Intensive Pali Course with Dr. Richard Gombrich
Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2012 9:24 pm
- Dear colleagues,
Mangalam Research Center for Buddhist Languages in Berkeley is pleased to
host the famous two-week intensive introduction to Pali taught by Professor
Richard Gombrich (University of Oxford). This will be the eleventh time Dr.
Gombrich has offered this highly successful course at various locations
around the world. The dates are January 7-18, 2013.
The course aims to enable students to read on their own the words of the
Buddha as recorded in the Tipitaka. Rather than memorization and
examinations, the focus is on developing the ability to make sense of Pali
texts. A basic component involves showing students how to use available
dictionaries, grammars, and translations. Students are also provided with
clear and simple tables that lay out the most common sets of inflections of
nouns, pronouns, and verbs. The course does include memorizing a few Pali
chants (which many Theravada Buddhists will already know); the emphasis
will, however, be on understanding each word in the chants. The
pronunciation of Pali will follow the Indian tradition, much as it is used
in Sri Lanka.
The course will be given in English over 11 days (no class on Sunday,
January 13). Participants should have a good understanding of spoken and
written English, as well as knowledge of common grammatical terms, such as
pronoun, relative clause, and transitive verb. There will be about six hours
of classroom work each day, in addition to which students will be expected
to work together as a group without a teacher for 2-3 hours per day. By the
end of the course, all students will be able to tackle Pali texts in the
original by themselves. The course is limited to 14 participants.
To apply, please submit an informal application by September 15, 2012 to
[email protected]. Include a short statement of purpose and a
description of language skills and how acquired; a letter of recommendation
for students affiliated with an institution of higher learning will be
helpful. Applicants will be notified whether they have been accepted by
September 30, 2012.
Tuition for the 11-day Intensive is $550. A vegetarian lunch will be served
to all participants every day the class meets. Lodging at a convenient
nearby location is available for approximately $40/night.
Selected bibliography:
Cone, Margaret, A Dictionary of PÄli. Part I: a kh. Oxford: PÄli Text
Society, 2001.
Cone, Margaret, A Dictionary of PÄli. Part II: g n. Bristol:: PÄli Text
Society, 2010.
Geiger, Wilhelm (tr. Batakrishna Ghosh; rev. K.R. Norman), A PÄli Grammar.
Oxford: PÄli Text Society, 1994.
Rhys Davids, T. W., & William Stede, A PÄli-English Dictionary. London: PÄli
Text Society, 1959.
Warder, A. K., Introduction to PÄli. 3rd ed. Oxford: PÄli Text Society,
1999.
Jack Petranker
Director, Mangalam Research Center
Project Coordinator, Buddhist Translators Workbench
510-809-1003
