Supporting Aspirations and Changing Lives
A KF25 Special Edition on Grants and Scholarships
As many Khyentse Foundation followers and supporters will know, supporting the monasteries under Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche’s care was the impetus for the foundation’s formation. But what may be less well known is that at the very first KF board meeting in 2002, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche mentioned a further four projects that he would like to initiate if funding could be found. The first of these was to provide support for non-Tibetan monastics and laypeople who wanted to study and practice, and a scholarship program was quickly set up.
As many Khyentse Foundation followers and supporters will know, supporting the monasteries under Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche’s care was the impetus for the foundation’s formation. But what may be less well known is that at the very first KF board meeting in 2002, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche mentioned a further four projects that he would like to initiate if funding could be found. The first of these was to provide support for non-Tibetan monastics and laypeople who wanted to study and practice, and a scholarship program was quickly set up.
Since that time, the foundation has awarded almost 1,000 individual scholarships under four different programs: Buddhist Studies Scholarships, Individual Practice Grants, PhD Scholarships, and Translation Studies Scholarships. We have supported scholarship recipients from many parts of the world, such as Canada and China, Vietnam and the United Kingdom, and Nepal and Germany, to name just a few. About 60 percent of the awards have gone to laypeople, and our scholarships have reached across all traditions of Buddhism.
In 2008, KF opened its grants program to the public, and a small review committee was assembled. Applications for these special grants, which later became Ashoka Grants and eventually led to the creation of Trisong Grants, came from both big cities and remote villages, and we learned about how people were working to increase dharma activity in all kinds of creative ways. These grant and scholarship programs helped us connect with anyone who wished to participate in the study and practice of Buddhism.
Today, we celebrate these programs as an important part of the KF story, and at the same time, we realize that the world looks very different in 2026. Although we feel that our scholarships and grants have had a great impact on many lives, we recognize that to continually evolve we must shift and change as new priorities arise. For the time being we are not accepting new applications for these programs, and we will use this hiatus to reevaluate and strategize how we can be of even greater benefit. In this age of advanced technology and Artificial Intelligence, we recognize that there is a need to think differently. KF deeply appreciates all the volunteer review committees who have diligently and thoughtfully read thousands of applications over the years.
To honor and appreciate the effect a small grant or scholarship can have, let’s hear from some of our past awardees and find out what they have to say about the impact KF support has had on their projects or their own studies and practice.*
Buddhist Studies Scholarships
“I received a KF Buddhist Studies Scholarship to study Tibetan language in Dharamshala, India, in 2018. I’m now continuing to study in Dharamshala and will get an MA degree in December 2024. After that time, I’m planning to move to a monastery in Dehradun to study further commentaries from other Tibetan Buddhist traditions. I feel so lucky and happy to have the chance to study profound Tibetan Buddhism with precious noble lamas. My wish is to spread the Tibetan language, culture, and Buddhism to benefit sentient beings in Vietnam.”
—Phung Thi Luu Dung, Vietnam, Buddhist Studies Scholarship
“I have learned Tibetan and Buddhadharma to quite a large extent and have become able to translate both oral teachings from Tibetan to English and classical texts from Tibetan to English. I’ve done some work as an interpreter at events in our sangha, both on-site and online. I’ve been enrolled in Khyentse Vision Project as a translator trainee and intern, and my studies have contributed to my ability and success in this regard.”
— Peter Olin, Sweden, Buddhist Studies Scholarships
“I was studying early Mahayana Buddhist translations when I received the funding in 2017, but now I’m pursuing a PhD with a concentration on Tibetan Buddhism. This path in Buddhist studies has not been easy for me. Despite the hardship, I am grateful for every kindness and support I have received, whether it was Prof. [Stefano] Zachhetti, who gave me the chance to start the venture in the field, or Khyentse Foundation, which offered me scholarship support during my difficult time. The generous support I received from KF was an affirmation to me; it was a kind message from the community that my potential and work were seen, encouraging me to proceed to where I am today.”
— Yunyao Zhai, UK, Buddhist Studies Scholarship
“I accomplished an MDiv in Buddhist studies and ended up being a certified hospital chaplain. The study impacted deeply what I do. Being present in the most difficult moment of sickness and death is a genuinely sacred experience and [a valuable] application of my Buddhist studies. Serving at the last moment to hold the hand of a dying person and be present for them is priceless work and my success to implement my faith as a compassionate sentient being is a matter of pride.”
