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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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The purpose of meditation is not to reach nirvana and then disappear. If that was the case, it would better that you manifested as a flower!
Lama Thubten Yeshe
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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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Ian Green: Buddha’s Builder
July-September 2011
YOUR COMMUNITY
This interview is an extension of “Ian Green: Buddha’s Builder,” an interview with Ian Green from the July-September 2011 issue of Mandala located on page 46.
Ian Green, a long-time student of both Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, has served FPMT and the Dharma only in big ways: as a founder and director of Atisha Centre in Bendigo, Australia, as the chairman of various FPMT-related boards, and as the director of two of FPMT’s biggest holy object projects: the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion (the largest stupa in the Western world) and the Jade Buddha for Universal Peace (the largest Buddha carved from gemstone quality jade in the world). Lama Yeshe asked for the Great Stupa and Lama Zopa Rinpoche for the Jade Buddha, making both projects not just impressive in scale, but contemporary examples of indefatigable guru devotion.
How did you first meet the Dharma and the FPMT?
Along with my wife Judy, I have been a Buddhist for over 35 years and a vegetarian for around 20 years. In a way, I owe meeting the Dharma to my career in advertising. Around 1970 I was living life in the fast lane, enjoying the samsaric delights of working in advertising and living the life that a good salary afforded a single guy in a big city. It was a time of long lunches, short affairs, high stake card games, fine wines and much excitement. Somehow I had enough wisdom to realize that despite the enjoyments of this life, if I did not do something, I would wind up leading a very short life. I decided to look around for other approaches to life and in 1971 I took six weeks leave from my work and traveled to India.
As soon as I landed in India I saw that spirituality pervaded every part of Indian society and culture. Every shop, every car and every home had an altar. And every tree or rock seemed to be “holy.” All this made me realize just how materialistic our Western society is. But while I loved the “funky-ness” of the Hindu gods, I made no connection with them on a spiritual level.
Toward the end of my Indian journey I visited the holy city of Varanasi. With hash-smoking sadhus, burning ghats and the spectacle of the mighty Ganges, it was an unforgettable experience. But you can only take so much stimulation, and seeking an escape from the noise and busy-ness of Varanasi, I was attracted to a park which was said to be nearby. The moment I walked into that park I felt a sense of tranquility and calmness that I had not felt before in India and only rarely in Australia. As I remember it, “I felt totally at peace … as if I had just come home after wandering for a very long time.”
Standing in the center of the park, I was confronted by a great monolithic object. I could not work out if this was man-made or a natural phenomenon but it seemed to emanate an incredible power which nearly knocked me over. I was looking at the Great Stupa of Sarnath which marks the spot where the Buddha gave his first teaching. This park, which is known as Deer Park, is one of the holiest pilgrimage places of Buddhism.
Whilst at the park I purchased a book entitled What is Buddhism? and on the plane home to Australia I read about Buddhist concepts such as karma and reincarnation. I remember this was also a powerful experience: “As I read that book I had the feeling that I knew all these things, even though I had not seen them written down before.” I now accept that in previous lifetimes I had exposure to Buddhism and that once I met with the right conditions in this life I had “no choice but to become a Buddhist.”
Within a few days of coming home I heard a radio interview with a Melbourne doctor who had been ordained by some Tibetan lamas in Nepal. The doctor (i.e., Nick Ribush) was giving a public lecture and so I went along to my first Dharma talk. Listening to Nick’s talk I had the same feeling as when I read the book on Buddhism: I knew it all but had never heard anyone say it before. Within a few days I became a student at Tara House (later, Tara Institute) in Miller Grove Kew (Melbourne) and within a few months I had received teachings from Nick Ribush, Geshe Loden, Zasep Tulku and Konchok Dronma. By the mid-1970s I had my first encounter with my holy gurus Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. In 1979 I completed the month-long course at Kopan Monastery in Kathmandu. Around this time I took up my first official FPMT role as chairman of the Tara House Executive Committee.
What is the history of how the Bendigo Buddhist developments came about?
At the time I served on the Tara House Executive Committee they were looking for a country retreat center. Konchog Dronma, the director of Tara House, had previously bought land at Noojee and started to build a retreat center there. In fact, Lama Yeshe gave a teaching at the Noojee property. But immediately after his teaching Lama told Konchog Dronma, “You must sell this place. It is too cold.”
The search for a retreat center for Tara House went on for months. Uldis Balodis, myself and one or two others drove all over the state trying to find somewhere suitable. I remember long drives up and down dirt roads looking for places that might be suitable and might be for sale.
One weekend I came home to see my family in Bendigo and was speaking to my father, Ed Green, about the search for the retreat center. In the course of the conversation my father said, “Why don’t you use some of this land?” He had purchased over 700 acres of bushland in the Myers Flat area near Bendigo. I was never quite sure why my father bought the land. It was close to the area where he was bought up and perhaps he felt a connection with the land. In any case, Ed felt he could not go wrong with this purchase – there was so much land, so close to a growing regional city and at a very reasonable price. Later on my family set up a heritage park called Sandhurst Town on the land.
