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Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition
The FPMT is an organization devoted to preserving and spreading Mahayana Buddhism worldwide by creating opportunities to listen, reflect, meditate, practice and actualize the unmistaken teachings of the Buddha and based on that experience spreading the Dharma to sentient beings. We provide integrated education through which people’s minds and hearts can be transformed into their highest potential for the benefit of others, inspired by an attitude of universal responsibility and service. We are committed to creating harmonious environments and helping all beings develop their full potential of infinite wisdom and compassion. Our organization is based on the Buddhist tradition of Lama Tsongkhapa of Tibet as taught to us by our founders Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche.
- Willkommen
Die Stiftung zur Erhaltung der Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) ist eine Organisation, die sich weltweit für die Erhaltung und Verbreitung des Mahayana-Buddhismus einsetzt, indem sie Möglichkeiten schafft, den makellosen Lehren des Buddha zuzuhören, über sie zur reflektieren und zu meditieren und auf der Grundlage dieser Erfahrung das Dharma unter den Lebewesen zu verbreiten.
Wir bieten integrierte Schulungswege an, durch denen der Geist und das Herz der Menschen in ihr höchstes Potential verwandelt werden zum Wohl der anderen – inspiriert durch eine Haltung der universellen Verantwortung und dem Wunsch zu dienen. Wir haben uns verpflichtet, harmonische Umgebungen zu schaffen und allen Wesen zu helfen, ihr volles Potenzial unendlicher Weisheit und grenzenlosen Mitgefühls zu verwirklichen.
Unsere Organisation basiert auf der buddhistischen Tradition von Lama Tsongkhapa von Tibet, so wie sie uns von unseren Gründern Lama Thubten Yeshe und Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche gelehrt wird.
- Bienvenidos
La Fundación para la preservación de la tradición Mahayana (FPMT) es una organización que se dedica a preservar y difundir el budismo Mahayana en todo el mundo, creando oportunidades para escuchar, reflexionar, meditar, practicar y actualizar las enseñanzas inconfundibles de Buda y en base a esa experiencia difundir el Dharma a los seres.
Proporcionamos una educación integrada a través de la cual las mentes y los corazones de las personas se pueden transformar en su mayor potencial para el beneficio de los demás, inspirados por una actitud de responsabilidad y servicio universales. Estamos comprometidos a crear ambientes armoniosos y ayudar a todos los seres a desarrollar todo su potencial de infinita sabiduría y compasión.
Nuestra organización se basa en la tradición budista de Lama Tsongkhapa del Tíbet como nos lo enseñaron nuestros fundadores Lama Thubten Yeshe y Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
A continuación puede ver una lista de los centros y sus páginas web en su lengua preferida.
- Bienvenue
L’organisation de la FPMT a pour vocation la préservation et la diffusion du bouddhisme du mahayana dans le monde entier. Elle offre l’opportunité d’écouter, de réfléchir, de méditer, de pratiquer et de réaliser les enseignements excellents du Bouddha, pour ensuite transmettre le Dharma à tous les êtres. Nous proposons une formation intégrée grâce à laquelle le cœur et l’esprit de chacun peuvent accomplir leur potentiel le plus élevé pour le bien d’autrui, inspirés par le sens du service et une responsabilité universelle. Nous nous engageons à créer un environnement harmonieux et à aider tous les êtres à épanouir leur potentiel illimité de compassion et de sagesse. Notre organisation s’appuie sur la tradition guéloukpa de Lama Tsongkhapa du Tibet, telle qu’elle a été enseignée par nos fondateurs Lama Thoubtèn Yéshé et Lama Zopa Rinpoché.
Visitez le site de notre Editions Mahayana pour les traductions, conseils et nouvelles du Bureau international en français.
Voici une liste de centres et de leurs sites dans votre langue préférée
- Benvenuto
L’FPMT è un organizzazione il cui scopo è preservare e diffondere il Buddhismo Mahayana nel mondo, creando occasioni di ascolto, riflessione, meditazione e pratica dei perfetti insegnamenti del Buddha, al fine di attualizzare e diffondere il Dharma fra tutti gli esseri senzienti.
