Dear Tashi,

1) Yes, all animals have a subtle and very subtle mind. In fact all sentient beings have these minds. And yes, the minds of these animals do also wander in the 49 day bardo period after their death. Actually when in the bardo period it is not that one has to wander in the bardo for 49 days, it is just that depending on your karma it may take up to 49 days for you to enter your next rebirth, during which time you are in the bardo.

2)There are specific sequences of practices and visualizations to follow when in engaging in deity practice, however this is more important for those who have received higher teachings and initiations. The key to prayer is sincerity, it is not necessary to have the visualizations 100% correct at the beginning stages of your practice. With practice and over time, as you familiarize yourself with the practices, the visualizations will become easier and stronger.

For a practice to begin with I suggest you start with the Guru Yoga of Lama Tsongkhapa. This simple practice is the core practice of our lineage and has innumerable benefits. His Eminence Tsem Rinpoche has given a very good commentary, which can be found here:

Tsongkhapa’s Daily Practice (Video Commentary)- https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/me/tsongkapas-daily-practice-video-commentary.html

I will also suggest that you get hold of the Tsongkhapa – A Simple Guide to a Power Practice book, which details how to engage in the practice (it is available to order online here: http://www.vajrasecrets.com/tsongkhapa-a-simple-guide-to-a-powerful-practice, alternatively you can find the book in all Kechara Paradise outlets and also at Kechara House shop)

Dear Dorjee,

Yes, it is good karma to be born as a human being in samsara provided we are born with the freedoms and endowments of the optimum human rebirth. This means that we are free of the four unfavourable non-human states, that is, hell beings, animals, hungry ghosts and long-lived gods. These states are not suitable for Dharma practice. There are also four unfavourable human states: being born in a remote, barbaric region where there is no Dharma, being born in a place where the Buddha has not come, being born with mental or physical disabilities and holding wrong views denying Dharma. There are ten endowments; five are personal and five relate to others. The five personal endowments are: being born human, being born in a country where the Dharma is flourishing, having all one’s faculties, not having committed any of the five heinous crimes and having faith in the Buddha’s teachings. The five endowments in relation to others are: being born human in a world where the Buddha has come, being born human in a world where the Buddha has taught the Dharma, being born in a world where the pure Dharma is still being taught, being born human in a world where there are people practising the pure Dharma and being born in a world where there are sponsors and benefactors for Dharma practitioners.

Therefore, the highest form of rebirth is the optimum human rebirth because it is with this optimum human rebirth that we can practise the Dharma and achieve enlightenment. You can read about the benefits of this precious human life in the “Lamrim Chenmo” by Lama Tsongkhapa (Chapter 7: A Human Life of Leisure and Opportunity) and Pabongka Rinpoche’s “Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand” (Day 9 and Day 10, in the section on “The Optimum Human Rebirth”). You can order “Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand” from http://www.vajrasecrets.com.

Dear Wangmo,

Pabongka Rinpoche said in “Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand” that “as long as you have taken rebirth in samsara, you have not transcended suffering at all.” There is no being in samsara, whether seen or unseen, that is devoid of suffering. Human beings have to endure the sufferings of birth, ageing, sickness, death, having to part with what they like, meet with what they don’t like and not getting what they want. These sufferings are caused by our karma and our delusions: ignorance (of the nature of existence), desire and hatred. Therefore, to end suffering, we have to purify our negative karma as well as overcome these delusions by practising the Dharma and developing the three qualities: wisdom (realising the way things are), renunciation (of our desire/attachments) and compassion. These three qualities are the antidotes to our delusions.

When death occurs, our consciousness does not end. It will definitely take rebirth, either in the upper realms (god, demi-god or human) or in the lower realms (animal, hungry ghost or hell). It is good to worry about the next life because this fear of the possibility of going to the lower realms will make us want to take refuge in the Three Jewels and practise the Dharma diligently in order not to fall into the lower realms.

Dear Tashi,

Being kind, generous, and having a good heart are qualities which one should develop because we are benefiting others. Some people may take advantage of you but only if you have the karma to have this happen to you. As Dharma practitioners, we must practise kindness and generosity without expecting anything in return, or any karmic ripening effects. If our generosity is motivated by bodhicitta, the act of giving is a true practice of generosity. Never regret after giving away material things. Make strong prayers and set good motivation both before and afterward, thinking that the giving is being done for all sentient beings.

Dear Aditya,

Some Hindu deities have entered the Buddhist pantheon and are worshipped by Buddhists with great respect. They do have special powers and can provide protection to those who have created the merits to receive. It is not fair to blame the deities for your or others’ unhappiness. This is indeed the wrong attitude to take. No god, not even the Buddha, can remove our afflictions which are the results of our karma. We ourselves must take the responsibility to overcome our afflictions by practising the Dharma well and gaining merits to support our practice. In other words, we have to walk the path. It is said that the Buddhas only show the way.

