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Arnaud Berger and Ven. Elisabeth Drukier, Kalachakra Centre, Paris, France, November 2019. Photo by Laura Haughey.
Kalachakra Centre, the FPMT center in Paris, France, celebrated their twentieth anniversary in 2019. Laura Haughey, a student at the center shares the story.
The Twentieth Anniversary Celebration
On November 30, 2019, Centre Kalachakra joyfully celebrated the twentieth anniversary of its founding. Participants enjoyed a slideshow of the center’s history, a video of a teaching by Lama Yeshe, a theatrical performance inspired by the Eight Verses of Mind Training, and a potluck meal. Small group discussions focused on the different ways the center has contributed to community members’ lives. And a very moving meditation on rejoicing concluded the special evening.
Geshe Drakpa Tsundue, the center’s FPMT resident geshe, spoke to the gathering. He remarked that there are many Tibetan Buddhist centers, but few centers provide opportunities for serious study. He said even for Tibetans it is very rare to have access to teachings. Geshe-la said some of the texts Centre Kalachakra students are studying are the same texts studied in the great monasteries. He also shared that teaching two rounds of the Basic Program allowed him to learn even more about these texts. Geshe-la thanked everyone for offering him the opportunity to learn so much by teaching at the center for the past ten years.
Justine Wolski and Raj giving a performance, Kalachakra Centre, Paris, France, November 2019. Photo by Laura Haughey.
Kalachakra Centre’s Founding Story
In 1975, Parisian Elisabeth Drukier followed the hippie trail to Nepal, attending the lamrim course at Kopan Monastery. Elisabeth stayed at Kopan for five years total (three of those years without going back to France) and took ordination. She often translated for French speakers who visited Kopan and through this met Denis Huet. When she returned to Paris, she couldn’t find a Dharma center able to help people continue their studies. Denis offered help and some money, and in 1979 Ven. Elisabeth founded the FPMT center Institut Vajra Yogini in Marzens, France, following Lama Yeshe’s advice. In 1981 she also purchased the property that was to later become Nalanda Monastery, an FPMT affiliate, in nearby Lavaur, France.
The Kalachakra Association was officially created in 1985, following Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s visit to Paris. The fledgling center’s first meetings were held in an apartment in the 17th arrondissement. Lise, the first center director, and Christian invited geshes from Institut Vajra Yogini to come teach. Monthly meetings were held in various rented dining rooms. Marie, the second director moved the center to her place near the Parc Monceau. Afterwards the center rotated around to various locations in Paris.
In 1999 a very generous donor provided the means to buy the center a permanent home. Ven. Elisabeth found three possible properties for a new center. Lama Zopa Rinpoche, using divination, chose the current location on the Passage Delessert. The building, a former printing press, was inaugurated as Centre Kalachakra in 2000 with Lama Zopa Rinpoche in attendance.
Ven. Thubten Kunsang was very involved from the beginning. Ven. Elisabeth said, “In 1999 Lama Zopa Rinpoche asked me to become the center director. When my friend Ven. Thubten Kunsang offered to help me, we were able to buy the current building.” Ven. Thubten Kunsang also assisted with the renovation work and served as a Dharma teacher at the center. One of the first lamas invited to teach at Centre Kalachakra was Mogchok Rinpoche, who taught at Nalanda Monastery.
A seminal event in the center’s history was His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s visit to Paris in 2003. The visit was collectively organized by Centre Kalachakra, five other Buddhist centers from the Ile de France region, and the Paris Bureau of Tibet. Around 12,500 people attended the events organized for the general public. Held at Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, the large stadium event served as a big boost for Centre Kalachakra.
Centre Kalachakra began offering the Basic Program (Le Programme d’Etudes Bouddhiques Approfondi, or PEBA), taught by the current abbot of Nalanda Monastery, Geshe Lobsang Jamphel in 2007.
Ven. Elisabeth continues to serve as the center director. She shared, “In my nineteen years as director, my work has become my practice. Every morning I reinforce my motivation to help sentient beings by ensuring they have an accessible center and a diverse program where people are happy. I try to maintain this motivation throughout the day.”
Geshe Drakpa Tsundue, Kalachakra Centre, Paris, France, November 2019. Photo by Laura Haughey.
Establishing a Retreat Center
In 2008 Ven. Elisabeth asked Lama Zopa Rinpoche to help choose a location for a retreat center, a place outside of the city where students could deepen their understanding of Buddhism and advance in their Dharma practice. She visited dozens of locations. Rinpoche did a divination and identified an old farm in the Perche region, a little less than two hours southwest of Paris. Despite the need for many repairs and renovations, the center trusted Rinpoche’s guidance and forged ahead with the purchase. The newly acquired property is in an idyllic peaceful spot amidst fields and forests.
In 2009 Lama Zopa Rinpoche visited Centre Kalachakra for a second time. FPMT touring teacher Khensur Jhado Tulku Rinpoche and His Eminence the 7th Kyabje Ling Rinpoche also visited and taught at Centre Kalachakra. In September 2009 the center was blessed with the arrival of its first FPMT resident teacher Geshe Drakpa Tsundue.
