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The grapple skidder carefully pulling trees out to the landing at Milarepa Center, Barnet, Vermont, US, December 2020. Photo by Dawn Holtz.
Dawn Holtz with the first cut of timber from the project at Milarepa Center, Barnet, Vermont, US, December 2020. Photo by Jackie Verley.
Milarepa Center, the FPMT center located on 275 forested acres in Barnet, Vermont, US, is working on a project to improve forest health, encourage tree growth, maintain wildlife habitats, and re-establish walking trails with help from foresters Mathias Nevins and Ryan Kilborn, Meadowsend Timberlands, Ltd., and H.B. Logging. Trees cut during the project and sold in a timer sale generated income that will help sustain Milarepa Center during the COVID pandemic. Dawn Holtz, center director, shares the story.
Milarepa Center has successfully completed an almost two-year long forest regeneration project. We are happy to report that all has gone very well and we are quite pleased with the results.
The project began in early 2019, by first creating a very specific, goal-oriented, ten-year forest plan. The forest and trails were then flagged for access and protection of sensitive areas. Equipment was moved in, and active cutting began in December 2020.
The final close-out of the project will take place in May and June 2021. The crew will return to give a final rake to trails. Log landing areas and stream-crossings will be brushed so water can flow through them properly.
Ven. Lhundub Chodron helping with the incense puja at Milarepa Center, Barnet, Vermont, US, December 2020. Photo by Dawn Holtz.
Spiritual preparations were also made for the start of the active cutting phase of the project. A Milarepa Center member who is residing and studying at Nalanda Monastery, an FPMT monastery in France, sponsored a Tara puja. The monks at Nalanda Monastery offered the Tara puja on behalf of Milarepa Center to help clear obstacles during the project.
In addition, Ven. Lhundub Chodron—who has held various positions within FPMT, including serving as director at differnt times of FPMT retreat center Land of Calm Abiding, Lotsawa Rinchen Zangpo Translator Program, and International Mahayana Institute (IMI), as well as serving as a past member of the FPMT, Inc. Board of Directors—happened to be in Vermont the day before the cutting began. Ven. Lhundub Chodron joined in offering an incense puja in order to pacify the many nagas and “landlords” at Milarepa Center.
I worked with a local forester to design the forest plan and lay out the goals for the Milarepa Center forest. They include achieving long-term growth and health of the forest; maintaining fresh water streams flowing throughout the land; protecting existing wildlife habitats and creating new ones; keeping the forest from encroaching on healthy, viable open land; and continuing overall sustainable management of the land and its many resources.
The project focused on an approximately 65-acre parcel of the 275-acre Milarepa Center forest. We implemented a prescribed tree cutting that was laid out in the forest management plan. By cutting down some trees we were able to open the tree canopy and allow sunlight to shine into the forest. This promotes overall forest regeneration within designated areas of the forest. Walking trails were also re-established in the forest as part of the project.
We had hoped to invite students and members out to walk and visit during the project, but due to COVID-19 were unable to. With that in mind, we digitally documented the project. Our forester Ryan Kilborn kindly agreed to help us film what we had hoped to share in person! The video we made will also be used as an educational tool by Meadowsend Timberlands, Ltd., a company that manages private land for landowners. They will use it to show viewers the process and value of good forest management practices adopted by landowners.
Watch the seven-minute video “Milarepa Center Forest Regeneration & Timber Sale Project” on Milarepa Center’s YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRyjZn_tKgs
To learn more about Milarepa Center, visit their website:
https://www.milarepacenter.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.
Door of donated ambulance with the message “Con il contributo del Centro Tara Cittamani” (“With the contribution of Tara Cittamani Center”) outside of Palazzo Moroni, Comune di Padova (city hall) during the press conference, Padova, Italy, December 2020. Photo by Marco Parolin.
Centro Tara Cittamani, the FPMT center in Padova, Italy, completed several community service projects in 2020. Community service is one of FPMT’s Five Pillars of Service. Marco Parolin, center director, and Teresa Fabris, spiritual program coordinator, share the story.
Our center, established in 1994, is located in the northeastern part of Italy. Despite the fact that people in this area have a strong connection with the Catholic Church (or maybe because of it), many attend our weekend Dharma teachings and meditation classes. We can count on a membership of 300 to 400 people every year, and with a little help from activities like yoga classes, we manage to keep our financial resources in a good balance.
Father Marco Putin and Marco Parolin at the monastery next to Santuario di San Leopoldo Mandic (Saint Leopoldo Mandic Sanctuary), Padova, Italy, October 2020. Photo by Teresa Fabbris.
Things have been a little easier in the past few years, thanks to the fact that by law Italians donate eight percent of their annual income tax return to a church of their choice or the government’s social assistance programs. As of a few years ago people can donate to Buddhists through the Italian Buddhist Union. The association ensures each Buddhist center’s status.
