Kopan monks in puja, June 10, 2025. Photo by Kopan Monastery.

Boudhanath Stupa.

During the twenty-four hours of Saka Dawa (June 11, 2025), which commemorates Shakyamuni Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana, and when karmic results are multiplied by 300 million times as it commemorates Shakyamuni Buddha’s three major life events, The FPMT Puja Fund sponsored a number of pujas and prayers on behalf of the entire FPMT organization.

These auspicious activities included: 100,000 recitations of the Praises to the Twenty-one Taras which was recited twice at two nunneries; the recitation of the Guhyasamaja Root Tantra; 1,000 set of offerings to Buddha Namgyalma; and Extensive Medicine Buddha Puja. Additionally, the stupas of Boudhanath and Swambyunath in Nepal were freshly painted and the umbrellas at the pinnacle of each stupa was replaced; and a new set of robes was offered to the Buddha statue in the Mahabodhi temple in Bodhgaya. Animals were liberated, sutras recited and printed; and offerings were made to all of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s gurus and to all the IMI Sangha communities in FPMT.

Altar in Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s room at Kopan Monastery in front of the holy body relic on Saka Dawa.

We are so happy to share with you a few videos of the different pujas and the Sangha undertaking these prayers. Each puja was offered by ordained Sangha, who are all disciples of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, with strong motivation and dedications for the entire FPMT family including every center and activity, all the students, volunteers, and kind benefactors; for the swift return of our most precious and kind Lama Zopa Rinpoche; for obstacles to be removed; for the long life and health of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and all the gurus and teachers who are benefiting sentient beings.

Every practice offered starts with bodhichitta motivation and concludes with bodhichitta dedication. When you generate bodhichitta, it is for everyone. There is no partisanship where you do if for some sentient beings, but not others. It is for everyone.

Twenty-Four Hours of Merit

In Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s room at Kopan Monastery, in front of Rinpoche’s holy Kudung (holy body relic), the senior monks and Lama Gyupas offered the morning puja. This puja is performed on the basis of Solitary Hero Yamantaka and The Precious Lamp: A Ritual of Making Offerings to and Purifying the Remains of a Special Being [Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche] based on Bhagavän Vajrasattva. This puja has been happening every single morning for over two years. This is a brief video of the practice offered on Saka Dawa:

During the day at Kopan Monastery the monks offered extensive Medicine Buddha Puja, please watch a short video:

Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche chose this puja to be offered every Saka Dawa because Medicine Buddha practice is very powerful to overcome problems and to have success. Rinpoche explained: “If you pray to Guru Medicine Buddha, you will quickly accomplish all that you wish. Just hearing the holy name of Guru Medicine Buddha and the sound of his mantra closes the door to rebirth in the suffering lower realms. It is written in the scriptures that you should not have a two-pointed mind (doubt) with regard to these benefits. …”

The five thousand monks of Sera Je Monastery and Sera Mey Monastery joined together and offered 1,000 sets of offerings to Buddha Namgyalma. Please enjoy the video:

Lama Zopa Rinpoche explained the incredible benefits: “Namgyalma is a deity for long life and purification. The mantra has infinite benefits; it is so powerful. It is said that for anyone who hears this mantra, this will be the last time that person is born in the womb. If animals hear it, they will not be reborn in the lower realms.” You can read more of the benefits and hear Rinpoche reciting this precious mantra.

At Kopan’s nunnery Khachoe Gyakyil Ling Nunnery, the nuns offered 100,000 Praises to the Twenty-One Taras. Please watch this short video:

Rinpoche explained that the benefits of practicing Tara are uncountable. By reciting the Praises to the Twenty-One Taras with devotion, at dawn or dusk, and remembering Tara and reciting her mantra at any time of the day or night, we are protected from fear and danger, and all our wishes are fulfilled. If we pray to Tara, Tara will grant help quickly.

Tara statue offered to Rangjung Neljorma Khandro Tseringma.

She is especially quick in granting us success in obtaining the ultimate happiness of enlightenment, but there are also many temporal benefits of reciting the Tara mantra or the Praises to the Twenty-One Taras prayer. Tara can solve many problems in life: liberating us from untimely death, helping us recover from disease, bringing us success in business. Somebody with a serious problem, such as a life-threatening disease, who relies on Tara will very commonly be freed from that problem.

Rinpoche also has said, “The best way we can become close to Tara, what pleases her the most, is when we fervently try to develop the mind of bodhichitta. The more we are able to practice bodhichitta and cherish others more than ourselves, the closer we will be to Tara, and the easier it will be for her to offer us help quickly.”

The monks who are all students at Gaden Jangtse School offered the whole day of Saka Dawa reciting Migtsema and Jampal Tsenjoe for Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s swift return according to His Holiness Dalai Lamas guidance. FPMT’s Social Service Fund has been supporting this school for the last three years and we were extremely touched by their offering of prayers. Please watch this short video: 

Rejoice and Remember

Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Boudhanath Stupa, 2020.

During each puja mentioned above, FPMT is making a small money offering to each of the kind Sangha offering the prayers, as well as tea and bread. Rinpoche has said that there is nothing compared to making offerings to the Sangha of these monasteries, because they are all disciples of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Offering tea to one disciple is better than making an offering to all the Buddhas.

Rinpoche has said that even just by remembering that these pujas happened, rejoicing in the activities, and dedicating the merits—This is the best business and the best way to create the most extensive merit and these pujas are dedicated for anybody who needs these prayers, and the merit that is created from all these prayers is also your merit, so you can dedicate to having realizations yourself and achieving enlightenment.

This is the thirtieth consecutive year that we have arranged these pujas on each of the four holy Buddha multiplying days, following the advice of our most kind Lama Zopa Rinpoche, who explained how important these continual prayers are for the success of the organization. We sincerely thank all the kind donors who enabled us to arrange these pujas and also everyone who rejoiced in the practices. Thank you.

The whole FPMT mandala, including every center, was engaged in prayers and virtuous practices on Saka Dawa, It was such an incredible day to join in the collective prayers and to rejoice in how much merit was being created.

May all of these powerful prayers be the cause of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s swift return, for peace and harmony within the FPMT organization; for all obstacles to be removed; for the activities to be successful and of most benefit to all beings; for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and all of our teachers; and for the success and benefit of all the FPMT Dharma activities around the world.

The Puja Fund was established by Lama Zopa Rinpoche to provide resources for continuous pujas dedicated to the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and to the success of all the FPMT centers, projects, services, students, benefactors and those serving the organization in any way. You can learn more about the Puja Fund, or FPMT’s other extensive charitable activity.