Condensed Tsongkapa practice for happiness and clear mind

Jan 17, 2014 | Views: 8,149

(By Tsem Rinpoche)

Dear friends,

About 2 weeks ago, a Vietnamese lady from San Francisco and a 21 year old boy from China came to visit Kechara. They had flown all the way from their respective home countries just to see the various work Kecharians and myself were doing here!

Metok from the US, and Yin Xi from China had saved up for their airfare, gotten in contact with Kechara’s main temple, coordinated with Kecharians to arrange for their accommodation, arrived in KL and volunteered in all of the departments any way they could. Such fuss-free, independent and passionate people! I was inspired by their efforts and thirst for Dharma that I decided to give a teaching at my private residence. The teaching was on the founder of our Gelugpa lineage, Lama Tsongkhapa. I decided to give a short and easy teaching. Not too long and not too difficult. I have condensed this teaching for everyone for easy listening and easier to retain the information for practice. Practicing this will help our mind, decrease depression/anxiety, help us to let go of the past and move on. We will be blessed to have clear and sharp mind filled with wisdom.

Together with Metok and Yin Xi, I decided to invite pastors in training and a few other people whom I thought would really benefit from the teaching. I like to invite those who during my public talks are attentive, listening carefully, take notes and really try to learn and understand.

KIM were there to film the teaching. It is a very simple yet comprehensive teaching on Lama Tsongkhapa’s practice. I went through one by one on the benefits of doing Lama Tsongkhapa’s practice, the different types of offerings that can be done and gave an explanation on the visualizations to be done for Lama Tsongkhapa’s prayers. The materials used were the books in Lama Tsongkhapa’s box set (Chinese box set) and prayers that can be found here… so if you have these items, you’re all set!

As this is a teaching on Lama Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelugpa lineage, this teaching is very powerful in itself. However how powerful this teaching is on your personal spiritual growth, is dependent on how much you absorb and apply it. It is a 4 hour teaching… so grab a cup of tea, a notebook and enjoy! I really pray it will benefit you please.

Tsem Rinpoche

(originally posted September 7, 2012)

Metok (left) and Yin Xi (right) with Paul.

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Just before starting the teaching on Lama Tsongkhapa’s practice

Part 1 of 4

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Part 2 of 4

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Part 4 of 4

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All About Tsongkhapa And The Benefits Of His Practice Part 1 of 4

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All About Tsongkhapa And The Benefits Of His Practice Part 3 of 4

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Transcript

All About Tsongkhapa, and the benefits of his practice! Part 1/4

Transcript by Melissa Lee; Proof Read by Lily Tan

You know, it was quite funny because I was trying to refresh up on my notes and I found this book by accident by us. And it is a short version of a complete Lama Tsongkhapa practice with lineage and all that and I was flipping through it. You know what, I was quite amazed, the material and the write up and the setup is quite good. And this is all part of the Lama Tsongkhapa box set and I completely forgot and I didn’t see this for two years. Isn’t it sad? I forget what books we have. Anyways, I look through it just now and everybody should have one and we should get this. I think we have this in Chinese already, right? And then we should get this re-printed again separate also because this is really easy for people to understand, good pictures and all that stuff, alright. I am not praising my own book because I didn’t compose it. I extracted it from very reliable sources so it is compiled. Ok, so I am not teaching anything new to any of you.

Now, tonight’s teaching was actually inspired by Yin Xi who has struggled for many years in China to get our teachings and some of our teachings online he cannot accessed from China. And therefore he is very thirsty to get knowledge. He is twenty-one and he travelled here for dharma. So the other day when I met him and Ms Metok from San Francisco, I was quite taken, and I am going to tell you why because I gave teachings here quite often in the past, and some people, not all, make it very difficult for themselves to arrive to the teachings. And there are people who are in China and America and in Europe who are always saying they don’t have any teachers, any dharma centers or anyone around. And they wish so much to have teachers around and they would fly here from other countries to receive dharma teachings because they can’t get it from where they are. Whereas we are right here, just one hour, forty-five minutes, half hour drive away and even we have to fight traffic it is not a big deal because the dharma is the most supreme. Alright, so I was inspired by Yin Xi and I thought I would give him a teachings and then I thought I would call about ten – fifteen people and then it became this. Then I thought maybe I should called more and do it at KH and I thought no, too short of a notice.

So today’s teachings of one or two I want to pass on to Yin Xi and to all of you and of course the pastors and pastors to be. The reasons for that is because, to be a successful pastor, is very simple. Every day, every week and every month, you become less selfish and then you become an excellent pastor. It is not how much dharma you know. It is not how eloquent you speak. It is not how many rituals you know. It is how selfless you are because becoming a pastor is benefiting others, putting others in front of yourselves, putting others in front of your own needs. What is the purpose in that? It is very simple. Spirituality is all about destroying and abolishing selfishness. Ok? Spirituality is all about destroying and abolishing selfishness. So if we are to be a good pastor, we are wearing the uniform of a spiritual person. The uniform of a spiritual person represent a person who is spiritual and that spirituality means not how many mantras you did or rituals you know or holy places you went to or how many high lamas you took pictures with, it is about how less selfish you are. That is true spirituality.

The biggest goal in our lives is to make our life less selfish. That is the biggest goal in life. Because at the time of death, anytime, you take your mind with you, and when the mind is less selfish, in the future life you create less problems for yourselves and others and therefore less suffering. Remember something, every single suffering that you had experienced in this life all came from you. So if you practise dharma and you haven’t changed, why should your circumstances changed? If you are practising dharma and you haven’t changed, you haven’t turned your mind around, how will your circumstances change? Don’t say well I am in dharma and things haven’t changed, I prayed to Setrap and things haven’t changed. Yes, they can help you but you got to help yourself and combine your efforts. So you come to dharma and after dharma after refuge, after meeting your teacher, your attitude is exactly the same as before or similar, then is just another movie you attended, it’s just another event, another surface. How will you see things or act or feel differently if before dharma you are the same, and after dharma you are the same. So remember spirituality is not how many mantras, Yidams, Lamas, how high your guru is.

Kyabje Pabongka Dorje Chang achieved the highest result in his life in Tibet, in the early part of the twentieth century, studying and meditating under one of the most humblest, simplest lama who wasn’t a geshe, who wasn’t a scholar. And he went every single day to his guru’s room, he received few verses of the Lamrim and he was sent behind the guru’s house into a cave, into a retreat area to meditate and to think about the points and understand and realized it and then come back for more teachings. And his teacher that he studied under, that he revered the most because he had many teachers, was not a scholar, was not a geshe or high ranking lama, nothing. But the incredible thing is that his guru used to have direct vision of Tara, all the time, all the time and then people contest them, because Tara will tell them is like that, like that, like that, so another part of Tibet they will check and say, oh yeah, how does this lama know that there is this, this, this building and there is this, this, this going on. Tara tells him, he tells his students. So he is proven time and time again that although he has no rank, he is not a geshe, he is not a scholar, he is highly accomplished. And Pabongka studied under such a great Lama and became highly accomplished.

My point is simple. Before dharma after dharma your attitudes, our attitudes should be different. What is the fundamental attitude, less selfishness. That is the goal. That is the goal whether you practising in the mountain, in the city or you are in the center or you are under His Holiness the Dalai Lama or Panchen Lama or Trijang Rinpoche or you are practicing under a smuglike me, it doesn’t matter. Your goal is less selfishness. If you are less selfish you know what happened, you please your gurus, you please your dharma protectors, you please your parents, you please your kids, you please your mates, your partners, you please your friends and guess what, you please yourself. You become the happiest person. Trust me, the less selfish you are, the happier you are. The more selfish you are, the more unhappy you are. You have to check that out in life, okay! So spirituality is testing our selfishness.

So Yin Xi came from very far, Yin Xi came from very far to study the dharma and I thought I give direct teachings to him and oral transmission and he has written me a long, long, long secret letter expressing all his secret feelings which I appreciate and he requested for refuge and so today afterward I will be granting him refuge. The reasons is he didn’t drive from Klang to be here or PJ, he drove from China to be here, ha, ha, ha, so I will give him refuge, not because I am the best lama but because he is sincere. So anyone else that has not taken refuge, let Su Ming know and I will consider I give you refuge tonight, I would consider. I don’t accept anyone for refuge, let me tell you why? If I have a mirror, you look at yourself would you want to take refuge with yourself, oh just kidding. Then you could put a mirror up to me, would you like to take refuge with me, yeah same thing, goes back forth these days, alright!

Now, today we are going to through the Guru Yoga. It is going to be marathon time. We are going to take a little breaks in between. The Ladrang people have worked very hard to prepare all day for you, all day, food, preparations, arrangements and they have been working very hard with me every single day, okay. So I want you to appreciate the Ladrang people. I want you to appreciate their organization that get everything together, ah, I can’t do anything without them. So I am going to go through a marathon teaching about the lineage, the benefits, the meditation on the Guru Yoga of Lama Tsongkhapa. I would also talk about the meditation of Tsongkhapa’s Guru Yoga step by step which is shiloga. Shiloga is the paragraph, step by step. And I want everybody to listen very carefully and pay attention and something that you don’t understand, write it down, you could ask afterwards, or if you forgot and you remember later, ask each other. For example, the queen of question is Sofi, she is the queen of questions, because she really wants to learn. Yeah, because she wants to learn. I asked a lot of questions when I was a kid. So what happened is if people like Sofi who really want to learn, she just drive us questions, afterwards help her, talk to her, she is very new, she is sincere, she is a kind person and all of us are here. So we help each other and learn, okay.

Ah, and then the last part is I will offer oral transmission which is, those who received it will think oh I am getting a blessing again and those who have not receive, think I will receive the seed of Lama Tsongkhapa blessing within my mind stream. And we all got the teaching from must be from a real teacher, must be from a real scripture or a real dharma text, it cannot just be pulled out the air, cannot be. So ordinary people like me must give you a lineage and tell you where it came from. That is by tradition before we start the teaching, so that you know that after three hours of teaching, oh Tara told me, you are like what! Some of you might believe me, some of you might not, but that doesn’t happened to me. Tara doesn’t talk to me.

So this lineage is, the oral transmission was given to me by his Holiness Kyabje Ling Rinpoche who was the 98th, he was one of the great throne holder of Lama Tsongkhapa which I met in Howell in New Jersey, he came to visit us. And only the oral transmission, I received the whole initiation, practice, empowerment from my root guru, His Holiness Kyabje Zong Rinpoche. That should 1989 right? 83 is it? I forgot the date. Okay, anyway this was in United States I was 18 years old. So I received the complete practice, explanation, teaching, empowerment oral transmission complete from His Holiness Kyabje Zong Rinpoche. After which a few years later I went into full retreat with tormas, offerings, mantras, meditations. So I went into full retreat and I completed the retreat. So therefore, I have received it from Zong Rinpoche and I have done the required commitments and I have done the practices.

So today what I am passing to you is from my root teacher, Kyabje Zong Rinpoche himself. And he gave these teachings in Geshe Tsultim Gyeltsen Center in Los Angeles. So my teacher, Geshe-la was there, my root teacher Kyabje Zong Rinpoche was there. So it was a very, very special occasion at that time. So today I pass this teachings to you again and especially for the pastors, be alert and aware because whatever you learned is what you should share with other people. Alright, Mahasiddha, the great Geshe Tsultim Gyeltsen for over eight years when I was in Los Angeles, I joined him when I was sixteen years old, and I lived in the dharma center. And I left when I was twenty two, twenty three for Gaden Monastery. So in Los Angeles I was so fortunate, I lived with one of the greatest living master of this century. And I received many explanations and teachings and practice of Lama Tsongkhapa from Geshe-la also, many.

One time in Los Angeles they were having an International Buddhist gathering at the University of Oriental Studies in Los Angeles. And it was quite a big hall and it was packed with couple of hundred people and there were Buddhist monks, teachers and nuns from all traditions of Buddhism, Zen, Thai, Cambodian, Burmese, all and Geshe-la was invited. It is in this book. Geshe-la was invited to represent the Tibetan tradition and I went with him. It’s just two or three of us. And when we arrived at the hall, we stayed there and we were ushered in and Geshe-la sat down with all the other dharma teachers. And I was sitting behind him, as I went as his assistant and his servant and I was very lucky. And each tradition had fifteen, twenty minutes to do a special chanting, their way, their style.

Everybody was so grand. The Chinese one they had bells, you know they chanted in unison and they have their uniforms. The Cambodian ones, the Vietnamese ones, everybody had their tradition, everybody had, the Korean ones were very elaborate. They have bells, drums, incense. They got up, they prostrated. They went down, they went up. They went down. Well I was quite arrogant. I saw that there is nothing. The Tibetan tradition is really great. Yeah you haven’t seen the tantric rituals. So I was sitting there thinking I hope Geshe-la will recite something like Yamataka. Get his bell and vajra out. You know, get his crown out and sit there and really wow the crowd and show off. I was hoping that and I was sitting next to and I was confident. Oh there is nothing. The bell shmell.

So when it came to our turn, I mean everybody really took their time and when it came to our turn, it is just me and Geshe-la. Geshe-la folded his hands. He didn’t want his ritual bell. I was like… (Rinpoche gesturing). He said, no. He didn’t want his ritual bell, nothing. He didn’t want anything special. He didn’t want to wear anything special. He just sat there. He folded his hands and he recited the Guru Yoga of Lama Tsongkhapa, slow and rhythmically and without any singing. Geshe-la has a beautiful singing voice, without singing. So I was like oh, no, oh I was really, I was thinking to myself, oh, no, and all the other people sit there like you know, that is it! And I was thinking, oh no Geshe-la please, I thought maybe it is just a preliminary, maybe after that it will recite something extensive because he had it all memorized. Oh no, he didn’t, so when he got to the second “siloca”, the second paragraph I joined him to recite with him and they gather Geshe-la. It was just about three or four of us.

I memorized it but they hadn’t. So I recited with them so Geshe-la, the whole hall is huge and Geshe-la voice is permeating, suddenly I joined in and I started chanting because we are suppose all chant together. So when I start to chanting everybody the whole audience went…(funny face), it was like I got red hair and I am wearing my jeans and I am wearing my strange clothes and I am sitting there with Geshe-la and I just look like a little weirdo, you know. I look like Julian without the cast. And everybody is looking at me and I am eighteen, seventeen, eighteen you know and I am chanting and I close my eyes I was shaking. Cos you know, please don’t let my memory… cos sometimes when you are nervous your memory failed. Things you recite everyday Mig Mey Tse Wey Ter Chen Chenrezig, when people watching you, Mig Mey, Mig Mey, Mig Mey, Mig Mey, you know because I have a big ego. When we have a big ego we get nervous so we mess up. So we sit there chanting and Geshe-la’s voice is beautiful and I was like…(singing)..I was so nervous you know but everybody looked, halfway through I calm my mind down and said you know what, I am just going to do what Geshe-la said, that is all. So we chanted and our chanting is just like seven, eight minutes and there is no ritual, no bell, no cast, no …nothing, that was it, when we finished, everybody, some people turned around and kind of like oh, ok and finish and next.

So after when we left the hall, I said to Geshe-la, everybody really had a chance to show off their traditional, you know. Do you think that we really show off? We did like a, you know, show them what how rich Tibetan is. He said, oh yes, he said what would be more profound than Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga. Everybody here got blessings of Tsongkhapa, Manjushri. Everybody got blessed with that. Everybody heard the name. Everybody heard the mantra. Everybody in the hall was blessed. How more profound is that, and I went, oh my god and I was so ashamed, I was so ashamed because you know what, Geshe didn’t go to show off like me. He didn’t go there to look good. He didn’t go there to suppress the other traditions, to make them feel we are better. He went there to participate in a genuine Buddhist event.

I went there to look good. I went there to show off. I went there to tell everybody I got the right center. I got the right guru. I got the right lineage, and hm, but at the end of the talk, it really humbled me down because I realized Geshe-la is just dharma and then the second thing I realized on that day was Tsongkhapa practice is that profound. Out of the thousands of practices that Geshe-la knows and has memorized, he memorized thousands of pages, okay, he is a scholar. He used that one. So from then I just thought, wow, you know, I am going to just follow that. Just follow that all the time. So anyway, that was a little story to tell you how Geshe-la showed me in front of so many people the profundity of the practice of Tsongkhapa.

The full lineage, the full initiation, the full oral transmission I received from His Holiness Kyabje Zong Rinpoche. Although I received some bit and bit of teachings from other teachers, the full one is from Zong Rinpoche. It was at this time, this is me and His Holiness Zong Rinpoche. It was at this time that I have received it. During this period when he visited us, he was with us for six months. I was his assistant and his attendant, his servant, his cleaner and his cook when he came to visit. I can tell you honestly, there wasn’t one time I had negative thoughts, felt lazy, felt tired, or felt that there was a lot of work to serve His Holiness Zong Rinpoche, even at the age of eighteen, not one time. I will give up everything to go back to do that again.

So for our auspicious reason I am going to give one to each of you because this is the time, this is the year that I received the teaching of Zong Rinpoche, so I am passing the teaching to you and when I pass you the teaching I am not telling you that I am holy. I am telling you I received from Zong Rinpoche therefore you can trust these teachings are excellent. This was in California. Just he and I taken the picture, I crop this so it is easier, alright so you remember you have received the Lama Tsongkhapa practice today and then I received that from Zong Rinpoche.

When I do my black tea Serkym every day, I always pray in my future life, from a very young age, I will meet my teacher again and do the dharma from a very young age. And not meet the dharma when I am thirty or forty or fifty, it’s too late already. I pray very much from I am young again like this life, I can meet the dharma. Can you imagine, I met the greatest teachers in New Jersey when there was no dharma in the west. So I feel that in my previous life, whether I am a high lama, is of no concern. But in my previous life, I feel that I served my gurus quite well that in this life, at a very young age, without wasting time I met them, at seven, eight old, can you imagined. So I pray in my future life to be the same because I don’t want to meet the dharma when I am in forty, thirty, forty, fifty, wasted so much time, make money, got married, have kids, they grow older have grand kids and get older and then difficult to practice because my body is not fit and then die. I couldn’t bear that. I couldn’t. So that is what I pray every day when I do my mantras. I can start young again. This life I am fine, this life nothing will deter me or take me away, or make me down or push me away from dharma, nothing.

Not my parents, not my friends, not my peers, no one can deter me from the dharma. No one can move my mind since I left home at fifteen till now. I am forty- six, forty-seven, no one can deter me from the dharma. And from now to the rest of my life, no one can deter me from the dharma. There will be no time say oh, dharma is good, no good maybe I am wasting anytime, never. My mind is very firm. This must be because of my previous life practice. I am not showing off, cause and effect and so nothing in this life will deter me ever. And the third thing is nothing in this life will deter me for developing more selflessness or less selfishness, I will keep practicing to become more and more daily, always. These are the three things that I will do, always. Developing your mind, you carry with you in this life and future lives. So if your dharma is unstable, your practice is unstable, the solution is not to make it less is to do more. That is the solution. Whatever instability you feel in your mind comes very clearly from lack of practice, lack of transformation, lack of genuine transformation on a deeper level.

That’s everyone, me, you. So therefore if you have doubts, you have problems, your mind goes up and down, instead of straying away from the dharma, to say oh I have to do business, oh I have to make money, I have to take care of my parents, those are all excuses. In fact if you met dharma late, you should do double now because time is short. People who are twenty years old passed away. People who are thirty years old passed away. People who are eighty years old passed away. After fifty, sixty, sixty, seventy, how much dharma you think you can do. How strong do you think your body will be? How alert will your mind be. Some people are very alert when they are older. Some people are very fit. There is always exception of course. How much dharma do you think you could do after sixty? Don’t think I make money, money, money and then when I am fifty, I am forty, fifty, sixty I’ll do dharma. It will never be. Why? Check yourself now to see how much dharma you do. If you do very little now, why do you think you will do more in ten years. If you do very little now, and you think you will do more in ten years time, then you are opposite of karma. Why? If you do that now you create the karma to do more ten years.

If in my previous life I didn’t practice dharma, I don’t think at this age in this life at a very young age I will practice dharma. I am not telling you I am attained or I am a high lama or I am so great. I am just telling you I have a great interest in dharma and trust it came from another life, same for the rest of you. So therefore if you think you gonna practice dharma when you are fifty, sixty, seventy, no. If you are doing dharma work, do double and triple now. Do not be attached to sleep, family, comforts, health, don’t. When they put you inside that coffin, you can sleep, don’t. Catch up now. Do more dharma now. Practise now. Practise for yourself. Practise for your brothers and sisters. Practise for your mother and father. Practise for your husband and wife. Practise for your children. Practise for your friends. Practise for everyone. Why? Because if you become better, you will benefit everyone around you. Now is the time to do more dharma. Now is the time. There is no other time so if you say I will do it later it is not possible. Why? It is like saying I am not going to plant the apple tree but I will pluck the apple later, I don’t have time. If you don’t plant the tree, how will you have apple later. If you don’t do more dharma now, how do you do later. Then some people think I’ll leave it for next life, no. If you are going to leave it for next life, it is pretty much that you are going to leave it, you won’t do it in next life. You will not do it in next life. You don’t have control of your next life, you don’t where you are going to be in next life.

Now, now go all the way. It is better to live a few years practising the dharma and dying doing the dharma, than to live a long life very little dharma or no dharma. Think about it. So don’t be attached to your health. Take care of it. Don’t use that. Don’t be attached means use that as an excuse. Don’t be attached to your family, because the family will never end. Don’t be attached to your creature comforts, none of that you know why? All that will not matter at all. Do dharma work now, double, triple, quadruple, how can I do so much, of course you could do so much, look what you could do now compare to what you can do twenty years ago as a child, thirty years ago. Of course you can do more. It’s only the will. It is very important. If people protest against you, your partner, your parents to do dharma, I am so sorry. Sometime we just have to make a difficult choice, just like what Buddha did when he left his family.

I love my mother, just like you do. And when I left I broke her heart. But if I didn’t leave and break her heart, we will not be here today. So that is the pain that I have to endure in order to bring dharma to others, and when I went to receive the dharma teachings, I lied every single day for years. Because if my mother knew I was going to dharma teachings she will be very ferocious, very angry because she wanted me to have a good life, to get married, to have kids, to go to college, to earn money because that was what she left her country for to America to live the American dream. She didn’t leave America. She didn’t leave her country to America to watch her son to become a monk because to her, a monk is suffering, loneliness, because she doesn’t know dharma. I don’t resent her. I don’t think anything bad against her. I missed her. And I wish I could have talk to her. And that’s all I can do. I needed to do what my heart told me to go and pursue dharma. So I left when I was fifteen with a lot of sadness, with a lot of tears. I never spoke to my mother ever again because she didn’t want to speak to me anymore. So I didn’t speak to my mother for twenty years, thirty years till she died, at all because she didn’t want to talk to me. She didn’t want to see me in robes. She doesn’t want to. She called up my gurus and cursed them and reported them to the police, reported them to immigration, to said that, they are taking their son away by saying wrong things to me, which wasn’t true. My gurus never fought back with my mother in New Jersey, never, never.

So but if I didn’t do all that, I won’t be here today. There will be no Kechara. I won’t have served Gaden. I won’t have met Zong Rinpoche. I will be a middle age old man now, married, with some ugly little kids, putting them to school, doing some business and then get and dying. Oh my God! Thank God! Thank Buddha that didn’t happen. Just imagined I will be a middle age man now in America, fat, just having some kids, eating, going on vacations, you know that fat American, eating hamburgers and French fries, watching ridiculous TV shows, hoping that when I go to Mc Donald, no one comes in with shotgun and shoot me because they are unhappy. That is very common in America. Just think I was just, oh my god I would have been you, I would have been Henry Ooi. I would have been K.H. Ng, not that they are so bad. I would have been Eric Choong. Seriously speaking, imagine that I have done that, imagine me with some hair, with a shirt on, sitting somewhere in America watching TV, drinking beer.

