AT LONG LAST WE MANAGED TO VISIT THIS PARADISE! 

I myself have been planning for this tour for a number of years but for some reason the time was not right. In the last quarter of 2015, after seeing so many projects were done in Ladakh and so many donors were involved, I made a resolution that I will bring some of these donors there to see for themselves what they have contributed. So an itinerary was planned and the route and coordination were all done while I was in Sera Je in December last year. This is the final outcome:-

Ladahk Tour 2016

A 10 days merit making journey organized by Varada Effort that starts before but ending on the second day of the auspicious month of Saga Dawa to the foothill of Himalayas. In this tour, we retrace the footsteps of the past Mahasidas and see how Buddhism has spread over the last thousand years.

Itinerary:-

Day 1 (April 29^th)

Morning flight AI 381 from Singapore to Delhi at 11:00, arriving in Delhi at 12:25. A museum tour to view the Buddha’s relic, then to Tibet House and dinner will be arranged before we come back to the airport in the night.

Day 2 (Apr 30^th)

Early morning flight AI 445 at 05:55 from Delhi arriving Leh at 07:25. Transfer to Padma Hotel and rest to acclimatize. Later in the afternoon, after ample rest, we can take a slow stroll to the market place to experience the Ladakhi way of life.

Day 3 (May 1^st)

After breakfast, proceed to Stok where the big Buddha site is. Along the way we will visit Stok Palace Museum. Puja for the visitors and walk around Stok village.  Proceed to Ngari Institute to stay in their guesthouse.

Day 4 (May 2^nd)

Visit Thiksey Monastery and Thagtok Monastery. Stay in Ngari Guesthouse and a cultural show will be featured in the night.

Day 5 (May 3^rd)

Visit Hemis Monastery and HHDL’s palace. Stay in Ngari Guesthouse. 

Day 6 (May 4^th)

In the morning a short teaching by Geshe la to explain the significance of the coming Saga Dawa and the kind of meritorious practices that one can do during this one month period, followed by guided meditation by Geshe la before we pay a visit to Ladakhi family home and have a taste of how typical Ladakhi food is like. **A visit to the Tibetan Children Village and followed by shopping in town for those who like to buy some local souvenirs.

Day 7 (May 5^th)

Drive westward towards Lamayuru Monastery. Visit Likir Monastery and Alchi Monastery along the way. Overnight stay near Lamayuru, staying in Hotel Moonland Lamayuru or its equivalent.

Day 8 (May 6^th)

Visit Lamayuru Monastery and on the way back, visit Rizong Monastery. Return to stay in Ngari Guesthouse.

Day 9 (May 7^th)

Proceed to Spituk Monastery and if possible join them for puja to mark this auspicious first day of Saga Dawa. Circumambulation round the Shanti Stupa. Return to Ngari Institute Guesthouse in late afternoon. Farewell party the Ladakhi way will be held by the host. Not only the children from the Institute will perform for us, we can also join in the song and dance with them. Rest in Guesthouse and get ready to leave for airport the next morning.

Day 10 (May 8^th)

Take morning flight AI 446 at 11:00 from Leh to Delhi, arriving at 12:35. Evening at 22:00 will board AI 380 to come back to home sweet home. Arriving the next morning (9^th May) at 06:20.

** We may change the visit to TCV to the day before as it is in the same area of HHDL’s palace. I will discuss the timing after liaising with Gen Yeshi and their secretary of TCV to see whichever is more convenient for both. 

So 10 of us went for the above tour and a good time was had by all. These are some of the photos that we had:-

A stop at Tibet House in Delhi to meet Geshe Dorji while we wait for our next early morning departure:-

Welcome at the Leh airport by our dear monks from Ngari Institute:-                                                 

A lunch after we checked into our hotel to acclimatize for a day:-

                                      

Now going to the place that we have been longing for:-

A whole day Puja done for all the sponsors in the making of the Big Buddha in Stok;-

Sweets offered to all after refilling the oil of the giant lamp and smoke puja outside the Big Buddha:-         

Sorting out the gift packs for the children of Ngari Institute:-

The older childtren of Ngari Institute in their TCV school uniform:-                                                      

A visit to TCV Leh to see the little ones leaning dancing and singing:-

We are just meditating next to the cave where Guru Rinpoche Padmasambava practised there:-

Little Potala Thiksey Monastery:-

 A beautiful gigantic statute of Maitreya that stretches over three floors:-

The night party begins with gifts given to the children of Ngari Institute:-                                          

We all put not only our names onto our pencil box set but also our aspiration into the little notebook:-

Local cultural show put up by our host to welcome us:-                                                                   

Children sitting outside Norling Guesthouse to get ready to enjoy the show as well:-

