RYI STUDENT BLOG

I took this photo when I finished school one day, chancing upon the monks who had just finished their evening Puja. Their yellow robes were rather conspicuous against the white walls and marble ground. This reminds me of some words said by previous masters in those commentaries, that one should respect even tiny piece s of red or yellow cloth , as they are representations  of the auspicious Three Jewels. In this so-called " time of degeneration " , we are still able to study full-time the dharma, the scientific method that brings mundane and super-mundane benefits to both ourselves and others, and get to call ourselves practitioners , I guess for this , or for this scene alone , I am already grateful. This is my first time in this country. As a first-year BA student at Rangjung Yeshe Institute, my focus here is on the Tibetan language and Buddhist philosophy. The language course here is very intensive: B efore I came here, I’ve finished the alphabet and pronun...

Hello, I’m Pemba,  a 3rd year BA student. Having been brought up in a multi-cultured community, I grew up learning and being most familiarized in our national language, ‘Nepali’, which is the common language for all ethnics and communities of Nepal. I had my schooling in English medium school, so I ended up getting used to Nepali and English language only, rather than my own mother tongue.  Since my parents were from different castes so neither of them communicated to me and my siblings through their respective mother tongues. We were socialized as typical city’s children.  As a result, I ended up being alienated to my own family languages, ‘Sherpa’ and ‘Tamang’ which has very close relation with Tibetan language since both languages were originated from Tibet.  As I grew up becoming more aware and enthusiastic about my family religion, ‘Buddhism’ and its profound philosophy, I realized how important it was for me learn ‘Tibetan’ to be able to understand the t...

The Tibetan version of Buddhist canon whether sutra or shastra, is treated as the most authentic or significant version for the study and practice of Buddhism in modern days.  It is undoubtedly as it was given with extraordinary care, consideration and every possible skillful means during the transmission, translation and interpretation from the original sources.  The Tibetan version of Buddhist canon therefore has the quality to serve for us to comprehend the core message, the message what the Buddhist original canon has to convey and elucidate.   Therefore, it seems that the study of Tibetan language is crucial to study to understand Buddhism in a far better way. Evidently, a numbers of Buddhist sutras and shastras have been translated and interpreted into modern languages whereby one can study Buddhism and advance knowledge in it, although a number of significant issues with the translation and interpretation of key terminologies are yet to be...

 Pale sunrise in Boudhanath from my rooftop I came to Nepal for the first time in 2013, when I started my studies at RYI. At that time, I was  quite overwhelmed by everything, without any knowledge of Buddhism and university studies as I  was.  During that first year, it was difficult for me to have fun while studying. I definitely did not  appreciate all the things I learned here, and I was terribly lazy. But now I know better! So, I would like  to share a few things that I have learned to appreciate while studying here at RYI. The first thing is to really appreciate the whole process of studying. Maybe it is only me, but I still  feel the same childish excitement when I study Tibetan and realize that I understand what I am  reading, even if it´s only a simple sentence. I am still overwhelmed by the fact that I can read and  (sometimes) understand Tibetan. Often, when I sit up at night, translating for class, I think about this....

A classmate recently approached me asking about ways to improve her Tibetan. This is something I reflect on a lot (as I’m sure we all do!)  and, although there must already be  many such lists, I thought I might share a few less common approaches in light of the variety individual  learning-styles. 1.) Wechat (Tib: skad ‘phrin ) For me, Wechat has been of immense benefit. The walkie-talkie style voice chat allows you to listen to messages as many times as needed  until you understand. Once you understand you can response with the possibility of canceling your message before sending in case you make a mistake. This gives you a little more space to recall grammar, words, pronunciation, etc. than in a real-time conversation. There are also  subscription accounts that send you short articles about Tibetan issues in composed in literary Tibetan as well as Tibetan lessons spoken in both  Lhasa and Amdo dialects. This is a really great way to continuous...

My new path started at the end of he monsoon season of 2012, when I first entered the class in the monastery, grabbed myself a cushion, and tried to understand how I am supposed to cross my legs, and to make them stay crossed, for the next hour and a half. When the Lopon (a term which I had no idea at that time what it meant) entered the class, I stood up like everyone - but unlike everyone else, I stayed frozen in my place, amazed by what's going on around me. Amazed by this new world into which I stepped. When I first landed here my Tibetan vocabulary (or what I thought was Tibetan) was limited to two words: "dalai" and "lama", and honestly, even the meaning of those two I didn't quite understand (it turns out they are Mongolian loan-words), and the only connection I had to the dharma was a picture of me next to a stupa from a trip I once made to India. But still there was something that drew me to come here, to Nepal, to study Tibetan and to try ...

      In the field of Tibetan Buddhist studies many scholars focus almost exclusively on religion, ignoring aspects of culture beyond what directly bears relevance to the history and development of Buddhism. It is true that, if it were not for Buddhism, most of us would not be nearly as concerned about Tibetan issues. I can also see this partial attitude reflected in my own thinking at times and, considering the looming gap dividing western and Tibetan cultures, I would not be surprised if others can also relate to this. Some local customs often strike us as impractical, illogical, or mere superstition. Does tossing rice around and burning butter really please the three jewels?  Conversely, other scholars are merely interested in the material culture of the Tibetan people. This is equally dissatisfying. Some peers, absorbed by everything Tibetan (merely by the fact of it being Tibetan), appear to be under the spell of western romanticism.  Yet if we adop...

As I look back at the year that I have spent here at Rangjung Yeshe Institute, perhaps the most enjoyable, yet challenging, aspect of my studies has been learning the Tibetan language. For years I have felt a strong desire to be able to speak, read, and write in the Tibetan language, and from the moment I started studying here a little more than one year ago, I felt an overwhelming sense of joy and heartfelt appreciation for the opportunity that was being afforded to me. The ability to converse with local Tibetans, and to begin to understand the sacred texts written by great masters and the dharma talks that are given is something that has brought an incredible sense of satisfaction into my life.  Although I still have much to learn--and of course the learning never ends--since I have set goals for myself and feel like I have put forth a respectable amount of effort in my studies, I feel like I am making decent progress and that my aspirations are well within reach. While the...

Do you have memory problems? Join the Shedra Do you have concentration problems? Join the Shedra Guaranteed anti-aging and anti-Alzheimer program! Study Tibetan, and when you come home, your work will feel like a holiday playground. You will appreciate it so much and also think that you get paid without doing any effort! Study Tibetan and encourage your brain, combine it with prostrations at the magnificent Stupa, and get fit to fight all the demons in this and next-coming life's challenges! If you, on top of that, do some regular meditation in-between, you will be unbreakable and guaranteed a wrinkle-free mind!" Ingrid from Sweden Beginning Tibetan Summer Program 2012

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, ...

Hello out there, I would like to share my experience of this year’s summer course.  As you may or may not know the Rangjung Yeshe Institute offers several summer courses on Sanskrit, colloquial Tibetan, and Buddhist Philosophy.  The year before I did the “Intermediate Tibetan” and this summer I went for the “Advanced Tibetan”.   We were about ten students in the course and I have to say that the level of Tibetan-skills in the group was pretty high (I personally, being really bad with languages, was clearly on the lower end of the class).  The course-program was split into two: One part was thought by Phuntsok, the main Tibetan teacher in the Shedra.  It covered a traditional perspective on Tibetan grammar plus several readings, mainly from his Holiness the Dalai Lama’s autobiography (in English: “My Land and my People”).   Phuntsok has a very light way of teaching and many times we had a good laugh in class.  Nonetheless we covered in the 8 weeks...