Rejoice! Tushita’s 50th Anniversary 2023

🪷 Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s last visit at Tushita
🪷 Rinpoche showing the aspect of passing away
🪷 FPMT: Long Life Puja for His Holiness, Audience with His Holiness & Picnic at Tushita
🪷 Special Guests & Events
🪷 Drop-in Sessions, Courses & Retreats

 

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Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s visit at Tushita

 

We were sooo incredibly fortunate to start the year with Rinpoche’s visit at Tushita – to receive blessings and teachings directly from our precious guru and spiritual director!

On Rinpoche’s last day, the Non-Himalayan sangha from around Dharamsala had the wonderful opportunity to join Rinpoche for lunch. There were prayers, laughter, delicious food, chai and coffee. After the lunch, Rinpoche gave precious teachings to the sangha, including the newly ordained monks and nuns who attended the POC led by Geshe Legtsok at Tushita. 

👉 Watch here the Sangha Talk & Prayers to Ksitigarbha by Lama Zopa Rinpoche

 

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Rinpoche showing the aspect of passing away 

 

On April 13, at 9:30 a.m. Nepal time, Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche,
our most precious guru and spiritual director, entered his final meditation.
For 49 days we did continuous practices for Rinpoche’s swift return. Every day we made light offerings and prayers, and on the first Friday and every Wednesday afterwards we did a special Puja. In addition, every Wednesday morning to early afternoon there were special prayers performed in Tibetan by the Gyume monks and meditators living in the area.

During the rest of the year we continued to make daily prayers for Rinpoche’s swift return and generous donations on wheel-turning days to around 50 meditator monks living in the area. 

We were so fortunate that Serkong Tsenshab Rinpoche accepted the request of the FPMT centers in India to lead a special Guru Puja for Rinpoche’s Swift Return, on April 15. 

On April 26, our Guru Puja was attended by the 104th Ganden Tripa Lobsang Tenzin Rinpoche and eminent abbots. 

On May 24, a respected assembly of lamas, geshes, geshemas, monks, nuns and lay disciples attended a Four-Mandala Ritual to Cittamani Tara Puja commemorating the sixth week since Rinpoche showed the aspect of passing away.
Kopan Khenrinpoche Geshe Chonyi, together with the Abbot of Namgyal Monastery, Thromthog Rinpoche, Dagri Rinpoche, His Holiness’ assistant, Yangten Rinpoche, President of Maitripa College, Yangsi Rinpoche, Serkong Tsenshab Rinpoche, Osel (Hita) Rinpoche, Rigsel Rinpoche, Phuntsok Rinpoche and others studying at Sera Monastery, FPMT board members Venerable Roger Kunsang, Paula de Wys, Dale Davis, Karuna Cayton, many senior sangha – geshes from Kopan and Sera, monks and nuns, and lay people from FPMT centers around the world offered heartfelt prayers for Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche to swiftly send forth another emanation to continue guiding us and carrying on Rinpoche’s enlightened deeds in this world.

On May 31 – the 49th day of Rinpoche manifesting passing away – Yangten Rinpoche gave teachings on Karma & Impermanence and afterwards attended the Guru Puja for the Swift Return of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche. 

Thank you to everyone who joined us in person at Tushita and online from home, thank you for being part of this wonderful wonderful family that Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Lama Yeshe created through their kindness and generosity, which now is one of the world’s largest Tibetan Buddhist organizations. 

👉 Watch here all pujas for the Swift Return of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche done at Tushita during the 49 days

 

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FPMT Long Life Puja for His Holiness the Dalai Lama

 

On May 24, FPMT had the incredibly precious opportunity to offer a Long Life Puja to His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the Main Temple, Namgyal Monastery, McLeod Ganj, India, as a sincere request from Lama Zopa Rinpoche that was years in the making. 

Three hundred and fifty members of the FPMT organization, including 150 who joined the event from abroad, participated in this moving long life puja. At Tushita, we hosted around 100 Kopan monks and nuns who had worked so hard to perfect the actual puja and the statues – which were filled, gold gilded, and the faces painted. During the puja, FPMT students, both sangha and lay people, offered around 400 statues. The remaining statues up to 1000 were offered to His Holiness as soon as they were  completed in October.

