On August 16th, 2013 His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche presided over the auspicious Ksitigarbha Puja at the Glorious Jewel Buddhist Center in Kyoto, Japan. 
This Dharma includes Kriyayoga and Charyayoga and its blessing is especially auspicious. There were 141 attendees in total, including twenty believers from Japan, Spain, and Taiwan, as well as 121 Japanese and Taiwanese disciples. The puja came to an auspicious and perfect completion.
Before the puja began, His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche transmitted the Dharma method of Avalokiteshvara to the Japanese disciples for the first time. On the day of the puja the sky was clear, with only a few clouds covering the sun from time to time. When His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche began to transmit the Dharma, many beams of sunlight shone suddenly through the clouds, dazzling in their brilliance as they illuminated the world in all directions. It was an extremely auspicious sight to behold. That such an auspicious sign would manifest while His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche was transmitting the Dharma meant that its pure Dharma teachings would benefit all sentient beings!
At 4:30 in the afternoon, His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche ascended the Dharma throne to preside in person over the auspicious Ksitigarbha Puja and to bestow precious Dharma teachings upon all the attendees.
First Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche explained the meaning of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s name. “Ksiti” does not refer to hell, but rather the Earth; Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha is as tolerant and inclusive as the Earth, and nurtures many sentient beings. “Garbha,” or “treasure,” does not mean buried treasure; 
it is a reference to the fact that every sentient being possesses a pure Buddha-nature that is no different from the Buddha. The title “King” often included in the Chinese translation of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s name does not at all mean Bodhisattva “King” Ksitigarbha is in charge of hell. Rather, the word “King” actually refers to the fact that Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha has the greatest, most unfathomable, and most auspicious of merits, aspirations, and compassion, as the Bodhisattva’s vow is, “I vow not to attain Buddhahood until all the hells are empty.” Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha is one of the eight great Bodhisattvas of Buddhism. In essence, the eight great Bodhisattvas have already attained Buddhahood; it is just that time and time again they take the form of Bodhisattvas in order to help sentient beings. In Japan, many statues of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha can be seen wherever there are cemeteries and graveyards. Perhaps they believe that as statue of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha exists in a cemetery then the local ghosts can be liberated. As a matter of fact, when people put their palms together in reverence before a statue of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, all this does is allow them to accumulate a little bit of good fortune; it cannot help to liberate the ghostly beings.
Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche continued to explain the importance of cause and effect as well as aspiration. The Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows gives special attention to describing the origin of causes and effects. It also mentions that of the various evil acts and karma created by sentient beings on Earth, 
the most severe is the act of killing. In many Buddhist sutras Shakyamuni Buddha stated that the world’s constant wars, diseases, accidents, and mishaps are all the result of karma from killing and from eating meat. 
The character of the Japanese people, which has formed over the course of many years, is very difficult to change; therefore, the Dharma performed for you all today by Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche is based on the aspiration of Japanese monks from hundreds of years ago. It is a continuation and development of that aspiration, and thus allows you to form a profound affinity with Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha. If you remember Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, then even if you committed a few minor evil acts during your lifetime—giving you cause to fall into hell—you can still obtain the help of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha and have the opportunity not to fall into the Evil Realms. The Dharma text mentions that before the Dharma is performed all the attendees should prostrate themselves before the guru and the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. For Buddhist practitioners, the guru is extremely important. The beginning of the Dharma text teaches that everyone should have aspirations; this means giving rise to a Bodhi mind and vowing to benefit sentient beings. People participating in the puja should have an attitude of genuine sincerity and extreme respect. Here “genuine” means not asking for anything at all in return; “sincerity” means being honest and sincere; “extreme respect” means being completely respectful and devoid of one’s own ideas. All of you who have come to participate in today’s Ksitigarbha Puja should maintain an attitude of extreme respect and sincerity, for only by being respectful can you make offerings; only by making offerings can you accumulate good fortune. Only if you have good fortune can you receive the help and benefits of the Dharma. The most important thing of all is that you should have faith in the guru.
