Lama Zopa Rinpoche News and Advice

Lama Zopa Rinpoche at the 100 Million Mani retreat, Idgaa Choizinling Dratsang, Ganden Monastery, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, August 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche arrived in Mongolia earlier this week for the 100 Million Mani retreat organized by FPMT Mongolia. The retreat, which is being held at Idgaa Choizinling Dratsang, Gandan Monastery in Ulaanbaatar, began on August 17 and runs through September 18. This is the second year of the retreat. Rinpoche is teaching at the retreat August 27-September 1. 

Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaching at the 100 Million Mani retreat, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, August 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

Last year several hundred Mongolians and about 70 non-Mongolians attended the retreat, which was regarded as a complete success. A total of 108,939,500 mani mantras were recited. Rinpoche appeared very pleased with the retreat and requested that it be done every year.

Ganden Do Ngag Shedrup Ling, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, August 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

FPMT Mongolia has several centers and activities in Mongolia, including Ganden Do Ngag Shedrup Ling, the center located in central Ulaanbaatar, and Golden Light Sutra Center in Darkhan. FPMT Mongolia also oversees Drolma Ling Nunnery in Ulaanbaatar and several other socially focused programs.

You can find more stories and photos from the 100 Million Mani Retreat in Mongolia and on FPMT Mongolia on Mandala.

Mandala brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and FPMT activities, teachers and events from over 160 FPMT centers, projects and services around the globe. If you have news you would like to share, please let us know.

Most precious self-emanating statue of Chenrezig said to be the actual deity itself in Phakpa, Garsha Khandroling, India.

In July 2013 Lama Zopa Rinpoche engaged in retreat with Khadro-la and Tsenshap Serkong Rinpoche in the valley of Lahual, India, which is known by meditators as Garsha Khandroling, “Land of the Dakinis.”

The retreat took place in one of the holy places in Garsha, Phakpa (or Triloknath), a small village with an ancient temple that houses a self-emanating statue of Chenrezig said to be the actual deity itself.

During the retreat, Rinpoche committed to offer light to this statue for as long as the statue remains. The light is offered through a giant eighteen-gallon silver butter lamp which is in front of the statue.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche, through the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund, has just paid 27,000 Rs for this offering to continue through 2015. A Kopan monk carried the money offering on the way to attending the Kalachakra Initiation with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Ladakh and offered the money to the caretaker to ensure the light continues for another year. This will be an annual offering ensuring that the light never diminishes.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche explained the  importance of Phakpa and this Chenrezig statue to Ven. Sarah Thresher and others. She recalls:

The care taker of the statue and the giant butter lamp.

“Legend tells of a shepherd who came to the valley from Tibet. (Rinpoche says the shepherd was a holy being and Khandrola thinks he may have been an emanation of Tara). The shepherd would take the village goats up to a small lake in the mountains to graze but when the goats came back down to the village they had no milk. The village people began to suspect that the shepherd was taking the milk for himself, but this was not true, and the shepherd decided that the next time he went up the hill he would hide and watch to see what happened. What he saw was that Chenrezig would emerge from the lake and drink the goats’ milk.

“The shepherd approached Chenrezig and explained that he was being accused of taking the goats’ milk. He requested Chenrezig to please come down with him and tell the local people it was not true. Chenrezig agreed and told the shepherd to carry him on his back down to the village. Chenrezig said to the shepherd, “You may hear a noise as we are leaving but whatever happens don’t look back!” Sure enough, as they descended, the shepherd heard a loud sound but, ignoring Chenrezig’s advice, he looked behind and saw seven white men following. When these seven beings saw the shepherd they turned back and transformed into seven nagas or snakes that eventually merged into the hillside. (Rinpoche says that if the shepherd had not turned back these could have been more deities and there would have been more holy objects to liberate sentient beings but due to our karma that didn’t happen.)

