When you train the mind in positive virtue, especially a good heart trying to benefit others, it creates very good communication. There is no Great Wall between yourself and others. It brings so much happiness to you and others, and brings world peace. …

Every sentient being has buddha nature. Even a mosquito can achieve enlightenment and liberation from the oceans of samsaric suffering if it practices Dharma. So especially for us who now have this precious human body, which can do so many things to liberate from any problem or circumstance that gives rise to problems, especially having a perfect human rebirth on top of buddha nature, we are able to achieve all the happiness for all future lives, even for insects, ants, cockroaches, spiders and snakes, even for a mouse. …

Being the director of a center means you have an unbelievable, unbelievable, unbelievable opportunity to help yourself and others, to purify unbelievable negative karma that has been created since beginningless lifetimes, especially if this is the Guru’s advice or what you are doing makes the Guru very happy; then every second of that action as a director has incredible purification—the most powerful purification – especially if the work is more difficult and hard to bear. When there are more problems and difficulties, you should recognize all the most unbelievable, unbelievable, unbelievable benefit you receive: more powerful purification and collecting extensive merits to rapidly attain enlightenment. For example, Milarepa achieved enlightenment in the quickest time. Because of his enlightened Guru, Marpa’s most wise skills, he purified in the quickest way all the negative karma collected from beginningless rebirths, of killing humans and animals; then collected extensive merit that would take three countless great eons in the Sutra Paramita path, enabling Milarepa to become enlightened in a brief lifetime of degenerative time.

Now you should realize that Director means that you are going to be the principal person to receive blame, criticism and various things that cause the negative emotions to rise. It makes them very active, even violent sometimes, and it is possible even friends might become enemies because of having different views and the discipline you have to make. You can avert such things if you don’t want them by various practices, starting with kindness. Maybe here the motivation could be selfish, doing the practice so you can be happy, not thinking about others; doing this practice so others can be happy is not selfish.

Especially towards those who are angry or disrespectful, criticizing the director, practice compassion and loving kindness. Also practice patience, and rejoicing always in virtuous and meaningful things, those that result in good karma, which happened and are happening to yourself and other people. 

It is important to be clear about right and wrong patience and contentment. Bearing whatever hardships necessary in order to harm holy beings, other sentient beings, your enemy etc., also bearing much hardship for negative karma, is wrong patience.

There are three types of patience:

1. Patience of voluntarily taking on suffering or difficulties
2. Patience towards an enemy who is harming you or you don’t like
3. Patience of definitely thinking of Dharma, e.g. studying philosophy no matter how hard it is to understand; maintaining practice for realizations no matter how long it takes or difficult it is. …

Virtuous actions and virtuous thoughts need to be developed until enlightenment is achieved. Always continuously develop completing the great works, as much as one can, like collecting merit, the cause of happiness, developing realizations, to achieve liberation and enlightenment. One should never be content regarding developing positive actions, virtue, which lead to one’s own and others’ ultimate happiness, enlightenment; always strive to do more.

Apologize immediately if one did some mistake, harmed others, was disrespectful or said hurtful words. Forgive immediately if somebody gets angry, is disrespectful to you or harms you. Develop courage by thinking of the benefit to others, serving others. This is the best offering to the buddhas and bodhisattvas. Not courage in collecting negative karma, harming oneself and others, but develop courage in virtue, good qualities, that which is Dharma. Otherwise sometimes people have funny definitions of good qualities, what you should be or do—HA HA HA!

Yes, of course thinking of benefiting others, serving others from the heart —WOW!  Can you imagine? Like a mother cherishes her most beloved child, wishing happiness, especially ultimate happiness of enlightenment, as mentioned in Guru Puja, Lama Chopa.

If these things are done, trying to practice is the best offering, fulfilling all the buddhas’ and bodhisattvas’ holy wishes – WOW!

So please enjoy numberless billions trillions and zillions.

Excerpted from Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s letter to a new FPMT center director, 2009. 

• While the embalming of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s holy body is underway, a ritual for making offerings to and purifying the remains of the holy body is being done daily until the process is completed. Six lama gyupas are responsible for the embalming and its related rituals. Lama Ngawang Chokyung from Thupten Choling Monastery is overseeing the embalming process, which is expected to continue for another 18 months, and possibly longer.

  The daily ritual that takes place in Rinpoche’s room at Kopan Monastery, from 5:30am–7:30am, is performed on the basis of a Yamāntaka self-generation and the ritual text The Precious Lamp: A Ritual of Making Offerings to and Purifying the Remains of a Special Being [Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche] based on Bhagavān Vajrasattva. An extensive seven-limb prayer is offered from the Lama Chopa, with an abbreviated self-initiation practice, followed by Vajrasattva Tsog Offering. Swift return prayers for Lama Zopa Rinpoche and the Chanting the Names of Manjushri are also recited. Preliminary prayers—Calling the Guru from Afar, Eight Verses of Thought Transformation, and Ganden Lhagyama with The Foundation of All Good Qualities—are recited prior to the Yamāntaka self-generation. Those with the appropriate qualifications are welcome to join the daily puja.

• 2024 began with a powerful prayer session was held in Bodhgaya, India, under the Bodhi tree on New Year’s Eve for the swift return of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Incredibly, 2,500 ordained Sangha participated including Ganden Tri Rinpoche, His Eminence Ling Rinpoche, His Eminence Serkong Tsenshab Rinpoche, Kundeling Rinpoche, Osel Dorje Rinpoche, Lelung Tulku, Woser Rinpoche from Sera Mey Monastery, Sera Je Abbot Khenrinpoche Geshe Tashi Tsethar, Tashi Lhunpo Abbot Khenrinpoche Zeekgyab Tulku, Segyud Abbot Khenrinpoche Geshe Lobsang Wangdu, Namgyal Abbot Khenrinpoche Thamthog Rinpoche, and Drepung Loseling Abbot Khenrinpoche Lobsang Samten. Ven. Roger Kunsang arranged offerings to all the 2,500 Sangha. 

• FPMT centers and individual students took the opportunity during Losar and the Fifteen Days of Miracles (February 10-24, 2024), as well as the other holy Buddha days, when merit was multiplied by 100 million to engage in organized prayer for Rinpoche’s swift return. 

Altar for Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s swift return in Bodhgaya, December 31, 2023. Photo by Ven. Tenzin Michael.

