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Lama Zopa Rinpoche with a student at the Baladin Theater, Savièse, Switzerland, November 2018. Photo by Olivier Adam.
Gendun Drupa Centre, an FPMT center in Martigny, Switzerland, hosted Lama Zopa Rinpoche from November 14 until December 4, 2018. The center’s spiritual program coordinator, Séverine Gondouin shares the story with help from Caro Solloso and Sophie Lacroix.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche arrived in Anzère, a village of beautiful chalet homes in the Alps mountain range on Wednesday night, November 14. Caro Sollaso, who was helping out at the house, was there when Rinpoche arrived. She said, “The arrival of Lama Zopa Rinpoche at the chalet was impressive. He arrived by night, with candlelight and rose petals on the ground. It was magical.”
“Rinpoche is a very approachable person who is very much interested in others,” Caro said. “He wanted to know everything about the place and our country. Rinpoche was laughing with us at the table. During each meal he would ask us a lot of questions about ourselves. He also gave us a small teaching after each meal that was tailored to us. Rinpoche is so simple and so incredibly kind. We even got to watch the making of the tormas.”
“Rinpoche loves animals a lot. Although he is vegan, he asked for cheese to share with my dog Shiva during the meals. He changed the names of the animals who were with us at the chalet, saying that it was better for them to have Dharma names. Sophie’s cat’s name was changed from Shatwa to Mahamudra. My dog Shiva became Bodhichitta,” Caro said.
Ven. Lhundup Topgye, Caro Solloso with her dog Shiva renamed Bodhichitta by Rinpoche, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Ven. Anet Engel, and Sophie Lacroix, Switzerland, November 2018. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Sophie Lacroix, the owner of the chalet where Rinpoche stayed in Anzère, said, “It was an extraordinary week with him.”
“Rinpoche arrived in the land of cows, mountains, and chocolate. We were there—a few students—in the night, waiting for this incredible being that Switzerland had been waiting to come for so long. We didn’t know if his visit was a dream or reality,” Sophie said.
“Some prayers flags were flapping by the light of some candles, in a silence that predicted the incredible. And suddenly, two headlights appeared in the dark. We couldn’t see anything but we knew he was here, this precious being, this jewel, this inspiration.”
She continued, “There he was. He got down from the car with tranquility, serenity, and wisdom. We were there in the mountains—1,600 meters (5,249 feet) high—with Lama Zopa Rinpoche. I held my breath wondering ‘Will he like the place?’ I opened the door of the chalet and I heard ‘Nice!’ Finally I could breathe.”
Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Shiva who he renamed Bodhichitta at the airport, Switzerland, December 2018. Photo by Séverine Gondouin.
“The first thing Rinpoche did,” Sophie said, “was sit down in an armchair and give blessings to the small dog Shiva. Everyone took possession of his room: Rinpoche, Ven. Roger Kunsang, Ven. Holly Ansett, Ven. Lhundup Topgye, Ven. Lobsang Sherab, and Ven. Anet Engel. Then it was time to see the parade of luggage. This was also incredible.”
“It was like living life in another dimension. The offering prayer before the meals took ten minutes,” Sophie recalled. “The soup that was once warm had become cold—no problem—each moment was dedicated for the benefit of all beings!”
“When the meal ended everyone there had things to do, but Rinpoche stayed there to teach us again and again. Ven. Anet cooked for us, and each meal was a masterpiece. Patience was required because the schedule was unknown. Each meal was a tsog prepared with care and attention. These were beautiful teachings of how to live our everyday life—every moment for others,” Sophie concluded.
On Friday evening, November 16, everyone was ready to listen to Rinpoche’s teachings. Rinpoche generously taught that whole weekend at the Baladin Center in Savièse, Switzerland, demonstrating great compassion for us all. He emphasized the importance of developing a good heart, cherishing others—the source of all happiness—and to change the purpose of our lives from self-cherishing to serving others.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche at the Baladin Theater, Savièse, Switzerland, November 2018. Photo by Olivier Adam.
Rinpoche also deeply taught on the nature of the mind, clearly perceiving objects, and how the “I” is merely labeled—a mere name—not existing from its own side. He taught that there is no real mind at all, that it never exists the way it appears to us, but is an extremely subtle phenomenon.
He instructed that we should clean the dust—the defilements—on the surface of the mirror so that the mirror can give a reflection. Rinpoche taught we should see the “I” on the “I” so that there isn’t anything to hold onto any longer. Look at the dream as a dream. Unify emptiness and existing without contradiction.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Gendun Drupa Center director Jean-Paul Gloor and spiritual program coordinator Séverine Gondouin at the Baladin Theater, Savièse, Switzerland, November 2018. Photo by Olivier Adam.
Rinpoche encouraged us to bring all sentient beings to enlightenment and to keep the mind in the right view, free from hallucination. He also talked about the importance of developing a good education in schools. Rinpoche said that we should focus our awareness on ending the harm we cause to ourselves and others. We usually take care of the body but not the mind. Rinpoche suggested that we help children keep their minds healthy, positive, and virtuous to benefit themselves and the world. He also insisted on practicing satisfaction.
