His Holiness the Dalai Lama May 20, 2026. Photo by Tenzin Choejor, courtesy of DalaiLama.com.

Welcome to this month’s e-newsletter! 

July is a very powerful and special month for practice and celebration. On July 6, communities of students and supporters around the world celebrated His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 91st birthday. In his thank-you message to the public, His Holiness expressed: “… When I look back on my life, I see that the core of my practice has been to be of benefit to others. That is the altruistic motivation with which I wake up every day.

“Spreading compassion and kindness continues to be my life’s primary mission. Such an attitude is essential to making our world a better place for everyone. I therefore call on my brothers and sisters everywhere, both young and old, to practice warm-heartedness and compassion, with genuine concern for the well-being of others. To be able to do so is, I believe, what it means to lead a meaningful and purposeful life of service.”

July 18 is the day known as Chokhor Duchen, “Day of Turning the Wheel of Dharma,” and commemorates the anniversary of Guru Shakyamuni Buddha’s first teaching. You can find all of Lama Zopa Rinpcohe’s advice for making the most of this merit-multiplying day. Chokhor Duchen is also the day on which FPMT celebrates International Sangha Day! As a special way to observe this occasion, we are so happy to share a recent interview with Ven. Roger Kunsang discussing 50 years of ordination! 

Please continue to this month’s e-newsletter to find many important causes for rejoicing including advice from Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, news from around the FPMT mandala, opportunities for study and practice, and changes within the FPMT organiziation. 

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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. 

Ven. Roger Kunsang offering mandala to Lama Zopa Rinpoche during a long life puja, 2018.

As FPMT marks its 50th anniversary, we have been honored to receive so much important history from FPMT’s early students. Today, we are delighted to share a conversation with Venerable Roger Kunsang, Board Member, Interim Executive Director, Senior Advisor of FPMT Inc. This year also marks fifty years since Ven. Roger’s ordination — a milestone that has quietly inspired the monks and nuns of the International Mahayana Institute (IMI) and the wider FPMT family. Ven. Thubten Chokyi sat down with him via Zoom to hear the story behind half a century in robes.

We are especially happy to share this interview today, as July 18 marks both the observance of Chokhor Duchen and FPMT’s celebration of International Sangha Day! International Sangha Day offers an opportunity for monastic and lay communities to come together in recognition of their interdependence, celebrating the ways they mutually rely on one another’s practice of the Dharma.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Ven. Roger in the background, 1987. Photo courtesy of LYWA.

Ven. Roger has dedicated his life to Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche and to the FPMT organization. From 1987 until Lama Zopa Rinpoche showed the aspect of passing away, he served as personal attendant, secretary, and assistant, accompanying Rinpoche on the road seven days a week, day and night, for thirty-eight years of continuous service. After Rinpoche’s passing, he joined the search team for Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s reincarnation.

In recognition of his decades of service, Ven. Roger received the “Expression of Appreciation” award from the monastic community of Sera Je Monastery, in recognition of his enduring work as personal secretary to Lama Zopa Rinpoche and his leadership of FPMT in support of the preservation and promotion of the Buddha Dharma.

Over the years he has served in a variety of capacities: As CEO and president of FPMT Inc., as a member of the FPMT Inc. Board of Directors, as founding director of Vajrayana Institute, and as a board member of the Maitreya Project. Ven. Roger has also been a tireless fundraiser for the many projects supporting Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Vision.

We truly rejoice in Ven. Roger’s lifetime of service to the FPMT organization and his lamas. From his earliest days as a young student drawn to the Dharma, through thirty-eight years of tireless devotion at Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s side, to his continuing leadership as Senior Advisor, Ven. Roger’s fifty years in robes stand as a testament to what one life dedicated to the guru and to the benefit of all sentient beings can accomplish. May his example continue to inspire for generations to come!

We are truly honored to share this interview with Ven. Roger, conducted by Ven. Thubten Chokyi, Director of IMI (International Mahayana Institute). 

Please enjoy this interview on YouTube, or read the lightly edited transcript below:

The Journey to the Dharma

Ven. Thubten Chokyi: Looking back, what was it that initially brought you to the Dharma?

Ven. Roger Kunsang: Well, there’s a long story and a short story to that. Generally, during my teenage years, I felt a deep dissatisfaction with what people conventionally believed brought a happy life. I just didn’t feel that path was working for me at all. That’s the short story.

Ven. Chokyi: We don’t mind the long story!

Ven. Roger: Okay. It started with the realization that the things making other people happy weren’t making me happy. I decided that if something wasn’t going to bring genuine happiness, why do it? So, gradually over time, I stopped doing literally everything that, conventionally, people thought made you happy. Based on my own simple analysis and commitment, I just stopped.

Then the big question became: What actually makes me happy? What is the cause of happiness?

One day, I think I was in the US or Canada, and I came to the conclusion that if I focused on helping other people—and it was really sincere—that was something I couldn’t break down. It felt incredibly significant. I was about 19 or 20 at the time, and I thought, “The work I do should be what brings people happiness.”

I thought about becoming a doctor because of the immediate benefit they bring, especially to children. I started doing volunteer work in a hospital in the US or Canada, but not too long after starting, I realized that while doctors fixed children up physically, it didn’t necessarily make them happy.

Then I thought, Okay, it’s the mind that’s the problem. I decided I’d become a psychologist. I read a few books on psychology, but that settled things very quickly—it seemed like they didn’t really know or weren’t entirely sure about what they were doing at that time. So, that dismissed psychology.

A Blowing Wind and a Poster

IMI Sangha in 1977, Kopan Monastery. Ven. Roger Kunsang, bottom right. Photo courtesy of LYWA.

Ven. Chokyi: How did you make the transition from that realization to actually discovering Buddhism?

Ven. Roger: Around that time, I was living in Canada and decided to become a vegetarian so I wouldn’t contribute to harming animals. I was eating at a vegetarian restaurant in Toronto, located in the basement of a university. It was wintertime.

As I stepped outside, a huge blast of wind ripped everything off a nearby notice board. As I tried to close the door and get away from the wind, a single piece of paper blew up and stuck right to my chest. I pulled it off. It was an advertisement for Swami Satchidananda, who was coming to Canada for the first time to lead yoga classes and teach meditation. Immediately, I thought, Meditation. Control my mind. That seems like the next obvious thing to try.

I spent about six weeks regularly going to his yoga classes. By the end of it, he suggested, “You’re interested in yoga and meditation, why don’t you go to India to my master’s ashram?” His master was a very famous yogi who had passed away, and his main ashram was in Rishikesh.

So, I took the trip. I got to England and hitchhiked my way all the way to India. I went to Rishikesh, but while the ashram was nice, there wasn’t anybody there teaching the mental part of disciplining or controlling the mind. Some of the Indian swamis there told me, “You should go high up into the mountains above Rishikesh. There are many yogis living in caves there who can answer your questions.”

I went up there for a few weeks and finally came across a swami living in a cave named Tatambari Baba. He was sitting in the cave completely naked, with hair so long it reached the ground and trailed along it. He had been in that cave for 23 years with no food and no sleep, living in a state of samadhi. Prior to that, he had been an engineer and an officer in the British Indian Army before renouncing life.

I kept bothering him with questions. Every time I asked something, he would say, “I’ll give you a mantra.” I’d ask more questions, and he’d repeat, “Give you a mantra.” Finally, after a few days, he looked at me and said, “For you, better Buddhism.”

I said, “Okay.” I went back down the mountain to the ashram, and right there on a pole was a poster: two Tibetan lamas teaching a one-month meditation course at Kopan Monastery in Nepal. I headed off to Nepal, and that was my connection. It was the sixth meditation course at Kopan, in April 1974.

The Call to Ordination

Ven. Roger Kunsang at Kopan Monastery, 1976. Photo courtesy of LYWA.

Ven. Chokyi: What was that initial experience at Kopan like, and how did it lead to your ordination?

Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaching at the Sixth Meditation Course, Kopan Monastery, Nepal, 1974. Photo by Ursula Bernis.

Ven. Roger: At that time, I was completely bent on understanding the mind and hadn’t found satisfying answers anywhere else. Then Lama Zopa Rinpoche started teaching, and all the answers started coming. I had absolutely no prior knowledge of Buddhism whatsoever. Rinpoche gave us a full dose of the teachings, mostly focusing on the eight worldly dharmas and the suffering of the lower realms.

Ven. Chokyi: And how did the actual decision to ordain come about?

Ven. Roger: After the one-month course finished, I actually left quite quickly. Even though it was extremely beneficial, my self-cherishing mind just wanted to leave because it was grasping at all sorts of things. I continued my travels and eventually returned to Australia after being away for some years.

While there, I got a call from Nick Ribush, who was in Nepal. He told me that Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche were coming to Australia for the first time. They needed a house outside of Sydney where they could alternate doing retreats—Rinpoche would retreat for two weeks while Lama Yeshe taught, and then they would swap.

My job was to find and rent a house, and then act as the cook and cleaner. Rinpoche did his retreat first. At this point, my entire experience with Buddhism was still just that single one-month course at Kopan.

During those two weeks of cooking and cleaning while Rinpoche was in retreat, a thought kept coming up in my mind out of nowhere: Be a monk. Be a monk. It just kept rising. I still didn’t understand much about the Dharma, and I had absolutely no idea what being a monk actually entailed! But the thought persisted.

At the end of the retreat, I mentioned it to Rinpoche, and he told me to ask Lama Yeshe. When I finally asked Lama Yeshe, he said, “Oh yes, dear, you must become a monk. You can go to Nepal straight away and become ordained.” That is the short story—or maybe the long story!

Ven. Chokyi: It’s wonderful. And as you said, you really had no idea what it meant to be a monk at the time?

Ven. Roger: No idea whatsoever.

Thrown into the Deep End

Ven. Chokyi: Looking back over your journey, what do you wish you had understood earlier on that you learned subsequently?

Ven. Roger: Being with Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche at that time was a bit like being thrown into the deep end. There wasn’t a lot of questioning on my part about being a monk, even though I didn’t know the vows or anything.

I was only there a short time before Lama Yeshe offered me rabjung (renunciate) ordination. Shortly after, Rinpoche told me I should go to Dharamshala to receive getsul (novice) ordination. His Holiness the Dalai Lama wasn’t giving vows at that particular time, so I took them from Trijang Rinpoche, with Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche present.

Group ordination at Tushita Meditation Centre with Trijang Rinpoche, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, and Lama Yeshe. Ven. Roger Kunsang, top right. Photo courtesy of LYWA.

Just after I took the getsul vows, I was talking to Rinpoche and he said, “Oh, in three days’ time, Ling Rinpoche is giving gelong (full) ordination. You should do that.” I still didn’t really know what I was doing, but in a very short time, I ended up with full gelong ordination. There wasn’t much preparation or prior experience.

Looking back, I can’t say it was the wrong way around because I was following the advice of my teachers, but to truly adapt to the lifestyle and the vows, familiarity with the lamrim is critical. It can’t just be an intellectual understanding; you actually have to meditate on it and put it into practice.

The more you can do that, the safer you are. When you get ordained, the main enemy you face in keeping your vows is attachment. That was certainly my main enemy. It can come at times very, very strongly. The only way to deal with it is by having actual experience with the lamrim to rely on.

The Reality and Challenges of Ordination

Ven. Chokyi: What would you say have been some of the most significant benefits of living in ordination?