“As the shepherd continued walking, Chenrezig became heavier and heavier, and by the time they reached the village, where there was a lot of conflict and fighting, Chenrezig became too heavy to carry. The shepherd then dropped Chenrezig who transformed into pure white marble. For this reason, it is said the statue is actually Chenrezig who has taken the form of a statue for us sentient beings. The shepherd also absorbed to a stone and both images, along with a black stone representation of Four-armed Mahakala with a naturally arising OM MANI PADME HUNG inscription at the back are housed in the small temple.

“Several miracles have been reported in connection with the Phakpa over the years, including the statue speaking and dripping with nectar. These days, a kind and gentle old Gelukpa monk takes care of the temple and pilgrims. He was appointed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and has been there for sixteen years. Rinpoche hopes that in the future more monks will settle and a small monastery will develop, the monks engaging in study and practice—particularly lam-rim—as well as performing pujas for the local people and pilgrims.

“Tibetans and Buddhists from the Himalayan regions come to Triloknath to pray and also to do Nyung-ne, Chenrezig fasting retreat. Rinpoche encouraged us to practice and dedicate as much as possible at the temple, explaining that all the prayers made to the Phakpa and shepherd’s image will be fulfilled. He also advised us to trek up to Omay Tso, the Milk Lake from which Chenrezig emerged. It is a steep and challenging 3-5 hour walk up the mountains and the water in the lake is white. This water descends down in a powerful stream and becomes the water supply for the village. Outside the temple taps also gush with white water. We all drank this and it was fresh, tasty and pure. It is said that even taking a few steps towards the Omay Tso is powerful.”

Written by Ven. Sarah Thresher with input from Lama Zopa Rinpoche, the help of Tushita staff and referring to “Garsha, Heart Land of Dakinis” published by Garsha Young Drukpa Association, Keylong, 2011.

You can learn more about the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund as well as the other Charitable Projects of FPMT.

You are welcome to contribute to this ongoing offering of light to this most precious Chenrezig statue:

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Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Geshe Tashi, resident geshe at Jamyang Buddhist Centre, visiting the the Tibetan Peace Garden next to the Imperial War Museum in London, UK, July 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche has offered much advice on creating peace in the world. You can find much of this advice posted on the “Lama Zopa Rinpoche Advice” page on fpmt.org. 

Rinpoche encourages students to recite the Golden Light Sutra to help create the causes of peace. Of its benefits, Rinpoche said, ”The holy Golden Light Sutra is the king of the sutras. It is extremely powerful and fulfills all one’s wishes, as well as bringing peace and happiness for all sentient beings, up to enlightenment. It is also extremely powerful for world peace, for your own protection and for the protection of the country and the world. Also, it has great healing power for people in the country.”

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 Buddha Amitabha Pure Land, Washington, US, April 2014. Photo Ven. Roger Kunsang.

“When you have in mind the thought that death can come today, if something suddenly happens, it is not a shock,” Lama Zopa Rinpoche instructs in his book Bodhisattva Attitude: How to Dedicate Your Life to Others. “It is not a shock at all because your mind is prepared. You have already trained your mind by thinking very strongly about death first thing every morning and keeping that awareness throughout the day. That helps you to be at peace and not have fear when you face a life-threatening problem or something similar.

“If your mind has not become Dharma because you haven’t trained in the thought of impermanence but instead have always thought, ‘I am going to live for a long time,’ and done all your activities with attachment to this life, then if something opposite to that suddenly happens and the reality of life – its impermanence – is shown, all of a sudden, while you are planning billions of things, you get an incredible shock.

“You may know Buddhism and have memorized the hundred volumes of the Buddha’s teachings (Kangyur) and the two hun­dred volumes of commentaries (Tengyur) and be able to explain and recite them by heart, but your mind has not thought about impermanence. You may know by heart all the root texts, the five great treatises, along with the tantric texts and commentar­ies and be able to explain them, but your mind has not thought of impermanence. Because you have been living your life with the concept of permanence, the day something happens and the reality of life is shown, it is a shock and there is incredible fear. Suddenly you see that you don’t want to die. It is not that you don’t want to die because you want to benefit sentient beings. I am not talking about that. You don’t want to die for fear of what will happen after death. You don’t want to die because of fear. You don’t want to lose this body. You don’t want to lose your possessions, property, belongings or family. Your mind is clinging to these things and because of that, there is great fear.