Rinpoche emphasized that we should not keep what we learn on an intellectual level, but that we should actualize the teachings and experience them in our hearts. This way our practice becomes holy Dharma, not with a motivation attached to this life—to the eight worldly dharmas—but that we renounce. That will bring incredible peace and happiness, and also all that we do will become Dharma.
A student receiving a blessing at the Baladin Theater, Savièse, Switzerland, November 2018. Photo by Olivier Adam.
Last but not least, Rinpoche talked about devotion to the guru. To take care of our mind—this is the way to follow one’s guru’s advice and fulfill the guru’s wishes. This is the way to receive blessings. Rinpoche spoke about his own teachers who inspire him so much, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Panchen Rinpoche, and Khadro-la (Rangjung Neljorma Khadro Namsel Drönme).
We also did a Lama Chöpa tsog together on Saturday. The following day Rinpoche offered the Chenrezig Ngensong Kundrol initiation.
Ven. Losang leading a review class at the Baladin Theater, Savièse, Switzerland, November 2018. Photo by Olivier Adam.
The Swiss nun Ven. Losang (Rita Riniker) offered a review class on Saturday and Sunday morning. People were delighted by her teachings, presence, and inspiration. We thank her a lot as she did that job with all her heart. This really touched people, opened their hearts, and awakened their wisdom as well.
Some of the event volunteers with dinner cooked by Michele Fröhlich and Jean-Paul Gloor, Switzerland, November 2018. Photo by Harald Weichhart.
About two hundred people attended Rinpoche’s teachings hosted by our center. This was made possible thanks to the generosity of many people including the Gendun Drupa Center committee, who began to prepare this event months in advance, and thirty-six volunteers, who helped with food; arranged Sangha accommodation; made carpooling arrangements; organized the altar, shop, and welcome desk; and helped with the technology.
French language translator Ven. Lobsang Detchen at the Baladin, Savièse, Switzerland, November 2018. Photo by Olivier Adam.
We are also thankful to French language translator Ven. Lobsang Detchen, Italian language translator Ven. Siliana Bosa, German language translator Ven. Birgit Schweiberer, and Ven. Joan Nicell, who was transcribing from Nepal. We appreciate the audio team—Alexis Benelhadj, Harald Weichhart, and Antoine Janssen— as well as the donors, who helped us cover the event’s costs. We thank them all deeply from our hearts.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Gendun Drupa committee members following lunch in Martigny, Switzerland, November 2018. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
On Monday, November 19, Rinpoche met with the Gendun Drupa Center committee for a lunch in Martigny. It was an opportunity to thank everyone for their work. The atmosphere was cheerful, filled with gratitude and love.
Rinpoche then taught two evenings at Gendun Drupa Centre in Martigny. We met that second evening because it was Sophie’s birthday, and Rinpoche wanted to offer a Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga and tsog. Rinpoche also took the opportunity to bless our center and consecrate it.
Students welcoming Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Ven. Roger Kunsang to Gendun Drupa Center, Martigny, Switzerland, November 2018. Photo by Séverine Gondouin.
Both evenings were so precious—having Rinpoche in our small center, with so many people who were meeting him for the first time. It was a great gift for all students. Everyone was so happy. We finished really late that Tuesday night, but it was not a problem. We carried the energy from the evening with us when we went to work the next day.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaching at Gendun Drupa Center, Martigny, Switzerland, November 2018. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
We also had a surprise to announce that night: Rinpoche, who planned to leave on Wednesday, decided to stay on at Sophie’s house and do a personal retreat of almost two weeks. We organized things very quickly, including visas and food. It was a great joy to be able to continue closely working for Rinpoche.
As he was still in Switzerland on his birthday, he was offered a delicious sugar and gluten-free cake baked by one of our students.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche offering toys to students at the airport, Switzerland, December 2018. Photo by Séverine Gondouin.
Rinpoche departed Switzerland for Nepal the following day, December 4, to teach the 51st month-long Kopan lamrim meditation course students. Many students came to the airport in Switzerland to say goodbye. Everyone was so enthusiastic, so grateful, and so inspired by Rinpoche’s visit to Switzerland. It will surely give a new wave of energy to our center and a greater understanding of the meaning of guru devotion.
Enjoy more photos from Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s visit to Switzerland:
https://fpmt.org/teachers/zopa/gallery/switzerland-november-2018/
For more information about Gendun Drupa Center, visit their website:
https://gendundrupa.ch/
Watch video recordings of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teachings from his 2018 European tour, which includes Spain, Germany, and Switzerland, and also find audio recordings of translations of the teachings in several languages as well as English language transcripts here:
https://fpmt.org/media/streaming/teachings-of-lama-zopa-rinpoche/europe-tour-2018/
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, December 2018. Photo by Ven Lobsang Sherab.
