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Lama Zopa Rinpoche News and Advice
Lama Zopa Rinpoche offering money to the beggars on the way up to Vulture’s Peak. Rinpoche asks them to recite OM MANI PADME HUM, India, February 2, 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kusang.
“Normally, worldly business people think that the best way to invest is by doing business. But that is only certain when you make a profit. Until then, it’s uncertain. My own feeling is the most reliable investment is to offer money to monasteries and offer charity to sentient beings. This way, even though the result of the investment, the income, doesn’t appear right now, it is 100% certain that it will be received in the near future.
“The result of karma is that not only do you receive the income back, but the result manifests in various forms, various instances of happiness. The karmic result is so much more than the profit you would get from business. The result of karma is expandable, not just in one lifetime, but hundreds of thousands of lifetimes, and can also expand up to enlightenment.
“This way, there is no loss at all. In the case of business, there is uncertainty until you actually make a profit. I feel this way, investing by making charity or offerings, is more satisfying. Then, not only do you get the result of whatever you achieve, but others get the benefit also. This is something to think about.”
– Lama Zopa Rinpoche, from “Investing for Real Profit,” on the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive
Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), an organization dedicated to preserving Mahayana Buddhism through offering the Buddha’s authentic teachings and to facilitating reflection, meditation, practice and the opportunity to actualize and directly experience the Buddha’s teachings. Sign up to receive news and updates.
“The whole point of our FPMT education programs is not to produce ‘sharp minds’ but to ‘subdue the mind.’ Between an intelligent, sharp mind and a good heart, a good heart is the most important. Without a good heart it is only possible to become an arhat. Good heart means subduing the mind.
Subduing the mind is the whole essence, as then enlightenment is possible. The ultimate purpose of life, the reason for living, why we eat and drink, sleep, work, and do listening, reflecting, and meditating is to free the numberless suffering sentient beings from each suffering realm and bring them not only to ultimate happiness, liberation, but to full enlightenment. “
Lama Zopa Rinpoche offering his breakfast on the backside patio of Root Institute, Bodhgaya, India. In the background, all the mustard seed plants are in bloom, February 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
“Just seeing a portrait or statue of Buddha purifies our mind and plants the seed of enlightenment. Whether we are believers or non-believers, we get that benefit, to be free from oceans of samsaric suffering. We have never been free from suffering, since beginningless rebirth up till now, so it gives us that incredibly precious opportunity,” Lama Zopa Rinpoche said during a teaching, given at Amitabha Buddhist Centre, Singapore, March 2013, on the benefits of making offerings to holy objects and how to create skies of merit by reciting the Offering Cloud Mantra.
“If we offer one grain of rice, no matter how small the picture, the statue, stupa or scripture is, the incredible benefit we achieve is the happiness of samsara. We will get that much happiness, from beginningless rebirth until now, and that much will be experienced in the future. This is the benefit we will get by offering one grain of rice or one tiny flower. …”
You can read the entire teaching, “The Benefits of Making Offerings,” on Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive, where it has recently been posted.
Learn more about Lama Zopa Rinpoche, spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), and Rinpoche’s vision for a better world. Sign up to receive news and updates.
As the sun starts to disappear on Rajgir, Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teaching continues, February 2, 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
The Heart Sutra, a teaching on the nature of emptiness set at Vulture’s Peak, is the most widely known sutra of the Mahayana tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. It is part of the Prajñaparamita Sutras, which is a collection of about 40 sutras composed between 100 BCE and 500 CE. FPMT Education Services offers an electronic version of the Heart Sutra for download as well as a Spanish version and other resources on their “Heart Sutra” page.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), an organization dedicated to preserving Mahayana Buddhism through offering the Buddha’s authentic teachings and to facilitating reflection, meditation, practice and the opportunity to actualize and directly experience the Buddha’s teachings. Sign up to receive news and updates.
His Holiness the Karmapa and Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Maitreya School, Root Institute, Bodhgaya, India, January 31, 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
His Holiness the Karmapa and Lama Zopa Rinpoche visited the Maitreya School at Root Institute in Bodhgaya, India. His Holiness the Karmapa spoke to the children of the school.
