What need is there to say more?
The childish work for their own benefit,
The Buddhas work for the benefit of others.
Just look at the difference between them.
– Shantideva

In Gratitude . . . a series focusing on the incredible gifts offered by a handful of people over the past 10 years to create the unprecedented project of Maitripa College.

This collection is a physical representation of the incredible dedication, expertise, love, and determination a very special group of people have brought to the Maitripa College project for only one purpose—the benefit of others. This page is intended as a focal point from which to recognize and rejoice in those efforts, and to inspire all those connected to Maitripa College to remember how far we have come, and dream about how far we will go.

Dr. Michael Ium (1984-2025)

The Maitripa College community mourns the sudden loss of a brilliant and most kind alum, Dr. Michael Ium (MA 2014). We delighted in his passion for Buddhist Studies and community while he was a student here, and have been so proud of his subsequent achievements and promising career. Michael will be missed by his many friends here.   We also share the information with you that a Gofundme page has been started to help Michael’s mother, Young Hee Ium, shoulder the significant expenses facing her, such as repatriation of Michael’s body, funeral expenses, etc. Please offer what you can by clicking here. Dr. Michael Ium Michael Ium was born and raised in Toronto as the child of South Korean immigrants. He studied psychology at the University of Toronto, earning a BA in 2008. Becoming disillusioned with his subsequent career as a professional poker player, he wrote, “As a backpacker going through a quarter-life crisis, my interest in Tibetan Buddhism and the Geluk tradition was sparked by a ten-day ‘Discovering Buddhism’ retreat at Kopan Monastery [in Nepal] in 2011.” It was there that he learned about Maitripa College in Portland, Oregon, and enrolled that fall. Michael completed a Master of Arts in Buddhist Studies at Maitripa College, in 2014. He then received a prestigious Chancellor’s Fellowship and entered the PhD program [...]

Lapis Spring 2025

Please enjoy our Spring 2025 issue of Lapis The Learning Story, A Digital Journal. This issue features articles by Maitripa scholars on the topic of "Translating Classical Tibetan at Maitripa College." Click on "read now" and use the quick menu across the bottom of your screen for viewing options.  

His Holiness Long Life ~ Mani Mantra Recitation Initiative

Dear Friends, You are warmly invited to join the FPMT community in this very special His Holiness Long Life ~ Mani Mantra Recitation Initiative, where students are invited to recite the Om Mani Padme Hum mantra. The total of all the recitations will be offered to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama on the 6th of July for his 90th birthday.  The motivation of this initiative is to offer these mantras for His Holiness long, healthy and stable life, for the fulfillment of all His projects, for world peace/universal compassion and to fulfill Lama Zopa Rinpoche's wishes by offering our practices to His Holiness. To join, just write your name and at the end of each month write your total monthly mantra recitations in this spreadsheet  (access from computers only, not phones). Please write the total MANTRAS you recite each month. For example if you recite one mala a day in March, (if your mala has 108 beads) that would be 108 * 31: write 3,348 in the March column beside your name, if you continue with your recitations, do similar for the next months. You can join for one, two, three or for all four months. Make sure that by 30th of June you have written down the total of your mantra recitations. Whatever you can is of great value!!!! For any further questions about how this practice works please write to: hello@yeshinnorbu.co.se Thank you so very much!!! Yeshin Norbu [...]

Maitripa Mandala Membership

ANNOUNCING!  Under the direction and vision of Yangsi Rinpoche, the mandala of Maitripa College is growing! We are excited to bring you the opportunity of Maitripa Mandala Membership in order to connect you more closely to our vision, and to increase support for sustaining and expanding our many projects and the benefits they bring to countless beings, and especially to you, our friends! MOVING TOWARD A FISCALLY SUSTAINABLE MODEL While the Mandala’s vision and potential is unlimited, our present resources are not! In fact, Maitripa College has been subsidizing community programming for many years. We realize that in order to live our values in our operations, and to create an innovative and transformative institution for the study and practice of dharma that will endure long beyond our lifetimes, we must focus on achieving a more fiscally sustainable model. To this end, this year, we are introducing the Maitripa Mandala Membership opportunity, along with transparent suggested donation tiers for registration events, in order to sustain and strengthen our foundation, the College and Jokhang community. Generous patrons like you will enable us to go beyond breaking even to actualize our growth potential, while also offering support for expanding the mandala through the creation of the Maitripa Tara School and the Maitripa Rabjungma Community. We are also introducing new ways to connect! [...]

