His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s Puja Teachings – June 14, 2026
His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche ascended the Dharma throne to preside over the incomparably wondrous Chod puja. Upon ascending the Dharma throne, Rinpoche entered chanding (Puja Teachings Index 06) and proceeded to recite the Great Six-Syllable mantra for a long time. While Rinpoche recited the mantra, the ground shook, his sacred body and the mandala emitted a brilliant golden light, many attendees felt their whole bodies grow warm, their chakras vibrate, while a miraculous fragrance permeated throughout the room, appeasing all vexations.
As Rinpoche began to practice the Dharma, he instructed all attendees to recite the names of living and deceased beings they wished to help three times. When Rinpoche blew on the leg-bone Dharma trumpet, the summoning cry rang out, piercing through the heavens. Waves of shivering air came through, moving towards the mandala, while the room temperature dropped significantly; slight odor, the cry of animals, and a clamor of human voices rising and swelling were noticed—countless sentient beings were desperately swarmed forward to receive consciousness-transference, and it appeared as if a thin layer of fog had enveloped Rinpoche’s Dharma throne. With his incomparably wondrous bodhicitta， Rinpoche visualized his own blood, flesh, and bones turn into nectar, and offered it entirely to the suffering sentient beings without the slightest reservation.
In the process of performing the Dharma, Rinpoche recited the Great Six-Syllable mantra in a slow and mournful manner at first, which caused all attendees to share the sense of grief, but in the following, Rinpoche’s chants sped up and pierced right through their hearts. Upon perfect completion of performing the Dharma, the thin fog subsided, the mandala radiated a golden glow, the room temperature rose, the bodies of all attendees grew warm, and all could sense deeply, Rinpoche’s heart of great maitrī, desperate to liberate sentient beings from samsara, causing tears to stream down uncontrollably out of immense gratitude.
Upon performing the Dharma to perfect completion, Rinpoche instructed all to practice the Dharma Protector, and proceeded to expound teachings with great compassion (maitrī and karuṇā) afterwards.
Apart from being able to transfer consciousness, the Chod Dharma also has many benefits should one practice it over a long period of time. For example, it states here that internal fate, evil karma, and karmic obstacles, which means all the evil and virtuous karma one has sewn in past lives and the karmic obstacles they generate internally. Those bound by name and fate to malevolent spirits and bhuta, which means having committed so much evil in the past, one has generated fate with the sentient beings such as demons and ghosts, and therefore will cause sickness, pain, and suffering. Chod (the Dharma of offering one’s body) is the practice of making offerings, as the name suggests. Therefore, if you have not made offerings, these recitations are useless to you. For instance, before performing the Dharma. I recited, ‘I offer all of my body, speech, and mind, all wealth, and all virtuous roots to the yidam. Since you can’t fulfill any of this, your suffering later has nothing to do with me.
It is written here that sickness, pain, and suffering are induced. In fact, 90% of our illnesses have to do with this, and seeing a doctor merely provides a kind of psychological comfort by thinking that you are taking medicine and seeing the doctor. But actually, the root of the problem has not been resolved. Therefore, if one practices the Chod Dharma accordingly, one can immediately eliminate these sicknesses and suffering. All three of greed, hatred, and ignorance can be eliminated naturally; I plead for the guru to bless me. Later on, there’s another sentence: The three disorders of wind, bile, and phlegm can naturally subside and come to rest; most of our illnesses are related to the qi of wind, the heat of the bile, and phlegm. Let the Chinese medicine doctor explain this! Speak slowly and clearly. (Disciple-Huang, a Chinese medicine doctor, replies: Yes, reporting to Rinpoche, the disorder of the wind is related to the body’s vital energy (qi). Disturbances and reversals in the body’s overall flow of qi are associated with disorders of wind.) Which of the sicknesses are related to the wind? (Reply: For instance, conditions involving abnormalities of the heart and the respiratory organs, such as the lungs, are associated with wind disorders. As for bile disorders, they involve the digestive system and diseases of the liver and gallbladder. Even conditions such as insomnia are related to bile disorders.) Does diabetes fall under the category? (Reply: Yes. Diabetes also falls within the category of bile disorders.) What about phlegm? (Reply: Phlegm disorders refer to the abnormal function of the body’s metabolism and regulation of fluids. Conditions such as irregularity of mucus or inflammation of the respiratory system are also related to the disorder of phlegm.)
