Aloha

November 16, 2009

Aloha,

Many, many mahalos to all of you for the confidence you have placed in the Ohana Maitreya Fund for Buddhist Nuns. One year ago November 22nd, our new initiative was launched at Harmony Farms, on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. On a stormy night, safe under the Big Top tent, seventy-five people gathered to begin a wonderful adventure together, that of building schools and housing for Tibetan Buddhist nuns on the other side of the world.

Thanksgiving is a very special time on our farm. When Barbara was with us, there were always get-togethers and pot-luck dinners at her house. Now we are harvesting fruit from trees she planted. In celebration of her life and friendship, the OmFund is dedicated to the memory of Barbara Jarvis.

I am very pleased to report that in its first year Ohana Maitreya has made significant progress. We made two grants totaling $50,000 towards the completion of Drubten Pemo Jalpey Gatsyal, the first Karma Kagyu lineage facility for higher Buddhist studies for nuns. We are also excited to have played a part in the successful drilling of the well at the new Sakya College for nuns at Dehra Dun, with a grant of $6,000. Inauguration of this facility was accomplished in September 2009. A grant of $1,000 was also given to the Tibetan Nuns Project to be used at their discretion for capital improvements at various nunneries that they support.

We are thrilled to offer the enclosed DVD for your enjoyment! “Play One” is a short informational video explaining our goals. “Play Two” is the original footage sent from the nuns, with some added narration and music. It follows them throughout the day as they say morning prayers, attend classes, and work in the gardens. Their video was a total surprise to me and simply arrived one day in our p.o. box. It was the nuns’ idea as a way of saying thanks to all of those who are helping them. That’s us!

We are very grateful to all of you for giving and sharing despite the challenges of our economy. I have one special request: please show the video to friends and sangha. If each person on our mailing list will make the commitment to bring in one more donor, our ohana will be twice as strong, and our work will go much more quickly. $100,000 is still needed for the completion of the new dormitory wing you will see under construction in the video. There are many more projects for nuns that need our help.

The young girls at this nunnery come from very poor families from remote areas. Some of their stories are quite harrowing. Yet they are all very dedicated to Dharma and eager to learn. Children take “novice vows” and make their final decision about monastic life when they are much older. These women and girls hold the future of the precious Buddha Dharma in their hands, and they need our help. They are holding a treasure for all of us.

This Thanksgiving, may we open our hearts and minds and with infinite gratitude for the blessings all around us, may we extend our love and aloha to all sentient beings.

Om Shanti,
Algienne Amrita
OmFund Advisory Board

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June 5, 2009
World Environment Day

Dharamsala, May 16: His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Saturday said Buddhist nuns from Himalayan regions had an important responsibility in preserving Tibetan Buddhist traditions, which he said was facing an uncertain future in its homeland.

“The highly evolved Tibetan Buddhist tradition is facing an uncertain future in Tibet and it is time for the Buddhist nuns from Himalayan regions to also play an important role in preserving this rich and unique spiritual tradition,” the Dalai Lama said.

“So I always emphasize that people in the Himalayan regions now have a special responsibility to safeguard and preserve the ancient and rich Buddhist tradition that is deeply rooted in the Tibetan and Himalayan culture,” His Holiness added.
(www.phayul.com)

Aloha,

I hope and pray this finds all of you in good health and spirit. We are truly living in extraordinary times. Despite the challenges of our economy, our growing ohana now extends from Honolulu to Amsterdam! I am happy to report that the OmFund has made its first grant. $36,000 has gone to Tilokpur Nunnery towards the completion of a second dormitory wing at the new shedra, Drubten Pemo Jalpay Gatsal. An agreement has been made with the builders to work in 3 phases at $50,000 each. We hope to be able to make a second distribution within the next month. Thanks to all of our donors, the OmFund has made a strong beginning in an extremely difficult environment for non-profits. I extend my sincere and heartfelt thanks to all who have shown their confidence in us.

When the idea for the Ohana Maitreya Fund first came to me one year ago, I could not have envisioned the challenges that lay before us. Yet I am more dedicated than ever to our mission. So that as much as possible of your donation can go to the nunneries, I have committed to personally underwriting the expenses of fundraising such as printed materials, mailings, and website development. Five percent of our intake goes to the International Campaign for Tibet for their administrative costs. The rest goes directly to the nuns.

The focus for Tibetan issues is shifting. Endless negotiations with the government in Beijing have yielded few tangible results, and the situation inside Tibet is deteriorating. Monastics and lay people continue to leave Tibet, yet increasingly the generation born in exile also aspires to maintain its identity and spiritual heritage. Tibetan Buddhist culture is spread throughout the Himalayas, and the political upheavals in Tibet have a destabilizing effect on the entire region. This is a linchpin situation, where a slight shift can have an enormous impact.

