FPMT Community: Stories & News

Screenshot from video on Malaysian interfaith COVID-relief, produced by Tzu Chi Foundation Malaysia

In 2021 the Malaysian FPMT centers—Chokyi Gyaltsen Center, Losang Dragpa Centre, and Rinchen Jangsem Ling Retreat Centre—worked together with interfaith organizations to help with the COVID situation in India and Nepal, and then in Malaysia. Community service and interfaith activities are two pillars of FPMT’s Five Pillars of Service. Pek Chee Hen, president of the Vajrayana Buddhist Council Malaysia and a trustee of Losang Dragpa Centre, and Pik-Pin Goh, director of Losang Dragpa Centre and Kasih Hospice, shared the story of this work: 

In early May 2021, when the sudden surge of COVID-19 patients hit India and Nepal, the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC) India reached out to IBC Malaysia, which led to a meeting with various Buddhist organizations of Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. The meeting discussed the process of donation and procurement of needed medical equipment, masks, and PPEs to be sent to India and Nepal. 

The donation drive in Malaysia was named “Aids to the Buddha’s Land” and inspired Buddhists from the region to join hand-in-hand to gather as quickly as possible the equipment to save lives and protect the front liners. The Taiwan Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation Malaysia also assisted greatly in providing donations for this venture.

In total, IBC Malaysia arranged for the following donations to government hospitals in India and Nepal as well as to forty-four monasteries and nunneries in both these countries:

• 950 oxygen concentrators
• 2,000 oxygen cylinders
• 1.5 million gloves
• 58,000 N95 masks 
• 2,000 PPEs 

FPMT Malaysia centres, Rinchen Jangsem Ling (RJL) and Losang Dragpa Centre (LDC) respectively contributed eleven and ten oxygen concentrators to this sum, while Chokyi Gyaltsen Centre (CGC) donated RM2,000 (US$480) for purchase of masks and PPEs.

Soon after that, the fourth wave of COVID-19 hit Malaysia. With the experience of “Aids to the Buddha’s Homeland,” this group of Buddhist organizations re-convened in June 2021 and decided to do a similar fundraising effort for Malaysia coordinated with the efforts of Tzu Chi Foundation Malaysia. This effort included Christian, Catholic, Muslim, Sikh, and Hindu groups as well as various Buddhists groups. A follow-up Zoom meeting (that is available to watch on YouTube) was organized for member organizations.

The aim was to raise funds to donate critical medical equipment such as ICU ventilation and respiratory monitoring devices, high-flow nasal cannulas, ICU beds, etc., needed for some of the healthcare facilities in Malaysia. The effort was named the “Malaysia Solidarity Fund Against COVID-19.”  By October, RM 31,612,556 (US$7,600,000) had been raised and RM (USD$6,400,000) worth of equipment has been donated and committed to hospitals. (See Tzu Chi Foundation’s website for the most up to date numbers.)

This multi-faith cooperation has shown that when one has difficulties, help from all directions will come and together everyone achieves more.

We are proud that LDC members and resident teachers have contributed significantly to the Solidarity COVID Fund and fulfill the Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Vision for FPMT.

Watch a video report on the work of Malaysia Solidarity Fund Against COVID-19

Vajrayana Buddhist Council Malaysia recent shared a special video of light offerings, advice, and gratitude for the Malaysian Tibetan Buddhist organizations and students involved in offering aid and support during the pandemic and to benefit all during this difficult time. 

You can learn more about the FPMT centers in Malaysia by visiting their respective websites.

FPMT.org and Mandala Publications brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings, and events from 150 FPMT centers, projects, and services around the globe. If you like what you read, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.

Screenshot of Light Offering Video created by the Vajrayana Buddhist Council of Malaysia, October 2021

The Vajrayana Buddhist Council of Malaysia, which is an association of Malaysian Tibetan Buddhist centers and organizations, has created a beautiful video of advice and prayers, featuring His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Ganden Tripa, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, and many other high lamas from the various Tibetan Buddhist traditions.

The VBCM, of which the Malaysian FPMT centers are members, made a request to its teachers to pray for the victims of COVID-19 and give advice to Malaysians, who were facing many challenges.

