BLISSFUL RAYS OF THE MANDALA IN THE SERVICE OF OTHERS OCTOBER - DECEMBER

fpmt Mandala BLISSFUL RAYS OF THE MANDALA IN THE SERVICE OF OTHERS OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2013 Living Buddhism: Actualizing the Lam-rim THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE FOUNDATION FOR THE PRESERVATION OF THE MAHAYANA TRADITION

Wisdom Publications The Leader in Classic and Contemporary Buddhist Works THE EASY PATH Illuminating the First Panchen Lama s Secret Instructions Gyumed Khensur Lobsang Jampa Edited by Lorne Ladner 328 pages $18.95 The first English translation of the Panchen Lama s Easy Path (Delam), one of the eight great treatises on the stages of the path, with commentary by Khensur Rinpoche of the DNKL center in Connecticut. How wonderful that the First Panchen Lama s timeless classic, one of the ten greatest Tibetan books on contemplative meditation, has finally come out in an easy-read English translation. All the buddhas and bodhisattvas of the three times and ten directions no doubt are rejoicing with great delight. Glenn Mullin, author of The Fourteen Dalai Lamas and The Practice of Kalachakra A CLASSICAL TIBETAN READER Selections from Renowned Works with Custom Glossaries Yael Bentor 160 pages $18.95 An excellent gateway into the world of Tibetan literature. Sonam Thakchoe, University of Tasmania Congratulations are due to Yael Bentor for this Tibetan-language reader. Such a reader is long overdue. Gavin Kilty, translator of A Lamp to Illuminate the Fives States A welcome tool for students of classical Tibetan that will help train new generations to access one of the great world literatures. Peter Skilling, University of California, Berkeley ORIGINAL PERFECTION Vairotsana s Five Early Transmissions Translated by Keith Dowman Foreword by Bhakha Tulku Pema Rigdzin 128 pages $16.95 Precise and poetic, authentic and elusive, these sweet translations bring the warm breath of the Dzogchen tradition into our daily lives. A major contribution to the exciting spread of Dzogchen in modern times. James Low, author of Simply Being I consider this text to be among the most profound teachings I have ever encountered. Keith Dowman s translation and commentary bring Vairostana s message alive. It is a priceless gift to all of us. Pir Elias Amidon, author of The Open Path

DAILY DOSES OF WISDOM A Year of Buddhist Inspiration Edited by Josh Bartok 448 pages $16.95 Directions: Read one page a day. Can be taken with meal. Side effects may include insight, compassion, and wisdom. Stop immediately if experiencing nirvana. Sumi Loundon, author of Blue Jean Buddha Filled with bite-sized gems of wisdom from many of the world s most insightful Dharma teachers, it s a wonderful companion for anyone interested in awakening to a richer, freer, more engaged and fulfilling life right now. Ronald D. Siegel, author of The Mindfulness Solution HOW TO WAKE UP A Buddhist-Inspired Guide to Navigating Joy and Sorrow Toni Bernhard 240 page $16.95 I love this book! Toni Bernhard has done it again she has the inside-out experience, intelligence, and empathetic warmth to help light our way. Tara Brach, PhD, author of True Refuge A beautiful, wise, and practical book presenting the Buddha s teaching for our contemporary world. Gil Fronsdal, author of The Issue At Hand STAY TUNED FOR OUR NEW WEBSITE! Access thousands of pages of Wisdom s books for free. Browse our exclusive collection of DRM-free ebooks, easily readable on any device. Sign up for our enewsletter by November 30 and receive a free ebook of Daily Wisdom: 365 Buddhist Inspirations, compiled from our most-loved books. Support our mission as the leading nonprofit Buddhist publisher. Ebooks available from major providers. wisdompubs.org, 1-800-272-4050 Follow us on /wisdompubs and @wisdompubs. Wisdom Publications, 199 Elm Street, Somerville, MA 02144

FPMT Lineage Series There is no greater meaning in life than leading all sentient beings to peerless happiness, and the perfect human rebirth that we now have for this brief period gives us the ability to do just that. That is why we need to understand just how precious this perfect human rebirth is and determine never to waste a second of this amazing time. Lama Zopa Rinpoche The Perfect Human Rebirth is the third in our Publishing the FPMT Lineage Series. Also available are The Heart of the Path and How to Practice Dharma The Perfect Human Rebirth Freedom and Richness on the Path to Enlightenment By Lama Zopa Rinpoche Edited by Gordon McDougall $10 Free books available on LAMAYESHE.COM Free video of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/ lamayeshe all our books are available as ebooks from amazon, apple, barnes & noble, sony and more Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive contains recordings and transcripts of Lama Thubten Yeshe s and Lama Zopa Rinpoche s teachings dating back to the early 1970s and we re still growing! Our website offers thousands of pages of teachings by some of the greatest lamas of our time. Hundreds of audio recordings, our photo gallery and our ever-popular books are also freely accessible at lamayeshe.com. please see our website or contact us for more information Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive po box 636, lincoln, ma 01773 info@lamayeshe.com www.lamayeshe.com

CONTENTS fpmt Mandala 6 FROM THE EDITOR 8 TEACHINGS AND ADVICE FEATURE STORY 16 Living Buddhism: Actualizing the Lam-rim 25 DHARMA AND THE MODERN WORLD 32 EDUCATION 36 YOUR COMMUNITY 50 OBITUARIES 52 FPMT NEWS AROUND THE WORLD 59 FPMT DIRECTORY ONLINE HIGHLIGHTS Mandala publishes EXCLUSIVE ONLINE articles, photos and video each issue to supplement our print publication. The October - December 2013 issue includes TEACHINGS AND ADVICE An excerpt from The Easy Path: Illuminating the First Panchen Lama s Secret Instructions by Gyumed Khensur Lobsang Jampa; Lorne Ladner, Editor 16 FEATURED PROJECT Cooking with Bodhichitta: The Sera Je Food Fund YOUR COMMUNITY Andy Wistreich talks about Land of Joy, a retreat center in the making in the UK Ven. Margaret McAndrew shares her Road to Kopan story complete interviews, advice, personal stories and more at mandala.fpmt.org! 25 46 COVER: Lama Zopa Rinpoche meditating at Gardens by the Bay, Singapore, March 2013. Photo by Ven. Thubten Kunsang. 54 mandala.fpmt.org www.fpmt.org OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2013 ISSUE 61 MANDALA (ISSN10754113) is published quarterly by FPMT, Inc., 1632 SE 11th Ave, Portland, OR 97214-4702, USA. Printed by Journal Graphics, Portland, Oregon, USA. Periodicals postage paid at Portland OR. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Mandala, 1632 SE 11th Ave, Portland OR 97214-4702 October - December 2013 Mandala 5

FROM THE EDITOR Dear Reader, During a break from Mandala in July, I found myself on a sandy Oregon beach, looking out over the vast, gray Pacific Ocean and waiting for high tide. I stood with two young girls, their mother and another beachcomber next to a large, low-slung sandcastle the girls had constructed right below the high-tide line. For 15 minutes, we watched as the waves surged closer and closer to the sandcastle until finally the cold Pacific rushed around the castle walls and began melting the delicate structure back into the shoreline. What a clear illustration of impermanence we witnessed, but how deeply did any of us take the lesson in? Mandala is the official publication of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), an international charitable organization founded more than thirty years ago by two Tibetan Buddhist masters: Lama Thubten Yeshe (1935-1984) and Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche. FPMT is now a vibrant international community with a network of over 150 affiliate centers, projects, services and study groups in more than thirty countries. Editorial Policy Recurring topics include: Buddhist philosophy; Education; Ordination and the Sangha; Buddhism and Modern Life; Youth Issues; FPMT Activities Worldwide; Lama Yeshe and his teachings; Lama Zopa Rinpoche and his teachings; His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his teachings, among many other topics. Writers, photographers and artists, both amateur and professional, are encouraged to submit material for consideration. Mandala currently does not pay for publishable content; we credit all photos and other work as requested. Mandala is published quarterly and is available via the Friends of FPMT program. Additionally, the publication is supplemented by online stories published exclusively at: mandala.fpmt.org About Mandala In this issue of Mandala, we hope to encourage students to not only study lam-rim, or stages of the path, teachings, but to do the work necessary to have actual realizations the internal transformations that result from lam-rim lessons permeating your heart, your mind and your worldview. As Lama Zopa Rinpoche advises, these transformations happen through consistent and correct meditation on lam-rim topics. We ve collected teachings and stories to help illustrate and inspire FPMT students to set their intentions to actualize the lam-rim, to turn every moment into beneficial activity and to exemplify living Buddhism. Love, Laura Friends of FPMT is a donor program composed of Friends working together to support FPMT s global activities. To learn about Friends of FPMT levels and benefits, contact us or visit: www.fpmt.org/friends Mandala is published in January, April, July and October. Managing Editor and Publisher Laura Miller laura@fpmt.org Assistant Editor, Advertising & Sales Michael Jolliffe michael@fpmt.org Art Director Cowgirls Design cowgirl@newmex.com Friends of FPMT Program Justin Jenkins friends@fpmt.org FPMT, Inc. 1632 SE 11 th Ave. Portland, OR 97214-4702 Tel: 1 503 808 1588 Fax: 1 503 232 0557 Toll free USA only 1 866 241 9886 FPMT Board of Directors Spiritual Director Lama Zopa Rinpoche Board Members Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi Ven. Roger Kunsang Ven. Pemba Sherpa Tenzin Ösel Hita Karuna Cayton Andrew Haynes Peter Kedge Tim McNeill Alison Murdoch Paula de Wijs-Koolkin mandala.fpmt.org www.fpmt.org 6 Mandala October - December 2013

The Foundation of Buddhist Thought A correspondence course that provides a structured approach to deepen your knowledge and practice of Tibetan Buddhism. Established in 1999 and recently updated, it has over 600 graduates worldwide. This precious two-year course offers study, supportive tutors, Q & A sessions, meditation, learning activities and online discussion. Geshe Tashi Tsering, Jamyang Buddhist Centre s resident teacher and course creator, is renowned for making Buddhism accessible and relevant to modern day life. Courses start every 4 months in January, May and September. For more information and to apply, visit: www.buddhistthought.org This course is part of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition www.fpmt.org FBT graduates can continue their studies by joining Geshe Tashi's Lamrim Chenmo correspondence course

TEACHINGS AND ADVICE Lama Yeshe s Wisdom That s the Lam-rim! By Lama Yeshe

Those who understand the entire evolution of samsara see that it s ignorance that makes people dedicate their whole lives, beginning to end, to the pursuit of temporal pleasure without getting bored. Therefore, there s a need for meditation, not only for religious people, but also for those who are not religious. Liberation is not only for religious people. If you understand your own situation, your own lifestyle, even if you re non-religious you can see your own confusion, your own dissatisfaction; you can see that what you consider to be happiness, that which causes attachment to arise, doesn t truly give you pleasure. You can also see how your experiences of misery make it easy to get angry and your neutral experiences make you ignorant and dull. This is samsara. Your entire life becomes samsara. It s not just that you re alive, therefore you re in samsara. No. It s linked to your ignorant, grasping, dull attitude. That s what makes your life samsara. And as its name, cyclic existence, suggests, it s a circle and you keep going around and around without end. Meditation can release you from all this repeated, repeated, repeated, emotional self-sensitivity. With release, your life Helping others doesn t simply mean relieving their physical pain. That s not the real meaning of helping others because their body is not the actual source of their suffering. The essential, basic source is the mind. The mind makes us suffer; the mind makes us happy. The mind is the source of all happiness and unhappiness. Everything comes from the mind, from the energy of the mind. So, if you really want to help others, you need to understand the mind. If you don t know the nature of the mind, you can t even cure your own misery. As long as you have not cured your own disease of emotional misery, there s no way you can help others do it. That s just dreaming, completely dreaming. Perhaps at this point you have a question arising: Who says my life is unhappy? You, gorilla, say my life is miserable but you re wrong. I have a job, a house, a garden. I can go to the movies. I can watch television. I can do this. I can do that. Yes, you can do all that, but with what kind of mind? Is the mind that experiences all the things you can do really happy? I can ask you a question of my own: Is everything that you think to be happiness really happiness or not? Tibetans say, A pig lives in a filthy enclosure but thinks it s a palace. Don t be like that. Human beings cannot give each other everlasting pleasure; a Himalayan gorilla monk like me cannot give you everlasting pleasure. Your everlasting pleasure is your responsibility. becomes more stable; you have fewer expectations because you understand the nature of things that the pleasure they give is limited. If I expect my clothes to give me everlasting pleasure, I m going to be disappointed. In the same way, human beings cannot give each other everlasting pleasure; a Himalayan gorilla monk like me cannot give you everlasting pleasure. Your everlasting pleasure is your responsibility. And it s the same thing with all the other people in relationships on earth. It s not possible for one to give everlasting pleasure to the other; each person has to make an individual effort to develop his or her own mind. In one way, we Westerners are very ambitious in wanting to help others. Everybody is. For some reason, Westerners have really good intentions, whether they re religious or not. I really feel I want to help others. I want to do something to help. Of course, that can be an ego trip, too. Nevertheless, somewhere within you is the motivation wanting to help others. Anyway, you re bored and suffering, so you want to do something. But wanting to help others when you re miserable, when you re suffering, is too emotional. You re confused and dissatisfied. As long as you re dissatisfied, you can t give satisfaction to others. That s one hundred percent true. As long as I m intoxicated by misery, I cannot give happiness to others, I cannot free them from suffering. It s not possible. Photo left: Lama Yeshe with Yangsi Rinpoche, Kopan Monastery, Nepal, 1976. Photo courtesy of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive. Whoever we are, we usually have preconceived notions of what constitutes happiness and unhappiness. Different people have different ideas about the specifics, but in general it s like this. So you have to investigate for yourself whether what you think is happiness really is happiness. If you check deeply with a penetrating, meditative mind, you will see that in reality, what you call happiness is actually misery. If you can see that, it s a kind of realization. That insight can be the beginning of your journey as a seeker of liberation. As long as you think that a pigsty is a beautiful mandala, even though you might say you re a seeker of liberation, you re not. It s impossible, because you re trapped in a situation created by the dark shadow of ignorance in your mind. I m not trying to be dramatic here. I m not saying that all life is miserable and bad. You have to understand what I m saying without thinking that. I m not saying that everything is miserable and hopeless, that there s no future on this earth and you d be better off cutting your throat. The thing is that each of us has this fantasy about what is happiness and what s not; we all have this wrong conception. We have to recognize this wrong conception and let it go. If you can do that, you ll become stable; you ll stop being overambitious. You ll accept that life changes. If somebody makes a mistake, you accept it. There s no more hypersensitive mind overreacting emotionally and making you go up and down, up and down all the time. Because you know how things are. October - December 2013 Mandala 9

TEACHINGS AND ADVICE There s no way the other person can give you satisfaction, so sooner or later the two of you split.... If you understand how and why two people get together and then separate and finish up miserable, that s the lam-rim! You can see how we are all involved with each other. Humans are constantly involved with other humans. And all this interaction between people who have extreme ambition in their mind causes conflict. We create trouble for each other. It all comes from the mind. I ve heard that half of all marriages end in divorce. Can you imagine how many millions of people must be miserable as a result? So where does that actually come from? The meeting, the getting together, the marriage, the divorce, the goodbye, I don t like you and more all the ridiculous situations that happen on that particular trip. Who made all that? Check up. It comes from emotional ambition, grasping at fixed ideas, illusions. Two people meet: Oh, you re so beautiful, fantastic. There s some kind of, I ve found such a precious companion. There s an incredible build up of expectation from something that began with delusion. There s no way those expectations can be met; there s no way the other person can give you satisfaction, so sooner or later the two of you split. You can see how it happens. These are common human experiences. If you understand how and why two people get together and then separate and finish up miserable, that s the lam-rim! That you don t have to take on faith; you don t need to adhere to some extreme religious trip to see the truth of that. You can see it at the scientific level. Lord Buddha s teachings are so simple. You just have to check into your own life. Investigating how you live is the first step to renunciation. Once you have developed renunciation of samsara, you re on the path to liberation. Knowledge of how samsara works is itself renunciation. Don t think, as many do, that renunciation means giving something desirable up. Think instead that there s a dangerous fire burning inside you. That s what you have to extinguish; what you have to renounce to let go is the flaming mind of grasping attachment. That s what s burning you. Lama Yeshe gave this teaching at the tenth Kopan meditation course, November 1977. Edited for Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive by Nicholas Ribush. 10 Mandala October - December 2013

