Projects

The Preserving the Lineage Fund was pleased to offer US$4,000 toward a March 2017 Monlam festival in Bhutan for 300 individuals representing all Buddhist traditions. 

Lama Tsongkhapa (1357–1419) is the founder of the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism.

Prayers, teachings, discussions, and meals will be shared among the participants in celebration of  Monlam which marks a period when Lord Buddha performed many miracles, beginning with Losar (the Tibetan New Year) on the first day and culminating on the fifteenth day, Chotrul Duchen (the Day of Miracles). Monlam Chenmo, or the Great Prayer Festival, was established by Lama Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, in 1409. The first two weeks of the new year, Monlam, commemorate the time when the Buddha displayed his power by performing a number of miracles. Lama Tsongkhapa chose the Monlam Chenmo to coincide with the anniversary of incredible events in Shakyamuni Buddha’s life traditionally celebrated during the first two weeks of the lunar new year.

This Monlam celebration in Bhutan is particularly meaningful as it is bringing together all of the Buddhist traditions in a harmonious gathering.  

Please rejoice in this celebration of Lord Buddha’s many accomplishments and this coming together of Buddhist traditions. 

Since its inception, the Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund, an extension of the Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund, has supported up to 150 senior teachers each year of the main monasteries, plus hundreds of monks attending the traditional winter debate and annual Gelugpa exam. 

Monks of Sera Je Monastery performing puja together.

Every year on Lhabab Duchen (Buddha’s Descent from Tushita) the Puja Fund sponsors prayers, pujas, offerings to Sangha  all over the world, as well as offerings to holy objects in India, Nepal, and Tibet. This year, Lhabab Duchen, one of the four great holy days of the Tibetan calendar, takes place on Sunday, November 20.

Lhabab Duchen celebrates when Lord Buddha actually descended from the God Realm of Thirty-three after teaching his mother and the gods living there Dharma for several months. As a Buddha Multiplying Day, karmic results of actions on this day are multiplied 100 million times. This amazing result is sourced by Lama Zopa Rinpoche to the vinaya text Treasure of Quotations and Logic.

On holy days, offerings are made to holy objects in India, Nepal, and Tibet including the Swayambunath Stupa in Nepal.

These activities are advised by Lama Zopa Rinpoche and dedicated to the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and to the success of all the FPMT centers, projects, services, students, benefactors and those serving the organization in any way, as well as all beings.  

Group practice is far more powerful than individual practice. 15,650 Sangha participate in the Lhabab Duchen offerings.

Incredibly, 15,600 ordained Sangha join in for these practices over a 24 hour period. Lama Zopa Rinpoche has explained that the karma of group practice is more powerful than individual practice. “The karma of one ordained Sangha reciting a sutra in a temple or room alone, compared to reciting a sutra with all the assembly of Sangha present, the latter one—reciting a sutra with all the Sangha—is much more powerful….The more people there are supporting the practice, the more powerful it becomes…. When the karma is more powerful, the result comes more quickly.” It is amazing to consider the power of 15,600 monks engaging in group practice on a holy day when the karma is already multiplied. Additionally, as they are dedicating to His Holiness and FPMT in this way… the benefit is almost unimaginable!  As Rinpoche reminds us, “Sangha are living in a high number of vows and are unbelievably powerful objects.”

These activities offered cost approximately US$8,000 on each holy day. All are welcome to join in the merit of these prayers, practices, and offerings by contributing to the Puja Fund. 

You can read more about the individual activities sponsored on Lhabab Duchen and please rejoice in the massive merit generated by 15,600 Sangha on this holy multiplying day.

If you would like to make a donation toward the meritorious activities being sponsored by the Puja Fund on Chokor Duchen, you can do so by offering any amount you are able. 

The Puja Fund was established by Lama Zopa Rinpoche to provide resources for continuous pujas dedicated to the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and to the success of all the FPMT centers, projects, services, students, benefactors and those serving the organization in any way. You can learn more about the Puja Fund, or FPMT’s other extensive charitable activity. 

