Lama Zopa Rinpoche News and Advice

Lama Zopa Rinpoche at the second day of his teachings in Moscow organized by Ganden Tendar Ling. Russia, May 2017, Photo by Renat Alyaudinov.

While Lama Zopa Rinpoche was in Kalmykia, Russia, in May 2017, a traditionally Buddhist area of Russia settled centuries ago by migrants from Mongolia, he stayed at the former home of Geshe Tenzin Dugda (Tib.’brug-sgra), a Tibetan geshe who lived in Kalmykia for many years. Lama Zopa Rinpoche had known Geshe Dugda in the 1960s. 

Geshe Tenzin Dugda in Kalmykia, 2011. Photo courtesy of kalmykia.eu.

Geshe Dugda (1938-2012) was part of the first generation of Tibetan exiles who fled Tibet in 1959 to follow His Holiness the Dalai Lama into exile. He left Tibet at the age of 20, and later helped rebuild Drepung Gomang monastery in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. After years of dedicated work rebuilding the monastery as well as completing his studies, he received the geshe lharampa degree, the highest academic qualification in the Gelugpa tradition. In 1995, Geshe Dugda moved to Kalmykia on the advice of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, becoming the first geshe in the small republic. He spent 17 years helping to revive Buddhism in Kalmykia, including building temples and bestowing numerous teachings and initiations. He gained large numbers of Dharma students, not only from Kalmykia, but also from other regions of Russia. He continues to be revered in Kalmykia for his warmth and kindness as well as his contributions to the restoration of Buddhism. When Geshe Dugda died, he remained on his meditation seat for four days.

The house where Lama Zopa Rinpoche stayed in Elista, where Geshe Dugda lived. This is his altar. Elista, Kalmykia, Russia, May 2017. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche spoke about Geshe Dugda on May 30, 2017, during his teachings in Moscow, mentioning that Geshe Dugda had been present when Rinpoche and Lama Yeshe first met Zina Rachevsky in Ghoom, near Darjeeling, India. Here is what Rinpoche said:

There were two monasteries in Ghoom, one built by the Indian government, I don’t know the story, and the one where the monks who came from Tibet lived. One time my teacher, Lama Yeshe, was there in the room with my teacher, other teacher, who helped me in Tibet become a monk at Domo Geshe’s monastery and …  brought me to India.

Later on, one monk who lived in Kalmykia and taught, was leading vinaya practice, reviving sojong in the monastery, he taught Dharma for so many years in Kalmykia, he was there, he spoke English few words, he thought the lady was my friend, her name was Princess Zina Rachevsky… [Kopan] started from her. The monk Dugda opened the door a little bit, saying, “Oh, here is your friend”. She came with blond hair, wearing a Tibetan sweater sold at the Darjeeling bus station, simple sweater, blonde hair, she came inside. Actually she didn’t come for us, came for Domo Geshe who had passed away, because she read Lama Govinda book, three books, he went in Tibet and met Domo Geshe, told his story, so she came to look for Domo Geshe.

Zina Rachevsky, possibly 1967. (Photo used with permission of the estate of Zina Rachevsky.)

But Dugda, the monk, misunderstood, and thought she was my friend. Lama Yeshe put big mug, then big kettle, then offered full, she drank, that day she drank completely. Since from that time for many years I never saw her drink Tibetan [butter] tea … she came for one hour to discuss, I knew some English words and I tried to translate for Lama Yeshe. Then after one month she invited us to Darjeeling to her house … nine months we lived like that, then she went to Sri Lanka, from Buxa, we were supposed to go to Sri Lanka to start a Dharma center, but that time relation not good with India so we didn’t go. Then Lama said go to Nepal, then started like that Kopan Monastery, Lama built Kopan and I built Lawudo at the same time. From there we started one month course. … This is because we met the first student, Princess Zina Rachevsky … .

Started from Geshe Dugda who lived in Kalmykia, taught many students, he died two or three years ago, he would have been so happy to meet me in Kalmykia but he died before I came. I felt sorry about that.

The meditation seat of Geshe Tenzin Dugda where he sat in meditation after passing away in 2012. Elista, Kalmykia, Russia, May 2017. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Watch videos and find transcripts from Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teaching in Russia:
https://fpmt.org/media/streaming/teachings-of-lama-zopa-rinpoche/lama-zopa-rinpoche-teachings-in-russia-2017/

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

Lama Zopa Rinpoche with the Minister of Culture of Kalmykia, Hondor Badmaevich, Kalmykia, Russia, May 2017. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

From May 20 to 24, 2017, Lama Zopa Rinpoche taught in Elista, the capital of the Republic of Kalmykia, an autonomous region within Russia. Rinpoche taught on Atisha’s Lamp of the Path and gave two initiations. He also attended performances of traditional music and dance (see videos below).

