Reading Quantum Physics made me a Buddhist

May 11, 2014 | Views: 301

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I have always liked reading biographies of successful people, especially those who
have changed their lives for the better through spirituality people such as Tina
Turner and Boy George have pulled through very difficult personal experiences by
engaging in spiritual practice. By studying Buddhism, they were able to better deal
with their experiences and from there, move on towards a more positive direction.

I like how their honesty and their public sharing have inspired others who are
perhaps at a difficult time in their lives too and for themselves try out spirituality
to embetter their lives. Like all of us, celebrities are no different and have their own
set of problems and worries because after all no one is free from suffering!

Below is an article, video and audio interview about Jonny Wilkinson and his
encounter with Buddhism. As a national hero of England through his rugby career,
Jonny experienced the many highs related to being a celebrity rugby player but
as life seemed to get better, he felt that he had a lot to lose and gradually
became overwhelmed with fear.

Do read the article below about Wilkinsons realisation between quantum physics
and Buddhism! I feel there are many people out there that will be able to relate to
this!

Tsem Rinpoche

he benefits of offering light

Dec 3, 2013 | Views: 9,172

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The Benefits of Offering Lamps are:

1. One obtains bright, beautiful and good eyes.
2. One has proper understanding and views.
3. One will easily obtain the heavenly eye, and can see distant and subtle phenomenons.

4. One does not break precepts.

5. Ones wisdom is perfect, and will attain to nirvana. One will obtain the wisdom that discriminates
between what is to be virtuous and non-virtuous.
6. Ones performance of virtue will not be hindered by difficulties or obstacles.
7. One is often able to see Buddhas and becomes the eye for all sentient beings.
8. One can take rebirth as a wheel-turning lord king, king in the Trayastrimsha Heaven, or king in the
Brahma Heaven.
9. At the point of death, one will recall virtuous dharma without forgetting and all those positive deeds
done while living will appear in the mind; one will have joy in the mind and recall the Buddha; the
body and mind will be pure without any worries or suffering at point of death.
10. Both eyes and four limbs will always be free from defects.
11. One will be healthy and the vocal cords will be soft and flexible and ones voice will be charming
and beautiful.
12. Ones mind will be clear and bright with intelligence, not affected by stupidity.
13. Ones life will be stable and peaceful and all necessities will be sufficient, ones mind will be free
from fears.
14. Ones wealth will increase and body and mind will be free and liberated.
15. Ones body will be healthy and strong, filled with vitality.
16. One will not have verbal feuds, clashes or quarrels with others. One can travel (the world)without
any worries and without creating any kleshas or disturbing emotions or give rise to ignorance.
17. One will not do anything out of a hazy and confused mind. One will not be easily misled by
external factors.
18. One will not take rebirth in a dark and gloomy place.
19. One will possess great merits
20. One will not run into any mishaps while travelling or walking like stepping on unclean
substances, be free from fear of dogs or wolves and their barks or howls, one will not fall and hurt
oneself and not drop into pits and lose ones life.
In Avatamsaka sutra it says, Offering Lamps can dispel all darknesses.
In the Treasury of Bodhisattvas Sutra, it says, Offering 10,000 bright lamps to confess and
extinguish hosts of negative karma and defilements.

In Cakrasamvara Tantra it says, If you wish for sublime realizations, offer hundreds of lights.
Cakrasamvara Tara includes Vajra Yogini.
In the Sutra of Giving, it says, Those who offer lamps, will possess the pure heavenly eyes and
clear wisdom in the future.

[Extracted from: A Facebook post by Uwe Meyer]

Dear friends,
It is very important to practice the offering of butterlamps. Try to complete a minimum of 100,000. It
is very good for your realization on the sutra path. It is excellent for results on the tantric path.
Tsem Rinpoche
P.S. Do not leave any burning flame left unattended.

See here for further teachings on the benefits of butterlamps:

Download the mp3 here

The Benefits of Butterlamp Offerings

Download file

For more Dharma teachings, visit the Audio Teachings section

If you enjoyed this teaching, the Kechara Forest Retreat provides a unique opportunity to sponsor a
butterlamp for life. Click here for more details.

Transcript for H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche on the Benefits of Butter lamp Offerings
Now, I just arrived back in Nepal about 1 day ago and our Ladrang people has been working very,
very hard setting this place up and were gonna do something very special tonight. So I thought Id
invite a few people over so it wont too crowded and what were gonna do tonight is this In our
Buddhist tradition we have a special system of 5 preliminary practices and the 5 preliminary
practices are designed to transform our minds, change our minds and by changing outer
circumstances. So we do the 5 preliminary practices correctly and we do it very well and we do it
completely we will see diseases heal, we will see if were obstructed by spirits, the spirits will be
quelled or stopped. If we find that our mind is sleepy and dull and un-alert we find our mind become
very, very alert very, very sharp. If we have some depression or if we have some unhappiness or
we have some kind of disturbances in our mind, or were not at peace, the five preliminary practices
also help us to clear these kind of disturbances and give our mind some kind of peace.
As we all know, as we all know very clearly, we can pray, we can pray to the Buddhas, we can pray
to God, we can pray to the deities and we can pray and pray and pray but no matter how much we
pray if we dont change our minds, we wont be happy. If we dont change our perspectives, we
wont be happy. So we can pray, we can do pujas, we can do rituals, we can do offerings, we can
see Lamas, we can see Gurus, we can go to temples, we can do all of those things but our minds
wont become happy. Why? Weve been brought up to think a certain way, weve been brought up to
perceive things a certain way, weve been brought up to look at things a certain way and so were
stuck looking at our relationships, were stuck looking at our environment, were stuck looking at our
friends and our house and our living lifestyle, in a certain way. So when were stuck looking in certain
way, what happens is this when we feel we can do nothing about it, we become unhappy.
When were very young and we just start out in business and we start doing work, we feel very
optimistic, we feel very enthusiastic and we feel very bright. And then as the time goes on, our fixed
way of looking at things, our fixed way of seeing things, our fixed way of accepting things or not
accepting things slowly makes us become unhappy, bitter, maybe even angry. And so the anger
builds up, the unhappiness builds up and the sense of hopelessness builds up. And no matter how
much good food we eat, or how much wonderful families we have, or how much pujas we do, or how
much business we do or how much wealth we collect, we still feel as sense of emptiness,
unhappiness and perhaps even senselessness. Senselessness means whats the reason for all of
this. We feel a sense of that and the reason for that is because the thingsthe way we look at
things, the way we perceive things, the way we understand things didnt generate happiness. The
way weve been dealing with people, the way weve been looking at family, the way weve been
doing business is not bad, but it didnt bring happiness.

