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Selina Foong and Candy Tan, Great Stupa of Universal Compassion, Australia, September 2014. Photo by Laura Miller.
Day 6 of the CPMT 2014 meeting began with morning prayers beautifully led by Ven. Gyatso. After breakfast, Sarah Brooks led a morning motivation drawing from the Inner Job Description. At the end of the short reflection, she asked participants to set a goal for how they will benefit beings for the day and write it down so that at the end of the day they can check to see how they’ve done.
Helen Patrin led the morning session on “Keeping the FPMT Wisdom Culture Alive,” the last presentation for the meeting. Helen reminded us that Wisdom Culture is the “foundation of the Foundation of the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition. … The wisdom and compassion that they have taught us over the years is infused into everything that we do.” Vens. Kunphen and Paloma Alba read out the nine key points of FPMT Wisdom Culture.
Robert Schwabe, Vens. Tenzin Tsapel, Tenzin Kunphen and Chantal Carrerot, CPMT 2014, Great Stupa of Universal Compassion, Australia, September 2014. Photo by Laura Miller.
There were three small group discussion periods about Wisdom Culture and supporting one’s respective center, project or service. Here are a few of the ideas shared with the large group about what Wisdom Culture is:
- The “family feeling” – the warm feeling of connection – that you experience at any center or project you visit
- A combination of the traditional teachings and an unconventional style, which gives a strong foundation and the freedom to explore in our local environments
- A rich oral tradition of sharing stories and senior students leading by their good example
- A safe path that is inclusive and open, depth and richness that is a living tradition
- Wisdom Culture is about harmony within ourselves and at centers
Dozens more ideas came from the small groups for supporting Wisdom Culture, including sharing videos of Rinpoche and Lama Yeshe. An example of this could be this video posted by the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive called “Bringing Dharma to the West – Lama Yeshe: How We Started Teaching Westerners”:
Just before lunch, François Lecointre gave an update on the Maitreya Loving Kindness Tour (formerly the Heart Shrine Relic Tour) complete with a photo presentation of the tour visiting different parts of the world. François shared Rinpoche’s advice on the purpose of the relic tour and explained how the tour, which is a collection of many holy relics from Buddhist masters including the Buddha himself, travels to many different kinds of places. In addition to Dharma centers, the relics visit hospices, prisons, museums and so forth. So far the holy relics have visited 68 countries.
Following a brief financial report on the meeting, all presenters from the previous days were invited to the front to recap their session and describe what comes next.
Claire Isitt and Sandra Stubbings going over the agenda on Day 6 of CPMT 2014, Great Stupa of Universal Compassion, Australia, September 18, 2014. Photo by Laura Miller.
“We’ve come from a humble beginning,” Ven. Roger said, referring to Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s initial teachings while penniless monks, to the group of more than 100 sitting inside the Great Stupa. “We’ve achieved a lot and working together we can achieve a lot more.”
After a break for a group photo with Lama Zopa Rinpoche, there was a Lama Chöpa tsog with Rinpoche. Following that, Rinpoche gave the closing talk for the meeting, which focused on practicing bodhichitta. A video recording of Rinpoche’s talk is available on the CPMT Livestream page.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche walking to the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion with Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi and Vens. Roger Kunsang, Sangpo and Sherab, Australia, September 19, 2014. Photo by Laura Miller.
“So if you really are practicing Dharmas, especially the Mahayana teachings … put all the blames to one, that is the ‘I,’” Rinpoche said. “There’s not someone else [to blame]. You are practicing Dharma, so blame the ‘I’, the self-cherishing thought. … Let go of the ‘I’, where all the suffering and obstacles come, let go of that and cherish others. [That is] where all the happiness comes from including enlightenment – all the success”.
After dinner, participants prepared for the next day’s long life puja for Lama Zopa Rinpoche, transforming the meeting space inside the Great Stupa into a proper gompa.
Offerings to the Guru Rinpoche statue in the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion, Australia, September 2014. Photo by Ven. Thubten Kunsang
You can find Mandala‘s coverage of CPMT 2014 on our blog.
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