The retreat center located outside of the city, Centre de Retrait de Saint Cosme en Varais, was inaugurated in May 2010 by Lama Zopa Rinpoche. A lot of restoration work has been done and the retreat center has become a great success. Around thirty retreats are held each year. The retreat center has comfortable rooms which can accommodate more than forty guests. The retreat center has a beautiful gompa and a modern yoga/classroom space. Construction on a beautiful Kadampa stupa began in 2017 and is slated to be completed this year.
Ven. Elisabeth said, “The decision to buy the retreat center in 2008, to allow people to integrate the teachings given at the Paris center, has both increased our overall number of students and brought them back more often.”
Centre Kalachakra looks forward with great enthusiasm to the next twenty years and beyond. The center is committed to sustaining and growing a diverse, supportive community for those interested in studying and practicing in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.
For more information about Kalachakra Centre and Centre de Retrait de Saint Cosme en Varais, visit their website:
http://www.centre-kalachakra.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.
Meditation at Centro Shiwa Lha, Brazil, December 2019. Photo by Marcia Rocha.
In December 2019, fifteen teenagers from Morro da Providência, the first favela community in Brazil, spent an afternoon at Centro Shiwa Lha, the FPMT center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, learning more about Buddhism. The event was a community service activity, which is one of FPMT’s Five Pillars of Service. The teenagers’ visit was organized by Centro Shiwa Lha and Thayná Bonin, a volunteer photography teacher at the nonprofit Casa Amarela, an arts and cultural center in Morro da Providência. Center volunteer Daniela Vignoli shares the story.
The children arrived on time at Centro Shiwa Lha. Thirsty, they asked for water. They were curious, looking around and asking about everything. Within a few minutes they already seemed to be at home.
Ven. Tenzin Namdrol at Centro Shiwa Lha, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, December 2019. Photo by Marcia Rocha.
After introducing ourselves to each other, we all sat in silence to listen to center director Ven. Tenzin Namdrol tell us Buddha’s life story. The children managed to meditate for a few minutes, and then everyone recited OM MANI PADME HUM twenty-one times.
Full of energy, they went into the garden to enjoy the treats that were waiting for them—delicious Christmas cake, snacks, and drinks.
It got dark, but we continued outside in the garden. The adults and teenagers talked, exchanging knowledge and experiences. Then it was time to go. After all there was still a long way to go back home.
Centro Shiwa Lha garden, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. December 2019. Photo by Marcia Rocha.
I don’t really know if the children understood or if they were really interested in the explanation of the Buddha and the concepts of Buddha’s philosophy, but I am sure they felt the vibration of this very special place. It was a pleasant afternoon full of joy, love, and affection.
After the visit Casa Amarela staff shared, “We would like to thank Tenzin Namdrol, the director of the center, for the warm welcome! We hope to be back and learn more about your center and masters.”
Daniela Vignoli talking with two teenagers, Centro Shiwa Lha, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, December 2019. Photo by Marcia Rocha.
For more information 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.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama with Dr. Renuka Singh, Tushita Mahayana Meditation Centre’s 22nd Dharma Celebration at St. Columba’s School, New Delhi, India, November 2019. Photo courtesy of Tushita Mahayana Meditation Centre.
Tushita Mahayana Meditation Centre, the FPMT center in New Delhi, India, celebrated their 40th anniversary with His Holiness the Dalai Lama at their 22nd Dharma Celebration. The two-hour event was held at an all-boys Christian Brothers school with more than 3,400 students. Center director Dr. Renuka Singh shares the story.
Tushita Mahayana Meditation Centre’s 40th anniversary and 22nd Dharma Celebration was held on November 20, 2019, at St. Columba’s School, New Delhi. His Holiness the Dalai Lama graced the momentous occasion and gave a teaching on “Overcoming Anger and Anxiety” to an audience of 6,740 guests.
Guests kept trickling in until the last minute. Ven. Kabir Saxena, Tushita Mahayana Meditation Centre spiritual program coordinator, observed, “Very large numbers of people lined up for the teaching. I had never seen so many in any of the Dharma Celebrations organized since 1981.” Around five hundred people were sent back by the police security personnel.
Tushita Mahayana Meditation Centre’s 22nd Dharma Celebration at St. Columba’s School, New Delhi, India, November 2019. Photo courtesy of Tushita Mahayana Meditation Centre.
Over two thousand students ages twelve to seventeen enlivened the program. A handful of students at the beginning of the program offered a prayer dance. A group of underprivileged students sang a song on what happened to be International Children’s Rights Day (World Children’s Day), a day celebrated annually on November 20. A book titled Daily Inspiration from His Holiness, edited by Renuka Singh and published by Penguin Random House, was also released by His Holiness.
It was particularly satisfying for all of us to be able to fulfill His Holiness’s wish to provide everybody with a copy of Eight Verses for Training the Mind in English and Hindi to benefit one’s mental hygiene. People often talk of justified anger and that anger is the root cause of human unhappiness, conflict, and violence in the world. This manifests in a myriad ways in our individual lives and also in society—from family, media, politics, the economy, and the environment to self-hatred and destructiveness. The challenge today is to envision and live a future full of hope, patience, kindness, and compassion.
