Lama Zopa Rinpoche on the beach in California, November 2015. Photo by Ven. Thubten Kunsang.

“Lama Zopa Rinpoche has been bringing it up many, many times and feels that this is extremely important: it is inevitable an earthquake will happen in California and according to Rinpoche it seems next year is quite possible. Rinpoche has checked and below are some things that need to happen as soon as possible,” Ven. Roger Kunsang wrote in an email that went out to FPMT centers, projects and services in California in early November. 

“The below needs to be completed by February 2016,” he wrote:

1. 1,800,000 recitations of the long Kshitigarbha mantra done as part of a Kshitigarbha practice.
2. Taking the Eight Mahayana precepts 300 times.
3. Performing the extensive Medicine Buddha puja – ongoing.
4. Reading of the Tengyur four times – to be done at Sera Je Monastery.

“We need to accumulate 163,099 mantras weekly – 23,300 daily – by January 31 in order to meet the goal,” said Ven. Tenzin Tsomo at Land of Medicine Buddha. By Tuesday, November 17, about 8,200 long Kshitigarbha mantras have been accumulated. 

Kshitigarbha

The advice was given to Bay Area students to do these practices, but Rinpoche said that students around the world can also participate with the mantra accumulation, sending in their counts. “Basically, we need a lot of people to help contribute mantras. To give you an idea, if everyone is willing to commit 21 mantras a day, we still need over 1,000 people,” Ven. Tsomo said. 

FPMT Bay Area centers have created a website with more information and ways to make pledges and report mantra recitations; contribute to the Tengyur recitations; and report the taking of the Eight Mahayana precepts. For more and to participate go to:
www.pacifyearthquakes.org

Lama Zopa Rinpoche compiled a new Kshitigarbha practice that is available as a free PDF download for people to do who want to contribute their recitations of the Kshitigarbha long mantra. You can find the PDF here: 
https://fpmt.org/wp-content/uploads/education/teachings/texts/mantras/kshitigarbha_practice_c5.pdf

There is also an MP3 of Rinpoche chanting the long Kshitigarbha mantra:
http://bit.ly/kshitigarbha-long-mantra-mp3

Rinpoche said that the dedication for all the above practices should be to pacify all earthquakes in California, Nepal and worldwide as well as the normal FPMT dedications.

More information, photos and updates about FPMT spiritual director Lama Zopa Rinpoche can be found on Rinpoche’s webpage. If you’d like to receive news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and FPMT via email, sign up to FPMT News.