— Manju Thapa Magar, Nepal, Buddhist Studies Scholarship
“Ten years ago, when I started Buddhist studies, my only wish was to learn Buddhist philosophy a little more deeply. However, my interest in Buddhist studies not only helped me to explore Buddhist practice but also inspired me to continue my career as an academic. Currently, I am working as a postdoc researcher in my former university [in Germany]. I wish to take this experience back home to Bhutan so that I can contribute a little to young people who aspire towards a similar path.”
— Sonam Choden, Bhutan, Buddhist Studies Scholarships
Individual Practice Grants
“The grant allowed me to do a longer retreat (3 months). It was a group retreat, led by a Tibetan lama. It had a profound impact on me. Taking a step back from everyday life and focusing entirely and intensely on dharma practice for an extended time was incredibly powerful. I notice a difference in my mind and behavior.”
— Claudia Roth, Germany, Individual Practice Grant
“This grant allowed me to engage in a 3-month retreat in accordance with the practices in Jamgön Kongtrül Rinpoche’s ‘Sphere of Refined Gold’ at Rangjung Yeshe Gomde Pyrénées under the guidance of Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche and Lama Tenzin Sangpo. Though I had been attempting to practice the Buddhist path for 7 years prior to that point, it was during this retreat I really began to see the fruits of practice unfolding. It was the first time I truly understood what it meant to practice with diligence and sincerity. It is no understatement to say my life was changed, because the flavor of practice has clarified and continues to do so. I began to see the possibility of practice in every moment and became increasingly dedicated to actualizing that potential for the benefit of others.”
— Andrew Bishop, USA, Individual Practice Grant
PhD Scholarships/Translation Studies Scholarships
“Through the support of KF, I completed the final semester of my PhD, in which I concurrently taught ASIA 250: Introduction to Buddhism. Before graduating, I secured a senior research fellowship with the American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS), researching the Sixth Dalai Lama, Tsangyang Gyatso, in India. All of my current work feels immensely rewarding and like the culmination of many years of aspiration.”
— Patrick Dowd, USA, Ashoka Grant, Translation Studies Scholarship, PhD Scholarship
“I finished my PhD and am now working as a research faculty at University of Colorado Boulder, overseeing their two big academic programs related to bringing meditation into academics and education. I oversee the Mindful Campus Program and the Dalai Lama Fellows Program at the university. The goal is to keep working in ways and places that will allow me to advance meditation in any way for the benefit of all beings in the community that I am in.”
— Shubham Sapkota, Nepal, PhD Scholarship
“The grant allowed me to complete my PhD, which resulted in a publication [The Words and World of Ge bcags Nunnery: Tantric Meditation in Context, Brill, 2024] sharing an ethnography of the Gebchak nuns’ lifeworld and practice system to accompany Buddhist practitioners. Without the grant I may not have been able to complete my fieldwork and degree. It also signaled moral support and valuing of the work, which made a huge difference.”
— Elizabeth (Chozom) McDougal, Canada, PhD Scholarship
“After the completion of my MA in translation and textual interpretation at Rangjung Yeshe Institute in September 2023, I worked at RYI as a teaching assistant and as a corrector for the Translator Training Program for oral interpreting. In those functions I helped students complete their coursework during the academic year 2023–24. I have also translated one text for Khyentse Vision Project and hope to be able to contribute regularly in the future. Occasionally I also serve as an oral interpreter for Tibetan to English or German for dharma groups or centers.”
— Claudia Fregiehn, Germany, Translation Studies Scholarships
“KF directly supported me in doing the Translator Training Program at Rangjung Yeshe Institute, which I successfully completed. I also completed my BA in Buddhist studies and Himalayan languages. Now, I’m in the last year of the MA in translation, textual interpretation, and philology at RYI, with a partial scholarship from KF, translating a beautiful text by Tsele Natsok Rangdrol on the bodhisattva vow for my thesis. I also translate and interpret for my Mexican sangha and had the honor of interpreting for my teacher, Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche, in Mexico.”
