Dear Ernest，

The five precepts are the five basic Buddhist code of ethics:

1. to refrain from killing or taking life

2. to refrain from stealing or taking what is not given

3. to refrain from sexual miscondut

4. to refrain from lying or false speech

5. to refrain from intoxicants that clouds the mind.

If we break any of the vow, what we can do is we apply the Four opponent powers which is we regret it (Power of Regret), we rely on the Three Jewel (Power of Reliance), we apply the remedy (Power of Remedy) such as recitation of Sutras or Mantras, purification practices like Vajrasattva practice, 35 Confessional Buddhas etc, and we promise not to do it again (Power of Restraint). Then we can retake the Five Precepts again.

Regarding sexual misconduct, the key concept is not to hurt anyone just to satisfy your own sensual pleasure. For example, if you are married yet you have an external affair, it’s considered sexual misconduct. If you are forcing someone to have sex with you, it’s sexual misconduct etc. Sexual relationship between boyfriend and girlfriend or those who love each other is not a sexual misconduct.

Recommended reading: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/students-friends/vows-the-roots-of-all-attainments.html

Dear Shoon Mak,

If you are interested in finding out numbers that are related to you, you can refer to this page, you may be able to find out your life path number, expression number, personality number and many more:

https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/numerology/numerology-calculator.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjww47nBRDlARIsAEJ34bldJgmFWI_v7ubplwyef8ww4PM1eLA91WdQMDehO6c63u-0su1BqpMaAuBmEALw_wcB

Dear John,

Dear
I am not sure about the practice you mentioned. However I did read about a negative karma cleansing mantra “OM HANU PAHASHA BHARA HE YE SOHA”. It is said that just by seeing the mantra in Tibetan, one can purify 100,000 eons of negative karma.

Here is the Tibetan mantra:
༄༄།།ཨོཾཧནུཔཧཤབྷརཧེཡེསྭཱཧཱ།།

Dear Dewa Zangpo,

For laymen, sexual misconduct or “wrong sensual indulgence” is karmically harmful behavior which also means engaging in sexual activities that might be harmful to others or ourselves. Therefore, to abstain from sexual misconduct means to not have sex with a non-consenting individual (as in rape, coercion, or fraud) or consensual sex with anyone under protection. This means any dependent supported by parents, guardians, the community, state, or a spouse or fiancee.

“Sexual misconduct” is actually a broad term, and it’s subject to culture and customs, therefore I shall say the basis is not to cause harm, hurtful feelings to anyone when engaging in the said activities.

Recommended reading: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/external-article/what-is-sexual-misconduct

Dear Kamal,

Thank you for your questions. Unfortunately, I do not have the clairvoyant ability to see the true nature of your situation. However, everything that we experience in this life is due to our actions in previous lives. Therefore the experiences you are facing will have its causes in previous lives.

When situations like these occur during our spiritual journey, we are told not to place too much emphasis on them. Instead we are told to concentrate on our own spiritual evolution and self-transformation. This is because no matter what our aims and goals are with these sorts of experiences, they will not ultimately bear fruit. We should strive to become spiritual attained. When we are spiritual attained our actions will bear results that are really beneficial.

I hope this helps.

Dear Parth,

Thanks for the question. In order to engage in any tantric practice, we must first receive initiation from our guru as the permission to start the practice. Our guru will decide if we are eligible to receive the tantric initiation based on his observation on us because the success of a tantric practice is not so much depending on a guru but more on the correct mental attitude of a student.

Just like what Lama Yeshe explained in one of his book: ““Initiation does not mean that a guru gives you some incredible power. You already have the qualities of profound wisdom and great bliss within you; initiation simply activates them.” Our guru will decide if we are ready for the activation to take place. Therefore if we engage in any tantric activity without the permission of a guru, we are doing it prematurely. Not only will it not bring us any benefit, but it will create obstacle for us in the future too. Of course, the magnitude of the karma is also affected by our motivation ie if we did it unknowingly or intentionally.

To purify the karma, we can engage in the powerful Vajrasattva practice. It is said by Vajrasattva practice and it’s meditation together with four opponent powers, we can purify even root downfalls of the tantric vows, which is very difficult to purify. If we can purify the root downfalls of the tantric vows, definitely the lower vows such as the ten non-virtuous acts that we should avoid, will be purified too.