It can be eliminated naturally; I plead for the guru to bless me. Did you ever implore? No. Have you fulfilled the standard of a disciple? No, and that’s why your prayers can’t be fulfilled. Originally, I had many illnesses, and so I specialized in practicing the Chod, and all the gurus have blessed me; although I dare not say that I am very healthy, but as an eighty-year-old man, I would say that I am relatively healthy. Therefore, those of you with heart diseases, if you believe in doctors and specialists who look after presidents, you are being conned. Why are you so easily deceived? The Dharma texts state clearly that it is due to the imbalance of the five greats; earth, wind, water, fire, and emptiness. When seeing patients, many doctors go back and forth but can only lessen the symptoms, but cannot resolve these three types of diseases in the end. Why is the wind disrupted? The lack of wind is due to the severity of greed. Heat in the bile—why is the digestive system disrupted? It’s due to strong hatred. Phlegm—why does one have too much phlegm? It’s ignorance and disbelief towards karma and causal conditions.
Everyone, go home and reflect: how much Buddha Dharma have you truly listened to and registered in this entire life up to this moment? Today I picked out a sentence spontaneously: I plead for the guru to bless me. There are criteria to be met to plead; what criteria? It is whether or not you meet the standards of a disciple in your conduct! For instance, today I helped transfer the consciousness of a deceased person who had not made any offerings in the past six or seven years, but she did not leave the Buddhist Center. I have promised that as long as you do not leave the Buddhist Center, I will definitely transfer your consciousness. However, she had not made any offerings; even if I liberated her from the Three Evil Realms to rise to the Three Virtuous Realms, because she avoided making offerings, she was greedy and unwilling to give. She will not be wealthy in her next life.
Recently, another disciple exhibited similar behavior, and she passed away from cancer. A month before her death, I was continuously helping her, but she expressed a concern: ‘I shouldn’t give the money to this daughter because she will offer it to Rinpoche. Instead, I will give it to the other daughter, who doesn’t believe in Rinpoche and therefore won’t make an offering to him.’ As a result of this decision, in her next life, she will be utterly impoverished. However, since she did not leave the Buddhist Center, Rinpoche will still provide help by transferring her consciousness and preventing her from falling into the Three Evil Realms. Nonetheless, she must take responsibility for the fate she created and its karmic consequences. Therefore, I reprimanded them yesterday, stating, ‘You have not met the standards of being a disciple!’ Did I not remind you that you must make offerings on time when you took refuge? (The assembly replies: Yes.)
Many people believe that the guru desires your offerings, but that’s not the case! Our good fortune stems from the act of making offerings. The entire text of the Chod Dharma begins with the practice of making offerings, and all Dharma texts emphasize this. Only after making offerings does one recite the mantras. It is only through these initial offerings that you can achieve attainment with the yidam while reciting the mantras. Do not assume that simply completing a hundred thousand recitations will be effective! Why is it not effective? Have you asked me? In our Dharma practice, besides emphasizing quantity, what is even more important is quality. Is the quality of your practice good? Is your practice of good quality? Have you fulfilled what is written in the Dharma text? This is especially important when you reach the Guruyoga. If you do not understand how to make offerings, do you believe that completing the mantra recitations alone means you have fulfilled the offering? I have shared many stories from my own experience, but how come not a single one of you truly listens?
Let me reiterate: His Holiness publicly stated in front of hundreds of people, ‘This disciple of mine has made over 16 million US dollars in offerings.’These are His Holiness’s words, not mine; and this amount only reflects what he is aware of—who knows how much more goes unnoticed? You have not even achieved a fraction of that success, so on what basis can you request this or that? The fact that you can attend the puja is already a great fortune. Do not assume you can automatically receive the Dharma. Ask yourselves how you make offerings. It’s important to note that Rinpoche doesn’t require your offerings. For instance, a disciple who hadn’t made offerings for years called me two nights ago to say that his wife had passed away. I performed the Dharma for her immediately; I didn’t tell him that I would only do so on the condition that he first made an offering to me. Initially, when his wife died, her eyes and mouth were wide open. Once I performed the Dharma, I allowed him to see that her eyes were closed, her mouth shut, and she was even smiling. Only then did he understand that Rinpoche is truly capable and that none of it is fake.
