Help to support Tibetan refugees in need:
Nuns in the Khachoe Ghakyil Ling nunnery
in Nepal
The nuns near the nunneryIn 2003 Khen Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup, at that moment abbot of the Kopan nunnery, asked the Tara Foundationing for help for the Kopan nunnery.
There is an untenable situation created by the continuing flow of refugees from Tibet. The nunnery was built for 250 nuns, but there were already living 400 habitants. In wintertime also 100 nuns from the remote aerea of Tsum live here. many women, have risked their lives and left everything behind,
make the dangerous flight over the Himalaya, to become nun here in freedom, in Tibet this is not longer possible.
The Kopan nunnery is therefore very populair for refugees (and also women from the wide region) bvecause the nuns here have the same possibillities as the monks. The nuns can also do here the education for Geshe. Before this was inpossible for nuns, and even nowadays it happens sporadic.
In India and Nepal there are only 6 nunneries where this study is possible.
In may 2016 the first 2 nuns of the Kopan Nunnery completed their education. In october they will receive their Geshemea title (the female equivalent for Geshe , a doctor's degree in the Buddhistic philosofy) from His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Next year 5 or 6 nuns hope to complete their study. An enormous development for the nuns and also a big opportunity to support this development by supporting the nunnery financial!
Lama Lhundrup
The recently deceased Khensur Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup, former abbot of the Khachoe Ghakyil Ling Nunnery, asked Tara Foundation to help the Nunnery.
The first consulting hour of the female doctor in the nunnery
In may 2013 we started after close consultation with the nunnery a new healthproject with the goal: structural and durable healthcare
and available medical support for the nuns.
To work in this way towards a structural improvement of the healthcare of the nuns!
The nunnery itself is giving the highest priority to this project.
this new goal is a fund for individual support of seriously ill nuns.
Parts of the project are:
1.-The appointment en payment of a Tibetan speaking female allopatic doctor. The salary of €2000 a year is payed by the Tara Foundation.
The first consulting hour of the doctor was in may 2014 and was a big success!
2.-A fund, payed by the Tara Foundation, to educate two nuns to become teacher in health education and hygiene. This was needed urgently because the nuns knew not much about these subjects.
The nuns have to go first for a year to a secundary schoolto get an official certificate.After that they have to study for two years to become a teacher.
The costs of educate one nun is about €2000,- a year. After graduate they wi start teaching in their own nunnery.
These lessons will become a fixed part of the studyprogram.
Because there is at the moment enough money in this eductationfund, is in well consultation of the monastery decided that donations for this part of the healthcareproject starting august 2020 use it for another goal, wich is needed the most at the moment.
More and more requests came from the monastery to sponsor seriously ill nuns individually, so apart from their medical treatment, wich is payed by the monastery (from general donations). Because it is not possible to arrange that support for all the nuns who need that support to find sponsors for them, and because there was money enough for the education-fund, is decided that the donations, formerly used for the educationfund now partly will be used for the new fund for seriously ill nuns. The monastery itself decides wich nuns will be in the running for this en for how long. Apart from this donations will be used for the equipment of the monastery-clinic.
Shortly we will publicate on this page photos and descriptions of the ill nuns, so the sponsors of the healthcareproject can see wich nunspartly by their donations are supported. We are very glad with this new fund and hope that many nuns who are ill can be helped by this! We ask for this your continuous support!
In general the main parts of the healthcare projects are now:
1-Payment of the salary of the female Tibetan doctor (€2000,- a year)
From the other donations of the healthcareproject ((approximately €2000,- ) will go from now on to
2-The monastery-clinic: € 1000,-- (for new and replace equipment etcetera.)
3-Fund for the individual support of seriously ill nuns (This is the goal for the rest of the donations to the healthcareproject. At this moment this is approxiametely € 1000,- , when there are more donations to the healthcareproject this part will be bigger, this will be very much desired.)
