DONATE
  receive our newsletters     join Friends of FPMT
MENUMENU
  • DONATE
  • Home
    • FPMT Homepage
    • Welcome
      • Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition

        The FPMT is an 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 spreading the Dharma to sentient beings. We provide integrated education through which people’s minds and hearts can be transformed into their highest potential for the benefit of others, inspired by an attitude of universal responsibility and service. We are committed to creating harmonious environments and helping all beings develop their full potential of infinite wisdom and compassion. Our organization is based on the Buddhist tradition of Lama Tsongkhapa of Tibet as taught to us by our founders Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche.

    • Willkommen
      • Die Stiftung zur Erhaltung der Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) ist eine Organisation, die sich weltweit für die Erhaltung und Verbreitung des Mahayana-Buddhismus einsetzt, indem sie Möglichkeiten schafft, den makellosen Lehren des Buddha zuzuhören, über sie zur reflektieren und zu meditieren und auf der Grundlage dieser Erfahrung das Dharma unter den Lebewesen zu verbreiten.

        Wir bieten integrierte Schulungswege an, durch denen der Geist und das Herz der Menschen in ihr höchstes Potential verwandelt werden zum Wohl der anderen – inspiriert durch eine Haltung der universellen Verantwortung und dem Wunsch zu dienen. Wir haben uns verpflichtet, harmonische Umgebungen zu schaffen und allen Wesen zu helfen, ihr volles Potenzial unendlicher Weisheit und grenzenlosen Mitgefühls zu verwirklichen.

        Unsere Organisation basiert auf der buddhistischen Tradition von Lama Tsongkhapa von Tibet, so wie sie uns von unseren Gründern Lama Thubten Yeshe und Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche gelehrt wird.

        • Belgien
        • Deutschland
        • Die Schweiz
        • Österreich
    • Bienvenidos
      • La Fundación para la preservación de la tradición Mahayana (FPMT) es una organización que se dedica a preservar y difundir el budismo Mahayana en todo el mundo, creando oportunidades para escuchar, reflexionar, meditar, practicar y actualizar las enseñanzas inconfundibles de Buda y en base a esa experiencia difundir el Dharma a los seres.

        Proporcionamos una educación integrada a través de la cual las mentes y los corazones de las personas se pueden transformar en su mayor potencial para el beneficio de los demás, inspirados por una actitud de responsabilidad y servicio universales. Estamos comprometidos a crear ambientes armoniosos y ayudar a todos los seres a desarrollar todo su potencial de infinita sabiduría y compasión.

        Nuestra organización se basa en la tradición budista de Lama Tsongkhapa del Tíbet como nos lo enseñaron nuestros fundadores Lama Thubten Yeshe y Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

        A continuación puede ver una lista de los centros y sus páginas web en su lengua preferida.

        • Colombia
        • España
        • México

        Noticias de la FPMT – Septiembre 2021

    • Bienvenue
      • L’organisation de la FPMT a pour vocation la préservation et la diffusion du bouddhisme du mahayana dans le monde entier. Elle offre l’opportunité d’écouter, de réfléchir, de méditer, de pratiquer et de réaliser les enseignements excellents du Bouddha, pour ensuite transmettre le Dharma à tous les êtres. Nous proposons une formation intégrée grâce à laquelle le cœur et l’esprit de chacun peuvent accomplir leur potentiel le plus élevé pour le bien d’autrui, inspirés par le sens du service et une responsabilité universelle. Nous nous engageons à créer un environnement harmonieux et à aider tous les êtres à épanouir leur potentiel illimité de compassion et de sagesse. Notre organisation s’appuie sur la tradition guéloukpa de Lama Tsongkhapa du Tibet, telle qu’elle a été enseignée par nos fondateurs Lama Thoubtèn Yéshé et Lama Zopa Rinpoché.

        Visitez le site de notre Editions Mahayana pour les traductions, conseils et nouvelles du Bureau international en français.

        Voici une liste de centres et de leurs sites dans votre langue préférée

        • La France
        • La Suisse
        • Polynésie française
        • Ile de la Reunion
    • Benvenuto
      • L’FPMT è un organizzazione il cui scopo è preservare e diffondere il Buddhismo Mahayana nel mondo, creando occasioni di ascolto, riflessione, meditazione e pratica dei perfetti insegnamenti del Buddha, al fine di attualizzare e diffondere il Dharma fra tutti gli esseri senzienti.

        Offriamo un’educazione integrata, che può trasformare la mente e i cuori delle persone nel loro massimo potenziale, per il beneficio di tutti gli esseri, ispirati da un’attitudine di responsabilità universale e di servizio.

        Il nostro obiettivo è quello di creare contesti armoniosi e aiutare tutti gli esseri a sviluppare in modo completo le proprie potenzialità di infinita saggezza e compassione.

        La nostra organizzazione si basa sulla tradizione buddhista di Lama Tsongkhapa del Tibet, così come ci è stata insegnata dai nostri fondatori Lama Thubten Yeshe e Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

        Di seguito potete trovare un elenco dei centri e dei loro siti nella lingua da voi prescelta.

