JF Newsletter #3: Summer ’09

Friends & Benefactors:

Torma of Dolpopa

It has been awhile since our last newsletter. So, I thought to start with a few updates about recent activities of the foundation and then mention a few projects that we foresee rising on the horizon.

To begin, we would like to formally welcome Professor Emeritus from the University of Virginia, Jeffrey Hopkins to our Board of Advisors. Professor Hopkins is a pioneer in the field of Tibetan Studies and one of the foremost translators from the Tibetan language. Over the past several years he has taken an interest in the Jonang, resulting in his ground-breaking translation of Dolpopa’s masterpiece Mountain Doctrine (Snow Lion, 2006), and his translation of Taranatha’s Essence of Other Emptiness (Snow Lion, 2007). We are thrilled to have him on board as an advisor!

This past February, we were happy to collaborate with the Dorje Ling Centers in New York and Atlanta, and the Mandala Centers in Italy to co-host the Jonang Tulku Tashi Gyaltsen Rinpoche’s teaching tour in Milano and Gralia, Italy. Tulku Gyalten performed Manjushri and Vajrapani empowerments while there. We would like to thank our counterparts at both the Dorje Ling Centers and the Mandala Centers for working with us, and to extend our appreciation to all of those in Italy who made this trip possible through their hospitality. This was the second tour that we have co-hosted in Italy in the past two years.

In order to support the growing needs of the foundation, we seek to fulfill the position of Associate Director. The Associate Director will work closely with the Executive Director, the Director of Field Operations and members of our Board of Directors in order to organize, develop, and coordinate the ongoing programs and initiatives hosted by Jonang Foundation. We seek someone with an interest in Tibetan culture and an enthusiasm for our work who is willing to dedicate their time and energy to helping the foundation flourish. If you think that you would like to work with us in this capacity, then please send us your application. See the job description below for details.

We continue to raise funds for the completion of the schoolhouse as part of the Tibet Primary School Project. Due to the recent financial crisis, and events last summer in that part of the world, there is a lag in funding for the building of the school. The project now supports and educates over 100 students, many of them orphans who would not receive an education otherwise, in a rural area of Eastern Tibet. Financial contributions towards this project are needed and greatly appreciated.

Though we were forced to postpone our Discovering the Jonang expedition to Tibet that was scheduled for last summer, we are thrilled to be able to proceed with the journey this July 10-26. In fact, there was such an enthusiastic response to the trip that we reached the maximum capacity of participants for this small multinational group of 15. We hope to be able to offer similar cultural and educational tours in the future. Please let us know if you’re interested.

As far as our online developments, we have expanded and added pages to our Masters Database including those of Dolpopa, Nyawon Kunga Pal, and Chogle Namgyal. These are courtesy of our Board member and advisor to the foundation, Cyrus Stearns. We will be adding more masters pages in the near future. We have also added several new items to the JF Library for free download, and the Jonangpa Blog has become a source for regular postings on the tradition. Numerous annotated outlines of Jonang Tibetan texts are now being made available via the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center website and can be accessed from a link in the Catalogues section of the JF Library.

On the horizon, we will be producing a collection of previously unpublished writings by the 16th century Jonang and Shangpa Kagyu master Kunga Drolchok (1507-1566). This is a project that we have been preparing for years, and we are excited to be able to reconstruct a working collection of this seminal Tibetan author’s writings for the first time in centuries. Also on the publication front, we will be publishing a small book on the unusual zhentong writings of the modern Jonang master from Dzamthang, Tsoknyi Gyatso (1880-1940). These Tibetan books will be made available for purchase in the JF Shop.

We would like to extend a special thank you to all of you benefactors of the foundation. In particular we would like to thank Tsadra Foundation, Khyentse Foundation, and The Bridge Fund for their generous support towards our publication and cultural heritage preservation projects, and to Miles Neal for dedicating proceeds from his programs at the Tibet House in New York to our work.

Sincerely,

Michael R. Sheehy, Ph.D.
JF’s Founder & Executive Director

We seek to fulfill the position of Associate Director. The Associate Director will work in close collaboration with the Executive Director, the Director of Field Operations, and the Board of Directors in order to strategically develop and administer ongoing programs and initiatives hosted by Jonang Foundation.

