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Long life puja offered to Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Kopan Monastery, December 25, 2020. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
On December 25, 2020 a White Tara Long Life Puja was offered to Lama Zopa Rinpoche on behalf of all FPMT centers, projects, services, and students. For seven days leading up to this puja Rangjung Neljorma Khadro Namsel Drönme (Khadro-la), Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi, thirty-five senior monks, and fifteen senior nuns completed many hours of preparation practices at Kopan Monastery in order to make the long life puja as powerful as possible. There were two sessions of White Tara practice a day during which the forty-five to fifty individuals in attendance recited many White Tara and Tara mantras to eliminate obstacles to Rinpoche’s long life. They also recited a special mantra that combines the White Tara mantra with Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s name mantra:
OM TARE TUTTARE TURE OM AH GURU VAJRADHARA MUNI SHASANA KSHANTI SARVA SIDDHI AYUR PUNYE JNANA PUSHTIM KURU SVAHA
For the actual puja, the Kopan gompa was decorated with victory banners, long hanging banners, and smaller triangular banners, along with garlands of flowers hanging between the pillars. The thrones of His Holiness and Rinpoche were covered in garlands of marigolds. Before the puja, the Kopan monks and about fifty to sixty of the older nuns from the nunnery attended and participated in White Tara practice that had been done all week. This was followed by the actual long life puja, during which many offerings were visualized and offered to the guru in the form of White Tara.
Request to the Dakinis was offered, which is part of the usual long life puja when done together with Lama Chopa. During the Request to the Dakinis, Rinpoche was offered the traditional long life offerings of a double vajra, monk’s robes, pandit’s hat, monk’s seat cover, begging bowl, monk’s staff, seven precious royal objects, and eight auspicious signs. He was also offered some very beautiful statues of White Tara, Namgyalma, and Amitayus. Those in attendance also offered part of the short Sixteen Arhats Puja and the Prayer to Amitayus in addition to the various long life prayers and requesting and thanking mandalas.
Ven. Joan Nicell, who was in attendance said, “The whole event was beautiful and went smoothly. Rinpoche seemed very happy with the puja. From my side, it was one of the most special ways to celebrate Christmas that I have experienced since becoming a Buddhist.”
Long life puja for Lama Zopa Rinpoche. led by Khadro-la, Kopan Monastery, December 25, 2020. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Please enjoy this short video of highlights from this most auspicious event:
https://youtu.be/-juSPvEPU3g
Another upcoming long life puja will be offered to Lama Zopa Rinpoche during the third Tibetan month (actual date still to be determined). This will be an Amitayus Long Life Puja and will also be preceded by seven days of preparation practices at Kopan Monastery, led by Khadro-la.
Ven. Roger Kunsang offering body, speech, and mind mandala to Lama Zopa Rinpoche during the long life puja held at Kopan Monastery, December 25, 2020. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
All are welcome to participate in this upcoming puja by offering prayers from your heart on the day of the puja or offering any amount towards the puja. We also invite you to rejoice in the completion of the December 25 long life puja, with strong prayers of dedication for Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s long life.
The Long Life Puja Fund always contributes to long life pujas offered to Lama Zopa Rinpoche. You can also learn about the many Charitable Projects of FPMT and discover the many ways the various funds and projects are benefiting others.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Khadro-la enjoying tea after the Sixteen Arhats puja on Rinpoche’s seventy-fifth birthday, Kopan Monastery, Nepal. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
There will be two official annual long life pujas offered to Lama Zopa Rinpoche on behalf of FPMT centers, projects, services, and students this year. The first puja will be offered at Kopan Monastery, Nepal, beginning on December 25. It will be a special White Tara Long Life Puja. For seven days leading up to the actual puja on the 25th Rangjung Neljorma Khadro Namsel Drönme (Khadro-la), with senior Kopan monks, will do many hours of preparation practices at Kopan Monastery in order to make the long life puja as powerful as possible.
The second long life puja will be an Amitayus Long Life Puja, and this will be offered to Rinpoche during the 3rd Tibetan month (actual date still to be determined). It will also be preceded by seven days of preparation practices at Kopan Monastery, led by Khadro-la.
These pujas are similar to the extensive puja offered in July 2020 by Khadro-la. We are so incredibly grateful to Khadro-la for taking care of Rinpoche in this way, advising, guiding and actually offering these long life pujas so carefully and with so much preparation.
