Charitable Activities

Since 1991, the Sera Je Food Fund has been offering three meals a day to every monk studying at Sera Je Monastery. Some monks do not need to rely on this service due to various reasons such as having personal benefactors who sponsor their food directly, but the food offering is available to every single monk who would like to receive it. 

Three meals are offered every day to any monk studying at Sera Je Monastery.

Recently, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, FPMT CEO Ven. Roger Kunsang, and Charitable Projects Coordinator Ven. Holly Ansett spent a month at Sera Je Monastery with the Sera Je Food Fund team and attended a number of meetings with Ven. Ngawang Sangye who has been working for the food fund since 2007 while completing his geshe studies degree in 2016. He does an incredible job helping to manage this massive operation with the help of Vens Kalden and Rabten. They work with FPMT International Office on budget and cost analysis, which can become quite complicated when shopping and cooking for up to 2,500. 

In these recent meeting, the team discussed improvements that could be made to the program, advice and recommendations from a dietitian who was consulted last year, how to utilize seasonal produce, and the general food preferences of the monks. Recently, the entire menu was redesigned based on feedback from the monks and discussion with the kitchen management. The food fund will continually assess and make adjustments and improvements to operations, procedures, and services offered to help ensure that this project is bringing the most benefit to those it serves.The Sera Je Food Fund not only covers the cost of all food, it is also responsible for the entire kitchen operation, paying cooks, utilities, and equipment upkeep. 

8,700 pounds of flour and 6,500 pounds of rice are offered every month through the Sera Je Food Fund Kitchen.

Every day each khangtsen (monastic house made up of monks from the same regions) informs the Sera Je Food Fund Kitchen how many monks will be joining for meals so the cooks can always prepare the right amount of food. There is almost no waste from the kitchen because any leftovers are offered to monks who engage in evening debate or classes allowing the monks to enjoy a second dinner if they are studying or debating late. Any food bought by the kitchen that is not used is sold back to the market making the waste for the kitchen extremely low. This is quite impressive when considering the volume of food being prepared and cooked.  An incredible 8,700 pounds of flour and 6,500 pounds of rice are used every month in addition to large quantities of other foods such as vegetables, fruits, spices, grains, tea, milk, and other ingredients. 

Typically, about 50 monks are assigned to kitchen duties every day.  They help ensure that the ingredients are top quality, that the kitchen is always hygienic and efficient, and that the food is tasty for the monks. Lunch is often eaten as a group in the Sera Je gompa when there are pujas or practices happening. 

The monks gather in the gompa for lunch when there are prayers and pujas organized around lunch time.

Twenty-five years ago Lama Zopa Rinpoche initiated the Sera Je Food Fund as a way to offer daily benefit to all of the monks studying at Sera Je, enabling them to focus on their studies without having to worry about meals or the burden of food expenses and preparation. Since that time Ven. Roger has worked with support from Ven. Holly to help actualize this vision through continual work with the monastery and the benefactors who make this fund possible. 

Please take some time to rejoice in this incredible daily offering and the kindness of all the extremely generous donors who contribute to the success of this program. From the prep cooks, to the dishwashers, to those who do the shopping, to those who help manage the operation, to the accountants, to the food vendors, the Sera Je Food Fund is a massive collective effort on the part of many.

You are welcome to join in on this offering by donating any amount, or by following the news and updates of this beneficial daily offering of food to hundreds of monks. 

Lama Zopa Rinpoche as a young student. Rinpoche attended Rolwaling Sangag Choling as a child.

Thanks to the kindness of a generous benefactor who provided a grant, the Social Services Fund was able to recently offer US$173,599 to Rolwaling Sangag Choling Monastery for the rebuilding of their gompa.  Rolwaling Monastery is the main monastery in Rolwaling, located in Nepal along the Tibetan border, and is a precious site of cultural and religious heritage for the area. This monastery is particularly precious to FPMT as Lama Zopa Rinpoche attended this monastery between the ages of 7-12. Supporting this monastery is one way to help repay the monastery’s kindness for looking after and offering education to  Rinpoche as a child. There are currently fifteen young monks studying at this monastery. 

