Dear Sangha and Friends of the Ripa Ladrang Foundation,
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Ripa Ladrang Foundation by Iris Anderson and Colleen Wallace. The Mission of the Ripa Ladrang Foundation as a non-profit organization is to benefit beings through activities and projects which promote, support and preserve Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism, and the teachings and activities of His Eminence Terton Namkha Drimed Rabjam Rinpoche and the Ripa Lineage Buddhist Masters

The Ripa tradition’s Vajrayana Buddhist teachings, values and practices are very much concerned with compassionate engagement with the world.  We strive to fulfill this mission by helping to ensure that the spiritual aspects of Tibetan Buddhism are preserved, nurtured and shared  by sponsoring traditional Buddhist education and institutions, facilitating teachings, and by preserving  religious texts, and spiritual arts. Reaching out beyond our communities, we engage in spiritual and compassionate humanitarian projects to aid both Tibetan refugees and their surrounding indigenous communities.

The Foundation’s initial project was the construction of the Rigon Tashi Choeling monastery in Nepal; a lineage seat and a center for monastic education and practice to help create the conditions for this living practice lineage to flourish. The groundbreaking for the monastery took place in the fall of 1998 and the inauguration was in 2005.  The Nepal monastery is now home to more than 150 monastic residents.

His Eminence Terton Namkha Drimed Rabjam Rinpoche has always said that the purpose of the Foundation was the practice of virtue. The practice of generosity, benefiting others, and experiencing the beneficial effects of these meritorious actions in our daily lives and outlook, is a core teaching in Buddhism.

For the past 25 years, through the generosity of our members and friends, the Ripa Ladrang Foundation has been able to accomplish a great deal.  Some highlights include:
  • The construction and consecration of the Rigon Tashi Choeling Monastery.
  • Monk Sponsorship: The annual sponsorship of the education, room, board and medical care for close to 350 monks in India and Nepal.
  • Text Translation: The translation of His Eminence’s Writings, TibetanTexts and teachings into English, which is the base language for further translations into German, French, Spanish, Russian, and others.
  • Teaching Tours:  The sponsoring of teachings by His Eminence, Dungsey Jigme Rinpoche and Dungsey Lhuntrul Rinpoche; bringing them into the lives of western students over the years.
  • Support for the Tibetan Community in exile:
    • Malaria prevention and relief programs for refugee camps in India
    • Financial support for elderly Tibetan refugees
    • Educational scholarships for children
    • Gesar Lingdro dance education and costumes
    • Development of Pure Water projects that provide clean drinking water to over 2000 individuals and homes in Tibetan Refugee camps in India and surrounding indigenous villages.
  • Earthquake Reconstruction:
    • After the 2015 Nepal Earthquake, the Mero Gaon Project financed the construction of more than 55 homes in a remote village, providing shelter for 275 people whose homes were destroyed in the earthquake.
    • The foundation also sponsored comprehensive repairs to fix the damage suffered at our Nepal monastery.
  • Capital Improvements:
    • 2023 brings a refresh to the Nepal Monastery for the first time in 18 years. The
      renovation includes repainting, repairs and improvement projects including the
      addition of 4 new western restrooms for visitors.
    • A new 3-year retreat compound in the nearby foothills will also be completed in 2023.
  • The construction of a Guest House (Drala) adjacent to the Nepal monastery which provides an income stream to help to support the monastery’s expenses.
  • Donations to His Eminence through the Lama Sponsorship program have also allowed him to fund the construction of a Sandupari temple at the Tibet monastery, and the 3-year retreat compound for the Nepal monastery and many other charitable activities.
We are a publicly supported charity with most of our funding coming from donations of less than $200.  Due to an all-volunteer support staff and very low organizational overhead, all funds donated to the foundations’ charitable projects go directly to those projects.

Looking Forward to the Next 25 years

I know for myself, and probably for others who have been on this journey and are of a certain age, my thoughts go to how to sustain the mission and activities of the Foundation for the next 25 years and after I am gone. This is particularly pressing given the ongoing support needed to sustain the thriving monastic communities in Nepal and India.  With this in mind, I ask that you please consider making a donation to the Foundation and to specifically  consider us in your estate planning.  The Ripa Ladrang Foundation plans to soon announce an endowment that will make it easy to accomplish this.  By supporting the Foundation through planned giving you can support the monastic communities and our teachers’ efforts well into the future. For those interested in further information, please contact our Treasurer Joshua Green, at RipaGiving@gmail.com.

A special thanks to my colleagues on the Foundation Board – Suma Chander, Radhika Nayar, Susie Miller-Reid, Jim Miller and Joshua Green for your steadfast support of the Foundation.

On behalf of the Ripa Ladrang Foundation, I would like to thank all our members and friends for your continued support of His Eminence, the Ripa Lineage and our many projects. We look forward to all that we can accomplish together in the next 25 years!
Warmly,
Alan Goldstein
President, Ripa Ladrang Foundation