Onsite participants in the FPMT Latin and North America Meeting Regional Consultation at Land of Medicine Buddha. Photo by John Golson.

From September 6-8, 2024 the FPMT North America and Latin America’s 2004 regional consultation was held at Land of Medicine Buddha in Soquel, CA, USA. North American Regional Coordinator, Melissa Kaye, and Director of Thubten Norbu Ling in Santa Fe, NM, Nina Highfill, share the following update on this event which joyfully reunited participants with a shared purpose. 

Melissa Kaye reflects: “After five long years of virtual connections, the air was thick with excitement as members of FPMT’s North American region joyfully reunited in person. As I walked into the beautiful, historic Land of Medicine Buddha (LMB) gompa in Soquel, California on the chilly Friday evening, I felt a little uneasy. As the new North American Regional Coordinator, I was not sure whether one weekend would be enough time to break the ice and come together as a region. But the moment I stepped into the room, it was all smiles, hugs and words of welcome and support. The networking and bonding among us began immediately, and there was a palpable sense of belonging and anticipation. We had an eventful weekend in front of us.”

The North American Regional Meeting took place September 6-8, 2024, and was beautifully and expertly hosted by LMB. Representatives from nearly all 27 North American centers, projects, services and study groups attended the hybrid meeting, including 33 in-person participants, some of whom traveled very far to be with us. One participant shared, “Traveling 3,000 miles to be here was worth every moment; the warmth and camaraderie felt like coming home.”’ We also took advantage of technology with more than 20 attending at least some sessions online.

Discussions during the recent NARM meeting at LMB. Photo by François Lecointre

During the first half of the weekend meeting, we were joined by members of the FPMT Inc. Board (Paula de Wys, Dale Davis and Karuna Cayton) and International Office (Teacher/Center Services Director François Lecointre) who led us in discussions on the topic of “Advancing Our Gurus’ Vision of a World Guided by Compassion and Wisdom.” Six members from five centers of FPMT’s Latin America region also joined us online for these discussions, which were part of the FPMT Inc. Board’s regional consultations paving the way to CPMT 2025.

After a Friday night overview of the FPMT Inc. Board’s consultation work completed thus far, Saturday morning saw us diving deep into four crucial areas shaping FPMT’s path forward: Education and Universal Education, Community Services and Interfaith Dialogue, Modern Approaches and Technology, and Leadership. 

We broke into small focus groups, each tackling one of these vital topics. The atmosphere was buzzing with energy and ideas, as participants shared insights, debated possibilities and crafted innovative proposals. It was inspiring to witness the collective wisdom of our community at work, each person eagerly contributing their unique perspective to help shape FPMT’s future, even foregoing tea breaks to continue their discussions.

These small group sessions weren’t just theoretical exercises. Our proposals, along those from other regional consultations, will be further refined and consolidated, forming the foundation for deeper explorations at the upcoming CPMT gathering in April 2025. This collaborative process embodies the spirit of co-creation, ensuring that our organization’s future is shaped by the diverse voices of our global community.  As one participant aptly put it, “The tone was lovely; everything felt very reciprocal and everyone felt invited to be engaged.” It’s clear that the future of FPMT is in passionate, capable hands.

The second portion of our regional meeting took place on Sunday when we discussed a three-year plan for our region, including ideas for expanding teacher tours, offering region-wide online education programs, modernizing our regional digital content, and increasing center collaboration and training. 

Again, there was a great deal of enthusiastic discussion among the participants and tremendous support for expanding regional collaboration and activities.  Feedback from the participants included: “Having nearly everyone in person was wonderful. Having breakout sessions to work through topics really helped bond with people from other centers” and  “Wonderful to meet fellow FMPT folks from the region, absolutely lovely.  Also glad to be able to zoom in to the event and attend at least a small part.”

Throughout the weekend there was an overwhelming sense of new energy and enthusiasm in the room and online.  We are so much stronger and can achieve so much more when we work together for the benefit of all sentient beings. And as we were laughing and brainstorming with each other, we realized that offering service together is also a lot more fun!

We look forward to continuing these collaborative discussions and meeting with even more of you next year at Kopan for CPMT 2025!

The last of the four regional consultations planned in 2024 to pave the way for the CPMT 2025 took place at Tara Institute in Melbourne, on October 26 and 27, with representatives, onsite or online from almost all centers, projects, and services from Australia and New Zealand. We look forward to sharing an update on this meeting very soon. 

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.