I did something right. And I am sorry to have hurt my mother, I am sorry. But I have no choice. It’s either pick her and sacrifice my spiritual practice, and Gaden and meditation and my monkhood, because if my mother want, she and I both would have lost. Because she would be the cause for me not to become a monk, cause for me not to do dharma, cause for me to go to three lower realms. She and I both will suffer. Not that she is a bad person, she doesn’t know. Anyone that stops us from doing the dharma, whoever they are, create heavy negative karma, Heavy! Heavy! I am not close to my dad at all. And he is another story but I am very close to my mom. I respect her to the day I left till now, very much. You are not going to get a better mom like my mom. What can I do? When she was well, she was not well most of the time, my point here is I am not telling you to run away from home, or go against your family. I am not saying that. I am saying that dharma practice is never easy because you are going towards something very high. You want to open up a small sundry shop and sell a few drinks, very easy.

You want to open up Jaya Jusco or Takyeshimaya, how hard is that. So the bigger the goal the more you have to endure. Tahan. Alright, so I do not mean any disrespect to my mother, no. And I am so sorry to hurt her, but I have to be a monk. I have to study the dharma. I have to go to India. I have to meet my gurus, I have to live and use my life for the dharma, I have to. This came from inside of me, no one told me. I had to. Because I looked at my parents and I looked at their friends, I looked at my neighbours. I look at my friends and parents and I said I don’t want to grow up to be them. I am so sorry, no offence. So that is why in this life nothing will deterred me, nothing. I will go all the way. I haven’t reach my goal yet, but I will.

Now, the Guru Yoga of Lama Tsongkhapa, or the practice of Lama Tsongkhapa has many lineages, many, many lineages because it is quite wide spread. But the lineage we are going to focus on, the one that I received from Kybje Zong Rinpoche is Segyu Lineage. Se is a place in Tibet near the Panchen Lama monastery at Tashilhunpo , Se Gyu means lineage. So Segyu is the lineage from this area in Tibet because most of the lamas who were lineage holders came from that area of Tibet, from Se area. The original teaching comes… the original name of this is called The Hundreds of Deities of The Joyful Land. The Hundreds of Deities of the Joyful Land or in Tibetan: Gaden Lha Gyäma. Gaden Lha Gyäma is translated as The Hundreds of Deities of the Joyful Land. Hundreds of Deities means there are many Buddhas and Bodhisattvas there. The Land of Joy refers to Tushita, okay?

Tushita is the divine residence, paradise, shamkiang of Maitreya Buddha. And the lord of Tushita is Maitreya Buddha himself, okay? So Lama Tsongkhapa’s meditation, from the first line you are visualising him coming from the Lord of the Joyful Land that has Hundreds of Deities. So the Lord or the Protector of that land is Maitreya. What does Maitreya protect us from; going to the three lower realms because we develop great love when we practice Maitreya Buddha. Maitre; that is the name. Maitreya great love, Maitre. So because Lama Tsongkhapa emanates from Gaden Heaven or Tushita, Tushita is Gaden, Gaden Tushita same, Gaden Tushita same. So because he comes from there, it is called the Hundred of Deities of the Joyful Land. So in short, we are going to make it even shorter, and sweeter, we just called it Tsongkhapa Yoga. Tsongkhapa practice, that’s all. We don’t need all these long names, but if you want to know more, you don’t have to write a lot. It’s all here; all in this little comprehensive book. Everyone who is serious about getting somewhere in their practice, should read this book twice a year. Everyone who is serious about their practice should read this book twice a year. Okay, if you read this book thoroughly twice a year, you will refresh your memory.

Now, it came from the Buddha Manjushri who taught the Guru Yoga, in its set of scriptures called the Emanation Scriptures. He taught the teachings directly to Lama Tsongkhapa. Lama Tsongkhapa extracted these teachings which he received from Manjushri and passed it to his disciples, and that is on page five. I don’t know the Chinese one though. Maybe we should get Chinese book and help me to coordinate. So he passed it to his students Je Sherab Senge and then this was passed down to Pelden Sangpo. Pelden Sangpo was the first one to write this down. Okay, after that was passed to Gyuchen Gendunpai then was passed to Gyuchen Tashipa, the great lama, then to Je Samdrub Gyatso, then to Tsondrupa, then Dorje Sangpo, then Khedrup Sangye Gyatso. Then it was passed down to Kyabje Pabongka Dorje Chang, Kyabje Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo. Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche, Pabongka Rinpoche and Dechen Nyingpo is the same, Dechen Nyingpo is his monk name. Kyabje Pabongka is his title, so Kyabje Pabongka. So my name is Tsem Rinpoche, but my monk name is Tenzin Soba, okay. So you can called me Tsem Rinpoche, Tenzin Soba, same thing here, Pabongka Rinpoche Dechen Nyingpo, okay, Dechen Nyingpo was his name, he is very famous for that. Then was passed down to his disciples Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche, this was passed down to his disciple, Kyabje Zong Rinpoche.

And I received it from His Holiness Kyabje Zong Rinpoche. And today I am sharing it and passing it down to all of you. So where these teachings came from, there’s a clear lineage. Okay, so you don’t have to tell people oh, Rinpoche had a vision and he received it in a vision, no you say Rinpoche received it from Zong Rinpoche. Zong Rinpoche received it from Trijang Rinpoche, and so on, so on. So you are very confident where your teachings come , so when you do your meditation and practice, you pray to Tsongkhapa, when you have Tsongkhapa image, when you talk about Tsongkhapa and mantra, you have confidence. Because it came from somewhere clean and clear, no doubt. Page Nineteen on the English book, Chinese? Nineteen? During the time of Lord Buddha, Lama Tsongkhapa was born as a Brahmin, the son of a Brahmin. But Buddha already saw that this person was not an ordinary being, he was already a Bodhisattva, not enlightened yet but a high level Bodhisattva. When Lama Tsongkhapa at that time in the form of a Brahmin saw the Buddha he went up to him, made a prayer and offered a crystal rosary. When he offered the crystal rosary, Buddha placed both of his golden hands at Lama Tsongkhapa’s head at that time and said after I passed away and my pure doctrine is absent you will appear as a ordinary being, performing the deeds of a Buddha and establishing the Joyful Land the great protector in the land of the snow. So in the root tantra of Manjushri, Buddha made a direct prediction to Lama Tsongkhapa, in the future to the north, Tibet is north of India, when my teachings have gone down, you will be born in the form of an ordinary person, studied and practised and you will bring the teachings up again. Buddha made that direct prophecy.

So Lama Tsongkhapa is already mentioned before he was born. Buddhism has its own Messiah. It has its own prophet and has its own predictions of high lama to come, it just that the western world doesn’t know about it. So Lama Tsongkhapa was already predicted and you have to understand, the scripture that was written, the root tantra of Manjushri is already twenty five hundred years old. So if you look at it, it talked about the coming of this being. It talked about a coming of this being and it mentioned that the Buddha mentioned that he will establish the monastery with the name “Ge”, meaning virtue between the area of Dri and Den which is not far from Lhasa. And then it became Gaden, The Virtuous Ones. So the Buddha mentioned in the Manjushri tantra clearly, the place, the time, the area and the name of this monk and the monk name is Sumati Kirti. Of course Buddha spoke Sanskrit so Sumati Kirti in the root tantra of Manjushri translates as Losang Drakpa.

MIG MEY TZE WEY TER CHEN CHENREZIG,

DRI MEY KHYEN PI WANG PO JAMPAL YANG,

DU PUNG MA LU JOM DZEY SANG WEY DAG,

GANG CHEN KE PEY TSUG GYEN TSONGKHAPA,

LO SANG TRAG PEY SHAB LA SOL WA DEB.

So Lama Tsongkhapa’s name was predicted by Buddha, the place, the monastery, when and the time. And remember, let me reiterate okay. The Manjushri Tantric scriptures are twenty five hundred years old. It is not something written up after Tsongkhapa appeared. It was existing long. How do we know because we have other lamas, other lineage lamas talking about this tantra way before Tsongkhapa already. So it is already written, so Lama Tsongkhapa was predicted by Shakyamuni himself. So when you pray to Lama Tsongkhapa, you should never think you are in the presence of an ordinary being or an ordinary Bodhisattva. He is predicted by the king himself, Sakyamuni. That you must be clear, so if you wear, if you have a Tsongkhapa statue, you wear a Tsongkhapa pendant, you recite Tsongkhapa mantra, you should think, I am reciting a Buddha’s mantra, no doubt. And all the great masters; Zong Rinpoche, Trijang Rinpoche, my goodness Geshe Tsultim Gyeltsen; all of them came from Gaden Monastery, built by Tsongkhapa, predicted by Shakyamuni. Can you imagine that? Shakyamuni predicted Tsongkhapa coming and even the monastery he is going to build, even Tsongkhapa’s name, the place, the location, the time clearly in his prediction.

And after he predicted, it came as was predicted in these scriptures and I am from that monastery and the lineage that you are receiving is from that monastery. So right now you have the direct connection to Buddha Shakyamuni. So you should feel how fortunate I am. So that is why Geshe Tsultim Gyeltsen used to said, to see Tsongkhapa, to hear Tsongkhapa, to even mention his name, is a huge blessing and purify our negative karma. You are very fortunate. And all these practices like Vajrayogini and all that, Tsongkhapa clarified, he taught, he explained, the practices that we practice in our lineage are all hand pick by Lama Tsongkhapa himself. We don’t practise anything in the Gaden School, Gelugpa School not picked by Tsongkhapa for enlightenment, even Vajrayogini behind us, is picked. Vayrayogini appeared to Tsongkhapa all the time talked to him. So everything within our Gaden School was hands picked by Lama Tsongkhapa and Lama Tsongkhapa was predicted by Shakyamuni. I need you to let that go in and realize how great this is.

All of you should have a large statue of Tsongkhapa in your house. You know why? Because you are not monks and nuns. Because you are not monks and nuns you should have a big status. Why? To collect more merit. If you are monk and nun you collect merit by holding your vows. As a lay person, you make offering, create altar, create dharma book as the way you created, even a percentage of your earnings every month you should set aside for dharma work. Why? Put your money where your mouth is, a percentage of your earning should put away for dharma work, just spread the dharma. Why? Because you are not monks and nuns. Monks and nuns collect merits by study dharma, meditating, teaching, practising, holding their vows. Lay people, they work, they have family, they should put a percentage, whether the percentage is one dollar a month, one thousand a month, ten thousand a month, it doesn’t matter. Every month consistently you should do that. Putting aside money to do dharma work, for the donation of dharma is more important than paying your commitments. Let me tell you why? You pay your commitments, pay your car, pay your house, pay your card, good do it, but if you die today that doesn’t help you. But if you put your money away, every month toward the dharma, a small percentage you commit, you don’t show off, if you die, if you have helped the dharma centre or dharma for twelve months, those twelve months of donations to dharma will help you at the time of death.

You think about that. Whether people believe or not it doesn’t matter. So as lay people you should have big statues. You should make sure everybody has statues, promote books, make sure your dharma center survives. Make sure all of that, why if you don’t commit, who will commit. So as lay people you should put a part of yourself away, a part of your earnings to the dharma to keep it floating. And if you are very poor, offer a loaf of bread. When there is a puja in Shabten Khang, go there, offer some tea, buy some nasi lemak, vegetarian one, and offer to them. Any small thing can offer but not once or twice, consistently. And when you offer every month, or you offer to others or you offer to dharma, please don’t wait for a gift or acknowledgement or a card or flowers or thank you. Do you know why? That is not dharma. Offer quietly and from your heart. Because you are lay people. And it will be good for you when you died. Please excuse me for saying so, but there is the truth.

We have Kechara because of donations. We have over a hundred and sixteen staffs because of donations. We have thirteen departments because of donations. You can receive teachings today because of donations. This house was lent to me to use because of donations. I don’t own this place. No. The air-con and the electricity and the all the utilities, facilities are from donations. I am so fat because of donations. One of my food sponsor is right here, she never give me money, but it is just fine, she gave me lots of food, thank you. And this beautiful lady comes in once a week to cook for us to make sure we are okay. Therefore if you can’t donate money, donate services. And don’t expect something to get back. When you do dharma, you never get anything back.

Let me read you something from a living Bodhisattva, Mother Teresa. “People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered, forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people accuse you of being selfish and having ulterior bad motives, be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true friends, succeed anyway. If you are honest and frank, people will cheat you, be honest and frank anyway. What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight, build anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, others may be jealous, be happy anyway. The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow, they forget what you did today, do good anyway. Give the world your best anyway.” You see, because in the final analysis, in the final end, it was never about you and them, it is about you and God. So it’s never about them so doesn’t matter what they do to you, make sense. So let me adjust this one. In the final analysis, it is between me and Buddha. It was never between me and them anyway. Strange that Christianity and Buddhism sound so similar. But a fake Buddhist and a fake Christian sound very different, but the real Christian and real Buddhist sound very similar, strange! I keep this next to my bed and my desk and I read them every day.

Because Mother Teresa, Lama Tsongkhapa, Dalai Lama, Panchen Lama, they are all good people and they have some wisdoms and I like it. I love it. People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered, forgive them anyway. Sound like what Shantideva tells us, whenever I associate with others, may I think myself the lowest among all, and hold others supreme and dear to my heart. When others out of jealousy treat you with abuse, slander and so on, may I suffer the defeat and offer the victory to others, wow, the Eight Verses of Thought Transformation. Also Guru Rinpoche himself, the great Padmasambhava, who brought Buddhism to Tibet predicted Lama Tsongkhapa’s coming, it is in that chapter of the book, please read it. Next, we will talk about the benefits of Lama Tsongkhapa’s practice after we have a very quiet 10 minutes break.

In between teaching every time we have a break, we offer Mandala to your teacher and done you don’t have to make prostration. And after teaching finished, we make prostration to our teacher.

Why? The more we prostrate to our teacher from our hearts, the more humble and our ego suppressed and we do a final dedication, alright, that is the usual procedure. And when you prostrate to your teacher , you should think, he teaches you knowledge and wisdom, I offer my body, speech and mind to you, may I have your qualities of perseverance of the six paramitas, so that I can benefit to others, so I prostrate to you while I visualize Lama Tsongkhapa presence. So we should think like that all the way. But this is a non-Tibetan environment, so you don’t have to be that official. Just let you know, usually when the teacher come you make prostration, when there is sponsor for the teaching, teaching are given so sponsors will come out to make offering, offering khatas, offering ang pow, offering goods or whatever and then everybody prostrate and sit down, we chanting prayers and mandala offering in between teaching and before teaching, because sometime our mind wonders and mandala offering give you merit, just like taking chocolate and then your mind refresh.

At the last part of teaching you also offer mandala and then you prostrate. If you are leaving, you will not be seeing your teacher for a while, you do not prostrate. Why? It’s a symbolism that you won’t meet your teacher again. You don’t prostrate. If you are in this area and living here, you can prostrate. If you are going away far, you don’t prostrate to your teacher. Therefore some of you who will receiving teachings from me but I am not your teacher, when you prostrate, you visualize your own teacher, that is the ego center practice, it doesn’t have to be me. So when you prostrate, you prostrate to your own teacher, you prostrate to Buddha statue, everybody understand?

Benefits of Lama Tsongkhapa’s practice page fifty four. Section by section I am not going to go into very detail because it is in the book and I recommend you guys to read, alright. But I am already giving you enough to answer some questions. Okay having said that up to this point, questions? (question: Please explain the Ensa’s ear whisper lineage and why is it secret?) It is secret because it is secret for people who are not qualify. (Question : what does Ensa means?) Ensa is the name of the great master, Ensapa. (Question: What is ear whisper?) Ear meaning it is not written down, it is mouth to ear, mouth to ear. It is not allowed to be written down.

There are some practices, you give to very high level students, if you give to students who are sleepy cannot remember, late, cannot follow instructions, you never give them ear whisper lineage. Students with the highest quality, there are some teachings you give that you never write down. For example, I have a meditation that was given to me you are not allowed to write down. It is to lessen anger. So if you do this every day for ten, fifteen minutes, you anger will lessen. Real anger will lessen. But this is only for very qualified students. If I give this to people who lose faith, who don’t do dharma, who are lazy, make excuses, I will break my commitment, I will lose the lineage. So that is the ear whisper lineage. What is ear whisper, ear whisper means from teacher to disciple, mouth to ear, mouth to ear. Cannot be written down. There is some tantric meditations you don’t write down, why? If done incorrectly, it can be damaging. So the teacher only gives to very qualified people, okay!

Ensa is a great master called Ensapa, who is the master of the ear whisper lineage which means he has many practices, that are not allowed to be written down, pass from teacher to the disciple. Ok? For example, Kybje Zong Rinpoche gave us some ears whisper lineages on the meditation of Tara, you don’t write down. He tells you from mouth to ear. You memorised and you do it every single day. I have done it every day for the last twenty five year, without breaking. Those meditation are more powerful to gain result faster but also are more dangerous if you are not qualified. Some of these practices, let say instead of doing it for thirty, forty year, you do it for five six year, you get the result. So the ear whisper lineage or the secret practices that are not written down are very powerful. The reason that it is not written down is so that unqualified people can never get them. If you push yourselves to get those teachings, you will transform. If you say oh I cannot, I am not qualify, you will not transform. Even trying to get those teaching is worth it because it pushes you to transform. (Question) Lama Tsongkhapa’s practice can be practiced without initiation, so that one is a lighter form, easier form and simpler form. With initiation, is a higher form, a quicker form and more effective form. But with initiation is for students who can hold commitments.

For example, those who push themselves more and do more, can get teachings that excel faster. Why? Because they want it by showing their actions, they push themselves to be ready for it. The one who always say cannot, cannot, cannot, they cannot. Then you take many lifetimes to gain attainment, many lifetimes. Even in between lifetime become animal or ghost, a lot of interruption in between. The more you say you cannot do, the more you say you cannot change, the longer your rebirth in the three lower realms. Why? Because the more attach you are, the attachment to the objects create the karma to come back to be attached again, come back again to be attached, come back again to be attached, so you never cut if off. So you are attach to money, money, money, making money, saving money, getting money, money, and all the things want, you come back as a ghost. You attach to your comfort, oh I cannot do this up to nine o’clock, I cannot push I got sick, oh I don’t like this, I am not comfortable, I cannot this, you come back as a animal.

The worst thing to say for true Buddhist. The worst, the worst resolution, the worst thing to say, the worst thing to resign yourself to believe is I do it in my next life. That is the worst, why? Because you have no control of your next life. So you are just using that as an excuse to people who don’t understand more. It’s not like food, or clothes or a boyfriend, or a husband or a wife or fun that you can do it in your next life. Next life definitely you are going to come across food again, if you are lucky, you are to come across another monster husband, another monster wife, another monster kids, another monster parents, you will come across that again and again. Why? Because your whole life create the karma to come across because that you have been doing the whole life. So if you say next life I am going to do dharma and you give up now or you do very little and you use that as an excuse, why do you think you will do dharma in your next life.

Impossible, impossible, and every day you waste your time is one day less you have to transform, and one day closer to your death. And when you die it’s never over. It becomes worst, unless you don’t believe in the Buddha’s teachings, then we have nothing to talk about.

It becomes worst after you die. Why it is becomes worst? Because you get older you become worst already, more lazy, more sleepy, more fat, more cannot, more restrictions, more greed, becomes more some people. So when you get older you become more lazy, more sleepy, more attached, more un-alert, more sick, more unhappy, why do you think when you die, you see more sick, more lazy, more unhappy is a mind stream, you die and you come back with the same mind. So why is it next life you are happy again, you are okay again, everything is perfect. This mind and this mind connects, it is just a different body. So you are very attached to money, that’s all you care about, you don’t care about anything, just money, money, money, when you die is the same mind stream with attachment, and all the time you waste in making money, only money nothing but money, and the motivation is for fun, not for something good, if you make money for something good, like for Aids, for leprosy, that is very good, that is beautiful but if it is just me, me, me, me, me or using it as an excuse just me, me, me, me, me, then in your next life when you come back is the same mind, money, money, money, money. So if you cannot come across the body, you may retake as a spirit. Why do spirit always stay in one place or repeat the action. Oh I afraid of ghost, oh you are afraid of ghost . But if you think about it carefully what do ghost do, they relive their attachments over and over for hundreds of years. So they are attached to boy, they follow the boy, or they stay with and lost the boy. They attach to girl, they stay with and lost the girl. Or they had an accident and they are very angry, they had the accident again, you see them having accident. Sometime they come with no head, sometime they come no arm, sometime bloody, they come to you what happened to them last . They relieved over for hundreds of years.

If you are very smart, you will make yourself transform now. If you are very dumb and you think you can fool karma then you don’t transform. Very simple, you don’t transform. And you have Kechara, you have your teacher, you have your dharma teachings, you have Lama Tsongkhapa, you have your dharma brothers and sisters, you have the departments, you have ever thing here to support you, and if there is still not enough, then next life what is going to be enough! You have everything now. Everything. So have to think very carefully. And you should think right now, how come I am so lucky. What did I do in my previous life Ito be in this room now. Why am I so lucky. I am in front of my teacher, he doesn’t want anything from me, he doesn’t charge me. In foreign countries in America, a dharma talk is three hundred dollars US. Every dharma centers charges, is that correct, Metok? And I lot of people cannot afford it isn’t it, they don’t go. Forty dollar for one question they charge you. That is in Los Angeles right? So if you ask a dharma question forty US dollars per question. You owe me some money! I got eighty US already, more questions? It is not a joke, Europe, America, South America every dharma talk is charged and questions are charged, entrance fees is charged because they don’t have the tradition to donate like Chinese, so they cannot sustain the dharma center.

You don’t know how lucky you are. Here the dharma talk is free, the translator is free, the air con is free, even food and drink provided for you, even comfortable place. And if you still don’t want to help Kechara and then go to America and learn dharma. I am not being difficult. I am telling you the truth. One question forty dollars. We have another friend in America who wishes to go to some high lama’s teachings. He is his Guru. He lives very nearby. He didn’t go because he cannot afford three hundred dollars, he told us. Three hundred is it? He couldn’t afford three hundred. There is no free dharma teachings in Europe or in America. You get it all for free here. That is how easy every thing is here. So why am I telling you that, appreciate the dharma by practicing , appreciate the dharma by transforming, appreciate the dharma by helping, appreciate the dharma. And I am not talking just for Kecharians, I am on film, it will be on all over, everybody see, thousands of people see it. And I am talking for people for their own center too, for their own places too, not just me, I am not special, everywhere.

I know that because I am from the US and every single dharma talk is charged, everything. Every book, every printout, every picture is charged, everything. Because they have to sustain it, it’s very high cost, it’s very high cost. But Geshe Tsultim Gyeltsenwhen I was studied there he was extremely poor, but his students still has to charge for teaching to maintain the center, he himself got nothing. He was very, very poor. So they did charged because he is making money, no, no! Geshe-la never make money. I saw because I lived with Geshe-la eight years, I saw. Geshe-la used to take the bus back and forth.

When I first arrived here about ten fifteen year back, I used to walk everywhere. I used to lived on Kampung Kerinchi, I used to lived there in a small little apartment supported by Henry, who used to sell flea market for me and I had to go to mid-valley to go shopping. So I used to walk. So ten years back in Malaysia, twelve years back from Kampung Kerinchi, I walked across the highway, you know three lanes or whatever you know, I have to walk across walk to mid-valley, sometimes in the rain. I walked many times because I don’t have money in Malaysia, no support, no one to help. I had to endure a lot of poverty in America when I first came, ah, not in America, here in Malaysia.

I am not complaining, but that is how it is. A lot. I walked all over KL. Taxi, you know Malaysian taxi, cannot, cannot, cannot, cannot, cannot, don’t want to go. Lunch, Hari Raya, holiday, sleeping, take a nap time, don’t want to go, on the way home, don’t know how to go. Most of the time don’t know how to go. You know Malaysian taxi, even to earn money, they didn’t know how to go. Sometime very urgent, yes, I used to take LRT, I took it once, but I cannot find my way because LRT always dropped you somewhere even further. Oh, it is not easy at all. It is just the last five, six years I have some sponsorship and some help. Before that I struggled a lot in Malaysia. A lot. That’s why the few liaisons, the older are very close to me, I am close to them not because it’s a private club, I am close to them because they supported me when I have nothing, they had nothing and we worked together. That is right. So I am not close to older liasons ah, some will say, oh, it is a private club, Rinpoche only allow these people who is close to him. No, no, because they were there when I have nothing and they went all the way, they didn’t make excuses. So I am very touched and appreciative to them.

