Lama Zopa Rinpoche with cake offered during a birthday celebration, Kopan Monastery, December 2019. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

On December 3 we observe the birth date of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and FPMT International Office is sponsoring Lama Chopa with Tsog and recitation of Chanting the Names of Noble Manjushri at Kopan Monastery. 

Students of Lama Zopa Rinpoche are encouraged to engage in these practices themselves, as a way to honor Rinpoche’s extremely beneficial and inspiring life, and to pray and create merit for the swift return of his reincarnation as advised by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. 

Lama Zopa Rinpoche (1945-2023) was 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 and Khenrinpoche Geshe Chonyi, the abbot of Kopan, Pokhara, Nepal, December 2021. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

Save the date: From April 15-20, 2024, Kopan Monastery is hosting a Heart Sutra Retreat. His Eminence the 104th Ganden Tripa Rinpoche will offer commentary during the retreat; and participants will be guided to meditate on the meaning of the Heart Sutra by Ven. Steve Carlier, a long-time student of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and many other important teachers in the Gelug tradition. 

This retreat will follow a commemoration,  on April 13, 2024, of one year since Rinpoche showed the aspect of passing away.

In July 2022 Rinpoche expressed his wish to lead a Heart Sutra Retreat, so this is quite significant that this retreat is being offered within the FPMT organization, as it was one of Rinpoche’s expressed wishes. 

The Heart Sutra is the most widely known sutra of the Mahayana tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. It is part of the Prajnaparamita Sutras, which is a collection of about 40 sutras composed between 100 BCE and 500 CE. The Heart Sutra is a presentation of profound wisdom on the nature of emptiness. Reading and reciting the Heart Sutra is a powerful way to create the conditions for having a direct realization of emptiness.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche explained that the only thing that can directly cut ignorance, which is the root of suffering and samsara, is wisdom realizing emptiness. There are many teachings on emptiness, but these teachings are found condensed in the Heart Sutra.

“Ignorance [has been] holding the false I as real from beginningless rebirths. That’s how we have been in samsara until now. Never liberated from suffering. But now there is, for example, the short one, the Heart Sutra, to cut that ignorance, that wrong concept,” Rinpoche explained before offering the oral transmission of the sutra in Guadalajara, Mexico, in September 2015.

Just hearing the Heart Sutra, or reading it, Rinpoche explained, leaves a positive imprint to be free of samsara and to actualize the path, achieving enlightenment to free numberless sentient beings from oceans of samsara and bring them to enlightenment.

“If we are able to read or hear [the Heart Sutra] just one time, the positive imprint left by this definitely causes us in the near future to understand much more easily the teachings on emptiness. We will be able to understand the words and the meanings of the teachings on emptiness very easily, and we’ll be able to have realizations of emptiness easily, quickly in the future. Developing that wisdom ceases the gross and subtle defilements, the mistakes of the mind, and it makes us achieve the sorrowless state, the cessation of the suffering and its causes on our mental continuum, as well as great liberation even from the subtle mistakes of the mind, that which is full enlightenment on our own mental continuum,” Rinpoche explained.

Students can listen to Lama Zopa Rinpoche reciting the Heart Sutra on a digital audio album available in the FPMT Foundation Store. The downloadable album comes bundled with a digital version of the sutra in PDF, ePub, and mobi formats as well as the transcript of Rinpoche giving the oral transmission at the 2015 retreat in Mexico, from which the audio for the album was taken.

Students can find more links to Heart Sutra materials and resources below:

• The Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra – MP3 Download
• The Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra – eBook & PDF
• Watch the teaching in which Rinpoche gives the oral transmission of the Heart Sutra on video. (The oral transmission begins at 42:58.)
• FPMT Education’s Basic Program Online: Heart Sutra
• Essence Of The Heart Sutra by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, eBook & PDF

Please learn more about the Heart Sutra Retreat and commemoration being offered at Kopan Monastery in April 2024. 

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 in Nepal, March 27, 2023. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

We are happy to share that the English translations for the swift return prayers composed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and other distinguished lamas with whom Rinpoche had a connection in this lifetime, including Khenzur Jhado Rinpoche, Rangjung Neljorma Khandro Tseringma, and Lelung Rinpoche, have now been updated and are available at the Foundation Store. The PDF file is available for a quick one-click download.

