Atisha Centre in Australia received two 2024 Merit Box grants to refurbish their golden Buddha statue and complete their Kadampa stupa project. Photo courtesy of Atisha Centre.

The International Merit Box Project was created in order to cultivate generosity as part of a daily practice and in turn help provide resources for local projects that are fulfilling the FPMT mission. The program began in 2001 with students and communities keeping a small Merit Box on their altars or elsewhere to make and collect offerings in. Although new physical Merit Boxes have not been distributed in recent years, offerings are still being collected from FPMT students, centers, projects and services worldwide.

The collected offerings are disbursed annually as grants supporting a wide range of Dharma activity. To date, 370 grants have been awarded over the years, with US$1,258,580 in total being disbursed! This generosity has provided needed aid for holy objects, book publishing, retreat sponsorship, social service projects, translation work, Dharma libraries, education initiatives and trainings, and many Dharma activities!

The gompa and community house for Pamtingpa Center, Washington, USA. The center received a 2024 Merit Box grant to build a septic system for the building.

Recently, US$19,000 in grant awards for the 2024 giving cycle were disbursed through the Merit Box Fund for sixteen projects of FPMT communities in Australia, France, Italy, Mongolia, Romania, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.

FPMT Mongolia received a 2024 Merit Box grant for their Mahayana Children’s Program. Photo courtesy of FPMT Mongolia.

Projects that received funding include a translation of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s new book The Power of Meditation into Italian, FPMT Mongolia’s Mahayana Children’s Program, and the Planetary Crisis Summit hosted by Jamyang Buddhist Centre in London earlier this year. Grants have also provided aid for a number of repairs and renovations to center facilities, making the entrances to Tse Chen Ling’s center in the USA accessible for people with disabilities, and to help build a septic system for the rural buildings of Pamtingpa Center, USA. Other grants have been awarded supporting eight holy objects – stupas, statues, prayer wheels and thangkas.

The full list of grant recipients can be found here.  A huge thanks to all of the generous donors to the Merit Box Fund who have made these grants possible!

Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.

Statue of Lama Yeshe for the main altar of Langri Tangpa Centre, Australia, per the advice of Lama Zopa Rinpoche. The statue was designed by Denise Griffin. Photo courtesy Langri Tangpa Centre.

The International Merit Box Project began in 2001 as a generosity practice for the international FPMT community. For many years, students and centers kept Merit Boxes close by so they could gradually make offerings throughout the year, before sending them in to be used for annual grants to FPMT centers, projects, services and study groups, and any project aligned with the FPMT mission.

Although we are now in a digital age and no longer distributing new physical Merit Boxes for student use, the Merit Box Project continues to receive generous support from FPMT students and communities around the world. Since 2001, an amazing US$1,239,580 in funding has been distributed through 354 Merit Box Project grants. We invite you to rejoice in the immense generosity received from thousands of students around the world!

This year we have already received over a dozen new applications for 2024 grants. All Merit Box offerings collected until April 30 will be used for this year’s grant awards.

As a means of rejoicing and outlining one project that has benefited from the International Merit Box Project, we are sharing today a recent update from a Merit Box grant recipient about their successful project. Laura Laakso, the director of Langri Tangpa Centre in Brisbane, Australia, shares her report:

Langri Tangpa Centre Shares their Merit Box Report

The Centre commissioned Denise Griffin to sculpt a statue of Lama Yeshe to complete Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s instructions regarding the Centre’s main altar. Peter Griffin was involved in certain steps and one is the gilding of the statue. The grant was to cover this step of the project.

The accomplishment is an awe-inspiring statue of Lama Yeshe that Lama Zopa was very happy with.

Denise Griffin wrote an email to Ven. Roger on February 22, 2023, and said in part “I have been working on a new Lama Yeshe Statue for Langri Tangpa Center, Brisbane, to be one of the statues on their altar. They have generously said once the statue is complete, for me to make a mould of the statue (so there is the possibility for casts being made by others). Also as part of this commission, they would like Venerable Lama Zopa to have the opportunity to give feedback on the artwork, and for me to make any requested changes.”

