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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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Whether one believes in a religion or not, and whether one believes in rebirth or not, there isn’t anyone who doesn’t appreciate kindness and compassion.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama
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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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Practicing the Art of Tibetan Buddhist Healing
May-June 2000
By Susan C. Maresco
If you could imagine your family physician as herbalist, botanist, alchemist, gemologist, mystic, psychologist and medical practitioner, that would begin to encompass the knowledge of today’s Tibetan medical doctors. Stretching far back into the shamanistic Bon religion, Tibetan medicine’s historical roots also reach into Greece (via Persia), India and China, the closest ties being to Indian Ayurvedic medicine.
However, it is Buddhism that lies at the core of the practice and outlook of Tibetan medicine – Buddha’s teachings being the ultimate medicine for the suffering of all human beings. When you speak of Tibetan medicine, you are really referring to Tibetan Buddhist medicine. “It is precisely this spiritual and philosophical core that makes Tibetan medicine so unique,” says Terry Clifford.
“To understand this basic relationship, one need only recognize that the Buddha himself spoke of ultimate truth in terms of a medical analogy. It has been said that the entire teaching of the Buddha is how to prevent suffering. According to the Buddha, we suffer from the inherent frustration of conditioned existence, and our suffering is caused by the fact of impermanence of all entities and by the endless craving that arises from the basic delusion of ego’s self-existence. The medicine the Buddha prescribed to overcome our suffering and delusion is his teaching, the Dharma. And the essence of this teaching is to tame the mind and transmute the negative emotions. The Buddha taught that mind is the basis of all phenomena. Mind creates matter and mind creates illness and wellness. And herein lies the fundamental psychosomatic assumption of Buddhist medicine.”1
Dharma is the operative strength of both Buddhism and Tibetan medicine, and each of us has the responsibility to transform our own minds.
The training to become a doctor begins with right motivation and right intent, good character, politeness. Treatment must never be based on an individual’s ability to pay – all potential patients are welcome.
Inevitably, our sufferings often bring illness and disease and a variety of health problems for which Tibetan medicines offers “highly defined and relevant models with which we can enrich our modern views of healing. These include a model of holistic medicine, a model of psychosomatic medicine, a model of mental and psychic healing, an ethical model of the healer, and a model for using illness to develop wisdom.”2
The Tibetan doctor’s job is to relieve as much suffering as possible for all his patients, combining affectionate care with medicines, recipes for altered diet and behavior, and possibly, spiritual practices. The training to become a doctor begins with right motivation and right intent, good character, politeness. Treatment must never be based on an individual’s ability to pay – all potential patients are welcome. Ideally, the doctor and patient should share some heartfelt connectedness that is acknowledged by both.
Tibetan medicine’s holistic approach to healing has been attracting increasing interest in the West, especially in the last decade. Medical insurance plans now help pay for acupuncture treatments, and it is hoped that they may eventually acknowledge other forms of treatment for reimbursement as well. It is reassuring to see that, even as pharmaceutical companies are aggressively advertising prescription products on TV, more and more people are opting for the kind of holistic treatment that Tibetan medicine offers. Tibetan medicine works for both minor and major ailments and is able to cure cases of even the worst diseases, like AIDS and cancer.
Tibetan medicine was influenced by Greek and Chinese medicine, but is primarily derived from Ayurveda, which means literally “the science of long life” and is the traditional medical system of India. Before the arrival of Buddhism in Tibet and Ayurveda’s great influence, the Bon shamanic culture of Tibet had a medical tradition that utilized their great knowledge, both magical and medical, of the local abundance of herbs. “The marvelous quality of Tibetan healing herbs was known in ancient China, and mention of them found its way into early Chinese pharmacological texts,” Terry Clifford offers. Although pre-Buddhist Bon medicine was not really systematized, the Bon medical texts written after Buddhism’s arrival demonstrate the influence of Ayurveda.
From Chinese medicine, Tibetan medicine adopted pulse diagnosis, measurement and inspection of the tongue, and acupuncture. From the Persians’ advanced medical system, which the Persians themselves had derived from ancient Greek medicine, Tibetans also extracted teachings. “The Tibetans took the best of these teachings and added them to Ayurvedic, Buddhist, and tantric medicine adopted from India. They also added urine analysis, their major indigenous contribution to Ayurvedic medical science; a good Tibetan doctor could diagnose and prescribe a cure simply by urine analysis.”3
Tibet did not have a written language when, in about the 5th century, both Buddhism’s and Ayurveda’s influence arrived and began to be felt. Other healing teachings had arrived from foreign lands and been variously absorbed into the existing Tibetan practices, so keen interest in Ayurvedic practices would not seem unusual. Dr. Yeshi Dhonden, a Tibetan doctor and a personal physician to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, describes its arrival in Tibet during the reign of King Thothori Nyentsen, the 28th king of Tibet, in the 4th century CE: “What we now call Tibetan medicine was first introduced into Tibet during the reign of that same king, when two doctors, Biji Gadje and his female companion Bihla Gadzey, came to Tibet from India and practiced in the court of King Thothori Nyentsen. In Bodhgaya, Tara, the feminine embodiment of enlightened compassion, had previously appeared to them in a vision and told them they should go to Tibet to practice and teach medicine there. For many generations thereafter, this medical system was transmitted from teacher to disciple solely as an oral lineage, without any textual basis.”4
An accomplished siddha who could perform psychic feats of miraculous power, Yuthog Yontan Gonpo, Tibet’s first great doctor-saint, lived to be 125 years old. He is believed by Tibetans to be an emanation of the speech of the Medicine Buddha.
The descendants of King Thothori included at least seven generations of royal physicians in the court. Tibetan doctors would travel back and forth to India to receive teachings. It was not until the 7th century that a written Tibetan language was created in order to translate Buddhist texts written in Sanskrit into Tibetan. Men from the court of King Songtsen Gampo were sent to India for this express purpose. “Thonmi Samhota formulated a Tibetan alphabet and grammar based on Sanskrit. This made it a fairly straightforward process to translate from Sanskrit into Tibetan…. However, it should be noted that Sanskrit grammar is far more complex than Tibetan, which does present problems when trying to reconstruct Sanskrit texts from the Tibetan. But on the whole, Tibetan translations from Sanskrit are highly accurate.”5
In the 8th century, under the reign of King Trisong Detsen (742-797), Tibet’s most enlightened ruler, Tibet’s medical system began to blossom and spread throughout Tibet, and the Dharma prospered. Samye, the first Buddhist monastery, was founded during his reign. Created in the form of a mandala, it was presided over by the Indian saint Padmasambhava, Guru Rinpoche.6 It was there that many Sanskrit manuscripts covering a wide range of topics on Buddhism were first translated into Tibetan.
“In 749 Padmasambhava accepted the king’s invitation, went to Tibet, subdued the negative forces, and so firmly established the Dharma there…. From that time on, Vajrayana Buddhism and all the sciences it included became the one and only consuming interest, life-focus, and belief of the Tibetan people. From that time on Tibetan Buddhism and Tibetan culture were inseparable.”7
“Padmasambhava … initiated the king and others into his lineage of esoteric Buddhism, and prophesized that in future times, after centuries of unbroken lineage in Tibet, the Dharma would go to the West.”8
The greater a person’s heart-realization of true Dharma, the greater a doctor he can be, rendering him more capable of understanding the depths of the medical science and serving the needs of his patients.
Religious and medical teachings were one and the same, all part of the Dharma. Vairochana, who was Tibet’s first great translator of important religious texts, had been educated by both Abbot Shantarakshita, a distinguished Bengali monk and scholar who was responsible for sending Padmasambhava to Tibetoriginally, and by Padmasambhava himself. Vairochana was sent to India. “So in addition to the important religious texts which Vairochana procured, translated and mastered, there was also the medical work that became the most crucial in Tibetan medical literature, the Gyu-zhi.”9
The Gyu-zhi, or Four Tantras, is still the most important medical text; its herbal and other remedies and psychiatric cures are still being practiced today. When Vairochana returned to Tibet from India, he met Tibet’s first great doctor saint, Yuthog Yontan Gonpo, and gave him the Gyu-zhi teaching.
King Trisong Detsen was so enthusiastic about the Tibetan medical system that he held a convention, a debate actually, inviting Asia’s greatest doctors from India, China, Kashmir, Persia, Nepal, Mongolia, Sinkiang and Afghanistan. Naturally, Yuthog Yontan Gonpo represented Tibet, and he won the debate! Although it is difficult to imagine how they approached the language and translation problem, apparently they did manage it. “All translated texts from their own systems and presented them to the king. The doctor from China became the king’s court physician and started his own family medical lineage in Tibet, which was called Foreign Doctors.”10
Yuthog Yontan Gonpo bore the nickname “Turquoise Roof Physician” and was an ordained monk until the age of 80, at which time he disrobed and married to have children and thus continue his lineage. He was considered a genius as a doctor, an extraordinary, respected and accomplished healer, “a prime example of the lama-doctors and physician-saints of Tibet, an exalted and holy model of the healer drawn from the example of the Medicine Buddha himself,” Terry Clifford says. “An accomplished siddha who could perform psychic feats of miraculous power, Yuthog lived to be 125 years old. He is believed by Tibetans to be an emanation of the speech of the Medicine Buddha.”11
Yuthog’s death was as bright and extraordinary as his life had been. He “accomplished the ultimate Dharma by transmuting his physical body into rainbow light at the time of his death.”12 The Gyu-zhi, which he had mastered and taught so extensively, became an object of intrigue. It was hidden by Padmasambhava at Samye Monastery in the 8th century and remained there until the middle of the 11th century, when it exchanged several hands before finding its way into those of the second Yuthog. He worked on it and presumably edited some of the texts, though the degree of his work is not known. Today’s text also includes ideas and information that was not probably in the Indian version originally as there is “mention of uniquely Tibetan foods, plants unknown in India, Mongolian cauterization, Chinese pulse theory, etc. The original eighth century Tibetan translation, having been replaced in a pillar of Samye Monastery by its discoverer, was supposedly still there as recently as 20 years ago.”13
Buddhist culture in India came under fierce attack by Muslims from Turkey during the 13th century, wiping out monks, texts and monasteries. Although Tibetans could no longer go to India for teachings, the Tibetan medical system survived because “they had already brought almost all the spiritual and scientific lineages back to Tibet as living initiated lineages.”14 Important texts lost or destroyed by this Muslim attack in India were preserved in Sanskrit inTibet.
In the 14th century two famous doctors, Jangpa and Zurkarpa, headed rival medical systems that continued to exist into the 17th century. These rival systems engendered some confusion on both theoretical and practical matters of Tibetan medicine. Thus the Fifth Dalai Lama’s Regent, Sangye Gyatso (1653-1705), established Tibet’s first medical school, which was initially at Drepung Monastery. Soon thereafter a building site was chosen, probably by utilizing astrology and divination, and a school/hospital/monastery complex was erected on an exceedingly rocky hill. The complex was named the Iron Mountain or Chagpori, which refers to the almost vertical aspect of the hill itself. Chagpori became both the spiritual center for medicine in Tibetas well as an important center of “medical learning and secret herbal cures made by the lama-doctors.”15 The tradition of having a lama-doctor in residence at every main monastery was instituted at Chagpori.
