Projects

Robes offered to the Buddha statue in Mahabodhi Temple, Bodhgaya, India, through the Puja Fund. July, 2015. Photo by Andy Melnic.

Every month, on the full moon, the Puja Fund sponsors offerings to Buddha statues in Tibet and Bodhgaya. An offering of robes, made of the most precious material chosen by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, to the Buddha Statue in Mahabodhi Temple, Bodhgaya, India; and gold is offered to the Jowo Buddha Statue in Tibet. 

Mahabodhi Temple and grounds at night, Bodhgaya, India, January 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

Bodhgaya is where Shakyamuni Buddha reached enlightenment and according to Lama Zopa Rinpoche, is “where a thousand buddhas will descend, place their holy feet, display holy deeds, and achieve enlightenment. Guru Shakyamuni Buddha is the fourth of the thousand buddhas. The rest of the buddhas will descend here and will also display the twelve deeds, and the holy deed, achieving enlightenment. There is a place in Bodhgaya called the Vajra Seat. This ground is blessed. Before becoming enlightened, Buddha blessed this ground so it would not be destroyed or cracked, but would stay firm. It is said that there are no earthquakes in Bodhgaya because it is blessed by Buddha, and also that this will be the last place to exist when the world ends.”

You can watch a video of robes being offered to the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodhgaya on a full moon.

Also said to have been blessed by Shakyamuni Buddha himself (making it approximately 2,500 years old), the Jowo Buddha statue is one of the most sacred statues in all of Tibet. Originally crafted in India, the Jowo was brought to China, and then brought to Tibet by the daughter  of the Chinese emperor, Princess Wenchen Kongjo, upon her marriage to Songsten Gampo. The Jowo Buddha statue resides in the central chapel of the Jokhang, among the most holy temples in Lhasa.

The Jowo Buddha statue in Lhasa, Tibet.

About the power of statues of Buddha, Lama Zopa Rinpoche has said, “The benefit we get each time we see a statue of Buddha, a picture of Buddha or a stupa is like the limitless sky. It causes us to achieve all the realizations from guru devotion up to enlightenment and to achieve all the numberless qualities of the Buddha’s holy body, speech and mind.”

Every full moon students around the world can take a few moments to participate in these offerings by rejoicing and mentally offering the precious robes and gold to these two most holy Buddha statues. Thanks to all the donors who make this possible as well as those who are directly involved by engaging in the practice on site or facilitating the offerings. 

All are welcome to donate to the Puja Fund and directly support these most precious offerings. 

Lifelike statue of Lama Yeshe, FPMT’s founder, residing now at Vajrapani Institute, CA, USA.

Since 2011, Vajrapani Institute has been working with others to create a lifelike statue of FPMT’s precious founder, Lama Yeshe. In 2013, Lama Zopa Rinpoche offered US$10,000 toward the completion of his statue. 

In November of 2015, after an unusual array of obstacles and difficulties, the finished fiberglass statue arrived at Vajrapani Institute from Thailand, just in time for a visit by Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Director Fabienne Pradelle explains, “When we opened the crate [after picking it up from the airport], Lama’s head appeared peaking up from the packing foam. Elaine Jackson burst into tears. We unpacked it and placed it in the Geshe House.” About the appearance of the statue, which depicts Lama Yeshe in a young aspect, Lama Zopa Rinpoche commented, “It is extremely good. He has become very young! In Mongolia there were statues made in China, very young looking, of Buddha Shakyamuni. The geshe said that it was very auspicious, looking young like this, so I think the young [appearance] is very auspicious.”

Lama Zopa Rinpoche meets the new statue of Lama Yeshe at Vajrapani Insitute, November 2015.

Two years previously, when Fabienne was checking the progress of the statue with Rinpoche, Rinpoche told her that the statue should go in Vajrapani Institute’s new gompa (yet to be built) surrounded by 999 smaller replicas to make a total of 1,000 Lama Yeshe statues. This will form the main altar of their new gompa. The smaller statues will be made from a mold which comes from a 3D scan of the main statue. With the 3D scan, they will be able to reduce the size of the statue to whatever height they determine. From that mold, they can also create smaller replicas (either in fiberglass or possibly bronze) to offer to benefactors.

