Manjushri Initiation in Gaden Shartse
(By Tsem Rinpoche)
We believe sponsoring the Dharma in anyway has many benefits. Some of the benefits are:
- One will understand easier the subject you are making available to others.
- You will have easy acccess to dharma in this and future lives.
- Whatever practice you engage in will get results.
- Less obstacles for your dharma practice. Your study of Dharma will be easier and to apply faster.
- Gaining lower/higher realizations.
- You will always be born near a great teacher with authentic lineage.
- You will receive support, care and help for your practice spontaneously.
- When you wish to bring dharma to others, the path will be easier.
- You will please great teachers, Bodhisattvas and all Buddhas generating a great amount of merit.
- You create causes for wealth. You can further sponsor or help the dharma to grow.
- You will purify obscurations to understanding emptiness.
- Higher goals will be easier to attain.
- Your five sensory faculties will be sharp and alert for the dharma.
- You will meet enlightened beings.
- You create causes for wealth. You can further sponsor or help the dharma to grow.
These are just some of the benefits you derive when you sponsor the dharma.
I requested the great erudite Master and Scholar Kensur Rinpoche Jetsun Konchok Tsering of Gaden Shartse Monastery to bestow the sacred Manjushri initiation on the Sangha. Kensur Rinpoche agreed and there was a large turnout in the grand debate courtyard of Gaden Shartse Monastery to receive this initiation.
How auspicious as the monks must debate daily and prior to debates, they invoke Manjushri.
In this video I give you a light commentary in regards to this initiation that I had the great honour to sponsor. I will sponsor more in the future. Creating educated monks that can elucidate the Dharma is very important for Dharma’s proliferation.
Please take a watch.
Sincerely and with prayers,
Tsem Rinpoche
Gaden Shartse Monastery/Kechara
Oct 20, 2010
About Manjushri
Manjushri (Skt. Manjushri; Tib. འཇམ་དཔལ་དབྱངས་ Jampalyang) or Manjughosha is one of the eight great bodhisattvas who were the closest disciples of the Buddha. He is also the embodiment of the knowledge and wisdom of all the Buddhas, traditionally depicted with a sword in his right hand and a text in his left hand.
The word ‘manju’ means ‘charming, beautiful, pleasing’ and ‘shri’ means ‘glory, brilliance’. The bodhisattva is regarded as the crown prince of Buddhist teachings, or the one who can best explain Buddhist wisdom, is therefore able to extinguish our afflictions and bring about enlightenment. Manjushri earned this title because eons ago, he was the teacher for seven different Buddhas, the last being a previous incarnation of Buddha Shakyamuni.
Manjushri is often depicted with his right hand holding a double-edged flaming sword and his left hand holding a lotus flower on which rests the Prajnaparamita (Great Wisdom) Sutra. He is often seen riding a lion. The Prajnaparamita Sutra on the lotus flower symbolizes wisdom as pure as a lotus emerging out of the mud. The sword represents the sharpness of wisdom that cuts through illusion. The lion is called the king of a hundred animals, and this symbolises the stern majesty of wisdom.
In China he is also portrayed as a child with five topknots. This represents the profound fact that wisdom is true and non-dual. It’s purity is portrayed as the innocence of a child’s mind. When one’s mind is in such a state, one can reflect on the reality of existence. The five topknots are the five divisions of the Buddha’s wisdom: the wisdom of pure consciousness, the wisdom to reflect all things, the wisdom to regard all things equally and universally, the wisdom of profound insight, and the wisdom to seek the greatest good for oneself and others.
The sacred site of Manjushri is Wu-Tai Shan. Also known as Five-Peaked Mountain, it lies in the province of Shanxi in eastern China. As described in a sutra, Shakyamuni predicted that after he enter nirvana, Manjushri would reside on a mountain named Wu-Tai in a country in the east named ‘Great China,’ where he would teach the Buddhist dharma. Chinese, Tibetan, Korean, and Japanese Buddhists all regard Wu-Tai Shan as a sacred place for worshiping Manjushri. Many temples dedicated to this bodhisattva have been built there.
