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Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Sangha offering animal liberation practice at Kachoe Dechen Ling, Aptos, CA, USA. November 2013, Photo by Ven. Thubten Kunsang.
When Lama Zopa Rinpoche is at his residence in Calfornia, Kachoe Dechen Ling, he often joins in the weekly animal liberations that the Sangha do on behalf of all who are sick. These liberations include extensive prayers and practice, according to Rinpoche’s advice, with emphasizes taking the animals around holy objects (At Kachoe Dechen Ling they are taken around the stupa which, itself, has many smaller stupas and tsa-tsas lining every edge), and blessing them with mantras and water blessed by mantra before they are released.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Sangha offering animal liberation practice. November 2013, Photo by Ven. Thubten Kunsang.
In these photos, Lama Zopa Rinpoche is carrying worms that have been liberated (these worms would have been used as bait for catching fish). Rinpoche is carrying them with this right arm, which is still healing following Rinpoche’s stroke, so this practice also serves a form of exercise. The Sangha circumambulate, chant mantras and prayers and offer incense. The animal liberation practice is typically offered in the afternoon, but often when Rinpoche is in the house it can happen very late at night.
You can learn more about the Animal Liberation Fund and offer your support.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche offering puja.
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Lama Zopa Rinpoche circumambulating the stupas on the way to front door of Kachoe Dechen Ling, October, 2013. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Every day, Sangha at Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s residence in Aptos, CA, make three long life and 13 Mitukpa tsa-tsas as well as three small Kadampa stupas which are filled with a roll of the Four Dharmakaya Relic Mantras. These are dedicated to any person who is sick with prayers that they may immediately recover, be liberated from samsara, and may achieve enlightenment quickly. In addition, on the eighth day of the Tibetan month, three Eight Medicine Buddhas tsa-tsas are also made. On the thirtieth, one 12-inch (30-centimeter) tall Padmasambhava tsa-tsa is made.
After the tsa-tsas and stupas are made they are used in other stupas that many people circumambulate when visiting Kachoe Dechen Ling. All the stupas and tsa tsas that are made are utilized in this way, given to others to use, or they go inside larger stupas that are being built. As each tsa-tsa is an image of a buddha it is created and cared for with utmost respect at all times.
Rinpoche has commented often on the benefits of holy objects and how stupas can be used on the path to enlightenment.
You can offer any amount to the daily holy object creation at Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s residence.
IVY Nyung-Na participants with the beautiful altar set up for this special practice.
One of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s vast visions for the FPMT organization is to sponsor 1,000 Nung-Nä retreats. About this retreat practice Rinpoche commented, “Nyung-Näs take such a short time, but bring strong purification. So many eons can be purified in this life; it makes it so easy to have attainments.”
Nyung-Nä practice is an intensive 2-day purification retreat that includes fasting, precepts, prostrations, prayers, mantra recitation, and offerings. Nyung-Nä is a practice based on the deity, 1,000 armed Chenrezig, the Buddha of Compassion, and is extremely powerful for healing illness, purifying negative karma, and opening the heart to compassion.
1,000 Armed Chenrezig by Peter Iseli
O Arya Compassionate-eyed One
Who is the treasure of compassion
I request you please listen to me.
Please guide myself mothers and fathers
In all six realms to be freed quickly
From the great ocean of samsara.
I request that the vast and profound
Peerless awakening mind may grow.
With the tear of your great compassion
Please cleanse all karmas and delusions.
Please lead with your hand of compassion
Me and migrators to fi elds of bliss.
Please, Amitabha and Chenrezig,
In all my lives be virtuous friends.
Show well the undeceptive pure path
And quickly place us in Buddha’s state.
—- From the Concluding Ceremony, Nyung-Na Practice Manual
Institut Vajra Yogini (IVY) in France is now hosting the third set of 108 Nyung-Näs, with four people trying to do the full 108, some of them being sponsored by Lama Zopa Rinpoche himself through the Bodhichitta Fund. From November through the beginning of March, an amazing 73 participants have accumulated 572 individual Nyung-Näs. This is something incredible in which to rejoice!
