Offerings during commemoration of Rinpoche’s parinirvana 3rd anniversary at Chokyi Gyaltsen Center, Penang, Malaysia, April 13, 2026.. Credit: Chokyi Gyaltsen Center Facebook page.

April 13, 2026, marked the third anniversary of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche passing into parinirvana. On this meaningful occasion, students, FPMT centers, and monastic institutions around the world gathered for collective prayers and practice, and to remember with immense gratitude the great kindness of our most precious spiritual guide. 

“Making offerings on the death anniversary of a guru is an incredible practice in that it brings about the greatest purification of negative karma and collects the most extensive merit.” — Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche 

Here we share, not an exhaustive list of all the activities organized in centers and monastic institutions, but rather an example of some of the activities offered: 

At Kopan Monastery, Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi, together with the Sangha and devoted disciples of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, including representatives from the FPMT board, performed a Heruka Lama Chopa with extensive offerings followed by group recitation of Chanting the Names of Noble Manjushri, dedicated to the swift return of Rinpoche. Kopan Lama Gyupas and senior monks recited The Guhyasamaja Root Tantra and Tea Offering to Dharma Protectors, in Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s room — a whole day of prayers for the swift return of our most kind and precious spiritual guide.  

At Nalanda Monastery, in France, geshes, monks, nuns, and lay students performed the Guru Puja dedicated to the long and healthy life of the new incarnation of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche. 

A full assembly of monks gathered at Sera Jey Monastery in the main temple to offer Lama Chopa puja and Chanting the Names of Noble Manjushri. 

At Ngari Institute, Ladakh, the community honored the third anniversary of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche with dedicated prayers including Manjushri mantra, Migtsema prayer, and Tea Offerings to Dharma Protectors. 

Gaden Jangtse Monastic College, Mundgod, offered Lama Chopa as well as Chanting the Names of Manjushri, and Migtsema prayer. 

Chenrezig Institute’s community, in Australia, observed a full day of practice, including Chanting the Names of Noble Manjushri and The King of Prayers, in the morning, and concluding with Lama Chopa puja with Tsog and light offerings in the evening. They dedicated the merit for the swift recognition of Rinpoche’s unmistaken reincarnation.  

In California, Land of Medicine Buddha’s Sangha and long-time students gathered with Venerable Yangchen and Venerable Angie to honor the anniversary of Rinpoche showing the aspect of passing away. Personal stories were shared, bringing Rinpoche’s kindness vividly to mind.  

Jamyang Buddhist Centre, in London, offered a hybrid program to follow in person or online starting with the recitation of Chanting the Names of Noble Manjushri, the community then gathered to watch an excerpt of archival footage of Rinpoche giving a Dharma teaching at Jamyang and share personal stories from those who knew him or heard him teach. 

 We share below some scenes from the powerful group prayers, and we thank everyone who participated in this heartfelt collective effort to remember the immeasurable kindness of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and pray for his swift return. 

Assembly at Sera Jey Monastery, India, commemorating the 3rd anniversary of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s parinirvana, April 13, 2026. Credit: Sera Jey Monastery Facebook page.

Sangha at Kopan Monastery, performing a Heruka Lama Chopa and many other prayers and practices for the 3rd anniversary of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s parinirvana. April 13, 2026. Photo credit Kopan Monastery Facebook page.

Sangha in prayers at Osel Labrang, Sera Jey, India, for the 3rd anniversary of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s parinirvana, April 13, 2026. Credit Osel Labrang Sera Jey Facebook page.

Sangha in prayers at Shalu Monastery India, for the 3rd anniversary of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s parinirvana, April 13, 2026. Credit Shalu Monastery Facebook Page.

Puja at Sera Je Dhakpo Khangtsen, India, for the 3rd anniversary of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s parinirvana, April 13, 2026. Credit: Dhakpo Khamtsen Facebook page.

Sera Jey Drati Khangtsen offering prayers to commemorate the third anniversary of the parinirvana of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

Guru Puja at Nalanda Monastery, France for the 3rd anniversary of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s parinirvana, April 13, 2026. Photo courtesy of Nalanda Monastery.

Photo: Community at Tsum Rachen Nunnery, Nepal, for the 3rd anniversary of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s parinirvana, April 13, 2026.. Credit: Tsum Rachen Nunnery Facebook page.

Community in prayer at Ngari Institute, Ladakh, India, for the 3rd anniversary of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s parinirvana, April 13, 2026. Photo from Ngari Institute Facebook page.

Ogmin Jangchup Sishu Tsogpa, a community association of former Kopan Monastery monks and nuns residing in New York, USA, offered prayers for the 3rd anniversary of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s parinirvana, April 13, 2026. Photo by Ogmin Jangchup Sishu Tsogpa Facebook page.