Dr. Renuka Singh and His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tushita Mahayana Meditation Centre’s 22nd Dharma Celebration at St. Columba’s School, New Delhi, India, November 2019. Photo courtesy of Tushita Mahayana Meditation Centre.
Questions for His Holiness came in quick succession during the question-answer session. His Holiness addressed the students’ questions in a very endearing manner.
This Dharma Celebration was perceived as a true reflection of Indian pluralism. Someone put it this way: “A Buddhist function was held in a Catholic school, organized by Sikhs, and attended by people of all denominations.” One feels that a lot of people received an incredibly beneficial imprint at the event due to the power of the teacher and the teaching, and we rejoice greatly. Congratulations and thanks to one and all who helped to make this event a huge success.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche congratulated the center, writing in the introduction to the 22nd Dharma Celebration souvenir booklet:
Since many people have come to Tushita, where compassion is taught and everybody practices it, over the years, many, many sentient beings have received peace and happiness. If just one person who has come to the center practices compassion and stops giving harm to others, if he or she makes a vow and tries to do that, numberless sentient beings don’t receive harm from that person. This is the benefit to all sentient beings. All sentient beings receive benefit from that one person, and this is due to the center. As many people have come to the center over the years since it started, that many numberless sentient beings have received benefit, peace and happiness from each one of them. …
My main emphasis is that Tushita and other Dharma centers play a most important role in creating world peace, so this is our offering of service. We offer service to the center and try to develop it so that more sentient beings can have contact with Dharma. Sentient beings’ suffering is a serious emergency, a billion times more urgent than regular hospital emergencies, and I hope you can see how your service to Tushita brings incredible benefit to all sentient beings. There is no question that the center liberates beings from the lower realms and brings them to liberation and enlightenment. Such are the skies of benefits of working for sentient beings and the center.
For more information about Tushita Mahayana Meditation Centre, visit their website:
https://tushitadelhi.com/
Watch His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s November 20, 2020 talk, “Overcoming Anger and Anxiety” on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/z0YBKPAGewI
Read Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s introduction to the souvenir booklet on the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive website:
https://www.lamayeshe.com/article/chapter/dharma-celebration-2019
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.
Heruka Five-Deity Retreat, Myers Flat, Victoria, Australia, October 2019. Photo by Andy Melnic.
Atisha Centre, an FPMT center in Myers Flat, Victoria, Australia, and nearby FPMT monastery Thubten Shedrup Ling held a Heruka Five-Deity retreat from September 21 to October 27, 2019. The retreat, which was restricted to students who had previously received initiation of Heruka/Chakrasamvara from a recognized, qualified, tantric master, was led by Australian FPMT registered teacher Ven. Tenzin Tsapel. Andy Melnic, Atisha Centre spiritual program coordinator, who coordinated the retreat, and Owen Cole, a long-time FPMT student from Hayagriya Buddhist Centre, the FPMT center in Perth, who attended the entire retreat, share the story.
In October 2019 we completed a five-week Heruka retreat at Atisha Centre and Thubten Shedrup Ling Monastery in Bendigo, led by Ven. Tenzin Tsapel. The hosting of this retreat fulfilled the holy wishes of Lama Zopa Rinpoche that we do so following his initiation last year at the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion.
More than twenty people attended the retreat and not a single session was missed by anyone. The retreat was exceptional and very enjoyable, and everyone appeared to be very happy during and afterwards. That energy spread around the center.
Ven. Tenzin Tsapel, Myers Flat, Victoria, Australia, October 2019. Photo by Owen Cole.
No sessions started late and almost everyone finished the mantra count. However, it was far more than a dash to finish mantras. Under the experienced and wise guidance of Ven. Tenzin Tsapel, there were practices before or after every session (including at various times of the day), prostrations, prayers on the lamrim, guru devotion, thought transformation, and long Life and protector prayers in accordance with the retreat style developed by our precious guru, Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
Some retreat experiences:
Ven. Tenzin Tsapel said, “The retreat was very harmonious and I appreciated everyone’s efforts. The practice is very powerful and I enjoyed it.”
Ven. Losang Yeshe commented, “The retreat was challenging, but it’s the faith in the guru that guides us so we don’t get lost on the way.”
Lynda Blamires shared, “I did the initiation with Lama Yeshe at Atisha Centre in 1981 and wanted to do the retreat ever since. The retreat brought back moving memories of Lama, and I felt his presence during the meditations.”
Offering this retreat continued a tradition at Atisha Centre, where Rinpoche advised to hold a Vajrayogini retreat (completed in 2018) and a Heruka retreat (completed in 2019). This year we are considering hosting a Cittamani Tara retreat (also indicated by Rinpoche).
For more information about Atisha Centre, visit their website:
https://atishacentre.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.
Geshe Gelek at Kadampa Center, Raleigh, North Carolina, US, August 2019. Photo by David Strevel.
