FPMT Community News

Rinpoche offering incense puja at Kopan Monastery, Nepal, May 2021. Rinpoche is offering these pujas to help all those suffering due to COVID-19, particularly all those in India, Nepal (including in Kopan Monastery and Nunnery), and throughout the world.

As we shared last week, there has been a COVID-19 outbreak at Kopan Monastery and Nunnery in Nepal. The latest information from Kopan is that unfortunately more people at Kopan Monastery have tested positive for COVID. Currently, there are four Kopan monks in the hospital in Kathmandu with COVID-19.

One of those monks is Geshe Thubten Sherab, the FPMT resident teacher at Thubten Norbu Ling Tibetan Buddhist Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, US, who is in Nepal. Geshe Sherab was taken to the hospital in order to have oxygen available to help with his COVID-related breathing difficulties. Geshe Sherab talked with Ven. Roger Kunsang earlier today and Geshe Sherab says he is not needing oxygen at this time and is doing better. Many FPMT centers and regional and national offices—including Thubten Norbu Ling and FPMT Australia—are organizing prayers for Geshe Sherab and Kopan Sangha.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche is continuing in isolation at Kopan Monastery. Rinpoche is still in good health and has been continuing to offer incense and other pujas to help the situation with COVID-19 in India, Nepal (including at Kopan), and the rest of the world.

The Kopan community would like students to know that they are committed to keeping each other as safe as possible and are so appreciative of everyone’s good wishes and prayers. As we mentioned in our previous blog on this situation, Kopan is requesting that the monastery not be contacted at this time unless there is an emergency. 

Thanks to so many of the FPMT family who are continuing to keep all at Kopan Monastery and Khachoe Ghakyil Nunnery, as well everyone affected by the pandemic, in their prayers.

You can find Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice for this critical time on our Resources for the Coronavirus Pandemic page.

Watch videos from the series Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Teachings on Thought Transformation during the Time of COVID-19 and find links to videos in transcripts, MP3s, additional practice advice, and more:
https://fpmt.org/fpmt/announcements/resources-for-coronavirus-pandemic/advice-from-lama-zopa-rinpoche-for-coronavirus/

FPMT.org and Mandala Publications brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings, and events from over 160 FPMT centers, projects, and services around the globe. If you like what you read, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche receiving COVID-19 test at Kopan Monastery, April 27, 2021. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

As COVID-19 continues to spread around the world, Kopan Monastery is now experiencing its first outbreak. Many individuals at Kopan Monastery and Khachoe Ghakyil Nunnery, both in Nepal, have now tested positive. Infected and non-infected individuals have been separated for accommodation, meals, and study and this will continue for ten days. Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Ven. Roger Kunsang are well and staying in isolation in Rinpoche’s apartment. We have just received news that Rinpoche and all of his attendants have been tested and are all negative. 

Kopan has requested that contact to the monastery should be limited to emergency only at this time. Ani Fran (Ven. Fran Mohoupt) has set up automatic replies to some of the website links in order to deal with the normal puja and prayer requests.

Please keep all at Kopan Monastery, Khachoe Ghakyil Nunnery, as well as everyone around the world affected by this virus in your prayers and dedications. You can find Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice for this critical time on our Resources for the Coronavirus Pandemic page.

Watch videos from the series Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Teachings on Thought Transformation during the Time of COVID-19 and find links to videos in transcripts, MP3s, additional practice advice, and more:
https://fpmt.org/fpmt/announcements/resources-for-coronavirus-pandemic/advice-from-lama-zopa-rinpoche-for-coronavirus/

Practice advice from our teachers, Dharma study-from-home opportunities, and more can be found on the page “Resources for the Coronavirus Pandemic.”

“The lockdowns and stay at home orders in response to the Coronavirus pandemic affected nearly all of the more than 160 FPMT centers, projects, services, and study groups located in thirty-nine countries around the world,” Mandala reported in “Centers, Projects, and Services during the Pandemic: Turning a Difficult Situation into a Positive Result.” This story, from the latest Mandala, takes a look at the impact so far of the pandemic on the FPMT organization. And it’s now available to read online.

Here’s a short excerpt of the story that looks at how centers moved their Dharma programs online last year:

“For center directors, it quickly became clear that many things that had been done in the center’s gompa could be moved online. 

