His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche presided over the auspicious “Acalanatha Fire Offering Puja” at the Glorious Jewel Buddhist Center in Kyoto, Japan on May 25th, 2013. There were a total of 208 attendees, including 25 believers from Japan, India, and Taiwan as well as 183 Japanese and Taiwanese disciples.

Since the inauguration of the Glorious Jewel Buddhist Center in Kyoto, Japan on May 29th, 2008, when His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang first led Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche in performing the Fire Offering ritual, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche has presided over the Fire Puja at the Buddhist Center in Japan every year—not only continuing the teaching methods of the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang and making reverent offerings to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, but also benefiting countless sentient beings in the Six Realms and providing all sentient beings with immeasurably auspicious Dharma teachings. This puja, therefore, was held not only to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the Kyoto Glorious Jewel Buddhist Center’s inauguration, but also to pray for blessings for Japan and to increase the good fortune of the Japanese people and their nation.

During this puja, His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche performed the ritual of the Acalanatha yidam as well as the auspicious Fire Offering, and bestowed precious Dharma teachings upon the attendees. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche stated that the Dharma can be divided into four groups: the Vajra, the Buddha, Dharma activities, and the Dharma protectors. Acalanatha is the yidam of the Vajra Group. In Tantrism, the vajra signifies that a practitioner’s resolve to attain Buddhahood and benefit sentient beings will not be shaken by the external world. From the aspect of the inner Tantra, no matter how the vajra tantric practitioners’ minds may change, their determination to attain Buddhahood and benefit sentient beings will never waver; such determination is as solid and indestructible as a diamond. Thus, the vajra tantric practitioners will not go against the law of causation in their body, speech, and mind, nor will they do anything that would harm the interests of sentient beings.

Acalanatha was written about in The Vairocana Sutra. Vairocana was the patriarch of Tantra. Acalanatha attained Buddhahood very early on; however, in order to benefit sentient beings, Acalanatha appeared in the form of one who had just made the vow to begin benefiting sentient beings. Acalanatha is the head of all Wisdom Kings, and the Acalanatha Mantra is the king of all mantras. The “Acala” in Acalanatha’s name means a mind that is unmoved by any worldly affairs whatsoever; it neither gives rise to nor is disturbed by any afflictions. The Buddha said that people have 84,000 kinds of afflictions. Non-practitioners plod through life chained to their afflictions; as such, they are avaricious and insatiable, and their afflictions continue to grow and grow.

Acalanatha’s wrathful image can subdue the afflicted minds of sentient beings and allow them to accept the Dharma. Acalanatha holds a sword in His right hand, symbolizing the sharpness of the Buddha’s wisdom and its ability to sever sentient beings from all afflictions that cause them to reincarnate. His left hand shows the subjugation mudra, and in it is held a lariat woven of gold and silver. The subjugation mudra is pointed at Acalanatha’s heart, indicating that He blesses the lariat with His heart and abilities. There are two hooks on the lariat; one represents wisdom and the other represents Dharma activities. These symbolize that the Buddha uses wisdom, the Dharma, and compassion to help sentient beings, severing them from their afflictions. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche also stated that the resinous wood used in the Fire Offering, as well as the shape and dimensions of the mandala, are all based on what is recorded in the sutra, and that only a practitioner with the fruition level of a Rinpoche can perform the Fire Offering of this great mandala.

In the sutras, the Sanskrit word for Fire Offering is homa. The Vairocana Sutra mentions that there are four major Dharma methods benefitting sentient beings in Tantra, namely: “subduing,” “placating,” “increasing,” and “vanquishing.” The Subduing method subdues and quells all disasters. The Placating method transforms circumstances or conditions in situations when enemies appear, so that your enemies do not hold hatred toward you. The Increasing method increases wealth, power, and health. The Vanquishing method is used to vanquish the sentient beings that would destroy the Dharma.

Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche also pointed out that in Japan and Taiwan these days there is a common misconception that Buddhism involves the worship of deities. If one can truly come to understand that the purpose of Buddhism is to amend one’s own shortcomings, then one will not fear or be anxious about the future. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche practices according to methods taught by the Buddha, and is therefore not at all afraid of or anxious about his own future. An account of the guru’s progress in practicing Buddhism is recorded in detail on the Glorious Jewel Buddhist Center’s website, as well as in his book, Happiness and Suffering.

His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche began performing the Acalanatha by praying and imploring for the yidam to come before the mandala and bestow assistance upon everyone. While performing the Dharma, the powerful and majestic sound of the guru’s voice echoed around the Buddhist Center and throughout the void as he chanted the mantra. It was so awe-inspiring that every single attendee sat upright in total concentration, listening attentively with palms held reverently together. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s venerable body began to tremble and gyrate slightly to the rhythm of his chanting. He raised his eyebrows, his features twisting into an image of a vajra’s wrath, and its incomparable power intimidated everyone present. All the attendees experienced a profound sense of the power of the Acalanatha yidam’s blessings.