Offriamo un’educazione integrata, che può trasformare la mente e i cuori delle persone nel loro massimo potenziale, per il beneficio di tutti gli esseri, ispirati da un’attitudine di responsabilità universale e di servizio.
Il nostro obiettivo è quello di creare contesti armoniosi e aiutare tutti gli esseri a sviluppare in modo completo le proprie potenzialità di infinita saggezza e compassione.
La nostra organizzazione si basa sulla tradizione buddhista di Lama Tsongkhapa del Tibet, così come ci è stata insegnata dai nostri fondatori Lama Thubten Yeshe e Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
Di seguito potete trovare un elenco dei centri e dei loro siti nella lingua da voi prescelta.
- 欢迎 / 歡迎
简体中文
“护持大乘法脉基金会”( 英文简称:FPMT。全名:Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition) 是一个致力于护持和弘扬大乘佛法的国际佛教组织。我们提供听闻,思维,禅修,修行和实证佛陀无误教法的机会,以便让一切众生都能够享受佛法的指引和滋润。
我们全力创造和谐融洽的环境, 为人们提供解行并重的完整佛法教育,以便启发内在的环宇悲心及责任心,并开发内心所蕴藏的巨大潜能 — 无限的智慧与悲心 — 以便利益和服务一切有情。
FPMT的创办人是图腾耶喜喇嘛和喇嘛梭巴仁波切。我们所修习的是由两位上师所教导的,西藏喀巴大师的佛法传承。
繁體中文
護持大乘法脈基金會”( 英文簡稱:FPMT。全名:Found
ation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition ) 是一個致力於護持和弘揚大乘佛法的國際佛教組織。我們提供聽聞, 思維,禪修,修行和實證佛陀無誤教法的機會,以便讓一切眾生都能 夠享受佛法的指引和滋潤。 我們全力創造和諧融洽的環境,
為人們提供解行並重的完整佛法教育,以便啟發內在的環宇悲心及責 任心,並開發內心所蘊藏的巨大潛能 — 無限的智慧與悲心 – – 以便利益和服務一切有情。 FPMT的創辦人是圖騰耶喜喇嘛和喇嘛梭巴仁波切。
我們所修習的是由兩位上師所教導的,西藏喀巴大師的佛法傳承。 察看道场信息:
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Hearing the teachings benefits your own mind, and later, because of having heard it, you will be able to benefit others.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche
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The Foundation Store is FPMT’s online shop and features a vast selection of Buddhist study and practice materials written or recommended by our lineage gurus. These items include homestudy programs, prayers and practices in PDF or eBook format, materials for children, and other resources to support practitioners.
Items displayed in the shop are made available for Dharma practice and educational purposes, and never for the purpose of profiting from their sale. Please read FPMT Foundation Store Policy Regarding Dharma Items for more information.
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Practice and Retreat Fund News
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Pujas for Choden Rinpoche’s Health
Lama Zopa Rinpoche offering lunch to Choden Rinpoche in Taiwan, February 2013. Photo by Ven. Roger Kusang.
When Lama Zopa Rinpoche heard that his guru, Choden Rinpoche, was manifesting some health obstacles, Rinpoche immediately sponsored a number of pujas through the Puja Fund.
One puja Rinpoche sponsored, dedicated to Choden Rinpoche’s long life, was the reading of the Kangyur by all the monks at Sera Je and Sera Me monasteries, for this the Puja Fund offered over US$5,000, which included offering tea and lunch to the 3,500 monks during the puja.
Choden Rinpoche’s center, Ananda Center, has an updated list of mantras currently recommend for Choden Rinpoche’s health. Additionally, Ananda Center is requesting that students recite Praises to the Twenty-one Taras a million times, from September 10 to October 10, 2014. Please submit the number of recitations to Ananda Center directly.
A flower from Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s garden at Kachoe Dechen Ling, California. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
“Choden Rinpoche is a virtuous friend who has pacified his mind by living in the training of moral conduct, who has pacified his mind by the training in concentration, and who is extremely pacified due to the training in great insight,“ Lama Zopa Rinpoche said in an October 2002 teaching at Land of Medicine Buddha.
