1335：Appreciation for the Guru’s Non-abandonment and Compassion (Maitrī and Karuṇā) toward Sentient beings
Prostrations to His Eminence Vajra Guru Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche, His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang, the Lineage gurus, Dharma Protector Achi, and the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. I am Ye Su Zhen from Group Five, and my Dharma name is Hui He Drolma. My husband is Lin Ya Min from Group Seven, and my daughter is Lin Qi Xuan from Group Five. I am grateful to Rinpoche for bestowing me the opportunity to praise the guru.
In January 2007, one evening while I was at home taking care of my four-year-old daughter and my one-year-old son, I was preparing to bathe the children and picked up my one-year-old son, who had his back to me. At the time, my son, Bo Chen, had a calcium tablet in his mouth. The sudden hug caused the tablet to be lodged in his respiratory tract, leading to a lack of oxygen supply. He was sent to the hospital for emergency treatment, but his condition did not improve. I felt extremely guilty in my mind and sought help everywhere by praying to deities and consulting fortune-tellers, spending a great deal of money, yet my son didn’t regain consciousness. I signed the consent form for a tracheostomy, a decision that left my son in a vegetative state, requiring long-term hospitalization and dependence on a ventilator to sustain his life.
Half a year after my son’s accident, through a stroke of fate, I met a Dharma brother, who praised the traces of His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche liberating sentient beings to me. Although I had my doubts in my mind at that time, I wanted to give it a try as long as there was an opportunity. When seeking an audience with Rinpoche, Rinpoche asked us, ‘What is it?’ Crying, I replied, ‘My son choked while eating. I implored Rinpoche to save my son.’ After entering ding (Puja Teachings Index 06) and chanting mantras, Rinpoche expounded that my grandmother’s consciousness had not been properly transferred, and she had undergone a tracheostomy before her passing, so my son also suffered in the same way. Rinpoche compassionately (maitrī and karuṇā) bestowed us the opportunity to attend the Sunday pujas and granted permission to transfer the consciousness of my grandmother, who had passed away after our imploration. Rinpoche then said to my husband, ‘Stop being superstitious. You should become a vegetarian. Only if you attend can your wife attend.’ I am grateful for Rinpoche’s great power of attraction (Puja Teachings Index 22) and blessings, which enabled us to attend the pujas smoothly.
After attending the pujas for a while, a Dharma brother reminded us to hurriedly implore for taking refuge; only by accumulating good fortune could we help our son who was suffering. We finally took refuge in His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche on January 6, 2008.
After taking refuge, I brought my son to seek an audience with Rinpoche for the first time, imploring Rinpoche to bless my son. Rinpoche Compassionately (maitrī and karuṇā) used the vajra in his hand to bless my son’s head and body, and then expounded that my son had been suffering from poor digestion recently and asked me what I had been giving him to eat. I replied, ‘Milk and juice of vegetables and fruit.’ Rinpoche then asked, ‘What else besides these?’ After thinking for a moment, I reported to Rinpoche, ‘Because the weather is cold, I have been giving him diluted ginger tea.’ In a caring tone, Rinpoche said, ‘Ginger tea is too stimulating. Don’t let him drink it anymore!’ On the way back to the hospital, I suddenly remembered that before we went out, the nurse had just said, ‘His digestion isn’t good today. Please be careful when you take him out!’ At that moment, I had more steadfast belief in Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche, which established my resolve to definitely bring my son together to seek an audience with Rinpoche no matter how difficult it might be.
Later, my son developed a tracheal polyp around his tracheostomy. After the surgery, everything went very smoothly. We again sought an audience with Rinpoche, being grateful for Rinpoche’s blessings and imploring Rinpoche to permit us to perform the grand prostrations at the Buddhist Center on Sundays. Rinpoche Compassionately (maitrī and karuṇā) granted permission and instructed us to bring three pairs of butter oil lamps, each able to burn for seven days, to the Buddhist Center the next day. On the following day, I saw the butter oil lamps lit and placed on the mandala. I am grateful to Rinpoche for lighting the lamps on my son’s behalf to make offerings to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to accumulate good fortune!
