Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave the following advice in 2020 to a Dharma center facing difficulties. Given the great challenges of our time, this advice from Rinpoche can help all of us. For too long we have focused our energy on trying to fix the outside world to ease our discomfort and suffering. But if we don’t give priority to working to change and develop our inner world through learning and practicing Dharma, we will not see any beneficial results—our efforts will go nowhere and our suffering will not end. We are sharing this advice as part of the FPMT Annual Review 2020: Transforming Challenges into the Path.

My Most Dear, Most Precious, Most Kind, Wish-Granting Jewels,

Lozang Tenpai Gyaltsen said:

When the blazing fire of anger, the enemy of the life of virtue,
Burns the seeds of liberation without exception,
Please extinguish it with the strong continual water
Of the nectar of your great compassion, Arya Compassionate-Eye-Looking One (Chenrezig).

His Holiness the Seventh Dalai Lama, Kelsang Gyatso, said:

In the view of the mind stirred by spirit possession and delusions,
Even though you feel that pride is good, it is like a dancing act of craziness.
However many collections of vices looked down upon by the holy beings you have done,
From the depths of your heart confess them individually with fervent regret.

The old mother sentient beings, who have guided me with kindness again and again,
Have fallen into the midst of a burning fire of suffering.
Since I don’t have the capacity to guide them now,
Please bless me to quickly achieve enlightenment.

On the basis of the teachings of the Buddha, the present founder of Buddhadharma, Kadampa Geshe Chekawa said in his Seven Points of Thought Transformation,

Put all the blame on one.
Toward others, meditate on kindness.

Putting all the blame on one means to blame one’s own negative mind, the self-cherishing thought. This is what causes you to suffer; this has been the creator of your suffering from beginningless rebirths up to now, and if you continue to follow the self-cherishing thought, you will suffer continuously. You will continuously be stuck in samsara, experiencing suffering forever. The self-cherishing mind controls you; it has harmed numberless sentient beings in the past and continues to do so in the present. It has prevented you from achieving enlightenment from beginningless rebirths up to now. As long as you follow this selfish mind, it will prevent you from becoming enlightened in the future and will continuously harm you and all other sentient beings. This is the great demon, the enemy—the self-cherishing thought.

What is the self?

Even though there are numberless buddhas and bodhisattvas, why so far have we not become free from the oceans of samsaric sufferings? Why do we suffer continuously? Why are we not yet enlightened? Why do we continue to suffer and suffer? We have followed our self-cherishing as if it were our best guide, a god, our best helper. We have been led by the selfish mind, the great demon, doing exactly what it says, thinking, “This is me. This is I. This is what I want.” That is totally wrong! That’s not you, that’s not me, that’s not the I. The body is not the I; mind is not the I; both together are not the I. Yet there is no I that exists separate from the aggregates.

Of course, I’m not saying that there is no I. There is an I. But what exists is nothing other than what is merely labeled by the mind. So what the I is, is most extremely subtle. We ordinary beings, like myself, never think we are acting for the merely-labeled I. If, for example, when we got angry we were able to meditate right at that time—“What is I? It exists in mere name”—there would be no place for our anger. It would totally disappear. It wouldn’t go anywhere; it would just become non-existent. The place from which that anger arises, the I, would no longer be there.

Similarly, the moment that you think the I exists in mere name, right at that time you see the real I is one hundred percent not there. That proves, or identifies, to your mind that the false I is simply an illusion.

In the first moment, the mind focuses on the aggregates, and then that same mind merely labels, or merely imputes, “I” upon them. That is how we create the I. Then, in the second moment, the I appears back to our mind as if it existed from its own side, as if it existed by itself, as if it were truly existent, or, in everyday language, as if it were a real I. It appears that way because of negative imprints left on our mental continuum from beginningless rebirths by the ignorance that holds the I as real, as existing from its own side, as existing by nature. That is projected, or decorated, by these negative imprints.

Then, in the third moment, we believe, or we hold on to, this concept of an I existing from its own side as one hundred percent true. Just to clarify, not a permanent I existing alone and existing with its own freedom. Also, not an I existing self-sufficiently. Also, not an I existing from its own side completely without depending on the substance, the imprint, left on the seventh consciousness, the mind-basis-of-all, and then experienced as both the object and the subject, the knowing mind. It is not even that, the gagja, the object to be refuted, according to the Cittamatra school of Buddhist philosophy.

The view of the next school higher than that, the Madhyamika Svatantrika, is that the gagja is the I that is not labeled by the mind but truly exists from its own side. According to the Svatantrika view, there is some existence from its own side but it is also labeled by the mind. Even that is not correct, but that is what they falsely believe. That is their right view.

However, in the view of the highest philosophical school, the Madhyamika Prasangika, this is the actual gagja, the object of refutation. Something that exists from its own side, even a little; something not totally from its own side but something from its own side, something small—that is totally non-existent according to Prasangika.

Realizing the total non-existence of that is the realization of the Prasangika view of emptiness. The wisdom realizing that is the only view that can directly eliminate the root of samsara, the ignorance that holds the I as real. Here I’m talking about the very subtle gagja—that there is something from its own side, even though it is labeled by mind. Even that is totally nonexistent. That belief is the root of samsara, the oceans of suffering. From that, ignorance arises, attachment arises, anger arises, jealousy arises, pride arises, and doubt arises. From that, the six root delusions and the twenty secondary delusions arise, and then in all the details, the 84,000 delusions.

