Students at Gaden Jangtse School.

We wanted to highlight from this year’s Annual Review, the extensive work undertaken in 2025 through FPMT’s Charitable Projects continued to bring compassion into action by benefiting beings in profoundly meaningful ways.

In 2025, US$2,708,905 was offered to a wide range of initiatives, including care for monks and nuns, education for children and young monastics, healthcare and essential aid for the elderly and disadvantaged, animal liberation, the creation of holy objects, and the sponsorship of prayers and practices for the peace and happiness of all beings.

Guided by the compassionate vision of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche, these projects transform generosity into tangible benefits: alleviating suffering, preserving the Buddhadharma, and creating vast merit for sentient beings worldwide.

Please take a moment to rejoice in what we have accomplished together in 2025:

• Support was offered to eight schools across Nepal and India, reaching over 1,400 children and young monastics in some of the most remote and underserved communities in the world. By covering nutritious meals, teacher salaries, learning materials, boarding facilities, and values-based education rooted in Buddhist principles. Of the eight schools supported, four are directly connected to FPMT, either situated at an FPMT center or linked to Kopan Monastery, so these grants also shoulder expenses that would otherwise fall to Kopan.
• Nine elderly care homes received grants helping 273 elders with food, accommodation, medical care, and facility improvements for some of the most vulnerable members in the community. This work continues to reflect the compassion of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche, and this year’s support was offered in honor of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday, who has been a lifelong source of refuge for all these Tibetan elders.

Phuntsokling elderly home resident with local children.

• Essential support was offered to seven essential health initiatives in India, Nepal, and Mongolia, reaching nearly 44,000 individuals — children, the elderly, the sick, and the extremely poor. From mobile clinics in remote villages to soup kitchens in Mongolia. This work embodied the Buddhist commitment to alleviating suffering wherever it is found. Two of them were based at FPMT centers, allowing the Social Services Fund to support these vital projects.
• The Community Support Fund awarded grants to nine FPMT Dharma projects worldwide. From retreat centers in Vermont and California to study groups in Romania and Spain, these grants reflect our commitment to keeping Dharma accessible within our FPMT family around the world, offering direct and tangible support.
• Supporting monks and nuns is at the heart of FPMT’s mission — without the Sangha, the Buddhadharma cannot be preserved and passed on and in 2025 twelve grants were offered reaching over 1,500 monastics across different traditions and regions, ensuring that Sangha could live, study, and practice with stability and dignity. Four of the twelve grants went directly to FPMT Sangha communities, reflecting the organization’s commitment to caring for our own monastics. The year’s most extraordinary milestone was the completion of the Gyudmed Food Fund endowment a US$2.1 million endowment for Gyudmed Tantric Monastery, that ensures sustainable food support for over 600 monks in perpetuity.
• Throughout the year prayers and practices were performed by ordained Sangha on the most powerful days of the Buddhist calendar, when merits are magnified, for the healing, success, and removal of obstacles for all beings — especially those within the FPMT organization and our kind donors.
• Lama Zopa Rinpoche held a profound wish for FPMT to build as many holy objects as possible around the world — so that countless beings can purify negative karma and generate merit, reflecting this supported ten projects supporting holy objects. Five of these projects were at FPMT centers, directly supporting the wider FPMT community.

Stupa of Complete Victory at Kopan Monastery progress, chaSeptember 2025. Photo by Tenzin Tsultrim.

• Supporting our lamas is a core priority for FPMT, through contributions to Long life Pujas for His Holiness the Dalai Lama, fulfilling the offerings that Lama Zopa Rinpoche wished to make to all his Gurus and for the swift return of Lama Zopa Rinpoche we supported pujas and sacred objects dedicated to Rinpoche’s swift return.
• We offered direct support to preserve and share the profound teachings of the Mahayana tradition – nearly all the grants went directly to FPMT projects and centers. These contributions supported scholarships, translation, publication, teacher development, and multimedia initiatives, making the Dharma accessible for people of all cultures and generations.
• Reflecting Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s vision of loving-kindness and compassion for all living beings, animals were rescued from suffering and offered the opportunity to receive imprints of the Dharma through blessings, hearing mantras or going around holy objects. In 2025, we supported four FPMT center initiatives spanning Washington State, Mongolia, Nepal, and France.