Our center can submit projects to the Italian Buddhist Union. Once approved, our center can receive up to seventy percent of the budget. In 2018, the first year we were able to receive money, we renovated the center. We now have a Dharma library with a rich collection of 800 books in Italian, English, and French on the various Buddhist traditions. We also organized a room with a projector and wide screen so we can watch Dharma events and teachings from other centers.
In 2019, our board of directors decided we had to use the money we receive to give back to our local community. We got in touch with the Padova municipality social services department, who included us in a new project. The municipality has a few apartments for homeless people and people with vulnerabilities. Our task was to go into every apartment and propose cooking classes. In addition to offering seasonal, healthy, vegetarian meal preparation classes, we were also asked to share some useful tools for daily living, including hygiene, tidiness, and a taste for healthy food.
The social services department staff and residents were a little worried about our true intentions—proselytism is always a concern—but the meetings were arranged in the presence of a representative from the social services department.
Donated blast chiller, Santuario di San Leopoldo Mandic (Saint Leopoldo Mandic Sanctuary), Padova, Italy, October 2020. Photo by Teresa Fabbris.
Volunteers brought presents each time they visited the apartments—a few tools to help in the kitchen such as pans or a blender—and enough groceries to prepare the meal twice.
After the second visit, Marco wrote, “This evening we prepared a mushroom soup, chickpea and radish balls, cauliflower humus with olives, and a chocolate cake. Eight people crowded into a tiny kitchen, looking for knives and pans that simply weren’t there. After cooking the meal, we managed to sit down and eat all together. Everyone had something to tell or share. When we left we didn’t know what to say or think. Now back at home I don’t know what to write, but it would be wonderful if every sentient being could have happiness.” We were able to offer five classes before the pandemic made us stop for now.
In 2020, we decided to help a local Catholic monastery of Capuchin monks located next to Santuario di San Leopoldo Mandic. We have been in touch with them for a few years now. They have been preparing meals for homeless people every day since the end of World War II. We help them by collecting food for their kitchen. People who visit our center can leave food items in the shopping cart we keep at the entrance to our center. Every week or so, a volunteer brings the food to the monastery. This project requires minimal effort on our part but is very effective.
In 2020, legislation required the monastery to upgrade their kitchen. We organized a project to help the monks buy some new appliances—an industrial blast chiller, a burner, and three floor washers. The monks haven’t been able to reopen the dining hall due to the COVID pandemic, but they keep distributing shopping bags full of food. We continue to help them collect food.
Donated ambulance outside of Palazzo Moroni, Comune di Padova (city hall) during the press conference, Padova, Italy, December 2020. Photo by Marco Parolin.
In March 2020, the Italian Buddhist Union bestowed funds to support every center during this recession. Since we had enough to cover our expenses, we decided we could do something to help our community to cope with the healthcare emergency.
We chose to help the local Red Cross buy an ambulance. With €20,000 (US$23,860) we were able to buy the vehicle. The Red Cross then arranged to use the vehicle to help people with the coronavirus. The ambulance has a sophisticated intensive care system onboard. This allows the Red Cross to transport patients in critical condition over long distances.
These days you can see the ambulance around the streets in Padova, with the message “Con il contributo del Centro Tara Cittamani” (“With the contribution of Tara Cittamani Center”) painted on the side. We hope that the words “Tara Cittamani” will help protect the people who need the ambulance from fear and despair.
Watch the one and a half minute video “Padova, due preziosi regali di Natale per la Croce Rossa” (“Padua, two precious Christmas gifts for the Red Cross”) published by news agency RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana, the national public broadcasting company of Italy, on December 14, 2020:
https://www.rainews.it/tgr/veneto/video/2020/12/ven-Emergenza-sanitaria-Padova-Ambulanze-nuove-donate-alla-Croce-Rossa-6099f05e-3aa4-46f8-a074-cdb0176c116e.html
We used the remaining €10,000 (US$11,928) to help the local city hospital buy diagnostic kits and screening tests for healthcare workers.
We also use the shopping cart at the entrance to our center to collect food and blankets for animals in need. We periodically bring these donations to local nonprofit animal shelters. We are also preparing to help an animal shelter near Padova with needed renovations. The animal shelter wants to improve their shelters for dogs and cats to better protect them from the cold and extreme heat.
To learn more about Centro Tara Cittamani, visit their website:
http://www.taracittamani.it/
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 in a Heruka holy place where he had invited young monks for a picnic and offered tsog, Nepal, February 2021. Photo by Geshe Thubten Jangchub.
We hope you enjoy the March FPMT International Office e-News. This month we bring you:
- New Lama Zopa Rinpoche Advice and Photo Albums
- The Latest Issue of Mandala magazine!
- Prayer to Pacify Epidemic Disease – now on Audio
- Staff Changes at International Office
…and more!
Have the e-News translated into your native language by using our convenient translation facility located on the right-hand side of the page.
