Please clearly state your name and address with donations, and state that the donation is to be used for the emergency relief effort at the monastery.
For Gesar Fund. Please mention ‘Earthquake’
ING bank # 4391534
Stichting Gesar Fund
Mollenakker 2, 3994 GC Houten
IBAN: NL79INGB0004391534
BIC: INGBNL2A
lease send your donations (Tax deductible in the Netherlands) to:
In this phone interview, Lyndon Comstock talks about early reports from Jyekundo and the frustrating lack of information about other areas including Surmang.
"What makes Trungpa is what makes Surmang. Surmang is Trungpa. Trungpa is Surmang, in some sense." -Chogyam Trungpa, from The Mishap Lineage.
A blog from Lee Weingrad
I am leading a delegation to Yushu and Surmang on Saturday. The purpose is to assess the damage done to 5 township clinics and to begin the formal partnership with the Prefecutre Government that will result in a new Prefecture Hospital and at least two township clinics based on the Surmang model. Our team consists of Ralph Allen, architect; Gary Swenson structural engineer, Sara Saad el-Dein, MPH, the designer of our Community Health Worker Program; her husband Jon Hall EMT; a representative of the Institute of Population Studies, Peking University; Christy Huang, project manager; and myself.
For people having to leave the devastated city of Yushu, the sadness of departing and of being left behind has set in. Those who have family somewhere else or have a place they can go to have been moving out over the last two weeks. Those who have no other place to go have been told by the authorities that they can stay. Most of these people—now living in tents in the middle of the rubble of the ruined city—are the poorest and the most desperate. The people that are left behind are the ones the Gesar Fund will be focusing on, even though we do not have the means to help all of them. Our volunteers have been asked to wait till everybody who can move out has moved out. We have set up a network of contacts in several parts of Jyekundo that keeps us informed about what help the local government is offering in terms of repairing houses, and what additional relief we can offer if needed. In the meantime Sojong, one of our volunteers, is traveling around in order to check out the needs of people in smaller townships like Dönda, Xiwu, Khandha and elsewhere.
The Gesar Fund received a thank you letter from the local government of Chenduo County for the relief work we did so far, and for the first aid our medical car offered to the earthquake victims.
So far about 24,000 Euro has been spent. Fortunately many people are aware that help needs to continue and we are pleased to report that donations are still coming in, among them a most appreciated donation from our sister organization the Könchok Foundation. With around 6000 Euro still on our Chinese account, we are preparing for another trip to Xining. There we will again buy bulk food and other items that our volunteers will indicate. As long as donations are coming in we will continue this work.
The Earthquake and Gesar Fund's Tuberculosis Project
As we already discussed with the hospital with which we work in Chenduo County, the testing of people for TB in remote places will have to be postponed for the near future. The testing requires four doctors to be away for many weeks traveling with our medical car. Since they are needed for earthquake relief these doctors are not available at this time. Fortunately we have already tested a few thousand people over the last year. So we will now focus on treating those we have already found to be infected. We will also use our donations to transport poor and seriously ill patients who need to be hospitalized, and pay for their treatment. Moreover, it is known which areas are badly affected by tuberculosis and we will include them in our TB program.
For further information on how to help, please contact Han Dewit
Gesar Fund, account number 4391534 Haarlem, The Netherlands, IBAN: NL79INGB0004391534, BIC: INGBNL2A
Konchok Foundation Update
May 22, 2010
Earthquake recovery. Large scale clearing of rubble, and razing of those structures still standing, is underway in all parts of Jyekundo. The majority of the population of the city continues to live in tents in the streets, even while this work takes place around them.
Ongoing distribution of food relief has been a priority for those who are assisting the residents, including monks from Surmang. The Konchok Foundation has also made a grant to support the earthquake relief work of the Gesar Fund, which is focusing on rural areas in the earthquake zone.
As previously noted, it appears that the government has dropped its earlier plan to erect large numbers of temporary structures in refugee camps. The government has meanwhile been urging everyone to leave the city during the rebuilding process; it is unclear where people will go, especially those residents who don’t have a home elsewhere.
The Surmang leadership expects that a number of displaced people from Jyekundo will end up in the Surmang region, especially those who already had summer residences in Surmang. However, they don’t have any estimate yet of how many people this will entail.
No announcements have been made yet as to detailed plans for the rebuilding of Jyekundo. It’s expected the construction of new infrastructure for the city will start this summer.
Surmang shedra. The Surmang leadership will soon turn a substantial part of their attention back to the completion of the Surmang shedra. The key goal for the shedra this year—to have the classrooms become usable by the fall—is now more important than ever due to the influx of children from Jyekundo. Also, the season in which exterior finish work or painting can take place is short and is already starting to slip by.
Work will resume on the shedra in the coming week; the first task is flooring in the lhakang (shrine hall and classrooms building). Khenpo Tsering has now assembled a team of workers and will keep them fully occupied for as long as we can provide the money to pay them.
Surmang educational program. Starting in fall 2008, dozens of children began receiving schooling from the Surmang educational program, thanks to support from the Gesar Fund. This program will move into the shedra classrooms as soon as they are ready for use. It will also expand in enrollment, partially due to the earthquake refugee children, if sufficient funds are available.
Surmang Foundation Update
May 13, 2010
Dear Friends,
According to the recent assessment from Peking University, in the past 10 years Surmang Foundation clinic with its two doctors has not only treated over 120,000 patients, but it has treated more patients than all the township clinics in all the counties of Yushu Prefecture combined. In addition because our two doctors and local Tibetans and because of a network of 33 Community Health Workers, it has established a health care system that is embedded in the community.
Relief
Many many people in China and abroad -–including many of you-- have contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to relief efforts to bring comfort and ease to the victims of the Yushu Earthquake disaster. Relief means to put food on the table to those who don’t even have a table, and supply water, blankets, tents etc., not to mention the essential spiritual nurturing that comes from many monks, nuns and monasteries. As John the Baptist said, "let he who has two coats give one to he who has none."
SF’s role: development
Now we are at that point when development, planning and reconstruction are in order. What SF intends to do is “upstream” from these immediate needs of relief. With the partnership of the American Chamber of Commerce, China, Chindex Inc., and Boston Consulting Group, Surmang Foundation has embarked on a large project that will provide reconstruction and redevelopment of destroyed public health facilities in Yushu Prefecture, rebuilding as many as 5 clinics in various townships that have been flattened by the earthquake as well as to rebuild the flattened Prefecture Hospital. This is a US $2.1 million project.
This project will also allow us to apply the unique operating model of the Surmang Clinic to a wider network.
Government Partnership
How do we know we can do this? Surmang Foundation was told by the government today that they intend to be a willing partner in this project.
It has long been the desire of SF/amara to create a network of clinics where providers are motivated, trained and well managed to benefit many people, in keeping with the teachings I have received from Chogyam Trungpa.
Now it seems, this is our time. With your kind assistance, we have through our own meager efforts, raised about $95,000. In the next months, with the help of corporate donors, foreign governments and international foundations, we intend to raise another $2 million.
The entire reporting of the use of these funds will be transparent, monitored by the accounting firm, QQ CPAs. In addition we will hire a CFO to oversee income and disbursement. Further, we seek to hire a Project Manager for China in the next several weeks. I want to reassure all donors that record keeping will follow international standards – we have the entire international business community looking over our shoulders.
I’d like to thank all of you who have contributed so far –this is my opportunity to tell you how those funds will be used. For those of you who haven’t contributed – we are about $5000 short of an even $100,000. Please help now.
At the bottom of the home page on our website there are links for Groundspring.org and also Paypal: http://www.surmang.org. Please help.
Thanks so much,
Lee
Gesar Fund update
May 12, 2010
Thanks to the generous donations that we received over the last 10 days we have been able to wire another 10,000 Euro to our bank account in Xining. That enabled our Gesar Volunteer Team to buy flour for the amount of 2000 Euro, rice for the amount of 5000 Euro and tsampa for the amount of 2000 Euro as well as renting space in a big truck for transport. All this food has been distributed in Yushu, in the surrounding villages and beyond.
We also bought lots of baby clothes in Xining. They have been distributed in Jyekundo itself. So far 20 mothers who just had given birth received them. That was a very moving event.
Initially the government declared only Yushu County to be disaster area, but recently it has included the other counties within the prefecture. For it turns out that many villages that lie further away from the destroyed city Jyekundo - all the way up north to Zadoi and Dönda - have also been hit. That means that the people in Chenduo County will also get some help in the future from the government in terms of rebuilding their houses. Food is different matter. Our volunteer team had already been at some of these places and provided some relief in terms of food.
Because our Volunteer Team is also looking for volunteers at other places it also went back to Khandha to make further connections with the schoolmaster of the destroyed school there. He offered to be available and help both with providing earthquake relief and with developing ideas about education. Our key volunteers, Sojong, Samba Tachi and Shauchwa will continue to work for the Gesar Fund, also after Nyima Kunga leaves for Holland in a few days. Shauchwa resumed her work as a school teacher; now in a big tent as the school building is unsafe.
The earthquake and our health care projects
Since the doctors at the Chenduo hospital that the Gesar Fund works with are all required to work in Jyekundo our Tuberculosis project has come to a halt, at least for the time being. The TB project required 4 doctors to travel in our medical car to remote places and monasteries for long periods of time. Right now this is impossible. They cannot be missed. The hospital, however, also asked our help in fighting hepatitis which is wide spread and gets even more wide spread now. Families need to be tested but the government policy is that people have to pay for the tests themselves. Those who have no income do not show up for the testing. The tests cost about 2 Euro per person. We decided that for this year the money that was meant for fighting TB will be used to offer free testing to people that have no job and no money to pay for the testing themselves. The vaccination will be carried out by the government.
