Lama Zopa Rinpoche News and Advice

Lama Zopa Rinpoche with the children of Chenrezig Institute releasing butterflies during the 40th anniversary celebration, Eudlo, Queensland, Australia, September 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche celebrated Chenrezig Institute’s 40th anniversary on Saturday, September 6, 2014. Rinpoche has been staying at the FPMT center in Eudlo, Queensland, Australia, where he gave a public talk in conjunction with the celebration. 

Chenrezig Institute shared on their Facebook page: “Wow, wow, wow! Amazing, amazing, amazing! Unbelievable, unbelievable, unbelievable! What a great day we all had at the 40th anniversary of Chenrezig Institute. Lama Zopa Rinpoche visited the Garden of Enlightenment and led a group of kids in prayers and in releasing a group of happy butterflies (I assume they were happy…), then he spontaneously broke into a long talk about the benefits of stupas and to top it up he gave a four-hour teaching at the gompa. …”

Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Geshe Jamyang and Geshe Phuntsok (resident geshe at Chenrezig Institute) next to a poster of Lama Yeshe during Chenrezig Institute’s 40th anniversary celebration, Australia, September 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

September 7-9, Rinpoche gave a Great Chenrezig initiation at Chenrezig Institute. Rinpoche travels next to the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion, Atisha Centre and Thubten Shedrup Ling, all located outside of Bendigo, Victoria. Rinpoche will be there for the CPMT meeting, September 13-19, which is followed by a public talk on September 20 and the month-long Bodhicaryavatara and Rinjung Gyatsa retreat, September 25-October 23.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s opening and closing talks at CPMT 2014 will be live streamed as well as his public talk on September 20 and the retreat at the Great Stupa. 

Visit Mandala‘s blog for news and updates from the CPMT meeting.

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 teaching at the 100 Million Mani Retreat in Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, August 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

“Lama Zopa: If you are wise, practice rejoicing in others’ and one’s own good karma. Feel a sense of joy in others’ good deeds and actions.”

– From Ven. Roger Kunsang’s Twitter page, posted on August 30, 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 Rinpoche, Buddha Amitabha Pure Land, Washington, US, August 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche arrived in Australia this week. Rinpoche is at Chenrezig Institute in Queensland, giving a public teaching on September 6 and offering a Great Chenrezig initiation on September 7-9.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche arriving at Chenrezig Institute, Eudlo, Queensland, Australia, September 2014. Photo by Ven. Thubten Kunsang.

Rinpoche travels to the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion near Bendigo, Victoria, for the CPMT meeting, September 13-19. Afterwards, Rinpoche remains at the Great Stupa for a public talk on September 20 and the month-long Bodhicaryavatara and Rinjung Gyatsa retreat, September 25-October 23.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s opening and closing talks at CPMT 2014 will be live streamed as well as his public talk on September 20 and the retreat at the Great Stupa. 

Visit Mandala‘s blog for news and updates from the CPMT meeting.

More information, photos, schedule 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 at Jamyang Buddhist Centre, London, UK, July 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

 “People use the word ‘happy’ a lot, but what they think is happiness is not real happiness, it is suffering. Therefore, I mentioned that the best happy life, living with compassion, has great meaning. With compassion you can really have a happy life. Happiness can be on different levels. If sentient beings have compassion then they are able to achieve enlightenment and liberate sentient beings from the oceans of samsaric sufferings.”

— Lama Zopa Rinpoche, from the page “Compassion Quotes” on 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.

One of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s vast visions for the FPMT organization is to sponsor 1,000 Nung-Nä retreats. Upon hearing about Rinpoche’s vision, Institut Vajra Yogini quickly picked up the project of hosting these retreats and has now started a third set of 108 Nyung-Näs, from mid-November 2013 to mid-June 2014.

More than 125 students from 12 different countries took part in one or more Nyung-Näs, accumulating an amazing total of about 1,000 individual Nyung Näs! Four people offered a consecutive year of their lives engaging in these retreats.

The Nyung-Nä retreat is an intensive practice that carries great blessings and is highly praised by Lama Zopa Rinpoche as a supreme method for transforming the mind. The practice includes taking the 24-hour Mahayana precepts every day, with the addition of complete fasting and silence every second day. One does four – 2 ½ hour sessions of well-structured practice that includes meditation, prostrations and mantra recitation each day. It is a powerfully effective experiential practice that can be done by anyone with respect and faith for the practice.

16 people did more than eight Nyung-Näs, four of them managing to do more than 100 Nyung-Näs. This is something amazing in which to rejoice!

Lama Zopa Rinpoche, through the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund, sponsored some of these retreatants, as he had done for the two previous sets. The next set of 108 Nyung-Näs is scheduled from the November 18, 2014 to the 20th of June 2015. Lama Zopa Rinpoche is again offering sponsorship for up to 10 people able to commit for 100 Nyung-Näs.

These Nyung-Näs will be led in French but people can follow simultaneously in English or any other language.

Everybody is welcome to join for one or more Nyung Näs, you can contact Institute Vajra Yogini to enter any number of these retreats (1-100) when they begin the next set.

Contributing to the sponsorship of these Nung-Näs or completing one or more yourself is directly contributing to Rinpoche’s wishes.

Nyung-Näs are a most powerful, most beneficial and quickest way for you to develop bodhicitta, to collect extensive merit to quickly achieve enlightenment, to become Chenrezig, to liberate sentient beings from the oceans of samsara suffering and bring to enlightenment….This is an extremely powerful practice, it in an incredible way to develop bodhichitta.

—Lama Zopa Rinpoche

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

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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.