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The students of Choe Khor Sum Ling attending Discovering Buddhism lectures, 2016. Photo by Sveta Guralnik.
In May 2016, five students of Choe Khor Sum Ling in Bangalore, India, completed all the lectures for the first 13 modules of the 14-module FPMT Discovering Buddhism (DB) program series, a process that took three years to complete and is a first for the center. Although still waiting for the 13th exam to be scheduled, these same students also completed all the exams and retreats associated with the earlier modules. The 14th module is practice-based and is done according to one’s own schedule.
“We’ve been blessed to have four fantastic teachers, with three of them dedicating much of their precious time and effort to the DB program,” said student Sveta Guralnik. “Ven. Tenzin Legtsok’s lectures have been so captivatingly brilliant that even a clock on the wall would hold its breath and forget to tick.
“DB retreats led by Ven. Tenzin Namdak were all just equal to vacations spent in a real pure land, where we have had a direct experience of how studying the Dharma can become the most meaningful and joyous thing to do in the whole world.
The students of Choe Khor Sum Ling attending Discovering Buddhism lectures, 2016. Photo by Sveta Guralnik.
“Ven. Tenzin Namjong, while facilitating regular highly inspiring DB sessions, has tackled the most time-consuming and, perhaps, the least pleasant part of the teacher’s duties: the DB exams. Thanks to his firm determination to set (and keep!) the bar pretty high, and to his almost supernatural attentiveness to each student’s individual needs, the DB students have been able to achieve a level that they themselves did not believe was ever achievable.
“While the DB course was going on, our forth and very dear teacher Ven. Gyalten Rabten kept enriching our minds and hearts through the series of his delightfully artistic lectures and heart-warming pujas.”
“This fabulous DB journey would not have been possible without its navigator and devoted coordinator Shanti Gopinath, to whom we all owe a big thank you.”
In total, 56 students from Choe Khor Sum Ling took one or more modules over the last three years.
Mandala brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings and events from nearly 160 FPMT centers, projects and services around the globe. If you like what you read on Mandala, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.
Khen Rinpoche Geshe Gendun Choephel. Photo via Facebook (Osel Hita).
We are sad to announce that on July 31, 2016, Sera Je abbot Khen Rinpoche Geshe Gendun Choephel suddenly passed away. Among Khen Rinpoche’s many students is Tenzin Ösel Hita, the recognized reincarnation of FPMT founder Lama Yeshe.
Khen Rinpoche Geshe Gendun Choephel was born in 1941 in Karze in eastern Tibet. He later joined Sera Je Monastery in 1955 and went into exile in India in 1959, joining the Buxa Duar community to study and practice. He was among the foremost group who re-established Sera Je in Bylakuppe, South India. After earning his Lharampa Geshe degree, Khen Rinpoche began teaching at the monastery and did so for the rest of his life. He was enthroned as the 75th abbot of Sera Je Monastery on July 18, 2016.
Enthronement ceremony of Khen Rinpoche Geshe Gendun Choephel, Sera Je Monastery, Bylakuppe, South India, July 2016. Photo via http://www.serajeymonastery.org
“My dearest and most precious Teacher, Friend, Mother, Father and Khen Rinpoche, Geshe Gendun Choephel, just passed away in a very sudden way,” Ösel wrote on his Facebook page on July 31. “He was the closest person in my life, he raised me and gave me everything, taught me and loved me like no one else. It is devastating and so hard to accept, but I feel joy for having known him and it has been such an honor to grow up under his guidance. Thank you so much Gen-la, you are always in my heart.”
Mandala will have a complete obituary for Khen Rinpoche Geshe Gendun Choephel in the January-June 2017 issue.
Sera Je monks reciting texts for Khen Rinpoche Geshe Gendun Choephel, Sera Je Monastery, South India, July 2016. Photo via Facebook (Sera Jey Monastery).
Andy Wistreich and other students at the first annual Land of Joy Dharma Festival of Light and Merit, UK, July 2016. Photo courtesy of Land of Joy.
“From July 1-3, 2016, Land of Joy, a retreat center in the United Kingdom, held its first Dharma Festival of Light and Merit,” shared Land of Joy board member and FPMT-registered teacher Andy Wistreich. “The main purpose of the festival is to create merit and also to offer a time each year when people can come together to refresh their practice and celebrate Dharma in a light-hearted and sociable way.
