Early Life

In 1917, Choyang Kuten Lama was born to a nomadic family in Khele Village, U-Tsang Province. At seven years old, he enrolled at Ngamrig Monastery, a branch of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery. When he was thirteen years old, he travelled to Phari with his parents and joined Phari Monastery upon arrival. For five years, he studied under the guidance of Geshe Palden Tendar, an erudite Geshe from Gaden Shartse Monastery. Choyang Kuten Lama was advised to take care of his health and body by Geshe Palden Tendar who seemed to know even then, that the boy would grow to benefit the people of Tibet.

Phari is located in present-day Yadong County in Tibet

When he was seventeen years old, Choyang Kuten Lama experienced his first trance during a pilgrimage to Bodhgaya. At first, he and his peers were worried that he might have taken trance of a spirit. Therefore, he was sent to Lhasa to undergo rigorous examination by H.H. Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche to determine the identity of the deity that had taken trance in his body.

The New Oracle of Dorje Shugden

In Lhasa, the illustrious lama and soon-to-be Junior Tutor of the 14^th Dalai Lama, Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche, observed Choyang Kuten Lama carefully. He also arranged for other eminent lamas of the time such as Kyabje Ling Rinpoche, Kyabje Zong Rinpoche, Purbuchok Rinpoche, Reting Regent, Kyabje Taktra Rinpoche, Phurchog Jamgon Rinpoche, Kyabje Ling Rinpoche and Phuti Khangsar Kuten to study Choyang Kuten Lama’s trances. In 1939, the final examination of which deities were taking possession of Choyang Kuten Lama was conducted before 2,000 monks of Gaden Shartse Monastery.

Gaden Monastery, Tibet

At the end of the examination, Choyang Kuten Lama was approved as the oracle of two enlightened protectors, Dorje Shugden and Setrap. He was 21 years old at the time. It is noteworthy that the examination of his trances was performed by the highest and most attained lamas of the time, many of whom were regarded as emanations of Buddhas. None concluded that it was a terrible thing for the young Kuten to be taking trance of Gyalchen Dorje Shugden. In fact, it was widely celebrated.

Choyang Kuten Lama during a trance session of the wrathful form of Dorje Shugden (click to enlarge)

After completing the battery of tests, Choyang Kuten Lama returned to Phari where he was greeted enthusiastically by the local monastic and lay community. He served the people of Phari as an oracle until 1950. Besides the people of Phari, he also received invitations and requests for assistance from Tibetan aristocratic families in Lhasa, government officials and high lamas and those wishing to establish a connection with Dorje Shugden.

In 1950, the Sino-Tibetan relationship soured. During Choyang Kuten Lama’s visit to Lhasa to meet one of his teachers, Geshe Samdrup Rinpoche, officials of the Tibetan government requested for him to remain in Lhasa in case they needed to request advice from Dorje Shugden. By then the reputation of Dorje Shugden as a potent and benevolent Protector who gives precise and accurate predictions and advice had already been established. Choyang Kuten Lama agreed to remain in Lhasa to help as he believed that the main function of an oracle of Dorje Shugden was to assist the Tibetan people and the Tibetan government.

From the choice of accommodations provided to him in Lhasa, Choyang Kuten Lama chose what was disadvantageous to him personally but better for the public. He decided to stay at Chokor-Yangse Monastery because it was most accessible to the people. Before the Sino-Tibetan political crisis, Choyang Kuten Lama mostly took trance of the wrathful aspect of Dorje Shugden, especially during special events like the New Year. However, during this challenging period, the peaceful form of the deity was preferred to get clear responses to the people’s questions. In this peaceful form, the oracle would also perform other functions including teaching the Dharma. That was how Choyang Kuten Lama became known as Choyang Dulzin Kuten. Choyang is an abbreviation of Chokor-Yangse Monastery, and Dulzin is the peaceful form of Dorje Shugden, referring to Duldzin Drakpa Gyaltsen, one of Lama Tsongkhapa’s main disciples who was also one of Dorje Shugden’s past incarnations. Kuten means the body that holds the Dharmapala.

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Oracle in Exile

In 1959, Choyang Kuten Lama followed in the footsteps of the Dalai Lama and escaped from Tibet. He travelled with Kyabje Zemey Rinpoche and his attendants, as well as the Chushur Samkar family, who were all strongly connected to Dorje Shugden. The journey to India was aided by Dorje Shugden as was the case when the Dalai Lama escaped from Tibet. Upon their arrival in Buxa, India, they went their separate ways. Kyabje Zemey Rinpoche and the Chushur Samkar family went to Dalhousie while Choyang Kuten Lama remained in Buxa.

Monks and lay people consulting Dorje Shugden during a peaceful invocation

In Buxa, Choyang Kuten Lama served as an oracle and was consulted by the lay and monastic community before major decisions were made. After ten years, he and other refugees moved to the Tibetan Rehabilitation Centre in South India. Besides serving the community as an oracle, he also served as the Secretary of the Co-operative Society where he fundraised for many projects to improve the welfare of Tibetan refugees in exile (e.g. building accommodation for monks). He served in this position until 1973. He also acted as the Vice President of the Tibetan Freedom Movement where he relayed the Dalai Lama’s speeches and official announcements to the Tibetan refugee community.

