Action monk, goat rescue

Jamyang, Tong-Len's founder and Tibetan monk extrordinaire, held a special thanks day event for some of the volunteer staff. We arrived to the warm greetings of Charan children, orange flowers, delicious food, and a goat named Gita.

Apparently Jamyang was passing by a butcher when he saw the axe about to descend upon old Gita's hairy goat neck. He shouted "wait!!" and promptly purchased her, saving her from becoming someone's mutton soup. Gita will be donated to one of the families near Charan, where she will live out her long goat years in peaceful pastures, eating rubbish and shrubs until the end of her days.

The act of rescuing an animal typically results in good karma for the savior. Monks and nuns usually dedicate this karma towards the happiness of all sentient beings, but on this occassion Jamyang dedicated the good karma towards the success of Tong-Len's work with the communities in Charan.

He's quite an amazing man, Jamyang is. Lean and wiry as a beanpole, quiet, humble, softspoken. But no ordinairy monk! "Meditation and prayers do have a purpose," he explains, "but for the people in Charan, they need action." He has long since given up his monastic duties (though he still wears his robes, and he is still a monk, by all means!) in exchange for long hours of research, fundraising, planning and building relationships with the community in Charan.

"When I first went to Charan to see how the people lived, they threw rocks and rotten vegetables at me. They wanted money, they wanted food, they wanted quick solutions today but I told them change comes slowly, we first have to give their children an education." Two years later, with an established health clinic, education program, hostel, and many more programs on the way, instead of produce this action monk is showered with respect.