His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s Puja Teachings – April 19, 2026

After His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche ascended the Dharma throne, he chanted the Great Six-Syllable Mantra for a long time; the compassionate (maitrī and karuṇā) Dharma sound filled the entire space. The mandala shone with brightness, fragrance permeated the air, and the earth trembled repeatedly; everyone felt their whole bodies grow warm. Then, Rinpoche performed the Chod Liturgy.
 
When Rinpoche blew the thighbone Dharma instrument, a mournful, summoning sound echoed throughout the space, and waves of chill swept over people, and the temperature in the room dropped abruptly. During the Dharma performance, Rinpoche paused briefly once, took a deep breath,  and continued to perform the Dharma after regulating his breath. At that moment, faint sounds of animals wailing and human voices clamoring could be heard, as countless sentient beings rushed eagerly into the puja venue to receive consciousness-transferrence. The area surrounding Rinpoche’s Dharma throne appeared to be enclosed by a thin haze. Rinpoche visualized his own flesh, blood, and bones transforming into nectar by abiding in ultimate Bodhicitta, offering them completely,  without any reservation, to suffering sentient beings.
 
As Rinpoche chanted the Great Six-Syllable Mantra during the Dharma performance, his voice at first resounded with vajra, mighty and powerful; the character ‘Hum’ is chanted with a sonorous power that penetrated directly into the hearts. Then the chanting grew fast and swiftly, as though the sky and earth were turning and surging accordingly. Several times during the chanting, Rinpoche was moved to tears out of deep compassion (maitrī and karuṇā) for sentient beings. As the Dharma performance approached a perfect completion, Rinpoche once again recited the Great Six-Syllable Mantra, this time with a gentle and compassionate (maitrī and karuṇā) voice that soothed the suffering of all beings. After the Dharma performance was completed perfectly, the mandala radiated a golden light, the room gradually warmed again, and everyone present felt their bodies grow warm. Profoundly felt Rinpoche’s great compassion (maitrī and karuṇā), urgently striving to liberate all sentient beings from the cycle of reincarnation, many were moved to tears, filled with gratitude.

After the Dharma reached a perfect completion, Rinpoche bestowed precious teachings on the Buddha Dharma. 
 
The most important things in this Dharma method are offering and dānapāramitā (Puja Teachings Index 15). In fact, when Vajrayāna practice reaches its highest level, every Dharma text contains prayers of this kind. For example, here it says: I offer my body, my wealth, my good fortunes, and all roots of virtue, etc., make offerings as endless as clouds. That is to say, one offers one’s body, wealth, good fortunes, and all roots of virtue, everything without limit, to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Outside my body, meaning the external part of the body; inner refers to the internal organs. These mandalas are transformed into a mandala for offering, and make offerings to the lineage yidams of the Chod. One then prays for blessings and for bestowing the attainment of the two siddhis—siddhi meaning attainment, the attainment of both good fortunes and wisdoms. Such attainment is for the sake of benefiting sentient beings; it is not like making a small offering and then asking for a great deal in return. For ordinary people, this is understandable; yet you should not then claim to be practicing the Bodhisattva Path. Without this kind of mindset, there is no need to implore the Four Extraordinary Foundations of Vajrayana Ngondro. I seek nothing at all. And yet, strangely, when I seek nothing, everything comes.

This kind of offering is necessary because we possess bodies of ordinary humans, and our good fortunes are extremely shallow, far shallower than you can believe. Do not assume that having food to eat, money to spend, a house to live in, or a car to drive means one has great good fortune. That is not real good fortune; it is merely the result of having made offerings in past lives, allowing you to enjoy some wealth in this life. The good fortunes required for practice, however, are beyond what you can conceive. For instance, when I entered a retreat in 2007, without sufficient good fortune, how could I have sustained a retreat for more than three months? This is precisely why this Dharma text is so difficult to practice; many are unable to realize this section through practice. It demands reaching a state of seeking nothing at all, implore only two things: the good fortune for practice and the wisdom of practice, both for the purpose of benefiting sentient beings.

