Tsem Rinpoche's Resources » Rinpoche

Tsem Tulku Rinpoche - High Lama

webmaster — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 10:47:17 +0000

Download and print high-resolution images of H.E. Tsem Rinpoche absolutely free.

We are very happy to be able to make this selection of images available to everyone to download at absolutely no charge. These images of H.E. Tsem Rinpoche were taken on a recent trip to Kelantan, a state on the east cost of peninsula Malaysia.

The images are high-resolution and of sufficient quality to be printed clearly on an A4 or A3 sheet of paper and framed for your altar or shrine. Enjoy these good quality, high resolution images of H.E. Tsem Rinpoche.

** Note that the high resolution files are large (up to 7Mb each) and will take some time to download.

His Eminence Tsem Rinpoche

Our Spiritual Guide, H.E. Tsem Rinpoche, is recognised by H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of the 72nd Abbot of Gaden Shartse, Gedun Nyedrak. Tsem Rinpoche has studied under many esteemed Gurus, including H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama, H.H. Kyabje Zong Rinpoche, H.H. Kyabje Ling Rinpoche and H.E. Lati Rinpoche.

With a Mongolian-Tibetan heritage, a childhood in Taiwan & America, and intensive study in Gaden Monastery, Tsem Rinpoche is one of the rare, precious teachers with the unique teaching ability to bridge East and West. Never losing or diluting the profound essence of the Buddha’s timeless wisdom, Rinpoche has a wonderful gift of presenting the ancient teachings in ways accessible and relevant to us inhabitants of the 21st century’s global village. Refusing to make an artificial distinction between formal Dharma and everyday life, he is a master at turning every situation into new, contemporary methods to transmit the essence of the teachings, and is recognised as a real-life Bodhisattva by his teachers and students alike.

5ft Chenrezig statue offered by Tsem Tulku Rinpoche

5ft Avalokiteshvara statue that H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche offered to Gaden Shartse

Abbot Emeritus of Gaden Shartse Kensur Konchok Tsering making offering to H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche

Abbot of Sera Je Monastery Geshe Jampa Tekchok (front) and H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche (3rd from left) during the ceremony when Tsem Rinpoche offered the 5th Dalai Lama’s statue to Sera Lachi

After the meeting with the high Thai monk, an auspicious rainbow appeared

Casual picture of H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche

From left to right: the current Sharpa Choeje, Kensur Jampa Yeshe Rinpoche, Tsem Tulku Rinpoche

Gaden Jangtse abbot Ken Rinpoche Lobsang Chojor visited H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche in Tsem Rinpoche’s house

H.E. Kalden Rinpoche making offering to H.E. Tsem Rinpoche at Tsem Rinpoche’s ladrang

H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche at Bodhgaya

H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche with his guru H.E. Kensur Jampa Yeshe Rinpoche at Bodhgaya

Gaden Lhagyama - Je Tsongkhapa's Guru Yoga

webmaster — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 23:55:40 +0000

Je Tsongkhapa embodies the Bodhisattvas of Compassion (Avalokiteshvara or Kuan Yin), Wisdom (Manjushri) and Power (Vajrapani).

Connecting with Je Tsongkhapa by thinking of him with faith, reciting his holy mantra, meditating on his omnipresence and practising his Guru Yoga blesses us with a deep sense of peace and clarity of mind we never thought possible. It is simple, complete and effective for today’s modern individual.

Invocation

GA-DEN HLA-JI NGON-JYI THUG-KA NEY
RAP-KAR SHO-SAR PUNG-DEE CHU-DZIN TSER
CHO-KYI GYEL-PO KUN-CHEN LOZANG DRAG
SEY-DANG CHE-PA NE-DIR SHEG SU SOL

From the heart of the Lord of the Gaden devas (Maitreya Buddha)
emerges a brilliant white cloud, like a great mass of fresh yoghurt.
Atop sits Tsongkhapa all knowing, King of Dharma;
we request your coming to this place along with your great disciples.

Requesting to Stay

DUN-JYI NAM-KHAR SING-TI PEE-DEE TENG
JE-TSUN LA-MA JYEH-PI DZUM-KAR CHYEN
DAG-LO DE-PE SO-NAM SHING-CHOG TU
TAN-PA JYEH-SHIR KAL-DJAR JUG-SU SOL

My Lord Guru is seated before me upon a lion-throne, lotus and moon cushion.
His body is white and he smiles blissfully.
Please remain many eons and serve as the great merit field for the growth of my mind’s faith,
and for the increase of Lord Buddha’s teachings.

