FPMT News Around the World

Ven. Thubten Gyalmo and liberated animals, Bulgan province, Northern Mongolia, August 2019. Photo by Ianzhina Bartanova.

In August 2019, Ganden Do Ngag Shedrup Ling, the FPMT center in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, successfully liberated four male goats and ten male sheep. They now have a new home in Bulgan province, Northern Mongolia, approximately 400 kilometers (248 miles) from the capital Ulaanbaatar, and are in a peaceful environment with beautiful green surroundings. They are now no longer in danger of being eaten. Center director Ianzhina Bartanova shares the story.

Clearly, the tradition to liberate animals from life-threatening conditions was well-known and practiced in Mongolia in the past. However, nowadays it is so rare, and many people do not have an awareness of this. But Ven. Thubten Gyalmo, the FPMT resident teacher at Ganden Do Ngag Shedrup Ling, is sharing information about animal liberation via radio in Mongolia and during her weekly classes at the center in Ulaanbaatar.

The reality in Mongolia is that there is a high consumption of meat. It is one of the main reasons that seven years ago Lama Zopa Rinpoche recommended that the Mongolian center host a 100 million mani retreat on an annual basis. (A 100 million mani retreat is where retreatants recite the Chenrezig mantra OM MANI PADME HUM a 100 million times.) In addition to the mani retreats, Ganden Do Ngag Shedrup Ling has initiated an animal liberation, the very first one for the past twenty years. The animals were rescued from the butcher market during Mongolia’s national festival of Naadam, a time of great celebration when mutton dishes are widely served.

The liberation combined two traditions: the Mongolian one and lineage of Lama Zopa Rinpoche. According to Mongolian tradition, only male sheep and goats should be liberated, and a special animal liberation sutra must be recited for removing obstacles, obtaining longevity, and attainment of nirvana. Also this tradition requires one to sprinkle blessed water over the animals, to put mani pills inside their mouths, anoint their heads and hooves with some oil, and shower flower petals over them while reciting auspicious mantras. Moreover, our liberated animals have their own ID cards and names. Male sheep are called Yamuchil One, Yamuchil Two, etc., up to number ten, and male goats are called Tsevel One, Two, Three, and Four respectively. These names are mentioned in the sutra.

Liberated animals ID cards, Mongolia, August 2019. Photo by Ianzhina Bartanova.

Traditionally, liberated Mongolian sheep were not shorn so people could easily recognize them from their long fleece. Upon the advice of the local herder and drawing from today’s practice of animal husbandry, the health of the sheep will be compromised if not shorn, especially during the summer heat. Therefore, we will shear them at a suitable time. We had quite a chuckle imagining sheep with very long “wool,” their limbs and horns “massaged” with oil, and having passed through some detox diet of mani pills, and emerging from a flower-spa procedure. So we called them “hippie animals,” our Mongolian flower children.

Following Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice, various preliminary prayers, mantra recitations, and other practices were done and concluded with special FPMT dedication prayers. We had a beautiful altar with a Buddha statue, sutras, stupas, and tsa-tsas arranged in the middle of their new home so animals could do korwa around the altar. It was challenging—however quite fun—to lead them in their first circumambulation.

First korwa with the liberated animals, Bulgan province, Northern Mongolia, August 2019. Photo by Ianzhina Bartanova.

Third korwa with the liberated animals, Bulgan province, Northern Mongolia, August 2019. Photo by Ianzhina Bartanova.

During the auspicious 25th lunar day, Idgaa Choinzinling monks and Dolma Ling nuns led a naga puja near the local water source and a Lama Chopa puja in the local herder Jigmed’s ger. Early in the morning while doing the naga puja, we were blessed with a clear blue sky and the appearance of the sun and moon at the same time; a thangka painting became a reality.

Monks and nuns leading a Naga puja, Bulgan province, Northern Mongolia, August 2019. Photo by Ianzhina Bartanova.

The Lama Chopa puja was done in a traditional tent (ger or yurt) with around twenty participants. It was amazing how such a small ger could fit so many people.

Herder Jigmed offering tsog, Bulgan province, Northern Mongolia, August 2019. Photo by Ianzhina Bartanova.

Animal liberation team with some local residents: Ani Choinzom, Ani Cunchen, local student, Ani Gyalmo, local driver, animal liberation coordinator Munkhtuvshin, spiritual program coordinator Khulan, local driver, center director Ianzhina, monk Zoksonbaatar, herder Jigmed and his friend posing on top of an extinct volcano’s crater, Bulgan province, Northern Mongolia, August 2019. Photo courtesy of Ianzhina Bartanova.

Special thanks to our local herder Jigmed, who has kindly offered to take care of the animals. Jigmed has been participating in 100 million mani retreats in Ulaanbaatar since 2013, and he was very inspired by Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teachings on kindness to animals. Jigmed specially built the fence around his ger and will provide all necessary supplies and care to several Tsevels and Yamuchils. We are also very grateful to local and foreign sponsors, and we encourage everyone to participate in our virtuous activities of saving animals’ lives next year. Let’s make a Dharma herd!

Animal liberation practice, Bulgan province, Northern Mongolia, August 2019. Photo by Ianzhina Bartanova.

Monks reciting prayers through a loud speaker, Bulgan province, Northern Mongolia, August 2019. Photo by Ianzhina Bartanova.

Jigmed and our dear animals, Bulgan province, Northern Mongolia, August 2019. Photo by Ianzhina Bartanova.

Animal blessing practice can be done by students on their own, in other words, a teacher or ordained Sangha member is not needed to lead the practice. For more on practices to benefit animals, see:
https://fpmt.org/education/benefiting-animals-practices-and-advice/

For more information about Ganden Do Ngag Shedrup Ling, visit their website:
http://www.fpmtmongolia.org/shedrub-ling-center

FPMT.org and Mandala Publications brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings, and events from over 160 FPMT centers, projects, and services around the globe. If you like what you read, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.

H.E. Ling Rinpoche with Geshe Lobsang Jamphel, Geshe Jamphel Gyaltsen, Geshe Lobsang Yonten, Geshe Tenzin Loden, and Ven. Tenzin Khentse at Nalanda Monastery, Labastide-Saint-Georges, France, May 2019. Photo by Ven. Thubten Kunkhen (Nico Balthazar).

