Projects

Jangtse Choje Rinpoche presiding over the Monlam prayer festival at Kopan Monastery, 2017. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Since 1998, the Gelug Monlam—known as the Great Prayer Festival—has been held at Kopan Monastery, Nepal, in the tradition of Lama Tsongkhapa, who founded the festival in 1409. The Monlam is regarded as one the “four great activities” of Lama Tsongkhapa’s life. It is held on the first Tibetan month of the year, during Chotrul Duchen, or the “Fifteen Days of Miracles.”

We reached out to Geshe Losang Sherab, who has served as the umze, or chant leader, for the Gelug Monlam at Kopan since 2001, to help share how this tradition, now over six centuries old, is preserved and carried on at Kopan today.

From Lhasa to Kopan – A Brief History of the Great Prayer Festival

Chotrul Duchen is one of the four major anniversaries celebrating the extraordinary deeds of Shakyamuni Buddha. According to the vinaya text Treasure of Quotations and Logic, karmic potential on these special Buddha Days are increased by a 100 million. Chotrul Duchen marks the time when Shakyamuni Buddha, while in Sravasti, India, displayed a series of miraculous acts in response to a public challenge by six ascetics, as a means to instill faith and inspiration.

The first Great Prayer Festival to celebrate Chotrul Duchen was led by Lama Tsongkhapa at the Jokhang temple in Lhasa, Tibet, during the Tibetan New Year of 1409. The Monlam tradition would become very popular and eventually adopted by all the major schools of Tibet.

Geshe Losang Sherab explains, “Lama Tsongkhapa started the festival to remember the kindness of the Buddha and also to create an environment for the people, both lay and Sangha, to create merit. Thousands of monks from all major monasteries around Lhasa such as Sera, Ganden, and Drepung took part every year. So many sponsors would come from all parts of Tibet to make offerings to the Sangha. It was a great opportunity for the both the Sangha, the sponsors, and all who took part in it to accumulate a great number of merits.”

The Gelug Monlam would continue to be held at the Jokhang in Lhasa until 1498, when it was stopped due to political strife at the time. The second Dalai Lama, Gendun Gyatso, revived the Monlam in 1517 while serving as abbot of Drepung Monastery. It was celebrated at the Jokhang Temple continuously until the invasion of Tibet by the Chinese army in 1959.

Geshe Losang Sherab continues, “After 1959, the three great monasteries held Monlam in Buxa, and after the three great monasteries were re-established in south India, they celebrated it in their own monasteries. I think the reason was the distance between the monasteries, which made it difficult, costly, and time consuming to assemble together as in Tibet”

The Gelug Monlam began to be held in Nepal in 1992. Kopan Monastery’s location, up in the hills outside of Kathmandu, was seen to be less ideal than other monasteries at the time, so Kopan never hosted the festival during its first years in Nepal.

According to Geshe Losang Sherab, it was around 1998 that new challenges arose for preserving the continuity of the Gelug Monlam. After His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s request for the discontinuation of the practice of Shugden, some monasteries were still continuing to do the practice. Under the circumstances, Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Khensur Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup offered to hold the Monlam at Kopan. A few other monasteries joined, and a new Gelug Monlam committee also formed around this time. The committee requested Lama Zopa Rinpoche to lead the Gelug Monlam that year.

Geshe Losang Sherab remarks about the 1998 prayer festival:

“With blessings of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche, the Monlam that year at Kopan went very well, with many locals attending despite the distance they had to travel, and with donations from locals, generous benefactors from other countries, FPMT’s Lama Tsong Khapa Teachers Fund, and some FPMT centers. From that year, almost every year the Monlams were held at Kopan. Some of the other monasteries that didn’t give up the worship of Shugden at first gave it up and joined Monlam at Kopan. After that, many great lamas such as the 100th Ganden Tripa Geshe Lobsang Nyima Rinpoche, (then Jangtse Choje Rijong Rinpoche), Denma Locho Rinpoche, the present Ganden Tri Rinpoche and presently Jangtse Choje Gosok Rinpoche presides over the Monlam.”

How the Gelug Monlam Tradition is Carried Forward Today

Chant Master of Gelug Monlam at Kopan Monastery, Geshe Losang Sherab.

Geshe Losang Sherab has been the head chant master for the Gelug Monlam for twenty-one years. He describes the position:

“Being the umze of the Monlam I have the responsibility of the leading the chanting and to make sure that it’s done in as authentic a way as possible. I prepare a group of monks who are called Kesang (“good voice”) and Donsang (“having memorized many texts”) and teach them the tunes, and also make them memorize the texts they haven’t memorized. I also do at least six to seven days of training with all Kopan monks and a full rehearsal before the actual Monlam.”

The progression and practice of the Monlam is very elaborate and specifically organized. We asked Geshe Losang Sherab to help describe a picture of the tradition. He kindly offered a detailed account below:

“The prayers that are recited during Monlam are common in all Gelug monasteries, but the tune that is used during the actual Monlam is always from Drepung Monastery, as it was done since the time of the second Dalai Lama.”

Geshe Losang Sherab explained that it was the second Dalai Lama who “restored the great Monlam in Lhasa and established rules and regulations, including the set of prayers that are recited during the Monlam.”

The rest of the prayers, apart from the main Monlam activities, are chanted in the Sera Je Monastery tradition – the monastery that Kopan is most closely connected with.

“During the first session in the morning, many prayers are recited, mainly the homage to Buddha, confession to Thirty-five Buddhas, Ornament for Clear Realization (Abisamayalankara ) by Venerable Maitreya, Introduction to the Middle Path (Madhyamakavatara) by Chandrakirti and Manjushri Nama Samgiti, etc. Tea and bread is served during this session.

“During the second session, monks and nuns from all the monasteries and nunneries would debate on logic to the geshes from Kopan who are appointed to answer the debate.

“During the third session, the head lama of Monlam is invited with procession of gyaling [horns], victory banners and yellow parasol.  The chant master chants Migtsema prayers until the lama sits on the throne. Then all Sangha sit on the floor offering three prostrations to the lama. The lama would lead the Heart Sutra followed by the prayers to lineage lamas. After that, the chant master makes three prostrations and chants the mandala offering, after which the lama would teach on the Jakata Tales. After it’s completed, the lama would do dedications, and then he’s invited to his quarters in the same way he was invited to the teaching venue.

“After that, there’s a session during which tea and lunch is served. During this session, Lama Tsongkhapa guru yoga, lamrim Lines of Experience, Triple Ground of Glory, prayers to sixteen Arhats, eight powerful prayers, mantras such as the Namgyalma long mantra, and Medicine Buddha mantras are recited.

“Then after half an hour break, the fourth session begins. During this the monks and nuns from all the monasteries and nunneries debate on the paramitas and on view of the Middle Way to the appointed answers from Kopan.

“Then the actual Monlam begins after the Head Lama is invited with a procession of gyaling [horns], victory banners, and parasol. The lama makes three prostrations to the altar and then sits on the throne. After this all the Sangha sit down. The chant master leads prayers standing on his seat, beginning with the Likdrima (praise to Tara), Kapsumpa (praise to the Buddha by Lama Tsongkhapa), Losang Gyalkunma (supplication to the lineage gurus), prayers of Maitreya, and the Prayers at the Beginning, Middle and End by Lama Tsongkhapa. During the last two prayers, the chant master would walk with huge steps during each verse which is called Cham (“dance”), and offer a khata [scarf] to the lama. The chant master then walks backwards and sits on the seat.

