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Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi during the long life puja offered to both of them at Kopan Monastery, February 22, 2021.
Since mid-December, Lama Zopa Rinpoche has been taking a break from offering us his Thought Transformation during the Time of COVID-19 teaching series. Rinpoche is still in Nepal, at Kopan Monastery, and engaging in a variety of beneficial activities in the area. Below we share a few details of Rinpoche’s activities over the past couple of months.
A long life puja was offered to Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi at Kopan Monastery on February 22, 2021. Rinpoche composed a long life prayer for Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi, which was offered during the puja. One section of this prayer shared:
By revealing nakedly the excellent middle path free from extremes,
in which one realizes the reality of emptiness by realizing dependent-arising,
and realizes infallible cause and effect by realizing how things exist,
You are kind in freeing us from the ocean of suffering of beginningless cyclic existence.
O inconceivable virtuous spiritual friend,
May you live a long life and
May your wishes be spontaneously fulfilled!
Lama Zopa Rinpoche meeting Trulshik Rinpoche, Nepal, February 20, 2021.
Rinpoche met the reincarnation of Trulshik Rinpoche on February 20 at his monastery in Swayambhunath. The previous Trulshik Rinpoche, who passed away in 2011, was one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s gurus.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi, and Kopan monks and nuns offering Most Secret Hayagriva Tsog Kong, February 13, 2021.
A Most Secret Hayagriva tsog kong puja to remove obstacles and benefit all beings was offered at Kopan Monastery on February 13 by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi, and Kopan monks and nuns. Several pujas of this type have offered for this purpose.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche walking with Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, February 10, 2021. Photo by Lhundrup Topgye.
On February 10, Lama Zopa Rinpoche visited Ka-Nying Shedrup Ling Monastery in Kathmandu with Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. Lama Zopa Rinpoche went to pay respects to the holy body of Chokling Rinpoche—who is Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche’s brother—and to offer an incense puja with Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. There is beautiful and touching footage of this visit on Rinpoche’s Instagram.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche during His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s teaching, Kopan Monastery, Nepal, February 8, 2021. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama offered a teaching on Monday, February 8, 2021, at the request of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and the FPMT organization on Recognizing My Mother: An Experiential Song of the View (tagur ama ngodzin). The text, by the eighteenth-century Tibetan Buddhist master Changkya Rölpai Dorjé, is on dependent arising and emptiness. At the beginning and conclusion of the teaching, Lama Zopa Rinpoche read an introduction and dedication that he had composed for the teaching in Tibetan and made mandala offerings to His Holiness.
Rinpoche bought goats that were intended for slaughter and food on January 24 and blessed them before being released to their new home at the Animal Liberation Sanctuary. Rinpoche said, “Reciting prayers in their ears, verbally, to plant the seed of all the realizations of the path to enlightenment—this makes a huge difference. It has inconceivable result, unbelievable result.”
Please enjoy this video of Lama Zopa Rinpoche reciting mantras for these goats:
https://youtu.be/PNHl2LtBWx4
Rinpoche consecrated large appliqué Twenty-one Taras and Eight Taras That Save From Fear thangkas in the courtyard located outside the Kopan Monastery Gompa along with Khadro-la, Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi, Kopan Lama Gyupas, and Kopan nuns on January 23. Rinpoche advised on every detail of these thangkas, and it took over a year for them to be made. They were offered to Rinpoche in a recent long life puja. After the consecration a special Tara puja was offered with Khadro la and the nuns.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Khadro-la at the consecration of large appliqué Twenty-one Taras and Eight Taras That Save From Fear thangkas outside the Kopan Monastery Gompa. January 17, 2021, photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Throughout this period Rinpoche has been giving lamrim teachings to the monks of Kopan Monastery and to the nuns of Kachoe Ghakyil Ling Nunnery.
These are just a few of the many auspicious activities Lama Zopa Rinpoche has been engaged in over the past couple of months at Kopan Monastery. We invite you to enjoy the new online galleries of photos, which show even more of Rinpoche’s recent activities, which we can all rejoice in:
- November and December 2020 photo gallery: fpmt.org/teachers/zopa/gallery/nepal-november-december-2020/
- January and February 2021 photo gallery: fpmt.org/teachers/zopa/gallery/nepal-january-february-2021/
Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.
Watch the video series Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Teachings on Thought Transformation during the Time of COVID-19 and find links to videos in transcripts, MP3s, additional practice advice, and more:
https://fpmt.org/fpmt/announcements/resources-for-coronavirus-pandemic/advice-from-lama-zopa-rinpoche-for-coronavirus/