His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche began to perform the auspicious Dharma method of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha. First, it is to help purify you all in body, speech, and mind so that you will be no different from Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha. Next, His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche led all of the attendees in three recitations of the Refuge Aspiration Prayer, giving special instructions to the Japanese interpreter to recite from the Japanese translation of the Dharma text and have the Japanese believers and disciples repeat the recitation. During the recitation, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche exhorted the attendees again and again to recite from the text with an attitude of respect. Additionally, the guru stated this Dharma was passed down personally by Vajra Varahi while representing the yidams of the Yoga Tantra and the Anuttarayoga Tantra. Because of this, its blessings are very auspicious and powerful, and thus can benefit countless sentient beings.
Next the ritual of mandala offering was conducted. The Japanese and Spanish believers, selected by lot upon entering the venue, were led by the ordained disciples in an offering of the mandala, and to implore the Dharma from His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche.
His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche not only performed the auspicious Tantra, taught the visualization and the importance of respect and gratitude, but also explained the key points of the Dharma text in great detail. The guru also stated that a disciple’s thoughts must not wander while listening to Tantra in order to obtain help from the Dharma. The location in which the Dharma of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha is performed must be on a clean land and in a clean building. It means no slaughter, murder, or prostitution can have occurred in the location in which the Dharma is performed, nor can that place be the site of a restaurant, jail, graveyard, and so on. The Kyoto Glorious Jewel Buddhist Center’s location is exactly that; historically, during the Qing Dynasty, the emperor once dispatched an envoy to live in this location, and as a result this piece of land has been very clean throughout history. The person performing the Dharma must meet two prerequisites: One is having a pure aspiration; the practitioner cannot perform the Dharma for the sake of fame or profit. Only through purely virtuous behavior can the practitioner use a pure Bodhi mind to help sentient beings. The other prerequisite is benefiting all sentient beings by way of four types of blessings. The Dharma text also mentions that the practitioner must have attained Emptiness, and must enter the samadi state of meditation before being able to perform this Dharma; whereas the attendees should have calm and settled minds, keeping in mind that there are still many sentient beings in need of the Dharma’s help. There is a very significant line in the Dharma text: After coming out of the meditative state, the practitioner performing the Dharma must look upon all sentient beings that have not yet attained enlightenment or Buddhahood with compassionate eyes. In the practitioner’s eyes no sentient beings are different from each other; the practitioner continues to use his or her own merits to bestow help upon these sentient beings.
His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche began to perform the Dharma method of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha while explaining the key points of the Dharma text. Led by the ordained disciples, all the attendees faced the mandala, knelt down on their right knees, and held up flowers with both hands, sincerely and respectfully imploring Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha to come. Next was the khata-offering ritual; after His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche performed the ritual, the ordained disciples hung khatas from the top of the Thangka of the statue of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha. While performing the Dharma, the guru orally transmitted the auspicious mantra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha.
After orally transmitting the auspicious mantra, His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche bestowed teachings from the sutra. Originally the plan was to next lead you all in a recitation of The Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows. 
That would take about two hours to recite, but modern people are all so very busy, especially Japanese people, so Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche will simply give a brief description of the key segments of the sutra. Just then a Japanese believer was leafing through the sutra. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche asked him to stop and berated him, saying that this action of his was very disrespectful to the Dharma; before the guru had even begun to speak, the believer had opened the sutra out of curiosity to read what was written in it. In Tantra, no Dharma texts or sutras can even be opened, let alone read, without the guru’s express permission. Imagine if you were still back in elementary school; on the first day of school, would you dare open up your text book before the teacher had told you to? You would wait until the teacher had given you permission to do so, right? Yet here you are, before the Buddha, not even as disciplined as elementary school students. Don’t think that just because you are able to read a sutra’s words, you can necessarily understand their meaning. Buddhism is neither an academic subject nor a book; please, you must not carry an attitude of curiosity, or of wanting to research it and understand it. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche is different from other practitioners out there; any time you are disrespectful toward the Dharma, or go against anything related to Buddhism, the guru will immediately call you out and put a stop to such behavior. This is not for Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s own benefit; it is for yours.
