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The beautiful Nyung-Na altar at Institut Vajra Yogini, France.
On November 15, students began the first of 108 Nyung-Nä retreats at Institut Vajra Yogini, France. Four of these students are sponsored by the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund. The retreats will be completed in June of 2014. The cost to offer this sponsorship is US$9,876.
In 2012 the fund also sponsored four people to complete 108 Nyung-Nä retreats. These sponsorships are the continued expression of one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Visions for FPMT which he explained in 2007.
First day of the third round of 108 Nyung-Nas.
The Nyung Nä retreat is a two-day intensive practice that includes taking the 24-hour Mahayana precepts with the addition of complete fasting and silence on the second day.
Doing even one Nyung Nä or “abiding in retreat” for just two days is said to be as effective as three months of other purification practices and is extremely powerful for healing illness, purifying negative karma, and opening the heart to compassion.
Please rejoice in these practitioners’ effort, this is a difficult retreat to complete and they have committed to 108 completions!
This practice is a trillion, billion times greater than becoming an Olympic champion. Doing so many Nyung-Näs you become an unbelievable champion, this is what makes numberless Buddhas and Bodhisattvas most happy and brings sentient beings to enlightenment as quickly as possible. This is an extremely powerful practice, it in an incredible way to develop bodhichitta.
—Lama Zopa Rinpoche
You are welcome to donate any amount to the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund and contribute to beneficial sponsorships like these.
The Sera Je Food Fund continues to offer three nutritious meals daily for all 2,500 monks living at Sera Je Monastery in southern India. We currently offer 3,029,500 meals every year, that is 8,300 every day!
This project is only possible due to a massive and collective effort of many volunteers at the monastery (who shop for, prepare, and clean up after each meal) as well as many kind donors who contribute to this fund.
Here are a few recent photos which illustrate the many aspects of this incredibly beneficial project.
Ngawang Rigdol shops for aluminum pots needed for the Sera Je Food Fund kitchen.
Many hands are needed for clean up.
Cooked noodles for 2,500 need tossing just like cooked noodles for 1 would!
If you would like to contribute to the Sera Je Food Fund, you may offer any amount you are able.
- US$10: Provides three vegetarian meals a day to one monk for one month
- US$120: Provides three vegetarian meals a day to one monk for one year
- US$780: Provides three vegetarian meals a day to all 2,500 monks for one day
- US$5,460: Provides three vegetarian meals a day to all 2,500 monks for one week
- US$280,000: Provides three vegetarian meals a day to all the 2,500 monks for one year
Kadampa Stupa at Kachoe Dechen Ling, Aptos, CA, USA. Photo by Whitney Dafoe.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche translated Padmasambhava’s Instruction on Offerings to Stupas, which details the benefits of prostrating to, making offering, circumambulating , and offering service to stupas.
Translations Available:
One of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Visions for FPMT is to build 100,000 stupas around the world. The Stupa Fund was established in 1992 with the aim of providing the resources needed to fulfill Rinpoche’s wishes.
If you would like to contribute to the Stupa Fund, you may donate any amount.
All those who with virtue help the stupa will, in all lives, enter into the perfect path of the ten virtues, never be separated from the support of virtuous friends, and achieve all the realizations they wish.
—- From Padmasambhava’s Instruction on Offerings to Stupas
Lama Zopa Rinpoche has requested the Sangha at his residences to offer the practice of animal liberation every week dedicated to anyone who is sick or having life obstacles.
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.
This is something amazing to rejoice in, and something you can make offerings toward, especially if you are sick or would like to offer on behalf of someone else who is sick. Any extra money remaining in the fund is offered toward larger animal liberations held in Singapore and Hong Kong.
Most precious self-emanating statue of Chenrezig said to be the actual deity itself in Phakpa, Garsha Khandroling, India.
In July 2013 Lama Zopa Rinpoche engaged in retreat with Khadro-la and Tsenshap Serkong Rinpoche in the valley of Lahual, India, which is known by meditators as Garsha Khandroling, “Land of the Dakinis.”
The retreat took place in one of the holy places in Garsha, Phakpa (or Triloknath), a small village with an ancient temple that houses a self-emanating statue of Chenrezig said to be the actual deity itself.
The incredible butter lamp offered to Chenrezig, will have light for all time.
During the retreat Rinpoche sponsored one year of butter for the giant silver butter lamp which is in front of this extremely precious statue of Chenrezig. The cost of a year of butter for the light offering is US$430 a year. In fact, Rinpoche has committed to offer light to this statue for as long as the statue exists.
Rinpoche made the prayer when offering the butter light: “I am offering this on behalf of all the six-realm sentient beings, all the animals, birds, fish, cockroaches, ants, every bat, every tiny insect that jumps up when you walk in the grass, every single crab, every spider, every butterfly and all the numberless animals and numberless beings in each of the six realms (hell beings, hungry ghosts, animals human beings, sura, asuras and intermediate state beings).” So this offering became an offering from all of these beings as well.
