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FPMT Community: Stories & News
Kopan Monastery School performers in deer costumes, Kathmandu, Nepal, December 2018. Photo by Kopan Monastery School.
Geshe Sherab, headmaster at Kopan Monastery School in Kathmandu, Nepal, shares how the students at this FPMT monastery celebrated Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s birthday.
We’ve been celebrating Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s birthday quite extensively since 2016. The last two years were perfect as we celebrated in the presence of Rinpoche himself. This year we celebrated without Rinpoche because of Rinpoche’s later arrival here in Nepal.
Audience enjoying the birthday festivities at Kopan Monastery, Kathmandu, Nepal, December 2018. Photo by Kopan Monastery School.
Students spent two months preparing a play for the event. The event went well. We had a great lunch then we all gathered in front of the Kopan Monastery gompa. We had a huge cake as you see in the picture.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s birthday cake at Kopan Monastery, Kathmandu, Nepal, December 2018. Photo by Kopan Monastery School.
The program began with an offering of body, speech, and mind to Rinpoche by Kopan’s abbot Khen Rinpoche Geshe Thubten Chonyi.
Khen Rinpoche Geshe Thubten Chonyi making an offering of body, speech, and mind to Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s throne at Kopan Monastery, Kathmandu, Nepal, December 2018. Photo by Kopan Monastery School.
This was followed by a play called The Deer Park. I created the play’s concept, and it was written by our volunteer teacher Alex Duncan. The costumes were by Ven. Tenzin Sherab.
Kopan Monastery School performers in costume at Kopan Monastery, Kathmandu, Nepal, December 2018. Photo by Kopan Monastery School.
The students performed the play as more then four hundred people were watching and enjoying the cake.
Kopan Monastery School performers performing the play at Kopan Monastery, Kathmandu, Nepal, December 2018. Photo by Kopan Monastery School.
Young monks who performed in the English-language play were so excited even after the program finished. I was so happy that all the young artists said all of their lines very well.
For more information about Kopan Monastery and Khachoe Ghakyil Nunnery:
http://kopanmonastery.com/
http://www.kopannunnery.org/
Find complete videos of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s recent teachings at Kopan Monastery:
https://fpmt.org/media/streaming/teachings-of-lama-zopa-rinpoche/
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.
Three members of the Wilmington Mormon crew, Echo Townsend, Elise Strevel, a fourth member of the Wilmington crew, Suzy Boehm, Karen Edwards, William Calhoun, Jill Marie, Patrick McGinity, and Michael Todd Ferrell, Rocky Point, North Carolina, US, October 2018. Photo by Kadampa Center. Not pictured, Barry Judge.
Interfaith activities are one of FPMT’s Five Pillars of Service. Following September’s Hurricane Florence, FPMT center Kadampa Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, US, joined in on relief efforts. The center ran a three-week people and pet food drive, collecting 921 pounds (418 kilograms) of non-perishable food. Then on October 13, 2018, the Hurricane Florence “Kadampa Klean-up Krew” united with members of the Mormon community to provide hands-on help to hurricane victims in the Wilmington, North Carolina, area, which was where the hurricane made landfall. Elise Strevel, outreach coordinator, shares the story.
William Calhoun working the chainsaw while a member of the Wilmington Mormon team and Patrick McGinty hold the ladder, Rocky Point, North Carolina, US, October 2013. Photo by Kadampa Center.
There are many Mormon churches in the state of North Carolina and every one of them have a strong service component.
The Mormon groups out of Wilmington have highly organized crews working daily to provide disaster relief in response to Hurricane Florence, and others join their teams or create new teams as appropriate.
William Calhoun is a member of the Raleigh/Cary Mormon Church and was the liaison who hooked us all up with a team working out of Wilmington for the day. I know William through the Kadampa Center’s affiliation with the Triangle Interfaith Alliance (TIA). We are both TIA board members.
Eight members of Kadampa Center participated in the October 13 cleanup efforts in Rocky Point, which is just outside of Wilmington.
Echo Townsend and Jill Marie clearing away a large branch, Rocky Point, North Carolina, US, October 2018. Photo by Kadampa Center.
