Kopan Monastery illuminated during the Heart Sutra Retreat. Photo by Kira Dane.

Following the commemoration activities at Kopan Monastery honoring the one-year anniversary of Lama Zopa Rinpoche showing the aspect of passing away, a Heart Sutra Retreat was held from April 15-20, 2024 with commentary by His Eminence the 104th Ganden Tripa, meditations led by Ven. Steve Carlier, and evening sessions with short extracted videos of Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaching a topic related to emptiness. Please read an inspiring overview of this joyous retreat provided by Kopan Monastery: 

The Heart Sutra Retreat began with a joyous welcome and introduction to Kopan and the event by Ven. Thubten Kalden, who had kindly stepped in to replace Ven. Thubten Khadro, Kopan’s SPC, while she is away taking care of her ailing father. After dinner, we were joined by Ven. Roger Kunsang who told us how pleased he was that so many people, a bit more than 200, were attending this retreat, which had been specifically organized to fulfill one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s wishes. Ven. Steve Carlier then set the tone for the retreat with his opening remarks in his trademark laid-back style of presentation.

In accordance with Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s tradition for retreat, each day began at 5:30 a.m. with Lama Chopa. Ven. Thubten Dechen led the chanting and Ven. Joan Nicell led the parts in English. After breakfast, we were blessed to have two hours of teachings on the Heart Sutra by His Eminence the 104th Ganden Tripa. These teachings were expertly translated into English by Ven. Steve, and then into Italian and Spanish by respectively Ven. Siliana Bosa and Ven. Paloma Alba.

Ven. Joan and Ven. Dechen leading the chants during the Heart Sutra Retreat. Photo by Kira Dane.

The afternoons consisted of three sessions of meditation, each forty-five minutes in length. These were introduced by Ven. Steve, who provided us with profound nuggets to contemplate based on his many years of studying and teaching emptiness. A short series of preliminary prayers, including Praise to Manjushri, preceded the slow chanting in English of the Heart Sutra up to the point where we paused to meditate. Over the course of the four afternoons, we spent several sessions meditating first on “Form is emptiness,” then “Emptiness is form,” followed by “Emptiness is not other than form; form is also not other than emptiness.” Eventually we made it to “In the same way, feeling” where we paused to contemplate “Emptiness is not other than feeling” and so forth. The emptiness of discrimination, compositional factors, and consciousness, as well as the rest of phenomena, remains for us to contemplate in future retreats!

Ven. Steve Carlier teaching during the Heart Sutra Retreat at Kopan Monastery. Photo by Kira Dane.

Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi, abbot of Kopan, kindly came to do a Q & A session one afternoon. The difficult questions posed by both old and new students gave us a glimpse of Khen Rinpoche’s great depth of knowledge and his skill in presenting the Dharma to a modern audience.

Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi offering a Q & A during the Heart Sutra Retreat at Kopan Monastery. Photo by Kira Dane.

The evening sessions began with a short subtitled video of Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaching a topic related to emptiness. Rinpoche’s highly animated and expressive, and sometimes humorous, way of teaching topics such as the emptiness of red and green traffic lights made Rinpoche’s presence very much felt by all of us. (These videos will be released to the public soon.) Ven. Steve spent the rest of the session answering questions, generously sharing his extensive knowledge with us.

Heart Sutra Retreat participants viewing one of the extracted short videos of Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaching on emptiness. Photo by Kira Dane.

Unfortunately the retreat also gave many people a chance to contemplate the human suffering of sickness as a highly contagious stomach bug, also present in Kathmandu, swept through the group. For some it passed in twenty-four hours, but for others it even resulted in a visit to the hospital due to the resulting dehydration.

The retreat ended on the morning of April 20 with a final teaching on the Heart Sutra by Tri Rinpoche. It was followed by a group photo of the Heart Sutra retreat participants together with Tri Rinpoche.

Heart Sutra Retreat participants with His Eminence the 104th Ganden Tripa, April 2024. Photo courtesy of Kopan Monastery.

Afterward Khen Rinpoche took the opportunity to tell retreat participants about Kopan’s many charitable projects. Ven. Steve thanked everyone for their support during the retreat, and then led the group in final dedications, including the King of Prayers and the swift return prayer for Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Ven. Kalden then thanked everyone who contributed to making the retreat a success, including the cooks and kitchen staff who had gone out of their way to make sure we enjoyed good and healthy food throughout the retreat.