Thus, that wrong concept, the ignorance that believes something exists from its own side, is the true cause of suffering, the principal one. From that, delusion and karma arise, bringing about all the various samsaric sufferings: the heavy suffering of the hells, the heavy suffering of the hungry ghosts, the heavy suffering of the animals, the heavy suffering of the human beings, the heavy suffering of the sura and asura beings, the suffering of rebirth, the suffering of sickness, the suffering of old age, and the suffering of death. All that comes from there.

The FPMT

I want to say that the FPMT is a religious organization, not a political one to hurt the world, to harm sentient beings. Buddhism differs from other religions in that it stresses compassion for all sentient beings in order to free them from suffering, and great compassion, where we take personal responsibility to do this by ourselves alone. The essence of Buddhism is not to harm sentient beings. That is so important.

The FPMT organization’s function is, on the basis of not harming others, to benefit them as much as possible; to bring them happiness. That does not mean allowing everybody to just do what they want, to destroy the world, even if that were to be the view of the majority, the democratic view. We cannot allow people to create the five extremely heavy negative karmas without break, creating the cause to be born in the lower realms for numberless eons just because they want to engage in such actions.

Say there are children at home and they don’t want to go to school. They want to stay home and play. Do the parents let them do that because that’s what they’d like to do? No. They get the children to go to school by cajoling them with sweet words and presents or by speaking wrathfully or punishing them, but out of heartfelt loving kindness and compassion. Parents do whatever they have to because it is important for the children to get an education so that they can get a job, make money, and survive in this world.

The practice of patience

As above, Kadampa Geshe Chekawa said:

Toward others, meditate on kindness.

Say, for example, a person is angry with you and tries to harm you with their body, speech, or mind. When the Buddha explained how to attain enlightenment through the practice of the six perfections, he gave complete teachings on patience. Then, as a representative of Shakyamuni Buddha, our guru taught us how to practice patience ourselves. But we don’t practice patience with the buddhas or with friends or strangers. The only person who gives us the opportunity to put the teachings on patience into practice is the one we consider an enemy, the angry person trying to harm us. That’s the only one.

By practicing patience with our enemy, we can overcome our anger, complete the perfection of patience, and attain enlightenment, the total cessation of all obscurations and the completion of all realizations. In doing so we achieve the infinite qualities of a buddha’s holy body, speech, and mind. And even before we get there, we become higher bodhisattvas on the eighth, ninth, and tenth levels; for us, they are like buddhas.

The one we call “enemy” gives us the infinite qualities of a buddha

But when we become enlightened, we become omniscient and can directly perceive all past, present, and future simultaneously. We can read every single sentient being’s mind at the same time, and there are numberless sentient beings in each realm. We also have the perfect power to reveal to them the methods that will free them from suffering and lead them from happiness to happiness, all the way to enlightenment, and we have complete, infinite compassion for every sentient being, with nothing more to develop. We are able to benefit them by freeing every single sentient being from all suffering and, ultimately, bringing them to enlightenment! Wow! Wow! Wow!

Guru Shakyamuni Buddha already did this for numberless sentient beings, is benefiting them now, and will continue to do so in the future, and we can do the same. We, too, can bring all this limitless benefit, as vast as the sky, and achieve all the infinite qualities of a buddha from the person we call the “enemy.” The one who is angry with us gives us the opportunity to gain all these enlightened qualities. The enemy’s kindness can never be repaid, even if we offer them skies filled with dollars, diamonds, even wish-granting jewels, all the material goods you need in life. We can never repay that unbelievable kindness; it’s like skies of kindness. What that person gives us is unimaginable. That person is most kind, most precious, most dear, our wish-fulfilling one.

So, everyone, please understand this. Read this letter carefully and think over its meaning well. This is the time to think well and not just breeze over it as if it’s some blah, blah, blah. Just this one time, think well, think well. Then you will realize what is really hallucination, false, and what in your life is the truth.

Your enemy is your teacher of patience

Now, in Eight Verses of Thought Transformation, the practice of patience with that person, the enemy, is regarded as the practice of seeing the enemy as the guru who is helping you complete the paramita of patience and making you achieve enlightenment. The enemy is your teacher, practically, your teacher of patience.

You can see now how that practice of patience is so priceless, how it changes your mind from negative to positive, into patience. And what happens from that? What can you achieve from that precious thought? You can achieve a healthy mind. We always seek to have a healthy body, but that comes from a healthy mind. A healthy mind is most important. So now, everybody, please think that you need a healthy mind.

Nowadays, His Holiness the Dalai Lama emphasizes very much to the world that it is not enough to be physically healthy; that really, physical health has to come from a healthy mind. Please everyone, practice that. These teachings are not just for listening by ear. We need to use these teachings for practice. If we don’t practice patience right now, right now, we will lose the opportunity, because that person’s anger won’t last for a long time, and when it’s gone, we will have lost an opportunity that is a much greater loss than losing skies of jewels, skies of gold, diamonds, or even wish-granting jewels.

Then, just to finish the quotation, by depending on that sentient being, the enemy who’s angry with or harming us, we generate great compassion. From great compassion, we generate bodhichitta. With bodhichitta, we become a bodhisattva, and from there we become a buddha. A buddha has two holy actions: one is in the buddha’s own holy mind and the other is in us sentient beings—all the virtue that we sentient beings create. From a buddha’s holy action comes all our virtue. That brings all happiness—all our past happiness from beginningless rebirths, all our present happiness, and all our future happiness, including that of enlightenment, the peerless happiness. Therefore, all our past, present, and future happiness, including enlightenment, even the happiness we experience in dreams, the happiness of the buddhas and bodhisattvas, and even worldly happiness, every happiness that we experience is completely received from the person we call an enemy. So, that is how kind that person is. The sky has no limit in terms of measuring the kindness of that sentient being. So toward that sentient being, we should give the best of everything, like our own life. Just as we do the best for ourselves, likewise we should do the best for our enemies.

