Offering Thanks

Student's Letter

I want to say many thanks to you and all of the educators at FPMT. The lessons that I learned and put into practice have helped me greatly. My family had just encountered a series of difficult events. The person I was before would not have been able to handle the situation very well, but after following your teachings and putting them into practice I am able to better keep things together emotionally, for the sake of my children and wife. I still catch myself crying from time to time, but I am much better off than I was before meeting you. Thank you for everything you do.

Rinpoche's Response

My most dear, most kind, most precious, wish-fulfilling one,
Thank you very much your kind letter. I am so happy that this helped your life so much. I am so happy that it helped you and I thank you billions of times. Please continue and that can help you. If you are not having problems yourself, then you don’t bring others any problems; you don’t harm others and you bring peace and happiness to others. As well as having peace and happiness yourself, you bring peace and happiness to others and to the whole world. So thank you very much.

With much love and prayers ...

Amituofo,
I’m not sure who to write to. I read Lama Zopa’s replies to people looking for jobs, to read/copy the Sanghata Sutra. I copied this advice for someone and within three months, she found a job! She was jobless for one year. The confidence and motivation this great news gave me is indescribable. Thank you, Lama Zopa and all who upkeep FPMT and the buddhas.

Amituofo,
Helen

Dear Lama Zopa was the title of a book I read some years ago. That book, I believe, was the best thing that had/has happened to me in my whole life. Suddenly, everything fell into the right places. The hopelessly distorted world that I could neither understand nor adapt to, was magically transformed and “straightened” by your words.

As if for the first time in my life someone said that right things were right and wrong things were wrong. I felt such a relief. Before, it was always the other way round: right things were wrong, and wrong things were right. Non-virtue was considered to be virtue, and virtue appeared to be something one must be ashamed of. It was very confusing.

Since then, I’ve read more books of yours. Each of them was exactly like the first one: the best thing that has ever happened to me in my life. They all were like a medicine, healing my own mind and the world around me at the same time.

Thank you.

Dearest Rinpoche,
I pray you are doing well. I just wanted to say thank you for the lessons that you continue to teach us. Watching the video of you laughing in the hospital and seeing the picture of Ven. Holly helping you and holding your arm and hand up in the mudra of prostration warmed my heart and made me realize just how many obstacles my “self-cherishing I” creates in my life—“I don’t feel like practicing, I am too tired; I had a hard day at work; I want to get some extra sleep.” Nothing but excuses!

It also made me think of something you said at Milarepa Center. I will not be able to correctly quote you, but I remember it as, “When we don’t study Dharma, it is as if Buddha is calling us on the phone and we tell him we are too busy to take his call.”

Thank you for being here, for teaching us so many lessons with your actions, for caring so much for all of us. I hope I am fortunate to see you again in this lifetime. Regardless of whether you are close or far, you are always in my heart.

Much love, my precious guru...

My dearest Rinpoche,
Along with thousands and thousands and thousands of others around the world, I am sending you much love and many prayers. Your teachings have brought me so much peace, have made me a better person in this lifetime and have helped me to (hopefully) help others.

Precious guru, I hope I am fortunate enough to see you again soon. Thank you for all you do for all sentient beings. You are an inspiration.

Much Dharma love...

Dear Lama Zopa,
I am writing to let you know how much I appreciate what you do to benefit all of us.

From my own side, I found the Dharma because a quote from you—that our purpose in life is to benefit others—resonated, and as a result I went to the November 2010 course at Kopan. That experience changed my life, not least of which was forgiving my husband from whom I was separated. We are now together again. He joined me for the November 2011 course, took refuge, as I did, and is now doing some volunteer service at a center.

More recently I was inspired by you making a full prostration, even though it was very difficult. Again, when I see the example you set for guru devotion with your attitude towards His Holiness the Dalai Lama, I think of my own roughness and feel humbled, yet also inspired to do better.

Every minute of every day you work to benefit all beings. It boggles my mind when I think of the far-reaching benefits of the FPMT, with all its centers around the world and I wonder that all of this started with two lamas teaching a few Westerners in Kathmandu.

I am so, so, so grateful to have been touched by your compassion. When I wake up in the morning, I am happy to be alive with a precious human life, and I aspire to the example you set. When I work to apply an antidote to some worldly concern, I am reminded that if it were not for you and for your many dedicated teachers, I would not be making this effort of understanding the purpose for it. I am just very, very grateful.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Sincerely,
Anya