Today we are sharing with you a brief Q&A session with three young monastics from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

Karma Tsondru Gyaltsen has been based in Thrangu Sekhar Retreat centre for several years. He is progressing extremely well in his studies. As well as having mastered the Tibetan language, he is in the top of his class in almost all subjects. He is an extremely devoted practitioner and dedicated student, often rising long before his fellow monks to pursue his studies. In order to not disturb their sleep, he goes outside to study in the pre-dawn cold. As a small example of his diligence, he has already memorised several entire texts in tibetan: Entering the Way of the Bodhisattva, the root texts for the Madhyamaka (the Middle Way view of reality), Prajnaparamita (Ultimate Wisdom), Abhidharma (Metaphysics, the explication of phenomena), the Three Vows (Commitments of the Three Buddhist Schools – the Hinayana, Mahayana and Vajrayana) and some of the Pramanavarttika (Valid Cognition, epistemology) and Entering the Way of the Bodhisattva in French. We have great hopes that after this promising initial phase of his monastic education, he will continue on to play a key future role in the planting of the Sacred Buddhadharma in the noble land of Africa. 

Karma Pema and Karma Sherab have recently arrived from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in order to undergo their monastic and scholastic training in Thrangu Sekhar Retreat Centre in Nepal. In response to a request from Drolung Fondation Bouddhiste Internationale, BSF funded the full cost of Pema and Sherab’s air tickets. BSF has also funded the purchase of some essential Dharma study texts for these monks in their native French, to aid their studies. To our knowledge, Dharma study texts are not yet generally available in Swahili, and the texts that are available in French are prohibitively expensive. For example, the average price of each of the eight books that we have sponsored for these students is around 50 euros, whereas, according to the International Monetary Fund, the average annual income (GDP per capita) in the DRC is only around 725 euros. These texts will be particularly beneficial for Pema and Sherab, as they have yet to perfect their Tibetan language skills. 

In future, the plan is that students such as Tsondru will translate dharma texts into their native Swahili. Our sister charity, the Marpa Translation Society, will then publish these in digital formats as well as hard copies, and make them widely available, free of charge.

We would like to wish Tsondru, Pema and Sherab, as well as all their fellow African students, all the very best for the successful completion of their studies.

BSF: How do you feel about the opportunity to come and study Buddhism in the retreat centre in Nepal?

Karma Tsondru Gyaltsen: First, I pay homage to the venerable Khen Rinpoche Karma Lhabu. For my part, to have the opportunity to study Buddhism from my childhood in a retreat centre where we do the study and practice of the Dharma simultaneously, it is a very precious thing in which I rejoice with all my heart!  

Karma Pema: So it was in 2017 that we met Lama in Zimbabwe, we applied to become monks. I have great joy to have this opportunity, I lack the words to explain this joy. It was in 2018 that our Lama started taking the children who had come here for the first time, so it’s Tsondru, Samten, Sherab, Jinpa, and Zopa.

Karma Sherab: Regarding this opportunity for me to come and study Tibetan Buddhism at the retreat centre in Nepal, I feel like I am reborn again in another Buddhist universe. The joy I feel is beyond words, I have been waiting for this precious moment for a long time. I thank the Three Jewels, this joy that I feel within me gives me the courage to study better for the good of all beings without exception.

BSF: What difference do you think this opportunity will make not only to you personally, but also to the Congolese Buddhist community as a whole?

Karma Tsondru Gyaltsen: I think this opportunity will be a very beneficial thing not only for me, but also for the Congolese Buddhist community as a whole, as the main view of Buddhism is not to harm others and to help them. If the entire population of a country had this way of thinking and acting, there would be more happiness and peace!

Karma Pema: For me this opportunity will be the best not only for me, but for the entire Congolese Buddhist community. So we must learn the Tibetan language to communicate well with others, and just as we study it well, we must learn a lot here, so that in the future we too, in our turn, are able to transmit these teachings for the good of beings.

Karma Sherab: This opportunity will awaken the true nature of the mind to serve the Congo with compassion, to manifest the teachings of the Buddha and for the good of sentient beings.

BSF: Coming to live in a predominantly Tibetan-speaking environment directly from the Congo must involve certain difficulties. What difference do you think it will make to your studies to have at least some Buddhist texts available in your mother tongue, French?

Karma Pema: Yes, in a predominantly Tibetan-speaking environment, it is very difficult for me. But I learn the Tibetan language, to communicate well with others. The difference is that having certain texts in our mother tongue helps us to understand certain texts in French, we thank the donors for having done a good deed, not only for us but for the good of all beings.

Karma Sherab: There is a saying that says ‘Every beginning of a new rebirth of oneself is always difficult. With courage everything is possible.’ It is important that the Buddhist texts are translated into our mother tongue, to better meet all the conditions.

BSF: Is there anything else you would like to share or add? 

Karma Tsondru Gyaltsen: I just wanted to thank the venerable Khen Rinpoche Karma Lhabu from the bottom of my heart for everything he does for us Africans and others! Without forgetting all our kind teachers and all the people who help us in different ways!