As you may know James and I continue to host groups on pilgrimage in Nepal. And we’re quite grateful that each and every year we continue to partner with the wonderful Trokpa Tulku to provide dharma teachings to each of these groups.

What you may not know is that Trokpa Tulku comes from a long line of Tibetan Buddhist dharma lineage holders and that the small mountain monastery that was built by his grandfather is still standing! Unfortunately, it was significantly damaged by the 2015 earthquake and is in urgent need of repair.

This is where you come in. James and I are hoping to raise funds to provide (100%) to Trokpa Tulku to make these repairs and preserve this beautiful piece of history. He’s already saved up his own money (note, he doesn’t really have money as he’s a renunciant monk, but some folks, like James and I, do give him direct honorariums – like when we were there with you – and he saves those up) to purchase wood boards needed to reframe and stabilize the monastery structure.

Recently (in January) he was able to WhatsApp video call each of us directly from the monastery — it was amazing!! It’s located in a very remote area of the Mustang state up near the border with Tibet. It used to take him 8 days to walk there after an all day bus ride from Kathmandu. Now, due to new roads (built by China), that walk is down to three days – but, still, can you imagine!? So, getting cell phone service seems just crazy, but somehow, he did. It was so cool – we chatted for about 20 minutes as he gave a video tour of his dwelling and the monastery itself. As you can imagine, there are very few people around, but his monastery has and does serve as the dharma gathering place for locals from many miles around.

It was such a sweet experience – and a humbling one – to have one-on-one time with him as he has become my (Cory) primary teacher over these many years since my first trip to Kathmandu in 2010. It’s our hope that you still feel the benefits of receiving his teachings – and that you’ll consider donating whatever amount you can to help us save the monastery.