receive our newsletters
join Friends of FPMT
Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Stupa of Complete Victory, Kopan Monastery. 29 Octpber 2026. Photo Ven.Lhundrup Topgye
The magnificent Stupa of Complete Victory that is being built at Kopan Monastery to create the causes for the swift return of our precious and kind guru, Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche, is nearing completion. We are so honored that His Eminence Ling Rinpoche will preside over its consecration in December.
On August 24, 2026, the thirteen rings, sun, and moon were placed atop the stupa following a special puja that blessed the mantras. Before installation, the mantras, special substances, and precious pills were carefully placed within each ring. Work has continued on the exterior decorations, and Buddha statues are being installed in the gompa beneath the stupa.
Special puja held on the occasion of the placement of the thirteen rings on the Stupa of Complete Victory at Kopan Monastery, August 2026.
Placing the thirteen rings, sun and moon on the stupa.
Filling each of the thirteen rings with special mantras, substances, and precious pills.
Construction began in October 2023 with a groundbreaking ceremony and prayers, and the actual building commenced in January 2024. By October 2024 the stupa had reached the vase level, and in January 2025 the many precious and holy objects were placed inside, including the Kangyur and Tengyur, the life tree positioned at the center of the stupa, forty trillion mantras inscribed on nanotechnology film, and various other sacred items. The following months were devoted to the intricate and beautiful decorations of the stupa, the gompa, and the meditation rooms below. By November 2025, some of the finest artists had undertaken extensive work on the decorations adorning every level of the stupa. The thirty-two smaller stupas that will surround the main stupa have been carved in sandstone in India and are now on their way to Kopan Monastery.
The thirteen rings rising on top of the stupa symbolize the complete path to full awakening and Buddhahood. The crowning sun and moon represent the union of wisdom and compassion, guiding practitioners on the path to enlightenment.
 Placing the ornamental frame on the stupa. |
 Detail of the thirteen rings, sun and moon. |
Some of the beautiful ornaments adorning the Stupa of Complete Victory.
Beneath the stupa, the gompa is also taking shape. A Thousand-Armed Chenrezig statue has now been installed. This new gompa will be dedicated to special retreats and group practice.
 Interior of the gompa. |
 Gompa beneath the stupa. |
Lama Zopa Rinpoche offered this advice to students on the benefits of building a stupa:
“By building a stupa, without words we are continually liberating so many sentient beings. Every day, the stupa plants the seed of enlightenment and purifies anybody who sees, touches, remembers, talks or dreams about the stupa. This includes insects that touch the stupa. The stupa is meaningful to behold, and it liberates many sentient beings, insects and humans, every day.
“When the wind touches a stupa—especially if it has the four dharmakaya relics inside—the wind becomes blessed. Then, wherever the wind goes and whoever it touches, it liberates them from the lower realms, by purifying their negative karma. When rain falls on the stupa, that water liberates any being it touches—all the worms in the ground etc, are liberated from the lower realms. It is similar with dust.
“We can build stupas to inspire people without even teaching Dharma. However many hundreds and billions of years the holy object lasts, it continues to liberate many sentient beings every day, freeing them from the lower realms, causing them to actualize the path, liberating them from samsara and bringing them to enlightenment. After we die, even if we are in another universe, in the hell realms or a pure land, wherever we are, the stupa that we built or helped to build, is continually benefiting sentient beings. It is incredible how we can continually benefit sentient beings by building a stupa.“
Enjoy this video of circumambulating the stupa:
We sincerely thank everyone who has worked, and is still working, to actualize the stupa: the kind donors, and the sangha, architects, engineers, construction workers and artists for all their hard work.
May the merit created through this collective effort contribute to the swift return of our precious Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche, the fulfillment of all his vast wishes for sentient beings, and the flourishing of the Dharma throughout the world.
We are joyfully looking forward to the consecration of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s stupa at Kopan Monastery on December 11 and of the memorial stupa dedicated to Khensur Rinpoche Lhundrup Rigsel at Kopan Nunnery on December 14.
Please read more about the holy objects supported through the Holy Objects Fund and Lama Zopa Rinpoche Stupa of Complete Victory.