Boudhanath, Nepal, February 2021. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang. Every month on the full moon and on the four Buddha Days, including Saka Dawa, the Puja Fund sponsors offerings to the holy Boudhanath and Swayambhunath stupas in Nepal.

We are fast approaching the auspicious merit-multiplying day of Saka Dawa Duchen—the fifteenth day of the fourth month in the Tibetan lunar calendar—which commemorates Shakyamuni Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana.

Saka Dawa Duchen, which is on May 26 this year, is one of the four great holy days of the Tibetan calendar. Each of these holy days celebrates an anniversary of Shakyamuni Buddha’s display of extraordinary powerful deeds for sentient beings’ sake. On these four days, the karmic results of actions are multiplied by 100 million, as taught in the vinaya text Treasure of Quotations and Logic. For Saka Dawa Duchen, the karmic results are multiplied by 300 million times, as it commemorates Shakyamuni Buddha’s three major life events.

Specific practices recommended by Lama Zopa Rinpoche for these special days:

• Taking the eight Mahayana precepts: Students can receive the lineage of these precepts from a specially produced video of Lama Zopa Rinpoche granting them, which was edited from Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Teachings on Thought Transformation during the Time of COVID-19 and Practice Advice at Kopan Monastery, recorded in May 2020.
• Reciting the Sutra Remembering the Three Jewels

Other recommended practices include:

• Reciting sutras, such as Vajra Cutter Sutra, Sutra of Golden Light, and Sanghata Sutra
• Reciting other prayers, such as Chanting the Names of Manjushri and King of Prayers
• Performing the Guru Shakyamuni Buddha puja
• Undertaking Nyung nes
• Performing self-initiation, for those who fulfilled the necessary prerequisites
• Performing Lama Chopa, and at either the beginning of the practice or during the lamrim section, you can meditate on emptiness
• Reciting the names of the Thirty-Five Buddhas, with prostrations
• Reciting Vajrasattva mantras
• Reciting OṂ MAṆI PADME HŪṂ with bodhichitta
• Meditating on emptiness and dependent arising
• Meditating on bodhichitta
• Practicing tonglen
• Rejoicing
• Liberating animals
• Joining in activities as your local FPMT Center

Students can find online Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice for merit multiplying days, including the fifteenth day of Saka Dawa. (Advice for merit multiplying days can also be found in French. ) If you choose to recite the Sutra of Golden Light on these or other days, please remember to report your recitations in the Sutra of Golden Light reporting page.

Of course, any other meritorious activities often advised by Lama Zopa Rinpoche are also good to do on these great holy days. (Find practice materials in French, German, Italian, and Spanish.)

In accordance to the advice of Ven. Choden Rinpoche, one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teachers, Lama Zopa Rinpoche observes all the auspicious dates in the Buddhist calendar by Indian Standard time, instead of any other local time.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche during a visit to Boudha Stupa, Nepal, March 2021. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

On merit-multiplying days, the Puja Fund sponsors pujas and practices on behalf of the entire FPMT. These pujas are usually offered by up to 10,000 Sangha from Sera Lachi; Ganden Lachi; Drepung Lachi; Gyume Tantric College; Gyuto Tantric College and Kopan Monastery and Nunnery. This year we will be arranging recitation of Prajnaparamita, three different recitations of 100,000 Praises to Tara, one thousand sets of offerings to Buddha Namgyalma, Medicine Buddha puja, and sponsoring 100 million mani retreat.

In addition, offerings of gold, robes, saffron, and umbrellas will be made to the Jowo Buddha in Lhasa, Tibet; the Buddha in the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodhgaya, India; and Boudhanath and Swayambunath Stupas in Nepal. Offering are also made to all of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s gurus and to 10,000 Sangha.

Please rejoice in these amazing offerings and practices that will be happening on Saka Dawa!

Special thanks to the Liberation Prison Project for preparing a Tibetan calendar with information on holy days and other important dates for avoiding or engaging in various activities.

Through comprehensive study programs, practice materials, and training seminars, FPMT Education nourishes the development of compassion, wisdom, kindness, and true happiness in individuals of all ages.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche at the Light of the Path Retreat, Black Mountain, North Carolina, US, 2017. Photo by Kalleen Mortensen.