Now you may all open up the sutra. Turn to any page you want. In a little while Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche will go over the key points of the sutra one by one for you all. No matter what page you turn to, when the guru speaks the Dharma it will bless you. First, the origin of The Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows was when Shakyamuni Buddha went to the Trayastrimsas Heaven to expound the Dharma for His mother; in order to liberate her from the cycle of life and death, Shakyamuni Buddha introduced Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha to her. When Shakyamuni Buddha did this, many sacred beings, Bodhisattvas, devas, nagas, and Dharma protectors all came forward to listen. Shakyamuni Buddha spoke of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s merits, vows, and experiences accumulated over lifetimes of practice, and bestowed very clear teachings about cause, effect, and karmic retribution. You should not think being born into the Heavenly Realm is a very good thing; there might be many things to enjoy there, but in the end one will fall back into reincarnation, and one might even descend into the Three Evil Realms.
In The Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows Shakyamuni Buddha stated that there would be virtuous men and women in the future. This meant men and women who would practice the Ten Meritorious Acts, not people who donated money to charities. To cultivate the Ten Meritorious Acts means not engaging in the following ten behaviors: Killing, stealing (including taking other people’s things or pirating CDs, DVDs, and so on), sexual misconduct, harsh speech, divisive speech, frivolous talk, speaking falsely, being greedy, feeling anger or hatred toward others, and not believing in cause and effect.
For any man or woman who can cultivate the Ten Meritorious Acts and—upon hearing Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s name—is able to give praise, make prostrations, make offerings, or make sacred images of the Bodhisattva by painting, carving, or sculpting from clay, this person’s karmic retribution will be to be reborn in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three for one hundred lifetimes. Furthermore, if that person recalls the image of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha while on his or her deathbed, then he or she will never fall into the Three Evil Realms (the Hell Realm, the Hungry Ghost Realm, and the Animal Realm). With regard to Exoteric Buddhism, this method of practice is already the simplest of methods; in terms of Tantric practice, you would not be able to achieve attainment in it. Therefore, anyone who continues to eat meat or fish cannot possibly cultivate the Ten Meritorious Acts, and is therefore not a virtuous man or woman. Don’t think that having someone recite the Buddha’s name after you pass away will allow you to be reborn in the Pure Land; if you do not listen to the teachings of the guru, the Buddhas, and the Bodhisattvas, then no matter how much you worship the Buddha it will be useless.
Next, His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche thoroughly explained the essence of each chapter of the Sutra, helping all the attendees accumulate wisdom and resources for their Buddhist practice and benefiting all sentient beings in the Six Realms so that they could obtain the boundless pure Dharma benefits.
Chapter One: Miracles in the Palace of the Trayastrimsas Heaven. Here the sutra mentions that in one of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s lifetimes the Bodhisattva saw the Buddha, 
who at the time had taken a very dignified form. Might I ask, what would the Buddha have had to do to take on such an appearance? The Buddha stated that only by using one’s body, speech, and mind to liberate and benefit suffering sentient beings through lifetime after lifetime can one take on a form as dignified as that of the Buddha. Thereupon Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha made a great vow to always use expedient Dharma methods to liberate all sentient beings who were suffering in reincarnation. The sutra also mentions that Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha spent one of his lives as a Brahman girl who was born into a noble family. However, her mother had false views and was contemptuous of the Three Jewels. Though she had once given rise to respect toward the Three Jewels, she had later stopped believing in them and looked down on them, and as a result after passing away she fell into hell. Thus, the reason Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche admonished that Japanese believer just now and stopped him from leafing through the sutra was that such behavior is contemptuous of the Three Jewels.
Chapter Two: The Assembly of Innumerable Transformational Ksitigarbhas. This chapter talks about how Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha appears in many different forms.
Chapter Three: Contemplation on the Karmic Connection between Sentient Beings. This chapter describes the various karmic affinities that tie sentient beings together. Sentient beings on earth do different things to obtain different rewards or punishments; for every karma created, there is a different karmic retribution. Among these it is mentioned that hell does not discriminate according to gender, age, race, or wealth; any being that commits an evil act—including nagas, deities, devas, ghosts, and so on—will fall into hell according to his or her karmic retribution. Do not misunderstand; hell is not a place created by the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to punish sentient beings. Rather, it is a state of being attracted by the actions of sentient beings themselves.