So please, stay with our efforts to alleviate the suffering in the earthquake area of Yushu by sending your donations to:
Gesar Fund
Account number 4391534
Haarlem, The Netherrlands
IBAN: NL79INGB0004391534
BIC: INGBNL2A
Konchok Foundation Update
From Lyndon Comstock
May 10, 2010 (This update covers the period May 4 to May 10)
Earthquake relief efforts in Jyekundo by Khenpo Tsering and the team from Surmang, as well as by other monasteries and also NGOs, are mostly focused on food distribution at this time. Khenpo, with the help of three monks from Surmang, personally distributed ten thousand pounds of roasted barley flour for tsampa on the streets of Jyekundo a couple of days ago. He had purchased this barley flour in Xining and had arranged for it to be repackaged into ten pound bags before bringing it down to Jyekundo.
Khenpo ordered another 15,000 pounds of barley flour in Xining. The barley milling operations in Xining are working flat out and it will take a week for this order to be filled.
The importance of Jyekundo to the region is illustrated by the barley milling situation. There was far more capacity for roasting and milling of barley for tsampa in Jyekundo than in Xining, although Xining is a much, much larger city. No barley flour is now available for purchase at any of the shops that have opened up in tents in Jyekundo. The regional shortage of barley flour, caused by the destruction of the Jyekundo barley millers, extends as far as Xining, where there is now no inventory left of barley flour. One monastery brought in some barley flour all the way from Lhasa, which is a very long and difficult journey.
Relocation plans for the population of Jyekundo have changed. The government previously announced three principal refugee locations for those who could not move elsewhere. More recently, they have said that no government support will be provided at the areas to the south and east of Jyekundo, although people can camp there if they want. Meanwhile, the area to the west of Jyekundo, near the horse festival grounds, has thousands of people living in it and is completely filled up.
The government is asking all residents of Jyekundo who are able to temporarily relocate to some other region to leave as soon as possible. Khenpo reports that a small but steady stream of people have been leaving the city but the great majority of the population appears to still be there, living in the streets.
The previous announcement that temporary housing will be provided for those who can’t move elsewhere has been rescinded. Reports now state that families will be provided with a heavy tent plus a coal burning stove if they have nowhere else to move. The temporary structures that have been put up will be used for offices and schools.
For now, it is unclear where most of the population of Jyekundo will go during the rebuilding period although it still appears to be the case that they will have to leave the city. Meanwhile, the government announced that thousands of Chinese construction workers will be arriving in the next few weeks to start on the rebuilding work. Because of the climate, it’s difficult to do construction work except in the May – September time period.
Surmang Foundation Update
From Lee Weingrad
May 3, 2010
Dear Friends,
The Earthquake is off the front pages, and the massive relief effort continues, with the rescue period ending and the rebuilding just about ready to begin. The 100,000 people of Yushu have become refugees in their own town. The government is at the epicenter of this massive effort, with over ¥3 billion (about US $500,000,000) raised both privately and publicly in China. No matter what you may think about politics, this event has been a national heartbreak in a country of heartbreaks.
Rebuilding the Yushu Prefecture Hospital: "Our budget for this including gifts in kind and cash is just under US $2 million."
In the face of this total breakdown of life and infrastructure, Surmang Foundation in partnership with Boston Consulting Group, the American Chamber of Commerce China, and United Family Healthcare, has decided that our best efforts are to help rebuild the Yushu Prefecture Hospital, by lending our expertise to the government in first building a temporary 2-year structure, while the permanent structure is erected. Secondly, we are going to rebuild at least 5 township hospitals, among the 10 we have been told are flattened. Not only are we capable of taking on these projects, but at the same time we can influence health provision in Yushu Prefecture for a very long time. Our budget for this including gifts in kind and cash is just under US $2 million.
I appreciate the very strong response by the Shambhala sangha so far-- it's been breathtaking. When things quiet down a bit a full report will be given. We have put together a video about the earthquake
The evacuation of Jyekundo is now getting underway. Reports indicate that the entire population of the city will be evacuated before the end of May. At that time, large scale clearing of the rubble of the city, and razing of unstable structures still standing, is expected to begin.
Families have the choice so far of moving to refugee camps to the south, west, or east of Jyekundo, or else to move elsewhere such as their original home region. It’s possible that some of these refugee camps will fill up, reducing the choices then available. The government has been erecting numbers of temporary structures in the three refugee locations, however, indications are that there are not enough of these yet to use as housing and most families will be in tents for the time being.
Because all of the barley milling operations in Jyekundo were knocked out by the earthquake, there has been an ongoing severe shortage of tsampa. Tsampa, made from roasted barley flour and yak butter, is the staple of the Tibetan diet and is much heartier than the Chinese noodles on which people are primarily subsisting at present. Because the city is being evacuated, the restart of local barley milling in the Jyekundo area at scale will be quite slow.
Thanks to the very generous support provided for earthquake relief by many hundreds of donors to the Konchok Foundation, approximately $100,000 has now been received in earthquake relief donations. The Surmang team has now expended nearly $60,000 in relief funds from Konchok Foundation. [More details below]
The most significant relief effort of the past several days by the Surmang team has been an effort to bring more barley flour and butter from Xining to Jyekundo. However, the barley flour shortage has rippled up to Xining and has slowed down the purchase of the desired quantities.
Khenpo has been in Xining for the past several days. He ordered 10,000 pounds of barley flour, and so far received 5,000 pounds. This is being packaged in ten pound bags for distribution to families. While there, Khenpo has also been replenishing funds and purchasing some other supplies. Aten Rinpoche is still in Jyekundo.
Prior update reports from Khenpo described the type of support work that the leadership and monks from Surmang were doing in Jyekundo during the first two weeks after the earthquake. This included participation in emergency rescue efforts as well as counseling and support for families, numerous prayer services for those who had died, and provision of supplies and emergency financial aid. As noted above, the Surmang team is still continuing to work on food supplies. Meetings with families have also continued, now at a considerably more gradual pace.
We are happy to be able to give you a financial update on the Konchok Foundation participation in the relief effort to date. Thanks to the very generous support provided for earthquake relief by many hundreds of donors to the Konchok Foundation, approximately $100,000 has now been received in earthquake relief donations. The Surmang team has now expended nearly $60,000 in relief funds from Konchok Foundation. About three-fourths of this was used for emergency financial aid grants to families in Jyekundo. Grants varied somewhat, from about $30 to, in a few cases, as much as $100 U.S. equivalent to a family with particularly dire needs, with an average of $50-$60 U.S. equivalent (about 400 yuan.) Somewhat more than 700 extended families were given an emergency aid grant. The total number of family members in the extended families who received financial support was roughly seven thousand people or so.
About one-fourth of the Konchok expenditures to date were for relief supplies, principally food. An earlier update report mentioned 20,000 pounds of barley flour and yak butter that were brought in to Jyekundo by the Surmang team. Also mentioned previously was a truckload of clothing and also food that was brought in by the Surmang team. As noted above, Khenpo is presently purchasing ten thousand pounds of barley flour, and will also be purchasing several thousand more pounds of butter. In addition to the nearly $15,000 of Konchok funds expended so far on supplies, Khenpo received financial donations of approximately $25,000 from other sources that were used in supply purchases.
Among the major after-effects of the Jyekundo earthquake will be a refugee situation that will persist for years. We are talking with the Surmang leadership about how we can best support those who were displaced, making use of the earthquake relief funds still available to Konchok Foundation.
The Konchok Foundation’s relief effort has naturally focused on our existing collaboration with Surmang Dutsi Til monastery. Additionally, some funding has been provided for the rebuilding of Thrangu monastery via a joint fundraising effort in Boulder. Also to the Munsel school near Jyekundo that was destroyed in the earthquake. Also for earthquake refugees that are being supported by the Wayen monastery in Golok.
Gesar Fund Update
Sunday, 02 May 2010
Last Friday Nyima Kunga, one of our Gesar Fund Board members travelled from Holland to Xining in order to investigate how we can help best the victims of the earthquake in the time to come. After having met and discussed the situation with Khenpo of the Könchok Foundation in Xining Nyima got right to work; thanks to the gifts to the Gesar Fund he bought another 7,000 pounds of tsampa and loaded it with help of our Gesar Fund volunteers on the truck that drove the food today to the town of Chenduo, the home base of the Gesar Fund. There this will be packed in smaller portions of 10 pounds and then, as we did before, brought to the city of Yushu, where it will be distributed to those most in need.
Also we will explore if we can find millers and bakers in Yushu who own barley mills but cannot operate them there and who therefore might be willing to move to Chenduo where they could have a temporary house and where there is electricity to run their machines. That would improve our capacity to offer food, as supplying food is still one of the main priorities.
Also, as there are still people who do not even have a tent we are exploring the purchase of so called winter tents. They cost around 115 Euro. Two sample tents have been bought already.
We are also concerned about the mental state of many people; people who are traumatized and what we can do for them. We are thinking of developing crisis teams formed by medical doctors and Buddhist priests. It might sound strange but a small gesture to rouse people’s spirit consists of preparing parcels that contain a collection of things that will handed out by the Gesar Fund to mothers on, yes, upcoming mother’s day.
So please, stay with our efforts to alleviate the suffering in the earthquake area of Yushu by sending your donations to
Gesar Fund
Account number 4391534
Haarlem, The Netherrlands
IBAN: NL79INGB0004391534
BIC: INGBNL2A
Konchok Foundation Earthquake Relief Update
From Lyndon Comstock
April 27, 2010
Khenpo has continued to let us know daily about the ongoing efforts by the Surmang team to support those affected by the earthquake. Aten Rinpoche, along with several monks, remains in Jyekundo. Trungpa XII Rinpoche and others of the monks are at Surmang, continuing with pujas.
