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Ordained Sangha
His Holiness the Dalai Lama meeting Lama Zopa Rinpoche in Dharamsala, India. November 2, 2022. Photo courtesy of the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
The Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund was established by FPMT in 1997, at the request of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Named after the great 14th-century founder of the Gelug tradition, the Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund’s purpose is to invest in the preservation of the Gelugpa School of Tibetan Buddhism by supporting the teachers of tomorrow. Preserving the Mahayana tradition is the primary objective of the entire FPMT organization and the Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund is one substantial way to help continue this work.
Below are the activities supported through a total of US$153,291 in grants offered in 2022. Please join us in rejoicing!
Gelug Exam participants.
Supporting Our Lineage Teachers & the Annual Gelug Exam
The Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund has been covering the food and travel expenses of sangha participating in the annual Gelug Exam held at Sera Je Monastery, India. This great event draws the brightest scholars from the eight major Gelug monasteries each year, many of whom are already teaching or will go on to serve as teachers in the future. In 2022, 192 monks from eight monasteries participated in the Gelug Exam.
The Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund also helps cover the basic needs of 137 main teachers of the tradition by providing small monthly stipends, freeing up their time to focus on their service in teaching students and deepening their own practice.
A total of US$22,891 was offered this year to sponsor the Annual Gelug Exam and provide monthly stipends to teachers.
Monks during the Winter Debate at Sera Je Monastery.
Grants for Winter Debate & Memorization Exams
The Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund also covered the travel expenses of sangha from Sera Je Monastery to attend the annual Winter Debate program at Gaden Monastery in Mundgod, India. Funds from a grant covered the travel costs of over 700 monks who attended, along with a few administrators and teachers who accompanied them from Sera Je.
A Special Memorization Exam is held at Sera Je Monastery each year, and the Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund offered new robes and a cash offering to the monks who accomplished memorizing the following classic texts:
- 62 monks memorized Commentary of Clear Meaning by Haribhadra
- 49 monks memorized Essence of Eloquence by Lama Tsongkhapa
- 33 monks memorized Bodhisattvacaryavatara (Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life) by Shantideva
- 7 monks memorized the first chapter of General Meaning of Abhisamayalamkara Chapter One by Jetsun Chokyi Gyaltsen
- 3 monks memorized Six Collections of Reasoning by Arya Nagarjuna
- 2 monks memorized General Meaning of the Middle Way by Jetsun Chokyi Gyaltsen
- 2 monks memorized Five Treatises of Maitreya
US$27,900 was awarded in 2022 to Sera Je Monastery to support these beneficial activities.
New geshema ceremony at Khachoe Ghakyil Nunnery Nepal, December 15, 2022. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Specialized Studies for Geshes and Geshemas
Each year a grant of US$87,500 is also provided to support specialized studies for 35 geshe lharampas and geshemas, allowing them to focus deeply on one of the five main monastic treatises in the subjects of Pramana, Prajnaparamita, Madhyamaka, Abhidharma, and Vinaya. This project is based on the advice by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and was initiated by the Geluk International Foundation in 2020. Full funding has been received through the kind support of the U.S.-based Kaya Mandala Foundation, and the Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund agreed to support the administering of grants until the geshes and geshemas complete their specialized studies. The recipients of the grant funds come from the six major monasteries in India and various nunneries.
“Taking responsibility for supporting these practitioners is extremely worthwhile because they are preserving and spreading the entire teaching of the Buddha.” – Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Funding Educational Research for Future Tibetan Medical Doctors
For the third consecutive year, the fund provided grants to Men-Tsee-Khang, the Tibetan Medical & Astro-science Institute in India, for the educational research of six doctors training in the traditional Tibetan medical tantras. Each doctor engaged in research to deepen their knowledge on specific topics, while they treated patients. Topics of research were centered in the three primary constitutional energies of loong, tripa, and baeken, and some focused on corresponding ailments related to imbalances of these constitutions in the body, such as asthma and hypothyroidism. In 2022, US$15,000 in grant funds were awarded through the Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund.
Supporting this educational research and training for future doctors of Tibetan medicine serves to benefit Tibetan communities with new qualified doctors and preserves this precious medical science and cultural tradition.
Lama Tsongkhapa with his two main disciples.
May the Lama Tsongkhapa Tradition Flourish
We invite a moment of rejoicing in all these inspiring activities that preserve the living lineage of Lama Tsongkhapa and the Buddha’s teachings, and serve to develop our current and next generations of Dharma teachers, practitioners, and scholars.
For the Dharma king Tsongkhapa’s
Way of Dharma to flourish,
May all signs of obstacles be pacified
And all conducive conditions be complete.
Due to the two types of merits
Of the three times of myself and others,
May the teachings of the victorious one, Lozang Dragpa,
Shine resplendent forever.
If you would like to support the Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund, which preserves the unbroken Tsongkhapa lineage, and cultivates the foremost scholars of tomorrow. The fund provides support to the abbots and senior teachers of the Lama Tsongkhapa tradition, supports the annual Gelugpa exam and monks and nuns to attend the annual winter debate among many other activities.
Monks of Zigar Monastery, Darjeeling, India.
Providing support to sangha living in vows is one of the highest priorities for the FPMT organization and the Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund offers food, accommodation, health care and education to sangha living in nunneries and monasteries around the world. “Taking responsibility for supporting these practitioners is extremely worthwhile,” Lama Zopa Rinpoche has explained, “because they are preserving and spreading the entire teaching of the Buddha.”
An amazing US$673,471 was offered for the support of sangha in 2022 and a further US$27,000 has been pledged and will be offered soon. We invite you to rejoice in these grants that FPMT has been able to make this year.
Young nuns of Tashi Chime Gatsal Nunnery, Nepal.
Since 2009 we have been sponsoring the nuns of Tashi Chime Gatsal Nunnery, a Kagyu nunnery in Nepal, to complete 100 million mani retreats (100 million recitations of the mantra OM MANI PADME HUM) each year. In addition to sponsoring the 100 million mani retreats, offerings are made to cover the cost of food for all during this period as well. Medical expenses were also offered for the nuns this year. US$19,269 was offered for these costs.
Over Lhabab Duchen (November 14-20) Lama Zopa Rinpoche visited the nunnery, joining Drukpa Rinpoche in blessing the newly opened gompa. Rinpoche also bestowed a two-day ordination to forty-five new nuns and offered Vajrayogini and Amitayus long life initiations.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche offering ordination to forty-five new nuns at Tashi Chime Gatsal Nunnery in Bigu, Nepal. November 18, 2022.
Monks of Shalu Monastery enjoying an offered meal.