        • L’Italia
    • 欢迎 / 歡迎
      • 简体中文

        “护持大乘法脉基金会”( 英文简称:FPMT。全名:Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition) 是一个致力于护持和弘扬大乘佛法的国际佛教组织。我们提供听闻,思维,禅修,修行和实证佛陀无误教法的机会,以便让一切众生都能够享受佛法的指引和滋润。

        我们全力创造和谐融洽的环境, 为人们提供解行并重的完整佛法教育,以便启发内在的环宇悲心及责任心,并开发内心所蕴藏的巨大潜能 — 无限的智慧与悲心 — 以便利益和服务一切有情。

        FPMT的创办人是图腾耶喜喇嘛和喇嘛梭巴仁波切。我们所修习的是由两位上师所教导的,西藏喀巴大师的佛法传承。

        繁體中文

        護持大乘法脈基金會”( 英文簡稱:FPMT。全名:Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition )是一個致力於護持和弘揚大乘佛法的國際佛教組織。我們提供聽聞,思維,禪修,修行和實證佛陀無誤教法的機會,以便讓一切眾生都能夠享受佛法的指引和滋潤。

        我們全力創造和諧融洽的環境,為人們提供解行並重的完整佛法教育,以便啟發內在的環宇悲心及責任心,並開發內心所蘊藏的巨大潛能 — 無限的智慧與悲心 –– 以便利益和服務一切有情。

        FPMT的創辦人是圖騰耶喜喇嘛和喇嘛梭巴仁波切。我們所修習的是由兩位上師所教導的,西藏喀巴大師的佛法傳承。

        察看道场信息:

        • 台湾 / 臺灣
  • News/Media
        • What's New: Teachings, Updates, Stories & More
        • Latest Blog Posts
          • Lama Zopa Rinpoche News & Advice
          • Lama Yeshe’s Wisdom
          • Charitable Projects News
          • Study & Practice News
          • FPMT Community: Stories & News
          • In-depth Stories
          • Obituaries
        • Monthly e-News
        • Lama Zopa Rinpoche Latest Videos
          • Full-Length Teachings
          • Essential Extracts
          • Short Clips
          • Live Webcasts
          • ༧སྐྱབས་རྗེ་བཟོད་པ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་མཆོག་ནས་སྩལ་བའི་བཀའ་སློབ་བརྙན་འཕྲིན།
        • FPMT YouTube Channel
        • Podcasts
        • Photo Galleries
        • Social Media
        • Mandala Magazine
          • Mandala Magazine Archive
          • This Issue
          • Subscribe
          • Support Prisoners
        • Submit a Story/Obituary
        • Subscribe
          • Daily & Weekly Blogs
          • Unsubscribe Daily & Weekly Blogs
          • Monthly FPMT e-News
          • Unsubscribe Monthly FPMT e-News
        • *If a menu item has a submenu clicking once will expand the menu clicking twice will open the page.

        • Important Announcements
          • Resources for the Coronavirus Pandemic
          • Updates Regarding Dagri Rinpoche
        • Resources
  • Study & Practice
        • About FPMT Education Services
        • Latest News
        • Programs
          • New to Buddhism?
          • Heart Advice for Death and Dying
          • Discovering Buddhism
            • Online Learning Center Modules
            • Watch Discovering Buddhism Videos
            • FAQ
            • Statements of Appreciation
            • Shared Resources for Discovering Buddhism
          • Living in the Path
          • Exploring Buddhism
          • FPMT Basic Program
            • Standard Texts and Commentaries
            • Subject Descriptions
            • Preparatory Study and Practice
            • Centers
            • Homestudy
            • Homestudy Teachers
            • Homestudy FAQ
          • FPMT Masters Program
          • Maitripa College
          • Lotsawa Rinchen Zangpo Translator Program
          • Universal Education for Compassion & Wisdom
        • Online Learning Center
        • Prayers & Practice Materials
          • Overview of Prayers & Practices
          • Full Catalogue of Prayers & Practice Materials
          • Explore Popular Topics
            • Benefiting Animals
            • Death & Dying Resources
            • Lama Zopa Rinpoche Practice Series
            • Lamrim Resources
            • Mantras
            • Prayer Book Updates
            • Purification Practices
            • Sutras
            • Thought Transformation (Lojong)
          • Audio Materials
          • Dharma Dates - Tibetan Calendar
            • Purchase Calendar
            • Dates Explained
        • Translation Services
        • Publishing Services
        • Ways to Offer Support
        • Teachings and Advice
          • Find Teachings and Advice
          • Lama Zopa Rinpoche Advice Page
          • Lama Zopa Rinpoche Video Teachings
            • Full-Length Teachings
            • Essential Extracts of Teachings
            • Short Video Clips of Rinpoche
          • ༧སྐྱབས་རྗེ་བཟོད་པ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་མཆོག་ནས་སྩལ་བའི་བཀའ་སློབ་བརྙན་འཕྲིན།
          • Podcasts
          • Live Webcasts
          • Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive
          • Buddhism FAQ
          • Dharma for Young People
          • Resources on Holy Objects
            • Microfilm for Stupas and Prayer Wheels
              • Information on How to Fill a Prayer Wheel
              • Benefits of Making Prayer Wheels
              • How this Latest Mani Microfilm was Developed
        • *If a menu item has a submenu clicking once will expand the menu clicking twice will open the page.