• April 13, 2024 marked the one-year anniversary of Lama Zopa Rinpoche showing the aspect of passing away. At Kopan Monastery, around one thousand participants including high lamas, students, and friends engaged in practice in proximity to Rinpoche’s holy body including His Eminence the 104th Ganden Tripa; Khandro Tseringma Rinpoche; Mingyur Ripoche; Tsoknyi Ripoche; Abbots from Sera Je, Sera Mey, and Segyud Monasteries; Kusho Tengye; Khenrinpoche Geshe Chonyi; Yangsi Rinpoche; Namgyal Rinpoche; Kopan Geshes, Lama Gyupas, and many other monks and nuns; as well as Western students, some members of the FPMT Inc. Board of Directors, representatives from FPMT International Office, and many other local and international friends.  At Lawudo Retreat Centre, a two-day puja was offered by Thame Rinpoche, Kyarok Lama, and Charok Tenzin Tinley Rinpoche, and other monks and ngakpas. FPMT centers, monasteries, and various communities around the world hosted events of pujas and prayers, honoring Rinpoche’s incredibly beneficial life and praying for his swift return. The main practice offered was Heruka Lama Chopa with Tsog Offering.
• Following the commemoration activities at Kopan Monastery honoring the one-year anniversary of Lama Zopa Rinpoche showing the aspect of passing away, a Heart Sutra Retreat was held from April 15-20, 2024 with commentary by His Eminence the 104th Ganden Tripa, meditations led by Ven. Steve Carlier, and evening sessions with short extracted videos of Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaching a topic related to emptiness. After the retreat, a group of 38 students from around the world participated in a special Lawudo Anniversary Pilgrimage from April 24-May 8, 2024 to visit and make heartfelt prayers for Rinpoche’s swift return at the holy places of the Lawudo Lamas.
• On December 3 we observed the birth date of Lama Zopa Rinpoche. For the ninth year in a row, a very large thangka of Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) was displayed and an auspicious 100,000 tsog offering event (Guru Bumtsog) took place at Khachoe Ghakyil Ling (Kopan Nunnery). This year, in addition to last year and every year going forward, this event occurred on this date in honor of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s birthday, to commemorate Rinpoche’s life and fulfill Rinpoche’s wishes, dedicated to Rinpoche’s swift return.
• On December 28, 2024, and January 4, 2025, Khenrinpoche Geshe Thubten Chonyi, Rigsel Rinpoche, along with the Kopan geshes, geshemas, monks, nuns, and students, gathered at the holy Boudhanath Stupa and Swayambhu Stupa, Nepal, to recite Chanting the Names of Manjushri, the King of Prayers, Calling the Guru from Afar, and other prayers for the swift return of Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
• In 2023 IMI initiated a continual recitation of Chanting the Names of Manjushri the quick return of Rinpoche—an activity where all students of Rinpoche worldwide can participate. This continued in 2024.
• Additionally, continual prayers and events were organized throughout the year in FPMT centers around the world.

It is incredibly important to continue offering the prayers advised by His Holiness the Dalai Lama for Rinpoche’s swift return at this time. All are welcome to please utilize the resources available to you, in order to sincerely pray for Rinpoche’s return. Additionally, the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive also offers Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s own commentary and oral transmission of Chanting the Names of Noble Manjushri which is available to all.

• By creating a life size statue of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche, that will be used as a basis to create smaller statues. The artwork for the main statue is ongoing. We hope these statues will be in all FPMT centers around the world.
• By creating the statue that will encase the precious kudung (holy body relic) of Lama Zopa Rinpoche after the embalming process is completed.
• By sponsoring pujas and prayers as advised for the swift return of Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
• By providing all the support needed for the care and education of the future incarnation.

Dear Friends,

Another year has passed and some of us are still here—older and closer to our end, and another beginning!

I now spend most of my time in Kopan but still travel a little. I arrived here more than 50 years ago. A great deal has changed since then. Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche created a worldwide Dharma revolution, responding to a need of so many people from all over the world.

What would it have been like if we didn’t meet the Dharma? What would it be like if we had not met Lama and Rinpoche? I really can’t imagine—can you? So much has been created out of devotion to the lamas and the Dharma, so much benefit to so many people.

In recent times Rinpoche often mentioned how he felt the FPMT community around the world was more compassionate. Lama Yeshe called it the “family feeling”. Maybe they meant something similar? Think about it for a little while … So many people are more kind, compassionate, and wise. So many animals and insects have been blessed and saved with a chance of a better rebirth. It is very difficult to understand what a difference we all have made together.

Now Rinpoche and Lama are no longer with us in the ordinary sense, but their wisdom and compassion is. Our way of repaying their kindness is to continue their work and practice what they taught us. This is so essential that we do this. It makes a difference and we are organized! Rinpoche always would say our (the FPMT organization’s) number one purpose is to serve His Holiness the Dalai Lama to help create a more compassionate world. This is what we do, this is our purpose.

In the past year we have been following up on Rinpoche’s projects and commitments.

Lama Yeshe gave Rinpoche one particular commitment—to do the retreat of Most Secret Hayagriva each year for the FPMT organization. This is to remove obstacles and for success. In order to continue this commitment, we are organizing a group retreat each year. First, Nalanda is going to host later in 2025, and then it will be held in Kopan each year in the retreat gompa under Rinpoche’s Stupa of Complete Victory (the base of the stupa is a retreat gompa for up to 160 people).

At Kopan Nunnery each year on Rinpoche’s birthday, December 3, we host the Guru Rinpoche 100,000 tsog offering event (Guru Bumtsog) for removal of obstacles and creating merit. This is offered in front of the huge (75 feet high and 87 feet wide) amazing thangka of Guru Rinpoche that Rinpoche had made.

Rinpoche had in mind the Guru Rinpoche Pure Land Project (Zangdok Palri) in Lawudo for many years. In 2015, in the Lawudo dining room, Rinpoche decided to have the Zangdok Palri next to the Lawudo gompa. Rinpoche discussed this with a number of lamas in the past years and visited ones already built. There is one close to Kopan and Rinpoche visited one in Tso Pema, India, as well as others, particularly to look at the art and also visited one elderly lama in Parping where he had built one. Rinpoche’s sister Ani Ngawang Samten is keen to start and would like to see it finished before she passes away. We plan to start this in March of 2025, not easy to accomplish a project like this in such a high remote place like Lawudo.

About two weeks before Rinpoche showed the aspect of passing away, and before going up to Tsum Valley, Rinpoche began writing every evening, late night, for a few hours. These writings were left not quite finished but are the basis of a book on the benefits and practices related to reciting OM MANI PADME HUM other things. We have been trying to put this together, there are a lot of handwritten notes—quite a puzzle as all are in Tibetan!

When Rinpoche met with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala in March 2023, Rinpoche consulted His Holiness on a Chenrezig practice and MANI mantra recitation. His Holiness gave advice for the practice and a visualization. We hope soon this practice will be available—first in Tibetan and then in English. Rinpoche was very keen to promote the practice of MANI all over the world.

This is just to mention some of Rinpoche’s many inspiring projects to benefit sentient beings. At International Office we are trying our best to make these projects happen. We have a very good team, so it is only a matter of time. Of course we need help. That will come from the kindness of others.

See the below sections regarding what the IOF has been doing this last year. It is very inspiring!

The FPMT Board has been doing well in its challenging role guiding the organization, meeting sometimes 4-5 times a month in an effort to keep up with all that is going on in the FPMT organization. Soon we will have our CPMT meeting to look at our future together.

I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for being so kind and generous in so many ways. This makes it possible to continue to fulfill Rinpoche’s and Lama’s holy wishes to benefit everyone through the precious Dharma.

Thank you,
roger

Ngari institute Buddhist Dialectics, Ladakh, India.

The Social Services Fund offered support to seven schools in Nepal and India and India that benefited over 1,500 students!  We offered grants to these educational institutes in India and Nepal:

• Maitreya School, Bodhgaya, India, a project of Root Institute that provides free schooling for 277 individuals, with 55 new students joining in 2024. The highlights of the year were a pilgrimage to Vultures Peak and meditation class for those in Year 8, but many smaller children also chose to join in. 
   
  
  

  Shree Sangag Dhechholing Gonpa School, Taplejung, Nepal.

• Ngari Institute, Ladakh, India, provides care and education for 73 students, with seven new students enrolling in 2024. The Institute is a hostel and the students live there year-round. 
   
• Sangag Dechholing Gonpa School, Taplejung, Nepal, offers a free education to the 171 students that includes classes on Buddhist study. The school has four buildings and 18 classrooms, a large stupa, prayer wheel, and a large playground. The school committed to ensure that students not only excel academically but also grow into responsible and compassionate citizens.
   
• Sagarmatha Secondary School, Chailsa, Nepal, offers the 275 students a free education, with classes on Buddhism. 
   

Sagarmatha Secondary School, Chailsa, Nepal.

