International Office News
December 2022

Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Kopan Monastery, May 2022. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Warmest wishes to you from all of us at FPMT International Office. May 2023 usher in a new year full of peace and compassion for yourself and others. 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 community, this year and in all years to come.

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

May all sentient beings have happiness and the causes of happiness.

May all sentient beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.

May all sentient beings never be separated from the happiness that knows no suffering.

May all sentient beings abide in equanimity, free of attachment and hatred for those held close and distant.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche:

Long Life Puja, December 21

An official long life puja will be offered on behalf of FPMT centers, projects, services, study groups, and students for Lama Zopa Rinpoche, on December 21, at Kopan Monastery, Nepal. This second long life puja in 2022 will be offered in accordance with the advice of Khandro Kunga Bhuma (Khandro-la), and is part of a collection of practices offered for Rinpoche’s health, and the well-being of the entire FPMT organization. Individuals can offer a donation toward this puja, or give it through their local center’s collective donation. December 17 is the deadline for us to receive your donation and be included in the list of donors.

Teachings at Kopan Monastery

Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaching at Kopan Monastery’s fifty-third lamrim meditation course, Kopan Monastery, Nepal, November 30, 2022.

Rinpoche is now teaching at the fifty-third lamrim meditation course at Kopan Monastery in Nepal. These teachings are being livestreamed with transcription so that everyone can receive them. Subscribe to the FPMT YouTube channel to get notified when new videos are uploaded or when a livestream starts. Livestreams are also announced on Telegram as well as Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Facebook page, and the FPMT and Kopan Monastery Facebook pages. Livestreams can also be watched without a transcript for those who prefer that format. Additionally, we will also be blogging about the teachings and providing final videos, transcripts, and summaries of the topics Rinpoche is covering regularly, so if you haven’t yet, subscribe to our FPMT Daily News blog email list.

Birthday Celebration

Traditional Tibetan song and dance being performed during the birthday celebration for Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Kopan Monastery, Nepal, December 3, 2022. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

On Rinpoche’s birthday, December 3, the Kopan community, joined by monks and nuns, locals, and November Course participants, offered a Sixteen Arhats long-life puja to Rinpoche, and organized a large celebration for FPMT’s spiritual director, which included many performances of song, traditional Tibetan dances, and prayers. Please read more about this joyous event and enjoy a video of the proceedings.

Young Kopan monks singing happy birthday to Rinpoche, Kopan Monastery, Nepal, December 3, 2022. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Recent Teachings

Please enjoy some recently published teachings from the past month, and links to new episodes of the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Essential Extracts Podcast:

• The Importance of Remembering Impermanence and Death
• Blessing Sentient Beings in the Ocean
• Recent episodes of the “Lama Zopa Rinpoche Essential Extracts Podcast” include, “Meditate on Emptiness While Walking,” and “Give Away Your Body, Enjoyments, and Merit to Others.” New episodes are released every other Monday and previously published episodes are available on the Essential Extracts Podcast page as well.

All teachings from Lama Zopa Rinpoche are published regularly, unedited on our full-length teachings podcast shortly after the teaching finishes.

We’re Rejoicing About:

Completion and Consecration of Magnificent 42-foot Stupa in South India

Lama Zopa Rinpoche watering a new juniper tree planted during the consecration of the 42-foot stupa built at Rabgayling Tibetan Settlement, Hunsur, India, October 14, 2022. Photo courtesy of Gyudmed Tantric Monastery.

The Rabgayling Tibetan Settlement in Hunsur, South India is home to the Rabgayling Old Aged Home, a care facility serving approximately twenty residents. FPMT Charitable Projects, through the Social Services Fund, has been supporting this home since 2015, providing grants for annual operation costs, the construction of living accommodations, medical assistance, and a community hall for the elders.

In addition to this critical support for the basic needs of the residents and facilities, Lama Zopa Rinpoche sponsored the construction of a 42-foot stupa close to the elderly home at the settlement, which was recently completed. The stupa will provide the elders and all other residents of the Tibetan settlement an easy opportunity to create merit and purify negative karma. Please read more about this project and enjoy a video of Lama Zopa Rinpoche leading the consecration of this stupa in October with the abbot and monks of Gyudmed Tantric Monastery.

Support to Sangha Offered in 2022

Due to the generosity of many, an amazing US$673,471 was offered for the support of sangha in 2022 and a further US$27,000 has been pledged and will be offered soon. You can read about these various grants from the Supporting Ordained Sangha Fund and how they are benefiting monks and nuns in essential and meaningful ways.

Lamrim Year Practice Groups

Three practice groups have formed using Facebook to support a daily practice of following the new Lamrim Year text published by the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive. Lamrim Year offers short daily lamrim teachings from Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche for all 365 days of the year, to support daily meditation on the graduated path. The three groups are in Russian (starting soon), Hebrew, and Romanian languages.