Please take a moment to rejoice in these meaningful activities benefitting all beings and thank you to all the support enabling these meaningful activities.

Please read FPMT International Office’s 2025 Annual Review and enjoy our extensive photo gallery.

Please learn more about all of our FPMT Charitable Projects that are working to build a more compassionate world.

His Eminence Ling Rinpoche 

His Eminence Ling Rinpoche will offer a teaching tour in Europe from April to June, including many FPMT centers. Please review the full schedule and save the dates to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity.

Serkong Tsenshap Rinpoche 

Serkong Tsenshap Rinpoche will offer a teaching tour in Europe from March to July, including FPMT centers. Please see the full schedule and save the dates for any opportunities you can attend. 

His Eminence Khensur Jhado Rinpoche 

His Eminence Jhado Rinpoche will be offering teachings in Europe from September to November, including at many FPMT centers. You can see the schedule on the poster to the right. Please visit each individual center’s website for full schedule details. 

For questions on the teachings being offered, kindly contact the center hosting at the particular date you are interested. 

We hope students will be able to take advantage of these precious opportunities being offered in FPMT centers in the coming months. 

International Office News
April 2026

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Contact information for the centers mentioned, and all FPMT centers, projects, and services can be found in the FPMT Directory.

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FPMT International Office is Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s office.

Heruka Lama Chopa puja offered at Kopan Monastery, April 13, 2026. Photo courtesy of Kopan Monastery.

April 13, 2026, marks the third anniversary of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s passing into parinirvana. Around the world, students, FPMT centers, and monastic institutions are gathering (or have already gathered, depending on time zones) for collective prayers and practice, and to sincerely remember with immense gratitude the great kindness of our most precious spiritual guide.  

At Kopan Monastery, the Kopan Lama Gyupas performed Yamantaka self-initiation in Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s room in front of Rinpoche’s kudung (holy body relic); and in the evening they recited the Guhyasamaja root tantra, protector prayers, and tea offering. 

In the Kopan Gompa, Khenrinpoche Geshe Chonyi, Shelker Khenrinpoche. Lama Rigsel, Namgyal Rinpoche, Kopan monks and nuns, and other geshes and Sangha offered Heruka Lama Chopa together with devoted students, FPMT representatives, and relatives of Lama Zopa Rinpoche. The puja was followed by group recitation of Chanting the Names of Noble Manjushri.

Kopan kindly offered lunch to all who joined.

Please rejoice in this auspicious activity happening at Kopan and around the world today. We’ll collect and share it very soon.  May all the prayers being undertaken by sincere students of Lama Zopa Rinpoche be actualized immediately. 

On this occasion, we would also like to re-share the moving eulogy of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, written by Ven. Robina Courtin. 

Please learn more about practices one can do on the anniversary of the guru’s passing away. 

Lama Zopa Rinpoche (1945-2023) was the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche blessing a patient of Shakyamuni Health Clinic in 2017.

Helping someone pass away in the most auspicious way possible is one of the greatest gifts we can offer at the most critical time of a person’s life. The FPMT Death and Dying Heart Practices and Advice webpage is a compilation of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice and materials on death and dying, available for all to use

In 2017, Lama Zopa Rinpoche shared important advice at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa, Italy, when the center was considering starting a hospice. We are happy to share this guidance with the broader community, as it carries significant meaning for those who wish to support others at the time of death.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche with ‘How to Enjoy Death,’ Osel Labrang, Sera Monastery, India, December 2015

