Dear Ra Ma,

Thank you for your question. There could be a number of reasons that you are smelling smoke when there is none around you, and some of these can be medical in nature. Therefore I would like to suggest that you visit your doctor to eliminate any medical issues that may be causing this.

Even on a spiritual level there could be many reasons for this to happen. One such reason could be a sign that there are non-human entities around you, especially if you are sensitive to such beings. That being said, this could be just one situation.

I would like to suggest that you engage in the practice of the Dharma protector Dorje Shugden on a daily basis. This will have a great benefit in your life. In the case that this is a medical issue, the practice will help remove obstacles to get accurate diagnosis and treatment. And in the case it may be due to more supernatural reasons, the practice can be bestow very powerful protection so you are not afflicted by this for much longer.

You can find the daily practice here: http://www.dorjeshugden.org/practice/diamond-path-a-daily-sadhana-of-dorje-shugden

And you can learn more about the benefits of the practice here: http://www.dorjeshugden.org/category/benefits.

Even if the reason turns out to be neither of these, the practice of Dorje Shugden is very beneficial in our lives. In fact many of us at Kechara engage in the practice every day as we are know the tremendous benefits of doing so. I hope this helps. Thank you.

Dear Paco Maitelli Ferrigo,

I’m sorry but I don’t understand your question. Please try posting your question in full again and we will be more than happy to answer.

Dear Estrela Lemelas,

Thank you for your question. The red string that you were given could either be a protector string or a general sting blessed by a lama. In either case, this should be a positive item that you can wear or keep with you.

I’m very sorry to hear that you are going through these obstacles in your life now. I know that such situations can be extremely difficult. If I may, I would like to suggest that you engage in the practices of both Lama Tsongkhapa and also Dorje Shugden. These two practices will be very beneficial in your life. The practice of Lama Tsongkhapa can help alleviate your mind of worries, and the practice of Dorje Shugden can help to overcome obstacles and creating conducive condition, leading to a smoother life. These practices are very strong and beneficial, and will definitely help you in your situation. It would be best to engage in these prayers on a daily basis for maximum effect, and concentrate on the mantras when you recite them.

You can find the practice here: http://www.dorjeshugden.org/practice/diamond-path-a-daily-sadhana-of-dorje-shugden. Or if you would like a physical copy, then you can invite a copy from here: http://www.vajrasecrets.com/diamond-path. I hope this helps.

Thank you.

Dear Lobsang,

Thank you for your question. Since Chitipati/Kinkara is an enlightened protector you can definitely recite the mantra. There is absolutely no harm in this, only benefit. In fact you can even recite the prayers to Chitipati/Kinkara. This will help your spiritual practice greatly and even create a connection through this to Vajrayogini, so you are able to receive this beneficial empowerment in the future. I hope this helps.

Thank you.

Dear Demian,

Thank you for your questions. Dorje Namjom is a Buddha associated with purification. The Dorje Namjom water practice is specifically associated with purification of negative karma, especially in relation to physical problems. This practice is known as the Chabtru Puja, and is known to cure paralysis, strokes, skin disorders and many very severe problems. Although, as a fully enlightened Buddha, Dorje Namjom can lead you to enlightenment, the water practice is specially to purify negative karma that is the cause for various problems.

I cannot comment on the True Buddha School because I do not know much about them. Generally speaking however, within Buddhist practice it is best to keep to a particular lineage, rather than mixing them together, this is because it becomes very easy to get confused, as each lineage will have different ways of explaining the teachings and concentrate on different deities, etc.

There are many forms of Palden Lhamo and some of them have mantras for her retinue. However in the one face, and two armed form, which is the form most commonly practiced it does not included mantras to her retinue. In this form the main mantra also covers both Palden Lhamo and retinue. I hope this helps.

Thank you.

Dear Paco,

As one of the four heavenly guardian kings, Chenmizang or Virupaksha in Sanskrit, made strong aspirations during the time of the previous Buddha Kashyapa, and was subsequently born as the celestial guardian of the western direction during the time of Buddha Shakyamuni. He teaches the Dharma in his own realm and protects Buddhist practitioners. In his current form, his gaze is actually harmful to beings, therefore he holds a stupa in hands, which he looks at in order to not harm them.