We all had a wonderful and very productive day for so many reasons.
We had the opportunity to translate compassion into action by helping people whose lives have been devastated by the storm; to serve with enthusiastic, hard working, and kind members of the Mormon Church; and to work with our Buddhist friends from Kadampa Center, getting to know them more deeply and appreciate them more than ever!
An additional little treat was an appearance by Mrs. North Carolina, Mrs. Utah, and Mrs. USA! They stopped by to briefly participate in the work and to encourage everyone.
We all worked so well and so hard together that in about five hours we got over eight large trees on two properties cut down, dragged all of the branches to the roadside for pickup, and stacked all the logs. Most of the Mormon team worked the chainsaws, and the Buddhist team disposed of the branches and logs.
Mrs. North Carolina, Nichelle Sublet; Elise Strevel; and Mrs. USA, Nicole Cook, Rocky Point, North Carolina, US, October 2018. Photo by Kadampa Center.
In addition to our collective service work, the Mormon community sent more than twenty truckloads of food, personal hygiene, cleaning supplies and equipment such as shovels, plastic gloves, roofing materials, and tarps to Wilmington and Fayetteville.
To the best of my knowledge, the Mormon community has a very strong service mentality, and strongly believe in generous tithing. This allows them to finance truckloads of emergency supplies to be at the ready for any such natural disasters. They set up a command post in Wilmington so teams could relay supplies to areas around the region as needed.
They are most certainly a role model for compassion in action! It was a wonderful learning experience about how the activity of another faith expresses this quality. Very impressive, very humbling.
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.
A smiling Geshe Sonam Gyaltsen poses for the camera, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2014. Photo courtesy of Maitreya Instituut, used with the permission of Jeroen Collier.
Born in Lhasa, Tibet, on June 4, 1941, Geshe Sonam Gyaltsen—also known as Geshe Dhonden—is one of forty-six resident geshes serving FPMT around the world. Geshe-la has written a 695-page book about his life, in collaboration with Maitreya Instituut student Koosje van der Kolk. A Life Story: How Any Old Monk Mirroring the Mind of Dhonden Spent His Life in Another’s Country is based on the many interviews Koosje conducted with Geshe-la from 2006-2017.
Geshe Sonam Gyaltsen entered Tsawa khangtsen in Gaden Jangtse Monastic College at the age of six. In 1959, at the age of eighteen, he escaped to India, and was sent to Buxa Duar refugee camp. He went to south India ten years later, where he helped to establish the Tibetan monasteries.
A Life Story begins with a message from Geshe-la. “I am just a simple monk, in the old days in Tibet before 1959, only high lamas, officials and other important people wrote their life stories. So, my life story is not important, then why did I write my life story?”
Geshe Sonam Gyaltsen teaching a classroom of young monastic students, Mundgod, India, 1979. Photo courtesy of Maitreya Instituut.
He shares that he wants people to know what life was like in a Tibetan Gelug monastery prior to the Chinese occupation of Tibet, the harshness of life in Buxa Duar, and the challenges of building the monasteries in south India.
Geshe-la says of Buxa Duar, “… In Tibet, there was a great and strong fire of Buddha Dharma until the Chinese Communists destroyed the monasteries. The fire of the Buddha Dharma was almost extinguished but the 1300 philosophy monks in Buxaduar kept the glowing embers burning by studying philosophy, thus preventing the Buddha Dharma from Tibet from being extinguished.”
Of his time building the monasteries, he says, “… Oh, there were so many problems and we worked so hard—in the fields as well as in study and ritual to preserve the glowing embers of Buddha Dharma. Only this way did it become possible to put paper and wood on the glowing embers so that the fire of Buddha Dharma could burn again.”
Geshe Sonam Gyaltsen blessing co-author and editor Koosje van der Kolk, Maitreya Instituut, Amsterdam, Netherlands, circa 2000s. Photo courtesy of Maitreya Instituut.
At this time, A Life Story is only available for purchase through Maitreya Instituut Loenen in the Netherlands. Contact the center for details:
https://www.maitreya.nl/loenen-openingstijden-adres-email-telefoon.htm
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.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche received a pink rose from a young person wearing a white khata, Munich Airport, Munich, Germany, November 2018. Photo by Hermann Wittekopf.