So therefore, as we get older and older, old doesnt mean youre old, older means as you start doing
things through wrong perception, wrong relationship, wrong attitude, our unhappiness becomes
deeper and deeper and deeper. And you know, we dont know why. Why do I say this? Here there
are international people, our faces are different but inside were all the same. Exactly the same and
thats not clich, thats the truth, because I meet international people, I meet hundreds and hundreds
of people every year and when I talk to them, its the same thing all the time.
So my point is what is if we feel this type of senselessness or unhappiness and maybe we dont
feel it at this time but we come across many people who feel this but no matter how many pujas we
do, how many mantras we do, or how much business we do or sometimes we just dont think about
it, we try to keep ourselves busy, we still feel this kind of hopelessness, senselessness and
unhappiness. So therefore, in Kathmandu, you see a lot of Lamas, you see a lot of monks, you see a
lot of Dharma teachers, you see a lot of temples, but we dont really know whats going on inside.
We cannot look at the temples, we cannot look at the Lamas, we cannot look at the Pujas, from the
outside. If we simply just look at the Lamas and we do the pujas from the outside, nothing on the
inside changes. Pujas are important, venerating deities, showing respect to Bhagawan is very
important, but it will not make us happy.
So whats important is this is if we listen to the Dharma, the Dharma is very important if we listen to
it, whether we are Hindu, whether we are Buddhist, whether we are Christian, it doesnt matter.
Dharma means correct conduct. Dharma means correct view. Dharma means correct attitude and
the cultivation of correct view and attitude, then our mind becomes very happy. So what happens is
this is Dharma is something that Buddha has spoken about that when we think about it, it makes a
lot of sense, it makes a lot of logic, it makes a lot of it makes a light come on. And when we adapt
it to our lives, and we put it towards our behaviour, we start seeing other people react differently
toward us, we see ourselves react differently toward others, and then we see the dynamics of people
acting different towards us, we acting different towards them and then, we see things become lighter,
happier and better.
You see because our lives cannot be just eating, sleeping, working, making business, making
money, it cannot be just that. Those are important and we need to do that but those are not the only

reasons that we are here. So hence, if we study Dharma, you dont need to study as if youre a monk
or a nun, if you study Dharma and you understand Dharma, your attitude and your mind will change.
Now in this room everybodys educated. Everybody has gone to school, everybodys educated and
most of us here are very exposed to the world. My point, if I simply do a Puja and I throw some
flowers on you and I put a little red tika on your forehead and say youre blessed, nothing happens to
you. You see because I dont have the power to bless you. I dont have any power to bless you.
Nobody has the power to bless you but we have the power to bless ourselves. Whats a blessing?
My type of Dharma is not simply doing Pujas and then doing some blessings and then sending you
off. My type of Dharma is different. I like to explain. I like to talk. I like to share and I like to give you
knowledge. I dont give you all the knowledge in one night cos it would be too much but a little bit of
knowledge each time we meet. So each time we meet, I like to give you knowledge and the
knowledge I give you is not to make you a Buddhist. Not to make you a Hindu. Not to make you a
Christian but my knowledge that I share with you is to help you, become the person that will be
happy. That will be satisfied.
Youre thinking but if I, that if I have food, Ill be happy. If I have money, Ill be happy. Well, if thats the
case, look at everybody who has money and food that you know. Are they happy? Or theyre
distraught or theyre worried. In Kathmandu if you have money, you have food, youre not happy but
youre comfortable and one moreIn Kathmandu if we have electricity we are very happy. Thats an
extra we need to add here. So if we have money and food and electricity, then well be much more
happier. Much more. Oh dont get me wrongI love Nepal. Ive been coming to Nepal for twenty
years. My father has a house here and I have wonderful friends in Nepal. I love Nepal. And if I didnt
love Nepal I wouldnt establish a house here. Definitely not. I like it because it has everything I like,
spirituality.