In 2019 Kadampa Center, the FPMT center in Raleigh, North Carolina, US, had a celebration for one of their two resident geshes, Geshe Gelek Chodha. Center manager Jill Marie shares the story.
Geshe Gelek at Kadampa Center, Raleigh, North Carolina, US, August 2019. Photo by Kadampa Center.
On Saturday, August 3, 2019, we celebrated our precious resident teacher, Geshe Gelek’s twentieth anniversary. Geshe-la was greeted with katas, gratitude, and many smiles. The decorations, delicious Indian food, and Nepalese folk music transformed our center into a festive and happy afternoon for all who attended.
Later in the courtyard we gathered to hear heart-filled speeches, watch the children offer a mantra and cards, and the Tibetan community and Kadampa Center offered special gifts.
The shining moment came when center director Robbie Watkins announced our secret gift of a paid off Kadampa Center mortgage to Geshe-la! The children happily helped Geshe-la complete the American ritual of “burning the mortgage.”
We have been so blessed to receive the wisdom and joy from Geshe-la for these past twenty years. May we be blessed with twenty more!
For more information about Kadampa Center, visit their website:
https://kadampa-center.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.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Ganden Buddhist Meditation Centre students and volunteers, Riga, Latvia, June 2019. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche visited Riga for two weeks in the middle of the Latvian summer from June 24 to July 1, 2019. The visit was organized by Ganden Buddhist Meditation Centre, an FPMT center in Riga. Rinpoche’s Latvian students share the story.
The email we received asking us to confirm Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s visit to Riga before agreeing on details took our breath away. We had almost four months to prepare and were overwhelmed with joy.
Each year on June 24 Latvians stay up all night celebrating midsummer (summer solstice), a tradition maintained even during the Soviet times. People jump over the bonfires and wear crowns made of oak tree leaves (for men) and summer flowers (for women). Rinpoche arrived at the airport late that night. It was a magical experience: a combination of a hot summer night and the magic of seeing Rinpoche come through the arrival gates and enter our small country (population less then 2 million). Following tradition we offered Rinpoche an oak tree leaf crown that had been made for him, which he gladly accepted.
Oskars Mickevics, Inese Zelmane, Inga Logina, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, and host family Anda Stūrīte with her husband and two children, Riga, Latvia, June 2019. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Rinpoche, Ven. Roger Kunsang, Ven. Holly Ansett, Ven. Lobsang Sherab, and Ven. Lhundup Topgye were hosted by long-time students at their house outside of the city by the river and surrounded by nature. European roe deer and other deer often visit from the nearby forest, giving guests the chance to meet them. It was a tranquil place for resting before and between teachings.
The teachings started the following weekend and went on for three days. They took place in a central part of a city in a cozy yet spacious venue cut out from the outside noise. Approximately 150 students gathered from all over Europe to attend the teachings. A day before the teachings started we got a pleasant surprise: an extra day for everyone to meet Rinpoche as he decided to do a tsog offering at Ganden Buddhist Meditation Centre. Even though it was last minute our small gompa was full of old and new students.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche with students from Vienna, Austria in Riga, Latvia, June 2019. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Rinpoche gave us magnificent teachings on “The Integration of the Five Powers in Life as well as at the Time Of Death.” Rinpoche’s teachings included advice on how to be happy in life, how to make others happy, and complex and specific advice on the five powers to be practiced at the time of death and how to use them.
On Rinpoche’s rest day he invited some of the volunteers, who happened to be at the house at the time, to join him on his afternoon walk. We spent time with him, just walking along enjoying the experience. We asked one or two questions, and Rinpoche gladly responded. Afterwards Rinpoche went back to the house to have tea.
Rinpoche also spent time exclusively with Ganden Buddhist Meditation Centre’s director, spiritual program coordinator, and other members of the board, giving advice about the center, community, and the FPMT organization.
Ven. Lhundup Topgye, Uldis Balodis, Ven. Holly Ansett, Inese Zelmane, Ven. Roger Kunsang, and Alnis Grants with Lama Zopa Rinpoche engaged in Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga practice to bless all of the beings in Latvia from the rooftop of St. Gertrude Old Church, a Lutheran church in Riga, Latvia, June 2019. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Although their departure flight was early in the morning many people came to the airport to say goodbye to Rinpoche, Ven. Roger Kunsang, Ven. Holly Ansett, Ven. Lobsang Sherab, and Ven. Lhundup Topgye. Rinpoche kindly spent those precious moments with his students, sharing his love. In return we shared our gratitude. We savored these moments in the presence of our beloved teacher as he reminded us of the value of a perfect human life.
Those few days felt like a dream in many ways, and we will keep reminding ourselves of how fortunate we are. We hope Rinpoche will return to Lativa and that we can host him again.
For more information about Ganden Buddhist Meditation Centre, visit their website:
http://ganden.lv/
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.
Rose at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa, Pomaia, Italy, November 2017. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Paloma Fernandez, FPMT Europe Regional Coordinator, shares updates from Europe.
At this challenging time all over the world, with most of the centers, projects, and services, in Europe closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the centers saw that this is a very important moment for people to have access to the Dharma, now more than ever.
