ORIGIN
One evening nearly forty years ago, a revered Tibetan Buddhist Master took a young writer to a place near Shey Palace and extolled a vision of a place of great learning. The elderly Master was Kyabje Thuksey Rinpoche, the young traveller was Andrew Harvey. Harvey wrote about this episode in his book ‘Journey in Ladakh’.Rinpoche passes away shortly after that encounter and reincarnated in Ladakh. The young Kyabje Thuksey Rinpoche is now in his mid-thirties and has completed masters degree studies at university in Bhutan. The young Rinpoche and his friends are manifesting the old Master’s vision at Druk PadmaKarpo School in Shey.
DRUK PADMA KARPO
The school is known locally as Druk Padma Karpo School, DPKS. The school is named after the Drukpa Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism and one of its revered scholars, Padma Karpo, who lived in the 16th century. Druk means dragon in the local language and Padma Karpo translates as White Lotus.
Druk Padma Karpo Educational Society (DPKES) is a small not-for-profit organisation, registered in 1998. DPKES owns and governs the Shey school and a branch school in Khachey, located about 5 hours’ drive away. The school is managed by a School Managing Committee.
PROJECT LAUNCH
The project really started in 1992 when Shey villagers requested His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa to provide schooling for their children. His Holiness turned to a small group of His students from England and they agreed to take on the project. The village of Shey gifted land to accommodate a substantial school. Drukpa Trust was registered as a charity in England in 1992, and the search for architects, engineers and money began.
Architects Jonathan Rose and Duncan Woodburn worked with His Holiness to prepare a Master Plan based upon a nine square mandala. Subsequently, Jonathan joined Arup and the firm took the project under its corporate wing on a pro bono basis.
School construction started in 1998 and the Shey school opened its doors to students in September 2001. Admissions were three times over-subscribed when the school accepted 88 students into Nursery and Lower Kindergarten. In 2013 the first group of students passed their matriculation exams and went on to further education.
White Lotus’s History timeline
2001
Druk Padma Karpo School is a co-educational private boarding cum day school located in Shey,Leh district, Union Territory of Ladakh, India. It was envisioned by His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa, Head of the Drukpa sect of Vajrayana (Tibetan) Buddhism in the year 2001, as a school modelled on the best schools in the rest of India whilst remaining conscious of Ladakhi culture and tradition.
2008
In the year 2008, a part of the blockbuster movie ‘’3 Idiots’’ was shot in the school, acknowledging and highlighting the innovative curriculum followed in the school which blends textbook education with practical learning.
2010
The school was partially inundated in the flash floods of 2010 which caused massive infrastructural damage and hindered education of the children. But due to the untiring efforts of His Holiness and his team, the school regained its glory after receiving tremendous domestic as well as international support.
2012
In the year 2012, the first batch of students sitting for their matriculation examination passed out with flying colours and since then every upcoming batches have been touching newer heights, surpassing the high standards set by their predecessors, making Druk Padma Karpo one of the most sought after schools in Ladakh.
Volunteer at DPKS
DPKS provides quality education in an exceptional learning environment for girls and boys (aged four to sixteen years) living in the remote Himalayan region of Ladakh, North India.