“Meditating on impermanence is the very beginning of Dharma, but look what happens if this meditation is left out or if you thought it wasn’t important because emptiness, shunyata or some tantric meditation was more important.”

You can read more from the chapter “The Teachings: Cutting the Concept of Permanence” from the book Bodhisattva Attitude: How to Dedicate Your Life to Others by Lama Zopa Rinpoche and published by the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive. 

Learn more about FPMT spiritual director Lama Zopa Rinpoche and his beneficial activities by visiting Rinpoche’s webpage, where you will find links to Rinpoche’s schedule, new advice, recent video, photos and more.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Ven. Sangpo at Buddha Amitabha Pure Land, Washington, US, April 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

“Calling the Guru from Afar” begins:

LA MA KHYEN
Lama, think of me.
LA MA KHYEN
Lama, think of me.
LA MA KHYEN
Lama, think of me.

SANG GYÄ KÜN GYI YE SHE DE CHHEN CHHÖ KUR RO CHIG
The wisdom of great bliss of all buddhas, one taste with the 
dharmakaya, 
DE NYI DRIN CHÄN LA MA KÜN GYI RANG ZHIN THAR THUG
Is itself the ultimate nature of all kind lamas.
LA MA CHHÖ KYI KU LA NYING NÄ SÖL WA DEB SO
I beseech you, Lama, dharmakaya,
DI CHHI BAR DO KÜN TU DRÄL ME JE SU ZUNG SHIG
Please guide me always without separation, in this life, future 
lives, and the bardo. …

FPMT Education Services offers an audio version of Lama Zopa Rinpoche chanting the long version of this profound and moving prayer. Education Services also makes available the prayer as a downloadable PDF booklet: “Calling the Guru from Afar and Practicing Guru Devotion with the Nine Attitudes.”

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 Lama Zopa Rinpoche News.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Vens. Sherab and Sangpo at Buddha Amitabha Pure Land, Washington, US, April 2014. Photo Ven. Roger Kunsang.

“I would say that compared to others, our lives have been most fortunate,” Lama Zopa Rinpoche instructs in his book Bodhisattva Attitude: How to Dedicate Your Life to Others. ”First of all, many of us have heard the heart of the Buddhadharma, the very essence of the 84,000 teachings of the Buddha, the very precious teaching on the stages of the path to enlightenment (lam-rim) many times. We have even heard this from His Holiness the Dalai Lama himself, who is the real living Chenrezig, the Compassion Buddha manifested in the human form of a monk – the aspect that can most perfectly guide us. Just that alone is most amazing and inexpressible. It is the most unbelievable, rare, fortunate and precious thing that could have happened to us this life.

“Then we have met many other great teachers and unbelievably qualified virtuous friends who preserve the whole entire Buddhadharma – the Lesser Vehicle, Mahayana Paramitayana and Mahayana Tantrayana teachings. Particularly, many of us older students have met and received teachings and initiations from Lama Yeshe, who was kinder than all the numberless past, present and future buddhas and whose holy name is extremely rare and difficult to express.

“So really, if we look at what has happened to us so far in this life, it is most amazing to have met many qualified virtuous friends who can reveal the complete path to enlightenment from their own experience. Can you imagine how most unbelievably fortunate our lives have been?”

You can read more from the chapter “The Teachings: Everything Depends on Your Attitude” from the book Bodhisattva Attitude: How to Dedicate Your Life to Others by Lama Zopa Rinpoche and published by the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive. 

Learn more about FPMT spiritual director Lama Zopa Rinpoche and his beneficial activities by visiting Rinpoche’s webpage, where you will find links to Rinpoche’s schedule, new advice, recent video, photos and more.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Vens. Sangpo and Sherab doing prayers for the future retreat center Land of Joy, UK, July 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

“A retreat place is not for gaining power like black magic, it’s not for a honeymoon or holiday. Also it is not a place in which to be spaced out,” Lama Zopa Rinpoche advised in 2007.