Rolwaling Sangag Choling is a community-centered monastery and its history spans about nine generations. It is the only monastery in the entire community of Sherpa Buddhists. The current gompa is approximately 150 years old and is richly painted with many holy statues and scripture. This gompa is the sole place in the area where daily prayers, offerings, pujas, retreats, Buddhist teachings, death and dying services, and community events for lay students and ordained Sangha (which can serve up to 300 people at once) are offered. The gompa was already not in good condition (having not been renovated since 1957) but the 2015 earthquake nearly destroyed what was there. For many in the local community, this gompa is more important than their own homes. It was reported that when assistance was offered to locals to help rebuild their houses following the earthquake, many locals became very emotional, saying things like, “Please help us save the gompa, we don’t mind staying in open spaces or living in caves, but we can’t see our gompa in ruins.” Restoring the gompa is extremely important to this community. 

The Rolwaling gompa, which had not been restored since 1957, was severely damaged due to the 2015 earthquake.

The Buddhist relics and imagery will be preserved in the rebuilding of the gompa.

During the reconstruction, all the relics and historically important materials will be reused so that the gompa can receive this important update without losing its original identity. 

Kopan monk Geshe Jinpa is from Rolwaling and will be responsible for making sure the renovations are done well and will be responsible for overseeing the financial side of this project. 

Please rejoice in this offering made possible by this generous grant. The rebuilding of this gompa helps preserve the local culture and reestablish the monastery as a place for Buddhist practice and community. Additionally, as this monastery helped to care for and educate Lama Zopa Rinpoche as a child, this grant helps repay the kindness of our precious spiritual director. 

The Social Services Fund also offered a grant to the monastery school to help with a youth hostel and repairs following the earthquake. 

If you would like to support the Social Services Fund and help ensure grants such as this can continue, you can read more about the charitable projects this fund supports, or donate any amount to the fund itself. 

A monk from the Sera Je Food Fund Kitchen helps with flour needed for bread for 30,000.

Over 30,000 people, including monks from surrounding monasteries, packed into Tashi Lhunpo Monastery for the last of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Jangchup Lamrim teachings in South India in late December 2015. 

The Sera Je Food Fund Kitchen prepared rice and bread to accompany the lunch offered by the teaching event, for every single participant. To accomplish this astounding offering, 150 monks woke up at 2 a.m. at Sera Je Monastry every morning to begin cooking. They then had to transport all of the bread and rice for 5.5 miles to Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in a sanitary way, every single day. Remarkably, they managed to serve the bread and rice steaming hot at lunch time. It is almost inconceivable to consider how they did this! 

Volunteer monks help kneed the dough required for massive amounts of bread.

All of the bread had to be cooked on the grill before transporting it to Tashi Lhunpo Monastery.

Bread for 30,000 getting carefully packed for transport to Tashi Lhunpo Monastery.

The bread is carefully packed and ready to be transported.

Rice for 30,000!

Giant pots were needed to prepare so much rice.

The rice is carefully loaded into a truck for transport.

This is just one way the Sera Je Food Fund Kitchen is utilized as a way to benefit ordained Sangha and students of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Huge thanks to all of the monks who volunteer their time to make this possible, and to Ngawang Sangye and the Sera Je Food Fund team who made this offering of time and effort so joyfully, as evidenced by the photos above. Please rejoice in this tremendous effort!

You can learn more about the Sera Je Food Fund: fpmt.org/projects/fpmt/seraje

Students and staff of Ngari Institute, located in the Himalayan Kingdom of Ladakh in a small village called Saboo.

For the fourth year, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, through the Social Services Fund, has offered food every day of the year to the school children and staff of Ngari Institute in Ladakh, India. This year, 46 school children, 16 teachers and eight young monks will benefit from this offering. The cost is US$20,526.39. 

Supporting those in need (such as children, the elderly, poor, and sick) is one of the main priorities of Social Services Fund and Lama Zopa Rinpoche has also indicated that in addition to offering for material needs, we must help in the ultimate way as well by offering Dharma education or creating holy objects as this creates the cause to change the karma and bring real lasting benefit. 

