Choyang Kuten Lama in peaceful trance (click to enlarge)

Choyang Dulzin Kuten Lama (1917-2002), known as Choyang Kuten Lama in short, was a respected oracle of two enlightened Dharma Protectors – Dorje Shugden and Setrap. Coming from humble beginnings, Choyang Kuten Lama experienced his first trance when he was seventeen years old. Under the care and guidance of H.H. Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche, he became a renowned oracle who contributed greatly to his countrymen during the most trying time in Tibet’s history. His life story and deeds are an example of someone who had a special relationship with Dorje Shugden and as a result, he spent most of his life in service of others.

VIDEO: H.E. Tsem Rinpoche’s Experience
with Choyang Dulzin Kuten Lama

Or view the video on the server at:
https://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/Choyang001RecordingOnChoyangDulzinKuten.mp4

Transcript

This is a recording (February 16^th, 2019) on a blog post we’re producing, on the Oracle Lama of Gaden Shartse Monastery (or Kuten Lama). An oracle is not something that is just indigenous to Tibet or Tibetan Buddhism, but an oracle is something that is very familiar to many, many cultures throughout the world whether it is Asia, Africa, South America, Europe or North America, or whether it’s in the past or present. In fact, in the world today, there are many, many qualified oracles. Now what is an oracle? An oracle is someone who has the ability to take ‘full trance’ of another entity, and that entity is able to speak, heal, predict, prophesise, give advice, or whatever, through that person’s body. So an oracle is someone that takes full trance of an entity that can use that person and use that person’s body to do work.

During the Festival of the Nine Emperor Gods, many mediums take trance to bestow good fortune and remove negative influences in the lives of adherents.

An oracle can also be someone that transmits information, where they don’t actually take trance, but they send images, or they send premonitions, or they send words or dates, to the person, and that person is able to relay what the entity is trying to convey without having to take trance. Then you also have oracles that can do channelling. And what is channelling? Channelling is when the person who owns the body doesn’t go to sleep or doesn’t go unconscious while the entity inhabits their body and speaks through them. Now there are different types of channellers. There are channellers that can feel and hear what the entity is saying through them, and there are channellers that cannot remember. Although they don’t go unconscious, but they tune out and the entity takes over and the entity speaks through them and then they can leave. In fact, a few entities can come and go and speak through them, and the person doesn’t go unconscious. The person can become a little exhausted afterwards because there’s a heavy toll on the body.

So you have oracles that take full trance of an entity. You have oracles that receive messages in pictures, words, sounds, from an entity. And you have oracles that can take light channelling of an entity, where the person doesn’t fall asleep or go unconscious.

Now the difference between a person who takes trance and channels… Trance is when the person who owns the body totally goes unconscious or goes asleep, and the entity fully takes over. So the entity can write, they can walk, they can run, they can speak, they can draw, they can drink liquids, they can eat, they can perform rituals, they can do everything. And then you have the oracles that take channelling, where there’s partial control of the speech and body by the entity, and the person who’s channelling does not necessarily have to go to sleep or go unconscious.

So you have those different types and also variations. Some oracles can do all three. Some oracles can do one out of three. Some oracles can do two out of three. It just depends. Now what does it depend on? It depends on the oracle themselves and/or depends on the entity.

The ruins of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi in Greece, where the Pythia oracles took trance.

Now, you have good oracles and you have oracles that take trance of entities that could be harmful. So what takes trance of the person makes the big difference. If the person taking trance of the entity is very powerful and is positive and is beneficial, then this oracle will be a very beneficial oracle, of course. There are many cultures in the world that have this, even up till today. Now prior to the pre-Christian era in Europe, one of the most famous oracles were the Delphi Oracles in Greece, where the female oracles (they were called Pythias) would actually channel and/or take trance (depending on the Pythia) and look into a bowl of water, where the god Apollo would give messages, signs and indications of the future.

The Pythia oracles were the high priestesses of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. While in trance they would utter prophecies and give advice that shaped the Hellenic world (click to enlarge)

And so many, many famous persons, and normal people, and ordinary citizens, and people who came from afar and all over the Greek world, would come to consult the Delphi Oracle and these Pythias (who were the channellers or the oracle ladies) were very famous. And they had special diets, they were kept very clean, and they were not allowed to marry or stain their bodies so that it remained clean for Apollo to speak through.

Now, besides Apollo, you had other oracles in Ancient Greece that were not as well-known, that took trance of Hera, of Aphrodite, and various other gods, where they would speak through. In India, one of the oldest and richest and most philosophically advanced cultures in the world, oracles are very commonplace, even till today. I can say safely, in India today, you would have hundreds and hundreds of oracles throughout India, and they would channel high level gods, demi-gods, nature gods, spirits, deities, and even someone’s dead relative, or regional deities. So some of these oracles in India are extremely beneficial for the people, and they don’t charge anything.

So even in India today, you have hundreds of oracles throughout the country. Of course there are some that are perhaps not very beneficial. And within Chinese culture, I know in Malaysia itself, I have myself witnessed a few Chinese Taoist oracles where certain Taoist deities would take trance of the person and the person would be able to do superhuman feats that out of trance, the person would not be able to do. And so I know in Malaysia itself, there is a phenomenon of oracles within the Chinese Taoist tradition, as well as in the neighbouring Asian countries. I know of a place in China where my Chinese acupuncturist doctor (who used to work in Malaysia) told me that in his region there’s actually a mountain. And in that mountain, there are many healing deities that have been there for millennia. And in their region, they have oracles that actually take trance of these healing deities, generation after generation after generation, and they would specifically do healing. And they’re very renowned, they’re very sought after, and they’re extremely accurate, and they’re very, very beneficial.

I know in North India, in Ladakh, currently there’s about eight or nine very well-known oracles. One male and about eight are female, as far as I know. And one of the female oracles in Ladakh I’ve met was incredible, because she actually came down to the monasteries in South India and stayed at a nearby village and she was very famous for taking trance of a healing, female deity, and also did divinations. And so I had heard about her and when she had come down to South India, when I was there, I went to see her.

An oracle in Ladakh sucks away a believer’s problems

And I had a lot of these little skin lumps (cysts) surgically removed from my body because they grow. And I remember when I saw her in India, I showed her my arm, that I had some. It was incredible because she put her mouth down onto my arm and she gently bit it and she did a sucking motion and she sucked it out and then she expelled it from her mouth onto a tissue and showed it to me. And it was right in front of me, and after I touched it (my arm), there was nothing there; it was flat. I had had it for years and I had a few which needed to be surgically removed and she did that right in front of me and I saw it with my own eyes.

So these healing oracles are really, really, really beneficial, and some of them are very powerful. And in regions in India (like in North India, Ladakh), where people live in remote places and they’re kind of stormed in for the winter for six/seven months out of the year, they’re literally surrounded by snow and people can’t get to them. You know, there are many places where modern medical help is near impossible to acquire, or near impossible to find. So for hundreds and hundreds, and thousands of years, these oracles have served as doctors, to relieve peoples’ medical conditions and I’ve seen it, over and over, how they can help.