Some of the students of Sagarmatha Secondary School in Chailsa, Nepal.

For the past two years, Kopan Monastery has taken on the responsibility of supporting Sagarmatha Secondary School in Chailsa, Nepal. The school is located on what was once a Tibetan refugee camp and currently serves 120 young students. 

A foundation caring for Tibetan refugees, The Snow Lion Foundation, previously helped fund teacher salaries, caretaker salaries, education materials, office materials, extracurricular activities, and utilities; but this funding is no longer available to the school and the school was prepared to close. Parents of the children, who are ethnically Tibetan or Sherpa and come from meager means, requested Kopan to accept management of the school. Kopan had previously taken on management of Thubten Shedrup Ling Monastery, and the Maitreya Children’s Home, a hostel for nearly fifty children. Understanding that education key for breaking the cycle of poverty, Kopan accepted the request to take on responsibility for the school as well. 

Two years ago, Kopan Monastery took on responsibility for Sagarmatha Secondary School.

While the school does receive some income from student registration and donations, the amount received is only enough to cover some operational expenses, maintenance, emergencies, and scholarships for highly gifted, special needs, and poor children. Private funding is needed for this school to operate. 

The Social Services Fund is very pleased to offer US$37,623 to this school to cover half of 2015’s shortfall expenses, and all of 2016’s. 

Sagarmatha Lower Secondary School is a government-registered school which means it is recognized by the Nepal government and can participate in nationwide exit exams. The school has to expand to best support students. Without expanding, children will have to go to boarding school in Kathmandu to finish their educations. This is prohibitively expensive for many local families and these children would simply have to drop out of school once their education at Sagarmatha Secondary School finishes. In 2016, grades 1-6 are accommodated. In 2017 this will classes will be offered through grade 7. Going forward, one grade per year will be added so the school can expand slowly. 

Please rejoice that this school is now funded through 2016. Access to quality education is extremely important for these young children’s future. Please consider helping us support this school in 2017. US$25,831 needs to be raised to cover this commitment next year. 

If you would like to support the Social Services Fund and help ensure grants such as this can continue, you can read more about the charitable projects this fund supports, or donate any amount to the fund itself. 

Land of Medicine Buddha community filing the ninth and final structural chamber of the Mahabodhi stupa.

Progress continues on Land of Medicine Buddha’s 39-foot-tall Mahabodhi stupa project in California. 

Earlier this year the community filled the final structural chamber of this stupa and celebrated by enjoying a picnic in the meadow after the work of the day was complete. The filling of this final structural level was the culmination of over two years of effort on the part of staff members and volunteers. A lot of details go into the filling of a stupa of this size. The first level holds four complete sets of the Kangyur which needed to be organized, labeled, and wrapped. A team of volunteers called the Stupa Work Party gathered often to create a collage of holy images, paint tsa-tsas, and wrap texts and reams of over one billion mantras that would fill all the subsequent levels. All the contents were then packaged in boxes for the journey from the LMB gompa up to the stupa site. The weight of each level had to be carefully monitored from the second level upward, finding a balance between the benefit of having as many holy objects as possible and structural limitations and considerations. 

Crown of the 39-foot-tall Mahabodhi stupa.

At the stupa site each of the ten chambers was cleaned, painted, and lined with yellow cloth and the sog shing (life tree) was painted and wrapped with the four dharmakaya relic mantras. For the first leg of the journey to the site, the holy objects were passed from hand-to-hand from the gompa, loaded into a truck, and then driven up the hill to the stupa. The precious load of holy objects was again passed hand-to-hand up to the uppermost level via ladders and scaffoldings and finally placed inside the stupa, filling the empty places with fragrant wood shavings and incense.

Earlier in the year, LMB friend and resident artist, Gelek Sherpa began work on the outer details of the stupa. He created and mounted the Kadampa stupas at the four corners and created the crown Kadampa stupa and some of the various molds needed for the exterior. 

