Dear Chan,

Thank you for your question. Each Mahayana tradition will have different methods to attain being reborn in Purelands. So different traditions will place different emphasis on certain Purelands.

In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, the mantra of Amitabha is Om Ami Dewa Hri”. This mantra can be recited by anyone to create a connection with the Buddha Amitabha.

From a Tibetan Buddhist perspective, the mantra of Amitabha alone will not be able to led a being to be reborn in his Pureland. That would require an extremely strong connection with Amitabha and a lot of merits, that comes from the transformation of the mind, meditation, etc.

At the momement of death, if a person has purified enough negative karma, generated enough merits and transformed their mind, then as they lose consciousness, their minds are fixed on Amitabha, then that can lead to them taking rebirth in his Pureland. So the practice of achieving rebirth in a Pureland is not done at the time of death, it is done throughout life, everyday until the momement of death itself.

At the moment of death, there can be many signs that occur, for example lights, images of monks, hearing chanting, etc. The main thing to concentrate on therefore is actually preparing yourself during life for that moment.

The best way to purify karma is to engage in Dharma practice, whether this is formal practice (daily prayers, sadhanas, etc, or specific purification practices such as Vajrasattva, 35 Confessional Buddhas, etc) and transformation of the mind following the teachings of the Buddha. The second one is the most important to purify great amounts of karma and generate merit.

You may find this video by Tsem Rinpoche helpful. Thank you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2aXpCTKT68

Dear Khang,

Thank you for your question. If your problems have been lessened through the practices advised through divination, then it is okay to stop unless the lama gave specific instructions on how many mantras, prayers, you should do and for how long you should do it. Usually divinations for problems will come back with certain practices to do until the problem is over, or for a certain amount of mantras or recitations to be completed. You can check back the results you got from that lama.

If your precious guru has asked you to concentrate on Lama Tsongkhapa’s practice and Dorje Shugden, then that should be your main practice. If in doubt, you can contact your guru and tell him about having received divinations results from the previous lama and ask him what you should do, if you need to continue those practices, etc.

I hope this helps. Thank you.

Dear Mariam,

Yes, you can practice Trakpo Sumtril without empowerment or permission. His practice is a lower tantric practice, so can be done by anyone.

Since you do not have the initiation, you do the entire visualisation in front of you. You can find more information here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/trakpo-sumtril-retreat-instructions.html. If you go to the commentary section and scroll down, you will find information about how to engage in the practice, visualisation and mantra without initiation.

There are many deities that can be practiced without initiation including, Lama Tsongkhapa, Dorje Shugden (Protector), Manjushri, Chenrezig, Vajrapani, White Tara, Red Tara, Green Tara, Black Manjushri, many, many. If you are interested in a practising a deity but don’t know if you can do it without intiation or not, you can ask here. Alternatively you can contact us (https://www.kechara.com/contact/) privately and we can answer your questions there also.

I hope this helps.

Hello Shree!

Yes, you can recite Lord Hayagriva’s mantra without empowerment or permission. Lord Hayagriva is a yidam deity. Here is some information about Hayagriva that Tsem Rinpoche shared before:

Hayagriva is the wrathful manifestation of Avalokiteshvara, also known as Chenrezig or Kuan Yin, whose compassion manifests itself as a fierce energy that compels one to overcome internal obstacles and subdue outer hindrances.

Thus, Hayagriva provides a means through which a practitioner recognizes his or her own innate altruistic compassion.

Hayagriva has a bright red body and 3 faces, red, green and white. On top of his head are three green horse heads. He has 6 arms holding different implements.

In his lower right and left hands he holds sword and lasso respectively. His upper right hand hold a vajra and his upper left hand is in the threatening mudra. His central right and left hands hold a khatvanga and spear respectively.

Each of his eight legs steps on a snake, showing that his practice grants effective protection against Nagas. Hayagriva has the special ability to cure diseases in general, and skin diseases in particular, even one as serious as leprosy.

