Reports From The Mandala
Head Lama of TNMC
Over the past decade, the Nyingma Mandala of Organizations has expanded dramatically and in unexpected ways. Existing organizations have continued their activities on behalf of the Dharma and all sentient beings, typically intensifying their efforts. At the same time, at least nine new organizations have been formed, adding new dimensions to the founding Head Lama’s vision.
In the reports that follow, we lay out recent developments throughout the mandala and introduce the work of our new organizations. We start with the work of TNMC, where the Head Lama is most directly involved: Yeshe De, Odiyan, the Light Foundations, and the Sarnath Institute. From there we move on to describe the structure and mission of the Nyingma Association of Mandala Organizations (NAMO), founded in 2011.
We go on to lay out the recent work of the organizations that belong to NAMO. As a structure for presenting this wealth of developments, we start with the organizations located in Sonoma County, then turn to developments in Berkeley, and finally report on the expanding efforts of our international centers, under the direction of Nyingma Centers.
Mandala Organizations In Berkeley
Nyingma Mandala of Organizations had its beginning in Berkeley in 1969, when Rinpoche founded the Tibetan Nyingma Meditation Center. In 1971, TNMC moved into its new home, an old fraternity house that Rinpoche named Padma Ling, Land of the Lotus. Padma Ling remains a center of community activity as a residence and place of practice and the site of ongoing art projects and editorial work. Its ample gardens are tended as an offering to the Dharma, and its stalwart bear statue, left behind by the fraternity, has been adopted as a Dharma protector.
The next development came in 1972, when Rinpoche founded the Nyingma Institute in another old fraternity house on the other side of the University campus. Active briefly at Padma Ling, the Institute moved to its present location the next year. We start our reports on the Berkeley mandala organizations with the Institute, which has now flourished as a gateway to the Dharma for more than four decades.
In 2009, the mandala expanded into downtown Berkeley. We had been looking for over a year for a new home for the Tibetan Aid Project, which had occupied the same building as Dharma Publishing and the Yeshe De Project prior to their move to Ratna Ling. In 2008, the opportunity arose to purchase two adjoining buildings in the heart of Berkeley. Although far grander in scale than what we had been looking for, the new buildings offered remarkable opportunities to develop new petals of the mandala. Renovated in secret for nine months as a surprise for the larger community, the buildings witnessed opening celebrations in the summer of 2009.
Mangalam Centers, a 26,000 square foot building next to the main Berkeley post office, built in 1913 and a Berkeley landmark, became the home of the Mangalam Research Center for Buddhist Languages; it also houses a grand temple, office and residential space, and common facilities for dining, community events, and instruction. In addition, it serves as the headquarters for Light of Buddhadharma Foundation, the Center for Creative Inquiry, and NAMO. The smaller building next door became the home for the Tibetan Aid Project, the Dharma Publishing Bookstore, Nyingma Trust, a work space for the Prayer Flag Project, and (initially), the Guna Foundation. In 2010, another opportunity arose—this time to purchase the large building next to the Tibetan Aid Project Building. Known as Armstrong College (later, Armstrong University), it was over eighty years old, also a Berkeley landmark and built by the architect responsible for Mangalam Centers. Because it had been designed for use as a business college, it was perfectly suited for expanding the educational dimension of the mandala. Rinpoche named it Dharma College. After extensive renovation, Dharma College celebrated its opening in 2011. Soon after, it became the new home of the Guna Foundation, which moved from next door. It features a vast public space that Rinpoche lovingly prepared as temple capable of seating hundreds, as well dining facilities and a large lower level that is currently used mostly for storage.
Mandala Organizations In Berkeley
Tibetan Aid Project
The mission of the Tibetan Aid Project (TAP) is to preserve, protect, and perpetuate Tibet’s cultural heritage for the benefit of the Tibetan people and all of humanity. Founded in 1969, it was one of Rinpoche’s first initiatives after arriving in the United States.
