SURMANG SHEDRA SPRING 2006 CAMPAIGN

“We are now helping to re-establish Surmang Dutsi Til as a vital dharma center in the Shambhala heartland in Tibet. The shedra is a key part of that plan. It will provide monastic and lay education in a valley where there are presently no schools. Please join the people of Surmang and the Konchok Foundation in making 2006 a pivotal year for building the Surmang shedra.”
— Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche

Key year for rebuilding.
The Konchok Foundation is undertaking a major support campaign this spring to provide funds for the 2006 construction season for the Surmang shedra (school). If all goes as planned, 2006 will see the largest building effort at Surmang since the monastery’s destruction in 1959. A major goal for this summer is to erect the lhakang (shrine hall and classrooms) for the shedra.

Building materials for the 2006 construction season must soon be purchased, and shipping costs paid, in order that rebar, windows, pipe, etc. can be laboriously trucked more than 600 miles from the nearest city, Xining, to Surmang. Therefore the spring fundraising campaign is vital to make the 2006 shedra construction possible.

The Surmang shedra will be of great benefit to the entire community by providing a basic education in subjects including Tibetan, Chinese, English, and mathematics. Dharma studies will draw from multiple sources including the rich Surmang heritage. Due to the severe poverty in Tibet, your contribution is crucial for the shedra effort, and also for support of the young Trungpa Tulku and the Surmang monks.

“98% of the people of Surmang don’t have any education, they can’t read or write Tibetan. So, it’s very important to have a school. Lay people, women, men, monks and nuns, all plan to study in the shedra....Knowledge is the most special gift for everyone, knowledge is priceless.”
— Surmang Khenpo Tsering Gyurme

New DVD.
A new 25 minute DVD about Surmang, including a 2006 interview with Khenpo Tsering, is now available, thanks to Centre Productions. We encourage showings at your center or in your home. Please let us know if you’d like a free copy.

Dutsi gifts from Dutsi Til.
The monks of Surmang are making packets of dutsi (amrita) for supporters of the shedra. We plan to provide dutsi gifts to everyone who makes a gift of $108 or more this year. Khenpo Tsering tells us that "mother" dutsi, which dates back to the founding of Surmang Dutsi Til ("amrita hill") and before and incorporates blessings from all of the Trungpa tulkus and earlier lineage holders, was preserved in hiding after 1959 and will be used to prepare the dutsi gifts.

Online art auction.
Please visit the Art Auction which will open on April 16 and close at midnight on April 30. Many artists have generously offered their works, including a superb thangka of Yum Chenmo painted by Marcia Usow. Eiichi Okamoto has generously offered some “dragon calligraphies.” The Donation Gifts section will remain open throughout the summer. This will highlight an inspiring DVD made from footage taken by Lama Ugyen Shenpen of His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, the Sakyong, and other teachers from our lineage.

Donations.
For information on making a donation, please go to Make a Donation

Thank you for your participation in rebuilding Surmang! For more information, or to request the DVD or poster, contact us.

New poster.
Let us know if you’d like a free copy of this 24” x 30” poster.