Kalmykia is a Buddhist area whose people are descendants of migrants from Mongolia. Rinpoche was hosted there by Telo Rinpoche, the spiritual leader of the Kalmyk people, who organized Rinpoche’s visit and teachings. American-born tulku Telo Rinpoche has been active in the reestablishment of Buddhism in Kalmykia since being chosen as its head lama in 1992. He also serves as the honorary representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Russia.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Telo Rinpoche in Kalmykia, Russia, May 2017. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche was greeted with great warmth and respect as soon as he crossed the border into the small republic. A group of Kalmyks, including a geshe, ordained Sangha, and numerous people in local costume, had driven for several hours to welcome him to Kalmykia and offer him tea. Rinpoche also received a grand welcome when he arrived in the capital, Elista.

After lunch on the way to Elista, Rinpoche posed for photos with the family who offered lunch and others, Kalmykia, Russia, May 2017.

In Elista, Rinpoche stayed at the former home of the late Geshe Tenzin Dugda (Tib.’brug-sgra), who passed away in 2012. Geshe Dugda, born in Tibet in 1938, moved to Kalmykia in 1995 at His Holiness’s request, and played an important role in re-establishing Buddhism there.

Rinpoche gave teachings in a temple built in Elista in 2005 called the Golden Abode of the Buddha Shakyamuni, one of the largest Buddhist temples in Europe.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche and others approach the Golden Abode of Shakyamuni Buddha, the temple in Elista, Kalmykia, Russia, May 2017. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Rinpoche’s assistant, Ven. Roger Kunsang, reported that the visit to Kalmykia went very well, with more than a thousand people attending teachings and initiations, including the Kalmyk minister of culture. Kalmyk attendees were deeply grateful for Rinpoche’s visit and expressed enthusiastic devotion for him, as well as requesting him to return as soon as possible. Rinpoche mentioned that he would like to have a 100 million mani retreat take place regularly in Kalmykia.

Kalmyk dance offered to Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Elista, Kalmykia, Russia, May 2017. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Also while in Elista, Rinpoche enjoyed a beautiful cultural dance and song offering (see videos below). Afterwards, Rinpoche blessed all the dancers and musicians as well as all who were in the theater for the performance.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche visiting the older temple in Elista, where the monks live, Kalmykia, Russia, May 2017. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Kalmykia is in the southwest of the European part of Russia, north of Georgia and bordering the Caspian Sea. There are approximately 150-200,000 ethnic Kalmyks. Telo Rinpoche has been working there to restore Buddhism—suppressed for decades—since becoming head lama in 1992. There are now many Buddhist temples in Kalmykia, and numerous young Kalmyk men are being trained at Tibetan monasteries in India.

The Maitreya Project Heart Shrine Relic Tour visited Kalmykia in 2008. Read more about that visit, and the recent history of Buddhism in Kalmykia, here.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche at a press conference with all the media of Elista, Kalmykia, Russia, May 2017. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Watch four short YouTube videos of the Kalmyk cultural performances attended by Rinpoche here:
https://youtu.be/nxyYToloWS8
https://youtu.be/Genb0XRa_vM
https://youtu.be/l9PHu5XyoAw
https://youtu.be/vbuNnAVvo5k

See more photos from Rinpoche’s visit to Kalmykia in this new FPMT photo gallery:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/hSL4N47TdtX93ioPA

Read about Telo Rinpoche and the restoration of Buddhism in Kalmykia here:
https://fpmt.org/mandala/archives/mandala-for-2016/january/helping-buddhism-strengthen-and-grow-in-russia-an-interview-with-telo-rinpoche/
and here: https://fpmt.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2008/12/Kalmykia.pdf

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

Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Richard Gere and Alejandra Silva at Root Institute, Bodhgaya, India, January 2017. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

Can our relationships help us progress on the path?

Lama Zopa Rinpoche says yes! Here is what he has said about relationships: “You should consider having a relationship to be an opportunity to practice Dharma … In particular, you should make sure that being together with someone becomes a cause of enlightenment by keeping in mind the motivation of bodhichitta. You should cherish, serve, and dedicate your life to your partner in the same way that you aspire to do for all sentient beings.