1. Have Dharma books available, such as  How to Enjoy Death: Preparing to Meet Life’s Final Challenge Without Fear, Practicing the Five Powers Near the Time of Death, and other books on tonglen, Eight Prayers to Benefit the Dead, and anything else that supports at the time of death. Keep not just one copy of each book, but many.
2. Have prayers and mantras available for recitation, such as the Namgyalma mantra, and also prayers such as The Three Principal Aspects of the Path, Calling the Guru from Afar, and similar texts. Have all relevant prayers on hand so that those present can recite them.
3. Have recordings playing throughout the day — such as Calling the Guru from Afar, The Confession of Downfalls to the Thirty-Five Buddhas , A Hymn of Experience by Lama Tsongkhapa, and different mantras, such as Namgyalma, Medicine Buddha, Chenrezig Mantra and Request, and others. These should be played approximately 6 times a day, for about 10 to 20 minutes each time. Recordings of mantras by His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama and Khandro Rinpoche are especially beneficial for those who are dying to hear them. Additional recordings may include mantras from the dying person’s own guru, verses about bodhicitta, the Vajrasattva mantra, and so forth.
4. Have thangkas depicting different pure lands — such as Padmasambhava Pure Land, Amitabha Pure Land, Chenrezig Pure Land, and Tara Pure Land. Choose beautiful thangkas and arrange the space so that it is uplifting and beautiful, bringing joy rather than depression to those who are there. If thangkas are not available, large framed images of the pure lands may be used instead.
5. Affix large printed versions of mantras such as Namgyalma mantra, the Takdrol, and the Pema Ushnisha mantra, on the ceilings of the rooms, so that those who are dying can see them and may be protected from rebirth in the lower realms.
6. Have powa pills available, so when breathing stops, the pills can be mixed with honey and butter and placed on the crown of the head.
7. Have a copy of Lama Tsongkhapa’s Lamrim Chenmo, present in the room.
8. Have many copies of the Liberation Card — the card Rinpoche compiled for people to look at when dying.
9. Have Mantra Water blessed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Khandro Rinpoche.
10. Have prayer wheels and stupas.
11. In each room, have holy statues — ideally from Nepal.
12. On the roof of the house or center install a statue of Kṣitigarbha — ideally beautiful and newly made, not an old one. The aspect should be the standing form, holding a monk’s staff. The statue could be commissioned from Chinese craftspeople or obtained from Vietnam. The ideal size is one story tall. This is so that those in the house may be guided by Kṣitigarbha. The statue could be blessed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. A smaller Kṣitigarbha statue may also be placed inside the house.

Scribed by Ven. Holly Ansett at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa, Italy, 2017.

As a reminder Wisdom Publication’s 2025 release, How to Live and Die: The Transformative Power of Meditating on Impermanence by Lama Zopa Rinpoche offers an overview of meditating on death and impermanence. From the book:

“A complete education about death is the most important education we can have. What death is, how we die, what minds we need at death, and what happens after death—only by knowing about death and rebirth can we actually fully understand what life is and so learn how to live fully.”

In July 1990, Lama Zopa Rinpoche composed this poem to be displayed in the office of Karuna Hospice in Australia. It can be downloaded and displayed at any hospice.

You can access and utilize more of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s precious advice on death, dying, and impermanence. 

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. 

Michelle Le Dimna at Boudha Stupa, 1978. Photo courtesy of Michelle Le Dimna.

Michelle Le Dimna arrived in Kopan for the 1978 November Course and stayed in Nepal and India, following teachings and doing retreat, until February 1985. Michelle has spent about 40 years translating Dharma books into French and is an FPMT registered teacher. She was instrumental in organizing relic tours in France and Belgium and helped with fundraising for the Maitreya Project.

As a continuation of our yearlong celebration of the FPMT organization turning 50 in December 2025, we are delighted to share Michelle’s story as one of the early students of FPMT! 

My Kopan Story (1977-1984)

By Michelle Le Dimna

Circumstances: I left France in September 1977 for two weeks on a Trans-Siberian journey and a three-day sea crossing before arriving in Yokohama, where my brother and his girlfriend (fervent practitioners of karate, as I was, somehow, of aikido) were waiting for me—we had not seen each other for three years and had only spoken on the phone a few times. My husband and I had separated a few months before, and when I left for Japan, he left for Darjeeling and Nepal, following his recent discovery of Tibetan Buddhism at the famous Dashang Kagyu Ling, “Temple of a Thousand Buddhas” in France. 

A year later, he came to Japan to convince me to come to Nepal for two reasons: he thought we could come together again, and he wanted me to meet the Lamas and attend the November Kopan Course. My gratitude toward him remains very strong. I promised to leave Japan and this life that I was truly enjoying; he then returned to France for a few months of work.

We met in Kathmandu a few days before the start of the November course. But my husband had fallen in love with someone else; she arrived in Kopan a few days later. That is how it began. In a way, these were the best possible conditions for encountering the lamrim.