You can read more about Vajrasattva practice here:

An important purification practice
https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/prayers-and-sadhanas/an-important-purification-practice.html

Dear Jordano,

Thank you for visiting tsemrinpoche.com. I hope you enjoy reading the articles on this blog and benefited from the teachings here. Ask A Pastor section is a platform for us to discuss and share Dharma knowledge, you are welcome to post dharma related questions here, and our pastors will try their best to give you an answer, however we apologize that we don’t provide any translation service here. Perhaps you can get the relevant service from other Tibetan language websites. Thank you.

Dear Javinder Singh,

Thank you for being not sectarian, this is a correct and beautiful attitude that everyone should embrace especially those who claim to be spiritual. Our planet earth would be a more peaceful place to live in if there are no inter-religious conflicts. I agree with you that Buddhism is direct and offer explanations, that’s also the main reason I end up becoming a Buddhist after years of being sceptical about religions. Regarding brahmacharya, if I understand correctly, it’s to refrain ourselves from indulging in sexual activities. I believe it’s not easy to be accepted by the majority however I think the key is we ourselves practice the real dharma and set a good example, then our words will bear more weight in the future if our ultimate aim is to benefit others.

I believe you will like this article: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/inspiration-worthy-words/dharma-is-for-everyone.html

Dear Justin Lim,

White Umbrella Goddess or Dukkar’ practice is not restricted to only a certain group of people. You don’t have to be a Tibetan Buddhist to engage in her practice. You can chant her mantra without empowerment but do not self-generate as the deity.

Thank you.

Recommended Reading:
https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/one-minute-story/dukkar-a-powerful-deity-that-dispels-evil-spirits

Dear CY Wong,
Buddhas always manifest in different forms to help sentient beings with different needs. Dorje Shugden is the wrathful emanation of Buddha Manjushri. As an enlightened protector, Dorje Shugden too exhibits the same qualities as buddhas. There are five families of Dorje Shugden, which includes the principle deity, Shize (pacification), Gyenze (increase), Wangze (control) and Trakze (wrathful), each represents different activities of Dorje Shugden.

Wangze is the control form of Dorje Shugden. When we propitiate Wangze, we invoke Dorje Shugden’s activity of control. However, that does not mean that this manifestation of Dorje Shugden is limited to only control activity and cannot assist in other ways. Any form of Dorje Shugden is complete in itself.

Therefore, either you pray to the principle deity of Dorje Shugden or Wangze, you are actually praying to Dorje Shugden, but praying to Wangze will invoke Dorje Shugden’s special activity of control.

It’s up to you to choose whichever practice you want to do. However, if your main focus is to deal with difficult people who create obstacles in your workplace, Wangze is an excellent choice.

To answer your second question, if you take Wangze as your practice, then, of course, it’s natural for you to wear Wangze image and vice versa. However, there’s nothing wrong to wear any one of them, as both are Dorje Shugden.

This is the link to Wangze practice:
https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/dorje-shugden-wangze-for-power-and-influence.html

Dear Steven,

The benefit of circumambulating a stupa is one can purify a lot of negative karma and also collect a tremendous amount of merits. The benefit comes from the power of the object and the subject. If we circumambulate a stupa without putting in any effort on our speech and mind, the purification can still take place due to the power of the object (the stupa). However if we circumambulate a stupa with our body, speech and mind by applying the Four Opponent Powers, it would be even more beneficial because, on top of the power of the object, the purification also takes place due to the power of the subject.

Since the purification and the amount of merits rely on the power of the object, and it’s said in the scripture that the amount of merits accrued from making Buddha images will be equal to the number of atoms used to form that image, hence with the same principle we can conclude that it would be more beneficial if we circumambulate a large stupa that is filled with a lot of holy objects than circumambulating a small stupa.

Therefore, to answer your question, even though a correct line drawing of a stupa can still be an object to generate merits, but it would be more beneficial if the stupa is larger and filled with more holy items. Lama Zopa’s method is a great substitute for an actual traditional stupa.

Recommended reading: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/kechara-13-depts/bigger-and-more-buddha-statues-makes-a-difference.html

Dear Javinder Singh,

Thanks for your question and comment. I am glad that you are interested in Buddha Dharma, this is an ancient wisdom originated from your home country which has now benefited the whole world. Thanks to the past and present gurus who have been working tirelessly and skillfully in bringing dharma to the world.

