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Resources for the Coronavirus Pandemic
Advice from His Holiness the Dalai Lama | Advice and Video Teachings from Lama Zopa Rinpoche | Advice from Khadro-la| Latest News | FPMT Centers | Free Online Learning Opportunities
Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Kopan Monastery, Nepal, March 2020. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
FPMT International Office has created this page of resources and advice for individuals and centers worldwide in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Please check back as these pages are updated regularly.
Advice from His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Teaching and advice from His Holiness during the pandemic:
- Find LIVE webcasts of His Holiness’s teachings from Dharamsala, India, on DalaiLama.com/live, plus schedule of upcoming teachings, links to translations, and more.
- Find video of His Holiness’s Avalokiteshvara empowerment, given May 29-30, 2020, and Arya Avalokiteshvara Singhanada (Exalted Lion’s Roar Chenrezig) mantras
- His Holiness advises reciting the Tara mantra (OṂ TĀRE TUTTĀRE TURE SVĀHĀ)
- March 30, 2020 advice
Advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Practices for the Coronavirus
Lama Zopa Rinpoche has given advice for practices for the coronavirus pandemic, which includes mantras, prayers, and images he recommends.
Teachings on Thought Transformation during the Time of COVID-19 Video Series
Rinpoche is giving a series of video teachings on thought transformation from Kopan Monastery in Nepal during the coronavirus pandemic. In the these teachings—which are being translated into Chinese, French, Italian, Russian, and Spanish—Rinpoche urges us to use these difficult times to develop our Dharma practice.
Advice from Khadro-la
Lama Zopa Rinpoche shared this advice on practices to do from Rangjung Neljorma Khadro Namsel Drönme (Khadro-la):
- Recite the short Chenrezig (Avalokiteshvara) mantra on the basis of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Avalokiteshvara Guru Yoga
- Perform Nölsang (Incense Ritual by the Great Master Padmasambhava Called “The Divine Blue Water Clearing Away Contamination)
Latest News
Please read the latest news we have published related to the coronavirus.
Taking Refuge Is Not Merely Reciting Words Like a Robot
FPMT Centers
Many FPMT centers have had to close their doors unexpectedly in order to mitigate risk from the coronavirus.
Students can check if your local center is open and make sure you are receiving news from your center, including updates about schedule changes and online teaching opportunities if offered. You can also reach out to see how you may offer assistance and financial support to your center during this challenging time.
In May 2020, the entire International Merit Box Project Fund was made available as grants to help centers who had applied due to their finances being significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus all the US$31,368 collected in the Merit Box Fund, generously donated from students and centers around the world over the past year, has been awarded for financial hardship relief. Fourteen centers applied for hardship support, and all were awarded a grant. For details, visit the International Merit Box Project page.
Free Online Learning Opportunities
Dharma practitioners around the world have been advised to isolate themselves from others as much as possible to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. This can be a challenge to those wishing to study without access to their local centers. We are offering several FPMT Online Learning Center programs to any student or center who would like to use them. (Please note: Students who are new to the Online Learning Center will need to create an account. For details, see “Getting Started Guide.”)
Free programs offered via the FPMT Online Learning Center:
- Discovering Buddhism: Module 11, Transforming Problems
Enrollment key: tonglen33 - Basic Program: Mahayana Mind Training, Wheel of Sharp Weapons
Enrollment key: lojong100 - Living in the Path
We have made this entire program available for free. Find the enrollment keys for the individual modules here. - Living in the Path (Spanish)
This program is also in Spanish and is available for free. Find the enrollment keys for individual modules here. - Discovering Buddhism (French)
All of the modules of Discovering Buddhism in French are available for free and do not require enrollment keys.
Additionally, students are welcome to access complete teachings of Lama Zopa Rinpoche via Rinpoche Available Now. Find video of recent and archive teachings from Nepal, Russia, Singapore, Latvia, France, and many other teaching events.
Also visit the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive for freely available teachings by Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche in a variety of digital formats.
FPMT’s secular arm, the Foundation for Developing Compassion and Wisdom also offers online learning opportunities. See their website (compassionandwisdom.org) for details.