According to H.E. Tsem Rinpoche, “we need to empower ourselves by knowing that Buddha said, ‘Karma is created by us. We are the creators of our future. It is in our own hands.’ No god, no deity, no one out there, can change our future if we don’t do something. They can only teach us, they can only show us by example, but they can’t give it to us. If they can, the whole world would be at peace and everything would be perfect.”

I urge you to study and contemplate the Dharma. It will help you to understand the causes of your problems and find the method to overcome them. Above all, do not blame the gods because they are not the cause of your suffering. As H.E. Tsem Rinpoche said, “just as all your problems were created by you, all the happiness you have was also from you. You are the source.”

Dear Tashi,

The next life is more important. It is very rare to obtain the optimum human rebirth with all its freedoms and endowments to practise the Dharma. Therefore, we must not waste this opportunity by aspiring for the pleasures of this life. If we focus only on this life and get caught in its many demands – material gain, comfort, praise, reputation – we will not think of our future lives, liberation from suffering and will not practise the Dharma. Our craving for such things will be the cause for us to be reborn in samsara.

As Pabongka Rinpoche said, “… while you are not practising Dharma, your human life is running out. If you only think of the results of this life, you may achieve a few benefits in this life but will end up going to the lower realms in the next lives.”

A Dharma practitioner must ignore this life and abandon the eight worldly concerns. According to H.E. Tsem Rinpoche in his book “Compassion Conquers All”, “When we do actions with the eight worldly concerns, the act will lead to rebirth in the lower realms, and future lives will be spent with uncontrolled attachments like now.”

Therefore, it is important to give up worldly things and work hard to prepare for the next life/lives.

Dear Tashi,

Thank you for your feedback. We wish you all the best in your spiritual journey. To understand the Dharma very well and to learn how to practice it, we recommend that you read the Lamrim (stages of the path to enightenment). You can order Pabongka Rinpoche’s “Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand” from http://www.vajrasecrets.com.

Dear Tashi,

If you observe the animals, you will notice that some are docile, tame and friendly while others are fierce, wild and ferocious. Some are well-cared for by humans and some are homeless and roam the streets or land in search of food. These situations are not without cause and suggest that, at some stage in their migrations in samsara, they had been humans and as a result of their own past good and bad actions (karma), they are now reaping the fruits of what they had sown. However, when the karma of these animals has been exhausted in that particular life, they may be reborn as humans or as beings in the other realms of samsara in keeping with the karma that ripens at the time of death.

Dear Eli Levine,

One can remember one’s past lives through intense meditation. Thus, some advanced meditators have this ability as part of their achievements.

However, practitioners should not be attached to such achievements as they can be more of a hindrance than a support in one’s practice. We should follow the Buddha’s example and practise to overcome our delusions, purify our mind, and achieve bodhicitta and wisdom. The ability to recall one’s past lives will be achieved when one becomes enlightened.

An arhat, “worthy one”, is one who is free from delusions, has attained nirvana and thus, is free from cyclic existence. A bodhisattva “enlightenment being”, is one who, out of compassion, takes a vow to delay his/her own personal enlightenment in order to work for the liberation of all sentient beings. The difference between an arhat and a bodhisattva is that an arhat has achieved personal liberation from samsara and will not be reborn. The goal of a bodhisattva, however, is to liberate all sentient beings from samsara and therefore, he/she continues to work for the welfare of others with this goal in mind.

Dear Oya,

Tsok offerings always include a bit of meat. It is part of the rituals. For more details, please refer to H.E. Tsem Rinpoche’s article in this blog “Advice to a Yamantaka Initiate” under the section “Buddhas, Dharma and Practice”: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/advice-to-a-yamantaka-initiation.html. Some useful advice is also given in the comments section.

Dear Tashi,

Karma is the law of cause and effect. Karma is: “All intentional bodily, verbal, and mental actions that are the cause of rebirth in the higher or lower realms”. This means that the result of a virtuous action can only be happiness and the result of a non-virtuous action can only be suffering. The question is: why do good people suffer? To answer this, we must understand that karma created in the present lifetime does not always ripen in this lifetime. It may ripen in the next life or many lifetimes later. The suffering of the “good people” you mentioned here could be due to causes created in their previous life or many lifetimes ago. Karma ripens as a result of causes and conditions. Without the causes and conditions, karma remains dormant. Since beginningless time, all of us have committed many sins and also many virtues. They will all bear fruit one day when the causes and conditions are there. If we understand karma and accept it as an impersonal, natural law that operates in accordance with our actions, we will be able to accept our sufferings of this life, as they are the ripened results of past actions. For future lives however, we can create better karma by modifying our behaviour, become virtuous people and stop harming others. I hope this helps to answer your question.

