The Very Venerable Ninth Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche
( Founder, Shree Mangal Dvip Boarding School )
1933 – 2023
Read the Short Biography of Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche
Photos from Namo Buddha – Paying Respects to the Kudung (Physical Remains) of our Kind Founder.
Paying Respect to the Kudung of our beloved founder, Kyabje Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche
Our kind founder, the Lord of Refuge Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche passed into parinirvana on May 5, 2023, the fifteenth day of the third Tibetan month of the Water Hare Year, at the age of ninety-one.
Over a space of three days (to avoid overcrowding at the monastery) everyone, children and staff, traveled up to Thrangu Tashi Yangtse Monastery at Namo Buddha, for paying utmost respect to the sacred Kudung (Physical Remains) of our Kind Founder, Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche. These visits took place on June 17, 18, and 19, respectively.
Upon reaching the monastery, we reverently approached the presence of the Kudung, offering our sincere veneration. We expressed our deep gratitude for all the teachings, guidance, and kindness bestowed upon us by our beloved founder. Following this act of devotion, prayers were conducted at the prayer hall, beseeching the swift return of our Root Guru, Kyabje Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche to guide and inspire all sentient beings.
At noon, the monastery graciously provided us with lunch. Following a brief intermission, students and teachers gathered at the main stupa, where fervent prayers were offered for our Kind Root Guru. This heartfelt expression of devotion aimed to honor the profound wisdom and immeasurable compassion of our founder and also for his swift return/ rebirth.
Typically, the monastery generously hosts everyone through the 49 day mourning period, offering meals and endless cups of tea. By the end of the 49 days, thousands will have visited to pay their respects. [ Watch short film of the visit on YouTube ]
Prayers for the Swift Return of Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche
by H.H. The Karmapa [ Download PDF ]
by H.H. The Dalai Lama [ Download PDF ]
by H.H. Kenting Tai Situ Rinpoche [ Download PDF ]
by H.H. Sakya Trichen [ Download PDF ]
The Schedule for the Cremation of Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche
An Announcement for All Those Around the World Who Have a Connection of Any Sort with the Lord of Refuge Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche
Our precious teacher, the Lord of Refuge Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche passed into parinirvana on a very holy day, the anniversary of day when the Buddha Shakyamuni himself passed into parinirvana. As is traditional, all of the Thrangu Monasteries are observing Rinpoche’s parinirvana by conducting seven weeks of pujas. We are now observing the fourth week; the seventh week will end on the forty-ninth day, Saturday July 22, the fifth day of the sixth Tibetan month.
On the suggestion of the Gyalwang Karmapa, in order for Rinpoche’s students who live far away to have an opportunity to pay their respects to his kudung (precious remains) and gather the accumulation of merit by making offerings to it, the kudung will be preserved until November. At the end, there will be a week-long Chakrasamvara Grand Puja, starting on October 29, 2023, and ending on Saturday, November 4, the festival of the Buddha’s Descent from Heaven, the 22nd day of the ninth Tibetan month. On that day, Rinpoche’s kudung will be cremated at the sacred site of Namo Buddha. All of Rinpoche’s students and everyone who has faith in or any connection with Rinpoche is welcome to attend.
Thrangu Tashi Choling Monastery
[ Read the full Announcement on Rinpoche’s Website ]
Prayers are being done at SMD for the swift return of our Kind Root Guru
Prayers are being done at all the Rinpoche’s Institutions around the world including SMD School. We are conducting prayers for the swift return of our kind founder. All of our students, teachers, and some support staff join in these prayers.
Rinpoche established SMD School in 1987, serving marginalized children who come from some of the most isolated and remote places in Nepal, particularly undeveloped villages in the northern region. Through Rinpoche’s selfless efforts, hundreds of mountain children at SMD receive free education, housing, medical care, and dental care, opportunities that would otherwise be inaccessible to them, leaving them illiterate like their parents.
At SMD, under Rinpoche’s compassionate care, we have both lay children and monks, as well as nuns from remote villages that lack basic facilities such as electricity, toilets, sanitation, telecommunications, healthcare, roads, and schools. These villages are located days away from the nearest road, even under favorable weather conditions. However, during bad weather, it can take several days to communicate with or reach these villages. Due to the difficult and dangerous travel conditions, many students reside at the school as boarders.
