ABOUT US
The Yeshe Norbu Study Group is part of The Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), an international, non-profit organization, which transmits the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through Tibetan Buddhist teachings, meditation, community service, retreat centers, and projects that preserve the tradition. FPMT is based on the Gelugpa tradition of Lama Tsongkhapa of Tibet as taught by our founder, Lama Thubten Yeshe and spiritual director, Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
An FPMT study group is composed of individuals meeting to meditate and study together, with the help of a coordinator. They are formed to fulfill the FPMT Mission Statement. They serve the same purpose as FPMT centers but do not have the same status or responsibilities. The primary reason for the status of FPMT study group is to fulfill the probationary period before a group becomes a full center. Study groups are not yet affiliated with the FPMT, and therefore do not have the same responsibilities as a center, financially or administratively. They are required to plan to become an FPMT center within a period of up to two years.
What does Yeshe Norbu mean?
The name Yeshe Norbu was given to the group by Lama Zopa Rinpoche and it means “Wishfulfilling Jewel.”
A short history
We started out in the spring of 2009 in Jönköping as a small group of only a few people, who came together to meditate and to study the Dharma (Buddha’s teachings). We did not yet have an actual place to meet so we all hang out in Anna’s apartment (Anna is the group coordinator). But everything changed when Anna went on a pilgrimage to Bodhgaya in the fall of 2009. While she stayed at The Root Institute for Wisdom Culture (an FPMT) center), she met Tim, who was the Spiritual Program Coordinator at the Institute at the time. Tim told Anna about a group of devoted Buddhist living in Stockholm, who had started a group based on their connection to the FPMT. Anna then contacted Lama Zopa Rinpoche for advice as to whether she should move up North and work together with this group and another FPMT study group that is based in Västerås. The answer was yes! So Anna started looking for a job in Stockholm, where she lives today. Tim also moved back to Stockholm and today they are the coordinator and facilitator of the group, which will start up at the Drom tonpa Center in Stockholm in June, 2010!
Who is Lama Zopa Rinpoche, our guide and teacher?
Lama Zopa Rinpoche, the spiritual director of The Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition, is the reincarnation of the Sherpa Nyingma yogi Kunsang Yeshe, the Lawudo Lama. Rinpoche was born in 1946 in Thami, not far from the cave Lawudo, in the Mount Everest region of Nepal, where his predecessor meditated for the last twenty years of his life. While his predecessor had belonged to the Sakya tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, the Lawudo Lama himself had been a great master of the complete tantric teachings of the Nyingma tradition.
Rinpoche left Thami when he was about 4 years old and was put in a Monastery that was very close to the border of Nepal and Tibet. Rinpoche stayed at this Monastery for several years until he went to Tibet and took getsul ordination in 1958, and continued his studies in Domo Geshe's monastery in Phagri, Tibet.
In 1959 Rinpoche escaped from Tibet and continued his studies in Sera Jhe monastery in Buxa Duar, in the north of India. This is where the Indian Government housed the monks from Sera, Ganden and Drepung Monasteries who wanted to continue their studies, along with monks from the other sects. It was at Buxa Duar that Rinpoche became the disciple of Geshe Rabten Rinpoche and then of Lama Thubten Yeshe. Frida Bedi then invited him to join her school for incarnate lamas in Dalhousie where they were given the chance to learn English for 6 months. Upon the completion returned to Buxa Duar and his studies.
Lama Yeshe and Zopa Rinpoche's contact with Westerners began in 1965 in Darjeeling, when they met Princess Zina Rachevsky from Russia. She became the Lamas' first Western student. In 1969 they founded the Nepal Mahayana Gompa Center at Kopan, above Boudhnath Stupa in Kathmandu, Nepal. At the insistence of Zina Rachevsky the Lamas started to teach courses on Buddhism for Westerns at Kopan.
In 1971 Rinpoche took gelong ordination from His Holiness Ling Rinpoche in Bodh Gaya. By 1975, twelve centers had started. In 1976, the growing worldwide organization was named by Lama Yeshe 'the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition' (FPMT). The FPMT is an organization devoted to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.
Who is Anna, the group coordinator?
