Venerable Lama Thubten Yeshe

Lama Thubten Yeshe was born in Tibet in 1935. At the age of six, he entered Sera Monastic University in Tibet where he studied until 1959, when as Lama Yeshe himself has said, “In that year the Chinese kindly told us that it was time to leave Tibet and meet the outside world.” Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche, together as teacher and disciple since their exile in India, met their first Western students in 1967. By 1971, they settled at Kopan, a small hamlet near Kathmandu in Nepal. In 1974, the Lamas began touring and teaching in the West, which would eventually result in The Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition. Lama Yeshe died in 1984.

An exquisite and definitive two-volume biography of Lama Yeshe, Big Love: The Life and Teachings of Lama Yeshe was published by the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive in 2020.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Big Love books, Kopan Monastery, Nepal, April 2020.

Look at modern society. Many people put themselves down; that's their worst problem. You can see this everywhere in the world; people put limitations on themselves, on their own reality.

Read a brief early history of both Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, from their youth to their founding the FPMT organization together in 1974.

Why have we established the FPMT? Why are we establishing these facilities all over the world? I think we are clean clear as to our aim—we want to lead sentient beings to higher education. We are an organization that gives people the chance to receive higher education. We offer people what we have the combined knowledge of Buddha’s teachings and the modern way of life. Our purpose is to share our experiences of this.

—Lama Yeshe

Read more about Lama Yeshe’s vision for FPMT.

 

The Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive has an extensive collection of books, teachings and advice from Lama Yeshe.

You can also find major publications of a number teachings from Lama through Wisdom Publications.

 

Lama Yeshe was known for his exuberant range of expressions, which you can enjoy in this small photo gallery from FPMT. You can also enjoy a more extensive gallery from the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

Please enjoy these tributes to the life of Lama Yeshe from the intimate perspectives of Lama’s friends and students, including words from Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Geshe Sopa Rinpoche, Dr. Jeffrey Hopkins, Father P. Bernard de Give, Katy Perlman and others.

Tenzin Osel Hita, born in Spain in 1984 by two of Lama Yeshe’s students, was recognized by His Holiness the Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of Lama Yeshe at the age of one.

You can read about Osel’s life and current activities, and find videos of public talks, a documentary he produced, read from his ongoing blog, and more.

 

——— Latest “Lama Yeshe’s Wisdom” Blog

Lama Yeshe’s Wisdom: Making the Most of Your Life

Lama Yeshe's Wisdom | March 6, 2024 -
In 1975 during their first trip to Europe, Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave a weekend seminar in England, once again demonstrating their charisma and knowledge, and the profound effect of Buddha’s wisdom on Western people. This seminar was … Read more »

 

 

You can see from your own life experiences how the environment can affect you. When you're among peaceful, generous, happy people, you're inclined to feel happy and peaceful yourself. When you're among angry, aggressive people, you tend to become like them. The human mind is like a mirror. Therefore, it is very important to be conscious of your surroundings and how they affect your mind.

Lama Thubten Yeshe teaching at University of California at Santa Cruz, 1978. Photo by Jon Landaw.