On June 25, 2011, His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche presided over The 794th Anniversary Drikung Kagyu Lord Jigten Sumgon Memorial Grand Puja at the Taipei International Convention Center in Xinyi District, Taipei. The event was attended by 3,200 participants.

On June 6, 2010, His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang appointed the Glorious Jewel Buddhist Center, guided by his disciple His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche, to work with the Drikung Kagyu Lineage in organizing The 793rd Anniversary Lord Jigten Sumgon Memorial Grand Puja at the Taipei Arena in Taiwan. The puja, attended by 14,000 people, was presided over by His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang of the Drikung Kagyu Lineage. In hopes to continue the tradition and the Lineage, His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche made a special trip to New Zealand earlier this year to seek an audience with His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang and beseech that the tradition of holding the memorial puja would continue. Having been approved by His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang, His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche thereby presided over the memorial puja. The grand puja was particularly meaningful due to this auspicious origin.

Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche has held the Drikung Kagyu Great Indiscriminate Amitabha Puja for Transferring Consciousness in Taipei, Taiwan annually since 2005. The grand puja has never adopted any means of public advertisement, nor accepted any sponsorship or charges for admission, lamp lighting, or liberation for the deceased. The selection process for the representatives who made mandala offerings and lit the lamps was conducted at the entrance, where believers picked their own lottery ticket. Under the guidance of Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche, and without outside fundraising or donations, the members of the Glorious Jewel Buddhist Culture Exchange Association were totally responsible for the entire cost of each year’s event. Up to last year, a total of 74,000 people attended these pujas. At the completion of each year’s event, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche donated all the believers’ contributions to the Ministry of the Interior for charitable social services and disaster relief funds. The contributions were donated in the presence of representatives from the Ministry of the Interior, bank representatives, an attorney, and an accountant. As of last year, the total amount of donations given exceeded 30 million NTD. (Click here for related information.) Therefore, officers at the Ministry of the Interior whole-heartedly commended the effort of Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche, who held the pujas to help Taiwan and its people without seeking any fame or fortune. Because of this, Jiang, the head of the Minister of the Interior, specially presented Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche with a scroll prior to the puja. The scroll’s characters, “fu you qun li” (bestows virtues on all people), praised Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s virtues in the propagation of orthodox Buddhism. The Chairman of the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission also presented Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche with a central scroll featuring the characters “yuan man cheng gong” (perfection and success) to express his wishes for a perfectly performed puja. (As shown below)

Early on the morning of the puja, it was stormy in Taipei due to the influence of the approaching Typhoon Meari. However, believers that wanted to attend the puja began to congregate around 6 A.M. Totally unaffected by the bad weather, the 3,200 seats were almost full before the puja commenced. Without any formal advertisement, the tickets for the puja were all taken on the first day of registration in April. There were also over 500 people on the waiting list.

Like the Drikung Kagyu Great Indiscriminate Amitabha Puja for Transferring Consciousness, this memorial puja did not adopt any means of advertisement. It neither accepted any sponsorship nor charged for admission. The selection process for the mandala offering and lamp lighting representatives, 5 and 300, respectively, was conducted at the entrance, where believers handpicked their own lottery ticket for the representation free-of-charge. At completion of the puja, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche donated 2.16 million NTD, i.e. all of the believers’ offerings to him, to the Ministry of the Interior for charitable social services and disaster relief funds.

Prior to the puja, large projection screens in the venue showed a video clip of His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang, specially recorded for the participants of this puja. (Please click the link in the Latest News for the video clip.) Apart from giving a brief historical overview of the Drikung Kagyu Lineage and Lord Jigten Sumgon, His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang stressed that one should pay close attention to the relationship between a guru and a disciple while practicing Buddhism. Additionally, His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang also expounded upon the utmost importance of Samaya. This puja could help remedy Samaya that had been broken and due to this, it was very auspicious. In the video clip, His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang again praised disciple Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche for protecting the guru and the Lineage by taking real actions in the past two decades. His contributions include sponsorships in the reconstruction of the golden roof of the Drikung Thil Monastery and reconstruction of the Buddha statues in Phagdrug Densa Thil Monastery. His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang said, “Whenever the Drikung Kagyu Lineage has a need, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche will make great contributions to the Lineage.” In this brief statement, it can be clearly seen that Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche is absolutely loyal to the guru and the Lineage.