October - December 2013 Mandala 11

TEACHINGS AND ADVICE Advice from a Virtuous Friend The Freedom of Not Being Born as an Animal Unlike the hell or hungry ghost realms, we can see beings in the animal realm and investigate their reality for ourselves. There are many, many kinds of animals, fish, birds and insects, but the suffering common to each is being dumb and foolish, with a mind incapable of understanding anything other than survival, although there are many other sufferings besides. The main cause of being born in the animal realm, ignorance, traps them in a life without choice. Those who must kill to survive do so without choice; their victims are powerless not to be killed by them. Tiny creatures are devoured by bigger ones, who in turn are hunted by yet bigger ones. No matter who they are, there is always an enemy ready to take their lives in order to eat their flesh. Others are slaves of human beings. If we were to suddenly find ourselves in the body of an animal, we d be terrified. No matter how hard our life as a human is, it is a pure land existence compared with that of an animal. Imagine you are a slug in the middle of the road after a heavy rain, or a goat being chased down the street in a village in India by the local butcher. What would it be like? We can take any animal and if we look below the surface to what its life is really like, we will see so much suffering. We should investigate how animals live and see that this is true. Overwhelmed by stupidity and dullness, they have no capacity to free themselves from the suffering they must face every day. And of course they have no ability to understand and practice Dharma. Animals can live for much longer than humans but that does not mean that they can develop any wisdom. There is a turtle in Hong Kong said to be thousands of years old. I was invited to meet it but somehow that never happened. Even if I had, I don t think I could have taught it anything. Could I have explained the cause of happiness to it? Even an elephant, which lives a very long time, wouldn t understand one word. Even our pampered dog or cat might seem to have a leisurely life, sleeping all day and eating better than we do, but if we think it is fortunate we re judging only its external appearance. If we could understand our pets minds we would see how ignorant By Lama Zopa Rinpoche they really are. When they are sick from having eaten bad food, they can t tell us about it so we can find the right medicine. Our cat can live with us its whole life and we can try to teach it mantras every day, but it won t be able to utter one syllable. This is because it has the body of a suffering transmigratory being and a mind that is incapable of that sort of understanding. We can explain emptiness to pigs for years and they would be none the wiser. We can scream bodhichitta in the ears of those pitiful sheep or goats all day and there is no way they could understand. We can teach chickens that compassion is the true path to happiness but this won t stop them eating insects in the ground. Once while teaching at Stanford University in California, His Holiness the Dalai Lama said, You should not be like an animal, meaning we should not accept everything at face value without question. Here he was talking about conventional and ultimate truth, how we suffer because we thoughtlessly accept the appearance of things, which seem to be truly existent, and as a result are overwhelmed by negative emotions. In that, we are like animals. Animals simply do not have the capacity to understand how to get out of the suffering they are in, and so, whereas they may Only practicing virtue can free us. This is something no animal can understand. But we are not a being of the animal realm, we are a human being and we do have the capacity to understand this. This is an amazing freedom. be quite cunning in other ways, in this most fundamental and important way they are stupid. Seeing this will make us glad we are not an animal. But in fact, this is what we might well be this time tomorrow. We simply do not know when we will die or what our next rebirth will be. We could soon be living in a glass tank full of water in a restaurant in Singapore, a tasty lobster or a fat fish, waiting for a customer to choose us for his meal. We could soon be a fish struggling on the end of a line with a hook through our mouth or a worm being eaten alive by thousands of ants. We just don t know. If we did know, we would then really value this most precious of things, the human life. Would you want to be born as any animal? Even a pet. Would you want to have hair all over your body and have to fight the other dogs or cats in the neighborhood and always rely on 12 Mandala October - December 2013

your human owners for every bit of food that you get? We have been born as a dog or cat countless times. We have had countless lives so we can t imagine one animal we haven t been. We have been monkeys and tigers, cows and zebras, cockroaches and mosquitoes, many, many times. Even the Buddha s omniscient mind cannot see how many times we have been a cockroach or a mosquito. That is life in samsara, endlessly cycling from one suffering body to another. As centipedes we have been stepped on while crossing the road. As moths we have been squashed against a wall. Perhaps we went straight from the squashed centipede to the life of the moth, only to be squashed again. Poor us! When we see an insect trapped in a spider web or a small animal run over by a car, maybe they are telling us that we have been saved such a terrible end by being born a human being and we had better practice Dharma, and do nothing but practice Dharma, or we ourselves might well be destined for a spider web or the wheel of a car. Thinking on the suffering of the animals, we can start to appreciate how there is no escape as long as we are in samsara. It really is unbearable and terrifying, and so we need to do whateverwecantobefreefromit. Only practicing virtue can free us. This is something no animal can understand. But we are not a being of the animal realm, we are a human being and we do have the capacity to understand this. This is an amazing freedom. Therefore we should think, How fortunate that I am not an animal. I have found this perfect human body, qualified with eight freedoms and ten richnesses, and have the freedom to practice Dharma. We should feel this deeply from our heart but also feel that there is no certainty that this will last it might even finish today therefore we need to make the most of this precious opportunity. My root guru, His Holiness Trijang Rinpoche, 1 used to say that if we could really understand fully the suffering of the lower realms and how many times we have been there, we would be so terrified that we would never want to sleep and that food would be of no interest to us. All we would ever think of doing would be meditating and practicing Dharma, creating as much virtue as we possibly could every moment. Therefore subjects such as the four noble truths, with the truth of suffering, and the teachings on the lower realms suffering and karma are vital. Cover of The Perfect Human Rebirth: Freedom and Richness on the Path to Enlightenment, forthcoming from Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive How amazing that we have the ability to study such great teachings and to live our lives according to them. What great freedom we truly have. Excerpted from Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive s (www.lamayeshe.com) latest book by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, The Perfect Human Rebirth: Freedom and Richness on the Path to Enlightenment, edited by Gordon McDougall. The Perfect Human Rebirth is the third book in Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive s FPMT Lineage Series, a collection of Rinpoche s commentaries on the lam-rim. 1 His Holiness Trijang Rinpoche (1901-81) was the junior tutor to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and root guru of both Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. He edited Pabongka Rinpoche s Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand. October - December 2013 Mandala 13

TEACHINGS AND ADVICE Buddha Days and full and new moons are auspicious days and good for practice. On these days Lama Zopa Rinpoche recommends taking the Eight Mahayana Precepts in addition to any prayers and practices we engage in. Buddha Days Full and New Moons November 17 Lord Buddha s acceptance to descend from God Realm of Thirty-three November 24 Lord Buddha s actual descent from God Realm of Thirty-three (Tibetan 15th and 30th days) October 4, 18 November3,17 December2,17 The FPMT Foundation Store offers for sale the LIBERATION calendar, a traditional Tibetan lunar calendar including auspicious days and more, produced by Liberation Prison Project: shop.fpmt.org According to Choden Rinpoche, one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche s teachers, observation of auspicious days should be according to the date in India, not the date is one s home country. Therefore, when Lama Zopa Rinpoche is not in India, Rinpoche celebrates Buddha Days and other auspicious dates according to the time in India. 14 Mandala October - December 2013

THE LAM-RIM Living Buddhism Actualizing the Lam-rim 16 Mandala October - December 2013 Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Gardens by the Bay, Singapore, March 2013. Photo by Ven. Thubten Kunsang.

Achieving Realizations of the Path Lama Zopa Rinpoche has recently been commenting on the need for FPMT students to actualize the lam-rim, or stages of the path, teachings and achieve realizations. Here we have extracted from Rinpoche s recent advice two main suggestions: organizing a special group of lam-rim retreatants and encouraging others to follow a year-long lam-rim meditation schedule. We have also included contributions from three FPMT registered teachers on how they have integrated lam-rim teachings into their daily lives and have been changed by the practice. You can read Rinpoche s complete advice in this issue s online edition. A special group of retreatants By Lama Zopa Rinpoche First of all, I want to say that the FPMT has been developing now for many years and over that time people have been studying and practicing the Dharma according to their ability. Generally, when I look at the FPMT organization, what I see is that the students have developed more compassion and good-heartedness. This is extremely worthwhile because compassion for all sentient beings is the very heart of Buddhism; it is the most important Dharma practice for the happiness of the individual students, for their families, for society, for the country, for the world and for the six realms sentient beings.... Now what is needed are people who will sacrifice their lives, as they did in India, Tibet and Nepal, not just to study the Dharma like at a college or university, but to actualize the teachings in a monastery or isolated place. In Tibet, the mountains were full of caves like ants nests, where people would go to practice without distractions.... This is how Buddhism really comes alive when it is not just words, not just scholars, but really living Buddhism. When study and realization come together, Buddhism will really last. Wow, then like an ocean in the heart and the mind, it will spread and be preserved. Otherwise, if it is just like learning in a college, it won t last long. That s like throwing tsampa on water: It stays on top and doesn t sink it is shallow. For Buddhism to really be preserved in the West as it was in Tibet and India, we need people who will sacrifice their lives to completely actualize in the heart what was explained by the Buddha in more than 100 volumes in the Kangyur and by the second Buddha Nagarjuna and also by Asanga the [rest of the] Six Ornaments and Two Supreme Disciples and by the many other pandits and yogis in their commentaries on sutra and tantra in the Tengyur, aswellasby Lama Tsongkhapa and the great lamas of Lama Tsongkhapa s tradition and the other sects. Of course, individuals can practice as much as possible integrating the lam-rim into their lives by following the daily meditation guidebook the Essential Nectar or the lam-rim outlines in the Great Stages of the Path, Middling Stages of the Path or Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand on the basis of their understanding of the commentaries. However, now what I am thinking to do is to organize a special group of people who really want to dedicate their lives to lam-rim meditation and to its actualization in their minds and not just leave in the books the realizations of guru devotion, the three principal aspects renunciation, bodhichitta, right view and the two stages [of tantra]. This would be done on the basis of the lam-rim and shiné [calm abiding]. Not just shiné alone, because we have achieved shiné numberless times in the past, but due to our lack of renunciation, bodhichitta and emptiness, we are still in samsara. We have achieved this numberless times and been born in the form and formless realms numberless times, but because of not having renunciation of the tip of samsara, the last one, when that karma finished, we were again reborn in the lower realms, desire realms and so forth. This is the reality.... We will organize a retreat place for people who want to completely sacrifice their lives to actualize the lam-rim realizations and also shiné. Khadro-la [Rangjung Neljorma Khadro Namsel Drolma] says Washington State in the United States would be best, so I m thinking to build a few rooms and start there. At the moment, Khadro-la would help to guide this group from her experience, particularly for shiné, so the people doing this will be very lucky. I m also looking for meditators who have realization of shiné and can teach, but they are difficult to find because they mostly go into isolation in the mountains in Tibet.... So, I am planning to put together this group of people to meditate and gain realizations and this is what is needed for the FPMT organization to develop for the benefit of sentient beings. It is a very, very, very important project because the extensive study of philosophy is something that is done not only in the FPMT, but also in other organizations; however, meditating and actualizing the lam-rim in retreat, that is something else. We really need the lam-rim realizations in the heart. It s not easy to attain shiné, even for those who completely dedicate their lives to this. There are so many problems, like lung disease and sickness. Not everyone who tries to achieve shiné can do so; it requires a lot of merit to attain the fully characterized shiné. If one person achieves shiné, then all the other realizations renunciation, bodhichitta, the direct perception [of emptiness], as well as the tantric realizations will easily be achieved.... October - December 2013 Mandala 17

THE LAM-RIM Centers and students engaging in year-long schedules of lam-rim meditation... My suggestion [for students] would be to divide the 12 months of the year into lam-rim meditations and then meditate on each subject for one month or two weeks to finish the whole lam-rim in one year. That doesn t mean achieving the realizations in one year because that would be incredibly fortunate, but to bring the mind closer to the lam-rim. Begin by training in the outlines for guru devotion for maybe two months, then the perfect human rebirth how precious it is, how useful it is and how difficult to find it again then impermanence, the suffering of the lower realms, refuge and karma, the renunciation of this life. Then meditate on the renunciation of future lives, the general sufferings of samsara, the particular sufferings of each realm, the evolution of samsara, the twelve links of dependent arising. After that, train in the two techniques for bodhichitta and emptiness. It is up to the individual how much time is spent meditating because some people are very busy with their families and have many things to do and others have more time. The amount of time for meditation is up to the individual, but the general advice is to finish the lam-rim in one year. After that they can add the generation and completion stages of their own deity, Prayer flags along Singhalila trail in northeast India. Photo by Lowlihjeng/Dreamstime. or maybe just leave it for now and mainly train the mind in the lam-rim, the three principal aspects of the path and guru devotion for some years; then do tantra later. To meditate like this each year, wow, wow, wow! That would be great. Your life would be so rich and you would be getting closer to realization and closer to enlightenment.... So, this is my suggestion, but it s up to you whether to do it or not. It s your choice. I m giving an idea, but it may not work for everybody. This is how to really bring your mind closer to realization. Even if you don t get the actual realization now, by meditating year by year, you are coming closer to the realization and also subduing the mind. Every single teaching of the Buddha, every word, is to subdue the mind. Then you don t have to worry about wasting your life. At the time of death you can be happy and satisfied that you spent enough of your life practicing Dharma.... Extracted for inclusion in Mandala from advice given by Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Amitabha Buddhist Centre, Singapore, March 7, 2013; Losang Dragpa Centre, Malaysia, April 17, 2013; and the North American Regional Meeting (by video from Kopan Monastery, Nepal), Portland, Oregon, US, May 13, 2013. Edited by Ven. Sarah Thresher. 18 Mandala October - December 2013

How I Have Benefited from the Four Qualities of the Lam-rim By Tubten Pende The lam-rim, or stages of the path, is a genre of Buddhist texts developed in Tibet that presents the teachings in terms of three types of persons or capabilities: initial capacity, intermediate capacity and great capacity. The first of such texts was The Lamp of the Path to Enlightenment by the Indian master Atisha (980-1054 CE). The most extensive of this genre is The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment by Je Tsongkapa (1357-1419 CE). There are four distinguishing qualities of the lam-rim 1 : 1. Knowing that all the teachings of the Buddha are free of contradiction. 2. Coming to understand that all of the scriptures are instructions for practice. 3. Easily finding the Buddha s intent. 4. Automatically refraining from great wrong. Through my study and practice of the lam-rim I have experienced the value of all four of these qualities. I have no shortage of Buddhist texts to study, whether they re translations of Pali suttas [sutras] or their commentaries, translations of Sanskrit sutras and commentaries, or the tantras and their commentaries. This is because the lam-rim demonstrates how to make use of trainings that are in common with practitioners of the three vehicles, which are shravaka vehicle, pratyekabuddha vehicle and the bodhisattva vehicle. Rather than merely appreciating the Buddhist canon as literature, I take it as personal advice on how to escape from suffering and achieve happiness. The ideas I find there are not simply interesting, they are tools for developing my qualities and removing my faults. When I first started to study the Buddha s teachings, I related to them as ideas for intellectual analysis; I did not think they were personal instructions for me to put into practice to improve the quality of my life. However, when I met the lam-rim and studied it diligently, I realized it was the personal advice I longed for to improve myself. Further, as the lam-rim is the essence of all the Buddha s teachings, I found them all to be personal advice. I can read complicated and extensive texts and understand what their points are and how to use them to enhance my understanding and practice of the path. This is because the lam-rim is very clear about the stages of practice from a mere beginner to buddhahood. It is said to contain the essence of all the sutras and commentaries, like butter churned from milk. Consequently, when I read a classic commentary, like one of Lord Maitreya s treatises, it adds to my understanding of how to practice rather than unnecessarily filling my head with a ton of words. As I know the stages of practice presented in the lam-rim, I am able to identify the instructions I read in other texts with those stages. Song Rinpoche gave a good metaphor of this once when he compared the knowledge of the lam-rim to having various vessels in one s kitchen that contain things like salt, sugar, flour, spices, etc. He said that if someone offered you a handful of salt you would know what to do with it because you have a vessel for it. If you didn t have such a vessel, you might simply throw the salt away. Likewise, because you know the stages of the path with their corresponding practices, you can make use of any advice, whether brief or extensive, because you know how to appreciate it. I appreciate all the teachings of the Buddha as valuable and would not deprecate any of them. My study of the lam-rim demonstrates to me that the Buddha taught different methods to different people or to the same person at different times in their mental development. All these teachings were taught by him to lead beings from suffering into happiness. Consequently, it is simply impossible to claim that some of his teachings are valuable and others are not. A deprecating attitude towards the Buddha s teachings would be like denying oneself or others access to medicine they need to recover from life threatening diseases, only more so, as such medicine can only lengthen the present life, while the Buddha s teachings lead one from current and future lives suffering into eternal happiness. Further, through my study of the lam-rim, I know that my knowledge of what to practice and what to avoid is based on what authoritative scholars and practitioners of Tibet, and before them of India, relied on. This provides me with confidence that there are no other teachings hidden someplace that I would need to actualize my highest potential. I have in the lam-rim the instructions I need and can be confident that by implementing them I will gain the same types of experiences the masters of the past have had. Tubten Pende (James Dougherty) was an early student of Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. He was a monk for 20 years and has had many responsibilities within FPMT. Now married and living in California, he is a principal auditor for the University of California. 1 The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path, by Tsongkhapa, edited by Joshua Cutler (Ithaca, Snow Lion Publications, 2000), p. 46. October - December 2013 Mandala 19

THE LAM-RIM Slow-Cooking Our Minds By T.Y. Alexander Training in meditation such as the lam-rim is not to make you closed; not to create some kind of concrete doctrine [in your mind] do you know what I mean? The lam-rim teaching is not for building up a concrete philosophy. The process of meditation is to open your [mind]. Calm and clear is the connotation of opened; it doesn t mean something emotional. With your own clean clear experience there is less delusion, less anxiety, less agitation. LAMA THUBTEN YESHE,YUCCA VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, US, 1977 The lam-rim is not a philosophical treatise; it is, in Lama Yeshe s words, your personal experience. Lama goes on to say that if one wants to earn a doctorate of philosophy, one should learn intellectual things and become a professor. He describes how the lam-rim is an entirely different approach to learning an experiential approach. It is a compilation of all the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha, unique to the Tibetan Mahayana tradition, structured as a series of instructions and reflective meditations. Lama Yeshe during three-week retreat at Camp Arrowpines on Lake Arrowhead, California, US, 1975. Photo by Carol Royce-Wilder; courtesy of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive. In order to integrate Buddhist teachings, we engage with them on three levels: listening or study, reflection and meditation. We first encounter Buddhist teaching through the medium of words. In the 21st century that may be through reading or listening. Even this first encounter need not be merely an intellectual meeting. At this first stage, we can read or listen with a mind that is in a contemplative state. If we do this, we have already initiated the process of integration. We might think of this as deep reading or listening. However we take in the teachings initially, we must then expand our understanding. We do this through analysis and contemplation, reflecting on what we have read or heard. To enhance this reflection we might engage in discussion with our teachers and fellow students, utilize structured meditative exercises such as those in the lam-rim, or extend the scope of our study through reading other texts and commentaries on the same subject. In FPMT courses such as Discovering Buddhism,the Basic and Masters Programs, for example, we are asked to write assessment papers or take exams. In this way, we begin to strengthen our understanding, resolve doubt and generate insight at a more intuitive level. Finally, with even the slightest intellectual understanding or tiny insight, we can then use non-conceptual single-pointed meditation to integrate these fully into our mental continuum. In time, understanding and insight become stable realizations that effect deep and lasting transformation of our minds and lives. In Becoming Enlightened, His Holiness the Dalai Lama says, The core practices of Buddhism are the profound view of dependent arising and emptiness and the vast deeds of compassion. Profound view refers to a wisdom that perceives the most subtle aspect of reality of us, our environment and everything in it. This view totally transforms our understanding of our identity and, in the process, demolishes negative emotions such as anger and grasping attachment that bring us so much suffering. Vast deeds refers to a level of compassion that exceeds even empathy: bodhichitta, an altruistic commitment unequivocally dedicated to the welfare of all living beings without exception, thus transforming all relationships with others. These two profound view and vast deeds must come together in our own mental continuum to bring us to the enlightened state of a buddha. The body of literature called lam-rim skillfully and step by step presents a practical path leading to achievement of these two compelling realizations. With these two realizations our lives and relationships 20 Mandala October - December 2013

will be totally transformed. The lam-rim takes us step by step to these two key realizations. The lam-rim relates to every aspect of our lives and can, therefore, be useful well beyond meditative practice done in formal sessions on our cushion. We can take it into family relationships, friendships and difficult relationships, work and play in other words, into every moment of the day. With mindfulness, study, reflection and meditation can be going on whatever we are doing, whenever and wherever we are doing it. In fact, it is only when our daily formal meditation practice becomes grounded in every part of our lives that insights and realizations truly take hold. In day-to-day life we differentiate between fast food and slow food. Fast food may be temporarily satisfying because it fills a hole; but a warm, slowly cooked stew filled with goodness nourishes, keeps us healthy and satisfies on a much deeper level. Working with the lam-rim is like slow-cooking our minds, nourishing and enriching them moment by moment throughout each day, creating a rich stew of compassion, wisdom and so much more. In 1974, Thubten Yeshe (T.Y.) Alexander met her teachers Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. For five years, she studied in Nepal and India, during which time she was ordained as a Buddhist nun. She remained a nun for nine years. T.Y. has received teachings over the years from many lamas, including Serkong Tsenshab Rinpoche, Geshe Ngawang Dargyey, Kyabje Song Rinpoche, Ribur Rinpoche, Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Since those early days, she has lived and worked in FPMT centers around the world. In 1985, she moved to Australia, where she teaches, leads retreats and engages in other work within the FPMT. Lam-rim Mindfulness: Looking Through Lam-rim Colored Glasses By Don Handrick One of the most amazing benefits of the lam-rim is its practicality in daily life, the way that we can use one or more of the teachings to work with whatever arises in our life experiences. With this sort of lam-rim mindfulness, I find that I am able to reframe how I am thinking about the situation in which I find myself, and by doing that, I can to some degree lessen the power of the afflictions and harmful habits as well as strengthen the tendency to have more wholesome attitudes that will be of more benefit to myself and others both ultimately as well as in the moment. Photo by Arenacreative/Dreamstime October - December 2013 Mandala 21

