DEPARTMENT OF RELIGION AND CULTURE
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The Department of Religion and Culture seeks to preserve and promote Tibet's spiritual and cultural heritage, which is on the verge of extinction in its own homeland. Over the past four decades, the Tibetan community in exile has established over 200 monasteries and nunneries with an enrollment of more than 20,000 monks and nuns. In the past twenty years, nearly 10,000 monks and nuns have escaped from Tibet. Aged between six and twenty five years, these monks and nuns leave everything behind, including their families and relatives to pursue a religious education in freedom and peace in exile.  Since the monasteries and nunneries are already overcrowded, it is impossible for them to take on newcomers without additional financial support.  The Department of Religion & Culture needs your help to provide basic necessities for a monk or nun.

CHUWAR GADHAN DOPHENLING MONASTERY
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The Gadhan Dophenling Monastery was originally re-established at Lamabagar in eastern Nepal near the border of Tibet.  However, due to the rise of the insurgency in Nepal, the monastery had to be moved to Kathmandu for security reasons.  Most of the monks at the monastery were new refugees from Tibet at the time.  Some are quite young and all are very eager to receive a modern education and learn Tibetan language and culture, an opportunity they missed in Tibet. Your generous contribution will help the monks to meet their basic needs for education, health care and other fees.

DREPUNG GOMANG MONASTERY
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Among the seven monastic colleges in Drepung Monastery (formerly the largest monastery in Tibet), Drepung Gomang Monastic College is oldest.  The College was established in 1416 by Jamyang Choje Tashi Pelden, a disciple of Je Tsong Khapa, the founder of Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism.  At the time, Je Tsong Khapa predicted that the College would become one of the most famous and well-endowed of Drepung Monastery’s colleges.  This came to pass, producing many eminent scholars who contributed to the spread of Buddhism throughout Tibet.  Following the diaspora in 1959, only 60 monks escaped and rebuilt the monastery in exile in south India.  Since then monks have come from as far away as Mongolia, Russia, Tuva, Buryiat, Kalmykia and Inner Mongolia.  Currently 1850 monks are in Drepung Gomang Monastic College pursing their religious studies and activities.  Young novice monks also attend the Dre-Gomang Buddhist Cultural Association school where they learn modern subjects.  Those who are unable to pursue monastic studies are trained in tailoring, painting, computer works. Visit their website.

DREPUNG LOSELING MONASTERY
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Drepung Loseling Monastery is one of Tibet's largest monastic universities.  Located in the hills in the outskirts of Lhasa, it was established in 1416.  With the destruction of most of Tibetan cultural and religious institutions by the Chinese, several hundred Loseling monks escaped to India, where they worked diligently to preserve their spiritual, cultural, academic and artistic traditions and re-establish their monastery in 1971 in South India, Karnataka State. The majority of monks depend almost entirely upon the monastery for their support.  Two-third of the monks are new refugees from Tibet and a number of young monks are orphans.  Special Senior Monks Program: Each of the senior monks offered for sponsorship here were members of Drepung Monastery in Lhasa, Tibet and escaped from the Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1959.  With the re-establishment of their monastery in India, these monks continued their studies and most obtained their higher Geshe degree.  All served as teachers; some are abbots and many of them serve as the managers.  Some of the monks are still responsible for raising funds and running the monastery, which has currently over 3000 monks. They lead a content and religious life that sets an example to the younger generation.

GOSOK RINZIN PHODANG PHUNTSOK CHOEKYILING
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Gosok Phuntsok Choling Monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal was established by Kyabje Gosok Rinpoche for young monks.  It was inaugurated in July 2002 and Rinpoche has organized a course of comprehensive study of Buddhism combined with the traditional religious themes of basic reading, writing and arithmetic. In the near future foreign languages and computer science will also be taught.  Currently there are approximately one hundred monks practicing there. The monastery is situated behind the holy Swoyambhu Stupa.