As a reminder, in October we shared the very precious advice we received from His Holiness the Dalai Lama to recite Chanting the Names of Noble Manjushri continuously for a few months, for the swift return of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s reincarnation. Please read more about this advice, download the prayers and other resources, and find information on joining continual recitations of this text for Rinpoche’s swift return by students around the world in all the various time zones!  

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.

Manjushri painted by Peter Iseli.

In October we shared the very precious advice we received from His Holiness the Dalai Lama to recite Chanting the Names of Noble Manjushri continuously for a few months, for the swift return of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s reincarnation.

Dhondenling Tibetan Settlement in Kollegal, India reciting prayers for Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s swift return.

With great rejoicing we share that the FPMT Puja Fund sponsored over 10,000 recitations of this text on Lhabab Duchen by sangha of the great monasteries (Sera Lachi, Gaden Lachi, Drepung Lachi, Gyuto Tantric College, and Gyudmed Tantric University) in India as well as by the monks and nuns of Kopan Monastery.

Additionally, as an example of some of the other activities happening around the world for Rinpoche’s swift return, Dhondenling Tibetan Settlement in Kollegal, India, arranged two days whereby all residents of the settlement recited the text continuously for two days in the community hall which was sponsored by the FPMT Social Services Fund. This settlement has a heartfelt connection to Rinpoche due to the ongoing support offered to their residents, including sponsorship of their elderly home.

Also with rejoicing we share that IMI has arranged continual recitations of this text for Rinpoche’s swift return by students around the world in all the various time zones! Please read about how to sign up to join.

We encourage individuals to continue their own recitations—whether done alone, as a group, at one’s local center, or online. 

May all the prayers be actualized!

Chanting the Names of Noble Manjushri Materials

As a reminder, the prayer is available for all to download Chanting the Names of Noble Manjushri.

 Additionally, Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive also offers Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s own commentary and oral transmission of Chanting the Names of Noble Manjushri which is available to all.

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.

31-foot high Amoghapasha painting on Drak Karma cliff above Lawudo, Nepal.

Twenty-five years ago, Lama Zopa Rinpoche began expressing the wish for a large painting of 1,000-Armed Chenrezig to be painted on a 100-foot high cliff named Drak Karma above Lawudo in Nepal, approximately 4,200 meters above sea level (over 13,000 feet) so everyone in proximity could see it. In the last few years Rinpoche specifically said for the painting to be of Amoghapasha—an emanation of Chenrezig.

With huge rejoicing, we share that this 31-foot high by 21-foot wide (9.5 meters high by 6.4 meters wide) painting is now complete! It has been painted directly on the cliff face overseeing the whole area. Funds for this project were raised by the Thamichowa community; Anila Ngawang Samten (Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s sister) provided all the necessary materials and tools needed for painting; and Ven. Nyima Tashi, Ven. Thubten Tendar, and Pasang Dekyi helped to actualize this incredible project. 

Painting set up of the large Amoghapasha on a cliff above Lawudo.

As one can imagine, this was an incredible feat, an unbelievable task to complete. The whole project started a couple of months ago and it took ten days to get the scaffolding up to the site where the conditions were freezing and windy making the scaffolding and painting quite dangerous. The actual painting took seven days by Nepali artists, finished the day before Lhabab Duchen, and consecrated on the day of this merit-multiplying occasion. 

Please watch this incredible video of the painting as it occurred, by Ven. Tenzin Michael:

The unbelievable benefits of merely seeing the painted holy body of Amoghapasha are mentioned in the
Amoghapasha Tantra:

Close up of the exquisite painting of Amoghapasha on a cliff above Lawudo.

Merely by directly seeing the Compassionate Eye Looking Enriched One (Amoghapasha) and the Potala Mountain with the celestial mansion, you become free from the eight great hells and the eight great fears. It even liberates you from all the suffering of having committed the five heavy negative karmas without break (having killed one’s father, mother, or an arhat; having caused blood to flow from a buddha; having caused disunity among the Sangha). It completely purifies even the very heavy negative karma of having abandoned the holy Dharma, all the obscurations, and so forth. Just seeing this deity totally purifies all the negative karmas and obscurations from having criticized buddhas and bodhisattvas. Just seeing this painted holy body totally purifies even those who are to be reborn in the lowest hot hell, Inexhaustible Suffering. You collect hundreds of thousands of times more merit than Brahma and other worldly gods. You achieve the sublime merits (good luck or good karma) of all worldly beings.

