International Office News
December 2020

Warm season’s greetings to you, and our best wishes for peace, happiness, harmony, and joyous compassion through 2021 and beyond.

May all the holy wishes of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Lama Thubten Yeshe, and Lama Zopa Rinpoche be fulfilled perfectly and immediately.

We send our heartfelt thanks to each of you supporting the FPMT mission as students, staff, benefactors, and friends. We rejoice in the great beneficial efforts of the entire FPMT family.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Kopan Monastery, Nepal, Nov 2020. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

“By changing your motivation and working for others, whatever you do becomes so important. Studying Dharma, reflecting, meditating, even eating, sleeping, becomes very important service when you are doing it for others. Then your life is so happy. You have no regret. When you die, you are very happy, so satisfied. From life to life you have more realizations, and are of greater benefit to sentient beings. Then your happiness increases life to life and you go towards enlightenment.”

Lama Zopa Rinpoche, edited advice given during the teaching “When the Real I Is Totally Gone, You Have Entered the Path Pleasing the Buddhas”, December 2020.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche:

Official Long Life Puja

Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Khadro-la after the Sixteen Arhat Puja offered on the occasion of Rinpoche’s birthday, Kopan Monastery, Nepal, December 2020. Photo by Ven Roger Kunsang.

The official annual long life puja offered on behalf of all of us in the entire FPMT organization to our most kind and immeasurably precious spiritual director, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, will be offered in two parts, at Kopan Monastery, Nepal. These two long life pujas are being organized in accordance with the advice of Khadro-la, Rangjung Neljorma Khadro Namsel Dronme, who advised that there are obstacles for Rinpoche’s health and long life at this time, and that two pujas are needed to help remove those obstacles. The first will be a White Tara Long Life Puja, offered to Rinpoche on December 25. The second part will be an Amitayus Long Life Puja, which will be offered to Rinpoche during the third Tibetan month (actual date still to be determined). Students are very welcome to donate towards these pujas.

Say Goodbye to Depression

Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Kopan Monastery, Nepal, November 2020. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

In Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s amazing ongoing online thought transformation teachings, Rinpoche advises:
“Just by hearing the name Great Sutra of Liberation one can say goodbye to depression. Millions of people in the West suffer from depression because they don’t understand the meaning and purpose of life. Many can’t even get out of bed or go out at all, due to being so depressed. Not only hearing this sutra but reading it is so beneficial for a depressed mind.” Read more ….

Find more advice from Rinpoche on a wide range of topics

Celebrating Rinpoche’s Birthday

Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s birthday is celebrated each year on December 3. This year, celebrations for Rinpoche’s birthday began at 5:30 a.m. at Kopan with the offering of the Sixteen Arhats Puja . Rinpoche attended and Khadro-la joined the puja and the whole day celebrations. Read more in our two recent blogs, and watch Rinpoche in the video “How to Cut a Birthday Cake with Bodhichitta Mind!”

Zopa Rinpoche with Kopan dog, Jolie, and another little friend, Kopan Monastery, Nepal, Nov 2020. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

New Photo Album

There’s a new photo album with photos of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and the monks and nuns of Kopan Monastery and Nunnery in Nepal. With more than eighty photos, the album covers the months July through October 2020 and features Rinpoche’s virtuous activities, and day to day life at Kopan. For more photos of Rinpoche, take a look at the “Lama Zopa Rinpoche Photo Gallery,” which documents twenty years of Rinpoche bringing benefit to people and animals around the world.

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We’re Rejoicing About:

New and Updated Practice Materials

• New video to support your practice of The Method: Lama Zopa Rinpoche created a daily motivational practice for his students called The Method to Transform a Suffering Life into Happiness (Including Enlightenment) with Additional Practices. We now offer you a new nine-minute video of Lama Zopa Rinpoche reciting mantras from this booklet. Students can follow along with the video to learn the mantras as Rinpoche instructs. It’s available in several languages.
• New edition of the FPMT Retreat Prayer Book: this is a valued resource for students attending longer teaching events and retreats with Lama Zopa Rinpoche as well as for personal retreats, pilgrimage, and daily practice. The 416-page 2020 edition incorporates all the updates made to the 2016 edition. If you have the 2016 edition, use these errata sheets (A5, spread) to update your text.
• Three new audio downloads: these downloadable MP3s feature Rinpoche offering oral transmission and commentary on The Four Dharmakaya Relic Heart Mantras, Vajra Armor Protection Wheel Short Practice, and The Flowing Water of the Ganga: A Practice of Prostrations to the Thirty-Five Buddhas. Each download bundle comes with additional materials to benefit your practice.

