My step mom when she immigrated to the US, she was illiterate. She self taught her English reading and writing by comic books. She bought massive amounts of comic books. She would read comics daily at night just before she went to sleep. She enjoyed that very much.
We use to go together to a nearby store to buy comics almost every two weeks. She let me pic what I like and she get what she liked. So I liked many types of comics that time:

DC comics-I love superheroes of all sorts (not hulk though)
Ghost stories
Richie Rich
Scooby Doo
Archie’s
Peanuts
Josie and the Pussycats
Jetsuns
Fred Flinstones

Were some of my favorites that I can recall…

Dear Hong,

Not everything in Wikipedia is accurate or correct. It is updated by anyone and anytime.

Many of the Tibetan titles if translated into English sounds odd.

I think it was some of my students who wanted to show deep respect that they started calling me Your Eminence. In the Ashvagosha’s writings, it says that we should never address our teacher directly by the name, and that we should add some honorific titles to show respect. What titles is up to us. It is good for our practice to do so and helps others to gain faith in our teacher if you do so according to Ashvagosha.

Certainly I am not deserving of such a title.

Your Eminence is not exclusively or copywritten just for the people you mentioned I would assume. Any religious figure can use it..

Interesting question..thanks.

If you can speak to them, then you try. If you cannot leave them. But you must make the determination never to harm and be stable in this practice in your life to be an example to many in the future. These ppl should inspire you to do more in time.

It is not easy I know.

Dear Evelyn,

1. Everything that you experience is the result of your mind and yes from hundreds of thousands of lifetimes. Being that it is over hundreds of thousands of lifetimes, all types of imprints both positive and negative lay dormant to be experienced. For example, if you are very angry, and that is what you are experiencing at the moment, the minute you see a Tsongkapa thangka, it might trigger a powerful imprint you have from another life, then open it and you calm down fast and the anger goes away. So whatever you are experiencing at the moment is not permanent and can be changed short and more so for the long term. The imprint of dharma was triggered by seeing Tsongkapa. So your angry mind switches to calm mind. Similarily your mind is not ready to hear dharma, but meeting a teacher may trigger a distant dormant karma to open you up to listen.

2. The compassion of the attained ones does matter. If they had no compassion, they would not skilfully bring the dharma to you in small amounts till you can digest more. Also even if your mind is not ready, because they have compassion they will wait till you are ready. If they don’t have compassion, when you are ready then they won’t wait. Their compassion is very important for you and others seeking the dharma.

3. Compassion of the attained beings will also be turned into skilfullness in which even if you are not able to percieve the dharma, they plant dharma imprints in your mind without you even knowing, so in the future these imprints can ripens so you can hear the dharma,practice and extricate yourself from negative predicaments. Their compassion will never be wasted..

I hope this helps you. Most important is generate the thought daily with prayers that you wish to hear the teachings and practice. Then you will trigger open the seeds of the causes planted from another time to hear the dharma and plant further causes daily… Coupled with the compassion of a teacher waiting to impart the dharma to you, you are on the right direction.

Tsem Rinpoche

Don’t be confused. Humility is a great asset. I chose to practice humility. Who I was or suppose to be makes no difference for you or anyone. It is WHO I AM NOW. If who I am now benefits you, then that is the real important issue.

I wasn’t a disciple of Tsongkapa in my previous life.
Thanks

Dear Thierry,

What your doing is very good. You can also get consecrated holy water with HH Dalai Lama’s mani pills in it and pour alittle over these animals when you come across them. You can of course give it to living animals also to drink or bath.

For the future:

You can keep a piece of their hair or bone and do a ritual on it called Vajra Yogini Ruchok which is very powerful to purify their karma to help them take rebirth. After the ruchok is done, their hair or bone may even be inserted into a stupa for the sake of them collecting merits. As long at the stupa exists, these beings will collet merit. You will have to have the Vajra Yogini empowerment to perform this ritual. Not only animals, but human hair and nails can be used also.

I thank you for your sincere concern for animals. It would be nice to have a huge animal sanctuary and on it have a huge stupa for all the animals to circumambulate around.

Tsem Rinpoche

Buddhism should definitely embrace postmodernism. Many things that applied in Tibet does not apply now. As Tibetan Buddhism slowly comes into the hands of the younger lamas/teachers, the change will be natural and a given.