These pujas and sponsorships are among the incredible services that the FPMT Puja Fund is able to offer under Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s guidance.
You may contribute any amount to the Puja Fund to help ensure these beneficial and important pujas and offerings continue.
You can learn more about the Puja Fund as well as the other Charitable Projects of FPMT.
- Tagged: choden rinpoche, fpmt puja fund
22
Pujas Sponsored for Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Safe Travel
Lama Zopa Rinpoche reads texts and meditates while flying, November 22, 2013. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
In addition to the continuous pujas sponsored by the Puja Fund, pujas are also often arranged when Lama Zopa Rinpoche travels internationally in order to ensure health and safe flights and for obstacles to be removed. These pujas are often done on the day of actual travel.
For instance, In June the Puja Fund sponsored the recitation of the Prajnaparamita at Tsawa Khangtsen for the occasion of Rinpoche’s trip to Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa, Italy.
The Puja Fund is committed to offering this important “travel insurance” for FPMT’s precious spiritual director, Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
You can contribute to all of the Puja Fund activities which includes sponsoring pujas for Rinpoche’s health, long life, safe travels and all the activities of FPMT, for all the students, volunteers and kind benefactors:
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Puja Fund is a Heart Project of Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaching at Light of the Path, North Carolina, US, May 2014. Photo by Ven. Thubten Kunsang.
The Puja Fund is one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s heart projects. An incredible amount of pujas are continually offered by as many as 15,650 Sangha and dedicated to the success of the whole FPMT organization (every single FPMT center, project, service, student, benefactor, for every student, person who is sick or who has requested Rinpoche for prayers, etc.). These dedications are personally written by Lama Zopa Rinpoche for all the benefit of all.
An example of the incredible array of pujas and offerings sponsored by the Puja Fund:
- Recitation of the entire Prajnaparamita during the 15 days of Losar
- 100,000 recitations of Praises to 21 Taras during the month of Saka Dawa
- Recitation of entire Kangyur during
Chokhor Duchen - 1,000 Offerings to Namgyalma and Medicine Buddha Puja during Lha Bab Duchen
- Monthly extensive Medicine Buddha Puja
- Monthly Extensive Hayagriva Puja
- Monthly offerings to the Bouddhanath and Swayambhunath stupas
- Monthly offering of robes and gold to the Buddha statues in Tibet and Bodhgaya
In addition to the above, offerings are also made to Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s gurus and the FPMT Sangha communities.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche recently offered US$11,573.32 toward the scheduled 2014 pujas to ensure the continuity and because it is so important for the organization.
You can learn more about the incredible amount of prayers and pujas and offerings that are occurring, and you can rejoice in and also participate in the offerings.
- Tagged: fpmt puja fund
18
4,000 monks of Sera Lachi offer Druk Chu Ma (64 offerings to Kalarupa to eliminate obstacles), Namgyäl Tong Chö (One thousand sets of offerings to Buddha Namgyälma) and Zangcho (King of Prayers), recitation of the entire Kangyur on Chokhor Duchen.
Each year on Chokhor Duchen (Day 4 of Month 6, commemorating Lord Buddha’s first teaching) the Puja Fund is sponsoring pujas and offerings all over the world by 14,850 monks and nuns. This is something amazing to rejoice in. Chokhor Duchen takes place this year on July 31, 2014.
On Buddha Multiplying Days, like Chokhor Duchen, karmic results are multiplied by one hundred million, as cited by Lama Zopa Rinpoche in the Vinaya text Treasure of Quotations and Logic.
Powerful pujas ( for example: recitation of the Prajnaparamita (three versions) and Kangyur) are offered by 14,850 Sangha at monastic institutions and dedicated to the entire FPMT organization, extensive offerings are made to Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s gurus as well as Sangha around the world, and offerings are made to holy objects in Nepal, India and Tibet.
You can see the details of this incredible array of offerings that will take place on July 31 and join in the merit generated.
- Tagged: buddha multiplying day, fpmt puja fund
14
A monk offering robes, made of best quality cloth, to Buddha statue at Mahabodhi Stupa. Photo by Ven. Sarah Thresher.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche carefully choosing the cloth that will be offered as robes for the Buddha statue at Mahabodhi Stupa.
