Mandala Blogs

Sangha from Australia and New Zealand leading Lama Zopa Rinpoche to the teaching hall at the Light of the Path retreat, North Carolina, US, September 2017. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

In the video below, Lama Zopa Rinpoche talks about the impact of keeping vows on the power of prayer. He says that the more vows we have, and keep purely, the more power our prayers will have. Therefore, when monastics pray for others, their prayers “have so much power”!

Whatever monks and nuns pray for will have more success because of their vows, says Rinpoche in the video, which was recorded at the Light of the Path 2016 retreat. Making offerings to monks and nuns is also very meritorious because their many vows help make them more pure; such offerings have enormous future karmic benefits for whoever makes them.

Watch Rinpoche talk on YouTube about the relationship between vows, merit, and effective prayers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XULE495JKZ0&feature=youtu.be

Watch Lama Zopa Rinpoche teach LIVE at the Light of the Path retreat August 20-September 17, 2017: 
https://fpmt.org/media/streaming/lama-zopa-rinpoche-live/

It’s not too late to join Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s 100 Million Mani Retreat at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa in Italy: October 4-November 5, 2017. Find out more at:
https://www.iltk.org/en/lama-zopa-rinpoche-2017/

Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation, and community service.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaching at Australia 2014 retreat at the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion, Bendigo, Australia, October 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

Registration is now open for Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Bodhicaryavatara and Rinjung Gyatsa retreat at the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion in Bendigo, Australia, March 30-May 12, 2018! This six-week retreat is the third in series of retreats given in Australia by Rinpoche.

“This retreat came about because the late Khunu Lama Rinpoche requested Lama Zopa Rinpoche to translate Shantideva’s Bodhicaryavatara (A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life),” explained Ven. Roger Kunsang, Rinpoche’s assistant and CEO of FPMT. “Khunu Lama Rinpoche made this request after he gave Lama Zopa Rinpoche the commentary on the Bodhicaryavatara at Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s request. So Lama Zopa Rinpoche is teaching the Bodhicaryavatara at the same time as translating it. (A small team led by Ven. Ailsa Cameron is carefully noting Rinpoche’s translation as he teaches.)

“Then Lama Zopa Rinpoche was requested by Ven. Gyatso (director of Thubten Shedrup Ling Monastery in Bendigo) to give the Rinjung Gyatsa set of initiations, which is quite rare. Rinpoche commented that it is common in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition to organize initiations into ‘sets.’ Also that different deities have different purposes and benefits, and that once you receive the permission to practice that deity, you have more potential to help others and are also helping to preserve Buddhism.

“Lama Zopa Rinpoche has combined both into one retreat. The first installment of this retreat was in April 2011 and the second installment took place in September-October 2014.”

Rinpoche teaching at the Australia 2014 retreat. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

You can register for the Bodhicaryavatara and Rinjung Gyatsa retreat 2018 at the Great Stupa and find additional information on the retreat website:
http://lamazoparetreat2018.org.au/

An early-bird discount is offered on registration before October 31, 2017.

Read about the April 2011 retreat in the Mandala story “The Retreat of a Life Time.” The September-October 2014 retreat was covered in many FPMT news blog posts, which include links to video from Rinpoche’s teachings there. You can also access video recordings of Rinpoche’s teachings from the Australia 2014 retreat on FPMT’s Rinpoche Available Now page (fpmt.org/rinpochenow/).

Watch Lama Zopa Rinpoche teach LIVE at the Light of the Path retreat August 20-September 17, 2017: 
https://fpmt.org/media/streaming/lama-zopa-rinpoche-live/

It’s not too late to join Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s 100 Million Mani Retreat at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa in Italy: October 4-November 5, 2017. Find out more at:
https://www.iltk.org/en/lama-zopa-rinpoche-2017/

Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation, and community service.

Jamyang Buddhist Centre Leeds new building concept drawing, August 2017. Image by Martijn Prins.