Choyang Kuten Lama at Gaden Shartse Monastery’s main prayer hall in South India (click to enlarge)

The Assembly of Tibetan People’s Deputies openly recognised Choyang Kuten Lama’s contribution and gave him a certificate of appreciation in recognition of his work to alleviate the conditions of the Tibetan refugees. Contrary to accusations that Dorje Shugden worshippers are sectarian in nature, the way Choyang Kuten Lama served everyone regardless of their lineage and station in life, whether in trance of Dorje Shugden or in his personal capacity, is ample proof that those charges against Dorje Shugden people are malicious inventions.

Over the course of his life, Choyang Kuten Lama made a multitude of contributions to the Tibetan community, not only in his role as the oracle but also in other capacities during the most trying time in Tibet history. From his life story, Choyang Kuten Lama, a Dorje Shugden oracle, lived his life to benefit all Tibetans, not only the Gelug monastic community but also monks from other tradition and the lay Tibetan community. He lived his life with integrity and did not seek comfort when things became challenging.

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Epilogue

Choyang Kuten Lama made various contributions to the Tibetan community, not only in his role as an oracle but also in other capacities during the most trying time in Tibet’s history (click to enlarge)

In his autobiography, Choyang Kuten Lama mentions that his former travel companions who also had special relationships with Dorje Shugden, Kyabje Zemey Rinpoche and the Chushur Samkhar family, contributed greatly to the Tibetan cause. Kyabje Zemey Rinpoche guided the establishment of Tibetan education in exile. Under his direction, schools were built, textbooks were written, and teachers were trained in the modern way of learning. Following the Dalai Lama’s wishes, the six children of the Chushur Samkhar family actively served the Tibetan community in exile, in their various roles within the Tibetan government.

In his autobiography, Choyang Kuten Lama also wrote about the impact of having a special relationship with the Dharmapala:

“…it is my personal experience of the evidence of the power of the Dharmapala that if you have a special relationship to the Dharmapala, a close connection with your spiritual guide and you keep commitments purely, then your life is very different from that of an ordinary person.”

Source: kolumbus.fi

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Dorje Shugden Taking Trance in Peaceful Form

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https://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/DorjeShugden TakingTranceInPeacefulForm.mp4

Another Video of Dorje Shugden Taking Trance in Peaceful Form

Dorje Shugden Giving Advice While Taking Trance in Peaceful Form Part 1

Dorje Shugden Giving Advice While Taking Trance in Peaceful Form Part 2

Dorje Shugden Giving Advice While Taking Trance in Peaceful Form Part 3

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Choyang Kuten Lama in Western Europe (click to enlarge)

Choyang Kuten Lama at Heruka Centre, London (click to enlarge)

Gangchen Rinpoche with Choyang Kuten Lama in England (click to enlarge)

Choyang Kuten Lama distributing Dorje Shugden pictures (click to enlarge)

Choyang Kuten Lama in trance of Dorje Shugden at his residence (click to enlarge)

Choyang Kuten Lama before taking trance of wrathful Dorje Shugden (click to enlarge)

Choyang Kuten Lama at Manjushri Institute in Ulverston (click to enlarge)

Another picture of Choyang Kuten Lama (click to enlarge)

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H.E. Tsem Rinpoche’s Experience with Choyang Dulzin Kuten Lama

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https://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/Choyang001RecordingOnChoyangDulzinKuten.mp4

Transcript

This is a recording (February 16^th, 2019) on a blog post we’re producing, on the Oracle Lama of Gaden Shartse Monastery (or Kuten Lama). An oracle is not something that is just indigenous to Tibet or Tibetan Buddhism, but an oracle is something that is very familiar to many, many cultures throughout the world whether it is Asia, Africa, South America, Europe or North America, or whether it’s in the past or present. In fact, in the world today, there are many, many qualified oracles. Now what is an oracle? An oracle is someone who has the ability to take ‘full trance’ of another entity, and that entity is able to speak, heal, predict, prophesise, give advice, or whatever, through that person’s body. So an oracle is someone that takes full trance of an entity that can use that person and use that person’s body to do work.

An oracle can also be someone that transmits information, where they don’t actually take trance, but they send images, or they send premonitions, or they send words or dates, to the person, and that person is able to relay what the entity is trying to convey without having to take trance. Then you also have oracles that can do channelling. And what is channelling? Channelling is when the person who owns the body doesn’t go to sleep or doesn’t go unconscious while the entity inhabits their body and speaks through them. Now there are different types of channellers. There are channellers that can feel and hear what the entity is saying through them, and there are channellers that cannot remember. Although they don’t go unconscious, but they tune out and the entity takes over and the entity speaks through them and then they can leave. In fact, a few entities can come and go and speak through them, and the person doesn’t go unconscious. The person can become a little exhausted afterwards because there’s a heavy toll on the body.