Now I am not recommending people to go to oracles for healing, in lieu of an actual qualified medical practitioner. But what I’m saying is in many parts of the world, where people are poverty stricken, where they live in remote places, or they live in places that don’t have modern medical facilities, or medicine, or clinics… people have pain. I mean everywhere in the world, people get sick and they have pain and they have problems and they have medical issues, and nobody wants to be in pain, and these oracles seem to serve that purpose.

A painting by John Williams Waterhouse depicting eight priestesses in a temple of prophecy. The painting is known as ‘Consulting the Oracle’.

So I know there are many oracles in the voodoo tradition doing rituals. A lot of people, whether you’re an oracle or not, actually take trance of various voodoo deities. Now whether these voodoo entities are positive or negative, I am not qualified to comment, but definitely it is happening in the voodoo tradition, which has over sixty million followers throughout the world, probably more (from statistics that I’ve read).

So there are many, many channellers in Europe these days, also in America, in a new age tradition where they channel various entities and spirit guides, and awakened masters and all that. So what I wanted to say is that oracles are not something mystical and unique and only one or two cultures have it, but they’re really, really, all over the place since the beginning of human existence and in all cultures. And in the modern age, some people would like to say these don’t exist, they’re fake, and these people taking trance or channelling are having psychological conditions. But you know, I don’t think we should make such judgements so quickly because there are facets of the human mind and body that can reach higher consciousness, or contact sentient beings of high consciousness, that we know nothing about. And then scientifically it’s difficult to measure.

So oracles are basically people who can receive messages from entities that supposedly can help and assist in our lives or have foresight; or take trance and channel these entities to help us. So that is what an oracle is. I’ve just given it a very quick kind of explanation, but we can all do more research on that if we’re interested. And I have blog articles and YouTube videos of myself explaining more in detail about oracles (especially Tibetan ones), if anyone’s interested. And I’ll include the links with that.

Now, when I was in USA, from the age of 6 to 22/23, I had never seen an oracle. I had never witnessed an oracle. I had never come in contact with an oracle, a channeller or any of that sort. I’ve come across people who are psychic, like my mother. My mother was very psychic. She would often have dreams of things to come and the next day she would tell me, and within a few days we’d hear news of exactly what she had dreamed about, which she had no knowledge about. So I’ve never come across any oracles or channellers or any of that. When I was in the United States, part of the time I lived in New Jersey and part of the time I lived in Los Angeles. Los Angeles being a big city, I never came across any of that.

Gaden Shartse Monastery in Mundgod, South India

So my first contact with oracles of any kind, of any tradition, was actually in India. So in 1988, I had arrived in Gaden Monastery as a monk, around mid-late January. Gaden Shartse Monastery to be exact, in South India, which is a one night bus ride (about thirteen hours) from Mumbai. So Mumbai would be a very big international cosmopolitan city that was one night away from where I had stayed in Gaden Shartse Monastery. So when I arrived at Gaden Shartse Monastery, I went directly to my teacher, Kyabje Zong Rinpoche’s house, and house is ‘ladrang’ in Tibetan. So I went to Zong Ladrang directly and I stayed there because that was Zong Rinpoche’s instructions to me. He had said that when I become a monk and I come to Gaden, I am to stay in his personal house and that he would take care of me. That was his promise to me and that was his instructions to me when I met him in the United States.

So when I got to Gaden Monastery, I went directly to Zong Rinpoche’s house (Zong Ladrang) and I was allocated a small room that was quite dilapidated and leaking and cracked, but it served its purpose and I was very glad to be there, and I was very grateful to be there. I mean, you don’t just go to places and people give you a free room to stay. So I was very grateful. The senior monks, the older monks, had better rooms and their rooms were newer and less dilapidated. And I, being a junior monk, with other junior monks, our rooms were not so good, which is the norm in the monastery, so it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.

H.E. Tsem Rinpoche’s room in Zong Ladrang

Now my room was very interesting because if you walk into Zong Ladrang, you walk in off the main road. The first house you would see would be Zong Rinpoche’s personal house, where he gave audiences, where he had his bedroom, where he had his puja room, and where his close assistants stayed around him. So their rooms were connected to his, so they’d walk in and out of his room and go and assist him day and night, or as and when. And then off of that, behind, there was a row of rooms for the more senior monks. And then to the left of the house, near the boundary, were rooms for monks and that was the one I stayed at. So I stayed on the boundary. So when I entered…I mean the entrance of course is in Zong Ladrang to my room and next to me were the cows. So I basically stayed in the cow shed and behind me was a small dirt road that was an extension of the monastery. So behind me was a small dirt road and across from the dirt road (the dirt road was probably eight or nine feet in width) was the house of the Gaden Shartse oracle, Kuten Lama. And we had an affectionate name for him. We used to call him Kungo Choje-la.

‘Choje-la’ is oracle or kuten. Kuten is oracle. And ‘Kungo’ is a title that he had received for giving exceptional service to the Tibetan Government, throughout his life. So he used to raise funds for the Tibetan Government, he would organise meetings and gatherings and events. And he also took trance of various Protectors, Dorje Shugden and Setrap namely, for the Tibetan Government. So because of his exceptional service to the Tibetan Government, he had received a certificate, which he had shown me, from the Dalai Lama’s government in Dharamsala, and he had also been awarded a title called ‘Kungo’. So I don’t have an English equivalent of that, but it’d be something in England like a Sir or Baron, or something like that. So we would call him, affectionately, Kungo Choje-la. Kungo is his title, like a Baron or a Sir, and Choje-la would be an oracle. ‘La’ made it very honorific. It was like ‘honourable oracle Sir’.

The Dharma Protector Setrap (click to enlarge)

So anyways, we would call him Kungo Choje-la, but to the outside world he was known as Kuten Lama, Kuten Lama being an oracle. And he was a very interesting person because he wasn’t a monk. He was a layperson. He hadn’t officially studied Dharma. He was never in the monastic curriculum. He wasn’t a learned Dharma person. I mean he knew Dharma, but he wasn’t a learned person. He wasn’t a teacher. He didn’t have disciples. He didn’t have students. People did not go to him for teachings or people did not consider him a guru, although they respected him highly. So out of trance, he was basically an ordinary Tibetan man that was good in reading and writing and literate, and highly intelligent, had a powerful presence, extremely charismatic, and had beautiful aristocratic, Tibetan features, had a deep, penetrating voice, and basically was a very nice person. So when he was out of trance, he was just an elderly aristocratic looking Tibetan gentlemen, and he wasn’t a monk.

And because he was an oracle, then the monastery had allotted him a house and the land, and on the land, the oracle lived there and at the initiative of Kyabje Zong Rinpoche, they had raised funds to build a special oracle temple next to his house, which was a special chapel dedicated to Dorje Shugden. And within the chapel there was a throne (a permanent throne) that the oracle would sit on to take trance of Dorje Shugden, Setrap, Kache Marpo, and various other deities.

So behind my room, there’s a dirt path about eight to nine feet, it was enough for a small car to drive through. And then there was a gate there with doors and behind the gate and doors was the oracle’s, Kuten-la’s house, and he lived there. He had his assistants. He had his attendants. And then next to his house was the oracle Dorje Shugden chapel where he would also take trance. And so for me to walk over to his house is literally one minute. For me to get to the chapel it would be one and a half minutes. And that’s because I had to go the long route.