Members of the Vajrapani community with the new statue of Lama Yeshe.

About building statues of one’s guru, Lama Zopa Rinpoche commented, “When you build a guru statue, you get the merit of having built numberless Buddha statues. Whether you build small or big you get unbelievable merit, the same merit as numberless statues of Buddha.” While Rinpoche offered to cover the cost of half of the smaller statues, he suggested that students should also join in the incredible merit of the statue creation by helping sponsor the other half. That is 500 opportunities to create the merit of building numberless Buddha statues! Vajrapani isn’t actively fundraising for this project yet, as they have to first build a prayer wheel, then a gompa, then an altar, in addition to other tasks before they will create the statues. But when the time approaches, all are welcome to join in and help fulfill this incredibly auspicious request from Lama Zopa Rinpoche. 

Vajrapani Institute wishes to thank Ven. Jamyang Wamgo who initiated the project and Elea Mideke who helped see this project through to completion and traveled to Thailand twice to work with the local artists. 

The Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund enables Rinpoche’s compassionate service to others to flourish. You can learn more about other beneficial activities this fund supports. 

His Holiness at Tashi Lhunpo, Karnataka, India, January 1, 2016. Photo by Bill Kane.

In December, the Preserving the Lineage Fund sponsored the offering of lunch to 17,000 people during His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s anticipated three day teaching event at Tashi Lhunpo Monastery which preceded His Holiness’s Jangchup Lamrim teachings, also held at Tashi Lhunpo.

Due to a schedule change, His Holiness taught for one day rather than three for this teaching event. Fortunately, His Holiness has accepted an invitation to continue teaching at Tashi Lhunpo in the very near future. The funds already offered for the two days of food that were not used will be applied towards offering food to all who attend during His Holiness’s next visit. 

Tashi Lunpo Monastery, Karnataka, India. Photo by Bill Kane.

This was such an incredible opportunity to make offerings to so many people attending His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s teachings, the majority who were ordained Sangha.

You can learn more about the Preserving the Lineage Fund as well as the Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund to learn more about how FPMT Charitable Projects support monks and nuns around the world. 

(Left to right) Kontsak Rinpoche, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche and Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi during a Guru Rinpoche puja at Kopan Nunnary, Nepal, December 2015. Photo by Bill Kane.

This year on Losar, in addition to the wide array of pujas and offerings, the Puja Fund also sponsored 100,000 tsog offerings by the Kopan monks and nuns and dedicated to the long life of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and to purify our karma for Rinpoche to show any aspect of illness.

In this way, the Puja Fund has joined in with all FPMT centers, projects and services to help create the karma for Rinpoche’s long and healthy life. All of the tsog offerings completed will be offered to Rinpoche during the upcoming long life puja in Singapore.

The Puja Fund sponsors prayers and practices, offered by up to 15,650 ordained Sangha members, on every Buddha Day, such as Losar, when merit is multiplied by 100 million times.

The official long life puja on behalf of the entire FPMT will be offered to Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Amitabha Buddhist Centre in Singapore on Sunday, March 13 as part of Rinpoche’s teaching event there. The puja will start at 9 a.m. Singapore time (GMT+8).

All are welcome to contribute to this long life puja by donating any amount to the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Long Life Puja Fund. 

Site of the new community hall that will serve 2,710 Tibetan refugees.

In July we reported that a US$116,848 grant from the Social Services Fund had been offered to Rabagayling Tibetan Settlement in South India for the building of a new community hall that will benefit the 2,710 refugees there. We are pleased to report that work on this hall is underway.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche blessing the members of the elderly home at the Tibetan settlement.

In December 2015, during His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s teachings in Gyurme Tantric College in Hunsur, Lama Zopa Rinpoche visited the construction site and offered prayers to bless the building. 