Prostration and Praise

SHE-JYEH CHON-KUN JAL-WEY LO-DO THUG
KAL-ZANG NA-WEY JYIN-JUR LIK-SHEY SUNG
DRAG-PI PEL-JYI HLAM-MER DZEY-PI KU
THONG-THO DRAN PI DON DHAN LA-CHAG TSAL

His omniscient wisdom-mind encompasses all that is existent.
His voice is a profound teaching, which ornaments the ear of the fortunate pupil.
His body’s beautiful radiance evokes wondrous admiration.
To Lama Tsongkhapa whom merely viewing, hearing or contemplating earns one great merit, I make prostration.

Offering

YIH-WONG TCHO-YON NA-TSOG ME-TOG DANG
DRI-JEM DUG-PO NANG-SAL DRID-CHAB SOG
NGO-SHAM YIH TUL TCHO-TIN GYA-TSO DI
SO-NAM SHING-CHOG CHE-LA CHO-PA BUL

I present to you, great field of merit, Tsongkhapa,
beautiful offerings, water, a display of flowers, fragrant incense,
butter-lamps, perfumes and more both physical and mental offerings,
vast as the clouds and wide as the ocean.

Confession

DAG-GI TO-MEY DU-NEH SAG-PA YI
LU-NGAG YIH-KYI DIG-PA CHI-JYI DANG
CHEY-PA DOM-PA SUM-JI MI-TUN SHO
NYING-NEH JO-PA TRAH-PO SO-SOR SHAG

The unwholesome actions of body, speech and mind,
which I have accumulated over a measureless period,
especially actions contrary to the three vows (Vinaya, Bodhisattva, Vajrayana),
I regret extremely from the depths of my heart, and I reveal each and every such action.

Rejoice

NIK-MI DU-DIR MANG-THO DRUP-LA TSON
CHO-JYED PANG-PI DAL-JOR DON-YO SHYE
NGON-PO CHEY-KYI LAP-CHEN DZE-PA LA
DAG-CHAG SAM-PA TAG-PEH YI RANG NGO

We totally rejoice in your magnificent achievements, my Lord,
who received numerous teachings and performed the practices with utmost diligence,
who abandoned the eight worldly objectives
and made the most meaningful use of the eighteen opportune conditions during these degenerate times.

Request to Turn the Wheel of Dharma

JE-TSUN LA-MA DAM-PA CHEY-NAM KYI
CHO-KU KA-LA CHEN-TI TIN-TIK NEY
JI-TAR TSAM-PI DUL-SHIH DZIN-MA LA
ZAB-JI CHO-KYI CHAR-PA WHAP-TU SOL

All you holy Gurus, unerring in conduct,
may you precipitate a rain of realisation of Bodhicitta and Shunyata
from the clouds of all-knowing compassion which fills the Dharmakaya sky,
providing for the field of disciples precisely what is needed.

Requesting to Remain

NAM-DAG WO-SAL YING-LEY JING-PA YI
ZUNG-JUG KU-LA CHAR-NUB MI-NGA YANG
THA-MAL HNANG-NGOR ZUG-KU RAG-PA NYI
SEE-THEE BAR-DU MI-NUB TAN-PA SHUG

May the Vajra body of Tsongkhapa created from the purity of clear light,
free of the rising and setting of cyclic existence
but visible to the ordinary viewer only in its unsubtle, physical form,
stay on unchanging, without waning, until Samsara ends.

Dedication

DAG-SOG JIN-NYEH SAG-PA GE-WA DEE
TAN-DANG DRO-WA KUN-LA GANG-PHAN DANG
CHE-PA JE-TSUN LO-ZANG DRAG-PA YI
TAN-PI NYING-PO RING-DU SAL-SHEH SHOG

May this merit accumulated by myself and others,
beneficially serve all sentient beings and the Buddhadharma
and especially may the essential teachings of the unerring master Tsongkhapa,
become clear and enduring.

Migtsema (Mantra of Je Tsongkhapa)

This can be recited anytime, anywhere, as many times as possible. It has the benefits of receiving the blessings of Avalokiteshvara, Manjushri and Vajrapani.

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

(Recite 21x or more, depending on time)

Je Tsongkhapa, crown jewel of the holy Masters of the land of snows,
You are Avalokiteshvara, great goldmine of Compassion untainted by ego’s delusion.
You are Manjushri, great Master of stainless wisdom.
You are Vajrapani, great subduer of all the gatherings of demons.
At your feet, famed Lobsang Drakpa,
I humbly bow and earnestly request that all sentient beings achieve Enlightenment.

