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Lama Zopa Rinpoche on the way to airport, Taiwan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Welcome to the July FPMT International Office e-News!
This month we bring you:
- An update to Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Schedule
- How FPMT Charitable Projects support His Holiness the Dalai Lama
- What’s in the new issue of Mandala magazine!
- An introduction to a new FPMT study group
…and more!
From your FPMT International Office
COVER: Lama Thubten Yeshe with child at Maitreya Instituut, the Netherlands, 1981. Photo by Ina van Delden. Digital enhancement by David Zinn. Photo courtesy of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.
The latest issue of Mandala is in the mail to Friends of FPMT supporters and others who receive the magazine through their local FPMT center.
The new issue explores Universal Education, Lama Yeshe’s vision for transmitting the essence of Buddhadharma to people of every age and background. We also share teachings from His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Lama Zopa Rinpoche; interviews with Lama Yeshe, Robert Thurman and Jon Landaw; stories about Universal Education-related work being done at by Foundation for Developing Compassion and Wisdom, Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa and Maitripa College; and more!
It’s not too late to receive the new issue! Become a Friend of FPMT today or order an individual copy through the FPMT Foundation Store.
Wisdom Publications, an FPMT-affiliated publishing house located in the United States, now offers Wisdom Academy and Wisdom Journal as part of its efforts to bring quality Buddhist books to the wider world.
B. Alan Wallace. Photo: http://learn.wisdompubs.org/
Wisdom Academy, an online learning community that launched in May 2016, currently offers “Introduction to Dzogchen” by B. Allan Wallace, a 10-week course that makes use of video lectures and instruction, guided audio meditations, PDF readings, a live Q & A with Wallace himself, and discussion forums with classmates. Future courses are scheduled with Ven. Thubten Chodron about the book Buddhism: One Teacher, Many Traditions and David Loy on “Buddhism in the Modern World.”
In June, Wisdom Journal, a biannual content-rich catalog, was published for the first time. This redesigned catalog now features extensive excerpts with beautiful images, giving readers a chance to get a real taste of Wisdom’s collection of new books before purchase.
Also in June, Wisdom announced Daniel Aitken as its newest publisher. Daniel’s background includes a decade of corporate and consumer marketing experience with multinationals such as Canon and large financial firms such as Westpac Bank. He also reads Sanskrit and Tibetan and has recently submitted his doctoral dissertation in Buddhist philosophy under the guidance of Professor Jay Garfield. Daniel is a close student of Geshe Ngawang Samten, resident geshe of FPMT center Vajrayana Institute in Australia.
Daniel Aitken. Photo courtesy of Wisdom Publications.
Since September 2015, Wisdom continues to offer fascinating podcasts with notable Buddhist figures. You can listen to amazing interviews with such people as Prof. Robert Thurman, Bhikkhu Bodhi, Shaila Catherine, and Christina Feldman, in addition to many others.
Contact marketing@wisdompubs.org to get on the Wisdom Journal mailing list.
FPMT.org brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings and events from nearly 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 arriving at the Maitreya Buddha Kushinagar Project foundation stone laying ceremony, Kushinagar, India, December 13, 2013. Photo by Andy Melnic.
The Maitreya Buddha Project Kushinagar and Buddha Maitreya Bodhgaya (formerly, Maitreya Project Bodhgaya), projects to build large statues of Maitreya Buddha in Kushinagar and Bodhgaya, India, continue to make progress.
A scale replica of the Maitreya Buddha statue to be built at Kushinagar, India, Photo by Andy Melnic.
On December 13, 2013, Lama Zopa Rinpoche attended and spoke at the foundation stone laying ceremony for the Maitreya Buddha Project Kushinagar. Long-time student Peter Kedge has carried out much work since then.
“The complex and unique legal process by which Maitreya Buddha Project Kushinagar will be able to take possession of the land is close to complete,” Peter reported. “As soon as the project takes possession of the land, [we] begin the process of fencing the several kilometers of perimeter, moving the 24-foot (7-meter) Maitreya statue from Bodhgaya to the Kushinagar land, installing the collection of relics Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s kindness has made available, and beginning site structure and planning for the eventual construction of the main Maitreya Buddha statue on site.”