The FPMT International Office e-News comes from your FPMT International Office. Visit our subscribe page to receive the FPMT International Office News directly in your email box.
Doro Blancke and a friend, supporters of Team Gabitz Helps, preparing food for distribution to the community in Kara Tepe camp, Lesbos, Greece. December 2020. Photo courtesy of Doro Blancke.
Panchen Losang Chogyen Gelugzentrum, the FPMT center in Vienna, Austria, has raised awareness and support for the thousands of people living in Kara Tepe camp by collecting financial contributions for Gablitz hilft (Gablitz helps.) Kara Tepe is a camp for refugees and asylum seekers—the majority from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan— on Lebos, a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea off the coast of Turkey. Moria, another camp on the island, experienced a devastating fire in September 2020. Gablitz hilft is an all-volunteer organization in Gablitz, Niederösterreich, Austria, that has been accompanying persecuted and refugee people through everyday life since 2015. Community service is one of FPMT’s Five Pillars of Service. Maragarete (Margit) Sinabell, spiritual program coordinator at Panchen Losang Chogyen Gelugzentrum, shares the story.
On October 20, 2020, I saw a media report with the headline “Refugees on Lesbos: ‘Even in Moria it was better.'” This report touched me very much. Due to the COVID situation, knowledge of the refugees’ suffering has moved into the background. It is very important to me to stand up for them. Refugees on Lesbos are starving and freezing. They lack winterproof tents, sources of heat, and access to sanitary facilities for daily toilet needs. Without these things, it is hard to keep children safe and warm.
Gablitz hilft has been involved in refugee aid for years. Two Gablitz hilf volunteers, Doro and Helga work with the nonprofit organization Home for All. Founded by Greek locals Nikos and Katherina, Home for All is a social charity kitchen supporting the refugee community. They provide food to 1,200 people every day. On December 4, 2020, Helga journaled, “It keeps raining! From dawn to dusk we are busy supporting Nikos and Katherina with shopping, packing, and delivering the Home-for-All-meals.” They also purchase clothing, firewood, and other necessities such as children’s shoes, sanitary products, and latrines. There are additional 6,800 people in the refugee camp who lack even the most basic necessities.
Kara Tepe camp, Lesbos, Greece, December 2020. Photo courtesy of Doro Blancke.
I personally know a member of the Gablitz hilf board of directors. Karin is a doctor who drives to Greece as often as she can to provide medical care to the refugees. She is a Christian, but as a Buddhist I see her as a great bodhisattva. I’ve worked with Karin several times on different projects. I have been helping and supporting Gablitz hilf for years. However, we can achieve even more if we all join together.
I created a proposal for our center’s board of directors to review at their November 4 meeting, encouraging our center to get involved and financially support Gablitz hilf’s work. Our board of directors decided to appeal to our members and interested parties for donations. (No one from our center is traveling to Lesbos to help.) As a Dharma center, it’s important for us to help others as best as we can. Financial donations are the best way we can help right now. The transport of goods across borders has become difficult due to COVID.
A person cooking a hot meal for the community in Kara Tepe camp, Lesbos, Greece, December 2020. Photo courtesy of Doro Blancke.
Our fundraising campaign led to a pleasant snowball effect and was even picked up and spread by partners in Belgium. The result far exceeded our expectations and touched our hearts deeply. By January 25, we had collected a total of € 8,729 (US$10,514.) Since Gablitz hilf is an all-volunteer organization, all of the donations we sent went to the refugees in Kara Tepe camp on Lesbos for food, care, hygiene items, and a permanent living space. The refugees and everyone involved are very happy.
Alice Grundboeck, the previous center director, shared some thoughts about community service. Alice said, “It allows students to practice Dharma in daily life, and it empowers students. Non-Buddhists can get an impression of what Buddhism means. When we do community service we meet people of different faiths. This can blossom into further cooperation regarding community service. We just began another project, supporting Tierparadies Schabenreith (Schabenreith animal paradise), a sanctuary in Austria that prevents animals from being killed too.”
For more information about Panchen Losang Chogyen Gelugzentrum, visit their website:
https://gelugwien.at/
For more information about Kara Tepe camp, visit the International Refugee Committee (IRC) website. IRC is one of the organizations running services in the camp:
https://www.rescue.org/country/greece
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 on the “teaching couch” in his room at Kopan Monastery, Nepal, March 2020. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
We’re happy to announce the new digital issue of Mandala! In it, we explore Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Thought Transformation during the Time of COVID-19 teaching series.
This PDF issue provides a detailed summary of the key points Rinpoche has been emphasizing so far in the series; an overview of the practice advice, oral transmissions, and practice materials Rinpoche has recommended for this critical time; and a behind the scenes look at how the teachings are made and disseminated to students in various languages.