So you have oracles that take full trance of an entity. You have oracles that receive messages in pictures, words, sounds, from an entity. And you have oracles that can take light channelling of an entity, where the person doesn’t fall asleep or go unconscious.

Now the difference between a person who takes trance and channels… Trance is when the person who owns the body totally goes unconscious or goes asleep, and the entity fully takes over. So the entity can write, they can walk, they can run, they can speak, they can draw, they can drink liquids, they can eat, they can perform rituals, they can do everything. And then you have the oracles that take channelling, where there’s partial control of the speech and body by the entity, and the person who’s channelling does not necessarily have to go to sleep or go unconscious.

So you have those different types and also variations. Some oracles can do all three. Some oracles can do one out of three. Some oracles can do two out of three. It just depends. Now what does it depend on? It depends on the oracle themselves and/or depends on the entity.

Now, you have good oracles and you have oracles that take trance of entities that could be harmful. So what takes trance of the person makes the big difference. If the person taking trance of the entity is very powerful and is positive and is beneficial, then this oracle will be a very beneficial oracle, of course. There are many cultures in the world that have this, even up till today. Now prior to the pre-Christian era in Europe, one of the most famous oracles were the Delphi Oracles in Greece, where the female oracles (they were called Pythias) would actually channel and/or take trance (depending on the Pythia) and look into a bowl of water, where the god Apollo would give messages, signs and indications of the future.

And so many, many famous persons, and normal people, and ordinary citizens, and people who came from afar and all over the Greek world, would come to consult the Delphi Oracle and these Pythias (who were the channellers or the oracle ladies) were very famous. And they had special diets, they were kept very clean, and they were not allowed to marry or stain their bodies so that it remained clean for Apollo to speak through.

Now, besides Apollo, you had other oracles in Ancient Greece that were not as well-known, that took trance of Hera, of Aphrodite, and various other gods, where they would speak through. In India, one of the oldest and richest and most philosophically advanced cultures in the world, oracles are very commonplace, even till today. I can say safely, in India today, you would have hundreds and hundreds of oracles throughout India, and they would channel high level gods, demi-gods, nature gods, spirits, deities, and even someone’s dead relative, or regional deities. So some of these oracles in India are extremely beneficial for the people, and they don’t charge anything.

So even in India today, you have hundreds of oracles throughout the country. Of course there are some that are perhaps not very beneficial. And within Chinese culture, I know in Malaysia itself, I have myself witnessed a few Chinese Taoist oracles where certain Taoist deities would take trance of the person and the person would be able to do superhuman feats that out of trance, the person would not be able to do. And so I know in Malaysia itself, there is a phenomenon of oracles within the Chinese Taoist tradition, as well as in the neighbouring Asian countries. I know of a place in China where my Chinese acupuncturist doctor (who used to work in Malaysia) told me that in his region there’s actually a mountain. And in that mountain, there are many healing deities that have been there for millennia. And in their region, they have oracles that actually take trance of these healing deities, generation after generation after generation, and they would specifically do healing. And they’re very renowned, they’re very sought after, and they’re extremely accurate, and they’re very, very beneficial.

I know in North India, in Ladakh, currently there’s about eight or nine very well-known oracles. One male and about eight are female, as far as I know. And one of the female oracles in Ladakh I’ve met was incredible, because she actually came down to the monasteries in South India and stayed at a nearby village and she was very famous for taking trance of a healing, female deity, and also did divinations. And so I had heard about her and when she had come down to South India, when I was there, I went to see her.

And I had a lot of these little skin lumps (cysts) surgically removed from my body because they grow. And I remember when I saw her in India, I showed her my arm, that I had some. It was incredible because she put her mouth down onto my arm and she gently bit it and she did a sucking motion and she sucked it out and then she expelled it from her mouth onto a tissue and showed it to me. And it was right in front of me, and after I touched it (my arm), there was nothing there; it was flat. I had had it for years and I had a few which needed to be surgically removed and she did that right in front of me and I saw it with my own eyes.

So these healing oracles are really, really, really beneficial, and some of them are very powerful. And in regions in India (like in North India, Ladakh), where people live in remote places and they’re kind of stormed in for the winter for six/seven months out of the year, they’re literally surrounded by snow and people can’t get to them. You know, there are many places where modern medical help is near impossible to acquire, or near impossible to find. So for hundreds and hundreds, and thousands of years, these oracles have served as doctors, to relieve peoples’ medical conditions and I’ve seen it, over and over, how they can help.

Now I am not recommending people to go to oracles for healing, in lieu of an actual qualified medical practitioner. But what I’m saying is in many parts of the world, where people are poverty stricken, where they live in remote places, or they live in places that don’t have modern medical facilities, or medicine, or clinics… people have pain. I mean everywhere in the world, people get sick and they have pain and they have problems and they have medical issues, and nobody wants to be in pain, and these oracles seem to serve that purpose.