H.H. Kyabje Zong Rinpoche (click to enlarge)

So I would peek out through my window. I would be sitting with my back towards the window and my face would face my altar and my table. So my back would always be towards the window and I would often see Kuten Lama getting inside his car, going somewhere, or hundreds of people coming to visit him. Dignitaries, Tibetan dignitaries, Tibetan Government people, Dalai Lama’s representatives and the monastic representatives of Gaden, sometimes Sera, Drepung Gomang Monastery, Drepung Loseling Monastery, Gaden Shartse Monastery, Jangtse Monastery, Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, and smaller monasteries throughout India. Even representatives from Tibet would come sometimes to see him. I mean there were hundreds and hundreds of people who would come to see him because they would come and consult him to take trance and engage his oracular ability so that they could get their questions answered. Sometimes people had questions on someone who was extremely ill, or things that the Tibetan Government should or should not do, or how to raise funds for the monastery.

Choyang Kuten Lama in trance of Dorje Shugden at his residence (click to enlarge)

Very often he would recognise high lamas, so many people whose gurus have passed away, they would come and consult him on where the guru had taken rebirth, the place, and also the parents’ names and the location and in trance he would give the parents’ names, the location, and the region perfectly. And then he would actually issue a chakdak or recognition paper, which would be used to recognise that tulku or that Rinpoche to be enthroned. So that was quite often, but you have to understand, all sectors of Tibetan society, from Tibetan Government people all the way down to the ordinary person, would always come and consult him, and he was a very respected member of Tibetan society. And Tibetan Government people, monastic officials and all that, would show him great deference, extreme respect, and a lot of faith. And I witnessed this myself. There were many times, after I became friends with him, I would be hanging out with him in his room, drinking tea, joking, or whatever, and suddenly a government official would come, or a local Indian official would come, or whatever, and I would excuse myself because they had a lot of private matters. So I’ve witnessed this myself and he was a very beneficial person.

So being that he lived next to me, he used to walk over to my window and knock on it and I’d open it and there he was. And I’d be amazed because this was the oracle that takes trance of very great Protectors for so many people and there he is. It’s like meeting a superstar. Basically in Tibetan society he was like a superstar. And because of that, he used to come and knock on my window. I used to go slowly visit him at his house and as my Tibetan improved, I was able to talk more and more with him and understand him more. So very often he would always knock on my window and tell me to come over and just hang out with him. Or when I was free, I would just go and visit him. I would bring him some fruits or whatever and there’d always be delicious, fresh cups of Tibetan tea, khapsey, snacks, biscuits, food (at his house), because he’s very generous. So I developed a very close friendship with him, I am humbled and honoured to say.

Choyang Kuten Lama before taking trance of wrathful Dorje Shugden (click to enlarge)

So I used to go to his house quite often and sometimes I would oversleep, and I would miss pujas in the morning and so I didn’t get breakfast because in Tibetan monasteries, you get your breakfast in the puja hall. So I’d miss pujas and I didn’t get my bread and I didn’t get my morning bread and tea, so I’d be in my room thinking, “Now what do I do?” And guess what? Choje-la would knock on my window and say, “Have you had breakfast?” and I’d say, “No, Your Honour, I did not”. Then he disappeared and within five minutes he’d come out with a thermos filled with tea and a couple of new, fresh Tibetan bread, and he’d say, “Here, here take this. Eat this and return the thermos to me later”. And he did that so often. He would come to my window and just knock and ask, “Have you eaten? Did you get anything?” And most of the time I would say no. So he would always give me food or give me stuff through the window. I mean he’d literally walk out of his house with a thermos, bread, food, whatever… and then knock on my window and then pass it to me. And I had grilles on my window but the grilles were big so you could pass things through it.

This happened so many times and I was humbled, and I was grateful because he knew that I was a young monk (I was 22/23) at the time. I didn’t have money. I did not have any sponsors. So a lot of times, I ate one or two meals a day, or sometimes I just ate bread and tea that day. Sometimes I didn’t get a lot of food. I want to repeat again. I wasn’t abused or neglected in the monastery per se, but a lot of monks were poor. A lot of monks. Now it was the duty of Zong Rinpoche’s assistant (the main assistant there) to make sure I got food, but that’s another story. I didn’t get much food from him but that’s a completely different kettle of fish, as the saying goes.

H.E. Kensur Rinpoche Lobsang Tharchin, the first teacher of H.E. Tsem Rinpoche

But in any case, because I didn’t have sponsors and I didn’t have much money, a lot of times I just didn’t get much food, or I didn’t get any food. It was only later, when my first root teacher, Kensur Rinpoche Jetsun Lobsang Tharchin-la, who lived in Howell, New Jersey in Rashi Gempil Ling temple, found out. I wrote to him and he knew that I didn’t have sponsors and he assigned one of his students to sponsor me every month and that was the first sponsor I ever got. And when I got that sponsor, it was USD50 a month. Maybe to some of you out there, $50 isn’t a lot, but in India back in 1988/1989/1990, it was a lot of money. And when you convert that, it was a lot of money. It was enough to last a month, month and a half.

So I would buy grains and rice and lentils and vegetables and cook up a little storm in my tiny room, on the floor, with my little push-gas kerosene stove, and I had a few pots and pans. And I was grateful and that’s when I started gaining a little bit of weight and started not looking so skeletal, because of that sponsorship. And I am forever grateful to my teacher and my sponsor at that time. But anyways, who got me through that, one of the people was Kuten-la. So I used to go and visit him and once in a while, he would surprise me and come to my room. And you have to understand, he’s a very big personage. He is a very highly respected person and he is someone that the tutors of the Dalai Lama, like Ling Rinpoche and Trijang Rinpoche, would summon to their houses and take trance in front of them. He is someone that the monastic community would invite to the prayer halls to take trance and the whole monastic community would consult him. So to have this person to show up at your door, come inside and sit on your bed and just have chats with you…it was a great honour and it also showed you how humble he was.

Click to enlarge

With me he was always very humble. He was very close, very caring, and so sometimes he would visit my room and we’d just sit there and talk. He just wanted to see what I was doing, what I was studying. He would come in and say, “What are you doing?” And luckily, he never caught me sleeping. In any case… but I would visit him easily if I wasn’t doing pujas or studies or whatever. Easily I would visit him maybe eight to nine times per week, every week. And so as that happened, he would get a lot of letters from Indian officials, Indian people, that would be in English, and he would get letters from abroad in English. And so he didn’t have anyone there, so I unofficially became his part-time English secretary.

So what I would do is whenever he got letters in English, some of them were very confidential and I was sworn to confidentiality, unofficially. I would read the letters and explain to him what the letters were saying, what they’re asking, and what the content was. And then he would dictate his answers and I would write it down and then I would repeat to him what he said, and then I would double make sure it’s correct because it’s on his stationery. And then I would write out the letters. I would write out the letters for him, clearly and well, and I would then repeat what I wrote on his stationery to him, and then when he approved, he would sign it and put his official seal.

