receive our newsletters
join Friends of FPMT
Over the years, Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche offered various pieces of advice for prayers and practices to turn to when facing natural disasters. In light of the recent flash flood and mudslide along the Nepal–Tibet border, which struck the Rasuwa district north of Kathmandu and is believed to have been triggered by an earthquake-induced avalanche and snowmelt entering the Bhote Koshi River, we share the following collection of Rinpoche’s advice, offered in the hope that it may be of benefit.
Rinpoche in Pokhara, Nepal, 2021.
“My dear loving compassionate readers,
You may wonder what to do, what prayers to make, when there are disasters such as tornados, hurricanes, heavy rain, storms, floods, earthquakes, or fires, as well as disasters that destroy crops; disasters that destroy entire towns and cities within one hour; disasters that cause so many billions of dollars of damage, and so much money is spent to rebuild the towns; disasters where so many hundreds and thousands of people die or become homeless, have no homes, no food or clean water, and so forth.
So here I am offering some suggestions on what to do so that you can help the country and save so many peoples lives; some suggestions to prevent the destruction of houses, villages, and cities that are caused by the elements (fire, water, wind, and earth).
Even though these kinds of problems are so big, even though there are numberless buddhas, yet if someone with a very sincere heart takes refuge one-pointedly, without doubt, in even one buddha such as Chenrezig (Compassionate Eye Looking One), Padmasambhava, or Medicine Buddha, if someone takes strong refuge and prays to even just one buddha and recites the mantras (such as the name mantra), by doing this it can change the situation completely, it can change natural disasters and prevent war. Whatever problems there are can be loosened and even completely stopped.
The weather can change in that very hour or in the next hour by the power of one person making prayers.”
Read the full version of Letter From Lama Zopa Rinpoche Regarding the Disasters of the Elements
What you can do right now:
- Medicine Buddha Practices
- King of Prayers
- Kshitigarbha Practice to Pacify Earthquakes
- The Practice of Ksitigarbha to Avert Danger and Purify Obstacles
To follow the complete list of prayers and practices suggested by Lama Zopa Rinpoche over the years:
-
- Advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche: Practices for Earthquakes and Natural Disasters
- Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Advice for Severe Weather Conditions
- Advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche: Earthquakes
- Lama Zopa Rinpoche Advises Urgent Practices for Pacifying an Earthquake in California
- Tsunami and Earthquakes
- Mitigating Severe Conditions of the Elements
- Preventing Earthquakes
- Natural Disasters
- Sutra Golden Light for earthquakes, natural disaster and wars
More advice from Rinpoche on this topic is also available on the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive:
https://lamayeshe.com/advice/natural-disasters
Foundation for the Preservation of the 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.