Lodroe Nyima Charity Foundation

Thrangu Nursing Home

Hearing the news of the earthquake, the honorable Rodroni Marenbocce rushed back to Yushu for proper Temple work and went to visit the surviving elderly people in the old people's homes with concern.

The Purpose of the Project

      Buddhism is the major religion in Tibet. Tibetan Monasteries are everyone’s Pure Land of Buddhism. Everyone especially the elderly hope to live as closest to the Monastery as possible so they can have the chance to walk around the Monastery and read scriptures for the accumulation of future merits.  So, the lonely older people and the friendless and helpless also need this kind of spiritual consolation. Their wish to get closer to the Monastery become increasingly stronger and we can say that the majority people are longing to live in the Monastery and wish to spend the rest of the days there. Under the care and empowerment of various Bodhisattvas and monks, they become more ready to walk towards the final destination of life.

      In the Tibetan community, because the number of man who forsakes the world is greater than woman, many incomplete families emerged. Most families are only supported by single female. As they don’t have children, when they get old they become friendless, helpless and lonely. We believe that those who lost family support and lost the ability to work should be taken care of by the community. They should be grouped together in order for the government and the community to take care of them easier. When we group all the elderly in a centralized location, we not only help them to look after each other, as they always talk to each other, we also help to relief the feeling of loneliness and isolation.

      To build a nursing home nearby the Monastery perfectly satisfies the wish of the elderly. They walk around the Monastery, read scriptures and listen to the scriptures read by the monks. They feel joyful because they have found their spiritual dependence and this is their best psychological consolation for them. To get closer to various Bodhisattvas is the only thing they want to pursue for the elderly and the Monastery can provide them convenience regarding to this aspect.

      However, the strong earthquake happened on 14, April, 2010 had swiped away the nursing home built by our venerable Lodroe Nyima Rinpoche, the related parties from the mainland and Hong Kong. The houses built for the elderly to enjoy the rest their life were all collapsed. The first stage of the nursing home is planned to rebuild under the subsidy of the government. The Monastery will offer a piece of land for the rebuild project. The nursing home had completed in late 2010 and there are about 30 elderly gratefully move in the new nursing home now.

The Objectives of the Project

        Through the construction of the nursing home and the donation to the basic needs of the elderly (daily necessities such as the cost of living and clothing), the nursing home and a serious of volunteer work can be arranged perfectly. To provide the elderly with thermal clothing and increase the level of medical support are the ways to let taking good care of them and they can have the same and fair arrangement. Through the experience of group and social life, the sense of loneliness and helplessness of the elderly can be eliminated. To locate the elderly nearby the Monastery help them to find the religious destination and spiritual satisfaction. We wish all the elderly to have support when they get old, no matter material and spiritual life they can spend their remaining years in piece.

The life of the elderly is simple and with spiritual sustenance: They get up in the morning to read scriptures and then perform some cleaning and sweeping work. They usually begin to work after breakfast—they engrave the scripture into the rock. In their mind’s eyes, this is a perfect spiritual sustenance. In the eyes of people living in the city, this is a perfect piece of art. Next time when you go to Yushu, don’t forget to bring a few pieces to your friend.