Aryatara Institut, a FPMT center in Munich, Germany, hosted Lama Zopa Rinpoche from November 3-12, 2018. Sabine Kehl, a long-term member of the center who manages Aryatara Institut’s Facebook page and translates for the center shares the story.
After months of preparation and anticipation, the time had finally come. Lama Zopa Rinpoche arrived at Munich Airport on the evening of November 3, 2018. He was warmly welcomed by our FPMT resident teacher Ven. Fedor Stracke, representatives from Aryatara Institut, and many students who joyfully greeted him with khatas and flowers. We all felt embraced by Rinpoche‘s generosity and kind heart.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche with the FPMT Europe Regional Meeting participants, Tara Mandala Center, Landau, Germany, November 2018. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Rinpoche spent his first week in Munich in private retreat at a wonderful rented house in a quiet area of Munich. The house had been lovingly decorated and prepared for Rinpoche, Ven. Roger Kunsang, Ven. Holly Ansett, Ven. Lobsang Sherab, and Ven. Lhundup Tobgye.
During this week Rinpoche found time to attend the FPMT Europe Regional Meeting which was held at Tara Mandala Center, a FPMT center in Landau, Germany.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche with volunteers and sponsors of the Munich event at a short informal visit to Aryatara Institut, Munich, Germany, November 2018. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Rinpoche made a visit to our center, where he gave a very inspiring talk to about fifty volunteers, sponsors, and students who founded our center in 1980. He thanked all those who helped organize his stay and all those who made it possible for Aryatara Institut to make Dharma in the Mahayana tradition accessible in Munich and Germany for nearly forty years.
An especially heart warming experience was when Rinpoche handed out little toy pets he had blessed to all of the volunteers. We all love our new furry friends who carry Rinpoche’s blessing and remind us of Rinpoche every day. This private visit to our center was a wonderful and rare opportunity for all of us, especially for those who had not met Rinpoche before.
Aryatara Institut resident teacher Ven. Fedor Stracke and Lama Zopa Rinpoche with the little toy pets Rinpoche blessed, Munich, Germany, November 2018. Photo by Alex Volk.
The big weekend of teachings and a Great Medicine Buddha initiation finally began on Friday, November 9, at 7 p.m. at Reithalle Munich. Four hundred students from all over Europe and even India were eager to attend Rinpoche’s teachings.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaching at Reithalle München, Munich, Germany, November 2018. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Rinpoche‘s teachings were inspiring, heart-warming, and full of wisdom. Thanks to German language translator Ven. Fedor Stracke, Italian language translator Ven. Siliana Bosa, French language translator Ven. Losang Gyaltsen, Czech language translator Jitka Pouzarová, Spanish language translator Ven. Paloma Alba, and transcriber Ven. Joan Nicell everyone was able to follow Rinpoche’s amazing and wisdom-filled words.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave the Great Medicine Buddha Initiation at Reithalle München, Munich, Germany, November 2018. Photo by Hermann Wittekopf.
In the mornings Ven. Fedor Stracke held review sessions translated into German by Philip Quarcoo. These sessions were also met with great interest.
The big weekend came to a close at 1 a.m. on Monday, November 12, with the conclusion of the Great Medicine Buddha initiation.
Rinpoche left Munich for Bern, Switzerland, later that day, following a quiet lunch at a vegan restaurant. Ven. Fedor Stracke, Aryatara Institut board members, and a few students waved Rinpoche goodbye as his car departed our city for Bern.
