receive our newsletters
join Friends of FPMT
Study & Practice News
Lama Zopa Rinpoche has said very strongly on many occasions that The Method to Transform a Suffering Life into Happiness (Including Enlightenment) with Additional Practices is a practice that he would like all his students to do every day. In this updated edition, the sections “Blessing the Speech” and “Daily Mantras” have been revised based on Rinpoche’s commentaries and the original Tibetan texts from which they are drawn. A new section—“Mantras for Specific Occasions”—includes mantras for increasing the power of sutra recitations and for blessing the feet and the wheels of a car. All the mantras in this edition have been written using a modified version of the International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) system that accords with the way Rinpoche would like these specific mantras pronounced. This updated practice is now available through the Foundation Store (hard copies forthcoming).
In addition, the many oral commentaries that Rinpoche has given on this practice have now been compiled and edited into a second booklet—The Method to Transform a Suffering Life into Happiness (Including Enlightenment) with Additional Practices: A Commentary—to help students do these practices in the most meaningful way possible. In the commentary on The Method to Transform a Suffering Life into Happiness (Including Enlightenment), Rinpoche explains how and why it is important to transform our life into Dharma by generating a bodhichitta motivation. In the commentaries to “Blessing the Speech,” “Daily Mantras,” and “Mantras for Specific Occasions,” Rinpoche explains the benefits of doing these practices and how to do them. We hope the commentaries will help inspire all of Rinpoche’s students to take up these practices in their daily lives! The commentary is now available through the Foundation Store.
Through comprehensive study programs, practice materials, training seminars, and scholarships, FPMT Education nourishes the development of compassion, wisdom, kindness, and true happiness in individuals of all ages.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche offering Most Secret Hayagriva oral transmissions, Drati Khangtsen, Sera Je Monastery, Bylakuppe, India, November 2017. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
On various occasions, Lama Zopa Rinpoche has taught that receiving the oral transmission (lung) of prayers, practices, and texts is very beneficial. In addition to multiplying the benefits of one’s own recitations of the text by one hundred, the oral transmission creates positive imprints on one’s mind that lead to enlightenment.
“Kyabje Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche, [one of my teachers,] once gave the oral transmission of the Vajra Cutter Sutra at Land of Medicine Buddha in the United States,” Lama Zopa Rinpoche shared at the 100 Million Mani Retreat at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa in Pomaia, Italy, in October 2017. “At that time, Rinpoche said that if you have received the lung of the Vajra Cutter Sutra and then you recite it, you get the benefit of having recited it one hundred times.”
“The words leave a positive imprint on the mind and that brings you to enlightenment,” Rinpoche continued. “That brings realizations; that brings you to enlightenment. The lung doesn’t take much time, but the positive imprint left on the mind brings you to enlightenment. Then, you can do perfect work for sentient beings and are able to bring them to enlightenment. You have to know that. That is the basic thing; that is the main thing.”
Lama Zopa Rinpoche writing a daily motivation in a monk’s diary, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, April 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Rinpoche also said that by keeping track of the oral transmissions one has received, one will know in the future if one is able to help support the continuity of the tradition by passing on the lung to someone else, should that be necessary.
“If you get any lung, long or short, write it down,” Rinpoche advised during the 2017 Light of the Path retreat in North Carolina in the United States. “It is very important to write it down so in the future you know which lungs you have received. In the future, some teachings may become very rare and other people will need that lung. At that time, you may have the karma to give the lung to other people, but if you didn’t receive the lineage, you can’t give them the lung because you have to have received the blessings—Buddha’s teachings from the Buddha. So write it down! It is very important for Sangha and lay people to write it down—every teaching, every lung you have received. Otherwise, you won’t know whether you have received it or not and so you won’t be able to help.”
Although most oral transmissions within FPMT must occur in person, you can receive the oral transmission of the Sutra of Golden Light online. Lama Zopa Rinpoche urges us to recite the Sutra of Golden Light every day. The benefits from reciting, listening to, or even hearing the name of the sutra are immeasurable, from eliminating conflict, terrorism, torture, and famine to achieving full enlightenment.