Even when you die, the Compassionate Eye Looking Enriched One directly shows his face to you and frees your breath (which means frees you from lower realms). Even after death you will be born in Amitabha’s blissful realm. You become free from obscurations and are able to remember up to fifty thousand past lives. This will be your last life in samsara (you will be freed from samsaric rebirth) and your next life only goes toward the ultimate heart of enlightenment. Just by seeing this holy body one time, you collect inconceivable merit. If you continually see this holy body, there is no question of turning back from enlightenment. You achieve the peerless happiness of buddhahood with the cessation of all obscurations and the completion of all realizations.

 Rinpoche encouraged students to have an image of Amoghapasha printed as large as possible and displayed publicly due to the benefit.

Ven. Roger Kunsang joining others at the 100-foot high cliff that now is blessed with the 31-foot painting of Amoghapasha.

We are so happy to be able to accomplish this wish of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and pray that we may we be able to fulfill all of his holy wishes. Ven. Roger Kunsang, after visiting the finished work commented with great joy that, “Rinpoche would be so pleased” to see this completed.

In a speech from the Thamichowa community, they expressed the following:

“From the depths of our hearts, we pray that the merit accumulated from our pure thoughts to complete Rinpoche’s holy wishes and benefit sentient beings will be a cause for Rinpoche to quickly be reborn in our area recognized as the unmistaken incarnation!”

Please find practice materials, mantras, and other resources related to Amoghapasha to download from the FPMT Foundation Store. 

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.

portrait of Lama Zopa Rinpoche taken by Ven. Lobsang Sherab in 2018.

As we all are now very aware, on April 13, 2023, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, our most precious guru and spiritual director, entered his final meditation at Kopan Monastery.

Although it is difficult to convey the extraordinariness of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s life, Ven. Robina Courtin has written a deeply moving tribute to Rinpoche’s many accomplishments, teachings, blessings, and activities.

We share it with the hopes that those who read it will be inspired to follow in Rinpoche’s footsteps, and continue to help fulfil all of Rinpoche’s wishes for the FPMT organization and the world. 

Lama Zopa Rinpoche (1945-2023) was 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 meeting with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Bodhgaya, India, January, 2023. Photo courtesy of the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama has offered us all the precious advice to recite Chanting the Names of Noble Manjushri continuously for a few months, for the swift return of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s reincarnation.

We request all students of Lama Zopa Rinpoche to please recite this as much as you can continuously, starting now. 

In a few months’ time, His Holiness will be consulted again.

The prayer can be found here: Chanting the Names of Noble Manjushri. 

We also share an audio recording of Lama Zopa Rinpoche reciting the Chanting the Names of Noble Manjushri. 

Letter from His Holiness’ Private Office:

As requested by the devotees of FPMT centers for observation regarding the quick return of the late Zopa Rinpoche’s reincarnation, the result of the observation as follows:

Please recite Names of Manjushri (Jampal Tshen Jo) continuously for now and in a few months’ time observation will be performed again. 

From His Holiness the Dalai Lama
October 18, 2023

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 some of this Dharma plushy toys, Kopan Monastery, 2020.

Introducing Rinpoche’s Dharma Plushy Toy Album!

Lama Zopa Rinpoche in the garden at Kopan Monastery with some Dharma plushy toys, 2020. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang. .

Around the beginning of 2020, when all the world was experiencing lockdowns and turmoil due to the covid pandemic, students of Lama Zopa Rinpoche were relieved to receive Rinpoche’s laughter, wisdom, humor, and orientation toward Dharma in the form of a series of video teachings from his room in Kopan Monastery. These teachings came to be known as the thought transformation teaching series, and for many of us, they were truly a lifeline in an extremely uncertain time.

When the fourth video of this series was released, students noticed something interesting coming into view on Rinpoche’s couch and desk. A stuffed monkey, hippo, and elephant; as well as a wooden elephant and model yak had joined Rinpoche for his teaching. As time went on, more and more stuffed friends began appearing in Rinpoche’s room, soon with mantras, embellishments such as eyelashes and eye-liner, and profound (and often hilarious!) Dharma messages.

