His Holiness the Dalai Lama teaching on “In Praise of the Dharmadhatu” by Nagarjuna, Bodhgaya, India, December 29-31, 2023. Photo by Cynthia Karena.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama offered teachings on “In Praise of the Dharmadhatu” by Nagarjuna in Bodhgaya, India, from December 29-31, 2023. Cynthia Karena, Tara Institute (Australia) student stayed at Root Institute during these teachings and was able to talk to other FPMT students who attended the teachings as well as Tenzin Phuntsok Rinpoche, the twenty-one year old reincarnation Geshe Lama Konchock. She offers the following report of their words and wisdom as well as many beautiful photos of the event: 

Cynthia Karena (front) takes a selfie with the crowd when leaving His Holiness the Dala Lama’s teachings, Bodhgaya, December 2023.

Words have power, and when they are spoken by His Holiness the Dalai Lama they feel like they seep into your core being.

About 50,000 people—monks, nuns and lay people—were incredibly attentive as they listened to His Holiness’s amazing teachings on emptiness as he offered commentary on Nargajuna’s “In Praise of the Dharmadhatu” in Bodhgaya from December 29-31, 2023. On the first day, His Holiness said: “I do my best to cultivate the awakening mind of bodhicitta and an understanding of emptiness every day, not with a view to this life alone.”

The teachings were followed by a long life puja on New Year’s Day. What a great way to start the year!

I talked to a few people staying at Root Institute during this time. I thought staying here without Lama Zopa would be so sad, but there is a strong feeling of him being here, which is comforting and amazing.

“Root Institute is a manifestation of Rinpoche’s inspired vision,” shared Australian nun Ven. Tenzin Namdrol.

“Everything here is Rinpoche—the prayer wheel, the Nargajuna statue, the Maitreya statue, the statues on the plinths, the gompa and how it’s designed, everything here is Rinpoche, so he can’t be not here.”

Ven. Tenzin Namdrol in front of the Nagarjuna statue at Root Institute, Bodhgaya. Photo by Cynthia Karena.

Ven. Tenzin was also pointing out all the quotes by Rinpoche displayed around the place. She says she would never stay anywhere else in Bodhgaya, and if there was no room available, she’d just sleep under the Nargajuna statue.

Mark Hebblewhite, former Tara Institute management committee member, also always stays at Root Institute. He made friends with Kabir Saxena (current spiritual program coordinator of Tushita Meditation Centre in Delhi) when they were both in Bodhgaya together during the Kalachakra initiation with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in December 1985.

Mark Hebblewhite and Kabir Saxena, dear old friends. Photo by Cynthia Karena.

“Kabir and I were part of the advance team for FPMT,” says Mark. “Kabir was here trying to find land for Root Institute, and I’d been asked to set up a restaurant to feed the Westerners who came to the Kalachakra. ”They were in Bodhgaya together for three months and formed a decades-long friendship. 

Mark also feels that Lama Zopa is still here. “He was here just last January,” reminds Mark. “Central at Root is a large prayer wheel. It has a clear bell that rings with each rotation of the wheel. I was told that Rinpoche was always pleased to hear that bell ring, day and night. I’ve been going out of my way to ring that bell loud and often during this visit. It pleases Rinpoche.”

Pilgrims joining His Holiness’s teachings in Bodhgaya, December 2023. Photo by Cynthia Karena.

 Mark noticed that the Dalai Lama’s constant theme, “that he kept coming back to,” was the problem we have as a whole society, dividing humanity up into us and them.  “And that’s based on ignorance. There are lots of antidotes to that sort of separated thinking, but it doesn’t come easily. He’s hoping that all people, including those here in Bodhgaya, can live in a way that they cease to be so divisive in the way they see humanity.” Mark thinks this is an ambitious idea. “Even for experienced students that’s really hard; so how easy is it going to be to achieve this? And we’re the ones who are here listening. I think it’s highly aspirational, but that’s the aspiration and Tibetan Buddhists are highly, highly aspirational.”

His Holiness talking about emptiness resonated with Mark. “There was a good lesson yesterday about the ‘I’ that’s labeled or designated upon the aggregates, which have arisen as a result of karma and causes, and the ‘I’ that’s overlayed on that, and which then engages in our life’s dramas. And the discipline and the mindfulness (required) to see which one we’re talking to or thinking about or identifying with at any particular time. That’s a work in progress, because the one that’s validly designated is not the one that gets caught up! That’s really a work in progress for me.”

Echoing Mark’s observations about His Holiness’s comments about the current state of the world, Ven. Lindy Mailhot, director of Chag Tong Chen Tong Centre in Hobart Tasmania, was moved by His Holiness’s words. “It felt so urgent, really urgent. There was something different today. His Holiness has said these words before, but it felt different today. There was an urgent message for the world. His Holiness also told us his realisations so publicly. It broke my heart but I don’t know why. I’m still thinking about it. His Holiness was making an urgent point. He was saying that enough is enough, and that compassion is the way forward; the world can’t continue like this anymore.” 

Monks in the mist, going to HIs Holiness the Dalai Lama’s teachings, December 2023. Photo by Cynthia Karena.

I also had a quick chat with the twenty-one year old Tenzin Phuntsok Rinpoche, the reincarnation of the great Geshe Lama Konchock, about His Holiness’s teachings while we were waiting for others to come and meet him.

Talking about afflictions, Phuntsok Rinpoche said, “you can’t see them.” “For example,” he explains, “the light rays of a butter lamp inside a pot would not be able to come out. So it’s the same thing for us. Our Buddha nature is covered up by afflictions. It’s hard to see it, but once everything’s been cleared, the nature comes out.”

He re-iterated His Holiness’s teachings by emphasizing that we need both wisdom and method when practicing Dharma. “I found that really important nowadays as well since I’m studying the wisdom part of it. I see that the studying part is important, but also we need to apply what we have been studying into the method as well, because just studying is not the end point of it. The whole point of studying and debating the philosophical side of Dharma is to be able to practice, is to be able to meditate, and to be able to visualize whatever we are studying. That’s the main point. So I felt that it applies to my life, and very important for all Dharma practitioners to focus on both sides of it (wisdom and method) no matter what level they are. Even if you are learning a little bit, you can apply what you’ve learnt into practice. And that is better than learning it and not applying it in real life at all. (His Holiness’s talks) were inspiring and apply to me as well.”

