November 2005
November 28, 2005KHYENTSE FOUNDATION HOLDS ITS 3rd ANNUAL BOARD MEETING
The third annual meeting of the Khyentse Foundation Board of Directors convened in San Francisco on August 17, 2005, just before the start of Rinpoche’s Madhyamakavatara teachings. Rinpoche and the board were joined by a number of committee members, friends, and advisors to the Foundation, including Gene Smith, Richard Dixey, Steven Goodman, Kris Yao, and John Chan. Because of the global nature of the organization, we rely almost entirely on electronic communications throughout the year. The meeting offered a rare and welcome opportunity for committees to meet in person, many for the first time, and for thought-provoking discussions, brain-storming, and a number of inspiring progress reports on the Foundation’s five projects.
Committee Reports
The Investment Committee Report, presented by Chair Bel Pedrosa, was especially exciting. Thanks to the committee’s diligence and professional expertise, the return from investment in 2004-2005 was 10.8%, providing interest income at twice the rate we had anticipated.
There was discussion about expanding the scope of the Foundation to include funding of special projects that lie outside the original five. At the discretion of the board and contingent on the availability of funds, the Foundation will now make grants to a small number of worthwhile projects that fall within its core purpose. Projects under consideration range from translation of Buddhist texts to sponsorship of Buddhist conferences. Rinpoche's Vision Rinpoche opened the meeting with an inspiring talk that reminded us all of how far we’ve come in just four years and how much impact this joint effort can have. He introduced the concept that the Foundation supports both the mother and the child of Buddhism: “From a spiritual point of view, Buddhism is one of the most important and profound paths. It is one of the oldest cultural systems and it has so much to offer to the world, not just intellectually but practically. In Buddhist countries even today the peacefulness and friendliness reflects this. In one sense Buddhism involves devotion and an individual’s spiritual quest, so one might say that materialism doesn’t have any place here. But in this relative world, without material support, spiritual achievement is almost impossible. This was also true in the past. The Buddha himself walked the streets of Magadha with the begging bowl, appearing to rely on patrons, merchants, kings, even courtesans. “When we say we are patrons of Buddhism I think we are basically talking about supporting two things: study and practice. The dissemination of Buddhism in India, China, Tibet, and many of the Southeast Asian countries was possible very much because of teachers and masters, but patrons have also played a very important role. Some of the most important events in Buddhist history, such as the three assemblies, would not have happened without patrons. Likewise, the degeneration of Buddhism in parts of the world such as Indonesia, Afghanistan, and Kashmir has got a lot to do with the degeneration of their systems, their governments, and the lack of patronage. When these fall, Buddhism also falls.
“I see two things that Khyentse Foundation can do. We should work for the preservation of the existing, almost mother-like Buddhist world, such as Tibet, Cambodia, and Thailand. And then we should also support the emerging, almost child-like Buddhist world.
“Tibetan culture and Buddhism are two different things. Khyentse Foundation’s main aim is serving Shakyamuni and propagating his vision, the dharma. With this aim in mind, Khyentse Foundation does not need to spend its resources preserving only Tibetan culture. Buddhism’s universal concepts, such as knowing suffering and abandoning the causes of suffering, are not limited to one society or one culture. Buddhism is growing rapidly in non-Tibetan areas such as China, America, and Europe, but it has not yet matured there. It will, I think. And it should. There are so many young people searching for something. Unfortunately, many of them will end up taking refuge in a wrong view that ultimately will not sustain them. At this time we should have some kind of a facility so that people can have access to at least some correct information. So thinking in the long term, Khyentse Foundation has a very important task at this crucial time: nurturing and helping this child, this new interest in Buddhism, while helping and preserving the existing Tibetan and Cambodian Buddhist institutions.”
Rinpoche then recited the Prayer of Excellent Conduct:
Until the sky exhausts, sentient beings will not exhaust. And until the sentient beings are exhausted, my prayers will not exhaust.
“Similarly, I feel that until sentient beings are exhausted we should have the aspiration that Khyentse Foundation will not exhaust. So, it looks like it is just the beginning. I must thank the patrons of Khyentse Foundation. They have taken a tremendous burden off of me. I could take the six-month retreat that I have just recently completed and the one I will do soon simply because I don ’t have to run up and down to make ends meet. I can just relax and think about some other things—hopefully, beneficial things.”
SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE
The Foundation still needs to raise US$600,000 to fully endow the $1 million Scholarship Fund. In the meantime, the Board approved the allocation of a moderate sum to be distributed in 2006 to those who wish to study and practice Buddhism but are limited by financial concerns.
This support is for individual Buddhist students, practitioners, teachers, and translators, and for Buddhist institutions that are sponsoring or developing these individuals, on a nonsectarian basis. Detailed funding policies were approved by the Board and eligibility criteria were established. A Scholarship Committee has been formed to review applications.
