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Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Kopan Monastery, Nepal, December 2020. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
We hope you enjoy our January FPMT International Office e-News! This month we bring you news about:
- His Holiness Teaching for the FPMT Organization
- Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s New Book
- Lama Yeshe’s Wisdom
- LPP’s 2021 Calendar
….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.
REA Solar crew members completing installation of the solar power system panels on the gompa, Chenrezig Institute, Eudlo, Queensland, Australia, December 2020. Photo by Marc Talloen.
Chenrezig Institute, an FPMT center in Eudlo, Queensland, Australia, has installed a 22 kilowatt (kW) solar power system on the center’s gompa roof to power some of the center’s electricity needs. Marc Talloen, project manager, Interim Executive Committee, shares the story.
In late November and early December 2020, the Chenrezig Institute gompa and its surroundings were buzzing with exciting activities! In a span of a few weeks we installed a solar power system on the gompa’s roof, started the second phase of the inspiring Nalanda Masters Garden, and made significant improvements to Chenrezig Institute’s roads.
Garrey Foulkes, Geshe Phuntsok Tsultrim, Colin Crosbie, the truck driver, Kym Bartlet, and Ricciardo Ferrari building a reinforced concrete slab in the Nalanda Masters Garden, Chenrezig Institute, Eudlo, Queensland, Australia, November 2020. Photo by Marc Talloen.
A few months earlier, on His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 85th birthday, Geshe Phuntsok Tsultrim, our FPMT resident geshe, officially inaugurated and consecrated the magnificent Nalanda Masters Garden. The event took place in the presence of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche, who joined us on Zoom, bestowing his blessings on the new statues in the garden and the community. The opening of the garden inspired a flurry of building activity!
The garden was initially dedicated to a group of eight Nalanda masters. However, as a result of the excitement at the opening ceremony, that plan has changed. We are now working towards completing a set of statues of all seventeen Nalanda masters, as well as a Kadampa stupa and more.
A team of dedicated volunteers are engaged in the preparations needed for phase two of the Nalanda Masters Garden and have included a fancy sitting area under the Bodhi tree overlooking the statues and gompa. A team of avid gardeners brought the Garden of Enlightenment to its full splendor.
Kym Bartlet, Gordon Noble, and Colin Crosbie finishing the installation of a new and bigger water drain before paving the road, Chenrezig Institute, Eudlo, Queensland, Australia, November 2020. Photo by Marc Talloen.
Partial road improvement projects—including installation of multiple underground cross-road drains and the concreting of an 152 meter (499 feet) erosion prone stretch of Chenrezig Institute’s main entrance road—have been completed. The road re-opened on December 3, just in time for Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s birthday celebrations. We were then ready to cope with abundant rainfall during the December and January rainy season.
The section of Chenrezig Institute’s newly-paved main entrance road, Eudlo, Queensland, Australia, December 2020. Photo by Marc Halloen.
We had been looking into the potential benefits of installing a solar power system on the gompa roof for quite some time. We figured that if we installed a solar power system with a capacity of 22 kW then we should be able to generate enough solar energy during the daytime to cover electricity needs for most of the gompa, entire Sangha living area (about ten people), and the accommodation facilities for about twenty retreatants!
Adding a Tesla Powerwall 2 battery to our solar power system would allow us to store energy generated by the solar power system so that we could buffer the energy supply during times of passing clouds and use solar power during the first hours after sunset. The battery would also serve as a back-up power supply to the gompa during power outages. These outages are not uncommon in this area and can be attributed to random weather events.
Generous donations allowed us to move quickly and begin ample preparations. In November, we started clearing trees and trimming bushes to allow copious sunlight to sprawl over the gompa roof.
In late November, a team from REA Solar, a solar energy company in Queensland, came to partially install the solar power system, including roof racking, Enphase micro-inverters, all of the cabling, a new electrical switch board, and the battery. The Brisbane harbor has slowed down due to COVID, and so we had to wait patiently for customs to clear the new 465 watt solar modules and be delivered.
Magically, on December 2, the REA Solar team came back to install all modules, and then we were able to test and commission our new solar power system that afternoon.
And so very auspiciously, on December 3—Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s birthday—we achieved our first full day of solar energy generation, producing 134 kilowatt hours (kWh) of solar energy and largely covering that day’s electricity consumption. Of the 114 kWh consumed in that first twenty-four hour period, only 12.70 kWh came from the grid while 101.30 kWh came from the solar power system! An extra 31.90 kWh was exported to the grid.
