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In the newly available, Emptiness Explained: A Teaching on The Heart Sutra, Rinpoche not only teaches on the root cause of our sufferings, but skillfully guides us, step by step, on a profound meditation on emptiness, from identifying the object to be refuted (how things appear to our hallucinating minds) to generating an awareness of how everything is totally empty; conventionally, dependent arising.
How correctly devoting to the virtuous friend in thought and action matters to realizing emptiness is also explained. It comes together with listening, teaching and meditating on emptiness as a highly potent means to gather the supporting conditions for attaining wisdom. Encouragingly, Rinpoche assures us that when the conditions are there and the mind is ready, even just “a few words can suddenly click in your mind. It’s like you’ve woken up from sleep.”
Students familiar with the subject may yet acquire new insights from Rinpoche’s unusual clarification of some of the subtler points concerning the relationship between the ultimate nature of all phenomena and their conventional reality; and what would be the direct experience of the emptiness of an object.
Outstandingly practical, Rinpoche’s teaching also addresses some of the obstructive experiences that meditators may encounter, such as the fear of losing the “I” and the anxiety over falling into the extreme of nihilism.
This booklet is excerpted from Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teachings on The Heart Sutra at Tara Institute, Melbourne, Australia, March 2000; edited and reviewed by Ven. Ailsa Cameron and Ven. Joan Nicell, 2024.
Download a copy of Emptiness Explained: A Teaching on The Heart Sutra from the FPMT Foundation Store.
For further exploration:
- Find the The Heart Sutra available in multiple languages
- Emptiness Explained MP3 download
- Heart Sutra Practices and Instructions for Retreat
- Recognizing the False I
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 giving the oral transmission of the Vajra Cutter Sutra at the Mahabodhi Stupa, Bodhgaya, India, March 2015. Photo by Ven. Losang Sherab.
Along with the Heart Sutra, the Vajra Cutter Sutra (also known as the Diamond Cutter Sutra or Diamond Sutra) is one of most well-known sutras of Mahayana Buddhism. The Vajra Cutter Sutra is a discourse on the Buddhist concept of emptiness or “Wisdom Gone Beyond.”
About this sutra, Lama Zopa Rinpoche said, “It is one of the most profitable practices, because the root of all sufferings, yours and others, is the ignorance holding ‘I’ as truly existent—even though it is empty of that; and the ignorance holding the aggregates as truly existent, even though they are empty of that. The only antidote to cut that, to get rid of that and through which to achieve liberation, the total cessation of the suffering causes—delusions and karma—is the wisdom realizing emptiness. This is the subject of the Vajra Cutter Sutra, emptiness. So, each time you read it, it leaves such a positive imprint. Without taking much time, without much difficulty, it is easy to actualize wisdom.”
We are sharing some of the many resources available to those wishing to explore this sutra further, and utilize its profound wisdom into daily life:
- Vajra Cutter Sutra English eBook & PDF
- Recitation of the Vajra Cutter Sutra in Tibetan by Lama Zopa Rinpoche
- Living in the Path Online Course: Smashing the Delusions
- Vajra Cutter Sutra Amulet PDF (Tibetan)
- Vajra Cutter Sutra in various languages
Sutras are records of teachings given by the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni. The Buddha’s discourses were memorized by his disciples and later written down in various languages, the most complete collections of teachings being in Pali and Sanskrit. Because sutras contain the actual words spoken by the Buddha, by reproducing that speech ourselves during recitations our voice becomes a conduit for the spread of Buddha’s teachings in the world. A special set of sutras called dharmaparyayas or “transformative teachings,” including the Sanghata Sutra, function to transform those who hear, recite or write out them in particular ways, in the same way as meeting a buddha in the flesh.
We invite you to explore all of the sutra resources we have available for you.
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 share Lojong Monlam: Prayer to Become Like the Buddha in His Past Lives from the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Practice Series that invokes the Buddha’s blessings for us to be able to transform our habitual self-cherishing into the love, patience, and compassion for all sentient beings that characterize the Buddha’s actions in his earlier lives as a bodhisattva on the path to enlightenment. This prayer features among the lojong (thought transformation) prayers that Rinpoche recommended for recitation in the Lama Chopa, just before Verse 95 on the practice of exchanging self for others. The original translation was conducted by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, who continually taught that the highest aspiration in life is to, “cherish others.”