“Paula [de Wijs, director of Maitreya Instituut in the Netherlands] writes, ‘For years we had discussed doing more on the internet or through YouTube but had never really managed to put these ideas into practice. The expertise and equipment were not available and there was no real need to acquire either of them. Although many of us had used Zoom or other virtual meeting sites to attend meetings with people internationally, we had never considered holding teachings and meditations through such a medium. Suddenly this possibility became a necessity and we were able to continue the meditations and teachings without a break. That was a great relief on that score, since making the teachings of the Buddha accessible to people is our raison d’être: it is why we exist.’

“Center staff around the world studied and mastered Zoom and began to stream most of their regular teachings online. ‘I was amazed and impressed by how quickly this happened!’ Drolkar McCallum, who is the FPMT regional coordinator for North America, commented in April [2020].

“With the shift to online, some centers were seeing larger audience for their teachings. For example, Land of Joy in the UK, hosted an online retreat with Paula Chichester that had 130 participants.

“Mauricio Roa, who serves as the regional coordinator for Latin America, reported, ‘Centers who were used to having only a few members at classes, teachings, retreats, etc., multiplied their number of participants with their online offerings.’ Mauricio shared an example of a class given by Ven. Robina Courtin, teaching from the United States, offered through Centro Shiwa Lha in Brazil, which had 600 participants. Centers also started hosting retreats online. Some centers created different options for attending retreats, allowing different levels of participation. This flexibility also made it possible for more people to attend. And because of all the shut downs, some students reported that they found they were able to go deeper with their practices at home.“

Read the complete story in “Centers, Projects, and Services during the Pandemic: Turning a Difficult Situation into a Positive Result.”

Read more from Mandala 2021.

FPMT.org and Mandala Publications brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings, and events from over 160 FPMT centers, projects, and services around the globe. If you like what you read, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Monica Hung, Aptos, California, US, 2016. Photo courtesy of Monica Hung.

Tse Chen Ling, the FPMT center in San Francisco, California, US, has expanded their offerings with a new class. Ven. Carol Corradi, center director, and Monica Hung, interpreter and teacher, share the story.

In March 2020, our center embarked in a new direction with “What Is Buddhism,” a class offered in Mandarin with staff member Monica Hung. The class met an hour each week until the COVID-19 epidemic forced closure of the center. Soon after, the class regrouped and moved to an online format via Zoom.

Most of the students in the class are originally from China and grew up with no experience of Tibetan Buddhism. Their understanding of Buddhism in general is a cultural one, mostly of temples and a tradition of making offerings without any practice or doctrinal aspects.

The “What Is Buddhism” class was born out of a Chinese New Year event sponsored by our center in 2020. We celebrated Chinese New Year with an Open House at the center with some traditional sweets and a chance for visitors to offer incense. Visitors could also sponsor special light offerings for family, friends, and loved ones who had passed away. Besides fostering a more cordial connection with the neighborhood, individual conversations lead to some questions about Tibetan Buddhism. Those conversations sparked the idea for this class.

Monica shared that she presents a broad overview of Tibetan culture and history. This helps students understand the background of Tibetan Buddhism. She also provides a basic introduction to Buddhist terminology. The class is conducted in a discussion-like style. The casual environment encourages students to feel free to ask any kind of question about Tibetan Buddhism. Some examples are “As a Buddhist do I need to become a vegetarian?” and “Can lamas marry?”

Each class opens with the group reading the Heart Sutra together and then doing about three minutes of meditation on the breath.

One of the students recently asked about the meaning of the Heart Sutra. This became an opportunity for Monica to play His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s teaching on the Heart Sutra, which originally aired online in January 2021. The class watched the video together. Monica paused it periodically to explain some of the more advanced terminology for them. This has become part of the regular class with Monica and the students watching His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s online teaching, discussing, and slowly moving through the complete teaching over several classes.

Monica plans to begin introducing the students to the lamrim teachings in the spring of 2021. Our center is looking at ways to publicize the class locally, hoping to make the class more widely available to our Chinese-speaking neighbors.

To learn more about Tse Chen Ling, visit their website:
https://www.tsechenling.org/

FPMT.org and Mandala Publications brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings, and events from over 160 FPMT centers, projects, and services around the globe. If you like what you read, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.