“It was an intensely joyous experience. The festival began on Friday evening with Lama Chöpa, followed on Saturday by recitation of the Vajra Cutter Sutra and Four Mandala Offerings to Cittamani Tara. On Saturday afternoon, Ven. Mary Reavey led an inspiring talk and discussion session on the transition to Dharma in our lives, pressing us to be honest with ourselves in our practice. Saturday evening, after a tour of the center’s grounds, we participated in a moving and lengthy offering of lights in the gompa. On Sunday morning we recited the FPMT protector prayers, the Ganapati sutra and mantra, and in the afternoon explored in a motivating discussion the purpose and benefits of retreat, especially solitary retreat.
“The festival is just the latest merit-making activity of a project that from the start has focused single-pointedly on creating merit for success. We have received and followed to the letter a series of advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche – and they have worked. We are now mounting a campaign to collect 108,000 Ganapati mantras, with 108 people reciting seven mantras per day, by November 20. Please join us!
Students at the first annual Land of Joy Dharma Festival of Light and Merit, UK, July 2016. Photo courtesy of Land of Joy.
“The results of all this merit are beginning to emerge clearly. Around two years ago, Lama Zopa Rinpoche visited Greenaugh Hall, prior to purchase, and with Rinpoche’s blessing we acquired the property and are creating a land of joy. Plans for next year already include the approximation retreats of Yamantaka and Vajrayogini, a lam-rim retreat, Introduction to Tantra, the Heart Sutra, Nagarjuna’s Root Wisdom, and Tsongkhapa’s Essence of Eloquence, nyung näs, and much more. Sign up for our newsletter in order to get news of when bookings open for these retreats.”
Mandala brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings and events from nearly 160 FPMT centers, projects and services around the globe. If you like what you read on Mandala, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche offering Ven. Thubten Kunsang a khata blessed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama for Ven. Kunsang, Sera Monastery, India, January 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
We are sad to share the news that the French monk Ven. Thubten Kunsang (Henri Lopez) passed away on Sunday, July 24, at 11:46 a.m. in India due to cancer. Ven. Kunsang traveled with Lama Zopa Rinpoche for many years, recording Rinpoche’s talks and spontaneous teachings for the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive and taking thousands of photos that have been shared on FPMT.org and in Mandala magazine. He was a familiar and friendly face within the international FPMT community, known for his incredible warmth, generosity and kindness. He will be missed by many, many people around the world.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Ven. Thubten Kunsang, Sera Monastery, India, January 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche sent the following message to ordained Sangha after Ven. Kunsang had passed away.
Dear Sangha,
We believed there was real Kunsang and now that real Kunsang is not there, but that’s the reality, and like that all the phenomena, yourself, action and object, all phenomena, samsara and nirvana are like that.
Please right now when you get this, please to do the short Medicine Buddha sadhana and Padmasambhava prayer Sampa Lhundrupma.
Dedicated to Ven. Kunsang (Henri Lopez) who has just passed away in India at 11:46 a.m.
Dedicate that he may be immediately born in a pure land where he can achieve enlightenment as quickly as possible or to receive at least a perfect human rebirth, meet the Mahayana teachings, meet a perfectly qualified Mahayana Guru, who reveals the path to enlightenment and by pleasing the holy mind of the virtuous friend, then by himself to achieve enlightenment as quickly as possible.
With much love and prayers,
Lama Zopa
Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Ven. Thubten Kunsang, Sera Monastery, India, January 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Jean Yves took care of Ven. Kunsang in the last few months of his life and sent a photo of Ven. Kunsang, his brother Emile and Jean Yves to Lama Zopa Rinpoche, who asked his attendant Ven. Sherab to Photoshop Rinpoche into the picture. Ven. Sherab did and sent the photo back to Ven. Kunsang, his brother and Jean Yves with the message: “Rinpoche looking after Kunsang , JY and brother Emile from behind and above!”
Lama Zopa Rinpoche added to a photo of Emile, Ven. Kunsang and Jean Yves, India
Many pujas were arranged for Ven. Kunsang. In addition, Nalanda Monastery is making 400 long-life tsa-tsas and Peter Iseli will make a White Tara thangka.