Also included in the new issue is an overview of how the international FPMT community has responded to the coronavirus pandemic; and some timeless wisdom from Lama Yeshe and inspiration from His Eminence Choden Rinpoche’s recent posthumous book Mastering Meditation: Instructions on Calm Abiding and Mahamudra.
As an offering to Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s students and the international FPMT community, we are making this issue’s cover story, “The Time to Practice Is Now,” available as a separate free downloadable PDF. This 22-page story covers the main points of Rinpoche’s thought transformation teachings so far and includes links to video clips of key moments.
Mandala, as well as all the news on FPMT.org, is made possible by the support of the Friends of FPMT program. If you would like to receive a PDF of the complete new issue of Mandala 2021, consider becoming a Friends of FPMT supporter. You may also find Mandala 2021 in the FPMT Foundation Store.
Stuffed rabbit with Dharma message composed by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Kopan Monastery, Nepal, November 2020. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Here’s an excerpt from the “The Time to Practice Is Now”:
All Happiness and All Suffering Come from Our Mind
Throughout the thought transformation teaching series, Rinpoche emphasizes that however much samsaric suffering we experience and whether we become enlightened or not all comes from our mind. We are responsible for our mind and therefore, our life. Every day, every hour, every minute, every second, we have the opportunity to decide if we want to be enlightened or continue to suffer. This all depends on how we take care of our mind.
A non-virtuous mind leads to negative actions, the cause of suffering, and a virtuous, healthy mind results in positive actions, the cause of happiness. Because of this, Rinpoche says, we should come to the conclusion that we must work on improving our own minds. This is why we need to listen to the teachings of the Buddha, study, and meditate. It is not just for peace of mind, to have a quiet life, or to achieve serenity, but to transform our mind into the path to enlightenment.
If we have the karma to get the coronavirus, Rinpoche says, it is not possible to escape it—not even by hiding ourselves in the depths of the ocean or under a huge mountain—because it is our own obscured mind that created the cause to get this sickness due to negative karma. We typically have the mistaken view that anything that pleases or harms us comes from outside. We, therefore, believe that the methods to stop harm and to achieve happiness are to deal with and change the outside world, forgetting about the mind. However, the main work we need to do is to change our own mind.
We need hardships in order to overcome our delusions and gain realizations, Rinpoche explains. Buddhism is not easy.
To go deep into Buddhism, we have to dedicate our life to it and make sacrifices. Without self-discipline, our life is filled with so much suffering. There’s no peace and unbelievable dissatisfaction. We have to practice contentment, patience, compassion, and loving-kindness—all qualities of a good human being. Without doing this, our whole life is filled with suffering.
If we don’t know Dharma, particularly the lamrim, we can become angry, give rise to heresy, and commit the heaviest negative karma of criticizing and losing faith in the guru, Rinpoche explains. If we know lamrim and are practicing it well, we are so fortunate. Without Dharma, even worldly activities that look good at the beginning will fail in the end, including the homes we buy, the bodies we cherish, and the careers we cultivate. However, with Dharma, the result never decreases, it always increases until we achieve enlightenment.
Buddha taught a method to become free from sickness, old age, and death, which is the whole path to enlightenment. Without Dharma, we have no method to become free from dissatisfaction; but by knowing that everything comes from our mind, we have great freedom because everything is in our hands.
Rinpoche emphasizes how fortunate we are to have met the Mahayana teachings, and to learn and practice Dharma. However, we don’t take advantage of the opportunities we have and get carried away by wave upon wave of attachment, anger, and ignorance, and are completely under their control, so much so that we waste our human life. Therefore, it is so important for us to use our perfect human rebirth to practice Dharma before it’s too late.
By practicing the lamrim, with morality as the basis, we develop the inspiration and energy to stop our habit of non-virtue. Instead of becoming habituated to negative karma, we develop the habit of living our life with bodhichitta and the awareness of emptiness. So, if possible, we should get into the habit of meditating on emptiness no matter what we are doing. And by developing the habit of bodhichitta, the good heart—wow—this is like making our life into a priceless diamond. …
Read the complete story “The Time to Practice Is Now: Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Teachings on Thought Transformation during the Time of COVID-19” as a PDF:
https://fpmt.org/wp-content/uploads/mandala/archives/mandala-for-2021/mandala-2021/The-Time-to-Practice-Is-Now-from-Mandala-2021.pdf
Learn more about Mandala 2021:
https://fpmt.org/mandala/archives/mandala-for-2021/mandala-2021/
Watch the video series Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Teachings on Thought Transformation during the Time of COVID-19 and find links to videos in transcripts, MP3s, additional practice advice, and more:
https://fpmt.org/fpmt/announcements/resources-for-coronavirus-pandemic/advice-from-lama-zopa-rinpoche-for-coronavirus/
Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.
Buddha House fete and open day, Magill, South Australia, Australia, January 2021. Photo by Kaya Migalka.