His Eminence the 7th Kyabje Ling Rinpoche arrived at the Toulouse airport in France on April 30, 2019. Rinpoche was welcomed by representatives from Nalanda Monastery and Institut Vajra Yogini, FPMT centers near Toulouse. Rinpoche remained in France through the end of May 2019, teaching at several Dharma centers including Nalanda Monastery, Monastère Dorjé Pamo, an FPMT nunnery near Toulouse, Institut Vajra Yogini, and Kalachakra Centre, an FPMT center in Paris. From May 3-5, 2019, Rinpoche gave three days of teachings on “Mind Training Like the Rays of the Sun,” and bestowed the White Tara Long Life initiation at Institut Vajra Yogini. Ven. Losang Gyaltsen, Nalanda Monastery director, Ven. Chantal Tenzin Dekyi (Chantal Carrerot), Monastère Dorjé Pamo coordinator, and Laura Haughey, a Kalachakra Centre student share the story about Rinpoche’s visit to France.

On May 2, 2019, Nalanda Monastery had the great privilege to receive His Eminence Ling Rinpoche. Rinpoche kindly gave advice to the community on the importance of study and also taming one’s mind. Rinpoche’s great humor and kindness were very much appreciated by the community. We hope that H.E. Ling Rinpoche will come again next year as we are hoping to develop this connection.

Geshe Lobsang Jamphel, the present abbot of the Monastery praised H.E. Ling Rinpoche, saying Rinpoche is a great hope for the Tibetans. We also feel H.E Ling Rinpoche will be a great hope for the Dharma in the West. Deep gratitude to His Eminence for sharing with us Rinpoche’s precious time, wisdom, and compassion.

H.E. Ling Rinpoche with Geshe Lobsang Jamphel and Geshe Tenzin Loden at Nalanda Monastery, Rouzegas, Labastide-Saint-Georges, France, May 2019. Photo by Ven. Thubten Kunkhen (Nico Balthazar).

On the occasion of H.E. Ling Rinpoche’s visit to Institut Vajra Yogini in early May, Rinpoche honored us with a visit to Monastère Dorjé Pamo. Rinpoche was accompanied by Geshe Tenzin Loden, FPMT resident geshe at Institut Vajra Yogini, and Geshe Lobsang Jamphel, abbot of Nalanda Monastery, as well as Rinpoche’s attendants Geshe Lobsang Yonten and Ven. Tenzin Khentse.

A few nuns and volunteers had gathered, and we all had tea and refreshments on the terrace in a very relaxed atmosphere. Rinpoche blessed our gompa as well as a Tara thangka just offered to us by one of our benefactors. Rinpoche also provided advice and encouragement, highlighting the importance of harmony in developing our new community.

H.E. Ling Rinpoche with Ven. Tendreun, Marie Vaysse, Annick Lainé, Ven Chantal Tenzin Dekyi, Geshe Tenzin Loden, Geshe Losang Jamphel, Cristiana Cervantes, Ven. Irene, Ven. Michèle Paldreun, Ven. Tenzin Péma, Yves Alirol, and Annick Leclerc du Sablon at Monastère Dorje Pamo, En Baut, Fiac, France, May 2019. Photo courtesy of Monastère Dorje Pamo.

On May 25, 2019, a warm, sunny morning, Kalachakra Centre in Paris was very fortunate and greatly honored to host a visit and teaching with H.E. Ling Rinpoche. It was a short but wonderful visit. This is the third time Rinpoche has visited Kalachakra Centre, the first being in 2005 and the second in 2014. Last year, Rinpoche’s visit to Paris was a very large gathering, with over 700 people in attendance, including many displaced Tibetans now living in France.

Rinpoche prefaced the teaching on the three poisonous minds of anger, attachment, and ignorance by mentioning how truly happy Rinpoche was to again be visiting the center, whose official name is the Wheel of Life Kalachakra Cultural Association, and that it was with the idea of seeing old friends in the Dharma, including those who had met Rinpoche’s previous incarnation, that Rinpoche was making this visit.

Kalachakra Centre’s director, Ven. Elisabeth Drukier, recalls that when she first met the Buddhadharma and was visiting Bodhgaya, she befriended Yvonne Laurence, a French nun and fellow Parisian. Yvonne had been a nurse when the 6th Kyabje Yongdzin Ling Rinpoche came to France for medical treatment and had ended up following Rinpoche to India and becoming ordained. Ven. Elisabeth and Yvonne’s shared love of Camembert cheese and Paris bonded them in India, and Ven. Elisabeth spent time with her friend at Tushita Meditation Centre in Dharamsala, often seeing the 6th Kyabje Ling Rinpoche there at Rinpoche’s house. In 1978, Ven. Elisabeth saw the 6th Kyabje Ling Rinpoche for the last time in France.

H.E. Ling Rinpoche at Kalachakra Centre, Paris, France, May 2019. Photo by Olivier Adam.

Rinpoche very clearly elucidated the nature of the three poisons of attachment, anger, and ignorance, and the detrimental influence they have on our well-being and happiness. Rinpoche began by summarizing the essence of the teachings of the Buddha as being the act of disciplining, transforming, and most importantly acquiring mastery, or pacification, of our minds.

Rinpoche concluded by encouraging us to think positively, saying that we all have the possibility to become Buddhas. The Buddha Shakyamuni started out just like us, completely under the influence of mental afflictions and the three poisonous attitudes of attachment, anger, and ignorance. Through training his mind, he achieved the ultimate transformation and developed all virtuous qualities, eliminated all faults, and realized the state of a Buddha, perfectly awakened. Rinpoche said that we also have the potential and possibility to follow exactly the same path.

Ven. Tenzin Khentse, H.E. Ling Rinpoche, Ven. Tenzin Pemba, Ven. Jampa president of the Tibetan community in Paris, and Kalachakra Centre director Ven. Elisabeth Drukier outside of Kalachakra Centre, Paris, France, May 2019. Photo by Olivier Adam.