Biography of H.E. Kensur Konchok Tsering Rinpoche
H. E. Kensur Konchok Tsering Rinpoche
H.E. Kensur Konchok Tsering Rinpoche was an Abbot-Emeritus of Gaden Shartse Monastery and is well known for his mastery of Buddhist study and teaching. ‘Kensur’ is a title bestowed on an illustrious abbot who has retired successfully from office. Kensur Rinpoche was born in 1934 in Markham, Tibet. At the age of 13, he became ordained as a monk in a monastery located in his hometown. Upon turning 17, he travelled to Gaden Shartse Monastery in Lhasa, and studied there until the events of 1959 in Tibet, when Kensur Rinpoche managed to escape into India. In 1980, Kensur Rinpoche received the esteemed Geshe Larampa degree after years of study. This title is only awarded to scholar-monks who graduate their monastic examinations with the highest honours. After this, he entered the Gyuto Tantric College in 1985 to further his studies. In 1989, he was appointed as one of the official teachers of Gaden Shartse Monastery.
In 1996, Kensur Rinpoche was appointed Abbot of Gaden Shartse Monastery. He continued to serve as abbot for the next 5 years with great success improving the education of the monastery greatly, until 2001. Having begun his education decades ago, Kensur Rinpoche was a master from the last generation of lamas who were educated according to the monastic system of old Tibet. He is revered as a great scholar-teacher of both Sutra and Tantra, holding a life-long devotion and commitment to the way of the Dharma. Even after retiring as abbot, he continued to teach with great passion and love for his students and the preservation of Buddha Dharma. He greatly advocated meditation, preparatory practices such as prostrations coupled with learning.
Kensur Rinpoche was one of the old masters who brought the teachings and practice from Tibet to India in the 1960s, and as a former abbot, he was instrumental in re-establishing the grandeur and monastic system of Gaden Shartse Monastery in its new home in South India. Kensur Rinpoche is remembered as a great scholar and teacher, creating a whole new generation of highly qualified, committed practitioners and teachers. In fact one of his students is the current incarnation of H.H. Zong Rinpoche.
For more interesting information:
Other Forms of Manjushri
Another form of Manjushri known as Manjushri Namasamgiti together with Dorje Shugden. Click on image to enlarge or click here for more beautiful thangkas.
Another form of Manjushri known as Dharmadhatu Vagishvara Manjushri together with Dorje Shugden. Click on image to enlarge or click here for more beautiful thangkas.
White Manjushri. Click on image to enlarge or click here for more beautiful thangkas.
Guhya Manjushri. Click on image to enlarge or click here for more beautiful thangkas.
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Manjushri is one of the most important iconic figures in Mahayana Buddhism and is known as the Bodhisattva of Great Wisdom. Manjushri, helps to cuts through ignorance and personifies correct knowledge. Manjushri grants wisdom, intelligence, mastery of the teaching, eloquence, memory, and the power of exposition. Wow Manjushri practice can be used to help us with our memory. Wow….great benefits if one sponsor the dharma. Rejoice to them receiving the initiation through Rinpoche’s sponsorship .
Thank you Rinpoche for this great sharing and explaining it.
Manjushri is one of the eight great bodhisattvas who were the closest disciples of the Buddha. Manjushri is the embodiment of the knowledge and wisdom of all the Buddhas. So it is very meritorious to sponsor any things related to Dharma such as Pujas, books, and so forth.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this video and the explanations of the many benefits of sponsoring dharma practitioners for their learning . Rejoice to those who were there receiving the initiation through Rinpoche’s sponsorship .
Mantras in the waters of Kechara Forest Retreat-Malaysia
Mantras represent the blessings of the enlightened beings in the form of sound. When we recite mantras they stimulate the various parts of our body to heal itself, to clear itself, to purify itself and to gain higher states of consciousness. Therefore, mantras are very powerful. They can be written, visualised or recited out aloud. The mantras of enlightened beings bless ordinary beings, animals, ethereal or formless beings and everyone in the environment.
