Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaching in front of 1,000 Arm Chenrezig, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, August 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

One of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Visions for the FPMT organization is to host 100 Million Mani Retreats (100,000 recitations of 100 million OM MANI PADME HUM) around the world. There are now annual 100 Million Mani Retreats at Ganden Do Ngag Shedrup Ling in Mongolia, Tashi Chime Gatsal Nunnery in Nepal, and a virtual ongoing retreat at Chenrezig Institute, Australia. We are pleased to share the following updates on these retreats, and to rejoice in the billions of mani mantras offered due to these efforts (particularly on this merit-multiplying day of Lhabab Duchen)! 

Please note that Chenrezig Institute’s Home Mani Retreat will begin today on Lhabab Duchen (Friday, November 22) and finish on Saka Dawa on Wednesday, June 11, 2025 and all are welcome to join! 

Twelve Years of Mani Retreats in Mongolia

FPMT Mongolia Sangha during the recent 100 Million Mani Retreat, October 2024.

Ganden Do Ngag Shedrup Ling, the FPMT center located in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, has reported that during their twelfth annual 100 Million Mani Retreat, held from September 18-October 17, 2024, 100,818,700 mani recitations were accumulated. Ven. Thubten Gyalmo shares the story:

Based on wishes expressed by Lama Zopa Rinpoche in 1999 which encouraged the center to organize and host this event annually, FPMT Mongolia staff have once again, been able to realize this request along with the help of monastic institute partners, volunteers, and students. The retreat has been held consecutively since 2013.

In Rinpoche’s own words, “Since there is a lot of interest in retreats in Mongolia, I especially hope this 100 million Mani retreat will be established and that thousands of people will be able to attend.  By doing such a retreat, many people will be liberated, saved from the lower realms and the country where the retreat is held will be blessed …… there will be skies of benefit, especially the development of compassion in people’s minds and benefit to the animals that are killed for food.”

The 2024 Mani Retreat was well attended with more than 250 Mongolians being present on both opening and closing days and numbers of participants from 100-150 attending each day. While most of the manis came from Mongolian people, contributions also came from Indonesia, Malaysia, China, Canada, Poland, and Italy.

Sessions were led by FPMT Mongolia nuns and special teachings on the mantra of compassion, the Chenrezig practice, applying loving kindness in everyday life, the importance of non-harming and environmental awareness, and protection were provided by two guest teachers over several days—Geshe Thubten Soepa from Ganden Monastery in Ulaanbaatar and Geshe Thubten Jampa who was visiting from Drepung in South India.

In addition, many donations were given by students, partners and friends including both cash contributions to help cover the retreat costs and for specific dedications and others which supported purchase of food needed for provision of the daily vegetarian lunches that were served to everyone in attendance.

In accordance with the past guidance of Lama Zopa Rinpoche to dedicate the total of all the manis and merit generated from the retreat to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, a letter was written to His Holiness’ staff in Dharamsala. This included offering the total manis and conveying wishes for a long and healthy life and for the continuation of His Holiness’ most excellent guidance to Buddhist practitioners and others around the world through his own peerless example of compassion, kindness and love.

The nuns of Tashi Chime Gatsal Gumba in their new gompa with Lama Zopa Rinpoche in 2022.

Fourteen Years of Mani Retreats at Tashi Chime Gatsal Gumba Nunnery, Nepal

Tashi Chime Gatsal Gumba Nunnery is a small Drikung Kagyu Nunnery in Bigu, Northeastern Nepal. The nunnery has a close connection with Lama Zopa Rinpoche, who visited in 2022 and commented that the nunnery feels like it is in the lap of Mother Tara. Rinpoche directly wished for FPMT to support this nunnery and in turn for the nunnery to dedicate the prayers of 100 million mani recitations (once or twice a year) for the benefit of the FPMT organization. Rinpoche personally set up this arrangement 14 years ago and the Supporting Ordained Sanga Fund sponsors these retreats in order to fulfill Rinpoche’s wish.