For the last five years we have offered annual grants to Shalu Monastery, Himachal Pradesh, India, to cover the costs of food for the 50+ monks who study there. This year, US$16,930 was offered. In a letter of thanks and request for help, the monastery president, Ven. Tenpal, expressed, “How helpful this support has been in meeting the monastery’s daily necessities and solving our essential problem, especially during the past two years during the pandemic crisis which hampered global economics. Due to this, local visits to the temple have dropped significantly and the little bit of income we received was hampered.” We are extremely happy to be able to offer this essential support for the monastery. Offering support in this way is one of the core aims of the Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund.
The monks of Gyudmed Monastery enjoying an offered lunch.
Earlier this year we announced that we had started offering sponsorship for a new food fund at Gyudmed Monastery which will provide support for quality meals to 575 monks studying at this extremely important monastery. The monastery has also created an endowment fund to cover annual costs from the interest of this fund. We are so pleased to have granted US$618,173 this year to the fund bringing the total offered to date to US$1,118,172. Rinpoche has been personally offering much of this money, as well as working hard to raise the rest. Rinpoche feels strongly that there is incredible benefit to establishing this food fund and long-term endowment that will support the monastery long in to the future.
Since 2019 we have been offering support to the sixty-two monks of Zigar Thupten Shedrupling Institute, a Kagyu monastery located in Darjeeling, India. This year, we have pledged and hope to be able to send the US$27,000 the costs of the monks’ food for two years.
Monks of Thame Dechen Chokhorling Monastery, Thame, Nepal.
Since 2018 we have been offering three meals per day to the twenty-two monks of Thame Dechen Chokhorling Monastery. Thame is in Solu Khumbu, high in the Mount Everest region of Nepal which is a special place for FPMT as Lama Zopa Rinpoche was born there and it is located near Lawudo which was the home of Rinpoche’s previous incarnation. This year the cost of the food for the monks was US$9,660.
Some of the young monks of Idgaa Choizinling Monastery, Mongolia.
We have been offering food to the sixty monks of Idgaa Choizinling Monastery, Mongolia, since its inception in 2003. Idgaa Choizinling also has a branch in Sera Je Monastery, India, and serves as a focal point of Buddhist learning in Mongolia. This year we offered US$9,840 for lunch and dinner for the monks.
In addition to these grants, FPMT offers support to sangha through the International Mahayana Institute, which supports the non-Himalayan sangha of FPMT through the Lama Yeshe Sangha Fund; the Practice and Retreat Fund, which provides grants and sponsorships to individuals engaged in retreats such as 108 nyung ne retreats and 100 million mani retreats; the Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund, which helps to preserve the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism by offering monthly stipends and annual offerings to all the main teachers of the main Gelugpa monasteries, the past and current abbotts, and also the top scholars.
Thank you to all the donors of this fund, who make these offerings possible. If you would also like to contribute to supporting sangha in meaningful and essential ways please consider donating here: https://fpmt.org/support/supporting-ordained-sangha
If you would like to support monastics, please learn more about the Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund and the ways it supports monasteries and nunneries around the world.
Jangtse Choje Rinpoche presiding over the Monlam prayer festival at Kopan Monastery, 2017. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Since 1998, the Gelug Monlam—known as the Great Prayer Festival—has been held at Kopan Monastery, Nepal, in the tradition of Lama Tsongkhapa, who founded the festival in 1409. The Monlam is regarded as one the “four great activities” of Lama Tsongkhapa’s life. It is held on the first Tibetan month of the year, during Chotrul Duchen, or the “Fifteen Days of Miracles.”
We reached out to Geshe Losang Sherab, who has served as the umze, or chant leader, for the Gelug Monlam at Kopan since 2001, to help share how this tradition, now over six centuries old, is preserved and carried on at Kopan today.
From Lhasa to Kopan – A Brief History of the Great Prayer Festival
Chotrul Duchen is one of the four major anniversaries celebrating the extraordinary deeds of Shakyamuni Buddha. According to the vinaya text Treasure of Quotations and Logic, karmic potential on these special Buddha Days are increased by a 100 million. Chotrul Duchen marks the time when Shakyamuni Buddha, while in Sravasti, India, displayed a series of miraculous acts in response to a public challenge by six ascetics, as a means to instill faith and inspiration.
The first Great Prayer Festival to celebrate Chotrul Duchen was led by Lama Tsongkhapa at the Jokhang temple in Lhasa, Tibet, during the Tibetan New Year of 1409. The Monlam tradition would become very popular and eventually adopted by all the major schools of Tibet.
Geshe Losang Sherab explains, “Lama Tsongkhapa started the festival to remember the kindness of the Buddha and also to create an environment for the people, both lay and Sangha, to create merit. Thousands of monks from all major monasteries around Lhasa such as Sera, Ganden, and Drepung took part every year. So many sponsors would come from all parts of Tibet to make offerings to the Sangha. It was a great opportunity for the both the Sangha, the sponsors, and all who took part in it to accumulate a great number of merits.”
The Gelug Monlam would continue to be held at the Jokhang in Lhasa until 1498, when it was stopped due to political strife at the time. The second Dalai Lama, Gendun Gyatso, revived the Monlam in 1517 while serving as abbot of Drepung Monastery. It was celebrated at the Jokhang Temple continuously until the invasion of Tibet by the Chinese army in 1959.
Geshe Losang Sherab continues, “After 1959, the three great monasteries held Monlam in Buxa, and after the three great monasteries were re-established in south India, they celebrated it in their own monasteries. I think the reason was the distance between the monasteries, which made it difficult, costly, and time consuming to assemble together as in Tibet”
The Gelug Monlam began to be held in Nepal in 1992. Kopan Monastery’s location, up in the hills outside of Kathmandu, was seen to be less ideal than other monasteries at the time, so Kopan never hosted the festival during its first years in Nepal.
According to Geshe Losang Sherab, it was around 1998 that new challenges arose for preserving the continuity of the Gelug Monlam. After His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s request for the discontinuation of the practice of Shugden, some monasteries were still continuing to do the practice. Under the circumstances, Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Khensur Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup offered to hold the Monlam at Kopan. A few other monasteries joined, and a new Gelug Monlam committee also formed around this time. The committee requested Lama Zopa Rinpoche to lead the Gelug Monlam that year.
