The Consecration Ceremony for the Glorious Jewel Buddhist Center’s Taizhong Office Comes to an Auspicious and Perfect Completion

In an effort to further spread the Buddha’s teachings as well as the pure Dharma lineage of the Drikung Kagyu Order, and under the protection of the Three-Grace Root Guru His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang, the lineage gurus, the Bodhisattvas, the Buddhas, and the Dharma protectors, His Eminence Vajra Guru Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche has compassionately established an office for the Glorious Jewel Buddhist Center in Taizhong. It is hoped that this will allow more sentient beings to come in contact with the Dharma, pay homage to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and cultivate causes and conditions for practicing Buddhism, thereby benefiting countless sentient beings.

On April 20, 2015, His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche presided over the opening ceremony for the Glorious Jewel Buddhist Center’s Taizhong office. A total of forty-seven people participated in this auspicious consecration puja, including two distinguished guests, seven monastics, and thirty-eight disciples. The Chinese Drigung-Kagyu Mahayana and Vajrayana Society also expressed its support by presenting a special flower basket adorned with the words, “Congratulations on a joyously successful consecration.”

At 10:30 in the morning His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche ascended the Dharma throne to preside in person over the consecration ritual. The guru began by speaking of the true meaning of consecration: “Consecration unlocks the pure light possessed by sentient beings. The light of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas is the same as that of sentient beings, but the latter has become shrouded by the Five Poisons of greed, hatred, ignorance, arrogance, and doubt. The consecration is also a way of imploring the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to bestow blessings and protection upon all people who attend the Buddhist center. However, without a genuine resolve to practice Buddhism, coming here to worship is useless.

“The first step of consecration is to exorcise all our evil. This does not literally mean ridding it of goblins, sprites, and ghosts; rather, it refers to eliminating our internal and external demons. Internal demons are our own minds, practicing Buddhism with greed, hatred, ignorance, arrogance, or doubt, while external demons are demons of heaven, which hinder us from learning the Dharma methods of liberating from reincarnation. These internal and external demons are called forth by our own minds. If we have no such evil within us, however, then those external demons can find no weakness through which to penetrate our defenses. Thus, consecration and exorcism prevent these demons from causing hindrance to the Buddhist center.”

Next, His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche began to perform the consecration ritual. The brass-colored sacred Buddhist statues immediately began to glow with a solemn but dazzling gold luster. The statue of Dharma Lord Jigten Sumgön of the Drikung Kagyu Order especially began to emit a soft, auspicious golden radiance, as if backlit by an aura of endless illumination that suddenly brightened the Buddhist Center. This extremely unfathomable phenomenon filled all of the attendees with heartfelt praise for the grand auspicious blessings of the Dharma.

While performing the Dharma, His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche conducted the rice-scattering ritual. The grains of rice glowed with a brilliant, multi-colored Buddha Light that transformed into a rainbow of Dharma nectar that fell upon and blessed all sentient beings in the void. As it was tossed upward, the rice froze in midair, and then slowly fell back down. This auspicious sign showed that the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the Ten Directions had accepted this praise and offering, and was also an indication of the practitioner’s boundless cultivation.

The grand consecration ceremony for the Glorious Jewel Buddhist Center’s Taizhong office came to an auspicious and perfect completion. All the sentient beings were filled with joyous praise, a good omen that meant that His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s wonderful compassion and aspiration would enable the Dharma to prosper greatly and that the teachings of the Drikung Kagyu Order would flourish in this area, allowing countless sentient beings to obtain benefits and blessings from Buddhism.

Updated on May 8, 2015