Ways to Support LYWA
Support the Work of the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive
Become a Member • Sponsor a Book • Shop for LYWA
Make a Donation • What We Do • Special Appeals
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Dear Friend of the LYWA,
Thank you so much for your interest in and support of the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive. Our ability to make Dharma teachings freely available to people all over the world—through either our publications or our website—is totally dependent upon your kindness and we thank you for it.
As the world becomes increasingly wracked by violence and plagued by one suffering after another, those of us who have been blessed by the wisdom of the Buddha can grow only more convinced that the only way out of this mess is for each of us to learn to control our mind. However, we need to be taught how to do this. Since most of us don't have ready access to a teacher, the best way to bring the Buddha's incomparable methods of mental development to the greatest number of people is through books, and, in recent years, the Internet. As Lama Zopa Rinpoche has said,
Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Kopan Monastery, Nepal, 1974 "Dharma books plant seeds of the path to enlightenment in the mind of the reader. Those imprints actualize, realizations come, and liberation is attained. Books open the wisdom eye; you can understand death and the nature of the mind; they teach you how to develop compassion; they bring world peace.
"The Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive publishes authentic Dharma books. When you read and practice them, you can understand karma, how everything comes from the mind, that the external cause is not the only one. This can lead you to a happy death and a happy rebirth.
"Book sponsors offer all the above benefits to others; they cause them to open their minds. Each person transformed brings peace into the world. It becomes an extremely practical thing.
"Sponsoring books is for people who like to spread Dharma. If you organize a meditation course, only a few people get to hear the teachings, whereas if you publish a book, you can help thousands more. Books reach every corner of the earth.
"Until you change your mind—no matter how well off you are—you still make mistakes in your actions. To stop your own suffering, you have to stop creating negative actions; to stop creating negative actions, you have to stop your negative mind. Books tell you how to do that.
"An additional benefit of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive books is that they are offered free of charge and thereby reach many people who might not otherwise have a chance to contact the Dharma. Also, contributing to or distributing Archive books becomes charity of Dharma, the highest form of giving. Moreover, by donating money to the Archive you accomplish material charity; and since the Dharma teachings in these books teach readers how to protect themselves from suffering, you also accomplish the charity of saving others from fear. Thus, by the one action, you achieve all three forms of giving, and if on top of that, you give with bodhicitta, the determination to attain enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings, your donation becomes the cause of enlightenment.
"Therefore, I would be grateful if you could make a general donation to or become a member of the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive. Thank you so much."
And that, I think, pretty much says it all. We are so grateful to Lama Zopa Rinpoche for his encouragement.
Each year we publish one or two books for free distribution and others for sale. You can see the list of all our books in our online store.
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We have recently launched our Publishing the FPMT Lineage project where we are compiling decades of Lama Zopa Rinpoche's lam-rim teachings into individual volumes organized by topic. The first book in this series is The Heart of the Path, Rinpoche's extensive teachings on Guru Devotion. Volumes on the eight worldly dharmas and karma are nearing completion.
We are constantly making more and more teachings available on-line. We are continually adding to Lama Zopa Rinpoche's Online Advice Book, and our Online Audio Recordings collection has at least one new addition each month.
We launched our membership plan in 2003 and now have over 500 active members. A membership costs $1,000 and can be paid all at once or over time. Please see our Membership pages for more information. We thank most sincerely all those who have already joined up and encourage others to please do so.
If a membership is not possible, we invite you to become a benefactor of the Archive with your donation of $50 or more over the costs of shipping and handling. As a benefactor, you will automatically receive our new free publications for one year.
Of course, if you subscribe to our monthly e-letter, you know most of all this. Basically, if you sign up, each month we’ll send you a short, previously-unpublished teaching by Lama Yeshe or Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
Please contact us if you would like to sponsor a book. As Rinpoche has explained, sponsoring the publication of free books brings many benefits, as you are helping to reach people who might not otherwise have a chance to contact the Dharma.
Thank you so much for your support and please let us know if we can do anything for you.
Much love,
Nick Ribush
Director
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Some of our books have been sponsored by benefactors in memory of deceased relatives and friends. Click here to see an example of a dedication page, which appeared in our last reprint of Becoming Your Own Therapist.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche has explained that sponsoring the publication of Dharma teachings in memory of deceased relatives and friends was very common in Tibet and is of great benefit.
Books, especially those offered free of charge, reach many people who might not otherwise have a chance to contact the Dharma. When you contribute to LYWA books, you create the charity of Dharma, the highest form of giving. Moreover, when you donate money to the Archive, you accomplish material charity; and since the Dharma teachings in these books show readers how to protect themselves from suffering, you also accomplish the charity of saving others from fear. Thus, by one action—supporting the Archive—you achieve all three forms of generosity. If, on top of that, you give with bodhicitta—the determination to attain buddhahood for the sake of all sentient beings—your donation becomes the cause of enlightenment.
By sponsoring books in this way, you create great merit. Because of the close karmic connection, when you dedicate this merit to your deceased relatives and friends, it can benefit them by helping ripen virtuous seeds in their mental continuum.
Therefore, the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive encourages others to make books of teachings by Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche available for free distribution in this way. Your donation of US$8,000 can sponsor a reprint of one of our popular booklets. Please e-mail Nick for more information. Thank you so much.
Shop for LYWA: Why Feed Samsara?
Lama Yeshe used to say "Why feed samsara?" Despite the drawbacks, we all do it every day, and now at least there is a benefit that can come of it! LYWA has partnered with Market America to transform our every day shopping activities into support for the Archive. Many of us shop online anyway, and if you first go through LYWA’s Market America "portal", your purchases will accumulate rewards for LYWA. Other benefits to you as the shopper include:
• earn 2-35% cash back on purchases you make;
• earn .5% cash back on purchases made by someone you refer to LYWA’s shopping portal;
• take advantage of Market America’s features for comparison shopping and member discounts.
Access LYWA’s portal here. Once there, sign up for an account, making sure to say that info@LamaYeshe.com referred you!
If you are interested in helping LYWA further by starting your own portal with Market America, or if you have any questions at all about this program, please send an email to jen@LamaYeshe.com.
Start shopping and remember to spread the word. The more shopping, the greater the benefit!
Donate now, by check, bank transfer or credit card
Thank you so much for your support of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.
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We are so grateful to all our contributors, large and small, Through the merit of having contributed to the spread of the Buddhist teachings for the sake of all sentient beings, may our benefactors and their families and friends have long |
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