The source of suffering and happiness

All suffering comes from the I, from cherishing the I, and all happiness comes from cherishing others, as I just explained. Therefore, renounce the I and cherish other sentient beings most of all. Even that one sentient being. Like that, every sentient being is most precious, most kind, most dear, most wish-fulfilling; every single one. Also, from every sentient being, even a tiny insect, come all the numberless Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. They all come from this one.

When we take refuge at the beginning of any practice we do, the numberless Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha in which we take refuge all came from this one sentient being. So, this sentient being is most precious, most kind, and wish-fulfilling. Therefore, for that one we do our best. This is our motivation and how we offer service to them.

With the mind, there’s always attachment to our own side and hatred toward others. On top of that we have jealousy, pride, and so forth, ignorance and self-cherishing. Day and night, we create so much negative karma with our body, speech, and mind.

How it seems is that for many lifetimes we practiced morality and prayed to be reborn human, but now that we’ve received a human body, all we do is create negative karma. It’s as if our purpose in having been born human is simply to create the cause to be reborn back into the lower realms, our permanent residence. This is how the state of our life appears. It looks as if we’ve prayed to create much heavier negative karma than even animals do so that we’ll be reborn in the lower realms and suffer greatly for many more numberless eons.

Do not harm others

Now you know that the numberless sentient beings are most kind, most dear, most precious, and totally wish-fulfilling. Now you know what I said at the beginning—this is the realization that we all should have if we really think of Dharma. If you want to be a really good human being, a better human being, at least do not harm others. Do no harm in this world. Do nothing harmful to others or yourself.

The most important thing I want you to know is that the real, the best Dharma practice is to hold others as most precious and to offer them the best of everything. Even if a child creates so many problems, the child’s mother loves that child the most; more than her own life. She will do the best for her child that she can.

That example shows us how we should be toward every sentient being. That is what allows us to attain enlightenment quickly. Otherwise our mind just follows delusion, and by living with delusion, jealousy, attachment, ignorance, and so forth we continuously create additional negative karma to remain in samsara and the lower realms.

Normally we create negative karma day and night and then, on top of that, we create additional negative karma as if it were in short supply. It’s as if we were worried that there is such a scarcity of negative karma that we need to plan to create some more, like pouring rain, by following delusion.

The conclusion is that we must stop, or at least cut down on, creating negative karma. Otherwise, instead of causing others to practice virtue, we will cause them to collect more negative karma and as a result everybody will continuously suffer in samsara, go to the lower realms, and suffer for eons and eons to come.

How to be an FPMT center director

The best way of being an FPMT center director is to study and practice the lamrim before taking the job. Don’t just study the lamrim intellectually, but practice it. Then you’ll be able to offer service to the FPMT and sentient beings correctly. Not only will you not harm sentient beings, you’ll benefit them as well. The more you understand the lamrim, the more you practice it, the more you realize it, the better you’ll be able to benefit sentient beings and serve the organization. You will purify your negative karma accumulated since beginningless rebirths, collect the greatest, most extensive merit, and attain enlightenment more quickly.

Of course, in general, I must stress how important it is for everybody to know the lamrim, but it is an essential prerequisite for an FPMT center director. We have a director’s manual to which I have added my own advice.

Before you become a director, you need some training. Even before becoming a waiter you need to be trained somewhat. You need to learn to be friendly when people come to the restaurant. Greet them nicely, “Hello, how are you?” Say some nice words, kind words. That makes people happy. Chat with them, and when they leave tell them goodbye, wish them a nice day, that sort of thing. Smile a lot. All these small things make people feel good. It’s also important for directors to be nice. You have to change your mind; you have to have a good heart. You have to have compassion for sentient beings and pay attention to the Buddhadharma, to Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. You have to have patience. Then your service becomes correct.

If your motivation is self-cherishing based upon the root of samsara, the ignorance holding the I as real, a total, lifelong hallucination, attachment and anger arise, as Lama Tsongkhapa explained in the Great Treatise. If you live your life with self-cherishing and all those other delusions, nothing you do is pure; nothing becomes Dharma. Whatever you do—even if you attend teachings or study Dharma or meditate—when you offer service, nothing becomes Dharma. That is terrible, terrible, terrible—nothing becomes Dharma. Even if you are doing something, it doesn’t become Dharma. In your mind, you do not cherish others, you don’t have even effortful bodhichitta. All you have is strong self-cherishing thought and everything revolves around you: your happiness, your power, your wealth. Then, so many problems arise. You try to defeat others, bringing them anger and suffering and making them upset. There are problems at your center. Everybody is unhappy with you, everybody criticizes you. Like that, it is very sad.

It’s also possible that you don’t care about the center. All you care about is your own happiness, your own reputation. You pay no attention to the center. It’s like certain people who work for the government who care only about their own power and reputation. They don’t care about the government or the health and happiness of the population. They just care about themselves. When it’s very much like that at the center, only problems arise. When someone becomes a president or prime minister, many people become unhappy with that person. It can be the same with an FPMT center director.

