Really the story begins many years ago when four friends, all
Lamas, and I left Tibet. Upon reaching to India we made a vow
together that one of us would someday start a school to preserve
the special teachings and yogic practices of the Nyingma lineage.
We made this promise to Dudjom Rinpoche. Now, many years later not
all of us are alive and others are engaged in important work and so
it has fallen to me to undertake this project. Really I am very
lucky because to do such auspicious work in a sacred land such as
Pemako makes one very fortunate. We are all very fortunate to be
able to help the Buddha's teachings to flourish.
In many Terma Padmasambhava spoke of the special characteristics
of Pemako as a sacred hidden land. To go there, to help the
Buddha's teachings there, brings great merit. Two years ago when I
began this work I went to the Supreme Head of the Nyingma Lineage,
H.H. Minling Trichen Rinpoche, and he blessed our school with the
name Lhundrup Topgye Ling. This year while in America my root Lama,
Dungse Thinley Norbu Rinpoche, Dudjom Rinpoche's son, also gave
very strong blessing for this project. So I am very lucky indeed to
be doing this work.
When I came to the west I met many people who wished to help and
now people from three continents and more than 7 countries have
contributed to our noble project. We have built a school where
there has been no school. We have built a nursery for small
children and also a kitchen, which provides food for children and
parents. We offer clothing and medical care as well. Just this year
we have arranged for a medical camp to come to the region with
doctors and supplies from the west. This sacred area of Pemako is
so remote that it receives very little aide and these resources are
much needed.
My goal was not to merely start a school but to help the whole
community there thrive. Our vision must be holistic it must be very
broad because we must make the whole community strong in order to
save these precious teachings. As Buddhist we must have impartial
compassion and love for all beings not only those who look like us
or have our nationality. For this reason we offer the school, the
nursery, the aide, to all people in the region both Tibetan
refugees and local children. In this way the school will be built
on a strong foundation and continue into the future after we are
all gone. Guru Rinpoche's tradition is for everyone!
Lopon P. Ogyen Ten'dzin Rinpoche comes from the family lineage
of Pema Lingpa and was a long a time student of Dudjom Rinpoche. He
has studied with many of the greatest Lamas of his generation and
now strives to preserve these teachings through a variety of
activities. Rinpoche served as head of the Nyingma Students
Association at the Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies in Varanasi
for many years, is founder of the Boddhicitta Foundation - a
non-profit aide group in India and is now director of the Pemako
Project in India.
LHUNDRUP TOPGYE LING NGAKPA DRATSANG SCHOOL IS UNIQUE
Recognizing interdependence: Education does not take place in a
vacuum. Efforts to meet local needs for medical care, infant care,
food and clothing complement the school’s initiative and create an
environment where grass-roots support and community involvement
insure long-term success.
The school is a traditional ‘dratsang’, where the spiritual,
academic, artistic and cultural treasures of the Tibetan people are
passed from generation to generation. Blessed and named by the
Supreme Head of the Nyingma Lineage, H.H. Minling Trichen Rinpoche,
it upholds the Gokar-chang-lo’i-dé, the culturally vital
non-monastic lineage of ngakpas representing one of the two
original streams of Buddhism in Tibetan history that has flourished
in Tibet since the 8th century. Following the Chinese occupation of
Tibet it is in danger of extinction unless efforts are made to pass
it on within the Tibetan community outside its homeland.
Offering aid to those who would otherwise be missed: Because the
Pemako region is remote, little aid reaches the Tibetan refugee
populations and the region is often ignored. Girls are generally
denied education in order to baby-sit younger children while
parents work the fields. The Lhundrup Topgye Ling Foundation gives
particular importance to creating a framework conducive to the
education of girls.
Cultural preservation means cultural diversity: Sadly, despite the
best of intentions, large-scale relief efforts often overlook
smaller but vital aspects of an endangered culture. The Lhundrüp
Topgyé Ling Ngakpa Dratsang School is the only school working to
save the ngakpa tradition within the exiled Tibetan community.
http://www.namchabarwa.org/school.htm