Obituaries

Margo van Greta

Margo van Greta passed away on July 29, 2026. She died soon after receiving a diagnosis of late-stage cancer. 

Originally from the Netherlands, Margo had been involved with the Dharma since 1987. She studied and practiced with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Khadrola, Venerable Robina Courtin, and many other teachers. She was an FPMT Registered Teacher and taught at several FPMT Centers. She started the Togme Sangpo study group in Scotland with the encouragement of Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Margo was passionate about Inner Work, which she considered an essential aspect of the Outer Work we do.. She mentioned in her website “Buddhism is an important influence, especially the Tibetan or Mahayana version. It includes the idea we need to develop our highest and fullest potential, in order to be of service in the best possible way. “

In Margo’s Words: What Matters Most

In her own words, Margo shared on her website these reflections on what mattered most to her:

Gratitude Give thanks for all that you receive. Gratitude opens the gateways. It makes you notice what is actually there, appreciating the small things in life, as well as the big ones!

Rejoice Rejoice when others have or achieve whatever it is you would like for yourself. Actively being happy in other’s achievements or success generates a huge amount of positive energy, and will create the cause for your own success.

Spiritual Practice.  If you have a spiritual practice, nurture it, allow it to transform you. It is the most important aspect of our precious human life. It reduces exhaustion, burn out, depression and lethargy. It gives you joy, courage, compassion and inner strength. It allows you to develop your inner qualities, reduces your obstacles in life, and cultivates wholeness. 

Read more on her website

Margo van Greta and friends

Reflections on a life well lived: Margo van Greta

Paula Chichester, FPMT registered teacher and a close friend of Margo shared this for Jamyang London Buddhist Center:

I first met Margo in October of 2006 when I was invited to the Shambala Dharma Centre in Findhorn, Scotland. Margo was a trustee of the centre and very involved with its development. She worked at the Findhorn Foundation as a faciliator for many of their events and also in a bit of the administration. She was a striking woman, of great size, beauty and lovely choice of comfortable, colorful fashion. She had travelled to Findhorn from her native Amsterdam at least 15 years before I met her. I don’t know exactly when she made her connection with Lama Zopa Rinpoche; the connection was strong and she was obviously a devoted and a deep practitioner.

Margo would go to Osel Ling for a retreat every year. She also led secular retreats for the Findhorn Foundation at their place on the island of Iona. She could easily teach secular dharma or Tibetan Buddhism. When Shambala had to fold in 2010, she took on the role of directing Thogma Sangpo Study Group and thus kept the dharma alive in the Findhorn Community.

She was a really good teacher! After Findhorn Foundation had to downsize its operations due to the financial collapse of the pandemic, Margo was made redundant and her life took on a new chapter. She began to lead The Work that Reconnects Workshops, devised by Joanna Macy. Soon, she became a facilitator to teach other people to lead the workshops. She continued to be part of Findhorn Community and was happy to move into one of their new Eco-Houses. Margo was a real climate warrior, an activist inner and outer through and through. She started as a “squatter” in Amsterdam in her early 20’s, before landing at Findhorm where she lived for 40 years or so.

I had the good fortune of helping her to lead two of the Work that Reconnects and I was very impressed by the level of teaching skills, her care for the course content and her administration skills as well. If there was ever a communication difficulty between us, she quickly tagged it and we discussed our issues and all was well again. To me, that is a sign of an advanced being.

Margo loved the out of doors and I was fortunate to climb a few mountains in Scotland with her. Margo was a lot of fun and eager to participate in most any endeavor that would benefit people or the land, and was especially skilled at growing community.

Findhorn Community will miss her. I am sure. In my mind, she left at age 68 to go to Vajrayogini’s pure land. The last we heard from her was, “I am letting go and going to Lama Zopa.” I think it’s rare for someone dying of cancer in a hospital to need no medication and be in no pain. She was accompanied by her sisters at the time of death and I am sure Lama Zopa Rinpoche was waiting to take her home.”

Please pray that Margo van Greta may never ever be reborn in the lower realms, may he be immediately born in a pure land where she 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/).

Barbara and Chris Vautier, Kopan, 1972. Photo credit Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive

Barbara Vautier, an early student of Lama Thubten Yeshe and Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche since the third Kopan course, passed away on July 1, 2026 in California.

“Kopan course changed the way in which I approach life,” said Barbara. After her time at Kopan, she went on to raise two children and work in social services. “My life has been totally ordinary. I’ve raised two children; I’ve worked in social services; and I’ve struggled with survival on many levels on the too-fast Western edge.” She recalled: “The course of my life led me to Kopan in 1972. A refugee from war-torn America, fatigued and deeply grieved as a result of the US involvement in the Vietnam War, the political violence, the deaths of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, I needed a long vacation from America. The riotous years of the late ’50s and ’60s were leading me to seek a deeper understanding of life. I didn’t know that the object of my disgust and disillusion would later be identified as samsara.”

The Road to Kopan

On their way to Kopan, Barbara and her Swiss husband, Chris, befriended Feather Meston (now Ven. Thubten Wongmo) and Lawrence, eventually staying with them in their VW camper in Spain. Barbara and Chris then continued to Dharamsala. They spent a year living in Afghanistan and the Swat Valley before arriving in India in 1972. It was in India that Barbara contracted hepatitis. She recalled: “In the autumn of 1971, a long overland journey from Europe to Asia began. So as soon as I recovered from hepatitis, we began the trip across India to Kopan.”  We arrived there in October 1972. At that time I was formally introduced to Tibetan Buddhism at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamsala.” She continued: “One day Chris noticed a flyer about a month-long meditation course given by Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Kopan Monastery. He was immediately intrigued, and we decided to travel to Nepal for the course.” Barbara said: “The Kopan course appealed to me because I felt the only way I could sit and meditate on the various aspects of Tibetan Buddhism was in a very structured setting, since discipline was not my forte.” She recalled: “The Kopan course was rigorous, it was overwhelming and inspiring and awesome and painful and ultimately offered a clear and profound roadmap for serious transformation. The emphasis on compassion for all beings blew me away.

During the third Kopan course, in 1972, twelve students took the five lay precepts from Lama Yeshe. Barbara recalled, “Up until then I hadn’t thought of myself as the sort of person who would ever take vows, but everything Lama Yeshe said made such perfect sense. To hear that incredible laughter from the lamas’ room at night was kind of a message about what that mental state they described might be like.” 

The early times

Third Kopan Meditation Course, December, 1972. 

In 1973, Barbara, with several students of the third Kopan course, attended Kyabje Ling Rinpoche’s teachings and also took a ten-day vipassana course with Goenka at the Burmese Vihar. Because Lama Yeshe had asked Chris, an architect, to come to Tushita after Losar to help build some retreat huts, Barbara and her husband made their way back to Dharamsala after the Vipassana retreat. They expected Lama Yeshe to arrive in March, but had to wait until May for him. Barbara remembered some A-frame houses she’d seen in northern California, and when Chris suggested building this style of hut, Lama readily accepted. During this time Barbara was debilitated from hepatitis, and became physically extremely weak, until one day, while shopping in Dharamsala, she found herself wishing Lama would show up because he would have the Jeep to get a lift to Tushita. Barbara recalled, “Suddenly someone slapped me on the head with a rolled-up newspaper. It was Lama!” Barbara said. “The psychic telephone is working very well, dear,” he said to her.

In 1974, Barbara and Chris returned to Switzerland from Asia and immediately set about organizing the Lama’s first teaching trip to Europe. In September 1975, in Geneva, Barbara and Chris greeted the Lamas at the airport and drove them to Les Bayards. Barbara and Chris were the organizers of the two-week course, on September 26–October 10, at Les Bayards, Switzerland, with the title “The human mind is evolving all the time: what we teach is how to develop the mind quickly to be everlasting happy.” Barbara and Chris were also interested in establishing a center in Switzerland, which already had a strong Tibetan community, but due to the presence of the Tibet Institute in Rikon, with Geshe Rabten as abbot, Lama Yeshe could not possibly consider opening a center in Switzerland, as it would have been arrogant and disrespectful to Geshe Rabten.