From your comment, I can see that you are serious about dharma, and doesn’t want anything seems not related to Dharma to appear on a Buddhist website. However, you might be surprised that many people are actually attracted to Buddha Dharma because of some paranormal activities they encountered. They couldn’t solve the problem, nor find the explanation, so end up searching answers in Buddhism. Spirits and ghosts are nothing new or special in Buddhism as we all know that they are just sentient beings of the six realms. Therefore, perhaps you can see it this way, a paranormal section in a Buddhist website is actually a skillful gateway for many to have their first encounter to Buddhism?

Another thing I would like to highlight is this “Buddhist website” is actually H.E. Tsem Rinpoche’s personal blog. If you examine carefully, on the right upper corner of the homepage of tsemrinpoche.com, Rinpoche actually mentioned that he has been blogging since March 2010, and this website is the platform for him to share a wide spectrum of personal interests in hope that someone may gain some benefits from reading these. Paranormal topic is one of Rinpoche’s favorites, hence he is free to share his personal interests on his own blog without prior permission from anyone. I hope you understand.

A few years back, some readers asked Rinpoche some questions about ghosts and Rinpoche has kindly given his answers. Here I share it with you, hope you will enjoy reading it.

https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/science-mysteries/questions-on-ghosts.html

Dear Ye,
Buddhism believes in six realms of karmic rebirth, every samsaric being will be taking rebirth again and again within these six realms of cyclic existence until we attain ultimate liberation. Therefore, It’s possible for us to take rebirth in any realm, as any animal or even spirits. However, if our aim is to practice the Dharma to achieve the ultimate liberation, knowing what exactly our past lives were will not help much. They key is to listen, contemplate and practice the Dharma which is in accordance with the law of karma. The only thing that we need to look out for in this life is ourselves and our worldly habituations and projections arise from our greed, anger and ignorance. Would be good if you can find a real guru who can guide you through the path if you can’t find one at the moment, and you are serious about your dharma practice, you can still start doing your daily Guru Yoga practice together with short daily protector practice. The Guru Yoga practice will lead you to your guru whereas the protector practice will help to clear obstacles throughout your spiritual journey.

Meanwhile, I would recommend you to visit tsemrinpoche.com or visit https://www.youtube.com/user/tsemtulku for more video teachings.

Below are the two practices I mentioned:

Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=623&v=JBotJqfhxUA

Dorje Shugden protector practice: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/new-simplified-daily-prayer-to-dorje-shugden.html

Dear Joao,
Thanks for writing in. Our education, cultural, religious and family background all contribute to our current belief system. On top of that, our own merits and karma will decide if we can recognize what is right and what’s not. Some people may not believe in spirituality their whole life, not even wanting to listen or talk about that thinking that it’s pure superstitions.
Therefore, even though you said you are very materialistic and don’t believe in spirituality, the fact that you think mantra helps to improve your mood and you are willing to do it, this itself is already a good sign that you must have some dharmic imprint and merit.

I am sorry I am not able to recommend you to any practice that can guarantee to show you, without doubt, there is a spiritual world. Neither could I recommend you any special mantra to give you such confirmation. However I can recommend you one practice that can help to clear your obstacles for your spiritual journey, once the obstacles and obscuration are cleared, you will be more convinced about the existence of the six realms and our cyclic existence, not necessarily through seeing ghosts or spirits but through the increased of wisdom.

Below is the Dorje Shugden daily practice which will be very beneficial to you.

https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/new-simplified-daily-prayer-to-dorje-shugden.html

Dear Matt,
Both anxiety and panic attacks actually arise from a self-centered mind. The self-centered mind is the mind that believes this solid me needs happiness and deserves happiness more than anyone else in the world. Therefore, we can say that the causes of anxiety and panic attack are actually based on our strong grasping of the non-inherently existence “I”. Hope it helps.

Dear Jason Chau,

There are mundane and supra-mundane Dharma protectors. Mundane Dharma protectors can be further divided into actual mundane Dharma protectors and supra-mundane protectors in worldly form.

Dorje Shugden, Setrap, Dorje Legpa are examples of supra-mundane Dharma protectors appear in worldly form.

