What can a high school dropout do? | 一个高中辍学者可以做些什么？
（译文请往下阅读）
(Posted by Pastor Seng Piow)
This is H.E. Tsem Rinpoche’s certificate of education, this is his HIGHEST education – Certificate of Proficiency conferred by the California State Department of Education when he was 18. He has no more formal education after that.
After quitting school with this certificate in Los Angeles, he went on to work in Macdonald’s cooking fries, in a laundromat as a laundry boy, and in a photo booth collecting film negatives and returning developed pho…tos to drive-through customers. Then he went to India at age 22 to become a monk.
To those who are not familiar with the American education system, he did not even finish high school. He dropped out from high school. In the UK/Singapore education system, he didn’t even have an ‘O’-Level certificate. In the Malaysian education system, he did not even have a SPM certificate.
Then, following his guru’s instruction, Tsem Rinpoche went to Malaysia, a place which he has not heard of until his 20s. He went to Malaysia with only two suitcases – one with his clothes, another with Dharma items to give away to people. That’s all he had, he was a poor monk.
Today, Tsem Rinpoche is the spiritual advisor of Kechara Organisation, he conceptualizes and runs its 13 departments, from Dharma center to publication/media divisions, soup kitchen, arts department, IT department, vegetarian restaurant…as well as a world class meditation center Kechara Forest Retreat.
Everyone who “work” for Rinpoche has higher education than him, they include engineers, doctors, accountants, senior sales & marketing executives, IT experts, designers etc.
Besides, Tsem Rinpoche’s blog has more than 6 million views, and his Youtube videos has over 3 million views. He has hundreds of thousands of online followers around the world.
Yet, he did not even finish high school.
Tsem Rinpoche could have more excuses not to succeed if he chose to, yet he chose determination, perseverance, hardwork, devotion, passion over any “poor-me” excuse.
That is why we put him on the throne, pay him the utmost respect and learn from him.
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（罗胜彪讲法师撰写）
这是詹杜固仁波切的教育证书，这是他最高级的教育证书——在他18岁的时候由美国加州教育部颁发的教育证书。这不是毕业证书，仁波切中学没毕业就辍学了。在英国/新加坡教育制度下，他甚至没有’O‘水准证书；在马来西亚的教育制度下，他甚至没有SPM教育文凭。
在辍学之后，仁波切在洛杉矶的麦当劳，洗衣店和照片冲洗店工作过，直到他22岁去印度出家为僧为止。
之后，仁波切遵循上师的指示，只身去到马来西亚弘法。对他来说，马来西亚是一个陌生的国度，他在20多岁的时候才听说过马来西亚这个地方。他只带了两个皮箱去马来西亚——一个装着个人衣物，另一个装着与他人结缘的法物。仁波切是一个贫僧。
今天，詹杜固仁波切是克切拉团体的精神导师，他构思并管理其13个部门，除了佛教中心，还有出版社、映像部、香积厨（施粥所）、艺术部、IT部、素食餐厅等等，还有一个世界级的克切拉禅修林。
所有为仁波切“工作”的人员都拥有比他高的教育证书，他们之中有工程师、医生、会计师、 销售主管、电脑专才、设计师等等。
除此之外，詹杜固仁波切在全世界有成千上万的追随者，他的博客被浏览过6百万次，他的Youtube视频被观看过3百万次。
仁波切连高中都没读完。
詹杜固仁波切比我们所有人可以有更多无法成功的藉口，但他选择了毅力、坚持、勤力、虔诚和热情。
因此我们把詹杜固仁波切请上法座，以至高崇敬之心向他学习。
Tsem Rinpoche working in a Fotomat kiosk at Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles
Tsem Rinpoche working in a laundromat in Los Angeles
Kechara Soup Kitchen
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There are many that did not succeed at completing their education and still succeeded on life and business. I think the story of Tsem Rinpoche is very inspirational. It shows determination and guru devotion. Rinpoche started off in a poor environment, and now he is running one of the largest Buddhist Organisations. He went through so much hardship and suffering since young but his determination in dharma and guru devotion has never diminished. in Malaysia. I don’t know many people who can do that. Thank you Rinpoche and Pastor Seng Piow for this very inspiring write up!🙏👏😍👍
Reading Rinpoche biography is very inspiring. He went through so much hardship and suffering since young but his determination in dharma and guru devotion has never diminished.