Along with the other three heavenly guardian kings, Yulkhor Sun (Sanskrit: Dhritarashtra), Pak Kyepo (Sanskrit: Virudhaka) and Namtose (Vaishravana), he is commonly depicted as a protector in relation to the Refuge visualisation within the Gelug tradition. This carries over to visual depictions of the Guru Tree, in which they are portrayed underneath the main deities that are depicted.

In fact these four heavenly guardian kings are installed at the four directions, when a practitioner engages in long retreats to mark the boundaries and also to protect the practitioner from obstacles during their practice. This procedure is set out within the Lam Rim, or Stages of the Path, teachings, and can be found in the text Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand.

His mantra is: OM BIRU PAKSHA YA SOHA. This mantra can be recited to create a connection with Chenmizang in order to assist you in your main Dharma practices. I hope this helps.

Thank you.

Dear Paco,

Thanks for the question. The mantra of Palden Lhamo is:

JO RAMO JO RAMO JO JO RAMO TUNJO KALA RACHENMO RAMO AJA DAJA TUNJO RULU RULU HUNG JO HUNG

This mantra can be recited without initiation.

Palden Lhamo is considered to be the wrathful emanation of the Buddha Saraswati. You can find more information about her history, iconograhy and practice here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/palden-lhamo.html. I hope this helps.

Dear Paco,

Kache Marpo’s mantra is ‘Om Shri Dharmapala’. You can read more about him in this blogpost and there’s also a praise by the 5th Dalai Lama here :- https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/who-is-kache-marpo.html
All the best to you.

Dear Deo Kumari Chhetri,

For beginners, it is always best to engage in our mantra recitations, prayers and pujas in a conducive environment where there is less distractions like our mobile phones, tv, music and people talking. We should only focus on our prayers, mantras, meditations and pujas and nothing else.

The second thing is that we can engage in simple breath meditations beforehand to calm our mind so we can focus better. There is a 9 round breath meditation that is being used in the Black Manjushri sadhana that we can follow to do this. You can find the 9 round breathing meditation instruction here – (https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/prayers-and-sadhanas/a-black-manjushri-sadhana-self-healing-meditation-and-exercises.html) Naturally, you don’t have to do the Black Manjushri sadhana in order to engage in the breath meditation but still can if you want to. It’s up to you.

The third thing is not to close your eyes completely or to look down when you just had a heavy meal or when you are very sleepy. This will cause you to fall asleep. It is always best to look upwards above your eye level especially when you are very drowsy. If this does not help, it would be good to take a break and have coffee. This usually applies to those engage in deep meditational retreats. We should never fall asleep midway during mantras, meditations and prayers as this is a practice of awareness. I hope this little explanation helps you.

Dear Eli,

Good day to you. I hope this reply finds you well. All of us face rejection and what you had experienced is normal and this is just like what everybody experiences. The way to overcome rejection is to try again and again and find all ways (that do not harm or break the law) to turn the situation around. Successful people are not those who do not experience rejection but they are those that do not give up and is willing to go the extra mile to succeed.

If we have that attitude and have a little extra help from a Dharma Protector like Dorje Shugden, things can turn around quite easily. Here’s a simple prayer to Dorje Shugden you can recite daily and mantra to begin propitiating Dorje Shugden immediately ( https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/a-short-prayer-to-dorje-shugden.html ) The key to gaining the blessings and protection of any Dharma Protector is to recite his prayers and mantras daily and if possible, setting up a shrine to the protector if we do not already have a shrine to the Buddha. Doing all these creates the affinity and merit for Dorje Shugden to come to our aid quickly. All the best in your future endeavours and I hope this helps you.

Dear Lee,
It is not advisable to look towards mantras as a means to solve problems. It would be better to study the mind training teachings like 8 Verses of Thought Transformation, Wheel of Sharp Weapons and even the Lamrim. These are teachings that help us to transform our minds, become kinder and more receptive towards others and create less or ideally no harm towards others. If we practice these teachings and we combine with certain practices like Manjushri ( https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/all-about-manjushri.html ) or Lama Tsongkhapa ( https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/category/tsongkhapa ), our speech will be powerful to influence, comfort and aid others.

There is no mantra that helps friendship but Manjushri’s and Lama Tsongkhapa’s practice can help us to develop our speech and that in turn will aid our friendship. In your case, I would suggest you speak to your friend, it could be a far simpler issue that you think. I wish you all the best and I hope my little advice here is of some benefit to you.