GYUDMED TANTRIC MONASTIC SCHOOL
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Gyudmed Tantric Monastic School was founded in the year 1982. With the blessing advice of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the school is running well and today there are more than 400 monk students in the school. Until 2008, more than two hundred students graduated in Geshe Ngagrampa Degree from the school. The school is progressing well under the fine teaching masters of Ven.Geshe Jampa Choedak, Ven. Nyima and other teachers.  Philosophy, Ritual lessons, Sand and Wooden Mandalas, Butter Sculptures, Computer class, and three language studies of Tibetan, English and Chinese are taught in the school.

GYURMELING MONASTERY
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Chokling Rinpoche is the Terton (Treasure Revealer) Chogyur Lingpa who in the 19th century, worked tirelessly alongside two great masters, Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and Jamgon Kongtrul in the Rime (non-sectarian) movement. The IIIrd Chokling Rinpoche founded the Tibetan Settlement in Bir and himself settled in this small village in northern India with his family and few disciples who had followed him into exile. In order to preserve the tradition of the Buddha dharma and the lineage of the Chokling Tersar (New Treasures of Chogyur Lingpa) in exile, Rinpoche started building Gyurmeling Monastery (Neten Gonpa) in India, which was finished by his oldest son, Orgyen Topgyal Rinpoche. Today, the monastery has around 150 monks, many of whom are from Tibet. Monks from Bhutan, Nepal, Brazil, Mustang, Lahaul and Spiti Valley and children from the Tibetan settlements in India as well as the border places of Nubri and Soluk Khumbu (Nepal/Tibet border) are part of the Gyurmeling mandala. The monks range in ages from 7–88 years old.  The oldest monk being the oldest living disciple of the IIIrd Chokling Rinpoche.

INSTITUTE OF BUDDHIST DIALECTICS
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From its beginning, the aims of the Institute at Mcleod Ganj have been to advance higher education for Tibetans in exile.  The goals of the Institute are: to produce advanced religious practitioners who will spend long periods of time in retreat, thus continuing the rich traditions of Tibetan Buddhist practice; to train religious teachers; to produce interpreters of the Dharma; to carry out comparative studies of Western science and Buddhism; and to produce scholars with an awareness of traditional and modern perspectives. No institution ever existed in this form in the history of Tibetan culture.  Such a development is a crucial move to ensure that the people of Tibet can move into modernity without loosing their rich cultural heritage.  In order to meet these aims, a wide range of courses are offered at the institute. These include: traditional courses in Buddhist philosophy, culture, language, literature, poetry, religious and political histories, rites and rituals, and astrology. The traditional Tibetan degrees issued by the Institute are equivalent to B.A., M.A., and Ph.D.  They are recognized by several well-known universities in Europe and the United States and their reputation continues to grow every year.  >Visit their website

SHALU MONASTERY
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Shalu Monastery was founded by Chetsun Shetsun Jugney in 1027 A.D at Shalu Village near Shigatse town in Tibet.  It is one of the oldest monasteries built during the later spread of Buddhism and was consecrated by the renowned Buddhist sage, Atisha (982-1034). In the early 14th Century, the monastery became one of the most famous centers of learning under the Abbotship of Buton Rinchen Drop (1290-1363 A.D), a great Buddhist scholar.  During his tenure as abbot, he personally supervised the creation of 449 tantric Mandalas and excelled in the fields of preaching, debating and composing.  The number of the monks rose to 7700.  During the Chinese invasion in 1959, Shalu was destroyed and the monks were imprisoned or forced to renounce their vows.  Shalu Monastery has been successfully constructed at Tibetan Cholsum Settlement, Bhuppur, Poanta Shaib India and was consecrated by Sakya Trichen Rinpoche in March 2005.   Currently there are 23 monks undergoing religious training who will soon be completing their studies.  The monastery does not have any source of income and no patron.  Your help is needed to keep Shalu from disappearing completely.  Your contribution would mean a lot to us.

