Participants in the 2025 Nyung Nä retreat at IVY during a prostration session. Photo courtesy of Institut Vajra Yogini.

Across the FPMT mandala, students are creating the causes and conditions for Dharma practice to flourish — from long-term intensive solitary and group retreats to the construction and preservation of retreat centers where students can dedicate themselves to the path.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave extensive advice on the practices, retreats, and initiatives that support students’ progress toward realizations. The FPMT Practice and Retreat Fund helps put this advice into action by supporting the opportunities that make such practice possible: maintaining retreat facilities, providing financial assistance to practitioners, and sustaining important lineage traditions. In 2026, the Practice and Retreat Fund offered US$44,138.41 through seven grants supporting retreat centers and practice-related projects across the FPMT mandala. In this roundup, we share some of the practices and projects supported by the Fund — from fifteen years of 108 Nyung Nä retreats at Institut Vajra Yogini and the continuation of the Most Secret Hayagriva retreat commitment at Nalanda Monastery, to new retreat capacity at Land of Joy in the UK and the ongoing development of retreat facilities in Europe and the US. We also rejoice in the many powerful practices taking place throughout the wider FPMT mandala, including the 100 Million Mani Retreats in Mongolia and Nepal, the 2026 Global Mani Retreat, and the Guru Rinpoche Bum Tsog in Australia.

“Among the virtues, rejoicing is the best, because it is the easiest one to practice. It simply involves our mind thinking, and the merit we accumulate is infinite.” — Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Institute Vajra Yogini | Nalanda Monastery | Milarepa Center | Land of Joy | Thakpa Kachoe Retreat Land | Center of White Mahakala Study Group | FPMT Mongolia | Langri Tangpa Centre |  Tashi Chime Gatsal Nunnery

Rejoicing in 15 Years of 108 Nyung Nä Retreats in France

One of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Visions for FPMT was to support practitioners who make the extraordinary commitment to complete 1,000 Nyung Nä retreats in their lifetime. Nyung Nä is a two-day intensive practice associated with Chenrezig, the Buddha of Compassion. It involves taking the 24-hour Mahayana precepts, with complete fasting and silence on the second day, together with meditation, prostrations, and mantra recitation. Lama Zopa Rinpoche highly praised Nyung Nä as a powerful method for transforming the mind. 

Since 2011, Institute Vajra Yogini (IVY) in France has played an important role in helping bring Rinpoche’s vision to life by organizing an annual series of 108 Nyung Nä retreats. From November 2025 through June 2026, IVY completed its fifteenth consecutive series – a remarkable milestone and a cause for great rejoicing. Over these fifteen years, the retreats have provided a sustained opportunity for practitioners to engage in this powerful practice, supported by experienced teachers, resident Sangha, volunteers, and the wider FPMT community. The retreats have been guided for many years by Ven. Charles, who has personally completed thousands of Nyung Nä practices and has inspired generations of students through his compassionate guidance. Lama Zopa Rinpoche himself affectionately referred to him as “Bodhisattva Charles.” After leading the retreats at IVY for fifteen years, Ven. Charles has now begun a year of solitary retreat, and we rejoice in his dedication and wish him every success in his practice.

During the 2025\26 series, 128 people completed at least one full two-day retreat, while others—including local participants and volunteers—joined individual sessions. Although no one completed all 108 retreats this year, IVY continued to make the practice accessible beyond those able to participate full-time. Morning sessions were offered online every day, along with a complete two-day retreat online each month, allowing students around the world to join from home.

The Practice and Retreat Fund offered US$10,638.41 toward the 2025\26 series, continuing the support that Lama Zopa Rinpoche himself provided for many years by sponsoring food and accommodation for practitioners undertaking the retreats. IVY also provided financial assistance to some part-time participants. IVY is now preparing for its sixteenth consecutive series of 108 Nyung Nä retreats, running from November 16, 2026, through June 20, 2027. The new series will be guided by experienced monastic and lay practitioners, including Ven. Amy, Ven. Losang (Rita), and Brigitte Lucas, with the retreats offered in French and English and accessible to participants in other languages. We rejoice in IVY’s extraordinary fifteen-year commitment to this practice, in all the teachers and practitioners who have sustained the retreats, and in the volunteers and sponsors who have helped make them possible. 

Rejoicing in the Most Secret Hayagriva Retreat in France

Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Khandro Tsering Kunga Bum-ma (Khadro la) and Kopan senior monks offering all day Most Secret Hayagriva Tsog Kong (extensive tsog offering) in Lama Gyupa Gompa at Kopan Monastery, Nepal, January 2021.

Hayagriva is the wrathful manifestation of Chenrezig, the Buddha of Compassion. The practice of Most Secret Hayagriva is considered extremely powerful for bringing help and support and for swiftly pacifying obstacles. Both Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche had a special connection with Most Secret Hayagriva. As Ven. Roger Kunsang explained, the retreat was a practice and commitment that Lama Yeshe gave to Lama Zopa Rinpoche to undertake every year for the protection and success of the entire FPMT organization. Today, this commitment has been taken up by FPMT as a whole. The practice belongs to an unbroken lineage extending back to the time of the Buddha and was practiced by realized beings including Nagarjuna, Padmasambhava, the Great 5th Dalai Lama, Lama Yeshe, and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. In 2026, we especially rejoice that two FPMT centers are carrying forward this important practice tradition. Nalanda Monastery in France hosted its annual Most Secret Hayagriva Retreat for the second time, from August 12—29, 2026. Ven. Tritul Jampa Kalden Rinpoche (Gomde Rinpoche) from Sera Je, one of the few specialists in this rare and powerful practice, was invited to lead the retreat, with Ven. Geshe Tsultrim from Kopan Monastery serving as chant leader. Twenty-one retreatants participated with great devotion and dedication. As Ven. Thubten Sherab shared, the retreat offered an important chance for practitioners to engage deeply in this practice for the benefit of FPMT and its activities.

The Practice and Retreat Fund contributed US$5,000 toward the 2026 Most Secret Hayagriva Retreat at Nalanda Monastery. The tradition will continue in 2027 at Chokyi Gyaltsen Center in Penang, Malaysia, where His Eminence Kyabje Jhado Rinpoche will preside over the Most Secret Hayagriva Retreat from March 31—April 14. Registration is now open. We rejoice in Nalanda Monastery and Chokyi Gyaltsen Center for continuing this precious tradition, in the teachers and retreatants who dedicate themselves to the practice, and in all those whose support makes these opportunities possible.

Milarepa Center, USA: Maintaining a Home for Dharma Practice

Milarepa Centre through the seasons

Milarepa Center is a Buddhist retreat center situated on 276 acres (112 hectares) of wooded mountainside and rolling fields overlooking the Connecticut River Valley in Barnet, Vermont (US). Founded in 1981 by students of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, the Center is named after the great eleventh-century Tibetan yogi Milarepa, famed for attaining enlightenment in a single lifetime. From its early years – marked by austere conditions but great devotion – Milarepa Center has been blessed by a continuous stream of Tibetan and Western Lamas, beginning with Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s first teaching at the Center in 1981. Over 1,000 people have completed retreats and received teachings here, making it a place deeply imbued with natural beauty and realized presence.

Milarepa Center has received two grants for 2026, both awarded through the Practice and Retreats Fund. The first grant of US$5,000 supports essential 2026 maintenance projects, helping preserve the physical infrastructure that holds retreat and study. The planned maintenance work includes repairing the roofs on the retreat cabins, re‑insulating the main building, replacing rotting siding and roof flashing that has been damaged, and carrying out exterior painting of the buildings. Rising material and labor costs make this support especially meaningful, ensuring a safe and stable environment for future practitioners. The second grant adds US$2,000 to the Milarepa’s Retreat Scholarship Fund, which assists ordained sangha and lay practitioners for whom retreat costs would otherwise be a barrier. Scholarships are awarded based on genuine need through an application process, with recipients contributing what they can so funds may benefit as many practitioners as possible. This past year, scholarship support enabled an ordained sangha member to complete a full three‑month retreat at Milarepa Center. To support Milarepa Center and its ongoing activities, you are welcome to visit its donations page for more details.

