Rinpoche’s Animal Friends

By Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Forthcoming from Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive in early 2025

Lama Zopa Rinpoche asked longtime student and Kopan nun, Tenzin Namdrol, to make a book of the large collection of soft toys inscribed with Dharma messages and mantras and later gifted to students around the world. Now LYWA is publishing this book, which features more than one hundred images, along with a selection of short teaching excerpts. Rinpoche’s Animal Friends is a reminder of Rinpoche’s great love for us and his unique means to inspire and open our hearts.\

Watch Beyond Enlightenment, a short mp3 video created by Magda Torres, featuring the travel adventures of Tong Nyi, the teddy bear, and Bodhicitta, the monkey. You can also watch Facebook videos of Rinpoche reading the "little bear" message and blessing the large teddy. You can also read excerpts from Rinpoche's Animal Friends online, or go to the Related Links to view or download PDFs of sample pages from this book.

“I realized sentient beings are more kind than Buddha, Dharma, Sangha.” – Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Acknowledgements

Sincere thanks to Rebecca Smith and Thubten Kunga Ling Buddhist Center, Florida, whose kind and generous contribution has made this photobook possible. Your gift is gratefully acknowledged. We are also deeply grateful to all the members and friends of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive. It is only through your invaluable support that we are able to continue in our work of preserving and disseminating the teachings of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

Special thanks to Ani Tenzin Namdrol, who arranged photo shoots, transcribed quotations and assisted with many aspects of the project as it evolved. Thanks also to digital imaging specialist, David Zinn, for optimizing the images, and to Gopa & Ted2, Inc., for the beautiful design and layout of the book.

Thanks to Nicholas Ribush, founder and executive director of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive, for your encouragement and editorial support. Finally, thanks to the team at Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive for your commitment and dedication to making the Dharma widely available in a variety of multimedia formats.

Through the merit of having contributed to the spread of the Buddha’s 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.

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Introduction »