International Office News
September 2025

Lama Zopa Rinpoche in the garden at Kopan Monastery, Nepal, October 2020. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Teachings and News Regarding Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Sutra of Golden Light for World Peace

Lama Zopa Rinpoche often recommended the Sutra of Golden Light as being extremely powerful for world peace, one’s own protection, the protection of one’s country, and the world. We wanted to remind students of this advice and resources as violence and unrest around the world can be very overwhelming and one can feel motivated to effect positive change and contribute to compassionate understanding. 

Please also read Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice on prayers to stop war. 

How to Have a Happy Life With a Happy Mind

In April 2019, Rinpoche gave a series of teachings at Nagarjuna Center in Madrid, Spain. Here we are sharing the first video from that event, “How to Have a Happy Life With a Happy Mind.”

The purpose of one’s life is to not harm and to benefit others, Rinpoche explains. By enjoying the life with Dharma you don’t make your mind sick. Rather, you will have a happy life, happy mind, and from this comes a healthy body. With your body, speech, and mind —whatever you do, you do it to benefit others. Rinpoche stresses that the other important thing is looking at the “I,” that exists in mere name, but does not exist from its own side. “By practicing mindfulness on this, then you will have a healthy life and healthy mind. You don’t create the cause of samsara. This is the best life, happiest life, most meaningful life, to practice BODHICHITTA. At least to have a good heart, to not harm others, and on top of that—to benefit others.” Please continue to watch the video on this full teaching and access a transcript of the entire event.

How to Think and Practice When Working for a Center

Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaching at Root Institute, Bodhgaya, India, January 2017.

Rinpoche offered a series of teachings in January 2017 at Root Institute, Bodhgaya, India. In these teachings Rinpoche put strong emphasis on lojong (mind training) and even gave a full commentary on the Seven-Point Thought Transformation by Kadampa Geshe Chekawa on February 5. This teaching was condensed and turned into a course on the FPMT Online Learning Center: Living in the Path, Lojong, “Transforming Kaka into Gold.”

In one of these teachings, Rinpoche offered precious advice at about how to think and practice when working for a Dharma center. Rinpoche discusses proper service, emphasizing to take the teachings to heart and apply them to the everyday challenges in the center, right here and now in daily life. The most important thing, Rinpoche stresses, is to generate bodhichitta and apply it in everything you do and to the people around you. The purpose to serve them, not them to serve you. Always think: “I am the servant here. I have to serve everyone. This is the biggest puja!” Please continue to watch the video of this teaching and access a link to the entire event.

Valuable Resources for Students

Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaching from his room at Kopan Monastery, Nepal, October 2020. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

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 page 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

Lama Yeshe teaching at Chenrezig Institute, 1979. Photo courtesy of the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

What is Dharma?

In this teaching, “What is Dharma?” Lama Yeshe discusses the real meaning of Dharma and the nature of the mind in this discourse given at Chenrezig Institute, Eudlo, Australia, on September 8, 1979. This discourse is now published in the LYWA book: Knowledge-Wisdom: The Peaceful Path the Liberation. Please enjoy this short excerpt and read the full teaching at the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

“I am sure you have heard the philosophy of relative nature, or character, and absolute nature, or character. The relative nature of the mind, or psyche, or consciousness, is clarity and perception: the clear energy that has the ability to perceive reality, to allow the reflection of the reality of all existence. That is what we call the mind. People who have studied Buddhist teachings on the primary consciousnesses and the fifty-one mental factors will have some understanding; for them this will be easy.

“But what I want you to understand is that our mind is the clarity and clear perception that can reflect the reality of existence, that’s all. If you understand it in that way, the advantage is that when we talk about buddha potentiality, you can say, ‘Yes, we have buddha potential and can reach the same level as the Buddha.’ We understand the relationship between the Buddha and ourselves.

Otherwise, most of the time, sentient beings have the tendency, or dualistic attitude, to think, ‘I am completely dirty and unclean, totally deluded and hopeless—sinful, negative, wrong, worthless.’ Whether we are believers or nonbelievers, we human beings always have the tendency to identify ourselves in such a negative way. In other words, we are limited, like a passport identity. Our ego projects for each of us a very limited identity. The fact that we believe in and identify with such narrow, limited energy already begins to suffocate us. We are suffocating because we have a suffocating attitude. Please continue to read the full teaching.