His Holiness waving to the crowd in Bodhgaya, December 2024. Photo by Cynthia Karena.

I also had the good karma to meet Phuntsok Rinpoche again at Gaya airport where we chatted for around an hour before our plane left about everything from the Eight Verses to monastery life and teaching techniques for the West.

The chatter among our group after meeting Phuntsok Rinpoche and earlier with Tenzin Urgyen Chonyi Rinpoche, the fifteen year old reincarnation of the great Khensur Urgyen Tseten, in Bodhgaya is that we feel incredibly fortunate that these young lamas (and others some of the group met at Sera Je Monastery a few weeks earlier) are part of the future of Tibetan Buddhism.

Hopefully we’ll still be around when they start teaching.

We offer grateful thanks to Cynthia Karena for offering this moving report and photos. 

Tara Institute students in Bodhgaya together for His Holiness’s teachings. Photo by Damien Busby.

For more information on His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his beneficial activities, please visit DalaiLama.com and also view His Holiness’s public schedule. 

FPMT.org brings you news of activities, teachings, and events from over 150 FPMT centers, projects, and services around the globe. If you like what you read, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.

FPMT Geshe Conference at Kopan Monastery currently underway.

With great rejoicing we share that a truly auspicious meeting is occurring (January 9-14) at Kopan Monastery which has incredible significance for the FPMT organization. 

More than thirty FPMT geshes and geshemas from around the world, joined by five FPMT Inc. board members, have convened at Kopan, the very heart of the FPMT organization, for three days of sharing, rejoicing, problem solving, and prayers for the swift return of Lama Zopa Rinpoche (including Chanting the Names of Manjushri and Rinpoche’s swift return prayer in front of Rinpoche’s holy body). At the conclusion of the conference, the group will engage in an all-day Most Secret Hayagriva tsog and then a two-day pilgrimage together around Kathmandu. 

Ven. Roger Kunsang reports from the conference that the event is going extremely well and the FPMT family spirit is blossoming with a strong sense of unity.

Ganden Tri Rinpoche and His Eminence Ling Rinpoche have each addressed the assembly of geshes, and we look forward to sharing details of these talks once they become available. 

We will provide a full report of this extremely important event once it has concluded and participants have had the opportunity to reflect. 

Please watch this video of the FPMT geshes reciting Chanting the Names of Manjushri for Rinpoche’s swift return, prior to the start of the conference on January 8, 2024:

Chung Han posing with Big Love , the biography of Lama Yeshe. Photo from Chung Han’s Instagram page.

Lee Chung Han passed away at age 43 on October 22, 2023 in Malaysia from leukemia. 

Below we share an obituary for Lee Chung Han and also a special interview with Gomo Tulku Rinpoche detailing the close friendship and mutual support he shared with Chung Han right up until the time of his passing. 

Obituary of Lee Chung Han

Submitted by Chung Han’s family

The late Dato’ Lee Chung Han—beloved son, husband, father, friend, leader, colleague, teacher, and disciple—lived a life full of selfless acts. Just as his smile has lit up rooms and hearts, his ever giving spirit has illuminated all of us, even those whom he’s never met.

At his wake, his many school friends, colleagues and business associates came to rekindle fond memories and to pay tribute to someone special for his character and faith and the impact he had on their lives. 

He excelled academically and socially in Kuen Cheng Chinese Primary School and Garden International School in Malaysia, and later in Epsom College, London School of Economics, and Oxford University in the UK. He began his career in CIMB Investment Banking, followed by Air Asia, Tunes Group and Lotus Ltd ( F1 racing). He then went into the mineral mining industry. He was elected as President of the Alumni of the Oxford University Business School and a board member of the SME and Entrepreneurs Business Award. 

Despite his busy work schedule he involved himself in several environmental activities. He initiated the activist group “Save Pulau Langkawi Gunung Raya Forest Reserve” which is 93 acres of virgin rainforest. He was a board member of Universal Clear Light which had begun Global Tree Initiative. In his compassion for animals he supported the Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary in Pahang state, which provides protection for the wild elephants. 

He took his community obligations earnestly when he was appointed President of the Taman Pantai Residents Association, where he lived and grew up. He was a committee member of a community run garden in the city called Kebun-Kebun Bangsar. 

Early into his working career he was drawn into Buddhism and soon became a loyal and devoted student of Lama Zopa Rinpoche. 

Much saddened by the death of his guru in April 2023 he traveled to Kopan Monastery in Kathmandu to pay his respects. A few weeks later he joined the FPMT delegation in Dharamsala to offer a long-life puja to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the following private audience with His Holiness..

To those who have known and met him, Chung Han came across as a kind hearted, considerate, intelligent man who cherished his family, Sangha, friends and his Dharma brethren and sisters. 

In keeping Han’s light alive his friends and family are providing Orang Asli families in the state of Pahang, Malaysia with better access to water—the most essential element of life. More than 40 wells, which include water pumps and storage tanks, complete with piping systems are being provided to clusters of Orang Asli households. 

His legacy of selflessness will live on in us, through our acts of compassion and generosity.

Gomo Tulku, Chung Han, Chung Han’s wife Tze Hua and Tenzin Osel Hita having lunch with Lama Zopa Rinpoche in Malaysia, 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

An Interview with Gomo Tulku Rinpoche 

When did you meet Lee Chung Han? Can you tell us about your relationship and history?

In the beginning of 2016, I was on a short vacation in Asia when I received a call from Lama Osel, saying he would like to join me. He arrived after a few days and later also proposed a trip to Malaysia at the invitation of a friend in Kuala Lumpur. At first, I declined the invitation as I had no clue who this friend was but interestingly this friend was persistent and kept inviting the two of us to visit him. He also offered to travel together to Penang, where Lama Zopa Rinpoche was going to give the Hayagriva Initiation. If I remember correctly, I still refused the offer but he requested a third time, at which point I felt I needed to know this person and so I agreed to his invitation. That’s how I first met Chung Han.