You spend all day imploring enlightenment; it is like this disciple who has been ordained for over thirty years; he knows many terms, yet understands nothing, let alone enlightenment. This is because he is practicing only for himself, which has nothing to do with Mahayana Buddhism. Sometimes, when asked to speak with some believers or disciples, he is overly concerned with protecting himself. He merely repeats things I have said, and does not speak directly or point out their problems clearly.
 
Rinpoche scolded this monastic disciple: You are so good at protecting yourself, how can you possibly practice? You have learned a whole set of skills for self-preservation, speaking in ways that avoid offending believers. You have done serious evil karma, I have clearly instructed you to explain the correct understanding and knowledge of the Buddha Dharma to them and address their issues properly. I do not have the time to explain the most basic and ordinary things to them. You could do it, but you choose not to. Ah! What a pity. After thirty years of learning, you have developed such ‘skills.’ What skills? The ability not to offend believers and disciples, to speak cautiously, always protecting yourself first. This is not good!

Moreover, this Dharma text speaks about dānapāramitā (Puja Teachings Index 15), especially the method of dānapāramitā (Puja Teachings Index 15). It is entirely based on offering one’s own body, not what you imagine as giving some money, lighting incense, or igniting a lamp, which are called dānapāramitā (Puja Teachings Index 15). For example, when making dānapāramitā (Puja Teachings Index 15) to beings in the Three Evil Realms, including ghosts, nagas, and others, one visualizes his own blood, flesh, bones, and internal organs piled up like a mountain, inviting them to come and partake. Another way is to make offerings toward beings such as flesh-eating ghosts and yaksas: inviting them to take whatever they need, meat, organs, skin, fat, and bones; everything is given to them. Eat and drink freely! As long as they are contained. Take as much as they wish, take without end, until they are fully satisfied and at ease. You must be wondering—can simply reciting the Dharma text really make this happen? It truly does. Do not assume that nothing will happen by reciting. Otherwise, if it were merely recitation, how could it be that through reciting the Dharma text, I transfer beings’ consciousness?

This power comes from compassion (maitrī and karuṇā) and Bodhicitta; it is not just something spoken with the mouth; it must truly be carried out. Just now, everyone probably felt very cold, especially cold today. (The assembly replies: Yes.) Extremely cold! Did you hear any strange sounds? (The assembly replies: Yes.) What kind of sounds? (Reply: Animal sounds.) And many voices were talking, very noisy, right? (Reply: Yes.) Don’t worry, they won’t trouble you. I give them my flesh, and to them, my flesh is far more appealing than yours. Besides, I’m better-looking, eating a handsome man isn’t bad! Just like in Journey to the West, when the spider spirits want to eat Tang Sanzang’s flesh, it’s the same idea. (The assembly laughs.) So this Dharma is very difficult to practice; the difficulty lies in having the mind of complete giving and letting go.
 
This disciple, even after more than thirty years as a monastic, still cannot let go of self-protection, the mindset of not offending others, and abiding by precepts. I have already explained that there are: open the precepts, violate the precepts, and break the precepts when it comes to precepts. If a precept is opened in order to benefit sentient beings, then it is permissible. In the past, Chan (Puja Teachings Index 06) School of Exoteric Buddhism told many koans. For example, Su Dongpo once showed a Dharma master his own writings on Buddhism. The master replied with four words: ‘entirely a fart (nonsense).’ Su Dongpo, offended, rushed to confront him. The master then scolded him that even a single ‘fart’ could send him rushing across the river; just one ‘fart’ was enough to provoke him and rush here. The master’s language was really vulgar, but he made the point clearly, and Su Dongpo immediately realized his fault. If one cannot even endure being told something so blunt, how can one claim to have cultivated practice or written extensively on the Buddha Dharma? That monastic disciple suffers from the same problem, putting the self first. That is not the Bodhisattva Path. To practice the Bodhisattva Path, one must be able to let go of everything.

So you often say you want to practice the Bodhisattva Path and implore the Four Extraordinary Foundations of Vajrayana Ngondro for the purpose of being liberated from birth and death, but that is not necessary! There was a female disciple who had been bedridden for a long time and had not really made offerings normally. Yesterday, her son came to implore. I told him that as long as she had not relinquished her Refuge Precepts, so long as she remained my refuge disciple, I would certainly help transfer her consciousness. After I said this, she passed away around six o’clock last evening, and today I transferred her consciousness. What does this mean? She believes! So do not keep saying that you are capable of liberating yourselves from birth and death. If you truly wish to practice for liberation, I could give you a whole stack of Dharma texts. But simply reciting the Great Six-Syllable Mantra is enough; do not cling to your endless desires.