In Kechara Forest Retreat, Malaysia, we have a koi fish pond, on which sits a magnificent statue of Manjushri, the Buddha of Wisdom. When the fish circumambulate around Manjushri they are blessed by his divine presence. At the same time, people who come to visit the pond and circumambulate around Manjushri receive the same blessings.
Along with the Manjushri fish pond, we also have a lake in Kechara Forest Retreat. In the middle of this lake is a Shakyamuni Buddha statue. In both these places we have placed Manjushri mantra stones underneath submerged under the water so that the animals, humans and beings who circumambulate these holy statues, not only circumambulate the images of the Buddhas but also sacred mantras. The is done in order to plant the seeds of enlightenment in their mindstreams so that in the future they are able to realise Bodhicitta, the realisation of Emptiness and higher states of consciousness. So, I thought I would share this little video with everyone. Thank you.
Tsem Rinpoche
https://www.tsemrinpoche.com
https://video.tsemtulku.com/videouploads/comment-1542840739.mp4
This video, narrated in Chinese, features Manjushri mantra stones. These are stones carved with the sacred mantra of Manjushri, the Buddha of Wisdom. The mantra of any Buddha is basically the manifestation of the enlightened being in the form of sound. Therefore, Manjushri’s mantra embodies the special qualities of his transcendent wisdom. Offering of these mantras stones is likened to an offering of Manjushri-like speech to the Three Jewels.
Sponsoring and offering such stones has the benefit of gaining deeper insight into spiritual practice, improving one’s memory, critical thinking, creativity, language and the purification of negative karma related to speech. It also promotes the development of powerful speech that has a positive impact on others.
In the video we see mantra stones placed at the majestic Four-armed Manjushri statue in Kechara Forest Retreat, Malaysia. The more stones are offered there, the more benefit it brings to the person circumambulating and paying homage to Lord Manjushri. These stones are available at Naropa’s Cave in Kechara Forest Retreat and can be offered to the statue of Manjushri here just as you see in the video.
Tsem Rinpoche
https://www.tsemrinpoche.com
https://video.tsemtulku.com/videouploads/comment-1542838906.mp4
Dear All
I would like to share with you the sacred prayer of Manjushri – A Concert Names of Manjushri (’Jam-dpal mtshan-brjod, Skt. Mañjuśrī-namasamgiti), which consists of 160 verses and mantra sentences. One version is translated by Alexander Berzin, a scholar, translator, and teacher of Tibetan Buddhism, and the other one is from FPMT.
Valentina
Rejoice for the many monks who are receiving the Manjushri initiaiton and for institutions like Gaden Shartse who are centers of learnings.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this video . Rejoice to those who received the initiation through your sponsorship . May the teaching of Lord Buddha spread far & wide . May I have the resources to do the same . Also the benefits of sponsoring the Dharma is overwhelming
Manjushri is the Buddha of wisdom and an initiation of Manjushi is very empowering for the purpose of acquiring comprehension of the supreme Dharma. Thank you, Rinpoche for sponsoring such a powerful initiation.
Yes it is very meritorious to sponsor the perpetuation of the Dharma with all necessary resources from skills of an individual, time and financial.
Such a nice post elucidating the benefits of sponsoring dharma practitioners for their learning aid. This encourages one to engage in such extremely meritorious deeds for the benefit of all sentient beings. The sangha is our third jewel and without them fools like us would not know anything, with no chance of even hearing the word buddha or liberation. May all practitioners become real, firm and successful in their practice. May those who aren’t there yet in learning of the dharma gain much merits and ascend the path to liberation. Lovely lovely post. May the three jewels always have auspiciousness and the great victorious teachers never part from all sentient beings.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this post and the video, and the very clear explanation to us.
I always like Manjushri and love him so much!
We must always think that we can do and help no matter we are getting old and like H.E. Khensur Tsering Rinpoche does to benefit the monks in the monastery.
Thanks Rinpoche for the sharing.
Rejoice to those who received the Manjushri initiation.
And there are so many benefits of sponsoring dharma.
That is the drive that keep me volunteering in Kechara. I do not know what have i done in my previous life that can make me meet Kechara and Rinpoche in this life.