In mid-1980 I wrote to Lama Yeshe to tell him of my father’s offer to donate 50 acres of land to set up a Buddhist center. Lama wrote back to say that he would ask a high lama for a divination on the suitability of the land. News of the divination came shortly and it was that a Buddhist center on the land would be of medium benefit. Not easily deterred, Lama Yeshe then approached two other high lamas for their divination. Their “second opinions” were very positive and indicated that the land would be highly beneficial. Lama then accepted Ed’s offer and agreed to teach on the Bendigo land when he next visited Australia in 1981.
Now the real work had to begin. I had to find some people to shift to Bendigo with me to set up Atisha Centre. At the 1979 Kopan course I had met and befriended Ken Hawter, a physiotherapist from Perth. I asked Ken if he would come with me to Bendigo and he agreed. Ken soon set up a physio practice in Bendigo and became a part of the local community being, amongst other things, a very popular member of the Lockwood Tennis Club. Ken was later ordained and now lives at Chenrezig Institute under his ordained name of Ven. Pende.
I also asked Judy Imer if she would come to Bendigo. Of course this was a very big decision for a mother of three small children. I think that Judy was both excited and frightened by the prospect of the move. But it was after she threw the I-Ching and received a very positive reading about the possibility of ever expanding results that Judy made her life-changing decision.
And so it was that Ken, Judy, Finn, Zack, Cody and I moved to Bendigo in March 1981. At this time our accommodation was railway carriages with no electricity or running water. It was truly an amazing achievement for Judy to look after our three boys by kerosene lamp and water jugs while also helping to set up Atisha Centre.
We only had six months to make Atisha Centre ready to hold a course with Lama Yeshe. He was booked to teach at Atisha Centre for four weeks in August 1981. Fortunately we were joined by some other hardy pioneers to help with the work. Some of the people who came to help were Ven. Harry Sutton, Alex and Stewart Moore, Graham Reid, Kevin Smith, Graham Mathews and our dear friend Alice Arbuthnott.
There was so much to do. The five railway carriages all had to be painted and have beds and mattresses put in them. Toilets needed to be set up, septic tanks put in, kitchens set up and so much more.
My father also contributed a great deal to the facilities when he arranged for his company, Stramit, to donate and erect the toilet block, kitchen, small gompa and adjoining accommodation block. These buildings have contributed to Atisha Centre for the last 30 years. In fact, in those six months, nearly as much building took place at Atisha Centre as happened in all the years since.
We also arranged to “borrow” the church and restaurant from the family tourist attraction, Sandhurst Town, for the course. The course was held in the church and the retreaters ate their meals in the Sandhurst Town restaurant. Interestingly, the same restaurant building (now known as the Great Stupa Exhibition Centre) was used to feed the people attending Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s course in April 2011.
Somehow we managed to put everything in place and by August 1981 Atisha Centre was ready to open its doors. Lama was accommodated in my mother’s house. And around 120 people came to attend the inaugural course at Atisha Centre which was on mahamudra. Lama also gave a Heruka initiation and held a public talk at the Kangaroo Flat High School hall.
During his stay at Atisha Centre, Lama did a lot to help the center become established in the local community. He had a very convivial meeting with the Bendigo Anglican Bishop, met with the Council at Marong Shire and made several media appearances.
After the course was over the retreaters all pitched in to help the community celebrate the birth of Buddhism in Bendigo with an open-day festival. This was held in Sandhurst Town. Entry was free and we had clowns, jugglers, stilt-walkers, food and rides. We estimate that over 5,000 people turned up on what was a very weather-threatened day. The open day was a great success and Lama loved it.
In fact, Lama contributed greatly to the success of the open day. Early that morning Judy paid him a visit at his house. Lama asked, “Is there anything I can do to help?” Judy replied, almost as a joke “Well, Lama, you could fix the weather for us.” Lama smiled and said, “OK.” Later in the morning Lama was seen making offerings to the deities. And while black clouds continued to come low overhead for the whole day they were witnessed by many people to separate overhead and leave a hole of blue sky over the open day. There was not a drop of rain during the open day.
During this course, on August 14, 1981, to be exact, Lama walked over land with Garrey Foulkes and myself and gave us his master plan for Atisha Centre, the monastery, an aged-care facility, a lay community and, of course, the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion. Lama spoke at length of his vision for the area to cater for Buddhists throughout their life. His “blueprint” was to set up a Dharma city.
At the time I was aware that what Lama Yeshe had asked me to do was an enormous undertaking. I also considered it to be an opportunity to make my life particularly useful and meaningful. I considered myself, then and now, to be very fortunate.
The original 50 acres (20 hectares) offered by my father was later added to with further land from my mother, Joyce and myself. In total the Green family has contributed around 150 acres (60 hectares) to set up the Buddhist projects in Bendigo.
An official master plan has been prepared which lays out Lama Yeshe’s vision for this land. And today much of Lama’s vision has become a reality.
After Lama left, Judy and I settled into continuing to set up Atisha Centre and for the next 15 years or so we were the directors of Atisha Centre. Our directorship was followed by many who have all made their contribution to fulfilling the vision of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa. Atisha Centre directors since Judy and I were John Wright, Carl Sillery, Ben Karmay, Yien Law and Cherry Rattue. The contribution of these directors and the members of Atisha Centre have continued the development of this important Dharma teaching and retreat community.
Ven. Thubten Gyatso has been responsible for the creation of Thubten Shedrup Ling Monastery on the exact location specified by Lama Yeshe. Gyatso has provided much of the money and even the labor to build the monastery. In addition, Geshe Konchok Tsering, several monks and benefactors have contributed greatly to the establishment of Australia’s first Tibetan Buddhist monastery.