Every month Lama Zopa Rinpoche arranges for a new set of robes to be offered to the precious Buddha statue inside the Mahabodhi Stupa in Bodhgaya, India.
In February, Rinpoche went to the market to choose the exact, best quality cloth for the robes and then offered prayers as a monk offered the robes to the Buddha very slowly and precisely (even though it was a busy evening with many pilgrims). This material, chosen by Rinpoche, will now always be used when offering the monthly set of robes to the statue.
In addition to offering robes every month to the Buddha statue in Bodhgaya, Lama Zopa Rinpoche also offers gold to the Jowo Buddha in Tibet and offer saffron flower petals, white wash, and material for umbrellas to Bouddhanath and Swayambunath stupas in Nepal.
Please rejoice in these incredible monthly offerings.
You are welcome to contribute any amount to these ongoing offerings to holy objects in India, Tibet and Nepal.
- Tagged: fpmt puja fund
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The extensive range of monthly and annual practices and pujas that are offered in India, Nepal and around the world through the Puja Fund is astounding. As Charitable Projects Coordinator, Ven. Holly Ansett, commented, “It is like Rinpoche has taken on the personal responsibility to care for all the main holy objects in the world on behalf of FPMT.”
All are welcome to participate in the activities sponsored by the Puja Fund by offering any amount toward these ongoing beneficial pujas and practices which are performed by as many as 9,000 Sangha members:
If someone offers a small flower or rice to a Buddha statue, a stupa or scripture then the benefit extends from then up to Enlightenment. Amazing, amazing. It is said in the sutra Piled Flowers, on top of that benefit, you achieve ultimate happiness – liberation from the causes of delusion and karma and on top of that full Enlightenment – all the realizations and omniscient mind. After this, then you liberate numberless hell beings, pretas, animals, humans, suras and asuras from the ocean of samsaric sufferings and bring them to full Enlightenment. When all beings are brought to Enlightenment, only then are all the results of offering achieved.
—Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Scribe Ven. Tenzin Namdrol. Kopan, December 2012.
If you were Sangha but you didn’t wear robes, then people would not know [that you were ordained], but with robes on there is no question. That is how the robes have such incredible benefit for the mind. It is planting the seed for enlightenment when people show respect to your wearing of the robes, or to the robes themselves: This is planting the seed of liberation, and is a way of benefiting sentient beings.…
—Lama Zopa Rinpoche
- Tagged: fpmt puja fund, jowo buddha
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Every month on the Tibetan 29th day, an important day to offer protector pujas, The Puja Fund sponsors about 40 of the most senior monks of Sera Je Monastery, who specialize in the practice of Most Secret Hayagriva, to offer the Extensive Most Secret Hayagriva puja (Hayagriva Tsog Kong). This is an all day puja with an elaborate torma offering (pictured above) and extensive prayers and meditation.
The Puja Fund just offered funds to cover the last 12 months of these pujas. The total amount for this is US$5,250.82
The Extensive Most Secret Hayagriva puja is dedicated to all FPMT centers, services, projects; the success of all Dharma activities and removal of obstacles; to all students who are facing obstacles; to the benefactors of the Puja Fund and to all beings.
You are welcome to contribute any amount to these powerful monthly pujas:
- Tagged: fpmt puja fund, hayagriva
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Monthly Activities Offered by the Puja Fund
Every month on the full moon the Puja Fund sponsors the offering of gold and robes to the most holy Jowo Buddha Statue in Tibet.
The extensive range of practices and pujas that are offered in India, Nepal and around the world through the Puja Fund is astounding. As Charitable Projects Coordinator, Ven. Holly Ansett, recently commented, “It is like Rinpoche has taken on the personal responsibility to care for all the main holy objects in the world on behalf of FPMT.”
