Obituaries

Dr. Giorgio Armato.

Dr. Giorgio Armato, 74, died at home in Genoa, Italy, on January 21, of cancer.

Dr. Giorgio Armato graduated from the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery in Genoa, Italy, and specialized in oncology. He met Lama Zopa Rinpoche in 1975 and spent many years at Kopan Monastery in Nepal. Among his many achievements, he first built an emergency room in Kopan itself and another at the foot of the hill. He then built a small three-story hospital there, thanks to his own work and donations from friends.

In his practice in Genoa, Giorgio helped and cared for the poor and needy, and he went on missions to offer surgical operations in Zaire, Burundi, Madagascar, Guatemala, and Nepal. 

Friend Ven. Siliana Bosa shared, “Giorgio was very devoted to Lama Zopa Rinpoche, and he loved Kopan. He had a strong connection also with the Catholic church and often, during his summer holiday, went to Africa with a Franciscan organization to do surgical operations in areas of great conflict.”

Dr. Giorgio Armato at Kopan Monastery, Nepal, with Khensur Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup, his sister Graziella, a doctor, and a nurse, 1999.

“He put others before himself and helped many people with acupuncture and  gave all the offerings he received to people in need. Giorgio had a good sense of humor. Because of his broken English, he would say [the Italian word] ‘allora’  every few words, and so in Kopan they called him Doctor Allora. His main practices were Medicine Buddha and Vajrayogini, which helped him to face the last months of his sickness with serenity. He actually told me that he was not afraid to die, so he had a peaceful departure,” Ven. Siliana said.

Ven. Lucia Bani shared, “Giorgio has been a dear Dharma friend for many years and for many years he was my sponsor. Giorgio was a man of few words but many actions. He was honest and sincere, and totally dedicated to help others. He was an example of great strength especially for how he faced his illness and death. He never complained, remained serene, and had a mind always ready to ask, ‘How are you?’ Giorgio had a meaningful life and left with great dignity and courage. What a wonderful gift!”

With thanks to Dr. Giorgio’s sister, Graziella Armato, for providing details for this obituary. 

Lama Zopa Rinpoche requests that students who read obituaries pray that the person mentioned finds a perfect human body, meets a Mahayana guru, and becomes enlightened quickly, or be born in a pure land where the tantric teachings exist and they can become enlightened.” While reading obituaries we can also reflect on our own death and impermanence prompting us to live our lives in the most meaningful way. More advice from Lama Zopa Ripoche 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/).

Rowena Mayer, 81, died in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States, on January 26, 2022, of cancer

By Don Handrick

Rowena Mayer, 2010. Photo courtesy of Rowena’s Facebook page.

Rowena Mayer met the Dharma for the first time in the early 1980s when she attended a teaching with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Santa Cruz, California. After that she started going to Vajrapani Institute in Boulder Creek for classes and retreats while raising her family in Big Sur. One of her California Dharma friends David Molk recalled Rowena’s cheerful perseverance in her practice as she worked as a school teacher. She lived right at Pacific Valley School in Big Sur in chaotic, cramped circumstances, which might have discouraged or distracted a less stable and persistent practitioner.

Rowena moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 2002, and shortly afterward connected with Thubten Norbu Ling Tibetan Buddhist Center(TNL), where she served as the center director from 2006 until early 2018, guiding the development of its programs and events, and helping the community to grow into one of the largest Buddhist centers in Santa Fe. As the “mommy” of the center, Rowena was a constant presence, greeting and welcoming nearly everyone who came through its doors.

During her years as center director, she persisted in inviting Geshe Thubten Sherab to return to New Mexico, where he had worked at FPMT’s International Office when it was located in Taos from 2001-2003. It was her strong wish that Geshe Sherab become the center’s first resident geshe, and in 2013 he agreed to do that on a part-time basis, sharing the teaching duties for half of each year with TNL’s other resident teacher, myself.

Rowena with Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Geshe Thubten Sherab, and Don Handrick at Thubten Norbu Ling, Santa Fe, 2017. Photo by Ven. Sarah Thresher.

She also continually invited Lama Zopa Rinpoche to come to Santa Fe. And her years of dedication to TNL, the FPMT organization, and Rinpoche resulted in his weeklong visit in August 2017, which included several teachings and initiations that were attended by over 200 people. The blessings of Rinpoche’s visit continue to benefit TNL in that it has grown into a large community of practitioners with an expanded program and a new building that is set to open later in 2022.

Nearly a hundred members of the TNL and FPMT community who knew Rowena joined an online Medicine Buddha puja that was conducted for her by Geshe Sherab on the evening of January 26, 2022. Rowena’s daughters and other family members watched the puja that night with her, and she took her last breath shortly before the puja ended. A few days before she passed, she had mentioned to one of her daughters that Medicine Buddha had visited and spoke with her, so it seemed most auspicious that her final moments came during that particular puja.

Rowena will be remembered for her incredible kindness and the loving concern she showed to so many. Moreover, as a practitioner, she demonstrated a genuine enthusiasm for the Dharma that will continue to inspire all those who practiced with her. What a blessing it was to have had her in our lives!

