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In a novel way to attract new students to Buddhism, an organisation here is offering freebies like a five-day trip to Thailand's beaches, a free membership to a health club or even a dinner for two at a posh restaurant.
The Centre for Buddhist Studies that operates from a Tibetan monastery is offering these freebies to raise funds and create an academy where people can discover "the huge depth and modern applications of an ancient wisdom".
On Monday, when Nepal celebrates its greatest festival Dashain, temporarily free from gunfire with the Maoists having announced a nine-day ceasefire, the centre will hold its second annual symposium on Buddhist studies when scholars from American and Swiss colleges discuss the Buddhist approach to "genuine peace".
The symposium will also include a "silent auction" to raise funds for the centre. The auction has been made possible courtesy the centre's friends and suppliers in Nepal, who have donated items and facilities ranging from hotel stays and air tickets to traditional Tibetan paintings and handicraft.
The principal of the centre is Greg Whiteside, a former British aid worker who came to Nepal to work for a nongovernmental organisation and then, moved by the teachings of Buddhist scholars and teachers, became a Buddhist himself and decided to stay on.
The centre is located a stone's throw away from the great Boudhanath Stupa in Kathmandu, one of the most venerated Buddhist shrines in the world. It is located at the Ka-Nying Shedrup Ling monastery, popularly known as the Seto Gompa.
It was started three years ago by Tibetan monk Choki Nyima Rinpoche to combine traditional Buddhist monastic learning with modern university life. Recognised by Kathmandu University and other universities in the US and the UK, the centre offers a BA degree in Buddhist Studies that also includes the study of a Himalayan language - Nepalese or Tibetan - and Sanskrit.
Today it has 72 students from 16 countries as diverse as Tibet, Denmark and Australia, taught by a 12-member faculty, many of whom are volunteers.
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