So getting back to the point, what I dont like is to just do a lot of long rituals, give a lot of long
initiations, give a lot of long rites and pujas and then you say oh you have been blessed, because I
will feel like, maybe Im not telling the truth. What I like to do with my friends and people, is to share
Dharma knowledge, to have them ask questions, then I answer them to the best of my ability. To
share this knowledge, why? Because when you have knowledge and you apply it, you will see a

transformation in your mind. And when your mind transforms, when your mind changes, when youre
mind becomes better, everything around you becomes better.
Nobody in this room doesnt have problems, including me. Nobody in this room hasdoesnt have
unhappiness. Nobody. Whether youre a Lama or whoever you are it doesnt matter. Everybody
has some unhappiness. Everybody has something that makes them not happy and if we leave it
there, it becomes stronger and stronger and stronger and stronger all the time.
See, myself, I didnt choose to be a Dharma teacher. I was born in Taiwan. My father is Tibetan. I
was born in Taiwan, because when Tibet lost its country, my father immigrated to Taiwan. So I was
born in Taiwan and at the age of seven, against my will, I was adopted over to the United States.
Why do I say against my will, because I didnt want to go. So at the age of about 17/18, I met my
Root Guru His Holiness Kyabje Zong Rinpoche, this is the last picture on the, on the right. This is my
Root Guru. This is Zong Rinpoche, thats Zong Rinpoches Guru Trijang Rinpoche, Trijang
Rinpoches Guru Pabongka Rinpoche. So this is what we call a lineage Guru. So my Root Guru
Zong Rinpoche came to America to give teachings, I was very young. So I lived in a Dharma centre
in America and I cooked there and I cleaned there and I worked on the outside and I supported
myself. So I lived there and I received a lot of teachings from His Holiness Kyabje Zong Rinpoche
and hes one of the greatest Lamas within the Tibetan tradition. Greatest. So infact he was already in
his mid seventies, at that time. So I learned quite a lot from him but you have to understand I was
already interested.
So at the feet of Kyabje Zong Rinpoche, I promised to become a Monk, I promised to take ordination
and I promised to go to India to join the monastery there. And the monastery that I joined there is
called Ganden Monastery and Ganden Monastery currently has 3000 monks. So I joined that
monastery in Jan 1988. I arrived in India January 19 Im sorry, in October 1987. Then 1987
October, I arrived in India, from India, I went to Dharamsala, in Dharamsala I met His Holiness the
14th Dalai Lama, this is 20 years ago and I received my monk vows from His Holiness directly. And
then after I met His Holiness Dalai Lama I went back to Delhi, from Delhi I came to Nepal. I came to
Nepal because I had to do some things and I was in Nepal for about 1 month to 2 months from
Novemberno in December until January. That was the first time I ever came to Nepal 1987, very,
very first time. And its funny because a lot of the shop keepers that I saw 20 years ago, are still the
same people. Theyre like him. Same people. That time I didnt have any money to buy, I just come
to your window, look and I go bye bye. I just leave. So what I now I still dont have enough money
your price very high. (laughs) Just kidding! Just kidding. So um. I remember pilgrims book store
too but I think that time you were you were a very small budgie. Running around and looking for
toys.
So anyways, I remember that time. I used to walk around and come here, and I stayed in a
Monastery in Boda and I was having some neck pains. And so I met one of my teachers students
and this person took me back to Kathmandu Guest House. Thats the first time I ever went there. In
1987, December and gave me a message because this persons a message therapist and gave me
a wonderful massage to heal my neck. And I was very appreciative. So I remember going to
Kathmandu Guest House and I thought to myself, that time, it was 20 years ago what a nice hotel.
Got heater, got water, because at the monastery theres no heater and no water. Because we were
washing outside in the wells. And so I said what a nice hotel its got heater, its got water, its so
warm and comfortable and I thought wow! So I asked my friend, not my friend but my teachers
student oh how much is it to stay here I cant remember something that time it was 10 15-20
US dollars I cant remember, but she gave some price and I thought Oh, well Ill never be able ever
to stay here. Ever. I thought to myself. So I didnt think oh no I wasnt sad or nothing because Im not
interested in Hotels. I thought Ill never be able to stay here. And now 20 years later, I have always
been staying there in Kathmandu Guest House because my students found the place and we stayed

there and its convenient because Kathmandu Guest House, then we walk around to all the beautiful
shops and then we go to Pilgrims book store.
So Pilgrims is one of my favourites because I like books. I study, I like to read and I like to share. So
I like that. Any case, its funny now were all in one room. All the places I used to hang out. So I used
to go to Boda, walk around, circumambulate, see the shops. Very, very nice. In any case, that was
my first trip to Kathmandu and I said Im gonna be back again and again and I have been. Always
again and I brought many, many, many people to Kathmandu already, many, many people, because
there are so many powerful spiritual places. So I decided to have a home here cos I would like to
stay here more during the year and I would like to bring more of my friends here to experience the
spiritual places cos there are many holy places, many, many holy places and if you know the
meaning behind them, where they are, what to do there, its even better. You dont go there just like
a tourist and take a look.

