#12 – December 2015 Newsletter
In this edition:
Post-Earthquake Life at the Monastery
Update on Rebuild and Restore Shechen
New Integrative Shechen School
Shechen Nuns in Bhutan
End-of-Year Sponsorship and Funding
Shechen Hosts Excellence in Leadership and Management Course
Restoring the Great Boudhanath Stupa
Winter/Spring Calendar of Events
Other Links
Post-Earthquake Life at the Monastery
The devastating earthquakes in April and May affected all of Nepal. Nine thousand people lost their lives and hundreds of thousands of others were left homeless. The monks of Shechen Monastery immediately offered relief to those in need and applied their training in disaster preparedness and first aid, working tirelessly throughout the neighboring districts, bringing food, shelter, and first aid to the most affected populations, often at great danger to themselves.
In June, it was time for the monks to focus on rebuilding the monastery’s damaged buildings and returning the life of the monastery to some degree of normalcy with the new challenges that major restorations require. Our community relief work will continue for the long-term through the humanitarian activities of our partner Karuna-Shechen.
In early October, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche visited Shechen and performed special pujas at the monastery to strengthen the blessings of the temple and holy sites that were damaged by the earthquake.
Khenpo Sangay Phuntsok, Acting Abbot of the monastery, reports on the challenges being faced within the monastery:
“Other than the repair and restoration work from earthquake damage, one of the current difficulties in Nepal from the political crisis is fuel shortages: gas, petrol and electricity supply. The monastery is doing its best to manage. The worst case scenario will be that we will need to resort to using firewood for cooking food for the 400 monks.
Our dining room is being used as a temporary prayer hall while the temple is being rebuilt, which means that the monks either eat in their rooms or outside. Other rooms in the monastery are also being used for prayers and smaller pujas. Some of the monks’ quarters are damaged so in some areas overcrowding is a problem.”
The regular income that helped support the monastery from the adjoining Shechen Guest House has also been affected. This normally thriving business has had far fewer visitors since the earthquakes and it is also struggling to cope with the fuel shortages.
Update on Rebuild and Restore Shechen
The main temple building and other structures in the Shechen compound were badly damaged by the April and May earthquakes. At the request of Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche, longtime friend of the monastery, engineer Luc Cholley, came to Nepal to advise on what reconstruction work was needed. Working alongside Luc is local engineer, Ajay Khadka. Also advising is John Sanday, a renowned restoration architect, as well as his team of structural engineers. It was quickly discovered that the damage had significantly and dangerously weakened the structure of the main building and the temple. The good news was that the building could be preserved.
The reconstruction work has begun and is aimed at rebuilding and strengthening the original structure using state of the art building techniques and materials that can better withstand future earthquakes. The work is proceeding swiftly, and includes injecting epoxy into the main pillars, upper beams and tie beams to strengthen them, as well as increasing the number where needed. The final stage will involve the complicated task of removing, and then rebuilding, the temple walls.
We are also in consultation with restoration experts and master thangka painter, Konchog Lhadrepa, with hopes of preserving the precious frescoes in the main temple, the quality of which was unsurpassed. It’s still uncertain what we’ll be able to save.
The residence of Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche and the seniors’ home at our retreat center had to be torn down and will be entirely rebuilt. There were numerous other repair works that had to be done throughout the monastery: repairing the boundary walls around the compound, the Tara Temple, the school building, and the monks’ living quarters.
We thank everyone who has donated so far to this important preservation work so that the dharma lineage held and passed on through the activity of Shechen Monastery can continue without hindrance into the future and continue to be a spiritual place of refuge for the Himalayan people.
Please help us complete this historic rebuilding project by donating to the Rebuild and Restore Shechen Fund. We need your support.
New Integrative Shechen School
Last spring, Shechen formed a new school for its youngest monks (ages 6-15). It is a monastic school that focuses on integrating modern education with the Buddhadharma and follows a government curriculum leading to a graduate degree (the same as a middle school in Nepal).
We were very fortunate to be able to hire Jhabindra Kumar Subedi as principal, formerly one of the principals of Thrangu Rinpoche’s school, Shree Mangal Dvip. He has created a team of eight teachers, including three women and Shechen monks, who he is also training to be more interactive with the students.
The new curriculum includes enhanced Tibetan (reading and speaking), math, science, social studies, English, Nepali, and Buddhism.
We also now provide organized art and sports activities, and, as there are many children under seven, we have a small kindergarten for them.
This is an important step to raise the level of education for our students, prepare them for their lives ahead, and secure the success of the monastery for the future. The students have already made progress under our new principal’s guidance.
The budget for the school, including materials and all salaries, is only $28,000 and that is for 150 children!
