Projects completed since 1970
Over the last thirty years, Songtsen’s achievement in the areas of Tibetan cultural preservation and humanitarian aid is greatly due to the help and support from our broad network of volunteers and to the interest and generosity of our benefactors.
Funds were channeled through the Kangyur Rinpoche Foundation, the Fondation d’Entraide Bouddhique Internationale and the Fondation Padmasambhava. The following summary highlights key projects, realized by Songtsen’s group of volunteers, which have been successfully completed since 1970.
Project categories:
- Subsistence support for the very poor
- Projects in the fields of education, art and culture
- Helping refugee communities towards self-sufficiency
- Technical advice & financial support for the construction of Tibetan Buddhist centers & monastic colleges
- Health projects
- Stupa constructions
- Other projects
Subsistence support for the very poor
1) Donations to many schools and monasteries in India and Nepal
2) Donations to communities in Tibet made during Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche’s visits (general support and basic amenities for the poorest members of the population)
3) Donations to the most impoverished Tibetan refugee communities in Assam, Orissa and Mysore (India)
4) Offering alternatives to Tibetans prostitutes, by giving them training and opportunities to assist in preservation work
5) Construction of homes for elderly persons
6) Subsistence funds to Tibetan families
7) Restoration of buildings, water tank and library at orphanage-monastery in Darjeeling
Projects in the fields of education, art & culture
1) Construction of a library in Dehradun (India)
2) Initial building of the OKC school in Darjeeling (India)
3) Support for the Institute of Higher Studies in Sarnath and the Dzongsar Institute in Himachal Pradesh (India) and the Nyingmapa Institute in Boudha (Nepal)
4) Copying, publishing and distribution of rare and important Tibetan texts ( see also Padmakara Translation: Completed Projects)
5) Allocation of numerous sponsorships for students
6) Supporting artists in their studies and later through the commissioning of statues and thangkas
7) Students’ grants (school and college) in Tibet
8) The construction of a school for approximately 200 children in a poor Nepali village (Maratika), financial support for school expenses, as well as food and clothing for the children
9) Preservation of rare and ancient Tibetan manuscripts in India, Nepal and Tibet
10) Reprinting and distribution of important Buddhist texts
11) Preserving Tibetan arts and crafts
12) Professional training for young Tibetans to copy or input endangered manuscripts
13) Research for biography of Dudjom Rinpoche
14) Logistic support to visit of HHDL in Dordogne in 1990
15) Organization of the first ever visit of HHDL to Portugal in 2001
16) Creation of Kangyur Rinpoche Foundation in Portugal
17) Inviting and hosting Tibetan master
18) Printing Buddhist sutras
19) Donation of Tibetan texts to Helsinki University, Finland.
20) Preservation projects in Tibet:
Contribution for the restoration of the following buildings or monasteries:
- Milarepa's 9 story tower in Southern Tibet
- Riwoche monastery and a smaller monastery in Riwoche, Tibet
- Samye, Mindroling, & Dorje Drak monasteries
Contribution for the restoration of Tibet's spiritual heritage:
- Sponsorship of monks & nuns to receive transmissions and to perform prayers for the restoration of their cultural tradition
21) Sponsorship of drupchens as a way to promote the restoration of Tibet's cultural and spiritual heritage, particularily through the practices involved, such as consecration ceremonies, the construction of sand mandalas, meditation practice, sculpture making, ritual dance and other traditional rituals - combines art, spiritual practice, & culture - restore spiritual and cultural heritage of Tibet
Helping refugee communities towards self-sufficiency
1) Installation of water systems in Rewalsar (India)
2) Construction of a grain storage silo in Mysore (India)
3) Construction of lodgings and annex buildings in Bir (India)
Technical advice & financial support for the construction of Tibetan Buddhist centers & monastic colleges
Technical advice and financial support were given to eminent Tibetan religious leaders for major constructions in Tibetan refugee communities in various parts of India and Nepa.
1) Kangyur Rinpoche, O.K.C. school in Darjeeling (India)
2) Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Shechen Monastery in Boudha (Nepal)
3) Pa wo Rinpoche, Phuntsok (holing in Boudha (Nepal)
4) Zigar Drukpa Kagyu Institute, Rewalsar (India)
5) Orgyen Topgyal Rinpoche, Gyurmeling, Bir (India)
6) Tulku Orgyen at Asura cave in Yanglesho (Nepal)
7) Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche, Tibetan settlement in Simla (India)
8) Dudjom Rinpoche, Orgyen Do-Nga Choling in Boudha (Nepal)
9) Retreat center in Orissa (India)
Health projects
1) Widespread funding for medicines and medical treatment within the Tibetan communities
2) Sponsorships for medical treatment abroad in certain cases
3) Funding of a clinic to provide free medical checkups and treatment for the monks and poor people from all communities in Boudha (Nepal)
4) Support for the Tibetan Medical Institute in Dhara msala (India)
5) Support of elderly Tibetan doctors and sponsorships for traditional medical training of young Tibetans
6) Grants to the Shechen health clinic in Bodhgaya
Stupa constructions
Construction of a stupa in the following locations:
1) Dordogne, France
2) India
3) Nepal
4) Helsinki, Finland
5) Participation in Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche’s stupa projects in the 8 holy places in India (Sankiasa)
6) Construction of a stupa at Tharpaling in Bhutan
Other projects
1) Animal rescue
2) Support for other charities
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