In 1977, Barbara and Chris traveled to the United States, with their two young children, and attended the course given by Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche in Yucca Valley, California. The Yucca Valley course planted the seeds for Vajrapani Institute to be created. Barbara and Chris later moved with their family to Boulder Creek, California, becoming some of the original residents of Vajrapani Institute, part of the first generation “bushy people”. Later Chris became one of the early directors of Vajrapani. During Chris’s tenure as director, Vajrapani invited His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama to the University of California at Santa Cruz, where he gave two talks. In 2018, Chris, Barbara’s former husband and longtime spiritual companion, died at eighty-four in Watsonville, California, US, of Alzheimer’s disease. The course at Kopan had changed not only Barbara’s life but also Chris’s, and together they became deeply devoted to the Lamas, dedicating their lives to them. Both played a significant role in helping bring the Dharma to the West.

Guru Devotion: Lama Yeshe

Lama Yeshe teaching at Les Bayards, Switzerland, 1975. Photo by Barbara Vautier, courtesy of the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

“It was at Kopan that I met Lama Thubten Yeshe who indeed changed the trajectory of my life.”

During her time at Tushita, she helped in the kitchen. Often Lama Yeshe would join her to wash vegetables. Barbara recalled, “He was meticulous, carefully and gently washing every leaf perfectly. I’m the impatient type—every third leaf was good enough for me, but not for Lama. Of course, he was looking for tiny insects and grubs, that might get killed.” Lama Yeshe’s teachings came in small, powerful moments as well, not only during courses.

On February 8, 1984, Barbara, with Shirley, Lennie, and others, had the immense pleasure of offering her skills and love to Lama Yeshe, who had been released from hospital and needed full-time care at home. Barbara recalled the immense impact of Lama on her life: “Lama always stressed to us to ‘integrate,’ to bring the essence of the teachings into our everyday lives. It is this that I have tried to do and that is what continues to impact and inspire me.”

Lennie Kronisch, Don Broderson, Barbara Vautier, and Steve Pearl, Vajrapani Institute, Boulder Creek, CA, US, January 2016. Photo courtesy of Elaine Jackson.

Please read Chris Vautier’s obituary. 

Please pray that Barbara Vautier may never ever be reborn in the lower realms, may he be immediately born in a pure land where she 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/).

Lawrence Greenberg passed away recently at the age of 83 in Downey, California.

The following words in celebration of Lawrence’s life were offered by Thubten Wongmo, Lawrence’s former wife.  

In 1969, I met Lawrence at a wedding party in Santa Monica, at a difficult and even kind of dangerous time in my life. He was an accomplished artist, poet, and jewelry maker, and just a very nice man. He pretty much saved me that day, and eventually we married in my beloved grandmother’s garden.

We lived near the Hog Farm commune in Llano, New Mexico (near Taos) for a while, then we took off for Europe where I had my baby, Daja Wangchuk, in Geneva where we had taken refuge in these eccentric Americans who took in young hippie travelers. There we met Barbara and Chris Vautier. 

To make a very long story short, after staying in southern Spain and then Greece, we traveled overland to India. I had been reading Meher Baba’s books who advised to find a living guru in “the spiritual mother of the world.” Lawrence kindly did all the rough driving, but then we crashed the VW bus in Afghanistan. We got a ride with some German travelers on their way to McLeod. Lawrence came down with hepatitis, giving me the time to meet people studying at the Tibetan Library with Geshe Ngawang Dargye.

Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Lawrence’s painting of the Four Harmonious Friends. Photo courtesy of the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

I decided to get ordained, so in my first meeting with Lama Yeshe, Lama agreed but advised to be gentle with Lawrence about this decision. When Lawrence and I separated, Lama saw that Lawrence was a bit lost, and he ever so kindly invited him to stay at Tushita Retreat Center and paint the Four Harmonious Friends as a mural in front of the Tushita gompa. Rinpoche suggested that Lawrence paint water spurting out of the elephant’s trunk as an offering to Buddha.

Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, at the right Lawrence and his murals behind them.

Lawrence, Wanghuk, and Puntsok.

Having to leave India or be thrown in visa jail (!), we ended up at the famous 5th November Kopan course at Kopan Monastery.  Rinpoche was describing and leading meditations on the lower realms in detail, which I found amazing, but Lawrence was having extreme meditations and “seeing” the hells and so on.  By the last days of the course, he had a mental breakdown, describing weird psychic visions and so on. After wandering around the mountain villages in Nepal and acting strangely in Kathmandu, he was finally deported back to California. His family helped him be accepted as a patient at various mental institutions.

In later years, Wangchuk and his wife, Puntsok, visited him a number of times, bringing him gifts of paints and brushes.

Even when being taken care of in mental institutions and on antipsychotic meds, he continued to make drawings with little poems that reflected his having been profoundly affected by meeting Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche and having attended the full Kopan course.

Written by Thubten Wongmo. 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/).

Please pray that Lawrence 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/).

Robert Alexander Farrar Thurman passed away on June 16, 2026, at the age of eighty-four, at his home in Woodstock, New York.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Prof. Robert Thurman viewing a White Tara thangka offered by Shantideva Meditation Center to Tibet House, New York, August 2015. Photo by Edward Sczudlo. Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Professor Robert Alexander Farrar (Bob) Thurman was widely regarded as America’s foremost scholar of Tibetan Buddhism and a tireless advocate for the Tibetan people and their culture. He held a Ph.D. from Harvard University and the Jey Tsong Khapa Chair in Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University—the first endowed chair in Buddhist Studies in the West. A prolific author whose books brought Tibetan Buddhist thought to a broad readership, he was also co-founder and president of Tibet House New York and the American Institute of Buddhist Studies, and a recipient of the Padma Shri award. In 1997, Time magazine named him one of its 25 Most Influential Americans. Professor Thurman was an FPMT Registered Teacher in the Senior Teachers in the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition category. He remained active in his work for Tibet House and Menla, his retreat center in the Catskills, up until his death. 

Ven. Roger Kunsang shares, “Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Bob Thurman had a long relationship going back to the 1970s with many meetings filled with lots of laughter– joking and then serious discussions on teachings, texts, and Tibet.”

Professor Thurman first met Lama Thubten Yeshe in 1978 in Delhi, where Nick Ribush arranged a lunch at the Imperial Hotel. Lama Yeshe shared with him a vision: to translate all volumes of the Tibetan Tengyur into English. The Tengyur comprises over 3,600 treatises on the “liberating arts and sciences”—too vast for any single person to translate in a lifetime. Years later, in 2011, Professor Thurman led the monumental effort to begin the translation of the Tengyur collection into English, Chinese, Hindi, and other languages through the American Institute of Buddhist Studies at Columbia University Press, as the Treasury of the Buddhist Sciences series. He taught at several FPMT centers and contributed articles to Mandala magazine. In August 2015, he welcomed Lama Zopa Rinpoche to Tibet House during Rinpoche’s visit to New York City. 

Born in New York City in 1941, Professor Thurman was among the earliest Western scholars and practitioners to devote his life to Tibetan Buddhism. He made tremendous contributions to the study, preservation, and dissemination of Tibetan Buddhism through his extensive writings, translations, and academic work, a contribution that was also recognized by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. His Holiness expressed his condolences, describing Professor Thurman as one of the world’s foremost scholars of Buddhism:

“As a Buddhist scholar, his knowledge was truly remarkable, including his command of the Tibetan language. He devoted his entire professional life to sharing that knowledge, not only with his students, but with the wider world through his writings and teachings. He understood profoundly that the survival of Tibetan Buddhist culture is inseparably linked to the future of Tibet itself. I greatly valued his efforts on behalf of the Tibetan people and their culture, expressed so visibly through institutions such as Tibet House.”

Dalai Lama’s tribute to Robert A.F. Thurman, June 17, 2026

In 1964, Professor Thurman became the first Westerner ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist monk directly by the Dalai Lama. He studied for almost thirty years as a personal student of His Holiness the Dalai Lama who described him as a great friend.

