FPMT Community: Stories & News

Young students of Maitreya School. Photo by Donna Lynn Brown.

Maitreya School, a project of the Root Institute in Bodhgaya, India, is dedicated to providing quality education while fostering the overall growth and well-being of its 250+ students. The school integrates academic excellence with cultural awareness and personal development through a variety of enriching programs and activities. Recently, former associate editor of Mandala Publications, Donna Lynn Brown, spent extensive time at Root Institute and was inspired by the program at Maitreya School. What follows is a moving portrait of this special school, and the incredible value it offers its students. 

Maitreya Universal Education School, Bodh Gaya, February 2025. Photo by Donna Lynn Brown.

By Donna Lynn Brown

“It was so auspicious,” reflected Kabir Saxena, trustee of Root Institute for Wisdom Culture in Bodhgaya, India. He was describing the visit, on February 6, 2025, of schoolchildren from Root Institute’s Maitreya Universal Education School to the main stupa in Bodhgaya, located where the Buddha attained enlightenment. The children, from grades 6, 7, and 8, went by bus to the stupa with Kabir, teachers, and volunteers to learn about the site and the Nyingma Monlam, a large prayer festival taking place there.

Although the children live in the area, they know little about the stupa. Kabir explained what had happened there and what the children were observing as they circumambulated. At one point, spotting some distinguished friends—a member of the Buddhist Temple Management Committee and a daughter of Tarthang Tulku, Tsering Gellek, who directs the Nyingma Institute in Sarnath, India—Kabir asked some of the schoolgirls if they remembered the Heart Sutra. They had learned it in Sanskrit earlier so they could perform it before His Holiness the Dalai Lama; the school does this every year. There and then, at India’s holiest Buddhist site, Maitreya School’s students chanted the Heart Sutra in India’s holy language. Auspicious indeed!

This inspiring incident is only one of many these days involving the school. Over the last two years the school has been changing to become more child-centered. Many of its students come from households affected by poverty, alcoholism, or abuse. They need trauma-informed approaches. And both brain and trauma research show that children learn better from contemporary pedagogies that support them psychologically and emotionally than from textbook-based lectures. Gradually, the school is implementing activity- and project-based learning: less explaining by teachers standing at the blackboard; more child-focused methods and activities.

Guiding this process is “Kabir Sir,” as the students call him, who is working with Sanjeev Kumar, the school principal, to bring Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s vision to fruition. “Rinpoche gave us many ideas,” he reported. “But the main thrust was to help the children develop spiritually, psychologically, and emotionally while giving them an education that helps them and their communities. Rinpoche thought we should make them like warriors who bring peace and happiness into the world. The last couple of years, fortunately, we’ve had staff and volunteers able to move us in that direction. It’s not fast. It’s day by day, improving the way each class is taught. We work on the teachers’ skills, the resources they can draw on, the way classes unfold. Slowly we make progress.”

Greater attention to the children’s psychological state is one way the school is moving forward. During the 23/24 year, an Indian volunteer from Kolkata, Sanjana, provided many students with counseling. This year, a Canadian psychotherapist, nicknamed Sherpa, spent two weeks working with children and teachers. Through art therapy done individually and in groups, he helped “troublesome” children to develop skills in working with others, avoiding conflict, and handling emotions like anger and jealousy. He also sought to improve the teachers’ understanding of children’s learning processes and to share ways of meeting children’s needs so they have space to learn. “If kids are happy and relaxed,” he emphasized, “they learn better. There’s less resistance, less avoidance, less work for teachers.” He found that “some of the students are really brilliant and talented,” and added, “we don’t want to ignore or waste that. Their futures, families, and society all need them to flourish.” He hopes to come back next year to do more.

Duffer at her desk in the new library, February 2025. Photo by Donna Lynn Brown.

Another contributor is Duffer, a retired teacher and librarian from the USA. Duffer spent several months in the 23/24 year at the school and has returned for the 24/25 year. For part of 2024, she was joined by her friend and fellow teacher Kim. Kim and she both expect to be back in 25/26 as well. Aided by a young Indian-American man named Vamsi, the friends completely re-established the school’s library in 23/24. Duffer brought and bought books and other resources, and organized the team’s work. They identified needs, sorted useful from outdated or unsuitable items, designed a new room and new shelving, categorized books by subject, catalogued them and entered them into a database, and taught students the purpose of the library, how to find what they wanted, take out books, and keep things orderly. “We wanted to make the library beautiful and the books accessible,” she said, “so the kids would be attracted. It’s working. Some days more want to be there than we can even fit in.”

In autumn 2024, Duffer ran a GoFundMe campaign for more needed items. “We just got in 600 new books in Hindi,” she reported. “That’s a lot of cataloguing, but the books are great. Indian kids’ books may not be as glossy as American ones, but the stories and drawings are terrific. The kids have so much fun with them.” She continues to steward the library and also works with teachers on lesson planning and teaching methods, sometimes co-teaching to help them learn new approaches. As well, she is developing “circle time”: small group discussions to teach the 16 Guidelines, in place of large assemblies, that better support learning by children affected by trauma.

Neelashi cataloguing some of the new Hindi-language books, February 2025. Photo by Donna Lynn Brown.