At 8:30 in the morning, the 3,200 attendees stood quietly and reverently welcomed His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche as Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche slowly walked into the puja venue, and stepped upstairs to the throne seat. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche was preceded by the prayer flags, jeweled parasol, musical instruments, and the eight offering girls, and followed by the Khenpo and ordained practitioners from both Exoteric and Esoteric Buddhism. First, His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche made prostrations to the Dharma photos of His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang, His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chungtsang, and the Buddha and Bodhisattvas. Then, Rinpoche lit the butter lamp to make an offering to the Buddha, and ascended the Dharma throne. At the moment below the mandala, 300 representatives from the believers present lit 300 butter lamps, and made offerings to the Buddha. These 300 representatives drew their own lot when they entered the venue, and no fees were charged to light the butter lamps.

After the attendees recited the refuge prayer, the aspiration prayer, and other prayers, His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche bestowed the following dharma talks, “The weather was affected by the typhoon today. Although the wind and rain were very heavy, people were not deterred from coming. Attending the puja on time was not very easy. This is very good. The Buddhist sutras have recorded that when a Buddhist puja is held on a day that has bad weather, with strong wind and heavy rain, the merits are especially great. This is because a lot of sentient beings are harmed in the wind and rain. A puja held at this time would benefit these sentient beings. Therefore, it is very good that you could come to the puja on such a stormy day. It can benefit a lot of sentient beings. There are a few people who, due to the wind and rain, did not come to the puja. This is a great pity. They thought it would not matter if they missed just one puja, but as for Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche, there is nothing more important than Buddhism.”

Without any advertisement, more than 3,200 people have attended this auspicious Buddhist puja on a rainy day. This means that you must have learned Buddhism in previous lives or made connections with the Lineage forefathers or the Drikung Kagyu Lineage. And because you attended today’s Lama Chopa Puja, you will have the good condition of finding a guru to help you learn Buddhism in the future.

The forefather of the Drikung Kagyu Lineage is Jigten Sumgon. The previous life of Jigten Sumgon was Nagarjuna, and the previous life of Nagarjuna was Vimalakirti. Nagarjuna introduced Tantra and created the theory of Madhyarnika, which is very important to Mahayana Buddhism. The Avatamsaka Sutra was also brought by Nagarjuna when he went to the Dragon Palace to beseech Buddha Dharma. The Lineage forefather Jigten Sumgon’s main teaching methods were to propagate the Ratnakuta Sutra, which is one part of the Great Treasure of Scriptures of Buddha Sakyamuni. The Ratnakuta Sutra mainly describes changes to the body, speech, and mind during the cultivation process from the first-bhumi Bodhisattva to the tenth stage of Bodhisattva. Eight hundred years ago, when the forefather of the Drikung Kagyu lineage Jigten Sumgon lived, there were 180,000 ordained practitioners. The fact that these ordained practitioners did not come due to advertisements and television publicity symbolizes that the forefather Jigten Sumgon formed favorable conditions with a lot of sentient beings in past lives. Perhaps, many had followed Jigten Sumgon in past lives to learn Buddhism.

In the past, there was a saying, ”Where there is a dam, it is a Drikung dam. Where there is a mountain, it is a Drikung mountain.” Whereever there was a dam, the place also had a Drikung Kagyu monastery. This shows that the Drikung Kagyu Lineage was very prosperous at that time. The Drikung Kagyu Lineage is practiced mainly by retreat and genuine cultivation. Many of the monasteries were located very deep in the mountains, and separated from the secular world. Even today, there are some Drikung Kagyu monasteries located deep in the mountains about which even the government does not know. These places are unreachable by horseback, and can only be reached by walking slowly on foot. Therefore, in the past, the Drikung Kagyu Lineage always cultivated away from society. Nowadays, we must enter society to propagate Buddhism and benefit sentient beings. Just like His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang enlightened, we hold the Anniversary Lord Jigten Sumgon Memorial Grand Puja in the Taipei International Convention Center today to repay our debt of gratitude to the Drikung heritage.

