International Office News
June 2025

His Holiness the Dalai Lama on the occasion of the laying of the foundation stone for The Dalai Lama Centre for Tibet and Indian Ancient Wisdom on the Maitreya land in Bodhgaya, India. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Teachings and News Regarding Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Prayers to Stop War

In 2022, after the war in Ukraine started, Lama Zopa Rinpoche offered advice on prayers and practices to do in order to pacify the threats of war. All are welcome to download the booklet, Prayers to Stop War.

At the time, Lama Zopa Rinpoche also gave advice for how to motivate and think when doing these prayers and practices. Please read the full advice. 

Rinpoche’s Animal Friends

“There is no one sentient being whom I cannot love.” – Lama Zopa Rinpoche

A new playful and heartwarming free book is available from the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive: Rinpoche’s Animal Friends. This book showcases more than one hundred images of the soft toys, also known as plushies, which appeared regularly in Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s video teachings from Kopan during his 2020-2022 thought transformation teachings. These animal friends were later gifted to students around the world. This book is a reminder of Rinpoche’s great love for us and his unique means to inspire and open our hearts. While this is not a typical children’s book, it can be shared with young people of all ages to enjoy the pictures and the engaging Dharma messages. Order your free copy today!

Valuable Resources for Students

FPMT.org offers some valuable resources for students of Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

Compendium of Precious Instructions: A Catalog of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Works
is a collection of Rinpoche’s literary and graphic works which are available electronically and/or in print, with particular emphasis on key teachings that Rinpoche especially wanted his students to take note of and put into practice, as well as a guide on where to find the audio and video productions.

Life Practice Advice is a resource based on Rinpoche’s essential daily practice and lifetime practice advice. This is his essential advice and by following this advice, students can feel confident they are following and practicing according to Rinpoche’s heart advice.

FPMT.org also offers a collection of practical advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Students can also find Rinpoche’s advice on a wide range of topics in the form of short talks and letters at the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

Lama Yeshe’s Wisdom

A Simple Explanation of Karma

Lama Yeshe teaching at Manjushri Institute, England, 1976. Photo courtesy of the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

The Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive offers a growing index of teaching excerpts from Big Love: The Life and Teachings of Lama Yeshe. Perhaps this set of blog posts could be framed something like: In addition to the fascinating historical narrative from students of Lama Yeshe, Big Love is also filled with Dharma teachings. Here we share an excerpt from, “A Simple Explanation of Karma” from Chapter 14 of Big Love.

“You can explain karma in many different ways. For example, it can be explained academically, with many divisions and analytical points of view. But right now I am going to give just a simple explanation.

“Karma means action; actions of body, speech and mind are karma. For example, we have just recited, ‘I take refuge in Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha; I will follow the Dharma.’ But if we are not conscious in our everyday actions of body, speech and mind I think it is difficult to really take refuge.” Read the full excerpt.

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What We’re Rejoicing About

His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 90th Birthday

One of the gold Shakyamuni Buddha statues which will be offered to His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

On the joyful occasion of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s ninetieth birthday on July 6, 2025, the FPMT organization will be offering one hundred gold-plated 9 inch high (23 cm) statues of Shakyamuni Buddha to His Holiness. In addition, we will be making a significant financial offering to His Holiness, on this momentous and auspicious occasion, with sincere prayers and requests for His Holiness’s long life.

The one hundred Buddha statues will be offered during His Holiness’s long life puja on July 5, 2025 in Dharamsala. 

Anyone who would like to contribute toward these offerings is warmly invited to do so:

• Support the statue offerings
• Contribute to the offering to His Holiness the Dalai Lama (We have been able to sponsor the 100 statues that will be offered this year, but following Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s request, the offering of Buddha statues to His Holiness the Dalai Lama will be happening each year and any extra money raised will be used for the next year’s offerings.)

By making these offerings, we are deeply requesting His Holiness to have a long and stable life, and to continue guiding the FPMT organization and all students, now and in all future lifetimes, without separation.

As a way of remembering the unbelievable and unshakeable kindness of His Holiness as his ninetieth birthday approaches, we recently shared the following:

• The Kindness of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan People
• Three Buffalos Liberated in Honor of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Long Life and 90th Birthday
• How to Do the Great Prayer Festival of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Birthday

Saka Dawa Pujas and Prayers Offered on Behalf of the FPMT Organization

During the twenty-four hours of Saka Dawa (June 11, 2025), which commemorates Shakyamuni Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana, and when karmic results are multiplied by 300 million times as it commemorates Shakyamuni Buddha’s three major life events, The FPMT Puja Fund sponsored a number of pujas and prayers on behalf of the entire FPMT organization. Please read more about these activities and see short videos of the pujas offered.

The whole FPMT mandala was engaged in prayers and virtuous practices on Saka Dawa. May all of these powerful prayers be the cause of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s swift return, for peace and harmony within the FPMT organization; for all obstacles to be removed; for the activities to be successful and of most benefit to all beings; for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and all of our teachers; and for the success and benefit of all the FPMT Dharma activities around the world.

LRZTP 9 Program Successfully Completed

Lotsawa Rinchen Zangpo Translator Program (LRZTP) is an FPMT project in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, India. LRZTP has produced many gifted Dharma interpreters-translators for FPMT Dharma centers since its conception over twenty-three years ago. In addition to the two-year intensive training program, LRZTP also runs short Tibetan language courses and offers private online Tibetan language lessons.

The latest interpreters training course, LRZTP 9, successfully finished with eleven new graduates on June 3, 2025! Please read more about this impressive achievement for these dedicated students. 