The FPMT Retreat Prayer Book has become a valued resource for students attending longer teaching events and retreats with Lama Zopa Rinpoche as well as for those doing personal retreats, pilgrimage, and daily practice. The prayer book, which was first prepared in 2008 for the Light of the Path Retreat, contains daily practices, lamrim prayers, Lama Chopa Jorcho, Praises to the Twenty-One Taras, protector prayers, long life and dedication prayers, Six-Session Guru Yoga, and more.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche, who was closely involved in the development of the prayer book, continues to guide updates to it. The 416-page 2020 edition incorporates all the updates made to the 2016 edition, which was the most recent previous edition. There are many types of updates that have been made to the prayer book. For example, updates to the 2016 edition include prayers updated with new translations, clarifications to practice instructions, and the addition of new prayers, such as the inclusion of “A Long Life Prayer for Lama Zopa Rinpoche Spontaneously Composed by Rangjung Neljorma Khadro Namsel Drönme.”

The 2020 edition of the FPMT Retreat Prayer Book is being made available only as a digital PDF, with the hope that this will allow students and facilitators greater ease in accessing the text. Also, working in digital formats allows FPMT Education Services to more easily make updates indicated by Lama Zopa Rinpoche and hastens the distribution of updated editions to students.

The 2020 edition is being made available for donation only. (Students may choose to make a $0 donation.) Those who have ordered the prayer book in the past can download the new edition from the FPMT Foundation Store. If you already have the 2016 edition, these errata sheets (A5, spread) can be used to update your text. 

Download the FPMT Retreat Prayer Book from the FPMT Foundation Store:
https://shop.fpmt.org/FPMT-Retreat-Prayer-Book-PDF_p_3038.html

Through comprehensive study programs, practice materials, and training seminars, FPMT Education nourishes the development of compassion, wisdom, kindness, and true happiness in individuals of all ages.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche and monks doing Yamantaka self-initiation during the Fifteen Days of Miracles at Kopan Monastery, March 2020. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

The Fifteen Days of Miracles—from the first day of the Tibetan new year (Losar, February 12) until the fifteenth—commemorate the special time when Guru Shakyamuni Buddha showed miraculous powers in order to subdue six tirthikas, or non-Buddhist teachers, who lacked faith in him, and to inspire more faith in his followers. It culminates on the full moon, the fifteenth day of the lunar calendar, which is the actual day of Chotrul Duchen (February 27).

The Fifteen Days of Miracles are a time for pilgrimage and intensive Dharma practice. During this period, many Tibetan monasteries, including Kopan Monastery in Nepal, normally hold a Great Prayer Festival—Monlam Chenmo—for several days or even weeks, during which the sangha recite prayers from morning until evening. This year due to pandemic lockdowns, Kopan Monastery will not be holding the annual prayer festival. The monks and nuns of Kopan will instead be doing group retreat as advised by Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

All fifteen days are merit multiplying days, when the merit of virtuous actions performed on these days is multiplied by 100 million, according to the vinaya text Treasure of Quotations and Logic.

Advice Specifically for Losar

For FPMT, Losar is a special time as it commemorates the anniversary of FPMT founder Lama Thubten Yeshe’s parinirvana at dawn of Losar in 1984. Lama Zopa Rinpoche asks centers to offer students the opportunity to offer extensive Lama Chopa with tsog in honor of this anniversary. Lama Zopa Rinpoche says that one generates incredible merit by offering tsog on that occasion every year. This Losar marks thirty-seven years since the passing of Lama Yeshe.

Rinpoche also recommends that centers host annual events to introduce new students to Lama Yeshe. These events might include students who knew Lama Yeshe sharing their favorite stories, watching videos of Lama teaching, or reading stories about Lama. During the pandemic, centers will be following public health guidelines for their local areas and these events may be held online. (Rinpoche offers additional advice for special days throughout the year in the Affiliates Area.)

This year’s Losar offers the opportunity to celebrate the birthday of Tenzin Ösel Hita, the recognized reincarnation of Lama Yeshe. Ösel was born on February 12, 1985. 

Advice for the Fifteen Days of Miracles

Students can find Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice for merit multiplying days, including the Fifteen Days of Miracles, collected online. (Advice for merit multiplying days can also be found in French.)

If the members of your community decide to recite the Sutra of Golden Light on these special days, we invite them to report their recitations on the Sutra of Golden Light reporting page.

Please keep in mind: According to Kyabje Choden Rinpoche, one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teachers, observation of auspicious days should be according to the date in India, not the date in one’s home country. Therefore, when Lama Zopa Rinpoche is not in India, Rinpoche celebrates merit multiplying days and other auspicious dates according to the time in India.

