Roy Fraser reflects on his fifteen-year relationship with Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey (1921-1995). From Fraser’s first meeting with Gen Rinpoche to building the fully realized master’s cremation stupa, Fraser celebrates his connection and service to Gen Rinpoche.

From Mandala January-February 1996.

“The Twelve Links of Dependent Arising,” Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s play about the evolution of samsara and the Buddhist approach to breaking free from it, can be performed by older children and adults. And for those who are stage shy, just reading the play gives a good overview of the Buddhist path.

From Mandala April 1988.

“Thangka Exhibition at Maitreya Instituut Amsterdam” by Berty Sieverding, Ies Walker, Marlies Bruin. From Mandala April-June 2012.

A simply written poem, “Love and Freedom” illustrates some of the struggles of Tibet’s younger generation in exile.

From Mandala September 2002.

Francesca Hampton’s short story about a young monk trying to help an emotionally disturbed Western man shows what it really means to practice, to be a spiritual teacher and to help someone who is suffering.

From Wisdom #2 – 1984.

What would you do if you were threatened by a gang of macaques? Dana Lissy, author of “Surrendering to Monkeys: Letting Go of the Self,” finds spiritual freedom at the end of this dramatic tale from life in India.

From Mandala July-September 2011.

In April of 2011, Mandala received the sad news that Liberation Prison Project student, Robert Page, had taken his own life (obituary page 52 of July-Sept 2011). Robert was a talented musician and artist who studied with Liberation Prison Project during a ten year prison sentence and after his release five years ago. While incarcerated, Robert created a beautiful image of a double dorje and offered it to Liberation Prison Project. The image was used, as well as other prisoner art, for a series of journals and notebooks produced by Liberation Prison Project to raise funds for the project.

From Mandala July-September 2011.

This photo montage, created by David Zinn, features the FPMT mandala, images of Chenrezig, Lama Tsongkhapa, Buddha Maitreya, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche over a soundtrack of Lama Zopa Rinpoche chanting OM MANI PADME HUM.

First débuted at the Parliament of World Religions, 2009, the montage contains many beautiful and rare photographs, particularly of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. If you are in desperate need of a meaningful break, this inspiring collection of images is highly recommended.

From Mandala April-June 2010.

Craig Matsu-Pissot submitted this poem to Mandala to our great pleasure. “ever mind” reads like a meditation on the nature of the mind and is certainly worth lingering over.

From Mandala January-March 2010.

This excerpt comes from Back Over the Mountains , a biography in progress by Jane Marshall about Ven. Kushok Lobsang Dhamchöe, spiritual director of Gaden Samten Ling Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Centre, Alberta, Canada. Kushok shared this story with Jane Marshall and she attempted to help him return to Tibet for the first time in over 20 years.

From Manadala January-March 2010.