Rinpoche also visited an elderly home that was close by and gave a talk. Many of the elders there will be using the community hall for prayers and practices. Rinpoche told them that even though they don’t have much, they have the Dharma and are so blessed due to reciting OM MANI PADME HUM every day. Rinpoche then explained some of the benefits of this mantra.

Rinpoche has said that “by reciting OM MANI PADME HUM you collect more merit than the number of drops of water in the ocean, than the number of snowflakes in a snowfall, than the number of drops of water in rainfalls, more merit than the number of grains of sand in the Pacific Ocean, and if you do it with bodhichitta, then it creates the cause of happiness up to enlightenment. Then you are able to bring all sentient beings to enlightenment by purifying the negative karma and collecting more than skies of merit.”

Lama Zopa Rinpoche blessing settlement community members with a blessing wheel containing mantras.

Rinpoche blessed all the residents of the home with his new blessing wheel that contains 2,040,000 mantras including Stainless Lotus Pinnacle. Rinpoche explained that when one is blessed with this holy object on the head, it purifies 2,040,000,000 eons of negative karma. 

Lama Zopa Rinpoche blessing the site of the new community hall at the Tibetan settlement.

Rinpoche continually reminds us that in addition to offering help for basic needs such as food, shelter, and medical care, we must also remember to help others in an ultimate way – to purify negative karma and create the cause for happiness up to enlightenment. Rinpoche is hoping in the future that there will be holy objects close to the elder care home so that the residents can create merit. Rinpoche also hopes for some teachers to visit the home and give Dharma talks and lead prayers. 

Residents of the elder care home with Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Through the Social Services Fund and due to the kindness of one benefactor, FPMT is able to focus on offering more help for elder care in India and Nepal.

Please rejoice! This new hall will serve this Tibetan community for years to come and will be used for holding 100 million mani retreats as well as official functions, workshops, and training in Tibetan language and culture, which is critical for the preservation of the Tibetan heritage.

The Social Services Fund sponsored all the food for the residents in 2015 and hopes to be able to continue in 2016. 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. 

During the animal liberation practice, animals are carried around holy objects so the worms can create merit.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche has requested the Sangha at his residences in California and Washington state to offer the practice of animal liberation every week dedicated to anyone who is sick or having life obstacles. Additionally, Sangha in California offer a weekly blessing of all sentient beings in the ocean by submerging large Namgyälma mantra boards into the water.

Extensive prayers are made for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Lama Zopa Rinpoche and all our kind teachers, the Sangha, and anyone who is sick and requesting prayers.

During an animal liberation, the sentient beings are circumambulated around holy objects and extensive prayers and dedications are made for Lama Zopa Rinpoche, his gurus, all sponsors of this fund, all beings who are sick or face an untimely death, as well as many specific dedications requested by the FPMT community.

Supporting all sentient beings in any way possible is why FPMT was established. Benefiting animals directly is one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Visions for the organization. The Animal Liberation Fund helps carry forth this work.

In 2015, approximately 79,000 sentient beings were liberated. This is something wonderful to rejoice in, and something anyone can make offerings toward, especially if you are sick or would like to offer on behalf of someone else who is sick.

The FPMT Foundation Store offers a teachings and practices from Lama Zopa Rinpoche about how to benefit animals, including the animal liberation practice, in booklet and PDF formats.

Construction materials were flown to the village of Beding. In this area Yeshe Norbu rebuilt several houses and gave support to hundreds of families.

Yeshe Norbu Onlus is an Italian FPMT non-profit association which supports important projects benefiting Tibetan refugees and children. Since the earthquake in Nepal last April, Yeshe Norbu has offered a tremendous amount of emergency aid to assist those in need in Nepal. Please rejoice in this incredible work which has benefited 

From April 2015 through the end of 2015, Yeshe Norbu Onlus:
* Distributed of 154,324 pounds of food as well as tents and medicine
* Built 129 temporary structures
* Rebuilt 29 homes 
* Provided doctors to remote areas 
* Rebuilt the classrooms of the Mount Everest School at Kopan Monastery

Since the Nepal earthquake, Yeshe Norbu has financed the reconstruction of 29 houses for very poor families in remote villages, reusing the materials recovered from collapsed houses and sheets of galvanized plate.

