Offering Thanks

Thanks For Teachings and Support
A student wrote to thank Rinpoche and FPMT for helping him through some difficult times. The student’s letter and Rinpoche’s response are below.
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 ...
Thank You Lama Zopa
A student had shared Rinpoche’s online advice with her friend, who then successfully found employment. She sent this email to thank Rinpoche and FPMT.
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
The Best Thing That Has Ever Happened to Me
A student sent this letter to Rinpoche about Dear Lama Zopa and his other books. Rinpoche requested that the letter is kept for rejoicing.
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.
Sending Love and Prayers
Rinpoche requested that this letter from a student is kept so others can rejoice.
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...
You Are Always in My Heart
Rinpoche requested that this letter from a student is kept so others can rejoice.
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...
Struggle With Depression
Rinpoche asked a student to write a report on how she had dealt with depression after following his advice.
Dear Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche,
I am extremely thankful and grateful for the advice and blessings that you gave to me to help me deal with the depression that I had struggled with for many years.
It is some years ago now that I received this advice from you. From what I can remember, I practiced tong-len and other methods you suggested at least once a day, formally, and whenever I needed to during the day.
Although I am not a great practitioner, with your blessings and some effort on my part, I soon experienced the results of the practice, and the length of my periods of depression shortened from months or weeks, to days, hours, and even minutes. I can’t tell you what a relief this has been.
I also experienced some surprising results. I have the memory of one time starting to become depressed and doing the practice. I was quite surprised when the depressed feeling that I was so used to cultivating was suddenly replaced with a feeling of joy. There have also been times when working through the depression, it stopped suddenly and I felt happy; but I also felt disappointed that I wasn’t able to experience more of this suffering on behalf of others. I really felt disappointed, and, in a way, wished it would come back.
Your great kindness was so fortunate for me, because it was only a few months later that I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Previously, this would have surely sent me into a depression. But it didn’t. During the past several years, with this sometimes very difficult illness, I am grateful to say that while there were times I felt discouraged and down, I was never as depressed as I had been previously.
Another thing which this practice has helped me to see is how depression comes from the self-cherishing mind. The words confused me. I didn’t understand how self-cherishing could play a role in hating myself. I came to see that what I was doing was grasping very strongly at my sense of “I,” and then giving it a negative label through which I saw the world. These insights have helped me very much. While I can’t say I have gained any realization, I continue to find these practices very helpful whenever I notice the signs of depression arising (thankfully not too often any more), and for other reasons.
Rinpoche, this is through your great kindness and your many blessings. I am very grateful. Thank you.
With much love and devotion,
Lara