Guru Puja at Chokyi Gyaltsen Center, Penang, Malaysia, for the 3rd anniversary of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s parinirvana, April 13, 2026. Photo from Chokyi Gyaltsen Center Facebook page.

Commemorations in Taipei for the 3rd anniversary of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s parinirvana, April 13, 2026.. Photo from FPMT Taiwan Facebook page.

Prayers in Taichung, Taiwan, at Shakyamuni Center the 3rd anniversary of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s parinirvana, April 13, 2026. Photo from FPMT Taichung’s Facebook Page .

Community at Tushita Mahayana Meditation Centre, Delhi, India the 3rd anniversary of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s parinirvana, April 13, 2026. Photo from Tushita Mahayana Meditation Centre Facebook page.

Root Institute, India, offered prayers and light offerings were made by Ani Dekyong and the resident nuns for the 3rd anniversary of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s parinirvana, April 13, 2026. Photo from Root Institute Facebook page.

Prayers at Amitabha Buddhist Centre, Singapore led by Venerable Tsultrim, for the 3rd anniversary of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s parinirvana, April 13, 2026. Photo by Tan Seow Kheng, ABC Facebook page.

Community praying at Chenrezig Institute, Queensland, Australia for the 3rd anniversary of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s parinirvana, April 13, 2026. Photo from Chenrezig Institute Facebook page.

Teachings at Lama Yeshe Ling, Canada. Geshe Sonam offered transmissions of Ganden Lha Gyäma, including Lama Tsongkhapa Migtsema Prayer and Name Mantra, for the 3rd anniversary of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s parinirvana, April 13, 2026. Photo from Lama Yeshe Ling Tibetan Group Facebook page.

This is just s small sampling of the thoughtful activity organized around the world and we offer extensive thanks to ALL who participated in commemorating Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s passing into parinirvana. 

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 the passing away of one’s guru.

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.

Venerable Jampa Kunchog at Kopan, 1976. Credits Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive

Venerable Jampa Kunchog (Delsturtz Theadore “Yogi” Pryor) died of prostate cancer on April 20, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia, US.

An early student of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Ven. Jampa devoted more than five decades to Dharma study, monastic life, translation work, and the preservation of Tibetan Buddhist teachings. He studied for many years at Sera Je Monastery in South India and later founded the Scholastic Institute Chökyi Gyaltsen University (SICGU) in the United States.

Obituary compiled and edited by Nick Ribush

Memories of Venerable Jampa Kunchog from His Old Friend, Scott Brusso

In the early 1970s, Jampa was known as Yogi. He and I lived in lower Dharamsala and every morning without fail would walk up to the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives to attend Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey’s one-hour classes. During the 1973–74 winter break we went to Bodhgaya for His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Kalachakra initiation. There we were very fortunate to meet Lama Yeshe and attend his talk at the Japanese temple. It was very mystical and with Geshe Dhargyey’s blessing we both decided to attend the sixth Kopan course that spring. After the course we took Lama Yeshe’s Heruka Vajrasattva initiation and teachings and did the Kopan group retreat. 

After the retreat we decided to be ordained as monks. Yogi (and five other Kopan students) took novice ordination from Lati Rinpoche in March 1975, and later full ordination from H.H. the Dalai Lama, becoming known as Jampa Kunchog. He remained a monk his entire life. I received novice ordination from H.H. Trijang Rinpoche a year later in 1976. After that we lived at Kopan, where Lama Lhundrup was kind enough to teach us debate. During that time, we also taught English to the young monks and they taught us Tibetan. 

International Mahayana Institute group at Kopan 1974. Jampa is still a layman. Credits: Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

Around 1978 Yogi went to Sera monastery to study philosophy and debate. I don’t know the details of his years there, but it’s a tribute to his dedication and perseverance that he bore the poor conditions there in order to study to become a geshe, not only studying Buddhist philosophy but also becoming fluent in the Tibetan language, partly by refusing to speak English. He lived exactly as the Tibetan monks did, working in the fields as necessary and eating the same food.

Tushita Dharamsala, March 1975. Ordination group with Lati Rinpoche. Credits: Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

SICGU logo

He returned to the United States in the early 90s and from 1994 to 1995 served as the translator for Geshe Losang Tsultrim (Tsulga) at Boston’s FPMT center, Kurukulla. After that he moved to Atlanta with the wish to start a Buddhist University, which he called the Scholastic Institute Chökyi Gyaltsen University (SICGU). He also taught several students and translated and self-published a number of books. 

