BIA (Bodhisattvas In Action) Foundation
Bodhisattvas In Action (BIA) is a non-government organization. It was established by Chogyal Rinpoche in Kathmandu and registered with the Government of Nepal in August 27, 2014. Contrary to the understanding of the legal form of a foundation in the rest of the world, in Nepal it is not necessarily established by means of a certain capital, but characterizes a not-for-profit organization raising funds for charitable purposes.
The Sanskrit term bodhisattva refers to an enlightened being and denotes an attitude of mind that is oriented towards supreme enlightenment. However, in the Himalayas it is traditionally used to describe someone who strives to act for the greater good of others without prejudice, preconceptions or expectations.
The heart of the BIA Foundation beats for:
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Significantly improving the livelihood of differently-abled people and empowering them through education, generation of skills and promotion of self-reliance. At the BIA Institute about 130 handicapped people are supported to enable them to walk and work their way back into light, and into a meaningful life.
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The preservation of Himalayan culture and religion.
a. The Nepal Buddhist Association has been established (1) to help communities in rural Nepal to rebuild their temples (gumbas) which were destroyed or severely damaged by the earthquake in 2015 ; (2) to provide these rural communities and their Ngakpas (Buddhist lay priests) with the chance to learn and study the Buddha Dharma, Buddhist philosophy and the practice and meaning of rituals; (3) to offer a platform for the exchange of knowledge and for joint practice.
b. The Nepal Buddhist Nunnery offers a chance to girls from low-income families to combine a solid basic education with a qualified and in-depth training in Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and meditation. The girls live as novices.
- Youth empowerment through formal education. BIA occasionally supports individual schools in rural Nepal to help improve their quality.
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Ad-hoc support for people or communities in need, e.g. relief work in the times of natural disasters or other crises, or in solving other societal problems.
Vision: To transform consciousness with the aim of creating the most beautiful and compassionate world imaginable through helping hands.
Mission: To bring compassion into action. To transform the world starting with one person at a time. To bring about significant meaning, as well as change, in communities and in society by helping those in need. To inspire others to follow suit.
Goal: To achieve continuous growth and development through collective efforts in order to create sustainable, impactful and compassionate projects for the benefit of the people and communities in need in Nepal.