Tengyur School for Developing Compassion and Wisdom
A first-of-its-kind school in Tawang, imparting quality modern education and traditional Nalanda education based on the Buddhist principals of compassion and wisdom for the benefit of underprivileged children
Inspired by His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s tireless work for the benefit of all sentient beings and his profound and relevant advice for the followers of Buddhism to engage more actively in social causes, Tulku Tenzin Gyurmey founded the Thubten Shedrubling Foundation in 2014.
Rinpoche’s vision is to build a unique school based on Buddhist principals for economically underprivileged children, and create a center for Buddhist studies where lay people also can study the Buddhist treatises. Rinpoche’s center in Tawang has been providing Tibetan language and introductory Buddhism courses in Tawang for the last four years to the general public. The classes are well received by the public. Rinpoche’s vision is to build a school in Tawang that can continue to grow into a secular university for Tibetan Buddhist studies and practices, and a center where children are taught Buddhist principals from a very young age.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama has personally blessed the construction site of this school in 2017 during his visit to Tawang. In his letter, His Holiness also made a recommendation to proceed with the school project. His Holiness advised us to include the Nalanda tradition of Buddhism in our curriculum and to open the course to the general public. The letter from His Holiness was a huge inspiration and encouragement for Rinpoche and all of us to move forward and achieve this project without any hesitation.
Why the school project in Tawang?
There are currently no local culturally-appropriate, Buddhist schools for lay people in Tawang, which compells poor families to send their children to far-away places at a very young age. There are hundreds of other poor families living in various small villages that can not afford to send their children to good schools, and, as such, many of these children end up as child labourers. Even when the school itself is free, families do not have the money to buy a school uniform and books for their children. A large number of migrant workers are not even aware of any such school opportunities for their children. We seek to develop further strategies to convince their families of the importance of education.
It is of the utmost importance that the children are brought up in a environment where the preservation of their culture and language is a way of life, and to continue the living history and tradition of the Tawang and Tibetan peoples. Our school is aimed at providing the best quality modern education with the altrustic principals of Buddha’s teachings. Children will be taught meditation and the practices of love and compassion. They will get to study Buddhist philosophy in a very simple format, such as through debates, which will lay the foundation for further studies in Pramana, Perfection of Wisdom, and the Middle-way philosophy of the Buddha’s teaching.
Tengyur School will become the first such model school in Tawang.
Primary curriculum
The general curriculum is based on N.C.E.R.T. Department of Education, New Delhi’s curriculum due to school regulation and rules framed by the authorities. However, there are various supplementary materials for all subjects, produced by the National Geographic school curriculum, USA Department of Education, and CTA Dharamsala.
The spiritual curriculum is based on Rinpoche’s own Nalanda curriculum, the Social, Emotional and Ethical (S.E.E.) learning program developed by Emory University, and the 16 Guidelines developed byThe Foundation for Developing
Compassion and Wisdom (FDCW) . Special facilitators from these organizations will be invited to train our teachers in
implementing these courses. The pedagogy of Buddhist debate will be introduced in higher classes. The emotional management skills and ethical principles they learn will prepare them for work in today’s demanding business and public
service environments.
Rinpoche and his team have worked hard to design the best curriculum. With over twenty-five years of experience in critical Buddhist education, Rinpoche has also done comparative studies and research on school education and сurriculums, having visited many schools in India, Europe, Japan, and Singapore in last few years. To get firsthand experience of those schools and programs he talked to teachers, school administrations, and students. His vision is to design a curriculum that will produce not only educated students but also good human beings. The purpose is to make students less selfish, more compassionate, and peaceful, which will ultimately make our world a better place to live.
School building and site
Rinpoche’s late father had a large family land in the heart of town which he offered to Rinpoche to develop a monastery or a institution that could benefit others. It was Rinpoche’s mother who convinced him to start a school at this place, reminding him of his father’s commitment.
The whole campus will have a main school building in the north, community hall with dining facilities in the far east, and a twin building for faculty members and children accommodation toward the south-west, facing the main road. The central part has been left vacant to serve as a school ground and a gathering/community space for other activities. Except for the main school building, the remaining projects have not yet begun construction.
This two-storied building was designed by the architect Melsong, from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and it has been further enhanced by Venerable Tashi Tendar. With an total area of 1600 square meters, it has ten large classrooms, a dedicated floor for administration offices, a library, a science lab, separate washrooms for boys and girls with a capacity to accommodate over 400 students. The building is designed incorporating modern structures with traditional Tibetan design. It allows maximum sunlight with large windows facing south-east. The work for the school building commenced in early 2014 with the initial ground levelling, and the developed plans and so on were carried out.
Facilities
All the classrooms will be fitted with portable heating systems for the comfort and ease of learning, PA systems, HD television sets, security cameras, intercoms, and fire safety equipment. Common facilities are a library, a science laboratory, music room, and outdoor ground for sport activities. There is also a plan for a separate community hall for hosting meditation classes, pujas, and all kinds of events. A cafeteria, stationery shop, and nursing center for emergency medical needs may come up in the future.
The finishing work yet to be done includes building brick wall partitions, flooring, fitting windows and doors, painting, fire safety, installing and elevator. School interiors such as tables, desks, and books, have yet to be purchased and we are in the process of sourcing them now.
Current status of the construction
The progress of the building has been interrupted over the last few years due to financial constraints. Additionally, the Covid pandemic has also delayed the completion of the project. As of now, all the structural work has been completed, due to kindness of our benefactors, without whom we could not have achieved anything. However, the finishing work, including wall partitions, windows and doors fitting, paint, and so on, are still pending. If you want to support the construction of Tengyur School, please read more here.