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RINPOCHE TALKS ABOUT THE HISTORY OF DZONGSAR DERGE
The great Rimé master, Jamgon Kongtrül Lodrö Thaye
"When
I visited Dzongsar Monastery, I felt at home, comfortable and very
blessed because it’s such a special place. A great many masters of the
past have dwelt there, taught there, and have done amazing things. I once went to the roof and an old lama pointed out, 'There’s where Shechen Gyaltsab
lived' and 'Here’s where Jamgön Kongtrül stayed.' Once upon a time it
was where everyone went and where some very important things happened.
Khyentse Foundation is attempting to make sure that great lamas
continue to be generated out of Dzongsar."
-- Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
Help
us build the KF Monastic Fund so that we can continue the heritage of
Dzongsar Institutes. If you become a monthly donor, every dollar you
donate will be matched by the Patrons of Manjushri.
"One
of the most important ways to support Dzongsar Monastery is to remember
that Dzongsar Monastery is not a past phenomenon. Dzongsar Monastery is
instead very much now. To realize that is to realize how much Dzongsar
is worthy of our continued support."
—Tyler Gusich
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Dzongsar Monastery and Dzongsar Shedra:
Where Great Teachers Are Trained
In
2001, Rinpoche took several of his students on a rare pilgrimage to
Derge (pronounced De-gay), a county in the Garze Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture in Sichuan Province, China. They were there to visit the
original Dzongsar Institute. One evening, as they sat in the room that
had once been Chökyi Lodrö’s private quarters, this small group asked
Rinpoche how they could help relieve him of the pressure of personally
supporting the huge number of monks at his various monasteries. No
longer saddled with the financial responsibility of supporting the
monasteries, Rinpoche would be free to turn his gaze outward, even
further. From that meeting the idea of Khyentse Foundation was born.
And later that year KF was established as a system of patronage. By
2003, KF's Monastic Education Fund was set up, and since that time the
Dzongsar Institutes in Derge have taken great steps toward becoming
leading centers of Buddhist study and practice as they had been under
Rinpoche's predecessors.
 Photo by Yuan Ren, (Derge, 2012)
Download Yuan Ren's stunning photographs of Dzongsar from 2012-2013 (10MB)
"If
you have tendrel with the Khyentse mandala, then Dzongsar Monastery is
basically your Jerusalem," said Tyler Gusich, multimedia engineer, who
joined a group on a KF-sponsored trip to Dzongsar to provide technical
training in 2013. "The industrious monks and villagers living in
Dzongsar Valley maintain what is arguably the region’s most robust
monastery, university, retreat center, hospital, medical school,
pharmaceutical plant, sculpting house, and thangka-torium. They also
make wildly popular incense. You have to see it all to believe it — and
when you do, you can’t help feeling deeply connected and proud."
Even with the Monastic Fund, KF can provide only
a small percentage of the monastery and shedra expenses such as food
for monks, staff, and students, administrative support, and a Tibetan
typesetting and computer course.
But
some of our most important support comes in forms other than direct
financial aid. By offering human resources, technical training
opportunities, and infrastructure guidance, we are able to help support
Rinpoche’s vision of bringing the shedra into the modern era. For
example, the recent KF-sponsored visit brought expertise and training
in accounting, archiving of precious texts and objects, and electrical
upgrades.
The
monastery is thriving. "We are amazed at how fast the population of the
monk body has grown over the past few years," said Amelia Chow, KF
Monastic Project coordinator, "from a few hundred to 1,900 at last
count, with approximately 700 in retreat, 1,000 studying, and 200
performing pujas. These monks are really determined to study the Dharma
and to do practice in retreat."
"They
subsist on the absolute minimum," said Amelia. "It is fortunate that
they have considerable support from family and community. It says a lot
to have the community committed to support such a large number of monks
pursuing the study of dharma."
History
Dzongsar
Monastery was built on a promontory overlooking the great Khamje Valley
in Derge in 746 by a Bönpo lama. The Yangtze River (known in the Derge
region as Golden Sands River) divides Kham from the Tibetan Autonomous
Region. Throughout its 1,300 year history, the monastery was supported
by the villagers of the surrounding areas. These devoted practitioners
were the earliest patrons of the monastery. Dzongsar has been though
many changes over time. "First it was a Bönpo monastery and later
Nyingma, and even later it became a big Sakyapa seat," said Rinpoche.
The
team of volunteers shown helping with the Dzongsar Monastery archive
are from left to right, Sherab, Ron Stewart, Tsong, and Dawa.
(September of 2013)
Dzongsar Derge Today
KF food subsidies bring necessary relief to the monastery, especially
with the significant inflation caused by prosperity in the rest of the
country. With KF’s support in acquiring computers and office equipment,
monastic leaders are able to launch programs to bring important changes
to the monastery. According to Ron Stewart, who visited with the KF
group in 2013, there is urgent need for fire preparedness at the
shedra. "For the developing complex of timber buildings at Dzongsar
Monastery and Shedra, the installation of fire preparedness equipment,
development of a fire control action plan, and training in basic
firefighting are essential," he said. "Also, a reliable electrical
power back-up system needs to be installed and a good power system
maintenance protocol needs to be implemented."
"If
the monastery can provide the people to follow through," said Cangioli
Che, KF Executive Director, "KF will try our best to find the patrons
to support the financial requirements."
From
Dzongsar Institute, it is a 3-day journey to reach Chengdu, the nearest
major city, or 2 days to reach a fairly good-sized town, provided that
weather and road conditions allow. Although it is a logistic
disadvantage, the remoteness preserves the Dzongsar Valley as an ideal
spot for studying and meditating, free from distraction.
Dr. Lodrö Phuntsho and Khenpo Phuntshok Namgyal, spearheads of Dzongsar's new golden age.
As
we were about to post this issue of Focus, Rinpoche sent the following
addition: "At the risk of sounding self-promoting, I must say that even
though there are so many other monasteries, preserving Dzongsar
Monastery is so important. It’s undeniable that some of the great
teachers like Jamgön Kongtrül, Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, the Fifth
Karmapa, came to Dzongsar not just for a short visit but for extended
stays. I think it is safe to say that there are very few monasteries
where so many things have happened that have included all the different
lineages, writing, teaching, producing students and practitioners. We
still have a chance to continue that tradition with the help of people
like Lodrö Phuntsho. If we lose that, then it is just like any other
monastery that has some good paintings and statues and nothing special."
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