Dear Rev. Dr. Michele Shields,

Thank you very much for you message. We truly rejoice for the works of all Buddhist chaplains and pastors around the world, who strive to help others. They are truly an inspiration in regards to Buddhist compassion in action.

In regards to the this article, we very much appreciate that you informed us. The article will be updated to reflect this. Thank you.

Dear Alfredo Salvado,

Thank you for your question. I am glad that you have an altar set up in your room. This will provide your environment with a powerful area of positive energy. A major part of Buddhist prayers is the invocation to the enlightened beings. As such they come to reside in the sacred images on your altar, which energises it. Therefore your altar becomes a place where the protective and compassionate energies of Buddhas reside. As such, if you have your altar in your bedroom, it should be placed away from ordinary items, and covered with a screen if possible when you are changing, sleeping or other mundane activities.

As for having catholic images on the altar, this is entire up to you. Traditionally speaking this would not be the case, as within Buddhism altars are only set up to the Buddhas and enlightened beings. However, you will not offend the Buddhas if you do put other images on the altar. This is because the Buddhas operate from love and compassion. They do not get angry but only seek to benefit you. I hope this helps.

Thank you

Dear Raham,

Thank you for your question. In Buddhism we believe in the Trikaya, which means the Three Bodies of the Buddhas. In essence this outlines the three ways in which the Buddhas exist. However the teaching in and of itself teaches us the nature of Buddhahood and also the nature of reality when studied in depth.

The three bodies are:

– The Nirmanakaya: the body created within samsara. This means that it exists within time and space, and on the outward appearance is bound by the rules of life within our universe.

– The Sambhogakaya: usually known as the enjoyment body. This is the body of a Buddha that is made from clear light and bliss. The usual depiction of the enlightened beings matches this body of the Buddhas.

– The Dharmakaya: this is the actual state of enlightenment, which is non-dual, has no barriers, is limitless and cannot be described accurately as we do not have the capacity to understand it.

All three of these bodies come about when a person has achieved full and complete enlightenment. And having reached the state of full enlightenment you cannot loose this, and become un-enlightened. That being said, from a philosophical perspective one cannot have experiences of the Dharmakaya. This would entail the person reaching complete enlightenment. But as one cannot become un-enlightened, you cannot experience Dharma and then return to ordinary samsaric life.

However, it is most definitely certain that anyone can reach the state of full enlightenment. Lord Buddha showed us the path and many great masters since his time have likewise achieved complete enlightenment. While the Buddhist path places an emphasis on the path of monasticism, since it is the most effective way to make use of the time we have in this life to progress on our spiritual path, lay people can and have achieved complete enlightenment too. In fact Tibetan Buddhism has many stories lay people who have achieved high states of spiritual attainment and even Buddhahood. I hope this helps.

Thank you

Dear Hesed,

Thank you for your question. Asking this question shows you think about things well and have a strong urge to know why things happen. This wanting to know and understand is a sign of being spiritual as you think about life and why things happen. According to Buddhist philosophy, we believe in something known as ‘karma’. This, although taught by the historical Buddha Shakyamuni, was not created by him. Instead he saw the nature of reality, and told others how the world exists.

In today’s world most people have a vague understanding of karma, but as a topic itself, it is very complex. In short, it means that if you do good things, good things will happen to you and if you do bad things, bad things will happen to you. But coupled with this, is the notion that we have countless previous lives. The actions we engaged in during these previous lives affect us now in this life, if the causes and conditions for a particular karma to manifest are right.

For example, in this life we may have financial difficulties or a lack of resources to live well. This is the karmic effect of having been miserly in previous lives. This manifests as us not having the funds or resources we need in this life. While this may seem unfair, it is just the way that the world exists.

One of the Four Noble Truths taught by the historical Buddha is that suffering exists, and in fact Buddhists believe that all life is full of suffering. That is why Buddhists strive to better themselves in order to achieve enlightenment. Once you are enlightened, you are no longer subject to this suffering. Rather than just concentrate on the negative side of things, when you study karma, you also study how to counter negative karma. This is done by doing good deeds and helping others to alleviate them of their own suffering.