This video is a result of VBCM’s request and includes light offerings and advice from a dozen precious teachers. In addition, many venerable ordained sangha and lay students also make light offerings. There are also many expressions of gratitude for the COVID support organized by VBCM members.

On this auspicious day of Lhabab Duchen, we invite you to please enjoy this video of light offerings, advice, and prayers from so many precious teachers:
https://youtu.be/qGbYNRsMqsk

You can learn more about the FPMT centers in Malaysia by visiting their respective websites.

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.

Yangsi Rinpoche during the Vajrasattva retreat at Institut Vajra Yogini, France, August 2021. Photo by Tsanka Petkova.

In August 2021, Institut Vajra Yogini (IVY), an FPMT center in southeastern France, hosted a ten-day Vajrasattva retreat with Yangsi Rinpoche. Christian Charrier, the spiritual program coordinator at IVY, shared this story of the retreat.

In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the safety measures decided by the government, we could not, as usual, host Yangsi Rinpoche for our yearly Vajrasattva retreat at Institut Vajra Yogini. Still the conditions were not so bad, since we managed to organize this retreat online with Rinpoche giving talks every day from a remote location.

But this year, our repeated prayers and aspirations had proved successful! Rinpoche, out of kindness, accepted our invitation to come in person to visit us. After a few months of suspense, not knowing for sure if he would be able to travel to France from the United States, we were delighted to see him come out of the director’s car after arriving at IVY and greet all the people waiting in line to welcome him with colorful khatas, broad smiles, and “thanks” on their lips. This was August, the sun was bright, and we all had masks!

As soon as Rinpoche entered the chateau, he went straight to the gompa to do full-length prostrations in front of Geshe Tengye’s reliquary stupa. With tears pearling in our eyes, we felt so fortunate and grateful that Rinpoche had come from such a far distance and was with us in his “real” physical form to help us purify our negativities.

Yangsi Rinpoche with students at Institut Vajra Yogini, France, August 2021. Photo by Tsanka Petkova.

The next day, Rinpoche started the retreat as usual by giving Vajrasatta initiation and practice instructions. The sessions were structured as he advised, starting with prostrations to the Thirty-Five Buddhas of Confession and supplemented with Lama Tsongkhapa’s Guru Yoga. As additional methods for transforming the mind during this Vajrasattva retreat, Rinpoche had us recite the Song of the Four Mindfulnesses, Calling the Guru from Afar, and stanzas on emptiness from the Wheel of Sharp Weapons.

Those who were not able to do the whole retreat or had not been tested for COVID could follow some sessions outside on the lawn. They could also join the evening events, which were organized every other day, and attend other practices such as reciting the Praises to the Twenty-one Taras, doing fumigation (smoke purification) practice, and receiving the lung of the Diamond Cutter Sutra from Rinpoche.

Yangsi Rinpoche with students at Institut Vajra Yogini, France, August 2021. Photo by Tsanka Petkova.

On the first day of the retreat, Rinpoche had suggested that we take notes of whatever insights on emptiness and of other experiences we had to be presented during a performance planned for the close of the retreat. Many people wanted to participate, and it was challenging to integrate everybody’s ideas and present them in a coherent and playful form. After a few rehearsals, it turned out that “COVID” and “emptiness” (“vide” in French) would make a tempting play on words and help us turn difficulties into humor. Several participants performed little sketches, accompanied by music, songs, duets, dances, scarfs, bubbles, … and much laughter.

In the same way that Rinpoche had led us to the open stage in the shade of the oak trees, he brought us all into bright light around the white stupa, where all the participants could fit in a complete circle. Finally, right in front of the main door, Rinpoche sang with us a homemade song created for the occasion, called “Tong pa nyi Blues.” Indeed it chased our blues away, giving us confidence that the lama is always at our heart’s door, ready to come in … whenever we invite him.

Learn more about Institut Vajra Yogini online.

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.

Kopan nuns doing puja on Manjushri Hill in Maratika in 2013. Photo courtesy of Ven. Sarah Thresher.

Maratika, considered one of the six holiest places in the world, is a sacred pilgrimage site with ancient meditation caves. Located in eastern Nepal, it is where Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) achieved immortality. In a new in-depth story, “Maratika: Where All of Your Prayers Are Fulfilled,” Ven. Sarah Thresher shares some of the fascinating history of this powerful place and its special connection with Lama Zopa Rinpoche. She describes many of the sacred objects found there. In addition, she provides an update on Rinpoche’s current auspicious activities at Maratika and his future plans for the area, including the construction of a huge Guru Rinpoche statue. 

