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Ms. Erdenechimeg, Ianzhina Bartanova, and two participants in front of the wall of stupas. Gaden Do Ngag Shedrup Ling, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, June 2020. Photo by Ianzhina Bartanova.
The FPMT center in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Ganden Do Ngag Shedrup Ling, organized a meritorious online art contest in May-June 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic. Center director Ianzhina Bartanova shares the story.
Advertised through the Ganden Do Ngag Shedrup Ling Facebook page, the online art contest encouraged everyone to draw the Boudhanath Stupa in Nepal. Ms. Erdenechimeg, a student at the center proposed the art contest to engage children from the Mahayana Children’s Program in meaningful activity while quarantined at home. The idea eventually spread to a much wider audience through word of mouth. More than 140 people participated in the online art contest. The youngest participant was just five years old and the eldest was eighty! Infinite reasons to rejoice!
Boudhanath Stupa drawing by a participant, age 5, Gaden Do Ngag Shedrup Ling, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, June 2020. Photo by Ianzhina Bartanova.
While teaching about the benefit of holy objects—including stupas—at Atisha Centre on March 17, 2000, Lama Zopa Rinpoche said, “So powerful to purify, without hardship, just by going around, by seeing the holy object, even just by seeing and by touching, by circumambulating, by prostrating, by making offering, it purifies inconceivable defilements of negative karma, the cause of the suffering.”
Boudhanath Stupa drawing by a participant, age 22, Gaden Do Ngag Shedrup Ling, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, June 2020. Photo by Ianzhina Bartanova.
Rinpoche also taught, “The most important benefit is that these holy objects help to purify the mind and collect extensive merit so that it is possible for people to have realizations of the path easily. That is the main function of these holy objects—to help us sentient beings have quick realizations of the path to enlightenment, by the power of the holy object.”
Through concentrating on the image of the Boudhanath Stupa, the online art contest participants had an opportunity to purify negative karma, collect vast merit, and plant seeds for full enlightenment. None of the contestants had traveled to Kathmandu, Nepal, but it seems the distance wasn’t an obstacle. This is so relevant these days.
At the conclusion of the online contest, and with the loosening of the quarantine rules, we had a chance to thank all the participants. We offered little gifts of books and sweets to some of the participants in a small ceremony. We shared the benefits of just seeing the Boudhanath Stupa and explained the purpose of the contest. We also devoted time to the practice of rejoicing.
All of the drawings will be placed inside of a large stupa being made by Ms. Erdenechimeg. The entire collection of drawings will be available for viewing in Ganden Do Ngag Shedrup Ling’s library until the stupa is completed.
Boudhanath Stupa drawing by a participant, age 43, Gaden Do Ngag Shedrup Ling, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, June 2020. Photo by Ianzhina Bartanova.
We would like to encourage all FPMT centers to consider involving children and adults in a similar virtuous activity of awakening talent. Drawing holy objects could be a good support for meditation, as well as a joyful and creative introduction to Buddhism for new students.
Boudhanath Stupa drawings, Gaden Do Ngag Shedrup Ling, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, June 2020.
For more information about Ganden Do Ngag Shedrup Ling, visit their website:
http://www.fpmtmongolia.org/shedrub-ling-center
Learn more about stupas on FPMT’s Stupas: A Resource Guide.
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.
Graphic by Michaela Kirchem.
Foundation for Developing Compassion and Wisdom (FDCW), an international FPMT project, is offering a new online course and a free 16 Guidelines for Life–inspired publication parents and others can use with children. FDCW’s programs are based on Universal Education for Compassion and Wisdom—a secular system of inner learning that cultivates and explores universal values such as humility, kindness, courage, compassion, and empathy—which is one of FPMT’s Five Pillars of Service. FDCW’s Executive Director Victoria Coleman shares the story.
FDCW is excited to launch a brand new course called Unlocking Your Potential in August 2020. This is the second course in a series drawn from The Art of Fulfillment program, which follows the launch of Building Balanced Empathy last year. The courses do not have to be taken in sequential order.
The new course is designed to explore how conditioning shapes our experience and how this may influence how we show up in our lives. Participants will learn tools empowering them to reflect more deeply on their potential to find fulfillment and meaning in life.
