International Office News
October 2024

Lama Zopa Rinpoche offering a teaching before the 2016 Amitabha Buddha Festival, Buddha Amitabha Pure Land, Washington State, USA. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Teachings and News About Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Stupa of Complete Victory Reaches the Vase Level!

Stupa of Complete Victory in progress showing the vase level. Photo by Ven. Tenzin Tsultrim.

We are very happy to share a short update on recent progress that has been made on the Stupa of Complete Victory that is being built at Kopan Monastery for the swift return of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche and the actualization of all his wishes. Venerable Tenzin Tsultrim was recently at Kopan and provided some photos showing the progress as well. 

The stupa has reached the level of the precious vase! Please rejoice. We still need funds to complete this beautiful stupa, please consider supporting in whatever way you can.  

Retreat of a Lifetime: Video of Rinpoche from 2011 Australia Retreat

Lama Zopa Rinpoche and students participating in the retreat at the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion, Australia, April 2011. Photo by George Manos.

Recently we reminded students about three teaching events Lama Zopa Rinpoche offered on Bodhicaryavatara (A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life) and Rinjung Gyatsa Retreat at the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion in Bendigo, Australia. These events occurred in 2011, 2014, and 2018, and are all available on our Rinpoche Available Now page. That first retreat, attended by over 200 students, was referred to as a “retreat of a lifetime” by many of the participants. This retreat is also remembered as the time when Rinpoche manifested the symptoms of a stroke. Please read more about this special retreat and watch a video of Rinpoche, capturing many joyful and beneficial snippets during this time in Australia.

Ven. Robina Courtin’s Tribute to Rinpoche Available as PDF

We are very happy to share that Lama Zopa Rinpoche: A Eulogy, written by Ven. Robina Courtin as a tribute to our precious teacher Lama Zopa Rinpoche, is now available in a PDF format suitable for mobile phone screens or tablets.

Lama Yeshe’s Wisdom

Lama Yeshe teaching at Chenrezig Institute, Australia, 1975. Photo by Wendy Finster, courtesy of the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

Attitude is More Important than Action

The Peaceful Stillness of the Silent Mind is one of the most  beloved free books from the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive. The six teachings contained in this volume come from Lama Yeshe’s 1975 visit to Australia. They are all filled with love, insight, wisdom and compassion, and accessible question-and-answer sessions.

Please enjoy Chapter 4 of Peaceful Stillness of the Silent Mind,­­­­ “Attitude is More Important than Action,” from a talk given by Lama Yeshe at the Theosophical Society, Adyar Theatre, Sydney, Australia, April 7, 1975. Edited by Nicholas Ribush.

From the FPMT Inc. Board of Directors

October 2024 Update

The FPMT Inc. Board of directors recently shared details on dialogues that they have been engaging in with the North American and Latin American Regions, with the Executive Committee of FPMT International Office, and among themselves. Please read the full update.

What We’re Rejoicing About

Support offered for Healthcare and Essential Services

An audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama during Patient Care Trust’s camp for the top 21 doctors and administrators from three major supporting institutions of PCT since 2012 including AIIMS-Delhi, Safdarjung, and NITRD-Delhi, and the PCT Director, September 2023.

In 2024, the FPMT Social Services Fund, driven by a commitment to compassion to others, made a significant impact by allocating over US$501,284 to support various initiatives in India, Nepal and Mongolia. By providing grants for essential resources such as hospitals, health clinics, soup kitchens, substance abuse, and medical training and education.

The fund supports local Indian, Nepali, Tibetan, and Mongolian communities, including covering all the annual budget or part of the budgets for a number of FPMT projects dedicated to this work. All of this is made possible due to the kindness and support of so many people, as well as through grants and donations.

We sincerely want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for this support and to share this inspiring update of the work achieved through healthcare and essential services in 2024.

A Very Special Amitabha Buddha Festival in Washington State

Participants in the Amitabha Buddha Festival, September 14, 2024. Photo by Julia Sanderson.

After a week of preparations, Buddha Amitabha Pure Land (BAPL), in Washington State, USA, hosted an Amitabha Buddha Festival for the seventh time, attended by thirty people. The festival was envisioned by Lama Zopa Rinpoche to honor the large Amitabha Buddha statue which is on the land at BAPL. Please read about this beautiful event, enjoy photos, and learn more about the text Lama Zopa Rinpoche created for these festivals.

LMB’s 100,000 Stupa Project Makes Exciting Progress

On the advice of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Land of Medicine Buddha (LMB) has been building a 39-foot-tall Mahabodhi Stupa in California. This stupa will be the main attraction of the 100,000 Stupa Project in a beautiful garden featuring an area to meditate, thousands of memorial stupas, places to perform prostrations, and areas with spots for reflection and contemplation. This is a project first conceived by Rinpoche in the late 90s, and breaking ground in 2014 to begin construction. We recently received some exciting updates from project manager Denice Macy on this incredible holy object project and we invite you to read and rejoice!