There is however, another more subtle form of karma, and that is what we term as imprints or habituation. Over the course of countless lifetimes, as we perform the same sorts of actions again and again, this seeps deeper into our mind, and we end up developing certain tendencies. For example, someone is this life may have a lot of unexplainable anger. This comes from countless previous lives, in which the person was angry, acted out of anger or made other people angry. Therefore the karmic result is to be prone to anger in their current life.

So, the various feelings that make us suffer emotionally, such as guilt, sadness, jealousy, etc., are not actually due to external forces, but because we have the karma to feel them, due to actions and thoughts taken in previous lifetimes or even through habituation in this life.

In regards to these emotions that make us suffer being the sins of our ancestors or dark entities, Buddhism places the majority of what happens to us on the individual themselves rather than outside forces. Sometimes a person may indeed be afflicted by a spirit and experience a severe disturbance in their emotional state. This is actually due to the person themselves having the karma to be affected in this manner. For those that do not have such karma, no matter how much the spirit tries to disturb them, they will not feel the effects of this disturbance simply because they do not have the karma to go through that experience.

While outside forces can have an effect on our emotional state, they cannot affect us if we do not have the karma to be affected. This not only applied to emotional suffering, but physical suffering as well. We often here stories of people surviving accidents, when other people in the same accident did not. This is because the individual did not have the karma to be harmed by the accident, whereas the others did have that karma. The accident acted as the conditions for the karma to ripen. But if you do not have the karma than nothing will happen.

All of this that I have mentioned is very brief, as the entire topic cannot be covered here. You can find out more about karma, how it effects your emotions, and how it causes suffering by watching a fantastic teaching by His Eminence the 25th Tsem Rinpoche called You and Your Imprints here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/you-and-your-imprints-how-to-break-bad-habituations.html

Another very good source to learn more about karma is the book entitled Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, which you can order a copy of here: https://www.vajrasecrets.com/lamrim-liberation-in-the-palm-of-your-hand. This text is part of the Lam Rim literature, of the Stages on the Path to Enlightenment, and forms the core of our education syllabus here in Kechara. This text details the Buddhist path in a step by step manner for the beginner all the way to the most advanced practitioner. Within this text there are sections that explain how karma works, the various types of karma and the results of karma, including both beneficial and harmful karma. It is a must read book for anyone that is interested in learning about Buddhism is really about and even more so for practitioners. I hope this helps.

Thank you

Dear Woeser,

I am very sorry to hear that you are going through these difficulties at this time. I know that this situation can be very hard. Everything we go through in life, from the good to the bad is actually due to karma. Karma are the results of actions we have made earlier in this life or from previous lives. This probably does not sound fair, and you are right, it is not. But one thing about karma that people often forget is that it is not fixed. It can be changed, that is what the Buddha taught.

The way to change your karma, is to take charge of your life and engage in actions that are beneficial. This will create the energies so that your negative karma does not open and positive karma opens instead, leading to a happier life. From a Buddhist perspective financial problems in this life or a lack of resources is due to having been miserly in a previous life. However, the way to overcome this is to do the opposite. The opposite of being miserly is therefore to be generous.

Being generous does not necessarily mean buying things for people or doing things that involve money. You can be generous by spending time with your family and friends, helping them in any way that you can. It can mean spending your free time doing something beneficial such as helping the poor, elderly or the sick. It could even mean just listening to or being there for someone when they need help. According to the Buddha and the many masters that have taught the path to enlightenment, when we focus on other instead of ourselves, this is a form of generosity.

In fact, the more we spend time on helping others, the more our own problems will be resolved. This can be on a karmic level or even a physical level. For example, if we help someone now, perhaps in the future when we are in even more in need to assistance, they will be the ones to help us.

To aid you in this, I would like to suggest that you engage in two practices. The first is the practice of Lama Tsongkhapa. You can find an excellent commentary on the practice here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/me/tsongkapas-daily-practice-video-commentary.html. The commentary was given by His Eminence the 25th Tsem Rinpoche, and is a central practice within our lineage. Many people over the years have had tremendous benefit from the practice of Lama Tsongkhapa. In fact, it is also known to help calm and stabilise the mind so that we can think logically rather than emotionally.