Over twenty years, Jamyang Buddhist Centre Leeds (JBCL) in the United Kingdom has grown to become a significant focal point for practitioners, hosting an increasing number of classes and retreats, including those with Geshe Tashi Tsering from Jamyang Buddhist Centre London. Center director Kerry Prest recently shared an update of an encouraging building project at the center and news of an offering that carries the center closer to a new home:

Jamyang Buddhist Centre Leeds celebrated its twentieth birthday last year and marked the occasion by launching in September 2016 a fundraising campaign to find their new home in Leeds. Within the first five months, it had raised £20,000 towards its target.

The center has just received a matched funding donation of £50,000 from an anonymous donor and is re-launching their campaign in a renewed bid to find a permanent larger home within the city, having reached physical capacity in their current site.

JBCL has a long history in Leeds, having been established in 1996 under the spiritual direction of Lama Zopa Rinpoche. FPMT UK coordinator Jay Simpson praises the center’s continuous efforts to develop:

“JBCL continues to offer a wonderfully varied program of Buddhist and secular teachings and outreach work to the local community, schools, and hospitals, in accordance with the wishes of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

“It is fantastic news that Jamyang Buddhist Centre Leeds is looking to create a permanent home after twenty years of development. The Building a Community campaign is an amazing way to help preserve and spread the Dharma in the north of England, helping establish the heart of Buddhist practice in the heart of the United Kingdom. The team at JBCL have great plans for the future, and I would encourage everyone to get involved to help create a more caring and compassionate society.”

Jamyang Buddhist Centre Leeds altar, August 2017. Photo by Tsanka Petkova.

Last year saw a record number of visitors using the center, with over 2,000 individual visits recorded. This year looks set to increase those numbers still further, with the number of visits made to the center so far already standing at 1,500, a higher figure than that recorded over the same period in the previous year. The number of unique visitors to the center looks set to increase by over 20 percent in 2017 than was recorded in 2016, meaning that by December, there will have been a substantial increase in the use of the center by the local community for another consecutive year.

In keeping with their being the home of Tibetan Buddhism in Leeds, the center regularly hosts highly respected Buddhist teachers, both laypeople and ordained monks and nuns. Ven. Robina Courtin, Geshe Tashi Tsering, Tenzin Josh, Paula Chichester, and Ven. Amy Miller have all given teachings in 2017, on topics as diverse as ego-grasping, emptiness, kindness, and meditation.

Fiona Oliver is spiritual program coordinator at JBCL and believes the varied programming to be one of the key contributing factors of the center’s continued success and growth:

“JBCL plays a large part in many people’s lives here in Leeds and across the north of England. Our community of practitioners really value the Dharma, and appreciate the wonderful opportunities we offer to meet and receive teachings from eminent lamas such as Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Dagri Rinpoche.

“As a center, we work hard to offer a program that reflects the spiritual aspirations of all the people who visit us, and that inspires even more people to benefit from the Dharma and the wonderful visiting teachers. We hope to continue to do so for many years to come.”

With hundreds of people regularly attending their events, the team at Jamyang Buddhist Centre Leeds look to expand into new areas, such as hosting courses on mindfulness for businesses, providing neutral spaces that can be rented out to third parties, enlarging their bookshop area, having a café area that is open to the public daily, and providing accommodation that can be used for visiting teachers or rented out to raise further income.

Jamyang Buddhist Centre Leeds, new Tara statues. August 2017. Photo by Fiona Oliver Photography.

“Our target of £750,000 (just under $1 million US dollars) could be considered a tall order,” said center director Kerry Prest, “but we firmly believe that the commitment that has got the center so far already will continue to grow and enable this to happen. In the first two months after launching the Building a Community appeal, we had raised £4,500 to purchase 21 Buddha Tara statues on the advice of Dagri Rinpoche during his visit to the center.

“We have been astounded by the generosity being shown to us by the community, and in return we give back as much as we can. We are currently a guiding center for three FPMT groups in the north of England, plus mentoring three other groups not yet part of FPMT.”