Buddha Dharma was transmitted by Buddha Sakyamuni; however, we do not have the virtues to be able to see the Buddha, and can only learn Buddha Dharma from our guru. Therefore, it is very important for us to have a guru. The greatest offering and the fastest way to accumulate virtues is to make offerings and have a reverent mind towards the guru. Offerings are not limited to physical or money offerings. You can make offerings by your body, speech, and mind just as it is mentioned in the sutras. That is, we must always reminisce the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and our guru, which means that our body, speech, and mind must implement the guru’s teaching in our daily life.

The vow of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas is to liberate sentient beings from the suffering of Samsara. A guru who practices the Vajrayana and has attained the achievement arouses the great vow to help sentient beings to become a Buddha. The Samaya, of the guru to the disciple, is to protect the disciples who aspire to learn Buddhism until they become a Buddha. Therefore the gurus of the Drikung Kagyu Lineage and the dharma protectors will protect the Drikung disciples who determine to learn Buddhism. Moreover, the Samaya, of the disciple to the guru, is to follow the guru’s teaching, diligently learn Buddhism, and correct their behaviors.

If you are not careful and violate the lay people’s Five Precepts, you can make repentance to your guru to remedy it. But if you violate the Samaya, which is the disciple‘s promise to the guru, it will be difficult to remedy it. Just like you heard in the video recording, His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang taught that if you violated the Samaya between the disciple and the guru in your previous lives, you should take this opportunity to make repentance in order to remedy it.

Even if a practitioner has cultivated for many previous lives, he still encounters hindrances. That is why we must have the guidance of a guru. The guru is not referred to as a worldly master, but is an experienced practitioner who can help you just by speaking several words when you encounter difficulties during cultivation. Additionally, you won’t be able to learn Buddhism and be liberated from Samsara without a guru. Master Lord Jigten Sumgon was born 800 years ago. Although Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche has never seen Jigten Sumgon before, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s life was twice saved by him since taking refuge. It could be due to a karmic connection from one of previous lifetimes; therefore, the guru helped the disciple in time of adversity. As long as the disciple truly aspires to learn Buddhism and be liberated from Samsara, the guru will take care of the disciple, life after life.

Today, we are holding the extraordinary Lama Chopa Puja. It takes incalculable expenses and manpower behind the scenes to make it possible for you to sit here and attend the puja. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche did not seek a major sponsor nor charge a fee for lamp-lighting, but only hopes that the true teaching of the Drikung Kagyu can teach sentient beings and allow them to have the causes and conditions to be in contact with Buddhism. Therefore, when you attend this puja, you should not lean back on your chairs. No matter what your motive is for attending this puja, you must arouse the greatest reverence and faith.

You do not need to be ordained to learn Buddhism. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche did not become an ordained person, but it does not affect Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s learning of Buddhism because Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s follows the teaching of His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang and realizes the correct way of learning Buddhism. Don’t say, “Wait till I have time to learn Buddhism or till I have completed something.” Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche is a lay practitioner and vegetarian; however, this does not cause any inconvenience in work or family life. Being a lay person, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche is the same as you with lots of things to do. In 2007, His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang instructed Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche to take a three-month retreat on Lapchi Snow Mountain. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche immediately followed the instruction, neither asking the purpose or outcome nor arranging business in advance. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche just went there on the time specified by His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang. On the other hand, you might say that you are busy or that you will wait until you have time and then think about it, but it might be too late if you wait until you have time.

The Lama Chopa performed today is a special Tantric Dharma method of Tibetan Buddhism. It is not practiced in Exoteric Buddhism. Why is a guru so important to practitioners? The root capacities of ancient masters were much better than ours, but they still needed their gurus’ teachings to attain achievement. Learning Buddhism can’t be done by one’s self. Don’t think that as long as you can read, you can understand the sutras. Nor should you think that you can practice Buddhism at home by buying a Buddhist text and reciting it. You shouldn’t believe that sitting on your sofa in the living room, propping your feet on the coffee table, and watching Buddhist programs on TV can help you learn Buddha Dharma. If so, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche doesn’t have to perform retreats. As long as you have not attained Buddhahood, you need a guru’s teaching. Furthermore, in order to break off the cycle of birth and death, you need the guidance of your guru, especially before the final moment of attaining Buddhahood. In conclusion, without your guru’s teaching and guidance, you can’t accomplish much in your Buddhist cultivation in this lifetime.

