Welcome!
* NEW 2009 calendar *
This year the entire calendar is based on details of one thangka by the Tsering Art School Principal Konchog Lhadrepa. The thangka depicts Zangdokpalri, the Copper Coloured Mountain of Guru Rinpoche and narrates the magical journey of the great Terton Chokgyur Lingpa to that pure land.
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The Tsering Art School is part of the Dilgo Khyentse Fellowship which is a non-profit organisation with projects for cultural preservation and humanitarian aid in Nepal, Tibet, India and Bhutan.
The primary concern of the Shechen Institute of Traditional Tibetan Art, ‘Tsering Art School’ is the thangka painting school. It was established by Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche in 1996 in response to the urgent need for young artists to be able to receive a complete and thorough training in a pure and authentic lineage of thangka painting (thangkas are Tibetan Buddhist pictorial scrolls, either painted or made of fabric).
Previously in Tibet the main form of painting was Buddhist sacred art. During the Chinese Cultural Revolution the ancient traditional arts in Tibet suffered irreparable damage when over 6,000 monasteries and the art works they contained were destroyed. In addition to this tragic loss, the degeneration of the authentic Buddhist painting traditions from the whole Himalayan region still continues today, largely because of the commercialisation of thangka production for a tourist market. This means that people without proper training are producing poorly executed thangkas with incorrect iconography. The overall result is that the sacred meaning and purpose of this precious art form is in danger of being lost.
The lineage of thangka painting the students are trained in is called ‘Karma Gadri’, which originated in Eastern Tibet and is famous its spacious landscapes and transparent treatment of colour.
The goal of the school is thus to provide the opportunity for young men and women from the Himalayan region and abroad to acquire the knowledge and skill to keep alive this sacred tradition from within its proper context of genuine Buddhist practice.
SPONSORSHIP SOUGHT FOR VOLUNTEER STAFF POCKET MONEY
We are seeking sponsorship to help us give our volunteer staff some pocket money. This includes our graduated student teachers; class captains who help maintain the school rules and the cashier and shopper. These are all very responsible positions in our school.
Tsering Art School is not established for profit or a commercial motive so the fees raised from the school fees and the money earned from the workshops and thangka commission are just enough to cover the basic administrative and student expenses. Due to rise in price of all the commodities and the fluctuation in the political condition of the Nepal, we have some financial difficulty to cover the extra money’s for our volunteers.
For the further information please contact Miss Lobsang Dolma:
Tsering art School- Shechen Monastery
PO Box 136, Boudha- kathmandu, Nepal
(Ph) 977-4496097
Email: Zorig@asia.com
STUDENT SPONSORSHIP APPEAL
The school relies on sponsorship for the school fees of the poorer students, in particular the young Tibetan refugees and students from poor Nepalese, Indian and Bhutanese families.
The sponsorship program has enabled many students from impoverished backgrounds to complete the course and helps give them a future in being able to earn a living from fulfilling commissions for devotees. The training also gives them a firm ethical basis in the Buddhist teachings. A sponsor will be given one thangka from the student they sponsor over the six year course.
Additional monies provided by a sponsor can be used as pocket money for the student to purchase necessary items such as art materials, clothes, toiletries and medicine.
A separate fund is established for one-off donations that are put towards medical supplies and school fees for the poorer students that haven’t been covered by sponsorship to date.
THE BASIC SCHOOL FEES IN NEPALI RUPEES ARE:
Boarding students: 36,000 Nrs per year (In August 2008, at a rate of 67 Rs to the dollar was about USD $540 per annum or 350 EU)
Day students: 8,000 per year (In August 2008 was about $120 USD per annum)
Please refer to websites such as the XE.com link provided here for current exchange rates http://www.xe.com/ucc/full/
Contact the school administrator Miss Lobsang Dolma on the
OR
Make a donation towards our sponsorship fund by PayPal through the
http://www.shechen.org/sub_tsering.html
NB/ Please note that PayPal payments are only for the sponsorship program. Please specify if making a paypal payment that it is for
For further information on study, commissioning artworks and purchasing other products from the school that help support the activities of
Sarva Mangalam!!