Dear Jason,

Your offerings so far are very good. Generally speaking, one does not offer alcohol or meat to the Buddhas. However within Tantric practice, which includes Dharma protector practices, these substances are offered. Alcohol is traditionally used as a Serkym (golden drink) offering to the Dharma protectors, whereas meat and alcohol are both used in the Tsog (tantric ritual) feast offering associated with Highest Yoga Tantra deities.

While you are correct that offering substances that you are attached to will create the causes for these attachments to be cut, one should understand the tantric meaning behind the offerings, and the ways in which the attachment is cut. This should be learnt from a qualified guru. Since you have already taken initiation, I would strongly suggest you should ask these questions to your guru, who will be more able to advise you on your spiritual path and you practices since you have a connection with him/her. I hope this helps.

Dear James,

Both Buddha Shakyamuni and Buddha Maitreya are included in a list of 1,000 Buddhas of this aeon. As such they are known to be Samyaksam Buddhas or ‘Universal Buddhas’. This means that in an age when there is no Dharma or teachings leading to enlightenment, they expound the Dharma out of compassion for the benefit of sentient beings. One of the reasons that there is such a long gap between the two is that the Dharma and all its traces will completely vanish before Matireya manifests to teach the Dharma again. From another angle, we may view this is a very long time but from a cosmic perspective, given time existent in each universe in each aeon this timing is very short.

You are right that there are innumerable Buddhas, and in fact they do manifest to lead people along the path towards enlightenment. They can appear in many forms, such as high lamas, normal monks and nuns, secular teachers, friends, family and even inanimate objects. They are around us, it’s just that you may not necessarily know who or what they are. Therefore it is not that practitioners are waiting for Matireya but that Maitreya is simply listed as a Buddha that will expound the Dharma when we it no longer exists.

In some practices we do give importance to Maitreya. We pray that we have the good merits to receive the Dharma directly from him in the future. Those who receive the Dharma directly from a Samyaksam Buddha are very fortunate and more likely to have quick attainments along the path, due to the blessings from the particular Sakyaksam form that the Buddha has taken. For example in the Guru Yoga of Lama Tsongkhapa, we create a strong link with Maitreya. After our deaths, if we have not created the causes to be reborn in Tushita in front of Maitreya, we have created the causes to be born during the time when Maitreya will appear, so we have the chance to benefit from his teachings on our path towards enlightenment. I hope this helps.

Dear Harold,

When someone talks about the Dorje Shugden empowerment they are actually referring to the Dorje Shugden Sogtae or Life Entrustment ceremony. Sometimes people use the word ‘empowerment’ rather than ‘life entrustment’ as more people are familiar with the wording.

There is difference between the words in Tibetan:

1. Wang (empowerment/initiation): This empowers the practitioner to be able to visualise themselves as the meditational deity (yidam) during the practice.

2. Jenang (permission empowerment): This empowerment allows practitioners to visualise the meditational deity is front of themselves. If you have already received a ‘wang’ then you are able to visualise yourself as the meditational deity of which the ‘jenang’ is being granted.

3. Sogtae (Life-entrustment): These are given in relation to Dharma protectors, whereas the first two are given in relation to meditational deities. During this ceremony the protector is sworn to protect the practitioner until the practitioner achieves enlightenment, and the practitioner vows to rely on the protector until achieving Buddhahood.

I hope this helps.

Dear Dharma,

You do not need to have received the empowerments of either Kache Marpo or Namkar Barzin to recite their mantras. Anyone can recite their mantras in order to develop a relationship with them. Reciting their mantras is very beneficial as they are part of Dorje Shugden’s retinue.

Dear Harold,

The Ten Youthful and Wrathful Assistants in the entourage of Dorje Shugden are actually emanations of Dorje Shugden. In essence they are one with Dorje Shugden. They help to assist practitioners by removing obstacles. There is a post on the entourage here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/dorje-shugden/main-assistants-of-the-dharma-king.html His Eminence Tsem Rinpoche explains more in the video teaching about the entourage in the same post.

Dear Eli Levine,

Karma is the force that keeps us bound in samsara and therefore suffering. On the Buddhist path, we seek to purify our karma completely and understand the true nature of reality. When this is achieved we attain enlightenment, this is the point when we are no longer affected by karma therefore it is the end of death and rebirth. If this is achieved when in physical form, such as the example of Buddha Shakyamuni, he achieved enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, but passed into Parinirvana when he gave up his physical form. When he achieved enlightenment, he became the Buddha, but he still had a physical form. He is said to have given up his physical form at the end of his life, rather than dying because he was no longer bound to death or rebirth. Therefore parinirvana is known as the formless state of a Buddha.

Dear Harold,

There is a blogpost with a prayer and the mantra of Namkar Barzin here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/invocation-to-namkar-barzin.html

If you want to include this in your daily practice, you can recite both the prayer and mantra or just the mantra after the main prayers to Dorje Shugden, before you do the dedication of merit at the end of your daily practice. Either is fine and will make a strong connection with Namkar Barzin.