“You can use your relationship to practice morality by, for example, observing the five lay vows of abstaining from killing, stealing, adultery, lying, and mind-altering substances. Likewise, having a partner provides an opportunity for you to practice the other five perfections of giving, patience, perseverance, concentration, and wisdom. If you can do this, they will give you enlightenment …

“You can also think about your partner [like this]: ‘I have received every happiness experienced throughout beginningless lives from this person.’ Just that kindness is unimaginable, but on top of that, you also receive all your future happiness from them … Thinking in this way, the conclusion is that your partner is the most precious, most dear, and most kind person in your entire life.”

Flowers at Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s house at Buddha Amitabha Pure Land, Washington State, US, October 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

Rinpoche added, “You should also keep in mind that in past lives, your present partner was your mother … By recognizing the vast kindness you’ve received from them, you will come to see yourself as their servant. Thinking in this way, your living together will become an opportunity to practice Dharma. With the attitude that the other person is most precious and kind, every single action you do will become a means of collecting extensive merit. If you also act with bodhichitta, you will collect limitless skies of merit and your actions will become the cause to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings. By thinking, ‘I am going to offer service to this person who is a most precious sentient being,’ you will collect a huge amount of merit every day and also purify defilements collected throughout beginningless lives. Since you will constantly create the cause for the biggest success—full enlightenment for all sentient beings—your life will be filled with happiness and hope.

Ösel Hita and Indila Dora at Nalanda Monastery, India, January 2017. Photo by Kunchok Gyaltsen.

“When trying to understand the things that happen in a relationship, you need to take past karma into account … If you always remember to relate events to karma by thinking, ‘This is my karma’ and ‘This is their karma,’ a potential problem doesn’t even become a problem because you accept the situation. It does not bother you and there is peace in your heart.”

In conclusion, Rinpoche emphasized, “If you are able to make use of all your relationships to practice Dharma, you will lead a very healthy life … By thinking in the ways that I have explained here, you will be able to fully enjoy life. You will find satisfaction and fulfillment and you will experience inner peace and happiness.”

Rinpoche talks more about relationships in the video below. 

Watch Rinpoche talk on YouTube about what matters for good relationships:
https://youtu.be/aU0-1IyPVvE

https://youtu.be/aU0-1IyPVvE

Find the complete teaching on making relationships meaningful:
https://www.lamayeshe.com/article/chapter/2-making-relationship-meaningful

See more videos of teachings by Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Rinpoche Available Now:
https://fpmt.org/media/streaming/teachings-of-lama-zopa-rinpoche/

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

Lama Zopa Rinpoche at the Maratika Caves, April 2017. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

On his recent trip to Nepal, Lama Zopa Rinpoche visited the Maratika Caves, an important holy site associated with Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche).

Lama Zopa Rinpoche has visited Maratika on pilgrimage before and spoken about how good it is to do practice there. There are a number of caves in the area but the main cave for pilgrims is the Maratika Treasury Cave. It is here that Guru Rinpoche, with Mandarava, is said to have achieved immortality through the practice of Amitayus. In the main cave, there is a long-life vase (Tib. tse bum) made of stone, which Amitayus is said to have placed on the heads of Guru Rinpoche and Mandarava to bestow immortal life. This vase is the most holy object at Maratika. The cave also contains many self-created (Tib. rang jung) images and syllables. As well, it is considered that many spiritual treasures are hidden there. Texts say, for example, that Buddha Amitabha taught the eighteen tantras of long life at the request of Avalokiteshvara; dakinis wrote these down in symbolic script using melted lapis lazuli on golden paper, put them in a box made of five precious jewels, and concealed them at Maratika. 

The main Maratika cave, Nepal, April 2017. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

In 2009, Rinpoche shared the following about Maratika:

“This place, which is called Maratika, is greatly blessed, as the great master Padmasambhava meditated here on Amitayus (the long life deity) and actualized the state of deathlessness (the siddhi of immortal life). Apart from other lamas, the great Kyabje Trulshig Rinpoche [did] long life retreat every year here for His Holiness’s long life, which also greatly blesses the place. Especially, according to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, due to this accumulation of white virtue, just through seeing, hearing, remembering, and touching this place, the two obscurations of beings will quickly be purified, one will be looked after by the all-knowing one (the great master Padmasambhava) from Urgyen, and easily attain the state of omniscience. This holy place has many more infinite blessings than just explained, and every sick and afflicted being should go there.”

