His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s Puja Teachings – August 16, 2026

 
His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche ascended the Dharma throne to preside over the incomparably wondrous Chod Puja. After ascending the Dharma throne, Rinpoche entered ding (Puja Teachings Index 06) for a while and then chanted the Great Six-Syllable Mantra for a long period. During the mantra chant, the ground shook, and golden light radiated from Rinpoche’s sacred body and the mandala. The assembly was as though they were in the Western Pure Land; a gentle breeze blew, a miraculous fragrance filled the air, and faint, melodious birdsong could be heard from the void. Many felt warmth throughout their bodies and vibrations in their chakras, while their afflictions ceased.
 
After Rinpoche began performing the Dharma, he instructed the assembly to recite three times the names of the deceased and living beings whom they wished to help. When Rinpoche blew the leg-bone Dharma trumpet, summoning sentient beings to come to receive consciousness-transference, chilly gusts surged from the entrance of the Buddhist Center towards the mandala. A clamour of voices came from the air, and the room temperature dropped abruptly. Countless sentient beings swarmed eagerly to receive consciousness-transference, and the area surrounding Rinpoche’s Dharma throne appeared to be shrouded in a thin mist. With incomparably wondrous Bodhicitta, Rinpoche visualized his own flesh, blood, and bones transforming into nectar, making dānapāramitā (Puja Teachings Index 15) with all of them without reservation to suffering sentient beings.

During the performance of the Dharma, Rinpoche chanted the Great Six-Syllable Mantra again. At first, his chanting was slow and filled with sorrow; it then gradually quickened, each chant penetrating deeply into the hearts of the people present. After the perfect completion of the Dharma performance,  the mandala radiated golden light once again, and the room grew warm again. The assembly was deeply moved by Rinpoch’s heart of great karuṇā in urgently liberating sentient beings from reincarnation. Tears streamed down their faces, and their hearts were filled with gratitude.
 
The Monastery should be exceptionally solemn, with all this in place. With the Monastery, the stupa, the monastics, and the lay practitioners all in place, it is now a perfectly complete Buddhist monastery. Some monasteries may have monastics but no lay practitioners; some may have lay practitioners but no monastics; some have a monastery but no stupa; some have a stupa but no monastery. Each is lacking in some respect. Thanks to the blessings of Shakyamuni Buddha and His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang, as well as the good fortune accumulated through my own practice, this Monastery is now perfectly completed. Without a stupa, it would seem as though something were missing. During the Refuge puja, you were told very clearly what to do upon seeing a Buddha image, a stupa, or a sutra. What should you do? (The assembly replies: We should make prostrations with reverence.) That is right! Therefore, I am giving you more opportunities to accumulate good fortune for your practice. (The assembly replies: Thank you, Rinpoche.) The two monastics who refuse to move into the Monastery will not be permitted to circumambulate the stupa, because they are being selective.  
 
Many sacred objects are placed inside a Tibetan Buddhist stupa, including numerous sutras and mantras. Rinpoche has spent a great deal of money to have them installed. I may as well tell you now that the stupa will be as though Shakyamuni Buddha himself were present there. This was made possible by His Holiness, who supported me in accomplishing this thing because I am doing it for the benefit of sentient beings. Many people have now forgotten that when we first began constructing the Monastery, we opened an account to receive donations. When did I close that account? (The assembly replies: In February.) I closed it in February. Why? Because once we had enough money, that was enough! I do not want the Monastery to possess an excessive amount of money. Every cent was hard-earned by sentient beings, and I take that very seriously. Therefore, those monastics who move into the monk’s hut will be indebted to sentient beings. If you practice even a little less than you should, you should be prepared to repay a great deal. Do not say, ‘I am tired today, so I would like to take the day off.’ Taking even one day off would leave you deeply indebted. There will be no such thing as taking leave. You may say, ‘Rinpoche, I am about to die.’ That would be fine. As long as you know in advance that your time has come, you may lie down in bed, and I will transfer your consciousness. But unless you are about to die, you must get there even by crawling! Do not imagine that you are moving into the Monastery to enjoy a comfortable and leisurely life.

