Student Sponsorship
The Gongkar Choede sponsorship program draws upon an old principle of Buddhist monasticism stating that all facilities at a monastery (vihara) are to be offered free to its members to enable them to focus completely on their studies and the practice of the Buddha’s teachings. In line with this custom Gongkar Choede aims to introduce continuous funding for the essential functioning of the institution without charging the ordained community. Generally, all candidates are accepted into the community regardless of their age and background and once having come to Gongkar Choede, the monastery takes full responsibility of the monk’s upbringing, education and health.
With the student sponsorship program we aim to create stable living conditions for our inmates, to ensure the continuation of the virtuous life at the monastery and to preserve our endangered tradition in exile.
Separated from their families, monks in the Tibetan Diaspora rely exclusively on the monasteries capacity. The sponsorship program is designed to meet these particular challenges in an exile environment. Funding of the monks in form of individual sponsorship will strengthen the monasteries self-reliance in a foreign environment and assure community a simple living standard and a secure environment conducive to the study and practice of the Buddha’s teachings.
The money received through the sponsors will be entirely used to facilitate the board and lodging of the student monks. On the basis of previous expenditure $30 a month or $360 a year is calculated as an average amount to cover the living expenses of a young monk. This amount will provide the monks with simple housing (shared accommodation), basic vegetarian meals (3 times a day), seasonal clothing (robes for the summer/winter) and required medical expenditures. Individual contributions are pooled to ensure the welfare of the whole community. The student monk chosen by a sponsor will be the monastery’s representative to that sponsor. Letter correspondence and exchange between monk and sponsor are most welcome.