To practice the Bodhisattva Path, the Four Extraordinary Foundations of Vajrayana Ngondro is the first stage. Do not assume that completing them will free you from birth and death; the Dharma text never says that. Rather, the Dharma texts continually remind you to believe in the guru, to make offerings to the guru, and to have reverence for the guru. They do not speak about anything else. Only the guru can truly help you. Do you think Amitabha Buddha will help you directly? Of course, many speak of nirmanakaya (Puja Teachings Index 09) of the Buddhas. But for such a nirmanakaya (Puja Teachings Index 09) to come and help you, the criteria are extremely demanding: you must recite his name without interruption, and every single thought must be Amitabha. Can you do that? According to the sutras, throughout the six earthly branch times of day and night, that is, all twenty-four hours, every thought must be of Amitabha. This is why so many monasteries emphasize Amitabha: the meaning is that only when every thought is Amitābha will there be a chance to be reborn in his land.

Do not mistakenly think that reciting a single line is enough to get there. Even within Exoteric Buddhism, reaching that level of practice is already extremely difficult, yet some still boast that simply by acquiring the Four Extraordinary Foundations of Vajrayana Ngondro will enable them to be liberated from birth and death. That is far too early to claim! Only by relying on the guru is it possible! The importance of the guru is emphasized throughout the Chod Dharma texts. This is why I keep reminding you: it is not that I am personally important, but that the direction of practice must be like this. There can be no reliance on one’s own ideas; your own thinking belongs to that of ordinary beings.
 
Just like this monastic disciple’s way of thinking is that of an ordinary person. Although he thinks in terms of Buddha Dharma, he remains an ordinary being. He feels that when I ask him to speak with others, it is as if I am trying to embarrass him, create trouble for him, or cause others to misunderstand him. So every time, he only says vague, irrelevant, and harmless things, telling people simply to read the Rinpoche’s book more. Rinpoche scolded this monastic disciple: Then why would I need you to speak? I could just say it myself. Shouldn’t you seriously examine your mind? You use so many Buddhist terms, but you have not truly practiced. Do not think that you are practicing.

Today, when I was reciting the Great Six-Syllable Mantra, did you notice the difference in the way of chanting? (The assembly replies: Yes.) That is because the beings who came were different. Do not assume that the Great Six-Syllable Mantra is always recited in just one way; it can be chanted in such a way that four kinds of power arise. How consciousness-transference is accomplished is all taught and explained in the Dharma texts. But if you have not reached that level, it will not be revealed to you, because you would not be able to produce that recitation. Simply put, in a single breath, I sustain nothing but the Great Six-Syllable Mantra continuously. You are not able to do that. Within one breath, there is only the mantra, no other thought at all. Only then can those beings hear that you are reciting the Great Six-Syllable Mantra to help them. Do not think that if you chant loudly, they will hear you! The volume of your voice has nothing to do with them. In the vastness of the void, the voice merely serves to carry my energy out to them. It is not because the voice is loud that they can hear it, nor because it is soft that they cannot. 

Today, many beings came to receive consciousness-transference. Yesterday, between four and five in the morning, they were already outside my window, chattering noisily through the night. Now, at seventy-nine years of age, I dare say this: there are very few people left who can practice this kind of consciousness-transference Dharma method. Do not think that performing consciousness-transference is simple, that you can just sign up, put up a yellow paper with names for the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to see, and they will naturally transfer those beings’consciousnesses.

The first difficulty is how one summons these consciousnesses to the mandala to receive consciousness-transference. Once he’s dead, his spirit floats, and while floating, he may find a place and stick to it for a while and stop floating. He can lean on anything, and he likes trees in particular. This is why there are definitely ghosts in the forests. The Buddhist sutras mention that Bardos within the intermediate state are very light, lighter than fine smoke, and barely visible. How can you summon them to your side? Not simply through reciting mantras, rather, through your compassionate powers, which can move the yidam so that the yidam and all his retinues may help you find these sentient beings throughout the universe. Otherwise, how do I have such great powers to find so many deceased beings? It is all by the help of the yidam and Dharma protectors. As long as I flip through the list of names and recite them, they will go seek them out. Why do they do so? Because they know that I am doing this solely to help the sentient beings. 
 