“Due to varying conditions of beings, Buddhas appear in forms other than that of actual Vajradhara.” (~ Uttaratantra) Therefore, Setrap as a supra-mundane Dharma protector who manifests in worldly form will appear as if he has not abandoned all faults, hence he too needs to be cleansed.

Your second question: How can an enlighted ( buddha) protector who is also an emanation of Amitabha be born as an evil non-Buddhist. How can he be subdued if he is a Buddha?

Buddha can manifest in different forms just to benefit sentient beings. Supra-mundane protector in worldly form is one such example. Hence it’s no surprise if a Buddha manifests as a non-Buddhist that can be subdued.

According to Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche in “Music Delighting the Ocean of Protectors”, these are all projections of nothing but our own mind:

“Even those who appear to be enemies who are harming oneself, for someone who is meditating on the spiritual path, at the common
stage of great scope, appear as one’s own extremely cherished dear child, and at the uncommon first stage, they appear through the force of meditation as gods and goddesses. When the special bliss of completion stage is generated in the mind, they appear in mandalas throughout space in wisdom forms and pure lands. Gradually, when one attains the supreme great bliss, they appear in no form other than that of the great Sambogakaya of Akanishta Pure Land because their appearance as enemies and the conception of them as enemies has been severed. For example, just as enemies we don’t even want to see or hear about can later become friends with whom we are inseparable, all are projections of nothing but our own mind. ”

Your third question: Besides Setrap and Dorje Shugden, what other enlighted protector takes trance in an Oracle?

In Gelug tradition, another common enlightened protector who takes trance in an oracle is Kacha Marpo who is the emanation of Hayagriva.

Recommended reading:
https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/dorje-shugden/music-delighting-the-ocean-of-protectors-a-definitive-guide-to-dorje-shugden-by-trijang-rinpoche.html

Dear Edoardo,

Kangso is the daily protector practice. You can choose Gyenze practice as your daily practice, you can also choose a more general Dorje Shugden practice as your daily practice, for example, Diamond Path composed by H.E. Tsem Rinpoche. If you are short of time, H.E. Tsem Rinpoche has kindly composed a Simplified Daily Prayer to Dorje Shugden for modern spiritual seekers. Below are the links:

1. Gyenze Practice:
https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/prayers-and-sadhanas/dorje-shugden-gyenze-to-increase-life-merits-and-wealth.html

2. Diamond Path: A Daily Sadhana of Dorje Shugden: http://www.dorjeshugden.org/practice/diamond-path-a-daily-sadhana-of-dorje-shugden

3. NEW! Simplified Daily Prayer to Dorje Shugden:
https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/new-simplified-daily-prayer-to-dorje-shugden.html

Dear Kannan,

And you have indeed asked the right question. Ultimately there is no “I” that attains liberation, because the “I” does not exist. But until we actually reach that point of ultimate realisation, we actually have and live by a concept of “self” and “I”. Even if we intellectually understand the concept of no-self, it is not the same as “realising” it. This is because intellectual understand does not equate living from this understanding, emotionally, mentally or physically. Everything we do is still limited by this concept of the “I”. Therefore the Buddhist approach is to actualise this concept of no-self by attaining liberation, which itself is marked by no sense of the “I”. I hope this has clarified things better for you.

Dear Shailendra Garud,

According to your description, you might be going through the process of so-called the activation of the pineal gland, or some people prefer to call it the “third eye”. The activation of pineal gland may not necessarily require a special practice. The process can last from hours to days or even longer.

Since we can’t confirm what exactly you are going through now, below are some of my suggestions:

1. If you are having other unusual physical symptoms such as prolonged headache, light sensitivity, sound sensitivity, nausea, vomiting, fever etc, please consult a medical doctor to rule out an actual physical problem.

2. If you have a meditation guru nearby, please always check with your guru.

3. If you are practising meditation on your own, and you have ruled out the above, I would suggest you always begin your meditation session with a simple Dorje Shugden prayer. This is to protect you from negative interferences.

Simplified Daily Prayer to Dorje Shugden:
https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/new-simplified-daily-prayer-to-dorje-shugden.html

If you would like to know more about pineal gland:
https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/etc/the-benefits-of-pineal-gland-activation.html

Thank you.