Geshe Losang Sherab remarks about the 1998 prayer festival:
“With blessings of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche, the Monlam that year at Kopan went very well, with many locals attending despite the distance they had to travel, and with donations from locals, generous benefactors from other countries, FPMT’s Lama Tsong Khapa Teachers Fund, and some FPMT centers. From that year, almost every year the Monlams were held at Kopan. Some of the other monasteries that didn’t give up the worship of Shugden at first gave it up and joined Monlam at Kopan. After that, many great lamas such as the 100th Ganden Tripa Geshe Lobsang Nyima Rinpoche, (then Jangtse Choje Rijong Rinpoche), Denma Locho Rinpoche, the present Ganden Tri Rinpoche and presently Jangtse Choje Gosok Rinpoche presides over the Monlam.”
How the Gelug Monlam Tradition is Carried Forward Today
Chant Master of Gelug Monlam at Kopan Monastery, Geshe Losang Sherab.
Geshe Losang Sherab has been the head chant master for the Gelug Monlam for twenty-one years. He describes the position:
“Being the umze of the Monlam I have the responsibility of the leading the chanting and to make sure that it’s done in as authentic a way as possible. I prepare a group of monks who are called Kesang (“good voice”) and Donsang (“having memorized many texts”) and teach them the tunes, and also make them memorize the texts they haven’t memorized. I also do at least six to seven days of training with all Kopan monks and a full rehearsal before the actual Monlam.”
The progression and practice of the Monlam is very elaborate and specifically organized. We asked Geshe Losang Sherab to help describe a picture of the tradition. He kindly offered a detailed account below:
“The prayers that are recited during Monlam are common in all Gelug monasteries, but the tune that is used during the actual Monlam is always from Drepung Monastery, as it was done since the time of the second Dalai Lama.”
Geshe Losang Sherab explained that it was the second Dalai Lama who “restored the great Monlam in Lhasa and established rules and regulations, including the set of prayers that are recited during the Monlam.”
The rest of the prayers, apart from the main Monlam activities, are chanted in the Sera Je Monastery tradition – the monastery that Kopan is most closely connected with.
“During the first session in the morning, many prayers are recited, mainly the homage to Buddha, confession to Thirty-five Buddhas, Ornament for Clear Realization (Abisamayalankara ) by Venerable Maitreya, Introduction to the Middle Path (Madhyamakavatara) by Chandrakirti and Manjushri Nama Samgiti, etc. Tea and bread is served during this session.
“During the second session, monks and nuns from all the monasteries and nunneries would debate on logic to the geshes from Kopan who are appointed to answer the debate.
“During the third session, the head lama of Monlam is invited with procession of gyaling [horns], victory banners and yellow parasol. The chant master chants Migtsema prayers until the lama sits on the throne. Then all Sangha sit on the floor offering three prostrations to the lama. The lama would lead the Heart Sutra followed by the prayers to lineage lamas. After that, the chant master makes three prostrations and chants the mandala offering, after which the lama would teach on the Jakata Tales. After it’s completed, the lama would do dedications, and then he’s invited to his quarters in the same way he was invited to the teaching venue.
“After that, there’s a session during which tea and lunch is served. During this session, Lama Tsongkhapa guru yoga, lamrim Lines of Experience, Triple Ground of Glory, prayers to sixteen Arhats, eight powerful prayers, mantras such as the Namgyalma long mantra, and Medicine Buddha mantras are recited.
“Then after half an hour break, the fourth session begins. During this the monks and nuns from all the monasteries and nunneries debate on the paramitas and on view of the Middle Way to the appointed answers from Kopan.
“Then the actual Monlam begins after the Head Lama is invited with a procession of gyaling [horns], victory banners, and parasol. The lama makes three prostrations to the altar and then sits on the throne. After this all the Sangha sit down. The chant master leads prayers standing on his seat, beginning with the Likdrima (praise to Tara), Kapsumpa (praise to the Buddha by Lama Tsongkhapa), Losang Gyalkunma (supplication to the lineage gurus), prayers of Maitreya, and the Prayers at the Beginning, Middle and End by Lama Tsongkhapa. During the last two prayers, the chant master would walk with huge steps during each verse which is called Cham (“dance”), and offer a khata [scarf] to the lama. The chant master then walks backwards and sits on the seat.
“After that, the assistant chant master and his three companions stand up and start the bath offering prayers and offering the five objects of desire, the seven royal possessions, etc., then an extensive mandala offering followed by prostrations, reciting the confession to Thirty-five Buddhas, and sits down. Then the head lama starts the torma offering to the landlord, after which the chant master stands up and leads the prayer of secret biography of Lama Tsongkhapa. During this, the chant master performs the Cham dance with huge steps at the end of every verse. Then the Foundation of All Good Qualities is chanted. While chanting, the chant master goes back to his seat, walking backwards with huge steps and sits down on his seat. After this, the head lama recites the dedication prayers.
“At the end of the session, the chant master, the assistant chant master and his three companions stand up, wearing the yellow hat and recite the auspicious prayers. Then the lama is invited to his quarters. During the fifth session, extensive White Umbrella prayers and prayers to Lion-face Dakini, and Twenty-one Tara praises are recited. Dinner is served during this session.
“During every prayer session, the Gegu (“master of discipline”) reads the dedication forms with the names of sponsors. During every prayer session, the Heart Sutra and the Hundred-syllable mantra are recited, and at the end of every prayer session, the torma offering to Palden Lhamo and other protectors are recited. The program ends with debate on Vinaya and Abhidharma in the evening.
“On the fourth day of Monlam, which falls on the full moon day, the beautiful butter sculpture made by Kopan monks is displayed outside for the people to get blessed. On the last day of Monlam, Maitreya Buddha statue is invited with a huge procession. And in the afternoon [of the last day], Kopan Lama Gyupas offer the Torgyak which they have prepared and consecrated for three days. Then a dinner session is held and during which the secretary of the Monlam reads out the account of income and expenses of Monlam, and then the Monlam of that year concludes auspiciously.”
Please join us in rejoicing in the preservation of this incredible tradition at Kopan Monastery! The Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund is a sponsor of the Gelug Monlam which is essential for preserving the Lama Tsongkhapa tradition.
Since its inception, the Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund, an extension of the Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund, has supported the preservation of the Gelug School of Tibetan Buddhism.
With tremendous thanks to Geshe Losang Sherab for his time and information about this rich tradition.
Some monks of Gyudmed Tantric Monastery, Hunsur, India, enjoying a meal offered through the new Food Fund.
Since 1433, Gyudmed Monastery has been providing the highest education to many of the top Buddhist scholars and teachers. Through the Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund, and the kindness of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, we are pleased to now be supporting this monastery’s new Food Fund which will provide support for quality meals to 575 monks studying at this extremely important monastery. The Food Fund has also created an endowment fund to cover annual costs from the interest of this fund.
