His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s Puja Teachings – February 17, 2026

February 17, 2026, the first day of the Lunar New Year, His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche presided over The Thirty-five Buddhas Repentance Liturgy at the Glorious Jewel Buddhist Center in Taipei; Rinpoche expounded the meaning and importance of the Dharma method of repentance, and performed the incomparably wondrous Black Water Jambhala and Elephant Jambhala Dharma; compassionately(maitrī and karuṇā) helped sentient beings to accumulate the resources and good fortune to learn Buddhism.
 
The key to learning in Buddhism lies in being reverent to the guru, motivated to make offerings, and raising the incomparable faith in the guru. One must repent thoroughly inside the heart and learn Buddhism diligently; Rinpoche compassionately(maitrī and karuṇā) urged the assembly that life is short, and one should make a firm determination to diligently learn Buddha Dharma, cherish the virtuous fate of following the guru to learn Buddhism in this lifetime, follow the teachings, and liberate from reincarnation. Being grateful to Rinpoche’s compassionate(maitrī and karuṇā) care, the disciples vow to tightly follow the guru in learning the Buddha Dharma.
 
At 9:30 A.M., His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche, under the lead and welcome of sitātapatra, instruments, and incense, reverently prostrated to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and made an offering of a khata to the wish-granting jewel Dharma throne of His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang; and after lighting the lamp as an offering to the Buddha, Rinpoche ascended the Dharma throne to preside over the Thirty-Five Buddhas Repentance Liturgy, performed the Black Water Jambhala and White Mahākāla.

After Rinpoche descended the Dharma throne, the disciples made offerings with auspicious rice, rice balls, and nectar water to His Eminence Vajra guru Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche. Rinpoche instructed the monastic to lead the assembly in reciting the prayer of taking refuge, the Short Mandala-Offering liturgy, pleading the transmutation of Dharma, the Prayer to the Eight Noble Auspicious Ones, and the prayer of rice offering. Later, Rinpoche compassionately(maitrī and karuṇā) bestowed precious Dharma teachings: 
 
Thirty-Five Buddhas Repentance Liturgy
 
Today, as usual, on the first day of the Lunar New Year, we will perform the Thirty-Five Buddhas Repentance Liturgy. The Thirty-Five Repentance Liturgy is a Repentance Liturgy that was taught by Shakyamuni Buddha in the Ratnakuta Sutra. If one wants to cultivate the Bodhisattva Path in the future, the Thirty-Five Buddhas Repentance Liturgy is very important, and it is a repentance liturgy that must be practiced. In Taiwan, even in China, the Exoteric Buddhist Center, it is rare to hear of or see the practice of the Thirty-Five Buddhas Repentance Liturgy; mostly practice the Great Compassion Repentance, the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Repentance Ritual, and the Precious Penitential Rites of Emperor of Liang, and et. cetera.  Only the Thirty-Five Buddhas Repentance Liturgy is personally taught by Shakyamuni Buddha, and, therefore, the power of blessing is especially great. These Thirty-Five Buddhas have great blessings and help towards human being dwell on earth in the aspect of cultivating the Buddha Dharma.  
 
Many people often misunderstand the Dharma method of repentance, thinking that it is meant to make themselves better. In fact, it is not about becoming better. Sometimes, after one truly repents, all the things you consider undesirable may appear before you and happen very quickly. What does repentance actually mean? It means that one must acknowledge all the wrong actions committed in the past through body, speech, and mind. After acknowledging them, one must be willing to accept all the karmic consequences. Repentance also means making a firm and lasting resolve never to commit them again. Therefore, many people come to repent, and I often tell them not to come. Why? Because they are merely apologizing—saying excuse me, I’m sorry, or my apologies. That is not repentance. The true meaning of repentance is to stop doing it and never commit the same wrongdoing again. Yet you continue to accumulate mistakes and repeat them over and over. In that case, such repentance is unnecessary.
 
What is the purpose of repentance? It is not meant to help you live a comfortable life, rather, it is to ensure that the karmic consequences of the negative actions you committed in the past through body, speech, and mind will no longer obstruct or hinder your practice. For example, in this lifetime I have encountered many obstacles, as well as many things that you might consider unfavorable—illness and countless difficulties. But to me, these are simply the ripening of karmic results. Each time such a result manifests, one more obstacle is removed. Therefore, I continue practicing without interruption. Some well-known monastics even say that: repenting once is enough, and that if one keeps repenting, the shadow of repentance will remain in the mind. This is incorrect. As long as one has not yet attained Buddhahood, repentance is necessary because only a Buddha is perfect. Only a Buddha is completely free from any flaw in body, speech, and mind. Therefore, when someone kneels before me, I often ask whether anything has happened. If the person says nothing has happened, I will definitely reply: Then you must be a Buddha! When someone says there is nothing wrong, it means three things. First, they do not believe in the law of cause and effect. Second, they do not show respect to the Three Jewels. Third, they have no intention of changing themselves. With such a person, I will not continue speaking, because they have already refused.
 
