Sandokai Studio
Our current exhibit is a collection of Tibetan carpets to benefit the Dolpo Project.
The Dolpo Project was founded in 1997 to aid and support the cultural survival of the Tibetan people. The first action of the Dolpo Project is to assist the Tibetan Buddhist lamas of Shey, a monastery cluster in Inner Dolpo. Shey is known in the West from Peter Matthiessen's account in The Snow Leopard . The Shey tulku (incarnate lama) is the best-authenticated of the Dolpo tulkus.
In Inner Dolpo where populations are thin and most family groups live outside the money economy, the monasteries are unlikely to survive without some outside support. In anticipation of the incarnation of the next Shey tulku, local villagers will prepare Shey gompa (monastery). For the past 30 years the wooden floor of Shey gompa has been unfinished. There is no wood in the area, as Shey was built in high desert above the treeline. The wood for flooring needs to be purchased in Juphal and carried over a 17,500-foot pass to Shey. A precious collection of sacred texts from all lineages of Tibetan Buddhism is being eaten by field mice. Monastery buildings are crumbling. The lamas of Shey need food supplies for the winter, warm clothing and medical attention.
The carpets can be viewed online or you can contact kmintz@sandokaiproductions.com to arrange for a private viewing.