IMI group, Kopan, 1976.

About three years ago he began getting sick, having a very hard time walking or even standing. He entered a hospital in the Atlanta area where they had difficulty finding out what was causing his symptoms. Physical therapy was not successful. In improving his condition. Jampa also suffered a heart issue, from which he recovered. 

By this point we were talking on the phone weekly, but Jampa would not let the doctors or his family probe further. He was taking Tibetan medicine and did not let the doctors investigate further in order to diagnose what was going on. However, about six months ago they discovered advanced aggressive metastatic prostate cancer and recently he was admitted to hospice. I was still able to talk to him up to a few days before he passed away at around 7:40 pm on April 20. Jampa was unable to sit up but appeared to be meditating on the absorption process. He appeared very peaceful and was saying something about the light. It was his wish to not make a big announcement and to be cremated. He asked that his ashes be buried with his father’s remains.  

March 1975. Post-ordination with H.H. the Dalai Lama at his residence. Credits: Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

Memories of Venerable Jampa Kunchog from His Former Colleague from Sera, Ian Coghlan

I met Jampa Kunchog when I first went to Sera in 1980. He was living in House One, the house of Khensur Dhondup Topgyal. I lived in House Fifteen as arranged by Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey. I got to know him better when Geshe Losang Thupten from house Sixteen invited us to attend teachings on Tibetan grammar—Sum Chupa and Takkyi Jugpa—while he was still finishing his three-year retreat. 

IMI audience with His Holiness, May 1975. Credits: Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

Sera Monastery was very poor in those days: no toilets, no bathrooms, electricity for an hour or two, water pumped for an hour to fill large earthen pots buried in the ground, and the food was basic. It was hard physically but easier mentally. Everything in Sera focused on study and absorbing the Dharma. Jampa Kunchog had a great zeal for study to which he applied great energy. He had a nickname, Mahe, meaning water buffalo, for his impressive physical strength, which he often displayed in the debate ground when warding off half his debate class while making a debate point! He also had a useful ability to find ways of remaining in India when all doors appeared closed. Later, he set up a computer club, with the thought to use its potential in study. His dedication to Jetsun Chökyi Gyaltsen, the author of the Sera Je debate manuals, was immense, and later when he returned to the US he founded SICGU (Scholastic Institute Chökyi Gyaltsen) in his honor. My enduring impression and my greatest point of respect for Jampa was his genuine resolute exertion in the study of Dharma. 

Memories of Venerable Jampa Kunchog From Tedra Pryor, His Sister

On April 20, 2026, at 7:40 p.m., Dr. Jampa Kunchog departed this life. Born Delsturtz Theadore Pryor on January 1, 1953, in New Orleans, Louisiana, the family eventually settled in Hartford, Connecticut after living in Oahu, Hawaii for several years. 

Venerable Jampa Kunchog, South India, 1980s. Credits: Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

Jampa was the most adventurous of the four children born to Dr. Theadore M. Pryor, and Sophornia Mary Pryor. At the age of 19, he withdrew from Tuskegee University to trek across Europe. After spending two years in Europe, he traveled through Western Asia to India, which would become his home for approximately 20 years. 

Sera Monastery, Bylakuppe, India, early 80s. Credits: Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

He first lived in Dharamsala in 1973 and studied at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives. His teacher was Geshe Ngwang Dhargyey. In the spring of 1974 he attended a one-month meditation course taught by Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Kopan Monastery outside of Kathmandu, Nepal. In 1975, Jampa received ordination from Lati Rinpoche, and later full ordination from the Dalai Lama. After that he lived and studied at Kopan Monastery until deciding to enter Sera-je Monastery in Mysore around 1978. While in India he received his undergraduate degree, Master’s Degree, and Doctorate Degree in Eastern Philosophy from Sera. He was one of the few Westerners to go through such a rigorous program. Jampa was also instrumental in translating certain Tibetan teachings into English and preserving Buddhist transcripts to his computer to ensure their preservation. This had never been done before. 

Venerable Jampa Kunchog with Geshe Tsulga, Massachusetts, 1994. Credits: Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

Venerable Jampa Kunchog, Kurukulla Center, Boston, 1995. Credits: Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

Upon his return to the United States he began making guest appearances to speak on Tibetan Buddhist philosophy. He published books and conducted online classes on these topics. You will find his picture in the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.  Jampa was well known and respected in many parts of the world. Before he passed, his hope was to establish a university for Tibetan Buddhist studies in Massachusetts. However, his teachings will be carried on through his students and religious followers and friends who shared his vision and philosophy. 

With grateful thanks to Scott Brusso, Ian Coghlan, Tedra Pryor, and Nick Ribush for this moving tribute. 