The Mahabodhi stupa grounds at Land of Medicine Buddha.

While Gelek Sherpa worked on artistic elements, another team worked on the layout of the stupa grounds. They rerouted a road that previously ran in front of the stupa, creating terraces where memorial stupas may be sponsored and built in the future. They also built a wheelchair accessible parking space and walkway, so those who are challenged by the terrain of the land will have an opportunity to circumambulate the stupa. In addition, the team installed electrical and water lines, so that light and water offerings can be made.

The crown Kadampa stupa was recently filled with mantras and Gelek Sherpa is now preparing the next structure which will support the pinnacle of the stupa. He will continue the decoration of the exterior throughout the coming year.

The LMB Stupa Team would like to share grateful thanks to FPMT Spiritual Director, Lama Zopa Rinpoche for guiding the center community in this amazingly beneficial project. “Without Rinpoche’s kind advice about the benefits of building a stupa, we wouldn’t have had the wisdom to take on such a large project. Geshe Ngawang Dakpa and Geshe Lobsang Wangdu gave indispensable advice, encouragement, and blessings. We are thankful to kind benefactors who stepped in to offer the financial support that created the causes for the stupa to become a reality. We have a lot of work left, and happily rejoice that great progress has been made in 2016!”

You can learn more about this project, watch videos of the progress, and read more about the long-term plans and benefits of this stupa. 

The Stupa Fund was very pleased to offer US$50,000 toward this magnificent stupa at Land of Medicine Buddha. 

Participants in the 2016 Gelug exam at Gaden Lachi Monastery, India.

Each year the foremost scholars from the main Gelug monasteries come together for the annual Gelug examination and the Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund offers a grant to cover the basic expenses including food for participants. 

This September 714 monks participated in this annual exam at Gaden Lachi Monastery, India. 

714 monks participated in this year’s Gelug exam.

In addition to debate, the monks are required to pass a written examination.

Food preparation for the participants.

The Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund would like to congratulate all the monks for their commitment and dedication to their studies. Due to this grant each year, all qualified monks are able to participate in the debate and examination, rather than being exempt due to prohibitive costs. 

These scholars are the future of the Lama Tsongkhapa tradition and it is a high priority for FPMT to support them at this level of their education.

Tremendous thanks to all the donors who make these offerings possible. You are welcome to offer any amount to the Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund to contribute to the support being offered to the current and future teachers of the Mahayana tradition.

Since its inception, the Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund, an extension of the Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund, has supported up to 150 senior teachers each year of the main monasteries, plus hundreds of monks attending the traditional winter debate and annual Gelugpa exam. 

“My wish is for FPMT to build many holy objects everywhere, as many as possible. Making it so easy for sentient beings to purify their heavy negative karma and making it so easy for sentient beings to create extensive merit. Which makes it so easy to achieve the realizations of the path and so easy to achieve liberation and enlightenment.” — Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s uncle, sister, and others welcoming the large Guru Rinpoche statues to Lawudo.

This 13.5-foot-tall Guru Rinpoche statue had to be airlifted to Lawudo.

Lawudo Retreat Centre is situated in the highest area of Solu Khumbu (altitude of 13,000 feet) , the northeastern region of Nepal bordering Upper Tsang in Southern Tibet. Getting a human body up to Lawudo is no simple matter. The quickest and (relatively) easiest way is to fly from Kathmandu to Lukla and then walk for two days from Lukla to Namche Bazaar. Lawudo is a further 4-5 hours walk up a very steep path from Namche Bazaar. The other way is to first travel by bus from Kathmandu to Jiri which takes ten hours. The trek from Jiri to Namche Bazaar takes nine days.

What about getting eleven large Guru Rinpoche statues—one 13.5-foot-tall and the others over 2-foot-tall—up to Lawudo? Amazingly, this was accomplished and it was no simple matter! The large statue had to be airlifted (by the largest helicopter in Nepal) but there were delays due to bad weather. A special permit was required to even operate this immense aircraft. A test flight had to be arranged before the run with the large statue could be initiated to make sure the mission would be successful. After twelve days of delays due to bad weather the large statue was finally airlifted to Lawudo in good condition. The smaller statues will be airlifted in the same way.