To date, over 500 students have graduated from SMD, and their lives have been transformed positively. Their success and bright futures can be attributed to the limitless kindness and generosity of our revered root guru. We cannot fathom what our lives would have been like without the profound blessings and extraordinary generosity bestowed upon us by our Root Guru, Thrangu Rinpoche.
Group Photo of SMD Administrators and Teachers with Lucy Gowdie
Lucy Gowdie, the Head of School at The Inter-Community School Zurich (ICS), visited our school
SMD Administrators with Lucy Gowdie on her first day at SMD
On June 11, Lucy Gowdie, the head of Inter Community School Zurich in Switzerland, visited SMD and stayed for
a week. During her stay, she observed the school’s academics. On the third day, we conducted a presentation for Lucy, providing her with an overview of SMD and our goals. She also shared her thoughts and ideas with us.
Lucy was everywhere, doing everything all at once! We took her up to Namo Buddha when we went to pay our respects to Rinpoche, and she even wore a ‘chuba’ (Tibetan/Buddhist Cultural Dress) gifted by our school principal. Lucy fit right in. We are working on deepening the cooperation between our schools.
L-R: Junu Tamang, Tsewang Diki and Kunchok Lhamo Lama
This month, three SMDers have successfully obtained their Bachelor’s degrees
Three of our graduates who were studying overseas have just graduated from their respective universities. Junu Tamang – Bachelor of Science (BSc) at Trent University, Tsewang Diki – Bachelor of Science (BSc)at the University of British Columbia and Kunchok Lhamo Lama – BA in Business Administration and Computer Science at the College of Idaho.
Nelha Sangmo (L) and Palden Tashi (R)
We train health workers and encourage them to become Doctors or Healthcare professionals
Nelha Sangmo and our ’nyerpa’ (manager) Palden Tashi distributed food to 300 local families during the lockdowns. Nelha was decorated as a National COVID Hero
Rinpoche expressed the wish that we encourage SMDers to continue studies in health and education. Why? Both are lacking in Nepal’s mountain districts and the government shows little interest. To date, fourteen SMDers have completed General Medicine studies and another three will finish this summer. General Medicine is a three year intensive programme which equips graduates with life-saving skills. Once licensed, HAs can run remote health posts.
We find that health posts run well if established under the aegis of a monastery. Thus far, SMDers have been responsible for founding six health posts – the funding comes from overseas. The government clearly has no interest in funding health posts, so we are always looking for funding to build health posts ourselves.
Nelha Sangmo is one of our two live-in medical officers. After finishing HA studies, serving a year at a health post in the mountains, she returned to Kathmandu to work on a Bachelor of Public Health (BPH); she plans to go on to a Masters in Public Health (MPH).
In case You Missed It…
Earthquake Rescue Equipment: The government won’t dig us out. We have set a budget of $1800, which will provide us with the bare minimum. All donations are welcome.
Monsoon, The Economy and Migration: The monsoon has started, bringing floods and landslides. The good news is that, so far, no cases of dengue fever have been reported in Kathmandu. The revenue-hungry government is imposing taxes on everything, including a 13% value-added tax (VAT) on potatoes and onions, which are staples in the Nepali menu. The inflation rate is almost 8%, and 25% of the GDP comes from remittances sent by Nepali workers overseas. More than 2,000 young people fly out of Nepal every day, in search of work opportunities abroad. We encourage SMDers to stay in Nepal or, if they win scholarships overseas, to return once they finish their studies.
Note from Shirley (Director, SMD School) regarding E-mails and Facebook: We hope this message finds you well. We are writing to inform you about Shirley’s communication preferences, specifically regarding receiving messages. We kindly request that you consider sending messages through email (himalayanchildren@gmail.com) rather than via Facebook. Shirley, doesn’t checks her facebook messages most of the time and we also believe that emails provides a more personal and direct way to communicate, compared to social media platforms like Facebook.
We also wanted to inform you that Shirley has recently created a new Facebook account and she no longer has access to the old account. Here’s the link to her new Facebook: Shirley Blair
Nepal Post Office is currently unable to process outgoing mail to different countries: While we understand the inconvenience this may cause, we want to assure you that all incoming mail services remain unaffected. The Nepal Post Office will continue to handle and deliver incoming mail from around the world without interruption. However, outgoing mail services to destinations outside of Nepal will be temporarily unavailable until further notice.
Here is the list of the country where outgoing mail is fine: Austria, Italy, United Kingdom, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, France, Netherlands, Spain, Finland, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, United States, Qatar, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, South Korea, Thailand, Maldives
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