The Regent, meanwhile, added various literary and artistic activities to his already considerable political duties. He revised the Four Tantras, wrote a famous commentary, and then created a series of 79 paintings illustrating the contents of his commentary. Embryology, anatomy, physiology, materia medica, methods of diagnosis, therapy, etc. were just a few of the topics he covered. His assiduousness and desire for precision of depiction ranged from the indigenous medicinal plants to exotic ones and even led him to send an artist to funeral sites so as to sketch the visceral contents of corpses for his anatomical descriptions. Corpses were often cut up as food for vultures in keeping with Buddhist tradition. Ultimately, the Regent’s vast body of work with its wide range of topics is considered to be “one of the great achievements in medical iconography.”16
Chagpori became a magnet for medical students from far and wide throughout Asia, reminiscent of Tibet’s Golden Age between the 8th and 12th centuries. Kublai Khan’s conversion to the Dharma caused Mongolians to become so enthusiastic over Tibetan Ayurveda that they adopted the entire system, translating the major works into Mongolian. This wholesale adoption of the Tibetan Buddhist medical system survives today in Mongolia.
The greatest doctors in Tibet were also great lamas. A physician represents the Medicine Buddha: “The greater a person’s heart-realization of true Dharma, the greater a doctor he can be, for he will have two-fold Buddha-nature aspects of wisdom and compassion, rendering him more capable of understanding the depths of the medical science and serving the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of his patients.”17
This tradition of great lamas and saints applying themselves to Tibetan medicine has continued to the present. Scholars and saints wrote commentaries and treatises on a variety of subjects, thus ever increasing the existing body of knowledge. Lama Mipham, in the late 19th and early 20th century, wrote 32 volumes of works on music, logic, astrology, alchemy and medicine as well as organizing the sutras and philosophical tantras. Also important were his writings about the healing properties of gems, the healing uses of five Tibetan grasses and his commentary on the Gyu-zhi.
In the early 20th century, during the years of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, a new medical college in Lhasa named the House of Medicine and Astronomy was built through the efforts of the outstanding physician-lama Khyenrab Norbu (1883-1962). His phenomenal memory and intellectual acuity allowed him to memorize the entire Gyu-zhi by the age of 16 and four years later he passed his medical exams with a perfect score. He was the personal physician to the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Dalai Lamas in Tibet, and he was the teacher of Dr. Yeshi Dhonden.
Ironically, since the Chinese Communist invasion of Tibet in 1959 and the subsequent exodus by many Tibetans to India and countries in the West, we in the West have learned more about Tibetan medicine and have had greater access to Tibetan doctors than ever before. Although the Chinese respected Tibetan medicine and used it themselves, they prohibited prayer in the preparation of medicines. However, over a period of time, they came to realize that the medicines were more efficacious when prayer was offered according to Tibetan Buddhist tradition; thus the practice of prayer was allowed to be resumed, and hopefully, continues to this day.
The Body in Balance
Of the Four Tantras that comprise the Tibetan medical system, the Root Tantra is the primary one that describes an overview of the whole field: “The six chapters of this tantra correspond to the central metaphor for the whole of Tibetan medicine, namely the tree of medicine, with its three roots, nine trunks, 47 branches, 224 leaves, two flowers, and three fruits, each corresponding to specific topics within this medical system. The topics corresponding to the two flowers and three fruits are the professional and spiritual qualities achieved by a totally proficient physician in this tradition.”18
This “tree” in its branched and leafed out state represents both the natural state of the body and the bodily processes that produce a body in good health. The Root Tantra looks and reads like a series of categories and lists, but in reality it is infinitely complex, requiring elucidation in the form of the many commentaries that have been written over the centuries, which contribute to the vast body of knowledge concerning the science and art of Tibetan healing.
Tibetan medicine went directly to Indian Ayurvedic medicine for its theory of the afflictive humoral elements of the body – wind, bile and phlegm – on which diagnosis of illness is based. The terms “wind, bile and phlegm” have both literal and figurative meanings, referring to both qualities within the body as well as systems of energetic movement. There are five winds, five biles and five phlegms underlying the humors. All inanimate things and all animate beings also contain five elements: earth (solidity), water (fluidity), fire (heat), air (motility) and space.19
As earth, water, fire, air and space are necessary to life on this planet, so too are the three humors’ functions of these elements, and each humor has its own particular characteristics, qualities, essences. Dr. Dhonden describes it briefly: “Phlegm has the potency of the earth and the water elements; bile has the potency of the fire element; and wind gives rise to the motion of the blood and breath within the body.”20
All bodies are born with characteristics, elements that can be/become afflicted and thus bring illness or harm to a person. Dr. Dhonden lists ten afflicted elements, within which are seven body constituents and three waste products. These are as follows:21 (1) nutriment; (2) blood; (3) flesh; (4) fat; (5) bone; (6) bone marrow; (7) regenerative substances (sperm and uterine blood, or ovum); (8) excrement; (9) urine; (10) sweat.
These ten characteristics intertwine with the afflictive three humoral elements of wind, bile and phlegm, making life possible until death arrives. Within the entire digestive process is the key to good or afflicted health. The complex digestive system provides the body with nutriment, warmth, flesh, blood, fat, bone and bone marrow – all interdependent. Digestive warmth is the key to the success of the entire process of keeping three humors in balance. Each humor plays a part in the process, and often the humors overlap to keep the body tuned harmoniously.
Wind’s characteristics are light, cool, rough, subtle, firm or mobile and may be located in the lower regions of the body. It has the general functions of “inhalation and exhalation, moving the limbs, and expelling and retaining waste products … also moves all the seven bodily constituents … is responsible for participating in all types of mental, verbal and bodily activities … bring clarity to all the five senses, and enables one to identify with one’s body….”22
Wind, being wind, moves around through the bones, skin, organs, and large intestine.
Tibetan medicine went directly to Indian Ayurvedic medicine for its theory of the afflictive humoral elements of the body – wind, bile, phlegm – on which diagnosis of illness is based.
Bile is oily, sharp, warm, light, fetid, purgative, moistening and is located mostly in the liver and gallbladder. Bile “… moves in the blood, sweat, eyes, liver, gallbladder, and intestines … is of the nature of fire, is responsible for hunger and thirst and has the function of ingesting and digesting food … of producing all the warmth throughout the entire body and giving one a clear complexion. Bile gives one a sense of courage, determination and fortitude … also leads to aggression and resentment … enables one to exert effort and have ambitions … acts as the basis for the four kinds of intelligence – deep, fast, sharp, and subtle – and it enables one to think ahead.”23
Phlegm is cool, dull, heavy, soft, stable, sticky and is located in the upper part of the body, especially the brain. It has the nature of earth and water. Phlegm functions by lending “strength to all of the constituents of the body, especially the brain. It has the nature of earth and water. Phlegm functions by lending “… strength to all of the constituents of the body, and it gives stability to one’s intelligence and awareness as well … acts as the basis for memory … has the general function of connecting and lubricating the joints, and it produces the softness, oiliness, and pliancy of the body … has the general function of mental stability, as well as drowsiness and sleep.”24
Although this is only the briefest of descriptions of these humor functions and interactions, to put it simply, a person may be dominant in or deficient in one or more of these humors, influencing individual characteristics in both negative and positive fashion. This is known as one’s humoral constitution, which is formed during the formation of the fetus and, according to Tibetan medicine, remains that way for the rest of one’s life.25 The balance or imbalance of one’s humoral constitution creates a context for good health or illness for one’s life.
The Primary Causes of Disease
One of the beauties of the Root Tantra is that the tree metaphor is a perfect framework of instruction, that is, a visual tool from which the categories and lists can be hung cleverly and with artistry into many subclasses. The tree is heavy in single words but sparse in descriptions, those having been provided over the centuries by the many commentaries that learned lama doctors and scholars have contributed.
The delusions of attachment, hatred and ignorance are the fundamental causes of all disorders and diseases. “Attachment is the primary cause of wind disorders; hatred is the primary cause of bile disorders; and delusion [ignorance] is the primary cause of phlegm disorders. These three are called poisons because they kill our progress along the path to spiritual liberation.”26
The causes of illness are both internal and external and relate to our countless previous lifetimes, in which we have inhabited a variety of bodies in different realms, and in which we were also both subject and object of ignorance, or self-grasping, repeatedly.27 In our present human existence, the instances of this ignorance, and the delusions it gives rise to, from those past lives follow us like a shadow.
“To repeat this point, in reality the self does not exist as an independent, inherent entity; but under the influence of ignorance, we compulsively reify ourselves as being inherently existent, and that is the root cause of illness…. In brief, as long as one is subject to ignorance, it is impossible to be invulnerable to illness.”28
Methods for overcoming this self-grasping are to be founding the four noble truths: these are (1) the truth of suffering, (2) the causes of suffering, (3) the cessation of suffering, and (4) the path to the cessation of suffering. Within this last truth – the path to the cessation of suffering – is found the way to eliminate suffering. The Dharma path begins with morality; then, through meditation comes the wisdom that realizes the emptiness of this self and all phenomena, that they lack inherent existence. This leads to enlightenment.
Controlling one’s mind and overcoming negative emotions also leads to the cessation of illness, but in the meantime, illnesses that arise need to be dealt with. To be human is to be vulnerable to illness.
“Under the influences of one’s diet, conduct, environment and the seasons, wind, bile and phlegm gradually increase in their own locations, and disorders are thereby accumulated. Due to those contributing conditions, the bodily constituents are disturbed and agitated, and one then craves food and drink having qualities opposite to those of the disturbed humors.”29
Humoral imbalances derive from a state of excess, efficiency or disturbance and are applied to the seven bodily constituents and the three waste products that comprise the 10 afflicted elements. When humoral disorders arise and lead to discomfort, this is known as accumulation, which will manifest in the pulse and urine. This result, then, is known as arousal. Specific conditions contribute to disorders of each humor. Some examples are:
“… Disorders of the wind humor include ingesting medication, food or drink that taste bitter and light and that have rough, motile, hard, thin, dry (that is, non-oily), or cold potencies…. Conditions that contribute to bile disorders include ingesting food that is spicy, hot, sharp or oily, experiencing strong hatred or anger, sleeping excessively during the daytime, and immediately thereafter engaging in vigorous activity… Conditions that contribute to phlegm disorders include ingesting too much sweet, bitter, heavy, oily and cool food and drink, and then lounging around or falling asleep.”30
The influence of the seasons mingled with the foods we eat are of essential importance in Tibetan medical theory. The seasons may bring heat, cold, rain, dryness, wind, oiliness, heaviness and will intermingle with the essential qualities of the foods we eat, which can be bitter, salty, hot, astringent, sweet or sour, and thus produce an accumulation of humoral disorders. Furthermore, humoral disorders can be overlapping and, therefore, difficult to diagnose.