On merit multiplying days, the FPMT Puja Fund normally sponsors extensive pujas, but due to the current restrictions in South India, many of the monasteries are not able to gather in large groups and offer the pujas. During the fifteen days the 650 monks at Gyurme Tantric College will recite the Prajnapramita, and 600 monks at Gyuto Tantric College will offer Namgyäl Tong Chö and Zangcho. There will be smaller pujas offered at Sera Lachi, Gaden Lachi, and Drepung Lachi in the various khangtsens. These prayers are dedicated to all FPMT centers, projects, and services; all students, volunteers, and those who offer service in FPMT; and to all beings in general. Offerings are also made to all of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s gurus and to sangha in FPMT international sangha communities. In addition, robes are offered to the Buddha statue in Bodhgaya, new parasols and whitewash are offered to Boudha and Swayambu stupas, and sutra printing is done. Lunch and money are offered to 400 nuns and 370 monks at Kopan Nunnery and Monastery.

Special thanks to the Liberation Prison Project for preparing this year’s Tibetan calendar. A limited view of the calendar is always available on “Dharma Practice Dates” as a courtesy to FPMT students around the world.

Through comprehensive study programs, practice materials, and training seminars, FPMT Education nourishes the development of compassion, wisdom, kindness, and true happiness in individuals of all ages.

Sunrise at Kopan Monastery, Nepal, December 2020. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

“The solution is purification every day. Practice as much as possible purification,” Lama Zopa Rinpoche said during a teaching on purification.

To support this advice from Rinpoche, FPMT Education Services has created a page where students can find links to many purification practices and resources, including prostrations to the Thirty-Five Buddhas, Dorje Khadro (Vajradaka), Mitrugpa, Samayavajra (Damtsig Dorje), and Vajrasattva. Students can also find the following practices for long life on this page: Amitayus, Namgyalma, and White Tara.

“There are many different buddhas’ names to purify different negative karmas. There are many different mantras that are so powerful, not only Vajrasattva. But the Thirty-Five Buddhas are so powerful,” Rinpoche said. “By reciting [their names] one time, by practicing well the Thirty-Five Buddhas, it purifies the tsham me nga, the very heavy five heavy negative karmas without break: killed father or mother or an arhat, harmed a buddha, [caused] disunity among the sangha. So, that means there is no question about the ten nonvirtuous actions collected in this life and past lives. Then no question. Even the very heavy negative karmas without break, the five, the five heavy negative karmas, even them, they get completely purified, those collected in this life and past lives. Wow, wow, wow.”

Find the Purification page online:
https://fpmt.org/education/prayers-and-practice-materials/purification/

FPMT Education has also created a Mantras page, with many mantras and resources:
https://fpmt.org/education/prayers-and-practice-materials/mantras/

Through comprehensive study programs, practice materials, and training seminars, FPMT Education nourishes the development of compassion, wisdom, kindness, and true happiness in individuals of all ages.

Light offerings at dusk on Lama Tsongkhapa Day at Kopan Monastery, Nepal, December 2020. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche, in his video teachings on thought transformation, has spoken repeatedly about how we must learn to transform the problems and hardships we encounter in our life into the path to enlightenment. Moreover, we need these problems to deepen our practice and advance on the path. This is an aspect of thought transformation, or lojong, practice.

FPMT Education Services has created many resource pages to support students in their daily Dharma practice, including the recently create page on thought transformation practice. This page includes links and resources on: 

• The Seven-Point Thought Transformation
• Eight Verses of Thought Transformation
• Everflowing Nectar of Bodhichitta
• The Door to Satisfaction
• Transforming Problems into Happiness
• Living in the Path Online Program
• Discovering Buddhism Module Eleven: Transforming Problems

Other resource pages where students can find links to advice, practices, and other resources include a new page on purification practices, as well as established pages for lamrim resources, sutras, and mantras. Students can also access free downloads of common prayers and practices.

For resources from FPMT Education Services on thought transformation practice, please visit:
https://fpmt.org/education/prayers-and-practice-materials/thought-transformation-lojong-practices/

Through comprehensive study programs, practice materials, and training seminars, FPMT Education nourishes the development of compassion, wisdom, kindness, and true happiness in individuals of all ages.

Young monks making light offerings on Lama Tsongkhapa Day, Kopan Monastery, Nepal, 2019. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

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 of the Tibetan calendar. This year, Lama Tsongkhapa Day falls on December 10.*

There are many practices your center can organize to celebrate and create merit on this special day! You can read a teaching from Lama Zopa Rinpoche about how to carry out these practices.

The main practice, recommended by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, is Lama Chopa. If you are unable to arrange Lama Chopa, Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga is also recommended.