Ven. Sarah, an English nun currently living in Nepal, has undertaken the journey to Maratika annually since 2007 to make offerings and prayers for Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s long life. “The more one reads and learns about Maratika, the more devotion and faith arise that this is not an ordinary place,” she writes. “High lamas have composed praises of Maratika’s outer, inner, and secret qualities. His Holiness Trulshik Rinpoche writes that all twenty-four holy places are contained within Maratika:

“Nowhere in India, Tibet, or elsewhere will such an exceptional pilgrimage place be found.
I, an ordinary being, could never finish expressing the qualities of Maratika
But since they are seen to be true, they cannot be denied.”

We hope that you enjoy this special in-depth story. May it inspire you to consider undertaking a pilgrimage to Maratika yourself! As Lama Zopa Rinpoche once wrote, “In the Maratika cave where Guru Rinpoche found immortal realization, all your prayers can succeed.”

Please read the complete online story by Ven. Sarah Thresher, “Maratika: Where All of Your Prayers Are Fulfilled.” 

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, Boudhanath, Nepal, September 2021. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

We are pleased to bring you the latest issue of our monthly e-News. 

In this issue you will find stories and updates including:

• The Continuation of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Thought Transformation Teachings
• How to Celebrate Lhabab Duchen this year on October 27
• Support of Medical Care, Food, and Living Expenses for Those in Need
• New Practices and Materials Available in the Foundation Store

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.

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.

Oanh Vovan feeding hungry dogs in Swayambhunath, Nepal.

Oanh Vovan has taken on the responsibility of feeding dozens of desperate dogs and monkeys in Kathmandu, Nepal. Some meals are offered on a daily basis and there are two weekly trips to Swayambhunath where dogs and monkeys receive food. Each offering involves nearly 100 pounds of home cooked food (meat and rice) as well as fruits, vegetables, and bread for the monkeys. About 100 animals are fed at a time. International Merit Box grants were offered the past two years to Oanh to help with her compassionate activity. Here Oanh Vovan shares her story. 

Some monkeys who are the beneficiaries of Oanh Vovan’s kindness.

I started feeding the stray dogs in Bombay, India, on my way to school while serving as the head of foreign languages at the American School there. I have continued offering food to stray animals for the past eight years in Kathmandu, Nepal. 

It never occurred to me, before living in Asia, to feed animals. Coming from my hometown of Paris, France, the only dogs I would see in the streets were all pets—spoiled and cherished. In India and Nepal you oftentimes encounter “walking skeletons,” which are dogs that have gotten so skinny you wonder how long they have been suffering from hunger and thirst.

Some of the prep required to feed dozens of hungry animals.

I usually go twice a week to Swayambhunath Temple so I wake up around 6 A.M. and cook forty-five to sixty-five pounds of meat and bones, and fifty-five pounds of rice for several hours for the dogs. The monkeys are vegetarian, so I buy some vegetables, fruit, and bread for them. Once ready I book a taxi and feed all the dogs along the way from my apartment in Lazimpat to Swayambhunath Temple.

Often I meet angry shopkeepers who complain that feeding the dogs dirties their street, but after twenty minutes the food is totally gone because once the dogs have eaten, the crows and pigeons clean up the leftover food, so there’s no waste. On rare occasions people give me a thumbs up and once in all these years a couple stopped me to contribute some money toward the food.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche has advised on what mantras to recite and play while cooking the meat and feeding the animals. Eventually, I aim to feed the dogs vegetarian food.

Oanh Vovan first arrived at Kopan Monastery as a young trekker from Paris a few months after the passing of Lama Yeshe in 1984. She lived at Maitreya Institute in the mid-1980s and also worked for International Office (then called Central Office) at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa before Lama Zopa Rinpoche advised her to go to Nepal for five years. After her time in Kathmandu she studies at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics in McLeod Ganj, India. She became head of the Foreign Languages Department at the American School of Bombay, India, where she worked for nineteen years. When she retired in 2014 she began designing for Mandala Silk Design. She has been feeding stray animals, starting in India, for nineteen years. She lives in Kathmandu.

