The Indestructible Buddha
Pure Land Becomes an FPMT Study Group Posted 20 Mar 2018
By Len Warren, Chairperson of the Pure Land of the Indestructible Buddha
On 1 March 2018, the Day of Miracles, there was great excitement amongst members of the Pure Land Committee (Len, Anita, Sue, Jason, Stella, Penni and Lucy) when we received an email from Claire at FPMT headquarters. This is how the email began:
‘On this very auspicious and merit-multiplying day, I am delighted to tell you that Lama Zopa Rinpoche says it is beneficial for the Pure Land of the Indestructible Buddha to go forward as a new ‘independent’ FPMT Study Group.’
This is wonderful news and the Pure Land Committee extends its heartfelt thanks to Claire and to members of the Executive Committee of the Hayagriva Buddhist Centre for their help and advice.
Our official FPMT title is now: ‘FPMT Study Group (Probationary Hospice Service)’. What this means is that there are two stages to becoming a ‘fully-fledged FPMT Hospice Service’, first become a Study Group, then after a probationary period, become a fully affiliated FPMT Hospice Service.
It is wonderful to have Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s endorsement and blessings. I know I am not alone in my complete confidence in Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s wisdom and foresight. If Lama Zopa says it is beneficial for us to go ahead, then I believe that things will go well for us, bearing in mind that we do live in samsara and are subject to karma and disturbing conceptions, which means that it will not all be plain sailing, and that we need to continue to create good karma.
It is also marvellous to have the official stamp of FPMT on our group. FPMT is a global organization with 160 centres, services and groups. It is part of a lineage that has been passed down to us via realized lamas and their disciples from the time of the Buddha.
The Pure Land of the Indestructible Buddha, or the Pure Land for short, aspires in the long term to develop a centre which offers a safe and caring environment for those suffering terminal conditions, who wish to end their lives in a spiritual environment.
To that end, we first plan a pilot study to see if the project is viable and can be run with the resources that we are able to obtain, and can, indeed, meet its objectives safely and effectively.
Our committee looks forward to up-dating you on our progress as we move forward in our quest to bring the Pure Land to a reality.