In Venerable Jampa Kunchog’s own words: “Back in the years 1958–1962, my sister and I were the first Black children to integrate schools in both the North and the South. The picture displayed was taken after I received my first communion in North Carolina. We were accepted into the all-white school because our parents wanted us to have the best opportunity for education. We walked into the school; there were no police, no army to break up protesting crowds, and no overt discrimination. We were simply accepted. We believe we were the first example of Black integration into all-white schools. This was in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in 1961. I entered this school in 1960; my sister, the year before.” Photo courtesy of the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive

Please pray that Venerable Jampa Kunchog may never ever be reborn in the lower realms, may he be immediately born in a pure land where he can be enlightened or to receive a perfect human body, meet the Mahayana teachings and meet a perfectly qualified guru and by only pleasing the guru’s mind, achieve enlightenment as quickly as possible. More advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche on death and dying is available, see Death and Dying: Practices and Resources (fpmt.org/death/).

To read more obituaries from the international FPMT mandala, and to find information on submission guidelines, please visit our new Obituaries page (fpmt.org/media/obituaries/).

Rendering of the Stupa of Complete Victory at Kopan Monastery.

We are delighted to announce the grand inauguration ceremonies of the Memorial Stupas of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Khensur Rinpoche Lhundrup Rigsel at Kopan Monastery and Nunnery. 

On December 11, 2026, the Stupa of Complete Victory, enshrining the sacred relics of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche, will be consecrated at Kopan Monastery.

On December 14, 2026, the Mahabodhi Memorial Stupa at Kopan Nunnery will be consecrated to honor both Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Khensur Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup.

Kopan Monastery shared the following invitation in their official announcement: We would be deeply honored by your presence at these sacred and joyful occasions. 

Rendering of the Mahabodhi Memorial Stupa at Kopan Nunnery.

Lama Lhundrup and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Kopan Monastery, 2011. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

These ceremonies offer a powerful opportunity for students to gather, rejoice, pray, and dedicate for the flourishing of the Dharma and the swift return of our precious teacher.

Save the dates: We will also be sharing details of this year’s Light of the Path Retreat (LOP) at Kopan Monastery, Nepal, which will take place December 20–30, 2026, and will be led by Geshe Tenzin Namdak, offering students a precious opportunity to come together in meditation and practice, and to honor the extraordinary legacy of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

Please learn more about these special events.

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.

Over one weekend at Barnens O on Vaddo in September of 1983, Lama Yeshe gave a meditation course which later was published in English called “Light of Dharma,” translated into Swedish as “Lamas ljus.” Photo by Holger Hjorth, from Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive (lamayeshe.com).

In January 1983, Lama Yeshe traveled to Sicily. It would turn out to be one of his last trips before he showed the aspect of passing away in March 1984. During that visit, he gave his personal attendant and FPMT Central Office director, Jacie Keeley, three important messages to be distributed to all the centers.

In the first message, Lama Yeshe wanted all the centers to make video documentaries on how they started and developed. “Show all the obstacles you faced and surmounted with your determination. Show if you are happy or not and if you are healthy or not.”

With this sincere request, Lama wasn’t asking for promotional material. He was asking centers to document the real story — including the difficulties — so that the experience and know-how of the first generations of students could be passed on to those who would follow.

Honest storytelling like this helps preserve the precious knowledge of how our centers were built, helps future directors, spiritual program coordinators and volunteers reinforce their motivation to serve with greater dedication, and serves the vast vision of our Lamas. Leaving future generations a sense of connection — of being part of something vast and continuous, of belonging to what Lama always called the FPMT family — is precisely what these stories can restore.

More than 40 years later, with far more accessible technology available, this feels like exactly the right moment to take up Lama’s request — especially as FPMT moves through the year-long celebration of its 50th anniversary.

Chenrezig Institute in Australia has recently shown what’s possible. They have just released their documentary The Origin of Tibetan Buddhism in Australia by independent filmmaker and resident volunteer Małgorzata Ola Dobrowolska, who received a grant toward the completion of this project by the Community Support Fund. The screening became an opportunity to bring together the communities of past and present students, creating exactly the kind of warm “family feeling” that these shared stories can generate.

FPMT International Office participated in a virtual screening of the film, with one person noting: “This work is extremely valuable. Every FPMT center should feel inspired to put together their own history, as every single center teaches so much about our lamas, our culture, and the extraordinary effort of so many to bring these centers to life. “

It would be lovely to show how far the FPMT family has grown, the remarkable achievements each center has accomplished from the humblest of beginnings, to leave a legacy for everyone involved in the centers, and finally to fulfil Lama Yeshe’s request.