Become a Friend of FPMT

What’s New?

His Holiness the Dalai Lama giving public, in-person teachings, McCleod Ganj, H.P. India, September 2022. Photo by Jean Luc Castagner.

New Blogs and Stories from FPMT.org

You can keep up on all of our latest blogs, featured stories, community news, and teachings by checking in regularly to the What’s New page on FPMT.org.

Recent In-depth stories and blogs include:

• His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Transformative Teachings, September 2022
• Rejoicing in the Life of Geshe Thubten Soepa: Protecting the Helpless
• Big Love Summit 2022
• Rejoicing in the Achievements of Sangye Sherpa, Longtime Director of Lawudo Retreat Center

Resources to Support Your Dharma Study and Practice

Materials for Your Study & Practice

Practice Resources to Support Health is a recent blog post with a collection of materials specific to supporting and protecting our health.

New:

• 2023 Liberation Tibetan Calendar PDF (Downloadable Format): This calendar includes lunar dates and information about more than 30 kinds of practice days and auspicious and inauspicious days for each month. The calendar was prepared by astrologer Ngawang Thartho based on the Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute’s calendar, with additional advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Geshe Ngawang Dakpa. Proceeds for sales of this digital calendar support the Liberation Prison Project, an FPMT project which works with Dharma students in prison.
• Blessing the Animals in the Ocean: Based on instructions given by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, this practice can be done to bless the animals in any body of water, such as oceans, seas, lakes, and ponds. The blessing is done by reciting powerful mantras of Chenrezig and Namgyalma, plus other mantras, then blowing into the clean water before pouring the blessed water into the body of water with animals. Mantra boards such as Namgyalma Mantra board, if available, can be put into the body of water during the practice.
• The Melody of the Wings of Dancing Bees: A Tsog Song: An auspicious tsog song to Vajrayogini composed by Trijang Rinpoche.

For a complete list of FPMT Education Services prayers and practices, please visit our catalogue page. You can also find all new arrivals, updated materials, and translated materials in our Foundation Store.

Opportunities and Changes within the Organization:

The Amazing Benefit and Importance of Offering Service

All FPMT centers, projects, services and study groups exist to benefit beings, and rely on local support to exist. Right now many are seeking suitable candidates to serve as director, spiritual program coordinator, board member, and other roles.  If you appreciate what the FPMT organization is doing, please consider offering your skills! Offering service is an amazing thing to do, for many reasons, including:

• Joining a great family of people who share the FPMT vision of helping all sentient beings achieve enlightenment, and who work to make that a reality in their own lives and in the lives of those around them.
• Having the satisfaction of working for the benefit of others, not for money or fame.
• Gaining the incredible good karma of offering service to your guru, and sentient beings. 

In a recent teaching at Kopan Monastery, during the fifty-third lamrim meditation course, Rinpoche said, “The center is to spread Dharma to sentient beings, to serve sentient beings, with body, speech, and mind. To enable sentient beings to meet Dharma and free them from problems and sufferings, and bring happiness by understanding and practicing Dharma. So bodhisattva’s attitude, even to give rise to one virtuous thought, if it takes one million eons, even that one thousand times, even if it takes that much time to give rise to one virtuous thought, they are so happy to work for sentient beings, to give rise to even one virtuous thought. It is so rare, so happy, for bodhisattvas to dedicate like that for sentient beings.” 

Read more advice from Rinpoche about the benefit and importance of offering service.

Reserve Your Spot for the Foundation Service Seminar in Europe

Istituto Lama Tsong Khapa (ILTK), Pomaia, Italy, is hosting an FPMT Foundation Service Seminar (FSS), on April 21-26, 2023. The FSS is the “FPMT immersion retreat,” providing essential information and nourishment for all serving, or wishing to serve, in the FPMT organization. Read more about the FSS. Contact ILTK to reserve your place and read their policies.

Impermanence at Work

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

De-Tong Ling Retreat Center, Australia
We welcome new spiritual program coordinator – Jana Janko
With grateful thanks to outgoing SPC – Kimball Cuddihy

FPMT India National Office
We welcome new national coordinator – Ven. Tashi Choedup
With grateful thanks to outgoing national coordinator – Dee Shekhar

Vajrapani Institute, USA
We welcome new spiritual program coordinator – Cindy Bangs

Give Where Most Needed

End of the Year Give Where Most Needed Appeal

As we look forward to 2023, we invite offerings from any who are inspired and have the means to contribute to the FPMT Give Where Most Needed Fund! Give Where Most Needed donations can go to support any project or activity aligned with the FPMT mission that needs resources. Every contribution makes a difference!

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FPMT International Office is Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s office.