As an answer to that need, most of the European centers have launched different programs online, together with other initiatives. For many centers that meant that they needed to quickly learn about online platforms and how to launch their programs in this new format.
With the support with so many people, the FPMT centers all around Europe are supporting their students and the community in so many ways. All are helping their students to do the practices advised by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, and to connect with Rinpoche’s video teachings.
AUSTRIA
Panchen Losang Chogyen Gelugzentrum, Vienna, is offering a rich online program in German, including Discovering Buddhism, and a Tara sadhana practice using WhatsApp, pujas, and daily meditations.
DENMARK
The Center for Wisdom and Compassion, Copenhagen, has made necessary adjustments so they can offer teachings tailored to support students. The center is offering meditations, and a new series of classes with FPMT registered teachers, such as “Using Fear to Develop Resilience,” and “Courage in Challenging Times.”
FINLAND
Tara Liberation Study Group, Helsinki, made a video with the Praises to 21 Taras in Finnish so people can do the practice by chanting along with the video that includes the text.
FRANCE
Institut Vajra Yogini, Marzens, is offering an online session every afternoon as well as Discovering Buddhism and Basic Program online. Kalachakra Center, Paris, is also offering a rich program in French through Zoom, including several Tara puja sessions each week and the practices advised by Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
GERMANY
Aryatara Institut, Munich, is offering an online program including Monday Meditation, Discovering Buddhism, Basic Program, and a Tara Retreat.
THE NETHERLANDS
Maitreya Instituut is offering online teachings and meditations on Zoom. The center board wrote to all the center’s students/members to wish them strength, and are sending out cards.
ISRAEL (part of FPMT Europe)
Shantideva Study Group, Herzelia, is offering a diverse online program, and are doing a monthly animal liberation practice.
ITALY
The FPMT Italy National Office has organized a national online program with free activities offered daily in Italian.
Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa, Pomaia, is also offering online courses including the Basic Program, while Centro Tara Cittamani, Padova and Centro Tara Bianca, Genova are also organizing initiatives in Italian.
ROMANIA
White Tara Study Group is offering Discovering Buddhism on Zoom and Meditation 101 on Facebook.
SPAIN
FPMT Spain’s website now has information about free activities happening daily in Spanish.
Volunteers from Potala Hospice, the FPMT hospice service in Malorca, are offering emotional support through the telephone and over email to patients admitted to a hospital in a state of isolation, grieving people who have lost a loved one to coronavirus disease, and anyone in isolation or who has a family member in this situation and they are worried about loneliness.
SWEDEN
Yeshe Norbu Mind Training Center, Stockholm, now has an “Online Mind Training Center” with events including Discovering Buddhism, drop-in lunchtime meditations, drop-in evening meditations, a book circle, Tara practice, and more.
SWITZERLAND
Gendun Drupa Center, Martigny, is offering weekly meditations online.
Longku Center, Bern, is offering meditations online using Zoom, and a two-month online course about disturbing emotions.
UNITED KINGDOM
The FPMT UK National Office has worked with the UK centers to create a single online calendar while the centers are closed.
Jamyang Buddhist Centre, London, initiated a Morning Prayer Group.
Foundation for Developing Compassion and Wisdom (FDCW) is offering online meetings and courses for the global community. Everyone is welcome to join Universal Education (UE) Coming Together community meetings on Zoom. FDCW is also offering Building Inner Strength: 16 Guidelines Level 1 as an online course, and an eight-hour five-session 16 Guidelines for Children and Teens Online Course for Parents and Carers.
Find links to these centers in the Europe and Middle East sections of the FPMT online directory:
https://fpmt.org/centers/#europe
https://fpmt.org/centers/#middleeast
Additional resources, including video teachings from Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Dharma study-from-home opportunities, can be found on the page “Resources for the Coronavirus Pandemic”:
https://fpmt.org/fpmt/announcements/resources-for-coronavirus-pandemic/
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.
Cherry Blossoms in Tokyo, Japan, April 2020. Photo courtesy of Do Ngak Sung Juk Study Group.
Selina Foong, FPMT South East Asia regional coordinator, shares an update from the FPMT centers, projects, and services in Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Singapore, and Taiwan.
There are movement control and lockdown procedures in place to varying degrees throughout our East and Southeast Asian region. At the time of writing, April 13, 2020, most of the FPMT centers in the seven countries here have closed in compliance with their respective government regulations.
A notable exception is Jinsiu Farlin, the FPMT center in Taipei, Taiwan. The center remains open, albeit with some restrictions, as Taiwan has been exemplary in keeping the coronavirus situation under control. While the center is avoiding hosting activities, which tend to draw large crowds, regular teachings and monthly pujas are continuing as usual.
An additional group session is held every Saturday afternoon to focus on the practices recommended by Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche for pacifying the disease. Sessions typically attract fifteen to twenty participants, all of whom are required to wear face masks, sanitize their hands, and have their temperatures taken before entry is permitted. All sessions are also streamed online for those who prefer to stay at home.
Cherry Blossoms in Tokyo, Japan, April 2020. Photo courtesy of Do Ngak Sung Juk Study Group.