Neelashi, originally from Rajasthan, has been a staff member of the school since August 2024. She has Masters degrees in both education and Buddhist Studies and is a trained Waldorf teacher. Her main job is working with teachers. She also teaches classes, works directly with students, and attends to students’ physical and psychological health. One concern she has is nutrition. Many students eat little or no breakfast. In 22/23 and 23/24, Root Institute was able to give them, when they arrived each morning, peanuts and bananas—protein, vitamins, and calories. However, grant funding for that program expired in early 2024. Neelashi is trying to raise funds to restore it. She has also applied to Kyentse Foundation for a grant to produce books she is planning to help the children create: books in which they depict their own lives in words and pictures.

Neelashi has found that the students often prefer to learn experientially, not be “just told.” They are eager to figure things out—and giving them the chance improves learning outcomes. So, she indicated, “we have to give them experiences” using images, stories, discussions, games, puppets, and so on in place of lectures. “I work with the teachers on this as a colleague,” she said. “I go in their classrooms, I give examples of how I would teach something.” That way the teachers learn new methods. As well, she mentioned, “we have started adding small things to make the classrooms more energetic, friendly, colorful, heartful. A lot of thought goes into this and it creates a better environment.” She also works with the children to help them learn to relate in healthy ways to adults when their home experiences have been negative. She summed up her role by saying, “The school is in a beautiful place—Bodhgaya—but at the same time, in the most difficult place, one of the poorest states in India, which means education cannot just be English, Hindi, science, math. The regular teachers will do that. But education has to mean other things too. That’s my work. Paying attention to how we are as human beings.”

A Universal Education lesson, February 2025. Photo by Donna Lynn Brown.

Will the school continue to evolve? “Absolutely,” said Kabir. “We haven’t fully mastered best practices in teaching, for one. That’s a work in progress. We’d like to teach yoga. Also help the children to better integrate the 16 Guidelines. Rinpoche wanted us to incorporate drama as one way to do that. And we’d like to add some kinds of Buddhist teachings. We are trying as well to learn from other Buddhist-run schools that are improving curricula and methods. We can also better encourage the kids’ creativity to help them contribute to society. There’s plenty to do and I hope to spend the coming decade making it happen.” Added Duffer, “Realistically, the school needs money. We need laptops. Renovations. Better salaries for teachers so, when we train them in new methods, they don’t leave for government schools that pay more. We have great volunteers, but some improvements take money too.”

In early February 2025, Maitreya School had a distinguished visitor: Geshe Lhakdor, formerly His Holiness’s translator and now Director of The Library of Tibetan Works and Archives. Geshe-la gave a talk in Hindi to the teachers and answered their questions, emphasizing the value he placed on the school. When he subsequently gave a Dharma teaching in English at Root Institute, he began by mentioning the plight of Bodh Gaya’s street children. He went on to say, “Root Institute has opened this school, that’s the right thing… there is so much poverty in Bodhgaya. You can walk around the stupa but it is more important to change this place. … Walking around the stupa is still important but we have to help sentient beings. That’s what pleases the Buddha most.” Encouraging words for all who help the school and its children!

You can read more about Maitreya School’s recent utilization of a grant from the FPMT Social Services Fund.

 Written by Donna Lynn Brown. Donna is a former Associate Editor of Mandala magazine. She first encountered Lama Zopa Rinpoche and FPMT at a November course at Kopan Monastery in 1996. Recently she completed a Ph.D in which she researched and wrote about FPMT’s social engagement and its intersection with traditional Buddhist teachings.

Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.

View from Land of Calm Abiding, Big Sur, CA, USA.

“Retreat” literally means to retreat from one’s ordinary day-to-day concerns and view, and to give oneself the opportunity to focus on reality. Away from ordinary distractions, we can train our mind in the path to enlightenment.

FPMT retreat centers span the globe in a variety of beautiful locations and several centers also offer the opportunity to do Buddhist retreats in the heart of the city. Retreat centers offer everything from intensive meditation on Tibetan Buddhist practices to a relaxing environment for reflection and discovery. We are delighted to share an insightful call to retreat by Kolby Graham, director of Land of Calm Abiding in Big Sur, California, USA:

When we check up with our minds, we often become aware how easily we still reify existence around us. So after many years of Dharma study and practice at the feet of our most incredibly kind Vajra Teachers, how is it that we have not yet been able to fully embody the teachings? It seems we might already know the answer: Our minds are not yet serviceable to sustain and cultivate the truth we may only be able to perceive more clearly on occasion.

The Enlightenment Stupa at Land of Calm Abiding, CA, USA.

There is, however, a very pragmatic solution that has been hiding from us in plain sight within our own Mandala – sacred hermitages, known to us us as retreat centers. The biographies of nearly all past great yogis reveal the bodhichitta dedication to realizations that come in solitary retreat.
Fortunately, the FPMT organization has many amazing retreat centers that are available to us. Many practitioners may think they can simply insert their Dharma practice into their worldly lives, but this will never be fully possible without first giving up the worldly minds embedded within our worldly lives.

When we fully extricate ourselves to remote and blessed wilderness hermitages for our Dharma practice, we give our minds the opportunity to not distract themselves with the onslaught of endless worldly activities that so easily activate our worldly concerns and steal our chances of maintaining our naturally clear and bright awareness. It is only with this clear and bright awareness that we are able to cultivate genuine lasting realizations.

