build the first
tibetan buddhist monastery in italy
OBJECTIVE JUNE 2024
As of June 13, 2023 we have received donations of €1.040.000. We sincerely thank the many supporters.
To carry out the first step of the project we need to reach the amount of €2024 by JUNE 2.000.000 Donate us some bricks!
support us. you can ALSO do it like this
phone
By calling +39 370 117 6940
online
With one click! To the page: Support us
Bank transfer
By entering the IBAN code IT68W0501802800000017243205 or for transfers from abroad BIC code: ETICIT22XXX
Postal
Postal current account no. 81230138 made out to the Sangha ETS Foundation
WITH US IN POMAIA
By telephone appointment
Lama Zopa Rinpoche's video in support of the Monastery.
Who has already believed in us:
Alberto Brambilla, Alessandro Pacetti, Paolo Sala, Patrizia Sala.
A place of prayer and meditation to contribute to peace in the world
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Why a buddhist monastery?
The preservation and dissemination of Buddhism's message of universal peace and harmony, as well as its true 'science of the mind', has contributed to the exchange of ideas with people of many faiths, enriching each of us, right up to the most recent successful integration experiments with neuroscience and Western academia.
All this has been possible thanks to what has been safeguarded in the Monasteries, fundamental places for the preservation and spread of the Dharma, the Buddha's teaching, throughout the world.
The message we are committed to preserving and spreading is that of the importance of studying ourselves, learning about the nature of our own mind, integrating this knowledge into our daily lives, so that it becomes peaceful and balanced for ourselves and all beings and, by extension for our society.
As Albert Einstein said:
As Albert Einstein said: Buddhism is a universal message, the harmony of science and
spirituality, beyond all cultural, social and religious barriers.
the monastery
It will be built from scratch on the rock just like the monasteries of Tibet, close to Pomaia in the municipality of Santa Luce (Pisa). An area of great beauty, which has suffered the environmental trauma of quarrying in the past, will be restored with the creation of a Park of Contemplation and Peace, which will be accessible to all.
His Holiness the 2014th Dalai Lama of Tibet, who visited and blessed the site of the Monastery in June XNUMX, gave it the name Lhungtok Choekhorling, which in English can be translated as “Place where the teachings are transmitted and realised.”
The Monastery, which will host around a hundred monks and nuns, is a treasure chest that will help preserve and pass on Buddhist teachings, precious jewels of wisdom from over 2500 years ago, which are of great benefit to all of humanity.
It will help increase compassion and love for all sentient beings while respecting our only home, Earth. It will contribute to the development of wisdom, scientific dialogue, the meeting between the wisdom and science of East and West and to promote world peace through interreligious dialogue.
The project
To found
a Monastery
A place where monks and nuns can live in accordance with the discipline and ethics taught by Buddha Sakyamuni, to receive teachings, study, progress in practice and keep the Buddhist tradition alive.
The Sangha ETS Foundation
It is a monastic community of some thirty monks and nuns, mostly Westerners, who have chosen to follow the practice of Buddha's teaching, preserving its great spiritual and philosophical value, in harmony with contemporary and scientific thought.
As a monastic project, it relies on the advice of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Lama Zopa Rinpoche and is a member of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) and the Italian Buddhist Union.
The Sangha Foundation has as its main objective the construction of the first Buddhist monastery of the Tibetan tradition in Italy.
The simple presence of a spiritual community like a Monastery is important for the well-being of the entire country. The atmosphere of harmony created by an increasing number of monks and nuns living in accordance with their vows will bring peace and harmony to the entire environment.
(In the photo monks and nuns from the Sangha Foundation pose with the thangka donated by Lama Zopa Rinpoche)
The Architecture
Designed by architect Gino Zavanella, it will be sensitive both to ancient traditions and to the landscape context, and will follow a path of eco- sustainability in harmony with the surrounding area and the use of natural and clean energy resources.
The video rendering of the Temple is available at: Monasterobuddhista.it/il-monastero/
The bureaucratic process between the Municipality of Santa Luce and the Sangha ETS Foundation, started in 2004, ended with the building permit signed in June 2022.
Everyone, Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike, will benefit from this place of meditation and prayer.
Franco Battiato, one who had the project close to his heart, wrote a letter to the then mayor of Santa Luce in 2012: “The Monastery, which should be built on the rock, like the monasteries of Tibet,
, is a project of a high architectural value, simple and rigorous... it would also make a notable contribution to environmental recovery. Please take my advice into consideration: it could bring international prestige to your municipality, which has a predestined name, and to Italy.”
Relational value
Openness to others and to intermonastic and interreligious exchange. The Monastery will reserve some spaces for silence and contemplation, but fundamentally it will be open to contact with others, to spiritual advice and to dialogue.
Environmental value
The creation of a Park of Contemplation and Peace will be our contribution to the recovery of a degraded area, originally an expression of the rich Mediterranean maquis and the large forest of Santa Luce. We will protect the existing wildlife, and we will organize guided tours and educational workshops in Naturalistic Engineering.
Social value
Opportunities for personal and community growth by contributing to spiritual, social and economic well-being.
Cultural value
The Monastery will enhance and promote the cultural heritage of the Tibetan people, which belongs to the whole world.
Tibet has a precious thousand-year-old culture based on principles of wisdom and compassion, and can contribute to what is missing in today's world.
Economic value
The Monastery will produce, both directly and indirectly, work (commerce, catering, accommodation facilities and more) and slow tourism which will improve the quality of people's time and their psychophysical balance.
openness to others e
interreligious dialogue
The Monastery will reserve some spaces for silence and contemplation, but fundamentally it will be open to contact with others, to spiritual counseling and interreligious dialogue. It will allow people of different faiths to open their hearts and minds to the harmony of a communication based on respect and tolerance and to increase their serenity in everyday life and promote peace in the world.
how the project developed
Many ideas were considered for the site: some, such as building on rock, were discarded; others were considered too invasive and not in harmony with the territory. After the study of the University of Pisa in 2008, the architects drew up more detailed plans for the site, which were proposed to the municipal administration in 2011. These plans form the basis of the most recent project, presented in 2021, shared with the local authorities and with a view to developing an architecture that is as sustainable as possible.
How to share the project
We bought the 96 hectares of land and have a magnificent architectural project. Everything else still has to happen.
If you think you can help us we will be extremely grateful
