International Office News
October 2023

Lama Zopa Rinpoche, India, 2010. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

Advice from His Holiness the Dalai Lama Regarding the Swift Return of Lama Zopa Rinpoche

His Holiness the Dalai Lama has offered us all the precious advice to recite Chanting the Names of Noble Manjushri continuously for a few months, for the swift return of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s reincarnation.

We request all students of Lama Zopa Rinpoche to please recite this as much as you can continuously, starting now. 

In a few months’ time, His Holiness will be consulted again.

The prayer can be found here: Chanting the Names of Noble Manjushri. 

We also share an audio clip of Lama Zopa Rinpoche reciting the Chanting the Names of Noble Manjushri. 

Letter from His Holiness’ Private Office:
As requested by the devotees of FPMT centers for observation regarding the quick return of the late Zopa Rinpoche’s reincarnation, the result of the observation as follows:

Please recite Names of Manjushri (Jampal Tshen Jo) continuously for now and in a few months’ time observation will be performed again. 

From His Holiness the Dalai Lama
October 18, 2023

In Tribute to Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Obituary

Although it is difficult to convey the extraordinariness of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s life, we share an incredibly moving eulogy, written by Ven. Robina Courtin, so we can rejoice from our hearts in Rinpoche’s myriad accomplishments, teachings, blessings, and activities and be inspired to follow in his footsteps.

This obituary also includes a gallery of 300+ photos of various stages in Rinpoche’s profound life.

Stupa of Complete Victory at Kopan Monastery

Rendering of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Stupa of Complete Victory at Kopan Monastery

A Stupa of Complete Victory is being built for Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Kopan Monastery. This magnificent stupa will be 42 ft high (12.8 meters). The intention is to create a significant monument situated on a ground level covering an area of 55 square meters and a semi-basement level spanning 218 square meters. Please read more about this auspicious project!

Victory Stupa at Lawudo Gompa

Anila Ngawang Samten, Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s sister, is constructing an eight level, 12-feet high and 11-feet wide Victory Stupa at Lawudo Gompa, Nepal, for the swift return of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and success of all his and FPMT’s projects.

We are so pleased to share an update on this stupa from Ven. Nyima Tashi Sherpa, a relative of Lama Zopa Rinpoche; and Ven. Tsultrim, a Swiss nun who has been at Lawudo since Spring 2022.

Lamas Offering Prayers and Paying Respects to Rinpoche’s Holy Body

His Eminence Gaden Tri Rinpoche Jetsun Lobsang Tenzin Rinpoche, Khenrinpoche and Ven Roger Kunsang and Holly Ansett, Kopan Monastery, Nepal, April 19, 2023. Photo by Lobsang Sherab.

After Lama Zopa Rinpoche showed the aspect of passing away on April 13 this year, thousands of students, friends, politicians, and lamas from all four schools of the Tibetan Buddhism and also different traditions made the pilgrimage to Kopan Monastery to pay respects at Rinpoche’s holy body and offer prayers for a swift return. Additionally, students, friends, and lamas around the world shared their prayers, messages, tributes, and memories of Rinpoche.

We have created a special gallery of photos of some of the lamas who traveled to pay respects, and offer swift return prayers at Rinpoche’s holy body. We hope students find great comfort in this gallery which really speaks to the great reach and impact, as well as great respect from others, that Rinpoche’s life had in this world.

Teachings and Inspiration from Lama Zopa Rinpoche:

2017 Teachings on Thought Transformation and Other Essential Topics

Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave a series of teachings in January-February 2017 at Root Institute, Bodhgaya, India, with great emphasis on lojong (thought transformation). This entire video series is available to you!

As a reminder, the Rinpoche Available Now page contains video teachings from over sixty teaching events with Lama Zopa Rinpoche going back to 2009, including the most recent teachings given at the fifty-third November Course at Kopan Monastery (2022); and the Thought Transformation Teachings Rinpoche gave at Kopan Monastery, Nepal and Amitabha Buddhist Centre, Singapore, between 2020-2022. Also, please visit the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive for many more videos of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche dating back to the 1970s!

