31/10/2004

Rinpoche to give public talk on Tibet Today - Myths and Challenges

Amnyi Trulchung Rinpoche reports on how the Tibetan people are rebuilding their culture in a public talk in Auckland on Tuesday 2nd November at the Takapuna Primary School at 7.30pm. The talk will feature stunning images from a recent trip back to Tibet.

Amnyi Trulchung Rinpoche is one of many Tibetan lamas who have come to the West to meet with Buddhist masters who now live in the West, and to teach Buddhism to western students. But he retains a strong commitment to helping his community in Tibet.

Like the Maori people of New Zealand, the indigenous Tibetans are searching for ways to keep their culture and language alive, while being citizens of a larger and more powerful nation. China is the fastest growing economy in the world, with many new economic opportunities. But few of these are available to Tibetans because of their low levels of literacy and education.

In Amnyi Trulchung Rinpoche's area, literacy is as low as 5 per cent of the population. For the Tibetan people to keep their culture alive and participate in new economic opportunities, they need to become bilingual in both Tibetan and Chinese. Many also want to learn English, the language that gives them access to international communication and tourism.

The Rigdzin Foundation has committed itself to helping Amnyi Trulchung Rinpoche's community. It is one of the poorest and most remote communities in rural Tibet, with annual incomes of less than $200, yet it is a region that is famous for the great spiritual masters of Tibetan Buddhism who lived and taught there.

In June and July this year, members of the Rigdzin Foundation accompanied Amnyi Trulchung Rinpoche to his Ju Mohor monastery in the Sershul county of Sichuan province and talked with his people. As a result they are now seeking to undertake three projects. One is rebuilding the monastery itself, another is an education project that will help develop a bilingual school, foster adult literacy and undertake project management training to enable local people to work more effectively with aid agencies and government. Another project will target health services, focusing on injury treatment, nutrition and health education.