*After reading this obituary, Lama Zopa Rinpoche commented: “From the person’s side, to live the life as a very good human being and from Medicine Buddha’s side, the most powerful is to make prayers to and practice in degenerate times (from sutra and from tantra). Hence Rowena had no worries at the time of death. Whoever one practices in the life can therefore appear to oneself at death time.”

Lama Zopa Rinpoche requests that students who read obituaries pray that the person mentioned finds a perfect human body, meets a Mahayana guru, and becomes enlightened quickly, or be born in a pure land where the tantric teachings exist and they can become enlightened.” While reading obituaries we can also reflect on our own death and impermanence prompting us to live our lives in the most meaningful way. More advice from Lama Zopa Ripoche 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/).

Eléa Redel, 74, died of rheumatoid polyarthritis, on January 7, 2022, in Lavaur, France

By Christian Charrier

Eléa Redel, 2021. Photo courtesy of Institut Vajra Yogini.

Eléa Redel was finally released from her long-term physical suffering on January 7, 2022, at Institut Vajra Yogini, France. Geshe Loden, our resident teacher, was at her side and informed Lama Zopa Rinpoche, who responded immediately. Instructions were given and Eléa, lying on her bed, entered straightaway into meditation while Geshe-la and IVY director Nicolas Brun offered practices. She remained absorbed for five days without showing any external sign of death. A message came from His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s secretary expressing that Chenrezig was taking care of the departure of our dearest friend.

Eléa was born in France in 1947. She met Lama Yeshe in 1979 in Dharamsala and became actively involved in the FPMT organization. In France, she served as a translator and founder of Vajra Yogini Publications (now “Editions Mahayana”). In India, she was the director of Lotsawa Rinchen Zangpo Translator Program, one of the leading schools in the training of specialized interpreters and translators from Tibetan.

Eléa was a charismatic and sensitive person, and people enjoyed her company. She was also an intelligent student, who got her inspiration and wisdom from her kind heart. Although she never studied in a strictly academic way, her knowledge of Dharma was both very thorough and practical. She had an unwavering devotion to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Lama Yeshe, and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, whose words she translated or helped to translate into French. She was a reliable and meticulous translator and copy editor.

Eléa was the first person I met when I arrived at Institut Vajra Yogini in 1981 during Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s visit. She immediately struck me as being a leading figure there. At this time, she would wear rainbow-colored woolen gloves with cut-off fingers as she spent her days typing on an old machine. (We did not have computers or even heaters in those days.) I soon discovered that behind her rainbow gloves were fingers that had started to swell and take on a deformed aspect. Day by day, as her whole body slowly transformed, pain and infirmity became more and more vicious. But she was brave and did not let her crippling disease stop her from serving the community and the Dharma. She also continued to travel to India and Nepal for teachings and retreats, and went on a pilgrimage to Tibet with Rinpoche.

Eléa with Ven. Charles Trebaol. Photo courtesy of Institut Vajra Yogini.

Although tortured physically, her inner rainbow light continued to shine through and illuminate her environment and friends. Her suffering gradually became a catalyst for spiritual growth. And her way of accepting her illness, with forbearance and patience, revealed a true bodhisattva heart. Her courage was indeed a source of admiration and inspiration for many of us.

In the last years of her life she could not eat, drink, stand up, walk, go to bed, or get up by herself. She needed assistance every time she moved and had to cope mentally with her dependence on others for whatever activity she had to perform or anything she wished to do. Very tough to take for such an independent person!

Gradually she had to let go of her work as a translator and copy editor. In the last years, she concentrated mainly on doing her practices and advised whoever came to visit her. During one of my last visits, she told me that if she had the chance to find another precious human life, she would like to come back as a graceful and sensuous lady whose practice of Dharma would benefit others by “mere sight.” Isn’t it strange that we all wish to be what we already are! Eléa was indeed a beautiful lady, wearing the armor of patience and perseverance, and exemplifying a bodhisattva training in the six perfections. Remembering her, my yo-yo heart fluctuates between sadness and joy. 

You can read “Changing Suffering into Happiness” written by Eléa Redel in 1999 for Mandala magazine. This piece has also now been translated into French. 

Lama Zopa Rinpoche requests that students who read obituaries pray that the person mentioned finds a perfect human body, meets a Mahayana guru, and becomes enlightened quickly, or be born in a pure land where the teachings exist and they can become enlightened.” While reading obituaries we can also reflect on our own death and impermanence prompting us to live our lives in the most meaningful way. More advice from Lama Zopa Ripoche on death and dying is available on Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice page.

Thich Nhat Hanh, Paris, 2006. Photo by Duc (pixiduc) from Paris, France, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Buddhist monk, Vietnamese Zen Master, engaged-buddhism proponent, and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh passed away on January 22, 2022, at the age of 95. Spiritual leaders as well as FPMT students and centers around the world have been sharing the deep appreciation they had for this teacher of non-violence and mindfulness. 

His Holiness the Dalai Lama released the following message of condolence:

“In his peaceful opposition to the Vietnam war, his support for Martin Luther King and most of all his dedication to sharing with others not only how mindfulness and compassion contribute to inner peace, but also how individuals cultivating peace of mind contributes to genuine world peace, the Venerable lived a truly meaningful life. I have no doubt the best way we can pay tribute to him is to continue his work to promote peace in the world.”

