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KEY TO THE PALI SUTTAS 1
A basic hands-on course
Session 2 (Wed): 7, 14, 21, 28 August 2002
Session 3 (Tue): 8, 15, 22, 29 October 2002
[7.30-9.30 p.m. with break]
Brahm Education Centre
Peck Chuan Building #03-02,
116 Lavender St.,
Singapore
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To be an effective Buddhist student, speaker, teacher, scholar—or if you wish to discover early Buddhism for yourself—you need to know how to access the Pali Canon and know its study tools. This course teaches you the basic tools and techniques for the self-study of Buddhism, like how to:
Use the Pali Canon & Pali dictionaries (incl. newly-released Cone's Dictionary of Pali)
Locate suttas in the Pali Canon.
Look for translations of Buddhist texts in the library and on the Internet.
Study a sutta effectively.
Reasonably ascertain that a quoted text is authentic and properly translated.
How to obtain online sources and resources on early Buddhism.
Valuable notes will be provided.
This free 2-hour course over 4 weeks covers both theory and easy hands-on experience under the guidance of Piya Tan who specializes in Theravâda Buddhist studies. Please register by emailing: Full name, I/c No., Phone, Email, to libris@singnet.com.sg or contact Piya (6562 5471) so that we can reserve your notes for you.
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COURSE SYLLABUS
Lesson 1
1. The basic Pali alphabet. How Pali is written down (examples of popular and historical scripts).
2. How to use Pali-English dictionaries.
3. How to use Malalasekera's Dictionary of Pali Proper Names (DPPN).
Lesson 2
4. The Pali Canon and Extra-canonical works: a brief survey.
Handout. The Pali Canon and Extra-canonical works.
5. Text and Commentary: a brief introduction.
Handouts. (a) The Pali Canon: editions; (b) The Pali Commentaries.
6. Editions and translations: what is the difference?
D´gha Nikâya, Majjhima NikŒya, Saµyutta NikŒya, Aºguttara NikŒya, Khuddaka NikŒya
Lesson 3
7. How to locate a Pali text (translation): (a) Volume & page. (b) Sutta number, etc.
8. How to use the Pali Tipiakaµ Concordance (PTC).
9. How to use a reverse index.
10. Critical Pali Dictionary (CPD) reference system & textual hierarchy: a brief survey.
11. Online sources and resources:
(a) Websites on Pali and Buddhist studies: Online Pali Canons, dictionaries, etc.
(b) On-line journals and articles on Pali and Buddhist studies; using Pali fonts.
Lesson 4
12. Contents and purpose of the Nikãyas: a new discovery? (Summary)
13. Sutra Appreciation: Basic structure of a Pali sutta; how to study and share a Pali sutta.