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Lama Zopa Rinpoche News and Advice
Lama Zopa Rinpoche blessing the penguins in the Bird Garden of Harewood House, Leeds, UK, July 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
“It is extremely important that we make an effort to lead a spiritual life while, as human beings, we have the opportunity to pursue inner methods that bring peace of mind,” Lama Zopa Rinpoche instructed in the teaching “In Search of a Meaningful Life,” given at Tushita Mahayana Meditation Centre in 1979.
“It is common experience that happiness does not arise from external factors alone,” Rinpoche continued. “If we check carefully into our own daily lives, we will easily see that this is true. In addition to external factors, there are also inner factors that come into play to establish happiness within us.
A penguin at Harewood House’s Bird Gardens, Leeds, UK, July 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
“If external development were all it took to produce lasting peace within us, then those who were rich in material possessions would have more peace and happiness while those who were poor would have less. But life is not always like this. There are many happy people with few riches and many wealthy people who are very unhappy.
“In India, for example, there are many pandits, highly realized yogis and even simple Dharma practitioners who live humble lives but have great peace of mind. The more they have renounced the unsubdued mind, the greater is their peace; the more they have renounced self-cherishing, anger, ignorance, attachment and so forth, the greater is their happiness.
“Great masters such as the Indian pandit Naropa and the Tibetan yogi Jetsün Milarepa owned nothing yet had incredible peace of mind. They were able to renounce the unsubdued mind, the source of all problems, and thus transcended all suffering. By actualizing the path to enlightenment they achieved a superior happiness. Thus, even though they often had to go days without food – the great yogi Milarepa lived for years in a cave subsisting only on wild nettles – they rank among the happiest people on Earth. Because they abandoned the three poisonous minds of ignorance, attachment and anger, their peace and happiness was indeed great. The more they renounced the unsubdued mind, the greater was their peace. …”
Read the entire teaching “In Search of a Meaningful Life” on the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.
More information, photos and updates about FPMT spiritual director Lama Zopa Rinpoche can be found on Rinpoche’s homepage. If you’d like to receive news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche via email, sign up to Lama Zopa Rinpoche News.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave a talk to the recent European Regional Meeting in Italy which included this teaching on the benefits of offering service to the guru. We invite you to read the edited transcript of Rinpoche’s talk and watch Rinpoche giving this teaching on video.
An excerpt from the talk follows:
“Our reason to be here in Italy, at Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, where the director, the SPC [spiritual program coordinator], all the staff here, with FPMT Italy arranged to receive His Holiness to give all the different teachings. Everything went so well. Unbelievable, unbelievable accomplishment, service. Wow. People have really enjoyed. The happiness they normally achieve is just external, sensual, attachment, just like that, nothing new, just the same story, from beginningless rebirths. His Holiness is sooo extremely pleased. It went extremely well, and so I want to say from my heart, billions, zillions, trillions, numberless thanks! Billions, zillions, trillions, numberless thanks! It’s really wonderful, the best accomplishment, as an individual and as an organization.
“So of course, body and mind is under the control of karma and delusion, in the nature of suffering, so of course [we have] tiredness, feel worn out – these things happen. During beginningless rebirths we did not achieve liberation from samsara; we created the cause of these contaminated aggregates. But what I want to tell you, what you have to understand, is that many eons of negative karma have been purified. Sooo many eons of negative karma, heavy negative karma has been purified through bearing much hardship, serving the teachings of the Buddha, sentient beings, the guru, or Compassion Buddha. Sooo many eons, from beginningless rebirths, so many years of negative karma is purified. You have to understand, you have to rejoice about that. So the more you feel difficulty, the more you feel tiredness, whatever happens – oh, it’s great purification.”
Lama Zopa Rinpche at a garden in Leeds, UK, July 2014. Photo by Ven. Thubten Kunsang.
