International Office News
November 2025

Lama Zopa Rinpoche in the stupa garden at Kopan Monastery, November 2021. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

Teachings and News Regarding Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Progress on the Stupa of Complete Victory

Some of the best artists are working on the stupa’s decorations. Photo by Ven. Tenzin Tsultrim.

The Stupa of Complete Victory is being built at Kopan Monastery, Nepal, for the swift return of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche and actualization of all his wishes.

Over the monsoon extensive work by some of the best artists has been undertaken on the incredible decorations that grace every level of the stupa. The 32 smaller stupas that will surround the main stupa are currently being carved in sandstone in India and will later be brought to Kopan Monastery.

We recently shared new photos of the project and we also invite you to please enjoy this short video showing all the progress on the stupa and giving you an opportunity to virtually circumambulate and rejoice.

Others’ Happiness Depends on How You Act with Your Body, Speech, and Mind

Lama Zopa Rinpoche offered seventeen teachings during the fifty-third month-long lamrim meditation course at Kopan Monastery in Nepal which occurred November 26 to December 26, 2022.

We recently shared one video from this course, “Others’ Happiness Depends on How You Act with Your Body, Speech, and Mind.”

In this teaching, Rinpoche explains that other’s happiness depends on how we act with our body, speech, and mind. Not only within our families, but everywhere we go in the world, anyone we meet, even animals, their happiness is in our hands, so we must be kind and peaceful. We have responsibility for the happiness and suffering of others, not just for our own. Therefore, we must be kind with our body, speech, and mind by doing pleasant actions to others. No one, including animals, likes rude sounds directed at them, this causes others to feel threatened or run away. We can offer a smile from our heart to others, it not only creates the cause to be a very beautiful person in future lives, it also becomes the cause of enlightenment when done with bodhicitta. We can also be kind to others with our mind—how we think about those we meet, cultivating loving-kindness and compassion toward them, this is incredible. By having a good heart benefiting others, everything becomes the cause of enlightenment.

Please watch the video and access a full transcript of this entire course that was offered by Rinpoche in 2022.

Valuable Resources for Students

We would like to draw your attention to 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.

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 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

The Peaceful Path to Liberation

Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Lama Yeshe in group photo for the 16th Kopan Meditation Course, Fall, Kopan Monastery, Nepal, 1983. Photo courtesy LYWA.

Lama Yeshe gave a teaching on refuge, the five lay precepts, the bodhisattva vows and more on December 9, 1983, during the Sixteenth Kopan Meditation Course held at Kopan Monastery, Nepal. This was one of Lama’s last teachings before he passed away in March 1984. Edited by Uldis Balodis, this teaching is now published in the LYWA book: Knowledge-Wisdom: The Peaceful Path to Liberation.

Taking refuge is actually very important. Anyway, we do take refuge—in food, clothes, friends and security. We try to be secure, to make life comfortable—this is taking refuge. Even mosquitoes and chickens take refuge. Refuge is not something new. I want you to know this clean-clearly. Even when we are babies we cry: “Ehhhhhh! I want milk; I want milk, Mama!” The baby doesn’t say “milk,” but the “ehhhhhh,” cry is itself the asking for milk and saying, “I’m thirsty.” Everything that we try to do physically or mentally is an expression of trying to take refuge. That’s why taking refuge is not a new thing. It’s important to know that taking refuge is not something new; it’s our trip. We do everything to try to make ourselves happy.

We welcome you to read the entire teaching.

An Invitation to FPMT Centers, Projects, and Services

This year, the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive (LYWA) launched the Family Feeling Project to make the precious teachings of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche more accessible throughout the worldwide FPMT network. Thanks to the generosity of LYWA’s benefactors and the ongoing support of donors, we are now able to ship LYWA publications (excluding Big Love) free of charge to any FPMT center, study group, project, or service anywhere in the world. Each year, LYWA can provide up to two boxes of books per center and also support larger regional shipments when possible. So far, LYWA has shipped thousands of books to more than twenty FPMT centers and study groups, from New Mexico to New Zealand.

This year LYWA also introduced, Tools for the Path, a quarterly newsletter for FPMT leaders who manage and coordinate centers, study groups, projects, and services. LYWA aims to strengthen connections across the network and provide Dharma resources that support your work. Each issue offers both Dharma materials and practical tools to help you serve your communities—ranging from media kits and study resources to translation opportunities and free book shipments. You’ll also find updates on new publications and inspiring highlights of how centers are using LYWA resources. If you’d like to subscribe or would like more information about either of these projects, please contact Stacey at LYWA.

