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Classical Tibetan is the literary language of the Himalayan Buddhist world—the vehicle for an enormous corpus of Vajrayāna literature: doctrinal treatises, tantric sādhanas, translations of Sanskrit texts, medical works, and the biographies of great masters. Forged during the imperial translation projects of the seventh through ninth centuries, Classical Tibetan preserves an entire library of Indian Buddhist thought—including many works whose Sanskrit originals are now lost.

Our courses teach the Tibetan script, the Wylie system of transliteration, and the grammar of the classical language, building toward independent reading of Buddhist texts. Throughout, the emphasis falls on dharma vocabulary and cultural competence—not translation as a mechanical exercise, but the capacity to read Tibetan Buddhist literature on its own terms. Designed for practitioners, translators, researchers, and anyone drawn to the textual heart of the Tibetan tradition.