When accumulation results in arousal, reversing the condition requires a process known as pacification, which means following a healthy diet, proper conduct, living in as healthy an environment as possible, and receiving the appropriate medical treatment. It is extremely important to have a correct diagnosis followed by the correct medical treatment to avoid further illness that might lead to worsening disease.
Conditions Contributing to Illness
It has already been stated that illnesses arise from the three poisons of the mind – attachment, hatred and ignorance. Illnesses can be divided into three types of causes: (1) those in this lifetime; (2) karma from previous lifetimes; (3) factors in this lifetime in conjunction with karma acquired from previous lifetimes.31
Causes in this lifetime may be from either or both internal and external origins. Internal types of causes refer to an imbalance in the three humors, which has already been discussed. External types of causes are threefold: (a) poisons, (b) weapons, such as spears, swords, stones … chemical, biological and nuclear weapons and (c) demonic influences [harm from spirits].”32
KARMA: Karma ripens from either positive or negative deeds committed in a past life: positive or virtuous karma gives rise to happiness, and negative or non-virtuous to suffering. The negative deeds accumulated from previous lives constitute the second of the three causes listed above. There are ten non-virtues: killing, stealing and sexual misconduct are the three that pertain to the body; lying, slander, abuse and idle gossip are the four pertaining to speech; and avarice, malice and holding false views pertain to the mind.33
The third cause also entails karma, or the ripening of non-virtues from a previous life dovetailing with present humoral imbalance.
Negative karma ripens in four ways: (1) as an experience similar to the cause; (2) as an action similar to the cause; (3) environmental results; (4) as rebirth in the lower realms.
Illnesses can be divided into three types of causes: (1) those in this lifetime; (2) karma from previous lifetimes; (3) factors in this lifetime in conjunction with karma acquired from previous lifetimes.
Examples of an experience similar to the cause (1) may be as follows: for killing in a past life you will either be killed, become sick or have your life cut short; for stealing in a past life you will lack possessions in this life; for sexual misconduct in a past life you will be unable to keep your spouse; for lying in a past life people will not believe you now.
Actions similar to the cause (2): because of killing in the past, you are born with the habit to keep killing; by stealing in the past, you will have the habit to keep stealing; a child who can make other children steal does so as a result of her/his own enjoyment. Furthermore, “The actions congruent with the causes of covetousness, harmful intent and wrong views are an increase in attachment, hostility and benightedness.”34
Examples of (3) environmental results may be that due to killing in a previous life, food and medicine may be of poor quality or polluted; due to taking things not offered in a previous life, you experience poverty in this life; or you will be cheated in this life due to having lied in a past life; or “[from divisive speech] you will have to live in places where the ground is uneven; [from insulting words] you will be born in a place where there are many tree stumps and brambles; …[due to covetousness] all your pleasures will be overshadowed; [due to harmful intent] there will be much war, sickness and famine; [due to wrong views] your sources of water and precious things will dry up.”35
Examples of (4) are a rebirth in hell for killing in a past life, or rebirth as a hungry ghost or animal.
(Many lamas recommend various meditations, such as on compassion, as antidotes to the negative karma created against sentient beings in the past.)
HARM FROM SPIRITS: Having already mentioned that diet, conduct (karma) and the season influence health and may contribute to disease, another factor of considerable note is that of interference or harm from spirits. Spirits are invisible, non-human entities, who have the ability to bring harm to humans in the form of both physical and mental illness. Their disembodied consciousness uses negative force to gain entry into a human body. Some are known as devas, yakshas, bhutas, nagas, parthivas and ksamapatis, and specific qualities or characteristics may be associated with each of these names. For example, nagas and ksamapatis have been credited with contributing to the formation of various tumors.
If this seemed to be the case, special “propitiatory” rituals would be made to these beings before medication was prescribed or administered. Dr. Dhonden assures us that “the combination of these methods often effected a cure.” Dr. Dhonden goes on to say that “a skilled Tibetan doctor is able to identify specifically which type of non-human agency is responsible for a specific disorder based upon the conduct and other symptoms of the patient.”36
The importance of understanding spirit influences in Tibetan culture and medicine is such that the Third Tantra of the Gyu-zhi devotes five chapters to diseases caused by spirits, three of these being about spirits contributing to mental illness.
Dr. Dhonden offers that there are “360 types of entities which may possess an individual and thereby alter the mind and personality traits.” Because spirits are invisible, their presence is a more difficult concept for the patient to deal with than a tangible, visible problem. While it may or may not be possible to discover exactly what non-virtue one has committed in the past to cause the interference by the spirit, removing the spirit harm with practices of virtue, prayers and pujas is possible and may be prescribed by the physician. Many lamas also suggest meditation and prayer as the means for removing the spirit interference.
Diagnosis
On the illustrated medicine tree’s diagnosis root there are three trunks, which are (1) visual observation; (2) pulse feeling; (3) questioning. Visual observation means observing and examining both the tongue and urine with regard to wind, bile and phlegm systems. The pulse feeling trunk is divided into wind pulse, bile pulse and phlegm pulse with the beat of each type offering some significance. The questioning trunk has long branches referring to wind, bile and phlegm; and for each humoral aspect, there are lists of causal conditions, symptoms and remedies. The diagnostic tools and techniques used by Tibetan physicians are commonly known as pulse, urine and questioning.37
PULSE: According to Dr. Dhonden, knowledge of pulse is the supreme diagnostic tool, and there are many considerations associated with taking the pulse. The patient is required to observe certain rules laid out by the doctor on the day before the pulse is to be taken. Furthermore, the time of the pulse reading, the place on the body for the pulse reading, the amount of pressure to be applied, and how to read the pulse are all subjects in which a doctor must be expert. “The best place for reading the pulse is about half an inch from the crease at the wrist, on the radial artery. The index, middle and ring fingers are to be placed in a straight line on the radial artery, half an inch from the crease of the wrist. They should not touch each other but should also not be far apart – the distance between them being that of the width of a grain.”38
Categories of pulses include constitutional pulses, which represent temperament and constitution; seasonal pulses, driven by the five elements and the four seasons; and, in a healthy person, seven wondrous pulses, as follows: (1) family pulse; (2) guest pulse; (3) enemy pulse; (4) friend pulse; (5) evil spirit pulse; (6) substitutional pulse; (7) pregnancy pulse.39
Before a physician is able to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy pulses, he must first have information about the patient’s constitutional pulse, known as male, female, or bodhisattva, and this will always be the first order of business. From there onward, feeling pulses is somewhat comparable to understanding and appreciating music – the beats, rhythm, intensity, structure – all are part of a recognizable composition. In music, this might mean a minuet, canon, fugue, symphony, etc. In Tibetan medicine, this translates to a variety of pulses indicating certain conditions in the patient, some examples being a fever pulse, spirit pulse or death pulse. “Those who have full understanding of pulse will become famous physicians, able to serve their patients effectively,”40 concludes Dr. Dhonden.
URINALYSIS: A Tibetan physician can look at a patient’s urine and see any disorders by observing three aspects: color, vapor arising and albumin – a cloud-like substance.41 Urinalysis pertains to four classes of persons: normally healthy persons, those with disorders, those on the verge of death, and those affected by spirits.
Some of the rules for behavior preceding a morning urinalysis are as follows: avoid caffeine, yogurt or any alcohol the night before; take other liquids as desired; avoid sexual intercourse; neither too much nor too little activity; avoid mental and emotional tension; try to sleep well.
For collecting urine, a plain white porcelain cup is best for observing color and sediment.
The color of the urine is determined after the long digestive process has divided the waste into two parts in the intestines, and the liquid part has gone to the bladder for excretion.
The stomach differentiates between more and less nutritious parts of the food, sending the more nutritious part to the liver, where further differentiation takes place. The liver determines that the more nutritious part will become blood while the lesser will go to the gallbladder. Now in the gallbladder, another differentiation occurs: the finer substance becomes lymph and the lesser substance or waste part becomes albumin. The albumin goes to the bladder and mixes with the urine before both are excreted. These separation and differentiation processes that occur during food digestion influence the color of the urine.
In general urinalysis, the three times for diagnosing the urine are when it is hot, or lukewarm, or cooled down.
“There are nine types of diagnosis that are broken down into three groups relative to the three times. First, when the urine is hot, one checks the color, the vapor, the odor, the type of bubbles or froth. When it is lukewarm, one checks the cloud-like albumin and the oily chyle that rises to the top. When the urine is cooled off completely, one checks the time of the variation of color, then how it changes, and finally postponed analysis. When patients are not able to come themselves, their urine is sent in Tibet by yak, in India by other means.
It is rather old by the time it arrives, and so the doctor checks everything, but with a different type of diagnosis, because the urine is older. This is called “postponed analysis.”42
Depending on the color of the urine, wind, bile and phlegm disorders may indicate either cold or heat disorders depending on the exact nature of the changes. Vapor, odor and froth or bubbles also play a part in determining these disorders. Analyzing the albumin and the oily chyle of a urine specimen (lukewarm) requires quite subtle observation and understanding. While the appearance of any albumin usually indicates a heat disorder, “as it basically arises from bile and heat,” according to Dr. Dhonden, the appearance of oily chyle could indicate a heat disorder if it is thick or a cold disorder if it is thin. Spirits or evil non-human beings can also be recognized “from this oily substance when it forms certain patterns or shapes on the surface of the urine.”43
Also on the observation trunk of the diagnosis root is the tongue. The tongue’s appearance in diagnosing disorders of wind, bile and phlegm is as follows: “… the tongue in a wind disorder is red and a little dry with many small bumps around the edge … in a bile disorder is covered with a yellow coating; the patient has a bitter taste in his mouth … in a phlegm disorder is covered with a gray and sticky coating.”44
Looking once more at the medicine tree, this brings us to the questioning trunk on the diagnosis root, on which there are three branches of questions about wind, bile and phlegm. The doctor will ask the patient about recent diet and behavior, physical conditions, etc, and all questions are designed to elicit as much information possible to determine any symptoms of the humoral disorders of wind, bile and phlegm. The physician will eventually determine from the patient’s answers just what conditions led to the symptoms observed and the current disorder. Then a remedy can be found, and most remedies will include instructions for both diet and behavior.
This brief discussion of pulse, urinalysis and tongue observation and questioning is meant to give only a very basic idea of how these skills are utilized in Tibetan medicine to diagnose illness or disease. The training a Tibetan doctor receives encompasses an enormous range of subtle knowledge, perception and attunement that expands the lists and categories of the medicine tree into a rich and deep understanding of the human body in both its healthy and unhealthy states.
Pharmacology
Although the Second Tantra of the Gyu-zhi deals with the qualities of Tibetan medicinal substances used in general medicine it is only one of numerous medical texts with information on the vast Tibetan pharmacopoeia, and few are available in English.