From then on our relationship quickly evolved to a friendship that spanned more than seven years, until his passing. Both of us being staunch Buddhists and having a shared interest in business, he kindly allowed me to work alongside him in his mining endeavor.
During my time in Malaysia, I would sometimes wake up as early as 3:00 a.m. to visit mining sites with his team and geologists, driving for around 4 hours only to walk for a few more hours in order to explore potential sites. I also participated in his weekly company meetings and gained valuable insights into the business. I attended many of his meetings with politicians, businessmen, government officials, and royal family members. He was someone with big ambitions and, as a result, he was also involved in various industries. I was sort of his right-hand man and the C-suite support for his company SMGB. Working with him in 2016 and 2017 really felt like I was going through an MBA course, if not more.

After I left working with SMGB we kept up our friendship and continued to support each other. I helped organize pujas and prayers for him and when the pandemic hit in 2020 and 2021, he was there in solidarity with I Saved A Life, a nonprofit I founded, contributing to its emergency response projects in India.

When did you hear that he was having health difficulties?

On September 23, 2023, one of his cousins called me with the news of his situation. Having confirmed with his brother, I immediately booked the earliest flight to Kuala Lumpur and visited him. During my stay there I managed to see him a few times, with our last meeting occurring 12 days before he passed away.

Can you tell us about the support you offered to him while he was at the end of life?

As a friend, I offered my time, jokes, and affection but also, in my capacity as a Rinpoche, all the Dharma support I could provide. I offered advice on certain practices and how to navigate his thoughts and facilitated connections to receive blessings and guidance from prominent Rinpoches. Our connection deepened further during his hospital stay. We reminisced, shared laughter, and even shed tears together. In those precious moments, I arranged FaceTime calls with Khensur Lobsang Delek Rinpoche, Jhado Rinpoche, and Tsa Woesel Tulku. During these calls I translated their Tibetan guidance into English for him. It was a beautiful moment to witness him expressing his gratitude to the great masters in Tibetan, repeatedly saying, “Thugje che” with folded hands just
before ending the calls.

Could you tell me about his life and the impact he had on others?

While his family is better positioned to answer this question, to me he was a friend always willing to help, a businessman full of creative ideas, and a genuine optimist. His commitment to Dharma was equally strong, engaging wholeheartedly in pujas, Dharma activities, and charitable projects. Additionally, I recently learned from his parents that he was the one who brought them to the Dharma. This is noteworthy as, in Asian families, it tends to be the other way around.

I would like to end by saying I’m truly grateful to Chung Han for his friendship and kindness, for giving me a place to stay when I was in Kuala Lumpur, for supporting my charitable projects, for all that he showed me about business and, most of all, for his unwavering faith in the Dharma, especially in Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

Grateful thanks to Gomo Tulku Rinpoche for sharing these intimate details of his friendship with Chung Han. 

Ven. Thubten Gelek (Max Redlich) in Dharamsala, 2022. Photo courtesy of Tara Institute Facebook page.

Venerable Thubten Gelek (Max Redlich) passed away on November 26, 2023 in New Delhi, India.

Venerable Gelek, born July 13, 1944, was an IMI sangha member who offered many decades of service to the Dharma, starting in the early years of the FPMT organization. Below we share words from friends, and passages from Big Love: The Life & Teachings of Lama Yeshe, to celebrate Ven. Gelek’s devoted service to Lama Yeshe, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, and the FPMT mandala.

An excerpt from the Tara Newsletter by Pete Giuliano gives praise to Ven. Gelek’s contributions to Tara Institute in Melbourne, Australia:

“Max was instrumental in the founding of Tara Institute in the early formative days of the center. He had been Co-Director of Tara House with Uldis Balodis in Kew up to 1982 . At the completion of his service, Lama Yeshe apologized for having pushed him too hard. Max did a lot of the work in finding 3 Crimea Street and famously predicted we would outgrow it within five years. We moved to Mavis Avenue in 1987, where he stayed with us over several different periods. He has been based in India for many years but would often return to Melbourne.

Adele Hulse, the author of Big Love shares about Ven. Gelek:

“His father was from a family of successful Jewish butchers and Redlich Butchers is still trading. His mother was a non-Jewish woman from Vienna, a model who once had to pose for Hitler. Max got into the meat trade. He wore white boning-room clothes and white boning-room boots and had a car and a driver because he was so busy and so successful. Then he heard Lama Yeshe speak in Melbourne and realized he had to change his entire life.”

More from Adele on her memories of Ven. Gelek:

“I had a very young child who was in and out of hospital when Max asked me if I would run a fashion business, importing from Ven. Marcel in Kathmandu and from the Delhi Centre. I had no business experience whatsoever. A week later $150,000 worth of baled stock arrived at my house and I ordered racks and got a secretary. Max arrived early every morning for a week, bearing beautiful fruit and cakes from Acland Street and made me breakfast while lecturing me about business. He started at the beginning and ended by telling me how you close a business. Everything happened just as he said it would. Three years later it was time to shut the business down because the purpose had been served – to create a profile to convince a bank to give a loan – and we were not in the fashion business. Max was unfailingly kind and patient and wrote me long letters about business.
I still have them.” 

Max Redlich, Dharamsala, 1978. Photo courtesy of Nick Ribush.

Longtime Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive director, Nick Ribush, recounts Ven. Gelek meeting the Dharma:

“I knew Max in Melbourne in the 60’s, several years before either of us had even heard the word ‘Dharma.’ I didn’t know him well, but he did seem to live the fast, high life of someone with plenty of money. Then, after I had left Australia in 1972 and finished up at Kopan, I didn’t hear of or from him until 1977, when I was giving a ten-day meditation course near Melbourne and he came up to see me there. He looked very cool, with long red hair down to his waist and a beautiful svelte girl on his arm, wondering what it was that I and, by now, many of his friends had gotten into. He wasn’t about to stay for any of the course, so I told him that if he really wanted to know he’d have to go to Kopan for the November course and hear it directly from the Lamas themselves. He did, and the rest is history.”