This report covers the period April 24-27.
Overview. The situation in Jyekundo is rapidly evolving beyond the emergency relief needed in the immediate wake of the disastrous earthquake. A more long-term set of issues will soon emerge as to how the people of Jyekundo, and of the surrounding region, will cope during the rebuilding period, which will last for years.
The impact of the earthquake on the region could scarcely be overstated. In addition to the many thousands of people killed or injured, there are on the order of 125,000–150,000 people who lost their homes. Most of these people will be without a permanent home for some years as rebuilding takes place. That difficult challenge will be exacerbated by the cold climate. -Continued
China quake leaves 8,000 monks homeless: state media
April 25, 2010
BEIJING (AFP) – The quake in China's remote northwest has left more than 8,000 monks homeless after damaging nearly 90 monasteries, state media said Monday, as the focus of relief work moved onto resettling survivors.
Authorities in the province of Qinghai said repairing monasteries would be a priority in reconstruction efforts, the state-run China Daily said, nearly two weeks after the 6.9-magnitude earthquake, which killed over 2,200 people.
"By the end of this year, we hope to restore the living quarters of the monasteries for more than 8,000 monks now living in makeshift tents," Leshi, head of Yushu's ethnic and religious affairs committee, was quoted as saying.
Monk performs ceremony during mass cremation in Jyekundo
More than 23,000 monks and lamas live in hundreds of monasteries in Yushu, a rugged prefecture that sits at an average altitude of 4,000 metres (over 13,000 feet) on the Tibetan plateau.
They played a key role in search and rescue efforts in the region, sifting through rubble for survivors, distributing much-needed food and supplies, and cremating hundreds of bodies to prevent disease.
Many came to help from neighbouring areas but were later urged to go home in what activists said was government unease over their influence in a restive area. Authorities said the move was to avoid hindering relief work.
Yushu was hit by violent riots that began in March 2008 in the Tibetan capital Lhasa after four days of peaceful protests by monks and later swept across the Tibetan plateau.
According to the report, 84 monks were killed in the quake and at least 100 were among the more than 12,000 injured.
Leshi further promised that as well as being fixed, the monasteries would also be upgraded to include running water, electricity and Internet access within two to three years.
The shrine room was packed to overflowing when the Shambhala community in Boulder came together with local Tibetans for an evening of prayers and candlelight vigil on Sunday night. As the global mandala listened via Shambhala online, the atmosphere was rich with poignant and heartfelt aspirations for the victims and survivors of the earthquake in eastern Tibet.
As the Shambhala sangha gathered, in Jyekundo, the leaders of Surmang were conducting their own prayers. The Twelfth Trungpa Rinpoche, Aten Rinpoche and Khenpo led prayer services for the dead in eight or nine locations in Jyekundo on Saturday, with several hundred families participating altogether. Read more on the Shambhala Times.
Proceeds from the Boulder event -- approximately $7,500 -- are being shared equally between the Konchok Foundation and Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche's Vajra Vidya Foundation. Thanks to the generous outpouring of support mandala-wide, to date the Konchok Foundation has raised more than $45,000 toward its emergency earthquake relief fund to support the relief efforts in Jyekundo by Surmang monks.
Meeting in Halifax Raises Heartfelt Interest and Funds for Earthquake Relief
April 22, 2010
Photograph by Hudson Shotwell
Here is the audio from the Halifax community meeting. Lyndon Comstock, and Bob and Lindy King joined this Halifax community meeting via telephone. Please note that their voices are sometimes difficult to hear in the recording. Thank you to Stefan Carmien for his work on this audio file.
Report on the meeting from Carolyn Gimian
Tuesday evening, 100 members of the Halifax community gathered in the
main shrine room to practice together and raise awareness and funds for
the efforts of Konchok Foundation to aid in earthquake relief in Tibet.
The Sakyong's message to the sangha was read by Centre Director Yeshe
Fuchs at the beginning of the meeting, followed by a message from
President Richard Reoch, outlining the activities of many organizations
with connections to our sangha.
Yeshe reads a message from Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche at the Halifax gathering. (photo by Hudson Shotwell)
Acharya Larry Mermelstein led the group in a half hour of sitting
meditation and tonglen, which ended with us chanting together "The
Supplication for the Spontaneous Fulfillment of Wishes," one of the
chants to Guru Rinpoche that has been recommended as an offering to the
victims of this disaster.
Bob and Lindy King were able to join us on a phone hook-up from Boulder,
while Lyndon Comstock was on the phone from California. For the next
hour, we shared information on the tragedy in Jyekundo, at Thrangu
Rinpoche's monastery and other sites, as well as discussing what is
being done at this time. We ended with brainstorming about projects and
events that could be launched for short and long term help.
Young people in Halifax offered to organize a benefit concert and a
walkathon, and others discussed the possibility of creating a Sister
City relationship with Jyekundo, working on inter-faith awareness of the
disaster, and raising money from small change donations at coffee shops.
A lot was percolating, to use a bad pun. As these initiatives develop,
updates will be provided to the sangha.
The evening closed with people making offerings for the work of relief
and rebuilding. More than $4,000 was raised. We ended with the
Vidyadhara's supplication to Guru Rinpoche to overcome obstacles.
Surmang Foundation Update
From Lee Weingrad
April 25, 2010
Satellite photograph of a Jyekundo neighborhood before the quake
The same area after the quake
Here is a report on our work and on the situation in Yushu.
1) Move to BCG
We have effectively moved our office to that of Boston Consulting Group's downtown [Beijing]; BCG is the largest consulting firm in the world and we --and by extension the victims of the earthquake-- are very fortunate to get their help. This move includes using BCG's vast planning resources, since they've assigned a consultant and a researcher directly to our foundation. Some arrangements --such as call forwarding from our Shunyi office were done over a period of days-- arrangements that are simple in the West but that are slightly outside the box here in Beijing. But we got it done.
This past week, a letter was sent out by the American Chamber of Commerce, China to its membership recommending donations to our effort, Yushu Earthquake Survival. The other organization recommended was the Red Cross.
Generally we've been working on a plan to help in the phase after the first reponse period, which is just ending. This plan will be something we can actually do and use the donated money, medical equipment, and medicine we hope to raise. The idea is to actually be able to use the donations to create a sustainable result. This plan has two parts:
1) is to help in building a temporary prefecture hospital by contributing design, equipment, medicine, and training personnel.
2) to rebuild 5 township clinics in the zone most affected by the earthquake, along the lines of the Surmang clinic model --which includes aggregated central supply (meds and medical equipment), training of providers and creation and training of a corps of community health workers. We have the names, and satellite images of these places.
After a week of writing and research, this plan is done and will be sent to the Chinese government, as well as revelant multinational corporations.
2) Report from our Project Manager in Yushu
I just now got off the phone with our project manager in Yushu. Here's his report.
Right now they have plenty of food, drink, places to stay. Qinghai Province set up temporary tent hospital and many army tent hospitals so that temporary triage is good. Now people are waiting to hear about rebuilding plans, to be announced on the 28th.
At this point the Government has not let any foreign organization, associations, NGOs to work there. It is impossible to do anything independently unless it’s through the government and Red Cross, managed by a good friend and partner, the Director of the Yushu Prefecture Bureau of Public Health.
First period, first response — saving the living, pulling bodies from the rubble, medical triage, pulling down fallen buildings— is over. People are waiting for the unveiling of the reconstruction plan. Government has a unified plan and also control over the reconstruction, so that people not from that local area are not allowed in. Govt very nervous; don’t want any bother from outside, either by foreign organizations or Tibetan monks.
Because it’s a Tibetan area and so many people pouring in to help, but the government has enough resources to run it by themselves. So all development work will be done through the government. I asked about the recent united approach of local NGOs, and he knows nothing about this.
Reconstruction of Yushu: to be a city, moving up from its current level. Local government has made their recommendation and the new plan will be unveiled on the 28th. This reconstruction is a very high government priority and we should work directly with our government partners who are in a very high position at this time.
Surmang: Aten Rinpoche is there doing relief work; Trungpa Rinpoche has gone back to Dutsi-tel. There is no word on the condition of the clinic or the monastery, except that damage is small. So Drogha, our doctor, is there and she is back living at the clinic. We need to establish email and telephone contact with her.
Khenpo and Aten Rinpoche are continuing to meet with, and provide support to, poor families living in Jyekundo who had moved there from nearby rural areas. He said all of the Vidyadhara’s relatives who are living in Jyekundo are alive and have not been injured. Their house is not habitable but they’re in better shape than many people. He’s going to pay them another visit and he’s also going to give them a little money to help out with their expenses from having lost their house.
I told him that Dorje Denma Ling, the Toronto Shambhala Center, the Halifax Shambhala Center and Sharchen Dzong in San Francisco had special programs to practice for the earthquake victims and that Bob and Lindy King and I had been on the phone with the Halifax Shambhala Center to talk about the earthquake relief effort. He replied with his thanks to all of the people who participated.
He said that the situation as to relief supplies had improved somewhat in the last couple of days. More people have gotten some food. More importantly, one of the monasteries went out and bought a large number of coats somewhere, he thought several thousand coats, and passed them out. He said a lot of them are really good winter coats. That was a big help, in this cold weather, to a number of the people who haven’t been able to recover adequate clothing from the wreckage of their house.
