Dear Gopinath,

In Kechara House, we have Dzambala puja in English on Wednesday at 8pm. Do come for the puja if you can to receive Lord Dzambala’s blessings. Our situation in this life is the result of causes created in the past. Rinpoche has taught that in order to have outer (material) and inner (spiritual) wealth, we have to overcome our outer and inner miserliness. To have material wealth, we have to practise generosity (giving) and stop being greedy and selfish. To have spiritual wealth, we must be kind, loving and patient, and generous in giving our attention, time and care to others. In other words, be a better person for others. Then our life will be better and better, both materially and spiritually.

Dear Shane,

Lord Setrap resides in different places besides the pure land of Sukhavati. Practitioners can invite Lord Setrap and his entourage from these different abodes according to their practice. Some of these abodes are: Camaradvipa or Camara Land, the Twenty-Four Holy Places, the Eight Great Charnel Grounds and the space of Yuganaddha’s Sphere. Camara Land or nga yab ling is a sub-continent to the southwest of the central mountain and west of our world (Jambudvipa, the southern continent). It is a nirmanakaya pure realm where Padmasambhava resides (also known as Copper-coloured Mountain), subduing a race of bloodthirsty demons that would otherwise overrun our world. The Twenty-four Holy Places in the world are where the mandalas of Heruka and Vajrayogini are found. The Eight Great Charnel Grounds are places where dakas and dakinis meet. As Lord Setrap helps the yogis in their practice, he also comes from the space of Yuganaddha’s sphere which is the immutable state of the yogin.

Lord Setrap belongs to the class of beings called Yaksha. He is a Dharma Protector and thus looks wrathful, but he is fully enlightened and has the power to lead you to enlightenment.

Dear NG,

You can conduct the Medicine Buddha prayers for your mother. If you are free on Wednesdays at 8 pm, you can join the Medicine Buddha puja in our temple at SunwayMas Commercial Centre, Petaling Jaya.

Dear Shane,

The pure lands of Setrap and the deities are as follows:
Lord Setrap – Sukhavati (as he is the emanation of Amitabha)
Yamantaka – Vimala (in the East)
Vajrayogini – Kechara Paradise
Yellow Dzambala – Northern Region under the Four Heavens, at the northern crystal palace on the fourth level of Mount Sumeru
Je Rinpoche – Tushita Heaven
Tara – Potalaka

To know more about the pure lands of other deities or protectors, you can always do a search on the internet.

Dear charles,

I suggest you read up on vegetarian diets that will provide the nutrients you need as a bodybuilder. There are books on the subject as well as information you can get on the internet. It might take a while but don’t give up. Here is the link to a post on Rinpoche’s blog on delicious and healthy recipes that might help for a start: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/animals-vegetarianism/dr-jiangs-delicious-healthy-recipesvideos.html.

Dear Evan,

Setrap’s mantra is “OM MAHA YAKCHA TSA SOHA”. It is a mixture of Sanskrit and Tibetan words.

“Om” represents Setrap’s sacred body, speech and mind. “Maha Yakcha” means “Great Yaksha” and is Setrap’s title. “Yak Cha” or Yaksha (in Sanskrit) is the class of beings that Setrap belongs to. “Tsa” means to “come forth”. “Soha” (Sanskrit Svaha) means “may the meaning of the mantra take root in my mind.”

Dear jack,

Yes, you can use oat flour.

Dear Jason,

When doing the guru yoga, it would be auspicious to visualise Lama Tsongkhapa in the form of a monk as he is normally depicted. This form of Je Rinpoche, with its iconography and symbolism, clearly depicts the qualities of an enlightened being. So when we visualise this form, we are visualising the enlightened qualities of Lama Tsongkhapa.

Dear Maria, many experience what you experience. It’s sometimes ‘common’. Do Sindongma’s prayer and mantra for one round before starting your practice daily and the ‘shadows’ will dispel with time. I wish you luck. Tsem Rinpoche

Dear Drodön,

I am unsure of the actually question you are asking as I do not understand it fully. But I will answer as best as I can. Hungry Ghosts are a type of being in the Six Realms of Samara. They have the ability to “see” but do not have physical eyes like we humans do. As for sparks, electricity and any light, if I am correct, you are talking about the sights seen when close to death. These are seen by humans as they progress through the death process. Hungry Ghosts themselves live for a very long time, and then take rebirth again in another body. I hope this helps. If I have not answered your question, then please feel to post again.

