Photos of the Sakyong's trip to Tibet in 2001

Photos by Diana Church taken during Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche's historic visit to Tibet in June and July of 2001, available exclusively from Samadhi Store. Copyright Diana Church.

All proceeds from the sale of these photos go to the Kunchok Foundation. The mission of the Kunchok Foundation is to support the spiritual, educational, cultural and humanitarian needs of the Tibetan peoples in the Surmang and Golok regions of Western China; to preserve their wisdom traditions, fund educational institutions, preserve their cultural traditions and arts, and help build their infrastructure, medical institutions and economies.

"Kunchok" is a Tibetan word meaning "rare and supreme" and has been chosen as the name for this foundation in honor of Lady Kunchok Palden, the mother of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, who is the Spiritual Director of this Foundation.

Specific goals of the Kunchok Foundation are:

• Constructing a Shedra (monastic college) at Surmang and supporting its operation
• Helping fund the construction of the Weyen monastery in Golok
• Supporting the needs of the Surmang Tulkus
• Supporting the education of the lay population in Surmang
• Supporting elderly villagers in the Surmang region
• Supporting the Gesar orphanage in Golok
• Working with the Mipham Medical Institute in Golok
• Supporting the needs of Khamput Monastery in Kham

Where relevant, we've included excerpts of the dispatches from the historic visit sent at the time by members of the traveling party. For the full account, visit http://www.shambhala.org/int/tibettripindex.html

For more information on Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, visit his website www.mipham.com and the Shambhala International website: www.shambhala.org . For more information on the Kunchok Foundation, visit www.konchok.org. For more information on Diana Church, visit www.dianachurch.com.