Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition
Encyclopedia
The Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) is a network of Buddhist centers focusing on the Gelugpa tradition of Tibet
. Founded in 1975 by Lama Thubten Yeshe
and Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche
, who began teaching Buddhism to Western students in Nepal
, the FPMT has grown to encompass 150 teaching centers, projects, and social services in 33 countries. Since the death of Lama Yeshe in 1984, the FPMT's spiritual director has been Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
We provide integrated education through which people's minds and hearts can be transformed into their highest potential for the benefit of others, inspired by an attitude of universal responsibility. We are committed to creating harmonious environments and helping all beings develop their full potential of infinite wisdom and compassion. Our organization is based on the Buddhist tradition of Lama Tsongkhapa of Tibet as taught to us by our founder Lama Thubten Yeshe and spiritual director Lama Zopa Rinpoche."
(USA). The central office has previously been located at:
In addition, the FPMT has numerous local centers in various countries around the world. Activity is most visible within Nepal and India (especially within their subculture of Western backpackers), Australia and New Zealand, the USA and Canada, Europe, Mongolia, and among the ethnic Chinese communities of Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia. See the FPMT website for a full listing.
). Rachevsky died shortly afterwards, during a Buddhist retreat.
Lama Yeshe resisted Rachevsky's appeals to teach a "meditation course," on the grounds that in the Sera
Je tradition in which he was educated, "meditation" would be attempted only after intensive, multi-year study of the "five topics
." However, he gave Lama Zopa permission to lead what became the first of Kopan's meditation courses (then semiannual, now annual) in 1971. Lama Zopa led these courses at least through 1975 (and occasionally thereafter).
During the early 1970s, hundreds of Westerners attended teachings at Kopan. Historical descriptions and recollections routinely characterize early Western participants as hippie
s—backpackers on extended overland tours
of Asia—to whom Lama Yeshe's style of discourse especially appealed.
Geoffrey Samuel (see bibliography) finds it significant that "lamas" Yeshe and Zopa had not yet attracted followings among the Tibetan or Himalayan peoples (Zopa's status as a minor tulku notwithstanding), and that their activities took place independently of any support or direction from the Tibetan Government in Exile in Dharamsala
. On his reading, their willingness to reach out to Westerners was in large measure the result of a lack of other sources of support. Nevertheless, Samuel sees their cultivation of an international network as having ample precedent in Tibet.
In December 1973, Lama Yeshe ordained fourteen Western monks and nuns under the name of the International Mahayana Institute. Around this time, Lama Yeshe's students began returning to their own countries. The result was the founding of an ever-increasing number of dharma centers in those countries.
In his description of the FPMT, Jeffrey Paine (see bibliography) emphasizes the charisma, intuition, drive, and organizational ability of Lama Yeshe. Paine asks us to consider how a refugee with neither financial resources nor language skills could manage to create an international network with more than a hundred centers and study groups.
David N. Kay (see bibliography) makes the following observation:
As a result, says Kay (and Samuel's analysis concurs), at the same time that the FPMT was consolidating its structure and practices, several local groups and teachers defected, founding independent networks. Geshe Loden of Australia's Chenrezig Institute left the FPMT in 1979, in order to focus on his own network of centers. More consequentially, Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
and his students caused the Manjushri Institute
, the FPMT's flagship center in England, to sever its FPMT ties. At issue was whether the centers and their students ought to identify primarily with Lama Yeshe, local teachers, the Gelugpa tradition, or Tibetan Buddhism as a whole. The FPMT now asks its lamas to sign a "Geshe Agreement" which make explicit the organization's expectations. (Complicating the latter dispute was controversy over Dorje Shugden
; the FPMT has accepted the Dalai Lama's ban on the worship of this deity.)
Lama Yeshe's death in 1984 led to his succession as spiritual director by Lama Zopa. In 1986, a Spanish boy named Osel Hita Torres (a.k.a. Tenzin Ösel Rinpoche, or "Lama Ösel") was identified as the tulku
of Lama Yeshe. As a university student, however, Hita gradually distanced himself from the FPMT and in May 2009, was quoted in several media sources as renouncing this role—remarks which he later disavowed.. For latest news of Osel http://www.fpmt.org/teachers/osel/.
The FPMT is headed by a self-perpetuating board of directors, with its spiritual director (presently Lama Zopa) also is a board member. The FPMT International Office represents the board's executive function. The president / CEO of the FPMT is currently (2009) Ven. Roger Kunsang.
