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Lama Zopa Rinpoche News and Advice
Lama Zopa Rinpoche on Bear Mountain, New York, US, July 2016. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Recently in July, Ogmin Jangchub Sishu Tsogpa, the association of former Kopan Monastery Sherpa monks and nuns living in New York, US, hosted a picnic for Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Bear Mountain State Park, which is about 50 miles (80 kilometers) up the Hudson River from New York City. Last year when Rinpoche was in New York, he also had a picnic with the Sherpa people there. New York City reportedly has the largest settlement of Sherpa people outside of Nepal and India, numbering 2,500. Rinpoche has a strong connection with the Sherpas as he shares that ethnic background, coming from the Solu Khumbu region of Nepal. Ven. Roger Kunsang, FPMT CEO and assistant to Lama Zopa Rinpoche, was at the picnic and shared this report with Mandala:
On our arrival at the park, we went to the top of the mountain and there was an incredible view of the lake and forests below. Then the Sherpas offered tea. Out of nowhere came a group of Korean nuns and monks. They seemed to know of Rinpoche and wanted to make offerings and prostrations. Then Rinpoche went down to the lake to have lunch. After lunch, we rented a boat and zig-zagged back and forth across the lake, blessing it and all the creatures in it. We sprinkled blessed water that had thousands of mantras recited on it. And also blessed the lake with a Padmasambhava relic and by holding the blessed power cylinder above the water (it has so many powerful mantras inside).
Korean monks and nuns making prostrations to Lama Zopa Rinpoche on top of Bear Mountain, New York, US, July 2016. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche and his attendant Ven. Sangpo Sherpa with a group of Korean monks and nuns on top of Bear Mountain, New York, US, July 2016. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Walking next to the lake at Bear Mountain State Park, New York, US, July 2016. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
After blessing the lake, Rinpoche continued with an oral transmission from last year – three more pages of the Vajra Cutter Sutra. Rinpoche didn’t finish but he said he will continue next year. Prior to the lung, which took about five or six minutes, the motivation, which was on the lam-rim, took about two hours. It included teachings on how to educate children, since the Sherpa children are Buddhist, so their life can become highly meaningful and worthwhile, and explaining, among other things, about offerings.
Rinpoche said that one is not just placing offerings on an altar but actually offering, thinking of the Buddha and offering correctly to the Buddha. “This makes life so worthwhile. Incredible, the benefits of offering – beyond our concept! You get numberless great merit from just seeing the image of the Buddha, which I have explained many times. Unbelievable infinite merit! So actually offering to the Buddha, make offerings to the Buddha is far greater merit. Can you imagine! I gave the example many times, hard to imagine the infinite great merit.”
Then the Sherpas offered a dance and sang a song of offering long life to Rinpoche, which they did very nicely.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaching at the Sherpa picnic at Bear Mountain State Park, New York, US, July 2016. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Sherpa dancers at the picnic at Bear Mountain State Park, New York, US, July 2016. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Group photo from the picnic at Bear Mountain State Park, New York, US, July 2016. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Then they all came up for blessings from Rinpoche. Rinpoche said as you take blessings from the powerful mantras, etc., think that you have purified all the negative karmas created since beginingless time. All received blessing strings, Namgyälma mantras, which has so many benefits, and bodhi seeds from the bodhi tree in Bodhgaya, which Rinpoche said to eat straight away.
More information, photos and updates about FPMT spiritual director Lama Zopa Rinpoche can be found on Rinpoche’s webpage on FPMT.org. If you’d like to receive news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and FPMT via email, sign up to FPMT News.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Dzongdrakha, Paro, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche visited many sacred places connected with Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) during his June 2016 trip to the Buddhist Kingdom of Bhutan. In addition to the holy sites of Guru Rinpoche’s body and speech, Rinpoche visited Dzongdrakha, the place of Guru Rinpoche’s mind. According to Lonely Planet, “Dzongdrakha is one of several local sites where Guru Rinpoche suppressed local demons …. A string of four chapels and a large chorten perch on the cliff face.”
