The Namo Buddha Retreat Center and Monastic College, run by Thrangu Rinpoche, is located in the mountains two hours from Katmandu, Nepal. There are about 180 monks now in residence at Namo Buddha. Primarily, they are young monks attending school.
The free clinic is located on the monastery grounds.
The Tamang people inhabit the area surrounding Namo Buddha. Originally from Tibet, they came to the area several hundred years ago. They are extremely poor and support themselves through subsistence farming. The most basic health assistance is a four-hour walk from Namo Buddha. Because of this Thrangu Rinpoche wished that a clinic be built to serve the villgers surrounding the monastery which they could access free of charge.
The clinic opened its doors in April 1995 - a modest two room building with no running water. This free clinic now manages the healthcare of 3000 active patients from the neighboring areas. It is staffed by a monk health assistant, Jamyang Dorje, a trained village health care worker, as well as volunteer doctors and nurses visiting Namo Buddha.