In any case, we have built a butter lamp house. What is a butter lamp house? A butter lamp house is
a house that contains many butter lamps in order that you can complete one of your preliminary
practices. And one of the preliminary practices is offering 100,000 butter lamps. 100 000. So of
course we cant offer in one day, you can buy 300, 400, 1000 and offer every single day without a
break. So when you offer the butter lamp, when you offer the butter lamp, theres a prayer to do,
theres some mediation to do, and every day youll prepare it and you will light it. So you do 100,000
and youll focus on a particular Buddha. And the reason you do this is because in order for our
minds to transform or understand the Dharma or learn the Dharma, in order for that to happen, we
need to have knowledge. Hence, we either need books or a spiritual friend. A spiritual friend is
translated as Guru. A spiritual friend or a Guru, whatever you want to call it. So, that spiritual friend
should have knowledge. And that spiritual friend, he or she conveys the Dharma to you.
So when you learn the Dharma, you think about it, you learn the Dharma, you think about it, the
second requirement you need is the collection of merit. So people get that mixed up, people say

oh, good karma and bad karma and they leave it as that. Its not as simple as that. Good karma and
bad karma is one type, then you also have merit. Merit is something different. Example merit is
something that you do, without the selfish mind. Its something that you do without the selfish mind,
hence, when you do that action, merit is accrued. For example, if you offer a butter lamp to a
Buddha and you pray to the Buddha for money, long-life, health, wealth and happiness for yourself.
When you offer to the Buddha, you collect karma, good karma. When you have a butter lamp and
you pray, that you can be someone of benefit to others, you can be someone that can bring
happiness to others, you can be the cause of other peoples lasting happiness and you offer the
butter lamp, that action becomes merit.
Difference. The difference is when you collect good karma, the karma is stored. When you collect
good merits, the merit is stored. When you collect karma, the karma remains dormant, it remains
inactive, until the situation comes that triggers it to open. So when the situation comes that triggers it
to open, you experience that karma. So what happens is if you offer that to the Buddha and you wish
for happiness and health or business, your business goes up, you get good health but once you
receive that benefit, then the karma is finished. It is extinguished. So hence, its almost like wasting
that action. Where as if you offer a butter lamp to the Buddha and you pray for other peoples
happiness, other peoples welfare, other peoples benefit and you truly mean it and its real, its not
something you do for the moment, you really do it and you offer it, you collect merit. So when that
merit is triggered, what happens you will become the cause of other peoples happiness. Either
you become someone that can be of benefit to them medically, physically, emotionally, financially,
youll be of benefit to others and you will also get long life and you will also have happiness. So
happiness, long-life is a given, is a given.
So what happens is that, that action when triggered is continuous, it doesnt finish. So in every single
life-time you are born, you will always receive the benefits of offering that butter lamp. The difference
like this if you have an amount of money and you put that in the bank, that money you dont touch
the principle, you just live off the interest. Always youll be safe. But if you touch the principle and it
runs out, youre finished. Karma is like touching the principle. Merit is like touching the interest
alone.
So hence, when we offer butter lamps, when we have a good motivation, butter lamps when you
light it, it dispels darkness. The darkness is gone. When we offer a butter lamp, to the Buddha, any
Buddha, any Buddha that we like, when we offer a butter lamp to the Buddha what happens is the
Buddha doesnt have darkness, the Buddha does not have any ignorance or any stupidity, nothing.
But when we offer to the Buddha, the Buddha doesnt need the butter lamp from us. The Buddha
doesnt need our Puja, the Buddha doesnt need anything from us but when we offer the butter lamp
to the Buddha what happens? We create the causes for our own personal darkness to go away.
Our personal darkness. Whats our personal darkness? Anger. Why is anger a darkness? Because
when we show anger were unhappy. Other people are unhappy and then it continues. Many people
can be killed because of anger. Darkness is what.jealousy, hatred, miserliness, stinginess, tricking
people those are all darknesses. Why are they called darknesses because those are qualities in
us that make us unhappy short term and make other people unhappy long term. So hence, those are
called darknesses.

By offering a butter lamp to the Buddha, the darkness does not go away, by offering a butter lamp to
the Buddha we collect merit. The merit that we collect is stored in our consciousness, in our mind
stream, so that when we study the Dharma, when we contemplate on the Dharma, when we think
about the Dharma, the information will go in. The information will go in and our mind will change.
So the purpose of making butter lamp offerings is for us to help transform our minds. Why? How
many people do you know, do a lot of pujas, do a lot of prayers, offer flowers, in temples but theyre
selfish, theyre quite greedy, they dont change, theyre quite angry. Im not criticizing people. Im
not criticizingbut they themselves dont know that they are like that. They think that if they go to the
temple and they make offerings of butter lamps, or money or flowers, they think that all their sins are
absolved and everything is fine. But if thats the case, if thats the case, then we can do negative
things to people all day long and just go to temple daily to absolve our sins. Doesnt makes sense,
doesnt make sense at all.
So my point is what isoffering butter lamps has a few benefits. One is, the money we would
have used for something negative, we can use for something positive. One. Number two, when we
offer a butter lamp, it helps us to eradicate stinginess. Why? Because its something we would have
used for something else for ourselves. So its a small practice to eradicate stinginess. Second, when
we offer a butter lamp to a Buddha, the Buddha, any Buddha, Vajrayogini, Tsongkhapa,
Shakyamuni, Amitabha, Tara, any Buddha that we offer a butter lamp to, from their side, when we
offer the butter lamp we create a strong connection with them, we receive their blessing and we
collect merit. We make a connection why in the future when we mediate on them, our minds will
transform. When we make a connection with them, we receive a blessing. The blessing we receive is
what? What is a blessing? A blessing is when, they touch our lives and we see our minds change.
The people were angry with, we forgive. The people that we want to hurt or get revenge with, we
forgive and you know what happens, you know what happens, the people that wanna hurt us, their
minds change also because of our attitude towards them.
Everybody in life has enemies. The best way to stop an enemy is not to confront them and hurt
them, the best way to confront an enemy is through a lot of compassion. A lot of forgiveness.
Forgiveness doesnt mean let them take advantage of you. No. You see if someoneif youre
walking down the street and someone robs you, next day you forgive them. Its done. But you dont