FPMT centers have their own local boards, which appoint center directors with the approval of the International Board. Centers also have a spiritual program director and in many cases, a resident geshe
(and perhaps other sangha as well).
The center directors and spiritual directors from various countries meet every 12 to 18 months as the Council for the Preservation for the Mahayana Tradition (CPMT), in order to deliberate points of mutual concern. Its role is advisory to the International Board, although the CPMT actually predates it (1978 vs. 1983).
Lines of authority within the FPMT are complicated by the fact that many of its officers are devoted to Lama Zopa (or others) on the basis of tantric vows, or a formal teacher-student relationship. The organization stipulates that
The Dalai Lama is credited with the honorary role of "inspiration and guide".
course, offered since 1971.
Many FPMT centers have adopted standardized curricula, whose modules may also be obtained on DVD for external study. The three sequences were separately developed, and thus are only loosely correlated with one another. They are as follows:
Students desiring more advanced study have a number of options including:
In addition, numerous centers are prepared to supervise a meditation retreat.
Since 1995, the FPMT has published a glossy magazine called Mandala (now quarterly).
The Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive, which holds copyright to the speeches and writings of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa, is one of the FPMT's member organizations. It transcribes teachings by these and other lamas, and produces edited booklets for free distribution. Its director is Nicholas Ribush.
Perhaps the highest-profile FPMT project to date is the Maitreya Project
, a planned 152-meter statue of Maitreya
to be built in Kushinagar
, India.
Also to note is the Sera Je Food Fund http://www.fpmt.org/projects/seraje/ offering 3 meals a day to the 2600 monks who are studying at Sera Je Monastery since 1991.
Jeffrey Paine, commenting glowingly on the FPMT's various projects, writes:
Peter Moran, less sanguine, reports controversy over the appropriateness of the statue, as well as other aspects of fund-raising and expenditure, which he attributes to the differing cultural expectations of Westerners, Tibetans, and ethnic Chinese (who apparently contribute the majority of funds).
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
. Founded in 1975 by Lama Thubten Yeshe
Thubten Yeshe
Thubten Yeshe was a Tibetan lama who, while exiled in Nepal, co-founded Kopan Monastery and the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition...
and Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche
Thubten Zopa Rinpoche
Not to be confused with Geshe Lhundub Sopa Rinpoche, Geshe Tenzin Zopa, Lama Zopa Tharchin , and Geshe Lobsang Zopa ...
, who began teaching Buddhism to Western students in Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, the FPMT has grown to encompass 150 teaching centers, projects, and social services in 33 countries. Since the death of Lama Yeshe in 1984, the FPMT's spiritual director has been Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
Mission statement
- The Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition is an international, non-profit organization, founded in 1975 by Lama Thubten Yeshe (1935-84), a Tibetan Buddhist monk. The Foundation is devoted to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation, and community service.
We provide integrated education through which people's minds and hearts can be transformed into their highest potential for the benefit of others, inspired by an attitude of universal responsibility. We are committed to creating harmonious environments and helping all beings develop their full potential of infinite wisdom and compassion. Our organization is based on the Buddhist tradition of Lama Tsongkhapa of Tibet as taught to us by our founder Lama Thubten Yeshe and spiritual director Lama Zopa Rinpoche."
Location
The FPMT's international headquarters are in Portland, OregonPortland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
(USA). The central office has previously been located at:
- 2000-2005 Taos, New MexicoTaos, New MexicoTaos is a town in Taos County in the north-central region of New Mexico, incorporated in 1934. As of the 2000 census, its population was 4,700. Other nearby communities include Ranchos de Taos, Cañon, Taos Canyon, Ranchitos, and El Prado. The town is close to Taos Pueblo, the Native American...
- 19??-2000 Soquel, CaliforniaSoquel, CaliforniaSoquel is a census-designated place in Santa Cruz County, California, United States. The population was 9,644 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Soquel is located at ....
(Land of Medicine Buddha) - 1975-19?? Kathmandu, Nepal (Kopan MonasteryKopan MonasteryKopan Monastery is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery near Boudhanath, on the outskirts of Kathmandu, Nepal. It belongs to the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition , an international network of Gelugpa dharma centers, and once served as its headquarters.The monastery was established...
)
In addition, the FPMT has numerous local centers in various countries around the world. Activity is most visible within Nepal and India (especially within their subculture of Western backpackers), Australia and New Zealand, the USA and Canada, Europe, Mongolia, and among the ethnic Chinese communities of Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia. See the FPMT website for a full listing.
