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 t was a busy month! Maureen Fallon and Sonam Rigzin visited
the monastery for a month to discuss future plans for Australia
and to participate in plans for the opening of the new Ramoche
Monastery at Sidbhari.
It was a great visit;
the monks are in better health, happy with their new accommodation
and the whole monastery is busy doing what monks do - young monks
learning their texts, older monks chanting in the main gompa
many hours a day, others travelling to offer pujas in other places,
monks painting Buddha statues, others making a 3 dimensional
mandala house, the Abbot and Vice Abbot carrying out special
rituals and ceremonies including initiation rituals of new monks
and geshe examinations as well as attendance on the presence
of H.H. Dalai Lama. It is a very impressive indication of solid
monastic practice and, given that the monks only moved in 6 months
ago, it has been accomplished most efficiently by the group of
monk managers.
Computers and Cameras
In response to a request from the monastery, we were able to
provide a Mac laptop, video camera, digital camera and printer
thanks to some very generous Melbourne sponsors.
It was extremely timely
as the monks are aiming to produce a book detailing the history
of the monastery as a memento for the inauguration ceremony in
March complete with a set of historical photos. It also enabled
some important filming of Geshe examinations to be done as well
as interviewing of the elders.
We hope to be able to
add to this equipment as time goes on as the administration of
this 500 strong community requires a full scale office situation
in addition to the recording of ceremonial occasions. Not to
mention management of our very own Gyuto Monk Sponsorship Scheme
which entails a major amount of work for the monks in India as
it does for Gyuto House here in Australia. We hope and expect
that this will continue to increase in line with the number of
sponsors providing regular support to the monastery.
Photos and Film
We were joined by Melinda Andreas who had come expressly to offer
her services throughout the entire month photographing each monk
in the monastery for our sponsorship program and filming a range
of Gyuto rituals for the monastery. She did such a good job that
she has been asked to be the official photographer at the Ramoche
Opening.
We also began a very
important project - recording on film the oral histories of the
'59 ers, the old monks who escaped from Tibet at the same time
as the Dalai Lama. Each monk's story is priceless and we believe
it is vital to record this history as a matter of urgency.
There is a beautiful
and important book and documentary to be made from this material
as soon as we can raise the resources, both technical and financial
to make it possible.
The first priority requires
ongoing interviewing followed by a number of months translating
the interviews into English.
As a starting point,
the monastery is keen for us to mount a Photographic Exhibition
featuring portrait shots of the old monks with a short resume
of their life stories for the opening so we are working out how
to bring that to fruition.
It is also becoming really
clear that this whole event - the opening by H.H. Dalai Lama
with H.H. Karmapa in attendance plus 10,000 monks, a host of
Australians who have made it all possible plus the ongoing valuable
exchange between the two cultures - is the nub of a great news/documentary.
We must find a serious
sponsor very quickly - I am thinking SBS or other funding source
to do it really well. The aim is four fold;
- to provide a historical
record of the event for the monastery
- to make a fascinating
documentary of international interest for general release
- to uncover and record
for posterity the little known tale of the Gyuto Monks leave
taking of Tibet and rebuilding of their monastic life in India
- this last is urgent given the age of the elders, and
- to tell the story of
a new world country's relationship with the ancient world of
the Tibetans including the exchange of kindnesses between them
Health Issues
Perhaps the most satisfying aspect of the trip this time was
the benefit we were able to bring to the monks from a health
perspective. Not only were we able to help a number of individuals
requiring urgent medical assistance, a very kind optometrist
and assistant travelled all the way from country Victoria to
test eyes and provide glasses to those needing them at no cost
to the monastery. In total, 80 monks had comprehensive eye tests
and 50 pairs of glasses with frames are currently on their way
to the monastery.
In the process six monks
were discovered to have conditions warranting operations so Gyuto
House has taken on the task of raising funds to cover these -
so far costs are around $4,500 with most of the work completed.
The monks travelled to Delhi to a reputable Eye Clinic and have
now returned to the monastery very very happy and able to see!
Other monks receiving
medical assistance - which came from a number of Australian individuals
wanting to help - included:
- a 12 year old needing
braces on his teeth
- a 78 year old with stomach
ulcers and diabetes
- a 26 year old with tuberculosis
- a 38 year old with a
serious degenerative bone disease affecting movement of his elbows
- a 75 year old monk needing
a hearing aid
Finally, again thanks
to a couple of generous donors, the old Gyuto Gompa in McLeod
Ganj where a group of monks conduct daily pujas for the Tibetan
community 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, is being renovated to
get rid of damp and effect a more healthy environment.
All of this is simple
hands on stuff - most often fixed by a few hundred dollars -
all of it impossible to fund by the monastery itself. This is
one area where we all can make a difference - each monk's gratitude
was overwhelming and the refrain the same - without this help,
it wouldn't ever happen.
The shame is that earlier
health care can prevent more serious impacts in later life. The
monastery needs to establish a clinic for treating ear, nose
& throat conditions plus find a way to ensure basic dental
attention. Since establishing a Health & Education group
three or four years ago, things have improved but there is a
very long way to go to achieve even a modicum of basic medical
care for the 500 monks. In the meantime, let us all do what we
can when we can. Your help is very much appreciated.
Capital Improvements
& Further Development
Already the shortage of land is apparent to meet even current
needs and options are few. The monastery has to purchase the
adjoining farm land as it becomes available but requires funds
to do so - when we arrived, the issue had become urgent so we
took the plunge and gave them an undertaking that, once again,
Australia would endeavour to help. The purchase of land will
cost $400,000 and this is needed in the next 12-18 months. On
this basis the monastery went ahead to put contractual arrangements
in place and it is our hope that we can raise this amount - at
least by pledge if not in fact - by the time of the opening in
March.
Achieving this will enable
the monastery to proceed to build:
- a school
- a dormitory for the
young monks
- a health clinic
- retirement cottages
for the old Gyuto Elders, plus
- plant vegetables and
establish an orchard, and
- recreation space
All of this will require
yet more resources but we are here for the long haul and we shall
just bite off a bit at a time until the needs are met. When you
see what has been achieved in the past few years, it becomes
clear that the important thing is to just start and do what you
can and one day - it's all there!
Last Word(s)
This is a rather wordy way of bringing you all up to date with
where we are at. In the near future it would be useful and sensible
to produce a brochure outlining what we aim to achieve and ways
in which people can become involved in contributing to the effort.
There is scope for everyone
to help at any level - it is all important. Right now we are
grateful that 20 folk in Byron Bay are knitting woollen vests
for the little monks while others are planning how they may be
able to help the monastery buy the land it needs. Others are
paying medical bills and I wish someone was helping me with graphic
design!
Have a great Christmas,
All of us at Gyuto House.
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