Through comprehensive study programs, practice materials, and training seminars, FPMT Education nourishes the development of compassion, wisdom, kindness, and true happiness in individuals of all ages.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche reorganized many of the prayers based on his current way of doing them and, in particular, added an extensive explanation of the visualizations to be done while taking refuge. Drawn from Phabongkha Rinpoche’s Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, for each of the objects of refuge—Guru, Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha—there are visualizations for purifying negative karma, increasing qualities, and coming under the guidance of that object of refuge.
Subtitled “How to Meditate on the Graduated Path to Enlightenment,” the practices contained in this booklet prepare the mind for lamrim meditation by purifying negative karma and collecting extensive merit—the two main causes for attaining realizations.
This practice can also be used as a basis for engaging in the preliminary practices of accumulating 100,000 prostrations, mandala offerings, and so forth.
Through comprehensive study programs, practice materials, training seminars, and scholarships, FPMT Education nourishes the development of compassion, wisdom, kindness, and true happiness in individuals of all ages.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche doing prostrations before giving Hayagriva oral transmissions, Drati Khangsten, Sera Je Monastery, Bylakuppe, India, November 2017. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
FPMT Education Services has recently published a short text with updated advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche on how to do the practice of prostrations. In Advice for Prostrations from Lama Zopa Rinpoche, you can find holy names and mantras to recite before prostrations; advice for the practice of making prostrations to the Thirty-Five Buddhas; a meditation to use while making prostrations to the Thirty-Five Buddhas; the meaning behind “touching the four places” while prostrating, and more!
Advice for Prostrations from Lama Zopa Rinpoche comes from Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teachings at Root Institute in Bodhgaya, India, January 2017. There, Rinpoche provided some new instructions regarding prostrations, including some changes to the preliminary holy name mantras, and also dictated a new meditation.
Rinpoche asked that these instructions be integrated into the FPMT booklets on the practice of prostrations. They will be included in forthcoming updated versions of the booklets The Practice of Prostrations to the Thirty-Five Confession Buddhas and The Preliminary Practice of Prostrations to the Thirty-Five Confession Buddhas, both available through the Foundation Store.
During a retreat in Bendigo, Australia, 2014, Lama Zopa Rinpoche made extensive changes to many practices including Prostrations to the Thirty-Five Confession Buddhas. Rinpoche advised that preliminary prayers be done before doing the practice of prostrations and that at the end of the practice the “Mantra of Pure Morality” and “Prayer to Keep Pure Morality” be recited. These changes can be found in the FPMT Retreat Prayer Book, 2016 edition.
Through comprehensive study programs, practice materials, training seminars, and scholarships, FPMT Education nourishes the development of compassion, wisdom, kindness, and true happiness in individuals of all ages.
Lama Chöpa puja on the morning of Losar, Kopan Monastery, Kathmandu, Nepal, February 2017. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
The Fifteen Days of Miracles—from the first day of the Tibetan new year (Losar, February 16) until the fifteenth (March 1)—commemorate the special time when Guru Shakyamuni Buddha showed miraculous powers in order to subdue the Six Founders, who lacked faith in him, and to inspire more faith in his followers. It culminates on the full moon, the fifteenth day of the lunar calendar, which is called Chotrul Duchen.
Losar is traditionally celebrated for three days, during which Tibetans spend time with friends and family, eat, play games, and relax. A number of rituals and customs have developed around it, such as the eating of a special soup called “guthug” on the 29th day of the last Tibetan month of the year, two days before Losar. In the monasteries, there is a Losar tradition to do the extensive Palden Lhamo puja before dawn.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche blessed all 800 monks and nuns of Kopan Monastery and Nunnery as well as guests during lunch on Losar, Kathmandu, Nepal, February 2017. Photo by Lobsang Sherab.
The Fifteen Days of Miracles are also a time for pilgrimage and intensive Dharma practice. During this period, many Tibetan monasteries, including Kopan Monastery in Nepal, hold a Great Prayer Festival—Monlam Chenmo—for several days or even weeks during which the Sangha recite prayers from morning until evening.
This year, Losar falls on February 16. The Fifteen Days of Miracles continue through Chotrul Duchen on March 1.