A excerpt from Big Love shares this first experience at Kopan in Ven. Gelek’s own words:

Many of his friends had become Lama’s students, but he found their devotion ridiculous. “[Lama Yeshe] was talking about emptiness and this guy asked if you would lose your personality if you realized emptiness. Lama said, ‘No!’ and shrieked with laughter. The guy was ready with more questions, but Lama was just bursting with laughter and I think that’s when he got me.” 

Ordination group with IMI sangha at Kopan Monastery, Nepal, January 1979. Ven. Max is pictured back row, third from left. Photo Courtesy LYWA.

More from Big Love on Ven. Gelek’s early connection and service to Lama Yeshe:

At first skeptical of the level of devotion evident among so many of his friends, Max had changed after watching his father die. He became super-devoted and ran around trying to do good in any way he could. Lama called him “Max Relics” and found plenty for him to do. There was no end to Lama’s orders and Max tried to do it all.

“One day I was tearing around trying to do everything as usual and a drop of rain fell,” Max recalled. “So I raced around, found an umbrella and came back only to tear off to do something else. I was erratic and overly busy. Lama just gave me this disparaging look, shook his head and said, ‘Jewish army!’ I’d been in the Israeli army during the Six-Day War in 1967, so Lama was indicating I was anything but disciplined. Whenever we were looking for praise, he made sure we didn’t get it.”

… Max was asked to help Lama Yeshe pack. “I gathered it was a big deal to be asked to do this, but I had no idea what to do. I was just standing there waiting for instructions when Lama asked me to sit on the bed. I had a hunch he was about to play a trick on me and sure enough, a rubber spider suddenly appeared. He thought it was so funny when I instinctively moved out of its way. I stood up and Lama actually picked me up and walked with me around the room, carrying me. Lama Zopa Rinpoche was there too. I just didn’t know what to think,” Max recalled.

“[1978] Then it was time to go. Lama sat in a rocking chair in this big sitting room at the back of Manjushri Institute and about a hundred people lined up to say goodbye to him. They came in the door and bent low as they gave him a khata. The warmth and love between them each time was palpable. He treated each individual student as if they were the only one in the whole world, even though they were with him for just sixty seconds. It actually gave me some idea of what he meant when he said, ‘Communicating, dear? You communicating?’ Lama definitely communicated.

“I assumed it was Nick who had arranged for me to become Lama’s lay attendant that time. He knew I had made quite a lot of money from my business in Melbourne and probably thought that if I had the privilege of carrying Lama Yeshe’s bags to London I would become more interested in the Dharma. Then they could get some money out of me.” Max had made his fortune in the meat trade. Lama Yeshe got him to set up a number of businesses associated with Dharma centers to “purify” the money, but not all were successful. 

Lama Yeshe, left with Ven. Max Redlich (Thubten Gelek) back left, Ven. Thubten Gyatso, and Ven. Thubten Wangchuk, during the First Enlightenment Experience Celebration at Tushita Meditation Centre, Dharamsala, India, 1982. Photo courtesy LYWA.

Peter Kedge, a longtime FPMT student and former member of the FPMT Inc. Board of Directors, offered the following words when hearing of Ven. Gelek’s passing:

“Max was always so kind and helpful. I traveled with Lama and Rinpoche and organized their world teaching tours from 1976 to 1979. There was no money apart from that which centers sent in advance and some couldn’t manage that. We had to use cash and traveler’s cheques which made travel quite difficult. Max was a serial entrepreneur and ran a successful business in Melbourne.

“He asked how he could help with the tours and when I explained, he immediately arranged a Diners Club card which we could use and then reimburse Max when the bills were due. That was a huge help and one of many ways Max helped Lama and Rinpoche develop FPMT.

“He was always thinking of ways to make money for FPMT. When we were first trying to establish business in Hong Kong, Max opened an electronics store in Melbourne so we could ship electronic goods to him.

“Later after Lama Yeshe had passed, Rinpoche wanted to ask Osel some important question. Rinpoche asked Max to personally represent him and ask Osel. Rinpoche’s reason to ask Max was that Max had had a very pure relationship with Lama Yeshe and so was the right person to approach Osel on Rinpoche’s behalf.

“Max served and contributed in many often unseen and unsung ways.”

John Douthitt (Pelgye) recounts Ven. Gelek’s role in his taking ordination and some stories Ven. Gelek shared with him:

“In 1977 Max and I sat our first Kopan course together and quickly became friends. I arrived determined to be a monk, I would have taken robes the day I arrived had that been an option. Max spent the entire month coming up with one reason after another why I should NOT take ordination. I did take ordination after the course and then heard that someone had anonymously offered a generous yearly donation to cover my needs. I didn’t know anyone who had spare money except Max so I asked him and yes, it was him. I said, ‘But you’ve been trying to convince me to NOT take ordination.’ He told me he had wanted me to be sure it was what I really really wanted because it was too important of a decision to make without fully thinking it through.

He was, back then, wealthy.  He’d figured out how to take the unwanted scraps of meat production and make them into something which WAS wanted.  He told me stories about buying a Bentley solely on the basis that it was the only car he could find which was more expensive than a Rolls Royce and he had one of the 3-4 cellphones in the whole of Australia at the time in his Bentley; another of those cellphones in his other car.

He told me that he lived in a simple one bedroom apartment but, since he could, he figured he ought to buy a bluestone, one of the most expensive houses he could buy.  After rattling about in that big house for a spell, he put in a ramp so he could drive his motorcycle up into the front room but eventually that lost its luster, too, and he realized that he was not occupying hardly any more space in the house than he had in the one bedroom apartment so he sold he house and moved back to a small apartment.

From longtime IMI sangha member, Wongmo,

“Max and I were quite close friends when we lived at Tushita Retreat Center, as it was known in those days…late 70’s-mid 80’s.  He was an interesting character, having had an energetic youth and then Dharma practitioner. He’d tell me colorful stories of being in the family abattoir business in Australia.

“Max was known for his penchant to forever be searching for mystic, psychic observations. He’d carry around his I Ching book that was so well used that its pages were torn and dirty. Goodness only knows what questions he had for people he found for mos, predictions, and so on. He even traveled all the way to Land of Medicine Buddha in California to be near Pemo, to ask her for mirror readings.

“Our dear Max suffered from strong rlung (Tib.; Sanskrit: prana), and would often hold his hand to his heart area while speaking with you. 

