Projects

Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Jamyang Buddhist Centre, London, UK, 2014. Photo by Ven. Thubten Kunsang.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche, through the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund recently issued a grant for US$100,000 to Jamyang Buddhist Center in London, UK, for much needed repairs to the center and a new heating system. As the center is now forty-one years old, repairs and upkeep is a necessity. 

The new Jamyang Buddhist Centre Leeds building. Photo courtesy of Tripadvisor.

Also issued from the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund was a grant for US$100,000 to Jamyang Buddhist Center Leeds, UK, for their new 33,000 square-foot center. The new center will have a cafe, book store, meditation hall, and library. Community groups and charities will also be able to rent office and warehouse space at the center. This is a wonderful expansion for this twenty-three year old center. 

Please rejoice that both of these centers have offered decades of service to the UK and will continue to thrive and benefit their communities (and all who visit) for many years to come. 

Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund enables Rinpoche’s compassionate service to others to flourish. All the offerings from the fund are used toward the creation of holy objects and extensive offerings around the world; sponsoring young tulkus, high lamas and Sangha in India, Nepal, Tibet and the West; supporting FPMT centers, projects and services; sponsoring Dharma retreats and events; funding animal liberations and blessings, and many other worthy projects. 

Nuns and lay children attending the school at Tashi Chime Gatsal Nunnery in Nepal.

Since 2009 sponsorship from the Practice and Retreat Fund has been offered to the nuns of Tashi Chime Gatsal Nunnery, Nepal, to complete one 100 million mani retreat (100 million recitations of the mantra OM MANI PADME HUM) every year and a kind benefactor sponsors a second. 

In addition to the 100 million mani retreats, offerings are made to cover the cost of food for all during this period as well as an offering for a qualified geshe to stay during the retreat in order to give lamrim teachings. Additionally, in 2019, two nuns were also given funds necessary for important medical procedures and associated expenses. 

There are currently eighty-five nuns living at the nunnery receiving a traditional Tibetan Buddhist education, as well as a modern western education in science, math, English, etc. Most of the nuns are under the age of twenty. The school at the nunnery is attended by forty  nuns and twenty local children. Teachers include: three nuns, two lharampa geshes, and five lay teachers. 

The nunnery sent the following message of thanks to FPMT International Office for the ongoing support: Thank you for the kind support so far and continuing to do this. Without your help, the nunnery will not last long.”

The nunnery has now completed nineteen 100 million mani retreats. One of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Visions for the FPMT organization is to sponsor these retreats around the world.

Rinpoche explained, “[I would like] for the organization to establish 100,000 recitations of 100 million OM MANI PADME HUM mantras. This can be retreats of 100 million recitations, so 100,000 different retreats in different parts of the world and where it is happening, then for it to happen regularly, each year.”

Please rejoice in another year of these very precious retreats being completed at this nunnery in Nepal. 

The Practice and Retreat Fund provides grants and sponsorships for students engaged in retreats such as 108 nyung nä retreats, 100 million mani retreats, recitations of sutras and long term retreat. 

Young monks of Idgaa Choizinling, Mongolia.

The Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund offers sponsorship of daily lunch for the monks studying at Idgaa Choizinling Dratsang in Mongolia. 

Idgaa Choizinling was established in 2003 through FPMT Mongolia due to the kindness of many benefactors. Idgaa is strongly connected to Sera Je Monastery in India and serves as a focal point of Buddhist learning in Mongolia. Since the monastery’s inception, FPMT has been offering food to the monks studying there. The cost of this offering for 2019 was US$9,000.

Of the total 60 monks, five have taken gelong vows, eleven have taken getsul vows, two have taken rabjung vows, and another 42 young monks are waiting for rabjung vows. More than 20 new students joined the monastery this year. 

Last year the Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund also offered a US$470,000 grant for a much needed expansion of this monastery. 

