Kagyu Monlam
January 2024
Every year at Kagyu Monlam, essential services which help the Monlam to run smoothly are provided by groups of volunteers. There is usually a core group of helpers, previously known as the dharmapalas, and now known as Guru Sevakas.
This year the core group consisted of 55 volunteers form the Nepal Karma Kagyu Ex-Sangha Association, easily recognisable in their luminous citrus gilets. Mostly from Kathmandu, Nepal, with a few members from India, they served tea, managed the seating of the monks and nuns, and provided security personnel, among other duties. They were headed by the president of the Association, Mr Karma Gyalphur , and the vice-president, Ms Chong Tay.
The Nepal Karma Kagyu Ex-Sangha Association was started in 2020, just before the Covid epidemic. It’s composed of ex monks and nuns from monasteries and nunneries in Nepal and India. Its purpose is to maintain their dharma connection because, when they return to a lay environment, they can easily become demotivated and lose the vision of supporting the Karma Kagyu and working for the benefit of sentient beings which they once had. The Association aims to bolster that motivation through activities which support His Holiness the Karmapa, the Karma Kamtsang and the Karma Kagyu lineage. It encourages its members to follow the Karmapa’s advice and to volunteer for activities which offer physical support.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, for example, they helped distribute food, medical supplies, sanitiser and protective gear such as masks to remoter areas of Nepal as well as in Kathmandu.
They also support at the 10,000,000 Karmapa Khyenno recitation organised annually by the Nepal Karkhen Dung Dub Lenyer Khang and the Nepal Kagyu Monlam. Recently, they volunteered during Tai Situ Rinpoche’s visit to Kathmandu.
The team members had a very positive experience of the Kagyu Monlam. They felt really welcomed and appreciated by everyone, and they were asked to return. As a token of appreciation each member received a Kagyu Monlam t-shirt, and the group had a private audience with Tai Situ Rinpoche.
He told them that as they had previously been monks and nuns, serving the community and the Karma Kagyu as they do was purposeful work, and that they were doing something positive in their lives. They were all very moved when he promised that in future wherever they were, however great the distance between them was, he would always remember them.
Everyone hopes that they will have the opportunity to serve at the Kagyu Monlam Chenmo again.
You can find out more about this group and their activities on their FB page:
https://www.facebook.com/KarmaKagyuExSanghaAssociation