Eight Verses of Thought Transformation, translated by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, is also an essential text to use in the practice of thought transformation.
Please also explore our webpage dedicated to lojong (thought transformation), where you will find many resources to support your study and practice of this topic.
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 writing out the syllable AH, Bendigo, Australia, 2018. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
A mantra is a series of syllables, most often in Sanskrit, that is the subject of recitation, meditation, or other spiritual practice. The term “mantra” means “mind protection,” because mantras function to protect the mind from ordinary impure appearances as they evoke the energy of a particular buddha or bodhisattva.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche taught extensively on the power of mantra and offered us volumes of advice on specific mantras to utilize for various internal and external conditions and virtuous objectives. Our Mantras Page contains a complete list of the mantras we have available for download.
Namgyalma mantra
Among the dozens of mantras available to you is the Name Mantra that Multiplies Virtue by a Hundred Thousand. About this mantra, Lama Zopa Rinpoche stated, “We need to recite this name mantra not simply with the inner attitude of the mind going to the Dharma but with a bodhicitta motivation. This name mantra multiplies whatever virtue we do everyday by a hundred thousand. Recite it after that virtue has been accumulated; or if the roots of virtue have not been destroyed by anger, recite it at the end of the day.” You can use one-click download to access this mantra.
We invite you to explore all that our Mantras Page has to offer you and your practice. Additionally, please feel very free to peruse all that is available on our Prayer and Practice Materials Page.
Also available from Wisdom Publications is The Power of Mantra: Vital Practices for Transformation, in which Lama Zopa Rinpoche guides students through understanding the power and benefit of mantras. Rinpoche explains many popular mantras, giving specific instructions for practicing them, including Shakyamuni Buddha, Chenrezig, Manjushri, Tara, Medicine Buddha, Vajrasattva, and more.
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 share that two essential FPMT booklets are now available as eBooks (epub and mobi) for those who prefer these formats.
In 2022 we updated the PDF of How to Make My Lives Wish-Fulfilling: The Method to Transform a Suffering Life into Happiness (Including Enlightenment), the essential daily practice complied by Lama Zopa Rinpoche for his students and anyone else wishing to start their day, and all their activities, with a perfect Dharma intention and bodhichitta motivation.
This month eBook versions of this precious text have been updated to match the PDF.
Additionally, one of the texts that students of Lama Zopa Rinpoche have been reciting for Rinpoche’s swift return, Chanting the Names of Noble Manjushri, is now available in eBook formats as well.
Chanting the Names of Noble Manjushri consists of over 160 verses and mantra sentences, condensing an enormous tantric lore. It is categorized as a tantra, but can be read by anyone without restrictions. This praise of Manjushri was taught by Buddha Shakyamuni at the request of Vajrapani. It is a central text in all Tibetan traditions and is often recited and memorized by students. His Holiness the Dalai Lama advised that students of Lama Zopa Rinpoche recite this text as much as possible for Rinpoche’s swift return.
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.
Image of Kalachakra given out during a Kalachakra initiation give by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Washington D.C., 2011. Courtesy of Jonang Shambala, Italy.
We are pleased to release our first publication on Kalachakra, The Kālacakra Six-Session Guru Yoga together with An Extensive Review of the Three Vows and An Extensive Aspirational Prayer.
This booklet presenting a translation of A Grove of Wish-Fulfilling Pārijāta Trees: The Way to Practice Guru Yoga Based on Bhagavān Glorious Kālacakra in Connection with Six-Session Yoga compiled by Ling Rinpoche includes his work on a guru yoga, An Extensive Review of the Three Vows as a supplement as well as An Extensive Aspirational Prayer, a prayer that summarizes the two stages of the path of Kalachakra, composed by Lodro Chokyong Gyatso. It originated with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who for the sake of his own practice, requested Ling Rinpoche to compose a guru yoga based on Kalachakra, and gave advice regarding the “meaning and order of arrangement.” This clear and accessible translation was undertaken by Ven. Tenzin Gyurme, with Ven Joan Nicell.