In addition, for last year’s celebration of the 600th anniversary of Lama Tsongkhapa’s parinirvana, Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave instructions for prayers and practices to do for a Lama Tsongkhapa Celebration Day at FPMT centers, projects, and services.

Here are some prayers and practices recommended by Rinpoche for students to recite as they are able. (These prayers and practices are also part of the recommendations for Lama Tsongkhapa Celebration Day.)

English

• 1000 Offerings to Lama Tsong Khapa
• Extensive Offering Practice
• The Glorious One of the Three Worlds (Päl dän sa sum ma)
• A Hymn of Experience
• Destiny Fulfilled
• Prayer for the Flourishing of Tsongkhapa’s Teachings
• Lama Tsongkhapa’s Secret Biography
• Dependent Arising: A Praise to the Buddha

French

French materials, including “Prière pour le développement de Lama Tsongkhapa” and “Hymne au Bouddha Shakyamouni pour son enseignement sur la production dépendante,” are available through Les Éditions Mahayana.

Tibetan

• The Thousand Offerings to Lama Tsongkhapa
• Päl dän sa sum ma (The Glorious One of the Three Worlds)
• Lama Tsongkhapa’s Secret Biography

Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Kopan monks doing Lama Chopa puja on Lama Tsongkhapa Day, Kopan Monastery, Nepal, December 2019. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

* According to Ven. Choden Rinpoche, one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teachers, observation of auspicious days should be according to the date in India, not the date in one’s home country. Therefore, when Lama Zopa Rinpoche is not in India, Rinpoche celebrates auspicious dates according to the time in India.

Through comprehensive study programs, practice materials, and training seminars, FPMT Education nourishes the development of compassion, wisdom, kindness, and true happiness in individuals of all ages.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaching at the Light of the Path Retreat, North Carolina, US, August 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

Having a good motivation is important to all aspects of our life and practice. Because of this, Lama Zopa Rinpoche created a daily motivational practice for his student called The Method to Transform a Suffering Life into Happiness (Including Enlightenment) with Additional Practices. The Method, as it is known, begins with a compilation of a short lamrim prayer and quotes from key Buddhists texts on how to live your life for others. This is followed by the additional practices “Blessing the Speech,” “Daily Mantras,” and “Mantras for Specific Occasions,” which includes mantras for blessing one’s mala, increasing the power of sutra recitations, and blessing one’s feet and the wheels of a car.

Because these mantras may be unfamiliar to students new to this practice, FPMT Education Services offers a new nine-minute video of Lama Zopa Rinpoche reciting these. Students can follow along with the video to learn the mantras as Rinpoche instructs.

The Method to Transform a Suffering Life into Happiness (Including Enlightenment) with Additional Practices is available in audio format and in several languages in addition to English, including Czech, French, German, Italian, Khmer, Polish, Spanish, and Vietnamese. There are also print-on-demand options through Amazon.

“My wish is that all of you do this most important practice for generating a Dharma motivation, and especially a bodhichitta motivation, when you open your eyes in the morning,” Rinpoche says in his commentary on the practice. “As soon as you wake up, whether your sleep has been positive or negative, you should begin this practice. If you know it by heart, you can think it. If you don’t know it by heart, you can read it.”

The many oral commentaries that Rinpoche has given on The Method have been compiled and edited into The Method to Transform a Suffering Life into Happiness (Including Enlightenment) with Additional Practices: A Commentary, available in print-on-demand, PDF, and ebook formats. In the commentary, Rinpoche explains how and why it is important to transform our life into Dharma by generating a bodhichitta motivation, the benefits of doing the additional practices of blessing the speech and reciting mantras, and how to do them.

Additional commentary is available in the module “Transforming a Suffering Life into Happiness” from Living in the Path, an FPMT Education program available through the FPMT Online Learning Center.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche Recites Mantras from the Additional Practices that Accompany “The Method”:
https://youtu.be/Lyvo6LWEvVs

Find The Method to Transform a Suffering Life into Happiness (Including Enlightenment) with Additional Practices and its commentary in the Foundation Store:
https://shop.fpmt.org/The-Method-to-Transform-a-Suffering-Life-into-Happiness-Including-Enlightenment-with-Additional-Practices-eBook-PDF_p_3539.html
https://shop.fpmt.org/The-Method-to-Transform-a-Suffering-Life-into-Happiness-Including-Enlightenment-with-Additional-Practices-A-Commentary-eBook-PDF_p_3549.html
https://shop.fpmt.org/The-Method-with-Additional-Practices–MP3-Download_p_3372.html

Through comprehensive study programs, practice materials, and training seminars, FPMT Education nourishes the development of compassion, wisdom, kindness, and true happiness in individuals of all ages.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Kopan Monastery, Kathmandu, Nepal, September 2020. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Students can now find the audio recording Mahasiddha Thangtong Gyalpo’s Prayers as an MP3 download bundled with supporting digital materials in the Foundation Store.

