Question asked by Vivek Karma Subba
I NEED YOUR HELP TO MAKE ME FIND RELIGION, I FIRST NEED TO UNDERSTAND AND GET ANSWERS TO MY DOUBTS TO BE ABLE TO HELP OTHERS. I HOPE YOU WILL DO YOUR BEST. THANK YOU.
Guru Rinpoche lived in the 8th century. During his life on earth through his great knowledge he helped in the spread of Dharma. When he died, I am sure he achieved nirvana? If he did achieve nirvana that means he does not exist, and if he does not exist how can he hear us when we recite his mantras or pray to him for protection?
In the puja room (Sikkim Buddhist tradition), Lord Buddha is placed in the centre, Guru Rinpoche towards the left and Lord Alokeshwara at the right.
I understand the significance of Lord Buddha in the centre: That the image / statue of Lord Buddha is to inspire us, as it is the reflection of ourselves; reminding us about our true self, that we all can achieve nirvana.
I do not understand, the image/ statue of Guru Rinpoche and Alokeshwara, you could say that they are the forms or character of Buddha, to inspire us to be compassionate and spiritual, if this is true then it is logical and makes sense, as they are also just reminders and inspiration of what we can be, and holds the same principle as the statue/ image of Buddha.
What gives me faith in Buddhist philosophy?
We can achieve nirvana through meditation and good karma, and become Buddha. The seed of our good Karma and bad Karma “sprouts” depending upon our actions, thus we control our own destiny and future births.
What really confuses me in Buddhist philosophy?
We can use certain mantras to cure our ill health or misfortunes, by praying to the various “Deities”, and like Doctors who are divided into various disciplines as per their purpose viz. Dermatologist, Cardiologist, Surgeon etc The Deities are also divided into various types as per their function: Eg. White Tara –for compassion, long life, healing and serenity; Red Tara; for magnetizing all good things, Black Tara associated with power; Palden Lhamo: the Protectress; etc.
So many gods? Are they all not Buddhas? And if they are, then why have they not achieved nirvana? And if they exist where in the wheel of life are they? Are they in the Realm of Gods?
I was told by H.E Zurmang Gharwang Rinpoche, that Guru Rinpoche does still exist and is guarding some evil spirits from coming to earth? If we pray to him, or recite his mantras he can hear us.
My question here would be, if Guru Rinpoche at present is guarding the evil spirits who otherwise if set free, would make hell on earth; then in that case, who was guarding them when
Guru Rinpoche was here on Earth?
The very existence of God and their powers to help us contradicts what H.E Tsem Rinpoche preached about “What is God, what is Buddha?” vide link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n79erzOJE6k ….when problem comes we pray from the depths of our heart to remove our problems…that means a person who is pious will have no problems….instant quick fix for problems we have created…. dear God please make them go away because I am your devout follower…if God would take away the problem all the lawyers would not exist anymore….
Furthermore “The Miracles of Tsem Rinpoche (True Story 10)” the incident of Steven’s recovery, seems to be contradicting the preaching of H.E Tsem Rinpoche “What is God, what is Buddha?” If what happened to Steven was not just a coincidence, if the incident is true, that in a way Lord Setrap and Medicine Buddha did help him, then didn’t Steven just get a “quick fix” to his greatest problem of dying? Despite his previous arrogance and no faith in spirituality?
In a nut shell, philosophy of Buddhism, which is based on “Karma” does not seem to blend well with the helping and forgiving Gods, which in itself is not shown in the wheel of life, where the Demi Gods and Gods cannot influence the fate and thoughts of us human mortals.
Christianity basically has one God worshiped: Lord Jesus, thus if Buddhism has so many Gods to worship, then wouldn’t it be easier for a layman to worship and please one god, rather than get confused about so many deities in Buddhism? (Just an example considering “Gods”, although I could argue about the “Karma” philosophy not being there in Christianity).
I am sure there is a simple convincing and logical reason why so many Gods are worshiped in Buddhism, why certain mantras are recited during certain pujas to please certain Gods.
Could you kindly then remove this cloud from my mind that prevents me from accepting some of the Buddhist philosophy? Could you kindly share with me and justify the existence of Deities and their correlation with “Karma”?
If you are looking for someone to remove the cloud in your mind then more than likely you will be disappointed. We are doing our best by providing over a thousand articles on this blog site as well as hundreds of teaching videos on youtube.com/tsemtulku for our foreign friends. Here in Kechara, we offer classes where students learn progressively to build a good foundational knowledge of Buddhism which works very well to minimize confusion. Conviction comes with proper study. Doubt are cleared when one meditates and contemplates on the teachings itself.
Do you live in the PJ area? I highly encourage you to join in our Lamrim classes. You are very interested to learn and with an inquisitive mind, i’m quite sure you will benefit from the classes. Lamrim program is a 40 weeks program where question you asked are addressed. I hope you understand that we do our best to assist but to give you a satisfactory answer in this corner here may not be the best platform. You obviously have some background already and is well read in Buddhism.
I would like to encourage you to continue to read this blog site and continue to watch Rinpoche’s teachings. Keep an open mind as you continue to read.
If you it causes you less confusion to only do mantra to one deity, then please do so. It will lead you to the same goal in the end. Here in Kechara, our main deity is Lama Tsongkhapa.
Do look up Rinpoche’s teachings on mantra on youtube.com/tsemtulku
best wishes