Practicing the Chod is not what you imagine it to be; simply reciting the Dharma text does not mean all things are settled; this is a Dharma text that costs you your life, in that one relinquishes one’s own body and gives all, so very few are willing to practice. For instance, at our Buddhist Center, some children often see and tell others that they have seen many beings clinging to Grandfather Rinpoche, devouring him. Those of you who have grown up cannot see them, because your hearts are tainted and have become complex, so you’re unable to see.

In learning Buddhism, you must set a direction for yourself and not seek grand achievements. Of course, the Dharma texts state that we must vow to attain Buddhahood and be liberated from samsara, but one must first ask whether one has the capacity to do so. Do not think that by completing one hundred thousand grand prostrations, one hundred thousand recitations of the Hundred-Syllable Mantra, one hundred thousand times of the Mandala Offering, and one hundred thousand recitations of the Guruyoga means that you can indefinitely relieve yourselves of life and death. The Dharma texts do not state this at all. Only those who can let go of everything, renounce everything, can truly relieve themselves of life and death. The Ratnakuta Sutra continues to explain how a Bodhisattva relinquishes things. You should go back and review the Buddha Dharma I’ve taught and see whether your mindsets align with it; if not, you are not practicing the Bodhisattva Path. Even if you have practiced the Four Extraordinary Foundations of Vajrayana Ngondro now, or even entered retreat, you are still not practicing the Bodhisattva Path. Since you are not practicing the Bodhisattva Path, there is only one method: to abide in the guru and be completely obedient to the guru. 

For example, the disciple who passed away yesterday—her only wish was for Rinpoche to transfer her consciousness. Once Rinpoche agreed, she passed away. Who was she? (A disciple replies: Reporting to Rinpoche, it was disciple-Liao from group six.) How long had she taken refuge for? (Reply: over fifteen years.) I don’t think I have seen her. (Reply: She rarely comes when Rinpoche receives audiences on Saturday.) One cannot blame her; perhaps her financial circumstances weren’t great. Many people think that because they do not have money, they should not come see the guru on Saturdays. Making offerings is an important matter; everyone, you must not take this lightly. She was lucky; if she had not come yesterday, she might have had to wait for half a month, because I will not be receiving audiences next Saturday, as I have to hold a puja. Therefore, I often tell you all that you shouldn’t think Rinpoche will always be alive, since even if I am alive, I might often be busy and have to handle other things. This female disciple yesterday is the most obvious example; I didn’t even bless her, but simply agreed to transfer her consciousness. Her son returned around three o’clock to tell her, and she passed away a little after six o’clock because she knew it would be fine, and so she no longer feared. 
 
If you want to relieve yourselves of life and death, that can be done, and I will assign you some very, very heavy, so-called methods of cultivation, but you cannot accomplish them. What are the Four Extraordinary Foundations of Vajrayana Ngondro? It is the most foundational tool for preparing oneself to learn and practice the Bodhisattva Path. Practicing the Bodhisattva Path means that one must keep returning ceaselessly to benefit sentient beings. Before His Holiness entered retreat, I chatted with him twice. I said, ‘I will not return, Your Holiness will return, but I will not.’ His Holiness said, ‘Come, it won’t do if you don’t return!’However, my vow powers, just as His Holiness wrote in the longevity prayer he bestowed upon me, shall go wherever fate leads. Perhaps my fate with planet Earth will come to an end. I have repaid most of my debts; only a few residual ones remain. Once paid in full, I will leave. I do not think there is so much I cannot bear to part with; I am still here because there are some aspects of the Hevajra Dharma method that I have yet to achieve, so I plan to spend some time continuing this practice. 

