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Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition
The FPMT is an organization devoted to preserving and spreading Mahayana Buddhism worldwide by creating opportunities to listen, reflect, meditate, practice and actualize the unmistaken teachings of the Buddha and based on that experience spreading the Dharma to sentient beings. We provide integrated education through which people’s minds and hearts can be transformed into their highest potential for the benefit of others, inspired by an attitude of universal responsibility and service. We are committed to creating harmonious environments and helping all beings develop their full potential of infinite wisdom and compassion. Our organization is based on the Buddhist tradition of Lama Tsongkhapa of Tibet as taught to us by our founders Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche.
- Willkommen
Die Stiftung zur Erhaltung der Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) ist eine Organisation, die sich weltweit für die Erhaltung und Verbreitung des Mahayana-Buddhismus einsetzt, indem sie Möglichkeiten schafft, den makellosen Lehren des Buddha zuzuhören, über sie zur reflektieren und zu meditieren und auf der Grundlage dieser Erfahrung das Dharma unter den Lebewesen zu verbreiten.
Wir bieten integrierte Schulungswege an, durch denen der Geist und das Herz der Menschen in ihr höchstes Potential verwandelt werden zum Wohl der anderen – inspiriert durch eine Haltung der universellen Verantwortung und dem Wunsch zu dienen. Wir haben uns verpflichtet, harmonische Umgebungen zu schaffen und allen Wesen zu helfen, ihr volles Potenzial unendlicher Weisheit und grenzenlosen Mitgefühls zu verwirklichen.
Unsere Organisation basiert auf der buddhistischen Tradition von Lama Tsongkhapa von Tibet, so wie sie uns von unseren Gründern Lama Thubten Yeshe und Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche gelehrt wird.
- Bienvenidos
La Fundación para la preservación de la tradición Mahayana (FPMT) es una organización que se dedica a preservar y difundir el budismo Mahayana en todo el mundo, creando oportunidades para escuchar, reflexionar, meditar, practicar y actualizar las enseñanzas inconfundibles de Buda y en base a esa experiencia difundir el Dharma a los seres.
Proporcionamos una educación integrada a través de la cual las mentes y los corazones de las personas se pueden transformar en su mayor potencial para el beneficio de los demás, inspirados por una actitud de responsabilidad y servicio universales. Estamos comprometidos a crear ambientes armoniosos y ayudar a todos los seres a desarrollar todo su potencial de infinita sabiduría y compasión.
Nuestra organización se basa en la tradición budista de Lama Tsongkhapa del Tíbet como nos lo enseñaron nuestros fundadores Lama Thubten Yeshe y Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
A continuación puede ver una lista de los centros y sus páginas web en su lengua preferida.
- Bienvenue
L’organisation de la FPMT a pour vocation la préservation et la diffusion du bouddhisme du mahayana dans le monde entier. Elle offre l’opportunité d’écouter, de réfléchir, de méditer, de pratiquer et de réaliser les enseignements excellents du Bouddha, pour ensuite transmettre le Dharma à tous les êtres. Nous proposons une formation intégrée grâce à laquelle le cœur et l’esprit de chacun peuvent accomplir leur potentiel le plus élevé pour le bien d’autrui, inspirés par le sens du service et une responsabilité universelle. Nous nous engageons à créer un environnement harmonieux et à aider tous les êtres à épanouir leur potentiel illimité de compassion et de sagesse. Notre organisation s’appuie sur la tradition guéloukpa de Lama Tsongkhapa du Tibet, telle qu’elle a été enseignée par nos fondateurs Lama Thoubtèn Yéshé et Lama Zopa Rinpoché.
Visitez le site de notre Editions Mahayana pour les traductions, conseils et nouvelles du Bureau international en français.
Voici une liste de centres et de leurs sites dans votre langue préférée
- Benvenuto
L’FPMT è un organizzazione il cui scopo è preservare e diffondere il Buddhismo Mahayana nel mondo, creando occasioni di ascolto, riflessione, meditazione e pratica dei perfetti insegnamenti del Buddha, al fine di attualizzare e diffondere il Dharma fra tutti gli esseri senzienti.
Offriamo un’educazione integrata, che può trasformare la mente e i cuori delle persone nel loro massimo potenziale, per il beneficio di tutti gli esseri, ispirati da un’attitudine di responsabilità universale e di servizio.
Il nostro obiettivo è quello di creare contesti armoniosi e aiutare tutti gli esseri a sviluppare in modo completo le proprie potenzialità di infinita saggezza e compassione.
La nostra organizzazione si basa sulla tradizione buddhista di Lama Tsongkhapa del Tibet, così come ci è stata insegnata dai nostri fondatori Lama Thubten Yeshe e Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
Di seguito potete trovare un elenco dei centri e dei loro siti nella lingua da voi prescelta.
