Losar, or Tibetan New Year, marks the start of a new lunisolar year for Tibetans all over the world. While celebrated for 15 days, it is during the first three days when the main celebrations take place. As is tradition, it is during this time when the Panglung Oracle will take trance of the Dharma Protector Dorje Shugden.

The Panglung oracular tradition is no ordinary line. This esteemed lineage has been taking trance for generations, the tradition being passed down from father to son, and it is renowned throughout Tibet for giving incredibly accurate pronouncements which have often been life-saving. In fact, one of the best known examples of the Panglung Oracles saving a life is none other than that of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. It was His Eminence the 6th Panglung Oracle who, in trance of Dorje Shugden, advised His Holiness the Dalai Lama to leave Tibet immediately, even providing and protecting the route to India, thereby saving his life.

The Panglung Oracle takes trance of many Dharma Protectors but, most famously, takes trance of the enlightened Dharma Protector Dorje Shugden. Amongst the pantheon of Dharma Protectors who enter oracles, Dorje Shugden is unique in his ability to remain in an oracle for extended periods of time. During these trances, which can sometimes be for hours, Dorje Shugden will give teachings, predictions, advice, guidance and blessings. No other Dharma Protector gives Dharma teachings while in trance of an oracle, which is a reflection of Dorje Shugden’s ultimate enlightened nature as the Buddha of Wisdom, Manjushri. It is a scene that harkens back to Dorje Shugden’s previous lives as Panchen Sonam Drakpa, Dulzin Drakpa Gyaltsen and many other incarnations who were once the most brilliant scholars, greatest masters and thinkers in Tibetan history.

Dorje Shugden’s annual Losar message, offering guidance for the year ahead and replete with scriptural quotations, is no different.

For this year’s pronouncement, Dorje Shugden gave a powerful teaching related to the karmic cause for the recent COVID-19 viral outbreak and what we can do to address the situation on a deeper level. Dorje Shugden explained that this recent outbreak is due to our collective karma, or the shared karma between a group of beings. The great Protector also explained that not only has there been a general decline in the effectiveness of medicines, but our collective merit is also lesser than before.

All of this combined results in various calamities and is a sign of the degenerate age we live in. ‘Degenerate age’ refers to our current time period which is characterised by the following five types of degeneration:

1. Degeneration of lifespan – this is when our lifespans are shorter than other time periods and easily lost.
2. Degeneration of disturbing emotions – when emotions that disturb our mind and sense of equilibrium are rampant. Our acting on these negative emotions leads to a decline in virtue and morality.
3. Degeneration of outlook – when there is little respect for anything virtuous or spiritual and wrong views are commonplace.
4. Degeneration of beings – when there is a decline in the quality of our physical forms, intellects, good health and so on.
5. Degeneration of the times – when there is degradation of our natural environment and depletion of natural resources.

Dorje Shugden summed it up by saying that all degeneration in the world arises from ignorance and goes on to explain what ignorance is on a subtle level – having and holding on to our self-cherishing mind, thereby loving ourselves and forsaking others. Interestingly, he pinpointed the afflictions of greed and anger, probably in relations to the industry of wildlife consumption, which is believed to be the origins of the outbreak – greed for money and anger, or rather, aggression towards animals. The consequences of these actions return to us and become the causes for this outbreak, which is the source of immense unhappiness.

The great Protector also offered personal advice for his devotees by urging everyone to contemplate on the good fortune of having met with the supreme teachings and lineages of the fully awakened Buddha Shakyamuni and Lama Tsongkhapa, who is one in nature with Manjushri (Manjunatha). Dorje Shugden explained that these teachings have the potential to liberate us from all suffering and that it would behoove us to make use of our opportune human rebirths to take these teachings to heart and practise them diligently and sincerely. If we do not, then we are likely to take a negative rebirth in one of the three lower realms – the animal realm, hungry ghost realm or hell realms. We may even take rebirth in the higher realms – the demigod realm or god realm – where though it is pleasurable, is still marked by death and impermanence along with other subtle forms of suffering.

Dorje Shugden went on to say that since we have met with a qualified teacher – our spiritual guide – and entered the path of Vajrayana, we should contemplate our good fortune because these are the Buddha’s highest and most effective teachings and practices for our degenerate age. We should not waste the practices and personal advice of our lamas by lying to ourselves and by not putting our best effort into practising and gaining results. Right after that, Dorje Shugden urged all practitioners to remember the kindness of our teachers and to have a genuine appreciation for all that our teachers have imparted to us. He stated that amongst all the teachings, we should always keep those of our teacher the closest to heart.

H.E. Tsem Rinpoche had a very close relationship with his root guru, H.H. Kyabje Zong Rinpoche. Tsem Rinpoche spoke very highly of his dear teacher and regarded him as the meditational deity Heruka Chakrasamvara himself.

He urged us to accomplish the two accumulations or to generate the two types of merits – virtuous merit and wisdom merit – in order to accomplish the ultimate pursuit of complete enlightenment. Virtuous merits are accumulated based on the practice of virtue and relates to the first four of the Six Perfections, beginning with generosity and so forth. Wisdom merit relates to the practice of wisdom via the fifth and sixth of the Six Perfections, which are meditation and the generation of the emptiness of inherent existence. Emptiness, also known as shunyata, is the correct view that leads us to directly perceive the true nature of reality. This nature is devoid of the inherent existence of all phenomena and is a concept that was introduced by the Buddha in the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra and further elucidated by great masters such as Nagarjuna and Chandrakirti.

Dorje Shugden advised us to learn about emptiness and bodhicitta so we know how to meditate and incorporate them into our practice. Bodhicitta is the supreme aspiration to attain enlightenment for all sentient beings. This aspiration is the focus to assist all sentient beings with great compassion and the best way to do this is to gain complete awakening through the path of wisdom.

Towards the end of his enlightened advice, Dorje Shugden concluded that our practice should be based on the Three Principal Aspects of the Path – renunciation, emptiness and bodhicitta. This is an important teaching by Lama Tsongkhapa that emphasises these three key teachings of the Buddha which are the synthesis of all his teachings. This significant teaching is especially suitable for those unable to absorb the longer and extensive teachings such as Lama Tsongkhapa’s Lamrim. That is, this significant teaching is especially suitable for beings of this degenerate age who are characterised by the five types of degeneration.

Do read Dorje Shugden’s supreme advice for us to develop more meaningful spiritual lives, for he gives us the key to do so in his short message. In doing so we not only transform our own lives for the better, but we will see that we can transform the lives of others around us as well.

Admin

For more interesting information:

• Beginner’s Introduction to Dorje Shugden
• Why I share Dorje Shugden with others
• Various prayers to Dorje Shugden composed by His Holiness the Omniscient 10th Panchen Lama (PDF)
• Never Seen Before Footage of Dorje Shugden Oracles
• The 14th Dalai Lama’s prayer to Dorje Shugden
• Dorje Shugden Taking Trance in Peaceful Form | 多杰雄登护法寂静尊降神
• H.E. the 25th Tsem Tulku Rinpoche’s Biography
• What He Can Do For Us?
• Dorje Shugden: My Side of the Story
• Dorje Shugden Gyenze to Increase Life, Merits and Wealth
• Shize: A Practice for Healing and Long Life
• Dorje Shugden Trakze to Dispel Black Magic & Spirits
• Dorje Shugden Wangze for Power and Influence

Please support us so that we can continue to bring you more Dharma:

If you are in the United States, please note that your offerings and contributions are tax deductible. ~ the tsemrinpoche.com blog team