One of the retreat cabins at Milarepa Center, Vermont, USA.

In this global FPMT Mandala, we have the most amazing conducive conditions for extended or short solitary retreat. There are many centers with solitary retreat facilities including, for example, Land of Calm Abiding in Big Sur California, USA; Vajrapani Institute, CA, USA; Milarepa Center in Northeast Vermont, USA; De-Tong Ling on Kangaroo Island, Australia; Mahamudra Centre in New Zealand; Thakpa Kachoe Retreat Land in the French Alps; Kalachakra Retreat Center, France; Lawudo Retreat Center, Nepal; Rinchen Jangsem Ling Retreat Centre, Malaysia; Land of Joy in Northern England; and Oseling in the Sierra Nevadas of Spain. 

Thakpa Kachoe Retreat Land, France.

All sacred hermitages present the opportunity to abide in retreat from our samsaric modern world and our samsaric minds, within the enchanting soothing quality of vast natural landscapes.  It is so rare and so special in these current times to be able to offer Dharma students the unique potential to fully embrace the Path single-pointedly in such a majestically beautiful and supportive environment.  

At Land of Calm Abiding, our 525 acres are completely surrounded by National Forest with no human neighbors, and all living needs are taken care of by fellow practitioners honored to bring fresh groceries to the very comfortable private cabins. When one checks up the qualities for conducive retreat in Lama Tsongkapa’s Lamrim Chenmo, one finds them here. Our precious Lama Zopa Rinpoche even made it clear that this is a place to cultivate shinay. On Ribur Rinpoche’s visit, Ribur Rinpoche claimed one day this Land of Calm Abiding would be one of the most important places for Dharma. Presumably this means practitioners will cultivate genuine realizations here. What if by abiding in retreat we finally learn to truly rest beneath the surface of experience without being tossed around by waves of our own illusions.  Perhaps then the Principal Aspects of the Path and the Tantric Stages could be synthesized into a moment to moment experience.

As we know realizations won’t come with our ordinary monkey mind. Indeed, without cultivating the clear and luminously knowing awareness of our minds, we will always be susceptible to a “distracted mind resting in the fangs of mental afflictions.” Shantideva made this point quite clear in The Bodhisattva’s Way of Life. 

Mountain view from Oseling Retreat Center. October 2017. Photo courtesy of Oseling Retreat Center.

So for those who already have had many years of Dharma study and meditation with guidance from truly remarkable gurus—how do we pragmatically make more effort to abide in these sacred hermitages that are available to us? While the trials of living in the modern world can sometimes make the act of going on retreat seem insurmountable, we only need to look to the biographies and successes of the many yogis of the past for inspiration.

It also seems part of the facilitation of inspiration to shake us from the confusion of our minds needs to come from these great sacred hermitages themselves.  Here at Land of Calm Abiding, the only mandatory entrance requirements to our beautiful cabins and land are bodhichitta motivation and guidance from a trusted teacher. Monastics without sponsors are often easiest to raise retreat funds for, but even for our dedicated lay community there are ways to get “noodles rolling up the hill” as mentioned in Pabongka’s Liberation in the Palm of the Hand.

Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Lawudo, Nepal, 1969. Photo courtesy of the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

On a recent podcast of Skeptic’s Guide to Enlightenment, Scott Snibbe interviewed Paula “Nyingje” Chichester who has abided in long retreats at Milarepa Center, Land of Calm Abiding, a cabin adjacent to Vajrapani Institute, as well as Oseling in Spain. Paula has dedicated her life to the path of a yogi well before, during, and well after her many years of ordination. In the following excerpt from the interview, she very succinctly recalls the advice from a great yogi, Geshe Yeshe Tobden, to her and Roger “Samten” Munro in response to their abiding in retreat with reliance on sponsorship from others:

“He was overjoyed! He even hugged Roger and he said, ‘You must continue to live this way for the rest of your life to prove to Western people that it’s possible, that it can be done, because the biggest obstacle to people gaining realizations is thinking they have to have a job and they have to support themselves. In the West you have places, you have books, and you have teachers, but you don’t have yogis—and you won’t have Dharma until you have yogis!  Because Dharma is not in the books.'”

If there is a genuine interest from our side for Dharma to survive in the West and the modern world, then we must hear this call to actually take steps to subdue our minds in retreat. This is a fantastic way to fully repay the kindness of all mother sentient beings and thus the great kindness of our Vajra Teachers. 

The dedicated yogi monk Lhundrup Samten (Roger Munro) still abides in retreat. He resides continually at Land of Calm Abiding following the advice of Ribur Rinpoche and Lama Zopa Rinpoche to complete a third Great Retreat as presented in Lama Tsongkapa’s profound ear-whispered lineage teachings.  In a recent written correspondence, Ven. Samten elucidated the motivation it takes to leave behind the samsaric mind:

“From the very beginning of my Dharma efforts in this life, the Ten Innermost Jewels of the Kadampa Geshes have been my foundation! I would rather die alone in a cave than follow the limited works for this life only.”

