Grateful to attend the 2025 BC Buddhist Festival at Helena Gutteridge Plaza. A beautiful day celebrating compassion, culture, and community. Thank you to the organizers and volunteers for this meaningful gathering.
#BCBuddhistFestival #DharmaInTheWest #Vancouver

Mary Jane "Max" Mathews (known affectionately as Mummy Max and Sister Max) is shown in monastic robes kneeling next to Lama Thubten Yeshe. Both are smiling, and Max looks at Lama while Lama looks at the camera with a mala in his left hand. An ivy covered brick patio surrounds them. Photo from the FPMT collection.

The American Black Woman Who Helped Establish Dharma in the West:

Today we mark the one year anniversary of the passing of Max Mathews, a dharma pioneer who sponsored the foundation of the FPMT. Several moving tributes from those who knew her well down below. #BHM #FPMT #buddhism #dharmainthewest

Max Mathews in a photo from the first trek to Lawudo Retreat Center in Nepal, spring of 1969. Lawudo was the previous hermitage of the Lawudo Lama, the former incarnation of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, co-founder of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT). Image copyright 2025 Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

The American Black Woman Who Helped Establish Dharma in the West:

In 3 days we mark the one year anniversary of the passing of Sister Max, a dharma pioneer who sponsored the foundation of the FPMT. She shares her story below, and it is worth the watch. #BHM #FPMT #buddhism #dharmainthewest