On January 3rd, 2011, His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche will preside over a puja at the Glorious Jewel Buddhist Center, Kyoto, Japan, to perform “Thirty-Five Buddhas Repentance Ritual” in the morning session and the “Dorje Phurba Ritual” in afternoon session.

Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche ever gave the enlightenment upon the disciples that the methods of repentance are practiced only in Buddhism but are not in other religions. Repentance is also one of offerings among the Seven-Fold Offerings and is very an important practice for Buddhists. Those repentance ceremonies that are often held by most temples, such as Avalokiteshvara Repentance Ritual, Thousand Buddhas Repentance Ritual, Emperor Liang Jeweled Repentance Ritual, and Water Repentance Ritual, were not transmitted by Sakyamuni Buddha, but were comprised by later Buddhist practitioners. However, the dharma of “Thirty-five Buddhas Repentance Ritual”, depicted in Ratnakuta Sutra, is the only one teachings of repentance that was taught by Sakyamuni Buddha, so its blessing is particularly powerful. The Thirty-five Buddhas Repentance Ritual is especially transmitted for those who give rise to Bodhicitta and cultivate Buddhism on the Bodhisattva path to practice. Because we have had a lot of obstacles from generations of lives, we need the help of this repentance ritual to quickly eliminate the hindrances for learning Buddhism.

The Thirty-five Buddhas Repentance Ritual is one of the terma practices, meaning that it neither can be practiced by ordinary people, nor is obtained easily. If one has not accumulated sufficient merits, one will not be able to obtain such dharma. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche received this auspicious repentance ritual directly from His Holiness Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang. In recent years, in the morning of first day of the Lunar New Year, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche would also perform the ritual together with disciples and believers in Taiwan. This is the first time Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche performs the Thirty-five Buddhas Repentance Ritual in Japan. And this puja will bring great benefits to all puja participants from Japan, Taiwan, and other places.

The ritual of Dorje Phurba that Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche performs is one of terma practices and is bestowed by His Holiness Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang in person during His Holiness’s stay in Taiwan. Its Dharma text was compiled by the 29th throne holder of Drikung Kagyu Order. During the retreat of year 2004, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche perfected this terma and attuned himself to Dorje Phurba. When Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche achieved the attunement to the Yidam, thunders much louder than ordinary ones roared right above the retreat room and the whole retreat room was shaken more fiercely than it would have been during an earthquake, fully complying with the auspicious signs stated in the Dharma text. When seeing the Yidam, if a practitioner does not have strong power of meditation and will arouse fear in his mind, he is a person with very heavy karma, and Dorje Phurba will immediately take his life away.

This ritual of Dorje Purba is very difficult to practice. Only the practitioner who has achieved attainment of Bodhicitta has the capability to practice this dharma. Usually, the practitioner’s yidam is in the Vajra family of Tantric Buddhism. In addition, the practitioner has to attain the accomplishment of Highest Yoga at least and his meditative concentration has reached above the stage of Simplicity Yoga of Mahamudra. To practice Vajrayana Buddhism, the practitioner must receive help from a Yidam of the Vajra family and he usually practices Dorje Phurba. Dorje Phurba is the Wrathful Deity of Vajrasattva and a very powerful and fierce yidam. Dorje Phurba has great powers and reacts extremely fast.

During performing Dorje Phurba ritual, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche often rumbled with a sound like that of roaring thunders and manifested the wrathful form of vertical eyebrows, protruding eyes, and a stretched mouth that are identical to the appearance of the wrathful Dorje Phurba Yidam, revealing the outstanding sign of his attunement to the Yidam. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche performs the Dorje Phurba ritual with a pure and clean mind; as long as an attendee can also attend this puja with a pure and clean mind, he or she certainly will be able to receive unparalleled auspicious blessings and incredible helps.

Updated on December 31, 2010