Odiyana Children’s School
The vision of Odiyana School.
The Odiyana Children’s School will feature a dormitory, modern classrooms, a dining hall, a library, and an administrative center, providing students with a supportive environment for learning, living, and personal growth.
The school will offer a comprehensive, contemporary K–6 curriculum encompassing Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, History, Visual and Performing Arts, Physical Education, and Movement.
Grounded in Buddhist principles of love and compassion, nonviolence, interconnectedness, and planetary stewardship, the curriculum will nurture both intellectual development and inner well-being. Through mindfulness and the intentional cultivation of heart and mind, students will be encouraged to develop curiosity, creativity, critical thinking, emotional awareness, and a deep sense of responsibility toward one another and the world we share.
The surrounding Buddhist community is already actively involved in the ongoing activities and events of Odiyana Temple. Many young people from both Buddhist and non-Buddhist families have expressed a sincere interest in joining Odiyana School.
In response to this growing interest, we have begun welcoming young boys from these communities, including orphans and children from underprivileged backgrounds.
Through the guidance of resident and visiting teachers, these students are receiving an education that lays a strong foundation for academic learning, spiritual development, and personal growth.
Although young monks will continue to be an important part of Odiyana School, once the modern classrooms are built, the school will welcome both boys and girls from the surrounding communities. It will serve both resident students, who live on campus, and day students, who attend classes and return home each day.
To make this vision a reality and meet the requirements for state government accreditation, our next major project is the construction of eight modern classrooms. This important development will allow us to expand educational opportunities for local children and build a strong foundation for the school’s future growth.
The construction of the modern classrooms will be completed in two phases.
Phase One will include the construction of the first floor, with four classrooms and two restrooms.
Phase Two will complete the remaining four classrooms, along with an administrative center and a storage room.
We hope to begin the first phase of construction soon, bringing us one step closer to realizing our vision for Odiyana School and providing a better learning environment for the children of our community.
To help make this dream a reality, we will be hosting a fundraising event in Santa Barbara on Saturday, November 14, 2026.
We warmly invite you to join us and be part of this meaningful effort to build a brighter future for the children of our community.
We hope to see you there! [Click here for more information and to join us.]
Activities on the Land:
Everyday: Young monks at the Odiyana Children’s school study reading, writing, art and rituals in Tibetan. They also engage in all other sorts of Dharma activities including prayers and meditation. Students follow a well established schedule, starting from 5:30 in the morning till 8:30 at night led by the head teacher Loppon Phurpa Dorjee from Namdrolling Monastery and our resident teachers: Lama Ngawang, Lama Jurmey and Neha Sherpa plus other visiting teachers.
World Environment Day Celebrated at Odiyana School
The East Siang District of Arunachal Pradesh selected Odiyana School as the venue for its World Environment Day celebration, bringing together local officials and students to honor the importance of environmental protection.
The event helped raise awareness of environmental conservation within the local community and across the state. As part of the celebration, trees were planted throughout the grounds of Odiyana School, contributing to a greener environment and inspiring everyone to take an active role in protecting our natural world.
This meaningful occasion reflects Odiyana School’s commitment not only to education but also to nurturing environmental awareness and responsibility among the younger generation.
“Keep Ruksin Clean” Program at Odiyana School
The local government’s “Keep Ruksin Clean” program was held at Odiyana School to educate students about the importance of maintaining a clean and healthy environment.
Through this initiative, the younger generation learned how simple actions, such as keeping their surroundings clean and disposing of waste properly, can make a meaningful difference to their community
Words of Appreciation for Volunteers:
For the past two years, our sangha members have enthusiastically volunteered their time to teach English, math, arts, yoga, and various other skills to our students.
We sincerely thank Talia Pinnel, Norbu Kangchen, Kyndra Irwin, Tsering Wynne, Clair Woolson, Marilyn Stoner and Nurha Des for their dedicated efforts.
We hope that more volunteers will come forward this year and in the future to continue this wonderful work.
Education
India maintains a long and illustrious history of valuing education; in fact, the great monastic center of Nalanda, founded in India in the 5th century, was possibly the world’s first university, where at its height, as many as 5,000 were instructed by 1,500 teachers.
Tulku Orgyen Rinpoche lived, studied, and taught at a university based on the Nalanda tradition. He subsequently moved to the United States, where he has lived, studied and taught for the past 20 years. In that time, he has seen that there are so many benefits to obtaining a good education. Education a major factor in lifting communities out of poverty and giving young people opportunities to pursue their professional goals. Moreover, education can be a platform for understanding the world and for developing a virtuous heart and mind. Education is a true gateway to self-actualization. Because of Buddhism’s emphasis on developing the mind and altruistic service to others, and because of Rinpoche’s personal views, he knew upon being offered the land that he would like to build a school there as an expression of compassion-in-action.
Many people in the Arunachal and Assam region live in relative poverty, and children do not have access to a good education. Therefore, the intention behind the Odiyana School is that roughly one-third of the enrollment spaces will be reserved for local orphans, who will receive not only a full education but boarding, food and clothing at no cost. Furthermore, Rinpoche envisions that tuition for day students will be adjusted based on financial need.
Our vision is to recruit highly qualified, full-time teaching faculty from the local Indian population. In addition, the Odiyana Project will offer volunteer teaching opportunities to educators from abroad. Foreign volunteers will receive travel assistance, food, room and board. They will gain unique and life-changing personal and professional experience, while positively impacting the lives of so many wonderful children and their families, in one of the most remote and stunningly beautiful places on earth. Tulku Orgyen Rinpoche envisions the Odiyana School as a place for developing kind people with leadership skills who possess peace, wisdom and may benefit society for generations to come.
If you wish to support the young monks, teachers and the caretakers at Ati Jangchub Choeling monastery, please let us know at odiyanasb@gmail.com or simply use the link to make Tax-deductible donations please click here.
Please enjoy our postcard with Little Norbu’s message.