Anna tells her story: I am the woman, who was asked by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, to start the Yeshe Norby sudy group. I have been a practicing Buddhist for eight years now but I have been interested in Buddhism for as long as I can remember. Despite my strong interest in Buddhism, I would have to wait until 2001, when I lived in Montreal, Canada, until I could take my first Buddhist philosophy class. And I just knew that I had come home! However, it would take a few more years of studies, courses and a few trips to Dharamsala, India, where I first came in contact with the Gelugpa tradition through my wonderful teacher Geshe Sonam Rinchen, before I finally ended up at the Kopan Monastery in Nepal. And it was there that I first met my most precious Guru (teacher)L lama Zopa Rinpoche! Immediately, I felt a very strong connection with Rinpoche and in a private interview with Rinpoche, I asked if I may become his student and if he would be my Guru. Rinpoche’s answer was yes and he gave me my new Buddhist name Thubten Mindrol (Ripe for Englightenment). I told Rinpoche that I was on my way to move to Dharamsala but that I had also had thoughts about starting some sort of Buddhist group in Sweden at some point. Rinpoche then told me not to go to India but to go back to Sweden and start up the Yeshe Norbu study group. And here I am, following my Gurus advice!
Who is Tim, the group facilitator?
Tim tells his story: Originally from England, I moved to Sweden in 1986 and now live in Stockholm. My first encounter with Tibetan Buddhism came during an overland journey from China to Lhasa (the capital of Tibet) in 1993. Through my interest in foreign cultures, independent travel and volunteer work I have spent many years travelling and working in Africa, Japan, India, Tibet and Nepal. It was in Nepal – where I worked as a group leader for an organisation specialising in Spiritual holidays – that I had the opportunity to study Buddhist philosophy at Kopan Monastery; and it was at Kopan where I met my teacher, Lama Zopa Rinpoche. A practising Buddhist in the Tibetan tradition since 2000, I have worked at fpmt centres in Scotland, and New Zealand, and recently held the position of Spiritual Programme Co-ordinator at the Root Institute for Wisdom Culture at the holy place of Bodhgaya in India. I am constantly inspired by the work of the fpmt in bringing the Buddha-Dharma to the west; and am committed to the development of an fpmt centre in Stockholm.
OUR PROGRAM
Following our Gurus advice, we will meet on Wednesdays between 6-8.30 p.m. at the Drom Tonpa Center on Erstagatan 28 in Stockholm. Everyone is welcome, beginners as well as more advanced students!
Opening
We always begin by presenting the evening program and read the Preliminary Prayers for Meditation together.
Guided meditation
Our meditation sessions always have three parts: Setting our motivation, the actual meditation & finally a dedication. The person who leads the meditation will guide the participants through different kinds of meditation: breathing meditations, mindfulness meditations, analytical meditations and visualizations. Its possible to only participate in the meditation part of the program.
Break
An opportunity to take a cup of tea and some snacks.
Program
Beginning on Wednesday, September 29, 2010, Tim will teach the FPMT course called Buddhism in a Nutshell.
Closing
Together we recite some mantras and end with a longer dedication.
WHY SHOULD WE MEDITATE?
Meditation is different from simple relaxation. Relaxation exercises help us to feel better, to be more healthy in the moment. As human beings, we have immense untapped potential; meditation can help us to actualize that potential. In Buddhism, the real purpose of mediation is to transform the mind by gradually decreasing the negative/harmful aspects and increasing the positive/beneficial aspects, bringing greater peace and satisfaction in life. (Source: Buddhist Meditation 101: An FPMT Beginners’ Course, FPMT, Inc., 2006)
MANTRA RECITATION
The word mantra comes from Sanskrit where man=the mind and tra=to liberate, meaning that reciting mantras will liberate your mind.
According to Lillian Too, the reciting of mantras is not just a repetition of words; it is actually a prayer. It is a way to open our hearts so that we can communicate with our true nature. The words are simply reminding us of what we are trying to achieve and they help us to create the conditions necessary to achieve whatever we pray for. (Source: Too, Lillian. Mantras & Mudras: Meditations for the hands and voice to bring inner peace and calm, 2002.)
