Margo van Greta

Margo van Greta passed away on July 29, 2026. She died soon after receiving a diagnosis of late-stage cancer. 

Originally from the Netherlands, Margo had been involved with the Dharma since 1987. She studied and practiced with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Khadrola, Venerable Robina Courtin, and many other teachers. She was an FPMT Registered Teacher and taught at several FPMT Centers. She started the Togme Sangpo study group in Scotland with the encouragement of Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Margo was passionate about Inner Work, which she considered an essential aspect of the Outer Work we do.. She mentioned in her website “Buddhism is an important influence, especially the Tibetan or Mahayana version. It includes the idea we need to develop our highest and fullest potential, in order to be of service in the best possible way. “

In Margo’s Words: What Matters Most

In her own words, Margo shared on her website these reflections on what mattered most to her:

Gratitude Give thanks for all that you receive. Gratitude opens the gateways. It makes you notice what is actually there, appreciating the small things in life, as well as the big ones!

Rejoice Rejoice when others have or achieve whatever it is you would like for yourself. Actively being happy in other’s achievements or success generates a huge amount of positive energy, and will create the cause for your own success.

Spiritual Practice.  If you have a spiritual practice, nurture it, allow it to transform you. It is the most important aspect of our precious human life. It reduces exhaustion, burn out, depression and lethargy. It gives you joy, courage, compassion and inner strength. It allows you to develop your inner qualities, reduces your obstacles in life, and cultivates wholeness. 

Read more on her website

Margo van Greta and friends

Reflections on a life well lived: Margo van Greta

Paula Chicister, FPMT registered teacher and a close friend of Margo shared this for Jamyang London Buddhist Center:

I first met Margo in October of 2006 when I was invited to the Shambala Dharma Centre in Findhorn, Scotland. Margo was a trustee of the centre and very involved with its development. She worked at the Findhorn Foundation as a faciliator for many of their events and also in a bit of the administration. She was a striking woman, of great size, beauty and lovely choice of comfortable, colorful fashion. She had travelled to Findhorn from her native Amsterdam at least 15 years before I met her. I don’t know exactly when she made her connection with Lama Zopa Rinpoche; the connection was strong and she was obviously a devoted and a deep practitioner.

Margo would go to Osel Ling for a retreat every year. She also led secular retreats for the Findhorn Foundation at their place on the island of Iona. She could easily teach secular dharma or Tibetan Buddhism. When Shambala had to fold in 2010, she took on the role of directing Thogma Sangpo Study Group and thus kept the dharma alive in the Findhorn Community.

She was a really good teacher! After Findhorn Foundation had to downsize its operations due to the financial collapse of the pandemic, Margo was made redundant and her life took on a new chapter. She began to lead The Work that Reconnects Workshops, devised by Joanna Macy. Soon, she became a facilitator to teach other people to lead the workshops. She continued to be part of Findhorn Community and was happy to move into one of their new Eco-Houses. Margo was a real climate warrior, an activist inner and outer through and through. She started as a “squatter” in Amsterdam in her early 20’s, before landing at Findhorm where she lived for 40 years or so.

I had the good fortune of helping her to lead two of the Work that Reconnects and I was very impressed by the level of teaching skills, her care for the course content and her administration skills as well. If there was ever a communication difficulty between us, she quickly tagged it and we discussed our issues and all was well again. To me, that is a sign of an advanced being.

Margo loved the out of doors and I was fortunate to climb a few mountains in Scotland with her. Margo was a lot of fun and eager to participate in most any endeavor that would benefit people or the land, and was especially skilled at growing community.

Findhorn Community will miss her. I am sure. In my mind, she left at age 68 to go to Vajrayogini’s pure land. The last we heard from her was, “I am letting go and going to Lama Zopa.” I think it’s rare for someone dying of cancer in a hospital to need no medication and be in no pain. She was accompanied by her sisters at the time of death and I am sure Lama Zopa Rinpoche was waiting to take her home.”

Please pray that Margo van Greta may never ever be reborn in the lower realms, may he be immediately born in a pure land where she can be enlightened or to receive a perfect human body, meet the Mahayana teachings and meet a perfectly qualified guru and by only pleasing the guru’s mind, achieve enlightenment as quickly as possible. More advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche on death and dying is available, see Death and Dying: Practices and Resources (fpmt.org/death/).

To read more obituaries from the international FPMT mandala, and to find information on submission guidelines, please visit our new Obituaries page (fpmt.org/media/obituaries/).