Not much happened on the Great Stupa for the decade after Lama Yeshe’s visit as most of my attention was on making Atisha Centre viable. We did however ask two architects for their input on the Great Stupa. Several rather curious concepts were drawn up including some designs which incorporated aspects of Buddhist stupas and Australian outback homesteads.
In 1994 Lama Zopa Rinpoche sent me a coffee table book of Tibet. Over a spread on the Great Stupa of Gyantse he had written: “This is my idea for the stupa in Bendigo.” In 1995, Garrey Foulkes, Peter Stripes, Tao Langham and I visited Tibet and took many measurements at Gyantse. In 1996 His Holiness the Dalia Lama gave the Great Stupa his blessing (and its name) and I stood down from the Atisha Centre directorship in order to focus on my life’s work of building the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion. I have continued in the role of chairman of the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion, Ltd. until the present day.
In what capacities have you served FPMT over your life?
- Chairman The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion Ltd. (1996 – current)
- Chairman Jade Buddha for Universal peace Project (2003 – current)
- Board member Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition, Inc. (2000 – 2006)
- Board member of FPMT Australia (2004 – 2006)
- Chairman of Dalai Lama in Australia, Ltd. (2007 – 2010)
- Director of Atisha Centre, Ltd. (1981 – 1996)
- Executive of Tara House (Melbourne) (1978 – 1980)
How has your contribution been recognized?
- Meritorious Award for Excellence in multicultural affairs. Government of Victoria. November 26, 2009
- Special recognition honoring leadership in promoting peace. Phap Vuong Monastery, San Diego, February 7, 2009
- Special recognition for efforts in promoting peace from Office of Assistant Chief of Police, San Diego, February 7, 2009
- Outstanding contribution to World Peace and Tranquility from the International Buddhist Meditation Association, Hawaii, November 28, 2010
Why have you chosen to serve FPMT and Rinpoche in this way?
The short answer is that it is my feeble attempt at guru devotion. My studies and baby- meditations on the lam-rim were enough for me to develop a degree of renunciation and faith in the Buddhadharma. Then after having the opportunity to witness first-hand the way the lam-rim was put into practice by Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa, my devotion to these gurus arose naturally. So when the opportunity to create a Buddhist center, to build a Great Stupa and later on to carve the Jade Buddha came along, I felt fortunate to be able to fulfill the gurus’ holy wishes.
A good example of how this works in practice is the creation of the Jade Buddha. Shortly after I had seen the massive jade boulder “Polar Pride” in Canada, I explained to Rinpoche what a unique gemstone it was. The next morning I received a message that Rinpoche had foreseen that Polar Pride would become a Buddha that would “illuminate the world.” Rinpoche then told me, “You must turn this giant gemstone into a holy object as an offering to the world.” With some small degree of devotion to the guru in my heart my response was not to ask “why” but instead to just start thinking about “how.” In the case of the Jade Buddha, the big “how” was: “How do we raise a million dollars to buy Polar Pride?” It took nearly two years to negotiate a deal where we could purchase Polar Pride interest-free over a five-year period. Then, almost miraculously after much writing and rewriting of contracts, we were the owners of Polar Pride for a very modest down payment of USD$250,000. I am sure that such an audacious plan could not be executed without faith in the guru.
Why do you believe that holy objects like the Great Stupa and Jade Buddha are important?
I believe that by creating significant holy objects in the Western world we are shaping the reality of sentient beings. Our view of what is important and indeed what is real is heavily influenced by the physical world we see around us. For most of us the world we see is our urban environment which is dominated by symbols of commerce (office blocks), shopping (shopping malls), sport (arenas) and individuality (suburban housing). We interpret this information to mean that these are the important values of our society. Symbols of the spiritual component of our life are very minor by comparison. And the symbols of religion and the spiritual that do exist in our culture seem to belong to a distant time that many of us find hard to relate to. The Great Stupa and the Jade Buddha are becoming international symbols of the importance of spirituality and peace in our lives today. By making large holy objects a part of our landscape, we are creating a new reality. This is a reality that presents spirituality as a vital part of being a human being.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche sees this as being very important and often sums this up in his simple statement: “The West needs more holy objects.” He also points out that by making large holy objects in the West “[w]e are making it so easy for people to receive the seed to enlightenment.”
Did you already have the skills necessary to serve in this way, or did you develop the skills through the service itself?
I do not think anyone has all the skills to do one of the big jobs within FPMT. I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Philosophy, and I had a career in advertising. While useful, this education and career left big holes in my FPMT skills list. Some of the knowledge I have acquired during my time working for the Lamas includes a working knowledge of architecture, landscape architecture, Buddhist protocols in Tibet, Vietnam and China, structural engineering, gardening, handling of holy relics, preparing and caring for holy objects, fundraising, feng shui, funerals and memorials, sculpture, sewage treatment plants, town planning, wills and estates, and water irrigation systems. I know a little bit about all these things but I am far from an expert in any of them.
However, I do not want to deter the others who are embarking on big Dharma projects for Lama Zopa. I think it is important not to be daunted by every skill you have to acquire. And don’t be afraid to ask questions. Generally, most professionals have quite a lot of patience when it comes to well meaning amateurs.