Land of Joy, UK: Expanding Opportunities for Solitary Retreat

Land of Joy’s retreat huts

Land of Joy is grateful to share that the Practice and Retreat Fund has offered a matching grant of US$16,500 toward the project Building Retreat Huts Together, supporting the construction of two new solitary retreat huts and significantly strengthening long‑term retreat capacity in the UK. Planning consent has been granted by Northumberland County Council, contractors are secured, and utilities and groundwork were scheduled to begin in June 2026. Each hut will be a simple, warm, self‑contained space designed specifically for retreat use, following Land of Joy’s proven and well‑loved model. This expansion responds to growing demand for solitary retreat, increases availability during high‑demand periods, provides additional capacity for sangha, improves scheduling flexibility across existing huts, and aligns closely with FPMT’s long‑term retreat vision for the UK and Europe.

Founded in 2010 under the spiritual guidance of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, with the first retreat held in May 2015, Land of Joy is located in the quiet and spacious setting of Northumberland National Park, offering ideal environment for deep practice. The Land of Joy is a volunteer‑run residential retreat center offering a full program of retreats throughout the year, from introductory courses to longer tantric retreats. The center currently has three solitary retreat huts that are in constant use and often booked many months in advance, highlighting both their life‑changing impact and the urgent need for more such spaces. The two new huts, nestled slightly more seclusively in a birch glade at the edge of the woodland, will quietly support practitioners over many years, creating authentic opportunities for sustained retreat practice and helping ensure that when the wish and conditions for retreat arise, the space can be there to meet it. To support Land of Joy’s fundraising campaign, you are welcome to visit the Building Retreat Huts Together page for more details.

Thakpa Kachoe Retreat Land, France:  Preserving a Rare Hermitage for Future Generations

Thakpa Kachoe Retreat Land

We are pleased to share that the Practice and Retreat Fund has offered a grant of US$2,500 in support of the documentary film project An Hermitage in the Southern Alps, created for Thakpa Kachoe Retreat Land in France. The film will form the foundation of a future fundraising campaign aimed at ensuring the long‑term continuity of this rare European hermitage dedicated exclusively to solitary retreat. It will present the land, history, and functioning of the centre, share testimonies from practitioners who have completed long retreats there, and outline future developments envisioned for the site. The documentary will be shared through the centre’s website and, as widely as possible, within FPMT networks. Thakpa Kachoe was born from a deep connection with the lineage of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, whom Sylvaine Litaud and Daniel Mestre first met in 1977 at Kopan Monastery in Nepal. Lama Zopa Rinpoche later advised them to create a retreat centre dedicated to solitary practitioners—a need that remains acute in Europe. Rinpoche personally approved the land and named it Thakpa Kachoe, the name of Vajrayogini’s pure land. Since 2010, Sylvaine and Daniel have lived on the land year‑round, gradually building the hermitage through the generosity of donors while personally supporting retreatants by managing logistics, maintenance, and even cultivating a permaculture garden. More than ten practitioners have already completed retreats at Thakpa Kachoe, including two three‑year retreats. Located on the edge of the Mercantour National Park, overlooking the Gorges de Daluis, Thakpa Kachoe offers spaces of silence, isolation, and natural beauty—an authentic hermitage environment where body and mind can deeply settle. The documentary project responds directly to Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s instruction to “prepare for the future”.  Thakpa Kachoe relies entirely on donor support to sustain its mission of offering rare conditions for solitary Dharma retreat, with its current priority focused on creating suitable accommodation for the volunteers who make this work possible. To support Thakpa Kachoe’s activities, you are welcome to visit its donations page for more details.

Center of White Mahakala Study Group, Romania:  Building the Foundations for Retreat

The current state of the Gompa and staircase at the Centre of White Mahakala

We are grateful to share that the Center of White Mahakala in Romania has received a grant of US$2,500 from the Practice and Retreat Fund for 2026 in support of Building the Interior Staircase of the Retreat Cabin at their retreat center in Tranisu. This year’s grant will be used to build a permanent interior staircase connecting the ground floor to the attic floor of the retreat cabin. The Center of White Mahakala is currently in the final phase of constructing its Retreat Cabin. The exterior of the main building and the entire ground floor were completed last year, and during 2026 the focus is on completing the remaining interior infrastructure. This project is part of a long-term vision inspired by Lama Zopa Rinpoche to create holy objects and retreat facilities in places where such circumstances are rare. The overall project includes both a stupa, which was completed last year, and a retreat center located on the outskirts of the Apuseni Mountains in the peaceful village of Tranisu, approximately 50 miles (80 km) from Cluj-Napoca, where the center’s city activities are based. This year’s grant supports a vital step toward making the retreat center fully operational and able to serve practitioners seeking opportunities for Buddhist practice, retreat, and spiritual development. To support the Center of White Mahakala’s retreat cabin project, you are welcome to visit the Building the Interior Staircase of the Retreat Cabin page for more details.

Rejoicing in Powerful Collective Retreats Around the World

An auspicious double rainbow during the 100 Million Mani Retreat in Mongolia, August 2026.

As we’ve seen throughout this roundup, this year has given us many reasons to rejoice in the many practitioners and communities throughout the wider FPMT mandala who continue to dedicate their lives to study, retreat, purification, accumulation, and the development of compassion and bodhicitta.

Additionally, we rejoice in the successful completion of the 100 Million Mani Retreat in Mongolia, which brought together practitioners in the collective practice of Chenrezig, the Buddha of Compassion, and recitation of the Mani mantra. The retreat has deep roots in Mongolia, where Mani retreats were practiced for centuries before being interrupted during the Soviet-backed suppression of Buddhism. The tradition was revived in its present form in 2013, when FPMT Mongolia held its first 100 Million Mani Retreat following Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice.

This year, FPMT Mongolia completed its fourteenth consecutive annual Mani Retreat, held from August 20 to September 17, with an average of 150-250 practitioners participating each day. The retreat fulfills a particularly strong wish of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, who expressed his aspiration that it be held every year and continue for generations.

The extensive Chenrezig practice and collective recitation were dedicated to purifying negative karma, accumulating merit, and developing wisdom and compassion. We rejoice in everyone who participated and in the FPMT Mongolia team and volunteers who continue to make this virtuous annual tradition possible.

Mani mantra counting online form for participants of the Global Mani Retreat.

We also rejoice that the 2026 FPMT Global Mani Retreat is bringing practitioners together online, extending the opportunity to participate in this practice across countries and continents. Everyone can still participate through November 1, Lhabab Duchen, which commemorates Guru Shakyamuni Buddha’s return to Earth from the God Realm of the Thirty-Three, where he had taught Dharma for several months to the gods, including his mother, Mayadevi, who had died a week after Buddha’s birth and been reborn there. Lhabab Duchen is also one of the four major Buddhist holy days, when the karmic results of actions are said to be multiplied by 100 million, as taught in the Vinaya text Treasure of Quotations and Logic. Check their schedule for the next live session and visit their Facebook page for the latest updates.

Sangha at the Guru Rinpoche Bum Tsog held at Langri Tangpa Centre in Brisbane.

In Australia, we rejoice in the recent Guru Rinpoche Bum Tsog held at Langri Tangpa Centre in Brisbane. The center was honoured to be chosen by FPMT in Australia to host this year’s national event, with Geshe Tenzin Zopa leading the puja. 

On September 5-6, 2026, practitioners from FPMT centers around Australia gathered to engage in the practice. The core of the two-day event was the recitation of 100,000 tsog offering prayers and mantras to Guru Rinpoche, accompanied by many musical instruments. Extensive offerings of lights, flowers, incense, food, drinks, and other tsog items were also made, together with hundreds of tsa-tsas prepared and blessed for the occasion.

The Guru Rinpoche Bum Tsog is an FPMT in Australia national event organized every two years and offered for Australian centers in a spirit of generosity. Accommodation and travel for all Sangha attending were sponsored, while morning and afternoon teas and lunches were freely offered to all participants. With 100,000 flowers, food, incense, drinks, and other offerings, the event created an overflowing abundance of joyful goodness, kindness, and blessings.

Young nuns of Tashi Chime Gatsal Nunnery (Bigu nuns).