Rinpoche also said that we have the benefit of all the necessary, good conditions in being human beings: we have met with the teachings of the Buddha, we can meet with authentic spiritual guides, and we have not been born in a country where we suffer from hunger, thirst, or homelessness. We also don’t have any physical handicaps which would prevent us from practicing. Rinpoche continued by saying that apart from the fact that we are not applying ourselves, we enjoy a situation that is extremely favorable. There is much to rejoice about. Rinpoche added that we need to tell ourselves that certainly the influence of the three poisons exist in our mind, but instead of reacting to this negatively, we should say to ourselves, “These mental afflictions are my enemies, my true enemies, and from now on, I will fight against them.”

Kalachakra Centre hopes to have the great fortune of hosting visits by H.E. Ling Rinpoche every year, for many years to come!

For more information about H.E. Ling Rinpoche’s schedule visit Rinpoche’s website:
http://lingrinpoche.info/

Learn more about FPMT’s activities in France:
https://fpmt.org/centers/france/

Watch Rinpoche’s teaching at Kalachakra Centre, given in Tibetan with French translation:
https://youtu.be/CH4M9WkHZOU

FPMT.org and Mandala Publications brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings, and events from over 160 FPMT centers, projects, and services around the globe. If you like what you read, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.

David Machles. Photo courtesy of Dimensions-OHC Inc.

In 2008, David Machles completed the 16 Guidelines for Life Level 1 course, an initiative of the Foundation for Developing Compassion and Wisdom (FDCW), and later completed Levels 2 and 3. David is part of FDCW’s Universal Education community. Universal Education for Compassion and Wisdom is one of FPMT’s five pillars of service. David’s exploration of the 16 Guidelines for Life methods and tools inspired him to develop a program based on the 16 Guidelines for Life for prisons in 2010. David worked with adult and juvenile prisoners as well as staff and volunteers. Victoria Coleman, FDCW executive director, asked David about about his experience with Universal Education in prisons over the past nine years. Victoria shares David’s story.

David Machles, from North Carolina, US, began his journey into the 16 Guidelines for Life in 2008. He felt inspired to offer the 16 Guidelines for Life program in prisons working with adult and juvenile prisoners as well as staff and volunteers. He developed a 16 Guidelines for Life for prisoners curriculum called “Building Inner Strength.”

David explained, “We chose the course title ‘Building Inner Strength’ with the help of the chaplain at the youth prison center. We felt that this was more of a macho name, yet still reflects the spirit of the 16 Guidelines for Life. Sometimes the class is referred to as ‘Meditation Class.’ Other names may be appropriate in different settings, including ‘Anger Management,’ ‘Guide to Happiness,’ ‘Well-Being,’ etc.”

One of the teenage participants of David’s program had a very difficult relationship with a prison guard. David suggested using the 16 Guidelines for Life pre-framing tool to see how it could influence the next encounter with the guard. David kept it light: “Just try this to see if it makes a difference; it can’t make it any worse.” The teenager was surprised at how his relationship with the guard gradually changed. He saw that the 16 Guidelines for Life actually worked.

David said, “We have taken a very secular approach to using the 16 Guidelines for Life. We have been accepted by the managers, administrative staff, and parents because we take this secular approach. Throughout the program we keep this neutrality and encourage the students to find examples of the 16 Guidelines for Life within their own spiritual upbringing. Certainly the role models used in the 16 Guidelines for Life book represent a variety of spiritual backgrounds.”

To learn more about the Foundation for Developing Compassion and Wisdom and the 16 Guidelines for Life visit the FDCW website:
https://www.compassionandwisdom.org 

FPMT.org and Mandala Publications brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings, and events from over 160 FPMT centers, projects, and services around the globe. If you like what you read, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Tara Liberation Study Group members Matt Linden, Kari Suomalainen, Hanne Iyars, Maria Suominen, and Joona Repo at VEF Kvartāla Kamerzāle, Riga, Latvia, June 2019. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Tara Liberation Study Group, the FPMT study group in Helsinki, Finland, benefits the community by offering Dharma teachings in the country’s most widely-spoken language, taught by native Finnish speaker and FPMT registered teacher Joona Repo. Matt Linden and Maria Suominen‎ from Tara Liberation Study Group share the story.

Nowadays Dharma teachings are widely available across the globe in a variety of major languages. Smaller countries like Finland, however, often have to make do with teachings in English. But learning the Dharma is a matter of the heart, not only the mind, and we all know the power of hearing and studying the Dharma in one’s own mother tongue. Since 2017, the precious possibility of receiving teachings in Finnish has been available thanks to the hard work of Tara Liberation Study Group staff and FPMT registered teacher Joona Repo.

Some of you might have heard of Joona from his role as translation coordinator for FPMT Education Services. Joona encountered the Dharma during his mid-teens and since then has accumulated an enormous amount of wisdom, which he doesn’t hesitate to share with anyone who wishes to learn the precious Dharma.

Joona Repo standing on the frozen sea in Helsinki, Finland, February 2018. Photo by Matt Linden.

A native speaker of both Finnish and English, and with a strong grasp of classical and colloquial Tibetan, Joona relays the Buddhist teachings in a detailed and inspiring way. Holding a PhD in Buddhist art history and with several years’ experience of living in Tibet and Nepal, Joona possesses extensive knowledge of Tibetan customs, culture, and history. This helps to bring the teachings alive and opens up the sometimes cryptic Tibetan Buddhist rituals to a wider contextual understanding, bringing meaning and depth to practice.

During the regular Monday sessions at the Tara Liberation Study Group, Joona has been focusing on the lamrim teachings, which he says are the backbone of all Tibetan Buddhist practices. He has thus far taught up to the great scope and the methods to generate bodhichitta. From this autumn, Joona will continue teaching on the lamrim and will be giving an explanation of the six perfections, mainly focusing on the development of the fifth perfection, concentration. Many students have been attending Joona’s teachings for a long time, and the increasing numbers of students shows the benefits of providing the Dharma teachings in the Finnish language.

Other topics that Joona has covered include an inspiring introduction to the “Praises to the Twenty-one Taras,” as well as in-depth instructions on the Thirty-five Buddhas purification practice. Tara Liberation Study Group has also benefited from Joona’s ability to lead a wide range of pujas and practices in the traditional Gelug fashion.