Nearly 700 medicinal substances derived from minerals, plants and animals are listed in The Illustrated Tibetan Mongolian Materia Medica of Ayurveda (in Tibetan, ed. By Prof. Dr. Lokesh Chandra). An English translation of the various categories is listed in the table of contents as follows:
I. Gems and Metals (a. precious substances which can’t be melted; b. precious substances which can be melted).
II. Substances derived from rocks and minerals (a. meltable; b. not meltable).
III. Medicinal earths (natural; manufactured; salts).
IV. Exudates and secretions.
V. Medicinal substances obtained from trees (fruits and nuts; blossoms; leaves, twigs, stalks, roots, saps).
VI. Medicinal substances obtained from boiled extracts of various parts of plants.
VII. Medicinal plants, herbs and grasses (roots; flowers; fruits; leaves; leaves-stalks-flowers-fruits together; entire plant; cultivated plants, i.e. bearded; leguminous and roots).
VIII. Medicines obtained from sentient creatures (birds; herbivores; wild animals; magical birds; domestic animals; those living in holes and burrows; those thriving in moisture.).45
(Chapter 90 of the Third Tantra is devoted to an extensive and detailed explanation of how to prepare “essences,” made up of complex combinations of various flowers, minerals, etc., mixed according to the appropriate constitution. Although they are to help rejuvenate and increase vitality, they are mainly used by meditators, who survive solely on these essences during retreat.)
The six tastes and eight potencies of therapeutic substances derive from the nature of the five elements – earth, water, fire, air and space – which produced them.
A medicinal fruit known as myrobalan, the “supreme medicine,”46 has been traditionally held in the highest esteem. Its fruit and stem especially were used for driving away a large array of diseases. Unfortunately, due most likely to environmental causes, it is not now easily available.
“Myrobalan is good for fevers and colds. The root is good for bone diseases, the trunk for flesh, the branch for nerve disorders and sinew, the bark for skin, the leaf for diseases of the “hollow organs,” the flower for sense organs, and the fruit for heart and the solid organs. Myrobalan has all the six tastes and all the eight powers of Tibetan medicine. Its perfume drives away all 404 diseases.”47
The six tastes and eight potencies of therapeutic substances derive from the nature of the five elements – earth, water, fire, air and space – which produced them. Each substance is also affected by the conditions of its growth and other factors, such as the season of its harvesting and/or the method of preservation. Substances also may have inherent powers, which are immutable, and secondary qualities, which are mutable. The six tastes are sweet, salty, bitter, sour, astringent, hot. The eight potencies are four pairs of opposites: heavy and light; unctuous and rough; hot and cold; dull and sharp. They are influenced by the tastes and the elements.
Conclusion
Tibetan medicine’s holistic approach to healing appears to include every living thing – whether animal, vegetable or mineral – in its effort to comprehend and demonstrate how the universe works. It defines, explains and arranges the external system and internal systems of our world and our bodies for human perusal and understanding. Its mixture of Indian Ayurveda, physiology, pathology and therapy make it an appealing and important resource for healing. It is infinitely complex and finely detailed.
The renowned and beloved blue figure of the Medicine Buddha constantly reminds us that the ultimate medicine is enlightenment.
If someone wants to study Tibetan medicine, the first recommendation is to learn the Tibetan language, thereby giving direct access to the literature and knowledge of the learned lamas.
A person interested in experiencing Tibetan medical treatment should consult a Tibetan Buddhist center for the name of a doctor locally. Or contact the Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute in Dharamsala, requesting information about courses as well as names and addresses of Tibetan doctors in the various countries.
Notes
1. Clifford, Terry. Tibetan Buddhist Medicine and Psychiatry: The Diamond Healing. YorkBeach: Samuel Weiser, Inc., 1984. p. 5
4. Dhonden, Dr. Yeshi. Healing from the Source: The Science and Lore of Tibetan Medicine. Trans. and ed. B. Alan Wallace. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 2000DD, p. 13
6. Shakyamuni Buddha is supposed to have prophesized Padmasambhava’s birth and life’s work as an important Dharma teacher.
16. Aris, A. and Van Alphen, J., Gen. Ed., Oriental Medicine: An Illustrated Guide to the Healing Arts, p. 117
35. Pabongka Rinpoche. Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1991. p. 453
37. Dhonden, Dr. Yeshi. Health through Balance: An Introduction to Tibetan Medicine. Ed. and trans. Jeffrey Hopkins. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 1986. pp. 73-74. See the causal conditions, symptoms and remedies of the three humoral branches on the questioning trunk.
39. Ibid., p. 85. See further discussion of the role of these pulses.
Bibliography
Clifford, Terry. Tibetan Buddhist Medicine and Psychiatry: The Diamond Healing. YorkBeach: Samuel Weiser, Inc., 1984.
Dhonden, Dr. Yeshi. Health through Balance: An Introduction to Tibetan Medicine. Ed. and trans. Jeffrey Hopkins. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 1986.
__________ Healing from the Source: The Science and Lore of Tibetan Medicine.Trans. and ed. B. Allan Wallace. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 2000.
Johnson, Sandy, ed. The Book of Tibetan Elders. “Medicine and Astrology.” New York: Riverhead Books.
Pabongka Rinpoche. Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1991
Van Alphen, Jan and Aris, Anthony, general eds. Oriental Medicine: An Illustrate Guide to the Asian Arts of Healing. Ferdinand Meyer, “Theory and Practice of Tibetan Medicine.” Boston: Shambala Publications, 1997.
Other Reading
Arya, Pasang Yonten. Dictionary of Tibetan Materia Medica, New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1998.
Avedon, John, and Sither Bradley, Dr. Tamdin, et al. Buddha’s Art of Healing. Rizzoli, 1998.
Clark, Dr. Barry. Quintessence Tantras of Tibetan Medicine. Ithaca: Snow Lion, 1993.
Dhonden, Dr. Yeshi. Ambrosia Heart Tantra. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1989.
Dummer, Tom. Tibetan Medicine. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1989.
Tsarong, Tsewang. J. Tibetan Medicinal Plants. Tibetan Medical Publications, 1994.
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- Editor’s Choice – Media Reviews
- The Passing of Khensur Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup Photo Gallery
- April
- ‘Subduing the Mind, Actualizing the Path’ Resource Area
- Big Ears, Small Mouths: The Life of a Retreat Caretaker
- Random Reflections on Retreating
- Realizing the Dharmakaya
- Report from Bodhgaya: On the Ground at Kalachackra 2012
- Subduing the Mind, Actualizing the Path
- You Can, You Must
- Big Ears, Small Mouths
- Don’t Wake Up with a Mind Like That
- Random Reflections on Retreating
- Retreat in Everyday Life
- Universal Mandala School
- Animal Liberation Sanctuary Update
- The Misleading Mind – Searching for Happily Ever After
- Sitting Easy
- An Interview with Åge Delbanco
- Tulku Gyatso Remembered
- Thangka Exhibition at Maitreya Instituut Amsterdam
- The Beginning of Tushita
- FPMT News Around the World Photo Gallery
- News from Kopan Monstery and Its Projects
- Editor’s Choice – Media Reviews
- July
- Comienzo con duda
- Exploring the Practice of Writing: The Mindful Writer
- P513 and the Golden Light Sutra
- Teaching a Good Heart: FPMT Registered Teachers
- Like Nectar on Flowers: The Selfless Service of FPMT-Registered Teachers
- The Simile of a Cloud
- Mandala Talk: Ven. Thubten Chodron on “Insight into Emptiness”
- Begin with Doubt
- The Seventeen Pandits of Nalanda Monastery
- ‘Everybody Needs Universal Compassion and Wisdom Education’: An Interview with Lama Zopa Rinpoche on UECW
- ‘Everybody Needs Universal Compassion and Wisdom Education’: An Interview with Lama Zopa Rinpoche on UECW [Unedited Transcript]
- Contest Winners: Deciphering the Guru’s Grocery List!
- Illuminating the Darkness: Helping Kathmandu’s Street Kids
- FPMT Around the World Photo Gallery
- ‘She Is Not Looking for Another Man’
- Ever Shining Consummate Sun
- My November Course
- ‘You Are His Daughter and You Want to Help’
- Your Prayers and Dedications ‘Have Power’
- Editor’s Choice – Media Reviews
- Half the Woman: Losing Weight for Rinpoche
- Taking Online Dating as the Path
- Waidangong: Shaking One’s Way to Health
- October
- La joie de l’étude : une interview de Guéshé Kelsang Wangmo
- Khadro-la on Using Stupas to Minimize Harm from the Elements
- 16 Actitudes at Centro Yamantaka in Colombia
- Children and Teens Programs Take Root and Grow at Losang Dragpa Centre in Malaysia
- The Joy of Study: An Interview with Geshe Kelsang Wangmo
- Publishing the FPMT Lineage: An Interview with Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive Director Nicholas Ribush
- Key to the Cave
- The Practice of Writing: An Interview with Dinty W. Moore
- Craig Preston on Teaching and Translating Classical Tibetan
- Loneliness
- The Qualities of Good Food
- Where I Needed to Be
- Meet Geshe Ngawang Sonam: Hayagriva Buddhist Centre’s New Resident Teacher
- Stay Low and Go, Go, Go: Fire Safety Training at Kopan Monastery and Nunnery
- Rinpoche’s Decision
- Insight into Emptiness
- Editor’s Choice – Media Reviews
- January
- Mandala for 2011
- January
- The Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition: Looking to Mongolia
- Tibet, Tibet, I Have to Go to Tibet!
- Youth in Refuge
- Lama Yeshe in London, 1975 (Video Recording)
- Hippie Era: Looking for Meaning in Our Lives
- Tsog Adventure
- Transformative Mindfulness and the 16 Guidelines in Canada and North America
- 16 Guidelines at Akshay Charitable School, Bodhgaya, India
- Taking the 16 Guidelines into South African Schools
- 16 To Live By Update
- Educación Universal Update
- Outings and Expeditions with Ready Set Happy
- Three Ways to Help Animals
- Meet Sera Je, the Dog!
- NHS Videos for Carers
- Cittamani Hospice Service’s Annual Memorial
- Mercy Relief to Thai Flood Victims
- His Holiness the Dalai Lama in San Jose, California
- Making Business Work for FPMT
- Bhutan’s Prime Minister is Serious about Happiness
- Resources for “Peaceful Jihad”
- Yoga for Health
- Addiction Workshops at Mahamudra Centre
- Nine Questions About Vegetarianism
- An Interview with Jetsünma Tenzin Palmo
- A Visit for My Mother, A Crash Course for Me
- Lights and Rainbows: My Struggle
- A Love Letter to My Valentine: Let Me Tell You Who Our Cupid Is
- A Young Lass, A Manangi
- An Open Letter To B. Alan Wallace
- Editor’s Choice
- April
- E. Gene Smith Obituaries
- Engaged Buddhism: Compassion in Action
- Lama Zopa Rinpoche in London, 1975 (Video Recording)
- Photo Gallery
- Engaged Buddhism Resource Guide
- Trailers for “Meditations from the Multiplex”
- Raw Food Resource Guide
- The Healing Power of Juice Fasting
- An Interview with Anila Ann McNeil
- Dagri Rinpoche at the FPMTA National Meeting
- An Old Story of Faith and Doubt: Reminiscences of Alan Wallace and Stephen Batchelor
- Editor’s Choice
- July
- Practices for Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Long Life
- The Dissatisfied Mind of Desire
- Don't Stop! Go Now!