Hope that in my next life i can born in a place that have dharma center and Guru for me to further practice the dharma.
Thank Rinpoche for the sharing.
the voice..:-) thank you Rinpoche!
Thanks Rinpoche for sharing about how meritorious to sponsor Dharma.
And I agree with what Rinpoche’s teachings about being an old man in Samsara and an old man in Dharma, it’s completely different. If we do not have any Dharma, most of us will end up with sitting there, nothing to do and wait our time up. Then we reincarnate in the samsara again again, maybe get worst, maybe stay the same and repeat the process endlessly.
Like all the lamas, living for others is so much meaningful, every minute and second they spend for others, and fully apply the Dharma to benefit others. Although this require more hardship than the worldly living, this leads to something which to renounce from Samsara forever.
Like what Rinpoche said in the video, may all of us be able to sponsor Dharma, in anyway we can, and may the Dharma flourish more.
It is very meritorious to sponsor monks in the monastery especially sponsoring the monks books to study. We create a cause for monks to learn Dharma up, then they can teach, uphold the lineage and benefit others with their Dharma. We create a cause that many will be benefited and when people get the knowledge, there are possibilities that people get realization, therefore there are possibilities also suffering will be less and less or even come to an end.
By sponsoring monks, we create also the connection between us and the monasteries. Then we could get benefits too, because we will have to learn from a Guru eventually. All the monks that you’re sponsoring now one day they could be someone’s Guru, just like the Guru you have now. For us to be able to practice Dharma now, it is because someone has sponsored to and contributed for the growth of the Dharma and Sangha. This is why we have a qualified Guru now with us.
Thanks Rinpoche for sharing this video to us…
May all of us create more causes and merits to receive Manjushri initiation to lesser my ignorance and get more understanding in Dharma…
And may all of us able to do more sponsorship for Dharma to enjoy the benefits as above…
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this video of Manjushri initiation. It is so wonderful and great benefit to have receive Manjushri initiation. Manjushri is a Bodhisattva of Great Wisdom, who cuts through the darkness of ignorance. He bestows blessings of clarity of thought and speech.
Thank you, Rinpoche, for sharing this video. We are very fortunate and blessed to be able to see this sacred video to have an insight of how rituals are performed by high lamas and to hear the voice and chanting of H.E Kensur Konchok Tsering Rinpoche and the monks in Gaden Shartse Monastery.
Many years ago Rinpoche gave a Manjushri initiation to a group of people and I was one of them. Through Manjushri practice I am able
to focus better, my memory is better and my understanding of the dharma is easier. Thank you, Rinpoche, for bestowing the initiation to us.
We are so fortunate to see this rare and precious video of Manjushri Initiation given to the monks by such a High Lama H E Kensur Konchok Tsering Rinpoche and to hear the holy chanting by the sanghas members in Gaden Shartse Monastery.Hope that we will be able to receive this initiation from our Guru H E Tsem Tulku Rinpoche one day.
Dear Rinpoche,
I believed that sponsoring such a big and high event such as an Manjushri Initiation in Gaden Shartse is truly a very high honer, imagine to have the Merits to be able to have the honor to do so.
I f i had that one opportunity to just sponsor this great and Meritorious event i will definitively gram the opportunity to do so.
What Rinpoche said about the benefits of sponsoring such a great event is true and makes sense.
Love
Jutika
How fortunate we are able to receive teaching and understanding more about Manjushiri.
Many years ago, i started to engage of Manjushiri practice. It helped me improved a lot of my memory, learn dharma become quicker. It improving my dharma knowledge until today. Thank you for the Rinpoche has empower and bless me with Manjushiri practice.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this video and the detailed commentary. It is so wonderful to see this grand master, HE Kensur Konchok Tsering, giving Manjushri initiation to the monastery. All the monks, from the high Lamas to the junior monks, look so intent and humble during the initiation. To be able to sponsor such a meritorious event is so rare and should be seized upon for all the benefits Rinpoche has mentioned.
What stuck out for me in particular was that teachings cannot happen without sponsors – we should make strong prayers that we can sponsor prayers in the monastery to request these grand masters to pass down the lineage teachings to the younger monks so there will be a new generation of teachers.