The students of Ngari Institute receive a modern education as well as training in Dharma and their own Tibetan culture.

Ngari Institute is located  in the Himalayan Kingdom of Ladakh in a small village called Saboo. The campus is spread over 20 hectares of deserted land. The main aim of this school is to empower and enrich the poor and needy remote-area students by imparting a combined learning of both modern scientific knowledge and ancient Buddhist wisdom. It was founded by the Ladakh alumni of Sera Je Monastery in South India. In 2007 Geshe Tsewang Dorje was invited to take full responsibility for this project.

Children, teachers, and young monks are offered food through the Social Services Fund.

In 2010 Geshe Tsewang Dorje appointed a group to find children who would otherwise miss educational opportunities, especially orphans and extremely poor children in the remote area, which runs between Tibet and Ladakh. These children will now be able to receive a modern education as well as learn about Tibetan Buddhism and their own culture.

Children who would otherwise miss educational opportunities are offered a modern and traditional Tibetan culture education at Ngari Institute.

The Institute sent this very thoughtful thank you message in response to this year’s donation, “Thank you very much for all the continued support for food for Ngari Institute in 2016. We would like to particularly thank Lama Zopa Rinpoche and all the FPMT supporters. Our director, Geshe Tsewang, has gone to holy Buddhist places to offer long life prayers for our supporters and for their own wishes to be fulfilled, particularly His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, and all the great masters and regular supporters.”

Thanks to all who donate to the Social Services Fund enabling the offering of important grants such as this. If you would like to contribute to the offering of grants such as this, you are welcome to donate any amount you can. 

The Social Services Fund has sponsored the food for Ngari Institute for the fourth year in a row and hopes to be able to continue long into the future. If you are inspired by grants such as this, you are welcome to contribute to the Social Service Fund and help ensure that work like this can continue. 

A Merit Box grant was given in 2015 for IMI Sangha to attend last year’s retreats with Lama Zopa Rinpoche in the Netherlands and Mexico (pictured here).

Each year the International Merit Box Project has a collection and grant application season when Merit Box practitioners send in their accumulated offerings for the year, and Dharma communities, projects and services apply for grants. That season is closing at the end of March. From now until then, the International Merit Box Project hopes to see a lot of activity coming from around the globe through grant applications and donations. 

The Merit Box Project was created in 2002 to foster generosity practice for individuals, while serving to provide grant funding to projects that are working to fulfill the FPMT mission. To date over 200 projects, services and initiatives have been supported by Merit Box grants, with the amount reaching nearly 1 million US dollars collectively.

Jamyang Buddhist Centre London’s Repaying the Kindness service project has been able to continue compassionately supporting care providers in part by Merit Box grants received in recent years.

Merit Box grants have helped myriad forms of compassionate activity come to fruition and can be indispensable for communities facing challenges in their local fundraising. Grants have supported Sangha to attend retreats; the creation of new holy objects, book publications, service programs, and retreat cabins; much-needed repair work, and so on. All this coming from individuals placing small offerings into their Merit Boxes at home throughout the year. Now approaching its fifteenth grant season, the International Merit Box Project is an annual display of the effects of collective generosity within the FPMT community.

The deadline for submitting a Merit Box grant application for a 2016 grant (awarded in May-June 2016) is March 31, 2016. Request a grant application by emailing meritbox@fpmt.org

One can join the international project and become a Merit Box practitioner by ordering a free Merit Box from the Foundation Store, or contribute immediately to the project online here. Donations received by March 31st, 2016 will be collected for the 2016 grant awards.

Robes offered to the Buddha statue in Mahabodhi Temple, Bodhgaya, India, through the Puja Fund. July, 2015. Photo by Andy Melnic.

Every month, on the full moon, the Puja Fund sponsors offerings to Buddha statues in Tibet and Bodhgaya. An offering of robes, made of the most precious material chosen by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, to the Buddha Statue in Mahabodhi Temple, Bodhgaya, India; and gold is offered to the Jowo Buddha Statue in Tibet. 