Several FPMT centers hold regular practices and retreats on Kalachakra and we hope this publication will be of immense use and benefit to these centers and their students.
A full Kalachakra initiation, on the basis of the sand mandala, is currently underway in Mongolia with Jhado Rinpoche conferring the actual Kalachakra initiation starting on Aug 17, 2024.
We also want to take this opportunity to announce three important materials currently in process:
- A revision of Six-Session Guru Yoga by Phabongkha Dechen Nyingpo.
- A full translation of the extensive Kalachakra Mind Sadhana by the 7th Dalai Lama, The Excellent Vase of All Siddhis: The Mind Maṇḍala Sādhana of Śrī Kālacakra, complete with the extensive protection circle practice. This text is complemented by the Request to the Lineage Gurus and the rite for entering a nearing-retreat.
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A translation of the fire puja text, The Approximation Compensating Pacifying Burnt Offering Ritual of Śrī Kālacakra Arranged According to the Recitation Rite of the Kālacakra Ritual Monks of Namgyal Monastery.
Download The Kālacakra Six-Session Guru Yoga together with An Extensive Review of the Three Vows and An Extensive Aspirational Prayer:
https://shop.fpmt.org/the-kalachakra-six-session-guru-yoga-together-with-an-extensive-review-of-the-three-vows-and-an-extensive-aspirational-prayer.html
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.
Image of White Manjushri courtesy of Lama Yeshe Ling Tibetan Buddhist Group.
We are pleased to share that an English translation by Ven. Tenzin Namjong of the White Manjushri sadhana, The Meditation-Recitation of White Manjushri , is now available for free download in the FPMT Foundation Store. This translation was a request of Lama Zopa Rinpoche from 2020.
The buddhas manifest in multiple forms to meet the diverse needs of living beings. It is believed that the buddha of wisdom in the aspect of White Manjushri is especially powerful for helping us develop and strengthen our intelligence, knowledge, wisdom, and insight.
This White Manjushri sadhana may be used by anyone. However, as usual, those who do not have the requisite tantric empowerments and permissions should omit generating as the deity.
To learn more about this sadhana and to download your copy, please visit the FPMT Foundation Store.
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.
Shakyamuni Buddha by Jane Seidlitz.
Chokhor Duchen, one of the four annual holy days of Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, takes place this year on July 9 or July 10 depending on the various Tibetan calendars. Both days are fine. On these holy days of Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, the power of any meritorious action is multiplied by 100 million, as taught in the vinaya text Treasure of Quotations and Logic.
Known in English as “Turning the Wheel of Dharma,” Chokhor Duchen commemorates the anniversary of Guru Shakyamuni Buddha’s first teaching. It is said that for seven weeks after his enlightenment, the Buddha did not teach. Afterward, Indra and Brahma offered a dharmachakra and a conch shell, and requested Guru Shakyamuni Buddha to teach. Accepting, Guru Shakyamuni Buddha turned the wheel of Dharma for the first time at Sarnath in his teaching on the four noble truths.
Practice Advice
Specific practices recommended by Lama Zopa Rinpoche for merit-multiplying days can be found on the fpmt.org website on our “Practice on the Four Great Holy Days” page.
Specific practices recommended by Lama Zopa Rinpoche for merit-multiplying days include:
- Taking the eight Mahayana precepts—students can receive the lineage of these precepts from a specially produced video of Lama Zopa Rinpoche granting them
- Reciting the Sutra Remembering the Three Jewels
In addition, Rinpoche recommended doing Shakyamuni Buddha Puja. A beautiful and deeply inspirational puja, the text was recently reformatted with hyperlinks for smooth navigation so that individuals can easily do the core practice and any additional ones as their time allows.
You can also find advice for merit-multiplying days in French and practice materials for merit-multiplying days in other language.
Fulfilling His Holiness’s Wishes for Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Swift Return
Image of Lama Zopa Rinpoche on the altar in Kopan Monastery Gompa. Photo by Ven. Tenzin Tsomo.