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All About Tsongkhapa, and the benefits of his practice! Part 2

Transript by Angeline Seow and Adrin, Proof Read By May Ong

We go to page 54. We can talk about the benefits of Lama Tsongkhapa’s practice. OK. When we do Lama Tsongkhapa practice, we can definitely get protection from spirit harm. Definitely. Some of us are more sensitive. We see spirits. Some of us are scared because we go to places that have spirits. Some of the spirits are not harmful. Some are harmful. Some are neutral. Some are nice. Some become harmful. Some become nice. They’re just like people. Many different personalities. All right. But definitely Lama Tsongkhapa’s practice can protect you from spirits. There’s no doubt. If Dukkar, Vajrayogini can protect you, why not Tsongkhapa. Why not? So Tsongkhapa’s practice is profound for protecting you, us, me from spirits. And Lama Tsongkhapa’s practice will give you 7 different types of wisdom. 7 types of wisdom, we’ll talk about it a later on. Next one is, we can definitely gain compassion from doing Lama Tsongkhapa’s practice. What is compassion? Compassion is this: compassion is when you do more for others and you don’t put your burden for others. Then Lama Tsongkhapa will give you spiritual power. What spiritual power? When you talk, it has power. It has convincing power. How many of us talk but it’s so hard to convince the other person? What does that mean? We don’t have spiritual power. Spiritual charisma. Why is that? Because we don’t have integrity. What we say, we don’t do. What we say, we don’t do. What we do is not what we say. So when we don’t have integrity, we don’t have spiritual power.

Lama Tsongkhapa can help us with that because it stabilizes our mind, that helps us to remember what we promise. The most important thing when we are in a Dharma organization and we wish to grow, the most important thing is integrity. To do what you promise. If you always have to be reminded, then the karma is heavier. Why? Because you’re breaking your oaths and your promises to the Three Jewels. Heavier. All right. So you think “Well, then I won’t take any oaths and promises.” Then you take another 30,000 lifetimes to get Enlightened. Much longer. No risk no gain. No pain no gain. No pain no gain. Very simple. It applies to Dharma too. Then you have Great Blessings. Why do you have great blessings? What is a blessing? A blessing is when you do the practice and it opens up the seeds from your previous lives that you’ve planted. Even the seed is very small, it’ll still open up. Better a small seed open than no seeds open. And well, some of you might say, for 40 dollars a question, “What happen? Do we all have seeds?” Definitely. You can have seeds from last year, when we met and we had Dharma. You have seeds from going to Kechara and seeing Lama Tsongkhapa. You have seeds from coming to your Guru’s house. Every time you see your Guru, you plant powerful seeds. Every time you think about your Guru, with reverence and faith, you plant powerful seeds. Every time you donate for Dharma cause, you plant powerful seeds. So which of us in this room doesn’t have seeds? It’s whether we cultivate it or not. So how to cultivate it? By doing our sadhana every day. Young and old. You do it every day, the blessings come. When the blessings come, the seeds open. When the seeds open, your mind becomes more stable. More focus. More easy to do. So it’s very important.

The pain that comes from practising Dharma doesn’t come from Dharma. It comes from your attachments. Laziness. Selfishness. Greed. Excuses. Lack of integrity. Lying. Don’t care about others. That’s what makes you suffer. That’s what gives you the pain. So of course if you practice Dharma with those qualities, you’re going to be in a lot of pain. Why? When you’re sick and they apply medicine, it’s very painful. If Carmen sees a treadmill and goes on it, it doesn’t create her any pain. If I go on the treadmill and I see it, it’s a lot of pain. The treadmill didn’t create any pain for me. My fat created the pain for me. So, visualise me, Lew, Yik Ming, Datin Jennifer – we’re called the Fat Brigade. And then, throw in Metok. We’re the Fat Brigade. If you show us treadmill, before we get on, already painful. Even when we think about it, already painful. Now you get Freon, then you get Freon, Joe Ang, Jean Mei, Carmen, Karen – that’s the Fit Brigade. And they see the treadmill, nothing what. No problem. Nothing at all.

So if we say the treadmill gives us pain, everybody laughing. So, if I’m lazy, sneaky, greedy, no integrity, playful, irresponsible: Oh, the Dharma very painful, very painful Dharma. And if we meet a Guru, aiyoh! Better learn off the Internet. Cause through the Internet, you don’t get Enlightened. You just learn a little Dharma, you eat your potato chips and relax. With the Guru? If the Guru real, oh very painful. Very painful. Some people run away from the Guru. They give their resignation letters. They resign. Bye-bye! I cannot stay up late. I cannot do this. I cannot do that. Goodbye. Bye-bye! You’re the object of my pain. But if you think about it clearly, you came to me like that. I didn’t give you the pain. Kechara or Dharma didn’t give you the pain. You came like that. So if you think the Dharma or your Guru give you the pain, in fact, the Dharma is taking away your pain. So the process is painful. In fact. For some of us sit here a few hours listen to Dharma, very painful. But if we sit in a restaurant, in a pub, in a car, and spend 6, 7 hours with a pretty girl, no pain at all. No pain. In fact, knees very fit. No problem at all. Yeah, so how come. It’s not the girl or Dharma, it’s our mind. So for business, to make money, maybe have a business partner, or an investor, talk a lot, smoke, drink, spit, don’t care, no integrity, ugly and mean, and always scream at you, fight, trick you. But you keep quiet … tahan … so you can make money right. But if your Guru tells you a little bit, you run. You give me a resignation letter. How come?

These days, there’s a new phenomenon I saw on the Internet. Also here. New phenomenon. If you’re push beyond your comfort zone by your Guru, you give a resignation letter. I saw that on the Internet in other centres too. And the many years your teacher gave you Dharma talk, the many years he give you initiation and love and care and advice, it’s all gone, forgotten. Doesn’t matter anymore. Then what Dharma practice are we doing? That’s a very big obstacle. Comfort zone. Comfort zone arises from selfish mind. For me to be more comfortable, how much you need me it doesn’t matter. As long as I’m comfortable, I don’t care how much you need me. And if we’re liaisons, staffs, students, pastors, department heads, we have a wonderful opportunity because we took a special vow with our Teacher with refuge, with our liaisons’ vows, our pastor’s vows, that we got this position in order to fight our own selfishness. To serve others. Serving others is only hard when we’re selfish. When we’re selfish, we create circumstances for us to become unhappy and people around us be unhappy. The result of selfishness is unhappiness.

So I’m a monk. Did Buddha make me suffer because I can’t do many things you can do? I can’t do many things you can do. So is this making me suffer? I’m not suffering. No problems. I will never disrobe. So did Buddha make me suffer? So we put this on you, will you suffer? Who made you suffer? You or Buddha? Now you think. That’s how our mind works. When we run away from our Guru, it’s the same as running away from the Buddha. Same. Unless you have special psychic powers you can talk to Buddha directly. So if you can talk to the Buddha directly, of course you can bypass your Guru. But for me, for me, I have no such powers. So I respect my Gurus very much cause they give me the Dharma. They teach me my mind. They let me know what I should improve so that I can avoid suffering.

Even Kuanyin Pusa keeps her Guru in her head. Even though she’s a Buddha already, she keeps Amitabha in her hair. Always. Even Yamantaka keeps Akshobhya in his hair. Oh yes. And they’re already Buddhas. So when we run away from our Guru, we run away from the Buddha. It’s very simple. And if we run away to another Guru who makes our life easy and makes things simple and doesn’t push us, is it a real Guru? A Guru’s job is to identify your ego, and what makes you suffer and makes you not suffer and with various means and skilful methods, to bring that to you so that you can transform. That is the real job of the Guru. The respect we show our Guru, the respect is the developing of the discipline within our mind. We can think about all that. Is it fanatical or crazy? Think if it’s logical or not? If it’s useful, do it.

So therefore the Dharma doesn’t make us suffer. The Guru doesn’t make us suffer. Buddha doesn’t make us suffer. Lamrim doesn’t make us suffer. Not knowing the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha is what makes us suffer. That’s what we must think carefully. So therefore in Buddhism, it’s about transforming our mind, not just asking an outer saviour to save us. We can do anything we want and just ask him to save us. That’s not what Buddhism is about. If an external outer saviour can save us, there should be no problems on Planet Earth. None. But if we pray to an external outer saviour, we can ask the saviour in our mind to bless us. But we still gotta do the work and transform. We don’t simply just stop there and say “We’ve been blessed. We’ve been baptised to be blah blah blah blah and everything’s fine.” Cause if that’s the case, there would be no wars in the world, right? So many people are baptised. Then what happens? Buddhists are baptised. Hindus are baptised. You don’t just pray and say “Forgive my sins” and then everything is fine and you go back to sin again. Forgiving your sin is not an option to have more sins. Forgiving your sin is really repent and you don’t sin again. OK. So forgiving and the confessional in Buddhism or any other religion is not about you keep collecting sins and then keep confessing and everything is fine. That means I can go out there and shoot someone I don’t like every single day and confess I’m fine. I don’t think that sounds very logical.

So if you believe in outer force, outer deity, outer god, outer whatever you want to call it, outer being, universal being that you can just take refuge in, and you believe and you pray and you trust everything’s fine, then please show me that everything’s fine. If everything’s not fine, then I think we need to go one step further. We can pray to a universal being: Buddha, God, whatever we want to call it but the real work lies after we do our prayer 24 hours a day. If we do not need the Guru, the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha, and we can find the inner Guru inside of ourselves, if we can find that, then Buddha would have given a one-minute teaching and then that’s it. Find your inner Guru. Bye-bye!

Simple. Finding the inner Guru is a long, arduous, difficult, tumultuous journey. It’s harder than if you have a Guru. To have a Guru and show you how to do things, to find your inner Guru, is easier than not having a Guru to show you your inner Guru. It’s like doing business you’ve never done it. How many times have you been cheated, lied to? But if you have a businessman, a businesswoman, who knows what they’re doing and she shows you how to do it, it will save a lot of heartache. I mean it’s very simple. So if you want to find your own inner Guru by escaping, you will never find your inner Guru. Why? Cause if you could find it, why did you join in the first place? Simple.

I never said to any of my teachers: I resign. I’m going to find my inner Guru. Never. Not once did I say it. Can you imagine me going to Zong Rinpoche, “Excuse me, Sir. Here’s my resignation letter. You can have all your initiations back. You can have your refuge back. You can have everything back. And I’m going to go find my inner Guru.” I’ll probably get a nice slap and say “All right. Get lost now.” How dare I be so arrogant to think like that after so many years? I spent 6 months with Zong Rinpoche and it impacted my life. I don’t talk about him for long because it bringstears and I don’t want to cry like a little schoolgirl. I don’t talk about Geshe for a long time cause here I go again. I don’t want to have tears of gratitude.

Around here is different. They make the Guru cry. And the Guru makes them cry. Has nothing to do with gratitude. Has to do with “Please let me keep my attachments. I was happy suffering the way I was.” It’s so different now. That’s why it’s so hard to give the higher teachings or Dharma to people these days. Initiations. And that’s not pushing for the Pastors to push themselves so they can get the higher teachings so that it doesn’t die off here. I’m pushing for that very much. That’s why I always tell the Pastors. “Please give up everything for others. Everything. Especially your comfort. Work tirelessly for others. That’s the right way to go.” See, when I say these words, it brings peace to your mind. It makes us happy. It makes the energy beautiful. Then we know from our heart that’s the right way. To do for others. If I say, “Kill them. Don’t do for others. Get revenge.” Immediately the room become very hot. Very angersome. The energy is very bad. We already know it’s not good that way. So, just by my words alone, it soothes you. It makes you feel emotional. It makes you feel touched because inside you, you know that’s the right way. Very simple.

So therefore if we can become a Buddha by finding our inner Guru on our own, Buddha just gave a one-minute teaching, that’s it. Lamrim is one page. How easy is that. One page with a big fat words: Find your own inner Guru within yourself. See you later. No, it doesn’t work that way. It doesn’t. You want a teacher. You want to take refuge. Be ready for the journey of your life which will bring you to a higher state of mind if you surrender and go all the way. And before you take refuge, you check your Guru out cause this is the guy you’re going to be with for the rest of your life. Devotedly.

You check him out. You don’t simply just go flow with the minute, run with the motions, run with the feeling, run with the crowd. Check it out. Because when it comes to spiritual practice, there’s no crowd following, there’s no herd following. You have to make your own individual decision. And if you’re not ready to take refuge, you wait. If a lama is not the right person to take refuge with, that’s fine. That doesn’t matter. I’m not here to say before I die, I’m dying, “Dear Buddha, I gave 60,000 refuges.” Who cares? Who cares how many refuges I gave you? And anyway I gave you guys refuge, what do I get? I don’t even get ang pow. What do I get if I get you refuge? You know how cheapskates some of you guys are. What do I get? More commitment. More responsibilities. Got to be concerned about you. Got to watch over you. Got to teach you. Got to scold you. Got to compliment you. Got to send you gifts. Got to email you. Got to be in contact with you. In fact, when I give refuge, it’s more work for me. So don’t think you’re doing anyone a favour when you take refuge.

If you take real refuge, you transform and the impact will be powerful. I can dunk you in a bathtub of water and say, “Hey, now you’re a Buddhist.” Nothing happens. It’s just water. You just got wet. You need a towel. I can pronounce some big words on you. You know “Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, you’re a Buddhist now. I baptise you.” Nothing happens. Nothing. Whether I bury you in baptised ground, consecrated ground, it doesn’t matter. You’re just ashes. Your mind has already left. None of that matters. What matters is right now. Now think about all that.

So therefore, never think the Dharma, your Guru, the Sangha, the Buddha, gives you any suffering. Impossible. It’s like saying Panadol gives you fever. Impossible. So when you do Lama Tsongkhapa’s holy practice, you’ll also be able to accomplish powa. Powa is the ability to transfer your mind at the time of death from your body to a Pure Land of a Buddha. That is called Powa. So, if we do Lama Tsongkhapa’s practice very well, we would transfer our consciousness at the time of death to Tusita heaven, to Gaden heaven, Tusita. Tusita Gaden same. Or we can transfer our minds to another mother consciously and take rebirth to benefit others. We can choose the country, choose the place, choose the mother, choose the situation to reborn.

The high lamas have a private joke. But the joke, if you think deeper is not really a joke. Don’t go to Gaden, Lama Tsongkhapa will not let you stay long. He will ask you to go down and help. Go to Kechara. Vajrayogini teach you the Dharma directly and you will meditate in her realm. So, for lazy, sneaky people like us, Kechara’s better. Oh, the high lamas joke like that but I think … Really. Once you go to Tusita or Gaden heaven, Lama Tsongkhapa … they always say … never leaves you alone. Always requests you, “Take rebirth. Take a rebirth. Go down. Take a rebirth. Don’t stay here. Go take rebirth. Help.” Always Lama Tsongkhapa will say that. That’s what the high lamas said. They told me. I wouldn’t know. I’ve never been to Gaden Heaven. So, I’ll have to take their words for it. That’s why I say “Let’s do Tsongkhapa’s practice, do powa and take a left turn to Kechara.” Tsongkhapa won’t mind. He won’t mind. I’m very sneaky.

For the public, I put Tsongkhapa there in KH so everybody go Tusita. Privately, look what I put. Privately, do you see a big Tsongkhapa here? I don’t want to go to Gaden cause I know that later go down. Not that I can go there but if I can … That’s why for the public, I’m very goody-goody. Show you I’m so holy. I’m not attached. I put Tsongkhapa there la. But in private … We will be very good friends. Datin Jennifer doesn’t want to go to Gaden. She wants to go to Kechara too. Yes. That’s right. Once she goes up there, she won’t be sent down to remarry again. So, it will protect you from outer, inner, and secret obstacles when you do Lama Tsongkhapa’s practice. You can avoid harmful weapons if your practice is very advanced. You don’t do Migtsema one mala and then go in front and say “Shoot me.” Your practice has to be very advanced. OK. So, you don’t do Migtsema, wear a cape, go out there and be Superman. It doesn’t work.

Then, it will help with crops, food and livelihood. Where there’s a Lama Tsongkhapa statue, it’s always said, that person, that household, will never go hungry. Even if your karma’s to be very poor, living on the street, have nothing, if you have a Lama Tsongkhapa, you will never ever go hungry. You will get something to survive to make it up again. That’s the power of Lama Tsongkhapa’s image. That’s one of the reasons I made Lama Tsongkhapa the centre piece in Kechara. That’s why I encourage people to have Lama Tsongkhapa statues. Yes. Every month, all of you should buy one Lama Tsongkhapa box and give to someone as a gift. As your Dharma practice. Every month. If you can give two or three a month, even better.

Spread Lama Tsongkhapa wide. Pass this benefits to people. Whether they know it or not. Travel becomes more safe if you are travelling a lot. It’s a great mantra to bless your animals. You love your animals, if you see some fish, some animals, whatever, recite the mantra, let them hear it. Blessing your medicines, blessing your vitamins, blessing your herbs is very powerful. So if you’re a very ill person, needs to take medicines, or you’re a doctor, you’re a nurse, if you recite Lama Tsongkhapa’s mantra, bless on the medicines, the medicines will become even more effective.

Even if someone has passed away, to put Lama Tsongkhapa’s mantra on their body to be cremated or buried, is very beneficial. Or to blow the mantra on them is very beneficial. And it’s wonderful, wonderful for our parents. If we’re so lucky that our parents are alive, it’s so incredibly important that we as children whether you’re 50 or 5 or 15, to do Lama Tsongkhapa and dedicate for our parents. Especially if your parents don’t know Dharma, or they don’t understand, they’re too old, they’re too sick or they passed away, I’m sorry, it’s so important to do Lama Tsongkhapa practice for them. Don’t say to your parents every day “Oh, I love you! I love you! I love you!” It’s empty words. It’s empty. Don’t always go to your parents “Give me this. Give me that. Buy this. Buy that. Give me this. Give me that. I’m not happy with this. I’m not happy with that. I’m not going to talk to you. I’m going to ignore you.” You cannot be like that. You cannot be like that with your parents. Parents make mistakes too. What we need to do is this. We need to think how we can give back to our parents. And how we can give back is we can do Lama Tsongkhapa’s practice, offerings, like we have here, example, and dedicate it for them. Chinese people are based on a culture Confucianism. And that Confucianism, the pillar, is filial piety and devotion.

Well, it’s a modern age now. It’s kind of hard to live with our parents till we die. It’s kind of hard to do everything kow-tow all the time. It’s kind of hard to do that. Some of us are just outright monsters. We treat our parents horribly. And for the result for treating our parents horribly, depression, unhappiness, mental instability comes back. Oh yes. If our parents were very kind to us, then we abuse them, with a negative thinking, then that mental instability will come back to us. And we will suffer a lot of mental problems, depression, unhappiness. Why? Cause that’s the feeling we gave them. If we gave them unhappiness and mental depression all that without knowing, not on purpose, or they feel that way from something that we did, of course there’s no karma. Example, I don’t think Buddha collected bad karma from going to become a monk. Now if he wants to become a monk to get his mother back, to get revenge, to hurt her, it’s very bad karma. Very bad.

But if he left his mother to go and do Dharma and benefit people and help and learn, then if his mother’s hurt, he didn’t intend it so of course there’s no bad karma there. There shouldn’t be. Cause it’s intent. But if we grow up torturing our mother, our father, disrespecting, hurting them, being nasty and not nice, and always getting them, always abusing them, taking things from them, always being lazy, irresponsible, of course the karma come back. You know why? Because the pain we gave to someone that loves us so much … There’s always a cause and effect. There’s always a result for a cause. So what’s the solution? To do Lama Tsongkhapa’s Migtsema. And filled with regret. When we regret, the karma gets purified. When we do Lama Tsongkhapa, it makes our mind very happy. That’s why the old monks in Gaden always say when you’re unhappy and depressed, they always say that: Do Tsongkhapa mantra. A lot. Even when Setrap takes trance. Do Tsongkhapa mantra. Forget about Tara. Forget about VY. Forget about Setrap. Do Tsongkhapa mantra when you’re depressed, unhappy, you’re feeling down. Do Tsongkhapa mantra. Forget about all your other hang-ups. All the old monks cannot be wrong. It’s very powerful.

So mental unhappiness always comes back to us because we create unhappiness in other people’s minds. We created fear in their minds. We created fear in their minds. Of us. Our future. That’s why it’s very important to do the best we can. Always and transform. Then we some of us don’t abuse our mother per se or say bad things but when we’re irresponsible, always forgetting things, having accidents, knocking things, we’re lazy, sleepy, we don’t care – it’s the same thing. Cause if our mother knew, she’ll be very worried for us and the karma’s heavy. So, therefore, if we’ve hurt our mothers … not because we want to … but cannot help it and we’re doing something good, that’s different. That’s very different. All right.

So, Buddhism doesn’t teach us to abandon our parents. Buddhism teaches, in fact, how to benefit them on the highest level. Highest level. So, to do Migtsema every day, make offerings on our altars to the Buddhas and dedicate to our parents is very powerful practice. It’s a wonderful practice. No matter how old we are. Do we miss our mothers and fathers? Or … I’m so sorry … our mothers and fathers doing some kind of business or work that’s not very virtuous, that collects a lot of bad karma … it’s not … we’re not able to tell them, they won’t accept, we do Migtsema for them. We create Lama Tsongkhapa statues for them. We spread Lama Tsongkhapa’s teachings for them. We create Lama Tsongkhapa books for them. We should do that. Always. Not just recite mantra.

Make an effort that will help them. Lama Tsongkhapa is the best mantra for unhappy mind. And the funny thing is, my Protector told me, a few months ago, “After your diseases healed, then you do 400,000 Black Manjushri mantras and then you do Migtsema always.” Now I know why. These 2, 3 months I’ve been very unhappy. And he knew. He knew it was coming. So Migtsema helps. I know. Sorry to break your fantasy, I’m not a Buddha. I get depressed and unhappy too. The difference with me is I don’t stop helping others even when I’m unhappy. So therefore, I don’t turn off, I don’t cut off, and I don’t disappear when I’m unhappy. I still do work to help others. Do you know why? Because I know the cause of my unhappiness. So I don’t want to increase it. It’s very, very simple. So therefore, it’s never too late. Lama Tsongkhapa is the way. Create statues for others. Create images. Share his practice with others. Don’t share his practice and give his practice to others so you can go to heaven. Share it because they’re suffering and you can help them. And they don’t need to be Buddhists. We don’t need to convert the world. You don’t have to be Buddhists to have Vitamin C. Vitamin C is for everyone. So Migtsema is for everyone. Mig-mey-tse-way-terchen-Chenrezig is for everyone.

Geshe Tsultrim Gyatsen very much promoted Lama Tsongkhapa when I was there. For 8 years that’s all he talked about. Yet he was a master of tantra. And it’s only years later I understood why. When I went to Gaden I understood why. When I saw what Lama Tsongkhapa did in Gaden I understood why. So I recommend it to all of you. On your altars, you should definitely have as big as possible a Lama Tsongkhapa statue. If you already have one that is small, no offence, give away, get a bigger one. We got big cars. We got big women. We got big husbands. Big vacations. Big houses. Big jewellery. Big appetites. Why not a big Tsongkhapa? How come everything big, Tsongkhapa small? Your altar should be beautiful and big. And if you come across people who cannot afford it, genuinely cannot afford it, buy a big one, give it to them with no motive quietly.