Every month, the Puja Fund sponsors an incredible array of beneficial activities. Please check the dates that these will be occurring in May and June so you can rejoice as they are offered:
Full Moon
May 14, 2014
June 13, 2014
Prayers and Offerings:
- Offering of white-washing, Bouddhanath and Swayambunath Stupa, Nepal
- Offering new umbrellas to the stupas’ pinnacles, Bouddhanath and Swayambunath Stupa, Nepal
- Saffron flowers offered in each of the four directions. Bouddhanath and Swayambunath Stupa, Nepal
- 16 Arhant puja for Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s long life, Kopan Monastery, Nepal
- A new set of robes of the most precious material with meditation practice is offered each month to the Buddha inside the Bodhgaya Mahabodhi temple, Bodhgaya, India
- A new set of robes of the most precious material is offered monthly to the Jowo Buddha in Lhasa’s Jokhang, Lhasa Jokhang, Tibet
- Gold is also offered to the holy face of the Jowo Buddha, Lhasa Jokhang, Tibet
- Robes offered to special Chenrezig statue inside Potala palace (when possible), Tibet
Tibetan 8th day
May 7, 2014
June 6, 2014
Prayers and Offerings:
- Extensive Medicine Buddha puja on the 8th day of the Tibetan month to bring success to all one’s activities, and for long life and also when anyone has passed away, Sera Me Monastery, India
- Rs 20 offering to approx. 2000 monks, Sera Me Monastery, India
Tibetan 29th day
May 27, 2014
June 26, 2014
Prayers and Offerings:
- Hayagriva Tsog Kong: all-day puja to Hayagriva with extensive offerings offered by 40 senior monks at Sera Je Monastery
- Rs 150 offering to approx. 40 monks, Sera Je Monastery, India
In addition, the following is offered annually:
- Annual 100,000 Tsog Offerings to Padmasambhava
- Annual recitation of 100,000 Praises to the 21 Taras
- Annual recitation of the Kangyur
- Incredible array of pujas and offerings during the 15 days of Losar
- Incredible array of pujas and offerings during the month of Saka Dawa
- Incredible array of pujas and offerings during Chokhor Duchen
- Incredible array of pujas and offerings during Lha Bab Duchen
Please rejoice in the incredible ongoing offerings of pujas, practices and prayers sponsored by the Puja Fund and performed by as many as 9,000 Sangha. You are welcome to donate any amount to these ongoing offerings.
- Tagged: fpmt puja fund, puja fund
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Don’t Miss Any Puja Fund News!
We are pleased to announce that now you can subscribe to get the latest news about the Sera Je Food Fund delivered to your email inbox!
Just enter your email and we’ll do the rest.
- Tagged: fpmt puja fund
14
Lama Zopa Rinpoche, through the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund, recently offered US$3,469 to the FPMT Puja Fund to support the ongoing amazing array of pujas and activities that are continuously offered and dedicated for the success of FPMT, the health and long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and all of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s gurus, as well as all FPMT students, benefactors, and to all beings.
The extensive range of practices and pujas that are offered in India, Nepal and around the world through the Puja Fund is astounding. As Charitable Projects Coordinator, Ven. Holly Ansett, commented, “It is like Rinpoche has taken on the personal responsibility to care for all the main holy objects in the world on behalf of FPMT.”
Supporting the Puja Fund is a high priority for Lama Zopa Rinpoche and he personally donated $65,000 to this project in 2013.
Rinpoche often mentions that much of the success of FPMT is due to the pujas that are happening all the time.
Every month the Puja Fund sponsors the offering of gold and robes to the most holy Jowo Buddha Statue in Tibet.
For example, the following are offered through the Puja Fund:
- Annual 100,000 Tsog Offerings to Padmasambhava
- Annual recitation of 100,000 Praises to the 21 Taras
- Annual recitation of the Kangyur
- Monthly extensive Medicine Buddha Puja
- Monthly Extensive Hayagriva Puja
- Monthly offerings to the Bouddhanath and Swayambhunath stupas
- Monthly offering of robes and gold to the Buddha statues in Tibet and Bodhgaya
- Incredible array of pujas and offerings during the 15 days of Losar
- Incredible array of pujas and offerings during the month of Saka Dawa
- Incredible array of pujas and offerings during Chokhor Duchen
- Incredible array of pujas and offerings during Lha Bab Duchen
Please consider joining with Rinpoche in supporting The Puja Fund:
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Monthly Extensive Most Secret Hayagriva Puja Offered
Every month on the Tibetan 29th day, an important day to offer protector pujas, The Puja Fund sponsors about 40 of the most senior monks of Sera Je Monastery, who specialize in the practice of Most Secret Hayagriva, to offer the Extensive Most Secret Hayagriva puja (Hayagriva Tsog Kong). This is an all day puja with an elaborate torma offering (pictured above) and extensive prayers and meditation. 150 rs is offered to each monk offering this puja.
