FPMT News Around the World

Osel Hita at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa, Italy, April 2012. Photo by Piero Sirianni.

Osel Hita Torres – the person recognized as the reincarnation of FPMT founder Lama Yeshe and a current member of the FPMT board of directors – was featured in a recent BBC Radio 4 broadcast. Osel and his mother Maria Torres were interview by BBC in Ibiza, Spain, for a half-hour story called “The Reluctant Lama.” Osel, now 27 years old, talks a little about his experiences growing up, whether he thinks of himself as Lama Yeshe’s reincarnation and what he sees himself doing in the future. (You can listen to the story at this link.)

Over the years, Mandala has also featured Osel in interviews and stories. In 2010, he participated in a roundtable discussion on the future of FPMT with other young FPMT notables. In 2000, Mandala interviewed a teenaged Osel, who at the time was living a relatively sheltered life as a monk at Sera Je Monastery in India. When read next to the recent BBC story, the archive articles reveal how far Osel has come in his life and how much he has developed as his own person.

You can learn more about Osel on fpmt.org, including listening to an audio recording of a talk given by Osel at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa in Italy in April 2012 as well as reading a 2009 letter from Osel and other articles and information. 

With 158 centers, projects and services around the globe, there is always news on FPMT activities, teachers and events. Mandala hopes to share as many of these timely stories as possible. If you have news you would like to share, please let us know.