The Tibetan Lamas of Dolpo fulfill many roles: they travel widely in Dolpo, mediating disputes, teaching and using their skill as healers. In a culture with no judicial system, no schools and no health care system, the lamas have enormous influence. Their essential function is to embody the highest values of the culture: quiet mind, friendliness, compassion, respect for all beings.

THE MONASTERIES OF DOLPO:

The monasteries of Dolpo are the places of training and preparation for Dolpo's lamas. Many years are spent in the profound practice of meditation. The mature stages of spiritual practice result in a lived reality of serene energy and quiet wisdom that becomes a resource for all.

TSAKANG MONASTERY:

Tsakang Monastery, Inner Dolpo, lies across the river from Shey at an altitude of 16,000 feet (Please see map). In 1986 the ageing head of Tsakang gave the monastery to Jamgon Kontrul Rinpoche III, and thus the monastery and its lamas entered the sphere of his activity. The 30 lamas of Tsakang live in poverty in very primitive conditions. The winter cold is extreme in the unheated rooms of the hermitage. For six months a year, Tsakang is cut off from even the nearest hamlet by snow in the high mountain passes. Despite harsh conditions, extreme isolation and poor diet, the lamas of Tsakang continue to meditate, not for themselves, but for the benefit of all beings. The Tibetan poet-saint Milarepa expressed the hermit's joy:

         "At my back the red rock of heaven rises,
         At my feet, wild flowers bloom, vibrant and profuse,
         At my cave's edge, wild beasts roam, roar and grunt,
         While heaven drifts the drizzling rain...
         The merits of this place are inconceivable..."

NEEDS:

The lamas of Tsakang need medicine, medical attention, food. clothing, boots and bedding. Their monastery buildings are crumbling.

Photo of Tsakang Monastery: Courtesy of Dr. George B. Schaller