To learn Buddhism, you must rely on an authentic guru’s teaching and guidance. According to the scriptures, the founder of the Drikung Kagyu Lineage, Jigten Sumgon, had attained the level of Tenth Bhumi. Practitioners can also vow to be reborn in the Pure Land of Jigten Sumgon. In Richen Dorjee Rinpoche’s practice of Buddhism, Richen Dorjee Rinpoche has also relied on the teaching of Three Grace Root Guru His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang. The difference is that when His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang bestows Buddhist teachings to Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche, it usually only takes a few sentences, yet it is sufficient for Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche to grasp the teaching. This is due to Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s great reverence and faith toward His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang. Thus, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche can walk on the correct path of cultivating Buddhism. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche gratefully said, “If I didn’t meet His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang, I wouldn’t have achieved any realization. His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang, my guru, is my benefactor.”

Tibetan Buddhism particularly emphasizes the transmission of the lineage. Even in difficult times, the transmission of Drikung Kagyu’s Lineage has never been broken, from the time of Jigten Sumgon who founded the lineage until today. In other words, in any period of time, there is a Kyabgon to lead the Lineage and uphold the Lineage’s teaching. There haven’t been any conflicts or discord for competing Dharma heritage. The tradition of Drikung Kagyu is very pure and clean. For this reason, the power of blessing from the Lineage is especially auspicious and strong.

Attending today’s puja must help you. The “help,” however, will not make you rich or give you good luck. It is the kind that will benefit you.

For you to learn Buddhism, you should not be full of desires. Nor should you expect that listening to Buddhism for a while or attending a puja once can change your luck for the better or enable you to achieve enlightenment. It’s impossible. It is nonsense if one claims that after a few years of reading sutras, he or she can see or hear Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. What we have now is the retribution of what we did in previous lifetimes and what we are doing now will influence our future. Therefore, we should continuously cultivate Buddhism life after life.

Some may feel that the teaching is not relevant or understandable to them so they will doze off. Because you have accumulated many virtues, you are able to attend a puja sitting in comfortable seats. Some even tilt back and rest their heads on the back of their seats, like “couch potatoes” deeply and softly sinking into sofas. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche regretted choosing this venue, but there wasn’t any other choice. This venue is air-conditioned, and designed for concerts and other performance purposes. Usually, attendees have to pay for concerts, but you don’t have to pay a penny for today’s puja. Ironically, you’ll easily fall asleep. When you sit too comfortably, it becomes more difficult for you to learn Buddhism, whereas in Tibet, when people attend pujas, they have to sit on solid, hard ground with the sunlight directly shining on their heads. It is nothing like the condition here today, where you can comfortably sit on soft seats. It is easy to fall asleep when you lean back against the seat; as a result, even if you are in today’s puja, there will be no effect at all. If you do fall asleep, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche will ask you to leave. Don’t think that because you sit far away that Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche won’t be able to see you.

Despite having heard Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s reminder that one ought to sit straight in a puja to avoid falling asleep, a mother and son leaned back on their soft chairs and fell asleep. Seeing this, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche said that if they would like to sleep, they should just go home to bed; there was no need to attend the puja. Therefore, two staff members immediately escorted the two believers to the exit. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche expounded that participants should endure hardship to really obtain the help of Buddhism. It is really strict when you attend a puja presided over by Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche. If you doze off in a puja, you will have the karmic effect of falling into the Animal Realm in your next life. As you can see, many animals need sixteen hours of sleep per day while human beings merely need to sleep for eight hours. This is because human beings have the awareness of learning. As Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche cannot bear to see sentient beings fall into the Three Evil Paths, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche had no choice but to ask the believers who were nodding off to leave.

Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche expounded, “If you were told that as long as you wholeheartedly attend the puja and never fall asleep, you could receive one million dollars, I believe you would stay awake because of the money. One falls asleep because he does not see the immediate benefit. Since Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche began learning Buddhism, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche has never nodded off at a puja no matter how exhausted. This is because Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche is grateful for those who are willing to teach. On the contrary, it shows that you lack gratitude when you doze off in a puja. You should know that it is very difficult to hold this kind of puja, because it requires tremendous amount of money and manpower. You ought to foster a humble attitude and be reverent to the guru. Refresh your mind and stop indulging yourself in the state of enjoyment when you attend a puja. In Taiwan, people who learn Buddhism have too many blessings; however, it is not easy to cultivate Buddhism with too many blessings.

