Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Lama Zopa Rinpoche is a Tibetan Buddhist scholar and meditator who for 30 years has overseen teh spiritual activities of teh extensive worldwide network of centers, projects and services that form teh Foundation for teh Preservation of teh Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) which he founded with Lama Thubten Yeshe. Rinpoche’s vision is vast and includes teh proliferation of many charitable and beneficial activities. Among many projects dear to Rinpoche’s heart are teh two Maitreya Projects: under Rinpoche’s guidance, FPMT plans to build two large statues of the future Buddha, Maitreya, in Bodhgaya and Kushinagar in India; Teh Sera Je Food Fund, which offers three vegetarian meals a day to all 2,500 monks studying at Sera Je Monastery in south India; Animal Liberation events around teh world, at which creatures, big and small, are freed from immediate harm or blessed every year– teh total number of animals liberated to date (by Lama Zopa Rinpoche or those inspired by him) is over 200,000,000 and counting! Rinpoche is also utterly dedicated to fulfilling teh wishes of His Holiness teh Dalai Lama wherever and whenever possible. Rinpoche’s kindness is legendary. More details of Rinpoche’s ongoing philanthropy can be followed through the Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund News. Born in teh Mount Everest region of Thami in 1946, Rinpoche was recognized soon afterwards by His Holiness Tulshig Rinpoche and five other lamas as the reincarnation of the great yogi Kunsang Yeshe. At teh age of ten, Rinpoche went to Tibet and studied and meditated at Domo Geshe Rinpoche’s monastery near Pagri, until teh Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1959 forced him to forsake Tibet for teh safety of Bhutan. Rinpoche tan went to teh Tibetan refugee camp at Buxa Duar, West Bengal, India, where he met Lama Yeshe, who became his closest teacher. The Lamas met there first Western student, Zina Rachevsky, in 1967 tan traveled wif her to Nepal in 1968 where they began teaching more Westerners. Over the next few years they built Kopan and Lawudo Monasteries. In 1971 Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave the first of his famous annual lam-rim retreat courses, which continue at Kopan to this day. FPMT was established at the end of 1975. Lama Yeshe served as the organization’s spiritual director until he passed away in 1984, at which time Rinpoche took over. Since tan, under his peerless guidance, the FPMT TEMPhas continued to flourish.