Monks making light offerings at Kopan Monastery in Nepal on Lama Tsongkhapa Day, December 2020. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche strongly encouraged his students to pray for world peace as widely as possible. All are welcome to explore the collection of resources we recently shared, which offers advice on prayers and practices to follow when the world is in crisis and to help mitigate the threat of war. On March 31, 2026, His Holiness the Dalai Lama shared the following peace appeal:

I wholeheartedly endorse the powerful appeal for peace made by the Holy Father, Pope Leo, during his Palm Sunday Mass. His call for the laying down of arms and the renunciation of violence resonated profoundly with me, as it speaks to the very essence of what all major religions teach.

Indeed, whether we look to Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism or any of the world’s great spiritual traditions, the message is fundamentally the same: love, compassion, tolerance, and self-discipline. Violence finds no true home in any of these teachings. History has shown us time and again that violence only begets more violence and is never a lasting foundation for peace.

An enduring resolution to conflict, including the ones we see in the Middle East or between Russia and Ukraine, must be rooted in dialogue, diplomacy and mutual respect — approached with the understanding that, at the deepest level, we are all brothers and sisters.

I urge for and pray that the violence and conflicts may soon come to an end.

In alignment with the wishes of His Holiness the Dalai Lama for world peace, and with Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice over the years on prayers and practices during times of crisis, FPMT centers around the world are offering opportunities to gather in person and online to pray for peace.

“These situations give very strong inspiration to practice because there is no other means to escape, whether immediate or ultimate escape, i.e., freedom from all suffering. Such circumstances, such terrifying circumstances, help make it easier for the mind to overcome delusions or the distractions of desire […] The strong practice of Dharma and the awareness of impermanence and death brings peace in your heart and no fear.” — Lama Zopa Rinpoche, 2001

Aerial view of the grounds of Rinchen Jangsem Ling, Malaysia on December 6. Photo courtesy of RJL Facebook page.

Today we are sharing some of the online initiatives beginning in March and April 2026 for those who wish to join, or who may be inspired to organize their own initiatives:

FPMT North America organizes Zoom weekly prayers each Thursday, 8:30–9:00 a.m. (PT), 11:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m. (EDT), which will include:

• Chanting the Names of Manjushri for Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s auspicious return
• Tang Tong Gyalpo’s Prayer to Avert War, Epidemics, and Famine
• OM MANI PADME HUM mantras and His Holiness’ long-life prayer

Tse Chen Ling, California, USA  offers online Prayers for Challenging Times on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays in April, 8:00–8:30 a.m. (PT),  to help ease the suffering caused by the many conflicts and aggression in the world today. These sessions include:

• Praises to the Twenty-One Taras
• The King of Prayers
• OM MANI PADME HUM mantra recitation

Kalachakra Centre, France, offers a Monday evening practice dedicated to the recitation of the Sutra for Golden Light for world peace, led by Ven. Gyaltsen, from 7:00–7:30 p.m. (CEST).  Each session begins with a meditation on compassion, cultivating this essential quality — a source of peace and happiness for ourselves and others. Kalachakra Centre also offers the 2 Minutes for World Peace initiative a simple daily moment of practice at 6:00 p.m. (CEST). Participants are invited to take two minutes to set an intention for peace, then record their participation in the shared spreadsheet.

Amitabha Buddhist Centre, Singapore  will gather in person on Saturday, 4 April 2026, 1:30–5:30 p.m. to recite the Golden Light Sutra for peace in every mind and to pacify wars and conflicts around the world — bringing immense purification, merit accumulation, and protection for individuals, as well as peace and happiness for Singapore and the world. 

Buddha House, Magill, Australia, will gather as a community onSaturday, 4 April 2026, at 2:00 p.m. to recite the Golden Light Sutra for world peace, bringing peace, harmony, and healing to the world and protection to all beings. 

Maitreya Instituut the Netherlands, offers weekly online Prayers for Peace & the World with Greg, Jan (Dutch) or Annelies 7:00–8:00 (CEST) following the prayers advised by Lama Zopa Rinpoche — to stop all wars immediately, to prevent famine, disease and all the dangers, and to fill the whole world with perfect peace and bodhicitta in the hearts of all sentient beings, especially in the hearts of the world leaders.

If your center or study group is organizing a peace initiative not listed here–we’d love to hear about it! 

Additionally, Sangha and students recite the following each month, dedicated to pacifying the elements and peace in the world:

• Extensive Medicine Buddha Puja offered five times
• Guhyasamaja Root Text recited four times
• Kshitigarbha Sutra recited one time
• Sutra of Golden Light recited eight times
• Arya Sanghata Sutra recited five times
• Vajra Cutter Sutra recited four times

Please explore all of the resources available to you which we hope will be useful and provide tangible actions to mitigate war and promote world peace. 

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.