We also rejoice in the wonderful 100 Million Mani Retreat tradition of Tashi Chime Gatsal Nunnery, where the nuns have completed the equivalent of 27.5 100 Million Mani Retreats over the years, accumulating an incredible 2.75 billion recitations of the mantra OM MANI PADME HUM for the benefit of all beings.

Located in the heart of Bigu, a rural municipality in northeastern Nepal, the nunnery has maintained this precious tradition for many years. Since 2010, FPMT, through the Supporting the Ordained Sangha Fund, has supported the Bigu nuns by sponsoring food, gas, firewood, transportation, medical expenses, and offerings to the Sangha upon completion of the retreats.

May the nuns’ incredible dedication and virtuous actions inspire us all on our own paths toward compassion and enlightenment.

The Most Important Thing in the World

If you feel uplifted by any of the initiatives described here, please check the global retreat schedule at FPMT centers worldwide and download Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Heart Advice for Retreat.

Describing the significance of one of his Vast Visions for the FPMT organization, supporting practice and realizations, Lama Zopa Rinpoche said,  “Anybody who dedicates their life to achieving lamrim realizations with the goal to liberate numberless beings from the oceans of samsaric suffering and to bring to enlightenment, this is what I regard as the most important thing in the world.”

We rejoice in every practitioner who engages in these practices, every teacher and Sangha member who guides and supports them, every center and volunteer who creates the conditions for retreat, and every donor whose generosity helps make these opportunities possible.

 All are welcome to contribute to the Practice and Retreat Fund, which provides grants and sponsorships to students engaged in retreats such as 108 Nyung Nä retreats, 100 Million Mani Retreats, and other long-term retreats, and helps develop and support retreat centers.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaching at 100 Million Mani Retreat, Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa, Italy, 2017. Photo by Lobsang Sherab.

The FPMT Global Mani Retreat is in its final month!  Since its start on May 17, the retreat has included teachings from Khen Rinpoche Geshe Thubten Chonyi, a rare oral transmission and commentary from His Eminence Ling Rinpoche, and a teaching on bodhichitta from Serkong Tsenshap, among many other highlights. Regional teachers have also led regular online Chenrezig group practices on Zoom and YouTube. Recently, Ven. Robina Courtin led the group practice ( you can watch the video here ),and Kabir Saxena, representing FPMT in India, led the Chenrezig sadhana, with an introduction of Dr. Nick Ribush about the unique FPMT history (you can watch the video here)

A recent cause for rejoicing related to this retreat was the 14th annual 100 Million Mani Retreat held at Idgaa Choizinling Monastery in Ulaanbaatar which drew about 150–250 people a day and ended in the accumulation of 109,208,246 mantras, passing its 100 million goal. 

To celebrate the ongoing FPMT Global Mani Retreat  which has brought together students of Lama Zopa Rinpoche from around the world to help fulfill one of Rinpoche’s most cherished wishes, we are sharing this excerpt from the revised second edition of Teaching from the  Mani Retreat by Lama Zopa Rinpoche: recently released from the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive. 

This is another way to generate a motivation of bodhicitta before reciting the mantra, to make the recitation of mantra and the meditation on Compassion Buddha become not only Dharma but most beneficial not only for you but for every single hell being, hungry ghost, animal, human being, asura, sura and intermediate state being. Each realm has numberless beings. In the human realm there are numberless human beings. We can understand that there are numberless beings in the animal realm. Even regarding one type of insect, ants, there are numberless ants. In the same way, there are many other different types of animals, the number of which is uncountable. This is without mentioning the sentient beings in the other realms. All these beings, who are the source of all your own past, present and future happiness, are continuously suffering; totally overwhelmed by delusions and karma, they do not have any freedom at all. Even though there are numberless buddhas and bodhisattvas working for sentient beings, there are many sentient beings—people, and even animals—who received help only through meeting you. They had some problem they couldn’t resolve until they met you and you were able to help them. Or they didn’t meet Dharma until they met you. You have had many such experiences of sentient beings being dependent upon your help. There are numberless beings with whom you have a karmic connection and who depend upon you. Their being free from suffering, from samsara, and their achieving liberation and enlightenment depend on you, on your help. You can understand from your experiences in this life with the many beings who depend on your help that there are also numberless other beings who depend on your help to free them from samsara. They depend on you to meet, understand and practice Dharma, and to achieve enlightenment.

Now think, If I had generated bodhicitta much earlier, this one hell being who is dependent on me wouldn’t have to experience this unimaginable, unbearable suffering, the heaviest suffering in samsara. One tiny spark of the fire of the hot hells is seven times hotter than the fire at the end of the world, which can melt rocky mountains and concrete. And the fire at the end of the world is sixty or seventy times hotter than the fire energy of our present human world.

For one hell being to be suffering now in the hell realm even for one second is like eons-it is unbearable. If I had generated bodhicitta much earlier, that hell being would already have been enlightened. Now we are talking about just one hell being, but there are numberless other hell beings who could have already been enlightened by me, so that they wouldn’t now have to suffer. They have been suffering up to now because I have been following the selfcherishing thought, the ego. Therefore, even when I think of this one hell being who is experiencing unimaginable suffering, it becomes urgent that I generate bodhicitta without even a second’s delay. Now there are numberless hell beings; therefore, I need to generate bodhicitta without the delay of even a second. Because there are numberless hell beings who are suffering, the need for me to generate bodhicitta is much more urgent.

If I had generated bodhicitta much earlier, this one preta being, who is so precious and kind and from whom I receive all my past, present and future happiness would have already been enlightened. But because I followed self-cherishing thought, this one preta being has been suffering so much, experiencing all the unbearable sufferings of heat, cold, exhaustion, hunger and thirst, outer obscurations, food obscurations and inner obscurations. And there are numberless preta beings. If I had generated bodhicitta earlier, all these numberless preta beings would already have been enlightened. Because I didn’t generate bodhicitta, they have been suffering up to now. Therefore, it is urgent: I must generate bodhicitta without the delay of even a second, not just for this one hungry ghost but for the numberless hungry ghosts.

If I had generated bodhicitta much earlier, this one animal who has been suffering so much up to now-being extremely foolish, experiencing hunger and thirst, heat and cold, being tortured, used for food—would already have been enlightened a long time ago. There are numberless animals, and they would all have already been enlightened if I had generated bodhicitta much earlier. It is because I didn’t generate bodhicitta but followed the ego that they have been suffering up to now. Therefore, the need for me to generate bodhicitta, to change my mind, is unbelievably urgent, not only for this one animal but for the numberless animals who have been experiencing so much suffering.

And it is the same with human beings. If I had generated bodhicitta, if I had changed my mind, a long time ago, this one human being, who is constantly suffering, would already have been enlightened. Instead, they are experiencing the suffering of pain; if not that, the suffering of change; and if not that, pervasive compounding suffering, by having these aggregates, this samsara, the nature of which is suffering. These aggregates are caused by karma and delusions and are contaminated by the seed of disturbing thoughts, so this person constantly, without the break of even one second, experiences pervasive compounding suffering. In this way, this human being is totally overwhelmed by delusion and karma, living in a total hallucination, with piles of wrong concepts, and suffering in that way. If I had generated bodhicitta earlier, this most precious and kind human being who has been suffering up to now and who is the source of all my own past, present and future happiness, would already have been enlightened and not have to suffer. And there are numberless human beings. Because I did not change my mind but followed the ego, not only this one human being but numberless human beings have been suffering during time without beginning up to now. Therefore, without the delay of even a second, I must change my mind into bodhicitta, into cherishing others.

It is similar with the suras. If I had generated bodhicitta much earlier, this one sura being who has been suffering so much would have been enlightened a long time ago. The sufferings of the suras are similar to those I mentioned for human beings. Suras are also totally distracted by objects of desire; they cling to and are distracted by sense pleasures. No matter how many eons they live, their life is totally overwhelmed by desire. In this way, they suffer so much and are constantly creating the cause of suffering, the cause to again be reborn in the lower realms. Their having great enjoyments is just temporary. How wonderful it would have been if this one sura being could have been enlightened a long time ago. And there are numberless sura beings who would have been enlightened a long time ago. How fantastic if that could have happened. Because I didn’t change my mind, but instead followed only the ego, not only this one being but numberless sura beings have been suffering up to now. And it is similar with the asuras.