THE LAM-RIM And if I decide to wear my Mahayana-tinted glasses and see things with mindfulness of bodhichitta, I can sometimes do what Lama Zopa Rinpoche has recommended and think, I am bringing all beings to Buddha s pure land while driving. Kendall Magnussen, in her inspiring and insightful teachings for Establishing a Daily Practice in the Discovering Buddhism at home course, referred to this practice as looking at the world through lam-rim colored glasses, and the idea is that you let whatever topic in the stages of the path that you ve been studying or using in your meditation influence the way that you see the various things occurring in your life. For example, while driving which happens to be one of my favorite places to practice this mindfulness of the lam-rim it s possible to initially work with the frustration that is experienced due to drivers who cut you off or who are too close behind you by recalling the law of cause and effect. I find myself thinking along these lines: Without having created the karma for this annoying situation, it wouldn t be happening at all. If I don t want to have this happen again, it s essential that I refrain from getting angry and being a pain to those drivers in response to what they are doing. And recalling how easily anger can escalate into the violence of road rage can certainly act as a deterrent to any retaliation when other drivers do things that irritate me. I ve heard one too many stories of people wounded or even killed in such situations how unfortunate and so unnecessary, and furthermore, how ashamed I would be if I were to have helped escalate such an incident! If I m intending to apply the more general teachings on suffering to what I m experiencing, I find myself thinking about how such driving episodes are part and parcel of samsara, and that I often have to meet with what I find unpleasant and to be thwarted in getting what I want, especially my wish to have no one else on the road when I m in a hurry! Although it might not immediately occur to do so, I find I can occasionally bring an awareness of renunciation on my journey by generating some sense of being disenchanted with it all and wanting to attain freedom from the entire craziness of cyclic existence and not just the challenges of busy traffic or challenging drivers. And if I decide to wear my Mahayana-tinted glasses and see things with mindfulness of bodhichitta, I can sometimes do what Lama Zopa Rinpoche has recommended and think, I am bringing all beings to Buddha s pure land while driving. I also find that while I am stopped at a traffic light, it can be useful to cultivate compassion while looking around at all the other drivers and acknowledging the suffering they re experiencing, as is evident in their tired or anxious faces. A more common thought that I try to cultivate, especially when traffic seems particularly difficult, is to recall how my happiness depends on all those beings on the road with me. Yes, all the happiness up to my own enlightenment is dependent upon them. But in a very simple way, I can also think about how there wouldn t even be a road for me to travel upon if it wasn t for all the others who use it. Although I d like to think all the lanes belong to me, the fact remains that a road is never built for only the use of one person! Using an awareness of emptiness can be a bit more challenging while driving, yet it is such an important lam-rim topic to continually reflect upon. In Lama Zopa s teachings from the Light of the Path retreat in 2010, Rinpoche suggests that we look at everything in terms of being 1) empty of inherent existence, 2) merely imputed or designated, or 3) hallucinations of true existence. Initially Rinpoche referred to these three ways of seeing things using the example of walking but then went on to say that they can be equally applied to traveling by car. Admittedly this type of mindfulness does require some understanding of the teachings on this profound topic in order for it to really hit home, but it s quite possible to get a taste of emptiness with thoughts within those three perspectives. For example, I can think, My car is completely functional and capable of taking me from here to there and yet, it doesn t exist from its own side not on any of the parts or the collection of parts. There are also times when I can recall how the car I m driving is merely imputed on those many parts of the car that are its basis of designation. Furthermore, although I am not a mechanic and so don t even know the names of most of them, I can reflect how each of those parts similarly exists as a mere imputation. And Rinpoche frequently emphasizes using this idea of hallucination that the car that appears to be so real doesn t exist that way at all and that this hallucination comes entirely from my own mind. As Rinpoche says, if we can follow this advice and continuously bring to mind these meditations on emptiness, we will eventually create the causes for the completion of the lam-rim our own enlightenment and the enlightenment of all beings. But don t forget to keep your eye on the road! Originally from the United States Midwest, Don Handrick was introduced to the FPMT in 1996 while at Tse Chen Ling in San Francisco, California. After he attended teachings with Ven. Robina Courtin, he decided to devote his time to the Dharma and retired early from business. Inspired to teach, he attended the Masters Program at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa in Italy for seven years.hethen moved back to the United States to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he served as SPC for a year at Thubten Norbu Ling (TNL). He became resident teacher at TNL in 2006 and provides Discovering Buddhism and Basic Program classes as well as leads occasional retreats. He also serves as the resident teacher at Ksitigarbha Tibetan Buddhist Center in Taos where he teaches once a week. Please see page 32 for a list of lam-rim resources recommended by FPMT Education Services. 22 Mandala October - December 2013

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24 Mandala October - December 2013

DHARMA AND THE MODERN WORLD Are There Any Yogis Out There? By Ven. Lhundrup Nyingje Prayer flags near Dharamsala, India. Photo by Falk66/Dreamstime. Inset: Geshe Yeshe Tobden. Photo courtesy of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive. When I visited Dharamsala, India, in the early 1980s, on an occasional walk to the Shiva temple, I would see the monks who lived in the tiny shacks made of stone and mustard oil tins that dotted the mountainside above Dharamkot. This was before there was a chai shop built near Tushita Meditation Centre, before the road was paved, when Dharamkot was a little village mostly accessed by foot. Their robes were not new or so clean, and neither were they. They were the mountain meditators. Those great yogis, from whom I was fortunate to receive teachings, are all dead now. Some reincarnations of the more famous have been recognized. I knew back then that these magnificent, humble men, most of whom were not tulkus, had worked incredibly hard you cannot even begin to imagine to attain shiné and even enlightenment. Men like Geshe Jampa Wangdu, Gen Lamrimpa, Geshe Rabten, Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche and Geshe Yeshe Tobden showed us that enlightenment is still attainable for an ordinary being if one is prepared to endure the hardships of practicing in solitude and following the guru s advice. I have not been back to Dharamsala in many long years. Dagri Rinpoche says there are a few yogis up there still, but the conditions cannot be the same; Dharamkot is a noisy place. I pray they meet with success. As I look around the FPMT, I wonder, Are there any yogis out there? Is anyone aspiring to endure hardship and attain shiné? Is there anyone prepared to follow Lama Tsongkhapa s Ear-Whispered Lineage? Do people even know about it anymore? Lama Zopa Rinpoche has told us that Lama Tsongkhapa s Ear-Whispered Lineage is as thin as beaten gold. In other words, it is near to extinction. Buddhism is a living tradition of wisdom because lineages are maintained only when a rare adept realizes the teachings, when she walks the talk, when the experience of the word is alive inside her heart and body. Realizations can only come in solitude, away from ordinary activities. In every generation of Buddhist practitioners, the number of individuals who can persevere in the rigors of such training is a mere fraction of the total population. October - December 2013 Mandala 25

DHARMA AND THE MODERN WORLD Academic and intellectual understanding alone cannot incorporate the view, contemplation and action of Lord Buddha s teachings. If a generation passes and no student has gained the realization of a particular lineage text, then that lineage dies. This is what safeguards authenticity. No one can transmit any experience of mind or body training unless he has transformed his own mind and body. This transformation is so obviously apparent in our glorious teachers and is why we love the Dharma and devote our lives to it as much as our karma and merit permits. I once had the very good fortune to spend a few hours with Geshe Yeshe Tobden, one of the monks who gained his realizations on that mountainside in Dharamsala. Geshe-la powerfully implored me to continue to live the life of a beggar-meditator for my whole life, just to show that it can be done. He said that the lineages will die without meditators who rely on donations. Geshe-la said that the West has teachers, gompas, holy objects and texts, but no virtue beggars. He had met no Western person living the lifestyle of a renounced monk or nun depending on donations for survival. He said, without beings such as this, there will never be pure Dharma or pure practitioners in the modern world. It is the only way to truly abandon the eight worldly concerns. Geshe-la also said that ordinary beings enter the path to enlightenment by sponsoring these virtue beggars. If people don t continue the tradition of sponsoring meditators, then no new people will be able to enter that lifestyle and the authentic Dharma will die out. There will only be texts, holy objects and intellectual knowledge. Most of us have had the blessed fortune to view the Maitreya Heart Shrine Relic Tour. When you view the relics of the masters, is there one master that did not spend a long time in isolated retreat? No, there is not. At this time in the development of our organization, is it time to start supporting the few meditators that exist and encourage others to try? Are there any people out there who want to try? If some of us try, one of us will eventually succeed. Somebody has to start living in retreat and somebody else who can t live in retreat has to support the few who can. When will we understand Geshe Yeshe Tobden s admonitions and understand his advice? Are we ready to support this part of the FPMT mission? And I ask, again, my dear community: Are there any yogis out there? Ven. Lhundrup Nyingje (Paula Chichester) served for almost three years as co-director of Land of Calm Abiding (landofcalmabiding.org) in San Simeon, California, an FPMT center specializing in medium- and longterm retreats. She is currently in retreat. For more articles from Ven. Nyingje and others on retreat, visit Mandala s retreat resource page at mandala.fpmt.org/retreat. Read about the exemplary life of Geshe Yeshe Tobden in an archive article from Mandala June 2001. Find it with this issue s online edition (mandala.fpmt.org). Let s Talk about Text: José Cabezón on Buddhism and Sexuality José Cabezón is a respected professor of religious studies and the Fourteenth Dalai Lama Endowed Chair in Tibetan Buddhism and Cultural Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He completed his Ph.D. studying with Geshe Lhundub Sopa at the University of Wisconsin and serves on the board of directors of Maitripa College. Mandala spoke with José during a visit to Portland, Oregon, in May 2013 about his nearly completed book on Buddhism and sexuality. Mandala: You ve been researching and writing about the topic of Buddhism and sexuality for several years now. Can you describe the book that you re finishing? José: It is a broad overview of Buddhism and sexuality mostly from the viewpoint of Indian Buddhism, but relying a lot on Tibetan sources sometimes on Tibetan translations of Indian José Cabezón speaking during a panel discussion with His Holiness the Dalai Lama at Maitripa College s Life after Life symposium, Portland, Oregon, May 2013. Photo by Marc Sakamoto. 26 Mandala October - December 2013

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Maitripa President Yangsi Rinpoche, faculty, alumni, & the graduating class of 2013 at Maitripa, Portland, Oregon ~ photo by Marc Sakamoto Join the growing MAITRIPA COLLEGE scholastic community! Master of Arts in Buddhist Studies (MA): A unique immersion in contemplative education integrating Tibetan scholar-practitioner training with a Western Religious Studies approach to Buddhism Master of Divinity (MDiv): A pioneering professional degree which is training a new generation of Buddhist chaplains, spiritual leaders, activists, & compassionate caregivers Continuing Education Courses: Courses for personal & professional development Summer Classical Tibetan Intensive: Beginning & advanced language training Contact us to learn more about study options ~ Visit our website for details: www.maitripa.org ~ info@maitripa.org scholarship. meditation. service October - December 2013 Mandala 27

DHARMA AND THE MODERN WORLD sources. The book discusses several topics including how sexual differentiation occurs at the beginning of a cosmic cycle, the nature of sexual desire, antidotes that were developed in the ancient monastic tradition for dealing with sexual desire, and sexual ethics. Mandala: Has there been much scholarly work on Buddhism and sexuality or are you breaking new ground? José: There has been a lot of work on women in Buddhism. There has been less work on Buddhism and sexuality, but there have been a couple of books that have come out. More work has been done on East Asian Buddhism and sexuality; not that much has been done on the Indo-Tibetan tradition, so that is what I am hoping that this book will be. For example, one chapter traces the origins of the doctrine of sexual misconduct from the earliest sutra sources until the later Tibetan commentaries. Individual chapters might look at a theme in the historical perspective: how does sexual misconduct change over time from the earliest scriptural account up until later medieval treatments. But the book as a whole isn t historical. It is more thematic. Mandala: How did you come to focus on sexuality and Buddhism? José: It is a really fascinating topic, and there is no one book in Buddhism on this subject, so it forces you to look at many different texts. Since this is what I enjoy doing most looking at and reading old texts it has given me a chance to read these old documents on a subject that is just intrinsically interesting. There are these wonderful stories that are preserved in the Vinaya, the discipline of the monks and nuns, all the way to the Abhidharma, as well as the treatment of desire in the sutra corpus. There is material on how in the beginning of a world cycle, human beings begin as androgynous and then eventually develop sexual organs and become sexually differentiated as male and female. All of these different types of literature fall under the general rubric of sexuality, but there is no one place where you would naturally find them all in any Buddhist source, so it is a kind of challenge to bring them together into a whole. More directly, several years ago [in 1997], a group of gay and lesbian Buddhists in San Francisco asked to meet His Holiness the Dalai Lama to talk to him about some remarks that he had made that they interpreted to be homophobic. I went to that meeting. (You can find accounts of it online.) One of the things His Holiness said was that unlike other religions, he doesn t have the power to unilaterally overturn things that are found in the texts. One of the things that he encouraged us to do was do research on them. So that is what I thought my contribution could be, since that is what I enjoy doing most. To the extent that I m gifted at anything, that is what I m good at. I saw as my job to look through the texts and see what they had to say and analyze that. His Holiness said that many of the claims that are made in these texts had to be examined, they had to be looked at in historical context, and then people had to make arguments for whether or not they were still applicable today. Then once that happens, the Buddhist communities have to come to a consensus about whether or not specific types of relationships, homosexual relationships for example, or whether specific types of sexual acts themselves should be considered ethically problematic, or whether really it is an outmoded vestige of a context that is no longer applicable. I don t know that my book will resolve all of these problems, but at least I hope that it will contribute to the discussion that may lead to some kind of resolution to all of these issues. Mandala: This topic is very relevant to our modern culture. Within American Western Dharma communities, which tend to be liberal and progressive, I think there is acceptance of and support for gays and lesbians. José: I agree with you that the general view within North American and probably European Dharma communities is very liberal in that same-sex relationships are no problem and so forth. But it strikes us as strange when we then read texts that don t reflect those same views. There are actually three approaches [to reading texts]: one could say that the texts trump all other understanding and that whatever we find in the texts is really what we need to follow. That is a kind of fundamentalist view, a literalist view of the tradition where we have to literally accept what we find in the texts without any kind of critical intervention or trying to situate it in the historical context. I don t think that works very well. The second view is to jettison the texts altogether and say, This is obviously irrelevant to our time; we have gone way beyond this; these are archaic doctrines that represent a kind of old, patriarchal, misogynous society and therefore we should just throw away the entire textual tradition and start from scratch. I think that is another extreme. The question is whether it is possible to read these texts critically, to engage with them critically, and to say where they are problematic, this is why they are problematic, and this is how they need to be changed for these reasons. That is my view somewhere in-between these two extremes fundamentalism on the one hand and jettisoning the tradition on the other. Read more from our interview with José, where he talks about the Sera Monastery Project, Maitripa College and Yangsi Rinpoche, the future of Buddhism in the West and Lama Yeshe, at mandala.fpmt.org. 28 Mandala October - December 2013

The Greatest Honor Becoming a Rik Chung By Ven. Tenzin Gache In August 2013, Ven. Tenzin Gache (Brian Roiter) became one of the very few Westerners to participate in the rik chung debate held at Sera Je Monastic University in South India. Ven. Gache, an American monk in his sixth year of study in Sera Je s geshe program, is a top memorizer and debater and one of 16 from his class of 118 chosen to participate in this year s debate. For this issue of Mandala, Ven. Gache describes life as a monk in the geshe program and how he came to be a rik chung. Here is a short excerpt from his fascinating account. Ge wai she nyen chen po ten zin ga che dang ge wai she nyen chen po thub ten nam dak nyi gel tag su dren par zhu! ( Geshe Tenzin Gache and Geshe Thubten Namdak, please come forth to debate! ) Standing upright on a woodblock throne, before an assembly of several thousand monks, the Sera Je abbot invited my debate partner and me to rise. After prostrating, we donned our da gams (heavy wool capes) and gently paced up the central aisle towards the throne. After touching heads with the abbot, we returned to the center of the assembly, my partner in the second aisle and me in the central one. Slowly I began to chant my thesis [in Tibetan] for the debate: Bodhichitta is the wish, for the benefit of others, to achieve perfect and complete enlightenment... After paying homage to the past Indian and Tibetan masters, I gave a basic description of bodhichitta its source in the Buddha s sutras, the way it was explicated by the Indian masters Nagarjuna and Asanga, its defining features, divisions, and benefits, supplementing each topic with citations from Indian treatises. Closing with a short summary, I intoned a verse from Chandrakirti s 7th-century Supplement to the Middle Way: Unfurling his broad white wings of conventional and ultimate [wisdom], The king of swans strides ahead of the ordinary swans. Propelled onward by the potent wind of virtue, He crosses over to the far shore of the ocean of qualities of the Victors. Two months prior, a panel of 10 judges had chosen my partner and me as rik chungs, a special title awarded to the top 16 debaters in the sixth year of Sera Je s geshe program. Rik chung literally means small reasoning, not as a slight to the participants but rather to distinguish it from rik chen, great reasoning, a similar title conferred in the final, twenty-fifth year of the program. While rik chen Ven. Tenzin Gache prior to the rik chung debate, Sera Je Monastic University, India, August 2013. Photo courtesy of author. is a higher honor, there is a lot more excitement around the rik chung debate, perhaps because it a coming of age for a young class, and a time when it can show off its best debaters to the entire monastery. The rik chung is also the first glimpse of completing the very long road to becoming a lharampa geshe, and as a symbol of that step, the debaters wear the yellow donka (shirt) of a geshe, as well as a traditional curved debating hat and da gam. Being named a rik chung was the greatest honor I have had so far in my life, and was the culmination of a long process I could not have imagined when I began. Read the rest of Ven. Gache s story in this issue s online edition at mandala.fpmt.org. There s more Mandala online! Visit mandala.fpmt.org to read more about Dharma and the Modern World in this issue s online edition. Highlights include: Ven. Gache s full account of studying and debate at Sera Je Learn about FPMT s Sera Je Food Fund, which feeds more than 2,500 monks every day Stories from His Holiness the Dalai Lama s visit to Australia and New Zealand in June More from our interview with José Cabezón Travel writer Jane Marshall describes her journey to Tsum in Nepal October - December 2013 Mandala 29