Chapter Four: The Karmic Retribution of Sentient Beings in Jambudvipa. One focus of this chapter is the special mention that Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha was once born as a maiden who, while offering food to monks, encountered an arhat. Not knowing where her mother had gone after passing away, Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha asked the arhat. The arhat asked her what her mother had done in her lifetime that warranted suffering so much in hell. Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha told the arhat that her mother had been fond of eating the eggs of fish, turtles, and other seafood, and that while still living had fried, boiled, baked, and eaten countless eggs. This is just like Japanese people; they, too, love eating seafood, especially the eggs of such sea creatures. Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha performed numerous Dharma activities before her mother was able to leave hell and be reborn into the Human Realm. However, she was born into poverty as a servant, and had a very short life; she died at the age of thirteen. Just now it was mentioned that the heaviest type of karma is the karma from killing. If you frequently succumb to illness, experience accidents, have heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and so on, it has to do with the fact that you have heavy karma from killing.
This chapter also states that the karmic retribution from killing is having an early, untimely death. Anyone who steals from other people will have the karmic retribution of suffering in poverty. For men, engaging in sexual misconduct includes rape, sex with a woman who is unconscious, getting a woman drunk and having sex with her, or having sex with someone who is underage, a married woman, or a woman under the care of another man. For women, if a man pays her a living allowance, sends her gifts, or benefits her in any other way, yet she has sex with another man, then this is sexual misconduct, and the karmic retribution for that is to succumb to a disease of the uterus or kidneys. Furthermore, such a woman will age very easily, and could be reborn in her next life as a sparrow, pigeon, or duck. To engage in harsh speech means frequently swearing at others, quarrelling or fighting with one’s own family members, and taking part in the subsequent lawsuits. Those who slander others will lose their tongues in the future or will grow sores in their mouths. If you often give rise to hateful thoughts, your karmic retribution will be to look ugly or become crippled. For people who are miserly and rarely give to charity, their karmic retribution will be to never get what they want and for them never to succeed at doing anything. For those who eat and drink to excess, without any moderation at all, their karmic retribution will be to suffer hunger and thirst, or to succumb to a disease of the throat. For people who like to hunt, fish, or trap animals, their karmic retribution will be to die a violent death; this is the same karmic retribution as dying from a mental illness. People who are unfilial and disobedient toward their parents will suffer the karmic retribution of dying in a natural disaster, and this can include heavy rain, floods, earthquakes, wildfires, and so on. There is one more very important category: For anyone who slanders the Three Jewels, your karmic retribution is to become blind, deaf, and dumb in the future so that you cannot see, hear, or speak.
Chapter Five: The Names of the Various Hells. This chapter introduces all the different hells. The sutra mentions that sentient beings will descend into hell and suffering according to whatever evil acts they themselves commit. When this happens, no one can suffer in their place, even someone as close as a father or a son. Don’t think committing an evil act is no big deal as long as it’s just something little, or think you can just go ahead and do it without caring about the consequences. The sutra states that people who continue to lie and cheat will fall into the Tongue-Plowing Hell; there, an ox will plow furrows back and forth atop your tongue. This will especially be true of those who swindle people who have been kind to them such as their parents; they think they can cheat them a little and it won’t matter. Many people, when they don’t want to continue talking on the phone, will hang it up, turn it off, or even not answer, and then make an excuse by saying the call ended due to having a bad signal. They think it’s no big deal if they do this just once, but this, too, counts as lying and cheating.
Chapter Six: Tathagata’s Praises. This chapter states that if a woman feels that she is ugly or suffering from multiple illnesses, then as long as she sincerely and respectfully makes obeisance and prostrations before a statue of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, in the future she will have a perfect appearance. Furthermore, over the course of millions of lifetimes she will often be born as the daughter of a king or into a rich or noble family, have an upright countenance, and everything will be perfect for her.
Chapter Seven: Benefiting the Living and the Dead. This chapter teaches the family members of someone who has passed away how to help the deceased. If someone in your family is about to die, you must not allow him or her to eat meat—including meat broth, fish soup, and so on—or implore the ghosts and deities, for such behavior is very bad for the soon-to-be deceased. In addition, the sutra also mentions that you absolutely must not use anything made of meat to offer a sacrifice to the deceased, because doing so would add to the deceased’s karma.