We are so pleased to offer you this joyful new album of Rinpoche’s plushy animals with their quotations. Please take your time and click through each of these adorable stuffed friends to reveal profound wisdom from Lama Zopa Rinpoche. More of these toys, which have been offered to students around the world, will be added as they become available so check back for new additions! 

Gallery of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Plushy Toys

History of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Toy Legacy

This wasn’t the first time Rinpoche turned toys or inanimate objects into Dharma. Rinpoche was known to offer creative and playful presentations of the Dharma including the utilization of cartoons, toys, and statues of animals. 

Lama Zopa Rinpoche in Indonesia offering Dharma toys to students, 2010. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche offering Dharma toys to students at the airport, Switzerland, December 2018. Photo by Séverine Gondouin.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche shopping for stuffed toys in New York City, US, 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

Dog with Dharma message written by Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Deer Park, Wisconsin, USA.

At Buddha Amitabha Pure Land, in Washington State in the US, Rinpoche had many animal statues placed on the property with signs that share thoughts about practicing lamrim, or the graduated path to enlightenment.

A  parrot on a fence says, “I have been waiting to see you from beginningless rebirths and I never have. That means I won’t see you again, because there is nothing to see.”

In Wisconsin, US, at Deer Park Buddhist Center, Rinpoche created many Dharma messages for animal statues on the premises. A dog, which is dated 1998, says, “I’m talking on behalf of my family, including the frog and my small brother the turtle. We are here to explain to you that no causative phenomenon is ever born from self, from other, from both or without cause. How fortunate we are! We can all be liberated by actualizing this. Ha! Ha!” 

Rinpoche also enjoyed acquiring cute stuffed creatures and blessing them extensively with mantras before offering them to others. 

These are just a few of many examples of Rinpoche’s unique, charming, and hilarious way to reach sentient beings by bringing Dharma where one might not expect to find it! 

Lama Zopa Rinpoche writing a message on a stuffed monkey in 2010: “I have all sentient beings in my heart.”

A parrot with a Dharma message from Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche with animal statues at Buddha Amitabha Pure Land, Washington, US, September 2018. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche with toys that he blessed with mantras which were given to some kind volunteers in Germany, 2018. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Ven. Tenzin Namdrol (also known affectionately as Ani Janne), a long-term resident of Kopan Monastery who has been offering service for many years, recalls receiving her first plushy toy from Rinpoche. “The advice was to carry it everywhere I went. I called it AH, and brought it with me to the dining room, café, gompa for puja, the bank, the visa office, korwa around Kopan, and everywhere. In retrospect, I think it was to bring a little lightness to the lockdown.” Ani Janne is one of many students who have taken delight in the whimsical nature of these Dharma toys which seem to bring a smile to the face of anyone who sees them. 

Ven.Tendar and Ven.Tenzin Namdrol with Lama Zopa Rinpoche outside, Kopan Monastery. Rinpoche was sending a message to a student with the toys that have dharma messages on, Aug 2021. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

One of Rinpoche’s Dharma plushy toys.

 Before giving the toys away, Rinpoche would recite mantras and blow profusely on each plushy to bless it. One girl’s mother had seen the toys around Rinpoche while he was giving the thought transformation teachings on video. Rinpoche accepted her request for one, and after sending along the toy of her choice, the mother’s inability to sleep well at night disappeared. 

A collection of some of Rinpoche’s plushy Dharma toys.

Those locked down at Kopan were the next recipients. Those doing water bowls, those who worked in the café, teachers at Kopan School who had been separated from their families during covid—all received a special plushy toy from Rinpoche. When the lockdown restrictions relaxed, guests and students of Rinpoche received these toys. As those he had were offered out, new ones would arrive.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Kopan Monastery with young monks and Dharma toys, 2021. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

Rinpoche offered the last group of plushy toys to the 2022 November Course participants. There were hundreds of people, and only a few toys, so Rinpoche had each person throw a dice at the end of the course, and if one dot came up, the plushy was theirs, creating a fun game for everyone. 

Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Kopan Monastery with some of his Dharma toys, 2021. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

 “Several times Rinpoche asked if I thought publishing the dolls pictures would make people happy,” Ven. Tenzin shares.  ‘Would people enjoy?’ he’d ask? ‘Of course,’ I replied! 