“The whole purpose of a retreat place is to subdue the mind and to actualize the lam-rim up to enlightenment. It is a place for a holiday from negative karma, a holiday from the three poisonous minds and the self-cherishing thought, a holiday from the self-grasping of the person and phenomena, a holiday from the wrong concepts: non-devotional thought towards the guru up to the subtle dual view of white, increasing, attainment.”

Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of the 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 during his visit to the UK, July 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

“Guru devotion is the quickest way to collect the most extensive merit, the means to achieve enlightenment,” Lama Zopa Rinpoche once told a group of students at Kopan Monastery. “Of course, the main thing is having the right motivation, bodhicitta, but having a pure mind of guru devotion, with no negative mind arising toward the guru – which is very heavy negative karma – is also very important.

“A negative attitude, such as a thought of giving up respect, even just thinking, ‘What is the use of this teaching?’ creates negative karma; one breaks the samaya vows. A kind of pollution comes, and whatever you offer becomes negative and can invite sickness or obstacles. So, I think, the most important thing is keeping samaya, not doing any wrong thing, not letting heresy arise, having negative thoughts, or losing faith. Lost faith is very heavy. Also, it is important not to break the root pratimoksha vows.

“So much emphasis is placed on guru devotion because, with very strong guru devotion, there is no hardship in following the guru’s advice; it becomes so easy to follow any advice given. …”

You can read more from this teaching on “Guru Devotion” on the page “Advice on Guru Devotion,” part of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive’s “Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Online Advice book.”

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 visiting a park in Leeds, UK, July 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

“Bodhichitta is thinking to benefit all sentient beings, to free them from suffering and to bring them to full enlightenment, therefore we have to achieve enlightenment, therefore we do this practice, this action, so in this way all the time we are dedicating for other sentient beings. So this child you are taking care of is one of the sentient beings,” Lama Zopa Rinpoche wrote to a student who was concerned about her Dharma practice after having a child. “We always dedicate our practice for the most precious sentient beings, from whom all our happiness comes – all our happiness from beginningless rebirth up to now, even this small happiness, comfort, even if we are feeling hot but then serenely the wind blows on our head and we feel cool, so even including that, or if we are thirsty and we find water to drink.

“All the future happiness, not only samsaric happiness, pleasure, but ultimate happiness, liberation from samsara, full enlightenment, peerless happiness, the state of omniscient mind; so all of that we receive from numberless hell beings, numberless hungry ghosts and numberless animals – that means from numberless fish in the ocean, even the large ones, the whales, then also the smallest ones that we can’t see with our eyes, but only with a microscope; every single ant, every single bird, every single butterfly, every single cockroach – they are numberless in each realm, not just in one universe but there are numberless universes, so each universe has numberless [beings]. We receive all our past, present and future happiness from numberless human beings, numberless suras, numberless asuras and numberless intermediate state beings. All the past, present and future happiness we receive from every single sentient being.

“That includes your child. So all your past, present and future happiness, everything comes from this child. Therefore the child, your baby, is the most precious, most kind, most wish-fulfilling one to you, and as well as that, every single other sentient being – every insect in the house and outside in the forests, on the ground, in the water, and flying in the sky. Therefore, the best Dharma is to cherish the sentient beings and to serve them, to free them from suffering and bring them to happiness. …”

You can read the complete advice ”Taking Care of Your Child with Compassion,” a new addition to “Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Online Advice Book,” on the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive website.

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 Lama Zopa Rinpoche News.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaching at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa, Italy, June 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

“In reality, even if we believe that we will live for a long time, that we have so many years to live – like 100 years or more, and maybe after 100 years, we expect another hundred years (I’m joking) – in reality, there is nobody who has lived who has not died,” Lama Zopa Rinpoche wrote to the mother of a student, who was worried about death. “Even this big earth has to perish after another great eon. Since every person who is born in this world is under the control of karma and delusion, there is nobody, nobody, since human beings started until now, who has lived without death. There is nobody.