It is also important not to be scared about making mistakes (as long as they are not costly ones). Sometimes you just have to try something to see if it works. And if it does not work, then you try something else. This is exactly what we did with finding the finance for the big jade boulder. Once we had paid the first installment on the jade boulder “Polar Pride” we were faced with the reality of financing the Jade Buddha over the next five years. We needed a steady income stream to complete the payments on Polar Pride, as well as for the transport, insurance and the carving. In fact, we tried many different ideas and most of them failed. One spectacular failure was when I tried to interest people in “investing” in the Jade Buddha by promising them a financial reward once the Buddha was carved. This idea was soundly rejected because most people, quite correctly, did not want to mix business and Buddhism. We also tried to borrow funds with very limited success. I approached two wealthy businessmen; one in Bendigo and one in Melbourne to seek their support. But neither man was willing to offer any funds and hardly any advice. We then tried pre-selling jade statues. But still the money was coming in very slowly. Judy and I tried as much as we could to raise funds from our savings and from our supporters, but generally our income was small compared with the regular payments on Polar Pride due at the end of each year and the costs due to the carvers. But in the end we found our finance through a combination of methods which have all contributed to the Jade Buddha for Universal Peace being completed and completely paid for.
When you are appointed the director of an FPMT project you have to become a leader – whether you think you are suitable for that role or not. A leader must inspire confidence in others that the project will happen and that it is in good hands. This does not mean that you have to be a charismatic person. Whatever your personality, you simply be the best that you can. No one can ask more of you than that.
One very handy skill for a leader is learning who you can trust. When you are in a senior position with a large Buddhist project many people come to you with all sorts of suggestions, proposals and money making schemes. In the early days lots of people had lots of ideas about the Great Stupa that they were passionate about. These ideas ranged from the style to artwork, the type of concrete to the types of vegetation that “must” be used. As the Stupa and Jade Buddha projects have become more widely known around the world, there has been a surge of interest from people with input and ideas. You learn to be astute about those who are simply trying to take advantage or make money out of the holy objects. Even though my experience has shown that at least 90% of these ideas are completely wild, I make a determined effort to keep an open mind and give everyone a fair hearing.
I think it is hard to give advice on working out who you can trust. As you have more experiences in life, it is a skill you acquire. I have found the teachings on selecting a guru can be useful; checking up what they say, who they associate with and the results of their activities. I have also found that Green Tara has been a very reliable guide.
How did you start working on both the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion and the Jade Buddha?
You know the story of how you climb a mountain? You spend quite a while looking at the top and thinking about how you might get there. Then you transfer your gaze to your feet to make sure you have a secure foothold. It is a bit like that.
Rinpoche has commented that the way the Great Stupa has been built is a good example for other major projects to follow. He described our careful, steady progress as being like an aircraft on a runway which takes quite a while to get to maximum speed before taking off and soaring to great heights. He said, and I agree totally with him, that the biggest danger is to leap into things before you are prepared. These leaps can lead to crashes which can set major projects back for a very long time. Unfortunately, first impressions really do last a very long time.
I have been very conscious with the Great Stupa and Jade Buddha that we maintain the faith with our supporters. We have done this by acting with integrity, keeping supporters informed, not over-promising and maintaining a momentum so that we are always seen to be moving ahead.
Any Dharma project which is financed by donations relies on integrity. The way you spend money must be seen to be effective and prudent. And above all, the key people on the Dharma project must be seen as excellent agents who are acting with good intentions and integrity. There is an old maxim of fundraising which says that people give to people just as much as they give to causes. I believe this maxim applies to fundraising for Dharma projects too. The way you act to others, the money you spend on yourself, the regard you show for your personal comfort will all be scrutinized and judged. When you represent a Dharma project you take on the responsibility of upholding the reputation of the Dharma project and in some cases even of Buddhism itself.
Keeping people informed is relatively straightforward but it does require a commitment to see this as a priority. Whereas not over-promising is something I have found difficult. The problem is that you want to keep people enthused about the project and the first question everyone asks is, “When will it be finished?” so you feel a pressure to respond with dates and timelines. In reality dates are very difficult to estimate when your income primarily relies on the generosity of others. Thankfully, Buddhists tend to be forgiving and generally they have chosen to ignore some of my earlier statements about ambitious deadlines. Maintaining momentum has involved looking for something new to show people if they came back each year. This has meant on some occasions we have chosen the phase that was going to make the biggest impression instead of what was the conventional next step. To put it simply, steel in the air looks a lot more impressive than pipes in the ground. Of course, we would never have done this if it wasted money.
Did you think you were ready to handle such immense projects from the outset?
I was sure that I was not ready to handle such immense projects. I sometimes think that getting a big project from Lama or Rinpoche is like being given two bricks and being asked to build a skyscraper. Not having built a skyscraper before, you have no real idea of where to start and what is required to make these projects happen. But you do know that no one else is any better prepared than you and there must be a reason why you were chosen, and if you do not make it happen, no one else is likely to.
There is also the issue of what you are willing to sacrifice. To make a major Dharma project happen in the West you need to be a little obsessive and this means being willing to give up some of the normal things that we do with our time. Life goes by so quickly and there is only so much time in a day. So the only way to keep these projects moving is to cut some things out of your life. There is no doubt that I have had to make sacrifices to my family life, my career, my leisure and my spiritual practice to be able to have the time and energy to drive the Great Stupa and Jade Buddha projects. This cost has been shared by those who are closest to me, especially my wife Judy. But I have no regrets. In fact, I feel blessed to have been given the opportunity of making my life meaningful. As I said before, life is short and unless you focus your energy; time can easily slip through your fingers with little to show for your precious human rebirth.