The purpose of the long life puja is for students to purify the mistakes that occur in relation to their teacher, and to create the causes and conditions to continue to receive benefit from that teacher for a very long time.
By maintaining harmony, following the gurus advice and by offering long life pujas, students accumulate the merit needed for our precious guru to stay in the world with us for a long time. Having the continued guidance of the guru depends on the merit of the disciples. We need to create the cause for us to keep meeting with the precious guru in future lives until we attain the highest goal of enlightenment, for the benefit of all.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche also regularly mentions that offering long life pujas is a cause for one’s own long life.
All are welcome to participate in this auspicious event by offering prayers from your heart on the day of the puja, or offering any amount towards the puja.
The Long Life Puja Fund always contributes to long life pujas offered to Lama Zopa Rinpoche. You can also learn about the many Charitable Projects of FPMT and discover the many ways the various funds and projects are benefiting others.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Losang Namgyal Rinpoche visiting Namgyal Jyangchub Choeling and the new statues, September 2020. Photos courtesy of Jyangchub Choeling Facebook page.
Namgyal Jyangchub Choeling is a monastery in Boudha, Nepal, established in 2008 by Losang Namgyal Rinpoche who is also the present director. Losang Namgyal Rinpoche studied at Kopan Monastery and is a highly regarded lama of the Tamang people. Namgyal Jyangchub Choeling is a new Rime monastery in the Mahayana tradition, representing and respecting all the traditions of Buddhism. It will be a center of Buddhist study and spirituality for both the monastic Sangha and the lay community and it will also contain a clinic and be the coordination center for outreach Dharma and social work.
Offerings in Namgyal Jyangchub Choeling.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche has offered grants toward different projects and holy objects, such as large stupas, prayerweels and gompas that Losang Namgyal Rinpoche is building in outlaying areas in Nepal. In 2020 Lama Zopa Rinpoche was also very happy to offer a large grant toward the building of four large Buddha statues that will be in the new gompa of Namgyal Jyangchub Choeling and in September Rinpoche visited the new gompa and blessed the statues, that are currently still being built.
“When you see a holy object you should think: All of these holy objects are my root guru who manifested this to liberate me from the lower realms. You should think of the kindness manifesting in every single holy object. Prostrate whenever you see any holy object because it causes you to achieve Buddha’s holy body, speech, mind, and all qualities. Whenever you are in a place with many holy objects, put your hands together while turning your body toward the holy objects and think, I prostrate to all the gurus.” — Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Thank you to all the donors who make it possible to offer these grants and in this way offer substantial help for the continuation of Buddhism throughout Nepal.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund enables Rinpoche’s compassionate service to others to flourish. All the offerings from the fund are used toward the creation of holy objects and extensive offerings around the world; sponsoring young tulkus, high lamas and Sangha in India, Nepal, Tibet and the West; supporting FPMT centers, projects and services and sponsoring Dharma retreats and events.
Special White Tara long life puja offered to Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Kopan Monastery, July 4, 2020. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
On July 4, under the direction and guidance of Rangjung Neljorma Khadro Namsel Drönme (Khadro-la), a special White Tara long life puja was offered to Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Kopan Monastery, Nepal, with Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi and about one hundred senior monks from the monastery and twenty nuns from the nunnery. Attendance at this puja was limited due to the current lockdown situation in Nepal.
For three days prior to the actual puja, Khadro-la, with the help of six geshes, Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi, and about one hundred senior geshes and monks from Kopan Monastery, did special preparatory practices in the Kopan gompa for many hours. This was part of the White Tara long life puja, which comes from His Holiness Zong Rinpoche and is a very powerful puja from the lower tantra.
Khadro-la offering the special White Tara long life puja to Lama Zopa Rinpoche, July 4, 2020. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
FPMT, through the Long Life Puja Fund, and Kopan Monastery sponsored this entire puja. All the extensive preparations were kindly taken care of by Kopan.
This particular long life puja was offered because Ven. Roger Kunsang had checked with Khadro-la about Rinpoche’s health and long life for the upcoming year, which is customary for him to do. Khadro-la indicated there were some obstacles to Rinpoche’s health and long life and this special long life puja was needed. In addition, Khadro-la advised on the need for three to four Most Secret Hayagriva tsog kong pujas to be offered at Kopan Monastery before the end of this year. One of these pujas has already been completed—this is a very extensive puja that takes most of an entire day, about fourteen hours, to offer.
