What are the languages associated with each Buddhist school? Suppose I am really serious about following the path of Vajrayana Buddhism o the point of studying texts in their original and I speak only English. I assume that the best language to learn would be Tibetan. Is this correct? What other languages would be relevant for this?

For example, if you would like to study the various forms and schools of Christian thought, I would recommend learning mostly Greek, Latin and Hebrew, but also some Aramaic, Russian and German, in their ancient versions.

If, instead of Vajrayana, I wanted to follow the path of Mahayana, I would assume some kind of ancient Mandarin was the way to go. I assume that this is analogous for Theravada and Pali.

For each school of Buddhism, what would be the best languages to learn in order to be able to study the bulk of the canon associated to that school in its original and why?
Question: For each school of buddhism, what would be the best languages to learn in order to be able to study the bulk of the canon associated to that school in its original and why?


Learning Buddhism is like learning Judo. While it might help to know the meaning of some Japanese terms like Ne-waza, Tachi-waza, Nage-waza, etc. In no way it's a mandatory prerequisite for one to become a Judo master. One'll do just fine to know how to practice Ground techniques, Standing techniques, and Throws techniques. If language was the prerequisite then only Japanese fighters could win Judo tournaments (actually, a lot of them do, but not because they're Japanese, but because they really train their butts off). Similarly for Buddhism, it might help with some Sanskrit or Pali, but ultimately what really separates the noble disciple from the run-of-the-mill simply comes down to the level of dedication of one's time and effort into the cultivation of the Path. No shortcut, no secret obscure language, just pure sweat and tears (maybe no tears... :-) )