Don’t wait until you’re dead to come and test me, alright? As mentioned earlier, these illnesses—the three disorders of wind, bile, and phlegm—can naturally subside and come to rest. This means that as long as you fulfill the standards of a disciple, the guru will definitely help you. However, none of you have done this. Therefore, I practice this Dharma today mainly to assist those deceased beings; there’s little I can do for you since none of you listen. For example, consider the disciple who was hesitant to make offerings and stated that she would rather give the money to her daughter who had not taken refuge instead of to her daughter who had. I have helped her with many things. Money is indeed important to you, and I recognize its significance, but you will receive nothing if you don’t make offerings.
How much offering did I decline yesterday? (The monastic disciple replies: Reporting to Rinpoche, NT$1.22 million.) How many years have you been kneeling by my side when I receive the audience of believers? Has it been two years? (The monastic disciple replies: Yes.) More than that? (The monastic disciple replies: Yes, more than that.) Three years? (The monastic disciple reports: About 4 years.) Four years, and on average I decline NT$ 1 million per week. (The monastic disciple reports: More than that.) More than that? (The monastic disciple reports: Yes, on average it’s about two or three million.) Then calculate how much I decline each year. (The assembly laughs.) At least NT$4 million? (The monastic disciple reports: More than that.) More than that? (The monastic disciple reports: Yes.) Alas! If Rinoche were truly greedy for money, then when that disciple’s wife died, I would have called Disciple-Lai and instructed her to tell him: ‘He hasn’t made an offering — he needs to make an offering first to accumulate good fortune to help his wife.’ But instead, I helped without uttering a second word, and I refused his offering afterwards; moreover, I prohibited him from making offerings today. Why? Not to punish him, but because he is reluctant to part with it. Since he is reluctant, if he were to make an offering, he would be murmuring inwardly, turning it over in his mind, and his karmic fruit would be even more severe, so better simply not to make the offering— then there is no problem. Rinpoche is very compassionate (maitrī and karuṇā), to forbid you from making offerings is to prevent you from murmuring inwardly and turning the matter over in your mind: ‘Should I give to him or not — and what if I have no money then?’ This gives rise to evil thoughts, which will render your offerings useless.
Many may wonder: Does one need money to learn Buddhism? Let me ask you one thing: What doesn’t require money? Moreover, you should all be well aware that Rinpoche has continued to help you incessantly in the hope that you may all in this life…for you to all be liberated would be very difficult, and to be reborn in Amitabha Buddha’s Pure Land is already extraordinary; at least you should be physically healthy. You all have these three types of illnesses, isn’t it so, Dr. Huang? ( Doctor-disciple-Huang replies: Reporting to Rinpoche, yes! Clinically, these three types of diseases are very common.) Disciple-Huang sitting behind you has an inexplicable heart condition, and he thinks all day that he knows a very famous doctor who attends to many presidents and is a cardiology specialist.
Rinpoche reprimanded Disciple-Huang: Have you become more confused as you’ve aged? When you took refuge, I instructed you to abandon evil friends. So why are you spending every day with these people? If you feel aimless all day, I can arrange for someone to talk to you. I’ll have Disciple-Hsie chat with you. Disciple-Hsie, Disciple-Huang is feeling very lonely—the loneliness of old age has set in. As you are the current chairman and he the previous one, you are to meet and converse with him from time to time; do you understand?’ (Disciple-Hsie replies: Yes, I understand.) What did you understand?(Disciple-Hsie replies: I understand that I am to chat and communicate with Disciple-Huang.) Rinpoche continued, ‘Disciple-Huang believes a man who claims to be a cardiologist for the presidents of the United States and other heads of state. However, I don’t think his fortune is great enough to be acquainted with such a capable person. If you were truly that capable, you would not have become my disciple! If Disciple Hsie is not enough, I can get another person for you, alright? Don’t you understand the meaning of the four words: ‘Abandon evil friends’? You think he hasn’t asked you to do anything wrong or to eat meat, but all day long, he’s telling you mythological stories, and you are moved by them—you won’t even realize when you’ve been conned.
Rinpoche instructed Disciple-Hsie: Remember to call Disciple-Huang on the phone to chat with him, to show some care for this lonely, bored, old man; he has a wife, but he is lonelier than you. Your wife has begun to treat you very well. (The assembly laughs.)( Disciple-Hsie replies: Thank you, Rinpoche.) What’s it got to do with me? ) (Disciple-Hsie replies: Everything in body, speech, and mind has been bestowed upon me by Rinpoche.) I didn’t give you this wife. (The assembly laughs.)( Disciple-Hsie replies: That was done carelessly.)You married her before taking refuge. (Disciple-Hsie replies: Yes, that was done carelessly.) What’s that got to do with me? To drag me into the matter. One can only say that because you have constantly endured my reprimanding, your good fortune has risen, so your wife treats you better now. Remember to converse with him, alright? （Replies: Yes.)
