If Mal/Eng Is Not Your First Language
It is important for meditators to be able to clearly grasp the technique. Inability to understand instructions and discourses can significantly impede the progress a meditator is likely to have during a course.
All courses offered at Dhamma Ketana are bilingual, with Malayalam and English instructions available simultaneously for all sessions. In general, the centre does not offer full support in other languages. The centre can, however, provide facilities for evening discourses in one or two additional languages. Meditators are requested to go through the self-assessment below and understand the range of support the centre can offer.
Malayalam/English Skills Assessment
The Malayalam/English Skills Assessment below allows you to determine your Language level so we can provide the materials you will need on the course.
- Group 1 “My Malayalam/English is fluent”
- Group 2 “My Malayalam/English is passable”
- Group 3 “I speak little or no Malayalam/English”
Group 1: “My Malayalam/English is fluent”
This means that Malayalam/English is either your dominant language or you are fully proficient in one of these languages. This means you can expect to watch a movie in one of these languages and comfortably grasp its content. We provide full support for this group at the centre.
When you fill out an application online, please enter that you are “Group 1” in the last box, the one marked “Anything you wish to add to the above information?”
Group 2: “My Malayalam/English is passable”
This means that Malayalam/English is NOT your dominant language but you can understand one of these languages if spoken slowly and also express yourself in a limited but comprehensible way. The centre can try to offer the 1-hour daily evening discourse to students in this group in their native language. Usually the centre offers this support for only one additional language each course.
When you fill out an application online, please enter that you are “Group 2” and mention your preferred language(s) in the last box, the one marked “Anything you wish to add to the above information?”
Group 3: “I speak little or no Malayalam/English”
This group can be supported at the centre only if at least one other member of your preferred language happens to be attending the course at the same time and feels comfortable acting as translator for a few minutes daily. It is hoped meditators appreciate the lack of capacity within the centre to pre-arrange translation services in other languages.
When you fill out this person’s application online, please enter that the applicant is “Group 3” and also note the applicant’s preferred language(s) in the last box, the one marked “Anything you wish to add to the above information?” Also please put your name, email and telephone number in the same space, so that we may contact you if there are questions about the application.
To apply for a course see the steps below.
How to apply for a course
- To apply for a course, please finish reading these steps and then visit the Course Schedule page. When you apply for a course you will first see the Introduction to the Technique and Code of Discipline. Please read it carefully as you will be required to follow it during your course.
- Once you have finished reading the Technique and Code of Discipline, fully and completely, fill out all the sections of the application form and submit it. An application is required to register for all courses. You will receive an email confirming your application has been received. This is not a notice of acceptance to the course.
- In two weeks or more (due to the large volume of applications) you will receive either an acceptance to the course or a notice that you have been placed on a waitlist because the course is already full. All correspondence will be through email so please provide an email address.
- Once you are accepted into the course you will receive an email asking you to confirm your attendance online in order to secure your place in the course. If you do not confirm, your space will likely be given to a student on the waitlist.
- If you choose to send a paper application through the mail your application will be accepted in the order received. (Please remember that mailed applications take much longer to receive than applications that are sent electronically.) Please provide an email address in your application so we can respond to you in a timely way.