In fact, very few people truly understand the Dharma method of repentance. Many people think repentance simply means saying, ‘I was wrong, I admit my mistake, please forgive me.’ But if you have done something wrong, you must bear the karmic consequences yourself. What is there for the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to forgive? It is like someone who has broken the law asking a judge to forgive him and set him free. Can a judge do that? At most, the judge may give a lighter sentence. However, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas do not even have the authority to lessen your karmic consequences. What they can do is help you and advise your karmic creditors to give you an opportunity to practice, thereby reducing the resentment and hatred those karmic creditors hold toward you.

Therefore, the power of repentance is very important, but it must not be misunderstood. Repentance does not mean that once you repent, everything will immediately become better. Since I began learning and practicing Buddhism, I have repented constantly, yet many unfavorable things have continued to happen to me. Why do they happen? Because the more I repent, the sooner those negative circumstances appear before me and the sooner their karmic results ripen. As a result, the path of my practice afterward becomes much smoother. You are all afraid of unpleasant things happening and try to avoid them. But when you reject the bad, you also reject the good, because you do not truly believe in the law of cause and effect. If you are afraid that karmic consequences will appear after repentance, then I would advise you not to repent at all—just apologize. What does apologizing mean? It means you will make the same mistake again. Think about it: since childhood, how many times have we done the very things our parents told us not to do? Each time we did them, we simply said to our parents, ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry.’ Now you approach repentance with the same attitude.
 
With a single act of repentance, you must make a firm determination! Why must we continue to repent until we attain Buddhahood? Because our body, speech, and mind have not yet become completely pure. If you do not repent, the degree to which the pure Buddha Dharma can correspond with you will continue to diminish. Once you become complacent and believe that you are already practicing very well, problems arise. The first is the obstacle of knowledge! The second is arrogance and pride! Therefore, when many disciples come to repent after doing something wrong, I often do not even wish to see them. I know very clearly that they are not sincerely repenting. They merely hope to remove the pressure in their minds caused by their wrongdoing by using the word ‘repentance.’ Yet they do not truly believe they have done anything wrong. Instead, they say, ‘I didn’t know, I wasn’t careful, I forgot,  or I didn’t mean it.’If you say you ‘didn’t mean it,’ then you are not even as capable as AI. AI operates based on data and logic before producing results. You are a human being—how can you say you ‘didn’t mean it’? Human beings possess logical thinking. There is no such thing as ‘I didn’t mean it,’ nor is there such a thing as ‘speaking without intention,’because everything arises from your own mind..

Repentance is not merely about repenting for a mistake you made today. Rather, it is about repenting for all the negative actions committed through body, speech, and mind. Only in this way can the power of repentance arise, it helps you repay your karmic debts more quickly; once those debts are cleared, your path of practice will gradually become smoother. When these debts are repaid quickly, you will naturally improve. The logic is very simple. However, the way you practice repentance is different—you hope that unpleasant things will not appear. You think that once you repent, everything will become better and better. That is not the case, the Buddhist sutras never say this, so why have you invented such an idea? Rinpoche has also demonstrated this to you. In my life, I have experienced poverty, business failure, having no money even for food, cancer, an unfilial child, and the breakdown of my marriage. All kinds of suffering in life have appeared, yet none of them prevented me from continuing my practice. Even during retreat, I endured hardship. For two days, no one brought me any food. All of this was the result of my own karma. But through repentance, even though I had nothing to eat for two days, on the third day I had food again—because part of my karmic debt had been repaid. Yet you are all afraid of repaying your debts. If you owe a debt, must you not repay it? Of course you must. If you wish to avoid repaying your debts in the human world, then you will have to repay them in the Animal Realm, the Hungry Ghost Realm, or the Hell Realm. If you do not wish to repay these debts during these few decades of your human life, you can tell the Dharma protectors, or tell me. I can pray on your behalf so that you repay them in the Hell Realm or in the Animal Realm. I can help you with that—so that you do not have to repay them in this lifetime. But you will certainly have to repay them in a future life.
 
Many people are superstitious and pray for certain misfortunes not to occur. Usually, when you pray for something bad not to happen, something even more serious may arise instead. For example, there is a method called Qimen Dunjia. Many people think that when an unfavorable situation disappears through such methods, it is truly gone. In fact, it is not. It has only been moved from one ‘gate’ to another. One day you will inevitably walk through that other gate, and the problem will still occur. Since childhood, I learn Daoist teachings, so I understand very clearly that in this world, only the Buddha Dharma can fundamentally and thoroughly resolve the problems we have created through our actions. No other religion can truly accomplish this. Some religions say, ‘Lord, save me!’ But does it really happen? For example, the two countries currently at war in Europe both believe in the Lord. So many people have died, and both sides pray to the Lord every day. Has the Lord helped them? No. Likewise, some time ago, two countries in Southeast Asia went to war. Both of them are Buddhist countries; almost every household has a Buddha statue. They also prayed, yet many people still died. This is the law of cause and effect and karmic retribution.
 