Please find Season’s Greetings from Lama Zopa Rinpoche and all of us at Rinpoche’s Office, together with our latest e-News!
In addition to our Season’s Greetings, we bring you news of:
How to Give A Gift to Benefit Others
New Materials from Education Services
Rejoicing in Completion of the Thame Stupa Rebuild
Two New Online Stories from Mandala
…and more!
Have this translated into your native language by using our convenient translation facility located on the right-hand side of the page. French and Spanish speakers will find the FPMT International Office News translated each month in the “Bienvenue” and “Bienvenidos” tabs on the FPMT homepage.
The FPMT International Office e-News comes from your FPMT International Office. Visit our subscribe page to receive the FPMT International Office News directly in your email box.
Side view of Maitreya statue and throne building. Graphic courtesy of Maitreya Buddha Project Kushinagar.
Marcel Bertels, director of Maitreya Buddha Project Kushinagar, shares an update about the project. This news comes from Kushinagar, India, where Shakyamuni Buddha entered into Mahaparinirvana.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche choosing a location for the statue. Photo courtesy of Maitreya Buddha Project Kushinagar.
Maitreya Buddha Project Kushinagar has now peacefully settled onto the 170-acre site made available on a perpetual lease by the Government of Uttar Pradesh. The site has been measured, clear boundaries established, and basic fencing has been completed.
Feng Shui Master Joey Yap
A meditation-cum-experience center is currently under construction near the project offices, which are located opposite the Thai Temple Complex in the heart of Kushinagar.
Two possible locations for the main monument have been identified on the basis of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s observations as well the input of world renowned feng shui master Joey Yap.
In April and May of this year, master Joey Yap made detailed recommendations for the placement of the statue and the fundamental layout of the site. The soil surveys for these locations have been completed and the final position for the statue will be decided soon.
The short-listing of possible casting companies and general contractors is taking place at this point in time.
The design of the statue is ninety-nine percent completed. Some detailing of the face of the Maitreya Buddha statue will be submitted to Rinpoche for review, and this should be finalized shortly.
Rinpoche has signed off on the basic layout for the statue and throne. The statue itself will be 150 feet (46 meters) high and will be built on a platform 50 feet (15 meters) high, making for a total height of 200 feet (61 meters), which is equivalent to a twenty-story building.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been invited to give teachings on the land, and we are anxiously awaiting His Holiness’s acceptance.
The architecture and engineering for the project will be done by Stup Consultants. Stup Consulants is an international firm with over 1,200 professionals in more than 20 offices and global project locations in India and other countries. Moreover, Stup Consultants already has extensive familiarity in the construction of bronze statues.
While historically no large bronze statues have been constructed in India, the last decade has seen the building of several large bronze statues in India and Bhutan, ranging from 150 feet (46 meters) to 716 feet (182 meters). Even taller bronze statues to be built in India are now in the planning stages. Clearly all this construction activity of building large bronze statues has increased the knowledge base and that will simplify the work for Maitreya Project.
Maitreya Buddha Project Kushinagar team members: (clockwise from upper left) Ven. Kabir Saxena, chairman of Maitreya Project Trust; Virginia Roche, executive director; Peter Griffin, art director; and Marcel Bertels, director.
The team on the ground now consists of Ven. Kabir Saxena, Virginia Roche, and Marcel Bertels.
Virginia Roche, our executive director, has many years of experience in building, construction, and finance, and successfully established one of the larger construction and engineering companies in Muscat, Oman. She is responsible for the development of the Kushinagar site as well as issues related to design, engineering, and construction. She also handles all interactions with the Government of Uttar Pradesh.
Ven. Kabir Saxena is the chairman of Maitreya Project Trust and actively supports the project in many ways. Marcel Bertels is the overall director of the Maitreya Buddha Project Kushinagar. In addition to these three, experienced artist Peter Griffin is looking after all art-related issues.
With all our thanks to all past and future sponsors, benefactors, organizers and well-wishers.
For more information about Maitreya Buddha Project Kushinagar or to make an offering visit the website:
http://mbpkushinagar.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.
Adrian Dec and son Aaron Dec greeting Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Bern, Switzerland, November 2018. Photo by Séverine Gondouin.
Longku Center, an FPMT center in Bern, Switzerland, hosted Lama Zopa Rinpoche from November 12-14, 2018. Lama Zopa Rinpoche arrived from Munich, Germany, where Rinpoche was hosted by Aryatara Instituut. Brigitte Brunner and Andrea Meier, long-time students and members of Longku Center who co-organized Rinpoche’s Bern visit share the story.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche arrived late evening of November 12 from Munich, Germany, and stayed in Bern for two days before travelling on to Wallis, Switzerland. While offering welcome tea, Rinpoche talked about how important it is, if one encounters people who make our life difficult, to cherish them and to uphold them the most.