Monks from Sera Je Monastic University and University of Pisa Professor Bruno Neri are part of a collaborative research effort on meditation, which is connected to the work of Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa’s Mind Science Academy, Sera Je Monastery, India, 2019. Photo courtesy of Mind Science Academy.

When His Holiness the Dalai Lama visited Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa (ILTK) in 2014 he advised the FPMT center located in Pomaia, Italy, to create an academy focused on Buddhist mind science. Established in 1977, ILTK already had many successful Buddhist education programs. What His Holiness had in mind, however, involved the creation of a center of study where Buddhist knowledge was integrated with secular academic programs, thereby making ancient Buddhist wisdom available more broadly.

This vision has led to ILTK’s Mind Science Academy project. Our FPMT Education and Preservation Fund has been very happy to be able to support this important work and has contributed US$140,900 to the project to date. Filippo Scianna, the former director of ILTK who is currently overseeing the project, recently updated FPMT International Office on its progress.

In his report, Filippo shared four key points that inform the project. First, there is a lot of interest in the intersection of Buddhist mind science and Western science. This has been demonstrated by high levels of attendance for programs on this topic. Also, students appreciate and value academic accreditation, which is central to the Mind Science Academy plan. In addition, dialogues with university scholars lead to continued debate, research, and mutual enrichment. Finally, project organizers observe that when they establish relationships with the academic world they create paths to Buddhist philosophical study for people who might not otherwise be interested.

As part of the Mind Science Academy project, ILTK is collaborating with several universities in Italy. Since early 2016, ILTK has been working with the University of Pisa to create a Master’s program in neuroscience, mindfulness, and contemplative practice. Several cohorts have completed the program. Unfortunately, for 2020, the program had to be cancelled due to the pandemic. But in 2021, they have arranged for courses to be online and have seen more registrations than anticipated. ILTK staff are involved as teachers for the program. Many of the approximately 200 students who have done the program have shown an interested in more serious Buddhist study.

Also in 2021, a new specialized course has been created on the application of meditation practices in organizational contexts. The course, also offered through the University of Pisa, has a high level of registration for it. The project plans to have a summer school through the University of Pisa as well, which will be organized by ILTK. The summer school is attracting a lot of interest, including from students across several continents, and hopefully the pandemic will not prevent it from happening.

A Sera Je monk wearing equipment to monitor brain activity with Prof. Bruno Neri, part of a Sera Je Monastic University, India, and University of Pisa, Italy, partnership, 2019. Photo courtesy of the Mind Science Academy.

The Mind Science Academy project has also established relationships with the University of Florence and the University of Bologna. With the University of Florence, they have plans to do a course in the spring of 2022 that will include a Buddhist philosophical exploration of emotional functioning with practical applications for psychologists and health workers. At the University of Bologna, a collaboration is being developed that will include as a focus the use of meditation as a therapeutic support in hospitals and universities.

At ILTK itself, a new course has started that relates closely to the work of the Mind Science Academy. The three-year course covers the study of logic and debate, and how these methods of discerning truth relate to pedagogy and knowledge. More than a hundred people have enrolled in it.

Also, ILTK is organizing a conference for June 2021 entitled “Reality Is Not as It Appears.” Geshe Namdak, the resident geshe at Jamyang Buddhist Centre in London, UK, will attend as will several university professors. New research on meditation conducted by the University of Pisa in collaboration with Sera Je Monastic University in India will also be presented at the conference.

Filippo writes that collaborating with the universities overall has been a good experience and has already given many people in the academic world access to Buddhist principles and teachings. He also sees potential for other FPMT centers to develop programs involving universities in their local areas and wants to share the information he’s learned as part of working on this project.  We’ll be exploring this in more detail in future Mandala stories.

For more information on the Mind Science Academy and Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa, please visit their website (www.ILTK.org).

Learn more about the FPMT Education and Preservation Fund.

Read archive Mandala stories on the Mind Science Academy: “Building A Bridge: The Academy of Mind Science and Valid Cognition at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa” and “Ancient Indian Wisdom for the Modern World.”

Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Kopan Monastery, November 2020. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

2020 presented new and profound challenges around the world and the FPMT organization was no exception. FPMT International Office, also known as Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s office, adapted to the new pandemic reality and continued our work to help fulfill the wishes of FPMT’s founders Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. We assisted efforts to actualize Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s vast vision for the organization and supported 114 centers and forty-seven study groups in thirty-nine countries. We kept thousands of students connected to Rinpoche, the global FPMT community, and opportunities to learn and practice Dharma.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche—who usually tours the globe each year, visiting FPMT centers, projects, and services—has remained at Kopan Monastery in Nepal since March 2020. Rinpoche continuously engages in beneficial activates and that remains unchanged. But instead of giving teachings in front of large groups of students, Rinpoche offered ninety recorded video teachings from his room at Kopan during 2020 and also took part in an incredible number of pujas to help protect from and mitigate the harm of the novel coronavirus, as well as many other auspicious and beneficial activities.

We offer an account of our work this year in the FPMT International Office Annual Review 2020: Transforming Challenges into the Path. In it, you will find an overview of Rinpoche’s activities in 2020 and highlights of International Office’s work on behalf of Rinpoche and all in the FPMT organization. These highlights include updates on new Dharma materials, translations, and programs; news on activities supporting FPMT centers, projects, and services; and reports on the charitable projects overseen by the office, which offered more than US$3.7 million in 2020. We also share updates from FPMT Inc. CEO Ven. Roger Kunsang and the FPMT Inc. Board of Directors.

The Annual Review also shares new advice from Rinpoche. Given the great difficulties of our time, Rinpoche’s advice is priceless and so relevant. For too long we have focused our energy on trying to fix the outside world to ease our discomfort and suffering, Rinpoche explains. But if we don’t give priority to working on changing and developing 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.

May we take a moment as an international community of Dharma practitioners to rejoice in all the ways we are transforming our current problems and obstacles into the path to enlightenment. May the merits we accumulate from rejoicing be dedicated so that we become most helpful to all beings and continue our work to fulfill the wishes of our Spiritual Director, Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

We invite you to read FPMT Annual Review 2020: Transforming Challenges into the Path, now available in an online format. Please note, the FPMT Annual Review 2020 is available only online:
https://fpmt.org/fpmt/annual-review/

FPMT International Office is Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s office and works daily to achieve its mission of “preserving and spreading Mahayana Buddhism worldwide by creating opportunities to listen, reflect, meditate, practice, and actualize the unmistaken teachings of the Buddha, and based on that experience, spread the Dharma to sentient beings.”

Lama Zopa Rinpoche with the Boudhanath Stupa, Kathmandu, Nepal, March 2021. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

We hope you enjoy our April FPMT International Office e-News.  This month we bring you:

• Our 2020 Annual Review: Transforming Challenges into the Path
• Details of the second long life puja this year for Lama Zopa Rinpoche
• Five Powerful Mantras Now Available in Audio
• New Protecting from Abuse Training Course

…and more!

Have the e-News translated into your native language by using our convenient translation facility located on the right-hand side of the page. French and Spanish speakers will find the FPMT International Office News translated each month in the “Bienvenue” and “Bienvenidos” tabs on the FPMT homepage.

The FPMT International Office e-News comes from your FPMT International Office. Visit our subscribe page to receive the FPMT International Office News directly in your email box.

Masks and instructions delivered to Vozes da Comunidades in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, March 2021. Photo by Selma Souza.

In March 2021, Centro Shiwa Lha, the FPMT center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, began facilitating the distribution of high quality face masks and instructions to the nonprofit organizations Instituto Floriano Peçanha dos Santos, Vozes da Comunidades, and Apadrinhe um sorriso in Rio de Janeiro, and the parish of Brazilian Catholic priest Padre Júlio Lancellotti. They did this as Brazil’s COVID-19 crisis continues to worsen. The PFF2 masked that were distributed are similar to other high quality face masks sold in various parts of the world (such as the N95, FFP2, KN95, P2, and DS2). Community service is one of FPMT’s Five Pillars of Service. Ven. Tenzin Namdrol, center director, shares the story of how Centro Shiwa Lha has offered help during this ongoing crisis.

Masks and instructions delivered to Instituto Floriano Peçanha dos Santos in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, March 2021. Photo by Thalita Garcia.