By sponsoring the teachings, the monastery is able to survive, and for the sponsors, we create the causes to have teachers of the lineage at Kechara in future also.
Rinpoche has given fifteen benefits of sponsoring the Dharma. There are so many ways one can sponsor the Dharma and we receive so much in return. What we receive is so precious and rare that we shouldn’t think twice about sponsoring. Even if we are not rich, we can still give a small amount, for example, to sponsor the weekly pujas and dharma classes. Dharma will flourish because of kind sponsors who make it possible for others to receive teachings and blessings.
Wow! How wonderful that the monks in Gaden can get this beautiful initiation of Manjushri, and it’s all thanks to the sponsors for making this happen.
Sponsoring the monks in all ways is not only meritorious, but it is a way to ensure the Dharma to grow and continue for a long time. It is almost equal to requesting for the wheel of Dharma to be turned.
Take for example, if Rinpoche never had a sponsor previously and now, we won’t have this blog, or a temple to go to. It is through the kindness and generosity of these sponsors that we can learn the Dharma.
If we truly believe in karma, that what negative actions we do will have a domino effect on our life and cause us to ‘pay’ the debt when this negative karmic seed ripens… then when we sponsor something as meritorious as this, we will reap continuous benefits from it.
Imagine, to be the cause for hundreds of monks to receive an initiation that will confer them much wisdom and at the same time carry on the lineage… and for every person this very monk benefits, it is all due to one’s kindness and generosity of making it happen… how cool is that? =)
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing with us the video and also the teachings on the Manjushri Initiation in Gaden Shartse Monastery.
Just watching the video, listening to the detailed explanation by Rinpoche and the chanting by H E Kensur Konchok Rinpoche and the monks, fills me with tears – tears of joy and humility ! It is such a honour to be able to ‘be there’ witnessing the initiation. And with Rinpoche’s explanation , know what was going on and what was being done.
We are so blessed that we all have the many opportunities to sponsor the Dharma, in whatever form we can – be it monetary, time and effort. Giving comes from the heart and there is no greater joy than giving/sponsoring unconditionally when we know that the ultimate results benefits and serves so many many more sentient beings.
May KFR manifest swiftly and smoothly, that millions and millions of people come through the doors and benefit from the teachings of the Dharma and bring forth the Dharma to many millions more!
What a great honour it is to be able to watch Manjushri initiation take place in Gaden Monastery with all it’s pomp and glory. And thank you Rinpoche for taking the time to explain to us the significance of it all. We are indeed very fortunate to come to know of Manjushri’s great benefits and receive his initiations and mantras from Rinpoche.
Manjushri dispels the darkness in our minds and his sadhana, even his mantra is so efficacious and the results is swift! Like Manjushri’s sword of wisdom, it cuts through all our negative ignorance and one actually finds that one’s mind becomes so more clear like the list of benefits Rinpoche stated above. Manjushri’s practice is one practice that is so effective, that one will immediately see results in one’s mind. Perhaps one day many will receive this great initiation in Kechara, perhaps in KFR.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this treasure with us so that we can see and learn how ancient wisdom are being initiated by erudite masters like Kensur Rinpoche Jetsun Konchok Tsering. May these great Masters live long to turn the wheel of Dharma.
Thanks Rinpoche for sharing with us the sacred and rare video and also Rinpoche’s explanation.
From the benefits of sponsoring Dharma, it is very clear that whatever we are helping others to gain, we are creating the cause for us to gain it too. And, whatever we are giving out to help others, we will get it back too. Of course we need to do it with pure motivation to help but not to get back.
I pray that one day Rinpoche will confer a mass Manjushri Initiation here in Malaysia, in our Kechara Forest Retreat. Many will be benefited from that. I pray that the lineage of Lama Tsongkhapa who is the emanation of Lord Manjushri will spread wide and far from here.
How blessed and fortunate we are that at this age and time, we are able to see centuries old rituals being performed by high Lamas and also able to hear the Lamas holy voices.