I’ll tell you a story. There was one student who became a director of a large center, and immediately many people started criticizing him. It’s always like this. That’s why I say, when someone becomes director they should expect criticism. They should say to themselves, “I’m the person everybody is going to criticize.” Prepare yourself for that. Since that is going to happen, be ready for it. Then it won’t bother you. You won’t get emotional. It’s also very good for your Dharma practice; very, very good. And as a result, you become very kind to others. As a director, you have to be kind to others. As I said, with compassion for sentient beings, serve them. With devotion to Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, serve them. That’s what an FPMT center director has to do.

If someone is untrained, they will create many problems, like presidents and ministers who run a country but are only in it for themselves. They work in politics only for their own happiness, reputation, and wealth, while so much of the population is unhappy. Then, they don’t like these leaders, they suffer, and eventually they rise up against them. Then there’s a civil war in which hundreds of thousands of people get killed. We’ve seen this happen in many countries. That’s the big one.

Thank you very much. Why I have to appeal to you is so that you won’t create downpours of negative karma. So, with palms pressed together at my heart, I thank you all for not doing that. Thank you very much.

In conclusion

I hope everyone has gotten some clarity from my blah, blah. It’s quite long. I’m sorry for that but I have to clarify everything for you. When things don’t get solved, then there is a lot of blah, blah, blah, and so much negative karma gets created with one’s body, speech, and mind due to attachment, anger, and ignorance, just like a rain falling.

Old students who know Dharma may understand what I am saying, all this blah, blah. When one’s motivation is not pure, when the eight worldly dharmas reign, then there’s anger and jealousy. Even if it’s a correct situation, you may think that it is wrong. Then you make wrong decisions. This happens many times in life, due to anger, the dictator of the self-cherishing thought, and so forth.

Unlike the buddhas and bodhisattvas, who totally serve sentient beings, we do not let the people of the center use us. Buddhas and bodhisattvas just let others use them, whether it’s with praise or criticism. They just totally dedicate themselves to others’ happiness. While we become a slave to the dictator, the self-cherishing thought, bodhisattvas who work for sentient beings have unbelievable peace and happiness. Compare this with using self-cherishing for power and so forth, which in reality is simply working for oneself.

When there’s a problem, one has to research both sides to establish what is right and what is wrong. If one considers only one side, one gets stuck in a quagmire that is hard to get out from. Many times both can be right and many times both can be mistaken.

Problems come from a wrong motivation, self-cherishing, and anger. Problems arise from delusion and karma. They are created by past karma and present delusion. Even if what you are doing is good, virtuous, but past lives’ karma can be experienced out because it was not purified well. One result is eons of suffering in an unfortunate realm or in some other form of chaos.

Kadampa Geshe Garab Wangchug said:

Experiencing the present small suffering purifies heavy suffering.

That means that for a long time, one will experience happiness like the sun shining, and from life to life things will get better and better. You can look at it as negative but you can also look at it as positive. That’s why the Kadampa geshes said, “Rejoice. Be happy with suffering.”

Then, with the motivation of compassion and actions done for sentient beings, if there’s limited wisdom, mistakes will be made because of not having full understanding. I want to say, buddhas are the ones who know politics best. Like His Holiness, they have omniscience, no ignorance. We are ignorant; therefore, we make mistakes and have suffered since beginningless rebirths. If you really think and feel that, not just the words, that’s the most frightening thing—how long we have suffered.

When people criticize you, it doesn’t mean that they are right. We carry past lives’ negative karma, give rise to heresy, and lack devotion. There are people who criticize His Holiness and there were six heretics who criticized the Buddha. You have to know that. One thing is that you can be evil, but others can look at you as positive, pure, and enlightened, even if you are a demon. The other is that you are a buddha, but people don’t see it.

For example, the Buddha’s attendant Legpai Karma always criticized him. One day the Buddha went out for alms and a girl offered a handful of grain into his begging bowl. As a result, the Buddha predicted her enlightenment as Sangye Tsema. Then the Buddha’s attendant thought, “Why is the Buddha saying that? He is lying.” For twenty-two years, he believed the Buddha had lied and in his next life he was born in hell for eons.

This example is brought up in the root text of the Graduated Path to Enlightenment. Therefore, you have to make an effort to make your mind pure, positive. You have the responsibility of becoming enlightened. Like you have the responsibility of getting better if you are sick, take care to keep your mind healthy. His Holiness emphasizes this, the hygiene of the emotions. Get sick with attachment and great negativity will ensue all day long. This happens with the five poisonous minds. We do take care of our body, but the best thing is to make sure you have a healthy mind; that’s what makes a very healthy body.

One final point

FPMT center, project, and services directors should be good human beings and, like a bodhisattva, have less attachment. They should not be partisan, should not abandon others, and so forth. When attachment increases, fighting follows.

This is the attitude of buddhas and bodhisattvas: every sentient being is most kind, most dear, most precious. Each is a wish-fulfilling-gem mother, as the Buddha taught in his sutra teachings and as integrated in the lamrim. Or, you can become the most loving mother toward all sentient beings, like when someone is suffering, a mother cherishes that person as if it were her most suffering child.

The more you understand Dharma, the better decisions you can make. Like when running a government, the more the motivation is pure, the better the result. The essence is understanding the Dharma, otherwise you’ll make many mistakes and put yourself into great suffering. Better than that is to have the clairvoyance that knows what has happened in the past and what will happen in the future. And best of all is to have omniscience.

