Zoom: Understanding Lama Zopa Rinpoche's Passing and Praying for His Swift Return
Venerable Thubten Damcho 
Apr 17, 2023 
2 hours
Online
Understanding Lama Zopa Rinpoche's Passing and Praying for His Swift Return
Monday April 24
4:30 pm to 6 pm Pacific Time/ 7:30 pm to 9 pm Eastern Time
Hosted on Zoom by Shantideva Center
Register here
Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s unexpected passing has deeply affected students from around the world. He touched many students with his unwavering bodhicitta and his tireless service. Many people consider him to have been a Buddha, manifesting on this Earth out of his great compassion to guide others on the path to enlightenment.
In turn, many students have expressed a wide variety of emotions upon his passing, ranging from deep grief to immense gratitude. Others have expressed feelings of ambivalence and confusion.
Many questions have arisen with his passing. If Rinpoche has passed away, is it still possible to receive guidance from him? How might our prayers for his swift return work? Khandro-la said that Rinpoche took on the obstacles for His Holiness the Dalai Lama. What does this mean? How might we view the situation if we wanted to have a stronger connection with Rinpoche but never received the chance or had become slack with our practice? Is there something wrong with us if we never felt a heart connection to Rinpoche like so many other students did?
Venerable Thubten Chodron will help us navigate the different emotions and complex questions that may be arising in relation to his passing, drawing upon her own experiences with Lama Zopa Rinpoche and his students, as well as her deep knowledge of the Dharma.
Venerable Thubten Damcho
Ven. Damcho (Ruby Xuequn Pan) met the Dharma through the Buddhist Students’ Group at Princeton University. After graduating in 2006, she returned to Singapore and took refuge at Kong Meng San Phor Kark See (KMSPKS) Monastery in 2007, where she served as a Sunday School teacher. Struck by the aspiration to ordain, she attended a novitiate retreat in the Theravada tradition in 2007, and attended an 8-Precepts retreat in Bodhgaya and a Nyung Ne retreat in Kathmandu in 2008. Inspired after meeting Ven. Chodron in Singapore in 2008 and attending the one-month course at Kopan Monastery in 2009, Ven. Damcho visited Sravasti Abbey for 2 weeks in 2010. She was shocked to discover that monastics did not live in blissful retreat, but worked extremely hard! Confused about her aspirations, she took refuge in her job in the Singapore civil service, where she served as a high school English teacher and a public policy analyst. Offering service as Ven. Chodron’s attendant in Indonesia in 2012 was a wake-up call. After attending the Exploring Monastic Life Program, Ven. Damcho quickly moved to the Abbey to train as an Anagarika in December 2012. She ordained on October 2, 2013 and is the Abbey’s current video manager. Ven. Damcho also manages Ven. Chodron’s schedule and website, helps with editing and publicity for Venerable’s books, and supports the care of the forest and vegetable garden.