Study & Practice News

Lama Zopa Rinpoche reading from The Method to Transform a Suffering Life into Happiness, April, 2016. Photo by Bill Kane.

In this year’s annual review, Lama Zopa Rinpoche mentioned two practices that he’s asking students to focus on: The Method to Transform a Suffering Life into Happiness (Including Enlightenment) and How to Make Life Most Beneficial for Sentient Beings, Even with Your Speech. We wanted to remind students that these practices are available for free download.

Additionally, there are many prayers and practices, mantras, sutras, death and dying materials, and other resources available to support your Dharma study and practice. 

The Foundation Store is the online store of FPMT International Office. The store helps students access prayers and practice materials; meditation supplies such as malas, incense, ritual items, thangkas, and statues; and FPMT homestudy and online education programs. There are more than 700 downloadable products available including PDFs, ebooks, MP3s, and online courses.

We hope that you will take full advantage of all that is available to you and we wish you every success in your Dharma studies!

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.

We are currently amid a group of Buddha Multiplying Days and wanted to bring your attention to some resources available for students interested in purification practices during this time. 

Days one through fifteen of the first month of the Tibetan calendar mark a period when Lord Buddha performed many miracles, beginning with Losar (the Tibetan New Year) on the first day and culminating on the fifteenth day, Chotrul Duchen (the Day of Miracles). On Buddha Multiplying Days, karmic results are multiplied by one hundred million, as cited by Lama Zopa Rinpoche from the vinaya text Treasure of Quotations and Logic.

Vajrasattva. Artist unknown.

Losar took place this year on Monday, February 27 and the Fifteen Days of Miracles continues through Chotrul Duchen on Sunday, March 12.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche has taught extensively on benefits of engaging in Vajrasattva practice for purification. 

“Vajrasattva practice is so important generally, and especially nowadays in the world, when there is not only global warming, but many other problems,” Rinpoche explained in The Benefits of Vajrasattva Practice.  “There are so many other dangers—of war and sicknesses, cancer, and so many people whom you know are dying. There are so many sicknesses and other conditions for dying.

“This Vajrasattva practice and other purification practices are the ultimate answer, so everything in the world—what you see, every situation—tells you to practice Vajrasattva. To purify and do Vajrasattva practice is the ultimate answer, to stop the cause to be reborn in the lower realms and the immediate [result] is to have a higher rebirth, to make preparation for death and then to meet the Dharma, to meet the virtuous friend who reveals the path to enlightenment. Then to achieve ultimate happiness, to be free from samsara and to achieve enlightenment for the numberless sentient beings and to free them from the oceans of samsaric sufferings and bring them to full enlightenment.”

The FPMT Foundation Store offers many resources to support students in their Vajrasattva practice. A short meditation with the four opponent powers is available as a downloadable PDF. 

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.

Thirty-five Confessional Buddhas thangka.

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 on solar eclipses is multiplied by 100 million.

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 our sutras page. 

This Sunday, February 26, is a solar eclipse and all are invited to participate in generating 100 million times the merit than what would be accumulated on a non-multiplying day. 

You can read more about practices specifically recommended by Rinpoche for this and other Buddha Multiplying Days and check the Liberation Prison Project calendar for information on auspicious days for practice. 

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 teaching at Light of the Path Retreat, North Carolina, US, May 2014. Photo by Roy Harvey.

“The Seven-Limb Prayer” is found in, and is the basis of, many prayers and practice texts, including “The King of Prayers” and Lama Chöpa. This powerful method was taught by the Buddha as a means to accumulate merit and purify negativities, whereby we create the cause to experience every happiness up to enlightenment. 

In “The Seven-Limb Prayer,” a module of the Living in the Path program, Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaches the benefits of each limb (“prostration,” “offering,” “confession,” “rejoicing,” “requesting to remain,” “requesting to turn the wheel of Dharma,” and “dedication”) and how to practice them in the most effective way.

In this short video Ven. Chantal Tenzin Dekyi explains the meaning of “The Seven-Limb Prayer.”

Watch “The Seven-Limb Prayer – An Introduction” on YouTube:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PBDPaIR2E0

All of the modules of Living in the Path program are available on the FPMT Online Center. This program is ideal for anyone who wishes to deepen their personal practice and develop the realizations of the path to enlightenment by relying on Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s heart advice and teachings. As the teachings often assume familiarity with the lamrim, participants are recommended to have previously received teachings in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.

Ven. Chantal Tenzin Dekyi (Chantal Carrerot) ordained in 1986. She studied extensively with Khensur Jampa Tegchok at Nalanda Monastery in France and at Sera Je Monastery in India. She has offered service in a variety of FPMT centers and has also taught in various countries. Since 2009 she has been resident teacher at Institut Vajra Yogini. She translates Buddhist philosophy texts into French and is currently the director of the International Mahayana Institute (IMI). Ven. Chantal is an FPMT registered teacher.