The purpose of the Masks for All campaign was to donate face masks to people who cannot afford the PFF2 models, the face mask sold in Brazil that really provides security. People received donated masks and material with instructions on how to put them on, remove them, and reuse them without lessening their effectiveness.

The campaign began with one practitioner who wanted to donate around 2,000 face masks, and from there many others joined.

We offered a total of 4,020 masks to three nonprofit organizations in Rio de Janeiro as well as to Father Julio Lancelloti who supports people who live on the streets in São Paulo city. The company that sold us the masks was inspired by our campaign and offered forty liters (eleven gallons) of alcohol gel for hand sanitizing to the nonprofit organizations.

We thank all of the donors who have given us this opportunity to serve the community at such a crucial time.

To learn more about Centro Shiwa Lha, visit their website:
https://shiwalha.org.br/

FPMT.org and Mandala Publications brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings, and events from over 160 FPMT centers, projects, and services around the globe. If you like what you read, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.

Online Sutrathon by Aryatara Institut, March 2021. Photo by Alex Volk.

Aryatara Institut, the FPMT center in Munich, Germany, held a twenty-four hour Online Sutrathon to thank the individuals who donated to the center in February 2021 during the Fifteen Days of Miracles. Sabine Kehl, a long-term member of the center who translates for the center, shares the story.

In 2021, as we do every year during the Fifteen Days of Miracles—starting on Losar and ending on Chotrul Duchen—our center held a fundraising campaign. We gave friends and supporters the opportunity to accumulate merit in the form of generosity. Generosity is one of the six paramitas, one of the practices of the six perfections. By practicing generosity and donating to the center, students can contribute to the preservation of Aryatara Institut and the spreading of the Dharma.

We received an incredible grand total of €8,773.82 (US$10,511) from sixty donors. Please rejoice with us!

We expressed our gratitude with an Online Sutrathon. Beginning on Friday, March 5, at 4 p.m., thirteen people recited the Sanghata Sutra nonstop for twenty-four hours. The group, which consisted of members of our board of directors and friends of our center, recited the Sanghata Sutra by taking turns every hour. Anyone could join the Online Sutrathon by reading along live via Zoom or following the Online Sutrathon via YouTube livestream.

The Online Sutrathon began on Friday with a motivation and ended on Saturday afternoon with a dedication of the merits. We dedicated the merits we created for the sake of all sentient beings.

We managed eight full recitations! It was a wonderful and heartwarming experience to be able to offer a big “Thank you” as a community to our donors in this way while also creating great benefit for all sentient beings. We rejoice!

For more information about Aryatara Institut, visit their website:
https://aryatara.de/

FPMT.org and Mandala Publications brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings, and events from over 160 FPMT centers, projects, and services around the globe. If you like what you read, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.

The grapple skidder carefully pulling trees out to the landing at Milarepa Center, Barnet, Vermont, US, December 2020. Photo by Dawn Holtz.

Dawn Holtz with the first cut of timber from the project at Milarepa Center, Barnet, Vermont, US, December 2020. Photo by Jackie Verley.

Milarepa Center, the FPMT center located on 275 forested acres in Barnet, Vermont, US, is working on a project to improve forest health, encourage tree growth, maintain wildlife habitats, and re-establish walking trails with help from foresters Mathias Nevins and Ryan Kilborn, Meadowsend Timberlands, Ltd., and H.B. Logging. Trees cut during the project and sold in a timer sale generated income that will help sustain Milarepa Center during the COVID pandemic. Dawn Holtz, center director, shares the story.

Milarepa Center has successfully completed an almost two-year long forest regeneration project. We are happy to report that all has gone very well and we are quite pleased with the results.

The project began in early 2019, by first creating a very specific, goal-oriented, ten-year forest plan. The forest and trails were then flagged for access and protection of sensitive areas. Equipment was moved in, and active cutting began in December 2020.

The final close-out of the project will take place in May and June 2021. The crew will return to give a final rake to trails. Log landing areas and stream-crossings will be brushed so water can flow through them properly.

Ven. Lhundub Chodron helping with the incense puja at Milarepa Center, Barnet, Vermont, US, December 2020. Photo by Dawn Holtz.