Tesla phone app used by Chenrezig Institute staff to monitor the center’s electricity consumption and production. Graphs from left to right: 1 – levels of electric power consumed in twenty-four hours from the gompa electric network, 2 – levels of solar energy produced that same day by the gompa solar system, 3 – excess electricity produced by the gompa solar system fed to the battery (below the line) and electricity consumed from the battery when there isn’t enough solar available (above the line), 4 – utility network electricity consumed when no solar or battery energy is available (above the line), or fed back to the utility electric grid when excess solar energy is produced and the battery is already full, 5 – a combined graph showing when solar is available during the day, how it is consumed, and how excess is fed to the grid or stored in the battery, December 2020. Photo by Marc Talloen.
Encouraging results show that in those first three weeks the new solar power system helped us reduce grid electricity consumption by 86.13%. We are confident that we will experience continuous substantial savings, lowering our center’s operational costs for many years to come. By reducing our consumption of fossil fuel-generated energy and minimizing our carbon footprint, Chenrezig Institute is making a great leap into a greener future!
We take this opportunity to thank our generous donors who have helped us realize these projects. Please have a look at the video we have put together, showing the solar power system installation and some of our other recent projects.
Watch the two-minute video “Chenrezig Institute is going solar” on the Chenrezig Institute YouTube channel:
https://youtu.be/ebPVD3KCzJM
We have further renovation and upgrading projects planned, including renovating the Lotus House retreat accommodation, adding a new amenity block, an additional solar power energy system, and adding a new 3 phase electricity supply circuit to the Big Love Café so we can supply it with solar energy.
For more information about Chenrezig Institute, visit their website:
https://www.chenrezig.com.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.
Losang Dragpa Centre 25th Anniversary Celebration. Graphic by Gavyn Teh.
On December 10, 2020, Losang Dragpa Center (LDC), the FPMT center in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia, celebrated their twenty-fifth anniversary. The center shares the story.
On the auspicious Lama Tsongkhapa Day, LDC broadcast the e-celebration of its twenty-fifth anniversary via Zoom, Facebook, and YouTube, reaching out to teachers, Sangha, members, and friends from near and far. An in-person 25th Anniversary Celebration was initially planned for two years ago, but COVID made it necessary to rely on new technology to go virtual. That turned out to be a blessing as many more people were able to participate.
LDC began with a few members in 1995, in a rented link-house that was the home of co-founder Huei in Ampang. Soon after, a bank loan was obtained to purchase a semi-detached bungalow for center activities. These two Ampang houses served as LDC for its first eight years. LDC eventually moved across town to Jalan Birah and was finally able to acquire its own (current) premises with a beautiful garden located in a quiet residential area in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Looking back at LDC’s activities over the past twenty-five years, we are happy to have been able to abide by Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice and the FPMT’s Five Pillars of Service:
- Dharma: LDC offers Dharma classes for adults at the introductory level and the FPMT Basic Program.
- Universal Education for Compassion and Wisdom: The principles of the 16 Guidelines for Life underscore LDC’s “Dharma for Kids” program (five to twelve year-olds) and inspired the teens program (thirteen to sixteen year-olds) called “10 For Good” which is specifically based on the ten virtues.
- Social/Community Service: LDC was the mother of the now separately registered but hugely successful Kasih Hospice. Today, LDC responds to community needs such as Aunty Mee Fah Animal Shelter and food donation to the poor (during the pandemic) through its adult, teen, or children’s projects.
- Interfaith Activities: A Buddhist relic exhibition was organized and the spiritual leaders of Christian and Hindu organizations, along with leaders of other Buddhist traditions, were invited to the event and were also invited to speak at the opening ceremony.
- Revenue generation activities: LDC’s Dharma programs are offered on a free of charge basis but generates revenue through its Dharma Shop and fundraising activities throughout the year, during Vesak/Saka Dawa, the four great holy days of the Buddhist calendar, and Lama Tsongkhapa Day activities, offering the public opportunities to sponsor altar offerings and participate in pujas.
For any Dharma center, achieving twenty-five years of activities requires commitment and heart. We are forever indebted to our precious Guru Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche and all our other gurus, seven past and present FPMT resident teachers, and their translators. The contributions and sacrifices made by members, benefactors, volunteers, and executive committee members also cannot be forgotten and are deeply appreciated.
25th Anniversary Celebration on Zoom, Losang Dragpa Centre, December 2020. Photo by Dr. Chew Cheng Hoon, LDC member.
