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Teachings from Potowa Center 2010

Venue: Potowa Center, Indonesia
Date: 25 January to 7 February 2010

Lama Zopa Rinpoche covered many topics during these 12 session teachings:

• Emptiness and Phenomena: Rinpoche emphasized that all phenomena, including the self, are empty of inherent existence. They appear real due to our hallucinated mind, but in reality, they are merely imputed by the mind and do not exist from their own side. This understanding is crucial for overcoming attachment, the root cause of samsara, and for progressing towards enlightenment.

• Self-Cherishing and Bodhicitta: The teachings highlighted the detrimental effects of self-cherishing, which is the root of all suffering. Lama Zopa Rinpoche stressed the importance of cherishing others and cultivating bodhicitta, the mind that wishes to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings. This is the foundation for both the sutra and tantra paths.

• Guru Devotion: Guru devotion was a recurring theme, where Rinpoche explained that strong devotion to the guru is essential for receiving blessings and achieving realizations on the path. The guru may manifest delusions or mistakes to guide disciples, and it is crucial to view these manifestations as part of the guru’s kindness.

• Tantric Practice: Rinpoche taught that tantra, particularly the Vajrayana path, is necessary for achieving enlightenment quickly, especially in this degenerate time. He encouraged practitioners to embrace the Tantra path, as it provides the most skillful means to reach enlightenment within a single lifetime.

• Impermanence and Death: Understanding the impermanent nature of life and phenomena was another key topic. Meditating on impermanence helps reduce attachment and prepares the mind for the eventuality of death, transforming it into a cause for liberation rather than fear.

• Karma and Non-Harming: The teachings also covered the law of karma, emphasizing that all harm and benefit experienced in life result from past actions. The core Buddhist practice involves not harming others, which encapsulates the Hinayana teachings, while benefiting others aligns with the Mahayana and Vajrayana teachings.

These teachings provided a comprehensive overview of key Buddhist concepts, focusing on how to integrate them into daily practice to progress on the path to enlightenment.

Teachings from Langri Tangpa Center 2006

Venue: Langri Tangpa Center, Australia
Date: April 16 – 18, 2006

Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave four sessions of profound teaching on the “Eight Verses of Mind Training,” a classic Tibetan Buddhist text that offer deep insights into Buddhist philosophy and practice. Rinpoche covers a wide range of topics, including:

• The nature of emptiness and dependent arising
• How to recognize and refute the false view of inherent existence
• The importance of guru devotion on the spiritual path
• Developing bodhichitta, the altruistic intention to benefit all beings
• Practical advice on transforming daily activities into meaningful spiritual practice

With his characteristic blend of profound wisdom, personal anecdotes, and occasional humor, Lama Zopa Rinpoche makes these complex teachings accessible to both beginners and experienced practitioners. These sessions offer invaluable guidance for anyone seeking to deepen their understanding of Buddhist philosophy and integrate its principles into their lives.

Mahamudra retreat, Australia 2004

Venue: Buddha House, Adelaide, Australia
Date: 18 April to 11 May 2003

From April 10 to May 10 2004 Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave extensive teachings during the Mahamudra  Retreat in Buddha House, Australia. The retreat was on Mahamudra, however, Rinpoche teaches on a broad range of lamrim topics.

April 2024 Heart Sutra Retreat at Kopan Monastery

Venue: Kopan Monastery, Nepal
Date: 15 April to 20 April 2024

Following the commemoration activities at Kopan Monastery honoring the one-year anniversary of Lama Zopa Rinpoche showing the aspect of passing away, a Heart Sutra Retreat was held from April 15-20, 2024 with commentary by His Eminence the 104th Ganden Tripa, meditations led by Ven. Steve Carlier, and evening sessions with short extracted videos of Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaching a topic related to emptiness. The following ten videos from 2017 and 2019 are the teachings on emptiness shared during the 2024 Heart Sutra Retreat. 

Four Kadam Deities retreat 2003

Venue: Institute Vajra Yogini, France
Date: 18 April to 11 May 2003

From 18 April to 11 May 2003 Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave extensive teachings during the 4-Kadam-Deities-retreat in Institute Vajra Yogini, France. The retreat was on the four Kadampa deities, however, Rinpoche teaches on a broad range of lamrim topics.

Interview for Universal Education

Venue: Aptos, California, USAl
Date: 13-June-2005

Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave an extensive interview at his house in Aptos. He explained the reasons why we need a non-secular way of education. 

April 2023 Teachings at Kopan Monastery

Venue: Kopan Monastery, Nepal
Date: 7 April to 9 April 2023

Lama Zopa Rinpoche offered four teachings at Kopan Monastery on April 7, 8, and 9 before leaving for Tsum Valley on April 10. As we now all know, Rinpoche showed the aspect of passing away on April 13, and as such, these teachings are particularly precious as they are the last organized and recorded teachings Rinpoche offered in this life. Three of these teachings were to students attending the 2023 Vajrasattva retreat at Kopan during this time. Kopan Monastery traditionally hosts a Vajrasattva retreat every year, providing an opportunity for up to twenty participants to engage in this extremely meritorious practice. The retreatants aspire to achieve 100,000 recitations of the Vajrasattva mantra in four daily sessions over the course of three months. On April 8, in addition to the teaching offered to the Vajrasattva retreatants, Rinpoche also gave the White Tara Practice Oral Transmission and Visualization to Glen H. Mullin and a group of his students. 

Teachings from Kopan November Course, Nepal, 2022

Venue: Kopan Monastery, Nepal
Date: 26 November to 26 December 2022

Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaches at the fifty-third Kopan November Course. The first teaching offered by Rinpoche was on December 7, “By Studying Buddha Dharma, You Come to Know Yourself”.

Teachings from Tara Institute Melbourne 2006

Venue: Tara Institute, Melbourne, Australia
Date: June 2, 2006

Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave a total of four hours of teachings during this day. He extensively taught on emptiness and emphasised the application of this understanding in daily life. Other topics covered include Bodhichitta and the practice and purpose of guru devotion.

Teachings from Singapore 2022

Venue: Amitabha Buddhist Centre, Singapore
Date: August 6, 2022 –

Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave a talks and a few teachings upon requests from various centers and students, which you will find on this page.
On August 6th he gave a talk in the praise of HH Dalai Lama during the Long Life Puja for His Holiness.
He gave a teaching for the students who just finished the regional course “Exploring and living in the path” organised by FPMT East and South East Asia on August 7. 
He also gave a string of teachings in continuation of the “Mind Training during the times of COVID-19” series. You can find these under the event with the same title here.

2022 Teachings on Thought Transformation during the Time of COVID-19

Venue: Kopan Monastery, Nepal and ABC, Singapore
Date: January 2022 –

Lama Zopa Rinpoche continues his teachings on thought transformation (lojong) first from Kopan Monastery in Nepal and more recently from Singapore. In this video series Rinpoche urges students to use these difficult times to deepen their Dharma practice. The videos are translated into Italian and Spanish and regularly and some get translated into French, Chinese, Russian and Portuguese.

Miscellaneous Teachings from Nepal

Venue: Kopan monastery and various places
Date: April 2022 – December 2022

Besides continuing the Thought Transformation series Lama Zopa Rinpoche also occasionally gives teachings upon request to various centers via Zoom from Kopan Monastery and other places. This page gathers these random teachings for the year 2022. Whenever Rinpoche teaches in a place for a longer period of time, you find the recordings in a dedicated event on this page.