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Lama Zopa Rinpoche blessing and offering food, Omak, Washington, US, August 2017. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
The holiday season means, for many, an increase in festive meals celebrated with family and friends, and Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaches that there are a variety of ways to enjoy your meals while practicing virtue.
Living in the Path: “Offering Food and Drink”
We invite you to check out the complimentary Living in the Path module “Offering Food and Drink” on the FPMT Online Learning Center. In this module, you’ll find Rinpoche’s extensive explanation of how he offers food, which Rinpoche gave during a picnic in Denmark in July 2015. The module includes videos, written transcripts, and a discussion forum for students to communicate with a Living in the Path facilitator.
In “How I Offer Food – Motivation Part 1,” a nine-minute video taken from the module, Rinpoche guides students through the first section of the extensive motivation for blessing, offering, and enjoying food and drink:
Food Offering Practice
For those students who prefer print materials in addition to digital options, we invite you to take a look at Food Offering Practice (print and digital), first published in 2011, which includes Rinpoche’s extensive food offering practice, general food offering prayers, and the yogas of eating food according the Hinayana, Mahayana sutra, and Mahayana tantra teachings.
Whatever your traditions this time of year, you can make each meal a meaningful offering for yourself and others. Enjoy!
The FPMT Social Services Fund supports a variety of projects that give nutritious food and drink to the poor living India, Nepal, Tibet, and Mongolia. We welcome your support:
https://fpmt.org/projects/fpmt/social-services-fund/
Through comprehensive study programs, practice materials, training seminars, and scholarships, FPMT Education nourishes the development of compassion, wisdom, kindness, and true happiness in individuals of all ages.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaching on the Heart Sutra as the sun begins to set, Vulture’s Peak, Rajgir, India, February 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
FPMT Education Services makes a variety of Heart Sutra materials available on the Heart Sutra resource page on FPMT.org. In addition to the sutra in English and Spanish, you will find a recording of Maitripa College president Yangsi Rinpoche and his students chanting the sutra in English. In April 2011, Lama Zopa Rinpoche commented that he enjoyed this style of chanting.
The Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra (the Heart Sutra) is perhaps the most widely known sutra of the Mahayana tradition and is often recited daily by practitioners all over the world, particularly before receiving Dharma teachings. Part of the Prajnaparamita Sutras, the Heart Sutra is a condensed presentation of the wisdom of emptiness as revealed by Avalokiteshvara (known as Chenrezig in Tibetan) on Vulture’s Peak in Rajgir, India, to Shariputra, one of the Buddha’s main disciples, based on the Buddha’s own power.
Also on the resource page, you’ll find links to the Foundation Store, where you can discover many Dharma items related to the Heart Sutra and emptiness, including Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s How to Meditate on Emptiness and “Bringing Emptiness to Life,” a Living in the Path online learning course.
Through comprehensive study programs, practice materials, training seminars, and scholarships, FPMT Education nourishes the development of compassion, wisdom, kindness, and true happiness in individuals of all ages.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaching in front of 1,000 Arm Chenrezig, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, August 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
From October 4 to November 5, hundreds of participants will collectively recite OM MANI PADME HŪM, the mantra of Chenrezig. This retreat is organized by Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa (ILTK) in Pomaia, Italy, and helps to fulfill one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Visions for the FPMT organization that retreats such as this take place around the world.
During the retreat, Lama Zopa Rinpoche has taught on the benefits of the Chenrezig mantra and also offered the lung of the Longest Chenrezig Mantra to participants. You can listen to this advice on YouTube:
The FPMT Foundation Store has many Chenrezig resources available to you in addition to beneficial Chenrezig mantras you can incorporate into your daily practice:
Short Chenrezig Mantra
OṂ MAṆI PADME HŪṂ
Long Chenrezig Mantra
NAMO RATNA TRAYĀYA / NAMA ĀRYA JÑĀNA SĀGARA VAIROCHANA VYŪHA RĀJĀYA / TATHĀGATĀYA / ARHATE / SAMYAKSAṂ BUDDHĀYA / NAMAḤ SARVA TATHĀGATEBHYAḤ / ARHATBHYAḤ SAMYAKSAṂ BUDDHEBHYAḤ / NAMA ĀRYA AVALOKITEŚHVARĀYA / BODHISATTVĀYA / MAHĀSATTVĀYA / MAHĀKĀRUṆIKĀYA / TADYATHĀ / OṂ DHARA DHARA / DHIRI DHIRI / DHURU DHURU / IṬṬE VAṬṬE / CHALE CHALE / PRACHALE PRACHALE / KUSUME / KUSUMA / VARE / ILI MILI / CHITI JVALAMAPANAYA SVĀHĀ
Through comprehensive study programs, practice materials, training seminars, and scholarships, FPMT Education nourishes the development of compassion, wisdom, kindness, and true happiness in individuals of all ages.
Shakyamuni Buddha in sambhogakaya aspect with offerings in the jokhang of Maitripa College. Photo by Noah Gunnell.