Dzongdrakha, Paro, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Dzongdrakha, Paro, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Dzongdrakha, Paro, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Dzongdrakha, Paro, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
If you’d like to include prayers to Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) in your practice, FPMT Education Services offers PDFs of three prayers:
- Requesting Prayer to Padmasambhava
- Prayer to Clear Obstacles on the Path
- Illuminating the Obstacles and Accomplishing the Wishes
You can read all of our blog posts about Rinpoche’s recent trip to Bhutan 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.
The road up to Dongkarla Lhakhang, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang. The road was completed only a few years ago.
Towards the end of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s visit to Bhutan in June, Rinpoche went to Dongkarla Lhakhang, one of the highest holy sites in Bhutan at an elevation of 11,975 feet (3,650 meters).
View from Dongkarla Lhakhang, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche visiting Dongkarla Lhakhang, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
The temple was built in the 15th century by Terton Tshering Dorji and houses sacred relics, “including ‘Neychhen,’ a statue of Buddha brought to Bhutan by Guru Rinpoche, which was later discovered by Terton Pema Lingpa in Bumthang,” according to the Bhutan Observer. Dongkarla Lhakhang received significant damage from the September 2011 earthquake in Bhutan, but has been slowly rebuilt.
Dongkarla Lhakhang, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Dongkarla overlooks some of the highest mountain passes of Bhutan, Sikkim and Tibet. Lama Zopa Rinpoche offered an incense puja during his visit.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Ven. Thubten Tendar doing an incense puja at Dongkarla Lhakhang, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche offering an incense puja at Dongkarla Lhakhang, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Damien van Effenterre.
Ven. Roger Kunsang during the incense puja at Dongkarla Lhakhang, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Damien van Effenterre.
View from Dongkarla Lhakhang, elevation 11,975 (3,650 meteres), Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche offering blessing strings and Namgyälma protections at Drakarpo, the holy site of Guru Rinpoche’s body, Paro, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
In June 2016, Lama Zopa Rinpoche spent most of his time visiting holy sites in Bhutan. Rinpoche was very taken by the country because of its unique policies and values, including the coining and promotion of the concept of Gross National Happiness; its accomplishment of carbon neutrality and negativity; a total ban on hunting; no use of plastic bags; and the 2010 Tobacco Control Act, which bans the “the cultivation, harvesting, production, and sale of tobacco and tobacco products” as well as smoking tobacco in most places. The Tobacco Control Act “recognizes the harmful effects of tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke on both spiritual and social health” and reflects Padmasambhava’s teachings on the effects of tobacco smoke.
The country is the only Buddhist kingdom in the world and Dharma greatly influences how it is run. Also, any casual observer will notice how Dharma is embedded into daily life, with holy objects incorporated into the public sphere. “Rinpoche is keen to give the place as much exposure as possible,” Ven. Roger Kunsang, CEO of FPMT and Rinpoche’s assistant, emailed during the visit.
Paro Taktsang (Tiger’s Nest), Bhutan, May 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
The beauty and inspiration Western Dharma practitioners find while visiting Bhutan is not without complications. Long-time student and FPMT-registered teacher Renate Ogilvie, who visited Bhutan in 2011 at the official invitation of the then prime minister and later in 2012 and 2013, offered her account of this country facing the pressures of Western influence:
“Bhutan is undergoing rapid changes as it has begun to open up to the glittering samsara of the West. The Dharma, which is still practiced and taught in a predominantly traditional monastic way, will eventually be influenced and changed in turn.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche visiting Tashichö Dzong, which contains the seat of the Bhutanese government as well as a monastery and 30 temples, Thimphu, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Tashichö Dzong Monastery in Thimphu, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
“Following an invitation by the then prime minister, I visited a number of schools and colleges across the country to give talks about Buddhism and life in the West. Lama Zopa Rinpoche had given me specific additional teachings about the nature and preciousness of the Dharma. This was received with great courtesy, but another theme slowly emerged as the students overcame their shyness and began to offer their opinions.