From the time fundraising for the Monastery began until now, all of its accounts have been overseen by accountants and many other people. To this day, Rinpoche has not used a single cent of the Monastery’s funds, not one dollar, apart from the Founding Abbot’s Residence at the Monastery. That is reasonable, is it not? (The assembly replies: Yes, it is.) Having a cup of tea is reasonable, is it not? (The assembly replies: Yes, it is.) And having a meal is reasonable too, is it not? (The assembly replies: Yes, it is.) Other than these things, I have not used any of the Monastery’s funds! Unlike the abbots of many monasteries, who treat everything as though it belonged to them, I would not dare do that. I truly would not dare! Why not? Once you become indebted to sentient beings over successive lifetimes, you must repay that debt. Whether it takes one thousand or two thousand years, it must still be repaid. Since I have decided not to return after this lifetime, I try my utmost not to incur any debts. 

I accept offerings from disciples who have taken refuge in me, because I teach you the Buddha Dharma and have helped you in many ways. However, I never accept offerings from those who have not taken refuge under me. It was only for the construction of the Monastery that I opened the gateway of widely cultivating virtue for them to make donations. Yet, every time Rinpoche performs the Chod, their names are included on the list, and I perform the Dharma for them just the same. I owe them nothing! Therefore, you should spread the word: the Rinpoche of the Glorious Jewel does not line his pockets! In fact, I could have kept that donation account open, since the stupa is still under construction!

Right now, I am planning on planting about 50 to 80 fruit trees on the Monastery grounds—not so that the monastics can eat the fruit—I’m feeding it to the animals, as there are many animals, insects, and birds there. I realized that since there are very few trees in that area, the animals have very little food to consume; thus, I shall plant trees that bear fruit easily for them to eat. The staff members planted a type of tree with very sour fruit, so I asked: Would the animals eat that? They said yes because the animals do not distinguish sour flavors from others. (The assembly laughs.) Well, I don’t know since I am very scared of the sour taste. Therefore, everything, every act Rinpoche does at the Monastery is for the sake of the sentient beings.

We will place many precious items inside the Stupa this time, which I have prepared myself without the use of any of the funds from the foundation. It isn’t that I want to claim this offering for myself. The funds of the foundation are made up of a set amount for making payments, which cannot be used for anything else; another portion has been set aside for the future, after I have passed away and when no one comes anymore, there can be funds to support the monthly expenses; there is also another amount for the regular monthly expenses and administration fees. I monitor and control both accounts very strictly, and I must sign off on every single expense. I also question every withdrawal—when anything seems incorrect, I will ask about it. Therefore, Disciple Shi has gotten thinner recently because I terrorize her all the time. What do I terrorize her about? ‘Hey, what is this fee for? Are you trying to con me?’And then she has to constantly explain herself to me—as of now, Disciple Shi dares not lie to me.
 
It is not easy at all to run and organize a Monastery completely according to the spirit of Shakyamuni Buddha—Who isn’t greedy? One must not build a monastery resplendent in gold and jade on the basis that allowing the sentient beings to make donations will help them sow the fields of good fortune, and so one makes the monastery as beautiful as one wishes. As the Abbot guru, I should give when I have the money because the sentient beings’ money is hard-earned and should not be easily wasted. If the sentient beings’ money is all concentrated in certain areas or certain groups, the capacity for consumption in this society will drop. It is not to prevent sentient beings from sowing the fields of good fortune, but rather we should give help in the aspects that are needed the most. For example, when I was building the Monastery, you gave help in the areas that required help. Upon completion of construction, I stopped—we will no longer take from the donations. Many say that I am foolish since if the account remains open, wouldn’t it be great to receive money every month? I don’t want that at all! How can I repay them?  
 
Therefore, these monastics should be clear—they will receive no money when they come to my Monastery. Each month, there will be an allowance from the Monastery which is just enough to cover their living expenses since all meals will be provided by the Monastery in the future. Why must we wait until September? Because arranging the kitchen properly and finding someone whom I find suitable for managing the kitchen has taken a long time. You all know that I am very particular — my restaurant is spotless, and we only use the best ingredients. Some of you have not been to my restaurants — go quickly or else it will be too late, especially those men in their seventies. Do not wonder whether or not one must take a meal so ceremoniously—it’s not ceremonious at all; instead, it lets you feel how Rinpoche treats the sentient beings. We can finally start now that we have hired a cook. You monastic disciples just wait! There will be no delicious food. If I hear anyone complain about the flavors, get ready to leave. As long as the food is not poisonous and is prepared in a clean and hygienic manner, you must eat it.