Through the generosity of Merit Box practitioners around the world, the International Merit Box Project has awarded US$1,154,905 in grants to Dharma projects and communities since 2001. Grants are awarded for FPMT centers, projects, services, and study groups, and for initiatives managed by FPMT International Office or initiatives elsewhere that further the mission of FPMT.  Read the full list of 2021 Merit Box grant recipients and learn how to join in Merit Box practice.

There are many ways one can help care for vulnerable animals and also to help animals create merit and purify negativities to help plant the seeds for enlightenment. Students can access our Benefiting Animals page to learn about how to complete animal liberation practices; perform animal blessings with mantras and holy objects; make charity to ants; bless oceans, seas, lakes, and other bodies of water; benefit insects and other small beings; stop animal sacrifice in Nepal; and benefit turkeys eaten during Thanksgiving, among other ideas for benefiting animals in the short and long term.

Abbot Geshe Loden with nuns in the Monastère Dorje Pamo gompa, Fiac, France, 2021

Monastère Dorje Pamo is a monastery for FPMT nuns. It is located in southeastern France near Institut Vajra Yogini and Nalanda Monastery. Ven. Chantal Tenzin Dekyi, coordinator of the monastery, shares this update:

Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, who together founded the FPMT organization, have both explained that the continuity of the teachings of the Buddha depend on the sustainability of the Sangha, which is the community of monks and nuns. They have advised that it is important, once ordained, to be able to live in a place that brings together the best conditions for studying and practicing Dharma, living in harmony, and taking care of each other.

Monastère Dorje Pamo aspires to be such a place.

The property that houses the monastery was donated in 2016 by a volunteer who was involved at Institut Vajra Yogini in the early eighties. After quite extensive renovation works on the building, three nuns took up residence during autumn 2018. They were myself, Chantal Tenzin Dekyi, in the role of project coordinator;  Ven. Losang Dekyi, who since has moved to O.Sel.Ling Centro de Retiros in Spain and has done a long retreat; and Peggy van der Hoogen, a postulant from the Netherlands. Following our settling in, there has been a lot of comings and goings of visitors, until more recently when the community stabilized.

Indeed, in December 2019, Béatrice, a long-time FPMT student, came to join us. Then a year later, Inge arrived from the Netherlands. Both stayed as aspirants preparing for ordination.

This year, on the auspicious day of July 14, 2021—which was Chökhor Duchen, the Wheel Turning Day that commemorates the First Teaching of the Buddha on the four noble truths—the ordinations finally occurred. Geshe Gyaltsen from Nalanda Monastery conferred novice ordination on three new nuns and three new monks.

Therefore, our two aspirants, Béatrice and Inge, became Ven. Gyaltsen Chökyi and Ven. Gyaltsen Palmo, in addition to Sophie, a student of Nalanda Monastery, now Ven. Gyaltsen Chötso. There are now altogether four nuns residing at the Dorje Pamo. Two other French nuns are regular visitors: Ven. Detchen, who is taking care of her sick father, and Ven. Lhamo, who came out of a long retreat in autumn 2020 and is currently visiting friends and family.

There are also several nuns who are part of our community although not as residents. They join us for regular pujas, special events, and to help with service. Ven. Tenzin Pema is our accountant. Some of the nuns take turns in guiding meditations and participating in our program. The program has been very reduced due to the pandemic’s restrictions. However, we continue to offer weekly meditations and Tara pujas online through Zoom. Some of our friends are glad to stay connected in this way.

In addition, on the auspicious full-moon day of July 24, we welcomed our abbot, Geshe Tenzin Loden, who was appointed by Lama Zopa Rinpoche. The enthronement was a very joyous celebration day. After inviting Geshe-la to the gompa, we recited Requests and Homage to the Sixteen Arhats, who are specially connected to the Sangha. The Sixteen Arhats, also known as the Sixteen Elders, were personally chosen by Shakyamuni Buddha, who asked them to remain in the world to maintain the Dharma. They vowed to stay until the time of the future Buddha Maitreya in order to help the Dharma flourish.