My kind mother sentient beings have been suffering from time without beginning; they have never had a break for even one second from the suffering of samsara, from pervasive compounding suffering. Therefore, without delay, I must generate bodhicitta. Generating bodhicitta depends on receiving the blessing of the special deity of compassion. Trying to develop bodhicitta just by remembering the words of the teachings is not enough. Even meditation alone is not enough. I need to receive the blessings of the special deity of compassion. For that reason, I need to meditate on Compassion Buddha and to recite the mantra that persuades Compassion Buddha’s holy mind. I need to recite the mantra that brings me closer to the deity of compassion, that causes me to receive the blessings of the deity of compassion. Therefore, I’m going to do the meditation-recitation of Compassion Buddha.

Excerpt from Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s book Teachings from the Mani Retreat bestowed at Chenrezig Institute, December 2000, Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive. You can also read this book online, or listen to an audio recording from the retreat.

To keep up on all details related to the FPMT Global MANI Retreat, please refer to our webpage, and join the Facebook Group. 

Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation, and community service.

The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion. Photo courtesy of the Great Stupa Facebook page.

As part of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition’s (FPMT) fiftieth anniversary celebration, we continue to gather stories from the pioneer students whose devotion and steady work helped build the organization we know today. Here, Ian Green shares an excerpt from his book  Monumental – The Story of the Stupa on the founding of The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion in Bendigo, Australia, which he read aloud at the 2025 CPMT summit at Kopan Monastery. He recalls meeting Lama Thubten Yeshe in 1979, receiving Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s guidance for the stupa’s design, and the nine-year world tour of the Jade Buddha for Universal Peace. 

A First Meeting in Melbourne

I first met Lama Yeshe in 1979, at a public talk in Melbourne. After the talk there was a chance to meet him, and the queue shuffled slowly along. As I was nearly at the front,  Ven. Konchog Donma, a nun who at the time was Director of Tara House in Melbourne, rushed up and introduced me to Lama Yeshe. He took my hands and looked at me, and as our eyes met I felt a little disconcerted by his direct, penetrating gaze. It felt as though Lama Yeshe saw me exactly as I was, with all my good and bad points — and that he accepted me completely, just as I was. Slowly I recognized a feeling I had experienced only once or twice before: it felt like falling in love. After meeting Lama Yeshe in Melbourne, I knew I had to go to Kopan.

Kopan and a Gift of Atisha

In November 1979, I attended the Kopan course. Right at the end of it, on the day I was leaving, Lama Yeshe called me over and spoke about a place where students could study and do retreat — a quieter, less stressful, good life in Victoria. He punctuated this serious discussion with bursts of laughter so loud I was sure they could be heard all over Kopan Hill. His eyes held such intensity of sweet kindness that I had no doubt he spoke from the heart. Without hesitation, I told him I would do my best to help Tara House in Melbourne become a suitable retreat place. As I rose to leave, Lama Yeshe signaled for me to wait. He reached into a bag and produced a small statue of Atisha as a gift to take back to Australia. Looking back, it seems that even then, Lama Yeshe had a vision for what I might be able to contribute.

The Land in Bendigo

Lama Yeshe in Bendigo, Australia, 1981. Photo by Ian Green. Photo courtesy of the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

My father offered some acres of land near Bendigo, and in August 1981 Lama Yeshe came to see it. During that visit, Garrey Foulkes and I walked with him over the fifty acres adjoining Sandhurst Town that my father had offered. Lama presented us with a masterplan for a great stupa, encircled by a meditation center, monastery, aged-care facility, and a wider community. He spoke at length of his vision for a small Buddhist city that would care for people throughout their lives.

Drawing a Stupa in the Dirt

Three-dimensional model of master plan for development at Great Stupa. Image courtesy of Ian Green via Twitter. 2013

Walking on a bush track near where the current Quan Yin statue stands in its pond today, Lama Yeshe picked up a nearby stick and began to draw the outline of a stupa in the dirt. Pointing to a nearby hill, he said: “There will be a big stupa with a big gompa and a library inside it.”

We pushed aside head-high bush and trees to reach the hilltop that Lama Yeshe had indicated would be the center of the stupa, then walked on to another, slightly higher hill about 600 meters away — the site of the present-day monastery. I had the distinct feeling that Lama Yeshe could see clearly the whole of what was unfolding there for Garrey and me, as though it already existed as a reality. To my knowledge, he had never set foot on this part of the property before, yet he walked from one place to the next with complete confidence.

From that day we knew then that we had to build a very big stupa — but what would it look like? We had no idea.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Blueprint

Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Ian Green, holding the blue print for the Great Stupa, Australia 2006. Photo of Ven. Roger

Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche eventually solved this problem. Early in 1994, Alison Ribush — gave me a book called Photos of Tibet. Across a large double-page photograph of the Gyantse Kumbum, Rinpoche wrote: “This is my idea for the stupa in Bendigo.” I had never seen a picture of the stupa before, but I immediately felt it was the right choice. I could see that it was impressive in scale, yet still relatable on a human level.

The most important teaching I have received from Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, in regard to building the Great Stupa and creating the Jade Buddha, is that I should expect obstacles to arise. Rinpoche indicated that because building the Great Stupa and creating the Jade Buddha were such positive acts, it meant there would be some mighty obstacles to overcome.

The Jade Buddha’s Journey

Jade Buddha behind Lama Zopa Rinpoche, with Ian Green, Liam, and Ven. Gyatso, Australia, 2014. Photo by Thubten Kunsang (Henri Lopez).

Lama Zopa Rinpoche was enthusiastic about the idea of taking the Jade Buddha on tour: “If you take the Buddha around the world,” he told me, “it makes it so easy to believe in the blessings of the Jade Buddha.” And so it was: over nine years, the Jade Buddha for Universal Peace traveled to more than 120 cities around the world, and an estimated 12 million people came to see it.

An Inspiring Example of Interfaith harmony

Lumbini International Festival at the Great Stupa, May 9, 2026. Photo courtesy of the Great Stupa Facebook page.

The Great Stupa is also a true champion of interfaith harmony, through the creation of a Peace Park where symbols of many of the world’s great spiritual traditions—Bahá’í, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Indigenous, Islamic, and Sikh—stand side by side in mutual respect. This profound gesture of unity is a message to the world: that peace is possible when hearts are open and traditions walk together.

Lama Zopa Rinpche infront The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion, 2018. Photo Courtesy of Ian Green.

In fulfilling the aspirations of both Lama Thubten Yeshe and His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Great Stupa has also established the Great Stupa Library, the only library of its kind in the world to focus on Buddhism, Interfaith, and Science—a testament to the harmony of wisdom, faith, and reason.

The shrines to Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa

Ian Green during the visit of His Eminence Ling Rinpoche to the Great Stupa, August 2025. Photo courtesy of the Great Stupa Facebook page.

The Great Stupa team are currently working on shrine rooms for both Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

These will be located on level three of the Great Stupa and will feature statues of the two Lamas and some of their holy relics. We considered various locations fir these shrines until His Eminence Ling Rinpoche helped us choose this location.   

At the entrance to the shrine rooms will be a museum dedicated to the achievements of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

In conclusion, I want to say — these are the last words of my book — that even though Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche are no longer with us, I feel blessed and grateful for the inspiration and the guidance I received from them both. It is due to their kindness that I have been able to do things with my life that will be of lasting benefit to others. Rinpoche left us decades of work to complete his own stupa, and that is exactly what I have reaffirmed I will keep doing with the rest of my life.

Ian Green is the founder of the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion in Bendigo, Australia, and the driving force behind the Jade Buddha for Universal Peace. We are grateful to him for sharing this story as part of FPMT’s fiftieth anniversary celebration, and we would love to hear from other pioneer students with memories of their own to share.

You can read more about Ian Green and the Universal Stupa in his book Monumental – The Story of the Stupa by Ian Green OAM. Foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. This unique memoir gives readers a personal account of Green’s journey – from the world of Australian Advertising in the 70s, travel stories from many countries, the creation and tour of the Jade Buddha for Universal Peace and culminating in the building of the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion. “It’s a story that vividly illustrates the importance of dedication to a positive goal—it shows that if you persevere and never give up there is no end to the good things that you can do.” —His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

Please watch Ian reading an excerpt from his book, Monumental– The Story of the Stupa:

Discover more about The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion.

