LIVE TO LOVE · In the Druk White Lotus School in Ladakh in India, children of all religious backgrounds are taught a modern curriculum in sustainably built classrooms and are empowered

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 VON  URS  STEINMANN      

LIVE TO LOVE Love is action

The goal of ‘Live  To  Love’   is to create a worldwide forum for people who are committed to doing good. The Gyalwang Drukpa stresses the value of action in combination with compassion when the referring to ‘Live to Love’ again and again.

“It really depends on the fact whether we act compassionately. When I talk about compassion, an understanding of all nature, the world, is important to me.”

During a talk on ‘love is action’ in September 2014 in Hamburg

the Gyalwang Drukpa pointed out the urgency of acting actively. The suffering in the world is immense, water is wasted and contaminated, the air is polluted – worldwide pollution has taken on a whole new scale. Therefore it is so important in our time to act. However our actions need to be heartfelt and originate from authentic compassion. Compassion is the essential point. It enables us to have a real understanding of us and others. When such compassion is implemented in active activity then we can speak of real love. If

compassion stays as just a theory, no helpful action can evolve from it and therefore no love can be created. That’s why we need a good understanding and our own wisdom ‘Live To Love’ offers possibilities to develop these skills in a way that contributes to social work. In collective voluntary work social competences can be developed and one’s own abilities and understandings extended. Consequently our actions gain effectiveness. The projects so far are situated in the Himalayas:

In 2007 in his effort to respond to the problems of modern life, the Gyalwang Drukpa, head of the 1000-year-old Tibetan Buddhist Drukpa tradition, launched the religion independent movement "Live To Love".  

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In the Druk White Lotus School in Ladakh in India, children of all religious backgrounds are taught a modern curriculum in sustainably built classrooms and are empowered in their cultural heritage.

In the ‘Live To Love Eyecamps’ in the Himalayas people are helped by means of micro surgery to remove cataracts. This treatment is free of charge for the poor population due to the worldwide fundraising efforts. The cooperation initiated by ‘Live To Love Germany’ and ‘Shades of Love’, a project where sunglasses are collected for the Himalayas, protects eyes which have been freshly operated upon.

The Gyalwang Drukpa leads hundreds of participants on extended spiritual walking tours through remote parts of the Indian subcontinent. Plastic rubbish is also collected on these tours and the local population is educated on the dangers of plastic.

Just short of 150.000 trees have been planted for the project ‘1 million trees for the Himalayas’ to stabilize the important ecosystem of the Himalayas. Most recently almost 100.000 trees were planted by 9800 volunteers in Ladakh.

The nuns of the Gyalwang Drukpa receive an education on par with that of the monks and also Kung-Fu training. Nearly all of the international leadership positions are held by women.

In case of disasters such as earthquakes or landslides Live To Love teams can use their good connections locally and offer fast effective help.

The latest international Live To Love-Project is a large dog’s home in Ladakh, India. This sort of caring empathy for animals in the Himalayas is something of a novelty.

Since 2007 ‘Live To Love Germany’, based in Hamburg, devotes itself to regional and international projects. It all began with grassroots campaigns, small projects which were implemented quickly and documented the holistic approach of ‘Live to Love’ in everyday life. Thus the Live-To-Love-Team visits homeless people of Hamburg’s streets in the winter on every third Sunday of the month, offering medicinal support when needed, bringing warm clothes, homemade cakes and soups as well as toiletries. During these meetings there are often moving conversations, many talk in a respectful atmosphere from life plans and their fortune. Plastic collection campaigns take place in public parks or river banks, tree plantings initiatives or visits to animal sanctuaries. These continued efforts have created a sound basis for a All of the Live To Love projects focus on the various areas which mirror the holistic approach of Live To Love: working structure which has evolved in the meantime into an association. In September 2014 the ‘Live To Love Germany’ foundation was created. In the next phase of the humanitarian work further commitments are planned, such as mindfulness projects in schools.

All of the Live To Love projects focus on the various areas which mirror the holistic approach of Live To Love:

• Education • Environmental & animal protection • Worldwide equality of women • Medical care and crisis support in

disaster areas • Preservation of cultural heritage

Further  information  about  the  Gyalwang  Drukpa:  www.drukpa.org    Information  about  Live  To  Love  and  the  German  Live  To  Love  foundation:  www.live-­‐to-­‐love-­‐germany.org  www.livetolove.org