Large Guru Rinpoche statue being transported to Lawudo.

The Guru Rinpoche statue making the trek up to Lawudo.

The Padmasambhava Project for Peace was able to offer the costs for this incredible effort getting these most precious holy objects to their new home at Lawudo Retreat Centre. Lama Zopa Rinpoche has expressed, time and again, the unimaginable power of holy objects to purify negative karma and create extensive merit for all who come in contact with them. About Guru Rinpoche statues, Rinpoche has said, “Building Guru Rinpoche statues will bring immeasurable benefit, peace, happiness, and freedom to the world. They will have immeasurable impact.” 

If you would like to contribute to the building of holy objects around the world, you are welcome to offer any amount to the Holy Objects Fund which contributes to the creation of stupas, prayer wheels and statues. 

Rolwaling Monastery is the main monastery in Rolwaling, located in Nepal along the Tibetan border, and is a precious site of cultural and religious heritage for the area.

Earlier this year we reported that due to a donation from a generous benefactor, a substantial grant had been offered from the Social Services Fund to Rolwaling Monastery in Nepal, at the Tibet border, for the rebuilding of their gompa which was nearly destroyed in the 2015 earthquake. The buildings were already in poor condition (the gompa hadn’t been renovated since 1957), and the destruction of the earthquake proved too much for the structures to withstand. 

Laying the foundation for the new gompa.

For many in the surrounding community, the monastery gompa is more important than their own homes. It was reported that when assistance was offered to locals to help rebuild their houses following the earthquake, many locals became very emotional, making statements such as, “Please help us save the gompa, we don’t mind staying in open spaces or living in caves, but we can’t see our gompa in ruins.” This monastery is particularly precious to FPMT as Lama Zopa Rinpoche attended this monastery between the ages of 7-12.

Work on the main gompa is underway with the foundation now laid and the wall paintings secured. Relics, statues, and texts have all been moved to the new building. 

Rolwaling Sangag Choling is a community-centered monastery and its history spans about nine generations. It is the only monastery in the entire community of Sherpa Buddhists. Please rejoice in the rebuilding progress made possible by this generous grant from a kind benefactor. Restoring this monastery helps preserve the local culture and reestablish the monastery as a place for Buddhist practice and community.

The Social Services Fund also offered a grant to the monastery school to help with a youth hostel and repairs following the earthquake. 

If you would like to support the Social Services Fund and help ensure grants such as this can continue,you can read more about the charitable projects this fund supports, or donate any amount to the fund itself. 

By Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Why Offering to the Sangha Is So Powerful

In the past, there was one man who had nothing, but he offered medicinal food just one time to four fully ordained monks. (These were not monks who were aryas and had wisdom directly perceiving emptiness; these were just ordinary Sangha.) Due to the karma of that offering, after he died, he was born as a most powerful wealthy king in India called King Ashoka. That was the result from offering just one time.

Karma expands, and so from one action of charity, the result that one will experience goes on for many lifetimes, many eons. The karma from making charity one time is not just resultant happiness that is received one time and then is finished. This is maybe what many people think, but that’s not correct. One experiences the resultant happiness for eons. It is amazing. Then, depending on your motivation – especially if it is done with a bodhichitta motivation – this one action of making charity can create the cause for you to go to enlightenment.

According to the Tengyur, Buddha said:

For any sentient being, who during the period of my teachings
Makes charity well (even if the material is the size of hair),
For 80,000 eons will experience the great result of great enjoyment;
No pain, no disease, and enjoyment of happiness.
Like that, one will be enriched with all the desirable things.
At the end you can actually achieve the result – the peerless cessation and completion (enlightenment).
After hearing of this great result, who wouldn’t want to collect merit?