Secondly, you can engage in the practice of Gyenze, available here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/prayers-and-sadhanas/dorje-shugden-gyenze-to-increase-life-merits-and-wealth.html. The practice contains the Guru Yoga of Lama Tsongkhapa, so you if you engage in this practice, it incorporates the above practice already.

Gyenze is the increase form of the Dharma protector Dorje Shugden. As with many other Dharma protector practices, Gyenze attracts the energies of increase into our lives. This leads to an increase in anything that is beneficial in our lives. For example, the resources we need to live and work well. As such, Gyenze’s practice is excellent for riding us of our financial issues so that we have enough to live from. Gyenze aids in this, so that we can spend more time practicing the Dharma and benefiting others. Many people have seen their financial fortunes turn around through the blessings of Gyenze. Gyenze’s role as a Dharma protector is just like any other Dharma protector whose function is aid sincere practitioners. I hope this helps.

Thank you

Dear JM Tan,

Thank you for your question. We all make mistakes in our lives, and that is just the way life is. In samsara we will always experience pain in many ways, and that is one of the reasons Buddhists seeks to transcend samsara, to be free of pain and suffering. While most people only see pain and suffering as physical, there are many different types and emotional pain is one of them. While you are saddened by the situation, you shouldn’t get caught up in the emotions you are going through. Rather, you should try and think that yes, you are suffering, yes you did create the mess. But then what? More often than not, we get caught up in our emotions and are not able to think properly or act in a logical manner.

Since you have created the mess, don’t be sad for too long. If the friendship matters a lot to you, then you should try to make amends as best as possible. Talk to your friend and apologise if you can. The best way to get over these sorts of situations is by talking and making amends physically with the person. Rather than merely thinking of the type of friendship you had, you should strive to repair it and then perhaps even make it better than before, to show your friend that they are important to you.

From a spiritual perspective, you should engage in the join practice of Lama Tsongkhapa and the Dharma protector Dorje Shugden. You can find the daily practice here: http://www.dorjeshugden.org/practice/diamond-path-a-daily-sadhana-of-dorje-shugden. While engaging in the prayers, you should concentrate on the recitation of the mantras. The one on the website is the long version. There is a shorter version of prayers and a condensed version of the prayers in the Diamond Path prayer book, which you can order here: https://www.vajrasecrets.com/diamond-path.

Lama Tsongkhapa’s practice is very well known for healing emotional pain and traumas from the past that are affecting us now. You can find a commentary to the practice of Lama Tsongkhapa’s Guru Yoga here, given by His Eminence the 25th Tsem Rinpoche: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/me/tsongkapas-daily-practice-video-commentary.html Dorje Shugden on the other hand is excellent for removing obstacles we may be facing. In this case, you are facing obstacles in your relationship to your friend and the energies of Dorje Shugden can help to alleviate these if you have a good intention. I hope this helps and wish the best in mending the relationship with your friend, as it is one that you find very important.

Thank you

Dear Yen,

Thank you for your question. I am very sorry to hear of your situation and that of your friend. One thing we need to remember is that the Buddha explained to us how karma works. Everything we experience in life, whether good or bad is due to our actions previously in this life and previous lifetimes. While this may sound unfair in that we need to experience the results of something that we do not remember doing, this is the way samsara exists. They only way to be free of this type of suffering is to attain enlightenment, the state of a Buddha. That being said, we all need help in our daily life, and that is where deity practice can help us.

In order to overcome the pain you are going through, may I suggest that you engage in the Guru Yoga of Lama Tsongkhapa. You can find an excellent commentary by His Eminence the 25th Tsem Rinpoche here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/me/tsongkapas-daily-practice-video-commentary.html. You can find the prayers to recite here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/prayers-and-sadhanas/sadhana-prayers.html#19. There is also a practice box set dedicate to Lama Tsongkhapa, which you can order online here if you wish: https://www.vajrasecrets.com/tsongkhapa-boxset-english

Lama Tsongkhapa is the emanation of Manjushri, the Buddha of wisdom; Chenrezig, the Buddha of compassion; and Vajrapani, the Buddha of skilful means. As such the practice is extremely powerful and is well-known to help people heal psychical pain, but more importantly the sufferings felt in the mind. You can concentrate on the recitation of the Mig Tse Ma mantra and beseech Lama Tsongkhapa to help ease your suffering. He will surely help. His practice is known for relieving anxiety and even depression.