• Rolwaling Sangag Choling Monastery School, Rowaling, is situated in a remote region of east-central Nepal along the Tibet border. Due to the very harsh winters, a winter hostel and school building have been created in order to run the classes during the winter season, in Lamabagar, which is located at the lower end of the Rolwaling valley. Eight new students joined the school in 2024.
   
• Gaden Jangtse Monastic College, Mundgod, India, primarily focuses on providing a secular education to monks of school age who are ordained and studying at Gaden Jangtse Monastery. Currently there are 570 students and 15 teachers. 
   
• Sambhota Tibetan School, Bylakuppe, India, is in the Tibetan Dickey Larsoe Settlement in Karnataka. Established in 1971, currently, it runs classes from grade one to ten (125 students), with Tibetan as the medium of instruction at the primary level and English from grade six onwards.

For more details on how the various grants for schools were utilized, please read our extensive report. 

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Lugsam Samduling Home for the Aged and Disabled, Bylakuppe, India.

The Social Services Fund offered support to hundreds of Tibetans living in seven homes for the elderly in India. We offered grants to each of these elder homes in India:

• Jampaling Elders’ Home, Dharamsala, India, provides food, shelter, and medical services to 96 residents. The grant covered operational expenses, food, medical assistance and drilling for a new well. Ven. Roger Kunsang also visited the home in 2024, spending time with all the residents, including meeting the eldest resident, who is 99 years old.
   
  
  

  Doegueling Old Age Home, Mundgod, India.

• Lugsam Samduling Home for the Aged and Disabled, Bylakuppe, India, looks after 39 residents, living in extremely modest conditions. To enhance the quality of life for the residents, the home has implemented various initiatives such as students performing traditional Tibetan cultural dances at the facility, introductory talks on Buddhism, and geshes from Sera Je Monastery came to the home to recite Buddhist scriptures. Recently, the staff participated in a crucial medical education workshop focusing on heart attacks, strokes, cardiac arrests, and choking incidents.
   
• Rabgayling Old Age Home, Hunsur, India, is a humble eldercare home that serves 15 residents. In 2024, a few residents in the home faced several medical emergencies. The residents and staff of this home expressed their deepest gratitude for the care provided by Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche and the FPMT family and the elders hold prayers every day for the swift return of Rinpoche.
   
• Dhondenling Old People Home, Kollegal, India, accommodates 21 Tibetans residents. 
   
• Old Age Home, Kalimpong, India, is home to 20 elders. 
   
• Odisha Phuntsokling Settlement Old People’s Home, Odisha, India, is an elderly home that cares for 17 elders, all over the age of 85. 
   
  
  

  Paonta Cholsum Tibetan Settlement, hosting their elders picnic. Bhuppur Paonta Sahib, India.

• Dhonden Old People’s Home, Bir, India, accommodates 23 elders, who are above the age of 60. The home was built last year, which we helped fund. 
   
• Paonta Cholsum Tibetan Settlement, Bhuppur Paonta Sahib, India was offered a grant for their annual picnic and outing for 55 elders in nearby Dehra Dun, Uttarakhand. 
   
• Puruwala Tibetan Settlement Office, Paonta Sahib, India. The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) plays a crucial role in overseeing and supporting the ongoing efforts to assist destitute families. The CTA identified a family of four who are experiencing financial difficulties and are unable to repair their one-room house.

For more details on how the various grants for the elderly were utilized, please read our extensive report. 

Residents of Jampaling Elders Home, Dharamsala, India, during Ven. Roger Kunsang’s visit in May 2024.

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Tibetan Heart Foundation, New Delhi, India.

The Social Services Fund offered substantial support for the health and essential services to those disadvantaged in Mongolia, Nepal, and India. We offered grants to eight different organizations that are working directly with those most in need. In addition, a grant was offered to those impacted by the devastating flood in Thame, Nepal. The beneficial organizations we supported include:

• Shakyamuni Clinic, Bodhgaya, India, is a project of Root Institute and offers a free medical clinic for those in need in Bodhgaya. The clinic served 33,846 patients in 2024, and visited five villages, five days a week to offer care directly to those unable to travel. 
   
• MAITRI Charitable Trust, Bodhgaya, India, helps the sick, especially those with leprosy and tuberculosis by offering mobile clinics, as well as care to mothers and children, and animals in need. The grant covered a significant portion of Maitri’s annual budget and was utilized for mother and childcare and TB care. Regarding TB care, there was detection and management of 475 new cases. Mother and childcare help was given for the delivery of 215 healthy babies including twins, the antitetanus vaccination was given to 19 pre-natal women, and 27 tubectomies for women who already had three babies. Support was given to 488 children, on the campus and through the mobile clinics, and support was given to girls by proving personal hygiene products and milk powder.
   
• Lamp of the Path, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, a project of FPMT Mongolia, offers a soup kitchen with free food, free medical support, and educational programs centering around the epidemic of alcoholism. In 2024 the soup kitchen offered 7,245 meals, the Mobile Food Delivery offered 6,084 meals, 273 disadvantaged families received second-hand clothing, there were 16 AA Outreach Sessions, and 1,000 kilograms of vegetables were harvested from the garden that supported the soup kitchen. 
   
• The Integrated Indigenous Tribal Children Ministries of India is dedicated to supporting homeless and orphaned children from indigenous and tribal communities. Their mission is to provide a safe, nurturing environment with access to necessities, education, and healthcare, focusing on creating stable living conditions for children who have lost their families. In 2019 they began the construction of shelter for these vulnerable children. A grant was given for the building of the shelter, according to the wish of Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Significant progress has been made with the building, with all necessary materials, including doors and windows purchased, and completion of the electrical installation, painting, and fence work.
   

Services provided by the Tibetan Heart Foundation, New Delhi, India.

• Patient Care Trust facilitates access to quality healthcare and organizes free medical camps with partner hospitals. This project addresses critical medical emergencies by referring patients to top hospitals and providing timely access to affordable quality healthcare for the socially marginalized Tibetan Refugees. 
   
• Tibetan Heart Foundation, New Delhi, India, supports the local Tibetan community by delivering comprehensive healthcare services to Tibetan settlements across India by arranging free medical camps that offer a variety of medical services, including 2D Echos, ECGs, bone mineral density tests, mammography screenings, and pap smear tests. Additionally, the foundation distributes general medicines and focuses on educating communities about heart health and the importance of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). They distribute CPR dummies to schools for training and conduct emergency medical training tours. 
   
• Rewa Youth Center, Dehradun, India, is a dedicated initiative aimed at supporting Tibetan young men struggling with substance abuse. This includes one-on-one counseling, virtual therapy sessions, and enhanced staff training to better address addiction and mental health issues. Another notable achievement was the introduction of a food truck initiative, providing employment opportunities for those who have completed their treatment programs. Additionally, the center organized outdoor activities and weekly sessions on Buddhist teachings to support spiritual growth. Overall, Rewa has successfully helped 55 people recover from addiction, achieving a 70% success rate. 
   
  
  

  An audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama during Patient Care Trust’s camp for the top 21 doctors and administrators from three major supporting institutions of PCT since 2012 including AIIMS-Delhi, Safdarjung, and NITRD-Delhi, and the PCT Director.

• Karuna Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal. There was an urgent need for a cath lab—a specialized medical facility where minimally invasive procedures are performed using catheters, flexible tubes that enable the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular conditions without requiring major surgery. This vital equipment significantly improves outcomes for patients with heart conditions, providing life-saving care while reducing recovery times. Lama Zopa Rinpoche was deeply moved when he met Dr. Ram and witnessed his unwavering dedication to securing a cath lab for Nepal. Recognizing the critical need for this facility, Rinpoche committed to raising US$300,000 for the machine. In 2024, we fulfilled Rinpoche’s commitment—the cath lab was successfully purchased, and the construction of the specialized room at Karuna Hospital, where it will be housed, is now nearly complete.
   
