FPMT News Around the World

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

“The first step for harmonious communities is to be aware of your own actions and thoughts,” Osel Hita told a group of students in April 2012. 

A 50-minute recording of the talk is now available online. This was the first time Osel had spoken to a group of Western Dharma students in over a decade. Gomo Tulku also joined the discussion, which took place at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa in Italy.

In 2010, Osel Hita and Gomo Tulku along with Ling Rinpoche and Cherok Lama participated in a roundtable discussion with Mandala about being recognized as reincarnated “lamas” and the future of Buddhism. The young FPMT notables offered fresh and original views on how Buddhism fits into the 21st-century world.

“Religion is moved by the people,” Osel told Mandala. “It is connection between the unknown and known universes within and outside of us. Like many other religions, Buddhism is one more way of understanding and growing closer to our true essence.” 

Gomo Tulku, perhaps even more than his compatriots, is pushing into new territories, pursuing a long-held interest in becoming a musician. He has just released his second music video today, called “Let Me Down.”

You can learn about new recordings and teachings along with the latest FPMT news by reading the FPMT International Office News, a monthly e-newsletter. Subscribe online to have it delivered directly to your email inbox.

With 159 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.

Read interviews with two amazing Colombian youths that are a part of Children’s Movement for Peace, nominated in both 1998 and 1999 for a Nobel Peace Prize. Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Ven. Roger Kunsang met the five teenagers chosen to represent the movement in their 1999 Nobel nomination last year in Los Angeles, where they visited local high schools and were being interviewed for a CNN documentary.

From Mandala September-October 2000

Gomo Tulku has released a new video “Don’t You Know” with Jidenna. Gomo says, “It is a tribute to everything going on in Tibet and a sobering reminder of how easy it is to get lost in our self-delusions.”

In the July-August 1998 issue of Mandala, the cover story focused on young Buddhist practitioners. This interview with (then) 24 year old Christopher Kelley remains insightful and relevant 13 years later.

A fresh sound in pop music is often credited to the fusion of an artist’s unique life experiences with his music. Gomo Tulku, a 22-year-old Tibetan-Canadian-American Buddhist lama and ex-monk, is by no means short of unique experiences and is by all means ushering in his own brand of popular music.

His sound is a mix of hip-hop, R&B, dance and pop. In one song he may rap the verses and sing the hooks to a club-banger beat, in another he may showcase a series of beautiful vocal melodies overlaid on top of an electronic dance beat. Although his music touches on his own personal experiences in the monastery, its content is ultimately secular and speaks to individuals from all walks of life.

Understanding Gomo requires one to really understand his unique past: Gomo Tulku was born in Montreal, Canada on August 8, 1988. At the age of three, Tenzin was recognized by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to be the reincarnation of his mother’s late father, also a Buddhist lama. By the age of seven, Gomo left his family and moved to South India to a monastery where he would begin rigorous studies for the next 12 years.

Gomo currently lives in Tuscany and in Milan where he has worked with the famous Italian hip-hop producer Deleterio. Gomo also gained sponsorship from Guess clothing line, and has generated an international media buzz. He is currently working on his first single, which is set to release on July 28. Stay tuned on www.gomotulku.com!

During a recent visit to Drepung and Ganden monasteries in Mundgod, south India, Ven. Roger Kunsang interviewed the young reincarnations of five of the highest Gelug lamas: Ling Rinpoche, Trijang Rinpoche, Zong Rinpoche, Serkong Tsenshab Rinpoche and Serkong Dorje Chang.

From Mandala January-February 1996.

In Tulku Talk: Advice for Young People (and the Not So Young), a DVD available through The Foundation Store, three young Tibetan Buddhist masters give practical and inspiring advice on dealing with problems, finding true happiness, and making the most of life.

Merry Colony retells some of the early history of the young Cherok Lama, “the boy whose affection and laughter make even the sternest of hearts to open and wonder just who is inside the four-year-old body.”

From Manadala March-April 1997.

Taken from Jonathan Landaw’s regular column, The Passing Scene, “How Kids Transform their Minds from Cloudy to Clear” shows how fairly dense Buddhist topics can be approached from different angles more appropriate for the very young.

The 2010 Light of the Path retreat was attended by a very special young girl, Maddy Stafford, who, at the age of 10, requested to become a nun and geshema. Merry Colony spoke with Maddy and her mother, Mer Stafford, about Maddy’s strong connection to Lama Zopa Rinpoche and the Dharma, and her future plans in a Mandala exclusive interview – “Youth in Refuge.”

Mandala‘s recently released issue (October-December 2010) features six notable young people associated with FPMT, ranging from the ages of 6 to 25.

The youngest of these, Tenzin Phuntsok Rinpoche (the recognized reincarnation of Geshe Lama Konchog) and  Kundrol Rinpoche (recognized as the former Geshe Lobsang Jamyang), share advice, opinions, messages to former students and memories from their previous lives in “Young Lamas Have Their Say.” These heartwarming interviews are worth sharing with others, especially with those fortunate enough to meet these young tulkus in Kopan Monastery in Nepal.

The others – Ling Choktrul Rinpoche, Cherok Lama, Osel Hita and Gomo Tulku – are a fascinating and well-spoken group of men, each with his own distinct and charming personality. You might feel closer to one or another, but it is clear that all the interviewees are worth reading in “Roundtable Discussion With FPMT Young Notables.”

We’d love to hear what you think about what you’ve read, so please feel free to leave a comment.