Lama Zopa Rinpoche consecrating stupa at Mahamudra Centre, New Zealand, May 2015. Photo by Ven. Thubten Kunsang.

It is perhaps only this magnitude of dedication that gives enough bodhichitta rocket fuel for our minds to have enough lift off for  realizations, thereby allowing us to fully reach the path in this life. At such a point when the samsaric mind has no control over us, we can focus anywhere because we won’t be distracting ourselves anymore! How wonderful to bring such a serviceable mind back into the fabric of our ridiculously entangled and misguided materialistic modern world. 

I rejoice that currently I am hearing wonderful echoes in our global FPMT Mandala as well as other Dharma communities, that now is the time to encourage retreat and realizations!  Anyone filled with enthusiasm to abide in retreat or support others to do so through much needed financial aid or physical service, please reach out to your nearest Retreat Center.

May we all fully reach the path in this life by following the precious teachings and personal advice of our most kind holy gurus, and thereby bring ourselves and countless mother sentient beings to the peerless state of enlightenment.  Sarva Mangalam!

Please explore the many retreat facilities and opportunities available to at FPMT centers worldwide. 

Since moving to Vajrapani Institute and meeting Lama Zopa in the summer of 2006, Kolby Graham’s life has been dedicated to cultivating the Dharma. In the Fall of 2007, he left Vajrapani for a tour in India which included two months at Sera Je Monastery for Choden Rinpoche’s transmissions and teachings, followed by a couple weeks at Root Institute with Lama Zopa Rinpoche, and then a couple weeks at Drepung Monastery with His Holiness Dalai Lama’s teachings. From 2009 to 2010 and 2011 to 2012 he served as caretaker at Land of Calm Abiding, and all years following he would come back for periodic weeks and months of helping out on the land or abiding in retreat himself.  During the covid pandemic he felt the call to help out at Land of Medicine Buddha in Soquel California as they were very short staffed at the time. His service at LMB in 2022 came to a close when he was asked to serve as Director at Land of Calm Abiding, where he serves and resides today.

Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.

Khenrinpoche Geshe Thubten Chonyi presiding over the celebration ceremony for eleven new geshemas from Kopan Njunnery. Photo thanks to Kopan Nunnery.

On February 3, 2025, eleven nuns from Khachoe Ghakyil Ling Nunnery (Kopan Nunnery) in Nepal successfully completed over 20 years of rigorous Buddhist studies and achieved the geshema degree. They all participated in a special celebration ceremony.

The new geshemas during the ceremony at Kopan Nunnery, February 3, 2025. Photo thanks to Kopan Nunnery.

The geshema degree is the same course of study as the geshe degree, with the feminine “ma” added just to delineate gender. The path to becoming a geshema begins after completing 17 years of monastic study. Those that qualify and desire to move onto the geshema degree path must then complete four years of rigorous oral and written examinations, including a successful thesis defense.

Prior to an historic change in 2012, nuns did not have access to the four-year geshe degree path as monks did. The first to achieve the title of geshema was the German nun Geshema Kelsang Wangmo, who completed her degree at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics (IBD) in McLeod Ganj, India, a year prior in 2011. A nuns committee meeting was held in 2012, followed with the announcement by the Tibetan Administration’s Department of Religion and Culture that the full degree was now available to nuns.

Please join us in rejoicing in this momentous achievement by all eleven nuns who have worked so hard toward this goal for the benefit of all. 

If you have a story to share from the FPMT global community, or news for rejoicing from an FPMT center, project, or service, we are always very happy to receive it. 

Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.

His Eminence Jhado Rinpoche, 2023. Photo by Harald Weichhart.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama offered the complete cycle of the Pure Visions Bearing the Seal of Secrecy of the Great Fifth Dalai Lama (Sangwa Gyachen) in 2005 at Thekchen Choeling Temple in Dharamsala. Among those who received the complete transmission was the past abbot of Namgyal Monastery, H. E. Jhado Rinpoche. Namgyal Monastery is the personal monastery of His Holiness in McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala. To commemorate the twentieth anniversary and in celebration of His Holiness’s 90^th birthday, H.E. Jhado Rinpoche will be transmitting the complete cycle of Sangwa Gyachen with initiations, transmissions, and commentaries from March 16-April 3, 2025 in the main temple.

His Holiness is the greatest source of inspiration for the FPMT organization. Lama Zopa Rinpoche said, “[I would like] for FPMT to offer service to His Holiness the Dalai Lama as much as possible and to be able to fulfill His Holiness’ wishes. This is the highest priority for the organization.” 

All interested and wishing to attend should contact Namgyal Monastery Office in advance and please refer to the attached poster for information on commitments associated with these teachings. 

To support His Holiness’ wish to keep the continuity of this lineage of the 5th Dalai’s Pure Visions cycle, FPMT Education Services is publishing the two practice texts required for this momentous event.

• The Great Compassionate One Embodying the Three Roots
• The Body Maṇḍala Rite of the Display of the Combined Peaceful and Wrathful Kagye

We will share details on how to obtain these materials as soon as they become available.

Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.

Group photo of the 2024 Kopan Course participants. Photo courtesy of Kopan Monastery.