In this recording, four audio tracks have been extracted from the video “Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Advice for Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19).” In this video, which was recorded on March 19, 2020, Lama Zopa Rinpoche offers an oral transmission of three prayers by the great Mahasiddha Thangtong Gyalpo: The Blessed Prayer Known as “Liberating Sakya from Disease,” Words of Truth Pacifying the Danger of Weapons, and A Request to Pacify the Fear of Famine.

Mahasiddha Thangtong Gyalpo’s Prayers by Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

Mahasiddha Thangton Gyalpo’s Prayers is freely offered by the Foundation Store. The bundle includes the four audio tracks, a PDF copy of each prayer, and a transcript of the teaching and oral transmissions included in the recording, plus an image of Mahasiddha Thangtong Gyalpo.

The four audio tracks total approximately sixteen minutes of listening time. Students can listen to them while commuting, walking, resting, or as part of their practice.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche recommends that students recite The Blessed Prayer Known as “Liberating Sakya from Disease” to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Students should look at an image of Mahasiddha Thangtong Gyalpo while reciting the prayer.

Mahasiddha Thangtong Gyalpo was a great yogi of fifteenth-century Tibet. In addition, he was a skilled engineer and artist, famous for helping the people of Tibet in very practical ways. He is said to have built fifty-eight iron bridges, sixty wooden bridges, 118 ferry crossings, 120 assembly halls and temples, 111 stupas, and many hundreds of large and small statues, and created innumerable paintings.

Mahasiddha Thangtong Gyalpo.

In the audio download, Rinpoche explained the benefits of reciting the Mahasiddha Thangtong Gyalpo’s prayers:

The Blessed Prayer Known as “Liberating Sakya from Disease”
Rinpoche said, “One time in Tibet, an epidemic disease happened in Sakya and so many people died. Then the Bonpos and tantric practitioners, ngagpas, did many pujas but nothing helped. So then, I guess, he made prayers to stop all this epidemic disease in Sakya. Then everything completely stopped after he did this prayer. So this prayer is also good for this epidemic disease now to stop it. It is good to recite it to stop it in the world.”

A Request to Pacify the Fear of Famine
“In U-Tsang, a famine happened and so many people died,” Rinpoche said. “He made a prayer in front of the Jowo in Lhasa. Then, those people whose mind was purified, they saw Chenrezig pouring grain, seeds, from the sky. So much happened in the country where the famine happened, so the famine completely stopped. It seems from that time a famine didn’t happen.”

Words of Truth Pacifying the Danger of Weapons
Rinpoche said, “Then there was a fight, so much fighting in Kham, I think. They tried so many ways [to stop the fighting] but it didn’t help. They were unable to bring harmony to the two sides. Then Drubthob Thangtong Gyalpo made this prayer [to stop the danger from weapons], then everybody became harmonious and stopped the war.”

Thangtong Gyalpo Prayerathon

Thangtong Gyalpo Prayerathon, August 2020. Graphic by International Mahayana Institute.

Everyone—Dharma centers as well as individuals—is welcome to join the weekly online Thangtong Gyalpo Prayerathon by watching the livestream on the Chenrezig Institute YouTube channel and following along with their own copy of the text. (Download The Blessed Prayer Known as “Liberating Sakya from Disease” in English, French, or Spanish.)

This prayerathon was suggested by Rinpoche and will continue until the COVID-19 pandemic declines. It is organized by the International Mahayana Institute (IMI), FPMT’s community of monks and nuns, and hosted by FPMT center Chenrezig Institute in Eudlo, Queensland, Australia.

Find the audio recording Mahasiddha Thangton Gyalpo’s Prayers in the Foundation Store:
https://shop.fpmt.org/Mahasiddha-Thangtong-Gyalpos-Prayers–MP3-Download_p_3353.html

For more downloadable audio recordings, visit the Foundation Store:
https://shop.fpmt.org/Audio-Downloads_c_401.html

Through comprehensive study programs, practice materials, and training seminars, FPMT Education nourishes the development of compassion, wisdom, kindness, and true happiness in individuals of all ages.