Spread Tsongkhapa. Make your altars clean and beautiful. Free of dust. Beautiful offerings dedicated for the right purpose. It’s very nice. Some people say, “Oh Buddhism is like idolatry. They pray to statues.” No. I’m not praying to a statue. I’m praying to Buddha. The statue represents Buddha. Why can’t I pray to Buddha directly? I can but I like the statue because I can’t meditate so clearly on Buddha so I just look at the statue easier. I’m not praying to the statue. If like that, all the Christians are praying to a cross. I mean, it’s a cross what. What’s that? What’s Mother Mary? Got a statue. They’re not praying to a statue, they’re praying to Mother Mary. Her kindness represented by the statue. Same thing. For me, personally I love statues. I love them since I was a child. I love big statues, wonderful statues. Always. Now, I mentioned 14 principal benefits of doing Tsongkhapa’a practice. Now I’m going to ask you questions back for 40 dollars. I’m going to ask you to name me one benefit of doing the practice and you can’t repeat what someone has said.

Rinpoche: OK. Ling Shi, give me one benefit. Without looking at the book and your notes.

Ling Shi: [Inaudible]

Rinpoche: Very good. You can bless your medicines. Good. Li Kim, another one.

Li Kim: [Inaudible]

Rinpoche: Very good. Mr Lam, another one.

Mr Lam: Powa practice.

Rinpoche: Very good. And what’s powa practice? To where? To rebirth where? That’s right. Wherever we want. That’s absolutely correct. And where do you want to go? Gaden or Kechara? Don’t say it. You’re in my group. Give me another benefit. Very good. Very very good. Sean?

Sean: Travel.

Rinpoche: Good. How does he help you in travel?

Sean: Make sure your safety

Rinpoche: Yeah, specially in dangerous areas. Yeah. Quite serious. Helena, another benefit.

Helena: Bless the animals. Very good. You love animals. Very good. Louise, another one.

Louise: Stable.

Rinpoche: Very good. Stability. Wan Ying? Very good. Very good. Eric?

Eric: For our parents.

Rinpoche: Excellent. To dedicate for our beautiful parents. Albert?

Albert: To protect us from unhappiness whereby we’re depressed and …

Rinpoche: Depression. Unhappiness. It’s very strong these days, isn’t it? Very good. Madam Lim Han Nee? Very good. Open up karmic seeds. Excellent. Sofi?

Sofi: Wisdom.

Rinpoche: Excellent. Wisdom. Julian? I’ll give you a hint coz you’re very new. Hantu.

Julian: Ghosts

Rinpoche: From? Very good. Very good. Good. Protects us from spirits, black magic. That’s right. Master Loo, can you think of another one? Take your time.

Master Loo: Towards enlightenment.

Rinpoche: Excellent. That’s the final goal. Yes. There’s some left that people didn’t mention. Nadia? She’s “I knew it. Why didn’t you pick me first? Why pick me when the buffet almost finished?” She’s … Now, we’ll film her to make sure she’s giving the right speech. I’ll give you a hint coz you’re very new OK. I give you a hint. Farmer.

Nadia: For plants and vegetables.

Rinpoche: Growth. Crops. Fertility. Yes, very good. You’re very new so I’ll give you that. I think we covered everything. Yeah, we covered everything. Not bad. Sorry? Spiritual power. That’s good. Pastor Chia, what’s spiritual power? You give me your interpretation your way. What’s spiritual power? Chia’s now a Astro star. Yeah, he’s going to be on different episodes on Astro talking about Buddhism. That’s right. Very good.

[Spiritual power is when we talk about Dharma we can able to convince people …]

Very good. Very good. We have the ability to convince. That’s it, it’s not hard. But read the book coz I gave you a little more details. OK. Now, yes? 40 dollars.

[Long life …]

Very good. And that’s the long life Tsongkhapa form. One hand down holding wealth vase the other hand up. This is the principal form. This is the long life form. We can set up our altars like that. Have our Lama Tsongkhapa in the centre, Vajrayogini on the left, Setrap on the right. That’s Kechara. Outer Kechara coz the inner one … but the outer is like that. Now if you want something bigger and just condensed, you can have just this Lama Tsongkhapa. And where can we get these beautiful statues from?

That’s right. You know why? Coz when I came to Malaysia 20 years ago, I could not find beautiful Tsongkhapa, Vajrayogini, Setrap statues anywhere. And I looked and looked. And I went to Nepal I couldn’t find it. I couldn’t find and I started creating Lama Tsongkhapa statues made from … What’s that material, you guys would know? Resin. Resin. Yes. Chia was with me. In Penang. Coz that’s all we could afford. And now we’re so fortunate and lucky that we’re blessed that we can create these kinds of statues. Big and beautiful. Every single one of you should have a Tsongkhapa like this in your house. Either this form or the long life form. Every single one of you. This size, this form and you know what?

Go to KSA and put the mantras in. Put millions and millions of Tsongkhapa mantras in. Manjushri. Yamantaka. I have it all. Put the mantras in. In fact, if you go on my blog site, I have a wonderful post on the mantras that went inside the Kechara House statues. So if you look at the Kechara House statues, what we put inside, that’s what you should put inside of this one. And … listen up, kids … put a wealth vase inside … whooo! Is that allowed? Did Rinpoche made that up? No, I didn’t make that up. In the base of the statue where the lotus is is where you can put a wealth vase. Put 2. Put 3. Dedicate one for Mama, one for Daddy. Otherwise, wealth vase you put in a casing put it don’t know what to do. People come here.

What’s that? Where’s the flower? Got vase no flower. But if you put Tsongkhapa everything self-contained. Wealth, Dzambala, Tsongkhapa, wisdom, protection, blessing – all in one. Yes, and Kechara Paradise are beautiful stores which all of you should support because we have wonderful things there. We order these from Gaden Shartse Monastery and Gaden … in general, Gaden Monastery and we’re supporting them also. All the monks make all the wealth vases by hand. And then the old monks, the old Geshes, 80-years-old, they come for the puja, 3-day puja to bless the wealth vases. Support them also. The wealth vases are expensive coz the materials are expensive and we got to ship it here. Oh, shipping is very expensive and customs very expensive.

Two customs: India and Malaysia. Then when you get the wealth vases, hold it, not with naked hand, hold it with a khata, and pray and dedicate it and put it inside the statue. And when we build big statues in the future in KFR everyone should buy wealth vases and donate and put inside the statue coz we’ll have big statues there. Everyone should. You donate for the mantras even in thumbdrives. Donate thumbdrives. We’ll fill it with mantras or better, you fill the thumbdrives with mantras. You can download it because I have it on my blog site and give us. Give it to us and we’ll put it inside the statue for you. That what you should do. Very beneficial. On KFR, we’re going to have a Vajrayogini stupa. My goodness! Go and get your wealth vases. Stock up now. Because KP, they run out of wealth vases very fast. Gaden cannot produce so fast. I’m not joking.

Grab it coz when the Vajrayogini stupa comes up no wealth vase how? Cut your hand put inside? Too late. Leave a little hole in the stupa. You put in later when the order come in? Cannot. Seal, seal lor. You should prepare. You should prepare. Buy a lot of tsa tsas. Buy a lot of wealth vase. Buy a lot of Dharma books from Kechara Paradise. Buy pendants, all these stuff and prepare and do prayers to put inside the Vajrayogini stupa always. Prepare for that. And what is the Vajrayogini stupa? What is it for? Go on my blog, I’ve already had that written. Just type in Vajrayogini stupa … stupa on search. OK. So I’m giving you secret methods. You think, “ Oh Rinpoche … where does this come from?” Go to Gaden.

That’s what we do. What I’m sharing with you is what we do in Gaden. It’s what we do there. It’s what I learnt from the old monks. So I’m sharing with you what the holy Sangha has been doing in Gaden for 600 years. It’s nothing new. I didn’t make wealth vases. Atisha created them. Don’t think Tsem Rinpoche created wealth vases. I can’t get wealth vase. I didn’t get any wealth. You know my favourite saying: If I know how to get wealth, why teach you? I teach myself.

Yeah, so you should do that. Everybody said, “Oh, I’m poor. I don’t have money.” Everybody can save up 100, 150 dollars a month. Put it away. If you buy one lump sum of course cannot. We can pay our trips to Bangkok. We can fly away and visit Europe. We can buy new clothes for Chinese New Years. Everything except wealth vase? No, you should do. Not just that. Dharma texts. Tsa tsas. Prepare. Coz I want the stupa to be very big. And don’t give it to me now. Buy and keep it coz I don’t have storage. Oh, you should do. And all of you, unless you’re travelling all the time, should have a very big statue. And if you’re travelling, you have some funds, you buy it and donate it. Donate it to someone.

You should definitely do. And make the Tsongkhapa statue your way. You want to put jewels on it, put jewels. You want it simple, simple. You want gold, gold. How you want to do it, make it as beautiful as possible because remember, it’s not a decoration or furniture piece. It’s not something you buy from Ikea. It’s something to collect merits to gain Enlightenment to gain freedom. So take your altars very seriously. Some people freak out. Aiyoh, just like temples so many big statues. What’s wrong it’s like temples? Temples good what. If temples bad, why we go temple? Say yeah, temple good what. But you’re not monk and nun. Yeah, I’m not monk and nun but why cannot have big, beautiful statues?

Nothing wrong. Aiyoh, the big statue like that cannot maintain. Maybe bad luck. Where got bad luck? Big car no bad luck. Big girl no bad luck. Big date no bad luck. Big trip overseas no bad luck. Big statue bad luck. Where got? Where got? Wai Meng was one of the first people in Malaysia to buy big statues. I had a set of Chenrezig Nyetsun Khundro. Nyetsun Khundro is about like that. With a beautiful Tara … it’s a set … with a Green Tara and Ekajati. It’s a beautiful statue. I only had one. I brought it back from Cambodia. And about 15 years ago, Wai Meng bought it. He paid it off slowly. And he has it on his altar with his cats. And he makes offerings. You do make offerings, right? Cat food? They don’t mind. The Buddhas don’t mind. They eat anything.

Yeah, he’s one of the few people coz Wai Meng trusts me a lot for 9 out of 10 things. And he got a big beautiful statue. That’s how when I come to Malaysia. I said, “Oh, you know … Dato’ Ruby, I gotta tell a story. She’s not here so she can’t get me.” Dato’ Ruby is a fabulous, powerful, very devoted lady, very kind lady to me. I consider her my sister. She’s been very kind to me. She came to India years ago. The first time she came to Gaden Monastery. Oh my God, listen to this. I’ve told this story before but there’s a lot of new people. When I became enthroned as a Lama, we have an enthronement ceremony.

You get the seal from the Dalai Lama. You get the seal from the Oracle or high Lama. I got my seal from all. Anyway, I got a seal from everybody who’s a lama. Anyway we got enthronement ceremony … and enthronement ceremony, your friends, your Teachers, your Teachers don’t come but your friends, your peers, and other lamas will come to give you khata and congratulate you. “Rinpoche, you’re a Rinpoche now.” So, one Rinpoche from Drepung, had a Lama Tsongkhapa set. Very beautiful. But he was very poor. And he couldn’t offer golden mantras and clothes on it. But he just had a Lama Tsongkhapa set naked. And he was so happy I became a Rinpoche, he came all the way down to Gaden.

He gave me his only statue. I was so touched and moved. So touched coz at that time who could afford it? Aiyoh, cannot. Cannot. I’m not joking with you. Even if we save every month, it’ll take us years. Cannot. He gave to me on my enthronement day, the day I was officially recognised as Rinpoche in Gaden Monastery by all the officials of the monastery. So anyways, it took me 1, 2 years, I collected some money, I finally put some gold on the face. Painted it, sew clothes, mantras and then my Guru blessed it. So I had that in the centre of my altar. Very auspicious on the day I became ordained. Well, when I met Dato’ Ruby she donated to the monastery … she helped. She was very kind to me financially.

So I was so grateful to her and I didn’t have anything to give so I gave her my statue of Tsongkhapa. It has a lot of meaning. She has it in her house right now. When I gave it to her, she was with a group of people. She looked at the statue and … she wasn’t rude, she was like … she went, “OK, thank you.” She went to the other room. I think she told her husband or somebody … I forgot who they told me. “I don’t like the statue. I don’t like the pointy hat thing. What is it? What kind of Buddha is this?” And I was in the other room, “Oh my God, give my statue back” and I always joke with her. Now, she keeps that statue. She made a special place in her house and put it in a special altar and special casing and it’s the most treasured object she has. Her evil daughters have been trying to get it from her for years. Very evil daughters. And she said, “You can take it la.” But they feel guilty. Oh, that statue is very precious. It’s part of my history, it’s in her house.

My point? When I was introducing Tsongkhapa to people, they didn’t accept. After Dato’ Ruby understood, she loves it. She created a beautiful altar in her house and she worships it and she makes offerings all the time. And her neighbor … that time she was living at Sri Hartamas … her neighbour was interested so I gave a set. Can you imagine I gave a set to her. After a month, she returned it. “Oh, I can’t take care of it. Too much work.” And like that in the beginning, Malaysians give back the statues. I import, I bring, I paint, I put mantras, I do the puja, bless it, give to them and after one month, two months they give back. Oh my God! In Tibet, you give back Tsongkhapa statue, it’s like you give your life up. It’s so bad. It’s such a bad sign.

But I said to myself, “No. Here people don’t know.” So I made myself very strong. I will teach Tsongkhapa, explain and let people know because that’s what we were taught in Gaden Monastery. Some people say, “Why do you always teach Tsongkhapa?” What do you want me to teach? I’m from Gaden Monastery, Tsongkhapa’s home. That’s where all the high lamas study. The high lamas study Tsongkhapa’s text to become high lama. What do you want me to do? All my Gurus studied Tsongkhapa. All.

How can I teach you what I don’t know? That’s why I teach Tsongkhapa. Very simple. So, anyway … now, more people know and we cannot find anywhere in the city. Nowhere in KL. Nowhere. I went Melaka. I went Ipoh. I went Penang. Even Singapore. Cannot find. In Singapore, I found some small Tsongkhapa like this. Tsongkhapa is not like that but the statue is like that. Not nice. I get embarrassed to give people. “Here, Tsongkhapa.” Tsongkhapa is the King of Dharma. He is a Buddha. He blesses you. They look … “This one how to bless me. Look at the face.” So I teamed up with Paul. Paul has artistic eye to make these statues. I teamed up with Paul. Then, me and Chia and one of my other assistants started Kechara Paradise. Over 10, 12 years back.

We started in SS2 upstairs. It’s just me and Chia and one other person. We get one customer a week. Henry, he buys incense he get lost. No customer. We were on the 3^rd floor. Now Kechara Paradise is wonderful. And I always have a dream to make beautiful statues that are nice, well-made, that will last 100, 200 years. That’s why I promote these statues. That’s why. So therefore you should definitely have a beautiful Tsongkhapa statue with a stupa Dharma book, your teacher’s picture. Make beautiful offerings every day. As beautiful as possible. If the statue is this big last year, this year must be this big already. Then this big. Why? When your kids become this big, your bank account become this big, your waistline become this big … only Tsongkhapa this big. How come? Think. Make it beautiful. Always think how to bring Dharma to others.

Now, everyone in Kechara should know this book very well. Study it very well. Why? If you’re connecting with me or Kechara, just read. You have a connection to this. If I’m promoting it and you have affinity with me, it’ll be good for you. Among the Kechara Pastors and the Kechara Pastors-in-training-to-be, you should be an expert on this book. Expert. Why? The Pastors’ job is to relieve the sufferings of others. What’s the best way to relieve the sufferings of others? It’s when we can provide something related to Tsongkhapa to them. Blessing an animal with the mantra. Giving some Dharma.

Visualise Tsongkhapa dissolve into me. Do some retreat for them. Do some practice for them. All the Kechara Pastors now, future, should be an expert on this book. Any part of the book when people ask you, you can just recite. Your way. Doesn’t have to be verbatim. But your way. Now, I want to talk about the Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga, each of the lines and I’m going to explain to you the short meditation of each. Then today, it’s very special because I want to show everyone how to do the long mandala. Why? You don’t just recite and put. What you recite, when you put it, what you recite, when you put it, I will show you today precisely.

Who would like to learn that? Good. And how to do the mandala, where to put, what to recite was taught to me by Geshe Tsultrim Gyatsen in Los Angeles. So Geshe-la recited it and he showed us to do it. I remembered perfectly. We all went out to buy our own mandala sets. That time we just get a plate and we just make some paper or whatever, and we get some rice and we use it coz we don’t have money and we cannot get mandala sets anyway. There’s nothing for sale. So Geshe-la told us we must learn. So Geshe-la showed all of us. All of us had … I was so excited.

So today, I’m going to show you how to do the long mandala with the recitation and it’s going to be easy. And the thing is, don’t get so stressed out. It’s filmed and then we’ll put it on the blog so in case like you forget or didn’t write notes, it’ll be filmed so you guys can see it again, OK. So, today’s very special. I’m going to show you how to do the long mandala. And I’ll tell you in short the benefits and what’s it about. OK. The reason I’m not going into too much details is we have a book. So if I tell you a little and then you read the book, it’ll match up. Any questions so far? Yes? Lama Tsongkhapa also comes with the two. Lama Tsongkhapa comes with 2 heart sons.

So in the Guru Yoga Lama Tsongkhapa practice, we visualise the 2 sons together coming and the reason is because of this. Lama Tsongkhapa is considered primarily an emanation of Manjushri. The disciple on the left is considered an emanation of Avalokiteshvra. The disciple on the right is considered an emanation of Vajrapani. So when you visualize all three, it’s considered you have the 3 energies, the 3 Buddhas, the 3 lineages, the 3 powerful Bodhisattvas of the Buddha family in one. So when we visualize that, we visualize Avalokiteshvra, Manjushri, Vajrapani all in one. So the reason we have those three is we consider them emanations of that. Also, those two were the closest disciples Lama Tsongkhapa … Lama Tsongkhapa had 8 very close disciples and tens and tens of thousands of students.

But very close disciples 8 primary disciples. Of those these two. And those 2 became the first and second Gaden the holders of Lama Tsongkhapa’s throne which is unbroken until now. So visualizing those 2 great beings is visualizing those Bodhisattvas in the form of a lama, in the form of a monk. On top of that, when you visualise these two, the one on the left is the Regent of Sutra. The one on the right is the Regent of Tantra. So when you visualize them and they dissolve into you, you get the blessings of learning sutra and tantra excellently. OK? Everybody OK? Everybody all right? I hope you’re all right coz you’re getting teachings directly from me now maybe once or twice a year so better be OK. Mix it up.

When we have the initiation of Lama Tsongkhapa, then the practice will be more extensive. The practice will be much more detailed and longer but of course the benefits and attainments are faster. So therefore without initiation, the benefits are definitely still there but more effort will be required. But anyways, it’s good to do it without initiation first. When we do Lama Tsongkhapa’s Guru Yoga, we can do it with the ritual items or without.

Either way is all right. But what would be good … not totally necessary … what would be very good is to have a very nicely set up altar. If you’re in retreat of Lama Tsongkhapa, then if you look at the back of the book, there is a retreat manual and offerings you require. If you are not in a retreat, then simple sensory offerings like that daily will be all right for now. So we have the offerings the 1^st one is offering of water, the 2^nd one is offering of washing the foot water, 3^rd one is flower, next one is incense, light, perfume, food, and music. Now those are symbolic of the visualisations.

We should visualise offerings to be [Speak in Tibetan] which mean without end. Many. We should get the best offering vessels that we can afford. The offering vessels that are considered very good would be clay, copper, silver and gold. These are considered very good. Of course, we can use whatever we can get our hands on. The offering cups and offering items should not be used by yourself or anyone else. It should be used specifically only for Enlightened Beings, for Buddha. It should be offered in the morning and cleared out in the afternoon or evening. When you offer, it’s from left to right. When you clear it, it’s from right to left.

When you offer, it’s from left to right. When you clear, from right to left. That’s not something very strict. You can do left and left right and right. OK also. Offer fresh new items. Do not always offer leftover or things you don’t like. Don’t leave any candles unattended. When you go off, you recite Om Ah Hum and blow it out. The fillings of the sensory offerings can be anything you like: rice, pearls, beads … whatever you can afford. The reason you’re offering these items to Lama Tsongkhapa is not because he’s in need of them. You’re offering these items to Lama Tsongkhapa is because you wish to gather a spiritual force that’s very powerful.

That spiritual force is called merits. When the merits are very powerful, it becomes a back-up for your meditational practice. So when you do Lama Tsongkhapa’s meditations, you need to back it up with merit. When you have merits, your meditational practice will bear fruit. You will have result. If you do not collect merit, then it’s very difficult to bear fruit. If you can offer more than this, that’s very good. In fact, during your lifetime, you should try to offer 100,000 bowls of water during your lifetime. Like when I was in Gaden, I would do … depending on time between 450 to 750 bowls of water per day I will do myself. Because I didn’t have enough bowls I have to do 2 rounds. And so I’ve not completed my 100,000, but that’s what I was doing in India – 450 to 750 a day so I’ll do like two or three hundred.

Pour the water, set it, make my prayer, make the offerings then clear it immediately. And the water I put onto the flowers. Making offerings to the 3 Jewels – the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha – is one of the most powerful ways to collect energy that fuels the spaceship of your Dharma practice. Lama Tsongkhapa’s practice is really like a spaceship. It can just take you to another dimension another planet superfast. But it needs fuel. And the fuel is merit.

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All About Tsongkhapa and the Benefits of his practice Part 3

Transcript by Angeline Seow and Adrin, Proof Read By May Ong

His Holiness the 13^th Dalai Lama Gyalwa Thubten Gyatso says in The Bodhisattva Warrior those who do not make offerings or make extensive offerings or good offerings is a clear sign of their narrow and stingy spirituality, that they are not serious about the spiritual practice. To think that we don’t need to make offerings every day is wrong view because even Great Enlightened Masters, great highly-attained masters like Atisha and Lama Tsongkhapa made water offerings to the Buddha every single day. So, as according to His Holiness the 13^th Dalai Lama, to make offerings every single day would be … he says this … would be a wonderful, powerful and very necessary practice for lay people His Holiness says. Why? Coz lay people have very little ways to collect merit so this would be a wonderful way for lay people to collect merit. You don’t need to doubt merit.

Let me tell you why. Do you have sufferings in your life? Do you have ups and downs? Doubt? Death? Old age? Well, that’s a clear sign of negative karma. If there is negative karma, there has to be positive karma. If there’s positive karma there must be a type of energy – merit – that can take us out of all of these. So collecting merit is very very very important and one of the practices is making offerings on our altar every day. Every single day. Carefully. Concentrated. With a lot of fervour, and excitement and understanding. And you should get the best offering vessels. The best.

That’s why in KP, I encourage the KP managers to go and bring the best silver items. The silver items that I have there is not to make money. It’s not to make money. The margin is very small. The very purpose is that all of you can make merit. In the monasteries, in high lama houses and practitioners, they always get silver offerings to offer to the Buddhas. As I’ve said and joked with you before, you have nice cars, nice house, why not nice things for the Buddha? In fact, for your altar, you should have the best. It should be the most beautiful. You should run to KP and get the silver bowls, and bring it back, clean it.

Don’t clean too hard. Silver is soft so it bends. Clean it well. After you’ve cleaned it, put some flowers or some rice inside so it’s not empty and do the King of Prayers. do the King of Prayers before you make your first offering and say to Lama Tsongkhapa: From now on, every time I make silver offerings to you, may every wish I have in the King of Prayers come true. Every time you use the silver offerings, you should do it. It’s very important. Do you know in the monasteries, when someone passes away, the people come and make offerings to the high lamas, and the Rinpoche and the geshes and the and old monks. We call them Nguden. Nguden is death money. And I had a little container for death money coz I got a lot of offerings for people who have passed away. So, it’s very bad to use the money for yourself, like for food or whatever.

So we collected death money, I did, and what I would do is I would buy silver bowls and offer to the monastery, offer to my Guru, offer to the Buddhas, I will collect that. Why? Coz then the person who died, their last money is dedicated into something perfect, precious and beautiful. And it’s offered to the Buddha every day for them. So you collect merit for them. So if you have a death in the family, you should get a set of silver bowls. Offer it for them. It’s never enough and then let’s say your house gets robbed and they steal your silver bowls. Steal steal la. The merits have already been collected. Anyway, you have to leave it at death. Encourage your children and the young ones to make offerings on the altar. Let me tell you why. When you teach young people to make offerings, when they grow up they tend to be less miserly emotionally and financially.