Ven. Roger replied in email dated February 28 to say, “Rinpoche said this is very good! very good! this is excellent, on the basis of this you can make life size! this is extremely good!”

The process involved:

1. Denise finishing the statue and implements to the point photos were sent to Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
2. Peter then made the mould of the statue.
3. A cast was made from the mould and this was gilded by Peter, see photo below.
4. Denise painted the face and other finishing touches.
5. The statue is now ready to ship to the Centre from the Griffin’s studio in France.

Peter griffin applying the gold guilding to the beautifully crafted statue of Lama Yeshe by Denise Griffin. Photo courtesy Langri Tangpa Centre.

The grant received in 2021 was US$1,000. It was used for the labour of gilding for US$743 and made a contribution of US$257 to the materials for gilding, the gold leaf and Nepalese powdered gold, which had increased in cost with COVID to US$861.

A key reason for the delay in the timing for this statue was the priority on the time of Denise Griffin to complete a large White Tara statue to be offered to Rinpoche during the long life puja in December 2022.

Denise visited Kopan in mid-November for two weeks. She took a cast to show Ven. Roger and discuss the process of having other centres knowing about the statue and the ability to commission. Denise is very appreciative of the fact that Langri Tangpa Centre has funded the cost of the mould to enable this to happen.

We rejoice and share our thanks for all the positive effects and generosity shown through the Merit Box Project and the kind support of all the Merit Box practitioners, coordinators, and friends. All are welcome to support the continuation of these grants. Support received until April 30 will be used for this year’s grants.

The International Merit Box Project is a charitable project of FPMT International Office. You can learn more about the Merit Box Project or offer support for future grants, or explore our many other FPMT Charitable Projects.

New Padmasambhava statue at Nagarjuna Madrid, Spain, which received a Merit Box grant for the statue project in 2022. Photo courtesy of Nagarjuna Madrid.

The International Merit Box Project began in 2001 as a generosity practice for the international FPMT community. For many years, students and centers kept Merit Boxes close by so they could gradually make offerings throughout the year, before sending them in as offerings to help support the  mission of the FPMT organization. These offerings become grants awarded annually through International Office for a wide range of projects within the FPMT mandala and beyond. We rejoice in the latest cycle of Merit Box grants awarded in 2023 and reports of completed projects from 2022 grants below:

Although we are now in a digital age and no longer distributing new physical Merit Boxes for student use, the Merit Box Project continues to receive generous support from FPMT students and communities around the world.

To date, an amazing US$1,239,580 in funding has been distributed through 354 Merit Box Project grants. This year marked the 21st annual grant cycle, with US$22,800 in funds going out to twelve Dharma projects. Support was awarded for center repairs and improvements, staffing support, relocating a stupa due to local zoning conflicts, the first Italian translation of Lama Yeshe’s Becoming Vajrasattva, and others. We invite you to see the full list of 2023 grant recipients for rejoicing!

Progress on 2022 Merit Box Grant Recipients

We recently received progress reports from last year’s Merit Box grant recipients. In 2022, there were twenty-eight grants awarded, totaling US$61,875 in support. Some project highlights include:

Tushita Meditation Center in Spain completed a dramatic transformation of a building into a beautiful new Dharma center and gompa, thanks to a lot of generous volunteer help and funding from a number of sources, including a 2022 Merit Box grant. Another Spanish center, Nagarjuna Alicante, completed much needed repairs to their building with partial support from a Merit Box grant.

The transformation of the new Tushita Meditation Center, Spain. Photos courtesy of Tushita Meditation Center.

Chandrakirti Center in Australia is working to complete one of the first large prayer wheels in the world to be utilizing a new zinc polyester foil microfilm technique, which dramatically increases the potential to have trillions of mantras included inside the prayer wheels. The technology was pioneered by FPMT sangha member Ven. Tenzin Drachom of Amitabha Buddhist Centre in Singapore. With some support from a Merit Box grant in addition to other funding, Chandrakirti center was able to obtain all of the needed microfilm, bearing trillions of printed mantras, and is nearing completion of the large prayer wheel now.

