Stories from a Chela – Supernatural Protection
His Eminence Tsem Rinpoche granting me blessings of protection during my first visit to Malaysia. Rinpoche granted me an audience despite being ill.
A ‘chela’ is a Sanskrit word meaning ‘student’. In particular this word refers to the student of a spiritual teacher. Within this series of short posts, I will be sharing stories about His Eminence the 25th Tsem Rinpoche. Hopefully through these stories, you will get a glimpse of how Tsem Rinpoche and the Dharma that Rinpoche shares has not only benefited me but countless others.
Supernatural Protection
The story of how I met His Eminence Tsem Rinpoche and arrived to live in Malaysia is a strange one and may sound fantastical to most. Though I was born and brought up in a place called Croydon, which is south of London in the United Kingdom, I was always interested in spirituality. Born into an Indian family of Gujarati descent, my childhood was spent in a working class neighbourhood. When I was a teenager, going through that rebellious phase that all teenagers do and full of angst, I ended up learning about systems of spiritual practice outside of the norm for someone of my background and upbringing. My father is not a religious person in any strict sense of the word, but is very interested in the myths, legends and stories of Hinduism, our family religion. My mother on the other hand is a very spiritual and deeply devoted practitioner of the Hindu faith. My fascination with spirituality comes from her I guess and the various stories she used to tell me growing up.
Over time, I began dabbling in the occult and eventually ended up practising Haitian Vodou in my late teens. Though Haitian Vodou is a legitimate and beautiful religion, if you are not prepared to deal with supernatural entities with strong personalities, traits, likes and dislikes, or make a connection with the wrong entities, disaster can ensue as it did for me.
I made contact with a Mambo (priestess) living in Louisiana in the United States, whom I went to live and study with. She was a loving lady, whom I miss dearly till today, but it was obvious she had a hard life, and delving into the spiritual fringes seemed like her way to cope with her negative life experiences. To cut a long story short, I witnessed many strange occurrences and apparitions. During my stay there, I made connections with various types of non-physical entities, some of whom ‘attached’ themselves to me.
At the beginning the spirits were pleasant, friendly even, but when I returned to London, finished university and began my working life, things began to change. The spirits began to hound me, and not only affected me psychologically, but physically too. Things were starting to get real bad.
It was during this difficult period of my life that I stumbled across Tsem Rinpoche’s YouTube channel, specifically his video on mantras. Over the next couple of days, I found myself drawn to watching the video again and again. Eventually, I began watching the rest of the videos on the channel, and then found Tsemrinpoche.com and its wealth of knowledge. It was then that I started to practice Lama Tsongkhapa’s Guru Yoga and prayed to Setrap for help. The situation began improving but the spirit attacks were still quite strong.
I got in touch with Kechara and was subsequently introduced to one of Rinpoche’s senior students in London. I met up with this student on numerous occasions and we passed our time talking about the Dharma and engaging in Setrap’s puja. He gently urged me to visit Kechara in Malaysia when I could.
Then one day I suddenly found myself with 10 days leave from work with enough saved up for a trip abroad. So I decided spur of the moment to head to Malaysia and visit Kechara, without even the slightest clue what Kechara was about. I arrived and spent 8 days touring Kechara’s different departments, with most of my time spent volunteering at Kechara House, our temple in Kuala Lumpur. On my last night, I was informed that Rinpoche wanted to meet me.
The great ferocious dakini Sengdongma. Click for high-resolution image or click here for more images of the enlightened beings.
As I sat there awestruck that the Guru I had seen on YouTube was in front of me, Rinpoche began telling me things that I had never even shared with anyone before – my thoughts and my feelings about the spiritual problems I was going through. Rinpoche proceeded to use his divination dice to decide which practice would be the most karmically suited to help me overcome my spirit attacks, and the divination came out that I should engage in the practice of the glorious dakini Sengdongma. Rinpoche gave me the short practice and mantra, and from that day forward my life completely changed. Recitation of the short praise and 14-syllable mantra ever since then has provided me extreme protection from spirit attacks.
Gone are the days when the spirits talked incessantly in my ears, gone are the days when I could feel them hounding me. Instead, Rinpoche shared with me the fire of the dakinis that burns away negative karmic links with unseen beings and the roar of the lion-faced Sengdongma that keeps away all unwanted entities.
But more than just protection from spirits, Rinpoche shared with me a higher teaching on that day – compassion and the bodhisattva attitude to benefit sentient beings overcome their suffering whatever that may be. For you see, Rinpoche was extremely sick that day. I was told Rinpoche was not feeling well that day, but it was all the more evident when I actually saw Rinpoche. He was extremely pale and was sweating profusely. Nevertheless, he wanted to help relieve me of the suffering that I had been enduring. I was a stranger, someone that he had never met before.
When we ourselves are ill, we only think about ourselves. We hardly even think about relieving the suffering of our own family and friends when we don’t feel well, let alone helping complete strangers. But Rinpoche did. He helped me when I needed help, even though he was so ill. The meeting itself was only around 45 mins to 1 hour, but it had a lasting impact on my mind.
After that first meeting, besides being eternally thankful for the spiritual protection he granted through his blessings and giving me the practice of Sengdongma, I knew that Rinpoche was someone who was literally living the teachings of selflessness taught by the Buddha. This compassion, I was to learn later, is actually the key to the successful practice of Sengdongma, and any yidam (meditational deity) for that matter. Compassion is the ultimate protection from negativity. It is the energy that overcomes and pacifies everything.
