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TEACHINGS | EASTERN HORIZON
Lama Zopa Rinpoche
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BENEFITS OF
GENERATING A
GOOD HEART
By Venerable Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Lama Zopa Rinpoche is a Tibetan Buddhist scholar and meditator who for 30
years has overseen the spiritual activities of the extensive worldwide network
of centers, projects and services that form the Foundation for the Preservation of
the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) which he founded with Lama Thubten Yeshe.
Rinpoche’s vision is vast and includes the proliferation of many charitable and
beneficial activities. Among many projects dear to Rinpoche’s heart are the
two Maitreya Projects, which include plans to build two large statues of the
future Buddha, Maitreya, in Bodhgaya and Kushinagar in India; The Sera
Je Food Fund, which offers three vegetarian meals a day to all 2,500 monks
studying at Sera Je Monastery in south India; Animal Liberation events around
the world, at which creatures, big and small, are freed from immediate harm or
blessed every year– the total number of animals liberated to date (by Lama Zopa
Rinpoche or those inspired by him) is over 200,000,000 and counting! Rinpoche
is also utterly dedicated to fulfilling the wishes of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in
any way possible.
Because I had a stroke, I started to see Even if the other person doesn’t practice
a physiotherapist in Nepal. One day my the good heart, you should still practice
physiotherapist asked some questions the good heart because you want
while doing physiotherapy, then at the happiness and you don’t want suffering.
very end he concluded, “Not so many Even if the other sentient being doesn’t
people in the world have a good heart.” practice the good heart – or even tries to
harm you, causes you loss, kills you and
Here is my way of thinking regarding so forth – but from your own side, if you
that. Usually, it is regarded as less practice only the good heart with your
important in the world to have a good body speech and mind only to benefit
heart than to be very tough, uncaring and others (or at the very least, not cause
cheat others, hurt others, tell lies and harm to sentient beings) then you will
cause loss to others in order to get your experience happiness.
happiness, your profits and so forth.