This is a very exciting new venture. We hope that you will visit the school when you come to Nepal and follow its activities on our Facebook Page along with our other news.
For further information please contact Vivian Kurz.
Shechen Nuns in Bhutan
Shechen Orygen Chodzong is the only nunnery in Bhutan with a philosophical college (shedra) for women. One hundred nuns of varying ages live and study in this small compound in the hills near Thimphu. Their activities are similar to those of the monks in Nepal, including studying for a nine-year graduate degree as “Khenmas”. Their teachers include four “ani” (nun) teachers, graduates from the college, four monks from Shechen, and Dilgo Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche.
This year they performed four elaborate drupchens (9-day ceremonies) and was the first nunnery in Bhutan to hold a Yarney (Summer Rain Retreat). In collaboration with the Shechen Dharma Society, they presented a public talk with Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche on the Four Noble Truths attended by 1000 people.
Last year the Bhutanese Royal Grandmother offered the nunnery a small temple in the valley of Phobjikha. The valley is incredibly beautiful and sacred, and is also home to the white crane migration.
But it is also very cold and the existing huts are not suitable for living and practicing. We are raising funds to build new living/retreat quarters so that ten nuns can live and study near the temple, perform ceremonies, and do retreat there. Please contact us for further information on the Phubjikha Project.
End-of-Year Sponsorship and Funding
Are you a sponsor of a monk or nun? It is a wonderful adventure to be part of.
Shechen’s sponsorship program began in 1987 and provides a secure and dependable financial base for the care and education of our 600 monks and nuns.
The monks and nuns serve as monastery “ambassadors” and for $250/annually, you can sponsor their education and care. This program is a fulfilling way to support the work of Dilgo Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche and Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche. The funds it generates make it possible for the monastery to provide so much for its students.
Please, during these last days of 2015, support a monk or nun and make an ongoing commitment to the Shechen vision.
You can support a monk or nun for $20/month through recurring donations on PayPal, or make a one-time donation through PayPal, credit card, bank transfer or stocks.
Shechen Hosts Excellence in Leadership and Management Course
Shechen Monastery hosted a workshop on “Excellence in Leadership and Management: Core Concepts & Best Practices” from November 17-22. The workshop was organized and led by the Khyentse Foundation specifically for Shechen monks. There were 36 participants all associated with Shechen. Khyentse Foundation provided the faculty and materials.
The objectives of the six-day workshop are to provide modern management concepts, methods, and tools to those who will lead and manage the ways in which the Buddha’s teachings are spread in today’s complex world. It was specifically tailored to the needs of Shechen monks and their personal and professional environment.
The response of all the participants and faculty was overwhelmingly positive. The faculty expressed how impressed they were by the heartfelt engagement and evident skills of the participants as they performed the tasks and exercises. The participants all expressed how useful and relevant the lessons were to their daily work in the monastery and looked forward to implementing what they had learned to improve the communication, management and teamwork of those working for the monastery in fulfilling its vision.
We are very grateful to the Khyentse Foundation for this continuing collaboration and we look forward to implementing what we have learned and receiving further invaluable training in the future.
Restoring the Great Boudhanath Stupa
The great stupa of Jarongkashor in Boudhanath, Kathmandu, which is one of the three-renowned stupas of Nepal and a UNESCO heritage site, was badly damaged during the earthquake. The local community, lay and monastic, is working together to restore it. This has included replacing the damaged “life tree” (sok shing) which is placed inside a stupa or statue, as well as refilling the stupa with sacred mantras. This work is being conducted under the guidance of Tulku Rigdzin Pema Rinpoche, an eminent teacher who was a close disciple of the previous Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and is renowned for his expertise on stupa construction.
The Shechen Tulkus, Khenpos, Lopens and Monks have been involved in making Zhung (scrolls of continuous mantras) for the Precious Boudha Stupa. One of our monks expressed what they all feel: “Since we were children we have loved and felt the preciousness and value of the Boudha stupa, and we are so delighted to make a little contribution to it.”
On the 3rd of November, the auspicious anniversary of the Buddhas Descent from Heaven (Lhabab Duchen), Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche and Dudjom Yangsi Rinpoche lead a large group of Rinpoches and monks from four main tradition of Tibetan Buddhist in a consecration ritual of the sok-shing, which was then ceremonially placed inside the stupa. This ceremony was attended by thousands of devotees from the local communities.
Winter/Spring Calendar of Events
Please download the calendar of events for this winter/spring.
Other Links
For continuing news please regularly visit our website where you can sponsor a monk or nun, donate to one of our projects, request prayers and find new information and photos. Current photos and news can also be found on our Facebook page.