Student Nita Ing, who is director of Buddha Maitreya Bodhgaya, shared news about the work being done in Bodhgaya, the site of Shakyamuni Buddha’s enlightenment:
“The project, due to many years of difficulties, has been pending for the past few years without any progress, despite continuous follow up and efforts to break through the problems of land exchange with the government, as well as legal issues with the land title.
“A new project team has been on board since November 2012, and presently there is some work that is being undertaken on site: 1) the construction of boundary walls surrounding the site, and 2) a prototype of Buddha Maitreya in the sitting vajra lotus position is being made in Nepal. Since November 2012, the project has not accepted any offerings, and will remain so until there is substantial work in progress.”
Lama Zopa Rinpoche during his speech with Maitreya Project trustee Ven. Kabir Saxena interpreting into Hindi, Kushinagar, India, December 13, 2013. Photos by Andy Melnic.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche wrote about his reasons for building the statues in a letter available on FPMT.org.
Mandala’s ongoing coverage of the Maitreya Projects can be read online.
Visit the Maitreya Buddha Project Kushinagar homepage to learn more and offer your support: http://mbpkushinagar.org/
FPMT.org brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings and events from nearly 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.
Thubten Gyatso and others install marble statues of the 18 Arhats, Thubten Shedrup Ling Monastery, Myers Flat, Australia, May 2016. Photo courtesy of Thubten Shedrup Ling.
In late May, Thubten Shedrup Ling Monasatery near Bendigo, Australia, received and installed a shipment of solid marble statues of Shakyamuni Buddha and the 18 Arhats carved in Vietnam. The entire project was sponsored by Quang Minh Buddhist Temple, a Vietnamese Buddhist group in Braybrook, Australia.
Thubten Gyatso and others install the marble statues of the 18 Arhats, Thubten Shedrup Ling Monastery, Myers Flat, Australia, May 2016. Photo courtesy of Thubten Shedrup Ling.
The marble statues of the 18 Arhats waiting for installation, Thubten Shedrup Ling Monastery, Myers Flat, Australia, May 2016. Photo courtesy of Thubten Shedrup Ling.
Thubten Gyatso (Adrian Feldmann) coordinated the project at Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s request, finding the marble quarry and artisans in Vietnam, and providing the sculptors the images on which to base the carvings. Each statue weighs three-quarters of a ton (about 1,680 pounds).
Now that the statues have been installed on monastery property, Gyatso will begin work on the surrounding landscape.
The marble statues of the 18 Arhats, Thubten Shedrup Ling Monastery, Myers Flat, Australia, May 2016. Photo courtesy of Thubten Shedrup Ling.
Marble arhat statue, Thubten Shedrup Ling Monastery, Myers Flat, Australia, May 2016. Photo courtesy of Thubten Shedrup Ling.
FPMT.org brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings and events from nearly 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.
Project director Ian Green welcomes the Jade Buddha’s 10 millionth visitor, Vo Quoc Tinh who was visiting from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, May 2016. Photo via Twitter @JadeBuddhaPeace.
“The Jade Buddha for Universal Peace has reached a huge milestone –10 million people have now visited the Jade Buddha in the last seven years,” reported project staff.
“The Jade Buddha for Universal Peace is still on the world tour, inspiring everyone who sees him to reflect upon peace. He has now traveled to around 100 cities across Australia, USA, Canada, Taiwan, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, Japan, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, France and Singapore. In the process, the Jade Buddha has covered almost the same distance as that from Earth to the moon.
“On May 13 during the showing at Chùa Bái Đính, Ninh Bình, Vietnam, the Jade Buddha has reached a huge milestone: welcoming the 10 millionth visitor.
“The Jade Buddha is booked out for the rest of this year with the second tour of Vietnam and will embark on a tour to Korea in 2017. The Korean tour will go to six major cities in South Korea and there are even plans for a visit to Pyongyang in the North!
“When the tour is eventually over in four to five years, the Jade Buddha will come to its final home at the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion in Bendigo, Australia.”
Mandala brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings and events from nearly 160 FPMT centers, projects and services around the globe. If you like what you read on Mandala, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.
