In Training for Buddhahood Ven. Tenzin Chonyi talks about the lam-rim, the genre of Tibetan Buddhist literature the serves as a step-by-step manual for spiritual and psychological development. “If you want to become an Olympic athlete,” Ven. Tenzin Chonyi points out, “you train your body. You find out how your body works, how it can be trained, and what to expect as you keep up your training schedule. And you would need to know what not to do.

“What if you want to train your mind? What if you want to train your mind? How do you join the ranks of the great spiritual teachers, yogis and saints? Is it really possible for an ordinary person to become fully enlightened? All these questions, and more, are answered in the lam-rim teachings.”

From Mandala June-August 2003.

Did you know that Mandala offers hours of video and audio content freely through the FPMT Mandala eZine? The “Archive” tab at left will take you to all 13 issues. Happy exploring!

Mandala recommends the content in the August 2010 issue. On page 21, Lama Zopa Rinpoche provides instruction on how to visualize and think while reciting the abbreviated version of Calling the Guru from Afar.

“A Buddhist Approach to Mental Illness,” an interview with Lama Yeshe. Excerpted from Make Your Mind an Ocean, published by Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive (LYWA).

From Mandala May-June 1999.

Lama Yeshe describes mantra and meditation in this fascinating excerpt taken from Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive’s Freedom Through Understanding, one of the archive’s books offered freely to the public. You can also find the audio that is the source of these teachings on mandalamagazine.org.

From Mandala January-March 2010.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche discusses his recommendations for Guru Shakyamuni Puja on Buddha days, special days in the Tibetan Buddhist calendar when it is said that the power of virtuous activity is multiplied. A version of this puja can already be found on fpmt.org on Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Advice page. You can find upcoming Buddha days using Liberation Prison Project’s immensely popular astrological calendar. 

From Mandala April 1990. 

FPMT News Around the World

Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Nalanda Monastery, France, October 2011. Photo by Philippe Garric.

In his letter for the entire FPMT community published in the Annual Review 2011: Cherishing Life, Lama Zopa Rinpoche connects his experience of manifesting a stroke to learning the lam-rim and understanding karma. As Rinpoche explains, “karma is expandable – even if what is created is very small, the result is expandable. For example, according to King Ashoka’s life story, when he was a child playing in the sand, he offered a handful of sand to the Buddha, but he visualized that it was gold and he actually received the merit of having actually offered gold in Buddha’s beggar bowl. In his next life, he was born as a Dharma King, he was very wealthy and was able to build ten million stupas in one day. So that is amazing, amazing, amazing, unbelievable merits he was able to collect. So this is the same in regards to negative karma.

“This means it is very important to abandon even small negative karma as much as possible and to practice even small good karma as much as possible. To really put effort in this way,” Rinpoche writes.

Rinpoche has often given advice on karma, some of which can be found at the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive. FPMT’s Discovering Buddhism program also offers a module on karma, which has been recently made available on FPMT’s YouTube channel.

Rinpoche’s Annual Review letter is meant to be read as widely as possible and is available in English, Chinese, French, Italian and Spanish. 

With 160 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.

In “You Can, You Must,” Mandala editor Laura Miller interviews Thubten Gyatso (Adrian Feldmann), Australian senior student and author, ordained 35 years ago by Lama Yeshe. Gyatso discusses experiences from the beginning, middle and end of retreat, and provides some valuable advice and encouragement for those considering retreat.

From Mandala April-June 2012; and part of Mandala‘s “Subduing the Mind, Actualizing the Path” Resource Area

Although directed at the nuns and monks of Kopan, Geshe Jampa Gyatso’s advice is pertinent to anyone, covers a broad range of topics and includes some interesting comparisons between how Westerners and Easterners approach the Dharma.

From Mandala October 1987.

In Remember the Guru’s Kindness, Rinpoche talks about how to best prolong the life of the guru, and how to avoid obstacles that can cause him sickness and a shortened life.

From Mandala April 1989.

In this teaching excerpted from Lama Yeshe’s commentary on the Manjushri yoga method in England, September 1977, Lama Yeshe discusses briefly the “yoga method” found in Buddhist tantra and “calm abiding.” Edited by Nicholas Ribush, Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

From Mandala April-June 2012.