International Office News
February 2022

Lama Zopa Rinpoche writing the Prajnaparamita in gold, Kopan Monastery, January 2022. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche:

Official Long Life Puja

Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Chandragiri Hill Resort, Nepal, November 2021. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

The official annual long life puja offered on behalf of all in the FPMT organization to our most kind and immeasurably precious spiritual director, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, will be offered at Kopan Monastery, Nepal, on March 11. This White Tara long life puja is being organized in accordance with the advice of Khadro-la, Rangjung Neljorma Khadro Namsel Drönme. Students are very welcome to donate toward this long life puja. If you would like your name to be included in the list of donors please make your donation before March 7.

Teachings and Excerpts from Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Khadro-la offering prayers at one of the Ashoka Stupas in Patan, Nepal, December 2021. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

We have been sharing topical recent advice from Rinpoche and excerpting from “The Time to Practice is Now,” a detailed summary of the 2020 Thought Transformation Teachings offered by Rinpoche from Kopan Monastery in Nepal. Recent blogs include:

• “How to Enjoy Sufferings or Obstacles,” from recent advice to Institut Vajra Yogini on how to use the pandemic to attain enlightenment. This is timely advice for students around the world who are still dealing with the negative effects of COVID-19.
• “Working for Others Is the Happiest Life,” a short intimate video clip of advice reminding us that the bodhisattva attitude is working for others, which makes life most happy and satisfying.
• “You Can’t Repay the Kindness of Your Enemy Even by Offering Them the Whole World,” an excerpt from “The Time to Practice is Now.” This post shares Rinpoche’s advice that when people or situations disturb our minds, it’s an opportunity to notice how well—or not well—we are practicing Dharma. For example, does our mind become angry or do we have compassion when someone makes a mistake or hurts us? If we have anger, then we should direct our attention to seeing that anger as the enemy and not the person who we think caused it. In fact, we should be grateful to that person for giving us the opportunity to further develop our Dharma practice.

Find advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche 24/7 on Rinpoche’s Advice page.
Subscribe to our FPMT news blog to get news updates and new advice.

We’re Rejoicing About:

New Pages on FPMT.org

We continue to update pages on FPMT.org to help visitors navigate the plethora of blogs, news, advice, videos, photos, podcasts, and more through our What’s New page. We also have made it easier for those within the community to offer submissions for stories and obituaries. We invite you to enjoy these new pages and take full advantage of all there is to offer!

Foundation Service Seminar Retreat in Australia

Tara Institute, Australia, is hosting a Foundation Service Seminar on May 18-22, 2022. We’re delighted to share some feedback from the nuns at Dorje Pamo Monastery, France, who participated in the FSS hosted by Nalanda Monastery last year:

“Inspired, we were! With the presentation of our precious teacher Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s vast vision and activities around the world and the devoted example of so many people, we spent five days in awe, and felt like we were in a cocoon of love and intelligence. I must say, it was a complete success! The participants, coming from various European countries as well as Brazil, came out so happy, full of renewed positive energy. This Family Feeling made us understand there is no limit to what we can accomplish if we implement what we learned!”

New FPMT Masters Program Available in Two Locations!

The FPMT Masters Program will be offered in two wonderful locations, beginning in early 2023 with residential and online options available:

Nalanda Monastery in the South of France invites lay and ordained students to join their second FPMT Masters Program in January 2023. The in-depth study program is being offered in English, French, and Spanish. Learn more.

Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa, in the beautiful Tuscany region of Italy, has decades of experience in developing and implementing the program and will host its fourth FPMT Masters Program, starting in February 2023. The program is being offered in English, Italian, and Spanish. Learn more.

The FPMT Masters Program is our most advanced education program. Six years of full-time study—combining a comprehensive curriculum with practice, training, service, and month-long retreats—are completed with the integrating experience of a year-long lamrim retreat. This program profoundly deepens students’ Dharma knowledge and understanding. Graduates are confident and qualified to become teachers and will enrich the programs and courses offered in FPMT centers. For those who enjoy in-depth study and practice, this is a not to be missed, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Centers are asked to assist and encourage interested students to join the FPMT Masters Program, the actualization of Lama Yeshe’s unique vision for FPMT education.

Merit Box Project Collection Season Now until March 31

Artist in Nepal creating a large Guru Rinpoche statue for Nalanda Monastery in France, a project that received a Merit Box grant.

It’s time to send in Merit Box offerings so they can be included in the 2022 grant awards to be offered later this year. Over the past twenty years, and through the kind generosity of FPMT community members around the world, the Merit Box Project has provided over US$1.15 million in grants to Dharma projects and initiatives in a number of countries. Learn more and get involved.

Resources for Your Practice:

Losar and Fifteen Days of Miracles—Resources for Your Practice

The Fifteen Days of Miracles begin on the Tibetan New Year, or Losar, on March 3 this year and culminate on Chotrul Duchen on March 18. For FPMT, Losar is a special time as it commemorates the anniversary of founder Lama Yeshe’s parinirvana at dawn of Losar in 1984. A new practice booklet Advice for the Anniversary of the Guru’s Passing Away, with commentary and translation by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, explains the importance of making offerings on the anniversary of the passing away of one’s guru and how to do it. Rinpoche has also offered general practice advice for these holy merit multiplying days.

New Titles in the Foundation Store

Here are the newest titles in PDF format and audio MP3s recently added to the Foundation Store:

• Amitabha Pure Land Prayers PDF
• The Exalted Zung Called “Eliminating Obscurations” PDF
• An Extremely Abbreviated Version of The Exalted Sutra “Completely Dispelling the Darkness of the Ten Directions” PDF
• The Exalted Mahayana Sutra Called “Pacifier of Black Court Cases” PDF
• Manjushri Mantra – MP3 Download
• Rinchen Tsugtor Chen Name Mantra – MP3 Download

We continue to make more materials available in ebook format. These items can now be downloaded as either PDFs or ebook:

• Daily Prayers eBook & PDF
• The Eight Prayers eBook & PDF
• Prayers and Practices to be Reborn in Sukhavati eBook & PDF
• Protector Prayers eBook & PDF

For a complete list of FPMT Education Services prayers and practices, please visit our catalogue page. You can also find all new arrivals and updated materials available on our Foundation Store (shop.fpmt.org).

Lamrim Year

Lamrim Year is an essential guide for meditators who want to develop their mind in the graduated path to enlightenment (lamrim). This 365-day outline has a page for each day with a quote and text selected from four decades of teachings by FPMT founders Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. The page concludes with a recap summarizing the main points for reflection and a reference to the lamrim topics covered.

Become a Friend of FPMT

Opportunities and Changes within the Organization:

Opportunities to Offer Service in the FPMT Organization

Newly added: Liberation Prison Project is looking for a new director.

Impermanence at Work

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

Gyaltsab Je, Ile de Reunion
We welcome new director
With grateful thanks to outgoing director – Marc Salamolard

Thubten Norbu Ling, USA
We welcome new director – Steve Kopelman
With grateful thanks to outgoing director – Charmaine Hughes

Yeshe Gyaltsen Center, Mexico, has closed: we rejoice in the benefits created during the center’s lifetime.

For Those Offering Service in FPMT Affiliates

Practices for Losar

Rinpoche and young monks sending Losar greetings from Kopan Monastery, Nepal, February 2021. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

You can find advice from Rinpoche for specific practices to do for Losar at FPMT Centers in the Affiliates Area, including Rinpoche’s advice on offering extensive Lama Chopa with tsog to honor the anniversary of Lama Yeshe’s passing away (which happened at 5 a.m. on Losar in 1984).

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FPMT International Office is Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s office.