He is effective protection against Nagas (water spirits with serpent bodies) and counters the after-effects of black magic and spells. He is especially beneficial for those suffering from terminal illnesses.

His spiritual energy in the form of sound that helps to transform the mind (Mantra): HRI PEMA DATRI HAYAGRIVA HULU HULU HUNG PHET

I hope this helps!

Dear Charlene,

Thank you so much for sharing what you found! Some years ago, Tsem Rinpoche also found the same article by Doctor Matthew William King. Rinpoche found it so interesting that after reading it Rinpoche published an article about it. It’s available here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/current-affairs/how-mongolia-saved-dorje-shugden.html

Thank you again for sharing, may you blessed by the Tsem Rinpoche, the Three Jewels and Dorje Shugden.

Dear William,

Thank you for sharing this prayer. Whilst this prayer is composed to Nechung as an enlightened Dharma Protector, from the wording we can see that it is a prayer to Nechung to remember his oath to Guru Rinpoche to protect the Tibetan government, the people and the Dharma in general. I’m not sure in what context the prayer can be recited or not.

However, generally speaking, Nechung is not a protector (whether enlightened or worldly) that can be practised openly. It must be engaged under the close supervision of a guru. There are practitioners who engage in his practice, but do so under the guidance of a guru. That is why the full prayers to Nechung, together with his mantra are not made public. Unlike other Dharma Protectors such as Dorje Shugden, Palden Lhamo, Mahakala, etc. In fact, you can find prayer to these Dharma Protectors here on this page: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/prayers-and-sadhanas/sadhana-prayers.html as it is safe to practice them without needing the close guidance of a guru. I hope this helps.

Dear Anonymous,

Thank you for your very interesting question. Generally it is considered that being male is better than being female. And the simple reason for this is culture. Historically and even today, women can easily be taken advantage and are still not seen as equal to men in very large sections of society. Hence, it becomes harder for them to practice the Dharma seriously due to certain societal pressures, family obligations and physical dangers compared to men. It is considered a better state because it is easier to be able to practice and have less obstacles than females. So generally, females may have more obstacles to over than males in society in general and for practising the Dharma.

That said however, we have many examples of women becoming enlightened beings in female form. The greatest example of this is Tara. She was a female disciple of a Buddha in another world system. The other disciples taunted her that if she wanted to become enlightened, she should pray for a male rebirth in which she could practice better than she could as a woman. Instead of doing that, she made a vow then and there, that she would be become enlightened as a woman. There was many miraculous signs that occured then. Later, she did become enlightened and in the form of woman, overcoming whatever obstacles or pressures she would have faced as a woman.

Hence, when this is mentioned as part of the ripened qualities of refraining from the 10 non-virtues and practising the ten virtues, it is not about spiritual advancement, but the normal benefits. Anyone can achieve those benefits by refraining from the 10 non-virtues. But if you have those qualities, it is easier for you to work on spiritual progress compared to if you didn’t have those qualities. Does that mean that spiritual advancement, in this case, is only for men? Of course not, but it is easier due to culture, society, etc.

I hope this helps.

Dear Nhat Khang,

Very sorry to read that you have been facing this. Unfortunately, these are the circumstances that many of us face due to certain prejedudices against Dorje Shugden amongst practitioners.

You can continue sharing the practice of Dorje Shugden with others, however try to make sure that they are people who will accept. If you have already shared the practice with others, but now they have turned away from the practice, don’t force them to practice again. Leave them be. At least they are practising some form of the Dharma.

If this is too difficult, share with the general Dharma practices and the other Dharma protector practices. That will be very good. In fact, sharing the Dharma with others in general such as the Lamrim teachings is very beneficial even if they do not want to practice Dorje Shugden. Sharing the Dharma with others generates a lot of merit. Ask them to read and study the teachings such as the Lamrim. This would be very good. Hope this helps.