“I learned with deep sadness of the passing of […] my dear friend, Prof. Robert Thurman. […] As you know, Bob and I shared many years of warm friendship since we first met in India in the late 1960s.”

Professor Thurman belonged to the first generation of scholars and practitioners who made authentic Tibetan Buddhist teachings broadly accessible to Western students following the Tibetan diaspora. Among his many publications, Professor Thurman was the translator of The Tibetan Book of the Dead (Bantam Books, Inc., 1993), and author of many other books, including Inner Revolution: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Real Happiness (Riverhead Trade, 1999), The Central Philosophy of Tibet: A Study and Translation of Jey Tsong Khapa’s Essence of True Eloquence (Princeton University Press, 1994), Brilliant Illumination of the Lamp of the Five Stages: Practical Instructions in the King of Trantras, The Glorious Esoteric Community (Columbia University Press, 2011), Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet (Harry N. Abrams, 2000), and Why the Dalai Lama Matters: His Act of Truth as the Solution for China, Tibet, and the World (Simon and Schuster, 2008), among others.

Rinpoche with Professor Bob Thurman Photo: Ven.Sherab Aug 2015

His Holiness reflected “Bob lived a meaningful life and has left behind a legacy that will continue to inspire future students of Tibetan Buddhism and culture for generations to come. I am sure that the merit he accumulated through a lifetime of service to humanity will bear fruit in lives to come.”

To explore Professor Bob Thurman’s life work in more detail, please visit his personal website. 

Please pray that Robert A.F.  (Bob)Thurman 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/).

An interview with Dr. Robert A.F. Thurman, “Engaged Realism,” originally published in Mandala, October–November 2006, is available to read online.

Venerable Jampa Kunchog at Kopan, 1976. Credits Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive

Venerable Jampa Kunchog (Delsturtz Theadore “Yogi” Pryor) died of prostate cancer on April 20, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia, US.

An early student of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Ven. Jampa devoted more than five decades to Dharma study, monastic life, translation work, and the preservation of Tibetan Buddhist teachings. He studied for many years at Sera Je Monastery in South India and later founded the Scholastic Institute Chökyi Gyaltsen University (SICGU) in the United States.

Obituary compiled and edited by Nick Ribush

Memories of Venerable Jampa Kunchog from His Old Friend, Scott Brusso

In the early 1970s, Jampa was known as Yogi. He and I lived in lower Dharamsala and every morning without fail would walk up to the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives to attend Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey’s one-hour classes. During the 1973–74 winter break we went to Bodhgaya for His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Kalachakra initiation. There we were very fortunate to meet Lama Yeshe and attend his talk at the Japanese temple. It was very mystical and with Geshe Dhargyey’s blessing we both decided to attend the sixth Kopan course that spring. After the course we took Lama Yeshe’s Heruka Vajrasattva initiation and teachings and did the Kopan group retreat. 

After the retreat we decided to be ordained as monks. Yogi (and five other Kopan students) took novice ordination from Lati Rinpoche in March 1975, and later full ordination from H.H. the Dalai Lama, becoming known as Jampa Kunchog. He remained a monk his entire life. I received novice ordination from H.H. Trijang Rinpoche a year later in 1976. After that we lived at Kopan, where Lama Lhundrup was kind enough to teach us debate. During that time, we also taught English to the young monks and they taught us Tibetan. 

International Mahayana Institute group at Kopan 1974. Jampa is still a layman. Credits: Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

Around 1978 Yogi went to Sera monastery to study philosophy and debate. I don’t know the details of his years there, but it’s a tribute to his dedication and perseverance that he bore the poor conditions there in order to study to become a geshe, not only studying Buddhist philosophy but also becoming fluent in the Tibetan language, partly by refusing to speak English. He lived exactly as the Tibetan monks did, working in the fields as necessary and eating the same food.

Tushita Dharamsala, March 1975. Ordination group with Lati Rinpoche. Credits: Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

SICGU logo

He returned to the United States in the early 90s and from 1994 to 1995 served as the translator for Geshe Losang Tsultrim (Tsulga) at Boston’s FPMT center, Kurukulla. After that he moved to Atlanta with the wish to start a Buddhist University, which he called the Scholastic Institute Chökyi Gyaltsen University (SICGU). He also taught several students and translated and self-published a number of books. 

IMI group, Kopan, 1976.

About three years ago he began getting sick, having a very hard time walking or even standing. He entered a hospital in the Atlanta area where they had difficulty finding out what was causing his symptoms. Physical therapy was not successful. In improving his condition. Jampa also suffered a heart issue, from which he recovered. 

By this point we were talking on the phone weekly, but Jampa would not let the doctors or his family probe further. He was taking Tibetan medicine and did not let the doctors investigate further in order to diagnose what was going on. However, about six months ago they discovered advanced aggressive metastatic prostate cancer and recently he was admitted to hospice. I was still able to talk to him up to a few days before he passed away at around 7:40 pm on April 20. Jampa was unable to sit up but appeared to be meditating on the absorption process. He appeared very peaceful and was saying something about the light. It was his wish to not make a big announcement and to be cremated. He asked that his ashes be buried with his father’s remains.  

March 1975. Post-ordination with H.H. the Dalai Lama at his residence. Credits: Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

Memories of Venerable Jampa Kunchog from His Former Colleague from Sera, Ian Coghlan

I met Jampa Kunchog when I first went to Sera in 1980. He was living in House One, the house of Khensur Dhondup Topgyal. I lived in House Fifteen as arranged by Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey. I got to know him better when Geshe Losang Thupten from house Sixteen invited us to attend teachings on Tibetan grammar—Sum Chupa and Takkyi Jugpa—while he was still finishing his three-year retreat. 

IMI audience with His Holiness, May 1975. Credits: Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

Sera Monastery was very poor in those days: no toilets, no bathrooms, electricity for an hour or two, water pumped for an hour to fill large earthen pots buried in the ground, and the food was basic. It was hard physically but easier mentally. Everything in Sera focused on study and absorbing the Dharma. Jampa Kunchog had a great zeal for study to which he applied great energy. He had a nickname, Mahe, meaning water buffalo, for his impressive physical strength, which he often displayed in the debate ground when warding off half his debate class while making a debate point! He also had a useful ability to find ways of remaining in India when all doors appeared closed. Later, he set up a computer club, with the thought to use its potential in study. His dedication to Jetsun Chökyi Gyaltsen, the author of the Sera Je debate manuals, was immense, and later when he returned to the US he founded SICGU (Scholastic Institute Chökyi Gyaltsen) in his honor. My enduring impression and my greatest point of respect for Jampa was his genuine resolute exertion in the study of Dharma. 

Memories of Venerable Jampa Kunchog From Tedra Pryor, His Sister

On April 20, 2026, at 7:40 p.m., Dr. Jampa Kunchog departed this life. Born Delsturtz Theadore Pryor on January 1, 1953, in New Orleans, Louisiana, the family eventually settled in Hartford, Connecticut after living in Oahu, Hawaii for several years. 

Venerable Jampa Kunchog, South India, 1980s. Credits: Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

Jampa was the most adventurous of the four children born to Dr. Theadore M. Pryor, and Sophornia Mary Pryor. At the age of 19, he withdrew from Tuskegee University to trek across Europe. After spending two years in Europe, he traveled through Western Asia to India, which would become his home for approximately 20 years. 

Sera Monastery, Bylakuppe, India, early 80s. Credits: Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

He first lived in Dharamsala in 1973 and studied at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives. His teacher was Geshe Ngwang Dhargyey. In the spring of 1974 he attended a one-month meditation course taught by Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Kopan Monastery outside of Kathmandu, Nepal. In 1975, Jampa received ordination from Lati Rinpoche, and later full ordination from the Dalai Lama. After that he lived and studied at Kopan Monastery until deciding to enter Sera-je Monastery in Mysore around 1978. While in India he received his undergraduate degree, Master’s Degree, and Doctorate Degree in Eastern Philosophy from Sera. He was one of the few Westerners to go through such a rigorous program. Jampa was also instrumental in translating certain Tibetan teachings into English and preserving Buddhist transcripts to his computer to ensure their preservation. This had never been done before. 