The Extensive Most Secret Hayagriva puja is dedicated to all FPMT centers, services, projects; the success of all Dharma activities and removal of obstacles; to all students who are facing obstacles; to the benefactors of the Puja Fund and to all beings.
The Puja Fund makes a small offering to the 40 monks who perform the puja; offers breakfast, lunch and dinner; and covers the cost of extensive torma offerings for the puja.
Every Tibetan 29th day (This month it is: December 31, 2013), you can remember that there are over 40 monks performing the Extensive Most Secret Hayagriva puja. This is something amazing to rejoice in, to mentally offer and dedicate towards and also something you can participate in by donating any amount … How amazing!
You may donate toward this monthly puja and the entire array of ongoing offerings sponsored by The Puja Fund:
- Tagged: fpmt projects, fpmt puja fund
14
Ven. Tsering, a Kopan Monk, has dedicated his life to writing out the Prajnaparamita Sutra in pure gold at the request of Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Effort of this magnitude is worth rejoicing in, as this is the eleventh consecutive year he has worked on this project.
Carina Rumrill, on behalf of FPMT Charitable Projects, had the opportunity to ask Ven. Tsering a few questions about this work.
Can you tell me how you began this project? What were you doing before you began this?
[Lama Zopa] Rinpoche told me to work on this project, to write it out in gold. I was doing a translation job in Malaysia, but then, on my second trip to Malaysia, I was about to start a new contract but after a few weeks there was a new letter from Rinpoche saying he wanted me to be here [in California]. The director said, “It is the guru’s wishes,” so we should follow and I went straight to California not knowing what the project would be. I knew that Rinpoche asked me to come, but I didn’t know where, or what. I thought maybe Land of Medicine Buddha. But it was Rinpoche’s house in Aptos [Kachoe Dechne Ling in California, USA]. At first it wasn’t so clear what I would be doing, but after three months Rinpoche told me about this project. That was in 2002. So this is my 11th year.Had you done anything like this before?
No, but maybe [I had] some kind of natural talent in the arts from what I did at Kopan. I had worked with my teacher on Yamantaka three dimensional mandala, some sand mandalas, some art at Kopan. I hadn’t done any calligraphy before. Rinpoche showed me how to do the calligraphy and checked my writing. It wasn’t right at first and had to be corrected. This was a great opportunity to correct my writing and because of Rinpoche’s kindness I could do that.
The day starts at six or seven in the morning. Before I start, I make the glue for the gold I am using. I have to mix water, make sure there is enough to stick the gold to the paper. The gold, which is for statues, is from Nepal. I get the gold ready in the morning then I set up my motivation and I do my morning prayers. It takes about half an hour to set up. Then I start and continue until about 11 or 12 noon. Sometimes I make mistakes and have to correct them, but if everything is mostly okay, I stop and take lunch for about an hour or an hour-and-a-half. Then, around 1:30, I start writing about until 4 p.m. Then I do dedications every day, the dedication is very important.
Do your hands cramp? Has sitting like this every day and writing affected your health at all?
Every day I do exercise afterward. I do exercise to keep my movement, so I think that is important. In order to continue for a long time I must be physically healthy. And so far, my health is good, hand is good.
How many hours a day is this work?
Basically regular, eight hours or so. If I did 10 hours or 13 hours, every day, this wouldn’t be good for the long run. This project is not a small project, it is a very big project. If I do like I am, I can stay stable to continue for a long time. I am not rushing and in that way I can take it easy and carry on.
Can you tell me about the supplies required? What do you use for this?
