WHITE LOTUS SCHOOL

White Lotus School was established by Thinley Norbu Rinpoche in the late 90s and provides an environment for students to learn and practice in a pure and simple way. Our school has operated continuously since its formation with a small group of handpicked students. The school is run completely by volunteer support staff, primarily former students of White Lotus School who continue to offer their time and energy to continue the school. In keeping with Rinpoche’s advice that one is never too young to learn Dharma, even the youngest students are required to follow a schedule strictly focused on Dharma activities including extensive daily ritual practices of the Dudjom Tersar Lineage, basic Tibetan reading and writing/typing, studying the Dudjom Tersar preliminary practices (Ngöndro), how to make offerings, play ritual instruments, perform dharma dance offerings, and accumulate merit through circumambulation, cleaning, and gardening. In addition to Dharma subjects, students are taught an elementary level of Chinese, and importantly the school also provides students with the basics of a standard Western education (Math, Reading, Writing, Social Studies, Science) up to a high school graduate level.

In the past few years we have been graced with the presence of several visiting teachers including Dudjom Rinpoche III Sangye Pema Shepa, who graciously spent several weeks at Kunzang Gatshal personally giving teachings and advice to students and local disciples.

Summer Program

Since 2018, after requests from parents in NYC and Toronto who are devoted Nyingma practitioners in general, and followers of the Dudjom lineage in particular, we started an intensive summer program designed for public school students age 9-15 who have familial backgrounds in Dharma to gain a basic understanding of the basic precepts of Tibetan Buddhism.

Registration for the summer program is conducted through email and is open annually from April 1st - May 15th. A decision regarding acceptance will be made by May 31st. We accept approximately five to ten students to join each summer. The program usually runs for between six to eight weeks, from approximately July 1 - August 31. However, since we have a mostly volunteer staff we evaluate every spring depending on available staff levels and other major events at Kunzang Gatshal which may impact our summer program.

Schedule and Activities:

Each day begins with daily puja. After puja, from Sunday to Thursday students will have classes, while Fridays are dedicated to cleaning and gardening. Saturdays after puja are free days, allowing students to rest, play games, go swimming, watch movies, or occasionally enjoy outings to town.

Sample Schedule (exact schedule may vary):

8:00 am: Wake Up

8:30 am: Breakfast

9:00 am - 11:30 am: Daily Puja

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm: Lunch

1:00 pm - 2:00 pm: Dharma basics

2:00 pm - 3:00 pm: Ngondro Commentary

3:00 pm - 3:30 pm: Break

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm: Tibetan Text Reading Practice

4:30 pm - 5:30 pm: Memorizing Prayers

5:30 pm - 6:30 pm: Ritual instruments / Dharma dance

6:30 pm - 7:30 pm: Dinner