Khadro-la leading preparations the day prior to the long life puja. 3.5 days of preparations were needed. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Large effigy of Lama Zopa Rinpoche made for the special long life puja by Kopan Lama Gyupas. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Khadro-la advised that the preparation for this long life puja needed to last at least three days to make it most powerful. During the preparation there was a large effigy of Rinpoche created by the Kopan Lama Gyupas with hand-made robes, hat, and glasses. The effigy was then taken out during the puja.
On the morning of the puja, further preparation occurred until Rinpoche was invited down to the gompa by Khadro-la and Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi.
Offering of tsog during the White Tara long life puja. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Thousand-Arm Chenrezig thangka offered by Ven. Roger Kunsang to Lama Zopa Rinpoche during the White Tara long life puja.
Thousand-Arm Chenrezig thangka offered to Lama Zopa Rinpoche during the White Tara long life puja. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
One very special offering that was made to Rinpoche during the puja was a new Thousand-Arm Chenrezig thangka to replace the one that Rinpoche carries with him everywhere. Ven. Roger sponsored the thangka on behalf of the organization and arranged for it to be painted about a year ago. Throughout the process Ven. Roger checked the art, quality and type of brocade, and other details with Rinpoche. Rinpoche was very pleased with the art.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Khadro-la, Kopan Monastery, July 1, 2020. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Following the long life puja Rinpoche and Khadro-la concluded that it was important to also offer Lama Chopa with tsog, starting with Calling the Guru from Afar. This lasted into the early evening.
Every day during the preparation period guided by Khadro-la, Rinpoche and Khadro-la had lunch together, discussing many important subjects. One item discussed at length was the four to six large fire pujas that Khadro-la had advised to do at specific holy places around Kathmandu Valley. These fire pujas will be arranged by different Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug monasteries, including Kopan Monastery. The fire pujas have to be done in different directions and happen simultaneously and are done to help subdue the effects of COVID-19 experienced in Nepal and around the world. These pujas will happen once permission is granted at the various locations; the delays have been due to the situation of lockdown.
Each morning during the preparations, Khadro-la visited Rinpoche for thirty minutes, discussing different signs or indications that she received the night before.
The long life puja itself was very powerful and successful. Rinpoche was very happy and also Khadro-la seemed very pleased.
Following the long life puja Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi, Khadro-la and Rinpoche walked in the gardens of Kopan Monastery. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
On behalf of the entire FPMT organization, we offer the most heartfelt thanks to Khadro-la for taking care of Rinpoche in this way, guiding and offering the entire long life puja so carefully with so much preparation, as well as advising what other pujas are needed. We also want to take this opportunity to thank Ven. Roger Kunsang for offering tireless service to Rinpoche for thirty-five years and for making sure all of these important things happen.
Tremendous thanks to all the centers and students who support the Long Life Puja Fund—please rejoice that your offerings helped sponsor this puja.
Heartfelt thanks are also offered to Kopan Monastery for helping to offer this puja so successfully with so many prayers and preparations.
The Long Life Puja Fund always contributes to long life pujas offered to Lama Zopa Rinpoche. You can also learn about the many Charitable Projects of FPMT and discover the many ways the various funds and projects are benefiting others.
You can watch the video series Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Teachings on Thought Transformation during the Time of COVID-19 and find links to videos in translation, transcripts, MP3s, additional practice advice, and more:
https://fpmt.org/fpmt/announcements/resources-for-coronavirus-pandemic/advice-from-lama-zopa-rinpoche-for-coronavirus/
Tenzin Osel Hita and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Institut Vajra Yogini, France, June 2019. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
FPMT International Office wishes Tenzin Ösel Hita a very happy birthday and a long, healthy life. May his beneficial activities flourish and wishes come instantly into fruition!
Tenzin Ösel Hita, the recognized reincarnation of FPMT founder Lama Yeshe, turns 35 on February 12, 2020.
During the past year, Osel gave several talks at FPMT centers. Osel visited centers in the Bay Area of California and Florida in the United States, as well as in Italy and the United Kingdom.
Osel also attended teachings with Lama Zopa Rinpoche in Spain and France during the past year.
You can follow news and updates about Ösel on the Tenzin Ösel Hita news feed. Find recordings of talks by Ösel on the Tenzin Ösel Hita Videos page.