- ¡No pares! ¡Ve ahora!
- Leading with the Mind of a Servant
- Practices to Control Earthquakes and the Four Elements
- El retiro de la vida
- Protection from Radiation
- Morning Intention and Breath Counting with Children
- Interview with the Authors of the Recently Published Winning Ways
- Buddhism in the Trenches
- Cuando el gurú manifiesta un ataque
- The Hidden Toll of Australia’s 2011 Floods
- His Holiness Spreads Wisdom of Universal Human Values and Religious Harmony
- “Peace Through Inner Peace,” His Holiness Visits Minneapolis
- Hurray!
- Anger Always Hurts Me
- La rabia siempre me hiere
- Move, Breathe and Be Kind
- Working with Addiction
- Гнев всегда причиняет вред Мне
- הכעס תמיד פוגע בי
- Ian Green: Buddha’s Builder
- Big Love Excerpt
- Thinking Like a Thief
- Robert Page’s Art for Liberation Prison Project
- Ethics on My Mind
- Surrendering to Monkeys: Letting Go of the Self
- The Kindness of Lama Yeshe and My Mother
- What Goes Around, Comes Around
- Editor’s Choice
- October
- An Idea to Begin to Repay the Kindness
- Remembering the Kindness of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Courageous People of Tibet
- Remembering the Kindness
- Dalai Lama on The Spirit of Things
- Harry O’Brien Introduces His Holiness to Australian Football
- His Holiness in Melbourne, Australia 2011
- His Holiness the Dalai Lama 2011 Chenrezig Gompa Talk
- His Holiness the Dalai Lama at Vajrayana Institute’s Happiness & Its Causes Conference
- Luka Bloom Shares “As I Waved Goodbye” with His Holiness the Dalai Lama
- REJOICE! FPMT Offerings to His Holiness in Australia
- Khensur Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup
- A Message from Kopan Monastery
- A note on Khensur Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup’s passing
- Discovering Khensur Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup’s Relics
- Madre, padre, maestro, amigo: La bondad incomparable del querido Khensur Rimpoché Lama Lhundrup Rigsel de Kopan
- Người Mẹ, người Cha, người Thầy, người Bạn: Lòng Nhân Từ Vô Song của Khensur Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup Rigsel Cao Quý
- Interview with Lama Lhundrup
- Lama Lhundrup Videos
- A Thank You Puja at Kopan Monastery
- Caring For Lama Lhundrup
- Un père, une mère, un enseignant, un ami : L’incomparable bonté du vénéré Khènsour Rinpoché Lama Lhoundroup Rigsèl de Kopan
- Lama Lhundrup: An Old, Dear Friend
- Memories of Lama Lhundrup
- My Love Affair With Kopan Monastery
- An Aspect of Lama Lhunrup Seen at Kopan
- The Qualities of Lama Lhundrup
- The Kindness of Lama Lhundrup
- Thus I Have Heard: An Offering to the Participants of the First FPMT Translation Conference
- Creating Compassionate Cultures
- Ants Spread Dharma
- New Goats for Animal Liberation Sanctuary
- It Doesn’t Need to Be Either/Or
- Vegan Pumpkin “Cheesecake”
- Teachers Discuss the Future of Buddhism in the West: The 2011 Garrison Institute Conference
- The European Buddhist Union and Engaged Buddhism
- Socially Responsible Investing
- Panchen Losang Chogyen Gelegzentrum Makes a Plan for World Environment Day
- Meher Baba Clearly Told Me in a Dream
- Gelek Sherpa Photo Gallery
- Sarah’s Journey
- A Pilgrim’s progress
- Big Love Excerpt
- FPMT News Around the World Photo Gallery
- Editor’s Choice
- January
- Mandala for 2010
- January
- Back Over the Mountains
- Compassionate Action for Dogs and Donkeys in Dharamsala
- Confidence to Change the World
- Dharma at the Dollar Store
- Editor’s Choice
- ever mind
- FPMT News Around the World
- How to Meditate
- Snapshots of Buddhism in the West
- The Practice of Motherhood
- The Unspeakable – Spiritual Dryness
- April
- FPMT’s First Holy Object Project
- Holy Objects Are Rare in Prison
- Notable FPMT Holy Objects from Around the World
- The Maitreya Project: Big Love, Universal Love
- Types of Holy Objects
- Why Holy Objects Are Precious and Wish-fulfilling
- Editor’s Thanks
- Nothing to Trust in Appearances
- Who is Maitreya Buddha?
- Story of the Bouddhanath Stupa
- Sacred Sites Around the World
- Holy Objects Resource Guide
- David Zinn’s FPMT Photo Montage
- FPMT News Around the World
- Animal Liberation in Mexico
- Wrestling a Whale with Bodhichitta
- Shamatha in the Indian Buddhist Tradition
- It Really is all About Me (and My Ego)
- Obituaries
- Write for Your Lives
- Power to Hope, Power to Heal
- Editors Choice
- July
- Dying is Better than This Flower
- Like Nectar on Flowers: The Selfless Service of FPMT-Registered Teachers (Geshe Section)
- Like Nectar on Flowers: The Selfless Service of FPMT-Registered Teachers (History Section)
- The Ever-Changing Forms of Buddhism
- An Interview with Khensur Jampa Tegchok
- Meeting Ven. Amy Miller
- FPMT News Around the World
- Still Cooking
- The ‘Roo from Black Saturday
- MAITRI – Where Every Individual Matters
- Welcome to Root Institute!
- Tara Children’s Project
- Editor’s Choice
- FPMT TEACHER TRIVIA ANSWER KEY
- October
- January
- Mandala for 2009
- January
- April
- July
- “The Sink”
- CPMT 2009 Representatives Meet for Six Days at Institut Vajra Yogini, France
- Don’t Just Sit There … Circumambulate!
- FPMT News Around the World
- Geshe Potowa of the 21st Century
- Inner Peace and Happiness during Three-Year Retreat
- No Desire but Plenty of Bliss and Void
- The Passing of the Holy Master Venerable Geshe Tsultim Gyeltsen: Sadness, Joy, Inspiration and Blessings.
- October
- A Taste of Liberation
- Building Community: Priorities for FPMT Sangha
- Center History Amendments
- Commentary on the Epithets of the Buddha
- FEATURED MEDIA: Editor’s Choice
- FPMT News Around the World
- Integrating Lam-Rim into Daily Life
- Liberating Horses on Saka Dawa
- Spoggy the Sparrow: A Real Dharma Bird
- The Dharma School Comes Home
- Training for Community Life: An Interview with Sister Jotika
- Uncounted Cost of Samaya
- Mandala for 2008
- February
- Advice from Lama Zopa: A Thousand Benefits
- Aspiration
- Begin Again
- Everything’s Local in the Global Community
- Further Explorations
- Giving Negativity a Body Blow
- Langri Tangpa’s Eight Verses for Training the Mind
- Life in a plaster cast
- Maitreya Project Heart Shrine Relic Tour
- Maitreya Project: Setting the Record Straight
- Making Merit
- Mind Training, The Tibetan Tradition of Mental and Emotional Cultivation: Part II
- Monsoon Meditation
- Society or the Individual
- Tantra Comes from Buddha
- Thanksgiving Report from Lama Zopa Rinpoche
- The Tenth Course
- The Works of Geshe Jampa Gyatso at Pomaia
- April
- A Letter from a Student to Lama Zopa
- A Truthful Heart
- A Year in the Life of FPMT
- Art as Dharma
- Berni Kohnen
- Dealing with Feelings
- Emergency Buddhism: Part II
- Essential Life Practices
- Flexible Retreats: How to Retreat from our own Delusions
- Graduation Time!
- Henry Lau
- Lama the Businessman
- Manis by the Millions
- On the Environment and Meditation
- Ready, Set, Go!
- Shifting the Attitude: Embracing Community
- The Evolution of the Virtual Thangka
- The Importance of Lam-rim and the War Against Delusions
- The Tara Institute Healing Meditation Program
- What Is a Root Guru?
- June
- A Nation in the Spotlight
- An Appeal to the World from His Holiness the Dalai Lama
- Beatrice Ribush: Special Tribute from Lama Zopa Rinpoche
- Choden Rinpoche Touches Hearts of Prisoners, Officers and Staff in Australia
- Compassion for a Killer
- Conversation without End
- Establishing a Firm Foundation: International Mahayana Institute (IMI)
- Lama Yeshe’s American College “Experewence”
- Leading Chinese Intellectuals Speak Out
- Letter from the Publisher
- Life at Sera Je
- Maitri’s Microcosm
- Obituaries
- Prayers from Kopan
- Robert Thurman on the Situation Inside Tibet
- Summer Days at a Kids’ Camp
- Support His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Tibet
- The Caves of Maratika
- The Dharamsala Experience
- The Perfect Altar
- Where Waves and Water Are One
- Who Am I, Really?
- Why We Love War
- Yangsi Rinpoche on the Need for a Plan
- An Interview with Ven. Professor Samdhong Rinpoche
- August
- 2008 International Sangha Prayers for World Peace
- A Blessing for Marine Life
- About Prayer: A Retreat
- Accentuating the Positive
- And My First Question Is …
- Becoming Maitreya
- Cleaning the Whole Mirror
- FPMT Puja Fund
- Geshe Lobsang Jamyang Reborn
- Long Life Puja for the Dalai Lama: A Student’s Experience
- Mexican Dharma Celebration
- Mouse in the House!
- New Abbot at Nalanda Monasteiy
- Obituaries
- On the Importance of Meditation
- Ordination: Caught Between Two Cultures
- Powerful Ceremonies
- Pujas by the People
- The Abbot: When East Meets West
- The Benefits of Namgyälma Mantra
- The Dharma of Politics: Adventures in Interdependence
- The Monks at Nalanda Monastery in France
- October
- ‘Why Does the Buddha Wear Lipstick?’