  • Centers
        • Center Directory
        • Center FAQ
        • Resident Teachers
        • FPMT Service Seminars
          • Overview
          • Foundation Service Seminar
          • Inner Job Description
          • Teacher Development Service Seminar
          • Hosting and Attending an FPMT Service Seminar
        • Retreat Information
          • Retreat Schedule
          • Discovering Buddhism Retreat Schedule
          • FPMT Basic Program and FPMT Masters Program Retreat Schedule
        • Community Service
        • Monks and Nuns
        • Affiliates Area
  • Teachers
        • Lama Zopa Rinpoche's Homepage
          • News
          • Schedule
          • Videos
          • Photos
          • Advice
          • Rinpoche's Teachers
          • How to Contact
        • Lama Thubten Yeshe's Homepage
          • Biography of Lama Yeshe & Lama Zopa
          • Photo Gallery
          • Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive
          • Tributes to Lama Yeshe
          • Lama Yeshe’s Vision for FPMT
          • Lama Yeshe's Incarnation - Tenzin Osel HitaTorres
        • His Holiness the Dalai Lama
          • Long Life Prayers
          • Praise to His Holiness by Lama Zopa Rinpoche
        • About Teachers
  • Projects
        • Social Services benefiting others
        • Charitable Projects
          • FPMT’s Charitable Projects
          • Supporting Our Lamas
            • Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund
              • News
              • Photos
              • Donate Now
            • Long Life Puja Fund
              • Photos
          • Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund
            • Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund
              • Photos
              • Donate Now
          • Social Services Fund
            • Animal Liberation Fund
              • Photos
              • Donate Now
          • Holy Objects Fund
            • Offering 1,000 Buddhas to H.H. the Dalai Lama
            • Zangdog Palri: Guru Rinpoche Pure Land Project
            • Stupa Fund
              • Photos
              • Donate Now
            • Padmasambhava Project for Peace
              • Photos
              • Donate Now
            • Maitreya Projects
            • Prayer Wheel Fund
              • Photos
              • Donate Now
          • Practices and Pujas
            • Puja Fund
              • News
              • Photos
              • Donate Now
            • Prajnaparamita Project
              • Photos
              • Donate Now
            • Protecting the Environment
            • Practice and Retreat Fund
          • Education and Preservation Fund
        • Make a Donation
        • Applying for Grants
        • Support International Office
          • Friends of FPMT Membership
          • Work a Day for Rinpoche
          • Planned Giving
          • Endowment Fund
          • Merit Box
          • Give a Gift that Helps Others
        • News about Projects
        • Projects Photo Galleries
        • Give Where Most Needed
        • Other Projects within FPMT
          • Animal Liberation Sanctuary
          • Lama Yeshe Sangha Fund
          • Land of Calm Abiding
          • FPMT Mongolia
            • Donate Now
          • Tara Puja Fund
          • Tsum
            • Living Conditions
            • Plans for the Future
            • A Personal Account
            • Health Survey
            • Photo Album
            • Donate Now
        • *If a menu item has a submenu clicking once will expand the menu clicking twice will open the page.

  • FPMT
        • Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition

        • May there be no war, disease or natural disaster such as fire, flood, earthquake and so forth. May everybody realize bodhichitta, the good heart, enjoy peace and happiness and as quickly as possible realize the wisdom directly perceiving emptiness, cease all their defilements and achieve enlightenment.

          Lama Zopa Rinpoche
        • About FPMT
          • Mission Statement
          • Vast Visions for FPMT
          • The Origins of FPMT
          • Wisdom Culture
          • Video Documentary
          • Messages of Appreciation
        • FPMT Announcements
        • International Office
          • Board of Directors
          • Staff - Key Positions
          • Contact Us
          • Donate
        • Regional & National Offices
        • Annual Review
        • Safeguarding
        • Volunteer & Jobs
        • Shugden/Dolgyal Information
        • *If a menu item has a submenu clicking once will expand the menu clicking twice will open the page.

  • Shop
        • The Foundation Store is FPMT’s online shop and features a vast selection of Buddhist study and practice materials written or recommended by our lineage gurus. These items include homestudy programs, prayers and practices in PDF or eBook format, materials for children, and other resources to support practitioners.

          Items displayed in the shop are made available for Dharma practice and educational purposes, and never for the purpose of profiting from their sale. Please read FPMT Foundation Store Policy Regarding Dharma Items for more information.

        • The Foundation Store
        • New Arrivals
        • Specials
        • Foundation Store Newsletter
        • Practice Generosity
Education

Study & Practice News

Subscribe to FPMT Latest News

 

May
21
2014

Please Enjoy a New Complimentary Module from Living in the Path!