The Big Love Fund provides financial resources that enable Ösel to continue his endeavors on behalf of FPMT.
Find out more about Osel and his projects on his website:
https://one-big-love.com/
Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Jamyang Buddhist Centre, London, UK, 2014. Photo by Ven. Thubten Kunsang.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche, through the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund recently issued a grant for US$100,000 to Jamyang Buddhist Center in London, UK, for much needed repairs to the center and a new heating system. As the center is now forty-one years old, repairs and upkeep is a necessity.
The new Jamyang Buddhist Centre Leeds building. Photo courtesy of Tripadvisor.
Also issued from the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund was a grant for US$100,000 to Jamyang Buddhist Center Leeds, UK, for their new 33,000 square-foot center. The new center will have a cafe, book store, meditation hall, and library. Community groups and charities will also be able to rent office and warehouse space at the center. This is a wonderful expansion for this twenty-three year old center.
Please rejoice that both of these centers have offered decades of service to the UK and will continue to thrive and benefit their communities (and all who visit) for many years to come.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund enables Rinpoche’s compassionate service to others to flourish. All the offerings from the fund are used toward the creation of holy objects and extensive offerings around the world; sponsoring young tulkus, high lamas and Sangha in India, Nepal, Tibet and the West; supporting FPMT centers, projects and services; sponsoring Dharma retreats and events; funding animal liberations and blessings, and many other worthy projects.
Ven. Roger Kunsang offering a mandala to Lama Zopa Rinpoche during a long life puja, Great Stupa of Universal Compassion, Australia, May 2018. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
The official annual long life puja for Lama Zopa Rinpoche, offered on behalf of the entire FPMT organization will take place on January 22 at Kopan Monastery, Nepal. All are welcome to participate in this auspicious event by offering prayers from your heart on the day of the puja, or offering any amount toward it that you are able.
Ven. Roger Kunsang, assistant to Lama Zopa Rinpoche and the CEO of FPMT, Inc. also consulted Rinpoche’s gurus about prayers and practices that should be done for Rinpoche’s long life in 2020 and those recommended pujas were immediately arranged in Nepal.
Long life puja for Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Bendigo, Australia, May 2018. Photo courtesy of Ven. Tenzin Tsultrim.
The purpose of the long life puja is for students to purify the mistakes that occur in relation to their teacher, and to create the causes and conditions to continue to receive benefit from that teacher for a very long time.
Rinpoche also regularly mentions that offering long life pujas is a cause for one’s own long life.
The Long Life Puja Fund always contributes to long life pujas offered to Lama Zopa Rinpoche. You can also learn about the many Charitable Projects of FPMT and discover the many ways the various funds and projects are benefiting others.
Tenzin Ösel Hita at Vajrapani Institute, Boulder Creek, California, US, August 2019. Photo by Liz Chisler.
Tenzin Ösel Hita, the recognized reincarnation of FPMT co-founder Lama Yeshe, visited California, US, in August 2019, touring the four FPMT Bay Area centers. Osel visited Vajrapani Institute in Boulder Creek, where he gave a talk and participated in the center’s Big Love Annual Community Celebration. Then he led a five-day retreat, “Being Your True Nature: A Meditation and Yoga ‘Being Experience,'” at Land of Medicine Buddha in Soquel. Ösel also gave public talks at Gyalwa Gyatso (Ocean of Compassion) Buddhist Center in Campbell and Tse Chen Ling in San Francisco. Heidi Oehler, Vajrapani Institute center director; Catherine Graham, Vajrapani Institute spiritual program coordinator; Urs von Matt, Ocean of Compassion center manager; and MaryEllen Kirkpatrick, Tse Chen Ling spiritual program coordinator, all contributed to this story.
A remarkable energy of harmony and open-heartedness permeated the air at Vajrapani Institute during the events Tenzin Ösel Hita attended in early August. Many older students of Lama Yeshe joined a handful of relative newcomers to connect with Lama’s reincarnation on Saturday, August 3. Some appeared to be visibly sparkling by the end of the day and many seemed deeply moved by Ösel’s presence.
Then on Sunday, August 4, more than a hundred people gathered around the Enlightenment Stupa at our “Big Love Day” annual summer festival, and soaked up the wisdom, honesty, and humor Ösel Hita shared with the crowd.
