Practice and Retreat Fund News

Lama Zopa Rinpoche with IMI Sangha at his residence in California.

 
It has always been a high priority of FPMT and Lama Zopa Rinpoche to support and care for our IMI (International Mahayana Institute) Sangha family. IMI is made up of the monks and nuns of FPMT.

IMI Sangha and Geshes, 2007.

On each of the four holy days (15^th day of Losar, Saka Dawa, Buddha’s First teaching and Buddha’s Descent from Tushita), the FPMT Puja Fund makes a small offering directly to each Sangha member at the IMI Sangha communities of FPMT in Italy, France, Australia and USA.

Additionally, Lama Zopa Rinpoche personally sponsors at least 7-15 IMI Sangha fully each year through the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhicitta Fund. 

Long life puja offered to Lama Zopa Rinpoche in Taiwan, March 2013April 2013: Lama Zopa Rinpoche and the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund offered US$65,187 to the FPMT Puja Fund, which sponsors ongoing pujas at the great monasteries in India and Nepal, with over 9,000 Sangha participating. All the pujas are dedicated for the  long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and to the success of all the FPMT centers, projects, students, benefactors and those serving the organization in any way. Some of this offering was accumulated from what was offered to Rinpoche at the recent long life pujas in Singapore and Taiwan.

Long life puja offered to Lama Zopa Rinpoche in Singapore, March 2013Through the sponsorship of ongoing pujas, creating merit through the practices, as well as making offerings to the more than 9,000 sangha who participate in the pujas, the FPMT Puja Fund is very important to the success and removal of obstacles to the whole organization.

Sera Je Monastery monks are pictured here performing pujas sponsored by the Puja Fund and dedicated to the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the success of all FPMT centers, projects, services, students, benefactors and those serving the organization in any way.

Each month, pujas are performed by as many as 9,000 Sangha. The enormous number of Sangha engaged in these practices is an extremely powerful means to overcome obstacles and create merit for the entire organization. 

Ven. Roger Kunsang, FPMT’s CEO, recently commented, “It is really quite an inspiring list [of pujas offered] and thousands of monks are involved. They are all disciples of the one Guru so the merit is vast. You can’t get enough zero’s on the biggest calculator [to show how much merit]!”

November 2012

Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Abbot of Sera Je Monastery during puja.Lama Zopa Rinpoche and the FPMT Puja Fund sponsored a special one-day Hayagriva “Tsog Kong” puja on November 25, 2012 which was performed by all the high lamas, geshes and monks of Sera Je Monastery. Hayagriva is the wrathful manifestation of Chenrezig and the protector of Sera Je Monastery. This powerful puja was requested by Rinpoche to remove obstacles in the coming year and for the benefits of all sentient beings, particularly all the students, benefactors and sponsors of FPMT centers, projects and services.

Sera Je Gegu reading the dediction for the whole day.From Sera Je Food Fund team in India: “We would like to take this opportunity to thank and dedicate this puja for all of Sera Je Food Fund sponsors and their family members. May all their wishes be fulfilled according to the holy Dharma!”

Every  year the FPMT Puja Fund sponsors an extensive range of practices and pujas in India, Nepal and around the world. Please enjoy this collection of videos depicting the range of activities occurring during a puja.

Long Life Puja for Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Kopan Monastery

Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Dagri Rinpoche, Khadro-la and Students Offering Puja at Ragjir, India

Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Dagri Rinpoche and Khadro-la Offering Puja in Front of Trijang Rinpoche’s stupa in Dharamsala, India

Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Other Lamas Offering Puja in Dehradun, India

Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Other Lamas Offering Puja in Aspen, Colorado, USA

His Holiness Sakya Trizen, Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Other Sangha Offering Puja

Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Khadro-la and Dagri Rinpoche Offering Puja, Nepal

Lama Zopa Rinpoche Offering Music (Cymbals) During Puja

Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Khadro-la and Dagri Rinpoche Offering Puja in the Cave of Maratika. 

