The catastrophe in Nepal & Tibet – How you can help

Your help is needed. On this page we present you several ways in which you can help from your own home; either financially or with your practice. This page is focused on Nepal as there is no information available about Tibet.

Flashfloods
On August 26, a sudden flash flood of the Bhote Koshi River struck the border area between Nepal and Tibet, sweeping away villages, homes, roads, bridges, and essential infrastructure in the Rasuwa and neighboring districts. The scale of this disaster is still unfolding, and many people remain unaccounted for. Entire communities have lost their homes and are displaced.

A number of monks and nuns of our FPMT Kopan Monastery in Nepal are from these districts. Family members are still missing and unaccounted for, and many of their families have lost their entire homes and are displaced.

Financial support - RELIEF FUNDS

• FPMT Emergency Relief Fund - Funds sent directly to those most in need - FPMT is working with Kopan Monastery, which is able to identify those most in need and help ensure that support reaches them directly. Your donation will help provide direct support to those who have lost everything, as well as medical assistance and other essential services.

• Government of Nepal Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund - The Nepalese government has centralized emergency aid under a unified framework. By Nepalese law, 100% of the money deposited into the fund must be spent entirely on the rescue operations. 

• ​Nepal Red Cross Society - NRCS delivers needed supplies to families hit by severe weather and landslides. They operate blood donation centres and have local teams run active ambulance stations.

Sidenote: A caution: give through registered organizations such as these. Scams follow disasters fast.

Joint and your own practice – PRAYERS & MANTRAS

Rooted in the Tibetan Buddhist belief that sound and intention carry healing power, prayers & mantra recitation during Nepal's disaster is seen as a way to dedicate merit to the suffering and dying, while cultivating the practitioner's own bodhicitta. Such an easy way to help & practice at the same time.

• Prayers for Peace and the World – praying together online every Monday morning from 07.30-08.00 hrs (Zoomlink on the website)

• Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Advice for Natural Disasters - Over the years, Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche offered various pieces of advice for prayers and practices to turn to when facing natural disasters. The is a collection of Rinpoche’s advice, offered in the hope that it may be of benefit to you.

Another way to help during these and other disasters is to assist in mapping disaster-stricken areas. Accurate maps that clearly show houses, roads, and other infrastructure are essential for relief organizations. Click here for more information.

As His Holiness said in his talk, where he offered prayers to the victims on Aug. 30: “I am doing my best to be practical about how I go about my practice. You too should do the same, not just paying lip-service to the tradition, but being practical to the best of your ability, about how you put the teachings into effect.”