My son had been suffering from gastrointestinal bleeding for almost a year, and taking Western medicine was unable to relieve it. Under Rinpoche’s compassionate (maitrī and karuṇā) blessings, a blister about 2 × 4 centimeters appeared on the left side of my son’s neck one or two days later. As the wound gradually scabbed over, the gastrointestinal bleeding also stopped. A while later, my son again developed similar gastrointestinal bleeding. We sought an audience with Rinpoche once more, and Rinpoche expounded, ‘It is because the iron content in the baby formula is too high, and it will be resolved after the baby formula is changed.’ After the baby formula was changed, my son never experienced gastrointestinal bleeding. During that audience, Rinpoche asked me, ‘Hasn’t your son ever attended the pujas?’ I repent for my self-righteousness; I thought that my son’s condition made him unsuitable to be away from the hospital for over two hours, so I had never thought to bring my son to attend the pujas. I am grateful for Rinpoche’s blessings, which allowed me to help my son obtain permission to attend the pujas and to be granted refuge after imploration, thus opening the fate of my son to attend the pujas and accumulate good fortune.
Nearly two years after my son took refuge, he developed pneumonia in November 2012. I wanted to help my son implore for the Phowa, so my husband and I took our son to seek an audience with Rinpoche on December 1. That day, Rinpoche neither expounded to us nor accepted our offerings. Rinpoche instructed us to perform the grand prostrations until Rinpoche stepped down from the Dharma throne. Afterwards, a Dharma brother told me that, under Rinpoche’s blessings, my son had been shedding tears continuously. I knew those were tears of my son for being grateful for Rinpoche’s compassionate (maitrī and karuṇā) blessings.
The following week, we went to the Buddhist Center again to implore for the Phowa for our son. Rinpoche glanced at us and expounded, ‘Your son’s matter could originally have been resolved very easily. It is because you are still playing and are irreverent toward the Three Jewels that the matter has still not been solved until now. You are still unwilling to make up your mind and are still muddling along! Go find the group leader and have a good talk.’ Afterwards, I relayed Rinpoche’s expounding to the group leader Dharma brother. The group leader Dharma brother reminded us that what was important at that time was to make the greatest offering to help our son accumulate good fortune. However, as for the great offering, just as Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche expounded, ‘It is not about the amount of the money, but about the heart.’
I am grateful to Rinpoche for allowing us to perform the grand prostrations at the Buddhist Center on December 1, allowing us to have the good fortune to repent to Rinpoche, repenting of our irreverence and lack of belief toward Rinpoche. The following day, during the Sunday puja, Rinpoche admonished, ‘More than a year ago, I instructed a husband and wife to come to the Buddhist Center to perform the grand prostrations. As a result, after only a short period of time, the wife did not come because she had to work overtime at the hospital, while the husband could not enter the Buddhist Center because he forgot to bring the Glorious Jewel vest. In the end, the opportunities for both of them to perform the grand prostrations were cancelled. Rinpoche has already taught them to come and perform the grand prostrations, helping them and their child accumulate good fortune so that the child could receive help and leave suffering early, yet they did not cherish this opportunity.’ I am grateful to Rinpoche for compassionately (maitrī and karuṇā) admonishing disciples, all to correct our mistakes and out of his concern for the suffering of the disciples.
For the third time seeking an audience, Rinpoche expounded, ‘It is you who have severed all of the fate. Everything has to start from zero. It has already been very good that I have not asked you to leave the Buddhist Center. Just continue to gradually attend the pujas, and we will see the fate when the time comes.’ However, I truly did not want to see my son endure the hell-like suffering any more, and this suffering was also caused by myself. Thus, after discussing with my husband, we prepared a sum of money that we wanted to offer to Rinpoche. While we had not yet made this offering to the guru and had merely given rise to this thought, the matter underwent a tremendous change.