For many years, TAP focused on providing material support for Tibetan refugees in India, Nepal, and elsewhere. To accomplish this goal more effectively, it incorporated in 1974 as the Tibetan Nyingma Relief Foundation. An especially successful project in those early years was the Tibetan Pen Friend Program, under which individuals in the United States and elsewhere sent small monthly donations and letters to Tibetans in exile for their basic needs or for education. Friendships founded through these personal connections often lasted for years.
In the 1980s, as Tibetan communities in exile became more stable, TAP’s focus shifted toward preserving Tibetan culture. Sponsoring ceremonies has long been a way to support monastic communities, and TAP joined in this traditional activity, following Rinpoche’s guidance on how to support the activity of all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism.
In the early 1990s, with the establishment of the annual Nyingma World Peace Ceremony (Monlam) in Bodhgaya, India (the site of the Buddha’s enlightenment), the focus of TAP’s efforts shifted again. Although it continued to sponsor ceremonies for all schools, it now centered its activity on funding the production, shipment, and distribution of traditional Tibetan texts and art, created by the Yeshe De Project, for free distribution to the Tibetan refugee community in India and the Himalayan region.
In particular, TAP has taken sole responsibility for funding the costs of text distribution. Since the size of shipments has ranged in size up to nearly forty 40foot shipping containers in a single year, this has been a major commitment.
The fruits of these efforts have been manifold. First and foremost, the distribution of the texts produced by the Yeshe De Project has helped provide the foundation for preserving and transmitting the Buddhist teachings at a time when their continued existence is threatened.
In addition, the distribution of books has stimulated education in the Himalayan region. It has filled hundreds of libraries with Tibetan books and fostered literacy across many segments of Tibetan society, especially among women and lay people. These books have also enabled nuns, who were traditionally limited to non-scholastic activities such as prayer and chanting, to study texts and earn advanced degrees. Finally, the annual ceremonies and distributions have improved the economy of Bodhgaya, which is located in Bihar, the poorest state in India.
Since 2001, TAP has helped raise funds through an annual gala, “Taste & Tribute.” Initiated with the strong support of one of America’s leading chefs and held at one of San Francisco’s most elegant hotels, this annual event is now a fixed part of the San Francisco social calendar. Each year, twenty-two well-known chefs prepare eleven completely different gourmet meals for 220 guests seated at eleven tables. The dinner is accompanied by both a silent and live auction, which feature travel packages, gift certificates to hotels and restaurants, outstanding wines, and a selection of Tibetan and Nepalese art. The event typically raises about $100,000 each year.
TAP’s educational and cultural events have also expanded in recent years, especially its art and photo exhibits. “Sacred Art of Tibet,” an exhibit at Peju Winery in Rutherford, California, took place in the summer and fall of 2013. This exhibit was followed by “Tibetan People and Landscapes of the Himalayas” at the Berkeley Public Library and “Sacred Himalayan Beauty” at the First Unitarian Universalist Society in San Francisco. The Sacred Art of Tibet exhibit will return in August 2014 to the St. Helena Library in St. Helena, California. These exhibits spread awareness of Tibet’s cultural treasures and scenic landscapes, which are rapidly disappearing after decades of political upheaval and environmental devastation.
TAP maintains a web store that sells prayer flags, malas, and other culturally significant items. It also collaborates with Ratna Ling and the Nyingma Institute to offer retreats, mostly focused on healing: a “Healing, Mindfulness, & Compassion” retreat for medical and therapy professionals is held twice a year at Ratna Ling, and we are offering Ayurveda seminars at the Nyingma Institute. TAP has also organized pilgrimages and trips to sites important to Buddhism. It plans to host its second trip to Nepal in December 2014.
Because TAP is structured more like a traditional fundraising charity than most of our projects, it attracts work-study volunteers who are interested in learning about the non-profit world. While our volunteers are bright and eager to take initiative, they are also often likely to move on after fulfilling their six-month or one year commitment. However, many of them continue to stay in touch and to help out when they can. TAP also attracts a steady stream of volunteers who help on a part-time basis.
The world of fundraising has been changing: people no longer give out their home addresses as readily, and the new etiquette frowns on making calls without first making email contacts. Social networking is now vital, and with the help of our young volunteers we now have an active blog and accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and Tumblr.