Life in KFR During Lockdown
Kechara Forest Retreat is not only one of Malaysia’s biggest Buddhist meditation centres, but it’s also home for some. Catch a behind-the-scenes look at what life was like for Pastor Jean Ai, and learn how different things became since the Movement Control Order began on March 18, 2020. Follow her as she covers what life in Kechara Forest Retreat was like under lockdown.
Day 1
Pastor Jean Ai shows how life has changed in Kechara Forest Retreat even when it comes to receiving online deliveries. March 26 is the eighth day that Malaysia has been under a nationwide Movement Control Order.
Day 2
Pastor Jean Ai answers a question that has been asked of her every single day, since the nationwide Movement Control Order was enforced on March 18.
Day 3
Pastor Jean Ai introduces some of the items on her altar that were gifted to her by H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche.
Day 4
Pastor Khong Jean Ai tests a new function on her phone and (more interestingly) introduces a special thangka that was conceptualised by H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche.
Day 5
Pastor Jean Ai talks about the importance of gratitude at this time and introduces two pastors who will be giving regular short Dharma talks on the Kechara Facebook page.
Day 6
Pastor Jean Ai explains why nature was so important to Tsem Rinpoche and takes a walk to the Medicine Buddha shrine.
Day 7
Pastor Jean Ai talks about some encouraging COVID-19 developments in Malaysia, and tells a couple of stories about her guru, H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche.
Day 8
Pastor Jean Ai goes for a walk to the Manjushri Fish Pond and gives everyone a glimpse of a very special upcoming project.
Day 9
Pastor Jean Ai visits the site of the Tsem Rinpoche Relic Stupa Project, and deals with the challenges of doing puja and renewing her vows during lockdown.
Day 10
Pastor Jean Ai talks about lemons and Vitamin C, and attends the #StayAtHome Qing Ming 2020 Puja.
Day 11
Pastor Jean Ai takes a ride down to the Kechara Farm to check out what’s been growing.
Day 12
What’s for lunch? Get a glimpse of what is inside the KFR community fridge and what some of us have been eating!
Day 13
What’s it like to live in a cabin in Dukkar Apartments? Check out what Pastor Jean Ai’s cabin looks like!
Day 14
Pastor Jean Ai does a quick mantra-rolling tutorial and answers the question “Why did you go vegan?”.
Day 15
Pastor Jean Ai has always loved cooking for Rinpoche. Here, she shows us how to prepare one of the dishes Rinpoche enjoyed on a few occasions. Perfect for making food offerings to the Buddhas during the Movement Control Order!
Day 16
Pastor Jean Ai shows a beautiful Buddha in England, pays homage to Manjushri and talks about the pastorship program.
Day 17
Pastor Jean Ai shows the behind-the-scenes of JP’s Mindful Morning Meditation, does puja and offers candles for the deceased…and eats breakfast for dinner.
Day 18
Pastor Jean Ai explains why pastors are fastidious about short hair, and spends some time at the Dorje Shugden outdoor grotto.
Day 19
What can you do from your homes to stay healthy, protected and safe? Pastor Jean Ai shows you eight things everyone can do from wherever you are.
Day 20
How can you do prostrations at home? Pastor Jean Ai shows a modern-day setup for engaging in prostrations. To learn more about the practice of doing prostrations, here are some links you can check out:
- Vajrasattva and Prostrations Practice (https://bit.ly/3emPqyw)
- Tsem Tulku Rinpoche teaches prostrations Pt. 1 (https://youtu.be/fbMFtzTGgkE)
- Tsem Tulku Rinpoche teaches prostrations Pt. 2 (https://youtu.be/1Qon9lYJ_7M)
- Purifying the Karma of Body, Speech and Mind (https://bit.ly/2K6yXRe)
Day 21
At Manjushri Nagarakshasa, Pastor Jean Ai answers some of the questions you’ve asked her during this COVID-19 period.
Day 22
Pastor Jean Ai talks about sang-ing rooms to purify our environments and shows different combinations and alternatives. Also, keep watching all the way through the video for the chance to win something special 🙂 Here’s an incense offering to Dorje Shugden that you can recite as your incense is burning: Incense Offering Prayers to Dorje Shugden
Day 23
Does incense really dispel negative entities and energies? Pastor Khong Jean Ai shares some the paranormal experiences she has had with her guru, H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche.
Day 24
Pastor Jean Ai answers some questions that arose as a result of the previous day’s sharing, and shares some of the advice that was given by her guru, H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche.
Day 25
How do you calm your mind? Pastor Jean Ai answers with some advice that was given by her guru, H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche.
Day 26
Ready for cute animal photos?! Pastor Jean Ai introduces some of the Kechara Forest Retreat animals and how H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche helped them.
Day 27
What can I do for my pet? Pastor Jean Ai shares some advice from her guru, H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche.
Day 28
There have been reports of people ignoring their authorities’ efforts to deal with COVID-19. What drives people to do that and how can we react to it? Pastor Jean Ai shares some advice from her guru, H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche about selfishness and how to deal with the selfishness in all of us.
