The students and the teachers were very fortunate to get blessed by very venerable Lama ZopaRimpoche who was here at the Tara Temple on 18/01/17.While speaking to the students he said:
“Do not always think about the ‘self’, the ‘I’. Think for the greater interest of everyone. Dedicate yourself for the welfare of everyone.You are learning language, you are learning meditation; whatever you are learning here, it’s for the numberless human beings, numberless universe, numberless animals, numberless asura beings, numberless hell beings to help to freedom from suffering of samsara to cause happiness-ultimate happiness, everlasting happiness, Nirvana. Then, that’s kindness, a form of motivation. Thus, your body, speech and mind is pure.
Alice Project is different from other schools. They (other schools) never learn about true life, they never learn about meditation and mind. One year ago, I met children outside the stupa. They were very young. However, I could see the difference in them from other schools’ children. Their mind was more conscious than those of other schools’ children”.
Lama ZopaRimpocheaddressing to Alice Project’s residential children during his recent visit
MINDFULNESS AND MORAL ETHICS – The secret of a successful Education.
Speech of Monlam Lama to Alice Project’s teachers: Only Scholastic education is not important for the development of a student’s mind. There must be the moral Education together with it. As the Education about mindfulness and moral and ethical values can make his learning complete. As if a person will not know these things, how the mind is working and what are the effect of mental afflictions on one’s mind one can never know the real nature of the mind. And knowing this is very important because if a student will know all these, the negativeness of himself will be less and he will not do something wrong. As if we see now a days all the people those who are harming others, and killing and doing violence most of them are highly educated but there is the lack of moral and ethical teachings, they are not mindful at all. This is why they are doing all these. So if we want to change this we should develop the mindfulness in our students since very begging. So that these seeds many flourish in their personality and they can be a better citizens of this world.”
Lama Zopa, Lama Monlam, (in the image on left) Lama Osel (in the image on right)students and the staff of the school
“I GOT EMOTIONAL!” – Lama Osel
Lama Osel who paid a visit to the Alice Project School while speaking to the students Lama said:
Virtuous actions are very important. One should try to utilize the time which one has as a human to use it as much as possible to do good actions. So that one can find the real happiness in his life. As we see now a days everyone is busy in the external world, trying to find happiness in the worldly things and this is why the greed , desire, pride and such things are increasing in the persons mind and instead of getting happiness the person is getting more and more unhappy.
It does not matter how big is our virtuous action as soon or later it will be fruitful. Because whatever action one does in his life, he is putting a seed and as the seeds will be same fruits we will get. Therefore we should always be aware and try to put the positive seeds as many as possible. As the real happiness cannot be found in the external world it is inside us.
Now a days we as human have become self-centered, and we are working only to make happy to our oneself. This is the reason that we get unhappiness. This is why it is very important that we get our of this bondage of selfishness and we work for the well being of all the sentient beings. As if we are doing this, we are sowing a seed.This seed is for the nourishment of Humanity. This kind of teachings we have been reeving for thousands of years so now this is our responsibility to act in positive way so that we can develop the vast humanity. What you are doing here is also sowing the seeds of positive actions.
“This is why I get so emotional to see all of you, so peaceful, so beautiful, so amazing.”
108,000 times Gayatri Mantra Chanting retreat:
All the students, teachers, staff and every member of the Alice Project family got such a wonderful opportunity to chant 108,000 times Gayatri Mantra for the well-being of all the sentient beings and world peace.
Students and the teachers chanting the mantra during the morning assembly
Gayatri Mantra is highly powerful mantra which improves the cognitive and intellectual level washing away the sins and purifying your mind, body and soul. Enchanting this mantra makes you feel relaxed thus increasing concentration power. The first word of the mantrastarts with Om. The pronunciation of this ‘Om’ word creates a sound sending vibration through your lips, tongue, back of your throat and skull, which calms down your mind releasing the relax hormones to make you feel relaxed…….
Growing Alice Project:
The construction of 6 new classrooms for senior high school students and repairing of the classrooms of thejunior students is going on
The classrooms before repairing and after
After the fire incident in the year 2014 the classrooms of the junior students were damaged and their repairing was highly necessary. Thanks to the Alice Project friends and supporters,FondazioneZanetti,who sent their immense help. Now we are makingrooms are ready for the students.
While 6 new rooms together with laboratories are under construction, we are very much hopeful that the school is going to the affiliation of plus two in the few months. So these rooms will be very helpful for our senior high school student. We thank to the Shining Hope Association for the construction of the 6 new classrooms. Not only for this, also for involving in the Alice Project deeply, and promising to help us in future also.
The Editorial Project:
We are very happy to inform that thanks to the kind help of Khyense foundation, we are successfully going to complete the printing of two of our Books; Beyond the boundaries and Treasury of wisdom. Beyond the boundaries a collection of stories and Treasury of wisdom, is one of our didactic material for teaching philosophy moral and ethical values to the students.
Our recent publications (Treasure of wisdom, Kshitigarbha Mantra , Kutuzangpo mantra and beyond the boundaary book)
Beside these two books we have successfully printed Cards with Kshitigarbha mantra and Kuntunzangpo prayer booklet (the Great Perfection.
Sanjay Yogi:
This is Sanjay (please see the image down). We used to call him Sanjay Jailer but now we call him Sanjay Yogi. As many of our friends already know about him through our previous newsletters, he has an extraordinary story. We found him in the juvenile house; where he was brought as an orphan.
Sanjay receiving his Bsc Yoga certificate (on left)Sanjay Yogi
As we found him from the juvenile house and after he was brought here after a long struggle, and we had some other Sanjays here, so we started calling him, Sanjay Jail. This is was how we were recognizing.
But after all these years from 2006 to 2017, he found the inner Yogi which was in him. Now he has recently completed his BSc course in Yoga from the famous university in south Indai, Swami Vivekanand Yoga Anushandhan Kendra. This is why we call him Sanjay Yogi now. He wanted to go on with his studies and now he is doing his Master degree there. We hope all the very best for him.
The volunteers:
We thank Miss Ilarai Gambino for all her help and effort which she is providig to the Alice Project in the absence of Mr. Valentino Giacomin. She is managing and co-ordinating the school. We also thank to Judith Soussans who is helping the school in finding sponsors, contacting them, organizing the teachers training and supporting the Project , as well as she is the in charge of Alice Project France.
We would like to thank also to Paola Gallerani, an old friend of Mr. Valentino and Lugina who has been financially supporting the school, for her kind visit at the Alice Project Saranth and Bodhgaya schools. We hope to see you in future again.
(Judith and Ilaira during the visit of Lama Zopa) (Paola in the middle, with her husband an Ilaria)
We warmly thank you all the helpers, supporters, volunteers, the visitors and all the Alice Project friends who are helping the project at their levelsand for your precious help in going on with our educational work. Without your help the project would not have been going on so smoothly.
The Alice Project team
