Losar Tashi Delek! Happy New Year!

Dear Friends,

Your letter/check should be sent to:
Ripa Ladrang Foundation
11270 Exposition Blvd.
PO Box 64887
Los Angeles, CA 90064-9998

We are extremely grateful for your continued support and generosity. 

The purpose of the monk sponsorship program is to provide for a monk’s basic necessities during his life at the monastery. The sponsorship monies pay for the costs of food, housing, clothing, study materials, health care and other basic necessities for the monks.

Monk Sponsorship Goal and Monastic Life

Monks are of vital importance to our monastic life and teaching of Buddhism. They are a major source of help and support the preservation of the Tibetan language, culture, dance rituals, prayers and practices, written language (Sanskrit), and holy traditions and transmissions brought from India by the enlightened teacher Padmasambhava. We have approximately 500 monks in our three (3) monasteries. Only one-third of our monks have sponsorships.

Yearly goal: $200,000
This is a recurring cost each year.

We currently have sponsorship for one-third of our monks. By donating US $500.00 per year, a monk is able to pursue his Buddhist practice and dedication to serving others without the distraction of having to pay for food, clothing, and shelter.

Monk Sponsorship Purpose

Monk sponsorship is a very powerful way to express our gratitude to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas who are continuously working for our benefit. Supporting the monk Sangha in these times sends tremendous blessings to a very weary world. To support the monastic community is to plant seeds of enlightenment for countless beings.

The purpose of the monk sponsorship program is to provide for a monk’s basic necessities during his life at the monastery. The sponsorship monies pay for the costs of food, housing, clothing, study materials, health care and other basic necessities for the monks in the Ripa Ladrang Monasteries and Foundation by donating US $500 per year. A monk is then able to pursue his practice and be dedicated to serving others without the distraction of paying for food, clothing, and shelter.

The Importance of Monk Sponsorship to His Eminence

Support of the monastery and the monks can demonstrate several positive and auspicious signs to H.E. Namkha Drimed Rinpoche:

• Support the work of our monks and live a life dedicated to dharma to achieve accomplishment on the spiritual path.
• Support monastic traditions and way of life, including the monks’ act of giving up all material possessions and taking personal vows; these vows are acts of courage, discipline and compassion that humble and inspire us to dedicate as much of our lives to the support, practice, and advancement of the dharma as possible.
• Support the preservation and advancement of history and traditions of the ancient practices and rituals.

• Understand how supporting the monks, supports the development and improvement of our own practice.

Benefits of Sponsorship to the Sponsor

Your support of a monk is like dropping a stone in calm water. The ripple effect is exponential. Through your generosity, a monk is able to enter and stay in the monastery. When you support a monk, you not only create good karma for yourself but you now have support from a monk and a direct link with the community and the monastery. Think about it this way, there will be a part of you within the monastery.

Giving small gifts is acceptable. Please do not give gifts of computers, expensive clothing, large amounts of cash (over $100, unless there is an emergency), complex electronic devices, cellular phones, etc. Any gift that might distract them from their studies and duties is inappropriate. Receiving money can be an uncomfortable act for them; the monastery takes care of all their personal needs.

Emergencies

Most of the routine medical expenses are covered by funds from the monastery for the socialized medicine system in India and Nepal. But on special occasions, if there is an emergency and a monk needs an expensive operation or treatment, it is completely appropriate to help defer the medical costs. There is no obligation for a monk sponsor to do this, but some sponsors enjoy getting involved and can afford the cost.

Today’s Situation

Currently, there are approximately 500 monks between the three monasteries in Orissa, Nepal and Tibet and about one-third of these monks still need sponsorship. We would like to encourage you to sponsor a monk. Sponsorship of a monk is $500 per year.

Thank you in advance for your generosity, your help is very much appreciated. We wish you boundless happiness, health and success in this New Year of the Water Tiger 2149/2022!