In 2016 while visiting the cave, Rinpoche translated a requesting prayer to Maratika, which has just been made available by FPMT Education Services. During Rinpoche’s 2016 pilgrimage to Maratika, Rinpoche received from Khenpo Gyurme Thegchog Gyaltsen a prayer he had composed called “A Requesting Prayer to Maratika: The Source of an Ocean of Siddhis.” Rinpoche translated this prayer into English and FPMT Education Services has recently published it. According to Ven. Sarah Thresher, who edited the English translation, the prayer “is a concise guide to the holy places and holy objects of Maratika in the form of a request. It also tells of the history and origin of the caves, the unique characteristics of the environment, the etymology of the place’s name, and the particular practices to be done.”

Rinpoche and others do practice inside the main Maratika cave, Nepal, April 2017. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Also while at Maratika recently, Rinpoche met with Ven. Tenzin Choegyal, the reincarnation of Ngawang Chöphel, known as the Maratika Lama, the main disciple of the Lawudo Lama, Rinpoche’s previous incarnation. Ven. Tenzin Choegyal is now seventeen years old and studies in Kathmandu at Shechen Monastery under Rabjam Rinpoche. Ngawang Chöphel’s son Lopön Karma Wangchug now looks after the monastery at Maratika.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Ven. Tenzin Choegyal, the reincarnation of Ngawang Chöphel, the main disciple of the Lawudo Lama, Maratika, Nepal, April 2017. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

In addition to doing prayers and practices at Maratika, Rinpoche blessed several goats liberated last year who are taken care of nearby. FPMT’s Animal Liberation Fund is contributing towards the goats’ care, and while at Maratika, Rinpoche offered additional funds for their food and other necessities for the coming year.

Watch a video here made in 2016 of Rinpoche leading an extensive motivation for the goats’ liberation before blessing them by chanting various mantras, reciting beneficial prayers, and tying blessed red cloth around their necks. Rinpoche ends the practice with several dedication prayers.

Rinpoche with liberated goats at Maratika, Nepal, April 2017. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

“A Requesting Prayer to Maratika: The Source of an Ocean of Siddhis” can be found here:
​https://shop.fpmt.org/A-Requesting-Prayer-to-Maratika-The-Source-of-an-Ocean-of-Siddhis-PDF_p_2919.html

Students interested in going on pilgrimage to Maratika Caves can contact Ven. Sarah Thresher through FPMT International Office for information and assistance. 

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

Lama Zopa Rinpoche meditating in his room in Root Institute, Bodhgaya, India. February 2017. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

In a conversation with a student in 2015, Lama Zopa Rinpoche discussed how to make a difficult decision: whether and when to remove a patient who is not expected to recover from life support. He mentioned the importance of maintaining human life for as long as possible, and thus the benefits of keeping a patient on life support. However, he also acknowledged the high cost and difficulty of keeping someone alive on life support, especially for a lengthy period.

Watch Rinpoche discuss this difficult question on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/GeY25a1nbog

See more videos of Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Rinpoche Available Now:
https://fpmt.org/media/streaming/teachings-of-lama-zopa-rinpoche/

For a range of advice, prayers, and practices related to death and dying, see FPMT.org/Death.

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

Lama Zopa Rinpoche meets a new friend in Abu Dhabi. Both display their rosaries, the usage of which is shared by Buddhists and Muslims. November, 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

For Muslims all over the world, Ramadan is a happy time. It just started, on the evening of Friday, May 26, and it runs until late June. Ramadan is the month in which the first verses of the Quran, Islam’s holy book, were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad more than 1,400 years ago. During Ramadan, many Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset and also practice charity: ways to remain aware of God and of the sufferings of the less fortunate.

It is friendly to wish practicing Muslims “Happy Ramadan” or “Ramadan Mubarak” (“Blessed Ramadan”). 

A Muslim student greets Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Bangalore, India, December 2016. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

On the value of Islam and other religions to the world, Lama Zopa Rinpoche has explained, “There are many religions in the world, such as Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and so forth. These different religions are needed. It’s like having different clothes or different kinds of food in a restaurant; we need variety for different people. … We must respect other religions.”

And His Holiness the Dalai Lama? When he was teaching in Strasbourg, France, in 2016, he talked about his concerns about the stereotyping of Muslims. Attendee Laetitia Franceschini, from Toulouse, France, was quoted in a Mandala online article about the Strasbourg teachings. She noted His Holiness’s words about educating people to maintain harmonious relations with others. “I was happy,” she said, “when he spoke about Muslims. His Holiness said that the phrase ‘Muslim terrorist’ is wrong. He said that any person who wants to indulge in violence is not a genuine Buddhist or genuine Muslim. All major religious traditions carry the same message: a message of love, compassion, forgiveness, tolerance, contentment, and self-discipline. It creates stigma for Muslims when one person’s actions brand the whole community. It was inspiring when he spoke about being harmonious with Muslims, and not focusing on one act. That’s very important.”