You can read commentary from Lama Zopa Rinpoche about this powerful practice courtesy of the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.
FPMT Education Services has published a Nyung Nä practice manual with everything you need to complete this retreat. It can be purchased on the FPMT Foundation Store.
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Lama Zopa Rinpoche and one of the beautiful Namgyälma boards being used to bless sentient beings in the Pacific Ocean and all who come into contact with it.
In addition to the weekly animal liberations offered by the Sangha at Kachoe Dechen Ling – Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s California residence, Lama Zopa Rinpoche has requested the Sangha to also make weekly trips to the Pacific Ocean in order to bless all the beings living in the ocean, by using large Namgyälma mantra boards. This practice benefits all sentient beings in the ocean as well as all who touch the ocean, swim in the ocean, surf, etc. The Pacific Ocean is the world’s largest ocean (69,375,000 square miles) so by blessing this ocean, the benefit spreads far and wide. As well as blessing the sentient beings in the ocean and those who interact with the ocean, extensive practice involving visualization and mantra recitation is also done in accordance with advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche. An excerpt from this beautiful practice, the abbreviated Yeshe Kadra practice:
From the introduction:
Pretas suffer heavily of hunger and thirst – not finding even a drop of water or a spoonful of food for hundreds of thousands of eons; incredible exhaustion; disappointment; heat and cold, etc. In particular, the pretas experience three types of obscurations: outer, inner, and obscurations related to food and drink. This practice of “Yeshe Karda” is a practice whereby every single preta, of all the different types of pretas, receives drink.
From the actual practice:
For all pretas, whom the Omniscient Mind sees, this ocean of water appears as nectar. All pretas see it as an ocean of milk; they drink it and are fully satisfied. It liberates them from all sufferings, defilements, and the causes of sufferings – karma and delusions, including the specific sufferings of pretas. All these are purified and they actualize the whole path to enlightenment.
The practice is dedicated to all beings, especially for the long life of our precious gurus and and with Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s recommended dedication practices.
Here you can see Rinpoche doing this very practice with Sangha
About the Namgyälma mantra, Lama Zopa Rinpoche has said:
“Namgyälma is one of the five powerful deities that manifested to purify negative karma. The benefits of reciting the five powerful mantras are mind blowing. If you recite the mantras for anyone who has been born in the lower realms, it has the power to liberate them into a pure land and so forth. That’s an incredible thing. The mantra when written can be put on the head of a person or animal who has passed away. Or you can chant this mantra and then blow on water or sand, which you throw over the body to purify. These mantras are very important and powerful in the jangwa prayers.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Sangha and students using the Namgyälma boards to bless all who come into contact with the Pacific Ocean.
“Before reciting the mantra one can do the seven-limb prayer. Then make a request to Namgyalma for oneself and all sentient beings to be completely purified of all negative karmas and all those who are already in the lower realms to be immediately born in the pure land, where they can attain enlightenment, or to receive perfect human rebirth, meet the pure Mahayana teachings and be guided by perfectly qualified Mahayana gurus. Also, all the different negative karmas of sentient beings causing war, earthquakes, famine, disease, etc. to be purified, to not happen again in the future.
“Generate strong compassion. Recite the long mantra several times and then the short mantra. As you recite the mantra, visualize nectar beams are emitted, purifying the negative karmas of every sentient being since beginningless rebirth. They all receive the blessings of Namgyälma.”
Extracted from advice given by Lama Zopa Rinpoche following the tsunami tragedy, Kachoe Dechen Ling, December 28th 200.