From the FPMT Inc. Board of Directors

September Update from the Board

We are happy to share a recent update from the FPMT Inc. Board of Directors. They share many important insights into their current work and priorities and some opportunities to join and strengthen these efforts in various ways. 

What We’re Rejoicing About

Essential Services and Health Care Grants Offered in 2025

Young mother with child receiving care from the Maitri mobile clinic.

The FPMT Social Services Fund remained dedicated to its mission of uplifting the most vulnerable populations in India and Mongolia. With a strong focus on supporting children, the elderly, the sick, and the extremely poor, the fund allocated over US$179,706 to essential healthcare and service initiatives this year. These grants facilitated the operation of health camps, mobile clinics, soup kitchens, and outreach programs, providing life-saving care and support to thousands. In total, these efforts impacted an estimated 44,000 individuals offering not just medical aid but also dignity, hope, and a pathway to well-being.

We hope you will be inspired to learn more about the support that we offered in 2025, for different health care and essential services we are currently supporting, and how the grants were utilized this year. The grants given are made on behalf of our entire international FPMT community and reflects our ongoing commitment to Rinpoche’s Vast Visions.

Welcoming the Medicine Buddha Statue into Sri Lanka

Tara Lanka study group is committed to fulfilling the wish of Lama Zopa Rinpoche to build a five-story high (approximately 15 meters/50 feet) Medicine Buddha statue in Sri Lanka. Ven. Tenzin Lekdron has led this initiative and a 1.5-meter high prototype statue has been completed and will be formally offered and received in Sri Lanka in October 2025. We recently shared a report from a friend of Tara Lanka, Srishtaa Aparna Pallavi, of the upcoming event.

First European Heart Sutra Retreat Completed Following Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Instructions

In July 2022, Lama Zopa Rinpoche expressed his wish to lead a Heart Sutra Retreat, but did not do so before showing the aspect of passing away in April 2023. To honor the first anniversary of Rinpoche’s parinirvana and to fulfill his wishes, the first Heart Sutra Retreat was offered at Kopan Monastery, Nepal from April 15-20, 2024. The momentous retreat was attended by over 200 students, with Ganden Trisur Lobsang Tenzin Rinpoche providing commentary on the text, and Ven. Steve Carlier guiding meditations on the topic. Short video recordings of Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaching on emptiness were shown in the evening sessions. Continuing on in this spirit, the first European Heart Sutra Retreat, following Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s instructions, was held at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa (ILTK) in Italy in July 2025. We are happy to share an inspired report from two staff members of ILTK.

FPMT In-Depth Meditation Training Taking Off in USA

The FPMT In-Depth Meditation Training (IDMT) is a four-year training offering meditators long-term support to help them progress in their meditative practice. It thereby provides the opportunity to experience a genuine taste of the nature of reality and bodhicitta.

IDMT was developed by Ven. Losang Gendun in dialogue with Lama Zopa Rinpoche, inspired by Rinpoche’s teaching that the true fulfillment of our precious human life is to generate the awakened mind, bodhicitta, and that a practitioner needs deep meditative practice to accomplish this.

From September 6 to November 29, the new IDMT participants Shantideva Center (New York), Land of Medicine Buddha, Tse Chen Ling, Vajrapani Institute, Ocean of Compassion Buddhist Center (California), and Thubten Norbu Ling (New Mexico), are joining Europe for IDMT’s third year, “The Radiant Ground: Emptiness and Buddha Nature”.

In addition, Ven. Losang Gendun will tour the IDMT centers in USA from September 11 to November 4, offering teachings and retreats. Most of these are hybrid and online events; a great opportunity to get to know this training and its teacher! Check the individual center websites for details and consider joining now!

Calm-Abiding and Lamrim Retreat at Nalanda Monastery

Participants in the calm-abiding and lamrim retreat led by Ven. Rene Feusi at Nalanda Monastery in August. Photo courtesy of Nalanda Monastery.

Sixty-eight participants attended a calm-abiding and lamrim retreat led by Ven. René Feusi at Nalanda Monastery, France, from August 15-30, 2025. Based on his own extensive meditative practice, Ven. René explained various topics such as guru devotion, various levels of emptiness, bodhicitta, and calm-abiding and awareness in daily life. “By his mere presence,” Ven. Sherab of Nalanda Monastery shared, “he also directly shared his own experience beyond the intellect: just being that stillness of the mind for a while and feeling the freedom—once the heavy burden—of the hallucination of inherent existence slightly dissolve, like the morning fog slowly disappearing in the rising sun.” Please read more about this retreat.