The monks of Sera Je Monastery are offered three nutritious meals every single day through the Sera Je Food Fund, one of FPMT’s Supporting Ordained Sangha funds.

The Power of Offering to So Many Sangha

In the very beginning, Sera Je Monastery had approximately 4,000 monks, then 3,000 monks, now maybe there are about 2,500 monks. Making offerings to them is amazing. There are so many monks – wow, wow, wow, wow, wow – and therefore so many causes of enlightenment one can collect!

The Power of Offering to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha

This is also an offering to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. By offering to the Buddha – wow, wow, wow, wow, wow.

In Buddha’s teachings, it is mentioned in the Mantra of Undying Drum Sound:

If you devote yourself to the Unimaginable Ones (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha,
who have unimaginable qualities),
The ripening aspect of the result of that devotion has unimaginable benefits.

Also, it is mentioned in the Compassionate Buddha Sutras:

The Tathagata Buddha has immeasurable qualities.
Offering to the tathagatas also has immeasurable benefits that are endless,
Inconceivable, incomparable, unfathomable, and numberless.

Offering to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha is an unbelievable act. It is important to remember this when you make an offering to the Sangha. Think that you are also offering to the Buddha and Dharma simultaneously.

The Power of Offering to the Guru

Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Photo by Edward Sczudlo.

This is also an offering to the guru. From this you collect the highest amount of merit – the most merit – more than offering to numberless Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha as well as numberless statues, stupas, and scriptures in the ten directions. No matter how many extensive offerings you make – even filling the whole sky – all that merit becomes small when compared to the merit of offering to the guru.

Additionally, this is the most powerful purification. It purifies defilements and negative karma collected from beginningless rebirths. It is the most powerful purification. This is the quickest way to achieve realizations, the quickest way to be free from the oceans of samsaric sufferings, and the quickest way to achieve buddhahood, the total cessation of all the obscurations and completion of all the realizations.

Even giving one rupee or one cent to the Sangha has all these benefits.

Then, of course, it has the benefit of also preserving the Dharma and helping to spread the Dharma.

How This Offering Benefits All Sentient Beings

The ultimate point is that this offering also benefits all the six-realm sentient beings. Any practice that the Sangha do in the monastery, they do for all the six-realm sentient beings, to benefit them. Every sadhana or practice starts with the motivation for “mother sentient beings,” which means all the six-realm sentient beings.

Every dollar offered – even just one dollar, even the smallest amount of money offered – has all these benefits. And the benefits go to all sentient beings: every mosquito, every fish, every pitiful chicken that is taken by a truck to be killed, every sentient being in numberless universes receives these benefits.

Through the Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund FPMT offers essential needs directly to individual Sangha as well as to monasteries and nunneries.

Each of the five prayer wheels will live in these beautiful painted houses. The prayer wheels will turn from downward flowing water, blessing all the water with mantras as it passes.

Last month we reported that a grant was issued from the Prayer Wheel Fund to the Mani Chungyur, Stupa and Water Park, a project being built in Namche Bazaar, Nepal to be used for five prayer wheels which are turned by flowing water, thus blessing all of the water used throughout the entire park.

We are pleased to report that, due to this grant, all of the prayer wheels houses, mechanical turbines, and paintings have been completed. Once all of the parts are assembled, the prayer wheels can be fixed in the housing units and repainted to original form. This next step may take few more months but we are pleased to report so much progress has already been made due to the grant issued by the Prayer Wheel Fund. 

Locals gather for a puja at the site of the new water park.

“The benefit of turning the Dharma wheel is that negative karma and disturbing thought obscurations accumulated over beginningless rebirths are purified without effort. Even other mantras are without doubt completed.” — Lama Zopa Rinpoche quoting Lord Buddha in “The Benefits of Prayer Wheels” 

If you would like to contribute to the building of holy objects around the world, you are welcome to offer any amount to the Holy Objects Fund which contributes to the creation of stupas, prayer wheels and statues. 