You are now living in a time of peace and prosperity—without war and without major disasters. These are days of blessings for you. If, even under such fortunate circumstances, you still do not resolve to diligently learn the Buddha Dharma and sincerely repent from the depths of your heart, but instead believe that the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas will forgive everything you do, or that Rinpoche will forgive you, then you are mistaken. This is because we do not have discriminating minds. What does this mean? When you have done something wrong, you come and pray, hoping that the consequences will not occur. But what about the sentient beings whom you have harmed? If they also come to pray to me, whom should I help? Should I help the one who was harmed by you, or should I help you?

Yesterday, a woman came to see me for help, she had hit someone with her car, and the person was in a coma. She came to pray, hoping that the person would not remain unconscious. But I did not respond to her. Because she wanted me to help that person wake up in order to solve her own problem. When someone hits another person with a car—whether causing death or leaving the person unconscious—the compensation can be extremely heavy. And if a life is lost, the karmic offense is also very serious. She was not concerned about the injured person; she was only thinking about herself. She never said that she had done something wrong or that she should not have driven that way. Instead, she said she had simply lost focus. In other words, she was not repenting. If a person does not repent and does not wish to bear the consequences of their own wrongdoing, then anything can happen. True repentance means having the courage to face the karmic consequences of the mistakes you have made, rather than trying to escape from them.
 
Although the Dharma texts sometimes say that if we do not perform the practice well, we ask the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas for forgiveness, the meaning of this ‘forgiveness’ is different. It means that during the practice, the practitioner may have been negligent, or those assisting may have been careless, and therefore the Dharma was not performed perfectly. As a result, sentient beings may not have received the Dharma in its most complete form. In such cases, we ask the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas for forgiveness so that we may continue performing the practice. It does not mean asking forgiveness for intentionally doing something wrong. For this reason, throughout the decades that Rinpoche has been propagating the Dharma, none of my pujas have ever had donors, nor have I ever required a certain amount of money for people to attend. It is entirely up to you. This is because I train myself not to have a discriminating mind.

Today, giving you the opportunity to prostrate the Thirty-five Buddhas Repentance Liturgy, you must be clear that it is not for the purpose of living a good life, but to eliminate the obstacles that hinder the practice of the Bodhisattva Path. This kind of repentance is effective. If one repents merely for small matters, hoping that the interpersonal relationships will improve, that the family relationship will become better, and work will become better, then such repentance will certainly be ineffective. However, it is still useful, because whenever you prostrate to the Buddha, it is certain to have some good fortune. It is just that this kind of good fortune can not be used in this lifetime; it may only be used in the next life. Therefore, when prostrating this repentance liturgy, one must be very clear in one’s own mind and stop living one’s life in confusion. 

Before the repentance prostration began, because the attendant hadn’t prepared Rinpoche’s Dharma crown. Rinpoche, taking the opportunity to teach according to the situation, berated the attendant to be more careful when doing matters, and not everything should require a reminder. Rinpoche also berated another volunteer who was standing aside that one needs to ask and be clear about the procedure beforehand. If one didn’t know how to do it, then one shouldn’t stand there as if supervising.

Following, Rinpoche instructed the assembly to stand up. Rinpoche wore Gampopa’s Dharma crown and personally led the assembly to perform the Thirty-five Buddhas Repentance Liturgy. At the end, Rinpoche instructed the assembly to prostrate for an additional fourteen times. Under the power of compassionate(maitrī and karuṇā) power of blessings of the guru, Buddhas, and Bodhisattvas, the assembly reverently prostrates to the Buddhas, repenting all the evil karma they had committed, many with tears streaming down their faces.

Rinpoche continued to expound: There are several important points in the Thirty-five Buddhas Repentance Liturgy that everyone should pay attention to. 

The Dharma text repeatedly speaks of dedication, but it is the dedication to Anuttara-Samyak-Sambodhicitta, not to dedicating to all your karmic creditors or family members, nor to dedicating for the purpose of making them learn Buddhism or become vegetarians. Only dedication toward Anuttara-Samyak-Sambodhicitta is truly effective; if dedication is made out of your personal greed or desire, it will merely result in some good fortune of the Human and Heaven Realms. Such good fortune cannot be used in this lifetime; it will only ripen in the next. When the dedication is toward Anuttara-Samyak-Sambodhicitta, it can be used in cultivation in this very life. When learning Buddhism, the principles must be clearly understood, especially since we are practicing Bodhisattvayana. Bodhisattvas do everything for the sake of sentient beings. If you repent for hoping to purify your own vices and karmas, purification means that karma which would originally obstruct your practice no longer becomes an obstacle because of repentance. However, karmic retribution will still occur. With this attitude of repentance, you will continue to make progress on the path of practice.
 