Disciple Huang feels extremely lonely, and he has believed in this particular man for his entire life. I’ve told him last time, ‘How can there be such a tall tale? How is it possible that our entire government is unaware of such a capable person in Taiwan?’ He truly believed he had met someone great. Rinpoche then advised Disciple Huang, saying, ‘If you think it’s wonderful to know this man, why don’t you reconsider being my disciple?’ (Disciple Huang replies: I will be Rinpoche’s disciple for my entire life.) I am worried about you. (Disciple Huang responds: Thank you, Rinpoche.)What am I worried about? Not your aging, but the possibility that one day this man might take you away. Then your wife would come to find me. You have already made many mistakes; are you going to keep making them?
Rinpoche continued to expound: now that he is old, and has followed me for so many years, might as well tell you about one of his great achievements. Back when I let him serve as the committee’s chairman, he said he couldn’t. I asked him why. He said, ‘Since my wife cared for my parents when they were ill, I owe her a favor.’ Rinpoche said to Disciple-Huang, ‘So you don’t owe any favor to the guru? I saved your life.’ (Disciple-Huang replies: I know.) Isn’t this kind of person just talking nonsense? But that too is his karma — as I mentioned just now, his karmic obstacle.
Therefore, for your illness to subside naturally, you must first be a standard disciple, only when you implore the guru will the guru bless you. Don’t think that by quickly finishing reciting the Guru Yoga, you will become attuned with the guru. I definitely will not be attuned with you, because I didn’t instruct you to practice the Dharma in such a way. Disciple-Wen, here you go again, speaking at length to tell me how capable you are. Rinpoche instructed Disciple-Lai: ‘Cancel her retreat, this time.’ Rinpoche said to Disciple-Wen: You, as a teacher. When you teach students, and they don’t listen, what will you do? If you assign homework to students and didn’t instruct him to do it in such a way, and the student goes and finishes it, what will you do? Do not use your human brain to come and learn Buddhism, all right? You cause me trouble all day long. Since you are a layperson, then act like a layperson.
After Rinpoche instructed the monastic disciples to lead the assembly in the recitation of dedication, Rinpoche continued to bestow teachings:
On the nineteenth, I will go to the Buddhist Monastery for retreat, so there will be no puja on Sunday, the twenty-first. If you want to go to the Monastery to recite mantras, organize it among yourselves. (The assembly expresses gratitude to Rinpoche in unison.) Yesterday, who was the person who came forward together with Disciple-Wen and said that she had completed the Guru Yoga? (Disciple-Lai replies: Disciple-Wu, the mother of Disciple-Chen.) How long ago did I transmit it to her? (Disciple-Lai replies: Quite a while ago.) How long? (Disciple-Wu replies: It was transmitted on May 23.) You were very fast. Did she register for the retreat? Cancel it. (Disciple-Wu replies: Yes. I repent.) Are you trying to rush through the schedule? When I transmitted this Dharma, did I tell you to rush through it? (Replies: No.) Did not expect this, right? Rush ahead of the schedule in previous ones, and suddenly, when it came to Guru Yoga, you’re not permitted to rush. (Disciple-Wu replies: I was wrong.) Do not say that you were wrong. You are all overly eager for achievement and recognition. You think that once you have finished it, another Dharma will be transmitted to you; including you, Disciple-Wen; I will no longer transmit the Dharma to either of you. There is no guru in your hearts. The Dharma text was given to you, and you want to do whatever you want to do? You think that reciting it over and over every day and it would work? As if reciting in such a way, I will be attuned with you? (Disciple-Wu replies: I repent.) Stop saying you repent. You are both being teachers. I have said that before: teachers and doctors are the most difficult people to liberate. Not listening to the words at all. Acting on your own! Thinking that rushing to complete one hundred thousand times of the mantra recitation and it would work; then you happened to be wrong!