Khenpo commented that he saw a group of thirty or forty nuns by the side of a road in Jyekundo, praying for those who were killed in the earthquake.
Everyone in Jyekundo has received at least some food aid by now, much of it in the form of packages of instant noodles (ramen). This is obviously helpful in an emergency but the Tibetans greatly prefer their more hearty staple food, tsampa. Those monasteries and NGOs that have had supplies of tsampa have been distributing it but there hasn’t been enough to go around.
Accordingly, Khenpo arranged for 40,000 pounds of barley flour and yak butter for tsampa to be trucked in to Jyekundo. He worked out a distribution plan with local neighborhood officials in a series of neighborhoods and said that the food got out to those who needed it within a couple of hours of arriving in Jyekundo.
He commented that families have probably had to spend a portion of the emergency assistance to buy food. Originally they had to send people out to other places where food could still be purchased. Now there are also a number of little stands that have sprung up in the streets of Jyekundo selling small amounts of food and bottled water. However, he’s hoping that the families haven’t had to immediately spend all of the assistance money and are able to conserve some of it to help get themselves back on their feet during the forthcoming rebuilding period.
Reports indicate that donor trucks headed for Jyekundo are now being allowed to bypass the roadblocks on the roads to Jyekundo and proceed directly to the city.
A little bit of commercial activity is starting to reappear, albeit all taking place outdoors, some of it in tents.
He said that he believes that the government has made an announcement that it will take responsibility for rebuilding all of Jyekundo, including all residences, and that it will take about five years to accomplish. There hasn’t been any announcement yet of the plan for housing people during the rebuilding period. There is already heavy equipment in the central ‘downtown’ area of Jyekundo, starting to clean up the rubble there. The Tibetans think that a lot of additional bodies will be found as the rubble is cleared away.
Khenpo said that more of the people who do have another home elsewhere are getting ready to move out of Jyekundo.
Although Konchok Foundation will probably pull back a bit from doing daily update reports going forward, we will still continue to provide frequent updates on the relief efforts in Jyekundo.
Khenpo thanks me every time I speak to him for people who are practicing on behalf of those affected or killed by the earthquake. Also, for those who have generously donated the money which he and his Surmang colleagues have been distributing as emergency aid, or using to buy supplies, for the people of Jyekundo.
Those expressions of thanks are quite vivid as I hear them. They’re being given by a man, talking on a cell phone, standing in the midst of a city of 100,000 people that has been almost entirely reduced to rubble, in which thousands of people lost their lives or were injured ten days ago. He himself lost five or six of his relatives. I can hear the background noise of people speaking in Tibetan or babies crying or an occasional vehicle going by as I’m speaking to him. No one is living indoors in this city, even though the weather is still freezing at this time of year. These thanks, which he is directing to you, unfortunately, I can't fully recreate for you the way that they have been expressed...
Perhaps some day you will be able to travel to this region and directly meet the people, our relatives, who live there and that you are helping. This city has been a vital cultural and economic center for our people for many centuries. It was already an important crossroads area in the 7th century, when the first Buddhist king of Tibet, Songtsen Gampo, met his Chinese wife, Princess Wencheng, nearby. It’s the hub through which all roads pass in this region, part of the heartland of Kham. This is our market town. One must hope that it will still be able to well serve these roles when it re-emerges from the rebuilding process in a few years.
Monks ordered to leave Jyekundo
April 21, 2010
The Associated Press announced this morning that Buddhist monks have been ordered to leave Jyekundo. This has not been confirmed by contacts on the ground. We are awaiting further news. Here is the AP release from Wed Apr 21, 8:38 am ET.
BEIJING – Bowing their heads in silent tribute, thousands of officials, soldiers and civilians gathered Wednesday in ceremonies across China to mourn the 2,064 victims killed in a devastating quake that hit one week ago in a remote Tibetan region.
Conspicuously absent from all the televised ceremonies were any Tibetan Buddhist monks. The monks, thousands of whom poured into the quake zone from surrounding areas to help, said Wednesday they had been ordered to leave the region — an apparent sign of the Communist Party's unease over the leading role they played in the relief effort. Continue
Thrangu monastery update
April 20, 2010
Dear Friends,
We have our first official reports from Lodroe Nyima Rinpoche, the abbot of Thrangu Monastery in Tibet. It has been confirmed that 23 monks have lost their lives, and more than 100 are injured. Two main halls, a retreat center, a home for the elderly and all monks’ residences have collapsed. In addition to their search and rescue efforts, the Chinese Government is tending to the immediate needs of survivors by providing tents and food. Freezing temperatures are adding to the difficulty of survival and people will be living in tents until new homes are constructed. Telephone and other means of communication have been disrupted. That means someone from the monastery has to travel a great distance to send messages and photos, so keeping up to date will continue to be a slow process.
Thankfully, the recently built nunnery and the Wencheng Princess monastery have not been affected.
Thrangu Rinpoche has spoken about the earthquake to the monks in Tibet and has shared his thoughts with students around the world. I include these speeches for you here. Please continue to visit Rinpoche’s website for photos and updates. Many thanks to Lee Miracle for his quick and skillful efforts to keep everyone informed. www.rinpoche.com/
Donations can be made with a check payable to the Himalayan Children’s Fund. Please designate the funds for the Thrangu Monastery Tibet relief effort. The option to pay online is also available on the website.
I am happy to report that in the first two days of our appeal HCF received more than $10,000.00 for Thrangu Monastery.
Many thanks to everyone for your kind concern and support.
Sincerely, Debra Ann Robinson
Himalayan Children’s Fund
To donate in the United States:
Himalayan Children's Fund
P.O. Box 15644
Beverly Hills, California 90209
Director: Debra Ann Robinson
Telephone: (310) 395-6616
To donate in Canada:
Vajra Vidya Foundation (Canadian non-profit charity)
Public Foundation Reg. No. 888437621 RR
c/o Treasurer
PO Box 46898, Stn. D.
Vancouver, BC CANADA V6J 5M4
Kate Ayers: Communication/Membership
To donate in Europe:
Karma Kagyu Charity, (Special Account Tashi Choling)
Tibetisch-Buddhistische Religionsgemeinschaft
Vajra Vidya Centre,
Wackerstr. 47d,
Lindau, Germany
Tel: 49-8382-6807
Konchok Foundation Jyekundo Earthquake Relief Update
From Lyndon Comstock
April 19, 2010
Khenpo reported that there are now five or six thousand monks in Jyekundo helping with the relief efforts. Although most of them have been involved in digging for survivors or the bodies of the dead until now, or in distributing food, the digging is tapering off. Very few survivors are being found now and most of the remaining dead are too deeply buried under rubble to be dug out by hand.
There were four fairly strong earthquake aftershocks yesterday.
Pujas for the dead are now being done in several places in Jyekundo where there are large clear areas. There are large numbers of monks participating in these and they have helped to create an appropriate environment by lighting large numbers of butter lamps.
Aten Rinpoche and Khenpo are focused on trying to help the families in Jyekundo who are in the most dire straits. They have already given support to two hundred families connected with Surmang and, in the last several days, an additional one hundred to two hundred families.
The Surmang leadership has now come up with a new method of locating the families who most need help. The Surmang team has friends in Jyekundo who are from other rural areas in the general vicinity of Jyekundo, comparable to Surmang. Jyekundo residents who are from these rural areas are usually the poorest people to begin with, many of them having recently been nomads. Khenpo and Aten Rinpoche’s friends will identify the families with the greatest needs and arrange for them to meet with the Surmang group and receive support. People from the rural areas of Arshu, Vhidrak, and Bojam (this may not be the official spelling) will be helped first, starting today.
More than a thousand monks have come into Jyekundo from Serta monastery alone. Serta, in Golok, has been the largest monastery in Tibet in recent years. The Surmang Dutsi Til leadership has close ties to Serta and knows many of the teachers and monks there. Trungpa XII Rinpoche has been studying there in recent years. Khenpo studied there for years under His Eminence Jigme Phuntsok Rinpoche and received his Khenpo degree there. The Serta leadership has also decided that providing direct financial assistance to families in Jyekundo is an excellent plan. For the past two days a team of Serta monks have been distributing 400 yuan ($50 or so US equivalent) to every family in Jyekundo.
The overall relief situation in Jyekundo is mixed. Substantial amounts of food and bottled water arrived into the city yesterday but the distribution of it was very uneven, with some families receiving a lot and some very little. There has not been much sign of clothing distribution but many families are digging in the ruins of their houses to see what they can salvage and quite a number have recovered some clothing. However, there are still many people who need coats.
I was able to report to Khenpo that there was a large turnout in Boulder of both Shambhala sangha and the local Tibetan community to practice for the earthquake victims, receive update reports, and donate for earthquake relief. He was very pleased to hear this.
Gesar Fund Update
April 19, 2010
We are very pleased to inform you about our first results. In Holland we collected 8,000 euro in the last week. Fundraising in Dechen Chöling amounts to 1,500 euro. Money keeps coming in. Our Shambhala Mandala worldwide is clearly motivated to help the 70,000 people in the earthquake area of Yushu.
The money is being used for food and medical assistance. More money is needed in order to support the people in this area where we provide immediate relief.
The Gesar Fund has in this area an ambulance, which is used without break for transportation of the injured. Its X-ray machine is used for diagnosing broken limbs.
The people in this area suffer from a lack of water, food and warm cloths. We just bought a big barley mill and on a large scale barley, butter and cheese. In the hometown of the Gesar Fund near Yushu we established a team of volunteers who prepare the tsampa. We heard that villages in the neighborhood of Yushu have little or no help, so we also focus on them. The distribution of food needs to be done in the presence of elderly monks. That provides some protection against people fighting for food, which has happened. We really want to try to reach also the most vulnerable and weakened people. At the moment I am writing this there is a snowstorm going on. The transportation of food and clothes has lots of difficulty and is very slow. Let us pray this will soon improve!
