His Holiness the Dalai Lama

His Holiness the Dalai Lama, as well as being an advocate for world peace, Nobel Peace Prize winner and temporal leader of the Tibetan people, he is also a prominent teacher in the Gelugpa Tradition. His Holiness is great source of inspiration for FPMT and is the spiritual guide of our director, Lama Zopa Rinpoche. It is the wish of FPMT to help fulfil the Dalai Lama’s wishes in accomplishing world peace and global responsibility.

For more information please visit HH Dalai Lama’s official website.

Lama Yeshe (1935 – 1984), Founder of Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT)

Lama Thubten Yeshe was born in Tibet in 1935. At the age of six, he entered Sera Monastic University in Tibet where he studied until 1959, when as Lama Yeshe himself has said, “In that year the Chinese kindly told us that it was time to leave Tibet and meet the outside world.”

Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche met in the Tibetan internment camp in Buxador, India. In 1965, they met their first Western students. In 1971 they settled at Kopan, Nepal. There they built a monastery to support Tibetan monks and nuns, and invited western students to attend retreats and teachings. This monastery continues to hold an annual one month retreat for western students today (see www.kopanmonastery.com ).

In 1974, the Lamas began touring and teaching in the West, which would eventually result in the creation of The Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition, from which over 150 centres world wide have developed. Lama Yeshe died in 1984. His reincarnation Osel Hita Torres was born to Spanish parents in 1985. Visit www.lamayeshe.com for an archive of teachings. More information about Lama Yeshe’s life and works.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Spiritual Director of FPMT

Lama Zopa Rinpoche was born in 1946 in Thami, in the Mount Everest region of Nepal. At the age of three he was recognised as the reincarnation of  Kunsang Yeshe, the Lawudo Lama whose name he gave to our Centre. Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s home was not far from the Lawudo cave, where his predecessor had meditated for the last 20 years of his life.

Rinpoche went to study in Tibet when he was ten, then in 1959 went into exile in India where he met Lama Thubten Yeshe, with whom he would remain as heart disciple until Lama Yeshe passed away in 1984.

Rinpoche was highly regarded by many other Tibetan Lamas and was a close and devoted disciple of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Sadly on April 13th 2023 at the age of 76, Lama Zopa Rinpoche showed the aspect of passing away.

More about Lama Zopa Rinpoche and schedule