Study & Practice News

Prostrations to the Thirty-five Confession Buddhas with recitation of the “Bodhisattva’s Confession of Moral Downfalls” from the Sutra of Three Heaps, is one of the most powerful methods available to purify harmful actions we have done in the past. By doing this practice mindfully, we can prevent unwanted suffering from occurring in the future. In addition, this practice clears away obstacles to spiritual practice and opens the mind in order to gain realizations on the path. Doing this practice first thing in the morning helps empower all other prayers and activities of the day.

As Lama Zopa Rinpoche explains, “There is so much hope in our lives. Our lives are so full of opportunity. It is so easy to purify, so easy to become free from samsara and achieve enlightenment. Even with just prostration, we can achieve all of this.” 

This essential practice is now available as an eBook from the FPMT Foundation Store and the Amazon Kindle Store.

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.”

This forty page practice is available as an eBook from the FPMT Foundation Store and the Amazon Kindle 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.

In this revised module of Living in the Path, “The Secret of the Mind,” Lama Zopa Rinpoche gives an extensive teaching on karma and the mind based on two verses from the Dhammapada (The Collection of Sayings), each of which begin with the line “Phenomena are created by the mind.”

Rinpoche explains that the philosophy of phenomena being created by the mind is unique to Buddhism, and that what this means is that every experience of suffering and happiness is the result of our own actions, or karma, which in turn come from our mind. “The secret of the mind” means the same as “Phenomena are created by the mind.” Rinpoche tells us that as long as we don’t know this important point, we won’t understand that abandoning suffering and achieving happiness have to come from our mind. On the other hand, when we do come to understand this, we will see that the experience of happiness and suffering is in our hands.

The materials for this module of Living in the Path are drawn from teachings given by Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Light of the Path 2010. The transcripts have been divided into ten short readings that are complimented by four short video excerpts of the teachings. An introductory video, “Mind: The Creator,” with Ven. Robina Courtin provides an engaging and informative overview of the subject of karma and the mind. To help students gain a deeper understanding and experience of the teachings, each reading begins with several questions that help to draw out the main points and encourage an active involvement with the teaching. In addition, the readings are supplemented with guidelines for meditating on the teaching, keeping it present throughout the day with a mindfulness practice, and offering service to others. Students who complete all the required readings, meditations, mindfulness and service practices are awarded a Certificate of Achievement. 

For an overview of this module, see “Mind: The Creator,” with Ven. Robina Courtin:
https://youtu.be/YL_2yXFv-Mk

For the full module, see Living in the Path, “The Secret of the Mind.” The enrollment key to access this module is available as a benefit of becoming a Friend of FPMT at the Dharma Supporter level or higher. Alternatively, it can be purchased in the Foundation Store.

1,000 Arm Chenrezig painting by Peter Iseli.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche recommends taking the 24-hour eight Mahayana precept vows on days on which the karmic effects of positive actions are multiplied, such as Buddha days, full moon, new moon, and eclipses. 

The eight Mahayana precepts are a powerful and effective way for you to build, maintain and increase deep propensities for spiritual practice and attainment and thus is a profound method for giving meaning to your precious human life. Lama Zopa Rinpoche quotes this passage from the King of Concentration Sutra:

“For ten billion eons equaling the number of sand grains in the Pacific Ocean, if one offers umbrellas, flags, garlands of light offerings, food and drink with a calm mind, or offers service to one hundred billion times ten million buddhas, when the holy Dharma has become extremely perished and the teachings of the Gone to Bliss One have stopped, if somebody who is enjoying (living in) one vow for one day or night, this merit is particularly exalted than having made all those offerings.”

Here we offer a few helpful guidelines for those considering taking the eight Mahayana precepts:

* Whomever you first take the eight Mahayana precepts from does become your guru. Because of this, Lama Zopa Rinpoche says if the student is not ready (or confident) to make that
commitment to that person then it is better for the student to take the precepts from the altar until they are ready to take from someone whom they are willing to accept as their guru.