The Gesar Fund is also requesting the monks in Yushu to help mentally traumatized people or those in shock with chants of purification.
Thank you for your gifts, prayers and concern.
On behalf of Gesar Fund,
Ineke de Wit
Konchok Foundation Emergency Fund Update
From Lyndon Comstock
April 18, 2010
Aten Rinpoche and Khenpo of Surmang Monastery have decided to broaden their support efforts in Jyekundo beyond the two hundred families that have connections to Surmang. Friends and relatives have been telling them about families in Jyekundo who are in especially bad shape. Therefore, in the same way that they did with the Surmang families, they are traveling about the city to check in on these families and give them advice, prayers, and support, including small amounts of emergency financial aid. They are also being directly approached by people who desperately need help.
On behalf of the Konchok Foundation, I told Khenpo that this seems like a very good activity for them to be doing and we support and appreciate their efforts to help the people of Jyekundo. I also told him that many people from the Shambhala sangha have emailed me to let me know how much they appreciate the efforts that he and the other teachers and monks from Surmang are making to help those in need.
Khenpo had previously requested that the sangha in the West do practices for those who died or are suffering from the effects of the earthquake. I told him that we would like him and the other people there to know that there was a major event at Boulder Shambhala Center today (Sunday) to talk about the earthquake and do practices for the earthquake victims, and to raise funds for earthquake relief. I also told him about the following additional centers that I know did practices today for those suffering from the earthquake. Ponlop Rinpoche’s students in Halifax; the Chicago Shambhala Center; the Montreal Shambhala Centre; the Silicon Valley Shambhala center near San Francisco. Also Ellen Pearlman, whom he knows, and a group of her friends in Calgary, Canada. And that there will be more in the coming days including Halifax Shambhala Centre and San Francisco Shambhala Center. He responded that’s very good, very good, thank you.
Update from Lee Weingrad
April 18, 2010
Dear Friends,
In partnership with the American Chamber of Commerce in Beijing, Surmang Foundation will establish Yushu Earthquake Survival (YES), a project of Surmang Foundation. www.yushuearthquakesurvival.org
YES will focus its efforts on the creation of a field hospital to replace the now destroyed Yushu Prefecture Hospital in partnership with the Yushu Prefecture Public Health Bureau. This field hospital will enable local interventions of acute care, to replace the evacuations to existing hospitals in Xining, Lanzhou and Chengdu. Due to the strong response by first responders --40 airplanes a day landing in Yushu and 33 trains a day in Xining with food, water, tents and clothing -- it was decided that this would be a significant contribution to the tragedy in Yushu.
A command center will be set up tomorrow at Boston Consulting Group's offices in Beijing. They generously contributed staff and office space.
Hu Jiantao the President, vowed to totally rebuild Yushu yesterday. There are 40 planes a day landing in Yushu and 30 trainloads of supplies arriving in Xining. The relief efforts are prodigious. But the hospital is gone and in a month or so they need to have a patch, a transition to a rebuilt hospital.
Lee Weingrad
Khenpo Karther Rinpoche on Thrangu Monastery
From Naomi Schmidt at Karma Triyana in
Woodstock.
Last night (April 9) Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche was at KTD teaching on the
life story of Atisha, he started the evening talking about the
devastation at Thrangu Monastery. He told us that everything had been
destroyed except the main temple and that so many monks had died.
Then he went on to say that 245 years ago there was also a major
earthquake at Thrangu Monastery, and at that time, also all the
buildings except the main Gompa were destroyed. That earthquake happened in
autumn, and that was the time when two of the principal Tulkus of Thrangu
Monastery, Traleg Rinpoche and Tulku Lodro Nyima, usually took turns going into
town to get grain from the harvest for the monastery for the upcoming winter.
(Thrangu Rinpoche was at Tsurphu Monastery at this time) Although this
time it was Traleg Rinpoche's turn to go, he decided instead to send Tulku
Lodro Nyima. Then a few days later in a casual conversation Traleg Rinoche
asked his attendant: "Which is better, one person dying, or 100 people?" the
attendant said "only one person is better than one hundred people, of
course" A day or so later Rinpoche had a big puja performed in the main
shine hall, but he did not go, he stayed in his quarters. During that
puja a major earthquake happened, and as the main shrine hall survived the
earth quake the lamas there survived. Tulku Lodro Nyima and his party had
arrived at a hilltop on the other side of a valley, overlooking the monastery.
when the earthquake struck. But Traleg Rionpoche was in his quarters and did
not survive it.
Because of this destruction, monks went to Tsurphu to ask His Holiness,
it was the 13th Karmapa at that time, if they should move Thrangu
monastery to a safer area. His Holiness said no, the lineage has been maintained
at that spot for a long time, and the main temple is still standing.
Because of this His Holiness named it "Victorious from the Obstacles of the Four
Elements". He further stated there would be great Dharma from Thrangu
Monastery and not to move it. It seems the same thing happened during
this earthqauke the main temple is still standing although there is some
damage.
Then Khenpo Rinoche talked about how in his lifetime Thrangu Monastery has
been destroyed twice. The first time during the revolutions and then again
this time, but he said that this time was even worse than during the revolution. He said that although he is old, with help from his friends and students it will be rebuilt.
Khenpo Karhar has since stated that he would really like it if Thrangu Monastery could be rebuilt in the next few years so that he can see it in this lifetime.
Statement on Thrangu Monastery Earthquake from Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche
April 15, 2010
There are many disasters caused by the four elements—earthquakes, wildfires, strong winds, and turbulent seas—and they also bring disease and illness. In such a time, we need to be careful and practice the Dharma as much as we can.
Jyekundo in Tibet is a small and sparsely populated area, but it is a place where there are many Tibetan people, and there are also many monasteries. At Thrangu Monastery in Jyekundo, many of the lamas and monks—both those abroad and those on site—have put in tremendous efforts for many years. These efforts have not just been in terms of external things; they have also put effort into spiritual practice. In terms of study and contemplation, a monastic college for the study of texts and philosophy was founded. It gradually grew and there formed a body of students and scholars, who are the foundation of the teachings. A primary school to provide basic education for young students had also been built.
In terms of meditation, a retreat center for the practice of the Six Yogas of Naropa was built where monks engaged in practice. Another retreat center for the practice of the deities who purify the lower realms, Sarvavid Vairochana and Protector Akshobhya, had been restored and retreatants were doing the practices of those deities. A Mahakala retreat center was built during the time of Karmapa Thekchok Dorje (1798-1868) and contained a statue of Mahakala. Here, daily practices had been held for many generations. In addition, there was a large new temple where daily services were held.
Now there has been the terrible earthquake in Jyekundo, Qinghai, and these structures have all been ruined. Additionally, many monks have passed away in the earthquake. This is a great tragedy and a great obstacle. Please think of this and make good prayers on the behalf of all those who passed away. If you gather merit by helping with the relief and restoration, it will be helpful for the world in general and in particular prevent the Dharma from disappearing. It is important that the lineage of teaching and practice not wane: Without a lineage of teaching and practice, the Dharma would perish.
Sometimes people might think that temples and monasteries are not all that important. However, there are both transient sentient beings and the lasting external environment. With sentient beings, there might be many for a while, including great scholars and meditators. Great lamas might appear. There may be many members of the Sangha, but just as water flows downstream, fifty, sixty, seventy, or eighty years later they will all pass away and a new generation will come. When this happens, even if there were a strong lineage of Dharma in the previous generation, we do not really know whether that lineage would continue in the next.
The way that the lineage can continue from generation to generation is to have a good, stable outer environment. When there is the external environment of a monastery with a shrine, retreat center, and monastic college, then due to that place, the Sangha, great lamas, and great meditators might pass away but the continuity of their activity will remain present there.
This is why restoring monasteries is crucial. If the monasteries fall into ruins, the environment declines as well and the inhabitants gradually disappear. Buddhism would not be able to remain long in this world. But if a monastery continues to exist, the great lamas and masters can perform vast activity for the Dharma during their entire lives. A group of students will gather; the lamas will teach the students; and they will practice. Thus gradually the students will spend the first part of their lives studying and practicing the Dharma and the latter part upholding, protecting, and spreading Buddhism. When that generation comes to its end, a new generation can continue that work, upholding, protecting, and spreading the teachings, which can thus remain. This is why temples and the Sangha are so very important.
If sponsors can make contributions and help in either large or small ways, that would be wonderful. We spend this life gathering wealth and possessions, and sometimes this can be meaningful, but sometimes there is the danger that this might become the grounds for conflict and dispute. For that reason, I ask all the faithful benefactors to help in any way you can.
—Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche
HOW TO DONATE DIRECTLY
The quickest way to help Thrangu Monastery is to donate directly to Lodro Nyinma Rinpoche's (Abbot of Thrangu Monastery) foundation account in HK. He can then withdrawal directly inside affected area: They desperately need rice and flour to feed the survivors.
Here's the wire transfer info:
Bank Name: The Bank of East Asia, Limited
Branch: Queen’s Road Central Branch
Account Name: Lodroe Nyima Charity Foundation Limited
Account No.: 015-187-25-00453-6
SWIFT Code: BEASHKHH
Branch telephone No.: +852 2805-2206
Branch Address: Shop A-C, G/F. Wah Ying Cheong Central Building, 158-164 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong.
