The Merit Box collection for 2003 was a tremendous success. The number and generosity of the participants has grown tremendously. In fact, we now have participants working through thirty centers around the world. In addition, there are many dozens of people participating directly through FPMT IO. We hope that participation in this amazing project will continue to grow in 2004. Thank you so much to all the individual participants and also to the Merit Box Coordinators who have worked so hard to make this a success.
Your generosity distributed
“When we practice generosity, we are applying the exact antidote to attachment.”
The amount collected for 2003 from Merit Boxes around the world amounted to $80,769. Lama Zopa Rinpoche is very pleased and has now distributed the entire collection to the following charities, projects and causes:
- Lama Osel Education Fund $20,000
- Translations of The Sutra of Golden Light into different
languages* $ 8,000
- Permanent Puja Fund* $ 5,000
- Lama Yeshe Sangha Fund* $ 500
- Translation of Lam Rim Chen Mo root text into
Mandarin* $ 500
- Land of Calm Abiding (FPMT Long Retreat Center
in California)* $ 1,000
- To help Ven. Thubten Gyatso build his retreat cabin $ 1,000
-
Mongolian Monks’ Food Fund $ 1,000
- To help purchase three gers (Mongolian round tents) for
destitute families in Mongolia $ 1,000
-
Retired FPMT Directors’ Gift Fund $ 1,500
-
To help sponsor Master Program Graduates’ Retreat $ 1,500
- To help the printing of FPMT Prayer Books $ 1,000
- To help sponsor travel expenses to CPMT for directors
of poor FPMT centers $ 1,500
- For the making of the statues of the 16 Arahats $ 1,000
- To Milarepa Center for the statue of Bakula Rinpoche $ 500
- For the Eye Clinic in Amdo, Tibet $ 5,000
- Universal Education Project $10,000
- Maitreya Project $ 2,000
- Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archives $ 1,500
- To sponsor a 100 million mantras retreat by the nunneries
in Pempo, Tibet $ 500
- Aged Sangha care fund* $ 1,500
- Sera Je Food Fund * $ 2,000
- To help with travel expenses for 500 monks of Sera Je
to attend special training in debate $ 600
- The Great Stupa Project in Bendigo, Australia $ 1,000
- Wisdom Publications $ 1,000
- For the 100,000 stupas project at Land of Medicine Buddha
Center, in California $ 1,000
- For the 24-ft-high Maitreya Statue in New Delhi, India $ 1,000
- To help sponsor the next three-year group retreat in the
Kopan Nunnery $ 1,000
- To help Kopan monastery rebuild the monks living quarters
which were damaged during the monsoon season $ 1,500
- The help build new accommodation for 15 monks in
Bati Kamtse, Monastery of Sera Je $ 1,500
- For the new gompa and monks accommodation building
at Nalanda Monastery, France $ 1,500
- To help cover FPMT affiliation legal costs, for poor centers $ 400
- To Peter Iseli, to contribute for several paintings he is now on as instructed by Lama Zopa Rinpoche $1,500
- To help FPMT centers in Brazil to pay for traveling Expenses for two teachers $1,269
*Explanations many of these and other projects can be found at www.fpmt.org/meritbox/