His Eminence the 7th Kyabje Ling Rinpoche encouraged everyone to rejoice and to be inspired by Thich Nhat Hanh’s exemplary life of tireless service to the Buddhadharma and to promoting non-violence, peace and harmony in Vietnam and throughout the entire world. 

We invite you to read two teachings from Thich Nhat Hanh previously published in Mandala magazine, Embracing Anger, and Going Home to Yourself. 

For more on Thich Nhat Hanh and his passing, please visit the Plum Village website.

FPMT.org brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings, and events from FPMT centers, projects, and services around the globe as well as from students, teachers, and others in the FPMT community. If you like what you read, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work. 

Ladakhi Lama at Root Institute for Wisdom Culture, Bodhgaya, Gaya District, Bihar, India. Photo by Paolo Regis (@paoloregisphotography).

We are saddened to share the news that Ven. Thupten Tsewang (also known as Ladakhi Lama and Baling Lama), born in Ladakh, India, passed away at the age of 92, at Kalpataru Buddha Vihar, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India, on April 25, 2021, of natural causes.

Ladakhi Lama had been an attendant to Indian Buddhist master Khunu Lama Tenzin Gyaltsen Rinpoche (1894–1977). In his later years he was a part-time resident at Root Institute for Wisdom Culture in Bodhgaya, Gaya District, Bihar, India.

Geshe Ngawang Rabga, the FPMT resident geshe at Root Institute from 2016–2020, wrote a kind remembrance of Gen-la, as Ladakhi Lama was sometimes called, to share with the international FPMT community:

“Gen-la was very respectable and close to me. His demise has saddened me deeply. He lived his life as a fully ordained monk and received Dharma teachings from many great masters like His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche. Therefore, he made his life a meaningful one. I truly appreciate the life he lived. I pray from my heart that he returns in his next life as a great teacher of the Buddhadharma in general, and especially of the teachings of Lama Tsongkhapa.”

In his younger days, before he ordained, Ladakhi Lama worked as a radio broadcaster at All India Radio in Ladakh. Ven. Tenzin Paldron, center director at Root Institute from 2015–2019, and Annie McGhee, who volunteered at the center, remembered him as an avid reader of The Times of India. “Lama loved to read the newspaper on a daily basis and was very well versed in political affairs in India and loved to discuss politics with the guests that visited,” Ven. Paldron said. Annie added, “He loved a good debate and engaged in many animated discussions over meals at the dining table.”

Ladakhi Lama, Ven. Tenzin Paldron, and Geshe Ngawang Rabga at Root Institute for Wisdom Culture, Bodhgaya, Gaya District, Bihar, India. Photo courtesy of Root Institute.

Ladakhi Lama met Khunu Lama in Varanasi in 1954, and Khunu Lama ordained him shortly after their meeting. After six years of being a devoted disciple, he became Khunu Lama’s attendant in 1960. Ven. Paldron said, “He often regaled many of us in the dining hall with stories of the times he spent serving high lamas like Khunu Lama and Denma Locho Rinpoche, and of the rich and varied experiences that he had living as an ordained monk in various temples.”

Annie recalled, “One story which really moved me was when Ladakhi Lama was making lunch—probably rice and dhal—and Khunu Lama told him, ‘Stop cooking now; we have to practice.’ So they had half-cooked rice for lunch! If only we had that dedication and commitment to study and practice the Dharma in the most beneficial way and not waste time on trivialities like food.”

Ladakhi Lama lived in various places, such as Mumbai and Nagpur, before going to Bodhgaya, which is where he met Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Rinpoche requested that Ladakhi Lama stay at Root Institute. “When I became director of Root Institute in June 2015, the first task given to me by Rinpoche was, ‘Take good care of Ladakhi Lama,’” Ven. Paldron said.

He became a much valued presence at Root Institute. “He was like a fatherly figure to us in many ways, often giving us teachings and advice, including making predictions such as who would get ordained,” Ven. Paldron said.

Vicki Taylor, another volunteer at the center, said, “Gen-la was a quiet and friendly presence for several years, bringing humor and cheer to our guests—especially in the dining hall. Despite his advanced age, Gen-la retained the fresh perspective and cheeky sweetness of a child, and I’m sure this gentle presence radiating Dharma contentment benefited many people.”

Indian monk Ven. Tashi Choedup first met Ladakhi Lama at Root Institute in 2017 and had many fond memories of him to share:

“Newly ordained myself, I hadn’t met many Indian ordained Sangha, Himalayan or otherwise; Lama was one of the first. His welcoming nature, warmth, love, and our ability to communicate in Hindi helped us establish a connection from our very first meeting. Lama was generous, sharing stories from his life experiences during our mealtimes. No matter how brief a guest’s visit to Root Institute was, all were touched by Lama’s infectious smile and kindness.

“Lama took me to my first ever Sangha dana ceremony and to many more such gatherings in Bodhgaya thereafter. I fondly remember making a trip to Patna Museum with Lama to pay respects to Buddha relics there.

“I also had the fortune of living in the room next to Lama’s and had the blessing of waking up to Lama’s prayers as early as 3 A.M. every morning. Although we only knew each other for a few years, Lama inspired me to practice Dharma more diligently and gave me the confidence to live an ordained life until the very end.