* It is fine to take the precepts from the altar, although of course having the lineage makes it stronger, but you are still taking and keeping the precepts when you take them from the altar.

* You can take the eight Mahayana precepts before you have officially taken refuge – in fact with faith taking the eight Mahayana precepts is taking refuge, in the heart sense. Anyone who has faith and is sincere is in fact in the heart taking refuge.

You can find the practice, Direct and Unmistaken Method: Practice and Benefits of Eight Mahayana Precepts, on the FPMT Foundation Store.

For more information on recommended practices for multiplying days. 

Lama Yeshe, Kopan, 1970, Photo courtesy Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche has recently reminded FPMT centers to offer extensive Lama Chöpa with Tsog on Losar (Tibetan New Year) in honor of the anniversary of FPMT founder Lama Yeshe’s passing away. Rinpoche added that it would be good to do this at 5 a.m., the time when Lama Yeshe manifested death. This year, Losar is on February 9.

In addition to this, Rinpoche also said for centers to start the tradition of telling stories about Lama Yeshe every Losar to keep his memory alive, for example, by inviting older students who knew Lama to share their favorite stories, or by watching video or reading published stories of Lama. This Losar marks the 32nd year since Lama Yeshe’s passing away.

Losar also marks the beginning of the 15 Days of Miracles, a period when Lord Buddha performed many miracles to benefit others. Lama Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug school, established the Great Prayer Festival (Monlam Chenmo) to coincide with this special occasion in 1409.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche, citing the Vinaya text Treasure of Quotations and Logic, teaches that the karmic results of non-virtuous and virtuous actions are multiplied by one hundred million during Buddha Multiplying Days such as these. It is a very powerful time to practice – such as taking the eight Mahayana precepts, completing nyung näs, and reciting sutras – and strengthen one’s commitment to engaging in virtuous activity.

Find advice and inspiration from Lama Yeshe (http://bit.ly/lama-yeshe-teachings) in the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive and on FPMT.org (https://fpmt.org/tag/lama-yeshe).

For more information about Losar, visit Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Advice page. 

Kshitigarbha painting. 1.8 million recitations of the long Kshitigarbha mantra are needed to help mitigate possible earthquakes.

In November 2015, Lama Zopa Rinpoche advised students to urgently undertake certain practices to help mitigate a possible earthquake in California and elsewhere in the world. The advice was that the following should be completed by February 1:

1. 1,800,000 recitations of the long Kshitigarbha mantra done as part of a Kshitigarbha practice.
2. Taking the Eight Mahayana precepts 300 times.
3. Performing the extensive Medicine Buddha puja – ongoing.
4. Reading of the Tengyur four times – to be done at Sera Je Monastery.

To help organize this, Bay Area FPMT centers set up a Pacify Earthquakes website with information and news about the advice, resources,  ways to report or pledge the recommended practices or donate toward Sera Je monks helping to complete part of the advice (reciting the Tengyur four times). 

What remains to be completed is the Kshitigarbha mantra recitations. Lama Zopa Rinpoche recently told the Bay Area centers that students should keep going with their mantra recitations until the number is completed, even if this is not completed by February 1. According to the Pacify Earthquakes blog, of the 1.8 million mantras recommended, students have accumulated 751,000 as of January 26. Students around the world are very welcome to participate in the fulfillment of this advice as a strong, collective effort is needed. 

The Kshitigarbha practice and long mantra can be found here:
https://fpmt.org/education/prayers-and-practice-materials/#kshitigarbha

You can report your mantra recitations here:
http://www.pacifyearthquakes.org/mantra-recitations/

A new free module from Living in the Path program, “The Method to Transform a Suffering Life into Happiness (Including Enlightenment)” is now available on the Online Learning Center.

In this module of Living in the Path, you will find explanations of the three practices Lama Zopa Rinpoche would like his students to do at the beginning of every day: “The Method to Transform a Suffering Life into Happiness (Including Enlightenment),” “Blessing the Speech,” and “Daily Mantras.” A practice containing all three is freely available to students. This new module gives students an opportunity to understand this short, but essential, collection of daily practices.