Chokor Duchen is a wonderful opportunity to help fulfill His Holiness’ advice to amplify the causes for Rinpoche’s swift return. After recitation of the recommended prayers, make sure to dedicate for Rinpoche’s swift return on this special day when prayers are multiplied by 100 million.
On this special day, ordained Sangha of the IMI will take turns all day to lead a Chanting the Names of Manjushri marathon for Rinpoche’s quick return. This will be offered over Zoom, so please check the IMI website for the latest information. Please know that this will be happening all day, and joining in at any time is encouraged!
You can download this collection of prayers and make them available to students at your center, or share in your newsletters: A Collection of Prayers for the Swift Return of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche with advice from His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Pujas and Offerings on Chokhor Duchen
The FPMT Puja Fund is arranging an extensive array of pujas on Chokhor Duchen, dedicated to Rinpoche’s swift return such as Kangyur recitation and up to 10,000 recitations of Chanting the Names of Manjushri. Rinpoche mentioned many times that he wishes for, “the pujas being sponsored and offered on each of the four Buddha days to continue forever, or for as long as the monasteries and nunneries exist.” We will share additional information about these activities in an upcoming blog, and support is always welcome for these powerful practices.
*In 2024, Chokhor Duchen is celebrated on either July 9 or July 10 depending on regional interpretations of the lunar calendar and the specific methods used to calculate the date. Kopan Monastery will, for example, celebrate Chokor Duchen on the 9th, while the Liberation Prison Project Calendar, that many centers follow, has scheduled it for the 10th.
Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.
Shakyamuni Buddha by artist Peter Peter Iseli.
We are fast approaching the auspicious merit-multiplying day of Saka Dawa—the fifteenth day of the fourth month in the Tibetan lunar calendar (falling on May 23, 2024)—which commemorates Shakyamuni Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana.
Saka Dawa is one of the four great holy days of the Tibetan calendar, each of which celebrates an anniversary of Shakyamuni Buddha’s display of extraordinary powerful deeds for sentient beings’ sake.
It is a day when karmic results are multiplied by 300 million times as it commemorates Shakyamuni Buddha’s three major life events, as taught in the vinaya text Treasure of Quotations and Logic.
Specific practices recommended by Lama Zopa Rinpoche
- Taking the eight Mahayana precepts: students can receive the lineage of these precepts from a specially produced video of Lama Zopa Rinpoche granting them, which was edited from Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s thought transformation video series, recorded in 2020 at Kopan Monastery.
- Reciting the Sutra Remembering the Three Jewels
Other recommended practices can be found on the Practice on the Four Great Holy Days webpage.
- REVISED Shakyamuni Buddha Puja – recently reformatted, with hyperlinks for smooth navigation, so that individuals can easily do the core practice and any additional ones as their time allows.
- NEW The Sutra of Great Liberation – Lama Zopa Rinpoche extolled the immense benefits of engaging in, is another sutra that can be recited on these special days.
- NEW Kṣitigarbha Ten Wheels Mahāyāna Sūtra from the Great Collection – Rinpoche often emphasizes that prayers to Kshitigarbha are much more powerful than those made to other bodhisattvas, “[the sutra] talks about so much power, how important the bodhisattva is; even reciting or just thinking of the name of the bodhisattva is very, very powerful.”
You can also find advice for merit-multiplying days in French and practice materials for merit-multiplying days in other languages.
Of course, it is also good to do any of the other meritorious activities often advised by Lama Zopa Rinpoche for these great holy days.
In accordance with the advice of Ven. Choden Rinpoche, one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teachers, Lama Zopa Rinpoche observes all the auspicious dates in the Buddhist calendar by Indian Standard time, instead of any other local time.
Pujas and Offerings on Saka Dawa
The FPMT Puja Fund is arranging an extensive array of pujas and offerings on Saka Dawa, dedicated to the swift return of our precious guru, Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Rinpoche mentioned many times that he wishes for, “the pujas being sponsored and offered on each of the four Buddha days to continue forever, or for as long as the monasteries and nunneries exist.” We will be sharing more information on these activities in upcoming communications.
Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Buddha Amitabha Pure Land, Washington, US, June 2018. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
On Monday, April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will cross North America, passing over Mexico, the United States, and Canada.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche often spoke about solar and lunar eclipses, which are considered auspicious for practice and provide opportunities for accumulating merit by multiple folds. As stated in the vinaya text Treasure of Quotations and Logic, the karmic results of actions are multiplied by 700,000 times on lunar eclipses, and 100 million times on solar eclipses.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche pointed out that the multiplying effect of eclipses occurs regardless of whether the eclipse is partial or full. Rinpoche advised, however, that the merit-multiplying effect does not last the whole calendar day and as such, merit-making activities should be carried out during the occurrence of the eclipse. Therefore, to use the opportunity for practice, students should check for the timing of the eclipse in their own location. Such information may be found at timeanddate.com and similar websites.
Please refer to our Practice during Solar and Lunar Eclipses page for advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche about which prayers and practices are most beneficial on this occasion.
Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.
FPMT Education Services offers a wide range of programs and materials to support introductory to advanced Buddhist study and practice. This includes our FPMT Education Programs, available in FPMT centers and online; prayers and practice materials and books offered in digital formats; and our translations of key Buddhist texts, created by translators and editors around the world.
Education Programs
- Introductory: Piloted Buddhist Mind Science (BMS)
- Foundational: Piloted Exploring Buddhism (EB)
- In-Depth: For both the FPMT Basic Program (BP) and the FPMT Masters Program (MP) the Guidelines for Implementation were re-written; MP translations were commissioned for Middle Way; and the MP Study Manual for Ornament was updated.
Translations & Materials
- Twenty-six education resources for our students worldwide were completed in 2023. Check them out, you don’t want to miss these new publications! Find them at Foundation Store New Arrivals.
Online Learning Center (OLC)
- At the FPMT Online Learning Center the Long Retreat Preparation page was enriched with a teaching given at Nalanda Monastery by Venerable Charles, a highly regarded Nyung Na retreat leader and experienced meditator. This page offers FPMT Basic Program and FPMT Masters Program students support for the three-month and year-long retreats that are part of their program completion requirements.
Distribution
- Compared to the previous year, in 2023 there was 19% increase of PDF downloads and ebooks. We are happy that more students use the Foundation Store to find Dharma materials.
- FPMT Education materials are also distributed by Amazon (Kindle), Apple, Google, Music, Spotify, and others. Some titles are available in print as well.
We invite you to read all about our study, practice, and resources accomplishments of 2023:
fpmt.org/fpmt/annual-review-2023/#study-and-practice
Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.
The Heart Sutra is the most widely known sutra of the Mahayana tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. It is part of the Prajnaparamita Sutras, which is a collection of about 40 sutras composed between 100 BCE and 500 CE. The Heart Sutra is a presentation of profound wisdom on the nature of emptiness. Reading and reciting the Heart Sutra is a powerful way to create the conditions for having a direct realization of emptiness.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche explained that the only thing that can directly cut ignorance, which is the root of suffering and samsara, is wisdom realizing emptiness. There are many teachings on emptiness, but these teachings are found condensed in the Heart Sutra.
We are happy to share the revised edition of the Heart Sutra Practices and Instructions for Retreat. Based on Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teachings, this booklet presents experiential instructions on how to meditate on emptiness. Rinpoche provides a clear explanation of how to approach this subtle topic, how the experience of meditating on emptiness should feel, and how to avoid mistakes in your meditation. It contains necessary materials for completing a Heart Sutra retreat according to the advice of Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
This is the practice booklet that will be used in the Heart Sutra Retreat being held at Kopan Monastery from April 15-20, 2024.
Students can find more links to Heart Sutra materials and resources below:
- The Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra – MP3 Download
- The Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra – eBook & PDF
- Watch the teaching in which Rinpoche gives the oral transmission of the Heart Sutra on video. (The oral transmission begins at 42:58.)
- FPMT Basic Program Online: Heart Sutra
- Essence Of The Heart Sutra by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, eBook & PDF
- Audio: Emptiness Explained – MP3 Download
Please learn more about the Heart Sutra Retreat and commemoration being offered at Kopan Monastery in April 2024.
Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.