Then, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche started the ritual of Lama Chopa, and explained the meaning of the Dharma text.

The first section of the prayer text is praying for your enemies who are angry with you and the evil demons who hurt you to stop interfering with you while you attend the puja. The negative conditions you created before will hinder you from hearing Buddha Dharma. The reason why you doze off in a puja is that the demon of sleep comes to interfere with you. When you fall asleep, you cannot listen to the Buddha’s teachings. As a result, the fewer Buddhist words you listen to, the fewer virtuous causes you accumulate. Hence, when attending the puja, you ought to be attentive and not have wandering thoughts.

This was followed by “Refuge and Bodhicitta.” You start to practice virtue in your body, speech, and mind after you take refuge under the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and guru. Although according to Pure Land Sect, you obtain rebirth in the Pure Land as long as you recite the Buddha’s names and vow to be reborn there; however, the Amitabha Sutra states that, “Those virtuous men and women, when vowing to be reborn in the Pure Land, must have the sufficient blessings, merits, causes, and conditions.” Here, “virtuous” means observing the Five Precepts and cultivating the Ten Meritorious Acts, rather than–as you may think–donating money or doing volunteer work. If you still eat meat, your recitation of the Buddha’s names will have no effect. Don’t mistakenly think that Tibetan Buddhism allows you to eat meat. Don’t say that you see a lama who eats meat so you can too. Nor should you claim that you can liberate sentient beings by eating them. Some people may think that only Buddhists have to adopt vegetarian diets, but this kind of saying is not correct. In fact, besides Buddhism, there are many other religions that advocate a vegetarian diet, as this type of diet is better for the whole world. More than 800 years ago, the environment in Tibet was not conducive to plant growth, and it was very difficult to adopt a vegetarian diet. However, Jigten Sumgon–the founder of the Drikung Kagyu, as well as many accomplished practitioners, followed a vegetarian diet. His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang is also a vegetarian. Nowadays, the environment has improved and many other orders have begun to adopt a vegetarian diet. Some people may say that they can change themselves slowly. However, so many disasters are happening in the world today, and the disasters resulted mainly from sentient beings’ killing karma. If all people could adopt vegetarian diets, the number of disasters would decrease.

In the Ratanakuta Sutra, Bodhisattva Maitreya once asked Buddha Sakyamuni what kind of mind needed to be aroused for a Bodhisattva to be reborn in the Pure Land of Amitabha? Thereafter, Buddha Sakyamuni expounded the ten methods of giving rise to the mind. This illustrates that it is not necessary for one to merely obtain rebirth in the Pure Land of the Buddha or Bodhisattva on which he has specifically practiced. Buddhas and Bodhisattvas just want to benefit all sentient beings, but do not necessarily expect sentient beings to go to their land. Once you make the vow to be reborn in the Pure Land of Amitabha, every Buddha and Bodhisattva will assist you.

Arousing the aspiration and motivation to cultivate Buddhism is very important. Today, many people attend the puja with the mindset of seeking protection and blessings. We ought to pray that the puja held today will benefit and help all sentient beings. As sentient beings get better, you will naturally get better since you are one of the sentient beings. Some people say they would like to return to this world again to liberate sentient beings after they reach the Bodhisattva’s path. In fact, it is hard work and difficult for you to practice and attain achievement of the Bodhisattva’s path in this lifetime. If you cannot attain it, it is not possible for you to be reborn in the world with your aspirations. Instead, you must pray to be reborn in the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, as Buddha Amitabha will certainly fulfill his great vow, and the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas will help you with it. It is important for you to cultivate mercy, compassion, joyfulness, renunciation, and Bodhicitta. Following this was the Seven Branch Prayer, which was always recited before conducting a Dharma ritual. Then, an offering and praise was given to Buddha Sakyamuni, the guru who abides in this world and bestows Buddhist teachings. Afterward, offerings were again made to Buddha Sakyamuni.

After that, a ritual was conducted in which blessings were bestowed onto the bell and vajra. Dharma instruments cannot be used immediately after being purchased. It takes certain rituals to make them work.