Mahabodhi Temple and grounds at night, Bodhgaya, India, January 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

Bodhgaya is where Shakyamuni Buddha reached enlightenment and according to Lama Zopa Rinpoche, is “where a thousand buddhas will descend, place their holy feet, display holy deeds, and achieve enlightenment. Guru Shakyamuni Buddha is the fourth of the thousand buddhas. The rest of the buddhas will descend here and will also display the twelve deeds, and the holy deed, achieving enlightenment. There is a place in Bodhgaya called the Vajra Seat. This ground is blessed. Before becoming enlightened, Buddha blessed this ground so it would not be destroyed or cracked, but would stay firm. It is said that there are no earthquakes in Bodhgaya because it is blessed by Buddha, and also that this will be the last place to exist when the world ends.”

You can watch a video of robes being offered to the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodhgaya on a full moon.

Also said to have been blessed by Shakyamuni Buddha himself (making it approximately 2,500 years old), the Jowo Buddha statue is one of the most sacred statues in all of Tibet. Originally crafted in India, the Jowo was brought to China, and then brought to Tibet by the daughter  of the Chinese emperor, Princess Wenchen Kongjo, upon her marriage to Songsten Gampo. The Jowo Buddha statue resides in the central chapel of the Jokhang, among the most holy temples in Lhasa.

The Jowo Buddha statue in Lhasa, Tibet.

About the power of statues of Buddha, Lama Zopa Rinpoche has said, “The benefit we get each time we see a statue of Buddha, a picture of Buddha or a stupa is like the limitless sky. It causes us to achieve all the realizations from guru devotion up to enlightenment and to achieve all the numberless qualities of the Buddha’s holy body, speech and mind.”

Every full moon students around the world can take a few moments to participate in these offerings by rejoicing and mentally offering the precious robes and gold to these two most holy Buddha statues. Thanks to all the donors who make this possible as well as those who are directly involved by engaging in the practice on site or facilitating the offerings. 

All are welcome to donate to the Puja Fund and directly support these most precious offerings. 

Lifelike statue of Lama Yeshe, FPMT’s founder, residing now at Vajrapani Institute, CA, USA.

Since 2011, Vajrapani Institute has been working with others to create a lifelike statue of FPMT’s precious founder, Lama Yeshe. In 2013, Lama Zopa Rinpoche offered US$10,000 toward the completion of his statue. 

In November of 2015, after an unusual array of obstacles and difficulties, the finished fiberglass statue arrived at Vajrapani Institute from Thailand, just in time for a visit by Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Director Fabienne Pradelle explains, “When we opened the crate [after picking it up from the airport], Lama’s head appeared peaking up from the packing foam. Elaine Jackson burst into tears. We unpacked it and placed it in the Geshe House.” About the appearance of the statue, which depicts Lama Yeshe in a young aspect, Lama Zopa Rinpoche commented, “It is extremely good. He has become very young! In Mongolia there were statues made in China, very young looking, of Buddha Shakyamuni. The geshe said that it was very auspicious, looking young like this, so I think the young [appearance] is very auspicious.”

Lama Zopa Rinpoche meets the new statue of Lama Yeshe at Vajrapani Insitute, November 2015.

Two years previously, when Fabienne was checking the progress of the statue with Rinpoche, Rinpoche told her that the statue should go in Vajrapani Institute’s new gompa (yet to be built) surrounded by 999 smaller replicas to make a total of 1,000 Lama Yeshe statues. This will form the main altar of their new gompa. The smaller statues will be made from a mold which comes from a 3D scan of the main statue. With the 3D scan, they will be able to reduce the size of the statue to whatever height they determine. From that mold, they can also create smaller replicas (either in fiberglass or possibly bronze) to offer to benefactors.

Members of the Vajrapani community with the new statue of Lama Yeshe.

