International Office News
June 2021

Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Kopan Monastery, Nepal, May 2021. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche:

Thought Transformation Teaching Highlights

Lama Zopa Rinpoche doing incense puja for everyone affected by COVID-19 around the world, especially for the monks and nuns of Kopan, and those in India and Nepal, Kopan Monastery, Nepal, May 2021. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

While Lama Zopa Rinpoche has temporarily paused giving teachings, we are happy to provide you with highlights of teachings from Rinpoche’s thought transformation teachings:

• When You Generate Bodhichitta it is for Everyone You See: Every time we generate bodhichitta, such as before doing a meditation or practice, we are doing it for every sentient being. Not even one of the numberless sentient beings in each realm is left out. Read, watch or listen in full ….
• Recognizing Impermanence-Death Reminds You to Practice Dharma Right Now: The importance of recognizing the reality of death and that it should reminds us to practice Dharma right now! Read, watch or listen in full ….

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

We’re Rejoicing About:

New Live with Compassion Posters

We’re delighted to share this beautiful high resolution poster, which is one of four posters combining Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Live with Compassion quote with portraits of Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Rinpoche has requested every FPMT center, project, and service to prominently display it, advising that it encapsulates the essence of the practice of students in the FPMT organization. So we are also delighted to make it available for students to enjoy and display.

Lama Yeshe during the month-long course at Chenrezig Institute, Australia, 1975. Photo courtesy of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

Lama Yeshe’s Wisdom – Taking Suffering and Giving Happiness

Lama Thubten Yeshe founded the FPMT organization with Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
“We are most fortunate to have been able to pinpoint attachment as the greatest of all problems. When we speak of evil, demons, and so forth, it’s the inner devil of attachment we’re talking about. Even though for countless lives we’ve looked outside ourselves for the source of our problems, there’s nothing external to blame. Therefore we should rejoice that we have finally identified this inner cause of all suffering.” Read in full ….

Lama Zopa Rinpoche reciting mantras to bless the six goats purchased from a butcher in order to save their lives. These goats were liberated on behalf of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, all the Kopan monks and nuns, all the Nepalese and Indian people, and for all beings to be free from Covid. Kopan Monastery, Nepal, May 2021. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Pilot of New FPMT Education Program

We are excited to announce a new FPMT Foundational level program, provisionally named Exploring Buddhism. We have developed this program in response to feedback that students need an education program in between Discovering Buddhism and Basic Program. We are at the stage of running pilots of stage one of the new program with interested FPMT centers.

New Materials Available in the Foundation Store

The following items are all freely available from our Foundation Store. Click on each link for more details:

• FPMT Essential Prayer Book: Prayers and practices recommended for FPMT students by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, including Rinpoche’s advice on the practice of some of these prayers. This publication presents an extensive update of the 2011 collection, Essential Buddhist Prayers, Vol 1, which will hence be discontinued.
• Complete Dedication Prayer Book. Additionally, audio recordings of many of these prayers can be heard in the new Dedication Verses – MP3 Download.
• Cultivating Mindfulness of Bodhicitta in Daily Activities
• A Direct Meditation on All the Important Points of the Lamrim
• The Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra – MP3 Download
• Verses for the Eight Noble Auspicious Ones – MP3 Download
• Praises to the Twenty One-Taras – MP3 Download

Interview with Ven. Roger Kunsang

Ven. Roger Kunsang posing in a coffee shop in Nepal, April 2021. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Conchi Fernandez, the SPC of Nagarjuna Centre, Madrid, Spain, writes:
“We have been fortunate that Ven. Roger gave us an interview in English for our podcast channel Dharma Stories Podcast. We are going to publish the Spanish translation in our magazine Nagarjuna Madrid. We hope that whoever reads or listens to it, will feel the same inspiration that we have felt.”

In this interview, Ven. Roger not only shares his personal story of connecting with Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche in Nepal; he also gives fascinating background on the start of the FPMT organization and what it was like in the early days of centers being established.

Opportunities and Changes within the Organization:

Opportunities to Offer Service in the FPMT Organization

Would you like to spend your days making a meaningful contribution? 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: We are looking for a suitably qualified person to serve as FPMT Spain National Coordinator; Land of Joy, UK, needs a spiritual program coordinator and has other volunteer opportunities; and Nalanda Monastery, France, is looking for an IT Manager.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche during an incense puja, Kopan Monastery, Nepal, May 2021. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Impermanence at Work

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

Bengungyal Center, Mexico
We welcome new director – Agustin Romo
With grateful thanks to outgoing director – Laura Lugo

Hayagriva Center, Australia
We welcome new director – Rob Milan
With grateful thanks to outgoing director – John Waite

Land of Medicine Buddha, USA
We welcome new spiritual program coordinator (SPC) – Christina Cardenas
With grateful thanks to outgoing SPC – Catherine Graham

For Those Offering Service in FPMT Affiliates:

FPMT International Sangha Day

Our nineteenth International Sangha Day is on Chokhor Duchen, which this year falls on Friday July 14. This is the Buddha multiplying day when all FPMT centers, projects, and services are encouraged to celebrate the Sangha (though another day can be chosen if more suitable for your community’s needs). This is the best day to make your mandatory annual donation of US$240 or more to support the International Mahayana Institute (IMI) via the Lama Yeshe Sangha Fund. You can make your annual donation by going to our secure annual donations page, or by local IMI-agreed donation routes.

Please Display the New Posters

As you will have seen in the recent update sent via the CPMT e-group, Rinpoche has requested each FPMT affiliate to prominently display his Live with Compassion quote, as it is the essence of our service and practice. Therefore we have made four new posters that are available in high resolution for printing and displaying in the For Display in Centers, Projects, Services and Study Groups section of the Affiliates Area.

Update to Publishing Policy

As advised recently via the CPMT e-group, aspects of our publishing policy, and advice regarding copyright, has been updated: see Publishing.

Retreat Listing Resource

We are very happy to list retreats, whether onsite or virtual, hosted by FPMT centers, projects and services on fpmt.org, for easy reference by students around the world. We can list retreats of four days or longer (contact Claire), Discovering Buddhism retreats (contact Wai Cheong), and Basic and Masters Program retreats (contact Olga).

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FPMT International Office is Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s office.