Yeshe Norbu provided rebuilding support to villages in Nepal focusing on the elderly and alone as well as families who were without resources prior to the earthquake, making post-earthquake survival incredibly difficult.

You are welcome to support this work directly to ensure that Yeshe Norbu Onlus can continue to offer essential support where it is most needed. 
www.adozionitibet.it/it/cosa-puoi-fare/terremoto-nepal

His Holiness during long life puja offered at Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, January 2016. Photo by Bill Kane.

During the 2015 Jangchup Lamrim teachings (18 Treatises on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment) with His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the newly inaugurated Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, Lama Zopa Rinpoche offered tea to 32,000 participants, money offerings to the 18,100 Sangha present, and Rinpoche also composed a dedication which was made during these offerings. The cost of this was US$21,273 and made possible through the Preserving the Lineage Fund. Rinpoche commented that all of the thousands of people present were students of the same guru, including the 18,100 ordained Sangha, so the merit of making these offerings was incredible. 

32,000 participants attended His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Jangchup Lamrim teachings this year. Tea was offered to all and a money offering to all 18,100 Sangha in attendance. This is a small section of the entire crowd.

This teaching series began in 2012 and concluded with the 2015 event. The teachings themselves are incredibly precious and rare. His Holiness received the transmission by the former incarnation of His Eminence Ling Rinpoche and in this life, Ling Rinpoche, who was the main organizer of this four-year teaching event, requested His Holiness to offer these commentaries and transmission. This is the only time His Holiness has ever given teachings on 18 Treatises on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment.

At the conclusion there was a long life puja for His Holiness at Tashi Lhunpo Monastery and Lama Zopa Rinpoche offered a silver Dharamchakra on behalf of FPMT and all beings to his Holiness directly (pictured in top photo). 

Audio and video of this rare teaching event can be found on the Jangchup Lamrim website: www.jangchuplamrim.org/media/video/2015-video-audio

You can learn more about the Preserving the Lineage Fund and how it has supported His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Jangchup Lamrim teaching event in previous years. 

For over eighteen years Wisdom Publications has been working on publishing a series of commentaries, Steps on the Path to Enlightenment, on Lama Tsongkhapa’s Lam-rim Chenmo by Geshe Lhundub Sopa. Volumes, 1 (The Foundational Practices), 2 (Karma), 3 (The Way of the Bodhisattva) and 4 (Śamatha) are currently available through Wisdom’s website and a final volume (5) on emptiness (the perfection of wisdom) will be released in 2017. 

Due to a gift from a very kind and generous benefactor, the FPMT Education and Preservation Fund was able to set up a special fund to sponsor this project. To date, over US$300,000 has been offered to this invaluable series.

Here we offer an excerpt from Volume 4 of Steps on the Path to Enlightenment, which, while available now on Wisdom’s website, will not be officially released until next month: 

While mindfulness is keeping your focus on your chosen object of meditation, the function of introspection is to constantly check whether excitement or laxity have arisen or are about to arise. This mental spy subtly examines your mental state again and again. “To preserve introspection” means to continually re-engage in examination; this is how you maintain introspection and reinvigorate your mindfulness. These are two different but complementary skills. When you are trying to meditate, you maintain your focus on your chosen object with mindfulness while repeatedly checking for the two obstacles with the vigilant mental spy of introspection. These two techniques work together to keep your mind from coming under the control of excitement and laxity. You must gain facility in both of these skills if you want to be successful in your meditation practice.

You can learn more about the Steps on the Path to Enlightenment series by Geshe Lhundub Sopa: www.wisdompubs.org/author/geshe-lhundub-sopa

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

Since its inception in 1991, the Sera Je Food Fund has strived to assess and make adjustments and improvements to operations, procedures, and services offered to help ensure that this project is bringing the most benefit to those it serves. In 2015, two major changes were implemented which will not only benefit the monks as they partake in their daily meals, but also will benefit those who work very hard in the kitchen to get three vegetarian meals out every single day to all of the 2,500 monks.

in March of 2015 a dietitian visited the monastery and gave suggestions on how to improve the monks’ nutrition through the food offered. Changes include: an increase in protein, an increase in the amount and variety of vegetables and seasonal fruit, less oil and salt, wheat has been introduced to the white flour used in breads (most prefer the white flour so this is a gradual transition), more variety of healthful dishes are now being offered as well. The dietician also spoke to all the monks regarding healthy food and diet. 