His Eminence the 104th Ganden Tripa teaching during the Heart Sutra Retreat at Kopan Monastery. Photo by Kira Dane.

The next morning a long life puja organized by Kopan was held in honor of Tri Rinpoche. Although, being based on the short Sixteen Arhat Puja, it was a relatively brief puja, all the traditional long life offerings were presented to Tri Rinpoche by the Kopan monks and nuns. As he had done during the teachings, Tri Rinpoche left the gompa in a wheelchair smiling and waving happily to the people on either side of the aisle.

Ven. Roger Kunsang offering to His Eminence the 104th Ganden Tripa during the long life puja held at Kopan Monastery, April 21, 2024. Photo courtesy of Kopan Monastery.

May we always be able to fulfill our holy guru’s holy wishes by studying, contemplating, and meditating on the holy Dharma!

Grateful thanks to Kopan Monastery for offering this inspiring report of the retreat.

A booklet with instructions by Lama Zopa Rinpoche for doing a retreat related to the Heart Sutra can be found here:
https://shop.fpmt.org/Heart-Sutra-Practices-and-Instructions-for-Retreat-PDF_p_1775.html

Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.

Display of the large Twenty-one Taras at the Melbourne Town Hall, 2023 Photo by Cynthia Karena.

In 2014, Lama Zopa Rinpoche commissioned Peter Iseli to paint a very big (49 ft x 30 ft) Twenty-One Taras thangka. Peter and his wife Jangchub Iseli-Sangmo spent four years creating the thangka, one section at a time, in a studio at Institut Vajra Yogini in France.

Large Twenty-One Tara thangka by artist Peter Iseli. Photo by Cynthia Karena.

At the end of 2017, Lama Zopa offered this thangka to Tara Institute in Melbourne, Australia, “to show to as many people as possible.”. In 2019 Peter made final changes requested by Rinpoche, and since then the thangka has been stored at Tara Institute.

Tara Institute displayed this thangka at the 2023 Victorian Celebration of the United Nations Day of Vesak at the Melbourne Town Hall. The event was a success and enjoyed by many, and we are pleased to share this will occur again this year on this Saturday May 11, 2024 honoring the same occasion and at the same venue!

Please enjoy a short video about this wonderful event.

Tara Institute will be posting reels and stories on their Instagram account throughout the day, starting with a livestream of loading the thangka onto the truck at 6 a.m.

Several FPMT centers have commissioned large thangkas and are now hosting festival days where these holy objects can be enjoyed. We invite you to rejoice in the displaying of these magnificent holy objects which was one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Visions for the FPMT organization. As Rinpoche has explained, doing this makes it “so easy for sentient beings to purify their heavy negative karma and making it so easy for sentient beings to create extensive merit. Which makes it so easy to achieve the realizations of the path and so easy to achieve liberation and enlightenment.”

Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.

Foundation for Developing Compassion and Wisdom (FDCW) has just concluded their Wisdom Dialogues series, a “journey into the heart of wisdom and emotional understanding.” Spanning six episodes, this series provided insights into cultivating wisdom, managing emotions, and “becoming your own therapist,” as Lama Yeshe encouraged. 

In this final chapter, “Touching Our Inner Beauty,” Ven. René Feusi answers the questions, “How do we peel back the layers of our consciousness to reveal the luminous essence of our being?” “How can awareness not only open our hearts but also cultivate a gentle embrace of ourselves and others?” Ven. René explores these topics, sharing practical techniques that serve not just as teachings but as tools for life.

Please watch Ven. Rene’s talk, “Touching Our Inner Beauty”
https://youtu.be/Y5VUwSbSNrA?feature=shared

You can also explore all six teachings in the Wisdom Dialogues series including inspiring hour-long talks from, in addition to Ven. René Feusi, Ven. Robina Courtin, Ven. Thubten Wangdu, Paula Chichester, Kabir Saxena, and Martin Strom.

Foundation for Developing Compassion and Wisdom (FDCW) provides secular training, programs and resources across many sectors of society – schools, universities, hospices, workplaces, healthcare, youth groups and community centers. 

Drone image of the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion. Photo by Brett Ritchie.

