Dear Eddie Ong,

We are very happy to read that you have a connection to the Dharma. Yes, unfortunately Tsem Rinpoche has already departed us, but Rinpoche has left us with all we need to transform ourselves and progress spiritually. This website itself is what Rinpoche described as a ‘virtual temple’ where you can learn the Dharma. Rinpoche worked tirelessly to get as many teachings and articles published here, so anyone, anywhere around the world can benefit from it.

Now let’s discuss dreams a little bit. Generally, there are three types of dreams as described below. Most of us only experience the first type, unless we progress on the spiritual path.

1. Samsaric dreams: these arise from karma and karmic traces in the mind. This can also include emotions, memories, etc. The meaning we find in these dreams are imputed by the dreamer, and not inherent in the dream. This also applies to waking life. We impute meaning onto situations and circumstances, rather than the meaning being inherent to the circumstance. It is like reading a book. Words in the book are just marks on paper, however, because we use our sense of meaning, we take a meaning out of it. However, this is always open to interpretation. For example, if you tell your dream to two people, they can interpret the meaning very differently, even though you told them the exact same details.

2. Clarity dreams: These dreams occur when you are fairly progressed in meditational practices and can carry this into the dream state. These dreams arise not from the emotions, or memories, etc., but from more subtler forms of karma and delusions. However, just like in waking mediational practice, you are not affected by the images or thoughts that appear to you. You simply let them appear and then pass. At this stage you are aware that you are dreaming while in the dream.

3. Clear Light dreams: In the advanced tantric practices, there are teachings called dream yoga. The object of these is to achieve the clear light dreams, which are very difficult to achieve and take years and years of intense practice. The most important clear light mind that arises is actually at the time of our death, if we are trained enough in this very subtle state, we can actually control where we take rebirth. If we are more experienced in this state, then we can actually use it to meditate on the teachings and achieve enlightenment. Clear light dreams are a “lesser” type of clear light mind, that helps practitioners prepare for the time of death.

When we have an auspicious dream such as of our teacher, our practice, the Buddhas, etc., even though this is auspicious, it is still more than likely to be just a samsaric dream. Because it is equated to a samsaric dream most people would dismiss it as being just a normal dream arising from the subconscious. But it is a very auspicious type of dream, because it shows that the Dharma and virtuous imprints are beginning to take root in your life.

You see, when you learn the Dharma and more importantly put the Dharma into practice in your life and transform to become a more compassionate person, the Buddhas themselves will bless you. I would take your dream to be an indication, that you are on the right path of studying the Dharma and that the enlightened beings are blessing you to continue on your spiritual journey. The dream was your subconscious telling you that you are on the right path. Why it manifested as being in Rinpoche’s room? That is simple, because you have been following Rinpoche and Rinpoche’s teachings recently, that was how it manifested in your dream. It is a good dream to have had. I hope this helps.

Dear FL,

We are very happy to read that you have a yearning to practice the Dharma. Currently, our introductory and beginners course are not running online. The current courses are only focused on Lamrim.

You can start your self-study by following this article here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/books-that-are-a-must-read.html. It outlines various books as advised by Tsem Rinpoche to study in a progressive manner. If you have any questions, you can ask here. We are happy to help answer.

If you would like a more personalised approach until our introductory courses are back, please email care@kechara.com with and ask to be put into direct contact with a Pastor to help guide you in your learning. I hope this helps.

Dear Anonymous,

Thank you for your interesting question. The study of karma is indeed vast. Most people only think about karma as tit for tat or one-for-one, but it is much more complex than that.

Let’s take an example and examine it. In a previous life you were negative towards someone. This led to a couple of things:

> It created the karma for you to be harmed in the future.
> It strengthened the tendency in your mind to react negatively to people, hence create more karma.
> It strengthened the tendency in the other person’s mind to feel emotional pain when something like that happens again and most probably to react in a negative way when it happens, leading them to create karma for themselves too.