The 25th Anniversary Celebration featured a trip down memory lane of LDC’s history via a five-minute video “LDC’s 25 years Journey.” The high points of the night were the greetings and advice from our Guru Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi, as well as words of sharing and wisdom from past resident teacher Geshe Tenzin Zopa and Sangha translators Ven. Michael Losang Yeshe and Ven. Tenzin Sherab. The event also relayed personal greetings from co-founders Huei and Pek Chee Hen who are trustees of LDC, followed by fellow trustees Lee Oi Loon and Selina Foong (who also serves as FPMT Southeast Asia regional coordinator), and two past center directors, Datuk M. Jayabalan and Dr. Lee Hock Bee.
The biggest big surprise of the night was sprung by LDC’s current FPMT resident geshe, Geshe Jampa Tsondu, who has been at the center since 2012. Geshe Jampa Tsondu read his three-minute twenty-fifth anniversary greetings out loud fully in English. This was met with appreciation and applause from members and students!
Watch “(#GoLive) FPMT LDC 25th Anniversary Celebration” on the FPMT LDC YouTube channel:
https://youtu.be/9fjpb4r_WFw
LDC maximized the auspiciousness of Lama Tsongkhapa Day by launching the center’s new mobile-friendly website fpmt-ldc.org.
Geshe Jampa Tsondu said in his speech, “Twenty-five years is not long but not short either.” He said we should build on what we have already accomplished and continue to strive in the Dharma and its activities to benefit all.
Ven. Thubten Choying, Kenn Ng, Geshe Jampa Tsondu, and Lua Chiew Fei making offerings before the Yamantaka Pacifying Fire Puja, Losang Dragpa Centre, Selangor, Malaysia, December 2020. Photo by Gavyn Teh.
As a token of appreciation to all, LDC has released a recording of the Migtsema prayer composed into a song by a local artist. The recording features chanting by Geshe Jampa Tsondu and Kenn Ng, LDC’s translator.
Listen to “MIGTSEMA – LDC 25th Anniversary Celebration” on SoundCloud:
https://soundcloud.com/fpmt-ldc/migtsema-ldc-25th-anniversary-celebration
LDC center director Dato’ Dr. Goh Pik Pin, alongside her executive committee, took this opportunity to thank everyone who attended the 25th Anniversary Celebration for their support with hopes for many awesome years to come.
To learn more about Losang Dragpa Centre, visit their new website:
http://fpmt-ldc.org/
Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama giving a teaching, Bodhgaya, India, January 2017. Photo by Neal Patrick.
We are unbelievably honored and happy to announce that His Holiness the Dalai Lama has accepted the request of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and FPMT to give a teaching!
His Holiness the Dalai Lama will offer a teaching on Changkya Rölpai Dorjé’s Recognizing My Mother: An Experiential Song of the View (tagur ama ngodzin) followed by a question and answer session.
The live online event will be on Monday, February 8 from 9 A.M. to 10:30 A.M. India Standard Time (UTC +5:30).
(Please note: For students in the Americas, the teaching will be during the evening of Sunday, February 7. To find the time in your local area, see Time Zone Converter.)
Watch LIVE His Holiness the Dalai Lama teaching on “Recognizing My Mother, An Experiential Song of the View” on the FPMT YouTube channel:
https://youtu.be/rOA9JCY7pYI
Download the PDF of Changkya Rölpai Dorjé’s Recognizing My Mother: An Experiential Song of the View (tagur ama ngodzin):
https://fpmt.box.com/s/o651pwy54z15mwwqpy0n4sx1qbigs2vw
Find translations of the text in German, Italian, and Vietnamese, plus explanatory notes of the text by Geshe Kelsang Wongmo on the FPMT “Prayers and Practices Free Downloads” page:
https://fpmt.org/education/prayers-and-practice-materials/#ar
For translation of the text into additional languages and links to live translation of the teaching, please go to DalaiLama.com/live:
https://www.dalailama.com/live
The live webcast of the teaching will be in Tibetan with translation in English, Chinese, Hindi, French, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese, Japanese, Mongolian, Korean, German, Portuguese, and Italian. You will be able to find links to these translations on the official websites and Facebook pages of the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. People are requested to please follow their local social distancing rules while viewing the live webcast.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche watching His Holiness the Dalai Lama give a teaching, Kopan Monastery, Nepal, December 2020. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Find more live webcasts from His Holiness the Dalai Lama at DalaiLama.com/Live.
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.