The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion, being built near Bendigo Australia, is 50 meters (164 feet) square at its base and nearly 50 meters high. This makes it the largest stupa in the Western World. This stupa is the same design and size as the Gyantse Stupa (Kumbum) in Tibet. The Gyantse Stupa is one of the treasures of the Buddhist world.

We are pleased to share a recent update from Great Stupa director, Ian Green:

Drone Video

We are pleased to share a drone compilation of the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion, shot by Brett Ritchie. You can watch it in 4K by selecting the “cog” on the bottom row of options directly under the video.

Please watch the drone compilation video of the Great Stupa:
https://youtu.be/0qCbFCU27Bg?feature=shared

 Kalachakra Mandala Ceiling

The ceiling of the Great Stupa gompa is 20 meters x 20 meters (66 x 66 feet). This whole space will be covered with a Kalachakra mandala. The mandala is being painted on polycarbonate panels which are 2 meters (6.5 feet) square. There will be 100 of these panels suspended to make the ceiling. The mandala will be presented three-dimensional so that different levels of the mandala will be on different levels. Lighting will be incorporated into the mandala to create a spectacular effect. While the mandala itself is strictly traditional, the way it is being presented on this enormous ceiling is being modernized to take advantage of modern materials.

Painting of the Kalachakra ceiling panels. Photo courtesy of the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion.

The painting of the panels is being undertaken by a team of around 10 volunteers who are led and coordinated by Garrey Foulkes, the artistic director, and Guy Lawson the project manager. These skilled artists have been at work in Bendigo and in Queensland for nearly 12 months and their work is currently 50% complete. The ceiling will be complete for the Kalachakra initiation which will be led by Jhado Rinpoche inside the Great Stupa in September 2025.

Bumpa Door Frames  

Bumpa door frames. Photo courtesy of the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion.

The door frames on the Bumpa (level 6) of the Great Stupa have been crafted to be replicas of the frames on the Gyantse Kumbum in Tibet. These massive frames are around 5.5 meters (18 feet) high. Work on the frames was completed in Vietnam and the art team under the leadership of Finn Matthews and Guy Lawson are meticulously painting them to be even more spectacular than the original door frames in Gyantse. Work is ongoing and we intend for the frames to be erected by the end of 2024.

Lightshows at the Great Stupa  

Light show at the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion.

Lightshows at the Great Stupa offer elaborate lighting throughout the Peace Park and spectacular lights on the stupa itself. These lightshows, which are called Illumin8 and Enlighten, occur on many occasions throughout the year and are sell-out events with people traveling far to experience this magical and uplifting presentation.

Bodhidhamma Vihara

The Buddha statue is installed in Bodhi Dhamma Vihara, a Sri Lankan community project on the grounds of the Great Stupa. Photo courtesy of the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion.

Interfaith harmony is a major component of the Great Stupa‘s presentation to visitors. We believe that this conviction relates as much to harmony amongst Buddhist traditions as between different faiths. When the local Sri Lankan Buddhist community approached us about their need to find some land for a much needed vihara (temple or place of worship) in the Bendigo region, we were pleased to offer them the use of some of the land belonging to the Great Stupa for that purpose. Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche was very pleased that this cooperation was happening.

This sharing of the land is symbolic of harmony between our two Buddhist traditions and also between our two cultures and countries. The Great Stupa has worked cooperatively with the Bodhidhamma Vihara Bendigo team on the establishment of the vihara and in doing so we have enriched our spiritual and cultural lives.

A large ceremony to mark the planting of the sapling of Jaya Shri Maha Bodhi, the most sacred tree in Sri Lanka, in the vihara site at the Great Stupa will take place on June 6. 2024. This event will be attended by the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, the Premier of the State of Victoria, along with leading sangha from Sri Lanka, representatives of the interfaith community, ambassadors, and various leaders of federal, state, and local government.

We hope that the harmonious relationship between the Great Stupa and the Bodhidhamma Vihara will be an inspiration to Buddhists and people all over the world, illustrating that by working together, it is possible to build a positive connection that lasts for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. 

To learn more about the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion, visit the website:
www.stupa.org.au

The first copy of a special limited edition of 300 copies of the Sutra of Great Liberation, printed in English by Amitabha Buddhist Centre students for the occasion of the commemoration of Lama Zopa Rinpoche showing the aspect of passing away, was offered to the holy body of Rinpoche at Kopan Monastery, April 12, 2024. Photo courtesy of ABC.