“Of Lama’s many qualities, one that was always visible was his giving nature. He was always giving away whatever money, food, or resources he had with him. He would never keep anything for himself—except maybe for the packets of Yippee instant noodles, his favorite.”

Ven. Tashi Choedup and Ladakhi Lama at Root Institute for Wisdom Culture, Bodhgaya, Gaya District, Bihar, India, November 2019. Photo by Ven. Thubten Munsel.

Inder Kant, who met Ladakhi Lama in 2016 in Bodhgaya, commented on his kindness and humor as well as his profound generosity, recalling a story about visiting a very sick 102-year-old lama at a Tibetan monastery in Bodhgaya with Ladakhi Lama. “We gave the lama some food we had brought for him,” Inder said. “Ladakhi Lama used to visit the elderly lama, looking after him. The lama’s room was messy so Ladakhi Lama and I cleaned the room and made his bed with a new bed sheet. It was overwhelming to see the kindness of Ladakhi Lama.”

Ven. Paldron recounted another quality of Ladakhi Lama: “He was not afraid to challenge someone’s authority, no matter what their position was, if Lama thought they were behaving unethically or inappropriately. He shared various stories of how he had confronted bullies—including some lamas in temples—to make sure that the vulnerable and needy were treated fairly and justly. Lama did not care about his reputation or what would happen to him. If something needed to be corrected, he spoke out against it very fiercely.”

Ladakhi Lama was also very knowledgeable about the history of Bodhgaya and the Mahabodhi Stupa, as well as the significance of many of the small and large stupas around the main temple. He also knew all the main pilgrimage sites.

“In early October 2016, I arrived at Root Institute to volunteer for the winter season,” Annie McGhee said. “I had longed to go to Vikramashila, the home monastery of Lama Atisha. This pilgrimage site is in northeastern Bihar, a region unsafe to travel to as a single woman. I had made many prayers to go and had mentioned this to two friends. One morning I was standing in the breakfast queue when Ladakhi Lama came up to me and said, ‘You want to go to Vikramashila? OK, I will take you.’ I was overjoyed but a little concerned for Lama because it would be a long journey with rough conditions.

“A few of us from Root Institute made the trip together, traveling for ten hours one way by Jeep. At the entrance we stopped to take it all in, as it was a large and important monastic university in its time. Lama remarked, ‘Here is what is left of stupas that would have held the 108 arhats who resided at Vikramashila.’ He was quiet and reflective at other places but led us in many practices and prayers at some of the holy sites.”

Ladakhi Lama and Lama Zopa Rinpoche at the Mahabodhi Stupa, Bodhgaya, Gaya District, Bihar, India, 2015. Photo by Andy Melnic.

Sharing her favorite memory of Ladakhi Lama, Vicki Taylor said, “Lama Zopa Rinpoche had requested from Gen-la the oral transmission of Gampopa’s classic lamrim text The Jewel Ornament of Liberation, which he himself had received from Khunu Lama. The transmission took more than one session, and a few of us were gathered in the Root Institute’s small gompa, about to start a subsequent session. When Rinpoche arrived, he showed great respect to Gen-la by trying to prostrate to him before we resumed. Gen-la could not bear to see Rinpoche struggle to prostrate to him, due to Rinpoche’s manifesting signs of a stroke and especially because of Gen-la’s deep respect and appreciation for Rinpoche. So Rinpoche was trying to prostrate, and Gen-la was trying to hold one of his arms to prevent him, all the while politely imploring Rinpoche not to prostrate. I remember the two of them, in a sort of ‘battle of politeness,’ intent on showing great respect to each other. It was beautiful to see.”

The practice of bodhicitta was very close to Ladakhi Lama’s heart. At Root Institute, he also gave the transmission of the verses from Jewel Lamp: A Praise of Bodhicitta, written by Khunu Lama.

Because it was his wish to go to Tushita Pure Land once he departed his body, a butter lamp is being offered in honor of Ladakhi Lama at Tushita Meditation Center, the FPMT center in Dharamsala, India, over the forty-nine day period along with daily prayers and dedications. May all of Lama’s wishes be fulfilled and may he quickly return to guide us on the path to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings.

For more on practices recommended by Lama Zopa Rinpoche at time of death and other resources to support yourself and loved ones at time of death, please visit fpmt.org/death/.

FPMT.org and Mandala Publications brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings, and events from over 160 FPMT centers, projects, and services around the globe. If you like what you read, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.

Chandramani Kumar, 55, died in Patna, Bihar, India, on May 17, 2021, of COVID

By Root Institute for Wisdom Culture former director Ven. Tenzin Paldron and former volunteer Ven. Tashi Choedup

Mr. Chandramani Kumar; photo courtesy of his family

Chandramani Kumar, fondly known as Chunnu ji, was one of the most respected and well-known people in Bodhgaya. He was the founder of two grocery stores that catered to the needs of several of the monasteries and pilgrims visiting the holy town. The Root was one of the institutes that Chunnu ji devotedly served for almost fifteen years. Previous director Ven. Thubten Labdron (Trisha Donnelly), who passed away in 2015, was cautious in trusting many people in Bodhgaya. She considered Chuunu ji to be a trusted loyal friend and advisor of Root.