From that day, my life took a new direction. It was now more than just wanting protection from spiritual attacks, but wanting to achieve that spiritually impressive, selfless and loving state of compassion that I saw and continue to see in Tsem Rinpoche.
Pastor Niral Patel
Prayer To Sengdongma The Lion-Faced Dakini
Glorious adamantine Goddess,
Wrathful female with lion’s face,
Whose fire of Gnosis emanates light-rays,
Lion-faced Goddess – to You I bow.
Mantra:
AH KHA SAMA-RANZA SHANDA-RASA MARAYA PHET
Lion-faced Dakini!
Because of the force and power of the recitation of Your Mantra,
Let enemies who torment us teachers, pupils and attendants,
hindering spirits who harm us, obstructive conditions, and in short,
every enduring inauspiciousness, be turned back!
Host of blazing wrathful females!
Smash into dust-motes the body and speech
Of all the nature of hindering foes,
And release their consciousness in Dharma-Dhatu!
Through recitation of Your mantra,
Let me quell all injury,
Achieve my aims just as I wish,
And spread the Doctrine in teaching and practice!
Sengdongma and Dorje Shugden. Click for high-resolution image or click here for more high resolution Buddha images.
For more interesting information:
- Protection from Black Magic and Spirits
- Dorje Shugden Trakze to Dispel Black Magic and Spirits
- Dorje Shugden Retreat: a Powerful Practice to Fulfill Wishes
- A Review of Compassion Conquers All by Tsem Rinpoche
- The Promise: Tsem Rinpoche’s Inspiring Biography Now in eBook Format
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Have always enjoyed reading or listening to stories by senior students or those who are close to Rinpoche as there is always something funny, interesting but more importantly insightful and helpful for our own spiritual journey. What struck me in this particular personal account is how compassion is the key to overcome the many issues we face as Pastor Niral said – Compassion is the ultimate protection from negativity. It is the energy that overcomes and pacifies everything.
Thank you for this sharing, Pastor Niral.
A fascinating read on how Pastor Niral Patel met Rinpoche. Rinpoche always put sentient beings as priority. I’m very glad to know It’s wonderful when you follow a guru’s advice everything turns out for better. I’m glad Pastor Niral Patel is no longer afflicted by spirits with the spiritual protection through Rinpoche’s blessings with the practice of Sengdongma. Thank you Rinpoche and Pastor Niral for this wonderful sharing?????
A fascinating read on how Pastor Niral Patel met H.E. Tsem Rinpoche. It’s wonderful how, when you follow a guru’s advice everything turns out for better. I’m glad Pastor Niral Patel is no longer afflicted by spirits.
Interesting read of how Pastor Niral Patel met Rinpoche. Everything changed , at the time when he is facing the most difficult period. Its just hit at the right moment he came across Tsem Rinpoche’s YouTube channel followed by Tsemrinpoche.com to where he is now. Could imagine all the way travelling from London to Malaysia, the rest is history then. Following the advice of Rinpoche to practice the glorious dakini Sengdongma.’s practice and mantra, he is protected since then. No more spirit disturbance .
Thank you Pastor Niral for this sharing .
Thank you Pastor Niral for sharing with us this lovely story of you and Tsem Rinpoche. It is funny how fate can bring us to meet our teacher even though the event that triggers that may be a negative one. Pastor Niral is really lucky to meet Tsem Rinpoche and get help from Rinpoche.
Tsem Rinpoche’s kindness is beyond our imagination, I think we might not be able to find another person who is as generous and as kind as Tsem Rinpoche. Pastor Niral didn’t know Tsem Rinpoche so well in the beginning but Tsem Rinpoche still went all the way to help Pastor Niral without asking anything back from him. And because Pastor Niral followed Tsem Rinpoche’s instructions, his problem was solved.
In order to repay the kindness of Tsem Rinpoche, Pastor Niral left his home country and came to Kechara to offer his service to assist Rinpoche in spreading Dharma and bring benefit to others. This is very inspiring. Tsem Rinpoche always tells us to focus out and we can find true happiness. The reason is very simple, we are the one creating our own suffering. When we focus on ourselves, we only look at what we don’t have and get upset and miserable about it. When we focus out all we can think of is how to bring benefits to others, this is a way to develop our kindness and compassion and to become a better person.
Some of us may or may not realised could have offended spirits that they may harm us physically or mentally. This is really scary especially when we do not know where we can seek help. We are thankful to Rinpoche as he has uploaded so many dharma teaching which can be reached online and enable everyone around the globe to access. This has greatly relieved and provided right spiritual remedy who those who needs it. Thank you Rinpoche for your kindness and compassion to always help those in needs and reduce their suffering through dharma teaching. Thank you Pastor Niral for sharing your experience.
Pastor Niral
Thank you for sharing this. And I hope those who read this passage can and will sincerely follow your fine example to “suit-up” their protection against disturbing forces.
Your experience is a testament to the greatness of Bodhicitta in our holy Guru, His Eminence Tsem Tulku Rinpoche, and thankfully everyone can develop Bodhicitta along their spiritual path.
Tayata Om Muni Muni Maha Muni Shakyamuniye Soha
Tenzin Jamkar
Pastor Niral, thanks for the sharing. Rinpoche always put sentient beings as priority, he always there when we in need. We are fortunate to able received powerful practice from Rinpoche such as Dorje Shugden to help us overcome daily difficulty. Rinpoche’s kindness ,love and compassion never been forgotten.