LTC then-director Maureen McIntyre, Councillor Fiona Cunningham, Helene Holland, Ven. Trin-la, and MP Joe Kelly opened the Street Library in a small ceremony, Langri Tangpa Centre, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, November 2020. Photo by Carolyn Mason.
Langri Tanga Centre (LTC), the FPMT center in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, used a US$300 International Merit Box Project grant they received in 2019 to create a “Street Library” on the center’s outside property. The International Merit Box Project was created in 2001 to cultivate generosity as part of a daily practice. The offerings made by students, centers, projects and services are annually disbursed as grants supporting a wide range of Dharma activity. Street Libraries, also known as Little Free Libraries, are part of a worldwide movement to create places for books to be read and shared in local communities.
LTC’s US$300 grant used to pay for the creation of the library box, including mounting and shipping it to the center, as well as materials for the design of the library box itself. Some money was put in by the center, and then an amount equivalent to approximately US$600 was provided in donations of time, money, and resources to create the space for the Street Library, with seating and landscaping around it. Carolyn Mason, a member of the LTC management committee, shares the story.
Street Library, Langri Tangpa Centre, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, November 2020. Photo by Carolyn Mason.
The amazing biography Big Love: The Life and Teachings of Lama Yeshe, written by Adele Hulse and published by Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive, tells the following story on page 663. It took place in 1978, during the first Council for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition at the then Manjushri Institute in England:
“Stepping outside after one meeting session, Lama Yeshe looked up at the Priory’s soaring Gothic spires and said to Nick Ribush, ‘You know, dear, I think we should buy every Christian church in the world!’ Surprised, ‘Er, yes Lama,‘ was all Nick could offer. Just one more example of Lama thinking big.”
In 2007, the Management Committee of Langri Tangpa Centre together with benefactors did just that—we bought a church in Brisbane. In 2020, we built a mini one with the creation of a Street Library, our Buddhist Book Box, opening it to the public in a small ceremony held on November 4.
The LTC Street Library:
- Spreads the Dharma further into our community through providing free books.
- Contains appropriate Dharma books, books donated by students, old library books, and postcards about LTC.
- Library and seated area are skillful means to bring people to the center.
- Encourages those people curious about Buddhism but not yet ready to come into the center.
- Prior to COVID-19, many new attendees heard about LTC by walking or driving by, so we hope the Street Library will generate more interest for this group.
Street Library, Langri Tangpa Centre, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, November 2020. Photo by Carolyn Mason.
Created by our wonderful volunteer artist Helene Holland, it’s the most beautiful exquisitely detailed mini-LTC you ever did see! It has bricks and tiles, and the tip of the roof has a stupa instead of a spire.
Helene spent many hours decorating it with paint and hundreds of hand-made tiles (complete with moss!). The back of the Street Library is decorated with windows that “look” into LTC’s library. The sides of it have the church building’s brick pattern and are decorated with auspicious symbols. Prayer flags are on the front of the Street Library.
Helene is a skilled artist. She has regularly completed workshops with Andy Weber and conducts art classes herself, as well as painting stupas, molding and painting auspicious symbols for the center, and completing repairs on holy objects.
Our Street Library has a solar powered mini-chandelier inside, and the blue-painted interior and row of books draw the eye, especially in the dark. So far over 80 books have been borrowed! We just keep filling it up with books donated to the center.
We are now literally on the (Street Library) map in Australia, becoming the 2,500th Street Library in the country. We dedicate that this becomes a welcoming bridge from our passersby to the Buddhadharma.
To learn more about Langri Tangpa Centre, visit their website:
https://langritangpa.org.au/
If you would like start accumulating offerings with your own Merit Box practice, you can order a free Merit Box for your home or office altar from the FPMT Foundation Store:
https://shop.fpmt.org/Merit-Box-_p_619.html
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 Great Stupa of Universal Compassion, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, January 2020. Photo by Alyce Crosbie.
In 1981, Lama Thubten Yeshe laid out the original plans for the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion, an FPMT project near Bendigo in Victoria, Australia. On Tuesday, December 17, 2019, the community celebrated as the final pieces of the Great Stupa were lifted into place. Alyce Crosbie, marketing and events coordinator, shares that story and others in this update on activities at the stupa during 2020 and the Coronavirus pandemic.
“Raising the top of the stupa is a once-in-a-millennium moment in what we plan to be the 1,000-year life of the Great Stupa,” said Ian Green, director and chairman of the project since its inception. “It must be what it felt like for the builders of the great cathedrals or mosques of the world when the final spire or domes were put in place.”