Ven. Tashi Choedup recalled that when the first lockdown began in March 2020, twenty guests became stranded at Root. The Root staff were sent off-duty as a precautionary measure, leaving Root in a vulnerable and challenging situation. Chunnu ji, who had reliably supplied Root with groceries during busy and off-seasons, once again came through by delivering all the needed groceries and goods right to the Root front gate in his personal vehicle.

Ven. Tenzin Paldron said Chuunu ji was a soft spoken gentleman who was trustworthy, loyal, and reliable. He will be remembered by many people in Bodhgaya as a caring, compassionate, and conscientious gentleman who served others with a gentle kind heart and warm smile. He leaves behind his wife and two sons.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche requests that students who read obituaries pray that the person mentioned finds a perfect human body, meets a Mahayana guru, and becomes enlightened quickly, or be born in a pure land where the teachings exist and they can become enlightened.” While reading obituaries we can also reflect on our own death and impermanence prompting us to live our lives in the most meaningful way. More advice from Lama Zopa Ripoche on death and dying is available on Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice page.

Atul Chopra, 61, died in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India, on May 7, 2021, of COVID-19

By Marcel Bertels, director of FPMT project Maitreya Buddha Kushinagar

Mr. Atul Chopra; photo courtesy of the family

I met Atul in 2001. After deciding to relocate the Maitreya Project from Bihar, India, it was concluded that we should explore the availability of land at other holy sites outside of Bihar. The most promising lead came from the Government of Uttar Pradesh, a state in northeast India. The government expressed they were very keen to host the Maitreya Project and promised to provide free land at any holy site we desired.

When a team from Maitreya Project visited Kushinagar, they were greeted by a welcome party that included Atul Chopra. The government had asked Atul to assist because he had been active in Buddhist projects in the Kushinagar area for quite some time.

After His Holiness the Dalai Lama confirmed Kushinagar as the best place for the project, boots on the ground were needed quickly. Atul presented himself as the natural person to help us coordinate with the Government of Uttar Pradesh.

It turned out Atul was very skillful at this task. He was extremely determined, persistent, hardworking, and would generally never take “no” for an answer. He told me during one of our many road trips that he just loved challenges! Not only that, he was tireless. Atul’s many trips away from his home base in Gorakhpur—to the Uttar Pradesh State Capital of Lucknow, the project site in Kushinagar, and New Delhi—must have run into the hundreds over his seventeen years with the project. He was a very pragmatic and simple person who was quite satisfied with budget hotels and run-of-the-mill train travel.

Atul called upon all of his resources in the government, bureaucracy, and judiciary, as well as his friends, for lobbying and expert advice on behalf of the Maitreya Project. His critical accomplishments include the drafting of an excellent Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Uttar Pradesh; the finalization of the land site; the execution of the Lease Agreement; and the subsequent taking possession of the land. He held the fort for seventeen years and remained a mainstay of the project until his resignation in late 2017. Atul also showed his kindness by assisting other FPMT projects in India when asked for his advice.

Atul and his wife were both struck by COVID in April 2021 and were admitted to the intensive care unit in Gorakhpur. Atul seemed to be recovering well, but suddenly passed away from a heart attack on May 7. He is survived by his wife Geetu, son Utkarsh, and daughter Sanjoli.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche requests that students who read obituaries pray that the person mentioned finds a perfect human body, meets a Mahayana guru, and becomes enlightened quickly, or be born in a pure land where the teachings exist and they can become enlightened.” While reading obituaries we can also reflect on our own death and impermanence prompting us to live our lives in the most meaningful way. More advice from Lama Zopa Ripoche on death and dying is available on Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice page.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama with Naresh Mathur. Photo courtesy of the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

We are saddened to share the news that Naresh Sahai Mathur passed away at the age of 67, in New Delhi, India, on April 25, 2021, of COVID-19. Naresh was an early student of FPMT founders Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, and a long-time FPMT volunteer. Kabir Saxena, also a long-time FPMT student who currently serves as the spiritual program coordinator at Tushita Mahayana Meditation Centre in New Delhi, wrote a personal remembrance of Naresh to share with the international FPMT community.

By Kabir Saxena

With the recent untimely passing away of Naresh Mathur—another victim of the second murderous wave of COVID-19—the Indian Buddhist sangha, his friends worldwide, as well as the Tibetan community, have lost an invaluable supporter, legal advisor, and much beloved friend.

Naresh was born in Old Delhi in 1954, close to where some twenty-five years later the pioneers of Tushita Mahayana Meditation Centre would be living. It’s a testimony to his great intellectual and spiritual thirst that he was willing and able to seek beyond his quality education in sociology and law at two of Delhi’s esteemed establishments and find himself at the doors of both Tushita Mahayana Meditation Centre and Tibet House in Delhi.

While the practice of law provided his bread and butter, it was Buddhist studies that quickly established their prominence in Naresh’s heart and mind. Early on he had the great good fortune to receive personal, one-on-one teachings on lamrim and Madhyamaka from the renowned Geshe Palden Drakpa, who became a lifelong friend of the family and a recipient of Naresh’s generous medical help. It was, I believe, this deep experience of the teachings with Geshe-la that made Naresh a lifelong proponent of the sublime Nalanda parampara (tradition), with its emphasis on the guru-disciple relationship, logical inquiry, and debate. It was to these teachings that Naresh returned again and again; even in the last decade of his life, he was an important part of the core group of students at Geshe Dorji Damdul’s Tibet House Nalanda Masters Course.