A visit to our beloved guru's summer palace, which looks a little like Norbulingka in Tibet:-    

Teaching and Q&A with Geshe la to clarify some doubts on Buddhist practice:-

Each of us get to plant an apple tree in front of the monks' hostel. We will definitely have to come back to see the fruits of our labour and love:-

Now for our own aspirations and clearing of obstacles. May these giant prayer flags send our the blessings to the sentient beings and may they be well and happy:-                                                  

It's time to say goodbye and we will meet again. Thank you for your songs and dances for us. We all have enjoyed each other's company tremendously. By the   time we next meet I am sure all of you       will be much taller. But meantime some nice cream cakes for the children, which to them is a rare    treat:-                                                                                                                                                     

Gen Yeshi thank you for being a wonderful host and gave us all a memorable time. Beautiful               mountains and rivers; we will miss you all. Hopefully we can come back again soon.                                                                                      

A project that we did not anticipated but glad that we are part of the making of this 71feet Buddha

More than two years ago I saw photos of the making of the big Buddha statue in Stok. A group of us was admiring from afar. I was just following the progress made by the villagers...how they help either physically or providing transportation for the materials or even simple as cooking or providing food for the workers...A great team indeed without asking for anything in return.They toiled during the brief summer months and work indoor during the harsh winter.

A magnificent sight in the mountain overlooking the valley

Then one of our friends asked if we can donate gold or gold paint for this Buddha after seeing the crown was casked with gold bar donated by someone from Singapore. Also we ca see that the alms bowl was in place.

It all went very fast and 24k gold paints were purchased and shipped to Ladakh and pure gold foils were purchased from China and hand carried to project sites and so were the cold gold purchased from Nepal all arrived in time for the completion of the painting within 3 months last year.

                                       

This May 10 of us were lucky to be able to travel to Ladakh to look at this statue that we have been waiting to see and also offer 2 sets of vertical lotus lights and 1 set of horizontal lotus lights to the main altar.. Just two weeks before we left we were told that the giant lamp outside the Buddha statue needs refilling of oil. Within 2 days we gathered enough money for buying oil for the next 2 years and we were lucky to be able to take part in the topping up ceremony while we were there. This Buddha has been consecrated by HHDL on 8 Aug 2016. The rest of the buildings i.e. the front groud,  the library, the staying quarters as well as the car park down the hill will be on going until whatever in the blueprint is completed. Hopefully the next time we go there it will be more user friendly.    

               

Short tours for those young ones for their  winter program:-.

The purpose of having this tour is purely educational.  The tour on the 19^th Jan 2016 at 9.00am from TCV  to Gutoe monastery. The monastery head explained about the Gutoe school.  

Tea and snacks were served by the monastery after which the group reached Gopalpur zoo at around 11.00am. The children really enjoyed to see these wonderful animals and spent some time in the zoo park. 

At the bank of Mancha river packed lunch were served..

At around 3.30pm the group reached Sherabling monastery and since we need to stay there overnight, the monastery prepared rooms for children and dinner was served, The next day after breakfast one hour religious talk was given by Geshe la.

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On the 20^th Jan 2016 the tour continued to Bir Tibetan Settlement, Chuntra Tibetan settlement, Zongsar monastery and then to TCV Chuntra school. 

While coming back to the school, stops were made at TCV Suja and TCV Gopalpur.  At TCV Gopalpur a very delicious and homely lunch was served with the director joining us.

A day picnic for little once in Strawberry Hills:-

On 25^th Jan 2016, the little ones went out for picnic at Strawberry Hills in our TCV school bus. A group of 109 little ones with five staff members had an enjoyable day with lots of games and fun activities.

The school prepared special breakfast, lunch,tea and snacks for the children. They all had a great day.

Closing ceremony of winter program.

On 31^st of Jan 2016, A closing ceremony of winter program was organised.All the office staff was invited to participate in the event. The Director thanked all the volunteers who participated in the winter program and at the end. A short culture show was performed by those students who stayed here during winter holidays. The school arranged a special dinner for the children and the closing ceremony was a grand success.

This year 185 students were left behind during winter holidays and all of them participated in these outings.

 Happy Children During Their Long Winter Break 

Some photos of the older TCV children who went to Auroville to spend their winter holiday 2015. Farming, cooking, mixing with foreign community, learning a new art form  :-

                                                             

An unexpected Fruitful Year for VE

2105 has ended nearly a month ago and this is time for us to recap what we have done. We did not have too many projects in mind to begin with but then opportunities just came and fell on our laps. It is most heart-warming to note the numbers of keen supporters for all these projects. Most of the projects went quite smoothly and hitting the target in relatively short time. But even the tough going ones got sorted out in the end and we managed even to go beyond the target. What a joy indeed! We are deeply grateful for all your supports!! Rejoice in all your kind hearts.