Venerable Jampa Kunchog with Geshe Tsulga, Massachusetts, 1994. Credits: Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

Venerable Jampa Kunchog, Kurukulla Center, Boston, 1995. Credits: Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

Upon his return to the United States he began making guest appearances to speak on Tibetan Buddhist philosophy. He published books and conducted online classes on these topics. You will find his picture in the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.  Jampa was well known and respected in many parts of the world. Before he passed, his hope was to establish a university for Tibetan Buddhist studies in Massachusetts. However, his teachings will be carried on through his students and religious followers and friends who shared his vision and philosophy. 

With grateful thanks to Scott Brusso, Ian Coghlan, Tedra Pryor, and Nick Ribush for this moving tribute. 

In Venerable Jampa Kunchog’s own words: “Back in the years 1958–1962, my sister and I were the first Black children to integrate schools in both the North and the South. The picture displayed was taken after I received my first communion in North Carolina. We were accepted into the all-white school because our parents wanted us to have the best opportunity for education. We walked into the school; there were no police, no army to break up protesting crowds, and no overt discrimination. We were simply accepted. We believe we were the first example of Black integration into all-white schools. This was in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in 1961. I entered this school in 1960; my sister, the year before.” Photo courtesy of the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive

Please pray that Venerable Jampa Kunchog 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 Gyupa la leaving Tushita for Gyudmed Monastery in the south of India | July 2024

Gyudmed Ngarampa Venerable Thupten Dorje (Lama Gyupa la) passed away on the morning of March 11, 2026 at the age of 91.

The following words were issued by Gyudmed Tantric University in celebration of Gyudmed Ngarampa Venerable Thupten Dorje (Lama Gyupa-la) and his more than 50 years of service at FPMT Tushita Meditation Centre. Appointed directly by Lama Thubten Yeshe in the late 1970s, he has supported students and retreatants through rituals and practices over many decades.

Photo: Statement Issued by Gyudmed Tantric University Regarding Lama Gyupa’s Life, Deeds and Death, 2026 Credit: Tushita.info

We regret to inform that the venerable senior Ngagrampa (Tantric scholar) of Gyudmed Tantric University, the first on the seniority list, Geshe Thubten Dorje, had been in somewhat poor health for some time and has now peacefully passed away at the age of 91.

This occurred on the 23rd day of the 1st Tibetan month in the Tibetan year 2153, corresponding to March 11, 2026 (Wednesday), at 10:47 a.m. He passed away peacefully without any signs of illness or pain.

Notably, for one week following his passing (from the 11th), his holy body showed no signs of decay, retained its complexion, and remained as before.

Such signs were observed, and it was believed that he was abiding in thukdam (post-meditative absorption). Many devotees and followers came to pay their respects, and their faith and devotion increased greatly.

On the morning of March 18 at 5:30 a.m., sangha assembly performed the Guhyasamãja root tantra rituals and made offerings of cremation to his sacred remains.

The late master was born in Markham and entered monastic life at Özer Monastery. Prior to 1959, he went to Lhasa and joined Gyudmd Tantric University, where he studied the major tantric texts along with their four commentaries, as well as ritual practices and procedures in a proper manner.

In 1959, he traveled from Dalhousie to the Hunsur settlement together with the monastic community. There, he not only practiced the three higher trainings diligently, but also carried out many activities for the benefit of others in various places such as the Tushita Dharma center in Dharamsala, adapting his efforts to the needs of different beings.

This is a brief summary of his life and deeds.

– Issued by the General Office of Gyudmed Tantric University, March 18, 2026

Photo: Lama Gyupa (left) and Lama Zopa Rinpoche (right) | 1982. Picture by Nicholas Ribush

Please pray that Lama Gyupa la 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/).

Geshe Tenzin Wangdak at LRZTP, 2015.

Geshe Tenzin Wangdak passed away from cancer on September 8, 2025 in Dharamshala, India. 

Lotsawa Rinchen Zangpo Translator Program (LRZTP)’s dear teacher, Geshe Tenzin Wangdak touched the hearts of so many students and all who knew him. Dr. Filip Majkowski, Heidi Minx, and Julia Wilson shared a moving obituary and testament to Geshe-la’s many wonderful qualities:

It is with deep sadness that we share news of the passing of LRZTP’s beloved teacher Geshe Tenzin Wangdak (1972-2025) after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Geshe-la left this life on September 8, 2025 surrounded by friends and students while being cared for in Delek Hospital Dharamshala. His friendly guidance will be sorely missed by all of us at LRZTP and all others who were close to him.

LRZTP 7 cohort audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, 2017 (Geshe Tenzin Wangdak is just right of HHDL).

Geshe Wangdak joined LRZTP in 2013 and eventually became one of the main Tibetan language and dharma teachers at LRZTP. Over the years he tirelessly worked creating new materials and updating the content and structure of the LRZTP two-year program of studies. His main concern was creating a friendly and learning-conducive environment for non-Tibetans to quickly learn colloquial Tibetan language and essential Dharma terminology, and in this he made himself ever available to eager students – even his lunch breaks would somehow morph into an impromptu Tibetan language lesson.

In more recent years he was heavily involved with refurbishing the school after the Covid pandemic and managing the two-year intensive program. During the last year and even up to the final month of his life he still remained involved with school through offering regular guidance to the program coordinator and helping appoint other geshe teachers to fill his positions.

Geshe Wangdak in 2017 with Jairo, Yaron, and Martha during the LRZTP 7 graduation ceremony.

We would also like to share a couple memories of Geshe-la from Dr Filip Majkowski (a colleague from LRZTP) and from Heidi Minx (one of Geshe Wangdak’s early English language teachers and longtime friend).

Memories of Geshe Wangdak from Dr Filip Majkowski

I have known Geshe Tenzin Wangdak since 2017, when I first started working at LRZTP. From day one Geshe-la was very helpful and open minded about everything. He was always ready to reach out and help, he always had ideas and was a problems solver. He did everything with compassion and humor. By then he had already devoted so much of his time to LRZTP and the students. He had passion for his work and a big heart to all students. Much later, during the pandemic, he put the same heart and passion into teaching Tibetan online. He taught until his declining health allowed him to continue. In that he was a true inspiration to teachers and students alike.

The period of his sickness was a very sad time for LRZTP and everyone who knew him. After several months of fighting the disease in 2022 he was healthy again and it seemed he was winning. Then, in early 2024 suddenly things got worse. It was really sad to watch him lose energy and not be able to do what he loved. He could not teach, nor was he able to do house repairs, which was also his passion – in LRZTP he always had his kit with drills, hammers, screwdrivers etc. He loved that. But he still loved meeting people and give advice as much as possible.

I saw him last at the end of June, before I left for Europe. When he passed, I was back in Dharamsala, quite nearby, but unfortunately not able to see him. I regret that. I feel blessed I had this wonderful opportunity to meet Geshe-la in my life. I know we will meet again in some other life. Until then, may the blessings of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas be with you, Geshe-la. We miss you.

Geshe Wangdak (far right) in 2018 with (from left) Alex, Filip and Thupten of LRZTP.

Memories of Geshe Wangdak from Heidi Minx

In 2009, a program was started by the Dalai Lama Trust for a select group of geshes – a foreign language program so that when His Holiness’s office received requests for Dharma teachers, students from this group could teach in either English or Chinese. Geshe Wangdak was one of two students in the advanced English class. Geshe-la understood the nuances of learning – that it wasn’t just a written exercise based on books, but also discovering and experiencing cultural nuances. The abundance, or lack of direct translations of many words would lead us to interesting debates. The Tibetan word for weasel, neuli, led us to the western scientific naming system for rodents, and then into evolution, back to dinosaurs. Gently debating became a regular theme – and I remember his earnest surprise that there were not “single words” in English for words used commonly in debate — “the book is on the table, so the table supports the book, and the book supports the table – what is the single word for each of these items?” Our classes weaved through traditional vocabulary and writing to the methods of how to teach western students.

