Dear one,
Building a monastery collects incredible, vast amounts of merit, because it is a holy place containing Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. The number of atoms making up the monastery’s temple is the same number of lifetimes that you will be born as a king in the deva or human realm, with all wealth and power. The merits increase all the time, for eons. It is said in the text by the great Indian master Chandragomin: When the temple is built, even the workers who are building the temple and who killed worms and insects under their feet while working have their negative karma purified, they are not born in the lower realms. Any being touched by the smoke coming from the fire cooking food for the workers has their negative karma purified, and they receive a higher rebirth. This shows how building a monastery/temple is a very powerful way to benefit others. It is such a powerful way to purify karma and collect vast amounts of merit for sentient beings. It is so powerful that all your wishes for the people who are helping to build the temple are fulfilled. People who are helping to build the temple/monastery, who offer donations and time, even the people who are doing the work, all receive incredible purification, collect so much merit every day, and have all their wishes fulfilled.

Furthermore, Buddha said in the Mindfulness Sutra: Whoever has built the support [statue] and supporting [temple] well and arranged a place and for the needs of the Sangha will always have more and more happiness and virtue. The virtue can never be wasted or lost, even for millions of eons. One who has built the holy body of Buddha (statue), the holy speech of Buddha (scripture), the holy mind of Buddha (stupa), the kungarawa (temple or shelf for Dharma texts), and establishes the monastery (Sangha), gains very extensive merit, which is never lost and always increases.

The Great Son of the Victorious One, Shantideva, said, “The only medicine to heal the suffering of the transmigrator beings, and the originator of all happiness is the teaching of the Buddha. That depends only on the existence of the Sangha, who correctly preserve Dharma.” Therefore, one can see how important and essential is establishing a monastery and its existence. Also, Khedrub Gelek Palsang, Lama Tsongkhapa’s heart disciple, said every single panacea and happiness of all the embodied ones came from the teaching of the Victorious One. The foundation for increasing the ocean of the teaching of Buddha—the Sangha—is the great treasure of the water.

Normally, if there is a monastery or group of monks holding the lineage of the pratimoksha vows in a place, then it can be said that the teaching of the Buddha is present in that place. By building a monastery, the Sangha has the opportunity to practice the vinaya and preserve and spread the Dharma. So, it offers an incredible blessing and benefit to the world, the country, and to the area.