Lama Yeshe and Rinpoche at the 11th Kopan Meditation Course, Kopan Monastery, Nepal, 1978. Photo by Murray Wright, courtesy of the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

The culture shock was quite strong, but not overwhelming. I had traveled by hitchhiking for years and was used to precarious conditions. At the same time, I felt a deep fascination with discovering a new world.

I found myself in Norbulingka, in a dormitory on the ground floor of a high brick building, sleeping on a string mat with only a sleeping bag, in a dusty room. I especially remember the open toilets: six holes in the ground, separated by simple curtains, with a vast view over the northwest valley (the side where the stupas are now), and dozens of colorful budgies flying around. I was completely under their spell. We had some water for daily washing, but about once a week we would go to the spring to bathe. The Nepali women did not appreciate Western habits, and sometimes tensions arose.

The teachings occurred in a long tent leaning against the hillside, facing the Kathmandu Valley. In the early morning, we would drink soy tea while looking out over a sea of clouds, from which the tops of the hills and bamboo trees emerged. The beauty was so intense it brought tears. It remains with me to this day. We sat in silence, simply contemplating. That made all the difference.

What I remember most from my first days in Kopan is a group of Italian monks chatting noisily, wearing sunglasses—they looked like friendly mafiosi. I thought, “If monks can behave like this here, then I will feel at ease in this monastery.”

My English was limited, so I stayed mostly with French speakers. At that time, many Europeans—Dutch, German, Italian—spoke French fluently. I improved my English mainly by listening to the teachings. My Dharma vocabulary became quite rich, but everyday language remained more difficult.

I do not clearly remember my first impressions of the Lamas. I might not have connected easily with Lama Zopa Rinpoche at first, yet I was deeply touched by some of his teachings—so precise and so compassionate toward both animals and people. At times, I felt impatient or even irritated, and I was not alone in that. Then, when it became too much, Lama Yeshe would appear, almost like a circus figure. Suddenly there was joy, lightness, creativity, great love, and an overwhelming sense of compassion.

When Lama Yeshe spoke about “not killing,” I felt devastated because I had had abortions. It remains one of the most painful experiences of my life. I asked to see him and told him everything, crying continuously. He said, “Look, you know Milarepa. He killed many people out of anger, but he became enlightened in one life. He purified. You can purify. Everyone can purify any karma.” He was practical and grounded, always encouraging. For him, nothing was impossible. At the same time, he did not support self-pity; he encouraged us to take responsibility for our actions.

Students celebrating at the end of the 1978 Kopan November Course. Photo courtesy of Michelle Le Dimna.

This was a period of rethinking my whole life. I had followed the spirit of the seventies—“liberation,” “sex, drugs, and rock and roll,” as Ven. Robina Courtin used to say—and I began to see how much suffering I had created for myself and for others. This was not easy to face. At the same time, the teachings offered a way forward, and I could begin again.

Lama Yeshe would appear unexpectedly and often asked about my husband. After some time, I felt irritated and wondered why. Later, I understood that he always knew what he was doing. 

After the course, I stayed in Bodhgaya. In May 1979, I did a two-week Chenrezig retreat in Lawudo with Lama Zopa Rinpoche, followed by a three-month Dorje Sempa retreat in Tushita Center, Dharamsala, that Summer. Later, I traveled to Afghanistan to obtain a new visa for India. It was just before the Russian invasion. Many Indian residents—mostly Sikhs—were leaving, and most shops were already closed. The atmosphere felt very unusual. After that, I returned to Bodhgaya, where I spent winters doing prostrations.

In spring 1980, a one-month Cittamani Tara retreat was held in Kopan under Lama Yeshe’s guidance. He had already given the initiation and commentary. The retreat took place in a long, simple building with a tin roof on the northeast side of the hill. There were about twenty participants.

Everyone took great care arranging their altar, seat, and texts, with a sense of quiet joy. When everything was ready, Lama Yeshe entered to give a short introduction. He looked at us very directly and said, “Remember, the best protection is emptiness,” and then he left.

About ten minutes later, a sudden storm came directly over the building. The tin roof began to lift, and everything inside was thrown into chaos. It was frightening, as the metal sheets could have caused serious injury. At the same time, Lama Yeshe’s words stayed in my mind. I did not know how to apply them, yet something shifted, and I found myself laughing. The situation was simply too much.

I attended two more November courses, in 1980 and 1982, and my memories of them are now intertwined.

