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In July 2003, Geshe Ngawang, one of Geshe Tsulga's senior students, arrived
in America to teach Dharma and study English. He is living in Vermont, where
one of his students is a former sponsor of his studies at Sera-Je Monastery.
Geshe Ngawang is the first "graduate" of the monk sponsorship program
to become a teacher for Westerners.
Geshe Tsulga's students at Sera depend largely upon our financial support.
Most of his forty students fled Tibet - 30-year old Sonam had a friend who was
killed as they ran across the border and were shot at by both Chinese and Nepalese
soldiers. A few, including Geshe-la's 7-year-old great nephew, are from the
Tibetan refugee communities in India. Additionally, we support several monks
from Geshe-la's birthplace, Kham, who study with other teachers, and two nuns,
one a recent escapee from a Chinese prison in Lhasa.
Donations made through the monk sponsorship program cover all expenses related
to their studies, as well as food, healthcare and basic necessities, such as
soap, toothbrushes and so forth. Besides helping preserve the Dharma, sponsors
receive many other benefits. The monks pray daily for their sponsors and their
families, and many sponsors develop close relationships with "their monks,"
who sometimes become almost like a family member. And what better way to repay
Geshe Tsulga's kindness than by helping him ensure that we will have teachers
for generations to come?
$200 per year fully sponsors a monk but any amount is welcome; some monks rely
on smaller donations from several sponsors for their support. Partial sponsorship
is typically $50 - $100 per year. You can also contribute to a general fund
that provides money to monks without sponsors. Currently about half of Geshe-la's
students require sponsors.
To become a sponsor or find out more, please contact Tsun-ma at
tsunmala@kurukulla.org.
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