So I know there are many oracles in the voodoo tradition doing rituals. A lot of people, whether you’re an oracle or not, actually take trance of various voodoo deities. Now whether these voodoo entities are positive or negative, I am not qualified to comment, but definitely it is happening in the voodoo tradition, which has over sixty million followers throughout the world, probably more (from statistics that I’ve read).

So there are many, many channellers in Europe these days, also in America, in a new age tradition where they channel various entities and spirit guides, and awakened masters and all that. So what I wanted to say is that oracles are not something mystical and unique and only one or two cultures have it, but they’re really, really, all over the place since the beginning of human existence and in all cultures. And in the modern age, some people would like to say these don’t exist, they’re fake, and these people taking trance or channelling are having psychological conditions. But you know, I don’t think we should make such judgements so quickly because there are facets of the human mind and body that can reach higher consciousness, or contact sentient beings of high consciousness, that we know nothing about. And then scientifically it’s difficult to measure.

So oracles are basically people who can receive messages from entities that supposedly can help and assist in our lives or have foresight; or take trance and channel these entities to help us. So that is what an oracle is. I’ve just given it a very quick kind of explanation, but we can all do more research on that if we’re interested. And I have blog articles and YouTube videos of myself explaining more in detail about oracles (especially Tibetan ones), if anyone’s interested. And I’ll include the links with that.

Now, when I was in USA, from the age of 6 to 22/23, I had never seen an oracle. I had never witnessed an oracle. I had never come in contact with an oracle, a channeller or any of that sort. I’ve come across people who are psychic, like my mother. My mother was very psychic. She would often have dreams of things to come and the next day she would tell me, and within a few days we’d hear news of exactly what she had dreamed about, which she had no knowledge about. So I’ve never come across any oracles or channellers or any of that. When I was in the United States, part of the time I lived in New Jersey and part of the time I lived in Los Angeles. Los Angeles being a big city, I never came across any of that.

So my first contact with oracles of any kind, of any tradition, was actually in India. So in 1988, I had arrived in Gaden Monastery as a monk, around mid-late January. Gaden Shartse Monastery to be exact, in South India, which is a one night bus ride (about thirteen hours) from Mumbai. So Mumbai would be a very big international cosmopolitan city that was one night away from where I had stayed in Gaden Shartse Monastery. So when I arrived at Gaden Shartse Monastery, I went directly to my teacher, Kyabje Zong Rinpoche’s house, and house is ‘ladrang’ in Tibetan. So I went to Zong Ladrang directly and I stayed there because that was Zong Rinpoche’s instructions to me. He had said that when I become a monk and I come to Gaden, I am to stay in his personal house and that he would take care of me. That was his promise to me and that was his instructions to me when I met him in the United States.

So when I got to Gaden Monastery, I went directly to Zong Rinpoche’s house (Zong Ladrang) and I was allocated a small room that was quite dilapidated and leaking and cracked, but it served its purpose and I was very glad to be there, and I was very grateful to be there. I mean, you don’t just go to places and people give you a free room to stay. So I was very grateful. The senior monks, the older monks, had better rooms and their rooms were newer and less dilapidated. And I, being a junior monk, with other junior monks, our rooms were not so good, which is the norm in the monastery, so it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.

Now my room was very interesting because if you walk into Zong Ladrang, you walk in off the main road. The first house you would see would be Zong Rinpoche’s personal house, where he gave audiences, where he had his bedroom, where he had his puja room, and where his close assistants stayed around him. So their rooms were connected to his, so they’d walk in and out of his room and go and assist him day and night, or as and when. And then off of that, behind, there was a row of rooms for the more senior monks. And then to the left of the house, near the boundary, were rooms for monks and that was the one I stayed at. So I stayed on the boundary. So when I entered…I mean the entrance of course is in Zong Ladrang to my room and next to me were the cows. So I basically stayed in the cow shed and behind me was a small dirt road that was an extension of the monastery. So behind me was a small dirt road and across from the dirt road (the dirt road was probably eight or nine feet in width) was the house of the Gaden Shartse oracle, Kuten Lama. And we had an affectionate name for him. We used to call him Kungo Choje-la.

‘Choje-la’ is oracle or kuten. Kuten is oracle. And ‘Kungo’ is a title that he had received for giving exceptional service to the Tibetan Government, throughout his life. So he used to raise funds for the Tibetan Government, he would organise meetings and gatherings and events. And he also took trance of various Protectors, Dorje Shugden and Setrap namely, for the Tibetan Government. So because of his exceptional service to the Tibetan Government, he had received a certificate, which he had shown me, from the Dalai Lama’s government in Dharamsala, and he had also been awarded a title called ‘Kungo’. So I don’t have an English equivalent of that, but it’d be something in England like a Sir or Baron, or something like that. So we would call him, affectionately, Kungo Choje-la. Kungo is his title, like a Baron or a Sir, and Choje-la would be an oracle. ‘La’ made it very honorific. It was like ‘honourable oracle Sir’.