Here are the summary of what we managed to do in the year of 2015. For those who would like to view more details and photos please refer to our separate blog on some of those events:-

1)      Donating the 5 doors (1 main door and 4 side doors) to the prayer hall in Ngari Khamtsen in Sera Jeh Monastery in Bylakuppe.

This project was brought to my attention when our dharma sister Yeng Yeng asked me if we are interested in making some donations for the door of the new prayer hall that is being built now. The reason for sponsoring a door rather than other fixtures, as explained by Geshe Ngawang Yeshi is that; by building the door to a prayer hall, we are providing a door way for all sentient beings to be able to access the dharma. So it is very important to help those not as fortunate as us.

The donation drive was highly successful that we managed to collect $6,388/- to construct the main door plus another $2k+ donations from Yeng Yeng and her sister Ven Chun Yin. Now, the prayer hall in the end, managed to build 4 additional side doors.

When I was there last December, the statues of the Buddha and Boddhisattvas have managed to clear the custom of Nepal and they have all arrived in wooden crates waiting to be installed after the altar and the marble flooring are been completed. The doors were being carved by Nepali craftsmen at the moment. So only the door frame was installed as we have seen from the photos that I have sent out via email months ago.

Even with the delay, it is anticipated that the whole hall will be completed by this summer and I have left behind 2 boxes of the best ‘Blue Sky’ incense donated by VE and donors, to be offered to the Buddha and Boddhisattvas during the opening ceremony.

This prayer hall is one that Zopa Rinpoche has generously sponsored US$100k to get it going and I had the good fortune to try out one of their guestrooms on the second floor when I was there. Beautiful view of the sunset and the open field from the front and back balcony, with a debate area for the monks. Hopefully we can create this opportunity to lead more sentient beings to the dharma.

2)      Donating gold paint, gold foils plus cold gold for the Big Buddha project in Stok.

This was another unexpected project. When Gen Yeshi visited Singapore last year he brought along the photos of the 71 ft Buddha statues in Stok. They were going to the last phase of painting the Buddha.

Gold paints (with 24k gold contents) were purchased and a lot of our dharma friends were very keen on this opportunity to contribute, as it is hard to come by nowadays to help in the construction of any kind of Buddha’s image or statue of this scale. On top of that, everyone knows fully well the merit of constructing a Buddha’s statue or painting any kind of image(s) of holy deities. Within a couple of weeks $2,288/- was collected to subsidize the cost of the gold paint (which Gen Yeshi managed to carry litres of paint all the way back to Ladakh).

Another $1,156/- was collected to purchase pure gold foil (with the help of our dharma sister Wendy) to be mixed into the paint for painting the murals on the wall in the chamber underneath the Buddha statue. Again, these gold foils with fantastic efforts of our dharma brother Sonam and Ladakhi brothers and sisters (Ming Ley, Tashi Ley, and an unknown Geshe la, etc.), they arrived safely in Stok on time for the craftsmen to finish the paint job inside.

Another $608/- was also contributed to purchase “cold gold” from a Nepali craftsman family to be used for the painting of the deities’ faces.

Though it was like an international cross border adventure story but we were truly glad that all these materials reached Stok on time and the paint work was finished by mid-June 2015. We are looking forward to our organised tour to view this in coming May before HHDL inaugurate the statue in August this year.

   

3)      Long Life Puja for HHDL at Spituk Monastery in Ladakh

Last year was the 80^th birthday celebration of our dear beloved guru HHDL. We sponsored the tea and bread during the day long chanting for the long life puja with 1,000 offerings for the monks and general public on 24^th May.

4)      Liberation of goats and sheep in Chantang with special dedication for the long life of HHDL for his 80^th birthday
      What a better birthday present to give to our guru where his compassion for all sentient being is so great and ever present? On 29^th May, just as the roads were opened to Chantang area, we were so fortunate to have a group of monks from Spituk Monastery who were willing to travel by car for 12 hours to go to this disputed border of nomad area under the Himalayas to do liberation for us.
      We were originally promised 40 goats and sheep to be released. But when the nomads heard about the merits were being dedicated for the long life of HH they all wanted to take part as well. So in the end more than 100 happy animals were liberated in one morning.
      Due to the kindness of these monks, who did not want to take any offering money from us, we decided to treat the whole monastery to a dinner where they can share the joy created by their fellow members. It was a joyous occasion indeed for all!
5)      Helping Pema Drolkar
      A fresh graduate from TCV with an ambition to become a nurse. Pema has no relative to turn to for financial help when she found that after all the discounts and scholarship she had she is still short of money to pay for her fees and living expenses to do a degree course in nursing. She approached our teacher Geshe Dorji Damdul and was so lucky that several sponsors were willing to pledge for her entire education shortfall in fees. It was a quick and happy ending for all as she managed to get the money and started school in time all within a span of two weeks.