Spiritual preparations were also made for the start of the active cutting phase of the project. A Milarepa Center member who is residing and studying at Nalanda Monastery, an FPMT monastery in France, sponsored a Tara puja. The monks at Nalanda Monastery offered the Tara puja on behalf of Milarepa Center to help clear obstacles during the project.

In addition, Ven. Lhundub Chodron—who has held various positions within FPMT, including serving as director at differnt times of FPMT retreat center Land of Calm Abiding, Lotsawa Rinchen Zangpo Translator Program, and International Mahayana Institute (IMI), as well as serving as a past member of the FPMT, Inc. Board of Directors—happened to be in Vermont the day before the cutting began. Ven. Lhundub Chodron joined in offering an incense puja in order to pacify the many nagas and “landlords” at Milarepa Center.

I worked with a local forester to design the forest plan and lay out the goals for the Milarepa Center forest. They include achieving long-term growth and health of the forest; maintaining fresh water streams flowing throughout the land; protecting existing wildlife habitats and creating new ones; keeping the forest from encroaching on healthy, viable open land; and continuing overall sustainable management of the land and its many resources.

The project focused on an approximately 65-acre parcel of the 275-acre Milarepa Center forest. We implemented a prescribed tree cutting that was laid out in the forest management plan. By cutting down some trees we were able to open the tree canopy and allow sunlight to shine into the forest. This promotes overall forest regeneration within designated areas of the forest. Walking trails were also re-established in the forest as part of the project.

We had hoped to invite students and members out to walk and visit during the project, but due to COVID-19 were unable to. With that in mind, we digitally documented the project. Our forester Ryan Kilborn kindly agreed to help us film what we had hoped to share in person! The video we made will also be used as an educational tool by Meadowsend Timberlands, Ltd., a company that manages private land for landowners. They will use it to show viewers the process and value of good forest management practices adopted by landowners.

Watch the seven-minute video “Milarepa Center Forest Regeneration & Timber Sale Project” on Milarepa Center’s YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRyjZn_tKgs

To learn more about Milarepa Center, visit their website:
https://www.milarepacenter.org/

FPMT.org and Mandala Publications brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings, and events from over 160 FPMT centers, projects, and services around the globe. If you like what you read, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.

Door of donated ambulance with the message “Con il contributo del Centro Tara Cittamani” (“With the contribution of Tara Cittamani Center”) outside of Palazzo Moroni, Comune di Padova (city hall) during the press conference, Padova, Italy, December 2020. Photo by Marco Parolin.

Centro Tara Cittamani, the FPMT center in Padova, Italy, completed several community service projects in 2020.  Community service is one of FPMT’s Five Pillars of Service. Marco Parolin, center director, and Teresa Fabris, spiritual program coordinator, share the story.

Our center, established in 1994, is located in the northeastern part of Italy. Despite the fact that people in this area have a strong connection with the Catholic Church (or maybe because of it), many attend our weekend Dharma teachings and meditation classes. We can count on a membership of 300 to 400 people every year, and with a little help from activities like yoga classes, we manage to keep our financial resources in a good balance.

Father Marco Putin and Marco Parolin at the monastery next to Santuario di San Leopoldo Mandic (Saint Leopoldo Mandic Sanctuary), Padova, Italy, October 2020. Photo by Teresa Fabbris.

Things have been a little easier in the past few years, thanks to the fact that by law Italians donate eight percent of their annual income tax return to a church of their choice or the government’s social assistance programs. As of a few years ago people can donate to Buddhists through the Italian Buddhist Union. The association ensures each Buddhist center’s status.

Our center can submit projects to the Italian Buddhist Union. Once approved, our center can receive up to seventy percent of the budget. In 2018, the first year we were able to receive money, we renovated the center. We now have a Dharma library with a rich collection of 800 books in Italian, English, and French on the various Buddhist traditions. We also organized a room with a projector and wide screen so we can watch Dharma events and teachings from other centers.

In 2019, our board of directors decided we had to use the money we receive to give back to our local community. We got in touch with the Padova municipality social services department, who included us in a new project. The municipality has a few apartments for homeless people and people with vulnerabilities. Our task was to go into every apartment and propose cooking classes. In addition to offering seasonal, healthy, vegetarian meal preparation classes, we were also asked to share some useful tools for daily living, including hygiene, tidiness, and a taste for healthy food.

