Dear Daniel Lopez,

We are sorry to read that you are going through this difficult time. Within Buddhist practice, we believe that everything we go through in life, either good or bad, is due to karma. Karma is the results of former actions we have done physically, verbally or mentally. These actions can be from this life or past lifetimes. When the causes and conditions, these karmas “ripen” meaning we have to experience pleasant or unpleasant circumstances.

Buddhism practice has many ways to overcome situations that are negative. You can watch a video all about karma and how it works here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/discovering-yourself-a-teaching-on-karma-mindstream.html

His Eminence Tsem Rinpoche has also given a fantastic teaching on relationships and how we can transform them to be something good and the ways in which we can overcome difficulties. You can watch it here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/students-friends/ingredients-for-a-successful-relationship.html

In regards to dealing with curses or black magic, the best solution would be for you to engage in daily practice yourself so you can have protection. One such daily practice is that of Trakze, who is the wrathful form of Dorje Shugden. You can find more information about the practice and how to engage in it here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/trakze-to-dispel-black-magic-spirits.html Trakze’s practice helps us overcome the most difficult of circumstances and helps to cut through heavy negativity quickly and effectively, thereby improving our lives. I hope these links help you.

Dear Ranjana Rai,

Thank you for your question. In short, yes even if you recite the mantra or prayer of any enlightened being, but do not know the meaning, there is still benefit. That is because the mantras themselves are the embodiment of divine energies of that particular deity, in the form of sound. So even if you don’t know the meaning, when you recite you are bringing those divine energies into your life.

That being said, if possible, when reciting mantras or prayers you should try to find out and learn what they mean. This will help you in your practice as well, since there are various visualisations to do during mantra recitation, as well as during the recitation of prayers. These help to provide you with a better understanding of what you are doing as well as create a stronger connection to the particular deity that you are practising. I hope this helps.

In regards to mantras, His Eminence Tsem Rinpoche gave a fantastic teaching called “Mantras – Holy Words of Power” which you can find here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/?p=28029. I hope this helps. Thank you.

Thank you for your comment. The video which you have referenced is only a short clip from a longer teaching that was given by His Eminence Tsem Rinpoche many years ago. In attendance were new students, and long-time students, hence Rinpoche shared the Dharma in many ways during the teaching. The Dharma itself can be taught in multiple ways: those that are attractive to people, but also those that jolt people out of their samsaric ways of thinking. The teaching by Rinpoche recorded in the video was the second type. As you have said, the teachings that Rinpoche gave were 100% correct and according with the Dharma. But not all of the Dharma is meant to be attractive. This also accords with the teachings of the Lamrim, which we follow. The first topic of meditation in the Lamrim is death and impermenance, which is one of the foundational meditations on the Buddhist path and necessary to contemplate before moving on to higher topics. This in itself can be very emotionally problematic for a lot of people, and may put them off the Dharma, however is extremely importance. Hence, there are many reasons why Rinpoche may have chosen to teach in this specific way, of which we are not of the ability to judge. However, as students of Rinpoche, we make Rinpoche’s teachings available so those who have the affinity to be moved or transformed by such teachings are able to do so. I hope this helps. Thank you.

Dear Ray,

Thank you for your question. We are very happy to read that you have a strong connection to both Dorje Shugden and Kache Marpo. In regards to prayers to Kache Marpo, we do have translations available at the bottom of the article on Kache Marpo, which is available here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/?p=61499

These can be combined with the daily practice of Dorje Shugden if you would like. Unfortunately, there is no PDF with the prayers currently, however you can copy and paste them from the article to print out. I hope this helps. Thank you.

Dear John,

Thank you for your question. His Eminence Tsem Rinpoche accepted everyone, and yes this includes LGBTQ students. For Rinpoche anyone and everyone who wants to study the Dharma sincerely and transform themselves for the better was and is welcome to attend the Kechara organisation and be a student. Rinpoche did not discriminate against those whose sexuality did not conform to heteronormative views.

Being LGBTQ is an expression of sexuality just like being heterosexual. It is not inherently good or bad, so for Rinpoche there was no judging or condemning involved. Sexuality is obviously a form of desire, and the form this desire is expressed, from a Buddhist perspective, is due to karmic imprints from previous lives.