The inspiration and benefits all of the students, event organizers, and volunteers received from Rinpoche’s visit to Munich will surely last for a long time. We all hold the memories of these remarkable days dear in our hearts.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Annelies van der Heijden, past Aryatara Institut director Alnis Grants, recently ordained Ven. Jangsem (Burgel Noris), children’s program coordinator Cora Boer-Sakals, board member Hermann Wittekopf, former board member Inge Siebenwurst, resident teacher Ven. Fedor Stracke, director Rosana Rodrigues-Herzog, Sabine Kehl, dog Jamie who attended all teachings and received blessings from Rinpoche, spiritual program coordinator Robert Schwabe, board member Thorsten Schrammek, board member Alex Volk, and Thomas Herzog after lunch at the vegan restaurant, Munich, Germany, November 2018. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
For more information about Aryatara Institut, visit their website:
https://aryatara.de/
Watch video recordings of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teachings from his 2018 European tour, which includes Spain, Germany, and Switzerland, and also find audio recordings of translations of the teachings in several languages as well as English language transcripts here:
https://fpmt.org/media/streaming/teachings-of-lama-zopa-rinpoche/europe-tour-2018/
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.
Ven. Robina Courtin leading a Vajrasattva Retreat at Peter Canisius House, Pymble, New South Wales, Australia, September 2018. Photo by Vajrayana Institute.
Vajrayana Institute, a FPMT center just outside of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, organized a Vajrasattva retreat with Ven. Robina Courtin that took place at Peter Canisius House from August 28-September 2, 2018. Anna Carmody, a long-time FPMT student who attended the retreat, shares the story.
“Listen to these teachings as if you are hearing this for the first time,” Ven. Robina Courtin instructed the thirty-six students gathered for a six-day residential and non-residential Vajrasattva retreat at a Jesuit retreat center in the leafy outskirts of Sydney, Australia.
Most of the students were able to take this as a residential retreat, a chance to get away from the responsibilities and pressures of everyday life. Students enjoyed relaxing indoors in the lounge and dining hall. Outside—it was spring in the southern hemisphere—students relaxed on the lawn, wandered through the gardens, walked the labyrinth, and contemplated in the garden’s holy nooks.
Discussion groups meeting outside of Peter Canisius House, Pymble, New South Wales, Australia, September 2018. Photo by Vajrayana Institute.
This was a gathering of old and new friends. Many of the students had attended other teachings offered by Ven. Robina, in person or online. Several had been on pilgrimage with Ven. Robina.
Even so, there was work to do. This was a Vajrasattva retreat, a chance to uncover, understand, and do something about our negative emotions. It was an opportunity to purify our negative deeds, and learn how to stop creating negative karma, or at least make a start at it.
Ven. Robina shared a Tibetan saying, “Nothing gets more difficult with practice,” as as she navigated students through each of the topics of the lamrim, meanwhile explaining its connection to the powerful Vajrasattva practice and the four opponent powers.
Apart from the wonderful teachings and guided meditations, there was morning meditation with Ven. Gwen Drolkar, who worked tirelessly as Ven. Robina’s attendant. We also had discussion groups that wrestled with the task of applying these topics: the law of cause and effect, so fundamental to the Buddha’s teachings; dependent origination; and the role of the delusions in our everyday life. This was a time to work out how these teachings applied to us, and to see our life through Buddha’s teachings, not through any other theory or philosophy.
Students engaged in discussion at Peter Canisius House, Pymble, New South Wales, Australia, September 2018. Photo by Vajrayana Institute.
And then there were inspiring stories of our teachers and their dedicated students. Although we were in the large, quite formal teaching and meditation hall, it was like being a child again, sitting around the kitchen table listening to your aunties, laughing and wondering at life itself.
To inspire us further, Ven. Robina also read from Lama Thubten Yeshe’s book Mahamudra: How to Discover Our True Nature. Advice was offered for daily practice. Many students took the opportunity to avail themselves of private sessions and Ven. Robina’s generous and insightful advice.
At the very last teaching, after offering a thanksgiving mandala, Vajrayana Institute invited Ven. Robina to return to Sydney in 2019 for another residential retreat. She graciously accepted the invitation.
For more information about Vajrayana Institute, visit their website:
https://vajrayana.com.au/
For Vajrasattva practice resources, visit the FPMT Foundation Store:
https://shop.fpmt.org/search.asp?keyword=vajrasattva&search=
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, Madrid, Spain, November 2018. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Out Now – the FPMT International Office e-News for November!
This month we bring you news about:
- Advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche
- Our new project to protect the environment
- Results of our recent Translation Fund campaign
- A new book by Lama Yeshe
- Opportunities to offer service
…and more!