In regards to your friend, on a practical level you can research about your friend’s specific state and see if there are any treatments available that can be effective if you have not done so already. In any case what you can do is to engage in prayers or pujas and dedicate the merits generated to your friend. For example, you can engage in the practice of Medicine Buddha, available here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/prayers-and-sadhanas/medicine-buddha-practice.html, or alternative have Medicine Buddha pujas sponsored here: https://www.vajrasecrets.com/medicine-buddha-puja-fund. Medicine Buddha is excellent at healing on all levels, and provide us with soothing and beneficial energy.

Another method that you can use to help your friend is to generate as much merit for her as possible. A vast amount of merit and purification of karma can help even the direst of circumstances. Such activities could involve releasing animals from slaughter or deplorable conditions, feeding the homeless and less fortunate and providing for them, and making vast amounts of offerings to the Buddhas and enlightened beings. If done with a good motivation, and dedicated towards your friend, she will benefit from the virtuous actions, even if you cannot see the benefits at the moment.

Coupled with this you can engage in the practice of a Dharma protector such as a Dorje Shugden. You can find the prayers here if you wish to engage in them yourself: http://www.dorjeshugden.org/practice/diamond-path-a-daily-sadhana-of-dorje-shugden, alternatively you can have Dorje Shugden pujas sponsored here: https://www.vajrasecrets.com/dorje-shugden-wishfulfilling-puja-fund. Dharma protectors help to overcome obstacles and conditions that we wish to arise. I understand that it is a difficult situation, but you should maintain your faith in the Buddhas and enlightened beings, and they will definitely help. I hope this helps.

Thank you

Dear Ling,

Thank you for your question. I rejoice to read that you are practising Chakrasamvara for over two years now. This is very good, you should keep the practice steady, keep the vows and commitments well and you will progress on your spiritual evolution.

Generally speaking when you engage in higher tantric yoga meditation, the meditations include movement of your psychic winds. Therefore sometimes people will experience strange feelings in the body. When this happens, once should ease off the concentration on that particular visualisation when engaging in the practice. What you can do to lessen these feelings is to engage in purification practices such as the 35 Confessional Buddhas, which you can find here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/the-35-confessional-buddhas.html. Alternatively if you have the appropriate initiation, you can engage in the practice of Heruka Vajrasattva, which would be included in your sadhana text. Engaging in the purification practices would lessen these sensations when you practice, as everything we experience is due to our karma.

What I would advise the most, however, is to consult the guru that gave you the empowerment of Chakrasamvara practice. Your guru would be able to better advise you in addition to the above, the methods you can use to minimise the physical effects if they are due to the actual practice. I hope this helps.

Thank you

Dear Fearful,

Thank you for your question. There could be any number of reasons for this to be occurring. What you can do when this starts to happen is to stop what you are doing, and take deep breaths, and concentrate on your breath. As you concentrate on your breath, this will have a calming effect on both your body and mind, which should stop the involuntary shaking and strange feelings. In fact focusing on the breath is one of the best known methods of developing a focused, concentrated, yet calm

Your practice of the Dharmapalas should begin with either Guru Yoga or deity practice, therefore I would suggest that you engage in these practices more before you begin the actually Dharma protector practice. One of the best practices is the Guru Yoga of Lama Tsongkhapa. This practice is well known for its healing ability on for both the body and the mind. Over time, you should see such occurrences lessen.

If this shaking happens regularly and also when you are not practicing, you should consider visiting a qualified health professional just to rule out anything untoward. I hope this helps.

Thank you

Dear John,

Thank you for your question. This is a question that people actually ask a lot, but there is no need to worry, especially if we do not have tantric initiation. In fact, the more we practice getting our visualisation stabilised now, the better we will be able to practice tantra when we eventually receive tantric initiation.

