The Second Gelug Monlam Festival at Nalanda
11 - 15 March 2025
Following Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s holy wish to bring the Monlam to the West, last February, Nalanda Monastery initiated the tradition of the Gelug Monlam Festival in the West.
Come and join us for the second edition of this historical event!
- 11 - 15 March, 2025
- Nalanda Monastery (France)
- In Tibetan, English & French
The whole assembly during Nalanda’s Second Gelug Monlam.
Special Guests Participating
Khen Rinpoche Geshe Thubten Chonyi, abbot of Kopan Monastery.
Up to this point, these very special guests have kindly accepted our invitation:
Geshe Loden, resident teacher of Vajra Yogini Institute
Ven. Rabjor, Khen Rinpoche’s assistant
Metok Rinpoche
Thoesam Rinpoche, director of Tibet House Frankfurt
Kunchok Namdro, ex-chant leader of Gyuto Monastery
Geshe Dakpa Tsundu, resident teacher at Kalachakra Centre, Paris
Ven. Steve Carlier
Ven. Elisabeth Druckier, director of Kalachakra Centre, Paris
Ven. Robina Courtin, famous FPMT teacher
François Lecointre, Center Services Director, and COO of FPMT International Office
Antony Boussemart, co-president of the Union Bouddhiste de France (UBF)
Registration is mandatory
Everybody is welcome! Please help us organize this event by registering here.
The event is free of charge, but due to limited space in the gompa, we need your registration. You will be given a seat number according to the time you register.
As the gompa has limited spaces (119), seats will also be available outside the gompa with a big TV screen.
For food and lodging, we will need your kind financial participation. Nalanda Monastery offers food and lodging to monks and nuns.
Prayer Texts
Learn to chant the prayers: For those who are interested, we will be holding rehearsal sessions of the Monlam prayers on Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 March, and Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 March at 2pm in Nalanda, using the recorded sessions from last year. You can always rehearse on your own using this link.
Live streams
The Maitreya procession during Nalanda’s first Gelug Monlam (picture by Sonam Sherpa).
Watch the films!
Last year, during the first Gelug Monlam Festival, we filmed interviews with our special guests and Geshes. You can discover our five episodes and the full movie here!
Celebrating 15 days of Miracles
Beginning on the first day of the Tibetan New Year (Losar), February 28, the “15 Days of Miracles” commemorate the historical moment during which Buddha Shakyamuni manifested numerous miracles in order to subjugate the six non-Buddhist masters and for his disciples to generate more faith in the Dharma.
The fifteenth day, Chötrol Duchen, corresponds to the day of the full moon, March 14. It is a particularly auspicious day where merits are multiplied by 100 million. During these two weeks, monasteries organize the festival of great prayers: Monlam Chenmo. Lama Tsongkhapa himself initiated the first edition of this festival in the Gelug tradition in 1409.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche wanted to implement this practice of intense accumulation of merits in the West. This is why we have organized the first traditional Gelug Monlam in France last February 2024.
Invitation to the Sangha
The monastery invites monks and nuns by offering them accommodation and food.
Nalanda’s Sangha and guests during the first Gelug Monlam in 2024 (picture by Sonam Sherpa).
Donations are Welcome
If you wish to accumulate merits by participating in the care of the Sangha during the Monlam, including the travelling costs of our special guests, you can make offerings here specifying “Monlam 2025”.
Your generosity will help ensure the success of this event. For every donation of €100 or more, your name will be added to the list of dedications that will be read at the end of the last session.
See you There!
See you soon to share this special moment with you!
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FR