• The Thame Support Fund was established in response to the devastating crisis that struck Thame, Nepal, on August 16, 2024, when a glacial lake burst, triggering a massive flood. The disaster destroyed homes, community property, and everything the villagers owned. The impact was immediate and severe – many homes crumbled under the torrent’s force, while the village’s elementary school and clinic were swept away. Thame holds a special place for FPMT as the birthplace of Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Seeing the heartbreaking destruction, we immediately launched a fundraising effort to support to the villagers at this critical time and all the funds raised have been distributed to 55 families.

For more details on how the various grants for healthcare and essential services were utilized, please read our extensive report.

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The first Monlam held at Nalanda Monastery, France, February 2024. Photo by Ven. Sonam Sherpa.

The Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund (SOSF) offers support to nunneries and monasteries around the world. Grants were offered to support the precious Sangha with food, accommodation, education, practice support, and medical expenses.

In addition, the Lama Tsong Khapa Teachers Fund supports a variety of projects aimed at preserving and spreading the teachings and traditions of Lama Tsongkhapa and the Gelug lineage. Grants were given to support teachers, scholars, and institutions. We offered support to the following:

• Gyudmed Tantric Monastery, Hunsur, India, is home to approximately 575 monks. To support their rigorous study schedule, Lama Zopa Rinpoche envisioned a US$2.1 million Food Fund to provide a stable and sustainable source of funding for nourishing meals. This initiative aims to establish an endowment fund, where the interest generated will cover the annual cost of daily meals for all monks.
   
• Thame Dechen Chokhorling Monastery, Thame, Nepal is a small Nyingma Monastery perched upon a rock, nearly four thousand meters above sea level in the region of Solu Khumbu, Nepal. As the oldest monastery in Solu Khumbu, it holds deep historical and spiritual significance.
   
• Idgaa Choizinling Monastery, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Since 2015, the SOSF has been providing funds for sustaining the dietary needs of the monastery’s 32 monks by covering the costs of lunch and dinner.
   
• Tashi Chime Gatsal Gumba Nunnery, Bigu Nepal, is a small Drikung Kagyu Nunnery. Fourteen years ago, Lama Zopa Rinpoche personally established an arrangement for FPMT to support the nunnery in exchange for dedicated prayers during 100 Million Mani retreats—held once or twice a year, each lasting three months—for the benefit of the FPMT organization. Since then, the nuns have completed an incredible 24 separate 100 Million Mani retreats, amounting in 2.4 billion recitations of OM MANI PADME HUM for the benefit of all beings.
   
• Lhungtok Choekhorling Monastery, Pomaia, Italy. This future monastery will be built on a rock just like the monasteries of Tibet and the project envisages ecological architecture in harmony with the surrounding area. The monastery aims to provide hospitality to about one hundred monks and nuns. 
   
• Nalanda Monastery, Lavaur France, hosted the first historic Geluk Monlam in the West in February 2024. Known as the Great Prayer Festival it is regarded as one the “four great activities” of Lama Tsongkhapa’s life. Six geshes, the chant master, forty-four sangha and about sixty lay people participated in the Monlam, chanting profound prayers. Venerable Roger Kunsang attended the Monlam and on behalf of FPMT and made offerings to the Sangha community on this auspicious occasion.
   
• Machig Labdron, Bendigo, Australia, is a new nunnery located north of the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion, in Bendigo. After a lengthy planning stage, the building of the nunnery is now underway. Two single story buildings are planned for the site. 
   
• The Department of Religion and Culture of the Central Tibetan Administration launched an important project to assess the challenges and opportunities in strengthening monastic institutions. As part of this initiative, surveys were conducted with 20,000 monks and nuns across 80 major monasteries and nunneries—18 in India and 62 in Nepal. From the survey findings, key challenges faced by monastic institutions were identified and categorized, leading to the development of practical solutions to address them. The project also explored opportunities for advancing the monastic education system.
  
  

  Monks of the Drati Khagtsen at Sera Je Monastery, Bylakuppe, India.

• Drati Khagtsen, Sera Je, Bylakuppe, India, is the Khangtsen to which Lama Zopa Rinpoche belonged. We provided a small grant to offer each of the 360 monks a set of high-quality bedsheets, pillow covers, and towels. 
   
• Kopan House, Sera Je, Bylakuppe, India, is where the monks from Kopan Monastery stay during their studies at Sera Je. Currently, 60 monks reside there. The previous assembly hall was leaking and in need of extensive repairs, while the kitchen and dining hall were too small to accommodate all 60 monks. 
   
• One of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s wishes was to offer a set of robes to each of the resident and touring teachers who offer service in FPMT, including all the geshes, as a token of thanks for their kind service within the organization. 
   
• From the Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund, grants were given for the monthly offering to 139 of the main teachers of the Lama Tsongkhapa tradition. The fund also covered food and travel expenses for the 594 monks from eight monasteries who undertook the annual Geluk exam. A grant was given for the annual Winter Debate, a prestigious event that attracts the brightest scholars from the eight major Geluk monasteries, the fund covered the travel expenses and food for 600 monks from Sera Je Monastery who attend. A full set of robes was also offered to 119 monks who have successfully memorized special texts.

For details about the various grants offered to Sangha, or in support of the teachers of the Lama Tsongkhapa tradition, please read our extensive reports.

In addition, we administered three grants, from funds that had been previously raised, to support: 

• A Research and Training Project for specialist geshes and geshemas. This initiative aims to deepen expertise in Buddhist studies within monastic communities. Each researcher engages in a three-year intensive study that culminates in a thesis evaluated by an expert committee.
   
• A Research and Training Project with the participation of 35 research scholars: five geshes each from the monasteries of Sera, Drepung, and Gaden branches; along with five geshemas from various nunneries.
   
• Men-Tsee-Khang in their research on Nyepa-sum (the Three Principal Energies). Significant progress was made in Tibetan medical research, particularly in addressing various disorders and the practical application of traditional treatments. The research team also participated in a Tibetan medical conference in Dharamsala, where they discussed cancer, benign tumors, and neurological disorders.

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The monks of Gyudmed Tantric College offering puja.

The power of prayer and practice is extremely powerful in actualizing the path, overcoming obstacles, healing, and creating merit. Grants were offered toward supporting practitioners undertaking practices, as well as retreat centers that support the practitioners, arranging practices for those who have passed away, and for the practice of the writing out of the Prajnaparamita Sutra.

The Puja Fund sponsors continual prayers for all within the FPMT organization. Offerings were made to the Sangha, monasteries, and nunneries who undertook these practices for the success of the organization, for the swift return of our incomparably kind Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche, and for the benefit of all beings.

Highlights of the many auspicious actions sponsored include:

• Ongoing pujas and prayers by ten thousand Sangha on the four merit multiplying Buddha days, as well two different recitations of the 100,000 Praises to the Twenty-one Taras, recitations of the Kangyur, and four recitations of the Prajnaparamita sutras.
   
• Monthly offering of Most Secret Hayagriva Extensive Tsog, and many other practices.
   
• Monthly offerings were made to some of the most precious holy objects in India and Nepal, including robes to the Buddha statue in Bodhgaya, India; and fresh paint and umbrellas to the Swayambhunath and Boudhanath stupas in Nepal.
    
• All the activities associated with displaying the 75-Foot Guru Rinpoche thangka at Khachoe Ghakyil Ling Nunnery in Nepal on Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s birthday.
   
• Continual light and extensive water and light offerings with extensive prayers, around the world. Including in front of the stupa that holds the holy body of Chobgye Trichen Rinpoche in Chailsa, Nepal.
   
