Buddha Shakyamuni prophesied that his manifestation “Guru Rinpoche” would turn the Wheel of Vajrayana Dharma and would open a new era that would benefit all beings. In 770 AD, at the request of the King of Tibet Trisong Deutsen, the great tantric mystic Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) brought the Vajrayana teachings from India to Tibet.

The Charity began its work internationally with its support of cultural preservation in Tibet. While the project is not currently active, we remain committed to supporting Tibet and the historical traditions of Buddhism there.

Reconstruction and Restoration of Historic Samye Monastery in Tibet

Buddha Shakyamuni prophesied that his manifestation “Guru Rinpoche” would turn the Wheel of Vajrayana Dharma and would open a new era that would benefit all beings. In 770 AD, at the request of the King of Tibet Trisong Deutsen, the great tantric mystic Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) brought the Vajrayana teachings from India to Tibet. Guru Rinpoche, King Trisong Deutsen, and Shantarakshita (Khenpo Bodhisattva), established the first Monastery in Tibet: Samye Monastery.

The Charity began working with the Samye Monastery in 2006. The Monastery serves as a place of practice and education. The architectural design of this space has strong roots and symbolism in the practice of Buddhism, and its preservation has a symbolic as well as practical value for Vajrayana Buddhism. The Charity began working with the Samye Monastery because of its prominent role in Tibetan Buddhist practice.

To help strengthen the physical infrastructure of the Samye Monastery, the Charity undertook a project to restore the Inner Courtyard (Mandala) of the Samye Monastery. This space plays a central role in meditation. Mandalas may be used as a space for focusing attention of aspirants and adepts, as a spiritual teaching tool, for establishing a sacred space, and as an aid to meditation and trance induction.

The project included replacing molded, rotten, and broken pillars that provided structural support to both the core of the monastery and the inner chapels. The chapels are used for both meditation and as a sacred place for pilgrims to make offerings, making this reconstruction a critical priority for the community.

The Charity first conducted a pre-grant inquiry to understand the needs of the community and determine how the Hinman Charity might be able to help facilitate the practice of Vajrayana Buddhism. The Charity supported a grant to improve the stone work, plastering, and basic irrigation of the secret inner courtyard of Samye.

Before

After

Restoration of Gochen Monastery in Tibet

In 2007, the Padmasambhava Buddhist Center (PBC) undertook a project to restore Gochen Monastery (Gonchen Monastery), with the support of the Hinman Charity and other affiliated PBC centers around the world. Gochen Monastery is located in the Kham Province in the eastern region of Tibet and was the home monastery of Khenpo Rinpoches, who now practices at PBC. This monastery was one of the thousands of monasteries that were thoroughly destroyed by Chinese forces during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s. Starting from the original foundation, the partner organizations built the monastery from the ground up, and completed the project in 2009.

The Gochen Monastery was founded as the ‘Tangjia Jingtang’ by the first Derge king and the great ascetic Thangtong Gyalpo in 15th century. Thangton Gyalpo was a Buddhist yogi and polymath, physician, and treasure finder. He is well known for the creation of the Ache Lhamo, the Tibetan opera, and numerous iron suspension bridges which can be found throughout the Himalayan region. Although the main chapel of the Gochen Monastery was actually constructed during the reigns of the 6th, 7th, and 8th Derge kings.

 Supporting Cultural Documentation in Tibet

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The Hinman Charity supported the publication of SAMYE: A Pilgrimage to the Birthplace of Tibetan Buddhism, written by Mikel Dunham, with a Foreword by H. H. the Dalai Lama. Published in 2004, the book presents nearly 200 original color photographs of Samye and compelling text that transports readers to this significant site in Tibetan culture. Mikel had unprecedented access to Samye and was able to explain its remarkable history and the ongoing restoration effort. Friends of Samye was part of the book created by the Charity.

The Hinman Charity supported theInternational Tibet Independence Movement to conduct the Tibetan Translation of Mikel Dunham’s book,Buddha’s Warriors. This book depicts the transition of peaceful monks to warriors with the help of the CIA. It discusses the remarkable character and ability of the Tibetan warriors, who the CIA trained for re-infiltration into Tibet.