Have this translated into your native language by using our convenient translation facility located on the right-hand side of the page. French and Spanish speakers will find the FPMT International Office News translated each month in the “Bienvenue” and “Bienvenidos” tabs on the FPMT homepage.
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.
Panelists speaking at the InterSangha meeting, Nalanda Monastery, France, September 2018. Photo by Nalanda Monastery.
Ven. Losang Gyaltsen, director, Nalanda Monastery in Lavaur, France—40 km (25 miles) from the city of Toulouse—shares about a gathering of Buddhists from different schools and traditions.
On September 16, 2018, Nalanda Monastery had the honor of hosting the second InterSangha meeting organized by the Communauté Bouddhiste de Toulouse (Buddhist Community of Toulouse). This organization is part of the Union Bouddhiste de France (Buddhist Union of France). The organization gathers together different Buddhist groups, including the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the Thai Tradition, and the Vietnamese and Japanese schools.
The InterSangha meeting began with an introduction and Pali sutra chanting. This was followed by a discussion on compassion, with different speakers from the various traditions. The participants then gathered into discussion groups to talk about the subject and share their experiences and questions, as well as their understandings of compassion.
Discussion group at the InterSangha meeting, Nalanda Monastery, France, September 2018. Photo by Nalanda Monastery.
Everyone brought food that we all shared in a friendly atmosphere.
In the afternoon, a walking meditation was organized, and then different activities were proposed by the different Buddhist groups. This included an introduction to meditation, a Chenrezig ritual, a meditation on loving kindness, and a Zen ritual and meditation.
We concluded the day with prayers related to compassion, including a Shantideva prayer and the Mettā Sutta in Pali.
Leading practice at the InterSangha meeting, Nalanda Monastery, France, September 2018. Photo by Nalanda Monastery.
This day was filled with joy, as well as a feeling of brotherhood and sisterhood. We are happy to have contributed to this beautiful day and look forward to the next one!
By spending time together talking and sharing, we discover that we have more common than we think. At the same time we learn to appreciate the unique qualities of each tradition. They all arise out of the compassion and wisdom of our incomparable teacher, Shakyamuni Buddha. It is beautiful to see how his wisdom and compassion have traveled through time, and how his teachings are expressed by the different traditions.
InterSangha meeting group photo, Nalanda Monastery, France, September 2018. Photo by Nalanda Monastery.
We wish to thank all the organizers and participants. We pray that our InterSangha meeting becomes a cause of harmony and peace.
For more information about Nalanda Monastery in France, visit their website:
https://nalanda-monastery.eu/index.php/en/
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 Yeshe’s famous teaching style is fully present in this book, according to the book’s editor, Ven. Robina Courtin: “His words are not only experiential but also direct, funny, deceptively simple, and incredibly encouraging—enlightenment seems possible.”
Here Lama Yeshe explains mahamudra in the book’s opening chapter:
According to Tibetan Buddhism, mahamudra is one of the most advanced teachings of the Buddha. Mahamudra is Sanskrit: maha means “great” and mudra can be translated as “seal.” When you lend me one hundred dollars, we make a contract and we seal it, don’t we? It shows: “Next year I have the obligation to pay you back.” You have the document as a guarantee.
However, this seal, this great seal, is not a physical seal made in a factory. It is the universal reality of emptiness, nonduality, non–self-existence. It exists in all phenomena, including sentient beings. It is also not some made-up philosophical concept. It doesn’t matter whether you accept it or deny it. If I say, “I don’t believe there is an earth; I don’t believe there is a sun,” who cares? Even though I reject the existence of the sun, I’m standing in the rays of the sun. Even though I deny the existence of the earth, I’m standing on the earth.
The reality of nonduality is inescapable. It is the inborn nature of all phenomena. It exists equally in all things: organic, nonorganic, permanent, impermanent, including all beings. It exists always within us. The name we give it is mahamudra.
Learn more about and order Mahamudra: How to Discover Our True Nature by Lama Yeshe on Wisdom Publications’ website:
https://wisdomexperience.org/book/mahamudra-0
You can also order Mahamudra: How to Discover Our True Nature from the FPMT Foundation Store:
https://shop.fpmt.org/Mahamudra–How-to-Discover-Our-True-Nature_p_3130.html
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.