Read all posts in Study & Practice News.
lzrlop

Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaching at the Light of the Path Retreat, Black Mountain, North Carolina, US, May 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

Living in the Path, an FPMT study program, is continually evolving with course materials drawn from Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s “Light of the Path” retreat teachings, an annual event hosted by Kadampa Center in North Carolina, USA. The initial courses are organized around edited transcripts and short video clips from these teaching events.

FPMT Education Services is happy to announce we have a new free module available to you! The Seven Limb Prayer module is comprised of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s precious teachings about the benefits related to each limb and how to practice each of the seven limbs in the most effective way. The seven-limb prayer is found in almost every practice text, particularly those related to guru yoga. This concise and powerful method was taught by the Buddha as a means to accumulate merit and purify negativities, creating the causes for success in practice, service, and daily life.

These teachings are extracted from the Light of the Path Retreat, September 2010, and from a letter of personal advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche to a student dictated in March 2012.

To Access the Free Seven Limb Prayer Module (LP Instruction 03)

1. Go to the Online Learning Center website.

2. If this is your first time using the site, you will need to create a login account for accessing the Online Learning Center. Instructions on how to do this can be found in the “Getting Started Guide.”

3. If you already have a login account, or after you have created a new account, you can then enroll in LP Instruction 03 using the enrollment key of: preliminary07

4. You can access the course here.

5. The “Getting Started Guide” also contains useful information on the technical requirements for the site, information on updating your profile and setting your user preferences and on navigation within the site.

6. Please contact the site administrator at onlineedu@fpmt.org if you have any questions or queries.

Please also note that as a Friend of FPMT at the Dharma Supporter level or higher, one can receive access to all programs and content on the Online Learning Center.

We hope you enjoy the online course!

 

 

 

May
7
2014

Nolsang Incense Ritual Now Available!

Read all posts in Study & Practice News.
Untitled-1

Geshe Jampa Gyaltsen and Ven. Yonden performing the Nolsang incense puja at Kopan Monastery, Nepal.

FPMT Education Services is delighted to make available an important incense offering ritual (nolsang) which is a translation of Padmasambhava’s The Divine Blue Water Clearing Away Contamination. This practice has been made available at the request of Lama Zopa Rinpoche for students who need it.

The ritual is used to purify contaminations that arise from ignorance, broken commitments, disturbing thoughts and emotions, as well as a variety of other negativities which cause obstacles, illness and misfortunes to oneself, others and the environment.

Available in eBook, a4 and letter booklet formats.

 

  • Tagged: fpmt education, incense ritual
May
5
2014

Khadro-la on “Integrating Lam-Rim into Daily Life”

Read all posts in Advice from Spiritual Friends, Mandala.

Khadro-la, August 2011. Photo by Philippe Garric.

Rangjung Neljorma Khadro Namsel Drönme first appeared to the international FPMT community through “Interview with a Dakini.” She’s since become known through the assistance she has been offering Lama Zopa Rinpoche since he manifested a stroke in 2011 and also through serving as an oracle at the Kalachakra initiation given by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Bodhgaya, India, in January 2012. Here she talks about integrating lam-rim into daily life.

“In ordinary life, gaining wealth, food and shelter brings some pleasure at a physical level but not at a mental level. The worst suffering is mental suffering. Therefore, we have no choice but to learn how to transform such suffering. To do this, one needs to transform the mind. Wealth, rank and position can never handle or deal with mental suffering. Even having a large number of friends or guardians does not help because when faced with mental suffering, nothing can help except for mind-training.”

Read more …

From Mandala October-December 2009.

Mandala brings you news and advice of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings and events from over 160 FPMT centers, projects and services around the globe. If you like what you read on Mandala, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.

  • Tagged: khandro kunga bhuma
Apr
29
2014

Enjoy Live Streaming Video of the 2014 Light of the Path Retreat!

Read all posts in Study & Practice News.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Buddha Amitbha Pure Land, WA, April 2014. Photo by Ven. Thubten Kunsang

Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Buddha Amitbha Pure Land, WA, April 2014. Photo by Ven. Thubten Kunsang

 

Light of the Path Retreat 2014, which takes place Sunday 3pm, May 4 to Sunday Noon, May 18, 2014, at YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly in Black Mountain, NC, is the third of a 5-year series of teaching retreats led by Lama Zopa Rinpoche based on Lama Atisha’s text, Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment.

You can enjoy all of these teachings in real time on live streaming video!

Please do take advantage of this opportunity to experience this retreat, even if you are unable to make it to North Carolina to attend in person.

Additionally, many resources and materials have been developed from the previous precious retreat teachings:

  • All  teachings from the 2009, 2010 and 2014 are available on the FPMT Online Learning Center.
  • MP3 audio and mp4 video files are available for download in the Light of the Path Retreat Materials 2010: text, audio, video course. This course also contains the root text and other information associated with the retreat, including reviews, guided meditations, and the complete transcript of the retreat.
  • The Living in the Path online program has been created from the Light of the Path retreat teachings of 2009 and 2010. Organized into structured modules you will find this, and other, programs on the FPMT Online Learning Center.
  • Tagged: fpmt education services, light of the path
Apr
23
2014

Calling the Guru from Afar

Read all posts in Study & Practice News.
DSC04211

Lama Zopa Rinpoche does prostrations at Vulture’s Peak, the site of Buddha’s first teaching, India, February 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

Calling the Guru from Afar is a heartfelt request for blessings to realize all the stages of the path to enlightenment, as well as a meditation on the nature of the guru.