What are the biggest challenges facing these projects? What have been your biggest successes to date?
Perhaps the most important teaching I received from Rinpoche in regard to creating holy objects was: “The greater the merit … the greater the obstacles.” This teaching not only made me ready to accept obstacles when they arose before me, it made me expect them and even, in some (rare) cases, to welcome them.
Of course, the biggest challenge has been how do you raise the vast amounts of money required to build the Great Stupa (AUS$20 million) and create the Jade Buddha (around AUS$2 million)?
At one low point in trying to raise the funds for the Jade Buddha I said to Rinpoche, “Making this statue is such hard work. Maybe it is better to re-sell the jade boulder and to put the profit into building the Great Stupa.” In fact some of our supporters were worried that working on the Jade Buddha was taking our focus away from completing the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion which was the major project which had been given to us by Lama Yeshe. I remember I had a call from Florence, a dear benefactor from Melbourne who said, “Why are you always going off on these tangents?” As well as the Jade Buddha, Florence was referring to the 4-meter (13-feet) high Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) statue that Lama Zopa had asked us to create before we did any more work on the Great Stupa. Our only reply was, “Rinpoche asked us to.” In any case, the answer I got back on selling Polar Pride was quick and definite. Rinpoche’s reply was simply, “No.”
Sometimes it takes an ultimatum to steel your resolve. And when it comes from your holy guru you just say to yourself, “OK, there must be a way. We will do it.” I am very grateful for the support of Great Stupa board members and especially Wayne Thomson, Tom Castles and Salim Lee at this time. Gradually, a few people in Singapore and in Australia had the courage to commit their funds to the project and we started to pre-sell some Buddhas from the off-cuts of Polar Pride. And so a confidence grew that yes we can make the Jade Buddha a reality.
In terms of biggest successes at the Great Stupa I immediately think of when we hosted His Holiness the Dalai Lama and an audience of 2,000 people inside the Great Stupa in 2007. This was the first teaching in the Great Stupa and it was a great success. His Holiness also was very pleased with the Great Stupa. When we first told His Holiness about the Great Stupa in 1996 he said, “This stupa will be very significant for Buddhist spirituality and Tibetan culture. Support for such noble work is a good method to create virtuous karma.” When he visited in 2007 His Holiness added, “The Great Stupa should be a center for interfaith dialogue and Buddhism/science dialogue.”
The other great highlight was when Rinpoche climbed the Great Stupa in April 2011 and said, “This is the perfect place for a Great Stupa … It’s amaaaazing!”
How do you maintain your energy, devotion and mental health when you work on such large-scale projects that presumably require constant attention? Do you have any advice or suggestions for FPMT students that want to complete large-scale or other extensive projects?
When you work on BIG projects such as Maitreya Project or the Great Stupa you must remind yourself that you are running a marathon – not a sprint. There have been too many sad examples of devoted students who have burnt themselves out by trying too hard to fulfill the guru’s holy wishes. Realizing we are on a marathon means that we realize we cannot work at full speed all the time, that we need to hold something in reserve, we have to be patient and wait for the right time to put in maximum effort.
You need to honestly know your limits and the reality of your situation. If you are likely to get stressed out (and who isn’t?) then you need to monitor your stress levels to make sure they are within your limits. If you have family commitments or a demanding job, you need to be realistic about when and what you can do.
Of course a little stress is inevitable and in fact it is even desirable as a spur to action. I guess we all know some people with good Dharma hearts who seem to love talking about Dharma but are not so keen on putting words into action. Perhaps a little bit of stress might be the motivation they need? For me, death meditation which makes me realize that death will happen and it can happen at any time is a great way of keeping a little positive stress in my life. Looking back at our life from our death bed it will seem to have gone very quickly and it is the last place you want to be alone with regrets of what might have been.
At the same time, as the Buddha so kindly pointed out, our way through life should be on the middle path. So we also need to be able to relax and to be kind to ourselves and those dear ones we share the life with.
What are some of your visions or goals for the future of the Great Stupa and Jade Buddha?
The goals of our Lamas’ are only BIG – and so should our goals be.
The Jade Buddha is a phenomena which Lama Zopa has predicted will “[i]lluminate the world.” My goal is that the Jade Buddha will inspire billions of beings in this universe to follow the peaceful path. And that it will leave a legacy of lasting peace wherever it tours in the world.
My goal for the Great Stupa is for it to inspire countless beings throughout the universes (all those who see it and even those who hear about it or dream about it) to follow the spiritual, compassionate and peaceful path, and that it liberate tens of thousands of beings every day.
What is the detailed vision for the Great Stupa?
As mentioned before, it is our aim to change the reality of beings by seeing the spiritual dimension as of utmost importance. While this overall goal is spiritual, my intention is that the experience of coming to the Great Stupa will be as easy, comfortable and pleasurable as possible. These days, people are used to the convenience of shopping malls and we have to be able to “compete” with this. The services people expect are parking that is nearby, convenient and clean toilets, air-conditioning and being indoors and sheltered from the elements as much as possible. In addition, we will provide some form of buggy transport for infirm visitors. And lifts inside the Great Stupa will provide wheelchair access to the Bumpa level.