On the evening of Saturday, December 29, while I was taking care of my son, I discovered that his whole body had suddenly become swollen, and I informed the nursing staff; because it was a holiday that day, we could only continue to observe. At 3 a.m. on December 30, I received a call from the hospital informing me that my son had completely lost all signs of life. Before rushing to the hospital, I prostrated to the Dharma portrait of Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche and reported, ‘My son has passed away. I implore Rinpoche to bless and transfer consciousness.’ Then, I reported it to the group leader, Dharma brother. Afterwards, I brought the Dharma portrait of Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche and stayed beside my son, chanting the Great Six-Syllable Mantra and visualizing Rinpoche blessing him. I thought that the offering money had not even been presented before Rinpoche; my son had already received Rinpoche’s blessings, and Rinpoche also allowed my son to pass away just before the Chod Puja. I am grateful to Rinpoche!
After settling my son properly, we set off for the Buddhist Center. At about 8:30, a Dharma brother called and told us that Rinpoche could not be found. Thinking of my own irreverence toward Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche, I felt deeply repentant and replied to the Dharma brother, ‘Never mind! Later, during the puja, my husband and I will implore Rinpoche and visualize Rinpoche transferring my son’s consciousness.’
After Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche completed perfectly performing the Dharma, I heard Rinpoche expound, ‘The son of one of my disciples became vegetative after taking calcium tablets. He has finally been liberated just now!’ The burden in my heart was eventually lifted. I was grateful to Rinpoche, and all I could be was grateful! After the puja ended, we picked up my parents-in-law and went to the First Funeral Parlor to see my son’s body. I touched the crown chakra of my son and found it was warm. My mother-in-law also witnessed the incomparably wondrous auspicious sign after His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche performed the Dharma. On the third day after my son passed away, I saw the transparent and red fluid flowing from my son’s nostrils, so I reported this auspicious sign to Rinpoche. Rinpoche expounded that it was the Red and White Bodhicitta. I am grateful to Rinpoche for transferring my son’s consciousness and bestowing such incomparably wondrous auspicious signs. That day, my mother-in-law also went together with us to seek an audience with Rinpoche. I wondered whether I should implore Rinpoche to bless my mother-in-law, but because she was not reverent toward Rinpoche, I just gave up the thought. However, at the moment we rose from our knees, I saw Rinpoche blessing my mother-in-law. I am grateful to Rinpoche!
I am grateful to Rinpoche for granting the dates for the cremation and sea burial. The weather was clear on the day of the cremation. After the cremation, a small, complete round hole appeared on my son’s skull, and most of the bones were pink in color. The sea burial was also completed smoothly before the weather turned bad and the wind and waves became stronger that afternoon.
All of these changes were bestowed by His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche. If we had not encountered the guru, our life now would have been nothing but repaying debts, living with suffering added upon suffering. I am grateful to the guru for not abandoning us despite our irreverence toward the Three Jewels and lack of confidence in the guru. Rinpoche once expounded, ‘One having a tracheostomy means the body’s central channel is severed, and one cannot go to the Pure Land.’ My son Bo Chen had a tracheostomy and had never recited even a single Buddha name. He has attended the pujas for nearly two years and accumulated a tiny amount of good fortune, yet Rinpoche bestowed vast blessings upon him. I am grateful to Rinpoche!
On January 10, ROC Year 115 (2026), Rinpoche bestowed disciples the opportunity to register to go to the Glorious Jewel Buddhist Monastery of Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche to chant mantras. I heard Rinpoche expound on the Dharma throne that everyone was about to encounter problems. On my way to work on the night shift, after turning right into a small lane, I saw a motorcycle on the opposite side continuously drawing near to my lane. I thought he might be turning, but unexpectedly, he collided with me the next second. He might have immediately turned to avoid me, but because his speed was too fast, he was unable to complete the turn in time, causing one-fourth of the outer casing of the left footrest of my motorcycle to be damaged, with part of the tubing exposed. The force of the collision caused me to fall toward the right side and hit the car parked beside me. The accident happened so suddenly that I did not know what had happened. Afterwards, I parked my motorcycle and checked the damage to the car parked by the roadside. The body of the car was intact, without any dents.