- 16 Guidelines for Happy Families
- A Great Adventure for Teens
- A Volunteer’s Experience in Bodhgaya
- Buddha’s Café
- California Mud
- Camp for Teens
- Compassion through Art
- Dharma in My Life
- Dog-tired at a Nyung-nä
- First Encounters
- Glorious Italian Days and Nights
- I’m Really Not There
- It’s Cool to Be Kind
- Kadampa Center’s New Building is Consecrated
- My Root Guru: Lamp on the Path to Enlightenment
- Obituaries
- Peace Begins with You and Me: LKPY Turns One
- Rare and Important Manuscripts Found in Tibet
- Reaching Out to the Young
- Relying on the Guru
- Sitting at School: The Case for Contemplative Education
- The Last Hurrah
- The Reasons for Studying the Four Noble Truths
- Three Turnings of the Wheel of the Dharma
- To Be Truly Free
- Wheel-Turning Day World-Wide Recitation of the King of Glorious Sutras Sublime Golden Light
- Winning Gold
- February
- Mandala for 2007
- February
- A Dharma King Takes Shape: The origins of Buddhist Art
- Contemptible Dreams, Remarkable Rinpoches
- Fur and Feathers and Other Sentient Beings
- How Khedrup Je Became Entrusted with the Tooth-relic
- Lama, the ad-man
- Liberation for our Brother and Sister Animals
- Loving Kindness Photo Contest: First Winner
- More River than Rinpoche
- The case for not eating our friends
- When Tibetans Found Their Voice: Tibetan Buddhist Philosophy from 1200-1600
- April
- “Ask a Lama” Revisited
- 12 Ways to Create Good Karma
- A Last Letter from Lama Yeshe
- A Remarkable Feat by Extraordinary Men: The Western Geshe in Two Acts
- A Room Full of Role Models: The Geshe Conference in Sarnath
- A Young Monk Runs Away: The Humble Beginnings of a Legendary Geshe
- Be Careful What You Wish For …
- Building the Land of Kalachakra
- Ideas to Make Life Better
- Lama the Environmentalist and Art Teacher
- Loving Kindness Photo Contest: Second Winner
- Masters in Our Midst
- Mystic Tibet: An Outer, Inner and Secret Pilgrimage
- Other Titles in Tibetan Buddhism
- Radical Solutions for Transforming Problems into Happiness.
- The Four Subscripts, Continued
- The Master from the New Generation – Geshe Thubten Sherab
- The Rise of the Geshe-ma
- To help oneself – or others? That is the question
- Transforming Desire into Wisdom with Vajrayogini
- Vajrayogini Retreat Explained
- What Does a Geshe Do for a Center?
- What is a Geshe?
- June
- ‘Anyone Can Be a Buddha’
- A Breath of Fresh Air
- A Clear and Knowing Mind
- A Stone Made of Heart
- About Doubt
- Architecture of the Mind
- Clarifying the Status of the “Geshema” Degree
- Garden of Enlightenment
- How to Establish a Daily Meditation Routine
- In Another Person’s Shoes
- Lama Learns to Drive
- Loving Kindness Peaceful Youth: The Beginning
- Loving Kindness Photo Contest: Third Winner
- Molting
- Motherhood as a Path to Realization
- Obituaries
- Subscripts Concluded and Word Order
- The Dharamsala Experience
- The Real Chöd Practice
- The Value of Study
- Vegetarianism: A Healthy Debate
- Venture into the Interior
- Young Tulkus Give Contemporary Advice
- August
- What Exactly Is Merit?
- A Journalist Undone
- A Venture in Real Estate
- An Introduction to Tibetan Prefixes
- Buddhist Monastics Get Together
- Developing Wisdom
- Economics and the Dharma: Coming to Realize That All Profit Is Loss
- Green Tara Rising
- How to Be a Happy Meditator
- Integrating Ngondro into your Daily Meditation
- Kurukulla: A Work in Progress
- Loving Kindness Peaceful Youth
- Obituaries
- Please Recite the Golden Light Sutra for World Peace
- The Baby Minder’s Preliminary and Purification Practice
- The Benefits of Wearing Robes
- The Compassion and Wisdom Knowledge Base
- The Foundation of All Good Qualities
- The Soothing of Madness and Sorrow
- The Way to Meditate: The Importance of Mindfulness
- Tibetan Cooking
- October
- A Water Bowl Marathon
- About Connecting with a Teacher
- Achieving Inner Happiness Through Meditation
- Bhutan’s Velvet Revolution in Reverse
- Dalai Lama Urges Introduction of Bhikshuni Vows into Tibetan Tradition
- Eight Hundred Words on Education
- Getting to Know the Four Schools of Tibetan Buddhism
- Heart Advice of Achos Rinpoche
- Heart to Heart
- How to Garden Without Killing
- How to Let Go
- In Praise of Silence
- Kim’s Lama: Spiritual Quest in Kipling’s Novel
- Lama Yeshe and the Sand Tray
- Nepal Sanctuary for Animals Underway
- Obituaries
- Suffixes and Finding the Root Letter of a Syllable
- Teaching the Language of an Ancient Culture in a Modern World
- The Importance of Human Affection and Love
- The Iron-Bridge Man
- What is Anger?
- Will All the Volunteers Please Stand Up?
- December
- Dalai Lama receives highest honor from the US
- Disappointment and Delight: The eight worldly concerns
- Each Faith Enhances the Other
- Lo-jong Mind training, the Tibetan tradition of mental and emotional cultivation: Part I
- Making friends with money
- Meanings and Meditation
- Nurturing baby bodhisattvas to stop the rot
- Our Relationship to Resources
- Recognizing and supporting the Sangha community
- Thank You and Rejoice!
- February
- Mandala for 2006
- February
- Advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche
- Getting to the Cushion: Temporary Ordination at Gampo Abbey
- Keeping It in the Family
- Kindle Now the Dharma’s Light
- Letting Go of Fear and Trembling Takes Courage
- Maitreya Project on track
- Monsters (Un)incorporated
- Obituaries
- On a Wing and a Prayer
- The Dream: One Thousand Maitreya Statues
- Universal Compassion and Wisdom for Peace
- April
- June
- August
- Altruism versus Co-dependency
- Buddhism in Latin America
- Following the Eightfold Path in the exercise yard
- Found in translation: A compassionate heart
- Journey to Sikkim
- Letter from Bodhgaya: Monastic Economics
- Milarepa: The Movie
- MILAREPA: TIBET’S GREAT MYSTIC
- SERVICE BY ANOTHER NAME …
- Stepping into the Abyss: Experiences on Retreat
- October
- Ask a Lama: Celebrating all the traditions
- Confessions of a Buddhist Environmental Activist
- Dealing with Grief
- Eco-Ethics: Engaging in the Practice of Compassion
- ENGAGED REALISM
- How Prayer Can Help: Reciting the Sutra of Golden Light
- Letter from Bodhgaya: Arboreal antidote to an inconvenient truth
- Peace promoter honored
- Reducing your Ecological Footprint
- The Giving Tree: A voice for the singing river
- THE PRACTICE OF GURU PADMASAMBHAVA THAT SAVES FROM EARTH DANGER
- Vipassana: The Mindfulness-Awareness Meditation
- What Does Al Gore Know that Everyone Should Know?
- Whirlwind Down Under: Lama Zopa Rinpoche in Australia and New Zealand
- Blessing the World’s Waterways
- December
- A Summer in Kenya
- An intensive meditation experience for teenagers Five-day retreat at Land of Medicine Buddha, California, December 27 to January 1
- Building a monastery
- Calling all young photographers. Win prizes!
- Materialism of the Gaps
- Mongolia: Dalai Lama urges shared responsibility
- Of Siberian Cranes and Broken Worlds
- Preliminary Practices by the Zillion
- The Spirit of Christmas: SILENT MIND, HOLY MIND
- Using Meditation to Gain Knowledge of Mental Reality
- Where Are All the Western Geshes?
- February
- Mandala for 2005
- February
- “Universal Education” Dharma for the 21st Century
- According to Je Tsongkhapa
- FPMT Masters Program: The Graduates
- Letter from Bodhgaya: Travels with my father
- Life as a Monk
- New FPMT College Planned
- Rock climbing without arms:
- Study Versus Meditation: Do they complement or compete with your practice?
- Tibetan art unfurled
- Tushita: The Place of Joy
- April
- Buddhism in the Family: Dealing with the “Terrible Twos”
- Letter from Bodhgaya How wonderful it would be if…
- Nam-tok: The hallucinatory bubble
- Science and Buddhism: Measuring Success in Meditation
- Science and Buddhism: Studying Compassion
- The Dharma of Sitting
- Tsunami disaster: Children helping children
- Tsunami disaster: Potowa Center helps the victims
- June
- Albert Einstein and the Dalai Lama
- From News Roundup: Making a difference in the courts of law
- Integrating Tibetan and Western Medicine in the Treatment of Anxiety
- Is Nothing Sacred? The Truth about Emptiness
- Personal experiences in healing rLung
- Spirituality and Work: Antonyms or Synonyms?
- The Mathematical Proof of Emptiness
- The Point Is to Practice
- August
- October
- December
- February
- Mandala for 2004
- Mandala for 2003
- March
- A Celebration of the Feminine
- Celebrating the Feminine in Buddhism
- Creating the Work You Love
- Finding Larger Truths for Peace
- Giving Birth to Healthy Life
- Possibilities for Contemporary Buddhist Living
- Romancing a River
- Speaking to Create Harmony
- Taming Your Wild Elephant-like Mind
- The Attendant Who Pledged Her Life
- The Dharmic Politician
- The Face of Buddha in Mongolia
- The Girlfriend with a Lama
- The Inner Activist
- The Working Woman
- Turning Rage to Love
- When Clothes Make the Nun
- When Does a Stem Cell Become a Human Being?
- When Loneliness Is Your Closest Friend
- You Are Not a Buddhist Missionary!
- June
- September
- Advice for Western Practitioners
- Beginnings: History in the making
- Buddhist Psychology? Buddhism is Psychology
- Conversations with a Nun: Opening the Prison Door
- Reflections on the importance of arousing Bodhicitta
- The challenge: Kids and their ‘stuff’
- The living likeness of Lama Thubten Yeshe
- The more things change …
- The Secret of Happiness
- To debate or not to debate: That is the question
- December
- A Cheerful Face on Death
- A grief observed
- Advice on Long Retreats
- An interview with Yangsi Rinpoche
- History in the Making
- How to Prepare for and Not Be Afraid of Death
- Parenting as a Path
- Science and Buddhism Meet with His Holiness the Dalai Lama
- Trust and Mistrust
- Who are we really, and to whom do we pray?
- March
- Mandala for 2002
- March
- An Engaged Military
- An Extraordinary Modern-Day Milarepa: The Life and Death of Geshe Lama Konchog
- Coming to Terms with “God”
- Dealing with Depression
- Embracing Anger
- Good Life, Good Death
- Ground Zero
- Heaven, Earth, and Mankind Luck
- Holy Wars in Buddhism and Islam: The Myth of Shambhala
- Letting Go of Codependency
- Life Among the Ruins
- Mandala for Universal Peace
- Natural Born Buddhist
- Open Letter to a President
- Revenge is Far From Sweet
- Shalom! A Letter from Jerusalem
- Stanger, Enemy, Friend
- The Case of the Dirty Debutante
- Transforming Problems into Happiness
- Unbearable Compassion
- War and Peace in Tibetan Buddhism
- Why Worry?
- June
- A Healthy Relationship
- A Korean Holiday
- A Teacher’s Responsibility
- A Word from Lama
- Art Sets Kids Free
- Capturing a Living Likeness
- Counsels from My Heart
- First Assemble the Ingredients
- First, assemble the ingredients
- Garuda Rising
- Grappling with the Guru Principle
- Hi-Tech Volunteers
- Just Get On With It!
- Mos and Other Conundrums
- Out of the Mouths of Young Monks
- Relationship with the teacher
- Spiritual Authority, Genuine and Counterfeit
- Students Speak
- The guru as Buddha —or like Buddha?