Dear Kinga,

I think the following two pages will be interesting for you. Thank you.

Tibetan Astrology:
https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/tibetan-astrology/tibetan-astrology.html

Chinese Zodiac:
https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/horoscopes/the-chinese-zodiac.html

Tashi Delek Bill,

Nice to see you here. Yes, of course, anyone can engage in the food offering to Hariti, including lay people.

And yes, we understand that you might not be able to do the practice daily, as you do have other commitments. And that is fine, you can do the offering as and when you have the time.

As you will see in the actual prayers, the sutra propitiates the Three Jewels, so every time you do it, you will be blessed by not only Hariti but the Three Jewels in general. Her practice is extremely efficacious as I’m sure you have read in the article.

Wish you well, and may you create a close connection with Mother Hariti. She will definitely be a beneficial influence in your life. Thank you.

Dear Sirius,

I’m sorry to hear that you have been going through such a tough time. Just remember that there is impermenance, which means that all difficult times will eventually end.

The way to have faith and maintain constant practice is through learning and conteplation of the teachings and to see them in your life. For example, to study and understand karma and impermenance, but then contemplate how your own life experiences show this. Then you would contemplate on the state of enlightenment and the qualities of the enlightenment.

So when you are going through tough times, you know that those tough times will end and that the enlightened beings can benefit you. That is the correct way to build faith, and through that consistency in your practice. I hope this helps. I will keep you in my prayers as well.

Dear Jason,

Thank you very much for your interesting question. There are two levels to this. The first is that the Bodhisattvas that we actually pray to usually are actually emanations of Buddhas. Good examples of this are both Manjushri and Chenrezig. They both achieved enlightenment many aeons ago, but manifested as the Bodhisattva disciples of Buddha Shakyamuni in order to facilitate Buddha teaching the Dharma. Many of the scriptures state that the Buddha taught various teachings, because he was requested to give the teachings by Manjushri, Chenrezig or other Bodhisattvas. So actually, when we pray to these types of Bodhisattvas, we are actually praying to the Buddhas.

But even here there is a deeper level, and that is the Mahayana path of practice. The very core of Mahayana practice (and therefore Tantric practice also), is Bodhicitta. Once you have achieved a form of Bodhicitta in your mindstream, you are a Bodhisattva, of which there are 10 levels of progress. Bodhisattva’s like Manjushri and Chenrezig, are 10th level Bodhisattva’s meaning, they are enlightened.

The reason is not that Bodhisattvas are more capable of helping us compared to the Buddhas, it is because they are closer to us in terms of karmic affinity, because their forms are within Samsara, hence they are able to help us faster.

All of these is explained in the Mahayana scriptures that teach about the Bodhisattva path. It is also explained in the Lamrim teachings in depth, such the Stages on the Path to Enlightenment by Lama Tsongkhapa or Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand by Pabongka Rinpoche. You can read more about this in those texts.

I hope this helps.

Dear Marije,

Thank you for your question. We have an entire category here full of teachings by Tsem Rinpoche regarding the practice of Vajrayogini: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/category/vajra-yogini

One article I would highly recommend is Starting on Vajrayogini Now: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/inspiration-worthy-words/starting-on-vajra-yogini-now.html

While you are in Nepal, you should go to the Vajrayogini temples there, make many offerings and many aspirational prayers to receive her practice and meet a guru who can guide you. Even though you are in very holy places there, the main issue will be finding a guru who can guide you if you do not speak Nepali.

Also the practice itself belongs to the Higher Yoga Tantra class, which is the highest form of Tantric practice in Buddhism. There is a lot of preparations needed before you can receive the full practice, which is all listed in the article above.

I hope this helps you. Thank you.

Dear Bao,

Thank you for your question. Sometimes Tsem Rinpoche used to recommend various other Dharma protectors apart from Dorje Shugden and Setrap. In such cases, it is because that particular deity could help overcome very specific issues that person was facing in a swifter manner than other Dharma protectors due to karmic affinity.

