At the sincere invitation of Ishinomaki Tourism Association of Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, on October 21, 2012, His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche presided over the Great Indiscriminate Amitabha Puja for Transferring Consciousness of the Drikung Kagyu Order of Tibetan Buddhism for the first time in the city of Ishinomaki, to help liberate the sentient beings who had suffered and died in the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami of Japan. This Great Puja was attended by 124 people, including six believers from Japan, five believers from Taiwan, and 113 disciples from Japan and Taiwan. With the blessings of Lord Jigten Sumgon, gurus of lineage from all past generations, His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang, His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chungtsang and Dharma Protector Achi, the Great Puja turned out to be a pure and perfect event, with its merits extensively benefiting boundless sentient beings and all the attendees filled with Dharma joy.

This Great Puja had its origination with the sincere invitation of Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s Japanese disciples and believers, as well as Mr. Goto, Director of the Ishinomaki Tourism Association. It was the very first Great Puja for Transferring Consciousness presided over by His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche in the Tohoku region of Japan. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche responded to the imploration of sentient beings and compassionately promised to help those who died in the March 11, 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami of Japan. This Puja was also the first Great Puja for Transferring Consciousness held in the city of Ishinomaki. It not only provided vast local suffering sentient beings with immeasurable benefits, but also spread the Dharma lineage of the Drikung Kagyu Order from Kyoto to the Tohoku region of Japan. Thus, it was truly an auspicious event for the Drikung Kagyu Order.

It was sunny on the day of the Puja. Two rainbows appeared across the sky at the time when the plane His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche boarded was about to land. Then, wondrous rain like nectar water began to fall for a few minutes as His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche arrived at the airport. Later, when His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche was about to arrive at the venue of the Puja, a rare giant bird appeared which kept hovering around over it as though to bid welcome to the great practitioner. But as soon as His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche arrived at the venue, the giant bird disappeared without a trace. This was extremely incredible. All such auspicious signs were indicating that a grand practitioner had arrived to benefit countless local sentient beings.

As the Puja was starting, all the attendees stood up reverently with their palms together to welcome His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche ascending to the Dharma throne. While Dharma music was playing, His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche entered the venue under the protection of the jeweled parasol, walking over the white carpet embroidered with the Eight Auspicious Signs and sprinkled with flower petals. Then, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche made reverent prostrations to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, offered Khadak to His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang and His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chungtsang and lit the lamps to offer to the Buddha before ascending to the Dharma throne.

Before performing the Dharma, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche gave precious teachings to the attendees and explained the auspiciousness of Buddhism and “the Great Dharma of Amitabha for Transferring Consciousness,” the significance of liberation and the causal conditions of this Puja. At the same time, he reminded the participants to attend the Puja with compassion and repentance. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche said compassionately that though there were not many Japanese believers attending the Puja, they could still represent all sentient beings that had suffered in the Tohoku Tsunami of Japan as well as all beings of this area that had been eaten and harmed over the past 30 years, so that these suffering sentient beings could have the opportunity to receive help from Buddhism.

During the Dharma ritual, His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche used simple language to explain the content and its profound significance section by section. Thereby, the attendees aroused a great deal of reverence for Buddhism and His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche, deeply understanding the omnipresent help that Buddhism can provide to sentient beings. Meanwhile, His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche led the attendees in chanting the Amitabha Mantra for a long time, allowing them to receive the immeasurable blessings of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Additionally, during the Tsok ritual, the attendees had the rare and auspicious opportunity to share food with the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, so that they could accumulate the resources and blessed rewards for learning Buddhism.

When conducting the ritual to transfer consciousness, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche asked the attendees to say the names of the deceased that they would like to have liberated, and instructed them to stand up and bow three times to the mandala. The attendees perceived the great power with which His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche liberated sentient beings compassionately and felt the particularly stately and dignifying atmosphere.

As Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche was performing the Dharma, the attendees could feel the auspicious signs that the ground was shaking along with booming sound. Furthermore when Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche was sprinkling rice and flower petals into the air signifying all sentient beings praising and making offerings to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, the rice and flower petals were suspended airborne for a short while before falling down gradually. This was extremely wondrous, as the sprinkled rice and flower petals were everywhere in the air, with visually clear distribution. Such auspicious signs meant that the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of Ten Directions had accepted the praises and offerings. It also signified the immeasurable achievement of a great practitioner.

Upon perfect completion of the Dharma, His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche especially thanked the people who had implored for the Dharma so that the suffering sentient beings could have the causal condition to receive help. The guru also prayed for auspiciousness for the land and for attendees to no longer harm any sentient beings, hoping that they have correct understanding of Buddhism so that Buddhism could help more sentient beings in need here.

Upon perfect conclusion of the Puja, the attendees stood reverently with their palms together to bid farewell to His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche and to express their gratitude to the guru for auspiciously performing the Dharma. The Great Dharma of Amitabha for Transferring Consciousness usually requires one entire day to perform in Tibet. However, His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche completed it perfectly in just a little more than three hours, performing in the meditative state of his Dharma nature with the immeasurable merits he had accumulated. Attendees could not help but praising and feeling grateful to Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche for promoting Buddhism so selflessly without any interest in gaining reputation or profits, and for benefiting countless sentient beings with his great accomplishment through his Tantric practice. They all deeply felt the magnificence and auspiciousness of the Puja.

After the Puja, His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche especially stated that after the perfect conclusion of the Great Puja, the missing vessels and bodies due to the Tohoku Tsunami on the March 11 of last year (2011) would be found in Japan. On October 25 – four days after Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche finished performing the Dharma with perfection, news was released in Japan confirming that, exactly as predicted by Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche, the vessels and bodies that had been the victims of 3/11 Tohoku Tsunami were found in places far away from the initial locations where they were hit. All thanks go to His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche for helping countless sentient beings with his incredibly great power and for removing their suffering. All praises go to His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche for his immeasurable accomplishment, as well as for responding and bringing immense pure Dharma benefits to countless sentient beings in the void with great compassion and immeasurable merits from his cultivation.

Updated on October 29, 2012