170 participants from 44 countries participated in Kopan Monastery’s yearly month-long lamrim course, known affectionately as the November Course, which was held November 8 through December 8, 2024. Those in attendance ranged in age from a few 18-year-old first-timers to an 88-year-old long-time student. During the course, 41 participants took refuge with Khenrinpoche Geshe Thubten Chonyi, who taught in the afternoons for the first time. His teachings centered on the Eight Verses of Mind Training, offering practical guidance for participants.

Francisca, Thubten Pende, Ven. Joan Nicell, Ani Karin, Khenrinpoche Geshe Chonyi, Lama Thubten Rigsel Rinpoche, and Ven. Tenpa Choden having lunch during the picnic. Photo courtesy of Kopan Monastery.

One of FPMT’s first Western students, Tubten Pende (aka Jim Dougherty), enriched the course significantly, sharing stories from the early days of the organization, and his experiences with Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche since 1972.

As usual, many received the Vajrasattva initiation from Khenrinpoche Geshe Thubten Chonyi, and five have already begun the three-month Vajrasattva Retreat at Kopan. The retreat concluded with the traditional picnic, made even more special by the creativity of participants. Several offered Dharma-inspired performances to the sangha and teachers, as well as poetry. Kopan offered three Cham dances, performed by Kopan monks, which added a meaningful cultural element to the event.

Kopan course participants with Kopan monks following the Cham dances. Photo courtesy of Kopan Monastery.

The first Kopan course was offered in 1971 with a dozen students in attendance. Over the years, an average of 200 spiritual seekers from diverse backgrounds have received the immense blessings of this legendary course. Many of FPMT’s senior students first met Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche after walking up the beautiful and holy Kopan hill for the month-long retreat. This historic course is responsible for the lamas’ teachings spreading throughout the West as these students established FPMT centers around the world. Please join us in rejoicing in the 2024 course, and we look forward to sharing information on the 2025 course, as it becomes available.

Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.

Complete Dharma hives ready for placement of a 3rd honey bee colony in Spring 2024. Flowers painted by Sonam Sherpa. Mantras painted by Ven. Tenzin Yonten. Photo thanks to Ven. Tenzin Yonten.

In May 2023, Nalanda Monastery, France, installed their first honey bee colonies at a secluded spot in the extensive grounds of Maitreya Pure Land, a property adjacent to Nalanda, encompassing 5.5 hectares (13.59 acres) of beautiful parkland which the monastery purchased in 2020.

Their primary objective with this activity, called the Bee Kind Project, is to provide a supportive environment for promoting a genetic line of honey bees resistant to some of the modern challenges that bees have to deal with. Late summer offers the monastery harvestable honey to enjoy and utilize.

“By providing a protected and supportive environment for honey bees, we not only create a deeper appreciation for other sentient beings and the natural world around us, but we also contribute to local ecology in a positive and practical way,” Nalanda explains on their website. “Through the support of strong honey bee populations, we can significantly address their decline caused by habitat loss, pesticides, climate change and invasive predators. Taking action to protect these vital pollinators is essential for a sustainable future in food security and biodiversity.”

All jars of a very limited harvest in our first year were offered to the incredibly kind sponsors who started the project. Photo thanks to Ven. Tenzin Yonten.

Nalanda Monastery focuses on animal welfare through various compassionate initiatives, including the Bee Kind Project. The Animal Care Project as a whole also provides essential nutritional and medical support for feral and lost cats in the area. In addition, it serves as a community resource for advice on injured wildlife, facilitating their care through on-site rehabilitation or advice from a small network, and eventual re-release back into the wild. Additionally, Nalanda creates nesting sites for local songbirds and ensures they have sufficient winter resources.

In this way, Nalanda has been able to contribute in definite ways to relieve the physical suffering of any animal that comes to the monastery for care, in addition to preventing their suffering in future lives through their spiritual care. By fostering a compassionate environment for all sentient beings, Nalanda Monastery can serve to enhance local biodiversity and promote a deeper appreciation for nature.

Ven. Tenzin Yonten introducing the world of honey bees to Ven. Tenzin Drolma and her family. Visitors are welcome to visit at any time during the Spring and Summer. Photo thanks to Ven. Tenzin Yonten.

We rejoice in these unique ways Nalanda is supporting sentient beings, and how their Bee Kind Project is contributing directly to local ecology through strong bee populations.

You can learn more about this and all of Nalanda’s animal care projects, and learn how to support their efforts.

Please explore more resources and inspiration for benefiting animals:
fpmt.org/education/prayers-and-practice-materials/benefiting-animals-practices-and-advice

Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.

Red Moon Yard performing live.

Nearly thirty years ago, Marcos Fermoselle, native to Spain, met Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Kopan Monastery. Marcos was a mountain climber and traveled to the Himalayas every year. During these travels he connected with Lama Lhundrup, who he would visit every six months. Lama Lhundrup facilitated a meeting with Rinpoche during one of Marcos’ visits and thus began a lifelong connection which developed over time. Marcos was struck by Rinpoche’s style of teaching—“so direct and clear.”  “He helped me a lot,” recalls Marcos.