Foundation Contact:
Phone: (852) 3163 1000
Email: infoundation@yahoo.com
Update from Khenpo
April 18, 2010
Trungpa Rinpoche, Aten Rinpoche and Khenpo led prayer services for the dead in eight or nine locations yesterday in Jyekundo, with several hundred families participating altogether, not just those from Surmang. The practices that they were doing included a Samantabhadra aspiration prayer, an Amitabha prayer, and others. Wherever possible, families wanted them to practice directly with their dead family member and do phowa.
Additionally, the three of them met personally with dozens of families from the two hundred families that they know in Jyekundo who have a connection to Surmang. At the same time, monks from Dutsi Til are continuing to help those families who are still missing people to dig for them, as is happening all over the city. Although the chances of people still being alive in the rubble are now small, even so, people want to recover the bodies of their family members
Families want a proper puja done for their dead. This is not really possible amidst the rubble and chaos in Jyekundo so Trungpa Rinpoche, along with a number of monks, is going to return to Dutsi Til today to lead a three day Amitabha puja for the dead. Khenpo will remain in Jyekundo doing relief work.
Families are trying to account for everyone, whether they are dead, injured, or ok. Once they have accounted for everyone, and salvaged whatever they can from the wreckage of their house, those people who have an undamaged summer house in Surmang or somewhere else, are starting to leave Jyekundo. Most of the families connected to Surmang do have a house in the Surmang area where they normally live in the summer. Khenpo said that forty or fifty people are leaving for Surmang today. Khenpo’s own elderly father has already left for his house in Surmang.
(Note: since these families were historically nomadic, traveling between winter and summer pastures for their animals, it’s consistent with their traditions to have more than one house. It doesn’t mean that they are the least bit wealthy if they have a winter house in Jyekundo and a summer house in Surmang. Each of the houses is usually very, very simple.)
Although the Chinese government has been bringing in more food, the food distribution is extremely erratic so far. For whatever combination of reasons, the government brought in five large trucks of food yesterday and apparently all of it was given out in a single neighborhood and none to the other neighborhoods. Meanwhile, the government yesterday set up roadblocks on all of the roads leading from other areas to Jyekundo and will only let authorized vehicles through. Even NGO trucks with supplies will be turned back unless they have a specific set of permissions.
Khenpo said that he and Trungpa Rinpoche and Aten Rinpoche have now distributed a little more than $10,000 U.S. equivalent, mostly in the form of small amounts of emergency aid to roughly two hundred families.
He says that people really need coats and gloves. (By the way, I suspect, although I didn’t ask him, that even those with a house elsewhere may not have any extra clothing in that house.) He said that, if someone doesn’t start distributing coats and gloves soon, he’s going to have go buy a lot of them to give out.
The Chinese President, Hu Jintao, was in Jyekundo while I was speaking with Khenpo. Roadblocks were set up on every street in the city and all traffic halted while the visit is going on.
Lyndon
Visit the Konchok Foundation for more information and to see previous updates from Khenpo, plus the video of monks working to save people from the rubble
An Appeal from the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa on Behalf of Victims of the Xinghai Earthquake
April 17, 2010
The large earthquake in Yushu County, Xinghai Province, has caused great loss of life and injured many people. To date the death toll has risen above 1000 and the number of those severely injured has also risen above 1000. In total, more than 10,000 people have been injured.
When I heard this tragic news, I was very saddened at the loss, and began immediately to offer prayers for those who have been affected by this incident, both those who have lost their lives and the survivors. May those who have died be freed from the bardo state of terror and suffering of such an unexpected death, and be reborn in the pure lands or a higher realm. May the survivors who have undergone the suffering of loss of relatives and friends and the trauma of losing their homes be comforted and find relief. May they receive the emergency help they need as soon as possible, and be able to rebuild their lives. I will pray ceaselessly for this.
I request the monasteries of the different schools and devotees, near and far, to offer the following prayers: the Guru Rinpoche Prayers Barchey Lamsel, Sampa Lhundrub and Sampa Nyurdrub; the Wangdu Soldeb composed by Mipham Rinpoche; recitation of the mantras of Chenresig and Heyagriva; recitation of the saddhanas of the Medicine Buddha, Amitabha Buddha and Akshobhya Buddha; night-long recitation of The Twenty-One Praises of Tara.
In addition, I would ask everyone to contribute, directly or indirectly, to the relief work. I have instructed the Karmapa Foundation in America to donate $200,000 for immediate aid for the victims of this disaster and to help with the task of rebuilding. I have called on all Buddhists and compassionate people to pray sincerely for the victims of this earthquake, and to do their best, according to each one’s capacity, to become involved or sponsor different kinds of relief activity so that it will be effective.
Death and impermanence is an integral part of life. When this kind of disaster strikes, may the power of the natural goodness within all of us provide physical and mental comfort and the courage to start anew.
When you are happy, dedicate that happiness to all beings,
so that happiness may pervade the sky.
When you suffer, you are bearing the suffering of all beings.
May the ocean of suffering become dry completely.
17th Gyalwang Karmapa,
Ogyen Trinley Dorje,
17th April, 2010
Message from Sakyong Mipham
April 17, 2010
To My Dear Shambhala Community,
I am devastated to hear the news of the earthquake that has struck the
Jyekundo area. This part of Tibet is our ancestral homeland; it is in this
region that the Dorje Dradül meditated and studied. I myself have spent time
in Jyekundo and the surrounding areas. The area is extremely beautiful, and
it has become a cultural and economic center in Eastern Tibet. Tibet has
gone through many difficult times recently; however, the people have a
tenacious spirit, and their fervent belief in the Buddhadharma has provided
them solace and strength.
I am moved that you have decided to gather and practice and pray for the
victims. Needless to say, the reconstruction of an already poor area will be
a massive undertaking. This will not only take the support of China, but
also international relief. In this light, I'm happy that Shambhala has
contributed to this effort. Please recollect the preciousness of life, and
remember as Shambhalians not to be overwhelmed but to be brave.
I send you love, warmth, and blessings from my retreat,
The Sakyong, Jampal Trinley Dradül
Tibetan Monks Help China Quake Rescue — April 16, 2010
[Translation] Tibetan Monk Speaking: We are coming from great distances to save the lives of our brothers and sisters.
Chinese man: Brothers and sisters, your suffering is our suffering. Your pain is our pain. The family that you lost is our family. We pay respect to the family that you lost. We are in pain too. Now is still the time to save lives. We will join together to do good jobs for saving lives. We want you to trust us that we will arrange the living conditions better here.
This informal translation of the speakers in the "monks and soldiers digging" video was just offered by Danica Chen Greenberg.
From AlJazeera English — April 16, 2010
Shambhala Online: Service for the earthquake victims and survivors: Sunday at 7 pm Boulder time.
The Boulder Center invites everyone to join its service for the earthquake
victims and survivors through a global broadcast offered by Shambhala
Online. To join, you will need a computer with a wired, high speed internet
connection. The online link will be:
http://shambhalainternational.adobeconnect.com/tibet / Participants simply
need to click on it and sign in. You will not require a password.
The Boulder event, expected to last one hour, will start at 7:00pm Mountain
Time. Please log in 5 or 10 minutes before that hour.
There will also be a public candlelight ceremony for the City of Boulder
immediately following the service at the Shambhala Center.
Donations may be made to Konchok Foundation http://www.konchok.org for
earthquake relief
European donations may be made to
Gesar Fund. Please mention "Earthquake".
ING bank # 4391534
Stichting Gesar Fund
Mollenakker 2, 3994 GC Houten
IBAN: NL79INGB0004391534
BIC: INGBNL2A
Notes from Lyndon Comstock's conversation with Khenpo
April 17, 2010
Khenpo is working side-by-side in Jyekundo with Trungpa Rinpoche, Aten Rinpoche and thirty monks from Surmang Dutsi Til. The scope of their work has been rapidly expanding in the 72 hours since the earthquake and Khenpo was extremely busy when I called him tonight.
When I spoke to him yesterday, the Surmang monks were helping forty families from Surmang who are living in Jyekundo. All of them had lost their houses and about fifteen people from those families had been killed.
Today, that has expanded to two hundred families, all of whom have some connection to Surmang. At least fifty people, and probably more, from those two hundred families have been killed. The monks from Surmang are helping to dig in the collapsed buildings to look for missing people from those families.
There is not enough food available. The government is distributing some food but hundreds of people have come up to the Surmang monks asking for help in getting food. He has sent someone in a truck to Xining to buy food and bring it back. Also, the families that he’s given emergency aid have been sending people to towns where food can still be bought and are buying food and bringing it back.
For the families that they are helping, in addition to searching for missing people and helping them get food, they are arranging to get some of the tents that are being distributed and are saying prayers for the dead. The latter is extremely important to the Tibetan people.
He said that there are about three thousand monks now in Jyekundo working to help people, in addition to the Chinese army and the NGOs, but still many, many people need more help. He repeated that there were hundreds of people coming up to the people from Surmang asking for food.
I told him that there was a special service that is being held in Boulder on Sunday and that prayers will be said for all of the people who died in the earthquake. He was very glad to hear that and said he was going to tell that to Trungpa Rinpoche and Aten Rinpoche and everyone else.
I told him that there is now at least $25,000 that has come in for earthquake aid at Konchok. He was very happy to hear that. I asked him how he wanted to spend that money. He said there are thousands of people who need help in Jyekundo and that, once they have given some basic help to these two hundred families with connections to Surmang, they will start helping more families.