Geshe-la gave an inspiring talk about the importance and role of Sangha in preserving and developing the Dharma; the importance of training in ethics as the basis of all trainings; and the importance of harmony in monastic community as the necessary condition for temporal and ultimate happiness. And that is exactly what we are trying to implement.

After these happy events, our community life is taking shape. We are settling in a rhythm of joint, as well as personal, practice, study, and offering service to the community. And we are preparing for the expansion of our program and resources for our community to grow in harmony among ourselves and with the environment.

You can learn more about Monastère Dorje Pamo on their website, MonastereDorjePamo.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.

Tony Migalka, Judy Wagner, Jan Vaughan, and Cathy Davis making long life offerings to Gen Dondrub at Buddha House, Adelaide, South Australia, June 2021. Photo by Joanne Foo.

Buddha House, the FPMT center located in a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, celebrated their resident teacher Ven. Thubten Dondrub. Carole Migalka, Tara Hall coordinator, shares the story.

On June 20, 2021, Dharma brothers and sisters from around Australia and overseas gathered at Buddha House, Adelaide, Australia, in person and online, to offer a White Tara long life ceremony to Ven. Thubten Dondrub—fondly known to students as Gen Dondrub. Approximately 130 people participated in the event, with forty-nine people in our gompa and with the livestream being watched throughout Australia and as far away as Malaysia and Mongolia. People traveled from Western Australia, Victoria, and New South Wales to enjoy the puja. Following the event, a delicious lunch was served to fifty-three people in Tara Hall.

When Buddha House director Lyndy Abram and spiritual program coordinator Judy Wagner presented the idea of offering a long life puja, it took some convincing to get Gen Dondrub to agree. However, with the knowledge that full support was expressed from International Office and FPMT Australia, Gen-la humbly agreed to the event, making it the first long life puja offered to a member of the International Mahayana Institute (IMI), which is the community of FPMT monks and nuns, and an important example of honoring Western Sangha.

Pavel Janko, Ven. Drime, Ven. Kaye Miner, and Sandy Faber seated in the front row offering prayers at the White Tara Long Life Ceremony at Buddha House, Adelaide, South Australia, June 2021. Photo by Joanne Foo.

Leading the puja was Ven. Thubten Drime, one of four nuns living in temporary accommodation while working to establish the Machig Labdron nuns community at the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion in Bendigo. Some students were unable to attend in person due to COVID-19 restrictions, but conducive conditions saw the South Australia border open to regional Victoria just in time for Ven. Drime, who took lay vows with Gen Dondrub, to travel to Adelaide to lead the ceremony.

Extensive offerings were made, an abundance of flowers arranged, and students—dressing for the theme—transformed the gompa into a sea of white. Sponsorship and offerings came, with gratitude, from across the globe, and true to Gen Dondrub’s manner he offered them on to fellow Australian monastics.

With skies of devotion and respect, Gen Dondrub has offered extensive service to Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche since meeting them both in 1976 and receiving gelong ordination from Lama Zopa Rinpoche in Australia in 1979. Gen Dondrub has served as a director, on boards, and led the month-long November course at Kopan Monastery, Nepal, eight times. He continues to lead lamrim retreats at De-Tong Ling Retreat Center on Kangaroo Island in Australia.

Gen Dondrub has lived at Sera Je Monastery in India. He has taught in Taiwan as well as helped establish Jinsiu Farlin, the FPMT center in Taipei. He has been a resident and director at Nalanda Monastery in France and has taught in many additional countries, including New Zealand, India, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Singapore, Malaysia, United States, and Mexico. Gen Dondrub has served as IMI’s education officer, been the resident teacher at Hayagriva Buddhist Centre, in Perth, Australia, and supported and taught at the Tara Meditation Centre in Bunbury and the Gyalwa Ensapa Broome Study Group.

Gen Dondrub continues to teach an extensive Dharma program as resident teacher at Buddha House. The program includes Discovering Buddhism, lamrim, traditional practices and pujas, retreat days, and the popular Sunday talks, offering practical Dharma solutions for everyday living.

In “Preparing for Ordination” on the IMI website, Gen Thubten Dondrub writes, “Adopting the life of a renunciate is a life-long commitment in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. One takes ordination because one realizes that this human life really is rare and precious and wants to use it in the most meaningful way—both for oneself and others.”