Given the message of His Holiness that we should do what we can to minimize the impact on the environment, we need to plan to be an example of minimal energy usage in the Great Stupa and to maximize our own electricity generation. We believe that some form of heating and cooling is required in all or at least most levels in the Great Stupa. However, this does not mean, for example, that we would maintain 22 degrees Celsius (72 degrees Fahrenheit) throughout the building. Water will be collected from the terraces and used for watering the garden. Water will also be collected from the roof of the Bumpa and piped to a separate point for bottling.
The Great Stupa will be presented as a monument of world standing. This monumental aspect enhances the feeling of “significance” in the visitors mind and it should be reflected in many ways including that the entrance road should rise up to the main carpark to help create a sense of expectation.
From the carpark the visitor will proceed to a visitor reception center where the experience will be shaped by an introduction to what is about to come. This will include an overview of Buddhism, stupas and so on. Psychologically this building will also prepare the mind of the visitor for the transition from the mundane to the spiritual.
The landscaping of the Great Stupa then plays an important role in the inspirational experience of visiting the Great Stupa. The entrance to the Great Stupa will follow the natural descent down to a saddle. Along this path will be the “Garden of Samsara” which will feature statues of the suffering realms of existence. At the bottom of the descent the visitor will enter a bodhi tree grove which features Buddha statues amongst the “Forest of the Buddhas.” This will be a beautiful area for families to have picnics and relax in the shade. It also represents meeting with Buddha and taking refuge in the Buddha. From this point one rises up to the Great Stupa and symbolically to one’s own enlightenment.
Natural sandstones will be used in garden edging to reflect the colorful sandstone and siltstone which is endemic to the area. Herbs with health benefits will also be used in the landscaping. Both lavender and rosemary will be featured in mass plantings. The essential oils from these herbs will be extracted.
Trees around the Great Stupa have been chosen for their beauty and the comfort they provide to people. Trees around the circumambulation paths are deciduous and very suitable to this region: Chinese Elms, Manchurian Pears and Crepe Myrtle.
The Great Stupa is surrounded by three circumambulation paths which run for a total of 1 kilometer (0.6 miles). Short walks would also be laid out in the bodhi tree grove area. And it is possible that we will have a long kora which provides circumambulation around the Great Stupa, Atisha Centre and Thubten Shedrup Ling Monastery.
The Great Stupa works closely with the neighboring facilities of Atisha Centre and Thubten Shedrup Ling. A number of other facilities will be built to service the needs of the visitors to the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion:
- Visitor reception center/museum: this building will provide a transition from the mundane to the spiritual. Included in this building will be toilets, souvenir and snack shop, an induction area which may include audio visual presentations. This building will also house a museum which will present the history of the Great Stupa, Atisha Centre, Thubten Shedrup Ling Monastery and the Jade Buddha for Universal Peace.
- Temples from various Buddhist traditions: sites have been allocated for four temples from different Buddhist traditions which will be built around the Great Stupa
- Hotel: 80-room hotel overlooking the Great Stupa will cater for “well-being” tourism as well as retreat/course attendees
- Restaurant: 200-seat vegetarian restaurant offering lunchtime buffet and evening meals
- Convenience store
The restaurant and convenience store will service the visitors as well as residents in the nearby village and hotel guests. The hotel will be on the same level as the carpark but located in such a way that guests can have a relatively private and quiet time.
Please visit The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion and The Jade Buddha of Universal Peace to learn more about these projects and what you can do to help them become a reality.
Archive
- Mandala for 2021
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- January-June
- Changing the Mind, Changing the World: The Mind, Karma, and Global Change
- Karma: Is the World Ready to Understand?
- Helping Young People Develop a Good Heart
- Compassion in Action: Maitreya School
- MAITRI Charitable Trust – Keeping the Vision True
- Social & Medical Work of the Shakyamuni Buddha Community Health Care Clinic
- Tara Children’s Project – Manifesting the Mind of Compassion
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- Advice that Fulfills Wishes
- Isabelle Johnston Remembers Ven. Thubten Labdron (Trisha Donnelly)
- Nicholas Ribush Remembers Ven. Thubten Labdron (Trisha Donnelly)
- Remembrances from the Sisters of Ven. Thubten Labdron (Trisha Donnelly)
- The Foundation for the Development of Compassion and Wisdom Carries Lama Yeshe’s Vision into the Future
- January-June
- ‘If I Created This, Could I Also Fix It?’
