About Norbulingka Academy Of Tibetan Culture

About the course

The purpose of AOTC is to provide a course of higher education in traditional Tibetan studies. The core subjects are: Buddhist Philosophy, Religion, Poetry, History, Literature and Medicine. Additionally, the students learn English, Chinese and computing. Until recently, students took a three-year course leading to an equivalent Batchelors degree and had the option to stay on for a further three years to complete a Masters degree. Now these two courses have been merged into a four-year course where the fourth year is spent writing a thesis on any aspect of their studies.

Below is a very brief summary of what is being taught for each subject:

Buddhist Philosophy, Religion, Poetry, History, Literature, Medicine, English, Chinese , Computing

Buddhist Philosophy and Religion

The students are taught from four main textbooks. These are:
a) Nangpe-Drubtha-Kor, The Buddhist Doctrine and Philosophy;
b) Jang-Chup-Lamrim-Drenpo, The Middle Graded Path of Bodhisattva, text by Tsongkapa;
c)Jang-Chup-Sempey-Choydpa-La-Jukpa, The Practitioner of the Greater Vehicle, teaching
of the Bodhisattva's character; and
d) Lek-Shey-Losel-Mig-Jeyd, The restoring eyesight of excellent qualities.

Poetry

The students are taught from two main textbooks. These are:
a) Tsang-Sey-Shayda, The melodious sound of the Lord Braham's daughter; and
b) Nyen-Ngag-Chidhen, The basic principles of poetry and literature.
They are also taught poetry from other sources, with the teacher writing out the poems for
the students and explaining their meaning. The students are also encouraged to write poetry.

History

The students are taught from two textbooks. The main textbook is: The Political History of Tibet by Shakabpa, volumes 1 and 2. This is supplemented by another textbook, Tep-De-Marpo by Tselpa Kunga Dorjee. In addition to teaching from these books, the teacher organises debates on important events in Tibet's history.

Medicine

The students are taught the philosophy and principles of Tibetan Medicine. Specifically, they are taught the 1st and 2nd Tantras, about the theories of the three humours, the different energies and the basics of diagnosis and treatment.

English:

There are three groups for English. One group is a beginner's class so the teacher speaks in both English and Tibetan. The other two groups are taught in English. For the first two years of the course, the emphasis is on improving the students' basic grammar, also giving them practice in speaking and writing English. In the third and final years, we widen the scope of the course to include other skills such as report writing, giving interviews, form-filling and making presentations. We also organise poetry competitions and debates in English.

Chinese

There are several different levels for the Chinese classes, but all students have now reached class 9 textbook level. Usually, on Mondays the students are taught from the text book; on Tuesdays the students are taught grammar; on Wednesdays they are taught how to form words and how to write sentences. The students are also taught reading skills and how to translate from Tibetan into the Chinese language.

Computing

The students are first given an introduction to computers, both the hardware and the software. They are taught how to assemble a computer and how to make connections to other devices, including a cd writer. They are shown how to use different software packages including MS Office, MS Access, Excel, Word and PowerPoint; also Adobe PageMaker and Photoshop. Adobe Pagemaker is used for the writing and editing of Tibetan script.

AOTC, Norbulingka Institute, PO Sidhpur, Distt-Kangra 176057, Himachal Pradesh
Tel: +91-1892-246402/246405 Fax: +91-1892-46404 Email: NorlingCollege@yahoo.com