Left: the microfilm that holds trillions of mantras for the large prayer wheel. Right: the prayer wheel house and base. Photos courtesy of Chandrakirti Centre.

Nagarjuna Center in Madrid, Spain was able to raise the funds needed for a large Padmasambhava statue that was recommended by Lama Zopa Rinpoche. The statue has arrived at the center and will be filled. Another holy object-related grant in 2022 helped fund a new altar at Nalanda Monastery that now displays a striking collection of Sixteen Arhats statues.

Three centers received Merit Box grants last year for the purpose of supporting retreats. Kalachakra Retreat Center in France received aid to complete new retreat cabins, which are now fully built and have already been used by practitioners. A grant contributing to the retreat scholarship fund established at Milarepa Center, US, helped several students in need to be able to attend retreats at the center. Land of Calm Abiding, US, a center supporting long-term and private retreat, received funds to purchase vital propane for heat.

One of the new retreat cabins at Kalackhakra Retreat Center, France, which received a Merit Box grant in 2022. Photo courtesy of Kalachakra Retreat Center.

Some publication projects receiving grants last year reached their goals, including one by Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive, US, which published a new text of Lama Yeshe earlier this year, titled Knowledge-Wisdom: The Peaceful Path to Liberation – Collected Teachings, Volume 1. The FPMT-affiliated publishing service, Editiones Mahayana in France, published their translation of the classic lamrim text Essence of Nectar by Lama Yeshe Tsundru. Other publication projects continue to progress, including Tara Lanka Study Group sponsoring a translation of the Pearl Garland anthology, which will be the first lamrim texts to be published in Sinhalese and distributed in Sri Lanka. Shiwa Lha Center in Brazil is continuing to oversee a Portuguese translation of Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand by Pabongkha Rinpoche, which is in progress.

Repaying the Kindness (RTK), a unique social service project created by students of Jamyang Buddhist Center, London, has been offering local caregivers a free community program for respite, fun, connection and support. Caregivers are often under-supported in the compassionate work they do, and for many years now the RTK project has been bringing caregivers together for community activities, and have received a number of Merit Box grants.

Participants of the Repaying the Kindness program organized by Jamyang Center, London. Photo courtesy of Repaying the Kindness.

Collection of Merit Box offerings has begun for the next cycle of grants to be issued in May/June of 2024. We invite you to rejoice in the immense generosity received from thousands of students around the world, as well as all of the compassionate hard work of those who have helped bring hundreds of wonderful Dharma projects to fruition since 2001!

The International Merit Box Project is a charitable project of FPMT International Office. You can learn more about the Merit Box Project or offer support for future grants, or explore our many other FPMT Charitable Projects.

The Merit Box Project celebrates its twentieth year of awarding grants this year.

Currently, applications are being accepted for projects and initiatives that align with the FPMT mission. Most often these grant recipients are local FPMT centers, projects, services, and study groups. Since its inception, the Merit Box Project has awarded 314 grants, totaling US$1,154,905.

In 2020, the Merit Box Fund was designated specifically for financial relief of hardship caused by the pandemic. All twenty-one grants that year were used for that purpose, offering US$31,368 in emergency funds to centers affected by the early lock-downs and forced closures.

In 2021, the hardship grants were still available, but less requests for these came in.  Last year’s grant cycle looked more like previous years of the Merit Box Project, with grants being awarded for center repairs and facility upgrades, new statue projects, publishing Lama Yeshe’s Becoming Your Own Therapist in French, and one FPMT student’s regular feeding of street dogs and monkeys in Kathmandu. One center received a grant to upgrade their audio/visual equipment to help their transition to offering more online content, a change many centers and students have become familiar with during the past two years.

