Thubten Zopa Rinpoche

From Buddhist Encyclopedia

Thubten Zopa Rinpoche (born 1946) is a lama from Thami, a village in the Solo Khumbu region of Nepal. Early in life he was recognized as the reincarnation of the Lawudo Lama, from the same region (hence the title "Rinpoche"). He acquired further religious education at Dung-kar Monastery in Sikkim and would have studied in Tibet had it not been for the 1959 Chinese invasion. Instead his spiritual teacher, Geshe Rabten, entrusted him to the care of Lama Thubten Yeshe.

"Lama Zopa" is most noteworthy as the co-founder, with Lama Yeshe, of Kopan Monastery and the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), of which he remains spiritual director since the passing away of Lama Yeshe.

His books are published by Wisdom Publications. Free transcripts of some of his teachings are available from the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive. There is an extensive biography of him in the book The Lawudo Lama by Jamyang Wangmo.

Following the advice of Lama Yeshe, Lama Zopa pursues the Maitreya Project, a huge Maitreya Buddha statue in North India. Originally planned to be built in Bodhgaya (Bihar), the 500 ft (152 m) high statue, which will be the largest of its kind in the world is now planned to be built in Kushinagar. See also the Maitreya Project website.

External links

• Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition
• http://www.lamazopa.com/ Website by Lillian Too
• books
• Biography
• Land of Medicine Buddha
• Maitreya Project.