What We’re Rejoicing About

Ven. Roger Kunsang’s Recent Visit to Mongolia

Ven. Roger with the Mahayana Children’s Program, Mongolia. Photo courtesy of FPMT Mongolia.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche visited Mongolia for the first time in 1999 at the invitation of Bakula Rinpoche, who had already been working for 10 years to reestablish Buddhism in the country, and a small group of Mongolians. It was explained to Rinpoche how important it was for high lamas to come to Mongolia to teach and actively support the revival of the Buddhist heritage for future generations. Due to Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s wish to help, FPMT Mongolia became a registered Mongolian religious organization in 1999 and a few dedicated FPMT students moved to Ulaanbaatar to begin work. Since then, dozens of Westerners and hundreds of Mongolians have developed an organization that provides Dharma education, Universal Education, Sangha support, and social services for some of Mongolia’s most needy.

Director of FPMT Mongolia, Susan Roe, overviewed Chief Executive Officer of FPMT Inc. Ven. Roger Kunsang’s recent visit to Mongolia this October and we invite you to read this report to rejoice in the incredible activities happening in Mongolia for the benefit of so many!

Education and Preservation Grants Offered

The FPMT Education and Preservation Fund supports Dharma study and contributes to the development of Buddhist education programs and the preservation of the Dharma through the publication of Dharma practice materials and translations.

Please read about grants offered in 2024 to three key translation projects aimed at making Buddhist teachings more accessible across linguistic and cultural boundaries; and in 2025 to a diverse range of projects – from translation and publication efforts to teacher development and multimedia initiatives.

Land of Medicine Buddha’s 10th Annual Namgyalma Retreat

Land of Medicine Buddha (LMB) in Soquel, California, completed its tenth annual Namgyalma Retreat in October 2025, once again fulfilling the wishes of Lama Zopa Rinpoche to make it a yearly event. Please read Ven. Tenzin Tsomo’s recent report on this incredible yearly retreat.

Powerful Pujas and Prayers Offered on Lhabab Duchen

On Lhabab Duchen, November 11 this year, the FPMT Puja Fund sponsored numerous pujas including the recitation of the Prajnaparamita Sutra, Lama Chopa, Medicine Buddha Puja, Drugchuma and Chanting the Names of Manjushri. The stupas of Boudhanath and Swambyunath in Nepal were freshly painted and the umbrellas were offered at the pinnacle of each stupa. A new set of robes was offered to the Buddha statue in the Mahabodhi temple in Bodhgaya. Additionally, animals were liberated, sutras recited and printed, and offerings were made to all of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s gurus and to all the IMI Sangha communities in FPMT. Extensive pujas were offered also on the anniversary of the Parinirvana of HE Trijang Rinpoche and HE Zong Rinpoche in their monasteries.

Grants for Sustaining the Living Transmission of Dharma Teachings

Participants in the 2025 Annual Geluk Exam.

The Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund (LTKTF) continues to be a cornerstone in preserving the Geluk lineage of Tibetan Mahayana Buddhism. Named after the 14th-century master Lama Tsongkhapa (1357–1419), the Fund embodies His vision of integrating deep scholarship, ethical discipline, and meditative insight.

Please read about recent grants offered to our lineage teachers and the Geluk lineage, the annual Geluk Exam and Winter Debate, scholastic achievement, and medical research.

Resources and Opportunities for Study and Practice

Lama Tsongkhapa Day is December 14

Ganden Ngamchoe, literally “Ganden Offering of the Twenty-Fifth Day,” or Lama Tsongkhapa Day, is a celebration of the anniversary of Lama Tsongkhapa’s parinirvana. It is celebrated on the twenty-fifth day of the tenth month of the Tibetan calendar. This year, Lama Tsongkhapa Day falls on December 14.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche encouraged FPMT centers, projects, and services to engage in a variety of practices on Ganden Ngamchoe to celebrate and create merit. We have created a page that contains all you will need to host an event, or offer advice to students wishing to practice on this special day.

On this page you will find links to resources in English, French, Tibetan, Spanish and other languages, and you will find specific advice offered by Lama Zopa Rinpoche in the 2019 celebration of the 600th anniversary of Lama Tsongkhapa’s parinirvana.

Newly Available and Updated Materials

A Bouquet Which Gathers Together All Excellent Actions is a beautiful account of the twelve deeds of Shakyamuni Buddha by the Fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lozang Gyatso, by way of paying homage. The twelve deeds are performed by all buddhas, in their nirmanakaya aspect, when they manifest in our world system to turn the wheel of Dharma. There are different authentic lists of the twelve deeds by different masters. According to the Fifth Dalai Lama, this praise “accurately depicts the intended meaning of Jamyang Kunga Chözang’s An Unmistaken Exegesis of Vinaya: The Treasury of Scripture and Logic. This translation was undertaken on the advice of Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

We recently updated The Sutra of Great Liberation.