Artists preparing the clay mold to be used for a Padmasambhava statue for Nalanda Monastery in France. The project received a Merit Box grant in 2021. Photo courtesy of Nalanda Monastery.

The deadline for grant applications and donations for this grant year is March 31. Information about grant eligibility can be requested by emailing International Office, and donations for the Merit Box Fund can be received until then. All donations received by this date will be used for this year’s grants.

In May, the International Merit Box Project disbursed sixteen new grants for Dharma projects and activities in six countries, totaling US$37,455 for the year. This was the fifteenth cycle of annual of Merit Box grants. Since the Project was created in 2001, there have been 248 grants—totaling US$1,014,785—awarded!

Individuals and FPMT communities all over the world make offerings into their ”Merit Box” throughout the year. During collection season, students and communities turn in their accumulated offerings. These offerings are then pooled together and distributed as grants to a variety of projects and services that are working to fulfill the FPMT mission.

A broad range of activities and communities in a number of countries have benefited from Merit Box grants. Book publishing, building holy objects and retreat cabins, repairing practice facilities, aiding social services, helping practitioners do retreat, and digital Dharma initiatives are just some of the activities that have been supported by the International Merit Box Project over the years. On many occasions these grants have made the difference between whether small Dharma communities find the necessary funding to complete their projects or not.

Kurukulla Center in Medford, MA, USA, received a 2017 grant to help with both cosmetic and more serious structural repairs needed for its building, which is over 100 years old. Photo courtesy Kurukulla Center.

Listed below are the projects that received a Merit Box grant in 2017:

• FPMT Education Services (USA) – Master’s Program Study Manual
• FPMT Hispana (Spain) – Master’s Program translation support
• Le Editions Mahayana (France) – Publication of Bodhisattva Attitude in French
• International Mahayana Institute (France) – Support for IMI Sangha attending retreats with Lama Zopa Rinpoche
• Jamyang Buddhist Centre (UK) – Repaying the Kindness Project
• Kadampa Center (USA) – Media support for Light of the Path
• Kunsang Yeshe Centre (Australia) – Yellow Tara statue
• Kurukulla Center (USA) – Repairs and Restoration of Building Exterior Project
• Land of Calm Abiding (USA) – Propane for staff housing
• Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive (USA) – Big Love biography
• Mahamudra Centre (Australia) – Foundation Service Seminar airfare for facilitators
• MAITRI Charitable Trust (India) – Care of Animal Beings Project   
• Maitripa College (USA) – Library and/or education initiatives
• Milarepa Center (USA) – Renovations and repair projects
• Centro La Sabiduría de Nagarjuna (Spain) – New center project
• Tara Home (USA) – End of life services

The project for this new large Yellow Tara statue for Kunsang Yeshe Centre in Australia is nearing completion. Photo courtesy Kunsang Yeshe Centre.

The new cycle of accumulation has begun already for 2018. If you would like start accumulating offerings with your own Merit Box practice, you can order a free Merit Box for your home or office altar on the Foundation Store website.

From the facilitator training retreat, Land of Joy, UK, July 2016. Photo courtesy of FDCW.

Seven months ago, the International Merit Box Project awarded twenty-one grants to a variety of Dharma projects, made possible solely from the collected offerings of Merit Box practitioners around the world.

One of these grants funded a retreat to train the first group of facilitators for the a.r.t. of Fulfillment, a new education program created by the Foundation for Developing Compassion and Wisdom (FDCW).

According to FDCW, the a.r.t. of Fulfillment program “is a systematic inquiry into how you can lead a more fulfilling and meaningful life in the 21st century.” The international team of educators that designed the a.r.t. of Fulfillment program drew upon their expertise in a number of modern Western disciplines—including psychology, philosophy, and experiential learning—in addition to the wisdom tradition of Buddhism. It is designed both for a general audience and for those who have been involved in previous Universal Education courses.

The a.r.t. of Fulfillment program map. Image courtesy of FDCW.