Lama Zopa Rinpoche also values interfaith work. When he developed his Vast Visions for FPMT, Rinpoche said, “[It would be good] for the centers to arrange regular interfaith dialogues with religious leaders in their local community,” noting that this is one way FPMT can offer service to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and support his objectives.

Happy Ramadan!

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

Lama Zopa Rinpoche greeted by Telo Rinpoche in Elista, Kalmykia, Russia, May 2017. Photo by Сохраним Тибет via Facebook.

You can watch Lama Zopa Rinpoche teach live from Moscow starting on Saturday, May 27. The teachings run from May 27 through June 3 and will be live-streamed. Details can be found here: http://en.lamazopa.ru/

Rinpoche’s teachings in Moscow—organized by Ganden Tendar Ling Center—will be streamed on FPMT’s YouTube channel, on Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Facebook page, and on FPMT’s Facebook page. The live-streamed teachings are scheduled for 7 p.m. local time each evening as follows:

• May 27-June 3, 7 p.m. local time (GMT+3)

Watch here on FPMT’s YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/c/fpmtinc/live

Lama Zopa Rinpoche in Kalmykia, Russia. Photo by Сохраним Тибет via Facebook.

Rinpoche has been teaching in Elista, the capital of Kalmykia, Russia, May 20-24, where he has been hosted by Telo Rinpoche, an important spiritual leader of the Kalmyk people. Kalmykia is a traditionally Buddhist region in Russia.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche blessing cats in Kalmykia, May 2017. Photo via Twitter.

Rinpoche last visited Ganden Tendar Ling Center in Moscow in 2015 when he taught on the “Three Principal Aspects of the Path.”

Lama Zopa Rinpoche in Kalmykia, Russia, May 2017. Photo by Mariam Ke via Facebook.

PLEASE NOTE: Live webcasts of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teachings are now on YouTube. We will no longer be streaming Rinpoche’s teachings from Livestream.com. Please bookmark this YouTube link for live video of the teachings in Mongolia and Rinpoche’s other future live-streamed teachings:
https://www.youtube.com/c/fpmtinc/live

Rinpoche’s schedule of teachings can be found here:
https://fpmt.org/teachers/zopa/schedule/

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

Lama Zopa Rinpoche giving an oral transmission from a Mahamudra text by Panchen Losang Chokyi Gyaltsen, Nalanda, India, January 2017. Photo by Ven. Losang Sherab.

A lung (pronounced loong) is the oral transmission of a text, mantra, or practice by an authorized holder. Lama Zopa Rinpoche explains more about lungs in a video below.

In Tibetan the word for oral transmission is spelled lung (ལུང་). It should not be confused with a different word that sounds similar, lung meaning “wind,” spelled rlung (རླུང་) in Tibetan.

In the video, Lama Zopa Rinpoche emphasizes that lungs come in an unbroken lineage from the Buddha or Lama Tsongkhapa, which gives them blessings. He also mentions that he thinks practices are more effective after we receive a lung—especially if we pay attention while receiving them!

Calling lungs “powerful,” Rinpoche talks in this nine-minute video about the meaning and benefits of lungs and how to receive them. The video is an excerpt from his teachings at the 2016 Light of the Path retreat.

Subtitles of Rinpoche’s words appear in the video if you click “CC” in the bottom right corner, for “Closed Captions”.

Watch Lama Zopa Rinpoche on YouTube as he gives a short talk on lungs:
https://youtu.be/HsMHKfmfwuc

The complete teachings from the 2016 Light of the Path retreat can be found here, including links to transcripts, MP3s, and translations:
https://fpmt.org/media/streaming/teachings-of-lama-zopa-rinpoche/light-of-the-path-teachings-2016/

Register for the 2017 Light of the Path retreat:
http://kadampa-center.org/light-path-retreat-2017

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

Lama Zopa Rinpoche and others walking toward Trulshik Rinpoche’s monastery, Thubten Choling, Nepal, April 2017. A little above the monastery, where retreat huts are visible, is where Zina Rachevsky did her retreat. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

In the late 1960s, Zina Rachevsky requested Dharma teachings from Lama Yeshe—and that was the beginning of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaching Westerners and the planting of the seed that became FPMT. The story is told in detail here. In 1973, Zina Rachevsky undertook a retreat in Nepal near Junbesi, in the Solu Khumbu District. During the retreat, she fell sick, and despite taking medicine, died within a few days. 