👉 Watch here the Long Life Puja for His Holiness the Dalai Lama offered by FPMT

The next day, on May 25, His Holiness the Dalai Lama had agreed to give a private audience to FPMT students who had gathered for the long life puja. 

In the afternoon, after the audience, we hosted a big FPMT family picnic here at Tushita, as it had been planned originally by Rinpoche. A sudden huge thunder storm brought all of us into the tightly packed main gompa, where we enjoyed an ocean of food & mango lassi while listening to the heartfelt speeches by FPMT board members. Thanking everyone for all their hard work organising the Long Life Puja for His Holiness, fulfilling Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s wishes. 

Thank you to everyone who joined us on these very special days! 

 

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Special Guests & Events

 

In Tushita’s 50th anniversary year we were very fortunate to receive teachings from Yangten Rinpoche, Serkong Tsenshab Rinpoche, Khadro Rinpoche, and other eminent lamas and geshes throughout the whole year, including the Days or Miracles and other Tibetan Buddhist Festival days.

On Losar Day, the Tibetan New Year, we honor the anniversary of FPMT founder Lama Yeshe’s passing away. Following Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice, we started the tradition of inviting older students who knew the Lama to share their favorite stories about Lama Yeshe to keep his memory alive. 

Losar is also the first day of the auspicious period of 15 Days of Miracles, which culminates on the full moon day of Chotrul Düchen. During the Days of Miracles, February 21 – March 7, eleven inspiring teachers joined us online and in person from different parts of India and around the world!

Hybrid:Yangten Rinpoche, Serkong Tsenshab Rinpoche and Venerable Lozang Drolma.
Online: Venerable Thubten Chödron, Venerable Sangye Khadro, Venerable Robina Courtin, Venerable Drolma, Paula Chichester and Geshe Legtsok, Venerable Namjong, Venerable Lhundup Jamyang. 

👉 Watch here all the teachings from the Days of Miracles 2023

 

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We are extremely honored and delighted that Yangten Rinpoche accepted to come to Tushita to give teachings, an initiation and join pujas multiple times this year!

At the beginning of the Tibetan new year Rinpoche gave a teaching on the Day of Miracles after having lunch with Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche (who had just arrived for a surprise visit), then joined a Guru Puja for the Swift Return of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche, conferred the Heruka Vajrasattva Jenang for our Vajrasattva retreatants and gave a teaching on the ‘Eight Verses of Mind Training’.

On the very last day of our season Rinpoche honored us with another teaching on the request of a Vietnamese group. How fortunate we are!

 The teachings and the jenang were interpreted to English by Geshe Kelsang Wangmo.

👉 Watch here Yangten Rinpoche’s most recent teachings at Tushita

 

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Serkong Tsenshab Rinpoche honored us with four visits this year at Tushita, giving teachings during the Days of Miracles and Chökor Düchen, leading a short course on Chandrakirti “Entering into the Middle Way” on Saka Dawa, and attending a Guru Puja for the Swift Return of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Thank you precious Rinpoche for guiding us through these challenging times!

 

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In April, we were extremely pleased to receive teachings on Bodhicitta from Rangjung Neljorma Khadro Namsel Drolma, also known as Khadro Rinpoche. 

👉 Watch here Khadro-la’s teachings on Bodhicitta

 

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Drop-in Sessions, Courses & Retreats 

 

Tushita offers very popular Guided Morning Meditations from Monday to Saturday for one hour. 

On average around 100 students joined us in person every morning, sometimes even more than 130 squeezed into one of our gompas..

And sometimes, when all 3 gompas were taken by 3 residential courses / retreats,  we hosted them outside on the lawn with our joyful monkeys joining..

 

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Short Courses

Tushita offered 11 short non-residential courses which welcomed 913 students in 2023. 