The flagship July 2016 training was held as a week-long retreat at Land of Joy in the UK, and consisted of a selected group of FPMT-registered teachers. Those at the retreat were offered the course first as participants before then training in facilitation methods. It is thought that experiencing the program from the perspectives of both student and instructor can better inform how to teach it.

In addition to learning how to facilitate a.r.t. of Fulfillment courses, one of the broader training outcomes of the retreat was to expose participants to modern teaching methods that they could use in any class setting. “[The training was designed] to develop and experience new teaching skills, using modern, experiential methodologies,” says Grace Gyatso, director of the FDCW. Such skills could make for more effective learning for students taking traditional Buddhist courses in FPMT communities.

From the facilitator training retreat, Land of Joy, UK, July 2016. Photo courtesy of FDCW.

Because of this training, which was supported by the generosity of Merit Box practitioners, there are now eleven certified a.r.t. of Fulfillment facilitators living in seven different countries. With facilitators spread out around the world, the program can potentially be offered on at least three different continents.

So far, there are a number of a.r.t. programs scheduled in the UK in 2017. Ven. Tenzin Chokyi and Don Handrick are scheduled to the lead the first of these programs in the United States at Vajrapani Institute in California from June 30–July 9.

You can view the full calendar of scheduled a.r.t. of Fulfillment courses:
http://compassionandwisdom.org/news-and-events/calendar/listings/range.listevents/-?catids=88&year=2017&month=01&day=17

This is just one of the twenty-one Merit Box grants awarded to Dharma projects last year:
https://fpmt.org/wp-content/uploads/projects/fpmt/merit-box/International-Merit-Box-Project-Distribution-2016.pdf

Collection season for 2017 Merit Box grants is happening now through March 31. If you have a Merit Box and want to send in your offerings, contact https://fpmt.org/fpmt/iofstaff/donor-services/. Get a free Merit Box today:
https://shop.fpmt.org/Merit-Box-_p_619.html

Dr. Thubten Jinpa was the first speaker for Maitripa College’s Mindfulness and Compassion Initiative in 2015. Photo by Chris Majors.

The International Merit Box Project has reached its 15th year, and 21 new Merit Box grants totaling US$33,500 were awarded in May for qualified projects and initiatives spanning six countries.

The funding for the grants comes from a year’s worth of accumulated Merit Box offerings by FPMT communities and individual Merit Box practitioners. Merit Box grants are given to projects, services and initiatives around the world that are working to fulfill the mission of FPMT. This year’s recipients were chosen out of a pool of 34 applications.

The 2016 grants will offer support to a variety of projects and programs. To name a few:

• Five projects constructing holy objects, including Kurukulla statues at the Land of Joy retreat center in the UK and Ocean of Compassion Buddhist Center in California.
• Six book publishing projects, including a set of teachings by Lama Yeshe, and new editions of the Sanghata Sutra and Golden Light Sutra published in French.
• Tech support for the Light of the Path retreat in August at Kadampa Center in the US.
• Initiatives like the Repaying the Kindness Project in the UK, Maitripa College’s Mindfulness and Compassion Initiative, and Foundation Learning Programme educator training facilitated by the Foundation for Developing Compassion and Wisdom.
• Support for Land of Calm Abiding, the Liberation Prison Project, MAITRI Charitable Trust’s Care for Animal Beings Project, and more.

To see a complete list of the 2016 Merit Box grants, click here.

To become a Merit Box practitioner, one can order a free Merit Box to have for your home, altar or desk. One then makes small offerings into your Merit Box throughout the year. Collectively, these offerings have made a big difference, giving nearly US$1 million to over 200 Dharma projects in the past 15 years.

A Merit Box grant was given in 2015 for IMI Sangha to attend last year’s retreats with Lama Zopa Rinpoche in the Netherlands and Mexico (pictured here).

Each year the International Merit Box Project has a collection and grant application season when Merit Box practitioners send in their accumulated offerings for the year, and Dharma communities, projects and services apply for grants. That season is closing at the end of March. From now until then, the International Merit Box Project hopes to see a lot of activity coming from around the globe through grant applications and donations. 