History of Gyudmed Tantric Monastery
Gyudmed Tantric Monastery was founded by Jetsun Sherab Sengye, one of the four supreme disciples of Lama Tsongkhapa who was entrusted with the responsibility of the preservation and the promotion of the most sacred lineage of Guhyasamaja Tantra. Based on the personal instructions received from Lama Tsongkhapa, he established Segyud Monastery in upper Tibet and Gyudmed Monastery in Central Tibet in 1433. Of the two, Gyudmed Monastery flourished and became the most important seat for the study and practice of Guhyasamaja Tantra in Tibet over many centuries.
When His Holiness the Dalai Lama came into exile, around 180 monks from the Gyudmed Monastery followed him to India. They initially established the monastery in a transit camp at Dalhousie in northern India, which was then re-established in Hunsur in Karnataka state in 1972. The unique traditions, such as the sacred chanting, rituals, and other practices, have been continually maintained consistently through the years.
Gyudmed now has around 575 monks and is one of the only two established Gelug lineage centers for studies of Vajrayana Buddhism in Tibet. Apart from the studies of the great Guhyasamaja Tantra and its commentaries, this monastery also contains the sacred lineages of chanting rituals, the art of making sand mandalas, butter sculptures, and so on—lineages which have survived intact from Lama Tsongkhapa. Geshes, who have more than twenty years of sutra studies, come to this monastery to do further studies on tantra. Additionally, whomever holds the seat of the great Ganden Tripa or the Throne Holder of Ganden, the figurehead of the Gelug lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, has to come through this Gyudmed Monastery.
Food Fund Project
At the time of its re-establishment in South India, there were 370 monks at the monastery. In the early years they had to do farming, construction, carpet making, and other jobs in addition to their academic responsibilities. The situation improved after 1989, when the monks were able to devote more of their time to their study and practice. The tough schedule of the monastery requires very strenuous long hours of study from early morning to late night. The health of the monks was affected in early years due to lack of nutritious meals. Individual monks had to find their own meals and teachers who had many students had to work hard to feed their students.
Monks of Gyudmed Monastery receiving a meal offered through the new Food Fund.
This led to the creation of a meal program for the saṅgha, so the food and nutritional needs of all the monks would be taken care of by the monastic administration. For many years the monastery has worked hard to provide three nutritious meals a day to the monks but has recently faced many challenges due to inflation, lack of gas, and a concrete source of funds for the meal program.
The administration came up with a concrete plan to address this challenge by setting up a Food Fund project. This project will help protect the monastery against the seasonal variations of food prices and the overall general inflation in prices seen in India. Moreover, the administration can have a stable source of funds for the monks’ meals. Like the highly successful Sera Je Food Fund, the concept would be to build up an endowment fund large enough to support the long-term health of their own food fund, whereby the interest from the endowment would cover the annual costs associated with offering meals daily for all the monks of Gyudmed Tantric Monastery, for as long as the endowment remains.
The Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund is delighted to have already offered US$500,000 toward the creation of this new Food Fund. This great monastery has an excellent reputation and has produced so many educated and highly realized practitioners which benefit the world in incalculable ways. To sustain this high level of achievement it is essential that the monks can dedicate themselves completely to the extensive studies at the monastery.
Please join us in rejoicing in this wonderful opportunity for the monks of Gyudmed Tantric College to be able to devote their precious time to their studies, without the strenuous burden of providing for their food, and please consider also contributing to the Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund, so that we can continue to help sangha with essential needs such as food and education.
To learn how the Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund is directly benefiting monasteries and nunneries around the world, you can read all the latest news of this project: fpmt.org/projects/fpmt/supporting-ordained-sangha-fund/supporting-ordained-sangha-fund-news/
Monks of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery engaged in debate.
Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, located in Bylakuppe, Southern India, and seat to the Panchen Lama, has grown significantly over the last few decades and is now home to 415 monks and one of the major centers of Tibetan Buddhist study and practice in exile in India.
Tashi Lhunpo Monastery was founded by His Holiness the 1st Dalai Lama, Gyalwa Gedun Drupa in 1447, and became the most vibrant monastery in U-Tsang province of Tibet. Over the years, the monastery flourished as a center of learning, and played a vital role in the preservation of Mahayana Buddhist Philosophy and practice. By 1959, this monastery was responsible for the education of 7,000 monks from within and outside of Tibet. Following the Chinese invasion of Tibet, the monastery was not able to continue in its previous form. In 1972, under the guidance of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and with determination of the senior monks, the monastery was re-established in Bylakuppe, Karnataka State.
The monastery is comprised of Tashi Lhunpo Monastic School for young monks, Higher Buddhist Studies which takes twenty-four years to complete, and Tashi Lhunpo Tantric College to complete the lifetime study curriculum and program.
As the monastery continues to grow, additions are needed to support the conditions needed to ensure quality education. A courtyard was added in 2012, a new prayer hall was completed in 2015, an expansive library was added in 2016, and now we are so happy to offer a grant for a new 27,000 square foot debate courtyard being built with permanent canopies over it. This courtyard was needed for several reasons. Primarily, during monsoon season the monks have limited space to debate due to the months of heavy rain. Additionally, the heat can become intolerable without shade and when the monks are cramped into limited indoor space, the echo of their voices disturbs the quality of sound and understanding each other properly during debate becomes difficult. An additional benefit of this extension will be that the monastery can utilize this space for ceremonies, functions, and for grand debate sessions with additional monasteries (Upper Chotok Chemo). In short, this new courtyard will enable the monks to debate uninterrupted through the year without any external hindrances and space limitations.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche wanted very much to support the monastery with this project and through the Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund, US$430,575 was granted for this debate courtyard which will benefit the monks studying there for generations to come.
Site of the new debate courtyard being built at Tashi Lhunpo Monastery.
Debate is a very special way to develop wisdom and explore different subjects and helps the monks understand the teachings in a deep and clear way. This way, Dharma education becomes very real and sharp, not shallow or just words. As Lama Zopa Rinpoche has explained, “It is like an inner science of the two truths: absolute truth and conventional truth.”
Please join us in rejoicing in the offering of this grant which will benefit this monastery and help spread and preserve Mahayana Buddhism far into the future.
Monks of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery on the site of the new debate courtyard.
To support Sangha and learn how the Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund is directly benefiting monasteries and nunneries around the world, you can read all the latest news of this project: fpmt.org/projects/fpmt/supporting-ordained-sangha-fund/supporting-ordained-sangha-fund-news/
Lama Tsongkhapa (1357-1419).