Two massive cranes lifted the final structures—the sokshing, harmika, thirteen rings, and parasol—into place. The harmika and the thirteen rings alone weigh around 30 metric tons (33 US tons). The last 19 meters (62 feet) are completely decorated with traditional Buddhist artwork done by a team of local artists as well as custom-made works done in Nepal.
“For the past sixteen years, we have been focused on concrete and steel,” Ian Green said. “But the top of the stupa will be fully decorated in the brilliant colors of traditional Buddhist iconography. It gives us a real sense of how spectacular the whole stupa will be when complete.”
The Great Stupa had been standing close to 30 meters (98 feet) high and has now reached its total height of 48 meters (157 feet).
The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, January 2020. Photo by Alyce Crosbie.
The top of the Great Stupa was unveiled in a spectacular ceremony one month later. The mayor of the City of Greater Bendigo, two local members of parliament, and Ian Green were hoisted 60 meters (197 feet) above the ground in a “man cage” from which they lifted a veil off the top of the stupa. The unveiling was part of the Lunar New Year celebrations held at the stupa in January and February, one of our three major annual events.
Behind-the-scenes construction projects have continued during the COVID-19 pandemic. These included renovating and extending the gift shop as well as major earthworks for a sewage and water filtration system to make the site as self-sustainable as possible.
Ian Green reported that the services works projects have been successfully completed even though progress was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. He said, “It has slowed down our work due to delays in provision of important component parts and competition for contractors due to high demand created by government housing incentives. At the same time the pandemic closures at the Great Stupa, which were over five months, did enable some major trenching that would have been difficult to handle if we had our normal number of visitors to the stupa.”
Ian Green said, “A new power house will be the next major project at the stupa. This will include provision for solar power, batteries, and generators.”
There is a twelve-minute video virtual tour around the Peace Park at the Great Stupa, highlighting the interfaith installations in the park as well as the different plant and tree varieties. This video is part of the Bendigo “Bloom” garden series created by Bendigo Tourism to showcase the beautiful parks and gardens in our region.
Watch Alyce lead the “Bendigo Bloom – Peace Park Tour” at the Great Stupa for Universal Compassion:
https://youtu.be/YbB81Zw8f0I
We were preparing for an increase in visitors this year due to the completion of the outside of the building, but like most people we have felt the effects of COVID-19. We were hugely saddened to have to close our doors twice this year. This included canceling ILLUMIN8: Festival of Light and Peace, one of our three major annual events, when we celebrate the Buddha’s life on Saka Dawa with an amazing line-up of cultural performances and activities, light sculptures, food, and family fun.
Our Vegecareian Festival, a major annual event at the Great Stupa celebrating vegetarian cuisine from around the world, was held virtually for the first time. The November 21 livestream included cooking demonstrations, virtual animal blessings, and self-care activities. Thanks to everyone who tuned in on Facebook! For those of you who didn’t get a chance to join in, you can now watch the recording anytime on our YouTube channel. We look forward to seeing you and your pets for Vegecaerian Festival 2021.
A 6 meters (23 feet) high Quan Yin statue, installed during the COVID-19 pandemic, overlooks the entire Peace Park at the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, August 2020. Photo by Alyce Crosbie.
To learn more about The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion and the Jade Buddha for Universal Peace visit the website:
https://www.stupa.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.
“Distorted Emotions and Destructive Perceptions,” November 2020. Photo courtesy of Science & Wisdom LIVE.
Jamyang Buddhist Centre, the FPMT center in London, UK, launched their new project, Science & Wisdom LIVE, on November 11, 2020, with a dialogue between two scientists and two contemplative practitioners. Project managers Marco Colnaghi and Dr. Sajda van der Leeuw share the story.
Science & Wisdom LIVE, supported by Mind & Life Europe, aims to bridge the gap between science and wisdom traditions by bringing scientists into conversation with contemplative practitioners on the biggest challenges of our times.
Science & Wisdom LIVE launched its program with an online dialogue on the topic of “Destructive Emotions & Distorted Perceptions.” The event was held on the traditional Remembrance Day, when we commemorate the first day of peace after World War I and remember the lives lost in war.