All fifteen days are merit-multiplying days, when the merit of virtuous actions performed on these days is multiplied by 100 million, as cited by Lama Zopa Rinpoche from the vinaya text Treasure of Quotations and Logic.
Students visit the public display of thangkas and butter sculptures on Chotrul Duchen, Kopan Monstery, Kathmandu, Nepal, March 2017. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Advice Specifically for Losar
For the FPMT, Losar is a special time as it commemorates the anniversary of FPMT founder Lama Yeshe’s parinirvana at dawn of Losar in 1984. Lama Zopa Rinpoche asks students to offer extensive Lama Chöpa with tsog in honor of this anniversary. Lama Zopa Rinpoche says that one generates incredible merit by offering tsog on that occasion every year. This Losar marks thirty-four years since the passing of Lama.
Rinpoche also recommends that students attend centers hosting annual events to introduce new students to Lama Yeshe. These events might include older students who knew Lama Yeshe sharing their favorite stories, watching videos of Lama teaching, or reading stories about Lama.
Lama Yeshe, Yucca Valley, California, US, 1977. Photo courtesy of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.
Advice for the Fifteen Days of Miracles
Advice for merit-multiplying days in general can be found here.
If you decide to recite the Sutra of Golden Light on these special days, we invite you to report your recitations on the Sutra of Golden Light reporting page.
Losar Tashi Delek! Happy Tibetan New Year!
Please keep in mind: According to the late Ven. Choden Rinpoche, one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teachers, observation of auspicious days should be according to the date in India, not the date in one’s home country. Therefore, when Lama Zopa Rinpoche is not in India, Rinpoche celebrates merit-multiplying days and other auspicious dates according to the time in India.
Special thanks to the Liberation Prison Project for preparing this year’s Tibetan calendar. A limited view of the calendar is always available on “Dharma Practice Dates” as a courtesy to FPMT students around the world.
Through comprehensive study programs, practice materials, training seminars, and scholarships, FPMT Education nourishes the development of compassion, wisdom, kindness, and true happiness in individuals of all ages.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche does prostrations at Vulture’s Peak, the site of Buddha’s first teaching, Rajgir, India, February 2, 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Lunar and solar eclipses are auspicious days for practice and provide opportunities for accumulating increased merit. Lama Zopa Rinpoche advises that the merit generated on lunar eclipses is multiplied by 700,000 and by 100 million on solar eclipses.
Upcoming lunar eclipses: January 31, July 27
Upcoming solar eclipses: February 15, July 13, and August 11
On these multiplying days, any beneficial practices can be done. In particular, Rinpoche recommends:
- Recitation of the names of the Thirty-Five Confession Buddhas
- Vajrasattva mantras
Any other meritorious activities advised by Lama Zopa Rinpoche are also good to do on these days, such as recitations of the Vajra Cutter Sutra, Sutra of Golden Light, and Sanghata Sutra, with extensive dedications. These texts are available on the “Sutras” page on FPMT.org.
January 31 is a lunar eclipse and all are invited to participate in generating 700,000 times the merit than what would be accumulated on a non-multiplying day.
You can read more about practices specifically recommended by Rinpoche for lunar and solar eclipses, and other Buddha Multiplying Days:
https://fpmt.org/teachers/zopa/advice/practice-on-the-four-great-holy-days/
Check “Dharma Practice Dates” for information on auspicious days for practice:
https://fpmt.org/media/resources/dharma-dates/
Acquire your own copy of the Liberation Prison Project calendar through the Foundation Store:
https://shop.fpmt.org/2018-Liberation-Tibetan-Calendar-HARDCOPY_p_3017.html
Through comprehensive study programs, practice materials, training seminars, and scholarships, FPMT Education nourishes the development of compassion, wisdom, kindness, and true happiness in individuals of all ages.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche and five dakini dancers during a long life puja, Tara Temple, Sarnath, India, February 2016. Photo by Paolo Regis.
FPMT Education Services now makes available two long life puja texts to support FPMT centers and their students in offering long life pujas to Lama Zopa Rinpoche and other gurus.