Lhabab Duchen, one of the four great holy days of the Buddhist calendar, takes place this year on Friday, November 10.
Lhabab Duchen celebrates Guru Shakyamuni Buddha’s return from the god realm Thirty-Three after teaching Dharma for several months to his mother, who has been reborn there, along with other gods. As a Buddha Multiplying Day, the karmic results of actions done on this day are multiplied 100 million times. This amazing result is sourced by Lama Zopa Rinpoche to the vinaya text Treasure of Quotations and Logic.
As merit is multiplied on this holy day, it provides an excellent opportunity to follow Khadro-la’s advice that students of Lama Zopa Rinpoche offer recitations of the Vajra Cutter Sutra and Dependent Arising: A Praise of the Buddha (Tendrel Topa) for Rinpoche’s long life.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche has also recommended practices for these four holy days. Specific advice for practices to do on the Buddha Multiplying Days can be found on the FPMT website, including new advice to recite the Sutra for Remembering the Three Jewels. If you choose to recite the Sutra of Golden Light on this special day, you might like to report your recitations using the facility on the FPMT website, which you can find on the Sutra of Golden Light reporting page.
Please keep in mind that according to the late Kyabje Choden Rinpoche, one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s gurus, the observation of auspicious days should be according to the date in India, not the date in one’s home country. Therefore, when Lama Zopa Rinpoche is not in India, Rinpoche celebrates Buddha Days and other auspicious dates according to the time in India.
Special thanks to the Liberation Prison Project for preparing a Tibetan calendar with information on holy days and other important dates for avoiding or engaging in various activities.
Through comprehensive study programs, practice materials, training seminars, and scholarships, FPMT Education nourishes the development of compassion, wisdom, kindness, and true happiness in individuals of all ages.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche offering a motivation before the Great Chenrezig initiation at Idgaa Choizinling Monastery, May 2017. Photo by Lobsang Sherab.
For those wishing to understand Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s explanations of the verse for taking refuge and generating bodhichitta, which is commonly recited at the beginning of teaching sessions and many practices, Living in the Path module “The Refuge and Bodhichitta Verse” (available through the Foundation Store) is a wonderful way to do so. Lama Zopa Rinpoche unpacks each word of these deceptively simple four lines to reveal their great profundity and tells us how to meditate on the whole path to enlightenment while reciting it.
In this short video, Ven. Amy Miller explains the meaning of this verse, as well as the meaning of bodhichitta, and the reasons for generating this altruistic thought to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings.
Watch “Refuge and Bodhichitta Verse – An Introduction” on YouTube
All of the modules of the Living in the Path program are available on the FPMT Online Center. This program is ideal for anyone who wishes to deepen their personal practice and develop the realizations of the path to enlightenment by relying on Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s heart advice and teachings. As the teachings often assume familiarity with the lamrim, participants are recommended to have previously received teachings in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.
Ven. Amy Miller (Lobsang Chodren) attended her first course at Kopan Monastery in Nepal in 1987 and ordained in 2000. She has offered service in a variety of FPMT centers since 1992 and has led pilgrimages to India, Nepal, Bhutan, Darjeeling, and Sikkim. She has completed the FPMT Basic Program and is the co-author of Buddhism in a Nutshell and a contributor to Living in the Path. Ven. Amy is an FPMT registered teacher.
Through comprehensive study programs, practice materials, training seminars, and scholarships, FPMT Education nourishes the development of compassion, wisdom, kindness, and true happiness in individuals of all ages.
Heart Advice for Death and Dying, an FPMT Education Services program available on the Online Learning Center, is designed to provide practical instructions for the time of death to students who are interested in learning about death and dying from the Tibetan Buddhist perspective in a structured way. It is recommended that students have some prior knowledge of Buddhism in the Tibetan tradition, in particular the topics of the lamrim, by having completed an introductory course, such as Buddhism in a Nutshell, and at least some of the lamrim modules of Discovering Buddhism.
The Liberation Box contains powerful methods for ensuring a fortunate rebirth for those who have died or are in the process of dying. This collection of tools for the time of death has been assembled according to Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice.
And as always, students are welcome and encouraged to take advantage of all the other resources and training available on FPMT.org to help navigate oneself and others through the death process.
Through comprehensive study programs, practice materials, training seminars, and scholarships, FPMT Education nourishes the development of compassion, wisdom, kindness, and true happiness in individuals of all ages.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche reciting the Sutra of Golden Light, Bodhgaya, India. Photo by Ven. Sarah Thresher.
“Anybody who wants peace in the world should read the Sutra of Golden Light [also known as the Golden Light Sutra],” Lama Zopa Rinpoche has advised. “This is a very important practice to stop violence and wars in the world. The Sutra of Golden Light is one of the most beneficial ways to bring peace. This is something that everyone can do, no matter how busy you are, even if you can read one page a day, or a few lines.”
“For anyone who desires peace for themselves and for others this is the spiritual, or Dharma, way to bring peace that doesn’t require you to harm others, doesn’t require you to criticize others or even to demonstrate against others, yet can accomplish peace. Anyone can read this text, Buddhists and even non-Buddhists who desire world peace.