Many years ago, H.E Tsem Rinpoche also gave a Manjushri initiation to afew hundred people, mostly school children. My children were among the fortunate ones. Till today, we are still doing Gangloma daily and all three of my kids sure turned out all right.
Dear Rinpoche,
Thank you for sharing this video of Manjushri initiation by H.E. Khensur Konchok Tsering Rinpoche with commentary by Rinpoche, explaining about the procedures and guiding us throughout the video.
We are so lucky to be able to see H.E. Kensur Konchok Tsering Rinpoche on video and to be able to hear his holy voice. This video gives us a glimpse of Gaden Shartse Monastery, and all the young Rinpoches. How fortunate for us that haven’t yet have the chance to visit this great monastery.
This is such a neat video of a sacred Manjushri initiation. It is indeed a rare treat to be able to witness the actual process and the accompanying narration from Rinpoche does give a lot of insight into the actual sacred process. I think it would be nice if Rinpoche does give a Lama Tsongkhapa or a Manjushri initiation in KH one day. But I guess it would all depend on how things goes and how well we do our work and keep our commitments.
Oh, I am listening to this beautiful explanation by Rinpoche again. It is so beautiful to see the saffron-clad monks, especially the wizened Kensur Konchok Tsering Rinpoche. He is such an esteemed Lama and is so well-respected because he had mastered the greatest texts and commentaries to enlightenment and is able to deliver them with grace, wit and a lot of wisdom.
I love to hear the chants of the monks, the humility of the highest Tulkus of the monastery, bowing and requesting for the great master to bestow them initiation. Rinpoche named many of the Tulkus and monks, and he even told us a story or two of how they were discovered in the monastery. Along the way, Rinpoche also explained the procedure and what’s happening at each crucial moment of the initiation.
I love the explanation, the care, the devotion and rich tradition that goes into the bestowal of the initiation. Rinpoche also gave a great commentary, explanation and all this came so naturally from Rinpoche. It would seemed that Rinpoche had prepared his notes and stuff but no, he gave it impromptu. Just another wonderful, enlightening and educational teaching from Rinpoche. This is not to mention that I am also very much into Manjushri.
Not looking at the benefit, but, by sponsoring the monks especially on the education sides, so that they can have support on financial and no worry on where to get the money, i am happy already.
I believe taking Manjushri Initiation will help your mindstream. This is my testimony and my experiences regarding Manjushri Initiations. I don’t read a lot. When I assisted Rinpoche in going round Malaysia to raise funds for the Monastery to build 35 apartments for the monks to stay. I was very slow in my understanding Dharma teachings and my memory was very bad. I must say I am a blur. I was lucky when Rinpoche go to every town that we go to he will give Manjushri Initiations during the fund raising tour. At every Manjushri Initiations I had the opportunity to sit in as I was Rinpoche’s assistant at that time. In addition Rinpoche ask me to do a Retreat of OM AH RA PAD SA NA DEE one million times. I am proud to say with Rinpoche’s help I feel I have improved in my memory, more sharp and understand teachings more easily.
Hi,
Is that a Manjushri thangka at the bottom there? I had an idea of it before but this is the first time i remember seeing one with a snowlion in too! Awesome 🙂
Jon 🙂
Manjushri has many forms. Yes this is Lord Manjushri on a Snow Lion. Nice huh? May you be protected by Him. Tsem Tulku
Thankyou Rinpoche,
Yes its very nice! I had an idea of something similar around this time last year, i think i woke up with just the mental picture of a figure and a snow lion on a hill, but i couldn’t find anything like it at the time. The figure stood behind the snow lion was you and you had quite a stern expression, there was a feeling of a lot of energy and potential, of something that needed to be done and going to happen. The nearest i got to the image was He-Man and Cringer 🙂
It was such a powerfull image and idea that i was thinking of getting a tattoo of it but was hindered by a lack of a good image and that a lot of people though it a bad idea (i would have checked with you first to see if it was ok and a suitable thing to do). I think i liked the idea of carrying that memory with me, of the energy, and of being connected to it.
Jon 🙂
interesting…
Guru” Thanks for sharing this. 🙂