Now, let’s bring the example forward to this life:

> The karma for you to be harmed ripened in this life, so you felt pain. However, since karma multiplies, it is not necessarily tit for tat. Meaning you may still need to suffer such incidents again, even though the causes for all these incidents are just one single action.
> The way you react in such situations creates more karma, either negative or positive, as well as strengthens certain tendencies in your mind. For example if you reacted negatively, it strengthens negative tendencies meaning you will keep creating negative karma. On the other hand, if you reacted with the virtue of patience, it strengthens this virtue in your mind.
> Since the other person acted negatively towards you, this creates negative karma for them, as well as strengthens negative tendencies in their mind stream.

So you see, karma is very complex. It is the reason why we are stuck in cyclic existence. The only way to be free is to become enlightened. That is why when you study karma, it is not meant to be fatalistic but bolster your resolve to escape from all this suffering by becoming enlightened yourself, and then help others achieve freedom from karma as well. I hope this helps. If you have any other questions, please do ask. Your questions show that you think about the Dharma, and we are happy to help you understand better.

Dear Lobsang Samten,

Thank you for your question. Lha Kyabjuk is the Tibetan name for the Hindu god named Vishnu. You can do a search on Vishnu to see what he looks like. We also have a thangka of Lha Kyabjuk, which you can view here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/one-minute-story/the-god-of-who-preserves-vishnu

I hope this helps. Thank you.

Dear Joseph,

Since you are practicing tantra, you have received initiation from a guru in your particular practice. For questions related to your practice, please confer with your guru as they will be able to guide you better and correctly than anyone else. The reasons for this are two-fold, the first is that you have a guru-disciple relationship with them, and second they will have more knowledge of your particular practice than we do since they gave it to you. There may be a specific reason why you are going through this, and a specific antidote to correcting it, based on the tantric system you are practicing. You can contact your guru directly if you have the means, otherwise please contact the centre you received your initiation from and ask them to help you. Thank you.

Dear Anonymous,

Thank you for your question. From the side of the enlightened beings, they are all equal in their love and compassion for us, that is why they manifest is so many different forms with various practices to help us overcome particular types of suffering. For example, when we need to develop compassion and overcome our anger, the practice of Chenrezig is very good. When we need to develop more wisdom and overcome ignorance, then Manjushri’s practice is very good.

The difference in how “quick” or “closer” a particular Buddha is actually due to our own karma. Some Buddha’s appear “closer” to us, because the general pervasive karma of our time makes it easier for us to propitiate them for their help. All Buddhas will help when we call them, but due to our karma some may be able to help quicker than others.

Lama Tsongkhapa and Green Tara are examples of Buddhas that can help us quite quickly in our time and age. Both of their practices are extremely beneficial. Green Tara’s swiftness is actually physically shown in her iconography. While a lot of deities sit cross-legged, Green Tara sits with her right leg down. This shows she is ever-ready to help those who call upon her and she does so very quickly.

However, in order to get real and lasting help from them in order to transform our minds to become better people it is important to engage in their practices daily. The key here is consistency. Coupled with deity practice, if you practice transformation of the mind, for example by following the path of the Lamrim, they are able to help you even more.

I am very happy to read that Green Tara helped you, and you should make most of the connection with Green Tara, by continuing to make offerings to Green Tara as the embodiment of the Three Jewels everyday, and if possible engage in recitation of her prayers and mantras. This would be very beneficial. I hope this helps.

Dear Eden,

We are very happy to hear that you are interested in doing retreats. We have a couple of articles on how to do retreats based on deity practice:

> Tsongkhapa retreat: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/tsongkhapa/tsongkhapa-retreat-instructions-and-prayer-text.html
> Manjushri retreat: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/all-about-manjushri.html
> Dorje Shugden retreat: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/dorje-shugden-retreat-a-powerful-practice-to-fulfill-wishes.html
> Tsem Rinpoche’s Name Mantra Retreat: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/great-lamas-masters/instructions-for-tsem-rinpoches-name-mantra-retreat.html

If you are interested in doing a retreat on another deity (as long as it is one that does require initiation to practice), you can email care@kechara.com and ask to be put into direct contact with a Kechara Pastor who can guide you further.

