As you can see in the pictures posted in the gallery below, the monks study and work very hard despite the challenging conditions. Without complaint, and usually cheerfully, they sit on cushions in bare classrooms that are often over 90 degrees and still manage to excel in their studies.

The main project we are proposing is the construction of a shade roof on top of the school. This roof would significantly reduce the temperature in the classrooms. It would also provide a sheltered space during the rainy season for the monks to do their calligraphy class. The picture on the left is an example of a building with the type of shade roof we want to build (just click on it to make it bigger).

The second project is a power storage system for their computer lab. The monks have received donated computers to create this wonderful computer room. Unfortunately they cannot use them much of the time because of the random electrical supply here. The electricity here is only on during half the day and alternates between mornings and afternoons with constant, random outages. Our goal is to purchase a backup power system like this one pictured on the right. This type of system would allow the computers to operate even when the electricity is off and then regular classes could be scheduled.

The third project is to purchase new books. Every school needs books and our school is in desperate need for new ones. Not only are there not enough, many of the ones we do have are very worn and difficult to read.

The combined total of these 3 projects is about $10,000. If just 500 people were able to contribute $20 we could meet this goal. If you cannot afford $20, please consider a $10 donation – every little bit helps! If you able to contribute significantly more, all the better. It is a great cause!

Update – We have met our goal as of June 24th, 2009. Thank you all so much for your kindness.

On behalf of the Principal, Venerable Geshe Sangye , and all the monks at the school, I thank you for your kindness and consideration. May you have much peace, happiness, and many blessings.

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Monks from Thubten Dhargye Ling center in Long Beach try to catch a glimpse of the Dalai Lama when he arrives at UC Santa Barbara.

‘This crisis is good,’ Tibetan leader says, because it reminds people that money has limitations. He also speaks about arcane aspects of Buddhist history and philosophy.

Reporting from Santa Barbara — The Dalai Lama, in a ringing denunciation, declared Friday that the ailing global economy is the result of “too much greed, and lies and hypocrisy.”

“These are some of the factors behind the global crisis,” he said at a news conference at UC Santa Barbara. “Those people who feel that money is the most important thing in life, when economic crisis hits, learn that it is only one way to be happy. There is also family, friends and peace of mind.”

“Therefore, this crisis is good,” he added with a laugh, “because it reminds people who only want to see money grow and grow that there are limitations.”

The Dalai Lama’s remarks followed the first of two sold-out public lectures in the university events center Friday on “the nature of mind.” That discourse, delivered from an ornate wooden couch with ocher robes draped over his bony shoulders and with his legs folded beneath him, drew an audience of 4,800 people.

Tickets, which had sold out within two hours, ranged in price from $20 to $40. Scalpers fetched up to $600 per ticket, university officials said.

In his characteristic self-effacing manner, the 74-year-old leader of Tibet’s government-in-exile began by apologizing for a serious cold that had him frequently pausing to clear his throat or blow his nose. Midway through the talk, he began speaking for up to 15 minutes at a stretch in Tibetan about arcane aspects of Buddhist history and philosophy, leaving his assistant to translate for fans. Advanced students of Buddhist philosophy leaned forward in their seats, hanging on every word. Many others, however, began fidgeting or heading off to the restrooms. Some people snoozed.

Joyce Tapper, 74, of Van Nuys took it all in stride.

“It’s amazing that he pushes ahead despite little things like a cold and big things like the condition of his homeland,” she said. “Just being in the room with him lifted me to a higher place, even if I didn’t get it.”

Then there was Melanie Strickland, 48, a substitute teacher from the Joshua Tree area. Moments after the Dalai Lama left the stage, she was reciting large portions of the teachings — nearly verbatim — over her cellphone to a friend.

“The key is to rise above thoughts of pain and anger,” she told her friend, “and focus on the here and now between those thoughts. See?”

It was the Dalai Lama’s fourth visit to this prosperous seaside community, which prepared for his appearance with four weeks of social gatherings, public talks by local scholars and Buddhist-oriented art exhibits, including an elaborate sand mandala under construction by 10 monks. On Friday night, the California-based Global Institute for Tibetan Medicine hosted a reception in honor of Gyalo Thondup, older brother of the Dalai Lama.