Ven. Bu Norbu, who helped Zina at the time of her death, Nepal, April 2017. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

While visiting lower Solu Khumbu in April 2017, Lama Zopa Rinpoche went to Thubten Choling, the monastery founded by Trulshik Rinpoche, which was very close to where Zina did her final retreat and passed away. There, Rinpoche heard a first-hand account of Zina’s passing. Rinpoche met with Ven. Bu Norbu, an elderly monk from Thubten Choling who was there at the time. He told Rinpoche about how he had been a friend of Zina and helped her when she was staying above the monastery with her daughter Rhea. He was present when Zina died.

Vens. Roger, Tenzin Legtsok, and Ailsa Cameron were able to walk with him up to the site where Zina’s hut had been, although it is no longer there. A new retreat house is under construction on the same site, with a spectacular view of forested hillsides stretching down to the river valley far below.

With Ven. Legtsok translating, Ven. Bu Norbu told the story of Zina’s passing. This is what he shared as recorded by Ven. Ailsa Cameron: 

Ven. Bu Norbu, who was around thirty years old at the time, knew Zina and her daughter, Rhea, well. Zina would shave Bu’s head, and Rhea would tease him by sneaking up on him while he was reading his text and scattering the pages. When Zina suddenly became ill with stomach pain, Trulshik Rinpoche was away in Tengboche, in upper Solu Khumbu. When contacted, Rinpoche sent a message that Zina should take medicine for her illness. Zina had a plentiful supply of Western medicine, which she took, but her condition rapidly deteriorated over the following two days.

Shortly before Zina died, the military police, who had heard that Zina was seriously ill and close to death, came to the retreat house to ask what would be done with Zina’s money and possessions. Rhea, only seven years old at the time, spoke nicely to the police, explaining that there was nothing to worry about as everything had already been given to two Western monks (one of them the American monk, Ngawang Chötak) staying at the monastery. Bu said about Rhea, “She was very brave and clear when she spoke to the military police.” 

Bu explained that Zina died sitting up, reciting mantras, and holding a mala in one hand and Rhea’s hand in the other. He added, “Zina was unlike other people.” After Zina’s breath stopped, she remained in meditation for three days, still sitting upright. Bu said that during that time she looked alive.

After three days Zina’s face sagged and its color changed, and her body began to smell. Her body was then carried across the valley to be cremated at Thubten Choling’s consecrated cremation site, which has a mandala etched on a large stone and earth brought from many holy cemeteries in India.

Zina Rachevsky with Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche before her ordination, 1967. Photo via Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

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

Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Geshe Lozang Rinchen and dogs in front of Thubten Shedrup Ling Monastery (a branch of Kopan Monastery), Solu Khumbu, Nepal, March, 2017. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

New photo albums have been added to Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Photo Gallery, where you can see Rinpoche in action as he travels around the world! Visit FPMT’s website to see a new photo album showing Rinpoche’s March-April visit to Nepal. Albums from 2017 can be found at: 
https://fpmt.org/teachers/zopa/gallery/#2017

Rinpoche spent the beginning of the year in India, visiting Root Institute, Maitreya School, and Maitri Charitable Project in Bodhgaya; going on pilgrimage to the ruins of Nalanda University and the stupa at Sarnath; and being offered a long life puja at Yulo Koepa (Tara Temple) in Sarnath, which is a project of Kopan Nunnery. In late February, Rinpoche returned to Kopan Monastery in Nepal for Losar (Tibetan New Year) and the March enthronement of Thubten Rigsel Rinpoche, the reincarnation of Khensur Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup. 

Rinpoche then spent time at Thubten Shedrup Ling Monastery, which is a branch of Kopan Monastery and next to Sagarmatha Lower Secondary School, in lower Solu Khumbu District. Rinpoche blessed the children who are students at the school, which is overseen by Kopan Monastery and supported by FPMT’s Social Service Fund. Rinpoche made a visit to Thubten Choling Monastery in Junbesi. Then he went to Maratika Caves in Khotang District.

Children of Sagarmatha Lower Secondary School lined up on the assembly ground with Lama Zopa Rinpoche in background. The older children look after the younger ones. Chailsa, Nepal, March 2017. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

Rinpoche has most recently been teaching in Mongolia. [Please see “CORRECTED–Lama Zopa Rinpoche in Mongolia: Update,” to read the corrected version of this post on Rinpoche’s Mongolia visit.]