(Recite 21x or more, depending on time)

Dissolving Je Rinpoche into Ourselves

PAL-DAN TSA-WEY LA-MA RINPOCHE
DAG-SOG CHI-WOR PE-ME DAN-JUG LA
KA-DRIN CHEN-PO GO-NEY JE-ZUNG TE
KU-SUNG THUG-KYI NGO-DRUP TSAL-DU SOL

Dear worthy root Guru, please ascend the lotus seat
atop the head of myself and the other beings,
and in your great kindness please remain with us.
Bestow upon us the blessings of your body, speech and mind.

PAL-DAN TSA-WEY LA-MA RINPOCHE
DAG-SOG NYING-KHAR PE-ME DAN-JUG LA
KA-DRIN CHEN-PO GO-NEY JE-ZUNG TE
CHO-DANG THUN-MONG NGO-DRUP TSAL-DU SOL

Precious, noble, root Guru, please occupy the lotus seat
within our hearts and in your great kindness remain with us.
Please grant us your blessings for our temporal success
and for the supreme attainment.

PAL-DAN TSA-WEY LA-MA RINPOCHE
DAG-SOG NYING-KHAR PE-ME DAN-JUG LA
KA-DRIN CHEN-PO GO-NEY JE-ZUNG TE
JANG-CHUB NYING-PO BAR-DU TAN-PAR SHUG

Beloved, noble, root Guru, please occupy the lotus seat
within our hearts and in your great kindness remain with us.
Please stay on until we achieve the great goal of Enlightenment.

A Song Rapidly Invoking Blessings - By Lama Gyalwa Kalzang Gyatso, the 7th Dalai Lama

webmaster — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 06:10:39 +0000

In the year of the Water dog, Lama Gyalwa Kalzang Gyatso visited Gaden Monastery. Inspired by the extraordinary vibration pervading the place and filled with marvel at the strength and kindness of Omniscient Lord Tsongkhapa, who had founded Gaden, His Holiness Kalzang Gyatso was moved to write this song.

Above, in actuality pristine awareness
Manifest as a radiant Buddha mandala,
The pure land of Tushita, the Joyous Abode
Blessed by Buddhas past, present and future.

Mountains of herbs blanketed in sweet aromas,
Flowers blossoming morning, noon and night,
A forest of trees with turquoise leaves:
Reminders of the splendid body of Je Rinpoche.

The murmur of a river swiftly flowing,
The stirring songs of birds,
The majestic sound of a Dharma teaching:
Reminders of the gentle voice of Je Rinpoche.

The blue sky freely hovering,
Clear, white clouds scattered abstractly,
The young sun casting beams everywhere:
The wisdom, compassion and power of Je Rinpoche.

Body adorned with the marks of a Buddha,
Speech raining down vast and profound Dharma,
Mind seeing all things in the sphere of clear light:
I recollect Je Rinpoche, Lobsang Drakpa.

Fulfill your vow to benefit beings;
Descend, grant protection and power.
To you I offer an ocean of all-good things.
Enjoy them within your great bliss.

On the Mighty Nomad Mountain, quiet, easy,
A land made pure with goodness and strength,
Stands your Gaden Monastery, prophesied by Buddha:
A monastery producing limitless Awakened Ones.

Your mind on Bliss and Void inseparable,
The flow of events appeared as a rainbow.
One body sends endless clouds of emanations
To set this world ablaze with joy.

Your profound teachings bridging Sutra and Tantra
Are jewels for those truly seeking liberation.
Even the words you used are perfect,
Nakedly pointing the way for the ripe.

O Je Lama, because of your infinite kindness
We can understand all Sutras and Tantras as precepts,
Can see the entire path leading to perfection
And can correct all delusions and mistaken concepts.

O Master, merely hearing legends of your deeds
Can place a man on the enlightening path;
With thoughts of your greatness, with heart
Trembling, I fix mind upon you.

Invisible father gone to Bliss,
Listen to this plaintive song
Of a boy still in Samsara’s quicksands,
Of an ill-fated son cut from his Refuge.

In terms of external appearances,
A monk is easily proud of his robes,
But if his thoughts fall only on the transient
Are his lusts not worse than a layman’s?

The masses revel in black actions
And through evil gain their ends.
Flashes of a degenerate age
Crash in the depths of my heart.