This month’s e-news brings you important news, updates, and causes for rejoicing regarding:

• One year anniversary of Lama Zopa Rinpoche showing the aspect of passing away
• Teachings by Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Lama Yeshe
• Heart Sutra Retreat at Kopan Monastery
• Grants offered through FPMT Charitable Projects in 2023
• Asia Regional Consultations at Kopan Monastery
• International Merit Box Project – collection season has started for this year’s grants
• Opportunities and changes within the organization

and much more! 

Please read this month’s e-news in its entirety. 

Have the e-News translated into your native language by using our convenient translation facility located on the right-hand side of the page.

Visit our subscribe page to receive the monthly FPMT International Office e-News directly in your email inbox.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama portrait. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama will offer teachings on 100 Deities of Tushita Heaven (gaden lhagyama) on April 19 and 20, 2024 at the Main Tibetan Temple, McLeod Ganj, Dharamshala, starting at 8:00 am IST both days. 

For full information please visit: dalailama.com/live

Webcast will be available in English and also in:  Tibetan, Chinese, Vietnamese, Hindi, Korean, Japanese, Spanish, French, German, Russian, Italian, Nepali, Ladakhi and Mongolian.

100 Deities of Tushita Heaven text is a available to download in:
English, Tibetan, and Chinese

You can follow important and inspiring news about His Holiness the Dalai Lama on the official website of His Holiness:
https://www.dalailama.com/news

We invite you to follow the teaching schedule of His Holiness on the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s official website.

Photos from our 2023 photo galleries.

2023 was an extremely impactful year for for the entire FPMT organization as we navigated some unprecedented challenges following the sudden news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche entering his final meditation on April 13, 2023. 

As the one year anniversary of Rinpoche showing the aspect of passing away approaches, we wanted to share two galleries of photos from 2023, which we created for this year’s Annual Review. 

Please view all the photos in Gallery 1, and Gallery 2. 

Photos from our 2023 photo galleries.

Photos from our 2023 photo galleries.

We also invite you to view an inspiring four part photo gallery of Lama Zopa Rinpoche through the years. 

Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is 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 at Kopan Monastery, March 25, 2023. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

This issue of our monthly e-news brings you news, resources, and special announcements including:

• Reminder about the upcoming anniversary of Lama Zopa Rinpoche passing away
• A teaching by Lama Yeshe
• Our 2023 Annual Review
• An update from the FPMT Inc. Board of Directors
• Newly available and revised materials
• Changes and opportunities in the organization

And much more!

Please read this month’s e-news in its entirety. 

Visit our subscribe page to receive the FPMT International Office News directly in your email inbox.

Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is 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 trying to bow lower than the young monks on the way to the stupa, Kopan Monastery, March 25, 2023. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab

We are happy to share this year’s Annual Review, “Repaying the Kindness, Looking to the Future.”

We invite you to take your time with the various reports as this was an unprecedented year and we have a lot to share and process in the sections of this year’s report. 

As you will read in the many summaries included, we continued to offer access to our lamas’ teachings; kept the international community connected and informed about news and advice following the passing of Lama Zopa Rinpoche; offered guidance and structure to FPMT centers, projects, and services; facilitated charitable giving to many beneficial initiatives dedicated to helping others and based on the wishes of Rinpoche; and disseminated the Dharma to all who wish to receive it. 

Please view our 2023 Annual Review and join us in rejoicing in another year of helping to actualize Lama Yeshe’s and Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s wishes for the FPMT organization and the world. 

Please note, the FPMT Annual Review 2023 is available only online:
https://fpmt.org/fpmt/annual-review-2023/

Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.

Participants of the first Gelug Monlam held at Nalanda Monastery, France. Photo by Sonam Sherpa.

Since 1998, the Gelug Monlam—known as the Great Prayer Festival—has been held at Kopan Monastery, Nepal, in the tradition of Lama Tsongkhapa, who founded the festival in 1409. The Monlam is regarded as one the “four great activities” of Lama Tsongkhapa’s life. It is held on the first Tibetan month of the year, during the “Fifteen Days of Miracles.” It culminates on the full moon, the fifteenth day of the lunar calendar, which is the day of Chotrul Duchen.

 Because the Monlam Chenmo prayers are so precious and holy, Lama Zopa Rinpoche thought it would be wonderful for the Western Sangha—specifically the Nalanda Sangha—to attend the Monlam Chenmo in Nepal in 2020.