Chapter Eight: The Praises of Yamaraja and Others. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche has seen Japanese people who have the custom of offering sacrifice to Yamaraja. They think that as long as they put their palms together respectfully and make a flower offering to Yamaraja, Yamaraja will keep them from dying early and will not come looking for them. However, this concept is incorrect. In the sutra it is mentioned that if one wishes to have the blessings and protection of Yamaraja, then one’s family must carry out virtuous deeds and recite the names of the Buddhas or Bodhisattvas. If you can achieve this, then not only will ghosts, demons, nagas, and so on not come to harm you, even the King of the Ghosts and deities will pay homage to you and offer their protection. The focal point of this chapter is that when someone in the family is on the verge of death, that person’s family members should help him or her to accumulate good fortune; only by making a great offering can they help. Making a great offering does not mean spending money to hire professionals to assist with the recitation; if the causal condition does not exist for finding a virtuous mentor to help the deceased, then only if the family members themselves recite for the deceased will it be helpful. This is because they are the ones who most earnestly wish to help their loved one who is passing away.
Chapter Nine: The Recitation of the Buddhas’ Names. This chapter lists the various benefits that come from reciting the different Buddhas’ names.
Chapter Ten: Appraisal of the Meritorious Virtue Gained from Almsgiving. This chapter states the various benefits that can be obtained from giving different types of charities. The merits from almsgiving should be dedicated to all sentient beings in the hopes that they can attain Buddhahood; they should not merely be dedicated to one’s own family members.
Chapter Eleven: Protection of the Dharma by the Deities in Charge of the Land. These Land Deities are very important to us; the one mentioned in the sutra is Prthivi (the Secure-Firm Deva). The occurrence of landslides, earthquakes, and avalanches actually has to do with the Land Deities. If you are engaged in farming, gardening, or construction, you should pray to the Land Deities. A certain Japanese person working in the construction industry might think that it was enough to have participated in a Ksitigarbha Puja held by Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche in the past, and so that person is not here for today’s puja. Little did he know that the guru would be discussing matters that are directly related to his profession. Therefore, whenever there is a puja, you all should make every opportunity to attend. Don’t think that just because you have participated in one in the past you therefore do not need to attend anymore. The fact is, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche has new things to give you at every single puja.
If you were to read this sutra by yourselves, then just going by the words written therein you might think it rather simple. However, if Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche were to teach this sutra, it would take between one and three months to explain it thoroughly. If you would like to learn The Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows in detail, then you should do your best to implore this—not from Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, but from Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche. This is because the Bodhisattva would not speak to you, nor would you be able to see Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha.
Chapter Twelve: The Benefits of Seeing and Hearing. This chapter mentions the benefits you can obtain by seeing an image of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha or hearing the Bodhisattva’s name. It also states that if a person does not have enough clothing to wear or food to eat, is afflicted with many illnesses, feels that harsh and unfortunate things somehow keep happening, has begun to decay and go downhill, has unrest or instability in his or her family, often experiences difficulties such as family members being scattered, or has frequent nightmares, then as long as that person practices the Dharma method of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha diligently and respectfully, these unpleasant things will gradually go away. He or she will have plenty to eat and wear, and everything will be peaceful and happy for the person even while dreaming.
Chapter Thirteen: The Commendation of Human Beings and Devas. This chapter makes special mention of sentient beings on Earth, stating that their personalities are not stable; they want to have everything, and are accustomed to creating evil karma. There are many who commit evil, and even when they give rise to a few virtuous intentions, these recede and disappear very quickly. However, when they encounter evil conditions, it is actually very easy for their evil thoughts to increase in number. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche gave an example: It’s like when someone wants to quit smoking, and knowing full well that he wants to quit, the people around him nevertheless continue to offer him cigarettes or encourage him by saying that smoking just one won’t matter. After being egged on by these people, he immediately builds a craving, and then chain-smokes one cigarette after another. This is because it is fairly easy for evil behavior to build on itself; with every thought it increases.
In the end it says that if a virtuous man or woman sees an image of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, listens to The Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows, or even recites the sutra, gives charity and makes offerings of perfumes, flowers, drinks, food, clothing, and treasures, giving praise and obeisance to Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, then that person can obtain twenty-eight sorts of benefits. What the sutra says is true; Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche has acted in accordance with what is written in The Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows, and as a result has obtained many benefits. Don’t think you can obtain help from the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas simply by clapping or tossing in a coin or two; if, after participating in the puja, you go back to your lives and continue to eat meat or kill living beings, is it possible that the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas will help you?