“Buddha has no death, because there is no cause of death. The cause of death is not outside but inside –karma and delusions. Buddha removed this inconceivable eons ago, because he purified the delusions and even the subtle obscurations which interrupt the omniscient mind, so it is impossible for the Buddha to experience death. There is no old age, no sickness, no death for him at all, but he showed holy deeds, passing away in the sorrowless state. If Buddha did not show death, then we would not appreciate his teachings and we would become very lazy. Buddha showed death to destroy the wrong concept of permanence of our lives, which are impermanent, and also to show us that we need to practice Dharma, because of suffering and the cause of suffering. …”

You can read the entire letter “The Cause of Death” on the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive website.

Learn more about FPMT spiritual director Lama Zopa Rinpoche and his beneficial activities by visiting Rinpoche’s webpage, where you will find links to Rinpoche’s schedule, new advice, recent video, photos and more.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche in England, July 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

In February 1990, Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave a series of teachings as part of the Third Enlightened Experience Celebration, which took place in Bodhgaya, India. His discourse was based on the 15th-century text Opening the Door of Dharma. During the teachings, Lama Zopa Rinpoche described how he came across the text in his late twenties and what it meant to him:

“In 1974, while I was staying in the cave of the previous Lawudo Lama in the Solu Khumbu region of Nepal, I decided to check through all the texts that had belonged to him. They were mostly Nyingma texts relating to the practices of various deities, but there was one text that is a fundamental practice of all four Tibetan sects. The text I found was Opening the Door of Dharma: The Initial Stage of Training the Mind in the Graduated Path to Enlightenment.

“A collection of the advice of many Kadampa geshes, Opening the Door of Dharma is by Lodrö Gyaltsen, a disciple of both Lama Tsongkhapa and Khedrub Rinpoche, one of Lama Tsongkhapa’s two spiritual sons. This text describes the initial stage of thought transformation, or mind training – in other words, the first thing to practice if you want to practice Dharma.

“Only when I read this text did I come to know what the practice of Dharma really means. During all the years of my life up until then I had not known. Practicing Dharma is usually regarded as reading scriptures, studying, memorizing, debating, saying prayers, performing rituals, and so forth. It was only when I read this text that I found out how to practice Dharma. I was very shocked that all my past actions had not been Dharma. When I checked back, all those past years of memorizing and saying prayers were not Dharma. From all those years, nothing was Dharma. …”

Rinpoche’s discourse on Opening the Door of Dharma can be read in the book The Door to Satisfaction, edited by Vens. Ailsa Cameraon and Robina Courtain and published by Wisdom Publications. A PDF of the “Foreward” by Kirti Tsenshab Rinpche, “Editor’s Preface” and “Prologue” is available from Wisdom online. The “Prologue” includes Rinpoche’s account of his education, meeting Lama Yeshe and returning to Lawudo as well as the significance of his discovery of Opening the Door of Dharma. 

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.

Peace in the World:  Lama Zopa Rinpoche offered advice to help bring peace to Israel and Palestine.

Extensive Advice on Practices to Dispel Fire:  Last month, Lama Zopa Rinpoche offered advice regarding the wildfires that were burning in Washington State, US, close to a number of students’ homes. We’ve combined that advice with advice which Rinpoche gave in 2007 so you have a complete set of Rinpoche’s advice on practices to do in case of fire.

FPMT Mission Statement: Lama Zopa Rinpoche wished to update the FPMT Mission Statement in order to make it clear that FPMT’s mission of preserving the Mahayana tradition includes listening to correct teachings of the Buddha, then reflecting, meditating on, practicing and actualizing those teachings – and then with that experience, spreading the teachings to sentient beings.  The FPMT Inc Board has now finalized the edits, so we are delighted to share the updated FPMT Mission Statement.