FPMT EDUCATION With beginner to advanced level study programs; at-home, online, and group learning opportunities; digital and hardcopy materials, meditation supplies, ritual items, and holy objects; clear and accurate translations of fundamental texts; and select scholarships, we have what you need to reach your Buddhist study and practice goals. FPMT EDUCATION SERVICES is the education department of FPMT International Office and develops study programs, practice materials, translations and trainings designed to foster an integration of four broad education areas: study, practice, service and behavior. fpmt.org/education ONLINE LEARNING: Perhaps you ve studied Buddhism for years in a town with no Buddhist center and feel you have no one to talk to about progressing on the path. Maybe you already participate in online social forums and would love to do so with a spiritual community. Or perhaps a question arises at 3:00 a.m. that needs an answer ASAP. The FPMT Online Learning Center provides an enormous opportunity for students to engage in the comprehensive programs developed by FPMT Education Services in the comfort of their own homes. onlinelearning.fpmt.org SHOP: The FPMT Foundation Store provides a vast selection of Buddhist study materials, Dharma material for children, meditation supplies and more. shop.fpmt.org

We look forward to helping you begin or strengthen your Buddhist education. Please be in touch with any questions you may have: education@fpmt.org Prayers and Practices Books Sadhanas and Practice Materials MP3 Downloads PDF Prayers and Practices for your Kindle or ipad Study Programs Suitable for All Levels At Home or Online Learning

EDUCATION FPMT Education Services Lam-rim Resource Guide By Yearly Lam-rim Meditation Cycle Lama Zopa Rinpoche has suggested that students follow a lam-rim outline and meditate on each subject for two weeks or one month until all subjects have been studied (see page 18). The amount of time for meditation is up to the individual, but the general advice is to finish the lam-rim in one year, Rinpoche said. To meditate like this each year, wow, wow, wow! That would be great. To help students fulfill this request, FPMT Education Services has put together a list of lam-rim resources. All are available on the FPMT Foundation Store (shop.fpmt.org) unless indicated with an asterisk. Extensive Lam-rim Texts Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand by Pabongka Rinpoche The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, Volumes 1-3 by Je Tsongkhapa Steps on the Path to Enlightenment: A Commentary on the Lamrim Chenmo, Volumes 1-3 by Geshe Lhundub Sopa Practicing the Path by Yangsi Rinpoche Meditations on the Path to Enlightenment by Geshe Acharya Thubten Loden* (Available through Tushita Publications) Middle-Length Lam-rim Texts The Path to Enlightenment by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama The Three Principal Aspects of The Path by Geshe Sonam Rinchen The Essential Nectar by Geshe Rabten* (Out of print available through used book stores) Education is the very heart of FPMT. Through comprehensive study programs, practice materials, training programs and scholarships, FPMT Education Services nourishes the development of compassion and wisdom in students worldwide. These programs and materials are available through the FPMT Foundation Store, the FPMT Online Learning Center and FPMT centers worldwide. Left: A statue of Lama Atisha was found inside the stupa of Lama Tsongkhapa in Gaden Monastery in Tibet when it was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. Lama Zopa Rinpoche keeps this statue on his altar at Kopan Monastery in Nepal. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang. FPMT Education Services Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment by Atisha Dipamkara The Essence of Nectar by Yeshe Tsondru Lam-Rim Outlines: Extended Beginners Meditation Guide by Ven. Karin Valham Brief Lam-rim Texts Three Principal Aspects of the Path by Je Tsongkhapa Schedule for Three-Day Lam-Rim Retreat by Lama Zopa Rinpoche Glance Meditation on All the Important Points of the Lam-Rim by Losang Jinpa The Foundation of All Good Qualities by Je Tsongkhapa Abbreviated Points of the Graded Path by Je Tsongkhapa Calling the Guru From Afar by Pabongka Rinpoche Lam-rim Audio Programs Singing the Lamrim by Lama Zopa Rinpoche Guided Meditations on the Stages of the Path by Ven. Thubten Chodron The Complete Lam-rim by Ven. Karin Valham FPMT Education Study Programs Discovering Buddhism: This is a two-year, fourteen-module series that provides a solid foundation in the lam-rim. Living in the Path: This lam-rim program is based on Lama Zopa Rinpoche s teachings on Atisha s Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment. Please let us know if we can assist you any further as you engage in your lam-rim studies and practices! Contact us at education@fpmt.org or find us online at www.fpmt.org/education. 32 Mandala October - December 2013

Foundation for Developing Compassion and Wisdom By the FDCW team The Foundation for Developing Compassion and Wisdom (FDCW) is an international project of the FPMT, established in 2005, to help all beings lead a happier, more peaceful and meaningful life. It achieves this through providing educational programs and projects rooted in Buddhist philosophy and psychology yet suitable for people of all cultures and traditions. This collection of programs and projects comprises Universal Education for Compassion and Wisdom (UECW). Members of the FDCW team were happy to participate in the FPMT European Regional Meeting in July, especially since it took place in Jamyang Buddhist Centre London, where our offices are located. Our participation took three main aspects: a presentation to the meeting from director Alison Murdoch, hosting an English dessert party for around 50 of the meeting delegates, and most importantly enjoying the opportunity to catch up with educators from around Europe who are putting Universal Education for Compassion and Wisdom into action. We were particularly inspired to meet with a group of Spanish delegates and hear how Marisa Femenia, the spiritual program coordinator of Nagarjuna C.E.T. Madrid is working with a group of 30 mostly Roman Catholic teachers to take UECW into local schools. Members of her group have now participated in a range of workshops and training courses, led by FDCW training manager Marian O Dwyer, Belén Köhler from Universal Mandala School and Basili Llorca from Educación Universal in Barcelona. They have commented on how they are not simply learning tools for use in the classroom, but participating in a shared journey of self-discovery and transformation. Other FDCW friends who attended the meeting included Stany Paquet and Marguy Krier, who have just run their second UECW-inspired family camp in Belgium, and Séverine Gondouin, a long-term FDCW supporter who works in schools in Switzerland. It was helpful to exchange thoughts with FPMT centers about how FDCW and its partner programs can better respond to their need for secular education programs. Various center directors expressed a wish for FDCW to train one or more 16 Guidelines facilitators from among their own members, and we are looking into how we can accomplish this in both English and Spanish in Europe during 2014. For regular news about upcoming events and training, join FDCW s mailing list at www.compassionandwisdom.org or check the listings on www.16guidelines.org. From left: FDCW leads an exercise at FPMT European Regional Meeting, Jamyang Buddhist Centre, London, July 2013; FDCW hosted an English dessert party for nearly 50 delegates at the regional meeting. Photos courtesy of FDCW. October - December 2013 Mandala 33

EDUCATION Empathy and Compassion in Society Conference: Joining Forces for Good Where is the place for compassion in professional and institutional settings? What makes a decision compassionate? What individual or institutional benefits can be gained from making decisions based on empathy and altruism? These are some of the themes that will be explored during the second Empathy and Compassion in Society conference in London, October 2013. The Foundation for Developing Compassion and Wisdom is proud to continue as one of the main partners of this event that brings together some of the world s leading speakers on empathy and compassion, providing a forum for professionals to explore what compassion is and isn t and how it can be cultivated. Taking part in this conference made me aware of how FDCW is adding strength and depth to a growing movement for a more compassionate world. This was the first time that such a conference had been organized in the UK. It attracted nearly 600 people from the fields of education, health and social care, and demonstrated how the work of each of the partner organizations can validate and strengthen the others efforts, and increase our 16 Guidelines Survey and Review potential to be a force for good, reported Natasha Bolonkin, FDCW office administrator who participated in the inaugural conference last year. The 2013 program includes a mix of presentations and roundtable discussions with neuroscientists, psychologists and thinkers, followed by a choice of workshops presenting specific case studies of how the qualities of empathy and compassion have been applied in education, social and health care settings. The conference will be preceded by a free youth gathering for schools and youth groups featuring Pam Cayton, founder of Creating Compassionate Cultures, as one of the speakers, and Anna Colao, long-term volunteer and developer of the 16 To Live By program for teenagers, as co-facilitator. FDCW is also providing workshops on Creating Compassionate Cultures in Schools (led by Pam) and an Introduction to the 16 Guidelines. You can watch last year s presentations on video and find out more about this year s conference at www.compassioninsociety.org. Over the past six months, FDCW has been intensively engaged in reviewing the 16 Guidelines (16G) program, which in some ways could be described as action research on how to promote secular ethics in education, the social sector and business. First launched in 2006 at the Happiness and its Causes conference in Sydney, we ve been delighted by its success in reaching 24 countries, while aware that many aspects of the program could be improved. FDCW is very grateful to everyone who is giving their time to help us learn from the experience of the past five years. In November 2012, volunteers Stacey Martin and Juan Angel Armada launched an initial survey, which was open to anyone who had done FDCW-organized 16 Guidelines training, and was kindly completed by 144 people in five different languages. An overview of the survey findings is available on www.compassionandwisdom.org. The results have been fascinating and very helpful. For example, we learned that 74 percent of respondents have found the 16G program very helpful, 22 percent moderately helpful, and 3 percent slightly helpful. We were particularly interested to find out how the 16G are used to benefit others. It is inspiring to know how many respondents have used the 16G to work with children in primary and elementary schools and day care groups. And just as inspiring was how many had used the 16G with young people working in high schools and creating programs to support teenagers struggling with drug addiction, mental health issues or racism. We were also delighted to find out that several respondents had used the 16G in hospices, prisons and counseling settings, as well as the many applications in the workplace. Many respondents had set up weekly or monthly 16G support and meditation groups, either in Dharma centers or secular venues, and were even using Skype to stay in touch. We truly rejoice in all these activities! Building on the first survey, FDCW consultant Mirjana Ogrin created an in-depth questionnaire for a targeted group of over a hundred 16 Guidelines supporters. Mirjana submitted an in-depth report to the board of directors in August, with recommendations for the future development of the program, and FDCW is now seeking funding to take these recommendations forward. We are particularly grateful to volunteers on the Implementation Advisory Group who supported this process, and invite you to join our mailing list if you would like to see the results of the review. www.16guidelines.org 34 Mandala October - December 2013

In translating this classic Tibetan guide on the meditative practice of Vajrayogini, as well as the sadhanas, into English, David Gonsalez has made important resources available to serious Vajrayana practitioners that would enrich their deep engagement with the Dharma. In this volume, the translator succeeds most admirably in capturing both the profundity and the liveliness of spirit that characterize the original Tibetan text of the famed Tibetan master Kyabje Phabongkha Rinpoche. Thupten Jinpa, Principal translator to H.H. the Dalai Lama, whose translations include Mind Training: The Great Collection. The translation of this was done by David Gonsalez under the instruction of Gen Lobsang Chophel, who happened to be one of the secretaries to the late H. H. Kyabje Trijang Dorjechang. It has to be perfect. Thank you for the publication of this wonderful translation and I strongly recommend authorized practitioners to study this. Gelek Rimpoche David Gonsalez provides a great service in presenting English renditions of Pabongkha s writings on the Vajrayogini tradition, the most wondrous Sakya lineage known as Naro Khachoma, or Naropa s Space Dancer. Glenn Mullin, Buddhist writer, translator C U R R E N T LY AVA I L A B L E : and tantric meditation teacher Source of Supreme Bliss A commentary to the generation and completion stage practices ofchakrasamvara Five Deity. by Ngulchu Dharmabhadra & Panchen Chökyi Gyaltsen 232 pages...$50.00 I am confident that David s sincere motivation and knowledge to make these tantric practices available in English will be of great value to those who are earnest practitioners of Venerable Vajrayogini. Sharpa Tulku FORTHCOMING: Extremely Secret Dakini of Naropa A commentary to the generation and completion stage practices of Naro Kachö Vajrayogini. by Pabongkha Dechen Nyingpo 392 pages...$65.00 Roar of Thunder A commentary to the generation and completion stage practices of Thirteen Deity and Solitary Hero Vajrabhairava. by Ngulchu Dharmabhadra & the Fifth Ling Rinpoche Lungtog Tenzin Trinley 359 pages...$60.00 Healing Nectar of Immortality A commentary to the longevity practice of White Tara by Trijang Rinpoche Losang Yeshe & Aku Sherab Gyatso 240 pages...$35.00 Secret Revelations of Chittamani Tara A commentary to the generation and completion stage practices of Chittamani Tara by Pabongkha Dechen Nyingpo 282 pages...$50.00 The Ecstatic Dance of Chakrasamvara is a translation of oral teachings on the generation and completion stages of the Heruka Body Mandala in the lineage of Mahasiddha Ghantapa. The commentary was given by Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche Losang Yeshe, who was the junior tutor to His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, in Dharamsala, India in 1973. Many of the instructions presented in this book have been carefully maintained as an oral lineage that must be learned from one s own guru, resulting in a wellspring of profound instructions on both Chakra-samvara in particular and highest yoga tantra in general. The teachings within this book are the very pinnacle of the most profound teachings available in the Vajrayana tradition. by Trijang Rinpoche Losang Yeshe (available October 2013) Manjushri s Innermost Secret A profound commentary to the practice of Lama Chopa by Kanchen Yeshe Gyaltsen The Blazing Inner Fire of Bliss and Emptiness A commentary to the Six Yogas of Naropa by Ngulchu Dharmabhadra The Melodious Drum of Dakini Land A commentary on the Extensive Dedication Prayer of Vajrayogini. by Yangchen Drupai Dorje AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY AT www.dechenlingpress.org Dechen Ling Press is dedicated to providing translations of authentic practice texts and commentaries for Tibetan Buddhist practitioners in the Gelug tradition.

YOUR COMMUNITY Mayra Rocha Sandoval Completes Three-Year Lam-rim Retreat in Mexico City Although students of Lama Zopa Rinpoche have successfully completed three-year deity retreats, having a student finish a three-year lam-rim retreat is extremely rare. As Rinpoche emphasizes the lam-rim as the foundation for achieving enlightenment, Mandala rejoices in the accomplishment of long-time student Mayra Rocha Sandoval, who carried out a three-year lam-rim retreat on the advice of Rinpoche in her home in bustling Mexico City. Mayra wrapped up the retreat in March 2013. Mandala: How did you come to decide to do a three-year lam-rim retreat? And how did your family and friends react? Mayra: The decision to do the lam-rim retreat arose in April 2008 during our dear teacher Lama Zopa Rinpoche s visit to Mexico. In an interview, I asked Rinpoche to please help me make this life really meaningful. Rinpoche checked [by divination] and told me that it would be very good to do a three-year lam-rim retreat. When I asked him where to do it, he responded, In Mexico, in your house. My house is right in the center of Mexico City, a rather noisy place and with many challenges. My family and friends were very surprised upon hearing the news. Mandala: What preparations did you have to make before you began? Mayra: In May 2009 during the 100 Million Mani Retreat at Institut Vajra Yogini in France, I received Rinpoche s instructions for the retreat. The main preparations indicated were some preliminary practices: 100,000 tsa-tsas and 30,000 Dorje Khadro fire pujas, which I completed at Nalanda Monastery that same year. I returned to Mexico to set up my small gompa and prepare the apartment for the retreat. A month before I planned to begin the retreat, however, I had a car accident on the road in Aguascalientes when I was going to some teachings. Fortunately, I had only minor injuries and a nervous breakdown that only delayed the beginning of the retreat a little. Finally on April 14, 2010, I was able to being the retreat, thanks to the extremely valuable support I received from Vens. Champa Shenpen, Paloma Alba, Nerea Basurto and Begoña Mendizabal. That support was incredibly useful for me before and during the retreat. I thank them with all my heart. Mandala: During the retreat, what unexpected challenges and successes arose? How did you handle or solve your challenges? Mayra: Studying and meditating on the lam-rim gave me much inspiration and happiness; I enjoyed it immensely. But as is to be expected, there were obstacles and unexpected events. The strongest and most painful was receiving the news of our dear guru Lama Zopa Rinpoche s stroke [in 2011] during the retreat. One significant challenge I had to resolve was the problem of water leaking into the gompa that caused damage to the gompa s ceiling. A good friend, Ovidio Lozano, for whom I m profoundly thankful, offered me extraordinary help in the repairs. The other challenge was to learn to endure and work during the majority of the retreat with the famous lung. Also, experiencing several earthquakes was like receiving teachings on impermanence and death in action. Mandala: What supported your practice or helped you get through difficult points during the three years? Mayra: What helped me during the whole retreat to overcome difficulties was to offer everything that occurred to me to the complete recovery of our dear teacher Lama Zopa Rinpoche, everyday making prayers to be able to finish the retreat and to offer it up. This gave me the courage to continue forward. Also, remembering that the retreat would be beneficial to many beings, especially in Mexico in these difficult and violent times, helped me. At the end, Rinpoche checked that the most suitable thing to close the retreat was to do a pacifying fire puja with Geshe Tenzin Loden at Institut Vajra Yogini in France. There were also obstacles to overcome at the end of the retreat: I had a lot of mental fatigue, lung and obstacles with the flights. But finally, and only by the blessings of the precious guru who never abandons you, I arrived in France and carried out the fire puja with auspicious signs according to Geshe Loden. Afterward, I was invited by my dear friend Isabel Arocena to rest at Centro de Retiros Tushita in Spain, where I received from all my dear vajra brothers and sisters support and affection that I am very, very thankful for. The most important teaching during the whole retreat was the great importance of guru devotion and the experience of living in that devotion. No,itwasn taneasyretreat,butittaughtmealot.iwill value enormously the privilege to have met in this life a guru as qualified as our dear teacher Lama Zopa Rinpoche, who is a living buddha, and the blessed opportunity to study the holy Dharma 36 Mandala October - December 2013