Ven. Roger: From my point of view, I don’t know where my life would have ended up without ordination. It was already a bit crazy. Maybe I would have connected with the Dharma and not become a monk, so I can’t say for sure, but without the vows to help deal with attachment, life can easily become a disaster. It’s as simple as that. You might think you’re having a good time from time to time, but basically, it’s a disaster, and before you know it, life is over, you’re dead, and it has been a waste.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama with Lama Zopa Rinopche and Ven. Roger Kunsang, Livorno, Italy, June 16, 2014. Photo by Matteo Passigato.

Ven. Chokyi: What challenges should Westerners be aware of before considering ordination, or even as they progress through it?

Ven. Roger: Attachment is the big thing. Because it’s difficult to rely solely on karma, I would say it is vital to choose your teacher carefully. If you can, find a teacher who gives experiential teachings—like the teachings His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Lama Yeshe, and Lama Zopa Rinpoche give. Those teachings come from their actual experience of practicing the path, so they touch you much more deeply than someone just teaching intellectually.

On the basis of finding the right teacher, you also have to choose the right environment. If you just hang out in normal, worldly situations, it becomes too difficult for most of us. You might have the teachings, but the worldly conditions that arise will overwhelm you. Being in a monastery or a Dharma center is critical, unless you are much older when you ordain and have already gone through samsara and settled down.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Ven. Roger in Taos, NM, USA, 2002.

Ven. Roger and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, 2009.

Ven. Roger Kunsang and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, 2017. Photo by Andrea Husnik.

Ven. Chokyi: Given your half-century of longevity, do you have any specific advice for those who have been ordained a long time? Sometimes people disrobe even after 30 years or more.

Ven. Roger: Keeping your ordination requires having the underlying good karma for it to last, but it also requires managing your conditions: your teacher first, and then your environment. You need a supportive environment that isn’t attacking you all the time, but something you can rely on when difficult times arise.

By environment, I mean having other ordained people around you, or lay people who are sincerely putting the teachings into practice, alongside ongoing teachings from your masters. Those are the necessary conditions.

Even then, it remains hard for many of us, and some don’t survive. It’s not easy, especially in these times. Most non-Tibetan, non-Nepalese, or non-Indian monastics end up living back in the Western world. Because it is not a Buddhist country, you face constant external conditions and circumstances that are not at all helpful to holy life. There are no magic answers. Unless you’ve got a lot of good karma, it’s just hard.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche with IMI Sangha at Light of the Path Retreat, 2017. Photo by Kalleen Mortensen.

Ven. Chokyi: Well, Venerable Roger, for somebody who appears to have a bucketload of good karma, thank you so very much for sharing your wisdom and your experience with us.

Ven. Roger: Well, I want to mention that my life as a monk hasn’t been easy. It has been a struggle and very hard at times—seriously hard. But I never wanted to give up the ordination, despite plenty of challenges, issues, and lots of tests.

Ven. Chokyi: Thank you very much for your honesty and for sharing your experience. It is a monumental milestone to reach 50 years of ordination. May you continue to live a long and healthy life.

Ven. Roger: Okay, thank you. Bye. 

With grateful thanks to Ven. Thubten Chokyi for conducting this interview and to Ven. Roger for graciously sharing his story! 

Are you an early student of FPMT who was there at the beginning? Do you have a story to share about how you met Lama Yeshe or Lama Zopa Rinpoche or the impact they have had on your life? Have you personally achieved or actualized a request, advice, practice accomplishment, or project given to you by Lama Yeshe or Lama Zopa Rinpoche? We want to hear from you!

Please explore all of the resources we have compiled related to FPMT history. We look forward to all of your creative ideas on how to bring this year-long celebration to your own local activities and personal practices! Please use the hashtag #50YearsFPMT in your social media posts so we can all be connected in this way. 

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.

Chenrezig Institute in Queensland, Australia, inaugurated a new Thousand-Arm Chenrezig statue on July 11, 2026, fulfilling a wish Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche first expressed more than two decades ago. It took the generous support of sister FPMT center Amitabha Buddhist Centre (ABC) in Singapore, along with a new 3D-printing technique never before used to create sacred Buddhist art — to bring the statue from China to Queensland. We rejoice in the fulfillment of Rinpoche’s vision. Here is the story of how it happened.

Consecration of Chenrezig statue. July 2026, Chenrezig Institute

Chenrezig Institute, established in 1974, is the first Western FPMT center. In the year 2000, Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche suggested that its original Chenrezig statue be replaced with a larger one. Since then, CI community has continuously fundraised for the new statue over the last 20 years. In particular, Ven. Ailsa Cameron has been instrumental in fundraising each year during Nyung Na. More recent fundraising has also attracted strong support from overseas donors.

The original Chenrezig statue at mitabha Buddhist Center, Singapore. Photo courtesy of Amitabha Buddhist Center.

The whole story begins in 1995, when Rinpoche advised Amitabha Buddhist Centre (ABC) that a Thousand-Arm Chenrezig statue be made, envisioning it surrounded by a host of Nyung Na lineage lamas to inspire students and, in Rinpoche’s words, “purify eons of negative karma and collect skies of merit and be led to enlightenment quickly.” Rinpoche personally supervised every intricate detail of the statue, crafted by renowned Buddhist sculptors Denise and Peter Griffin beginning in 2013. The finished work — ten and eight-tenths feet (3.5 meters) tall — was completed in Singapore in 2016, just in time for Rinpoche’s visit to Amitabha Buddhist Center. Rinpoche shared that the statue could become a cause for the Dharma to flourish in this world for 10,000 years, as well as benefit FPMT — and, after thirty-one years, this is what is happening.

In 2023, wishing to support a sister center in need and fulfill Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s wishes, Tan Hup Cheng, ABC’s director and president, began a collaboration with Calvin Yu, Chenrezig Institute board member, to create a replica of the Singapore statue. When the original plan to sculpt or mold a new statue proved impossible, Garrick Soon — an ABC member with extensive experience in industrial 3D printing — proposed an alternative: to 3D print the statue instead. What followed was a two-year undertaking that produced the world’s first life-size, 3D-printed Thousand-Arm Chenrezig statue.

Detail of the 3D printing Thousand-Arm Chenrezig statue. Photo courtesy of Amitabha Buddhist Center.

Garrick Soon led the technical process from start to finish. A professional scan of the original statue was followed by twelve months of digital redesigning and refining. The statue was then manufactured in China, where a computer sends electrical signals into a heated tank of liquid resin, causing the form to grow, layer by layer — the main body taking three days to complete, with the statue’s nine hundred and ninety hands and auras grown separately in the same resin bath. The pieces were then joined, and hand-painted in gold and vivid color to match the original.

The beautiful replica was installed at Chenrezig Institute and consecrated on July 11, 2026 — the same day the community gathered to celebrate His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama’s ninety-first birthday. It was, as Calvin Yu, CI board member, told the gathered crowd, a fitting coincidence: His Holiness is himself the embodiment of Chenrezig, the symbol of infinite compassion for all sentient beings. Distinguished guests, sangha members from a number of countries and Buddhist traditions, local councillors, longtime members of the Chenrezig Institute community, FPMT Inc. Board member Dale Davis, generous donors and volunteers joined the celebration, which was also supported by a grant from the Queensland government’s Ministry of Multicultural Affairs. The ceremony was livestreamed on YouTube.

Geshe Phuntsok Tsultrim, the Institute’s resident teacher, Colin Crosby, chairman of the Institute, and Ven. Ailsa Cameron, unveiled the Chenrezig statue together and opened the consecration practice. During this special day, five gold Chenrezig mementos were offered to those who had been pivotal to the project, and one thousand commemorative cards of the new statue were given to attendees.

Geshe Phuntsok Tsultrim with a gold Chenrezig memento during the consecration of Chenrezig statue. July 11, 2026, Chenrezig Institute. Photo courtesy of CI.

“Since 1974 the center has undergone a massive transformation and it was all materialized due to the kindness of so many people that have contributed in so many different ways to the emerging of this center and culminating today first of all in the consecration of this amazing Thousand-Arm Chenrezig statue,” Geshe Phuntsok Tsultrim shared, closing with warm thanks to the CI board member, Calvin Yu, for his dedication and talents — essential to making this and many other projects happen — and wishing him well in this role, now and in future lives.

Consecration practice of the Chenrezig statue. Chenrezig Institute, July 2026. Photo courtesy of CI.

Chenrezig Institute was also blessed with a very auspicious message from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, sent especially for the consecration and read by Ven. Ailsa Cameron, encouraging the community’s continued commitment to kindness and compassion, and to making the practice better known throughout the world.

Ven. Ailsa Cameron reading a message from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, at Chenrezig Institute July 2026. Photo courtesy of CI.

This is not the first time ABC has turned to modern techniques to help replicate sacred Buddhist artwork. In the past two years alone, the center has completed several such projects, making the process more accessible in both cost and time — the original, handcrafted ABC Chenrezig statue took three years to complete, while the 3D-printed version took only one month, at eighty-one percent of the cost. In August 2018, ABC printed a large Amitabha Buddha ceiling mandala in a single day. In May 2017, a local artist hand-carved a forty-two and sixty-five hundredths-foot (13-meter) Maitreya statue from polystyrene foam blocks, refurbished ahead of Vesak celebrations in Singapore this past June.

Geshe Phuntsok Tsultrim during the consecration of Chenrezig statue. July 11, 2026, Chenrezig Institute. Photo courtesy of CI

In 2023, laser-cutting technology was used to machine-cut two-millimeter aluminum plating for twenty-one auras for the Twenty-One Taras at Nagarjuna Center, Bilbao; the software, developed directly by Peter Griffin, was based on the auras he had originally handcrafted for ABC’s own Tara. That same technique helped Sravasti Abbey create a large aura for its ninety-centimeter Tara statue in May 2026, and ABC is now supporting Nagarjuna C.E.T. Alicante in Spain with a set of Tara statues, including a Green Tara to be installed within six months, followed by the accompanying auras. ABC has also used large-scale printing to produce a ten and thirty-three hundredths by fifteen and seventy-five hundredths-foot (3.15 x 4.80-meter) thangka of the Guru Shakyamuni Buddha statue in Bodhgaya, since offered to Chenrezig Institute and Nalanda Monastery in France, and a Thousand-Arm Chenrezig thangka offered to Nagarjuna Center, Alicante (ESP) and Tara Lanka Study Group in Sri Lanka, donated by ABC members. In December 2025, ABC shared a high-resolution image of the Chenrezig statue with FPMT’s sister center in Malaysia, which used it to print a thirty-nine and three-tenths-foot (12-meter) Chenrezig thangka of its own.

Geshe Phuntsok Tsultrim, residente teacher of Chenrezig Institute. Photo courtesy of CI

This is the first time 3D printing technology has been used in this way in the history of Buddhism, making the creation of sacred images more accessible to centers everywhere. We rejoice in this remarkable milestone, and in the merit accumulated through the collaboration of the ABC and Chenrezig Institute communities — and their steady, shared commitment to practice. May such projects continue to benefit all beings.

With grateful thanks to Tan Hup Cheng and Calvin Yu for the valuable information about this holy object project. 