Geshe Yeshe Thabkhe

Geshe Yeshe Thabkhe was born in 1930 in Lho-Kha, Central Tibet and became a monk at the age of 13.  He is a genuine contemplative master and a member of the last generation extensively trained in old Tibet. He received his monastic education at Drepung Loseling Monastery and, in 1969, was awarded the Geshe Lharampa, the highest degree of scholarship conferred within the Geluk School of Tibetan Buddhism. He is an emeritus professor at the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies (formerly formerly called Central University for Tibetan Studies) as a professor of the Indian Tradition of Buddhist Philosophy. He is an eminent scholar of both Madhyamaka and Indian Buddhist studies. His scholarly work includes a translation of The Essence of Good Explanation of Definitive and Interpretable Meanings (Tib. Lek-Shey Nying-Po) by Tsongkhapa into Hindi, and A Commentary on the Rice Seedlings Sutra (Skt. Salistamba Sutra) by Vasubhandu. He has facilitated numerous other research works, including the complete translation of Lama Tsongkhapa’s The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Tib. Lam Rim Chen Mo), a major project undertaken by The Tibetan Buddhist Learning Center in New Jersey, where he teaches regularly.

Education of the Heart Children’s Curriculum

"Education of the Heart" is a unique and enriching curriculum designed by educators and spiritual teachers to support the development of young people’s minds. Rooted in Buddhist thought and inspired by the teachings of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, this program aims to nurture the hearts and minds of young participants. Among the learning objectives of this curriculum are a focus on mindfulness, friendship, empathy, wisdom, compassion, and love. This curriculum aims to provide a nurturing and supportive environment in which children will thrive as they learn valuable life skills, develop emotional intelligence, and internalize essential inner values, preparing them for a compassionate and mindful future. Education of the Heart Summer Camp Curriculum V1.0 Summer 2023 V2.0 Summer 2024 In Summer 2023, Maitripa College piloted its Education of the Heart curriculum at the Northwest Tibetan Cultural Association (NWTCA) Summer Camp in Washougal, Washington. Over 50 Tibetan young people ages 5-16 attended five days of sessions exploring themes crucial to personal and social development. This opportunity was extremely precious and a joyful opportunity for our collaborative of teachers, students, and practitioners from Maitripa College. As a result of the work over centuries of so many Tibetans, and as a result of the generosity of the Tibetan people from the 20th century into our present day, and especially as a result of [...]

Venerable Tenzin Drolma

Tenzin Drolma was born in Chicago, US, in 1961.  She received her undergraduate degree in religious studies, philosophy and psychology.  She has graduate degrees in Counseling Psychology from the University of Denver and in Buddhist Studies from Maitripa College.  For 25 years she worked in the mental health field. Ven. Drolma was ordained as a nun in the Tibetan tradition in 2009. She moved to Vajrapani Institute and was resident sangha and assistant SPC for four years. From 2015 until 2022, she taught Introduction to Buddhism at Tushita Meditation Centre in India. Ven. Drolma’s teaching style includes the psychological aspects of Buddhism and she has been described as a very approachable teacher.  While strongly based in the tradition of the Gelukpa school, her teaching emphasizes those aspects most helpful to modern students.

Compassionately Present with Grief as a Buddhist Chaplain

by Leigh Miller, PhD (Spring 2024) ... These were the gifts of grief ... And yet, the experience has also deepened my capacity to touch grief–my own, and others’ –in my clinical work as a Chaplain ... In my second unit of clinical pastoral education (clinical chaplaincy training), I had many opportunities to reflect on being a Buddhist, a mother, and on some experiences with death and grief. I had already been a Buddhist for almost 30 years, and a mother for almost 15 years. In the care of midwives, I gave birth naturally to two children, now ages 13 and 15. Between those two extraordinarily healthy pregnancies, I suffered a miscarriage. The thoroughly overpowering, singularly focused sorrow and loss that blew through me was shocking in its power, far beyond what I could have expected to grieve after less than two months of pregnancy. Part biology and hormones, part investment in the meanings I was starting to construct for this new life, this grief experience gave sobering depth to “motherhood”. In my bones, my two living children are inconceivably precious to me. I recall their early childhoods with much tenderness and wonder, remember the frustration and exhaustion of navigating it as a single working mother in graduate school, and marvel at their unfurling personhood. In our everyday [...]

Planned Giving: Legacy Gifts

One simple, flexible way to ensure that you are able to make an impact is to designate a gift to Maitripa College in your will or living trust, known as a charitable bequest. By including a bequest to Maitripa College in your will or living trust, you are ensuring that we can continue to impact the lives of students for years to come. How to do this? While planning or updating your will, simply tell your attorney that you want to leave a gift to Maitripa College. If you like, yourself or your representative can reach out by emailing education@maitripa.org to let us know. Also, inquire with your representative about Beneficiary Designations, which allow you to clearly identify how specific assets will be distributed upon your death.