“He was so enthusiastic about the teachings, lamrim and so on, and well spoken, that I’d beg him to teach courses at Tushita but all he ever agreed to do was lead group discussions, which people so enjoyed. Then he served as director of Tushita for a couple of years.

“After Lama Yeshe’s passing, Rinpoche asked Max to oversee the building of Lama’s stupa at Tushita. Max did complete that project, but with great difficulty trying to organize the local Indian builders and so on. After that Max wanted to do some retreats but Rinpoche asked him to oversee the building of Gen Jampa Wangdu’s stupa.

“There was something about Max that made it just so interesting and nice to be around him.”

After hearing news of Ven. Max’s passing, Geshe Kelsang Wangmo put in prayer requests for Ven. Gelek at a number of monasteries in India, and Tushita Meditation Centre in Dharamsala requested prayers from His Holiness the Dalai Lama and many other high lamas. Its was reported that His Holiness made prayers holding a photo of Ven. Gelek at his heart. Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche offered prayers in front of relics of the Buddha while in Vietnam. Tushita also made generous offerings on Ven. Gelek’s behalf to the many meditators surrounding Trijang Rinpoche’s stupa in Dharamsala on Lama Tsongkhapa Day, December 8, 2023.

Ven. Gelek was cremated in Delhi, India on December 2, 2023. Kabir Saxena, spiritual program coordinator of Tushita Meditation Centre in Delhi and longtime friend of Ven. Gelek, asked Ajeer Vidya, who was born in the same village as the renowned Kunu Lama Rinpoche (who gave teachings to His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Shantideva’s famous text), to oversee the cremation and immersion of Ven. Gelek’s ashes in Delhi. Ajeer met Ven. Gelek some years ago and respected him. Following the cremation, Ven. Gelek’s ashes were immersed into the Yamuna River, which flows through Delhi and meets the Ganga,(Ganges), before the latter reaches Benares  (Varanasi).

The body of Ven. Gelek being prepped for cremation.

Ajeer Vidya immersing Ven. Gelek’s ashes into the Yamuna River, which flows through Delhi and meet the Ganga,(Ganges), before the latter reaches Benares (Varanasi).

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

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

The Victory Stupa built for Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Lawudo. Photo by Ven. Tenzin Michael.

We are happy to share details of two auspicious group events happening in relation to Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Lawudo in early 2024. 

The Lawudo Retreat Centre, situated high in the Himalayan mountains of eastern Nepal, holds particular significance for FPMT as this is the location of the cave where Lama Zopa Rinpoche, in his past life as the Lawudo Lama Kunsang Yeshe, spent the last 30 years of his life in intensive meditation retreat.

Retreatants in the Lawudo gompa. Photo by Ven. Tenzin Michael.

Lawudo Retreat Centre. Photo by Ven. Tenzin Michael.

Here we share information about two upcoming guided opportunities to visit Lawudo:

1. A pilgrimage for students of Lama Zopa Rinpoche honoring Rinpoche as the Lawudo Lama by visiting the main holy places of the area with prayers and practices for Rinpoche’s swift return following the anniversary puja and Heart Sutra Retreat at Kopan Monastery (April 25-May 9). 

2. The Lawudo Trek, open to anyone with interest, occurring the month prior (March 18-April 1) which is a lamrim retreat and visit to Lawudo and also a fundraiser for the completion of one of Rinpoche’s wishes– a Guru Rinpoche Pure Land at Lawudo.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche in the cave of the Lawudo Lama, Lawudo, Nepal, 1970. Photo by Robbie Solick.

Lawudo Anniversary Pilgrimage April 25-May 9, 2024

By Ven. Sarah Thresher¹, pilgrimage leader

The Khumbu region with its soaring mountains, clear skies, roaring rivers, waterfalls and ancient settlements is not just a place of breathtaking beauty, it was also blessed by Padmasambhava to nurture and support spiritual practice and realization. Generations of yogis have meditated in its caves and hermitages and the landscape is enriched by the presence of stupas, prayer stones, prayer wheels, prayer flags, holy images, temples and hermitages.

This is where our spiritual master Lama Zopa Rinpoche in his past life as the Lawudo Lama showed the aspect of accomplishing the highest stages of Dzogchen Atiyoga in the Lawudo cave and earth holes around it. It is also where Rinpoche took rebirth in the picturesque village of Thame and first became a monk at Thame monastery. Lawudo is where Rinpoche built his first monastery, ordained the first Kopan monks and where his sister still lives. In recent years, Rinpoche put much effort to help the local people by restoring the huge stupa of Thame-teng, constructing a 100 trillion prayer wheel in Thame, and sponsoring the reconstruction of temples, prayer wheels, artwork and more in the surrounding areas.

Pilgrimage is always uplifting—but to visit and practice in the holy places of one’s own teacher is especially powerful and moving. This anniversary pilgrimage to the Khumbu region—and particularly Lawudo and Thame—is therefore especially poignant on the anniversary of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s passing.

The Lawudo Anniversary Pilgrimage is an opportunity for students of Lama Zopa Rinpoche to visit and connect (or reconnect) with the holy places of Rinpoche’s past and most recent life as the Lawudo Lama. During these fifteen days of pilgrimage we will be doing prayers and practices taught by Rinpoche and specifically focused on clearing obstacles and creating auspicious conditions for his swift return. There will also be time to reflect and contemplate in these inspiring places. For the three days of retreat at Lawudo—at least—we will also be joined by Charok Lama Rinpoche² for Dharma discussion and sharing. 

Ven Sarah will be helping to introduce the pilgrimage places and lead the prayers and practices.

Stupa at Mende below Lawudo. Kongde mountain (behind) faces Lawudo.. Photo by Ven. Tenzin Michael.

Group of 2019 Lawudo Trekkers on the last suspension bridge (Hilary bridge) before the climb up to Namche. Photo Harald Weichhart.

Lawudo Trek with Ven. Tenzin Gendun, March 18-April 1, 2024

By Kristina Mah, trek organizer

We are so excited that Nalanda Monastery monk, Venerable Tenzin Gendun³ will lead the fifth Lawudo Trek! Ven. Gendun will lead pilgrims and enthusiasts from Kopan Monastery to Lawudo Gompa & Retreat Center. 