“Root Institute is an oasis of peace and tranquility, like a pure land within the environmental chaos of Bodhgaya,” reported kagyuoffice.org, the Karmapa’s official website. “His Holiness the Karmapa’s teaching after the Monlam at the Institute, established by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, has become an annual tradition, a special event eagerly awaited by his Western students. When His Holiness enters the cozy shrine room, it feels like the Buddha has come home to his sitting room, in marked contrast to the vast space of the Monlam Pavilion which seats 10,000.” You can read the entire article “Mahamudra Arises Spontaneously” on the Karmapa’s website.
His Holiness the Karmapa greeting Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Root Institute, Bodhgaya, India, January 31, 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), an organization dedicated to preserving Mahayana Buddhism through offering the Buddha’s authentic teachings and to facilitating reflection, meditation, practice and the opportunity to actualize and directly experience the Buddha’s teachings. Sign up to receive news and updates.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche with the children from the Ngari Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, Sera Monastery, India, January 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
In January, Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave many oral transmissions and teachings to school children from the Ngari Institute of Buddhist Dialectics in Ladakh, India. The school was set up by the monks of Ngari Khangtsen at Sera Je Monastery in South India. The children were brought to Sera Je for the recent Jangchup Lamrim teachings by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Rinpoche, through the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund, is offering food to all the children (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) this year. The cost is 10,000,000 rs ( US$15,873). This is the second year that Rinpoche has been able to make this offering.
The children at the Ngari Institute are orphans or have come from very poor families. They follow the standard government educational curriculum during the day and learn about Tibetan Buddhism and culture during after-school hours.
Rinpoche’s assistant Ven. Roger Kunsang reported that the children have memorized many prayers and Lama Chöpa and “they know all the tunes!” (See video below.)
The Mahabodhi Stupa with gold offering on the pinnacle, Bodhgaya, India, January 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
“Every time you look at holy objects – pictures of the Buddha, statues, scriptures, stupas – they plant the seed of liberation and enlightenment in your mental continuum. So every time you look at them they purify your mind. They plant the seed of enlightenment, which includes all the causes to achieve enlightenment. How? When you look at them they plant a seed or positive imprint on your mental continuum so that later when you meet Buddhadharma, either in this life or in future lives, you are able to understand the words and the meaning of the teachings. From that, you are able to practice the meaning of the Dharma you have understood, which causes you to cease the gross and subtle defilements by actualizing the path and then your mental continuum becomes omniscient mind. This is what is meant when we say that by seeing holy objects it plants the seed of enlightenment on the mind – it contains the whole path from guru devotion and the three principles up to the two stages of tantra and enlightenment. Seeing holy objects makes us actualize all of this as a result. This is the effect we get from seeing them and this is how they cause us to achieve enlightenment.”
– Lama Zopa Rinpoche, from “Why Holy Object Are Precious and Wish-fulfilling,” posted on fpmt.org
Learn more about Lama Zopa Rinpoche, spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), and Rinpoche’s vision for a better world. Sign up to receive news and updates.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche arriving at Maitreya School, a project of Root Institute, Bodhgaya, January 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
“My most dear, most kind, most precious, wish-fulfilling one,
“… You are so precious, so kind, so dear and so wish-fulfilling just like a flower bud about to gradually blossom and to shine, giving great happiness and peace to your family and your parents, who are most kind and precious to you. Not only that, but also giving happiness to your neighbors, society, country, and to the whole world and universe.
“There is not only this universe; there are numberless universes. This is even mentioned by scientists, as well as by Buddha. So you are bringing great happiness and peace to all the beings in the numberless universes – to the numberless human beings and the numberless animals in the numberless universes. So there are all kinds of beings that we don’t see at this moment. They have their own world according to their mind, but some people can see them – especially omniscient ones and those with clairvoyance, who can see the different worlds and the different beings, according to their view and also through meditation.