The payment for the female doctor stays the same. Also the clinic was supported earlier, but not structural, like in the new plan.
All sponsors are already informed.
We hope for a continued support for the healthcareproject!
Our first health project for the nuns in 2011 about the massive Heliobacter Pylori contamination:
At this moment they are working on the construction of a new prayer hall with rooms, classrooms and a kitchen, but the nuns are in need of more money to be able to complete the job.
Also we ask for your attention for the Tara Temple. This section of the nunnery is situated in the holy place Sarnath in India. The building is given to the nunnery. DThe nuns do their Tara puja's 24 hours a day. The circumstances are very primitive and improvement of the situation is very urgently needed.
- More information about the Tara Temple
- Kopan Nunnery Needs You
- Kopan Nunnery Documentary 1/2
- Kopan Nunnery Documentary 2/2
The Kopan nunnery needs help from outside for the daily needs, medical care and studies of the nuns. And of course to give everybody a good place.A very good way to support the nuns is sponsoring a nun. Dit komt alle nonnen ten goede. The sponsoring amount oftenly is between €15 and €25. The minimum amount is €15 a month.
Also you can choose to sponsor the healthcare-project instead of choosing a nun to sponsor. This is at the moment the most desirable, for the nunnery. The healthcare-project also has a fund for ill nuns. Nuns who are ill can get from here also sponsoring for the things they need extra because of their illness. The nunnery is managing this fund and decides wich nuns are qualified for the fund (and how long).In our opionion this is a better and more feasible way to help all the nuns who are seriously ill than trying to find individual sponsors for them.
Sponsoring starts with € 15,-- a month, ( the best is € 25,--) and always for at least 1 year!
- Photos and biographies
Stupa for Khensur Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup
Finally we would like to offer the possibility to give a donation for building the stupa for Khensur Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup at the Kopan Nunnery.
This stupa will be built in front of the new prayer hall.
The aim is to create causes for the swift return in a new reincarnation of Khensur Rinpoche and to fulfill all his wishes.
Contributing to building a stupa creates much positive energy for the donator.
Here you see a photo of a smaller stupa wich is build near the Kopan monastry and recently is initiated.
- More information about the stupa
Stupa of Complete Victory
A start has been made on the construction of the "Stupa of Complete Victory" for the quick return of Lama Zopa Rinpoche. The Stupa is being built near the Kopan Monastery, close to the Stupas of Khensur Lama Lhundrup and Geshe Lama Konchok. Sufficient funds have not yet been raised for it. Besides being the spiritual head of the Nunnery, Lama Zopa Rinpoche was also the main spiritual teacher of the nuns.
In consultation with Ven. Holly Ansett, the project leader, the Tara Foundation will assist in raising more funds for the "Stupa of Complete Victory". Ven.
Holly has indicated that help is very welcome because there are currently not enough funds for the project.
At the Kopan Monastery in Kathmandu, ground and foundation work has begun for the construction of the "Stupa of Complete Victory" for the quick return of Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
The Stupa will be built in the Stupa-garden at the Kopan Monastery, where the Stupas of Geshe Lama Konchog and Khensur Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup are also located. A path will be constructed around the three Stupas to do the Kora.
The "Stupa of Complete Victory" symbolizes Buddha's triumph over the mara of death, and the advice to build this Stupa specifically comes from His Eminence Zong Rinpoche.
The costs are very high, as they involve not only the construction of the Stupa itself but also extensive ground and foundation work to prepare the hillside location where the Stupa will be situated.
Furthermore, many sacred objects will be placed in the Stupa, including the Tengyur and the Kangyur, 40 trillion mantras using nano-technology, and many other sacred objects.
You can make your donation to account number NL29ABNA0431292981, payable to the Tara Foundation, stating: Stupa of Complete Victory.
Donations are fully transferred without deduction of costs and are tax deductible (the Tara Foundation is a recognized public benefit organization).