History
The name and structure of the FPMT date to 1975, in the wake of an international teaching tour by Lamas Yeshe and Zopa. However, the two had been teaching Western travelers since at least 1965, when they met Zina Rachevsky, their student and patron, in Darjeeling. In 1969, the three of them founded the Nepal Mahayana Gompa Centre (now Kopan MonasteryKopan Monastery
Kopan Monastery is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery near Boudhanath, on the outskirts of Kathmandu, Nepal. It belongs to the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition , an international network of Gelugpa dharma centers, and once served as its headquarters.The monastery was established...
). Rachevsky died shortly afterwards, during a Buddhist retreat.
Lama Yeshe resisted Rachevsky's appeals to teach a "meditation course," on the grounds that in the Sera
Sera Monastery
Sera Monastery is one of the 'great three' Gelukpa university monasteries of Tibet, located north of Lhasa. The other two are Ganden Monastery and Drepung Monastery. The origin of the name 'Sera' is attributed to a fact that the site where the monastery was built was surrounded by wild roses in...
Je tradition in which he was educated, "meditation" would be attempted only after intensive, multi-year study of the "five topics
Geshe
Geshe is a Tibetan Buddhist academic degree for monks...
." However, he gave Lama Zopa permission to lead what became the first of Kopan's meditation courses (then semiannual, now annual) in 1971. Lama Zopa led these courses at least through 1975 (and occasionally thereafter).
During the early 1970s, hundreds of Westerners attended teachings at Kopan. Historical descriptions and recollections routinely characterize early Western participants as hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
s—backpackers on extended overland tours
Hippie trail
The hippie trail is a term used to describe the journeys taken by hippies and others in the 1960s and 1970s from Europe overland to and from southern Asia, mainly India, Pakistan and Nepal...
of Asia—to whom Lama Yeshe's style of discourse especially appealed.
Geoffrey Samuel (see bibliography) finds it significant that "lamas" Yeshe and Zopa had not yet attracted followings among the Tibetan or Himalayan peoples (Zopa's status as a minor tulku notwithstanding), and that their activities took place independently of any support or direction from the Tibetan Government in Exile in Dharamsala
Dharamsala
Dharamshala or Dharamsala is a city in northern India. It was formerly known as Bhagsu; it is the winter seat of government of the state of Himachal Pradesh and the district headquarters of the Kangra district....
. On his reading, their willingness to reach out to Westerners was in large measure the result of a lack of other sources of support. Nevertheless, Samuel sees their cultivation of an international network as having ample precedent in Tibet.
In December 1973, Lama Yeshe ordained fourteen Western monks and nuns under the name of the International Mahayana Institute. Around this time, Lama Yeshe's students began returning to their own countries. The result was the founding of an ever-increasing number of dharma centers in those countries.
In his description of the FPMT, Jeffrey Paine (see bibliography) emphasizes the charisma, intuition, drive, and organizational ability of Lama Yeshe. Paine asks us to consider how a refugee with neither financial resources nor language skills could manage to create an international network with more than a hundred centers and study groups.
David N. Kay (see bibliography) makes the following observation:
- "Lama Yeshe's project of defining and implementing an efficient organizational and administrative structure within the FPMT created the potential for friction at a local level. The organization's affiliated centers had initially been largely autonomous and self-regulating, but towards the late-1970's were increasingly subject to central management and control."
As a result, says Kay (and Samuel's analysis concurs), at the same time that the FPMT was consolidating its structure and practices, several local groups and teachers defected, founding independent networks. Geshe Loden of Australia's Chenrezig Institute left the FPMT in 1979, in order to focus on his own network of centers. More consequentially, Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
Kelsang Gyatso
Kelsang Gyatso is a Buddhist monk, "meditation master, scholar, and author" of 22 books based on the teachings of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism...
and his students caused the Manjushri Institute
Manjushri Institute
Manjushri Institute was a large Buddhist college situated at Conishead Priory in England from 1976 until its dissolution in 1991. In 1991 its assets, including Conishead Priory, were transferred to a new Centre, Manjushri Mahayana Buddhist Centre which was later re-named .- The Founding of...