They become less miserly because making offerings is a direct counter to miserly action, miserly attitude. It’s very important, very very important.

Every year if you’re doing business, working, you save up and do one set of silver bowls, every year. So you accumulate, two, three, four sets. Then when you do retreat, you have more silver bowls as opposed to less. Why silver? Silver is considered something precious in this world. In other worlds silver is not a big deal. Since it’s precious, it costs more money to buy. When we use more money to buy something precious, it counters miserliness. So when you offer that to the Buddhas, it creates the perfect situation for gaining wealth for your spiritual practice.

Everything on your altar must be the best quality. Everything offered to the Buddha must be the best quality and use that as a spiritual practice every single day. Is that 100% necessary? No. There are great practitioners like Milarepa who had nothing, who stayed in a cave and used, you know, wooden bowls as offerings. But you see, Milarepa is different than us. Milarepa renounced everything. Women, drinks, wine, fun, games, money, power, house, family and stays 100% in meditation to practice, so he gains merit from the meditation. I don’t think any of you are Milarepa.

So if you can become a monk and nun, you don’t need to buy silver bowls, you can collect merit in other ways. If you’re going to be a Milarepa and go meditate that’s fine. Some people say that, well Milarepa didn’t have any of that and he became Enlightened. That’s right! And if you can do what Milarepa did you can become Enlightened too. So do silver bowls make you Enlightened? No. No. But one of the facets of Enlightenment is getting rid of miserliness. And what better ways to make offerings to the Three Jewels. That’s right.

Silver bowls for your mom’s birthday. Silver bowl for your son’s birthday. Certainly better than the other stuff you’ve been buying them. Silver bowl for your father’s birthday. My father isn’t going to make offerings. That’s okay. You buy for your father’s birthday, you make offerings for your father. And keep doing it. Make offerings. Beautiful offerings. Then it will support and supplement your spiritual practice. Do you need to rely on silver? No. No. If you really cannot afford, it’s not because, it’s not because you’re stingy or not because you didn’t, you know, save up and be thrifty. You really cannot. Of course anything else can. Of course. Stainless steel, plastic. I’ve used that before. Aluminum. Why not? Don’t make that as an excuse to do or not do. Get the bowls and make offerings every single day. Accumulate 100,000 offerings. Accumulate 100,000 as a minimum. I’ve already done my 100,000 butterlamps. This one I haven’t done yet. But I’m lucky because I can make up for it, not substitute, by giving Dharma teachings. By working for others, doing divinations, giving advice, building a centre, providing books for people, so I can make up for it as a monk. I’m very lucky I’m a monk because I can spend 100% of my time on serving others and practising Dharma. And I’m very lucky.

Imagine if I had gotten myself a relationship, I’d be a 40-year-old, 47-year-old middle-aged nobody. Imagine. I’m so lucky to be a monk. And no offense to anyone. I don’t mean … I don’t mean to drop any hints to anyone. I’m not the one in prison. I’m not the one creating a prison. I’m not the one creating more prisons. I’m the one that’s on the road to freedom. And that’s with the kindness of my Gurus, and the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. It’s not because I’m so wonderful. I’m on the road to freedom. What I’m wearing frees me. The girls leave me alone and so do the boys. Oh yes, they’ve both of them harassed me before. The girls leave me alone, the boys leave me alone. No one’s going to ask me if I have kids. Do you have any kids? No one. I don’t have to worry about car payments, house payments, per se.

This is protection. This is protection. I’m not the one in prison. I’m not the one creating further prisons. I’m the one on the way to freedom. And in my future lives situation, may I also become a monk from a very young age and be free. No regrets. Think of all the things you did for the last 30 years and what out of those 30 years you did really was good. Look at yourself, you’re ageing, you’re fading, you’re older. Think of all those things you did in the last 30 years. Where are you now? That’s how we have to think. And that’s not criticism. That is the truth. But in the last 30 years, I know what I did. And I would do it again. I joined Gaden, I met my teachers, received a lot of teachings, did a lot of retreats, gave a lot of teachings. In the last 30 years it was all Dharma. I’m not the best one, but I did all Dharma.

And I would go back and do it again. And next 30 years it’s going to be Dharma because I am protected. People who are afraid to become a monk or a nun do not understand the true nature of existence in Samsara. The fear doesn’t come from them being bad people. It comes from not knowing. Not knowing. So therefore, even you’re not a monk or nun, it’s okay. You still need to practice the Dharma. And that’s why I’m here and that’s what I’m teaching you right now. That’s what I’m sharing with you right now. You still need to, even more so. So making offerings, the best quality for lay people is extremely important. Very important. Always stop making excuses, cannot, cannot, cannot, cannot. Why? If you make excuses, cannot, then you tell everybody the Buddha’s wrong.

Kensur Jampa Yeshe Rinpoche, one of my teachers I lived with in Gaden, made 49 bowls of offerings every single day on his own although he was 78 years old. His hands shake because he’s older, he would steady his hands like this, he put the bowls down, then he offer, he hold his hands like that and hold the pitcher and he’d offer it and the water would splatter all over. We didn’t say anything. Every day, he would do it. And before he goes to sleep, he would do 25 prostrations and he’s already an abbot, a very high lama, very attained. He’s well known. He’s one with Yamantaka already. Well known. I only see him as Yamantaka. I never see him as a human being. Never. And he made water offerings every single day. And you know, whenever I got a little bit of sponsorship money from my friends, whatever, I would go and buy silver bowls, I’d offer it to Kensur Rinpoche. All the time. So by the time I was done, Kensur Rinpoche had like eight, nine, ten sets of silver bowls and I would say, “Rinpoche, you’re going to make offerings every day. I’m so lucky it’s going to be used to make offerings to Buddha by you.” I mean, how lucky was I?

I didn’t use my new silver bowls on my altar because I, well, I was sneaky. I know he’s a Buddha. If he offers it, it would be more beneficial. Rinpoche does the work, I get the merit. But it wasn’t exactly like that, technically, but you know what I mean. Oh yes, I would offer my Guru silver bowls, silver mandalas, anything I can. Because I know by offering to my Guru, I will gain attainments. I have no doubts about that. Okay, so have the most beautiful altar, beautiful statue with wonderful items inside, filled, and have the Shabten Kang, they’re really well-trained, bless your statues, with Rabnye and Soongdrup pujas. That must be done. And then when you invite your statues home, flowers, candles, incense, have a little party, have a little buffet, invite friends over, invite over like, Lama Tsongkhapa’s really coming to your house.

You know, when we invite a special guest, we have a little party. Because when you treat the statues like if they’re real, they will become real. Because some statues, you look at them, their faces are alive. Alive. So, get the best, the biggest. And instead of being stingy, you should look for people, you should look for victims to keep big statues you can give to, they make offerings, you get the merit. Look for victims. Oh that looks like a good little Dharma sucker, let me give him a 3-foot Tsongkhapa. He make offerings, I collect merit lah. I mean, how to keep 20 altars? So if you give 20 away, 20 people do the offerings. It sounds funny, but it’s for real. That’s why every single person who sees me, gets a statue, a tsa tsa, now you know why. Every person gets a statue. They go, “Rinpoche, you’re so kind and generous, you gave me a statue.” Mm-hm. But actually I’m thinking, they going to go home, make offerings, I’ll collect merit too.

That’s what I really believe. So yes, I’ve been using you. Sorry. I gave Datin Jennifer a Tara statue last time. She freaked out, “Rinpoche’s a Bodhisattva, he’s a Buddha, he’s fabulous, I’m so touched, he’s so powerful, he’s so energetic.” I’m like mm-hm ah-hah, mm-hm ah-hah … She’s been doing offerings every day since. Poor old bag. I’ve been using her.I know. And you want to be used more. That’s right. She collects merit, I collect merit. Because I don’t have space to keep 20, 30, 50 altars, seriously. That’s how I, that’s how I really is. Please think like that. Please believe that. It is like that.

Soondrup puja energizes and blesses the mantra to go inside. Rabnye is when the mantra, everything is put inside the statue and it’s filled. It is to consecrate the items inside and invite the actual Buddha to come in, abide inside. It is very important to have that done for our images. For any reason, if we are in a place that we can’t get that done, then whatever statue you have, you could put on a piece of … if it’s hollow … if it’s not hollow, never mind. If it’s hollow, on a piece of paper, you can write in English, Om, Ah, Hum, representing Buddha’s body, speech and mind and put it inside the statue facing out. All right. And then, close it and you can recite Lama Tsongkhapa’s Guru Yoga and bless the statue with Guru Yoga yourself.

If you cannot do the puja, or you cannot get the mantra wherever you are. That is okay for the moment. But don’t leave the statues empty inside. So on a piece of clean paper, any colour, you write Om Ah Hum. You can even write in Chinese. It’s okay, and then put it inside. Until the day you can get it actually done, all mantras filled, until you can get it done. So make your altars beautiful, extensive, nice, wonderful. It is your spiritual practice. So you should make sure your altar area is very clean. Don’t put non-Dharma things all over under here and there. Make sure it’s all Dharma stuff and clean. Because the Buddha’s sitting there. Of course you can clean the statues, you can dust it, you can wipe it, no problem.

Can you have it in your bedroom? You can, because you don’t have space. And when you’re in your bedroom, if you’re having, bubbelee, then you cover it. People ask that. Can I put in my bedroom and then when I’m…. how? Well, that’s the truth. Some people only have a bedroom. They just rent a room. So they ask how? They want to have a statue. How? They have their girlfriend come over, their boyfriend come over, so how? So that’s the truth, you know you cover it with respect. Just because you cover it doesn’t mean Buddha cannot see. It’s from your side. It’s respect and awareness. Okay?

What happens if you forget to clean the water bowls? Clean the next day. That’s all. Tsongkhapa very easy customer. Yeah, but make sure everything’s clean, your hands clean. So every day, clean your altar, wipe it lightly and then make fresh offerings. After fresh offerings, offer incense to purify, Om Ah Hum, Om Ah Hum, Om Ah Hum. Make three prostrations and then sit down to do your Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga. Your Lama Tsongkhapa practice, then you sit down and do. Okay? Any questions about that so far?

Question: When we’re doing a Kalarupa puja, when we do Yamantaka offerings, the sensory offering sequence is different.

Rinpoche: Yeah. You do this one, this way. All the sensory offerings are the same, only Yamantaka sequence is different. Vajrayogini, Heruka, Cakrasamvara, Guhyasamaja, Tsongkhapa, all the same sequence. Only Yamantaka’s different.

Question: Is there any special meaning for that?

Rinpoche: Yeah, Yamantaka’s very mad. He wants a different … he’s a diva. I don’t know, it just came different. He’s a diva. Yes Sofi?

Question: Can I just ask …. I have my parents’ ancestral …

You can put your ancestral tablet next to your altar. Why? You’re not praying to them. Praying is the wrong word, you’re just paying respect. There’s nothing to pray to your ancestors. You know, they’ve taken rebirth. Some of them are pigs now, some of them are humans, some of them are dogs, some of them are aliens, some of them are ghosts, some of them in hell. We have thousands of ancestors before our grandfather, grandfather, father, father, all the way back right? So when you pray to them, nothing happens. Nothing much, it’s a very wonderful tradition in the Chinese to show respect to our ancestors. And it’s respect. So if you put it next to your altar, it’s okay. As I said, the Buddha is a very easy customer. You can put different images, you can put Hindu images, Christian images, Buddhism doesn’t go around burning people’s images. When you accept Buddhism, oh, you need to burn your previous religion things. No. No, that’s very rude. No, that’s very disrespectful. We don’t do things like that. Put together, no problem.

The only thing Buddhists do not encourage is praying to ghosts, black magic, spirits, Ouija boards, tarot cards – we don’t encourage that. Let me tell you why. Because if you don’t have the power and ability, you open up something that come in and follow you and harm you. So if you do Ouija boards, it’s a doorway and something evil can enter and disturb you and harm you or your family or your friends. If you do tarot cards, sometimes, depends on what type, you open up the doors for something to come in to disturb you. So, you know, if you’re a very powerful meditator, practitioner, monk, a very, very, you know, compassionate nun, when you do that, it doesn’t bother you. They cannot do anything to you. But if you’re ordinary people like you and me, when you do kinda magic, black magic all that, even, you know, you have an enemy, and then you go somewhere to find a bomoh, and get them back. If that person is strong, or if they have a stronger bomoh, that thing will come back to you. And then you will get it. And there are people who are followed by spirits for 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15 years. And as the time goes on they go more and more unwell. I’ve met quite a few of them.

Never go for magic. Never wish other people harm. Never. Never wish other people harm or do magic. Don’t go for tarot cards and Ouija boards, all these magic things, why? Never take, pray, take refuge or connect with ghosts. Why? Ghosts and spirits, their nature is unsteady. Some appear to you as very helpful. Then later they turn, because they want to attract you. Some is very vicious, some is neutral, some will lie to you because they want attention. Some will enter you. So never, never dabble with magic and if other people do it, don’t say anything. If they ask you, you advise. If not, don’t offend them. Don’t dabble. So in Buddhism, you want to pray to Jesus, go ahead. It’s okay. You want to pray to Krishna. Beautiful. Ganapathi, go ahead. Buddhism is just, have a good heart. Transform your mind. Because there are good people in all religions and there are bad people in all religions, so cannot be religion, must be people lah. If it’s the religion, then this one religion, everybody there must be wonderful what. We have Buddhist monsters and Buddhist saints. We have Christian monsters and Christian saints. So cannot be the religion, must be the people. That’s why never blame the religion. Never put other people’s religion down. Even if they put your religion down, you know the truth, forgiveness, compassion. You don’t need to participate. Say, “Sorry, I have my religion, I don’t agree. No disrespect, bye bye.” That’s all.

Questions, yes, Eric?

Question: So if let’s say if there are some people who have only invite a statue only for display so do we still need to insert the mantra?

Rinpoche: That’s okay. No. You see, the best is invite the statue with faith, with mantra, make nice altar. That’s the best. If cannot, you do whatever can, because even have a Buddha with nothing there, just put garden, still benefit people. So we try to do the best. Then whatever they could do less, cannot already, cannot help it. Okay? Questions? Yes, Freon?

Question: … there’s a water offering first at the altar there, there’s a sequence. Of water offering…

Rinpoche: When you have the initiation of Lama Tsongkhapa, then you have 2 sets. One is for the actual Lama Tsongkhapa, one is yourself visualized as Lama Tsongkhapa. So that’s why. Why? When you have the initiation of Lama Tsongkhapa, you visualize yourself as Lama Tsongkhapa, body, speech and mind. That quickens your attainment to become Lama Tsongkhapa, that opens up your inner Buddhahood seed. The practice is very deep. Without initiation, you do this way. Both ways, same. The torma is actually made from five white substances. Then when you make a certain shape, on top of that you put a butter sculpture on top to decorate it. But the butter sculpture represents the winds and drops and channels of your body in decorative form. So when you offer that up, you’re asking Lama Tsongkhapa to bless you, to do the meditation on your channels. So in Malaysia, it’s hot. If we make it like in Tibet it will melt. So what we do is we make it from paper to symbolize that. Yes, Master Loo?

Question: Just now Freon was asking. That row of reverse offerings that is for self-arising as Buddha.

Rinpoche: Yes. That’s in all tantras: Yamantaka, Vajrayogini, Heruka, Lama Tsongkhapa, when you do, after initiation, you have one this way because the practice is quicker when you visualize yourself as the Buddha. If you do this way, this way, don’t worry. If you do it this way without initiation, it just prepares you so you know how to do it in the future.

Question: So which means for all these years I’m actually doing it …

Rinpoche: It’s fine. As if you have initiation. But you see, I give it differently for everybody. Some I prepare them for the initiation, some I don’t. So everybody is different. You understand?

Question: Yeah, so we’re not transgressing.

Rinpoche: If you are transgressing, why would I tell you to do it? Thank you. Very logical. Why would I tell you to go kill animals? Good. Question? Questions? Yes, Philip.

Question: Is there a reason why we set our offerings from the left and clear up from the right?

I don’t know. That’s what they taught me. I don’t know. It’s like the dark behind. Just do it. That one won’t affect your spirituality, practice, your Enlightenment. Just forget it. But, when you do Mother Tantra, especially Heruka, Vajrayogini, you start everything from the left to the right. And there’s a reason for that which I can’t tell you right now. So when you do those higher tantra practices, you have to start everything from left. OK? But that we won’t talk about now. Now, we should have the best altars, best offerings, the best table that we can afford knowingly we’re not miserly. That’s very important, OK? Let’s go to this page. You can recite in Tibetan or English. It’s up to you. Chinese. It doesn’t matter.

Lama Tsongkhapa understands all languages. So no problem. Now, we’ve set up the altar. We’ve cleaned it. We’ve made the offerings. And then we made 3 prostrations. Correct? Then we should have a little table in front of the altar. Remember this for the future coz i’ve mentioned this many times. Never ever put your Dharma texts on the floor. Never lean on your Dharma texts. Never walk over your Dharma texts. Never put your Dharma texts with ordinary books. Separate them. Never ever simply take your Dharma text and throw it on the shelf in a corner with your magazines. Never. Never mistreat, abuse, or not show respect to your Dharma texts. If you need to make notations on it, make notations respectfully and cleanly.

If you’ve old Dharma text or old notes or old whatever that is not useful, got some mistakes you know like Xerox copy mistakes, you visualize all the letters in the Dharma texts turns into light and become the syllable AH. A-H. AH. That AH dissolves into you. The Dharma text is gone. Now, you’re just burning paper. Then you can burn it in that way. Actually that letter should be red AH. Red AH and it dissolves into you. Now there’s nothing left. So, let’s say that this one we use not useful, we can’t use it anymore, just store. How? Cannot. This one you visualize it turn into AH. Dissolves into you. Now, it’s just paper. Then you can burn it respectfully. Don’t burn it with other trash. Burn it on its own.

Not treating your Dharma texts correctly can create the karma to obstruct you from learning Dharma understanding well. It’s very serious. Do not take your Dharma texts into the toilet. Sometimes if you’re out travelling and you’re driving your car, you have to take your bag, you have the thing inside, you have to go toilet. No choice. But on ordinary situations. Actually making prostrations to Dharma texts collects more merits than statues. Because statues can collect merit for you to become Enlightened but Dharma text is the actual path to Enlightenment.

So it’s different. Don’t put disrespectful things on top of dharma texts – dolls, games, anything. Don’t. Paper weight OK of course. That’s why your Dharma texts and your normal books and magazines must be separate. Must be separate. Dharma texts always higher. If you only have one room, you have one shelf, put the dharma texts on top. Put your normal things at the bottom. If you still don’t have space, put Dharma texts on one side. At least put a separator, this one normal texts. Show some respect and awareness to your Dharma texts. Very important. Therefore, when someone has passed away, we put a Lamrim text on their head. That’s more holy than the statue. Why not the statue? Can.

But it’s going to be a little weird at the funeral you know. You put the Dharma text, put a statue, put a stupa, put a relic, put a chakra, put this … What are you doing to my dead friend? It’s a little too much, isn’t it? Just put the Lamrim, recite a prayer, get lost. OK? Dharma text very important. Keep it well. Do not abuse. Must be neat. Even like, around the place, corner there, I always see Dharma texts with magazines. Oh no, cannot. Cannot. Must be separate completely. This one must be aware. Do not create obstacles to learn Dharma. This was taught to me by Kensur Lobsang Tharchin Rinpoche, my first teacher in New Jersey. He gave a whole Dharma talk on the treatment of Dharma texts. OK? Get into this habit. When you have your Dharma text, any type, touch it to your forehead, and then open it up, and use it for one hour, half hour, whatever. When you finish, touch it to your forehead, and then put it away. Get into the habit to do that. Any Dharma texts. OK?

Now, so your altar’s ready. Your offerings are ready. It’s clean. You made offerings and prostrations. Now, you’re ready to do your Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga. I’m going to go through it fast because it’s in the book. So I just give you a little bit and then you can go into detail with the book. That’ll be good. That’ll be like oral transmission to you.

From Tusita’s hundreds of Gods Protectors Maitreya Buddha’s heart, the tip of a fresh pure white heap curd-like cloud, O Losang Drakpa, Dharma omniscient King, please come to this place with your disciples.

So, what you should visualize – short form – I’m going to do short form, I’m not going to do long form. Long form is with your mother and father and all sentient beings. Short form is just yourself. So we do just ourselves, easier for everyone. Short form, you’re sitting there. Normal. Just you as you are. Then you visualize Gaden Heaven. Think of a very beautiful garden, beautiful mountains with trees and forests and peaceful animals. Peaceful. You don’t want to be worried there’s a tiger or bear that might kill you in your meditation so peaceful meditation. Really.

So you visualize deer and you don’t visualize a rattlesnake nearby. Uh-oh. Like, you know, it’s psychology. So, you visualize a beautiful green garden, flowers, trees, mountains. Oh, I love that. And peaceful animals. Deer, does, faunas, badgers, you know, whatever. All that stuff. Maybe a Bigfoot. And you can have that all there. And then, in this beauty that’s Gaden Heaven, sits the King of Dharma, Maitreya Buddha, the next Buddha to come, the next Messiah, he’s golden in colour, one face and two arms, very handsome, with a broad shoulder, golden skin, beautiful V-shape sitting in Western style, on a chair, with his legs together but separate here at the bottom and with the dharmachakra.

Then he has a Dharma wheel and he has a long life vase on his two lotuses and he’s smiling. He’s smiling. He’s wearing the crown given to him by Shakyamuni. He’ll be the next Buddha to come. From this beautiful Buddha of Love, great compassion Maitreya, from the heart comes a cloud. It’s so white, so clean, so pure and beautiful. Looks like curd, looks like yoghurt. On top of this cloud sits your refuge, your Root Guru, all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas emanated, Lama Tsongkhapa and his precious two sons – Khedrub Rinpoche and Gyaltsab Rinpoche – in full robes wearing a pandit hat. Smiling. Glorious. As you normally see him. Right in front of you. How far? Arm’s length. Why? Too far need binocular. Too close become cross-eyed. So, just arm’s length. How high? Maybe the size of your hand. Why? If too tall, your meditation will go like that all the time.

If too small, again cannot see. Just the size of your hand. Lama Tsongkhapa right in front of you. Lama Tsongkhapa he’s love, he’s beauty, he’s God, he’s compassion, he’s … everything that is wisdom, love, compassion. And not flat. Bright. Alive. Golden. Emanating lights. Juicy with lights. Just Lights. Ready to do his job with you. You visualize that in front of you. You visualize that in front of you clearly and do it very well. So you recite. Visualize. Then think that Lama Tsongkhapa is the same nature as your Guru. All the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and deities are embodied with the Lama Tsongkhapa. Relax and breathe and visualize. If you do this visualization every day and you hold it, then you’ll gain control over your mind.

When you want to be awake, you’ll be awake. When you don’t want to be sleepy, you won’t be sleepy. When you want to focus and concentrate, you will see your concentration becomes better. This meditation very very powerful. It will make your concentration sharp and very clear. As a side product. So you do this well every day. Lama Tsongkhapa thing is very short. Just about 14 paragraphs. Very short. But the effect is profound. That’s why I like it very much for everyone. I like it for my friends. OK? Then the next one is prostrating to Lama Tsongkhapa requesting him to teach.

So he’s in front of you now and you’re requesting him to remain with you. This life and in all future lives. And to please turn the wheel of Dharma. You are thinking, “Well, I can’t see Lama Tsongkhapa. How can I have him turn the wheel of Dharma?” When you request Tsongkhapa for Dharma teachings, you collect the merit that you become closer to your Guru. Closer to high lamas. Closer to Dharma teachings and you will always receive dharma teachings. By the side effects of requesting of Dharma teachings you will receive teachings. So it’s very powerful to request for teachings from the Buddhas. OK? Then, by requesting Lama Tsongkhapa for turning the wheel of Dharma, requesting for teachings, what will the result of that be? Actually, it’s not a trick question. If you request for teachings, the effect will be you get teachings. That’s it.. Even if you didn’t listen, if you use your logic, it’s there. The answer. Very clear.