Long Namgyälma Mantra
Further Reading/Resources
- Mandala Publications, “Lama Zopa Rinpoche Blesses All Sentient Beings in the Ocean “
- Practices of Namgyälma hardcopy collection of practices
- Namgyälma Mantra Card
- Namgyälma Mantra Decal Stickers
- Namgyälma Protection Amulet
You are welcome to contribute any amount to this weekly practice:
The Benefits of Building Stupas
- Help purify their mind
- Help collect merit, which is the cause of all happiness and all success
- Help heal their body and mind through purification specifically due to the power of the stupa, meditating on and seeing the holy object
- Help to preserve Tibetan Mahayana culture
The children of Central School for Tibetans are offered a good quality vegetarian meal every day for lunch, through the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche, through the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund, is sponsoring all the midday (lunch) meals for the children of the Central School for Tibetans in Bylakuppe in South India. The cost for this is US$8,086.61 for the year.
In April 2013 Rinpoche also offered US$30,000 for the complete renovation of this school’s kitchen.
The vegetarian meals are prepared in the new kitchen, also sponsored by the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche visited the school in January of this year for the inauguration of the kitchen. At that time Rinpoche wished to offer more support to the school and pledged to offer lunch for the children for all of 2014. The children are offered a good quality vegetarian lunch that is prepared daily in the new kitchen.
Please rejoice! This offering will allow the school to focus more of their limited resources on the educational curriculum.
You can donate any amount to the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund:
Pamtingpa Center’s nearly complete stupa, Tonasket, Washington, US, January 2014. Photo by Su Ianniello.
Su Ianniello, spiritual program coordinator at Pamtingpa Center, a small FPMT center in north central Washington in the United States, shares in the April-June 2014 issue of Mandala the story of how the students there came together to fulfill Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice to build a stupa.
“A few years ago, Lama Zopa Rinpoche came to the land. As we were all leaving, Rinpoche turned and looked out over the mountains and said, ‘A stupa here.’ That’s how our stupa building project began,” Su writes. “We were still trying to figure out how complete the project two years later. When Lama Zopa Rinpoche came back to town, he told us to build the gompa first, giving us some funds to begin this new project. However, a few weeks after Rinpoche left, we got a message to go back to the stupa project, using the funds for the gompa. These were some good lessons in flexibility.”
Read the complete story with our online edition for Mandala April-June 2014.
Mandala brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings and events from over 160 FPMT centers, projects and services around the globe. If you like what you read on Mandala, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.
Dagri Rinpoche offering to Lama Zopa Rinpoche during the long life puja. Photo by Ven. Sarah Thresher.
Ven. Sarah Thresher provided us with the following report on a beautiful long life puja offered to Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Root Institute, Bodhgaya, India.
Losar started very early morning with Yamantaka and Palden Lhamo prayers before dawn. Dagri Rinpoche stayed over at Root Institute to join Rinpoche for the prayers. Before dawn the monks served early morning Tibetan tea and kapse.
After breakfast people began arriving for the long life puja for Lama Zopa Rinpoche requested by Dagri Rinpoche and Root Institute. Representatives from various Indian centers and the two Maitreya Projects in Bodhgaya and Kushinagar led Rinpoche into the gompa. Rinpoche went first to offer body, speech and mind to the decorated throne of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and then the throne of Lama Yeshe. This Losar was the 30th anniversary of Lama Yeshe’s passing away.
Dagri Rinpoche and Keutsang Rinpoche both took part in the Losar long life puja for Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
Dagri Rinpoche and Keutsang Rinpoche both took part in the puja along with several rows of monks from Sera Je Monastery. Even though Bodhgaya is not busy now, the gompa was full with people showing up from all over to pray for the guru’s long life. Following the tsog offering, Rinpoche took the microphone and began teaching. First, he explained how important these fifteen days of Losar are, the days that commemorate Buddha displaying miracles to subdue the Tirthika teachers, because at this time merit multiplies many 100 millions of times. Rinpoche commented that for lazy people like himself (!) it was an opportunity to make up for time lost the rest of the year when no practice was done.
