An elderly Jhilu Ritrek nun

Tibet has given the world so much. Now, more than ever, Tibetans need our help. There is much that Westerners can do to support the continuation of the dharma in Tibet.

Living conditions
"Primitive" is the only way to describe the living conditions of the 70 monks at Khangmar monastery and dozen nuns at Jhilu Ritrek Nunnery. None of the things we can take for granted in the West exist adequately.

The Good Fortune Trust offers each monk at small stipend. It isn't enough to cover all their modest expenses — for food, robes, bedding, texts and medicine — but even this makes a huge difference to their lives.

Until recently, all drinking and washing water had to be hauled in 44-gallon drums from a spring two kilometres above the monastery. Thanks to the generosity of Western benefactors, a tank has been built at the spring and a pipe laid to carry water to taps inside the monastery walls. This was not a simple job, as the pipe had to be laid three feet deep so that it would not freeze in the extreme winter temperatures.

The monastery is patched into the local electricity grid which powers lights and cooking stoves, but black-outs are frequent, even daily. The monks fall back on wood-fired ovens for cooking and boiling water, and candles or butter lamps in order to see.

Meals are cooked and eaten together only on special occasions such as pujas because of the monastery's poverty. Each monk has to provide his own food as well as meet any other expenses like robes, texts or medicines. Their families are nearby and do what they can to support them, providing Tibetan staples like tsampa. However, the people in Kardze are mostly poor subsistence farmers and their own resources are meagre. Thanks to the support of Western benefactors, when Geshe Tashi Tsering visited in 2005, he was able to offer each monk the equivalent of 10 Australian dollars per month for one year. This meets less than half of the cost of the basic foodstuffs on which the monks live.

The buildings which survived the 25–year closure of the monastery during the Chinese Cultural Revolution are very run down. Many of the small shared rooms where monks study, practice and sleep leak in the rain.

Of most concern is the main building, an old structure made of rammed earth. The two upper storeys have collapsed and the walls which still stand are bulging and cracking under the weight. What remains houses the main temple, assembly hall, administrative area and kitchen. Parts of it are unstable and dangerous but there is no option but to continue using it.

So little goes so far

Nowadays in Tibet, people are not permitted to ordain until they are 18 years old. This means starting from the absolute beginning as adults, a severe constraint on their progress. (This is a major reason why many monks or young people wanting to ordain leave Tibet by whichever means they can, in order to join the monasteries re-established in India.)

During his 2005 visit, Geshe Tashi Tsering organised formal, ongoing tuition in Tibetan grammar. This is vital for the monks and nuns to be able to study texts written hundreds of years ago in literary Tibetan. This is an important foundation for rebuilding the strong tradition of Buddhist education.

The monks and nuns strive diligently to make the best of their circumstances. There is a full schedule of pujas and other ritual events, plus a text-memorisation programme that they take very seriously. (Memorisation is considered a key technique for study and understanding in the Gelug-pa monastic tradition. It is an important first step.)

The vision
The Good Fortune Trust seeks the support of benefactors to provide money for simple daily necessities, the improvement of basic facilities and the development of structured education.

Geshe Tashi Tsering hopes that a qualified teacher from Sera Je in India will soon be able to go to Tibet to teach at Khangmar and Jhilu Ritrek.

The generous support of Western benefactors is needed to

• offer meals to the nuns at Jhilu Ritrek
• make urgent repairs to monks and nuns' houses
• build new houses to accommodate new nuns and monks
• upgrade electricity, water and sanitation at the nunnery and monastery
• repair or replace Khangmar's main temple
• provide texts and teachings as part of a comprehensive dharma education programme
• offer basic necessities such as clothing, bedding and texts
• enable monks and nuns in need to access medical treatment and medicine

• By cheque, made out to the Good Fortune Trust
  Post to PO Box 783, Nambour QLD 4560, Australia
• By direct deposit to the Good Fortune Trust bank account
  Bank — Westpac, Nambour branch
  BSB and account number — 034-204 184337
  Please email us so we can check your gift is received.

Please let us know if you would like your offerings to be used for a specific purpose. Otherwise, we will use it in the area of greatest need.

We would like to know your name and contact details so that you can be included in the prayers for benefactors and so we can keep in touch. If you wish your offering to remain anonymous, please let us know and we will protect your privacy.

Thank you very much.