In regards to reducing attachment to your pet and also the urge to buy and acquire new things, the antidote to this would be meditation and contemplation on impermanence. You can read more about this in the Lamrim texts. The main text we use in Kechara is called Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand. It is available for order here: https://www.vajrasecrets.com/lamrim-liberation-in-the-palm-of-your-hand. Alternatively, you may be able to find it in major book shops that have large sections on Buddhism.

There is a short article about contemplation on the impermanence and death here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/current-affairs/supreme-contemplation.html. While it may sound morbid and depressing, it is actually quite liberating, because through meditation on death and impermanence, we begin to realise that they were we view others, our family, friends, pets, etc, and also the way we view items we like, etc, is not the correct way of viewing them. Then we are able to move past things like attachment. I hope this helps.

Hello,

When we see similar characteristics between yourself and your family members, yes, ultimately that is due to karma. From the viewpoint of society, it is because we grew up with our family, shared experiences, pick up each others’ habits, etc, that is the reason for similar characteristics. We learn things such as behaviours, likes and dislikes from our family and they also learn such things from us.

But from the Buddhist viewpoint, what is the reason that we ended up being family anyway? The answer as you already guessed it is karma. Karma is what caused us to take to rebirth into a particular family, hence it is the reason why characteristics are similar between family members.

This applies to life circumstances as well, we had the karma to be born into a family in a specific location, at a specific time, environment, etc. Which means that we would necessarily undergo similar circumstances as well.

Within samsara, or cyclic existence, everything is due to karma. Everything that happens to us, what we say, what we think. Not only is it due to karma, but it also creates more karma. That is why Buddhists always talk about the faults of samsara. The only way to be free of this cycle and karma completely is to become a fully enlightened Buddha. That is why Buddhists aim to become a Buddha themselves. I hope this helps.

Dear Josh,

Thank you for your question. Supernatural abilities such as those you have mentioned definitely do exist. They can come about from a couple of reasons: as gifted by a supernatural being, god, etc, or even simply because we have the karma to have such abilities that have manifested in this life. The other way they can come about is through our own transformation of the mind, where they occur naturally as side effects. In all of these cases, they are known as ‘common attainments’. The reason why they are known as common attainments, because they can be attained by anyone.

Buddhism however, stresses the importance of the ‘supreme attainment’, which is achieving the enlightened mind. Hence, in the Buddhist scriptures it is said that the supreme attainment is what we should strive for.

Now, we cannot advise you in which ways to use the abilities you have mentioned to help beings, because we are not attained enough to guide you in such a manner. You would need the guidance of a highly attained master to be able to guide you in a safe manner.

However, from what you have written, you can use your experiences to further your own spiritual transformation first. H.E. Tsem Rinpoche has advised on many occasions that we should not focus too much on abilities we develop, but concentrate on real transformation first. When you have reached a higher state of consciousness, then you will be able to use such abilities properly. The way to achieve this is to follow the path of the Lamrim or the Graduated Stages on the Path to Enlightenment. The text we use in Kechara is known as Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand. You can get a copy of it here: https://www.vajrasecrets.com/lamrim-liberation-in-the-palm-of-your-hand

There are sections of the Lamrim that deal with the suffering of those in the hell realms, the god realms and all other realms. There are also sections that deal with karma. You can use your experience to help you develop insight into these sections and propel you further along the path of transformation. So, instead of trying to use your abilities now, use the experiences that you have already had to the greatest potential. I hope this helps. Thank you.

Hello,

When engaging in visualisation or any type of meditation, the best is to keep your eyes half open. You are actually looking at the floor, but the line of your sight follows the sides of your nose, you don’t actually focus on the sides of your nose. If you focus on the sides of your nose, it will exert too much effort and you will feel like you are going crosseyed.

So you actually look at the floor, but follow the angle of the sides of your nose. Following this eye positioning is the best because your mind is not too excited or overly stimulated as it would be if you had your eyes fully open, nor is it prone to laziness or falling asleep if you have your eyes closed. This would be the best.

