As the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) has celebrated its fiftieth anniversary over the past year, the 2026 Global Mani Retreat (GMR) has brought together students from around the world to recite the mantra of Chenrezig, the Buddha of Compassion. What began as a wish to fulfill one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s vast visions for FPMT grew into a worldwide retreat spanning more than five months, and the retreat is now in its final days!

Since it began on May 17, the FPMT Global Mani Retreat has included teachings from Khen Rinpoche Geshe Thubten Chonyi; a rare oral transmission and commentary from His Eminence Kyabje Yongzin Ling Rinpoche; a teaching on Bodhicitta from His Eminence Serkong Tsenshap Rinpoche; a teaching on practicing compassion through the profound view of emptiness from His Eminence Jhado Rinpoche; and the latest teaching, “How to Generate Chenrezig in Daily Life,” from Rangjung Neljorma Khandro Tseringma Rinpoche. After five months, the Global Mani Retreat will conclude on Sunday, November 1, and a closing session celebrating five months of practice together will be held on Saturday, November 7. His Eminence Kyabje Yongzin Ling Rinpoche will kindly join us at this closing session.

Among the many causes for rejoicing, the most recent was the audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, attended by Global Mani Retreat coordinator Selina Foong and representatives of the Global Mani Retreat team. We also rejoice in the milestone reached by FPMT Mongolia during their fourteenth annual 100 Million Mani Retreat, which was part of the official Global Mani Retreat program. Held at Idgaa Choizinling Dratsang in Ulaanbaatar, the retreat drew between 150 and 250 people a day and accumulated 109,208,246 mantras, passing its goal of 100 million.

Here Selina Foong, Global Mani Retreat coordinator and FPMT regional coordinator for East and Southeast Asia (ESEA), reflects on how the retreat unfolded and shares the meaningful experiences and blessings of a journey to Dharamsala, India, to make offerings to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and other precious teachers.

GMR Group, Dharamsala, India, October 2026. Photo courtesy of the Global Mani Retreat group.

The FPMT Global Mani Retreat is truly an unprecedented worldwide effort to celebrate FPMT’s fiftieth anniversary year. 

Conceptualized only in January 2026, I can still clearly recall the heady mix of sheer excitement, wide-eyed awe, and genuine trepidation at this very idea. From “WHAT?? An event lasting more than five months?!” to “WOW, this is giving me goosebumps”, and everything in between. As speaker after speaker started to respond positively to our invitation and the program took shape, I too sat back and gasped :“WHAT?!” 

 And that is how it all started. A simple wish to fulfill one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s vast visions for FPMT—holding 100 Million Mani retreats—quickly snowballed into this massive event, with participation from all corners of our global FPMT community together with high lamas we had only ever dreamed of inviting. Month after month since our launch on May 17, 2026, the retreat’s amazing progress continued to manifest before our very eyes. Every session was unique; every session was special. On top of it all, FPMT Mongolia hosted its fourteenth 100 Million Mani Retreat, which was also part of our overall program this year. Everything unfolded so smoothly that I had to continually pinch myself.

Buoyed by this tide of powerful blessings as we approached the retreat’s conclusion, a small group of us representing the Global Mani Retreat team had the good fortune to travel to Dharamsala, India, in October 2026 to offer our Mani practice as well as 100 Shakyamuni Buddha statues on behalf of the entire FPMT organization. It was a trip filled with joy and wonder. As Andrey Lomonosov, director of Ganden Tendar Ling, Russia, said, “This magic is unimaginable. We are so blessed to be able to come and give such offerings to His Holiness. I feel this was all enabled by His Holiness himself, and that we all as a Dharma family are protected by His Holiness. This is the first time I felt it. It is so amazing!”

And indeed the blessings were palpable, collectively for all of FPMT, as well as for the ten of us there who somehow found ourselves together at the same time, in the same place, in front of the holy ones we aspire to one day become. There was a sense of recognition between us, and we immediately felt like family. It was profoundly joyful.

His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama with Selina Foong and Ven. Thubten Gyalmo, Dharamsala, October 17, 2026. Photo courtesy of OHHDL.

Our FPMT group audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Saturday, October 17, was part of a larger public audience. On a beautifully clear morning, we lined up with our hearts thumping. All the early chaos of security checks, ascertaining queue positions and locating the Buddha statues to be offered (!) melted away as we approached His Holiness. A strange blanket of calm descended upon me as I found myself in front of His Holiness after Dale Davis, member of the FPMT Inc. board, had greeted him extremely movingly. Time seemed to stand still as the words tumbled out of my mouth. All I now recall is His Holiness repeatedly patting me on the face and hand as I explained and presented him with the Global Mani Retreat greeting card, and how his face lit up brightly at the sight of Chenrezig on its cover… all the while with a sea of smiles surrounding us.  

His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama with Dale Davis, FPMT, Inc. board member, Dharamsala, October 17, 2026. Photo courtesy of OHHDL.

Following Dale Davis and me were the rest of our group members, each taking their turn to offer a Buddha statue and receive His Holiness’s blessings: Ven. Thubten Gyalmo, resident Western teacher at the Mongolian FPMT center Ganden Do Ngag Shedrup Ling; Cristian Cowan, GMR sessions co-coordinator for FPMT North America and spiritual program coordinator at Vajrapani Institute, California; Irina Hueso Roldán, GMR Spanish parallel series and FPMT national coordinator for Spain; Andrey Lomonosov, director at Ganden Tendar Ling, Russia; Harald Weichhart, GMR multimedia manager and FPMT media resource manager; Jasmine Mohtashami, GMR graphic designer and people and community manager at Jamyang Buddhist Centre, London; Frances Howland, GMR assistant coordinator and FPMT regional coordinator for South Asia; and Shanti Yajnik, co-director at Tushita Meditation Centre, India. Rejoice!