Marcos with Lama Zopa Rinpoche and his wife, Montse. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

Two years ago Marcos approached Rinpoche for advice. He felt a calling to work on a musical project. Marcos had been playing guitar since he was a child, but now he wanted to pursue something more professionally. He asked Rinpoche if this would be good for him to do. Rinpoche told him, “Yes! You have to do it but only for the benefit of others. … If you get on stage and make a fool of yourself, that will be a great cleansing of negative karma. If it works out for you, do it with a good motivation.” With that, Marcos decided to start an altruistic band which would play songs with Dharma messages. The result is a band called Red Moon Yard, a Buddhist rock band.

Marcos’ band is now releasing its second album, “Intineri,” and on the first song on this album is called, “Lama’s Song.” This is a special song Marcos wrote for Rinpoche’s swift return, and for thanking Rinpoche for all he has done for his students. The video for the song was filmed in Madrid, in a museum he and his bandmates selected based on highest quality light and sound. In the background of the video, footage of Rinpoche teaching, and still images of Rinpoche are shown.

Image of the video of Red Moon Yard’s “Lama’s Song”

All proceeds from Red Moon Yard’s music will go to Dharma projects, and “Lama’s Song” proceeds are being offered directly to FPMT, in support of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s projects.

Please enjoy this very joyful song produced by Marcos and his band, and also join us in rejoicing in this very creative and unique way of spreading a positive Dharma message and also helping to fulfil Rinpoche’s wishes while sincerely requesting Rinpoche’s swift return.

“I miss him and want his swift return,” Marcos shared. When asked what Marcos is hoping to accomplish with this song, he says, “I think that depends on karma, I don`t have any expectations. I am already happy for what is happening. We are playing concerts, our songs are distributed by a good company, and I am asked about Dharma. I am very happy, whatever happens is fine with me.”

Please watch “Lama’s Song” by Red Moon Yard:

To learn more about Red Moon Yard and other music they have created: https://redmoonyard.band/en/

Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.

Community members for the Center of White Mahakala Study Group in Romania, which received a Merit Box grant for their stupa and retreat cabin construction projects in 2024. Photo courtesy of CWMSG.

The Merit Box Project closed  for good at the end of 2024. We invite rejoicing in the many students and friends around the world who contributed to the project, helping bring hundreds of Dharma activities to fruition—including stupas, statues and other holy objects, scholarships and supplies for retreat, new publications and translations of Dharma texts, social service community programs and important repairs and upgrades to FPMT center buildings and land; among many others.

In total 370 grants were awarded over 21 years, providing US$1,258,580 in funds to these projects. We deeply thank and rejoice in the incredible generosity shown, and in all the great work of the recipients of Merit Box grants in preserving and sharing the Dharma.

Maitripa College’s Tara Farms, the location for their future Maitripa Rabjungma Community Project for training Western nuns, a recipient of a 2024 Merit Box grant. Photo courtesy of Maitripa College.

Moving Forward: The New FPMT Community Support Fund

To keep this vital source of support available to local FPMT affiliates, we are transitioning now to the new FPMT Community Support Fund, which will fulfill the same purpose as the previous Merit Box Project. Through the FPMT Community Support Fund, local FPMT centers, projects, services and study groups, or any project that is working for the mission of FPMT, will be able to apply for grants, which will be awarded each year in March/April, including in 2025.

Any offerings that were collected and planned for the Merit Box Fund this year can now be directed to this new fund, and any offering made until February 28, 2025 will be used for this year’s grants. We hope this new FPMT Community Support Fund, like it’s predecessor, will inspire another 20 years of generosity and much-needed grants for local FPMT communities and projects, and beyond!

Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Maitreya School, Bodhgaya, India, January 2018. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Our January e-news is now available and brings you news, resources, and special announcements including::

• Teachings and advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Lama Yeshe
• Practices to do for fires and earthquakes
• An update on the Stupa of Complete Victory
• Details of grants offered through the Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund in 2024
• Changes and causes for rejoicing in the FPMT organization
• Resources for your study and practice

and much more!

Please read this month’s e-news in its entirety.

Have the e-News translated into your native language by using our convenient translation facility located on the right-hand side of the page.

Visit our subscribe page to receive the FPMT International Office News directly in your email inbox.

The grounds of Rinchen Jangsem Ling illuminated by 50,000 candle light offerings. December 8, 2024. Photo thanks to RJL.

The grounds of Rinchen Jangsem Ling retreat center (RJL) in Triang, Malaysia, were illuminated by fifty thousand candle lights during its recent light offering ceremony on the evening of December 8, 2024. From late afternoon until dusk, hundreds of visitors from near and far participated in the event, lighting candles following RJL resident sangha Ven. Jampa sharing the benefits of making light offerings. Volunteers placed candle-holders around the holy objects forming the letters, “KLZR SR,” signifying the strong wish and dedication for Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Swift Return. 

About offering lights, Lama Zopa Rinpoche said, “By making light offerings, you are able to dispel the darkness of ignorance and achieve wisdom. By offering light, you are never in darkness while you are circling in samsara. There will always be light. And offering light just one time to Buddha creates the karma to have great wealth for many hundreds or thousands of lifetimes.” 

Daytime view of RJL grounds with stupa and large Twenty-One Tara thangka in view. Photo thanks to RJL.

Geshe Zopa making prayers at the 50,000 light offering event at RJL. Photo thanks to RJL.