Generally, Tsem Rinpoche heavily recommended Dorje Shugden and Setrap because they extremely effective and quick, because they are closer to us, as you mentioned. However, Rinpoche also recommended the practices of any enlightened Dharma protector, as they are all beneficial.

Here in Kechara, our main Dharma protector practice (both in terms of pujas and personal daily practice) is Dorje Shugden, but we do engage in the pujas of other Dharma protectors also. If, for whatever reason, you feel a strong connection or affinity with another Dharma protector, Tsem Rinpoche’s advice was to practice that deity.

However, Tsem Rinpoche also mentioned that in order to really benefit from a Dharma protector’s practice, you need to engage in the practice daily without fail. You can setup a nice altar to the Dharma Protector and make daily offerings, then engage in the practice. Once you choose a Dharma Protector practice, you shouldn’t switch back and forth, because then you won’t develop a close relationship with either of them.

Traditionally, the full practice of Dharma protectors is not usually open to be practised by everyone. Dorje Shugden and Setrap’s practice is different in that sense. Usually, you would require higher tantric initiation before teachers would recommend other Dharma protectors. However, some prayers that can be practiced by anyone can be found here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/prayers-and-sadhanas/sadhana-prayers.html

The Dharma protector prayers that you can find in the link above include short prayers to Sengdongma, Palden Lhamo (if you find you have a stronger connection to her), Kalarupa and Setrap.

So in general, we recommend the practice of Dorje Shugden, however, if feel a stronger conenction with the other Dharma protectors mentioned above, of course, you can engage in their practice. I hope this helps.

Caro Matheus do Brasil

Obrigado por sua pergunta. Estamos muito felizes em saber que você está interessado no Budismo.

É claro que não há nada de errado em aprender sobre as diferentes tradições budistas. É bom fazer isso, pois assim você poderá tomar decisões sobre qual tradição deseja praticar.

Contudo, depois de encontrar uma tradição que gostaria de praticar, você deve praticá-la adequadamente, sem misturar sua prática com outras tradições.

Tsem Rinpoche fez uma analogia simples a respeito disso. Todas as tradições budistas genuínas (o que significa que têm uma linhagem e podem ser rastreadas até Buda Shakyamuni sem qualquer interrupção), todas levam à iluminação. Mas são como estradas diferentes que levam você até lá de uma maneira diferente. Eles passam por diferentes edifícios, paisagens e enfatizam certas coisas, contemplações e meditações. Mas todos eles levam você lá no final. O objetivo é o mesmo, mas o caminho é diferente.

Se você praticar uma mistura de tradições, então você ficará realmente confuso em sua prática rumo à iluminação, por causa da diferença em termos de meditações, contemplações, práticas, etc. É como viajar por uma estrada, depois mudar para outra e depois voltar. Você se perderá e não chegará ao destino.

Então, é claro, por favor, descubra mais sobre as diferentes tradições, mas quando encontrar uma que queira praticar, persista nela até o fim. Dessa forma você progredirá em seu caminho espiritual.

Espero que isso ajude você. Obrigado.

—

Dear Matheus do Brasil

Thank you for your question. We are really happy to read that you are interested in Buddhism.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with learning about the different Buddhist traditions. It’s good to do, since then you are able to come a decisions about which tradition you want to practice.

However, once you have found a tradition that you would like to practice, you should practice that tradition properly, without mixing your practice with other traditions.

Tsem Rinpoche had a simple analogy regarding this. All genuine Buddhist traditions (which means they have a lineage and can be traced all the way back to Buddha Shakyamuni without any breaks), all lead to enlightenment. But they are like different roads that take you there in a different way. They pass by different buildings, landscapes, and emphasise certain things, contemplations and meditations. But they all get you there in the end. The goal is the same but the path is different.