Wording on the commemorative khata for the 10 millionth visitor, Ninh Bình, Vietnam, May 2016. Photo via Twitter @JadeBuddhaPeace.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Paro, Bhutan, May 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
The June edition of our FPMT International Office e-News is out now – we hope you enjoy it.
This month you’ll find:
- Grants awarded from the Merit Box
- Supporting Elderly Tibetan Refugees
- Thank you from our Work a Day for Rinpoche Campaign
- Introduction to a new FPMT Study Group in the USA
and more!
Ven. Tenzin Yonten constructs 19 Dharma nesting boxes, January 2016. Photo courtesy of Ven. Tenzin Yonten.
Garden manager Ven. Tenzin Yonten designed, manufactured and installed 19 Dharma nesting boxes, placing them in the trees of Nalanda Monastery’s grounds in southern France:
“These nesting boxes have been designed and built to attract the widest possible variety of bird species to Nalanda’s property, such as different species of tit, woodpecker, wagtail, thrush, finch and starling. I have had a lot of help from Ven. Tony from Institut Vajra Yogini, an FPMT center nearby Nalanda, who has a huge amount of knowledge on this subject. He advised me on the designs of the boxes to cover the species that are common in this area, and the placement of the nesting boxes in the trees. Protection from predators and the weather are two important considerations, as well as some solitude and cover. Even the diameter of the entrance holes of the boxes have been varied to help with a sensitivity some species have to the size of the entry to their home.
Numbered nesting boxes, January 2016. Photo courtesy of Ven. Tenzin Yonten.
All the boxes are numbered for reference and are removable from the trees, and they all have a door so I can clean them each winter. Stage one of the project is the placement and to see which ones are occupied during the spring. When next winter arrives, I can go to them and clean them out, and if there’s no activity in some of the boxes, I can remove them and place them in different locations. This will be adjusted as each winter goes on. Furthermore, I will extend the project by installing nesting boxes for the two main species of owls that live on the river banks on one of Nalanda’s boundaries. These boxes are much larger than the ones for the song birds I have been installing. Owls are quite reclusive birds, so I need to look very closely for ideal box locations.
The mantra card placed into each nesting box, January 2016. Photo courtesy of Ven. Tenzin Yonten.
The general idea is to attract as many bird species as possible to Nalanda’s property. Most of the species are now declining primarily because of human development. Modern housing does not allow for birds to nest, and many of the older houses and barns are being modernized and renovated with the same effect. Also, the majority of the gardens in this area do not have well-established trees or secluded areas. Nalanda’s property is ideal nesting ground on all those points, so we can attract a lot more birds to a safe space and give them the facilities to nest and raise their young. I also hope to attract new species of birds to the property that have not commonly been seen before.
An extremely important part of the project is that each of the nesting boxes has a mantra card with holy images in the ceiling, designed by Pete Albertsen using FPMT Education Services materials. The chicks will be looking up all the time, waiting for the parents to come and deliver food. In this way, they will have imprints of the Dharma in their minds at all times.
I would very much like to thank everyone you so kindly donated so I could buy good quality materials for the boxes. Nalanda’s Animal Care Project is completely dependent on kind donors for this kind of activity, as well as vet bills for feral or wild animals that are brought to us (or just turn up!) for care. It’s also the perfect opportunity for them to get a generous dose of mantra too!
Ven. Tenzing Yoten installs nesting boxes on Nalanda’s grounds, January 2016. Photo courtesy of Ven. Tenzin Yonten.
Of course, my huge thanks to Ven. Tony for his kind and generous help in actualizing the nesting box project. I learnt a lot from him about the bird species of the area, how they live, and how to give them opportunity to nest safely. I am very grateful for all the support so many people have given me. I’m sure we will see the benefits this coming spring and summer.”
Originally published in News from Nalanda April 2016.
FPMT.org brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings and events from nearly 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.
Vens. Namdrol Phuntsok and Jangchub Gyalmo at Kopan, Nepal, 2015. Photo courtesy of Kopan Monastery.