The first, the Long Life Lama Chopa with Request to the Dakinis, is an elaborate long life puja performed on the basis of Lama Chopa that includes Request to the Dakinis for the Holy Fields to Remain Firmly with Us. It involves presenting the guru with the seventeen traditional long life offerings and, oftentimes, a dakini dance performed by the guru’s students. It takes three to four hours to complete. The greater FPMT organization offers this long life puja to Lama Zopa Rinpoche officially once each year.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche during a long life puja offered by Drati Khangtsen, Sera Je Monsatery, Bylakuppe, India, November 2017. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
The second, the Abbreviated Long Life Puja to Lama Zopa Rinpoche (Lama Chopa with Sixteen Arhats), is also performed on the basis of Lama Chopa, and includes Prostrations and Offerings to the Sixteen Arhats. It adds about thirty minutes to the typical Lama Chopa with tsog ritual. This abbreviated puja is suitable for centers to offer when there is limited time and resources.
The document How to Offer an Abbreviated Long Life Puja to Lama Zopa Rinpoche (Lama Chopa with Sixteen Arhats) gives clear instructions on how to organize and perform this shorter long life puja, which can also be offered to other gurus with slight modifications. It should be noted that the minimum offering to make during this long life puja is the double vajra brocade, along with the mandala offering of requesting the guru to live long and the thanksgiving offering for accepting the request.
The purpose of the long life puja is for students to purify mistakes they have made in relation to their guru, and to create the causes and conditions to continue to receive teachings and guidance from that guru for a very long time. Lama Zopa Rinpoche also regularly mentions that offering a long life puja creates the cause for the long life of the people offering the puja.
These long life puja texts, in addition to dozens of other prayers and practice for free download, are available on FPMT.org:
https://fpmt.org/education/prayers-and-practice-materials/
You can support the official long life puja for Lama Zopa Rinpoche through the Long Life Puja Fund for Lama Zopa Rinpoche:
https://fpmt.org/support/longlifepuja-lzr/
Through comprehensive study programs, practice materials, training seminars, and scholarships, FPMT Education nourishes the development of compassion, wisdom, kindness, and true happiness in individuals of all ages.
Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa’s resident teacher Geshe Tenzin Tenphel
The FPMT Basic Program is an in-depth Buddhist education program designed by Lama Zopa Rinpoche and developed by FPMT Education Services. In-depth program coordinator Olga Planken introduces resident teacher Geshe Tenzin Tenphel and the full-time residential Basic Program at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa (ILTK) in Italy, which will begin its next cycle in September 2018:
Geshe Tenzin Tenphel, Resident Teacher
When resident teacher and geshe lharampa Geshe Tenzin Tenphel arrived at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa in 1998, he began teaching lamrim, which forms the foundation of all study and practice in the Gelug tradition. In addition, and while also teaching at other FPMT centers in Italy, he assisted with teaching the supplementary subjects when the FPMT Masters Program first began.
Geshe-la was engaged with the Basic Program at ILTK from the beginning. Alongside Geshe Jampa Gyatso, he taught the philosophical subjects when ILTK’s residential Basic Program first started. At that time, it was the first and only residential FPMT Basic Program anywhere in the world. From among those teachings, Geshe Tenphel’s commentary on The Tathagata Essence was extracted and is now available as a Basic Program Online course on the FPMT Online Learning Center.
Geshe-la was the main teacher for the two following cycles of Basic Program at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa. He also taught the first subject for the next cycle of the Masters Program, all while continuing to offer general teachings and visiting other centers as well. Geshe Tenphel is particularly appreciated for his clear explanations, his keen interest in debate, and his sense of humor.
Geshe Tenphel teaching “The Tathagata Essence” during the residential Basic Program at ILTK
A Little History of ILTK’s Residential Basic Program
The first cycle of the Basic Program at ILTK had two Masters Program graduates as teaching assistants. Sixteen students completed the entire residential program and eight graduated from the online program. The inclusion of the three-month lamrim retreat, a Basic Program completion requirement specifically added by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, was at that time a unique feature not offered elsewhere. Rinpoche wrote a personal letter of thanks to all participants and staff of this Basic Program cycle.