The commentary for “The Method to Transform a Suffering Life into Happiness” is compiled from various teachings by Lama Zopa Rinpoche given between 2009 and 2015.

The commentaries for “Blessing the Speech” and “Daily Mantras” are mainly extracted from Rinpoche’s teachings given during Light of the Path Retreat 2009 held in North Carolina, USA. They were originally included in Living in the Path, Module 2: Taking the Essence: “Mantras for the Morning.” 

You are invited to visit Living in the Path on the FPMT Online Learning Center to see a full list of available modules.

Land of Joy property.

A Foundation Service Seminar (FSS) is planned for September 19-25, 2016 at Land of Joy, located at Greenhaugh Hall near Hexham, in Northumberland, UK. This seminar will be lead by Wendy Ridley and Charlotte Elliot. 

FSS provides support and training to volunteers and staff offering service within FPMT centers, projects, and services. The seminars help develop a shared understanding of the FPMT mission, creating a firm basis from which to serve effectively and joyfully within FPMT.

The seminar explores how best to offer one’s skills and qualities in service.  Participants will investigate the purpose and mission of FPMT and how that vision translates into action for centers, projects, services, study groups, and individuals. For anyone who is serving FPMT (directors, SPCs, board members, staff, volunteers) the FSS is a great opportunity to reconnect with the FPMT family and be inspired by the vast visions of our teachers.

Participants join discussion during a Foundation Service Seminar held at Land of Medicine Buddha, CA, January 2015.

During the five days, participants will explore their relationship to resources — both material and human; communication skills and conflict resolution; teaching according to the level of the student; ways to maintain and develop personal practice in the midst of service, and methods to prevent and cure burnout. Discussions will center around service in terms of guru devotion, karma, compassion, and emptiness. Participants will learn how to draw strength, inspiration, wisdom, and guidance from these practices as well as learn how to use the Inner Job Description, a tool for developing what Lama Zopa calls the “inner professional” for integrating the Dharma into our daily lives.

The seminar includes group discussion, sharing of experiences, and is retreat-like including daily meditations and group practice as advised by Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Creating Lama Yeshe’s “family feeling” is a skill all can learn to employ within our centers and study groups. The FSS is a great opportunity to prepare the next generations of directors, SPCs, board members, staff, and volunteers.

Booking in advance is required for this Foundation Service Seminar. Please book here: www.landofjoy.co.uk/programme/book-a-retreat

Following Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s wishes we have updated the text, Daily Meditation, which Rinpoche has renamed The Method to Transform a Suffering Life Into Happiness (Including Enlightenment). In addition to the name change, this text has also been revised according to advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche, particularly with respect to the mantras and the pronunciation of the Tibetan. 

Rinpoche has put a great deal of emphasis on this text and it is recommended as an essential practice for all FPMT students. 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.

You can find this updated practice on our free prayers and practices page, or you may use this direct link.

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.

Kshitigarbha

Lama Zopa Rinpoche recently advised that the following must be completed by February 1, 2016 to help pacify an earthquake that Rinpoche has been predicting will hit California in the very near future:

1. 1,800,000 recitations of the long Kshitigarbha mantra done as part of a Kshitigarbha practice.
2. Taking the eight Mahayana precepts 300 times.
3. Performing the extensive Medicine Buddha puja – ongoing.
4. Reading of the Tengyur four times – to be done at Sera Je Monastery.

The advice was given to Bay Area students, but Rinpoche has said that friends around the world can also participate in the accumulation of these practices.

The Bay Area centers have created a website (www.pacifyearthquakes.org) with more information on the advice, including ways to make pledges and report mantra recitations; contribute to the Tengyur recitations; and report the taking of the eight Mahayana precepts.

The main focus is currently on the accumulation of Kshitigarbha mantras. FPMT Education makes available the Kshitigarbha practice in various formats. Students can also listen to Lama Zopa Rinpoche chanting the Ksitigarbha mantra as a way to learn the proper pronunciation. 