The great bodhisattva Shantideva said in Bodhicharyavatara:

If I can’t bear even
This much present suffering,
Why don’t I abandon anger,
The cause of hell suffering?

And the glorious pandit Chandrakirti from Nalanda said:

Think: “This is not the mistake of sentient beings,
But the mistake of the disturbing thoughts.”
By examining, the Learned Ones don’t get angry with sentient beings,
But reflect on their kindness and don’t criticize them.

Thank you.

Thubten Zopa

Colophon: Excerpted from a letter sent to an FPMT center, written on July 20, 2020, at Kopan Monastery, Nepal. Scribed by Ven. Tenzin Namdrol. Edited by Ven. Joan Nicell and Nicholas Ribush for use in the FPMT International Office Annual Review 2020. You can find the complete letter “Reflecting on the Kindness of Others” on the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

This advice can also be seen on its own webpage.

Dear Friends,

This last year has been quite a challenge! COVID-19 impacted students and FPMT centers, projects, and services around the world, including changes to the teaching events we had planned for Rinpoche. However, while it wasn’t what we expected, one of the major highlights resulting from the COVID-19 upheavals has been Rinpoche’s Teachings on Thought Transformation during the Time of COVID-19.

Another major highlight for 2020 is that Lama Zopa Rinpoche could finalize the offering of the Maitreya Project land in Bodhgaya to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. This is an amazing offering and an incredible achievement for the organization that we can all rejoice in!

The donation of about thirty acres (twelve hectares) of valuable, prime land in Bodhgaya will help fulfill His Holiness’s wish to build an international institute in this most sacred place of Buddhism. His Holiness’s vision is that the institute will share the wisdom of the Nalanda tradition in order to create happiness and peace in the world. The project includes three aspects:

1. To create a learning center for studying philosophy of the mind; emotional health; as well as methodology, etymology dialects, and meditation as embodied by Nalanda masters.
2. To build a replica of the ancient Nalanda University to connect with Buddhists around the world and bring the world into the “ecosystem” of Bodhgaya.
3. To promote the four principal commitments of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, inspired by the Nalanda tradition.

The plan to build a large Maitreya statue at this site has been integrated into the overall vision for His Holiness’s institute. The FPMT will continue to sponsor the statue.

Sikyong Lobsang Sangay, the president of the Tibetan government in exile, wrote to me recently, thanking the FPMT for the offering of the Maitreya Project land:

“I would like to sincerely express my gratitude to FPMT for offering land to His Holiness the Dalai Lama through the Nalanda Institute of Dalai Lama at Bodhgaya. The institute, as envisioned by His Holiness, will be a secular international institution that will preserve and promote India’s ancient wisdom that flourished at Nalanda University.

“The land offered by FPMT to His Holiness will be specifically used by the institute to provide an opportunity for people from around the world to study His Holiness’s philosophy and vision. The land will host seven core structures, which are the Maitreya statue, a temple, a museum, an international Buddhist library, a meditation center, classrooms, and a state of the art convention hall.”

In January 2020, Rinpoche had an appointment with His Holiness seeking advice on other matters. During the meeting, His Holiness expressed gratitude for the offered land and also for the role Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche have played in establishing the Gelug tradition in the West. His Holiness also praised Rinpoche’s generosity and other qualities as well as the work of the FPMT organization.

What Rinpoche has offered to His Holiness is something that helps to actualize a strong wish of His Holiness. As Rinpoche has taught, fulfilling the wishes of the guru is the most enjoyable thing in life. When Rinpoche told Khadro-la (Rangjung Neljorma Khadro Namsel Drönme) about the donation, she said that offering land to His Holiness for the institute is far more beneficial than building thousands of Maitreya statues. (Of course, we are still going to build Maitreya statues.)

So please rejoice in the merit created by the donation of Maitreya Project land to His Holiness. And also rejoice in the merit generated by all those who have helped with and donated to the Maitreya Project in Bodhgaya over the years. This generosity has created the conditions for Rinpoche’s amazing offering to His Holiness—all of this fulfilling the wishes of our gurus!

Rinpoche meeting His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Bodhgaya – Namgyal Monastery, Bodhgaya,McLeod Ganj, India; Photographer: Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama; 2020-01

A few weeks after this most exciting development, COVID started to hit. Teaching events were cancelled, in a discussion with Rinpoche, I suggested a regular program called something like “Breakfast with Rinpoche” where for about seven to ten minutes (I know, this already sounds very unlike Rinpoche!) Rinpoche could give practical advice to students on practice, helping them through the challenges surrounding the pandemic.

Rinpoche didn’t initially seem to be interested. A few days passed then Rinpoche said to me, “We are surrounded by the conditions for death all the time! Impermanence! It is the key to Dharma practice, so why this extra worry due to COVID? We are supposed to be developing the awareness that death can happen and will happen at any time!” This was the point that Rinpoche wanted to emphasize—to use the situation of COVID to remind us of Dharma and motivate us to practice! Of course, each teaching session went beyond seven to ten minutes!

We also took the opportunity to tell the story of Kopan Monastery through video, sharing short video segments at the beginning of Rinpoche’s teachings, as it has been fifty years since Rinpoche started teaching there. We included video of Kopan monks doing prayers and dedications and of them talking about the monastery, explaining Dharma, and telling stories of how they came to the monastery and where they are today. We also heard from people who were involved at the beginning to show how Kopan Monastery and the annual one-month lamrim course—which was the beginning of FPMT—influenced the establishment of centers around the world. “Mummy” Max Mathews talked about how it was with Lama Yeshe and Zina, the lamas’ first Western student. This story of FPMT was published alongside Rinpoche’s ninety video sessions of approximately ninety to 120 minutes each on lojong. Rinpoche still has not reached the actual subject yet, but in the meantime so much preliminary subject matter has been taught.