— Tatiana Tagle Audelo, Mexico, Translation Studies Scholarship
Ashoka Grants
“Dharma Gates’s underlying vision is to create a world in which any young person who has the aspiration to practice meditation deeply is supported to do so without barriers to their aspiration. We believe that more young people dedicating their lives to contemplative training will have innumerable downstream benefits not just for them, but for the broader culture and future of our world. Khyentse Foundation has remained a critical source of support for us. In early 2022, there was some uncertainty about Dharma Gates’s future. Receiving the 2022 Ashoka Grant was key for allowing us to continue to offer programming and maintain our activities through this period of uncertainty.”
—Dharma Gates, USA, Ashoka Grants.
“The ultimate purpose is to expand the dharma in a nonsectarian way to the inmate population, with the goals of cultivating greater compassion, inner peace, interconnection, and transformation, through the beautifully scaffolded practices and perspectives the Buddha offers us. We’ve seen the ripple effect of this work over and over again, reflected in the dozens of heartfelt letters we get from inmates, so very thirsty for these teachings and so grateful for this light to be offered to them.”
— Susan Shannon, Buddhist Prison Ministry/Bodhicitta Behind Bars, USA, Ashoka Grants, Trisong Grant
“Receiving the Ashoka grant for the second time gave us deep and meaningful encouragement to persevere with our efforts. Although the Ashoka grant has been of significant financial help to us this year, even more significant was that the larger Buddhist community and Khyentse Foundation recognized the value of the comprehensive system of Buddhist education we have developed here. Due to your grant we have been able to provide our teacher with a small salary for his tireless work and partially cover the costs of our retreats. Therefore, being granted the funds from KF has connected us in a more tangible way to the mandala of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche and has inspired in us a greater confidence in our vision and purpose. This greatly helped us fulfill our mission and stay focused on what is really important—practice and study.”
— Triyāna Prajñā School of Dharma, Serbia, Ashoka Grants
“Khyentse Foundation has made a tremendous impact on the lives of our young lay monks and elders living in the center. Most of our lay monks are already serving the community with full dedication. As the foundation director and the grant manager, we are grateful to KF for enhancing the successful program for the young lay monks of Rangshikhar Gonpa Retreat Centre. With the clear and concise directives from KF, there have been no major issues or challenges that can’t be overcome.”
— Rangshikhar Gonpa Retreat Centre, Bhutan, Ashoka Grants
“Kunchab Jampa Ling’s mission is to actively deliver Buddhadharma to the people of Mongolia and to preserve Tibetan Buddhist traditions and teachings. This past year, KJL’s dedicated staff and volunteers have brought together people in the communities they serve, as well as cooperated with other Buddhist communities, to study, practice, and celebrate the Buddhadharma.”
— Kunchab Jampa Ling, Mongolia, Ashoka Grants
Trisong Grants
“‘Little Buddha: Enhancing Child Protection and Well-being in Buddhist Communities’ was initiated with the goal of collaboratively developing a comprehensive curriculum on child protection and well-being that integrates Buddhist values with the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). This grant has been instrumental in advancing the Little Buddha project this year. It enabled us to initiate and pilot child protection training for monks, novices, and lay leaders, which would not have been possible without the funding.”
—INEB by Sathirakoses-Nagapradipa Foundation, Thailand, Trisong Grant
“The ultimate goal of Freedom Restoration Project’s work is to disrupt the narrative of gender-based violence in marginalized border communities along the Thai-Myanmar border. We promote dharma in our community by supporting women who are victims of domestic violence and have no ways to escape. With the help of the Khyentse Foundation Trisong Grant, we have focused on growing our shelter to have space for new displaced and refugee women (and their children). Receiving the grant also changed the course of our fundraising, supporting us in a time when we had been turned down over and over again.”
— Freedom Restoration Project, Thailand, Trisong Grant
“Rewa’s original purpose is to create a drug- and alcohol-free, healthier Tibetan community [in India] by establishing a residential rehabilitation center. Tibetan youth are under the slavery of addiction, and Rewa’s mission is to address this serious, fast-growing problem in the Tibetan community. We also invited a monk to give our clients a basic understanding of Tibetan Buddhism as many had never had an opportunity to know and learn about Tibetan culture and tradition. Rewa and all the clients are very grateful to Khyentse Foundation for partnering us in a much-needed cause for the welfare of the Tibetan community.”
— Rewa Society, India, Trisong Grant
*The quotes from the scholarship recipients are taken from a survey we conducted in 2024. The quotes from the grant recipients are taken from their grant reports. The feedback has been slightly edited for publication.