TSTD 701: Buddhist Philosophical Traditions I

This is a series of specialized courses in Buddhist philosophy and scriptural interpretation taught by Khenpos and Lopons (monastic professors). The aim of this series is to deepen the knowledge of complex Buddhist philosophical topics and their relations to the broader field of Buddhist studies and apply more nuanced analyses of the primary source texts studied. Course readings are primarily classical Sanskrit treatises and their Tibetan commentaries in areas such as Abhidharma, Madhyamaka, and Yogācāra thought. In addition to taking exams in which the students will practice some of the traditional Tibetan arts of textual study, such as memorization and commentarial exegesis, students will write papers in which they will be required to reflect on the methodology of interpretation and translation as practiced within the living Tibetan Buddhist tradition and in light of modern disciplines and arts of philology and interpretation.

Prerequisites

None.