Everyone, listen carefully. No aspect of the Buddha Dharma is determined by your own ideas; every Dharma text repeatedly reminds you that you need the guru’s blessing. How does a guru bestow blessings? By seeing whether you have lived up to the standard of a proper disciple, something that was clearly explained to you when you took refuge. Even if you have not met that standard, the guru will not abandon you and will continue to teach you. However, only when you have met that standard will your prayers for blessings be effective. Otherwise, you remain merely a devotee—a disciple in name. These two disciples think that once they have completed The Four Extraordinary Foundations of Vajrayana Ngondro, Rinpoche will allow them to enter the Vajra (Secret) Hall. Just wait and see! That is only what the two of you think, isn’t it? Disciple Wen, just wait and see! You are acting on your own assumptions. Do you think learning Buddhism is like going to school—graduating from elementary school and moving on to junior high, then high school, university, graduate school, and finally a doctoral program? Both of you have been well educated. When you applied to graduate school, wasn’t it the professor who decided whether to accept you as a student? Isn’t that right? Your academic qualifications alone were not enough. The same principle applies to you now. You may wonder, ‘Is it wrong to try to catch up?’ Earlier, when you were doing grand prostrations, I kept scolding you for not doing it faster. Yet now, when you are rushing just to catch up, I am scolding you instead.
It’s because, firstly, you do not understand the guru’s mind. Second, if I choose to fall out, I will. What does that have to do with you? Third, I am looking at the motivation with which she practices this Dharma. As soon as I asked just now, the answer came out: the two of them were rushing because they wanted to enter the Vajra (Secret) Hall. They were not trying to practice this Dharma properly or understand how the guru attained accomplishment. That was not how they were trying to understand me. They only wanted to know whether they themselves would have a chance to enter the Vajra (Secret) Hall. When I transmitted The Four Extraordinary Foundations of Vajrayana Ngondro, I never promised, ‘Once you complete The Four Extraordinary Foundations of Vajrayana Ngondro, you may enter the Vajra (Secret) Hall.’ Have I ever said that publicly? (The assembly answers: No.) The two of them came up with that idea on their own. At present, there are some people in the Vajra (Secret) Hall who have not completed The Four Extraordinary Foundations of Vajrayana Ngondro. I allowed them to enter because they are obedient. These two do not listen. Outwardly, they appear very reverent and respectful toward me, but inwardly, they are making their own calculations. It is just like the deceased female disciple I mentioned earlier. Before she died, she arranged everything carefully, thinking that matters would unfold exactly as she had planned. Yet now her two sisters have encountered problems and begun arguing. Why has this happened? It is not that the two sisters are at fault. It is that this disciple was wrong. She thought that the affairs of her family were hers to arrange and had nothing to do with the guru. She interfered with this and arranged that, and now, in the end, a great amount of problems have arisen that must be resolved.
It is not easy for us to take refuge in Buddhism and have the opportunity to learn the Buddha Dharma in this lifetime. You have a guru who tirelessly leads you, without regard for his own life. Please put aside your ordinary human way of thinking and learn the Dharma. Can you do that? (The assembly answers: Yes!) If you still insist on holding on to ordinary human thinking, then I advise you not to come, all right? This is a Buddhist Center for practice. I could also imitate others and speak only of so-called ‘Humanistic Buddhism.’ Then everyone would be happy, I would have no pressure, and neither would you. But ultimately, the conclusion would be that you would gain nothing of true benefit. Take, for example, the disciple who had not made any offerings for so many years. Why did I immediately practice the Dharma for her when the phone call came? At least she had never left the Buddhist Center. For that reason alone, whatever Rinpoche had promised had to be done. Whatever I promise, I will definitely do. Whatever I have not promised, no matter what you say, I will not do. By the same principle, the things you promised when you took refuge—you have not fulfilled them. I asked all of you whether you could do them, and you all answered that you could. Yet as time has passed, the commitments you once made have gradually grown weaker and weaker.
Learning Buddhism does not mean that we should give up everything, abandon all worldly responsibilities, and devote everything exclusively to the Dharma. That is not what it means. You must meet the required standard– making offerings on time is simply one of those standards. It does not tell you exactly how to arrange it, but the offering must be made when the time comes. What does ‘when the time comes’ mean? You must arrange it yourself. The Buddha did not teach you how to organize your finances. The Buddha already put it very politely: one quarter should be used for offerings. This was taught by the Buddha, not by me. Therefore, everyone must clearly understand why you wish to learn Buddhism. Even if you are merely seeking blessings and protection, hoping that your health will improve, then for the guru to bless you, at the very least you must meet the standard required of a disciple. For example, yesterday I disciplined one of the monastic disciples. There was a set of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra that she had offered. I had forgotten that it had been placed here, so yesterday I asked about it, she immediately rushed forward. This was because, deep in her heart, she still regarded that set of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra as belonging to her—because she had offered it and knew where it was.