• Specific pujas and monthly recitations of precious sutras, such as the Sutra of Golden Light and Guhyasamaja Root Tantra for the protection of the world and disasters caused by the elements.
   
• Offerings for prayers and practices for those who have passed away from the Prayers for the Dead Fund.
   
• The Prajnaparamita Project now has two people writing the Prajnaparamita Sutra (8,000 and 12,000 verses) in Tibetan script, with perfect calligraphy in pure gold. Each person is working on a different volume. In addition, another person has begun writing out the Amitayus Long Life Sutra in gold calligraphy.
   
• Sponsorship of individuals at Institut Vajra Yogini, France, undertaking an incredible seven-month retreat of 108 nyung nas, now in its thirteenth consecutive year. 
   
• Vital infrastructure at the retreat land of Buddha Amitabha Pure land, WA such as electricity, road and wells.

To read more details on  the grants offered through the Practice and Retreat Fund, please read the latest news on this project page to see details on the various support offered, and prayers and pujas sponsored. 

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New shine room and staircase for the large Buddha Statue in Dalhousie, India.

Due to the power of the holy objects, one can purify negativity and create merit simply by making contact with them. The Holy Objects Fund, Stupa Fund, Prayer Wheel Fund, Offering Buddha Statues to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and Stupa of Complete Victory, among others, provide the support needed to create holy objects around the world. We offered grants to many holy objects, including:

• 

  Progress on the Stupa of Complete Victory of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Kopan Monastery, Nepal.

  The Stupa of Complete Victory at Kopan Monastery, dedicated for the swift return of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche will be 42-foot high (13 meters). The stupa has reached the vase level. Under the stupa there will be a gompa, as well as two meditation rooms. There will be 32 smaller stupas around the main stupa. The throne of the stupa has recently been filled with huge treasure vases and texts.
   
• A beautiful gold gilded Enlightenment Stupa was offered to Khachoe Ghakyil Ling Nunnery, this stupa will contain a precious relic from Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche. The stupa will be in the main gompa, on the altar at the nunnery.
   
• Two Buddha statues offered to rural areas of Nepal. Each statue was made of copper and gold plated and is 3.2 feet in size (1 meter). 
   
• A shine room and staircase for the large Buddha Statue in Dalhousie, India. The community had recently raised funds to build the statue, but due to a shortage of funds, the construction of the shrine room and staircase was put on hold. The grant we offered enabled the community to complete these essential parts of the project, so that the Buddha statue could be completed.
  
  

  Some of the statues that were offered to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

   
• A prayer wheel in Tahiti that will turn above the ocean, to benefit the beings in the ocean, and particularly the nagas. The prayer wheel will be filled with millions of mantras, and will touch the water through its axis, offering benefit to all sentient beings.
   
• Tsa tsas are made daily for those who are sick or have passed away. For twenty-five years this was done at Kachoe Dechen Ling, CA, but this year Nalanda Monastery has taken on this important commitment. Each day the three long life deities, Medicine Buddha, Mitukpa, and stupa tsa tsas are made with strong prayers for those in need. A grant was given for the material for the tsa tsas and a small offering was made to the Sangha undertaking the practices.
   
• We continue to create Shakyamuni Buddha statues that will be offered to His Holiness the Dalai Lama each year. These beautiful statues are gilded in gold, filled with mantras, faces painted, and consecrated.

For more details on the various offerings made to holy objects this year, please read our extensive report. 
 

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His Holiness the Dalai Lama during a long life puja in Switzerland, August 2024. Photo by Manuel Bauer, courtesy of the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Supporting our lamas in any way possible is a high priority for FPMT. The majority of this offered this year were through the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund, according to instructions that Rinpoche left—an example of Rinpoche’s perfect bodhichitta, always being present and creating merit continuously for the organization. Grants were also offered through His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Long Life Puja Fund; and the Unmistaken Incarnation Fund, that will take care of the future incarnation of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche and is currently sponsoring pujas and statues for the swift return of our precious spiritual guide. Some highlights of the utilization of these funds include:

• Substantial offerings to all of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s thirteen gurus, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and the incarnations of fourteen of Rinpoche’s gurus, including Tenzin Osel Hita. 
   
• Gyudmed Monastery School and Gyudmed Health Clinic.
   
• Shree Senge Dag Nge Don Dechen Gonpa for their retreat center. This is a small Drikung Kagyu retreat center in Nepal and is connected to one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s gurus.
   
• Sed Gyued Institute of Buddhist Studies for a new elevator for His Holiness the Dalai Lama and elder lamas who need help going up the steps.
   
• Gyudmed Tantric Monastery toward the food fund endowment.
   
• A shelter specifically designed to accommodate homeless children by the Integrated Indigenous Tribal Children Ministries of India.
   
• Covering a portion of the cost of all the electricity for the year at Kopan Monastery and Kopan Nunnery.
   
• Offerings toward the Dharma education of several young incarnate lamas who are studying in the great monasteries in India.
   
• Through His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Long Life Puja Fund, an offering on behalf of FPMT for His Holiness’s long life puja offered in Switzerland.
   
• Through the Unmistaken Incarnation Fund, grants were made for the creation of a statue of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche, that will be the basis for statues at centers.

For more details on these various grants offered in support of our lamas’  wishes, please read the latest news of this project.

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Indo-Tibetan Studies Translation Group, Visva Bharati, West Bengal, India, March 2024.

The Education and Preservation Fund supports Dharma study and contributes to the development of Buddhist education programs and the preservation of the Dharma through the publication of Dharma practice materials and translations. Grants were offered to support educational activities. Some highlights include:

• The translation of the Arya-prajnaparamita-vajrapani-mahayana-sutra, Arya-prajnaparamita-vajraketu-mahayana-sutra, and Prajnashataka by Nagarjuna from Tibetan to Bengali Language.
   
• Bengali and English translations of Prajnadanda, Jnanasarasamuccaya, and Dharmadharmatavibhanga.
   
• Sinhalese translation of the Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand.
   
  
• French and English translation of Gyaltsabje’s Ornament of Essence, a commentary on Abhisamayalamkara.
   
• English translations of Ngulchu Dharmabhadra’s Ocean of Merit: Instructional Notes on Maṇḍala [Offering] and The Dhāraṇī That Is Perfectly Victorious over the Bondage of Body, Speech, and Mind.
   
  
• English translation of Chittamani Tara long sadhana and the extensive four mandala offering ritual.<
   
• Development of Buddhist Mind Science: Activating Your Potential, a new introductory course being offered by FPMT Education Services.
   
• Scholarships for FPMT Masters Program participants and teacher assistants at Instituto Lama Tsong Khapa and Nalanda Monastery.
    

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Resident goats at the Animal Sanctuary in Lavaur, France that Lama Zopa Rinpoche visited and donated money to through Animal Liberation Fund, December 2024.

The Animal Liberation Fund supports the saving of animals from untimely death. It also offers grants to different organizations that are saving animals from death and caring for them with food, medicine, and shelter for the rest of their lives. Taking care of all sentient beings, including insects and animals, has always been a high priority for Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Rinpoche often reminded us how important it is to also create the causes for the animals to receive imprints of Dharma by taking them around holy objects and reciting mantras and sutras to them. Some highlights include:

Blessing sentient beings in the lake with mantras, prayers, and blessed substances, Washington, USA, August 2024. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

• Approximately 33,378 animals were liberated and blessed at Buddha Amitabha Pure Land, US.
   
• An annual grant was given toward the operating costs of the Animal Liberation Sanctuary in Nepal, which provides ongoing shelter and care for animals that have been rescued.
   