Students around the globe touched by Gen Dondrub’s service and commitment can wholeheartedly agree he has, and continues to, use his life in the most meaningful way.

Gen Dondrub’s Thank You Letter

Gen Dondrub at Buddha House, Adelaide, South Australia, June 2021. Photo by Joanne Foo.

Dear Dharma brothers and sisters,

I would just like to thank everyone who was involved in any way, big or small, directly or indirectly, in the wonderful, auspicious White Tara long life puja that was held at Buddha House on Sunday, June 20, 2021.

Thank you to all the people who attended the puja in person at Buddha House, and to those who watched online in various places around Australia and even overseas.

Thank you to all those generous people whose sponsorship made the puja not just possible, but a genuinely beautiful and joyful event.

Thank you to all the many hard-working people whose enthusiastic efforts over many months made this puja a reality that went so smoothly and harmoniously.

Thank you,  Judy Wagner, the amazing spiritual program coordinator of Buddha House, whose original idea it was to have this puja and who meticulously planned and organized the event down to the finest detail.

Thank you to Lyndy Abram, the director of Buddha House and to Peter Stickels and Stephanie Brennan at FPMTA who gave their strong support to this project.

Although I don’t personally deserve such a wonderful event, I accepted on behalf of all the monks and nuns of the International Mahayana Institute, the Sangha arm of the FPMT organization, in the hope that the puja would be auspicious for people to develop a greater recognition and appreciation for the work that the IMI Sangha have done in spreading the Dharma and supporting people in their practice. I personally feel that the event was genuinely auspicious because there was such a joyful atmosphere throughout the puja and the meal that followed, but also a sense of lightness and calmness and a strong “family feeling” that Lama Yeshe always encouraged.

So this puja was a long life puja for everyone involved and an offering to all the Sangha. For this reason all excess sponsorship will be donated to Thubten Shedrub Ling Monastery and Machig Labdron Nunnery in Bendigo. In addition a total of $4,417 was offered to me by various centers and students during the puja, which I also offer to the same two monastic communities.

Best wishes,
Thubten Dondrub

To learn more about Buddha House, visit their website Buddhahouse.org. You can find the International Mahayana Institute online at IMIsangha.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.

Tara altar prepared by Maria Berger for the New Year’s Eve practice at Tara Mandala Center, Bavaria, Germany, December 2020. Photo by Maria Kruming.

Tara Mandala Center, the FPMT center in Landau an der Isar, Bavaria, Germany, has continued to engage in Dharma practice during the past year. Katrin Veicht, a board member for the center, shares the story about their eight million Tara mantra goal and other activities:

Since the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic everything that had felt normal became difficult. Meeting in our gompa was no longer possible and lots of teaching and courses had to be canceled. Before, we had not been particularly well equipped or technically experienced, but the COVID crisis taught us to move to online programs and establish Zoom meetings for the weekly lamrim courses with our resident teacher, Dieter Kratzer. Now we are very grateful to use these online resources. It has helped a lot to keep us connected.

In January 2021 we started to recite the Green Tara mantra upon the recommendation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to stop the pandemic, with the goal to recite eight million mantras by the end of 2021. Once a week, we meet online and recite “Praises to the Twenty-One Taras” and the mantra together. Two Sunday mornings a month, we do the Chittamani Tara Puja, led from Ven. Thubten Drolma. By mid of June 2021, we recited had 4,784,854 Tara mantras, accomplished by about twenty-five members reciting the mantra on a daily basis.

Weekly lamrim class taught by Dieter Kratzer, Tara Mandala Center, Bavaria, Germany, December 2020. Photo by Maria Kruming.

In February, at Losar, we started to do the recommended practice to protect from the Coronavirus by Lama Zopa Rinpoche on a daily basis. Every morning from Monday to Friday we come together via Zoom and do the daily morning practice by Rinpoche “The Method to Transform a Suffering Life into Happiness” and recite the Vajra Armor mantra and the Black Manjushri mantra. At the end we recite and contemplate on the wonderful prayer of Khadro Namsel Dorje Rinpoche. We dedicate all the merits accumulated by these prayers and recitations to all who are affected by the virus.

Another wonderful highlight for Tara Mandala Center was the twenty-four hour recitation of the Sanghata Sutra on Saka Dawa Duchen in May 2021.This was inspired by prayer marathons at other centers in the FPMT. Sixteen participants recited the Sutra six times completely. Please rejoice with us!