Two scientists, Dr. Elena Antonova, a senior lecturer in psychology at Brunel University London and a visiting researcher at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King’s College London, and Dr. Wendy Hasenkamp, science director of Mind & Life Institute, joined two contemplative practitioners, Geshe Tenzin Namdak, FPMT resident geshe at Jamyang Buddhist Centre, and Father Laurence Freeman, a Catholic priest and a Benedictine monk of Monastery of Sta Maria di Pilastrello in Italy and the Director of the World Community for Christian Meditation, for a lively discussion on negative emotions and their possible solutions. The event was moderated by Scott Snibbe, host and creator of the podcast “A Skeptic’s Path to Enlightenment.”
The dialogue began with an exploration of why we call certain emotions “negative” or “destructive” and how they can lead to patterns of behavior that bring suffering to ourselves and others. The speakers then launched into an inspired (and truly inspiring) exchange about the possible antidotes to non-virtuous states of mind, discussing how contemplative traditions offer us practical tools to release the grasp of negative emotions.
“Distorted Emotions and Destructive Perceptions,” November 2020. Photo courtesy of Science & Wisdom LIVE.
Dr. Elena Antonova and Dr. Wendy Hasenkamp reflected on the scientific approach to the study of our inner world and explored how recent scientific findings, such as neuroplasticity and social baseline theory, can inform a more constructive way of understanding our minds and thinking about emotions.
Dr. Elena Antonova said, “An accepted dogma on which a lot of our Western society is based—and which has dominated our baseline idea of the mental state—is the state of anxiety, survival, vigilance, and separation. (Because we also perceive animals primarily as being in a relationship of predator and prey.) However, some scientists suggest that we should entertain the possibility that serenity, contentment, and connectiveness is our primary baseline, but that this gets disturbed when we’re put in the state of flight or fight response.”
Dr. Wendy Hasenkamp explained, “We need to repattern these entrenched patterns that have been developed over the course of our lives—and potentially inter-generationally—which can be done in many ways. We are learning about neuroplasticity and neural patterning, and that there’s a capacity of the brain to change. We need to reactivate a pattern that’s already there, and then carve a different path. This comes close to contemplative traditions, where we have to sit with negative emotions and where we learn about the role of acceptance and how to lovingly embrace what’s happening to us, after which we can start to create a different pathway or outcome.”
Geshe Tenzin Namdak and Father Laurence Freeman offered their often poetic insights from their own practices and experiences with meditation.
Father Laurence Freeman said, “There’s a variety of spiritual practices, centered in meditation, that can release us from the pattern of the hold of these negative emotions over time, with support from others. … Essentially, as the Buddhist would say, we have Buddha nature—or as the Christians would say, we are in the image of God. We are a living icon of the Divine, yet we need to build up a likeness to God over a lifetime, through becoming aware of ourselves and our problems, and also hoping (and later on trusting) that at the core of our being is an essential goodness, compassion, and virtue.”
Geshe Tenzin Namdak remarked, “We have a potential of the mind, which Father Laurence mentioned is like icon nature, but then there is obscuration—the ‘clouds’ that obscure that nature. So we need to first find acceptance of the problem without getting involved in it (as a neutral observer). This will lead to acceptance and the ability to observe—instead of engaging with—destructive emotions. Then we can start to have an intention for change and repattern our mind accordingly. We then have a freedom before any emotional hijack sets in.”
Watch a four-minute excerpt of the November 11 dialogue on the Science & Wisdom LIVE YouTube channel:
https://youtu.be/TSzHK5lvpV0
A video recording of the full event will be published soon.
Science & Wisdom LIVE brings meditation practitioners into conversation with scientists to address the problems of contemporary society and come to new possible solutions. The Science & Wisdom LIVE dialogues are based on the ideas of societal wisdom, the deliberate use of human knowledge and experience to cultivate well-being.
As a long-term series, these dialogues aim to enrich our insight, wisdom, and understanding of mind and life. Each dialogue touches upon specific sub-themes where science and contemplative traditions intersect, such as the ethics of artificial intelligence, gender equality, climate change, and the benefits of mindfulness and meditation for mental health.
To learn more about Science & Wisdom LIVE, learn about upcoming events, and subscribe to their newsletter, visit their website:
www.sciwizlive.com
Follow Science & Wisdom LIVE on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/sciwizlive
Listen to interviews with the November 11 panelists and recordings of the event on the Science & Wisdom LIVE podcast:
https://www.sciwizlive.com/podcast-episodes/
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, Nov 2020. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
We send you warm season’s greetings from Lama Zopa Rinpoche and his FPMT International Office!