The day-long event held here on August 3 was created to offer a container for Ösel’s vision of creating “being” experiences for others. Attended by 32 people, the day’s theme was “Reconnecting with Your Authentic Nature and Healing into Wholeness.” Participants were led through a variety of meditation, yoga, movement, and self-expression activities. This prepared them for the day’s highlight: an afternoon talk delivered by Ösel, also attended by staff and community members.
Many present were struck by the courageous and deeply authentic way Ösel spoke, and some former students of Lama Yeshe’s remarked afterwards upon the uncanny similarities between some of Ösel’s comments and those Lama used to make.
Afterwards there was an opportunity to offer khatas. Ösel seemed to really enjoy connecting personally with everyone in this way, and the atmosphere was light and joyful. Ösel even needed a little prodding towards the end to persuade him to leave on time so as not to be too late for his next appointment!
Ösel returned the next day for Vajrapani’s “Big Love Day” festival. Once again his talk was a highlight of the day. At the end many lined up to meet him individually.
Tenzin Ösel Hita at Ocean of Compassion, Campbell, California, US, August 2019. Photo by Urs von Matt.
Ocean of Compassion Buddhist Center was honored to host Tenzin Ösel Hita during his inaugural Bay Area tour. His visit on Saturday, August 10, was arranged on very short notice, and thanks to the many volunteers we were able to take advantage of this unique opportunity. We were pleasantly surprised to see a lot of new faces at the center. It seems that many people were intrigued to see a young recognized reincarnation of a Tibetan lama.
Ösel was very happy to answer questions about his lineage and his place in the Buddhist world. Ösel showed a genuine humility. He gave hugs to people and made them feel welcome. We had to lower his teaching seat as he didn’t want to sit higher than the audience. Ösel was able to connect very well with people. He treated the event as a workshop and encouraged people to ask questions, acting as a bridge between Buddhist philosophy and the modern Western mind. The event was also live streamed on Facebook and reached a large worldwide audience.
Tenzin Ösel Hita at Ocean of Compassion, Campbell, California, US, August 2019. Photo by Urs von Matt.
What a wonderful gift it was to have Ösel come to Tse Chen Ling on Sunday, August 11, and give a talk called “Taste of Buddhism: ‘One Big Love.'” Some people came because they had a personal connection with Lama Yeshe; some had a connection through familiarity with the archives of Lama Yeshe’s precious teachings; others were drawn to the charismatic presence of this young man, this “radical free thinker.”
Ösel pointed out that each of us has our own perspective, and from that place we project the world around us. He remarked that it has been a challenge for him to be able to differentiate between who he really is, what people have projected onto him, and who they expected him to be. He emphasized, “I am not going to fall into a box for you. I am not going to play your game.” Remarking that he was making himself very vulnerable, he encouraged us to really try to get to know him. Rather than delivering a Dharma talk Ösel asked the audience for questions, promising that he would do his best. He impressed on us that we should see him not as a lama but as a friend.
When someone asked about his needs and what we as a community could do to help him he responded that the best thing that we could do for him is to really put the Dharma into practice. Ösel described this as a lifestyle and personal responsibility. He encouraged us to follow the examples set by the holy beings in human form: our gurus His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, and so on. We have to help ourselves and adapt the Dharma to our lives. We must put into practice what we are learning, and we should not separate learning and meditation. We must be aware and conscious.
Tenzin Ösel Hita at Tse Chen Ling, San Francisco, California, US, August 2019. Photo courtesy of Tse Chen Ling.
He shared that what he studied in the monastery for nearly half of his life really helped him when he “dove head-first into samsara.” Ösel expressed that he sees Dharma as a lifestyle and ourselves as a process: “You are happening; you are being.” Without an active and dedicated commitment to confront ourselves, he compared the Dharma to a light bulb without electricity. “It’s about your own experience; you have to walk it.” He challenged us to share only the best of ourselves with others. Be patient with ourselves but be responsible. “Don’t follow your thoughts wherever they take you,” he said. Thinking “I have no choice is very cowardly.” We need to recognize that “circumstances don’t make us; we make the circumstances.”
At the end of the program Ösel recommended that if we just try to be kind, we will all be happier. He stood up and greeted us as we approached to say goodbye: embracing each of us in turn, seeing each of us, and not rushing.