The Elephant’s Secret Kitchen, Cafe at Jamyang, London, UK, September 2018. Photo by Louis Porter.
Cafe at Jamyang, an initiative of Jamyang Buddhist Centre London, is situated in the heart of the Elephant and Castle neighborhood in London, UK. The Cafe joined together with the University of the Arts London, London College of Communication to produce a cookbook, The Elephant’s Secret Kitchen. Ilaria Mezzogori, chef/managing director, Cafe at Jamyang, and author of the cookbook shares the story.
In April 2017 we took off for a journey. It’s now September 2018, and we have reached land.
The Elephant’s Secret Kitchen, London, UK, September 2018. Photo by Shana Pagano.
In this past year we have cooked food, written down recipes, taken pictures, drawn illustrations, brewed colors, and printed paper.
Then on September 11, a few dozen cardboard boxes were delivered to our Cafe in Elephant and Castle. And we could finally say, “Our book is here!”
Many times during a busy lunchtime, I would hear the same question over the Cafe counter: “When are you making a recipe book?”
Once I forgot to say, “We don’t really have the time.” Instead I asked, “Shall we make it together?”
And so it was that Cafe at Jamyang and the London College of Communication started this journey.
The Cafe offered the recipes and stories that had passed through its kitchen and that needed to be preserved. The College provided its rooms, paper, and ink, while its students and tutors brought the recipes and and stories to life with images and color.
University of the Arts London, London College of Communication students working on The Elephant’s Secret Kitchen, Cafe at Jamyang, London, UK, August 2017. Photo by Alissa Metchnik.
The Elephant’s Secret Kitchen was printed using an eco-friendly paper created by a recycling process far more advanced than the standard on the Heidelberg lithography press at London College of Communication.
Learn more about Cafe at Jamyang, and purchase The Elephant’s Secret Kitchen on the cafe’s website:
http://www.cafeatjamyang.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.
Leaving from Rachen Nunnery for the first hike, to Milarepa Cave of Doves, Tsum, Nepal, May 2018. Photo by Tsum pilgrimage participant.
In May 2018 a group of twenty-two pilgrims, including Losang Dragpa Center resident teacher Geshe Jampa Tsundu, Tsum Project coordinator and former Rinchen Jangsem Ling secretary Low Yuet Kiew (“YK”), and FPMT Southeast Asia regional coordinator Selina Foong traveled together to Tsum, Nepal. This is an excerpt from Selina’s recently published online story, Pilgrimage to the Hidden Valley of Tsum, Nepal.
Our second day dawned bright and clear, and we joined the nuns in their daily Tara puja before setting off on our first hike.
First up, Milarepa’s Cave of the Doves! Here, dakinis had transformed into doves in order to listen to the Dharma from Milarepa. There were three separate but adjacent parts—a meditation gompa, a small cave with his very clear footprint on a large rock, and another small gompa with holy statues.
Arriving at Milarepa’s Cave of the Doves, Tsum, Nepal, May 2018. Photo by Tsum pilgrimage participant.
How moving to peer out from those dim tiny spaces towards the endless snowy peaks beyond, and realize that the great saint Milarepa would have done much the same centuries ago, as he meditated on the nature of reality! Galvanized and inspired, I recalled this beautiful line from Calling the Lama from Afar: “Magnificently glorious guru, please bless me to abide one-pointedly in practice in isolated places, not having any hindrances to my practice.”
On our way down, we stopped at another holy cave. Here, the great yogi Geshe Lama Konchog had meditated. Gazing at the piles of stones and then further into the darkness, the tranquility was palpable.
Visiting Geshe Lama Konchog’s retreat cave below Milarepa’s Cave of Doves, Tsum, Nepal, May 2018. Photo by Tsum pilgrimage participant.
As it turned out, these holy places had a way of suspending the normal passage of time in more ways than one. As we trekked back and looked at our watches, we were suddenly startled. What was to have been an easy walk this morning had turned into a five-hour expedition! Whoops! Blame it on all the posing and photos!