Dear Jason,

You should get hold of an iconographically correct image of mother Tara and familiarize yourself with it as much as possible. When you do your actual Sadhana, if you still cannot visualize Tara completely, then simply think of Tara, she will be there with you. When we think about any Buddha, they are immediately with us.

If you have received Tara initiation from a Guru, you should request your Guru to give a teaching on the visualization of Tara according to your lineage. If however, you have not received initiation and are simply doing prayers to Tara, then continue while thinking she is present with you and do her mantra strongly. Familiarity with the visualization of Tara will take time. Read up and learn texts such as the Lam Rim, Three Principle Paths and Wheel of Sharp Weapons, as when you are able to transform your mind to benefit others, mother Tara will be with you strongly. I hope this helps. May you be blessed by the glorious mother Tara.

Dear Shane,
Yes, some of the older teachings are only available in audio format but many of the newer teachings are in video. There is a teaching on the dying process – https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/the-dying-process.html. Do listen or read the transcript as it is relevant to you about the Bardo. It is very important to transform our minds through studying, understanding and application of the teachings. Retreats and daily sadhana is important too because it helps us to prepare for our death, bardo and future lives. The rest, you can learn more from Rinpoche’s teachings. I hope that little explanation helped you.

Dear Shane,
Thank you for writing in. I am glad that you are listening to Rinpoche’s YouTube teachings and that you want to study under Rinpoche. Please read up on Rinpoche’s life and join our blogchat (lower part of the main page) whenever you can to ask questions and learn up. Since you are in Indonesia, you can also check out the charitable activities of Kechara Indonesia here – http://www.lamatsongkhapa.com/. The more you learn, the better your chances to be a pastor later.

Dear Alvin,

It is true that one does not meet with something if one has not created the karma for it to happen. In the case of spirit disturbances, we could have unintentionally offended a spirit or as you said it could be due to our karmic debt from past lives. But karma is not fate! We don’t have to surrender to our “fate”. Since we can cause problems, we can also stop them or solve them.

Praying to Dukkar for protection is one of the methods to stop spirit harm. But as H.E. Tsem Rinpoche said, “the true protection against outer negative spirits and the inner negative spirit of self-centredness is our Dharma practice and strong faith in our Spiritual Guides. Diligently applying our Dharma practice by studying and contemplating to transform the mind, having the correct attitude towards our Gurus and holding our precepts are quintessential in warding off any form of spirit harm.” (Tsem Rinpoche, “Protection Against Spirit Harm”)

Dear Jenny,

Ngöndro means the preliminary practices performed at the beginner stage of the Vajrayana path. Its purpose is to train the mind for the visualization and meditation practices of the more advanced stages of Vajrayana. Both lay and ordained people engage in these practices.

These practices are done one at a time and you need to request your guru’s blessing before you start. For the retreat text and prayers, please consult a pastor in Kechara House.

Dear Leong,

The main purpose of practising Buddhism is to gain peace and happiness in this life, to have contented and fortunate rebirths in future lives and finally to achieve the ultimate goal in life which is lasting happiness or enlightenment. The Buddha has taught us the methods on how to practice Buddhism. So if you wish to have results, you need to study and follow the teachings.

Dear Paz,
You were born into that family due to your past karmic repercussions. I am not sure what your family did to have you object them so much that you would disassociate yourself with them. However, you can always help them by your Dharma practice and transformation. You can dedicate any practices of Green Tara or White Tara (for healing) which is an excellent practice that you can direct the blessings to her. There are Tara prayers like A Gem to Increase Life and Wisdom – White Tara, Praises To The 21 Taras and A Gem to Increase Life and Wisdom – White Tara. These prayers and mantras are available here – https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/prayers-and-sadhanas/sadhana-prayers.html
You do not need to do all the prayers, just do one along with the mantra and general dedications. Do that daily and consistently.