When practice improves, worldly matters, these minor concerns, will naturally improve as well. Do not seek the small while neglecting the great. You are always asking for trivial things. What are you going to do with those trivialities after imploring them? You say that if you learn Buddhism diligently, your husband may also follow you and learn Buddhism, and that the whole family will be happy. But it is his karma; even Shakyamuni Buddha said that he cannot transform the karma of sentient beings unless they themselves are willing to do so. We can only create conditions of fate for them; when they choose to learn Buddhism is their own business. The Buddha himself said he cannot liberate all sentient beings completely. What makes you think you can certainly liberate your family members? Some people outside say that: ‘Look at him/her practicing Buddhism, he/she cannot even liberate his/her own family. Why does he/she practice for?’ This is wrong, unless you possess supernatural power like the Buddha’s. When the Buddha’s younger brother wished to return home instead of being ordained, the Buddha used his supernatural powers to stop him, even taking him to the heavens and to the hells to see for himself. If you can do that, then perhaps you could. Even I cannot do so, why do you think you can? Do not be superstitious. Whatever your role is, fulfill it properly. If you are merely a Buddhist disciple, then be a Buddhist disciple properly. Do not imagine yourself to be so great that you can liberate others when your own problems remain unresolved. How can you liberate someone else? Do you have the ability to take your husband or wife to hell or to heaven to see for themselves? Do you have the power to force them to be ordained or prevent them from going home? (The assembly replies: No.) Since you do not, on what basis do you speak such grandiose, fantastical words every day? 

Do not say things like this anymore, especially those monastics, do not fall into this kind of trap, you have all heard people say: ‘You cannot even liberate your own family, what do you learn the Buddha Dharma for?’ Rinpoche asked the monastic disciples whether they had heard such words.  (The monastics reply: Yes.) If that were the case, then I should be the first person who ought not to learn the Buddha Dharma. I have been divorced, and my children do not learn the Buddha Dharma. If that logic were correct, then His Holiness should not have authenticated and approved me as a Rinpoche. Do not be superstitious. The Ratnakuta Sutra states this very clearly: all family members and relatives are like prison guards. They come to confine you in the prison of karma in this lifetime. Until you have finished serving your sentence, you cannot leave the prison. The prison guards are watching you. Does it resemble that? Very much so, right? (The disciples reply: Yes.) The guards even take good care of you, because they are afraid you might die. If you die, you cannot continue serving your sentence, and then they themselves will get into trouble.
Learning the Buddha Dharma, we must understand what the Buddha is actually teaching us, and not deify the Buddha Dharma. In the past, when His Holiness came to Taiwan to bestow a grand fifteen-day empowerment, he said before arriving that they must find me; if they could not find me, he would not bestow the empowerment. They reported back that they could not find me. His Holiness said that if they didn’t find me, he wouldn’t come. So, in the end, they found me. Back then, I had no money. His Holiness even instructed them not to accept any money from me and told them to seat me in the first position. This is the relationship between guru and disciple. When the guru knows that a disciple can be cultivated, he will use every possible method to cultivate that disciple. It seems to me that you’re not cut out for that; no matter what methods are used, you cannot be cultivated. As for some disciples, I am cultivating them, but you cannot see that I am cultivating you.
During that puja, some female attendees who knew me asked, ‘You’ve been divorced, why do you learn the Buddha Dharma?’ I replied, ‘If that were the case, then perhaps you can ask His Holiness why I can learn the Buddha Dharma.’ Many women think that a man who has been divorced is committing a grave sin, worse than murder. That is my fate; what does it have to do with her? Marriage and divorce are both karma. Getting married is not necessarily doing a good deed, and divorce is not necessarily a bad one. Everyone must understand what learning the Buddha Dharma is about. I am not encouraging you to divorce; do not misunderstand me. If I ever find out that a female disciple goes home and threatens her husband, saying, ‘Rinpoche said you are my prison guard, so I am divorcing you!’ I will immediately ask you to leave. I teach the sutra to you because you are my disciple; he is not my disciple, so what’s the point of talking to him about it?
Do not use the Dharma to threaten, intimidate, or pressure your family members and relatives. Do not say things like, ‘Rinpoche said if you don’t become a vegetarian, you will go to hell.’ If you do, your family members and relatives will start slandering the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in their hearts; you are the one creating hell for them. That is your karma. Why did you marry someone who is not a vegetarian? Since they won’t, you should just be a vegetarian yourself. But what should you do when you kiss them? I don’t know, because the sutras do not teach this. If they did, I would tell you what to do. If they don’t, it’s your karma; accept it yourself, and do more recitation and repentance. Thus, the Dharma is very dynamic, not superstitious. You must understand what the Buddha is teaching; only with understanding can you learn the Buddha Dharma without pressure; otherwise, you will feel burdened.
 