Even if you didn’t hear me speak coz you’re not focusing, it’s very simple. It’s not a trick question. That’s why I always repeat to you hundreds of times. Cause resemble effect. Effect resemble cause. So if you request for teachings, what’s the karma? You get teachings. You become closer to your guru. And whatever teachings your Guru give you, it goes in very deep. Coz you create the causes. You say, “Oh, you’re so lucky you get teachings.” Everybody can be lucky. If you request and you’re earnest and you’re real.

OK. So when you request Lama Tsongkhapa for teachings in line number 2, what is the effect of that? Beatrix?

Beatrix: You get teachings.

Very good. That’s it. Very simple. All right. Not only will you receive teachings, you know what else? You know what else? It’s that when you’re in teachings, you can actually absorb and learn very quickly. And you will never forget. I will tell you a little secret. Teachings I received from my teacher 30 years ago until now is still fresh in my mind. I don’t forget. They said it only once. I never forget. I retain it. I don’t know why I retain it. In fact, I thought everybody retains it but obviously not. So things I learnt when I was 15, 16, 17, 18 … what I’m teaching you now is what I learnt when I was 18. My teacher told me once. And just memorize immediately. And I can’t remember a lot of other things – street names, telephone numbers – I don’t bother. But this one I remember.

So it makes me realise that by requesting for teachings, you do create the causes to remember them. So if you teach me the Dharma teachings once, sometimes maybe twice … clearly and precisely, I will never forget. It would be memorize immediately. And then not only can I memorize it, I can turn it around this way and talk about it, turn around this way talk about it. Explain it this way. Explain it this way and debate with you. Just explain it to me once. I know that works. So most important during a Dharma teaching is to pay attention. Don’t let your mind drift. Don’t let your mind drift. Don’t let your mind go away.

Look at your teacher. Don’t look down. Don’t look left and right. During Dharma teaching, look at your teacher. Never sit with your hands crossed. When you sit with your hands crossed, you create a disrespectful energy to block your teachings. Never sit slouched. Unless you have a medical condition. If you have a medical condition, it’s different. You don’t mean to be disrespectful. It’s just you have a medical condition. Always pay attention. Always focus. Always look at your teacher. Always be alert. Always focus. Even during Dharma talk, if you can do that, you’re very quick training your mind.

If during Dharma talks, your mind drifts, you start looking down, you’re laughing, you’re joking, you’re playing, it sends the wrong energy to the people around you. It sends the wrong energy to your teacher. It sends the wrong energy to yourself. So, Dharma talks, except for elderly, medical condition, that’s different. That’s different. Train your body to sit straight. Don’t play with your teeth, don’t pick on things, don’t lean like this, don’t lean forward, don’t juggle, move around this way. It’s very bad. Why? You’re in front of your Guru. You’re in front of your own Teacher who’s tirelessly, compassionately teaching you the Dharma without charging you. The least you could do is to pay attention and be very respectful and focus.

He’s not teaching you this for him. It’s for you. So the least amount of respect as a human being is to pay attention. Pay attention. And during dharma talks actually we shouldn’t lean against things. We should never lean, especially for the young and fit. Do you know why? When we lean, we train our mind to become sloth and it’s another agency for us to not focus. Make your body … if you’re older, you have a medical condition, again different. If you’re younger and you have medical condition … Julian’s not well, he cannot sit like that. Of course he can lean and relax. Of course. Train your mind. This is not scolding or criticizing you. This is the truth. No, I’m not criticizing you.

I’m teaching you how to train your mind. So therefore when you’re receiving dharma talks from your teacher, always look at your teacher. Always sit straight. As straight as you can. Of course sometimes tired can lean a little bit, stretch you know. OK. Yes. Don’t pick your teeth, pick your nose, lean forward like that. Very bad. This is the worst you can do in front of your teacher. If you read the 50 verse, sit like that, lean back. How does that look when your teacher is giving you teaching and you sit there like this on the sofa? How does it look? It damages your spirituality because … even when you sit like that, it doesn’t mean you’re disrespectful but you send the wrong energy out. What’s the energy? You’re not training your body to do what you want. You’re not training your mind to do what you want. And the whole point of spirituality is to train your mind.

So when you let your body like that or you fall asleep or you don’t pay attention, you’re not being spiritual. Why? Spirituality is not praying to the gods. It is controlling your mind. Controlling your mind. And when you’re tired, think about your teacher who talks non-stop for hours for you. And all you have to do is listen. And even if you forget a few things here and there, it’ll be on video for you. Put up on line for free for you to access. Everything given to you for free. OK. So therefore, when we make a mistake like that with our teacher, we should in fact fold our hands and think “I’m sorry.” Why? It’s called humility and humbleness.

All these is to create awareness in our minds. How kind is my teacher who sits in front of a Buddha statue and the statue never speaks to me but he speaks to me constantly. He gives me teachings. May I aspire to train my mind. May I aspire to train my body. May I aspire to train my speech. Think like that very strongly. Dharma teachings is also a meditation. Do you know why? You are controlling your body, your speech and your mind. Again, let me repeat. How you receive Dharma teachings is a clear state of your mind. If you’re alert, awake, looking, it shows your Dharma practice has effect. If you are sleepy, not listening, playing, sloth, not paying attention, it means your Dharma practice is not there. Coz how can someone who meditates have a lazy mind?

How can a Pastor have a lazy mind? How can a monk have a lazy mind? How can a senior practitioner have a lazy mind? Cannot. Cannot. Cannot. OK. These are things in the 50 verses and when we receive teachings in the monasteries, this is what we were taught. “Oh, but Rinpoche, this is not a monastery.” It’s not a monastery but it is still teacher and student. And mind training is the same thing. Same thing. All right. That’s not scolding you or criticizing you. I’m giving a Dharma talk so you can improve. That’s all. Just improve. Sitting cross-legged or sitting on a chair, by right your chair should never be equal or higher to your teacher’s.

Especially during Dharma teachings. Especially. But in a culture that we’re not used to, receiving Dharma talks, of course it’s different. Our legs can’t take it. Of course. I have never ever sat on a sofa in 30 years in the presence of my Guru to receive one single word of Dharma. Ever. Although they insist, I would never. In front of any of my Gurus, I’ve never sat on a sofa or a chair. It’s only when I go for audience with him and there’s a lot of people and they insist it on me because of my rank. But I would never, in 30 years, sit on a sofa or a chair in the presence of my teacher to receive teachings. I would never ever have the audacity enough to do that. Never. Because why? I need to destroy my ego.

But again, let me reiterate. I’m telling you the 100% body actions we are taught to show deepest respect to our teachers in order to gain attainments. I do not expect that here. I do not wish that here. But my job is to tell you what it is and then we amend it for our society and for what’s happening now. You guys understand? We amend it. Why do we need to amend? Because you haven’t sat in cross-legged position for 30 years. So how are you going to sit for even one hour? Of course. This one you need to know how it is and then amend it. Zong Rinpoche used to do that for us.

Zong Rinpoche would tell us in detail how to make a torma and then he twist it around and say “But for you guys, you can do it this way. Just put cookies and biscuits.” That’s after one-hour explanation on tormas. How to make the shape, what it means… or how this represents Heruka and Vajrayogini and then you make it like that. He’ll go… aiyoh, for a long time explaining and then he’ll go “OK, you guys don’t have to do that but you make biscuits.” Why? Because you guys don’t like to eat tormas so why offer to the Buddhas what you don’t like? Zong Rinpoche did that. He amended for us. So, I’m doing the same. I’m not saying that to send a hint to the people sitting on the couches “You’re so bad.” No. No. But I’m telling you how we practised in order to gain discipline. According to the right circumstances. OK? This body respect, the purpose is this. The purpose is

1) to create awareness to control your own body;

2) to create humility because when you’re humble, more Dharma can come in;

3) is to create an orderly relationship with Sangha and laypeople. Sangha older and younger. Senior and junior. That’s very Asian. Very Asian. Let the older one sit on top. So, these are the 3 reasons we show such body action, our respect to our Dharma teacher. OK, so it’s not something like so fanatical. Even in the presence of Kyabje Zong Rinpoche in America, we had some elderly people sit on chairs. It’s OK. So I let you know how it is so you understand coz in the future when the Pastors teach, you know how to share with people. All right. But I’m not insinuating anything to anyone. So don’t feel uh-oh. How? I see people sliding off the sofa. Then, once they slide off the sofa, they cannot get off the floor anymore. Hahahaa … OK, go ahead.

Then, in the space on the head of the lion throne, lotus moon and Venerable Guru smiles brightly with delight, please stay 100s of eons to spread the Dharma as a supreme field of merit for my mind of faith. Very simple what I just explained. All right. Nextone is: Your wisdom mind sees the full range of existence, Your eloquence speech adorns the fortunate ears, Your beautiful body famed glory and understanding, Homage to you, worthwhile to think of, hear and see.

So that’s very simple. Your wisdom mind sees the full range of existence. That line describes Lama Tsongkhapa has omniscience. The only beings who have omniscience is a fully Enlightened Buddha. So, it’s saying your mind understands all. You’re praising Lama Tsongkhapa’s mind, by praising Lama Tsongkhapa’s mind, you create the karma to gain Lama Tsongkhapa’s mind. The next one: Your eloquence speech adorns the fortunate ears. What’s adorn the fortunate … we wear earrings, right? Ancient times, men and women wear earrings, not only … well, still men wear earrings now. What’s the purpose to make your ears beautiful? To beautify it. So Lama Tsongkhapa speech or our Guru’s speech or Dharma’s speech makes the ears very beautiful, coz you’re putting something beautiful on it and inside it. So Lama Tsongkhapa’s speech is like adorning our ears. If we’re lucky enough to hear the speech of our Teacher and the Dharma. So in fact, you need a lot of merit to adorn your ear with the Dharma words, Dharma speech. Your beauteous body, famed glorywhich means what? Lama Tsongkhapa’s body is the body of a Buddha. 112 superhuman marks of a Buddha, young, very beautiful, all the qualities, all the attributes, that a Buddha body has, Lama Tsongkhapa your body is the same. You have the body of a fully Enlightened Buddha. By praising your beauteous body, may I attain a Buddha body.

Next one is pleasant offerings of water, various flowers, fragrance incense, light, perfume and so on, oceans of offerings set out and envisioned, offered to you Supreme field of merit.

This is offering all the offerings you have here, all the lakes, all the flowers, all the mountains, all the trees, all the animals, all the grass, all the beautiful, beautiful forests, all the gold and silver and diamond in the world, jewellery, food, buffet – everything is symbolize by the offerings you put in front of Lama Tsongkhapa now you offer to Lama Tsongkhapa. When you offer to Lama Tsongkhapa, what are you asking back? Abundance, wealth, prosperity … in a spiritual manner. Spiritually, you are asking for that back. Right. So when you make the offerings, then you recite this got something. Otherwise you recite “I offer you …” there’s nothing there. So like when your friend come over, “Here, have some tea, have some tea …” Your friend say, “Where’s the tea?”

So there’s the table, no tea. You say “Have the tea. Have the tea. Have some chocolate. Have some nuts.” And your friend’s thinking “You’re nuts. There’s nothing there.” Hahaha … OK.

So make beautiful offerings to Lama Tsongkhapa. Otherwise you call him, say “Enjoy!” Lama Tsongkhapa goes … “Hmmm … what are you, nuts?”

But honestly speaking, sometimes when you travel, you don’t have anything, it’s OK. Even when you’re travelling, outside if you see lakes, mountains, trees, you offer that to Lama Tsongkhapa. That’s OK. Good. Next one is purifying our negative karma. All right. All of us need that. If we purify our negative karma, we have less obstructive obstacles. There are 2 types of obstacles. Obstacles that bring us down and obstacles that bring us up. If you purified your karma, you get obstacles. Your obstacles make you stronger. If you don’t purify your karma, the obstacles come, it drags you down. See, the obstacles are not the problems. Your state of mind is. That’s a new perspective, hah. That’s why different people take obstacles differently. Sometimes some people little bit obstacle, give up. Some people lots of obstacles, they become stronger and better. So, it’s not the obstacle, it’s you.

OK. So, non-virtues committed with my body, my speech and my mind which I’ve heaped up since beginningless time especially when I’ve transgressed the 3 vows, each I confess from my heart with strong regret.

So all your negative actions, my negative actions, we confess to Lama Tsongkhapa coz he’s a Buddha. If we confess with genuine regret, they will be purified. Now, what’s the 3 vows? That’s only for some people. OK, that’s for some people. The Pratimoksha Vows which is the monk vow which you don’t have so don’t worry about that. Then the Bodhisattva Vows and the Tantric Vows. So, in your case, the Pratimoksha Vows is replaced by Refuge Vows. Don’t think “Oh yesterday, I broke my vow so today I don’t have to worry. It’s already broken.” No. Every day is a new day. So if you broke yesterday, don’t need to break today. Some of us have Pastor Vows. Liaisons’ Vows. You repair those.

Those are in lieu of your Pratimoksha Vows. Prati means self. Moksha is enlightenment. Pratimoksha means Self-Enlightenment. Those are the vows related to being a monk. A person in the Hinayana school of Buddhism who takes ordination, takes ordination with a wish for Pratimoksha, self-liberation. Therefore their vows are called self-liberating vows. All right. They don’t have the Mahayana spirit. So therefore they don’t apply to you coz non of you are monks and nuns in this room. So in place of Pratimoksha – P-r-a-t-i m-o-k-s-h-a – that’s a Sanskrit word … in place of Pratimoksha vows, you replace it with Refuge vows, your Liaison’s vows, your Pastor’s vows, or any promises that you made to other people that you broke. You can regret here and then let go of the guilt. Guilt doesn’t help. Guilt doesn’t help. It’s very important to do this every day.

It’s very important. OK. But don’t say “Oh, now I have a secret method to purify my karma so tomorrow I just do the same thing. Never mind. Can purify what.” It doesn’t work that way. Once you confess and purify, you don’t do it again. I give you an example. You go rob a bank. You go to the judge and say “I’m sorry. I regret.” Judge says “OK, you free.” Next day you rob again. You go back again. “I’m sorry.” They won’t free you again, OK. So when you confess, transform. Confession stops the karma from taking effect. True confession stops the karma from taking effect. Isn’t that wonderful. Nothing is solid and. Everything can be changed. Regret is different than sorry. People can say sorry, it doesn’t mean they regret. OK. So a little bit different than sorry. It’s deeper. All right.

Next one is rejoicing. This one counters jealousy. When we feel jealous, when we feel unhappy, when someone gets something else and we don’t get it, we don’t have peace of mind. Anger arises. So next one is creating causes for Lama Tsongkhapa to get rid of our jealousy. How? By rejoicing in good things. OK.

How many of us … you don’t need to raise your hands … how many of us have feel jealous in our lives? It doesn’t feel good. Sometimes we can’t control it. So here’s the method. In times of strive, you strove to learn a practice … that means in the kali yoga, in the most degenerate time, in the most difficult time, whenever everybody’s getting married, having a good time, going to a party, drinking alcohol, riding their horses … in Tibet la … you gave all that up to practise the Dharma. You strove to learn and practise. So, it’s like today when the monks give up everything to go and learn and practise Dharma, you earn my respect. You shunned, you gave up the 8 worldly concerns, and you make your life full of essence, full of meaning. Why? You gave up praise, wealth, good, bad, you gave up all that to strive for the Dharma.

To get meaning in this life to practise the Dharma. O Protector … we are calling Lama Tsongkhapa protector. Why do we call him Protector? He protects us from what? He protects us from going to the 3 lower realms. When we follow Lama Tsongkhapa’s example and we practise the Dharma as he has taught us, then he protects us how? From practising we transform, when we transform, we don’t create the causes to make sufferings for ourselves so he protects us. Then, requesting Lama Tsongkhapa to turn the wheel of Dharma. This is very specific. This one is very powerful again to create the causes for you to receive Dharma and to understand it, and to be able to apply it. Understand not enough, apply. OK.

Venerable Gurus of love and wisdom, clouds densely massed in your Dharmakaya sky, please loose a rain of vast and profound Dharma on the fields of disciples. That’s very simple. That’s saying the Dharmakaya sky is what? The Dharmakaya is the true nature, true body of the Buddha. That’s the Buddha’s mind. Full omniscience. Dharmakaya. The Buddha body. There’s no form, no smell, no taste, no touch. So we call that the Dharmakaya. Dharmakaya clouds densely massed … clouds densely massed – wisdom, knowledge – all that is very densely massed. Rain down a profound Dharma onto the field … so, we’re like the field, the disciples, the students are like the field. Lama Tsongkhapa is like the rain clouds in the Dharmakaya sky and the rain coming down is the holy Dharma. So, we’re requesting Lama Tsongkhapa please may we receive all the Dharma teachings, especially the higher tantric ones. So we create the karma to receive very powerful teachings. Good. Then the next one is very important.

This is remaining asking Lama Tsongkhapa … Risen from pure sphere of clear light, unions form is unborn undying, still, to ordinary view and in this gross form, please stay on undying until the end of samsara. Union forms is unborn undying is what? The union of wisdom and compassion. Emptiness and compassion. So this union can never die. Why? Only a Buddha has those qualities. Since a Buddha has those qualities, a Buddha cannot die. Then, risen … this one is asking Lama Tsongkhapa to stay with you. Don’t die. Of course Lama Tsongkhapa won’t die. Of course Lama Tsongkhapa will stay with you but by reciting this … listen carefully … by reciting this Lama Tsongkhapa from your heart, you create the causes for your own Guru to live long. Why? If asking Lama Tsongkhapa to give you Dharma teachings and that will come to you in the form of receiving Dharma teachings from your Guru, won’t that be the same logic?

That if you ask Lama Tsongkhapa to stay, the result will be your Guru stays long with you. Close. To give you Dharma. If your Guru has already passed away, then when you recite this, you create the karma to meet his reincarnation. And become close. OK, that’s very powerful to recite that. This has a lot of meaning although short. Next one is dedication, that’s very simple. You dedicate so the Lama Tsongkhapa’s teachings or the Buddha’s teachings can continue to shine but the effects of doing that dedication will be that the Lama Tsongkhapa’s teachings will remain in you for a long time.

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All About Tsongkhapa and the Benefits of his practice Part 4

Transcribed by Nancy; Proof Read by: Sarah Yap

Okay, now, if you have time, you do the long mandala offering which I am going to show you, if you don’t have time, you do the short one. If you are lazy and you have time, do the long one. If you are not lazy and don’t have time, do the short one. But the best one is do the long one. Okay?

Every one should have a clean cloth, any color you like, try to avoid black, any color you like, any material you like but be practical, it’s washable. Then when you do the mandala offering, it should be on your lap. Okay. Take this part (the string), it should be around your shoulder, and then you open it up like this. This should be around your shoulder; you open it up like this. Then with your left hand you grab the plate. But your left hand should not be empty. You can use rice, beads, this is fake pearls, imitation pearls, imitation pearls whatever you like but you beware of using things that are heavy because it will be very heavy. Okay. The plate can be anything, steel, silver, copper, whatever you like, of course, silver the best if you can, right, you can even have jewels around it. Make your mandala set as beautiful as possible. It’s very important to have a mandala set for your dharma practice, okay. So you have a little bit in your hand, here, you hold it like this, the first step is purifying one’s karma. You can recite refuge or Vajrasattva’s mantra or long refuge, like this, you grab a little (pearl/offerings), okay, you grab a little in your right hand and you need to purify your karma. You can do this minimum three times or as much as you like. So all the negative karma you’ve done, all the negative thinking; negative actions, speech, purify now. NAMO GURU BEH, NAMO BUDDHA YA, NAMO DHARMA YA, NAMO SANGHA YA (x 3 times).

Geshe Tsultrim Gyeltsen said that we should rub it with the inside, here (the wrist). Because there is a special nerve here when we stimulate it, it helps us to develop compassion. It is a chi flowing, alright. The base is our mind, this is the dharma (our wrist) and the pearls are our negative karma. So you put it on, we clear the negative karma from our mind. NAMO GURU BEH, NAMO BUDDHA YA, NAMO DHARMA YA, NAMO SANGHA YA (x 3 times).

Then we do counter clockwise to collect merits, three times, the collection of wisdom and emptiness. Gesha la said how times you wipe it; it’s up to you, okay. NAMO GURU BEH, NAMO BUDDHA YA, NAMO DHARMA YA, NAMO SANGHA YA (x 3 times). OM BEDZA BHUMI AH HUM … when you say the first line, everybody has that, OM BEDZA BHUMI AH HUM … you put a little on top, so OM BEDZA BHUMI AH HUM, put a little on top, if it stays or not, does it matter? No, because it’s symbolism. In this case it will never stay because it’s slippery, fake pearls, okay. OM BEDZA BHUMI AH HUM.

The next one you recite is ‘Great powerful golden ground’ OM BEDZA REKHA AH HUM, when you say OM BEDZA REKHA AH HUM, Gesha-la said, put the first ring on. Okay, you don’t put the ring arbitrary here and there; you have to put it according to the recitation. Learn this one correctly; Gesha-la was very particular. Why? Zong Rinpoche was coming and Zong Rinpoche will be watching. Ya, Gesha-la said Zong Rinpoche will be watching if the mandala not nice, maybe Zong Rinpoche will get up and go to his room. Yes, alright.

So, OM BEDZA BHUMI AH HUM, great powerful golden ground, OM BEDZA REKHA AH HUM, when you say REKHA AH HUM, what do you put? (audience – second ring). Very good. Then ‘In centre, King of Mount Meru’, so you take some of your pearls put it in the centre.

Then the next one is what? East. East is here, look here, east is here (pointing finger to self), east is to you, because when we take initiation, we face the mandala from the eastern direction, okay. ‘East, Lu pag po’, next one is going to be South, it’s here (to your left). East is here, look here, east, south. What’s this? (audience : south), No, West. This one? (audience: North) Very good. First one is Mount Meru , then you go to the East, south, as you are reciting it, you got to put it, not look, arh, look, arh, of course in the beginning you’re trained, you do, you look you put you look you put. After you have to memorize it and put it. It’s a meditation. It represents the whole universe you are offering to the Buddhas. So East is where? Closest to me, very good. Then next one is South, is where? (audience: inaudible). Very good. Then West is where? (audience: inaudible), Good. And then last one is what? (audience: inaudible).

Then next one is intermediate direction, okay. ‘Yo den and Lam chog dro, Dra mi nyen and Dra mi nyen gyi da’. So when you recite like that, it is intermediate direction, get it? By this time when you say ‘Precious mountain’, then you put one. You say ‘Wish granting tree’, you put another one, ‘Wish granting cow’, you put another one, ‘Harvest reaped though untilled’, another one.

Then when you get to ‘Precious wheel’, you do the next one [another mandala ring]. Then you say “What happens if I get to precious wheel, it’s not filled up?” Fill it up la! Just fill it up! Say, excuse me Tsongkhapa, fill it up! That’s it. So if you have too much, if you have too much by that time, what do you do? Just put one and say “Excuse me, Tsongkhapa”. Okay, you don’t have to be so complicated.

So the next one is to do what? Is ‘Precious wheel’, you put this one. Then you say, ‘Precious wheel, precious jewel, precious queen, precious minister, precious elephant, precious horse, precious general, great treasure vase’, alright.

When you say the ‘Goddess of grace’, it should be filled up already then you put this one [Place the final mandala ring]. ‘Goddess of grace’, you put this. She is the goddess that teaches you grace, to be elo elo, you know like move around, unlike Gim Lee, you can tell her I said so. ‘Goddess of grace’, what do you put? (audience: the last ring). Correct. That’s why I said, don’t get a big one and put heavy stuff, by this time your hand already numb. For some of us if we can’t hold it up, we have hands problems, arthritis, our hands are older, you can put it on the table and do it. You just do like that, slowly. Okay, you can put on a table. So you put ‘Goddess of grace, goddess of garlands, song goddess, dance goddess, flower goddess, incense goddess, light goddess, perfume goddess’.