One of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Dharma toys.

The toys that were given away before having their pictures taken are still being tracked down, but for now, we happily offer an album-in-progress of these precious, often humorous quotes from Rinpoche:
fpmt.org/teachers/zopa/gallery/lama-zopa-rinpoches-dharma-plushy-toys

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.

An outdoor puja for Lama Zopa Rinpoche’ swift return in front of Lawudo Gompa. Photo by Alison Murdoch.

Two weeks after Lama Zopa Rinpoche entered his final meditation, FPMT students Paula Chichester and Alison Murdoch took the opportunity to return to Lawudo and join with Rinpoche’s family in some of the ceremonies taking place there. A week later Ven. Amy Miller arrived with a pilgrimage group, and subsequently returned alone for a period of practice and retreat. Here is a brief overview of what took place during this unique and profound time, from Alison Murdoch:

As soon as the sad news reached Lawudo, Ani Ngawang Samten, Rinpoche’s sister, started making plans to go down to the Kathmandu valley. Her grief at suddenly losing her guru and brother in this way has to be unimaginable, especially as it is eight years since Rinpoche was last able to visit in person. She left the next day by helicopter and reached Kopan about an hour before Rinpoche finished his meditation. “It felt as if he would open his eyes and speak to me at any moment,” she said later. Ven. Tsultrim, a Swiss nun who has been at Lawudo since Spring 2022, generously agreed to stay behind to look after Ashan (Rinpoche’s uncle, aged 98) and Tsultrim Norbu, who is now in his 70s. Without this kind offer, it would probably have been impossible for Ani Ngawang Samten to leave at such short notice. At Kopan she was joined by her brother Sangay and his wife, by Geshema Thubten Zangmo, and by other members of the family who had immediately flown over from the USA. 

Ani Samten at Heruka Lama Chopa, Kopan, Nepal, April 19 2023. Photo by Capucine Redon.

The first week at Lawudo after Rinpoche showed the aspect of leaving his body was relatively quiet. Ven. Tsultrim welcomed the arrival of Ven Trinley from Tenboche Monastery, who joined her in carrying out daily Cittamani Tara pujas. On the fourteenth day after Rinpoche’s passing Ven. Ngawang Nyendak came to lead a Chenrezig puja. Ven. Nyendak is a highly accomplished tantric practitioner who at Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s request carries out regular practices at Lawudo dedicated to the flourishing of the FPMT. By this time Rinpoche’s cousin Nyima Tashi had arrived and started making preparations for more extensive prayers and practices. The weather turned unseasonably cold, with a light snow falling all day like a blessing.

Light offerings in Lawudo Gompa. Photo by Alison Murdoch.

On the twenty-first day, the monks from Thame Monastery came to lead an extensive all-day Chenrezig puja in the gompa, joined by Tenzin Trinley the resident lama at nearby Charok Hermitage. The weather suddenly cleared, and day after day there were radiant blue skies. The monks returned again on the 28^th day for a two-day puja, presided over by the young Thame Rinpoche. Ashan offered the mandala on the first day, and Anila Ngawang Samten on the second day. It was an unforgettable sight to see the gompa packed with sangha, lights and offerings, and an even more extraordinary sound when all its drums, cymbals, horns, oboes, conch shells and thigh bone trumpets echoed out over the valley. On the 35^th day, the nuns from Thamo carried out a Vajrayogini self-initiation, and on the forty-second and forty-ninth days there were extensive pujas dedicated to Rinpoche in the gompas at Thame and Tenboche. (The Thame monks weren’t permitted to return to Lawudo for these final pujas due to the imminent Mani Rimdu celebrations). On each of the other six days of the week, Ven Tsultrim led a Cittamani Tara puja in either the gompa or the cave.

Anila Ngawang Samten joins the puja with the Thame monks. Photo by Alison Murdoch.