 Rinpoche discussed with Nalanda about how they could organize a Monlam Chenmo in France. During their time in Nepal in 2020, the Nalanda monks were introduced to 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.

 We are so pleased to share that Rinpoche’s wishes manifested this year at Nalanda Monastery as they hosted their first Gelug Monlam from February 23-25, 2024.

 Nalanda director, Ven. Thubten Sherab, shares the details.

In order to benefit all sentient beings, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, the manifestation of the wisdom and compassion of all the Buddhas, had expressed the holy wish to bring the tradition of the Gelug Monlam to the West.

The Sangha of Nalanda Monastery decided last December to organize the first Gelug Monlam Festival in France, and probably in Europe, from February 23-25, 2024, Saturday 24 being the holy day of Chotrul Duchen. The more we investigate, the more we realize the value of such an incredibly meaningful event. 

During three weeks prior to the Monlam, we had to face many difficulties, sicknesses, and various obstacles including the sudden breakdown of the internet, and so forth. Ven. Roger Kunsang arrived on February 15, reinforcing the importance of fulfilling Rinpoche’s holy wishes.

Our abbot, Geshe Jamphel-la, requested to invite the best chant leaders of Sera Monastery, and so Geshe Thubten Sonam-la, Umze Genden Dargey (or Chenmo-la), and Geshe Dorjee Wangdak came from Bylakuppe to Nalanda Monastery on February 18. During February 19-22, they taught us how to chant the various melodies. Most of our Sangha and about 15 lay people participated in these training sessions.

Following our invitation, Dagpo Rinpoche, one of the highest Gelug lamas living in Paris, wrote to us: “I am indeed very grateful to you for undertaking this magnificent project, very precious for the sustainability and dissemination of the teaching of the Buddha and the tradition of Je Tsongkhapa.”

Gelug Monlam held at Nalanda Monastery, February 20-23, 2024. Photo by Sonam Sherpa.

On Friday February 23, 7.00 am, the deep voice of the chant master Genden Dargey opened this historical moment! In front of His Holiness’ throne and the altar of the main gompa, six geshes and the umze (Geshe Jamphel, Geshe Thubten Sonam, Genden Dargey, Geshe Dorjee Wangdak, Geshe Gyaltsen, Geshe Dakpa, Geshe Losel) faced the audience. Forty-four monks and nuns together with about sixty lay people, started to sing the inspiring melodies and profound prayers celebrating Buddha Shakyamuni, Lama Tsongkhapa, and Maitreya. Attendees made bath offerings, prostrations to the Thirty-five Buddhas, meditated on the general confession, etc.

During three days, the gompa was full and some people followed on screen in the zen garden, below the gompa. Many people from various countries joined and prayed with us online. On the last day, we made a procession and offering bath to Maitreya, circumambulating the main temple. You can watch a joyous short video of these proceedings. 

The Monlam has been very successful and brought together the monastics and the lay community living near or abroad.

Procession and offering bath to Maitreya. Photo courtesy of Nalanda Monastery.

Nalanda made many offerings: to Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Stupa of Complete Victory, to His Eminence Ganden Tri Rinpoche Losang Tenzing, and to the geshes and all the present Sangha. The monastery offered food and lodging to all the monastics during their stay, and the traveling costs of the monks of Sera Je and other important guests who participated.

The monastery also received many offerings from all around the world which will be used for the second Monlam in 2025 and the production of a film that is being made on this first Gelug Monlam at Nalanda.

It is really amazing to consider how all the various actions made by so many different people in so many different areas suddenly came together to complete this holy wish of Rinpoche  and make it a reality!

To list of the names of all the benefactors and all the people who participated in one way or another would be very, very long indeed. We deeply thank each and every one of them and rejoice in such an accumulation of merits!

Prayers during the Gelug Monlam at Nalanda Monstery, February 22-25, 2024. Photo by Francois Lecointre

We would like to especially express our gratitude to Geshe Thubten Sonam-la, Genden Dargey, Geshe Dorjee Wangdak-la—to have joyfully made this long journey from Sera Je to Nalanda to patiently plant the seed of the Monlam here in the West; to all the geshes, monks, and nuns including Ven. Norbu from Sera Mey and Ven. Namjong for their help and translation; Ven. Tsultrim Tsepal for the creation of phonetics; Ven. Tsomo who managed the translation of the Monlam Chenmo prayer book including Tibetan, Tibetan phonetics, and English; Yanis Casse who translated the English version into French in an inconceivable short amount of time; all the residents and volunteers; all the local people who came with devotion and enthusiasm to help us and are ready to come back; all the generous donors; the Tibetan community of Occitanie; and all those who prayed with us here at Nalanda or online.