“After that, the assistant chant master and his three companions stand up and start the bath offering prayers and offering the five objects of desire, the seven royal possessions, etc., then an extensive mandala offering followed by prostrations, reciting the confession to Thirty-five Buddhas, and sits down. Then the head lama starts the torma offering to the landlord, after which the chant master stands up and leads the prayer of secret biography of Lama Tsongkhapa. During this, the chant master performs the Cham dance with huge steps at the end of every verse. Then the Foundation of All Good Qualities is chanted. While chanting, the chant master goes back to his seat, walking backwards with huge steps and sits down on his seat. After this, the head lama recites the dedication prayers.

“At the end of the session, the chant master, the assistant chant master and his three companions stand up, wearing the yellow hat and recite the auspicious prayers. Then the lama is invited to his quarters. During the fifth session, extensive White Umbrella prayers and prayers to Lion-face Dakini, and Twenty-one Tara praises are recited. Dinner is served during this session.

“During every prayer session, the Gegu (“master of discipline”) reads the dedication forms with the names of sponsors. During every prayer session, the Heart Sutra and the Hundred-syllable mantra are recited, and at the end of every prayer session, the torma offering to Palden Lhamo and other protectors are recited. The program ends with debate on Vinaya and Abhidharma in the evening.

“On the fourth day of Monlam, which falls on the full moon day, the beautiful butter sculpture made by Kopan monks is displayed outside for the people to get blessed. On the last day of Monlam, Maitreya Buddha statue is invited with a huge procession. And in the afternoon [of the last day], Kopan Lama Gyupas offer the Torgyak which they have prepared and consecrated for three days. Then a dinner session is held and during which the secretary of the Monlam reads out the account of income and expenses of Monlam, and then the Monlam of that year concludes auspiciously.”

Please join us in rejoicing in the preservation of this incredible tradition at Kopan Monastery! The Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund is a sponsor of the Gelug Monlam which is essential for preserving the Lama Tsongkhapa tradition. 

Since its inception, the Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund, an extension of the Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund, has supported the preservation of the Gelug School of Tibetan Buddhism. 

With tremendous thanks to Geshe Losang Sherab for his time and information about this rich tradition. 

Lama Zopa Rinpoche and attendees during the long life puja offered to Rinpoche on September 11, 2022. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

On September 11, 2022, Amitabha Buddhist Centre, Singapore, offered a moving long life puja to Lama Zopa Rinpoche who has been teaching at the center since August 1. The proceedings involved the traditional five dakini dance, a procession bearing an array of the traditional offerings, long life prayers for His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Rinpoche by ABC’s choir, Mudita, with musical accompaniment, and also a composition of praise written by long-time student Cecilia Tsong. 

Rinpoche offered a powerful teaching on emptiness at the end of the puja. “You have to know how to meditate on emptiness to deal with your problems,” Rinpoche said. We invite you to enjoy, and rejoice in, this beautiful praise by Cecilia Tsong which was offered to Rinpoche. 

Cecilia Tsong offering her beautifully composed praise to Lama Zopa Rinpoche during the September 11 long life puja. Photo courtesy of ABC Facebook page.

Long Life Praise of Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Composed by Cecilia Tsong

This is a miracle.  Having the privilege once again of offering a long life puja to our most precious Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche even as the world is imploding with wars, famines, natural disasters and rampant violence. Still rocked to its very core by a virus invisible to the naked eye. So, this is a miracle.  

Your presence here now makes us realize how much we have taken for granted over the years: The annual visits, the sessions that often go into early hours of the morning. Rinpoche has no concept of time, we would mutter to ourselves! But of course Rinpoche has the keenest, clearest realization of the value of time. How every single millisecond not spent practicing the Dharma is time lost and wasted, time gone forever!

And now, Rinpoche uses his skillful means to show us the value of time in a different way. Rinpoche is now meticulous in his time keeping, constantly checking if time is up. Reminding us that there will be a time when time is up for all of us, a time when the Dharma – an unbearable thought – will no longer be heard. So every word, every syllable is ever more precious than before.

Rinpoche, in composing this praise, we recognize that no matter how effusive our words may be, there is so much of Rinpoche’s qualities we are still too obscured to see. So, we rely on scriptural authority.

In the Vajra Cutter Sutra, when Subhuti asked the Buddha if that Sutra can ever be taught in the future, the Buddha reassured him there will be teachers who are “bodhisattva mahasattvas, endowed with morality, endowed with qualities, endowed with wisdom,” who will have made homage and roots of virtue to not just a single buddha but to many hundred thousands of buddhas.”  The Buddha must have been referring to one such as you, Rinpoche.

From the Golden Light Sutra, hundreds of thousands of bodhisattvas praised the Tathagata Suvarnaratnakarachhatrakuta with these words. But surely, they were talking about you too, Rinpoche?

O Conqueror, through revealing the nectar of the Dharma
You usher in the deathless city;
An abode of peace,
You are the source of everything serene.

O Conqueror, you free migrating beings from suffering
And liberate creatures from the ocean of misery
You place them well upon the path to peace
And give happiness to every being.

Nothing can be found that is comparable
To the sage’s ocean of virtue and wisdom
Possessing compassion for beings laden with life,
You have the powers of love, perseverance and skill.

There is none among beings, even among gods,
Who in many thousands of millions of eons
Can fully explain merely one drop of virtue
From the ocean of your supreme qualities.

So, what can we see?

We should be reminded Rinpoche was originally here for a medical procedure and recuperation. At the airport, with no consideration whatsoever for his own safety, Rinpoche greeted each of us, fully unmasked, so that we can all see that wonderful smile, hear that joyful laughter. Even as Ven. Roger tried vainly to mask up Rinpoche time and again!

Within two days of the procedure, Rinpoche attended our celebration of His Holiness’ 87^th birthday. The only concessions Rinpoche made to his condition were to do a standing prostration and sit in a chair. Rinpoche then graced Khen Rinpoche’s 60^th birthday celebrations and Guru Puja on Wheel Turning Day where Rinpoche, like an indulgent father, treated us to Magnum ice cream.

Within days, an intense series of lojong teachings started, Zoomed around the world and the extremely rare and precious Heruka Five-Deity and Body Mandala initiations were conferred. And for the very first time at ABC, Rinpoche officiated at the extensive Most Secret Hayagriva Puja that lasted for over 10 hours!

It must be abundantly clear by now that to rest, to look after his own health and recovery is a concept that is not only alien but completely repugnant to Rinpoche. It is totally unbearable to Rinpoche not to teach and not to benefit when there is the opportunity to do so. 

Astoundingly, Rinpoche genuinely sees himself only as a Mickey Mouse lama, the Lawudo comedian, who knows nothing about the Dharma, who describes his own extraordinary teachings as “garbage talk,” who constantly asks himself whether he is truly benefitting sentient beings, bemoaning that he is “so lazy” and “not doing enough!”

Let us have a look at what this “not doing enough” looks like.

Rinpoche has made supporting the sangha a key priority of the FPMT organization.

• The Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund regularly offers grants for food for sangha in monasteries in India, Nepal, and Mongolia and has most recently offered US$900,000 to the newly created Food Fund of Gyumed Monastery, an extremely important monastery that provides the highest education to top Buddhist scholars and teachers, including our very own Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi.
• Over US$400,000 has been offered to Tashi Lhunpo Monastery to help build a new 27,000 sq. feet debate courtyard that will enable its monks to debate uninterrupted throughout the year.
• Monthly stipends are offered to all senior teachers of the Gelug lineage and travel and food expenses are sponsored for hundreds of monks attending the winter debates and the annual Gelugpa exam.

Part of Rinpoche’s Vast Vision is to populate the world with holy objects for world peace.   