Read Selina’s full online story, Pilgrimage to the Hidden Valley of Tsum, Nepal:
https://fpmt.org/mandala/in-depth-stories/pilgrimage-to-the-hidden-valley-of-tsum-nepal/
Read Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice for pilgrimage:
https://fpmt.org/wp-content/uploads/teachers/zopa/advice/Pilgrimage_Advice.pdf
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.
Khen Rinpoche Geshe Thubten Chonyi, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, and Tan Hup Cheng in front of Amitabha Buddhist Center’s new entrance painted by Peter Griffin, Singapore, September 2018. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche arrived in Singapore on September 10, 2018, where he was greeted by a large group of students at the airport. Rinpoche spent the following three weeks leading activities at FPMT center Amitabha Buddhist Centre. The program ended on September 29 with a long life puja for Rinpoche. Shila Gephel, a long-time student of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, shares the story.
Kelvin Lee, Doris Lim , Toh Su Fen, Tan Wee Meng, Sandra Chen, and Ong Cheng Cheng at the Amitabha Buddhist Centre registration table, Singapore, September 2018. Photo by Tan Seow Kheng.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s presence at Amitabha Buddhist Centre galvanized both old and new students, many who had come from different parts of the world, including Mongolia, Spain, Italy, Britain, Taiwan, and neighboring Malaysia.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Tan Hup Cheng watching Khen Rinpoche Geshe Thubten Chonyi offer the golden crown to the Chenrezig statue at Amitabha Buddhist Centre, Singapore, September 2018. Photo by Tan Seow Kheng.
The program started on September 13 with Rinpoche offering the newly finished golden crown to the Chenrezig statue in the main gompa and taking time to explain about the incredible benefits of offering to holy objects. “It is exactly the same as having made offerings to the actual Buddha or Chenrezig, and that means also exactly the same as offering to His Holiness the Dalai Lama.”
Lama Zopa Rinpoche making offerings to Chenrezig during the golden crown offering ceremony at Amitabha Buddhist Centre, Singapore, September 2018. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Watch the short video, A Thousand Hands – The Wish Fulfilled, by Ven. Tenzin Tsultrim:
https://youtu.be/98Z0Px5aL1o
Rinpoche continued in the days after to give mind-training teachings, an Amitabha Obtaining the Pure Land initiation, and extensive Lama Chopa commentary. Rinpoche said that so many holy beings actualized the Lama Chopa and that this teaching has not degenerated; it is still warm with blessing.
Ven. Tenzin Tsultrim, Ven. Gyalten Rabten, and Ven. Tenzin Drachom making the offering to Lama Zopa Rinpoche during Lama Chopa at Amitabha Buddhist Centre, Singapore, September 2018. Photo by Tan Seow Kheng.
Rinpoche also reminded us that “if one doesn’t get to practice Dharma, learn Dharma, actualize the true path, wisdom directly realizing emptiness, then we will cycle again endlessly in samsara, suffering. The most important answer is to want to benefit others, that is the real answer.”
Wong Lai Kuen and Jangchup, named by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, during the tsog puja at Amitabha Buddhist Centre, Singapore, September 2018. Photo by Tan Seow Kheng.
To the people attending the South East Asian Regional Meeting, Rinpoche spoke about the Masters Program and Basic Program that are being taught in the centers and the importance of doing retreat after study. “Even if one is able to actualize one lamrim realization, it is so worthwhile.”
Rinpoche then said how his wish now is for FPMT students to develop lamrim experiences more and more, and that the most important thing for FPMT’s success is to have good samaya with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Lama Yeshe, and Rinpoche.
A long life puja was offered to Rinpoche on the last day of the program with Rinpoche reminding us again about “how important it is to practice the bodhisattva attitude so all your actions are dedicated for sentient beings.”
In these three blessed weeks, the center was filled to capacity as humans and pets alike imbibed the unending wisdom of the holy guru and rejoiced at the collection of dreamlike merits.