Naresh was a lover of knowledge, a philosopher in the true sense of the word, and all his life he combined that with his work as a lawyer in the High and Supreme Courts in Delhi.

Naresh Mathur

When I first met him in 1980, he was a bright and extremely handsome young man, much impressed by his contact with Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Naresh went on to be a director of Tushita Mahayana Meditation Centre, an organizer of the Dharma Celebrations with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Delhi, and the creator of Root Institute for Wisdom Culture’s Trust Deed in 1984 in Bodhgaya. He remained a trustee until a few months before his death.

His dedication to the cause of bringing the Dharma back to Indian people was profound and lasting. He participated in the teachings His Holiness gave to small groups of Indian students in the early 1980s and despite his heavy workload would, almost thirty years later, travel to Bodhgaya for the weekends to give teachings in Hindi to local students.

Naresh unstintingly helped the Tibetan cause with his legal talents and the list of his efforts on their behalf would be too long to include here. As an example, it was largely due to his legal actions that the Tibetan Colony of Majnu Ka Tila in Delhi was saved from destruction. Tenzin Geyche Tethong, former secretary to His Holiness, recalled how he had known Naresh since 1980 and how he greatly admired his interest in and knowledge of Buddhism, and also appreciated Naresh’s contribution to the Dalai Lama Trust of which he was a trustee.

In addition to his connection with Lama Yeshe, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, and FPMT, Naresh had a close connection with Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche and his Deer Park Institute in Bir, as well as with Samdhong Rinpoche, whose Gandhian vision, critique of modernity, and Dharma advice were like nectar for Naresh.

Naresh was a lover of the meditative dhrupad style of Indian classical music, and we also spent many happy moments listening to Bob Dylan together. He could also be quite mischievous, and we would especially enjoy making silent and secret fun of speakers at conferences whom we considered not up to the mark.

He was a practitioner, especially of the Madhyamaka and the Kalachakra, and was increasingly drawn to extended practice in the last year of his life, according to his wife, Antonella. Throughout his life he had inspired and encouraged a younger generation of students by his example.

For me, and I am sure for many others, including his dear circle of Italian and international friends, Naresh was like family. His deep soulful eyes were those of the eternal seeker and lover; they grabbed you. My father, to whom Naresh was very loving and generous, used to say that going by Naresh’s piercing gaze, he was always in a state of otherworldly intoxication!

In his last year, during long walks together in the woods near his home in south Delhi, Naresh would always steer the conversation to the Dharma, the importance of a grounding in lamrim, and his great love and obsession: the presentation of emptiness in the Gelug tradition. Despite his allegiance to many lamas of different schools of Tibetan Buddhism, he always seemed to be happily and no doubt karmically tethered to the pole of Lama Tsongkhapa’s works and Geshe Palden Dragpa’s teachings.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama with Naresh Mathur. Photo courtesy of the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

After his passing, His Holiness the Dalai Lama made the encouraging pronouncement that Naresh was his disciple, that we should not worry, and that he would take a good rebirth and would remember this life of his. The passing of this kind-hearted and generous man, still somewhat unreal and unbelievable to some of us, leaves a big void in many lives. Naresh is survived by his wife, Antonella, a gifted healer; daughter, Mudita, a talented graphic designer; and son, Atisha, a profound, upcoming teacher of the Dharma, especially of Buddhist logic, the subject matter his dear departed father so admired and communicated so readily to those fortunate enough to cross his path.

The FPMT India community organized a moving online prayer meeting and memorial for Naresh Mathur on May 5, 2021, with Naresh’s family and many long-time students around the world joining in. You can watch the two-hour recording of the Zoom call:
https://www.facebook.com/1652241455007411/videos/457118005515720/?__so__=channel_tab&__rv__=all_videos_card

For more on practices recommended by Lama Zopa Rinpoche at time of death and other resources to support yourself and loved ones at time of death, please visit fpmt.org/death/.

FPMT.org and Mandala Publications brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings, and events from over 160 FPMT centers, projects, and services around the globe. If you like what you read, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.

Arvind Kumar Singh, 55, died in Gaya District, Bihar, India, on April 25, 2021, of COVID-related complications

 By Ven. Tenzin Paldron, Root Institute for Wisdom Culture former director, and former volunteer Ven. Tashi Choedup

Mr. Arvind Kumar Singh; photo courtesy of the family

Mr. Arvind Kumar Singh, affectionately known as Singh ji, worked at Root Institute for Wisdom Culture, the FPMT center in Bodhgaya, Gaya District, Bihar, India, as an entrance gate guard for more than twenty years. He was a valuable senior member of the Root Institute family.

Singh ji was well liked and respected by his peers and the many volunteers and directors who served Root throughout his years of service. He cheerfully welcomed each and every guest and visitor who passed through our entrance gate.

He is survived by his wife, two sons, and daughter Pooja, who also have deep connections to Root. The children studied at Maitreya School, a project of Root. Pooja worked at Shakyamuni Buddha Clinic, another social service project of Root, for seven years as a female health educator.

