|
|
|
|
Nalanda Monastery offers an ideal environment for western monks in the Tibetan tradition to live and combine practice and study in an appropriate monastic lifestyle.
Currently, around 10 monks and a teacher form the core of the community, which also consists of some lay people.
Most of the time there are a few guests staying for personal retreat, or a number of volunteers who work in the art workshop or on the construction site.
|
|
|
|
Nalanda is located close to Lavaur, about 40 km from Toulouse in the Tarn district of Southwest France.
It is situated on the river Agout and is set in its own gardens. The monastery is surrounded by farmer's fields, and so enjoys a peaceful and quiet location.
Nearby is our sister center Institut Vajra Yogini
 Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of Nalanda. Together with his teacher, Lama Thubten Yeshe, he founded Nalanda as the first Western monastery of the The Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT).
Our Abbot is Ven. Geshe Jampa Gyatso, and our current teacher is Ven. Geshe Lobsang Jamphel. Additionally, we are extremely fortunate to welcome other high teachers during the year.
|
|
The director is Ven. Pende, the building manager is Ven. Jean Francois, and our spiritual programme coordinator is Ven. Tendar.
Primarily, Nalanda aims to be a home for monks. Traditionally, it has been more difficult for monastics to live in their vows whilst remaining in society, and this is perhaps even more so in the West.
Therefore our aim is that Nalanda can offer a protective and conducive environment for monks to train in philosophy, monastic discipline and retreats. We also hope to respond to the ever increasing requests for teachers around the world. This community supports monks in trying to make their lives more meaningful, and to fulfill the wishes of our great teachers.
The goal is not to try to reproduce a Tibetan monastery in the West, but to create a monastic community in the Gelugpa tradition which is adapted to westerner's needs.
|
|
|
|
|
Nalanda offers an atmosphere of welcome for all visitors. Visitors are welcome every Sunday afternoon between 2pm and 5pm. It is possible for lay men to stay in Nalanda to do retreat, to follow our program and to do volunteer work.
Geshe Jampa Gyatso (September 2003)
“Nalanda is good kept and in a well state. It’s good that you maintenance this building and that the new building will be ready in a while, and I hope that than the number of monks will increase. As Lama Yeshe wished that the number of monks would be 50 at minimum, that would be very good. That is my sincere innermost wish. Like the historic Nalanda, at that time very big in India, that in future there will be 10.000 monks here. It’s clear that great places go down and end up in ruins, and that some small places will grow. So we shouldn’t fix on the idea how it is now, but look to the future.”
|
|
|
|
|