To all of you, thank you so much!

We invite you to join us at Nalanda Monastery for the second Gelug Monlam Festival at the monastery from March 10-15, 2025 (March 14 being Chotrul Duchen).

 May all these unbelievable merits be dedicated to the long and healthy life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and for the swift return of our Guru Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche. May all his future actions be very vast in the three worlds and without any obstacles in order to benefit even more all sentient beings without exception.

Written by Ven. Thubten Sherab, director of Nalanda Monastery.

Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.

Photo of Lama Zopa Rinpoche under the bodhi tree at the seat of enlightenment during prayers for Rinpoche’s swift return at the Bodhgaya stupa organized by Root Institute during the Days of Miracles, India, February 12, 2024. Photo by Ven. Sarah Thresher.

This issue of our monthly e-news brings you news, resources, and special announcements including:

• How to help actualize Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Stupa of Complete Victory
• A teaching from Lama Yeshe: On Educating Children
• A report on the Geshe Conference at Kopan Monastery
• FPMT Education and Preservation Fund Grants in 2023
• Recent holy objects created for the success of FPMT
• Newly available and revised materials
• Opportunities and changes within the organization

And much more!

Please read this month’s e-news in its entirety. 

Have the e-News translated into your native language by using our convenient translation facility located on the right-hand side of the page.

Visit our subscribe page to receive the FPMT International Office News directly in your email inbox.

Participants in the 2024 FPMT Geshe Conference at Kopan Monastery.

The new year began with an extremely important conference for FPMT geshes at Kopan Monastery from January 9-14, 2024. More than thirty geshes and geshemas plus five FPMT Inc. board members spent three days together engaged in a rich schedule of discussing, learning, and planning. They also used this opportunity to engage in prayers for Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s swift return, offer an all-day Most Secret Hayagriva Tsok Kong, and engage in a two-day pilgrimage.

Ven. Roger Kunsang commented that the event went very well with a great response from those in attendance. He reported that it was an open and easy going meeting, and participants expressed a sense of inclusiveness in the future of FPMT, of which they are all an essential part.

Ven. Thubten Pemba, FPMT Inc. board member and resident teacher of Cham Tse Ling Centre in Hong Kong, served as one of the facilitators for the conference and offered some insight into the event:

Ven. Thubten Pemba, FPMT Inc. board member and one of the Geshe Conference facilitators, speaking at the Geshe Conference.

 The venerable geshelas, geshemas, and FPMT Inc. board member participants all said they had a great time and they all expressed great joy with what Lama Yeshe called the, “family feeling” of unity of being together and especially being at Kopan.

There is a great need to bring all or most of the great geshes together from time to time as normally there is no opportunity for all the geshes teaching in the FPMT organization to come together and this gives them a valued opportunity to share their own personal experiences of teaching in different cultures and countries of different time zones.

The conversation and fun they each had during the meal times and break times, the jokes they throw at each other, the genuine laughter, the joy and happiness of being under one roof, the great respect for each other, the harmonious atmosphere and most precious advice from H.H. Gaden Tri Rinpoche and H.E. Ling Rinpoche by Zoom all helped make this function be most meaningful and worthwhile. Not surprisingly, many geshes personally expressed the need to hold such a meeting more frequently.

Participant Geshe Tenzin Loden, resident geshe at Institut Vajra Yogini, France, offered the following feedback on the conference:

The conference went really well, I feel confident now that all the centers will be able to work together in the future and we could see that they are all are happy to follow Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice. Usually the geshes focus mainly on teaching so it was good this time to have space to discuss other aspects regarding centers and the FPMT. Going forward, it is important that the geshes, the directors, the SPCs, and the translators really work together. And I think it is important to have these meetings regularly. It was important to have this space to do prayers together, for the FPMT, for the centers and for the swift return of Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

An Overview of the Proceedings

 Day One

On the first day of the conference, January 9, Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi offered a welcome speech and introduction to the conference. Each geshe then shared a bit about their stories and how they came to their particular FPMT center.

