On November 9th, 2009, His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche will lead nearly 360 disciples of the Glorious Jewel Buddhist Center to attend the inauguration ceremony of Drikung Kagyu Rinchen Ling Monastery, Kathmandu, Nepal, which will be officiated by His Holiness Chetsang Rinpoche. Rinchen Ling Monastery is the monastery of His Eminence the late Drubwang Rinpoche. On November 10th, 2009, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche will lead nearly 360 disciples of the Glorious Jewel Buddhist Center to attend the Winter Teachings, and receive the teachings and reading transmission of the Drikung Phowa Chenmo and the Amitayus empowerment, given by His Holiness Chetsang Rinpoche.

At request of the elders in Sikhism, His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche will preside over an auspicious Buddha Amitayus puja in Jalandhar, a major town in the Sikh region in Punjab, North India. In October, 2006, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche was invited by the renowned school of M.G.N. in Jalandhar as the chief guest to deliver a speech at the annual prize distribution function, and the local press praised that Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche was the most precious gift that they had ever received from heaven. In February, 2007, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche paid another visit to Jalandhar, and bestowed the Sikh with the transmission of the Avalokiteshvara practice. 500 local attendees showed their reverence and were bathed in Dharma joy. Moreover, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche was requested by a Sikh elder to visit the region twice a year so as to guide the local people with the Buddhist teachings. On November 9th, 2008, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche even unprecedentedly performed a Chod puja in this Sikh region with over 250 Indian attendees and nearly 200 disciples from Taiwan. His Holiness Chetsang Rinpoche particularly sent 4 lamas from the Jangchubling Monastery to provide assistance on the preparatory work before puja and attended the puja. The puja started under a gloomy sky with occasional thunders and sweeping winds. Even the lights went dim. However, when the puja was perfectly completed, the sky went clear all of a sudden and revealed a bright moon and glittering stars, all of which were auspicious signs that indicated innumerable sentient beings had been liberated and transferred at perfection of the Chod puja. After the puja was perfected, the Indian attendees lined up forwards to receive blessings from Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche with a statue of the venerable Machig Lapdro. The Honorary Secretary of MGN Educational Trust additionally made an offering to Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche on behalf of the Trust. Furthermore, local Sikh elders immediately besought Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche to bestow another puja in the region in 2009 and Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche compassionately granted his request.

This time, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche will again lead 150 disciples of the Glorious Jewel Buddhist Center to Jalandhar and bestow an auspicious Buddha Amitayus puja. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche once explained that Buddha Amitayus is a Sambhogakaya of Buddha Amitabha and is not practiced in Exoteric Buddhism. Sambhogakayas provide help for the practitioners who have developed Bodhichitta and practiced the Bodhisattva path. The implication of the Buddha Amitayus practice is to lengthen our lifespan so as to grant us more time to study and learn Buddhism in case our current lifespan isn’t sufficient enough for the Buddhist practice. The lengthened lifespan is not supposed to enjoy or to fulfill our wishes. As one’s lifespan is a result of his practice in the previous lives, it can be shortened by killing or evildoings in this life. Human beings are currently in a stage of decreasing lifespan, so we need help from Buddha Amitayus. Attending a Buddha Amitayus puja can help us to prevent untimely death and accumulate causes and conditions for our deceased relatives to attain rebirth in Buddha Amitabha’s Pure Land. A passage in the Dharma text of Buddha Amitayus practice gives an important message: With today’s puja, as long as you are a practitioner who have truly aspired to practice the Bodhisattva path, Buddha Amitayus will be your yidam life after lives and will bestow blessings upon you so as to enable you to have sufficient virtues and lifespan to practice and learn Buddhism.

Updated on November 3, 2009