Dear Ren,

This is a difficult question to answer in such a short space. Sexual desire and its outcomes in the form of masturbation or sexual promiscuity obviously stems from attachment. In this case it is attachment to that which we find attractive or an attachment for physical pleasure. It is different from feeling hungry, because if you don’t eat this will have a very negative impact on the body and your health. To keep yourself alive and well you need to eat. This is obviously not the same as sexual urges.

But please realise that masturbation is not a bad or negative act in itself. But how we allow our sexual desire to control our actions is, it blinds us from all else. The act is simply a physical outlet to the state of our mind. But it can become excessive and this is negative, as you are not thinking logically but overcome by your emotions.

There are many ways to deal with this, and you should try them to see which works.

The best would be to analyze in your own mind, what causes these bouts of excessive sexual urges. You really need to find out its cause, and if the attachment concentrates more on something external, in which case the act of masturbation is actually a product or if the act is in and of itself what you are attached to.

One way of dealing with this is to restrict yourself from engaging in the act. You do this by exercising your self-control and stopping yourself through your own will. This may be difficult at first, but after time, you can train yourself to have more self-control and over time, you can slowly but surely stop yourself from acting on these urges. There are no methods that will help this immediately, there is no miraculous “remedy’ for this. This will take time and will power but it can obviously be done.

Another method you can use focuses on the object of your desire itself. For example if you are attracted to a particular woman/man, then you visualise the woman/man but she/he starts to turn into an old woman/man. It is the same person, but are you still attracted? Next you can visualise the bodily functions of the person, are you still attracted to this person, does this person now have that dersirous effect on you?

These are just two methods you can use to deal with excessive sexual urges. I hope this answers your question.

Dear Chong CK,

There is no Baptism ceremony in Buddhism that equates with the ceremony in the Christian faith. You do not therefore need to be Baptized to be a Buddhist.

As long as you believe you are a Buddhist, you keep the refuge vows and commitments strongly, and are following the teachings of the Buddha and the great masters that proceeded him then you are considered to be a Buddhist.

Dear Harold,

I am sorry but i have not come across a direct translation of Trakze’s mantra in English.

Dear Chong CK,

I hope you like your statue!

Dear Jayden,

You should try breathing meditation or relaxation meditation before going to bed. If this does not help the situation you can recite Lama Tsongkhapa’s Mig Tse Ma mantra as below:

MIG-MEY TZE-WEY TER-CHEN CHENREZIG
DRI-MEY KHYEN-PI WANG-PO JAMPAL YANG
DU-PUNG MA-LU JOM-DZEY SANG-WEY DAG
GANG-CHEN KE-PEY TSUG-GYEN TSONGKAPA
LO-SANG TRAG-PEY SHAB-LA SOL-WA DEB

This mantra is very powerful. One of its benefits is to calm the mind, this can be very helping when having difficulty sleeping. I hope this helps.

Dear Monica,

I am sorry but i am not an astrologer to be able to answer this question. Rather than rely on astrology, may i suggest that you engage in work that you want to do, that you have a passion for and that is a good living? Astrology can be very effective but it can only show potentials of what could be, to make them manifest you need to put your own effort and energy into it. But as that is the case, if you do the same in anything you want to do, you will get results. I hope this helps.

Dear Lee,

This is a very good question. According to the law of karma, the potential of a situation in which rape occurs can lead to it occurring. But the causes and conditions for this to occur must come together before the potential manifests, as with all karmic potentials.

This being the case, since the act of rape is carried out by a person who has self-will, even if the causes come together if the potential rapist does not make a conscious effort to engage in rape, the causes and conditions for the karmic potential to manifest simply pass and the karma remains dormant until it either manifests later on or is purified.

Therefore, the major factor here is not actually Karma but the actions of the rapist. This person should obviously be punished, as they made a conscious effort to engage in the act of rape. This is true from a secular perspective, and also from a spiritual perspective they have engaged in action that is extremely damaging to the victim, which means that the rapist himself/herself has created even more negative karmic potential to suffer from in the future.

Dear Suraj,

Dorje Shugden helps us in too many was for me to list in such a short space. This blog has a whole category devoted to Dorje Shugden! It is here https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/category/dorje-shugden

On a worldly level Dorje Shugden helps removes obstacles that we are facing in our lives, such as financial problems, illness, work and family problems. On a spiritual level Dorje Shugden removes obstacles to your spiritual path and mind transformation so that you can become a better person and benefit others.

You can engage in mantra recitation or you can engage in the daily practice of Dorje Shugden. You can order a copy of the daily practice of Lama Tsongkhapa and Dorje Shugden here: http://www.vajrasecrets.com/diamond-path

Dear Eli Levine,

If you want a miniature Stupa, i suggest a clear one made of acrylic. Alternatively if you would like to invite a more traditional Stupa, there are many types that adhere to traditional descriptions. Ideally you should make sure that the Stupa if filled with holy items and or mantras before placing on your altar.

Stupas are readily available online and in our Kechara Paraside outlets.

Dear Wealth,

The manta is Dre Ma Pung, Du Ma Pung.

Dear Eli Levine,

Due to the nature of the minds of Buddhas who are fully enlightened, we as non-enlightened beings cannot differentiate between a Pacceka Buddha or a Samyaksam Buddha.

Actually, as non-enlightened beings we cannot actually tell if someone is a Buddha or not, as their level of consciousness is far superior than ours.

In fact between these two types of Buddhas, there is no difference in attainment or level, it is simply a label we put on them to differentiate our own perception of their activities in our world.