Originally, the monastics should all be in retreat every day  — how can they have lives of their own and so many other affairs? As a layman myself, I am reluctantly engaged socially once in a while as I have no choice, but otherwise I live quite simply. The disciples who serve my food at the company all know that I eat very simple meals—a bowl of white rice, green vegetables, and one or two other dishes, and that’s all — I never order anything specific each day. Theoretically, I could order since I own the restaurant and everything else. However, it isn’t so; I have opened a few restaurants with high standards of hygiene, and have had nothing to do with the toxic oil incidents, which, in other words, is my offering to these disciples — a clean place to eat. These old men and old ladies still refuse to go—is it really that far? In the future, if you want to go, you can make a phone call, and I will drive you there in person, how’s that? (The assembly laughs.) How ridiculous! For example, the doctor-disciple from Hualien has never been there; is Hualien that far? Although I am not in the restaurant on a daily basis, I know approximately which of you come, and which of you don’t.

The Stupa at the Monastery is built in the Tibetan style; Tibetan Stupas can be distinguished as Stupas for Buddha, Stupas for a specific Buddha, or Stupas for a guru. One must be meticulous about building a Stupa; in what aspects? Because the Stupa must be sealed off in the end, there cannot be moisture inside — even the architect neglected to consider this matter. I asked him the other day: If I were to seal up the structure, what does one do about the humidity? He did not think about the matter. I thought about the five grains and Buddhist scriptures—which you came to roll and bind, and which will all go inside the Stupa. There will also be other incredibly precious items inserted —I am not afraid to mention this matter since I would admire anyone who dares go and steal these things—anyone who endeavors to do so will encounter some major consequences.

How long has it been since I last performed the Chod Dharma? (The assembly replies: Two months.) Last time I spoke about that Disciple Chen —I performed the Powa Dharma for her (Auspicious Signs of Perfect Completion of the Phowa Conducted by His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche), and the photographs of her remains after cremation showed an enormous opening at her Aperture of Brahmā(Crown Opening). How big was it? Let me find something for scale; it was the size of an NT$ 1 coin (see the attached image). Everyone knows that this person did not practice at all when she was alive, and as a poor teacher she did not make many offerings; further, she was incessantly disrespectful towards Rinpoche— according to reason, nothing of this kind should have happened to her. However, there was only one thing: two or three months before she died, she truly realized deep down in her heart that she had been wrong, and she continued to repent. You do not repent; you simply hope that things can improve after repentance. She, however, truly repented, realized that she was wrong, and prayed that Rinpoche could help her go to Amitabha Buddha’s Pure Land. I was very far away from her when I performed the Dharma for her, and how could I have punctured such a large hole at the top of her head?
 
Doctors all know very well that it takes great effort to drill a hole in the bone. Even if one did succeed in drilling a hole, there will be cracks along the edge—it cannot be a smooth and perfect round hole. Since I began practicing the Phowa Dharma, I can tell you one thing — anything can be successful once I visualize it. 
 
Originally, before she died, Disciple Chen did not repent at all— she thought there was nothing, and when she first came to repent, I asked her what she wanted to repent for. She couldn’t think of anything. I said, ‘You haven’t repented; go back and think through things clearly.’ Only then did she recall things one by one. As long as you give rise to evil thoughts in your minds, particularly evil thoughts towards the guru, no matter what sort of evil thoughts, you are evil. I did not ask her to make any offerings in particular, nothing at all. Because Disciple Chen turned her mind around before she died — she truly understood her mistakes and was willing to repent; moreover, it was complete repentance from the bottom of her heart. Her family members are in the medical field—they understand. You often say that you are wrong, but this is not repentance. She repented for wasting these past decades, for not practicing diligently, and for wasting the guru’s energy.  
 
If you’re so capable, you can practice the Phowa Dharma, and puncture a hole at the Brahmā Aperture (Crown Opening); even if you chanted the character ‘phe’1000 times, there still would be no hole punctured. A while ago, another group copied a few photos of the skulls of people who have received my Phowa Dharma and placed them on their website, and only placed one photo of his own, which merely showed a small, black spot, and he claimed that he had attained the Phowa Dharma; only the photos he took from me showed actual holes. In other words, it can be deduced that it’s very difficult to practice the Phowa Dharma; otherwise, he wouldn’t have had to steal my photos; he could have used his own, right? I spoke so much today to everyone not to boast about my own capability, but to tell you all that it isn’t good for you to disrespect or disbelieve the guru, nor is it good for you to harbor deviant, malicious, evil, or wicked thoughts towards the guru. How so? It will definitely be detrimental to your practice. Do not harbor the idea that you can practice and attain achievement on your own—you cannot. What do we recite? Homage to the Original Guru Shakyamuni Buddha. All of our gurus represent Shakyamuni Buddha in transmitting the Buddha Dharma; if you don’t respect this ‘human’guru, how could you respect a Buddha that you cannot see? You wouldn’t. If you can’t even respect someone alive standing before you, how can you respect a statue placed in front of you? Therefore, since you believe that you want to learn and practice Buddhism, even if you have made many mistakes, you must know that you’re completely wrong from the bottom of your heart— not so that you can reason with others and explain why and how you were wrong, and how you won’t make the same mistakes again in the future. 