Despite the challenges of Lawudo Gompa being so remote, over two hours’ walk from the nearest shop, in true Sherpa style these pujas involved extensive tsog offerings. For the main puja on the twenty-eighth day, huge bags of tsog were distributed not only to everyone who attended but also hand-delivered to every family in the valley. In addition to bottles of fizzy drinks, packets of crisps and biscuits and fresh fruit (all rare delicacies at an elevation of 14,000 feet) the bags of tsog included the traditional deep-fried khapse and individual tormas made of tsampa, butter and sugar. Nyima Tashi’s numerous shopping trips to Namche Bazaar would be followed the next day by a train of animals and porters carrying heavy sacks of offerings up the mountainside, and he organized five teams of Sherpa volunteers to make the khapse and tormas and to fill and distribute the mountain of tsog. Other volunteers made extensive water bowl offerings or rolled cotton wool into wicks for the hundreds of silver and copper butter lamps, while a team of smiling nuns kept everyone supplied with butter and sweet tea. The space under the library was rapidly converted into an additional kitchen and a chef was hired to cook copious meals for all the volunteers and visitors. Ven. Nyendak also led extra practices in the courtyard for all the Sherpas who couldn’t fit into the gompa.

Teams of local Sherpas assemble the bags of tsog. Photo by Ven. Alison Murdoch.

This was a historic occasion, never to be repeated. One of the most moving moments was when Anila Ngawang Samten and her brother Sangay returned by helicopter with a set of Rinpoche’s robes, which were carried ceremoniously up the juniper-lined path from Mende and installed with prayers and offerings on His throne in the gompa. Now that the crowds of mourners have departed, please keep the family in your prayers as they begin to come to terms with their immense personal loss.

Please read previously published articles about Lawudo Gompa and Retreat Center. 

Please consider subscribing to the Lawudo newsletter which is published four times each year on the major holy days. For more information about Lawudo Gompa and Retreat Center, please visit the Lawudo Gompa website. You can also follow Lawudo on Facebook. 

Image of Lama Zopa Rinpoche on the altar in Kopan Monastery Gompa during the 49 Day Heruka Lama Chopa Puja. Photo by Ven. Tenzin Tsomo.

We are pleased to share this moving account from Kopan about the Heruka Lama Chopa puja offered at Kopan Monastery on May 31 during the 49th day of Lama Zopa Rinpoche showing the aspect of passing away. 

Round-the-clock practices and prayers in the presence of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s kudung (holy body relic) and a weekly offered puja culminated on May 31 with an extensive Heruka Lama Chopa puja. The day began with the usual 5:00 a.m. purification puja offered to Rinpoche’s holy body. It was followed by a morning visit from H.E. Kyabje Zong Rinpoche who joined the prayers in Rinpoche’s room. Lamas, geshes, monks, nuns, and hundreds of lay students from around the world began to gather in the main gompa of Kopan Monastery at 8 a.m.

Huge and beautifully decorated tormas, butter lamps and LED lights, bowls of colorful and exotic fruit, vases and garlands of fresh and artificial flowers, bowls of saffron water, and rows of incense were set out on tables across the width of the gompa. A huge photo of Lama Zopa Rinpoche (with an impish grin as if he had just played a huge joke on all of us!) beamed down upon us, as it had for most of the 49 days.

The puja was presided over by Khenrinpoche Thubten Chonyi, the abbot of Kopan, and graced by the presence of Rangjung Neljorma Khandro Tseringma (Khadro-la); FPMT resident geshes and teachers; FPMT board members Ven. Roger Kunsang, Dale Davis, Paula de Wys, and Karuna Cayton; and various FPMT center directors and SPCs. As the puja progressed, lay students from many FPMT centers, Sherpas and Nepalis dressed in traditional clothing, and a long line of children from Dicky Tsering Children’s Home filed into the gompa to pay their respects and offer katas on the central throne bearing Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s photo.

Heruka Lama Chopa Puja on the 49th day of Lama Zopa Rinpoche showing the aspect of passing away, Kopan Monasatery, May 31, 2023. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Led by Umdze-la, Geshe Losang Sherab, the puja began with a heartrending chant of Calling the Guru from Afar. This was followed by Heruka Lama Chopa, a puja characterized by verse after verse of offerings chanted with intricate tunes. Copious amounts of tea and other drinks were served to keep everyone hydrated in the hot weather. A delicious catered lunch served in shiny copper pots was offered to everyone present. Generous money offerings were made again and again to the many sangha present by the Hong Kong center, the IMI Sangha, and many other groups and individuals. After the lunch break, the puja resumed at 2:00 p.m. and concluded at 5:00 p.m. with one more recitation of the swift return prayers followed by Lama Atisha’s light offering prayer.