FDCW is offering the course online from August 2 at two different times to make it accessible in all time zones. Course fees start at £15 under FDCW’s new accessible pricing policy.
Facilitator training for Unlocking Your Potential will be offered in September and October 2020.
Graphic by Michaela Kirchem.
In June, FDCW released the “Happy Toolbox for Kids,” the latest free resource for parents, carers, teachers, and anyone working with children. More than one hundred people from twenty-three countries have already downloaded the “Happy Toolbox for Kids” to try with their families or in schools and communities.
“The Happy Toolbox for Kids” contains a selection of mindfulness exercises and one activity idea for each of the 16 Guidelines for Life so adults can playfully explore mindfulness and ethical values with children. The activities are designed with groups in mind but can be easily adapted by parents to use with their children at home. All activities require only minimal materials and provide a meaningful context to explore the 16 Guidelines for Life together with children. Activities include “Patience – 20 Breaths,” “Kindness – Sunshine Jar,” and ”Forgiveness – Just Perfect as You Are.”
The creation of the “Happy Toolbox for Kids” was inspired by the new course 16 Guidelines for Children and Teens.
FDCW is grateful to FDCW facilitators Cecilia (“Ceci”) Buzón, Wendy Ridley, and Denise Flora who contributed to the creation of the new free resource and the included activities. FDCW also appreciates Elaine Jackson, who offered some of her delightful and inspiring drawings to illustrate the book. Elaine said, “It is just a fantastic offering. It is beautifully created, expertly crafted, and I love the design. The graphics are engaging. The text is excellent. The examples are wonderful. I think there will be much benefit.”
To learn more about the Foundation for Developing Compassion and Wisdom, “Unlocking Your Potential”, and the “Happy Toolbox for Kids,” visit the FDCW 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.
Choden Rinpche and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, September 2013. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Mastering Meditation: Instructions on Calm Abiding and Mahāmudrā, a compilation of teachings by His Eminence Choden Rinpoche, is being released by Wisdom Publications on June 30, 2020.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama wrote in the book’s forward, “I am glad that Choden Rinpoche’s teachings on these two topics are now compiled into this book, Mastering Meditation.”
Choden Rinpoche was a celebrated scholar, a debate partner to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and an accomplished yogi. He was virtually unknown outside of Tibet until 1985. He neither escaped his country after 1959 nor was imprisoned. Instead, he lived in a house in Lhasa, never leaving his small, dark, empty room for nineteen years.
Choden Rinpoche was one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teachers. “Choden Rinpoche is a virtuous friend who has pacified his mind by living in the training of moral conduct, who has pacified his mind by the training in concentration, and who is extremely pacified due to the training in great insight,“ Lama Zopa Rinpoche said in an October 2002 teaching at Land of Medicine Buddha in California.
Mastering Meditation: Instructions on Calm Abiding and Mahāmudrā.
This book’s translation, introduction, and annotations are the work of Ven. Tenzin Gache, a student of Choden Rinpoche and Lama Zopa Rinpoche and a Western IMI monk in the geshe studies program at Sera Je Monastery.
Ven. Gache first met Rinpoche when Rinpoche visited the FPMT center Kurukulla Center in Medford, Massachusetts, US, in the fall of 2004. Rinpoche invited the then-college student, who had already decided to ordain after graduation, to come live and study at Lhopa Khangtsen, his regional house group within Sera Jey Monastery after the completion of his studies.
Of Mastering Meditation, Ven. Gache writes, “The first part of this book contains instructions for developing calm abiding, an unshakable single-pointedness of mind. The second part offers advanced instructions on using calm abiding as a platform to develop mahamudra, a specialized meditation that uncovers subtle, hidden levels of mind and utilizes them to pierce into the ultimate nature of self and reality, leading finally to complete enlightenment.
“It is my hope that this translation of Rinpoche’s instructions for developing concentration and insight will offer a coherent picture for those interested in examining the mind’s potential and serve as accessible instruction for those wishing to make steps toward actualizing that potential.”
For more information, visit Wisdom Publications’ page for Mastering Meditation:
https://wisdomexperience.org/product/mastering-meditation/
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 recording one of his recent video teachings from his room at Kopan Monastery, Nepal, April 2020. Photo by Ven. Tenzin Tsomo.