These are accounts that matter not just as history, but as inspiration and instruction for everyone who serves now and everyone who will serve FPMT the future.

Thank you for your contribution to telling the extraordinary story of FPMT! 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. 

Lama Yeshe’s message excerpted from from Big Love: The Life and Teachings of Lama Yeshe, by Adele Hulse. Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive. p.1118

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.

Arriving at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa – photo courtesy ILTK

Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa (ILTK) renews its tradition of offering a residential FPMT Basic Program (BP) in English and in Italian, also available online! This three-year BP is a once in a lifetime chance to enjoy residential study of this much acclaimed in-depth FPMT program, completed over a relatively short period of time, while living at beautiful ILTK, in the rolling hills of Tuscany, in welcoming and warm-hearted Italy!

Geshe Tenzin Tenphel, resident teacher at ILTK since 1998.

From 2027 to 2029 this BP provides daily teachings supported by review classes, meditation sessions, discussion groups, quizzes, and written tests. Graduation follows in 2030, upon program completion with the BP review and final exam, and the three-months lamrim retreat. The program includes short retreats for each subject, helping students to relate the BP subject matter to practice and to daily life. Online students share in everything the program offers by means of recordings and the full range of course materials provided.

The FPMT Basic Program was designed by Lama Zopa Rinpoche for students who wish to move beyond introductory courses, allowing for a commitment to deeper study and sustained practice. FPMT Education Services administers the review and final exam, and issues the BP Completion Certificate. Graduates serve in many roles and functions throughout FPMT, and are eligible for FPMT teacher registration.

At ILTK, students are instructed in the nine BP main subjects by the two resident Lharampa geshes. Geshe Tenzin Tenphel, resident teacher at ILTK since 1998, much appreciated for his love for debate, the clarity of his presentations, and his humorous style, has also taught the previous five BPs. FPMT Masters Program teacher, Geshe Jampa Gelek, resident teacher at ILTK since 2012, customarily teaches the tantra subject of the BP at ILTK.

Two excellent, gifted and highly qualified interpreters, both experienced graduates of the FPMT Translator Program, LRZTP, interpret directly from the Tibetan: Shahar Tene for English and Filippo Centrone for Italian. Shahar, who also completed the BP himself at ILTK, also serves as BP Teaching Assistant and Online Tutor for this BP.

As a BP student at ILTK one enjoys the rich academic environment provided by the residential FPMT Masters Program running alongside the BP. The two resident geshes also teach a variety of other courses, some of which may be of interest to BP students as well.

Please watch a short video of Geshe Tenphel introducing the FPMT Basic Program

You can find more information about this FPMT Basic Program on the Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa’s website 

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.

H. E. Chöden Rinpoche’s Mastering the Six-Session Guru Yoga, Wisdom Publications

Available in August 11, H. E. Choden Rinpoche’s Mastering the Six-Session Guru Yoga offers an illuminating commentary on one of the foundational daily practices of the Gelug tradition, accompanied by essential supplementary materials to support practitioners on the path. With contributions by Gyalten Khen Rinpoche and Ven. Tenzin Gache, this new volume from Wisdom Publications guides readers in maintaining the commitments of anuttarayoga tantra while deepening their understanding of this profound practice.

Drawing on a rich lineage of teachings—including excerpts from commentaries by Akhu Sherap Gyatso (1803–75) and Khenchen Namkha Tenkyong (1799–?), an oral commentary by Khen Rinpoche Geshe Gyalten, detailed explanations of the vows, illuminating reflections on the eight-line praises, and metered translations designed to support recitation—this book brings together everything needed to engage the practice with clarity and confidence. The result is a truly invaluable resource for practitioners of anuttarayoga tantra.

Pre-order is available through Amazon. 

His Eminence Choden Rinpoche

His Eminence Choden Rinpoche was born in eastern Tibet in 1930 and was recognized as a young boy as the reincarnation of the previous Choden Rinpoche. When he was fifteen, he enrolled at Sera Jé monastic college, where he excelled; he completed all the study necessary for the highest degree of geshe lharampa, was renowned as one of the great Tibetan teacher-yogis of our modern era, and was chosen as a debate partner for the Fourteenth Dalai Lama when His Holiness was taking his geshe exams. After the Chinese takeover of Tibet, Rinpoche entered solitary retreat, in which he stayed for nineteen years. In 1985 the Dalai Lama asked him to leave Tibet to teach in India and Nepal. He taught students in the geshe program at Sera Je for many years, as well as offering teachings all over the world. He passed away in 2015.