If you would like to contribute to Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s extensive offerings to holy objects around the world, you may donate any amount to the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund.
We are not aware of the limitless skies of benefits we achieve from the practice of offering, what we can achieve and enjoy from life to life. Even while you are in samsara, you enjoy good rebirths, wealth, and every happiness. Even just the samsaric perfections are amazing, without adding all those incredible realizations that allow us to offer deep benefit to sentient beings, liberating them from oceans of samsaric suffering and its cause, delusion and karma.
—Lama Zopa Rinpoche (from Extensive Offerings, published by FPMT Education Services)
Light Offering Prayer
Composed by Lama Atisha
May the light of the lamp be equal to the great three thousand
worlds and their environments,
May the wick of the lamp be equal to the king of mountains –
Mount Meru.
May the butter be equal to the infinite ocean.
May there be billions of trillions of lamps in the presence of each
and every buddha.
May the light illuminate the darkness of ignorance of all sentient beings
From the peak of samsara down to the most torturous hell,
Whereby they can see directly and clearly all the ten directions’ Buddhas
and bodhisattvas and their pure lands.
OM VAJRA ALOKE AH HUM E MA HO
I offer these beautifully exalted clear and luminous lights
To the thousand buddhas of the fortunate eon,
To all the buddhas and bodhisattvas of the infinite pure lands
and of the ten directions,
To all the gurus, meditation deities, dakas, dakinis, dharma protectors,
and the assembly of deities of all mandalas.
From “Extensive Offering Practice,” by Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
Available through the FPMT Foundation Store.
Long Life Puja with the five dakinis offered to Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Land of Medicine Buddha, September 29, 2013. Photo by Chris Majors.
The annual long life puja offered on behalf of the centers, projects, services and students of FPMT to Lama Zopa Rinpoche, will be offered at Kopan Monastery on Dec 9th 2013.
This puja is offered every year on behalf of the organization. In April of this year, Rangjung Neljorma Khadro Namsel Drönme (Khadro-la) gave advice about practices needed to remove obstacles to Rinpoche’s health and long life. Offering long life pujas to Rinpoche with the five dakinis was given as one of the practices in which students should engage. This puja will be performed by 600+ monks and nuns as well as the 280 participants of Kopan Monastery’s November Lam-Rim Course. All are welcome to make an offering of any amount toward this puja. Students can also meditate at the same time of the puja and offer your own prayers and practices for Rinpoches long life.
To understand why a long life puja is essential, we must understand the value of the Guru. He is our guide in this life, the bardo, and future lives. He is immensely important. It is not a case where if we ask him to live he will, and vice-versa, but that to offer such a ceremony purifies our own broken samayas.
—Geshe Lama Konchog
If you would like to participate in offering to this puja, please donate any amount by December 5 so your name can be included in the dedication.
- Sera Lachi (6,000 monks): Druk Chu Ma, Namgyäl Tong Chö, Zangcho (King of Prayers)
- Ganden Lachi (3,400 monks): Druk Chu Ma, Medicine Buddha Puja, Zangcho
- Drepung Lachi (4,200 monks): Druk Chu Ma, Namgyäl Tsechog, Zangcho
- Gyurme Tantric College (650 monks): Recitation of the Prajnaparamita (three versions)
- Gyuto Tantric College (600 monks): Namgyäl Tong Chö, Zangcho.
- 20rs is offered to every monk at these monasteries.
- Kopan Monastery: Druk chu ma, Medicine Buddha Puja, Tsang Cho. 50rs are offered to each monk.
- Kopan Nunnery: Druk Chu Ma, Medicine Buddha Puja, Tsang Cho. 50rs are offered to each nun.
- Offerings to all of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s gurus (His Holiness the Dalai Lama, His Holiness Sakya Trizen, Geshe Sopa Rinpoche, Choden Rinpoche, Dhakpa Rinpoche, Jhado Rinpoche, Khongla Rato Rinpoche, Tsenshap Serkong Rinpoche).
- Offerings are made to all the Sangha at international Sangha communities: Nalanda Monastery, France; Thubten Shedrup Ling, Australia; Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa, Italy; Chenrezig Institute, Australia; and Sangha offering service at Rinpoche’s house, USA.
- White wash and offering four giant saffron flower petals are offered to Bouddhanath and Swayambunath stupas in Nepal, as well as new umbrellas to the stupas’ pinnacles.
- A new set of robes of the most precious material is offered to the Buddha inside the Bodhgaya Mahabodhi temple as well as the Jowo Buddha in Lhasa’s Jokang and also gold is offered to the holy face of the Jowo Buddha.
You can learn more about the entire array of yearly and monthly pujas, practices and offerings sponsored by the Puja Fund. You are welcome to contribute to this ongoing effort.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche turning the prayer wheel he advised be built. Photo by Thubten Jangchub.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche offered US$3,321 to a small Tibetan settlement in the hills of Kulli Manali, India, for repairs to their gompa’s roof. This Tibetan settlement is where Zong Rinpoche’s mother lived previously.