The trek raises money for Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s vision to build a Guru Rinpoche Pure Land at Lawudo and also to contribute to the maintenance and quality of life for those who care for Lawudo. 

All the merits manifested through the 2024 Lawudo Trek are dedicated for the swift rebirth of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, as quickly as possible, in a place where he can be very quickly recognized and be of most benefit to sentient beings, and to fulfil Rinpoche’s wishes to create a Guru Rinpoche Pure Land at Lawudo. 

A full report of last year’s trek is available. 

2022 Lawudo trekking group with Lawudo staff, guides, and porters in front of Lawudo Gompa. Center, Ven. Robina and Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s
sister Ani Ngawang Samten. Photo courtesy of Kristina Mah.

If you are interested in joining the Lawudo Anniversary Pilgrimage (April 25-May 9), please write to Ven. Khadro at Kopan Monastery (spc@kopanmonastery.org) for a full itinerary and an additional information sheet. Some additional information can also be found on the Kopan website, at the bottom of the information about the Heart Sutra Retreat. 

For more information and to book your spot for the Lawudo Trek (March 18-April 1), please visit the Lawudo Trek website. 

Ven Sarah Thresher trekking to a special oracle lake blessed by Guru Rinpoche above Thame Valley.

Ven. Sarah Thresher and Charok Lama outside the Lawudo Gompa, July 2023.

¹Ven .Sarah Thresher met Buddhism in 1982 at Kopan and almost immediately began working for Wisdom Publications editing and preparing Dharma materials. In 1986, after ordaining in Bodhgaya with His Holiness Dalai Lama she made her first trip to Lawudo. She has travelled and taught around the world, but her special focus is preserving and spreading the teachings, practice and chanting lineage of Lama Zopa Rinpoche. In 2023 she spent four months in retreat and pilgrimage at and around Lawudo and looks forward to sharing the magic of Khumbu with others. 

²Charok Lama was recognized at the age of three as the reincarnation of the revered hermit- yogi Kusho Mangde who was a friend of the first Lawudo Lama and meditated in the Charok Cave nearby.

As a young child he demanded to go to Kopan monastery to study as a monk and from there he attended Sera Monastery, where he excelled in debate and philosophical inquiry. Charok Lama’s early travel and exposure to Eastern and Western culture has given him a special insight into the challenges faced integrating Tibetan Buddhism to other cultures. He is a gifted and joyful Dharma teacher, public speaker and motivational coach.

Ven. Tenzin Gendun.

³Born in Sri Lanka and growing up in England, Ven. Tenzin Gendun studied at art school and finished a degree in illustration. After completing his tertiary studies, he traveled to India and met Tibetan Buddhism in 1991 through the kindness of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He was ordained in 1992, and then worked in FPMT centers in New Zealand.

Ven. Gendun moved to Nalanda Monastery in France in 2000 to deepen his studies. Since then, he has completed the  FPMT Basic Program and Masters Program.

After finishing retreat, Ven. Gendun returned to teaching and leading retreats at Nalanda Monastery and in FPMT centers in Europe and around the world.

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Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.

 

Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Sim Hong Boon, August 2022. Photo by Ven. Holly Ansett.

Sim Hong Boon passed away of cancer on August 13, 2023 at age 76 in Singapore. 

Sim Hong Boon was a longtime member of the FPMT Inc. Board of Directors and helped the Maitreya Project. 

He was an ardent supporter of Amitabha Buddhist Centre in Singapore, since its founding in 1989. ABC Director, Hup Cheng, shares some details about Mr. Sim’s contributions. 

Sim Hong Boon  has contributed substantially to the growth of the Amitabha Buddhist Centre. He was appointed by Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche to oversee the construction of the new building at 44 Lorong 25A, Geylang. Mr. Sim, an architect by profession, drew up the plans for the new building, submitted to the authorities for approval, and put it out to tender for the construction. He did this all by himself, to save costs, and he even waived his professional fees. We are deeply deeply grateful to Mr. Sim for this monumental task of completing the new building for ABC.

Mr. Sim was appointed by Rinpoche to be a trustee of ABC’s Board of Trustees, in 2005. The trustees are appointed to hold the fixed assets of the center.

In 2018, when the ABC childcare center needed to be expanded, he again offered his services to build an additional wing so we could accommodate more pre school children. 

Mr. Sim has been a pillar of strength behind ABC’s growth in the last 35 years. His contribution has been outstanding. We would not have come this far without the enormous effort put in over the years. We will miss Mr. Sim’s presence, but he has left behind an enduring legacy, that will benefit many future generations.

FPMT Board of Directors Meeting, Land of Medicine Buddha, California, USA, May 17, 2004. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang. Sim Hong Boon is top row, far right.

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

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

Lama Zopa Rinpoche, December 22, 2022. Boudhanath, Nepal. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Our December e-News is now available!

This issue brings you news, resources, and special announcements including:

• New photo gallery of Lama Zopa Rinpoche
• A teaching by Lama Yeshe
• An update from the FPMT Inc. Board of Directors
• News from FPMT Charitable Projects
• Newly available and revised study and practice materials
• Opportunities and changes in the FPMT organization

and much more!

Please read this month’s e-news in its entirety. 

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

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

Venerable Jangchup Phegey passed away peacefully in his sleep on November 25th 2023.

Venerable Jangchup Phegey.

Written by Jacob Lindsley

Ven. Jangchup leaves behind a life of Dharma practice, friendship, and service. Born Hawkins Mitchell in San Diego, California, Ven. Jangchup earned a PhD in developmental psychology, worked as a clinician, traveled the world, and worked as a writer. He heard the Dharma in the late 1980s, took refuge with Geshe Geltsen and was soon ordained by Lati Rinpoche at Ganden Shartse Monastery in India at 51 years old. 

Ven. Jangchup was known for his humor and generosity. He spent his later years deep in the redwoods of the Santa Cruz mountains at Vajrapani Institute, in a hermitage disguised as an airstream trailer tucked away in a bend of dirt road leading to the ridgeline where Lama Yeshe was cremated. His door was always open to visitors and travelers to Vajrapani Institute, and he made countless friends with his contagious joy and earnest curiosity. He cared deeply about people and animals alike. 