Regional Consultations Continue to Pave the Way for CPMT 2025

The last of the four regional consultations planned in 2024 to pave the way for the CPMT 2025 will take place in Tara Institute in Melbourne, on October 26 and 27, with representatives, onsite or online from almost all centers, projects, and services from Australia and New Zealand. Discussions will be facilitated by François Lecointre, Center and Teacher Services Director from the Office, and Dale Davies and Karuna Cayton, from the FPMT Board. In October, the International Office staff are also holding several brainstorming sessions on the same four topics and will meet with some of the Board Members to share their insights.

Foundation Service Seminar at Vajrapani Institute

Led by experienced facilitators Amy Cayton and François Lecointre, the Foundation Service Seminar held at Vajrapani Institute, USA, from September 10-14, 2024, was a great success, with the 16 participants from seven different FPMT affiliates from the North American Region working joyfully on how to better integrate practice and service. Nina Highfill, Executive Director of the Thubten Norbu Ling Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, shares her experience after attending.

Chenrezig Institute Celebrates their 50th anniversary

The grounds of Chenrezig Institute during their 50th anniversary celebration. Photo courtesy of Chenrezig Institute’s Facebook page.

On September 26-27, Chenrezig Institute, the first Tibetan Buddhist Dharma center in Australia, and one of the oldest in the West, celebrated its 50th anniversary serving sentient beings with a joyous Big Love Festival. We will be sharing more details of this wonderful event in the future, but meanwhile we invite you to rejoice in 50 years of Dharma at Chenrezig Institute, and congratulations and huge thanks to all who have made this possible over five decades!

Resources and Opportunities for Study and Practice

Newly Available and Revised Materials

This month we have made available the PDF version of Everyday Dharma: Practices and Mantras Recommended by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, a practical handbook on how to make the most of our fleeting and precarious precious human rebirth. It includes points for daily reflections, mantras to be recited in various occasions, as well as the prayer for offering food and drink that are to be consumed, translated on the basis of Rinpoche’s commentary. Drawn from the Guhyasamaja Tantra, this offering prayer was introduced by Lama Thubten Yeshe and Rinpoche in the early days of the FPMT.

We are pleased to share the translation of The Lamp of Blessings Which Clears Away All Faults Composed by Padmasambhava, requested by Lama Zopa Rinpoche and translated by Ven. Gyalten Lekden. This practice is a means for overcoming the obstacles caused by actions which had been performed under “negative astrological influences,” or which “did not follow the path and became endowed with faults.” Per Lama Zopa RInpoche, it can also be used for clearing obstacles for travels.

We have an updated version of Vajrapani Guru Yoga, the practice that was compiled during retreat with Lama Thubten Yeshe at the Yucca Valley Meditation Course, March 1977.

Unlocking the Power of Ritual, Mantra, and Mudra

November 8 – 10, 2024 at Vajrapani Institute, California, USA, both on-site and online, Ven. Angie Muir and Ven. Katy Cole will guide you through the fundamental aspects of commonly practiced rituals to help you gain the confidence to chant basic prayers, mantras, and mudras in your own meditation as well as in group practices.

You will learn how the use of mental visualization coupled with chanting ancient, sacred tunes and special hand gestures allow you to fully engage our body, speech, and mind in your practice. As a result, you can accumulate a huge amount of positive energy, or merit, which serves as a powerful foundation for deep transformation in your heart and mind. All are welcome; no prerequisite needed.
More details and registration information can be found here.

Opportunities to Offer Support and Changes within the Organization

How to Help through the Thame Support Fund

As previously reported, on August 16 of this year, the village of Thame, birthplace of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, was hit with a devastating flood which destroyed homes, community property, and everything owned or cherished by villagers. Remarkably, not a single life was lost, but the loss of everything else was immense. The river that used to flow next to the village now runs directly through it, taking up half the land. The ground is unstable with landslides and cracks. The future of the entire settlement remains completely uncertain.

Venerable Sarah Thresher recently shared some photos, videos, and her reflections on the situation in Thame. This footage, and her thoughtful insight, really highlight the severity of the situation, and the need for all of our help through the Thame Support Fund.

Foundation Service Seminar in New Zealand

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.

Chandrakirti Centre is hosting an FSS from November 6-9. Read more information and reserve your place.

Changes in the FPMT Organization

Thubten Shedrup Ling Monastery, Australia
We welcome Ven Jampa Choepal as new director
With grateful thanks to outgoing director Ven. Thubten Lhundrup

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, European Region, Nepal, New Zealand, Spain, UK and the US. Newly added: The European Region is looking for a regional coordinator; Tara Institute is looking for a center manager and a building manager; The North American Region is looking for a web developer and a web designer.

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.