Munsel Foundation Website

The Meaning Of The Foundation's Logo For Munsel School

Munsel in Tibetan means to dispel darkness. There are two kinds of darkness; an inner and an outer. Inner darkness is ignorance and confusion. Outer darkness is no light.

How do we abandon darkness? On an inner level we gain knowledge and wisdom by studying and meditating. On an outer level the sun and moon (and modern lighting) dispel darkness. Without the sun and moon people would not be alive.

The yak has lived with the Tibetan people for thousands of years and in the high mountain region of Nangchen are small villages of people who have been yak herders for generations. The yak is strong, gentle and useful. Yaks are a source of food, the hair is woven into clothes and tents and the dung is burned for fuel. All parts of the animal are used by the people. In this beautiful land the yak is the animal of the gods (lhayak) for they know that without them the people could not live.

The yak has two horns. In our logo one horn stands for compassionate wisdom and the other for worldly knowledge. Just as a yak has two horns so the students of Munsel School will study language, mathematics, and other subjects. They will study meditation and the teachings of compassion. This way the Munsel students will dispel the ignorance in their minds and in their hearts bringing wisdom's light and a good livelihood into their lives and the lives of others.

The time of just yak herding is past and now the people must find other ways to live and their children need schooling....they must be able to, at least, read and write