Image from rigpawiki.org

Lhabab Duchen, one of the four great holy days of the Buddhist calendar, takes place this year on November 7.

Lhabab Duchen celebrates Guru Shakyamuni Buddha’s return to Earth from the God Realm of the Thirty-Three after teaching Dharma for several months to the gods, including his mother, Mayadevi, who had died a week after Buddha’s birth and been reborn there. As a merit multiplying day, the karmic results of actions done on this day are multiplied 100 million times. This amazing result is sourced to the vinaya text Treasure of Quotations and Logic.

Specific advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche for practices to do on merit multiplying days can be found on FPMT.org, including advice to recite the Sutra for Remembering the Three Jewels. (Advice for merit multiplying days can also be found in French.) Students can receive the lineage of the eight Mahayana precepts from a specially created video of Lama Zopa Rinpoche offering the precepts during the COVID-19 crisis teachings at Kopan Monastery in May 2020.

If you choose to recite the Sutra of Golden Light on this special day, you might like to report your recitations using the facility on FPMT.org, which you can find on the Sutra of Golden Light reporting page.

Please keep in mind that according to the late Kyabje Choden Rinpoche, one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s gurus, the observation of auspicious days should be according to the date in India, not the date in one’s home country. Therefore, when Lama Zopa Rinpoche is not in India, Rinpoche celebrates merit multiplying days and other auspicious dates according to the time in India.

On merit multiplying days, the FPMT Puja Fund sponsors a large number of pujas and practices offered by thousands of sangha on behalf of the entire FPMT. These prayers are dedicated to all FPMT centers, projects, and services; all students, volunteers, and those who offer service in FPMT; and to all beings in general.

Specifically this Lhabab Duchen, these prayers and practices will be happening:

• Drugchuma (sixty-four offerings to Kalarupa), Medicine Buddha puja, and Zangcho Monlam (King of Prayers) by the 400 nuns at Kopan Nunnery and 370 monks at Kopan Monastery;
• Recitation of the Prajnaparamita (three versions) by the 650 monks of Gyurme Tantric College;
• Namgyäl Tong Chö (one thousand sets of offerings to Buddha Namgyälma) and Zangcho Monlam (King of Prayers) by the 600 monks of Gyuto Tantric College;
• Offerings to all of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s gurus and to all of the International Mahayana Institute sangha communities;
• Offerings of gold, robes, saffron, and umbrellas to the Jowo Buddha in Tibet, the Shakyamuni Buddha in the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodhgaya, and Boudhanath and Swayambunath Stupas; and
• The printing of the Golden Light Sutra six times, Arya Sangata Sutra ten times, Vajra Cutter Sutra 200 times, Sutra of Great Liberation two times, and Amitayus Long Life Sutra twenty times.

Special thanks to the Liberation Prison Project for preparing a Tibetan calendar with information on holy days and other important dates for avoiding or engaging in various activities. Find Dharma practice materials in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish!

Through comprehensive study programs, practice materials, and training seminars, FPMT Education nourishes the development of compassion, wisdom, kindness, and true happiness in individuals of all ages.

Lama Yeshe, Kopan Monastery, Nepal, 1978. Photo courtesy of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

The Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive’s September E-letter featured the following teaching from Lama Thubten Yeshe (1935–1984), who founded FPMT with Lama Zopa Rinpoche. 

Bodhichitta itself makes us so completely peaceful, so happy. The self-cherishing thought is like putting a sword or knife into our heart; our heart is really hurt, relatively and absolutely! But bodhichitta is something which makes us completely relaxed. I think bodhichitta is unbelievable; it’s the most important thing we can practice in our entire life. It makes us really happy and there’s no room for others to disturb us. Otherwise, everybody is our enemy. The opposite of bodhichitta is feeling that everybody is an enemy.

In the West, people sometimes think, “She is taking advantage; he is taking advantage; you are taking advantage.” People think that everybody takes advantage of them, but it’s not true. I know many people who think human beings take advantage of each other. Do you feel that way? I don’t know. It’s not true! Human beings have always been kind to each other, helping each other. Always. It’s our fundamental nature. So, bodhichitta helps us to relax even when we’re not meditating. Really, bodhichitta makes us content, satisfied. If somebody hits us, if somebody beats us, it’s still OK. If somebody’s criticizing us, it’s still OK. If somebody’s stealing our money, it’s still OK. If somebody does bad things to us, it’s still OK. The mind makes it OK; that’s all it is. And it’s the mind that makes it not OK, isn’t it?