The nuns rooms at Tashi Chime Gatsal Nunnery had to be completely rebuilt following earthquake destruction.

Tashi Chime Gatsal Nunnery (also known as Bigu Nunnery), located in a remote area of Nepal, is still rebuilding following devastation from the April 2015 earthquake. All of the buildings at the nunnery were destroyed and there was no safe housing for the seventy-five nuns. Additionally, there was no accessible health care facility or place for the nuns to study as all roads were blocked due earthquake destruction. The Nepal Earthquake Support Fund offered immediate aid to the nunnery following this destruction, to help with food and health care needs while the nuns occupied their temporary shelter in Khatmandu. 

Some of the nuns of Tashi Chime Gatsal who were displaced following earthquake destruction.

These nuns have been offering two 100 million mani retreats every year. Lama Zopa Rinpoche has been supporting this through the Practice and Retreat Fund for over seven years and a very kind benefactor has sponsored one of their retreats this year as well. 

The sponsorship of 100 million mani retreats is one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Visions for the FPMT organization. The nuns completed the first 100 million mani recitations while in temporary housing in Khatmandu, but they have now returned to the nunnery and will complete the second part of the retreat there. Sixty-five nuns are engaged in the mani retreat approximately six hours per day. They dedicate their practice to the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, for all of Rinpoche’s Dharma wishes to be successful, and for the entire FPMT organization and projects to bring the most benefit to all sentient being. 

The damage to Tashi Chime Gatsal Nunnery was severe and the entire nunnery needs to be rebuilt.

By sponsoring the retreat, FPMT directly supports the nuns through funding the cost of their daily meals. The nunnery is further supported by this grant because any funds not used directly for the cost of the retreat can be used for the overall development of the nunnery. Additionally, the Nepal Earthquake Support Fund has offered another grant for the rebuilding of a new kitchen for the nuns. This is an immediate need as the nuns need a proper kitchen facility to support the nuns who are in retreat as well as those who are not. 

The nunnery has a long way to go before it is rebuilt in proper condition. In addition to the kitchen, they are now building the nuns rooms and a puja hall for group practice. This work will be essential for reestablishing a safe and conducive environment in which the nuns can live, study, and practice Dharma. 

The Practice and Retreat Fund provides grants and sponsorships for students engaged in retreats such as 108 nyung nä retreats, 100 million mani retreats, recitations of sutras and long term retreat. 

Rabagayling Tibetan Settlement community gathering for a 100 million mani retreat in their new community hall, sponsored by the Social Services Fund.

The completed community hall at Rabagayling Tibetan Settlement in South India.

In July we reported that a new community hall at Rabagayling Tibetan Settlement in South India was completed. The Social Services Fund provided a grant for this new building which will be used by by 2,710 refugees. 

We are delighted to share that in August this community commenced a 100 Million Mani Retreat in the new building! One of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Visions for FPMT is for 100,000 of these beneficial retreats to be completed. Rinpoche sent the following message to the community upon hearing about this retreat beginning:

“I was very happy to hear this news, this mani retreat is most needed, most important, not for only for the people attending  but for all  sentient beings, even the ants and slugs and all sentient beings. It is for peace and happiness and peerless happiness enlightenment -Sangye: the total cessation of all the obscurations and completion of all the realizations.”

Please rejoice in this incredible retreat undertaking. This new building was needed to accommodate the community engaging in group practices such as this, and we’re so pleased that they are quickly utilizing it for such auspicious activities. 

If you are inspired by grants such as this, you are welcome to contribute to the Social Service Fund and help ensure that work like this can continue. 

Teenage Tenzin Ösel Hita with the monks at Sera Je Monastery.

We’d like to invite you to rejoice in twenty-five years of the Sera Je Food Fund offerings meals to the monks of Sera Je Monstery! 

