Lama Zopa Rinpoche News
Feburary 2004

Contents

• Rinpoche’s Current Activities and Schedule
• Rinpoche’s Vision for Publishing
• Rinpoche’s Encouragement for Retreat Land
• Helpful Words for Struggling Director
• New Photos

RINPOCHE’S CURRENT ACTIVITIES AND SCHEDULE

(For the confirmed schedule and details of how to book for these events, please contact the center directly or go to https://fpmt.org/teachers/zopa/schedule/)

Rinpoche is about to leave for Naropa Centre, Tahiti for teachings on the 7 Point Mind Training, and to give Mitrugpa, Milarepa, Tara and Medicine Buddha initiations between March 10 – 17th.

Then Rinpoche will teach at Dorje Chang Institute in New Zealand between March 19 – April 4th, on the Foundations of all Good Qualities, and will give Amitabha and Great Medicine Buddha initiations. Rinpoche will also briefly visit and teach at Mahamudra and Chandrakirti Centers.

Next is the Mahamudra retreat hosted by Buddha House, Australia between April 9 – May 4th. Rinpoche will give the Gyalwa Gyatso initiation at the beginning of the retreat. According to Rinpoche’s plans for this retreat, this will be an excellent opportunity for those who want to really understand meditation practice.

Rinpoche will be in Mongolia to host and teach during the EEC4, May 26 – June 23rd. As you know, Rinpoche would like many students to attend EEC in order to to get the benefit of Denma Locho and Choden Rinpoche’s teachings and transmissions and to inspire the Mongolians to re-visit their Buddhist heritage.

Rinpoche visits Korea to give his first talk there on July 4th.

Then Rinpoche will teach and give Great Medicine Buddha initiation at Maitreya Instituut, Amsterdam, then move to Maitreya Insituut, Emst for CPMT 2004, August 27 – Sept 1st., and will give 21 Tara initiation during CPMT.

Rinpoche will lead another long retreat on Ganden Lha Gyema at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa in Italy between Sept 3 – 30th. This will begin with Rinpoche giving Yamantaka initiation on September 4 and 5th.

Rinpoche will teach at the Kopan November course.

RINPOCHE’S VISION FOR PUBLISHING

“Books have a very special purpose and meaning, they can go to every corner of the world.
When read they leave an imprint on the mind to achieve enlightenment, making the subject easy to understand in the future.
They can stop present confusion.
Each word brings temporal and ultimate happiness and highest enlightenment.”

RINPOCHE’S WORDS FOR NEW RETREAT LAND

Thanks to a monk’s generosity, Nalanda Monastery now has a beautiful piece of land for retreat. Rinpoche gave this encouragement:

“I will pray and hope that this is not a retreat center to generate lung but only realizations. I will pray that anybody who even steps foot on the land may immediately purify negative karma, first not to be reborn in the lower realms, then to find faith in refuge and karma, develop loving kindness, compassion and bodhichitta and to generate quickly strong Guru devotion and to be able to practice correctly and to achieve enlightenment.”

HELPFUL WORDS FOR STRUGGLING DIRECTOR

From Ven Roger:

‘Sorry for all your hardship and suffering, actually rejoice as this means great purification. The greater the hardship done in service to the Guru the more the purification!!! You should try to rejoice also and develop a courageous attitude to the difficult situation. Just changing the attitude can make all the difference! You have heard this before…right ? Rinpoche always says the reason Milarepa was able to bear the great difficulties and hardships and achieve enlightenment in one life, the reason he had that incredible strength of mind is because in previous lives he underwent hardships for the Guru and Dharma……..’

And to help us all get clear on the same subject (how to transform problems into happiness!) –

Rinpoche’s new video Transforming Your Mind by Practicing Dharma is now available from: shop.fpmt.org!
Rinpoche says about this teaching:

“Milarepa’s life story moves anyone who reads it and blesses their mind. So the mind gets so inspired, (with) so much courage, strength to practice Dharma – able to overcome all difficulties.”

In this concise and inspiring teaching on Jetsun Milarepa Lama Zopa Rinpoche emphasizes the importance of depending on Dharma to overcome all problems in life. Depression, suicidal thoughts, personal and business relationship difficulties can be stopped. Highlighting the positive attitude of loving kindness and thinking on impermanence, Lama Zopa Rinpoche presents the essential practices to transform your mind and create the causes of happiness and enlightenment.

Lama Zopa tells how the famous 11th century Tibetan meditator, Jetsun Milarepa, generated a special bodhicitta thought to benefit all sentient beings and promised that just by thinking and saying his name, blessings will be received. Combining the blessings of Milarepa and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, this teaching presents the method and wisdom of how to free the mind bound by worries and attachment – how to transform your mind by practicing Dharma.

NEW PHOTOS

We have some great new photos of Rinpoche up on the FPMT website! Just go to https://fpmt.org/teachers/zopa/ and click on Photo Gallery!

With love,
Claire
International Office