One assignment centered on teaching the Four Noble Truths; and as they began to teach, I asked, “What is karma?” Geshe-la’s face lit up, first in confusion that his English teacher didn’t know what karma was, to then a look of disbelief that a concept so deeply understood in his studies and culture might need to be explained more deeply. He grasped that moment – and I believe it is just one example of what made him an excellent teacher, the wisdom to understand that even the smallest concepts needed to be taught and explained with the same importance as deeper concepts. We discussed the differences and similarities between Buddhism as a science, philosophy and religion and how that intersected with western science, philosophy and religion.

Geshe Wangdak was a deeply committed friend as well. His dedication to our friendship was evidenced in so many ways – whether waking up early to stand in line at Yeshe Dhondup’s office when I was sick to make sure I got an early appointment so I could return to class quickly — making sure I had a seat saved with him at His Holiness’s teachings, bringing me to his aunt and uncle’s for huge family meals,  seeing me happy after feeding puppies at lunch then coming to love and care for dogs for many years. He loved being a teacher, and in our free time after classes took it upon himself to begin to teach me Tibetan — buying children’s primer books and getting me my first fountain pen that he cut the tip off of for best letter structure. He said, “You will learn letters first, like I did.” Several years later Geshe-la and I worked together on a program to teach the students of a local Thangka school (ITTA) English with the intention that they be able to talk about and share their art with others outside the Tibetan community. Geshe-la was an excellent friend. When my cat died, when I lost my job, when it was my “obstacle year” – Geshe-la would say prayers, and have his khangtsen say prayers. His smile and sense of humor made him an excellent friend and teacher as well. The day his class graduated the teacher translation program at IBD, we had a private audience with His Holiness. At the end of the audience, we all walked out to the steps for the celebratory photo with His Holiness. His Holiness was looking at my tattoos and talking with me as we were walking. As we got to the steps, His Holiness noticed the sengye tattoos on my arm, he clasped my arm and began clapping his hand against it laughing, “yah bobdhuk!” The students all looked up a bit in shock. As we walked slowly to Dharamkot for a pizza party, Geshe-la said, “We thought you were getting scolded – but how do you say? You got beat up by the Dalai Lama, very good blessing!” making us both laugh more as I explained the nuance of the phrase “beat up.”

Geshe-la truly embodied the intent of His Holiness’s program, going on to support Julia with her interpreting at the Tibetan Library, and later with the LRZTP program teaching Tibetan language and Buddhism to western students, planting innumerable seeds of karma that will ripen and unfurl in all corners of the world for generations. In his last week, I witnessed the deep devotion of his students, calling and visiting – imparting to him the deep care that they have for him, as he had for them. His quick and bright smile, his nurturing and genuine care for others, his warm yet direct nature, his powerful yet gentle voice and his deep but unassuming knowledge will be deeply missed by so many who were lucky to have had the karma to know him in this lifetime.

With grateful thanks to Dr. Filip Majkowski, Heidi Minx, and Julia Wilson for this moving tribute. 

Please pray that Geshe Wangdak 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/).

Brian Rae at Dorje Chang Institute, New Zealand, at end of year potluck lunch, December 13, 2020.

Brian Rae passed away suddenly of a heart attack on September 12, 2025 in Taupo, New Zealand.

The following words celebrating Brian’s qualities, interests, and years of service in the FPMT mandala were prepared by Simon Harrison, a FPMT-registered teacher, with input from Brian’s sister Susan, his wife Paula, and Ven. Gyalten Wangmo, the spiritual program coordinator of Dorje Chang Institute.

Brian can be best summed up with 3Hs: hats, hugs, and happiness. He was a big-hearted, big-chested, big-smiling man, for whom nothing was too much trouble. He filled many roles around Dharma centers in New Zealand. He served on the board of Mahamudra Centre and was a trustee of Dorje Chang Institute from 2021 until he passed away on Friday, September 12, 2025, with no warning signs, shortly after completing his morning prayers.

Brian first connected with Dorje Chang Institute (DCI) around 2009, when His Holiness the Dalai Lama visited New Zealand and has been a constant support for both DCI and Mahamudra Centre ever since.

Brian Rae with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, New Zealand, 2013.

He took on the role of national coordinator for FPMT New Zealand in 2014 to coordinate the visit by Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche the following year. He continued in the role until after His Eminence Ling Rinpoche visited in 2020, after which Covid kept us all in our own little bubbles.

Brian loved his family: his wife Paula; three daughters, Ella, Lucy (husband Jake) and Georgia (husband Oliver); and three grandchildren, Luca, Fleur and Leah. There were many times the family would gather with Brian at the heart of it, building Legos with the kids and regaling the rest with extensive stories of the latest “new” thing. He and Paula had just completed building their retirement retreat overlooking Lake Taupo, close to the grandchildren, when he was so suddenly taken from us.

His Dharma journey was infectious. Joined by his sister, Susan, together they would appear for teachings or to offer service at Mahamudra Centre or Dorje Chang Institute. Always humble, his passion for the centers and his devotion to his teacher defined him.

At DCI, he recently oversaw the refurbishment of the stupa. He expressed his love of trees as groundsman supervisor. His memory stays with us in the trees and other greenery around the property, as well as being the star of the training videos for groundskeeping equipment.

DCI Stupa Refurbishment Project, with Brian Rae assisting Geshe Wangchen, April 6, 2024.

While managing the house build, fulfilling a demanding job with Auckland Airport, sharing his loves for family and trees, and serving on DCI’s board, Brian managed to complete a full round of the FPMT Basic Program with Geshe Thupten Wangchen at DCI.

His final lesson to us all is the fragility and impermanence of this precious rebirth, and the manner of making it happy and useful.

We pray that all of his merit through service, study, practice, and warm-heartedness will serve him well into the future up to his enlightenment.

Please pray that Brian 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/).

Sara Ritter during the 2012 Maitripa Spring Celebration. Photo courtesy of Maitripa College.

Sara Ritter passed away at the age of 51 on February 6, 2025, from complications from pneumonia.

By Carina Rumrill

As the person who puts together obituaries for fpmt.org and our community news blog, there are inevitably times when I have to organize life remembrances for those I also consider very dear heart friends. Sara Ritter was undoubtedly such a friend.

In 2008, when Sara was publisher of Mandala magazine and one of the editors, she hired me as the new managing editor. The moment I first heard her voice during a phone interview for the position, I thought: “Oh, it’s you!” I had never met her in this life, but I knew immediately that our connection was deep. We did the interview for maybe fifteen minutes before launching into any and every personal detail about ourselves. It was like catching up with an old friend. We both had small boys close to the exact same age; their last names were oddly similar (Bloom and Blumenthal); and we shared so many similar interests, points of view, aspirations, and concerns about the world. And most importantly—we shared a very unconventional sense of humor! As I would learn, many people had this experience with Sara. She knew how to really connect with others.

Sara Ritter and Carina Rumrill, 2009. Photo courtesy of Mandala magazine.

On my first day at the job, she scurried into my office with the excitement of a pre-teen girl having her first sleepover with a friend. She wasted no time making sure I was entirely at home and comfortable. She took me and then associate editor, Michael Jolliffe, out to lunch and she was just bursting with ideas and energy about the future of the magazine and a potential membership program to help fund it (which eventually turned into the Friends of FPMT program).  Sara was always so full of ideas. She was a big, brave thinker. I marveled at how she conducted herself in staff and management meetings, always so open, fair, courteous, and diplomatic.

I found Sara to be laser-sharp, hilarious, kind, open, deeply emotional, humble, and full of surprises. She was always so present during our interactions: she made me feel like I was the only person alive on the planet when we spent time together. When she was no longer working for FPMT International Office, she was always just a quick trip downstairs at Maitripa College. I continued to run things by her as I found my way managing and publishing the magazine. Her feedback and engagement was always so valuable and thoughtful.

Sara and Tripp Ritter. Photo thanks to Tripp Ritter.

During this time, I was not only working for Mandala and International Office, but I was also a small business owner. Sara supported the upstart of my food truck every single step of the way. She brought her family to eat there regularly and was never shy with constructive feedback or gratuitous praise. She never missed a single community event we organized to support the business and community. She participated in our marketing video when we expanded. She even brought her wedding party and out-of-town family to the truck as part of her post-wedding festivities! She used every opportunity to support others; this was such a central quality of hers.