However, some people find it difficult to visualise with their eyes half open. In this case, it is permissible to close your eyes when visualising, as long as you can keep your concentration. Then slowly, over time, once you are familiar with the particular visualisation you are engaged in, you can do it with your eyes half open instead. I hope this helps.

Dear Carolyn,

My apologies, but I do not fully understand your question. Is this in regards to any prayers or texts? In which case, please indicate which prayer or text so we can answer properly.

Thank you

Dear Sandra,

You have asked a very good question, but it’s outside of the scope of this short reply to answer completely. Attachment is when you want something and either your thoughts, speech or actions reflect this want. For example, we can be attached to an object, a type of food, a person, a situation, etc.,. There are varying degrees of the type of attachment you experience towards differing objects or things.

When we have an attachment, we expend energy either mentally, emotionally, through our speech or our actions to get the particular object, keep it and protect it. When we are parted from the object, it creates a lot of emotional suffering. When we are attached, our actions and thoughts keep us bound to cyclic existence, because we simply just create more karma. Attachment is known as one of the Three Poisons.

You can read a short article and watch a teaching by Pastor David Lai about attachment here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/the-exaggeration-of-attachment.html

In addition, here is an article that deals with the benefits of non-attachment in terms of relationships with others: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/inspiration-worthy-words/why-non-attachment-is-one-of-the-keys-to-a-happy-life-relationship.html

The opposite of attachment is aversion, the want to stay away from an object of thing, or not experience a particular situation.

Another of the Three Poisons, is actually anger or hostility. This can be the extension of aversion. For example, in past someone said something to you which you didn’t like. So you don’t want to be around this person again. If a situation occurs when you are around this person, you become angry and hostile. You can even play the scenario over and over again in your head and become angry, even when not near the person.

Anger is one of the most destructive of emotions because when you are worked up, it is very hard to remain logical, you simply and quickly act out of emotion, in the heat of the moment. This leads to the creation of negative karma, which you will need experience in the future.

In short, all our negative emotions or behaviours can be subsumed under the Three Poisons – Attachment, Anger and Ignorance. There are many methods in Buddhism to overcome these. One of the most basic, yet extremely powerful is to meditate on impermanence, especially death. While this may seem very morbid, it is actually very liberating and helps us to let go of negative emotions which serve no purpose but to keep us stuck in suffering. You can read a short article about meditation on impermanence here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/current-affairs/supreme-contemplation.html

For a more in-depth explanation of negative emotions and how to overcome them, you can read the Lamrim texts. These give us a step-by-step guide to self-transformation all the way to enlightenment itself. The text we use in Kechara is called Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand. You can order a copy online from Vajrasecrets (https://www.vajrasecrets.com/lamrim-liberation-in-the-palm-of-your-hand). Alternatively, you can visit your local bookstore and they should be able to order it in for you. I hope this helps.

Thank you.

PS. You may also find the following links useful:

Dear Eden,

Thank you for your question. Buddha Shakyamuni did not explicitly talk about this subject, simply because the technology to preserve a body for future re-animation did not exist. In fact, even today, we can physically preserve a body using things like cryogenic freezing, however the technology to be able to revive the person is currently only speculative hope. There is no biological evidence that this would even be possible.

That being said, even though the Buddha did not talk about it specifically, the Dharma that the Buddha taught can be applied to any and all situations. So, we can analyze it from multiple angles. I’ll try to do so from two angles due to the scope of this answer.

The first is that death as part of the law of impermanence is a major part of Buddhism. We have had countless lifetimes and at the end of each of those, we have died and then taken rebirth into a new body. That is why cyclic existence is considered to be suffering, because we consistently take a new life, only to die at the end of it, and then take rebirth in a new life once again. The only way to get out of this cycle is to achieve the state of enlightenment.

Some people could argue that if you don’t die because you are re-animated in the future, then this cycle doesn’t really exist. However, from a Buddhist viewpoint everything is still impermanent. Even if you were re-animated and lived for many thousands, millions, or billions of years, eventually the whole universe as we know it will be destroyed. At that point of time, no matter how many times your physical body was revived, you would cease to exist, because everything will be destroyed.