Lama Zopa Rinpoche Advising on Practices to do While at Maratika, Nepal, a Venerated Site of Pilgrimage Associated with Mandarava, Padmasambhava, and Longevity

Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Dagri Rinpoche and Khadro-la Offering Puja at Tsopema, India

How Can I Make a Donation?

To make a tax-deductible donation:

DONATE

Or simply send your check in US dollars payable to FPMT Inc. and write “Puja Fund” on the memo line.

FPMT Inc.
1632 SE 11th Avenue
Portland, OR 97214-4702
USA

The Puja Fund is a project of FPMT Inc. and is administered by FPMT International Office located in Portland, Oregon, United States. All donations made to this fund are tax-deductible within the United States in accordance with IRS Code article 501(c)(3) to the extent allowed by law.

For more information please contact: Charitable Projects Coordinator.

Please rejoice in the pujas and practices sponsored by the Puja Fund. You can also remember to rejoice and dedicate on the actual day that the pujas are happening.  As Lama Zopa Rinpoche says: “This is the best business, the best way to create most extensive merit.”

You may view an extensive list of the pujas and practices sponsored by the FPMT Puja Fund here.

By Jane Seidlitz

Lama Zopa Rinpoche called me very early one morning in 2004, and after giving me some advice on a thangka I was planning to paint, asked me how my Tibetan handwriting was.   “It’s okay, not that great,” I told him.  Well, Rinpoche asked, would I be willing to write a volume of the 100,000 stanza Prajnaparamita Sutra (the longest of the 3 versions)?   Rinpoche went on to explain the benefit of writing even one letter of this precious text in black ink – something along the lines of accumulating more merit than all the sentient beings spending eons making offerings to countless universes filled with jewel stupas – let alone how unimaginable the merit would be writing it in real gold.   It was a request I couldn’t refuse.     

So I practiced my Tibetan writing for about six months in black ink, at the end of which I sent a sample to Rinpoche for assessment. Evidently passing the test, I got the go ahead to start writing in gold. 

Since then, I have worked more or less steadily – depending on my work schedule and other life distractions.  To date I have written 320 pages of what will be about 1400 pages in total.  Eventually the text will go in the heart of the Maitreya statue to be built in India.    My hope is always to write a page a day, which doesn’t often happen.  But even if I only write a few lines, or even one letter, it feels worthwhile, and of course every time I set pen to paper I remember what Rinpoche told me about the benefits.  

I spent a long time in the beginning looking at many examples to try and make my writing as beautiful and accurate as possible. At that point, writing a page took about seven hours.  Gradually, my writing style has coalesced and I can write a page in about half that time.   In 2001, when I went to Mongolia with Rinpoche, my job for three weeks was to stir the gold for Rinpoche every night – sometimes all night – while Rinpoche wrote the Prajnaparamita.  That was truly magical – I felt like I was living one of those stories from centuries past, the kind we hear about in the teachings. But it didn’t occur to me that I would end up some years later doing the writing myself!

I feel tremendously blessed and grateful that Rinpoche has given me this amazing project.  My hope is to finish well before I die, to create the cause to realize emptiness – the subject of the text – as quickly as possible, and for whatever merit is created through the writing, to fulfill all of Rinpoche’s holy wishes. 

Ven. Tsering has dedicated his life to writing out the Prajnaparamita in pure gold. Effort of this magnitude is worth rejoicing in, as this is the tenth consecutive year he has worked on this project. He has tirelessly offered eight hours a day, five days per week and will continue until completion.

Ven. Tsering’s Progress

Ven. Tsering began writing the 12 volume Prajnaparamita in early 2002.

In 2006 he finished the first volume– about 800 pages.

Ven. Tsering finished the second volume in 2011– approximately 700 pages.

July 2012: He is currently halfway through the fourth volume (Jane Seidlitz is writing out the third volume).

About his work, Ven. Tsering says he, “feels very honored and fortunate to be doing this project.”

This Grand Hayagriva Puja was dedicated to Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s quick recovery by all of the Sera Je Monastery monks in April 2011.