- 欢迎 / 歡迎
简体中文
“护持大乘法脉基金会”( 英文简称:FPMT。全名:Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition) 是一个致力于护持和弘扬大乘佛法的国际佛教组织。我们提供听闻,思维,禅修,修行和实证佛陀无误教法的机会,以便让一切众生都能够享受佛法的指引和滋润。
我们全力创造和谐融洽的环境, 为人们提供解行并重的完整佛法教育,以便启发内在的环宇悲心及责任心,并开发内心所蕴藏的巨大潜能 — 无限的智慧与悲心 — 以便利益和服务一切有情。
FPMT的创办人是图腾耶喜喇嘛和喇嘛梭巴仁波切。我们所修习的是由两位上师所教导的,西藏喀巴大师的佛法传承。
繁體中文
護持大乘法脈基金會”( 英文簡稱:FPMT。全名:Found
ation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition ) 是一個致力於護持和弘揚大乘佛法的國際佛教組織。我們提供聽聞, 思維,禪修,修行和實證佛陀無誤教法的機會,以便讓一切眾生都能 夠享受佛法的指引和滋潤。 我們全力創造和諧融洽的環境,
為人們提供解行並重的完整佛法教育,以便啟發內在的環宇悲心及責 任心,並開發內心所蘊藏的巨大潛能 — 無限的智慧與悲心 – – 以便利益和服務一切有情。 FPMT的創辦人是圖騰耶喜喇嘛和喇嘛梭巴仁波切。
我們所修習的是由兩位上師所教導的,西藏喀巴大師的佛法傳承。 察看道场信息:
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Like molding dough in your hand, you can definitely turn your mind whichever way you want.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche
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The Foundation Store is FPMT’s online shop and features a vast selection of Buddhist study and practice materials written or recommended by our lineage gurus. These items include homestudy programs, prayers and practices in PDF or eBook format, materials for children, and other resources to support practitioners.
Items displayed in the shop are made available for Dharma practice and educational purposes, and never for the purpose of profiting from their sale. Please read FPMT Foundation Store Policy Regarding Dharma Items for more information.
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FPMT Spiritual Director Lama Zopa Rinpoche regularly encourages Western students to undertake serious, in-depth study of Buddha’s teachings. Rinpoche advises this to his students not only for their personal benefit, but because once they complete their studies, they are able to teach others.
Geshe Tenzin Namdak, a Dutch monk who spent more than two decades studying at Sera Je Monastic University in India, exemplifies this potential. His ability to combine the traditional Buddhist monastic education with a modern Western sensibility makes him a profoundly qualified teacher for students at FPMT centers. And in the short space of nearly three years, Geshe Namdak has offered teachings to hundreds of appreciative students around the world.
Kamlo Chen-Duffy, the spiritual program coordinator at Jamyang London Buddhist Centre, shared this profile of Geshe Tenzin Namdak, who currently serves as the center’s FPMT resident geshe.
On May 8, 2017, Geshe Tenzin Namdak became the first Westerner to complete the twenty-year-long Geshe degree at Sera Je Monastic University. With that, his name joined a short but inspiring list of Westerners who have completed geshe studies programs, including Geshe Kelsang Wangmo and Geshe Tenzin Losel (Graham Woodhouse). This momentous achievement was followed by the completion of traditional postgraduate studies at Gyudmed Tantric College in India, solidifying Geshe Namdak’s status as a paragon and torchbearer for Dharma students practicing within the Nalanda tradition, both in the West and around the world.
Shortly after Geshe Namdak’s graduation, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, who is Geshe Namdak’s root guru, appointed him as the resident teacher of Jamyang London Buddhist Centre. Geshe Namdak follows an illustrious line of resident teachers at Jamyang, including Geshe Namgyal Wangchen and Sera Mey Khen Rinpoche Geshe Tashi Tsering. In the summer of 2019, Geshe Namdak became the present custodian of this forty-year-old community, quickly building a rapport with its students, who were deeply grateful for his arrival.
During his first years in this post, Geshe-la, as he is called, has placed an emphasis on in-depth Buddhist study, recognizing the great benefit students derive from pursuing the structured study pathways provided by FPMT Education Programs. Geshe-la has highlighted the importance of this kind of education to students:
Why are we studying these in-depth aspects of Buddhism? Basically, to eliminate suffering for self and others. To commit yourself to something is good. If you really want to step further in your understanding of the Buddhist path, though it asks for effort, commit yourself to something like this. … Then it starts to come alive.
