Gaden Shartse Monastic University is situated amid lush green hills and jungle in

the remote countryside of southern India. It was founded in 1969 as an effort to

re­-establish one of the great monastic traditions of Tibet.  A small group of elder monks

and fifteen young boys, all of whom had managed to escape the destruction in Tibet,

settled on land given to them by the Indian government in Mundgod, Karnataka.

 

Today the college is at the forefront of the revival of Tibetan Monastic education,

with more than 1600 resident students, teachers, scholars, and spiritual practitioners.

More than 70% of the members are between the ages of 10 and 25 and 80% of these

were born in Tibet. To this day, young monks arrive at the Monastery weekly from Tibet,

seeking shelter and education. Due to the success of the academic program and the

quality of the teachers at the monastery, Gaden Shartse has established a reputation

as being the leader in the field of Buddhist and Tibetan studies.

 

Brief History of Buddhism in Tibet  and the Effect of the Chinese

Cultural Revolution

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By the beginning of the 7th century Tibet was

filled with fragmented tribal, war‑loving people.

When Tsong Tsen Gampo (617‑693AD) became

the ruler of Tibet, he imported the philosophical

tradition of Buddhism, which had been

flourishing in India for centuries.

His successor, Trisung Detsen, then made

it the official religion.

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The once‑violent nation of Tibet became

transformed by this new appreciation for the

depth and true worth of human life.

It was evolutionary. Tibet became one of the

finest civilizations the world has ever seen.

It became a nation of people filled with patience,

tolerance, generosity, love for learning, and loving‑kindness. Monasteries and learning centers sprang up across the country, and the Buddhist values of compassion and wisdom infused the people of Tibet.

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Sadly, this unique, one‑of‑a‑kind, beautiful civilization was destroyed in 1959 by the invasion of China. The Chinese Cultural Revolution took the lives of more than 1.2 million Tibetans between the years of 1959 and 1972. 6000 centers of Tibetan culture and religion were destroyed. As a result, Tibetans continue to this day to seek‑refuge across the globe.

 

An entire generation has now passed, and sadly the difficulties continue for the people of Tibet. Religious freedom is restrained under Chinese rule, and most of the sacred institutions have been destroyed or shut down. Families are separated as many seek refuge from the repression and occupation of Chinese rule. China uses Tibet's high altitude for the storage and stockpiling of sensitive armaments, putting the lives of the Tibetan people (who do not believe in the weapons of war) at the highest risk, as well as that of the whole of the Asian continent .

 

There continues to be a massive population transfer into Tibet from mainland China, and even the Chinese are resentful as they are unable to acclimatize to the thin air at 15,000 feet. Bigotry and tension are tangible. The suffering thus continues -- only this time, it is rarely heard about. As Tibetan elders, the last to remember the beauty and harmony of a civilization governed by wisdom and ruled by compassion, pass away, younger Tibetans watch their dreams of a revival of this culture slip away. The democratic exiled Tibetan government is located in Dharamsala, India.  Maintaining their commitment of non‑violence, the government has trouble negotiating with the Chinese, who refuse to meet with the Dalai Lama.

 

Recently, however, envoys have been received in China, and this is a positive step forward. Still Tibet has had no formal recognition from any government in the world. Tibet’s host, the Indian government, concerned about the reaction of their Chinese neighbors, discourages and dampens the effect of any political action taken by the exile community.

 

In order to support the exiled government's efforts to preserve the cultural legacy of Tibet and its people, the last surviving members of Tibet's former centers of learning have re‑established themselves in India. Focusing upon the survival of a culture and people who face extermination, these monasteries and institutions are the only hope for assuring the continuation of the teachings of this rare and valuable way of existence. One of the first such voluntary centers is the Gaden Shartse Monastic College, which was founded in a Tibetan agricultural settlement in South India.

 

History of Gaden Shartse Monastic College

Gaden Shartse Monastic College (popularly known as "Shartse") was originally

founded in Tibet in the 15th century.

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After the invasion of Tibet by the Chinese in 1949, 48 surviving members of the

College fled south across the border into India. There they settled in army tents in

a remote jungle area that was about a night's journey from the city of Mysore.