During the second cycle, the Basic Program at ILTK was offered university accreditation due to an affiliation with Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies) in Pisa. ILTK’s third cycle of the Basic Program is due to finish in 2018, ending with a month-long lamrim retreat, three-month review, and final exam at the end of April.
Students discussing in ILTK’s tea garden
The Fourth Cycle of the Basic Program at ILTK
The fourth cycle begins in September 2018. Extended over a four-year period, the program offers short retreats at the completion of subjects, the Basic Program three-month review and final exam, and a month of group retreat to prepare students to confidently engage in the additional two months of lamrim retreat that are required for graduation.
This is a rare opportunity to participate in a full-time residential Basic Program. [There are online options in English, Italian, and Spanish.] Available in English and Italian, it guarantees a balanced approach of study, meditation, discussion, and retreat. Review classes facilitated by experienced tutors supplement the daily teachings and help student digest the sometimes-challenging subject matter. The new four-year schedule includes the same practice, behavior, and community service components emphasized by Lama Zopa Rinpoche as integral elements of a successful Basic Program as before, but affords a more manageable pace.
With this fourth ILTK Basic Program cycle, a newly established collaboration with the Università di Pisa comes to fruition: Italian-speaking students who wish to graduate with a master’s degree in neuroscience and contemplative practice can combine their Basic Program study with a one-year program at the university.
In general, residential Basic Program students graduate with an increased interest in becoming FPMT registered teachers, and with confidence to offer Discovering Buddhism or to tutor for the Basic Program, online or in FPMT centers. Others join the Masters Program to further their studies. In addition to personally maturing in their Dharma studies and practice, Basic Program students can feel confident that they are directly contributing to Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s vision for FPMT!
Courtyard at ILTK with prayer wheel and reclining Buddha
For more information on the residential Basic Program at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa, please visit website:
https://www.iltk.org/en/programmi-studio/basic-program-buddhismo/corso-residenziale/
Through comprehensive study programs, practice materials, and training seminars, FPMT Education nourishes the development of compassion, wisdom, kindness, and true happiness in individuals of all ages.
We are pleased to announce the release of the 2018 Liberation Tibetan Calendar which includes the Tibetan lunar dates and information about more than thirty types of practice days and auspicious and inauspicious days for each month.
The calendar is prepared by astrologer Ngawang Thartho based on the Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institutes calendar, with additional advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Spiritual Director of FPMT, and Geshe Ngawang Dakpa.
This year, in addition to the hardcopy printed version, the calendar is also available as a downloadable PDF format which has no shipping costs.
Proceeds from the purchase of the calendar help to support the Liberation Prison Project, an FPMT project that works with Dharma students in prison.
Through comprehensive study programs, practice materials, and training seminars, FPMT Education nourishes the development of compassion, wisdom, kindness, and true happiness in individuals of all ages.
Statue of Buddha with flower offerings, Kachoe Dechen Ling, Aptos, California, US, August 2017. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
The creation of holy objects for world peace is a key priority among Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Visions for the FPMT organization. FPMT Education Services makes available many resources related to creating and offering to holy objects.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche has explained: “My wish is for FPMT to build many holy objects everywhere, as many as possible. Making it so easy for sentient beings to purify their heavy negative karma and making it so easy for sentient beings to create extensive merit, which makes it so easy to achieve the realizations of the path and so easy to achieve liberation and enlightenment.”
Holy objects and extensive offerings, Kachoe Dechen Ling, Aptos, California, US, July 2014. Photo by Chris Majors.
Holy Object Resource Guides and Information
- Prayer Wheels
- Prayer Flags
- Relics
- Stupas
- Statues
- Thangkas
- Tsa-Tsas
- Information on microfilm for stupas and prayer wheels
- Guide for filling and consecrating your holy object
- To order Buddhist microfilm
- “The Inside Story: Microfilm, Holy Objects, and the Passion of Tai Vautier,” a Mandala online feature
Every month tsa-tsas of the Medicine Buddhas and Padmasambhava are made and dedicated to the success and removal of all obstacles for all FPMT centers, projects, and services, Kachoe Dechen Ling, Aptos, California, US, July 2014. Photo by Chris Majors.
Further Reading on Holy Objects
- Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice regarding holy objects can be found on his Advice Page as well as in the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive’s Online Advice Book.