The issue you are having maintain a steady visualisation is not an uncommon one. This is because we actually have to train our mind to concentrate on what we are doing. One of the major facets of Buddhist meditation is concentration, and this is something we need to develop. We might think that we have a good ability to concentrate, but what the Buddha and the great masters have taught is that we actually do not, but we can obviously develop it.

Visualisation itself is a form of concentration meditation, therefore until we achieve a good level of concentration, things like this will happen as we train our minds. What we can do is to focus on a particular aspect of the visualisation, such as the face of the deity, and once that is stable and focused, we can continue onto other parts of the deity’s body, and then the various other aspects of the visualisation. That way, we train ourselves little by little to have a complete visualisation.

No in regards to your question about their being danger if something goes wrong or if we make a mistake during our visualisation, this cannot be at our stage of practice. This is because the visualisation is engaged in during the mantra recitation section. Mantras themselves are the Buddhas and enlightened beings in the form of sound. Therefore when we recite mantras we are invoking the holy energies of the Buddhas, which naturally guide and protect us from any harm.

The fact that you are facing this issue is in fact a good sign. It shows that are trying to concentrate on the visualisation, but that your mind has not reached a level of concentration powerful enough to maintain the stability of the visualisation. The antidote to this is simple, keep practising. As you continue to practice, you will notice that your visualisation becomes stronger and stronger.

If however, you are still worried, you can end your recitation sessions with the prayer dedicated to a Dharma protector to any obstacles, and end with a completion dedication. I hope this helps.

Thank you

Dear Wong,

Thank you for your question. The last factor of the eightfold noble path is called jhana in the Pali language. In the Sanskrit language it is called dyana. This is a state of meditative absorption which culminates in the understanding of emptiness and is the pathway that leads us to attain liberation.

Generally this state is achieved through the practice of single-pointed concentration meditation. But within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition once you have achieved stabilised single-pointed meditation, you progress onto the path of special insight meditation. It is at this stage, that one is able to concentrate completely on understanding emptiness and therefore attain enlightenment.

This topic is somewhat outside of the scope of this section of the blog. However, Pabongkha Rinpoche in his excellent Lam Rim text, titled “Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand” gives a very concise yet thorough introduction to the topic of meditation. Pabongkha Rinpoche addresses the path to enlightenment, not through the eightfold noble path however, but through the six perfections of a bodhisattva. In essence although on the surface the two ways of structuring the path to enlightenment may seem different, they are actually both the same if one analyses them carefully.

If you read “Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand” you will understand how the two structures are interlinked if you have an understanding of the eightfold noble path. You can order a copy of the book here: https://www.vajrasecrets.com/lamrim-liberation-in-the-palm-of-your-hand and the book is also available at Kechara Paradise outlets. Alternatively, you can ask your local book store to order the book in for you if they have that service. I hope this helps.

Thank you

Dear Jason,

Thank you for your question. I am glad to hear that you have been practising Higher Yoga Tantra for over two years. You should keep your samaya with your Guru pure and intact, as well as keeping the vows and commitments that you would have taken during the empowerment into the practice. If you do this then you will see a definite transformation of your mind and circumstances for the better, which is after all what Buddhist practice is all about.

In regards to your nightmares I do not think that you have done anything wrong per se. In this case it could be due to two possible reasons, the first is that your negative karma is arising in your dreams and the second is that you are being afflicted by a spirit.

In the first case, when we practice Higher Yoga Tantra properly and sincerely, it purifies a lot of negative karma. As when engaging in any practice that purifies negative karma, this karma can open and manifest under control situations. For example you the karma manifests are nightmares or scary figures or feelings, rather than physically, which would come about through uncontrollable causes and conditions. When karma is purified it manifests in its most mild form, and for you in this case, it could manifest in the form of nightmares. Therefore if we are engaging in powerful practices, or when we concentrate on these practices, such things can occur.

Some people may find this sort of situation bad. But this is not correct, because due to the nature of samsara, we are affected by karma in some form or another. What matters here is that karma is purified so that we can progress on our spiritual journey. When you face such difficulties, the key here is continue with your practice strongly and not give up. In this manner, the karma which causes such situations to occur is purified quicker and then we are no longer affected by it. Therefore you should wholeheartedly engage in primary sadhana of your meditational deity.