The June FPMT International Office e-News is ready for you!
This month we bring you news about:
- Rinpoche Helping Us to Practice Dharma Now
- How the FPMT Organization Began
- Helping You Become an Inner Professional
- FPMT Charitable Projects
…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.
Statue of Lama Tsongkhapa at Kachoe Dechen Ling, Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s home in California, 2015. Photo by Chris Majors.
A new video series shares the story of the life of Lama Je Tsongkhapa (1357-1419) as told through fifteen thangkas depicting his life. The videos are the result of a retreat at Choe Khor Sum Ling (CKSL), the FPMT center in Bangalore, Karnataka State, India, led by Ven. Tenzin Legtsok, an FPMT registered teacher who is in the geshe studies program at Sera Je Monastic University in India.
The 600th anniversary of the parinirvana of Lama Je Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, was celebrated in 2019 by Gelug students around the world, including at many FPMT centers.
Celebrating 600 Years of Lama Tsongkhapa, Selangor, Malaysia, November 2019. Photo courtesy of the Organizing Committee of Celebrating 600 Years of Lama Tsongkhapa Malaysia.
In February 2019, Lama Zopa Rinpoche instructed three Western monks who have finished or are in the process of finishing their geshe studies at Sera Je Monastery—Geshe Tenzin Namdak, Ven. Tenzin Namjong, and Ven. Tenzin Legtsok—to translate five texts having to do with the life and teachings of Lama Tsongkhapa.
One of the five completed translations is related to the fifteen thangkas that illustrate the sacred biography of Lama Tsongkhapa, Cittamani Rosary Spreading the Buddha’s Teachings; Great Ocean of Benefit and Joy: A Method for Depicting the Sacred Biography of The Great Jetsun Tsongkhapa on Painted Cloth in One Hundred and Fifty-Three Parts by Kunkhyen Jamyang Shepai Dorje.
Rinpoche gave advice to FPMT centers on how to celebrate the 600th anniversary of Lama Tsongkhapa’s parinirvana. This advice includes inviting someone knowledgeable about Lama Tsongkhapa to discuss the fifteen thangkas, reciting prayers after seeing each thangka, and rejoicing in the “unbelievable good karma to be like that.” Rinpoche said, “Celebrating Lama Tsongkhapa in this way can make those who have studied his teachings feel unbelievably fortunate to have this opportunity.”
Ven. Tenzin Legtsok, 2019. Photo by Capucine Redon.
In 2019, Choe Khor Sum Ling organized a retreat following Rinpoche’s advice led by Ven. Legtsok. The students did the Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga practice, recited prayers by and about Lama Tsongkhapa, and studied his biography. Center director Shanti Yajnik said it was very powerful to do this at an FPMT center.
Working together, the center and Ven. Legtsok made sixteen short videos, in which Ven. Legtsok discusses the thangkas featured in Lama Tsongkhapa’s biography.
In the first introductory video of the series Ven. Tenzin Legstok says, “This year I’m going around India to different Dharma centers to present that biography. I thought maybe it’s also good for people who can’t actually be there for the presentation to make some short videos to put up on YouTube so people interested all over the world can get this unusual experience of Lama Tsongkhapa’s life.”
The videos were filmed by Capucine Redon and edited by Shanti Yajnik.
Watch the videos on the Choe Khor Sum Ling YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLULNrUA0R-pFxG11ub8aOFqP2cBuxJZUB
To learn more about Choe Khor Sum Ling, visit their website:
https://cksl.in/
Download Cittamani Rosary Spreading the Buddha’s Teachings; Great Ocean of Benefit and Joy: A Method for Depicting the Sacred Biography of The Great Jetsun Tsongkhapa on Painted Cloth in One Hundred and Fifty-Three Parts from the FPMT website:
https://fpmt.org/wp-content/uploads/teachers/zopa/advice/rinpoches-recommendations-for-the-600th-anniversary-of-lama-tsongkhapas-parinirvana-on-december-21/ltk_bio_chintamani_rosary_a5.pdf
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.
Nalanda monks and Ven. Tenzin Namjong during their visit to Swayambhunath, Nepal, March 2020. Photo by Nalanda Monastery monks.
