About Us
Canadian Friends of Drepung Gomang is a non-profit organization founded by Jennifer and Laurel Antti. The organization was founded in order to provide assistance to Drepung Gomang Monastic Dratsung located in southern India in the district of Mundgod, Karnataka State.
The purpose of this organization is to provide financial as well as other assistance to maintain and improve the quality of life for the thousands of Tibetan refugees and monks currently residing there.
Canadian Friends of Drepung Monastery was established in March 2006 while the Sacred Art of the Land of the Snows – Tibetan Buddhist Art Tour was touring through Canada. This was the first time Drepung Gomang Monastery had sent a tour of any kind to Canada.
Friends of Drepung Gomang, an American not-for-profit organization was responsible for bringing the tours to North America in previous years.
The translator for the 2005/2006 Sacred Art Tour – Tenzin Dolma (Kristal Ouwehand) a Canadian who had spent the past few years teaching English and Art at the Monastery had written several letters to various organizations and groups in Canada looking for anyone interested in helping bring the tours to Canada.
The local Burlington Chapter of Amnesty International (Group 21) received a letter from Tenzin Dolma in the fall of 2003. Vice President of Canadian Friends of Drepung Gomang Laurel Antti and her sister Kimberly agreed to take of the task of co-ordinating the first Canadian Tour which ran throughout Canada from January 2006 – May 2006.
The tour arrived in Canada and spent the next 4 ½ months visiting cities from the East coast to Western Canada. The tour group itself consisted of 7 highly trained artisan monks from Drepung Gomang, a previous Abbott of the monastery Khensur Rinpoche Tsultrim Phuntsok, their translator Tenzin Dolma, and their driver Christian.
The tour brought the unique art and culture of Tibet to Canada through the sale of Thangka paintings, cultural pageants, hands-on workshops in the art of Butter Sculpture, Mask-making and Sand Painting, as well as a variety of puja ceremonies, compassion talks and the highlight of the tour, the famous Sand Mandalas.
The Board Members of Canadian Friends of Drepung Gomang established this organization after being moved by their experiences with the tour and the individuals from the tour group and felt it was an important initiative to create a means of continued support for the monastery and its inhabitants.