• The Holy Objects Fund supports this vision with the aim of creating 100,000 stupas and prayer wheels, 1,000 Maitreya statues, and many, many huge Guru Rinpoche statues.
• The FPMT family are all encouraged to commission giant thangkas to be displayed on special occasions. Prior to the pandemic, ABC has been displaying its own magnificent 50 feet high Amitabha Buddha thangka at the Vesak Day celebrations.

No one teaches the vital importance of generating the good heart, compassion, and bodhicitta quite like Rinpoche. Rinpoche also frequently reminds us of the suffering of animals.

• Put into action, the FPMT Social Services Fund offers grants to projects in India, Nepal, and Mongolia targeted at disadvantaged children, the elderly, the sick, and very poor and supports schools, hospices, health clinics, soup kitchens, and elderly homes.
• The Animal Liberation Sanctuary at Kopan Monastery in Nepal, soon to be further expanded, houses animals such as goats and cows, many saved by Rinpoche himself from the butcher’s shop.

These are only the tip of the tip of the iceberg of Rinpoche’s projects. So when it says in Rinpoche’s long life prayer, “Sustaining, preserving, and spreading the Manjunath’s victorious doctrine;/ Who masterfully accomplish magnificent prayers honoring the Three Rare Sublime Ones,” these are not empty words of praise but actually describes Rinpoche’s enlightened activities.

There are many new students gathered here today but new or old, we are truly the most fortunate of the fortunate, for during these troubled times, when there are so many wayward but charismatic teachers leading their students astray, Rinpoche is the guru who truly possesses and surpasses all the ten qualities of the valid guru. Rinpoche is the real deal!

So, Rinpoche, this is our heartfelt commitment to you:

You are our guru, you are our yidam,
You are our dakini and Dharma protector.
From now until enlightenment,
We shall seek no other refuge than you.

For the sake of your students, old and new, Rinpoche, please, please live long. 

And for countless others, desperately seeking but yet to meet the fully qualified guru, you who are that perfect guru, let them quickly, quickly find you. For their sake, Rinpoche, please, please live long. 

Our collective prayers have tremendous power and even if you were unable to attend the long life puja in person or online, we invite you to generate your own prayers for Rinpoche’s health and long life.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.

You can learn more about the various charitable activities of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and the many funds which support Rinpoche’s vision. 

Inauguration of the Thame Prayer Wheel (located in its house), on August 12, 2022.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche was born in The Mount Everest region of Thame, Nepal, located near Lawudo which was the home of Rinpoche’s previous incarnation. Rinpoche’s sister, Anil-la Ngawang Samten, had the wish to build a prayer wheel in Thame, near the house where Rinpoche was born. She offered some of her own money toward the building of the prayer wheel and the prayer wheel house, and thanks to a very kind benefactor we were able to offer a grant to fund the rest of this project. The prayer wheel is 9 ft x 6 ft in size and contains 100 trillion mantras on microfilm (using nanotechnology). This is possibly the most mantras contained in a prayer wheel in the entire world (to date)!

On August 12 the incarnation of the Thame Lama and other monks from Thame Monastery blessed the new prayer wheel. Lay people also came to offer song and Dharma dances during this auspicious inauguration. We are so happy to share a short video of this blessed event:

During Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s August 13 teaching from Singapore, he shared news of the progress on this prayer wheel and also led participants in an a dedication prayer for this project. We invite you all to join in this extensive dedication composed by Lama Zopa Rinpoche:

Dedications for the Guru, Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha

Due to all the past, present and future merits collected by me, the three-time merits collected by numberless sentient beings, and the three-time merits collected by numberless buddhas, and, in particular, due to all the merits of having built and sponsored at much expense, and of having met, this most precious, wish-fulfilling mani wheel:

• May His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Chenrezig in human form, who is the sole object of refuge of us six-realm sentient beings, the originator of all sentient beings’ happiness, and the embodiment of all the past, present and future buddhas of the ten directions, have a long and stable life and remain until our samsara ends, and may all his holy wishes be fulfilled.
• May all the other holy beings and all the sangha in the different countries of the world have long and healthy lives, and may they be successful in preserving and spreading the Dharma for the benefit of sentient beings.
• May the precious, wish-fulfilling teachings of the Buddha, from where every sentient being receives happiness, last a long time and spread in the ten directions.

Dedications for the Benefactors and Generous People

In particular, due to the merits of building and sponsoring this prayer wheel:

• May all the benefactors who make offerings to and serve the sangha and the Buddha’s teachings enjoy good health and have long lives, and may all their wishes be fulfilled.
• May all the people from different countries who help others, such as MacKenzie Scott, Sonu Sood, Richard Gere, and Lady Gaga, and especially those who helped others during the time of COVID-19 by providing food, organizing transport for migrant workers in India, and so forth, have good health, a long life, and may all their wishes to benefit others be fulfilled.

Dedication for Evil Beings

Due to the merits of building and sponsoring this prayer wheel, may all evil-doers meet the Buddhadharma and come to understand karma—the consequences of the actions they did with a negative mind—and be able to abandon creating negative karma, the cause of suffering, and only practice the cause of happiness, virtuous actions of body, speech, and mind. May they generate bodhicitta in their hearts, stop harming others, and only benefit them up to enlightenment.

Dedications for the Sentient Beings of the Six Realms and Intermediate State

The prayer wheel itself, the work of building it, the money that sponsored it, and the merits that were created are all dedicated to the numberless hell beings. In this way, they themselves become the constructors and benefactors of the prayer wheel and collect unbelievable merits. Due to these merits, may the numberless hell beings never be reborn in the lower realms again. May they be free from the oceans of samsaric sufferings. May they generate bodhicitta and achieve the peerless happiness of enlightenment—the total cessation of the gross and subtle obscurations and the completion of all realizations—as quickly as possible.

The prayer wheel itself, the work of building it, the money that sponsored it, and the merits that were created are all dedicated to the numberless hungry ghosts. In this way, they themselves become the constructors and benefactors of the prayer wheel and collect unbelievable merits. Due to these merits, may the numberless hungry ghosts never be reborn in the lower realms again. May they be free from the oceans of samsaric sufferings. May they generate bodhicitta and achieve the peerless happiness of enlightenment—the total cessation of the gross and subtle obscurations and the completion of all realizations—as quickly as possible.

The prayer wheel itself, the work of building it, the money that sponsored it, and the merits that were created are all dedicated to the numberless animals. In this way, they themselves become the constructors and benefactors of the prayer wheel and collect unbelievable merits. Due to these merits, may the numberless animals—those in the ocean that are so small they can only be seen with a microscope and those that are as large as mountains, as well as every single ant, tiny fly, mosquito, louse, and so on—never be reborn in the lower realms again. May they be free from the oceans of samsaric sufferings. May they generate bodhicitta and achieve the peerless happiness of enlightenment—the total cessation of the gross and subtle obscurations and the completion of all realizations—as quickly as possible.

The prayer wheel itself, the work of building it, the money that sponsored it, and the merits that were created are all dedicated to the numberless human beings. In this way, they themselves become the constructors and benefactors of the prayer wheel and collect unbelievable merits. Due to these merits, may the numberless human beings in the numberless universes—especially those lacking a home, food, medicine, or a livelihood, as well as the billionaires, trillionaires, and zillionaires who experience the greatest dissatisfaction and so much happiness and are the real poor people—never ever be reborn in the lower realms. May they be free from the oceans of samsaric sufferings. May they generate bodhicitta and achieve the peerless happiness of enlightenment—the total cessation of the gross and subtle obscurations and the completion of all realizations—as quickly as possible.