All of this was captured and managed by the FPMT International Office team and can now easily be accessed on the internet by anyone who wishes to engage. This is an amazing resource and the teachings having started up again! What a truly wonderful resource thanks to a lot of hard work by the team in Rinpoche’s office (IOF)!

A comprehensive summary of those teachings up to this point is included in the latest version of the online Mandala magazine and is offered to all students of Rinpoche. Rinpoche says that this way of teaching online makes it so easy to share his teachings, rather than always having to travel. In the past fifty years Rinpoche has been on the road continuously, never in one place longer than about a month (apart from the period of manifesting a stroke in 2011). Since the passing of Lama Yeshe in 1984, a massive effort has gone into maintaining the nonstop schedule—no doubt a bodhisattva’s way of life!

I want to take this opportunity to thank all the staff of International Office for the excellent work in making these teachings available in multiple languages and all the other work and activities accomplished during this last year, truly taking advantage of these difficult conditions we have faced and making it worthwhile for so many—now and in the future. I was very inspired reading the reports from our various departments this year and wanted to highlight some of the achievements of the office over the last year. You will read more about these accomplishments, and many others, as you engage in the sections below.

• A major focus during 2020 was reviewing, responding, and implementing the recommendations of the fact-finding assessment and safeguarding audits we commissioned. A significant outcome of this work was developing a new Protecting from Abuse policy, which is being finalized and rolled out soon, combined with training and education, with the goal of improving protection through the entire organization.
• We continued to receive support from thousands of kind and generous donors through our different fundraising programs. This allowed us to offer grants of US$3,766,654 through FPMT Charitable Projects to many beneficial activities, including support to Sangha, monasteries, and nunneries; help to children through education; assistance to elderly Tibetans; service to animals; holy object creation; pujas for world peace and merit making; protection for the environment; investment in teachers of the Lama Tsongkhapa tradition; social services in Nepal, India, and Mongolia; and many other worthy causes.
• Support continued for 114 centers and forty-seven study groups in thirty-nine countries, with forty-two resident geshes, fourteen resident teachers, five regional coordinators, and seven national coordinators. Many centers and study programs had to adapt and take advantage of technology to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and develop many new online opportunities.
• International Office also had to adopt to the pandemic conditions, of course. We made our IT infrastructure more accessible and reliable as the office became a fully remote “virtual” office at the beginning of the outbreak and continues to operate in this way. All the processes and procedures that previous relied on paper and hard-copy supplies went completely digital.
• Just prior to COVID-19, we completed the sale of part of our building in Portland. We have had less need for the same level of physical space due to more remote staff, the transition of our Foundation Store to a digital-only store, and the change of Mandala print magazine to an online format.
• We created a new Teacher Services Director position to oversee different matters regarding teachers, including the registration process for non-Tibetan teachers, the updating of the FPMT Registered Teacher List and of the Tibetan Teacher List, the handling of grievances and complaints, as well as safeguarding issues related specifically to teachers.
• We commenced work on two new foundational level education programs, which are currently being developed, and continued to support existing programs.
• New educational materials were developed and updated and made available with over 26,000 items obtained or downloaded from the Foundation Store.
• Over 127,000 hours of video were seen on FPMT’s YouTube channel reaching over 1,000,000 views. These included over 100 new short video extracts of Rinpoche’s teachings.
• New communication strategies began with the aim of developing a more integrated approach for blogging and communications. Over 284 blogs were published this year.
• A new Inner Job Description training video was made available online and a Foundation Service and Teacher Development Service Seminar took place.
• US$31,368 in funds were collected from Merit Box practitioners and centers, and offered to thirteen centers and one FPMT regional office; 432 “workers” contributed US$46,028 to the Work a Day for Rinpoche campaign; 1,139 Friends of FPMT supporters contributing US$270,008; and US$83,755 was donated to the Give Where Most Needed fund.
• As a show of appreciation, the International Office offered the biography of Lama Yeshe, Big Love: The Life and Teachings of Lama Yeshe, to more than a hundred and fifty people, including people who have offered service in the organization for a long time, early students of FPMT, and a small number of benefactors. The Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive, who published Big Love, offered the book copies and the International Office covered the shipping expenses of the book. We also offer huge appreciation to LYWA for their great efforts in producing Big Love.
  

I want to take the opportunity, again, to sincerely thank all the staff in Rinpoche’s Office for this amazing work in challenging times! I also thank everyone around the world who help so much to continue the compassionate activities of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche—all those offering service, the teachers, translators, students, volunteers, and benefactors who work so hard and support the organization in so many different ways creating the “family feeling” of FPMT. Thank you!

I hope you will enjoy our new online format for our Annual Review and join me in rejoicing in all of the beneficial accomplishments.

roger kunsang

This last year has not been an easy one—quite challenging! We hope that everyone has been taking good care of themselves during the pandemic.

