Brief summary of trips taken in 2005, 2006 and 2007
(This is an old document that I found among my old files and am publishing online simply to remember some of my past activities.)
I would like to inform you about my initiatives so that you may understand the motivations that led me to take action in an attempt to help Tibetan communities living in painful exile, offering them the material support so necessary for their survival. This project did not start from political considerations, but rather from natural human solidarity, and, in addition to the indispensable material aid, these initiatives arose from the fundamental human expressions that yearn to share with all humankind, in conscious understanding, the fundamental values of love, brotherly compassion and friendship.
Furthermore, also as a consequence of my spiritual status as a Lama or Geshe, I have always felt responsibly compelled to serve beings in difficulty with the precious means at my disposal, thus teaching the Dharma and evaluating possible and necessary humanitarian initiatives towards my people suffering in exile.
I have therefore sought solutions to help some monastic communities and other Tibetans residing in Nepal and India who are in a particular state of loneliness and poverty, seeking sponsors who could make their old age or illness less dramatic, and also to support students, and children, so that they can meet their daily needs and hope for a better future.
Throughout my stay in Europe, I have managed to find sponsors for more than 200 Tibetans in need in Nepal and India, and I have also managed to collect donations for some Tibetan communities.
I believe that helping Tibetans in exile and working to preserve their culture are very important acts of human solidarity, and I am very grateful to these sponsors and donors, most of whom are Italian. Among the Tibetans who have received this aid are the following groups and individuals:
Gajang Gyalrong Khamtsen Monastery
Mundgod, Karnataka, India
Gaden Jangtse Dratsang Monastery
Mundgod, Karnataka, India
Tod-Marushar Tibetan Community
Mundgod, Karnataka, India
Many individuals,
students, sick persons and elderly persons in India and Nepal.
Every time I return to India and Nepal, I often meet many people who need financial aid because without it they cannot access healthcare, education or even personal sustenance for themselves or their families, and all this is really very sad and unfair.
Brief report on the 2005 visit
I am sharing this brief report on my last visit (22 March–22 April 2005) to the Tibetan community in Mundgod to illustrate their basic needs and requests. During my stay in this community, I received and listened to many people who told me about their difficult living conditions, I met many friends; I visited the school, the clinic and other departments of the Dratsang, and Tibetan families in their poor homes.
The school administrators, lacking any basic support, asked me to seek financial assistance to purchase textbooks and notebooks for the students. The school is run by its own staff, with 10 teachers for 500 students. The request presented by the administrator was very practical and essential.
There is also a clinic that offers free consultations and treatment to sick monks and charges lay people in the area, both Tibetan and Indian, only half the price for medicines, while medical consultations are free for everyone. I was told that any kind of volunteering is welcome, whether medical or nursing, and above all they are in great need of medicines and donations to keep the clinic running efficiently and necessary for the health of many Tibetans, lay people and monks, and also open to Indian residents. The clinic staff also asked me to look for organisations or individual professionals who would like to collaborate with them.
The librarian at the Gaden Jangtse Library asked me to find some help to finance the creation of a separate reading room in the library. At present, they have a very small reading room with little space for the necessary books and even less space to place tables and chairs for readers. Therefore, a separate reading room in the library would be essential for the Dratsang, providing a place to accommodate monks, scholars and lay people so that everyone can deepen and consolidate their studies and research.
To carry out the project, the library needs to have bookshelves and tables and chairs for readers built. The good thing is that they have already identified a room large enough that could be adapted for this purpose.
The Gyalrong Khamtsen has a three-winged building, which is residential for the monks: it is the result of the efforts made by the community over the past 17 years. Therefore, they have enough rooms and a modest prayer hall. At the moment, they are looking for some financial help to build a new kitchen. A well-equipped kitchen is necessary for the community to provide a healthy diet.
I met many Tibetan families who asked me for sponsors to help their children financially to continue their studies, because otherwise they cannot offer them a decent future. I also met many monks who need benefactors to help them financially to cover the costs of pilgrimages to holy places, which are essential for their spiritual training, and to buy important study texts.
Brief report on the 2006 visit
This is a brief message to my friends about my recent trip to India and Nepal, which lasted from 15 January to 15 March 2006.
As soon as I arrived in Dharamsala, I immediately went to the private office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to present him with the final version of my thesis ‘Gateway to Abhidharma’, in order to receive His Holiness's blessing and treasure his valuable advice, especially for any further corrections to the text. My desire is to be able to publish it as soon as possible and donate copies to each of the Tibetan universities.
I then went to Nepal to embrace my parents who, with immense sacrifice, enabled us children to study and fulfil our purpose in life. They live in a small Tibetan village of about 600 inhabitants. I spent more than a month with them, including the Tibetan New Year (Losar), in joy and Dharma. While I was in the village, I tried to respect and offer solidarity to the members of the local monastery and the people of the village.
I then spent a few days in Delhi visiting historical sites such as Mahatma Gandhi's house and other places connected to important Indian figures who had taken on leadership roles in India and sacrificed their lives for the country, not only for political reasons, but also to safeguard the spiritual values of their land and its inhabitants.
This trip was particularly meaningful and useful for my spiritual growth and was a profound life experience.
Trip to India and Nepal 2007
I left for India on 22 January 2007 and returned to Rome on 20 March. During this period, I visited Gaden Monastery, staying for three weeks in its community, Gajang Gyalrong Khangtsen; at the same time, I also visited the Tibetan communities in the area.
During my stay at Gaden, I completed the final revision of my doctoral thesis Gateway to Abhidharma at the Gaden Jangtse Monastic University Library. The book was finally published and the first copies were presented to His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala during the last days of my trip. The book will soon be distributed free of charge to lamas and geshes, major Tibetan monasteries and libraries, and scholars. It will also be available at a reduced price for students.
During this visit, I was able to offer the monastery 500 rupees for about 60 monks who were already in the Gaden Jangtse monastery in Tibet before 1959 and who now, being very elderly, often suffer from serious health problems.
I was then able to make offerings during the annual puja of Gajang Gyalrong Khangtsen and various donations to the religious community and many lay people.
During my stay at the monastery, I worked on the project to build a new boundary wall, work on which had already begun.
Finally, during my visit to my parents in Pokhara (Nepal), I participated in the Monlam prayer at the local monastery with offerings to the monks and lay people, and I also managed to make a short visit to Kathmandu to pray at the sacred sites.
Lama Geshe Gedun Tharchin