The prayer wheel itself, the work of building it, the money that sponsored it, and the merits that were created are all dedicated to the numberless asuras. In this way, they themselves become the constructors and benefactors of the prayer wheel and collect unbelievable merits.  Due to these merits, may the numberless asuras never ever be reborn in the lower realms. May they be free from the oceans of samsaric sufferings. May they generate bodhicitta and achieve the peerless happiness of enlightenment—the total cessation of the gross and subtle obscurations and the completion of all realizations—as quickly as possible.

The prayer wheel itself, the work of building it, the money that sponsored it, and the merits that were created are all dedicated to the numberless suras. In this way, they themselves become the constructors and benefactors of the prayer wheel and collect unbelievable merits. Due to these merits, may the numberless suras never ever be reborn in the lower realms. May they be free from the oceans of samsaric sufferings. May they generate bodhicitta and achieve the peerless happiness of enlightenment—the total cessation of the gross and subtle obscurations and the completion of all realizations—as quickly as possible.

The prayer wheel itself, the work of building it, the money that sponsored it, and the merits that were created are all dedicated to the numberless intermediate state beings. In this way, they themselves become the constructors and benefactors of the prayer wheel and collect unbelievable merits. Due to these merits, may the numberless intermediate state beings never ever be reborn in the lower realms. May they be free from the oceans of samsaric sufferings. May they generate bodhicitta and achieve the peerless happiness of enlightenment—the total cessation of the gross and subtle obscurations and the completion of all realizations—as quickly as possible.

By dedicating in this way, every single samsaric sentient being has been able to collect extensive merits. This is what they need in order to become free from the suffering of pain, to experience temporary happiness within samsara, and to achieve the peerless happiness of full enlightenment. All sentient beings, including myself, have been able to collect such unbelievable merits entirely due to the kindness of Ani-la Ngawang Samten, by whose inspiration this project was initiated.

Dedications to Stop the Dangers Causes by the Four Elements

Due to the inconceivable merits of all the people who built and sponsored this prayer wheel, and the skies of merits of those who built and sponsored it with bodhicitta, may the world immediately be free from:

• war, famine, and disease, including all the different present diseases, such as COVID-19, and all the diseases that will come in the future;
• disharmony, fighting, and killing;
• the dangers caused by earth, including earthquakes, landslides, and other disasters that cause great harm and fear to living beings, who have no control over them;
• the dangers caused by water, including tsunamis, floods, droughts, famines, and so forth that are happening in many countries, including large, rich countries like China and America;
• the dangers caused by fire, such as the wildfires that cause great harm to animals and human beings and take governments months and sometimes even years to put out;
• the dangers caused by wind, such as cyclones, tornadoes, and hurricanes.

May all these dangers be pacified immediately and may the world be filled with perfect peace and happiness. May bodhicitta be generated in everyone’s heart, and may they achieve enlightenment, the fully awakened mind, as quickly as possible.

Dedications for Specific People and All Sentient Beings

I dedicate all the merits of building and sponsoring this prayer wheel:

• to my father to repay his kindness, even though I didn’t have a chance to see him in this life;
• to my mother, due to whose unbelievable kindness I have received a human body, met the holy Dharma, and been able to benefit others in the world a little bit;
• to the original benefactor, my sister Ani-la Ngawang Samten, my brother Sangye, and my other sister Chokyi who died when she was very young, and all my aunts and uncles;
• to Ven. Tenzin Drachom and all the people from Singapore who sponsored the microfilm with the mantras, due to which sentient beings can receive all these merits;
• to Tendar, who was a key person in helping make the prayer wheel, Tobgye, Sherab, Roger, Tenpa Choden, Holly, Ani Janne, Tenzin, Tharchin, Anet, Angie, Katie, the late Nyima, and all those who work for the FPMT;
• to Ven. Thubten Pemba Sherpa, who is always very helpful for Kopan and its branches and many other projects;
• to every single person who built or has offered service at Lawudo Gompa, including Sangmu Sherpa, Tsultrim Norbu, Pemba Tsering, and so forth;
• to everyone who has helped support Lawudo, including Mingma Yangji Sherpa and her husband Pemba Nuru Sherpa, Sangye’s wife Nyima, and Nyima Tashi;
• and to all the animals at Lawudo, including the dzomos who gave milk, the cows, and the dogs.

I dedicate all the merits of building and sponsoring this prayer wheel to everyone who comes here to see it and to everyone who turns it. (Now you can see that every sentient being is the benefactor of this prayer wheel, including you.)

I dedicate all the merits of building and sponsoring the prayer wheel to all the sentient beings who rely on me, all those for whom I have promised to pray, and all those whose names have been given to me, both the living and the dead.

May they all achieve the peerless happiness of enlightenment as quickly as possible.

I dedicate all the merits of having built this prayer wheel for everyone in this world to achieve temporal and ultimate happiness.

Numberless Thanks

I would like to thank Yangji and her husband Pemba, who guided and completed this work of building the prayer wheel, and all the workers who built it. May they all quickly become free from the oceans of samsara and achieve the peerless happiness of enlightenment as quickly as possible.

From the depths of my heart, numberless thanks to everyone.

Lama Zopa, Lawudo Lama

To help ensure our support to the creation of holy objects around the world, we invite you to offer a donation of any amount to the Holy Objects Fund.

A practice session during one of the 108 Nyung Na retreats at Institut Vajra Yogini, France, June 2022.

The Nyung Na retreat is a two-day intensive practice that includes taking the 24-hour Mahayana precepts every day, with the addition of complete fasting and silence every second day. There are three sessions of about three hours each day, including meditation, prostrations, and mantra recitation. It is a powerfully effective, experiential practice that can be done by anyone with respect and faith for the practice. Nyung Na retreat is highly praised by Lama Zopa Rinpoche as a supreme method for transforming the mind.

Institut Vajra Yogini (IVY) in France has hosted it’s eleventh series of 108 Nyung Na retreats from November 2021-June 2022. One of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Visions for the FPMT organization is to regularly sponsor 1,000 Nyung Na retreats, and Institut Vajra Yogini kindly began to host the retreats every year to help fulfill this vision.

Like last year, the pandemic created some new challenges and restrictions, including an outbreak in the group earlier in the year. To follow government safety protocols and help reduce the risk of outbreak, IVY had to remove the option for students to join for single sessions, which it had offered in years before the pandemic. To help accommodate more students, Ven. Charles, the retreat leader, offered the morning sessions online every morning as well as one complete two-day Nyung Na retreat online once a month, so more students could participate from home.

This year, three people have completed the full round of 108 Nyung Na retreats, please take a moment to rejoice in their practice: 

• Venerable Charles
• Valentino Giacomin, from Alice Project
• Jean Marie Tanpi de Campanema, from France

An incredible 1,188 Nyung Na retreats have been completed at Institut Vajra Yogini over this period by those practicing on site and at home online, although the exact count is difficult to know with the inclusion of the online retreatants. 

Participants during one of the 108 Nyung Na retreats being held at Institut Vajra Yogini, France, June 2022.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche, through the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund. has been sponsoring the food and accommodation for up to ten people, each year, who undertake the 108 Nyung Na retreats. This year, the fund offered US$14,541 in support of the 108 retreats completed. 

Institut Vajra Yogini has already begun planning for the twelfth series of 108 Nyung Na retreats, which will be held from November 15, 2022 to mid-June 2023. The retreats are led in French but can be followed simultaneously in English and other languages. If you are interested in joining, or would like to help sponsor the retreats for others, please contact Institut Vajra Yogini’s Center Director. Lama Zopa Rinpoche is again offering sponsorship for up to ten people to commit to 108 Nyung Nas.

“Nyung Nas are a most powerful, most beneficial and quickest way for you to develop bodhicitta, to collect extensive merit to quickly achieve enlightenment, to become Chenrezig, to liberate sentient beings from the oceans of samsaric suffering and bring to enlightenment… This is an extremely powerful practice, it is an incredible way to develop bodhicitta.” —Lama Zopa Rinpoche

You can learn more about the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund as well as the other Charitable Projects of FPMT.