Dear Lee,

The ritual of taking Refuge with a Guru is an outer ritual. In the Lam Rim texts it states that if we truly take someone to be our Guru from out heart, and have faith and devotion in their teachings, then that is what it actually means to take refuge.

As long as you believe firmly, then you have taken refuge from your heart. You have taken H.E. 25th Tsem Rinpoche as your Guru.

Dear q,

I have not come across this form of Guru Rinpoche within the Gelug Lineage. As far as I can tell this form of Guru Rinpoche is practiced mainly in the Nyingma traditions. However that is not to say that it does not exist in the Gelug lineage, just that I have not come across this practice before.

Dear Ryan,

I have not recieved a commentary of the meaning of Namkhar Barzin’s mantra, therefore i cannot answer this part of the question.

You can read more about Namkhar Barzin here https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/invocation-to-namkar-barzin.html.
There is also a prayer in the above post.

Namkhar Barzin is an unenlightened Dharma Protector, who in a previous rebirth was a Mongolian Geshe. His is propitiated for protection and to clear obstacles in both spiritual and secular life. He is also part of Dorje Shugden’s Entourage.

Dear Brayden,

Blessed Protector Rice is actually blessed by Setrap himself when he takes trance of a recognized Oracle. That is actually where the potency of the blessing comes from, as it is blessed by Setrap himself.

However, you can blow Setrap’s mantra onto rice, and use that if you do not have Blessed Rice with you. The power of Setrap’s mantra will bless the rice. If you have faith and trust in Setrap, then he will always help you as long as you have created the causes for him to do so, by that i mean living a good life, developing compassion and transforming one’s mind for the better.

But…it’s always best to have actually Protector Rice, I always keep some with me.

Dear David,

Thank you for your heartfelt post. I am happy to read you have begun to engage in your daily practices once again. Yes, you are right, H.E. 25th Tsem Rinpoche does stress again and again on the importance of engaging in our daily practice, especially if we have.

I am sorry to hear about your current situation where there are no New Kadampa Tradition centres. Have you tried contacting your previous centres to ask for advice? You should try that first. H.E. Tsem Rinpoche always recommends adhering to the protocols of Guru Devotion.

Perhaps you can either post here or email H.E. Tsem Rinpoche’s Ladrang here mail@tsemladrang.com with any further questions.

Dear lol,

1)Below are the mantras you asked for

Cundi: I cannot remember this one of the top of my head.
White Tara: OM TARE TUTTARE TURE MAMA AYUH PUNYA JANA PUTRIM KURUYE SOHA
Prajnaparamita: TAYATHA OM GATEY GATEY PARAGATEY PARASAMGATEY BODHI SOHA
White Mahakala: OM GURU MAHAKALA HARI NI SA SIDDHI DZA
Six Armed Mahakala: OM BENZA NARA TRIM TRIM HUNG HUNG PHET PHET SOHA

2) Yes, both White Mahakala and White Dzambala are propitiated in certain cases for financial needs. White Mahakala, is a Dharma Protector whilst most forms of Dzambala are actually meditational deities that belong to the Lower Tantras.

3) Mother Prajnaparamita is known as the mother of all Buddhas, though linked closely with Avalokiteshvara, she is not an emanation.

4) Tsiu Marpo, or the form of Tsiu Marpo that we believe is a very powerful Dharma Protector named Kache Marpo’s mantra is: OM SRI DHARMAPALA HUNG PHET.

5) Sitatapatra, is the counter part of Avalokiteshvara means that she can be seen as one who embodies the qualities of Avalokitshvara in the form of a female Buddha.

Dear Blueunicorn,

Of course, the Refuge Vows relate to refraining from the Ten Non-Virtuous Actions, which are:

Three of the Body:
1. Killing
2. Stealing
3. Sexual Misconduct

Four of the Speech:
4. Divisive Speech
5. Harsh Words
6. Idle Chatter
7. Lying

Three of the Mind:
8. Envy
9. Hatred/Malice
10. Wrong Views.

Together with the Refuge Vows, which are what you refrain from doing there are also the 12 Refuge Commitments, which are:

1. Not to go for refuge to teachers who contradict the Buddha’s views, or to Samsaric Gods.
2. To regard any image of the Buddha as the actual Buddha.
3. Not to harm others.
4. To regard all Dharma scriptures as the actual Dharma Jewel.
5. Not to allow oneself to be influenced by people who reject the teachings of the Buddha.
6. To regard anyone who wears the robes of an ordained person as the actual Sangha Jewel.
7. To go for Refuge in the Three Jewels again and again, remembering their good qualities and the differences between them.
8. To offer the first portion of whatever we eat or drink to the Three Jewels, whilst remembering their kindness.
9. With compassion, encourage others to go for Refuge.
10. To go for refuge 3 times during the day, and 3 times during the night, remembering the benefits of going for refuge.
11. To perform every action with complete trust in the Three Jewels.
12. Never to forsake the Three Jewels, even at the cost of our lives, or as a joke.

Dear Yook Hua,

We do not have any activities planned in Kechara Forest Retreat on the dates that you have mentioned, that involving lodging in Kechara Forest Retreat. Please note that we are not Chin Swee Temple.

I am unaware if Chin Swee Temple or any other nearby temple has such activities.

However if you would like to visit Kechara Forest Retreat, please contact Kechara Front Desk on +603-7803 3908, at least a month in advance of your planned visit. Thank you.

Dear Lobsang Wangdu,

I am not sure if there are any specific offerings that need to be offered according to the Yamantaka Tantras. What you have is good, anything else you want to offer will just bring you more benefit and merit.