The group feels incredibly privileged to have a regular teacher with such a vast capacity, and we were very touched when Lama Zopa Rinpoche publicly thanked Joona for his contribution to spreading the Dharma in Finland, during the teachings in Riga, Latvia, in June 2019.

We are enthusiastic about the current semester and eagerly look forward to Monday evenings when we get our Dharma dose in the Finnish language. May this be of benefit to all beings.

For more information about Tara Liberation Study Group, visit their website:
https://taraliberation.fi

FPMT.org and Mandala Publications brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings and events from over 160 FPMT centers, projects and services around the globe. If you like what you read, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.

Geshe Tenzin Namdak with Chrissy, Ven. Barbara, Catia, Radek, Sue, Rhona, and Alison at Jamyang Buddhist Centre, London, UK, May 2019. Photo by Robin Bath.

Geshe Tenzin Namdak, the new FPMT resident geshe at Jamyang Buddhist Centre, the FPMT center in London, UK, led the center’s annual summer retreat from July 7-14, 2019, on “The Buddhist Path to Happiness.” In August Jamyang London welcomed new center director Ven. Fabienne Pradelle. Rhonwen Sayer, a member of the center’s spiritual program sub-committee, shares the story.

In March 2018, His Holiness the Dalai Lama appointed Geshe Tashi Tsering, Jamyang Buddhist Centre’s former resident geshe, abbot of Sera Mey Monastery in South India. Everyone was delighted for Geshe-la but also concerned for the future. We were very fortunate that in September 2018 Lama Zopa Rinpoche asked Geshe Tenzin Namdak to take up the role of resident geshe at Jamyang Buddhist Centre and give teachings here for six months each year.

Geshe Namdak  completed the entire twenty-year geshe program at Sera Jey Monastic University in 2017, and the traditional one-year vajrayana study program at Gyudmed Tantric Monastic University in January 2019, the first Westerner to do so. Geshe Namdak accepted Rinpoche’s request and arrived in May, starting teachings on meditation, Buddhist philosophy and psychology, and the art of emotional intelligence. These teachings ran until July. 

Watch Ven. Fabienne Pradelle and Geshe Tenzin Namdak introduce themselves to the community in this video:
https://youtu.be/cQRgI798Ovk

Geshe Tenzin Namdak with Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Sera Je Monastic University, Bylakuppe, India, November 2017. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Geshe Namdak rounded off his teaching program by leading an eight-day retreat on “The Buddhist Path to Happiness.” Each day consisted of teachings on the lamrim based on Je Tsongkhapa’s “A Hymn of Experience” followed by question and answer session, group discussion, and meditation.

“A Hymn of Experience” is a wonderful overview of the whole lamrim. Geshe-la expanded and explained each verse, providing his deep insight to Je Tsongkhapa’s experience of the path to enlightenment.

The entire retreat had a great atmosphere generated by Geshe-la’s enthusiasm and the interactions among the students.

Everyone at Jamyang is delighted that our center has a resident teacher again, and we are looking forward to Geshe Namdak’s autumn teachings. Geshe-la’s enthusiasm and engagement are especially appreciated by our community.

For more information about Jamyang Buddhist Centre London, visit their website:
https://www.jamyang.co.uk/

To read His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s commentary on “A Hymn of Experience” (also known as “Lines of Experience”) visit the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive:
https://www.lamayeshe.com/article/chapter/illuminating-path-enlightenment

FPMT.org and Mandala Publications brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings, and events from over 160 FPMT centers, projects, and services around the globe. If you like what you read, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.

Katrina Smith, Janis Dougherty, and Gary Mickey making offerings to the Twenty-one Taras at Kadampa Center, Raleigh, North Carolina, US, August 2019. Photo courtesy of Kadampa Center.

The Light of the Path, an annual retreat with Lama Zopa Rinpoche that began in 2009, is organized by Kadampa Center, the FPMT center in Raleigh, North Carolina, US. Donna Seese, spiritual program coordinator, shares the story about prayers and practices being done to create the causes for the next Light of the Path retreat with Lama Zopa Rinpoche, scheduled for August 23-September 20, 2020.

At Kadampa Center, we always look forward to the Light of the Path retreats when we have the opportunity to spend so much time with Lama Zopa Rinpoche and students from all over the world. Before each retreat Rinpoche kindly advises us about prayers and practices to do to remove obstacles and create the causes for the retreat. His advice for the next Light of the Path retreat includes reciting 100,000 “Praises to the Twenty-one Taras” and to organize our own members and others to do these recitations in support of the retreat.

Wow! This was a bit daunting, but we dived right in. We added reciting “Praises to the Twenty-one Taras” to our dedication prayers at Kadampa Center events and special Saturday practice days each month when we focus on reciting “Praises to the Twenty-one Taras.”

We quickly realized that, just like the Light of the Path retreat itself, creating the causes for the retreat is much bigger than Kadampa Center. So in the spring we sent word to our North American FPMT brothers and sisters, and to Rinpoche’s students all around the world who had attended earlier Light of the Path retreats, inviting them to participate in this amazing spiritual endeavor. Within days of sending our emails, the numbers on our website counter jumped by hundreds and then thousands. We also received emails of support from many of our Light of the Path friends!

In early August, with help from our friends around the world, we reached 25,000 recitations of “Praises to the Twenty-one Taras”!

Mini-Tara Retreat with Geshe Gelek Choda at Kadampa Center, Raleigh, North Carolina, US, August 2019. Photo courtesy of Kadampa Center.

One of the blessings of Rinpoche’s advice is that it has introduced Tara practice to newer students who might be unfamiliar with Tara. In April 2019 and again in August, we held a Tara mini-retreat. For those who want to deepen their Tara practice at home, Geshe Gelek Chodha, one of our FPMT resident geshes, taught us how to do retreat on our own. Many students who were new to Tara came and took part, not just with the prayers and recitations, but also pitching in to set up the altar and the offerings, and staying after the dedications to take it all down.

We will hold another two-day Tara mini-retreat October 19-20, 2019. Anyone who wants to join in from home can tune into the livestream.