Singh ji’s death is a deep loss to the community. He will be dearly missed, and his memory will be fondly cherished by many in the years to come.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche requests that students who read obituaries pray that the person mentioned finds a perfect human body, meets a Mahayana guru, and becomes enlightened quickly, or be born in a pure land where the teachings exist and they can become enlightened.” While reading obituaries we can also reflect on our own death and impermanence prompting us to live our lives in the most meaningful way. More advice from Lama Zopa Ripoche on death and dying is available on Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice page.

Geshe Losang Tengye. Photo courtesy of Institut Vajra Yogini.

Geshe Losang Tengye, who played an important role in helping establish Tibetan Buddhism in the West, stopped breathing in his room at Institut Vajra Yogini in France on Friday, October 19. Geshe Tengye stayed in clear light meditation for five days. He was 92.

Geshe Tengye was born in Lhatse, Tibet, in 1927. He went to the local monastery at the age of six. He followed a traditional path of in-depth monastic Buddhist study until the 1959 Chinese takeover of Tibet. He went into exile in India and continued his geshe studies at Buxa Chogar, the camp for refugee monks in Buxa Duar, West Bengal, India. Despite illness and hardship, Geshe Tengye received the lharampa geshe degree in 1969.

In 1980, at the request of FPMT co-founder Lama Thubten Yeshe, Geshe Tengye became the resident teacher at Institut Vajra Yogini (IVY), the newly established FPMT center located in the south of France near Toulouse. Due to Geshe Tengye’s infinite patience, wisdom, and compassion, IVY has grown into a large and flourishing Dharma center. He was much loved by his students and will be deeply missed.

Sangha and lay students doing prayers and practices for Geshe Tengye, Institut Vajra Yogini, France, October 2019. Photo courtesy of Institut Vajra Yogini.

Yangsi Rinpoche, who was a close student of Geshe Tengye, arrived at IVY from the United States on Saturday, October 21. He joined with Geshe Tenzin Loden, the current resident geshe at IVY, and Geshe Losang Jamphel and Geshe Jamphel Gyaltsen, the resident geshes at the nearby Nalanda Monastery, doing daily pujas as advised by Ganden Tripa Lobsang Tenzin Rinpoche, who was a close friend of Geshe Tengye. Western Sangha and lay students also did daily prayers and practices for Geshe Tengye. On Monday, October 28, the body of Geshe Tengye was taken to a local crematorium for cremation. IVY students will continue to do prayers and practices for Geshe Tengye through the forty-nine days, which ends on December 5.

Sangha and lay students gathered for Geshe Tengye at Institut Vajra Yogini, France, October 2019. Photo courtesy of Institut Vajra Yogini.

Read the obituary for Geshe Losang Tengye published in Mandala Issue One 2020.

Learn more about Institut Vajra Yogini, on their website:
https://www.institutvajrayogini.fr/indexA.html

FPMT.org and Mandala Publications brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings, and events from over 160 FPMT centers, projects, and services around the globe. If you like what you read, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.

Geshe Pema Tsering

On February 11, 2017, Geshe Pema Tsering, who served as resident teacher at Buddha House in Adelaide, Australia, for nine years entered into clear light meditation after passing away. Mandala received this tribute to Geshe-la from Buddha House director Gabe Edwards on February 16, while Geshe-la was in his fifth day of clear light meditation:

It is with great sadness that we heard of the passing of most precious Geshe Pema Tsering, who was our resident teacher here at Buddha House from September 2001 to December 2010. He returned to Sera Je Monastery in December 2013 and remained there until his passing.

Geshe-la was born in 1939 in Dhargye Village in Kham province, Tibet, the only child of farming parents. He became ordained as a monk in Dhargye Monastery at the age of seven and at seventeen went to Sera Monastery in Lhasa where he met his spiritual teacher, Kyabje Khensur Kangyur Lobsang Thubten Rinpoche, who was also Buddha House’s former resident teacher, and continued his studies with the aim of getting his Geshe degree. He escaped to India at twenty years old following His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s departure from Tibet. Despite the hardships of traversing the snow covered mountains of the Himalayas, Geshe-la said his mind remained happy and buoyed by the positive spirit of his companions.

After ten years in a refugee camp in Buxa Duar, India, Geshe-la traveled to Karnataka in South India and for three years cleared the jungle and assisted in the re-establishment of Sera Je Monastery. He was thirty-three years old when he resumed his geshe studies under Khensur Rinpoche and Geshe Torche. In 1980 he achieve the highest level Geshe Lharampa degree.

Geshe-la had many students in Adelaide and India, and despite his high qualifications, he was widely known for his exceptional humility, kindness, and compassion.

Geshe Pema Tsering with friend and colleague the late Geshe Tsulga

As expressed by student Wendy Cook: “Geshe Pema Tsering passed away four days ago. Although he is considered clinically dead, he is, however, still in meditation, as his most subtle consciousness continues to reside in his body at his heart. The great yogis of Tibet who have committed their lives to deep practice and inquiry manifest this at the time of death. It is considered a very powerful time as one resides in the clear light with great wisdom and motivated by compassion for all beings. Geshe-la is in his final meditation at Sera Je Monastery in South India where the monks are engaged in practice, meditation, and chanting around the clock to support him in his transition. When his consciousness leaves the body, there will be signs, and then the monks will cremate Geshe-la’s body. This is how a great master of Tibet passes. Extraordinary. Without these precious lineage holders, the treasure of Tibetan Buddhism would not have been reestablished in India and then brought to the West.”

