Khyentse Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche’s mandala, celebrated ten years of impressive generosity in June 2012, with a celebration at the University of British Colombia in Vancouver. The event was attended by some 600 of Rinpoche’s students and friends from all corners of the world. For those unfamiliar with the extent of Khyentse Foundation’s activities, the evening was an eye opener.
The foundation supports institutions, individuals, and projects that nurture and safeguard the Buddhadharma in both traditional and contemporary contexts. Here are just a few examples of their activity.
The foundation has created a $1 million endowment to establish a chair in Tibetan Buddhism at the University of California at Berkeley. It has sponsored a Tibetan khenpo to attend George Washington University as a visiting scholar, and created a $5 million endowment for the maintenance and upkeep of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche’s monastic colleges in Tibet, India, and Bhutan. The foundation also distributed $159,000 in scholarships to 183 individuals in 2011, and has created a program for teaching English to Tibetan monastics, and sponsors scholastic awards in nine universities around the world. Khyentse Foundation provided initial administrative and funding support for 84000, the organization which is currently mounting a 100-year effort to translate the words of the Buddha.
This activity is generated by a 100% volunteer staff of 94, whose administrative overhead is 4.04% of total donations. To learn more about Khyentse Foundation and other aspects of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche’s mandala, watch the videos in the sidebar, and visit the August edition of the Khyentse Foundation newsletter.
Watch the videos below to see Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche describe the work of Khyentse Foundation.