“The four undesirable things [of the eight worldly dharmas] are suffering, not receiving material things, uninteresting words and a bad reputation,” Lama Zopa Rinpoche taught at the 14th Kopan Course in 1981. “We wish to avoid these four undesirable objects, for ourselves or for our friends and relatives. We wish for the opposite of these four undesirable things –happiness, receiving material things, sweet words, and a good reputation for ourselves, our friends and relatives. But what we wish for the enemy is the complete opposite – we wish that they receive the four undesirable things and do not receive the four desirable things. We seek the eight worldly dharmas for ourselves, our relatives and our friends.
“Practicing patience with the four undesirable things is like this. Whenever we meet suffering, we must practice patience. When somebody treats us badly and doesn’t give us material help, we must practice patience. When somebody insults us, we must practice patience. When somebody gives us a bad reputation, we must practice patience. When we meet these four undesirable things, we must practice patience. When the four undesirable things happen to our friends and relatives, we must also practice patience. When somebody harms our close friends and relatives and when they suffer, then we must also practice patience. When material help is not given to our friends and relatives, we must practice patience with that person who doesn’t help them. We must also practice patience with those who insult our friends and relatives, and give them a bad reputation.
“When our enemy is happy, or when somebody causes our enemy to receive perfections and to be happy, it is unbearable. It is unbearable that our enemy is happy. We dislike that our enemy is happy, comfortable and doesn’t have problems. However, when somebody makes our enemy happy, we must practice patience. Because we dislike that, again we must practice patience.
“When our enemy receives material offerings, again we must practice patience. If we don’t practice patience, we become jealous and when we see or hear that, we become very confused and unhappy. So, again, we must practice patience when we see that our enemy has received material things. …”
You can read the complete edited teaching “Practicing Patience with Our Enemy” on the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.
More information, photos and updates about FPMT spiritual director Lama Zopa Rinpoche can be found on Rinpoche’s homepage. If you’d like to receive news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche via email, sign up to Lama Zopa Rinpoche News.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Jamyang Buddhist Centre resident teacher Geshe Tashi (left) and Ven. Sherab, Rinpoche’s attendant, enjoying the Kalachakra mandala in the Tibetan Peace Garden near Jamyang Buddhist Centre, London, UK, July 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Rinpoche’s public teaching in London, “Enlightened Courage,” can be watched as a streaming video recording. Rinpoche began the July 10 teaching by talking about the importance of the mind for creating happiness. He discussed how Dharma practice is the best psychology and how it can create the best healthy mind. If you don’t take care of your mind, if you use it like garbage, Rinpoche warned, then nothing pleasant results in this life and in future lives.
“The key thing is the mind,” Rinpoche said. “Happiness, you switch life to happiness or you switch mind to suffering. Like TV, which channel you want? Some war and fighting, or something very beautiful, countryside, something peaceful, people enjoying. What you do with your mind, its like that. So everything is about the mind.”
Rinpoche went on to teach about bodhichitta, Lama Atisha and lam-rim practice. He shared a Tibetan saying: “The turtle perseveres slowly, goes very slowly, but reaches there. Whereas the flea jumps, is jumping, but doesn’t reach far.” He explained that perserverance and continouity are very important to Dharma practice. Rinpoche also discussed karma.
The public teaching was organized by Jamyang Buddhist Centre in London. Rinpoche’s teaching in Leeds are also available as video recordings.
More information, photos and updates about FPMT spiritual director Lama Zopa Rinpoche can be found on Rinpoche’s homepage. If you’d like to receive news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche via email, sign up to Lama Zopa Rinpoche News.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche during a public teaching in London, UK, July 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Rinpoche in London, public talk. “If you want to be happy you need to create the cause… Give happiness to others.”
– From Ven. Roger Kunsang’s Twitter page, posted on July 10, 2014
Ven. Roger Kunsang, Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s assistant and CEO of FPMT Inc., shares Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s recent pith sayings on Ven. Roger’s Twitter page. (You can also read them on Ven. Roger’s Facebook page.)
More information, photos and updates about FPMT spiritual director Lama Zopa Rinpoche can be found on Rinpoche’s homepage. If you’d like to receive news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche via email, sign up to Lama Zopa Rinpoche News.