Online Dharma
For the centers that are closed, good use is being made of online and other platforms to maintain contact and offer encouragement, prayers, and teachings. As Tan Hup Cheng, center director of Amitabha Buddhist Centre, the FPMT center in Singapore says, “We are all well and trying to keep the Dharma alive.”
Ganden Do Ngag Shedrup Ling, the FPMT center in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, for instance, runs a very active Facebook page. Their recent post about advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche for coronavirus was shared 1,400 times and reached 88,000 people!
Their Facebook video uploads have also been well received. An ongoing series of thirty-minute video teachings on “How to deal skillfully with anger” by resident teacher Ven. Thubten Gyalmo is very popular. The thirteen videos already published have received 24,000 views to date. Even Mongolia’s TV9 channel took notice and has agreed to broadcast these videos free of charge whenever their program schedule permits. Another very effective medium of communication in Mongolia is national radio, which continues to air Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teachings twice a month.
Other online activities include recitations of the Golden Light Sutra and Sanghata Sutra. Do Ngak Sung Juk, the FPMT study group based in Tokyo, Japan, with members throughout the country, continues with this virtual practice just as they have done for the past twelve years. The study group conducts readings on the first and third Wednesdays of every month and are joined by participants from all corners of the globe. Ganden Do Ngag Shedrup Ling also plans to launch recitations of these sutras online in April in order to dedicate strongly for world peace and the total elimination of COVID-19.
Several centers are turning to Zoom and Skype to conduct teachings, pujas, and meetings.
Geshe Jampa Tsundu, the resident geshe at Losang Dragpa Centre, the FPMT center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, has resumed his regular teachings via Zoom. Geshe Jampa Tsundu also recently performed the Medicine Buddha Jangwa ceremony in an empty Losang Dragpa Centre gompa for the occasion of Cheng Beng (Tomb-Sweeping Day), which was streamed online to many participants.
Ven. Pemba Sherpa, is continuing to lead discussion sessions with Do Ngak Sung Juk via Skype video conferencing on the second Sunday of each month from his base as resident teacher at Cham Tse Ling (Mahayana Buddhist Association), the FPMT center in Hong Kong, where all activities have stopped since the end of 2019. Ven. Thubten Dechen is translating the weekly Jinsiu Farlin teachings as well as Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s current teachings from Kopan to a growing group of Chinese-speaking students throughout the world.
Amitabha Buddhist Centre conducted a Guru Puja on April 2 via Zoom for their first time. However, now that Singapore is in lockdown and Amitabha Buddhist Centre is closed, there are no further activities at the center for the time being. Even Vesak Day celebrations in May have been cancelled.
There is similar news from Chokyi Gyaltsen Centre, the FPMT center in Penang, Malaysia, and Potowa Centre, the FPMT center in Jakarta, Indonesia. Both centers are closed. Geshe Deyang, the resident geshe at Chokyi Gyaltsen Centre is performing prayers and pujas from his base at the center for the benefit of all. The center’s students continue to study and contemplate his teachings given to date from their own homes. As for Potowa Centre, their members are also staying home but continuing with various translation works and research on Borobudur.
Online Messaging Services
In addition to Zoom and Skype, some centers have found WhatsApp group chats to be useful in order to disseminate information quickly and effectively. Losang Dragpa Centre uses this platform to share practical information as well as Dharma news, including links to Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s latest teachings and advice, in order to offer regular encouragement and support.
All in all, the centers and groups in our region are unanimously reporting that students are making good use of the resources kindly provided by FPMT and are practicing according to Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a sense that while these are indeed difficult times we can all do our part to bring about positive change. As Ganden Do Ngag Shedrup Ling center director Ianzhina Bartanova says, “During this challenging time, Dharma is our top priority.”
Find links to these centers in the Asia section of the FPMT online directory:
https://fpmt.org/centers/#asia
Additional resources, including video teachings from Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Dharma study-from-home opportunities, can be found on the page “Resources for the Coronavirus Pandemic”:
https://fpmt.org/fpmt/announcements/resources-for-coronavirus-pandemic/
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.
Quarantine meditations: learn to meditate and take advantage of staying home, Centro Yamantaka, Bogotá, Colombia, March 2020. Photo from Centro Yamantaka Facebook page.
FPMT Latin America regional coordinator Mauricio Roa and FPMT North America regional coordinator Drolkar McCallum share how the centers in their regions are adjusting while their locations are closed and people are advised or required to stay at home.
Brazil
Ven. Tenzin Namdrol, Centro Shiwa Lha center director, reports that practices are now done online once a week: Tara Verde (Green Tara), Medicine Buddha, Golden Light Sutra recitation, and a guided meditation. The practices Lama Zopa Rinpoche has advised for the coronavirus pandemic are done every Friday. Centro Shiwa Lha has a new page on the center’s website for practices advised by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Rinpoche, and also has a collection of online study, practice, and Dharma entertainment materials: all in Portuguese.
Ven. Tenzin Namdrol was invited to appear in a video alongside other religious leaders to tell people how to stay home and remain healthy and calm. This video was shown on the TV morning news.