If I could be permitted to make a comment here, it’s obvious that the focus of the Surmang leadership and monks at this early stage is just helping as many people as they can with their most basic needs. Finding missing people. Getting food. Getting tents or some kind of shelter. Prayers for the dead. It’s also apparent to me that he’s not spending any money on anything that is being provided in sufficient quantities by the Chinese government or by NGOs. A lot of tents have just come in to Jyekundo from the Chinese government and, as to tents, he’s focused on getting them to people, not on buying them.
I did ask Khenpo, if enough food becomes available to people from the government, what would be the next highest priority for spending money. He said clothing. Most people have lost almost all of their clothing and it’s still very cold at this time of year in Jyekundo.
I asked Khenpo to please tell Trungpa Rinpoche and Aten Rinpoche, who were sitting in the car with him when I called, that all of the Shambhala community in the West is very concerned for those who have been affected by this earthquake, that we want people there to know of our compassion and sorrow for those who died, and that we are very moved that our dharma brothers from Surmang are working so hard to help those in need.
Notes from Lyndon Comstock's conversation with Khenpo
April 16, 2010
It took fifty or sixty tries over a five hour period before I got through to him. He was able to recharge the battery on his cellphone from the generator at his house.
He said that Lady Konchok got through to him earlier today and asked him to find out what has happened to the Vidyadhara’s relatives who live in Jyekundo. He went over to their house to find out. Their house is heavily damaged and will have to be rebuilt but it did not collapse. None of them were killed, he’s not sure yet if any were injured.
I’m not clear on whether he was able to get back to Lady Konchok with that response so it would be great if someone who knows her could pass that along in case she hasn’t heard it yet.
He confirmed that Karma Senge Rinpoche was at Kyere and not at Jyekundo when the earthquake took place. He said that many monks are arriving in Jyekundo from monasteries that were not damaged in the earthquake and are helping with relief and rescue work. He said that there are now monks everywhere one looks, as many as there are Chinese soldiers. A number of monks came up from Surmang Dutsi Til yesterday to help and more are coming today. He said that at least forty carloads of monks will be arriving today from Serta monastery, the largest monastery in Tibet, to help. He knows the monks from Serta and they will work with him in any way that he wants. The 12th Trungpa Rinpoche is coming from Derge to Jyekundo today to help also, and Aten Rinpoche is already assisting Khenpo in Jyekundo. There are also monks arriving from Acho (sp?) monastery, which Khenpo described as the second largest monastery in Tibet after Serta, to help.
The two main things that the monks are doing so far is helping to dig in the wrecked buildings to look for people and distributing food.
I did not have any word at all yet on how many earthquake relief donations had come in to Konchok Foundation when I spoke to him yesterday so all I could tell him is that it was at least a thousand dollars. Based on that, he went around to the families from Surmang and gave them some emergency money to help get by. He was only able to give about 300-500 yuan per family (there are about 7 yuan to a dollar.) There are about 40 families from Surmang in Jyekundo and about 15 or 16 people from those families were killed. (It sounds like he gave out something closer to $2000, perhaps he was assuming that we would be able to come up with more money.) I told him today that it has been at least $5,000 that has come in and he said that he would now be able to give those families a little more money. He said that if we are able to send more than $5,000, he would also start giving emergency money to some of the other poorest people who live in Jyekundo. What he’s doing at this point is checking up on the families of the people from Surmang or other families that he knows, trying to see if they need help digging for people or finding people, making sure that they have food, making sure that they get a tent. As of today, he will have enough people to help him because of the monks arriving. Now what he needs are supplies of all kinds and also money to give to people.
The Chinese government and a number of NGOs are starting to pass out tents and food today…he said that today is the first day that any substantial number of tents are being passed out. He said that some families have been able to get food out of their houses if their house didn’t collapse and that monks are already distributing food to a lot of people.
Khenpo drove to Thrangu monastery yesterday, after I spoke to him on the phone, because he heard that the damage was so severe there. He said that there were a lot of people digging in the ruins there but the monastery is in very bad shape. None of the monks’ housing there is still standing. The Mahakala shrine building collapsed. The main lhakang is still standing but is heavily damaged and will have to be rebuilt. He asked people there how many monks had died and was told that no one knows yet. One monk told him sixty to seventy monks had died and another told him at least thirty. There are also two villages very close to Thrangu monastery and he said that they are completely destroyed without a single house still standing so a lot of people must have died there as well. He said that Aten Rinpoche has two cousins who were killed at Thrangu monastery.
I asked him if he knew anything more about the total casualties from the earthquake. He said that people think that there were about two to three thousand people killed in Jyekundo and fifteen to twenty thousand injured, but no one knows and that is just a guess. I asked if that is casualties from the entire area of the earthquake and he said, no, that’s just in Jyekundo. I asked what the population of Jyekundo is and he said eighty or ninety thousand people. I was surprised since that is much more than what I thought, based on Chinese census reports. He said that the Chinese census figures only include people who are registered with the Chinese government and half the population of Jyekundo is not registered. The Chinese government states that Yushu County, which includes Jyekundo, has a population of about eighty thousand (2005). Khenpo said that he thinks there are more than one hundred fifty thousand people in the county.
I told Khenpo that I have seen a newspaper report that the Karmapa has asked the monks in India to do prayers for the people who died in the earthquake. He had not heard that and he said people in Jyekundo would want to know that.
He asks that everyone in the Shambhala sangha do prayers for the people who died in the earthquake. He also asked me to pass along his thanks for all those who have donated money to help those who have suffered from the earthquake.
New York Times: After Quake, Ethnic Tibetans Distrust China’s Help
April 17, 2010
JIEGU, China — The Buddhist monks stood atop the jagged remains of a vocational school, struggling to move concrete slabs with pickax shovels and bare hands. Suddenly a cry went out: An arm, clearly lifeless, was poking through the debris. ... Continue
Himalayan Children’s Fund News
Dear Dharma Friends,
I am sure many of you heard about the unfortunate earthquake that took place on
April 14th morning which hit the QingHai province, Tibet. Currently over 85% of the
buildings were distroyed and the death toll is just coming in. Over 617 people died
from this disaster and over 10,000 people injured.
I got in touch with our QingHai Thrangu Monastery and was informed that 12 lamas
have passed away. Fortunately, most lamas were practicing in the new shrine
all and were safe from the earthquake. However, most of our original monastery did
not withstand the earthquake and now all the lamas are in a very difficult situation.
Thrangu Centers and all monasteries all over the world has started all the prayers
for those affected by this earthquake. Over the past 24 hours all resident lamas
have received word from H.E. Thrangu Rinpoche to meet in QingHai as soon as
possible to support the community and the monks from this disaster. We will try our
best to update everybody about the situation through our website.
Lama Pema
From someone close to Thrangu Rinpoche's monastery
...the suffering is immense, beyond our imagination, especially at what was once Thrangu Monastery -- am at least relieved to know that the Abbot, Most Venerable Karma Lodrö Nyima, was not there at the time and is now on His way home -- but it is gone.
From Surmang Foundation
Dear Friends,
We are setting up an aid office at Boston Consulting in partnership with the American Chamber. The project is called Yushu Earthquake Survival. We are planning for a strategic response to the medical devastation, that includes the collapse of the Prefecture Hospital.
I heard this afternoon that the government expects the dam to collapse and has closed the bridge and therefore the road to Thrangu Gompa making things worse. I also heard that only 4 monks got out of the shedra buildings when they collapsed = close to 30 monks students were killed.
From the Guardian: China earthquake death toll rises to nearly 800
Rescue teams in Qinghai province in China say nearly 300 people still missing after major earthquake in Yushu -continue
Message from the Dalai Lama
April 14th 2010
I am deeply saddened by the loss of life and property as a result of the earthquake that struck Kyigudo (Chinese - Yushu) this morning.
We pray for those who have lost their lives in this tragedy and their families and others who have been affected. A special prayer service is being held at the main temple (Tsuglagkhang) here at Dharamsala on their behalf.
It is my hope that all possible assistance and relief work will reach these people. I am also exploring how I, too, can contribute to these efforts.
His Holiness has directed all the Kagyu Monasteries to hold the following prayers; Zangchod Monlam (Aspirational Prayers of Arya Bhadracharya), Khorwa Dongdrug (Overturning of Samsara’s Depth) and Changchog (Inscription-Ritual for the Deceased) for the victims of the catastrophe and their families.
His Holiness wrote:
I was extremely saddened to hear of the catastrophic loss of human life and the severe destruction caused by the recent earthquake in the region of Yushu in Tso-ngön [Qinghai Province]. I am now leading a group of Kagyü monasteries in India, Nepal, Bhutan, and other areas in prayers and virtuous activities dedicated to the deceased, so that their fears of the transitions between life and death may be eased. I am also offering prayers for any great masters from all the Tibetan spiritual lineages whose lives may have been lost.
I am holding the survivors of this tragedy in my thoughts as well, and I hope that aid quickly reaches them. By bearing witness to the harshness of cyclic existence, may we all be able to extend our effort in meaningful ways, for the sake of both the living and the dead. I offer my deeply heartfelt aspiration that all affected by this calamity will see the swift easing of the pain of separation from those they love.
The Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje
April 14, 2010
Much of Jyekundo Destroyed
Update from Khenpo in Jyekundo, April 15, 3:03 am Halifax
Early this morning, Lyndon Comstock reached Khenpo by cell phone. Here is Lyn's account of that conversation.