Living in the Path is an FPMT program taught exclusively by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, spiritual director of the FPMT. Plans are underway to also draw from the teachings of Lama Yeshe, FPMT’s founder, to offer a program that preserves the entire FPMT lineage.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche with ‘How to Enjoy Death,’ Osel Labrang, Sera Monastery, India, December 2015.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche has given extensive advice and instruction for caring for ourselves and others during death and dying. FPMT Education Services would like to remind students of all the materials available to them for this critical time of transition. 

Immediate Help

While Rinpoche’s advice on the subject has been vast, Medicine Buddha pujas and “Eight Prayers to Benefit the Dead” are the most recommended practices to do, should you need help immediately. 

How to Enjoy Death

How to Enjoy Death: Preparing to Meet Life’s Final Challenge Without Fear brings together all the extensive commentary from Lama Zopa Rinpoche as well as a number of essential prayers, practices, and other materials that Lama Zopa Rinpoche has compiled over the years.

“We Buddhists all know about death and impermanence, but when death comes into our lives we often panic and don’t know what to do to help,” said Ven. Robina Courtin, the editor of How to Enjoy Death. “Rinpoche lays out all the instructions so clearly, one step at a time, for how to help our loved ones: what to do in the months and weeks before death, what to do in the hours before death, at the time the breath stops, and in the three days as well as the forty-nine days after death, including transforming our loved one’s ashes into a holy object.”

The condensed book of Rinpoche’s advice, Heart Practices for Death and Dying, contains the essential practices to do at the time of death. 

The Five Powers

Practicing the Five Powers Near the Time of Death by Lama Zopa Rinpoche contains advice and commentary to help ensure a peaceful death and positive rebirth. Although this book was intended for use by those facing imminent death, it is a deeply profound teaching on how to live life for anyone who wishes to make their life and eventual death most meaningful. 

Rinpoche explains, “When you practice the five powers, every single thing you do is only for numberless sentient beings and therefore, everything you do only becomes the cause for achieving the peerless happiness of full enlightenment. This is the greatest profit that can be achieved with this life and so this practice is the most beneficial one for achieving peerless happiness. It means that every single action you do, whether it is meditation and prayers or doing your job, becomes the cause of happiness for all sentient beings. This means that you will have the best, happiest life now and also the best, happiest life in the future—like the sun shining in this world and eliminating all darkness.”

Heart Advice for Death and Dying

Heart Advice for Death and Dying is a collection of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s essential advice and commentaries for the time of death. Teachings by Lama Zopa Rinpoche include, “The Nine-Point Meditation on Death,” “The Process of Dying,” “Preparing for Death,” “Practicing the Five Powers,” “Caring for the Dying and the Dead,” “Essential Activities at the Death Time,” and “Mantras to Benefit the Dying and Dead.” This collection also includes an MP3 CD of eleven hours of teachings on death by Ven. Sangye Khadro. In addition to the book and CD, this material is also available as a program for students more interested in structured study. 

Available as:

• Hard copy book
• eBook
• FPMT Online Learning Center program
• Hard copy program for hosting centers
• PDF program for hosting centers

The Liberation Box contains many resources recommended by Lama Zopa Rinpoche to help at the time of death.

Liberation Box: Protection Tool for a Fortunate Rebirth

This invaluable collection of holy objects and essential blessed materials was put together on the advice of Lama Zopa Rinpoche. 

Available as:

• Hard copy collection
• PDF digital edition, which does not include the stupa, phowa pill, and blessed cord

FPMT Education Services hopes that you will take full advantage of the resources available to you. Preparing for death is a wonderful service to offer oneself and our loved ones. 

The FPMT Death and Dying Heart Practices and Advice webpage is kept up to date with all of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s latest advice and materials concerning death and dying. 

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 with students at the Mahabodhi Stupa, Bodhgaya, India, February 2015.

FPMT Education Services is pleased to offer a new resource for FPMT students, A Guide to Sanskrit Transliteration and Pronunciation. We will soon begin releasing texts using transliterated Sanskrit and this document will help students with the reading and pronunciation of Sanskrit. 

Lama Zopa Rinpoche places great importance on the correct pronunciation of Sanskrit mantras. For this reason, and following careful consideration, FPMT Education Services and FPMT Translation Services have decided to adopt the use of the standard international system for transliterating Sanskrit. This transliteration scheme, which entails the use of diacritical marks, will primarily be used in translations of Tibetan and Sanskrit texts.