FPMT Education Services is pleased to make available Lama Zopa Rinpoche chanting the long version of this prayer.

Also available as a free download is a practice booklet containing the long and short versions of Calling the Guru from Afar as well as Practicing Guru Devotion with the Nine Attitudes which is a short meditation that helps to develop the correct attitude toward one’s teacher.

The practice booklet is available in PDF & ebook format. 

  • Tagged: calling the guru from afar, fpmt education
Apr
18
2014

Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Upcoming Portland Teaching Event: Materials Available

Read all posts in Study & Practice News.

Maitripa BannerThis upcoming week, on Saturday April 19 and Monday April 21, Lama Zopa Rinpoche will offer Vajrasattva Initiation and the Oral Transmission for Dorje Khadro at Maitripa College in Portland, Oregon.

All public portions of the Vajrasattva initiation and oral transmission will be webcast live courtesy of Maitripa College.

FPMT Education Services makes available materials needed for these practices, which you purchase online at the FPMT Foundation Store.

The Preliminary Practice of Vajrasattva contains the short and long practice of Vajrasattva as well as Vajrasattva tsog. It also contains commentary, retreat advice, altar set-up, and retreat preliminaries.

The Preliminary Practice of Dorje Khadro text by Lama Zopa Rinpoche provides everything one needs to be able to do the complete ngöndro of Dorje Khadro, the recitation of the principal mantra 100,000 times coupled with extensive visualization and prayers. The book’s practice section includes the Dorje Khadro practice text, Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga and lam-rim and dedication prayers. In addition, the book contains teachings that contribute to a student’s understanding of how to best engage in this practice.

You can learn more about this teaching event schedule or register on the Maitripa website.

Apr
16
2014

The Simple Art of Meditation

Read all posts in Advice from Spiritual Friends, Mandala.

In 1975, FPMT founder Lama Yeshe explained why “meditation is simple” to a group of students in Bloomington, Indiana, United states. Mandala shared some of that teaching in the September-November 2002 issue:

Meditation is very simple. When hearing about meditation for the first time, you might think, “That must be very special; meditation couldn’t be for me but only for special people.” This just creates a gap between you and meditation.

Actually, watching television, which we all do, is a bit like meditating. When you watch television, you watch what’s happening on the screen; when you meditate, you watch what’s happening on the inner screen of your mind – where you can see all your good qualities, but all your inner garbage as well. That’s why meditation is simple.

The difference, however, is that through meditation you learn about the nature of your mind rather than the sense world of desire and attachment. Why is this important? We think that worldly things are very useful, but the enjoyment they bring is minimal and transient. Meditation, on the other hand, has so much more to offer – joy, understanding, higher communication and control. Control here does not mean that you are controlled by somebody else but rather by your own understanding knowledge-wisdom, which is a totally peaceful and joyful experience. Thus, meditation is very useful.

Read more …

From Mandala September-November 2002

  • Tagged: mandala
Apr
15
2014

A Meaningful Life

Read all posts in Advice from Spiritual Friends, Lama Zopa Rinpoche News.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Buddha Amitabha Pure Land in Washington state, US, April 2014. Photo by Ven. Thubten Kunsang.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Buddha Amitabha Pure Land, Riverside, Washington, US, April 2014. Photo by Ven. Thubten Kunsang.

“There is no question what to do to make your life meaningful. The most important thing is to practice Dharma, because everyone wants happiness and does not want suffering, even the tiniest insect does not want to suffer. In order to stop all the suffering (which is not wanted) and to cause all happiness (which is wanted) depends on abandoning the cause of suffering and practicing the cause of happiness. Therefore, there is nothing else – only Dharma.

“Therefore, you need to learn Dharma and practice Dharma. …”

– Lama Zopa Rinpoche, from the page “A Meaningful Life” in “Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Online Advice Book”

Learn more about Lama Zopa Rinpoche, spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), and Rinpoche’s vision for a better world. Sign up to receive news and updates.

  • Tagged: lama zopa rinpoche, mandala
Apr
14
2014

Purifying Past Karma

Read all posts in Advice from Spiritual Friends, Lama Zopa Rinpoche News.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche upon arriving in Sarnath, India, March 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche upon arriving in Sarnath, India, March 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

A new post on the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive features Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice on purifying past karma. Rinpoche responds to a letter from a student diagnosed with breast cancer at length. Here’s an excerpt:

“… Even this life’s problems come from the wrong concept and wrong action. This life’s happiness also comes from the right concept, the correct way of thinking, and correct actions, pure actions. From that, inner happiness comes. So even this hour’s happiness, right now, if we think in a positive way, then we have happiness, but if we think in a negative way, then we have suffering. Even the person who got angry towards us in the past, who gave us harm in the past, who we regard as an enemy, maybe first we cherished that person and now we have renounced him. Maybe in the beginning we were attached and now totally the opposite.