After explaining the sutra’s key points, His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche indicated that he would continue to perform the Dharma and give teachings, but that first the guru allowed all the attendees to take a ten-minute break.
The purpose of the last section of the Dharma text is to help everyone to extend their condition to continue practicing Buddhism; it can reduce your afflictions, false views, hunger, epidemic diseases, wars, laziness, hesitations, and forgetfulness, and can keep away all virtuous karma that would hinder you. Hesitation means needing to think it over and wait awhile, hesitating over whether you want to practice Buddhism right now or wait until after you have finished doing something, etc. Then there is forgetfulness; for example, the things you all say most often such as “I forgot,” “I don’t remember,” or “I don’t know, no one told me.” An example of virtuous karma that hinders you from practicing Buddhism is like when you want to participate in the puja but you don’t because of hindrances such as something happening in your shop or with your family. Many of you are like this. For such people, today’s Dharma is being performed in the hopes that Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha will help you so that you no longer make the aforementioned excuses, and allow you to distance yourselves from any virtuous karma that hinders you so that you can become more resolved in your determination to practice Buddhism.
From now on, whenever you see a statue of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, you should prostrate yourselves before it reverently. If you are unable to, then at the very least you should chant silently to yourselves, “Namo Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha.” As long as you have a great deal of faith in Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, the Bodhisattva will look after you through lifetime after lifetime. This is a saying from Exoteric Buddhism. In Tantric terms, with the utmost respect in your heart you must act in complete accordance with the guru’s teachings, earnestly implore the guru to transmit the Dharma method of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, and practice it diligently. Only then can you obtain the benefits and blessings of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s body, speech, and mind. Today is August 16th. In Kyoto there is a tradition to hold the Daimonji Festival. Today’s puja was an amalgamation of customs from Tibet, China, and Japan. However, if you wish to obtain any real help, the most important thing for you to do is to practice Buddhism, and to change yourselves beginning with cause and effect.
The puja came to a perfect completion. In unison all the attendees expressed their gratitude to His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche. They stood to pay reverent homage as His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche descended the Dharma throne. They were grateful to His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche for performing auspicious Tantra, for bestowing precious Buddhist teachings, for revealing proper views and the Right Dharma to all the attendees, and for teaching them all that while practicing Buddhism they must possess a Bodhi mind and an attitude of repentance, sincerity, and utmost respect. They also thanked the guru for helping them to gain a clear understanding of the boundless magnanimity with which they should use the Dharma to benefit sentient beings, and for forming a profound, virtuous affinity between all the attendees and the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Furthermore, they were grateful to His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche for allowing them to obtain Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s auspicious benefits and blessings of body, speech, and mind, as well as for giving them the rare and precious opportunity to one day be liberated from the suffering sea of reincarnation.
On the day of the puja the weather was sunny and clear. After His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche ascended the Dharma throne, a cool drizzle of sweet nectar rain began to fall from the sky over the Glorious Jewel Buddhist Center in Kyoto, only to stop a short while later. While the puja was underway, thunder rumbled continuously through the heavens; upon the perfect completion of the puja, however, the sky became clear and bright once more. These weather changes occurring throughout the puja were extremely auspicious signs. They signified that the heavenly beings and Bodhisattvas had all come forward to pay homage and give praise to this auspicious Ksitigarbha Puja held by His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche at the Kyoto Glorious Jewel Buddhist Center, during which the guru used pure Dharma nectar and great, awe-inspiring, all-embracing power to benefit countless sentient beings.
Ever since the inauguration of the Kyoto Glorious Jewel Buddhist Center in May of 2008, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche has returned every year on the day of the “Daimonji Festival,” an annual memorial ancestor worship day for the area, to hold this auspicious puja at the Kyoto Glorious Jewel Buddhist Center, using pure Dharma to benefit all sentient beings, relieve the countless sentient beings in the Six Realms of their suffering, and help them to attain happiness. Furthermore, the Drikung Kagyu Dharma lineage would continue to flourish in Japan, and its pure Dharma teachings could be spread far and wide to benefit all sentient beings.
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Updated on October 3, 2013