Lama Zopa Rinpoche has explained:

Giving to the Sangha is an incredible thing. One extremely poor person gave medicine and drink to four monks; they were not arhats, just ordinary monks. In the next life, that person was born as a very powerful and wealthy person. The karmic cause was very simple—just giving medicine and drink to four monks—but because karma expands, the result will be experienced over many lifetimes. If you offer to the powerful object of the Sangha with the motivation of bodhichitta, the result is even more powerful. You receive limitless skies of merit because you are thinking of benefiting numberless sentient beings—numberless hell beings, numberless hungry ghosts, numberless animals, numberless human beings, numberless sura beings and asura beings, and numberless intermediate state beings—and bringing them to enlightenment. You can imagine the merit you gain if you offer to the Sangha with the motivation of bodhichitta.

Monks of Idgaa Choizinling studying.

The Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund was established in the tradition of the extremely successful Sera Je Food Fund, which offered three nutritious meals daily to all the monks of Sera Je Monastery for over twenty-six years. Over this time, the food fund established an interest-bearing endowment that will continue to cover the cost of food for this program indefinitely. This fund is now broader in scope and offers support to monasteries, nunneries, and individual monks and nuns around the world including food, accommodation, health care, education and practice. 

Supporting monks and nuns is one of the highest priorities for the FPMT organization, because the preservation of the Buddhadharma is dependent on the existence of Sangha.

Please rejoice in this offering of daily food to these earnest monks who study and practice so sincerely to keep Buddhism alive in Mongolia. 

The Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund supports ordained monks and nuns as well as monasteries and nunneries by providing sponsorship for food, accommodations, educational needs, and health care for Sangha. 

His Holiness the Dalai Lama, August 2019. Photo by Neal Patrick.

Rangjung Neljorma Khadro Namsel Drönme with Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Kopan Monastery, Nepal, November 2019. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

From time to time Lama Zopa Rinpoche checks what different practices and pujas that can be done and offered for the health and long life of his gurus. Rinpoche also often does this for students, when needed. Recently, Rinpoche checked and concluded it was beneficial to offer a recitation of the Kangyur for the health and long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Rangjung Neljorma Khadro Namsel Drönme (Khadro-la). The Kangyur is comprised of 108 volumes of the sutras taught by Shakyamuni Buddha. Rinpoche requested the 4,200 monks of Drepung Gomang Monastery in South India to recite the 108 volumes of the Kangyur with strong prayers and dedications to His Holiness and Khadro-la.

Understanding how incredibly important this offering is, it was a great pleasure and honor to cover the cost of this (US$8,567) from the FPMT Puja Fund. This is also a way to make offerings to the ordained Sangha of the monastery, who are all disciples of the same guru (His Holiness the Dalai Lama). The merit from the recitation of such an important collection of sutras, as well as making the offerings to the Sangha and dedicating well, can have great benefit. This is one of the functions of the FPMT Puja Fund, to generate merit to for the entire FPMT organization. 

Thank you so much to everyone who donates to this fund and makes it possible for us to arrange these practices and pujas.

You can learn more about the beneficial prayers, practices, and pujas sponsored by the Puja Fund, or about FPMT’s other extensive charitable activity. 

Ven. Roger Kunsang offering a mandala to Lama Zopa Rinpoche during a long life puja, Great Stupa of Universal Compassion, Australia, May 2018. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

The official annual long life puja for Lama Zopa Rinpoche, offered on behalf of the entire FPMT organization will take place on January 22 at Kopan Monastery, Nepal. All are welcome to participate in this auspicious event by offering prayers from your heart on the day of the puja, or offering any amount toward it that you are able. 

Ven. Roger Kunsang, assistant to Lama Zopa Rinpoche and the CEO of FPMT, Inc. also consulted Rinpoche’s gurus about prayers and practices that should be done for Rinpoche’s long life in 2020 and those recommended pujas were immediately arranged in Nepal. 

Long life puja for Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Bendigo, Australia, May 2018. Photo courtesy of Ven. Tenzin Tsultrim.

The purpose of the long life puja is for students to purify the mistakes that occur in relation to their teacher, and to create the causes and conditions to continue to receive benefit from that teacher for a very long time.

Rinpoche also regularly mentions that offering long life pujas is a cause for one’s own long life.

The Long Life Puja Fund always contributes to long life pujas offered to Lama Zopa Rinpoche. You can also learn about the many Charitable Projects of FPMT and discover the many ways the various funds and projects are benefiting others.

2018 participants in the annual Gelug Examination.