- Benefits of Having Many Holy Objects by Lama Zopa Rinpoche
- The Benefits of Making Prayer Wheels by Lama Zopa Rinpoche
- Benefits and Practices Related to Stupas and Statues Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3
- An Essay on Relics by Lama Zopa Rinpoche
- Essential Mantras for Holy Objects by Lama Zopa Rinpoche
- Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Advice on Circumambulation compiled by Ven. Sarah Thresher
- Lama Zopa Rinpoche translated Padmasambhava’s Instruction on Offerings to Stupas, which details the benefits of prostrating to, circumambulating, making offerings, and offering service to stupas.
- The Wheel of Great Compassion: The Practice of the Prayer Wheel in Tibetan Buddhism edited by Lorne Ladner, foreword by Lama Zopa Rinpoche
-
Extensive auspicious offerings are made to holy objects by many FPMT centers, projects, and services around the world. Please rejoice in some of this amazing activity!
You can explore more resources and information about holy objects on FPMT.org:
fpmt.org/education/practice/holy-objects
The Holy Objects Fund contributes to world peace and harmony by supporting the building of statues, stupas, prayer wheels, and large thangkas:
https://fpmt.org/projects/fpmt/holy-objects-fund/
Through comprehensive study programs, practice materials, training seminars, and scholarships, FPMT Education nourishes the development of compassion, wisdom, kindness, and true happiness in individuals of all ages.
Lama Yeshe at Kopan Monastery, 1971. Photo courtesy of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.
In 1971, at the famous Kopan November course in Kathmandu, Nepal, FPMT founder Lama Yeshe took time to speak with his students about Christmas time and the figure of Jesus.
The teachings were originally published by Wisdom Publications in 1978 under the title Silent Mind, Holy Mind.
This is the week of Holy Jesus’ birth, and I suggest that in honor of this special event we make some sort of celebration. But we should try to make it meaningful. It should not be some sort of physical sensation, bringing only more confusion and superstition to our minds.
For a Christmas celebration to be a good one, it must be of a truly religious nature. Jesus came to this Earth and presented his teachings, but worldly beings completely disregard this fact. For them, Christmas means—first and foremost—spending money, buying presents, and creating confusion. Such confusion is entirely of our own making. We have the power to make Christmas meaningful, peaceful, and truly religious, but instead of using this power we succumb to worldly negative energy. We go shopping to buy presents, but this is not done with anything even resembling a loving attitude. We think, “I really must buy something for my sister, because if I don’t give her anything, maybe she won’t like me anymore. Maybe she won’t give me anything either.” Or, “I better not get my friend a cheap present, or I might not get anything valuable back from him next year.” Such thoughts are extremely negative, leading to nothing but dissatisfaction. They are totally involved with egotistic and immature notions about what true happiness is. They have nothing whatsoever to do with religion.
True religion brings peace and satisfaction to the mind. Actions that arouse only confusion serve no religious function at all. They stem instead from a political mind that thinks, “If I give this, I’ll get that in return.” Such a mind is extremely immature. It delights when many presents are received, and is depressed when expectations go unfulfilled. What difference, then, is there between such a mind and that of a small child? We consider ourselves to be grown up, but our actions and attitudes show us to be little different from our children. They exaggerate the importance of receiving gifts, and so do we. In fact, their exaggerated expectation of their minds of confusion and dissatisfaction are mainly developed by watching us. If we were to act in a consistently mature and meaningful way, our children would also become peaceful. We sometimes think that they are naturally berserk, and that we are something special but this is not so. Check up and see exactly what happens when a holiday approaches. We are the ones who create the commotion. The first thing that happens at the beginning of a holiday is that husband and wife, brother and sister and so forth begin to fight with one another. Be honest, and investigate the truth of this. I am not trying to be excessively negative; just check up and see if this is true or not. Holiday bickering has so much jealousy in it, “Let me see, what did you get? What did you get?” Such a dualistic mind is totally submerged in selfishness and wrong conceptions.
This deluded behavior is not common only to one type of culture. It can be found everywhere. Similarly, the antidote to this confusion is not taught merely in Buddhism. All religions strive to counter unsatisfactory, confused attitudes and bring us peace of mind.
