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Holy Objects
This stupa in Swayambhunath was built by the Tibetan community in Nepal for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. It is in need of repair due to the earthquake and subsequent aftershocks.
At Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s request, the Stupa Fund has offered a grant to the Tibetan Refugee Welfare Office to repair a stupa at Swayambhunath, Nepal, which was damaged during the 7.8 magnitude earthquake in April. This stupa was built by the Tibetan community in Nepal for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Please rejoice that this precious stupa will be rebuilt!
As Lama Zopa Rinpoche has explained, “Building stupas helps develop so much peace and happiness for numberless sentient beings. As a result, wars, disease, and desire will all be pacified. Instead of feeling hopeless, people will gain courage. This is about peace – for the beings who see it, for the whole country, for the entire world, for all sentient beings.”
You can read more from Lama Zopa Rinpoche about the benefits of stupas or about the Holy Object Fund which was established to offer grants toward the completion of holy objects around the world.
Medicine Buddha statue at Buddha Amitabha Pure Land, Washington, USA. Photo by Chris Majors.
The Sangha living at Buddha Amitabha Pure Land (BAPL), located in North Central Washington state in the United States, engage in weekly practices for animals and make extensive offerings to holy objects.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche often explains the benefits of offering to many holy objects and encourages extensive offerings around the world.
We are not aware of the limitless skies of benefits we achieve from the practice of offering, what we can achieve and enjoy from life to life. Even while you are in samsara, you enjoy good rebirths, wealth, and every happiness. Even just the samsaric perfections are amazing, without adding all those incredible realizations that allow us to offer deep benefit to sentient beings, liberating them from oceans of samsaric suffering and its cause, delusion and karma.
—Lama Zopa Rinpoche, (from Extensive Offerings, published by FPMT Education Services)
Extensive offerings at BAPL, Washington, USA. Photo by Chris Majors.
Weekly animal liberation practice and charity for ants, extensive daily offering practices, and nightly dharma protector practices and sur are offered. All of this is done with extensive dedications and prayers for the entire FPMT organization and all beings, as requested by Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
Offering to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, BAPL, USA. Photo by Chris Majors.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche has said that by having as many holy objects as possible, when you enter the room then you can put your palms together in the mudra of prostration to all the holy objects, looking at each tiny holy object and prostrating. You can look around the room with your hands in the mudra of prostration and think “I am prostrating to all the buddhas.” When you do this you collect eight benefits in that second so for however many thousands or hundreds of pictures of buddhas, statues, tsa-tsas etc. you have, merely by placing your palms together respectfully you receive these eight benefits, the last benefit is that you will be enlightened.
Some of the many holy objects such as tsa tsas’s at BAPL, USA. Photo by Chris Majors.
In this way, in just one second, it is so easy to collect merit because there are so many pictures of deities and buddhas; even in one photo there are many buddhas, such as the Guru Puja merit field or the thirty-five buddhas, even in one picture there are so many merit fields. Each time you prostrate to them you collect that many causes of enlightenment, that many causes of liberation from samsara and, by the way, happiness of future lives.
Extensive offerings to the Thirty-Five Confession Buddhas. Photo by Chris Majors.
So you can see that it is very helpful to have many pictures and statues for prostrations, it helps the visualization and also with each prostration you do to just one holy object you create incredible causes, so the more holy objects the more causes you create.
When you prostrate you can think of all the ten direction buddhas, Dharma, sangha, statues, stupas, scriptures, tsa-tsas etc.; if you have many, many pictures of holy objects it makes it very easy to visualize the ten directions actually filled with buddhas. This is also very good if you can’t visualize very well.
When you are not prostrating, but even just entering the room where you have all the holy objects (the gompa or your meditation room), if you put your palms together to the holy objects every time, then in that second it is an unbelievable easy way to collect extensive merit.
Extensive Offerings to holy objects and the Dalai Lama lineage. Photo by Chris Majors.
Amitabha Buddha statue at Buddha Amitabha Pure Land, Washington, USA. Photo by Chris Majors.
Extensive offerings to 21 Tara, BAPL, USA. Photo by Chris Majors.
It is explained by Buddha in the Sutra of the Mudra of Developing the Power of Devotion:
The minute you see a holy object you create infinite merits, so no question, if you actually make prostrations, offerings and so forth, you create far greater merit.
Holy objects and extensive offerings at BAPL, USA. Photo by Chris Majors.
Please rejoice in the offerings and practices that take place daily at Buddha Amitabha Pure Land and the beautiful photography of Chris Majors which shows the extensive offerings to the holy objects.
The Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund enables Rinpoche’s compassionate service to others to flourish. You can learn more about other beneficial activities this fund supports.