Oral Transmission of Verses for the Eight Auspicious Noble Ones

The Verses for the Eight Auspicious Noble Ones, or Tashi Gyepa in Tibetan, is one of Je Mipham’s most well-known compositions and is recited daily by practitioners from a variety of different traditions. Lama Zopa Rinpoche offered the oral transmission of this text in March 2020 from Kopan Monastery and all are welcome to download this text for free, watch the video, and follow along in a full transcript.

Rinpoche’s Dharma Plushy Toys

One of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Dharma plushy toys.

Please enjoy this joyful new album of plushy animal toys that Lama Zopa Rinpoche adorned with mantras and Dharma quotations. Please take your time and click through each of these adorable stuffed friends to reveal profound wisdom from Rinpoche. You can read about the history of this whimsical enlightened activity and enjoy many photos from over the years.

Lama Yeshe’s Wisdom

Lama Yeshe with a child at Maitreya Instituut, the Netherlands, 1981. Photo by Ina van Delden, courtesy Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

Universal Love: The Purpose of Meditation

Universal Love is a collection of Lama Yeshe’s teachings on the yoga method of Maitreya, which he taught at Maitreya Institute, Holland, in 1981. Also included are some introductory lectures on Buddhism from Lama’s 1975 teachings in the USA. In Chapter 2 of this collection, “The Purpose of Meditation” Lama Yeshe discusses the nature of the mind, and how to utilize meditation in daily life to understand the mind most clearly. Read Chapter 2 of Universal Love. 

From the FPMT Inc. Board of Directors

September/October Report: Working on Our Future

We recently shared a report from the FPMT Inc. Board of Directors outlining the highlights from a recent week-long meeting at Kopan Monastery. Please read the full report. 

What We’re Rejoicing About:

Offering 458 Buddha Statues to His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Kopan geshes offering buddha statues to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Photo courtesy of the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

We have incredibly joyous news to share! Last week the remaining 458 Buddha statues from the 1,000 Buddha statues that were made for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and offered during the long life puja in May 2023 have all now been physically offered. Please read about the conclusion of this offering.

Support Offered to Health Care and Essential Services in 2023

The Tibetan Heart Foundation’s free medical camp.

The FPMT Social Services Fund is dedicated to making a positive difference in the lives of those in need, particularly in India and Mongolia. With a compassionate approach, we strive to support projects that serve vulnerable populations, such as children, the elderly, the sick, and those who are extremely poor.

Our grants fund initiatives that can make an impact in local communities and we are so happy that most of the grants in health services are going directly to FPMT projects in India and Nepal. These grants are providing help for vital resources like health clinics, soup kitchens, and other non-governmental organizations supporting local Tibetan and Mongolian communities. We believe in the power of these projects to bring about positive change and improve the overall well-being.

In 2023, through the Social Services Fund we have offered US$188,858 to support the excellent work of Shakyamuni Health Clinic and Maitri Charitable Trust in Bodhgaya, Lamp of the Path in Mongolia, two different NGOs in India—one that works with providing medical care and support to the Tibetan community and the other supports the local Tibetan community by raising awareness about heart-related issues through programs and free medical camps in Tibetan exile communities—and sponsoring a new ambulance for Sera Mey Social Services Society which is critical for providing transport to the nearest hospital. Please rejoice and read more on the excellent work Social Services Fund is supporting.  

Light of the Path Retreat at Kopan Monastery

We are delighted to share a report offered by Kopan Monastery at the conclusion of the Light of the Path 2023 retreat. Please join the entire FPMT community in rejoicing that students of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, old and new, completed this auspicious and profound retreat at the heart of the FPMT organization: Kopan Monastery. Read about the retreat.

Foundation Service Seminar at Kopan Monastery

Participants in the 2023 Foundation Service Seminar Retreat at Kopan Monastery.