Longku Center board members, along with long-time students and organizers posed with Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Brigitte Brunner, Jangchub Iseli, Ueli Minder, Rinpoche, Ani Losang, Peter Iseli, Ven. Tsultrim, Andrea Meier, and Marianne Müller outside of Longku Center, Bern, Switzerland, November 2018. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
The next evening Rinpoche gave a very inspiring public teaching on recognizing and using our human potential, starting with how lucky we are not to be born as a tiger who has to kill others to survive. How fortunate we are to have attained a precious human rebirth, able to distinguish what is right and what is wrong, what brings happiness and what brings suffering.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaching, Campus Muristalden auditorium, Bern, Switzerland, November 2018. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Then Rinpoche taught on the importance of practicing patience and how everything comes from the mind. He explained how we can do this—looking at every action as merely labeled, like a hallucination or a dream. This was a very powerful teaching on emptiness!
Lhagsam Study Group coordinators Nina and Jeff with members Sandra Passardi and Theres offering Lama Zopa Rinpoche a vegan cake Theres baked, Bern, Switzerland, November 2018. Photo by Séverine Gondouin.
We had two wonderful and very blessed days with Rinpoche in Bern. Our time with him was powerful, moving, and inspiring. We are very grateful to Rinpoche for his visit and his precious teachings.
Artist Peter Iseli offered this thankga of Milarepa to Lama Zopa Rinpoche, presented to Rinpoche outside of Longku Center, Bern, Switzerland, November 2018. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
For more information about Longku Center, visit their website:
https://longku.fpmt.ch/fpmt7/nc/home/
Watch video recordings of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teachings from his 2018 European tour, which includes Spain, Germany, and Switzerland, and also find audio recordings of translations of the teachings in several languages as well as English language transcripts here:
https://fpmt.org/media/streaming/teachings-of-lama-zopa-rinpoche/europe-tour-2018/
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.
Seventeen Tibetan Buddhist monks gathered together after the rains retreat at Nalanda Monastery; standing up from left to right are Vens. Sangpo, Lektsok, Thubten, Thubten Gendun, Thekshok, Wangchuk, Tsultrim, Rigshok, Gyaltsen, Tenzin, Gyatso, and Tenzin Namse; sitting down from left to right are Vens. Losang Thubten, Lobsang Tendar, Jesus Revert, Geshe Jamphel Gyaltsen, and Tenzin Gendun in Lavaur, France, October 2018. Photo by Nalanda Monastery.
Ven. Losang Tendar is the director of International Mahayana Institute, the FPMT community of monks and nuns. He shares about the annual rains retreat held at Nalanda Monastery, a FPMT center in Lavaur, France, from August 26-October 9, 2018.
A group of nineteen monks concluded Yarne—the six-week long yearly rains retreat—at Nalanda Monastery on October 9. This year’s retreat started on August 26, following several days of preparation and a thorough cleaning of the monastery.
Some of the monks who did the retreat are Nalanda residents. Others came to Nalanda as guests so they could join the retreat. The retreat was conducted under the guidance of one of Nalanda’s resident teachers, Geshe Jamphel Gyaltsen.
The monks who did the retreat were gelongs Geshe Gyaltsen (Tibet); Vens. Jesus Revert (Spain); Tenzin Gendun (UK); Tharchin (Germany); Losang Tendar (Netherlands); Tenzin Namse (Switzerland); Yonten (UK); Tsultrim (Italy); Thubten (Czech Republic); Thekshok (Israel); Gyaltsen (France); Gyatso (US); Thubten Gendun (New Zealand); and getsuls Wangchuk (Switzerland); Rigshok (Netherlands); Choedrak (France); Lektsok (UK); Tenzin (Sweden); and Jamyang (Croatia).
The Buddha encouraged the Sangha to come together at their monasteries during the summer months and to devote six weeks to joyfully and intensely engaging in practice and study. Sangha are encouraged to practice harmoniously and refrain from insults and conflicts.
Within the FPMT organization, Nalanda is the only monastery in the West that engages in the three activities that define a monastery. These activities are Sojong, the bi-monthly confession ceremony; Yarne, the beginning of the rains retreat; and Gaye, the end of the rains retreat ceremony. In our Western countries, where do you find this completely and regularly done? Maybe in a few places, but it certainly happens at Nalanda, and that makes Nalanda a very special place.
Five Tibetan Buddhist monks walking along a road nearby to Nalanda Monastery, breaking the boundaries after the rains retreat, Lavaur, France, October 2018. Photo by Nalanda Monastery.
During this year’s rains retreat our retreat leader, Geshe Jamphel Gyaltsen, taught Vinaya classes using a text by Jetsun Chokyi Gyaltsen. FPMT registered teacher Geshe Losel (Graham Woodhouse) served as an excellent translator for two weeks.
In September, FPMT’s residential study programs—the Basic Program and the Masters Program—both of which are offered at Nalanda, resumed. Most of the monks are participating in one or the other, so they began classes again.
Also during the rains retreat, Ven. Jesus Revert, resident teacher at FPMT center Nagarjuna C.E.T. Granada in Spain, offered a five-day community lamrim retreat and gave a few inspirational talks to the whole Nalanda community. The monastery also organized an Open Day during the rains retreat, welcoming about 250 visitors to the monastery.
