Introduction to Pali

Textbooks & Aids

Intro - Declensions
Intro - Chart
Pali Primer
Pali Primer Language Guide
Key to Pali Primer
Exercises and Answers for “A New Course in Reading Pali” by Gair and Karunatillake
Duroiselle's Practical Grammer of Pali Language

Instructor

Stephen Sas holds a Doctorate of Music degree from the Juilliard school and has performed globally as a classical double bassist. He has appeared with many of the major musical institutions of the New York area and has toured across North and South America, Europe and Asia, including a historical performance with the New York Philharmonic in Pyongyang, North Korea.

A student of Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi for many years, he has studied the Pāli suttas, the Pāli Language, and Abhidhamma under Venerable Bodhi’s tutelage and teaches Pali at the Union Theological Seminary. He has participated in numerous meditation retreats with Sayalay Susīlā and Bhante Gunaratana. Co-founder of “Sutta and the City“. an organization of lay people who would commit to making the Pali Suttas accessible to all who seek their wisdom

#1 – An Introduction to Pali

What is Pali? – Its relationship to other Indo-European Languages – The Pali Alphabet – The idea of Conjugation and Declension – Nominative and Accusative

Week 1 Outline

#2 – Review of Nominative and Accusative Cases

Structure and Layout of the Pali Canon – Two uses of the Instrumental Case – Ablative Case

Week 1 Outline

#3 – Dative and Genitive Case

Introduction to the Absolutive form of verbs

Week 2 Outline

#4 – Locative and Vocative case

A look at the Four Great References.
Introduction to the Absolutive, or Indeclinable Participle

Week 2 Outline

#5 – The Absolutive and Infinitive Forms of Verbse

Full conjugation of present tense in 3 persons, singular and plural Personal pronouns. Introductionn to Gair & Karunatillak.

#6 – Final Class on Pali Primer

The grammar and syntax of going for refuge.
G&K Lesson 1, Initial Readings from the Anguttara Nikaya.
Does Pali use punctuation?

 

#7 – Gair and Karunatillake Lesson 1 -Initial Readings

The usage of ca and vā; The four right strivings

#8 – Gair and Karunatillake Lesson 1 – Further Readings

The word ‘anuyogo’ and the idiom ‘cittaṃ pariyādāya tiṭṭhati’ explained, Looking up words in the dictionary – several resources, A first look at Lesson 2, verses from the Dhammapada

#9 – Gair and Karunatillake Lesson 2 – Initial Readings

The Dhammapada – Intro to Pali verse, Uses of the Infinitive, Equational Sentences, Accusative of time, The correlative construction

#10 – Gair and Karunatillake Lesson 2 – Further Readings

Various kinds of demonstrative pronouns
Relative and demonstrative clauses
Assaji’s verse to Sariputta
Different ways nouns become adjectives

#11 – Gair & Karunatillake Lesson 3- Initial Readings

Interrogative Pronouns
Two verbs ‘to be’: atthi and bhavati
The Optative mood
The Present Participle

#12 – Gair & Karunatillake Lesson 3- Initial Readings (continued)

Continuing with the Optative
The Imperative
yasmā…tasmā constructions
the use of ‘sakkā’

#13 – Gair & Karunatillake Lesson 3- Further Readings

More readings from the Anguttara Nikaya
The First Noble Truth

#14 – Gair & Karunatillake Lesson 4- Initial Readings

Pali numbers
The number 1 in singular and plural!
Two meanings of the verb bhāsati

#15 – Gair & Karunatillake Lesson 4- Initial Readings

Pronouns in the feminine
Some new forms of the Optative
Genitive of Fear

#16 – Gair & Karunatillake Lesson 4- Initial and Further Readings

The -māna form of a present participle
The noun ‘go’ for cow
Various types of assemblies

#17 – Gair & Karunatillake Lesson 4 – Further Readings

Various types of assemblies
Readings from the Dhammapada
the terms ‘etadagga’, ‘atthaññu’, ‘dhammaññu’, etc

#18 – Gair & Karunatillake Lesson 4- Further, Lesson 5- Initial Readings

The “wheel turing monarch”, the full declension of personal pronouns/ enclitic forms; -vant and mant nouns and adjectives; the vocative “bho”; the idomatic phrase, ‘etaṃ ṭhānaṃ vijjati’

#19 – Gair & Karunatillake Lesson 5- Initial Readings

What is a brahmin?
More readings from the Dhammapada
Using Duroiselle’s Pāli Grammar
‘akubbato’ and ‘sakubbato’
excerpts from the Maṅgala Sutta

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