Every year the best scholars from the main Gelug monasteries come together for the annual Gelug Examination. Every year the Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund offers a grant for daily food, travel expenses, and for teacher stipends for the main teachers of the Lama Tsongkhapa tradition. This year 518 monks participated at Gaden Lachi Monastery, India and the grant offered by FPMT was US$21,169. 

Participants of the 2019 Gelug Exam at Gaden Lachi Monastery

Stipends were offered to the 139 current abbots, past abbots, and main teachers of the Lama Tsongkhapa tradition. This small offering of money supports these teachers’ basic needs and allows them to be able to focus more of their time on transmitting Dharma to their students at the monasteries and strengthening their own practices.

Participants of the 2019 Gelug Examination enjoying lunch sponsored by the Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund.

These scholars are the future of the Lama Tsongkhapa tradition and it is a high priority for FPMT to support them at this level of their education. Congratulations to all who participated and successfully completed this rigorous exam. 

Tremendous thanks to all the donors who have made these offerings possible, every year, for twenty-one years. Please rejoice in this ongoing support to past, present, and future teachers of the Gelug tradition. You are welcome to offer any amount to the Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund to help ensure that these grants continue for into the future. 

Since its inception, the Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund, an extension of the Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund, has supported senior teachers each year of the main Gelug monasteries, plus hundreds of monks attending the traditional winter debate and annual Gelug exam. 

Lama Zopa Rinpoche leading an animal liberation during a Vajrayogini retreat, Institut Vajra Yogini, Marzens, France, May 2019. Photo by Tsanka Petkova.

Benefiting animals in any way possible is a high priority for FPMT and one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Visions for the organization. 

The Animal Liberation Fund sponsored the liberations of approximately 84,356 animals at Kachoe Dechen Ling, California, and Buddha Amitabha Pure Land, Washington State, in 2019. Since 2015, 812,455 small animals have been saved from untimely death by resident Sangha and taken around an incredible amount of holy objects, mantras were recited and blown on them and they were carefully placed where they could live out the rest of their life. When Sangha finish these liberations, they make strong prayers for all those who are sick, have recently died, or who have requested prayers. This is one of the most beneficial aspects of this practice as the merit is shared among so many. All are welcome to request prayers and dedications from the Sangha  for themselves or loved ones. In addition to the animal liberations in Washington State, the Sangha regularly bless the beings living in the lakes of this area. 

Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Sangha blessing all the beings in a lake in Washington State, US, June 2018. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Charity to ants is offered in Washington State every week (other than during the Winter when the weather doesn’t allow it) by a resident monk. When he does his daily prayers, after each mala of mantras, he blows in a bottle of water and mixes this water with a very fine powder made of: tsampa (roasted flour), sugar, butter, and blessed (MANI) pills from His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Then, he visits about twenty different ants’ nests around the retreat land and he does the practice of charity to ants by sprinkling this mixture on the ants’ nests while reciting mantras, in this way benefiting the ants. After one week all the mixture has been eaten by the ants. This practice started a few years ago when Ven. Holly Ansett found two ants’ nests on the retreat land in Washington and did this practice for them. Now it is being done every week.

Animal liberation is a specific practice done for animals which would otherwise be killed. The practice involves taking the animals-in-danger around holy objects to leave positive imprints in their minds, reciting mantras for them, blessing water to sprinkle onto their bodies, and then releasing them. This differs from general animal blessings which involve blessing any animal with mantras or a holy object. Animal blessings are, of course, wonderful to do for animals, but this is not what is meant by “animal liberations.” Animal liberation practice is an incredible practice for anyone who has illnesses or is experiencing life obstacles.

How to Benefit Insects and Other Small Beings: fpmt.org/lama-zopa-rinpoche-news-and-advice/advice-from-lama-zopa-rinpoche/how-to-benefit-insects-and-other-small-beings/

Benefiting Ants: fpmt.org/fpmt-community-news/news-around-the-world/benefiting-ants/

All are welcome to contribute to the Animal Liberation Fund to help ensure that our work sponsoring animal liberations around the world continues. 

Monks of Sera Mey Monastery offering a puja sponsored by the FPMT Puja Fund.