The Foundation Service Seminar (FSS) is the “FPMT immersion retreat.” It provides essential information and nourishment for all serving, or wishing to serve, in the FPMT organization. The FSS Retreat explores how to best offer our skills and qualities in service. Participants investigate the purpose and mission of the FPMT organization, what it means to be an FPMT center, project or service: and how that vision translates into action for individuals. We are so pleased to share this report from participants in the 2023 FSS Retreat held at Kopan Monastery from September 21-26, 2023.

An Update from FPMT Translation Services

The FPMT Translation Services was created in order to facilitate the translation of Tibetan texts used within the FPMT into English. Through the collaboration with experienced translators and our review and editorial policies, our aim is to make accurate translations of the invaluable textual heritage of our lineage available to students and practitioners worldwide and contribute to the fulfilment of the wishes and vision of Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Please read an inspiring update from the Translation Services Team on some important projects.

Opportunities and Resources for Your Study and Practice:

The Sutra of Golden Light: A Powerful Sutra for World Peace

Lama Zopa Rinpoche during the oral transmission of the Sutra of Golden Light, Tushita Mahayana Meditation Centre, Delhi, India, March 2018. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche has said about the Sutra of Golden Light, “This text is very precious; it brings peace and happiness and is very powerful to stop violence. By hearing this text, one’s karma is purified.” Rinpoche made a personal vow to propagate the Sutra of Golden Light and give oral transmissions of it in many parts of the world. Having the sutra recited as much as possible was also one of Rinpoche’s Vast Visions for FPMT. Rinpoche has said, “I would like to make this request with my two palms together, to please recite the Sutra of Golden Light for world peace as much as you can.”

At this time, with the world in trouble in many ways, actions taken toward world peace are desperately needed. Please read more about this powerful sutra with links to PDFs of the sutra in fifteen different languages, audio and video of Lama Zopa Rinpoche offering an oral transmission of the sutra, advice from Rinpoche on the benefits of reciting the sutra, instructions on how to dedicate your recitations and how to report them, and stories from students about experiences reciting the sutra.

Death and Dying: Practices and Resources

Our time to practice Dharma is fleeting and we don’t know when we will die. Lama Zopa Rinpoche regularly encouraged us to think about impermanence and death so we don’t procrastinate doing our Dharma practice. We have many practices and resources available for the death and dying of ourselves and our loved ones (and pets!). You are welcome to explore all that is available, collected and compiled over time on advice from Rinpoche

New Materials Available

Morning Prayers and Motivation These prayers and advice on daily motivation written by Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche help us to start the day on the right footing, and to continue creating the greatest benefit for ourselves and others in every moment of time. Originally intended for a group of Tibetan seniors, these prayers and advice are of inestimable value for anyone embarking on the Mahayana path.

Praise to Avalokiteśvara (Po Praise) A moving homage to the elegant appearance and enlightened qualities and activities of Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva of compassion, from the nyungne sadhana composed by Gelongma Palmo. Lama Zopa Rinpoche incorporates the Po Praise in his advice on prostration practice. Rinpoche recommends that, after the names of the Medicine Buddhas, one could recite the long Vajrasattva mantra twenty-one times and then the Po Praise while prostrating. (See The Preliminary Practice of Prostrations to the Thirty-Five Buddhas of Confession, Portland: FPMT, 2011).

English | Chinese | Three languages: Tibetan, English, and Chinese

Praises to the Twenty-One Taras booklet in three languages (Tibetan, English, and Chinese) was prepared for the Virtual Mani Retreat, organized by FPMT East & Southeast Asia in summer 2023, and includes the Praises to the Twenty-One Taras, Abbreviated Praise to Twenty-One Taras, and Tara Mantra. There is also a separate booklet in Chinese.

Chinese | Three languages : Tibetan, English, and Chinese

2024 Liberation Prison Project Calendar

The 2024 Liberation calendar is available now!

The calendar provides auspicious days for various activities, such as Buddha Days when the merit is especially powerful for practice. Also included are favorable and unfavorable days according to a combination of the elements.

Opportunities and Changes within the Organization:

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. Newly added: We are looking for a new FPMT North America regional coordinator; Land of Medicine Buddha, USA, is looking for a director.

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.