For more information, email scholarships@khyentsefoundation.org.
To download an application form, go to
http://www.khyentsefoundation.org/pdf/KFScholarship_
Application_Form.pdf
Those who apply by January 15, 2006 will be notified by May 15. Those who apply by July 15, 2006 will be notified by November 15.
THE STORY OF A MONK AND A MISSING TEXT
Earlier this year, a monk at Chökyi Lodrö College of Dialectics in Chauntra, India was searching for the ten-volume Collected Works of Rongton Sheja Kunrig (1367-1449), the founder of Nalendra Monastery in Tibet.
The monk logged on to the web site of the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center (TBRC) and located the volumes in their online catalog. Like all the texts listed in the cata- log, these volumes had been collected by Gene Smith and the TBRC staff. The original woodblocks were scanned and saved as high resolution PDF files. The monk then contacted David Lunsford of Palri Parkhang (Glorious Mountain Printing House) to see if he could get a printer-ready version of the texts.
Located in Austin, Texas, Palri Parkhang is a small formatting and print-on-demand center that converts TBRC’s massive PDF files into documents that are printer ready. This Austin test facility is a model for a future facility in Bhutan and possibly other parts of Asia. Setting up a print center in Bhutan would not only serve the worldwide Buddhist community, it would also create jobs and provide skills training for a number of Bhutanese.
Upon receiving the monk’s request, David Lunsford burned CDs of the texts and sent them to him in a format that can be printed on standard-sized paper in India. This monk was lucky that his texts were available. Currently only a quarter of the 12,000 volumes in TBRC’s library have been scanned ,and so far fewer than 250 volumes are printer friendly. For this reason, Khyentse Foundation is supporting the continuation of TBRC’s scanning project and is seeking funding to establish formatting and print- on-demand facilities in Bhutan, India, and Sikkim. Our efforts are currently directed toward securing funding from major foundations.
To learn more about the extraordinary efforts of the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center, visit
http://www.tbrc.org.
If you have grant writing experience to offer, or if you have contacts at institutions or foundations that may wish to participate in the publications project, please contact info@khyentsefoundation.org.
AUSTRALIA TAKES SCHOOL PROJECT TO THE NEXT LEVEL
Building on the success of their monthly children’s days, Siddhartha’s School in Australia has formed a steering committee of nine enthusiastic proponents of Buddhist schooling.
After much research, information gathering, and linking with other like-minded groups—and a little help from a divination (mo)—the group has decided to establish a school in Lismore, one of the larger towns near Rinpoche’s retreat center, Vajradhara Gonpa. Lismore has a university and a growing population.
Project spearheads Ari Summa and Eva Thomas will soon be seeking volunteer input, creating a board of directors, and establishing a fundraising committee. Khyentse Foundation is committed to support this effort, contingent upon funding availability. Although KF policy does not allow the funding of construction, the Foundation will fund the operation of the school, including text books, teacher salaries, program costs, and so on. To find out more, contact sschool@khyentsefoundation.org.
ENVISIONING THE NEW NALANDA
During his trip to Tibet in 2004, Rinpoche spent three days traveling in a jeep with the headmaster of Dzongsar Institute in Derge. They discussed the Institute’s curriculum and its relationship with the Chinese government.
Rinpoche offered to train the khenpos in how to teach Buddhism to the Chinese in a practical, secular manner. He said that students at Dzongsar Institute in Tibet should continue to study Chinese. Likewise, students at Chökyi Lodrö College of Dialectics (CLCD) in India will begin studying Hindi and English in 2006. Upper-level classes will also receive training—in computers, health and hygiene, bookkeeping, and other skills—and will attend month-long seminars led by professionals from a wide variety of disciplines, from economics to world history. There are 20 million Buddhists living in India with no teachers, so it’s very important for students at CLCD to prepare themselves to spread the dharma in India. Rinpoche’s vision is that the khenpos who graduate from these institutions will become not only great practitioners but also great teachers, with the necessary skills to function in the modern world while spreading the wisdom of the Buddha.
Other Institute News
Amelia Chow is working with an international team of professionals to create a curriculum for CLCD students that will include the study of English, computers, and other subjects.
Rob McLaughlan visited CLDC and created a master plan for a medical clinic. Space has already been allotted, and Rob is working to equip and staff the clinic by next year. Plans are underway to establish a shedra for lay students that will occupy the old Dzongsar Institute at Bir, India.
ZEITGEIST FILMS RELEASES DVD OF "TRAVELLERS & MAGICIANS" IN THE U.S.
On October 25, 2005,Travellers & Magicians became available on DVD. The DVD has a number of special features, including luminous 16:9 transfer, enhanced for wide-screen television; “Story from Bhutan: The Making of Travellers & Magicians ”; behind-the-scenes Himalayan location footage; and the theatrical trailer.