“In the beginning we thought that person was the same as a holy being, a bodhisattva or buddha, or even just a good human being, then when he gets angry with us, provokes us, harms us, or even tries to kill us, we see him as an enemy. Actually we should see him as the most kind person; this person who is our enemy is our teacher of patience, for us to learn patience. Maybe we do meditation on patience, but here, this person is our practical teacher. We can do the action meditation of patience with him, so we have the opportunity to use him and to see him as most kind – kinder than someone who gives us a hundred thousand dollars. Just giving us a hundred thousand dollars, that alone doesn’t help us to be free, to have a happy death or to stop us being reincarnated in the hell realms or as a hungry ghost or animal.

“If we practice patience towards the person who is angry at us, who harms us, by thinking how extremely kind he is, then we don’t get reborn in the lower realms as a hell being, hungry ghost or animal. Also the enemy actually gives us the opportunity to create the cause for good rebirth and for our next life to be born as a deva or higher. Then also that person becomes the cause to cease all of our sufferings and to achieve ultimate happiness, full enlightenment, peerless happiness for sentient beings and to be able to free the numberless sentient beings from each realm from the oceans of samsaric sufferings and bring them to omniscience, ultimate happiness and full enlightenment. …”

Read the entire letter “Purifying Past Karma” online from the Archive’s “Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Online Advice Book.”

Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), an organization dedicated to preserving Mahayana Buddhism through offering the Buddha’s authentic teachings and to facilitating reflection, meditation, practice and the opportunity to actualize and directly experience the Buddha’s teachings. Sign up to receive news and updates.

  • Tagged: karma, lama zopa rinpoche, mandala, purification
Apr
9
2014

Register for the Next Foundation Service Seminar at IVY, France, this Summer!

Read all posts in Study & Practice News.
DSC_0199

Foundation Service Seminar, October 2013 held at Jamyang Buddhist Centre London. The gathering drew more than 40 people from 17 countries for five full days of sessions on skillfully offering service within the FPMT mandala.

The next Foundation Service Seminar will be held at Institut Vajra Yogini, Marzens, France: Aug 12-16, 2014 with seminar facilitators Wendy Ridley and Francois Lecointre.

Register in English or French for this seminar which will explore how to best offer our skills and qualities in service. We investigate the purpose and mission of FPMT, what it means to be an FPMT center, and how that vision translates into action for centers, projects, and individuals.

 

 

  • Tagged: foundation ser
Apr
9
2014

The Mind is the Measure of All Things

Read all posts in Advice from Spiritual Friends, Mandala.
Image: dreamstime.com

Image: dreamstime.com

Jampa Jaffe, FPMT registered teacher, answers in the April-June 2014 issue of Mandala the question: why does Buddhism place so much emphasis on the mind?

In emphasizing the mind, Buddhism is stressing that when we look to a person, a thing or a situation for the solutions to our fundamental problems, we’re projecting outside what can only be found within.

In our everyday living, we too often behave like the person who has lost his keys along a dark street and yet searches for them beneath a streetlight on the corner, thinking it much easier to see them there. However, the reality is that no matter how long and hard he searches, he will never find what he’s looking for, because he’s looking in the wrong place.

There’s a simple story based on a verse from Shantideva’s A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life that illustrates Buddhism’s emphasis on the mind. There was a king in ancient times who took great pleasure in strolling about the countryside of his kingdom. One day, while out walking, he stepped on a thorn, injuring his foot. Returning to his palace in great pain, the king called together his ministers. “Look,” he exclaimed, “Look at my foot! This cannot be allowed to happen again! You must find a way whereby I can walk freely about my kingdom without the danger of hurting myself!” …

Read more …

From Mandala April-June 2014

  • Tagged: mandala
Apr
5
2014

Living with Compassion

Read all posts in Advice from Spiritual Friends, Lama Zopa Rinpoche News, Mandala.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche doing kora at the Mahabodhi Temple, Bodhgaya, India, March 2014. Photo by Andy Melnic.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche doing korwa at the Mahabodhi Temple, Bodhgaya, India, March 2014. Photo by Andy Melnic.

“… On the basis of [reflecting on the lam-rim], we should generate the good heart, bodhichitta, the thought of benefiting others. This is our best refuge, especially for those of us whose lives are very busy, who don’t have much time for sitting or other traditional forms of practice. On the basis of reflecting on impermanence and death, we should make the good heart the main object of refuge in our lives. This allows all our actions to become Dharma, the cause of enlightenment and the cause of happiness for all sentient beings. Therefore, we should lead our lives with this attitude, the thought of benefiting all sentient beings.