Seeing the person who caused the accident lying on the ground and not moving, I asked him if he was all right. Only after he asked me to lift up the motorcycle did I see that his leg was trapped under the motorcycle, which was why he could not get up. After he stood up, he said nothing the whole time. Since I needed to hurry to work, I told him, ‘It is that you hit me.’ The person who caused the accident said he knew. I then told him, ‘I am in a hurry to go to work, and I do not need you to compensate me.’ He also said nothing. I let him leave first and then rode my motorcycle to work. After I finished work the next day, I finally had time to recall what happened. In fact, the force of the collision was quite strong. Because I had Rinpoche’s blessings, when my motorcycle fell toward the car parked by the roadside, it did not cause any damage to the car, nor did I have even a single injury or bruise. I remember that previously, when I took my daughter Qi Xuan to school, it was also at an intersection when we were hit by a car coming from the opposite direction while it was turning left. When I fell, the motorcycle footrest pressed against my right big toe, and the rearview mirror was also broken. In this accident, astonishingly, I did not have even the slightest physical injury. As for this, I should be grateful for Rinpoche’s blessings, allowing me to have a lessened effect of heavy karmic retribution and preventing me from physical suffering; only part of the motorcycle’s outer casing was damaged, and the car parked by the roadside was unaffected. I am grateful to Rinpoche.
In October 2018, for the second time, Rinpoche led disciples on a pilgrimage to Shravasti, India, for the monastery consecration. Under the guidance of His Holiness and Rinpoche, we went to Jetavana, where His Holiness and Rinpoche expounded the Dharma. After entering Jetavana, the Dharma brothers hurried to get into position. While I was crossing over a row of short trees, I suddenly felt my fourth toe on my right foot being pulled, followed by a wave of pain. When I returned to the hotel that evening and took off my socks to check, even moving my toe slightly caused excruciating pain. Without the support of the shoe soles, even walking was extremely difficult, and I could only apply a thick layer of Bao Yuan Gao. While sleeping, my toe kept throbbing with pain, and I limped when walking the next day. When Rinpoche led disciples to circumambulate the stupa in Shravasti and the bodhi tree at Jetavana, I ran with the support of my daughter, yet felt no pain at all; I am grateful for Rinpoche’s blessings. After concluding the Shravasti pilgrimage, on the way back to Delhi, India, Rinpoche asked whether the injured disciple wanted to receive medical treatment. I thought that this pain was bearable, so I reported that I did not need medical treatment. I am grateful to Rinpoche for ceaselessly keeping disciples in mind.
On the return journey, at Delhi Airport in India, I sat in the waiting area on the right side of the boarding gate. During that time, my foot was still swollen and uncomfortable. When Rinpoche arrived at the boarding gate, the disciples stood up to reverently welcome Rinpoche. After Rinpoche walked to the seats on the right side of the boarding gate and sat down, everyone also sat down one after another. Rinpoche’s seat was about five or six meters away from me. At the moment I sat down, I suddenly felt that the sense of swelling and pain in my foot disappeared, and I stepped on the ground several times in the same spot, and there was no more pain! The Dharma brothers around me all witnessed Rinpoche’s incredible power of blessing. This also allowed me to be free from the suffering of pain and swelling during the eight-hour flight on the return journey. I am grateful to Rinpoche.
Here, I openly repent: I have harmed countless sentient beings, and committed much killing karma and other evil karma, causing sentient beings to suffer. I repent that after taking my father to seek an audience with Rinpoche in 2023, three years have passed, yet I still have not been able to let my father become a vegetarian or seek another audience with Rinpoche. This disciple truly should not have done so, and I also repent to the sentient beings on behalf of my father.
I pray for His Eminence Vajra Guru Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s good health; his Dharma wheel turns unceasingly; his Dharma lineage spreads eternally; the Glorious Jewel Buddhist Monastery of Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche is constructed perfectly and smoothly, benefiting all sentient beings. I thank all Dharma brothers and fellow believers for listening patiently.
Reverently written by disciple Ye Su Zhen, Group Five,
on July 12, 2026
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Updated on July 15, 2026