So, I think bodhichitta is the best. In my opinion we all need bodhichitta, especially in Western society. If we have to integrate our practice into Western society’s working life, I think bodhichitta is the best way. Bodhichitta is definitely the best way to integrate our practice. In Western society people have very strong, concrete relationships with each other, for example, “I’m working for you,” or “You and me,” becomes so concrete. You say, “I want you to do this,” and I say, “Yes, I can do this much.” Do you know what I mean? In the beginning we have to talk to make such an incredible relationship, therefore bodhichitta is really, really important.

For me it seems like bodhichitta is the real essential. Western people can easily help others, but when we try to teach them indestructible samadhi meditation it is very difficult, because Western life is not made for that, unfortunately. Of course, we still have time. But we can practice bodhichitta so easily; we can see other people suffering, we can see our boss suffering, we can see the workers suffering, we can see so much suffering. Oh, my goodness, Western people have so much suffering, so much conflict. I really have compassion when I go to America. Californian people are sweet, they’re hardworking and physically they’re comfortable, but in their mind they’re going on an incredible trip. The more I stay, the more I have compassion for them. Really, they have so much suffering mentally. I don’t know, maybe it’s my projection, but I’m telling you my experience. I feel that those people have so much mental suffering. 

So, in my opinion, bodhichitta is the best way. Bodhichitta makes our heart completely relaxed. In our life we have to deal with other peoples’ difficulties, so this helps. When people give us problems but at the same time we can be satisfied and can help them, this comes from bodhichitta. We should have bodhichitta; it is the best!

Even in a man-woman relationship, bodhichitta is very useful. A man can see the woman is suffering or the woman can see her partner is suffering—when you can see that, how can you add more suffering? Normally in relationships people hurt each other, don’t they? “I’m dissatisfied with him so I will hurt him.” Or he hurts her because he’s dissatisfied. Can you imagine? That’s the way it is. All these relationships are a disaster because they are not getting enough. You definitely decide, “I’m not getting enough from him (or her).” That is selfish—completely, purely selfish. I think that is clean clear. You hurt your partner because you are dissatisfied, because you are not getting pleasure. “I’m not getting pleasure, so I’m leaving!” That’s California style! It’s easy, isn’t it? It’s very easy. “I’m leaving. I’m dissatisfied, I’m not happy, therefore I’m leaving.” I think it’s completely selfish; it’s unbelievable! How can we always be happy with each other? We have so much garbage, so many trips inside.

How can I expect to always be happy with you? I cannot! I cannot guarantee that you people will be happy. It’s true! Therefore, you should accept it: “How can my selfish mind think it’s unfair this way? It’s not true. I should be reasonable. It’s natural that sometimes I get pleasure and sometimes I do not. I’m not happy but still I will try, and I will analyze what is wrong and why.”

This is excerpted from a question-and-answer session with Lama Yeshe during the Sixteenth Kopan Meditation Course held at Kopan Monastery, Nepal on December 8, 1983. Edited by Uldis Balodis. You can read the entire teaching here on the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive (LamaYeshe.com) and you can find it in the new Lama Yeshe ebook The Enlightened Experience: Collected Teachings, Volume 3. 

Through timely advice, news stories, and update, FPMT.org and Mandala Publications share the wisdom culture inspired and guided by the teachings of FPMT founders Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche. 

Lama Zopa Rinpoche on his way to the Kopan Monastery gompa for Yamantaka self-initiation on the 9th anniversary of Khensur Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup’s showing the aspect of passing away, Kathmandu, Nepal, August 2020. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Students can now find the audio recording A Brief Meditation-Recitation on Guru Medicine Buddha as an MP3 download bundled with supporting digital materials in the Foundation Store.

In this recording, ten audio tracks have been extracted from the video “Your Generating Bodhichitta Helps Every Sentient Being and Lung of a Short Medicine Buddha Practice,” which is part of the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Teachings on Thought Transformation series. In this video, which was recorded on April 6, 2020, Lama Zopa Rinpoche offers an oral transmission of and commentary on the practice text of the same name: A Brief Meditation-Recitation on Guru Medicine Buddha.

This practice text begins with requests to the Medicine Buddhas and follows with recitation of their holy names; recitation of either—or all of—the long, middle-length, or short Medicine Buddha mantra; and recitation of the mantra of Tathagata Stainless Excellent Gold and other dharani-mantras, extracted from the Fifth Dalai Lama’s The Wish-Granting Sovereign: A Ceremony for Worshiping the Seven Sugatas. The practice concludes with prayers, requests, and dedications.