On the other hand, it could be that you are being affected by a spirit or spirits. In this case there are methods of protection that you can engage in which should be included in your Higher Yoga Tantra practice. If you are unsure of what these could be, please humbly approach your initiating guru for more guidance.

Another way that can help solve this problem is to engage in the practice of a Dharma protector such as Dorje Shugden. Since you are already practising a Highest Yoga Tantra, you can ask your guru about the particular Dharma protectors associated with the practice. Each of the major tantric practice has certain Dharma protectors associated with it that aid practitioners to clear obstacles and create conducive conditions for practice. You can actually engage in any Dharma protector practice, but it would be best for you to consult your guru as he or she may assign you a specific Dharma protector to practice.

Whatever the case may be, it comes down to karma. The Higher Yoga Tantra you are practising should include a purification practice such as Vajrasattva. For example if you practice the Heruka Chakrasamvara tantra, and have received the appropriate empowerment, you can practice Heruka Vajrasattva. You then concentrate on the practice of Vajrasattva to purify the negative karma causing the situation, and over time you will see the situation get better. If you are not sure of the purification aspect of your daily practice, you can recite the 35 Confessional Buddhas.

All of these can help, however I strongly advise you to humbly approach your guru and ask for further advice and instruction, as he or she may assign you other practices or even ask you concentrate on specific sections of the sadhana that they passed to you, to help you overcome these problems. I hope this helps.

Thank you.

Dear Kevin,

Thank you for your question. Yes, according to Buddhist thought everything we go through in life is caused by karma. This can be either good or bad, so difficulties we face in life are indeed due to our karma. Now, one thing about karma that people often forget is that it can be purified. There are many methods within Tibetan Buddhism that are used for the purification of karma. In fact all practices necessarily involve the purification of negative karma and the generation of merit.

The most effective of these are known as purification practices, which have the specific benefits of helping us to purify negative karma which leads to all kinds of problems within in our lives. These include Vajrasattva practice, which can be found here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/prayers-and-sadhanas/an-important-purification-practice.html and the practice of the 35 Confessional Buddhas, which can be found here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/the-35-confessional-buddhas.html. You can read more about these practices by clicking on the respective links. These are two very powerful methods of purifying negative karma and have been relied upon by countless practitioners and masters to progress on the spiritual path. They are two very extremely effective methods used within Tibetan Buddhism.

Since you are going through many problems, however, you can engage in the practice of a Dharma protector who can help alleviate the obstacles you are facing and at the same provide conditions that are suitable for you. One such Dharma protector is Dorje Shugden, you can read more about his practice here, and his daily prayers here: http://www.dorjeshugden.org/practice/diamond-path-a-daily-sadhana-of-dorje-shugden. The website also has a lot of information about the practice and how it can benefit you in daily life. While it may seem daunting that you have negative karma, you should not be disheartened because negative karma can be overcome by purifying it.

What you said is right, you should be wary of creating more negative karma. In fact that is one of the main points a Buddhist lives by, which is not creating more negative karma. People often wonder why Buddhists take vows and precepts, this is actually to stop the accumulation of negative karma. For example a Buddhist takes the vow not to kill, this obviously stops the Buddhist from creating the negative karma of killing because they consciously remember that they should not kill in whatever situation they are in. So it is very good that are checking your actions to make sure that you do not add to the negative karma. I hope this helps.

Thank you.

Dear Nepal,

Thank you for your question. Dorje Shugden is an emanation of Manjushri, that is what the high lamas and masters have taught and explained using Buddhist logic. Dorje Shugden as an enlightened being has been practiced by all major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, and was first practiced within the holy Sakya tradition.

Similarly, Manjushri is an enlightened being. In fact all Tibetan Buddhist schools and Vajrayana traditions, including those in Nepal, say that Manjushri is an enlightened being, the Buddha of wisdom.

Rahula on the other hand is a worldly deity who was bound by oath to protect Buddhism and Buddhism practitioners. You can read more about him here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/dharma-protectors-of-tibetan-buddhism.html#tabs-1. All Tibetan Buddhist schools similarly agree to this point.

