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A Letter from the Director

Dr. Nicholas Ribush in Brookline, MA, 2006. 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 teaching at Kopan Monastery, 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 aim to publish one or two books for free distribution. You can see the list of all our books in our online store.

We are constantly making more and more teachings available on our website, and now have over 25,000 pages of teachings freely available here. We are continually adding to Lama Zopa Rinpoche's Online Advice Book, and our YouTube channel has at least one new video posted each month.

We launched our membership plan in 2003 and as of November 2023 we have 802 active members. A membership costs $1,000 and can be paid all at once or over time. Please see our Membership page 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 support the Archive with your donation of any amount. Donate $100 or more to become a Benefactor; you may choose to receive any LYWA publication, in print, ebook or DVD when your donation is processed. Other gifts are offered for donations of $250 or more. Read more about gifts for Benefactors here.

Of course, if you subscribe to our monthly e-letter, you know most of 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


MAKE A DONATION

The support we receive from you, our donors, makes it possible to fulfill our mission and enables you to share directly in the work of the Archive.

Donate $100 or more to become a Benefactor; we will send you any LYWA publication, in print, ebook or DVD, when your donation is processed. Other gifts are offered for donations of $250 or more. Read more about gifts for Benefactors here.

You can also support the Archive with a regular monthly donation. Sign up for monthly giving here.

Or, you may become a Member with your donation of $1,000 or more. Read more about our Membership program here.

The Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive is a 501(c)(3) tax-deductible, non-profit corporation dedicated to the welfare of all sentient beings and totally dependent upon your donations for its continued existence. The Archive was established with virtually no seed funding and has developed solely through the kindness of our many supporters.

Make your donation today and join the ever-growing community of LYWA Members and supporters, Together we bring the essential teachings of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche to everyone everywhere.


Sponsor a Book

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.


Donate now online

Or, to donate by check, make your check out to Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive and send it to:

PO Box 636
Lincoln, MA 01773
USA

To donate by bank transfer, please send an email to [email protected] or call 781-259-4466 and ask for details.

Thank you so much for your support of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

We are so grateful to all our contributors, large and small, who make the work of the Archive possible.

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 and healthy lives, all happiness, and may all their Dharma wishes be instantly fulfilled.