The most important point of the entire repentance text is this: you should acknowledge everything you do with body, speech, and mind and repent. Don’t assume you have done nothing wrong, and that everything’s fine. Thinking that everything’s fine is the same as assuming you’ve done nothing wrong. If you truly had no faults, that would mean you are a Buddha, but there is only one Shakyamuni Buddha in this world. If you think you are a Buddha, then you are absolutely a monster, because Shakyamuni Buddha clearly taught that it will not be until 5.6 billion years later, when Bodhisattva Maitreya appears, that there will be a second Buddha. If someone claims to have received mind-to-mind transmission directly from Shakyamuni Buddha and claims to be the direct disciple of Shakyamuni Buddha, that is also false speech. We are all disciples of Shakyamuni Buddha; we all recite the Fundamental Guru Shakyamuni Buddha. The distinctions among disciples are only front, back, left, and right. Therefore, when learning the Buddha Dharma, do not be superstitious. The Buddha Dharma is dynamic, and very much part of daily life. You can absolutely apply it in your own life.
 
The Black Water Jambhala
 
Usually, on the first day of the Lunar New Year, I perform two Jambhalas, because throughout the year, you have made offerings to your guru, the Monastery, and the association. The Jambhalas are not meant to help you earn money that doesn’t belong to you; they only bring back to you the wealth that originally belongs to you; it is not ‘repaying’ you.  Why would money that belongs to you go missing? For example, because of your evil karma accumulated over countless lifetimes, before you start to learn the Buddha Dharma, you may have eaten meat, killed. For instance, your greed, hatred, ignorance, arrogance, and doubt; you may have been unfilial to your parents, disrespectful to your teachers and the elders, or disrespectful to the Three Jewels. All of these things can diminish your wealth. The Black Water Jambhala appears in a furious form because your karmic creditors and all rakshasas and beings from the Ghost Realm have come to take your wealth. Because of your evils, they are qualified to take your wealth. For instance, before you learn the Buddha Dharma, if you frequently went to temples to implore gods, deities, or Tudi Gong (Landlord deity). As long as they are not a Buddha or Bodhisattva, these beings would take something in return, either wealth or lifespan. Usually, they take wealth first, because it is easier to take; lifespan is more difficult. If you encounter these issues in this life, this is often the reason.
 
If someone often experiences poverty in this life, it is because in past lives they did not practice Dānapāramitā (Puja Teachings Index 15) and make offerings. As a result, wealth does not appear in the present life. For example, I had once experienced business failures and was so impoverished that I had no money for meals. I never complained or implored Buddhas or Bodhisattvas to make me rich immediately, because I clearly understood that this was the result of not making offerings and practicing Dānapāramitā (Puja Teachings Index 15) in past lives. Over countless previous lives, there must have been at least one life where I failed to fulfill it, and now in this life, I am repaying it all. The sutras say that Buddhas and Bodhisattvas can relieve beings’ poverty. This refers to those who have a fate with the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and are supposed to learn the Buddha Dharma, but are too poor to have the resources to practice. For example, to accumulate good fortune, one must do Dānapāramitā (Puja Teachings Index 15) with wealth. Without income, how can one practice Dānapāramitā (Puja Teachings Index 15)  of wealth? The second one is that during a retreat, the practitioner needs a lot of support from others, this requires Dharma wealth. Dharma wealth is not to give you the money from the Dharma Realms; you cannot access it, but I can.
 
Also, in past lives, many of you were stingy and greedy with offerings and Dānapāramitā (Puja Teachings Index 15). You counted and calculated everything, splitting money into many small portions. Shakyamuni Buddha actually taught that our income should be divided into four parts, with one part dedicated to making offerings and Dānapāramitā (Puja Teachings Index 15), but very few people actually do this. No matter what happened in the past, today I am performing the Jambhala Dharmas for you, protecting the wealth that rightfully belongs to you, so that in this life you can have it. Allowing you to accumulate a great deal of good fortune for yourself when planting the Dharma Wealth.

Rinpoche began to perform the Dharma and expounded: 
 
To practice this Dharma text, one must have gone into retreat. You must remain in retreat until the signs described in the Dharma text appear. Only then can you perform this Dharma to benefit yourself and all sentient beings. It is not simply a matter of reciting the mantra, and the Jambalas will come and help you. The Jambhalas belong to the Dharma Protector group; they are Bodhisattvas of the Eighth Ground, and they still possess human tendencies. If your mind is not pure or your merit is insufficient, the Dharma protectors will not come.
 
After Rinpoche performed the Dharma for a while, he asked his attendant whether the nectar pill had been placed. The attendant reported that he had forgotten. Rinpoche scolded him: ‘Why did you forget? As soon as you come up here, you are possessed!’
 
After continuing to perform the Dharma for a while, Rinpoche compassionately (maitrī and karuṇā) expounded to the assembly: ‘Those of you who wish to implore the Jambhala may implore now.’ The attendees are grateful to Rinpoche for compassionately (maitrī and karuṇā) bestowing the opportunity to pray to the Jambhala.
 
The Dharma of the Black Water Jambhala is performed to a perfect completion.
 
White Mahākāla
 
When Rinpoche was preparing to continue performing the Elephant Jambhala Dharma of White Mahākāla, a disciple accidentally dropped the Dharma portrait while placing it on Rinpoche’s Dharma table. Rinpoche scolded him: ‘Immediately make 100 grand prostrations! Are you really men? Trembling over such a small thing,’ Rinpoche then instructed the attendant to properly place the Dharma portrait on his Dharma table.
 