Education of the Heart

Education of the Heart at Maitripa College is based on the aspiration to educate individuals in principles that develop integrity, virtue, and character in addition to intellectual knowledge.  In the words of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, from Beyond Religion: “Just as we take for granted the need to acquire proficiency in the basic academic subjects, I am hopeful that a time will come when we can take it for granted that children will learn, as part of their school curriculum, the indispensability of inner values such as love, compassion, justice, and forgiveness.” Continuing Education at Maitripa College (Non-Degree Students; Open Enrollment) If completing a degree program is not your end goal, consider taking a class as a Continuing Education (CE) Student (Oregon resident; in person only) or Auditing Student (Non-Oregon resident; online only). Most courses offered through Maitripa College’s transformative education are available through a simple online application and registration process.  Please contact us at any time to explore your options to enroll in future courses as a CE student.   >MORE Open Community of Friendship, Learning, and Growth At Maitripa College, we view the interaction and relationship with the community as a major condition for the learning that happens here on all levels. Our community is comprised of degree program students, continuing [...]

Guru Puja Resources

  About Guru Puja (Lama Chöpa) at Maitripa College Traditionally, the Guru Puja is celebrated on the 10th and 25th days of the Tibetan calendar.  This puja lasts around 2 hours and consists of the recitation of a sadhana, visualizations, and prayers, including taking refuge and generating bodhicitta. Mantras, praises and requests are also usually recited.  You may participate at whatever level you feel comfortable. Please check the community calendar here for upcoming Guru Puja dates. Guru Puja/Lama Chopa Practice Text (click here to download) “I thought to mention the importance of practicing Guru Puja, which was advised by Pabongka Rinpoche as the most important essential practice in our life, the integration of guru yoga, lamrim and thought transformation. It is Gyalwa Ensapa's traditional practice, and it contains the quickest means to achieve enlightenment. Guru Puja is the most profound secret that all those great yogis, Saraha, Naropa, Tilopa, Marpa, Milarepa, and all those in the Lama Tsongkhapa tradition who achieved enlightenment in a brief lifetime of degenerated time, including Lama Tsongkhapa disciple’s disciple, Gyalwa Ensapa, Drubchen Chökyi Dorje and all those many others—the essential thing that made them achieve enlightenment in a brief lifetime of degenerated time is by this practice, the guru yoga. Among the guru yogas, this guru yoga [...]

Buddhist Spiritual Care Grief Support Group

View the Community Calendar for Upcoming Dates for This Group In these times, grief is common, but rarely spoken. Our hearts may feel disconnected from others we know, from our dharma practice, and from our daily lives. When gathering for sharing and listening in sacred space and in relationships built on dharma, we may experience a reconnection. This is a practice of deep listening, compassionate connection, and supportive presence.  All are welcome to a facilitated sharing and listening circle centered on grief. We invite participants to join us in beginning and ending each session with contemplative practices and offer the opportunity to everyone to mindfully share our experiences of loss, or just compassionately listen. You may be grieving the loss of a specific individual(s) or pet who has died; or have lost a job, relationship, or the security of a home or health; you may be supporting someone who is dying or grieving; you may be feeling grief for the planet and for the lives of so many beings suffering the impacts of climate change, war, and injustice. A Buddhist spiritual care grief support group will continue to meet monthly at Maitripa College. These groups will be facilitated by people with a combination of religious and contemporary spiritual care qualifications. We will gather in a quiet space at Maitripa [...]

The Hardest Teaching (Reflections on the Passing of our Teacher)

The Hardest Teaching: An Attempt at Clarity from a Muddy Mind (Reflections on the Passing of our Teacher) by Namdrol Miranda Adams (May 31, 2023)  For many days I have been aspiring to put into writing what this has been like. But I’ve been unable to; instead I’ve swung between the states of deepest grief and quiet resignation. Neither of those places makes me feel like writing a single word, particularly. But today I will try to express a few thoughts, briefly. I’ve been deeply considering how foolish I have been in this lifetime to think, with some assurance, that at certain points in this existence my heart would never break again. If I step back a bit I see that I have made a version of this error frequently, and with abandon. When I was small I thought for certain I would never learn to drive. In my twenties, I thought I would never leave my sweet and humble meditation room. And even today I am guilty of this assumption, as I sometimes look at the gifts around me and revel in how I have, finally, attained them, for good. The assumption that things will always stay the same has been such a gentle, constant companion in my life! And although I’ve done meditation practice for years and can [...]