If you have a mantra count target that you have set to reach either each day or over time for Dorje Shugden’s mantra, it you shouldn’t include the mantras to Namkar Barzin in the count. The reason for this is that when counting mantras, the count should only include one mantra repeated many times, this is the traditional way of counting mantras. I hope this helps.

Dear Jimmy,

Yes of course you can offer essential oils instead of incense. Since you have allergies this would be a good offering to make instead. Any offering we make to the Buddhas, with a sincere motivation and to best of our ability is very good and meritorious.

Hello,

As you already know, lying is bad. Telling white lies however can be acceptable in instances in which you are saving another person from harm or suffering. In the Lam Rim it states that it is permissible to tell a white lie if it saves somebody from harm or suffering.

If your problems and stress are sorted out at the end, then you will not have to lie any more. For now it is permissible since you are saving your family the unnecessary suffering.

Dear Ling,

I am sorry but I have not received any teachings on the Bodhisattva Cundi from His Eminence Tsem Rinpoche. As far as I am aware Cundi is practised more in the Chinese Buddhist traditions compared to the Tibetan. Perhaps you can find more on her practice by searching online.

Dear Lin,

Generally speaking, one does not offer vodka, beer or any intoxicants to the Buddhas. The Buddha actually prohibited consuming intoxicants as it clouds the mind. That being said, there are some offerings, to the Dharma protectors for example, in which one can offer alcohol. Most commonly, alcohol is used as a serkym offering and as part of the five commitment offerings, which is tantric in nature.

As the use of offering alcohol is tantric in nature, the majority of practitioners who have not received tantric teachings, do not offer alcohol. I would suggest you can find out more information on offering of alcohol from a qualified teacher who can explain why alcohol is offered.

Dear Rex,

You have asked a very interesting question. The answer to your question is actually because this is due to karma, which is one of the basic tenets of Buddhist belief. In order for an enlightened being to appear to us directly, we must necessarily have a lot of merit and have purified a lot of negative karma. That is why it is said that only Bodhisattva’s can interact with the Buddhas directly. Our negative karma necessarily blocks us from interacting with an enlightened being. Due to their compassion the enlightened beings manifest in forms that can take trance in a trained oracle such as Dorje Shugden. Ghosts, spirits, deities, etc are all unenlightened beings within the six realms, just like us humans therefore it is easier for us to interact with each other. Dorje Shugden can appear to us directly, but due to his enlightened nature, this would mean that we would have to have purified a lot of negative karma and have a lot of merit. Most people do not have these qualifications, hence out of compassion to interact with them, give advice and bestow blessing Dorje Shugden takes trance of oracles.

As for the second part of your question, methods of fortune telling such as tarot were not common historically in India/Tibet but are from Europe, therefore they are not mentioned in any text or teachings that I know of. As for divination and the traditional or oracles, even though Buddha Shakyamuni did not explicitly mention it, may other enlightened masters have mentioned and promoted their practice as an aid to spiritual practice.

Dear Harold,

The Dorje Shugden system of divination is very unique indeed. The original text, explanation, commentary and transmission was given by Dorje Shugden himself, while he had taken trance in the Choyang Duldzin Kuten. The divination uses dice. Each side of the dice has a particular meaning when asking questions relating to different areas such as health, business, spiritual development, traveling, etc.

In order to engage in the divination one must have received the appropriate empowerments of and engaged in the complete retreats of Lama Tsongkhapa, a higher tantric deity such as Yamantaka and Dorje Shugden. The retreats of Yamantaka and Dorje Shugden must be concluded with the appropriate fire pujas. Once these are done, one can request a qualified lama to bestow the transmission, text and commentary of the divination system. The dice must also be made and blessed by the lama, and commonly also Dorje Shugden in trance of a qualified oracle. Once this is all done, then one can engage in the divination system. However, engaging in these retreats can actually lead to enlightenment so you should engage in them with this as your goal, and even after this you need a very good motivation to benefit sentient beings for the divination to be effective.

Dear Doma,

Yes, there are many benefits to offering water to the Buddhas. You can watch a video teaching by His Eminence 25th Tsem Rinpoche on making offerings here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/floating-market-dharma-sharing-on-offerings.html. Here is another article that is useful: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/making-water-offerings-to-the-buddhas.html.

If possible you should have your statue consecrated by a qualified practitioner. This will invite the energies of the enlightened beings to reside in the statue. However even if your statue is not consecrated, if you develop the strong conviction that the statue is the actual Buddha, and you are making offerings to the Buddha directly, then the merits you generate can be exactly the same.