Find resources on the practice of Nyung Na in the Foundation Store.

Students of Shree Sangka Dhechholing Gonpa School in Taplejung, Nepal.

Since 2012 the Social Services Fund has been supporting schools in India and Nepal that have students of Tibetan, Nepali, Sherpa, and Indian heritage. Approximately 1,000 school-aged children in seven different schools benefit from this support. FPMT’s Social Services Fund provides the food, uniforms, and school supplies for the students and salaries for the teachers to these free schools. We invite you to rejoice in the support we have offered this year, helping break the cycle of poverty and destitution in impoverished areas, and in order to facilitate both a modern and Dharma education, as well as cultural preservation, for those who will benefit most greatly. 

Students of Ngari Institute in Ladakh, India, enjoying a meal together.

Founded in 2010, Ngari Institute in Ladakh, India, helps disadvantaged children from remote regions of Ladakh, especially from a borderline with Tibet, obtain a proper education. Ngari Institute enrolls children from impoverished families into school and provides free boarding, medical attention, clothing and other needs to the students. They also pay a tuition fee to three government schools where they send children for classes. The students are following the standard government educational curriculum during the day and learn about Tibetan Buddhism and culture during after-school hours. The Social Services Fund has been covering all the costs of the food for the 83 children and teachers for nine years. This year we offered a grant for US$32,270 for this purpose.

Students of Ngari Institute, Ladakh, India.

Young students of Shree Sangka Dhechholing Gonpa School in Taplejung, Nepal.

Shree Sangka Dhechholing Gonpa School in Taplejung, Nepal, was established in 2007 to serve the Buddhist community in the area. Eleven teachers currently educate approximately 100 students who start at age three. The curriculum is taught by eleven staff in English and Nepali and focuses on modern subjects as well as Buddhist teachings and culture. In 2022, US$29,799 was offered for all of the operating expenses of this free school. 

Samtenling Monastery is located just behind the Boudhanath Stupa in a beautiful Kathmandu valley. The monastery provides the young monks with a modern, progressive, secular education from kindergarten through grade eight. Most of the monks are from Nepal and are primarily Sherpas and Tamangs, but Tibetan monks also attend the monastery and school. The school had been operating without classrooms since it started, with the children sitting outside under a tin roof, with almost no protection from the sun and rain. Thanks to support from Unione Buddhista Italiana (U.B.I.) three years ago, a grant of US$157,785 was raised and over the following years we facilitated regular grants from this for the building of the school, finalizing this year with the last installment of US$26,976. We are so pleased that due to this grant they were able to build these new classrooms and a debate courtyard for the students.

New school facilities at Samtenling Monastery thanks to a three year grant administered from the Social Services Fund.

Students of Maitreya School, Bodhgaya, India.

Maitreya School, which is a social service project of Root Institute, Bodhgaya, India, is a free school benefiting impoverished children from neighboring villages. The school offers 300 children living in one of India’s poorest states a precious opportunity. Not only do they engage in a traditional education but, more importantly, they receive life skills in compassion, honesty, and loving-kindness presented through Buddha’s teachings. The core of the training and vision of the school is: making lives meaningful. Since 2012 we have offered yearly support toward the operating costs and transportation needs. In 2022 we offered US$29,400 toward the annual costs of operating the school.

A student of Sera Je Secondary School receiving instruction.

Sera Je Secondary School offers education to students from the Tibetan refugee community but also to those from remote areas in India like Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh. Additionally, young novices from Tibet, who do not have the opportunity to study under Chinese rule, have entered this school where they not only learn Buddhist philosophical texts and various aspects of Tibetan culture, but also receive modern education. We are so happy to offer support to this school in in 2022 with a grant for US$25,000.

Sagarmatha Secondary School in Chailsa, Nepal, is located on what was once a Tibetan refugee camp. It currently serves 170 students, including 79 young lay students who live at the school hostel and 25 young monks who live at Thubten Shedrup Ling Monastery, which is a branch of Kopan Monastery and shares the school grounds. The monastery was initially founded to provide a spiritual center for the refugees who came from Tibet after 1959. In 2004 the Tibetan Government in Exile requested Kopan Monastery to take over the care and management of the school and Thubten Shedrup Ling and its resident monks. Kopan Monastery oversees all operations of this school which has a hostel accommodating children that live too far way to travel or who come from families who are too poor to care for them. There are 25 monks who live at the monastery but attend the school for their education. 

Since 2015 we have offered annual grants to the school that covers the salaries of teachers in addition to yearly text books and one set of school uniforms per year for the students.  We are very happy to continue this commitment this year with the very kind help of Yeshe Norbu Association and Unione Buddhista Italiana (U.B.I.). The annual cost is US$45,000 and will be offered at the end of 2022.

Location of Sagarmatha Secondary School in Chailsa, Nepal.

Some of the students of Rolwaling Sangag Choling Monastery School.

Rolwaling Sangag Choling Monastery School is a community run free school, situated on the lap of Mount Gaurishankar, in the Rolwaling Valley, Dolakha District, Nepal. This is the only school available in the valley and provides modern education in addition to promoting the local culture and Dharma. Established in 2010, this school educates thirty-two children from poor families across the Dolakha District of Nepal at the primary school level and provides free boarding, medical attention, clothing ,and other needs to its students with the help of four teachers. A number of monks from the local monastery also attend this school. Many Kopan monks come from Rolwaling, so FPMT’s relationship with this school is quite special. We were very happy to offer a grant of US$19,000 for their operating costs this year.

Please join us in rejoicing in another year of support offered to these beneficial schools due to the kindness of so many. Incredibly, US$220,947 was offered toward education this year. Thank you to all the kind donors who made it possible to offer this substantial support. If you would also like to be part of supporting the education for over 1,000 students please donate anytime to the Social Services Fund.

The Social Services Fund, established to support Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Visions for the FPMT organization, focuses efforts primarily in India, Nepal, Tibet and Mongolia. Funds help children, the elderly, sick, and very poor.

Some of the monks of Sera Je Monastery. Photo courtesy of Sera Je Monastery Facebook page.

This year on August 1 we celebrate Chokhor Duchen, one of the four annual holy days of Guru Shakyamuni Buddha which commemorates Buddha’s first turning of the wheel of Dharma and on which merit generated is multiplied one hundred million times. An amazing array of prayers will be happening simultaneously around the world, dedicated to all beings, particularly the entire FPMT mandala—centers, projects, services, students, benefactors, volunteers and all connected to the organization—and all beings who are sick or who have passed away.

The prayers and practices happening will be:

• Recitation of the Kangyur
• Recitation of the Prajnaparamita Sutra
• One Thousand Offerings to Namgyalma
• Namgyalma long life ritual
• Sixty-Four Offerings to Kalarupa
• Recitation of the King of Prayers
• Medicine Buddha Puja

These prayers are being offered by thousands of ordained Sangha in Khachoe Ghakyil Ling Nunnery, Kopan Monastery, Gyudmed Tantric College, Gyuto Tantric College, Sera Lachi Monastery, Gaden Lachi Monastery, and Drepung Lachi Monastery.

Nuns of Khachoe Ghakyil Ling Nunnery, Nepal. Photo courtesy of Khachoe Ghakyil Ling Nunnery.

During the prayers, offerings will be made on behalf of FPMT to the nearly ten thousand Sangha, including the IMI Sangha residing in monasteries and nunneries around the world. Offerings will also be presented to all of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s gurus.