We are still very motivated and keen to continue with all these wonderful and helpful practice and prayers.

To learn more about Tara Mandala Center, visit their website:
https://www.tara-mandala.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.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Kopan Monastery, Nepal, August 2021. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

We invite you to read our September FPMT International Office e-News, out now!

Our news to enjoy and rejoice about:

• Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Recent Activities
• New Free Book by Lama Zopa Rinpoche
• Recent Offerings Made to Holy Objects

…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.

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.

Ven. Paloma Alba and Karen Molina at the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, Spain, May 2021. Photo by Steve Milton.

On May 20, 2021, Centro Nagarjuna Valencia, the FPMT center in Valencia, Spain, joyously announced the publication of El Mundo Físico, a 568-page hardcover Spanish translation of Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics, Volume 1: The Physical World, published by Madrid-based Kailas Editorial. The English translation, edited by Geshe Thupten Jinpa and translated into English by Ian Coghlan, was published by Wisdom Publications in 2017. Center director Steve Milton shares the story.

Our center is pleased to have translated The Physical World into Spanish. It is the first in a series of four volumes of books called Science and Philosophy In The Indian Buddhist Classics. Conceived of and introduced by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, this is a project very close to His Holiness’s heart and one that he is keen to see translated into as many languages as possible.

The wish to translate the book into Spanish (and many other languages) comes directly from His Holiness. The Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama directly contacted Karen Molina, who has served as His Holiness’s Spanish translator at his events across Europe. They asked Karen if she was interested, and if so how much she would charge to translate the book and how long she would need to finish the project.

El Mundo Físico, Valencia, Spain, May 2021. Photo by Steve Milton.

Karen felt that it would be an honor and a privilege, but she realized she really didn’t have the time to dedicate to such a project. Karen serves as translator and attendant to Geshe Lamsang, our FPMT resident geshe, and  she is extremely busy taking care of our teacher and translating at our public events. She also translates for the FPMT Basic Program and travels to the other FPMT centers in Spain with with Geshe Lamsang to translate his teachings.

While discussing the opportunity with Karen, I remembered that in the past Lama Zopa Rinpoche had said that the purpose of the FPMT organization and centers is to fulfill His Holiness’s wishes. I encouraged Karen to agree to the project with the support of our center, and on the condition that it be volunteer work with no payment involved.

I suggested to Karen that instead of translating the text herself, that she seek permission from the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to form a team of volunteers from our center to translate the text. Since the text had already been translated into English, our team could translate from English into Spanish, and Karen could refer to the original Tibetan text if needed. Karen thought that two years would be a realistic amount of time to complete the project. The Office of His Holiness liked the idea and gave Karen permission to move forward.

Karen began to consider who should be on this translation project dream team of five people. The team would need four people to focus on translation work and one person to edit each contribution and the final text to ensure a consistent style, vocabulary usage, and seamless flow. Each volunteer would need to have an excellent level of English, a good understanding of the Dharma, and it would be great if some team members had a scientific background.

Karen quickly identified four people from our center who would be perfect for the project. German Torregroa and Carolina Gallego are biologists, and Carolina has a PhD in biotechnology. They have been studying the Dharma and the FPMT Basic Program at our center for a long time and are proficient in English. David Vivas is a medical doctor, a PhD, a professor of health economics and management at the University Polytecnic of Valencia, and a long-time Dharma student. David has also worked on our center’s publishing projects, helping to share Geshe Lamsang’s teachings with more people. Ven. Paloma Alba is our center’s spiritual coordinator, long-time Dharma student, and editor of the free distribution books we’ve published of Geshe Lamsang’s teachings.

Carolina, David, German, and Karen began by dividing the English translation of the text up into four sections. Each person would translate a different section. Ven. Paloma would check their translations, and correct the style and flow, and then edit the final Spanish translation. The team gathered together in our center to discuss the best translation of terms and scientific expressions, and to agree on which vocabulary words they would stick to. Karen managed the overall project, while Ven. Paloma inspired everyone with her infectious enthusiasm and boundless energy.