6)      TCV Children Pocket Money Fund

VE has been sponsoring the TCV winter program for a number of years to enable those children who has no one to take them for the long winter holiday to go out of the school and experience the world beyond the school walls. This year we donated 65,000rs to TCV headquarter so that 130 children of all ages can have 500rs each as pocket money when they travel out for their holiday. The office will update us later as to where these children has gone to.

7)      Furnishing tables and beds for the 10 rooms in Ngari Institute Monks’ Hostel in Saboo

Ngari Institute is a charitable organisation in Ladahk where children from broken families are housed. Run by a committee head by Geshe Tsewang Dorje, the monks together with lay helpers take care of the 40+ children and give them education where it was not possible with one single parent or no parent to support them. Besides the basic education they are also taught Buddhism at young age and simple Buddhist rituals by the monks.

So when the monks’ hostel building was completed (the cost was borne by German sponsors) last September, I was surprised to hear that they cannot move in to stay as they lack the money to furnish the rooms. So VE took on the responsibility of raising money to buy beds and tables for the 30 monks who will be housed there in the future. It was not an easy task, but 3 months later we managed to raise S$7,530/- for them….a little more than the cost of tables and beds where they can use the extra to purchase blankets and pillows. A happy ending after some tough moments!

8)      Buying gas cylinders for Lingshed residents

According to sister Amala, as told by Geshe Ngawang Jangchup, Lingshed is a relatively poor area in Lhadakh. The village people use mostly coal for keeping warm and cooking. In the long run they suffer a lot of health hazard due to this…i.e. going blind, cancer etc. all because of the long term inhalation and exposure to the fume. Therefore, Geshe la has started a project, to supply each family with 2 gas cylinders, (instead of burning coal) which will last them through the year to improve their state of well-being. VE has made a modest contribution for 2 gas cylinders in the project. Hopefully with sister Amala’s appeal to her friends, this project can be fully realised soon and the people there can have cleaner air to live in. 

Helping Pema Drolkar

This July, VE, with help of our generous supporters, managed to subsidize one young Tibetan girl to succeed in her dreams for pursuing her studies as a nurse.

Perma Drolkar came to India like most of the Tibetan children, alone and have not much of support from a single parent farming family. She has finished her high school with TCV doing science as her main studies and this qualified her to be accepted to do a B.Sc Nursing course in Nitte Usha Institute of Nursing Sciences in Mangalore.

Her total expenditure needed for the first year is approximately Rs 130,500, which includes:-
(1) Her tuition fees of Rs 75,000 per year (after getting a discount of Rs 9,000 from the original amount of Rs 84,000 due to her background)
(2) Room rent of Rs 22,000 per year
(3) Mess charges of Rs 24,000 per year, and
(4) Extra university and application fees of Rs 3,500 (which is only payable for the first year)

Though she managed to get a scholarship of Rs 45,000 per year from TCV but she still needs to pay for her uniform and books. Therefore, there was still a balance of Rs 85,000 (approximately S$1,820) to be paid.

Through the swift action of a group of kind souls, Pema managed to get the balance of her money needed just one week before the school term started. It was a real joy for all of us and Geshe Dorji Damdul who has asked for our help. We thank the following donors who made this possible for Pema to start her first year in the Institute:-
1) Mrs. Shirley Hoe                     $400/-
2) Ms. Yik Choi Pheng                 $300/-

The following persons have pledged to give a yearly donation to the fees required:-

1) Ms. Wee Nee Ng                     $500/- per year for 4 years

2) Ms. Tham Khuan Heng           $250/- per year for 4 years

3) Mr. Waye Phan                        Balance amount that is required for the 4 years

 

We also received the following donation from the following group of supporters which will go into the accruing fees for Pema in her second year of study. They are:-

1) Swas Tan Teik Ee & family from Penang                     $100/-

2) Bhagya Jean Lau                                                            $50/-

3) Chiang Meau Chyou                                                      $5/-

4) Amala Chew Soo Chuah & family                                $200/- 

4.

                                              This is Pema Drolkar

  Pocket Money Fund for Winter program 2015

 

This year, Varada Effort has been lucky with the accumulation of various donations throughout the previous year and this year. We managed to send an amount of Rs. 65,000 to Tibetan Children Village to enable up to 130 students, who will be taking part in this year's winter program to receive a pocket money of Rs. 500 each.

 

We do hope these recipients will have an enjoyable and fruitful time despite of the fact that they do not have any family in India. We hope the communities who receive them will show the warmth of having someone near to spend their free time with and also the life that is outside of TCV.