The texts and senior lamas are ‘strict’ in their views, but they are also very skilfull and can adjust. Time and need will play a big part.

So I don’t think there will be any ‘problems’ for women. And there has been no ‘problems’ with gays or any human being just being who they are.

Thank you for your good wishes. I wish you the best. Always create causes for good things to come. Never create causes for further sufferings, confusion and unhappiness to come. It is all in our own hands. Tsem Rinpoche

Dear Ivy,

It is very ok to start on preliminaries without a lama.

1. Set up a simple Shrine according to your means and have an image of a Buddha, a text (Lam Rim) and stupa. Representing your wish to achieve the Body, Speech and Mind of a Buddha.

2. Make minimum of 8 water bowl offerings per day of water or more.

3. Read up on how to do prostrations, mandala offerings, vajrasattvas mantric meditations, Guru Yoga of for example Tsongkapa, and Refuge recitations with correct contemplations. I have a video on youtube on how to do prostrations, and how to do guru yoga of Tsongkapa.

4. Read up on as much dharma as you can. Knowledge for a beginner is much more important for practice than anything else.

5. Take simple vows of vegetarianism if you are not already for short periods of time regularly and extend it over time. Take these vows on your personal shrine is fine.

6. Be easy on yourself and take breaks often. Do not go for high sounding initiations that promise easy enlightenment as there is no such thing as easy enlightenment, or complicated practices and rituals when you are new. Must have knowledge and understanding of Tantra before entering it’s door. It’s a lifetimes commitment and not for ‘casual’ shoppers. Be ready by study.

7. Lam Rim, Wheel of Sharp weapons and 50 Verses of Guru Devotion would be excellent to read, re read and study.

8. You can start on the Guru Yoga of Tsongkapa and prostrations at first for now. Do just 21 prostrations in full length for now. But learn up how to do it first.

I wish you luck and spiritual attainments. Be easy on yourself. At the heart of the preliminary practices is to be familiar with our minds and how it tricks us thinking more of everything is better when it is not the case. Understanding that many things that makes us ‘happy’ or sad are just projected. When the supporting factors are taken away, they don’t exist. If they don’t exist, then we should not get caught up in their web.

May you have success,

Tsem Tulku Rinpoche

Dear Winnie,

Thank you for writing in. I am glad to see you here.

If you find what I am sharing beneficial and wish to do more, may I gently recommend for now to do:

1. Eight Verses of Thought Transformation. To learn up on it very well and apply daily. To master these teachings.
2. To complete 100,000 Migtseymas per year in short retreat.
3. Take short Vegetarian vows with the goal of going all the way within 6 months. Dedicating the merits to one’s parents and for the animal realm.

4. To be involved with an animal shelter in your area and rescue, care, love and help animals.
5.Read the Wheel of Sharp Weapons once a month.
6. To read on Shantideva’s exposition on Bodhisattva-cha-avatara. Explanation for development of Compassion, Universal Responsibility, affirmative action and eventual Bodhicitta.
7. To be good citizens and never break the law.
8. If you are nearby with each other, you can set up Study groups. If you are interested, contact Ms Yek Yee on how it’s done in other cities in Malaysia. yekyee@yahoo.com. The study groups for now can get together once a week and watch and study one of my videos on youtube or take a subject from this blog to discuss.

I send you my best and warmest regards. I send you prayers for a successful spiritual unfolding that can only give meaning to you and many people’s lives.

Humbly,
Tsem Tulku Rinpoche

One may worship, offer incense, prostrations, prayers, mandala offerings, water offerings, fruits, etc to Gyalwa Gyatso. Since this is a Higher Yoga Tantra practice, it would be better if one recieves the initiation and then afterwards recite the mantra. Further meditation as in the sadhana of Gyalwa Gyatso definitely requires initiation. I am talking strictly of the Higher Yoga tantric form.

Since there are so many forms of Chenresig, just recite Om Mani Peme Hung and adopt any form of Chenresig would be fine for now combined with meditation on the 8 verses of thought transformation or tong len practice.

This is the mantra to ‘seal’ Setrap to remain in the statue, thangka, painting, picture or tsatsa you have of Him. So it is the mantra that is said once at the beginning of his puja after He has been invited.

The 24 hour period starts from 12am to 11:59pm, Malaysian time

Just one question per day for now. If it is popular, I may increase it to more questions per day