We welcome the submission of news stories from those within the FPMT community. This can be a story about something you have personally completed or accomplished, about someone else who has done so, or about the FPMT center, project, or service of which you are a part. Ideal submissions will give readers reasons to rejoice, share ideas, and create connections between those in the international community. Have something to share? Please let us know!

The high-resolution image of the Thousand-Arm Chenrezig statue has been generously shared by Amitabha Buddhist Center for FPMT centers wishing to reprint it for distribution. Please credit “Courtesy of Amitabha Buddhist Center” when using this image, you can download it here.

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.

François Schick, a Buddhist practitioner and teacher with more than fifteen years of training in the Gelug tradition, is preparing to walk 808-miles(1,300 kilometers) across the Australian wilderness—connecting two significant Buddhist sites and laying the foundation for what may become the country’s first dedicated Buddhist pilgrimage route: “The Stupa Walk.”

The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion, Bendigo. AUS. Photo courtesy of The Great Stupa.

Thousands of pilgrimage routes exist around the world, ranging from the famous Camino de Santiago in Europe to sacred trails across Asia. While many Buddhist pilgrimage routes are found in India, Nepal, and Japan, Australia has never had a dedicated long-distance Buddhist camino of this kind. Thanks to  François Schick, a new sacred walk in Australia will be established. 

Beginning in October 2026, François will walk solo for the first 621 miles (1,000 kilometers), passing through the wilderness of the Blue Mountains, the Australian Alps, and the Victorian Goldfields before reaching Bendigo. The route—named the Stupa Walk—connects two significant Buddhist sites: the Buddhist Vihara Katoomba, one of Australia’s first established Buddhist monasteries, representing the Theravada tradition, and the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion in Bendigo, the largest Buddhist stupa in the Western world. 

 A Path of Compassion: From Stupa to Stupa 

François Schick, Zanzkar valley, Northern India. Photo courtesy of François Schick

A solitary modern Buddhist pilgrimage that aims to foster interfaith dialogue, connection, and shared universal values. A stupa traditionally symbolizes the enlightened mind of the Buddha, the Great Stupa of Bendigo also embraces a profound vision of interfaith harmony and universal values, and the walk reflects the same aspiration. While the first 621,371 miles (1,000 kilometers) will be undertaken as a solitary retreat, the final section of the pilgrimage is intended to be open to others who wish to participate in walking meditation, listening, exchanging ideas, and celebrating the everyday goodness that connects all of humanity.

The journey is expected to take between two and a half and three months, walking through Australian spring into early summer—mild and temperate in the Blue Mountains, cooler and occasionally snowy in the Alps, and warm as the route descends toward Bendigo in December.

For François, this walk is not primarily an endurance challenge. He is dedicated practitioner in the Gelug tradition with more than fifteen years of training, François has been drawn to long-distance walking at the age of thirteen. Over the years, he has completed several pilgrimages throughout Asia, often trekking alone to find silence in the elements. He has spent more than a year in solitary retreat, including six months under the guidance of B. Alan Wallace, focusing on shamatha meditation. He teaches across Europe and at Kalachakra FPMT Center in France, and is currently working on a book on shamatha practice.

“The walk is estimated to take between 2,5 to 3 months, from October to December 2026,” he says. “This is not a race; it is a pilgrimage. The pace allows for silence, observation, and the physical challenges of the terrain”

François Schick. Photo courtesy of François Schick’s website

Although inspired by long-distance pilgrimages such as the Camino, the route more closely resembles wilderness trails like the Appalachian Trail. François will carry all essential equipment, camp for most of the journey, and spend extended periods in remote landscapes.  “This route is unique to Australia. It connects two Stupas” —sacred monuments representing the enlightened mind of a Buddha. “The name reflects the destination and the intention: a walk of mindfulness from one sacred site to another.” The route is not a single marked trail. Instead, it links several major walking networks, including the Bicentennial National Trail, the Australian Alps Walking Track, and a series of rail trails leading into Bendigo. “It reflects the ancient tradition of pilgrims in Tibet, who traversed vast distances through the elements, finding their practice in the silence of the Great Outdoors.”

Some sections require navigation through unmarked country routes, making preparation a significant undertaking. François has spent considerable time mapping the route, identifying campsites, water sources, and resupply points. Logistically, the journey presents many challenges. “Resupply is the biggest logistical challenge.” In remote sections, François expects to carry up to ten days of food at a time. Water management will be critical, particularly in drier areas closer to Bendigo.  He will be in deep isolation for the first 1,000 kilometers as a solitary retreat. “While the wild Australia is home to venomous snakes and spiders, and encounters are possible, the biggest risks, however, are actually heat exhaustion and dehydration, not animals. Water is the lifeblood of this walk”. 

François Schick, Zongkhul Monastery in Ladakh. Photo courtesy of François Schick

Beyond the personal challenge, François hopes to establish a lasting resource for future practitioners. Throughout the journey he will document route logistics, campsites, water sources, navigation details, and reflections from the trail. His goal is to develop both a practical guide and a spiritual companion for future pilgrims. His aim is to document the route thoroughly enough that others can follow. “My goal is to capture the experience not just as a travel log, but as a series of reflections that future walkers can use. I intend to publish the GPS data, logistical notes, and a spiritual guidebook. The aim is to make The Stupa Walk a repeatable journey, opening the way for a permanent pilgrimage route in the West.”

You can learn more about the Stupa Walk and  Francois’ plans for this journey. 

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.

On June 27, 2026, Land of Medicine Buddha, USA, hosted the Medicine Buddha Festival Day, which the center has celebrated annually since 2002.  The highlight is the unveiling of a large magnificent Medicine Buddha thangka. LMB, is custodian of a collection of holy objects including several large thangkas— including the seven Medicine Buddhas, twenty-five feet tall (7.3 meters), painted by Swiss artist Peter Iseli, and the twenty-five-foot thangkas of the Eight Great Bodhisattvas painted by Gelek Sherpa—that are displayed annually on the Medicine Buddha Festival Day. Additionally, the 100,000 Stupa Project at LMB is well underway. 

Land of Medicine Buddha, 2026, Medicine Buddha Festival. Photo Courtesy of LMB Facebook Page

Festivals with large thangkas are a cultural tradition in the Himalayan countries of Tibet and Nepal. On special occasions, these large thangkas are displayed for veneration, allowing attendees to receive blessings. Festival preparation requires months of planning for a large-scale Dharma event.

Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche brought this custom to FPMT centers as one of his Vast Visions, so that all who are involved can be inspired, receive blessings, and rejoice while dedicating prayers for the benefit of others. Rinpoche said: “My wish is for the big centers in FPMT to have these large thangkas. … This is a way to leave imprints for all these people [who see them], for enlightenment.” 

Several other FPMT centers have commissioned large thangkas and are now hosting festival days such as Tara Institute, Chenrezig Institute, Amitabha Buddhist Centre, Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa, Nalanda Monastery, Institut Vajra Yogini, Kopan Nunnery, Tushita Meditation Centre, and others.

The main purpose of the Medicine Buddha Festival is to benefit beings. Land of Medicine Buddha held its first Medicine Buddha Festival Day in 2002, following Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice for the center make it an annual event. Over the years, Rinpoche gave specific advice for the day’s celebration, including offering of meals and having different cultural performances and activities as an offering to Medicine Buddha. This year marked the twenty-fourth celebration, though during the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath, 2020–2024, a small-scale and more private event was held displaying the Medicine Buddha thangka with extensive offering and performing the Medicine Buddha puja.

Land of Medicine Buddha, 2026, procession at the Medicine Buddha Festival. Photo Courtesy of LMB

The Festival Day began with an elaborate procession of the Medicine Buddha thangka from the lower campus, led by a Gamelan procession ensemble together with ordained Sangha and community members, to the Wish-Fulfilling Temple grounds at the top of the hill. The Medicine Buddha thangka is then unveiled and raised between two majestic redwood trees. “This is my favorite moment,” said Denice Taylor Macy, the festival organizer and Land of Medicine Buddha’s former director,  “the arrival and raising of the Medicine Buddha thangka to the music of the Gamelan orchestra. It’s a beautiful, moving moment.”

Land of Medicine Buddha, 2026, Procession at the Medicine Buddha Festival. Photo Courtesy of LMB

The day continues with the Medicine Buddha puja with extensive offerings set out. This year we were honored to have the geshes of Sera Je Monastic University and Gyuto Tantric College join us. The geshes led the Medicine Buddha puja, and Geshe Tenzin Lektsog gave a brief talk on the benefits of the Medicine Buddha practice. After the puja, extensive dedication was made for the center, for FPMT, and for all sentient beings. 

Land of Medicine Buddha, 2026, monastics at the Medicine Buddha Festival. Photo Courtesy of LMB

In the afternoon, a variety of performance offerings were presented, including dances by the GER Mongolian school students and songs and dances by students from the Tibetan Association of Northern California. There was also Qi Gong sessions and a talk on the benefits of Tibetan medicine by Dr. Yangdron Kelsang as well as activities for kids by Tara Redwood School.

Denice Macy at Land of Medicine Buddha, 2026, Medicine Buddha Festival. Photo Courtesy of LMB

Several booths featured our FPMT Bay Area centers. There were also other fun booths, such as the raffle, Merit Stall, and our Gift Shop as well as Tibetan Medicine and acupuncture. The SPCA also has a booth for the adoption of dogs.

The day closed with a two-mile peace walk led the Sera Je geshes. “People were overjoyed this year for the return of festival day,” said Denice. 

We rejoice in the wonderful meritorious actions of the Land of Medicine Buddha team and volunteers involved in putting on a joyous festival and all who joined in puja and offerings.

With grateful thanks to Denice Taylor Macy for sharing the details of this event. We also rejoice that during her time as Director, Lama Zopa Rinpoche requested that Denice direct the 100,000 Stupa Project at LMB. Next year LMB will receive a holy tooth relic of Lama Zopa and  holy bone relic of Lama Yeshe to be placed in the Mahabodhi Stupa shrine room! 

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.

Massimo Corona with Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Lama Yeshe, Nepal, 1972. Photo by LYWA collection.

Massimo Corona was among the first students of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche and is one of the pioneers of Tibetan Buddhism in Italy. Over the past five decades, he has helped found Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa, the second FPMT center in the world and the first Italian Buddhist center. He has served in many roles, including founding director of Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa in Pomaia, member of the first FPMT Inc. Board of Directors, executive director of FPMT International Office, publisher of Mandala magazine, director of the Ganden Do Ngag Shedrub Ling, FPMT center in Mongolia, and interim president of ILTK’s board—offering not only his own life but the devotion, labor, and generosity of his entire family.

As a continuation of our yearlong celebration of the FPMT organization turning 50 in December 2025, we are delighted to share  Massimo Corona’ s story and images as one of the early students of FPMT!  We rejoice in Massimo’s lifelong service and share his story here, largely in his own words.

A Life Offered in Guru Devotion

First Encounter with Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Massimo Corona was born in 1947 and raised in Milan, Italy, into a wealthy family whose fortune came from the fashion industry. As a university student during the student protest uprisings of 1968 that swept through Italy and the wider West, Massimo was drawn into that spirit of searching and questioning. It would prove to be the beginning of a much longer revolution—not a political one, but a Dharma revolution.

Massimo Corona and  Michael Losang Yeshe (Michael Cassapidis). Lawudo Retreat Centre, 1972, Photo by LYWA collection.