The film is in Dzongkha, the language of Bhutan, with English subtitles. To order your copy at a special rate of only $22.49 (25%off the listed retail price of $29.99),visit the KF Benefits Gallery at www.khyentsefoundation.org/bg.
In celebration of the release, Khyentse Foundation has lowered the price of the Travellers & Magicians coffee table book from $50 to $35.A package deal of DVD and book is offered at a special rate of $49.99(an $80 value). All proceeds benefit Khyentse Foundation.
KF SPONSORS HISTORIC "HERITAGE OF NALANDA" CONFERENCE IN INDIA
“The Heritage of Nalanda,” an international conference celebrating the cultural contributions of Nalanda University, will be held at the site of the original institution in Bihar State, India, from February 12 through 14, 2006. Khyentse Foundation is one of the lead sponsors of the event, which will highlight the important role that the university, one of the oldest in world history, played in the development of Buddhism.
Executive Director Cangioli Che will attend, along with 300 other invited foreign delegates, masters, and eminent scholars from across Asia and even parts of the Middle East. HH Dalai Lama will inaugurate the conference.
Nalanda, which means “place that confers the lotus,” Is about 90 kilometers south- east of Patna, the capital of Bihar. Tradition dates it back to the 5th century BCE, and Buddha Shakyamuni is believed to have visited it and given sermons in a nearby mango grove. At its peak, Nalanda is thought to have accommodated up to 10,000 students, and it was a meeting place for some of the greatest scholars, saints, and scientists of the time. The curriculum included logic, grammar, astronomy, and Ayurvedic Buddhist medicine. Among the famous Buddhist teachers and scholars at Nalanda over the centuries were Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava, Nagarjuna, Chandrakirti, Naropa, and many others. King Ashoka was a patron of Nalanda. The Chinese pilgrims Xuanzang (Huan-tsang) and Yijing provide vivid accounts of Nalanda in the late 7th century. In the 12th century, the entire complex was destroyed by Turkish Muslim invaders. This event is seen as the final milestone in the decline and near extinction of Buddhism in India.
The origins of several major lineages of Buddhism can be traced to the acharyas of this ancient university. A vast amount of the Buddhist teachings still available today has been credited to Nalanda teachers and traditions. These teachings spread from the university to Vietnam, China, Korea, Japan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and beyond. The “Heritage of Nalanda ” conference will draw attention to Nalanda’s impact on the culture of Asia.
PROFESSOR SKILLING IS VISITING PROFESSOR AT UC BERKELEY
Peter Skilling, founder of the Fragile Palm Leaves Foundation, is Visiting Numata Professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of California at Berkeley for the fall semester, 2005.
Professor Skilling is teaching a course titled “Perspectives on the Buddhism of Greater Jambudvipa,” focusing mainly on the literature and culture of premodern Thailand. He also gives a Pali reading class, using liturgical texts to introduce students to the texts that are part of the everyday life of Thai Buddhists. Khyentse Foundation supports the Fragile Palm Leaves project, which preserves and studies ancient Buddhist texts in several Southeast Asian languages, including Pali. The project has collected palm-leaf manuscripts to prevent them from being dispersed to private collections around the world. The manuscripts are being cataloged, and a scanning project has been initiated in conjunction with the Lumbini International Research Institute (Lumbini, Nepal).
Fragile Palm Leaves Foundation is nonsectarian and non-national. One of its aims is to broaden the horizons of Buddhist Studies in Southeast Asia by publishing books on other Buddhist traditions. The first volume with this aim will be a history and survey of the Tibetan Buddhist canons (the Kanjur and Tanjur), written in Thai. It is hoped that the volume will appear next year.
REORGANIZATION AND NEW APPOINTMENTS
• Kris Yao and Isabel Pedrosa were appointed KF Board members.
• Pema Tshering and Rinzin Lhamu of Bhutan were invited to be KF country representatives.
• Suyin Lee was appointed Beneficiary Coordinator in the Executive Office.
• Alysia Lee, Ngodup Dorje, Gene Chan, Gregory Forgues, Kelly Yang, and Donavan Van Leeuwen were appointed advisors to the Investment Committee.
• Ngodrup Dorje will join the Grants Review Committee as the coordinator.
• The Fundraising Committee was dissolved. Its activities will be carried out by the KF country teams.
• Kris Yao, Steven Goodman, and Cangioli Che will concentrate their efforts on the Endowed Chair of Buddhist Studies.
• Nancy Lee, Yinwah Ma, and Sharon Roe were invited to work on special projects.
A number of changes have been made to the organization of Khyentse Foundation’s volunteer corps. For complete details, go to http://khyentsefoundation.org/whoweare.html
More News:
« May 2005 | December 2005 »
