Category Archives: Lama Zopa Rinpoche

The Living Heart of Compassion

Compassion and Bodhicitta, Dharma in Daily Life, Introductory, Lama Zopa Rinpoche

 

Compassion should be at the heart of our life, at the center of all our relationships and in all our practices.

-Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Lama Zopa Rinpoche gives the transmission of the mantra and dharani of Chenrezig, the Buddha of Compassion and explains why reciting these mantra helps us to develop compassion from the center of our heart for all beings and especially for those we see as the enemy. Rinpoche illuminates how the path to enlightenment depends first on developing immeasurable compassion for each and every being. These teachings were given by Rinpoche during a Maitreya puja at Shakyamuni Center in Taichung, Taiwan, in March 2007. You can follow along with the transcript on our website.

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The Power of the Object of Merit

Dharma in Daily Life, Guru Devotion, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Perfect Human Rebirth, Practice Commentary

If you don’t practice Dharma, don’t learn Dharma, don’t meditate, if you don’t pray to have realization of the path to enlightenment, at least even the path to liberation, if you don’t do that then so many sentient beings have to suffer for you to live, for your happiness, it is so unimaginable, unbearable, so unbearable.

-Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Everything we do to keep this human body alive inevitably harms other sentient beings and thus accumulates negative karma. Rinpoche describes this harm and the incredible power of the object to quickly accumulate huge amounts of positive merit. Contemplate how this power of the object can help us accumulate more than enough positive merit to offset the constantly accumulating negative karma of living. May we accumulate more than enough positive merit to quickly and more quickly constantly progress on the path to enlightenment for the sake of all mother sentient beings. Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave this Dharma talk prior to a refuge ceremony at Amitabha Buddhist Centre, Singapore, on January 18, 2009. You can read along with the transcript on our website.

 

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Chanting the Names of Noble Manjushri

Death and Transitions, Dharma in Daily Life, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Oral Transmission, Sutras, Mantras and Root Texts

Manjushri bodhisattva is the highest manifestation of being, the embodiment of all knowledge.

-Lama Zopa Rinpoche

The Ārya-mañjuśrī-nāma-saṅgīti (Chanting the Names of Noble Manjushri) consists of 160 verses and mantra sentences, condensing an enormous tantric lore. Listen to Lama Zopa Rinpoche reciting the Ārya-mañjuśrī-nāma-saṅgīti in Tibetan. Rinpoche recorded this recitation in 2006, and asked for the recording to be made available for anyone to listen at any time during their day. Rinpoche also suggested to play it loudly so that animals and others nearby can hear it, and thereby benefit from it as well.

Recently His Holiness the Dalai Lama has offered us all the precious advice to recite Chanting the Names of Noble Manjushri continuously for a few months, for the swift return of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s reincarnation. Thus all students of Lama Zopa Rinpoche are requested to please recite Chanting the Names of Noble Manjushri as much as you can, continuously, starting now. You can download the English translation of Chanting the Names of Noble Manjushri and read His Holiness’s letter of advice on the FPMT website.

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Taking Care of the Mind

Compassion and Bodhicitta, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Lamrim (Path to Enlightenment)

Sometimes uncontrollable anger arises and uncontrollable self-cherishing thought arises, self-concern, anger, pride also, but then sometimes it makes you aware there’s choice. There’s choice. You can choose.

Listen to a public talk by Lama Zopa Rinpoche on how to bring peace and happiness to oneself and others, given at Conway Hall, London, England on July 10, 2014. Read along with the transcript and more at http://www.lamayeshe.com/article/taking-care-mind-audio-and-transcript

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Meditation on Emptiness at Vulture’s Peak

Emptiness, Lama Zopa Rinpoche

On March 12, 2014, Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche ascended Vulture’s Peak, Rajgir, India, to give a transmission of the Vajra Cutter Sutra to a group of students. Rinpoche began by reading out a Dedication Prayer by Mipham Dawa Rinpoche, then, after the sutra transmission, Rinpoche led students in a meditation on emptiness. Read along with the transcript at https://www.lamayeshe.com/article/meditation-emptiness-vultures-peak-audio-and-transcript

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Imagine the Power of Bodhicitta

Compassion and Bodhicitta, Introductory, Lama Zopa Rinpoche

The incredible, unbelievable, most unbelievable, no words, how most important to generate bodhicitta, can you imagine?

-Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Lama Zopa Rinpoche celebrates the power of bodhicitta during teachings given by Rinpoche at the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive home office in October 2012. Rinpoche was in town to attend the visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to FPMT’s Kurukulla Center in Boston, Massachusetts. You can read along with the transcript here.

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Chöd: Slaying the Ego

Emptiness, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Practice Commentary

Practicing Dharma is just a question of changing, you know, your own mind, changing, from self-cherishing thought into cherishing others, from anger, those violent, harmful mind, into loving-kindness, compassion to others, so, basically like that.

-Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Enjoy this profound excerpt from a series of teachings given prior to a chöd initiation by Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Maitripa College, Portland, Oregon, in June 2009. Read along with the transcript at bit.ly/CHOD-SLAYING-THE-EGO

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This Precious Human Rebirth

Compassion and Bodhicitta, Dharma in Daily Life, Introductory, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Perfect Human Rebirth

It is amazing how even within a minute, even in each second, eating, walking, sitting, sleeping, wow, what you can do with this precious human body by understanding and practicing the Dharma.

-Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Lama Zopa Rinpoche celebrates our perfect human rebirth and encourages us to bring every single moment in our life into the path to enlightenment. Rinpoche gave these teachings prior to a chöd initiation at Maitripa College, Portland, Oregon, in June 2009. You can read along with the transcript on our website.

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Compassion Creates the Cause for Success

Compassion and Bodhicitta, Dharma in Daily Life, Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave this Dharma talk in Madrid, Spain on June 10, 2009 and explains how compassion is our best and most reliable friend and will never cheat us, that compassion is the most powerful purification we can practice and that compassion should be our practice in every moment of our everyday life.  Read along with the transcript of this talk at https://www.lamayeshe.com/article/chapter/compassion-creates-cause-success

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Making Your Mind Vajrayana

Emptiness, Guru Devotion, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Nature of the Mind, Practice Commentary, Sutras, Mantras and Root Texts

So whatever happens, whatever is happening around, around you, your heart has peace.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche

In this month’s podcast, Lama Zopa Rinpoche leads us in the vajra practice of Chenrezig. Rinpoche begins by chanting Om Mani Padme Hum slowly and powerfully. Within that resonance Rinpoche teaches on how to maintain the vajra visualization of Chenrezig where method and wisdom are unified in one mind. Rinpoche also touches upon the vajra method of hearing all sounds as mantra and then leads the group again in chanting Om Mani Padme Hum, this time using the kind of chanting Rinpoche says he would hear his mother use at Lawudo. While chanting Rinpoche repeatedly pauses to refresh the visualization of Chenrezig on the crown of all sentient beings to whom the practice is dedicated. After ending this session of chanting while visualizing mindfully, Rinpoche returns to analyzing the emptiness of Chenrezig and helps us see how true existence looks when it is projected on that visualization.

Listening to this experiential teaching will both increase your knowledge of the ultimate view and deepen your practice of Chenrezig for the benefit of all. Rinpoche gave this talk in Madrid, Spain on June 10, 2009. You can follow along with the transcript at https://www.lamayeshe.com/article/chapter/chenrezig-visualization.

 

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