Sponsorship Letter and Flyer

Dear Friends,

I am seeking donations for my Tibetan language studies in India. I would prefer donations on a monthly basis, so that I can create and sustain a working monthly budget. I am making the suggestion of $5 to $25 per month, for one year, or for longer if you like (I plan on studying in India and Nepal for at least two years). This can be set up through PayPal. http://www.paypal.com. Once you have set up an account, you can send donations by using my email address, emptyelephant@yahoo.com. However, one time donations are very much appreciated as well, because at this point, I am approaching having enough in sponsorship to get by, and am hoping to leave soon. Donations can be sent either through PayPal or to my address at:

Erick Neiss

150 Old Walnut Hill Road

Uniontown, PA 15401

I am planning on studying in Dharamsala, the seat of the Tibetan Government in Exile and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. I am attempting to save and raise enough funds to begin the Tibetan language and translation program at Thosam Ling, a nunnery outside Dharamsala. For more information on Thosam Ling, visit http://www.thosamling.org. In the event that I am not able to study at Thosam Ling, I will likely live in Dharamsala and seek as many lessons as I can with private tutors, such as learned Tibetan language scholars and Tibetan Buddhist scholars (khenpos and geshes), as well as seek out as many other study options as I can. I have found independent study with scholars to be just as valuable as a program.

What do you get?

Well, aside from supporting the preservation and transmission of Tibetan language, culture, literature, and Buddhism, I am also offering the following to all sponsors:

• The opportunity to submit weekly prayers requests to the local Tibetan monasteries of their choice. I will inform sponsors of the local monasteries in the areas where I reside, and offer them the opportunity to receive prayer requests in their name, in the name of their loved ones, or for any other desired person or purpose. Sponsors will also be able to choose the kind of prayers and practices that will be performed for them. I will scan or send the receipts of the prayer requests and send them to the sponsors.
• The opportunity to receive divinations from locals lamas and divination masters. I will relay the results of the divinations to the sponsors who request them.
• The opportunity to deliver messages and prayer requests to high lamas and Buddhist masters, both masters who are visiting locally and those who are visiting in the areas where I will reside.
• The opportunity to be informed of the local Tibetan and Buddhhist culture where I will reside, as well as special events.
• The opportunity to request translations of Tibetan words, phrases, messages/letters, or texts, to be translated by me with the help of my teachers.
• Updates and information about my experiences and studies.

More About Me and My Past Studies:

I have been a student of Buddhism since 1999, and began studying Tibetan Buddhism in 2003. I am a student of Khentrul Lodro Thaye Rinpoche (http://www.katogcholing.com).

I first began a cursory study of the Tibetan language in 2004, but did not really begin my studies until 2005. In 2007 I began study with my first teacher, an accomplished translator and scholar of Tibetan Buddhism. I completed my first translations of texts at the end of 2007, and first traveled to India to pursue intensive Tibetan studies on New Year’s Eve, 2007.

In 2008, I studied for over 8 months in India and Nepal, mainly at the Manjushree Center for Tibetan Culture’s Intensive Tibetan Language Program in Darjeeling, India. I also studied a commentary on the Bodhicharyavatara (The Way of the Bodhisattva) intensively with Geshe Tenzin Loedup, a Buddhist scholar living in Darjeeling.

You can view my translations from Tibetan at http://emptyelephant.wordpress.com/category/translations-from-tibetan

I have translated two live Dharma teachings, in Baltimore, Maryland. I am also currently working on translating a documentary film about Tibetan yogis, filmed in India and Nepal, primarily at Labchi, a famous cave of Milarepa on the border of Nepal and Tibet.

While I had initially planned on studying in India for at least a year, my studies were cut short due to a lack of funds and other adverse circumstances, and I found myself back in America in October of last year. Since then I have been attempting to save money to return to India and continue my studies, but there have been many obstacles. However, things have been getting better, and I feel that I will be able to return to India and continue my studies soon.

Thus far, $105/month in donations has been raised for my studies. The approximate cost of my living expenses and tuition is $250/month. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and thank you also for your generosity and wish to preserve and transmit Tibetan language, literature, religion, and culture.

Sincerely,

Erick Sherab Zangpo