One of the goals of Buddhism is to overcome the negative effects of desire in all its forms, including sexuality. So Rinpoche was more concerned about people overcoming these negative effects and tendencies, rather than the outward forms of its expression. I hope this helps. Thank you.

Namasthe Divya,

Thank you for your question and sorry to read about all that you have been going through. We can understand that it is a very difficult situation.

Unfortunately, His Eminence Tsem Rinpoche has passed into Parinirvana, which you can read more about here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/?p=208164. However, many people approached Tsem Rinpoche for solutions to such issues. Rinpoche recommended for people to engage in the practice of Trakze. You can read all about this practice and how to engage in it yourself here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/?p=57357. This practice is very beneficial in these cases and many people have come to rely on the practice for protection.

You should engage in the practice yourself, and do at least 1 mala of mantras a day. The key to this practice is consistency, which means it should be done daily without break. Then you will see the beneficial effects very quickly.

In addition to this, if you have the means, you can also boost it’s efficacy by sponsoring a Trakze puja, you can find more details about the puja here: https://www.vajrasecrets.com/trakze-puja-fund

I hope this helps. Thank you.

Hello Bobby,

Of course, you can recite the mantra of Dorje Shugden without the full practice. Dorje Shugden will still help you. That being said, if you do engage in the practice, it will build a stronger connection with Dorje Shugden so he can help you even more than if you are just doing the mantra.

Each prayer of the practice has a specific function that allows Dorje Shugden to help you. So, for now if you can only do the mantra, that is fine, but I would like to suggest you learn up the visualisations if you can.

Sometimes, visualisation can be hard, if that is the case, then simply recite the prayers. Even this will have a beneficial effect. Then once, you have learned more about the visualisations, you can do it when you recite the prayers.

We have a post with videos we created to help people in their Dorje Shugden practice. You can view this post here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/dorje-shugden-teaching-videos.html

Hopefully, it will help to answer some of the questions you have regarding the visualisations. If you do have any other questions, you are more than welcome to ask here. Thank you. I hope this helps.

Dear Smita,

Sorry to read that you have been going through this. Please click on this article, it contains a short video and transcript of something that can definitely help you and your family. The short video teaching was given by His Eminence Tsem Rinpoche.

Here is the link: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/one-minute-story/if-you-have-reoccurring-nightmares-try-this-mantra

Many people have benefited from this. If you do this sincerely from your heart and with consistency, it will help your situation.

Dear Saswato Majumdar,

Thank you for your message. We are glad to read that you want to know more about Buddhism. At the moment, Kechara is only running online classes on the Lamrim, which is our central practice text. However, Tsem Rinpoche has recommended some very good books to start you off on your own self-study first. Here is the link: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/books-that-are-a-must-read.html. The books on this list will provide you with a very firm grounding in Buddhism.

The central text we use in Kechara is called the Lamrim (available here:https://www.vajrasecrets.com/lamrim-liberation-in-the-palm-of-your-hand). This text however, is quite tough for most beginners.

If you would like a more personalised approach, you can email Care@Kechara.com and ask to be put into contact with Kechara Pastor directly.

Thank you.

Dear athi,

Thank you for your question. Unfortunately, His Eminence Tsem Rinpoche passed into parinirvana in September 2019. You can read more about this here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/me/the-parinirvana-of-kyabje-tsem-rinpoche.html

However, if you would like to be put into contact with one of Kechara’s Pastors, please email care@kechara.com and ask to be put in contact with a Pastor. Thank you.

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 Chanell Akamine,

Thank you for your interest in Tibetan Numerology. However, we only have information regarding Tibetan Astrology, not numerology. They may look similar on the outset, but are quite different.

We do have a post on Tibetan Astrology, which you may be interested in here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/tibetan-astrology/introduction-to-tibetan-astrology.html

We also have a Tibetan Astrology calculator, based on the Mewa system, available here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/tibetan-astrology/tibetan-astrology.html

In regards to Numerology, we have a separate calculator here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/numerology/numerology-calculator.html, however this numerology is based on Western systems of numerology. I hope this helps. Thank you.

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.