Zong Rinpoche and Lama Yeshe shortly before Lama’s death, California, 1984. Photo by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, courtesy of LYWA.

In winter 1983, I was in Bodhgaya. Ling Rinpoche had just passed away, and Lama Yeshe was seriously ill in California. Each evening, we gathered at the stupa with Piero Cerri to recite the Lama Chopa. When news came of Lama Yeshe’s passing, I was away renewing my visa. When I returned, Piero had left me a telegram with the news.

My mother arrived soon after for a one-month visit, and we went to Dharamsala for the forty-nine days following his passing. On our way to Tushita for a puja, I badly twisted my ankle. Fortunately, Dr. Drolma in McLeod Ganj treated it effectively, though it was quite painful. We missed the puja.

I returned to Kopan around mid-April. A continuous, twenty-four-hour Dorje Sempa practice was taking place in several locations worldwide. I rented a small house from farmers below the hill. Very few people were in Kopan at that time. We took turns each hour. I especially valued the night sessions, when everything was quiet. It felt like maintaining a presence, a continuity. Lama Yeshe’s presence felt very close.

When the monsoon began, frogs leapt at every step. The paths were slippery, and I often fell, returning home covered in mud. Yet there was joy in this. I could almost hear Lama Yeshe laughing.

When Lama Zopa Rinpoche returned, I met with him at length. For the first time, I felt completely open to whatever he might suggest. He advised me to do a one-month retreat in Namo Buddha, Kathmandu, followed by a three-month retreat in Lawudo. I prepared with trust, even though there were no clear arrangements and no way to communicate in advance.

Michelle Le Dimna fire puja at Kopan Monastery at the end of her three month retreat at Lawudo. Helped by young Daja Wangchuk. Photo courtesy of Michelle Le Drimna.

I traveled to Dhulikhel and walked up to Namo Buddha. The site is a major pilgrimage place, with large brick buildings surrounding an ancient stupa. It commemorates the offering of a previous life of Buddha Shakyamuni to a starving tigress and her cubs. I found a simple room and stayed there. After that, I went to Lawudo, as mentioned earlier. When I returned to Kopan at the end of December, 1984, Lama Zopa Rinpoche was there. He invited me for a meal and asked in detail about life in Lawudo. 

You can read about Michelle’s visit to Solu Khumbu in 1984-1985 and her three-month winter retreat in Lawudo.

With grateful thanks to Michelle Le Dimna for sharing this story of how she found her way to Kopan, and for her forty-year contribution to translating Dharma texts into French, teaching Dharma, and many other projects! 

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. 

Portrait of Lama Zopa Rinpoche taken by Ven. Lobsang Sherab in 2018.

April 13, 2026 marks the three-year anniversary of Lama Zopa Rinpoche showing the aspect of passing away.

As a reminder to students, Advice for the Anniversary of the Guru’s Passing Away is a short text translated by Rinpoche that explains the importance of making offerings on the anniversary of one’s guru’s passing. It sets out the benefits of making offerings, how to make the offerings with six remembrances, and how to offer and dedicate the roots of virtue collected. Rinpoche specifically wanted to translate this text for the anniversary of Lama Yeshe’s passing, and he wanted it available for quite some time. We mention this to emphasize how important Rinpoche felt it was to offer these practices on the anniversary of the guru’s passing, for example, doing Lama Chopa and Tsog Offering as Rinpoche said in the foreword.

Last year, His Holiness the Dalai Lama confirmed that Rinpoche has taken rebirth in Nepal. All are encouraged to continue reciting Chanting the Names of Noble Manjushri as well as Migtsema practice as advised by His Holiness, and we must continue to pray that Rinpoche’s reincarnation has good health, a sharp mind, and good conditions for the fulfillment of all Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s works and wishes. 

Please check your local center for online and in person opportunities to commemorate the third anniversary of Rinpoche showing the aspect of passing away. We truly rejoice in all of the activities organized in centers, monastic institutions, and in the homes of individual students, to commemorate Rinpoche’s life, remember and celebrate his unbelievable kindness, pray for his return, and dedicate themselves to fulfilling Rinpoche’s wishes on this occasion.