Portrait of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Kopan Monastery, Nepal, Nov 2020. Photo by Ven Lobsang Sherab.

Recommended from The Foundation Store

The FPMT Foundation Store recommends the Liberation Box, Protection Tool for a Fortunate Rebirth, as preparing for death is a wonderful service to offer oneself and loved ones. In addition to our special discount on the Liberation Box, you will receive a complimentary copy of the Heart Advice for Death and Dying, the Sutra of Golden Light, the Sanghata Sutra and the Discovering Buddhism DVD.

Opportunities and Changes within the Organization:

Help Us by Giving Where Most Needed

Before 2020 (finally!) comes to an end, FPMT International Office are humbly inviting you to support our Give Where Most Needed Fund, to help build up resources for the future. Your donations can be used for any project in need of funding and which takes forward the FPMT mission. Any contribution to our Give Where Most Needed fund, big or small, will help us enter the new year with more resiliency! With deep thanks and rejoicing in the incredible generosity expressed from around the world this year.

Opportunities to Offer Service in the FPMT Organization

Would you like to spend your days in a meaningful way? Have a look at the various meritorious opportunities to offer service providing the opportunity to serve as a volunteer or as paid staff in FPMT centers, projects, and services around the world. Newly added: Mahamudra Center, New Zealand, is looking for a director. Vajrapani Institute, USA, is still looking for a director. Both of these openings could be a wonderful opportunity to make an important contribution.

Impermanence at Work

Contact information for the following, and all FPMT centers, projects, and services can be found in the FPMT Directory.

Choe Khor Sum Ling, India
We welcome new spiritual program coordinator (SPC) – Lakshmi Murthy

Nagarjuna Centre, Granada, Spain
We welcome new director – Antonio Jabaloy
With grateful thanks to outgoing director – Luz Álvarez Manzaneda

Shen Phen Ling Study Group has become an outreach group of Atisha Center

Yeshin Norbu Centre, Sweden
We welcome new director – Amanda Mindus
With grateful thanks to outgoing director – Martin Ström

FPMT’s Prayers for the Dead Service

Our long-standing Prayers for the Dead prayer list, for FPMT students, their family members, and close friends, has moved to Google groups. We have already moved all existing subscribers from Yahoo to the Google group, however, if you haven’t received the prayer list in the last week, please contact us.

For Those Offering Service in FPMT Affiliates:

CPMT e-Group Transition

We have moved the CPMT e-group to Google Groups, because Yahoo has discontinued their e-group provision. We have automatically subscribed all to the new CPMT e-group hosted on Google, and sent information about this transition. If you are an FPMT director; regional, national, spiritual program or study group coordinator; affiliate board member; and/or registered teacher; and you have not received this information, please contact Claire.

Offer of Kshitigarbha Statue

This generous offer of a Kshitigarbha statue from a kind benefactor was sent out via the CPMT e-group: if any director didn’t receive the email including that information, please contact Claire.

Invitation to a Taste of the Foundation Service Seminar

Gyalwa Gyatso Buddhist Center (Ocean of Compassion) is hosting FPMT Service Seminar coordinator, Amy Cayton, to give a short online presentation – a taste – of the Foundation Service Seminar (FSS) – online; on January 9, at 10:00 a.m. PST. Although brief, FPMT International Office created the Taste to help encourage members of FPMT affiliate management teams to commit to participating in the full FPMT immersion training via the FSS retreat. Contact GGBC to register (places are limited).

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FPMT International Office is Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s office.