“Speaking in English, the language now preferred by the young, they described traditional Bhutan, the local language Dzongkha, and the olden ways as old-fashioned and unrelated to their life, and Buddhism as the domain of grandmothers and the clergy. The students were astonished to hear that Buddhism in the West is considered not only modern, but also a pioneering form of spiritual movement in a sea of materialism.
Prayer wheels at Kyichu Lhakhang, Bhutan, May 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche watching a young boy covering his mouth in respect coming towards him, Paro, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
“They were too polite to mention it, but they were clearly surprised that a lay person (and woman!) like myself was also a teacher of the Dharma. Even more surprising and fascinating to them was the idea that the teachings of the Buddha could be used for everyday life problems, and that transforming the mind would set them free.
Dzongdrakha, the place of Guru Rinpoche’s mind, Paro, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
“The change in Bhutan is unstoppable. During several subsequent visits to that hauntingly beautiful country, I witnessed the ever more intense embrace of the doubtful blessings of the West. There is a real need to prevent the Dharma from gradually becoming a respected but dusty irrelevancy for the new generations of Bhutan. Several precious teachers are already setting up educational centers with comprehensive Dharma study programs for monks and nuns, and increasingly open to lay students.
“In addition, Lama Zopa Rinpoche is now stressing the necessity of integrating the ethical aspects of the Dharma in the general school curriculum of Bhutan by using the principles developed by Lama Yeshe for Universal Education. This is a potentially major FPMT project that will need funds and energy.”
Lama Zopa Rinpoche giving a talk and reciting mantras to people living in a clinic who are waiting for kidney transplants or who are on dialysis, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Mandala brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings and events from nearly 160 FPMT centers, projects and services around the globe. If you like what you read on Mandala, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche circumambulates his rootop veranda altar, Taiwan, May 2016. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
In May 2016, Lama Zopa Rinpoche made a private visit to Taiwan. Over his short stay, Rinpoche converted the rooftop veranda of Shakyamuni Center, where he was staying, into a beautiful practice space for circumambulation. A table with a large main stupa and many tsa-tsas was set up and Rinpoche went out a few times to shop for offerings, including potted flowers and trees. Rinpoche circumambulated the table a few times each day.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche circumambulates the rootop veranda altar at night, Taiwan, May 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s rootop veranda altar, Taiwan, May 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Rinpoche consistently emphasizes the benefits of circumambulation and the power of holy objects, and takes great interest in illustrating how holy objects can be part of our daily lives. At Kachoe Dechen Ling, Rinpoche’s house in California, for example, stupas were installed according to Rinpoche’s advice so that they can be walked around when talking on the phone and as part of the daily comings and goings.
A stupa surrounded by other holy objects and offerings at Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s house in Aptos, California, US, 2015. Rinpoche also has mantras above the doorway to bless anyone who walks through.
You can read the complete advice “How to Make Talking on the Telephone Beneficial” online as well as Rinpoche’s advice on the “Benefits of Having Many Holy Objects.”
Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Advice on Circumambulation is a short practice that can be done to make one’s practice of circumambulating holy objects as powerful as possible.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche with a Bhutanese family in front of Rinpung Dzong, Bhutan, June 2016. Photos by Ven. Roger Kunsang. The mother of the family is Tibetan and took care of Rinpoche many years ago when he was a boy studying in Tibet.
On June 4, Lama Zopa Rinpoche went on pilgrimage to Jangsarbu Lhakhang, a small temple behind the Rinpung Dzong in Paro that is considered a sacred site connected to Guru Rinpoche’s holy speech.
“Rinpoche was led through a tiny village into a small old gompa,” said Ven. Holly Ansett assistant to Ven. Roger Kunsang, CEO of FPMT, Inc. “Inside was a large statue of Shakyamuni Buddha that had been carried from Tibet to Bhutan. It was meant to go inside the Rinpung Dzong, but the statue got stuck in a crevice not far away. It is said it spoke, saying, ‘This is the place I want to stay.’ A gompa, Jangsarbu Lhakhang, was built around the statue to house it. The gompa also houses a copy of the Prajñaparamita in 8,000 Verses that we were told was a terma and had been written by nagas and dakinis. The writing was exceptional and in pure gold.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche in the Jangsarbu Lhakhang gompa, Bhutan, June 2016
A wall in the Jangsarbu Lhakhang gompa, Bhutan, June 2016
“Rinpoche did prayers and offered pearl necklaces and khatas to the holy statue. Afterward, Rinpoche stayed in the gompa until it was very late, giving teachings on emptiness and compassion and the oral transmission of Buddha’s name mantra.”