The great [Kadampa] geshe Sharawa, citing Guhyasamaja Root Tantra and Vairocana’s Net of Magical Illusion, said that making offerings on the anniversary of the guru’s passing away has six types of benefits. The benefits are:

• You fulfill your guru’s holy wishes.
• You purify negative karma and obscurations collected in relation to your guru.
• You acquire extensive merit.
• In your future lives, you will meet gurus.
• You will be an object to be subdued by gurus.
• You will quickly cease your samsara.

We look forward to offering a round-up overview of the events related to this special occasion after the anniversary. 

Lama Zopa Rinpoche (1945-2023) was the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.

Sangha at the Third Gelug Monlam, 2026, at Nalanda Monastery. Photo courtesy of Nalanda Monastery.

The Third Gelug Monlam Festival was held at Nalanda Monastery in France from 28 Feb to 4 March, 2026. Lama Zopa Rinpoche had expressed the wish to bring this special tradition to the West, and the first festival was held  at Nalanda in 2024.  

Thirty-six monks and nuns from across the globe came together in unity to celebrate the Third Gelug Monlam Festival at Nalanda Monastery, including  His Eminence Kyabje Sharpa Choeje Rinpoche Jetsun Ngawang Jorden Pal Sangpo from Sera Mey Monastery, with his attendants Geshe Ngawang Nyima and Ven. Lobang Tenphe; Geshe Tsultrim Sherab, chanting leader (umze) from Kopan Monastery.

Others in attendance included: Geshe Lharampa Losang Jamphel, Abbot of Nalanda Monastery; Geshe Gyaltsen, resident teacher at Nalanda; Geshe Dakpa Tsondü, resident teacher at Kalachakra center in Paris; Geshe Tenzin Losel, teacher and translator at Nalanda; Geshe Tenzin Norbu, Nalanda Monastery’s Spiritual Program Coordinator; Ven. Tenzin Penpa from Gyutö Monastery;  Senior FPMT nun Ven. Robina Courtin;  director of Nalanda Monastery, Ven. Thubten  Sherab; director of Jamyang London, Ven. Thubten Drolma; and director of Dorje Pamo Monastery, Ven. Chantal Dekyi. 

The Monlam Chenmo holds a central place in the Gelug tradition, first established by the great Lama Je Tsongkhapa himself. Among his four great deeds, founding the Great Prayer Festival at the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa is considered the third. In 1613, the Fourth Panchen Lama, Lobsang Choekyi Gyaltsen, led the Monlam Chenmo in Lhasa and introduced the tradition of the Geshe Lharampa examination — a ceremony that remains the most important moment of the festival to this day.

After the escape from Tibet in 1959, the festival was reestablished in India, where it is now celebrated annually at the three great monasteries of Sera, Ganden, and Drepung. Lama Zopa Rinpoche long held the desire and sincere wish to see the Monlam take root in the West, and Nalanda Monastery — the first Gelug monastery in the West — has made that wish a reality. The First Gelug Monlam was held there in 2024, followed by the second in 2025, making this the third consecutive year of this growing and precious tradition.

It is moving to consider the Western and Eastern Sangha gathering together in a European monastery for such a significant festival — a living testament to the extraordinary legacy of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s dedication to bringing the Dharma to the West.

Procession for the Third Ge;ug Monlam at Nalanda Monastery, 2026. Photo courtesy of Nalanda Monastery

“Thank you so, so much for having us,” shared Ven. Wangyal, a Western monk from the Jamyang London Buddhist Centre. “So happy we could come. The monastery is thriving.”

The Fourth Gelug Monlam at Nalanda Monastery has already been planned for February 16-21. 2027. The festival takes place during the sacred 15 Days of Miracles, culminating at the full moon with Chötrul Düchen — a period during which virtuous actions are said to be multiplied by 100 million times, making it an extraordinarily powerful time for prayer, purification, and accumulation of merit.

Everyone is warmly welcome to attend. Prestigious teachers will once again be in attendance, and the prayers will be dedicated to the swift return of Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche and the long and healthy life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

We offer grateful thanks to  Ven. Thubten Sherab, director of Nalanda Monastery for sharing the details of this event. 

We welcome the submission of news stories from those within the FPMT community. This can be a story about something you have personally completed or accomplished, about someone else who has done so, or about the FPMT center, project, or service of which you are a part. Ideal submissions will give readers reasons to rejoice, share ideas, and create connections between those in the international community. Have something to share? Please let us know!