This focus on structured learning at Jamyang began with the launch of Discovering Buddhism, a Foundational FPMT Education Program. The cohort of students who embarked on this study path with Geshe-la celebrated completing the course in July 2021. At the end of the final teaching, students were invited to share their reflections.
“We all really want to thank you from the depths of our hearts for your incredible, skillful, and prudent guidance over the last three years on this fantastic journey of Discovering Buddhism,” said Nick Holzinger, speaking to Geshe Namdak on behalf of his peers. “Thank you for your amazing kindness and love. Thank you for your patience. And thank you especially for the incredible Dharma wisdom that you shared with us.”
Given Geshe Namdak’s dedication to providing in-depth study, it is perhaps unsurprising that he would next turn his attention toward the FPMT Basic Program (BP), which is a five-year course of advanced study. Before undertaking such a long-term commitment, Geshe-la checked with Lama Zopa Rinpoche about whether it would be of benefit. Rinpoche confirmed that commencing the BP at Jamyang would indeed be the best next step for the center. His observations were quickly corroborated when registration for the course opened in the summer of 2020 and Jamyang received more than two hundred applications from interested students worldwide.
This level of enthusiasm certainly exceeded expectations. As Geshe-la said during Jamyang’s Open Day for prospective program students, “There was a trend that in-depth studies maybe had less interest in recent years, but now I see there is a lot of interest. So I’m very happy to see that. That’s a sign of being extremely fortunate.”
Even in its second year, the BP at Jamyang has already had a transformative effect on the lives and minds of many students. They are being nurtured, supported, and encouraged by Geshe Namdak and a dedicated group of teaching assistants, who are graduates from the previous round of BP at Jamyang. Students are now used to Geshe-la urging them to persevere. “Studying to become a Buddha” is no easy task, he says, but a defeatist attitude that balks at the challenge is “not very constructive” and in the end “gives the victory to the afflictions.”
Geshe Namdak’s students have come to see the advantages of studying in a systematized manner and appreciate the value of being able to do that under the guidance of someone as learned as Geshe-la. “With each and every teaching I realize more and more how privileged we are to have Geshe Namdak as the resident teacher here at Jamyang. It feels like an impossible task to fully understand how precious it is to have him as our teacher,” said Adam South, a BP student. “His humility, patience, and kind nature are a testimony to the effectiveness of the Dharma. His ability to skillfully navigate the complexities of Dharma teachings while maintaining a light-hearted attitude makes Jamyang a wonderful place for in-depth study.”
With Geshe Namdak’s 2020 cycle of the FPMT Basic Program having firmly taken root, an exciting new project has begun to germinate: the Exploring Buddhism course. This new Foundational FPMT Education Program covers carefully selected topics of Buddhist philosophy and practice. These are compiled and presented in modules that help students build a good foundation for advanced studies. At the request of Ven. Joan Nicell, who at that time served as FPMT’s Foundational Program Coordinator, Geshe Namdak drafted the initial course in collaboration with Ven. Tenzin Legtsok, who is currently studying at Sera Je Monastic University. At present Exploring Buddhism is under further development by FPMT Education Services and is being piloted by various FPMT centers in several countries, enabling FPMT students worldwide to advance in their Dharma education.
As we all know, 2020 was no ordinary year. The pandemic changed the way many Dharma centers provide teachings to students. Geshe Namdak, like innumerable other teachers, had to adapt to using video conferencing platforms to give teachings. Out of this disruption, however, new opportunities arose. Teachers found themselves able to connect with a greater number of students. Indeed, many of those studying the FPMT Basic Program with Geshe-la do so remotely, from around the globe.
Even while Jamyang was in lock-down, online teaching allowed Geshe Namdak to continue to accept invitations to teach from other centers and study groups, extending his activities far beyond the stone walls of the courthouse where Jamyang is situated in London. For example, Saraswati Study Group in Somerset, UK, is mid-way through its own cycle of the FPMT Basic Program. Geshe-la has been teaching the group on specific subjects.
“We have already benefited significantly from Geshe Namdak’s teachings. He is so clear,” said Neil Atkinson, Saraswati’s coordinator. “It’s a very secure basis on which to practice. I have the instinctive feeling that if one listens, reflects, and then meditates on what Geshe-la says, the scope for making mistakes or for things going awry is very small.”
Being able to teach remotely also removes the demands of international travel. And Geshe Namdak has certainly made the most of this opportunity, teaching as far afield as the Netherlands (his home country); Bangalore, India; New York; and Madrid, Spain. Due to specific advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Geshe-la has also given well-attended teachings on philosophy to students at Nalanda Monastery in France.