, the FPMT's flagship center in England, to sever its FPMT ties. At issue was whether the centers and their students ought to identify primarily with Lama Yeshe, local teachers, the Gelugpa tradition, or Tibetan Buddhism as a whole. The FPMT now asks its lamas to sign a "Geshe Agreement" which make explicit the organization's expectations. (Complicating the latter dispute was controversy over Dorje Shugden
Dorje Shugden
Dorje Shugden , "Vajra Possessing Strength", or Dolgyal Shugden , "Shugden, King of Dhol" is a deity in Tibetan Buddhism, especially its Gelug school, who is regarded as a Dharma Protector or "guardian angel." The practice of Dharma Protectors is central to most religious Tibetans and...
; the FPMT has accepted the Dalai Lama's ban on the worship of this deity.)
Lama Yeshe's death in 1984 led to his succession as spiritual director by Lama Zopa. In 1986, a Spanish boy named Osel Hita Torres (a.k.a. Tenzin Ösel Rinpoche, or "Lama Ösel") was identified as the tulku
Tulku
In Tibetan Buddhism, a tulku is a particular high-ranking lama, of whom the Dalai Lama is one, who can choose the manner of his rebirth. Normally the lama would be reincarnated as a human, and of the same sex as his predecessor. In contrast to a tulku, all other sentient beings including other...
of Lama Yeshe. As a university student, however, Hita gradually distanced himself from the FPMT and in May 2009, was quoted in several media sources as renouncing this role—remarks which he later disavowed.. For latest news of Osel http://www.fpmt.org/teachers/osel/.
Structure
The FPMT is a federation of dharma centers. Each center is separately incorporated and locally financed, but follows common policies and spiritual guidance.The FPMT is headed by a self-perpetuating board of directors, with its spiritual director (presently Lama Zopa) also is a board member. The FPMT International Office represents the board's executive function. The president / CEO of the FPMT is currently (2009) Ven. Roger Kunsang.
FPMT centers have their own local boards, which appoint center directors with the approval of the International Board. Centers also have a spiritual program director and in many cases, a resident geshe
Geshe
Geshe is a Tibetan Buddhist academic degree for monks...
(and perhaps other sangha as well).
The center directors and spiritual directors from various countries meet every 12 to 18 months as the Council for the Preservation for the Mahayana Tradition (CPMT), in order to deliberate points of mutual concern. Its role is advisory to the International Board, although the CPMT actually predates it (1978 vs. 1983).
Lines of authority within the FPMT are complicated by the fact that many of its officers are devoted to Lama Zopa (or others) on the basis of tantric vows, or a formal teacher-student relationship. The organization stipulates that
- "...we generally only invite teachers who are in the Tibetan Gelug tradition of Lama Tsongkhapa. When considering inviting a teacher, the director needs to contact the Education Department for guidance before issuing the invitation."
The Dalai Lama is credited with the honorary role of "inspiration and guide".
Programs
Students often first encounter the FPMT via short courses and retreats held at the various centers. The prototype of these is Kopan Monastery's annual month-long meditationMeditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
course, offered since 1971.
Many FPMT centers have adopted standardized curricula, whose modules may also be obtained on DVD for external study. The three sequences were separately developed, and thus are only loosely correlated with one another. They are as follows:
- Discovering Buddhism, a two-year, fourteen-module lamrimLamrimLamrim is a Tibetan Buddhist textual form for presenting the stages in the complete path to enlightenment as taught by Buddha. In Tibetan Buddhist history there have been many different versions of lamrim, presented by different teachers of the Nyingma, Kagyu and Gelug schools...
course.
- Foundations of Buddhist Thought (two years, six modules). Developed by Geshe Tashi Tsering for London's Jamyang Buddhist Centre, available elsewhere only by correspondence.
- The Basic Program (five years, nine modules). As of 2008, at least thirty FPMT centers teach the Basic Program, or components thereof.
Students desiring more advanced study have a number of options including:
- The FPMT Masters Program, taught through the Istituto Lama Tzong KhapaIstituto Lama Tzong KhapaThe Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa in Pomaia, a village in Tuscany, in Italy is a branch of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition , an international network of Gelugpa dharma centers. It is named for Tsongkhapa, founder of the Gelugpa monastic order of Tibetan Buddhism...
in Pomaia, Italy (since 1998)
-
-
- 6 years traditional study using compressed version of the GesheGesheGeshe is a Tibetan Buddhist academic degree for monks...
curriculum. Designed to produce credentialed FPMT teachers.
- 6 years traditional study using compressed version of the Geshe
-
- Maitripa College in Portland, OregonPortland, OregonPortland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
(founded 2005, formal program began in 2006)
-
-
- 3-year MA (in Buddhist StudiesBuddhist StudiesBuddhist studies, also known as Buddhology , is the academic study of Buddhism. The term applies especially to the modern academic field, which is a subset of Religious Studies, and is distinct from Buddhist philosophy or Buddhist theology...