After reading about Swami Naryanananda, Massimo decided to travel to India in search of a spiritual teacher.  It was April 1971, and he was twenty-three years old. His younger brother, Luca, then sixteen, had also been sent later to India by their parents, who hoped to distance him from the political unrest in which he had become involved. When Luca ran out of money, Massimo traveled to Kathmandu to help him. It was Luca who suggested they visit Kopan Monastery, where his friend Claudio Cipullo was staying. As Massimo approached the old gompa, a poster explaining the Four Noble Truths caught his attention. “This is exactly what I need,” he thought.

It was there that he first met Lama Yeshe.

Listening to Lama teach, Massimo felt as though every word was directed to him personally. “As soon as Lama started talking, I felt it was all about me – about my mind, my problems, my hopes, faults and dreams. I thought, my God, this is my teacher!” He immediately abandoned his plan to travel to Rishikesh to meet the swami and instead remained at Kopan, where Lama Yeshe had begun teaching Western students.

During their first private interview, Lama Yeshe asked if he wished to receive teachings. When Massimo answered yes, Lama replied:” Well, remember, this is not a path for curiosity, this is a path for practice.”

Looking back, Massimo says: “Meeting Lama Yeshe for me was love at first sight. He guided my life, not only through teachings. He taught from his heart, and that was why he touched our hearts. Practically every word Lama Yeshe said had an incredible impact on me. Lama was telling me what to do with my life. I asked him everything. It was a guru-disciple relationship—not just receiving teachings but having a beacon for my life!”

Near Ordination and Life Change of Plans

IMI audience with His Holiness, Included in the photo are: Massimo Corona, Bonnie Rothenberg, Chokey Thubten (Debra Spring Livingston), Dieter Kratzer, Gareth Sparham Jampa Sampo (Mark Shaneman), John Feuille, Ordination, Pende Thubten (Jim Dougherty), Piero Cerri (Thubten Donyo), Steve Malasky (Pearl),  Ursula Bernis, Yogi (Konchog Jampa). May 1975. Photo by LYWA collection.

Lama Yeshe had set a date in Dharamsala for Massimo’s ordination, to be conducted by Ling Rinpoche alongside the Canadian monk Jampa Sampo. The morning before the ordination, however, Carol—an American woman with whom Massimo had been traveling—arrived and told him that she was pregnant.  For several days he struggled with the decision. Too embarrassed to ask Lama Yeshe for advice, he reflected alone before deciding that he could not leave his unborn child without a father. Instead, he chose to remain a lay practitioner and raise his child in the Dharma. On December 23, 1971, their daughter, Maitri Dolma Corona, was born in the American Hospital of Kathmandu. Soon afterward, Massimo carried her to Lama Yeshe for a blessing, bringing with him the finest Darjeeling tea he could find as an offering. During Carol’s pregnancy, they also had the opportunity to meet His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama for the first time. The audience took place in a small sitting room at his residence in Dharamsala. His Holiness asked Massimo a question that stayed with him throughout his life: “How can you be sure that what you perceive is not a dream?” The question immediately reminded Massimo of something he himself had wondered as an eleven-year-old child, when he had once asked his brother in the dark: “How can we be sure our parents are not a dream?”

 The Early Kopan Courses

Massimo Corona with the newborn baby Maitri at the second Kopan Meditation Course. Included in the photo are: Ann McNeil (Anila Ann), Mark Shaneman (Jhampa Zangpo), Steve Malasky, Gen Wangyal, Åge Delbanco (Babaji), Peter Kedge, Geshe Thubten Tashi (seated in middle), Losang Nyima, Chris Kolb (Ngawang Chötak), Ron Brooks. Spring 1972. Photo by LYWA collection.

The following year, Massimo attended both the March and November Kopan courses. As a young father with a newborn daughter, he was able to follow Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teachings more easily than many of the other students because, before the course began, he had spent time with Rinpoche preparing a thirty-page booklet in English to help communicate the teachings. It was the first version of The Wish-Fulfilling Golden Sun of the Mahayana Thought Training teachings from the Kopan Course.  

The third Kopan Course brought together around fifty students, many of whom would later become future pillars of FPMT, including Peter Kedge, Marcel Bertels, Nick Ribush, Marie Obst, Claudio Cipullo, Piero Cerri, Luca Corona, among many others, and it was here that Massimo felt that something significant was beginning.

Massimo Corona at the third Kopan Meditation course with Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Piero Cerri, Steve Malasky (Steve Pearl), Nick Ribush. Fall 1972. Photo by LYWA collection.

Over the following months, his connection with Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche deepened. He accompanied them to Bodhgaya to attend teachings by Kyabje Ling Rinpoche on The Lama Chopa commentary. Later that summer, he traveled to Lawudo, where he helped distribute food to the Lawudo family and began a Vajrasattva retreat in the Lawudo Cave with Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

While staying there, his infant daughter, Maitri, developed bronchitis and a dangerously high fever just as heavy snow cut the family off from the outside world. Massimo eventually found a jar of sulfonamide left behind by a Mount Everest expedition and gave it to her twice a day until the fever finally subsided. Once she had recovered, he carried her on his shoulders all the way down the mountain to Lukla airport in a single day. At the time, the family was living in Ram’s house near Kopan, close to Laxman’s home. One evening Maitri would not stop crying. Desperate, Massimo and Carol carried her to Lama Yeshe. “He looked at her for a few moments then reached over and pulled out a thorn lodged in the back of her knee. She stopped crying immediately.”

During the time in Lawudo, Lama Yeshe invited Massimo to sponsor a tantric puja at Thamo Nunnery. Watching Lama during the ceremony, Massimo felt as though he had become completely motionless. Afterward Lama said “Did you see? During the puja Lama is gone. Lama is not there! One day, dear, you will learn that the real guru is inside you.”

Toward the end of the year, Lama Yeshe held a public examination at Tushita Retreat Centre in Dharamsala. Massimo remembers: “The room was packed—about one hundred and fifty people. Lama called me and the other senior students, including Jon Landaw. Each of us could choose a topic. I was first and chose The Three Principal Aspects of the Path by Je Tsongkhapa. They seemed happy with my presentation. Then Lama Zopa Rinpoche questioned me about emptiness and the self, asking very unusual questions to see whether I had really understood.” Massimo did all right; one student in the room told him afterward, “I’ve just seen the future of a great Dharma teacher.”

Bringing Buddhism to Italy

Massimo Corona, Piero Cerri, and Claudio Cipullo— the “three Italian Musketeers”—were the first Italian students of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. It was Piero who formally invited Lama Yeshe to teach in Italy.

The first meditation course was held in 1975 at a Barnabite fathers’ retreat center in Eupilio, near Como, with Massimo, Carol, Claudio, and Piero arranging accommodation for eighty students. Wilma, Massimo’s mother, came and when introduced to Lama Yeshe, was immediately and warmly greeted by him. She fell completely in love with Lama Yeshe, —a meeting that planted an important seed of support for the years to come.

The following year, Massimo’s second child, Yeshe, was born in Switzerland. Later that year, he helped organize a second lamrim course in Tartavalle, near Taceno, translated by Stefano Piovella. Around this time, Wilma invited Lama Yeshe to stay for two days at the family’s country house near Asti. Massimo’s father, Pino, initially skeptical of Lama Yeshe’s intention, was won over during a private conversation overlooking the family vineyards, in which Lama Yeshe articulated Pino’s own life principles back to him, one by one. “Tell these young people they have to work, that they can mix Dharma with ordinary life. There’s no need for them to abandon.” Moved to tears, Pino pledged his support to create a Dharma center in Italy.

Lama Yeshe with Massimo Corona, Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa, Italy, November, 1982. Photo by LYWA collection.

During the second Italian lamrim course, Lama Yeshe called Massimo, Piero, and Claudio to his room one evening and asked, “Well, are we going to make a center in Italy or not?”

The three enthusiastically agreed. Lama then asked what they should call it: “Atisha? Lama Tsong Khapa? Or what do you like?”

Lama Yeshe then turned to the question of leadership. “Who is going to be the director? We make democratic. We vote. I vote for Massimo. Who do you vote for? And who is the Spiritual Director? I vote for Piero. And we need a secretary—that is Claudio. See how democracy works? It’s very good!”

Lama Yeshe also instructed them to leave their studies of Tibetan debate with Geshe Rabten at the Tibet Institute in Switzerland so they could work directly at the center and support the new students. Although Massimo loved studying debate, he left everything behind and began searching for a suitable location for the center.

Lama Yeshe and Massimo Corona with the team of Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa. Included in the photo are: Claudio Cipullo, Franchino Morgante, Massimo Andreuzza, Franco Piatt, Claudio Gambirasio. Pomaia 1983. Photo by LYWA collection.

The new Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa was first established in 1976 in a small apartment in Milan while Massimo searched throughout Italy for a permanent home. He placed advertisements in local newspapers and traveled across Veneto, Tuscany, and Umbria, eventually visiting more than one hundred properties. The castle at Pomaia was chosen for its immediate habitability. Massimo sent photographs of the building to Lama Yeshe, who quickly replied, “Perfect. Okay.”  The preliminary purchase agreement was signed in April 1977.  It was, in every sense, a family offering: Massimo’s father, Pino, gave most of the funds from what would otherwise have been Massimo’s inheritance, while his mother, Wilma, stood among the twelve founding members who registered the center with the Italian government, in December 1976.  In April 1977, the first residents moved in, with Massimo the first to sleep in the old castle.

This marked an important milestone in the development of Buddhism in Italy. Although Buddhism had already begun to take root in Italy during the 1960s, the founding of the Lama Tzong Khapa Institute (ILTK) in 1976 marked a turning point, as it became the first permanent Buddhist center in Italy.

Kyabje Zong Rinpoche, Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche in the center with the students. Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa, 1978. Photo by LYWA collection.

In September 1977, on his first visit to Pomaia, Lama Yeshe told the community that two things were essential to a center: Dharma, and money—a statement that startled the largely countercultural audience. “He explained that without money, nothing could be accomplished,” Massimo recalled. During the same visit, Lama Zopa Rinpoche taught for ten days on lamrim and thought transformation, and Lama Yeshe gave a ten-day course on the Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga practice. “Why do we need a guru? Because in order to cure our diseased minds, we need the help of someone who knows how to do it. Since it is extremely difficult to understand how the mind works, we need the guidance of an expert in this area.”

As director from 1977, Massimo oversaw the restoration of the building alongside a steady daily routine of practice. By December, the community had grown to fifteen residents, and a management committee was established. During the first three years, more than half the castle was dismantled, only two rooms were livable, and with no proper gompa, the teachings were held in a huge tent in the courtyard. 

The lamas continued to visit the Institute every year, at least in the early period. During Massimo’s time, the Institute was incredibly fortunate to host many great teachers, including Kyabje Zong Rinpoche in 1978. This year, Lama Yeshe arrived at ILTK on September 13, a few days after Zong Rinpoche and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Zong Rinpoche was teaching the lamrim, and Lama Yeshe was to give a course on the fifty-one mental factors, a study of the mind and its functions according to Buddhist psychology. At the end of the teachings, Lama Yeshe had a long meeting with Massimo and the ILTK community: “If there is no Dharma community, people lose contact with each other. So Pomaia has the function of refuge.” 