We’re looking forward to seeing old friends and those new to our FPMT family at the 2020 Light of the Path retreat! Wow! Wow! Wow!

Visit the Kadampa Center’s webpage to contribute your recitations and check the running total of recitations:
 https://kadampa-center.org/count-your-praises-21-Taras

For more information about Kadampa Center, visit their website:
https://kadampa-center.org/

FPMT.org and Mandala Publications brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings, and events from over 160 FPMT centers, projects, and services around the globe. If you like what you read, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.

Geshe Tashi Tsering teaching at Jamyang Buddhist Centre, London, UK, May 2018. Photo by Orsola Luca.

On June 7, 2019, it was announced in the London Gazette, official journal of record of the British government, that the Queen of England awarded a British Empire Medal to Geshe Tashi Tsering, former resident geshe at Jamyang Buddhist Centre, the FPMT center in London, UK, “for services to Buddhism in the UK.” Ven. Barbara Shannon, FPMT UK National Coordinator shares the story.

Geshe Tashi Tsering when enthroned as abbot of Sera Mey Monastery, Bylakuppe, India, June 2018. Photo by Andreas Fring.

Geshe Tashi Tsering has been recognized on the Queen’s Birthday 2019 Honors List. Geshe Tashi Tsering was given a British Empire Medal “for services to Buddhism in the UK.” Geshe Tashi Tsering was the resident teacher at Jamyang Buddhist Centre in London from 1994 to 2018. In 2018, he was asked by the His Holiness the Dalai Lama to be the abbot of Sera Mey Monastery, where in 1987 he received his Geshe Laramapa degree.

Geshe Tashi Tsering was one of the first Tibetan lamas to spread Buddhism in Europe, teaching first in France and then London. In 2017, he received an M.A. in Social Anthropology at London University’s School of Oriental and African Studies. He is the author of the six-volume series The Foundation of Buddhist Thought.

The British Empire Medal was created in 1922 and is awarded twice a year, once as part of the Queen’s Birthday Honors and once at the New Year. It recognizes “hands-on service to the local community.”

To read the official announcement visit the London Gazette website:
https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/3295670

To read Geshe Tashi Tsering’s response to receiving the British Empire Medal visit:
https://www.soas.ac.uk/blogs/study/soas-alum-receives-british-empire-medal/

FPMT.org brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings and events from over 160 FPMT centers, projects and services around the globe. If you like what you read, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.

Nyung nä participants at Nying Je Kunkyab Study Group, Salamanca, Guanajuato, Mexico, June 2019. Photo by Josue Fuentes.

In June 2019, Nying Je Kunkyab Study Group, the FPMT study group in Salamanca, Guanajuato, Mexico, organized a nyung nä retreat that took place over two weekends: June 11-14 and June 14-17, 2019. Valeria Arroyo, study group coordinator, shares the story.

In celebration of Saka Dawa, thirty-one students from Nying Je Kunkyab Study Group completed two sets of nyung nä. We had the invaluable support and guidance of FPMT registered teacher and Mexican nun Ven. Thubten Norbu (Lourdes Castro).

Ven. Thubten Norbu making tormas at Nying Je Kunkyab Study Group, Salamanca, Guanajuato, Mexico, June 2019. Photo by Alejandra Arroyo.

Our teacher Kyabje Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche has advised us to do this practice to promote peace and harmony in our country. This is the second time we organized a nyung nä retreat.

Our study group operates in one of the most dangerous cities in the country. We receive great joy from offering activities that allow participants to cultivate the seeds of compassion.

Benefactors, volunteers, and participants expressed their joy and gratitude for being part of this event. We invite all national and foreign practitioners to set aside the Saka Dawa dates—June 2020—so you can join us next year!

We received the following comments from participants: “I experienced this nyung nä as if I was with my family, with much love and tranquility;” “For me it was an incredible experience, and I hope to see you again;” and “Happy to have been able to share this invaluable experience.”

For more information about Nying Je Kunkyab Study Group, visit their Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/Grupo-Budista-Nying-Je-Kunkyab-Afiliado-a-la-FPMT-628759533948347/

FPMT.org and Mandala Publications brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings, and events from over 160 FPMT centers, projects, and services around the globe. If you like what you read, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.

H.E. Ling Rinpoche at Jamyang Buddhist Centre, London, UK, April 2019. Photo by Andreas Fring.

In April 2019 His Eminence the 7th Kyabje Ling Rinpoche made a first visit to the UK. The visit included nearly a week in London followed by two days in Leeds, where Rinpoche participated in the opening of FPMT center Jamyang Buddhist Center Leeds’ new location. Jamyang Buddhist Centre London and Jamyang Buddhist Centre Leeds share the story.

H.E. Ling Rinpoche and Rinpoche’s attendants Ven. Tenzin Khentse and Geshe Lobsang Yonten arrived in London on Saturday evening, April 20, 2019, after an eventful day of travel delays coming from Valencia, Spain. They were met by members of the Office of Tibet; the nonprofit Tibetan Community UK; and representatives of FPMT UK and Jamyang London. Representing FPMT UK was Jay Simpson, the FPMT UK National Coordinator, and representing Jamyang London were Jamyang board member Jan Andresen and the organizer of the London part of the tour, Jackie Yip.

Rinpoche’s visit to London was jointly organized by the Office of Tibet; Tibetan Community UK; Tibet House Trust; and Jamyang London. For us this was the first “big” visit we had organized on a shared basis, so it was a massive learning curve.

On Sunday H.E. Ling Rinpoche spent all day with our friends in the local Tibetan community and the Office of Tibet, who put on a delightful day of activities, including a visit to the Tibetan Peace Garden to bless and re-energize the place.

H.E. Ling Rinpoche teaching at Jamyang Buddhist Centre, London, UK, April 2019. Photo by Andreas Fring.

Monday morning, April 22, saw our main event when Rinpoche offered a White Tara long life initiation to around seven hundred people in the Kensington Conference Centre in the center of London. The Jamyang volunteers and our Tibetan friends worked so hard to set up the place, but the crowning glory was the loving presence of Rinpoche holding the space as Rinpoche offered us the opportunity to break free and discover our Buddha potential. In the afternoon Rinpoche gave a general talk to around three hundred people in the same space but in a far more informal setting.