Knowledge is power. The education of Buddhist nuns trains women to be real and effective leaders. An example is climate change. At The U.N. climate talks in Krakow, Poland, H.H. Dalai Lama warned that in the Tibetan plateau area, “warming is higher than global rate” (APF). Visionaries such as His Holiness Dalai Lama and His Holiness Karmapa promote increased awareness of environmental issues in the monasteries and nunneries. This greatly influences the communities they serve. H.H. Karmapa has recently released his “108 Things You Can do for the Environment” (www.kagyuoffice.org). We can truly make a difference here.

The 28 new young nuns at Tilokpur have begun classes, and they all have very sharp minds and are strongly motivated to learn. For many girls in the Himalayas, becoming a nun is the best chance they have for education and a choice in life. After many years of study, novices may take full ordination vows or leave monastic life. Yet for many nuns, the calling to a life devoted to the practice of Dharma comes at a very early age. My friend Dechen tells of announcing her decision to become a nun when she was five years old. The Dalai Lama was making a visit to her village, and being so small, she ran underneath the legs of the guarding policeman and stood before His Holiness to receive His blessings. Now in her forties, she is wise, empowered, and totally dedicated to her work as a senior nun.

His Holiness Dalai Lama was recently interviewed by Fareed Zakaria (CNN, May 10, 2009). In it he stated: “We are very much willing and committed to remain with the people of China…we also have some unique cultural heritage, including our language…I think from a wider perspective, I think a Tibetan cultural heritage is a compassionate cultural heritage, peaceful cultural heritage. It’s something useful on this planet.”

My friend Barbara would patiently counsel me when my heart was troubled that the opposite of love is not hate but fear. May we embody fearless compassion in all our endeavors. With your support, the Ohana Maitreya Fund continues to expand in both scope and vision.
Many Blessings to all of you,

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February 22, 2009
Steamboat Springs, Colorado

Aloha,

I hope and pray this finds each of you in good health and spirit.
Three months ago today, the Ohana Maitreya Fund for Buddhist Nuns launched its campaign at Harmony Farms on Kauai. I truly hope that our ohana will encompass the world, but those first friends that gathered under the tent that rainy night will forever be my “monsoon ohana.” Thank you for being there!

I would like to bring you up to date on our progress. Our first mailing of our new and beautiful brochures to the Hawaii members of the International Campaign for Tibet is scheduled for February 25th, the date on which Tibetan New Year falls this year. Foregoing the usual festivities, Tibetans have chosen to observe their favorite holiday in quiet remembrance of those who died last March in the uprising against Chinese rule.

The Om Fund team members continue to spread our message at any opportunity. Lucy Jarvis and her assistant Scott McArthur will be handing out our cards and brochures at a week-long Tibetan film festival in New York City in early March. Lucy’s encouragement and enthusiasm and Barbara’s guiding spirit give me the courage and confidence that together we can succeed.
The next step in the development of the Om Fund will be to expand our web-site and internet links. I hope to develop a news page. Now that we have Tibetan translators to help us communicate with the nuns, our work should progress more quickly. Yet it is still India, and if India teaches anything it is patience!

It would seem to be a crazy time to fundraise. Yet the need is greater than ever, as all non-profits have had to cut their programs as a result of the economic crunch. I see this as an essential time to fundraise, and feel lucky that Ohana Maitreya was established before the crisis. Our economy is truly global and we are all connected. Even the remote village of Chango, shown in my slideshow as the village where everyone dances, has been affected. Many fruit growers returned from markets with no buyers for this year’s harvest.
However, there have been exciting developments at the new Tilokpur Nunnery. Thirty young girls from very poor families have arrived, so now it is truly time to complete the construction of their new home and school. My friend Chonye, has begun classes with the children. The nuns are looking for a full-time teacher.

With the help of our Tibetan translators I will be contacting several more nunneries to let them know of our existence and to see what is needed. Most of them are in various stages of construction. When we can show success at Tilokpur we can inspire hope and confidence. The Om Fund has an interest in seeing projects to completion.

I truly believe that the only way our world will survive will be through individuals coming together in a shared endeavor that touches their hearts. The old approach to fund-raising for non-profits was to rely on a few large donations. I know, I used to be one of those donors. Big money is very hard to find these days. Yet we all have a little, and we all have friends. It’s the Obama/Ohana approach! It utilizes the Web, and I am asking for your help to spread the word. If you have e-mail and would like to participate, please send your e-mail address to me c/o: ohanamaitreya@earthlink.net. I will then send you a short e-mail letter describing the Om Fund and how it started, with a request that anyone interested please forward the letter to friends they think might be interested, and on and on… You will be the one to press the initial send, so your privacy and choice will remain intact. It is now possible to donate online from our web-site. To meet the challenges ahead and to fulfill what has become my life’s work, to grow the sense of community spirit that Barbara inspired, I need my ohana. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being a part of it. I will keep you informed of our progress.

Om Shanti,
Algienne Amrita
Founder, Ohana Maitreya