Today, I preside over the Chod Puja on everyone’s behalf to let you know why one must practice the Chod Puja. Haven’t all your ancestors already received consciousness transference? Because the Kṣitigarbha Sutra states very clearly, as long as we, the children, continue to practice all merits ceaselessly, we shall help our ancestors and parents progress endlessly within Buddha Dharma in the future. The Kṣitigarbha Sutra also states very clearly: in one of his past lives, Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva was a Brahmin woman. After she began to learn and practice Buddhism and made great vows, her mother received a prediction of future Buddhahood from the Buddha—she was assured she would become a  future Buddha, and a Dharma name was bestowed upon her. Therefore, stop thinking that their consciousness has been transferred; it is merely that the deceased have left the Three Evil Realms. However, for them to attain Buddhahood in the future will take more than just once or twice. In my case, I am very certain that I have definitely helped transfer the consciousness of both parents, and my continual practice is in the hope that they may progress further in Buddha Dharma. 
 
If we are so selfish that we only think about relieving ourselves from life and death, what about our parents? Why learn Mahayana Buddhism? Therefore, why is it that when certain people come to me, I grant them nothing at all? It is because you have the wrong mindset, and you are not of the caliber to learn Vajrayana. Since you are not of the caliber, you should simply follow instructions obediently—recite the Great Six-Syllable Mantra, the Thirty-Seven Practices of Bodhisattvas, and uphold the Five Precepts and the Ten Virtuous Acts. Continue doing these without interruption, and this will also help you gain the opportunity to be liberated from birth and death.

The Four Extraordinary Foundations of Vajrayana Ngondro is for practicing the Bodhisattva path, if you are not prepared to become a Bodhisattva, then you truly should not think that after practicing you will become different. It is not that I will not transmit the Dharma, but I must see whether or not you possess the root capacity. Without the root capacity, even if I forcefully transmit the Dharma, you will not attain achievement; there will be some obstacles, and some problems will emerge. In these past dozens of years, I have also encountered obstacles, but, to me these few obstacles that emerged felt just as the Dharma of fate, and I should repay what I owe. Unlike you, you will only think; learning Buddhism will improve things. Just as this monastic who thinks that he has always been practicing, and has progressed along the way. If it is not for benefiting sentient beings, there is no point in progressing. 
 
What does it mean to benefit sentient beings? One gives up everything. To give up everything does not mean that you have to hand in everything you have now, but rather, it means that deep within your heart, you know that you will relinquish all. To relinquish means that each and everyone of us must one day face one’s own death alone; if one has been accustomed to not letting go, then one will be unable to let go upon death. I once performed the Powa Dharma for a female monastic, who was once the second person in command of a monastery. When she was ill and about to pass away, she did not dare fall asleep each night in fear that if she fell asleep, she would not be aware when Buddha Amitabha comes. That is superstition, and after I guided her through the matter, and performed the Powa, she passed away very peacefully. No one will speak the way I do, other people will just say to keep reciting Buddha Amitabha’s name. All the monastic disciples here have met many monastics who continued to recite, but no one passed away peacefully. To learn Buddhism, one must have a guru who possesses the criteria to lead you; as long as you take each step at a time, continue to do things in a steady, disciplined, and humble manner, things will definitely change one day. It is not that I am rejecting you in pleading for the Dharma, but when you come to plead the Dharma with an incorrect mindset, I will not transmit it to you. 
 
Yesterday, a male disciple came; he pleaded for the Dharma last year, and I said I will observe him for six months. But six months was up last October, and he only came now, which means that he doesn’t have the time. He should have come immediately when six months were up, and this means that he does not listen and has his own thoughts. He thought, six months, perhaps Rinpoche wanted to observe him for a few more months. Who knows him? I still don’t know who he is, but I was simply observing his mindset. He took the initiative on his own to drag on a few more months because he thinks that now he has the free time, and can arrange things, so that he has time to practice. When he does have the time, I won’t have time. Next Saturday and Sunday I will perform the Dharma at the Monastery. On Sunday, at nine thirty AM, disciples will be permitted to enter and recite the mantra, but it is okay if you do not go, I will not ask you to leave. If you don’t want to go, you may recite here. Okay? (The Assembly replies: Yes.) Then recite here. 
 
Rinpoche led the assembly in performing the Achi Dharma Protector, and upon practicing the Dharma to perfect completion, continued to bestow precious teachings on the Buddha Dharma. 