Even from a scientific standpoint, it is said that the universe was created with the Big Bang, and due to that the universe is still expanding at an accelerating rate. Scientists have hypothesized that this will lead to either the Big Rip or the Big Freezer, in which life will no longer be able to exist in the universe in any form. So even from a scientific point of view, the Buddhist law of impermanence still applies.

This brings me to the second angle, the question why we would want to preserve our bodies for future re-animation. The answer to that is simple, it is due to attachment. As you may be aware, within Buddhism, attachment is one of the things that leads us to stay stuck within cyclic existence. Attachment leads to the creation of karma which only lengths our suffering in existence. When we focus on our attachments, we do not live in the moment, we do not truly transform into a better person, we help no one and ultimately we do not help ourselves to become enlightened. I hope this helps. If you have any further questions, please do ask. This is an interesting subject.

Dear Sandra,

Thank you for your lovely message, it’s nice to know that this blog is appreciated. Tsem Rinpoche worked tirelessly to get this resource up and available for everyone. Following Rinpoche’s Dharma teachings on this blog, we can definitely progress on our spiritual journeys. The key is to put what Rinpoche taught into practice. I wish your success in your journey, and if you need help, you are more than welcome to ask further questions here. Thank you.

Dear Sandra,

Thank you for your question. What you have expressed is something that a lot of people go through, because of the accumulation of negative karma from previous lifetimes. What you must remember is that our negative habitual patterns from previous lives are very strong, hence effort is needed in the spiritual path. That is why Joyous Effort is one of the Six Perfections. Karma, our habitual patterns, fear and self-doubt will try to knock us of the path of self-transformation at every turn until we are strong enough to withstand them.

One way to overcome this is to develop strong faith in the Three Jewels, and the way to do this is to engage in the practice of Taking Refuge. I’m not just talking about Talking Refuge at the beginning of formal Dharma practice such as your sadhana or pujas. But actually Taking Refuge remembering the qualities of the Three Jewels. When I first came to Kechara, I had a lot of physical obstacles manifest, a lot of fear and doubt. H.E. Tsem Rinpoche suggested that I read the section of the Lamrim that talks about Taking Refuge, and explains how to do it properly, remembering the qualities of the Three Jewels and the benefits they grant on the spiritual path. When you practice Taking Refuge, you remember these and you contemplate them. Then your faith in the application of the Dharma increases, and your fear, self-doubt, etc, disappear.

When that happens, even if your negative karma and habits try to knock you off the path, you find yourself back on the path. Another thing you must remember is that when we are practicing the Dharma, due to our habits, we will not be perfect at something directly after learning about it. It takes time to train ourselves. That is why the central teaching in the Gelug tradition we practice is called the Lamrim, or the Graded Stages on the Path to Enlightenment. It is step-by-step. It is a process. It is not instant. So you shouldn’t let fear, self-doubt, etc get in the way. Instead calmly apply the antidote to these, which is strong refuge. When you develop strong refuge, you will have faith and confidence in the teachings. When you have these, you will practice the teachings, no matter what happens.

The compassion for yourself and overcoming tough times comes through faith in the Three Jewels and the teachings of self-transformation. I met someone the other day who said self-transformation was not possible for him, but then why did Buddha Shakyamuni and the enlightened beings teach the Dharma? Of course, it is possible, and in order to progress on the spiritual path, you must have faith and conviction. This comes from the simple, yet foundational practice of Taking Refuge. I hope this helps.

Thank you.

Dear Sandra,

Thank you for your question. Mantras are the form of the enlightened beings in sound. Hence, when you recite mantras they are very powerful. All mantras move the psychic winds in the body. They don’t actually produce physical wind in the body.

The psychic winds move naturally due to the power of the mantras, and only have a beneficial effect on the body. If you are not initiated into the Higher Yoga Tantra practices, any of the common mantras are fine to recite. These include Lama Tsongkhapa’s Migtsema, your Guru’s mantra, Chenrezig, Tara, Manjushri, etc. These will move the winds in your body naturally, so there will be no untoward side effect.