Slowly they built a mud and bamboo thatched dwelling in which the monks ate,

slept, studied, debated, and prayed together. Many died from sickness and

exhaustion; others survived but remained ill and bedridden. Those who survived

became very resourceful, teaching themselves how to farm the land by means of trial and error. In 1972, three years after settling, their fields were green with their first successful crops.  Fifteen Tibetan children from the local Tibetan refugee camp enrolled in the newly founded monastery, funded by the selling of the produce. A simple everyday routine was set up, combining education with physical labor. A rudimentary teaching staff of Tibetans, well‑versed in history and Buddhist teachings, was established.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

 

“Shartse” Today

In‑depth education in all aspects of Buddhist

philosophy and practice is the focal point of the

academic program at Shartse. The duration of the

monastic program is 24 years. The students interact

with their teachers on a daily basis.

 

Accommodation, food, and instruction are all free

and are provided by the monastic administration.

Shartse offers complete basic courses in Tibetan

History, Literature, Poetry, Grammar, English, and

Mathematics, which are studied as prerequisites

for the more advanced courses of Elementary

Dialectics, Buddhist Logic, the Prajnaparamita (the study of Wisdom/ the Heart Sutra), Madhyamika Philosophy, Vinaya (Ethics), and Abidharma (Epistemology).

 

Unique to Shartse is the compulsory study of Buddhist Tantra. Additionally, there are optional subjects such as Painting, Calligraphy, Tailoring, Tibetan Butter Sculpture formation, and Sand mandala creation. The training program also encourages its students to independently pursue and practice profound Buddhist rituals and to complete extensive solitary retreats. The Monastery hosts multiple festivals, seminars and inter-monastic philosophical meetings.

 

The Monastery also encourages active fieldwork. All members sixteen and older are given fieldwork assignments for four months of every year, during which time they are required to contribute to the day‑to‑day running of the monastery. Such co‑operative jobs include secretarial office work, cooking, milking the cows, clinic management, and general maintenance. The Monastery also hires some of the local Indian residents to assist with construction and farm work, thus contributing financially to the local economy,

 

Shartse has a staff of twenty, sixteen of whom are teachers and four of whom oversee the proper administration of the programs. Aside from the two English language and mathematics teachers who are recruited from outside the Monastery, every member of the staff has graduated from the Monastery. They teach an average of seven hours a day and offer private instruction from their own living quarters. For more than twenty years they have provided this service free of charge. Only recently did the New Educational Development Project begin to offer them a token remuneration of the equivalent of US $4.00 each month.

 

Teachers play a very special role in the lives of their students. As is the Tibetan tradition, and also due to the early age at which many youths leave their families to join the Monastery, students admire and respect their teachers as they would their parents. Teachers are considered to be the source of both the academic and the spiritual development of their students.

 

Following the democratic constitution promulgated by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1964, all Tibetan institutions now function as parts of a democratic government. Although privately administered, the university is also administered on an election basis.

There are eight board members who are elected as directors every three years. Abbott of the College, however, is appointed directly by the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, as was done in pre‑invasion Tibet. 

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Purpose of the Tour  

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The purpose of the tour is to share with all people the

monks’ culture, as well as practices and paths to inner

peace and compassion.  Accomplishments of previous

tours have provided funds for construction of new

buildings at Gaden Shartse, including the

new debate hall and health clinic/hospital.

 

Additional funds raised by past tours have

supported medical needs, teachers’ salaries and

the day to day expenses of supporting the monastery.

This success is due to the help and generosity of those who support the tours. The monks of Gaden Shartse feel deeply indebted to their friends in the West who have given their time, effort, and homes to make the tours possible. It is hoped that the upcoming tour will be a success.

 

The GSCF is grateful for donations which may come from any source: private entities, businesses, institutions, or government grants. All donations must be paid to the order of Gaden Shartse Cultural Foundation which is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization that is subject to audit by the US internal Revenue Service. For that reason, donations to any hosting entity (sponsors, organizers, or others) on behalf of the GSCF must be declared, publicly disclosed, and are subject to audit by the IRS.