Prayer wheels are filled with mantras traditionally printed on strips of paper and tightly rolled around the core. These days mantras are reproduced onto microfilm; the more mantras, the more powerful. Very large prayer wheels contain billions of mantras.
One of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Visions for the FPMT organization is to build 100,000 large prayer wheels around the world.
The Prayer Wheel Fund recently offered a grant to the creation of a new very large prayer wheel in Mongolia. This was a seed donation for this project and as it progresses, updates will be made on its expected overall costs, needs, and how people can support it directly.
According to Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Buddha said:
The benefit of turning the Dharma wheel is that negative karma and disturbing thought obscurations accumulated over beginningless rebirths are purified without effort. Even other mantras are without doubt completed.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche has also recently offered grants to new prayer wheels being built at Mahamudra Centre and Chandrakirti Centre, both located in New Zealand. Please rejoice in the building of these prayer wheels which are helping to actualize Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s wishes. Tremendous thanks to all donors who make these grants to the creation of prayer wheels possible.
The Benefits of Prayer Wheels
By Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Buddha said:
The benefit of turning the Dharma wheel is that negative karma and disturbing thought obscurations accumulated over beginningless rebirths are purified without effort. Even other mantras are without doubt completed.
Karma Pakshi, the Second Karmapa, said:
When this great wheel called OM MANI PADME HUM is placed above [a house or roof], the wind that touches the prayer wheel liberates all those transmigrating beings touched by it from the sufferings of the lower realms.
When the prayer wheel is turned by fire, those transmigrating beings who are illuminated by the firelight or who smell the smoke are liberated from the sufferings of the lower realms.
When the prayer wheel is placed on the ground, sentient beings who are on the ground or who are touched by the dust are liberated from the sufferings of the lower realms.
If the prayer wheel is placed in water, all the sentient beings who are touched by the water, or who drink the water that has touched the prayer wheel, are liberated from the lower realms.
Padmasambhava purified the land of Tibet and spread the Dharma, especially tantra, all over Tibet. When the Dharma king Songtsen Gampo was constructing the first monastery in Tibet, whatever the workers would build up during the day, spirits would tear down at night. So Padmasambhava came from India, hooked the spirits and subdued them, putting them under pledge as Dharma protectors to protect the teachings. Padmasambhava said in his teachings:
Those who lack effort to study the Buddhadharma will receive realizations by turning the Dharma wheel and those who do make effort will be supported in their recitation, practice and so forth by turning it. Inconceivable negative karmas will be purified without effort and they will achieve all the deities together.
The origin of this prayer wheel is as follows: the Arya Compassionate Buddha Avalokiteshvara predicted to Master Nagarjuna, “In the palace of the country of the nagas, the bodhisattva naga king has a Dharma wheel. Anybody who merely sees, hears, touches or remembers this wheel is quickly liberated from the sufferings of the lower realms. Take this profound Dharma wheel from them and extensive great benefit for sentient beings will come about.”
Nagarjuna went to collect the prayer wheel from the naga king who told him, “Place this prayer wheel on the earth, in water, fire and wind and accomplish extensive benefit for sentient beings and the teachings of the Buddha.”
Nagarjuna then brought the prayer wheel to India and passed it to the Lion-faced Dakini. From the Lion-faced Dakini it went to the great Indian yogi Tilopa, then to Naropa and on to Marpa, who brought it to Tibet and gave it to Milarepa, who in turn passed it to Gampopa.
Also it is mentioned in the Avalokiteshvara tantra of Guhyasamaja:
Beams emitted from the Dharma wheel to sentient beings naturally cause the four immeasurable thoughts of loving kindness, compassion, joyfulness and equanimity to arise in their hearts and they complete the paramitas of charity, morality, patience, perseverance, concentration and wisdom.
Shakyamuni Buddha said to the bodhisattva Dikpa Namsel:
It is said that for the intelligent practitioner turning the Dharma wheel once is more sublime than doing retreat for one year, for the middling practitioner turning the Dharma wheel once is more supreme than doing retreat for seven years and even for the lowest practitioner turning the Dharma wheel once is more supreme than doing retreat for nine years.
Vajrapani said:
[Turning] this great Dharma wheel can stop all the harms caused by the dey above (who cause epilepsy and so forth), the birth nagas down below and the tsen, yakshas and rakshas in between.
Dictated by Lama Zopa Rinpoche and scribed by Ven. Sarah Thresher, Root Institute, Bodhgaya, India, February 2015.
You can download a PDF of this advice on the benefits of prayer wheels.
If you would like to contribute to the building of holy objects around the world, you are welcome to offer any amount to the Holy Objects Fund which contributes to the creation of stupas, prayer wheels and statues.
You can read more from Lama Zopa Rinpoche on the benefits of building prayer wheels.