In March, Fifteen monks from Nalanda Monastery, the FPMT monastery in Lavaur, France, traveled to Nepal to participate in the Monlam Chenmo (Great Prayer Festival), organized by Kopan Monastery.
Kopan has been convening a Monlam Chenmo for the Gelug monasteries and nunneries in Nepal for the past fifteen years. Lama Zopa Rinpoche told the Nalanda monks that the idea for organizing the Monlam Chemno goes back to 1975, when Lama Yeshe expressed how good it would be to have a Monlam Chenmo at the monastery, which at that time was too small to host it.
This year’s Monlam Chenmo was held March 5-10 at Gosok Phuntsok Choling Monastery in Swayambhunath. During the event, prayers were made for the gurus’ long lives, the survival and spreading of the Dharma, and world peace. Jangtse Choeje Venerable Gosok Rinpoche led the daily prayers and taught from the Jataka Tales.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Nalanda monks and Ven. Tenzin Namjong, Kathmandu, Nepal, March 2020. Photo by Nalanda Monastery monks.
For many of the Nalanda monks who attended, this was their first trip to the East. Expenses for their journey were covered by a generous sponsor. Kopan Monastery provided accommodation and food for them. “When we arrived we met with Kopan Abbot Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi who kindly welcomed us and shared advice,” Ven. Losang Gyaltsen said.
Ven. Tenzin Gendun said, “The Monlam Chenmo prayers being so precious and holy, Lama Zopa Rinpoche thought that it would be wonderful for the Western Sangha—specifically the Nalanda Sangha—to attend the Monlam Chenmo in Nepal. He mentioned this idea in various teachings. During the 2019 Institut Vajra Yogini retreat one woman kindly proposed to sponsor this project.
“During our visit with Rinpoche in Nepal there was some discussion about how Nalanda could organize a Monlam Chenmo in France. Rinpoche agreed that some of the prayers could be read first in English and then chanted in Tibetan. He suggested we adapt the normal Monlam Chenmo schedule by adding other various activities to attract more people.”
Ven. Thubten Lektsok and Ven. Losang Thubten at Gosok Phuntsok Choling Monastery, Swayambhunath, Nepal, March 2020.
The Nalanda monks learned how to do the prayers from Geshe Sherab-la, Kopan’s umze (chant leader) who has been the Monlam Chenmo umze for many years, and Kopan monks who serve as the second umze. Ven. Tenzin Gendun said, “Geshe Sherab-la kindly gave us a lot of advice on how to hold a Monlam Chenmo in France and even proposed that we meet with him via Skype sometimes to receive trainings.”
The Monlam Chenmo was attended by 1,800 monastics and representatives from eight monasteries and two nunneries and drew around 1,300 attendees daily.
“Thanks to Ven. Tenzin Namjong from Sera IMI House and others,” Ven. Thubten Jamyang said, “we were easily able to follow the prayers using English translations and Tibetan phonetics.”
“Our experience with the other monks and nuns of Kopan Monastery proved to be a harmonious expression of unity. I believe that we have accumulated much merit and purified many obstacles during this festival. Hopefully one day we can introduce the Monlam Chenmo to Nalanda Monastery, albeit on a smaller scale!”
Ven. Tenpa Gyaltsen said, “We were privileged to attend korwas and prayers with Lama Zopa Rinpoche one evening at the Boudhanath Stupa.” Following Rinpoche’s advice, the monks visited Swayambunath and the Mahakala Temple in Kathmandu, as well as Pharping and Namo Buddha with Ven. Sarah Thresher, who taught about the holy sites.
Monlam Chenmo, Gosok Phuntsok Choling Monastery, Swayambhunath, Nepal, March 2020.
Ven. Tendar and Ven. Zoksang said, “On March 29 Khadro-la (Rangjung Neljorma Khadro Namsel Drönme) welcomed us with warm hospitality, as if we were her own family. After offerings of khatas and gifts (and of course an invitation to return to Nalanda!), we shared tea, laughter, and inspiring stories.”
Ven. Losang Gyalsten said, “All our gratitude to our most precious Guru, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, who initiated this event, to Geshe Sherab-la and the monks for their kind help, to Kopan Monastery who hosted us, and to our kind sponsors who have so much faith in the Dharma.”