Ven. Jesus Revert said, “It was very joyous, to stay for these months together as monks—to study together and have exchanges—but to also have time to read my own books and engage in meditation sessions. I enjoyed the excellent conditions and the feeling of community.”
We thank all of our kind and generous supporters who enable us to engage in these activities.
To learn more about Nalanda Monastery, visit their website:
https://nalanda-monastery.eu/index.php/en/
To learn more about the International Mahayana Institute, visit their website:
http://imisangha.org/
FPMT.org and Mandala Publications brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings, and events from over 160 FPMT centers, projects, and services around the globe. If you like what you read, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.
Kopan Monastery School performers in deer costumes, Kathmandu, Nepal, December 2018. Photo by Kopan Monastery School.
Geshe Sherab, headmaster at Kopan Monastery School in Kathmandu, Nepal, shares how the students at this FPMT monastery celebrated Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s birthday.
We’ve been celebrating Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s birthday quite extensively since 2016. The last two years were perfect as we celebrated in the presence of Rinpoche himself. This year we celebrated without Rinpoche because of Rinpoche’s later arrival here in Nepal.
Audience enjoying the birthday festivities at Kopan Monastery, Kathmandu, Nepal, December 2018. Photo by Kopan Monastery School.
Students spent two months preparing a play for the event. The event went well. We had a great lunch then we all gathered in front of the Kopan Monastery gompa. We had a huge cake as you see in the picture.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s birthday cake at Kopan Monastery, Kathmandu, Nepal, December 2018. Photo by Kopan Monastery School.
The program began with an offering of body, speech, and mind to Rinpoche by Kopan’s abbot Khen Rinpoche Geshe Thubten Chonyi.
Khen Rinpoche Geshe Thubten Chonyi making an offering of body, speech, and mind to Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s throne at Kopan Monastery, Kathmandu, Nepal, December 2018. Photo by Kopan Monastery School.
This was followed by a play called The Deer Park. I created the play’s concept, and it was written by our volunteer teacher Alex Duncan. The costumes were by Ven. Tenzin Sherab.
Kopan Monastery School performers in costume at Kopan Monastery, Kathmandu, Nepal, December 2018. Photo by Kopan Monastery School.
The students performed the play as more then four hundred people were watching and enjoying the cake.
Kopan Monastery School performers performing the play at Kopan Monastery, Kathmandu, Nepal, December 2018. Photo by Kopan Monastery School.
Young monks who performed in the English-language play were so excited even after the program finished. I was so happy that all the young artists said all of their lines very well.
For more information about Kopan Monastery and Khachoe Ghakyil Nunnery:
http://kopanmonastery.com/
http://www.kopannunnery.org/
Find complete videos of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s recent teachings at Kopan Monastery:
https://fpmt.org/media/streaming/teachings-of-lama-zopa-rinpoche/
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.
Three members of the Wilmington Mormon crew, Echo Townsend, Elise Strevel, a fourth member of the Wilmington crew, Suzy Boehm, Karen Edwards, William Calhoun, Jill Marie, Patrick McGinity, and Michael Todd Ferrell, Rocky Point, North Carolina, US, October 2018. Photo by Kadampa Center. Not pictured, Barry Judge.
Interfaith activities are one of FPMT’s Five Pillars of Service. Following September’s Hurricane Florence, FPMT center Kadampa Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, US, joined in on relief efforts. The center ran a three-week people and pet food drive, collecting 921 pounds (418 kilograms) of non-perishable food. Then on October 13, 2018, the Hurricane Florence “Kadampa Klean-up Krew” united with members of the Mormon community to provide hands-on help to hurricane victims in the Wilmington, North Carolina, area, which was where the hurricane made landfall. Elise Strevel, outreach coordinator, shares the story.
William Calhoun working the chainsaw while a member of the Wilmington Mormon team and Patrick McGinty hold the ladder, Rocky Point, North Carolina, US, October 2013. Photo by Kadampa Center.
There are many Mormon churches in the state of North Carolina and every one of them have a strong service component.
The Mormon groups out of Wilmington have highly organized crews working daily to provide disaster relief in response to Hurricane Florence, and others join their teams or create new teams as appropriate.
William Calhoun is a member of the Raleigh/Cary Mormon Church and was the liaison who hooked us all up with a team working out of Wilmington for the day. I know William through the Kadampa Center’s affiliation with the Triangle Interfaith Alliance (TIA). We are both TIA board members.
Eight members of Kadampa Center participated in the October 13 cleanup efforts in Rocky Point, which is just outside of Wilmington.
Echo Townsend and Jill Marie clearing away a large branch, Rocky Point, North Carolina, US, October 2018. Photo by Kadampa Center.
We all had a wonderful and very productive day for so many reasons.