- A New Era for Gelug Nuns: Geshema Degree Bring Opportunity and Responsibility
- Benedict and the Buddha: Monasticism in the West
- Distilling Shantideva’s ‘Bodhicharyavatara’
- Helping Buddhism Strengthen and Grow in Russia: An Interview with Telo Rinpoche
- Kopan Helping Hands
- Mia’s Miles of Merit
- The Nuns of Kopan
- The Union of Study and Practice
- Training the Mind in Calm-Abiding
- July-December
- Mandala for 2015
- January
- A Feast for Mind and Heart
- Portrait of a Buddhist Chaplain: Holly Hisamoto Leans Into Practice
- Advice for a Depressed and Suicidal Mother
- Making Juniper Powder Incense for Filling Statues and Stupas
- Parenting Unplugged: Self-Care
- Praise to Kyabje Thubten Zopa Rinpoche on the Occasion of the Long Life Puja at the CPMT Meeting
- The “Monk with a Camera”: An Interview with Khen Rinpoche Nicholas Vreeland
- July-December
- A Many-Splendored Thing: Anne Carolyn Klein on the Transmission of Tibetan Buddhism
- An Editor’s Approach to the Words of Her Perfect Teacher
- One Letter at a Time
- Practicing Like Your Hair Is on Fire
- Spain’s Tushita Retreat Center Celebrates 20 Years
- Standing Together: Tong-nyi Nying-je Ling’s Interfaith Work in Copenhagen
- The Life of a Bodhisattva: The Great Kindness of Khunu Lama Rinpoche
- The Life of Khensur Jampa Tegchok
- The Most Important Practice of Patience
- The Nature of Biography: An Excerpt from Elijah Ary’s ‘Authorized Lives’
- January
- Mandala for 2014
- January
- An Interview with Buddhist Scholar John Dunne on Mindfulness
- FPMT Mongolia: Fulfilling the Common Desire for Buddhism’s Resurgence
- Kadampa Center’s Past, Present and Future Times
- Rejoicing in the 100 Million Mani Retreat in Mongolia
- The Four Harmonious Friends
- The Benefits of the Mani Retreat
- A Day in the Life in Mongolia
- The 100 Million Mani Retreat in Mongolia Photo Gallery
- FPMT in Mongolia 1999-2012
- FPMT Mongolia in Action [Video]
- Burnout: Is It Really a Problem?
- Considerations for Animal Blessings and Animal Liberations
- Rejoice! Prayer Flags for Rinpoche’s Long Life
- Meet Geshe Gelek Chodha
- Letters to the Editor
- April
- An Update from Kushinagar
- Establishing a Daily Practice
- Giant Steps Forward for the Maitreya Projects
- Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa Restores ‘Kundun’ Chenrezig
- Jade Buddha Continues World Tour in North America
- La Gran Estupa de la Compasión Universal Toma Forma
- Living the Gift
- Pamtingpa Center Builds a High Desert Stupa
- Photo Gallery: Pamtingpa Center Builds a High Desert Stupa
- Progreso Gigantesco Para Los Proyectos Maitreya
- The Mind is the Measure of All Things
- The Potential Project and Corporate-Based Mindfulness Training
- The Precious and Wish-fulfilling Holy Objects of FPMT
- Visit Chandrakirti Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Centre in New Zealand
- July
- Challenging Orthodoxy in Tibetan Buddhism
- Confessions of a Mahamudra Junkie
- Find Out What Five-year-old Dechen Bloom Asked Ven. Robina Courtin about the Heart Sutra
- Geshe Lamsang’s Heart Advice
- Growing Up within the FPMT Mandala
- Holding Up a Mirror to Our Children’s Behavior
- Not Just For Kids: Vajrayana Institute’s Child-Focused Activities
- Renewed Faith, Inspiration, Devotion and Understanding: Khadro-la Visits New Zealand
- Sobering Up from Samsara
- Tara Redwood School: Sprouting the Seeds of Compassion
- The Eight Auspicious Signs
- What Buddha Cherishes Most: The Story of the Goats at Root Institute
- October
- ‘He Was for Me the Perfection of Patience and Generosity’
- ‘I Have Never Known a More Generous Person in My Life’
- A Compassionate Insurrection
- Buddhism’s Common Ground: An Interview with Ven. Thubten Chodron
- Liberation through Education
- Lost in Translation: A Reflection on the Sacred
- Origin and Spread of the Buddha’s Doctrine
- Recognizing Alison Murdoch’s 10-Year Contribution to Universal Education and FDCW
- The Benefits of the ‘Golden Light Sutra’
- The Murky Reward of Nakedness
- What About Me?
- You Are Not Alone
- January
- Mandala for 2013
- January
- Nepal: ‘The Most Holy Place in the World’
- The Dalai Lama Completes His Studies
- Like a Waking Dream: Geshe Sopa’s Students Share Their Stories
- More than Auspicious
- Pure Gold on the Ground Below
- The Bodhisattva on Bascom Hill
- Fulfilling a Long-held Promise
- Reminiscences of Geshe Sopa
- Profound Equanimity that Constantly Perserveres
- A Shining Presence: Geshe Sopa in Photos
- The Most Important Influence on My Life
- The Simplicity of Great Authority
- Ven. Geshe Lhundub Sopa Rinpoche, My Teacher
- Both Father and Son: Geshe Sopa Rinpoche’s Omnipresent Blessing
- A Privilege and an Immeasurable Gift
- Patience in Ascertaining the Truth
- Praises for Our Perfect Teacher Geshe Lhundub Sopa Rinpoche
- From the Vault: “An Extraordinary Modern-day Milarepa”
- FPMT Activities in Nepal Photo Gallery
- Seeing Problems as Positive
- A Straight and Steady Motivation
- A Letter from Animal Liberation Sanctuary
- Ancient Philosophy in Everyday Life at the Himalayan Buddhist Meditation Centre
- Himalayan Yogic Institute: The Birth of the Himalayan Buddhist Meditation Centre
- His Holiness at Kurukulla Center Photo Gallery
- The Mummification of His Holiness the 9th Bogd Jetsün Dampa Rinpoche
- Paul Donnelly on the Creation of “Like a Waking Dream”
- The Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity
- A New Generation of Ladakhi Nuns
- Tibetan Buddhist Nuns in Ladakh and Zanskar Photo Gallery
- Finding Inspiration in FPMT Centers: An Interview with Geshe Sherab
- Meet Geshe Jampa Gelek: Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa’s Resident Teacher
- An Irresistible Pull
- The “Bollywood” Nun: An Indian Actress Takes Ordination Vows
- Book Review: The Black Hat Eccentric
- Editor’s Choice – Media Reviews
- The Second Round of 108 Nyung Näs at Institut Vajra Yogini
- April
- The Need for Qualified Teachers
- Don’t Just Sit There … Circumambulate!