SERA JHE MONASTERY
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Sera Jhe was founded in Tibet in the 15th century.  After the Chinese invasion thousands of Tibetans followed His Holiness the Dalai Lama into exile in India . While the original Sera Jhe monastery in Tibet faced destruction and decay, Tibetan refugees rebuild the monastery in Byalakuppe, District of Mysore in South India.  Today it is one of the largest Buddhist Monastic Institution in India with a total member population of over 3500 monks.  The number of monks grows larger each year as an average of 3,000 new refugees continue to arrive from Tibet each year – many heading straight to the monasteries, including Sera Jhe, to receive the monastic education they were denied in their homeland. Your contribution will help the monastery to provide for and improve the conditions for the ever increasing number of monks at the Monastery. 

SERAMEY THOESAM SCHOOL
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Seramey Thoesam School was founded in 1976 under the guidance of the re-established Sera-Mey Monastery. The school provides full-time, free education for children from destitute families, orphans and newly arrived refugees from Tibet. In the early days the small group of pupils took their lessons outside under the shade of the trees. There are now more than 300 pupils, aged from 5 to 17 years, who receive a modern education using Tibetan language in addition to Hindi, to prepare them for life as a layperson or as a fully ordained monk. The school receives no government funding and struggles to provide even the basic essentials for the boys. The aim or purpose of its establishment is to educate our young novice with the facilities of modern education. We specially care those who came from Tibet for monastic education and destitute who lives in this monastery. We appeal for your help anyway you can. 

TASHI LHUNPO MONASTERY
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The Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama, was established in 1447 in Shigatse and was one of the four great monasteries of Tibet .  During the lifetime of the 4th Panchen Lama, Lobsang Choekyi Gyaltsen, there were more than 3,000 monks in the Monastery and by 1959 there were 5,000, with another 2,000 monks affiliated to the monastery living outside Tibet .   Re-established in Mysore District, South India, in 1972, the monastery currently has about 300 monks, including many new refugees from Tibet .  The influx of new refugees is putting a strain on the monastery which faces difficulties supporting the existing monks.  The novice monks who need sponsorship all come from a remote, improvised village near Zanskar in Ladakh , India .  Nearly all their families are subsistence farmers.  Tashi Lhunpo Monastery seeks to provide the best possible modern education, along with a deep and intimate understanding of the heritage of Tibet . We aim to become a contributing member in spreading the virtues of honesty, compassion and sacrifice, as taught by Lord Buddha. But, we are somehow lacking from a financial point of view. So, we appeal for your help anyway you can.  Visit their website

THARPA CHOLING MONASTERY
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The Tharpa Choling is a renowned monastery built in 1937 atop Tirpai Hill near Kalimpong in West Bengal, India by Domo Geshe Rinpoche Ngawang Kelsang. One of the oldest monasteries in Kalimpong, it has a collection of rare Buddhist manuscripts and thangkas. Tharpa Choling is an ideal location for meditation.  The tranquil ambience, cool and pleasant climate, unspoiled and unpolluted nature and the perfect religious atmosphere make the monastery a unique place for a stay in seclusion. Despite the poor facilities, today a total of 41 monks reside at the monastery. Most of them are young students from poor families, so the monastery urgently needs sponsorship support for 24 of them. The monastery is also seeking support to renovate the main temple and construct a new school building.

THUBCHOG GATSEL LING MONASTERY
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Thubchog Gatsel Ling Monastery was constructed in 1959 by the people of the Mon region in Bomdila, Arunachal Pradesh and was offered to the 11th Guru Tulku Rinpoche Thubten Kalden.  His reincarnation, Tenzin Trinley Namgyal, was recognized by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1972.  Currently, 60 monks, three teachers and five staff reside at the monastery.  Most of the monks come from poor families which cannot provide adequate support for their relatives in the monastery.  The monks are engaged in a full program of Buddhist studies and in serving the public by performing various rituals, long life pujas and other rituals including the annual creation of a sand mandala of Avalokiteshvara at the time of Vesaka.   Many requests are made to the monastery on behalf of children who want to become monks, but the monastery is unable to meet this demand due to lack of facilities and food.