The Amitabha Buddhist Centre choir singing Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s long life prayer to Rinpoche, Singapore, September 2018. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Watch a short video created by Alaric, Heather, and Qiping that captures the highlights of Rinpoche’s visit:
https://youtu.be/JP7-v5PxcKk
To learn more about Amitabha Buddhist Centre, visit their website:
http://www.fpmtabc.org/
View the photo album of Rinpoche’s visit to Singapore:
https://fpmt.org/teachers/zopa/gallery/singapore-september-2018/
Watch Lama Zopa Rinpoche teach LIVE from Spain, Germany, and Switzerland, October 19-November 18! For links to live video streams:
https://fpmt.org/media/streaming/lama-zopa-rinpoche-live/
Find complete videos of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s recent teachings, including from Singapore:
https://fpmt.org/media/streaming/teachings-of-lama-zopa-rinpoche/
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.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama with March 26-April 4 Introduction to Buddhism students, Dharamsala, India, March 2018. Photo courtesy Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Ven. Tenzin Kunphen, spiritual program coordinator, and Maria Nobuko Corrales, assistant spiritual program coordinator, Tushita Meditation Centre share an update from Dharamsala, India.
After completing a record-breaking 2017, we are enjoying a year of record-breaking of another sort: teachings and audiences with His Holiness the Dalai Lama!
His Holiness the Dalai Lama with April 11-20 Introduction to Buddhism students and April 12-20 Insight Into Emptiness students, Dharamsala, India, April 2018. Photo courtesy Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
In late March we received an invitation specifically for the students in our Introduction to Buddhism course to come to His Holiness’s temple for a private teaching. This being a first for Tushita, we were overjoyed to facilitate this precious opportunity for our students.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama with May 18-27 Introduction to Buddhism students, Dharamsala, India, May 2018. Photo courtesy Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
This also marked the first time Tushita students as a group were able to have their photo taken with His Holiness.
Our fortune then continued with public audiences in April, May, and June!
His Holiness the Dalai Lama with June 5-14 Introduction to Buddhism students, Dharamsala, India, June 2018. Photo courtesy Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
On April 16, 2018, while meeting with Indian and foreign tourists at the main Tibetan temple courtyard in Dharamsala, to our greatest delight, His Holiness specifically mentioned Tushita. He advised that our students should study Shantideva’s A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, especially chapters six and eight.
Watch His Holiness mention Tushita on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/DwM-_ECgpaM?t=20m13s
In the first half of 2018, we have already welcomed over 750 students from all over the world for our popular ten-day Introduction to Buddhism courses. Almost all of these courses were completely full, with additional students on waiting lists hoping to get a space in the course.
May 18-27 Introduction to Buddhism students with Ven. Tenzin Kunphen, Ven. Tony Beaumont, and Maya, Tushita Meditation Centre, Dharamsala, India, May 2018. Photo courtesy of Tushita Meditation Centre.
In May we had our largest course, in which we managed to squeeze 122 students!
Even our February course (the first of the season, at the end of our cold winter) had an unusually high turnout.
February 20-March 1 Introduction to Buddhism students with Ven. Tenzin Drolma and Maya, Tushita Meditation Centre, Dharamsala, India, May 2018. Photo courtesy of Tushita Meditation Centre.
For those unable to participate in our residential program, we have non-residential programs too. Six days a week we offer morning meditations, which are ever-popular. One day this May we had a whopping 150 students join our morning meditation session! We have also been happy to offer twice-weekly Dharma movie days and regular pujas.
June 20-29 Introduction to Buddhism students, Tushita Meditation Centre dining hall, Dharamsala, India, June 2018. Photo courtesy of Tushita Meditation Centre.
In the short breaks in between residential courses, we were delighted to offer six two-day short courses on How to Meditate led by Shahar Tene, which typically attract around 100 students. These have been a wonderful addition to our program for students unable to commit to a full ten-day Introduction to Buddhism course, as well as a helpful supplement for students before or after their ten-day courses.
For more 2018 highlights, see Tushita News July 2018:
http://tushita.info/news/news-july-2018/
To learn about Tushita Meditation Centre’s student demographics, visit their 2017 report:
http://tushita.info/news/who-are-tushitas-students-nationality-2017/
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.