Wrong is wrong. There is nothing to explain. For example, if a chef cooks a dish and I say it does not taste good, and the chef replies because of several seasons, would you say that this chef is still qualified to be a chef? No, he isn’t anymore! It is the same with you: ‘I was wrong, but I was wrong because of this or that.’ When you speak of this, it shows that you think you were not wrong, because you keep looking for many reasons to support that your mistake is justified. You forgot what the Buddha Dharma said: greed, hatred, and ignorance. As long as the arising of the mind and thoughts is greed, hatred, or ignorance, then it is wrong. There is nothing to explain! Therefore, today, someone as ‘foolish’ as I am can be able to attain a few accomplishments; it’s because I never explain about my mistakes. I have also told you how His Holiness disciplined me. Why is it that you do not understand and can’t take it in? Still explaining. Wrong is wrong!
 
Why is it said in such a way? You are still in the body of ordinary beings and haven’t yet been liberated from life and death. On what basis do you think you are without fault? Even when we practice Anuttarayoga Tantra, before beginning the practice, we must repent before the yidam of Vajrasattva. You think that you are not wrong, and it was because of this and that; then this is no repentance. Wrong is wrong. There is nothing to explain. Otherwise, the Kṣitigarbha Sūtra would not say, ‘All our thoughts generate karma and vices.’What does it mean when speaking this sentence? Ordinary beings, every thought is nothing other than greed, hatred, and ignorance, these three words. Not a single matter that is not done for oneself, and harms others. If you say that you did something wrong because of so-and-so or for some other reason, then you are refusing to acknowledge the Five Poisons of greed, hatred, ignorance, arrogance, and doubt that Shakyamuni Buddha taught us about. In that case, no matter how much you practice, you will never attain any accomplishment in your practice.

Just as I mentioned earlier, the disciple who works as a doctor in Hualien has money. I have never saw him come to my restaurant to have a meal. A meal costs only a few hundred dollars; he can afford it. Why does he not come? Because he thinks, ‘I am here to learn Buddhism. You run a restaurant to make money. Why should I go?’ Of course, even if I run a restaurant to make money, have I made money to the point of being scammed by others? That is something impossible. Why would one have such a thought? This is called a discriminating mind; thinking that monastics are not wrong, and a lay guru must have some faults. The fact is, laypeople have the faults of laypeople, and monastics have the faults of monastics. As long as one has not been liberated from life and death, and as long as one has not attained Buddhahood, one definitely has faults. At the very least, I am able to be completely open and transparent: money and wealth do not come into my hands. The association has been operating from 2007 until now, and I have never withdrawn a single cent. Those longtime members remember this very clearly: Rinpoche has never taken even a single cent. Even when you make mandala offerings during puja, sometimes I would say that I will not take it and will cancel it.
 
Where could you find a guru like this? And yet you still don’t practice properly? I have never invented pretexts or special titles to make money. Now that the Monastery is so solemn, I could also say that I am going to make some kind of pillar for you, and that as long as it is placed there, you will become prosperous. I could charge whatever price I want for each pillar. Could I do that? I could. You would certainly listen. My Monastery is such a large building. If one pillar casually charged for 200,000, then ten pillars would be two million; one hundred pillars, how much would that be? In the past, when I worked so hard to raise funds, I still never used this kind of pretext to get money. Are you still not satisfied? Still not willing to be clear, still listening to people speaking nonsense?

Just like those two monastics are not planning to come and stay, thinking that I am a layperson, and that a Monastery of a lay practitioner could not possibly last. Let everyone try and see, whether your monastery can last, or my monastery can last! My Dharma lineage will not be severed. I have lived to the age of eighty and, absolutely, there is a Dharma lineage that can continue. If today His Holiness believed that my Dharma lineage would be severed, then he would not have said to me, ‘Build a monastery.’ If His Holiness had not said this, I would not have done such a thing; because I knew that building a monastery would be extremely troublesome, would bring many burdens, and would require solving enormous problems. Of course, once the guru had spoken, I went and did it. His Holiness also did not tell me how big it had to be. He was very capable and powerful; He saw, and when it was almost enough, when I still wanted to buy more land behind it, he said, ‘Enough, enough. This is about right. It is sufficient.’
 
