About this Program

The Dzokden Children’s Program is a collection of initiatives dedicated to creating a natural bridge for youth to experience the Dharma and enter the path of Kalachakra.   These efforts are designed to make the teachings of Khentrul Rinpoche accessible and joyful, allowing the transformative power of Kalachakra to take root naturally in young minds.  We are developing a variety of creative materials that include:

• Children’s story and coloring books
• Graphic maps showing the history and growth of Buddhism over the world
• Illustrated stories of the lives of the great Tibetan and Indian Mahasiddhas
• Introduction to Your Buddhanature – The Zhentong View for Young Minds
• Imaginative playthings like stuffed animal toys such as the Tibetan Snow Lion with an accompanying storybook written by Khentrul Rinpoche

Our aim is to build this bridge, ensuring that the seeds of the Golden Dharma are planted early so that our children can navigate their lives with the clarity and compassion needed for the coming Golden Age.

Why This Project Matters

Many adults come to the Dharma later in life after years of searching for meaning, peace, and a more complete understanding of reality. This program offers children the opportunity to receive a foundation that many adults wish they had encountered earlier: an understanding that the mind can be trained, emotions can be worked with, compassion can be cultivated, and every being has profound inner potential. Children today face increasing levels of stress, distraction, emotional disconnection, and uncertainty. By introducing them to meditation, mindfulness, compassion, generosity, and Buddhanature in a joyful and age-appropriate way, we help them develop inner tools that can support them throughout their lives. This is not only about teaching children religious ideas. It is about helping them become grounded, kind, flexible, emotionally intelligent, and aware of the role their own mind plays in shaping their experience. These qualities are essential for navigating the challenges of modern life and for becoming positive influences in their families, schools, communities, and the world. The program also creates a welcoming space for families within Dzokden. It allows parents and children to engage with the Dharma together, strengthens community bonds, and helps make the teachings more accessible to the next generation.

Our Goals

The goal of the Dzokden Children’s Dharma Program is to foster the holistic well-being and spiritual development of children by offering an accessible, engaging, and joyful introduction to the Dharma. In the short term, we aim to help children:

• Develop emotional resilience and simple tools for calming the mind
• Understand and practice kindness, compassion, generosity, and patience
• Feel a sense of belonging within the Dharma community
• Build a positive and joyful relationship with meditation and spiritual practice
• Recognize their own innate goodness, wisdom, and Buddhanature

In the long term, we aspire to create:

• A sustainable children’s Dharma program that can be shared across Dzokden communities worldwide
• A library of high-quality Dharma resources for children and parents
• A replicable model for classes, teacher training, and family engagement
• A generation of young people who carry the seeds of peace, wisdom, and altruism into adulthood
• A meaningful contribution to the arising of a Golden Age of Peace from the inside out

A Bridge for the Next Generation

The Dzokden Children’s Dharma Program is a bridge between ancient wisdom and the lives of modern children. Through stories, meditation, creativity, community, and play, children can encounter the Dharma not as something distant or abstract, but as a living path that helps them understand themselves and care for the world around them. By supporting this program, we are helping ensure that the teachings of the Buddha, the Kalachakra path, and the wisdom of jonang Dharma remain alive and accessible for generations to come.