Sangha will also be making offerings of robes to the Shakyamuni Buddha statue in the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodhgaya, India; saffron color and umbrellas to the most precious Boudhanath and Swayambunath stupas in Nepal; printing sutras; creating stupas and Buddha tsa-tsas; and liberating animals.

Please rejoice in these incredible prayers and offerings that are being made on behalf of all within the FPMT organization. The Puja Fund is honored to sponsor these activities and if you would like to be part of these offerings at any time, you can donate any amount to the Puja Fund.

This is an incredible opportunity on August 1 to remember these activities and offerings, to rejoice that they are happening, and to dedicate the merits.

Thank you to all who make this possible and especially the Sangha who undertake these prayers and practices on behalf of us all. 

Please find collected practice advice for this merit multiplying buddha day, as well as other information about Chokhor Duchen. 

You can learn more about the beneficial prayers, practices, and pujas sponsored by the Puja Fund, or about FPMT’s other extensive charitable activity. 

The monks of Sera Je Monastery receiving vaccines thanks to a grant from the Social Services Fund.

The FPMT Social Services Fund offers grants to beneficial projects primarily in India, Nepal, and Mongolia, which are aimed at serving children, the elderly, the sick, and very poor. We offer grants for schools, hospices, health clinics, soup kitchens, and elderly homes. We would like to invite you to rejoice in some of the grants offered in 2022 specifically toward medical care, living expenses, and food to those most in need. We have offered US$191,965 so far this year for this type of aid. 

Patients of Shakyamuni Buddha Clinic waiting to be seen for treatment.

Shakyamuni Buddha Clinic, India

Shakyamuni Buddha Health Clinic, a social service project of Root Institute, Bodhgaya, began in 1991 as a home for the destitute and has evolved into a diverse community health program encompassing a wide range of medical and rehabilitative services and health promotion activities.

The clinic continued to do important work in the community in 2021-2022, some highlights are:

• Re-opening the clinic after 11 months of closure due to the pandemic. During the time of closure full staff salaries were paid for the first three months and then 50% of salaries were paid for the remaining period of the lockdown. Within two months after the first re-opening, the second lockdown was enforced due to the Delta variant and the clinic was closed again. As the numbers of infection and death declined, the staff took the initiative to open the clinic in June of 2021.
• Since 80% of Shakyamuni Buddha Clinic’s beneficiaries are approximately 80% female from traditional,
  conservative families, a female doctor was added to the staff. A roster of four male doctors and one female doctor now services the clinic.

This year we were very happy to offer US$$29,400 toward the operating expenses of this clinic. 

The Social Services Fund has been providing annual grants to the incredible work of Shakyamuni Buddha Clinic since 2012 and in total has offered over US$200,000.

MAITRI Charitable Trust, Bodhgaya

MAITRI is engaged in the eradication of leprosy, the control of tuberculosis (TB), medical assistance and care for expecting mothers and new born babies, life-saving assistance to malnourished small children, education of children and adults in rural areas, rehabilitation of disabled people, the provision of opportunities to women and other underprivileged people, promotion of a holistic development in villages, rescuing and care of animals, and awareness campaigns for all of these programs.

Highlights of their work from 2021 include:

Tuberculosis Care field work: Detection, verification, and management of 207 new cases that were registered for treatment;  the implementation of a humanitarian assistance program by identifying particularly needy under-treated TB patients and having them registered for the distribution of monthly rations at MAITRI; the implementation of the Information, Education, Communication program to raise awareness on TB in villages and by contacting community members to promote collaboration among
villagers; weekly clinics were held at headquarters where 119 people were tested in their lab and 22 others were confirmed and referred for treatment; 22 active patients were hospitalized; rations were distributed to 126 under treated patients; and blankets were distributed to TB patients in the winter.

Leprosy Care field work: Detection, verification, and management of 62 new cases that were registered for treatment; the implementation of the Prevention of Deformities program which instructs on self care for those with disabilities; the implementation of the Information, Education, Communication program to raise awareness on the identification and treatment of leprosy by contacting community members within villages; work at headquarters consisted of the hospitalization of 28 leprosy patients affected with ulcers and reaction;

Thanks to a generous benefactor of the Social Services Fund, a grant for US$78,400 was offered to MAITRI this year, contributing substantially to their operating budget and enabling them to start much needed extensive repairing of their buildings and to purchase a generator, a desktop computer, and a refrigerator. 

Lamp of the Path Mongolia NGO Soup Kitchen offering a meal to beneficiaries.

Lamp of the Path, Mongolia

Lamp of the Path NGO (LOP), part of Ganden Do Ngag Shedrup Ling, has offered social services to some of the poor and homeless living in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia for the past nineteen years. Current activities include the soup kitchen—which is its main program, a health clinic, a second hand clothing distribution project, vegetable gardening, and food aid for disadvantaged children and families. LOP also helps bring awareness to the epidemic of alcoholism in Mongolia and offers tuberculosis checkups for the disadvantaged in the area.

A grant for US$39,200 was offered to this beneficial project, covering most of their 2022 operating budget.

The Social Services Fund has been providing annual grants to the incredible work of LOP since 2012 and in total has offered over US$357,000.

Patient Care Trust, India

Patient Care Trust (PCT) is an NGO operating in India, with a large proportion of its field work being conducted in Northern India. The NGO facilitates access to quality healthcare and also organizes free medical camps with partner hospitals. The mission of this project is to provide timely access to affordable quality healthcare for the socially marginalized Tibetans living in exile. 

PCT’s experience and competency come from assisting thousands of Tibetan patients since 2012, with the support of the multi-specialty hospitals, leveraging its networks to remedy the current healthcare situation in the exiled Tibetan community. Currently, the most vulnerable Tibetans in exile are the key beneficiaries of PCT’s activities. Their two main programs are Destitute Aid which  enables the most destitute and critical patients be able to receive medical care despite their financial situation; and Patient Housing which is similar to the destitute aid fund and provides housing for very poor and critical patients and their retinue, with priority given to patients coming to New Delhi from afar.

From 2012 to January 2022 a total of 4,666 vulnerable patients have been assisted by PCT. With the introduction of free site medical camps in 2018, PCT managed to increase the number of Tibetans in exile benefiting from its services than in prior years. However, due to the pandemic and minimal resources, they faced many challenges and difficulties and were unable to arrange any medical camps from March 2020 to the end of 2021. 

For the second year, thanks to a grant from Italian Buddhist Union (UBI), we offered this project US$34,965.39 for their 2022 operating budget. 

Sera Je Health Care, India

US$10,000 was offered this year for the medical care of monks at Sera Je Monastery. Health care is one of the most fundamental needs we all share, and we are so happy to support the monastics of Sera Je in this way. This grant enabled the monks to receive oxygen tanks, vaccines, and other supplies needed because of increased illness due to the pandemic.

Rejoice!

Please join us in rejoicing in some of the ways that FPMT is offering direct support for those most in need in India and Mongolia by providing grants for medical and heath care, food, and other essential services. Thank you to the many who make these grants possible and continue to support the Social Services Fund.

All are welcome to support the Social Services Fund and help ensure we can continue to offer support toward the health of those in need.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche offering prayers to a rescued water buffalo Rinpoche named Bodhichitta. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche has made it very clear that our job as Buddhists is to help all living beings achieve their highest potential, including the most vulnerable among us. While animals cannot create much merit on their own, there are many ways we can help them—saving them from untimely death, engaging them with holy objects so they can create merit and purify negativities, and helping to plant enlightening seeds for the future by exposure to the Dharma in a variety of ways. 

Lama Zopa Rinpoche and a Kopan monk blessing a cow of the Animal Liberation Sanctuary, August 2021. Photo by Pema Lama.