So anyways, we would call him Kungo Choje-la, but to the outside world he was known as Kuten Lama, Kuten Lama being an oracle. And he was a very interesting person because he wasn’t a monk. He was a layperson. He hadn’t officially studied Dharma. He was never in the monastic curriculum. He wasn’t a learned Dharma person. I mean he knew Dharma, but he wasn’t a learned person. He wasn’t a teacher. He didn’t have disciples. He didn’t have students. People did not go to him for teachings or people did not consider him a guru, although they respected him highly. So out of trance, he was basically an ordinary Tibetan man that was good in reading and writing and literate, and highly intelligent, had a powerful presence, extremely charismatic, and had beautiful aristocratic, Tibetan features, had a deep, penetrating voice, and basically was a very nice person. So when he was out of trance, he was just an elderly aristocratic looking Tibetan gentlemen, and he wasn’t a monk.

And because he was an oracle, then the monastery had allotted him a house and the land, and on the land, the oracle lived there and at the initiative of Kyabje Zong Rinpoche, they had raised funds to build a special oracle temple next to his house, which was a special chapel dedicated to Dorje Shugden. And within the chapel there was a throne (a permanent throne) that the oracle would sit on to take trance of Dorje Shugden, Setrap, Kache Marpo, and various other deities.

So behind my room, there’s a dirt path about eight to nine feet, it was enough for a small car to drive through. And then there was a gate there with doors and behind the gate and doors was the oracle’s, Kuten-la’s house, and he lived there. He had his assistants. He had his attendants. And then next to his house was the oracle Dorje Shugden chapel where he would also take trance. And so for me to walk over to his house is literally one minute. For me to get to the chapel it would be one and a half minutes. And that’s because I had to go the long route.

So I would peek out through my window. I would be sitting with my back towards the window and my face would face my altar and my table. So my back would always be towards the window and I would often see Kuten Lama getting inside his car, going somewhere, or hundreds of people coming to visit him. Dignitaries, Tibetan dignitaries, Tibetan Government people, Dalai Lama’s representatives and the monastic representatives of Gaden, sometimes Sera, Drepung Gomang Monastery, Drepung Loseling Monastery, Gaden Shartse Monastery, Jangtse Monastery, Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, and smaller monasteries throughout India. Even representatives from Tibet would come sometimes to see him. I mean there were hundreds and hundreds of people who would come to see him because they would come and consult him to take trance and engage his oracular ability so that they could get their questions answered. Sometimes people had questions on someone who was extremely ill, or things that the Tibetan Government should or should not do, or how to raise funds for the monastery.

Very often he would recognise high lamas, so many people whose gurus have passed away, they would come and consult him on where the guru had taken rebirth, the place, and also the parents’ names and the location and in trance he would give the parents’ names, the location, and the region perfectly. And then he would actually issue a chakdak or recognition paper, which would be used to recognise that tulku or that Rinpoche to be enthroned. So that was quite often, but you have to understand, all sectors of Tibetan society, from Tibetan Government people all the way down to the ordinary person, would always come and consult him, and he was a very respected member of Tibetan society. And Tibetan Government people, monastic officials and all that, would show him great deference, extreme respect, and a lot of faith. And I witnessed this myself. There were many times, after I became friends with him, I would be hanging out with him in his room, drinking tea, joking, or whatever, and suddenly a government official would come, or a local Indian official would come, or whatever, and I would excuse myself because they had a lot of private matters. So I’ve witnessed this myself and he was a very beneficial person.

So being that he lived next to me, he used to walk over to my window and knock on it and I’d open it and there he was. And I’d be amazed because this was the oracle that takes trance of very great Protectors for so many people and there he is. It’s like meeting a superstar. Basically in Tibetan society he was like a superstar. And because of that, he used to come and knock on my window. I used to go slowly visit him at his house and as my Tibetan improved, I was able to talk more and more with him and understand him more. So very often he would always knock on my window and tell me to come over and just hang out with him. Or when I was free, I would just go and visit him. I would bring him some fruits or whatever and there’d always be delicious, fresh cups of Tibetan tea, khapsey, snacks, biscuits, food (at his house), because he’s very generous. So I developed a very close friendship with him, I am humbled and honoured to say.

So I used to go to his house quite often and sometimes I would oversleep, and I would miss pujas in the morning and so I didn’t get breakfast because in Tibetan monasteries, you get your breakfast in the puja hall. So I’d miss pujas and I didn’t get my bread and I didn’t get my morning bread and tea, so I’d be in my room thinking, “Now what do I do?” And guess what? Choje-la would knock on my window and say, “Have you had breakfast?” and I’d say, “No, Your Honour, I did not”. Then he disappeared and within five minutes he’d come out with a thermos filled with tea and a couple of new, fresh Tibetan bread, and he’d say, “Here, here take this. Eat this and return the thermos to me later”. And he did that so often. He would come to my window and just knock and ask, “Have you eaten? Did you get anything?” And most of the time I would say no. So he would always give me food or give me stuff through the window. I mean he’d literally walk out of his house with a thermos, bread, food, whatever… and then knock on my window and then pass it to me. And I had grilles on my window but the grilles were big so you could pass things through it.