Watch Tenzin Ösel Hita’s talk at Ocean of Compassion or listen to the audio recording:
https://www.gyalwagyatso.org/2019-08-10-tenzin-osel-hita.html
Watch Tenzin Ösel Hita’s talks at Vajrapani Institute:
https://youtu.be/Is1iG5DeY5g
https://youtu.be/pZWQ0w-5-T4
FPMT.org and Mandala Publications brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings, and events fromover 160 FPMT centers, projects, and services around the globe. If you like what you read, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.
Tenzin Ösel Hita giving a talk at the Wotel, Miami, Florida, US, August 2019. Photo by Marcelo Paez.
On Thursday, August 15, 2019, Tenzin Ösel Hita gave an evening talk “A Taste of Buddhism: One Big Love” at the Wotel in Miami, Florida, US, hosted by the FPMT study group in Miami, Namdrol Ling Study Group. On Saturday, August 17, Ösel gave an afternoon talk “Inner Creativity: How to Overcome Attachment” at Thubten Kunga Ling Center, the FPMT center in Deerfield Beach, Florida. Maria Cersosimo, Namdrol Ling Study Group co-founder and coordinator, and Nicole Zito, Thubten Kunga Ling Center director, share the story.
We rejoice in the visit of Tenzin Ösel Hita to Miami! The event was a huge success with seventy-five people registered, a record for our little study group! The majority of the crowd were non-Buddhists, and the event took place in the totally secular environment of an advertising agency.
Ösel gave a very sincere, straightforward talk, covering Buddhist values, the importance of a daily meditation practice, and simple tips in order to lead a happier life. His sense of humor was present during the talk, and overall his joyful and humorous energy kept the crowd hooked, even the children in the audience. There were questions from the audience, including some from the kids, that he answered very truthfully and humbly.
As the co-founder and director of Namdrol Ling Study Group, this has been such a precious and memorable experience. I received many messages and thanks from the attendees, telling me how grateful they were for the opportunity to have met him. We hope Ösel can come back soon!
Tenzin Ösel Hita with volunteers Cynthia Zak, Alejandra Paez, co-founder and director Maria Cersosimo, co-founder Ana Paula Ruano, and volunteer Claudia Regazzio at the Wotel, Miami, Florida, US, August 2019. Photo by Marcelo Paez.
The auspicious visit to Thubten Kunga Ling by Tenzin Ösel Hita was surely one to remember and will go down in our center’s history. We were sold out and had reached our building’s maximum capacity within a few weeks of announcing this precious visit, and we had less than two months to prepare. We worked together to make this a most special day for the center and the community, and to honor the lives, service, kindness, and love of Lama Thubten Yeshe and Tenzin Ösel Hita.
Tenzin Ösel Hita with Anthony Sherbondy at Thubten Kunga Ling Center, Deerfield Beach, Florida, US, August 2019. Photo by Carly Zito.
Teams of volunteers began mentally and physically preparing for the big event weeks ahead of time. We invited two Lynn University film students from nearby Boca Raton, Florida, to record the event. We are very grateful to Yaren and Brian for volunteering their time and efforts. Adrienne donated and arranged an abundance of flowers, and Sonny offered dinner to Ösel, both of which were lovely offerings of generosity and kindness.
Ven. Lhundub Tendron, the FPMT resident teacher at Thubten Kunga Ling, opened the August 17, 2019 event at 1 p.m. with a meditation on interdependence and emptiness. Ösel arrived at 2:30 p.m. and spoke for one-and-a-half hours on “Inner Creativity: How to Overcome Attachment.” He walked into a room packed with enthusiastic students, both old and new, of different backgrounds and ages, but with one thing in common: a very strong connection to Dharma and to him.
Tenzin Ösel Hita with George Propps at Thubten Kunga Ling Center, Deerfield Beach, Florida, US, August 2019. Photo by Nicole Zito.
Ösel shared about the insight and wisdom he has gained along his path. He spoke about his time spent in the monastery, how he puts the Dharma into practice in his daily life, and how his teachers continue to have a major influence in his life.
The talk was very light and humorous, and his words touched the hearts of everyone who attended this special event. The energy at the event was slightly euphoric. Many beings came together that afternoon as strangers and left as friends.
We had seventy-one guests, twenty-six volunteers, three board members, and five sponsored students attend the event. Many of our guests came from out-of-town: two students came from Washington, DC, two students came from North Carolina, three from the west coast of Florida, five from central Florida, and over ten students from Miami. A handful of these visitors were students of Lama Yeshe’s in the 1970s.