go the next day, waiting for other people to rob you again or walking down the same place in a stupid
manner. You dont do that, of course not. So when you offer a butter lamp, you create the causes of
receiving a blessing, so that whatever you have prayed for, will come true.
The third thing. When you offer a butter lamp to the Buddha, you create the karma of opening your
mind to receive more Dharma, more and more and more and more and more Dharma. Why? The
purpose of light is to dispel darkness. When you offer a light in front of the Golden Buddha, in front of
a Buddha, when you offer, it is symbolic of your darkness being lifted by the light of the offering you
have made to a Buddha. So its very, very important, alright?

Therefore, today we have they have constructed a butter lamp house and we have purchased
1,100 butter lamps. So tonight, were all going to do a little prayer. I thought since were gonna meet,
why dont we meet and do something positive and virtuous and nice together. So therefore, after we
do this light prayer together, were all gonna walk to the butter lamp house in the back and we gonna
light 1100 butter lamps. So what I want you to think is this were gonna light it principally to the
Buddha Vajrayogini and were gonna light it that other people may be very happy. Im gonna light it
for the people who have worked here very hard to have this arranged this house, this Ladrang
arranged. Im gonna light it for all my sponsors and patrons. Im gonna light it for my many, many
students back in Malaysia and for our different departments that are growing. You can see on the
web-site.
So were gonna do that offering. The first set of butter lamps Im gonna do 100, 000. Im gonna do
100,000 is to dedicate for all the people that have helped me in my lives. So what Im gonna do is
Im gonna give you all a butter lamp and I want you to do the same. I want you to think about people
who have been kind to you. I want you to think about people who have been gracious to you and
who have helped you and today we will offer a butter lamp for them. So todays meeting will be short
and sweet and well offer butter lamps to the Almighty. In order to receive their blessings.
So what we do is we dont simply just light it, were going to do a prayer. So I thought today I am
going to give you a light explanation of why we do butter lamps. So in our tradition we have 100,
000 butter lamps, 100,000 prostrations, 100,000 mandala offerings, 100,000 Guru yoga and 100,000

Vajrasattva. We do those practices in the privacy of our own altars and shrines. We do that every
single day, in order to purify the negative karma that we have, that arose and we do that to invoke
the blessings. So therefore, its much more than just going to temple and receiving some type of
offering some flowers or putting some money there.
In my system of Dharma, I actually make us do the work. No one else can do the work, why?
Happiness is experienced in our own mind, release from pressure is experienced in our own mind
and unhappiness is received or experienced in our own mind. So the only way we can do that is if
we transform our own mind.
Now what we do is, today I dont give you Dashan you will give yourselves Dashan together with me.
So we will invoke and do prayers together, after that, well go light 1,100 butter lamps. We will do this
together tonight and we will bless each other, you will bless yourselves. Everybody has the power to
bless. My type of Dharma that I teach is not you go to someone to worship. You bless yourself at
home, alright?
Everybody please sit comfortably. This mantra is very famous in Tibet. It is the lineage of the Dalai
Lama. It is called Mig-tse-ma. Its on the bottom. Five line prayer to Lama Tsongkhapa. Its called
Mig-tse-ma, short form.
So the first line is MIG-MEY TZE-WEY TER-CHEN CHENREZIG
The second line is DRI-MEY KHYEN-PI WANG-PO JAMPAL YANG
If you look at the translation right below Avalokiteshvara great gold-mine of objectless compassion.
Manjushri Master of Stainless wisdom.
Vajrapani, subduer of the entire gathering of Maras (maras is evil spirits).
At your feet Tsongkhapa, crown jewel of the sages of the land of snow.
I make request that all sentient beings achieve enlightenment.
That is the meaning of the mantra youre reciting. So hence
Mig-mey-tze-wey ter-chen Chenerzig is Om Man Padme Hum.
Dri- mey khyen- pi-wang-po-Jampal-Yang is Om Ah Ra Pa Tsa Na Dhi.
Du- pung ma-lu jom-dzey sang-wey-dag is Om Vajra Pani Hum.
Combined, you are Tsongkhapa. So I bow my head to your feet, to your feet great master, let me
become just like you. May I gain compassion, my I gain wisdom, may I gain great confidence. So,
when you pray to Tsongkhapa, if you keep one statue of Tsongkhapa, all three Bodhisattvas are
included into one. Hence, in Tibet, the largest statues are Tsongkhapa, the largest. The largest
statues of Buddhas are many, many Tsongkhapa statues all over.