Links to text recommended by Rinpoche, Medicine Buddha Sadhana:
https://fpmt.org/wp-content/uploads/education/prayers/medicine_buddha_sadhana_c5.pdf
“Sampa Lhundrupma”:
http://www.tibetanbuddhistaltar.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/SAMPA-LHUNDRUP-5x8k.pdf
There will be an obituary for Ven. Kunsang in the next issue of Mandala magazine.
For more on practices recommended by Lama Zopa Rinpoche at time of death and other resources to support yourself and loved ones at time of death, please visit fpmt.org/death/.
Pradip Rajbhandari (center in blue) and family visited FPMT International Office and Maitripa College’s Jokhang, Portland, Oregon, US, June 2016.
On June 2, the staff of FPMT International Office in Portland, Oregon, US, had tea with Pradip Rajbhandari, the Nepali co-owner, with Birendra Shahi and founder Surendra Bahadur Shahi, of the workshop responsible for creation of all of the hand-painted thangkas found in the Foundation Store. During the tea, store manager Diana Ospina asked Pradip to talk a little bit about the history of his business and the effects the April 2015 earthquake had on his workers.
This thangka of the 35 Buddhas of Confession is painted specifically for the Foundation Store to be accurate with FPMT practice texts.
According to Pradip, there were few Tibetan-style thangka makers in Nepal in the 1950s. It wasn’t until Tibetan refugees came in the mid-1960s and established Tibetan Buddhism that thangka painting became popular as the Theravada practitioners already in Nepal preferred Newari art. Eventually, Lama Zopa Rinpoche visited the workshop, which was founded in 1973, and began to recommend it to Kopan Monastery and its visitors, citing that the images were accurate and beneficial.
Over the years the workshop has done well, however, the April 2015 earthquake created difficulties. “I was in the shop when it hit,” Pradip shared. “There was nowhere really to go because it is a very narrow building – it lasted about 56 seconds. There was not a lot of damage to the shop, but if you went to the village side, the houses were razed. The brocade providers were not affected, but the 300 painters and apprentices come from the hard-hit areas, making thangkas difficult to produce.
“Domestic politics and unofficial blockades made common goods scarce for a time. And still today there might be no electricity for 14 hours a day.”
Pradip also talked about how thangkas in Nepal are sold today. “Ninety-five percent of thangkas in Tibet come from Nepal,” he said. “Our clients come from the United States and Europe, but the majority come from China – Beijing, Chengdu and Lhasa – and many buy them for practice. Individuals and the government are now beginning to restore temples that were destroyed after the Cultural Revolution. In general, business has really grown with the influx of Chinese customers.”
Co-owner Birendra Shahi (right) with Tibetan artist Robert Beer, Surendra’s Tibetan Thanka Treasure, Kathmandu, Nepal, May 2016. Photo via Facebook (Surendra’s Tibetan Thanka Treasure).
Lama Zopa Rinpoche has given extensive commentary on the benefits of having and making offerings to holy objects such as thangkas. Thangkas created in Pradip’s workshop are available through the Foundation Store.
Mandala brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings and events from nearly 160 FPMT centers, projects and services around the globe. If you like what you read on Mandala, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.
Kshitigarbha. 1.8 million recitations of the long Kshitigarbha mantra were needed to help mitigate possible earthquakes.
Recently, Land of Medicine Buddha announced that 1,840,962 recitations of the Kshitigarbha long mantra had been accumulated, completing the remaining advice Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave for preventing and pacifying earthquakes in California and the rest of the world. A total of 912 individuals and groups participated. Special thanks was offered to the students in Taiwan, who collected 423,700 recitations.
The other practices advised by Rinpoche had already been completed, reflecting the dedication and generosity of hundreds of students around the world. According to a February 2016 report, FPMT students collected US$31,100 to sponsor four recitations of the Tengyur; took the eight Mahayana precepts 2,436 times (the final total in July 2016 was 2,591); and completed six extensive Medicine Buddha pujas, all in addition to reciting the long Kshitigarbha mantra 1.8 million times.
Students contributed other practices to the effort too, including 382 recitations of the Kshitigarbha Sutra of Past Vows in Chinese and English; 110,800 short Kshitigarbha mantras; and 2,198 medium-length Kshitigarbha mantras.