JBCL has a number of events coming up over the next few months to raise awareness of the Building a Community campaign, including holding a sponsored 24-hour Sutra of Golden Light recitation from September 20-21, 2017, which will be live-streamed worldwide.

More details about the Jamyang Buddhist Center Leeds, and all developments in the building project can be found at www.jamyangleeds.co.uk/building-a-community or contact smile@jamyangleeds.co.uk.

Learn more about how to participate in JBCL’s worldwide Sutra of Golden Light recitation on September 20-21: http://jamyangleeds.co.uk/goldenlight/.

FPMT.org and Mandala Publications brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings and events from over 160 FPMT centers, projects and services around the globe. If you like what you read, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche before mantra balloon release at Light of the Path retreat, Black Mountain, North Carolina, US, August 2017. Photos by Kalleen Mortensen.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche released balloons with mantras he had written on them to bless all the sentient beings who pass underneath them. During a break between sessions at the Light of the Path in North Carolina, Rinpoche had the retreatants gather and explained the meanings of some of the mantras written on the balloons before they were released.

Mantra balloons before being released to spread blessing to all sentient beings who pass underneath them

The mantras included OM MANI PADME HUM (the mantra of the Buddha of Compassion), the “Just by Seeing” mantra, “Six Syllables of Clairvoyance” mantra, and the “Lotus Pinnacle” mantra. The balloons also had extensive dedications written on them, which were read aloud. Rinpoche’s explanation, the dedications, and the balloon release were captured in a five-minute video.  

WATCH Rinpoche Explain the Benefits of Mantra Balloons on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/aL_UfDb3B6Y

Find more resources on mantras on FPMT Education Services’ mantra page:
https://fpmt.org/education/teachings/texts/mantras/

Watch Lama Zopa Rinpoche teach LIVE at the Light of the Path 2017 retreat August 20-September 17: 
https://fpmt.org/media/streaming/lama-zopa-rinpoche-live/

Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation, and community service.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Ven. Sangpo Sherpa watch balloons with mantras written on them float up into the sky and spread blessings, Black Mountain, North Carolina, US, August 2017. Photo by Kalleen Mortensen.

“How does taking vows or Mahayana precepts helps end famine and war?” a student asked Lama Zopa Rinpoche during the Light of the Path 2016 retreat. Rinpoche’s reply was captured in the video below.

Rinpoche responds by saying, “those vows have power!” He then talks about the positive impact of taking vows and precepts.Vows, he says, have power because the mind has power, and vows help make the mind positive.

The four harmonious friends. Photo FPMT.

Rinpoche briefly tells the story of the four harmonious friends, who all live in the five precepts. Due to the power of these vows, everything in their area is “auspicious”: rains come and crops flourish. The natural world, the environment, and the economy thrive. This, Rinpoche explains, is due to the power of positive mental states.

Because our experiences arise from the power of mind, the positivity created by vows has an effect, including stopping wars and so on. Thus, Rinpoche declares, “living in vows affects the world through the power of mind.”

Watch Rinpoche talk on YouTube about the power of vows and precepts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyYq8y3PqWo&feature=youtu.be

Watch Lama Zopa Rinpoche teach LIVE at the Light of the Path 2017 retreat August 20-September 17: 
//fpmt.org/media/streaming/lama-zopa-rinpoche-live/

Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation, and community service.

Sarah Brooks and François Lecointre facilitated the April 2017 Foundation Service Seminar, Mahamuda Centre, Colville, New Zealand. Photo courtesy of Mahamuda Centre.

Sarah Brooks, spiritual program coordinator at Mahamudra Centre for Universal Unity in New Zealand, shared news from the April 2017 Foundation Service Seminar—a training for those offering and wishing to offer service within FPMT centers, services, and projects. 

Mahamudra Centre for Universal Unity welcomed FPMT family from Tahiti, Australia, France, New Zealand, and Mongolia for the Foundation Service Seminar (FSS) in April 2017. Initially mother nature threw up some obstacles with Cyclone Cook and significant mud slides closing the main road into our side of the peninsula. The start of the seminar was delayed so that travelers still stuck in Auckland could take the long way around (once the cyclone had passed) to get to the center. They were determined to take advantage of this precious opportunity— the last time it was offered in New Zealand was in its earlier form Training in Compassionate Cultures in 2006—so they caravanned together and made it just in time!