About building statues of one’s guru, Lama Zopa Rinpoche commented, “When you build a guru statue, you get the merit of having built numberless Buddha statues. Whether you build small or big you get unbelievable merit, the same merit as numberless statues of Buddha.” While Rinpoche offered to cover the cost of half of the smaller statues, he suggested that students should also join in the incredible merit of the statue creation by helping sponsor the other half. That is 500 opportunities to create the merit of building numberless Buddha statues! Vajrapani isn’t actively fundraising for this project yet, as they have to first build a prayer wheel, then a gompa, then an altar, in addition to other tasks before they will create the statues. But when the time approaches, all are welcome to join in and help fulfill this incredibly auspicious request from Lama Zopa Rinpoche. 

Vajrapani Institute wishes to thank Ven. Jamyang Wamgo who initiated the project and Elea Mideke who helped see this project through to completion and traveled to Thailand twice to work with the local artists. 

The Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund enables Rinpoche’s compassionate service to others to flourish. You can learn more about other beneficial activities this fund supports. 

His Holiness at Tashi Lhunpo, Karnataka, India, January 1, 2016. Photo by Bill Kane.

In December, the Preserving the Lineage Fund sponsored the offering of lunch to 17,000 people during His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s anticipated three day teaching event at Tashi Lhunpo Monastery which preceded His Holiness’s Jangchup Lamrim teachings, also held at Tashi Lhunpo.

Due to a schedule change, His Holiness taught for one day rather than three for this teaching event. Fortunately, His Holiness has accepted an invitation to continue teaching at Tashi Lhunpo in the very near future. The funds already offered for the two days of food that were not used will be applied towards offering food to all who attend during His Holiness’s next visit. 

Tashi Lunpo Monastery, Karnataka, India. Photo by Bill Kane.

This was such an incredible opportunity to make offerings to so many people attending His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s teachings, the majority who were ordained Sangha.

You can learn more about the Preserving the Lineage Fund as well as the Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund to learn more about how FPMT Charitable Projects support monks and nuns around the world. 

(Left to right) Kontsak Rinpoche, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche and Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi during a Guru Rinpoche puja at Kopan Nunnary, Nepal, December 2015. Photo by Bill Kane.

This year on Losar, in addition to the wide array of pujas and offerings, the Puja Fund also sponsored 100,000 tsog offerings by the Kopan monks and nuns and dedicated to the long life of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and to purify our karma for Rinpoche to show any aspect of illness.

In this way, the Puja Fund has joined in with all FPMT centers, projects and services to help create the karma for Rinpoche’s long and healthy life. All of the tsog offerings completed will be offered to Rinpoche during the upcoming long life puja in Singapore.

The Puja Fund sponsors prayers and practices, offered by up to 15,650 ordained Sangha members, on every Buddha Day, such as Losar, when merit is multiplied by 100 million times.

The official long life puja on behalf of the entire FPMT will be offered to Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Amitabha Buddhist Centre in Singapore on Sunday, March 13 as part of Rinpoche’s teaching event there. The puja will start at 9 a.m. Singapore time (GMT+8).

All are welcome to contribute to this long life puja by donating any amount to the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Long Life Puja Fund. 

Site of the new community hall that will serve 2,710 Tibetan refugees.

In July we reported that a US$116,848 grant from the Social Services Fund had been offered to Rabagayling Tibetan Settlement in South India for the building of a new community hall that will benefit the 2,710 refugees there. We are pleased to report that work on this hall is underway.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche blessing the members of the elderly home at the Tibetan settlement.

In December 2015, during His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s teachings in Gyurme Tantric College in Hunsur, Lama Zopa Rinpoche visited the construction site and offered prayers to bless the building. 

Rinpoche also visited an elderly home that was close by and gave a talk. Many of the elders there will be using the community hall for prayers and practices. Rinpoche told them that even though they don’t have much, they have the Dharma and are so blessed due to reciting OM MANI PADME HUM every day. Rinpoche then explained some of the benefits of this mantra.

Rinpoche has said that “by reciting OM MANI PADME HUM you collect more merit than the number of drops of water in the ocean, than the number of snowflakes in a snowfall, than the number of drops of water in rainfalls, more merit than the number of grains of sand in the Pacific Ocean, and if you do it with bodhichitta, then it creates the cause of happiness up to enlightenment. Then you are able to bring all sentient beings to enlightenment by purifying the negative karma and collecting more than skies of merit.”