You can find more advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche on earthquakes and tsunami here:
https://fpmt.org/teachers/zopa/advice/tsunami-and-earthquakes/
FPMT.org brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings and events from nearly 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 on the way to airport, Taiwan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Welcome to the July FPMT International Office e-News!
This month we bring you:
- An update to Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Schedule
- How FPMT Charitable Projects support His Holiness the Dalai Lama
- What’s in the new issue of Mandala magazine!
- An introduction to a new FPMT study group
…and more!
From your FPMT International Office
COVER: Lama Thubten Yeshe with child at Maitreya Instituut, the Netherlands, 1981. Photo by Ina van Delden. Digital enhancement by David Zinn. Photo courtesy of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.
The latest issue of Mandala is in the mail to Friends of FPMT supporters and others who receive the magazine through their local FPMT center.
The new issue explores Universal Education, Lama Yeshe’s vision for transmitting the essence of Buddhadharma to people of every age and background. We also share teachings from His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Lama Zopa Rinpoche; interviews with Lama Yeshe, Robert Thurman and Jon Landaw; stories about Universal Education-related work being done at by Foundation for Developing Compassion and Wisdom, Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa and Maitripa College; and more!
It’s not too late to receive the new issue! Become a Friend of FPMT today or order an individual copy through the FPMT Foundation Store.
Wisdom Publications, an FPMT-affiliated publishing house located in the United States, now offers Wisdom Academy and Wisdom Journal as part of its efforts to bring quality Buddhist books to the wider world.
B. Alan Wallace. Photo: http://learn.wisdompubs.org/
Wisdom Academy, an online learning community that launched in May 2016, currently offers “Introduction to Dzogchen” by B. Allan Wallace, a 10-week course that makes use of video lectures and instruction, guided audio meditations, PDF readings, a live Q & A with Wallace himself, and discussion forums with classmates. Future courses are scheduled with Ven. Thubten Chodron about the book Buddhism: One Teacher, Many Traditions and David Loy on “Buddhism in the Modern World.”
In June, Wisdom Journal, a biannual content-rich catalog, was published for the first time. This redesigned catalog now features extensive excerpts with beautiful images, giving readers a chance to get a real taste of Wisdom’s collection of new books before purchase.
Also in June, Wisdom announced Daniel Aitken as its newest publisher. Daniel’s background includes a decade of corporate and consumer marketing experience with multinationals such as Canon and large financial firms such as Westpac Bank. He also reads Sanskrit and Tibetan and has recently submitted his doctoral dissertation in Buddhist philosophy under the guidance of Professor Jay Garfield. Daniel is a close student of Geshe Ngawang Samten, resident geshe of FPMT center Vajrayana Institute in Australia.
Daniel Aitken. Photo courtesy of Wisdom Publications.
Since September 2015, Wisdom continues to offer fascinating podcasts with notable Buddhist figures. You can listen to amazing interviews with such people as Prof. Robert Thurman, Bhikkhu Bodhi, Shaila Catherine, and Christina Feldman, in addition to many others.
Contact marketing@wisdompubs.org to get on the Wisdom Journal mailing list.
FPMT.org brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings and events from nearly 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 arriving at the Maitreya Buddha Kushinagar Project foundation stone laying ceremony, Kushinagar, India, December 13, 2013. Photo by Andy Melnic.
The Maitreya Buddha Project Kushinagar and Buddha Maitreya Bodhgaya (formerly, Maitreya Project Bodhgaya), projects to build large statues of Maitreya Buddha in Kushinagar and Bodhgaya, India, continue to make progress.
A scale replica of the Maitreya Buddha statue to be built at Kushinagar, India, Photo by Andy Melnic.
On December 13, 2013, Lama Zopa Rinpoche attended and spoke at the foundation stone laying ceremony for the Maitreya Buddha Project Kushinagar. Long-time student Peter Kedge has carried out much work since then.
“The complex and unique legal process by which Maitreya Buddha Project Kushinagar will be able to take possession of the land is close to complete,” Peter reported. “As soon as the project takes possession of the land, [we] begin the process of fencing the several kilometers of perimeter, moving the 24-foot (7-meter) Maitreya statue from Bodhgaya to the Kushinagar land, installing the collection of relics Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s kindness has made available, and beginning site structure and planning for the eventual construction of the main Maitreya Buddha statue on site.”