Geshe Kelsang Wangmo kindly translated Rinpoche’s talks into English throughout the whole UK tour. With her animated and engaging delivery, we were both delighted by her clean, clear, and warm presentation of Rinpoche’s words and slightly sad that her role as German translator for His Holiness the Dalai Lama makes opportunities for her to teach in Europe so rare, while also rejoicing in the good fortune of the German students in having such a fine translator practitioner.

On Tuesday evening, April 23, Rinpoche gave a warm and personal talk to a small group of students at one of London’s major Nyingma centers, Rigpa. On Wednesday Rinpoche visited Jamyang Center and taught the great Sakya master Sachen Kunga Nyingpo’s short text Parting from the Four Attachments to about 140 students. The text is only four lines long, but the way Rinpoche taught it seemed to cover every aspect of the path to enlightenment. At the end there was a precious opportunity to offer khatas in person to Rinpoche.

H.E. Ling Rinpoche with Jane Moore; Ven. Frank Dahmen; Geshe Kelsang Wangmo and her mother; Robin Bath, Jamyang trustee and doyen of Jamyang; Alison Murdoch, chair of the Jamyang Trustee Board; Jan Andresen; Francesca Sanchez, deputy chair of the Jamyang Trustee Board; Jackie Yip; Mike Murray; Ven. Robina Courtin; and Mike Gilmore at Jamyang Buddhist Centre, London, UK, April 2019. Photo by Andreas Fring.

Rinpoche then toured Jamyang Centre and was fascinated to know which images and more were still there from the time of Geshe Namgyal Wangchen, our first resident teacher, who was appointed by Lama Thubten Yeshe. When Geshe Wangchen went back to Drepung Loseling, he became a tutor to some of the most significant incarnate lamas of the monastery, including becoming senior tutor to H.E. Ling Rinpoche himself. Rinpoche said that Rinpoche felt a particular warm connection to the London center because of this link.

On Friday, April 26, we waved Rinpoche off on the train to Leeds for the opening of our sister center there, Jamyang Buddhist Centre Leeds.

H.E. Ling Rinpoche arriving at Jamyang Buddhist Centre Leeds, Leeds, UK, April 2019. Photo by Jay Simpson.

Auspicious beginnings at the new home of Jamyang Buddhist Centre Leeds, as our first event was welcoming H.E. Ling Rinpoche to the new building for a weekend of teachings, blessings, and initiation.

The opening day began with Rinpoche meeting the Tibetan/Himalayan community from across the North of England at a special event in the morning. Rinpoche offered advice about practice and preserving culture, and enjoyed some cake and food specially prepared for the event by the Tibetans.

Members of the local Tibetan community offering H.E. Ling Rinpoche a traditional greeting ceremony with flour and rice at Jamyang Buddhist Centre Leeds, Leeds, UK, April 2019. Photo by Jay Simpson.

We then held some opening speeches from center director Kerry Prest, patron David Lascelles, and others, plus a specially recorded video message from long-time UK teacher and supporter of Jamyang Leeds Geshe Tashi Tsering.

Rinpoche then blessed the center and its gompa, before commencing a public talk on “Developing a Peaceful Mind in a Turbulent World.” In the late afternoon Rinpoche began teaching from master Shantideva’s text Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, Chapter 1.

The following day Rinpoche continued the text, and during lunch we took Rinpoche on a tour of the rest of the building, most of which still needs to be renovated. (We’re only using about fifteen percent of the space at present!) Rinpoche’s exact words were “Wow.”

H.E. Ling Rinpoche reading Shantideva’s text Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life at Jamyang Buddhist Centre Leeds, Leeds, UK, April 2019. Photo by Jay Simpson.

Rinpoche then finished the visit to our center visit with a Chenrezig initiation, which was a wonderfully auspicious way to start the new activities in our new home, thinking about compassion for others, with as many arms as possible!

We give huge thanks to all who made this event a success: volunteers, staff, donors, members, trustees, local residents, contractors, and teachers; the list of people to thank is massive. We were especially blessed to welcome Geshe Kelsang Wangmo as the translator of the event in her visit to Leeds; we hope she’ll visit us again. A wonderful beginning of a new chapter for Jamyang Leeds.

For more information about H.E. Ling Rinpoche’s schedule, visit Rinpoche’s website:
http://lingrinpoche.info/

For more information about Jamyang Buddhist Centre London, visit their website:
https://www.jamyang.co.uk/

Watch the opening speeches given at Jamyang Buddhist Centre Leeds on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/e-VN-eDaQMo

For more information about Jamyang Buddhist Centre Leeds, visit their website:
https://jamyangleeds.co.uk/

FPMT.org and Mandala Publications brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings, and events from over 160 FPMT centers, projects, and services around the globe. If you like what you read, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.

Justine, Yanis, Franck, and Raj in the performance of Shakyamuni Buddha’s life story at Kalachakra Centre, Paris, France, June 2019. Photo by Laura Haughey.

Kalachakra Centre, the FPMT center in Paris, France, held their fifth-annual Fête de la Réjouissance on June 30, 2019. Laura Haughey, a student at the center shares the story.

On June 30, 2019, Centre Kalachakra held a joyous and convivial “Fête de la Réjouissance” (Feast of Rejoicing) to celebrate the end of another season of activities before the summer break. The activities of Centre Kalachakra shift during the summer months from the Paris location to our peaceful and beautiful retreat center, Saint Cosme en Vairais retreat centre, in the Perche, about two hours southwest of Paris.

Center director Ven. Elisabeth Drukier reports that the Fête has been held for the past five years, and this year about thirty to forty students, teachers, and volunteers gathered together to share a vegetarian feast and wonderful dramatic performance. The delicious meal was generously provided by the local Tamil community, who regularly use the center’s gompa for their community activities. Also in attendance at the event were the Centre Kalachakra’s resident teacher Geshe Drakpa Tsundue, as well as Geshe Dawa Tsering who was visiting from Kopan Monastery in Nepal.

Fête de la Réjouissance at Kalachakra Centre, Paris, France, June 2019. Photo by Laura Haughey.