The person that I mentioned earlier, to whom I did not grant to transmit the Four Extraordinary Foundations of Vajrayana Ngondro after pleading—this does not mean that you are a failure, nor does it mean you do not possess root capacity, but it is simply that you do not have the fate to learn this Dharma now. Therefore, you must continue to work hard, and keep entangling on, alright? (The Assembly laughs.) If you keep entangling on, perhaps one day, I might just go crazy and transmit it. In fact, there isn’t anything too deep about learning Buddhism, but it’s because the human heart is too unpredictable. 
 
I once read a biography in the past about Xuyun, a very renowned elder monk in China. Anyone who has had some exposure to the Exoteric teachings would know of him. In his monastery, there was a monk who had formerly been a general and later became ordained as his disciple. In the late Qing and early Republican period, such generals carried heavy karmic burdens from killing, as they had commanded troops in war. After becoming a monastic, he did only one thing—he cooked in the kitchen. From the day he was ordained, he never spoke. Whenever anyone spoke to him, he would simply reply, ‘Amitabha,’ and never say anything else. It is not clearly recorded how many years he remained there. Among the monastics, he was considered of low standing, someone who was not really practicing. He even lived separately from the others in his own small quarters. One night, the other monastics suddenly saw a red light coming from his room. Thinking it was a fire, they rushed over. Instead, they found that he had passed away while sitting in chanding(Puja Teachings Index 06). They then asked Xuyun, the elder monk, to come. As they were about to move the body, the old monk told them not to touch it and to wait a few days. In the end, he took a small ritual chime used in the Exoteric tradition and struck it once in front of the body, and the entire body turned into powder.

This person learned nothing else, only the phrase of Amitābha Buddha. Was it useful? Yes. But the way he practiced is not something you can achieve; even I can’t. How could one possibly not talk? There are so many people who come to ask me matters every day. But he had this opportunity and fate; apart from cooking, he did nothing else. The opportunities to come into contact with people were greatly reduced. Whenever others told him something, he would always reply Amitābha Buddha,  which means‘yes’.  He never refused when others asked him to do something. Unlike this monastic disciple, who keeps refusing me. I told him to speak properly with the other, yet he shows me his own set; in such, he is truly not as good as this one who is responsible for cooking.

The meaning of telling this story is: as long as you truly have the intention to practice, there will certainly be accomplishment. But if your mind is not firm enough and not diligent enough, then you only have one method, which is to listen to the guru completely. Just like the female disciple who passed away yesterday, she practiced none, nor had she made many offerings. Why was she able to let go of her life once the guru spoke, and why do I transfer the consciousness of her immediately today?  It is very simple. She did not understand what the guru said; she only knew that the guru would save her and help her. So do not assume that because you are educated, you will learn Buddhism better than others. Do not assume that because you have status or broad worldly experience, you will learn Buddhism better than others. The Dharma is fair. Whether one has identity, status, or wealth has nothing to do with Buddhism. These are all your good fortune and fate. Therefore, when learning Buddhism, one must make a resolve. It is not that one must be determined to understand this or that, or practice this or that. For example, the Drikung Kagyu lineage has a total of fifty-two empowerment liturgies, which equals fifty-two yidams. How could Rinpoche possibly cultivate all fifty-two yidams? There is no time to practice that many, and yet there are indeed fifty-two yidams. There are so many because each sentient being has a different fate with each yidam. Today, that you have appeared here means that the yidams I cultivate are also yidams with whom you have a fate. Therefore, do not ask or implore.

If you had no fate with me and no fate with my yidam, you would not have come to this Buddhist Center. There are so many centers in Taiwan, why would you come here? I do not advertise, I do not appear on television, and I do not keep telling my miraculous stories. I simply proceed step by step, steadily and practically. Therefore, everyone must correct the concept of learning Buddhism. It is not that I do not allow you to come and implore the Dharma; rather, ask yourselves: are you prepared? So-called ‘prepared’ does not mean that reciting a certain amount every day. That day when I said that disciple was not prepared, he had not prepared how he would actually practice, how he would arrange the time. It was only a temporary response; whatever I said, he would just say, ‘Ah… Oh… I’ll do it.’ That shows he was not prepared yet. 
 