) and MDiv programs. The school intends to apply for regional accreditationRegional accreditationRegional accreditation is a term used in the United States to refer to educational accreditation conducted by any of several accreditation bodies established to serve six defined geographic areas of the country for accreditation of schools, colleges, and universities...
.
- 3-year MA (in Buddhist Studies
-
- Lotsawa Rinchen ZangpoRinchen ZangpoRinchen Zangpo , also known as Lha Lama Yeshe O'd or Mahaguru, was a principal lotsawa or translator of Sanskrit Buddhist texts into Tibetan during the second diffusion of Buddhism in Tibet . He was a student of the famous Indian master, Atisha. His associates included Legpai Sherab...
Translator Program (since 1996)
-
-
- 2 years intensive Tibetan language study in DharamsalaDharamsalaDharamshala or Dharamsala is a city in northern India. It was formerly known as Bhagsu; it is the winter seat of government of the state of Himachal Pradesh and the district headquarters of the Kangra district....
, followed by 2 years interpretation residency. Designed to train FPMT interpreters.
- 2 years intensive Tibetan language study in Dharamsala
-
In addition, numerous centers are prepared to supervise a meditation retreat.
Publications
Wisdom Publications, now a well-known publisher of Buddhist books, originated in Delhi during the late 1970s under editor Nicholas Ribush. Its first publication was Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa's Wisdom Energy. The publisher began formal operations in London in 1983 (after several years operating out of the Manjushri Institute), with Jeffrey Hopkins' Meditation on Emptiness (1983) as an early perennial. It moved again to Boston in 1988, under director Timothy McNeill. The press offers both academic and popular Buddhist literature from all traditions of Buddhism, as well as translations of classic Buddhist literature. Especially noteworthy are its encyclopedia-style project, the 32-volume Library of Tibetan Classics (developed by Thupten Jinpa, English-language translator for the Dalai Lama); and the Teachings of the Buddha series of translations of the Pali Nikāyas.Since 1995, the FPMT has published a glossy magazine called Mandala (now quarterly).
The Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive, which holds copyright to the speeches and writings of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa, is one of the FPMT's member organizations. It transcribes teachings by these and other lamas, and produces edited booklets for free distribution. Its director is Nicholas Ribush.
Projects
FPMT maintains a number of charitable projects, including funds to build holy objects; translate Tibetan texts; support monks and nuns (both Tibetan and non-Tibetan); offer medical care, food and other assistance in impoverished regions of Asia; re-establish Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia; and protect animals. See the FPMT website for more information.Perhaps the highest-profile FPMT project to date is the Maitreya Project
Maitreya Project
The Maitreya Project is an international organisation, operating since 1990,set up to construct a 152 metre statue of the Maitreya Buddha, in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, India, along with education and healthcare facilities for the local population...
, a planned 152-meter statue of Maitreya
Maitreya
Maitreya , Metteyya , or Jampa , is foretold as a future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. In some Buddhist literature, such as the Amitabha Sutra and the Lotus Sutra, he or she is referred to as Ajita Bodhisattva.Maitreya is a bodhisattva who in the Buddhist tradition is to appear on...
to be built in Kushinagar
Kushinagar
Kushinagar , Kusinagar or Kusinara is a town and a nagar panchayat in Kushinagar district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is an important Buddhist pilgrimage site, where Gautama Buddha is believed to have attained Parinirvana after his death.-Demographics: India census, Kushinagar had a...
, India.
Also to note is the Sera Je Food Fund http://www.fpmt.org/projects/seraje/ offering 3 meals a day to the 2600 monks who are studying at Sera Je Monastery since 1991.
Jeffrey Paine, commenting glowingly on the FPMT's various projects, writes:
- "The FPMT, nonprofit, staffed by individual volunteers, oversees activities from publishing books to feeding three thousand monks at the new Sera monastery in India. The FPMT's 'Mongolia Project' has revived Buddhism in that country. [...] The FPMT now plans to build near Bodhgaya [Note: since relocated] the largest Buddha statue in the world, which will house whole temples inside of it. If built, it will dwarf the Statue of Liberty. It may eventually even dwarf the legend of Yeshe, the little lama who fled Tibet never having met a Westerner, knowing no European language, and then..."