Visitors also admired and received the benefit of seeing a very large Twenty-One Tara thangka on display. The thangka was auspiciously hosted on the foundation which will become, on the advice of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, the world’s largest three-story prayer wheel, which will contain within a pavilion at least one hundred trillion OM MANI PADME HUM mantras.

After sunset, Geshe Tenzin Zopa led the light-offering prayers in front of the Twenty-One Taras thangka. This was followed by circumambulation of RJL’s holy objects and a spectacular fireworks display to conclude the first part of the evening.

With high spirits, the retreaters then joined the overnight Tara practice where they recited Praises to the Twenty-One Taras through until the morning. The sadhana practice was divided into four sessions, two sets recited in Tibetan and English and two in Chinese. Geshe Zopa offered commentary and oral transmissions related to the practice.

The evening included purification practice that lasted through dawn. The retreatants then enjoyed breakfast together thanks to the RJL’s dedicated cooking team. 

RJL shares, “Heartfelt thanks to Geshe Tenzin Zopa and all the volunteers who worked tirelessly to actualize their inaugural Fifty Thousand Light Offering and All Night Praises to Twenty-One Taras event that benefited so many. May Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche quickly return to guide us soon!”

With grateful thanks to Janet Lui  for submitting this report on the light offering event. 

Learn more about how to make light offerings and other offerings in the book Extensive Offering Practices by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, available in The Foundation Store. 

Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.

FPMT Mongolia Children’s Program, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Photo courtesy of FPMT Mongolia.

We are delighted to share a report from FPMT Mongolia’s Mahayana Children’s Program on the ways they were able to utilize a recent Merit Box grant. 

FPMT Mongolia’s Mahayana Children’s Program began in 2007, aiming to engage children from 6–16 years of age every Saturday at the FPMT Mongolia Center in Ulaanbaatar. Each year approximately 80–100 children are enrolled and participate in learning activities focused on Dharma, traditional culture and practices, yoga, arts and crafts, and first aid/health education in order to further develop positive life-long coping strategies and positive stress-response skills.

The Mahayana Children’s Program has also been started at Lamp of the Path (LOP), the center’s local non-governmental organization (NGO). In the Ger district area, classes focus more on alternative informal education (based upon the 16 Guidelines) and positive social-emotional development activities for children who have access to fewer resources and are more “at risk” due to challenging family living situations. 

Based on the wishes and vision of FPMT founders, Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, FPMT Mongolia strives to provide integrated education and opportunities for learning so that people’s–including children and youth–minds and hearts can be transformed. The 16 Guidelines provide a concrete and practical way to do this while also building important skills for children and young people so that they are enabled and empowered to successfully navigate the road to adulthood.

Children with the new desks for the FPMT Mongolia Children’s Program, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Photo courtesy of FPMT Mongolia.

With a recent upgrade and expansion to the classroom used at LOP for the Children’s Program, FPMT Mongolia requested and was awarded a Merit Box grant in the Spring of 2024, specifically to support further development of the Lamp of the Path classroom and to also publish new children’s learning materials and training resources for use in this location and beyond based on the 16 Guidelines.

Based on the 2024 Merit Box award, the team was able to purchase 20 adjustable children’s floor desks, seating mats, and other materials for use in classes, complete a translation of the 16 Guidelines children’s resource book “Ready, Set, Happy” in Mongolian for use by the FPMT Mongolia team (and others as well), and cover part of the costs of printing the first 500 copies of the new book.

Please rejoice that this Mahayana Children’s Program was able to utilize their grant so well, to really offer so much with what they were awarded. 

The FPMT Social Services fund has been supporting the activities of LOP since 2003. You read a recent report on these activities. 

With thanks to Susan Roe, the center director of FPMT Mongolia, for sharing this update on their Mahayana Children’s Program.

FPMT Mongolia Children’s Program, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Photo courtesy of FPMT Mongolia.

Update: The Merit Box Project was permanently closed at the end of 2024, after more than two decades of fostering generosity and providing aid to local FPMT centers, projects, services, study groups, and other activities that align with the FPMT mission.

To continue offering the vital resource that the Merit Box Project provided to local FPMT communities, we have transitioned to the new FPMT Community Support Fund, which will fulfill the same purpose in giving aid to local FPMT communities and projects. Grants will be made through the FPMT Community Support Fund later this year, and any offerings planned for the Merit Box Fund can be made to this fund now and in the future. We will be sharing more information about this new fund in upcoming communications. 

Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.

Medicine Buddha Puja participants in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, with disabled disabled military, pilgrims and Tara Lanka community.

In September 2024, Sri Lankan-born, Australian-based nun Ven. Tenzin Lekdron led a pilgrimage tour in Sri Lanka to raise funds for the 5MB Project, a mission to build a five-story high Medicine Buddha statue in Sri Lanka, according to the instructions of Lama Zopa Rinpoche. The Medicine Buddha prototype of the statue is now cast, gilded, painted and will be filled with mantras. The preparation is being supervised by Gen Tenpa Choden from Kopan Monastery.

