The abbot of the Glorious Jewel Buddhist Center – His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche presided over the “Acalanatha Fire Puja” at the Glorious Jewel Buddhist Center in Kyoto, Japan on May 25, 2012. There are a total of 237 attendees, including three VIP guests from India, France and Taiwan, 30 believers from Japan and Taiwan, as well as 204 disciples from Japan, the United States, mainland China, and Taiwan.

The “Acalanatha Fire Puja” has Acalanatha as the main yidam for the “Fire Offering,” which is a very auspicious Tantric Dharma within Tibetan Buddhism. It can only be presided over by a practitioner who has attained the fruition of a Rinpoche. As His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche has remarked: The fire offering is the method of ceasing calamities – one of the four methods that also include increasing benefits, empowering with compassion and subduing the devils. It has incredible effects in pacifying ghosts and demons, eliminating disasters, and improving good fortune while shunning evil omens. They allow you to subdue the devils of death, disease, affliction, and heavenly demons, and help remove the hindrance in your Buddhist practice.

Since the inauguration of the Glorious Jewel Buddhist Center of Kyoto, Japan on May 29, 2008 when His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang led Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche in performing the fire offering ritual, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche has presided over the “Fire Puja” in the Buddhist Center in Japan every year, not only ensuring that the teaching method of His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang is carried on and reverent offerings are made to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, but also giving charity to all sentient beings of the void and bringing boundless benefits to sentient beings of the Six Realms. So this Puja was held not only in commemoration of the fourth anniversary of the inauguration of the Kyoto Glorious Jewel Buddhist Center, but also for the purpose of praying for blessings and increase of blessed reward for Japan and the Japanese people.

During the Puja, His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche performed the ritual of the yidam – Acalanatha, as well as the fire offering ritual. The guru provided the attendees with valuable Dharma teaching explaining the significance of Acalanatha’s appearance of the wrathful yidam and the Dharma instrument held in his hand as well as the auspiciousness of the “fire offering.” Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche was particularly telling the story about the statue of Acalanatha in the Glorious Jewel Buddhist Center in Japan, and clarified people’s misunderstandings about Acalanatha and the fire offering, giving everyone the teaching of orthodox Dharma.

In the process of performing Acalanatha’s ritual, His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s powerful and majestic mantra-chanting sound echoed throughout the Buddhist Center and the void surrounding it, so awe-inspiring that all attendees were sitting in a stately manner with full concentration, attentively listening to the guru with their palms together in reverence. With the sound of mantra-chanting permeating throughout, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche gradually revealed the wrathful appearance that was no different from that of Acalanatha, allowing the attendees to feel the power and blessing of the yidam Acalanatha.

Upon perfect completion of Acalanatha ritual, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche started to perform the fire offering ritual in the courtyard. One day before the Puja, Japan enjoyed a very pleasant weather, sunny and dry with a little breeze. The weather forecast reported that in the next few days similar good weather with no precipitation could be expected. But Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche instructed the disciples to set up a canopy as a shelter from rain. Sure enough, it started raining on the day of the Puja. Just as the fire offering was being performed in the courtyard, “BOOM…” – it thundered. This thundering was completely different from a usual rolling thundering sound. It was the auspicious sign signaling the arrival of the yidam. At the same time, rain drops of wondrous nectar water were floating down from the sky. As Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche continued performing the Dharma, the flames in the mandala were going stronger and higher amidst the rain, all of a sudden reaching beyond three meters. The flames above the mandala of fire offering revealed an image resembling the deity of fire.

As Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche continued

performing the Dharma, the flames in

the mandala were going stronger and

higher, all of a sudden reaching

beyond three meters. The flames above

the mandala of fire offering revealed

an image resembling the deity of fire.

After that, the fire gradually grew even stronger. At first Acalanatha’s raised right hand was revealed clearly, holding a roped Dharma instrument, with the raised angle exactly the same as that of the yidam statue of Acalanatha in the Buddhist Center in Japan.

The fire formed a shape to reveal Acalanatha’s raised right hand clearly, holding

a roped Dharma instrument.

Then the fire was burning extremely vigorously, gradually revealing a standing image of Acalanatha, clear and realistic.

The fire revealing a

standing image of

Acalanatha, clear and

realistic.

At this point, the flame was changing constantly, as if forming the hook held in Acalanatha’s hand, symbolizing the compassion and wisdom of Buddhism. The snake figure around Acalanatha’s body was also revealed on and off in the changing shape of the fire.

The changing fire was revealing the hook held in Acalanatha’s hand and

the snake figure around his body now and then.

Just as it seemed that the hook held by Acalanatha was about to disappear in the void, the flame formed to reveal a realistic image of His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche sitting in a stately manner performing the Dharma. The crown and Dharma robe that Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche wore during the performing of the fire offering were all clearly visible, showing the crown’s shape with the hook that represented the compassion and wisdom of Buddhism on it. After that, the flame turned into the image of Acalanatha in a standing posture.

The flame formed to reveal a realistic and visible image of Most

Venerable Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche sitting in a stately manner.

The crown could be seen showing the hook that represented the

compassion and wisdom of Buddhism on it. After that, the flame

turned into the image of Acalanatha in a standing posture.

The flame on the mandala of the fire offering kept changing shapes, allowing the attendees to witness the most meritorious and awe-inspiring power of His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche as he was performing the Dharma, as well as many incredible auspicious signs.

As Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche was performing the Dharma, the attendees lined up in the courtyard that formed a snake-like line. They needed to step up quickly to receive the offering items with reverence, and quickly moved to near the mandala of fire offering and throw the offering items into the fire as soon as possible. There were a large number of people in line waiting to receive the offering items, moving rapidly forward to take their turns. But the venue maintained stately and orderly without any trace of chaos or unruliness, showing the most meritorious and awe-inspiring power of Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche as he was performing the Dharma. Thanks to the auspicious virtuous causal conditions that His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche continued to create, the attendees of the Puja had the opportunities to make offerings, in person, to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and bring benefits to boundless sentient beings. If it had not been for the blessings and guidance of Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche, they would not have had the difficult-to-obtain causal conditions to accumulate the resource for learning Buddhism and the blessed reward so rapidly. The performance of the Dharma ritual lasted as long as three hours, during which Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche kept chanting mantras to bless all different types of the offering items and quickly distributing them into the individual plates of the attendees, in complete disregard of the fact that he did not have cartilage in the right shoulder. This movement was repeated more than a thousand times until the perfect completion of the Dharma. Just as expressed by Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche: Anything a Vajrayana guru does is for the selfless purpose of benefiting sentient beings. Just as the performance of the Dharma was about to come to a conclusion, it stopped raining and dark clouds opened up. The sky was turning into a reddish color, gradually clearing up and revealing the sun.

Just as the performance of the Dharma was about to come to a conclusion,

the sky was clearing up gradually and turning into a reddish color.

Upon perfect completion of the fire offering ritual performed by His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche, the guru returned to the Dharma throne once again to speak to the attendees about the auspicious significance of the Dharma that was performed today, as well as persuade them to stop killing and eating meat. Furthermore, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche prayed that the Dharma performed would be helpful to Japan.

Upon perfect completion of the Puja, all attendees expressed their deep gratitude to Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche for tirelessly performing the Dharma, benefiting boundless sentient beings, and providing auspicious Dharma teaching.

Updated on June 29, 2012