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.

Resources | Online Teachings | Group Practice | Retreat in Mongolia  | Mantra Report | FAQ

One of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Visions for the FPMT organization was to hold 100 Million Mani retreats.

“This is one of my dreams, to have 100 Million Mani Retreats each year and for it to continue forever, even after I die, even after the people living now die. Those who are working, offering service now—to continue even after they die; to continue for as long as the country exists.” — Lama Zopa Rinpoche

The regional and national coordinators of FPMT are working with FPMT International Office to support a GLOBAL MANI RETREAT. This retreat will bring together our FPMT community on a scale we have not attempted before … a hugely exciting collective effort, which we pray will promote even greater harmony, cohesion, and understanding between us all. How timely then, that it was FPMT’s 50^th anniversary last December!  Surely after 50 years, it is now opportune for all of us to come together, as the global organization that FPMT has become, to devote our collective time and effort to Dharma practice and dedicate ourselves to the swift return of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s unmistaken reincarnation. 

The 2026 GLOBAL MANI RETREAT is scheduled to commence on the first day of Saka Dawa month (Sunday, May 17, 2026), and conclude on the final Buddha Day for this year, Lhabab Duchen (Sunday, November 1, 2026). This retreat will be something unprecedented for our global FPMT family.  By coming together in fellowship and harmony, we pray to extract the very essence of this precious human rebirth, and dedicate all our efforts for the happiness of all dear sentient beings and for all our holy gurus to remain until the state of enlightenment is achieved.

To be a deeply enriching and powerfully beneficial experience, the GLOBAL MANI RETREAT will comprise several synergistic components, including :

• MAJOR ONLINE TEACHINGS BY HIGH LAMAS: For powerful blessings and inspiration.
• ONLINE GROUP PRACTICE SESSIONS BY TEACHERS DRAWN FROM EVERY REGION OF THE FPMT ORGANIZATION:  To build strong family feeling and maintain the retreat’s momentum.
• INDIVIDUAL PRACTICE AT HOME – Participants are encouraged to recite the
  Chenrezig sadhana and recite the Mani mantra daily, in their own time and place, for
  the duration of this retreat.
• GROUP PRACTICE IN A 100 MILLION MANI RETREAT:  Participants are encouraged to join the annual 100 MILLION MANI RETREAT hosted by FPMT MONGOLIA, but this is not compulsory. (2026 Mongolia retreat dates have not yet been set.)

FPMT Centers and Study Groups are also welcome to organize their own Mani retreats anytime within this retreat period if they wish, as a further contribution in practice and mantra recitation.

Upon the conclusion of this GLOBAL MANI RETREAT, we will offer the total number of MANI mantras recited to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Details and opportunities will be updated here as they become available. 

What an incredible opportunity for the entire FPMT organization to join together in this powerful collection of merit, harmony, and blessings for the entire world! 

Monks making light offerings at Kopan Monastery in Nepal on Lama Tsongkhapa Day, December 2020. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche strongly encouraged his students to pray for world peace as widely as possible. All are welcome to explore the collection of resources we recently shared, which offers advice on prayers and practices to follow when the world is in crisis and to help mitigate the threat of war. On March 31, 2026, His Holiness the Dalai Lama shared the following peace appeal:

I wholeheartedly endorse the powerful appeal for peace made by the Holy Father, Pope Leo, during his Palm Sunday Mass. His call for the laying down of arms and the renunciation of violence resonated profoundly with me, as it speaks to the very essence of what all major religions teach.

Indeed, whether we look to Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism or any of the world’s great spiritual traditions, the message is fundamentally the same: love, compassion, tolerance, and self-discipline. Violence finds no true home in any of these teachings. History has shown us time and again that violence only begets more violence and is never a lasting foundation for peace.

An enduring resolution to conflict, including the ones we see in the Middle East or between Russia and Ukraine, must be rooted in dialogue, diplomacy and mutual respect — approached with the understanding that, at the deepest level, we are all brothers and sisters.

I urge for and pray that the violence and conflicts may soon come to an end.

In alignment with the wishes of His Holiness the Dalai Lama for world peace, and with Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice over the years on prayers and practices during times of crisis, FPMT centers around the world are offering opportunities to gather in person and online to pray for peace.