“Besides the future, even now you are giving so much happiness to your family by not harming others and not giving problems, and by giving happiness to others, who are numberless. This is the best way to fulfill all your wishes and bring happiness. Even if you don’t think that way, it just happens.
“This is the real purpose of living. This is the best meaning of life and this is the root of our happiness. In this way you can fill up the world with happiness – not only your own family, but the whole world. So you are in this school to bring happiness to the world; you are in this school to learn to make the whole world happy, besides your family.
“Thank you very much. I hope to see you soon.
“With big love and prayer…”
– Lama Zopa Rinpoche, from a letter written to the children of Tara Redwood School in Soquel, California, recently posted on the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive
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 Rinoche in front of the new bus that serves Maitreya School students and the children who are part of the Tara Children’s Project, Root Institute, Bodhgaya, January 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
“As soon as your object of concern changes from yourself to someone else, your heart is released from the bondage of the self-cherishing thought. As soon as you change the object of your cherishing, there is peace in your heart.”
– Lama Zopa Rinpoche, from the book Door to Satisfaction, published by Wisdom Publications
Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), an organization dedicated to preserving Mahayana Buddhism through offering the Buddha’s authentic teachings and to facilitating reflection, meditation, practice and the opportunity to actualize and directly experience the Buddha’s teachings. Sign up to receive news and updates.
His Holiness the Karmapa and Lama Zopa Rinpoche walking from Maitreya School to Root Institute, Bodhgaya, India, January 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
“Each one of us is responsible for all other living beings’ happiness, besides our own. As a result, your loving kindness is the most wish-fulfilling thing in life, more precious than anything else in this world. That makes for a most satisfying, fulfilling life.”
– Lama Zopa Rinpoche, from the “Lam-Rim Topics: Compassion” page on “Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Online Advice Book,” created by 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.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama blessing a giant Padmasambhava thangka, Sera Monastery, India, December 29, 2013. Photo copyright Rio Helmi/Jangchup Lamrim Teaching Organizing Committee.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche greeting His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Photo copyright Rio Helmi/Jangchup Lamrim Teaching Organizing Committee.
During the recent Jangchub Lamrim teachings at Sera Monastery, His Holiness the Dalai Lama blessed a giant Padmasambhava thangka which was sponsored by the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund.
The impressive thangka, which with its brocade board measures 90-feet (27-meters) wide by 70-feet (23-meters) high, took two years to make and was completed in 2013. It is for the Guru Rinpoche Bum Tsog (100,000 tsog offerings) in Nepal.
You are welcome to donate any amount to the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund:
Mahabodhi Temple and grounds at night, Bodhgaya, India, January 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
“I think you are very fortunate to be able to come to Bodhgaya, where a thousand buddhas will descend, place their holy feet, display holy deeds, and achieve enlightenment. Guru Shakyamuni Buddha is the fourth of the thousand buddhas. The rest of the buddhas will descend here and will also display the twelve deeds, and the holy deed, achieving enlightenment.
“There is a place in Bodhgaya called the Vajra Seat. This ground is blessed. Before becoming enlightened, Buddha blessed this ground so it would not be destroyed or cracked, but would stay firm. It is said that there are no earthquakes in Bodhgaya because it is blessed by Buddha, and also that this will be the last place to exist when the world ends.
“On top of receiving the blessings from this holy place, where already four buddhas have descended, so many other enlightened beings, yogis, and great bodhisattvas have come here to do pilgrimage, to pray, and to bless this place.
“It is very good while you’re here to make as many circumambulations and prayers as you can under the bodhi tree and inside the temple in front of the Buddha. Even though it is said that the bodhi tree has been cut down three times, it has the same roots as at the time of the Buddha. …”
— Lama Zopa Rinpoche, advice given to a group of Russian students on the benefits of doing practice in Bodhgaya from the “Lama Zopa Rinpoche Online Advice Book” on the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive
Lama Zopa Rinpoche doing korwa at the Mahabodhi Temple, Bodhgaya, India, January 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
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.