Today, Rinpoche has spoken so much with heartfelt earnestness to urge you. It is now August, and August is almost over. Everyone has already spent eight months less on this earth. If you keep using your own thoughts, ideas, opinions, and stubbornness to continue to attend puja like this, learning Buddhism in this way, there will be absolutely no progress. Therefore, Rinpoche urges you; it is not for my own sake. If it were for my own sake, my Monastery could make a great deal of money, and the Buddhist Center could also make a great deal of money. I was the one who found this. When I bought it, the price per ping was 80,000 dollars cheaper than the market price. Could I have added that amount to the price? (The assembly replies: Yes.) Could I have registered it in my own name? (The assembly replies: Yes.) In the end, whose name was written? (The assembly replies: The association.) Therefore, do not be so lacking in conscience. You have bullied us lay practitioners far too much. Having no conscience. (The disciple who had been ordained for thirty years prepared to kneel and rise.) All right, all right. Do not get up. Do not get up. From now on, you are a guest associate. Because you are not going to follow, you are now a guest.
 
In September, we will hold the Great Amitabha Puja of Transferring Consciousness. It is also very strange. Once it is said to be the Amitabha Puja, the speed of registration is faster than anything else. Have that many people died? This definition is that everyone is afraid of their karmic creditors. If one is afraid, then practice properly! Today, we announced that registration had begun, and by that very evening it was already full. If I had announced it earlier, there would have been 20,000 people. I am very good at Dharma Amitabha. In the past, when I held it, one I rented, I rented the Nangang Exhibition Center. They asked, ‘Rinpoche, where will the people come from?’ I said, ‘I do not know. The Bodhisattvas will bring them.’ It was held for sixteen consecutive years. Each year, there were 20,000 people, slightly more than 20,000 people. Even His Holiness wondered, ‘Why are there so many people?’I said, ‘It was only through word of mouth!’ The Kagyu lineage is precisely a pith instruction lineage. We did not advertise either, did we? (The assembly replies: Yes.) Nor did we appear on television. Nothing at all. We did not use social media either. None of that was done. It was all through word of mouth. Because I deeply believe in one thing: if the Dharma I practice is in accordance with the Dharma, and if my practice is effective, then I do not need to worry. The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas will help me bring people. Just like I built this monastery, what I worry about is not whether there is money or not but whether I will fail to do it properly.
 
Just as His Holiness said: whatever matters you do that are related to the Buddha Dharma can attain accomplishment. It is that your cultivation has already attained accomplishment. How was I able to do it? Single-handedly, I went and built a monastery. No one helped me; rather, I was the one helping them. Disciple Lin has learned who knows how many things from me. He used to be very impressive. He was a judge, those who wanted to become engineers had to be evaluated by him. Impressive, right? And now, it turns out that I am the one evaluating him. Is that so?
(Disciple Lin replies: Yes.) The Great Architect Lin, speak honestly, have you learned anything? (Disciple Lin replies: Yes. Thank you, Rinpoche.) And where’s the money?
(The assembly laughs.) You think saying thanks, then everything will be fine? How many times have you gone to my shop? (Disciple Lin replies: Not enough times. I will make a great effort to go. Thank you, Rinpoche.) And your wife will not go? (Disciple Lin replies: The whole family will go together. Thank you, Rinpoche.) This Rinpoche is truly pitiful, right? Therefore, today I am speaking casually with all of you, I treat you as speaking with members of my own family. (The assembly replies: Thank you, Rinpoche.) Do not thank me anymore. Treating you as family, I am truly very pitiful, truly very miserable. Therefore, each time I perform a Dharma, I help you reduce some obstacles and some karmic hindrances. This, on the contrary, you will gradually become lost and confused; because you think that you yourselves have cultivated results. It is not you. It truly is not you yourselves who have cultivated to attain. But Rinpoche does not calculate this with you. I keep giving, and giving, and giving, until the day I die. We will perform the Dharma Protector Achi.

After His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche performed the Phowa, the skull of Disciple Chen appears as an auspicious sign, a circular opening in the size of a one-dollar coin.

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Updated on August 20, 2026