Day 29
Pastor Jean Ai picks up some soft drinks, and discusses why it’s important to support local businesses, to practise gratitude during this time and not to blame others. Video features a couple of never-seen-before photos of H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche.
Day 30
Pastor Jean Ai hangs out at the camping area of Kechara Forest Retreat before some freakish weather settles upon the land.
Day 31
What if we don’t earn very much but want to make lots of offerings? How can we do that? Pastor Jean Ai unboxes the pretty soft drinks she received and shares a teaching from H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche on how to make offerings.
Day 32
Why does Kechara Forest Retreat play pujas and prayers over the loudspeakers? Pastor Jean Ai explains the reasoning given by her guru, H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche.
Day 33
Settle in as Pastor Jean Ai talks to Rochak Dahal, a musician, poet and the Nepali editor of TsemRinpoche.com. They discuss the situation in Nepal, how he has been coping, the challenges of being a small business owner at this time, what he misses about Kechara and how it has changed since he was last here, what he thinks of H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche’s latest book, and his post-lockdown plans…will he be coming to Malaysia or not?
Day 34
Watch Pastor Jean Ai as she struggles with a new device and checks out H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche’s original cabin at Kechara Forest Retreat, and tells a couple of anecdotes about the early days of Kechara Forest Retreat.
Day 35
Pastor Jean Ai goes forest bathing, receives a gift from a Dharma sister in Ipoh, cuts into the sourdough loaf she received a few days ago (and offers a couple of handy tips!), and shares some ideas for what we can do to keep busy at this time.
Day 36
Pastor Jean Ai circumambulates around Wisdom Hall, Kechara Forest Retreat and explains what we should visualise while circumambulating. She also tells a few stories about auspicious events that have taken place in and around Kechara Forest Retreat. One of the auspicious events that was recorded can be seen HERE.
Day 37
Settle in as Pastor Jean Ai talks to Shakila Rajendra, a writer, journalist, activist, sustainability consultant…and cat momma! This smart lady’s a Chevening Scholar with a MSc in Global Energy and Climate Policy from SOAS (London), and she also happens to be the daughter of Cecil Rajendra, a Malaysian poet and lawyer, and nominee for the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature.
They discuss life in a Red Zone in Kuala Lumpur, how she dealt with a toxic work environment, being unemployed during COVID-19, Dalgona coffee failures, how selfishness contributes to disproportionate levels of suffering, the danger of being exposed to only things we are interested in, and how the COVID-19 crisis may impact environmental issues like climate change.
Day 38
Ready for more spooky stories? Pastor Jean Ai tells of a couple more paranormal occurrences she experienced with her guru, H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche. There are also a couple of announcements at the end, so make sure you stick around for those!
Day 40
Pastor Jean Ai tours Wisdom Hall and gives a brief glimpse of the behind-the-scenes preparation taking place for Kechara’s #StayHome Wesak Day 2020 celebrations, taking place on May 7, 2020.
Day 42
Did you guys enjoy the online Wesak Day celebrations that were live-streamed from Kechara Forest Retreat? Pastor Jean Ai does a quick recap of how the day went down, how things went in the run-up to the event and how to unwind after all of that excitement. In case you missed the event, you can catch it here:
- Part 1 – Eight Precepts, Lama Chopa Puja, Offerings
- Part 2 – Dharma Sharing in English, Dharma Sharing in Chinese, Offerings, Raffle Draw>
Day 45
Settle in as Pastor Jean Ai talks to Veronica D’Rozario (DEdPsy, MA, BSc), an educational psychologist based in London and friend of 16 years. Stay tuned as a special guest makes an appearance mid-way through the video…
So what does an educational psychologist do? Pastor Jean Ai and Veron discuss how work and life has changed for her due to the COVID-19 pandemic. What is the COVID divide, and how has the pandemic disproportionately affected lower income groups?
They also talk about RuPaul’s Drag Race (and the art of drag!), the time a lecturer unsuccessfully accused Pastor Jean Ai of plagiarism, the impact of weight-related remarks in childhood, and how Veron has been saving money and passing time!
Day 47
Pastor Jean Ai reflects on the last 50 days of life during lockdown, and talks about some of the upcoming plans before answering a question that was posed during her Wesak Day sharing.
Day 50
In this final video of the series, Pastor Jean Ai talks about a new cycling challenge she has set for herself, before she goes on a short drive and reflects on life in the ‘new normal’. She also shares a few of the tasty things she has been cooking and eating in the last week!
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
DISCLAIMER IN RELATION TO COMMENTS OR POSTS GIVEN BY THIRD PARTIES BELOW
Kindly note that the comments or posts given by third parties in the comment section below do not represent the views of the owner and/or host of this Blog, save for responses specifically given by the owner and/or host. All other comments or posts or any other opinions, discussions or views given below under the comment section do not represent our views and should not be regarded as such. We reserve the right to remove any comments/views which we may find offensive but due to the volume of such comments, the non removal and/or non detection of any such comments/views does not mean that we condone the same.
We do hope that the participants of any comments, posts, opinions, discussions or views below will act responsibly and do not engage nor make any statements which are defamatory in nature or which may incite and contempt or ridicule of any party, individual or their beliefs or to contravene any laws.
Please enter your details