Responsibilities: Assist in organizing and facilitating programs. Raise and manage funds for cultural and educational projects in Tibet including the primary school, nuns project, reproduction of Tibetan texts; this includes co-writing grants and progress reports. Help in developing online educational resources on the main website and blog. Promote the work of the foundation through advertisements and outreach campaigns. Regularly communicate with benefactors, supporters, and volunteers of the foundation.

Skills & Experience: Communication skills. Experience in grant writing, fundraising, advertising and outreach for a nonprofit organization. Computer literate with the ability to work with digital image programs and web tools (knowledge of html a plus). Interest in humanitarian and development nonprofit work in Asia as well as preservation of the specific cultural, educational, and spiritual heritage of Tibet as carried out by Jonang Foundation according to its Mission & Vision.

Commitment & Compensation: Jonang Foundation is an all-volunteer organization. The Associate Director will have opportunities to oversee on-site projects in Tibetan regions of China and to promote the foundation’s work (expenses paid by the foundation), and will receive the necessary operating resources and support. Estimated 10-15 hrs per week. Candidates who reside in the United States will be given precedence.

To apply, send your resume along with a one page cover letter describing your interest in the position to [email protected].

July 10-26

A Cultural & Educational Expedition Hosted by Jonang Foundation
In Collaboration with Amitabha Travel Agency

This journey to the power places of Central Tibet will take participants through the ages and across the boundaries of religious and cultural imagination to encounter the sacred sites of Tibet’s living spiritual traditions. Pilgrims will have the unusual opportunity to visit the most significant historical sites of the Jonangpa heritage in the extraordinary Land of Snow. Of particular interest, we will be visiting meditation caves of many of the early Kalachakra masters in Tibet including the Kalachakra retreat sites of Kunpang Thukje Tsondru, Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen, Chogle Namgyal, Taranatha, Buton, Longchenpa, and Tsongkhapa. We will visit temples, retreat sites, and monasteries of the Jonang, Nyingma, Zhalu, Kagyu, Geluk, and Sakya Buddhist traditions including the Potala and Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, the Great Stupa of Jonang, Sakya Monastery, Zhalu Monastery, Gyantse Stupa, and Samye Monastery.

Meditation sessions, pilgrimage rituals, and discussions on Jonang zhentong philosophy and Kalachakra practice will be integral to the journey. Dr. Michael Sheehy will serve as interpreter and cultural liaison. Alessandro Zuzic will serve as the group trip operator.

For the itinerary, costs, and registration details please see the Pilgrimage page. The Tibet Reader for the trip is also available for download.

*The group has reached maximum capacity for this year. If you are interested in joining us in a future trip, then download the Pilgrim Registration (Word doc.) form and return it to us via email. We will then notify you about upcoming trips.

Do you have a Facebook account? Then become a fan! You’re invited to join Jonang Foundation Group, the Jonang Foundation Cause, participate in discussions on the Jonang Tibetan Buddhism forum, and become a member of the Jonangpa.com Blog network.

In joining the JF Cause, you are helping to bring a greater awareness to the variety of Buddhist lineages living in Tibet while helping to preserve the rich Tibetan cultural tradition. Though we work with the Jonangpa, a little-known tradition of Buddhism in Tibet, we are not sectarian in our approach and our focus is on education and cultural conservation projects that will ensure survival of Tibet’s creative, intellectual, and spiritual heritage. Our projects include building a primary school in a nomadic region of northeastern Tibet and saving many of the rare art & literary treasures of this Tibetan tradition. Thank you for joining, making contributions to our work, & helping to promote the JF Cause.

We welcome you to invite like-minded friends and get involved.

Items Limited in Stock:

Handwritten Works by Taranatha: Reproduction of handwritten manuscripts of Jetsun Taranatha. 10 volumes. *New. Limited Availability. U.S. $335

The Rngog Collection: Reproduction of the rare Rngog chos skor phyogs bsgrigs collection. 10 volumes. Limitted Availability. U.S. $280

Paltseg Kalachakra Commentary Series: Reproductions of important commentaries on the Kalachakra Tantra. 7 volumes. Limited Availability. U.S. $225

Also Available:

Taranatha’s Collected Works Book Set: Publication of Taranatha’s Collected Works in paperback. 45 volumes. *New. U.S. $575

Jonang Publication Series I: Selection of seminal works of the Jonang literary tradition. 10 volumes. U.S. $250

Jonang Publication Series II: Selection of seminal works of the Jonang literary tradition. 11 volumes. U.S. $275

Buy now from the JF Shop.