In early May, 20 nuns sat at Geden Choeling Nunnery for a fourth and final round of examinations for the Geshema degree, including two nuns from Khachoe Ghakyil Ling (Kopan Nunnery) – Vens. Namdrol Phuntsok and Jangchub Gyalmo. According to Tibetan Nuns Project, those who pass will receive their degrees in October 2016 from His Holiness the Dalai Lama at a special ceremony in Dharamsala. They will become the first cohort of Tibetan nuns to receive the Geshema degree.
Ven. Phuntsok was born in the Pembo district of Tibet and became a nun at age 9. She went to Nepal to study at age 12 and entered Kopan Nunnery in 1993 at age 13. Ven. Gyalmo is from Tsum, in the Gorkha district of Nepal. In 1989, Ven. Gyalmo took ordination in Sarnath, India, and a year later she entered Kopan Nunnery at the age of 18.
For the first–year of the Geshema exams in 2013, there were 29 nuns from six nunneries. Ven. Phuntsok received top marks and placed first in the group. In the second-year exams, she was second. And in the third-year exams, among the now 20 nuns – nine had dropped out mainly due to illness – she was again first. Ven. Gyalmo placed eleventh, twelfth, and sixth over the three years.
Vens. Phuntsok and Gyalmo are already teaching Buddhist philosophy to the younger nuns at Kopan, where more than half of the nunnery’s 350 nuns are in the study program. They will continue at the nunnery after they receive their Geshema degrees. Both hope to spend about nine months of the year teaching and three months doing retreat. Ven. Phuntsok said she plans to dedicate more time to improving her English so that she can also teach the Dharma in English when asked.
In 2017, another five or six Kopan nuns will have finished their studies and will begin the four-year period of exams to qualify for the Geshema degree. By completing their in-depth studies and exams, these ground-breaking nuns are helping to ensure a strong future for the Gelug tradition and the Buddhadharma.
Ven. Namdrol Phuntsok and Ven. Jangchub Gyalmo talked about studying for the Geshema degree and the importance of having female geshes in the interview “A Straight and Steady Motivation” (Mandala January-March 2013).
FPMT.org brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings and events from nearly 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 Chonyi offers flowers and lights during Amitabha Buddhist Centre’s annual Vesak Celebration, Singapore, May 2016. Photo by Tan Seow Kheng.
“Here at Amitabha Buddhist Centre (ABC) in Singapore, we just concluded our annual celebration of Vesak Day with a weekend festival held from May 20-22,” shared Ven. Tenzin Tsultrim. “This year, we enjoyed a double celebration as Vesak Day fell on the same day as the full moon day of Saka Dawa. May 21 also happened to be a blue moon.
“Our annual Vesak Celebration is a large-scale event that we offer to the public. Everyone, including ABC’s circle of students and friends, is invited to participate in celebrating the Buddha’s day of enlightenment and parinirvana with us. We have a large marquee about the size of a soccer field set up at a public space outside the busy Aljunied train station, just across the street from ABC’s building.
A large marquee near Aljunied MRT Station is transformed for Amitabha Buddhist Centre’s Vesak Celebration, Singapore, May 2016. Photo by Tan Seow Kheng.
“Over the years, we have established a program with plenty of activities where people can make offerings and accumulate heaps of merit. Every year, we invite a group of monks over from Kopan Monastery. Together with our resident teacher Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi, the monks perform a variety of pujas and people are welcome to sponsor and dedicate accordingly.
Dozens of volunteers offer many hours of service to help host the Vesak Celebration, Singapore, May 2016. Photo by Noelle Teoh.
“There are also offering options galore, from lotus candles to oil lamps, to flowers and incense. We have stations where people can make bath offerings to the infant Buddha, offer water to White Dzambhala, gild a statue of Buddha, pray to the 21 Taras, etc. All day until night, there is a retail bazaar with an array of Dharma-related crafts and holy objects and a station that showcases our free distribution books and CDs. Light snacks are available for purchase, and every Vesak Day, we offer a free vegetarian lunch to everyone who would like a meal.
Amitabha Buddhist Centre’s large thangka of Amitabha Buddha Pure Land, Singapore, May 2016. Photo by Louise Lu.
“We have a tradition of displaying a large central holy object where people can make offerings, circumambulate and turn a series of small prayer wheels. This year is the third year in a row that we have displayed our 50-foot (15-meter) tall thangka of Amitabha Buddha Pure Land. This enormous thangka was custom-made following Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice that we should make one and display it on special festival days. It is mounted on a specially constructed steel scaffold and is clearly visible from the commuter trains that whiz by just beside it.