Therefore to equate Dorje Shugden as a form of Za Rahula would logically mean that Manjushri is not a Buddha. This cannot be since hundreds of thousands of holy masters have relied on Manjushri and gained enlightenment through such beliefs and practices associated with Manjushri. Since from a logical perspective this cannot be the case, and Dorje Shugden is an emanation of Manjushri, it is safe to say that Dorje Shugden is not a form of Za Rahula.

You can read more about Dorje Shugden, his history, lineage of practice and benefits here: http://www.dorjeshugden.org. I hope this helps.

Thank you.

Dear Ling,

Thank you for your question. From a tantric Buddhist perspective our mind rides on the psychic winds within our bodies. Therefore if the psychic winds in our body are agitated our minds will be agitated, if our psychic winds are blocked, we will also have blockages in our minds. Therefore to have a clear mind, which is necessary for the higher meditational practices to be successful, the psychic winds in our body must flow freely.

For the ordinary level practitioner who does not have control over the psychic winds in the body, practitioners will engage in psychical actions or refrain from physical actions in order to give them more control over these psychic energies. One such way is to carefully control one’s diet and this will obviously involve the pungent foods that you have mentioned. Certain foods affect the psychic winds in different ways. When eaten raw these roots affect the psychic winds in a certain way which makes a person’s mind more prone to anger, and when eaten cooked they affect the mind in a way which can increase one’s desire. In fact, when we are affected too much by an emotion it can have a reverse affect. If we have too much anger for example, the psychic winds can become blocked, and this can lead to a propensity of developing illness. Both of these emotions are hindrances to meditational practices because they can distract from whatever you are concentrating on during the meditation.

In the Chinese Mahayana tradition and when in strict retreat within Tibetan Buddhism, these foods are avoided for these reasons. Also, when practicing the lower tantras, they are also avoided because a practitioner usually does not have sufficient control of the psychic winds in the body. In Highest Yoga Tantra practices, however, it is not a must to avoid these foods because it is during these practices that you develop great control of the psychic winds within the body.

For the everyday practitioner when engaged in sadhana and mantra practice, if you have a serious meditational practice then you can avoid these foods. It is a choice that you should make yourself, and not a must if you are not in retreat. In Kechara, when we engage in retreats we do avoid eating these foods, as well as other foods commonly referred to as ‘black foods’. I hope this explanation helps.

Thank you.

Dear Wan Sek Choon,

Thank you for your question. You have asked a very intelligent question which means you think about things carefully, which is very good. The Buddha taught that we must not follow a religious path blindly but examine the things we practice.

Within Buddhism we do not pray to our deceased loved ones because we only pray to and take refuge in the Buddhas who are free from samsara. This is one of the major points in keeping our Buddhist refuge. You are correct that we can hold memorial services/ceremonies for the deceased. However, unlike some other religions we do not pray to the deceased during these rituals. Rather we make offerings and prayers to the Buddhas to generate spiritual merits that are dedicated to our loves ones in which ever form they may have taken rebirth in. Buddhists believe in karma, in essence if you do good actions then good things will happen to you, and if you do bad actions, bad things will happen to you. But there is also merit, which is necessary to gain enlightenment and cannot be used up like karma is. Merit is generated when we make offerings and prayer to the enlightened Buddhas.

You are correct that 49 days after a person’s passing away, they would have taken rebirth in one of the six realms of existence. As such they are still under the influence of karma and can benefit from spiritual merit. So when we hold these ceremonies and services for the deceased they benefit not because we pray to them, but because we pray and make offerings to the Buddhas to generate merit, which is then dedicated to our loved ones, which benefits them wherever they are.

Fire pujas are burnt offerings, known as ‘jinsek’ in Tibetan, not to the spirits or the gods but to the enlightened Buddhas. You can read/hear a teaching by His Eminence the 25th Tsem Rinpoche here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/what-is-fire-puja.html. Within tantric Buddhism fire pujas are a very powerful method to generate merit, overcome obstacles, or to create the energies needed to achieve a particularly positive goal. The Buddhas do not need or require us to make offerings to them in any way, but making offerings is a way for us to generate merit and clear our obstacles. I hope this helps.

Thank you.