Lama Tsongkhapa (1357-1419) was a Tibetan Buddhist master whose studies and meditations in all the major schools of Tibetan Buddhism resulted in the founding of the Gelugpa lineage. The Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund was established by FPMT in 1997 at the request of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The purpose of the fund is to invest in the preservation of the Gelugpa School of Tibetan Buddhism by supporting the teachers of tomorrow. Preserving the Mahayana tradition is the primary objective of the entire FPMT organization and the Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund is one substantial way to help continue this work.
Exams
Every year this fund offers a grant for for daily food and travel expenses of the annual Gelug Exam. This year 1157 monks from eight monasteries are participating. The geshes and monks taking these exams are some of the top scholars coming from the main monasteries and will become future teachers, benefiting so many. This year, due to pandemic restrictions, the monks from Sera and Tashi Lhunpo monasteries participated at Sera Monastery in Bylakuppe, and the monasteries from the settlement in Mundgod participated at their respective monasteries. The cost of supporting the exams in 2021 was US$7,200.
Also a grant for US$4,945 was offered to Sera Je Monastery for 260 monks who passed an annual Special Memorization Exam. Each of these monks received a new set of robes and a cash offering for memorizing as follows:
- 78 monks memorized Commentary of Clear Meaning
- 113 monks memorized Explanation of the Provisional and True Meaning
- 50 monks memorized Bodhisattvacaryavatara (Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life)
- 13 monks memorized the first chapter of General Meaning of Paramita
- 2 monks memorized General Meaning (of the) Middle Way
- 1 monks memorized Six Logical Scriptures of the Madyamika
- 2 monk memorized Five Treatises of Maitreya
- 1 monk memorized the Root Text of Pramanavartika
Monks studying for exam.
Investing in Teachers
A monthly offering from this fund is to provide stipends for 139 of the main teachers of the Lama Tsongkhapa tradition, including current and past abbots. This small offering of money supports these teachers’ basic needs and allows them to focus more of their time on transmitting Dharma to their students at the monasteries and strengthening their own practices. In 2021, US$11,900 was offered for this.
On advice from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Geluk International Foundation established a program for thirty geshe lharampas from six major monasteries and five geshemas from various nunneries to specialize in one of the five major texts. A yearly grant was previously offered from another organization within the US to help pay for these individuals to complete this extensive study for ten years. The Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund agreed to take over this fund to distribute a yearly grant of US$87,500 until their studies are complete.
Investing in Buddhist Communities
The Nepal Buddhist Gelug Association was established ten years ago by the monasteries and nunneries of Nepal to preserve and develop the Tibetan Buddhist tradition in general, and the Lama Tsongkhapa lineage in particular, by elevating the standard of Buddhist studies within the monastic institutions of Nepal and the local communities. Recently a grant for US$150,000 was offered so that the following objectives could be accomplished:
- Continuation of the annual Jang Guncho Winter Debate Session
- Continuation of the Great Gelug Annual Examinations
- Conducting programs to educate local people in the Himalayan regions of Nepal on Buddhism
- Building a library to boost Buddhist education
- Supporting the construction of stupas and prayer wheels in remote villages
- Organizing offerings during the Gaden Ngacho Chenmo celebration of Tsongkhapa’s life and seminars on the Prajnaparamita Sutra
- Organizing workshops and projects to encourage dialogue between Buddhism and science
Debate in the courtyard at Sera Je Monastic University, 2009, India. Photo courtesy of Ryan Matsumoto.
An Unbroken Lineage
Please join us in rejoicing in the recent grants offered to these various activities, which help sustain Lama Tsongkhapa’s unbroken lineage in the Gelug monastic institutions, and thus, around the world as these scholars become teachers and spread the precious teachings.
“Taking responsibility for supporting these practitioners is extremely worthwhile because they are preserving and spreading the entire teaching of the Buddha.” – Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Since its inception, the Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund, an extension of the Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund, has supported the preservation of the Gelug School of Tibetan Buddhism.
Young monks of Idgaa Choizinling Monastery, Mongolia, during long life puja for Lama Zopa Rinpoche in 2017. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
In Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s May 10, 2021 thought transformation teaching, he explained that the Sangha are the “real heroes” among us because they are working to defeat the delusions and thus living the best lives as human beings. Supporting monks and nuns is one of the highest priorities for the FPMT organization and the Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund offers support to nunneries and monasteries around the world for food, accommodation, health care, education, and practice.
We would like to invite you to rejoice in some of the ways we have been able to offer support to Sangha this year.
Some of the monks of Shalu Monastery.
For the last four years we have offered a grant to Shalu Monastery, Himachal Pradesh, India, to cover the costs of food for the 50+ monks who study there. This year, US$16,779 was offered.
Since 2009 we have been sponsoring the nuns of Tashi Chime Gatsal Nunnery, a Kagyu nunnery in Nepal, to complete two 100 million mani retreats (100 million recitations of the mantra OM MANI PADME HUM) each year. In addition to sponsoring the 100 million mani retreats, offerings are made to cover the cost of food for all during this period as well as an offering for a qualified geshe to stay during the retreat in order to give lamrim teachings. In addition, three teachers’ salaries were sponsored for 2021. US$17,181.57 was offered to cover these costs.
Some of the nuns of Tashi Chime Nunnery.
We offer three meals per day to the monks of Thame Monastery. There are currently 22 monks in this monastery. Thame is in Solu Khumbu, high in the Mount Everest region of Nepal. It is a special place for FPMT as Lama Zopa Rinpoche was born there and it is located near Lawudo which was the home of Rinpoche’s previous incarnation. The annual cost for offering food to the monks of Thame Monastery is US$9,263.
We offer daily lunches to the monks of Idgaa Choizinling Monastery, Mongolia. Idgaa Choizinling has a branch also in Sera Je Monastery, India, and serves as a focal point of Buddhist learning in Mongolia. Since the monastery’s inception we have been offering food every day to the 60 monks studying there. This year we were happy to offer US$10,800 for this.
Some of the young monks of Idgaa Choizinling Monastery, Mongolia.
Current regulations prohibiting religious gatherings have negatively impacted monasteries and nunneries all over India and Nepal who rely on income from offering the service of pujas and other prayers or practices for individuals who request this from around the world. Many of the monasteries have had to close the communal kitchens and are delivering dry food supplies to the monks individually to cook themselves. This ends up costing substantially more for the monasteries. Gaden Jangtse Monastery, located in Mundgod, India, home to 1,530 monks, requested help for food for the monks during this time and we were so happy to be to offer US$39,882 to cover the costs of their food fund for three months.
Gyudme Monastery. Photo courtesy of Gyudme Monastery Facebook page.