Peter Moran, less sanguine, reports controversy over the appropriateness of the statue, as well as other aspects of fund-raising and expenditure, which he attributes to the differing cultural expectations of Westerners, Tibetans, and ethnic Chinese (who apparently contribute the majority of funds).
Notable followers
- Chiu-Nan Lai, Taiwanese-American cancer researcher, alternative health guru, and qigongQigongQigong or chi kung is a practice of aligning breath, movement, and awareness for exercise, healing, and meditation...
teacher.
- Nita IngNita IngNita Ing in Taipei is a Taiwanese executive and the former Chairman of the Board of the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation, the company which built a high speed railway system from Taipei to Kaohsiung...
, Taiwanese CEO of Taiwan High Speed RailTaiwan High Speed RailTaiwan High Speed Rail is a high-speed rail line that runs approximately along the west coast of the Republic of China from the national capital of Taipei to the southern city of Kaohsiung...
(THSR).
- Lillian TooLillian TooLillian Too is a best-selling author, television personality and Feng Shui practitioner from Malaysia. She has written over 80 books on the subject of Feng Shui, which have been translated into more than 30 languages...
, Malaysian-Chinese author of 80 books on feng shuiFeng shuiFeng shui ' is a Chinese system of geomancy believed to use the laws of both Heaven and Earth to help one improve life by receiving positive qi. The original designation for the discipline is Kan Yu ....
. She recounts the story of her contact with Lama Zopa and the FPMT in The Buddha Book (Element, 2003) .
- Daja Wangchuk MestonDaja Wangchuk MestonDaja Meston was an author and Tibet activist, an American citizen who was raised as a Tibetan Buddhist monk. In 2007 he published his memoir, Comes the Peace: My Journey to Forgiveness ....
, American Tibet activist and author of a memoir, Comes the Peace: My Journey to Forgiveness (Free Press, March 6, 2007). Meston grew up as a (white) boy monk at Kopan monastery--his mother having left him to become a Buddhist nun under Lama Yeshe--and describes his experience there as inhumane.
- Jan WillisJan WillisJanice Dean Willis, or Jan Willis is Professor of Religion at Wesleyan University, where she has taught since 1977; and the author of books on Tibetan Buddhism. She has been called influential by Time Magazine, Newsweek , and Ebony Magazine...
, Professor of Religion at Wesleyan UniversityWesleyan UniversityWesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
and author of several Buddhist books including her memoir, Dreaming Me: An African American Woman's Spiritual Journey (Riverhead, 2001). Willis was one of the earliest students of Lama Yeshe, who reportedly encouraged her in her academic career.
- Gareth SparhamGareth SparhamGareth Sparham is a scholar and translator in the field of Tibetan Buddhism.- Biography :Born in Britain,Gareth Sparham lived as a Buddhist monk among the Tibetan exile community of Dharamsala, India, for twenty years and studied through the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics from 1974 to 1982....
, British-born TibetologistTibetologyTibetology refers to the study of things related to Tibet, including its history, religion, language, politics and the collection of Tibetan articles of historical, cultural and religious significance...
and translator of several AbhisamayalankaraAbhisamayalankaraThe ' , abbreviated AA, is one of five Sanskrit-language Mahāyāna Buddhist scriptures which Maitreya--a Buddha or bodhisattva --is said to have revealed to Asaga...
commentaries.
See also
- Kopan MonasteryKopan MonasteryKopan Monastery is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery near Boudhanath, on the outskirts of Kathmandu, Nepal. It belongs to the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition , an international network of Gelugpa dharma centers, and once served as its headquarters.The monastery was established...
- Tara InstituteTara InstituteTara Institute is a Tibetan Buddhist center located in the suburb of East Brighton in Melbourne which provides Buddhist teachings throughout the year. As of March 2010 the lama, Venerable Geshe Doga has been the resident teacher at the center since 1984...
- Maitreya ProjectMaitreya ProjectThe Maitreya Project is an international organisation, operating since 1990,set up to construct a 152 metre statue of the Maitreya Buddha, in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, India, along with education and healthcare facilities for the local population...
- Root Institute
- Lama Yeshe
- Lama Zopa
- Osel Hita Torres
- Land of Medicine Buddha
External links
- Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition
- Lotsawa Rinchen Zangpo Translator Program
- Maitreya Project
- Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa
- Maitripa Institute
- Land of Medicine Buddha
- Choe Khor Sum Ling, Bangalore
- Lama Zopa Rinpoche - How I Was Recognized as a Tulku
- FPMT a Documentary (Youtube video)