Growing up with Rinpoche: You’ve got mail
Tsem Rinpoche reading cards and letters
Having had the fortune of meeting Rinpoche when she was just 11 years old, the ‘Growing up with Rinpoche’ series captures Pastor Jean Ai’s growth under Rinpoche’s guidance. In this series, she recounts some of Rinpoche’s myriad Dharma activities to benefit sentient beings.
Did you know that every single offering, piece of mail, letter or gift that Rinpoche receives is personally attended to by Rinpoche and a group of students?
First, everything is offered up to the Three Jewels on Rinpoche’s personal altars. Later, Rinpoche opens every single message and then reads each one very carefully, before instructions and advice are issued on what to do next.
If requests for prayers are made, then Rinpoche will make those prayers. If someone genuinely needs some help, Rinpoche will reach out to them. If Rinpoche gets a feeling that a person should connect with a Buddha, or some specific puja must be done, perhaps a gift or a message might be sent in response.
To Rinpoche, if people take the time to write and express their thoughts and feelings, that is something that should be appreciated and respected. And if people confide in Rinpoche, that information is always treated as sacred because it is not always easy for people to trust someone else enough to open up to them.
If the author writes about what they like and do not like, Rinpoche will remember for the future; if the author writes about family issues they are having, Rinpoche will remember for the future. If the author refers to relationship breakdowns they are facing, Rinpoche will remember for the future. For Rinpoche, who takes his bodhisattva vows very, very seriously, receiving a message from someone becomes an opportunity to learn something more about that person so that Rinpoche can see how he can help them.
So as busy as Rinpoche is, opening gifts and reading messages is something Rinpoche never neglects. In the past, some of the instructions Rinpoche has given after receiving a message include:
- Ordering pujas at the monastery for them,
- Arranging for weekly candle and incense offerings to be made for their success,
- Giving them advice on what retreats they can do, or what prayers they can recite,
- Taking a photograph of Rinpoche with the message or gift itself, and sending it to them.
Rinpoche in Bodhgaya with his gurus His Eminence Kensur Rinpoche Jampa Yeshe (left) and His Eminence Denma Locho Rinpoche (centre).
This attitude of receiving offerings was taught to Rinpoche by His Eminence Denma Locho Rinpoche, who said that when a devotee makes an offering, the recipient should, amongst other things, rejoice in the person’s generosity. Making the offering took away from something else they could have spent their money or time on. Making the offering was therefore the giver’s practice of cutting their attachments to what they desire. With this in mind, it is the responsibility of the recipient to help the giver create as much merit as possible by offering it to the Three Jewels first. Denma Locho Rinpoche’s teaching was previously covered more extensively on Rinpoche’s blog here.
So if you ever wondered whether your offering reached Rinpoche, now you can be assured that it did 🙂
Originally posted: http://wp.me/p3DGTa-1pQ
Mail and offerings to H.E. the 25th Tsem Rinpoche should be directed to:
H.E. the 25th Tsem Rinpoche
c/o Kechara House
No. 7, Jalan PJU1/3G
Sunwaymas Commercial Centre,
Petaling Jaya, Selangor 47301
Malaysia
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If you are in the United States, please note that your offerings and contributions are tax deductible. ~ the tsemrinpoche.com blog team
Thank you Rinpoche for showing us in deeds how a Bodhisattva should receive with kindness any sentient beings who request for assistance. I fold my hands in respect.
Thank you Rinpoche with folded hands for having the time to read and looking to it when ever Rinpoche did received things through from students and so forth. I thought of that too wondering if Rinpoche did received our cards and gifts as I understand that Rinpoche is busy with more important things . Now I know Rinpoche did afterall look through all mails and so forth how ever busy Rinpoche is. Rinpoche will open gifts and reading each messages that is something Rinpoche never neglects.
Thank you Pastor Jean Ai for sharing your experience with Rinpoche .
Wow!!?Rinpoche really has lot’s of mails to handle with care?I can really imagine how time consuming it is for Rinpoche to go over all these mails and then refer back to the sender. It’s very compassionate and mindful of Rinpoche to do all these daily to benefit others. Thank you Rinpoche and Pastor Jean Ai for sharing another important highlight and address details for more people to reach out to Rinpoche.?????
It really warms my heart hearing that Rinpoche read every single piece of the cards or gifts received. Nothing being left out. Not to mention, those from the emails or even comments from the blogs and other social media means such as FB and Twitter too. However, it also breaks my heart knowing that despites all these, Rinpoche still have to teach the students (be it near or far), to the Sangha, the time to plan & build KFR, commit to a daily sadhana, to meditate, to write and etc etc.
Now maybe I can understand why Vajrasecret would want to limit the number of characters that we can write which is 140 only ? . I would strongly advice that we should at least make an offering to Rinpoche once in a while. It is said that;
“21. Giving (to your Guru) is the same as making continual offerings to all the Buddhas. From such giving, much merit is gathered. From such collection comes the supreme powerful attainment (of Buddhahood).”
Thanks to Vajrasecret that we can offer up something to Rinpoche here https://www.vajrasecrets.com/offerings .
Please forgive us Rinpoche if we have taken a considerable amount of Your time for reading our cards, comments and etc. We don’t mean to disturb your mind ? . I hope Rinpoche will always be happy and have the best in health.
P/s: Thank you Pastor Jean Ai for showing us on how we should treat the gifts that we might be receiving in future. A little mindfulness that we can start practicing from our side. We should offer up everything that we have received, even those comforting words that we might be hearing from our loved ones and we should remember and pray for them.