We were delighted this year to offer US$400,000 toward the creation of a food fund for the 575 monks of Gyudmed Tantric University, Mysore, India. This great monastery has an excellent reputation and has produced many educated and highly realized practitioners. To sustain this high level of achievement it is essential that the monks can dedicate themselves completely to the extensive studies at the monastery. The intense study necessitates that the monks stay healthy and fit and do not become preoccupied with having to provide for their own basic food needs. This offering toward a food fund will allow the monks to concentrate on their studies without the stress of uncertainty regarding nutrition.
The Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund also offered a grant toward completion of Losang Namgyal Rinpoche’s gompa in Bouddhanath. This gompa is specifically a place for the Tamang people to practice. Offerings were made toward repairs of Serkong Dorje Chang’s Monastery in Swayambunath, Nepal, and also to Tashi Lhunpo Monastery toward the costs associated with the Winter debate (Jamyang Gunchoe), Geluk Exams, and Shungchen Debates.
Please join us in rejoicing that we have been able to offer this essential support to the Sangha. Incredibly, US$476,725.50 has been granted this year so far.
All of these offerings are made possible due to the kindness of so many who donate to the Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund. This is something incredible to rejoice in. As Lama Zopa Rinpoche has explained, “taking responsibility for supporting these practitioners is extremely worthwhile because they are preserving and spreading the entire teaching of the Buddha.”
If you want to support Sangha, please learn more about the Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund and the ways it supports monasteries and nunneries around the world.
2020 participants in the Gelug Examination.
Every year the best scholars from the main Gelug monasteries come together for the annual Gelug Examination. Since 1997 the Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund has offered annual grants for daily food, travel expenses, and teacher stipends for all the main teachers of the Lama Tsongkhapa tradition.
This year was unlike others due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was held under the guidelines of both medical experts and regional government. This year 517 monks participated and the actual examinations were scattered in three different locations. The monthly stipends were offered to the 141 current abbots, past abbots, and main teachers of the Lama Tsongkhapa tradition. This small offering of money supports these teachers’ basic needs and allows them to be able to focus more of their time on transmitting Dharma to their students at the monasteries and strengthening their own practices.
In 2020 we were very happy to offer US$19,766 toward the teachers’ monthly offerings and costs toward the Gelug examination expenses.
“Taking responsibility for supporting these practitioners is extremely worthwhile because they are preserving and spreading the entire teaching of the Buddha.” –Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Monks during the 2020 Gelug Examination.
Rinpoche recently commented about the benefits of debate (which is one of the main components of the Gekug examination): “Debate is a very special way to develop wisdom and explore different subjects. It is like an inner science of the two truths: absolute truth and conventional truth.”
The geshes and monks participating in these exams are some of the top scholars coming from the monasteries at this time and will become many of the future teachers, benefiting so many. We are honored to be a part of this process and make these offerings. Thank you to all who make it possible.
Since its inception, the Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund, an extension of the Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund, has supported senior teachers each year of the main Gelug monasteries, plus hundreds of monks attending the traditional winter debate and annual Gelug exam.
Some of the monks in front of Maratika Monastery.
Maratika Monastery, Eastern Nepal, is located above Maratika Cave which is the sacred cave associated with Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) and longevity. This holy site is where Guru Rinpoche, with the wisdom-mother Mandarava, achieved immortal life through the practice of Amitayus. Lama Zopa Rinpoche has a close connection with the Maratika Lama, Khenpo Karma Wangchuk, who takes care of the area. The Maratika Lama is the son of Lama Ngawang Chophel, who was a close disciple of the Lawudo Lama Kunsang Yeshe, Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s previous incarnation, and the child of the Maratika Lama is the recognized tulku of Trulshik Rinpoche. The previous Trulshik Rinpoche passed away in 2011, and was revered as one of the most learned and respected living masters of the Nyingma tradition and is one of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s teachers and one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s gurus.
The Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund was very happy to offer US$166,394.66 thanks to a kind grant from Unione Buddhista Italiana, towards the expansion of the monks’ accommodation including three additional floors and a roof, which will not only allow adequate housing for the fifty-four current monks of the monastery, but also will enable fifty-four new monks to join the monastery as well.
“Offering to Sangha is the most powerful purification. It purifies defilements and negative karma collected from beginningless rebirths. It is the most powerful purification. This is the quickest way to achieve realizations, the quickest way to be free from the oceans of samsaric sufferings, and the quickest way to achieve buddhahood, the total cessation of all the obscurations and completion of all the realizations.” — Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Monks of Maratika Monastery studying.
The current main building, which houses accommodation and classrooms for the monks, was less than half completed when the funds ran out four years ago, and now, since the COVID-19 lockdown, the financial situation has become worse.
The monks are living in very basic conditions, packed into small dorm rooms and even sleeping on the floor. Around the premises, one can observe evidence of unfinished electrical and construction work. Food is very simple too, the monks mainly eat rice and dhal for lunch and plain noodles for dinner. The young monks happily volunteer to cook for themselves.
Young monks studying at Maratika Monastery.
Despite the hardships, the monks are joyful, harmonious, and content. From a young age, in addition to learning Tibetan, Nepali, and the monastic rituals, the monks study Buddhist philosophy and memorize texts.
“Offering even one cent to the Sangha community brings uncountable benefit and merit. As long as the Sangha community exists your merit exist. It will not be exhausted.” — Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Please rejoice in the construction of this new addition which will benefit the current monks of Maratika Monastery, new monks that will now be able to join the monastery due to increased accommodation, and everyone in the area who will benefit from the presence of sincere Sangha studying and practicing Buddha’s teachings.
Please learn more about the Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund and the ways it supports monasteries and nunneries around the world.
The monks of Sera Je Monastery, India. Photo taken prior to COVID-19 pandemic.
The current COVID-19 pandemic has impacted so many people around the world including ordained Sangha living in monastic communities (monasteries and nunneries) who have been faced with many new challenging realities due to the pandemic.
One way that monks and nuns are able to supplement their food, medical needs, or provide for other basic care items for themselves, under normal circumstances, is through offerings received during pujas. Unfortunately due to the pandemic, large groups of monastics are currently not able to gather for pujas in many monasteries and nunneries. One very kind benefactor and student of Lama Zopa Rinpoche was deeply concerned that due to reduced pujas, the monks and nuns may have been negatively impacted from the loss of these offerings and was moved to make a vast offering to over 20,000 Sangha, as well as to the abbots and abbesses, in twenty-four Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug monasteries and nunneries in India and Nepal. The offering was made on Lhabab Duchen (November 7, 2020), a merit multiplying day, when karmic results of actions are multiplied 100 million times.
