Photo Album: Malaysia – Journey To Gaden
In April 2006, I led a group of 63 pilgrims to my monastery of Gaden Shartse, to make offerings of 3,000 Manjushri statues and 3,000 sets robes to the Sangha of Gaden.
This trip took almost a year to prepare, involving sourcing for 3,000 Manjushri statues, getting the faces of the statues painted, inserting mantras, sewing the clothes for each of the 3,000 Manjushri statues and sourcing and cutting of maroon cloth for 3,000 sets of robes for the monks.
It was nice to go back to Gaden with all of my students and friends. I miss Gaden very much.
Tsem Rinpoche
In April 2006, I led a group of 63 pilgrims to Gaden Monastery. We went there to make offerings of ...
This offering trip took almost a whole year to prepare because we had to source for statues and robes. The ...
Kechara House also sponsored meals for each of the sangha members of Gaden as well as the Lama Chopa Puja.
On behalf of Kechara, I represented them as the sponsor of the offerings and puja by leading the Dalai Lama's ...
This is me prostrating three times to the sangha members of Gaden before making the offerings.
On that auspicious day, Kechara House presented offerings of statues, kuyong (money offering to monks), robes and food to the ...
I made a mandala offering to His Holiness the Dalai Lama's throne, who represents all our lineage Lamas.
The pilgrims offered incense to the sangha members of Gaden to create the merit to hold their vows.
The offerings are first presented to the highest Tulku incarnations of the monastery.
I made an offering of a Manjushri statue to Kyabje Zong Rinpoche, current incarnation of my root Guru.
This is me presenting a Manjushri statue to the venerable Kensur Konchok Tsering Rinpoche.
A representative of the monastery makes offerings to me to thank Kechara and I for the offerings that we've made.
These cute young monks didn't have a place to sit within the monastery and so they sat in the courtyard ...
Gaden monks that are leaving the courtyard with their Manjushri statue and new set of robes.
This is me giving a little talk about Gaden, my home monastery, before I showed my students and friends around.
With my students and friends on a pilgrimage to Gaden Monastery.
This is me in Pukhang Khamtsen. I belong within this Khamtsen.
This is me wearing the Lama Tsongkhapa hat offered by the monastery. This hat symbolizes upholding Lama Tsongkhapa's teachings.
I took a nice group picture with my students and friends at Pukhang Khamtsen (my sorority house).
Some lay Tibetan pilgrims came to visit me while I was in Gaden.
My visit to my old room at Zong Ladrang brought back very fond memories of serving my Gurus.
This is me at Geshe Puntsok's house. Geshe Puntsok is a very kind and gentle monk, and even though he ...
I took the pilgrims to visit the great Geshe Wangchen at Drepung Loseling Monastery. He is a very highly attained ...
I pay my respects to Tsenshab Serkong Rinpoche, one of the highest Tulkus of Gaden monastery
This little boy is the undisputed incarnation of the previous Sharpa Choje Rinpoche who was a great master of Vajrayogini
My students and friends were treated to a sumptuous meal by the monastery
I share a private and sacred moment with Kyabje Choktrul Zong Rinpoche
All these wonderful Manjushri statues were waiting to be offered to the Sangha members of the monastery
I made my aspirations to the great Yamantaka shrine at Gaden monastery
I pay homage to Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche's statue along with Lama Tsongkhapa set with his two spiritual sons
It was really an honor for myself and Kechara House to feed the entire 3000 member sangha of Gaden monastery
I offer up strong prayers of upholding my vows as I offer a set of robes to the Dalai Lama's ...
I rejoice that my students and friends are able to offer khatas and get a blessing from the great tulkus ...
I am really happy to share with my students my home monastery of Gaden
It is really meritorious for my friends and students to offer incense to the sangha of Gaden
This Manjushri statue would be the first statue that many of these young monks could call their own
The statues in Gaden monastery exude a glow of warm prayer of many years of monastic prayers
Wrathful Vajrapani stares into the prayer hall striking fear in the hearts of the demons
Glorious and abundant tsog offerings during the Setrap puja sponsored by Kechara House in Gaden Shartse monastery
A huge thangka of the supreme guardian of Gaden Shartse monastery, Dharmapala Setrap Chen
I offer my personal prayers and supplications to Setrap Chen at his main protector shrine at Gaden Shartse monastery
This amazing life-like statue was made and consecrated by Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche
Longhorns are played during the great grand Setrap puja as offering of sound and it is reminiscent of the trumpeting ...
Ritual drums are played to amazing effect during the Setrap puja to welcome Setrap's commanding and awe inspiring presence into ...
I pleaded with the monastic officials to allow my students and friends to offer these pearls to Setrap Chen
A group portrait of myself and my students and friends having an audience with Kyabje Zong Rinpoche
During the audience I showed a scrapbook of pictures of Kechara and my activities here in Malaysia for Kyabje Zong ...
During my visit to Kensur Konchok Tsering's ladrang, I presented a White Tara statue along with vitamins and various health ...
It was such an honour to have an audience with the Abbot of Gaden monastery along with my students and ...
This is such a beautiful group photo of us, fortunate pilgrims to Gaden monastery along with the highest tulkus, disciplinarian ...
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A pictorial recount of a blessed pilgrimage. A picture paints a thousand words. How fortunate are those who went on this pilgrimage to Gaden Monastery.
May all be able to go for their pilgrimage to Gaden Monastery regardless.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing the article and the pictures. Such a blessing to be able to offer Buddha statues and robes to monks in Gaden Monastery. Pray that they will more trip like this in the very near future.
May the ban on Dorje Shugden be lifted by the Tibetan government very soon so there will be no more segregation among the Tibetans and Shugden practitioners.
This is one pilgrimage I wish I could have gone on! It was Rinpoche’s last trip back to Gaden Shartse, before the ban became unbearable, when Rinpoche made immense offerings to every single member of the Sangha there…can you imagine the amount of merit that was collected!!
Of all the pictures that moved me the most, it must be the one of Rinpoche reuniting with Kyabje Zong Chocktrul Rinpoche. The mutual love, affection and respect for one another…it is something that cannot be faked. And to see Rinpoche back home, and to see Rinpoche in his ‘element’, I have never had the opportunity thanks to the ban.
To witness this homecoming moment is one of the reasons why I will always speak up against the ban on Dorje Shugden. It is not right that students and teachers are kept apart because of ideological differences imposed by an external authority who should not have an influence on a private matter like our choice of faith and worship.