His Holiness Phakchok Rinpoche, head of the Riwoche Taklung Kagyu Lineage, recognizes the great success of the Venerable Khenpo Sonam Tobgyal Rinpoche in establishing a home for Riwoche in Canada. Considering this a strong foundation on which to build, His Holiness is looking ahead to the future to ensure that the growth of Riwoche as a community contributes to the flourishing of Buddhism in the West.

His Holiness has instituted a foundation fund program to accomplish the following goals:

• Adding a second floor to the Toronto Temple for the Riwoche Kagyu Nyingma Library
• Acquiring a retreat centre.

Khenpo Sonam Rinpoche has devoted countless hours to re-acquiring the texts of the Taklung Kagyu lineage from the original Riwoche monastery in Tibet. Many of these texts were spirited out of Tibet upon the destruction of the monastery by invading forces in 1959.

These unique teachings, along with other sacred texts, will now be permanently housed in the Riwoche Kagyu Nyingma Library at the Riwoche Temple in Toronto. From here, these wonderful texts will be edited and translated and made available to Tibetan monasteries and scholars around the world.

The Riwoche Kagyu Nyingma library, a second floor addition to the Toronto Temple building, will also display original statues of the fifty dzogchen lineage masters created by the master sculptor Tshewang Dorji and painter Urgyen Gyalpo.

The Riwoche addition will also have three studies that will be used to teach classes related to the arts, music, and language of Tibet. Khenpo Rinpoche has named the new facility "The Temple of the Rejuvenation of Scriptures of the Taklung Kagyu Tradition of Tibet."

PRESERVING A THOUSAND YEARS OF SACRED HISTORY

Please help us realize the Riwoche Kagyu Nyingma Library with your generous support. Capital of $500,000 must be raised to ensure the completion of this project.

Construction began in July 2007, and is now well advanced. Every dollar donated brings us closer to our goal. Recognition awards are offered by the Temple for different donation amounts.

Khenpo Sonam Rinpoche has chosen the four dignities to represent the various levels of donation: $1,000 represented by the Garuda, $2,000 by the Snow Lion, $3,000 by the Dragon, and $4,000 by the Tiger. A donation of $5,000 will sponsor one of the 56 Dzogchen statues and will ensure the donor as a sponsor of the Dzogchen Lineage.

Anyone who meets the donation level of any of the four dignities will be given a rendering of that dignity hand-painted by Urgyen Gyalpo, signed and stamped by Khenpo Rinpoche. Lineage statue sponsors will receive a signed and stamped painting of all four dignities.

Donations can be made by cheque, money order, or credit card online through the secure PayPal online payment system. Cheques should be made payable to Riwoche Tibetan Buddhist Temple. Riwoche Tibetan Buddhist Temple is a registered charity, business number 889206504RR0001. Canadian and U.S. tax receipts will be issued.

THE DONATION BOX PROGRAM

This program in support of the building fund is based on a traditional way of raising funds in which a decorative donation box is kept in the home of each participant. Each day the participant places a small donation, such as one dollar, in the box. Several times a year the donation boxes are brought to the Temple and the money collected. Each participant's donations combined with the donations of others provides a steadily growing fund which contributes to Riwoche to realize its goals. All the monies contributed through this program will be used solely for the second floor construction and retreat centre.

THE RIWOCHE RETREAT CENTRE

His Holiness envisions a retreat centre of 100 to 200 acres to be used for meditation and study. The retreat centre will provide a place for individual and group retreats as well as teachings.

Listen to community members and then think about what they have said.
Always think about what the best way to accomplish the work is.
                                  — His Holiness Phakchok Rinpoche

The centre will accommodate both short-term and traditional three-year retreats, and will have the potential to become a retirement community for senior practitioners.

We are doing the activity of the Buddhas (enlightened beings). We need broad minds. This gives us more freedom from suffering. We should feel that all work is the work of the Buddha.
                                  — His Holiness Phakchok Rinpoche