This happened so many times and I was humbled, and I was grateful because he knew that I was a young monk (I was 22/23) at the time. I didn’t have money. I did not have any sponsors. So a lot of times, I ate one or two meals a day, or sometimes I just ate bread and tea that day. Sometimes I didn’t get a lot of food. I want to repeat again. I wasn’t abused or neglected in the monastery per se, but a lot of monks were poor. A lot of monks. Now it was the duty of Zong Rinpoche’s assistant (the main assistant there) to make sure I got food, but that’s another story. I didn’t get much food from him but that’s a completely different kettle of fish, as the saying goes.

But in any case, because I didn’t have sponsors and I didn’t have much money, a lot of times I just didn’t get much food, or I didn’t get any food. It was only later, when my first root teacher, Kensur Rinpoche Jetsun Lobsang Tharchin-la, who lived in Howell, New Jersey in Rashi Gempil Ling temple, found out. I wrote to him and he knew that I didn’t have sponsors and he assigned one of his students to sponsor me every month and that was the first sponsor I ever got. And when I got that sponsor, it was USD50 a month. Maybe to some of you out there, $50 isn’t a lot, but in India back in 1988/1989/1990, it was a lot of money. And when you convert that, it was a lot of money. It was enough to last a month, month and a half.

So I would buy grains and rice and lentils and vegetables and cook up a little storm in my tiny room, on the floor, with my little push-gas kerosene stove, and I had a few pots and pans. And I was grateful and that’s when I started gaining a little bit of weight and started not looking so skeletal, because of that sponsorship. And I am forever grateful to my teacher and my sponsor at that time. But anyways, who got me through that, one of the people was Kuten-la. So I used to go and visit him and once in a while, he would surprise me and come to my room. And you have to understand, he’s a very big personage. He is a very highly respected person and he is someone that the tutors of the Dalai Lama, like Ling Rinpoche and Trijang Rinpoche, would summon to their houses and take trance in front of them. He is someone that the monastic community would invite to the prayer halls to take trance and the whole monastic community would consult him. So to have this person to show up at your door, come inside and sit on your bed and just have chats with you…it was a great honour and it also showed you how humble he was.

With me he was always very humble. He was very close, very caring, and so sometimes he would visit my room and we’d just sit there and talk. He just wanted to see what I was doing, what I was studying. He would come in and say, “What are you doing?” And luckily, he never caught me sleeping. In any case… but I would visit him easily if I wasn’t doing pujas or studies or whatever. Easily I would visit him maybe eight to nine times per week, every week. And so as that happened, he would get a lot of letters from Indian officials, Indian people, that would be in English, and he would get letters from abroad in English. And so he didn’t have anyone there, so I unofficially became his part-time English secretary.

So what I would do is whenever he got letters in English, some of them were very confidential and I was sworn to confidentiality, unofficially. I would read the letters and explain to him what the letters were saying, what they’re asking, and what the content was. And then he would dictate his answers and I would write it down and then I would repeat to him what he said, and then I would double make sure it’s correct because it’s on his stationery. And then I would write out the letters. I would write out the letters for him, clearly and well, and I would then repeat what I wrote on his stationery to him, and then when he approved, he would sign it and put his official seal.

So for a long time I served as his part-time, unofficial secretary, and I felt very honoured because some of the things that we wrote to people around the world were pronouncements from Setrap, who took trance and spoke, or Dorje Shugden, who took trance and spoke. So he would translate those to me, and I would write it in English and then he would put his seal on it. So a lot of people got their answers in English because I was able to serve Kuten Lama in that capacity. And I remember that at one time, Kuten-la’s nephew which is His Eminence Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, in England, had requested Kuten-la to come to UK, and all those letters came. So when those letters came, Kuten-la summoned me to his house and I went to his house, and I had to read all those letters, because they were all in English. Of course those letters from Geshe Kelsang-la were in Tibetan but those were just a few. But Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche’s students would write a lot of letters to him, and so those were the ones I read and those were the ones that I translated to Kuten Lama.

So one of the letters was officially sending an invitation for Kuten-la to visit England. They needed that official invitation, and with that invitation, then Kuten-la would apply for visas, he would have to go to the local Indian police to get approval because he was a Tibetan refugee. He would have to go to the local Indian officials, which were all his friends, to get approval to go to England. Then he would have to send people to Delhi, to the British embassy to get an English visa, and so there was a lot of letter-writing back and forth to the embassies and officials, and to England and all that stuff.

So I was a part of that where I wrote all the letters in English, to assist Kuten-la to get his visa and his itinerary, and all the necessities to go to England. So I’m sure in Geshe Kelsang Gyatso’s organisation, there’s a lot of letters there in my handwriting, signed by Kuten-la or his house. So I was able to do that and if I remember correctly, Kuten-la visited England twice, to Geshe Kelsang’s centre twice. After that, I don’t know what happened. I didn’t follow up, but he visited twice as far as I remember. And as far as I remember, they were very successful trips, and on one of the trips to England, to Geshe Kelsang Gyatso’s Manjushri Centre (it’s either Madhyamika or Manjushri Centre), Kuten-la took trance on many occasions there.