UC Santa Barbara became a leading center of Buddhist and Tibetan studies after the Dalai Lama’s first visit there in 1984. He was invited to return this week by Jose Cabezon, the first occupant of the university’s XIV Dalai Lama chair in Tibetan studies.

The invitation was made “quite a while ago because the Dalai Lama books his appearances about seven years in advance,” Cabezon said. “Finally, our number came up and he flew here direct from his headquarters in India.”

“We are institution unusual in its support and admiration for the Dalai Lama,” said Eva Haller, a longtime trustee of the UC Santa Barbara Foundation. “He knows that, and feels at home here.”

louis.sahagun@latimes.com
By Louis Sahagun
April 25, 2009

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Geshe Tsultim Gyeltsen, a leading Tibetan lama, human rights activist and founder of a Buddhist center in Long Beach, died Feb. 13 after a short illness. He was 85.

Gyeltsen died at his home at the Thubten Dhargye Ling Buddhist center, which he founded in 1978, two decades after he fled the Chinese occupation of Tibet.

A member of the same Buddhist sect as the Dalai Lama, he hosted six visits to Los Angeles of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the most recent in 2006.

Known for his traditional approach to Buddhist teaching, Gyeltsen was one of a dwindling number of Tibetan-born teachers who followed the Dalai Lama into exile 50 years ago.

“He is one of the teachers who brought Buddhism to the West,” said James Shaheen, editor of the Buddhist journal Tricycle.

The author of two widely read Buddhist commentaries — “Compassion: The Key to Great Awakening” and “Mirror of Wisdom” — Gyeltsen also championed human rights and religious freedom in Tibet as a board member of the International Campaign for Tibet, a Washington, D.C.-based group chaired by actor Richard Gere.

Born Jamphel Yeshe in 1923 in the eastern Tibet province of Kham, Gyeltsen was ordained as a Buddhist monk at age 7. When he was 16, he undertook a 33-day journey across 25 mountain passes to reach the Gaden Monastery near Lhasa, the Tibetan capital. He studied there for the next two decades.

In 1959, after the failure of the March 10 Tibetan rebellion, the Dalai Lama fled to India, where he established a government-in-exile. Gyeltsen, along with 50 other prominent monks, soon followed.

“Escape was very difficult because the few good roads the Chinese were holding already,” Gyeltsen told The Times in 1989.

With Chinese soldiers fast approaching, the group traveled for a month to reach the Indian border, including three days crossing the snow-covered Himalayas.

He ended his journey in Dalhousie, in northern India, where he completed his studies at the Gyuto Tantric College. At a refugee camp in West Bengal, he passed the examinations to earn the rank of Geshe, which has been described as a doctorate of Tibetan Buddhism.

In 1963 he immigrated to England, where for several years he instructed Tibetan refugee children in Buddhist philosophy and Tibetan language and culture. In 1975 he moved to the United States and taught Tibetan language, meditation and religious studies at UC Santa Barbara and UCLA.

At the urging of his students, he formed Thubten Dhargye Ling Buddhist Center in Los Angeles; it was relocated to Long Beach in 1996. He also founded centers in Northern California’s Grass Valley, Texas, Colorado, Alaska, Mexico and Europe.

He was one of 76 Buddhist teachers featured in “Portraits of Tibetan Buddhist Masters” by Santa Monica photographer Don Farber, who knew Gyeltsen for 30 years.

“His death is a great loss,” said Farber, who called Gyeltsen “one of the last living masters” of Tibetan Buddhism. “Newer incarnations and generations of teachers will be different because of cultural influences. He was creating a foundation for students to learn about Tibetan Buddhism in a completely authentic way.”

Gyeltsen is survived by a son, Tsewang Gyeltsen of Long Beach; a sister and several nieces and nephews.

His body will be taken to India for a special cremation ceremony, where Buddhist monasteries will offer prayers. Donations to support the prayer rituals may be sent to Thubten Dhargye Ling, 3500 E. 4th St., Long Beach, CA 90814.

Original Story at LA Times