Lama Zopa Rinpche in a park in Leeds offering all the flowers to the “gurus and buddhas, statutes, stupas and scriptures, etc. etc.,” according to Ven. Roger Kunsang, UK, July 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
“Offering one tiny flower to a statue or picture of Buddha receives immeasurable, limitless, merit,” Lama Zopa Rinpoche advised. “All the paths to happiness result from that. With just one grain of rice or one tiny flower, you can enter the path and achieve total enlightenment — the completion of all good qualities.
“After achieving enlightenment, you can liberate so many sentient beings from so much suffering and samsara and bring them to enlightenment. This is the result of offering one tiny flower. Each offering has all this benefit — like putting money in the bank. One dollar equals one billion trillion dollars in interest. This is an amazing benefit. It is important to remember this every day and offer as much as possible. If you see a beautiful flower, you visualize offering it to the guru and Buddha. The result and benefit is incredible. You can offer every single flower in a garden — the merit received is mind-blowing.
“This is how you use your precious human life, which is extremely rare and hard to find. Every time you see an object, use it to become closer to liberation and enlightenment. Many times each day, use your precious human rebirth to bring you closer and closer to liberation and enlightenment and thus to enlighten all sentient beings.”
Read more advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche on making offerings, on the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.
More information, photos and updates about FPMT spiritual director Lama Zopa Rinpoche can be found on Rinpoche’s homepage. If you’d like to receive news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche via email, sign up to Lama Zopa Rinpoche News.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Sangha on the beach in California, May 2014. Photo by Ven. Thubten Kunsang.
In May 2014, Lama Zopa Rinpoche went to the beach in California to bless all the sentient beings in the ocean. Ven. Thubten Kunsang recorded a video of the beach visit.
Last year, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Dagri Rinpoche and about 100 students went to a local wharf near Kachoe Dechen Ling in California to bless the sentient beings in the ocean. Like on many other occasions, they lowered the embossed Namgyälma mantra boards into the water, but this time state park rangers asked them to leave because they did not have the required permit.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche holding ropes attached to mantra boards blessing beings in the ocean, Aptos, California, September 14, 2013. Photo by Ven. Thubten Kunsang.
The next day, the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive reports, Rinpoche wanted to send this letter:
I, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Spiritual Director of 161 centers in 31 countries and the Buddhist Sangha from Kachoe Dechen Ling, Aptos, California, seek permission to bless the ocean off the Seacliff State Park wharf.
Just as the fisher people get permission, we also request the state parks for this permission. Within this great democratic country, which gives so much happiness to others, please grant permission to bless the ocean and liberate all the animals and fish in the ocean, to free them from the suffering of rebirth, old age, sickness and death, and to help them achieve total liberation from suffering and attain the state of omniscient mind, the peerless happiness. Attached are a few photos of the mantra board which we use to bless the ocean.
Thank you very much for your time.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche,
FPMT Spiritual Director
You can read more from Rinpoche on “Benefiting Animals” on “Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Online Advice Book.”
Sangha with the Namgyälma mantra boards in the Pacific Ocean, California, May 2014. Photo by Ven. Thubten Kunsang.
Learn more about FPMT spiritual director Lama Zopa Rinpoche and his beneficial activities by visiting Rinpoche’s homepage, where you will find links to Rinpoche’s schedule, new advice, recent video, photos and more.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche, with Vens. Sangpo and Kunsang, just after arriving in London, UK, July 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
UPDATE: Webcast will happen for July 10 teaching!
Lama Zopa Rinpoche arrived in London to teach this week. Jamyang Buddhist Centre organized the teachings with Rinpoche, which begin on July 10 at 7:30 p.m. BST (UTC+1) when Rinpoche teaches on “Enlightened Courage: The Buddha’s Path of Compassionate Wisdom.”
On July 11-13, Rinpoche will give the Heruka Five Deities great initiation. On July 16, a long life puja will be offered to Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
Video recordings of Rinpoche’s teachings in Leeds, UK, are available at:
https://new.livestream.com/
More information, photos and updates about FPMT spiritual director Lama Zopa Rinpoche can be found on Rinpoche’s homepage. If you’d like to receive news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche via email, sign up to Lama Zopa Rinpoche News.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche blessing water to be offered to pretas at the beach, Italy, June 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
“How can you make your life beneficial for your most kind, precious mother sentient beings, especially the pretas, and receive all happiness of the three times, including liberation from samsara and the great liberation – peerless, full enlightenment?” asks Lama Zopa Rinpoche in his advice on making offerings to the pretas.