If you practice a mix of traditions, then you will actually get confused in your practice towards enlightenment, because of the difference in terms of meditations, contemplations, practice, etcs. It is like travelling along one road, then switching to another, then switching back. You will get lost and won’t arrive at the destination.

So, of course, please do find out more about the different traditions, but once you find one that you want to practice, stick with it all the way. That way you will progress on your spiritual path.

I hope this helps you. Thank you.

Dear Tshering Dekar,

You may be find the following calculators useful:

Tibetan Astrology:
https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/tibetan-astrology/tibetan-astrology.html

Chinese Zodiac:
https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/horoscopes/the-chinese-zodiac.html

In general, even if from an astrological perspective something is to happen or not happen, it can all change due to the actions we take in life. We can change our circumstances through our own actions. So in this regard, you can be successful if you put in the hard work and create the conditions to be successful as we can influence what happens to us by practising the Dharma and thereby creating the karma necessary to be successful.

You can also engage in certain practices that help you to be successful by helping you to purify negative karma and generate merit. An example of such a practice is that of Gyenze, which you can find here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/prayers-and-sadhanas/dorje-shugden-gyenze-to-increase-life-merits-and-wealth.html

I hope this helps. Thank you.

Dear Anonymous,

There are a couple of points you would need to think about regarding this.

Were the Lower Tantra initiations that you received given as a blessing, meaning that no vows or commitments were given? Or were they given with vows and practice commitments? And when receiving them, did you think from your heart that you were recieving them?

If they were given as a blessing with no vows/commitments, then if you don’t feel like you have a guru-disciple relationship with any of these lamas, it would be fine to practice Dorje Shugden.

However, if the initiations were given with vows, commitments, such as the Bodhisattva vows, and at the time you received then, you thought from your heart that you were receiving them, then there is a guru-disciple relationship established, even though you may not have a personal relationship with these gurus. So accordingly they would be your gurus.

The following article may help to clear confusion in reads to your gurus: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/the-guru-protocol-a-guide-to-knowing-who-your-guru-is.html

If you would like, you can contact us privately to discuss this matter further. Contact details are provided here: https://www.kechara.com/contact/

Thank you.

Dear Peter Cartwright,

Thank you for your message. I’m sorry, but Tsem Rinpoche never published a book on Tibetan astrology. The article on this website is just a simple introduction to and overview of Tibetan Astrology: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/tibetan-astrology/introduction-to-tibetan-astrology.html It does not include the types of procedural calculations that you are looking for.

As far are we are aware, there is no translation in English of the types of calculations that you are looking for. Most English texts on Tibetan Astrology that we have seen focus on Nagtsi (Chinese Astrology) and Jungtsi (Elemental Astrology) rather than Kartsi (Vedic Astrology) or Kalachakra-based procedures.

Apologies that we cannot be of more help. Thank you.

Dear Bry,

Thank you for your question. The iconography of the various Buddha figures comes from those highly attained beings who received the practice originally from the deities themselves, or who gained attainments from the practices and were able to perceive the deities directly. So the Buddhas appeared to them directly, after which these masters transmitted their iconography.

In fact, each facet of iconography of a Buddha has a particular meaning, which can include what aspects of the Dharma that the practice of that deity emphasises or even the benefits of practising that particular Buddha.

You can read more about the iconography of the Buddha here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/the-body-of-a-buddha-a-road-map-to-liberation.html

I hope this helps. Thank you.

Dear Bhavisha,

Yes, you can receive the Refuge ceremony online as that is different from receiving initiation. When you receive Refuge, the lama you receive it from becomes your guru.

Here in Kechara, we have a Refuge ceremony during Wesak Day which just passed. At the same time, we have only streaming for those joining from abroad who qualify to take refuge in Kechara. They take refuge online.

If there is a specific needs at other times of the year, you can discuss that with Kechara’s pastors who can guide you through the process.

I hope this helps. Thank you.