More information, photos and updates about FPMT spiritual director Lama Zopa Rinpoche can be found on Rinpoche’s homepage. If you would like to receive news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche via email, sign up to Lama Zopa Rinpoche News.

A mother and daughter offer khatas to Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Penang, Malaysia, April 2016. Photo by Bill Kane.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche often talks about mother sentient beings—but what does he say about actual mothers?

Rinpoche wrote to a student in 2014 about how to think about her mother, saying, “The way to think is that you received all the past happiness from beginningless time from your mother, and on top of that all your present happiness, and on top of that all the future happiness. Not only this life’s happiness, but ultimate happiness, liberation from samsara—the total cessation of all the obscurations and the completion of all the realizations—full enlightenment.”

He added, “Your mother is most kind, most dear, most precious, your wish-fulfilling one, therefore from your side offer her every single benefit that you can, because she is the most important one!”

Lama Zopa Rinpoche blesses a mother and baby, Land of Medicine Buddha, USA, October, 2015. Photo by Bob Cayton.

Continuing, Rinpoche said, “Your mother is cherished most by numberless bodhisattvas, not just by one bodhisattva, but by numberless bodhisattvas … For the numberless bodhisattvas, your mother is more precious than the whole sky filled with wish-granting jewels—not only filled with dollars and diamonds but with wish-granting jewels … Now the buddhas, Shakyamuni Buddha and all the buddhas cherish your mother most, more than Buddha himself … Numberless bodhisattvas cherish her most, they work for her.”

Rinpoche concluded, “Therefore you can see how important it is for you, due to your connection with your mother this time, every single benefit that you can offer her—this is the best offering to numberless bodhisattvas and numberless buddhas. You can see that even offering a small benefit to her is the best offering!”

A child receives a blessing during the Maitreya Relic Tour, Mullumbimby, Australia, 2012. Photo by Andy Melnic.

Read the full teaching here:
https://www.lamayeshe.com/advice/your-mother-most-kind-most-dear-most-precious

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

Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Danzan Ravjaa Rinpoche, the 9th reincarnation of the Lama of the Gobi, Mongolia, May 2017. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

CORRECTED, May 11—This post has been corrected. We apologize for the errors that appeared in this blog as it was originally published on May 10.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche—who has been touring Mongolia this month, giving teachings, blessings, and initiations—visited Dolma Ling (Dulmaling) Nunnery in Ulaanbaatar on May 2.

The Dolma Ling existed long in the past, but was partially destroyed in the 1930s along with many other religious sites in Mongolia. Greater religious freedom in the 1990s led to initial steps to re-establish the site, and in 2001, the temple and grounds were offered to Lama Zopa Rinpoche. The nunnery’s original building, which is unique and beautiful, is still to be found at the site, and is awaiting restoration.

Rinpoche spent time talking with the Dolma Ling nuns about improvements needed at the nunnery, and discerning next steps for moving forward.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche standing in front of the original building of the historic Dolma Ling Nunnery, Mongolia, 2017. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche meeting with nuns at Dolma Ling Nunnery, Mongolia, May 2017. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Dolma Ling is located on the same land as the Lamp of the Path soup kitchen. This much-needed social service project offers lunch to more than eighty homeless people a day in a small building.

“The soup kitchen is small but very inspiring! Particularly in the winter, it seems to be a lifesaver for the many homeless people in this area, which is quite a poor area and a long way from other services,” Ven. Holly Ansett reported. “The project grows its own vegetables during the short spring/summer growing season, which was very heartening for us to see.”

On May 3-4, Rinpoche and about twenty-five others, including several monks and the abbot from Idgaa Choizinling Monastery (ICM) in Ulaanbaatar drove for close to seven hours into the Gobi Desert (southeast towards China). Halfway there, Rinpoche and the group stopped for a picnic lunch; monks from ICM had come the day before to set up a beautiful ger (a Mongolian tent or yurt) for the group where they offered lunch. Although a sand storm made getting from the vehicles into the ger a bit tumultuous, once inside, everyone found it very cozy. The ger was set up in a place called Choyr. In the past, there was a monastery there with 1,500 monks, but this was destroyed in the 1930s. Not far away was a very blessed rock carving of Hayagriva Garuda Vajrapani. Thus Choyr is considered a holy place. The area was under the ocean millions of years ago, and the rocks there are unusual and known for containing fossils.