So for a long time I served as his part-time, unofficial secretary, and I felt very honoured because some of the things that we wrote to people around the world were pronouncements from Setrap, who took trance and spoke, or Dorje Shugden, who took trance and spoke. So he would translate those to me, and I would write it in English and then he would put his seal on it. So a lot of people got their answers in English because I was able to serve Kuten Lama in that capacity. And I remember that at one time, Kuten-la’s nephew which is His Eminence Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, in England, had requested Kuten-la to come to UK, and all those letters came. So when those letters came, Kuten-la summoned me to his house and I went to his house, and I had to read all those letters, because they were all in English. Of course those letters from Geshe Kelsang-la were in Tibetan but those were just a few. But Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche’s students would write a lot of letters to him, and so those were the ones I read and those were the ones that I translated to Kuten Lama.

Choyang Kuten Lama at Manjushri Institute in Ulverston (click to enlarge)

So one of the letters was officially sending an invitation for Kuten-la to visit England. They needed that official invitation, and with that invitation, then Kuten-la would apply for visas, he would have to go to the local Indian police to get approval because he was a Tibetan refugee. He would have to go to the local Indian officials, which were all his friends, to get approval to go to England. Then he would have to send people to Delhi, to the British embassy to get an English visa, and so there was a lot of letter-writing back and forth to the embassies and officials, and to England and all that stuff.

So I was a part of that where I wrote all the letters in English, to assist Kuten-la to get his visa and his itinerary, and all the necessities to go to England. So I’m sure in Geshe Kelsang Gyatso’s organisation, there’s a lot of letters there in my handwriting, signed by Kuten-la or his house. So I was able to do that and if I remember correctly, Kuten-la visited England twice, to Geshe Kelsang’s centre twice. After that, I don’t know what happened. I didn’t follow up, but he visited twice as far as I remember. And as far as I remember, they were very successful trips, and on one of the trips to England, to Geshe Kelsang Gyatso’s Manjushri Centre (it’s either Madhyamika or Manjushri Centre), Kuten-la took trance on many occasions there.

Choyang Kuten Lama in Western Europe

And on one of the occasions he took trance, he was in trance for about three/three and a half hours, and guess what? He gave the Avalokiteshvara initiation to all the students. So it wasn’t Kuten-la himself. It was Dorje Shugden who had taken trance and Dorje Shugden gave initiation to all the students. Can you imagine that? A god giving initiation of another god, to ordinary human beings. And you know what was amazing, is that Kuten-la himself is a layperson and he’s never given initiation in his life, to anyone, as far as I know. So there’s a lot of procedures to prepare for, and rituals to do, that you have to learn up, to give initiations. But as far as I know, Kuten-la didn’t know any of that, but in trance, he knew all of it. He did all of it. He did it like a seasoned, high lama of the Tibetan tradition. So you know it was not him, for doubters out there. You know it was not him giving initiation, because he didn’t know the procedures, he didn’t know the ritual, he didn’t know anything, but he gave the full initiation there. And when I heard that, I was extremely envious because I thought that would be so wonderful if I could have gotten an initiation from Dorje Shugden himself directly.

So anyways, it was a very successful trip and he was often consulted by the abbots of Gaden Shartse. When I arrived, the abbot of Gaden Shartse was Khen Rinpoche Jetsun Jampa Yeshe, a great scholar, erudite master, and a very great yogi. Prior to him, the abbot was Kyabje Lati Rinpoche. So after Lati Rinpoche was Khen Rinpoche Jetsun Jampa Yeshe. Then after Jetsun Jampa Yeshe, we had several abbots like Kusho Amchok Rinpoche, who is the Dalai Lama’s personal biographer. And then we had the erudite master Geshe Konchok Tsering. We had Geshe Tenzin Dakpa. We had Geshe Tamdrin Gyatso. We had the great master, who became the Lord of the East, Sharpa Choeje Jetsun Lobsang Nyima. So we had a string of very great learned masters, who were abbots of Gaden Shartse when I was there. And so what was incredible was these are very learned monks. They’re very erudite. They’re the masters of hundreds of geshes. They hold the monastery together and they’re appointed to their position by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. And all these abbots, every single one of them, whether it was Geshe Konchok Tsering, whether it was Khen Rinpoche Jetsun Jampa Yeshe, whether it was Kyabje Lati Rinpoche, whether it was Amchok Rinpoche, whether it was Khen Rinpoche Geshe Tenzin Dakpa, or it was Sharpa Choeje Jetsun Lobsang Nyima, even the Gaden Tripa, one of the Gaden Tripas, Jetsun Lungrik Namgyal, who lives in France, was also the abbot of our monastery while I was there.

Choyang Kuten Lama at Heruka Centre, London

All these erudite men, they all consulted the oracle. They all requested him for audience. They all requested him to take trance of Dorje Shugden and/or Setrap, or both, and they would ask questions about the future. I witnessed this myself. I witnessed it. Now every single one of these abbots, and the dignitaries, or the monks in charge of Gaden Jangtse Monastery would come and consult Dorje Shugden through the oracle, when he was in trance. From Drepung Loseling Monastery, from Drepung Gomang Monastery. I saw this myself, and this would happen throughout the year, and even the Dalai Lama’s representatives (they were called the Kungo Donjö). He is the representative of the Dalai Lama in our refugee camp. There were twenty-four refugee camps when I was in India, each refugee camp has a Kungo Donjö that represents the Dalai Lama in our camp. So all things for the Dalai Lama would go through them. All things from the Dalai Lama would come from them for our camp. And our camp had about fourteen thousand refugee Tibetans. So Kungo Donjö was in charge of a lot of people.

So Kungo Donjö himself would come and meet the oracle and he would come and show respect to the oracle, and he would be there sometimes, when the oracle took trance of Dorje Shugden and Setrap, and asked questions. For himself and sometimes on behalf of the Tibetan Government. Yes, the Kungo Donjös, the representatives of the Dalai Lama themselves would ask questions for their personal welfare, their families, and sometimes for the Government of Tibet, and send the information up to Dharamsala. So this one I witnessed myself also.

Gangchen Rinpoche with Choyang Kuten Lama in England

Now remember, the oracle of Dorje Shugden, Kuten Lama, was very, very close to the Tibetan Government. He had been very close to the Tibetan Government for decades, since 1959 leaving Tibet. And this one we all witnessed. So this was throughout the year, he would have Tibetan dignitaries, Tibetan ‘blue-bloods’, Tibetan people, the Dalai Lama’s representatives, representatives of the great monasteries, representatives from Gaden Shartse, Gaden Jangtse Monastery, Drepung Loseling, Drepung Gomang, the various khangtsens, very wealthy Tibetans, foreigners, local Tibetans, Indians, Indian dignitaries, Indian police… They would all come to either get blessings or consult with Dorje Shugden. And this was throughout the year, all the time, we witnessed this.