There is a story of Tibetan merchant from Tibet who used to travel to India for work often. He would visit holy pilgrimage sites in India after settling his work. His mother, a very devout woman asked him during one trip to bring back a momento from India. On his way back to Tibet he suddenly remembered that he was supposed to bring something back for his mother. He saw a dead dog by the side of the road and took one of its teeth, wrapping it in silk. He thought that it would not do any harm if he gave it to his mother. The mother took the tooth to be the tooth relic of Buddha Shakyamuni and worshipped it with this full conviction. Over time many miracles occurred and at the time of her passing, many rainbows appeared as a sign of her high spiritual attainments. It was due to her faith that the tooth was Buddha himself, and that her practices were directed to the Buddha himself, that the tooth actually became the embodiment of the Buddha. Therefore if our devotion and conviction is strong enough then any statue can become the Buddha, and when we make offerings to the statue it is as if we are making offerings directly to the Buddha.

Dear Ganesh,

You are right that it is not mentioned as one of the eight freedoms. In fact being born in any of the six realms has its faults, however when born in the human realm we have less of these faults, making it easier to be able to practice the Dharma. Therefore these factors are known as freedoms.

In regards to the Asura realm, it is covered later in the Lam Rim, under the explanation of the sufferings of the higher realms. It was generally known that being born in the Asura realm meant your main afflictions was intense jealousy, perhaps then that is why it was not included in the list.

In regards to Buddhas appearing in other realms to provide teachings and bestow blessings, of course this is possible. Buddha Shakyamuni was known to have travelled to the god realms to teach his mother, who had been born there as god. Generally we have a tendency to limit activities of the enlightened beings in our minds due to our own limited perceptions. This is not the case. Buddhas can manifest as anything, even inanimate objects in order to benefit sentient beings, therefore of course they can appear in other realms. I hope this helps.

Dear Pseudonimo Gracias,

To change the direction of our lives, we need to make a consistent effort, and freedom to choose what happens to us. The reason is, if we just go with the flow, then all we are doing is allowing our karma to ripen and manifest. Depending on what karma opens up, this can be either good or bad. Therefore we need to make a concerted effort to achieve what we want to achieve. This coupled with the purification of negative karma and the accumulation of merit, can help. This is because we purify the negative karma that causes obstacles to achieving what we want and merit creates the causes to have all we need in life to achieve our goals. Therefore it is better to choose to make a conscious effort to achieve what we want rather than go with the flow.

Dear Ganesh,

Your dream is very interesting. If you feel a close connection to Vajrayogini, you can read more about her on the category here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/category/vajra-yogini. Vajrayogini’s practice is one of the Highest Yoga Tantra practices, therefore requires initiation and training from a guru who holds the appropriate lineage, before you yourself can engage in the practice. That being said, His Eminence 25th Tsem Rinpoche has given some prayers that can be recited by those who have not received the initiation in order to create a strong connection with her. This connection creates the causes to receive her initiation and achieve the results of her practice in the future. One such prayer is the Tea Offering to Vajrayogini: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/tea-offering-to-vajrayogini-for-the-1st-time.html. As for meeting a qualified guru, you should make the effort yourself to look. After finding a guru, you need to examine his/her works, lineage and ability to teach clearly. Arriving at a decision, you should request to become a student and then go all the way with your teacher’s advice.

To create a strong and firm daily dharma practice, I would suggest engaging in the daily practices of Lama Tsongkhapa’s Guru yoga and Dorje Shugden’s daily practice. This is available to order at Vajrasecrets: http://www.vajrasecrets.com/diamond-path. Alternatively if you are in Malaysia, you can purchase them at any of our Kechara Paradise outlets. You should also try and get a copy of the Lam Rim text ‘Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand.’ This text is fundamental in understanding how and what to practice to progress on your spiritual path to enlightenment. I hope this help, please feel free to ask more questions.

Dear Sam

You have asked a very good interesting question. From the side of the Buddhas, they have achieved enlightened compassion, therefore they always seek to benefit us and look after us. However from our side, we need to create the causes to achieve their help, assistance, blessing and guidance.

The reason why it can be hard for the Buddhas to help is because of our heavy negative karma. This karma binds us further to samsara or cyclic existence. When we purify our negative karma, the Buddhas are able to assist and bless us even more than they do at the moment.

Part of this purification is based on daily prayers and mantras. Every day we perform many actions, and most of the time these can create negative karma. On a daily basis this negative karma can multiply. Therefore daily prayers and mantras is a method to stop the negative karma we may have committed to stop multiplying and to purify already existing karma.

In essence, when we do not engage in mantras and prayers daily, we ourselves are not creating the causes for the Buddhas to help and look after us. I hope this helps.

Dear Tendin,

You are right to say that some Dharma protectors are said to reflect or deflect black magic cast against practitioners. Black magic is usually cast using the aid of spirits. Since the spirit was invoked to create harm but could not as the Dharma protector blocked the spirit, it can no longer fulfill its purpose. The spirit then goes back to the magician to fulfill its aim of harming, as it has nowhere else to go. The spirit then affects the magician or those close to the magician.

If the magic was cast using elemental energies, these energies have to be dispersed somehow. As they cannot affect the intended practitioner, they are dispersed back against the magician. Therefore there is no bad karma involved from the side of the one protected by the Dharma protector. The negative karma is actually created from the side of the magician, who cast the magic with a bad intention.