Clockwise: Tibetan Bell by Sergemi; Mayra Rocha Sandoval, Mexico City, July 2013; Mayra s gompa, where she completed an in-house three-year lam-rim retreat. Photos by Harald Molina. in these difficult times. The retreat also taught me that it is possible to overcome environmental conditions and difficulties using the tools that the guru offers us. Mandala: How has the retreat changed your practice and daily life? What are your current plans? Mayra: Well, now in my daily life I intend to make the most of my time in the best way, frequently remembering impermanence. Also, I notice that I can perceive more easily when delusions arise in my mind and work with them. I have the intention to continue studying and prepare myself to be able to guide some preliminary practices in the future and in this way be able to be of benefit to others. Mayra Rocha Sandoval has studied Buddhism for over 20 years. Her gompa was once the meeting place for the former Jangchubling, FPMT s first study group in Mexico City. October - December 2013 Mandala 37

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YOUR COMMUNITY Centro Yamantaka Welcomes Geshe Lobsang Kunchen to Colombia By Olga Lucía Sierra and Miguel Angel García Centro Yamantaka was established in Bogotá 1994 with the blessing of Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Since then, the center has benefited many people in Colombia by offering the teachings of the Buddha by highly qualified teachers such as Lama Zopa Rinpoche in 1998, Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche in 2001, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who came to the country at the center s invitation, in 2006. Bringing these high lamas was a great opportunity for the members of the center to accumulate merit and to benefit the Colombian people. The first FPMT teacher to visit us was Ven. Robina Courtin, who kindly helped us organize the center and learn basic Buddhist teachings and protocol. At that time, we were new to Buddhism and didn t know anything about rituals, setting up an altar, doing prostrations and so forth. She introduced us to those practices and explained their meaning, which was very helpful. Although visiting teachers have been coming to Colombia two or three times a year, each time they left we felt some sadness, because we wanted to have continuous teachings by a qualified teacher in order to grow spiritually. We realized that when studying just by ourselves, the teachings were not as clear as when having a qualified teacher around. We could understand some teachings, but we didn t know how to put them into practice. This is the reason why we asked Lama Zopa Rinpoche to help us by granting us the possibility of having a resident geshe at the center. It took three years to be able to have Geshe Lobsang Kunchen in Colombia because there were many obstacles. We tried to think that these obstacles were purification for us and that we needed merit to have Geshe-la with us. Even just getting Geshe-la s visa was difficult. When Geshe-la needed some documents to take to the Colombian embassy in India, for example, we sent the documents, but Geshe-la did not receive them. When we called the shipping company, we were told that the documents seemed to be lost! But thanks to Geshe-la s diligence, he eventually found a way to get them. Once we finally got the papers to request the visa, at first the embassy said it was not possible to give Geshe-la a religious visa. Eventually, the embassy did grant the visa. After Geshe-la attended His Holiness the Dalai Lama s lam-rim teachings in India, he traveled to Delhi to pick the visa up. But when he arrived, a new counselor said that he needed to double-check Geshe-la s visa because he didn t want the Chinese government to become uncomfortable with the decision. Again we were discouraged, but also reflected on how everything is uncertain in Students Martha Vizcaya and Myriam Monroy with Geshe Lobsang Kunchen, Bogotá, Colombia, April 2013. Photo by Martha Patricia Compean. samara except death. Finally, one month later, Geshe-la got his visa! And this time we thought, Now we are done, we reached our goal! We were very, very happy. On the day Geshe-la was coming to Colombia, a few hours before the flight was to arrive, we received a call from Geshe-la telling us that there had been a problem with his transit visa and he was not allowed to travel. We had already organized a public welcoming at the center and had to tell the people who came, We are sorry, but Geshe-la will not arrive today. Once again, uncertainty. October - December 2013 Mandala 39

YOUR COMMUNITY Geshe Lobsang Kunchen celebrating His Holiness the Dalai Lama s birthday with students from Centro Yamantaka, Bogotá, Colombia, July 2013. Photo by Miguel Angel García. Geshe-la finally arrived February 27, 2013. We were very fortunate to have with us Ven. Robina, who helped us organize the house and welcoming. At the time of Ven. Robina s visit to Centro Yamantaka, we had just moved into a new house and we were following her advice to make it suitable for Geshe-la. We changed so many things, bought a lot of new furniture and worked so hard to arrange the house it was like we were in the TV show Extreme Makeover. When Ven. Robina left, the house was almost completely new. We were so happy to have her with us in this very special moment and make everything as nice as possible to please Geshe-la. Geshe Lobsang Kunchen is a lharampa geshe from Sera Je Monastery and was born in Tibet. He is a student of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and regards Rinpoche as his guru. Before Geshe-la came to Colombia, he taught for some years at the Dalai Lama Institute for Higher Education in Bangalore, India. Geshe-la has been teaching us the Lamrim Chenmo and how to develop a good heart at the request of Lama Zopa Rinpoche. We are very happy with Geshe-la and people are calmer and happier with him here. He teaches in a very practical way, explaining how to put lam-rim into practice in our daily lives. One thing we found surprising is that Geshe-la is very skillful using technology for spreading the Buddhadharma. He prepares PowerPoint presentations and videos for every lam-rim teaching. He also gives examples using anecdotes from his life and the monks in Sera Je and teaches about the relationship between science and the Buddhist approach to studying the mind. Now that we have Geshe-la with us, our goal is to continue working hard to have the conditions to keep him here for a long time so he can help us progress along the spiritual path and for the benefit of the Colombian people in particular. Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave us some commitments in the past that we expect to fulfill with Geshe-la s help and guidance. We are also working to find new spaces in local universities that do neuroscience research so Geshe-la can contribute to their knowledge. The students of Centro Yamantaka would like to say thank you to Lama Zopa Rinpoche for the kindness of sending us a qualified geshe to help us. We pray to be able to fulfill all of Rinpoche s wishes and request Rinpoche to please live a long life and please come to Colombia again very soon. Centro Yamantaka kindly offers a video with Geshe Lobsang Kunchen as part of this issue s online content (mandala.fpmt.org). The video is available with both English and Spanish subtitles and features Geshe-la sharing an abbreviated biography. The Foundation Stores offers materials for Spanish speakers including sutras, education programs and tools for helping others at death: http://shop.fpmt.org/materiales-en-espaol_c_387.html 40 Mandala October - December 2013

October - December 2013 Mandala 41

YOUR COMMUNITY Masters Program Students at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa Near End of Studies Masters Program students (left to right): Ven. Tiziana Losa, Jacob Fisher, Yaniv Sagi, Marina Brucet, Hans Burghardt, Yumi Terada and Joan Dombón, Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa, Pomaia, Italy, July 2013. Photo courtesy of ILTK. The second cycle of the FPMT Masters Program at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa (ILTK), Pomaia, Italy, is coming to a close. Based on Lama Yeshe s unique vision for comprehensive education and inspired by the traditional geshe studies at Tibetan Gelug monastic universities, the Masters Program is the FPMT s most advanced study program. Consisting of six years of intensive study followed by a one-year retreat, it provides serious students with the opportunity to explore deeply the major treatises of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism and to gain a strong grasp of the profound tradition of Lama Tsongkhapa. From among those individuals who successfully complete this program of study, it is hoped that some will show suitable interest and abilities and become qualified teachers of Buddhist theory and practice in FPMT centers. Students of the Masters Program class of 2008 2013 at ILTK are currently preparing for their final exams. Marina Brucet (Spain), Yumi Terada (Japan), Ven. Tiziana Losa (Italy), Hans Burghardt (Spain) and Jacob Fisher (England) have all participated in this Masters Program from the very beginning. They were interviewed in July 2013 about their backgrounds, their studies up to now and their upcoming retreats. When asked what the best part of the Masters Program was for them, here s what they said: Marina: [The best has been] all I ve learned about Buddhist philosophy, especially on emptiness and on the view of the Buddhist path. Parallel to that, the program gives you the conditions to practice Dharma and to work a lot on transforming your mind as you face all the different phases you go through when engaging in such deep studies. It also gave me the opportunity to start teaching introduction to meditation, which I appreciate very, very much. Yumi: For me, it was Guhyasamaja Tantra because it was the culmination of all the presentations that we had studied before this text. Ven. Tiziana: It is difficult to say, because all the texts have their own particular purpose, and they are all necessary to give an overview on the entire path. Jacob: For me, it was studying the tantra modules with Geshe Gelek, as I found this part of the studies much easier to relate to. The transmission of the knowledge from the various realized lineage masters seemed so much closer and more direct. It also showed me in a much more precise way how an unenlightened mind can become free and transformed into that of a buddha. Geshe-la has a very profound knowledge of this area. I found his teachings very lucid and they helped me understand the great depth and intensiveness of the various teachings of tantra in this lineage. Hans: Aside from the amazing teachings from Khensur Jampa Tegchok on the Madhyamakavatara and many other things, the best was the possibility to start teaching introductory courses. I ve learned a lot from those whom we usually label as beginners. They ve also given me a boost of motivation to further deepen my practical knowledge and to develop and strengthen the wish to go on one retreat after another for as long as possible, before I start teaching, to be able to give them as much as possible. Visit our online edition at mandala.fpmt.org to read the complete interview and learn more about the program and ways you can support Masters Program students entering their one-year retreat. 42 Mandala October - December 2013

October - December 2013 Mandala 43

YOUR COMMUNITY Accepting Oneself is the Foundation for All the Dharma As Dharma students, we sometimes don t consider how negative feelings about ourselves can impact our practice and Dharma community. Mandala spoke with Alan Carter, who served as resident teacher at Chandrakirti Centre in New Zealand until recently, about how self-acceptance is key to a successful Dharma practice. Mandala: Self-acceptance is something with which many people struggle. Questions like Am I worthy? and Am I capable? can arise as we dive into our Dharma practice, but do we know how to respond to these doubts? Alan: My thought is that accepting oneself is the foundation for all the Dharma. If you don t accept yourself, then you can go into the Dharma and use it as a beating stick. We go, Oh, I m selfish. Bang. I m impure. Bang. Oh, I m going to go to the lower realms; I hate myself. This is not helpful because if we feel that we are unworthy, then we are going to behave in an unworthy way. Whereas if we feel that we are potentially divine beings or we are divine, there is a sense of divinity within us, then we are going to behave in a divine way. I suppose that is why I particularly like the Vajrasattva practice. If we have committed negativities, then we purify, and that helps to reassert that sense of divinity, and then you go out with a clean slate again. From my own experience, as I get more moments of selfacceptance, then it is easier for me to accept others. This makes sense because if we can accept our dark and light sides, then we are more open to be able to accept it in others. In going through this process for myself and gradually becoming more accepting of myself, the compassion seems to be more freed up. When we talk about self-cherishing and cherishing others I feel a bit careful about those words, because I think we need to self-cherish, but not in terms of a self-centered attitude. I feel that we do need to care for ourselves. It is beneficial if when through caring for ourselves, it then flows out to caring for others. But if it is a caring for self that doesn t flow out to benefitting others, then that is the self-centered attitude. Mandala: How does this extend to the idea of living a balanced life as a Buddhist practitioner? Alan: Personally, it has been a struggle trying to find balance in my life. Buddhism has quite lofty values and ideals, the complete realization of which are, for me, still quite far away. I aspire to them. I aspire to bodhichitta. It warms the heart, but to actually develop uncontrived bodhichitta, from doing my eight years of Buddhist study, I have realized how far I am from actually achieving that. I don t mean I have gone backwards. It just becomes more real as to how far away I am. Sometimes I think, OK, I want to become enlightened, but what do I do in the meantime before I get enlightened? For me, it is a case of trying to be gentle on myself in that I can only go at the rate at which I can transform myself. This is where life balance comes in. We can see these very lofty values and get drawn to them and then become driven towards achieving these goals in an unbalanced way, as opposed to making progress in a more organic and integrated way, where slowly they become part of our life. Mandala: Why might a Dharma center want to be more actively involved in addressing issues around self-acceptance? Alan: This is the way I see it: on the basis of us not having that self-acceptance, sometimes it seems like we take up positions 44 Mandala October - December 2013

within organizations and very much hold on to them because that is our what Carl Rogers calls conditions for worth. Because when we don t accept ourselves, we look for things externally. Holding a position in a Dharma organization or building project or whatever, for example, sometimes I see that we can hold on to this very tightly, thinking, I m now important. I think this can create a bit of a problem within the organization. If we have not accepted ourselves, our insecurities or lack of self-worth manifest into the environment within the center. I have experienced troubles at centers, and people say, Well, what do you expect, it is a Dharma center. I think, Whoa! This is a Dharma center. It should ideally be a model of working together, being compassionate, caring for others. Sometimes it is not like that. Mandala: What are your ideas for countering this sense of lack? Where do we start and how can a center support this kind of work? Alan: On the individual level, we should accept that we do get angry; and also being open towards others saying that, Yes, I do become angry; yes, I do get depressed at times. Being authentic with others is part of that process. Sometimes I get a sense that anger is considered such a negative emotion that we sometimes suppress it or manifest it as passive-aggressive behavior. For us to really deal with anger, it needs to be recognized that we do have it, and in a sense, embrace it. Not to say, Yeah, it is a great thing to have, but to accept that it is part of our makeup at the moment, and we can choose to try to change our particular behavior to reduce our suffering. I think it is crucial, recognizing anger within ourselves, and then having a community where we can openly disclose and explore with others. Yes, we do get together as groups in centers and discuss things like When do we develop bodhichitta? When do I perceptually realize emptiness? All these technical things are, of course, beneficial. I would also like to see us discussing how to deal with the stuff about our acceptance or lack of acceptance, our lack of worth. I would like to see us work together to develop the skills to actually identify when we are doing certain things and to question, Is this supporting a condition for worth? This to me would help support a more authentic motivation of bodhichitta. Probably the best way to determine whether an activity is supporting a condition for worth is, if I ve got a particular position in an organization, am I willing to just give it to someone else? Or am I willing to include others, delegate what I m doing to others and include a vast number of other people in what I m doing? But if I am running a project, and I m holding it to myself, and I am not delegating very much, then that is probably a sign that it s a condition for worth. If we could work on self-acceptance, the eight worldly dharmas would be better dealt with and compassion would grow from that. It does seem to me to be a key. Alan offers more thoughts on self-acceptance and bringing Dharma into the community in the continuation of our interview in this issue s online edition, mandala.fpmt.org. Alan Carter has studied Tibetan Buddhism since 1993, attending many retreats and teachings with masters in the tradition. He completed the Basic Program at Chenrezig Institute in Queensland, Australia, and has taught and led retreats since 2000 in Australia and New Zealand. Alan currently volunteers at a hospice and aged-care home and works as a life coach. For more, visit www.lifebalance.kiwi.nz. Photo by Easyshutter/Dreamstime October - December 2013 Mandala 45

YOUR COMMUNITY Tagtuk and the Kind Heart Rescue of Happiness for Dogs Land of Medicine Buddha (LMB) director Denice Macy wrote to Mandala in January 2013 that she had a lead on an amazing story that involved two of LMB s community members and a lost dog. Intrigued, Mandala discovered the inspiring work of the Kind Heart Rescue of Happiness for Dogs, which is committed to not only saving the lives of dogs, but to giving them (and other animals) as many positive Buddhist imprints as possible in order to benefit their future lives. Afew days before Christmas 2012, a friendly brown and white pit bull roamed the streets of a California town. Amalie, who lived in the neighborhood, decided to help the dog and took him to her local shelter, thinking his owners would pick him right up. But after a few days when no one came for the dog, Amalie discovered that the shelter planned to euthanize him after the holidays. I went into panic mode as we had flyered the town, canvassed our neighborhood, spoken to the local vet and pet stores, and no one knew the dog, she wrote in an email describing the Christmas dog s eventual rescue. With mere days left before the shelter was going to kill the poor doggy, I then proceeded to frantically send out emails to addresses I got blind from websites on the internet to try to save the dog. Through a string of forwarded emails that passed through Land of Medicine Buddha, Amalie s plea ended up reaching Marc Henry, a student of Lama Zopa Rinpoche since the 1990s. Marc, with his partner Petra Muller, runs the Kind Heart Rescue of Happiness for Dogs, located near Santa Cruz and LMB. Marc called me then, out of the blue, Amalie continued in her follow-up message, which she sent to all who had forwarded her original email. Although Marc usually does not take solicitations like this, he told me there was something about the dog s eyes and, I guess, his story that induced him to get involved. Marc helped get the Christmas dog transferred to a shelter where he knew the dog would be safe. The shelter neutered and evaluated the dog and found him to be healthy and very amicable. Then Marc brought the Christmas dog to live at the Kind Heart Rescue of Happiness for Dogs, a name given to the project by Geshe Kelsang Wangdu, who at the time served as the resident geshe at the three California Bay Area FPMT centers. The following week, Geshe Dakpa, resident geshe at Tse Chen Ling in San Francisco, happened to be visiting Land of Medicine Buddha. Marc and Petra took the Christmas dog to be blessed by Geshe Dakpa, who gave the dog a new name: Tagtuk, which means little tiger. Left page: Tagtuk at the Kind Heart Rescue of Happiness for Dogs, August 2013. Even hummingbirds receive positive imprints at the Kind Heart Rescue. Photos courtesy of Marc Henry. Tagtuk s unusual because he can play with all the dogs [at the Kind Heart Rescue], Marc told Mandala during a phone interview. Some of these dogs don t know how to play well, but Tagtuk gets them all to play healthily. He also has a unifying disposition with a pack of dogs, and he knows how to navigate each dog and get along with them. He s very unusual from that aspect. The Kind Heart Rescue of Happiness for Dogs is not what you would call a normal dog rescue. Lama Zopa Rinpoche has instructed that the best thing for animals is to hear mantras and see holy images. And Marc and Petra have closely followed this advice at the rescue. In and around the dogs kennels are pictures of Medicine Buddha, Chenrezig, Maitreya and other buddhas as well as written mantras. Speakers in the kennel play mantras throughout the day. A site for a stupa has already been chosen and leveled on the three-acre property. The dogs hear mantras on walks 46 Mandala October - December 2013

Lama Zopa Rinpoche at the Kind Heart Rescue, March 2011. Photo by Ven. Thubten Kunsang. and also are made to sit and listen to mantras before they eat. When one of the dogs is adopted out, which happens once every year or two, the dog s new caretaker is asked to continue to play or chant mantras for the dog. It s tricky because you don t want to push Buddhism on to people, but we ve been pleasantly surprised by how open people are to giving Dharma to their pets, Marc said. The Kind Heart Rescue, which currently has 12 dogs, is unique in another way: they primarily work with difficult dogs. Unlike Tagtuk, who has a good disposition, most of the dogs Marc and Petra take in have problems with vicious behavior. These dogs are often from so-called fighting breeds and may have experienced traumatic or neglectful situations. Even in an area with active rescue groups, there are often few options for these dogs besides euthanasia. Most shelters and organizations do not have the resources, skills or time to care for and train dogs that are dangerously aggressive to humans or other animals. But even a friendly dog like Tagtuk is at risk for being euthanized due to his breed. Pit bulls in particular have a bad reputation, a view that has more to do with human activities than with the actual nature of the dogs, but which makes them difficult to adopt out from a shelter. Marc takes primary responsibility for training the dogs and believes even the most threatening and vicious deserve to live and can be helped. When Marc and Petra adopt a dog with problem behaviors, they create an eight-point training program that covers teaching basic commands, evaluating behavior issues and discovering triggers, desensitizing the dog to its triggers, and helping the dog learn how to be calm, among other things. We see every animal as an individual with its own disposition. And we work to be the most helpful to that animal so they don t find themselves in the situations they were in before, Marc explained. Part of the work is knowing several training systems and about dog behavior. Another part is being able to look at the dog s energy, for lack of a better term, and see which buddha is closest to its general disposition. Some are closer to Vairocana. Some are closer to Amitabha and so on. The dog then hears October - December 2013 Mandala 47