“Pretas suffer heavily from hunger and thirst, not finding even a drop of water or a spoonful of food for hundreds of thousands of eons. They suffer from incredible exhaustion, disappointment, heat, and cold. In particular, pretas experience three types of obscuration: outer, inner, and food obscuration. The Yeshe Karda (Transcendental Wisdom Star-Arrow) practice enables every single preta to receive drink.
“If we go to the beach, how can we make our life most beneficial? If we do this practice when we go into the water, all the stones, lakes, and swimming pools are blessed. This is one way to make our life most beneficial for all sentient beings, here, in particular, for the pretas.
“Take some water from the ocean or swimming pool, put it in a container, visualize the deity Yeshe Karda above the water or container, and visualize nectar flowing from the deity into the water in the container. Then, recite the heart mantra of Yeshe Karda seven times:
“OM JNANA AVALOKITE SAMANTA PARANA RAMI BAWA SAMAYA MAHA MANI DURU DURU HRIH DAYA JALANI SOHA
Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Sangha at the beach making offerings to pretas, Italy, June 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
“Then, pour the water back into the ocean or swimming pool. Again, take water from the ocean or swimming pool, visualize the deity and the nectar flowing into the water, then again recite the mantra seven times. Hold the bottom of the container with your left hand, and the top of the container with your right hand. This should be done seven times, each time reciting the mantra seven times.
“Each time you pour out the water, visualize and say the following prayers:
“‘This ocean of water appears as nectar to all the pretas that the omniscient mind sees. All the pretas see it as an ocean of milk, they drink it and are fully satisfied. It liberates them from all sufferings, including the specific sufferings of the pretas, causes of delusion, karma, and defilements. These are all purified and they actualize the whole path to enlightenment.’
“Visualize every preta becoming Chenrezig.
“When you say this prayer, all the oceans appear as actual nectar to the pretas. The more detailed benefits of this practice are that all pretas will find devas’ food and drink. This is divine food in the form of nectar.
“Also, all the other beings, including animals and insects living in the water or who drink the water, are purified and achieve a higher rebirth. They will go onto the path of a happy transmigrating being. Therefore, the benefits of this practice are not limited to only the pretas. The benefits are vast.
“By receiving the blessing of this mantra, each preta receives as much food or drink as it needs, is fully satisfied, purified, and will be reborn in a higher realm. Whoever drinks this water has all their negative karma purified and will obtain a good rebirth in the higher realms.”
Read more advice from Rinpoche on offerings practices on “Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Online Advice Book” on the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.
More information, photos and updates about FPMT spiritual director Lama Zopa Rinpoche can be found on Rinpoche’s homepage. If you’d like to receive news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche via email, sign up to Lama Zopa Rinpoche News.
Sangha from all four traditions of Tibetan Buddhism participated in this year’s Rime Chirim Tendo Chenmo festival at Tharlam Sasang Namgyal Ling Monastery, Bouddhanath, Nepal.
In 2006, for the first time in the history of the Nalanda Tradition, Nyingma, Kagyü, Sakya and Gelug traditions have formed an umbrella organization called Nepal Buddhist Federation (NBF). Since then, NBF has been engaging in many activities, including organizing the Rime Chirim Tendo Chenmo Monlam, a prayer festival for Saka Dawa dedicated to the healthy and long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the heads of the four Tibetan Buddhist schools, all other great masters, as well as for world peace.
The Sangha enjoyed three meals together.
The festival, now in its sixth year and taking place at Tharlam Sasang Namgyal Ling Monastery, Bouddhanath, Nepal, is a great historic achievement and a sign of growing harmony within the four schools of the Tibetan Buddhism. Four hundred Sangha members were invited from each of the four schools. In addition to the pujas and prayers offered, breakfast, lunch and dinner was also offered to each Sangha member as well as a small offering.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche, through the Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund, was happy to offer US$6,187 toward this year’s festival.