For more information about Nalanda Monastery, visit their website:
https://nalanda-monastery.eu/index.php/en/
For more information about Kopan Monastery, visit their website:
https://kopanmonastery.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.
Graphic by Michaela Kirchem.
Foundation for Developing Compassion and Wisdom (FDCW), an international FPMT project, is offering online programs in response to the challenges of the coronavirus crisis. Victoria Coleman, executive director, shares the story.
Following a swift move into the online environment to support the global Universal Education community in April, Foundation for Developing Compassion and Wisdom offered our popular courses Building Inner Strength—16 Guidelines for Life (Level 1 and 2) and Building Balanced Empathy in April and May. Participants from around the world took the opportunity to join the courses and experience the unique style of experiential and interactive learning with FDCW.
Sandra Faber, from Australia, appreciated the advantages of the online programs for those living in remote locations. Sandra said, “As I live in a remote location, face-to-face courses offered in the past have been prohibitive. A thousand loving thanks to FDCW!”
Elaine Jackson, resident teacher at Vajrapani Institute, an FPMT center in California, US, remarked about the benefits of joining the secular training path of the 16 Guidelines for Life. Elaine said, “I’m feeling inspired to take the next course in order to expand my vocabulary and understanding of how to express our remarkable heritage in secular terms.”
Starting in the beginning of June, former 16 Guidelines for Life participants will have the opportunity to join the 16 Guidelines for Life follow-up course Building on the Basics (BoB) for the first time online. BoB is an opportunity to deepen our practice of the 16 Guidelines for Life and explore how we can bring them into our lives and communities in practical ways over the course of ten weeks. The course has a very different format and is delivered in a mix of live online sessions and self-study weeks.
BoB is open to anyone who has taken a 16 Guidelines for Life course in the past. It will be offered at two different times to enable participants in the different time zones to join. The first course option, led by Craig Mackie, starts on Tuesday, June 2. The second course option, led by Mabel Odessey, starts on Wednesday, June 10.
FDCW is offering a new course fee structure beginning in May to ensure that courses remain affordable and accessible to everyone.
To learn more about the Foundation for Developing Compassion and Wisdom and their online programs, 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.
Celebrating the LRZTP8 graduates, Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, India, March 2020. Photo by LRZTP.
Lotsawa Rinchen Zangpo Translator Program (LRZTP), an FPMT project in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, India, celebrated the graduation of their most recent cohort of students, LRZTP8, in March 2020. Filip Majkowski, former director, shares the story.
LRZTP8 began on March 13, 2018, with a grand opening ceremony. We welcomed new teachers and team members Dr. Filip Majkowski and Alex García, a graduate of LRZTP7, as well as our students who came from Australia, the United States, Taiwan, Vietnam, Spain, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Israel, Mexico, Poland, and Russia. Most already had some knowledge of the Tibetan language but still considered themselves beginners.
The adventure began with classes in vocabulary and grammar, classical Tibetan, listening comprehension, reading comprehension and drilling, and conversation classes with native Tibetan speakers. Later on in the first year, students began learning and practicing the u-me script. They gradually switched from classes taught in English and Tibetan to classes taught only in Tibetan. Once they had learned the most basic principles of Tibetan grammar and everyday vocabulary they began studying Buddhist words and phrases.
In the second year our great teacher Geshe Tenzin Wangdak began his lamrim classes in Tibetan, completing the full text by the end of the ninth module. (The course was composed of a total of ten modules.) The students learned the basics of drubtha (tenets), dudra (authentic knowledge), studied tantra with Geshe Ngawang from the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, and learned The 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva and sem chung (mind factors). They also began learning how to translate and interpret Dharma teachings by studying the theory of interpretation in classes taught by Alex García. Students later paired up to practice interpretation and also translated in front of the whole class.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama with LRZTP 8 students and LRZTP teachers, staff, and other participants, Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, India, December 2019. Photo courtesy of LRZTP.
Unfortunately the grand graduation ceremony we had planned for March 20 had to be canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic and local government restrictions that put limits on the movement and gathering of people. Students received their certificates of completion individually on March 18 after successfully passing their final exams.