Sixteen retired race horses were saved from death by Aquila Nera, an animal sanctuary in Italy. Photo courtesy of Aquila Nera.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche, through the Animal Liberation Fund, recently offered US$1,000 toward the building of a stupa for rescued race horses in Italy. These perfectly healthy horses were slotted to be put to death as they are no longer considered useful as race horses. Due to the kindness of a non-profit animal sanctuary, Aquila Nera, sixteen horses can now live the remainder of their lives freely roaming open land, listening to mantras, and creating merit by grazing around the new stupa.
The horses at Aquila Nera can now live out the rest of their lives enjoying the open space and creating merit. A new stupa being built will allow them more opportunity to generate positive karma and purify negativities. Photo courtesy of Aquila Nera.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche was extremely pleased to hear about the work being done for these animals. In a letter to managers of the sanctuary, Rinpoche praised their efforts:
Thank you for your letter informing me about your project saving horses.
Seeing the photos I think it’s really great, the horses look happy and are
enjoying. I am especially very happy with your idea of building a stupa for
them to circumambulate and generate lots of positive karma. It’s a cause for
them to meet the Dharma so that sooner or later they can be free from the
oceans of suffering forever and achieve the peerless happiness of
enlightenment.
I need to especially thank you and all your family who help them, who help
the horses to purify their negative karma created since beginnings time and
help them achieve peerless happiness. So for these reasons I am extremely,
extremely happy with what you are doing.
Although these retired race horses are perfectly healthy, they were slotted to be put to death due to them no longer being considered valuable. Photo courtesy of Aquila Nera.
You are welcome to offer any amount to the Animal Liberation Fund so that offerings such as this can continue.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche has given extensive advice on how to benefit animals.
You can watch a video of Lama Zopa Rinpoche blessing these horses in Italy.
The newly completed 6.5 ft Padmasambhava statue at Osel Ling, Spain.
Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) is perhaps the most universally cherished realized being in all of Tibetan Buddhism. Padmasambhava came to Tibet from India in the 8th century and helped establish a pure lineage which is still practiced today by all four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism around the world.
One of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Visions for FPMT is for many large statues of Padmasambhava to be built around the world. To date, nineteen statues have been built in accordance with Rinpoche’s wishes.
Please rejoice in the completion of the most recent statue, at Osel Ling in Spain. This beautiful statue measures 6.5 ft (2 meters).
Listen, beautiful one having the form of a goddess,
For those sentient beings who have not met me,
Statues of me in the future
Will become the light eliminating the darkness of ignorance.
Whoever builds such statues of me, Which become objects of offering and so forth,
All their future lives will become meaningful
And they will establish the banner of the teachings.
— Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche)
You can learn more about Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Visions for the FPMT organization, or about the many Charitable Projects of FPMT which contribute to Rinpoche’s vision.
Bouddhanath Stupa, Nepal.
Swayambunath Stupa, Nepal.
Every month, on the full moon, the Puja Fund sponsors offerings of white wash, four giant saffron flower petals and the best quality cloth to the umbrellas at the pinnacles of Bouddhanath and Swayambunath Stupas in Nepal. Please rejoice in this incredible ongoing offering.
“All those who offer whitewash, saffron, and offering cloth will achieve perfect brightness and glory, overpowering all devas, spirits, and human beings with magnificence.”
—Padmasambhava’s Instruction on Offerings to Stupas
Lama Zopa Rinpoche translated Padmasambhava’s Instruction on Offerings to Stupas and the complete text is available as a PDF download.
You are welcome to contribute to this monthly offering or learn more about the monthly activities of the Puja Fund.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Khadro-la, November 2011, India. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Example of an enlightenment stupa. De-Tong Ling Retreat Centre, South Australia.
Recently, Lama Zopa Rinpoche met with Rangjung Neljorma Khadro Namsel Drönme (Khadro-la) in India. As a result, a number of details regarding the Stupa to Minimize Harm from the Elements have changed. According to what is most beneficial now, the type of the stupa to be built is an enlightenment stupa and the material must very strong, such as concrete or stone. The stupa will be built off-site and then assembled and blessed all at the same time. The blessing and filling of the stupa is extremely important and utmost detail is being paid to collecting the correct substances.
Khadro-la has been checking many different areas in San Francisco to make sure this stupa is located in the most beneficial area and Teresa Mia Navarro has been working diligently for many months to help locate the correct property and the wish is that this aspect of the process will be established very soon.
You can learn more about the Stupa to Minimize Harm from the Elements as well as the other Charitable Projects of FPMT.
Please keep this hugely important project in your prayers. You are also welcome to donate any amount toward this stupa’s completion.
21 Taras thangka is 14 meters (46 feet) high and 9 meters (30 feet) wide. This thangkha is being painted by artist Peter Iseli at a workshop at Institut Vajra Yogini, France.
The Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund sponsored the creation of a workshop where large thangkas can be created at Institut Vajra Yogini in France. One of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Visions for FPMT is to create many large thangkas around the world.
Artist Peter Iseli with the amazing 21 Tara thangka.
The workshop is 8.5 meters (28 feet) tall. Rinpoche’s first order was a 21 Taras thangka that is 14 meters (46 feet) high and 9 meters (30 feet) wide which is being painted by artist Peter Iseli.
The first third of the giant 21 Taras thangka is now finished, the canvas has been rolled up, and Peter Iseli has already started to draw on the second third of the canvas. This giant 21 Tara thangka is going to go to Tara Institute in Australia when it is finished.
“My wish is for the big centers in FPMT to have these large thangkas.” Rinpoche explained. “This is a way to leave imprints for all these people [who see them], for enlightenment.”
Please rejoice in the amazing work of Peter Iseli manifesting incredible holy objects that can be used by all to make merit.
You can learn more about the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund or Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Visions for FPMT.
1,100 blankets were distributed to those in need in Kushinagar by the Maitreya Project Kushinagar, January 2015.
On January 5, 2015, Maitreya Project Kushinagar published an update on the blanket distribution initiative taking place in Kushinagar which was made possible by an appeal to donors the month prior. You can read this update which includes information about the population this project serves, the situation of death and illness due to cold that many in Kushinagar face, and how you can get involved.
Who is Maitreya Buddha by Lama Yeshe
You can make a donation to support Maitreya Project Kushinagar.
The Stupa for World Peace and Environmental Harmony, Spokin Lake, B.C., Canada. Photo courtesy of Gendun Drubpa Centre.
Dianne Noort from Gendun Drubpa Centre in Williams Lake in central British Columbia, Canada, sent Mandala some news about their stupa, their public programming, and their support of Tibetan refugees in the country:
Gendun Drubpa Centre is delighted to announce that the decorations on our Stupa for World Peace and Environmental Harmony are completed! Thank you to all who assisted in hosting Gelek Sherpa, who painted the stupa, for one month. Visiting the stupa at the Spokin Lake location is now truly an inspirational experience.
Resident teacher Ven. Tenzin Chogkyi has begun teaching “Cultivating Emotional Balance” to a group of 24 students.
In November, we completed a weekend intensive seminar on “Awakening Compassion: Teachings on the Bodhisattva Vows.”
A new day-long silent retreat format has been well received and the next topic is the four immeasurables on December 6.
About 10 of our students, plus family members, drove in support of the Tibetan Resettlement Project in British Columbia to Vancouver to attend His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Avalokiteshvara empowerment and teachings in October. At the request of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Canada’s Tibetan community, the Canadian government is facilitating the immigration of up to 1,000 Tibetans living in the state of Arunachal Pradesh, India, an impoverished and remote region of northern India that borders on Tibet. In this region, displaced and stateless Tibetans live with the threats of illness, deportation, and intensifying military tensions between China and India. This humanitarian program allows them the chance to start a new life and pursue their dreams in Canada. To assist those who are most in need, His Holiness himself directed that Tibetans from this region be chosen as candidates to come to Canada.
Mandala brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings and events from nearly 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.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Su visiting the stupa under construction at Pamtingpa Center, Washington.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche, through the Stupa Fund, just offered US$5,000 toward a new stupa that is under construction at Pamtingpa Center in Washington State. One of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Visions is for the creation of 100,000 stupas around the world.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche is also sponsoring the Medicine Buddha statue that will go in the stupa.
By building a stupa, without words we are continually liberating so many sentient beings. Every day, the stupa plants the seed of enlightenment and purifies anybody who sees, touches, remembers, talks or dreams about the stupa. This includes insects that touch the stupa. The stupa is meaningful to behold, and it liberates many sentient beings, insects and humans, every day.
—Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Please rejoice in this offering and in the creation of another incredible holy object which will benefit many.
You can learn more about the projects funded by the Stupa Fund, how to get involved, and also about the many Charitable Projects of FPMT.
One of the statues being consulted as a prototype for the Five Dhayani Buddhas being created.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche, through the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund, is sponsoring the creation of Five Dhyani Buddha statues, a Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) statue and a number of other Buddhist statues which will go inside a large stupa that is being built in India. Rinpoche recently offered the first payment toward this holy object project, US$54,452
The statues are 4-ft high with full gold plating and will take two years to complete. They are being made by one of the best statue makers in Nepal. Rinpoche has been involved with the artist to make sure the art is best quality.
Holy objects purify karma just by seeing [them]. It purifies the mind, plants seed for the path to liberation. That’s how stupas liberate each day.
—Lama Zopa Rinpoche
You are welcome to offer any amount toward this incredibly holy object offering.
You can learn more about the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund as well as the other Charitable Projects of FPMT.