Melanie Slomka, a Translator Training Program Graduate

By -

A Few months have passed since Melanie Slomka, from Paris, completed the Translator Training Program at Rangjung Yeshe Institute.  When classes finished in May, she went straight back to Paris to meet her root guru, Sogyal Rinpoche and to spend some time with family and friends before going back to north India to start teaching westerners at a Monastery there. Melanie and her boyfriend then spent about 10 days learning how to make didgeridoos, one of Melanie’s interests. She says, 
“I knew that the next 5 months I would be in a monastery, so I tried to enjoy my holidays as much as possible!”
 Now, she has taken the step from student to teacher and is guiding a group of Westerners in colloquial Tibetan and translating philosophy teachings from a Khenpo into English. The program is located in Namdroling Monastery in south India and is run by Rigpa. She says that she thinks the Translator Training Program at Rangjung Yeshe Institute has given her the confidence, fluency and skills in spoken Tibetan that she was lacking before and the ability to translate simple teachings to an audience. At Rangjung Yeshe Institute we had different teachers for each class she says, 
“but here I'm the only one supervising the whole thing, which is a bit challenging sometimes. I'm correcting the students in the morning when they translate, I teach the colloquial grammar class, I do the listening comprehension session, I give tests, and I make sure the tutors are doing their job.”

Apart from running the program for western students, Melanie is also attending classes with the nuns. Melanie feels that it has been very special to have class with some of the nuns who are teaching at Namdroling Nunnery. In international study programs within Tibetan Buddhism, it is much more common that the teacher is male, a Khenpo or a Lopon, but Melanie hopes that this will change in the future. As she explains, 
“I really hope that western Shedras all over the world will now invite more and more nuns to teach, as it really feels unbalanced the way it is. More female teachers would also attract more female students, as they will feel more comfortable and inspired. I am sure that when these nuns begin to teach Tibetan lay people and Westerners, everybody, men and women, will feel as inspired as I am now.”
~ Moa Brattwall from Sweden

Comments

japanese website translation said…
excellent program! amazing blog.
October 23, 2011 at 4:55 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pharping – The Sacred Site of Asura Cave and Yangleshö

By -
Image
Pharping Azura Cave Monastery Every year Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche leads several seminars and retreats in Asura Cave monastery in Pharping. Many of us have heard that Asura Cave is a very special, yet we are often a bit unsure what exactly happened there and why it is so special. Thus I wanted to share with you, what I have found out so far.  Pharping: Pharping is a small but expanding village about 16 km southwest of Kathmandu, on a hillside above the main valley. Pharping (pronounced "Farping" by the Nepalis) is known to the Tibetans as Yangleshö and also sometimes as Phamting, as some say it is the birthplace of the Phamtingpa, the heart-­‐son of Naropa. Chatral Rinpoche explains that the 'Indian Phamting' (Tib. rgya gar pham thing ) derives its name from the presence of the great hood of the Naga king Lhakmachen or Shesha, which marks it as a site of his power. As such, learned masters of the past used to called it Phanathingu (Tib. pha na thinggu ), which
Read more

The Five Best Restaurants in Bouddha for Shedra Students

By -
Image
  Are you new to the Shedra? Not having much money to spend? Have to study a lot? Here comes a brief guide and recommendation to some nice places in Bouddha suitable for the average Shedra student, old time favorites and newly rising stars. Double Dorje 5. Double Dorje:             A cozy small restaurant, run by a sweet old Tibetan woman. It is known to tourists and is a place visited frequently by westerners since it has been recommended by various travel guides as a nice, cozy, local restaurant. Particularly in the evening in the winter, it becomes a great place to study, since unlike the other restaurants it is completely closed and inside. Thus the place stays warm and as long as there are no power cuts the ballon lamps create a warm and home-like atmosphere.             Also if you wish to spend the afternoon there, it is known for its special home-made apple pie and masala tea for a very reasonable price. For lunch and dinner two dishes became especially ch
Read more

The Hidden Story of the Golden Temple at Patan

By -
Image
There are many stories in Nepal. Because these stories are very interesting-- as last time I had shared the story about the Jacket from the Naga land -- I would like to introduce the story of the Golden Temple in Patan at this time.   When people talk about Patan, the Golden Temple will show up in everyone’s mind. The Golden Temple is one of the famous Buddhist temples in Patan. However, few people know that there was a love story, which was between a king and a queen, behind the holy Golden Temple . Once upon a time, there was a king called Marwad and he had a lovely queen called Pingala. They loved each other very much. As a return for his lovely queen, King Marwad planned to make an image of Shakyamuni as a gift to her. When the image had been finished, another king, from other country, asked for a gift as a sign of good relations with King Marwad’s kingdom. For the people’s safety in the country, Queen Pingala chose to give up the image for the peaceful relationship wi
Read more