Group presentations at the April 2017 Foundation Service Seminar, Mahamuda Centre, Colville, New Zealand. Photo courtesy of Mahamuda Centre.

The seminar was led by FSS registered facilitators François Lecointre, director of Institut Vajra Yogini in France, and Mahamudra Centre’s spiritual program coordinator Sarah Brooks. The result was a lively international discussion about FPMT as an organization and how we can work together in harmony, provide excellent customer service, and support each other in our efforts and region.

We can all rejoice in the eleven attendees who graduated and the efforts of everyone who participated and helped make it happen, as well as Mahamudra Centre for offering it on a donation basis to make it completely accessible to anyone who wanted to come. Graduates went home inspired by Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s vision and wisdom, and the amazing efforts of the FPMT family over the years to build and strengthen our organization to continue to fulfill the wishes of our dear founder, Lama Yeshe.

Foundation Service Seminar attendee Jane Lewis receives her certificate of completion and gifts, Mahamuda Centre, Colville, New Zealand. Photo courtesy of Mahamuda Centre.

FPMT.org brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings and events from over 160 FPMT centers, projects and services around the globe. If you like what you read, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaching at Thubten Norbu Ling, Santa Fe, New Mexico, US, August 2017. Photo courtesy of Thubten Norbu Ling.

From August 9-14, Thubten Norbu Ling in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, hosted Lama Zopa Rinpoche for a series of teachings, jenangs, and an initiation. Spiritual program coordinator Bonnie Povolny shared news about the visit:

The initial session on August 9 began with a two-hour teaching prior to a White Manjushri jenang. His comments peppered with laughter, Lama Zopa greeted the audience saying, “Thank you very much! … For some, the first time to meet, and some, we met in the past. Some long time ago and some recent. Lama Yeshe says, ‘When you meet friends, a benefit to not being dead is to meet again.’ So like here, we meet again. ‘Again’ is two things: first one is that we met in a past life, so ‘again.’ The second one, [we’ve met] many times in this life, ‘again.’  ‘Again’ has two different meanings.” He continued by reminding us that we may have met in many different sentient forms: animals, insects, humans, ants, pigs, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, friends, and enemies.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Ven. Max Mathews, Thubten Norbu Ling, Santa Fe, New Mexico, US, August 2017. Photo courtesy of Thubten Norbu Ling.

Prior to the Vajrasattva jenang on August 10, Lama Zopa fielded a question about the title of his book, How to Enjoy Death, emphasizing in a joyful way that death is something we all will experience, should not fear, and that we have absolutely no idea when it will occur.

On August 11, the day when Lama Zopa was not teaching, the group met for a recitation of the Vajra Cutter Sutra, dedicated to Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s long life.

The schedule was rearranged to accommodate an extended teaching on August 12 in which Lama Zopa Rinpoche helped us to develop a more clear view of reality. There was an emphasis on the problems caused by the belief in the inherent “I” and how even one person can cause long-term, worldwide problems. Both the preparation for and the initiation into the Great Medicine Buddha were conducted the following day.

The teachings were dedicated to Lama Zopa’s long life, His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s long life, and to a successful capital campaign for a new center for Thubten Norbu Ling.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche met for lunch with the board of Thubten Norbu Ling on August 14 to further discuss the capital campaign for a new center. Afterward, he returned to bless the center and give a transmission, the lung of Chanting the Names of Manjushri. Later in the afternoon, he met with and blessed the volunteers.

All of us at Thubten Norbu Ling feel incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be in the presence of and receive teachings from Lama Zopa. His teachings and presence in Santa Fe opened the hearts and minds of so many people. May his health be strong and his life be long for the benefit of all sentient beings!

Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Geshe Sherab, and Don Handrick, who are the resident geshe and resident teacher, respectively, at Thubten Norbu Ling, Santa Fe, New Mexico, US, August 2017. Photo courtesy of Thubten Norbu Ling.

Watch Lama Zopa Rinpoche teach LIVE at the Light of the Path 2017 retreat August 20-September 17: 
//fpmt.org/media/streaming/lama-zopa-rinpoche-live/

Watch video recordings of Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaching at Thubten Norbu Ling:
https://fpmt.org/media/streaming/teachings-of-lama-zopa-rinpoche/lama-zopa-rinpoche-teachings-in-Santa-Fe-USA-2017/

Read more about the teachings, educational programs, and events at Thubten Norbu Ling:
http://www.tnlsf.org

FPMT.org and Mandala Publications brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings and events from over 160 FPMT centers, projects and services around the globe. If you like what you read, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.

Foundation Service Seminar participants at Losang Dragpa Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, June 2017

Attention student offering service in the FPMT organization: Opportunities for developing your skills and deepening your Dharma practice await when you attend an FPMT Foundation Service Seminar! 

What Is the Foundation Service Seminar (FSS)?

The Foundation Service Seminar (FSS) is a five-day retreat that has been especially designed, following Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice, for students committed to offering service within the FPMT organization. The FSS offers participants:

• Opportunities to learn, meditate on, and practice applying Dharma to their service in centers, projects, and services. 
• Exercises in team building, skillful management and people development, effective communication, stress management, and more, all delivered within an explicitly FPMT Dharma context.
• Information on how to effectively draw strength, inspiration, wisdom, and guidance from the Dharma during difficult times to help prevent and alleviate burnout.
• Introduction to Inner Job Description (IJD), a  helpful tool for integrating the Dharma into work life.
• A showcase of the vast activities and resources available within the FPMT organization.
• Immersion in FPMT Wisdom Culture.
• Opportunities to make long-lasting connections with other FPMT students, what Lama Yeshe called “family feeling.”
• An entry point to other in-depth FPMT service seminars, including the Teacher Development Service Seminar and the Rituals Service Seminar.
• Preparation for those wishing to be come registered FSS facilitators.

Foundation Service Seminar participants at Losang Dragpa Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, June 2017

When and Where Are FSS Held?

The next scheduled Foundation Service Seminar takes place in December 2017 in Spain. Other seminars are being planned for 2018 in the UK, Switzerland, and Mexico. Interested students should contact your area’s regional or national coordinator to find out more about upcoming Foundation Services Seminars.

What Do Participants Have to Say?

“Having seen how challenging life in a Dharma center can be, how easily good intentions can get blown away, I believe it is essential that everyone working or wishing to work in the FPMT does this seminar-retreat,” one participant recently said. “So much suffering could be alleviated if people were more aware of the toolkit available to them, and even more importantly, how working in a center positively helps to develop a deep understanding of wisdom and compassion in action.”

“I definitely recommend to new directors to go to an FSS!” encourages another student. “It’s very informative. An FSS could fill any gaps of knowledge the new directors might have. Plus it’s a very inspiring seminar! I rejoiced a lot! As well, it’s a good team-building activity. New directors will learn something just by listening others’ experience; it’s indeed precious knowledge. Plus, through sharing information and representing their own center, the new directors plant the positive seeds for the future. Definitely the FSS practices will help me to be a better manager!”

Foundation Service Seminar participants at Land of Medicine Buddha, Soquel, California, USA, February 2017

Learn more about Foundation Service Seminars on FPMT.org. Next week, we’ll share a first-hand report from the Foundation Service Seminars held in New Zealand and in Malaysia earlier this year!

Rinpoche meeting local dignitaries at Root Institute. Bodhgaya, India, January 2017. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

While he was in Bodhgaya, India, in January this year, Lama Zopa Rinpoche invited some influential people onto the roof of the FPMT center, Root Institute, for a small party. Included were actor Richard Gere as well as a number of local politicians and dignitaries.

During the event, Rinpoche spoke briefly about why he wants to build statues of Maitreya Buddha. The statues, he said, help people develop a good heart. That good heart in turn will help create peace and happiness in the world. 