YOUR COMMUNITY Lama Zopa Rinpoche reciting mantras to the dogs, March 2011. Photo by Ven. Thubten Kunsang. mantras and sees images of the buddha deemed most helpful. When the dog is ready, it becomes a member of the Kind Heart pack. And after good progress is made on its program, the dog also is taught how to be comfortable with people sitting in meditation and doing practice. You need to create a sense of safety for aggressive dogs when working with them. And you really need to have all of the six perfections with every action you do. A little bit of a conceptual understanding of emptiness helps to be able to function with the dogs, because otherwise it would be totally anxiety ridden, Marc said. He admits that over the 20 years that they ve been rescuing dogs, they ve had to learn a lot and some lessons have come the hard way. But they ve developed good relationships with expert dog trainers and animal behaviorists and have become more skillful and knowledgeable with handling their animals. Marc grew up in Israel and became interested in Buddhism after his military service when he had a powerful experience with the Flower Ornament Sutra. His search for someone to help him understand the sutra and his experience eventually led him to Vajrapani Institute in Boulder Creek, California, where he met Ven. Tenzin Chogkyi, who was Vajrapani s director at the time. Ven. Chogkyi introduced Marc to Lama Zopa Rinpoche and over the years she has supported Marc and Petra s rescue work as have other Bay Area monastics, who have visited and performed pujas. The Maitreya Heart Shrine Relics have also made a special stop at the rescue to offer blessings to the animals. Lama Zopa Rinpoche has also given Marc and Petra guidance, as well as visited the dogs kennels, chanted to the dogs and offered blessings. During one visit, he instructed Marc to build a stupa and chose a site for it on their land. Marc and Petra have financed the dog rescue from their own pockets; he works as a contractor and she as a full-time nurse. Covering all the expenses themselves, they believe, allows them to run the rescue according to their vision. However, they have just started a nonprofit to raise money for the stupa, which they aren t able to finance on their own. In addition to providing positive imprints to the dogs, Marc and Petra also provide a Dharma-filled respite for the injured and dying animals they find on their walks in the woods. According to Marc, veterinarians won t usually treat injured wildlife like rats, so they have a cage set up for those animals with pictures of Chenrezig, Medicine Buddha, Lama Zopa Rinpoche and other holy images and with mantras playing. That way the dying animals receive care and have the best possible death. Marc is very humble about his work. And he says there have been times when he has been ready to leave it all behind. I m not this great practitioner. I think that s why Rinpoche in his wisdom said, You have to continue [working] with the dogs, Marc explained. I have to feed them every night and water them. I have to take care of them when they are sick and give them medicine. Rinpoche probably figured that for someone like me, that s the only way I ll do practice. When Marc and Petra feel a dog is rehabilitated they will adopt the dog out, but it is a lengthy process. It s important to us that the dog be cared for and so on. But it s also important that they be spiritually OK, Marc explained. Our main purpose is to give as many positive imprints to these animals as we can. For now, Tagtuk, a.k.a. the Christmas dog, continues to live at the Kind Heart Rescue. We want to find him a home, but we also like having him here, Marc said. The more peaceful dogs we have, the more we can work them with the pack. Over the years, Marc has seen the benefit of their work extend beyond the dogs. When I think about it, these animals can impact people s lives in the most incredible ways and they create changes in people, Marc said. The most profound thing is when we hear from people who aren t even Buddhist that all of a sudden they are willing to recite mantras and have their dogs hear them. That s the fantastic stuff! The Kind Heart Rescue of Happiness for Dogs is developing a website and ways to support the building of a stupa on their property. Mandala will continue to follow their story. There s more on animal liberation online, including long-time FPMT student Amy Cayton s work with rescuing cats. Read more in this issue s online edition at mandala.fpmt.org. 48 Mandala October - December 2013

OBITUARIES Obituaries Lama Zopa Rinpoche requests that students who read Mandala pray that the students whose obituaries follow find a perfect human body, meet a Mahayana guru and become enlightened quickly, or be born in a pure land where the teachings exist and they can become enlightened. While reading these obituaries, we can also reflect upon our own death and rebirth, prompting us to live our lives in the most meaningful way. Advice and practices for death and dying from Lama Zopa Rinpoche are available in the Foundation Store (shop.fpmt.org). Ven. Lobsang Tonden (David Allen), 38, died in Labastide-Saint-Georges, France, November 15, 2012, after self-immolation By Ven. Lobsang Tendar Ven. Tonden was born September 20, 1974, in England. Tonden was ordained in February 2008 by Geshe Jamphel, abbot of Nalanda Monastery in France, and was living at Nalanda Monastery when he died. He s survived by his mother, Glenda Allen; his stepfather, Richard Shearing; and his sister, Kristy. On June 15, 2013, a commemoration ceremony for Ven. Tonden was held at Nalanda Monastery. We started with performing a Medicine Buddha puja in a full gompa, including Geshe Yeshe Rinchen, Geshe Londen from Institut Vajra Yogini, lots of Sangha members and the parents and friends of Tonden. After the puja and refreshments, we walked a few times around the stupa at Nalanda and to the cemetery where Nalanda had purchased a plot from the local town hall. About 80 people made this lovely 20-minute walk in the beautiful countryside of Labastide- Saint-Georges. Ven. Choden led the ceremony at the cemetery and more than 10 people shared their memories of Tonden. With each testimony given, everyone was able to see a different side of Tonden. We all grew closer to Tonden in the process. For example, Ven. Yonten read aloud a story that Tonden shared with monks and guests at a luncheon last year. The story instructed to look at the 99 percent of one s life that is going well, rather than focusing on the 1 percent that is going badly. Back at the monastery, Tonden s parents offered a very nice, large lunch, prepared by a dedicated group of monks and volunteers. In the afternoon, there was plenty of time for family, friends and community members to connect and relax in Nalanda s gardens. The presence of so many people (including more than 20 people coming over from England, three Catholic monks from En Calcat and many friends of Institut Vajra Yogini and Nalanda), the excellent weather conditions, the informal atmosphere (a request of Tonden s mother) and the well organized activities with the whole of Nalanda Monastery involved made for a beautiful day. Tonden s ashes will stay at the cemetery so everyone family, friends and Sangha in the future will be able to visit him close to the place that he dearly loved. In spring and summer, monks often go there for walks and talks, so we will not forget him. We hope that this day contributed to the inner peace of everyone involved. Robert W., 49, died in Santa Cruz, California, United States, May 6, 2013, of liver disease Robert W. blessed by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Jhado Rinpoche and Khadro-la, Soquel, California, June 2012. Photo by Cody Mattson. By Ven. Losang Drimay and Nicole MacArgel Bob W. passed away May 6, 2013. He had stayed at Tara Home, the hospice at Land of Medicine Buddha, during the summer of 2012. Bob spent most of his 49 years partying and living in encampments around Santa Cruz County. Coming to Tara Home with a terminal diagnosis of liver disease was a most unexpected event. However, once there, Bob was able to allow himself to open his heart and mind to the Buddhist tradition. It was especially profound to have Ven. Drimay escort Bob and a Tara 50 Mandala October - December 2013

Home volunteer down to the large prayer wheel to receive a blessing from Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Khadro-la (Rangjung Neljorma Khadro Namsel Drolma) and Jhado Rinpoche, who were all at the center in June 2012 and were consecrating the recently re-filled large prayer wheel. After the blessing, Bob admitted that he felt much better. He was happy to keep a blessed khata in his room afterwards. Miraculously, Bob s conditioned improved, and he was released from Tara Home to live another year. His sister, Cathy, is so grateful for the care we provided Bob. She believes he had grown much as a result of being at Tara Home, making his last months quite meaningful. When she returned to her home in Massachusetts, Cathy bought a Buddha statue with a fish (Bob was a fisherman), and placed it in her backyard, where she takes time out to sit. Alison Kaye Harr, 36, died in San Francisco, California, United States, June 1, 2013, of complications due to a car accident Alison Harr with parents Bruce and Pearl By Carina Rumrill Alison s involvement with FPMT began in 2002 when she was invited to visit a friend who was living in a cabin high up in the redwood forests of the Santa Cruz, California, mountains. With her beloved Boston Terrier, Buster, she drove the fivemile dirt road leading up to Vajrapani Institute. In 2009 she recalled, in a conversation with Mandala, The minute I stepped on Rinpoche s land I found refuge, the feeling and protection I was searching for, for so very long. The FPMT saved my life by being there for me. She would continue to refer to Vajrapani Institute as her heart center throughout the remainder of her life. In 2004, Alison attended a lam-rim retreat with Ven. Robina Courtin at Land of Medicine Buddha in Soquel, California. During this retreat she identified Ven. Robina as her teacher. She moved to San Francisco in 2006, determined to offer service to the Liberation Prison Project (LPP), which Ven. Robina founded in 1996 and ran until 2009. I met Alison at this time, while I was serving the project as operations director and teacher coordinator. At LPP, Alison offered service in many capacities: offering water bowls, cleaning, packing books, managing the resources department and eventually writing to prisoners herself. What I ve always admired about Alison is her courage, the effort she made to practice. She persevered. Ven. Robina said after Alison passed away. The dictionary says that this means to persist in anything undertaken; maintain a purpose in spite of difficulty, obstacles, or discouragement; continue steadfastly. Well, that s Alison! This was evident ever since we first met. She never gave up. No matter how difficult things got, she picked herself up, renewed her faith in the Buddha, in the teachings, and kept on going. And she never gave up on others, either. She always had enthusiasm to help. The prisoners she looked after when she worked for the prison project felt so supported by her. She made such effort to give good advice, to write nice letters, to send the most helpful books. Our lamas tell us that without this joyful effort or enthusiastic perseverance, we simply can t succeed, we can t get enlightened. And Lama Zopa Rinpoche says that unless we make effort, we don t create much merit at all. Well, Alison must have created bucket-loads! Alison was hilarious, sharp, generous, altruistic and extremely open-minded. She was a committed Dharma practitioner who was always pushing to deepen her practice and understanding. She was quite courageous in teachings, asking questions most people would not ask for fear of damaging their reputation. Her questions were often really helpful to others. You could always count on Alison to speak up if she felt something wasn t right. She was brave and sincere in her convictions. On May 20, 2013, she was driving near her parents home in Santa Cruz when she swerved to miss hitting a cat in the road. She was released from the hospital on the same day as the accident and went home to San Francisco. However, by May 23, the day she was supposed to drive to Vajrapani Institute to attend a retreat, she was unable to move. Her father drove her to the emergency room at the hospital. Once admitted, they discovered she had internal bleeding. Alison s teachers including Lama Zopa Rinpoche; Geshe Ngawang Dakpa, resident teacher of Tse Chen Ling in San Francisco; and Ven. Robina were immediately informed of her critical condition. Her Dharma friends around the world participated in 24/7 prayers and practices for her, and Ven. Robina arranged for prayers and pujas to be done by 100 monks at Kopan Monastery. Alison s condition worsened and she passed away on June 1. Her parents and her partner, Irene, expressed how much it meant to have the spiritual side of her passing handled with such organized care. The day she passed away, a handful of her Bay Area Dharma friends, including Geshe Dakpa, were with her. She was blessed by holy objects and her friends performed puja and prayers beside her body. A flood of prayers and condolences were expressed on Facebook and many posted fond and profound memories of this remarkable woman. You can read more about Alison and practices for death and dying at mandala.fpmt.org. October - December 2013 Mandala 51

FPMT NEWS AROUND THE WORLD Lama Zopa Rinpoche News FPMT spiritual director Lama Zopa Rinpoche spent all of July in private retreat in the Lahaul-Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh, India, with Serkong Rinpoche and Rangjung Neljorma Khadro Namsel Drolma (Khadro-la). The retreat took place at Phakpa Garsha, or Triloknath, a small village with an ancient temple that houses a precious self-manifested statue of Chenrezig said to be the actual deity itself. From India, Rinpoche passed through Nepal, spending a few days at Kopan Monastery in early August. Rinpoche then led the well attended 100 Million Mani Retreat at Idgaa Choizinling Dratsang, Gandan Monastery, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. FPMT Mongolia organized the Clockwise: Lama Zopa Rinpoche being greeted by the nuns of Khachoe Ghakyil Nunnery and a young lama upon Rinpoche s return to Kopan Monastery, Nepal, August 2013; Rinpoche offering a butter lamp at Kopan Monastery; Rinpoche at 100 Million Mani Retreat, Mongolia, August 2013. Photos by Ven. Roger Kunsang. retreat, which took place August 1-30. Rinpoche arrived at the retreat on August 13, due to his private retreat in India running longer than initially planned. Mandala will have stories on the 100 Million Mani Retreat in Mongolia and on Phakpa Garsha in India, where Rinpoche was on retreat, in the next issue. For news about Lama Zopa Rinpoche, visit http://fpmt.org/teachers/zopa and mandala.fpmt.org/posts. Information on Rinpoche s schedule is at http://fpmt.org/teachers/zopa/schedule. 52 Mandala October - December 2013

Practices for Lama Zopa Rinpoche s Health and Long Life In late July, Ven. Roger Kunsang, CEO of FPMT and assistant to Lama Zopa Rinpoche, wrote, I would like to thank everyone very much for all their efforts in helping to do the practices Khadro-la advised us to do for Rinpoche s health and long life. It is very important for us to continue doing these practices especially at this time when we know there are obstacles for Rinpoche in 2014 and 2015. Khadro-la was very clear for students especially to help by doing as much of the practices as possible. Practices specifically requested for students of Lama Zopa Rinpoche to do: Liberate many animals HangTendil Nyersel prayer flags in all FPMT centers, projects and services Recite Most Secret Hayagriva mantra Offer long life pujas to Rinpoche with the five dakinis Khadro-la said, The most important is good samaya from the student s side. Whoever is doing the puja, prayers or practice, it should be done well, with good motivation and meditation. For more detailed information on these practices, visit: http://fpmt.org/rinpoches-health-updates and-practices/april-24-2013/ International Here at Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive, we re very excited about Lama Zopa Rinpoche s new FPMT Lineage Series book, The Perfect Human Rebirth: Freedom and Richness on the Path to Enlightenment [see page 12 to read an excerpt]. This is the third title from our Publishing the FPMT Lineage project, and the fourth, Good Life, Better Death: Teachings on Impermanence, should not be far behind. We are also looking forward to publishing Rinpoche s extensive emptiness teachings soon. Remember that all of our books are available as e-books for your Kindle or Apple devices. Visit our website for thousands of pages of free teachings and to sign up for our monthly e-letter, which always contains news and a previously unpublished teaching by Lama Yeshe or Lama Zopa Rinpoche. FromJenBarlow Nothing inspires Dharma practitioners like stories of others experiences and Dharma practice. And the experiences of prison inmates practicing the Dharma in such difficult situations and with so many obstacles are especially inspiring. The Liberation Prison Project s new blog shares these stories. Those of you who write to inmates and visit them have a wealth of stories to offer, so now there is a new format that you can use to share your favorite stories with each other and with our supporters! Check out our blog on www.lppblog.org. And if you have a favorite story to share, please send it to Ven. Tenzin Chogkyi at tenzin@liberationprisonproject.org From Ven. Thubten Chokyi www.liberationprisonproject.org FPMT Regional and National Offices Jamyang Buddhist Centre London was the incredible, generous and excellent host this year of the annual European Regional Meeting 2013. Around 60 European Regional Meeting, London, UK, July 2013. Photo by Natascha Sturny. www.lamayeshe.com October - December 2013 Mandala 53

FPMT NEWS AROUND THE WORLD participants gathered together from the 16 European countries where there are FPMT entities. The meeting started informally with an evening Guru Puja tsog on July 12, allowing for a celebration of International Sangha Day. The weekend was full of sharing information, knowledge and personal work experiences, both through presentations and through small discussion groups. We discussed the different relevant topics fitting the current regionalization process, including formulating centers commitments and action points for the coming year. Speakers updated and inspired us on International Mahayana Institute, Foundation for Developing Compassion and Wisdom (FDCW), FPMT International Office and the Maitreya Heart Shrine Relic Tour. Despite the heat, everyone stayed cool and relaxed and enjoyed coming together, not only during the day, but also at night at FDCW s party and also for Jamyang London director Roy Sutherwood s lovely city walk. Thank you so much Mike Murray, spiritual program coordinator at Jamyang London, and all volunteers and staff involved who made this weekend so fruitful, joyful and beneficial, and very special appreciation and gratitude for the generous sponsor who offered accommodation for many participants. I m very grateful for three years as European regional coordinator and thank everyone for our working together. Thank you Rafa Ferrer for taking over as regional coordinator and good luck with further European regional developments. FromAnnelies van der Heijden We re rapidly learning to work together much more, share experiences and offer help and advice. We ve developed a more central set-up for visiting teachers. Our centers in Leeds and London are strong: Jamyang Leeds has a popular calm abiding retreat with Geshi Tashi and now shares Jangtse Chöje Rinpoche s visit with Jamyang London. Jamyang London has really pushed the boat out this year with hosting the European Regional meeting with exceptional care and generosity and is gearing up for the FPMT Foundation Service Seminar in October. Jamyang Bath Study Group continues to grow and work with Saraswati Study Group, hosting visiting teachers like Vens. Kerry Prest, Amy Miller and Robina Courtin. Jamyang Coventry Study Group s Ven. Lobsang Dawa has just received FPMT registered teacher status, and Liverpool reemerged as a satellite group of Jamyang Leeds. From Kay Cooper and Gordon McDougall fpmtukcoordinator@hotmail.co.uk Australia Queensland In June 2012, the nuns of Chenrezig Nuns Community at Chenrezig Institute began a two-year course of study on the Middle Way, part of the FPMT Masters Program. The intensive studies have brought about an inspiring level of commitment, camaraderie and care among the nuns, monks and lay students involved. With 33 weeks completed and at least as many to go, many of the nuns spent the three-month mid-term break doing practices for Rinpoche s health (allnight Tara practice, recitations of the Sutra of Golden Light and so forth), attending His Holiness the Dalai Lama s teachings in Sydney and doing personal retreat. Four nuns attended the 100 Million Mani Retreat with Lama Zopa Rinpoche in Mongolia. From Ven. Tenzin Tsepal www.chenrezig.com.au At the Garden of Enlightenment, a project of Chenrezig Institute, we are currently replacing many of the plaster stupa decorations with concrete and repainting some of the work that was done very hastily for His Holiness the Dalai Lama s 2011 visit. In the harsh Queensland climate, stupas are unfortunately very much at the mercy of the elements, so this is on-going work. The good news is that Lama Zopa Rinpoche has mentioned that repairing and maintaining existing holy objects is at least as meritorious as making them! www.fpmt-europe.org We finally officially started the United Kingdom National Office last year, due in part to the efforts of Andy Wistreich and then Kay Cooper, with assistance from Gordon McDougall, who served for the last two years as national coordinator. 54 Mandala October - December 2013 Chenrezig Nuns Community, June 13, 2012. Photo by Renate Ogilvie.