Ven. Jangchup was unconventional, creative, graceful, and filled a room with light. He was a deep thinker and had strong conviction in the Dharma. He was devoted to Lama Zopa Rinpoche and spent many years completing Nyung Na retreats, praying, meditating, writing, and comforting those around him.

Former director of Vajrapani Institute, Ven. Thubten Drolma, shared, “His door was always open for people. For years I’d stop by on my way home and he’d make me a cup of tea. He was one of the best conversationalist I ever knew. His was a generous and warm heart.”

Ven. Jangchup with Ven. Rene Feusi and Ven. Jangchub’s dog, Bodhi.

He is grieved by his family and friends. May our precious teachers take good care of him in all future lives. We hope to meet again, Venerable.

Ven. Jangchup was a frequent contributor to the Vajrapani  blog as well as the San Diego Reader.

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

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

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

We congratulate the International Mahayana Institute (IMI) on its 50 years of existence helping FPMT Sangha! The IMI is an FPMT project, established to serve the community of FPMT students who are living in the monk’s or nun’s ordination vows. IMI Director, Ven. Tendar prepared this inspiring report on the history of IMI and a current review, which we share with great rejoicing! 

December 15 Celebration

On December 15, 1973 Lama Yeshe created the IMI, an organization for the monks and nuns of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT). This was Lama’s talk on that day, now included in the book, Advice for Monks and Nuns.

This year, on December 15, the IMI will celebrate this occasion early in the day with a live teaching on YouTube of Khenrinpoche Geshe Chonyi from Kopan and later in the day with Nick Ribush, who was among the ones who witnessed the start of the IMI. In this way the early teachings will be convenient for those in Australia, Asia, and Europe and for night owls in North America. The later teaching will be organized in the day time for North Americans and evening time for Europeans and Asians.

Bodhgaya January 14, 1974. The first IMI group photo, after ordination. (Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s mother, far right, was also ordained on this day.)

History

Around the time of the fifth Kopan meditation course, in November 1973, ten Western Dharma students had requested Lama Yeshe’s permission to get ordained. Lama suggested that they take their ordinations the following January, in Bodhgaya, after His Holiness the Dalai Lama had given the Kalachakra initiation. In December 1973, Lama gathered into his room these ten prospective monks and nuns, together with five or six of his students who had already been ordained.

One of the main messages Lama Yeshe gave was:

Portrait of Lama Yeshe, Kopan Monastery, Nepal, 1974. Photo courtesy of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

“My feeling is that it would be much better if the Sangha were to stay together, communicating with each other, rather than people getting ordained and then going off on their own. If you do go off on your own, worldly conditions will make your life difficult; it will be much harder for you to practice Dharma.

“For example, when Sangha members are here at Kopan, we help them lead a monastic life. There are always lamas present, and as a result, our students get some kind of energy that helps them control their minds so that it is easy for them to keep their ordination. If, instead, they run off and stay in some other place where there are not such good conditions, their lives become very difficult. If, on top of that, they get sick, the coming together of internal and external problems makes their lives even more difficult.

“As you know, just because you’re a monk or nun does not mean that you’ve reached enlightenment. It simply means that you have gained an understanding of the nature of samsara and have decided to work continuously to develop within yourself the everlasting, peaceful path of liberation. That’s all. Getting ordained doesn’t give you immediate control over your mind; it doesn’t mean you are completely liberated. It’s not like that.

“Our minds are uncontrolled. We need to control them. Monastic life allows us to develop our minds in a very comfortable way until we have truly achieved complete control over them and have gained such great knowledge-wisdom that even should we go to some berserk place, we are able to control that berserk energy instead of it controlling us.”

Lama Yeshe continued giving lots of advice on what renunciation really means, on respect, on the conditions which are important (and like paper should stay away from fire, sangha should stay away from situations which potentially break their vows) and the advantages of monastic life. 

He concluded: ‘’Now that I’ve expressed my feelings, you should discuss among yourselves how to create strong Sangha togetherness. It doesn’t matter to me where you live, as long as you maintain strong Sangha togetherness. You should create those kinds of conditions. Think with wisdom, and be strong.”

IMI group at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa with Lama Yeshe after Six Yogas of Naropa teachings, 1982–83. Photo courtesy of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

Goals and Mission Statement of the IMI

The guiding vision of the International Mahayana Institute is to provide people all over the world who want to practice the Buddhist path as a monk or nun with places to be and ways to do that. That means to secure conducive conditions for its family of monks and nuns, its members. The basics should be met: having food, shelter, medicine and education.

IMI’s Mission Statement says: ‘The IMI is an FPMT Sangha specific community that serves sentient beings, and is empowered to respond to, and take care of the needs of its family of monks and nuns through the development of quality Sangha training programs, harmonious monastic communities, effective communications, financial support, and advocacy. The IMI is established for ordained sangha within the FPMT who are not part of monasteries and support systems in traditional Buddhist cultures.

As emissaries of Buddhism (teachers, spiritual caregivers, ritual practitioners, meditators, retreat leaders), IMI members inspire others through their speech and behavior and provide the opportunity for lay practitioners to integrate respect and support for Sangha into their practice of Buddhism’.

A Short Review

We are fifty years further along, and monastic institutions have been established in Nepal, Australia (Queensland and Bendigo), Italy, France, and Spain. Additionally, groups of monks and nuns support each other in and around FPMT Dharma centers and have a sense of Sangha community and support. After Lama Yeshe’s passing, Lama Zopa Rinpoche has been an excellent example for the monastics by his behavior. He offered essential advice to the monasteries and the individual Sangha members. Also, Rinpoche inspired the ordained sangha for the general public and during retreats, like this teaching from July 2020: Sangha Are “The Real Heroes.”

In return, many nuns and monks have been instrumental in the development of the FPMT and IMI organization and have been at the start of many Dharma centers. Some later disrobed, others ordained later in life upon having offered a lot of service.

IMI Nuns, Chenreziig Institute, 2019.