Discover more about Choden Rinpoche from Mandala 2000, “The Life of a Hidden Meditator.” 

Ven. Tenzin Gache

Ven. Tenzin Gache is originally from Boston and graduated from Tufts University in 2005. During his college years he became a student of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Choden Rinpoche. In 2006 he ordained with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and has lived and studied at Sera Jey Monastery since that time. He is the director of Sera IMI House and an FPMT registered teacher.  He is currently in the intensive exams to qualify for the title of lharampa geshe. Ven. Gache translated His Eminence Choden Rinpoche’s book,  Mastering Meditation: Instructions on Calm Abiding and Mahamudra which was published by Wisdom Publications in 2020.

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.

H.E. Ling Rinpoche teaching in Munich, April 25, 2026, hosted by Aryatara Institute. Photo by Harald Weichhart.

We are happy to share the upcoming European teaching tours of His Eminence Ling Rinpoche, His Eminence Khensur Jhado Rinpoche and Serkong Tsenshap Rinpoche. Students are warmly invited to join these precious opportunities for study and practice across FPMT centers and other organizations.

His Eminence Ling Rinpoche

His Eminence Ling Rinpoche’s European tour began in April. You can view the full schedule of His Eminence Ling Rinpoche on the poster or on his website.

HE Ling Rinpoche, European Tour 2026

His Eminence Khensur Jhado Rinpoche

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

Serkong Tsenshap Rinpoche

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

You can see the schedule on the poster or visit Serkong Rinpoche’s website for full schedule details.

Serkong Tsenshap Rinpoche – European Tour 2026

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.

Director of the Maitri Charitable Trust Adriana Ferranti receiving blessings and appreciation for her work from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, January 2023.

Maitri Charitable Trust has been serving, since 1989, some of India’s poorest people and continues to be guided by its founder and longtime director, Adriana Ferranti. Adriana has spent decades at the helm of Maitri. Now 81, she carries on with unwavering commitment. She has spoken with Donna Lynn Brown many times in recent years, including in February 2026. 

By Donna Lynn Brown

What is Maitri Charitable Trust? And what led Adriana Ferranti to establish it? Maitri is an FPMT charitable project located in India, managed by Adriana and overseen by an Indian board of trustees. It has a main site about five kilometers from Bodhgaya and provides services throughout the surrounding Gaya District in several areas, mainly basic health care, leprosy, tuberculosis, mother / child / young women care, education, and animal care.

At its main site, Maitri treats leprosy and tuberculosis, which persist in that part of India, by operating a free hospital and clinic. Leprosy in the area is often under-diagnosed and under-treated by the government, giving Maitri an important role. Homeless patients also sometimes live there. At both its main site and through mobile clinics, Maitri distributes free leprosy and TB relief medications and materials to people living in their homes, and provides vaccines, such as for tetanus and rabies. It also offers other basic medical care along with supplemental nourishment—vitamins, milk, staple foods, formula—for expectant mothers, newborns, and young children, provides information on HIV and other issues, educates girls about their bodies and supplies menstrual products, and provides supports for some kinds of disabilities. Examples include eyewear and special footwear for people with deformities from leprosy. Its mobile clinics reach poor areas lacking primary health cents; they sometimes offer ambulance services as well as direct care. Maitri also helps poverty-stricken families survive Bodhgaya’s cold winters, distributing food, supplements, and blankets to hundreds of people every year, and giving warm clothes and blankets to students at its school. It is also well-known in the area for taking in stray, abandoned, and injured animals, some of whom are dropped off anonymously while others are rescued when staff are informed an animal is in need. Maitri sterilizes animals, gives them veterinary care, and cares for them at its site. Dozens live there at any given time, mainly dogs but also other animals like goats.

Director Adriana Ferranti with women receiving support from MAITRI.

Maitri operates a school is in the village of Fulchatar, about 15 kilometers from Bodhgaya. It is a collaboration with villagers; they built and maintain the building, and Maitri provides teachers, books, and supplies. The school has about 125 students in grades one through four, most from so-called “untouchable” castes. Other schools are too far for these young children to walk to; after grade four, they are able to attend government schools. Maitri’s school teaches the government curriculum as well as moral values. The teachers report that when students later attend other schools, they are ahead of their peers, and young adults who have attended the school as children have found good jobs, such as in the police. Villagers support the school because of its success.