Planetary Crisis Summit

Seven FPMT centers are joining together to offer a Planetary Crisis Summit on September 27-28. Maitreya Instituut is organizing this event and six other centers are providing opportunities for both in-person and online participation. To register for the event at your local center, follow the links for: Maitreya Instituut,  Jamyang London,  Jamyang Leeds, Land of Joy, Nalanda Monastery, Yeshin Norbu, and Thekchen Choeling.

Animal Blessings and Rescue from Untimely Death

We are rejoicing in US$13,139 in grants given in 2025 through the Animal Liberation Fund for benefiting animals with blessings and rescue from untimely deaths. These grants included: support for three buffaloes, which were rescued from imminent slaughter in Kathmandu; and in celebration of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s ninetieth birthday with sincere prayers for his enduring health and happiness. Over 33,780 animals were liberated at Buddha Amitabha Pure Land, Washington State, USA and many practices were undertaken to benefit animals in that area. A grant was offered to support the ongoing care of animals liberated in Mongolia, and in support of the Animal Care Project at Nalanda Monastery, France, that cares for animals living around the monastery. A grant was also given towards the amazing work of the Animal Liberation Sanctuary in Nepal. Please read more about this wonderful work being done to benefit animals.

Resources and Opportunities for Study and Practice

Chenrezig Resources for Practicing During the Year of Compassion

On July 6, 2025, students, friends, and admirers around the world celebrated His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday with strong prayers for His Holiness to remain among us for a very long time. The events surrounding His Holiness’s birthday also launched the start of “Year of Compassion” which will be a year-long celebration of His Holiness’s many compassionate activities and qualities.

We recently shared resources for those wishing to enrich their practice of compassion and we invite you to explore all the materials that are available to you.

Retreat Opportunities

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

Call for Interviews and Submissions!

Road to Kopan Stories Requested

An excerpt of a “Road to Kopan” story from Mandala January-March 2011.

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? 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

FPMT International Office is Looking for an Executive Director

FPMT International Office is the office of FPMT, Inc. and the international headquarters of the FPMT organization. International Office coordinates communication between the FPMT Inc. Board of Directors; regional and national coordinators; and FPMT centers, projects, and services and their directors; as well as support to the entire Foundation.

We are looking for a seasoned, strategic and team-minded candidate for the position of Executive Director (ED). The ED will be responsible for the organization’s consistent achievement of its mission and financial objectives.

In addition to excellent leadership, strategy oversight and management experience, the ideal candidate will have a strong background and demonstrated success in areas such as fundraising, communications, and technology and will be responsible for contributing to and overseeing their implementation in addition to the broader responsibilities.

Position is fully remote work. Hours are negotiable, potentially starting at 30 hours per week, and extending to full-time later. 

Candidate must have a connection and commitment to Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche’s teachings, vision and mission for the FPMT organization; a solid foundation of Dharma knowledge, practices and retreats; and 10+ years of related work and leadership experience, with at least 5+ years of established service within the FPMT organization (ideally having served as director, SPC, board member, etc.). Please see the detailed job description and how to apply.

Changes in the FPMT Organization

Luz de Nagarjuna, Pamplona, Spain
We welcome Amaia Izar Leache as new director
With grateful thanks to outgoing director Lorena Fernandez Oyon

Institut Vajra Yogini, France
We welcome Christophe Rotiel as new director

Thubten Kunga Ling, Florida, USA
We welcome Anthony Elie as new director
With grateful thanks to outgoing director Rebecca Smith

United Kingdom National Office
Grateful thanks to outgoing coordinator Ven. Barbara Shannon

FPMT Geshe Coordination
We welcome Ven. Pemba as new Geshe coordinator
With grateful thanks to outgoing coordinator Geshe Ngawang Sangye

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 the International Office, Australia, France, India, Italy, Mongolia, North American Region, Nepal, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, UK and the USA. Newly added: Jamyang London (UK) is looking for residential volunteers, FPMT Mongolia is looking for a new director and as noted above, FPMT International Office is still looking for an Executive Director.

Foundation Service Seminar in France

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.
There are a few places left, so don’t miss the opportunity. Read more information and reserve your place.

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.