Gold, paper that Rinpoche chooses, calligraphy pen. The paper is supposed to last for a thousand years. It is also multicolored paper.
There is another FPMT student, Jane, who is also working on the 2nd volume. I’m on the 4th volume, completed the 3rd. So we are working on the same project but on different volumes.
If I had to do it by myself, this would not be possible in this one life. I believe I will be 80 or so when this is finished. One volume took me five years and when Rinpoche is here [in California], I end up doing other projects for Rinpoche, so maybe not as much work on this at times.
When finished it will go into the heart mandala of the Maitreya statue.
Have you personally seen any change in your own mind after working on this most profound teaching on emptiness for eleven years?
Well now I have a strong wish to do this — perseverance — and this comes from understanding why I am doing it and the reasons. Once you know this you develop sincere interest, then the handwriting comes out because of the wish to make this effort. So you take it as your practice … something like that. So in this way, I don’t have to do retreat, but just having one project you receive from your guru, you take it as your project and carry on. Then if you have an attitude like that, I think that is one reason to be able to carry on.
Do you feel having this one focused project has helped your concentration? I know from working in the centers, there is always so much to do, phones ringing or emails coming through, many ways to be distracted by all that needs to be done. Do you feel having this one project helps to concentrate on what needs to be done?
That’s why in the morning, the motivation is so important. Going into the different centers, motivation is to help others, to benefit others, so no matter what conditions come it is always to help others, to benefit other sentient beings, especially the guru. So if you go with that motivation, then there might be some conditions arise, but sometimes it helps to remind of the motivation, one or two times during the day, in order to calm down. If you carry on like that, watch the mind, it does help, and then conditions arise, maybe anger arises, then, maybe recollect again with the motivation.
Before the stroke, Rinpoche was doing some of this. He did talk a lot about this project and the benefits of writing it out in gold. He was working on the short version, 8,000 verses. I am not sure how far he is on this.
Has Rinpoche ever expressed to you about the benefits of what you are doing or said anything about the work you would like to share with others?
Rinpoche says this project is mainly for accumulation of merit so we can build the large Maitreya statue [in Kushinagar, India]. This is also for world peace and for preserving the Buddhadharma, to preserve the teachings of Buddha. For this we need to make effort to create as much merit as possible.
When you are doing the work, does it feel like practice or work?
I don’t know if it is work or not, but because of this project, I found Dharma and I am surviving. It is so beneficial for me. My heart is getting stronger than ever before.
I feel I have had a lot of purification and accumulation of merit working on this project. These teachings on emptiness, benefit me a lot, they open my eyes and also my heart.
Very happy. Very, very blessed to be doing the work. So blessed, the most lucky one, the most fortunate one in the whole world to do this. After about 10 years I realized how lucky I am, how fortunate that I got this project. At the beginning maybe I was not so clear what the reason was so questions were coming. Now I slowly start to understand and the more I understand the more fortunate I feel and then the more willingness comes.
When people come and visit they admire this work once they see it. No one visits who doesn’t admire and rejoice. And that is also the practical benefit, a very apparent benefit the people are happy and rejoice about this project. And also that they are happy with me, that my gurus are happy with me, that is an important part to me.
Is there anything you want to express or say about this work? To convey to others, that may be helpful to understand this project?
The gold is getting more expensive; I know it is so hard to get. Maybe others can help to contribute to this so Rinpoche can carry on and I can carry on the wishes of Rinpoche and Lama Yeshe and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. And then also to remove all obstacles to building the big statue of Maitreya.
You can learn more about this project, the benefits, and history by visiting the Prajnaparamita Project‘s webpage.
- Tagged: prajnaparamita project
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*powered by Google TranslateTranslation of pages on fpmt.org is performed by Google Translate, a third party service which FPMT has no control over. The service provides automated computer translations that are only an approximation of the websites' original content. The translations should not be considered exact and only used as a rough guide.Don’t forget that the starving person preoccupied by hunger and the person obsessing over what to buy next at the supermarket are basically the same. Mentally, rich and poor are equally disturbed, and, fundamentally, one is as unhappy as the other.