The following year brought another period of intense activity. In July 1979 the lamas arrived at ILTK, where Lama Zopa Rinpoche began teaching a course on the Eight Verses of Thought Transformation. While Geshe Yeshe Tobten had already arrived with Massimo’s younger brother, Luca, who had by then become a monk and was serving as his translator.

Lama Yeshe with Massimo and Pino Corona, Harvey Horrocks, and Franco Piatti. Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa, 1983. Photo by LYWA collection.

Massimo with the community worked from early morning until late at night preparing for the visits of the lamas. By then the gompa had finally been completed, one dormitory was finished, much of the castle had been restored, and the upper floor of the lamas’ residence was ready for use. During these years the Institute welcomed many eminent teachers, including Serkong Tsenshab Rinpoche, Geshe Jampa Lodro, and Kyabje Ling Rinpoche, who made his only European stop at ILTK to give teachings and a Yamantaka initiation.  After several years of intensive work, Massimo stepped down as director in 1980 in order to attend to family matters. When Lama Yeshe asked who should succeed him, Massimo recommended Harvey Horrocks, who became director after Claudio Cipullo had served in the role temporarily.

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, with Lama Yeshe, Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Included in the photo are: Massimo Corona, Elisabeth Drukier, Harvey Horrocks, India, JW- Jamyang Wangmo (aka Helly Pelaez or Jampa Chokyi), Jacie Keeley, Nick Ribush, Stefano Piovella, Susanna Parodi Corona, Uldis Balodis, Zia Bassa. Dharamsala 1981. Photo by LYWA collection.

Family Life and Continued Service

Massimo Corona and Susanna Parodi Corona, New Delhi, 1982, Photo by Greg Moscatt.

Although he had stepped down as director of Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa, Massimo’s service to Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche continued in many different ways. At the same time, he returned to the family fashion business, directing the Karma fashion house in Milan together with stylist Susanna Parodi, who would later become his wife. Massimo always smiled when recalling how Lama Yeshe had introduced them. One day in 1980, Lama turned to him and said, my daughter Susanna don’t you think is pitty [pretty]? I think she is really pitty!” The following year, while Massimo was interpreting for Lama Yeshe at an international yoga conference in Milan, Lama turned to Susanna and said, “You look after my sponsor!”, referring to Massimo.

Lama Yeshe and Massimo Corona at the Yoga conference, Milan, 1981, Photo by LYWA collection.

In 1982, Massimo traveled to Tushita Retreat Centre in Dharamsala to receive teachings and  empowerments from Kyabje Song Rinpoche. However, a business commitment required him to leave before the teachings had concluded. Soon afterward, Lama Yeshe wrote to him: “[…] You are in my heart making success for all sentient beings. I dedicate your efforts. Thank you so much. And anything I can do from time to time, you let me know.” 

That same year ILTK hosted the first visit of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. Lama Yeshe arrived two days before and the community worked tirelessly to get the place ready, ”I can still see the incredible toil of working neck deep in trenches installing sewerage lines under the scorching July sun” said Massimo.

The following year, 1983, Lama Yeshe anticipating his declining health, proposed forming an international board of directors for FPMT so that Lama Zopa Rinpoche would be free to focus on teaching rather than administration. Massimo served on this first FPMT board alongside ten other longtime students.

That September, Lama Yeshe made what would become his final visit to Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa. During the visit he invited Massimo to dinner and insisted on preparing the meal himself. Massimo has never forgotten that evening, “That was the last meal he ever cooked for me.”

Passing of Lama Yeshe

Massimo Corona and Susanna Parodi Corona doing puja for Lama Yeshe, Vajrapani Institute, Boulder Creek, California, March, 1984. Photo by LYWA collection.

In January 1984, during Lama’s final weeks, he invited Massimo and Susanna to Palam, Delhi. “He was in bed with oxygen and his little dogs on the bed. As soon as he saw us he took the tubes out and started crying, so soft and gentle,” said Massimo. “I had never seen him cry before. He told us ‘I know you Italians love me so much, but don’t worry, I’ll never leave you.'”

On March 3, 1984 Lama Yeshe passed away in Los Angeles, USA.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche leading the procession to the cremation of Lama Yeshe, followed by Mummy Max, Massimo Corona and other students. Vajrapani Institute, California, March, 1984. Age Delbanco (Babaji) (Photographer). Photo by LYWA collection.

At the time, Massimo happened to be in New York on business. As soon as he heard the news, he and Susanna flew to California and drove directly to Vajrapani Institute. They arrived just as Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Geshe Sopa were about to open Lama Yeshe’s casket. “Rinpoche held my hand and said, ‘The beautiful film is finished. Now the movie has come to an end. Don’t worry. Lama loved you so much. You always did what he wanted,'” Massimo remembered. “From then on it was all pujas. It was intense, very intense, I cried very strongly.”

Building the Foundation

Massimo’s service continued through the following decades alongside his work in business.

In December 1995, he helped establish FPMT Italy as a national legal entity, an initiative led by his mother, Wilma, together with other students. Ownership of Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa was transferred to the new foundation after the original owners generously donated their shares. 

In 1998, his father, Pino Corona, passed away. Years earlier, Lama Yeshe had asked that a plaque be placed at the Institute in recognition of the generosity of the Corona family, saying that without their support the center would not have existed. Although the plaque was never installed, Lama’s words remain a lasting tribute to their generosity.

Group photo with Lama Zopa Rinpoche in Taos, New Mexico, 1999. Photo by Roger Kunsang.

At the end of 1999, Massimo became executive director of FPMT International Office, then relocating from Land of Medicine Buddha in California to Taos, New Mexico. Drawing on his background in business and finance, he introduced professional accounting procedures and arranged for FPMT Inc.’s financial records to be certified by public accountants—work that later proved essential when government authorities requested documentation of the organization’s finances. He also served as publisher of Mandala magazine during this period, and worked to expand Mandala‘s international readership. The magazine, however, continued to serve primarily as the voice of the FPMT community, remaining true to its longstanding mission.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche with FPMT Board of Directors. USA, 2002. Photo by Roger Kunsang.

In May 2002, Massimo organized a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash with Lama Zopa Rinpoche during the holy time of Saka Dawa, bringing together about fifty pilgrims from around the world. From this journey came the FPMT documentary Mystic Tibet: An Outer, Inner, and Secret Pilgrimage, by filmmaker Christina Lundberg. When plans for the pilgrimage changed repeatedly because of unforeseen circumstances that Lama Zopa saw in his mo divination, the group ultimately undertook a pilgrimage around Central Tibet instead. The participants made pilgrimage to many holy places, including a late-night puja at the nunnery where Lama Yeshe’s former incarnation was once abbess. “A really special time” recalled Massimo, during which “Lama Zopa explained everything.”

At Milarepa’s cave, Rinpoche advised the group to pray strongly for the ability to actualize guru devotion as Milarepa had. For Massimo, guru devotion has remained the foundation of his life of service. “Whatever difficulties one has, it can be overcome by the guru devotion practice.”

Looking back over decades of service, he sees no separation between Dharma practice and organizational work. “My advice is to really try to integrate the FPMT work with Dharma with the Guru Devotion […] and if I am working for that, I’m doing it with a very strong devotion, try to make it possible and realize whatever was his vision.” He believes this is especially important for those serving in leadership positions at centers, study groups, and projects: “It is a bigger responsibility if you’re doing it to please your guru; even if you encounter obstacles if you have the guru in your heart, they don’t hurt you.”

Massimo stepped down as executive director of International Office and publisher of Mandala in 2006, though he remained on the FPMT Inc. Board of Directors until June 2008.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche with the FPMT Board of Directors, US, 2004. Photo by Roger Kunsang.

Although he had completed many years of organizational responsibility, his wish remained the same. “I kept saying to Lama Zopa all the time, ‘I want to work for you. I dedicate my life to your activities, whatever they are.'” In 2012, that wish was answered: Ven. Roger Kunsang called to relay Rinpoche’s request that Massimo serve in Ulaanbaatar, at the Ganden Do Ngag Shedrup Ling center of FPMT Mongolia. Massimo served as director there for eighteen months. Among his strongest memories is the devotion of the local community. “Every day they were coming to the room, the ground floor of the building, these ladies doing all kinds of offerings, water bowl offerings, early morning, every day,” he said. “One woman told me, ‘I have to thank you. Since my husband started coming here, he stopped drinking.'”

After returning to Italy in 2015, he rejoined the community at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa. Around 2020, a moment of urgent need for the Institute, he was once again asked to serve—this time as interim president of the board.

Massimo Corona offering kata to Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa, Italy 2017. Photo by Roger Kunsang.

Today, Massimo and Susanna live in a house provided by Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa in recognition of his decades of service. Although he was born into considerable wealth, Massimo used what would have been his inheritance to help purchase the Institute and later donated his ownership share to FPMT Italy.  Looking back, he says he has never regretted that decision. “I actually rejoice when I think of all the people who came here and found the entrance to a real spiritual practice—not an ego-driven one. That’s fantastic.”

His Holiness the 14th Dalia Lama with Massimo Corona, Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa, Italy, June 13, 2014. Photo by Piero Sirianni.

For Massimo, that offering was never simply about a building. It was another expression of guru devotion. “I dedicate my life to the Dharma activities of our Lamas, whatever they are.” From a young man searching for a teacher on the road to Kopan, to one of FPMT’s earliest center directors, a founding board member, and a longtime leader of International Office and Mandala, Massimo Corona’s life has been shaped, decade after decade, by a single unwavering thread: devotion to his gurus and willingness to serve wherever needed.  His story is also the story of a family’s offering. Through the generosity of his family, Pino, Wilma and Luca Corona, the encouragement and companionship of Susanna, and Massimo’s own willingness to dedicate his time, resources, and abilities to the Dharma, countless students have encountered the teachings through the communities they helped establish and sustain. More than five decades after first arriving at Kopan, the thread that has guided his life remains unchanged: serving the vision of his gurus so that others may encounter the Dharma.

We rejoice in his kindness, in the kindness of his whole family, and in the countless lives that have benefited, and continue to benefit, from what they offered.

With grateful thanks to Fabiana Lotito for conducting interviews with Massimo about his life with the FPMT organization.

Are you an early student of FPMT who was there at the beginning? Do you have a story to share about how you met Lama Yeshe or Lama Zopa Rinpoche or the impact they have had on your life? Have you personally achieved or actualized a request, advice, practice accomplishment, or project given to you by Lama Yeshe or Lama Zopa Rinpoche? We want to hear from you!

Please explore all of the resources we have compiled related to FPMT history. We look forward to all of your creative ideas on how to bring this year-long celebration to your own local activities and personal practices! Please use the hashtag #50YearsFPMT in your social media posts so we can all be connected in this way. 

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. 

The News Roundup is a digest of short community highlights from FPMT centers and individuals around the world, as part of our ongoing effort to nourish the “family feeling” and bring back the “News Around the World”  and “News in Brief” sections previously featured in the print Mandala magazine that so many of us have missed! This list of stories is not exhaustive, —just a sample of all the great activities happening in the FPMT family worldwide. 

We hope that reading these highlights will inspire you to rejoice in the family feeling and good works happening in our global FPMT community!  If you would like to share photos or details from your center, we would be happy to include them in the upcoming edition.