• Sangha in Buddha Amitabha Pure Land, Washington, US, continued the weekly animal liberation practice Charity to Ants and blessing the beings in different lakes with mantras and blessed water.

For details on the support offered to animals, please read our extensive report.

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The table and chart outline the direct grants of US$3,556,187¹ during 2024 to FPMT’s Charitable Projects.

¹ The disbursement figures do not include expenses for administration fees and credit card merchant fees and are inclusive of some inter-fund disbursements, which will be subject to audit adjustments during our annual independent financial review.

² Bodhichitta Fund disbursements includes offerings to various monasteries and projects in India and Nepal of $238,714, donation to FPMT charitable projects and affiliates of $144,634, other offerings and sponsorship of holy objects of $452,555 and sponsorship of Tibetan and Western Sangha an offering practices for the organization of $136,087.

We offer a range of programs and courses suitable for those at the introductory, foundational, and in-depth levels.

Introductory Courses and Foundational Programs

FPMT’s introductory courses are short courses that allow students to try out different meditation techniques, learn the basics of Tibetan Buddhism, and explore essential advice for the time of death and for making life meaningful.

We launched two introductory courses in 2024 to engage new Buddhist practitioners and modern spiritual seekers:

Buddhist Mind Science: Activating Your Potential
This popular introductory course blends Buddhist teachings with scientific perspectives on mental balance, warm-heartedness, and wisdom. Over 30 center facilitators have enrolled for training. Special thanks to Marina Brucet Vinyals and Hans Burghardt for developing this course.

Unlocking the Power of Ritual, Mantra, and Mudra
This revamped ritual training workshop teaches fundamental Buddhist rituals and chanting according to Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s instructions. It serves as the first module in a comprehensive series covering FPMT’s main pujas and ritual practices.

In-Depth Programs: the FPMT Basic Program (BP) and the FPMT Masters Program (MP)

The FPMT Basic Program (BP) is a comprehensive course of study designed by Lama Zopa Rinpoche for committed students ready to progress to in-depth study and practice. The BP is offered in FPMT centers worldwide with various forms of support from FPMT Education Services:

• Maitreya Instituut Amsterdam had an intensive, joyful three-month BP review and final exam, facilitated by FPMT Education Services. Students receive completion certificates and are assisted with retreat options.
• Singapore’s Amitabha Buddhist Centre held a BP certification ceremony with Ganden Tri Rinpoche; all certificates were upgraded to high resolution for printing.
• Dorje Chang Institute in New Zealand renewed their BP web page for the start of a third round of BP!
• Centro Ewam in Florence was assisted with the approval of their ‘Picolo Basic’ (BP lite).

Many BP offering centers benefit from our translations and course materials: for the outstanding BP at Malaysia’s Losang Dragpa Centre, the SPC checks what to use for each new subject; Jamyang Buddhist Centre Leeds in UK, and Chenrezig institute in Australia also welcome advice about program planning and the choice of materials. Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa (ILTK) near Pisa, and Centro Muni Gyana in Palermo are supported with timely updates of Italian translations and course materials; the same goes for French texts and materials for the French BPs at Nalanda Monastery near Toulouse, and Centre Kalachakra in Paris.

US centers share BP subjects offered by senior western BP teachers via zoom; we provide digital BP completion cards for Tse Chen Ling, Thubten Norbu Ling and Guhyasamaja Center, encouraging students to aim at program completion and experience the benefits of engaging in all aspects of the program.

At the FPMT Online Learning Center (OLC), BP Online congratulated its fourth graduate. Completing an entire BP by means of home study is challenging but committed students experience much benefit: two of these BPOL grads now participate in the Online FPMT Masters Program.

The FPMT Masters Program (MP) is FPMT’s most advanced education program; six years of residential study is concluded with a year of retreat. The MP is offered by Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa in Italy and Nalanda Monastery in France. FPMT Education Services provides financial support with scholarships and a salary for the tutors. By the end of 2024, ILTK’s MP completed the two-year subject Ornament for Clear Realization, and Nalanda its successful first year of the subject. The financial support pays off; better communication, stability, continuity and willingness to follow the MP guidelines safeguards MP quality. Summer 2024 saw an extensive assessment of all aspects of ILTKs MP; feedback from the residential students and staff resulted in well founded adjustments that were well received.

ILTK’s two-monthly MP Talks have renowned guest speakers present selected topics related to the MP subject studied at the time. For Ornament, the presentations on the themes of Bodhicitta and The Four Noble Truths by Ven. Gache, senior Geshe Program student at Sera Je Monastery in India, proved to be a much appreciated in-depth exploration for a worldwide audience.

The MP translation projects including the French Ornament and Middle Way commentaries are nearing completion. Education Services prepares completed sections and final drafts as bookmarked PDF files, in time for their need by the French MP at Nalanda Monastery.

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FPMT Education materials are essential resources for our students worldwide. In addition to creating new materials, we regularly review and update existing items in keeping with the advice of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and to be aligned with the highest standards in translation. Being an international Tibetan Buddhist organization, we also provide translations of materials into various languages, which is essential for the success of our students and the preservation of our lineage.

New Materials and Publications in 2024

Translations and Publications Commissioned by FPMT Education Services

• Lama Zopa Rinpoche: A Eulogy in English, German, and Vietnamese
• An Abbreviated Consecration Ritual
• Kalachakra Six-Session Guru Yoga together with An Extensive Review of the Three Vows and An Extensive Aspirational Prayer
• Praise to Manjushri

Translations Commissioned on the Advice of Lama Zopa Rinpoche

• The Lamp of Blessings Which Clears Away All Faults
• The Very Nature of Refuge and Compassion
• The Meditation-Recitation of White Manjushri

Publications Composed, Arranged, or Translated by Lama Zopa Rinpoche

• Lama Zopa Rinpoche Practice Series
  • Extremely Brief Consecration Ritual
  • Making Extensive Offerings to Boudha Stupa
  • Lojong Monlam: Prayer to Become Like the Buddha in His Past Lives
  • Thought Transformation Prayer of the Buddha’s Previous Lives
    
• Designed Cards with Quotations Provided by Lama Zopa Rinpoche
  • The Four Verses in English and Spanish
  • If You Have Devotion, Padmasambhava is Lying at Your Door
  • Enlightenment at Your Fingertips
  • Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Friends with Dharma Messages

New Course Materials (PDF)

• Buddhist Mind Science Package – All 7 Modules for Centers and Study Groups
• Buddhist Mind Science Module 1
• Buddhist Mind Science Module 2
• Buddhist Mind Science Module 3
• Buddhist Mind Science Module 4
• Buddhist Mind Science Module 5
• Buddhist Mind Science Module 6
• Buddhist Mind Science Module 7

Updates, Revisions, and New Formats

We also reviewed and edited old translations against the original Tibetan source texts, and/or checked and transliterated mantras in practice booklets.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Composition and Translations

• Heart Sutra: Practices and Instructions for Retreat
• Emptiness Explained: A Teaching on The Heart Sutra
• The Dharani That Is Perfectly Victorious over the Bondage of Body, Speech, and Mind
• Vajrapani Guru Yoga

Updates on Some Essential Practices

• FPMT Essential Prayer Book
• Glorious One of the Three Worlds
• Lama Chopa and Tsog Offering
• Nyungne Sadhana
• Offering of Sixty-Four Parts (Drugchuma)
• Six-Session Guru Yoga
• Six-Session Guru Yoga Commentary
• Sixteen Arhats Puja

Minor Revisions

• Everyday Dharma: Practices and Mantras Recommended
• Exalted Stainless Beam Totally Pure Light Mantra and Commentary
• The Essential Method of Accomplishing the Guru Transcendental Wisdom Multicolored Garuda
• Gyalwa Gyatso long sadhana
• Ksitigarbha Ten Wheels Sutra
• The Innermost Essence of the Arya Manjushri Tantra
• Milarepa Guru Yoga
• The Secret Advanced Practices of Vajrayogini, Vol 4

Ebooks Update

• How to Make My Lives Wishfulfilling
• Lama Chopa and Tsog Offering
• Six-Session Guru Yoga Commentary

New Ebooks

• Sutra of Great Liberation
• Chanting the Names of Noble Manjushri
• The Very Nature of Refuge and Compassion
• Praise to Manjushri
• Dharani Which Accomplishes All Aims

Print-on-demand

• Kshitigarbha Ten Wheels Mahayana Sutra from the Great Collection
• Sutra of Great Liberation

Ongoing Works in Progress

Work continues on several other major translation projects listed below.