How do I know? Because I would be there with him. And before he would take trance that day, they would play the recording of a Tibetan long horn, playing from the Dorje Shugden chapel that was right next door to me. So every time he was going to take trance that day, let’s say he’s going to take trance at 10 a.m. or 11 a.m., then in the morning around 7 a.m. or 8 a.m., they would play a long horn and that would purify the area and to let the monastery know that day, the Protector was taking trance. That was throughout the year. He would take trance in his personal chapel that was next door to me, and when I heard that I would run next door to take a look. Sometimes I would be allowed in. Sometimes I would arrive too late, so I’d stand outside and look through the window. Either way was beautiful to me because I could see him taking trance. Sometimes he would take trance in a peaceful manner, wearing the high lama’s clothes. Sometimes he would take trance in a wrathful manner, wearing a Protector’s wrathful accoutrements.

Now once a year, during Tibetan Losar, the main prayer hall of Gaden Shartse Monastery, in the middle of the main prayer hall, in front of the Maitreya statue (because the central image in our old prayer hall was Maitreya Buddha), a throne would be set up. And next to that, on the left and right, chairs would be set up. And then the oracle, Kuten Lama, would be escorted by the monastic car, from his house to the main prayer hall (he would ride in a car). And the monastic officials, the changtsos and the secretaries would come down and receive him from the car and escort him in and the abbot, or the abbot emeriti (the kensurs), the high lamas, the tulkus, the reincarnated lamas, and all of them would sit on the left and right, on chairs. And I was sitting there with the ex-abbots and staff because I am a reincarnated lama. And then the rest of the prayer hall was occupied by the senior monks, geshes and monks, and young monks. So the prayer hall would be packed, you know, like over a thousand people, easily. And then representatives of Jangtse would come with khatas and offerings and prayers and all that. And sometimes from Drepung Monastery.

Choyang Kuten Lama distributing Dorje Shugden pictures

And so during Tibetan Losar, every single year, Kuten Lama would be escorted to the Gaden Shartse main prayer hall and a throne would be there, and all the high lamas, all the incumbent masters and the abbot and everybody would be there to receive him. I was there many times. And then he would come in and he would do black tea (serkym) to Dorje Shugden and Setrap. Afterwards, they would dress him and then he would sit on the throne and he would take trance of the peaceful Dorje Shugden called Dulzin. And then he would talk, he would give advice, he would meet all the abbots, ex-abbots, all the tulkus, and then bless the monks by throwing rice on them. And then he would read their requests, he would read their questions, and he would answer them one by one by one. Sometimes it took about forty-five minutes of him answering questions for the monastery, and the monastery’s welfare, the monastery’s future, pujas, obstacles, fund raising, activities… Dorje Shugden would give a whole list of things for the monastery to do, every single year.

The Dharma protector Dorje Shugden (click to enlarge)

Then after that was done, then they would dress him in the fierce clothes of Setrap and then he would take trance of Setrap. When he takes trance of Setrap, he wasn’t able to stay more than ten to fifteen minutes, because it was very wrathful, and it was very high energy and very jumpy and moving (you can see it on videos). So Setrap would meet the abbot, and then the ex-abbots (emeriti), the retired abbots, the high lamas, the tulkus, and that was when I got to go up and see Setrap. And then for the normal monks (the rest of the Sangha), Setrap would throw rice onto the congregation and bless all of them. And Setrap would basically say to have good samaya, to have unity, and to respect the elders, respect the elder monks, and we would have his protection. And he says that whatever advice Dorje Shugden has given, just a few minutes ago, he agrees with the advice and we should follow the advice precisely. And then he would faint, and he would leave, and the oracle would be back to himself.

So this was every single year. So the procedure was to take trance of the peaceful Dorje Shugden, and the peaceful Dorje Shugden would give advice, and talk, and speak to the monastery and officials, and the tulkus, and the abbots, and the lamas, and the emeriti. And then Kuten Lama would take trance of Setrap. And Setrap would basically say (I heard it myself), “Whatever Dorje Shugden has said, I agree with it. Follow that. That’s fine.” And then he would bless the congregation and he would leave. So every year we would have official audience, through the oracle, of Dorje Shugden and Setrap, and on a private basis throughout the year. I have met Dorje Shugden and talked to Dorje Shugden and Setrap on many, many occasions.

So I guess I was very fortunate to have a very good relationship with the grand Choyang Dulzin Kuten Lama of Gaden Shartse Monastery. And I was very fortunate to be considered one of his friends and I was able to assist him and serve him, in my humble capacity, for a few years while I was there. And I shared many meals with him, we broke bread together many times. I have never travelled with him…maybe to Hubli, to a nearby city once or twice, but I have never travelled long distances with him. And from all observations, he was an extremely beneficial person. He was highly regarded. He was a kind person and he has done great service to the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government throughout his life, in which he had certificates to show for it, from the Tibetan Government, and also his title Kungo Choje-la. So it was a great honour for me to know him and I had arrived at Gaden Shartse Monastery just at the right time. So that is kind of my relationship with Kuten Lama, Choyang Dulzin Kuten, and it has been a pleasure for me to share all of that here with everyone.

Thank you,
Tsem Rinpoche.

This transcript has been edited for clarity and ease of understanding.

The Biography of Choyang Kuten Lama

• Early Life
• Taking Authentic Trance
• Tibet in Crisis
• Exile & Legacy
• Videos

Early Life

In 1917, the year of the earth sheep, Choyang Kuten Lama was born in Khele Village. His mother was a lady named Lhagpa. Khele Village is located in the western region of Toepa in U-Tsang Province. The nearest town to Khele Village was Yenchoetenkar. Because he was born to an ordinary family, it was not customary to record his birth date. The only detail of his ordinary birth was found in his given name, Migmar Tsering, which indicated that he was born on Tuesday (Za Migmar). Later, the boy would become known by the name of Yonten Phuntsok.

Choyang Kuten Lama was born in Khele Village, U-Tsang Province. U-Tsang was one of the major provinces in Tibet before 1959 (click to enlarge)

At seven years of age, Choyang Kuten Lama entered Ngamrig Monastery, one of the three major monasteries in his region, which was under the management of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, the main seat of the Panchen Lamas. The other two major monasteries were Lhatse Monastery and Phuntsog-ling Monastery. He underwent basic training at Ngamrig Monastery until he was thirteen years old, after which he rejoined his parents on their journey to Phari.

 

The Growth of Dharma in Phari

Phari is located in present-day Yadong County in Tibet near the Indian and Bhutanese borders. The Buddhadharma as expressed by the Gelug School of Buddhism was firmly established in Phari due to the kindness of a few great Buddhist teachers such as Geshe Palden Tendar, Domo Geshe Rinpoche, and H.H. Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche. The fame and reputation of these three lamas were widespread in Tibet and the neighbouring countries, and riding on the great renown of these lama’s names, the Buddha’s teachings spread prolifically.

Phari is located in present-day Yadong County in Tibet

 

Geshe Palden Tendar

Geshe Palden Tendar (click to enlarge)

In Phari, there was a custom for monasteries to welcome visiting geshes from one of the two upper tantric colleges, Gyutö and Gyume, for a period of three years at a time. One of the geshes who came to Phari was Geshe Palden Tendar of Gaden Shartse Monastery, a great scholar who ranked second in his Geshe examinations. After his three-year tenure ended, Geshe Palden Tendar continued to stay in Phari with the wish to benefit the local residents. The people of Phari held Geshe Palden Tendar in high regard and lay people and those in the monastic community sought his advice on various matters.