We would like to celebrate some of the things that happened during these two years. LRZTP had the privilege of organizing two residential Tibetan language courses for beginners taught by Gen Julia Wilson la, who is also the program’s current director, and Gen Thupten la. Participants came from India, Italy, Germany, Singapore, Russia, Mexico, and South Korea. We also had the privilege of participating in the University of Virginia’s Tibetan language summer course as well as their autumn and spring programs. We also offered private online and in-person Tibetan language classes to students from around the world.
LRZTP’s entire staff and students were blessed with a private audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama on December 2, 2019, and had the opportunity to host our precious guru, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, at our school in September 2018.
Now that LRZTP8 has come to a close we would like to thank LRZTP staff members Yaron Bahir, Filip Majkowski, Geshe Tenzin Wangdak, Alex García, Martha Urbina, Thubten la, and Rinku Ram. We would also like to thank FPMT International Office, FPMT India, Khyentse Foundation, Tushita Meditation Centre, University of Virginia, Root Institute for Wisdom Culture, Vikramashila Foundation, Tibet House New Delhi, the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and Mr. Sandeep Kakkar. Thank you to our wonderful Board of Trustees: Professor Renuka Singh, Mr. Ranjit Walia, and Mrs. Sadhana Kumar. We also wish to give a big thank you to all of our donors.
We are forever grateful to our wonderful teachers Geshe Tenzin Wangdak, Geshe Ngawang, Filip Majkowski, Alex Garcia, Thubten la, Julia Wilson, and all the Tibetan language tutors. We are forever grateful to the wonderful and invaluable former LRZTP teacher Franziska Oertle, author of the textbook The Heart of Tibetan Language used by our students. Finally we wish to thank all of our students, because without the students there wouldn’t be a school. We wish our graduates all of the best and are thankful for the contributions they will make as Tibetan language and Dharma interpreters, translators, teachers, and researchers.
We are looking forward to LRZTP9, the opportunity to meet new people, and the chance to continue serving our most precious gurus and the Buddhadharma.
For more information about the Lotsawa Rinchen Zangpo Translator Program in Dharamsala, India visit their website:
http://www.lrztp.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 Ven. Roger Kunsang and Wendy Ridley looking at the IJD app, Italy, October 2017. Photo by Violette Pliot.
We invite you to use the Inner Job Description to help develop mindfulness about your thoughts, speech, and actions.
The Inner Job Description Mindfulness Practice Tool (IJD) is freely available as an app, or as a card to print. The app is available in English, Chinese, French, Italian, Russian, and Spanish.
A screenshot of the IJD app
By using the IJD tool daily, your increased awareness of self-defeating mental habits can allow you to make real change in your life, by changing your mental imprints in positive ways. The IJD will help you become an “inner professional.”
Now we have created a video to help you understand and use the IJD! The 45-minute IJD Training video explains how to use the IJD tool in your daily life, including how to personalize it to work best for you. It includes meditation, and an introduction to FPMT Wisdom Culture. You’ll explore how useful the IJD can be, whether you are serving in an FPMT center, project, or service, or are unconnected with the FPMT organization.
We recommend that you watch the video after first installing the app, or downloading and printing the card.
The IJD is a part of the FPMT Service Seminar suite, which provide support and training to those offering service, and those wishing to offer service, within FPMT centers, services, and projects. The seminars help develop a shared understanding of the FPMT mission set out by Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, and a firm basis to serve joyfully and effectively within the organization.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche making water offerings, Kopan Monastery, Nepal, April 2020. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
We hope you enjoy our May FPMT International Office e-News.
This month you’ll find news about:
- Now is the Time to Practice Dharma
- How the Merit Box Helped Centers in Need
- New e-Books
- How you can help the Spanish Translation Service
…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.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, FPMT International Office paused the publication of several stories we had received from FPMT Centers, Projects, and Services in order to focus on sharing the video teachings of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and other stories relevant to the coronavirus pandemic.
Despite the continuation of the COVID-19 crisis, we want to recognize these stories and share them with readers, so we’ve collected them into an abbreviated digest.
We thank all the FPMT centers, projects, and services for all the amazing work they have been doing and continue to do.
Arnaud Berger and Ven. Elisabeth Drukier, Kalachakra Centre, Paris, France, November 2019. Photo by Laura Haughey.
Kalachakra Centre Celebrated Their Twentieth Anniversary in Paris, France
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.