More and more people are seeing the gardens as their final resting place for this life, and we continue to get steady orders for the memorial stupas that we have on offer. We also continue to offer half of the money donated for tsa-tsa tiles on the internal walls to the Maitreya Project. Unlike regular memorial gardens, there always seems to be a sense of joy coming from visitors paying their respects to loved ones who have passed away and it is not uncommon to hear words like I just love coming here, it s such a beautiful place. From Garrey Foulkes www.chenrezig.com.au/content/view/42/146/ Canada Gendun Drubpa Centre rejoices in having enthusiastic participation in ongoing meditation classes and Sunday Dharma discussions. Advanced students have now completed two semesters of the Basic Program. To celebrate His Holiness the Dalai Lama s birthday and Compassion Day, we held our very first animal blessing at our Stupa for World Peace and Environmental Harmony. Our recent Peaceful Living, Peaceful Dying workshop had to be moved at the last minute to a larger venue in order to more comfortably accommodate the size of the group attending! We truly feel blessed with the wisdom and skill that Ven. Tenzin Chogkyi brings as our resident teacher. From Dianne Noort www.gendundrubpa.com Thirty people attended Lama Yeshe Ling s Compassion Day celebration on July 5. Our special guests included Geshe Sonam Ngodrup and his Canadian interpreter, LRZTP graduate Ven. Khedrup. A surprise guest was Gomo Tulku, who is a student of Geshe-la and now lives in Toronto. Also, North American regional coordinator Drolkar McCallum and her husband Gelek attended the festivities. Following a delicious potluck dinner, each person introduced themselves after reading a quote on compassion from His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Then Geshe-la gave an informative talk on compassion. While in Canada, Geshe-la led two teachings for our community on the Heart Sutra and the Three Principal Aspects of the Path. From Deborah Seigel www.lamayesheling.org Jade Buddha and monks from Sojiji Monastery conduct prayers at a Buddha completion ceremony in Yokohama. Photo by Ian Green. Victoria The Jade Buddha for Universal Peace, a project of the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion in Maiden Gully, toured Japan for six weeks in July and August. The first venue was Sojiji Monastery, the head monastery for the Soto Zen sect of Japan, which is located in Yokohama. Following Sojiji, the Jade Buddha traveled to a traditional Japanese temple in North Tokyo called Iwatsuki Daishi. The final stop was Kesennuma, an area devastated by the 2011 tsunami, for the Port Festival and prayers for the dead. FromIanGreen www.jadebuddha.org.au/en/ France After two years of delay, Centre Kalachakra s new Shakyamuni Buddha statue arrived from Kopan Monastery in Nepal on the day before Saka Dawa. Centre Kalachakra s new Shakyamuni Buddha statue. Photo courtesy of Ven. Elisabeth Drukier. October - December 2013 Mandala 55

FPMT NEWS AROUND THE WORLD Geshe Sonam Ngodrup from Maitreya Instituut was with us as he had just given some teachings and a Medicine Buddha initiation. So with Geshe Drakpa Tsundue, our resident geshe, and Geshe Sonam as our guest, we celebrated the holy day and the arrival of our new statue. Geshe Drakpa emphasized how auspicious the event was, saying it was as if the Buddha was there with us, inspiring us, smiling at us and rejoicing in our Dharma practices. From Ven. Elisabeth Drukier www.centrekalachakra.com Italy In July, Centro Studi Cenresig in Bologna finally found a new home. Our successful events of 2013 a visit of the Maitreya Heart Shrine Relic Tour and a conference about meditation and Tibetan and Western medicine with outstanding speakers, including Geshe Tenzin Tenphel encouraged us to find a larger location. We now have two floors for a total of 200 square meters [660 square feet] and we re located directly behind the district church. The priest seemed very helpful and open to having us as new neighbors. The change of space coincides with the 30th birthday of the center! Since 1983, Centro Studi Cenresig has offered people the chance to meet important teachers, learn the Dharma and attend courses. From Irene Montagnana www.cenresig.org Slovenia Chagna Pemo Study Group has found its first stable place to meet, where the altar will stay up all the time and where we will be able to establish our first library. In February, we started our first in-depth study of the Bodhisattva s Way of Life and six students are committed to monthly study and are a source of inspiration for all of us here in Slovenia. From Mirjana Dechen my.sunstar@gmail.com Spain In 2012, the FPMT Spanish Translation Service founded Ediciones Mahayana, a non-profit publishing house focused on making available in Spanish Buddhist teachings and practices as well as precise translations of Buddhist texts, especially those within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, including books and materials from FPMT. Ediciones Mahayana has already published nine books, which are available at Spanish FPMT centers and also in our online shop. We are encouraged by our readers to continue publishing and to make available more Dharma in Spanish. Therefore, we are preparing six new titles to be published soon. All these books are translations done by the FPMT Spanish Translation Service, which since 2005 has made the study and practice programs of the FPMT available to Spanish-speaking students. The Spanish Translation Service consists of a team of translators well versed in Buddhist philosophy and trained in translation techniques, terminology management and research. The skillful team produces high quality translations that nourish Ediciones Mahayana and the study and practice of Spanish-speaking FPMT students. To stay up to date on new titles and ways to support us, please visit our website, sign up for our newsletter and Like us on Facebook. From Ven. Nerea Basurto www.edicionesmahayana.com Nagarjuna s Wisdom Study Group in Bilbao started in December 2012 with only four of us. Our first course started in January 2013 with the incredible help and generosity of many people but most importantly Ven. Nerea Basurto, who kindly taught weekly for six months, touching our hearts with the deep meaning of the teachings. Ven. Fabio Poza, of O.Sel.Ling Centro de Retiros, gave a wonderful weekend course. The number of people that come to teachings varies up to almost 30. About nine people are really interested and helping now. We feel extremely happy to be part of FPMT. It feels like a large family. Everyone is so kind with us it s incredible. Also, it s very inspiring to see people that have been practicing for many years and who have such incredible hearts. FromKokeDelaHerran United Kingdom The Land of Joy project is focused on raising funds to purchase land for a retreat center, without having a particular place in mind! We have already seen properties throughout the UK, and it won t be long before we do find our ideal property. To facilitate a quick purchase, we have decided to raise 1 million (US$1.55 million) before engaging in our property search in earnest. We don t know how long it will take, but we sincerely believe that this depends on the positive potential that is generated by those who wish to see Land of Joy come to fruition. [Learn more about Land of Joy in an interview with Andy Wistreich, project coordinator, published in Mandala s online edition.] www.landofjoy.co.uk Togme Sangpo Study Group in Scotland is gradually growing. Our weekly Dharma classes continue, and we now offer YouTube clips from FPMT teachers as well as meditation, teaching and discussion. In March and April, we had a true Dharma festival with Ven. Angie Muir leading classes, pujas and morning meditations daily for three weeks plus a weekend on Becoming Friends with Death. She also did outreach in several larger cities like Aberdeen and Perth, which was well received. Three people are now trained to lead monthly Medicine Buddha pujas. We recited the Sutra of Golden Light as a group and dedicated the merit to Lama Zopa Rinpoche s health. From Margo van Greta www.togmesangpo.org.uk 56 Mandala October - December 2013

United States California Each year, an average of 20 people die homeless in Santa Cruz County on the street or in a car. Tara Home (hospice project) has reduced this number by four in the past year. (Please see Bob W. s obituary on page 50.) What fortune brings these forgotten people to our hospice? We ll never know. In Advice and Practices for Death and Dying, Lama Zopa Rinpoche advises, People who practice to the best of their abilities will die, it is said, in a state of great bliss. The mediocre practitioner will die happily. Even the initial practitioner will have neither fear nor dread at the time of death. So one should aim at achieving at least the smallest of these results. We gratefully acknowledge the generosity of our friends, funding from an FPMT International Merit Box grant and Land of Medicine Buddha, without whom we could not continue to serve. From Nicole MacArgel www.tarahome.org Massachusetts Wisdom Publications is pleased to announce a new content-rich website, launching this September. The new site includes author information, excerpts from Wisdom titles, blog posts from Wisdom staff, authors, and community members, and direct sales of digital editions of our books. We are also excited to announce that beginning in January 2014 Wisdom Publications will be distributed by major international publisher Simon & Schuster. We look forward to working with their worldwide sales and marketing team to help us provide Buddhist books to more readers across the globe. These major milestones wouldn t be possible without our wonderful staff, and we are thrilled to celebrate three significant anniversaries at our office. This year, publisher Tim McNeill celebrated his 25th year as director, editor David Kittlestrom reached the 20 year mark with Wisdom, and Pema Shastri marked 15 years as customer service and foreign rights coordinator. From Lydia Anderson www.wisdompubs.org Washington On June 29, Pamtingpa Center offered the mandala dance of the 21 Praises of Tara. The dance involves visualizing Wisdom Publications David Kittlestrom, Tim McNeill and Pema Shastri Tara as a radiant feminine presence sitting in the sky before the dancer. A few years ago Rinpoche advised us to learn it after some of our members had made ornate Tara dance belts and offered them to the Tibetan nuns in Nepal who often performed the dance. We had the good fortune to find Phyllis Moses, a Tara Dhatu teacher, who first taught us the dance in autumn 2011. Local dance leader Lauralee Carey directed our practices over the Mandala dance of the 21 Praises of Tara, Tonasket, Washington, US. Photo by John Eskelson. October - December 2013 Mandala 57

FPMT NEWS AROUND THE WORLD next year and a half. Phyllis returned for a second workshop in early 2013. We invited friends, neighbors and community members for the big occasion, which included a basic explanation of Tara and homemade snacks and cool drinks. The temperature had been hot and was expected to rise, but on the day of the festival, the sky had a thick, deepblue cloud cover that offered welcomed heat relief! Early in the morning, in sight of our Pamtingpa stupa-in-progress, we watched a lightning storm cross the mountain ranges. In addition to the dance, the day included a puja of the Four Mandalas to Tara, prayers to Tara and meditation. The storm bypassed us, as did the showers that fell on hills all around us throughout the afternoon. FromKimJacobs www.tonasketbuddhist.org More FPMT News Online! With new stories posted every week, Mandala shares more inspiring updates from FPMT centers, projects and services on our FPMT News Around the World blog. Get to know the international community of dedicated practitioners that comprise the FPMT mandala by reading recent updates from: Shen Phen Ling Study Group in Victoria, Australia Pure Land of Medicine Buddha, a project of Tong-nyi Nying-Je Ling in Denmark MAITRI Charitable Trust in India Shakyamuni Study Group in Italy Do Ngak Sung Juk Centre in Japan Chandrakirti Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Centre in New Zealand O.Sel.Ling Centro de Retiros in Spain Jamyang Buddhist Centre London in the United Kingdom Land of Medicine Buddha in California, US Milarepa Center in Vermont, US Visit mandala.fpmt.org/posts or search our site for a center s name to read more. Support the continuing activities of LAMA YESHE and LAMA ZOPA RINPOCHE over many lifetimes to come by requesting your legal advisor to include a bequest to FPMT in your will or trust. SAMPLE BEQUEST LANGUAGE: I give, devise, and bequeath to the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition, Inc., a California Non Profit Corporation, with offices at 1632 SE 11th Avenue, Portland, Oregon, 97214, USA percent ( %) of my residuary estate; and/or the sum of dollars ($ ). Gifts of stocks, bonds, life insurance proceeds, real estate and other assets may also be donated in your will or trust. For more information, contact Chuck Latimer at FPMT International Office: Tel. +1 (503) 808-1586; Email: chuck@fpmt.org. Or visit: www.fpmt.org/projects/office/planned-giving.html Within our organization, the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition, there are numberless projects through which you can make your belongings most beneficial for sentient beings and the teachings of the Buddha.... The aim of the projects is to illuminate the world from darkness, ignorance and suffering. LAMA ZOPA RINPOCHE FPMT, INC. 1632 SE 11TH AVE. PORTLAND OR 97214 WWW.FPMT.ORG 58 Mandala October - December 2013

FPMT Directory This directory is a listing of centers, projects and services worldwide which are under the spiritual direction of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT). You can find a complete listing with address and director/coordinator information on the FPMT website: www.fpmt.org/centers/directory. Please contact centerservices@fpmt.org with any updates to your listing. Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche c/o FPMT International Office FPMT International Office 1632 SE 11th Avenue Portland, OR 97214 USA www.fpmt.org Tel: +1 (503) 808 1588 Projects of FPMT International Office include: Online Learning Fund Puja Fund Sera Je Food Fund Stupas to Minimize Harm from the Elements www.fpmt.org/projects INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS International Mahayana Institute www.imisangha.org Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive Lincoln, MA USA www.lamayeshe.com Tel: +1 (781) 259 4466 Liberation Prison Project Ashfield, Australia www.liberationprison project.org Lotsawa Rinchen Zangpo Translator Programme Dharamsala, India http://lrztp.blogspot.com/ LKPY: Loving Kindness Peaceful Youth Australia www.lkpy.org Maitreya Heart Shrine Relic Tour London, United Kingdom www.maitreyarelictour.com Tel: +44 (207) 820 3676 Maitreya Project International www.maitreyaproject.org Universal Education for Compassion and Wisdom London, United Kingdom www.compassionand wisdom.org Tel: +44 (0) 20 7820 9010 FPMT REGIONAL AND NATIONAL OFFICES Australian National Office www.fpmta.org.au Tel: +61 (2) 4782 2095 Brazilian National Office myferreira@terra.com.br Tel: +55 (47) 9127 3314 European Regional Office www.fpmt-europe.org Italian National Office fpmtcoord.italy@gmail.com Mexico National Office www.fpmt-mexico.org Tel: +52 (987) 869 2222 Nepal National Office franh@wlink.com.np Tel: +977 (1) 442 4091 North American (USA and Canada) Regional Office fpmtnorthamerica @gmail.com Tel: +1 (416) 835 8344 South Asian Regional Office franh@wlink.com.np Spanish National Office www.fpmt-hispana.org Tel: +34 9721 78262 Taiwan National Office www.fpmt.tw Tel: +886 (2) 2523 0727 United Kingdom National Office fpmtukcoordinator @hotmail.co.uk Tel: +44 (1225) 310 412 FPMT CENTERS, PROJECTS AND SERVICES ARGENTINA (Tel Code 54) Yogi Saraha Study Group Buenos Aires yogisaraha@gmail.com Tel: (11) 4541 7112 AUSTRALIA (Tel Code 61) NEW SOUTH WALES Enlightenment for the Dear Animals Denistone East www.enlightenmentfor animals.org Tel: +61 (2) 9808 1045 Kadam Sharawa Buddhist Institute Copacabana www.kadamsharawa.org Tel: (0402) 688 620 Kunsang Yeshe Retreat Centre Katoomba www.kunsangyeshe.com.au Tel: (02) 4788 1407 Resident Teacher: Ven. Yonten Vajrayana Institute Ashfield www.vajrayana.com.au Tel: (02) 9798 9644 Resident Geshe: Geshe Ngawang Samten Resident Teacher: Wai Cheong Kok QUEENSLAND Chenrezig Institute Eudlo www.chenrezig.com.au Tel: (07) 5453 2108 Resident Geshe: Geshe Lobsang Jamyang Resident Teacher: Ven. Tenzin Tsepal Projects of Chenrezig Institute: info@chenrezig.com.au The Enlightenment Project for Purification and Merit The Garden of Enlightenment Losang Dragpa Monastery Cittamani Hospice Service Palmwoods www.cittamani hospice.com.au Tel: (07) 5445 0822 Karuna Hospice Service Windsor www.karuna.org.au Tel: (07) 3632 8300 A project of Karuna Hospice: Karuna Books www.karunabooks.com.au Langri Tangpa Centre Camp Hill www.langritangpa.org.au Tel: (07) 3398 3310 SOUTH AUSTRALIA Buddha House Tusmore www.buddhahouse.org Tel: (08) 8333 2824 Resident Teacher: Ven. Thubten Dondrub De-Tong Ling Retreat Centre Kingscote www.detongling.org Tel: (08) 8559 3276 TASMANIA Chag-tong Chen-tong Centre Snug www.chagtong.org Tel: (03) 6267 9203 Wishfulfilling Thought Transformation Study Group Wynyard wishfulfillingmind @gmail.com VICTORIA Atisha Centre Eaglehawk www.atishacentre.org.au Tel: (03) 5446 3336 The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion Maiden Gully www.stupa.org.au Tel: (03) 5446 7568 Shen Phen Ling Study Group Wodonga shenpenling@hotmail.com Tel: (02) 6027 1335 Tara Institute Brighton East www.tarainstitute.org.au Tel: (03) 9596 8900 Resident Geshe: Geshe Lobsang Doga Thubten Shedrup Ling Eaglehawk www.tslmonastery.org Tel: (03) 5446 3691 WESTERN AUSTRALIA Hayagriva Buddhist Centre Kensington www.hayagriva.org.au Tel: (08) 9367 4817 Resident Geshe: Geshe Ngawang Sonam Hospice of Mother Tara Bunbury www.hmt.org.au Tel: (08) 9791 9798 October - December 2013 Mandala 59