To date an incredible twenty-four different 100 million mani retreats have been offered by the nunnery—that is 2.4 billion recitations of OM MANI PADME HUM for the benefit of all beings! Please rejoice! You can read more about support offered to this nunnery. 

Twenty-five Years of the Mani Retreat at Chenrezig Institute, Australia

 Chenrezig Institute, an FPMT center located in Queensland, Australia, has completed 37,268,600 mani recitations over the past four years; and over the past twenty-four years they have completed an amazing 733,222,700 recitations! Mani Home Retreat Coordinator, Caroline Crossman shares the story:

Back in 2000 when Lama Zopa Rinpoche visited Chenrezig Institute, AUS, he requested the community to conduct an annual Chenrezig Retreat in the manner of the old Tibetan Buddhist traditions in India, Nepal and Tibet and recite 100 million mantras of OM MANI PADME HUM. We have now done this twenty-four times over twenty-four years!

It is with great rejoicing, on behalf of all the participants that we offer 37,268,600 manis that have been recited over the past four years of the Mani Retreat (inclusive of the gompa and home count). Over the twenty-four year period of hosting these Mani Retreats, in total we have recited 733,222,700 manis. Since then, although we have not completed 100 million manis in each retreat, we persevere and understand the most important aspect of the practice is not the number of mantras that are recited but the development of a good heart and a compassionate attitude. 

As Rinpoche has said, “It is extremely important for you to recite OM MANI PADME HUM, also the long and short Chenrezig mantra. There is no number for you to recite, just recite as many as you can.” 

Our first gompa retreat showed us clearly that even with six weeks of formal retreat we were by no means going to come close to the goal of 100 million recitations. In his great kindness and aware of our extremely busy lifestyles, Rinpoche composed a short practice enabling anyone wishing to participate in the retreat, to do so from the convenience of their own home, hence the Home Mani Retreat was born. From that point onward, Australians from afar and many others internationally have been able to participate and contribute towards the Home Mani Retreat. 

With deep gratitude we continue to thank Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche for the wonderful opportunity of being able to do this practice in this manner and strive toward accomplishing his former wishes. The primary focus of this retreat is to promote world peace and the recited mantras are especially dedicated to the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, all of our precious Dharma teachers, the recognition of the unmistaken incarnation and swift return of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche, for all of his Dharma wishes to be immediately fulfilled and for the success of all his holy projects throughout the world.

Over the years there have been many formal gompa retreats and in particular we wish to thank our dedicated Sangha retreat leaders including Geshe Lobsang Jamyang, Ven. Ailsa Cameron, Ven. Tenzin Tsapel, Ven. Tsepel, Ven. Tencho, Ven. Lhamo, Ven. Yonten, Ven. Lozang, Ven. Tsultrim, and Ven. Thubten Pema as well as the many gompa and the home retreat participants.

From the side of the Home Mani Retreat there have been approximately 44 Dharma centers and groups who have contributed. There have been approximately 70 Sangha and more than 800 lay individuals world-wide who have contributed to the accumulation of manis from twenty-two countries. Some have contributed one mala of manis and others have contributed millions of mantras. We are grateful to everyone who has been involved. 

In the past, the home retreat has run for 6-8 months from the Wheel Turning Day of Buddha’s Descent from Tushita (Lhabab Duchen) through Saka Dawa of the following year. This year for the twenty-fifth year, the Home Mani Retreat will begin on Friday, November 22 and finish on Saka Dawa on Wednesday, June 11, 2025 or when 100 million is achieved, whichever comes first.  

If you wish to participate in the Home Mani Retreat, please use the following link to complete your interest/registration for participation. Everyone is very welcome!

Through our participation in the Mani Retreat may the compassionate spirit of love increase within us all so that we may quickly complete the Enlightenment Path and realize our own clean-clear blissful Avolokiteshvara Buddha nature. Thank you all so much. 

Please rejoice in the incredible effort of so many to offer these 100 Million Mani Retreats as a way to generate unbelievable merit for the FPMT organization, for the fulfillment of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Visions, and for the cultivation of loving-kindness in the hearts of all. 

Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.