Ruth Gamble, scholar and translator for Geshe Pema Tsering while at Buddha House, so eloquently and poignantly expressed: “Gen-la always talked about impermanence. His mother died when he was young. In 1959 an artillery shell hit the room next to him killing his friend. Minutes later, he walked out of his home, and weeks later, he walked out of his country. He lost teachers and friends in refugee camps, and almost lost his thumb clearing the jungle in South India building a new monastery.

Geshe Pema Tsering with Ruth Gamble

“But even in the midst of all this, he maintained a startlingly sharp sense of humor, fun, and wonder. His hero was a senior monk who told him that ‘the only things a monk needs are a sack and a rope, so it’s easy to get rid of his body when he dies.’ He thought this was a hilarious line. I guess his dark humor explains why he also found former prime minister John Howard and former president George W. Bush amusing: he seemed to think they were personally responsible for keeping the streets clean and the toilets flushing, so they can’t be all bad. He was fascinated by garbage trucks, sewerage works, and construction sites. They seemed to him, a farmer’s son who helped carve a monastery out of a jungle, as an ingenious magic show. He also loved soccer, but rather than barracking for a team, he barracked for a particular score: 3-3. That way, he said, no one felt sad about losing, but there were lots of goals.

“None of this (especially finding John Howard funny) is why he is my hero, though. He’s my hero because I saw him change his state of mind again and again. Rather than let anger, frustration, and jealousy—or even physical pain—shape his mind, he could transform his thoughts in an instant (or sometimes two). His anger would evaporate, his frustration would turn to patience, and his habitual compassion would reassert itself. The good thing about impermanence, he would say, is that it allows change.”

A complete obituary for Geshe Pema Tsering will be included as part of the July-December 2017 issue of Mandala.

Gelek Rinpoche with Lama Yeshe at Rinpoche’s house. Lama Yeshe would go there to buy texts. Photo courtesy of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

It was with great sadness that we at FPMT International Office learned of the passing of Gelek Rinpoche (often spelled Gelek Rimpoche), founder of the Jewel Heart centers, on February 15, 2017. Rinpoche was a close friend of FPMT founder Lama Yeshe and spiritual director Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

Long-time student and director of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive Nicholas Ribush shares a personal reflection and some historical photos of Rinpoche from the Archive:

In January 1977, Lama Yeshe sent me to Delhi to start Tushita Mahayana Meditation Centre “in order to help repay the kindness of the Indian people to the Tibetans.” Lama explained that the Buddhadharma had come to Tibet from India, had largely been lost in India, had been preserved and developed in Tibet, and now was the time to reintroduce it to its land of origin.

It took a couple of years to find the right place but I eventually found a great house to rent in the lovely New Delhi suburb of Shantiniketan. During this period, in 1978, I first met Gelek Rinpoche at his home in Defence Colony, which was the base for his publishing many important Gelug texts and was where Lama Yeshe went to buy sets of these for his developing Western centers.

Gelek Rinpoche with students at Tushita. Photo courtesy of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

After we found the house for Tushita in 1979, Lama suggested I ask Gelek Rinpoche to teach, and he kindly accepted. That was the beginning of a seven-year collaboration between Rinpoche and Tushita. He was a wonderful teacher and connected with both Indian and Western students. I think it was as a result of the connections that Rinpoche made with some American students staying at Tushita (one of our functions was as a guest house for Westerners passing through Delhi) that led to Rinpoche being invited to the USA to teach and later to the establishment of his own organization, the Jewel Heart centers, starting in the late 1980s.

Tushita’s First Dharma Celebration. Photo courtesy of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

Rinpoche also actively participated in Tushita’s Dharma Celebrations. The first was held at the Oberoi Hotel and Rinpoche was one of the featured panelists. The guest of honor was supposed to be His Holiness the Dalai Lama but he couldn’t make it, so we got the home minister Giani Zail Singh, who later became president of India. Rinpoche was also a prominent guest at our Second Dharma Celebration, held at the Hotel Ashok.

Tushita’s Second Dharma Celebration. Photo courtesy of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche used to pass through Delhi at least twice a year and would stay at Tushita. Most times Gelek Rinpoche would visit them on at least one of those visits and they would enjoy meals with him at the center or take him to one of Lama’s sister’s restaurants or to one of the five-star hotels around town.

Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche pushing Gelek Rinpoche into the top seat. Photo courtesy of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

After Rinpoche moved to the USA and I arrived soon after, I would meet him only occasionally and sometimes speak by phone, but I always felt a strong connection with him and rejoiced at the success of his Dharma work. Gelek Rinpoche’s passing is a great loss to his students, the Dharma, and the world.

Rinpoche’s official biography may be found on the Jewel Heart website.

An interview with Rinpoche appeared in Mandala in 1999:
https://fpmt.org/mandala/archives/older/mandala-issues-for-1999/may/gelek-rinpoche/

Rinpoche also talks about his early life in his book Good Life, Good Death. If you “look inside” the book on Amazon, you can read Robert Thurman’s very interesting introduction online.

A complete obituary for Gelek Rinpoche will be included as part of the July-December 2017 issue of Mandala.