Please consider getting involved with the Kshitigarbha mantra recitations today as completing Rinpoche’s advice by February 1, 2016 will require strong, collective effort. 

The Kshitigarbha practice and long mantra can be found here:
https://fpmt.org/education/prayers-and-practice-materials/#kshitigarbha

Read the USGS Earthquake Outlook for the San Francisco Bay Region 2014–2043 report:
https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2016/3020/fs20163020.pdf

Lama Tsongkhapa (1357-1419), founder of the Gelug lineage.

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 on the Tibetan calendar. This year, Lama Tsongkhapa Day falls on Saturday, December 5.

There are many practices one can do to celebrate, and create merit, on this special day. The main practice, recommended by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, is Lama Chöpa. The FPMT Foundation Store makes this practice available in hardcopy and as a downloadable PDF. If you are unable to do Lama Chöpa, Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga is also recommended. Additionally, there are other practices students are encouraged to do, as they are able. 

English

• 1000 Offerings to Lama Tsong Khapa
• Extensive Offering Practice
• “The Glorious One of the Three Worlds” (English Version of “Palden Sa Suma”)
• “A Hymn of Experience” by Je Tsongkhapa 
• “Destiny Fulfilled”
• “Prayer for the Flourishing of Je Tsong Khapa’s Teachings” (a4 version)
  “Prayer for the Flourishing of Je Tsong Khapa’s Teachings” (letter version)
• Lama Tsongkhapa’s Secret Biography (C5 version)
• “Dependent Arising: A Praise to the Buddha”

French

• Prière pour le développement de Lama Tsongkhapa (lecture)
• Prière pour le développement de Lama Tsongkhapa (livret)

Tibetan

• 1000 Offerings to Lama Tsongkhapa 
• “Palden Sa Suma” (Tibetan Version of “Glory of the Triple Ground”)
• Lama Tsongkhapa’s Secret Biography

You can read more about this advice, plus a teaching from Lama Zopa Rinpoche about Lama Tsongkhapa Day.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche blessing and offering a meal in California. November, 2015. Photo by Ven. Thubten Kunsang.

This time of year means, for many, an increase in festive meals celebrated with friends and family. There are a variety of ways to enjoy your meal while still practicing virtue.

FPMT Education Services also makes available a collection of practices, Food Offering Practices, which includes an extensive food offering practice, general food offering prayers, and the yogas of eating food according to Hinayana, Mahayana sutra, and Mahayana tantra. 

In a recent letter to a student who wanted to know how to bless food sold through a family business, Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave the following short practice:

Regarding your question about blessing the food, you recite OM AH HUM and visualize all the buddhas and bodhisattvas blessing the food with the qualities of holy body, speech and mind. This absorbs into the food where the food is. It is all absorbed into the food.

Then recite OM AH HUM.

Visualize that then every grain and part of the food is a blue HUM and into that numberless buddhas’ and bodhisattvas’ holy body, speech and mind all absorb into that. Then do that quite a number of malas of the mantra (OM AH HUM); the more you do, the better. The HUMs become the grains or food particles.

Then make a prayer to the merit field, Medicine Buddha, Tara and Chenrezig (but particularly Medicine Buddha) and pray that all the buddhas and bodhisattvas bless the food and that there never comes from it any side effects; it immediately purifies, the minute the food goes inside the mouth, it immediately purifies all the negative karmas collected from beginningless rebirths, not only that envy, but all diseases and spirit harms are purified. Also, pray that all realizations from guru devotion up to enlightenment are actualized, all the realizations are generated, especially bodhichitta, and it brings to all sentient beings perfect peace and happiness in this world. Then all the wishes of happiness and all successes – according to holy Dharma – are immediately received. All the wishes up to enlightenment are actualized.

That is what you should pray. You and everyone can do that meditation.

Whatever your traditions this time of year, you can make each meal a meaningful offering for yourself and others. Enjoy!

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.