You are welcome to donate any amount to support this project which directly supports the teachings of Lama Tsongkhapa.
One of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Visions for the FPMT organization is to build 1,000 statues of Maitreya, the future Buddha, around the world including the two substantial Maitreya Projects in Bodhgaya and Kushinagar, India.
Life-sized gold leafed Maitreya statue, Kachoe Dechen Ling, California.
About these statues, Lama Zopa Rinpoche commented:
“The minimum size of the 1,000 statues should be 6 feet. Within the 1,000 statues, this includes the statue being built in Kushinagar and the statue being built in Bodhgaya. My aim is that the large statue in Kushinagar will last a minimum of 1,000 years. That means that for every day for at least 1,000 years, infinite sentient beings will receive unbelievable benefit, the causes for enlightenment. Another special thing about contributing to Maitreya, whether it be money or time or energy, is that it makes a connection with Maitreya, and the result is that one becomes a direct disciple of Maitreya Buddha when Maitreya returns to manifest enlightenment as Shakyamuni Buddha did.”
Maitreya Statues Completed/In Progress
- Maitreya Buddha Kushinagar Project
- Maitreya Project Bodhgaya
- 100 life sized statues from Maitreya Project, Lama Zopa Rinpoche offered 26 statues to FPMT centers
- Two 24-foot statues from Maitreya Project, one is now at Land of Medicine Buddha in California, the other is on Maitreya Project land in Bodhgaya
- 2 story statue built in a Monastery in Tibet
- 1 story statue built in a Nunnery in Tibet
Maitreya Buddha is the embodiment of each buddha’s loving kindness, and the symbol of all the bodhisattvas’ loving kindness for all sentient beings.
—Lama Zopa Rinpoche
You can donate directly to the Maitreya Buddha Kushinagar Project being built in India.
The Holy Objects Fund contributes to the building of other Maitreya statues around the world.
Holy Objects 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
Lama Zopa Rinpoche blessing animals at the Fattoria della Pace Ippoasi, an animal sanctuary run by young vegans near Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa, Italy, June 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche has given much advice about benefiting and not harming animals. From “Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Online Advice Book,” here’s Rinpoche’s advice on the karma of killing animals:
“Animals have feelings. They have the same mind as we have, and also want happiness, like we do. For example, if you suddenly touch them, they are immediately frightened. They get frightened if somebody beats or hits them with a stick. We also get frightened. If somebody throws cold water on our body, suddenly we feel a shock. It is the same for animals. They have the same mind, and it is very important what happens to them.
“Even if they can’t speak, can’t express themselves, animals can show their fear through their body. For example, they try to run away. Human beings can talk and complain, and they can bring court cases. Human beings can report things to the police. Human beings can do so much, but animals can’t – they can do nothing. They can’t express their suffering. Human beings can talk about their fears. Whether other people accept your suffering or not, at least you can explain it and the other person can hear. Animals can’t, but you can see how they feel from their movements. If someone tries to attacks them, they run away. They are afraid, which means they want happiness and not suffering. This is a very important point, that they have the same mind as us. If you kill them, you create the negative karma to be like them. For one hundred thousand lifetimes, you will have the karma to be born as an animal. For many thousands of lifetimes, you will suffer the consequences.
“It is said in the teachings that if you kill one animal, because of that karma, you will be killed five hundred times by others. You will suffer in the very hot hell realm for one thousand eons. It is also good to ask yourself how it would be if somebody killed you with a knife. How would you feel in that situation? For example, if you put your finger in hot water, can you bear that? You can’t bear it. It’s the same when you kill animals. There is no good result from it. There is no question about that.”
Lama Zopa Rinpoche spent three hours at the animal sanctuary, blessing the animals, which had been rescued from slaughter, and explained how to help the animals spiritually, Fattoria della Pace Ippoasi, Italy, June 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
You can find “Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Online Advice Book” on the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive website.
Learn more about FPMT spiritual director Lama Zopa Rinpoche and his beneficial activities by visiting Rinpoche’s homepage, where you will find links to Rinpoche’s schedule, new advice, recent video, photos and more.