View and Search Online Advice Book
Below is a listing of advices in the Online Advice Book. They are sorted and grouped by the date posted on our website, with the most recent additions showing first. You can enter a keyword to search for advices containing that term.
Advices posted during the month of January 2012
Death and Transitions > Impermanence and Death > Impermanence and Death
A letter thanking a student for his concern regarding Rinpoche's health and giving advice about the essence of lamrim practice.
Path to Enlightenment (lamrim) > Guru Devotion > The Guru/Disciple Relationship
A student who was in a long retreat wrote to Rinpoche to confess what he felt were disturbing omissions in his guru yoga merit field and to ask if he should include all the recognised incarnations of his gurus, as well as a geshe who taught him...
Path to Enlightenment (lamrim) > Karma > Purifying Negative Karma
A student had been a soldier in Africa when he was younger and had killed a number of people during his time there. He asked Rinpoche if there is a mantra, a deity or a practice that would help purify the heavy negative karma of his actions.
Compassion and Bodhicitta > Mind Training (lo-jong) > Tonglen: Taking and Giving
Rinpoche gave the following advice about the practice of tonglen.
Advices posted during the month of December 2011
Working for the Dharma > Service and Support of the Dharma > Rinpoche's Thank-you Cards, Letters and Gifts
Rinpoche sent this card to a student who nearly had a burst appendix. The student works for the Maitreya Project.
Family and Relationships > Having a Baby > Abortion
A student wrote to Rinpoche asking how to purify three abortions. Also, her husband had been killed and she had petitioned for the man who murdered her husband to be executed. She was also in a lot of physical pain. Rinpoche gave the following...
Contemporary Issues > Natural Disasters > Earthquakes
Rinpoche sent this advice to Kopan Monastery after Nepal was struck by an earthquake in September 2011.
Contemporary Issues > Practices for Success > Overcoming Obstacles
A young student wrote to Rinpoche explaining that she had experienced so many obstacles lately, it was as if her merit was running out. She asked Rinpoche what to do.
Sickness and Health > Addictions and Mental Illness > Acute Mental Illness
A student had problems with eating food and was very thin. She would like to eat more, but found this difficult, especially when she was nervous, fearful or tense with memories of the past. Occasionally, when she felt more relaxed and stable, she...
Sickness and Health > Healing and Pacifying Illness > Eliminating Life Obstacles
Rinpoche checked extensively for a student who had life obstacles and gave the following advice.
Sickness and Health > Healing and Pacifying Illness > Eliminating Life Obstacles
A student with life obstacles that year needed to do the following practices.
Sickness and Health > Healing and Pacifying Illness > Practices for Protection and Healing
Rinpoche thought it would be good to put The Dharani Called "Possessing the Attributes of All the Buddhas" on the website. This prayer protects against cancer and swine flu, as well as other new diseases, prevents untimely death, and...
Sickness and Health > General Illnesses > Various Illnesses
Rinpoche sent the following letter to his dentist after his last visit. The dentist had remarked how much Rinpoche’s gums had improved and asked what he had been doing.
Sickness and Health > Wind Imbalance / Lung > Wind Imbalance / Lung
A student advised that during his stay in Nepal, his lung got worse and he couldn’t do any retreat at all. He felt there was an obstacle to his recovery.
Buddhist Practices > Protection from Spirit Harm > Protection from Spirit Harm
A student asked Rinpoche if there is a way to increase the effectiveness of prayers for healing from afar if the sick people are not Buddhist, or if the family is overwhelmed and it’s not possible to visit the sick person often. She also asked...
Path to Enlightenment (lamrim) > Guru Devotion > Obstacles to Guru Devotion
A student found that she was becoming negative in relation to her guru. She saw faults in the guru's actions, even though she had previously felt much respect and faith. These doubts were discouraging for her whole practice. Rinpoche gave the...
Buddhist Practices > Advice for New Students > Advice on Practices for Life
A new student asked Rinpoche what is best for her life now that her children have left home. Rinpoche gave the following advice.
Advices posted during the month of November 2011
Working for the Dharma > Advice to Dharma Centers > The Benefits of Dharma Centers
Advice for students at a center celebrating its tenth anniversary.
Working for the Dharma > Service and Support of the Dharma > Offering Service
Rinpoche gave the following advice to a student who was offering service to an older nun.
Working for the Dharma > Service and Support of the Dharma > Rinpoche's Thank-you Cards, Letters and Gifts
Rinpoche sent this card with a box of gifts to his sister, who lives at Lawudo Gompa, Nepal. The gifts included socks, a warm zen and photos of Buddha, Chenrezig and the Thirty-five Buddhas. Rinpoche commented that this was the first letter/card...
Death and Transitions > Practices for the Deceased > Death of a Loved One
A student's mother had passed away. Rinpoche gave the following advice.
Contemporary Issues > Natural Disasters > Various Natural Disasters
Advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche for protection from the dangers of the four elements, including harm from radiation. This advice was given after the Japanese tsunami and subsequent radiation leak at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Contemporary Issues > Practices for Success > Overcoming Obstacles
A religious leader was under investigation by the government of that country and there was a lot of bad press. Rinpoche sent this advice to one of his students.
Contemporary Issues > Practices for Success > Overcoming Obstacles
A student asked Rinpoche what she could do to reduce any obstacles to finding a job, after she lost her job twice in the past two years. Her unemployment had created a lot of stress and financial difficulties for her family. She said she had...
Contemporary Issues > Practices for Success > Overcoming Obstacles
A young student had obstacles to finding a job for many years, although she was very well qualified. She also asked what she could do for her father, who suffered from Alzheimer’s.