Amitabha Buddha Gateway Restored

Amitabha Buddhist Centre, Singapore, recently completed the renovation of their Amitabha Buddha gateway which is decorated with four powerful mantras as advised by Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Please read about this auspicious project. 

Twenty-One Taras Thangka Displayed in Melbourne for Vesak

Twenty-One Taras on display at the Melbourne Town Hall. Photo by Gina Lewis.

In 2014, Lama Zopa Rinpoche commissioned Peter Iseli to paint a very big (15 meters x 9 meters, 49 ft x 30 ft) Twenty-One Taras thangka. Peter and his wife, Jangchub, spent four years creating the thangka, one section at a time, in a studio at Institut Vajra Yogini in France. At the end of 2017, Lama Zopa offered this thangka to Tara Institute (TI) in Melbourne, Australia, “to show to as many people as possible.” In 2019 Peter made final changes requested by Rinpoche. For the third year in a row, this thangka was displayed at the Melbourne Town Hall during the annual multicultural Vesak celebrations. Please read details and enjoy photos of this year’s event.

Resources and Opportunities for Study and Practice

Opportunities for Retreat

Please check our retreat schedule page for group retreat opportunities upcoming in your area.

Most Secret Hayagriva Retreat at Nalanda Monastery

Following the Most Secret Hayagriva Initiation that will be given by His Eminence Khensur Rinpoche Lobsang Delek at Nalanda Monastery July 7 and 8, a very rare opportunity of a two-week retreat has been organized on the grounds of Nalanda Monastery starting on July 11. Nalanda has invited four qualified geshes from Sera Je Monastery: Geshe Thubten Sonam (retreat leader), Genden Dhargey (main chant leader of Sera Je), Geshe Dorjee Wangdak (Sera Je chant leader), and Geshe Tashi Dondrup (an artist of butter sculptures and tormas). Please read more about the significance of this retreat and some of the history and connection of Hayagriva with the FPMT organization. Also please see below for newly available Most Secret Hayagriva materials.

Newly Available Most Secret Hayagriva Materials

The Melodious Laughter of the Mighty One: An Activity Manual for Wrathful Most Secret Lotus is compiled by Dragri Lozang Thubten Namgyal, based on the Great Fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lozang Gyatso’s activity manual The Compendium of the Heart Essence. This extensive practice can be used for a nearing retreat on Most Secret Hayagriva. It is used in Sera Jey Monastery’s annual Most Secret Hayagriva retreat.

Compiled by Kyabje Jhado Rinpoche in 2018, A Concise and Complete Sadhana of Bhagavan Wrathful Glorious Most Secret Hayagriva for Daily Practice and for Convenient Recitation During the Intermediate Sessions of an Approaching Retreat is abbreviated from the Great Fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lozang Gyatso’s The Melody of the Fearless Vajra: The Activity Manual for the Chanting and Meditation of Wrathful Most Secret Lotus, a text said to be filled with great blessings. This concise sadhana is suitable for one’s daily practice use and can also be used in a Most Secret Hayagriva nearing retreat.

We gratefully thank Nalanda Monastery for sponsoring the translation of these two major sadhanas which will be used in the retreat at Nalanda Monastery.

Call for Interviews and Submissions!

Road to Kopan Stories Requested

For many long-time students of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Kopan Monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal, is where they first met the teachings of Buddha and where they saw their lives changed profoundly. In the past, Mandala magazine collected these stories, starting with the early students of the 1970s. We would like to begin collecting these stories again and need your help! If you were an early student of FPMT and have not yet shared your Road to Kopan story with us, or you know of someone we should solicit for their story, please be in touch!

FPMT Community News Stories

We welcome the submission of news stories from those within the FPMT community. This can be a story about something you have personally completed or accomplished, about someone else who has done so, or about the FPMT center, project, or service of which you are a part. Ideal submissions will give readers reasons to rejoice, share ideas, and create connections between those in the international community. Have something to share? Please let us know!

Retreat Stories Needed

Are you a senior student who has engaged in long retreat, or know of someone who has engaged in long retreat you think others in the FPMT community would be inspired to hear? Please reach out!

Opportunities and Changes within the Organization

Changes in the FPMT Organization

Land of Joy, United Kingdom
We welcome Beth Halford as new director

Bay Area Centers, California, USA
We welcome Geshe Tenzin Legtsok as resident Geshe

Tushita Meditation Center, Spain
We welcome as new spiritual program coordinator Carla Romeu Dalmau
With grateful thanks to outgoing spiritual program coordinator Marina Brucet

Chandrakirti Meditation Center, New Zealand
We welcome as new spiritual program coordinator Jonelle Watson
With grateful thanks to outgoing spiritual program coordinator Moondil Jahan

Opportunities to Offer Service

Read about the amazing benefits and importance of offering service in the FPMT organization, and have a look at these meritorious opportunities to offer service as paid staff or as a volunteer in FPMT centers, projects, and services around the world, including opportunities in Australia, France, India, North American Region, Nepal, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, UK and the USA. Newly added: Jamyang is looking for a Centre Operation Manager and a People & Community Manager.

Foundation Service Seminar in Europe

The Foundation Service Seminar (FSS) is the “FPMT immersion retreat,” providing essential information and nourishment for all serving, or wishing to serve, in the FPMT organization. This is a wonderful opportunity for centers, projects, and services to invest in the future by training the next generation of directors, SPCs, volunteers, board members, etc.

Institut Vajra Yogini, France, is organizing an FSS on September 24-28, 2025. 

Become a Friend of FPMT

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

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FPMT International Office is Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s office.