Are you an early student of FPMT who was there at the beginning? Do you have a story to share about how you met Lama Yeshe or Lama Zopa Rinpoche or the impact they have had on your life? Have you personally achieved or actualized a request, advice, practice accomplishment, or project given to you by Lama Yeshe or Lama Zopa Rinpoche? We want to hear from you!

Please explore all of the resources we have compiled related to FPMT history. We look forward to all of your creative ideas on how to bring this year-long celebration to your own local activities and personal practices! Please use the hashtag #50YearsFPMT in your social media posts so we can all be connected in this way. 

Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.

All donations are made in US Dollars.

All donations made to FPMT to support these funds are tax-deductible within the United States in accordance with IRS Code article 501(c)(3) to the extent allowed by law.

Frequently Asked Questions

All donations are made in US Dollars.

Please note that because these donations are processed by FPMT International Office, these donations are NOT tax-deductible within the United States.

Frequently Asked Questions

All donations are made in US Dollars.

All donations made to FPMT to support these funds are tax-deductible within the United States in accordance with IRS Code article 501(c)(3) to the extent allowed by law.

Frequently Asked Questions

Lama Zopa Rinpoche in India, March 2008, Photo by Thubten Kunsang (Henri Lopez)

Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave this advice in 2008 about the five attitudes and qualities to teach a child to a student who was about to give birth. This is timeless advice for all who are in the position of raising children. 

Since you have directed your life in this way, to have a child, you have a great responsibility now to bring up your child. Without saying many words, I just want to inform you that you should plan to lead the child’s life in the style of Universal Education (UE). First, if you can study the UE subjects I put together. There are five very basic attitudes and qualities to teach the child, so that your child can bring happiness to this life, from life to life, bring happiness to all sentient beings, cause less harm to others, and eventually bring all sentient beings to full enlightenment. This means knowing Buddhadharma and educating others, and then bringing your child in the path to enlightenment.

These five very basic attitudes are very important to keep in one’s mind. This is the cause of inner peace and happiness for your child, also to give peace and happiness in everyday life to others. In this way, wherever your child is, in whatever part of the world, he or she still brings happiness to so many sentient beings, human beings, animals, and all other beings.

These five basic attitudes are:

1. Kindness

Have kindness not only towards friends, but to strangers, especially to one’s enemies, and to everyone. Generate kindness day and night for everybody, every human being, animal, etc. Practice kindness all the time, sincerely, from your heart. Think of others’ happiness and cherishing others. This makes all your actions very pure Dharma. Even if you don’t explain all this to your child, you can educate through example. This creates a good, happy life, and it becomes pure Dharma against the self-cherishing thought. This is the antidote, the medicine, for all the sicknesses, and the chronic disease of the self-cherishing mind, which has been affecting us from beginningless rebirths and harming us all the time, from time without beginning. If you don’t generate this mind in this life, when you have all the opportunities, then it means you will continue to suffer forever. This practice is unbelievably beneficial. By practicing kindness, there is always joy and happiness in your life, always fulfillment. It makes your life so meaningful when you practice kindness to others. It always makes your life fruitful, meaningful, and useful. Then, one has no time, no space for depression or suicidal thoughts; one is always able to enjoy unbelievable happiness.

2. Rejoicing

Whenever you see good things happening to others, for instance, you see someone has a better house or car than you, you rejoice. If someone has found a friend, found great success in business, any good thing that happens to others that you hear or see, all the time, rejoice. Think how wonderful it is that this sentient being had this happen. Rejoice in others’ wealth, beauty, education, power, etc. It doesn’t mean you are desiring or wanting these things. This is a bodhisattva’s attitude, when good things happen to others, to rejoice. Rejoicing is the antidote to jealousy. The delusion jealousy is an obstacle to your own success and happiness in this life and future lives, including liberation and enlightenment. It is not only an obstacle to your own happiness but also an obstacle to the happiness of others. The antidote to this is rejoicing in every single success.

When you rejoice it becomes an unbelievable source of success for you. The result of rejoicing once is success in one’s life and for many hundreds and thousands of lifetimes. You can also practice rejoicing when you do the seven limbs or in the lamrim. Rejoicing is such an easy way to collect the most extensive merits. Every second that you rejoice in your own merits you collect limitless skies of merits. Also, when you rejoice in others’ merits, you collect even more merit, and all the merit collected since beginningless rebirths is doubled. If you rejoice in bodhisattvas’ merit, and there are numberless bodhisattvas, this is unbelievable, unbelievable, unbelievable; you can’t imagine the merit one can create. From rejoicing in numberless Buddhas’ merits, even just the merits they create in one day, you collect more merit than normally it would take ten thousand years to create (without rejoicing). This is just to give you an idea how important this practice is. Rejoicing always keeps one’s mind happy. It fills one’s heart with inner peace and happiness.

3. Tolerance

Anger is more harmful than all the dangers of the wind, earth, and fire put together. These dangers just separate one’s consciousness from one’s body (cause death), but the real harm, the real danger, is anger. It can destroy all one’s merits, all the causes of enlightenment, all one’s causes for liberation from samsara, and it can destroy the cause of happiness in this life, future lives, and all one’s successes. Anger causes harm to sentient beings, as well as to oneself, from life to life. Also, it causes other sentient beings to get angry, which then causes them to experience heavy suffering. Being tolerant always keeps one’s mind in peace: peace for one’s family, husband, wife, child, neighbor, country, and the whole world; from life to life there is peace and tolerance for all sentient beings.

4. Contentment

Without contentment, one follows desire. By following desire one generates negative minds and other negative emotions. This causes negative karma, which causes harm to oneself as well as to others. It also causes other sentient beings to create negative karma, which creates the cause for them to suffer; it brings other sentient beings to the lower realms, besides oneself. So, having contentment is very important. Otherwise, without contentment, you can become crazy. Following desire is only the cause for continuous suffering, not only for individual sentient beings but for the society, country, and globally, for all sentient beings.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche in Mexico, April 2008, photo by Thubten Kunsang (Henri Lopez)

Many millions of billionaires have everything, so much wealth, but all of this is created by following desire, so they can never be satisfied, always wanting to be wealthier, and then engage in harming others and cheating others; their life becomes like a prison. This is without mentioning the result that they are creating which will take them to the lower realms or future human rebirths, suffering for many hundreds and thousands of lifetimes. You can see that this is very important, particularly to educate about and teach this. Also, it is important that you don’t destroy your life with drugs, alcohol, and many other things. Without contentment one can get depressed, one isn’t able to find meaning in one’s life, and one causes more suffering. So, it is very dangerous, because thinking in this way can destroy your most precious human life, that gives one all the opportunities for all happiness up to enlightenment, liberation from samsara, as well as the happiness of all future lives, including this life.

Developing contentment gives the opportunity to totally change one’s mind and develop bodhicitta, loving kindness, and compassion for all living beings, numberless beings in each realm. It becomes the cause of happiness in all future lives, liberation from samsara, everlasting happiness, and brings you to full enlightenment. Along the way it causes happiness even in this life. You can see that in one second of this precious human life one can actualize this, so to not do this is a very foolish thing. One’s mind is not thinking of Dharma, of the purpose of life, the real meaning of life, which is to benefit others, to free others from all sufferings, and bring them to enlightenment, everlasting happiness.

Not generating a good heart, not thinking of others, only thinking of oneself, one’s own happiness, is completely the wrong way to think. By thinking of others’ happiness, it is unbelievable what you can achieve, all the happiness, not only happiness in this life, now, today. Cherishing the “I” causes all the problems that one experiences now. It completely occupies the mind, and then one can become suicidal, even kill oneself, for no reason at all. By not thinking of the real cause of the problems, one’s mind is full of problems, and one continues to create more suffering and the causes of the lower realms. Whether one is reborn in hell or as a happy migratory being depends on one’s karma; the answer is karma. If one kills oneself, one just goes to the lower realms, the hell realms, where there is the most unbelievable suffering, and where one experiences the heaviest suffering in samara for an unimaginable length of time. Then, when one’s karma is finished there, one is reborn again in the lower realms. You can see how one can totally deceive oneself. Thinking incorrectly can cause one to kill oneself, as if that will take you away from these problems. Thinking that way is totally deceiving oneself.