Tenzin Ösel Hita with Nicole Zito at Thubten Kunga Ling Center, Deerfield Beach, Florida, US, August 2019. Photo by Carly Zito.
We received such positive feedback from this event. Everyone said they were honored to meet Ösel, that they look forward to staying connected with him, hope he will return again, and wish him the best along his journey ahead. Students loved his humor, the way he addressed “spiritual bypass,” his way of sharing life’s lessons, and his Bob Marley and Bruce Lee quotes!
Ösel’s unique style—the way he shares his own experiences and wisdom to bridge the gap between the East and West—helped us connect with our own experiences. We were reminded that our own inner wisdom and disturbing emotions serve as a constant platform for introspection, reflection, and self-growth. Change is possible and is up to each individual person.
Watch Tenzin Ösel Hita’s talk at the Wotel:
https://youtu.be/qzc4DAz1IYw
Watch Tenzin Ösel Hita’s talk at Thubten Kunga Ling Center:
https://youtu.be/pjqXZnbHZXM
FPMT.org and Mandala Publications brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings, and events fromover 160 FPMT centers, projects, and services around the globe. If you like what you read, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.
Bird’s eye view of the progress on the Compassion Wheel at Vajrapani Institute.
In December 2016, Vajrapani Institute, an FPMT retreat center in Northern California, launched the 5 Trillion Mantra Prayer Wheel Project. The prayer wheel, called the Compassion Wheel and standing 7 ft x 10 ft when completed, will contain 5 trillion (5,000,000,000,000) copies of OM MANI PADME HUM, the mantra of Chenrezig, the Buddhist deity who embodies universal compassion. This request came from Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
The Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund recently disbursed a final grant of US$40,000 for this project.
Ven. Gyatso from Nalanda Monastery is helping to fill the Compassion Wheel.
Director Heidi Oehler reports:
“It’s quite a sight to see the Compassion Wheel come to life as this magnificent vision starts to become a reality. This special prayer wheel will be spun at the heart of the land at Vajrapani Institute, blessing all who visit the center, as well as the surrounding area.
“The basic structure has been framed out by our amazing carpenters. Engineers have designed, built and installed a new structurally reinforced frame and bearings system to hold the weight of the mantras and spin it with the force of one hand. We are now focused on putting together the wheel and getting it filled. As fortune would have it, a past staff member and current Nalanda monk who has been studying the Basic Program and helping Nalanda to fill it’s statues and prayer wheels recently returned to help us here! We are so grateful to Ven. Gyatso for helping to take on the project of filling the amazing compassion wheel.
Geshe Sherpa painted the painted the sky and earth mandalas which will go inside the wheel. Sky mandala is pictured here.
“Gelek Sherpa from Land of Medicine Buddha, painted the sky and earth mandalas which go inside the wheel. Ven. Tsering from Kachoe Dechen Ling will paint the mantras on the center poll. Microfilm with the OM MANI PADME HUM mantra are being printed and gradually shipped to Vajrapani now.”
Rinpoche has explained that every time you rejoice in an offering, the construction of the prayer wheel, and in the effort of all those who are working to actualize it, the merit doubles. When you rejoice the second time, the merit is multiplied by four. The third time, it is multiplied by eight. Lama Tsongkhapa said that to collect merit, the best way is through rejoicing.
“Each time you rejoice you collect skies of merit, making it such an easy way to achieve enlightenment.” – Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Please join us in rejoicing about the progress of this one-of-a-kind prayer wheel that will benefit Vajrapani Institute, all who visit, all beings in the area; contribute to world peace and compassion; as well as bless and benefit anyone who helps make it a reality or even cultivates a warm thought about the project.
Supporting the creation of prayer wheels and other holy objects is part of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Visions for FPMT:
https://fpmt.org/fpmt/vast-vision/#pw
Find out more and give your support to the 5 Trillion Mantra Prayer Wheel Project:
http://www.vajrapani.org/prayerwheel/pw/index.php
To help ensure grants like this continue toward holy objects, all are welcome to offer a donation of any amount to the Holy Object Fund.
Director of Vajrapani Institute Heidi Oehler, Director of Tara Redwoods School Pam Cayton, and Osel at Lama Yeshe’s cremation Stupa at Vajrapani Institute. August 4, 2019. Photo by Jacie Keeley.