- How to Understand Our Reality from the Universal Point of View
- The Purpose of Study
- Treading Fertile Spiritual Soil
- Going Home to Buddhism: An Interview with Pilgrimage Organizer Effie Fletcher
- Pilgrimage to Tibet
- Songs and Mental States
- Where Dharma Meets Technology Meets Art
- The Path to Changing One’s Mind
- Meet Geshe Thubten Soepa
- Editor’s Choice – Media Reviews
- July
- Understanding Lam-rim: An Interview with Ven. Sangye Khadro on the Masters Program
- ‘I Will Be Paralyzed and Happy’ and Other Writings by Bob Brintz
- Behaving in a Greener Way: Panchen Losang Chogyen Gelugzentrum Acts Ecologically
- Blessing the Waters of New Zealand’s North Island
- Buddhist Business Lessons to Share: Creating Right Livelihood
- Cherishing Life and a Recipe for Mushroom and Kale Pâté
- Four Countries, Countless Benefits: Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s East Asia Tour Photo Gallery
- His Holiness the Dalai Lama at FPMT Center Events March-May 2013 Photo Gallery
- His Holiness the Dalai Lama on the Nature of Mind
- His Holiness the Dalai Lama Speaks on Aging and Death in Switzerland
- I Will Be Paralyzed and Happy
- In Praise of the Universal Mother
- Meet Geshe Deyang
- On Becoming a Vegan: When Vegetarian is Not Enough
- Our Fundamental Needs: An Interview with David Suzuki
- Overcoming Alcoholism and Introducing a Healthy Lifestyle in Mongolia
- Planting Seeds of Peace in Mexico City: Universal Education for Compassion and Wisdom in Action
- Shopping Buddha
- The Purpose of Study (continued): Ven. George Churinoff Finishes His Story with Lama Yeshe and Tenzin Ösel Hita
- We Cannot Live without Harming Others
- October
- Mayra Rocha Sandoval Completes Three-Year Lam-rim Retreat in Mexico City
- Achieving Realizations of the Path
- Advice on Caring for Mother
- His Holiness Completes Ninth Australian Tour
- ‘One Day in Service to His Holiness Is a Life Well Spent’: His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Melbourne 2013
- Identifying the Object of Negation
- His Holiness the Dalai Lama in New Zealand
- The Exemplary Life and Death of Geshe Yeshe Tobden
- The Sera Connection: An Interview with José Cabezón
- The Greatest Honor: Becoming a Rik Chung
- A Spiritual Journey to Tsum
- Sera Je Food Fund’s Dramatic Impact on the Monks of Sera Je Monastery
- Cat Rescue as a Means to Make Merit
- Alison Kaye Harr
- The Sera Je Food Fund
- Land of Joy: An Interview with Andy Wistreich
- ‘A Transforming Experience in a Completely Unexpected Way’: Masters Program Students Near End of Studies at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa
- ‘Only Birds and Crickets to Distract the Mind’: First Retreat in the New Gompa at De-Tong Ling
- Ideas on Self-Acceptance and Bringing Dharma to the Community: An Interview with Alan Carter
- ‘I Realized That My Life Couldn’t Be the Same Again’
- Meet Geshe Lobsang Kunchen
- Complexities of Tibetan Culture Past and Present: Five Book Reviews
- January
- Mandala for 2012
- January
- El fallecimiento de Khensur Rimpoche Lama Lhundrup Rigsel
- Le décès de Khensour Rinpoché Lama Lhoundroup Rigsel
- The Passing of Khensur Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup Rigsel
- UWE Gathering in France: Inspiration, Information, Transformation!
- Preserving the Foundations: Merry Colony and FPMT Education
- Compassion in Education: An Interview with Pam Cayton
- Benefits of Generating a Good Heart
- Collaborators in Preservation: Key Education Services Contributors Reflect on the Future of FPMT Education and Their Work with Merry Colony
- What Differentiates Buddhism from Christianity
- On Receiving Generosity
- Of Yaks and Dogs
- Feeding Fish at Nalanda Monastery
- The Karma of Success
- Occupy Samsara
- Lama Says You Should Go to Kopan and He Will Take Care of You
- Big Love Excerpt
- FPMT News Around the World Photo Gallery
- Nalanda Monastery’s 15-Year Master Plan
- Rinchen Jangsem Ling Consecrates Towering Kuan Yin and White Dzambhala Statues
- 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.Buddhism is not saying that objects have no beauty whatsoever. They do have beauty. The craving mind, however, projects onto an object something that is beyond the relative level, which has nothing to do with that object. That mind is hallucinating, deluded and holding the wrong entity.