Among the many animal liberations happening around the organization, as advised by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, we are also so happy to be offering substantial support to three beneficial animal-centered projects this year. Nearly US$22,000 will be offered in support of these projects and we invite you to please rejoice with us! May all of these dear animals, as well as all sentient beings, receive the perfect care needed for the benefit of this and all future lives. 

Animal Liberation Sanctuary, Nepal

In countries like Nepal, the care and management of animals is very poor and animal sacrifices are common creating tremendous suffering for the animals and those involved. Since 2012 we have been supporting the Animal Liberation Sanctuary which is located on land near Kopan Monastery. The sanctuary benefits animals rescued by Lama Zopa Rinpoche—namely goats and buffalo, as well as other animals which have been saved, not only by freeing them from impending death, but also by exposing them to Buddha’s teachings. They regularly hear mantras and are led around holy objects. US$9,800 was offered to this sanctuary for support of the dozens of animals now residing there. If you would like to support the sanctuary directly: https://kopanmonastery.com/charitable/animal-sanctuary-nepal

Stupa at the animal shelter near Institut Vajra Yogini, France.

Animal Shelter, France

In an animal shelter in France, near Institut Vajra Yogini, a compassionate caretaker has taken responsibility for many abandoned, lost, and endangered animals who would otherwise be discarded to live out their lives in fear and imminent danger and death. The amount of animals being cared for here is unbelievable and includes the following: 80 dogs of various breeds and sizes, three ponies, seven endangered cows, 50 goats and sheep, 19 geese including endangered species, two black swans, two dwarf pigs, 580 ducks including endangered and rare species as well as ducklings, 800 roosters of different breeds and about 300 hens and 800 chicks of all ages, two turkeys, one peacock, 30 guinea pigs, and 40 exotic birds. 

Almost all of these animals are awaiting new homes so they can continue their lives in comfort and care. At the center of the shelter is a stupa so that the animals can create merit and purify negative karma, and mantras are played continuously for them to plant Dharma seeds and create positive karma for their future. The current focus of this shelter is the renovation of the dog area and the construction of a shelter for the cows. We were so happy to offer US$4,861 toward the important work of this compassionate project, and we have pledged to offer additional grants to this project in the coming months. 

Jangchub the horse residing at Aquila Nera Project, Italy.

Aquila Nera Horses, Italy

Aquila Nera Horses started in 2005 in order to save and benefit horses destined for slaughter or coming from clandestine races, as well as to recover horses which, due to particular behavioral problems, would be killed. Land with 44 acres (18 hectares) was purchased in order to carry forth this mission. An organic agricultural company was established in order to create all the facilities for the horses—fences, boxes, stables, staff and visitors services, restrooms, infirmary, and other amenities. This company produces fodder for horses and agricultural products as well as vegetables, and next year they will also have fruit available from their young orchard. All of this is in order to support the horses and as a means for self-financing. We continue to sponsor one horse this year, Jangchub, a three-year-old female horse who was born with a genetic problem with her feet. She is not able to run and can only gallop. Because of this, she was seen as useless and was going to be put down. We offered US$2,2067 for the medical care of this horse for six months. 

This project currently cares for 31 horses as well as 30 hens, six ducks, and six geese. They have ambitious plans for the future including the creation of a larger lake for the birds and other animals, as well as other humanitarian projects through the non-profit including activities for diabetic children, and initiatives to combat bullying in a school in the area. If you would like to support this incredible project directly: http://www.aquilanerahorses.it/

Please rejoice in another year of support offered to precious animals around the world who desperately need our help and cannot advocate for themselves or create merit on their own. 

All are welcome to contribute to the Animal Liberation Fund to help ensure that our work sponsoring animal liberations around the world continues. 

Some of the elders of Rabgayling Tibetan Family Welfare Association.

For the seventh consecutive year, the FPMT Social Services Fund has continued to offer essential support to 320 elderly Tibetans living in homes throughout India and in Nepal. This service has become an essential mission of this fund with nine elderly homes now receiving grants. 

Please join us in rejoicing in the following support which is being offered for 2022. 

An elder from Lugsam Samduling Home for the Aged and Disabled, Bylakuppe, spinning a prayer wheel on the premises of the home.

Jampaling Elder’s Home, Dharamsala, this home offers accommodation, medication, monthly pocket money, and supplemental nutrition to the 73 residents. US$22,000 was offered for shortfall of their 2022 operating budget as well as building renovation and a new heating system. We have been supporting this home since 2016.

Lugsam Samduling Home for the Aged and Disabled, Bylakuppe, looks after 35 elderly individuals living in very modest conditions, all above the age of 75, the eldest being 99. US$16,855 total was offered to this home to cover budget shortfall for 2022. We have been supporting this home since 2016 including purchasing a new ambulance last year. 

Doeguling Home for Elderly and Disabled, located in the Doeguling Tibetan Refugee Settlement in Mundgod, cares for 63 elderly residents supported by eight staff, some who are HIV +, have cancer, psychiatric problems, diabetes, and chronic arthritis. US$37.203 was offered for food, medical expenses, and an investment into a corpus fund which contributes to the sustainability of this home. We have been supporting this home since 2016 and we are very happy that they have created a fund to help ensure longevity for this important operation. 

An resident of Doeguling Home for Elderly and Disabled, Mundgod.

Some of the elders of Rabgayling Tibetan Family Welfare Association receiving leg care.

Dhondenling Old People Home, Kollegal, is in one of the most remote and underdeveloped Tibetan settlements in southern India. The elderly home has 32 elderly Tibetans residents. US$24,760 was offered to cover 70% of their annual operating budget. We were so pleased to hear that this home also completed a renovation project this year, upgrading the whole facility. We have been supporting this home since 2018. 

Rabgayling Tibetan Family Welfare Association, Hunsur, has an elderly home serving 20 residents at this Tibetan settlement. US$28,036 was offered this year for their medical fund and recurring expenses. Last year we sponsored a 35-foot stupa near the elderly home on the settlement, so the elders can create merit and purify negative karma by going around this beautiful holy object. 

Some of the elders of Dhondenling Old People Home, Kollegal.

Old Age Home, Kalimpong, is home to 31 elders. US$13,985 was offered to this year for supplemental nutrition and medical support. This is the first year we are offering support to this home after being requested by The Central Tibetan Relief Committee (CTRC) which is the relief wing of the Central Tibetan Administration. The CTRC includes members from 53 Tibetan settlements in India, Nepal, and Bhutan; and coordinates the relief and rehabilitation works for thousands of Tibetan refugees.

Dhonden Old People’s Home, Chauntra, is home to 21 elders. US$13,985 was offered for renovation and the purchase of an overhead water tank and supplemental nutrition support. We started offering support to this home in 2021, as the The Central Tibetan Relief Committee requested our help. 

Odisha Phuntsokling Settlement Old People’s Home, Odisha, is home to 15 elders. US$20,127 was offered for their 2022 operational expenses. We started supporting this home in 2021 after they lost support from an organization that had been supporting them for over 20 years.

Tsering Elderly Home, Nepal, is home to 30 elders. US$7,341 was offered for supplemental nutrition and medical expenses. This is the first year we are offering support to this home, after being requested by The Central Tibetan Relief Committee.

This year a total of over US$184,000 has been offered to these 320 destitute elderly Tibetans living in care facilities in India and Nepal. This is an amazingly beneficial service FPMT is able to offer these precious Tibetan elders which we hope to continue long into the future, please join us in rejoicing!

It is thanks to the kindness of a generous benefactor that we have been able to offer support to these elderly homes since 2016 and in that time an amazing US$1,694,702 has been offered through the Social Services Fund. Thank you to everyone who makes it possible for FPMT to  offer this support.