Rinpoche asked the monastic disciple: Did I instruct you to go up onto the mandala? (Replies: No.) I am not dead yet, let us see what kind of trouble you will cause after I die! All of you monastic disciples, pay attention: ‘One day, when I am no longer here, if she comes up with any bad ideas, drive her out. Do you hear me?’(The monastic disciples reply in unison: Yes.)
Rinpoche asked the monastic disciple: Did you think that, just as at home, you would be the one in charge? Did you think that you had already changed? The Dharma protector is very capable; through one small matter, your true state was revealed. You were very nervous yesterday. Since you had already made the offering, what did the matter I was instructing others to handle have to do with you? Did it still belong to you? There was once a disciple who offered me a piece of jadeite. I kept it at the jewelry store, whenever her daughter went there, she would say, ‘Mom, this is yours.’ And the disciple would reply, ‘Yes, this is mine.’So I returned the jadeite to her. Should I return the Avataṃsaka Sūtra to you as well? Take it back! When you made the offering, you even said that this edition was out of print and no longer available. How impressive! Do you think I have never read the Avataṃsaka Sūtra? Let me ask you: how many times have you read the entire set? I have read the whole set three times. Have you? (Replies: No.) And yet you claim to learn Exoteric Buddhism!
You are fortunate to have taken refuge under such a rigorous guru, but in another sense, you are also unfortunate, because I am extremely attentive to detail. This is what His Holiness said, it is not something I said myself. From every movement you make, every glance, and every word you speak, I already know what you are preparing to do next. To prevent you from continuing in saṃsāra, I must cut off these actions that perpetuate saṃsāra at the earliest possible moment. What did that monastic disciple’s action reveal? An unwillingness to let go. What did the actions of the two disciples who came to report that they had finished their recitations reveal? Arrogance. They may feel that they were not being arrogant. They thought they were simply hurrying to make progress so that Rinpoche would be pleased and think, ‘At last, there are disciples capable of practicing like this.’
In learning Buddhism, one must maintain a single resolve. What resolve is that? Whether one has truly decided to leave saṃsāra. Once you have decided to leave saṃsāra, all the various affairs of the world are merely a game, whatever you do should be measured against the Buddha Dharma as the standard. Sometimes I feel deeply disheartened, why? For example, many non-Buddhist religions constantly say that so-and-so was able to accomplish something only because of the glory of their deity. Would you dare to say this outside? Would you say, ‘It was through the blessings of the Bodhisattva and Rinpoche that I was able to accomplish this today’? You would not dare, because you are afraid that others might laugh at you for being superstitious. Followers of Western religions constantly say, ‘It is through His glory,’ or, ‘Whatever He has arranged is good.’But what about you? The moment you feel that something I have done is not to your liking, you immediately turn against me. That disciple who had not made offerings for several years was exactly like this. I already gave him an opportunity and allowed him to speak with the board of directors. Yet even after the discussion, he still did not come to implore. He thought that since he had come to learn Buddhism, the guru was obliged to teach him. Why should he have to ask the board for permission to make offerings?
Why is Buddhism gradually declining? It is not because the Buddha is ineffective, but because the karma of sentient beings is becoming heavier and heavier. Look at Muslim countries: any food imported into the country must pass national inspection standards, and no product containing any pork-related ingredient is allowed to enter. But what about us? Just two weeks ago, I expelled the son of one of my disciples. Right there at the venue, I told him to remove the vest worn by refuge disciples because he had eaten meat. His father did not believe it. He even went home and had a long talk with him, thinking that Rinpoche had misunderstood him. The boy still argued stubbornly, saying that he had only eaten ‘vegetarian food served alongside meat.’He was clearly eating meat, yet he still claimed that it was vegetarian food served alongside meat!