Mexico
Gilda Urbina, FPMT Mexico national coordinator, shared that FPMT centers and study groups began to close their locations in late March. They are unsure of when they can open again; it depends on how the epidemic advances in Mexico. For the moment the government “suggests” people stay at home but it is not yet compulsory.
They are making use of the Zoom platform, offering online classes with Geshe Lobsang Dawa, an FPMT registered teacher on Mindfulness and Bodhichitta twice a week. They are also offering online classes on Lamrim Chenmo: The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment by Lama Tsongkhapa and Liberation in the Palm of your Hand by Pabongka Rinpoche once a week.
The FPMT centers and study groups in Mexico have the option of using Zoom according to their needs. They are also making use of the freely offered FPMT Online Learning Center course Living in the Path, and the translations of practices into Spanish, which they received from FPMT Spain.
Colombia
Amparo Mejía, Centro Yamantaka center director shared that the center, located in Bogotá, closed its location in late March. Everyone in the country must remain in their homes until April 13, but this could be extended for weeks or months. Geshe Lobsang Kunkhen, resident geshe at Centro Yamantaka, is doing a personal retreat and is not giving teachings. The center is making use of the internet, offering Introduction to Meditation classes, weekly study and Dharma discussion groups, a weekend meditation practice, and a weekly Tara practice. The center is also planning new activities using online programs.
North America
Drolkar McCallum reports that the centers in Canada and the United States quickly began shutting down one by one in March. Center staff studied and mastered Zoom and began to stream most of their regular teachings online. “I was amazed and impressed by how quickly this happened!” Drokar commented.
Group prayers sessions began springing up during the last week of March. People were self-isolating and felt the need for group support so they could fulfill the advice given to us all by the immeasurably kind and precious guru Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
In North America several centers are offering prayer groups and pujas on Zoom and Facebook Live. Check the FPMT North America website for details. There is also an abundance of online teachings.
Additional resources, including new videos from Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Dharma study-from-home opportunities, can be found on the page “Resources for the Coronavirus Pandemic.”
https://fpmt.org/fpmt/announcements/resources-for-coronavirus-pandemic/
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.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche reading Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive’s newly released Big Love: The Life and Teachings of Lama Yeshe, Kopan Monastery, Nepal, April 2020. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
We hope you enjoy our April FPMT International Office e-News, out now!
This month we bring you news about:
- Why Lama Zopa Rinpoche is teaching regularly (on video) at this time
- Our Annual Review 2019: Coming Together to Practice Dharma
- How FPMT centers are continuing to serve during the pandemic
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Have the e-News translated into your native language by using our convenient translation facility located on the right-hand side of the page.
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Root Institute for Wisdom Culture, Bodhgaya, Bihar, India. Photo courtesy of Root Institute for Wisdom Culture.
There are FPMT centers, projects, and services across seven states of India. Deepthy Shekhar, FPMT India national coordinator, shares an update and reasons to rejoice.
Hello everybody! On behalf of the FPMT community in India, it is our wish to provide opportunities and support for practice, learning, and comfort while the world is struggling and in lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Unfortunately, public classes in all FPMT centers in India are canceled as India is in a state of lockdown. Our kind teachers are offering their support so that we can continue with our Dharma studies, prayers, and practices. These sessions are available on Zoom, Facebook Live, and YouTube Live.
For students needing to stay at home, the following aids are there from our centers.
Our Online Courses and Practices
Ven. Tenzin Drolma, FPMT resident teacher at Tushita Meditation Centre, in Dharamsala, has already run a very successful two-week free online program, “The Buddhist Path of Training the Mind,” from March 24-April 3, 2020. Tushita offered two sessions each day to accommodate participants in different time zones around the world. The daily sessions combined teachings and meditations with a very popular Q&A so it was very interactive. We had 1,400 people from sixty-six countries sign up and three to four hundred people attended the sessions daily via Zoom.
Ven. Tenzin Drolma has also been leading a two-week online program called “Going Deeper: The Buddhist Path of Training the Mind,” from April 6-17 while in quarantine in Tushita. You are welcome to visit the Tushita Meditation Centre website for more details and to register for the free program.
The venerable IMI Sangha who are currently in Maritika, Nepal, led prayers recommended by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche, and Rangjung Neljorma Khadro Namsel Drönme (Khadro-la) at daily 9 A.M. IST prayer sessions called “Virtual Group Practice in Response to COVID-19” from March 27-April 10. These sessions, livestreamed on YouTube, were led by FPMT registered teacher Ven. Tenzin Namjong and the Sangha members there every day. These daily practices were on request by Choe Khor Sum Ling, the FPMT center in Bangalore. Visit the Choe Khor Sum Ling YouTube channel to watch recordings of the livestreams.
Visit these YouTube channels to view recent talks and teachings from our FPMT centers in India: Tushita Mahayana Meditation Centre, Tushita Meditation Centre, Choe Khor Sum Ling, and Root Institute for Wisdom Culture.
Tushita Meditation Centre’s website freely offers audio recordings of previous teachings and courses to students who want to immerse themselves in their studies. Choe Khor Sum Ling provides free recordings of teachings and talks by venerable teachers from Sera Jey Monastic University.