5. Forgiveness

If someone harms you, angers you, abuses you, or disrespects you, whatever happens, forgive this person. Practice forgiveness immediately, then there is peace in your heart and also in the heart of the other person. This is the cause of world peace, bringing peace to one person, because that person is part of the world. By harming any person in the world, you are causing harm to the world; this is the opposite of world peace. By bringing peace to just one more person you are bringing more and more peace into the world. That is unbelievable. Then, from life to life, one will have no anger towards sentient beings, only peace and happiness. Gradually, you have more peace and happiness, also in one’s future lives, then liberation and enlightenment, and then you are able to liberate and enlighten all sentient beings. There is more peace in your heart, in your family, in the world, and for all sentient beings. In the same way, if you cause harm to others, then immediately apologize to the other person. Again, this brings more peace to you and to that person immediately. And this brings world peace.

As much as possible, try to teach these five attitudes, seeing that suffering is the result of bad actions, so as much as possible to develop good actions, a good heart, and then you are able to help others. In this way, as much as possible, increase the good qualities, peace, and happiness in this life, and then you are able to achieve enlightenment, and to liberate numberless sentient beings from the oceans of samsaric suffering and bring them to enlightenment. These are the very basic things, the real education, and the best education for your child. Also, if you can, study the 16 human dharmas. Bring the real Dharma attitude to your child, in order to bring your child to enlightenment and to have limitless skies of qualities. To be able to cause that is the best gift, the real meaning of having a child, from the parents’ side. There is also benefit for you, everyone can use these attitudes, especially if there are people in the past that we have had difficulties with.

The most important thing in life to bring benefit to you and others, including one’s enemy, is to practice Dharma.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Please read more advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche regarding raising children from the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive. 

Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation, and community service.

Welcome to this month’s newsletter!

We are pleased to share precious advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Lama Yeshe, along with many causes for rejoicing, including an overview of the recent beneficial and essential activities supported through FPMT Charitable Projects. 

In response to the floods and mudslides along the Nepal-Tibet border, many generous donors quickly responded to our new FPMT Emergency Relief Fund. In this month’s newsletter, you can learn how the funds have been used so far, and we will continue to keep you updated on needs and relief progress. 

You will also find information on new study and practice resources and opportunities available to you, as well as information on the great activities happening around the world within FPMT. 

Please read the September 2026 newsletter in its entirety. 

Have the e-News translated into your native language by using our convenient translation facility located on the right-hand side of the page.

Visit our subscribe page to receive the FPMT International Office News directly in your email inbox.

Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service. 

A sniffer dog salutes His Holiness the Dalai Lama during a public engagement in January 2024.
Photo source: His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Instagram page.

“Where there is a mind, there are feelings such as pain, pleasure, and joy. No sentient being wants pain; instead all want happiness. Since we all share these feelings at some basic level, we as rational human beings have an obligation to contribute in whatever way we can to the happiness of other species and try our best to relieve their fears and sufferings.” — His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama

Every life matters. Whether it is a dog waiting for medical care, a rescued farm animal finding safety for the first time, or thousands of tiny creatures being released from danger, each act of kindness creates causes for happiness and great liberation.

Thanks to the generosity of sponsors and supporters, the Animal Liberation Fund continues to transform compassion into action. The Animal Liberation Fund was established to help fulfill the advice of Lama Zopa Rinpoche: not only protecting animals from immediate death and suffering but also creating opportunities for their long-term spiritual welfare.

In 2026, a total of US$21,088 has been offered through the fund to support initiatives in the United States, Nepal, France, and India. Together, these efforts show how our compassion for animals can be transformed into meaningful action every day.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche blessing a pony at Les Jardins de Tara in France, 2019.

From sanctuaries offering lifelong refuge to animal liberation practices benefiting thousands of creatures, the Animal Liberation Fund supports many different expressions of compassion. Each project responds to the needs of animals in its own way, while sharing the same aspiration: to protect beings from suffering and create conditions for their long-term well-being and happiness.

Ven. Charles and rescued animals circumambulate a stupa at Les Jardins de Tara in Lavaur, France, February 2026.

Among this year’s recipients is Les Jardins de Tara in Lavaur, France, a sanctuary created and maintained near to Institute Vajra Yogini. The origin of this sanctuary is very moving as the main caretaker was diagnosed with cancer and feared she might not survive. During that difficult period, she made a vow: if she recovered, she would dedicate her life to the welfare of animals. She recovered, and since then has devoted herself wholeheartedly to fulfilling that promise. Her story reminds us how powerful a single compassionate commitment can become.

Today, she cares for more than 1,000 animals, including chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, goats, sheep, cows, and dogs, many of whom were rescued from slaughter or abandonment. With extraordinary dedication, she works not only for their physical well-being but also for their spiritual welfare, following the advice of Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Throughout their lives, the animals are surrounded by prayers, mantras, blessed objects, and compassionate care. At the time of death, special practices are performed to help create the causes for a higher rebirth. Through this unique combination of rescue work and Dharma practice, the sanctuary strives to ensure that the animals receive both physical protection and profound spiritual benefit.

As Venerable Charles wrote in a letter supporting the project, the caretaker works “from morning to night, every day,” striving to fulfill Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s wishes for the animals under her care. Her sanctuary stands as a living example of how one person’s compassion can create safety and hope for countless beings.

Liberated crickets at Amitabha Pure Land, Washington.

In 2026, the Animal Liberation Fund awarded a US$4,000 grant to Les Jardins de Tara to help develop secure facilities for rescued animals, including protected areas for dogs and essential animal care infrastructure.

At Buddha Amitabha Pure Land in Washington State, USA, Sangha members continue to carry out animal liberation activities with great devotion and compassion. With the support from the Animal Liberation Fund, approximately 40,000 animals, primarily crickets, were liberated over the past year.

Each week, dedicated prayers and practices are performed for the animals before and after their release, creating causes for future happiness and enlightenment. The monks also continue their unique outreach to animals living in local waterways through the “Wish-Granting Boat,” whose name reflects its purpose: “fulfilling all the wishes of the fish and all others who live in or use this water.” From the boat, mantras and blessings are offered to countless aquatic animals.

Monks of Amitabha Pure Land blessing the beings in the lake.

Compassion is extended even to the smallest creatures. Regular offerings are made to ants and other tiny beings, reflecting the understanding that every life, regardless of size, seeks happiness and wishes to avoid suffering. Through these ongoing activities, thousands of animals receive both practical care and spiritual benefit, embodying the Animal Liberation Fund’s commitment to caring for all beings.

The new Animal Liberation Sanctuary at Sindhupalchok, Nepal. The land is full of lush grass for the animals to enjoy. August 2026.

In 2026, the Animal Liberation Fund granted US$10,000 to help provide food, shelter, medical care, and spiritual support for the rescued animals living at the Animal Liberation Sanctuary in Nepal. A particularly joyful development this year has been the sanctuary’s progress in relocating to its new land in Sindhupalchok, Nepal, creating a more secure and sustainable home for the animals now and into the future. We recently shared a detailed update on the sanctuary’s move and activities, including more photos and stories, which you can explore. 

Rescued dog under the care of Dolma Dog Rescue. Photo source: Dolma Dog Rescue Facebook page.

Dolma Dog Rescue (DDR) is a non-profit organization dedicated to rescuing and caring for injured, neglected, and abused dogs in Bylakuppe, a Tibetan settlement in South India. What began as Tsering Dolma’s personal effort to help vulnerable stray dogs gradually grew into a full rescue shelter as the number of animals needing care increased. Since 2018, Dolma, now based in the United States, has largely supported the shelter through her personal savings, while her brother Kalsang oversees daily operations with a small team of staff and volunteers.

Today, DDR provides a safe haven for more than 100 dogs, with regular veterinary care and emergency treatment when needed. In addition to rescuing stray animals, the shelter also supports dogs belonging to local residents by offering vaccinations, medical treatment, and rehabilitation.