Afterward, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche bestowed the empowerment of meditative concentration upon the attendees. This empowerment authorizes you to learn or practice means of meditative concentration, and purifies your body, speech, and mind. You should sit in an upright position without leaning against the back of your chair; otherwise, the channels in your back will be obstructed. Practicing meditative concentration has nothing to do with sitting in meditation and searching for a feeling of clarity and peace. If that were the case, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche would not need to do the retreats. You have to be pure in body, speech, and mind to practice meditative concentration, or it can be dangerous. Additionally, you must have the guru’s guidance; otherwise, many problems will occur and you may get meditation sickness.

Thereafter, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche led the attendees in the recitation of the heart mantra of the Lord Jigten Sumgon, and explained that a mantra is the aggregation of the Buddha’s and Bodhisattva’s merits, wisdom, and aspirations. Therefore, the Buddhist scriptures state that you should constantly reminisce about the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. “Constantly” signifies that you should carry it out at all times, and “to reminisce” means that your every thought should always be on the merits and aspirations of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. When you recite the heart mantra of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, you can then immerse yourself into the sea of their merits, and because of that, the virtuous forces will grow.

Then, Khenpo Namdol led the ordained attendees and lay attendees that were selected by lot to make a mandala offering, presenting all the valuables in the universe to the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and the guru. However, even if all the valuables have been offered to the guru, it is still difficult to repay the guru’s immense grace and compassion.

The eight girls presenting the offerings ascended the mandala to sing an offering song. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche said that the melody of this song did not originate from the world, nor was it composed by any human being, but by a Dakini. According to the Buddhist scriptures, singing can serve as an offering to the Buddhas. That is, the offering of their pure, fresh, and clear singing to the guru, Buddhas, and Bodhisattvas also expresses the sentient beings’ gratitude.

Then, the Tsok offering ritual was conducted. All the attendees were granted with an auspicious and rare opportunity to share food with the presiding guru, the Buddhas, and the Bodhisattvas. According to Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche, if you share food with the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, you will create causes and conditions to be in the Pure Land with the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the future. However, it won’t make your illness be immediately healed, make everything to go smoothly, or solve your problems all at once.

Following this, the tea offering and rice offering ritual was conducted. According to Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche, this ritual is a Tibetan tradition. As it is very cold in Tibet, the guru might not have enough strength during the puja so he will be offered butter tea. At this time, some attendees took the opportunity to go to the restroom. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche continued the ritual, and reminded the attendees to return to their seats. Then, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche continued the teaching: Apart from those of you who are really sick, the fact that you have to go to the restroom shows that you have poor health. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche is in his sixties. Nevertheless, from 8 A.M. till this moment, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche has not gone to the restroom. Your poor health or sickness resulted from your own conduct. Why do you need to go to the restroom in the middle of a puja? It’s because you believers who haven’t sought refuge still eat meat. Many other lineages are now also advising everyone to adopt a vegetarian diet. Some people say that they will slowly change their diet. However, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche advises everyone not to practice Buddhism slowly. Instead, you should hurry to stop committing evil deeds and conduct virtuous behavior sooner.

Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche led the attendees in the recitation of the Auspicious Dharma Realm Prayer. Remembering the endless grace and virtue of the guru, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche choked back tears during the recitation, naturally revealing utter reverence and admiration towards the guru. It was a very touching moment. After that, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche stepped down from the Dharma throne, and stood in front of the magnificent and auspicious platform of the eight offerings, led a Khenpo and ordained attendees on the mandala to recite prayers and light lamps to offer to the Buddhas.

Finally, the Mani Dedication Prayer was conducted. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche led the attendees in the recitation of the Six-Syllable Mani Mantra. In the dedication prayer, all the sentient beings, including some that you would never think of, are covered. By praying that these sentient beings could go to the Pure Land, you also formed the causes and conditions to be reborn in the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss someday. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche then led the attendees to recite a Buddhist text. After everyone followed and completed the recitation, the compassionate Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche said, “I tricked you. Those who recited with me will most certainly become a vegetarian and learn Buddhism someday.”

Then, all attendees recited the long life prayers of His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang, His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chungtsang, and His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche, respectively. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche expounded all participants that one cannot write his own long life prayer simply because he has money or his disciples pray for it. One’s long life prayer must be written by a practitioner who has a higher level of achievement than one’s own state. The long versions of the long life prayers of the two His Holinesses just recited were written by the Dalai Lama. The short versions of the long life prayers of the two His Holinesses were written by their personal teachers when they were young. The purpose of the long life prayer is not praying for longevity in this life, but praying for a bodhisattva to come back to benefit sentient beings continuously. If we recite it repeatedly, each repetition will have its own power. When the Bodhisattva’s ears are filled with the sound of the long life prayer, the Bodhisattva will have to come back again to benefit sentient beings.

