have
passed the distant learning exam of Modern Literary Tibetan part II as well as further
research context assignments.

Registration and payment

Registration will be open between 1 November and 20 March.
To be eligible for the early payment discount the payment and the registration has to
be in until the 12th of February.
Normal course fee: 300.-€ (registration or payment after 12.02.2010)

The following addresses are available for questions and registration!

Course related questions: course-info@itas-uni.eu
Regarding registration, accommodation, etc.: registration@itas-uni.eu
Registration:
http://www.itas-uni.eu/registration.html
Newsletter 01/2010 ITAS K

About ITAS Easter Course 2010 Preview Courses 2010

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ITAS in Russia ITAS Wishes

Preview
Summer 2010
28.08. – 11.09.2010

Attendants: Cohort 1-3

Content:Advanced Classical -
Tibetan Reading 1+2 (ACTR 1+2)

Schedule:
Kick-Off: 28.08 (Evening)
ACTR1: 29.08. - 02.09.
ACTR2: 06.09. – 10.09.
Days free: 04.09. – 05.09.
Exams: 03.09. ACTR1
11.09. ACTR2

Winter 2010
26.12. – 08.01.2010

Attendants: Cohort 4

Content: Classical Tibetan 2 (CLT 2)

Schedule:
Kick-Off: 26.12. (Evening)
CLT2: 27. – 31.12.
03. – 07.01.
Days free: 01. – 02.01.
Exams: 08.01. CLT2
Newsletter 01/2010 ITAS K

About ITAS Easter Course 2010 Preview Courses 2010

Translating for Khenpo Ngedon 1 +2 Staff-Meeting

ITAS in Russia ITAS Wishes

Translating for Khenpo Ngedon

Part 1

The fact that we needed to transla-

te Khenpo Ngedon at the 2009 Study
Course came as a surprise to us - one
day before the course started: at least
we did not have too much time to worry
about it beforehand.

It was a thrilling experience, indeed it

was very inspirational how much we can
achieve by attending part-time courses
in KG.

Khenpo made our job significantly ea-

sier: before each lecture we discussed
many of the terms he was going to use
and he proved to be very compassionate
during the lectures in terms of his word
choice. However, our thorough linguis-
tic training at the ITAS courses made it
possible to translate complex sentences
on the go, while I also made good use of
the classical introduction in basic Bud-
dhist texts I received at the KIBI cour-
ses in the recent years.

Author: Kamilla
Newsletter 01/2010 ITAS K

About ITAS Easter Course 2010 Preview Courses 2010

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ITAS in Russia ITAS Wishes

Translating for Khenpo Ngedon

Part 2

In September 2009 the few students of

ITAS Cohort 1 gathered in Karma Guen
again, this time to try the real Tibetan
stuff! In the frame of ITAS course Inter-
preting Tibetan Lectures Kamilla Mojzes
from Hungary and me were about to sit
next to khenpo Ngedon and translate
his lecture for the first time.

Khenpo Ngedon, among other teachers,

held 4 lectures in Tibetan, mainly on
emptiness. The plan was straight-for-
ward: the day before we prepare with
khenpo, next day we translate on stage
and more or less hidden Jim will check
how we are doing. It turned out in the
end we somehow manage not to confu-
se everybody and everything with our
translations, but as you can imagine, it
was not that straight-forward indeed.

Many thanks again to both Jim, who

trusted us, helped and coached us a lot
and khenpo, who showed immesurable
patience and cooperated in a best way.

Author: Mirek
Newsletter 01/2010 ITAS K

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ITAS in Russia ITAS Wishes

Staff Meeting between the years

Also this year, the staff Team used the

days between the holidays to meet in
Karma Guen. Unlike recent years, the
weather was mild, which all of us felt
very comfortable, because Spaniards are
not familiar with things like heaters.

For the first three days the academic team

concentrated on academic topics, such
as new intake and course planning up to
2012. The 31th December was for team
building, where Undine and Thomas used
two interesting methods for (inter cultu-
ral) communication. The rest of the time
until 3rd January was taken up with IT,
finance, library stuff and marketing.

Overall our meetings were a combination

of successful and productive outcomes
and good, effective communication. Eve-
ryone worked in teams and groups well
into the evening hours. It was clear that as
a result of direct contact with each other,
the process was made faster and easier.
So we plan to meet again from 19th-21st
November in the EC.
Newsletter 01/2010 ITAS K

About ITAS Easter Course 2010 Preview Courses 2010

Translating for Khenpo Ngedon 1 +2 Staff-Meeting

ITAS in Russia ITAS Wishes

Newsletter 01/2010 ITAS K

About ITAS Easter Course 2010 Preview Courses 2010

Translating for Khenpo Ngedon 1 +2 Staff-Meeting

ITAS in Russia ITAS Wishes

ITAS in Russia

We presented our stand during the Rus-

sian winter tour, 4-25 January 2010. 300
Buddhists travelled by train on a journey
which covered 10 `Russian towns and
included Buddhist lectures and courses
throughout. The stand gave out flyers
and leaflets with information about how
to get involved and receive ITAS news.
Newsletter 01/2010 ITAS K

About ITAS Easter Course 2010 Preview Courses 2010

Translating for Khenpo Ngedon 1 +2 Staff-Meeting

ITAS in Russia ITAS Wishes

ITAS Wishes for 2010

At our New Year‘s staff meeting each staff

member made a wish which they felt was
relevant for for him/herself and for ITAS.

We have the feeling that 2010 is going to

be great year. Here are our pictures and
our wishes.
Newsletter 01/2010 ITAS K

About ITAS Easter Course 2010 Preview Courses 2010

Translating for Khenpo Ngedon 1 +2 Staff-Meeting

ITAS in Russia ITAS Wishes

Newsletter 01/2010 ITAS K

About ITAS Easter Course 2010 Preview Courses 2010

Translating for Khenpo Ngedon 1 +2 Staff-Meeting

ITAS in Russia ITAS Wishes

Newsletter 01/2010 ITAS K

About ITAS Easter Course 2010 Preview Courses 2010

Translating for Khenpo Ngedon 1 +2 Staff-Meeting

ITAS in Russia ITAS Wishes

Newsletter 01/2010 ITAS K

About ITAS Easter Course 2010 Preview Courses 2010

Translating for Khenpo Ngedon 1 +2 Staff-Meeting

ITAS in Russia ITAS Wishes

ITAS?
Same same but
different.