Over the years the IMI has had many directors who had the honor to serve Rinpoche and fellow brothers and sisters. Among them are Nick Ribush, Marcels Bertels, Ven. Roger, Ven. Dondrub, Ven. Chantal (two times!), Ven. Tony, Monlam, Ven. Chodron, Ven. Carol, and currently Ven. Tendar. Drolkar McCallum has also served for over a decade as office manager. Over the years many monks and nuns have taken on the  responsibilities of being board members, account holders, IMI representatives, or taken on specific jobs within the monastic communities.

We can rejoice that we were able to serve and contribute to the continuation of the Dharma on our planet. Rinpoche said: “The happiest thing in my life, most fulfilling thing is to work for and to benefit sentient beings. Even just the mere thought to cause happiness to sentient beings, to benefit them, to free them from suffering is the BEST offering to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas. This is the best offering, the best puja; this is what pleases their holy mind most”.

The IMI created the Lama Yeshe Sangha Fund (LYSF) in order to secure the basic conducive conditions (having food, shelter, medicine, and education) for its members. A review committee decides on the awarding of the grants. The IMI provides members with pre-ordination courses and has the ambition to extend and develop more material in this area.

Besides that, the IMI regularly organizes activities. At this moment, we have organized  a continuous worldwide recitation in fulfilment of His Holiness’ advice for Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s quick return. You can sign up and join your Dharma brothers and sisters all over the world.

Support

As IMI members we are grateful to everyone who has supported us, some of you for decades. We hope that you continue or that you will consider supporting us. You can also read our latest annual report. 

By supporting us you help to sustain the Sangha on this planet. There is a lot to rejoice about in terms of what has happened so far, but there are also instructions from Lama Zopa Rinpoche which have not been realized yet, like setting up a monastery in North America. And we have plans to create more levels of ordination courses as well.

Celebration

You are invited to join us on December 15 to listen to the talks of Khenrinpoche Geshe Chonyi from Kopan and later in the day Nick Ribush: https://imisangha.org/the-imi-turns-50/

We dedicate all our effort and energy to the long life of all our gurus and a quick return of Lama Zopa Rinpoche. May we always be able to serve them. May the Dharma flourish on this planet for a long time to come.

Please watch this recent video of Ven. Roger Kunsang sharing, as part of the 50th Anniversary Celebration, many intimate (and humorous!) stories about the early days of IMI coming into formation.

Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.

Consecration of the Victory Stupa built for Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Lawudo, Nepal, November 4, 2023. Photo by Ven. Tenzin Michael.

Our November e-News is now available!

This issue brings you news, resources, and special announcements including:

• 31-foot Amoghapasha above Lawudo
• White Tara oral transmission and visualization from Lama Zopa Rinpoche
• Daily and Lifetime practice advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche
• Compassion and Emptiness teaching by Lama Yeshe
• Auspicious activities on Lhabab Duchen at Lawudo
• Support to Tibetan elders in 2023
• New materials for your practice
• Changes and opportunities within the FPMT organization

and much more!

Please read this month’s e-news in its entirety. 

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

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

Solar panels installed, September 29, 2023. Photo courtesy of Milarepa Center.

In October 2023 Milarepa Center, situated on 276 acres of land in Barnet, Vermont, on the northeast coast of the US, completed a 500 kW AC solar array project in cooperation with Norwich Solar, a local clean technology company. The project took approximately 16 months to complete. Milarepa Center will host the array on their land for the next 25 years.

Dawn Holtz, the director of the Milarepa Center, who has a background in Renewable Energies and Sustainable Business Management, recognized the potential for solar to be a good use of the open field adjacent to the existing electrical transmission corridor on the property.

Recently many dairy farms in Vermont had to shut down due to rising operating costs and heavy competition with larger commercial producers, as well as lack of successors to take over these farms. The primary benefactors of the solar array placed on Milarepa Center’s land will be some of the remaining struggling farms and dairies. Besides contributing to sustainability and welfare in the local community the project will also afford the center a modest income to help offset regular operating costs as well as fulfilling Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s visions for Milarepa Center such as building a new meditation hall and holy objects. 

Geshe Tenley leading a ceremony, April 25, 2023, Photo courtesy of Milarepa Center.

Dawn says, “As a donation-based non-profit with a very small local community, hosting the solar array will help the center with meeting its financial goals for the next 25 years, and we’ll still continue to have open meadows available for our use.”

After receiving the Certificate of Public Good for establishing the 500 kW AC solar array in January 2023, Norwich Solar started all preparatory works on the Milarepa Center land. On April 23rd a special ground-breaking ceremony of asking permission and offerings to local spirits and nagas was led by Geshe Tenley, resident teacher of Kurukulla Center in Boston.

Despite the rain, on April 24, which was an auspicious date for starting a new project according to the Tibetan calendar, the ground work began. During Summer the electrical infrastructure was laid and the posts, racks, and panels were installed.

In October, mounting of the system was completed. This new ground-mount system will generate enough renewable clean energy equivalent to powering approximately 135 homes per year, and offset the carbon emission equivalent of almost 150 cars per year!

Ribbon cutting ceremony to officially open the new solar array at Milarepa Center, October 6, 2023. Photo courtesy of Milarepa Center.

The ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the official start of the solar array project was held on October 6.

We rejoice in Milarepa Center’s commitment to a sustainable future!

Please read more about Milarepa Center, current program, and how to help support this center: 
www.milarepacenter.org

Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.

For twenty-five years, the Liberation Prison Project has been producing a Tibetan calendar to support their work helping people in prison with their Buddhist practice. This calendar is relied on by FPMT students around the world for information on auspicious days for various activities including Buddha Days when merit is especially powerful for practice, as well as appropriate days for performing Medicine Buddha and Tara pujas, putting up prayer flags, doing fire pujas, and other activities.  Also included are favorable and unfavorable days according to a combination of the elements.

The calendar is prepared by astrologer Paksam Ngawang Thartho based on the Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institutes calendar, with additional advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Geshe Ngawang Dakpa.

We are pleased to share that the 2024 Liberation calendar is available now! 

This year the calendar is available only as a printable PDF:
shop.fpmt.org/2024-Liberation-Tibetan-Calendar-Downloadable-PDF-_p_4796.html

Learn more about the Liberation Prison Project and the work your purchase of this calendar supports:
liberationprisonproject.org

Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.