In the 18th century Dip-Tse-Chok-Ling Monastery was established by Yongzin Yeshi Gyaltsen, tutor to H. H. the 8th Dalai Lama, a few kilometers south of Lhasa City. After the Chinese liberation in 1959, the monastery, along with over 6000 others, was demolished to near ruins.

In 1984 the monastery was reestablished in exile near Dharamsala, India. A new temple was built and consecrated by the Dalai Lama in 1987. The late founder of the monastery in exile, Lama Tashi Gyaltsen, actively sought sponsors to help pay for education and health care for the monks and other Tibetan children in need, and due to the generosity of his many Western friends was able to revive the traditions of the original monastery.

In 1992, the people of Dip, Tibet, began work on the reconstruction of the original Dip-Tse-Chok-Ling Monastery. Local volunteers, including the remaining monks, requested assistance from the monastery in Dharamsala. Lama Tashi Gyaltsen then went to Tibet, bringing with him five life-sized statues from India, as well as donations for reconstruction of the original monastery. In 1992, the reconstruction was 25% complete and the monastery reopened.

Presently the monastery in Tibet has 25 monks, including 5 from before the destruction who serve as teachers to the younger monks. The monastery in India is spearheading a fundraising campaign to complete the rebuilding of the original foundation in Tibet, to provide health care, food and clothing for the monks, to build a health center for the local village, and to make improvements to the local primary school.

Thupten Nyandak, the director of Dip Tse-Chok-Ling Monastery in Dharamsala, is organizing a campaign to assist these projects. You can help by sponsoring a monk ($240 a year), or by donating funds to be used for reconstruction and building a health center and classrooms for the village of Dip. Contributions can be sent to: Dip-Tse-Chok-Ling, Bank Account #E.C.M. 871, State Bank of India, Dharamsala Branch, (HP) INDIA. Tax-deductible contributions may also be sent through Tibet Fund, earmarked for Dip-Tse-Chok-Ling: Tibet Fund, 241E. 32nd Street, NY, NY 10016, tele: 212-213-5010. ä_æ