Upon the perfect completion of the Acalanatha ritual, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche proceeded to the Buddhist Center’s courtyard to perform the Fire Offering. As the guru performed the Dharma, the mandala’s flames burned higher and higher and emanated many unfathomable, auspicious signs. The Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, devas, nagas, and Dharma protectors all came to praise His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche for his great compassion and abilities as he bravely, fiercely, and confidently protected the sentient beings of the Six Realms in this Evil World of Five Turbidities.

First the flames of the Fire Offering mandala appeared in the shape of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas descending to Earth on a mount.

After that, the flames gradually formed into the head of a dragon. As the fire blazed higher, the dragon shape became more distinct; the whiskers next to its mouth curved around and spread wide, and the gleaming pearl under its chin jutted in front of the mouth, three-dimensional and lifelike. The dragon’s eyes and horns were clearly visible, and the entire image was exceedingly incredible.

The mandala’s flames continued to change. As the dragon shape lifted slowly into the air, the Garuda rose forth amidst the flames. From the side its eagle-like shape and sharp beak could clearly be discerned. As it opened its enormous vajra maw, its eyes flashed with an acuteness of vision and two great wings suddenly appeared behind it.

In a flash, a ferocious vajra lion emerged among the mandala’s flames, with glaring eyes and a mighty roar. Soon afterward the image again changed into that of a blazing deer. Praise be unto His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche for propagating Buddhism with compassion, wisdom, courage, and ferocity, for passing on the Right Dharma originally transmitted by the Buddha at the deer park Sarnath, as well as for liberating and bringing benefits to sentient beings.

The mandala’s flames continued to manifest all sorts of different auspicious signs, representing the mundane deities of fire and the supramundane yidams in emanations of various devas, nagas, and Dharma protectors. Their blessings benefited countless sentient beings. The attendees saw with their own eyes His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s great awe-inspiring power as he performed the Dharma. As the guru attuned his great compassionate mind to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas for no other reason than to benefit sentient beings, all the devas, nagas, and Dharma protectors came forth to show their praises, protection, and blessings.

While conducting the Fire Offering, His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche allowed all the attendees the opportunity to receive offering items that he had blessed, and to toss them into the fire themselves. It was thanks to the auspicious virtuous affinities continuously created by His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche that the attendees of the puja were given this opportunity to make many offerings to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in person and to benefit countless sentient beings. Without the blessings and guidance of Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche, the attendees could not possibly have had such a rare causal condition to accumulate good fortune and the resources for practicing Buddhism so rapidly. The ritual performed by Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche lasted three hours, and the whole time the guru kept chanting mantras, blessing all different types of offering items, and quickly passing them to the attendees, completely ignoring the fact that he no longer has any cartilage in his right shoulder. The guru repeated this movement more than a thousand times until the perfect completion of the ritual. As Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche said before, “Anything a Vajrayana guru does is for the selfless purpose of benefiting sentient beings.”

On the day of the puja, the sun was shining brightly from on high, and there was neither a cloud in the sky nor a breath of wind. As soon as His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche ascended the Dharma throne, however, a sudden gale began to blow. By the time the guru had finished performing the Acalanatha Dharma and had gone outside to the Buddhist Center’s courtyard to preside over the Fire Offering, clouds had gathered and completely covered up the sun. As the wind rose, the air around the courtyard suddenly became cool and refreshing, and just then several dragon-shaped clouds appeared overhead. The clouds transformed into myriad shapes, and the weather had changed unbelievably fast. As Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche performed the Dharma, two huge birds circled in the sky far above the flames of the mandala, and a flock of birds chirped and fluttered around the periphery of the Kyoto Glorious Jewel Buddhist Center. From these extremely auspicious signs it was obvious that the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, nagas, devas, and Dharma protectors had all come to bestow Their protection and blessings and to praise His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche for compassionately performing the Dharma and benefiting countless sentient beings!

Upon the perfect completion of the Fire Offering, His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche returned to the Dharma throne, where the guru led the attendees in performing the Dharma protector ritual and dedication prayers, and conducted the mandala-offering ritual. The guru stated that the auspicious significance of the Dharma that had been performed that day lay in its being able to satisfactorily extend one’s longevity and remove one’s hindrances to doing good deeds. However, one must never again kill anything or commit evil. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche went on to say that during the day’s Fire Offering, each gust of wind had brought a group of sentient beings; therefore, many invisible sentient beings had received help as well.

Upon the perfect completion of the puja, in unison all the attendees expressed their gratitude to His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche for having performed the auspicious Dharma. They stood in reverence as the guru descended the Dharma throne. His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche tirelessly presided over this rare, auspicious “Acalanatha Fire Offering Puja” at the Glorious Jewel Buddhist Center in Kyoto to pray for blessings for Japan, to increase the good fortune of the Japanese people and their nation, and to help countless sentient beings with the nectar of Dharma, full of compassion and wisdom, benefiting and liberating them from their suffering.

It is difficult to imagine how auspicious Tantra is. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s great compassion, the merits from his cultivation, and his ability to benefit sentient beings caused them to obtain immeasurable Dharma benefits and merits. The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas praised this Mahasiddha for his Bodhi aspiration to benefit sentient beings, and were moved by his perfect merits. All the attendees went home with incomparable respect and gratitude deep in their hearts.

Updated on July 4, 2013