Geshe Palden Tendar established Phari Monastery that houses a huge Maitreya statue and also a mountain retreat hermitage and in Phari, he engaged in many Yamantaka retreats.  Following H.H. the 13^th Dalai Lama’s advice, Geshe Palden Tendar handed over Phari Monastery’s administration to Gaden Shartse Monastery. Since then, Phari Monastery became known as a branch of Gaden Shartse and every three years, Gaden Shartse would send a qualified geshe to assume the abbot position of Phari Monastery.

 

Domo Geshe Rinpoche

A posthumous photograph of Domo Geshe Rinpoche (click to enlarge)

Another very significant and influential lama in Phari was Domo Geshe Rinpoche, whose famous Dungkar Monastery is also in present-day Yadong County. Before he passed away, Domo Geshe Rinpoche left the responsibility of administering his monastery in the hands of H.H. Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche, who later became the 14^th Dalai Lama’s junior tutor. Domo Geshe Rinpoche also left a message of how his earthly remains should be treated and specific instructions for the construction of the reliquary stupa that would house his relics. H.H. Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche personally visited Phari to carry out Domo Geshe Rinpoche’s wishes, and from then on, many lamas came to Phari to teach.

It is interesting to note that Geshe Palden Tendar, Domo Geshe Rinpoche, and H.H. Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche, three very highly attained and realised masters shared the same trust and devotion to the enlightened protector Dorje Shugden more than any other protector deities.

 

Joining Phari Monastery

Upon his arrival in Phari, Choyang Kuten Lama parted ways with his family and joined the monastery established by Geshe Palden Tendar. He would stay there for five years from the age of thirteen to seventeen. Foreseeing his potential and the tremendous benefit he would bring to people around him, Geshe Palden Tendar advised the senior monks to take good care of the young boy. Geshe Palden Tendar also advised him to take care of his health and body carefully. During this period, the young Choyang Kuten Lama sometimes stayed at Domo Geshe Rinpoche’s monastery because of the better climatic conditions.

 

Go to Taking Authentic Trance

Back to Tabs

First Trance in Bodhgaya

When he was seventeen, Choyang Kuten Lama and two of his friends went to Bodhgaya on a pilgrimage. At the time, there was an influx of approximately three hundred monks in Bodhgaya who were there to escape the harsh winter in Tibet.

The Mahabodhi Stupa in Bodhgaya

When he and his friends were making offerings in front of the main stupa in Bodhgaya, an incident occured. Choyang Kuten Lama temporarily lost consciousness and when he woke up, he saw some blood on the ground and the area around him was deserted. He asked a person nearby about what had happened. The person told him that he had either experienced a spirit possession or an epileptic seizure. The blood came from when his nose had hit the ground because his body was shaking very vigorously during the episode.

Dorje Shugden (click to enlarge)

After the incident, he returned to Tibet, but the Bodhgaya experience happened repeatedly even during his visit to Kalimpong. When he arrived in Phari, many suspected that Choyang Kuten Lama lost consciousness because he was taking trance of Dorje Shugden since Dorje Shugden was the protector of all the families in Phari regardless of their religious tradition. However, he was not convinced and continued to worry that a harmful spirit had taken possession of his body.

 

Thorough Examination

Because Choyang Kuten Lama was losing consciousness repeatedly after the first incident in Bodhgaya, he was greatly troubled and found the situation to be extremely challenging. To help him, Phari Monastery wrote to Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche to seek advice about what was happening to the young man. Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche responded by asking Choyang Kuten Lama to go to Lhasa which he complied with, accompanied by two monks.

Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche

After he arrived in Lhasa, he had audience with Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche during which time he was carefully observed. Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche also arranged for other lamas such as Kyabje Ling Rinpoche and Purbuchok Rinpoche to observe and identify the deity who was taking trance in Choyang Kuten Lama’s body.

While the examination process was in progress, Choyang Kuten Lama was put under the care of Kyabje Zong Rinpoche of Gaden Shartse Monastery. Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche advised him to do many purification practices and also perform the recitation of name mantras of Lama Tsongkhapa to enable clear signs to appear.

Lhasa – After Choyang Kuten Lama arrived in Lhasa, he had an audience with Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche.

Gaden Monastery, Tibet

Back then, there were many Dorje Shugden oracles in Tibet as it had become known that Dorje Shugden’s prophecies were always accurate and his advice, benevolent and yet effective. The greatest lamas of the time such as Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche, Kyabje Zong Rinpoche, Domo Geshe Rinpoche and Kyabje Zemey Rinpoche who were great teachers, all placed their trust in Dorje Shugden. Gaden Shartse Monastery, following Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche’s advice, arranged for Phuti Khangsar Kuten, the most famous Dorje Shugden oracle at the time to observe him. When Choyang Kuten Lama met with Phuti Khangsar, there was a small throne prepared for him. When Dorje Shugden came, Phuti Khangsar offered a khata and tea and the famous oracle declared that it was Dorje Shugden who had been entering Choyang Kuten Lama’s body in trance. Phuti Khangsar also mentioned that if Choyang Kuten Lama fulfilled the prerequisites of becoming an oracle, he would benefit a very significant number of people and sentient beings in the future.

Choyang Kuten Lama during a trance session of the wrathful form of Dorje Shugden (click to enlarge)

Upon obtaining the acknowledgement of Phuti Khangsar, Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche and Kyabje Zong Rinpoche made further observations of the young oracle. Choyang Kuten Lama was requested to go into a trance and was requested to answer a series of test questions. The responses that he gave while in trance impressed the high lamas. During that time, he was also requested to take trance of Dharmapala Setrap, the wrathful emanation of Buddha Amitabha who was also the protector of Gaden Shartse Monastery. Both lamas felt that if Choyang Kuten Lama was well taken care of, he could be beneficial to the Buddhadharma and also all sentient beings. Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche’s and Kyabje Zong Rinpoche’s final observations and conclusions were corroborated by other important high lamas such as Reting Regent, Kyabje Taktra Rinpoche, Phurchog Jamgon Rinpoche, Kyabje Ling Rinpoche, and Phuti Khangsar.

In 1939, the final examination of Choyang Kuten Lama was conducted in front of approximately two thousand monks of Gaden Shartse Monastery. Before the ceremony, he was instructed to engage in a seven-day purification retreat. During the ceremony, two sets of papers were rolled into pills. The first set contained two pills with these options written:

• Gyalchen Dorje Shugden
• A being who could not gain rebirth from the intermediate state (bardo)

The second set of paper pills were prepared for Dharmapala Setrap. During his first trance, Choyang Kuten Lama was offered the first set of pills and he ate the pill with “Gyalchen Dorje Shugden” written on it. In the second test, he took trance of Dharmapala Setrap, and when prompted he pointed to the pill with Dharmapala Setrap written on it and threw the other pills away.