We also share this month’s FPMT e-News. Highlights include:
- Official Long Life Puja for Lama Zopa Rinpoche
- How to Say Goodbye to Depression
- New and Updated Practice Materials
- Help us by Giving Where Most Needed
….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.
Lama Yeshe and Geoff Jukes, Kew Gardens, London, 1982. Photo courtesy Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.
For more than three decades, the Meridian Trust has been documenting on film and video Buddhist teachings and traditions around the world. The UK-based organization has collected an archive of more than 2,500 hours of footage, including rare footage of the generation of Tibetan lineage holders who first went into exile. Vicki Mackenzie shares the story of the Meridian Trust and its connection to FPMT in the new online story “Preserving the Past for Future Generations: The Meridian Trust Documents the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition as It Grows in the West.” Here’s a short excerpt from the story:
Unbeknown to most Buddhist students, there is a stash of hidden treasure accessible through a mere tap of the fingertip. Faces, voices and words of the most venerable masters who managed to escape from Tibet, video of His Holiness the Dalai Lama receiving the Nobel Peace prize, extraordinary footage from Tibet itself of its culture and historical events, and little gems of meetings between students and gurus. It’s accessible through the Meridian Trust website, an archive of over 2,500 hours of footage that has recorded the vanishing Tibetan traditions. And it is the brain child of Geoff Jukes, long term British student of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, and manager of some of the biggest names in the British music industry.
“The late 1970s and early 1980s, was an extraordinary time to meet the Dharma,” Geoff said. “There seemed to be a seemingly unending supply of these very rare beings, who appeared in our midst, the repositories of the unique Tibetan culture that was rapidly vanishing. It became very clear to me what an extraordinary window of opportunity we had been given, and it wasn’t going to go on forever. I wanted to record and preserve it for future generations. I discussed it with Lama Yeshe, and he was very enthusiastic.” …
“For me, however, it’s the early films that are particularly precious because no-one else was doing it then,” said Geoff. “We caught some iconic FPMT moments such as His Holiness’s and Lama Yeshe’s teachings at Institut Vajra Yogini in France and at Istituto Lama Tsong Khapa in Italy in 1981. Many FPMT centers do not realize the special, iconic moments we’ve captured and which are available to them.” …
Read the complete online story “Preserving the Past for Future Generations: The Meridian Trust Documents the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition as It Grows in the West.”
Visit the Meridian Trust online to watch videos and learn more about the video archive. The Meridian Trust is expanding the scope of its online work in January 2021 with a new, updated website, which will include podcasts and articles covering a wide range of Dharma subjects.
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 Board of Directors of FPMT Inc. sincerely apologizes for the suffering experienced due to any gaps or shortcomings in our previous procedures, or in our responses to the allegations received, regarding the sexual misconduct and spiritual abuse committed by Dagri Rinpoche. We are grateful to the victims who came forward with their statements. We are also grateful to FaithTrust Institute (FTI) for their work, which enabled us to reach conclusions about Dagri Rinpoche’s actions and to remove him permanently from the Tibetan Teachers’ list.
As was announced in our statement of November 20th, we also wish to share our main concerns about some of the broader assumptions and conclusions made by FTI in their draft Summary Report, in order to help our FPMT community have a full understanding of this process. Our concerns are not related to the statements of victims and the conclusion of guilt. Unfortunately FPMT Inc. did not have an opportunity to discuss with FTI our concerns about some of the conclusions they arrived at, and FPMT did not have representation presented for discussion and consideration for inclusion in the FTI final Summary Report. This is because FTI unexpectedly informed us that their work with FPMT was concluded after the community statement was published. To read about these concerns, please click on the link at the bottom of this page.
Although this was outside its scope, FTI’s investigation has provided an opportunity for concerns to be expressed about other FPMT teachers/leaders. Where the complaint states the individual being complained about, we will forward the complaint to the relevant affiliate’s board, and we will then follow up and review the result of their local investigations.
This situation has highlighted various issues that our organization takes very seriously. It has always been FPMT’s mission to provide safe and dependable environments. We recognize and accept the need and importance for a number of changes to be made, not only regarding policies and processes, but also regarding our culture at large. We sincerely wish that all involved in the FPMT organization can contribute in the coming months to these necessary reflections and changes that will help us to better prevent harm and abuse and to process allegations and complaints appropriately and fairly throughout the entire organization.
We will be further improving FPMT policies and processes regarding protecting from abuse (safeguarding). We are taking seriously all the recommendations of FTI and Thirtyone:eight, and will do our best to implement improvements as soon as possible. The implementation of Thirtyone:eight recommendations started in May 2020, and significant progress has been made. As for the 15 recommendations included in FTI’s recent report, many have already been completed and others are in progress.