Over the past year, DDR vaccinated approximately 700 dogs through its rabies vaccination campaign, sterilized more than 100 dogs, delivered animal welfare education programs to around 500 students, and carried out numerous emergency rescues and specialist veterinary referrals. A US$5,000 grant from the Animal Liberation Fund in 2026 is helping sustain this vital work while supporting plans to improve and expand the shelter’s facilities, ensuring that even more dogs can receive protection they deserve.

Thank You for Making This Possible

None of these achievements would be possible without the kindness of sponsors who understand that animals, like us, experience pain and pleasure, seek happiness, and wish to avoid suffering.

Every donation helps provide food, shelter, medical treatment, rescue from fear and danger, as well as opportunities for meaningful connections with Dharma. Those inspired by these initiatives may wish to explore the many practices and advice recommended by Lama Zopa Rinpoche for benefiting animals.

All are welcome to contribute to the Animal Liberation Fund to help ensure that our work sponsoring animal rescue, care, and liberation continues. 

Lama Zopa Rinpoche at 100 Million Mani Retreat, Mongolia, August 2013. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

Mongolia has a strong history of Buddhist practice in the Tibetan tradition and, in particular, Mani Retreats.

The Mani Retreat started in Mongolia in the mid-15th century under the great Buddhist leader and practitioner, Zanabazar, and continued until the Soviet-backed communist takeover in 1930. During the “Cultural Purges” that followed, more than 1,000 monasteries and temples were destroyed, and thousands of monks were killed, forced into labor camps, or exiled. For 60 years, the active practice of Buddhism in Mongolia disappeared completely from public view. Mongolia gained independence in 1990, following the collapse of the Soviet empire, and while Buddhism remained strong in the hearts of the people, the monasteries, monastic learning, and knowledge of Buddhist teachings had been nearly obliterated. In the Ganden complex, not far from the retreat venue, there was a huge 26-meter (85-foot) Migjed Chenrezig statue. It is an inspiring sight, capable of lifting spirits when the retreat’s challenges become a bit much. The communists destroyed the original statue, which was built by a Mongolian ruler in 1911. But in the 1990s, the holy object was reconstructed as a sign of Mongolian independence and a gesture demonstrating the strength of Mongolia’s Buddhist faith.

Since 2000, FPMT Mongolia, realizing the wish of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, has been helping Mongolians reestablish Buddhism by creating centers, offering teachings, and supporting Sangha in monasteries and nunneries, as well as providing humanitarian support to impoverished Mongolians.

“This is one of my dreams: to have this each year and to continue forever—even after I die, even after the people living now, who are working and offering service, die—to continue as long as Mongolia exists.” — Lama Zopa Rinpoche

The 100 Million Mani Retreat in Mongolia was a particularly strong wish of Rinpoche, to purify, generate merit, and attain realizations. FPMT Mongolia Center Ganden Do Ngag Shedrup Ling Center just completed its 14th consecutive year of the Mani Retreat with 109, 208, 246 Manis completed. Please rejoice with us in this tremendous achievement.

Here, Ven. Thubten Gyalmo, resident Western teacher at the Mongolian FPMT Ganden Do Ngag Shedrup Ling Center, reflects on the history of the Mani Retreat in Mongolia and how much her life has been impacted by it.

2026 FPMT Global Mani Retreat

FPMT Mongolia has just completed the 14th annual Mani Retreat, from August 20 to September 17, 2026, with an average of 150–250 practitioners daily. It is part of the FPMT Global Mani Retreat program, which has brought together students of Lama Zopa Rinpoche from around the world.

The Global Mani Retreat is the first live event where we can come together and do the full Mani Retreat. I hope and pray that other countries will be inspired and able to conduct this most beneficial retreat, fulfilling one of Rinpoche’s Vast Visions.  

This is all due to Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s skilfull guidance and immeasurable kindness, and without a doubt, this annual event has had a huge impact on my life. I cherish this annual event as a precious opportunity to be together with all the participants, the FPMT Mongolia team, and volunteers as we continue nurturing and growing loving kindness and compassion in our hearts and minds.

How It All Started

For my Getsulma ordination, in 2009 I went to Institut Vajra Yogini in France. My hair-cutting ceremony was done by Lama Zopa Rinpoche in the retreat tent, where Rinpoche was preparing for the Chenrezig initiation. It was the second day, and I was the only one! After some three weeks, Getsulma ordination was granted to a small group, and I attended the whole Mani Retreat, a 100 Million Mani Retreat. That was the very first one for me.

When I returned to Mongolia, I learned that Lama Zopa Rinpoche had given advice in 1999 that Mongolia should do the 100 Million Mani Retreat, because there are so many animals in this country, and so many that are killed for food. Mongolia is a very, very cold country, and the Mongolian people have been eating meat for centuries to survive in the harsh conditions, but these days there are more alternative food options. Rinpoche advised that the Mongolian center should really do something for the people and for the animals. 

In 2013, Venerable Tsenla from Kopan Nunnery, who was serving at the Mongolian FPMT Center, launched the first 100 Million Mani Retreat, and apart from during the Covid pandemic, it has been held every year since.  We found a way to continue the Chenrezig practice in 2020 by doing a group Chenrezig retreat concluding with a fire puja, and in 2021, FPMT Mongolia nuns, together with a small number of students, in accordance with the guidelines of the pandemic, streamed the retreat from the gompa.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Ven. Gyalmo, India, 2017. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

In the Global Mani Retreat, the group sessions do what we call the “home practice,” or the short practice. But here, Rinpoche created this long sadhana drawn from the Nyung Nä practice to follow in the traditional 100 Million Mani Retreats. Due to Mongolia having a long history with Mani recitations and an extended Buddhist history, Rinpoche advised that doing the long sadhana was more beneficial. However, people who can’t read, are at home, are sick, or are unable to come to the gompa, they can use the “home practice.”

The Mani Retreat with Lama Zopa Rinpoche in Mongolia

In 2013, Lama Zopa Rinpoche arrived halfway through the retreat and asked that the event be repeated annually, so that “many people can really enjoy the opportunity to purify the negative karmas and obscurations collected from beginningless rebirths and to collect extensive merits.”

Lama Zopa Rinpoche was here with us for the first Mani retreat in 2013. He joined as well at the second one in 2014, and bestowed upon us so much guidance and so many teachings. Since then, Mongolia has been able to continue without missing a year, with an average of 150 to 300 people in the gompa.   

In  2017, the Mongolian Center was extremely fortunate to receive the Great Chenrezig initiation bestowed by Lama Zopa Rinpoche just two weeks prior to the commencement of the retreat, bringing so many rich blessings to the retreat and its participants.

First day of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teachings at Idgaa Choizinling Monastery, Mongolia, May 2017. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

The Retreat Schedule

This schedule was arranged to accommodate approximately two hundred Mongolian participants, in any one session of a day, who sometimes had to travel very long distances, inspired by the knowledge of the incredible merits of doing the Chenrezig practice. The retreat takes place at the Idgaa Choizinling Dratsang, one of the more modern temples located within the Gandan Tegchenling Monastery complex in central Ulaanbaatar. Lama Zopa Rinpoche, together with FPMT Mongolia, offered financial support for Idgaa Choizinling’s rebuilding, which was completed in 2003, and has continued to support the monks with daily nutritious lunches. 

The duration of the retreat is approximately one month, 28 to 30 days. We commence at 8:00 a.m. and conclude at 6:30 p.m. In the first session, we do Lama Chöpa Jorcho, followed by three sessions dedicated to the long Chenrezig sadhana mentioned above.

People are free to come and go according to their time and other life commitments.  It is not a residential retreat.

Idgaa Choizinling has a beautiful, spacious gompa, and Rinpoche advised us from the beginning that it’s appropriate to be in the city so that everybody can come. If the retreat is held in the countryside, many people would be excluded because they don’t have transport, and for the elderly, it would be difficult to travel.

Throughout the retreat, we offer a vegetarian breakfast and lunch plus four teas to all participants, FPMT Mongolia staff, and volunteers. 