In early 2020, board members, staff of International Office, and regional and national coordinators completed a four-week online training course with FaithTrust Institute in response to the accusations and subsequent investigation of Dagri Rinpoche’s actions of sexual abuse. The main learning objectives of that course were to understand the importance of an awareness of power and vulnerability within teaching relationships, and to consider best practices regarding responding to misconduct by spiritual leaders. Additionally, in preparation for receiving the reports from the investigation, additional online training sessions were held with the board to help us with our responsibilities in adjudication of the findings from the report.

The full report from the investigation was received in September 2020. FaithTrust Institute reached its conclusions and associated analysis based on a standard for civil proceedings in the US, which is “a preponderance of evidence.” It was the FPMT Inc. Board’s responsibility to make final decisions about how to proceed in regards to the information contained in this report. The report contained a number of recommendations related to actions pertaining to (1) Dagri Rinpoche, (2) complainants, (3) communication and public statements, (4) policy and procedures, (5) ongoing training and education, and (6) additional complaints.

The board was determined to implement the recommendations received and work to do what was necessary to improve safeguarding within the organization. Many of the recommendations received have been completed in 2020 and in early 2021. During that time we have been prioritizing a review of FPMT policies and guidelines instituted to uphold a safe and respectful environment in FPMT centers, projects, and services.

The current steps are responding to and enriched by the learning provided and recommendations made as part of the investigation of Dagri Rinpoche by the two safeguarding organizations commissioned by FPMT Inc., which are Thirtyone:eight and FaithTrust Institute.

We’re implementing a robust menu of new policy, guidelines, and a supporting training presentation to help enable each of us in the FPMT organization to offer a safe environment for Dharma practice with clear protection from harm and abuse, and with transparent and appropriate processes in place to report and resolve any complaint. Here we share key steps we are taking in this important process:

• A new online Protecting from Abuse training presentation is about to launch. This will be mandatory for all in leadership positions within the FPMT organization, including registered teachers, and has been reviewed by Thirtyone:eight and other stakeholders within the FPMT organization. It includes guidance regarding sexual abuse, healthy boundaries, power imbalance, and crisis intervention. The training presentation is being provided in several languages, including Tibetan.
• Alongside the new training presentation, we will be providing a new Protecting from Abuse policy, which the training presentation is designed to unpack and support. This policy includes input and recommendations received during our safeguarding audits.
• We are also reviewing whether additional new policy and guidelines related to FPMT teachers may be needed, to supplement the Protecting from Abuse policy.

Our aim in providing these new resources, in addition to current ethical policy and guidelines, is to help provide learning, tools, and strategies to better ensure protection from harm and abuse in FPMT-affiliated centers, projects, and services, and to make sure that any complaints can be appropriately reported, processed, and resolved locally.

Additionally, FPMT Foundation and Teacher Development Service Seminars will refer to and make use of the new Protecting from Abuse policy and training. We are also working on how to more clearly communicate that any spiritual advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche is given purely from the perspective of personal spiritual practice and to ensure that clear pathways are separately outlined for processing any complaints or allegations.

The adjudication of the findings from the report was a difficult and challenging process for a board that was spread across the world in different time zones with different experiences and views. The board made efforts to conclude the initial work to the stage where the final report was received and adjudicated and the initial conclusions accepted.

The board worked on this for over a year, which was demanding and difficult considering outside work, family needs, and other personal responsibilities. Due to various reasons, some board members resigned near the end of the investigation. We would like to thank them for all the effort and invaluable contribution they made under such challenging circumstances. Special thanks to Andrew Haynes, who was the Chair of the Board and has been an FPMT Board member for so many years. Andrew has indicated he would like to return to the board after a period of rest.

New board members have already accepted to join the board and were recently announced. The intention is to have a mixture of ordained and lay individuals, a gender balance, and a good range of professional skills and FPMT organizational experiences.

We sincerely wish that all of us involved in the FPMT organization will continue to contribute to the necessary reflections and changes that will help us to better prevent harm and abuse, and to process complaints appropriately and fairly, and that the new policy, guidelines, and training will provide powerful support and oversight for this essential aspect of the service our organization provides around the world. We welcome any further suggestions toward this outcome.

Despite the challenges of this year, we are happy to see all of the accomplishments that International Office has achieved in 2020, and we continue to be inspired by all of the great work happening around the world throughout the FPMT organization.

Board of Directors, FPMT, Inc.

Rinpoche began the year in Bodhgaya, India, staying at Root Institute, where he did many of the activities that he usually engages in while there, including visiting the children at Maitreya School and also circumambulating the Mahabodhi Stupa.

Rinpoche then went to Kopan Monastery in Nepal and was offered a long life puja there on January 22. The next day, as news of the novel coronavirus became more serious, Rinpoche offered his first advice on practices to protect from the coronavirus and COVID-19.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche prostrating to the giant Guru Rinpoche thangka during the Guru bumtsok at Khachoe Ghakyil Nunnery, January 2020.

For the fifth year in a row, a very large thangka of Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) was displayed and an auspicious 100,000 tsog offering event (Guru bumtsog) took place at Khachoe Ghakyil Ling on January 23, 2020. The thangka, which is 75 feet (23 meters) high and 87 feet (27 meters) wide depicts, in stitched appliqué, the Padmasambhava merit field in the center. Rinpoche attended this powerful bumtsog.

At the end of January, Rinpoche traveled to Sera Je Monastery in South India for teachings. While at Sera Je, Rinpoche visited with many lamas, including Zong Rinpoche, Khyongla Rato Rinpoche, and Domo Rinpoche. On February 13, Rinpoche was offered a long life puja by Drati Khagtsen at Sera Je Monastery.