So like that if we do this mantra every day, when we do this Puja, when we receive the mantra we
just do it
MIG-MEY TZE-WEY TER-CHEN CHENREZIG
DRI-MEY KHYEN-PI WANG-PO JAMPAL YANG
DU-PUNG MA-LU JOM-DZEY SANG-WEY DAG
GANG-CHEN KE-PEY TSUG-GYEN TSONGKAPA
LO-SANG TRAG-PEY SHAB-LA SOL-WA DEB one time. Twenty one times a day, enough. If you
have time, more.
If you want to dedicate for your beautiful mother, which you should, if you want to dedicate for your
beautiful father or if youre worried about your children or someone or something, you can do this
mantra and visualise them in Tsongkhapass heart. And ask Tsongkhapa to bless them. Very, very
powerful. We always think how can we help people we love and care about? How? You can do it by
Tsongkhapa.
So you can visualize Lama Tsongkhapa like so in his heart, surrounded by light and rainbows, is
your mother and your father and then you do the mantra and you visualize Lama Tsongkhapa
surrounding them with light and blessing and protecting them. Very powerful. So, Im sure everybody
here loves their parents. One of the best ways to repay their kindness. And if sometimes some of us
are feeling down, depressed, unhappy this mantra, very powerful to cure it. Very, very powerful.
Then, this mantra when you do, Tsongkhapa when you pray, all Bodhisattvas are combined. All. So,
if you do one, you get three for free. Isnt that a good deal?
So, if you wish to do Puja, just what we did just now, thats all. Why? Youre busy. You have many
things to do. So, if you do this everyday for 10 or 15 minutes and just the mantra, enough. You dont
need to do a lot. Not at all. Just a little.
(Student) We can do it in English?
Of course you do it in English, but the mantra, try to memorize in Tibetan. Why? Because the Gurus
originally recited in Tibetan, so its very powerful. Tibetan is not a better language than Nepali. No!
But because this mantra was especially recited in Tibetan. Everything else in English, that mantra
you do in Tibetan. Even if your pronunciation is off and sounds funny and different and people may
laugh Tsongkhapa will understand you. Tsongkhapa wont laugh at your funny weird pronunciation.
Repeat after me
MIG-MEY TZE-WEY TER-CHEN CHENREZIG
DRI-MEY KHYEN-PI WANG-PO JAMPAL YANG
DU-PUNG MA-LU JOM-DZEY SANG-WEY DAG
GANG-CHEN KE-PEY TSUG-GYEN TSONGKAPA
LO-SANG TRAG-PEY SHAB-LA SOL-WA DEB

stayed in the Monastery in Varanasi, over a thousand years ago and he was one of the greatest
Indian Buddhist Pandits alive. And he was very great because he traveled to Nepal and taught
Dharma in Nepal, then he went to Tibet and stayed in Tibet for 13 years and died in Tibet. As one of
the greatest living masters. So in Tibet, we worship this great Guru, we respect this great Guru from
India. So this prayer is written by Atisha. Atisha from Varanasi, taught us to offer butter lamps to the
Buddhas. So were reciting the prayer that Lord Atisha actually composed for us. Alright? So many of
the prayers that we have in Tibetan come from the great Indian and Nepalese Masters. So translated
into English of course its very, very beautiful. So you are not worshiping something Tibetan or doing
something Tibetan, this is from your own wonderful, rich culture from the back. Its just no one
explained to you. OK?
So, lets recite the prayer by Lama Atisha or Great Sri Atisha.
E Ma Ho E Ma Ho. I offer these beautifully exalted clear and luminous lights to the thousands of
Buddhas of the fortunate eon, to all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the infinite pure lands and the
ten directions, to all the gurus, Yidams, Dakinis, Dakas, Dharma Protectors, the assembly of deities
from the mandala. Due to this, may my father, mother and all sentient beings in this life and all their
future lives be able to see directly the actual pure lands of the complete and perfect Buddhas. May
they unify with Buddha Amitabha, inseparable oneness. Please bless us that may our prayers
be actualized as soon as possible due to the power of the truth of the three jewels and the assembly
of deities of the 3 roots. Tayatha Om pancha criya ava bodha naya so ha (x7) The light transforms
into single brilliant 5 colored wisdom. On a lotus and a moon disc the syllables Om and Dhi appear.
From there 108 beautiful Goddesses of light, Marmema, appear wearing beautiful garments and
precious garlands. Every Goddess holds a light in her hands and from them emanate billions of
trillions replicas of light offering Goddesses. All of them make light offerings uninterruptedly to all the
Buddhas and Bodhisattvas fields throughout all of space and to the peaceful and wrathful deities.
(Rinpoche Chanting)

For related talks on preliminary practices: http://www.tsemrinpoche.com/?p=28238

Bradley Kassian on Kawang and Serkym

Aug 20, 2014 | Views: 372

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What is Serkyem? What is its purpose? Why is it performed?

The Serkyem or Golden Drink offering, is part of Dharma Protectors practice like that of
Setrap Chens practice. In Tibetan,Ser means golden and Kyem means beverage.
Serkyem remains largely a unique aspect of the Dharma Protector practice. Lamas of
the past developed this practice as an offering to the Dharma Protectors to request for
swift assistance with obstacles, problems and dire needs. Hence, the Serkyem offering
has become popular among modern practitioners who seek assistance.
The Serkyem offering is offered by pouring the beverage into a cup like a wine glass,
which is placed into a lower bowl. The Serkyem offering or Golden Drink/Black Tea is
offered from a jug, tea pot or any vessel that makes pouring easy. During the offering,
the beverage is poured into the cup to the point where the liquid overflows down into the