Buddha House, the FPMT center in Magill, South Australia, Australia, held their first free-entry fete and open day on Saturday, January 30, 2021, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the center. Hundreds of visitors browsed the outdoor stalls, visited the gift shop, saw the holy objects in the gompa, experienced a meditation or short talk by Gen Thubten Dondrub, and enjoyed Malaysian street food in the student lounge. Funds raised will help the Adelaide-area center keep up with ongoing expenses and maintenance needs. Income generation is one of FPMT’s Five Pillars of Service. Carole Migalka, fete coordinator, shares the story.
Inspired by the stories in Big Love: The Life and Teachings of Lama Yeshe of festivals held at Manjushri Institute and Sandhurst Town and Lama Yeshe’s encouragement to bring people together in an informal setting, our center decided to revive the pioneer student’s spirit with a community fete and open day.
Buddha House office volunteer Shez Malone running a craft stall at the Buddha House fete and open day, Magill, South Australia, Australia, January 2021. Photo by Kaya Migalka.
The idea was simple: welcome neighbors, friends, and community members with food, drinks, and market stalls; show them around the center; and let them sample the Buddha House program. “Come and try meditation” sessions were offered, as well as a short Dharma talk, “What does it mean to be a Buddhist?” with FPMT resident teacher Gen Thubten Dondrub*—himself one of the early Western sangha.
When the Facebook event was shared and tagged widely, the committee knew we had generated some interest, but we could not have anticipated the wonderful support received. Well over 500 people visited on a perfect mild, summer day.
Buddha House Dharma Kids Club (DKC) coordinator Sascha Holyoak with DKC member David at a face painting stall at the Buddha House fete and open day, Magill, South Australia, Australia, January 2021. Photo by Kaya Migalka.
Delicious homemade food was offered by the Malaysian community; volunteers baked cakes, potted plants, and donated goods; and then all pitched in on the day of the fete to work on the stalls. The atmosphere was one of joyous effort offered by over thirty volunteers.
The community responded with joy, sharing with us, “I had always wanted to visit, but wasn’t sure when to come;” “I had driven past many times but didn’t know what it was;” and “We had no idea there was such a diverse program.”
The primary motivation for the day was to bring people to the Dharma, but it also resulted in a successful fundraiser with much-appreciated income going toward maintenance of the beautiful heritage chapel that is home to the Buddha House gompa.
With such a wonderful time had by all, this could become an annual tradition. Who knows we might even bring back Lama Yeshe’s favorite, the gumboot throwing event.
Malaysian food stall volunteer Eunice serving food donated by the Malaysian community at the Buddha House fete and open day, Magill, South Australia, Australia, January 2021. Photo by Kaya Migalka.
* In 2019 Gen Thubten Dondrub requested Buddha House students formally refer to him as “Gen Thubten Dondrub.” He shared, “Usually monks and nuns of the FPMT are referred to as ‘Venerable.’ I have always found this term uncomfortable as it is a very exalted term and is used in the Catholic Church to refer to someone who is in line to be canonized as a saint. When I was in Taiwan I learned that every monk and nun was addressed as ‘Fa Shr’ from the moment they were ordained. The term means ‘Dharma teacher.’ The closest Tibetan equivalent is ‘ge.gen,’ often abbreviated to ‘Gen’ or ‘Gen-la.’ It is polite and friendly. So when people ask how to address me, I suggest using that term. It seems much more appropriate than ‘Venerable.'”
For more information about Buddha House, visit their website:
http://buddhahouse.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.
Chaplain Roy Poulter and Seamus Lennon from Leeds Street Outreach with donations from the Jamyang Leeds community, Leeds, UK, December 2020. Photo courtesy of Chaplain Roy Poulter.
In 2020, Jamyang Buddhist Center Leeds, the FPMT center in Leeds, UK, offered support to the UK National Health Service, the UK’s publicly funded healthcare system; the homeless population in Leeds; and individuals needing chaplaincy care as part of the center’s Buddhist chaplaincy service. Community service is one of FPMT’s Five Pillars of Service. Trustee Chrissie Martindale, Buddhist Chaplain Roy Poulter, and center director Kerry Prest share the story.
We are fortunate to have some wonderfully passionate individuals at Jamyang Leeds who work for others by offering their time and energy in a number of outreach projects. Here are two from the lockdown months of 2020.
Faith in Lockdown: Digital Diversity Multifaith Staff Network Event, Microsoft Teams online meeting, November 2020. Photo by Kerry Prest.
Supporting Our UK National Health Service
During 2020, we offered three sessions on meditation and Buddhism to the UK National Health Service (NHS.) One such session was in December. Usman Sharif, chair of the NHS Multifaith Network, asked if we would be interested in doing a short introduction to Buddhist meditation for the Women’s Network at NHS Digital, which of course we were delighted to do. The Women’s Network holds weekly sessions on wellbeing for staff on Zoom. These sessions provide a safe and supportive environment to explore wellbeing and to take a break from the day to day pressures of working for the NHS, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
They were interested in exploring meditation from different faith perspectives. Chrissie Martindale kindly volunteered to help. After a brief chat to find out what they would like, Chrissie joined one of the sessions to chat about why meditation is important from a Buddhist perspective. Chrissie explained the difference between shamatha and analytical meditations followed by a practical session meditating on loving kindness.