Monks of Khamar Monastery offering mandala to Rinpoche. Mongolia, May 2017. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

The next day the group visited Khamar Monastery, which is located in a desert—very stark and dry, with not a tree in sight. When Rinpoche arrived, the monks were doing Tara practice; they quickly offered Rinpoche a mandala offering. Rinpoche also met Danzan Ravjaa Rinpoche, who is the 9th incarnation of the Lama of the Gobi. Rinpoche also visited the small nunnery next door to the monastery.

Next Rinpoche went to Shambhala land—an area of stupas, temples, and other monuments reputed to be a gateway to the legendary Shambhala—to visit caves where past meditators stayed in retreat.

From there, Rinpoche and the group headed back to Ulaanbaatar. As they drove, they passed many herds of wild horses, goats, sheep, cows, and camels. Rinpoche stopped a number of times to bless the animals. He had a portable loudspeaker and, in the hope of leaving imprints, recited many prayers and mantras, such as the long and longest Chenrezig mantras, the Medicine Buddha mantra, the Maitreya Buddha mantra, the Namgyälma mantra, and lamrim prayers.

Wild mares that Rinpoche blessed in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia, May 2017. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab

“Many times the animals actually listened, ears pricked. When we stopped to bless the wild mares, for example, they actually ran up to the side of the car where Rinpoche was reciting so they were close. It really seemed that they wanted to be able to hear his voice,” Ven. Holly said.

On the way back to Ulaanbaatar, the group stopped at the same ger as before for a late lunch, and the monks from ICM requested an oral transmission from Rinpoche. He gave a short teaching and oral transmission in the ger of the Four Mindfulnesses, a teaching by Manjushri to Lama Tsongkhapa. Rinpoche gave the teaching and transmission in Tibetan, and they were translated into Mongolian and English. The group left the ger as the sun was setting, and the whole sky turned red. “It was an incredible sight,” reported Ven. Holly, “The desert views were breathtaking!” The group arrived back at FPMT’s center in Ulaanbaatar at midnight.

In a ger (yurt) in Choyr in the Gobi Desert, Rinpoche giving an oral transmission of the Four Mindfulnesses, a teaching by Manjushri to Lama Tsongkhapa, Mongolia, May 2017. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

On May 6, Rinpoche went to visit the FPMT center in Darkhan, in Northern Mongolia, the Golden Light Sutra Center (GLS), which is a four-hour drive north towards the border with Russia. On the way were beautiful mountain landscapes, though with hardly any trees. Again, the group saw many animals, including wild horses, sheep, goats, and cattle. Rinpoche stopped over and over to bless animals, and the drive took extra time due to this. The group was accompanied by the abbot of ICM as well as Geshe Thubten Zopa from Sera Je Monastery. Geshe-la is assisting the tantric college at Ganden Monastery in Ulaanbaatar, and also teaches at the FPMT center in Ulaanbaatar, Ganden Do Ngag Shedrup Ling. While in Darkhan, Rinpoche had a short meeting with the board of GLS center, a short TV interview, and enjoyed both lunch and dinner with the governor of Darkhan province, and with the city governor who is on the GLS board.

The next day Rinpoche visited Ganden Tara Monastery and gave oral transmissions of the Thirty-Five Buddhas and Seven Medicine Buddhas, and a prayer to spread the teachings of Lama Tsongkhapa to the thirty or so monks. Rinpoche then gave a public talk to more than 300 people. In the talk, he gave advice on how to meditate on emptiness, including how to do one’s daily activities with the mind in emptiness and live one’s whole life doing all activities from this mind.

Leaving Darkhan, the group drove the four hours back to Ulaanbaatar, again stopping a number of times to bless the many animals along the road.

Rinpoche’s teachings before the Great Chenrezig Initiation at Idgaa Choizinling Monastery—organized by Ganden Do Ngag Shedrup Ling—will be streamed live on FPMT’s YouTube channel, on Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Facebook page, and on FPMT’s Facebook page.

The live-streamed teachings are scheduled for:

• May 10, 7 p.m. local time (GMT+8)
• May 11-12, 6 p.m. local time (GMT+8)

Watch here on FPMT’s YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/c/fpmtinc/live

PLEASE NOTE: Live webcasts of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teachings are now on YouTube. We will no longer be streaming Rinpoche’s teachings from Livestream.com. Please bookmark this YouTube link for live video of the teachings in Mongolia and Rinpoche’s other future live-streamed teachings:
https://www.youtube.com/c/fpmtinc/live

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