The Food Offering

Seventh 100 Million Mani Retreat at Idgaa Choizinling Monastery in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, September 2019. Photo by Ianzhina Bartanova.

In Mongolia, people have the tradition of making dedications together with a monetary offering, and during the retreat, our Dedication Desk volunteers are kept fully occupied. Sometimes it can take up to 40-45 minutes to read all the dedications. We also provide the opportunity for people to sponsor the teas and/or food or a whole day if they wish. Somehow, the total donations from this activity miraculously cover the cost of providing nourishment for everyone!

So, it’s a very beautiful way to run the retreat. Like, in the West, I know it’s difficult. You have to pay so much for hiring the venues, and then if you have to feed people, it’s very expensive. But here, in Mongolia, there is no retreat fee, so people can afford to come. It’s a developing country, and the above approach works very well.

It pleased Lama Zopa Rinpoche that we would always offer vegetarian food and drink to the participants, make them comfortable, and have the flexibility that they were welcome to attend for as long as they could.

And the interesting thing is, out of the 13 Mani Retreats we’ve done, there have been only two years that we didn’t reach the goal of 100 million because of the conditions. Every other year, we’ve reached over 100 million Manis. This is amazing!

Mani Retreat: Rinpoche’s Dream

In 2016, for the fourth 100 million Mani Retreat, Lama Zopa Rinpoche shared in a thank-you letter to the center’s director:

“I want to thank from the depths of my heart, from the very inside of my heart bones. Thank you and the others for organizing the mani retreat each year. This is one of my dreams: to have this each year and to continue forever—even after I die, even after the people living now, who are working and offering service, die—to continue as long as Mongolia exists.

“The retreat is like offering infinite skies of help to sentient beings. Each session, even reciting one mala, purifies negative karma, including all the obscurations, created from beginningless rebirths. This is even without doing it with bodhichitta. It collects merit more than the drops of water in the Pacific Ocean, more than the grains of sand in the Pacific Ocean, more than the blades of grass growing in the mountains and on the lands of the earth.

“If one is doing it with bodhichitta—even just reciting OM MANI PADME HUM one time—it collects merit more than the sky. It’s unbelievable, unbelievable, unbelievable. In particular, it causes one to develop compassion for others: for the numberless sentient beings of the six realms—numberless hell beings, numberless hungry ghosts, numberless animals, numberless human beings, numberless suras, numberless asuras—and numberless intermediate state beings.

“Generating compassion is most powerful and is what makes one achieve enlightenment rapidly. Even if you generate compassion for only one sentient being, that is the quickest way to purify all the defilements and accumulate all merits, which are necessary conditions, and to actualize the path to enlightenment.

“The conclusion is that compassion makes it possible to achieve enlightenment—buddhahood, the total cessation of all the obscurations and completion of all the realizations—as quickly as possible. This means being able to free all the six-realm sentient beings from the oceans of samsaric suffering quickly, which means being able to bring the numberless sentient beings to buddhahood quickly. This is the most important achievement, more important than anything else in life. By generating compassion, you are able to achieve this quickly.”

With gratitude to Ven. Thubten Gyalmo for sharing this story, and for her immense effort helping to fulfil this very precious wish from Lama Zopa Rinpoche. 

The entire FPMT community has been participating in an unprecedented Global Mani Retreat —an inspiring collective offering of practice, harmony, and dedication to the awakening and benefit of all beings, helping to fulfill Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Vision of accumulating 100 million Mani mantra recitations worldwide.

The next major  teaching of the Global Mani Retreat will be Khandro Tseringma Rinpoche, on Sunday Oct 25, 2026. A truly rare and precious opportunity!

To keep up with all details related to the FPMT Global MANI Retreat, please refer to our webpage, and join the Facebook Group.

Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.

Kopan Monastery’s new animal sanctuary in Sindhupalchok, Nepal, July 2026.

After nearly fourteen years of searching, planning, and perseverance, the Animal Liberation Sanctuary in Nepal has a new home. On July 8, 2026, rescued cows, buffaloes and goats moved into newly completed shelters on a much larger property (25 acres), marking a joyful new chapter in Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s vision for protecting animals from suffering.

Among the many expressions of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s boundless compassion, few are as moving as his care for animals. Rinpoche often reminded students that every sentient being, regardless of form and shape, seeks happiness and wishes to avoid suffering. For this reason, he strongly encouraged practices that protect animal lives, rescue those facing slaughter, and create opportunities for them to connect with the Dharma.

For many years, the sanctuary near Kopan Monastery has provided refuge for animals rescued from slaughter and neglect. Located just a short walk from the monastery, it became a place where rescued animals could live safely while also receiving something quite extraordinary: regular exposure to the Dharma. The animals hear mantras, encounter holy objects, and participate in practices dedicated to creating positive imprints on their mindstreams. Lama Zopa Rinpoche taught that such connections can help protect beings from lower rebirths and create causes for future happiness and liberation. As the years passed, more and more animals were rescued, and the sanctuary became increasingly crowded. When this was brought to Rinpoche’s attention, he kindly encouraged the search for additional land where the animals could enjoy greater space and better living conditions.

Land within the Kathmandu Valley was prohibitively expensive, and other potential sites were investigated. Rinpoche personally checked and performed observations on prospective locations, rejecting many because the signs were not favorable. Eventually, after years of searching, a new land was found approximately four hours from Kopan Monastery that Rinpoche approved as suitable for the sanctuary’s future home.

You can get a glimpse of what the former sanctuary in Kathmandu was like in this short video, featuring Venerable Joan sharing its story.

On July 8, 2026, the newly completed shelters welcomed their first residents as the goats and buffaloes were successfully moved to the new sanctuary in Sindhupalchok. The move to the new land was marked by a series of auspicious ceremonies to bless and consecrate the sanctuary. Gen Tencho reported that the Consecration Puja was successfully completed and included a Flag Blessing Puja, Sang Cho Puja, Trincho, and the recitation of the Wisdom Sutra (Sherab Nyingpo). These prayers and practices were dedicated to creating the best possible conditions for the animals, the caretakers, and the long-term success of the sanctuary, ensuring that this special place becomes a source of protection and spiritual benefit for all who live there.

The new Animal Liberation Sanctuary in Sindhupalchok, Nepal.

With open spaces and access to fresh grass, the animals now have greater freedom to roam, rest, and live together in a more natural environment. A veterinarian has already visited the sanctuary to assess the animals’ health and provide any necessary treatment and care.

To see the new sanctuary in Sindhupalchok and learn more about its development and the animals who now call it home, please watch this video provided by Kopan Monastery.

As we shared in a previous blog, the sanctuary’s newest residents include three young buffaloes rescued from imminent slaughter in Kathmandu in celebration of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday and with heartfelt prayers for his continued health and long life. Named Losang (Wise), Ngawang (Lord of Speech), and Jampal (Gentle Glory) by H.E. Ling Rinpoche, these precious animals were given the opportunity to live out their lives in safety and peace. One of the sanctuary’s buffaloes, Bodhichitta, was personally blessed by Lama Zopa Rinpoche in 2021.

In 2026, the Animal Liberation Fund offered US$10,000 to support the continued development of the Animal Liberation Sanctuary in Sindhupalchok.

Rescued goats settling into their new home at the Animal Liberation Sanctuary in Sindhupalchok, July 2026.

While this milestone is cause for great celebration, the project continues to develop. The sanctuary still faces practical challenges, particularly during the monsoon season when landslides and heavy rains damage the temporary access road. Reliable water supplies, electricity connections, additional accommodation, quarantine facilities for newly rescued animals, volunteer housing, fencing, and further animal shelters remain part of the long-term vision.

Additionally, Lama Zopa Rinpoche advised that eight enlightenment stupas be built on the property and specifically suggested placing a stupa in front of the main animal shelter so that the animals can naturally circumambulate it as they move about their daily lives.

Thank You!

With continued support, this precious sanctuary will increasingly fulfill Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s vision: a place where animals rescued from fear and death can live in peace, receive continual exposure to the Dharma, and create the causes for happiness, higher rebirths, and ultimately enlightenment.

All are welcome to contribute to the Animal Liberation Fund to help ensure that our work sponsoring animal rescue, care, and liberation continues.