Listen to Rinpoche discuss the role of Maitreya Buddha statues in creating a peaceful and happy world on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYVk1VrRsek&feature=youtu.be

Watch Lama Zopa Rinpoche teach LIVE at the Light of the Path 2017 retreat, August 20-September 17: 
//fpmt.org/media/streaming/lama-zopa-rinpoche-live/

Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Kadampa Center, Raleigh, North Carolina, US, August 2017. Photo via Twitter, (@LamaZopa).

Lama Zopa Rinpoche arrived in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States, where he taught on August 19 at Kadampa Center. Then he traveled to Black Mountain where the month-long Light of the Path 2017 retreat commenced on the evening of August 20. This retreat is the fifth in a series of teaching retreats led by Rinpoche based on Lama Atisha’s text Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment.

FPMT is live video streaming Rinpoche’s teachings at the retreat in several languages. Find links to all the live video streams here:
//fpmt.org/media/streaming/lama-zopa-rinpoche-live/

The first full day of teachings, Monday, August 21, coincides with the total solar eclipse that is crossing the United States. The retreat venue lies just outside the path of totality. Rinpoche has given advice on practices to do on eclipse days as they are merit multiplying days and can be done wherever you are in the world.

The Light of the Path retreat ends on September 17. Similar to past years, recordings and unedited transcripts from the retreat as well as Rinpoche’s teachings from other events are available on FPMT’s Rinpoche Available Now page.

Students are also encouraged to explore the Living in the Path education program, created by FPMT Education Services. Based on Rinpoche’s teachings at the Light of the Path retreats, Living in the Path is an ever-growing collection of Rinpoche’s heart advice and lamrim teachings.

Rinpoche Available Now:
//fpmt.org/RinpocheNow

Living in the Path:
//fpmt.org/education/programs/living-in-the-path/

Eclipse day practices:
//fpmt.org/edu-news/practices-during-the-upcoming-solar-eclipse/

Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.

Geshe Tenzin Namdak. Photo by Deepthy Shekhar.

“Finishing the whole study program [at Sera Je Monastic University] gives an opportunity to rejoice,” Geshe Tenzin Namdak told Ven. Gyalten Lekden in the just published interview “‘Something to Rejoice In’: Geshe Tenzin Namdak In His Own Words.” In the interview Geshe Namdak, who grew up in the Netherlands, talks about meeting the Dharma, studying twenty years at Sera Je in India, helping develop Choe Khor Sum Ling, the FPMT center in Bangalore, and other topics. In his characteristically humble way, he explained, “I didn’t do much, but at least there was some Dharma activity involved for the last twenty years, so that is something to rejoice in, and that makes the mind happy.”

Geshe Namdak was formally awarded his geshe degree during a three-day ceremony in May 2017, becoming the first Westerner to complete the full course of studies there and also to sit for the final geshe examination. Towards the end of the interview, Ven. Lekden asked Geshe Namdak, “Other than the actual Buddhist philosophy, what have you learned the most over the last twenty years here at Sera?”

“I don’t know. I mean, to develop the mind takes a long time, right? It’s the same with learning a language, it takes a long time. And you don’t really notice if you progress or not because it is a very slow process,” Geshe Namdak replied. “I have learned a lot from the Tibetans: to be more relaxed, to do things in a relaxed manner. Some of the monks are very relaxed, but at the same time they work very hard. Keep the mind in that relaxed state—that’s what the gurus show us all of the time. I learned quite a bit from the Tibetans to be serious, to work as hard as you can—but keep a kind of relaxed state of mind. Sometimes that’s not always easy, though!

Read the entire interview, “‘Something to Rejoice In’: Geshe Tenzin Namdak In His Own Words”: 
//fpmt.org/mandala/online-features/something-to-rejoice-in-geshe-tenzin-namdak-in-his-own-words/

FPMT.org and Mandala Publications brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings and events from over 160 FPMT centers, projects and services around the globe. If you like what you read, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.