Rinpoche wrote and arranged this Medicine Buddha practice text in 2017, and it was published by FPMT Education Services in 2018. Rinpoche based this practice on a short text composed by Kachen Yeshe Gyaltsen.

Rinpoche explains in the recording, “So many years ago [I translated Kachen Yeshe Gyaltsen’s text] in my small room in the old Kopan gompa. … On the basis of that practice, I made a new one. I’m going to read that so anyone who wants to practice Medicine Buddha can do this.”

A Brief Meditation-Recitation on Guru Medicine Buddha by Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

The ten audio tracks total sixty-five minutes of listening time. Students can listen to them while commuting, walking, resting, or as part of their practice. By listening to the audio recordings, students can practice mantra pronunciation and recitation and relax the mind.

This MP3 download, freely offered by the Foundation Store, also includes a PDF copy of The Oral Transmission of “A Brief Meditation-Recitation on Guru Medicine Buddha,” which is a transcript of the teaching and oral transmission included in the MP3, and a PDF copy of the practice text itself.

Rinpoche said, “The majority of people think Medicine Buddha is only for healing. No, Medicine Buddha is for all the success. Reciting the Medicine Buddhas’ names and the Medicine Buddha mantra, and making requests, especially requesting to fulfill all your [Dharma] wishes, yes, that is most powerful to bring all your success.”

We invite you to rejoice in this offering produced by a team committed to supporting FPMT students in their practices and studies.

Prajnaparamita Sutra written in gold, Kachoe Dechen Ling, Aptos, California, US. Photo by Chris Majors.

As the Dharma takes root in the West, clear and accurate translations of Buddhist texts, prayers, and teachings are crucial. FPMT Translation Services oversees the translating, editing, publishing, and updating of translations of sadhanas, prayers, rituals, sutras, and other key texts for FPMT students and Education programs. Joona Repo, FPMT Translation Coordinator for Education Services, shares this report on the team’s work regarding some of their larger ongoing projects.

FPMT Translation Services has several big, long-term translation projects that its currently supporting.

The editing of the Sze Gee Toh’s translation of the Ornament of the Essence, a commentary by Gyaltsab Je on the Ornament of Clear Realization, is underway. Gyaltsab Je was one of the two primary disciples of Je Tsongkhapa, who founded the Gelug tradition, and the Ornament of Clear Realizations is one of five principal works studied in the geshe curriculum of the major Gelug monasteries. Gyaltsab Je’s text is an important commentary on this key Tibetan Buddhist text and part of the FPMT Masters Program curriculum. The translation is gradually being prepared for publication, as a part of our plan to make our rich collection of Masters Program and Basic Program translations available to a wider audience.

Sze Gee Toh is a Singaporean student who graduated from the first Masters Program at Istituto Lama Tsong Khapa in Italy. She served as a teaching assistant during the second Masters Program at ILTK on the topic of the Ornament of Clear Realizations while also translating the Ornament of the Essence. Her translation is being updated, annotated, and compared against the original Tibetan text in preparation for eventual publication. Another translation by Sze Gee, Panchen Lozang Yeshe’s Nyurlam, i.e. The Swift Path lamrim, has also been completed and editing on the text has begun.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche taking blessings from the Sutra of Great Liberation, which he started to an give oral transmission of on Saka Dawa, Kopan Monastery, Nepal, June 2020. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

We are also continuing our work on translating a number of rather extensive sutras. These translations have all been requested by FPMT Spiritual Director Lama Zopa Rinpoche. They include:

• The Golden Light Sutra in 31 Chapters, which was translated by Berthe Jansen and is currently being edited;
• Kshitigarbha Dashachakra Sutra, translated by Gavin Kilty and also currently being edited;
• Golden Light Sutra in 29 Chapters, which Rhonwen Sayer recently began translating; and
• Great Liberation Sutra, which will soon begin to be translated. (Lama Zopa Rinpoche has been giving the oral transmission of this sutra in his Thought Transformation Teachings video series.)

Philip Quarcoo’s translation of Tsongkhapa’s Middle-Length Lamrim is going through the final stages of editing in preparation for publication. This is another important text for students within the Gelug traditions and a translation we are very excited about.

The translation work of some of these texts has been supported by several sponsors and we rejoice in their generosity.

The translation and editing of texts is supported by the FPMT Translation Fund. Further funds are need to complete some of these projects. For more:
https://fpmt.org/projects/fpmt/education-and-preservation-fund/

For more on FPMT Translation Services:
https://fpmt.org/education/translation/