Sara Ritter presenting her final MFA work, 2024. Photo courtesy of Tripp Ritter.

She and her husband, Tripp, and their four kids eventually moved from Portland to Seattle several years ago, and shortly after, I moved with my family to Vermont. We kept in touch through social media, with occasional longer messages updating each other about our busy and complicated lives. Sara had recently completed her Master of Fine Arts in Poetry at Pacific University. Sara was, in her heart, always first, a poet. I am so very pleased that she actualized this core aspect of her identity before she passed.

Her husband, Tripp, opened his obituary for her in the following way:

“The poet Sara Kristen Ritter passed away at the age of 51 ….” The poet Sara. That she was.

Tripp also shared:

“One of her greatest professional and spiritual accomplishments was playing a key role in organizing the three-day environmental summit with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in conversation with spiritual, environmental, and political leaders in the Pacific Northwest hosted by Maitripa College in Portland, Oregon. When she cared about something she gave it her all and ensuring His Holiness had a fulfilling and impactful visit was incredibly important to her. Fortunately, the event was a resounding success.

Sara Ritter greeting His Holiness the Dalai Lama during the environmental summit hosted by Maitripa College, 2013. Photo courtesy of Maitripa College.

“In her professional work and in her personal life, what stands out about Sara is the care she gave to others. So many shared that when she was talking to them, it was like no one else existed. She loved life and love and wanted others to find their own joy. Among her favorite things were being a mom and step-mom, a wife, playing games, listening to music, working together on a crossword, watching a cooking show, and visiting the Oregon and Washington coasts.”

Sara and Tripp Ritter with their children. Photo courtesy of Tripp Ritter.

On February 7, a guru puja was organized for Sara at Maitripa College. Over forty participants joined online and in person. During the puja, Yangsi Rinpoche, President of Maitripa College, said this about Sara:

“Most of us here have a connection with Sara. Particularly myself—at the beginning, when I first came to Portland, Sara was my host. And then she was involved in the establishment of Maitripa very intensely. She played a very important role in student services. She was a really wonderful person and a sincere practitioner, and she served all of us. Sara is very close to our hearts, very dear to our hearts. Today we make prayers and dedicate for her journey, for her future, and for her to have perfect conditions to meet her spiritual path, the path that leads to benefiting sentient beings. And then also for Ben [her son], who we have known his entire life, who is also a part of our family. And for all of her community and relatives and friends who are going through difficulty now, that this difficulty can be part of a spiritual transformation.”

Sara, her son Ben Blumenthal, Tom Blumenthal, Tiffany Blumenthal Patrella, Jack Blumenthal, Susan Blumenthal, Geshe Tenzin Dorjé, Yangsi Rinpoche – at the dedication and opening of the James A. Blumenthal Library at Maitripa College, October, 2015. Photo courtesy of Maitripa College.

Namdrol Miranda Adams, Dean of Education at Maitripa College, and Leigh Miller, faculty member and Director of the Master of Divinity Degree and Chaplaincy Program recalled this about Sara:

“Since the announcement to the Maitripa College community that Sara had passed, many messages have flooded in with a common, cherished remembrance—that of Sara’s unfaltering kindness towards everyone. Many also recall her heart for service, be it towards students, or teaching meditation to prison inmates, or hosting opportunities for rejoicing in the community and life celebrations of others. As a mother, she glowed with love and pride for her son, and kept his drawings and photos by her desk. She was fun-loving, with an uninhibited laugh, putting others at ease and bringing smiles to all.

Sara during the 2008 winter “prom” at Maitripa College. Photo courtesy of Maitripa College.

“Those of us who worked closely with Sara in the Maitripa College office saw many additional good qualities. While she started here as a student, she soon selflessly put her own coursework aside to facilitate the educational experience of other students, becoming the Director of Student Services. In this role, she was a warm, welcoming presence to all, helping them obtain housing, visas, scholarships, referrals to Buddhist-friendly therapists, and more. She invented and, for several years, brought to fruition  the Portland City Sit, a day of meditation for all in Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square. And when Maitripa College faced an existentially threatening gap in leadership in 2012, Sara bravely and tirelessly stepped up to tremendous responsibility and management of people, communications, and strategic planning, without complaint or expectation of reward. Following that crisis, she again worked incredibly hard—with tremendous vision, love, and generosity—on the planning committee for the 2013 visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Portland and Maitripa College. She was appointed the staff lead in planning the interfaith event, with spiritual leaders representing Indigenous, Jewish, and Christian communities, as well as incorporating a youth choir, Native drummers, and a flower offering by children to His Holiness. Throughout those endlessly long work days over many months, she kept foremost the benefit to thousands of people, and to Maitripa College, of receiving His Holiness, and even when our bodies were tired, her mind was uplifted and encouraging.

Sara speaking during the 2011 Maitripa College graduation. Photo courtesy of Maitripa College.

“She modeled how to be a bright, caring, professional woman. She skillfully aligned her work responsibilities with our commonly held organizational values and spiritual motivations, achieving not only proficiency and accountability, but also fostering loving care for all in the community. When she departed from employment at Maitripa College, we were saddened but also rejoiced in her new opportunities, marriage, and thereafter, relocation to Seattle. Sara remained a friend, visiting on important College occasions, and staying in touch. She is so lovingly remembered. We are grateful for all the blessings she brought us in touching our lives.”

Louise Light, Maitripa College Graphic Designer and Webmaster, reflected:

“Sara loved a good party—not only working to envision themes and help make the annual celebrations happen, but enjoying them fully. As I recall, the Maitripa College ‘City Sit,’ which brought meditation instruction to downtown Portland, was also a project dear to her heart.

Sara during Maitripa College’s Mad Hatter’s Tea Party Spring Extravaganza, 2009. Photo courtesy of Maitripa College.

“On a personal note, Sara’s presence during my daughter Namdrol’s health crisis over many months in 2011 and 2012, was priceless. Yangsi Rinpoche talks about how she was critical support in the office in Namdrol’s absence, but to me, she also was a personal support. She arranged for community members to pick me up at the airport when I arrived from the East Coast, care for me, and drive me to the hospital, and then, as if by magic, for days, someone would arrive at the hospital to drive me to the house for showers and a change of clothes. Sara also communicated to my larger family and Namdrol’s vast network of global friends by filtering updates Namdrol’s treatment and prognosis through one e-list that she coordinated with me and Rinpoche. I’ll never forget Sara’s kindness that year.”

Former associate editor of Mandala, and alum of Maitripa College, Michael Jolliffe observed:

“When I think about Sara, I remember someone possessing a special blend of curiosity, playfulness, devotion, warmth, gentleness, and groundedness. I appreciated her professionalism and positive attitude while serving in her various roles at the FPMT International Office and Maitripa College. I don’t remember her ever complaining about anyone; in my memory, she was consummately diplomatic at all times.

Sara with Michael Jolliffe, 2009. Photo by Molly Stepanski.

“Sara included me in her life as much as she could, and I deeply appreciated the parties she threw in her Portland homes, invitations to game groups at the Lucky Lab pub, and lively conversation at the Horse Brass with her then-new boyfriend Tripp.

“She changed the trajectory of my professional and spiritual life by actively encouraging me to volunteer for Mandala, which eventually transformed into a happy career with FPMT International Office. I have Sara–and her characteristic thoughtfulness and generosity–to thank for the many wonderful experiences I had while working at International Office. She was a truly special person in my life; I’ll really miss her.”

She is survived by husband Tripp Ritter; child Benjamin Blumenthal; step-children Simon Ritter, Bruce Ritter, and Graham Ritter; sister Amy Winkelman; and mother Sheri Winkelman. She is preceded in death by her father, James Winkelman, and Ben’s father, her ex-husband, James Blumenthal.

Compiled by Carina Rumrill with input and care provided by Tripp Ritter, Namdrol Miranda Adams, Leigh Miller, Louise Light, and Michael Jolliffe. 

