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Mandala
From Mandala September-October 1997.
FPMT offers support for support to Rinpoche’s students at the most crucial time of death by giving the names of students who die to His Holiness the Dalai Lama with the request for his prayers.
FPMT News Around the World
Amitabha Buddhist Centre students offer a birthday cake to Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi. Photo courtesy of ABC's Facebook page.
On July 22, Amitabha Buddhist Centre (ABC) in Singapore offered a long life puja based on the deity Amitayus for their resident teacher Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi in honor of his 50th birthday. Khen Rinpoche also serves as abbot of Kopan Monastery. During the puja, center members meditated on Amitayus, recited mantras, made a mandala offering and prayed for the long lives of Khen Rinpoche, all their other gurus and for all the students in attendance. ABC has shared photos of the festivities on their Facebook page.
Amitabha Buddhist Centre was founded in 1989 in Singapore, but the center’s origins go back to Lama Yeshe’s 1984 visit to the country. Today, ABC is a thriving center with a rich educational program including the FPMT Basic Program, led by Khen Rinpoche. In addition, the center has a busy calendar offering regular pujas, classes and animal liberation practices.
With 158 centers, projects and services around the globe, there is always news on FPMT activities, teachers and events. Mandala hopes to share as many of these timely stories as possible. If you have news you would like to share, please let us know.
Carina Rumrill: Carina is parent to three homeschooled children ages seventeen, fifteen and three; holds a master’s degree in Gender and Cultural Studies; and was the managing editor for Mandala Publications.
In August 2010, Maitripa College offered a panel discussion with four community parents, who also keep a spiritual practice, as part of a summer lecture series entitled, “The Enlightened Professional: Parenting as Spiritual Practice.”
From Mandala October-December 2010
From Mandala June 2002
“Whenever I am with a group of people who have experienced extraordinary suffering, the first thing I notice is a lightness in the air,” writes long-time FPMT student Adele Hulse. “… [I]f you spend your time with the suffering, you can’t really lose.”
From Mandala October-November 2006.
TV producer Barbara Jandro and Judy Weitzner, right
Advice from Lama Yeshe eventually lead Judy Weitzner to work with older adults. Read how she was able to integrate Dharma into her work.
From Mandala December 2001 – February 2002.
For the April-June 2009 issue, Mandala got into contact with Judy to have her retell her story and to update readers on what had happened since the 2001 article.
Ven Anet Engel
Read what Ven. Anet Engel learned about by working with survivors of sexual abuse and why she eventually stopped counseling to become a Buddhist nun.
From Mandala December 2001 – February 2002.
Tushita Retreat Centre, 1972.
Big Love, the long-anticipated authorized biography of Lama Yeshe written by Adele Hulse, provides an intimate portrait of FPMT’s founder. This excerpt is taken from the chapter chronicling the purchase of Nowrojee Kotee, renamed Tushita Retreat Centre, and now Tushita Meditation Centre in Dharamsala, India.
From Mandala April-June 2012.
Paul Leonard and his wife Heather
Paul Leonard shares his story of being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and the comfort he found at Tara Institute, an FPMT center in Australia, shortly after.
From Mandala December 2001 – February 2002.
Image by Louise Light shared on the occasion of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s birthday
July 6 was His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 77th birthday, and in recognition of the day, FPMT North America (FPMT NA), the regional group representing centers, projects, services and students from Canada and the United States, launched Compassion Day, making special effort to remember not only His Holiness’ presence and contribution to the world, but also “to come together and celebrate compassion.”
FPMT centers, projects and services in North America celebrated Compassion Day with gusto. Compassion Day’s Facebook page has dozens of photos and we’re happy to share some of our favorites here for those of you that still haven’t had the chance to get online and start exploring.
Guhyasamaja Center celebrated Compassion Day early by making donations to a food bank and reciting the “Golden Light Sutra” for world peace, Centreville, Virginia, USA, June 30, 2012.
Milarepa Center in Barnet, Vermont, USA hosted an animal liberation, buying all of one store’s bait worms to release in the center’s garden. Later, Ven. Amy Miller led a meditation on compassion. The group also celebrated with birthday cake and prayers, July 6, 2012.
In Austin, Texas, USA, Land of Compassion and Wisdom organized a "hike-and-bike" trail cleanup in addition to hosting a compassion meditation, community potluck, face painting and gift making, July 6, 2012.
Tubten Kunga Center in Deerfield Beach, Florida, USA celebrated Compassion Day with long-life prayers and a Lama Chöpa tsog. Geshe Konchog Kyab distributed $10 pre-paid cards that each participant could use to make a donation to a charity of their choice. The cards were donated by a generous benefactor, July 6, 2012.
Children at Kadampa Center, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA prepared and offered handmade gifts to His Holiness’ throne. Other events from the day included Ven. Choekyi Lhamo reading a biography of His Holiness and students picking vegetables in the center garden to offer to a food bank, July 6, 2012.
Land of Medicine Buddha in Soquel, California, USA hosted a contemplation on compassion followed by Chenrezig Guru Yoga, July 6, 2012.
Maitripa College in Portland, Oregon, USA had tsog with Yangsi Rinpoche and gathered 130 pounds (59 kilograms) of food for Oregon Food Bank, July 6, 2012.
It seems to us at Mandala that the inaugural Compassion Day was a huge success! Check out Compassion Day’s Facebook page to see the other photos that we were unable to post here.
With 158 centers, projects and services around the globe, there is always news on FPMT activities, teachers and events. Mandala hopes to share as many of these timely stories as possible. If you have news you would like to share, please let us know.
Adriana Ferranti. Photo by Nick Dawson.
Learn the story of MAITRI Charitable Trust’s Adriana Ferranti, one incredible woman with a lot of energy and a lot of compassion for Bodhgaya’s poorest residents.
From Mandala December 2001 – February 2002.
You can find more information about MAITRI Charitable Trust on their newly designed (and constantly growing!) website.
Ven. Bob Alcorn
Although Tibetan Buddhism isn’t known for being socially engaged, there are many instances of devoted FPMT students making an effort to impact the world around them. In “A Nurse Finds Rights Livelihood,” Ven. Bob Alcorn describes how his job as a nurse and his “job” as a monk work together and shape his experience.
From Mandala December 2001 – February 2002.