Now, I am performing the Elephant Jambhala Dharma of White Mahākāla. Both of these jambhalas are related to Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara and Immovable Buddha. Therefore, it is impossible to perform this Jambhala without practicing Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara first. The so-called practicing Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara indicates completing at least one million recitations in retreat before you can practice the Dharma of Jambhala. Many people wish to practice the Dharma of Jambhala, but the Dharma of Jambhala is not something you can learn simply because you wish to.
 
While Rinpoche was performing the Dharma, his sacred body and the mandala radiated golden light. The space was filled with a miraculous fragrance, and the attendees felt the ground shaking and warmth in their bodies, experiencing an ceaceless flow of blessings.
 
Rinpoche asked his attendant: How much did the agarwood used today cost? (The attendant replies: NTD 600,000.) Rinpoche asked: Why does it cost so much? (The attendant replied: The weight is the same as before, but the price has increased.) It’s not as good as before.
At that moment, Rinpoche instructed the attendant to ask the disciple who was doing grand prostrations: ‘I told him to make 100 grand prostrations, how many times did you do?’ The attendant reported: 302 times. Rinpoche scolded the disciple: Do you make the decisions now? From now on, you are no longer in the  Dharma Affairs Team; you are not qualified to learn the Buddha Dharma. The guru told you to make 100 grand prostration, why did you do more? Do you think doing extra brings more merit? If you were holding a photo of your parents, would it fall? (The attendant replies: No.) Then why does the portrait of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas fall? (The attendant answers: I made a mistake.)  It’s not a mistake; it’s because you lack a heart of reverence. You come here reluctantly to learn the Buddha Dharma, hoping for blessings, and yet you can’t even hold the Dharma portrait properly. With a genuine heart of reverence, you would never let the Dharma portrait fall. I told you to make 100 grand prostrations, and you did 300! You think you’re very capable and don’t need to listen to me, then what’s the point of learning the Buddha Dharma? Stop learning.
Rinpoche then instructed the disciple in charge: This person doesn’t need to make offerings to me, or to the Monastery or the Buddhist Center, anymore. How many years have him been a disciple? (Replies: About 15 years.) And you still act like this? What a waste of your own time. I’ve achieved a lot in my 15 years of practice, and you’re still like this after 15 years, dropping the Dharma portrait, ignoring instructions. I told you to prostrate 100 times, and you did 300. Are you trying to compete with me? If you have the ability, make grand prostrations 3,000 times! You people are unreasonable!  Perform the furious form of Achi.
 
After Rinpoche performed the Liturgy of the furious form of the Dharma Protector Achi, he instructed the monastic disciple to lead the assembly in reciting the dedication prayer.
 
Then, Rinpoche continued to expound:
 
Many of our Drikung Kagyu centers do not perform the Elephant Jambhala Dharma. This Dharma was personally transmitted to me by a Mahasiddha in the Drikung Kagyu lineage, Yunga Rinpoche. (see: The Incomparably Wondrous Dharma Fate Between the Great Practitioner and His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche – the Mahasiddha Yunga Rinpoche). This Dharma is an earth termas Dharma, not passed down through generations in the lineage. The Black Water Jambhala is also an earth termas Dharma passed down by Padmasambhava, and many Buddhist centers do not perform this Dharma. Usually, in Buddhist centers, the Yellow Jambhala is the main Dharma being performed, and some also perform the White  Jambhala. The White and Yellow Jambhala are more beneficial for practitioners, whereas the Black Water and Elephant Jambhala are especially helpful for ordinary worldly people. Regardless of which Jambhala is performed, the eventual goal is the same: to help resolve certain financial difficulties you have so that you can learn and practice the Buddha Dharma properly.
 
On Sunday, I expounded that whether you are learning Vajrayana or Tibetan Buddhism, whether you are learning Bodhisattvayana or Vajrayana, there is only one single Dharma method: to be 100% obedient towards the guru. Earlier this disciple was being disobedient because I told him to make 100 prostrations, and yet he deliberately made 300 to show me and prove that he could keep doing them. As someone with some understanding of psychology, one would think he is fighting with him. During the refuge-taking puja the other day, what did I say not to do to the guru? (The assembly says: Get angry.) So he thought, ‘Is this really that big of a deal? I just dropped the Dharma photo, and I got hit and was forced to do grand prostrations as punishment. I will do more than you asked, to show that I can.’ That’s why I asked him whether he would have dropped the photos if they were of his parents. He said no. Why did he drop them? Because he was irreverent, and merely came to do the job in the hope that the job would yield good fortune. Therefore, the yidam made him reveal his true form; what did he reveal? The lack of reverence towards the guru. You all heard me tell him to do 100, and yet he deliberately did 300 to show me. Do not think there is much benefit in doing so, when you encounter gurus like me, we would think that you are being disobedient instead. 
 