“Thousands of people have visited and supported our Vesak Celebration over the years and we were happy to welcome so many people again this year. It has become a familiar community event for many in our neighborhood that attracts people from all walks of life. The other wonderful thing about this festival is that it brings together so many of ABC’s old and new students and their families. For days and up to weeks ahead of Vesak, our volunteers devote amazing hours of their time to preparing for this.
“Vesak Celebration 2016 marks the 19th year that we have staged the event at the Aljunied MRT open field. We are looking forward to our 20th year of bringing the Vesak Celebration to the community in 2017.”
Hundreds of students and community members come to offer the large Amitabha Buddha thangka light during the evening, Singapore, May 2016. Photo by Yew Kim Guan.
This year the UN recognized Vesek with an International Day of Vesak celebration on Friday, May 20 in New York City. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon issued a message that said in part, “the sacred commemoration of the Day of Vesak offers an invaluable opportunity to reflect on how the teachings of Buddhism can help the international community tackle pressing challenges.” Read more on Lion’s Roar.
FPMT.org brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings and events from nearly 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.
Tenzin Ösel and Tara Melwani greet His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Japan before His Holiness begins teaching.
Tenzin Ösel Hita recently spent time in Southeast Asia. In March he was in Singapore to attend the long life puja for Lama Zopa Rinpoche organized by Amitabha Buddhist Centre. He then traveled to Malaysia later in the month to receive the Most Secret Hayagriva initiation along with Gomo Tulku. In early April, Ösel went to Kuala Lumpur and had dinner with Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
Osel enjoying lunch with Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Gomo Tulku, Chung Han and Tze Hua.
While in Singapore and Malaysia Ösel and Gomo Tulku gave talks and engaged in Q & A sessions at Amitabha Buddhist Centre, Losang Dragpa Centre, and Chokyi Gyaltsen Center.
Ösel with Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi, Gomo Tulku and friends in Singapore.
Last week, Ösel was in Japan to attend teachings with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and he commented that he was “so blessed and lucky” for this opportunity.
In April of 2015, Ösel led a pilgrimage to India and Nepal. During that pilgrimage they visited Tushita Meditation Centre and Ösel was kind enough to give a talk about his life, his experiences, and some lessons he has learned along his path. You can enjoy a clip of this talk on YouTube.
In this video clip Ösel says to those in attendance, “I am not a teacher, at all. I’m a student and I think I will always be a student. And I think we all have to learn together. So that’s what I am trying to do. Trying to learn from you and maybe you can learn from me. In just the same way that we learn from life, through everybody. From the moment we are born until the moment we die we are always learning.”
The full length recording of Ösel’s talk will be available on Rinpoche Available Now (RAN) soon in the “Tenzin Ösel Hita Videos” section.
FPMT continues to support Ösel in all of his Dharma and educational endeavors through the Big Love Fund. All are welcome to be part of this offering.
You can learn more about Ösel including his biography, photos, videos and more.
Geshe Kelsang Wangmo teaching at Jamyang Buddhist Centre London, November 2014. Photo by Natascha Sturny.
In early May, The Yogini Project released “Geshema Kelsang Wangmo: On Becoming The First Geshema,” a video interview with Geshe Kelsang Wangmo. In the short interview, Geshe Wangmo – whose early contact with FPMT center Tushita Meditation Centre in Dharamsala, India, and Kopan Monastery in Nepal, contributed to her desire to become a nun and study intensively – describes how her earning a Geshema degree through the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics in April 2011 helped pave the way for Tibetan nunneries to begin awarding the degree to other qualified women.
Watch “Geshema Kelsang Wangmo: On Becoming The First Geshema” on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/x3DT1KWfmZ8
In Mandala’s exclusive October-December 2012 interview with Geshe Kelsang Wangmo – “The Joy of Study: An Interview with Geshe Kelsang Wangmo” – Geshe Wangmo shares how she became a geshe, the obstacles she overcame, and the benefits of rigorous study.
FPMT.org brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings and events from nearly 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.