We had the opportunity to translate compassion into action by helping people whose lives have been devastated by the storm; to serve with enthusiastic, hard working, and kind members of the Mormon Church; and to work with our Buddhist friends from Kadampa Center, getting to know them more deeply and appreciate them more than ever!
An additional little treat was an appearance by Mrs. North Carolina, Mrs. Utah, and Mrs. USA! They stopped by to briefly participate in the work and to encourage everyone.
We all worked so well and so hard together that in about five hours we got over eight large trees on two properties cut down, dragged all of the branches to the roadside for pickup, and stacked all the logs. Most of the Mormon team worked the chainsaws, and the Buddhist team disposed of the branches and logs.
Mrs. North Carolina, Nichelle Sublet; Elise Strevel; and Mrs. USA, Nicole Cook, Rocky Point, North Carolina, US, October 2018. Photo by Kadampa Center.
In addition to our collective service work, the Mormon community sent more than twenty truckloads of food, personal hygiene, cleaning supplies and equipment such as shovels, plastic gloves, roofing materials, and tarps to Wilmington and Fayetteville.
To the best of my knowledge, the Mormon community has a very strong service mentality, and strongly believe in generous tithing. This allows them to finance truckloads of emergency supplies to be at the ready for any such natural disasters. They set up a command post in Wilmington so teams could relay supplies to areas around the region as needed.
They are most certainly a role model for compassion in action! It was a wonderful learning experience about how the activity of another faith expresses this quality. Very impressive, very humbling.
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.
A smiling Geshe Sonam Gyaltsen poses for the camera, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2014. Photo courtesy of Maitreya Instituut, used with the permission of Jeroen Collier.
Born in Lhasa, Tibet, on June 4, 1941, Geshe Sonam Gyaltsen—also known as Geshe Dhonden—is one of forty-six resident geshes serving FPMT around the world. Geshe-la has written a 695-page book about his life, in collaboration with Maitreya Instituut student Koosje van der Kolk. A Life Story: How Any Old Monk Mirroring the Mind of Dhonden Spent His Life in Another’s Country is based on the many interviews Koosje conducted with Geshe-la from 2006-2017.
Geshe Sonam Gyaltsen entered Tsawa khangtsen in Gaden Jangtse Monastic College at the age of six. In 1959, at the age of eighteen, he escaped to India, and was sent to Buxa Duar refugee camp. He went to south India ten years later, where he helped to establish the Tibetan monasteries.
A Life Story begins with a message from Geshe-la. “I am just a simple monk, in the old days in Tibet before 1959, only high lamas, officials and other important people wrote their life stories. So, my life story is not important, then why did I write my life story?”
Geshe Sonam Gyaltsen teaching a classroom of young monastic students, Mundgod, India, 1979. Photo courtesy of Maitreya Instituut.
He shares that he wants people to know what life was like in a Tibetan Gelug monastery prior to the Chinese occupation of Tibet, the harshness of life in Buxa Duar, and the challenges of building the monasteries in south India.
Geshe-la says of Buxa Duar, “… In Tibet, there was a great and strong fire of Buddha Dharma until the Chinese Communists destroyed the monasteries. The fire of the Buddha Dharma was almost extinguished but the 1300 philosophy monks in Buxaduar kept the glowing embers burning by studying philosophy, thus preventing the Buddha Dharma from Tibet from being extinguished.”
Of his time building the monasteries, he says, “… Oh, there were so many problems and we worked so hard—in the fields as well as in study and ritual to preserve the glowing embers of Buddha Dharma. Only this way did it become possible to put paper and wood on the glowing embers so that the fire of Buddha Dharma could burn again.”
Geshe Sonam Gyaltsen blessing co-author and editor Koosje van der Kolk, Maitreya Instituut, Amsterdam, Netherlands, circa 2000s. Photo courtesy of Maitreya Instituut.
At this time, A Life Story is only available for purchase through Maitreya Instituut Loenen in the Netherlands. Contact the center for details:
https://www.maitreya.nl/loenen-openingstijden-adres-email-telefoon.htm
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 received a pink rose from a young person wearing a white khata, Munich Airport, Munich, Germany, November 2018. Photo by Hermann Wittekopf.
Aryatara Institut, a FPMT center in Munich, Germany, hosted Lama Zopa Rinpoche from November 3-12, 2018. Sabine Kehl, a long-term member of the center who manages Aryatara Institut’s Facebook page and translates for the center shares the story.
After months of preparation and anticipation, the time had finally come. Lama Zopa Rinpoche arrived at Munich Airport on the evening of November 3, 2018. He was warmly welcomed by our FPMT resident teacher Ven. Fedor Stracke, representatives from Aryatara Institut, and many students who joyfully greeted him with khatas and flowers. We all felt embraced by Rinpoche‘s generosity and kind heart.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche with the FPMT Europe Regional Meeting participants, Tara Mandala Center, Landau, Germany, November 2018. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Rinpoche spent his first week in Munich in private retreat at a wonderful rented house in a quiet area of Munich. The house had been lovingly decorated and prepared for Rinpoche, Ven. Roger Kunsang, Ven. Holly Ansett, Ven. Lobsang Sherab, and Ven. Lhundup Tobgye.
