Aimed at promoting cultural education and Buddhist philosophy, the foundation of the Sumtrhang’s restoration project lies in achieving to furnish the monastic institution with a proper hostel and classroom with a good library to start with, which is identified as the key to the monastic restoration plan.
Immediate need for a hostel to accommodate at least 30 students, seven classrooms, a library, a good kitchen and toilet complex for hygiene and sanitation is a priority. These structures will be built around the temple.
The funding support, therefore, is sought for the structural construction, which is key to the revival project without which, the monastery could not afford to recruit any students. The foundation is able to secure about 30 percent of the total funding required through support from Swidish Tibetan Society for School and Culture through the guidance and support of the His Holiness the Chabgoen Chetsang rinpoche’s secretariat in Drikung Jangchubling and other individual students, well-wishers and supporters of Sumtrhang.
It is found that reviving the monastic school is the only sustainable solution for restoration of Sumtrhang’s culture and tradition including the endangered mask dances. This is because, to upheld the Sumtrhang’s monastic tradition and cultures, the monastery needed its own school where there are monks and nuns who would study and practice the tradition and culture.
The monastery plans to institute a school of Buddhist and cultural studies. The aim will be to provide an excellent Buddhist study with modern employable skills such as the management and administrative education to produce students of religious and cultural knowledge with the option to become a lifelong dedicated Buddhist practitioner or a layman equipped with both cultural wisdom and modern skills to lead a dignified life outside the religious fence. Therefore, accomplishing the provision of educating the next generation with cultural and value education. As Bhutan is loosing so much of its cultural values for globalization, this is seen as something crucial to uphold the GNH value in our people and world as a whole.
The restoration will focus on two aspects, a key to successful and sustainable restoration.
- Restore Monastic School: Which focuses on instituting a quality monastic school aiming to excel in the Buddhist and Bhutanese cultural education for the next generation. This is considered as the foundation phase of the restoration plan. This is because, to sustain and preserve a Buddhist monastic tradition, the need of a monastic school, where there are students to take care of the monastic tradition is the key. To attract students to the monastic school today, it is found that we need a competitive educational scheme that can provide both religious cultural knowledge and employable skills in case if they drop out into the laymen life.The school restoration, therefore, focuses on ensuring religious cultural knowledge with modern skills and knowledge.
- Restore Practice and Retreat: This will focus on building a contemplative institution of practice. It is aimed at restoring the retreat centers of Sumtrhang, which are in ruins to a wellness center where religious and lay individuals both can use the facility for long-term as well as short-term retreat and meditation.