Friendship in the name of spirituality and humanitarian aid

Peace Times 16

by T.Y.S. Lama Gangchen

I was born and brought up in Tibet, in the “old Tibet” which existed before 1959. The Tibet of my youth was a society that had remained unchanged for centuries, profoundly permeated by spiritual values.

Due to circumstances, in the 80’s, I was catapulted to the west, where I was immediately struck by the evidently deep suffering that surrounds the majority of people who live in this part of the world: stress, fear, doubt about the meaning of their own actions and of the value of their very existence.

Since then I have never stopped trying to share, with the greatest number of people possible, the invaluable patrimony of spiritual wisdom from my place of birth. The meditation practices taught by Buddha, and preserved for centuries in Tibet, can also be useful for those who belong to other religions and even for those people who only believe in finding personal happiness, inner harmony and peace of mind.

I have travelled the world spreading the NgalSo Self-Healing practice which condenses those antique teachings, and recently I have founded a centre of healing and meditation at Albagnano di Bee, near Lake Maggiore in Italy, with the aim of regularly transmitting the knowledge of dharma which offers new and more meaningful perspectives to daily life.

But I have never forgotten for even one day my own land, where people live in conditions of extreme poverty, without electricity and running water, without the support of primary social structures such as schools and hospitals. For this reason, I have dedicated myself to using every possible occasion to stimulate western people into helping humanitarian projects in Tibet. If it is true that Tibet can help western countries to develop a system of peace education, it is just as true that western countries can help Tibet to overcome their poverty. Help in Action, for example, collects money to help the poorest children and the most needy elderly people. The Association, which has its seat in Milan and is recognised by the Italian Government as a non-profit voluntary association of social utility, now counts more than 1000 sponsors (the majority of whom are Italian citizens, but also Swiss, German, French, Spanish, English and American) who financially sustain the same number of people living in Tibet or in the Tibetan refugee camps in India and Nepal. It does not take much to change the life of a person who is living in total poverty: with an amount equivalent to a pair of good shoes a child can be maintained in school for a whole year!

Moreover, for the past two years I have dedicated myself to finding the funds necessary to rebuild Gangchen Monastery, which was founded by my previous incarnation, to guarantee through its existence concrete help and full solidarity for the entire population of the area, as well as to preserve the unique teachings that have been passed down from guru to disciple for centuries. That which I propose is a reciprocal exchange between the east and the west, where each side offers that which is most easily available to them: Asia gifts peace to individuals and therefore offers a base for world peace, the west finances projects of social development. These aims, whether in the east or west, are equally important: they deal with healing diverse and difficult situations to return a sense of dignity to living beings.

The first results are encouraging: Gangchen Village has been reborn with the realisation of the new monastery and medical clinic, both built with thanks to the financial commitment of westerners; and the village of Albagnano also has something to look forward to with the beginning of Dharma courses and the arrival of many people who want to develop their own spirituality.