 

Serkong Tsenshab Rinpoche:
Chandrakirti “Entering into the Middle Way”

 

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Geshe Tenzin Zopa:
Transforming Problems into Happiness

“Many of you are great practitioners in your own way: peace lovers, peace and love and compassion advocates, peace love compassion harmony ambassadors. All of you are ambassadors. Here (you) might be from every country, almost from the whole world, maybe, here today. You are ambassadors of love, compassion, peace, and all the virtuous – representing that town, that village, that country. It’s a big deal, isn’t it? Can you recognise that? It’s a big deal, really big deal. It’s not a simple job. Your job is huge, like the bodhisattvas!” – Geshe Tenzin Zopa

 

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Make your Mind an Ocean with The Four Noble Truths
led by Venerable Thubten Wangdu

 

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Becoming Your Own Therapist
led by Venerable Lhundup Jamyang

 

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Building Inner Strength: 16 Guidelines for Life
led by Venerable Lozang Drolma 

 

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How to Meditate
led by Venerable Thubten Drolkar

 

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Connecting Heart and Mind: A Building Balanced Empathy
led by Rachel Wryer

 

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Residential Courses

In 2023, our various residential courses and retreats were attended by a total of 1513 students.

 

Introduction to Buddhism

This year we organized 14 Introduction to Buddhism courses in English, which were attended by 1018 students, led by our new Resident Teacher Venerable Thubten Wangdu and other precious teachers – Venerable Lhundup Jamyang, Venerable Donyo, Rachel Wryer and Glen Svensson. 

 

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The students of the last two courses of the 2023 season had the precious opportunity to get a blessing from His Holiness the Dalai Lama!

 

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A very special course and a huge success was our first Introduction to Buddhism in Hindi, led by Kabir Saxena, June 7 – 15. 120 students, including 7 monks, from 12 different Indian states plus one Swiss Hindi-speaker participated in this first ever course in Hindi at Tushita. It was wonderfully supported by two guest teachers – Geshe Lhakdor, the Director of LTWA, and Kailash Bauddha, the Hindi interpreter of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The lucky students also had the rare and precious opportunity to have an audience with His Holiness on June 13th!

 

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Courses with Special Teachers

Annual special course with Geshe Lhakdor:
Shantideva “A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life

👉 Watch here Geshe Lhakdor’s teachings

 

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Geshe Dorji Damdul:
Bodhicitta Retreat 

120 students, half of them Russian speaking, were hugely inspired by Geshe la’s great enthusiasm and determination! Geshe lay’s schedule was very tight again – starting with the morning practice at 5:45am Geshe la taught all day, plus continued the regular Tibet House programs online in Tibetan and English, and tirelessly met individuals and groups in between..

During the course students had the wonderful opportunity to receive very down to earth and moving teachings from Telo Rinpoche, the Honorary Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Russia, Mongolia and CIS countries, at the invitation of Geshe Dorji Damdul. 

 

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Intermediate Courses

Spiritual Care with the Dying
led by Venerable Tenzin Chodron

 

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Healing The Mind
led by Venerable Lhundup Jamyang

 

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Transforming the Mind: The 7-Point Mind Training
led by Venerable Thubten Wangdu

 

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Discover Your True Nature
led by Venerable Lhundup Jamyang

 

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Gelug Tradition of Mahamudra
led by Glen Svensson

 

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Annual Advanced Course

Geshe Kelsang Wangmo:
Heart Sutra

👉 Find the recordings of the whole course here

 

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Pre-Ordination Course

 

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Group Practice Retreat 

3-Month Vajrasattva Retreat

This year 11 participants from India and around the world attended our 3-month Vajrasattva Retreat, skillfully led by our new Resident Teacher Ven Wangdu! 

On July 7th, Yangten Rinpoche very kindly returned to Tushita to confer the Heruka Vajrasattva Jenang for our Vajrasattva retreatants, translated by Geshe Kelsang Wangmo. The retreatants also had the precious opportunity to meet His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and to receive teachings and advice from His Eminence Ling Rinpoche, Serkong Tsenshab Rinpoche and Paula Chichester.

 

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Tibetan Buddhist Festival Days

👉 Watch here all 2023 Lhabab Düchen’s program

 

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We ended our 50th anniversary year with another highlight! 

Yangten Rinpoche accepted to give teachings at Tushita on our last day of the season – the 2nd of December 2023.

👉 Watch here Yangten Rinpoche’s teaching

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Afterwards the participants, teachers and staff of the Lotsawa Rinchen Zangpo Translator Program joined us for a Tibetan style picnic lunch in our garden.

Teachings & picnic – a perfect combination to end this special season!

 

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Thank you all so much for rejoicing with us & see you very soon for Losar and the start of our 2024 season!

 

 

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