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Lama Zopa Rinpoche News and Advice
Lama Zopa Rinpoche praying at Kachoe Dechen Ling, Aptos, California, US, November 11, 2013. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
“[Late Sunday night] Lama Zopa Rinpoche did many prayers for all those who have died in the Philippines, Vietnam and also Somalia (Vajrasattva, Ksitigarbha and later planning to do the Eight Prayers to Benefit the Dead) as well as for all those still suffering and all beings,” shared Ven. Roger Kunsang, Rinpoche’s assistant and CEO of FPMT.
For on what to do for the dying and those who have died, visit FPMT’s page ”Essential Practices for the Time of Death.”
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 with recently consecrated statues, Kachoe Dechen Ling, California, October 23, 2013. Photo by Ven. Thubten Kunsang.
Lama Zopa: You don’t have to feel alone. There are numberless Buddhas and Bodhisattvas always with you. They understand you with compassion.
– From Ven. Roger Kunsang’s Twitter page, posted on September 7, 2013
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 Rinpoche watching a live webstream of His Holiness the Dalai Lama teaching in New York City, Kachoe Dechen Ling, California, October 18, 2013. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Lama Zopa: Buddha has the most qualities, but it is every single sentient being who is most kind.
– From Ven. Roger Kunsang’s Twitter page, posted on November 7, 2013
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.
“The initial reason why people come to a Dharma center is not for the food but for the teachings and meditations; they are a little bored with the lives they have and are looking for something new. However, the conditions at the center, and especially the food, are a very important support for the teachings and meditations. Sometimes in the past when I would teach on impermanence, the hells and the eight worldly dharmas, people would get scared and leave; but if the food was good, they would stay. That’s one way to keep them!
So I will explain a short meditation for cooks.” …
Lama Zopa Rinpoche circumambulating the stupa in the backyard of Kachoe Dechen Ling, California, November 2013. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
“The stupa in the backyard of Kachoe Dechen Ling, Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s home in California, was built for Rinpoche’s dog – called ‘Om Mani Padme Hum’ – to circumambulate,” shared Ven. Roger Kunsang, Rinpoche’s long-time assistant. “Rinpoche was very skillful to not mention it was the for the dog until the stupa was finished.”
You can read Rinpoche’s advice on circumambulation, featured in Mandala July-September 2009, to learn more about this powerful practice for accumulating merit and purifying negativities.
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 choosing flower offerings for Kachoe Dechen Ling, California, September 21, 2013. Photo by Ven. Thubten Kunsang.
Watch video of Lama Zopa Rinpoche shopping for flower offerings. Kachoe Dechen Ling, Rinpoche’s house in California, has many holy objects surrounded by beautiful and carefully arranged flower offerings. In this video, Rinpoche walks around a garden center with some of the flowers he’s picked out.
You can watch more videos of Rinpoche on “Lama Zopa Rinpoche Video” 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 Rinpoche doing prayers, sitting on the floor in his room at Kachoe Dechen Ling, Aptos, California, November 2, 2013. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
“Lama Zopa: you can study Dharma a long time but if you don’t give up attachment you’re not practicing Dharma … Cause of happiness.”
– From Ven. Roger Kunsang’s Twitter page, posted on September 7, 2013
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.
The Sera Lachi monks. Photo courtesy of the Sera Lachi Facebook page.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche was very pleased to offer, through the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund, $US100,000 toward the various projects Sera Lachi is undertaking. Sera Lachi is made up of Sera Je and SeraMey Monasteries and this donation benefits both monasteries and the 6,000 monks studying at between them.
After receiving this offering, the administration of Sera Lachi responded: “We are praying that you and every single member of your organization will have a happy, prosperous, joyful and sound health in the years ahead. We also pray that the teachings of His Eminence Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche will reach every sentient being and help them to find happiness in their living.”
Sera Lachi is involved in many much-needed projects, including:
- Taking care of the palaces of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Panchen Rinpoche as well as the main temple, murals, etc.
- Under advice of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Sera Lachi is building a new compound near Old Palace (where His Holiness the Dalai Lama had stayed while his permanent residence was being built) for holding Dharma awareness programs for lay people along with a Library.
- Due to deterioration of electrical supplies there are frequent and long power outages at the monasteries. Additionally, the existing transformers (electrical conduits) are old and in very poor condition, thus posing great danger to human lives during monsoon and power fluctuations. Because of this, Sera Lachi has plans to replace the old transformers that frequently break and cannot serve the growing needs of the Sera community.
- The tarred roads of Sera compound are damaged and new ones need to be laid. In addition, interlock bricks are needed in the foregrounds of Main Temple which holds public programs and is also where monks study. Sera Lachi plans to attend to these needs.