How glamorous and exciting to go
Through the motions of practising Dharma,
And to hear the profound teachings;
But the mind, hard as wood, is slow to change.

The spirit, weak and uncontrolled,
Staggers under the three psychic poisons
Whenever an object appears to it:
A golden vessel filled with urine

Precious humanity, the chance to be a Buddha;
But we create only misery with it
And throw away all hope of actually
Benefitting either ourselves or others.

I, born so late, unfortunate,
Pass my time amid negativity and confusion.
Father Lama, look upon me;
Hold me with hooks of compassion.

In this life, the bardo and future lives,
Pray, be my guide.
My Refuge, forsake me not.
Omniscient One, be with me always.

Care for all beings as a mother for her son.
Spiritual Father, to us who are children,
Reveal visibly the mandala of your body
Magnificent with every mark of perfection.

Bestow upon us the oral teachings
Which render every experience meaningful.
Bless us to make our minds at one taste
With great bliss and unapprehendable wisdom.

Life is impermanent like the setting sun.
Wealth is like dew on morning grass,
Praise is like wind in a mountain pass,
A youthful body is an autumn flower.

Bless me to understand the shortcomings
Of constantly turning on the wheel of becoming
And to fix the depths of my mind
On the path leading to ultimate knowledge.

Bestow upon me transforming powers to fill
My mental continuum with love and compassion,
To see the beings of Samsara’s six realms
As mothers who have forever helped me.

Bestow upon me transforming powers
Quickly to realize the way things are,
To understand images viewed by the mind
As paintings created by the mind itself.

Help me attain Enlightenment in this very life
Through the yogic methods of Tantra’s two stages,
To see external events as the sport of Buddhas
And the mind as satiated with Bliss and Emptiness.

And when, to fight delusion, meditation’s enemy,
I retreat to a cave on a distant mountain,
A place to give birth to serenity and joy,
Bless me to penetrate the innermost profundity.

Grant me powers swiftly to annihilate
All inner and outer negative forces,
And power to cleanse the stains of having dwelt
Far from the limits of Dharma’s three bonds.

O Manjushri, who reveals himself magically
In peaceful, wrathful and protective forms,
May your auspicious deeds reach fruition
And you remain a constant Refuge to the world.

Bestow upon me the powerful blessings
Of your mysterious body, speech and mind,
That my every physical, verbal and mental
Movement may benefit beings and the teachings.

May the thunder of the Sutras and Tantras shake the earth,
May the sun of Tsongkhapa’s “Practice Lineage” rage,
May all practitioners attain the power
And all sentient beings realize their wishes.

Taking Refuge - Becoming A True Buddhist

webmaster — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 23:59:13 +0000

To take Refuge in a Guru and in the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha) means to have complete faith that they can show us the methods to bring out our full divine potential and ultimately, to lead us to full Enlightenment.

It allows us to link our presently limited capabilities with that of the unlimited compassion, wisdom and power of the Buddhas, as well as aspiring towards the attainment of those same qualities.

H.E. Tsem Rinpoche usually gives the refuge vows twice a year, during Wesak Day and Tsongkhapa Day. Prior to attending the refuge ceremony, refuge-seekers must attend a class conducted by His Eminence’s senior students. The class covers various essential topics including what it really means to take refuge in a Guru, and in the Three Jewels.

Contact the Liaison of Kechara House, Yap Yoke Fui (yokefui.yap@kechara.com) to find out more about taking refuge with His Eminence.

Butterlamps - Dispelling Ignorance

webmaster — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 22:26:08 +0000

It is said, in the second chapter of the Root Tantra of Chakrasamvara:

“If you wish for sublime realization, offer hundreds of lights”
~ Root Institute quoting Lama Thubten Zopa

Shakyamuni Buddha mentioned the 10 benefits of light offerings in Tune of Brahma:

One becomes like the light of the world
One achieves clairvoyance of the pure eye as a human
One achieves the Deva’s eye
One receives the wisdom to discriminate virtue from non-virtue
One is able to eliminate the concept of inherent existence
One receives the illumination of wisdom
One is reborn as a human or deva
One receives great enjoyment wealth
One quickly becomes liberated
One quickly attains Enlightenment

Kyabje Kalu Rinpoche (d.1989) said that offerings are of three kinds in four levels:

Material ones such as butter lamps, imaginary ones that proceed from our minds, and things which are primordially extant. Light is certainly one of the latter; butter one of the first.

When you think that along with the flame you are offering your consciousness and/or your energy then the lamp stands for all three.