Sometimes, we were fast to give up when encountering challenges but Rinpoche proves to us that we should always do more and keep going. We will see result when we persevere.
Although Rinpoche does not have high education but the dharma knowledge that he passed to us are so much more valuable and beneficial. We are so blessed to be able to learn from Rinpoche.
The highest knowledge is dharma and the best job in the world is bringing others towards illumination.
Accomplish. That is the one word answer to the question. Tsem Rinpoche has built, given and done more than any other with more opportunities and a better education. He as touched more and has achieved more than any other. He knows more than many others. He can teach more things (meaningful things) than many others.
There are many that did not succeed at completing their education and still succeeded on life and business. The difference between the people that did not succeed and the people that don’t is the people that do succeed are visionaries. The visionaries can think and see beyond what is taught to them. Rinpoche is like that. The leaders of the world are like that. The leaders of the future are like that.
So that is what I was thinking while going through this post. I may be weird. But that is me.
I think the story of Tsem Rinpoche is very inspirational. It shows determination and guru devotion. Rinpoche started off in a poor environment, and now he is running one of the largest Buddhist Organisations in Malaysia. I don’t know many people who can do that.
One of the main things that stood out to me, was the fact that Rinpoche has so much trust for this guru. When his guru instructed Rinpoche to go to Malaysia, despite Rinpoche not knowing what Malaysia was till he was older, Rinpoche listened and did exactly what his guru says. This says a lot, and it shows that Rinpoche really does have true guru devotion. We must always trust our gurus. They know what is best for us.
My mother recently told about his her guru, Tsem Rinpoche, always tells her what is best for her. And she told me that she always listens. Its good to have this kind of attitude towards your guru. We cannot truly learn from our gurus without trusting them to start with.
Thank you Pastor Seng Piow for writing this post.
I have seen several people online direct cruel remarks about Rinpoche’s childhood and high school education as though:
1) it’s Rinpoche’s fault he had the childhood he had
2) Rinpoche had any control over the elementary and high school he attended
For an ADULT to mock a CHILD for their childhood is sad and indicates the people doing the mocking really have nothing else to attack. It indicates the people doing the mocking lack sympathy and are severely lacking in any sense of humanity.
The fact such people with a so-called better education have nothing to show for their lives except for petty, bitter and abusive comments on Facebook, and have to be employed by others just goes to show that a better education is not always necessarily a marker for success.
From a business perspective, if a better education were a marker for success, then they should go ahead and make Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg for dropping out of college.
And it just goes to show, a better education does not always necessarily mean you end up as a nicer person.
So from a religious perspective, does a person’s education detract from the truth of their words?
His Holiness the Dalai Lama didn’t graduate from high school and his English isn’t perfect; are they going to mock him next? What about other luminaries like Kyabje Lati Rinpoche, Kensur Lobsang Tharchin, Kensur Jampa Yeshe, the 101st Gaden Trisur who never graduated from high school and do not speak English, yet have accomplished more for the Dharma than these online trolls have?
I hope these people learn the lesson Rinpoche has always taught me, that you should never use your pain as an excuse to give pain to others. Maybe then they will find themselves happier, less bitter people who don’t have to use other people’s childhoods and pains as a source for their own happiness, or to distract from their own lack of accomplishments and results.
This is truly a good post by Pastor Seng Piow, to bring back great memories to be relieved of how a single promise brought the most unusual, extraordinary journey of a man around the World into the hearts of thousands and thousands of people! This special person is non other than our most unusual beloved guru, Tsem Tulku Rinpoche. A radiant tibetan buddhist teacher, who literally traversed continents to fulfil a lifelong commitment to the World! Yes, due to Rinpoche’s determination, perserverance, hardwork, devotion and compassion over any “poor-me, poor-me” excuse, he has turned every painful moment of his life into positivity and light. Such unwavering devotion and strong faith towards Dharma during his early life, only a Bodhisattva should have! Like all Tulkus who are highly attained beings, our guru too lives solely for the sake of others, and thousands of people around the World. Rinpoche remains that single beacon of light at all times! Om mani Padme Hung.