“This also protects individuals and the country from what are labeled natural disasters of the wind element, fire element, earth element and water element, such as earthquakes, floods, cyclones, fires, tornadoes, etc. They are not natural because they come from causes and conditions that make dangers happen. They come from past inner negative thoughts and actions of people, and from external conditions.”
You can download the Sutra of Golden Light in many languages, learn more about the incredible benefits of this most precious sutra, or receive the oral transmission from Lama Zopa Rinpoche by watching/listening to video/audio.
Through comprehensive study programs, practice materials, training seminars, and scholarships, FPMT Education nourishes the development of compassion, wisdom, kindness, and true happiness in individuals of all ages.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche examines a “Just By Seeing” Mantra he has written out, Washington, USA, October 2016
FPMT Education Services makes available many commonly used mantras that students can download freely for their personal use.
For extensive advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche about the benefits of reading, writing, or reciting particular mantras, or how to engage with mantras to eliminate or reduce potential or ongoing obstacles, please visit the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive for Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Online Advice Book and FPMT.org for Advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
Mani stone at Rinpoche’s house at Buddha Amitabha Pure Land, Washington, US. Photo by Chris Majors.
Mantras, meaning “mind protection,” are Sanskrit syllables, usually recited in conjunction with the practice of a particular meditational deity, and embody the qualities of the deity with which they are associated. They bring benefit to all who see, touch, hear or speak them.
Further, when you recite mantras with the correct motivation (the wish to benefit others), your speech becomes holy speech capable of offering blessings to others. Some mantras are so powerful that they are said to be able to benefit others even when no virtuous motivation is present.
If you are in need of mantras not listed on this page, feel free to contact FPMT Education Services at education@fpmt.org and we will do our best to get you what you need.
Through comprehensive study programs, practice materials, training seminars, and scholarships, FPMT Education nourishes the development of compassion, wisdom, kindness, and true happiness in individuals of all ages.
FPMT Education Services recently made available a precious deity card designed and translated by Lama Zopa Rinpoche. This card features an image of Amoghapasha, a deity connected to Avalokiteshvara (Tib.: Chenrezig), the Buddha of Compassion, and a description of the “unbelievable benefits” of just seeing his image, including becoming free of the “eight great hells and eight great fears.”
Lama Zopa Rinpoche recommends that this image be printed as large as possible and displayed publicly in order that others may benefit.
Download this card from the FPMT Foundation Store.
Through comprehensive study programs, practice materials, training seminars, and scholarships, FPMT Education nourishes the development of compassion, wisdom, kindness, and true happiness in individuals of all ages.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche recently requested that FPMT Education Services make available two beneficial mantra cards featuring Rinpoche’s calligraphy.
These mantras are the Phagpa Chulung Rolpai Do Mantra, which upon seeing, purifies 100,000 eons of negative karma and obscurations; and the Six Syllables of Clairvoyance Mantra, which after fifteen days upon seeing, purifies any heavy negative karma created in the past.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche recommends that these cards be printed as large as possible and displayed publicly in order that others may be purified.
Through comprehensive study programs, practice materials, training seminars, and scholarships, FPMT Education nourishes the development of compassion, wisdom, kindness, and true happiness in individuals of all ages.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche watching His Holiness the Dalai Lama on an iPad, Taos, New Mexico, USA, July 2017. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=bPDtJMaevWQ
https://fpmt.org/media/streaming/lama-zopa-rinpoche-live/
https://fpmt.org/media/streaming/teachings-of-lama-zopa-rinpoche/light-of-the-path-teachings-2017/
Lama Zopa Rinpoche making prayers in front of the new Atisha statue at Kadampa Center, North Carolina, USA. Lama Atisha was author of Lamp on the Path to Enlightenment, the first text that established the lamrim genre.
FPMT Education Services would like to remind you of several resources available to help you integrate the lamrim into daily life. We have created a webpage devoted to lamrim with links to free resources and texts to assist you in your study and practice.
“The most unbelievably important thing in our life is lamrim,” Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaches in the module “Advice for Realizing Lamrim,” which is part of Living in the Path, FPMT Education Services’ essential lamrim program. “The practice of the three principal aspects of the path is the most important thing. This is the most important, more important than a job, money, or anything else in our life. It is the most important thing.”
Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave advice suggesting that students follow a lamrim outline and meditate on each subject for two weeks or one month until all subjects have been completed. “The amount of time for meditation is up to the individual, but the general advice is to finish the lamrim in one year,” Rinpoche said. “To meditate like this each year—wow, wow, wow! That would be great.”
To help students follow this advice, we have created a schedule to help you plan daily lamrim meditation sessions over the course of a calendar year. It was created on the basis of the book The Essential Nectar by Geshe Rabten, which is available through the Foundation Store. The schedule is available as an Excel spreadsheet and PDF.
Through comprehensive study programs, practice materials, training seminars, and scholarships, FPMT Education nourishes the development of compassion, wisdom, kindness, and true happiness in individuals of all ages.