The nuns of Kopan Nunnery, Nepal. Photo taken prior to COVID-19 pandemic.
Please take a moment to rejoice in this offering and also in the kindness of the benefactor. FPMT was so honored to be able to facilitate and arrange these offerings (as the logistics of sending twenty-four international wire transfers can be complicated). Lama Zopa Rinpoche also composed a one page dedication to be read out in each monastery and nunnery when the offerings were made.
In addition to the abbotts and abbesses of each monastery and nunnery, offerings were made to the 3,500 monks of Sera Je Monastery; 1,600 monks of Sera Mey Monastery; 1,350 monks of Ganden Shartse Monastery; 1,800 monks of Ganden Jangtse Monastery; 520 monks of Gyumed Tantric College; 2,500 monks and nuns of Namdroling Monastery and Tshogyal Shedrup Ling Nunnery; 140 monks of Rato Monastery; 370 monks of Kopan Monastery; 400 nuns of Khachoe Ghakyil Nunnery; 80 nuns of Tashi Chime Gatsal Nunnery; 1,830 monks of Drepung Gomang Monastery; 250 monks of Namgyal Tantric College; 413 monks of Tashi Lhunbo Monastery; 270 nuns of Jangchub Choeling Nunnery; 650 monks of Tawang Monastery; 40 monks of the Nyingma Monastery in Mundgod; 40 monks of Shang Gaden Choekhor Ling Monastery; 45 monks of Gaden Tharpacholing Monastery Kalimpong; 410 monks of Tergar Monastery; 265 nuns from Tsoknyi Nunnery; 143 monks and nuns from Singdak Rinpoche Retreat Center; 87 monks from Zigar Drukpa Kargyud Monastery in Tsopema; 75 monks and Nuns from Zigar Drukpa Kargyud in Darjeeling; 60 monks and nuns from Mu Monastery, Rachen Nunnery in Tusm, and Thubten Shedrup Ling Monastery in Chailsa; 500 monks of Gyuto Monastery; and 2,500 monks of Drepung Loselling Monastery.
Some of the monks of Thame Monastery, Nepal. Photo taken prior to COVID-19 pandemic.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche recently explained that the “value of Sangha is more than the whole sky filled with wish-granting jewels.” This is because living in morality is the most important way to achieve liberation from samsara and enlightenment, and benefit sentient beings by freeing them from the lower realms and bringing them to enlightenment. Supporting Sangha is investing in the benefit of all sentient beings.
Some of the young nuns of Tashi Chime Gatsal Nunnery, Nepal. Photo taken prior to COVID-19.
“Any practice that the Sangha do in the monastery [or nunnery], they do for all the six-realm sentient beings, to benefit them,” Rinpoche has explained. “Every sadhana or practice starts with the motivation for ‘mother sentient beings,”’ which means all the six-realm sentient beings. Every dollar offered, even just one dollar, even the smallest amount of money offered, has all these benefits. And the benefits go to all sentient beings: every mosquito, every fish, every pitiful chicken that is taken by a truck to be killed, every sentient being in numberless universes receives these benefits.”
It is due to the kindness of so many that we can make these incredible offerings to Sangha. Thank you for everyone who makes it possible.
Please learn more about the Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund and the ways it supports monasteries and nunneries around the world.
Ngari Institute’s new magnificent temple.
Ngari Institute is located in the Himalayan Kingdom of Ladakh in a small village called Saboo. The main vision of Ngari Institute is providing a modern education for underprivileged children from different regions of the Himalayas. The Institute, which is spread over 20 hectares of deserted land, provides free education, a hostel, meals, and other basic necessities. Since 2014, the FPMT Social Services Fund has been sponsoring daily meals for eight-three students and staff members at this campus.
Inside the beautiful new temple at Ngari Institute with 1,000 buddhas painted. Photo courtesy of Ngari Institute Facebook page.
Blossoming apple trees at Ngari Institute. Photo courtesy of Ngari Institute Facebook page.
In 2016, Lama Zopa Rinpoche offered US$100,000 toward the magnificent new temple being built and recently we also offered US$63,048, thanks to a kind grant from Unione Buddhista Italiana. This new temple includes incredible and inspiring artwork on the walls, such as the painting of 1,000 Buddhas. The temple will have solar panels and include a new kitchen and dining hall.
In coming years, Ngari Institute will also be building a new children’s kitchen, dining hall, and extension for the girls hostel. In the future there are plans for an elderly home and animal sanctuary that Rinpoche is hoping to offer some support toward.
In 2019, in honor of Lama Tsongkhapa’s 600th anniversary, Ngari Institute planted 600 apple trees as a little contribution toward freedom from the causes of suffering due to global warming.
Ngari Institute started building this new temple in 2015, but it took much longer than expected as they had to raise the funds for such an ambitious big vision. Lama Zopa Rinpoche was very happy to offer support to Ngari Institute to actualize this new temple. The inauguration for the temple has been delayed due to COVID-19 restrictions, but hopefully will happen soon. 104th Gaden Tri Rinpoche Jetsun Lobsang Tenzin has been invited for the inauguration, as well as requested to offer a few days of teaching afterward.
Inside the gompa of Ngari Institute temple. Photo courtesy of Ngari Institute Facebook page.
Rinpoche has said about the benefits of supporting places such as centers and temples where people come to listen to the Dharma, study Dharma, meditate, collect merit, purify defilements, and come there to take Refuge, generate bodhicitta, and dedicate their practice for all sentient beings:
“Each time one practices there, by dedicating to sentient beings, it helps the six-realm sentient beings, without even one being left out, not even one ant, or one maggot, not even one slug is left out. So all the practices are dedicated for them, you practice Dharma for them. So the centers, monasteries, and temples are places to develop Dharma wisdom and compassion for all sentient beings as well as the whole gradual path to enlightenment, to learn the essence, to learn the middle and to learn the elaborate teachings, according to the intelligence of the people.”
Thank you to all who made it possible to offer the support toward this new temple at Ngari Institute in Ladakh, and especially thanks to Unione Buddhista Italiana. May this temple be a place of great learning and benefit for all beings.
If you are inspired by grants such as this, you are welcome to contribute to the Social Service Fund and help ensure that work like this can continue.
Nalanda monks and Ven. Tenzin Namjong during their visit to Swayambhunath, Nepal, March 2020. Photo by Nalanda Monastery.
Supporting monks and nuns is one of the highest priorities for the FPMT organization. As Lama Zopa Rinpoche has said, “The value of Sangha is more than the whole sky filled with wish-granting jewels.”
The Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund was established after the success of the Sera Je Food Fund, which offered three meals daily to all the monks of Sera Je Monastery for over twenty-six years. Over this time, the food fund established an interest-bearing endowment and offered this to Sera Je Monastery. The interest from this endowment is now covering the cost for all the food at the monastery indefinitely.
The Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund offers support to nunneries and monasteries around the world for food, accommodation, health care, education, and practice. The fund is not limited to any one institution so it can benefit many nunneries, monasteries and Sangha in need. In addition, FPMT offers support to Sangha through the International Mahayana Institute, which supports the non-Himalayan Sangha of FPMT through the Lama Yeshe Sangha Fund; the Practice and Retreat Fund, which provides grants and sponsorships to individuals engaged in retreats such as 108 nyung na retreats and 100 million mani retreats; the Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund, which helps to preserve the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism by offering monthly stipends and annual offerings to all the main teachers of the main Gelugpa monasteries, the past and current abbotts, and also the top scholars; and through the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund, which offers substantial grants to numerous monasteries, nunneries, and ordained individuals— particularly teachers and tulkus.
“Taking responsibility for supporting these practitioners is extremely worthwhile because they are preserving and spreading the entire teaching of the Buddha.” –Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Yearly Commitments
Through the Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund the following offerings are made as part of our ongoing yearly commitments:
The young monks of Idgaa Choizinling Dratsang.
Idgaa Choizinling Monastery, Mongolia
We offer daily lunches to the monks of Idgaa Choizinling Monastery. This Monastery was established in Mongolia in 2003. The Monastery building was sponsored by FPMT. In 2019, we were also able to sponsor the expansion of the monks accommodation in the amount of US$470,000. Idgaa Choizinling has a branch also in Sera Je Monastery in India and serves as a focal point of Buddhist learning in Mongolia. Since the monastery’s inception we have been offering food every day to the 60 monks studying there and the annual cost for offering the lunches is approximately US$12,000.
Some of the monks of Shalu Monastery.
Shalu Monastery, India
We offer all the daily food to more than 50 monks studying at Shalu Monastery, Himachal Pradesh, India. In 2018 we also issued a grant for the building of a 15 ft stupa surrounded by prayer wheels that the resident monks and visitors can utilize for circumambulation. The annual cost for offering the food is US$12,360.
The nuns of Tashi Chime Gatsal Nunnery
Tashi Chime Gatsal Nunnery, Nepal
We sponsor two 100 million mani retreats each year (100 million recitations of the mantra Om Mani Padme Hum) at this small Kagyu nunnery in Nepal. Each retreat takes about three months and the sponsorship covers the costs of all the food for the nuns. In recent years we have also offered medical expenses to some of the nuns with serious medical conditions. There are currently 85 nuns living at the nunnery receiving a traditional Tibetan Buddhist education. About 40 nuns, under the age of twenty, are also receiving a modern western education at the school that is also a part of the nunnery, this is also attended by 20 local children. Teachers include: three nuns, two lharampa geshes, and five lay teachers. The annual cost for sponsoring the two 100 million mani retreats, and all the food expenses is approximately US$24,000.
Some of the monks of Thame Monastery, Nepal.
Thame Monastery, Nepal
We offer three meals per day to the monks of Thame Monastery. There are currently 22 monks in this monastery. Thame is in Solu Khumbu, high in the Mount Everest region of Nepal. It is a special place for FPMT as Lama Zopa Rinpoche was born there and it is located near Lawudo which was the home of Rinpoche’s previous incarnation. After the 2015 earthquake in Nepal, FPMT also offered US$300,000 for the building of the magnificent Thame stupa which now stands nearly 46 feet tall. The annual cost for offering food to the monks of Thame Monastery is US$11,000.
Recent Grants Offered
The Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund also makes substantial individual grants each year. Here are a few examples from 2020:
Dry food offered to Gaden Shartse Monastery.
Gaden Shartse Monastery, South India
US$160,205 was offered for five months of food for all the monks at the monastery. This was due to a number of monks in the monastery becoming affected by COVID-19 and due to that, the monastery had to close their communal kitchen and offer dry food to the monks directly and this increased the food costs substantially.
Nalanda Monastery, France
US$100,000 was offered toward the purchase of new retreat land for Nalanda Monastery in France. This land will be used to facilitate lamrim retreats. Rinpoche commented that it would be excellent for those who have studied at Nalanda, both monastics and lay people, to do semi-isolated retreats at this new retreat land in order to realize the teachings.
Monks from the house of Bragri Yongzin Khalkha Dhamtsig Dorjee .
Bragri Yongzin Khalkha Dhamtsig Dorjee
A substantial grant was offered for improving the monks accommodation of this labrang (small house) in Sera Je Monastery. Bragri Yongzin Khalkha Dhamtsig Dorjee is an incarnate Mongolian lama and his previous incarnation had a very special connection to the Most Secret Hayagriva lineage.
Zigar Thupten Shedrupling Institute
US$200,000 grant has been raised for the food fund for the 62 monks of this Kagyu monastery in Darjeeling.
Sera Me Monastery
A US$100,000 grant has been raised for the food fund of Sera Me Monastery.
Rinpoche has explained that one of the benefits of offering food to the Sangha is that it helps to continue the extensive learning of Buddha’s teachings. It directly sustains and continues the pure unbroken lineage of Buddha’s teachings in this world. If there is no food for the Sangha, then it is very difficult. They would not be able to stay in the monasteries and nunneries and they would have to work to earn money. Or, they would not have enough food and then would be unable to study. If this happened, then Buddhism would disappear in this world. All sentient beings’ happiness comes from Buddha’s teachings, from the study, practice, and actualization of Buddha’s teachings.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Kopan Monastery, Nepal, May 2020. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
All of these offerings have been made possible due to the kindness of all who contribute to the Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund. Thank you for making it possible. This is really something to rejoice in—that as an organization we can offer this essential support to the Sangha.
“If you make charity with the motivation of bodhichitta, then whatever you do in your life – eating, walking, sitting, sleeping, doing business and so forth – doing everything with bodhichitta, the thought to achieve enlightenment for all sentient beings who are numberless, then everything you do becomes the best Dharma. This is the path of a higher capable being and this is the best Dharma. With this motivation then, all one’s actions become the cause of full enlightenment and it becomes the most powerful way to purify all the defilements. The result is full enlightenment. Amazing, amazing, amazing, really amazing! This is how to make your life so meaningful.” –Lama Zopa Rinpoche
If you want to support Sangha, please learn more about the Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund and the ways it supports monasteries and nunneries around the world.