During this week Rinpoche found time to attend the FPMT Europe Regional Meeting which was held at Tara Mandala Center, a FPMT center in Landau, Germany.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche with volunteers and sponsors of the Munich event at a short informal visit to Aryatara Institut, Munich, Germany, November 2018. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Rinpoche made a visit to our center, where he gave a very inspiring talk to about fifty volunteers, sponsors, and students who founded our center in 1980. He thanked all those who helped organize his stay and all those who made it possible for Aryatara Institut to make Dharma in the Mahayana tradition accessible in Munich and Germany for nearly forty years.
An especially heart warming experience was when Rinpoche handed out little toy pets he had blessed to all of the volunteers. We all love our new furry friends who carry Rinpoche’s blessing and remind us of Rinpoche every day. This private visit to our center was a wonderful and rare opportunity for all of us, especially for those who had not met Rinpoche before.
Aryatara Institut resident teacher Ven. Fedor Stracke and Lama Zopa Rinpoche with the little toy pets Rinpoche blessed, Munich, Germany, November 2018. Photo by Alex Volk.
The big weekend of teachings and a Great Medicine Buddha initiation finally began on Friday, November 9, at 7 p.m. at Reithalle Munich. Four hundred students from all over Europe and even India were eager to attend Rinpoche’s teachings.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaching at Reithalle München, Munich, Germany, November 2018. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Rinpoche‘s teachings were inspiring, heart-warming, and full of wisdom. Thanks to German language translator Ven. Fedor Stracke, Italian language translator Ven. Siliana Bosa, French language translator Ven. Losang Gyaltsen, Czech language translator Jitka Pouzarová, Spanish language translator Ven. Paloma Alba, and transcriber Ven. Joan Nicell everyone was able to follow Rinpoche’s amazing and wisdom-filled words.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave the Great Medicine Buddha Initiation at Reithalle München, Munich, Germany, November 2018. Photo by Hermann Wittekopf.
In the mornings Ven. Fedor Stracke held review sessions translated into German by Philip Quarcoo. These sessions were also met with great interest.
The big weekend came to a close at 1 a.m. on Monday, November 12, with the conclusion of the Great Medicine Buddha initiation.
Rinpoche left Munich for Bern, Switzerland, later that day, following a quiet lunch at a vegan restaurant. Ven. Fedor Stracke, Aryatara Institut board members, and a few students waved Rinpoche goodbye as his car departed our city for Bern.
The inspiration and benefits all of the students, event organizers, and volunteers received from Rinpoche’s visit to Munich will surely last for a long time. We all hold the memories of these remarkable days dear in our hearts.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Annelies van der Heijden, past Aryatara Institut director Alnis Grants, recently ordained Ven. Jangsem (Burgel Noris), children’s program coordinator Cora Boer-Sakals, board member Hermann Wittekopf, former board member Inge Siebenwurst, resident teacher Ven. Fedor Stracke, director Rosana Rodrigues-Herzog, Sabine Kehl, dog Jamie who attended all teachings and received blessings from Rinpoche, spiritual program coordinator Robert Schwabe, board member Thorsten Schrammek, board member Alex Volk, and Thomas Herzog after lunch at the vegan restaurant, Munich, Germany, November 2018. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
For more information about Aryatara Institut, visit their website:
https://aryatara.de/
Watch video recordings of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teachings from his 2018 European tour, which includes Spain, Germany, and Switzerland, and also find audio recordings of translations of the teachings in several languages as well as English language transcripts here:
https://fpmt.org/media/streaming/teachings-of-lama-zopa-rinpoche/europe-tour-2018/
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.
Ven. Robina Courtin leading a Vajrasattva Retreat at Peter Canisius House, Pymble, New South Wales, Australia, September 2018. Photo by Vajrayana Institute.
Vajrayana Institute, a FPMT center just outside of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, organized a Vajrasattva retreat with Ven. Robina Courtin that took place at Peter Canisius House from August 28-September 2, 2018. Anna Carmody, a long-time FPMT student who attended the retreat, shares the story.
“Listen to these teachings as if you are hearing this for the first time,” Ven. Robina Courtin instructed the thirty-six students gathered for a six-day residential and non-residential Vajrasattva retreat at a Jesuit retreat center in the leafy outskirts of Sydney, Australia.
Most of the students were able to take this as a residential retreat, a chance to get away from the responsibilities and pressures of everyday life. Students enjoyed relaxing indoors in the lounge and dining hall. Outside—it was spring in the southern hemisphere—students relaxed on the lawn, wandered through the gardens, walked the labyrinth, and contemplated in the garden’s holy nooks.
Discussion groups meeting outside of Peter Canisius House, Pymble, New South Wales, Australia, September 2018. Photo by Vajrayana Institute.
