Rinpoche prostrating before offering the body, speech and mind mandala to a photo of His Holiness the Dalai Lama on the throne, Great Stupa of Universal Compassion, Australia, September 2014.
The first day of the CPMT 2014 meeting got off to a blessed start. Representative of the Jaara people, the native Aboriginal tribe of the Bendigo, Victoria, area, performed a smoke ceremony and traditional dances and offered Lama Zopa Rinpoche a traditional sacred gift, representing a connection between the Jaara and the people of the FPMT.
Ven. Gyatso, director of Thubten Shedrup Ling Monastery, which is one of the three FPMT centers hosting the CPMT meeting, welcomed FPMT spiritual director Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi, who is the present abbot of Kopan Monastery and resident geshe at Amitabha Buddha Centre. Gyatso recalled how Lama Yeshe had been on the property many years earlier and had pointed out where there was to be a stupa, a monastery, a retreat center and other facilities. And now, Gyatso said many of these things have become or are becoming actualized.
Liam Chambers, director of the Atisha Centre, another of the hosting centers, spoke next, inviting participants to envision an organization “where everyone is being the best that they can be.” He then challenged all present to actually be the best that they can be at the meeting and out in the world. He also recognized the 30 years of work and service offered by people to create and sustain Atisha Centre.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche offering a khata to the Guru Rinpoche statue at the Great Stupa, Australia, September 2014. Photo by Laura Miller.
Judy Green welcomed participants on behalf of the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion. The vast interior of the stupa serves as the venue for the meeting. She also recalled how 33 years ago Lama Yeshe had drawn in the sand his vision for the complex of centers and said, “We’ve done our best to fulfill Lama’s wishes.” She shared how His Holiness the Dalai Lama had blessed the site of the stupa in 2007, saying he saw it as a future gathering place for interfaith and scientific dialogues.
The meeting’s facilitator, Sandra Stubbings, was introduced. Sandra is both a professional facilitator and former SPC of Chang-tong Chen-tong in Tasmania and has completed the 16 Guidelines training (a Universal Education in Compassion and Wisdom program). She has also helped FPMT Australia with its national meetings.
The majority of Day 1 was blessed by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, offering inspiration and advice. In the morning session, Rinpoche gave the motivation for the meeting, which can be watched online. After lunch Rinpoche gave a second talk, speaking on the evolution of FPMT and the special qualities of Lama Tsong Khapa’s teachings, among other things.
Ven. Paloma Alba sharing ideas from the discussion she had on preserving the Gelug tradition, CPMT 2014, Australia. Photo by Laura Miller.
The day also had many opportunities for participants to talk to each other, including a lunch-time meeting of the national and regional coordinators attending the meeting, who discussed ideas for how to best share and disseminate the information and experience of the CPMT 2014 meeting. After Rinpoche’s afternoon talk, participants had lively and engaged discussions with partners on how to better learn and practice in order to preserve the Gelug tradition, which was a question suggest by Rinpoche. Before going to dinner, ideas on this were shared with the larger group and everyone seemed to have had fruitful discussions.
Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi speaking at CPMT 2014, Australia. Photo by Laura Miller.
After dinner, Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi talked about his experience becoming a Kopan monk at the age of 12 in 1974. Khen Rinpoche described life as Kopan and how he was part of the first group of Kopan monks to study at Sera Je. After completing his geshe degree, he said that Lama Zopa Rinpoche asked him to become the resident geshe at Amitabha Buddhist Centre in Singapore in 1999. Khen Rinpoche said that at the time he thought he would “just try it for a year;” the center just celebrated his 15th year as resident geshe.
Khen Rinpoche was asked to become the abbot of Kopan Monastery in 2011, after Khensur Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup manifested advanced cancer. Khen Rinpoche shared how Kopan Monastery has grown over the years and what it offers now. There are about 380 monks and 400 nuns at Kopan and its sister nunnery Khachoe Ghakyil. They receive education in English, science, math and other topics as well as a Buddhist philosophy and other traditional topics. Kopan and Khachoe Ghakyil serve as a source of current and future geshes for FPMT centers around the world, with about 15 geshes so far coming from Kopan. To close, Khen Rinpoche said very humbly, that he was speaking “just as an example of how Kopan benefits people.”
Mandala will continue sharing updates and photos from the CPMT 2014 meeting as it continues.
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