FPMT Geshe Conference participants listening to Ganden Tri Rinpoche offer advice via Zoom.

Ganden Tri Rinpoche connected to the meeting via Zoom and was asked to offer some advice. In general, the advice was for the participants to share their experiences at each Dharma center and their plans for the future, and he requested each geshe to speak openly and honestly about their work and experiences, even the difficulties. Ganden Tri Rinpoche offered advice regarding what should be taught at the center, and to encourage the students to study well and read. He also praised the monks and nuns of Kopan and said they are doing an excellent job. “These activities show that the purposes for which Kopan was established have been accomplished and are truly a basis for purifying obscurations and keeping pure morality. I’m very pleased because this benefits the whole region,” Ganden Tri Rinpoche shared.  “It’s very good.” Link to full transcript of this talk. 

FPMT Inc. board members joining small discussion groups during the FPMT Geshe Conference.

Ven. Roger Kunsang introduced the FPMT organization, its activities and mission, and discussed Rinpoche’s inspiring style of leading the organization, and Rinpoche wishes for FPMT:

“So then, I think Rinpoche’s way of taking responsibility for the organization was, Rinpoche went on the road to teach. So I think that was Rinpoche’s way of leading the organization through teaching, through inspiration, because of his practice, etc., etc. His leadership was in the form of writing, teaching, and inspiration. So for the next, next 36 years, I think Rinpoche was on the road non-stop. I mean literally he didn’t stop, seven days a week, and it wasn’t just the days, it was the nights also. So I never experienced anything like that before in my life.

“And not only that, but I think Rinpoche never took his robes off. Every two weeks you had to push Rinpoche to take a shower; that was the time he took his robes off. So otherwise, he would be either teaching or sitting on his bed reading texts. He always had texts everywhere around him, the luggage was two or three suitcases full of texts.

“We always had trouble at the airport when we had to weigh in suitcases. Rinpoche wouldn’t give up one text, he would take off his robes first, but he refused to give up the texts. I remember we sometimes had to pay two, three thousand dollars excess baggage, but he still wouldn’t give up the texts.

“So that was Rinpoche’s style, and I think that’s how he led the organization. It was through his teachings, and through the inspiration that he gave to everyone.” Read Ven. Roger’s full talk. 

FPMT Inc. board member Dale Davis offered some updates from the board.

The geshes all then started conversations which lasted into the second day about their experiences within the FPMT organization and discussed the challenges they face in their positions, what ideas they have for the future, how they are coping with the loss of Rinpoche, and many other topics.

Participants in the FPMT Geshe Conference having a meal together at Kopan Nunnery. Photos courtesy of Ven. Losang Chotrin and Ven. Losang Chozin.

Day Two

On the second day of the conference, January 10, participants continued their conversations from the day prior and also discussed successes, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats within the FPMT organization from their perspectives. Prior to that, H.E. Ling Rinpoche addressed the geshes through Zoom in a very inspiring talk that we encourage you to read in full  His Eminence shared a moving account of the accomplishments of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche:

“Where the teachings had not spread before, they newly spread them, and where they had declined, they restored them. There are over one-hundred FPMT centers now. And these were all founded not with a worldly intention to make a profit or something; rather they were all developed with a pure wish to benefit transmigratory sentient beings. Since they were developed with such a vast intention, they are incredibly beneficial to the Buddha’s teachings. Much benefit has come about.”

H.E. also emphasized how “extremely important for all the geshes to meet together. There is nothing more important at this time than to support the FPMT. It was predicted that the Buddha’s teachings will remain for 5,000 years in this world. Now 2,500 years have passed so it is possible that the teachings will remain for another 2,500 years. But for the teachings of both scripture and realization to remain depends on making effort in both scholarship and practice. For this purpose, it is important for the spiritual teachers giving teachings, and especially all the geshes who are still alive, to continue today to make efforts as they have so well in the past until now. It is important for those who’ve gathered for this meeting to share their intentions to accomplish the holy wishes of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and especially the intentions of the respected Lama Zopa Rinpoche as you all have been long acquainted with Rinpoche’s wishes.”