Rinpoche then continued with a beautiful talk about the qualities of Lama Yeshe and the importance of the guru. He quoted Padampa Sangye who advised, “Cherish the guru more than the Buddha and realizations will come in this lifetime.” Rinpoche described some of the obvious qualities of Lama Yeshe, his always loving aspect that attracted everyone to him, his humility, his wisdom, and Rinpoche explained that Lama was known by all to be a great scholar. Rinpoche then mentioned that Lama Yeshe was also a great yogi who had the tantric realizations of clear light and illusory body but that he hid these profound practices by meditating while lying down during his regular afternoon “nap.” Rinpoche said that whatever benefit the FPMT had been able to offer and however much we ourselves had been able to learn and practice, it was all due to Lama Yeshe’s kindness because it was Lama who set up the organization.
Then Rinpoche praised the director of Root Institute, Ven. Trisha, for her devotion to Buddha, Dharma, Sangha and compassion, which meant the center was harmonious and able to benefit sentient beings greatly.
Following the puja, lunch was offered on the lawn and the three lamas sat outside for a long leisurely lunch discussing Dharma.
Please rejoice that another sincere request for Rinpoche’s long life has been made on behalf of FPMT.
All of the walls of the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion are now built. Please rejoice! Photo courtesy of Ian Green, Twitter.
Rising 26 meters (85 feet) above the bushlands of central Victoria, Australia, the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion has grown well past the half-way point. Project Director, Ian Green told Mandala magazine during a phone call in January, “We have another 20-21 meters (66-69 feet) to go to reach the complete
height.”
Mandala reports in the April-June 2014 print issue, “Most recently the steel framework for the two-story high bumpa was erected on top of the six-level concrete structure. The bumpa level of the stupa will contain the stupa’s collection of holy relics. It will also be the highest level that the general public will be able to visit and take in the impressive view of the area. More progress will be made between now and September 2014, when the Great Stupa hosts the CPMT meeting, which will bring FPMT representatives together from around the world. Following the week-long meeting, Lama Zopa Rinpoche will present a month-long course inside the Great Stupa, beginning on September 25 .”
In January Ian Green announced, via Twitter, “All walls of Great Stupa of Universal Compassion are now complete and we have started on many of the doors. The large holes are for windows.”
Please rejoice in this amazing progress!
Lama Zopa Rinpoche recently finished a brand new translation of a teaching on the benefits of offering to stupas, Padmasambhava’s Instruction on Offerings to Stupas. The monumental work took Rinpoche more than two months to complete in 2013. The text, which Rinpoche would like to be used far and wide, details the benefits of circumambulating and prostrating, making offerings and offering service to stupas. It begins:
King Trisong Detsen requested, ‘Hey, Great Master, what are the benefits of prostrating to, circumambulating, making offerings, offering service and so forth to the great stupa, which in nature embodies all the buddhas of the three times?’…
—Padmasambhava’s Instruction on Offerings to Stupas
—
Dusum Sangay Guru Rinpoche statue, February 2014. Photo courtesy of Chandrakirti Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Centre.
My wish is for FPMT to build many holy objects everywhere, as many as possible. Making it so easy for sentient beings to purify their heavy negative karma and making it so easy for sentient beings to create extensive merit. Which makes it so easy to achieve the realizations of the path and so easy to achieve liberation and enlightenment.
—Lama Zopa Rinpoche, CPMT 2002, Taos
A 2-meter (7-foot) Padmasambhava statue has been built at New Zealand’s Chandrakirti Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Centre. This statue is of Dusum Sangay Guru Rinpoche, the manifestation of Guru Rinpoche who dispels all obstacles and brings amazing success.
The statue was crafted in Nepal and Gen Tenpa Choden la and Ven. Ani Fran at Kopan Monastery coordinated the production of it.
This brings the number of large Padmasambhava statues around the world, in accordance with Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s vast vision for FPMT, up to 15!
You can offer any amount to the Padmasambhava Project for Peace, which is dedicated to offering support to the building of many large statues of Padmasambhava around the world in order to create the cause for peace for all beings.