Dear Karma Kagyu Affiliated Centres Worldwide

Kagyu Samye Dzong Johannesburg is Counting UP to 1008 Buddhas for the Kensington Johannesburg Temple Shrine, South Africa.

Thank you to everyone who kindly distributed the first batch of Count UP flyers. We have had a heart warming response from the centres and students and have had almost 200 Buddhas sponsored so far.

At the request of Lama Yeshe Rinpoche, please could you distribute the flyers attached onto your own mailing lists and share them onto your social media platforms.

We will release new flyers each time we Count UP to 100 more Buddhas headed towards the goal of 1008 Buddhas in Africa. 

Our next target is 300 Buddhas.
Just to note, there has been an increase in the expected cost per Buddha which includes expected shipping costs and special filling of each Buddha.
The flyers are attached in Jpeg and PDF formats for whichever format works best for you.

Some more about Lama Yeshe Rinpoches Temple Project in South Africa below:

KAGYU SAMYE DZONG JOHANNESBURG

KENSINGTON TEMPLE

Kagyu Samye Dzong Johannesburg (KSDJ was established on its present site in the Johannesburg suburb of Kensington in 1994 by Chöje Akong Rinpoche, and his representative in Africa, Rob Nairn. 

KSDJ is part of the world-wide network of Samye Dzong centres, under the guidance of the late Akong Rinpoche and his brother, Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche, the Abbot of Kagyu Samye Ling Buddhist Monastery in Scotland.

KSDJ has served the community of Johannesburg by providing a space where Buddhist teachings and meditation can be learned. Over the years the centre has hosted many great Tibetan lamas, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The centre offers activities in four spheres of endeavour: Spiritual, Therapy, Humanitarian, and Environmental. 

A soup kitchen, which has been serving homeless people in the inner city streets of Johannesburg for the last 26 years also operates from the premises. Mindfulness Africa, an organisation to promote secular mindfulness courses and to train Mindfulness teachers was also started from the centre. 

When Lama Yeshe Rinpoche visited the centre in March 2019, he envisioned a traditional Tibetan Temple perched on top of the Kensington Ridge, to serve as a base for the next Akong Rinpoche’s activities in Africa. 
Since then Lama Rinpoche’s team of local professionals has proceeded with plans to make this vision into a reality. 

The temple building will house a large shrine room, special accommodation for visiting High Lamas, and a multifunctional space.  This temple will be dedicated to the peace and wellness of the people
of Africa, and the blossoming of the Buddha’s teaching of loving kindness and compassion for all living beings. 

The main statues for the shrine have been commissioned and completed and are ready to be installed when the temple is complete.  Copies of the Kangyur and Tengyur texts have also been specially printed and bound in the famous Dege Print House in Tibet.  A beautiful shrine has also been designed and is in the process of construction. 

Since the shrine will be large there is plenty of space for the traditional 1008 Buddha statues. KSDJ is now offering the opportunity to make a positive connection with this positive project by sponsoring a Buddha statue.

Thank you to everyone who has contacted the office to sponsor a Buddha already, your donations are deeply appreciated.

Best wishes

Kerri

KSDJ Rupa Project