“If you recite a Vajrasattva mantra once with bodhichitta you get the same benefit as you do from reciting 100,000 without it. If you make one light offering with bodhichitta, you get the same amount of merit as you do from making 100,000 light offerings without it. If you make charity of one dollar to a sentient being – a beggar or a homeless person – with bodhichitta, you get the same amount of merit as you do from making charity of $100,000 without it.

“It is said in the scriptures that if the sentient beings of three galaxies – the Tibetan term is tong-sum, but I’m not exactly sure how best to translate it, you should check for yourselves – all build stupas of the seven precious substances, such as gold, diamonds and so forth, and fill the whole world with these stupas, the merit of that is far less than that created by just one person offering a tiny flower to the Buddha with bodhichitta motivation. The person making this small offering with bodhichitta motivation creates far more merit than three galaxies of sentient beings covering the world with stupas made of the seven precious substances without it.

“Try to imagine this. If you build just one stupa you create unbelievable merit. It directs your life to enlightenment and is an amazing purification. So here we have three galaxies’ worth of sentient beings, each one building a stupa of the seven precious substances – not with bricks and mortar but with precious jewels – and covering the world with these. Nevertheless, the merit of one person offering a tiny flower to the Buddha with bodhichitta motivation creates far more merit than that.

“Thinking about this should inspire you to make bodhichitta your heart practice. It transforms your life like iron into gold or kaka into diamonds. Bodhichitta motivation gives your life its greatest possible meaning and makes every single action of your daily life as beneficial as it can possibly be. You should remember bodhichitta from morning to night, twenty-four hours a day. Hold it as your most precious possession, as your wish-fulfilling jewel. You should cherish your bodhichitta motivation above all else; remember it constantly and practice it at every moment. …”

– Lama Zopa Rinpoche, from The Joy of Compassion, “Chapter One: Living with Compassion,” published by the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive

Learn more about FPMT spiritual director Lama Zopa Rinpoche and his beneficial activities by visiting Rinpoche’s homepage, where you will find links to Rinpoche’s schedule, new advice, recent video, photos and more.

