LET US INTRODUCE OURSELVES
Tso Pema Non Profit is an Association founded in Rome, Italy on December 10th, 2010.
This date is very important to us because it represents a double anniversary:
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International Human Rights Day
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The commemoration of the Nobel Peace Prize given to H.H. the Dalai Lama in 1989.
There are 3 founders. Each one very different from the other but strongly connected by this idea:
"Helping others is the path to finding ones own happiness"
GESHE
LOBSANG SOEPA
TIBETAN MONK
GROWING UP
LOBSANG SOEPA WAS BORN IN TIBET IN 1970.
HE WENT TO CHINESE SCHOOLS UNTIL HE ENTERED THE MONASTERY IN HIS HOMETOWN WHEN HE WAS AROUND 15.
IN 1992, HE FLED TIBET FOR INDIA WHERE HE KNEW HE COULD COMPLETE HIS MONASTIC EDUCATION.
MONASTIC EDUCATION
ONCE IN INDIA, HE HEADED SOUTH TO THE INDIAN STATE OF KARNATAKA WHERE HE JOINED THE GELUG MONASTERY OF GADEN JANGSTE THAT WAS STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION IN THEIR NEW "HOME" IN INDIA.
HE , LIKE ALL THE MONKS THERE, SPENT A FEW YEARS DOING HARD LABOR AND EVEN SUFFERING FROM HUNGER, UNTIL THE MONASTERY WAS COMPLETED.
IN 2010, AFTER STUDYING TIBETAN BUDDHISM PHILOSOPHY FOR 20+YEARS, HE COMPLETED THE GESHE LEVEL EXAMS, RECEIVING HIGH SCORES IN DEBATE.
GIANRIGO MARLETTA
FREELANCE REPORTER AND FILM MAKER
BACKGROUND
GIANRIGO MARLETTA WAS BORN IN CATANIA IN 1979 TO A SICILIAN FATHER AND AMERICAN-ITALIAN MOTHER.
HE IS THE AUTHOR OF NUMEROUS DOCUMENTARIES AND A VERY INTERESTING BOOK:
AT THE PRESENT
AT THE PRESENT LOBSANG SOEPA RESIDES IN ROME AND IS THE SPIRITUAL GUIDE FOR TSO PEMA NON-PROFIT ASSOCIATION AND TIBETAN CULTURAL ASSOCIATION.
DONATION INFO
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A DONATION OUT OF ITALY, PLEASE EMAIL US AT tsopemanonprofit@gmail.com
OR JUST FILL IN THE FORM ON THE PAGE "CONTACT"
MARISA BURNS
ENGLISH TEACHER
BACKGROUND
MARISA BURNS WAS BORN IN HOUSTON, TEXAS TO AN AMERICAN FATHER AND ITALIAN MOTHER.
IN THE LATE 60s WHEN MARISA WAS IN HER EARLY TEENS, SHE VISITED ITALY FOR THE FIRST TIME.
IT WAS LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT AND SHE KNEW THAT ITALY WAS WHERE SHE WANTED TO LIVE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
AFTER RECEIVING A B.A. FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS IN ITALIAN LITERATURE, SHE DECIDED TO MAKE HER DREAM COME TRUE AND MOVED TO ITALY WITH HER PARENTS.
AFTER A MARRIAGE, A SON AND A DIVORCE, SHE EVENTUALLY GOT A JOB WITH THE ITALIAN AIR FORCE NEAR ROME WHERE SHE WAS AN ENGLISH TEACHER FOR 21 YEARS.
TIBET, TIBETANS AND BUDDHISM
PRETTY MUCH OUT OF THE BLUE IN 2005, MARISA MET AN ELDERLY TIBETAN MONK DURING HIS TALK ON COMPASSION IN TIBETAN BUDDHISM.
HIS TALK CHANGED HER LIFE ...
SOON AFTER, SHE BEFRIENDED A GROUP OF MONKS WHO WERE IN ITALY ON A FUNDRAISING TOUR. THAT WAS ALL IT TOOK FOR HER TO KNOW THAT SHE WANTED TO START AN ENGLISH SCHOOL IN THEIR MONASTERY IN SOUTH INDIA.
SOON AFTER HER MOTHER'S PASSING IN 2007 SHE WENT TO INDIA FOR A YEAR. DID NOT GET TO START THE ENGLISH SCHOOL, BUT DID GET TO TEACH A CLASS OF "GESHES" FOR H.H. THE DALAI LAMA'S OFFICE.
AT THE PRESENT
TRAVELLING TO INDIA AS MUCH AS TIME AND MONEY PERMIT. ORGANIZING TSO PEMA'S TIBETAN CULTURAL CENTER IN ROME, AND WORKING ON ALL THE OTHER PROJECTS.