UTBF Projects - The Himalayan Merit Committee 

The Himalayan Merit Committee is a UTBF organization started in 1995 in Kathmandu, Nepal during the Tibetan New Year period. It was originally aimed at helping the Tibetan refugee community in Nepal with their Dharma practice.

Many Tibetan Buddhist refugees in Nepal who are senior in age, are unable to put enough proper effort in Dharma practice, either because of geographical or political factors or their own indolence. Seeing this and knowing that the "tomorrow" people always hope for may not always arrive, Rinpoche organized the one to two-month long Hundred Million Mani puja conducted on certain auspicious days.

Since then, the puja has become a yearly event. The number of participants has grown from a handful of Sherpas to more than three hundred monks, nuns and lay devotees on regular days and more than a thousand people on the first, eighth and fifteenth days of the first Tibetan lunar month. They come from different regions, some remote, and are of different races. Several dozen lamps lighted for the puja in the past have now grown into a sea of offering lamps.

The committee also prepares meals and tea for the participants.

In recent years, Lama Sanga has been leading the practice. During this period, other rinpoches are also invited to give teachings, creating a chance for people from remote areas to hear the voice of the Dharma.

The merit of the practice is dedicated to world peace and liberation for all.

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