Shakya Design is dedicated to helping bring awareness to the plight of the Tibetan people and the monks who are currently in exile in India. This page is dedicated to the monks at Gaden Shartse Monastic College in Mundgod, India.

David, Kate and Thea (of Shakya Design) have had the pleasure and honor of meeting the Gaden Shartse monks who have visited Mt. Shasta during their last two US tours.

The following information is to help bring awareness and provide general information regarding the Gaden Shartse Monks and several options in which we as a caring and generous public can help the monks currently in exile in India and for the Tibetan people in general.

About Gaden Shartse

Gaden Shartse Monastic College is situated amid lush green hills and jungle in the remote countryside of southern India. It was founded in 1969 as an effort to re-establish one of the great monastic traditions of Tibet.

The Gaden Shartse Monastery was originally founded in Tibet in the mid 1400s, as a learning center dedicated to dveloping practices to innper peace and compassion. The Gaden Shartse Monastery tours feature Tibetan Buddhist Monks of the Gelugpa order of Tibetan Buddhism. The monks bring a cultural exchange of Sacred Earth and Healing Arts of Tibet, including the Sacred Art of Sand Mandala, Cultural and Folk Dances of Tibet including the traditional Yak Dance of the Tibetan People, Sacred Healing Empowerments, and Dharma Teachings (wisdom teachings of the Sakyamuni Buddha).

A small group of elder monks and fifteen young boys, all of whom had managed to escape the destruction in Tibet, settled on land given to them by the Indian government in Mundgod, Karnataka, India. Today, it is at the forefront of the revival of Tibetan Monastic education with more than 1600 resident students, teachers, scholars, and spiritual practitioners. Due to the success of the academic program and the quality of the teachers at the monastery, Shartse has established a reputation as being the leader in the field of Buddhist and Tibetan studies. More than 70% of the members are between the ages of 10 and 25 and 80% of these were born in Tibet. To this day, young monks arrive at the Monastery weekly from Tibet seeking shelter and education.

In order to feed, house, clothe, and provide study materials for each monk, it costs just over US$1 per day per monk. For 1600 monks, this amounts to close to US$1700 per day, or approximately US$600,000 per year. This expense is for the most basic necessities and does not cover the costs of building maintenance, construction, farming, or any improvements.

Maintenance is the most costly aspect of running Gaden Shartse Monastic College. The original 84 acres of farmland that was allocated to the monks in 1969 was done so as a lease, and provides the bulk of the Monastery's income. The main source of income for the Monastery comes from the sale of rice grown on the leased farmland. When most profitable, the yearly revenue from the crops can only cover one month of the expenses of the Monastery.

With this acute shortfall in cash, short‑term loans are arranged from time to time. Unlike other active educational centers of its size in India, Shartse does not receive any government funding from India or abroad. The need to fulfill the financial obligations of the Monastery is urgent. There are very limited and unreliable sources of income, and the majority of revenue comes from tours abroad.