AUSTRIA (Tel Code 43) Panchen Losang Chogyen Gelugzentrum Vienna www.fpmt-plc.at Tel: (1) 479 24 22 BELGIUM (Tel Code 32) Shedrup Zungdel Study Group Burg Reuland stanlight3@yahoo.de BRAZIL (Tel Code 55) Centro Shiwa Lha Rio de Janeiro www.shiwalha.org.br Tel: (21) 9322 0476 CANADA (Tel Code 1) Gendun Drubpa Centre Williams Lake, B.C. www.gendundrubpa.com Tel: (788) 412 7780 Resident Teacher: Ven. Tenzin Chogkyi Lama Yeshe Ling Centre Burlington, Ontario www.lamayesheling.org Tel: (905) 296 3728 CHINA (Tel Code 852) Mahayana Buddhist Association (Cham-Tse-Ling) North Point, Hong Kong www.fpmtmba.org.hk Tel: 2770 7239 COLOMBIA (Tel Code 57) Centro Yamantaka Bogotá www.yamantakabogota.org Tel: (311) 251 0993 Resident Geshe: Geshe Kunkhen Tara s Wishfulfilling Vase Study Group Barranquilla taraswishfulfillingvase @hotmail.com Tel: (314) 594 5413 DENMARK (Tel Code 45) Tong-nyi Nying-je Ling Copenhagen www.fpmt.dk Tel: 33 13 11 08 Resident Teacher: Stephan Pende Wormland Projects of Tong-nyi Nying-je Ling: Pure Land of Medicine Buddha www.cbld.dk Dharma Wisdom Publishing www.dharmavisdom.dk FINLAND (Tel Code 358) Tara Liberation Study Group Helsinki http://taraliberation.fi Tel: (50) 353 2886 FRANCE (Tel Code 33) Editions Vajra Yogini Marzens www.vajra-yogini.com Tel: (05) 6358 1722 Gyaltsab Je Study Group Ile de la Reunion association.gyeltsabje @gmail.com Institut VajraYogini Marzens www.institutvajrayogini.fr Tel: (05) 6358 1722 Resident Geshes: Geshe Tengye and Geshe Tenzin Loden Resident Teacher: Ven. Chantal Carrerot Kalachakra Centre Paris www.centre kalachakra.com Tel: (01) 4005 0222 Resident Geshe: Geshe Drakpa Tsundue Nalanda Monastery Labastide St. Georges www.nalanda-monastery.eu Tel: (05) 6358 0225 Resident Geshe: Geshe Losang Jamphel Thakpa Kachoe Retreat Land Villetale www.thakpakachoe.com Tel: (612) 918 949 FRENCH POLYNESIA (Tel Code 689) Naropa Meditation Center Tahiti http://naropatahiti. over-blog.com GERMANY (Tel Code 49) Aryatara Institut München www.aryatara.de Tel: (89) 2781 7227 Resident Teacher: Ven. Fedor Stracke Diamant Verlag Kaltern, Italy www.diamant-verlag.info Tel: +39 (0471) 964 183 Tara Mandala Center Landau taramandala@t-online.de Tel: 9951 90235 Resident Teacher: Dieter Kratzer INDIA (Tel Code 91) Choe Khor Sum Ling Study Group Bangalore www.cksl.in Tel: (80) 4148 6497 Maitreya Project Trust Gorakhpur india@maitreyaproject.org Tel: (551) 2342 012 MAITRI Charitable Trust Bodhgaya www.maitri-bodhgaya.org Tel: (631) 2200 841 Root Institute Bodhgaya www.rootinstitute.com Tel: (631) 2200 714 Projects of Root Institute: Shakyamuni Buddha Community Health Care Centre Maitreya School Sera IMI House Bylakuppe seraimihouse@gmail.com Tushita Mahayana Meditation Centre New Delhi mahayanadelhi@gmail.com Tel: (11) 2651 3400 Tushita Meditation Centre McLeod Ganj www.tushita.info Tel: (1892) 221 866 INDONESIA (Tel Code 62) Lama Serlingpa Bodhicitta Study Group Jambi herni_kim@yahoo.com Potowa Center Tangerang www.potowa.org Tel: (21) 9359 2181 ISRAEL (Tel Code 972) Shantideva Study Group Ramat Gan http://shantideva.org.il Tel: 3 736 6226 ITALY (Tel Code 39) Casa del Buddha della Medicina Livorno www.associazionedare protezione.it Centro Lama Tzong Khapa Treviso danilloghi@mailfarm.net Tel: (0422) 300 850 Centro Muni Gyana Palermo www.centromunigyana.it Tel: (0327) 038 3805 Centro Studi Cenresig Bologna www.cenresig.org Tel: (347) 246 1157 Centro Tara Cittamani Padova www.taracittamani.it Tel: (049) 864 7463 Centro Terra di Unificazione Ewam Florence www.ewam.it Tel: (055) 454 308 Chiara Luce Edizioni Pomaia (Pisa) www.chiaraluce.it Tel: (050) 685 690 Drolkar Study Group Genova www.sabsel.com Tel: 3482 269 667 Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa Pomaia (Pisa) www.iltk.it Tel: (050) 685 654 Resident Geshes: Geshe Tenzin Tenphel and Geshe Jampa Gelek Projects of Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa: Shenpen Samten Ling Nunnery Takden Shedrup Targye Ling Monastery Kushi Ling Retreat Centre Arco (TN) www.kushi-ling.com Tel: (347) 2113471 Resident Geshe: Geshe Dondup Tsering Lhungtok Choekhorling Monastic Project Pomaia www.sangha.it Sangye Choling Study Group Sondrio www.sangye.it Tel: (39) 0342 513198 Shiné Jewelry Pomaia (Pisa) www.shinegioielli.it Tel: (050) 685 033 Yeshe Norbu - Appello per il Tibet Pomaia (Pisa) www.adozionitibet.it Tel: (050) 685 033 JAPAN (Tel Code 81) Do Ngak Sung Juk Centre Tokyo www.fpmt-japan.org Tel: (070) 5562 8812 LATVIA (Tel Code 371) Ganden Buddhist Meditation Centre Riga www.ganden.lv Tel: 2949 0141 Yiga Chodzin Study Group Raunas novads www.yigachodzin.lv MALAYSIA (Tel Code 60) Chokyi Gyaltsen Center Penang www.fpmt- 60 Mandala October - December 2013

cgc.blogspot.com Tel: (4) 826 5089 Resident Geshe: Geshe Deyang Rinchen Jangsem Ling Retreat Centre Triang www.jangsemling.com Kasih Hospice Care Selangor www.kasih-hospice.org Tel: (3) 7960 7424 Losang Dragpa Centre Selangor www.fpmt-ldc.org Tel: (3) 7968 3278 Resident Geshe: Geshe Jampa Tsundu MAURITIUS (Tel Code 230) Dharmarakshita Study Group Vacoas dharmarakshita@myt.mu Tel: 258 3054 MEXICO (Tel Code 52) Bengungyal Center Aguascalientes www.bengungyal.org Tel: (449) 973 5550 Chekawa Study Group Uruapan luzbellaramirez@gmail.com Tel/Fax: (452) 523 5963 Khamlungpa Center Zapopan www.khamlungpa.org.mx Tel: (33) 3122 1052 Resident Geshe: Geshe Losang Khedup Khedrup Sangye Yeshe Study Group Morelia khedrup_sangye_yeshe@ yahoo.com.mx Tel: (443) 308 5707 Padmasambhava Study Group Durango budismo.dgo@gmail.com Tel: (6181) 711 102 Rinchen Zangpo Center Torreo n www.rinchenzangpo.org.mx Tel: (087) 1712 6873 Serlingpa Retreat Center Zitacuaro http://calendarioretiroserlin gpa.blogspot.com Tel: (715) 153 9942 Thubten Kunkyab Study Group Coapa www.meditadf.blogspot.com Tel: (552) 325 5861 Vajrapani Tibetan Buddhist Study Group Huatulco vajrapanigrouphuatulco @gmail.com Tel: (958) 587 0902 Yeshe Gyaltsen Center Cozumel yeshegyaltsen @eninfinitum.com (987) 872 5346 MONGOLIA (Tel Code 976) All Mongolian centers, projects and services are accessible through: www.fpmtmongolia.org Drolma Ling Nunnery Ulaanbaatar Tel: (11) 480 741 Enlightening Mind Ulaanbaatar Tel: (11) 480 741 Ganden Do Ngag Shedrup Ling Ulaanbaatar Tel: (11) 321 580 Golden Light Sutra Center Darkhan Tel: (1372) 28856 NEPAL (Tel Code 977) Ganden Yiga Chözin Buddhist Meditation Centre Pokhara www.pokharabuddhist centre.com Tel: (61) 522 923 Himalayan Buddhist Meditation Centre Kathmandu www.fpmt-hbmc.org Tel: (980) 325 4704 Khachoe Ghakyil Nunnery Kathmandu www.kopannunnery.org Tel: (1) 481 236 Resident Geshes: Geshe Lobsang Zopa, Geshe Tsering Norbu, Geshe Konchog Nodrup, and Geshe Losang Chodak Kopan Monastery Kathmandu www.kopanmonastery.com Tel: (1) 482 1268 Resident Geshes: Geshe Lobsang Sherab, Geshe Lobsang Nyendrak, Geshe Jampa Gyaltsen, and Geshe Tashi Dhondup Resident Teacher: Ven. Karin Valham Projects of Kopan Monastery: Animal Liberation Sanctuary www.fpmt.org/projects/ other/alp.html Mu Gompa Chhekampar www.fpmt/projects/tsum Resident Geshe: Geshe Tenzin Nyima Rachen Nunnery Chhekampar www.fpmt/projects/tsum Resident Geshe: Geshe Tenzin Nyima Thubten Shedrup Ling Monastery Solu Khumbu Resident Geshes: Geshe Thubten Yonden, Geshe Tenzin Khentse Lawudo Retreat Centre Solu Khumbu www.lawudo.com Tel: (1) 221 875 THE NETHERLANDS (Tel Code 31) Maitreya Instituut Amsterdam Amsterdam www.maitreya.nl/adam Tel: (020) 428 0842 Resident Teacher: Ven. Kaye Miner Maitreya Instituut Loenen Loenen www.maitreya.nl Tel: (05550) 50908 Resident Geshe: Geshe Sonam Gyaltsen A project of Maitreya Instituut Loenen: Maitreya Uitgeverij (Maitreya Publications) NEW ZEALAND (Tel Code 64) Amitabha Hospice Service Avondale www.amitabhahospice.org Tel: (09) 828 3321 Chandrakirti Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Centre Richmond www.chandrakirti.co.nz Tel: (03) 543 2015 Resident Geshe: Geshe Jampa Tharchin Dorje Chang Institute Avondale www.dci.org.nz Tel: (09) 828 3333 Resident Geshe: Geshe Thubten Wangchen Mahamudra Centre Colville www.mahamudra.org.nz Tel: (07) 866 6851 ROMANIA (Tel Code 402) Grupul de Studiu Buddhist White Tara Judetul Arges buddhism.romania @gmail.com Tel: 4829 4216 RUSSIA (Tel Code 7) Aryadeva Study Group St. Petersburg www.aryadeva.spb.ru Tel: (812) 710 0012 Ganden Tendar Ling Center Moscow www.fpmt.ru Tel: (926) 204 3164 Resident Geshe: Geshe Ngawang Thugje SINGAPORE (Tel Code 65) Amitabha Buddhist Centre Singapore www.fpmtabc.org Tel: 6745 8547 Resident Geshe: Khen Rinpoche Geshe Thubten Chonyi SLOVENIA (Tel Code 386) Chagna Pemo Study Group Domzale my.sunstar@gmail.com Tel: (40) 573 571 SPAIN (Tel Code 34) Ediciones Dharma Novelda www.edicionesdharma.com Tel: (96) 560 3200 Nagarjuna C.E.T. Alicante Alicante www.budismoalicante.com Tel: (66) 387 124 Nagarjuna C.E.T. Barcelona Barcelona www.nagarjunabcn.org Tel: (93) 457 0788 Resident Geshe: Geshe Losang Jamphel Nagarjuna C.E.T. Granada Granada www.nagaryunagr.org Tel: (95) 825 1629 Nagarjuna C.E.T. Madrid Madrid www.nagarjunamadrid.org Tel: (91) 445 65 14 Resident Geshe: Geshe Thubten Choden Centro Nagarjuna Valencia Valencia www.nagarjunavalencia.com Tel: (96) 395 1008 Resident Geshe: Geshe Lamsang O.Sel.Ling Centro de Retiros Orgiva www.oseling.com Tel: (95) 834 3134 Resident Teacher: Ven. Champa Shenphen Tekchen Chö Ling Ontinyent www.centrobudistaontin yent.es Tel: (96) 291 3231 Tushita Retreat Center Arbúcies www.budismotibetano.net/ tushita Tel: (97) 217 8262 October - December 2013 Mandala 61

SWEDEN (Tel Code 46) Tsog Nyi Ling Study Group Ransta www.fpmt.se Tel: (0224) 200 22 Yeshe Norbu Study Group Stockholm http://fpmt-stockholm.se Tel: (0707) 321 793 SWITZERLAND (Tel Code 41) Gendun Drupa Centre Muraz/Sierre www.gendundrupa.ch Tel: (27) 455 7924 Resident Teacher: Sixte Vinçotte Longku Center Bern www.fpmt.ch Tel: (31) 332 5723 TAIWAN (Tel Code 886) All Taiwanese centers are accessible through: www.fpmt.tw Heruka Center Ciaotou Tel: (7) 612 5599 Resident Geshe: Geshe Tsethar Jinsiu Farlin Taipei Tel: (2) 2577 0333 Resident Geshe: Geshe Gyurme Shakyamuni Center Taichung City Tel: (4) 2436 4123 Resident Geshe: Geshe Ngawang Gyatso UNITED KINGDOM (Tel Code 44) Jamyang Bath Study Group Bath www.jamyangbath.org.uk Jamyang Buddhist Centre London www.jamyang.co.uk Tel: (02078) 208 787 Resident Geshe: Geshe Tashi Tsering Jamyang Buddhist Centre Leeds Leeds www.jamyangleeds.co.uk Tel: (07866) 760 460 Land of Joy www.landofjoy.co.uk Tel: (07949) 595691 Saraswati Study Group Drayton www.saraswati.org.uk Tel: (01458) 252463 Togme Sangpo Study Group Findhorn www.togmesangpo.org.uk Tel: (01309) 690926 Yeshe Study Group Cumbria yeshebuddhistgroup @live.co.uk Tel: (01229) 885 329 UNITED STATES (Tel Code 1) CALIFORNIA Gyalwa Gyatso (Ocean of Compassion) Buddhist Center Campbell www.gyalwagyatso.org Tel: (408) 866 5056 Resident Teacher: Emily Hsu Land of Calm Abiding San Simeon http://landofcalmabiding.org Land of Medicine Buddha Soquel www.landofmedicine buddha.org Tel: (831) 462 8383 Tara Home Soquel www.tarahome.org Tel: (831) 477 7750 Tara Redwood School Soquel www.tararedwood school.org Tsa Tsa Studio / Center for Tibetan Sacred Art Richmond www.tsatsastudio.org Tel: (415) 503 0409 Tse Chen Ling San Francisco www.tsechenling.org Tel: (415) 621 4215 Resident Geshe: Geshe Ngawang Dakpa Vajrapani Institute Boulder Creek www.vajrapani.org Tel: (800) 531 4001 COLORADO Lama Yeshe House Study Group Boulder www.lamayeshehouse.org Tel: (303) 246 1864 FLORIDA Land for Nagarjuna s Sutra and Tantra Dharma Study Group Sarasota gedun@mindspring.com Tel: (941) 745 1147 Tubten Kunga Center Deerfield Beach www.tubtenkunga.org Tel: (954) 421 6224 Resident Geshe: Geshe Konchog Kyab MASSACHUSETTS Kurukulla Center Medford www.kurukulla.org Tel: (617) 624 0177 Resident Geshe: Geshe Tenley Wisdom Publications Inc. Somerville www.wisdompubs.org Tel: (617) 776 7416 MONTANA Osel Shen Phen Ling Missoula www.fpmt-osel.org Tel: (406) 543-2207 NEVADA Dharmakaya Study Group Reno http://dharmakayacenter.com/home_page.html Tel: (775) 232 8067 NEW MEXICO Thubten Norbu Ling Santa Fe www.tnlsf.org Tel: (505) 660 7056 Resident Teacher: Don Handrick Ksitigarbha Tibetan Buddhist Center Ranchos de Taos www.ktbctaos.org NEW YORK Shantideva Meditation Center New York www.shantideva meditation.org NORTH CAROLINA Kadampa Center Raleigh www.kadampa-center.org Tel: (919) 859 3433 Resident Geshe: Geshe Gelek Chodha OHIO Manjushri Study Group Youngstown http://manjushri studygroup.org OREGON Maitripa College Portland www.maitripa.org Tel: (503) 235 2477 Resident Geshe: Yangsi Rinpoche TEXAS Land of Compassion and Wisdom Austin www.austinfpmt.org Tel: (512) 921-6902 VERMONT Milarepa Center Barnet www.milarepacenter.org Tel: (802) 633 4136 VIRGINIA Guhyasamaja Center Centreville www.guhyasamaja.org Tel: (703) 774 9692 Resident Geshe: Khensur Lobsang Jampa Rinpoche WASHINGTON Buddha Amitabha Pure Land Riverside www.buddha-amitabha pure-land.org Pamtingpa Center Tonasket www.tonasketbuddhist.org Tel: (509) 486 1021 What does it mean to be an FPMT Center, Study Group, Project or Service? If a center, project or service is affiliated with FPMT, it means that it follows the spiritual direction of Lama Zopa Rinpoche. It means that centers and study groups use FPMT s educational programs and material, created in the unique lineage of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Each FPMT center, project or service is incorporated individually (is a separate legal entity) and is responsible for its own governance and finance. All FPMT centers, projects, services and study groups follow the FPMT Ethical Policy. FPMT study groups are groups which are using this status as a probationary period before a group becomes a legal entity and a full FPMT center, project or service. FPMT study groups are not yet affiliated with the FPMT, and therefore do not have the same responsibilities as a center or project, financially or administratively. 62 Mandala October - December 2013

FPMT S CHARITABLE PROJECTS: SUPPORTING LAMA ZOPA RINPOCHE S VAST VISIONS: Building 100,000 prayer wheels, stupas and statues around the world Supporting all the main teachers of the Lama Tsongkhapa tradition and sponsoring annual debates Offering 3,029,500 meals every year to all the 2,500 monks studying at Sera Je Monastery Supporting Sangha around the world Building hospitals and providing medical support for Tibetans Sponsoring ongoing pujas performed by up to 9,000 Sangha and making offerings to statues and stupas Liberating animals and offering practices for those who are sick or dying Translating Dharma texts, offering scholarships, and making Dharma available Sponsoring Dharma transmissions for the preservation of the Mahayana tradition Offering long life pujas for His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Lama Zopa Rinpoche These are just a few of FPMT s charitable projects all are essential to FPMT s objective of building a more compassionate world and critical to our mission of transmitting Mahayana Buddhist teachings and values worldwide. Your kindness and support help make these projects possible! You can learn about these projects, follow our news blogs, or make a donation today! fpmt fpmt.org/projects/fpmt