Then you say, ‘Sun, moon, precious parasol’. When you say ‘banner of victory’, you take the last one [Last mandala piece]. Put this on top, this is called the banner of victory.

After you put this one on top, you take your right hand, fill it up with whatever and hold it. Both hands should never be empty. And then what do you say?

‘In the centre God and human perfect wealth,

Lacking nothing pure and pleasing, all these,

To the glorious, sublime, kind root and lineage gurus

And especially sovereign of all teachings,

Glorious excellent….’

When you disassemble it, you have to put it towards you. Pay attention very clearly, you don’t simple disassemble it, front or back. You do it this way. IDAM GURU RATNA MANDALAKAM NIRYATAYAMI and make sure it falls towards you, okay. So when you recite the mantra IDAM GURU RATNA MANDALAKAM NIRYATAYAMI, you think that Lama Tsongkhapa accepted your offering and then you collapse it towards you. After you collapse it, if you are doing a mandala retreat, you do it again, and again, and again until you finish a hundred thousand. You do a few everyday. If you are not doing a mandala retreat, you may put this away.

When you store your mandala away, you put all the items inside, like this, and then you wrap it, like this. Okay, and then take it off and do that. And all of you must practise this. Practise. Don’t practise it in front of Tsongkhapa, practise it when you are not doing your sadhana, when you are on your side, practise.

You don’t put this in front of Tsongkhapa “Excuse me, I am practicing!” He’s got other things to do, like save the world. Okay, but this is a very powerful practise, Lama Tsongkhapa did over one million mandala offerings but because Lama Tsongkhapa was very poor, he use stone base and stones and he did it until the skin tore off from here. But he attained, after he finish mandala offerings, he attained direct vision of Manjushri.

So this is a very powerful practice. The Bhikshuni, there is one nun in Tibet, this was one of her main practices, after finishing her practice of mandala she got direct vision of one thousand arm Kuan Yin Phosat, and she can communicate with Kuan Yin Phosat anytime she wants. It is a very powerful practice to do every single day. We should do this a hundred thousand times. Okay. You might think “Oh my god, it takes so long”. Look, it will be longer in Samsara if you don’t. Does everybody understand how we do that? Was it filmed? Alright. Everybody understand? Okay, Good.

It would be better if you do in Tibetan actually because it flows easier. Now, if you, I already told you if you do the short one, that’s okay too. If you do the short one, this is the reason for lay people to have very nice malas, with ornaments, stones, whatever you can afford. Then when you do the mandala offering, you do like this.

This is mount meru and you fold four sub divisions and all the precious ministers, queen, all the fields, earth, the planet, the sun and the moon and the victory of banner, jewels, precious elephant, everything is here, visualize that.

‘SA ZHI PO KYI JUG SHING ME TOG TRAM

RI RAB LING ZHI NYI DAY GYAN PA DI

SANG GYE ZHING DU MIG TAY UL WAR GYI

DRO KUN NAM DAG ZHING LA CHO PAR SHOG’

Then when you do ‘IDAM GURU…’ you release it towards you, remember. ‘IDAM GURU RATNA MANDALAKAM NIRYATAYAMI’.

And after you finish that, you made a tremendous offering to Lama Tsongkhapa, tremendous, okay. After that, what do you do? You do the Migtsema, alright. You can recite, there are many, there are nine line Tsongkhapa, seven line Tsongkhapa, there are many. I stick to the five lines, not to confuse you guys. You can recite the five lines Tsongkhapa everyday up to you how many you like to do. The recommended amount is one mala.

It will be very very good for you, especially if you are prone to depression, unhappiness, instability of the mind. Then one mala a day or more is highly recommended. Alright.

After you finish that, then you are done with the mantra. Now if you are kid, if you’re kid, you have a lot of homework, sports or whatever, then you do Lama Tsongkhapa’s Migtsema, ‘MIG MEY TZE WEY TER CHEN CHENREZIG’, the mantra’s called Migtsema. You can do Migtsema three times and then do ‘OM AH RA PA TSA NA DHI’, which is the short mantra, one mala.

‘MIG-MEY TZE-WEY TER-CHEN CHENREZIG

DRI-MEY KHYEN-PI WANG-PO JAMPAL YANG

DU-PUNG MA-LU JOM-DZEY SANG-WEY DAG

GANG-CHEN KE-PEY TSUG-GYEN TSONGKHAPA

LO-SANG TRAG-PEY SHAB-LA SOL-WA DEB’

[3 Times]

Finish for you kiddies okay, then you do OM AH RA PA TSA NA DHI (x7) pull the mala towards you, one mantra, one bead, OM AH RA PA TSA NA DHI. You can do one round, two rounds, ten rounds, up to you. If you have memory problems, do three rounds a day. At the end of the three rounds, recite the mantra ‘DHI’ in one breath. OM AH RA PA TSA NA DHI, Dhi, Dhi, Dhi, Dhi (continuous…….Dhi.); swallow. That’s it.

Any questions about the mantra? Very simple. Please page 156. Now this is how we visualize it while we are doing the Migtsema or OM AH RA PA TSA NA DHI. From Lama Tsongkhapa’s heart and the two disciples, like this, Lama Tsongkhapa and the two disciples, the two disciples hearts rays come out, Lama Tsongkhapa’s heart’s rays come out and they join into one. From that one, it comes to your forehead or to your crown, either way. So from the two disciples, lights, from Lama Tsongkhapa, lights, three lights combine into one, one comes to your forehead or to your crown, up to you.

There are seven types of wisdom you can receive from this mantra and meditation. Do not just recite the mantra without the visualization; do with visualization because you will get double the benefits.

For quick wisdom which is to be able to achieve understanding and understanding meaning of things without resistance, meaning you always say “Cannot this, cannot that, oh, I don’t think so, I don’t want to,” just always resistance. When you do this meditation it will cut away that resistance. Then in order to accomplish this wisdom what you visualize is orange, orange colour bright lights coming from the hearts of the three beings. Within the light is filled with millions and billions of small Manjushri. So let’s say like this, orange lights, for the kids its very important, billions of Manjushri inside, from the Manjushris the lights go out to all the Buddhas and invites back their blessings in the form of orange light and dissolves into Manjushri, then these Manjushris dissolve into you and your whole body is filled with Manjushri, just visualize whole body and while you are reciting the mantra ‘OM AH RA PA TSA NA DHI…’ Visualize this process happening, when you do that consistently over time, you will see you gain very very profound great wisdom.

Next one is clear wisdom, okay. You don’t have to do all seven every day, you can choose the one you want, you can change it or you can continue with one, up to you, alright.

Next one is clear wisdom. This one to understand very subtle things like someone tries to explain something very subtle you find it extremely difficult to understand and you have to listen again and again and again, it doesn’t go in. This meditation make your mind be able to understand things (snaps fingers) when you just hear it. So when you hear it just once, you understand it perfectly (snaps fingers), and you memorize it and it doesn’t go away. You can become an old fart; it doesn’t go away because you’ve achieved quick wisdom. So by doing this meditation in this life, even in your next life you will come back with quick wisdom.

You know why? Because wisdom is your mind, your mind is what travels to your next life. Who would like to have quick wisdom in this life and your next life? (audience raise hands), it will happen. So in your next rebirth you come back with a wisdom very clear very sharp so when you learn something, even you are very young, (snaps fingers) you memorize instantly and you’ll never forget it. Okay, so this meditation will help. Why Lama Tsongkhapa always sends up Manjushri? Because he is Manjushri. Orange lights, within orange lights, Manjushri’s mantra OM AH RA PA TSA NA DHI in Tibetan, English or Chinese and then the mantras send out rays of lights to all the Buddhas and Bodhisatvas and brings back their knowledge and their wisdom and dissolves into OM AH RA PA TSA NA DHI and OM AH RA PA TSA NA DHI lights dissolve into us and our bodies filled with OM AH RA PA TSA NA DHI and visualize your body, don’t visualize intestines and stomach and blood and bones, visualize your body filled with orange rays of light, filled with Manjushri’s mantra OM AH RA PA TSA NA DHI… DHI DHI DHI DHI DHI DHI, and you will gain profound clear wisdom.

The next one is, do you find sometimes you always misunderstand, or people misunderstand you or you just don’t understand things clearly. You always get the other wrong idea, always, or you get the wrong feeling, wrong idea, or you convey the wrong feeling, wrong idea, well, you can counter that with the quick wisdom in meditation and how do you do that? The same lights, the three combined into one but in the lights instead you visualize trillions and billions of the syllable letter “DHI”. That’s Manjushri’s heart mantra, DHI. And then the DHI, lights go out to the ten directions and invites back the quick wisdom of all the Buddhas and it dissolves into the DHI and this DHI comes to you while you recite Migtsema, you fill your body with the letter DHI, completely filled, and your body filled with orange lights. What’s important is this, you fill your body with orange light with the mantra DHI and make sure you feel your body is filled and it’s clear, and your channels and winds drops clear, its very important. Its just like the Chinese masters they put acupuncture in you and they clear the points then your disease heals, same thing except we are using Manjushri’s mantra to do it. So this is less painful than needles, less painful, yes it works too.

Now the next one is, to be able to achieve profound wisdom. Profound wisdom which can understand mainly the scriptures in-depth so you will be able to understand the scriptures and explain. You see isn’t it difficult when sometimes you explain to people they don’t, you don’t really know how to explain, you always have this favourite mantra “I don’t know how to say it, I don’t know how to say it” and then we say “I don’t know how to say it”, the other person is not impressed. You make yourself so bad, you make your guru look bad, you make Kechara look bad, you make your dharma learning look bad, you make everything look bad. So how to avoid that “ I don’t know how to say, I don’t know how to say,” instead of complaining all the time “ I don’t know how to say” as an excuse to not work harder, you can do this meditation and this meditation is three lights join into one so Khedrup Rinpoche, Gyaltsab Rinpoche and Lama Tsongkhapa three lights from your heart come into one, in the light is the sword of Lama Tsongkhapa, you know in his lotus he has a sword; trillions and billions of dharma texts and swords, the swords are sharp but they don’t cut you and then from that the lights go out invite the wisdom of Bodhisattva and deities to come forth, and then the sword and the dharma books fill your body up.

If there is a particular dharma book you want to understand then you visualize that dharma book. For example you want to understand the Lamrim very well, then you visualize the dharma book as the Lamrim, trillions and dissolve into you, fills your body with Lamrin text or dharma text, any dharma text and then the wisdom sword of Manjushri, the you get the ability to explain the dharma, very well, very clearly, very, very, eloquently and inspirationally. You will get that ability if you do this meditation and this ability will follow you into your future lives so even when you are very young, you can already start teaching the dharma. Have you heard some very young lamas, the age of six, seven, eight, they are already teaching dharma? We read that, it is real. It is possible. With this meditation. Okay? Next one. It’s very easy but to concentrate on it takes some time to practise. But it’s very easy. So consequences of not practising it, and then you come back as a pig, an elephant, ghost, over and over, take rebirth, okay.

Next one is the wisdom of teaching the dharma. Please grant me the blessing of chief wisdom and teaching dharma gives definite supreme understanding all meaning, this one is again similar to the top but this one is strictly for teaching dharma, the one on top is explaining scriptures and understanding scriptures. This one is specifically to teach dharma. Clearly, precisely, eloquently, even your mouth and your speech become, you know sometimes people talk although they know, the way they talk, (make some verbal sounds), you don’t understand it. The way they talk very annoying. Even their speech (make some verbal sounds), their voice, their sound, their lips, their movement, very annoying. It’s not nice. I am not trying to say somebody is bad but with this mantra your speech becomes clear, your words become eloquent and your pronunciation, enunciation become very clear. And when you talk, instead of people going (makes faces), they go “Oh!”(makes faces), Ya, they do that. You gain the charisma of speech, charisma of speech, definitely, if you do this meditation. In the light you visualize dharma scriptures, same procedure, the lights go out come back and fill your body with dharma scriptures, same procedure. So the meditation is the same, it’s just what inside the light. Everybody understand? Very easy. Do you have to do all seven everyday? No. You choose which one you have to do? The one you feel you need. Can you switch? Yes. Can. Alright?

So some of us cannot control our minds, cannot control our faculties, this meditation is very powerful. In fact those who do Manjushri retreats, their sleep is very light and deep. It’s deep but at the same time it’s very light and their dreams are very clear. In fact when people do Manjushri retreat, Lama Tsongkhapa same thing, we become very alert and very fresh because the mind become very sharp, alright.

Next one is the wisdom of spiritual debate. Don’t you hate it when you need to talk to people and they give you all kinds of funny reasons, funny excuses, and you can’t argue back, you know they are wrong but you don’t know how to debate back and you end up like “I don’t know what to say”. Well this meditation helps you to have a big mouth and win the argument, in a good way. Who like to have a big mouth and win the argument? (audience and Rinpoche raises hand), Ya! Its fun. So when they debate about you, about this point that point, you cut them off, very sharply. Your tongue becomes sharp but compassionate. Why? It’s meant to destroy their wrong conceptions, alright? Same procedure except in the light you visualize wheels of swords So it’s a wheel like that, the hub and swords coming out. Everybody understand? It’s a wheel like a wagon wheel, who’s seen a wagon wheel? (Chinese translation) Except this one has swords coming out. Same procedure, same meditation except wheels, okay… wheels of swords.

Next one, if you do that one very well you will be able to debate with people and change their minds and transform their minds. Isn’t that wonderful? And you sell more wealth vases! (laughter from audience). And it helps you to gain donations to build temples, I hate to say that way, yes because they will be convinced because you know how to speak. Instead of complaining “I don’t know how to speak” let other people get donations, now I give you how. So everybody in this room definitely can do it. If you cannot do it, Tsongkhapa is wrong, I am wrong, Zong Rinpoche is wrong, the meditation is wrong, burn the book, go to the beach, simple.

The last wisdom we can achieve through Lama Tsongkhapa incredible practice is this, is the wisdom of composing text, and this will be great for you little aspiring writers, bloggers. Imagine if you can write so clearly that when people read your writing, their minds turn and go towards the dharma. And the writing doesn’t mean eloquent and beautiful, just means your writing has power. You can write really bad grammar but if you have this meditation is not that you write so wonderfully grammatically correct with no mistakes, you can have grammar mistakes, you can have spelling mistakes, but when they read it, it changes their mind. Will that be a nice ability? Yes.

So this one is very beautiful, same procedure, except you visualize the dharma scriptures and wheel of swords together, lights go out, invites the blessings of the Buddhas and come back and dissolve into you. Now how do you visualize the lights coming out from the Buddhas? And you think where is the Buddha, how many, I don’t know all the Buddhas, forget about all that. Just think all lights from the Buddhas wherever you are and the lights come back. Make your life simple because if you have to sit there and go to Tara, come back, go Dzambala come back, tomorrow morning, oh, did I do Dzambala or not? Forget already! (laughter from audience). Just visualize it went to all the Buddhas come back is good enough, does everybody understand? Don’t make it more complicated. I give you another procedure. Who knows the Refuge Tree, the Guru Tree? Visualize it going to the Refuge Tree and all the Buddhas there send back the blessings through the light and it comes back to you, the end. Does it include the tree? No. (laughter from audience). Okay, very simple. That’s good.

You can do this visualization any of the seven while you are reciting Migtsema, Lama Tsongkhapa’s main mantra, or OM AH RA PA TSA NA DHI, either three mantras, does everybody understand? Okay. Any questions about the mantra’s recitation? And the visualization?

Question: Rinpoche, it’s still about visualization, I just notice that our mind likes to have its own agenda, it……

Rinpoche: But you see, you talk very funny, you talk as if your mind and you is separate, that’s you. So if you can’t control it, that’s exactly why you need to meditate. And this problem you are having with your mind going on its own will become bigger and bigger and increase and that’s what you take with you in your next life and the next life and the next life. So when you complain, which everybody does how difficult it is to control the mind, that’s why I am teaching this. So there’s, in short, there is no way to get away from this, there is no way there is a short cut, there is no way to complain our way to avoid this, if you want to have concentration, if you want to control your own mind you must do this. There are many types of meditation to control our mind but I am giving you the easiest one without initiation. One that you won’t go crazy if you do it wrong. So, how do you, if you need to stay awake, how do you make yourself stay awake? You control your mind. If you need to focus on something, how you focus? You have to change your mind. The very fact that our mind is so wild and we can’t control, that’s why I am teaching this. So Yek Yee asked if it affects my prayer, what does prayer mean? Prayer is from your heart. If you are not visualizing and thinking, just reciting, that’s not a prayer. It’s not much effect. How can it have effect just to recite, if it’s got effect just to recite and you don’t have to think or meditate, then play the tape recorder all day. Just record it and play the tape recorder, and you go to sleep. And lets see who gets enlightened, you or the tape recorder! (laughter from audience). You think, use your logic, this one is simple question people ask me for 20 years already. If I cannot visualize does it affect? Ya, of course it does! Of course it affects! Definitely affects! Why does it affects? Because you still cannot control your mind. So what’s the solution? Do this! Do this.

Question: So in this case, in this case, will it be better that we just let go of the ideas of what we want to visualize on or fixated with the pictures that we want to see or rather just let the mind “okay, now you can go to the bath and then later when you come back…”

Rinpoche: Of course, but it has to decrease in time, not increase or remain the same. Because if over time, you are still at the bath, then what you are doing is you are using that as an excuse as let my mind rest and I come back to it, I rest and come back. We actually, in the beginning we have to do the visualization, rest a little, meditate and then it wonders and bring it back, wonders and bring, actually doing this meditation, you can wonder a couple of hundred times, and have to bring it back but that’s just like exercising at the gym, you refine your brain muscles. Definitely you can rest but after 10 years, if you are still resting your mind, you are still thinking of bath, stay at the bath! You understand? Because it’s very important.

Question: So its, the duration of it?

Rinpoche: Must lessen!

Question: We allows the mind to go..

Rinpoche: Can. You allow it to go because you can’t control it fully in the beginning, over time you can control it. In the beginning you let it rest, of course, otherwise you go crazy, not crazy, you become like what’s that called…

Audience: Tense.

Rinpoche: Yes, tense. Tense and tired. But it is a good tense and tired because it’s something you have never done. It’s a good tense. When we go gym, next day got sore muscles, is that good sore or bad sore?

Audience: Good sore.

Rinpoche: Same thing. Okay, Mister Loo? Good. Do the mantra. Who’s going to do the Migtsema as the main mantra everyday, raise your hand.

Who’s going to do the main mantra instead of the Migtsema, as the main mantra everyday, raise your hand.

Who’s going to do OM AH RA PA TSA NA DHI as the main mantra and the other ones to do little bit only, raise your hand. Very good, very good. All three is fine

The last part, the final part, the dissolution. This is very important for two points.

‘Oh Glorious and Precious Root Guru,

Pray sit on the lotus moon atop of my head,

Caring for me in your kindness,

Please grant me the attainments of body speech and mind. ‘

Now this is what you are going to visualize but do not do it too strong. Visualize at the top of your head, an opening, and the opening goes straight down the centre, and it goes to your heart. The outside is blue, the inside is red. Then at the end is a eight petal lotus. On the eight petal lotus in your heart is a DHI. Does everybody understand that? Okay. Now you go inside and you look up, when you look up what do you see? CK?

CK: (answers – inaudible)

Rinpoche: Very good. Excellent. Why is it when you look up, you see Maitreya? Albert? Why?

Albert: (;answers – inaudible)

Rinpoche – That’s very good, that’s only part of it, the other part is why? Its not a trick question, think. It’s a little subtle but think. Why is it when we look up we see Maitreya? He’s not wrong, he’s not wrong. You looking up is because now you are getting rid of you body and going into who you really are, your mind. Otherwise when you look up you should see the tube, the red tube and at the top you see Lama Tsongkhapa, you see Maitreya. If you are looking up like that, you won’t see the tube so that means your meditation is a little off, why? Because you are still focusing on your body and attached to your body. You see at the end of this life what do you get rid of? (answers from audience – inaudible), so why don’t we practise now, getting rid of our body. How do we practise getting rid of our body? We stop using our eyes to look up. We use our mind to look up. So we use our mind to look up, what will we see around us? We want to detach ourselves from our body and the reason is so we are not attached to it anymore. When we are not attached to our body, we cut a lot of karma that comes from attachment. So in order to do that, who are we? Are we our body or our mind?

Audience: Our mind.

Rinpoche: If we are our mind and the meditation is about our mind detaching from our body, then what will you see when you look around you?

Audience: (answers, inaudible)

Rinpoche: No.

Audience: (answers, inaudible)

Rinpoche: No.

Audience: (answers, inaudible)

Rinpoche: Very good. What’s inside of you? What’s inside of you?

Audience: (answers, inaudible)

Rinpoche: The what?

Audience: (respond, inaudible)

Rinpoche: Correct. Correct. Your channel. Where is your mind abiding?

Audience: (respond, inaudible)

Rinpoche: Inside the channel, on top of the lotus, correct? In the form of what, your mind’s abiding in the form of what, what form?

Audience: DHI

Rinpoche: Correct. So if you are the DHI, what are you using to look at yourself and around you and above?

Audience: (answers – inaudible)

Rinpoche: So you are using your mind, are you using your eye?

Audience: No

Rinpoche: So what do you see?

Audience: (answers – inaudible)

Rinpoche: Correct. Very simple and logical. Very profound. Because when you die, that’s exactly what’s going to happen to you, you are going to leave your body. And you are going to stand outside and look at your body and go “oh, I’m outside” Even people today who can leave their body in their sleep or astral travel, when they leave their body, they see their body there, but they are different, they are separate. Its very profound practice. So I’m teaching you a practice that helps you to detach from your body, not leave your body, you see, all your problems come from your attachment to your body, “I’m depressed, I’m unhappy, I’m hot, I’m cold, I need love, I need this,” it’s your attachment to your body. If you do this every day, you detach from your body. When you are detach from your body, what happens? You are free. You can come and go as you like. So easy, so profound, so simple. So you are looking at the things around you with, what? (audience answers : mind), your mind.

Rinpoche: Does your mind need eyeballs to see?

Audience: No

Rinpoche: Correct. If your mind needs an eyeball to see, when you are dreaming, how do you see? And does your mind needs your eardrum and ear to hear? If you need your ears to hear, how come in your dream, you can hear. Does your mind need our tongue to taste? If you need your tongue to taste, when you are dreaming eating pizza, how come you can taste the pizza. So do you need your body to taste, touch, feel, and sense? That’s what you are doing in this meditation, to detach from your body that you are so attached to. Isn’t that profound? So in the first instance, when you recite the first line, this is what you visualize. You’re inside your body, your body is not you anymore. You’re the form of the letter DHI, D H I, on top of a lotus, 8 petal, white, inside a red subtle tube and when you look up, you can see Maitreya Buddha. That’s where you’re going to go. If you do this well, when you die, you visualize this, you will go there. You will go there.

‘PAL-DAN TSA-WEY LA-MA RINPOCHE

DAG-SOG CHI-WOR PE-ME DAN-JUG LA

KA-DRIN CHEN-PO GO-NEY JE-ZUNG TE

KU-SUNG THUG-KYI NGO-DRUP TSAL-DU SOL’

That’s the first line, after you recite that, this what happens. The two disciples dissolve into Lama Tsongkhapa. Lama Tsongkhapa shrinks, becomes very tiny, like this. Then you recite the second line

‘PAL-DAN TSA-WEY LA-MA RINPOCHE

DAG-SOG NYING-KHAR PE-ME DAN-JUG LA

KA-DRIN CHEN-PO GO-NEY JE-ZUNG TE

CHO-DANG THUN-MONG NGO-DRUP TSAL-DU SOL’

‘Oh glorious and precious root Guru, pray sit on the lotus on my heart care for me in great kindness, please grant attainments common and supreme’.