And on one of the occasions he took trance, he was in trance for about three/three and a half hours, and guess what? He gave the Avalokiteshvara initiation to all the students. So it wasn’t Kuten-la himself. It was Dorje Shugden who had taken trance and Dorje Shugden gave initiation to all the students. Can you imagine that? A god giving initiation of another god, to ordinary human beings. And you know what was amazing, is that Kuten-la himself is a layperson and he’s never given initiation in his life, to anyone, as far as I know. So there’s a lot of procedures to prepare for, and rituals to do, that you have to learn up, to give initiations. But as far as I know, Kuten-la didn’t know any of that, but in trance, he knew all of it. He did all of it. He did it like a seasoned, high lama of the Tibetan tradition. So you know it was not him, for doubters out there. You know it was not him giving initiation, because he didn’t know the procedures, he didn’t know the ritual, he didn’t know anything, but he gave the full initiation there. And when I heard that, I was extremely envious because I thought that would be so wonderful if I could have gotten an initiation from Dorje Shugden himself directly.

So anyways, it was a very successful trip and he was often consulted by the abbots of Gaden Shartse. When I arrived, the abbot of Gaden Shartse was Khen Rinpoche Jetsun Jampa Yeshe, a great scholar, erudite master, and a very great yogi. Prior to him, the abbot was Kyabje Lati Rinpoche. So after Lati Rinpoche was Khen Rinpoche Jetsun Jampa Yeshe. Then after Jetsun Jampa Yeshe, we had several abbots like Kusho Amchok Rinpoche, who is the Dalai Lama’s personal biographer. And then we had the erudite master Geshe Konchok Tsering. We had Geshe Tenzin Dakpa. We had Geshe Tamdrin Gyatso. We had the great master, who became the Lord of the East, Sharpa Choeje Jetsun Lobsang Nyima. So we had a string of very great learned masters, who were abbots of Gaden Shartse when I was there. And so what was incredible was these are very learned monks. They’re very erudite. They’re the masters of hundreds of geshes. They hold the monastery together and they’re appointed to their position by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. And all these abbots, every single one of them, whether it was Geshe Konchok Tsering, whether it was Khen Rinpoche Jetsun Jampa Yeshe, whether it was Kyabje Lati Rinpoche, whether it was Amchok Rinpoche, whether it was Khen Rinpoche Geshe Tenzin Dakpa, or it was Sharpa Choeje Jetsun Lobsang Nyima, even the Gaden Tripa, one of the Gaden Tripas, Jetsun Lungrik Namgyal, who lives in France, was also the abbot of our monastery while I was there.

All these erudite men, they all consulted the oracle. They all requested him for audience. They all requested him to take trance of Dorje Shugden and/or Setrap, or both, and they would ask questions about the future. I witnessed this myself. I witnessed it. Now every single one of these abbots, and the dignitaries, or the monks in charge of Gaden Jangtse Monastery would come and consult Dorje Shugden through the oracle, when he was in trance. From Drepung Loseling Monastery, from Drepung Gomang Monastery. I saw this myself, and this would happen throughout the year, and even the Dalai Lama’s representatives (they were called the Kungo Donjö). He is the representative of the Dalai Lama in our refugee camp. There were twenty-four refugee camps when I was in India, each refugee camp has a Kungo Donjö that represents the Dalai Lama in our camp. So all things for the Dalai Lama would go through them. All things from the Dalai Lama would come from them for our camp. And our camp had about fourteen thousand refugee Tibetans. So Kungo Donjö was in charge of a lot of people.

So Kungo Donjö himself would come and meet the oracle and he would come and show respect to the oracle, and he would be there sometimes, when the oracle took trance of Dorje Shugden and Setrap, and asked questions. For himself and sometimes on behalf of the Tibetan Government. Yes, the Kungo Donjös, the representatives of the Dalai Lama themselves would ask questions for their personal welfare, their families, and sometimes for the Government of Tibet, and send the information up to Dharamsala. So this one I witnessed myself also.

Now remember, the oracle of Dorje Shugden, Kuten Lama, was very, very close to the Tibetan Government. He had been very close to the Tibetan Government for decades, since 1959 leaving Tibet. And this one we all witnessed. So this was throughout the year, he would have Tibetan dignitaries, Tibetan ‘blue-bloods’, Tibetan people, the Dalai Lama’s representatives, representatives of the great monasteries, representatives from Gaden Shartse, Gaden Jangtse Monastery, Drepung Loseling, Drepung Gomang, the various khangtsens, very wealthy Tibetans, foreigners, local Tibetans, Indians, Indian dignitaries, Indian police… They would all come to either get blessings or consult with Dorje Shugden. And this was throughout the year, all the time, we witnessed this.