Rinpung Dzong, Bhutan, June 2016
Many of the sites Rinpoche visited in Bhutan have a connections to Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava). If you’d like to include prayers to Guru Rinpoche in your practice, FPMT Education Services offers PDFs of three prayers:
- Requesting Prayer to Padmasambhava
- Prayer to Clear Obstacles on the Path
- Illuminating the Obstacles and Accomplishing the Wishes
Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Pomaia, Italy, June 2014. Photo by Ven. Thubten Kunsang.
On July 6, the 81st birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama is being celebrated around the world by Tibetans and Western students of Dharma. Lama Zopa Rinpoche is a devoted student of His Holiness and service to His Holiness is the primary aim of FPMT.
“I thought that it would be important especially for Western people who had become Buddhist to remember the great kindness they had received from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Padmasambhava, the Dharma Kings, Shantarakshita and the Tibetan people as a whole,” Lama Zopa Rinpoche said, explaining his motivation for composing the prayer “Remembering the Kindness of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan People.” Rinpoche wrote the short prayer in Australia in June 2011, while recovering from manifesting a stroke. Rinpoche has advised that the prayer be recited following the “Prayer That Spontaneously Fulfills All Wishes” (Tong nyi nying je …) at the end of dedication prayers.
“While thinking how important it is, in addition to providing whatever help to Tibet that they can give, for these Westerners to at least direct their thoughts and wishes to the welfare of the Tibetan people, this prayer came to my mind,” Rinpoche said. “I composed it especially for the success of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s wishes, and in particular for the Tibetan people, and for there to be perfect peace and happiness in the world and for all sentient beings to achieve enlightenment.”
The prayer concludes:
“Our Refuge and Savior, the Supreme One: His Holiness the Dalai Lama
And the Tibetan people have been so kind to us!
Remembering this we make the following dedicating prayers:
May all His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s wishes be successful immediately;
May the Snow Land of Tibet achieve pure freedom
And develop the Buddha Dharma even more than before in Tibet;
And may all mother transmigratory beings achieve enlightenment quickly!”
You can find this prayer, His Holiness’ long life prayer, the “Prayer That Spontaneously Fulfills All Wishes” and others in the booklet “Prayers for His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Tibet.”
His Holiness the Dalai Lama addressing Lama Zopa Rinpoche and an audience of geshes and Sangha, during his visit to Italy in June 2014. His Holiness has a white cloth on his head because the weather was very warm. Photo by Ven. Thubten Kunsang.
More information, photos and updates about FPMT spiritual director Lama Zopa Rinpoche can be found on Rinpoche’s webpage. If you’d like to receive news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche via email, sign up to receive FPMT News.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Geshe Tenzin Khenrab (left) and Ven. Tendar walking down to Drakarpo in Paro, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
On June 3, Lama Zopa Rinpoche made pilgrimage to Drakarpo in Paro, Bhutan, a sacred temple connected to the holy body of Guru Rinpoche.
“With help, Lama Zopa Rinpoche climbed down a steep mountain to Drakarpo, a site regarded as the holy place of Guru Rinpoche’s body and is one of the most important hidden sacred places of Guru Rinpoche,” said Ven. Holly Ansett assistant to Ven. Roger Kunsang, CEO of FPMT, Inc. “At the base of the mountain, there were many Bhutanese people on pilgrimage who, when seeing Rinpoche, gathered around Rinpoche for blessings. Rinpoche offered everyone blessing strings and small Namgyälma protections, explaining the incredible benefits of the Namgyälma mantra. This went on from some time.