Just as in 2007, when I went to a retreat and recited the long mantra of Hevajra, 150-syllables for one hundred thousand times. To recite it one hundred thousand times should have taken a very long time. At that time, the translated pronunciation compared to now was wrong. The incorrect translation does not mean the guru was wrong, nor does it mean I was wrong. It simply means that the translator was not clear about many of our pronunciations. Yet even so, I still accomplished results. Now, when comparing them, those were completely different from what they are now. Even so, I recited it one hundred thousand times, and it was because of the blessings of the yidam, the guru, and the Dharma Protectors. Why did they help me? Because they knew that once I learned it, it would be for the benefit of sentient beings. Therefore, they certainly helped me. Why don’t the guru and Dharma Protectors help you? Because you want to learn for yourselves, you want to comprehend, understand, and improve. That has nothing to do with benefiting sentient beings.

Of course, when the Buddha Dharma speaks of benefiting oneself and others, ‘Benefiting oneself’ does not mean making oneself better. It is that the Buddha Dharma is beneficial for you because it helps you stop doing evil, helps you continually accumulate virtues, and helps you receive reminders from the guru when you are doing wrong so that you do not continue in wrongdoing. There is one disciple who has taken refuge for more than ten or twenty years and keeps coming to repent. I told him, ‘You have not truly repented.’ Only yesterday did he finally realize where his fault lay. Do not think that saying with one’s mouth that one ate meat; it is not repentance.I clearly knew where he was wrong; I was waiting for him. Yesterday, he finally understood that his mistake was in listening to others speak ill of the guru. I asked him, You are an educated man, were you not taught that, ‘Those who gossip about others are often the source of gossip themselves’??  Then why would you listen to others? Not to mention gossiping about the guru, speaking about an ordinary one is also gossiping. Once you hear it, you are also following the evil deeds. Why listen to it? The sutra mentions that if people are criticizing your parents, even if your parents are truly wrong, as children, one should stand up and leave, listen to it no more. Why can’t you take it in? Thinking that merely gossiping and listening to it do no harm, it also causes karma.
 
Just now, when I was performing the Dharma, a group of sentient beings emerged from the hell realms, there is a hell full of sentient beings who lack arms and legs. Many of them came out just now; perhaps it was their turn. Among the hells, the two greatest are the Hell of Ice and the Hell of Fire, and besides these, there are many small hells. Each small hell arises according to the evil karma that beings created during life. Those who committed the same wrongdoing gather together in this hell; this is what we call a small hell. Perhaps this time it was their turn, and so the beings from that hell came out. Why were they all without arms and legs? The sutras explain that if, in past lives, one dug a hole in the center of the road and covered it over so that others would fall into it, and even stole other people’s wealth, lifetime after lifetime, one’s legs and hands would not be good. Therefore, when an elderly person suddenly falls and breaks a leg, it is certainly connected with having harmed others. It may not be from this lifetime, but it must be related to the past lives.
 
Buddhism speaks about cause and condition; people do not understand it deeply and keep using their own thoughts, and assume that they are practicing. For example, you have seen some elderly people who, in their final years, become mentally confused, not even taking a bath. urinate and defecate in their own rooms, leaving everything in a mess; these are definitely going to the Hell of Excrement. Why would it be like this?  First, because the karma of killing in this lifetime is too heavy. Second, either they themselves were fond of drinking alcohol, or they encouraged others to drink, and then they fell into the Hell of Excrement. Before death, signs appear, and their way of living no longer resembles that of a human being. Many people do not understand this; they say it is due to illness or old age. This has nothing to do with old age.
 
For example, it is mentioned in a Dharma text we practice that: The ghost that drives you mad and makes you insane, the ghost that lets you lose memory. Other Dharma texts do not mention this, only that particular Dharma text mentions it.. Why do such ghosts exist? Because you have harmed them in the past, so before you die, they let you lose your memory, leaving you unable to perform Dharma, completely unable to recite the Buddha’s name, and let you reincarnate. What does it mean to drive you mad? If a person has gone insane, will they still listen to reason? Why do the sutras urge us not to indulge in alcohol? Many people think it is about drinking alcohol, but it is not. In ancient times, there were not so many illegal drugs, nor western medicine that was made by chemicals. Nowadays, many western medicines are like illegal drugs. If taken for a long period, it is no different from taking poison.
 