When you say that, Lama Tsongkhapa comes forth, look here, turns around and face the same direction as you and sits on top of your head. Now when you look up, you see Lama Tsongkhapa’s divine backside. (laugher from audience).

Now, what was Lama Tsongkhapa and the two disciples sitting on before they dissolve?

Audience: Clouds.

Rinpoche: That cloud is not a cloud, it’s actually an emanation of Maitreya Buddha. So the cloud itself is Maitreya Buddha, okay?

Now, when Lama Tsongkhapa sits on top of our head, the cloud is still with him. Now you recite the last line, this is very critical, for two reasons. One is to teach you to detach from your body, this will not create you to die, this will not make you leave your body, this will not bring you any harm. That’s why it is done without initiation. The second thing is it teaches you how to do self Powa. You recite the last line “Oh Glorious and Precious Root Guru, pray sit on the lotus on my heart, care for me in your great kindness until I attained supreme awakening, remain steadfast”

So you are asking Lama Tsongkhapa to stay with you, your Guru and Lama Tsongkhapa to stay with you until you reach enlightenment. Then Lama Tsongkhapa descends down your central channel, from here you look, you see him coming closer, and then he joins with the DHI. When he joins with the DHI, what is the DHI?

Audience: The mind

Rinpoche: Very good. When he joins with the DHI, Lama Tsongkhapa, here’s the DHI, here is Lama Tsongkhapa, he joins with the DHI, what happens to the DHI, the DHI goes inside Lama Tsongkhapa’s heart becomes one. And then the cloud goes up the central channel and goes all the way up and touches Maitreya’s heart.

When Lama Tsongkhapa comes to the lotus, watch, comes down onto the lotus, becomes one with the DHI, means one with you, the lotus closes. He said that ahead of me, the lotus closes. When the lotus closes, Lama Tsongkhapa’s inside with you, the lotus closing means what? Nothing can take him away from you, then the cloud goes to Maitreya and you focus on that very strongly.

Page 169 please. Then surrounding the lotus that’s closed is this mantra, if you can visualize this mantra, sealing it okay, if you cannot, never mind. OM AH RA PA TSA NA DHI SUMATI KIRTI SHI RI BHA DRA AH THI TA NA AN THI TI TE KUR BEN TU. So look here, the lotus is closed, one string going up. The string gets as long as you want, as short as you want, elastic, never cuts. If you close the car door, it doesn’t cut. Ya. Some people ask me “If I close the door, how?” Nothing it goes right through the door what. Don’t worry, its Maitreya, Maitreya cannot be cut. Then the lotus closes, you visualize the mantra around the lotus clockwise. It seals it until, Zong Rinpoche said until the end of time. Until you become enlightened, then you are finished.

When you are in a place that is very scary and you are scared and you are frightened, you can meditate on Lama Tsongkhapa in your heart glowing, surrounding your body very bright the light, almost, when people look at you cannot look at you anymore. You think this is just my visualization, NO, NO, Lama Tsongkhapa has the power. The visualization is only the trigger, your visualization is not the power, it is a trigger.

So when you are in a very scary place, maybe you are filming paranormal, it is a hotel, you know in Malaysia got a lot of haunted hotels, especially Melaka, you don’t believe me, I take you to one and lock you inside. I lock Sean, Beatrix, and the monster here in a nice haunted hotel, tomorrow morning Sean will be slim. (laugher from floor). You visualize the lights coming out and you recite Migtsema, and you relax. Nothing can harm you. That’s a little secret I teach you. Or even when you are giving a massage to your beautiful mother, your beautiful father, your friend, your dharma brother and sister, visualize the lights coming from Lama Tsongkhapa, golden lights, extend, orange golden lights extend out through your fingers and you give the massage and visualize the lights going out, blessing, helping, healing the person. Then when you are touching animals, your beautiful cat, your dog, you visualize the lights coming from Lama Tsongkhapa from the heart going through you, from your speech, (chanting Migtsema), bless the animal, with the lights coming out, oh it’s very powerful. Even when you are going swimming, this is a little farfetched but never mind, even when you go swimming, you visualize the lights coming from your body fill the river, the ocean, wherever you are swimming and blesses all the animals there. You think “is it real?” It doesn’t matter if it is real, what matters is that you can generate your mind to think about others instead of yourself. Does everybody understand? Very powerful practice.

When you eat, “oh kway teow” (makes slurping sounds), “I’m full”. NO! When you eat, visualize the food turning into white nectar and going back to Lama Tsongkhapa and you feed Lama Tsongkhapa. “But you eat like that and Lama Tsongkhapa so little like that, how arh?” He’s a BUDDHA, can eat everything. Lama Tsongkhapa eat a buffet and don’t look like Albert Ratchanga (laughter from floor). No problem. So you visualize that. When you visualize the fan or the air cond coming to you, don’t say “oh I am so hot, I’m so hot” If you visualize like you offer to Lama Tsongkhapa, the coolness, and dedicate, may all beings in the hells receive coolness. You can use this for meditation for awareness every day. That’s why I said, it’s a short practice but it is very complete. Very, very complete.

I didn’t go over the small small details today, I went over it quickly, actually this teaching I can give you, I need about three days if I want to do it completely. But I gave it to you short form and juicy. For more detail, refresher, study this book. If you’re my friend, study this book. Get two in case you lose it or you wear one out. Write down notes in it, write down questions, we can meet and have questions. If all of you wish, everybody in this room, I’ll have may be Jean Ai or someone record down the names, we can meet again, and after you have one week, two weeks to study what we practiced, what I spoke about, we get together and have questions and answer. I don’t mind. Tonight a little bit too late for question and answer but we can have that so we can further learn. But I would like everybody to read this book. Please stop complaining about your problems, your difficulties, your sufferings, your mind jumping all that, I am giving you the methods to counter everything. Please stop telling me you are depressed, you’re scared, you are a loser, you are over achiever, you are jealous, you’re angry, please stop telling me all that. I gave you methods to counter it all. I gave it to you from my heart, with a lot of love, with a lot of hopes that you will practise and achieve some results. Let me remind you all, what I spoke with you really have results, it’s not fantasy, it has results. Even the new age healers, when they go ghostbusting, when they go to a house to ghostbust, they visualize a light and then the ghost enters the light, isn’t it? They visualize the light and then it goes into the light because the visualization triggers the action. Everybody understand?

Rinpoche: Any last questions? Yes, Wai Ying

Wai Ying: Any age limitation?

Rinpoche: No, none.

Wai Ying: Even the visualization?

Rinpoche: No age limitation. No age. That’s a good question

Wonderful. I from the bottom of my heart have enjoyed every moment of this. I only regret we didn’t have more time but one of these days I am going to go through this book, page by page. Maybe without an audience, just record it; you guys can watch it on video, but better with an audience because you can receive it directly. I have enjoyed every moment of tonight that I have been with you guys to convey the holy practice of Lama Tsongkhapa. My heart right now feels great peace, happiness, joy, and I’m very happy that I can share it with you.

I have every full confidence in Lama Tsongkhapa’s practice because Zong Rinpoche can never be wrong. Never. So therefore, what I’ve taught you tonight, I know you are tired and you are sleepy but go back on the video when it is posted and re listen to it again. Everything that I shared with you tonight was from my heart, with the deepest wishes for you to turn your lives around and to change your lives to become even better and if I may say so, for your future lives to be better. All of us have met; we have met each other for a reason. The only reason you met me is to bring dharma into your lives, to transform your lives to change it to something better and more meaningful. Is not you’re bad people but with dharma you will understand the purpose of your lives.

So therefore I request all of you with folded hands, from my heart, to really practise this practice every day. I gave it to you short and sweet because I want the words to be short but the meditation and the thinking to be, more profound. I don’t believe in giving my friends and students, hundreds of pages of sadhanas to do, it takes you hours. What I believe is short and simple because before you met me you have a lot of responsibilities and I understand that. So because of that I respect your responsibilities, I give you something short but very effective. Those of you who raise your hands to do Lama Tsongkhapa, I am very excited for you. Those of you who didn’t raise your hands, plan for it and do it anyway. Do a good one, the best you can. The biggest you can. The biggest for some of you may be like that, that’s okay, that’s okay. Do it up well, put it up in the centre of your altar, put up powerful mantras inside, do the best that you can. Go all the way with your practice.

One of these days, all of us will have to separate. I will have to die and I hope it is before all of you, and one of these days, all of you will have to die. One of these days, none of us will exist anymore in this room. All of us in this room will be dead. Gone. Forgotten. But if we do this practice, our bodies will be gone but our minds will continue in a higher form. In a better form. Does everybody understand? So keep that in your hearts.

I’ve experienced SO MUCH pleasure teaching Lama Tsongkhapa to all of you. So much pleasure. Reason is because, what can be more precious. And I didn’t make you take any vows or commit, I didn’t make you take any heavy promises, only dharma teachings. So practise and push yourself, improve. Let’s make Kechara grow huge. Let’s make KFR and all that come up. Why? Because we can reach out to so many more people in the future

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A unique Byzantine style depiction of Lama Tsongkhapa with his two heart disciples, Khedrup Je and Gyaltsab Je. This depiction of the three great practitioners is known in Tibetan as Je Yab Se Sum. Click to enlarge and download the high resolution version.

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Samfoonheei on Jun 28, 2018 at 3:11 pm

Powerful commentary on the condensed teachings of Lama Tsonghapa’s practice. I have learned quite lot from reading this article and understand much better even though I have been practicing since joining Kechara. I am fortunate to have met Rinpoche late than never in this life so I am working harder each day to learn as much as I could.
With folded hands, thank you Rinpoche for sharing this powerful practice and explaining the benefits with us. Thank you writers team too.

Michael C. on May 28, 2014 at 8:00 am

Wow! Thanks so much! I especially appreciate the commentary on the 7 wisdoms and explanations on how to do visualization for each of the 7 wisdoms. And the commentary and example of Long & Short mandala offering and the commentary on water offering 8 or 16. And the commentary on Gaden Lhagyama.

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Uncle Eddie on Feb 7, 2014 at 11:31 am

The condensed comprenhensived teachings of Lama Tsonghapa’s practice is a very powerful one in itself indeed. However as Rinpoche said, “How powerful this teaching is on our personal growth is dependent on how much we absorb and apply it”. Of course we pray that we will be greatly blessed to have a clear and sharp mind with wisdom to be able to avoid those things which are opposed to its success, “like that of the three problems of the pot”, as an example. We should use our contemplation to gain recognition of the truth on those winning points, i.e. as recommended, to staying in a state of isolation in a retreat to cut off all ties to this life; live according to the principle of having few material wants; be satisfied with what we have; keep our concerns and activities few; make mighty efforts of this practice and the study of Dharma; never lose ourselves to putting-off our practices and Dharma study; continue with working hard for the ultimate wish of success in becoming a Buddha for the benefit of helping all sentient beings irrespective. It is said that a mind imbued with a correct view, finally serves as an antidote for the cycle of Life! Om mani padme hung.

Jacinta Goh on Jan 28, 2014 at 5:13 pm

May Rinpoche lives long through the recitation of this mantra continuously by the students and whoever have benefited from your teaching. May Lama Tsongkhapa teaching flourish……

AdelineTan on Jan 26, 2014 at 11:19 pm

I love Lama Tsongkhapa teaching, it’s simple and yet very powerful practice. Ever since Rinpoche gave me this practice in the monastery nearly two decades ago, i am doing it every single day till now. The Migtsema prayer helps to calm my mind and more focus, it also improved my memory and physical health a lot very beneficial.Thank you Rinpoche for giving me this wonderful practice.

Julien Roth on Jan 21, 2014 at 11:14 pm

Its always nice to have such beautiful teaching from such an amazing guru. It really does clear your mind and help you get on with your life at ease. Thank you for sharing this with us.

tenzinkhenchen on Jan 20, 2014 at 10:25 pm

Thank you for sharing this amazing practice with us. It is an honour to learn the benefits and the practices of Lama Tsongkhapa. It helps everyone understand the practice better.

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Jim Yeh on Sep 13, 2013 at 6:05 am

Dear Rinpoche,

Thank you for introducing Lama Tsongkhapa to our lives. This teaching was instrumental in transforming my mind.

I was very anger some and bitter before, for many many years. And yet this teaching and the way it was taught, made me contemplate deeper and change my ways.

After viewing this teaching, I was able to transform in 3 major ways:

1.) Becoming a vegetarian. When Rinpoche mentioned about becoming a vegetarian at least once a week and dedicate it to Kuan Yin. I thought to myself that this was doable and decided to do it, little did I expect that I would never go back to eating meat after that 1 day of being a vegetarian. I have more peace of mind now knowing that no animals were harmed for my nourishments.

2.) This teaching has also taught me to be more generous. I now set aside funds every month for dharma. I have also learned that money cannot buy us permanent happiness. We are lay people and we need to allocate some of our income for dharma and in this way we can collect merits.

3.) And last but not the least, this teaching introduced me to Lama Tsongkhapa and the migtsema. I have not missed a day of reciting my migtsema after watching this video. It was your teaching of Lama Tsongkhapa that made my mind transform.

Thank you Rinpoche. Because of you, my life is more meaningful and I am less of a selfish jerk.

Jim

Joy on Jan 21, 2013 at 3:39 pm

We are so fortunate to have a Lama in our presence… we Malaysians must have collected some kind of merits to be able to have Rinpoche here with us, and to be connected with RInpoche and be working so closely with Rinpoche is definitely no coincidence!

Rinpoche gave a teaching to us recently, last night in fact that to be able to listen to a Dharma teaching, taught by a qualified master, to be able to absorb, apply and retain all comes from “merits”… hence it is why it is so improtant to collect merits and there countless ways from sweeping the floor to donating, sponsoring, to building all these collect merits with the correct motivation which will then be your “credit” to receive teachings and gain the understanding of the Dharma and apply it. Hence that is why we are so lucky if we work in Dharma center, we’re actually being paid/sponsor to do Dharma and collect merit for the ultimate goal… learning the Dharma and to gain realizations from it.

So Kin Hoe on Dec 24, 2012 at 11:50 pm

Thank you Rinpoche for posting this video that really benefits many lay people like me. It is very fortunate to have the chance to learn Tsongkhapa’s practice in these days and apply it everyday to gain merits for future lives. I have seen and observed many people outside are still in lost and trapped within their self-created problems. May Tsongkhapa’s practice reach to every being and enlighten their troubled mind, set everyone free from samsara.

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Paris on Sep 16, 2012 at 2:18 pm

I have had the great fortune of receiving many teachings from Rinpoche on Lama Tsongkhapa’s amazing history and practice, and although I may have heard it before, or transcribed it, or worked on the books, I continue to be bowled over, amazed and wonder-struck every single time I hear the teachings again. I am amazed at the simplicity of the practice, but at the same time, the profundity of it, the beauty and clarity of the meditation (especially those of the 7 wisdoms) and the huge peace that it brings to one’s mind just hearing the teachings.

As Rinpoche has already mentioned, we do have a very comprehensive box set of the teachings which combines the many teachings that Rinpoche has given on Tsongkhapa over the years. Rinpoche based this teaching on the book within the box-set, a kind of commentary, perhaps? So the teachings available for everyone now are very complete – including the original teachings and then, in this most recent teaching, a further explanation and elaboration of what has already been written / taught.

Rinpoche has explained before that just HEARING Tsongkhapa’s name and seeing his image requires a tremendous amount of merit. This is taught and explained throughout the monastery too. In this time and age, it is very very difficult to meet with Tsongkhapa’s teachings and requires a great deal of merit to even see him. So we can consider ourselves extremely fortunate to even be able to have access to such teachings, be so kindly given such clear explanations and to be able to start a practice immediately to create even stronger affinities.

- Paris on Sep 16, 2012 at 2:33 pm
  
  I wanted to add also that Rinpoche spent some time specially to explain that Lama Tsongkhapa’s practice is especially helpful and effective for people who are prone to depression or mental instability (ie their minds go up and down, experience many doubts, uncertainties, struggle to find clarity).
  
  In these times, it is not unusual for people to feel a sense of loss, many insecurities, fears. Given that our physical environments are so comfortable now, the suffering we create for ourselves turns inwards. We suffer more on an emotional and mental level than a physical one. So this practice is especially helpful for bringing us out of these kinds of depressions, fears, insecurities.
  
  Personally, as the queen of being Nervous and Anxious, I have found this to be extremely helpful. Reciting migtsema alone (Tsongkhapa’s mantra) brings instant peace and really does help to stabilise the mind. It’s all the more effective when done with any one of the 7-wisdoms meditations.
  
  I hope this helps. when you’re in that state of mind, it feels like quite a bit of an effort to start, but it is well worth it and gets much, much easier and smoother as we practice and progress. The effects come about very fast and remain.
  
  Here’s to a wonderfully peaceful practice to you all xxx
  
Joe Ang on Sep 14, 2012 at 12:21 pm

Dear Rinppoche,

Thank you for giving to us such a wonderful gift.
A practice that was passed down from generation, to generation of highly attained masters. How fortunate are we to have received this sacred and holy practice from you Rinpoche.

Thank you.
Joe.

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Wan Wai Meng on Sep 13, 2012 at 1:16 am

There is always so much to learn and absorb from Rinpoche, who always finds many ways to bring the dharma and truth for our consumption. Guru Yoga is a very complete practice can bring us to enlightenment or also the purelands.

abby F on Sep 12, 2012 at 6:25 pm

I am very lucky to be there at that night. Thank you Rinpoche for the invitingand the videos!

On that night, Rinpoche not only teach about Lama Tsongkapa practice(technically it’s all included in Tsongkapa practice), Rinpoche talked the goal of our life, and He shared His stories with His Gurus with us, the experiences when He first arrived in Malaysia and more. Rinpoche also told us that we are extremely lucky to be able to hear, see and even to say Tsongkapa’s name. And one of the reason why we are able to hear and learn Tsongkapa’s teachings from Rinpoche, is because there were/are a lot of sponsorship from many people to support the Dharma work of Rinpoche. Everything we have today comes from donation! And from this we should think, why am I so lucky yo have my Guru sit in front of me and my Guru wants nothing from me.

Of course, Rinpoche teach about the Lama Tsongkapa’s Guru Yoga practice. He explained each of the prayers to us in a very detailed way. Rinpoche even taught us to do the long Mandala Offerings. I heard from Rinpoche’s senior students that we are lucky to learn this from Rinpoche.

Thank you KIM for helping us to do the recording. The night was long, we were tired but Rinpoche is the one who speaks tirelessly to teach us. Hope you all benefited from Rinpoche’s teachings as well. Once again, thank you to my Guru who teacher us tirelessly. I will share with everyone that I meet.

wei theng on Sep 11, 2012 at 7:19 pm

Thank you so much Rinpoche for giving us such a profound and detailed teaching on Lama Tsongkhapa. I have been putting it into practise and reading the book. These video posted on the blog will help me to refresh my memory and add on to the notes that i have and i can view it again and again. Thank you Rinpoche for making it so simple and easy to learn, to practice and to share with others.
May more will be able to be benefited and get the blessing from Lama Tsongkhapa practice.

Special thanks to Metok and YinXi. Without you, we may not be able to have this teaching. You both also inspired me to be more appreciative to what i have now and do more!

sweekeong on Sep 10, 2012 at 7:18 pm

Thank you Rinpoche for giving a beautiful teaching on Lama Tsongkhapa’s Guru Yoga to everyone here. It is a privilege to hear Lama Tsongkhapa name, learn about him, and Dharma. Without Lama Tsongkhapa the tradition and teaching of Buddhism wouldn’t have spread so far and wide on this modern world. I pray that I am able to meet these teachings from life to life until the day. Rinpoche has explained the teachings very well in contemporary language for all of us to learn and practice. 🙂

judy lam on Sep 10, 2012 at 7:22 am

Rejoice for all who have been able to get these teachings from Rinpoche. It is fantastic that this is put on Rinpoche’s blog so that it will benefit many. Thank you Rinpoche.

Lim (KH JB) on Sep 10, 2012 at 12:52 am

Rejoice for all the attendees, u all are so fortunate to receive direct teaching and oral transmission from Rinpoche. Thanks Rinpoche for sharing the videos that can let more peoples all over the world to get the teaching.

I will try familiarize as much possible and apply in my daily sadhana as well…

Ethan Hoo on Sep 9, 2012 at 9:49 am

Thank you, Rinpoche. Wonderful teachings of Lama Tsongkhapa’s Guru Yoga and the mandala offering. I’ll watch the video again to get familiarize with the teaching. I wish very much to be in KL and receive teachings.

Thank you again, Rinpoche, for your great kindness to spread Buddha’s teachings despite all the hardship and bring dharma to this part of the world.

tk on Sep 8, 2012 at 3:29 pm

Dear Rinpoche, I was about to send you something written by Mother Teresa on Final Analysis and here after seeing your teaching to the two visitors from China and US, I was surprised that you pull out the same thought by Mother Teresa. Infact I was in my system trying to copy that into this blog for you to see. Its wonderful to come across such rich teaching by Mother Teresa and I too put that on my table so that I can be reminded. Its intuition to both of us.
By the way, I went to Kechara last month and managed to invite two small statues(images) of Lama Tsongkapa and Lord Setrap and I practised the mantra of Lama Tsongkapa/Lord Setrap/Medicine Buddha.
Is this good enough.

- tk on Sep 8, 2012 at 11:07 pm
  
  Dear Rinpoche, I hope you dont misunderstood me for taking advantage. Something really amazed that Kechara keeping appearing on my computer internet screen, Kechara and through sheer of curiosity I decided to look see what is this about and found a gd rinpoche teachings, yourself with many videos and testimonies. My friend and I lost all the ways from Kl, we took 4 hours to reach Kechara and told my friend whatever happen I want to visit Kechara, we reached Kechara about 7 pm tired but happy and stayed overnight in Guest House, the rest is history, no need to brag.I have just sent details to Wai Meng but no big deal, what I do is from my heart with sincerity and truthfullness, not just a show off. Please forgive me for such long note. I am from Singapore.
  
  - Joy on Jan 21, 2013 at 3:22 pm
    
    Dear Tk, Noticed that you are in Singapore… just for your info, one of Rinpoche’s student has opened up a center in Singapore for those who wish to get involve more and learn more, http://blog.tsemtulku.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/students-friends/modern-buddhist-fellowship-opens-their-door-to-singaporeans.html
    
    This is the blog of the center there in S’pore, if you don’t know already and Kechara will also be sending more pastors there to also share our Mother Center Kechara’s activities http://modernbuddhistfellowship.blogspot.com/
    
    Hope this helps!
    
guat hee on Sep 7, 2012 at 6:02 pm

Thank you Rinpoche for the sharing and teaching.
I’m more understood and clear on the Lama Tsongkhapa’s practise after listen to it. Will read through the book again and apply it into my daily practice and sadhana.

Sofi on Sep 7, 2012 at 4:25 pm

Thank you Rinpoche for such a clear and precious teaching of Lama Tsongkapa’s practise. I’ve learnt so much and had been implementing your teachings into my daily practise and saddhana. Have also started reading the text accompanying Lama Tsongkapa box set and found more understanding of his practise. I hope more people will benefit from your teaching, as it is amazingly simple but encompass so much benefits and merits. With folded hands, Thank You.

HelenaC on Sep 7, 2012 at 3:55 pm

Oh My My, I was in the teaching on Lama Tsongkhapa’s practice. I learn alot and have more understanding of the practice. Its very fortunate to received teachings from my Guru directly. Thank you very much Rinpoche for the memorable night 🙂
I will watch the video again and again till i am familiarize.
Metok and Yin Xi were great volunteers and people, we love them alot 🙂 We are looking forward to see them again and of course I am sure there will be more volunteers from overseas in the near future 🙂

Much love,
Helena

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Condensed Tsongkapa practice for happiness and clear mind

Part 1 of 4

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All About Tsongkhapa, and the benefits of his practice! Part 1/4

All About Tsongkhapa, and the benefits of his practice! Part 2

All About Tsongkhapa and the Benefits of his practice Part 3

All About Tsongkhapa and the Benefits of his practice Part 4

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