 Please pray that Sara may never ever be reborn in the lower realms, may she be immediately born in a pure land where she can be enlightened or 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/).

Ven. Ingrid Thubten Nordzin. Photo courtesy Ocean of Compassion Facebook page.

Ven. Ingrid (Thubten Nordzin) passed away after a short period of illness on February 17, 2025 at Tara Home, Soquel, California.

Venerable Ingrid was a beloved and devoted practitioner within the FPMT community for many decades. She received her novice monastic vows in 1988 with Lama Zopa Rinpoche and received full ordination in 1994.

Below longtime friends share some memories, thanks, and wishes for Ven. Ingrid, and tell of the activities being held for her beneficial transition during the 49-day period after her death. We also warmly share below a slideshow by Vajrapani Institute, and an article by Ven. Ingrid, “My First Retreat”, published in the April 1989 issue of Mandala Magazine, with her vivid account of her first meditation retreat in Lawudo, Nepal.

Reflections, Rejoicing and Practices Being Offered

Dear friend to Ven. Ingrid, Thubten Wongmo shares:

“Our dear vajra sister, Ingrid, left this body on February 17 at 4 p.m. I first met her at Kopan before she was a nun, around 1985 and right away we became friends. Since we both have been living in the US, we’ve met at many of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s courses, both here and in Mexico.

Ven. Wongmo, Ven. Ingrid, and Ven. Tsomo in Mexico, 2014.

“Ingrid was known as the flower lady as she had a talent for creating the most beautiful flower arrangements to place in front of Rinpoche’s throne and on tables next to him. She was very devoted to Rinpoche and would manage to attend as many of his teaching events as possible.

“She had a great sense of humor, and whenever we ended up sitting next to each other, there were lots of laughs. Another talent that most impressed me was her ability to hold pure view. Her closest Dharma friend suddenly stopped all communication with her, thinking that poor Ingrid was the cause of all her problems. This went on for years and even though Ingrid had lost her best friend, she never once criticized her old friend, but insisted that she was Tara incarnate and only acting in such a way as a teaching. Wow wow. 

“May our beloved Ingrid be immediately born in a pure land, or be born in a loving Buddhist family, meet the holy Dharma at a young age, find qualified Mahayana gurus, study and practice the path, gain realizations and then benefit many living beings.”

Dear friend, Julie Caldwell remembers:

“In addition to being a nun, Venerable Ingrid was also a teacher.  I know this as she was my teacher (along with Lama Zopa Rinpoche) for 22 years.  She once told me she had five students.  We met in 2001 at The Great Medicine Buddha Retreat and traveled together every year attending Rinpoche’s one month retreat somewhere around the globe.  Venerable Nordzin spoke five languages fluently (German, English, French, Spanish, and Greek).  In addition to attending Rinpoche’s teachings we would also go to Deer Park in Wisconsin to study with Geshe Lundrub, Sopa.

Ven. Ingrid and Julie Caldwell at Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s house, March 2013. Photo courtesy of Julie Caldwell.

“In addition to flower arrangements, Venerable Ingrid was a great artist. She assisted our study group in Elko, Nevada, in designing and building a Universal Prayer Wheel. It won the National Endowment Award for best Park Landscape design.  This adventure resulted in her coming to Elko, Nevada many times over seven years, including helping me transform our home into a pure land so Lama Zopa Rinpoche could visit in 2007, and perform the land blessing. This ritual was also attended by members of the Western Band of Shoshone Native Americans. Ven. Ingrid became close with the tribe’s leaders. She also was the artist who drew the hand mudras published in the Vajrayogini Self-Initiation practice. 

“Lama Zopa’s Rinpoche also acknowledged her as my teacher on multiple occasions. Perhaps the most profound was during COVID when I did not travel. So I wrote a question for Rinpoche on paper, “Any advice for my husband’s cancer?” And tuned in at 1 a.m. my time to a Zoom teaching he was giving to the students in Singapore.  He looked up and said, “The person with the question about her friend with cancer….you know the nun… follow her advice.”  Venerable Ingrid was that nun and was known to heal many people with cancer.  My husband followed all of her advice and he also is now cured.”

Ven. Angie Muir, on the practices for Ven. Ingrid’s transition: Ven. Ingrid was at Tara Home for her last three days until she passed, which again would have been very comforting for her since this was her wish to pass away there. Many friends as well as the hospice volunteers offered prayers for her there, as well as Ven. Jangchub, who was doing prayers at her bedside as she passed. Fortunately, Yangsi Rinpoche had been nearby teaching at Vajrapani Institute and came to offer prayers for her the day before she passed. She opened her eyes during the prayers and looked at Rinpoche directly for a moment, very aware he was there. It was surely very moving for her. 

Ven. Ingrid, photo courtesy of Thubten Wongmo.

We held a memorial puja for her on Saturday, March 1, at Land of Medicine Buddha. It was attended by around 50 people, in person and online. We chanted the Medicine Buddha Puja and recited the King of Prayers. This was followed by some heartwarming storytelling of her life and qualities by some of her close friends and Dharma family. At the conclusion, we all enjoyed chai and some of the cakes we offered during the puja, two of her favorites, princess cake and blueberry cheesecake. Land of Medicine Buddha also arranged a beautiful assortment of bouquets which she would’ve enjoyed, being a lover of flowers, especially since there were some of the delightful, sweet-scented spring varieties.

There will be a weekly puja for her up until the 49 day period ends, which will be led by various sangha members in the Bay Area of California. The details for the times and days of the pujas are on the Land of Medicine Buddha website.

We were very fortunate to be able to check with Geshe Ngawang Dakpa, long-term resident teacher of Tse Chen Ling, who advised the time and which direction to move the body. He also advised to make a Shakyamuni Buddha statue on her behalf, which has been completed and will be offered on her behalf to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Together with Medicine Buddha Practice and the King of Prayers, Geshe Dakpa also asks us to recite the Vajra Cutter Sutra as much as possible during the 49 days.

From the International Mahayana Institute Sangha:  From the bottom of our hearts we thank Venerable for all the Dharma and good works for others she has done. For all the beautiful offerings she created, the flowers and holy objects. For her devotion to Lama Zopa RInpoche and all her lamas, for being their hands. We rejoice in her wonderful merit and beneficial life.

Vajrapani Institute prepared a slideshow of Ven. Ingrid’s life for her memorial service

Please read “My First Retreat” by Ven. Ingrid Nordzin, published in Mandala magazine, April 1989. 

Please pray that Ven. Ingrid may never ever be reborn in the lower realms, may she be immediately born in a pure land where she 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/).

Margot and Jan Paul Kool at Maitreya Instituut, the Netherlands. Photo courtesy of Jan Paul Kool collection.

Jan Paul Kool passed away from cancer on November 29, 2024 in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands, aged 78.

Obituary by Paula de Wys with thanks to Ven. Yangdzom (Koosje vd Kolk)

On December 9, 2024, a memorial service was held at Maitreya Instituut in Loenen, the Netherlands, for Jan Paul Kool, one of the founders and driving forces of Maitreya Instituut. Jan Paul passed away some days before after a long period of illness. During the service, which he had planned himself, several of us recollected his amazing accomplishments and dedication through the years and the men’s choir in which he sang for years brought him a beautiful and moving vocal tribute.

Jan Paul met the Dharma in 1976 at the second lamrim course  taught by Marcel Bertels in the Netherlands. A few months after the course, Jan Paul met Margot and it clicked right away between them. Soon after he brought her to one of the lamrim afternoons we organized in the winter to show her off to us and also introduce her to the Dharma—and that clicked too.

The following summer they went to Manjushri Institute in England, where Lama Thubten Yeshe, always our great inspiration, married and blessed them. Their honeymoon took them for months to Nepal and India where they lived in a cave in Rewalsar (Tso Pema) and had lots of adventures. They came back totally inspired.  

Lama Yeshe marrying Jan Paul and Margot at Manjushri Instituut, photo thanks to Jan Paul Kool collection.