Holy Objects  | Prayers & Practices | Teaching Tours & Visits | Dialogue & Discussion | Compassion in Action| International

Holy Objects

Land of Medicine Buddha, 2026, Medicine Buddha Festival. Photo Courtesy of LMB Facebook Page

(USA) Land of Medicine Buddha, on June 27, displayed the 24-foot (7.3 meters) Medicine Buddhas thangka and the Eight Great Bodhisattva thangkas during their ‘Medicine Buddha Festival’. Festivals with large thangkas are a cultural tradition in the Himalayan regions of Tibet and Nepal. On special occasions, these large thangkas are displayed for veneration and for attendees to receive blessings. Lama Zopa Rinpoche brought this custom to the FPMT centers as one of his Vast Visions. We rejoice with all who helped bring it to life!

Rinchen Jangsem Ling Retreat Center, working at the steps of the Prayer Wheel. 2026, Photo courtesy of Rinchen Jangsem Ling Facebook page.

(Malaysia) Rinchen Jangsem Ling Retreat Center is continuing to make wonderful progress on its massive prayer wheel project. Having completed the rotation base—the first sacred milestone—in May (read more in the previous news roundup edition), the community is now building the steps. The prayer wheel project started in 2018, and Lama Zopa Rinpoche once noted that the diameter of the prayer wheel is the width of twelve children’s hands joined in a circle—a measurement that teachers and children together calculated at approximately five meters, which proved to be exactly the width of the delivery truck. The construction has been challenging, but sustained by perseverance and blessing, the community is moving steadily forward. We rejoice in this dedicated effort for the benefit of all sentient beings.

The large printed thangka at Nalanda Monastery, 2026. Photo courtesy of Amitabha Buddhist Center Facebook page.

(France) Generous sponsors from Amitabha Buddhist Center (ABC) in Singapore, have offered a large printed thangka of Guru Shakyamuni Buddha’s statue in Bodhgaya measuring 10.3 × 15.7 feet (3.15 × 4.80 meters), to Nalanda Monastery. The thangka will be presented in the monastery on auspicious days, offering the community an opportunity to purify the mind and accumulate merit. It will be displayed publicly for the first time during the Great Monlam in Paris on the occasion of His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama’s ninety-first birthday, July 6–8, 2026. The same printed thangka of Guru Shakyamuni Buddha has been donated by ABC to FPMT Nagarjuna Alicante, Spain and a slightly smaller version, measuring  12.4 feet (3.78 meters), was donated to Chenrezig Institute, Australia, last month. We are deeply grateful for this generosity and rejoice in the merits accumulated.

(Romania) The Garden of Maitreya, in collaboration with Nalanda Monastery, began building a stupa in Bucharest in May (read more in the previous news roundup edition) and on June 14, held the Groundbreaking Ceremony for the stupa, a puja led by Geshe Sherab. During his time in Romania, Geshe Sherab also visited the FPMT White Mahakala Study Group for a weekend of teachings. We rejoice in this new auspicious beginning. 

Prayers & Practices

 (Malaysia) Losang Dragpa Center celebrated, Zamling Chisang (World Incense Puja Day) on June 29, a significant Tibetan Buddhist festival observed on the fifteenth day of the fifth month of the Tibetan calendar. Regarded as an auspicious occasion for purification and the accumulation of merits, the day traditionally sees practitioners make their way to hilltops and mountain peaks to offer incense and raise prayer flags. The festival also commemorates Guru Rinpoche’s subjugation of local deities and the establishment of Samye Monastery, the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet.

Chenrezig Institute practitioners who successfully completed all eight sets of Nyung Nä, on June 2, 2026. Photo Courtesy of CI Facebook Page.

(Australia) We rejoice with Chenrezig Institute practitioners who successfully completed all eight sets of Nyung Nä, on June 2,  led by Venerable Ailsa. Their dedication, perseverance, and sincere practice throughout the retreat series are truly inspiring. 

(Sweden)  Yeshin Norbu Center’s practitioners, following the precious visit of His Eminence Ling Rinpoche, — during which he bestowed the Vajrasattva jenang,— gathered on June 12–17 for a six-day Vajrasattva retreat. The retreat unfolded in an atmosphere of sincerity, quiet effort, and mutual support, with a shared wish to purify obscurations and create the causes for transformation. Each morning began with Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s practice How to Make My Lives Wish-Fulfilling, setting a heartfelt motivation for the day, followed by prostrations to the Thirty-Five Buddhas. Throughout the day, sessions of Vajrasattva practice alternated with calm abiding (shamatha) meditation, a rhythm that allowed both purification and the settling of the mind to develop side by side. 

Langri Tangpa Center Participants of their first Yamantaka self-initiation in 30 years – an auspicious start to a new era! Photo Credits of LTC Facebook page.

(Australia) Langri Tangpa Center on June 14 held their first ceremonial of Yamantaka self-initiation since 1997,—a meaningful milestone! The six hour ceremony was led by Venerable Tsewang, and was attended by fourteen practitioners, and took several hours to prepare and dismantle. May their practice continue to flourish!

Teaching Tours and Visits

(Europe) In June, Nalanda Monastery and Vajrayogini Institut, Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa welcomed the final dates of the European tour of His Eminence Kyabje Yongzin Ling Rinpoche, which began in April.

His Eminence Serkong Tsenshap Rinpoche, began his European tour in May, with teachings at Centro Muni Gyana, in Sicily on June 6-9, followed by Vajrayogini Institut in France on July 2-4. The full schedule is available on Serkong Tsenshap Rinpoche’s website.

We deeply rejoice in the kindness of all the involved in these extensive Dharma tours and the careful preparation they require. We look forward to sharing stories from these visits in the coming months.

USA) We rejoice with the Ocean of Compassion Buddhist Center (Gyalwa Gyatso) for their new center space. On June 14, the community was deeply honored to welcome Gyumed Khensur Rinpoche Lobsang Jampa, one of the last generations of Tibetan Buddhist scholars to begin their educational careers in Tibet prior to the Chinese invasion. He played an instrumental role in the reestablishment and preservation of Tibetan Buddhist and spread it to the Western world. Gyumed Khensur Rinpoche Lobsang Jampa for the occasion led the Cittamani Tara Puja and blessed the new center space, with powerful practices that are designed to clear obstacles, cultivate success, and bring prosperity to the new location and broader community. Congratulations!  

Gyumed Khensur Rinpoche Lobsang Jampa at Ocean of Compassion Buddhist

Also continuing in Europe is the teaching tour of Geshe Zopa, who has been visiting for the first time several FPMT centers, including Panchen Losang Chogyen Gelug-zentrum (Austria), Longku Center and Lhagsam Tibetan Meditation Center (Switzerland), Tara Mandala Center (Germany) Nalanda Monastery (France) and Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa (Italy).

Nagarjuna Center— Alicante, on June 14, was honoured to welcome the monks of Gaden Jangtse Khamtsen Monastery. Photo courtesy of NC Facebook Page.

(Spain) Nagarjuna Centro— Alicante, on June 14,  was honored to welcome the monks of Gaden Jangtse Khamtsen Monastery. The visit was made even more meaningful by the deeply moving reception of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s relics and the powerful puja offered by the Gaden monks. The monks offered extensive dedication prayers for the center’s community and their families—that they may have the favorable conditions to continue supporting a place where the Dharma flourishes—and expressed deep gratitude for all the kindness they have received.

Dialogue & Discussion

 (Italy) Centro Tara Bianca, in partnership with the UBI (Unione Buddhista Italiana), local civic institutions, and national bookseller partners, is spreading the Dharma beyond the centers’ walls, through the project “On Dharma’s Route.” Inspired by The Art of Happiness – A Handbook for Living by His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Geshe Konchog Kyab, the center’s resident teacher, has given public talks followed by question-and-answer sessions, throughout bookstores in the region. Since its launch, the project has engaged hundreds of people, entirely new to Buddhism who have shown remarkable openness and interest. May these Dharma seeds continue to thrive!

Bridging Perspectives: Buddhism and Science in Dialogue

In the words of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, science and spirituality together can better serve the needs and well-being of humanity. “I hope both science and spirituality may develop to be of better service to the needs and well-being of humanity,”  His Holiness says in, The Universe in a Single Atom: The Convergence of Science and Spirituality (2005). In recognition of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s outstanding contribution to fostering dialogue and collaboration between Buddhism and Science for the benefit of humanity, several FPMT centers have been actively working to bridge these two fields. We rejoice in their efforts to bring this vision to life and to serve others through this meaningful work. Here are some highlights of this work taking place within the FPMT mandala.

Jamyang Buddhist Center London, with Science & Wisdom LIVE, June 20, a dialogue between Geshe Tenzin Namdak and Professor Murray Shanahan. Photo courtesy of JBCL Facebook Page.

(London) Jamyang Buddhist Center, with Science & Wisdom LIVE, hosted on June 20, an inspiring dialogue between Geshe Tenzin Namdak, Jamyang’s resident teacher, and Professor Murray Shanahan, Emeritus Professor of Artificial Intelligence at Imperial College London and Principal Scientist at Google DeepMind, moderated by Chris Scammell of the Buddhism & AI Initiative, titled “Can Thinking about AI help us understand our selves?” We will be covering this event more extensively in an upcoming article. 

(Italy) Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa in collaboration with the University of Pisa, and Prof. Bruno Neri, has just completed a video documentary, titled “Clear Light’” which investigates the connection between meditation and subtle states of consciousness, thanks to the rare collaboration of the monks and geshes of the Sera Jey Monastic University. We will share more details on this documentary soon. 

We look forward to sharing more about Buddhism and Science in the coming months. Do let us know if something is happening at your center!

Compassion in Action

(India) Maitri Charitable Trust in Bodhgaya distributed 454 rations of food and supplements over the past three months, including pulses, milk powder, and infant cereal, in monthly rations to 137 people and provided care for seventy-seven mothers, ninety-five children and young girls, and thirteen elderly women for treatment. They also detected sixty-five leprosy cases and fifty-three TB patients, carried out three Prevention of Deformities camps with fifty-eight leprosy patients, and distributed fifty-two pairs of sandals to disabled leprosy patients. They also vaccinated seventy-four dogs against viral diseases, rescued five animals, treated forty-one animals in their clinic, and cared for eighteen more. 

The Foundation for Developing Compassion and Wisdom (FDCW) has released its 2025 annual report. During the year, FDCW shared the 16 Guidelines program with communities worldwide through partners in Nepal, Italy, Russia, Israel, and India. FPMT Mongolia also adapted the program for people with visual impairments and introduced it at the National Association for the Blind. We rejoice in this far-reaching work.

International FPMT Family 

In celebration of our fiftieth anniversary, the entire FPMT community has been participating in an unprecedented Global Mani Retreat – an inspiring collective offering of practice, harmony, and dedication to the awakening and benefit of all beings, helping to fulfill Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Vision of accumulating 100 Million Mani mantra recitations worldwide.

We Want to Hear Your Story! 

How did your center celebrate His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s birthday (July 6) and how will it observe the upcoming holy day of Chökhor Düchen (July 18)? Reach out and share your plans to be included in the next FPMT News Roundup edition.

These highlights are sourced from the social media, newsletters, annual reports, websites, and WhatsApp groups of FPMT centers, projects, and services. If you would like to share your news and highlights with the wider FPMT family, we would be so happy to hear from you! 

In addition to these highlights, please also read longer community news stories and news from around the world!

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.

Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. Photo from dalailama.org

Today, communities of students and supporters of the universal message of loving-kindness around the world celebrate His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 91st birthday on July 6, 2026.

The Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) International Office joins the world in gratefully rejoicing in His Holiness’s exceptionally beneficial life, and we offer prayers for his good health and long life among us. His Holiness has been an incomparable source of reverence and guidance to the FPMT organization since its inception. Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche always reminded us that the highest priority for the FPMT is fulfilling the wishes of and offering service to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. “This is the quickest and most vast way of benefiting sentient beings,” Lama Zopa Rinpoche has explained.

You can read here the resources for practice on this special day, offered for all those wishing to make His Holiness’s birthday as beneficial as possible — a way to honor a life of unending service to others, marked with extraordinary patience that inspires us all.

Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, during his 91st birthday in Ladakh. Photo credits Tenzin Choejor, dalailama.org

Praises and Requests

“Praises and Requests to His Holiness the Dalai Lama” is a collection of praises of, comments about, and requests for His Holiness the Dalai Lama by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, found in the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive Online Advice Book.

Prayers and Writings by His Holiness

The All-Pervasive Sphere of Great Bliss, Free of Elaboration: Requesting Activities of Palden Lhamo is a short prayer to the protector Palden Lhamo, written by His Holiness in 1973 and primarily aimed at invoking the goddess for the sake of Tibet and its people. The English translation was done by Gelong Tenzin Namjong at the request of Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

When His Holiness was nineteen years old, he composed a Chenrezig guru yoga sadhana titled The Source of All Attainments: The Yoga of the Inseparability of the Guru and Avalokiteshvara. The practice includes visualizations to inspire the development of compassion and wisdom, and is explained by Lama Yeshe in Becoming the Compassion Buddha.

The FPMT Foundation Store offers a number of books and inspirational messages of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Online Celebration of His Holiness’s Birthday

The celebration of His Holiness’s birthday from the Shewatsel Teaching Ground in Leh, Ladakh, India has been live streamed and is available for later viewing on DalaiLama.com and YouTube. During this celebration His Holiness opening message with the auspicious prayer that he recites daily as soon as he wake up, that Je Tsongkhapa composed in the Lamrim Chenmo:

“May the Dharma be revived and spread through compassion. Wherever it has spread before and declined, may it revive; and where it has not spread in the past, may it shine forth.”

The FPMT International Office and all the Centers, Study Groups, and Projects wish His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama a very auspicious 91st birthday and sincerely request His Holiness to live for a very long time, to continue bringing his universal message of peace and compassion to the world and may His Holiness’s wishes be totally fulfilled for the benefit of all.

Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, during his 91st birthday in Ladakh. Photo credits Tenzin Choejor, dalailama.org

Foundation for the Preservation of the 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.

His Eminence Kyabje Yongzin Ling Rinpoche embarked on a two-month European tour beginning in April 2026, visiting FPMT centers and Dharma communities across nine countries. We are delighted to share a digest of his visits to FPMT centers across Germany, Austria, Latvia, Sweden, the Netherlands, Italy, and France, where His Eminence offered, initiations, teachings, and refuge and lay vows. With grateful thanks to Yongzin Lingtsang Labrang for the wonderful photos and information.

His Eminence Kyabjé Yongzin Ling Rinpoche, Nalanda Monastery 2026.

His Eminence Kyabje Yongzin Ling Rinpoche was warmly received upon his arrival in Munich, Germany, by members of the Aryatara Institut and the Tibetan Community of Munich. During the weekend of April 25-26, His Eminence bestowed two days of teachings on the Seven-Point Mind Training (Lojong), and compassionately conferred the Refuge and Lay Vows. In addition, he granted the initiation of The Four-Armed Avalokiteshvara. Hundreds of students including the local Tibetan community queued to offer a khata to His Eminence after the teachings and initiation organized by the Aryatara Institut. His Eminence also kindly met with and gave advice to the Tibetan Community of Munich and, visited the FPMT center in Munich. 

His Eminence Kyabjé Yongzin Ling Rinpoche at Aryatara Institut, Munich, Germany, April 2026.

His Eminence Kyabje Yongzin Ling Rinpoche at Aryatara Institut, Munich, Germany, April 2026.

In Berlin, His Eminence bestowed Seven Medicine Buddha Brothers initiation and teachings on The Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva at Dharma Mati Center (Rigpa) where he also met and gave advice to the Tibetan community. There, he also received Venerable Thubten Chodron for an audience. Ven. Chodron, a pioneer student of FPMT, originally received her ordination from the previous Ling Rinpoche, His Holiness the 6^th Kyabje Yongzin Ling Rinpoche, who was the Principal Teacher for His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and whom His Holiness refers to as “My Root Guru.”

H.E. Ling Rinpoche with Venerable Thubten Chodron in Berlin, April 2026.

On May 6, His Eminence arrived in Vienna, Austria, where a warm and heartfelt reception was offered by the members of Panchen Losang Chogyen Center and the Tibetan community. On May 8, His Eminence graciously bestowed the highest yoga tantra Buddha Amitayus Long Life Initiation to the Tibetan Community of Austria.

H.E. Ling Rinpoche at Panchen Losang Chogyen Centre, Vienna, 2026.

At Panchen Losang Chogyen Center on May 9-10, His Eminence graciously bestowed the Orange Manjushri initiation, teachings on The Three Principal Aspects of the Path and Refuge with Lay Vows. People from several different countries attended the two-day program with great devotion to receive these precious Dharma teachings and blessings. 

Later on May 13, His Eminence briefly visited Prague, Czech Republic where he bestowed the highest yoga tantra Buddha Amitayus Long Life Initiation and taught on The Four Noble Truths at Tibetan Open House.

In Latvia, over the weekend of May 16–17, at Ganden Buddhist Meditation Center, in Riga, His Eminence bestowed a precious teaching on The Heart Sutra, and bestowed the Orange Manjushri initiation plus Refuge Vows. The two-day program brought together many devoted students and practitioners to receive Dharma guidance and blessings. 

H.E. Ling Rinpoche at at Ganden Buddhist Meditation Center, in Riga, May 2026.

On May 21, His Eminence received a warm welcome reception by the local Dharma community of Yeshin Norbu Meditation Center in Stockholm, Sweden. His Eminence offered a public talk on the importance of cultivating a loving heart for inner peace and happiness. Here, His Eminence emphasized that true inner peace and happiness come from working on the mind and spoke of a paradox of our times: although peace is a universal wish, often the world tries to achieve it through systems conditioned by fear, competition, and defense – how can true peace can arise without cultivating peace within our own hearts?  On May 23–24, His Eminence gave teachings on The Four Immeasurable Thoughts and bestowed the Vajrasattva with Consort Initiation with Refuge and Lay Vows. 

H.E. Ling Rinpoche at Yeshin Norbu Meditation Center in Stockholm, Sweden.

One of the students from the local Dharma community asked His Eminence about his relationship with Lama Zopa Rinpoche. He recalled: “He was a wonderful human being and teacher, something that you don’t realize when he is with us physically but when the person is gone then we really realize how he was. He lived his life totally for others, and this is something very hard to find – he neglected his own welfare, his health and always lived for serving others, something very unique. He lived his life very simply, down to earth, totally simple, no luxury, almost without belongings, only his books and prayer objects. This is one of the main reasons I respect him.“

He also recalled that in the 1960s Lama Zopa Rinpoche met His Holiness the 6^th Kyabje  Yongzin Ling Rinpoche, his predecessor, in Ghoom Monastery in the Darjeeling area of West Bengal, India, developing a strong friendship. The current Ling Rinpoche knew Lama Zopa Rinpoche from the very beginning of his life, though not remembering the first time of their meeting. Lama Zopa later requested His Eminence to teach around in the FPMT centers. This was one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s last wishes, which His Eminence is doing his utmost to fulfill.

His Eminence Ling Rinpoche with Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

His Eminence remembers meeting Lama Zopa Rinpoche a few times in his last year, especially in his last month. He recalled receiving the sad news by phone, which he expressed as being painful and difficult, but then His Eminence realized it was a big teaching Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave and the right time to take rebirth to benefit people. “May all his wishes come true and may he come back in someone who can really benefit people, who could fill in the shoes of Lama Zopa and continue to benefit countless sentient beings, so the student must continue to pray, because the karmic relationship is very strong,” His Eminence advised. “Remember his kindness and then pray for the unmistaken child, someone who could lead the students, look after them, and fill in his shoes, this is your responsibility; I’m doing mine!”  

Please watch the video to see this heartfelt reflection. 

On May 27, His Eminence received a warm welcome upon arrival at Amsterdam Schiphol International Airport in the Netherlands from the heads of several local Dharma centers. On May 28, His Eminence visited local Dharma centers to bestow blessings and give talks, starting at the Maitreya Instituut in Loenen, where he received a warm reception and held a question-and-answer session with the members and students of the Dharma center and later visited Jewel Heart to give a public talk on The Buddhist Response to a World in Turmoil.  

H.E. Ling Rinpoche at Kadam Choling, May 2026.

On May 29-30, the three local Dharma centers, Jewel Heart, Kadam Chöling and Maitreya Instituut, collaboratively hosted His Eminence to teach A Song Based on Experience by Je Tsongkhapa and as it was the holy day of Saka Dawa, the three centers offered His Eminence a Long Life Prayer Ceremony. Later in the auspicious day, the Tibetan Community of the Netherlands and Rigpa community of Amsterdam separately offered two Tsogs to His Eminence.

On June 3, His Eminence received a heartfelt and joyous welcome at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa, Pomaia in Italy. During June 5-7, His Eminence began with consecrating the Stupa of Enlightenment for Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Later he offered commentary on The Songs of Experience by Je Tsongkhapa and bestowed the highest yoga tantra Buddha Amitayus Long Life Initiation conferring blessings for longevity, merit, and spiritual accomplishment for all. His Eminence was invited to bless a local Dharma center which he did later as well. 

H.E. Ling Rinpoche at ILTK, June 2026.

In France, on June 11, His Eminence received a warm welcome from Nalanda Monastery and Institut Vajra Yogini in Toulouse, by the resident geshes, monastics and members of the community. On June 12, he compassionately offered the precious highest yoga tantra empowerment of Je Rigsum Chikdüp  the combined practice of Manjushri, Avalokiteshvara, and Vajrapani in one at Institut Vajra Yogini.

H.E. Ling Rinpoche at Institut Vajra Yogini, France, May 2026.

On June 13-14, His Eminence graciously bestowed two-days of teachings at Nalanda Monastery on The Three Principal Aspects of the Path by Je Tsongkhapa, and kindly bestowed the initiations of Arya Sitātapatrā (White Umbrella Goddess) and the Long-Life Empowerment of Cintachakra White Tara, The Wish-Fulfilling Wheel, with great compassion and kindness. His Eminence later traveled to the Paris area to continue his teachings and initiations at Instituts Ganden Ling and then with the Tibetan Community.

H.E. Ling Rinpoche at Nalanda Monastery, France 2026.

His Eminence concluded the European tour in Basel, Switzerland where he received a grand, traditional welcome ceremony by the Tibetan Community of Basel and continued to share his blessings by bestowing initiations, teachings and meeting with the communities at large.

H.E. Ling Rinpoche at Nalanda Monastery, France 2026.