This year, Justine Wolski, a Discovering Buddhism student with professional theater training and experience, reacted very quickly and with great enthusiasm when it was suggested that a play about the life of Shakyamuni Buddha might be a good way to end the year. Justine organized, directed, and performed in the dramatic recounting of the life of Prince Siddhartha, with help from Ven. Deunyeu, the center’s treasurer (who wrote the script and chose the accompanying images) and fellow students and volunteers Raj, Franck, and Gwenael. The moving and creatively staged play followed the stages of the Awakened One’s human life as a child, a prince, a householder, an ascetic, a seeker, and a teacher, accompanied by the sounds of tabla drums, music, and visual images.

The students’ entertaining and skillfully staged performance was warmly and enthusiastically appreciated by the group and was a fitting end to a wonderful year at the center.

For more information about Kalachakra Centre in Paris and its retreat facility, visit their website:
https://www.centre-kalachakra.com/#

FPMT.org and Mandala Publications brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings, and events from over 160 FPMT centers, projects, and services around the globe. If you like what you read, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.

Amitabha Buddhist Centre, Singapore, September 2018. Photo by Tan Seow Kheng.

Lama Yeshe advised in The Peaceful Stillness of the Silent Mind, “The ordinary understanding of charity is giving things to others, but as you can see, the Buddhist point of view is that material giving is not necessarily charity. True charity has to do with the mind; giving mentally. The practice of giving is training the mind to overcome miserliness. Miserly attachment is in the mind, therefore, the antidote must also be mental.”

We invited several FPMT centers—Amitabha Buddhist Centre in Singapore; Losang Dragpa Centre in Selangor, Malaysia; Kadampa Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, US; Land of Joy in Northumberland, UK; and Vajrapani Institute in Boulder Creek, California, US—to share how they provide their communities with opportunities to train the mind in the practice of charity, or generosity. This is an excerpt from that online story, “Training the Mind in Generosity.”

Vesak Celebration, Amitabha Buddhist Centre, Singapore, May 2017. Photo by Tan Seow Kheng.

Amitabha Buddhist Centre

Singapore
Cecilia Tsong, long-time student, active ABC member and volunteer

Amitabha Buddhist Centre (ABC)’s success in fundraising and Dharma propagation has its roots in the guidance and advice we receive from Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche. We are also fortunate to have a long-serving, well-liked center director, Tan Hup Cheng, who seems to have the Midas touch when it comes to sourcing for financial support.

It helps too, that ABC is in a cultural environment where many have faith in the Triple Gem and believe in the benefit of making offerings to temples and Dharma centers, commissioning holy objects, as well as supporting Dharma publications and various Buddhist initiatives.

Vesak at Amitabha Buddhist Centre, Singapore, May 2017. Photo by Tan Seow Kheng.

As part of their cultural values, Chinese people have a strong belief in the law of cause and effect, even though they may not necessarily be practicing Buddhists. Often, they will support temples, Dharma activities, and ordained Sangha with funds so that they may enjoy prosperity and happiness in this life.

Through a better understanding of the Dharma by attending teachings at ABC, students learn that generosity can be practiced in other ways: offering service to the center, participating in animal liberation activities to protect the lives of animals, and sharing their understanding of the Dharma with newer students.

ABC’s main fundraising drive takes place every year on Vesak Day, a public holiday in Singapore. This is a time when the general public is inclined to make offerings as a way of remembering the kindness of Shakyamuni Buddha and requesting his blessings for a life well-lived.

Mindful that Dharma is priceless, local Buddhist centers and temples offer Dharma teachings free of charge. However, ABC does levy a nominal charge for Nyung näs and one-day retreats to cover the costs of meals, refreshments, and altar offerings. ABC also organizes pilgrimages and retreats overseas, and every effort is made to keep prices low. For these activities, there is differential pricing for ABC and non-ABC members.

FPMT resident geshe Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi during an Ullambana puja at Amitabha Buddhist Centre, Singapore, August 2014. Photo by Noelle Teoh.

Apart from Vesak Day programs, ABC has developed special Dharma events over the years to bring more people to the center. The Medicine Buddha Dharma celebration, Most Secret Hayagriva puja, and Ullambana puja are popular and have been attracting a growing group of participants each year. Corporate sponsorships are available for these pujas, an option that appeals greatly to local business people.

For those who love all things beautiful, we have a well-curated collection of Dharma objects—statues, malas, offering bowls, prayer wheels, prayer flags, incense, thangkas, and so forth—that are available at our Tashi Delek retail store. This generates additional income that is pumped back into serving the center’s needs.

In its fundraising activities—including its Dharma shop—ABC is fastidious in making sure that these funds are used in accordance with the donors’ wishes. Also, when holy objects are sponsored from the Dharma shop, such income is directed to supporting the maintenance and building fund of the center, and not to the support of the Sangha as such.

Tashi Delek retail store at Amitabha Buddhist Centre, Singapore, September 2018. Photo by Tan Seow Kheng.

Lastly, as an on-going fundraising drive, ABC runs a program of electronic debit sponsorships, where people can choose to have regular deductions made from their bank accounts.

There are also donation boxes in the center for our building and maintenance fund, Sangha fund, publications, animal liberation, puja fund, and general funds. Visitors are free to drop their offerings—and say a silent prayer in the sacred ambiance of the merit-field—while recalling the words of Lama Zopa Rinpoche in The Four Noble Truths: A Guide for Everyday Life, “Be as generous as we can to benefit the poor and sick. Make offerings to holy objects and other living beings, and dedicate this generosity for the happiness and enlightenment of all beings. Doing so offers great release to our minds.”

Read the full online story, “Training the Mind in Generosity,” online:
https://fpmt.org/mandala/online-features/training-the-mind-in-generosity/

For more information about Amitabha Buddhist Centre, visit their website:
http://www.fpmtabc.org/

FPMT.org and Mandala Publications brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings, and events from over 160 FPMT centers, projects, and services around the globe. If you like what you read, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.

Habitat for Humanity community service project, North Carolina, US, June 2019. Photo courtesy of Kadampa Center.