Currently Active Translation Projects

• Most Secret Hayagriva sadhanas
• The 21, 29, and 31-chapter Sutra of Golden Light
• Extensive Hevajra sadhana and supplementary ritual
• Changkya Rolpai’ Dorje’s pilgrimage guide to Wutaishan
• Trijang Rinpoche’s Heruka Body Mandala commentary
• Long sadhana and extensive four mandala offering ritual of Chittamani Tara
• Vajrayogini self-initiation and sadhanas update

Wisdom Culture Series Publications

• The Power of Meditation: A Complete Guide to Transforming Your Mind

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Downloads this year included:

• 30,666 PDF and ebooks
• 859 online programs
• 3,073 audio recordings
• 1,112 digital cards, posters, and protection items

The Foundation Store continued to distribute PDFs, ebooks, audio from FPMT translation groups, Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive, Kopan Monastery, FPMT nunneries, Wisdom Publications, Ediciones Dharma, Foundation for Developing Compassion and Wisdom, and Happy Monks Publication, among others. A total of 2,898 of their titles were downloaded.

FPMT Education materials are also distributed on third party platforms like Kindle, Apple, Google Music, Spotify, and others.

• A total of 2,006 ebooks were ordered through Kindle, Smashwords (Draft2Digital from August 2024), and Google Play
• Students ordered 724 FPMT titles through Print-On-Demand (36% more than in 2023)
• A total of 24,731 mantras and meditations were streamed

The Foundation Store processed 16,939 orders from 7,200 customers for a total of 38,100 individual items ordered. This generated a total of US$72,456 in Foundation Store donations and an additional $9,090 was offered as donations to charitable projects. Net proceeds from Dharma items of $60,904 after payment of royalties (from Summary of Expenses for FPMT Holy Objects and Dharma Services in 2024) were used to support a number of holy objects and Dharma services.

The FPMT Online Learning Center (OLC) provides an opportunity for students from all parts of the world to study Buddhism online according to their interests and needs. Programs include Discovering Buddhism, Living in the Path, FPMT Basic Program, Heart Advice for Death & Dying, Buddhist Meditation 101, and Buddhism in a Nutshell.

A total of 832 new accounts were created on the FPMT Online Learning Center (OLC). This brings the total number of registered users to 27,077.

Users initiated 502 new discussion posts.

The OLC website received approximately 336,000 visits (nearly 3 times the visits from last year) from 6,900 visitors.

During 2024, many centers, projects, services, and probationary entities (study groups) continued the ongoing reflection on their operations and the new hybrid of onsite and online activities which have become the norm.

At the end of 2024, there were 107 centers, projects, and services; and 26 study groups, in 32 countries. We welcomed back to Tara Lanka Study Group in Sri Lanka which was revived after a few years on pause. Congratulations to Machig Lapdron Nunnery, Bendigo, Australia; and Thubten Kunkyen, Napoli, Italy, which have successfully made the transition from study group to center!

There are 41 geshes and 9 registered teachers resident in FPMT centers. The FPMT Registered Teacher List includes 161 Foundational Buddhism teachers and 99 In-Depth Buddhism teachers. In 2024 we registered 4 new Foundational level teachers.

Highlights from this year include:

• Regional Consultations: More than 200 representatives from centers, projects, and services took part in person or online in the four regional consultations (Asia, Europe, America, Australia/New Zealand) that were held to pave the way for the CPMT Summit planned this April in Kopan Monastery. Consultations were also held in Spain and with the staff of the FPMT International Office.
• Geshe Conference: More than 30 geshes and geshemas from around the world, joined by 5 FPMT Board members, met in Kopan Monastery from January 9-14. Three days of sharing, rejoicing, problem-solving, and prayers were followed by one all-day Most Secret Hayagriva tsog and two days of pilgrimage.
• Two successful Foundation Service Seminar (FSS) Retreats were hosted, one by Vajrapani Institute, California, in September, the other by Chandrakirti Centre, New Zealand, in November.

Other Highlights in the Organization:

• Heart Sutra Retreat: Kopan Monastery was able to fulfill a wish that had been expressed by Rinpoche. More than 200 people took part in the retreat, with commentary by the 104th Ganden Tripa and meditations led by Ven. Steve Carlier. The retreat was followed by a successful pilgrimage to Lawudo.
• Several FPMT policies and guidelines were reviewed following Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s passing.
• In September, Chenrezig Institute, the first FPMT center in the West, celebrated its 50th anniversary serving sentient beings with a joyous Big Love Festival.
• On July 9, the International Mahayana Institute celebrated Chokor Duchen and International Sangha Day with a prayer marathon in which Chanting the Names of Manjushri was recited, or protector prayers offered, as recommended by His Holiness the Dalai Lama for the swift return of Lama Zopa Rinpoche. International Sangha Day provides an opportunity for monastic and lay communities to come together in recognition of their interdependence and celebrate the ways in which they mutually rely on each other’s practice of the Dharma. 
• In 2024, $19,000 in grants were awarded from the Merit Box to support affiliates with their beneficial projects (see our Fundraising Tab under Operations & Finance for more details). The Merit Box is now being replaced in 2025 by the Community Support Fund.

Through our robust website, daily blogs, our monthly digital e-newsletter, the e-groups, and various social media accounts, we keep in touch with the FPMT global community and foster a sense of connectedness.

2024 Highlights:

• Our daily online blog, FPMT News, published 177 stories in 2024. This included advice and materials for Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s swift return and updates on activities related to Rinpoche’s swift return; teachings and advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche Lama Yeshe; news and updates from FPMT centers, projects, and services; information on new and updated practice materials and study opportunities; updates from the FPMT Inc. Board; and many other topical stories and opportunities of interest to the FPMT community.
• International Office’s website, FPMT.org, had over 1.1 million unique views in 2024.
• The daily and weekly email digests of FPMT News reached more than 3,100 subscribers.
• Our monthly e-newsletter, the FPMT e-News (International Office News), was sent to over 56,544 email recipients (an increase in 10,000 since last year) and included news, updates, and opportunities from FPMT International Office and the broader FPMT organization.
• Hundreds of thousands of people around the world connected with FPMT and Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s pages on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Bluesky, Threads, and X (formerly Twitter).
• This year, FPMT Education Services began offering a regular Spiritual Program Coordinator Newsletter which is sent out to SPCs, Directors, Registered Teachers and Study Group Coordinators to keep these groups updated on the latest news from FPMT Education Services.
• Our CPMT e-group shared information with nearly 700 people working in service within the FPMT organization.
• We made numerous changes to our email communications to comply with Google and Yahoo’s latest SPAM rules. We implemented a new one-click unsubscribe and a double opt-in subscribe for our newsletters and campaigns.
• Reprogrammed our fundraising email templates to size up fonts automatically on mobile devices. 
• We set up and trained staff to use Facebook’s Meta Business Manager tool. In the past we had issues with numerous staff trying to log into Facebook and Instagram to add, delete, or edit posts when they were not the page “owner.” The Meta Business Manager allows us to assign numerous editors to our social media pages. Furthermore, all of our social media pages can be edited from one location—a huge improvement to workflow for our communications team.