Adriana oversees all this from the porch of her aging mud-brick home at Maitri’s site. Armed with two phones and backed by Kanchan, her trusted second in command, she takes care of the hospital and clinics, 24 staff (many of whom travel around villages providing health care), 70 or 80 mostly disabled dogs, and various other animals. She also raises funds to pay Maitri’s expenses and battles India’s complex bureaucracy. The work never stops—but it seems to keep her healthy. Her reward is seeing young children receiving an education who otherwise would not, sick and disabled people benefiting from treatments and supports that governments do not provide, undernourished mothers and babies getting supplements and care, girls receiving hygiene information and supplies, remote villages getting basic and emergency medical care, poor families being helped with food and blankets, information being disseminated on HIV, TB, leprosy, women’s health, and immunization, and injured and abandoned animals getting food, veterinary care, blessings, and a home.

Blanket distribution at MAITRI Charitable Trust, Bihar, India, January 2018. Photo by Phil Hunt.

What brought Adriana to this life? She grew up amid the scarcities of post-war Italy, shaped by her family’s values of duty and hard work. By the 1960s and 1970s, though, Italy’s new-found wealth offered abundant consumption and enjoyments. She indulged, but soon realized that these pleasures gave little true happiness. She became, from age 30, a seeker. Mystical experiences followed, but these did not answer her questions, particularly a crucial one: why things happen. One day, she came across a booklet called “Reincarnation and Karma” by Yogananda. “Finding out about karma was an incredible liberation,” Adriana says. “Karma explains why. And makes clear that it all depends on me. My difficulties are caused by my own actions. To get out, I had to act.” Yet when she visited Italy’s emerging Hindu centers, none called out to her—and then she encountered Tibetan Buddhism. In 1979, she went to Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa (ILTK) in Pomaia where she met Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. She knew she was home. “Rinpoche revealed himself to me—it was incredible,” she smiles. But she still hadn’t found a role in life that expressed who she felt she was.

Lama Zopa with Adriana Ferranti and MAITRI staff, Bodhgaya, Gaya District, Bihar, India, February 2019. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

In 1980, she happened to see a documentary on Africa that showed a priest dressing the sores of a leprosy patient. “I knew,” she reports. “I knew instantly, like a lightning bolt. A revelation. This was my role, my path, who I was.” She took a course in leprosy management, but to serve leprosy patients in any area of India, she needed a visa and government authorization. Rinpoche suggested working in the Gaya/ Bodh Gaya region. In 1989, newly equipped with authorization, she began offering leprosy services from Kathmandu while waiting for an Indian visa; she set up in Gaya in 1990 once her visa came through. By 1998, she had procured her current site. Land and buildings were soon blessed by Rinpoche, and a forest planted to improve the environment. “The work came naturally to me,” she recounts, “so I was happy, but it was incredibly difficult…I was on my own, doing everything, even driving the jeep for mobile clinics. It was a hard life, but I had a sense of purpose.” 

Since then, Adriana has overseen Maitri’s health and education programs and services while caring for dozens of abandoned and injured animals, and, at Rinpoche’s request, putting in place nine stupas along with other elements that provide blessings and imprints to patients, staff, animals, and the surrounding area. Money has come from various sources, including, at times, Rinpoche, although fundraising has always been challenging. She reports. “Just by sheer faith is how I carried on. There was never any security. But I thought that as long as I was doing what I had to do, the funds would be provided. That’s what seems to have happened, since I am still here!” 

Adriana is one of a handful of people in FPMT who devote their lives to social engagement. She has been working in this difficult part of India for almost four decades. It is her Dharma practice—often a practice of patience in the face of problems: legal issues concerning Maitri’s land; troubles with officials, permits, and visas; money shortages; challenges training and retaining staff; the headache of service provision during the pandemic; theft and corruption; and hazards specific to being a woman running an NGO in India. And each death of a rescued animal breaks her heart. Now, her priority is to ensure that Maitri is in good shape for the present and future. As well as overseeing its services and expanding them where feasible, she is renovating and upgrading some existing buildings (including a multi-faith temple) and constructing a new house to replace the one that is crumbling. As Bodhgaya’s urban expansion begins to surround Maitri’s oasis of shade and greenery, she is determined to keep it a refuge for humans and animals.

Adriana Ferranti, MAITRI Charitable Trust Director, 2026. Photo Credit Donna Brown

And she is committed. Like a mother with a child, she reports, “walking away is not an option.” She doesn’t feel her age, and with a visa good until 2030, she has no plans to retire. As for later, she says firmly, “If Maitri is meant to continue, someone will come.” Asked who might suit the role, she responds, “They should be able to live in India without visa problems. One of the biggest problems is visas. So an Indian citizen or OCI (Overseas citizen of India) would be ideal. But the main thing is that they can’t see it as just a job where you go home at five o’clock. It’s a vocation. Living on the site, overseeing everything, being patient with difficulties, showing love and concern for the staff, the patients, the animals… Maitri is a service to all beings, so the bodhisattva aspiration is at its heart.”