“I am extremely lucky to be Geshe Namdak’s student,” said Conchi Fernandez, who is the spiritual program coordinator of Nagarjuna Centro de Estudios Budismo Tibetano in Madrid. “It is very easy for me to understand Dharma and integrate his teachings as he combines the traditional teachings with the way Western people need to study the Dharma. Also, his sense of humor and the way he is close to people—even though we study online—is something that makes the Dharma easy and profound at the same time.”
While Geshe-la is known by his students for his deep respect of the traditional presentation of the Buddhist teachings as preserved and passed down by generations of Indian and Tibetan masters, he is also innovative. Following His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s example, he has made a concerted effort to collaborate with scientists. The fruit of this effort has manifested in “Science & Wisdom LIVE,” an initiative that brings contemplatives of various traditions into dialogue with experts in various scientific fields, including neuroscience and quantum physics.
As part of this project to make Buddhist wisdom accessible to new audiences, Geshe Namdak had an enlivening online conversation with theoretical biologist Dr. Rupert Sheldrake in June 2021. Their discussion explored the nature of reality, interconnectedness, and the relationship between consciousness and matter. “I much enjoyed the experience and found it very helpful in deepening my understanding of the Buddhist approach,” Dr. Sheldrake said of the encounter. “Geshe Namdak is amazingly clear in his explanations.”
Success in Buddhist studies requires many factors, including engaging in activities to accumulate merit, purify negativities, and eliminate obstacles. With this in mind, Geshe-la has inspired the community at Jamyang to undertake specific projects and adopt new traditions. These include annual recitations of scripture during the period of Saka Dawa and “Honouring the Lineage,” a project to install statues of the lineage masters in the gompa at Jamyang. Thus far, new statues of Shakyamuni Buddha, Lama Atisha, and Guru Rinpoche have been consecrated and installed, as well as Lama Tsongkhapa and his heart sons. The fundraising for the second part of the project—which will see the installation of statues of Manjushri, Chenrezig, Vajrapani, Nagarjuna, and Asanga—has already been completed.
Although he has adapted to life back in the West, for decades Geshe Namdak was immersed in, and derived great benefit from, Tibetan culture. He now gives regular talks to the UK Tibetan community, including the younger generation, in order to repay the kindness of the Tibetan people. Pempa Samuels is a teacher and member of the Tibetan community and also an FPMT Basic Program student at Jamyang. “He gives stories of his journey. He gives his time. He’s patient and encourages us. He gives us a realistic attitude,” Pempa said. “I’m really glad that Geshe-la has come to London and taken on board a massive amount of teaching roles. I’m grateful for that.”
A key factor that sustains Geshe Namdak’s connection to the Tibetan community is his fluency with the Tibetan language. This skill has also been put toward a number of virtuous translation projects, including short texts at the request of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and a big project undertaken in partnership with Ven. Tenzin Legtsok for Sera Je Monastic University. Their translation of key parts of Khedrup Je’s Clearing Mental Darkness: An Ornament of Dharmakirti’s ‘Seven Treatises on Valid Cognition’ will be titled Freedom through Correct Knowing: On Khedrub Jé’s Interpretation of Dharmakirti and will be published by Wisdom Publications in August 2022.
Finally, Geshe Namdak sets an inspiring example for students, not only through his many teachings, but also by remaining committed to go into retreat for several months of the year, despite his active schedule. As he has said himself, “It is important to do retreat even when involved in many projects.”
It is clear to see from these many endeavors that Geshe Tenzin Namdak is fulfilling the vast visions and wishes of his own teachers, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Those who have the privilege of hearing his teachings have no doubt that his motivations are sincere and steeped in compassion. In a short space of time, he has uplifted the minds of countless students. In their gratitude, they pray for his long life and that he continues to turn the wheel of Dharma, and they thank Lama Zopa Rinpoche for his immeasurable kindness in enjoining Geshe-la to teach.
Kamlo Chen-Duffy began working at Jamyang London Buddhist Centre as the center manager in September 2019. He transitioned to the role of spiritual program coordinator in May 2020. Since then, he has helped coordinate the enrollment of nearly four hundred students in long-term courses taught by the center’s resident teacher, Geshe Tenzin Namdak. Kamlo is also studying the FPMT Basic Program with Geshe Namdak.
Learn more about FPMT Education Programs and opportunities to study Buddhism both online and on site on FPMT.org. You can also read more about Geshe Tenzin Namdak.
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*powered by Google TranslateTranslation of pages on fpmt.org is performed by Google Translate, a third party service which FPMT has no control over. The service provides automated computer translations that are only an approximation of the websites' original content. The translations should not be considered exact and only used as a rough guide.Every second of this human life is more precious than skies of wish-granting jewels.