The social services department staff and residents were a little worried about our true intentions—proselytism is always a concern—but the meetings were arranged in the presence of a representative from the social services department.

Donated blast chiller, Santuario di San Leopoldo Mandic (Saint Leopoldo Mandic Sanctuary), Padova, Italy, October 2020. Photo by Teresa Fabbris.

Volunteers brought presents each time they visited the apartments—a few tools to help in the kitchen such as pans or a blender—and enough groceries to prepare the meal twice.

After the second visit, Marco wrote, “This evening we prepared a mushroom soup, chickpea and radish balls, cauliflower humus with olives, and a chocolate cake. Eight people crowded into a tiny kitchen, looking for knives and pans that simply weren’t there. After cooking the meal, we managed to sit down and eat all together. Everyone had something to tell or share. When we left we didn’t know what to say or think. Now back at home I don’t know what to write, but it would be wonderful if every sentient being could have happiness.” We were able to offer five classes before the pandemic made us stop for now.

In 2020, we decided to help a local Catholic monastery of Capuchin monks located next to Santuario di San Leopoldo Mandic. We have been in touch with them for a few years now. They have been preparing meals for homeless people every day since the end of World War II. We help them by collecting food for their kitchen. People who visit our center can leave food items in the shopping cart we keep at the entrance to our center. Every week or so, a volunteer brings the food to the monastery. This project requires minimal effort on our part but is very effective.

In 2020, legislation required the monastery to upgrade their kitchen. We organized a project to help the monks buy some new appliances—an industrial blast chiller, a burner, and three floor washers. The monks haven’t been able to reopen the dining hall due to the COVID pandemic, but they keep distributing shopping bags full of food. We continue to help them collect food.

Donated ambulance outside of Palazzo Moroni, Comune di Padova (city hall) during the press conference, Padova, Italy, December 2020. Photo by Marco Parolin.

In March 2020, the Italian Buddhist Union bestowed funds to support every center during this recession. Since we had enough to cover our expenses, we decided we could do something to help our community to cope with the healthcare emergency.

We chose to help the local Red Cross buy an ambulance. With €20,000 (US$23,860) we were able to buy the vehicle. The Red Cross then arranged to use the vehicle to help people with the coronavirus. The ambulance has a sophisticated intensive care system onboard. This allows the Red Cross to transport patients in critical condition over long distances.

These days you can see the ambulance around the streets in Padova, with the message “Con il contributo del Centro Tara Cittamani” (“With the contribution of Tara Cittamani Center”) painted on the side. We hope that the words “Tara Cittamani” will help protect the people who need the ambulance from fear and despair.

Watch the one and a half minute video “Padova, due preziosi regali di Natale per la Croce Rossa” (“Padua, two precious Christmas gifts for the Red Cross”) published by news agency RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana, the national public broadcasting company of Italy, on December 14, 2020:
https://www.rainews.it/tgr/veneto/video/2020/12/ven-Emergenza-sanitaria-Padova-Ambulanze-nuove-donate-alla-Croce-Rossa-6099f05e-3aa4-46f8-a074-cdb0176c116e.html

We used the remaining €10,000 (US$11,928) to help the local city hospital buy diagnostic kits and screening tests for healthcare workers.

We also use the shopping cart at the entrance to our center to collect food and blankets for animals in need. We periodically bring these donations to local nonprofit animal shelters. We are also preparing to help an animal shelter near Padova with needed renovations. The animal shelter wants to improve their shelters for dogs and cats to better protect them from the cold and extreme heat.

To learn more about Centro Tara Cittamani, visit their website:
http://www.taracittamani.it/

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Lama Zopa Rinpoche in a Heruka holy place where he had invited young monks for a picnic and offered tsog, Nepal, February 2021. Photo by Geshe Thubten Jangchub.

We hope you enjoy the March FPMT International Office e-News.  This month we bring you:

• New Lama Zopa Rinpoche Advice and Photo Albums
• The Latest Issue of Mandala magazine!
• Prayer to Pacify Epidemic Disease – now on Audio
• Staff Changes at International Office

…and more!

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