Read the article “Kalachakra Centre Celebrated Their Twentieth Anniversary in Paris, France,” which includes the story of how center director Ven. Elisabeth Drukier met the Dharma and the history of Kalachakra center.
Meditation at Centro Shiwa Lha, Brazil, December 2019. Photo by Marcia Rocha.
Teenagers Enjoyed a Visit to Centro Shiwa Lha in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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.
During the visit, the teenagers listened to center director Ven. Tenzin Namdrol tell the Buddha’s life story and meditated for a few minutes. They also recited together OM MANI PADME HUM twenty-one times. The center offered snacks and drinks to the young visitors in the center’s garden.
Read more in the story “Teenagers Enjoyed a Visit to Centro Shiwa Lha in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.”
Thousand-Arm Chenrezig (Avalokiteshvara) statue, Aryatara Institut, Munich, Germany, December 2019. Photo by Robert Schwabe.
Aryatara Institut Continued Their Christmas Holiday Tradition
Aryatara Institut, the FPMT center in Munich, Germany, observed the Christmas holiday season with two events. The first event, “Chenrezig Christmas Meditation on Love and Compassion,” was held on December 16, 2019. “It was a wonderful hour of meditation in which the meditators focused on the well-being of others with loving and compassionate minds,” the center wrote about the event.
Then December 26–30, the center offered “Christmas Retreat: Debate Between Wisdom and Ignorance.” A group of about twenty participants listened to the center’s resident teacher, Ven. Fedor Stracke, give teachings based on a root text by Panchen Losang Chökyi Gyaltsen. Each day began with meditation and concluding with purifying practices.
Read more about these events in the story “Aryatara Institut Continued Their Christmas Holiday Tradition.”
Providing care at MAITRI, Bodhgaya, Gaya District, Bihar, India, January 2020. Photo by Phil Hunt.
MAITRI Charitable Trust Celebrated World Leprosy Day and India’s Republic Day
MAITRI Charitable Trust, an FPMT project in Bodhgaya, Gaya District, Bihar, India, celebrated World Leprosy Day and India’s Republic Day on January 26, 2020. Adriana Ferranti, MAITRI director, shares the story about the charity’s education and awareness-raising activities with local people.
“Community need highlights the importance of the continuation of MAITRI’s painstaking work in the field, bringing awareness, assistance, and relief to the hansenians (people with leprosy),” Adriana writes.
Read the entire story “MAITRI Charitable Trust Celebrated World Leprosy Day and India’s Republic Day,” where you can also find a video on MAITRI’s thirty years of service.
Justin clearing rocks using a Kubota Excavator on the US Forest Service access road near Cambria, CA, US, January 2020. Photo by Ven. Namgyal.
Removing Obstacles with Kindness and Generosity at Land of Calm Abiding
Land of Calm Abiding is an FPMT retreat center located on 485 pristine acres in remote central California, US. Director Ven. Namgyal shares a story about two acts of kindness and generosity offered to the center in January 2020. One came when they found a massive rock slide blocking their six-mile long driveway and needed help clearing it. The other came in the form of an “incredible and immensely helpful donation.”
“To say we were completely taken aback by both these amazing acts would be an understatement. Acts of kindness completely shifted what was a very stressful situation into one that was completely manageable,” wrote Ven. Namgyal.
Read the complete story “Removing Obstacles with Kindness and Generosity at Land of Calm Abiding.”
De-Tong Ling Retreat Centre Enlightenment Stupa and Prayer Wheel House prior to the brush fires, Kangaroo Island, South Australia, 2019. Photo by De-Tong Ling Retreat Centre.
De-Tong Ling Retreat Centre’s Tradition of Volunteerism
The 2019-2020 Australian bushfires came within one-hundred feet of De-Tong Ling Retreat Centre, the FPMT center on Kangaroo Island, Australia. Retreat center staff share a story about the importance of community bonds and volunteer support in the wake of the bushfires.
“Volunteering at De-Tong Ling has become a wonderful tradition. It continues through a combination of dedication to [Lama Zopa] Rinpoche‘s vast vision, the power of the holy objects themselves, and the center’s remoteness and beauty. It draws people back again and again,” said Will Abrams, who serves as the center’s assistant director and building coordinator.