This is the second offering from the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund to this settlement, Rinpoche also offered US$5,000 towards statues for the gompa and advised for a prayer wheel to be built (both pictured).
Please rejoice in this offering!
If you would like to contribute to the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund, any amount is welcome.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche offering to the statues sponsored. Photo by Thubten Jangchub.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche recently explained some of the benefits of offering gold to holy objects:
If someone offers a small flower or rice to a Buddha statue, a stupa or scripture then the benefit extends from then up to Enlightenment. Amazing, amazing. It is said in the sutra Piled Flowers, on top of that benefit, you achieve ultimate happiness – liberation from the causes of delusion and karma and on top of that full Enlightenment – all the realizations and omniscient mind. After this, then you liberate numberless hell beings, pretas, animals, humans, suras and asuras from the ocean of samsaric sufferings and bring them to full Enlightenment. When all beings are brought to
Enlightenment, only then are all the results of offering achieved. So by offering gold, then wow, wow, wow.
Scribe Ven. Tenzin Namdrol. Kopan, December 2012.
You can contribute to this unbelievably precious offering, any amount you are able:
A few of the nuns of Tashi Chime Gatsal Nunnery.
Since 2009 the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund has sponsored a small nunnery, Tashi Chime Gatsal Nunnery, located in a remote area of Nepal, to undertake annual 100 million mani retreats. In 2012 the fund started to sponsor two 100 million mani retreats. US$5,956 (600,000 Nepali rupees) was just granted for the sponsorship of the second retreat.
In addition to sponsoring the actual retreat and offering food to all the nuns in retreat, the fund also sponsors one Geshe Lobsang Gyaltsen to stay at the nunnery and give ongoing lam-rim teachings to the nuns.
Recently, eight new nuns joined the nunnery. During the retreat the nuns make strong prayers for Lama Zopa Rinpoche; FPMT centers, projects and services; all FPMT students, staff and volunteers; and also for all who contribute to the sponsorship of the 100 million mani retreats.
Please rejoice!
If you would like to contribute to the sponsorship of these retreats, which not only benefit the nuns of Tashi Chime Gatsal Nunnery but also the entire FPMT organization, you may donate any amount:
Sera Mey monks performing the monthly Medicine Buddha Puja offered by the Puja Fund.
The Puja Fund recently offered US$2,843.49 for six months of monthly Medicine Buddha pujas performed by the monks of Sera Mey Monastery, South India.
This monthly puja is offered on the Tibetan 8th day of every month. 2,000 monks attend and are offered tea, bread and a small money offering for their participation. The cost of light offerings and torma offerings for the puja is also offered. This month, the puja will be performed on November 10th.
Extensive dedication prayers are made for the success of the entire FPMT organization; FPMT centers, projects, services; all students who are ill or having life obstacles; benefactors of The Puja Fund and to all beings.
Please rejoice in this monthly puja which helps support the monks of Sera Mey Monastery and has immense benefit for the entire FPMT organization.
You can donate any amount to these ongoing efforts.
The Sera Lachi monks. Photo courtesy of the Sera Lachi Facebook page.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche was very pleased to offer, through the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund, $US100,000 toward the various projects Sera Lachi is undertaking. Sera Lachi is made up of Sera Je and SeraMey Monasteries and this donation benefits both monasteries and the 6,000 monks studying at between them.
After receiving this offering, the administration of Sera Lachi responded: “We are praying that you and every single member of your organization will have a happy, prosperous, joyful and sound health in the years ahead. We also pray that the teachings of His Eminence Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche will reach every sentient being and help them to find happiness in their living.”
Sera Lachi is involved in many much-needed projects, including:
- Taking care of the palaces of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Panchen Rinpoche as well as the main temple, murals, etc.
- Under advice of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Sera Lachi is building a new compound near Old Palace (where His Holiness the Dalai Lama had stayed while his permanent residence was being built) for holding Dharma awareness programs for lay people along with a Library.
- Due to deterioration of electrical supplies there are frequent and long power outages at the monasteries. Additionally, the existing transformers (electrical conduits) are old and in very poor condition, thus posing great danger to human lives during monsoon and power fluctuations. Because of this, Sera Lachi has plans to replace the old transformers that frequently break and cannot serve the growing needs of the Sera community.
- The tarred roads of Sera compound are damaged and new ones need to be laid. In addition, interlock bricks are needed in the foregrounds of Main Temple which holds public programs and is also where monks study. Sera Lachi plans to attend to these needs.
- Sera Lachi is building a new shop, canteen and guesthouse for generating future sources of income for the monasteries. This involves 113 solar lamps to cover the major streets which will enable the monks and visitors to move around in the night during the frequent power outages.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche was extremely happy to make this offering– Sera Lachi has been in existence for the last 600 years and is one of the most important learning universities of Tibetan Buddhism in the world. This offering directly supports the current and future monks who will be working so diligently to study the Dharma and preserve the Mahayana tradition.
Please rejoice in this offering. You are welcome to help support the projects Lama Zopa Rinpoche deems beneficial by making a donation of any amount to the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund: