Nestled in the mountains of lower Solu Khumbu is a branch of Kopan Monastery, Thubten Shedrup Ling. The area is beautiful, green valleys surrounded by the white peaks of the Himalayan range. Close to the trekking trail to the Everest base camp, it is still quite isolated, rarely visited by few foreigners. It is a very poor region of Nepal. With few jobs available, most people are living from portering during the trekking season, trading or surviving on subsistence farming.

The monastery was initially was founded to provide a spiritual center for the refugees who came from Tibet after 1959. In the 2004 the Tibetan Government in Exile requested Kopan Monastery to take over the care and management of the monastery, and its resident monks.

Read more here on Thubten Shedrup Ling Monastery.

The monastery buildings were in very poor conditions; the rooms were build of mud bricks and very damp. There was no source of water nearby, no electricity, - in short, live was very difficult. Since then the accommodation for the monks  has been pulled down and rebuilt to a higher standard, with more rooms. The dining room and kitchen are still in a poor state, with a leaking roof in winter, and vermin housing in between the cracked brick. These building need to be repaired on a regular basis, as the mud bricks tend to dissolve in the monsoon rains.  A  proper office and library would be of great advantage.

The kitchen at the monastery

However, the monastery is thriving, new monks are joining all the time - they are accepted once a year at the beginning of the school year. The young monks go to the refugee camp school to learn TibetanNepali and Emnglish, while the monastic subjects are taught at the monastery. Already some of the monks from Thubten Shedrup Ling have gone on to Sera Monastic University to continue their studies.

How Thubten Shedrup Ling supports itself

Thubten Shedrup Ling has very little opportunity to generate income, while having ongoing  expenses to care for the monks community. Local Buddhist families might request pujas and prayers to be performed by the monks and offer small sums to the monastery for this, or make donations to the monastery on special days. Occasional travelers, on their way to Mount Everest, might stay at the monastery for a night or two, providing some extra income. None of this is enough to support the monastic community. For its survival it relies on donations and support from benefactors.

Paying the bills for everyday expenses such as food, electricity, salary of the monks teachers is a difficult task every month. Water needs to be installed inside some of the buildings urgently.

Getting water

The meals are simple - some rice, dhal, some vegetables, occasionally momos. The cost of food is rising all the time. Some food can be bought in the local market, other necessities have to be brought in from Kathmandu, a long bus ride away, making it quite expensive.

Help make the daily life of the monks at Thubten Shedrup Ling a bit more secure. 

Donate here and help Thubten Shedrup Ling

You can sponsors

• Daily food – simple meals of rice, dhal, few vegetables.
• Medical Care – medicines, medical treatments.
• Education – wages for the teachers, education material such as school books.

• General donation for maintenance and improvements.

Make your donation Here