The Merit Box Project was created in 2002 to foster generosity practice for individuals, while serving to provide grant funding to projects that are working to fulfill the FPMT mission. To date over 200 projects, services and initiatives have been supported by Merit Box grants, with the amount reaching nearly 1 million US dollars collectively.

Jamyang Buddhist Centre London’s Repaying the Kindness service project has been able to continue compassionately supporting care providers in part by Merit Box grants received in recent years.

Merit Box grants have helped myriad forms of compassionate activity come to fruition and can be indispensable for communities facing challenges in their local fundraising. Grants have supported Sangha to attend retreats; the creation of new holy objects, book publications, service programs, and retreat cabins; much-needed repair work, and so on. All this coming from individuals placing small offerings into their Merit Boxes at home throughout the year. Now approaching its fifteenth grant season, the International Merit Box Project is an annual display of the effects of collective generosity within the FPMT community.

The deadline for submitting a Merit Box grant application for a 2016 grant (awarded in May-June 2016) is March 31, 2016. Request a grant application by emailing meritbox@fpmt.org

One can join the international project and become a Merit Box practitioner by ordering a free Merit Box from the Foundation Store, or contribute immediately to the project online here. Donations received by March 31st, 2016 will be collected for the 2016 grant awards.

IMI Sangha members at Maitreya Instituut, Loenen, Netherlands, July 2015. Photo via IMI on Facebook. A Merit Box grant provided support for IMI Sangha to attend the teachings with Lama Zopa Rinpoce at Maitreya Instituut.

With a special thanks for all those who submitted or helped coordinate Merit Box offerings over the past year, it’s time to rejoice! A new set of 14 Merit Box grants have been awarded for 2015. Disbursements will be sent out this month to support a number of Dharma endeavors.

Here are some highlights of Merit Box grants awarded this year:

• One grant provided support for IMI Sangha (FPMT nuns and monks) to attend the retreat with Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Maitreya Instituut Loenen, Netherlands in July.

• Buddha House, an FPMT center in Australia, is building statues of Ganapati and the 16 Arhats following Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice. The project will be partially funded by their forthcoming grant.

FPMT Europe regional meeting group photo, Maitreya Instituut, Loenen, Netherlands, July 2015. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

• FPMT Europe will receive much-needed support to further the coordination efforts between their very active regional and national offices. There are 50 centers, study groups, projects and services in Europe, including long-term retreat centers and two centers offering the FPMT Masters Program!

• A grant was awarded to Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive for the publication of Lama Yeshe’s Gyalwa Gyatso teachings given at a course in Italy in 1983. They will be transcribed, edited and prepared into a print book and ebook for interested students around the world.

Dr. Thupten Jinpa speaking at Maitripa College in May 2015, the first event of the Mindfulness and Compassion Initiative, Portland, Oregon, USA. Photo courtesy of Maitripa College.

• At Maitripa College in the USA, grants have been awarded for two projects. One will fund the need for expanded shelving to house the immense collection of texts bequeathed to the Maitripa Library by their dear late professor, Buddhist scholar Dr. James Blumenthal. 

  The second grant will be applied for the development of a new Mindfulness and Compassion initiative. Yangsi Rinpoche, president of Maitripa College, comments, “This initiative is a major development towards incorporating the advice given to Maitripa College by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in May 2013. We are so grateful to be within the FPMT family. We recognize that the Merit Box grants are a result of incredible generosity from every angle, and we are so appreciative for the awards we received this year.”

Eight other great projects will also receive funding support through the Merit Box Project. Please see the complete list of grants here!

Becoming a Merit Box practitioner is easy! Order a free Merit Box kit for your altar, and start making offerings throughout the year into your Merit Box. Collection for the 2016 grants will take place from December 2015 through March 2016. Please contact meritbox@fpmt.org with any questions or requests.