In practice texts, transliteration will be restricted to cases where the Sanskrit is also transliterated in the Tibetan source text, which are usually mantras and seed syllables, and short phrases of homage. We will also be using in practice texts a modified form of transliteration, similar to that employed by Jeffrey Hopkins in many of his works, which will facilitate the pronunciation of some Sanskrit letters by non-specialists. For example, the mantra for blessing the offering of flowers, OṂ PUṢPE ĀḤ HŪṂ, will be written OṂ PUṢHPE ĀḤ HŪṂ, with an additional “h.”

In other types of texts, the standard internationally used system of transliteration will be used conservatively.

The use of transliteration is important for the exacting task of preserving and accurately transmitting the Dharma as contained within the vast bodies of Tibetan and Sanskrit Buddhist textual sources and is the only method through which we can accurately preserve and present a perfect spelling and pronunciation of the original Sanskrit.

It is important to note that many ways of pronouncing mantras exist and there is even variation in the pronunciation of mantras by different Tibetan lamas. For this reason, we encourage readers to follow the instructions of their own teachers.

While these changes may present some initial challenges, we hope that in the long term these changes will not only support the continued transmission of the Dharma in our modern age, but also help to enrich your practice.

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 with FPMT India national coordinator Deepthy Shekhar in Bangalore, India, December 2016. Photo by Ven. Losang Sherab.

In 2014, Indian FPMT students heard Malaysian and Singaporean students chant Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s name mantra in Mundgod and had the wish to learn how to do the same. Ven. Kabir Saxena, now director of Maitreya Buddha Project Kushinagar, suggested that they use an Indian tune instead, since the mantra is in Sanskrit. A Sanskrit chant teacher helped them to compose a tune for the mantra and Indian students were later able to offer this to welcome Rinpoche into the teaching hall when Rinpoche was visiting Bangalore in December 2016.

FPMT India national coordinator Deepthy Shekhar recently shared this beautiful recording of her chanting this mantra for the use of all of Rinpoche’s students. 

https://shop.fpmt.org/Lama-Zopa-Rinpoche-Holy-Name-Mantra–MP3-Download-_p_3625.html

Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s name mantra is available to download, and all are welcome to enjoy and utilize the lovely chant offered by Deepthy. 

FPMT Education Services makes many other commonly used mantras available for free download. All are welcome to peruse and freely utilize what’s available. 

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.

Final session of Nalanda Monastery’s second Basic Program, December 2016. With BP teacher Geshe Jamphel Gyaltsen; BP coordinator Ven. Rigchog (back row, fifth from the right) and their three interpreters, for the English: Katie Fradet (center front); for the Spanish: Montse Lobett Brandt (front row, first on the left); and for the French: Ven. Dorje. Some students were not present for this final session.

FPMT Education Services would like to share some news about Basic Program progress and announce a wonderful new online opportunity. The Basic Program (BP) was designed by Lama Zopa Rinpoche for students who wish to progress beyond foundational level study and practice. It offers an introduction to the philosophical aspects of the Tibetan Buddhist Gelugpa tradition; a substantial practice component balances this scholarly focus, ensuring a well integrated education.

Ven. Sangye Khadro.

Denmark
Tong-nyi Nying-je Ling (Center for Wisdom and Compassion), Copenhagen, will start its first BP at the end of January, taught by resident teacher Ven. Sangye Khadro, Masters Program graduate and In-Depth Buddhism registered teacher. The first semester consists of five monthly weekends and a one-week study-retreat. Offered in English, the video recordings and course materials will also be available online. This is an exclusive opportunity for students worldwide to receive BP teachings from a perfectly qualified Western teacher!

New Zealand
While their second BP is already in progress, Dorje Chang Institute (DCI), Auckland, New Zealand, saw four students complete their first Basic Program with the three-month review final exam: BP interpreter Rinchen Dhondup, the first ever Tibetan interpreter to participate in the review and final exam, DCI spiritual program coordinator Ven. Gyalten Wangmo, who facilitated the review in close cooperation with Education Services, and DCI’s two senior BP discussion group facilitators, Murray Wright and Simon Harrison, both FPMT registered teachers.

Interestingly, as Education Coordinator of (then) Central Office (now known as FPMT International Office) as early as 1992, Murray presented the first proposal outlining Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s wish for a Basic Program, giving the initial curriculum shape and collecting texts, translations and course materials. Little did he know that he’d participate in the program and complete the final exam some twenty-five years later! All four have put a lot of effort and energy into their review and did very well in their exam. We extend our congratulations to BP teacher Geshe Wangchen on the successful completion of his first BP.

Centre Kalachakra’s last class of their second BP with teacher Geshe Dakpa Tsondu, center director Ven. Elisabeth Drukier (center), BP Coordinator Virginie Breit (second right, back row), and interpreter Lesley (fifth from right, back row). August 2016, Paris, France.