How do I know? Because I would be there with him. And before he would take trance that day, they would play the recording of a Tibetan long horn, playing from the Dorje Shugden chapel that was right next door to me. So every time he was going to take trance that day, let’s say he’s going to take trance at 10 a.m. or 11 a.m., then in the morning around 7 a.m. or 8 a.m., they would play a long horn and that would purify the area and to let the monastery know that day, the Protector was taking trance. That was throughout the year. He would take trance in his personal chapel that was next door to me, and when I heard that I would run next door to take a look. Sometimes I would be allowed in. Sometimes I would arrive too late, so I’d stand outside and look through the window. Either way was beautiful to me because I could see him taking trance. Sometimes he would take trance in a peaceful manner, wearing the high lama’s clothes. Sometimes he would take trance in a wrathful manner, wearing a Protector’s wrathful accoutrements.

Now once a year, during Tibetan Losar, the main prayer hall of Gaden Shartse Monastery, in the middle of the main prayer hall, in front of the Maitreya statue (because the central image in our old prayer hall was Maitreya Buddha), a throne would be set up. And next to that, on the left and right, chairs would be set up. And then the oracle, Kuten Lama, would be escorted by the monastic car, from his house to the main prayer hall (he would ride in a car). And the monastic officials, the changtsos and the secretaries would come down and receive him from the car and escort him in and the abbot, or the abbot emeriti (the kensurs), the high lamas, the tulkus, the reincarnated lamas, and all of them would sit on the left and right, on chairs. And I was sitting there with the ex-abbots and staff because I am a reincarnated lama. And then the rest of the prayer hall was occupied by the senior monks, geshes and monks, and young monks. So the prayer hall would be packed, you know, like over a thousand people, easily. And then representatives of Jangtse would come with khatas and offerings and prayers and all that. And sometimes from Drepung Monastery.

And so during Tibetan Losar, every single year, Kuten Lama would be escorted to the Gaden Shartse main prayer hall and a throne would be there, and all the high lamas, all the incumbent masters and the abbot and everybody would be there to receive him. I was there many times. And then he would come in and he would do black tea (serkym) to Dorje Shugden and Setrap. Afterwards, they would dress him and then he would sit on the throne and he would take trance of the peaceful Dorje Shugden called Dulzin. And then he would talk, he would give advice, he would meet all the abbots, ex-abbots, all the tulkus, and then bless the monks by throwing rice on them. And then he would read their requests, he would read their questions, and he would answer them one by one by one. Sometimes it took about forty-five minutes of him answering questions for the monastery, and the monastery’s welfare, the monastery’s future, pujas, obstacles, fund raising, activities… Dorje Shugden would give a whole list of things for the monastery to do, every single year.

Then after that was done, then they would dress him in the fierce clothes of Setrap and then he would take trance of Setrap. When he takes trance of Setrap, he wasn’t able to stay more than ten to fifteen minutes, because it was very wrathful, and it was very high energy and very jumpy and moving (you can see it on videos). So Setrap would meet the abbot, and then the ex-abbots (emeriti), the retired abbots, the high lamas, the tulkus, and that was when I got to go up and see Setrap. And then for the normal monks (the rest of the Sangha), Setrap would throw rice onto the congregation and bless all of them. And Setrap would basically say to have good samaya, to have unity, and to respect the elders, respect the elder monks, and we would have his protection. And he says that whatever advice Dorje Shugden has given, just a few minutes ago, he agrees with the advice and we should follow the advice precisely. And then he would faint, and he would leave, and the oracle would be back to himself.

So this was every single year. So the procedure was to take trance of the peaceful Dorje Shugden, and the peaceful Dorje Shugden would give advice, and talk, and speak to the monastery and officials, and the tulkus, and the abbots, and the lamas, and the emeriti. And then Kuten Lama would take trance of Setrap. And Setrap would basically say (I heard it myself), “Whatever Dorje Shugden has said, I agree with it. Follow that. That’s fine.” And then he would bless the congregation and he would leave. So every year we would have official audience, through the oracle, of Dorje Shugden and Setrap, and on a private basis throughout the year. I have met Dorje Shugden and talked to Dorje Shugden and Setrap on many, many occasions.

So I guess I was very fortunate to have a very good relationship with the grand Choyang Dulzin Kuten Lama of Gaden Shartse Monastery. And I was very fortunate to be considered one of his friends and I was able to assist him and serve him, in my humble capacity, for a few years while I was there. And I shared many meals with him, we broke bread together many times. I have never travelled with him…maybe to Hubli, to a nearby city once or twice, but I have never travelled long distances with him. And from all observations, he was an extremely beneficial person. He was highly regarded. He was a kind person and he has done great service to the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government throughout his life, in which he had certificates to show for it, from the Tibetan Government, and also his title Kungo Choje-la. So it was a great honour for me to know him and I had arrived at Gaden Shartse Monastery just at the right time. So that is kind of my relationship with Kuten Lama, Choyang Dulzin Kuten, and it has been a pleasure for me to share all of that here with everyone.

Thank you,
Tsem Rinpoche.

This transcript has been edited for clarity and ease of understanding.

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