Our FPMT India Facebook page has live links and teaching updates from the FPMT centers in India.
In the Community
The FPMT project, Maitri Charitable Trust in Bodhgaya has been working tirelessly, providing essential medical support to local villagers and leprosy patients in and around the center.
Here is a note from their director, Adriana Ferranti, about the realities that they are facing every day:
“MAITRI’s hospitals and the animal shelter have been working regularly, with all grounds staff on duty. They are from the nearest villages and come whether on foot or by bicycle while dodging the patrols. It is more complicated for the staff coming from twenty kilometers (twelve miles) away, and they can manage only when the rules in force have slackened.
“Provisions are a bit of a challenge but ultimately we function almost normally thanks to our usual suppliers and Bihari ingenuity. Unfortunately the out-patient department, mobile clinics, and field activities have stopped.
The supply of rations has ground to a halt with the exception of a few patients from the surrounding villages who reach us on foot. We are very concerned about the milk powder that is vital for the malnourished babies under our treatment. We distribute vitamin C to the staff daily. Everybody has their own mask, which they seem to use only when they leave the center.”
The outbreak of a pandemic is a great reminder of impermanence and the interconnectedness of all beings. It is a great time to retreat into a space of study, contemplation, and meditation on the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha. We extend peace and loving-kindness during these uncertain times and offer comfort through these resources.
For more information about FPMT activities in India, visit the FPMT India national office website:
http://fpmtindia.in/
Additional resources, including video teachings from Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Dharma study-from-home opportunities, can be found on the page “Resources for the Coronavirus Pandemic”:
https://fpmt.org/fpmt/announcements/resources-for-coronavirus-pandemic/
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.
Graphic by Michaela Kirchem.
As social distancing and self-isolation measures are happening around the world, Foundation for Developing Compassion and Wisdom (FDCW), an international FPMT project, is offering a range of online resources to help meet the new challenges that we all now face. Victoria Coleman, executive director, describes the new resources.
Free Online Community Sessions: Universal Education Coming Together
In March 2020, our senior trainers Marian O’Dwyer, Martha Cabral, and Wendy Ridley began offering weekly online sessions called “Universal Education (UE) Coming Together.” These sessions proved so popular that we decided to offer them in April too. Other FDCW facilitators such as Elaine Jackson and Hilary McMichael have volunteered to lead sessions.
Each sixty-minute session includes a guided meditation on a universal value such as courage, resilience, or kindness and provides a safe space for participants to share and support each other in a heartfelt way. Around twenty people have been taking part in each interactive session.
Sessions are free and drop-in, and are open to everyone. They are available every Thursday in April at various times in either English or Spanish.
For more information about these free online sessions visit the FDCW calendar:
https://www.compassionandwisdom.org/calendar
Online Course: Building Inner Strength: 16 Guidelines Level 1
For the first time, FDCW is offering this twelve-hour Building Inner Strength: 16 Guidelines Level 1 course live online. Exploring values such as compassion, humility, aspiration, and courage, this course offers very practical tools and specific techniques for transforming how we think, act, relate to others, and lead a meaningful life.
The course is facilitated by Marian O’Dwyer who is our Senior Trainer and Program Developer. She facilitates all levels of FDCW’s 16 Guidelines for Life program and has thirty years of experience teaching mindfulness-based practices. If you are interested in becoming an accredited 16 Guidelines for Life facilitator then completing Level 1 is the first step.
To register for Building Inner Strength: 16 Guidelines Level 1 visit the FDCW website:
https://www.compassionandwisdom.org/course-booking
Graphic by Michaela Kirchem.
Online Course: 16 Guidelines for Children and Teens
FDCW is offering a new course for parents and those who work with children and teenagers. It was developed by 16 Guidelines for Life accredited facilitator, teacher, and neuro-psycho educator Cecilia (“Ceci”) Buzón. Ceci founded her own school in Argentina and has worked with children for twenty years.
The course offers a wide range of age-appropriate activities to explore mindfulness and encourage children to name and integrate values like courage, kindness, compassion, and patience into their daily lives.
Seventeen people attended the facilitator training with Ceci in March. Participants shared their thoughts with us. Kitty D’Costa, UK, said, “It was inspiring, uplifting, revealing, experiential, and imaginative.” Pilar Maldonado Alcubierre, Mexico, commented, “I gained a lot of ideas I can use when working with children and teens such as mindfulness techniques and how to apply 16 Guidelines for Life to activities and games.” Silvie Walraven, Netherlands, shared, “The training was engaging and full of practical ideas for activities. The breakout groups worked very well. It creates a sense of community even though we’re physically far apart.”
FDCW has adapted this new twelve-hour in-person course into an eight-hour online course because so many people are at home with their children right now and need activities for them. Ceci will offer this course beginning on April 14.
For more information about 16 Guidelines for Children and Teens visit the FDCW website:
https://www.compassionandwisdom.org/course-booking
To learn more about the Foundation for Developing Compassion and Wisdom, visit their website:
https://www.compassionandwisdom.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.