All are welcome to support the Social Services Fund and help ensure we can offer direct support to the elderly.

Nuns of Khachoe Ghakyil Ling Nunnery, Nepal. Photo by Ven. Thubten Choying.

This year on Saka Dawa, June 14, when merit is multiplied 300 million times, the Puja Fund, on behalf of the entire organization, will be arranging the following pujas and practices for the benefit of all beings:

• • 100,000 Praises to Twenty-one Taras offered two times by Gaden Lachi Monastery and Khachoe Ghakyil Ling Nunnery.
  • Recitation of the Prajnaparamita Sutra by Gyudmed Tantric College.
  • 1,000 sets of offerings to Buddha Namgyalma by Sera Lachi Monastery and Gyuto Tantric College.
  • Medicine Buddha Puja by Gaden Lachi and Kopan monasteries.
  • Namgyalma long life ritual  by Drepung Lachi Monastery.
  • Offerings to all of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s gurus, to an incredible 13,500 Sangha who are performing these pujas and practices, and in IMI communities.
  • Offerings of robes to the Shakyamuni Buddha statue in the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodhgaya, India, and saffron and umbrellas to the Boudhanath and Swayambunath stupas in Nepal.
  • Printing sutras, making stupas, and Buddha tsa-tsas, and liberating animals.

You can be part of these incredible collective prayers, which support the Sangha, as well as the offerings to holy objects, by contributing to the Puja Fund. All donors are included in the dedication prayers.

You can also join by rejoicing in the practices, remembering they are happening on the actual day, and joining in with your own collective prayers.

Thanks to all who make these offerings possible. This is a truly meaningful way to offer support that benefits the entire FPMT organization and all who serve it in any way, to ensure the organization’s success in helping others far in the future, to help fulfill Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s wishes for these activities to occur according to his instructions, and to create extensive merit for every living being through dedication. 

You can learn more about the beneficial prayers, practices, and pujas sponsored by the Puja Fund, or about FPMT’s other extensive charitable activity. 

Some monks of Gyudmed Tantric Monastery, Hunsur, India, enjoying a meal offered through the new Food Fund.

Since 1433, Gyudmed Monastery has been providing the highest education to many of the top Buddhist scholars and teachers. Through the Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund, and the kindness of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, we are pleased to now be supporting this monastery’s new Food Fund which will provide support for quality meals to 575 monks studying at this extremely important monastery. The Food Fund has also created an endowment fund to cover annual costs from the interest of this fund.

History of Gyudmed Tantric Monastery
Gyudmed Tantric Monastery was founded by Jetsun Sherab Sengye, one of the four supreme disciples of Lama Tsongkhapa who was entrusted with the responsibility of the preservation and the promotion of the most sacred lineage of Guhyasamaja Tantra. Based on the personal instructions received from Lama Tsongkhapa, he established Segyud Monastery in upper Tibet and Gyudmed Monastery in Central Tibet in 1433. Of the two, Gyudmed Monastery flourished and became the most important seat for the study and practice of Guhyasamaja Tantra in Tibet over many centuries.

When His Holiness the Dalai Lama came into exile, around 180 monks from the Gyudmed Monastery followed him to India. They initially established the monastery in a transit camp at Dalhousie in northern India, which was then re-established in Hunsur in Karnataka state in 1972. The unique traditions, such as the sacred chanting, rituals, and other practices, have been continually maintained consistently through the years. 

Gyudmed now has around 575 monks and is one of the only two established Gelug lineage centers for studies of Vajrayana Buddhism in Tibet. Apart from the studies of the great Guhyasamaja Tantra and its commentaries, this monastery also contains the sacred lineages of chanting rituals, the art of making sand mandalas, butter sculptures, and so on—lineages which have survived intact from Lama Tsongkhapa. Geshes, who have more than twenty years of sutra studies, come to this monastery to do further studies on tantra. Additionally, whomever holds the seat of the great Ganden Tripa or the Throne Holder of Ganden, the figurehead of the Gelug lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, has to come through this Gyudmed Monastery.

Food Fund Project
At the time of its re-establishment in South India, there were 370 monks at the monastery. In the early years they had to do farming, construction, carpet making, and other jobs in addition to their academic responsibilities. The situation improved after 1989, when the monks were able to devote more of their time to their study and practice. The tough schedule of the monastery requires very strenuous long hours of study from early morning to late night. The health of the monks was affected in early years due to lack of nutritious meals. Individual monks had to find their own meals and teachers who had many students had to work hard to feed their students.

Monks of Gyudmed Monastery receiving a meal offered through the new Food Fund.

This led to the creation of a meal program for the saṅgha, so the food and nutritional needs of all the monks would be taken care of by the monastic administration. For many years the monastery has worked hard to provide three nutritious meals a day to the monks but has recently faced many challenges due to inflation, lack of gas, and a concrete source of funds for the meal program. 

The administration came up with a concrete plan to address this challenge by setting up a Food Fund project. This project will help protect the monastery against the seasonal variations of food prices and the overall general inflation in prices seen in India. Moreover, the administration can have a stable source of funds for the monks’ meals. Like the highly successful Sera Je Food Fund, the concept would be to build up an endowment fund large enough to support the long-term health of their own food fund, whereby the interest from the endowment would cover the annual costs associated with offering meals daily for all the monks of Gyudmed Tantric Monastery, for as long as the endowment remains.

The Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund is delighted to have already offered US$500,000 toward the creation of this new Food Fund. This great monastery has an excellent reputation and has produced so many educated and highly realized practitioners which benefit the world in incalculable ways. To sustain this high level of achievement it is essential that the monks can dedicate themselves completely to the extensive studies at the monastery. 

Please join us in rejoicing in this wonderful opportunity for the monks of Gyudmed Tantric College to be able to devote their precious time to their studies, without the strenuous burden of providing for their food, and please consider also contributing to the Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund, so that we can continue to help sangha with essential needs such as food and education.

To learn how the Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund is directly benefiting monasteries and nunneries around the world, you can read all the latest news of this project: fpmt.org/projects/fpmt/supporting-ordained-sangha-fund/supporting-ordained-sangha-fund-news/

Ven. Roger Kunsang offering a mandala to Lama Zopa Rinpoche during the April 19, 2021 long life puja at Kopan Monastery

Every year Ven. Roger Kunsang, on behalf of the FPMT organization, checks with Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s gurus and/or Rangjung Neljorma Khadro Namsel Drönme (Khadro-la), to determine what practices should be done to help create the conditions for Lama Zopa Rinpoche to have a long life and good health for the coming year. 

The first offering to Rinpoche arranged this year will be a White Tara long life puja on March 11, 2022, at Kopan Monastery. This special long life puja will involve seven days of preparation led by Khadro-la with the Kopan monks. At a later date there will be a Most Secret Hayagriva tsog kong and a Guru Rinpoche bum tsog also offered according to the advice received. 

Khadro-la making an offering during a long life puja to Lama Zopa Rinpoche, April 2021. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Our prayers have tremendous power and we invite you to join us by rejoicing in the puja being offered, generating your own prayers for Rinpoche’s health and long life, or making an offering toward the expenses associated with the pujas and practices for Rinpoche’s health and long life.

For additional recent advice from Khadro-la on mantra recitations to do for Lama Zopa Rinpoche, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and the entire FPMT organization see: fpmt.org/lama-zopa-rinpoche-news-and-advice/mantra-recitations-for-his-holiness-the-dalai-lama-lama-zopa-rinpoche-and-fpmt

Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.

The Long Life Puja Fund always contributes to long life pujas offered to Lama Zopa Rinpoche. You can also learn about the many Charitable Projects of FPMT and discover how the various funds and projects are benefiting others.