Soon after they returned to the Netherlands, they sailed past my houseboat with a friend and I shouted, “Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa are coming! Will you help?” They were overjoyed. The Lamas’ visit became the beginning of Maitreya Instituut and also Maitreya Magazine, because Lama Yeshe gave us (including Truus Phiipsen) the advice to organize a monthly program and also to publish something in Dutch, so that the Dharma could become accessible to people here in their own language.

Jan Paul and Paula in 2019 at the fortieth anniversary of Maitreya Instituut.

Jan Paul edited Maitreya Magazine for decades and it also became the beginning of the Maitreya Uitgeverij (publishing house). Over the years both Jan Paul and Margot worked with great enthusiasm and skill on translating and editing many books and commentaries of the Lamas, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, resident and visiting teachers, and several other great masters.

Lama Yeshe taking photos of people taking photos at the zoo in Amsterdam, 1980. Photo by Jan-Paul Kool; courtesy of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

Portrait of Lama Zopa Rinpoche by Jan Paul Kool, 1979.

Meanwhile, Jan Paul had, as a first, invited an amchi  (a traditional Tibetan healer) to this country. Ama Lobsang Dolma was a well-known female amchi and came to Europe for the first time to lecture and treat people. The success of that visit was so great that Jan Paul and a few others founded the NSTG (Dutch Foundation for Tibetan Medicine), which then grew into a clinic in Amsterdam and helped over a thousand people in the years that followed.

To talk about Jan Paul and say nothing about his photography would not do him justice. He loved photography and did it very well. The photo collection of his travels, visits of high lamas to Maitreya Instituut and abroad is impressive. Fortunately, several years ago he donated this extensive collection to LYWA where it can remain well preserved and yet useful.

The passing away of his beloved wife Margot in 2012 was a great blow and he missed her until the end. When asked whether he was afraid of dying, he said matter-of-factly, “Not at all, I have the Dharma.” He died very peacefully surrounded by photos of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Lama Yeshe, and Lama Zopa Rinpoche and a mandala given to him by his great friend Andy Weber. The Weber family, Ven. Yangdzom, and some close friends who loved and cared for him in the last months were his Dharma family, and very important to him.

Jan Paul was quite an outspoken character who enjoyed being a pioneer and accomplishing things in his own way. In remembering him it is his truly exceptional energy and devotion to our Lamas that stands out and there is no doubt that he is someone who will be remembered by Maitreya Instituut with great appreciation and gratitude.  

Please enjoy a photo gallery of Jan Paul and some of his incredible photography, thanks to the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

Please pray that Jan Paul 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 brother Sangay Sherpa (left), and sister Ani Samten (right), Lawudo, Nepal, June 2008. Photo by Ven. Thubten Kunsang.

Sangay Sherpa, the brother of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, passed away on December 8, 2024 after an admittance to HAMS hospital in Kathmandu for various health issues. Sangay offered a lifetime of service to Lama Zopa Rinpoche, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and the Lawudo Retreat Center. The cremation will take place on December 11 at Ramadoli Teku in Kathmandu. 

In 2022, Frances Howland wrote a moving biography of Sangay, and we invite you to read it now. Please rejoice in Sangay’s beneficial life, recall his kindness, and to also pray for him to never be reborn in the lower realms, to be 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, to achieve enlightenment as quickly as possible. It is also requested that those who are able to please recite at least one mala of OM MANI PADME HUM and/or The King of Prayers for Sangay at this very important time.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche and his brother Sangay Sherpa and Sangye’s wife, Nyima. March 2021, Kathmanu, Nepal. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

Rejoicing in the Achievements of Sangay Sherpa

By Frances Howland, written in 2022

Sangay is the younger brother of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche and his sister Ven. Ngawang Samten. He was born in 1948 in the village of Thame in Solu Khumbu, one month after their father died. They were a poor Sherpa family, and the early years were filled with many hardships due to their father’s untimely death.

In 2008 Lama Zopa Rinpoche requested Sangay to become the director of Lawudo Retreat Centre and for the next 13 years he worked hard raising money and maintaining and developing Lawudo Retreat Centre in accordance with the wishes of Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

The immediate advice from Rinpoche was to tear down the old monastery and build a new, larger gompa that could accommodate 500 monks. Built in 1968 it was in an extremely poor condition and at risk of collapse at any time. The building was sinking into the ground, the front pillars were crooked, and the walls were visibly leaning outwards. However, the senior Lama from Thame monastery, Lama Zopa’s uncle Ashang Yonden, and other Lamas recommended that the old gompa should be preserved as a pilgrimage site because Lama Zopa and Lama Yeshe themselves had supervised and planned the construction and carried some of the stones used in the building. Following this input, Sangay decided to reinforce the foundations with concrete while adding concrete beams and pillars in strategic places, while keeping the original building.

The difficulties of building in the Khumbu region cannot be stressed enough. In 1976 the Khumbu region became the Sagarmatha National Park and was declared a World Heritage Site. Everything must be carried or flown into the area. Even wood used for building cannot be cut from local trees. Sangay had to organize cargo helicopters to carry all the materials he used for all the projects he undertook. This also increased the cost substantially with each helicopter costing around 3,000 US dollars plus the porter charges to carry the goods from the Syangboche airstrip to Lawudo. Despite these challenges, new guest rooms, a new kitchen, major renovations and extensions to the existing buildings plus the construction of a library with a balcony overlooking the valley were all completed. The logistics of all of these projects are mind-boggling.

In late March 2015 a group of us accompanied Rinpoche to Lawudo. Sangay and Ven. Ngawang Samten hosted everyone and there was a big opening ceremony for the new library building, with a procession of monks from a nearby monastery. On April 25th, Lama Zopa Rinpoche had just left Lawudo to return to Kathmandu when a major earthquake measuring 7.6 shook Nepal. No one in Lawudo or the surrounding villages died but most buildings and many stupas on the trails were damaged. At Lawudo the impact was severe. There were cracks in the gompa, the dining room roof fell down, the toilets collapsed, the stone walls of every building cracked open, and the new library where we had just had the opening ceremony was cracked with many stones fallen. Sangay immediately organized an Earthquake Relief for Damage at Lawudo to help fund the repairs.

Another task that Lama Zopa gave his brother was to install a 22 feet-high Padmasambhava statue in the gompa at Lawudo. In the standing aspect of Sampa Lhundrup, it was to face eastwards and be surrounded by seven life sized manifestations, all cast in copper with gold finishing. Sangay commissioned the statues from the skilled Sakya artisans of Patan down in the Kathmandu valley. On 27 June 2016 the statues were helicoptered into Mende, the hamlet closest to Lawudo. Thirty-five Sherpas were needed simply to carry the main statue up the steep mountainside to Lawudo.

In May 2021 a pilgrimage to Lawudo was organized for Lama Zopa and a group of students. Sangay and Ven. Nyima Tashi spent months in Lawudo making sure all the building work was completed and the statues were ready to be consecrated. By then the COVID pandemic was in its second year, and by May the Delta variant was claiming lives in Nepal and India. Once again Nepal went into a total lockdown and the visit to Lawudo was cancelled. Nevertheless Sangay and his team continued undaunted with their extensive program of repairs and upgrades. These included introducing a damp course for the Lawudo cave, building a support wall behind the monastery building, and installing safer steps and walkways for the increasingly elderly Lawudo family.

Another extraordinary achievement from Sangay’s time as Lawudo director was to bring fresh running water to Lawudo and 38 other households in the valley. Anyone who has been to Lawudo will know what an extraordinary feat of engineering would be necessary for such a project. The water is piped at 1.7 litres per second from a height of 4500m through a pipe clamped to the vertical rock faces above. The pipeline was inaugurated in November 2019 and is making an incalculable contribution to the health and well-being of the local population and its livestock. The budget was millions of rupees, much of which was fundraised by Sangay.

Before dedicating his time to Lawudo, Sangay was a successful businessman, and was also involved in the trekking and tourism business. He lives in Chabhil not far from the Boudha stupa with his wife Nyima, his airline pilot son Pemba, and his daughter-in-law Sarita Chhetri and two grandchildren. His other three children are married and live in the UK and US.

Written by Frances Howland, December 2022. 

Please pray that Sangay Sherpa 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/).