Read more in the story “De-Tong Ling Retreat Centre’s Tradition of Volunteerism.”
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.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, FPMT International Office paused the publication of several stories we had received from FPMT Centers, Projects, and Services in order to focus on sharing the video teachings of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and other stories relevant to the coronavirus pandemic.
Despite the continuation of the COVID-19 crisis, we want to recognize these stories and share them with readers, so we’ve collected them into an abbreviated digest.
We thank all the FPMT centers, projects, and services for all the amazing work they have been doing and continue to do.
Geshe Tenzin Zopa with Kathleen Everett and Jemma Galova, Women’s Healthy Relationships Group at Broome Recovery Centre, Broome, Western Australia, March 2019. Photo by Sandy Faber.
Geshe Tenzin Zopa Welcomed to Broome, Western Australia
Geshe Tenzin Zopa, an FPMT touring teacher, visited the Gyalwa Ensapa Broome Buddhist Study Group, an FPMT study group located in a coastal town in northern Western Australia in March 2019. The week spent together left lasting impressions on everyone involved. Geshe Tenzin Zopa engaged with a variety local of First Nation, health, and community groups, forming connections with people and discussing various topics from a Buddhist psychology perspective.
Broome’s population of 14,500 is a mixture of Indigenous Aboriginal First Nations people along with (due to a history of pearl-hunting in the area) Japanese, Malay, and Indonesian intermixed families, as well as more recent western European arrivals. Geshe Tenzin Zopa’s talks resonated strongly with the many community members who heard him speak.
Sandy Faber, Gyalwa Ensapa Broome Buddhist Study Group coordinator’s shared all of the details of the visit in the recently publihsed online story “Geshe Tenzin Zopa Welcomed to Broome, Western Australia.”
Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Ganden Buddhist Meditation Centre students and volunteers, Riga, Latvia, June 2019. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Ganden Buddhist Meditation Centre Welcomed Lama Zopa Rinpoche to Latvia
Latvians stay up all night celebrating midsummer (summer solstice), a tradition maintained even during the Soviet times. Last June, Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s visit to Ganden Buddhist Meditation Centre, the FPMT center in Riga, Latvia, coincided with midsummer celebrations. The teachings organized by the center were attended by 150 students, who gathered from all over Europe to hear Rinpoche teaching. Students described the visit as “magical” and the teachings as “magnificent.”
Read more about Rinpoche’s visit to Latvia in “Ganden Buddhist Meditation Centre Welcomed Lama Zopa Rinpoche to Latvia.”
Geshe Gelek at Kadampa Center, Raleigh, North Carolina, US, August 2019. Photo by David Strevel.
Kadampa Center Celebrated Geshe Gelek Chodha
In August 2019, Kadampa Center celebrated their resident teacher Geshe Gelek’s twentieth anniversary at the center. Decorations, delicious Indian food, and Nepalese folk music transformed the center for a joyous afternoon event. In addition to heart-filled speeches and gifts offered to Geshe Gelek by the Tibetan community and Kadampa Center students, center director Robbie Watkins announced the “secret gift” to Geshe-la: the Kadampa Center mortgage had been paid off!
Read the complete story “Kadampa Center Celebrated Geshe Gelek Chodha.”
Heruka Five-Deity Retreat, Myers Flat, Victoria, Australia, October 2019. Photo by Andy Melnic.
Atisha Centre Held a Heruka Five-Deity Retreat Led by Ven. Tenzin Tsapel
Atisha Centre, the 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 was led by Australian FPMT registered teacher Ven. Tenzin Tsapel. The hosting of this retreat fulfilled the holy wishes of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, who offered the initiation during the 2018 retreat 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,” the center reported.
Read more about the retreat in the story, “Atisha Centre Held a Heruka Five-Deity Retreat Led by Ven. Tenzin Tsapel.”
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.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama Joined Tushita Mahayana Meditation Centre to Celebrate Forty Years
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.
“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,” observed Ven. Kabir Saxena, Tushita Mahayana Meditation Centre spiritual program coordinator.
“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,” said Renuka Singh center director.
Read Renuka Singh’s inspired and detailed story “His Holiness the Dalai Lama Joined Tushita Mahayana Meditation Centre to Celebrate Forty Years.”
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.