The Sera Je Food Fund began in 1991 when Tenzin Ösel Hita, the recognized incarnation of Lama Yeshe, entered Sera Je Monastery in southern India at age six. It is customary for a monk’s sponsor to make offerings to all Sangha on the day of officially entering the monastery and Lama Zopa Rinpoche wanted the offering to be of the greatest practical benefit to the monastery itself. After discussion with the abbot of Sera Je Monastery, it was determined that the most beneficial offering would be to create a food fund whereby all of the monks at Sera Je Monastery could be offered quality meals for free. In this way, Lama Zopa Rinpoche was not simply offering lunch on the day of  Ösel’s entrance to the monastery but, without precedent, taking on the responsibility of providing meals to every monk at Sera Je for the rest of their lives.

Initially, the fund offered money to each monk for lunch. At that time there were 1,300 monks and the annual cost was about US$25,000.

It became apparent that it would be much easier for the monks to have the meals cooked and offered, so in 1997, Lama Zopa Rinpoche offered US$25,000 for a new kitchen and began paying the salary of seven fulltime cooks. At that time there were 1,900 monks and the annual cost was about US$175,000.

In 1997, six years after starting the fund, Lama Zopa Rinpoche visited Sera Je Monastery. At that time, many of the older geshes, some with tears in their eyes, thanked Rinpoche and spoke of how the fund was benefiting the monastery. Monks could now attend all the morning debate sessions instead of taking time out to prepare meals. Additionally, the fund alleviated the great burden teachers carried while providing for students who had no resources.

In 1998, Lama Zopa Rinpoche and the Sera Je Food Fund took on the responsibility of offering dinner to each monk.

Sera Je monks help prepare meals for in the Sera Je Food Fund kitchen.

In 2003, in addition to offering lunch and dinner, breakfast began to be sponsored by the Sera Je Food Fund three months a year. 

In 2008, Lama Zopa Rinpoche and the Sera Je Food Fund took on the responsibility to offer three meals a day to all monks of Sera Je. Osel Labrang took over management on the ground, ensuring the quality of the food and managing all aspects of buying and preparing the food.

In 2012, In addition to offering all the meals to all the monks at Sera Je Monastery the Sera Je Food Fund also took on the responsibility to offer breakfast to the young monks who attend the Sera Je school. This has been the practice of the fund since 2012.

Since 1991 the Sera Je Food Fund has offered millions of meals. We currently offer approximately 700,000 meals per year, 2,900 meals per day. 

Healthy and hearty vegetarian soup is often offered, through the Sera Je Food Fund, as dinner to the monks of Sera Je Monastery.

There are, on average, 1,600 monks benefiting from the food fund and the annual cost is US$200,000.

In the Tibetan tradition, it is customary for monastics to support themselves. In addition to providing for their own housing, individual monks are responsible for purchasing and preparing all of their meals. As many of the monks are refugees from Tibet or from refugee families living in India, they have very little money for quality food and, consequently, were often malnourished and ill. Before the Sera Je Food Fund, most monks at the monastery never had a full stomach. Now, for the first time, they are well-nourished, and this makes a dramatic difference in the energy they are able to devote to their studies. Additionally, group preparation of meals and use of a communal kitchen allows more time for the monks to apply themselves to their studies without the added worry of cleaning up and preparing individual meals, monitoring their individual health for adequate protein and nutrition, etc.

Over 22,000 bananas are offered in a typical month to the monks of Sera Je Food Fund.

In one month, nearly 22,000 bananas, 120 bottles of soy sauce, and an incredible 5,500 pounds of flour, among many other ingredients including vegetables, rice, noodles, and tea, are utilized in preparation for this offering of daily vegetarian meals. 

Please rejoice in this incredible service which has been offered without interruption for twenty-five years and will continue far into the future. All are welcome to participate in this offering by donating  to the fund. 

On behalf of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, FPMT International Office would like to offer our heartfelt gratitude to all of the kind benefactors who have been contributing to this project over the years and supporting Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Vision.

You can learn more about the Sera Je Food Fund or support this project with a donation of any amount.