Long Life Prayers Are Offered to His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Maitripa College Participates in Long Life Prayers and Offerings to His Holiness the Dalai Lama by FPMT (May 24, 2023) Yangsi Rinpoche and Maitripa College participated in the FPMT’s offering of a glorious Long Life ceremony for His Holiness the Dalai Lama at Thekchen Choling, the main temple in Dharamsala, India, on May 24, 2023. The ritual, with specifically arranged prayers and elaborate offerings, was designed and initiated by Khyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche on behalf of the FPMT over many years, and had been scheduled for May, prior to Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s passing away in April. The FPMT Board, the Abbot of Kopan Monastery, and Yangsi Rinpoche, Founder and President of Maitripa College, made the offering and requests for His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama to live long and continuously teach the dharma for the benefit of all living beings. His Holiness playfully greeting Yangsi Rinpoche during the puja (source: www.dalailama.com/) Concurrently, in Portland, Oregon, USA, Maitripa College faculty, staff, and community members gathered to participate in the live stream, reciting the prayers and making offerings in the Jokhang meditation hall. We all rejoiced seeing Yangsi Rinpoche on the livestream, seated in the front row of esteemed lamas, and, during the procession presentation of offerings, having his nose playfully and affectionately pinched by His Holiness! His Holiness spoke [...]

Children at Maitripa College

Children at Maitripa College We plan to open the Tara School at Maitripa College in the near future, which will house a preschool program in a prepared environment. Before Covid, we offered programming for children on Sundays during Community Events at Maitripa, but we have not yet been able to reinstate this program safely due to a lack of resources, so we ask for your patience. Rest assured that we know that young people are central to our mission at Maitripa College, and we are committed to developing more resources to support them in the coming year. In the Meantime... In the meantime, if your child is able to sit quietly and regulate themselves physically, verbally, and mentally, you are invited to bring them into the Jokhang Meditation Hall during teachings, practice, or puja. Please keep in mind that the Jokhang is a sacred space, and we ask that all who enter it treat it as such to the best of their capacity. If you do not know what this means, please ask! Please do not leave your children unattended at Maitripa College. Please keep in mind that others come to Maitripa to meditate, listen to teachings, or do ritual practice, and be respectful of their space and your impact on it.  Thank you for your patience and support as [...]

Lama Zopa Rinpoche Prayers and Practices

Prayer for the Swift Return of Lama Zopa Rinpoche by His Holiness the Dalai Lama with additional prayers by other distinguished lamas (download PDF booklet here) View video message from Yangsi Rinpoche to the Maitripa College Community View all news updates from the FPMT International Office, including video link to ongoing prayers from Kopan's main gompa Shantideva Center in New York is hosting daily online practices for 49 days and providing links to other FPMT centers' activities.

Venerable Tenzin Jampa

Venerable Tenzin Jampa joined Shang Gadhen Chokhor Ling monastery in Pokhara, Nepal as a child and received his Buddhist education there from his root teacher Choedhing Rinpoche. After the completion of the monastic curriculum, he went to Sera Monastery in South India for further study. In 1991, Venerable Jampa returned to his home monastery and received transmission of various lineages of ritual practice, and became the chant leader of the monastery, a position he held for 14 years. Since 2004, Venerable Jampa has been working in administration for the monastery. Over this time, Venerable Jampa has worked joyfully to fulfill the wishes of his teachers, and to share his understanding and practice around the world.

William (“Bill”) Magee (1949-2023)

Dear Maitripa College Community, Our beloved Bill Magee passed away peacefully yesterday (February 20, 2023) in the sunset hours. Bill has had visits and prayers from teachers, friends, and community members all week, and Yangsi Rinpoche and Venerable Yonten were able to be with him shortly after he passed at home last night. All reports are that Bill’s passing was very quiet, loving, and peaceful. Please email Namdrol at education@maitripa.org if you wish to add a personal tribute to this page.  (photo: Dr. Magee teaching Classical Tibetan Language at Maitripa College) In Tribute (From the foreword of a forthcoming publication)  Honoring William A. (“Bill”) Magee:  He is my colleague known well during his eleven-year multi-faceted stint as Vice President of the UMA Institute for Tibetan Studies 2011-2022. But far more so as close friend for several decades, illustrated so well by a short tale: An evening thirty-one years ago, I suddenly felt that I should put his phone number into the speed-dial and asked my partner to dial it when needed. The next morning, I told him to push the button. Bill arrived from Charlottesville at the foothills of the Blue Ridge, long before the ambulance.  Without him, this translation also would still be on a dark shelf!   ~ Jeffrey Hopkins [...]

More to come! Each week between now and the end of the year, we will be adding additional tributes so stay in touch!