  • Tagged: bodhichitta, lama zopa rinpoche, mandala
«‹32 of 40282930313233343536›»
  • DONATE
  • Home
    • FPMT Homepage
    • Welcome
    • Willkommen
    • Bienvenidos
    • Bienvenue
    • Benvenuto
    • 欢迎 / 歡迎
  • News/Media
    • What’s New: Teachings, Updates, Stories & More
    • Important Announcements
      • Resources for the Coronavirus Pandemic
      • Updates Regarding Dagri Rinpoche
    • Latest Blog Posts
      • Lama Zopa Rinpoche News & Advice
      • Lama Yeshe’s Wisdom
      • Charitable Projects News
      • Study & Practice News
      • FPMT Community: Stories & News
      • In-depth Stories
      • Obituaries
    • Monthly e-News
    • Lama Zopa Rinpoche Latest Videos
      • Full-Length Teachings
      • Essential Extracts
      • Short Clips
      • Live Webcasts
      • ༧སྐྱབས་རྗེ་བཟོད་པ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་མཆོག་ནས་སྩལ་བའི་བཀའ་སློབ་བརྙན་འཕྲིན།
    • FPMT YouTube Channel
    • Podcasts
    • Photo Galleries
    • Social Media
    • Mandala Magazine
      • Mandala Magazine Archive
      • This Issue
      • Subscribe
      • Support Prisoners
    • Submit a Story/Obituary
    • Subscribe
      • Daily & Weekly Blogs
      • Unsubscribe Daily & Weekly Blogs
      • Monthly FPMT e-News
      • Unsubscribe Monthly FPMT e-News
    • Resources
  • Study & Practice
    • About FPMT Education Services
    • Latest News
    • Programs
      • New to Buddhism?
      • Heart Advice for Death and Dying
      • Discovering Buddhism
        • Online Learning Center Modules
        • Watch Discovering Buddhism Videos
        • FAQ
        • Statements of Appreciation
        • Shared Resources for Discovering Buddhism
      • Living in the Path
      • Exploring Buddhism
      • FPMT Basic Program
        • Standard Texts and Commentaries
        • Subject Descriptions
        • Preparatory Study and Practice
        • Centers
        • Homestudy
        • Homestudy Teachers
        • Homestudy FAQ
      • FPMT Masters Program
      • Maitripa College
      • Lotsawa Rinchen Zangpo Translator Program
      • Universal Education for Compassion & Wisdom
    • Online Learning Center
    • Prayers & Practice Materials
      • Overview of Prayers & Practices
      • Full Catalogue of Prayers & Practice Materials
      • Explore Popular Topics
        • Benefiting Animals
        • Death & Dying Resources
        • Lama Zopa Rinpoche Practice Series
        • Lamrim Resources
        • Mantras
        • Prayer Book Updates
        • Purification Practices
        • Sutras
        • Thought Transformation (Lojong)
      • Audio Materials
      • Dharma Dates – Tibetan Calendar
        • Purchase Calendar
        • Dates Explained
    • Translation Services
    • Publishing Services
    • Teachings and Advice
      • Find Teachings and Advice
      • Lama Zopa Rinpoche Advice Page
      • Lama Zopa Rinpoche Video Teachings
        • Full-Length Teachings
        • Essential Extracts of Teachings
        • Short Video Clips of Rinpoche
      • ༧སྐྱབས་རྗེ་བཟོད་པ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་མཆོག་ནས་སྩལ་བའི་བཀའ་སློབ་བརྙན་འཕྲིན།
      • Podcasts
      • Live Webcasts
      • Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive
      • Buddhism FAQ
      • Dharma for Young People
      • Resources on Holy Objects
        • Microfilm for Stupas and Prayer Wheels
          • Information on How to Fill a Prayer Wheel
          • Benefits of Making Prayer Wheels
          • How this Latest Mani Microfilm was Developed
    • Ways to Offer Support
  • Centers
    • Center Directory
    • Center FAQ
    • Resident Teachers
    • FPMT Service Seminars
      • Overview
      • Foundation Service Seminar
      • Inner Job Description
      • Teacher Development Service Seminar
      • Hosting and Attending an FPMT Service Seminar
    • Community Service
    • Affiliates Area
    • Monks and Nuns
    • Retreat Information
      • Retreat Schedule
      • Discovering Buddhism Retreat Schedule
      • FPMT Basic Program and FPMT Masters Program Retreat Schedule
  • Teachers
    • About Teachers
    • His Holiness the Dalai Lama
      • Long Life Prayers
      • Praise to His Holiness by Lama Zopa Rinpoche
    • Lama Thubten Yeshe’s Homepage
      • Biography of Lama Yeshe & Lama Zopa
      • Photo Gallery
      • Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive
      • Tributes to Lama Yeshe
      • Lama Yeshe’s Vision for FPMT
      • Lama Yeshe’s Incarnation – Tenzin Osel HitaTorres
    • Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Homepage
      • News
      • Schedule
      • Videos
      • Photos
      • Advice
      • Rinpoche’s Teachers
      • How to Contact
  • Projects
    • Charitable Projects
      • FPMT’s Charitable Projects
      • Supporting Our Lamas
        • Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund
          • News
          • Photos
          • Donate Now
        • Long Life Puja Fund
          • Photos
      • Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund
        • Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund
          • Photos
          • Donate Now
      • Social Services Fund
        • Animal Liberation Fund
          • Photos
          • Donate Now
      • Holy Objects Fund
        • Offering 1,000 Buddhas to H.H. the Dalai Lama
        • Zangdog Palri: Guru Rinpoche Pure Land Project
        • Stupa Fund
          • Photos
          • Donate Now
        • Padmasambhava Project for Peace
          • Photos
          • Donate Now
        • Maitreya Projects
        • Prayer Wheel Fund
          • Photos
          • Donate Now
      • Practices and Pujas
        • Puja Fund
          • News
          • Photos
          • Donate Now
        • Prajnaparamita Project
          • Photos
          • Donate Now
        • Protecting the Environment
        • Practice and Retreat Fund
      • Education and Preservation Fund
    • Make a Donation
    • Applying for Grants
    • News about Projects
    • Other Projects within FPMT
      • Animal Liberation Sanctuary
      • Lama Yeshe Sangha Fund
      • Land of Calm Abiding
      • FPMT Mongolia
        • Donate Now
      • Tara Puja Fund
      • Tsum
        • Living Conditions
        • Plans for the Future
        • A Personal Account
        • Health Survey
        • Photo Album
        • Donate Now
    • Support International Office
      • Friends of FPMT Membership
      • Work a Day for Rinpoche
      • Planned Giving
      • Endowment Fund
      • Merit Box
      • Give a Gift that Helps Others
    • Projects Photo Galleries
    • Give Where Most Needed
  • FPMT
    • About FPMT
      • Mission Statement
      • Vast Visions for FPMT
      • The Origins of FPMT
      • Wisdom Culture
      • Video Documentary
      • Messages of Appreciation
    • FPMT Announcements
    • International Office
      • Board of Directors
      • Staff – Key Positions
      • Contact Us
      • Donate
    • Annual Review
    • Regional & National Offices
    • Safeguarding
    • Volunteer & Jobs
    • Shugden/Dolgyal Information
  • Shop
    • The Foundation Store
    • New Arrivals
    • Specials
    • Foundation Store Newsletter
    • Practice Generosity

Translate*

*powered by Google TranslateTranslation of pages on fpmt.org is performed by Google Translate, a third party service which FPMT has no control over. The service provides automated computer translations that are only an approximation of the websites' original content. The translations should not be considered exact and only used as a rough guide.

No desire means no emotional pain of attachment, anger and jealousy. There is peace, openness and space for genuine love and compassion to arise.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Contact Info

1632 SE 11th Avenue
Portland, OR 97214-4702 USA
Tel (503) 808-1588

About FPMT

Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) is an organization devoted to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service. more…

About Buddhism

If you're new to Buddhism, please read our Buddhism FAQ. A place to learn about Buddhism in general, FPMT, and our Discovering Buddhism at Home series.
Contact Us | Privacy & Security | Copyright ©2023 FPMT Inc.