A new school room
The first of these developments was the construction of a new school room. This was very significant, as the Tibetan grammar classes started by Geshe Tashi Tsering in 2005 were being held in a disused storage area under the administration building which was cold, uncomfortable and too small. These conditions, combined with inadequate electrical lighting frequently affected by blackouts, made the situation thoroughly unsatisfactory.

The school room project was made possible by a donation of $A6500 — approximately 40,000 yuan — from three of Geshe-la's students. Geshe-la chose Nyelu, one of the monastery's senior monks and a clever, practical and resourceful man, to manage and direct the work. Nyelu immediately set about organising the delivery of building materials then engaged local tradesmen and rounded up a willing and hard-working workforce of Khangmar monks. In just over two weeks they transformed an open-fronted storage space with rammed earth walls, earth floor and a ceiling made of sticks into a comfortable, functional and beautiful education facility.

The first stage of the work involved dragging out all the wood and miscellaneous clutter piled in the storeroom and cleaning away the mess. Then internal walls were built from cement blocks to stabilise and strengthen the existing rammed earth structure, the bare earth section of the floor was concreted and all the walls rendered with cement. The ceiling was lined with timber panelling, the pillars similarly framed and varnished and a lockable door installed. All this involved several days of intense activity, with the courtyard outside full of monks covered in dust dragging bags of cement, shovelling cement mix and hauling the heavy concrete blocks. The way the monks worked together, how hard they worked, their relaxed and happy manner: all this was amazing to witness.

Next, local tradesmen installed floor-to-ceiling sliding glass windows along the front of the room, which had previously been completely open. Glass was a practical choice as it provides light and warmth but also the glass panels can be removed; this is important for various ceremonies, such as the annual lama dancing ritual. Finally, the walls were painted in traditional Tibetan style with beautiful colours and patterns.

With the room finished, Nyelu turned to furnishing it. Teams of monks painted wooden benches for the monks sit on and tables for their texts, and decorated them all with stencilled designs in gold. Curtains were hung; carpet was laid (in a rough Tibetan fashion); thangkas were purchased and hung around the walls. A desk and chair were provided for the grammar teacher and a teaching throne for Dharma teachings constructed and decorated.

There was even enough money left over to install solar lighting! This means that the evening grammar classes will be able to continue unobstructed even when there is no electricity.

When the work was completed, the Tibetan grammar teacher insisted that Geshe Tashi Tsering be the first person to teach in the new schoolroom. Geshe-la obliged, moving his daily teachings on 'mind and mental factors' (sem sem-jhung) from the teaching room in the lama's house up to the schoolroom. First he conducted a blessing ceremony, surrounded by all the monks. Then he continued with his commentary on the text, the smell of varnish still heavy in the room. It was a deeply satisfying and happy morning for all.

Better facilities for the lama's house
Other major renovations took place simultaneously at the other end of the monastery, in the lama's house (la-rang). The la-rang was under construction during Geshe Tashi Tsering's visit in 2002. The monastery built the house to accommodate Geshe-la when he visits and in the hope that the reincarnation of Khangmar Rinpoche would be able to come and stay at the monastery.

Ani Sönam, who was at Khangmar with Geshe-la this year, described what was happening at the la-rang in this email she wrote from Kardze to a Good Fortune Trust volunteer back home:

"The first project here in the la-rang was the kitchen, which took shape at astonishing speed. One day at lunchtime we learnt of an important visitor's imminent arrival and Geshe-la decided that we needed to upgrade the kitchen. Tenzin [Geshe-la's attendant] started planning the kitchen renovations as he finished eating his lunch.

That afternoon we went to town and started buying materials: gas stove and gas bottles, a sink, taps, metres of pipe and so on. Later that same afternoon, monks began digging a deep trench for the pipes to bring water into the house from the pipeline nearby and to take waste water away. The building materials started to arrive, hauled up the rough track to the monastery from town in tollajies, small tractors with a tip tray behind. Inevitably some things didn't arrive in one piece! Holes were hammered in the rammed earth walls and ceiling of the kitchen, pipes installed, trenches filled, a water tank hauled to the roof. There were more monks than shovels but nobody went home because there was such a buzz of excitement. Tenzin appeared to be in three places at once.

The next day, half the dirt floor was boxed ready for concreting; the cement was poured and as soon as it was dry, tiles were laid. The new floor looked so good, everybody decided the other side of the floor should be done as well. Tenzin laid the second batch of tiles and did a much better job than the local tradesman who had done the first half. Tenzin then transformed from a tiler and plumber into an electrician, installing power points and lights. The ceiling was lined. Soon after, we were amazed to hear that Tenzin and Nyelu had found a place in town that made real kitchen cupboards! Tshering and I were called on to make the décor decisions; we chose a grey granite counter top and bright, sparkling blue cupboards which we knew the Tibetans would love.

The next big job in the lama's house was creating a bathroom; it was born out of a dark corner of the house with bare earth walls and a dirt floor. New internal walls were constructed, the floor was concreted and the whole room tiled. We installed a western-style toilet, a shower and bath and running hot water powered by a solar-boosted heater on the roof. A flushing toilet is a big deal when there's no sewage system at all. Tenzin and his team of workers followed Geshe-la's advice about what they do at Sera Je Monastery in India, and spent several days digging an enormous pit, which was then lined with slate and covered over: a home-made septic tank! Given that no-one else would dream of using the lamas' toilet, this low-tech solution should work just fine.

So much has happened at the monastery while we've been here. We all delight in how things flow when there is so much merit. There has been a powerful coming together of causes and conditions: we brought the necessary money; Tenzin offered wide-ranging building skills; the monks were a willing and immediate workforce turning up at a moment's notice.

Just like when I visited Sera Je in India last year, I have been deeply affected by the conduct and qualities of the people around me. The monks work so hard, and in a relaxed and happy way. Mostly the monks here come from the farming families in the villages nearby; they are well-accustomed to hard, manual work."

Sponsorship
Donations received during the Ten-50 appeal and the regular contributions of individual sponsors were handed over to Khangmar Monastery and Jhilu Ritrek Nunnery, as well as the infrastructure developments funded by the generosity of Good Fortune Trust benefactors. Geshe-la and his attendants also made personal offerings to the monks and nuns during several significant ceremonies, including two long life pujas offered to Geshe-la.

At Khangmar the donations were presented to the monastery's council of elders and team of caretakers at a formal meeting. They reported on how previous funds had been used and expressed their deep gratitude to Geshe Tashi Tsering, Tshering (Geshe-la's personal secretary, who manages the Trust) and all the Trust's supporters.

At Jhilu Ritrek Nunnery, the donations were presented in front of the whole community of 15 nuns and Kushog Jhilu Rinpoche, who is their patron; the nunnery was established on the traditional site of Jhilu Rinpoche's hermitage which had been destroyed in 1959. The nuns' heartfelt devotion and appreciation was very evident and deeply touching.

Losar (Tibetan New Year) (Feb 07)

Ten-50 appeal (Oct 06)

"12-5 Sponsorship" Drive (May 06)

There's also news of Geshe Tashi Tsering on his website.