On July 5, His Eminence will kindly offer (online) the Chenrezig Sadhana: Oral Transmission & Commentary for the entire FPMT community as part of the Global Mani Retreat, in continued fulfillment of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s wishes. Attending this teaching is also a wonderful way to celebrate the July 6 birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama! 

We invite you to read more about the Global Mani Retreat and join the FPMT community in this precious accumulation.

We offer congratulations and thanks to all of the FPMT centers involved in making this tour a success and benefit to so many who received teachings along the way! 

Foundation for the Preservation of the 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.

Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi leading puja at the Vesak Celebrations 2026.

Welcome to this month’s newsletter!

We hope that you all took advantage of many merit-increasing opportunities over the Saka Dawa period.

In this month’s newsletter, you will find many causes for rejoicing from around the FPMT mandala, as well as some upcoming precious opportunities for study and practice, including Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s collected advice on how to celebrate His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s upcoming birthday on July 6. 

Please read this month’s enews in its entirety!

Have the e-News translated into your native language by using our convenient translation facility located on the right-hand side of the page.

Visit our subscribe page to receive the FPMT International Office News directly in your email inbox.

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. 

From May 29 to 31, 2026, Amitabha Buddhist Centre (ABC) held its twenty-ninth annual public Vesak celebration — marking the full moon day on which Buddhists around the world commemorate the Buddha’s birth in Lumbini, his enlightenment in Bodhgaya, and his passing in Kushinagar. Director of ABC Tan Hup Cheng shared some incredible details of the history and effort behind this event, and we are delighted to share this story with you. 

Vesak Celebrations 2026, Singapore. Photo courtesy of Amitabha Buddhist Centre.

Vesak is a time to reflect on the preciousness of this human life and on the reality of impermanence — that all beings are subject to birth, old age, sickness, and death. It is also a time to renew our refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha as the unmistaken path to liberation. For twenty-nine years, Amitabha Buddhist Centre has offered this occasion to the wider community of Singapore, and we rejoice in what this year’s celebration made possible.

The three-day event was held at the Aljunied Open Ground beside the MRT station — the same site where the first public celebration took place in May 1997. This year, as in previous years, more than 3,000 people gathered over the course of the three days.

Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi leading puja at the Vesak Celebrations 2026. Photo courtesy of Amitabha Buddhist Centre, Singapore.

They were especially fortunate that Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi was able to join them. Rinpoche led Refuge and the Five Precepts, the Eight Mahayana Precepts, and blessings for the public and for animals, and presided over the pujas together with the Kopan Sangha. Over the three days, the community gathered for Chenrezig Puja, Yamantaka Fire Puja, Tara Puja, Namgyalma Puja with 1,000 offerings, White Dzambhala Wealth Deity Puja, Medicine Buddha Puja, and Vajravidarana Ritual.

30ft (9 meters) Maitreya Statue during Vesak Celebrations 2026, Singapore. Photo courtesy of Amitabha Buddhist Centre.

A focal point of this year’s celebration was a thirty-foot (nine-meter) Maitreya statue — a large holy object made from polystyrene foam and displayed at the center of the grounds for circumambulation and offerings. Each year, ABC creates and displays a new holy object in this way as part of the merit-making offered to all who attend. Community activities throughout the three days included a bodhicitta art coloring contest, sutra tracing, gilding a statue of the Buddha, and the traditional bath offering ceremony.

Tan Hup Cheng, ABC director reflects on how this offering has grown over nearly three decades:

Vesak Celebrations 2026, organised by Amitabha Buddhist Centre in Singapore. Photo courtesy of Amitabha Buddhist Centre.

“The first public Vesak celebrations began in May 1997, on this same site next to the MRT station. The conditions came together to allow us to do it on a big scale, and every year when a Dharma celebration of this scale is staged, you see a spontaneous appearance of volunteers coming forward to man the different stalls. I have seen children below twelve going round to serve drinks to the other volunteers. You also see grandmothers over seventy coming to sell candles and flowers. You also see devotees coming to make offerings to the Buddha images, with deep devotion.”

Vesak Celebrations 2026, Singapore. Photo courtesy of Amitabha Buddhist Centre.

The preparation behind this offering is itself a year-long practice. An eleven-member volunteer executive committee, four staff members, and two hundred volunteers carry the work together. Dates are set a year in advance. Ten months out, organizers write to authorities for permission to use the open ground. Three months before, publicity on social media begins and sponsorships are invited from members and the public. Two months before, contractors and service providers are engaged. Two weeks before, the large tentage goes up and stalls are installed. Eleven weeks before the event, monks from Kopan Monastery arrive to lead all the pujas. On the opening day, Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi and the Kopan Sangha begin the celebration with the first puja.

Vesak 2026, Singapore. Photo Courtesy of Amitabha Buddhist Centre

ABC is committed to staging this public Vesak event each year in order to offer as many people as possible the opportunity to create merit and encounter the Dharma. “Many of our existing members came to ABC because of Vesak,” Tan Hup Cheng recalls. “Some members of the public will come to the center and study the Dharma. It is a life-changing experience for them. They may not have met the Dharma had we not organized this event.”

Thank you dinner for the volunteers of Amitabha Buddhist Centre. Vesak 2026. Photo courtesy of Amitabha Buddhist Centre

The director notes that events of this scale are only possible with a large and dedicated volunteer force. The weekend following the celebration, ABC hosted a buffet dinner at Lotus Vegetarian Restaurant for all who had served — joined also by Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi — as an expression of gratitude for their collective effort and kindness.

We rejoice with Amitabha Buddhist Centre, with Khen Rinpoche, with the Kopan Sangha, and with the thousands of people who year after year find their way to the Dharma through this generous and sustained offering. May all the merit created over these three days benefit all sentient beings.

Please read about other events and celebrations around FPMT during the holy month of Saka Dawa.

We welcome the submission of news stories from those within the FPMT community. This can be a story about something you have personally completed or accomplished, about someone else who has done so, or about the FPMT center, project, or service of which you are a part. Ideal submissions will give readers reasons to rejoice, share ideas, and create connections between those in the international community. Have something to share? Please let us know!

Volunteers of the Vesak Celebrations 2026, Singapore. Photo courtesy of Amitabha Buddhist Centre.

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.

Robert Alexander Farrar Thurman passed away on June 16, 2026, at the age of eighty-four, at his home in Woodstock, New York.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Prof. Robert Thurman viewing a White Tara thangka offered by Shantideva Meditation Center to Tibet House, New York, August 2015. Photo by Edward Sczudlo. Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Professor Robert Alexander Farrar (Bob) Thurman was widely regarded as America’s foremost scholar of Tibetan Buddhism and a tireless advocate for the Tibetan people and their culture. He held a Ph.D. from Harvard University and the Jey Tsong Khapa Chair in Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University—the first endowed chair in Buddhist Studies in the West. A prolific author whose books brought Tibetan Buddhist thought to a broad readership, he was also co-founder and president of Tibet House New York and the American Institute of Buddhist Studies, and a recipient of the Padma Shri award. In 1997, Time magazine named him one of its 25 Most Influential Americans. Professor Thurman was an FPMT Registered Teacher in the Senior Teachers in the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition category. He remained active in his work for Tibet House and Menla, his retreat center in the Catskills, up until his death. 

Ven. Roger Kunsang shares, “Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Bob Thurman had a long relationship going back to the 1970s with many meetings filled with lots of laughter– joking and then serious discussions on teachings, texts, and Tibet.”

Professor Thurman first met Lama Thubten Yeshe in 1978 in Delhi, where Nick Ribush arranged a lunch at the Imperial Hotel. Lama Yeshe shared with him a vision: to translate all volumes of the Tibetan Tengyur into English. The Tengyur comprises over 3,600 treatises on the “liberating arts and sciences”—too vast for any single person to translate in a lifetime. Years later, in 2011, Professor Thurman led the monumental effort to begin the translation of the Tengyur collection into English, Chinese, Hindi, and other languages through the American Institute of Buddhist Studies at Columbia University Press, as the Treasury of the Buddhist Sciences series. He taught at several FPMT centers and contributed articles to Mandala magazine. In August 2015, he welcomed Lama Zopa Rinpoche to Tibet House during Rinpoche’s visit to New York City. 

Born in New York City in 1941, Professor Thurman was among the earliest Western scholars and practitioners to devote his life to Tibetan Buddhism. He made tremendous contributions to the study, preservation, and dissemination of Tibetan Buddhism through his extensive writings, translations, and academic work, a contribution that was also recognized by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. His Holiness expressed his condolences, describing Professor Thurman as one of the world’s foremost scholars of Buddhism:

“As a Buddhist scholar, his knowledge was truly remarkable, including his command of the Tibetan language. He devoted his entire professional life to sharing that knowledge, not only with his students, but with the wider world through his writings and teachings. He understood profoundly that the survival of Tibetan Buddhist culture is inseparably linked to the future of Tibet itself. I greatly valued his efforts on behalf of the Tibetan people and their culture, expressed so visibly through institutions such as Tibet House.”

Dalai Lama’s tribute to Robert A.F. Thurman, June 17, 2026

In 1964, Professor Thurman became the first Westerner ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist monk directly by the Dalai Lama. He studied for almost thirty years as a personal student of His Holiness the Dalai Lama who described him as a great friend.

“I learned with deep sadness of the passing of […] my dear friend, Prof. Robert Thurman. […] As you know, Bob and I shared many years of warm friendship since we first met in India in the late 1960s.”

Professor Thurman belonged to the first generation of scholars and practitioners who made authentic Tibetan Buddhist teachings broadly accessible to Western students following the Tibetan diaspora. Among his many publications, Professor Thurman was the translator of The Tibetan Book of the Dead (Bantam Books, Inc., 1993), and author of many other books, including Inner Revolution: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Real Happiness (Riverhead Trade, 1999), The Central Philosophy of Tibet: A Study and Translation of Jey Tsong Khapa’s Essence of True Eloquence (Princeton University Press, 1994), Brilliant Illumination of the Lamp of the Five Stages: Practical Instructions in the King of Trantras, The Glorious Esoteric Community (Columbia University Press, 2011), Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet (Harry N. Abrams, 2000), and Why the Dalai Lama Matters: His Act of Truth as the Solution for China, Tibet, and the World (Simon and Schuster, 2008), among others.

Rinpoche with Professor Bob Thurman Photo: Ven.Sherab Aug 2015

His Holiness reflected “Bob lived a meaningful life and has left behind a legacy that will continue to inspire future students of Tibetan Buddhism and culture for generations to come. I am sure that the merit he accumulated through a lifetime of service to humanity will bear fruit in lives to come.”

To explore Professor Bob Thurman’s life work in more detail, please visit his personal website. 

Please pray that Robert A.F.  (Bob)Thurman may never ever be reborn in the lower realms, may he be immediately born in a pure land where he can be enlightened or to receive a perfect human body, meet the Mahayana teachings and meet a perfectly qualified guru and by only pleasing the guru’s mind, achieve enlightenment as quickly as possible. More advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche on death and dying is available, see Death and Dying: Practices and Resources (fpmt.org/death/).

To read more obituaries from the international FPMT mandala, and to find information on submission guidelines, please visit our new Obituaries page (fpmt.org/media/obituaries/).

An interview with Dr. Robert A.F. Thurman, “Engaged Realism,” originally published in Mandala, October–November 2006, is available to read online.