Ven. Tenzin Lekdron met Lama Zopa Rinpoche in 1998. After her ordination in 2016, she founded Tara Lanka Study Group in Sri Lanka and initiated dialogues, social services projects, translations of Mahayana sutras and Dharma texts into Singhalese, and organized group recitations of sutras by local monks and lay people around the country to create harmony and understanding between Theradava and Mahayana traditions in Sri Lanka. 

Medicine Buddha statue prototype,

“When Lama Zopa Rinpoche asked for a five-story Medicine Buddha statue to be built in Sri Lanka it seemed such a fantastical idea as people in Sri Lanka have no knowledge of Medicine Buddha or the healing power of the practices,” Ven. Lekdron reflects.  “At the time of Rinpoche’s passing, I felt it was time to attempt this huge task. Rinpoche’s advice must be followed. At that time I had a strong feeling that a prototype of the Medicine Buddha statue according to Rinpoche’s design has to be seen by as many people as possible. A strong feeling came that Gangarama temple, a prominent temple in Colombo would be a suitable location. An appointment was sought for me to meet with the chief monk to seek if there would be any interest. I asked to do a Great Medicine Buddha puja at his temple and if he would consider the prototype of Medicine Buddha to be displayed with public access. While he was very concerned about possible public outrage that a Mahayana nun is permitted to do pujas at this well known Theravada temple in a prestigious suburb of Colombo, the Medicine Buddha puja was held with 80 people in attendance. We were amazed. A door was opening. 

“In the meantime the awareness about Medicine Buddha and the healing power of it’s practices needed to be understood by the Sri Lankan people. The existence of Mahayana and highest yoga tantra is little known. I felt a pilgrimage was the perfect vehicle for this. In my mind the pilgrims would be witnesses and a participants in the healing of trauma. We would do Medicine Buddha pujas side by side with Sinhala language being the dominant language, thus allowing dignity to the locals. Our tour would be immersive without being overwhelming to the pilgrims. The result was phenomenal in the healing it provided to the wounded soldiers and a former refugee Tamil lady, Maureen, attending the puja. It exceeded my expectations in fulfilling Rinpoche’s wishes for healing people’s hearts, a process which began many years ago. Now it was reaching a different level with the witnessing by visitors.”

Sixteen pilgrims from Australia, Malaysia, and the USA, including four FPMT nuns, two Australian and two Tibetan, as well as Ven. Lekdron, participated in the journey. They visited the Sri Maha Bodhi tree, the sacred Tooth Temple and very importantly, rarely visited Mahayana sites such as Buduruwagala Temple.

Alan Marsh, who participated in the pilgrimage shared, “Over ten intense days and nights traveling together by bus we
quickly bonded and became friends, sharing long bus rides, experiencing cultural and climate shock and dealing with the many surprising and unexpected events that happened each day.

“As well as the extraordinary efforts of Ven. Lekdron, the tour could not have been the success it was without the hard work of several other people. Our Australian tour leader Jason kept the show on the road by taking care of all the day-to-day details needing attention: buying tickets to the sites, booking restaurants, paying local guides, providing first aid when needed, keeping us updated with last minute changes and above all, boosting our morale at trying times with his unwavering patience and good humor.

“Also traveling with us and providing valuable information from the front seat of the bus via microphone, was Sanath, a professional local tour guide from the local tour company used for the tour, sharing his extensive knowledge of the geography and history of the sites we visited. Also with us was Sanjay, Ven. Lekdron’s brother, a professional photographer and filmmaker who documented all aspects of the trip in photos and video. He plans to make a documentary movie of the tour.”

While they were in Anuradhapura, pilgrims had a major highlight when they offered a Medicine Buddha puja, whose audience of 2,000 people included fifty wounded Sinhalese army soldiers and a Tamil refugee. Pilgrimage participant Vicki Swartz shared, “A young Tamil woman named Maureen Ernest read two very personal, touching poems about how she moved from being a fearful child growing up in the 30-year civil war of the Tamils vs. the Sinhalese Military. She converted from Christianity (most Tamils are Hindu, some are Christian) to Buddhism through a personal journey of counseling and help from Ven. Lekdron (who would stop and translate into English what she was saying). Maureen said that while she may not be able to represent every Tamil, that on behalf of Tamils, she wanted to apologize to the military men and their families for the pain and suffering caused by the Tamils (the LTTE, the Tamil Tigers, the militant group fighting for the rights of Tamils, who felt oppressed, wanted their language to be recognized and taught in schools, and to have fair hiring practices for the coveted government positions, etc.) Then Sunil W., the author of a book on conflict resolution/social justice work, took the microphone, and modeled a reconciliation process; on behalf of the military men and the Singhalese, he accepted her apology, and offered her an apology for the pain and suffering she’d endured as a result of the actions of the military in the civil war. Many of us wept; it was so powerful.” 

We invite you to read a recent report on the various stops made during the pilgrimage, with a very moving, more extended testimony of the Medicine Buddha puja and a summary of some of the other Dharma activities conducted by Tara Lanka Study Group in 2025. Please rejoice in this powerful and healing activity happening in Sri Lanka, thanks to the inspiration from Lama Zopa Rinpoche. 

To learn more about the 5MB Project: 5mbsrilanka.org/5mb-project

Please learn more about Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Visions for the FPMT organization to have hundreds of thousands of holy objects around the world: fpmt.org/fpmt/vast-vision/#hobjects