This was a gathering of old and new friends. Many of the students had attended other teachings offered by Ven. Robina, in person or online. Several had been on pilgrimage with Ven. Robina.
Even so, there was work to do. This was a Vajrasattva retreat, a chance to uncover, understand, and do something about our negative emotions. It was an opportunity to purify our negative deeds, and learn how to stop creating negative karma, or at least make a start at it.
Ven. Robina shared a Tibetan saying, “Nothing gets more difficult with practice,” as as she navigated students through each of the topics of the lamrim, meanwhile explaining its connection to the powerful Vajrasattva practice and the four opponent powers.
Apart from the wonderful teachings and guided meditations, there was morning meditation with Ven. Gwen Drolkar, who worked tirelessly as Ven. Robina’s attendant. We also had discussion groups that wrestled with the task of applying these topics: the law of cause and effect, so fundamental to the Buddha’s teachings; dependent origination; and the role of the delusions in our everyday life. This was a time to work out how these teachings applied to us, and to see our life through Buddha’s teachings, not through any other theory or philosophy.
Students engaged in discussion at Peter Canisius House, Pymble, New South Wales, Australia, September 2018. Photo by Vajrayana Institute.
And then there were inspiring stories of our teachers and their dedicated students. Although we were in the large, quite formal teaching and meditation hall, it was like being a child again, sitting around the kitchen table listening to your aunties, laughing and wondering at life itself.
To inspire us further, Ven. Robina also read from Lama Thubten Yeshe’s book Mahamudra: How to Discover Our True Nature. Advice was offered for daily practice. Many students took the opportunity to avail themselves of private sessions and Ven. Robina’s generous and insightful advice.
At the very last teaching, after offering a thanksgiving mandala, Vajrayana Institute invited Ven. Robina to return to Sydney in 2019 for another residential retreat. She graciously accepted the invitation.
For more information about Vajrayana Institute, visit their website:
https://vajrayana.com.au/
For Vajrasattva practice resources, visit the FPMT Foundation Store:
https://shop.fpmt.org/search.asp?keyword=vajrasattva&search=
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, Madrid, Spain, November 2018. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Out Now – the FPMT International Office e-News for November!
This month we bring you news about:
- Advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche
- Our new project to protect the environment
- Results of our recent Translation Fund campaign
- A new book by Lama Yeshe
- Opportunities to offer service
…and more!
Have this translated into your native language by using our convenient translation facility located on the right-hand side of the page. French and Spanish speakers will find the FPMT International Office News translated each month in the “Bienvenue” and “Bienvenidos” tabs on the FPMT homepage.
The FPMT International Office e-News comes from your FPMT International Office. Visit our subscribe page to receive the FPMT International Office News directly in your email box.
Panelists speaking at the InterSangha meeting, Nalanda Monastery, France, September 2018. Photo by Nalanda Monastery.
Ven. Losang Gyaltsen, director, Nalanda Monastery in Lavaur, France—40 km (25 miles) from the city of Toulouse—shares about a gathering of Buddhists from different schools and traditions.
On September 16, 2018, Nalanda Monastery had the honor of hosting the second InterSangha meeting organized by the Communauté Bouddhiste de Toulouse (Buddhist Community of Toulouse). This organization is part of the Union Bouddhiste de France (Buddhist Union of France). The organization gathers together different Buddhist groups, including the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the Thai Tradition, and the Vietnamese and Japanese schools.
The InterSangha meeting began with an introduction and Pali sutra chanting. This was followed by a discussion on compassion, with different speakers from the various traditions. The participants then gathered into discussion groups to talk about the subject and share their experiences and questions, as well as their understandings of compassion.
Discussion group at the InterSangha meeting, Nalanda Monastery, France, September 2018. Photo by Nalanda Monastery.
Everyone brought food that we all shared in a friendly atmosphere.
In the afternoon, a walking meditation was organized, and then different activities were proposed by the different Buddhist groups. This included an introduction to meditation, a Chenrezig ritual, a meditation on loving kindness, and a Zen ritual and meditation.
We concluded the day with prayers related to compassion, including a Shantideva prayer and the Mettā Sutta in Pali.
Leading practice at the InterSangha meeting, Nalanda Monastery, France, September 2018. Photo by Nalanda Monastery.
This day was filled with joy, as well as a feeling of brotherhood and sisterhood. We are happy to have contributed to this beautiful day and look forward to the next one!
By spending time together talking and sharing, we discover that we have more common than we think. At the same time we learn to appreciate the unique qualities of each tradition. They all arise out of the compassion and wisdom of our incomparable teacher, Shakyamuni Buddha. It is beautiful to see how his wisdom and compassion have traveled through time, and how his teachings are expressed by the different traditions.
InterSangha meeting group photo, Nalanda Monastery, France, September 2018. Photo by Nalanda Monastery.
We wish to thank all the organizers and participants. We pray that our InterSangha meeting becomes a cause of harmony and peace.
For more information about Nalanda Monastery in France, visit their website:
https://nalanda-monastery.eu/index.php/en/
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.