It is characteristic of materialistic people that they believe their happiness and frustration to be totally dependent on external phenomena and possessions. If they do not receive enough ice cream and cake they are despondent: “I feel so empty. This Christmas has been such a flop I could die!” For them, the success or failure of a religious holiday depends entirely on material things. They cannot discover peace and happiness within their own consciousness, depending instead on some external, physical sign of “love.” It does not matter how much they might profess to be spiritual; their minds are completely obsessed by the gross, material level of reality ….
When Jesus was living on earth, there were no churches and such. His religion was not divided up into many groups and societies with people saying, “I’m a member of this sect; what denomination are you?” Things had not yet tightened up to the point where the religious follower felt compelled to choose one path or another. In this respect, at least, the people were much more liberated than we are today. Whatever they did in terms of their religion was done honestly and sincerely. Nowadays when you ask someone why he follows a particular religious tradition, he is likely to say, “Because my father did,” or “Because that church is near my house.” It is ridiculous to follow a particular set of teachings for these reasons. Others belong to a certain religion because it has the largest congregation in town. This also has nothing whatsoever to do with the true spirit journey.
Jesus Christ, from Lama Yeshe’s “Silent Mind, Holy Mind”
One solitary being sincerely actualizing the everlasting peaceful path to liberation is more precious than a whole host of confused beings shouting. “This is my religion!” Such people may easily criticize the sincere seeker, despising him for holding beliefs contrary to those of the multitudes. Sheer numbers count for nothing in spiritual terms. It does not matter how many people are engaged in building a church, temple, or monastery; if they lack true religious feeling, their actions mean nothing ….
Therefore, if our Christmas celebration is to be truly religious, it is important to remember who Jesus was, what he did and what he stood for. In this way we can understand how he benefited so many sentient beings and why he has been such a positive force, not merely in his own time, but throughout the last 2,000 years, and up to the present day.
Jesus had exceptionally great compassion. It is very good to check up on this fact, and consider it deeply.
If the thought comes to our mind, “I must gain his realizations and become as compassionate as he was,” then this is the most perfect basis on which to have a celebration of his birth. With this feeling in our hearts, a Christmas festival can be very meaningful and worthwhile.
Lama Thubten Yeshe is the founder of FPMT, an international organization devoted to preserving and spreading Mahayana Buddhism worldwide by creating opportunities to listen, reflect, meditate, practice, and actualize the unmistaken teachings of the Buddha, and based on that experience, spread the Dharma to sentient beings.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche with one of his teachers, Rato Rinpoche, Sera Je Monastery, India, January 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
In FPMT centers, a great deal of emphasis is placed on the practice of guru devotion. Advice Regarding Gurus, a short booklet available through the FPMT Foundation Store, introduces new students to the concept of guru devotion and explains why such importance is placed on establishing and maintaining a positive relationship with a qualified spiritual teacher.
“Although you can learn a lot from books,” long-time student Ven. René Feusi explains, “if you want to become excellent in any field of knowledge, you have the best chance of success if you have a qualified teacher. This is true if you aim to become a ballet dancer, a pianist, a pilot, a craftsman, a scientist, etc. Likewise, if you aspire for spiritual development, your progress will be safer and faster if you are under the guidance of a qualified guru.”
- The Heart of the Path: Drawing from nearly fifty teachings, this is a lengthy collection of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teachings on guru devotion.
- Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s “Advice on Guru Devotion”: In this short and poetic composition, Lama Zopa Rinpoche outlines the essence of guru devotion and includes a beautiful dedication.
- Discovering Buddhism, Module 4: “The Spiritual Teacher”: This module from FPMT Education Services’ online Discovering Buddhism course is an excellent place for students new to the Dharma to begin their studies of guru devotion.
- Living in the Path: “Guru is Buddha”: This module from FPMT Education Services’ online Living in the Path course offers an experiential taste of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teachings on guru devotion.
Through comprehensive study programs, practice materials, training seminars, and scholarships, FPMT Education nourishes the development of compassion, wisdom, kindness, and true happiness in individuals of all ages.