Some of the group had experienced meditation before and others not. Some had previously thought meditation wasn’t for them as their minds were just “too busy.” There were lots of positive comments afterwards on how they had enjoyed the experience and felt more relaxed. We have offered to go back whenever they would like us to do so.
Chrissie says, “It was really lovely to connect with our local NHS workers at a time when they’re working so hard to keep us all safe and well. We have some fabulous tools to share. Even just fifteen minutes of loving kindness meditation was so relaxing for the group and so much needed at this time.”
Chaplaincy
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused chaos around the world and not least for chaplains attending to the needs of patients, prisoners, and those in need. During the last ten months voluntary chaplains have been asked not to attend hospitals for their own safety unless it is an end-of-life visit.
Chaplain Roy Poulter attending the sick, Leeds, UK, October 2019. Photo courtesy of Chaplain Roy Poulter.
Our lead chaplain Roy Poulter reports, “Trying to keep myself busy, I talk to people over the telephone and on Zoom to keep their spirits up.
“We also have a wonderful community who donate warm clothing, underwear, shoes, and toiletries when we put a call out. We liaise with three homeless charities in Leeds who distribute the clothing directly to the homeless on the street. Over the last three years we have dealt with homeless people in hospitals, many of which are drug users, and I have found them really nice to work with.
Back in September 2020, I received a call from the lead chaplain, a Christian, at Lincoln General Hospital. I was asked to attend a gentleman who was a Tibetan Buddhist and was dying. I drove the 250-mile round trip to attend him, and he passed away while I was there. We have also been asked to help with a couple of other funerals and of course did so. I can’t wait to get back to normal, visit our hospitals, and see people face to face.”
For more information about Jamyang Buddhist Centre Leeds and the center’s Buddhist chaplaincy outreach work, 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.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Nagarjuna’s Wisdom Center, Bilbao, Spain, May 2019. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
FPMT center Centro La Sabiduría de Nagarjuna (Nagarjuna’s Wisdom Center) in Bilbao, Spain, began as an FPMT study group in December 2012 with four members. They affiliated and became an FPMT center in April 2016. Koke Muro, center director, shares the story about the center’s newest big project—Lama Tsongkhapa Retreat Place.
Everything started in 2008, when I had an interview with Khensur Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup at Kopan Monastery, the FPMT monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal. I had just met the Dharma a few months earlier in Bodhgaya, Bihar State, India, and asked Khensur Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup what to do to learn more. Khensur Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup told me to do retreat in my city center once a year. I replied that there wasn’t a center in my city, and Khensur Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup told me, “You can open one.”
Bea Rentería and Koke Muro offering Rinpoche a letter, asking if there was the karma for a retreat center, Light of the Path Retreat, Black Mountain, North Carolina, US, August 2016. Photo courtesy of Nagarjuna Wisdom Center.
Many things have happened since then.
In 2012, I started Nagarjuna’s Wisdom Study Group, and with the support of a nice group of people and Ven. Nerea Basurto, the study group became Nagarjuna’s Wisdom Center. In 2016, a small group of people from Bilbao, Spain, saw the need for a retreat place closer to Bilbao, which is on Spain’s north coast. We wrote a letter to Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche, asking if there was karma for a project like that in Spain’s Basque Country, and delivered the letter to Rinpoche at the Light of the Path retreat.
Rinpoche replied, “If the study group does the extensive Medicine Buddha puja composed by the Fifth Dalai Lama every month or every week then the project comes out very good. Otherwise, it is of little benefit.” We have been doing the Medicine Buddha Puja every week and the extensive Medicine Buddha puja every month since then.
Inspired by the FPMT center Land of Joy in Northumberland, UK, we decided to invite as many people as possible to help collect merit for the project. In October 2018, our center offered Rinpoche one million completed recitations of the Medicine Buddha mantra.
In April 2019, we were extremely lucky to receive a name for their project from Rinpoche—”Lama Tsongkhapa Retreat Place.” In May 2019, Rinpoche stopped in Bilbao for the afternoon on his way to the FPMT center Institut Vajra Yogini in Lavaur, France. Rinpoche very kindly gave a teaching to Nagarjuna’s Wisdom Center board members and management committee on Yellow Dzambhala. He recommended our center do the Yellow Dzambhala practice for any project we may have in mind.
Dzambhala statues at Nagarjuna’s Wisdom Center, Bilbao, Spain, September 2019. Photo by Paloma Fernandez.