This was a difficult book to translate, and it took two years to complete the project. Readers will encounter Indian Buddhist scholastic concerns with the material elements, the sensory capacities, time, atomism, cosmology, theories of the body, the brain, and even discussions of micro-organisms found in the body. The language is very scientific, and the concepts presented are very complicated. This is why some members of our translation team come from scientific backgrounds. Despite the difficulties, they persevered, and now the first book is finally finished.

Although this was a big project, our center is grateful we had this opportunity to fulfill Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s wish to serve His Holiness and fulfill His Holiness’s wish that this text be made available to everyone around the world. We felt it was particularly important to translate it into Spanish because so many people around the world speak Spanish. We also rejoice in the skies of merit our center members, donors, and volunteers created through our efforts.

Read more about it in the Spanish language online news outlet El Español: “Editando al Dalái Lama el día que señalan los planetas.”

Geshe Lamsang announced the book’s publication during an online Basic Program class, praising the students involved and thanking them for their hard work. He also thanked the publishers for printing the book. Due to the pandemic our celebration will have to wait, but we will definitely organize a rejoicing party at our center as soon as we can get together again. In the meantime our team has already started translating the second volume in the series.

Watch the thirty-minute video “Presentación del libro del Dalai Lama: ‘Ciencia y filosofía: El mundo físico'” (Presentation of the Dalai Lama’s book: “Science and Philosophy: The Physical World”):

To learn more about Centro Nagarjuna Valencia, visit their website:
https://nagarjunavalencia.com/

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.

Karuna Hospice Services nurses Mel and Hollie testing new podcasting equipment with Ven. Tsultrim at Karuna Hospice Services in preparation for an interview with Alana Cresswell from Donate Life Queensland and Phillipa Lazenby from the Queensland Tissue Bank, April 2021. Photo by Verena Coombs.

Karuna Hospice Services in Windsor, Queensland, Australia, has a new initiative to help people prepare for their own death and the deaths of loved ones. Verena Coombs, who does community relations for the hospice, shares the story of their podcast, “What About Death!?”:

Karuna Hospice Service in Brisbane, Australia, launched a podcast in April called “What About Death!? Everything you wanted to know about death but were afraid to ask.” The purpose of the podcast is to bring the topic of death out of the dark and into the open by exploring the many aspects, perspectives, and nuances of dying and death with the hope of reducing some of the stigma, taboo, fear, difficulty, and discomfort that often accompanies this inevitable part of life.

Ven. Lozang Tsultrim, who is a counselor at Karuna and previously presented a community radio program for several years, interviews people from Australia and around the world, who share their various experiences, insights, and research into dying and death.

What About Death!? podcast. Image by Karuna Hospice Services.

We are hopeful that by listening to these many and varied perspectives and experiences that we can stimulate curiosity in a very non-threatening way, thereby opening up the conversation and sparking interest. We hope that will result in more people talking openly about dying and death with their friends and family, leading to a greater understanding, less stress and a more peaceful and spacious way of responding whether death is arriving for us or for others.

We have a new episode every two weeks and the podcast can be found on Apple, Spotify, Google, and on the Karuna website. Special thanks to our podcasting team Joshua Byrd, Shannon Callander, Ven. Tsultrim, and Verena Coombs.

In addition, Karuna is continuing to provide regular community education online, with mindfulness courses, and the Foundation for Developing Compassion and Wisdom courses Unlocking Your Potential and Building Balanced Empathy. We hope to continue with the 16 Guidelines in the not too distant future. Do take a look at our website for upcoming course information.

Host Ven. Tsultrim recording an introduction with volunteer podcast editor Kiara Fauzi at Karuna Hospice Services, April 2021. Photo by Verena Coombs.

As a free community hospice service that has been offering palliative care in Brisbane, Australia for twenty-nine years, we are so very grateful for the privilege and the gift of caring for the dying and those with life limiting illness. We are very aware that so few others are afforded such a worthwhile, satisfying, and profound opportunity. Karuna is hopeful that in supporting individuals and families as they navigate their way along this path that we can continue to relish this opportunity to offer people comfort, care, and clinical expertise free of charge. We are very happy to announce that 2022 is our thirtieth anniversary, an amazing achievement! 

To learn more about Karuna Hospice Services, including ways to offer support, visit their website:
https://karuna.org.au/

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.