Student Nita Ing, who is director of Buddha Maitreya Bodhgaya, shared news about the work being done in Bodhgaya, the site of Shakyamuni Buddha’s enlightenment:
“The project, due to many years of difficulties, has been pending for the past few years without any progress, despite continuous follow up and efforts to break through the problems of land exchange with the government, as well as legal issues with the land title.
“A new project team has been on board since November 2012, and presently there is some work that is being undertaken on site: 1) the construction of boundary walls surrounding the site, and 2) a prototype of Buddha Maitreya in the sitting vajra lotus position is being made in Nepal. Since November 2012, the project has not accepted any offerings, and will remain so until there is substantial work in progress.”
Lama Zopa Rinpoche during his speech with Maitreya Project trustee Ven. Kabir Saxena interpreting into Hindi, Kushinagar, India, December 13, 2013. Photos by Andy Melnic.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche wrote about his reasons for building the statues in a letter available on FPMT.org.
Mandala’s ongoing coverage of the Maitreya Projects can be read online.
Visit the Maitreya Buddha Project Kushinagar homepage to learn more and offer your support: http://mbpkushinagar.org/
FPMT.org brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings and events from nearly 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.
Thubten Gyatso and others install marble statues of the 18 Arhats, Thubten Shedrup Ling Monastery, Myers Flat, Australia, May 2016. Photo courtesy of Thubten Shedrup Ling.
In late May, Thubten Shedrup Ling Monasatery near Bendigo, Australia, received and installed a shipment of solid marble statues of Shakyamuni Buddha and the 18 Arhats carved in Vietnam. The entire project was sponsored by Quang Minh Buddhist Temple, a Vietnamese Buddhist group in Braybrook, Australia.
Thubten Gyatso and others install the marble statues of the 18 Arhats, Thubten Shedrup Ling Monastery, Myers Flat, Australia, May 2016. Photo courtesy of Thubten Shedrup Ling.
The marble statues of the 18 Arhats waiting for installation, Thubten Shedrup Ling Monastery, Myers Flat, Australia, May 2016. Photo courtesy of Thubten Shedrup Ling.
Thubten Gyatso (Adrian Feldmann) coordinated the project at Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s request, finding the marble quarry and artisans in Vietnam, and providing the sculptors the images on which to base the carvings. Each statue weighs three-quarters of a ton (about 1,680 pounds).
Now that the statues have been installed on monastery property, Gyatso will begin work on the surrounding landscape.
The marble statues of the 18 Arhats, Thubten Shedrup Ling Monastery, Myers Flat, Australia, May 2016. Photo courtesy of Thubten Shedrup Ling.
Marble arhat statue, Thubten Shedrup Ling Monastery, Myers Flat, Australia, May 2016. Photo courtesy of Thubten Shedrup Ling.
FPMT.org brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings and events from nearly 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.
Project director Ian Green welcomes the Jade Buddha’s 10 millionth visitor, Vo Quoc Tinh who was visiting from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, May 2016. Photo via Twitter @JadeBuddhaPeace.
“The Jade Buddha for Universal Peace has reached a huge milestone –10 million people have now visited the Jade Buddha in the last seven years,” reported project staff.
“The Jade Buddha for Universal Peace is still on the world tour, inspiring everyone who sees him to reflect upon peace. He has now traveled to around 100 cities across Australia, USA, Canada, Taiwan, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, Japan, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, France and Singapore. In the process, the Jade Buddha has covered almost the same distance as that from Earth to the moon.
“On May 13 during the showing at Chùa Bái Đính, Ninh Bình, Vietnam, the Jade Buddha has reached a huge milestone: welcoming the 10 millionth visitor.
“The Jade Buddha is booked out for the rest of this year with the second tour of Vietnam and will embark on a tour to Korea in 2017. The Korean tour will go to six major cities in South Korea and there are even plans for a visit to Pyongyang in the North!
“When the tour is eventually over in four to five years, the Jade Buddha will come to its final home at the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion in Bendigo, Australia.”
Mandala brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings and events from nearly 160 FPMT centers, projects and services around the globe. If you like what you read on Mandala, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.
Wording on the commemorative khata for the 10 millionth visitor, Ninh Bình, Vietnam, May 2016. Photo via Twitter @JadeBuddhaPeace.