If you still employ your human ideas to learn Buddhism, you truly cannot learn anything. What are human ideas? It is to think about yourselves. Is it so that if we learn Buddhism, we are no longer human beings? You are still human, but you must adjust your mindset and attitude in order to reach attainment with the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Otherwise, how can you reach attainment? Why do you feel heat rise when I recite the mantras? Why does the ground shake? Why do you see light? When you recite the mantras, all you can see is a ray of darkness, and you all move as well, once your legs get numb and your lower backs get sore, or when you move to scratch your itching face. Where does this come from? It comes from the fact that you have not adjusted your notion of ‘self.’ To adjust your thoughts does not mean refraining from all worldly matters or refusing to take care of your children or your husband; it is not so. What it means is to understand, after all, in all of the things you do, the intention of Buddha Dharma, or what? As the Dharma text I just practiced earlier states, including when one is making repentance rites, the Bodhicitta is repeatedly mentioned, and one must make dedication; the self is never mentioned, but the more you practice not for yourself, the more you receive; the more reluctant you are to give, the harder it is for you to receive. 

Today, in practicing the Dharma, apart from the repentance rite that went relatively smoothly, when practicing the Blackwater Jambhala, they forgot to place a nectar pill. The Dharma photos fell, indicating that many of you lack the heart to make offerings. Thus, the guru encounters minor obstacles when performing the Dharma because I am helping you forcefully, but you do not meet the criteria to receive my help. I will definitely reach attainment when I practice the Jambhala Dharma, which I do only once a year and never regularly. Why not? Because it is too tiring, Agarwood is getting more and more expensive, so expensive that it costs 600,000 NTD. Now, I will publicly announce that, in the future, when the Buddhist Center holds the Elephant Jambhala pujas, the amount spent on buying Agarwood should not exceed 400,000 NTD. If we ever go past this amount, the person who decides to buy must foot the bill. It isn’t that the yidam would be joyous for certain just because one burns more Agarwood, nor is it that the yidam would be upset because there is too little. I do so according to everyone’s financial circumstances, since you are all too stingy about making offerings, why should I force you? 

One should be joyous in learning Buddhism; if you don’t make offerings, Rinpoche would also be joyous, and so would the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Even when you don’t have money to make offerings, the Bodhisattvas would be joyous. Why so? The most important aspect of making offerings is the heart! There have been many stories in the past when many people made offerings to Shakyamuni Buddha, not with money, but yielded immense merit because of their heart of offering. Why must we make offerings? For ourselves, since through making offerings we earn the good fortunes to learn the Buddha Dharma to transcend life and death, and to leave samsara, but not for the immediate goals.  
 
Both Dharma texts speak of resolving your poverty, and poverty is not defined by not having enough money to pay for your housing loans, or children’s college tuition, this is not poverty, this is forcing yourselves to do things. For instance, I was impoverished in the past, so poverty-stricken that I had no money for food, the electricity bill, rent, and even transportation. This is what poverty is. I was so poor and all that I had left was some clothes, and since I’d always liked wearing nice clothes, I kept my clothes, and when I went out, no one knew I had no money, and that is why I buy nice clothes, I am prepared to become poor anytime. (The assembly laughs.) Since I don’t know if I’ve done anything bad in the past. 
 
Everyone must understand that poverty comes from the unwillingness and reluctance to make offerings; it is all caused by what one has done in past lives. How much one offers is up to one’s own abilities, and it is not considered good to simply offer everything; it is not the case. The matter of offering is complex and intricate; it is not the case that one should follow what others do; it is all up to one’s own attitude. One’s heart is the most important aspect. 
 
You should not copy what I do, as Rinpoche makes offerings whenever Buddha Dharma has needs; even if I can’t afford rent, I would still make offerings first. Why shouldn’t you follow me? Because it is up to me, but it is not the case with you. If you made an offering with your whole month’s income and there’s no drama at home, I will hand it to you. Therefore, do not imitate me because I am someone destined to endure hardship in life, and you are all people of good fortune; since you have good fortune, you must cherish it to learn Buddhism instead of to continue enjoying your human relations and families. Your human relations and families are generated through actions in past lives, and they emerge in this life; whether they may be good or bad, it’s all from the doings of past lives, and are unrelated to how you may practice and change them. 
 
For instance, Shakyamuni Buddha was a prince who renounced everything and left to practice under harsh circumstances. Thus, his brother became next in line to the throne under Shakyamuni Buddha’s absence, but Buddha insisted that his brother come to practice forcefully; Buddha can do that, but we cannot. Why? Because Buddha knows, but we are not so clear. As laymen, we encounter many contradictions in the process of learning Buddhism, and where do these contradictions come from? They are of your own doing. The Ratnakuta Sutra especially instructs us on how the laity should practice the Bodhisattva Path while living lay lives, which I have expounded at great length and do not feel like repeating. But, you must learn, don’t be so immutable; in your decades of life, you have continued to dwell this way, you must become Buddha’s disciple, and while refraining from letting others misunderstand you, you must live your lives with the Buddha Dharma. You must learn—it should not be the case that Rinpoche has to keep an eye on you every day. 