The monks have to work very hard with big equipment and huge quantities of food to help offer three meals every day.

In October of 2015 a wage increase has also been granted to the Sera Je kitchen staff. The kitchen staff work incredibly hard for the Sera Je Food Fund; monks can be expected to work from 4 a.m. to 9 p.m. on a rotating basis. This increase in salary will help increase staff morale with the hope that this will encourage experienced kitchen staff to stay in these jobs for longer periods of time. Having experienced staff is key to maintaining the standard of food served by the kitchen.

Please rejoice in the ongoing improvements to the operations of the Sera Je Food Fund which, for twenty-five years, has been offering meals to the monks studying at Sera Je Monastery. 

You can learn more about the Sera Je Food Fund: fpmt.org/projects/fpmt/seraje

Kshitigarbha statue and large thangka with offerings during Kshitigarbha Day celebration at Land of Medicine Buddha in California, 2012.

After receiving news that scientists were forecasting a huge earthquake and possible tsunamis on the West Coast of the United States, Lama Zopa Rinpoche began offering advice about how to help mitigate the effects of karma that can result in this kind of suffering. Recently Rinpoche suggested that Bay Area students and centers, supported by others from around the world, should complete the following:

1. 1,800,000 recitations of the long Kshitigarbha mantra done as part of a Kshitigarbha practice.
2. Taking the Eight Mahayana precepts 300 times.
3. Performing the extensive Medicine Buddha puja – ongoing.
4. Reading of the Tengyur four times – to be done at Sera Je Monastery.

FPMT Bay Area centers have created a website with more information and ways to make pledges and report mantra recitations; contribute to the Tengyur recitations; and report the taking of the Eight Mahayana precepts. This website also has a weekly blog to help students keep up on how many accumulations have been reported. 

As of Tuesday, January 5, the following has been completed:
Kshitigarbha Mantras: 389,782 out of 1,800,000; Tengyur Recitations: $23,810 out of $28,000 needed; 8 Mahayana Precepts: 1,677 out of 300. 

All are welcome (and encouraged) to contribute to the global efforts to pacify and minimize harm due to an earthquake on the West Coast of the United States (including subsequent tsunami caused by the earthquake). With only three weeks remaining to reach the goals put forth by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, a strong effort from many will be required. 

To learn more about the recommended practices for pacifying earthquakes and to make pledges and report mantra recitations: www.pacifyearthquakes.org

The nuns of Tashi Chime Gatsal Nunnery were forced into temporary shelter due to their nunnery being rendered uninhabitable following the April earthquake in Nepal.

A young nun of Tashi Chime Gatsal Nunnery .

Following the earthquake of April, 2015, the conditions at Tashi Chime Gatsal Nunnery (also known as Bigu Nunnery), located in a remote area of Nepal, were such that the nuns living there had to evacuate and take up temporary shelter in Kathmandu. The earthquake destroyed all of the buildings at the nunnery 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 was recently able to offer US$5,875 to the nuns, to help with food and health care needs while they are in their temporary shelter in Khatmandu. 

These nuns have been offering two 100 million mani retreats every year, Lama Zopa Rinpoche has been supporting this through the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund; the sponsorship of 100 million mani retreats is one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Visions for the FPMT organization. The nuns are still engaged in this retreat while in Kathmandu, 200 million mani mantra recitations are nearly finished. 

You can learn more about the Nepal Earthquake Support Fund and the support it has offered following the Nepal earthquake, the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund, or about the 100 million mani retreats that the nuns of Tashi Chime Gatsal Nunnery have offered in alignment with Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Vision for FPMT.