On June 3rd, 2013, under the direct guidance of the Three-Grace Root Guru, His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang, His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche presided over the Grand Memorial Puja Commemorating the 796th Anniversary of Lord Jigten Sumgön of the Drikung Kagyu Order of Tibetan Buddhism at the National Taiwan University Sports Center. By the Tibetan calendar, April 25th was the actual anniversary of the Drikung Kagyu Lord Jigten Sumgön’s Parinirvana, and was also the anniversary specified by Lord Jigten Sumgön. Today’s Grand Puja fell on the same day as this auspicious anniversary, and was duly confirmed and approved by His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang. Holding this Grand Memorial Puja on the anniversary date specified by the lineage’s founding father not only pays homage to Lord Jigten Sumgön’s auspicious achievements, it also promotes the pure Dharma lineage of the Drikung Kagyu Order and represents the respect and gratitude Vajrayana disciples hold for their gurus.

On June 6th, 2010, His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang personally presided over the Grand Memorial Puja Commemorating the 793rd Anniversary of Lord Jigten Sumgön of the Drikung Kagyu Order of Tibetan Buddhism. Wishing to continue the heritage and tradition of this Grand Memorial Puja in Taiwan, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche obtained the permission and direct guidance of His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang to personally preside over this auspicious Grand Memorial Puja in Taiwan, which he has done for three years in a row starting in 2011.

Today’s puja fell on a Monday, which is ordinarily a workday. With no media or posters used to advertise or publicize the event, the puja still had more than 5,300 attendees, including one Khenpo and three Lamas of the Drikung Kagyu Order as well as one hundred and fifty ordained practitioners of Exoteric Buddhism. In addition, honored guests came from countries that included the U.S., France, Japan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and disciples and believers from the U.S., Mainland China, and Taiwan participated as well. The fourfold assembly from both Exoteric and Esoteric Buddhism participated together in this auspicious Grand Memorial Puja. The Minister of the Interior and the Chairman of the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission specially presented centerpiece calligraphy scrolls wishing the puja a perfect success.

As in years past, no entry fees were charged for the Grand Puja or the Mandala-Offering Ritual. The five representatives who offered the mandala and implored the Dharma were all believers who had been selected by lottery when they entered the venue. Furthermore, no commercial activity such as charity sales and so on was permitted on the premises so that the purity of the puja could be maintained. All of the funding required for the puja was jointly shared by the members of the Glorious Jewel Buddhist Culture Exchange Association of the Republic of China under the supervision and guidance of His Eminence Vajra Guru Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche, and no funds were raised or accepted in the form of donations from the outside. Upon perfect completion of the puja, His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche donated all the monetary offerings from the attendees in the amount of more than NT$3.01 million to the Department of Social Affairs of the Ministry of the Interior as funds for charity and social welfare.

Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche holds the Grand Memorial Puja each year with the permission of His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang, representing the blessings and protection of the lineage gurus and the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang, which is why each year’s Grand Memorial Puja is conducted so smoothly and perfectly. This year’s Grand Puja, too, was a perfect success thanks to the blessings and protection of Lord Jigten Sumgön, the lineage gurus, His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang, and Dharma Protector Achi. The fourfold assembly from both Exoteric and Esoteric Buddhism was filled with Dharma joy.

Before the puja began, a video specially made in 2011 for the Grand Memorial Puja Commemorating the 794th Anniversary of Lord Jigten Sumgön presided over by Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche was played for the attendees, showing precious teachings from His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang. In the video, the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang gave a special introduction of the generations of lineage gurus and the auspicious history of their tradition, and stressed the importance of a disciple’s faith in and loyalty to the guru in practicing the Guru Yoga. He praised Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche for all the work he had done for the guru and for the lineage, making great contributions with his practical actions. At the same time, of the video also depicted the three-month retreat that His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang had led Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche to conduct in 2007 on the Snow Mountain of Lapchi, which stands 4,500 meters above sea level in Nepal, as well as the three-day Fire-Offering Ritual which His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang had led Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche to perform upon perfect completion of the retreat. In the video, in spite of the mud on the ground, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche prostrated himself before the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang during the Fire-Offering Ritual upon the perfect completion of the retreat and expressed gratitude for all of the guru’s benevolences, dedicating all of the merits he had accumulated during the retreat to His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang. It is apparent that Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche follows closely in the steps of the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang anywhere he goes, whether across great prairies or over craggy mountain passes. As His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang had said, the guru and the disciple remain together forever, walking the Dharma path to benefit even more sentient beings.

On February 25th, 2013, during the Long Life Puja held at Jangchubling Monastery in India for His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche made an offering to the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang of a precious lapis lazuli bowl. This bowl was of extraordinary value, having been fashioned from 35 kilograms of lapis lazuli stones, and Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche had filled it with gold, pearls, red coral, and other precious treasures. Amitabha, Amitayus, and Shakyamuni Buddha all hold blue bowls in their hands. As an ordained practitioner, this bowl is extremely important to His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang. It symbolizes the resources of the Dharma, and indicates that all of the Dharma lineages are embodied by His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang, signifying that Buddhism shall flourish eternally. This shows the profound significance this bowl has for the transmission of the Dharma. Because of this, before the puja commenced yet another presentation was broadcast: a video of the entire process during which Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche held this precious blue lapis lazuli bowl forward to make an offering of it to His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang, including a close-up picture of the extremely rare and exquisite bowl. From the video it could clearly be seen how sincere and respectful Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche was in the offerings he made to the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang, as well as the close lineage relationship between His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang and his mandala root disciple Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche.