Looking down on the holy site of Guru Rinpoche’s body, Paro, Bhutan, June 2016. Photos by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche offering blessing strings and Namgyälma protections at Drakarpo
Many Bhutanese gathered to receive blessing strings and Namgyälma protections from Rinpoche at Drakarpo
“After that, Rinpoche walked down the path around the mountain about a quarter way around. Rinpoche was led into a tiny gompa that hangs off the edge of a cliff. Inside is very small cave where Guru Rinpoche meditated. There were handprints of Guru Rinpoche on the rocks and we were told that the statue that was inside had once miraculously spoken. Rinpoche did prayers and offered a pearl garland to the statue.
View of the Paro Valley from Drakarpo
Lama Zopa Rinopche doing prayers in front of a Guru Rinpoche statue that is said to have spoke, inside the tiny gompa at the holy site of Guru Rinpoche’s body
View of the tiny gompa at Draparko, which overlooks the Paro Valley, Bhutan
“After being requested, Rinpoche promised to help cover the cost of a small water tank to the help the meditators that live in that area have a source of water.
“On the way down, Rinpoche met one old yogi and three nuns who were doing retreat. They requested some advice and Rinpoche explained the importance of having the right motivation so that the retreat becomes virtuous.”
Lama Zopa Rinpoche gives a teaching on the importance of one’s motivation to yogi meditators he met at Drakarpo, the holy site of Guru Rinpoche’s body in Paro, Bhutan
Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche handing out blessing strings at a flower show, Paro, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
“In 1959, Lama Zopa Rinpoche escaped Pagri, Tibet, through Bhutan and from there was sent to Buxa in India. Rinpoche stayed in Bhutan about a week in the temple of Kyichu Lhakhang in Paro,” said Ven. Holly Ansett, executive assistant to the the CEO of FPMT, Inc., during her recent June 2016 travels with Rinpoche through Bhutan.
“When Rinpoche was there, some local Bhutanese came to know that a young rinpoche was staying there and went to ask for blessing strings. Rinpoche up to then had never given out blessing strings like this, but his attendant who was traveling with Rinpoche rushed to the market, bought the strings, and Rinpoche passed them out. Rinpoche had remarked that this was the beginning of him doing the actions of a lama.
“Rinpoche also recently reconnected with a Bhutanese family with whom he had a close connection. The mother of the family took care of Rinpoche when he was studying in Tibet. Rinpoche says she was like his mother and he would go to her house every month to do puja. She married a Bhutanese man, had four daughters, and now lives in Bhutan. The second youngest daughter, Kesang, met Rinpoche when Rinpoche was in Japan.”
Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche at the flower show in Paro, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
On June 6, Lama Zopa Rinpoche visited the beautiful annual flower exhibition in Paro, Bhutan, in front of the magnificent Rinpung Dzong in the gardens of the Kings Palace.
“Rinpoche walked around all the beautiful flower offerings, reciting the multiplying mantra and then doing the extensive flower offering practice,” said Ven. Holly Ansett assistant to Ven. Roger Kunsang, CEO of FPMT, Inc. “Rinpoche also spent some time reminding us that we were there not just to look at the flowers, but to offer them.”
The annual flower exhibition in Paro, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
The annual flower exhibition in Paro, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche and a young boy covering his mouth in respect, Paro, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
“At one point, a very small Bhutanese boy came up to Rinpoche and stood in front of Rinpoche for a long time, respectfully covering his mouth. He ran away and then came back. Rinpoche gave him a blessing string, and after that, many Bhutanese people who were visiting the flower show came up for blessings. The line became longer and longer, never ending until the exhibition closed and we ran out of blessing strings.”
People at the flower exhibition lining up to receive blessings from Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Paro, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
The line became longer and longer to receive blessings from Lama Zopa Rinpoche at the flower show, Paro, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
The annual flower exhibition in Paro, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
The annual flower exhibition with a view of Rinpung Dzong in Paro, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Dilgo Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche (left) and Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche (standing) at Satsam Chorten, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
On June 4, Dilgo Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche, the reincarnation of the previous Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, and Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche invited Lama Zopa Rinpoche for lunch at Satsam Chorten in Paro, Bhutan.
Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche is the previous Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche’s grandson and his spiritual heir. Dilgo Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche’s mother, Dechen Paldron, was also present.
After the previous Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche fled Tibet in the 1950s, he and his family were welcomed to Bhutan by the royal family. Over time, Rinpoche became revered throughout the country for his teachings and service to the Dharma.
“It was very enjoyable relaxed lunch,” shared Ven. Roger Kunsang, assistant to Lama Zopa Rinpoche and CEO of FPMT, Inc. “After lunch, Dilgo Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche took Rinpoche upstairs to where the actual skull of the previous Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche was kept.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche having lunch with Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche (left) and Dilgo Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche (center) at Satsam Chorten, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche receiving blessings from the actual skull of past life Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Satsam Chorten, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
“The previous Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche visited Kopan Monastery in the early days at Lama Yeshe’s invitation and gave a teaching on Lama Atisha’s Lamp on the Path to Enlightenment. Lama Zopa Rinpoche always expresses in amazement that Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche gave the teaching from beginning to end like he was reading a text – but he wasn’t, it just came from his holy mind.”
In the past, Dilgo Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche has come to bless the land for Buddha Maitreya Bodhgaya, a project to build a large statue of Maitreya in Bodhgaya, India, with His Holiness the Karmapa and Tai Situ Rinpoche.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Dilgo Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche and Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche at Satsam Chorten, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche in front of the 169-foot (52-meter) Buddha statue, Thimphu, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
On June 1, 2016, Lama Zopa Rinpoche visited Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan. Ven. Roger Kunsang, CEO of FPMT, Inc. and Rinpoche’s assistant, described the trip:
“On a mountain above Thimphu is an extraordinary 169-foot (52-meter) statue of Buddha Shakyamuni called Buddha Dordenma. We were fortunate to be traveling with someone who was very much involved in the building of the statue and who had made arrangements for Rinpoche to enter inside the base of the statue, where there is a beautiful gompa, and to meet the head monks and project director.
“Rinpoche led a very extensive seven-limb practice in front of the statue, spending a lot of time on rejoicing in those who had the idea to build the statue, the benefactors, and those who actually built it.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche doing prayers in front of Buddha statue in Thimbu, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
The Buddha Dordenma statue in Thimphu, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche touring the inside of the Buddha Dordenma statue, Thimphu, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
“Later in the day, Rinpoche went to Tashichö Dzong, a Buddhist monastery and castle reconstructed in 1641 and reestablished as the main seat of the Druk Desi (the secular rulers of Bhutan) and the summer residence of the monastic body headed by the Je Khenpo. It also houses the office of His Majesty the King of Bhutan, the cabinet and the council of ministers. The monastic system and religious institutions run alongside the government, as it was once in Tibet, when Dharma and the political system were fully integrated.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche visiting Tashichö Dzong with Geshe Tenzin Khenrab and students, Thimphu, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Abbott Lopen Sangay Dorji at Tashichö Dzong, Thimphu, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
“Rinpoche was given a tour of Tashichö Dzong, which has over 30 temples. There are some very important and old gompas inside Tashichö Dzong. While in Tashichö Dzong, Rinpoche met the Chief Abbott Khenpo, one of the five lopons (religious scholars and ministers) under the 70th Je Khenpo.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Tashichö Dzong with Geshe Tenzin Khenrab and students, Thimphu, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
“After that, Rinpoche went to the oldest monastery in Bhutan, Simtokha Dzong, built in 1629. When Rinpoche arrived, the monks were actually doing a puja for Rinpoche that had been sponsored by one student.
“Rinpoche offered pearl necklaces to a number of the very old and important statues in the gompa with prayers. Then, he recited ‘In Praise of Dependent Origination’ by Lama Tsongkhapa and protector prayers in front of the altar for the protectors.”
Lama Zopa Rinpoche visiting Simtokha Dzong with Geshe Tenzin Khenrab and Ven. Thubten Tendar, Thimphu, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Simtokha Dzong at night, Thimphu, Bhutan, June 2016. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.