Dear Dharma brother and sister,
As is customary at the end of each year, we are writing to review the many activities we organized and offered throughout 2024, alongside the efforts dedicated to bringing the Monastery to fruition.
First, we want to share what lies ahead for us in XNUMX. What awaits us soon in 2025.
The Monastery project will undoubtedly move forward. We have recently submitted all the additional documentation requested by the Technical Office of the Santa Luce Municipality to initiate construction and begin work on the Temple. We confidently await a prompt response from the municipal administration, with whom we work closely.
Additionally, we are thrilled to announce the extraordinary news of a visit in March by our abbot, Geshe Thubten Chonyi, about which we will provide further updates soon.
Presentation of the Monastery at the First European Gelug Monlam
Last February, we were invited to the first "Gelug Monlam" organized in Europe by Nalanda Monastery in France, where we had the opportunity to present the Monastery project.
This prayer festival was born from Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s wish to celebrate the Day of the Buddha’s Miracles, a special time for Buddhists.
You can watch the presentation here (audio in English):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ObJm7UouIA&list=PLwW1U5GAJiRtRVxYp18wO-QxmkHUmatfm&index=8
Course platform
We have developed a modern course platform where our monks and nuns, along with our respected teachers and friends of the Monastery, offer live-streamed courses and teachings and recorded video lessons. These are enriched with meditations, study materials, self-assessment quizzes, and much more.
All courses are offered on a donation basis, and over 1200 people have already signed up.
This is a true success, giving us hope for the wider dissemination of the most authentic Dharma—a mission in which our monastic community plays an essential role.
Currently available to everyone:
- "Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand": A long-term course on the Lamrim text by Pabongka Rinpoche, taught by Ven. Ciampa Tashi, with live sessions every Wednesday at 18:30 PM.
- Online teachings from our Abbot, Geshe Thubten Chonyi translated into Italian and English, on the "Heart Sutra" and "Songs of Experience", Lama Tsongkhapa’s concise Lamrim.
The courses are always accessible on our platform in Italian:
https://corsi.monasterobuddhista.it/
and in English on our YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@sanghaonlus6712
Podcast Dharma Stories
We would like to highlight the ongoing series of Dharma Podcasts available on the platform (only italian):
https://monasterobuddhista.it/dharma-stories-podcast/
With Dharma Stories, you can experience the activities of the monks and nuns of the Buddhist Monastery. Through reflections, meditations, books, articles, and news, you can find inspiration to cultivate happiness.
The podcasts are also accessible on major platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.
Retreat in Assisi
In the special spiritual setting of Assisi, at a Benedictine convent, we organized a Lamrim meditation retreat last summer led by Ven. Ciampa Tashi, assisted by Ven. Marco and Stefano Gaviglio, a registered FPMT teacher and executive assistant to the Monastery Project.
Over 40 people participated, meditating on Pabongka Rinpoche’s text. This event provided a valuable opportunity to reconnect with this sacred place, which has remained a hub for authentic spiritual dialogue since the interfaith meetings with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1986.
Legal Transformations of Sangha Onlus
2024 has also been a year of legal transformations, which involved us in complex and detailed procedures to safeguard the assets collected over the years for the realization of the Monastery.
In anticipation of mandatory legal changes that will alter the structure of ONLUS organizations as they have been conceived until now, we have transformed the Sangha Onlus association into two separate entities:
- Sangha Foundation ETS
- Sangha Lhungtok Choekhorling Monastic Association
Contract with the Construction Company to Begin the Project
The transformation mentioned above became urgent due to the legal responsibility associated with the contract, which, after careful and thorough evaluations, has been signed with the construction company that will carry out the work for the Monastery.
Park of Contemplation and Peace
As previously mentioned, we have continued with the design of the Park of Contemplation and Peace over the past few months. It will now be expanded to include a larger accessible area than agreed initially with the municipal administration. The agreement for access, along with all related details regarding its use by the public and all of you, is currently being finalized.
Visit of Serkong Tsenshab Rinpoche
As promised by Serkong Rinpoche in Dharamsala in May 2023, Rinpoche, who has always been very supportive and caring towards our project, visited us during his teachings in Pomaia at the Lama Tzong Khapa Institute. During his visit, he gave a brief teaching and offered valuable advice, along with two precious oral transmissions, which brought auspicious blessings for our Monastery.
Tibet Festival in Pomaia and Tibetan Culture Week in Bologna
In 2024, we also had the opportunity to present the Monastery at the Tibet Festival organized by the Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, which was attended by thousands of people!
It was an important occasion for meeting others, thanks to the various activities organized by our monks and nuns, in a very special context that reminded us all of this cause that is deeply close to our hearts.
And now, for the final piece of news of the year: our participation in the Tibetan Culture Week in Bologna, organized by the Italy-Tibet Association, Jamtse Ling Association, the Italian Buddhist Union, and the Tibetan Community in Italy.
We were very happy to contribute to this cause, in the spirit of a Buddhism that is increasingly less sectarian, in line with the vision of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
You can find the recorded video online on our YouTube channel (starting at around minute 44):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hPcHiKqbsQ
We are happy to share that the fundraising campaign we launched in June 2023, called “Dona un mattone” (Donate a Brick), has already raised enough to contribute 15.000 bricks, worth approximately 1.500.000 million euros, to the project, thanks to your generosity.
This result has given us great confidence as we enter a crucial and historic period for the start of the construction of our Monastery, where your continued generosity will become even more important and indispensable.
We wish you a 2025 filled with peace and harmony, in which all virtuous projects may come to fruition, for the benefit of all sentient beings.
Warm regards,
Ven. Massimo Stordi, on behalf of the monks and nuns