Choyang Kuten Lama also took trance of Dharmapala Setrap

At the conclusion of the examination, four years after his first trance in Bodhgaya, the 21-year-old Choyang Kuten Lama was approved as an authentic oracle of both Gyalchen Dorje Shugden and Dharmapala Setrap. When his authenticity was approved in front of Gaden Shartse’s monks and scholars, it was the turning point in his life. Prior to that event, Choyang Kuten Lama himself and many others had doubts about his authenticity. He felt he had no control over the whole situation because he had no knowledge about what happened while he was in a state of trance. He was also worried about what would happen to him if the recognition of his authenticity had not gone through.

By the time Choyang Kuten Lama wrote his autobiography, most of the high lamas involved in his examination, except for Kyabje Lati Rinpoche and Kyabje Zemey Rinpoche, had passed away.

 

VIDEO: The Relationship Between Dorje Shugden and Setrap

Or view the video on the server at:
https://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/RelationshipBetweenDorjeShugdenAndSetrap.mp4

 

Go to Tibet in Crisis

Back to Tabs

Returning to Phari with Glory

Click to enlarge

After the rigorous examination process was completed, Gaden Shartse Monastery held a recognition ceremony for Choyang Kuten Lama. As a mark of his high position as an oracle in Tibetan society, the monastery officials offered him silk scarves and tea. He was also given seven people including an assistant and a secretary to attend to his needs.

When it was time for him to return to Phari, he was given many provisions, horses and attendants. This was a far cry from the circumstances he was in when he first arrived in Lhasa with two monk companions and a horse. His triumphant return to Phari was met with celebration and he was warmly greeted by the local and lay community members. People had to wait for weeks to have an audience with him and he became well-known as the Kuten Lama or the oracle of the Dharmapala Dorje Shugden.

Until 1950, Choyang Kuten Lama stayed in Phari and served the local community both lay and monastic and his trances of Dorje Shugden helped countless people. He was known to be very accurate which is a trademark of all authentic oracles of Dorje Shugden. Besides serving the people of Phari, he received invitations to travel to Lhasa to attend to a number of Tibetan aristocratic families, officials in the government and high lamas who had or wanted to establish a connection with the deity Dorje Shugden. As he became well-known, his contacts grew to include those who lived outside Tibet (e.g. Kalimpong).

 

Tibet Political Crisis

In 1950, the Sino-Tibetan relationship took a turn for the worse amidst news reports that the Chinese army had successfully invaded Chamdo. On his way to India, the 14^th Dalai Lama stopped near the Tibetan border to negotiate with the Chinese government for an end to the conflict. At the time, Choyang Kuten Lama was meeting with his teacher, the renowned Geshe Samdrup Rinpoche in Lhasa. The Tibetan government officials requested him to stay in Lhasa in case advice from Dorje Shugden became necessary. By then, the effectiveness of Dorje Shugden was well established and undoubted. Choyang Kuten Lama believed that the Dharmapala would want to help all sentient beings and so he agreed to stay in Lhasa and use his special ability to benefit his fellow countrymen.

Monks and lay people consult Dorje Shugden during a peaceful trance

In Lhasa, Choyang Kuten Lama was given a choice to either stay in a remote monastery or in a more accessible one which would provide less solitude and rest. Because he intended to help, he chose the latter, Chokor-Yangse Monastery. Before the Tibetan political crisis, Choyang Kuten Lama mostly took trance of the wrathful aspect of Dorje Shugden, especially during special events like the New Year. However, during this challenging period, the peaceful form of Dorje Shugden became more common. In trance of this peaceful form known as Dulzin Dorje Shugden, Choyang Kuten Lama was able to dispense comprehensive advice and instructions in a very clear manner, and also teach Dharma. It is touching to see that at a time when the Tibetan people needed support, consolation and hope, the Dharmapala manifested in a form that would comfort them most. That was how Choyang Kuten Lama became known as Choyang Dulzin Kuten. Choyang is an abbreviation of Chokor-Yangse Monastery, and Dulzin is the peaceful form of Dorje Shugden, referring to Duldzin Drakpa Gyaltsen, one of Lama Tsongkhapa’s main disciples who was also one of Dorje Shugden’s past incarnations.

So, with compassion for the Tibetan people during their most difficult period, Choyang Kuten Lama stayed in Lhasa and through the use of his special ability, helped many people and facilitated many successful escapes to India.

Tibetan uprising in Lhasa in 1959

 

Under Dorje Shugden’s Protection

In 1959, the political situation deteriorated and Tibet’s status as an independent nation was severely challenged in a manner that the Tibetan government had no answer to. The 14^th Dalai Lama left Tibet, and many followed him into exile. Choyang Kuten Lama also left for India with Kyabje Zemey Rinpoche and the Chushur Samkar family. Zemey Rinpoche was an influential lama and a teacher to many officials in Tibet and he also worked on the government’s education programmes. Due to his influence and status within Tibetan society, the Chinese were on the lookout for Zemey Rinpoche. The Chushur Samkar family was very wealthy in Tibet and had a close relationship with Zemey Rinpoche and Dorje Shugden. Their faith in the protector was so great that when Dorje Shugden asked them to go into exile and leave their livestock and land behind, they complied.

The escape party consisted of 17 people that included Kyabje Zemey Rinpoche and his three attendants, twelve members of the Chushur Samkar family, and Choyang Kuten Lama. Due to the size of the escape party, which included the elderly and young children, the journey was not without its challenges. However, their escape was smooth because whenever they sensed danger, they invoked Dorje Shugden and requested assistance. The same account of how Dorje Shugden miraculously provided for the safe passage of His Holiness the Dalai Lama during his escape from Tibet, would be told by many in the escape party.

Choyang Kuten Lama with his assistant (centre) and relative, Dekyi-la (right).

Choyang Kuten Lama making offerings to Kyabje Zemey Rinpoche during a teaching session at Gaden Shartse Monastery in Mundgod, South India

 

Go to Exile & Legacy

Back to Tabs

Serving Tibetan Community in Buxa

When Choyang Kuten Lama and Kyabje Zemey Rinpoche’s escape party reached the Buxa Transit Camp in India, they were greeted by a Tibetan official named Phala Dronyer Chenmo. Choyang Kuten Lama was soon separated from his travelling companions. Phala Dronyer Chenmo requested Kyabje Zemey Rinpoche to join the Tantric College that had been re-established in Dalhousie. The Chushur Samkar family would also go to Dalhousie, where they were placed at a home for displaced Tibetans. Choyang Kuten Lama stayed in Buxa because he did not fit into the category of high lamas or the elderly. Moreover, officials from H.H. the 14^th Dalai Lama’s office had requested him to stay in Buxa to serve the local community as an oracle.

Choyang Kuten Lama in trance of Kache Marpo, one of Dorje Shugden’s ministers. This picture was taken in Dorje Shugden’s chapel in Gaden Monastery. Within the Sakya tradition, Kache Marpo is known as Tsiu Marpo and was propitiated in a triad of protectors known as the Gyalpo Sum or the Three Kings together with Dorje Shugden and Setrap.

In Buxa, Choyang Kuten Lama stayed with approximately 1,500 monks of various Tibetan Buddhist traditions. He served everyone regardless of which sect they belonged to, not only the Gelugpas. He became a beloved and influential figure and was consulted whenever major decisions were to be made. He also participated in many conferences held in Dharamsala and New Delhi. When he first moved to Buxa, Choyang Kuten Lama did not have many friends, but as time went by, he developed deep connections and friendships. He remained there and helped everyone he encountered for about ten years.