lower bowl. In Buddhism, the symbolism of the overflowing liquid is highly auspicious
because it represents an abundant flow of merits, virtues, material resources and
conditions that are conducive for ones Dharma practice.
The beverage can be poured a little at a time during the recitation of relevant passages
throughout the liturgy. The Serkyem vessel can be of any material such as gold, silver,
copper, brass or even glass. Offering vessels that are made of precious materials are
considered highly propitious, especially for lay practitioners who want to create
tremendous merits and establish the closest affinity with the Protector.
The overflowing of Serkyem is symbolic of an auspicious offering to the Protector.
Practitioners can even use a tall wine glass placed inside a glass bowl as
a Serkyem vessel. You should use whats practical and within your means at the time.
Black Tea is traditionally offered as Serkyem because in ancient times, it was
considered a precious beverage. The colour of black tea is golden and reflects the
meaning of Serkyem. When tea is offered, it is traditionally offered piping hot as a direct
request to the Dharma Protector for the swiftest assistance, heat being symbolic of
rapidity. Tea is traditionally used but besides tea, beer or alcohol can also be offered
because of the Tantric meaning behind such substances. Alcohol of any kind is
considered a wrathful substance, an example of this is during a Tsog offering, a little bit
of consecrated alcohol and meat is partaken to symbolize the psychic winds and bodily
elements used in Tantric meditation; therefore beer or alcohol represents Tantric
attainments and is offered to the Dharma Protector as a direct request to overcome all
obstacles that obstruct spiritual attainments and to bring about beneficial conditions
swiftly. Tea and alcohol are not the only beverages that can be offered as Serkyem,
milk, which symbolizes spiritual nourishment and also various types of soft drinks such
as Coca-Cola.
The actual Serkyem offering ritual begins with the pouring of a little of the beverage into
the vessel so its not empty. The Serkyem is consecrated with three repetitions of the
mantra Om Ah Hum, while purifying with incense. Then, the Serkyem liturgy is recited
with each stanza describing an offering of the Serkyem to a particular being or a class
of beings that play a defined role in our spiritual practice.
During the offering, the Serkyem is visualized to be divine nectar that expands to fill an
entire ocean. This ocean is made out of not just the beverage that the practitioner
offered but of all the desirable things in the world that excite and please the 5 senses.
This vast ocean is offered to the Protector and to the other special beings mentioned in
the liturgy. In addition, the request or what the practitioner wants to achieve is visualized
to come into fruition with the assistance of the Protector.

During Dharma protector practice a practitioner will often make preliminary prayers,
Take refuge in a Buddha perform prostrations make offerings first to a yidam like Lama
Tsongkhapa, then mandala offerings. A practitioner may also reflect and study the Eight
Verses of Thought Transformation by Geshe Langri Tangpa Dorgje Senge (1054-1123).
The practitioner will then for example recite theGaden Lhagyama or Guru Yoga of Lama
Tsongkhapa before the actual protector practice. The reason for this is through the
yidams sadhana practice, we can achieve ordinary (health, wealth, clairvoyance and so
forth) and extraordinary attainments (wisdom and compassion) many merits (which can
act as fuel for attainments to arise), and great purification of negative karma. Then
comes the invocation of the Dharma protector such as Setrap Chen to come and abide
here with his entourage, followed by a prayer to remind him of his vows and
commitments. Then a practitioner will generally recite a confession prayer and confess
any wrong doings since beginning-less time, then give praises to the Dharma Protector.
Once that happens the practitioner will then commence the Kanshang or Kawang which
is a wrathful method of visualization which cuts asunder obstacles, karma, and
negativities. The Serkyem offering to Setrap Chen and his entourage then commences.
His entourage consists of wrathful assistants which help with the clearing of obstacles,
creating suitable conditions for our Dharma practice. Certain paragraphs are usually
repeated a number of times, depending on the urgency of the request. After the
Serkyem offering prayers of Enthronement are offered followed by mantra recitation.
Praises to other Dharma Protectors such as Kalarupa maybe recited followed by their
mantra, then come long life prayers for the lama to remain, teach, and be free of
obstacles to pass on the dharma. Once that is all done the practitioner will often do
dedication prayers to finish off the practice. An excellent dedication prayer to use would
be the Yonten Shigyurma written by Lama Tsongkhapa. The Heart Sutra may also be
recited during this period. Please follow the advice of a qualified Lama that has done the
practice. They may instruct you differently, this is just a general overview.
When offering more Serkyem to Setrap Chen or other dharma protectors this is not to
quench their thirst but to generate merit, and a strong affinity with the Protector so the
practitioner would be able to receive his assistance and blessings. As stated above this
is the typical practice that has been done in the monasteries over the ages due to its
proven efficacy.
- Bradley Kassian

HisHolinessthe14thDalaiLamaintheSetrapChapelofGadenShartseMonasteryinMundgod,South
India.HeisfacingthesacredSetrapimageanddoingconsecration.ThisSetrapimageisvisitedbyhundreds
monthlyandmanyrequestsaremadetothisimagebypilgrimsfromaroundtheworld.

SacredSetrapimageinGadenShartseMonasteryinSouthIndiaconsecratedbyHisHolinesstheDalai
Lama.ThisistheprincipalprotectorofGadenShartseMonastery.

Kawang, what is it? Why is it important?

Dharma Protector practice may appear to be shrouded in mystery, however these practices brings
tremendous benefits to practitioners and by all written accounts, these practices are originated by
and descend from the greatest of Buddhist masters.
Time has not diluted the efficacy of the practice and to the ancient practitioner as it is to the modern
one, the noble role of a Dharma Protector remains that of alleviating obstacles and creating
favorable conditions in the mental constituents and physical environment of the practitioner so that
his training in Dharma may grow and flourish.
At the centre of a Protector puja, lies the recitation of the Kawang also known as kanshag, which
literally translated clearing of obstacles. This is a special confessional prayer which is based on
tantric visualizations, the recitation of which is to purify what may be significant accumulated
negative karma threatening to obstruct ones practice. Given the amount of obstacles that need to
be removed, the actual visualization becomes very graphic. A practitioner should dwell on its true
meaning and not on its apparently aggressive language. If the negative karma that blocks ones
practice is forceful, then the puja to counter it has to be equally intense.