- Sera Lachi is building a new shop, canteen and guesthouse for generating future sources of income for the monasteries. This involves 113 solar lamps to cover the major streets which will enable the monks and visitors to move around in the night during the frequent power outages.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche was extremely happy to make this offering– Sera Lachi has been in existence for the last 600 years and is one of the most important learning universities of Tibetan Buddhism in the world. This offering directly supports the current and future monks who will be working so diligently to study the Dharma and preserve the Mahayana tradition.
Please rejoice in this offering. You are welcome to help support the projects Lama Zopa Rinpoche deems beneficial by making a donation of any amount to the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund:
Lama Zopa Rinpoche blessing mantras, Kachoe Dechen Ling, California, October 21, 2013. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
FPMT spiritual director Lama Zopa Rinpoche blessed the mantras to go into some statues “just after lunch – night time, 7:30 p.m.,” said Ven. Roger Kunsang, Rinpoche’s assistant and CEO of FPMT. “Dinner’s around midnight or after.”
Vens. Tsering, Sangpo and Sherab with Rinpoche, Kachoe Dechen Ling, October 21, 2013. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Vens. Tsering, Sangpo and Sherab rolled the mantras for the statues offered during a long life puja and set up the consecration ceremony with Rinpoche.
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 Ven. Roger Kunsang arriving at Land of Medicine Buddha, California, September 21, 2013. Photo by Chris Majors.
From Ven. Roger Kunsang:
Kachoe Dechen Ling, Aptos, California, October 31, 2013 —
Sunday, October 13, 5 p.m., Rinpoche is giving the Amitabha long life initiation in San Jose at Gyalwa Gyatso Buddhist Center. Good timing as usually initiations with Rinpoche are late-night events or even all-night events. As this is a long life initiation, it should be given in the morning. Well, it started in the morning, at about 10 a.m., and with no break for lunch, it was still going into the evening. All the students attending seemed happy and relaxed even though they missed lunch. Rinpoche taught throughout the day, and only when evening came did he start the initiation … and finished it quite quickly!
As Rinpoche always says the main benefit is in the lam-rim/motivation prior to the initiation. His Holiness the Dalai Lama often says the same. One of the main reasons for giving the Kalachakra initiation, His Holiness says, is to get a lot of people in one place to hear the lam-rim teachings that happen prior to giving the Kalachakra. “[It’s] my business,” His Holiness says. “I offer Kalachakra initiation to get as many people here as possible for the lam-rim. If I just offer the lam-rim, most won’t come, just the Sangha.”
Rinpoche started the preparation at about 8:30 a.m. At around 10:30 a.m., the motivation for the initiation started. At around 6 p.m., Rinpoche had been sitting without food for nearly 10 hours, so I cut up a banana and offered it to Rinpoche while he was teaching. (We have to be careful of Rinpoche’s sugar level going to low.) Rinpoche ate two small slices and quickly continued the initiation.
Rinpoche was giving the Amitabha initiation sitting on a chair, the same aspect as Maitreya. Rinpoche did this because the initiation was given to him by His Eminence Chogye Trichen Rinpoche, one of the main high lamas of the Sakya tradition, while sitting in a chair. His Holiness Dujom Rinpoche, the main high lama of the Nyingma tradition, gave the initiation to Chogye Trichen Rinpoche while sitting in a chair. Sitting in a chair giving the initiation is part of this tradition, and actually, most of the people at Gyalwa Gyatso Center were receiving the initiation sitting in chairs!
Lama Zopa Rinpoche preparing for Amitabha long life initiation at Gyalwa Gyatso Buddhist Center, California, October 13, 2013. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
In the late ‘80s or early ‘90s, Lama Zopa Rinpoche was giving the Heruka Body Mandala commentary at Vajrapani Institute in California and was to give the Amitabha initiation later in Texas where student Dr. Chu Nan Lai and the Chinese community there had requested the initiation. After finishing at Vajrapani, Rinpoche said to me near the end of the Heruka commentary, “I have to receive the Amitabha initiation before I can give it!” His Eminence Chogye Trichen Rinpoche was teaching in Boston at the time, so Rinpoche said he would request the initiation from Rinpoche so he could give it in Texas.
The difficulty was that there was very little time (a few days) before Rinpoche had to give the initiation in Texas and we had so much luggage (mostly texts) and there was only Rinpoche and me. It was complicated for a number of reasons, mainly because arrangements were last minute. So this was the plan: I made the arrangement for Rinpoche to fly alone across the US to Boston where at the airport Tim McNeill was to pick up Rinpoche and drive straight to where Chogye Trichen Rinpoche was waiting to give the initiation to Rinpoche. As soon as the initiation was finished, Tim had to drive Rinpoche straight to the airport in Boston and then Rinpoche alone would board the flight to Houston, Texas where I would meet Rinpoche. I wrote all the details down for Rinpoche as Rinpoche had not flown alone before. I was nervous about doing this, but there seemed no choice.