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We continued to offer access to Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s recorded video and audio teachings. With the passing of our beloved guru we now focus on bringing previously unpublished recordings online, using state-of-the-art tools to provide high quality video and audio despite the aged source material.

2024 Highlights:

• For the first time we were able to provide YouTube descriptions with chapter markers that allow users to quickly jump to the part of the teachings that they are most interested in. This was possible due to a combination of AI generation and human verification of the generated descriptions. The appreciative feedback of our students encouraged us to use this approach going forward.
• When processing twenty-three videos of profound teachings from the Four Kadampa Deities Retreat 2003 we found that the original video recordings contained audio recorded from the camera microphone in very low quality. By painstakingly replacing this audio with separate audio only recordings from a clip on mic we were able to provide hi-fidelity audio to accompany the high quality video (by the standards of 2003 recording. We also applied state-of-the-art AI audio tools to further improve the audio quality. We also merged the French audio-only recordings with the English videos to provide our French speaking audience with HQ videos in French.
• We added all of the legacy teachings published this year to our full-length teachings podcast for comfortable listening while on the go, even with one’s phone on screen lock. We had 6,000 plus downloads of our full-length teaching podcasts in 2024.
• Despite no longer being able to publish new teachings of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, our YouTube channel keeps going strong with about 400,000 views, 60,000 hours of videos watched in 2024, and 75,500 subscribers.
• We continuously work hard to preserve the FPMT legacy in photos. Our image collection has grown to 100,000 plus images.

Added to our Rinpoche Available Now Page:

• Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s 2010 Teachings from Potowa Center, Indonesia were published as twelve videos, complete with transcripts. These videos received YouTube descriptions with chapter markers, a first in FPMT history.
• Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Four Kadampa Deities Retreat Teachings from 2003 were published as twenty-three videos of profound teachings.
• Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Teachings from the Mahamudra Retreat 2004 were published as fifty-one videos, complete with transcripts.
• 2024 Heart Sutra Retreat at Kopan Monastery: A set of highly edited and fully subtitled video extracts was created for the Kopan 2024 Kopan Heart Sutra Retreat, focusing on the subject of emptiness. 
• Lama Zopa Rinpoche Teachings at Langri Tangpa Center, 2006 was published as four sessions of profound teachings on the Eight Verses of Mind Training.
• We improved the Rinpoche Available Now blog to include recently added teachings at the top of the page. The blog is in chronological order, but we are continuing to add Rinpoche’s teachings from the past. Now you can easily find the most recently added content first, followed by all teachings in order of the date of the event.

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International Office’s website, FPMT.org is the landing place for those interested in the FPMT organization in general, and the resources, materials, and opportunities provided by FPMT International Office specifically. With well over one million visits yearly, it is imperative that our infrastructure is always secure, optimized and that we are up-to-date in the latest technologies and offerings.

• We migrated our 500+ photo albums to a new account under our Google services platform. This included updating all of the links on FPMT.org to point to the corresponding albums and archiving all the old embedded albums.
• We upgraded our Moodle software and theme twice in 2024 to apply security patches and feature upgrades to the Online Learning Center.
• We migrated all of our slideshows to use the new Slider Revolution SR7 engine.
• We researched, tested, and implemented an alternative to the FPMT.org theme’s use of shortcodes. We installed a new plugin to replace this functionality that is no longer dependent on a theme.
• We set up the new Wordfence Security audit log feature. This new feature keeps an audit log of who logs in, files that are changed, moved, or deleted. Hackers normally try to delete such logs to make it harder to discover what they did. 
• We created a new page owner report to assist International Office staff in determining who created what pages on FPMT.org, and which editor was the last to make changes to the page.

2024 Information Technology Highlights:

Our Information Technology (IT) infrastructure makes sure that you can reliably access the information and resources you need—from our FPMT News blog to our online education programs offered through the FPMT Online Learning Center, from digital practice materials in the Foundation Store to donations pages for our FPMT Charitable Projects.

Our IT department also ensures that the International Office itself as well as all our staff members worldwide have a reliable, secure, and privacy-conscious digital infrastructure in which to work and offer support to the vision of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and to all our centers, projects, and services.

The IT department is also actively working with other staff and community members to support the implementation of several key systems that were requested by our international community and that will help our organization continue to support Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s vision.

• We completed the migration of our extensive photo galleries with more than 50,000 photos away from our current Google account and into another account that is more reliable and secure.
• We completed about 80% of the reorganization of all our institutional knowledge stored in our content management solution in the cloud, which is vital for our operation.
• We upgraded and migrated our web servers in production and development to two different host servers with more resources and with an updated operating system.
• We migrated our digital asset management system from a self-hosted server, which required significant maintenance, to the cloud.
• The IT department also supported a long-term publishing project that will transcribe a large number of teachings from Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
• As in previews years, we performed weekly maintenance and security updates of our key systems within our IT infrastructure, keeping all software up to date with the latest security patches and bug fixes. We also reviewed and updated our IT policies to make sure that they stay relevant and up to date, and we also performed our annual review and update of the disaster recovery procedures, which will make possible to restore our Information Technology systems if a major event occurs and one or more of our systems must be restored or recovered from scratch.

Friends of FPMT

This is our membership program to raise support for International Office. It has been instrumental in helping fund our work, and provides Friends of FPMT supporters complimentary access to our FPMT Education online study programs, free and easy downloads of FPMT Education materials, and a number of other resources including the Mandala online archives, print-quality photos, the Liberation Calendar, and special gifts from our friends at Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

In 2024, 905 Friends of FPMT supporters generously contributed US$224,959 for FPMT International Office’s projects and activities.

Give Where Most Needed Fund

This fund was established to allow FPMT students, supporters and friends to make a general unrestricted donation that can be used by International Office for any activity fulfilling the FPMT mission. The Give Where Most Needed Fund can aid any projects in urgent need, or cover any budget shortfalls that were unplanned.  In 2024, the fund received US$117,353 in generous donations from 416 supporters.

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FPMT International Office has the responsibility of managing and supervising the finances of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition, Inc. (FPMT, Inc.) as directed by its Board of Directors¹. Finances are divided between general funds (unrestricted), and funds designated for specific charitable projects (restricted funds).²

In 2024, total unrestricted operating income for International Office was US$1,330,272 and total operating expenses were US$1,174,811 resulting in an operating surplus of US$155,461.³

In 2024, the total restricted income for the Charitable Projects was US$4,143,028 and the total disbursements and expenses for credit card and administration fees were US$3,743,843.

FPMT also processes and manages funds on behalf of others and in 2024 these funds had income of US$1,418,637 and disbursements of US$430,906.

Unrestricted Funds

Unrestricted funds do not have any donor-imposed restrictions, and are used to fulfill the various activities and operations of International Office. The table and charts give a summary of income and expenses for 2024.

* Notes:

1. Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition, Inc. (abbreviated as FPMT, Inc.) is the legal entity of FPMT International Office. The terms FPMT, Inc. and International Office are interchangeable. In practical terms, the International Office functions and serves as Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s office, therefore the guidance of our Spiritual Director is implicit.

2. Restricted funds include all the charitable projects of FPMT, Inc. as outlined on our website in addition to certain other charitable projects as directed by Lama Zopa Rinpoche and the Board of Directors.

3. Operating expenses exclude depreciation and unrealized gains (losses) on investments and exceptional items.