In the meantime, outside in the debate courtyard various groups of Nepali lay practitioners and the children of Dicky Tsering Children’s Home took turns reciting prayers. Upstairs in the presence of Rinpoche’s holy body, the daily round of practices continued until late at night, including the self-initiations of Yamantaka and Vajrayogini and many other prayers. After dinner, the Kopan monks gathered in the debate courtyard to recite the root texts of Ornament of Clear Realization and Entering the Middle Way.

Altogether these 49 days were a huge Dharma celebration of continuous prayers and practices day and night, pilgrimages to some of the most holy places in Nepal, and extensive offerings set up in Rinpoche’s rooms, the monastery and nunnery gompas, and the debate courtyard. It was a time of great sadness and shared grief but also a celebration of Rinpoche’s life and legacy as we rejoiced in the “unbelievable, unbelievable, unbelievable good fortune” we had to not only receive a perfect human rebirth but to meet with such a perfectly qualified Mahayana guru who taught the unmistaken path to enlightenment for more than fifty years!

Khatas on Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s throne at the end of the 49th Day puja, Kopan Monastery, Nepal. Photo by Ven. Tenzin Tsomo.

Due to all the past, present, and future merits collected by each one of us and all the three-time merits collected by numberless sentient beings and numberless buddhas, may Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s unmistaken, perfect incarnation quickly return to this world and be recognized by His Holiness the Dalai Lama at a young age. May there be no obstacles to the incarnation’s long life and holy activities for the benefit of the Buddhadharma and sentient beings. May all of Rinpoche’s past and present disciples once again meet their holy guru, hear the nectar of his holy speech, and never be separated from him in this and all their future lives. May all the sentient beings who did not have the fortune to meet with Lama Zopa Rinpoche in this life be able to encounter his new incarnation and be guided by him (or perhaps her!) in all their future lives.

With love, prayers, and a billion, zillion, trillion thanks for all you are doing to fulfill Rinpoche’s holy wishes,

The monks and nuns of Ogmin Jangchub Choling and Kachoe Ghakyil Ling—Kopan Monastery and Nunnery

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, Washington D.C., USA, August 2014. Photo by Merry Colony.

Today we are sharing this heartfelt message of gratitude to Kopan Monastery and the entire FPMT organization and students of Lama Zopa Rinpoche from the FPMT Board of Directors.

The FPMT Board of Directors would hereby like to express its profound gratitude to all at Kopan as well as the International Office, centers, projects, services, and students throughout the world for the extraordinary efforts that were made from the moment that Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche manifested the appearance of passing away until the present day, and which are continuing even now.

The tireless efforts and devotion shown by all have been truly astonishing. There are no words to express how people all over the world took comfort and found strength in the prayers and practices that were done continually in Rinpoche’s room and in the gompas
of the monastery and nunnery of Kopan. At a time when all of Rinpoche’s disciples were grieving and in pain, and many were unable to come to Nepal to pay their respects and be together, all the tireless efforts that were made benefitted them enormously. Thousands of people, both in Nepal and all over the world, have been inspired by the prayers, practices, and all that was done. For this, we would like to express our sincere and deep gratitude.

Also, in Dharamsala, at the Long Life Puja for His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the excellent training and skill of the Kopan sangha was obvious to all and recognized at the highest levels. The puja pleased His Holiness and for this, too, we would like to express our deepest gratitude.

One week ago today, the day long Heruka Lama Chopa puja marking the 49th day of the passing away of our holy guru was held. It was an extraordinary puja led by Kopan’s outstanding umze and chanted by hundreds of geshes, lama gyupas, monks, geshemas, nuns both Himalayan and non-Himalayan, and attended by even more hundreds of those who came to pay their respects to Rinpoche.

That day was the culmination of your efforts, boundless devotion, dedication, and the respect that has been evident since the moment of Rinpoche’s passing. It was a unique event, fitting the occasion perfectly. We believe that this puja would have pleased the mind of our holy guru and so for this, too, we express our profound gratitude.

There are also others in the world who deserve great thanks for all they have done in the past two months. When Rinpoche first passed away, all those at the International Office worked day and night to gather information and share it with the rest of us so that we could be kept up to date about what was happening as quickly and thoroughly as possible. With the time differences always a challenge, they managed to inform us and share advice, prayers, and images so that no one needed to feel left out or left behind. It was a truly admirable and remarkable feat, and our gratitude is great here, too.