However, mantras of Higher Yoga Tantra deities, such as Yamantaka, Vajra Yogini, Heruka, etc, should only be known and recited by those who have received initiation into the practice and received the commentary to the practice from a qualified guru. These mantras move the psychic winds in the body more forcefully hence can have negative side effects if not done properly.

If you are having any negative effects when reciting mantras, such as coughing, that could be due to a number of other more ordinary reasons, such as reciting too loudly or being out of breath when reciting.

When you are reciting mantras during your sadhana, you should only recite loud enough for yourself to hear, and not disturb others if they are around. If you are in a puja, you follow the puja lead to either recite out aloud or quietly.

If you are getting out of breath, slow down your mantra recitation, or reduce the amount of mantras you are doing until you are used to it. Then you can slowly increase to however many you want to recite.

The main issue is consistency, you should recite mantras as part of your sadhana every day. You can also recite extra mantras throughout the day, but the key is to make sure that you finish your daily sadhana. And you should not rush through your mantra recitation, but recite the mantra clearly. I hope this helps.

Dear Ray,

Thank you for your question. As I am sure you are aware, there are many different types of prayers. Praises are one type of prayer, or commonly included in longer prayers. When we praise the enlightened beings, we generate merit. This is due to the power of the enlightened beings.

Generally speaking these prayers are praises of the qualities of either the enlightened being’s body, speech, mind or benefits derived from their practices. Or the praise can be a combination of these.

The merit generated from praising an enlightened being is immense. Some prayers even have the power to grant certain specific benefits due to the merits generated from the praise. Hence, some prayers even have the benefits listed in them.

So yes, if you recite the praise with strong faith and refuge in the particular enlightened being, you will generate merit which will help to achieve the benefits stated.

On a normal level, you will receive the benefits. On a higher level, you create the merit to achieve the same body, speech, mind and qualities of the enlightened being, meaning you create the causes to be enlightened yourself. I hope this helps.

Dear Eden,

Thank you for your questions.

1. Buddhism does not believe in a 1st life, and the reason being is the Buddhist view of time. Most people think of time and existence as linear. It has a definitive starting point and a certain end point. But Buddhism views time as a cyclic. Hence, our universe as we understand it, will at one point cease to exist, and then a new universe will come into existence. However, even though our current universe will end, due to the force of karma and reincarnation, we will take rebirth into the new universe and have many rebirths there. So in Buddhism we say that we have had “countless” rebirths, as you would never be able to count how many lifetimes you have had. This cycle is vicious and leads us to take rebirth endlessly. The only way to stop this cycle is to transcend it altogether, which is the state of Buddhahood, in which you are completely liberated from the cycle, known as “samsara”.

Also the way in which we think about karma is not linear either. It is not one for one. By this I mean, if you do one negative action, it is not that you will experience only one negative result. You will actually experience many negative results, with differing levels of severity until the karma is exhausted. How you respond to the negative results can lead to either more negative karma, or positive karma. Hence, the law of karma according to the Buddhist view point is much more nuanced then the general understanding of karma that people have these days.

The Buddha explained this process in a teaching known as the 12 Links of Dependent Origination, which is quite complex. If you want to learn more about this teaching, H.E. Tsem Rinpoche gave a very profound teaching on it here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/teaching-on-the-twelve-links-of-dependent-origination.html

Hence, according to Buddhism, the understand of time is a never-ending cycle in which universes are created, destroyed and created again due to the power of karma. Since it is a cycle, there is no “beginning” or “1st life” for sentient beings.

2. In regards to your career pathway, I would suggest you engage in the combined practice of Lama Tsongkhapa and Dorje Shugden. We have heard of many people who are either stuck in their career or who need to find good jobs, succeed in the their goals after engaging in this practice with a sincere motivation. There is a book available regarding the practice here: https://www.vajrasecrets.com/the-dorje-shugden-handbook. We also have an entire section of this website dedicated to various aspects of the practice, including history, other prayers, etc. (https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/category/dorje-shugden).

I hope this helps. Let us know if we can help in any other way.