In June 2019, one million completed recitations of the long Vajrasattva mantra were offered to Rinpoche on behalf of the retreat center project. That same year a suitable place appeared. Rinpoche said it would be best if we could invite Tan Hup Cheng, center director of Amitabha Buddhist Centre, the FPMT center in Singapore, to assess the feng shui of the land. Tan Hup Cheng came in August 2019 and gave advice on the feng shui of the property.
After completing the Vajrasattva mantra accumulation we decided to start the Yellow Dzambhala practice with the water offering practice. Sixty Yellow Dzambhala statues were sent from Kopan Monastery. Geshe Tenzin Zopa, FPMT touring geshe, happened to be in Bilbao when the statues arrived and consecrated them. The statues were then offered to anyone who committed to doing a minimum of one mala a week of the Yellow Dzambhala mantra.
One year later, in October 2020, one million completed recitations of the Yellow Dzambhala mantra were offered to Rinpoche. He showed the aspect of being very pleased, sending our team a nice message and this lovely smile.
Drawing by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, October 2020.
Now we are collecting 10 million recitations of a success mantra, also advised by Rinpoche, which is called Holy Name Mantra That Fulfills Wishes and is found in The Method to Transform a Suffering Life into Happiness (Including Enlightenment) with Additional Practices. (Rinpoche advised we recite the mantra and then we set the goal of 10 million mantras.)
DE ZHIN SHEG PA SA DZIN GYÄL PO LA CHHAG TSHÄL LO
To Tathagata Earth-Holder King, I prostrate.
TAYATHĀ / OṂ DHARE DHARE / DHARAṆI BÄNDHE SWĀHĀ
We feel unbelievably fortunate to have so many people supporting this project under the amazing guidance of Lama Zopa Rinpoche. We will continue working to create a Western Kopan in the north of Spain for everyone to enjoy the Dharma, engage in retreat, study, and achieve lamrim realizations.
To learn more about Centro La Sabiduría de Nagarjuna (Nagarjuna’s Wisdom Center), visit their website:
https://nagarjunabilbao.com/
To contribute to the goal of 10 million recitations of the success mantra, contact:
retiros.lamatsongkhapa@gmail.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.
Painting tsa-tas during Losar, Ganden Tendar Ling Center, Moscow, Russia, March 2020. Photo by Artur Balbakov.
Ganden Tendar Ling Center, the FPMT center in Moscow, Russia, has been teaching the tsa-tsa making practice since November 2019 and has introduced the tsa-tsa making practice to the two FPMT study centers in Russia, Aryadeva Study Group and Lama Tsongkhapa Study Group. Tatiana Ilina, Ganden Tendar Ling Center volunteer and tsa-tsa workshop coordinator, shares the story.
The story of the tsa-tsa workshop in Moscow began in September 2019, when Lama Zopa Rinpoche attended an animal blessing event in the city at the request of the Save Tibet Foundation in Moscow. Ganden Tendar Ling Center volunteers were asked to organize an altar, and to do this they had to make as many tsa-tsas as possible.
Tsa-tsas painted by Liubov Kriakina at Aryadeva Study Group, St. Petersburg, Russia, November 2020. Photo by Liubov Kriakina.
I had learned the tsa-tsa making practice at the Root Institute for Wisdom Culture, the FPMT center in Bodhgaya, Bihar, India, from Ven. Tenzin Dekyong. I took up the task of organizing the making of the tsa-tsas for the animal blessing event.
We used funds we had raised to purchase several tsa-tsa molds from Nalanda Monastery, the FPMT monastery in the South of France. A small group of volunteers from Moscow and Yekaterinburg managed to make about four hundred tsa-tsas in a short amount of time.
Tatiana Ilina and Nima Panyukova leading a tsa-tsa making workshop at Ganden Tendar Ling Center, Moscow, Russia, November 2019. Photo courtesy of Ganden Tendar Ling Center.
It turned out that a lot of people wanted to learn the tsa-tsas making practice. As we already had the molds, in November 2019, another volunteer, Nima Panyukova and I began to conduct a monthly training on the tsa-tsa making practice for anyone who wanted to learn. Despite the pandemic, about twenty group practices were conducted—attended by more than eighty people—and more than 1,000 tsa-tsas were made. All of the completed tsa-tsas are transferred to the Moscow Stupa of Enlightenment for distribution to stupa visitors.
Nima Panyukova, a tsa-tsa workshop coordinator at Ganden Tendar Ling Center, Moscow, Russia, January 2020. Photo by Tatiana Ilina.
In August 2020, we went to St. Petersburg, and held a training on the tsa-tsa making practice at Aryadeva Study Group. Local volunteer Liubov Kriakina, a professional art restorer was very inspired by the tsa-tsa making practice. Liubov now leads a tsa-tsa making practice in St. Petersburg and teaches people how to paint the tsa-tsas.
Moscow volunteers donated two silicone tsa-tsa molds to the Lama Tsongkhapa Study Group in Yekaterinburg. Ven. Tenzin Yangi and study group coordinator Sergey Kuvaev now lead a tsa-tsa making practice in Yekaterinburg.