There is one passage in the Dharma text of the Green Tara. As long as you keep practicing the Green Tara, poisons can’t harm you, including illegal drugs. The drugs synthesize Western medicine because they are all chemicals. Therefore, why does western medicine have heavier side effects? This is not to slander western medicine. The side effects of western medicine are heavier, because inside it was all poisonous. Chinese medicine also has side effects, but the toxicity is relatively milder. Therefore, one who takes western medicine for a prolonged time, especially sleeping pills and sedatives; these are all poisons. The more one takes, the more one’s whole character and mental status will be altered. 
 
Since I was old enough to understand things until now, I have never taken even half a sleeping pill, because I do not rely on such things. In the past, I suffered to the point of having no money for food, not even money for the next day, yet I still did not lose sleep. If the body is healthy, it is easy to fall asleep; there is no need to take even half a sleeping pill. Therefore, if you are unable to sleep well, and have such thoughts, from the perspective of Chinese medicine, it is a lack of both the heart and the blood. You should quickly take Chinese medicine to adjust your body. If you remain deluded and keep taking sleeping pills and sedatives, then in the end, you will have mental issues. What is so-called depression, and where does it come from? Simply put, it comes from not obtaining what one seeks. In other words, a person wants many things but cannot get them, and so keeps thinking about them. It is not necessarily a material object; for example, it is a thought, or a feeling. When one can’t obtain it and keeps dwelling on it, then gradually depression comes. Therefore, a person who learns Buddhism is impossible to have depression. If you still have depression, I would certainly ask you to leave, because you are not learning Buddhism.
 
The sutras state very clearly that humans have eight kinds of suffering: birth, aging, sickness, and death, not obtaining what one seeks, separation from those one loves, and encountering those one hates, which is that those people you hate the most will all appear in front of you and make you feel that they treat you very well. You love him deeply, so deeply that it becomes a matter of life and death, then it really is a matter of life and death. There is the raging blaze of the Five Aggregates. The five aggregates are the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body. We are pursuing external sensations; the five aggregates keep burning your body. Why do I keep telling you not to keep scrolling on your phones? What does the phone satisfy? Gossipers. You are all gossip men and women, scrolling on your phones all day long. Some of you cannot even fall asleep unless having scrolled for more than half an hour, science now says clearly that this is addiction. Do not think it is much fun. If, every night for a long time before sleeping, you keep scrolling on your phone, the light from the screen affects the nerves of the brain so that they do not rest. Without resting, mental problems arise. If you are my disciple and still keep this bad habit of using your phone before bed, I advise you to leave. Because if you have mental issues here, people will say that learning Buddhism made you go mad. But it is not Buddhism that makes you lose your mind; it is you yourself creating the causes for it.

For example, I use my phone almost only for making and receiving calls. Back when I had just started my company, they set up a computer for me to use, but after one week, I stopped using it. Why? It was not because I was lazy, nor because I did not understand it, but because I realized I had become attached to it. (The assembly laughs.) Once you become attached to an object, it is all over. So I stopped using it and relied only on my own memory. Why do I have so many employees in my company? Because a single person can’t remember everything clearly, I divide the work among them, and each person helps me remember a portion of it.
 
The more advanced science becomes, the more the civilization of humans fades away;  so be careful, everyone. I am not telling you not to use cellphones, but don’t become attached to them. Don’t feel that you can’t live without them, as if life were impossible to continue without one. In the past, when there were no cellphones, how did people live their lives? I now regret very much that in the past I did not need glasses, but ever since I began watching television, I have had to wear them. From this, you can see that technology truly brings great harm to the human body. In this Age of Dharma Decline, learning Buddhism is very hard and challenging, because there are too many electromagnetic waves interfering with the brain’s electronic waves. When we recite mantras, we can reduce such interference, even lessen it greatly, or not present. When your mantra recitation becomes very powerful, those electrowaves will no longer disturb you, because your own energy is stronger than it. But to practice to such a degree, of course, some effort is required. It is not something achieved simply by reciting one thousand, two thousand, or even ten thousand times a day. It is not that simple.

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Updated on April 23, 2026