His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang wrote Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s long life prayer upon the imploration of Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s disciples. A guru will not casually write a long life prayer for a disciple. His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang will not write a long life prayer for each person who implored either. The long life prayer states current achievements and bestows predictions for future attainment. The meaning of “written sincerely” in Buddhism is for the person who wrote the prayer to bestow a prediction and to take responsibility for that prediction. For example, in Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s long life prayer, the last sentence prays that Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche can “live for a hundred kalpas.” A kalpa is a very long period of time. Is the kalpa in the prayer a big, medium, or small kalpa? Actually, it doesn’t matter which kalpa it is; Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche will not ask. The guru wrote it so Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche will follow it accordingly and do anything instructed by His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang.

Is a reincarnated Rinpoche definitely better or more powerful? In fact, all of you are reincarnated; it is just that you do not know which realm you were in during your previous life. Even a reincarnated Rinpoche must learn from scratch. For example, both His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang and His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chungtsang are reincarnated. They still had to learn everything from scratch. The difference is that they had practiced in their previous lives and had a better virtuous root capacity, so it was easier for them to learn and faster for them to attain achievements in this life.

Then, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche led all attendees to practice the Dharma of Avalokiteshvara again, and expounded all participants that the rituals conducted previously had been for benefiting other sentient beings and the Dharma practiced now was for benefiting themselves. Because everyone had previously made offerings, given alms, and accumulated blessings, it was now appropriate to recite mantras for one’s own cultivation practice. Reciting the Six-Syllable Mani Mantra can close the doors to the Samsara of the Six Realms. Buddha Sakyamuni once said that it requires the time of a big kalpa to explain the Six-Syllable Mani Mantra; therefore, it is improper for people to explain it in a simple way nowadays. If you can dedicate your entire life to practicing the Six-Syllable Mani Mantra, you will not enter the Samsara of the Six Realms, provided that you do not eat meat.

Because it was windy and rainy before today’s puja started, some people were afraid that the typhoon would turn to Taiwan so they are absent. They felt that the rainy weather was inconvenient. In fact, because of the puja today, the typhoon will change direction and not invade Taiwan! The attendees deeply agreed, and applauded to thank Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche effort for conducting Dharma to benefit people in this land. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche then continued the teachings: You may wonder, “If this is just a puja with thousands of people in attendance, will it have such a large impact? Although you only see 3,200 or more people attending the puja, the sentient beings brought by every one of you are countless, including your ancestors from accumulated lives as well as the beings you ate before. They all can be benefited from today’s puja, so the typhoon turned away.”

Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche again appealed to attendees to adopt a vegetarian diet. Please do not say that a vegetarian diet is not nutritious or unhealthy. Modern medicine also states that it is healthier to be a vegetarian. Eating meat leads to many lifestyle diseases. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche used himself as an example and expounded, “I started being a vegetarian and learning Buddhism at 36 years of age. Now I am 65 years old, and have sat for almost 4 hours from 8:30 A.M. I have not gone to the restroom, but have sat up straight to continue conducting the Dharma. You all have seen this. Instead, there were some young people getting up to go to the restroom. In the Buddhist sutras, the so-called “releasing lives” does not necessarily involve specifically going to the seaside to hold a ritual, and buying some animals to set free only to eat meat after returning home. It is in vain. If you do not have the intention of killing and eat no more meat, this is “releasing lives.”

At last, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche earnestly advised everyone, “If you want harmony for the family and fewer disasters for the nation, you, yourselves, should begin by stop killing and stop eating meat! You accumulate your own evil karma by every mouthful of meat you eat. You should not wait until you have time to learn Buddhism. It will be too late when something goes wrong.” Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche sobbingly reminded everyone that sentient beings suffer just like us. You should not only be a vegetarian, but also not harm any sentient beings with your behavior. The puja perfectly ended after His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche compassionately expounded this. While Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche descended the throne, all attendees applauded repeatedly to express thanks for His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s effort in conducting the Dharma and giving enlightenment, and everyone went home, filled with Dharma joy.

Updated on July 14, 2011