This summer Tenzin Osel Hita (the recognized incarnation of Lama Yeshe) gave a number of Dharma talks in FPMT centers and study groups in the United States. Starting in August Osel visited and spoke at Vajrapani Institute, Land of Medicine Buddha, Gyalwa Gyatso, and Tse Chen Ling, in California; and then traveled to Florida where he spent time at Namdrol Ling, in Miami, and Thubten Kunga Ling, in Deerfield Beach.
Osel Hita has long had the ambition to create intentional ecovillage communities fostering a sustainable lifestyle where community living is valued and practiced.
Osel speaking at Thubten Kunga Ling in Deerfield Beach, Florida. Photo by Jacie Keeley.
Land of Medicine Buddha, which has established itself as an environmentally conscious meditation and retreat center, was chosen as the host site for Osel to pilot some of his signature concepts in August. A four-day event (August 4-7) that Osel called “Being Your True Nature: A Being Experience and Habit Alignment” was a balance of personal reflection and renewal through connection with nature, meditation, Dharma talks, body movement, and healthy eating. Each participant was encouraged to connect with their true nature and innate wisdom in order to be of greater benefit to the whole world, or what Osel calls “collective consciousness.”
Osel was able to connect to hundreds of students while on this tour in the United States, and reports from those in attendance shared a common theme of transformation and elevated energy.
Osel is offering the following talks in England:
- November 28, 7pm-9pm: “Creating a Better Future” at Jamyang Buddhist Centre, London, England.
- December 1, 2pm-4pm: “A Chat with our Virtuous Friend” at Land of Joy, Northumberland, England.
- December 4, 6:30pm-4pm: “We are Bigger than our Problems” at Jamyang Buddhist Centre Leeds, Leeds, England
Please enjoy this public talk Osel gave at Gyalwa Gyatso in August:
The Big Love Fund was established to provide financial resources to support the educational endeavors of Osel. All are welcome to contribute any amount to this fund.
1,000 tsa-tsas of Lama Tsongkhapa when in progress at Chenrezig Institute’s art studio, Garden of Enlightenment.
Lama Tsongkhapa Day commemorates the anniversary of Lama Tsongkhapa’s parinirvana. It is observed on the 25th day of the 10th month of the Tibetan calendar and, this year, which marks the 600th anniversary, falls on December 21. The Geluk International Foundation has proclaimed 2019 to be the International Year of Tsongkhapa.
Finished tsa-tsas of Lama Tsongkhapa.
In 2018 the Executive Director of the Geluk International Foundation requested Lama Zopa Rinpoche to arrange the creation of 1,000 Lama Tsongkhapa tsa-tsas to be offered to Ganden Tripa Rinpoche to offer to others.
Rinpoche happily accepted this and due to the kindness of some sponsors was able to completely cover the cost of the materials, gold leafing, and shipping of the 1,000 small statues.
The Ganden Tripa or “throne-holder of Ganden” is the head of the Gelug school. Before passing away, Lama Tsongkhapa gave his robe and staff to the first Ganden Tripa to preside over Gaden Monastery which was originally founded by Tsongkhapa in 1409 in Tibet and destroyed in 1959, then re-established in Karnataka, India, in 1996 by the Tibetan population in exile.
Garrey Foulkes and the amazing volunteer artists at Chenrezig Institute’s, art studio, Garden of Enlightenment in Australia, took on this tremendous task over the last year. First they cast the 1,000 14-centimeter tsa tsas, repaired, rolled the required mantras, filled them, painted them, applied gold-leafing to the hats of each, and then packed and shipped them.
We really thank Garrey and all the volunteers for this incredible effort and offering.
Please rejoice in the creation of these 1,000 holy objects in celebration of the 600th anniversary of Lama Tsongkhapa’s parinirvana.
FPMT Education Services recently published a list compiled by Lama Zopa Rinpoche of various prayers authored by Lama Tsongkhapa or written in his honor to help students engage in this most auspicious celebration as meritoriously as possible.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund enables Rinpoche’s compassionate service to others to flourish. All the offerings from the fund are used toward the creation of holy objects and extensive offerings around the world; sponsoring young tulkus, high lamas and Sangha in India, Nepal, Tibet and the West; supporting FPMT centers, projects and services; sponsoring Dharma retreats and events; funding animal liberations and blessings, and many other worthy projects.