Tenzin Ösel Hita is the recognized incarnation of FPMT’s founder, Lama Thubten Yeshe. He is a 21st-century radical freethinker, humanitarian, documentary filmmaker, musician, father, friend, life-long student, and former Buddhist monk. Early in his life he was known as “Lama Ösel”, today he prefers to be called simply “Ösel.”

When he was just 14 months old Ösel was formally recognized by His Holiness the Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of Lama Thubten Yeshe, the revered Tibetan yogi, scholar, and teacher. He is the subject of Vicki Mackenzie’s acclaimed book, Reincarnation: The Boy Lama.

Today, the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition, which Lama Thubten Yeshe and his main disciple Lama Zopa Rinpoche founded in the early 1970s, comprises an international family of thousands of students and a network of more than 160 centers, projects, and services, now under the spiritual direction of Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

“I’m very happy and full of admiration for the whole FPMT family,” says Ösel. “FPMT is doing a great job and Lama Zopa is an immensely special person – very inspiring and a great yogi.”

Ösel served on FPMT’s board of directors 2008 through 2013 and continues to attend teachings with Rinpoche and support the organization by sharing love, experience, and insight with the FPMT family around the world. “There is no separation between me and FPMT,” says Ösel. “We are all working together in so many aspects and terrains. Humanity is our office.”

Ösel has his own website, One Big Love, where you can find his very active blog page, as well as an archive of video teachings, current schedule and other news. Below are a few tasters of what it has to offer. Please click here to explore more.

Loving Compassion by Tenzin Ösel Hita

Ethics: The Moral Code by Tenzin Ösel Hita

About Men and Women by Tenzin Ösel Hita

Feeling Guilty does not Help by Tenzin Ösel Hita

The Voice of the Heart by Tenzin Ösel Hita

What is a Virtuous Friend? by Tenzin Ösel Hita

Depression by Tenzin Ösel Hita

Start with Yourself by Tenzin Ösel Hita

“Osel was motivated by a deep-seated interest to find a way for people of all backgrounds and all religions and all socio-economic circumstances to come together over a meaningful project that could be offered to His Holiness the Dalai as a token of gratitude for the never-ending inspiration His Holiness provides the world through his living example.

His Holiness is a well-known champion of environmental issues. He always calls upon people to act with a warm heart and sense of universal responsibility to make continuous efforts to reverse and remedy the degradation of our environment.Tree planting has always been one of Osel’s passions and dreams.
For as long as he has been giving public talks, he has echoed the wisdom of His Holiness wherever he goes. Even at the close of the Being Your True Nature retreat in California during the summer of 2019, Osel gave the participants the commitment of planting a tree before a year had passed. It was just a matter of connecting the dots for the Global Tree Initiative (GTI) to be created.” (Global Tree Initiative)

To learn more about the initiative, get involved and keep up-to-date on their news please visit their website or Facebook page. You may also like to know our Sponsoring Trees at Land of Joy project is working with the Global Tree Initiative to offer the opportunity for those who are unable to plant trees themselves to dedicate a tree which is planted in our woodland and reported to the Global Tree Initiative to add to their tree planting tally.

We are very fortunate to have welcomed Ösel to Land of Joy twice in past four years, once in February 2017 and again in December 2019. Each visit was a very joyful occasion with Ösel sharing lots of advice and enthusiasm for the centre as well as offering a public talk to the local and wider community which you can see below.