Every month on the Tibetan 8^th day the Puja Fund sponsors all the monks of Sera Mey Monastery to offer the extensive Medicine Buddha puja composed by the Fifth Dalai Lama dedicated FPMT centers, projects, services; all students who are ill or having life obstacles; benefactors of the Puja Fund, and to all beings.

The Puja Fund offers a small money offering, tea, and bread to each of the approximately 2,000 monks performing the puja as well as the cost of light offerings and torma offerings.

A grant for US$12,030 was offered to cover the expense of these pujas and offerings for the last two years. 

Please rejoice in this monthly offering that brings so much benefit to the entire FPMT organization. Every Tibetan 8^th day, please remember that this puja is happening and you can mentally join in. This is something amazing to rejoice in, to mentally offer and dedicate toward, and also something you can contribute to by donating any amount. 

You can learn more about the beneficial prayers, practices, and pujas sponsored by the Puja Fund, or about FPMT’s other extensive charitable activity. 

Aid being distributed to those i need in Nepal thanks to grants offered through the Nepal Earthquake Support Fund.

Following the 2015 earthquake in Nepal, FPMT International Office established the Nepal Earthquake Support Fund to help raise funds for basic necessities needed such as food, water, tents, bedding, and medical aid to many who lost everything in remote regions.

Later on, grants were also given to rebuild a number of monasteries and nunneries that were damaged or destroyed such as Shri Sengedrak Ngedhon Samten Choeling Retreat Center, a Kagyu nunnery; Pema Choeling Monastery; Tashi Chime Gatsal Nunnery; Khumjung Gompa; Lawudo Retreat Centre; Khachoe Ghakyil Ling Nunnery (Kopan Nunnery); and Kopan Monastery. 

Substantial grants were also given in support of the incredible efforts of Kopan Helping Hands which helped over 19,000 families in various effected areas through the effort of 150 monks and nuns; and in support of the amazing work of Losang Namgyal Rinpoche’s NRFoundation which helped the people of Tamang after the earthquake.

Damage from the 2015 earthquake in Nepal was extensive and the need for aid was great.

Please rejoice that US$2,140,930.73 was disbursed from this fund thanks to the generosity of many kind individuals around the world. You can read about the various grants offered and the impact on the communities they served. 

This specific fund is now closed, however, work of this nature continues through the Social Services Fund which offers beneficial support such as grants to aged care facilities and schools primarily in India, Nepal, and Mongolia; and if we need further funds for any future catastrophes similar to the earthquake, it will come from this fund.

Tremendous thanks to all who donated to the Nepal Earthquake Support Fund enabling us to offer an incredible amount of aid to those in need following the disaster. 

If you would like to support the Social Services Fund and help ensure grants such as this can continue, you can read more about the charitable projects this fund supports or donate any amount to the fund itself. 

In August, we shared Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s wish to offer 1,000 statues of Shakyamuni Buddha to His Holiness the Dalai Lama on behalf of the entire FPMT organization. Now, due to the kindness of many, we have raised the funds needed to sponsor all 1,000 statues. How amazing! Tremendous thanks to everyone for the generous support of this project. We invite you to rejoice with us! 

Statue filling has started at Tushita Meditation Centre, Dharamsala, India with 250 statues. The remaining 750 statues are being finished with gold gilding and will then be filled along with the others. 

We will update everyone with details on the statues being offered to His Holiness the Dalai Lama as the time approaches.

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.  

Bird’s eye view of the progress on the Compassion Wheel at Vajrapani Institute.

In December 2016, Vajrapani Institute, an FPMT retreat center in Northern California, launched the 5 Trillion Mantra Prayer Wheel Project. The prayer wheel, called the Compassion Wheel and standing 7 ft x 10 ft when completed, will contain 5 trillion (5,000,000,000,000) copies of OM MANI PADME HUM, the mantra of Chenrezig, the Buddhist deity who embodies universal compassion. This request came from Lama Zopa Rinpoche. 

The Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund recently disbursed a final grant of US$40,000 for this project. 

Ven. Gyatso from Nalanda Monastery is helping to fill the Compassion Wheel.

Director Heidi Oehler reports:

“It’s quite a sight to see the Compassion Wheel come to life as this magnificent vision starts to become a reality. This special prayer wheel will be spun at the heart of the land at Vajrapani Institute, blessing all who visit the center, as well as the surrounding area.