In December 2020, we presented a tsa-tsa to Telo Tulku Rinpoche, honorary representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Russia, Mongolia, and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries.
Telo Tulku Rinpoche highly praised the quality of the tsa-tsa. He expressed his wish that we teach the practice of making tsa-tsas from plaster to as many people as possible and in various Russian cities. This will contribute to the revival of Buddhist art in Russia.
We are planning a trip to Kalmykia to share our experience making tsa-tsas from plaster in accordance with Telo Tulku Rinpoche’s wish.
Luibov Kriakina leading a one-day Green Tara tsa-tsa painting practice at Aryadeva Study Group, St. Petersburg, Russia, January 2021. Photo by Budyma Tsoktoeva.
To learn more about Ganden Tendar Ling Center, visit their website:
https://fpmt.ru/
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 a wonderful art book, Murals of Tibet, recently offered to him, Kopan Monastery, Nepal, February 2021. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
The February FPMT International Office e-News is out now! This month we bring you news about:
- New Advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche
- The Recent Teaching by His Holiness the Dalai Lama
- Rejoicing about Vast Offerings to the Sangha
- The Foundation Store Offering Items for Free
and more…..!
Have the e-News translated into your native language by using our convenient translation facility located on the right-hand side of the page.
The FPMT International Office e-News comes from your FPMT International Office. Visit our subscribe page to receive the FPMT International Office News directly in your email box.
Lama Yeshe with children and families at Istituto Lama Tsongkhapa, Italy, 1983. Photos by Ueli Minder, courtesy of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.
For FPMT students, Losar, the Days of Miracles, and Chotrul Duchen have an important significance as it commemorates the anniversary of the parinirvana of Lama Thubten Yeshe, who co-founded FPMT with Lama Zopa Rinpoche. As part of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice on how to best use this sacred time of year, in addition to doing pujas and recitations, Rinpoche recommends taking time to share stories and remembrances of Lama Yeshe.
During the 100 Million Mani retreat at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa in Italy in 2017, there were two sessions during which long-time FPMT students shared their stories of Lama Yeshe. These touching memories included stories from the early days at Kopan Monastery on the outskirts of Kathmandu, Nepal, and Lawudo Gompa, high up in the Himalayas, as well as from the time Lama Yeshe spent in Italy, France, and Spain. Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Tenzin Osel Hita, the reincarnation of Lama Yeshe, also make appearances in these stories.
We are happy to share two videos of these informal sessions. Please enjoy these touching accounts of Lama Yeshe’s kindness and wisdom as told by Massimo Corona, Ven. Elisabeth Drukier, Ven. Charles, Paula de Wys, Piero Cerri, and Ven. Zia Bassam.
Watch stories about Lama Yeshe from senior FPMT students (Massimo Corona, Ven. Elisabeth Drukier, and Ven. Charles):
https://youtu.be/al0YNTbWkUc
Watch stories about Lama Yeshe from senior FPMT students (Paula de Wys, Piero Cerri, and Ven. Zia Bassam):
https://youtu.be/PPddKA1zAFQ
These videos are also available in Spanish:
https://youtu.be/Q3xJ9DXjrlQ
https://youtu.be/YaV8WNsskb0
You can also watch them in Italian:
https://youtu.be/OYzrrfO4lPE
https://youtu.be/MXahdgQ8q6I
Read more about Losar, the Fifteen Days of Miracles, and what practices to do during this auspicious period.
For more stories about Lama Yeshe and hundreds of photos of Lama Yeshe with early students, see Big Love: The Life and Teachings of Lama Yeshe, published by the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.
Through timely advice, news stories, and updates, FPMT.org and Mandala Publications share the wisdom culture inspired and guided by the teachings of FPMT founders Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche shopping for flower offerings, Nepal, January 2021. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Losar Tashi Delek!
Happy Tibetan new year to all our dear friends!
With love from Lama Zopa Rinpoche and everyone at FPMT International Office.
Read more about Losar, the Fifteen Days of Miracles, and what practices to do during this auspicious period, which begins on February 12 this year!
The Liberation Tibetan Calendar 2021: Year of the Gold Ox 2148 is now available. Many thanks to the Liberation Prison Project for continuing to produce this calendar, which also supports the work of the project. A limited view of the calendar is always available on “Dharma Practice Dates” as a courtesy to FPMT students around the world.
We Invite New Friends for the New Year
Friends of FPMT supporters have complimentary access to our online study programs like Discovering Buddhism, Heart Advice for Death & Dying, and Basic Program, downloadable materials from FPMT Education Services, ebooks from Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, the 2021 Liberation Calendar, and more.
We’re hoping to welcome at least 108 new Friends during these fifteen merit-multiplying Buddha Days. Learn more about the Friends program and giving levels.
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.