It’s been a very long 24 hours for him since he called me from Xining last night just after the earthquake had happened. He was leaving immediately for Jyekundo at that time to help with the rescue efforts. The road from Xining to Jyekundo is open. There are some cracks in the road and rocks on the road but it is passable. On the way down to Jyekundo, Khenpo passed at least a thousand cars or vehicles that were taking injured people up to hospitals in Xining. There is not nearly enough hospital capacity in Jyekundo for all of the injured people. [Xining is approximately 500 miles North from Jyekundo]
Khenpo said that Jyekundo is “completely destroyed.” He said that probably 95% of the buildings in the city have been destroyed. He said that, if anyone has seen the movie “2012,” it looks like that. Even some of the more recent larger buildings collapsed. He said that one six or seven story building collapsed “like the World Trade Center.” He went first to his own family’s house in Jyekundo to look for his family and dig them out if necessary. Unlike most houses, his family’s house did not collapse. It has a large crack in it, the back wall is tilting at an angle, and it will have to be rebuilt, but it did not fall down. His father, sister, and brother are ok and were not injured. Khenpo said that he has a number of other relatives in Jyekundo and he thinks that six or seven of them were killed.
He said that he and his family members have been spending all of their time helping other people dig in collapsed buildings, trying to find people who are still alive, but they haven’t found anyone alive. He said that he has pulled out several people who were already dead.
There are now a large number of Chinese soldiers in Jyekundo who are helping to dig, but not enough compared to how many collapsed buildings there are, and the soldiers don’t have enough heavy equipment.
Khenpo said that about eight hundred bodies have been pulled out of the rubble so far, but “there are thousands more bodies still buried in the collapsed buildings.” I said that the reports here are that ten thousand people have been injured, and he said that it was at least that many and repeated that there isn’t enough space in the hospitals for all of them.
No one is staying inside any of the buildings that are still standing and everyone is living outside in tents or in whatever way that they can. He’s sleeping in his car.
Surmang Dutsi Til was not seriously affected by the earthquake. He has not been there in this first day since the earthquake but he was told that the earthquake was not so large there (Surmang is much further from the epicenter than Jyekundo is). He was told that no one was injured at Surmang Dutsi Til, and that several buildings have cracks in them from the earthquake, but none collapsed. He was told that there was no damage at all to the new shedra building complex at Surmang, which he described as very strongly built compared to how other buildings are constructed in the region. Khenpo has not heard yet of any damage at Surmang Namgyaltse. He has been told that the damage in the Nangchen heartland, centered around the town of Sharda, was not nearly as bad as around Jyekundo.
Trungpa XII Rinpoche is at Derge right now, which was not affected by the earthquake. Damcho Tenphel Rinpoche was at Kyere and most of the family members of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche are in that area, which was not affected by the earthquake. However, several of the Vidyadhara’s nieces or nephews have been living in Jyekundo and Khenpo has no news yet of what has happened to them. Aten Rinpoche is alright, I believe he was at Surmang at the time of the earthquake but he has now come up to Jyekundo to help out. One of Aten Rinpoche’s relatives is a khenpo at Thrangu monastery and was killed.
Thrangu monastery was the monastery most severely damaged by the earthquake from the reports that Khenpo has received. He was told that it is “95% destroyed” and that many monks there are dead, but no one yet knows how many. Benchen monastery wasn’t damaged as badly even though it is very close to Thrangu monastery. Domkhar monastery in Jyekundo was already in the process of being moved from its precarious hillside perch to a safer location in the valley, and he thinks there wasn’t so much of a problem for them as a result. The Sakya monastery on a hilltop in Jyekundo has major damage but the buildings did not collapse.
Thirty or forty families from the Surmang area now have winter houses in Jyekundo, which they were living in when the earthquake happened. He knows all of these families and is trying to check up on them. He thinks that all of them have lost their houses and probably ten to twenty people were killed from the Surmang families.
Khenpo asked me to tell the Shambhala sangha that, if we are able to send money, that would be very helpful, because everyone who was involved in this earthquake needs help. He is going to find the Surmang families first to see how he can help them, but there are many people who need help. Everyone who was living in Jyekundo has lost their house and has had people close to them killed or injured.
Lyndon
Thrangu Tashi Choling completely destroyed
Appeal for emergency funding
From the Thrangu Rinpoche Trust, Wednesday 14 April 2010
Following an earthquake in Kham, East Tibet (modern-day Qinghai) the Tibetan Buddhist Monastery of Thrangu Tashi Choling has been completely destroyed. The sprawling monastery was home to several hundred monks, lay people and children. Early reports indicate that at least two hundred people have died as a result of collapsing buildings.
Images from Thrangu Tashi Choeling
Thrangu Tashi Choling was the seat of Venerable Thrangu Rinpoche, a Tibetan Lama of great compassion and renown who has worked his whole life to restore the monastery and provide a centre for the benefit of local people and the wider population. The terrible news comes at a time when immense efforts were being made to develop the monastery, to provide accommodation and to create a beneficial environment for all living beings.
Many of the inhabitants of the monastery, people who worked tirelessly for the benefit of others, have sadly lost their lives. Survivors are in urgent need of every kind of assistance.
Thrangu Rinpoche’s representative in the UK, Lama Wangyal, has set up an emergency fund to assist in the relief effort. Donations can be made by:
1) Cheque made payable to: The Monastery Fund (Emergency)
Please clearly state your name and address with donations, and state that the donation is to be used for the emergency relief effort at the monastery. Many thanks for your kind support.
For more information contact the Thrangu House UK Office:
Here is some information about Gesar Fund and what we are doing at present for those in need.
The city of Jyekundo (yushu county) near Surmang, is almost totally destroyed.
The earthquake (7.1 on the Richter Scale) has caused a great deal of damage and right now it is clear that at least 800 people were killed. There are also over 10,000 people wounded. There is a small hospital in Yushu that is doing whatever is possible but unfortunately there is no electricity.
Last year Gesar Foundation bought an ambulance bus to help detect TBC in the nomadic population. The ambulance is now being used to help people in the damaged areas. It has the necessary equipment, which runs on electricity provided by the bus itself. The people who are operating the bus cooperate with the local hospital in the city of Cindu, which is located in the Jyekundo area. In order to keep doing this, Gesar Foundation needs extra funding, not only for buyng the necessary gas, but also for an extra supply of medicine.
Please send your donations (Tax deductible in the Netherlands) to:
Gesar Fund. Please mention ‘Earthquake’.
ING bank # 4391534
Stichting Gesar Fund
Mollenakker 2, 3994 GC Houten
IBAN: NL79INGB0004391534
BIC: INGBNL2A
From Lady Diana and Dr Mitchell Levy
We are deeply concerned for the people of this entire area, which includes the Surmang monasteries of which Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche was the supreme abbot. We have been working to support Surmang and its surrounding community for many years and we would like to do whatever we can to assist those affected by the earthquake. If anyone is able to contribute to the disaster relief fund being sent up by the Konchok Foundation, which is able to channel money direct to the area through the Surmang monastery, please do so, and include the people of this desperately poor area in your prayers and practice.
Readers' Comments
Please send additional information, as well as your thoughts and comments to
From Chris Keyser
15 April 2010, 2:15 pm
Dear vajra brothers and sisters:
The news that Thrangu Rinpoche's monastery in Kham was completely destroyed in the devastating earthquake in eastern Tibet and many, if not most, of the monks killed is heartbreaking.
Thrangu monastery is where the Vidyadhara's crazy wisdom teacher Khenpo Gangshar taught the Vidyadhara and Thrangu Rinpoche the most profound ati and mahamudra teachings.
Thrangu Rinpoche's huge heart must be overflowing with sorrow. As he told us last fall while teaching the Vidyadhara's Vajra Doha, the View of Luminous Mahamudra at Dorje Dzong in Boulder, the most effective thing we can do as Buddhists to help the world is to recite aspiration prayers, and in particular, the King of Aspiration Prayers, the Aspiration for Noble Excellent Conduct.
As well as donating to the Konchok Foundation's emergency relief fund for the Jyekundo earthquake survivors.
Thank you,
Chris Keyser
From Joan Polasky
... a loving nod to our fellow tibetans in serious struggle with the earthquake - i spent much effort today raising awareness, consciousness...funding... and tons of tonglen for those in hurt. who've lost loved ones. who are in need. who are lost ...
From Linda V. Lewis
Thank you Chronicles for gathering most of the news and most of the ways
to donate into one site! This really helps spreading awareness and lets
folks know the many ways to be of help.
May the benefit increase so that our vajra brothers and sisters suffering
from the Tibetan earthquake experience relief. May they know that we care
and are aware.
May a field hospital be put in place swiftly. May the roads and dam be
restored so that more aid may arrive and no further harm come to the area.
May the town of Jeykundo and Thrangu monastery and shedra be rebuilt more
stable and better than before.
May our practice efforts and wishes be realized for the well-being of
all. -Linda V. Lewis
Monks from Surmang distributing roasted barley flour
Surmang monk distributing tsampa flour in Jyekundo
Woman in Jyekundo receiving tsampa flour from Surmang monks
Jyekundo children
Thanks to the generous donations that we received over the last 10 days we have been able to wire another 10,000 Euro to our bank account in Xining. That enabled our Gesar Volunteer Team to buy flour for the amount of 2000 Euro, rice for the amount of 5000 Euro and tsampa for the amount of 2000 Euro as well as renting space in a big truck for transport. All this food has been distributed in Yushu, in the surrounding villages and beyond.
It’s been a very long 24 hours for him since he called me from Xining last night just after the earthquake had happened. He was leaving immediately for Jyekundo at that time to help with the rescue efforts. The road from Xining to Jyekundo is open. There are some cracks in the road and rocks on the road but it is passable. On the way down to Jyekundo, Khenpo passed at least a thousand cars or vehicles that were taking injured people up to hospitals in Xining. There is not nearly enough hospital capacity in Jyekundo for all of the injured people. [Xining is approximately 500 miles North from Jyekundo]