The blessings continued to rain down on this very special day.  

The Global Mani Retreat group at New Serkong House, the residence of His Eminence Serkong Tsenshap Rinpoche, Dharamsala, India, October 2026. Photo courtesy of the Global Mani Retreat group.

We paid a visit to New Serkong House, where Gen Thubten Sherap and Abishek, the kind attendants to His Eminence Serkong Tsenshap Rinpoche, showed us around and introduced us to some extremely precious holy objects. His Eminence Serkong Tsenshap Rinpoche had kindly offered a powerful teaching on “Bodhicitta” for our Global Mani Retreat, so it was without question that we would pay a visit to his residence even in his absence (as he was then in the midst of a European tour)— and what’s more, to chomp on the juicy apples from his orchard! What nobody had expected, however, was that His Eminence himself would personally leave us a voice message all the way from Austria, during our actual visit. Even his attendants found the timing to be incredibly auspicious. So of course, our entire group sent a raucously joyful voice message right back. It truly felt like His Eminence was right there with us, in that holy room.

His Eminence Kyabje Yongzin Ling Rinpoche with the Global Mani Retreat team, Dharamsala, India, October 2026. Photo courtesy of the Global Mani Retreat group.

A delicious (and extremely large) lunch at Tibet Kitchen later, and it was on to the next highlight of our day—an audience with His Eminence Kyabje Yongzin Ling Rinpoche at his beautiful residence in the hills. His Eminence was extremely jovial, and expressed great happiness at our Mani retreat. He repeated several times how very important Chenrezig practice is, and how Mani recitations can bring peace not only to our world, but to the entire universe. He also encouraged us to continue offering this Mani retreat, year after year! By the time we left, it proved impossible to wipe the smiles off our faces, and we all felt as light as air.

There was in fact one more highlight on this most special of trips. The day before our “Special Saturday”, we visited Tushita Meditation Centre, where a delicious lunch was generously offered to us before we spent some time at Lama Yeshe’s Memorial Stupa, Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s room, and the Hayagriva Room. The power was palpable, and the experience was deeply meaningful.

The Global Mani Retreat group at Lama Yeshe’s Memorial Stupa, Tushita Meditation Centre, Dharamsala, India, October 2026. Photo courtesy of the Global Mani Retreat group.

We bade goodbye to each other after only a short time together, but I think we all knew deep down that the magnitude of the occasion and the camaraderie we forged will stay with us till the end of our days. And that it was on the basis of all sentient beings that we arrived at this point, and so it was for all sentient beings that we experienced this deep happiness. We are fortunate ones indeed. May the lives of our gurus be long and may Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s unmistaken reincarnation swiftly return!

Written by Selina Foong, Global Mani Retreat coordinator and FPMT ESEA regional coordinator. Please also see a previous inspiring report about this event from Harald Weichhart -GMR multimedia manager and FPMT media resource manager.

With Our Deepest Gratitude to Selina Foong

As retreat coordinator, Selina has guided this retreat with great dedication, joy, and care. She and her team offered the international FPMT family a retreat on a scale we have never attempted before, helping fulfill one of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s most cherished wishes and celebrating FPMT’s fiftieth anniversary by bringing us together to practice, create the causes for peace, and support the long life and activities of our precious teachers. As shared in the recent FPMT Inc. Board update, this was the first project to bring students from all over the world together, and the results have been very encouraging. Selina, thank you so much for your kindness and tireless work overcoming every professional and personal challenge that occurred during this period! We rejoice in all you have made possible, and we are so grateful to you and to everyone on your team.

Here is a message of thanks from Lama Zopa Rinpoche, from a teaching Rinpoche gave at the end of the 2000 Mani retreat at Chenrezig Institute. It is excerpted from the revised second edition of Teachings from the Mani Retreat, recently released by the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive:

… I think this practice is really fantastic. It is something that you find more and more inspiring—not something that becomes more and more boring. The more sessions you do, the more inspiring it becomes. That is very good. The more you develop your compassion, the more you see the kindness of sentient beings and how much they are suffering, and you then don’t find any hardship in doing retreat or nyung nä. Not finding any difficulty in doing the practice is a sign of receiving the blessing of the deity… Again here I would like to thank very much everyone who has been doing the retreat, especially the Sangha, who have been the main ones. From the bottom of my heart I thank all of you who have participated in any of the sessions from time to time. Thank you very, very much. And I thank very much also the sponsors and benefactors. You are always in my prayers, and I will dedicate the merits.

Excerpt from Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Teachings from the Mani Retreat, page 162. Teaching given at Chenrezig Institute, Australia. December 2000. Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

The Global Mani Retreat Enters Its Final Days

The Global Mani Retreat will conclude on Sunday, November 1, and a closing session celebrating five months of practice together will be held on Saturday, November 7. His Eminence Kyabje Yongzin Ling Rinpoche will kindly join us at this closing session, which will also include Ven. Roger Kunsang, Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s holy shrine, the umzes (chant masters) of Kopan Monastery, a video recording of the audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and more. You are welcome to send your mantra count through this form until Monday, November 2, 2026, 8:00 a.m. (UTC). The numbers reported so far are already wonderful, and we look forward to sharing the grand total at the closing session.

Recordings of many sessions, together with the slideshows that preceded them, are available on the Global Mani Retreat YouTube channel. To keep up with all the details, please visit our webpage and join the Facebook group. You can also read Teachings from the Mani Retreat online or listen to an audio recording from the 2000 retreat.

With gratitude to Selina Foong, Global Mani retreat coordinator and FPMT ESEA regional coordinator for sharing this story, and to the entire GMR team for their tremendous efforts in organizing this global online retreat.

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.