The Sutra of Great Liberation is a Tibetan text, found in the Kangyur. This is a translation of the Chinese rendition; the Sanskrit source text having been lost over the course of time. This translation was undertaken by Ven. Gyalten Lekden at the behest of Rinpoche, who, seeing its benefits, wished for it to be made easily accessible to more people. Rinpoche emphasized that engaging with the sutra in any way, even unintentionally, is profoundly beneficial. Let alone reciting the sutra or its mantra, even hearing any part of the sutra or keeping a copy of the sutra brings immeasurable benefit. Reciting the sutra, for instance, also easily purifies negative karma.

Opportunity to Join the FPMT Masters Program Teachings in 2026

FPMT Masters Program Workshop “Communication,” November 2025. Photo courtesy of Yannis Casse.

The FPMT Masters Program in Buddhist Studies of Sutra and Tantra (MP) is FPMT’s most advanced education program, the realization of the vision of Lama Thubten Yeshe. Its mission is to provide a full-time, in-depth education for students of the Tibetan Mahayana tradition of Lama Tsongkhapa that emphasizes the integration of academic, practice, behavior, service, and training components. In addition to offering students a profound deepening of their Dharma understanding and practice, the program aims to provide the FPMT with highly qualified Western teachers of Buddhist theory and practice.

Nalanda Monastery, with its beautiful setting in the rolling hills of Southern France, extends an invitation to all interested students to join the teachings on the Madhyamakavatara, the next subject of their MP, starting February 2026 in English and in French, with residential and online options.

This is a last chance to immerse oneself in this subject at MP level for many years to come. Please be encouraged, or encourage your study-inclined students and friends, to consider coming to France and make use of this unique opportunity!

Please find more information about this precious opportunity and learn how to register.

Solitary Retreat as Practice and a Way of Life

Milarepa Center is an FPMT retreat center located in rural Barnet, Vermont, in the United States. The center is situated on 275 acres of serene Vermont beauty with a Stupa of Many of Doors, a set of 10 prayer wheels, and forest trails for walking and/or hiking. Director Dawn Holtz recently reflected on the importance of solitary retreat, the obstacles that may be keeping us from engaging in this practice, and offers encouragement for those considering solitary retreat as a way to progress on the path. We invite you to read the thoughtful piece by Dawn to consider how retreat might benefit your own practice.

2026 Liberation Calendar Now Available

For twenty-seven years, the Liberation Prison Project has been producing the Liberation Tibetan calendar to support their work helping people in prison with their Buddhist practice. The calendar is a beautifully crafted guide grounded in authentic Tibetan lunar astrology and presents Tibetan lunar dates along with solar and lunar eclipses and over thirty kinds of auspicious and inauspicious days for spiritual practice, information on Buddha Days as well as appropriate days for performing Medicine Buddha and Tara pujas, putting up prayer flags, doing fire pujas, tsog offerings, and various activities.

This calendar is a reliable resource for FPMT students around the world. The calendar is prepared by astrologer Paksam Ngawang Thartho based on the Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institutes calendar, with additional advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Geshe Ngawang Dakpa.

The 2026 Liberation Tibetan calendar, year of the Fire Horse, is available now as a printable PDF.

Retreat Opportunities

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

Call for Interviews and Submissions!

Early Students: Your Stories Are Needed!

This year in December, the FPMT organization celebrates fifty years since its formation in 1975. We are working on putting together some of the rich history of this time, as a way to rejoice in how far we have come! Were you an early student of the FPMT organization, particularly, were you part of the activities and developments in 1975? We’d love to hear your story and ask you a few questions, 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? We would love to hear from you!

Retreat Stories Needed

Are you a senior student who has engaged in long retreat, or know of someone who has engaged in long retreat that 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

Jamyang Buddhist Centre Leeds, United Kingdom
We welcome Geshe Rinchen Wangyal as resident teacher

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, Italy, Mongolia, the North American Region, Nepal, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, UK, and the USA.

Foundation Service Seminar in Italy and the United States

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.

Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa, Italy, is organizing an FSS on June 10-14, 2026. Reservations are not open yet, but please save the dates.

Land of Medicine Buddha, California, is organizing an FSS on October 26-30, 2026. Reservations are not open yet, but please save the dates

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.