Choyang Kuten Lama served everyone regardless of their respective school of Buddhism, not only Gelugpas (click to enlarge)

During the early days in Buxa, Choyang Kuten Lama noticed that the Indian government provided abundant provisions for the Tibetan refugees. However, as time went by, these provisions decreased and the weather became hotter. As conditions worsened, he received invitations to stay with friends concerned about his health. However, he declined and continued staying with the community in Buxa as he felt it was inappropriate to leave the Buxa community just because the situation had become uncomfortable.

When news came that the Tibetan refugees in Buxa were to be moved to a Tibetan Rehabilitation Centre in South India, Choyang Kuten Lama’s relatives in Dharamsala and Mussoorie became concerned and invited him to stay with them. They believed that life would be hard in South India due to fieldwork in the extremely hot weather. Many Tibetans had perished in the South due to exposure to a climate they were not accustomed to. However, in spite of the hardships he anticipated, Choyang Kuten Lama felt strongly that it would not be fair to abandon the Buxa community, and so he remained with the people.

 

Moving to the South

Choyang Kuten Lama at Gaden Shartse Monastery’s main prayer hall in South India (click to enlarge)

After living in Buxa for ten years, Choyang Kuten Lama and the other Tibetan refugees moved to the Tibetan Rehabilitation Centre in South India. He continued to serve the Tibetan refugee community as an oracle. Due to his esteemed position, and the fact that he was a senior Tibetan from Tibet, he was well received and well respected by the community who placed their trust in him. In addition, they believed that he was efficient and educated. Therefore, they elected him to be the Secretary of the Co-operative Society which is a society of 600 monks consisting of the four traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. Choyang Kuten Lama served in this capacity until 1973. Up until then, allegations that Dorje Shugden practitioners were obsessively sectarian were unheard of.

Initially, the Tibetan refugee settlements in South India were very poor and the society depended on the Indian government’s assistance. The Indian government appointed an Indian by the name of Katarbe to act as the officer for the Indian government. Katarbe served in this position for eight years from the time the settlement in Mundgod was established. Choyang Kuten Lama took his role as the Secretary of the Co-operative Society very seriously, and his role as an oracle became secondary. He appealed to the Indian government for financial assistance to build accommodations for the monks of the various traditions (Gelug, Nyingma, and Sakya), committee halls, and other special projects recommended by Mr. Katarbe. Due to his efforts, 16 quarters each with the capacity of housing 20 monks and two committee halls were constructed. Mr. Katarbe and the monks recognised Choyang Kuten Lama’s honesty and contributions, and in a special ceremony attended by monks of various Tibetan Buddhist sects, Mr. Katarbe offered Choyang Kuten Lama a piece of land, a house and a well-bred cow to support his livelihood.

Besides serving the monastic community, Choyang Kuten Lama also acted as the Vice President of the Tibetan Freedom Movement and in that position he would relay the 14^th Dalai Lama’s speeches and various official announcements to the Tibetan refugee community. The Assembly of Tibetan People’s Deputies openly recognised his contributions and gave him a certificate of acknowledgement for his work. Choyang Kuten Lama remained loyal to the Tibetan Cause and the Dalai Lama throughout his life and it was an unfortunate and undeserved outcome when all Dorje Shugden worshippers were falsely accused of being sectarian and against His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Choyang Kuten Lama’s life, in and out of trance, is testimony that the accusations and charges against Dorje Shugden people are false. He passed away in 2002 after a lifetime of serving the Buddhadharma as the oracle of the Dharmapala Dorje Shugden and a true patriot of the Tibetan people.

 

Epilogue

Choyang Kuten Lama made various contributions to the Tibetan community, not only in his role as an oracle but also in other capacities during the most trying time in Tibet’s history (click to enlarge)

During his lifetime, Choyang Kuten Lama made a multitude of contributions to the Tibetan community, not only in his role as an oracle but also in other capacities during the most trying time in Tibet’s history. He benefited all Tibetans, not only the Gelug monastic community, but also monks from other traditions and the lay community. He lived his life with integrity, and did not seek comfort when things became challenging although many such opportunities were presented to him. Unfortunately, after the Tibetan government in exile imposed a ban on the practice of Dorje Shugden, all lamas associated with Dorje Shugden were accused of being sectarian and wishing ill upon all sects apart from the Gelugpa.

In his autobiography, Choyang Kuten Lama mentions that his former travel companions from Tibet to India, who also had special relationships with Dorje Shugden, Kyabje Zemey Rinpoche and the Chushur Samkhar family contributed greatly to the Tibetan cause. Kyabje Zemey Rinpoche steered the formation of Tibetan education in exile. Under his direction, schools were built, textbooks were written, and teachers were trained in the modern way of learning. The Chushur Samkhar family’s six children actively served the Tibetan community in exile through their various roles in the Tibetan government in accordance with the 14^th Dalai Lama’s wishes.

Most notably Choyang Kuten Lama expressed his personal view of Dorje Shugden when he wrote in his autobiography about the impact of having a special relationship with the Dharmapala:

“…it is my personal experience of the evidence of the power of the Dharmapala that if you have a special relationship to the Dharmapala, a close connection with your spiritual guide and you keep commitments purely, then your life is very different from that of an ordinary person.”

Source: kolumbus.fi

 

Go to Videos

Back to Tabs

Dorje Shugden Taking Trance in Peaceful Form

Or view the video on the server at:
https://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/DorjeShugden TakingTranceInPeacefulForm.mp4

 

Another Video of Dorje Shugden Taking Trance in Peaceful Form

Or view the video on YouTube at:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOngi4GuTSo 

 

Dorje Shugden Giving Advice While Taking Trance in Peaceful Form Part 1

Or view the video on YouTube at:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebsMJ1cS3c0 

 

Dorje Shugden Giving Advice While Taking Trance in Peaceful Form Part 2

Or view the video on YouTube at:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9bASiC6Wog 

 

Dorje Shugden Giving Advice While Taking Trance in Peaceful Form Part 3

Or view the video on YouTube at:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTlRQnRtCPA 

Back to Tabs

Go to top

References:

• Paroll, Hemming, ‘Autobiography of His Eminence Choyang Duldzin Kuten Lama’ [website], http://www.kolumbus.fi/hemming.paroll/KutenLama01.html (accessed: 15 January 2019).

For more interesting information:

• The Phenomena of Oracles
• Unique Dorje Shugden Oracle Statue in Kechara Forest Retreat
• Mongolian State Oracle Paints Dorje Shugden
• 700 Meet A Buddha (七百人幸睹佛现)
• Never Seen Before Footage of Dorje Shugden Oracles | 从未曝光的多杰雄登神谕片段
• Dorje Shugden – The Protector of Our Time
• Dorje Shugden Taking Trance in Peaceful Form | 多杰雄登护法寂静尊降神
• How My Protector Healed Me | 我的护法神如何让我从病中痊愈
• The Truth About Who Saved the 14th Dalai Lama

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