Rinpoche returned to Kopan and did one of many Most Secret Hayagriva tsog kong pujas with the Kopan monks on March 2 for removing the coronavirus and other obstacles.

On March 9, the Bodhicaryavatara and Rinjung Gyatsa Retreat at the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion in Australia was postponed. The postponement of the retreat, which was planned for March and April, was the result of observations by Lama Zopa Rinpoche on the implications of the coronavirus.

On March 19, we published the first video advice from Rinpoche in relation to the coronavirus. For the following nine months Rinpoche continued recording what became his thought transformation video teaching series, which by the end of the year had 90 videos.

As lockdown and stay at home orders were being issued around the world, Rinpoche and other high lamas in Nepal performed incense pujas to mitigate the spread and damage of COVID-19. Rinpoche remained at Kopan Monastery for the rest of 2020, allowing him the opportunity to participate in many activities there, such as attending debate sessions and meeting with the monastery’s monk staff members and teachers. Rinpoche celebrated Saka Dawa with the Kopan community in June.

On July 4 a long life puja was offered to Rinpoche under the guidance of Khadro-la. There were three days of preparations leading up to the special White Tara long life puja that was offered to Rinpoche with Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi and about one hundred senior monks from the monastery and twenty nuns from the nunnery.

During July and August, Rinpoche participated in offering more than forty fire pujas to purify and heal the coronavirus pandemic situation and its negative impact in Nepal and around the world. Based on advice from Khadro-la, a core group of lamas, which included Khadro-la; Tsoknyi Rinpoche; Mingyur Rinpoche; Lama Zopa Rinpoche; the Abbot of Shechen Monastery, Yeshe Gyaltsan; and the Abbot of Mindroling Monastery, Theckchok Gyaltsan, did fire pujas and incense pujas in several locations in Kathmandu.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche attends annual consecration ceremony at Kopan Monastery, Nepal, July 2020. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

In July, Rinpoche attended the second day of the annual Kopan consecration ceremony, which is a three-day event of pujas. The day Rinpoche attend was on Chokhor Duchen, when the consecration ceremony itself took place in the rebuilt Chenrezig Gompa.

In August, Rinpoche attended a Most Secret Hayagriva tsog kong puja offered at Kopan Monastery. This puja was one of a few that was advised by Khadro-la for Rinpoche’s health and long life. Rinpoche was also present for offering a tsog puja on the ninth anniversary of Khensur Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup’s showing the aspect of passing away; as well as most of the tsog pujas at Kopan all year.

A Most Secret Hayagriva tsog kong puja was offered at the end of October for Rinpoche’s long life and good health and for the entire FPMT organization.

Rinpoche participated in the meritorious activities at Kopan on Lhabab Duchen. Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi, and the Lama Gyupa monks recited Guhyasamaja Tantra in Lama Gyupa gompa at Kopan Monastery next to the beautiful Thirteen-Deity sand mandala that was created for the holy day. This year on Lhabab Duchen the monks did the Thirteen-Deity Yamantaka self-initiation for three days. On the third day, they offered a peaceful fire puja and dismantled the sand mandala. The following day the sand went into the river and a naga puja followed.

This year, the annual Kopan Course was canceled due to the pandemic. But Rinpoche’s birthday was still celebrated with some of the usual festivities on December 3. The day began with a Sixteen Arhant long life puja and a body, speech, and mind mandala offering to Rinpoche on behalf of the entire FPMT organization. This was followed by a program of dancing, Dharma plays, singing, and cake!

Khadro-la and Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi offering a dharmachakra to Lama Zopa Rinpoche, during a long life puja for Rinpoche, Kopan Monastery, December 2020. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Lama Tsongkhapa Day was on December 10, and Rinpoche participate in the activities at the monastery honoring the day, which included a Heruka Lama Chopa in the morning, the Kopan Lama Gyupas taking Guhyasamaja self-initiation, and all the monks making extensive light offerings at night.

On December 25, Rinpoche was offered a long life puja at Kopan with Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi and Khadro-la in attendance as well as Kopan monks and nuns. This was part of the official long life puja offered every year on behalf of the entire FPMT organization (with a second part following in 2021).

Throughout the year Rinpoche has been giving lamrim teachings to the monks of Kopan Monastery and to the nuns of Kachoe Ghakyil Ling Nunnery, and he also attended the debate festivals of the monks and nuns respectively.

Visit the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Photo Gallery to see more photo highlights from Rinpoche’s 2020.

• 2019 Annual Review – PDF
• 2019 Annual Review – eZine format
• 2018 Annual Review – PDF
• 2018 Annual Review – eZine format
• 2017 Annual Review – PDF
• 2017 Annual Review – eZine format
• 2017 Annual Review (ESPAÑOL) – PDF
• 2016 Annual Review – PDF
• 2016 Annual Review – eZine format
• 2016 Annual Review (FRENCH) – PDF
• 2015 Annual Review – PDF
• 2015 Annual Review – eZine format
• 2014 Annual Review – PDF
• 2014 Annual Review – eZine format
• 2013 Annual Review – PDF
• 2013 Annual Review – eZine format
• 2012 Annual Review – PDF
• 2012 Annual Review – eZine format
• 2011 Annual Review – PDF
• 2011 Annual Review – eZine format
• 2010 Annual Review – PDF
• 2010 Annual Review – eZine format
• 2009 Annual Review – eZine format
• 2008 Annual Review – PDF
• 2007 Annual Review – PDF
• 2006 Annual Review – PDF