Tashi Delek Everyone,
Thank you for giving me this opportunity. I feel deeply honoured to share my thoughts and experience as a teacher at Tergar School Kathmandu.
Under the guidance of Mingyur Rinpoche and the steady support of Tergar School, Kathmandu’s leadership team and Justin Kelley and Susan Kaiser Greenland, I have found myself inspired to bring the Buddhist experiential curriculum into the classroom in a way that is deeply grounded and alive. Our focus is always to begin with the universal truth of basic goodness — the innate capacity we all have, to experience lasting happiness.
We are not teaching concepts as dry theories or intellectual ideas. Instead, we aim to bring them to life — to make them practical, personal, and experiential. Every day, we focus on nurturing this basic goodness through a balance of view, meditation, and application. This is the traditional approach to Buddhist practice, and we strive to make it part of the students’ daily rhythm.
Our meditation sessions are short and frequent: “short times, many times.” We encourage not only listening and understanding but also contemplation and direct experience. Whether it is cultivating awareness, loving-kindness, compassion, wisdom, or joy — we are guiding our students toward a deeper recognition of their own Buddha nature.
As a teacher, my goal is to embody these teachings myself — to keep learning, practicing, and sharing from an authentic place. It brings me so much joy to see our students begin to understand and apply these teachings. It happens slowly, gently, over time — but the progress is real.
Looking ahead, our aspiration is to keep nourishing the root causes of happiness — to help our students recognize and trust in their innate qualities. The practice of awareness, compassion, and wisdom is not just meaningful for the individual, but for the world. This is what I hope to offer: a path to lasting happiness, lived and shared.
With appreciation,
Karma Shendon
Teacher, Tergar School Kathmandu
Acharya, Osel Ling Monastery