You have all grown up and given birth to children, so you should know what learning is. Whatever job you hold, you must have gone through a long period of learning before being able to accomplish it well. Why do you think that learning Buddhism is a matter of one or two days, years, or five or ten years? That is why the Buddhas have ceaselessly expounded the Buddhist sutras, while constantly adjusting, blessing, and teaching you, instructing you in many aspects in which you should not take part. It is because you must learn constantly, and never think that this is too troublesome. If I told you that after learning Buddhism for ten years, you will get a job that pays 10 million NTD, would you learn? Of course you would learn! Some people spend five or six years learning a skill diligently and then earn some money, which feels quite satisfying. If you study Buddhism and practice each day diligently, you will most definitely be a changed person after five or six years. However, this is the way things are in the human world; you cannot avoid learning, going to school, or going to work because we all dwell in this world.

So, why do the Buddhist sutras talk about how one speaks of the Dharma that is difficult to believe in the Evil World of Five Turbidities? It is not because Amitabha Buddha’s Dharma is hard to believe; rather, Shakyamuni Buddha’s teachings of the Dharma are hard for human beings in this world to believe, as they contradict our lives, thoughts, theories, and morals. `When one enters the treasures of sutras to see things clearly, one understands that all is due to one’s own karma and fate, and thus understands that there is no contradiction; perhaps their existence forces me to learn Buddhism conscientiously in this present life. 
 
If my father had not died suddenly due to a heart attack, I would not have determined to learn Buddhism because my father had practiced Daoism very well; his sudden death made me feel that this thing did not work. Why not? The most important aspect of mankind is death; he practiced so well but had no control over his own death, so what is the purpose of practicing this method? Thus, when I was learning Buddha Dharma, I understood that there is an answer, a method, I not only poured my life into it, I devoted everything, all of my primordial powers into it, and never did I take a step backwards. Moreover, I had not the slightest idea this would bring about anything, nor did I think of what it might cost me; I thought of none of this. Because what I was seeking was a way to eliminate all fear upon death for myself and all sentient beings, this is what I am doing. No one is fearless in the moment of death since no one knows what happens after their own death, but now I have learned and accomplished this. You are all very clear about how incredibly capable I am at transferring consciousness, but why am I capable? Because I know how to help the deceased. 

Why have I always been insistent on the Buddha Dharma and enforced all precepts—because I know it can be done. The storms over the decades in this world, all fame, fortune, and desires are merely fleeting clouds, and in one’s final second, one will realize that one has wasted time all this life. Each day, we waste a lot of time satisfying our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind—we do these things every day. 
 
Especially those people who enjoy scrolling on their phones, I have warned you not to scroll, and yet you still don’t listen. Earlier, why did he forget to place the nectar pill? Because your generation is so used to phones, without them, your memory is lost. Our generation had no cell phones; we had to remember everything in our heads, so our brains are more capable than computers. However, mankind has become lazier, and is constantly scrolling on phones instead of flipping through books, refraining from reading or learning anything; the more advanced technology becomes, the faster human culture disappears. Therefore, many European countries are creating regulations that allow the use of cell phones for those younger than 16 years old, but not for surfing the Internet. These regulations are gradually being enforced, first in Australia, and then in Europe, but we have yet to begin.  

In our twenties, when we worked for others, we made mistakes once but never twice. They make mistakes again and again, and again! I asked them why they made the same mistakes again, and they told me they had forgotten. This is everyone’s slogan. ‘I forgot’ is not the mantra of any yidams, alright? Do not make a habit of saying ‘I forgot, I forgot,’ no matter how hard you keep saying these words, it will be of no use to your memory; you must train yourselves not to be lazy. 
 
Why were there more obstacles today when I practiced the Jambhala Dharma compared to last year? I’ve realized that it is your problem, not mine; regardless of whether I have wealth, I live the same way. Some of you have attended many times and feel that this is the way things are; each year is just about the same. Please! What is the economy like in Taiwan, and yet you all have secure jobs and have all received your year-end bonuses, how many people are jobless these days!
 
Another year has gone by, and a new year commences; if you cannot change your nature, then there is no way. Don’t think that Rinpoche will always remain in this world; my time is decreasing year by year, and your chances of seeing me are diminishing as well. When you took refuge, I told you about associating with the guru, which means often coming to see the guru, but you are all busy and think nothing of it; you’ll see him once on Sunday. It’s all right for you to see me once on Sunday, four times each month. Sometimes I’m at the Monastery, and you have one week less, so perhaps three times in total. Perhaps I’m abroad, and there goes one more chance of you seeing me, and you end up seeing me only twice a month. Moreover, when you do see me, I will berate you, and that worsens the impression. Today is the first day of the year, and tomorrow is the start of a new year. I‘ve worked overtime, so goodbye, that’s all.

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Updated on February 23, 2026