Photo Album: India – Gaden, My Real Home
When I first arrived in Gaden Monastery in India, I was living in a small leaking cowshed and was starving due to a lack of financial support. Regardless, whilst I was in the monastery, it was there where I felt most at home. I was thirsty to learn all that I could learn from the great Gelug masters and also became very active in community work both within the monastery as well as in the surrounding villages and other needy areas. Although I had barely anything, I did my best and initiated various community projects in India.
After I arrived in the monastery, I never wanted to leave. However my Guru, H.E. Kyabje Lati Rinpoche, requested me to go abroad to teach and raise funds to build monks’ quarters to accommodate the influx of refugee monks from Tibet. I found myself going to Malaysia in 1992, and with the money donated to me there, I offered it all back to Gaden Pukhang Khamtsen, which was used to build monks’ quarters for over 100 monks. Every ringgit that was donated to me during my first trip to Malaysia all went towards helping monks.
These are photos of me, my friends and students in Tsem Ladrang and the new accommodation being built.
Tsem Rinpoche
Looking at this photo reminds me of how skinny I was back then. I was very very poor with very ...
This is me with the current Zong Rinpoche. He would always call on me to carry him. Upon meeting up, ...
Seeing Zong Rinpoche returning, really proved to me that there is such a thing as highly attained beings that can ...
This is a picture of me (far right), seated together during a puja with some of the other high lamas ...
Here I am seated amongst other Rinpoches. On my right is the young current incarnation of His Holiness Zong Rinpoche, ...
I would often be Kensur Rinpoche s translator when he has audiences with guests. It was a great honour to ...
Doing some prayers with some friends near a stream. I love forests, mountains and caves. I am naturally drawn to ...
Irene is one of my oldest students. Here she is making offerings to the reincarnation of my root Guru, H.H. ...
Me and my long time student, friend and sponsor Irene Lim in Gaden. She was one of the pioneer students ...
His Eminence Kensur Jampa Yeshe is a real Bodhisattva. He is one of the most erudite, pure, highly attained lamas ...
This is where I used to live in Gaden Monastery. The colourful building in the background was my ladrang before ...
This is me together with one of my oldest students, Mama Jenny, now known as Anila. She used to visit ...
Paying my respects to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama s throne in Gaden. Next to me is the statue ...
I am offering a Khata to our Dharma Protector, Lord Setrap in Gaden Monastery. He is also the protector of ...
This is a group photo of me together with other Rinpoches and Tulkus of Pukhang Khangtsen. Fourth from the left ...
This picture was taken after my enthronement.
Here I am accepting the offerings of Body, Speech and Mind.
Me (far left) and His Eminence Kensur Jampa Yeshe Rinpoche. It was my honour to serve him daily while I ...
My audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama together with my guru H.E. Kensur Jampa Yeshe. During this audience, His ...
My brother Puntsok came to visit me in Gaden and was shocked to see the conditions that I was living ...
In India, Tsem Ladrang was built and sponsored by my birth father, Lobsang Gyatso (pictured here in lay clothes). He ...
I planted a lot of trees and plants all around my Ladrang and offered it up to mu Guru, H.E. ...
This was Tsem Ladrang, in Gaden Shartse, which was built by my father and offered to me. I invited Kensur ...
This is the front yard of my ladrang in India which my father built for me, after seeing the bad ...
The yard of the Ladrang is very nice and big with lots of fruit trees and flowers. I would always ...
I was the secretary and translator to my Guru, Kensur Jampa Yeshe Rinpoche. At that time, he was the Abbot ...
This is my study in Tsem Ladrang Gaden where I wrote thousands of letters to sponsors, students and friends on ...
Kensur Rinpoche Jampa Yeshe lives on the top floor whilst I lived downstairs with other students.
When I left Gaden to reside in Malaysia, I offered Tsem Ladrang Gaden to Kensur Rinpoche and hence, Tsem Ladrang ...
H.E. Kyabje Lati Rinpoche was instrumental in my connection with Malaysia. He insisted I go and I dare not argue ...
This is when I was visiting Malaysia in the early 90 s. I was invited to give Dharma talks in ...
There was another influx of monks who had escaped from Tibet and they badly needed accommodation in Pukhang Khamtsen. Khamtsen ...
I was also requested by the elders of the monastery to travel abroad to teach and raise funds so that ...
At that time, my only contact with anyone in Asia was a Malaysian monk that I had met on a ...
In 1992, I traveled to Malaysia and eventually managed to raise the funds needed to build the accommodations for the ...
These are the completed monk quarters and it is the first major project that I did for the monastery.
I would often raise funds for the hospitals in Mundgod that serve the local people.
These are monks from the Pukhang Khamts
From the money that I raised in Malaysia, I also built this water pump that is now used daily.
Supporting the local community's hospital is important because the locals are very poor and cannot afford to travel very far.
With the funds raised...I would buy furniture, equipment, supplies and especially medicine for villagers and monks who are very very ...
Another one of the hospitals that I supported.
This is nursery school at Camp No 3 in Mundgod, India which I also helped sponsor..
The Tibetan people in the refugee camp came out to greet me in the traditional Tibetan way with khatas (white ...
Perhaps from my Kalmyk upbringing, I love to feed people and always ensured that the monks of Tsem Ladrang are ...
This is a group of friends who came to visit me in Gaden back in 90 s. I introduced them ...
I would often find ways to help the lay Tibetan community as much as I could because many of them ...
Here's a school that I helped to refurbish. The local people greeted me with khatas when I visited the school ...
This is the household of one of the villagers that I helped in the past. This is real poverty. We ...
On many occasions, I broke away from the High Lama protocol to be near the villagers so I could find ...
This is one of the few local families that I supported. I would buy food, necessities, clothes and help them ...
These are some of the little monks of Tsem Ladrang that I teach, scold and play with and many of ...
Whilst I was at Tsem Ladrang, these young monks were staying with me. I would buy them a lot of ...
Sometimes during their break from studies and puja, I would take the young monks out to shop and play.
I sponsored this nursery and the community hall of the villagers.
I left Malaysia thinking that I would never go back, but Malaysians would often come and visit me in the ...
I offered monastic textbooks to 30 refugee monks who had just arrived from Tibet so that they could study.
The Abbot of Gaden Shartse at that time, Khen Konchok Tsering Rinpoche, came to visit Tsem Ladrang.
Many of these monks have almost no belongings except the robes on their backs.
Many of these struggling monks will one day become great masters, teachers and practitioners. So it is important to help ...
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Looking back at these photos…
I almost broke down to tears. Rinpoche has done a lot in the past. So, one can only imagine what Rinpoche can and will do in future.
But now, we can only wait for the next incarnation. However, the feeling will never be the same again.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing these pictures. Precious memories.
Yes Jacinta Rinpoche indeed did a lot in his life to benefit others. I believe his next incarnation will soon be with us and carry out more powerful and wider spread of Dharma to benefit others. Be ready for him when he comes back.
A album of beautiful and unforgettable memories. Looking through those photos say a thousands words of life stories of Rinpoche. How much Rinpoche has gone through and how much Rinpoche has done for the monasteries. It’s a wonderful sweet recall . We are fortunate to have Rinpoche here in Malaysia . Rinpoche has come that far to teach and guide us all leaving his home away from home.
Thank you Rinpoche for these sharing.
A very informed and interesting website. Your Malaysian students are very lucky to have you guiding them. Thank you.