Due to the coronavirus pandemic, FPMT International Office paused the publication of several stories we had received from FPMT Centers, Projects, and Services in order to focus on sharing the video teachings of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and other stories relevant to the coronavirus pandemic.

Despite the continuation of the COVID-19 crisis, we want to recognize these stories and share them with readers, so we’ve collected them into an abbreviated digest. 

We thank all the FPMT centers, projects, and services for all the amazing work they have been doing and continue to do.

Arnaud Berger and Ven. Elisabeth Drukier, Kalachakra Centre, Paris, France, November 2019. Photo by Laura Haughey.

Kalachakra Centre Celebrated Their Twentieth Anniversary in Paris, France

On November 30, 2019, Centre Kalachakra joyfully celebrated the twentieth anniversary of its founding. Participants enjoyed a slideshow of the center’s history, a video of a teaching by Lama Yeshe, a theatrical performance inspired by the Eight Verses of Mind Training, and a potluck meal. Small group discussions focused on the different ways the center has contributed to community members’ lives. And a very moving meditation on rejoicing concluded the special evening.

Geshe Drakpa Tsundue, the center’s FPMT resident geshe, spoke to the gathering. He remarked that there are many Tibetan Buddhist centers, but few centers provide opportunities for serious study.

Read the article “Kalachakra Centre Celebrated Their Twentieth Anniversary in Paris, France,” which includes the story of how center director Ven. Elisabeth Drukier met the Dharma and the history of Kalachakra center.

Meditation at Centro Shiwa Lha, Brazil, December 2019. Photo by Marcia Rocha.

Teenagers Enjoyed a Visit to Centro Shiwa Lha in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

In December 2019, fifteen teenagers from Morro da Providência, the first favela community in Brazil, spent an afternoon at Centro Shiwa Lha, the FPMT center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, learning more about Buddhism. The event was a community service activity, which is one of FPMT’s Five Pillars of Service.

During the visit, the teenagers listened to center director Ven. Tenzin Namdrol tell the Buddha’s life story and meditated for a few minutes. They also recited together OM MANI PADME HUM twenty-one times. The center offered snacks and drinks to the young visitors in the center’s garden.

Read more in the story “Teenagers Enjoyed a Visit to Centro Shiwa Lha in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.”

Thousand-Arm Chenrezig (Avalokiteshvara) statue, Aryatara Institut, Munich, Germany, December 2019. Photo by Robert Schwabe.

Aryatara Institut Continued Their Christmas Holiday Tradition

Aryatara Institut, the FPMT center in Munich, Germany, observed the Christmas holiday season with two events. The first event, “Chenrezig Christmas Meditation on Love and Compassion,” was held on December 16, 2019. “It was a wonderful hour of meditation in which the meditators focused on the well-being of others with loving and compassionate minds,” the center wrote about the event.

Then December 26–30, the center offered “Christmas Retreat: Debate Between Wisdom and Ignorance.” A group of about twenty participants listened to the center’s resident teacher, Ven. Fedor Stracke, give teachings based on a root text by Panchen Losang Chökyi Gyaltsen. Each day began with meditation and concluding with purifying practices.

Read more about these events in the story “Aryatara Institut Continued Their Christmas Holiday Tradition.”

Providing care at MAITRI, Bodhgaya, Gaya District, Bihar, India, January 2020. Photo by Phil Hunt.

MAITRI Charitable Trust Celebrated World Leprosy Day and India’s Republic Day

MAITRI Charitable Trust, an FPMT project in Bodhgaya, Gaya District, Bihar, India, celebrated World Leprosy Day and India’s Republic Day on January 26, 2020. Adriana Ferranti, MAITRI director, shares the story about the charity’s education and awareness-raising activities with local people.

“Community need highlights the importance of the continuation of MAITRI’s painstaking work in the field, bringing awareness, assistance, and relief to the hansenians (people with leprosy),” Adriana writes.  

Read the entire story “MAITRI Charitable Trust Celebrated World Leprosy Day and India’s Republic Day,” where you can also find a video on MAITRI’s thirty years of service.

Justin clearing rocks using a Kubota Excavator on the US Forest Service access road near Cambria, CA, US, January 2020. Photo by Ven. Namgyal.

Removing Obstacles with Kindness and Generosity at Land of Calm Abiding

Land of Calm Abiding is an FPMT retreat center located on 485 pristine acres in remote central California, US. Director Ven. Namgyal shares a story about two acts of kindness and generosity offered to the center in January 2020. One came when they found a massive rock slide blocking their six-mile long driveway and needed help clearing it. The other came in the form of an “incredible and immensely helpful donation.” 

“To say we were completely taken aback by both these amazing acts would be an understatement. Acts of kindness completely shifted what was a very stressful situation into one that was completely manageable,” wrote Ven. Namgyal. 

Read the complete story “Removing Obstacles with Kindness and Generosity at Land of Calm Abiding.”

De-Tong Ling Retreat Centre Enlightenment Stupa and Prayer Wheel House prior to the brush fires, Kangaroo Island, South Australia, 2019. Photo by De-Tong Ling Retreat Centre.

De-Tong Ling Retreat Centre’s Tradition of Volunteerism

The 2019-2020 Australian bushfires came within one-hundred feet of De-Tong Ling Retreat Centre, the FPMT center on Kangaroo Island, Australia. Retreat center staff share a story about the importance of community bonds and volunteer support in the wake of the bushfires.

“Volunteering at De-Tong Ling has become a wonderful tradition. It continues through a combination of dedication to [Lama Zopa] Rinpoche‘s vast vision, the power of the holy objects themselves, and the center’s remoteness and beauty. It draws people back again and again,” said Will Abrams, who serves as the center’s assistant director and building coordinator.

Read more in the story “De-Tong Ling Retreat Centre’s Tradition of Volunteerism.”

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.