Written by Donna Lynn Brown. Donna is a former Associate Editor of Mandala magazine. She first encountered Lama Zopa Rinpoche and FPMT at a November course at Kopan Monastery in 1996. Donna completed a Ph.D in which she researched and wrote about FPMT’s social engagement and its intersection with traditional Buddhist teachings.

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!

For more information about Maitri Charitable Trust and to donate directly to their work, please visit their website.

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. 

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 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.

Please join our Facebook Group to keep up on all updates and opportunities related to this retreat and check back often to the Global MANI Retreat webpage for the latest information. 

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.

Geshe Tenzin Zopa with students. Photo courtesy of FPMT Mexico.

 Geshe Tenzin Zopa’s first-ever visit to Mexico — and to Latin America— from March 6-14, 2026, was organized by the Mexican centers and study groups. Ramón Lara, FPMT Mexico National Coordinator and FPMT Latin America Regional Coordinator, shares about this inspiring visit. 

In the weeks leading up to Geshe Tenzin Zopa’s arrival in Mexico, the country was experiencing a series of violent events that had generated widespread concern and uncertainty across different regions. In response, the various FPMT Mexico centers and study groups came together to reflect on the situation and assess the circumstances. As a collective decision, they shared openly with Geshe Zopa what was happening and made clear that, should he choose to continue with his visit, all necessary measures would be implemented to ensure his safety. 

His response was immediate and deeply moving. With characteristic humility and determination, Geshe Zopa expressed: “I felt more than ever before the importance of my humble support through Dharma teachings, prayers, and merit dedication to the country and its people.” 

The visit was made possible through the joint effort of the entire FPMT Mexico family. Even centers and groups that were not direct hosts played an active role, contributing to the coordination between all FPMT Mexico centers and study groups — including the Rinchen Zangpo Center and the Bengungyal Study Group. 

Geshe Zopa’s arrival coincided with Chotrul Duchen, the “Day of Miracles,” one of the most auspicious days in the Tibetan calendar — making this not only his first visit to Mexico, but his first visit to all of Latin America. During his first weekend at Khamlungpa Center in Guadalajara, in one of his opening meetings with Mexican students, Geshe Zopa shared that it was Lama Zopa Rinpoche who had repeatedly expressed how fond he was of the Mexican people, assuring Geshe Zopa that he would find a warmth here that would remind him of the people of Tibet. 

Geshe Tenzin Zopa welcomed on his arrival in Mexico. Photo from FPMT Mexico Facebook

Over those first days, Geshe Zopa offered the Refuge Ceremony and the Vajrasattva Initiation, bringing together students from various regions of Mexico and abroad. Around 60 participants attended. 

Throughout the week, a series of public teachings were co-organized with Nying Je Kunkya Study Group, on topics including How to Be Your Own Therapist, Mental Training in Difficult Times, and How to Develop Compassion and Infinite Love. These gatherings drew large numbers of participants, filling Khamlungpa Center’s space and reflecting the deep interest in Dharma within the local community. The teachings offered practical tools for integrating the Dharma into everyday life — particularly in times of uncertainty — with a consistent emphasis on working with the mind, cultivating compassion, and maintaining a steady daily practice. 

The tour continued in Mexico City, where the Thubten Kunkyab Study Group welcomed Geshe Zopa on March 14, 2026. On this occasion, he offered the teaching of CorrectDevotion to the Guru in Daily Life, exploring the teacher-student relationship from a practical and contemporary perspective. Approximately 100 people attended. Geshe Zopa highlighted the importance of integrating the Dharma into all aspects of life — beginning with the cultivation of self-love grounded in understanding, extending to compassion for others, and leading to a genuine responsibility to transform our everyday actions. His warm, accessible, and heartfelt style deeply inspired those present, motivating many to share and embody the Dharma more actively in their daily interactions, challenges, and service to others. 

Geshe Tenzin Zopa’s visit left a meaningful and lasting imprint on the FPMT Mexico community. Participants expressed deep gratitude for the rare opportunity to receive teachings directly from one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s close disciples. Beyond the events themselves, his presence strengthened the bonds within Mexico’s Dharma family and renewed many practitioners’ commitment to living with compassion, wisdom, and conscious intention. 

We are delighted to share that recordings of select teachings from this precious visit are now available on the FPMT Mexico YouTube channel. It is our heartfelt wish that these teachings continue to reach far and wide, so that more and more people may find inspiration, and benefit from Geshe Zopa’s wisdom and compassion.  

With grateful thanks to Ramón Lara for this story! 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.