France
In France, Centre Kalachakra in Paris, which offers an excellent and well attended Basic Program that includes meditations, discussions and retreats, had six students complete the review and final exam of their second BP this December.

Nalanda Monastery in Lavaur will complete its second BP with the three-month review, final exam, and the three-month lamrim retreat in 2017. About ten students are expected to graduate from their outstanding five-year residential Basic Program.

Please rejoice that so many students around the world dedicate themselves to intensive Dharma study, and several succeed in completing FPMT’s In-Depth education programs.

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 giving the oral transmission of the Vajra Cutter Sutra at the Mahabodhi Temple, Bodhgaya, India, March 2015. Photo by Ven. Losang Sherab.

Toward the end of the Vajra Cutter Sutra, the following verse is found:

A star, a defective view, a flame,
An illusion, a drop of dew, a bubble,
A dream, a flash of lightning, a cloud:
See causative phenomena as such.

In “Smashing the Delusions,” a module of the Living in the Path program,  Lama Zopa Rinpoche explains the meaning of this often recited verse.  In these teachings Rinpoche urges us to practice, in our daily lives, mindfulness of how we ourselves and all the objects of our attachment, anger, and ignorance are impermanent and empty of true existence.

In a short video Ven. Lhundup Jamyang provides a brief introduction to this verse and explains how to see causative phenomena as impermanent and empty of inherent existence. 

“Watch “Smashing the Delusions” on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/zQ_hbAWMt-8

All of the modules of Living in the Path program are available on the FPMT Online Center. This program is ideal for anyone who wishes to deepen their personal practice and develop the realizations of the path to enlightenment by relying on Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s heart advice and teachings. As the teachings often assume familiarity with the lam-rim, participants are recommended to have previously received teachings in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.

Ven. Lhundrup Jamyang attended a ten-day introductory Buddhist course at Tushita Meditation Centre in Dharmasala, India, in 1997 and took ordination in 2000. She completed the five-year FPMT Basic Program at Chenrezig Institute in Australia and is currently completing the six-year Masters Program at Lama Tzong Khapa Institute in Italy. Ven. Jamyang is an FPMT registered teacher.

Living in the Path is an FPMT program taught exclusively by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, spiritual director of the FPMT. Plans are underway to also draw from the teachings of Lama Yeshe, FPMT’s founder, to offer a program that preserves the entire FPMT lineage.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche reading from The Method to Transform a Suffering Life into Happiness, April, 2016. Photo by Bill Kane.

Over the past couple of years, Lama Zopa Rinpoche has put a great deal of emphasis on the practice The Method to Transform a Suffering Life into Happiness (Including Enlightenment).

In this practice, Rinpoche has carefully compiled, and in many cases provided translation for, the prayers, practices, and meditations needed to start one’s day, or activities, with a perfect Dharma intention and bodhichitta motivation. While mornings are an ideal time to set up one’s aspirations for the day, students are encouraged to engage in this practice at any time, whenever one is able.

The Method to Transform a Suffering Life into Happiness (Including Enlightenment) is available in English, French, Italian, and Vietnamese and students can also access a commentary by Lama Zopa Rinpche on this practice. Additionally, the module “The Method to Transform a Suffering Life into Happiness” from the Living in the Path program is an excellent way to delve deeper into this practice. 

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.

In FPMT centers, a great deal of devotion can be found with respect to the spiritual teacher (guru). A short booklet, available through the FPMT Foundation Store, Advice Regarding Gurus, introduces newcomers to this practice and explains why such emphasis is placed on establishing and maintaining a positive relationship with a guru. 

Long-time student Ven. René Feusi explains, “Although you can learn a lot from books, 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.”

Many other resources are available to those wishing to delve deeper into the practice of guru devotion. In particular, FPMT students are encouraged to explore:

• 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 
• Living in the Path: Guru is Buddha

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 teaching at Olinda, Australia, 1976. Lama Photo courtesy of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

This week many of us head into a long holiday weekend with family and friends. We’d like to share an excerpt from Lama Yeshe’s Christmas teachings 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.

Lama Yeshe teaching at Kopan Monastery, Nepal, 1974. Photo by Ursula Bernis, courtesy of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

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.

Lama Yeshe with children and students in California, 1983. Photo courtesy of the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

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.

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….

Jesus Christ, from Lama Yeshe’s “Silent Mind, Holy Mind”

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.

Silent Mind, Holy Mind is currently out of print but available as a spiral bound paper copy from the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive. 

Lama Tsongkhapa Day, or Ganden Ngamchoe, is a celebration of the anniversary of Lama Tsongkhapa’s parinirvana. It is celebrated on the 25th day of the 10th month in the Tibetan calendar. This year, Lama Tsongkhapa Day falls on Friday, December 23. Students may like to consider including Lama Tsongkhapa practice in their holiday weekend.