“These situations give very strong inspiration to practice because there is no other means to escape, whether immediate or ultimate escape, i.e., freedom from all suffering. Such circumstances, such terrifying circumstances, help make it easier for the mind to overcome delusions or the distractions of desire […] The strong practice of Dharma and the awareness of impermanence and death brings peace in your heart and no fear.” — Lama Zopa Rinpoche, 2001

Aerial view of the grounds of Rinchen Jangsem Ling, Malaysia on December 6. Photo courtesy of RJL Facebook page.

Today we are sharing some of the online initiatives beginning in March and April 2026 for those who wish to join, or who may be inspired to organize their own initiatives:

FPMT North America organizes Zoom weekly prayers each Thursday, 8:30–9:00 a.m. (PT), 11:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m. (EDT), which will include:

• Chanting the Names of Manjushri for Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s auspicious return
• Tang Tong Gyalpo’s Prayer to Avert War, Epidemics, and Famine
• OM MANI PADME HUM mantras and His Holiness’ long-life prayer

Tse Chen Ling, California, USA  offers online Prayers for Challenging Times on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays in April, 8:00–8:30 a.m. (PT),  to help ease the suffering caused by the many conflicts and aggression in the world today. These sessions include:

• Praises to the Twenty-One Taras
• The King of Prayers
• OM MANI PADME HUM mantra recitation

Kalachakra Centre, France, offers a Monday evening practice dedicated to the recitation of the Sutra for Golden Light for world peace, led by Ven. Gyaltsen, from 7:00–7:30 p.m. (CEST).  Each session begins with a meditation on compassion, cultivating this essential quality — a source of peace and happiness for ourselves and others. Kalachakra Centre also offers the 2 Minutes for World Peace initiative a simple daily moment of practice at 6:00 p.m. (CEST). Participants are invited to take two minutes to set an intention for peace, then record their participation in the shared spreadsheet.

Amitabha Buddhist Centre, Singapore  will gather in person on Saturday, 4 April 2026, 1:30–5:30 p.m. to recite the Golden Light Sutra for peace in every mind and to pacify wars and conflicts around the world — bringing immense purification, merit accumulation, and protection for individuals, as well as peace and happiness for Singapore and the world. 

Buddha House, Magill, Australia, will gather as a community onSaturday, 4 April 2026, at 2:00 p.m. to recite the Golden Light Sutra for world peace, bringing peace, harmony, and healing to the world and protection to all beings. 

Maitreya Instituut the Netherlands, offers weekly online Prayers for Peace & the World with Greg, Jan (Dutch) or Annelies 7:00–8:00 (CEST) following the prayers advised by Lama Zopa Rinpoche — to stop all wars immediately, to prevent famine, disease and all the dangers, and to fill the whole world with perfect peace and bodhicitta in the hearts of all sentient beings, especially in the hearts of the world leaders.

If your center or study group is organizing a peace initiative not listed here–we’d love to hear about it! 

Additionally, Sangha and students recite the following each month, dedicated to pacifying the elements and peace in the world:

• Extensive Medicine Buddha Puja offered five times
• Guhyasamaja Root Text recited four times
• Kshitigarbha Sutra recited one time
• Sutra of Golden Light recited eight times
• Arya Sanghata Sutra recited five times
• Vajra Cutter Sutra recited four times

Please explore all of the resources available to you which we hope will be useful and provide tangible actions to mitigate war and promote world peace. 

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.

Photo college from the 2025 Annual Review gallery.

FPMT International Office is happy to share this year’s Annual Review, “Advancing Our Guru’s Vision of a World Guided by Compassion and Wisdom.” 

As you will read in the many summaries included in the review, we continued to offer access to our lamas’ teachings; kept the international community connected and informed about news and advice; offered guidance and structure to FPMT centers, projects, and services; facilitated charitable giving to many beneficial initiatives dedicated to helping others and based on the wishes of Lama Zopa Rinpoche; and disseminated the Dharma to all who wish to receive it.

Please read FPMT International Office’s 2025 Annual Review and enjoy our extensive photo gallery.

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. 

In addition to news and stories from around the world, and opportunities and resources for your practice, we also share timely and essential advice from Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, including practices to generate peace in the world and the importance of death education for all of us.

Please continue to read the full newsletter! 

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. 

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