Tales With My Lama: Larger Than Life
His Eminence the 25th Tsem Rinpoche performing a Dorje Shugden puja during sunrise in Kechara Forest Retreat
Pastor David has been a student of His Eminence Tsem Rinpoche for over 15 years and within the ‘Tales With My Lama’ series of articles, he explores his spiritual relationship with Rinpoche, sharing anecdotes, stories, observations and little Dharma nuggets. It is all told to inspire others for their own spiritual relationship with their teachers.
Larger than Life
His Eminence Tsem Rinpoche has a presence that is larger than life and I am not talking about his physical stature of course. Rinpoche is very tall at more than six feet but his presence and charisma can fill an entire room. Rinpoche gives people a strong and lasting impression when he enters a room or walks down a street.
There have been many times in the past when we were walking on the street, I observed that people were compelled to look at Rinpoche, and they just stared at Rinpoche. I noticed this clearly, it’s not something you can miss when you are around Rinpoche. It didn’t matter if Rinpoche was thin and fit or when Rinpoche had grown to his current size. Wherever Rinpoche went, he attracted a tremendous amount of attention, and Rinpoche still does. At times, people are so flabbergasted that they simply stare at Rinpoche with their mouths agape.
If we were in a store, the salespeople usually zeroed in on Rinpoche and basically ignored the rest of us. Rinpoche would be with his students and friends as he usually never goes out alone but somehow, people just knew that Rinpoche was the main person or the person in charge. In jest, sometimes Rinpoche pointed at one of his students and told everyone that the student was the boss in order to divert the attention away. Naturally, Rinpoche on numerous occasions has given advice, food, Dorje Shugden pendants, gifts and at times given money away to complete strangers if he felt they needed help and assistance (I will talk about this in another post). At times, people have come up to Rinpoche and told Rinpoche that they follow Rinpoche’s blog and would like a picture taken.
With this amount of attention, Rinpoche only dresses in dark colours and nondescript clothing in order to avoid unsolicited attention. Just peering into Rinpoche’s wardrobe, one sees that all Rinpoche wears are mainly maroon robes and brown kurtas – long and loose collarless shirts. Naturally, the monastic robes are for formal and ceremonial occasions while the kurtas are for private and informal occasions. The kurta are especially designed by Rinpoche to conform to the Vinaya (monastic code of conduct) of what a monk is allowed to wear. Rinpoche would actually like to wear his maroon robes all the time but they are too thick for our tropical weather and the heat can result in severe rashes. That is why Rinpoche resorted to wearing kurta.
His Eminence Kensur Rinpoche Jetsun Lobsang Phende (Abbot Emeritus of Shar Gaden Monastery) and His Eminence the 25th Tsem Rinpoche. Real teachers of the Dharma have a charisma about them that comes from practising morality.
According to the Dharma, lamas with such charisma arise due to their lifetimes of practicing morality or of holding their vows and commitments very strongly. It means that they were pure monks in previous lives and in this life as well. Amongst the old monks in the monasteries, there are some who upon sight, are able to tell if someone is a Rinpoche based on their appearance or if they are holding on to their vows or not. Apparently, monks with their vows intact exude a certain glow.
Nonetheless, this is not meant for just high lamas or Rinpoches but it applies to anybody who possess high morals and ethics. Thus, if we are honourable and keep our words of honour, we can create the necessary karma to attain such powerful charisma and physical appearances.
Pastor David Lai
For more interesting information:
- The Promise
- Sunrise Dorje Shugden Puja in Kechara Forest Retreat
- Dorje Shugden Retreat: a Powerful Practice to Fulfill Wishes
- My Students and Friends Category
- Kechara Soup Kitchen (KSK) Category
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Rinpoche really does have a very big impression. As in many great qualities such as charisma, compassion, kindness, thoughtfulness, morality, patience, generosity, Rinpoche really has a very big heart. It’s great to know if we hold our vows and commitments strongly we too can become better with each future lifetime and exhibit these same qualities like Rinpoche. Thank you Rinpoche and Pastor David for this wonderful write up.?????
Thank You, Pastor David Lai, for this short excerpt of your experiences around H.E. Tsem Rinpoche. Lama’s with such charisma, compassion, kindness, thoughtfulness, morality, patience etc like H.E. Tsem Rinpoche are helping spread the Dharma around the world. It’s nice to know if we hold our vows and commitments strongly we too can become better with each future lifetime and exhibit these same qualities.
Thank You Pastor David Lai for this wonderful tales of Rinpoche. I do agree with you that Rinpoche gives people a strong and lasting impression. I personally had this when I first met Rinpoche for the first time when he entered wisdom hall during one of his short Dharma sharing years back. Rinpoche is indeed a living Buddha that stood out among his students during his many trips to town. It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation and Rinpoche is one such honourable exmple.