Dear Sandra Ch’ng,

It is good that you are reciting prayers and chanting migtsema daily and also contributing to causes helping those who are in need. This will create positive energy and help to overcome the difficulties that you are facing. For the type of pujas to do, please refer to the Kechara House Front Desk, tel: +603 7803 3908.

Dear Jason,

As far as I know, there is no black tea ritual in the Praise to the Twenty-One Taras.

Dear Jason,

You can use a base made of lighter material. The material for the constituent offerings can be light, like rice or other grains. It is normal to feel pain but you should remember the benefits, the vast amount of merits you will accumulate and the purification you will achieve through this practice. It helps to forget the pain when our motivation for doing the mandala offering is to benefit others. When you feel pain, think of Lama Tsongkhapa who did one million eight hundred thousand mandala offerings during his retreat. The forearm with which he rubbed the offering surface was often raw and bleeding. I hope this has been helpful.

Dear Mrs.g,

Poor relationships between members of the family could be due to karma created in past lives. What you are experiencing now is the result of causes and conditions created in the past and in this life. In order to overcome this problem, you yourself must practice the Dharma. Develop kindness and compassion in yourself in order to be a good example to your daughter. Be kind, patient and loving to her. Share the Dharma with her and the rest of the family if you can. When she sees the change in you (and in the other members of the family), she will become a better person. It might take some time, but with patience and effort, you will succeed.

Dear Pema Thinley,

If you feel strongly that H.E. Tsem Rinpoche is your Guru, then go all the way. If, in your heart, you accept His Eminence as your Guru, then the guru-disciple relationship is practically “sealed”. Trust, be loyal and follow the teachings. You will only benefit from this. But you still need to be formally accepted as a student, and it is still necessary to take refuge. Do read up on taking refuge in the Three Jewels and the benefits of taking refuge. Read H.E.’s book “The Living Buddha Within” for more information and teachings.

Dear Anon,

We are very happy to know you wish to make offerings to Mother Tara. By making offerings you will create the merit to be able to understand the Dharma and practise it well. An enlightened Buddha like Tara is a correct object of veneration, refuge and also a merit field. First, you have to set up an altar and place on it an image of Tara, a scriptural text (a dharma book) on Tara’s right and a stupa on Tara’s left. These are the representations of the Buddha’s enlightened body, speech and mind. In front of these holy objects, you can place a row of 7/8 bowls of sensory offerings and/or a row of 7/8 bowls of water offerings. The 8 bowls of sensory offerings are as follows: water, water, flower, incense, light, perfume, food and music. The water offerings must be changed daily. Offerings of fruits and flowers (e.g. in a vase) can be kept for longer as long as they remain fresh. The sensory offerings can be symbolic but it is important to offer light (a candle) every day if possible.

For more information and advice, please visit our Dharma stores “Kechara Paradise”, and learn more about offerings in this blog under the section “Buddhas, Dharma & Practice”. There are several articles which will be helpful to you, for example, “Floating Market: Dharma Sharing on Offerings”, “The Benefits of Offering Light”, “Making Water Offerings to the Buddhas”, and “Spectacular Shrine”. H.E. Tsem Rinpoche’s book entitled “The Living Buddha Within” also contains a section on setting up an altar and making offerings.

Dear Tan,

Yes, it is perfectly all right to use Buddha images or mantras as wallpaper in your computer. If you worry about icons covering up the images, just keep them to a minimum.

Dear John Ong,

It is your choice to propitiate any protector you wish. In this time and age, there should be no obstruction to freedom of religion. It is the basic right of all human beings to follow any religion or deity whom they feel is right for them. We do not have any special advice for you with regard to your practice except to follow your heart. What we do know is that enlightened protectors will help if your motivation is based on bodhicitta, that is, you must have the altruistic intention to benefit others in whatever you do.

Dear Eli Levine,

For lay practitioners, it is recommended that they divide their time in this way: 50% for the Dharma and 50% for their secular life. Your desire to bring Dharma into all aspects of society is commendable. But we still think that a practitioner should have a qualified spiritual guide who can help him to overcome his delusions and transform his mind. Before you can help others to practise the Dharma, you yourself must have walked the path. With knowledge, experience and insight, you will be better equipped to help others. We strongly recommend that you look for a guru. You can check out the Dharma centres near your home. Good luck to you.