receive our newsletters
join Friends of FPMT
His Holiness the Dalai Lama with Amitabha Buddhist Centre students, Dharamsala, India, September 2019. Photo courtesy of Amitabha Buddhist Centre.
Amitabha Buddhist Centre (ABC), the FPMT center in Singapore, organized a tour to India from August 31-September 8, 2019. The highlight of the tour was His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s public teachings given at Tsuglagkhang (the main Tibetan temple) in Dharamsala, India, at the request of a group from Asia. His Holiness gave morning teachings from September 4-6 on The Four Noble Truths and their Sixteen Characteristics (denpa shi, mitak sok chudruk), The Thirty-Seven Factors of Enlightenment (jangchok sodun), and Nagarjuna’s Commentary on the Awakening Mind. Approximately 6,500 people—including 2,000 visitors from sixty-nine countries, of which 855 were from thirty-eight Asian groups—attended the teachings. Lobsang Drolkar (Cecilia Tsong), a long-time student, active ABC member, and volunteer shares the story.
Ever since the start of the series of teachings for Asian students in Dharamsala over ten years ago, except for 2018, Amitabha Buddhist Centre has been organizing trips to these teachings in September every year without fail. The center director, Tan Hup Cheng, feels strongly that the center must do what it can to enable newcomers to the Dharma to make this most precious of connections with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. So notwithstanding his crazy busy schedule, Hup Cheng has made it a point to lead these trips himself.
And so it was planned for 2019, until Lama Zopa Rinpoche suddenly decided to arrive in Singapore almost two weeks earlier than the original scheduled date. As a result, Hup Cheng could no longer lead the trip. Fortunately, a senior student, Phuah Soon Ek, who was very experienced in leading such trips, stepped up to the plate.
In 2019, there was a group of thirty-four participants, most of whom have never been to India or met His Holiness before. Our youngest pilgrim was an eleven-year-old boy! As in the past, before the teachings we traveled with some hardship to Tso Pema, the holy lake associated with Guru Rinpoche. Once everyone visited all the holy caves where Guru Rinpoche practiced, all tiredness was forgotten as we did prayers and soaked up the blessings of Guru Rinpoche.
The following day was the visit to our sister center in Dharamsala, Tushita Meditation Centre, where we had the chance to visit Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s private rooms, now further expanded with a new extension. The highlight was the visit to Lama Yeshe’s room—preserved intact with all his belongings—and the opportunity to make prostrations and offerings at his meditation seat, praying that one day, may we become just like him.
The teaching program was most suitable for our group as His Holiness taught the Four Noble Truths and their Sixteen Characteristics, the Thirty-Seven Factors of Enlightenment, and gave a commentary on Nagarjuna’s Commentary on the Awakening Mind—all foundational topics that will stand us in good stead as we embark on our Dharma studies.
In the past few years, participants have also been granted special access to His Holiness’ private gompa, which houses countless holy objects. One of the most precious of these is the body relic of his senior tutor, His Eminence the Sixth Kyabje Ling Rinpoche. By happy coincidence, on the very same day as our gompa visit, in the afternoon, we were privileged to have an audience with the present His Eminence the Seventh Kyabje Ling Rinpoche at Rinpoche’s residence.
So, within the short span of slightly over a week we experienced both the power of the Dharma as expounded by His Holiness, and saw for ourselves the power of Dharma practice in the palpable energy of Guru Rinpoche and meeting the reincarnation of H.E. Ling Rinpoche.
To learn more about Amitabha Buddhist Centre visit their website:
http://www.fpmtabc.org
Watch His Holiness’s September 4-6, 2019, teachings on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/71HAhhcrAQw
https://youtu.be/3tXSS_gzCFk
https://youtu.be/qDavXnPPk9A
FPMT.org and Mandala Publications brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings, and events from over 160 FPMT centers, projects, and services around the globe. If you like what you read, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.