H.E. also insisted that it is important to make extensive prayers to find the true reincarnation of Rinpoche quickly, that Rinpoche’s activities can be continued, and that all the aims of the FPMT organization to benefit sentient beings in a vast way through the various centers are successful. H.E expressed that he will pray that the FPMT will develop even more than before. Link to full transcript of this talk. 

FPMT Geshe Conference participants listening to H.E. Ling Rinpoche’s advice over Zoom.

Day Three

On the third day of the conference, January 11, participants talked more about the FPMT organization and what it offers to all beings. It was recognized that if the FPMT is a reference point for authentic Buddhism, it is thanks to the work of the geshes in the centers.

FPMT Inc. board member, Karuna Cayton, shared the board’s current plans and ideas for the future of the FPMT organization.

International Office’s COO Francois Lecointre presented an overview of FPMT’s Education programs and the needs, successes, and challenges in this area.

FPMT geshes breaking out into small groups to discuss and share.

On the last session of day three, swift return prayers for Lama Zopa Rinpoche, as well as the lamrim dedication prayers, were chanted by all. Ven Pemba recounted, “I really felt Lama Zopa Rinpoche was there with us for this was it was a great offering to Rinpoche. I felt Rinpoche must be very pleased with this gathering of geshes discussing how to carry forward Lama Yeshe and Rinpoche’s lineage and legacy into the future. I earnestly felt that Rinpoche’s holy mind was always guiding us and blessing us throughout the conferences.”

FPMT Geshe Conference participants on pilgrimage outside the Vajra Yogini Temple at Pharping. Photo by Geshe Lobsang Tengyur

Puja and Pilgrimage

The conference was followed on the next day by a very powerful Most Secret Hayagriva Tsok Kong puja dedicated in particular to all involved in FPMT, centers, teachers, staff, students, etc. This puja was joined by other monks and lama gyupas who hadn’t participated in the conference.

Hayagriva puja offered by Geshe Conference participants and Kopan Sangha. Photo courtesy of Kopan Monastery.

Thanks to the organizers in Kopan, the geshes were then able during the next two days to go on a pilgrimage of several of the holy sites of the Kathmandu Valley, praying in each holy place for Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s swift return, among other prayers.

When asked if Ven. Pemba had anything else to share about the Geshe Conference, or the FPMT organization in general, he said:

“FPMT students should rejoice and be grateful to our guru, founder, and remember Lama Yeshe’s and Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s kindness all the time even though for some have never met the two lamas, but in the same way as we also never met Buddha, Nagarjuna, and Lama Tsogkhapa and all the lineage gurus, we have cultivated great devotion and admiration to them and their teachings.

“The entire FPMT family is very fortunate due to the two great lamas– Lama Yeshe’s and Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s vision and mission and their compassion and kindness which has provided us a great Dharma environment and centers around the world with such greatly qualified geshes from some of the greatest monastic universities of our time.

“For the organization to have over 50 great geshes teaching in the FPMT centers, monasteries, and nunneries around the world is something the students should know and rejoice about. This is not a simple and easy task at all what the two lamas have achieved for Buddha and Dharma and suffering beings during this time of degeneration.

“We, the entire FPMT family now have a great responsibility to protect, lead, and disseminate the great teaching lineage and legacy of our  beloved guru founders together with one aim and purpose. As Rinpoche used to advise us: the very purpose of the organization and purpose of our life is to free all mother sentient beings from all the suffering and lead them to Buddhahood and for that the organization has to exist entirely due to compassion and devotions.

“I make a humble request to the FPMT family: Please pray and dedicate for Rinpoche’s true and unmistaken reincarnation to return as quickly as possible in a place where the reincarnation can be very quickly recognized. Please pray that the reincarnation can complete all the studies as soon as possible and resume carrying out the legacy of Rinpoche’s past life and therefore be of the most benefit to sentient beings. May this reincarnation be able to offer extensive benefit to the world and each one of us with Dharma practice and teaching in the same way as the past life inspired us. May the teachings of Buddha and all the other holy activities of Rinpoche’s organization become of the greatest benefit to all mother sentient beings.”

A tremendously heartfelt offering of thanks to Kopan Monastery, its managers, and staff members for their generosity and wholehearted support in every step of the way from receiving guests at the airport, to taking them back to airport after the seven days of full activities, plus many other acts of kindness and service to all in attendance of this important conference. Thanks also to Karen Molina’s report of the conference, which was consulted for this report.

Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.