- The Harmony of Retreat
- The Sounds of Silence
- Thinking Like a Thief
- Trials and Joys of a Disciple
- Wake Up Call
- Working with the Western Mind
- Zen Moments of Truth
- September
- A Garden’s Teaching
- A Jewish-Buddhist Encounter
- A Liberating Corner of a Prison
- Advice for Retreat Practice
- An Ecological Challenge
- Bearing Witness
- Bön and Benedictine
- Dharma in the Workplace
- Do Good Bosses Lead – Or Just Manage?
- Eva’s Good Heart Pillows
- Gethsemani: The Conversation Continues
- Inner City Haven
- Love and Freedom
- Making Peace with Our Inner Family
- Meditation in the Workplace
- Misunderstandings
- Non-Gardening in a Rainforest
- Science to Prove Benefits of Compassion
- Spirit in business
- Spirit in Business: an Oxymoron?
- Start the Day Right
- Stupa: The Mind of a Buddha
- Symbols of the Enlightened Mind
- The Beauty and Benefits of Offering Flowers
- The Calvert Community
- The Simple Art of Meditation
- The Twins: Faith and Doubt
- The Way of the Ani Yunwiwa
- Tibetan Must Preserve Their Culture
- Very Young Practitioners
- Why am I doing this?
- Why Am I Doing This?
- Wise Women Healing
- December
- A Light-filled Day for Lama Tsongkhapa
- A Month in Shangri-la
- Bad Boy Miller
- Comfortable with Uncertainty
- Flexibility
- From Lama Zopa’s Letter to His Holiness the Dalai Lama
- Inner and Outer Disarmament
- Pilgrimage to Tibet
- Please, Ma’am!
- Relics Explained by Lamas
- Relics on Tour
- Safe Sex and Healthy Babies
- Stitching a Culture Back Together
- The Bliss of Practice
- The Case of the Talkative Traveler
- The Future of Tibet
- The Habit of War and Suffering
- The Secret Life of Power Places
- Unlearning Hate
- March
- Mandala for 2001
- March
- June
- A sacred trek round Mount Kailash
- Cutting to the Chase
- Dharma teachers: seven years in the making
- Emptiness on My Mind
- Keanu Reeves on the small screen
- Maha Dalai Lama (Great Dalai Lama)
- Mastering the art of ‘masterful coaching’
- The Fourteen Dalai Lamas: A Sacred Legacy of Reincarnation
- The Inner Realizations of the Dalai Lama
- The power in the stories we tell ourselves
- What is Dharma?
- Who are you and where can you be found?
- Who is making this decision anyway?
- September
- A Vehicle for Realization
- Band-aids, baby-sitting or real Buddhadharma?
- Dakinis: healers of our gender scars
- Freedom from the ego mind
- Monasticism in the 21st Century
- Monasticism in the 21st Century
- The 12 Deeds of Shakyamuni Buddha
- The benefits of cherishing others
- The Lies Our Minds Tell Us
- The Master’s Voice
- The puzzle of relationship
- Those who teach, learn
- Training the mind while training the body
- December
- Addicted? Who, Me?
- Behave yourself. You are being watched
- Buddhism in Action
- A Fortunate Life
- A Heart for Dying Children
- A Nurse Finds Right Livelihood
- A Teacher Helps Kids ‘Reach for Peace’
- A Thousand Letters
- Aid for AIDS Victims
- Altruism in a Maid’s Uniform
- An Italian in Wonderland
- Behave Yourself. You are Being Watched.
- Bodhisattva in Training
- Care for the Dying in Singapore
- Computers in the Slums
- Freedom Inside Prison
- From Mozart to Mongolia
- Healing the Scars of Sexual Abuse
- I Would Ride 500 Miles – Or More
- Keeping the Balance
- Looking into the Mirror of Death
- Nun Helps Air Force Cadets to Stay Grounded
- Roshi on the Frontlines
- Senior Wisdom
- Soup Kitchens and Ban the Bomb
- The Bean Counter Who Works for Free
- The Freelance Lama: Thubten Dorje Lakha Lama
- The Healing Power of Meditation
- The Intimacy of Dying
- The Toe Tag of Tenderness
- Walk a Mile in My Shoes
- Word Power: A Journo’s Story
- Computers in the Slums
- Dharma for Modern Life
- Interview – Why Buddhism?
- News Roundup
- Nun helps Air Force cadets to stay grounded
- Sharing the benefits of a Christmas feast
- The Attitude Behind Social Service
- The Dharma of Dancing
- The freelance lama
- The Warm Heart
- Trading the Good Life for a Better One
- Vikramashila, Ancient Seat of Tantric Buddhism
- World Peace
- Mandala for 2000
- January
- How a Person Enters into the Mother’s Womb
- Cecilia Berranger, France
- Colin Crosbie, Australia
- Death of a Son
- Ecie Hursthouse, New Zealand
- Geshe Gelek Chodak
- In Mongolia, “It is now physically very hard but easier mentally.”
- Jacie Keeley, United States
- Janet Brooke, United States
- Journey to Realms Beyond Death
- Lama Ösel’s News
- Letter from Ulaanbaatar
- Maria Torres, Spain
- Mary Grace Lentz, United States
- Monks and Nuns of the FPMT: Ven. Yeshe Gyatso
- Naresh and Antonella Mathur, India
- Panchen Otrul Rinpoche’s Fourth Visit to Mongolia
- Peter Kedge, Canada
- Rocio Arreola, Mexico
- Salim Lee, Australia
- The Passing Scene: January-February 2000
- The Reawakening of Buddhadharma in Mongolia
- Vajra Brothers and Sisters Have a Say: Giving Life to a Statue of the Buddha
- March
- A Day in the Life of an FPMT Lama: Geshe Thubten Chonyi
- Attachment: The Biggest Problem on Earth
- Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche Uses Film for Seeing Reality
- His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s New Millennium Message
- Journey to Realms Beyond Death
- Lama Osel “Eager for the Study of Buddhism”
- Lama Ösel’s News
- Maitreya Project Hosts Twelve Thousand People for Teachings of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Bodhgaya
- My First Meeting with Lama Yeshe
- Other Lamas: His Holiness Jigdal Dagchen Sakya
- Proceeds of Sale of Videos of Australian Documentary Film to Benefit Milarepa Prison Project
- Tha Passing Scene: March-April 2000
- The Beginnings of Lama Yeshe’s Work in the West
- The Biography of a Buddha
- The Blossoming of Blue Lotuses
- The Sign of a Real Lama
- The Unimaginable Qualities of Lama Yeshe’s Body, Speech and Mind
- Thousands “Genuinely Delighted” to Celebrate the New Millennium at the Bodhgaya Stupa
- Vajra Brothers and Sisters Have a Say: Terry Griffith-Ladner
- May
- How a Doctor-Lama Manifests as the Medicine Buddha
- Mental and Physical Illness Can Be Caused by Spirits
- Practicing the Art of Tibetan Buddhist Healing
- Spirit Influence Is the Result of Karma from the Person’s Previous Lives
- Successful Treatment of AIDS, Cancer and other Diseases by Tibetan Medicine
- The Passing Scene: May-June 2000
- Vajra Brothers and Sisters Have a Say: Carleen Gonder
- Ven. Lobsang Rinchen
- July
- September
- A Lama Comes of Age
- A new generation of Tibetan lamas
- Competition or Compassion?
- Competition or Compassion?
- Countering Violence in Colombia
- Give Peace a Dance
- Keeping cultures alive in exile: Tibetan children go to Israel
- Mandalas as Tools for Peace
- MindTrip
- Peace on this planet is in the hands of young people
- PeaceJam
- Six thousand Oregon Teenagers to meet His Holiness the Dalai Lama
- November
- January
- Older Archives
- Mandala for 1999
- January
- March
- 150 People Experience the Joy of Serving
- Advice from Shantideva: “Please Become a Kind Person”
- Australian and New Zealand Geshes Enjoy Themselves in Laid-back Subtropical Queensland
- Education Fund Supports Talent and Creative Initiative
- FPMT European Geshes Meet in London: A Conference with a Difference
- Geshe Jampel Senge
- Helping to Make Things Better
- His Holiness the Dalai Lama Teaches on Shantideva in Bodhgaya
- Home Truths: March-April 1999
- Lama Osel’s News
- Nalanda: A New Building to House Forty Monks
- New Education Services for FPMT Centers
- Stupa of Universal Compassion: Re-creating a Building Designed in the Fifteenth Century to Last for 1,000 Years
- That is My Home, My Home is Up There
- The Lawudo Lama Returns
- The Passing Scene: March-April 1999
- Useful Meeting
- Ven. Thubten Samphel
- May
- A Buddhist Approach to Mental Illness
- Gelek Rinpoche
- Home Truths: May-June 1999
- How to Deal with “Meditator’s Disease”
- Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva
- Lama Ösel’s News
- Sam-Lo Geshe Kelsang
- The Making of a Buddha
- The Passing Scene: May-June 1999
- The Power of the Human Heart: Transforming Asia’s Biggest Prison
- The Practice of Ksitigarbha to Avert Danger and Purify Obstacles
- Ven. Thubten Khadro
- July
- Accompanying Children to Their Death
- Changing Suffering into Happiness
- Changing Suffering into Happiness: Andrew Vahldieck, USA
- Changing Suffering into Happiness: Elea Redel, France
- Changing Suffering into Happiness: Isabel Amorim, Brazil
- Changing Suffering into Happiness: Skye Banning, Australia
- Home Truths: July-August 1999
- Ven. Marcel Bertels
- September
- A Day in the Life of Western Monks at Sera Je
- Advice from the Virtuous Friend, His Holiness the Dalai Lama
- Chime Lama
- Fifty People Successfully Complete First Five-year Course of Basic Program in the Netherlands
- Geshe Acharya Thubten Loden
- Home Truths: September-October 1999
- How St. Francis Lost Everything and Found his Way
- Journey to Realms beyond Death
- Lama Ösel’s News
- Receiving the Blessings of Chenrezig Himself
- Reclaiming Life on Death Row
- The Passing Scene: September-October 1999
- Vajra Brothers and Sisters Have a Say: September-October 1999
- November
- Believing in Social Justice Principles
- Feng-shui: Tai-chi for the Environment
- Geshe Doga
- Geshe Yeshe Tobden
- Gomang Khensur Kelsang Thapkey Rinpoche
- Helping Others with a Good Motivation is Dharma Practice
- Home Truths: November-December 1999
- In Praise of Dorje Den, Lama Yeshe’s Dog
- Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche Honored by Mexican Indians
- Lama Ösel’s News
- Lama Yeshe Losal
- The Passing Scene: November-December 1999
- Unashamedly Beautiful Housing for Melbourne’s Elderly Homeless
- Ven. Tenzin Jangsem
- Wintringham Wins World Habitat Award
- Mandala for 1998
- January
- “Surprise and joy”
- Bad and Good Depend on the Individual Person’s Interpretation
- Choosing a Life Without Attachment
- Colors of the Dharma:
- Fulfilling a Lifelong Calling to Heal Leprosy
- Fund-Raising Event in Singapore Attended by 5,500
- Geshe Lobsang Dorje
- Home Truths
- Lama Osel’s News
- Letter to Lama Zopa from the Staff of FPMT International Office
- Maitreya Project Gaining Momentum
- New Director of FPMT International Office
- Putting Compassion into Action
- The Keeper of Lawudo
- The Passing Scene
- Tibetan Monk-Scholar Visits Taiwan to Research the Chinese Bhikshuni Tradition
- Transforming Hardships into Realizations
- When We Study Buddhism We Study Ourselves
- March
- A Blissful Festival of Dharma
- Geshe Tenzin Tenphel
- Home Truths: March-April 1998
- Lama Osel’s News
- Monks Walk through Asia for Inner Peace/World Peace
- On Pilgrimage with Ribur Rinpoche and Lama Zopa Rinpoche
- The Benefits of the Existence of Statues and of Making Statues
- The Blessings of Chenrezig Himself: the Guarantee of Future Success
- The Hermit of the Pyrenees
- The Passing Scene: March-April 1998
- The Purpose of Religion
- Twenty Thousand People Attend Teachings in Bodhgaya by His Holiness the Dalai Lama
- Wutaishan’s Natural Wonder, the Sky-Gazing Great Buddha
- May
- Empowering the Homeless Youth of San Francisco
- Everything Comes from the Mind
- Home Truths: May-June 1998
- Khensur Lobsang Thubten Rinpoche
- Lama Ösel’s News
- Looking into the Future
- Loving Oneself
- The Compassion and Vastness of the Minds of the Lamas
- The Passing Scene: May-June 1998
- Using Your Mind Can Be Fun
- July
- Aaron Morrison, 23, American
- Aida Rius, 19, Spanish
- Angela Furio, 18, Spanish
- Arturo, 22, Mexican
- Christopher Kelley, 24, American
- Felicity Keeley, 11, American
- Fong Huey Yee, 18, Singaporean
- Holly, 12, and Greenfield Nguyen, 14, Vietnamese-American
- Home Truths: July-August 1998
- Jasmilhe Uchitsubo, 16, Japanese
- Jesse Tate Wistreich, 20, English
- Josephine Ross, 15, Australian
- Kalu Davis, 15, Australian
- Kim Tate Wistreich, 11, English
- Lama Tenzin Osel Rinpoche, 13, Spanish
- Lama Yeshe Talks to His Monks and Nuns
- Lungtog Rinpoche, 13, Chinese
- Marlon Vassallo, 20, Italian
- Melissa Carlisle, 23, Singaporean
- Moana Strom, 15, American
- Sangha Shouldn’t Pay
- Shannon Kincaid, 21, American
- The Passing Scene: July-August 1998
- Tom Andrews, 15, Australian
- Ven. Lozang Chodzin, 25, New Zealander
- Ven. Tenzin Chhime (Ven. Holly Ansett), 23, Australian
- Ven. Thubten Dagme, 20, American
- September
- January
- Mandala for 1997
- January
- A Celebration of Kindness: The Dalai Lama in New Zealand
- A Tibetan Pilgrimage
- A Vision for the Future
- Building Bridges
- Educating Monks and Nuns
- From Here to Enlightenment: Education Sentient Beings
- Geshe Ngawang Dakpa
- Home Truths: January-February 1997
- How to Attract People to the Dharma Centers
- Implementing the Basic Program of Buddhist Studies
- Lama Osel’s News
- Not All Who Wander Are Lost
- Teaching
- The Passing Scene: January-February 1997
- What Tibetans Do with their Dead
- March
- May
- Geshe Tsulga
- Home Truths: May-June 1997
- Kopan Monastery: A New Era for Kathmandu Center
- Kopan Monastery: Coming Home
- Kopan Monastery: Kopan the Mother
- Kopan Monastery: The Wellspring of FPMT
- Kopan Monastery’s New Gompa: Loved, Lived in and Full of Dharma
- Lama Osel’s News
- Mogchok Rinpoche Arrives at Nalanda
- Relating to Your Path
- Remembering Death
- The Passing Scene: May-June 1997
- Training Tibetan Translators
- July
- Anger
- Attachment: The Biggest Problem on Earth
- Climbing a Mountain with Both Hands
- Facing the Disharmony within Ourselves: Making Dharma Centers Work
- Going Beyond Hope and Fear
- Home Truths: July-August 1997
- Khensur Kangurwa Lobsang Thubten Rinpoche
- Lama Ösel’s News
- Many Ways to Work with the Mind
- Mongolian Renaissance
- The Passing Scene: July-August 1997
- Letter from a Meditator
- September
- A Day in the Life of an FPMT Lama
- Death, Intermediate State and Rebirth
- Give Your Ego the Wisdom Eye
- Home Truths: September-October 1997
- How to Benefit the Dying and the Dead
- Journeying Skillfully from Life to Life
- Looking Forward to Death
- Nine Ways to Help the Dying
- The Passing Scene: September-October 1997
- We Die as We Live
- November
- A Day in the Life of an FPMT Lama
- Beauty is in the “I” of the Beholder
- Buddhism Breaks into Prison
- Finding Freedom: Practicing Dharma in Prison
- His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the “eternal optimist”
- Home Truths: November-December 1997
- Lama Osel’s News
- Lama Zopa on the Road in America
- Letters from Prison: J.W. Johnson
- Letters from Prison: Jimmy Tribble
- Letters from Prison: Milo Rusimovic
- Letters from Prison: Paul Dewey
- Letters from Prison: Timothy Haremza
- Maitreya Project tackles the engineering challenges involved in building a statue to last for 1000 years
- Ode to John Schwartz
- Prisoners
- Searching for a Way to Leave No One Behind: The Transformation of a Mexican Gangster
- Searching for a Way to Leave No One Behind: The Transformation of a Mexican Gangster
- The Passing Scene: November-December 1997
- Thirty people to start seven-yearFPMT Master’s Program
- Writings from Death Row
- January
- Mandala for 1996
- January
- Reversing the Energy of Addiction
- The Passing Scene: January-February 1996
- A New Generation of Young Lamas
- Geshe Losang Tengye
- Home Truths: January-February 1996
- The Great Stupa of Australia
- The Benefits of Building Stupas
- The Magnificent Legacy of Rabten Kunsang
- He Is My Guru and I Am Going With Him
- Reflections on a Guru/Disciple Relationship
- Lama Osel’s News
- March
- May
- July
- September
- “Seeking joy and freedom from sufferingis the birthright of all beings”
- A Longing to Change
- A Monastery to Last until Maitreya Comes
- Buddhist Monks and Nuns: A Community of White Crows
- Chenrezig Nuns: Harmoniously Growing
- Geshe Tashi Tsering
- Home Truths: September-October 1996
- IMI Communities: Nalanda is Reborn
- Italian Monks and Nuns in ‘Precarious Equilibrium’
- Lama Osel’s News
- Ordination, Who? Me?
- Taiwanese Sangha
- The Benefits of Being Monks and Nuns
- The Passing Scene: September-October 1996
- Tibetan Geshe Offers Money to Help Western Sangha
- Western Monks and Nuns: Taking Care of Our Own Reality
- With Vows, You Don’t Do The Ordinary
- November
- A Day in the Life of an FMPT Lama: Geshe Thubten Dawa
- Beyond Extraordinary: His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Australia
- Dalai Lama Gives to Charity the $750,000 Offered to Him
- Geshe Lhundup Sopa
- Home Truths: November-December 1996
- Lama Osel’s News
- The Compassion Buddha is no other than Your Holiness
- The Making of the Universe
- The Passing Scene: November-December 1996
- January
- Mandala for 1995
- Mandala for 1992
- Mandala for 1990
- April
- Bringing it Home … to the land of Abraham Lincoln and Mickey Mouse
- Creating the Causes: Special Advice on the Guru Shakyamuni Puja from Lama Zopa Rinpoche
- FPMT, Not Just for the West
- Is Stability the Goal?
- It Takes Time
- Leprosy in Bodhgaya: A Long Way to Go
- Membership Provides Stability
- On Becoming Vegetarian
- To Wear Pain Like an Ornament
- October
- April
- Mandala for 1989
- April
- As a Monk in the World
- Excerpts from an Interview of Piero Cerri
- His Holiness the Dalai Lama Speaks on the 30th Anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising – March 10, 1989
- His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Message to the WCRP
- Life in a Residential City Center
- My First Retreat
- Putting into Practice
- Remember the Guru’s Kindness
- The Meaning of Vezak Day
- The Tantric Way in Daily Life
- Transforming Motherhood into the Path
- October
- April
- Mandala for 1988
- April
- A Talk about Nalanda
- An Interview with Tenzin Palmo
- Chronicle of a Special Child
- Focus on Full Ordination for Buddhist Women
- It Isn’t “Out There” Anymore
- Lam-Rim: A Teaching by Geshe Jampa Tegchok
- Now Is the Time When Action is Practice
- Our First and Final Meeting with the Panchen Lama Who Passed Away on January 28, 1989
- Reflections from a New Bhikshuni
- The Twelve Links of Dependent Arising
- Universal Education: On Becoming One
- World Conference on Religion and Peace
- October
- April
- Mandala for 1987
- Mandala for 1984
- Wisdom #2 – 1984
- A Prayer for the Quick Return of Kyabje Ling Rinpoche
- A Prayer for the Quick Return of Tsenshab Serkong Rinpoche
- Extracts from a Mönlam Diary
- How to Let Go, How to Integrate Emptiness in Everyday Life
- Lama Thubten Yeshe, 1935-1984
- Making a Home for Future Nuns
- Nalanda Monastery
- Bodhichitta: The Perfection of Dharma
- They Can Change Their Minds and They Can Become More Harmonious
- We Should Be Very Harmonious and Try to Help Each Other
- Willing to Do Anything to Help
- Lama Was a Great Yogi
- A Prayer for the Kind Father Guru to Return Quickly
- Lama Zopa Rinpoche: One of the Young Lamas Who Is Special
- Our Heart Jewel, Our Wish-granting Gem
- The Activities That Lama Yeshe Performed Are the Activities of All Holy Beings
- Now Here Is a Real Yogi
- The Difference a Single Person Can Make
- Who Simply Breathed Goodness
- The Wind Moaning Down the Valley Is Your Breath
- Getting away from It All
- Teachers
- Journey to Spiti
- Short in Body but Tall in Knowledge
- Kyabje Yongdzin Ling Dorjechang
- Meetings: Opening Our Hearts to Each Other
- Kyabje Song Rinpoche
- Tsenshab Serkong Rinpoche
- Wisdom #2 – 1984
- Mandala for 1983
- Mandala for 1999
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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.The office is a place for Dharma practice. When one goes to the office, dealing with people, one has to recognize it’s a place to practice lam-rim, the three principles of the path, tantra, and the six paramitas. The six paramitas fit very well for daily life. They offer protection for you. Everything is there.