Dear Brian,

The deity Amoghapasha is considered to be an emanation or form of Avalokiteshvara. Just like the various forms of Avolikiteshvara, Amoghapasha also has many forms with a differing number of arms and implements.

Amoghapasha literally means “he who has an unshakable rope/lasso”. This refers to his compassion which never fails to alleviate sentient beings of their suffering and bring them to enlightenment. One of the most common depictions is of Amoghapasha Lokeshvara, who has eight arms.

His practice can also help people overcome obstacles and problems in relations to officialdom, just like the practice of Ganapati, which you can find here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/a-short-practice-to-overcome-obstacles-for-work-with-officialdom.html I hope this helps.

Thank you.

Dear David,

His Eminence the 25th Tsem Rinpoche has received many initiations and teachings from his illustrious gurus over the years. As Akasagarbha is one of the main Bodhisattva disciples of Buddha Shakyamuni, I am sure that Tsem Rinpoche does have practices related to Akasagarbha. I hope this helps. Thank you.

Dear Jack,

Thank you for your question. I am very happy to hear that you have recently received initiation of Heruka Chakrasamvara. As you your question, the answer is that you have not broken any vows because you are gay.

Tantric practice transcends desire in all its forms, if you are gay or not, does not actually matter. What actually matters is that you practice Chakrasamvara diligently. At the time you received the initiation, you would have taken certain practice commitments, such as which sadhana to practice on a daily basis and a minimum number of mantras that you should recite every day. You should take these seriously and practice well and you will see results.

At the same time, you should learn up and adhere to the vows that are a part of the initiation. These include the refuge vows, the bodhisattva vows and the tantric vows. These vows are what stop you from committing negative acts and therefore generating negative karma. Instead you should focus on doing good actions, being compassionate and helping others. This way you generate and develop good karma and spiritual merit that are necessary from the spiritual path to enlightenment.

Since you have taken initiation, you have a spiritual bond with the teacher who gave you the practice, this person is now your guru. If you have questions regarding the practice, or points to clarify, you should humbly approach this teacher of yours for answers. I hope this helps.

Thank you.

Dear Tom,

Thank you for your questions. Within Tibetan Buddhism you will find many mantras that begin with the syllable ‘om’ or that is it very close to the beginning and end with the syllables ‘soha’. This has to do with their particular meaning.

The syllable ‘om’ is an invocation to the Buddhas and their sacred energies into our lives, whereas ‘soha’ is a word that can mean ‘grant me’. Therefore, mantras can be seen as an invocation to the divine beings to bring a particular quality into one’s life. That is why mantras have different benefits. In and of themselves mantras invoke the entire energies of the divine beings, but have a particular quality that they can impart to the practitioner at a quicker speed. For example, Manjushri’s mantra is well-known for increasing wisdom, intellect and memory, whereas Chenrezig’s mantra is well-known for developing compassion and subduing anger.

Another group of syllables found in mantras are ‘om ah hung’. These represent the holy body, speech and mind of the Buddhas that we are seeking to gain ourselves by practicing the Buddhist path. For example you can see these syllables in the mantra of Lord Tsongkhapa: “Om Ah Guru Benza Dhara Sumati Kirti Siddhi Hung Hung”. In some mantras the ‘hung’ syllable can be repeated twice. Other mantras that do not start in this way or include these syllables have their own unique meanings.

As for your question regarding the omission of the ‘om’ syllable sometimes in translations of the Heart Sutra, this actually depends on the tradition and how it was transmitted down. There is some variation between lineages. In Kechara we follow the lineage as transmitted by His Eminence the 25th Tsem Rinpoche, which definitely includes the syllable.

As for adding the syllable ‘om’ to any mantras, this is not necessary. For example the long Manjushri mantra does not start with an ‘om’. In fact it is not advisable to add syllables into mantras because the power of a mantra flows through the lineage of masters who taught the mantra, all the way back to the source – the enlightened beings. Therefore we should practice the mantras as taught to us and transmitted to us by our gurus. This is because of the blessings of the mantras flow through the unbroken lineage back to the Buddhas.

Tsem Rinpoche has an excellent teaching titled “All about Mantras” which you can find here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2hFuMhh658. I hope this helps.

Thank you.