The number of centers and students worldwide who dropped everything to come together to pray and practice for Rinpoche is beyond measure. So many people reported feeling the presence of Rinpoche, feeling the strong connection with him, which made the deep feeling of loss transform into an even stronger commitment to work to fulfil Rinpoche’s wishes.

As people supported each other there was a sense of how fortunate we have been to be Rinpoche’s disciples, and how important it was and is to retain this sense of community and commitment. To all the offices, centers, projects, and students in the world who did practices for Rinpoche and continue to recite the Swift Return Prayers we extend our deepest gratitude.

So, from the bottom of our hearts, we sincerely thank you. We are grateful to every one of you.

The FPMT Board of Directors

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.

Heruka Lama Chopa puja seven days after Lama Zopa Rinpoche showed aspect passing at Kopan Monastery with H.E. Gaden Tri Rinpoche, Jetsun Lobsang Tenzin Rinpoche, and all Kopan monks and nuns, April 20, 2023. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

On May 31, Heruka Lama Chopa with Tsog Offering will be performed at Kopan Monastery on the occasion of the 49th day since Lama Zopa Rinpoche showed the aspect of passing away. 

During these 49 days, an extraordinary amount of prayers, condolences, and support as well as visits to Kopan, have come from all the traditions of Tibetan Buddhism and from monasteries, organizations, high lamas, Nepalese government officials, and individuals offering prayers for Rinpoche’s swift return and sharing many moving tributes to Rinpoche’s extraordinary qualities and many beneficial activities. All the great monasteries in India offered prayers, especially at Sera Je Monastery. All the monks of Sera Je gathered every day during the first week and then every seven days following. FPMT students from all over the world have come to Dharamsala last week for the long life puja for His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and many of them have now made their way to Kopan.

These last few days prayers are continuing very intensely at Kopan Monastery with nonstop prayers in Rinpoche’s room plus many other pujas and prayers in the various gompas by Kopan monks, non-Tibetan students, and visiting groups of local lay people. This evening, May 29, students are offering an all night Tara Purification ritual from sunset to dawn.

Everywhere around the world, FPMT centers are organizing pujas for the 49th day on May 31 and students are encouraged to check with their local center for information. Students are also welcome to participate and follow along with everything occurring at Kopan Monastery by utilizing the information and links below. All are welcome to join the livestream of this special puja.

Prayers and pujas have been offered 24 hours a day, seven days a week for Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s swift return in front of Rinpoche’s holy body, Kopan Monastery, Nepal. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Materials for the Heruka Lama Chopa with Tsog Puja

Starting at 8:30 a.m – 5:30 p.m. (Nepal time), Calling the Guru from Afar will be recited and then Heruka Lama Chopa with addition of the prayers to the mahamudra lineage gurus. In the evening, the monks at Kopan Monastery will recite the root texts Ornament of Clear Realization and Entering the Middle Way. The texts needed for the Heruka Lama Chopa are:

• Heruka Lama Chopa with Tsog
• Heruka Lama Chopa Supplementary Prayers

Additional information about the booklet of supplementary prayers:

• Praises to the Twenty-One Taras is often recited before the start of the puja.
• Heart Sutra and the prayer for dispelling hindrances is recited right after the first tea break. The Heart Sutra is recited extremely quickly.
• Song of Immortality, a long life prayer for His Holiness the Dalai Lama, is recited at the beginning of the second session and later on in the puja. (The monks and nuns recite this from memory)
• Atisha’s Prayer: A Light Offering is recited at the end of Heruka Lama Chopa.  (The monks and nuns read this from a pecha-format print out)
• If there is time, the light offering may be followed by Chanting the Names of Noble Manjushri. (The monks and nuns recite this from memory.)

The Swift Return Prayers are recited before the lunch break and again near the end of the puja. The prayer by His Holiness is usually recited three times followed by the prayers composed by Jhado Rinpoche and Rangjung Neljorma Khandro Tseringma.

We have created photo galleries of inspiring images of some of the group prayers, pujas, and practices done in Kopan Monastery; as well as monastic institutions and communities, FPMT centers, and at the sites of holy objects and gompas: fpmt.org/teachers/zopa/gallery-prayers-for-swift-return/

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.