Kadampa Center, an FPMT center in Raleigh, North Carolina, US, shares about their community service program, Compassion in Action. Community Service and Interfaith Activities are two of FPMT’s Five Pillars of Service. Elise Strevel, the center’s outreach coordinator, a member of the center’s management team, initiates and coordinates most Compassion in Action activities. Elise shares how any FPMT center, regardless of its size, can practice Compassion in Action as an intentional outgrowth of the teachings.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama wrote in his book The Art of Happiness, “I believe compassion to be one of the few things we can practice that will bring immediate and long-term happiness to our lives.” Lama Zopa Rinpoche demonstrates this endless capacity for benefiting others through the many charitable projects he has initiated, supported, and developed.

The Kadampa Center tries to follow this excellent advice by participating in various forms of community service projects, also known at our center as Compassion in Action.

Most of the community service projects Kadampa Center engages in connects us to groups that already exist in the community. We partner with established organizations that are inclusive and welcoming to all such as food pantries and Habitat for Humanity. Even if organizations are nominally established by another faith organization, they desire and welcome coexistence, cooperation, and support from all. In the past year we participated in interfaith prayer services, a Food Bank of North Carolina food drive, a Sathya Sai Baba community prescription eyeglasses drive, a Meals on Wheels project, a local government’s Adopt-a-Stream program, a Rise Against Hunger project, and three Habitat for Humanity projects.

The Kadampa Center community donated 504 pounds (228 kg) of food to the Food Bank of North Carolina, North Carolina, US, July 2019. Photo courtesy of Kadampa Center.

In this way we are adding to or multiplying positive energy, rather than depleting energy by creating our own start-up project. We select community service projects managed by other organizations that accommodate the various ages, abilities, and interests of our members. Some interfaith group community service projects are chosen for their additional value of being in harmony with His Holiness’s commitment to promote religious harmony.

An affiliation between Kadampa Center and our local interfaith alliance facilitates many of these connections. I have had the blessing of being on the Triangle Interfaith Alliance board of directors on and off for over ten years. Chris Baranski, our center’s co-media coordinator, has also just joined the board.

Habitat for Humanity children’s community service project, North Carolina, US, April 2019. Photo courtesy of Kadampa Center.

We use every possible means to get the word out to the Kadampa Center community about our Compassion in Action activities, just as we do for any spiritual or social activity at the center: we put a notice on our website; in our email newsletter; and post it on our center’s Facebook page. Most Sundays, the outreach coordinator makes an announcement at the end of the teachings.

At least twice a year, adults and children at Kadampa Center are reminded to think of the needs of others as they shop for themselves. For the food, clothing, and household supplies collections we participate in, all the Kadampa Center outreach coordinator has to do is identify a need, promote it, provide a collection barrel at Kadampa Center, and arrange delivery to the Food Bank of North Carolina. In the past year we collected hundreds of pounds of food to benefit so many in food crisis.

Kadampa Center participates in Interfaith Prayer Services held three times each year in rotating places of worship or prayer. We invite people of all ages from various faith streams to participate by offering a prayer or anecdote on a theme. These services underscore our common ethics of love and compassion.

Each year, Kadampa Center does a Prescription Eyeglasses Collection. Members donate dozens of outdated prescription eyeglasses to be put to good use to give the gift of vision at a Free Healthcare Day organized by the local Sathya Sai Baba community.

Adopt a Stream community service project, North Carolina, US, March 2019. Photo courtesy of Kadampa Center.

For the “Love Notes” Project, brief handwritten notes of love and encouragement were delivered to Meals On Wheels, and then distributed to Meals on Wheels clients along with their meal trays. We organized the materials—sets of blank note cards and sample notes to write—set up a collection site at Kadampa Center, then made delivery of the notes to the local Meals on Wheels office about once a month. Our members of all ages were able to participate in this project. Some might have only had time to write a few cards, others did many. Almost 2,000 notes were delivered in a year.

One of our center’s Family Program leaders initiated an affiliation with our city’s Adopt-a-Stream Project. Twice a year, children and adults work together to clean up a lake shoreline for the benefit of many forms of sentient beings. At each cleanup we collected between thirteen and fifteen bags of trash on less than a one-mile stretch of the water’s edge. 

We partnered with the international nonprofit Rise Against Hunger which sends packed meals to places all over the world during food crises. Our members were part of a group of fifty people who participated in a food packing event, packing 10,000 meals that were sent to victims of natural disasters in Africa and Cambodia.

We have found that Habitat for Humanity more often has opportunities for adults of all ages and skill levels, but sometimes has special opportunities for clergy/leaders, and children.

Geshe Palden Sangpo at a Habitat for Humanity community service project, North Carolina, US, April 2019. Photo courtesy of Kadampa Center.

In June, adults from our center were a part of a group of twenty-nine Habitat for Humanity volunteers who came together for a single day to clean, paint, and install wood trim and cabinets. The volunteer group represented Buddhist, Bahá’í, Muslim, Mormon, Lutheran, and other Christian and non-denominational faith streams from North Carolina, Utah, Japan, and Thailand.

Each year, Habitat for Humanity organizes a Clergy/Leadership Workday. In April, Geshe Palden Sangpo, one of our FPMT resident geshes set an example of Compassion in Action by working along with rabbis, ministers, imams and other church leaders to install windows and walls to benefit a new homeowner.

In April, Habitat for Humanity organized a Baffle Project for Children. The Kadampa Center Family Program involved our children in the project. They joined others from many faiths and cultures to paint messages of love and blessings on baffles, a construction material that encourages air flow in attics. The baffles were then installed in Habitat for Humanity homes.

We have learned that even a team of two people who are acting intentionally as an outgrowth of the teachings has immeasurable merit. We can have two to fifteen people participate in a community service project. The number isn’t as important as the intention in action.

Each time our center provides an opportunity for Compassion in Action, many members that were unable to physically participate tell us that hearing of others’ participation inspires, uplifts, and motivates them to set intentions in their lives to think of others. We are delighted that community service projects directly and indirectly benefit many members and sentient beings.

For more information about Kadampa Center, visit their website:
https://kadampa-center.org/

FPMT.org and Mandala Publications brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings, and events from over 160 FPMT centers, projects, and services around the globe. If you like what you read, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.