On the special day of Saka Dawa, June 4, 2023, we are extremely happy to share with you a summary of our meeting with His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
A delegation of Sangha Onlus recently went to Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, India, where they managed to obtain the invaluable opportunity to meet, in a short audience, His Holiness the Dalai Lama. It was a moment of great joy and emotion, beyond all expectations.
Speaking with His Holiness's translator, he told us that the Dalai Lama is very pleased with Lama Zopa Rinpoche's disciples.
Fri. Massimo: Your Holiness, Lama Zopa Rinpoche also in our last meeting, asked me to ask you for advice on the Monastery.
His Holiness (as he places his hand several times on Massimo's head, prays and blesses the image of the Monastery):
"An empty temple is useless, the monastery must be a place for study and it will be important to have a room for debate".
Reading the name Lhungtok Choekhorling on the presentation image, His Holiness asks, “I gave that name, didn't I?” receiving an affirmative answer, he continues “The monastery must also be a place for practice.
With these two words Lhung-Tok covers the Buddha's teaching, both in terms of scripture and realization.
In order to familiarize yourself with the practice of the Dharma, in addition to studying, you will have to make it experiential and you can do so with two texts by Lama Tsongkhapa: the short Lamrim also called "The songs of experience", and the Three principal aspects of the Path.
These two texts should be studied, along with the more extensive and in-depth ones, making them part of your curriculum.
Being a Monastery with monks and nuns, in addition to your recitations, meditations and Dharma study, during prayer sessions, you should integrate these two texts by slowly reciting them and reflecting on their meaning. In this way, these two aspects of Dharma, scriptural and realization, will go hand in hand.
This would be of great benefit to the Monastery."
His Holiness concludes by praying again on the shown pages of the project and donating a wonderful Buddha statue for the Monastery Temple, specifying to his assistants to take a large one.
We rejoice in this great blessing and pray that Geshe Ciampa Gyatso's vision and Lama Zopa Rinpoche's wishes on the Monastery will be realized as soon as possible.