PALI 201 | Intermediate Pali I
Enrollment is open for self-study.
Course Description
In this course we are going to further our Pali grammatical skills by plunging into the fascinating literature of the Pali nikāyas. The Pali nikāya texts contain the discourses of the historical Buddha. Sometimes these teachings are presented in a nutshell, as in the synthetic discourses of the Saṃyutta Nikāya (Connected Discourses) and Aṅguttara Nikāya (Numerical Discourses). These texts are ideal for intermediate students, and therefore in Pali 201 we will work on a selection of Pali texts from these two collections. The suttas we will read will cover the major topics of Early Buddhism and Theravāda, such as anattā “no-self”, the relationship between mind and body, the four Noble Truths, samatha (“calm”) and vipassanā (“insight”) types of meditation, including the classic descriptions of the jhānas “meditative absorptions”, along with famous similes such as the Acrobat simile, the Hawk simile, the Monkey simile, and other parables that illustrate the celebrated the Buddha’s pariyāya-desanā (“roundabout teaching” “teaching by different methods”). We will balance the grammatical, philosophical and poetic aspects of the discourses.
Supporting materials and notes for the reading of the Pali texts will be provided by the instructor. Each week we will focus on one topic of the grammar or style in Pali. In sum, this course is a real immersion into the most ancient Pali literature, and it will help students consolidate the fundamentals of grammar and acquire specific skills for reading nikāya prose.
The course will provide students with all necessary materials, although we may also recommend additional materials for students to purchase if they desire.
Students who have not completed PALI 101-103 with us are welcome to join, so long as they have sufficient language training.
Students Will Receive:
- 18 Pre-recorded class sessions (90 min each)
- 5 ACP Credits
- 27 Hours of CE credit with YA
- Yogic Studies Certificate (PDF)
- Access to the private Community Forum
Dr. Aleix Ruiz-Falqués
Head of the Department of Pali and Languages at the Shan State Buddhist University, Khyentse Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Buddhist Studies, and Lecturer of Pali at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Aleix Ruiz-Falqués teaches graduate courses in Pali language and literature in Taunggyi, Myanmar. Aleix completed his PhD at the University of Cambridge in 2016, under the supervision of Prof. Eivind Kahrs. His research focuses on traditional grammar and scholasticism in Pali, particularly in Myanmar. More broadly, he is interested in ancient Indian literature (kāvya) and philosophy or knowledge systems (śāstra).
After completing his PhD in 2015, Aleix worked for two years on Pali manuscripts in Thailand, and he spent one year doing independent research in India. In 2018, he moved to the Shan State in Myanmar, where his long-term project is to teach and learn the Pali and Burmese languages and literature in a traditional monastic setting. One of his long-term goals is to reveal and demystify the treasures of the Pali medieval tradition that explain how we still possess the ancient words of the Buddha today.
This course is eligible for 27 hours of Continued Education (CE) credits with Yoga Alliance
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