Dear Ben,

Thank you for your question. Yes Tsem Rinpoche does have information on the Black Garuda practice. In fact Rinpoche gave a teaching on the practice in 2004, during the SARS epidemic as a form of spiritual protection from the disease as well as a practice that can you help overcome such diseases if you have them. The teaching was actually on two practices, the first being White Tara and the second being Black Garuda. Both of these practices were explained for the non-initiate, meaning that you do not need to have received the initiation of the practice in order to engage in it.

The teachings were taped in four parts. Links are below:

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glAeITjrVSg
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Js2LnqfydNM
Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbobnpa-BAU
Part 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZTvqsZWSjc

I hope this helps. Thank you.

Dear Dongho,

Thank you for your questions. In regards to knowing if you have received a life entrustment, in this life if you have received empowerments from a guru, then he or she would have told you what type it was. In the case of previous lives, only those who have some form of clairvoyant power or ability in divination would be able to tell you for certain.

That being said, the deities that you are attracted to in this life, means that you have an affinity with them from previous lives. Therefore, to feel more connected to Palden Lhamo, rather than any other protector is perfectly fine. Just as people have many dispositions, the enlightened beings emanated in various forms to suit those in need. If Palden Lhamo is more attractive to you than Dorje Shugden, that is perfectly fine but you should devote yourself wholeheartedly to her practice and go all the way with it. This ensures that you gain the most benefit from her sacred practice and she can help you along your spiritual path.

The crystal given during Dorje Shugden life entrustment, is known as ‘lado’, this acts as a reminder of the bond created with Dorje Shugden and also of the commitments one needs to keep in order to ensure this relationship stays strong.

As for chakras, there are actually two meanings. The first is the energy centres in the body, this is the convergence of physic channels at various points in the body. The second are protective amulets created during prayer and ritual that have various abilities. The chakra given out during Dorje Shugden life entrustment is one of these protective amulets create through the power of Dorje Shugden.

Mandalas on the other hand are the divine abode of the particular deity and include their retinue, who surround them. This is the same for the various meditational deities and protectors you have mentioned as they are enlightened beings. Therefore each has their own mandala that they reside. The mantras for these deities and protectors are their standard mantras:

Dorje Shugden: OM BENZA WIKI BITANA SOHA

Palden Lhamo: JO RAMO JO RAMO JO JO RAMO TUNJO KALA RACHENMO RAMO AJA DAJA TUNJO RULU RULU HUNG JO HUNG

Manjushri: OM AH RA BA TSA NA DHI

Saraswati: OM SARASIDDHI HRING HRING

Yamantaka: as this is a Highest Yoga Tantra practice, the mantra is not shared to those who have not received the appropriate empowerment.

I hope these answers help. Thank you.

Dear Tobias,

Thank you for your wonderful question. Of course this a possibility, as long as the administration of the particular monastery you are interested in agree to it. This is actually a very good attitude to have, especially towards the later part of your life, as you can immerse yourself in the practice of the Dharma.

However there are some questions you should ask yourself to make your resolve to do this stronger, such as what is your motivation for spending time at the monastery? and also how can you help the monastic community? After all, the Sangha are the one of the Three Jewels, so any services you provide for them, in any capacity, has great benefit for your spiritual path, as well as allowing practitioners of Dharma the ability to preserve and spread the teachings in the future. At the same time this becomes one of the most conducive environments for you to practice and learn Dharma to further your own spiritual path.

If you are not in a relationship, then you could even consider becoming a monk, if you would like. In fact there used to be a beautiful tradition in Tibet, where the elderly would take monastic ordination, and be supported by their families or even by their own spouses, since their family commitments had been fulfilled, and their children had grown up and had their own lives.

In any case, you should concentrate on understanding and living by the refuge vows and Bodhisattva vows, if you are not already. Doing this will create the causes for a speedy journey in the Dharma. You should also study the Lam Rim teachings. If possible I suggest you get a copy of Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, available at major books shops that have a large section of Buddhist books or online here: http://www.vajrasecrets.com/lamrim-liberation-in-the-palm-of-your-hand. Understanding and practicing these teachings will go a long way in helping you reach higher levels of spiritual attainment. I hope this helps.

Thank you.

Dear Harold Musetescu,

Yes, there is a text by Serkong Dorje Chang. You can find it in his sungbum.

Thank you