Lama Zopa Rinpoche blessing settlement community members with a blessing wheel containing mantras.

Rinpoche blessed all the residents of the home with his new blessing wheel that contains 2,040,000 mantras including Stainless Lotus Pinnacle. Rinpoche explained that when one is blessed with this holy object on the head, it purifies 2,040,000,000 eons of negative karma. 

Lama Zopa Rinpoche blessing the site of the new community hall at the Tibetan settlement.

Rinpoche continually reminds us that in addition to offering help for basic needs such as food, shelter, and medical care, we must also remember to help others in an ultimate way – to purify negative karma and create the cause for happiness up to enlightenment. Rinpoche is hoping in the future that there will be holy objects close to the elder care home so that the residents can create merit. Rinpoche also hopes for some teachers to visit the home and give Dharma talks and lead prayers. 

Residents of the elder care home with Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Through the Social Services Fund and due to the kindness of one benefactor, FPMT is able to focus on offering more help for elder care in India and Nepal.

Please rejoice! This new hall will serve this Tibetan community for years to come and will be used for holding 100 million mani retreats as well as official functions, workshops, and training in Tibetan language and culture, which is critical for the preservation of the Tibetan heritage.

The Social Services Fund sponsored all the food for the residents in 2015 and hopes to be able to continue in 2016. If you are inspired by grants such as this, you are welcome to contribute to the Social Service Fund and help ensure that work like this can continue. 

During the animal liberation practice, animals are carried around holy objects so the worms can create merit.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche has requested the Sangha at his residences in California and Washington state to offer the practice of animal liberation every week dedicated to anyone who is sick or having life obstacles. Additionally, Sangha in California offer a weekly blessing of all sentient beings in the ocean by submerging large Namgyälma mantra boards into the water.

Extensive prayers are made for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Lama Zopa Rinpoche and all our kind teachers, the Sangha, and anyone who is sick and requesting prayers.

During an animal liberation, the sentient beings are circumambulated around holy objects and extensive prayers and dedications are made for Lama Zopa Rinpoche, his gurus, all sponsors of this fund, all beings who are sick or face an untimely death, as well as many specific dedications requested by the FPMT community.

Supporting all sentient beings in any way possible is why FPMT was established. Benefiting animals directly is one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Visions for the organization. The Animal Liberation Fund helps carry forth this work.

In 2015, approximately 79,000 sentient beings were liberated. This is something wonderful to rejoice in, and something anyone can make offerings toward, especially if you are sick or would like to offer on behalf of someone else who is sick.

The FPMT Foundation Store offers a teachings and practices from Lama Zopa Rinpoche about how to benefit animals, including the animal liberation practice, in booklet and PDF formats.

Construction materials were flown to the village of Beding. In this area Yeshe Norbu rebuilt several houses and gave support to hundreds of families.

Yeshe Norbu Onlus is an Italian FPMT non-profit association which supports important projects benefiting Tibetan refugees and children. Since the earthquake in Nepal last April, Yeshe Norbu has offered a tremendous amount of emergency aid to assist those in need in Nepal. Please rejoice in this incredible work which has benefited 

From April 2015 through the end of 2015, Yeshe Norbu Onlus:
* Distributed of 154,324 pounds of food as well as tents and medicine
* Built 129 temporary structures
* Rebuilt 29 homes 
* Provided doctors to remote areas 
* Rebuilt the classrooms of the Mount Everest School at Kopan Monastery

Since the Nepal earthquake, Yeshe Norbu has financed the reconstruction of 29 houses for very poor families in remote villages, reusing the materials recovered from collapsed houses and sheets of galvanized plate.

Yeshe Norbu provided rebuilding support to villages in Nepal focusing on the elderly and alone as well as families who were without resources prior to the earthquake, making post-earthquake survival incredibly difficult.

You are welcome to support this work directly to ensure that Yeshe Norbu Onlus can continue to offer essential support where it is most needed. 
www.adozionitibet.it/it/cosa-puoi-fare/terremoto-nepal