“The basic structure has been framed out by our amazing carpenters. Engineers have designed, built and installed a new structurally reinforced frame and bearings system to hold the weight of the mantras and spin it with the force of one hand. We are now focused on putting together the wheel and getting it filled. As fortune would have it, a past staff member and current Nalanda monk who has been studying the Basic Program and helping Nalanda to fill it’s statues and prayer wheels recently returned to help us here!  We are so grateful to Ven. Gyatso for helping to take on the project of filling the amazing compassion wheel.

Geshe Sherpa painted the painted the sky and earth mandalas which will go inside the wheel. Sky mandala is pictured here.

“Gelek Sherpa from Land of Medicine Buddha, painted the sky and earth mandalas which go inside the wheel. Ven. Tsering from Kachoe Dechen Ling will paint the mantras on the center poll. Microfilm with the OM MANI PADME HUM mantra are being printed and gradually shipped to Vajrapani now.”

Rinpoche has explained that every time you rejoice in an offering, the construction of the prayer wheel, and in the effort of all those who are working to actualize it, the merit doubles. When you rejoice the second time, the merit is multiplied by four. The third time, it is multiplied by eight. Lama Tsongkhapa said that to collect merit, the best way is through rejoicing. 

“Each time you rejoice you collect skies of merit, making it such an easy way to achieve enlightenment.”  – Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Please join us in rejoicing about the progress of this one-of-a-kind prayer wheel that will benefit Vajrapani Institute, all who visit, all beings in the area; contribute to world peace and compassion; as well as bless and benefit anyone who helps make it a reality or even cultivates a warm thought about the project. 

Supporting the creation of prayer wheels and other holy objects is part of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Visions for FPMT: 
https://fpmt.org/fpmt/vast-vision/#pw

Find out more and give your support to the 5 Trillion Mantra Prayer Wheel Project:
http://www.vajrapani.org/prayerwheel/pw/index.php

To help ensure grants like this continue toward holy objects, all are welcome to offer a donation of any amount to the Holy Object Fund. 

Sangha participating in a puja at Kopan Monastery.

Lhabab Duchen, one of the four great holy days of the Buddhist calendar when merit is multiplied by 100 million times, took place this year on November 19. We invite you to rejoice in the many beneficial activities sponsored by the Puja Fund on this auspicious day, on behalf of the entire FPMT community. 

Practices Offered by Over 15,650 Ordained Sangha

• Recitation of the Prajnaparamita (three versions) offered by 650 monks of Gyurme Tantric College.
• Druk Chu Ma, Namgyäl Tong Chö, and Zangcho offered by 6,000 monks of Sera Je and Sera Mey Monasteries.
• Druk Chu Ma, Medicine Buddha Puja and Zangcho offered by 3,400 monks of Gaden Jangtse and Shartse Monasteries.
• Druk Chu Ma, Namgyäl Tsechog and Zangcho offered by 4,200 monks of Drepung. Gomang, Loseling and Deyang Monasteries.
• Namgyäl Tong Chö and Zangcho offered by 600 monks of Gyuto Tantric Colleges.
• Druk Ch Ma, Medicine Buddha Puja and Zangcho offered by the 370 monks of Kopan Monastery.
• Druk Chu Ma, Medicine Buddha Puja and Zangcho offered by the 400 nuns of Kopan Nunne

Offerings are made to all of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s gurus

Offerings are made to Sangha at IMI communities

Offerings were made to the Boudhanath and Swayambunath stupas in Nepal on Lhabab Duchen.

Offerings Made to Holy Objects in Nepal, India and Tibet 

• Bouddhanath and Swayambunath stupas: Offering color and new prayer flags 
• Buddha inside the Bodhgaya Mahabodhi temple: Offering a new set of robes of the most precious material
• Jowo Buddha in Lhasa’s Jokang: Offering gold and robes to the holy body of the Jowo Buddha

These activities are advised by Lama Zopa Rinpoche and dedicated to the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and to the success of all the FPMT centers, projects, services, students, benefactors and those serving the organization in any way, as well as all beings.

All are welcome to donate to the Puja Fund and directly support these most precious offerings.