Auspicious Updates about Jaigaon Sakya Monastery, Part One: Construction

We are delighted to share auspicious updates about Sakya Thegchen Phuntsok Ling in Jaigaon, India. General Manager Jamyang Gyaltsen, Assistant Manager Gonpo, and many dedicated individuals have been working tirelessly over many years on organizing and sustaining the Sakya Jaigaon Monastery project. Now, classes for monks are fully underway with a schedule of prayer and study, plus spare time to pitch in with daily tasks and to engage in recreation and sports. Remarkably, about 90 artists and laborers are enthusiastically working on site to help complete Sakya Jaigaon Monastery.

Please view the latest stunning visuals taken by Dharma Friend Barbara Lehman and Gonpo. We start with photos of the assembly of statues for the Monastery, where skilled artisans are at work welding, assembling and applying finishing touches to the pieces, transforming raw material into beautiful sacred artwork.

Here, some of the near-finished products await final touches and transportation to their destinations in the Monastery:

Next, we have updates on the overall progress of the Monastery’s construction. Progress continues at a steady pace, with the focus shifting to fine-detail finish work on the lower levels and continued structural work higher up.

Here we see some of the remarkable detail work being accomplished:

At the upper floors, construction continues. Here we see the rooftop, yielding beautiful views of the surrounding countryside.

To facilitate movement of heavy items to the upper levels, a lever and pulley system has been recently implemented.

The interior of the building receives new wood doors and window frames, all hand made from Teak. Gonpo selected the specific Teak trees to be used, which are then cut, carved, sanded and installed all on site. Besides being beautiful, teak wood is naturally resistant to termites and water damage. As a hard wood, it is difficult to work with and requires much labor and skill.

While much progress has been made, work is just beginning on the library, sitting space, and the deity-specific shrine rooms (Tara, Hevajra, Mahakala). Similarly, much work is needed on the teaching spaces in the upper levels.

Here we see work at the nearby structure which will eventually house the Thuk Den Lha Kang Stupa for His Holiness Jigdal Dagchen Dorje Chang.

Much remains to be done to fully accomplish His Holiness Jigdal Dagchen Dorje Chang’s vision for Sakya Jaigaon Monastery. To support this noble effort, a matching campaign will launch right before the Lunar New Year—which is February 17, 2026, according to the traditional Chinese calendar or February 18 according to the Tibetan calendar. And the good news is, your donation will be doubled! Generous donors will match the first $20,000 raised!

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Stay tuned—our next announcement will be forthcoming around the Lunar New Year!

Sincerely,

Your Friends at Sakya Monastery