The practitioner approaches the recitation of the Kawang by visualizing the Three Poisons
Ignorance, Hatred and Desire which altogether encompass a myriad of other poisons such as
delusions, negative karma, habituations, and so forth. These negative elements are visualized in the
form of a very large man or a woman. That is to say a demon in human form that is an emanation of
all your negativities, negative karma etc. Then as the visualization continues, Setrap Chen appears
together with his entourage and he wields his weapons (a sandalwood cudgel from the forest of
Malay, A noose that binds, A spear made of fluttering red silk, Bow and arrow a means of wisdom
and union which pierces harmers without exception, and a blazing sword of transcendental wisdom
which rips karma, delusion and ignorance asunder etc) to slay that being who is the personification
of our negativities. He then slices the body in such a way that uncovers the inner organs.
First, he drains the blood into an offering vessel. Then, he cuts out the organs of the five senses
the tongue, nose, ears, eyes and heart and stacks them neatly into a mound thus resembling a grisly
floral arrangement. Then, he pulls the bones & flesh out, arranges them into a vessel and burns
them like stacks of incense sticks. Next, he extracts the human fat from the corpse and pours it into
bowl, inserts a wick made of the human hair and lights it. Then he collects the rest of the bodily fluids
like the bile, urine and so forth into an offering vessel (ie. perfume of human grease filling vessels).
Then, he chops the flesh & bones and mixes it with barley flour and places it into another vessel as
food. Finally, he pulls the thighbones, cleans it and fashions it into a trumpet before placing it into a
vessel as well (this is a sound offering, ie Various music thundering like a thousand dragons).
While appearing grotesque at first, this part of the visualization is indeed a beautiful and meaningful
gesture of transforming what is foul and turning them into sublime offerings. The blood represents
the Water offering, the arrangement of sense organs represent the Flower offering, the crushed
bones represent the Incense offering, the human fat set alight represents the Light offering, the bile
and urine are transformed to represent the Perfume offering, the human flesh becomes the Food
offering and finally the thigh bone becomes a trumpet to represent the Music offering.
These make up the wrathful sensory offerings which the Setrap Chen then offers to the Buddhas on
the practitioners behalf. Huge amounts of negativities are purified when the Setrap Chen makes the
offering to the Buddhas of the ten directions. In the Setraps Kawang text, it is also said that we offer
up a mountain of torma soaring to the sky, a swirling lake of tea and beer to drink, Mount Sumeru,
four lands sun and moon, the seven royal objects and five of sense, the wealth of all humans and
devas actually arranged and mentally envisioned. All blessed into a sky treasure. Essentially these
are to request and create the conditions and karma for the Protector to come to our aid and fight our
negativities, which are responsible for the obstacles and problems manifesting, or in other words
Setrap Chens and his infinite entourages heart commitments to be fulfilled.
Although not entirely necessary unless doing retreats, it would be even better if the Kawang
recitations were accompanied by the symbolic physical representation of each sensory object
offered on the altar (offerings and Tormas).
Numerous recitations of the Kawang are recommended especially for practitioners who are
engaging in large projects and in particular those who are involved in activities that lead to the
growth of the Dharma like the construction of a temple, monastery or Dharma center. Recitations of
the kawang are also particularly effective to purify huge amounts of bodily karma of those who are

going through an obstacle year and old age. Kawang is also particularly effective in clearing and
stabilizing the mind when doubts and confusion arise. Dharma protector practice which includes
Kawang is particularity effective over time when done consistently.
Kawang is not just a powerful confessional practice to purify our negative karma but also a way to
develop a closer spiritual bond with dharmapala Setrap Chen. The clearing of obstacles makes it
effective for Setrap Chen to help us since it is our own negative karma that blindfolds the
Protector. Kawang is also recited to invoke the Protector to create the necessary conducive
conditions for our practice, and hence it is a very important practice for any Dharma practitioner.
-Bradley Kassian

***********

Dear Friends,
I enjoyed this write up. I appreciate it also. I thank Bradley for it. Bradley is practicing in
order to have the knowledge to share here. Keep it up Bradley. Be like the old venerable monk
practitioners of Gaden who devoted themselves to Setrap their whole lives and received great
blessings as they have told me countless times. These senior monks of whom so many respect
always advise to just trust Setrap and let Him bless our lives.
If anyone else has something they would like to share on my blog, send it to me and my team
and we will have a look at it. We dont promise to post everything, but send it in!
Much thanks,
Tsem Rinpoche

GadenMonasteryinTibetwasfounded600yearsagobytheIncomparableDharmamasterTsongkapa.Ithas
surviveduntiltodayinTibet.Backin2009,IvisitedGadenMonasteryinLhasa,Tibet.HereIampicturedinthe
SetrapChapelofGadenMonasteryinTibet.Ithoughtthiswouldbenicetosharewitheveryone.Setraphasbeenthe
mainprotectorofGadenShartseMonasteryinTibetfor600years.IfyouadoptSetrapasyourprotector,youwillbe
inexcellentcompanyguidedbyasupremeenlightenedbeing.