At ten o’clock in the morning, with the prayer flags, treasured umbrella, musical instruments, incense burners, and eight offering girls leading the way, His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche entered the venue. All the attendees held their palms together in reverent homage as the guru ascended the Dharma throne. Before performing the Dharma, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche instructed the lead ordained disciple to lead the attendees in a recitation of the Refuge Prayer and the Seven Branch Offerings Prayer. Also in the beginning of the puja, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche bestowed precious Dharma teachings upon the attendees, stating to practice Buddhism one must take refuge. The guru mentioned the importance and necessity of having a guru to guide them, and said that making offerings to the gurus is the quickest way to accumulate good fortune, thus allowing them to have the resources and good fortune necessary to continue practicing Buddhism. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche went on to praise the attendees for taking a day off work to participate in the puja; this in itself was a sort of offering, and also the causal origination of that day’s puja. He urged everyone to let go of their worries temporarily and participate in the puja on behalf of sentient beings with pure and respectful mind.

Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche made a special introduction to the pure and auspicious tradition of the Drikung Kagyu Order that had been passed down for more than eight hundred and thirty years from the Dharma Lord Jigten Sumgön’s time to this day. There have been thirty-seven throne holders, and the Dharma lineage has never been broken. Therefore the power of its blessings is enormous. The current throne holder is the thirty-seventh, His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang. The Drikung Kagyu Order attaches great importance to true practice and retreats. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche went on to teach about the relationship between Exoteric Buddhism and Esoteric Buddhism and the auspicious nature of Tantra. The significance of holding this Grand Memorial Puja lay in the hopes that the Dharma so tirelessly promoted by Lord Jigten Sumgön would continue to prosper, and that during the puja a seed would be planted within everyone in attendance so that in the future, when they cultivated a Bodhi mind, they could obtain the blessings of the guru and the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas for many lifetimes to come.

During this year’s Grand Memorial Puja, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche performed the auspicious Guru Yoga and the Lamp-Offering Ritual. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche led the attendees in recitation of the Dharma texts, praised and made offerings to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and allowed the attendees to have the rare and auspicious opportunity to chant mantras and recite the Dharma texts together with more than five thousand people. They listened to the eight offering girls sing the offering-song and obtained the vast and limitless blessings of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. During the Mandala-Offering Ritual, they made offerings to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and the guru on behalf of sentient beings; during the Tsok Ritual, the attendees were allowed an opportunity to share offerings with the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas so that they could quickly accumulate good fortune and the resources necessary to practice Buddhism. During the puja, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche chanted the Great Six-Syllable Mantra and liberated sentient beings who were still suffering through reincarnation in the Six Realms. The entire hall reverberated with the sounds of chanting, painting a picture of utter solemnity.

Over the course of this year’s Grand Memorial Puja, His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche gave detailed descriptions of the true meaning of each ritual. Speaking clearly and concisely, the guru explained the rituals’ profound significance in simple terms, rid the attendees of their misunderstandings of Buddhism, and bestowed straightforward explanations of Buddhist concepts. In addition, several times during the puja Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche admonished and corrected believers for behaving and bearing themselves in a manner that was disrespectful toward the Dharma and sentient beings while participating in the puja. This fully displayed the strictness with which a Vajrayana guru taught the Dharma, and it was completely different from the methods of fawning flattery which distorted the original teachings of the Dharma. The attendees were grateful for Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s auspicious teachings. They were filled with respect as they came to have a profound understanding of the solemnity and auspiciousness of the Dharma and the omnipresent assistance it provided to sentient beings.

After performing the Dharma to perfect completion, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche made special mention that there were many ordained practitioners and believers from Exoteric and Tibetan Buddhism in attendance that day. It had been everyone’s good fortune and virtuous root to be able to participate in the puja, and Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche hoped all the attendees would participate in the puja with joy and be grateful for those who were participating in the puja with them, as the merit of rejoicing was vast. The guru went on to urge everyone not to eat meat anymore; they should break away from all evil and only do good deeds. Participating in the day’s puja had granted them the opportunity to become disciples of the Drikung Kagyu Order in future lifetimes. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche further wished that in the future their Buddhist practice would be perfect and without hindrance, and that all their worldly affairs would go smoothly for them as well.

In the Tibetan region, the Dharma performed today by His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche usually requires all day to finish. Thanks to the guru’s unfathomable meditative powers, however, it was completed perfectly within three hours, during which time the guru bestowed assistance upon sentient beings without asking for anything in return. Upon the perfect completion of the puja, all the attendees held their palms together in reverent homage as His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche descended the Dharma throne. Applauding, they expressed their gratitude to Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche for having tirelessly performed the Dharma and for having bestowed auspicious Dharma teachings upon them, benefiting countless sentient beings, promoting the pure Dharma lineage of the Drikung Kagyu Order, and continuing the heritage and traditions of the Drikung Kagyu Order in Taiwan.

Since His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang began presiding personally over the Grand Memorial Puja for Drikung Kagyu Lord Jigten Sumgön of the Drikung Kagyu Order of Tibetan Buddhism in 2010, this puja has been held in Taiwan for four years in a row. It holds a profound significance for the lineage and propagation of the Drikung Kagyu Order, and provides unfathomably powerful blessings for those who participated in the puja, the land of Taiwan, and world peace.

Updated on June 25, 2013