Yesterday, there was also a young man who came to implore for permission to attend the pujas by video because he was going abroad to study. I refused. Because his mother has very high expectations for him. She has spent a great deal of money to send him to Singapore, and afterwards he will attend a prestigious university in Japan. His mother has devoted so much effort and spent so much money to support his education, so he should concentrate on his studies. Why should he still watch the pujas by video? If he watches them, he will only be scolded—being told that he cannot do this and cannot do that. He might as well focus properly on his studies. Since his mother wants him to study abroad, I am fulfilling the wishes of sentient beings. His mother knows very clearly that, without me, her family would already have fallen apart today. Yet all she wants is for her son to study overseas, receive a foreign education, and return to earn an extra ten or twenty thousand dollars a month. This is the kind of disciples you are.
Many of my disciples studied in Taiwan, did very well in school, and later earned good incomes after entering the workforce. So yesterday, although her son cried uncontrollably, there was nothing I could do. I cannot damage the affection between members of his family. Since his mother insists that he study abroad, would she not be very pitiful if I interfered with her plans? Studying in Singapore costs a considerable amount of money, and becoming an exchange student at Waseda University in Japan also requires money. She is spending so much on his education, she usually acts as though she were very poor, only now have I discovered that she is actually so wealthy. Of course, parents ought to support their children’s education, I am not opposed to that. But since you have decided to send him away to study, then let him concentrate properly on his studies. Yet you are also afraid that, once he goes abroad, he will no longer receive blessings and protection. So you want him to attend by video and want Rinpoche to bless him, so that he can perform better academically and return home to earn more money. I beg you—please stop using me in this way, all right? Go and complete your studies. When you return, you may become my disciple again. I will certainly allow you to come back.
Take, for example, the children of Disciple Wang. After they left, they never came back. Her entire family was also saved by me, she now has a house to live in, and one could even say that it was practically given to her by me. Yet after her children left, she never told them to come back and learn Buddhism. I have children too. Everyone hopes that their children will become highly successful. But look honestly at yourself and your family background. Even if your child does become successful, then what? Everyone should be more practical and more honest. Face the reality of your own life and stop dreaming. Do not place all your hopes on the next generation.The Dharma texts have already told you clearly that the next generation comes either to collect karmic debts or… I have never placed my hopes on the next generation. Even if they all leave, it does not matter to me, because I am a practitioner.
The way you are behaving, there is nothing more I can say about any one of you, I can only say that you are not practitioners. Since you are not practitioners, then you will simply follow your karma through the rest of this lifetime. When the time comes, if Rinpoche is still alive, I may still be able to help liberate you. But if Rinpoche has already passed away, then you will have to fend for yourselves and take care of yourselves. If, in this lifetime, you meet the standard of a proper disciple, then even when I am no longer here, as long as you recite my Dharma name, I will still bless you, because this is my vow. My way of practicing is different from that of others. I have made it very clear to the yidam: anyone who speaks my name, sees my appearance, or hears my voice may be liberated. But the key is that the person must have a karmic connection with me. Without such a connection, upon seeing me, the person may simply think that I look unpleasant.
Therefore, in practicing Chod today, I am not only helping to liberate your ancestors; I am also helping to liberate you from greed, hatred, ignorance, arrogance, and doubt. (The assembly says in unison: Thank you, Rinpoche!) This is to help you understand that, in learning Buddhism, you must remain firm in your conviction and must not retreat. If, whenever something happens, you do not come to discuss it with the guru and instead act entirely on your own, of course I can still support your doing so, because your family belongs to you, not to me. But before you act, could you first compare what you intend to do with the Buddha Dharma and consider whether it is appropriate? Take the boy who was eating meat just mentioned. His father did not even know about it, because he had allowed the boy to go to Shanghai for work. Once he went to Shanghai, a place with a population of 1.4 billion and fewer men than women, he was bound to be lost to them. It was the same with Disciple Wang, who allowed her child to go there for work. She could have firmly refused to let him go, but instead she followed her child’s wishes.
Rinpoche has spoken at such length today because I am getting old, and the time remaining to me is growing shorter. I hope that, while I am still alive, I can tell you all the essential points of everything I understand and everything I know. If you can grasp these key points, then I believe that even after I have departed, you will still be able to avoid falling into the three lower realms. As long as you bring my appearance to mind, you will definitely not fall into the three lower realms. (The assembly, moved to tears, says in unison: Thank you, Rinpoche!) But the key is that you must have absolute faith and allow no doubt whatsoever to arise. The moment doubt arises, the power of the blessing can no longer reach you. It truly is this way. Rinpoche would not deceive you. (The assembly says gratefully in unison: Thank you, Rinpoche!)
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Updated on June 18, 2026