Amitabha Buddha thangka. Image courtesy of FPMT Foundation Store.
The next day it all happened. Rinpoche flew to Boston and arrived in the morning. The initiation happened immediately, and as soon as it finished, Rinpoche was driven to the airport and on the flight from Boston to Houston, Texas. I was in Houston waiting at the airport with Chui Nan Lai and many students for Rinpoche to arrive on his flight. It was late night and Rinpoche was on the last flight (in fact, the airport was closing). The flight landed and everyone came off. But there was no Rinpoche. People got worried, but I said its OK as Rinpoche is always the last off the flight because he always waits till everyone else leaves. We waited. I was getting worried, so we asked the flight attendant, and she said there was no Tibetan lama on the flight! Then we spoke to another agent and she checked what happened. She said something happened in Cincinnati as Rinpoche had to change flights there. (This was the part I was worried about, but I had given Rinpoche a note explaining the details of the transit, so was hoping it would be OK.) Rinpoche had missed his connection in Cincinnati and had been put on a later flight and that flight was landing now in another airport on the other side of Houston.
We all rushed and drove across the city hoping to get there in time to meet the flight. When we arrived, the flight had landed and the airport was closing, but there was no Rinpoche in sight! Students split up and went in different directions searching for the lost Rinpoche who had to give the newly acquired Amitabha initiation the next day. We couldn’t find Rinpoche anywhere … so strange! So we went outside the airport to look. I went into the park close by. Now it was late at night, so dark … small nervous freak-out happening … but suddenly I came across Rinpoche sitting cross legged in the dark under a bush! I was very relieved, but at the same time couldn’t help but ask Rinpoche why he hadn’t stayed in the airport where we could find him easily; we were all really worried. Rinpoche said simply, “You found me didn’t you!”
Next day the initiation happened and all were very happy.
Rinpoche and I were then scheduled to fly to Nepal for the November course. This was at the end of a long international teaching tour. Actually, it began several years before (when Lama Yeshe passed away) and hadn’t stopped. It just went on and on. From one center to another, we barely had two or three days between centers; it was a really grueling, hard day’s night that never ended; days and nights merged; weekends didn’t exist; years went by. I would always be asking Rinpoche to consider rest, to just take one day off, even a few hours at night, but Rinpoche would always ignore me. After some years, I asked Rinpoche what does “rest” mean to Rinpoche? Rinpoche said, “Abiding in virtue.” After that, I think I gave up on the rest issue and the phrase that immediately arose in my mind so vividly was “this is the bodhisattva’s way of life!”
Ven. Roger Kunsang, Land of Medicine Buddha, September 21, 2013. Photo by Chris Majors.
Anyway, we were now in Houston and Rinpoche said to me, “Maybe you need a little holiday.” I was really surprised to hear Rinpoche say this. It had been many years constantly on the road and suddenly Rinpoche was talking about me having a holiday. Rinpoche said we could stop in Hawaii on the way back to Nepal and stay two days at our center there. It was really hard to believe, but of course I made the arrangements. We arrived in Hawaii and the center directors Molly and Danny picked us up and we drove to the small center on the big island. It was supposed to be a relaxing time, but it got busy almost as soon as we arrived with pujas for people. Tormas had to be made, and I was the torma maker. So the weekend was busy. We were scheduled to leave on a flight Monday morning very early. Sunday evening, just after it got dark, Rinpoche said, “Oh! I forgot about Roger’s holiday, where shall we go? So we drove along the coast in the dark, and Danny and Molly pointed out the nice beaches as we drove, which you couldn’t see in the dark, and we returned to the center after 45 minutes. So that was the holiday. We left early the next morning. Rinpoche seemed very happy that Roger had had his holiday: 45 minutes’ drive in the dark. (I’m not complaining … it was just shorter than I thought and the lights were out.)
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, Land of Medicine Buddha, California, September 21, 2013. Photo by Chris Majors.
“Lama Zopa: when I am requesting someone to help a Dharma project, I am not only aiming to benefit the receivers but also the donors as well.”
– From Ven. Roger Kunsang’s Twitter page, posted on October 13, 2013
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 Rinpoche at long life puja, Land of Medicine Buddha, California, September 29, 2013. Photo by Chris Majors.
Lama Zopa: very important to write down what you want to practice at the time of your death. Otherwise death comes and u freak out!
Lama Zopa: what makes death very difficult – worldly concern … 8 worldly dharmas … attachment! What helps … Good heart!
– From Ven. Roger Kunsang’s Twitter page, posted on October 13, 2013, during the preliminary teaching before the Amitabha long life initiation at Gyalwa Gyatso Buddhist Center, California
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.