One important development in progress is that we are creating an online Protection from Abuse training program, that will be translated into key languages, and mandatory for all in leadership positions within the FPMT organization. This training will provide learning, tools and strategies to better ensure protection from harm in FPMT-affiliated centers, projects, and services.
New and updated safeguarding and teacher policies and guidelines are in development, with significant feedback gathered from FPMT Registered Teachers and Regional/National Coordinators. This input is helping us to fulfil and expand on the recommendations of Thirtyone:eight and FTI.
We will be following up regularly to update you with our progress on implementing the various recommendations from Thirtyone:eight and FTI,in particular the Protection from Abuse training and related policies.
Our gratitude goes to each of you for your understanding and for your support in facing these challenges, and continuing to work together to make each and every single part of the FPMT organization a safe and harmonious place.
The Board of Directors of FPMT Inc.
FPMT Inc. Concerns Regarding Aspects of FTI’s Draft Summary Report
Thirteen-Deity Yamantaka sand mandala constructed by the Kopan tantric monks. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
The circular representations of universes inhabited by particular deities are known as mandalas in Tibetan Buddhism. There are many types, but the sand mandala is the most difficult to create. Millions of colored sand grains are meticulously arranged, using a metal funnel to place them in an outline drawing of the mandala. After its completion, the mandala is traditionally dismantled with an appropriate puja. This process symbolizes the impermanent nature of all phenomena.
Kopan Monastery has a tantric college that follows the tradition of Gyurme Tantric College in South India. Kopan’s tantric monks are trained in making sand mandalas, among other ritual activites.
Kopan’s Geshe Lhundrup Sherab speaks in this short video about sand mandalas and the customs followed at Kopan Monastery. He explains that there are two types of sand mandalas. One is flat and two-dimensional, and one stands up as a three-dimensional mandala. At Kopan, the monks create three-dimensional mandalas, which Geshe Sherab explains is the best way to accumulate merit and purify negativities. The Kopan tantric monks have two sand mandalas that they construct each year: Thirteen-Deities of Yamantaka and Guhyasamaja.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche offering a khata to the Guhyasamaja sand mandala in the Tantric College gompa of Kopan Monastery before a fire puja, November 2015. Photo by Ven. Losang Sherab.
The Thirteen-Deities of Yamantaka sand mandala is created on the merit-multiplying day of Lhabab Duchen, which commemorates Guru Shakyamuni Buddha’s return to Earth from the God Realm of the Thirty-Three after teaching Dharma for several months to the gods there, including his mother, Mayadevi, who had died a week after Buddha’s birth and been reborn there. The Guhyasamja sand mandala is created on Lama Tsongkhapa Day, the day commemorating Tsongkhapa’s parinirvana, again, taking the opportunity to collect extensive merit due to the power of this holy day.
Watch “A Brief Introduction to the Practice of Making a Sand Mandala”:
https://youtu.be/qkQ7MSEi7IM
This year at Kopan, the Thirteen-Deities of Yamantaka was completed the day before Lhabab Duchen, and this video includes footage of the monks working on it, dismantling it, and offering it into the river to benefit all beings abiding there—truly an inspiration to observe! You can read more about all the auspicious activities that occurred on Lhabab Duchen at Kopan Monastery, including the sand mandala.
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.
In our last announcement on November 13, we stated we would publish “a summary report on the fact-finding assessment” into the claims of misconduct by Dagri Rinpoche “after we complete our remaining work with FaithTrust Institute.”
We received a DRAFT of the Summary Report last month (October 2020), and we had hoped and expected to have the opportunity to contribute to the draft with FaithTrust Institute (FTI). However, FTI has recently informed us that they consider their work for FPMT Inc. to be completed.
Therefore, as we had committed and in a spirit of complete and utter transparency, FPMT Inc. is releasing the complete, unedited draft of FTI’s Summary Report to you now.
It is essential to note that FPMT does not agree with some of the points included by FTI in their Draft Summary Report.
We will be providing a further update explaining and clarifying our main concerns about this Summary Report. These comments will in no way call into question all that we acknowledged in our previous statement. We will also update about the work we are already doing, and still need to do, to fulfil the recommendations.
We want to take this opportunity to apologise again to the victims for the suffering experienced.
DRAFT Summary Report from FaithTrust Institute
Find links to past updates.