Kensur Rinpoche Lobsang Phende to Give Chakrasamvara Initiation and Commentary in April 2023
At the request of Gelong Lobsang Thardoe from Nepal, and many other Lamas and monks within the lineage from around the world, the abbot emeritus of Shar Gaden, Kyabje Kensur Rinpoche Lobsang Phende has compassionately accepted the request to confer the initiation
Indians say they should close the Tibetan file and move on
The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to [email protected]. By: Heinrich Hauff In the wake of the recent “indefinite postponement” of the 13th Religious Conference of the Schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Bön Tradition is a spate of media…
The fall of Tibetan heroes, Chushi Gangdruk
The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to [email protected]. By: Heinrich Hauff Origin and history of Chushi Gangdruk Tibet’s most famous guerilla force, the Chushi Gangdruk (Four Rivers and Six Ranges) was founded in the mid-1950s to serve as…
Dorje Shugden in Sacred Paintings from Old Tibet
The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to [email protected]. By: Shashi Kei Thangkas are Tibetan scroll paintings that usually depict Buddhist deities or images of worship. In old Tibet, they were especially popular amongst lamas, monks and Buddhist practitioners…
The Scholar Dorje Shugden
Trehor Gyurpon Rinpoche was a famous lama from Drepung Loseling Monastery, who left Tibet for India during the time of the Cultural Revolution in China. In the year before Trehor Gyurpon Rinpoche was due to graduate from his Geshe degree studies, he started making plans for the customary offerings to the Sangha, which he would…
Not Just a Simple Advice but an Order
By: Michaela Smith For many years, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama has insisted that his view and statement on Dorje Shugden practice constitutes advice and not a ban. On the Dalai Lama’s official website it is stated that: “[The Dalai Lama] has stated that, as a Buddhist leader with a special concern for the…
Lama Yeshe’s Cremation
By: René Muller In 1984, at the age of 49, Lama Yeshe passed into clear light. His Holiness Kyabje Zong Rinpoche (1905-1984 CE) was the lama who performed his last rites and cremation. Zong Rinpoche was no ordinary lama but a highly realized Gelugpa lama and a disciple of His Holiness Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche, the…
The Ruling Empire of Dorje Shugden
Any enlightened being, whether they belong to any of the four classes of Tantra or not, manifest their Enlightenment with a following or entourage. This can be seen even in the case of the historical Buddha Shakyamuni and his 16 Arhats. Just as a king needs ministers in order to manage and execute the necessary…
Power Places of Dorje Shugden
In conjunction with International Religious Freedom Day on 27 October 2015, DorjeShugden.com would like to share with you some of the power places that are very closely associated with the World Peace Protector Dorje Shugden. May we always have the fortune to be in one of these sacred places.
Dharma Demystified: Dorje Shugden Life Entrustment Initiation
Sogtae literally means ‘life entrustment” in Tibetan, referring to the life entrustment initiation or permissory rites of a Dharma Protector. There are many other Dharma Protectors with life entrustment initiation rituals…
A Guide to Spiritual Practice
Spiritual practice can be incorporated into our daily lives. Many of these practices are readily available and establishing a consistent routine of study and practice ensures our progress along the spiritual path…
Dharma Demystified: Nagarjuna, the Founder of the Mahayana Tradition
According to scriptural sources, Nagarjuna was born to a Brahmin family from the ancient kingdom of Vidarbha in the southern part of India. Upon being presented with the newborn baby, the soothsayer observed auspicious signs of a holy being but also made an ominous prediction that the baby would not live past the seventh day…
Dorje Shugden on a Black Horse
Dorje Shugden Tanag has been an important and integral practice of the Sakya Tradition for the past few hundred years. Furthermore, the line of Sakya Throneholders has viewed Dorje Shugden as a fully enlightened being who is one with Avalokiteshvara and Manjushri…
Why Manjushri Matters
Throughout time immemorial since the advent of Buddhism, Manjushri has manifested in many forms both celestial and mortal, animate and inanimate, to guide all sentient beings out of the cycle of transmigration. He has taken on the form of Bodhisattvas, Mahasiddhas and even an ordinary peasant, as if in a drama to suit the propensities of each and every individual…
Dharma Demystified: The Enthronement of Dorje Shugden
The enthronement prayer seals the merits of Dorje Shugden’s presence and blessings in a particular location, image or practitioner’s life. It is also a request for Dorje Shugden to reside in a particular location, thus blessing the place and dispelling various negativities and interferences…
Of Dorje Shugden and Mongolia
Without the Dalai Lama’s political influence in Mongolia, the practice of Dorje Shugden in Mongolia is thriving and well. It is estimated that the majority religion in Mongolia is Tibetan Buddhism at 53%…
The Benefits of Dorje Shugden’s Puja
Dharma Protector Dorje Shugden is an essential protector for this era. At the most basic level, Dorje Shugden is able to solve various supernatural disturbances that one may encounter, such as spirit disturbances, sorcery or negative energy…
Vegetarianism in Buddhism
Buddhism has three main schools of thought – Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana – and a superficial examination of these three schools (or vehicles) reveals what appears to be conflicting views on the practice of vegetarianism…
Commentary on Incense Offering to Dorje Shugden
Incense is traditionally offered on Buddhist shrines to propitiate the Three Jewels – Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. The fragrant scent of incense is said to resemble and remind us of the perfection of morality. This is because monks who hold their vows perfectly are said to emit a fragrant scent reminiscent of the fragrance of incense…
A Commentary on Nyirtoe
Composed by H.H. Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche, Nyirtoe is a special prayer to Dorje Shugden and is considered to be an ideal prayer for the busy modern individual to propitiate Dorje Shugden…
Food Offering Prayer
As Buddhists, we take refuge in the Three Jewels, which consists of the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. After taking refuge, one has to uphold a set of refuge commitments, part of which is to offer the first portion of whatever we eat and drink to the Three Jewels, while remembering their kindness. This generates an…
Sacred Head
This is a very sacred head of Dorje Shugden. It was made by Kyabje Phara Dorje Chang of Gaden Jangtse Monastery shortly before his passing when they were all still in Buxa refugee Camp in North India. That time, the jungle nearby was said to be haunted and monks who went into the jungle for toilet, etc. even in the…
Dorje Shugden Cham Dance in Tibet
Dorje Shugden Cham Dance in Nyemo Gyelche Monastery, Tibet There are a few variations of accounts on the history and the lineage of Dorje Shugden, written by various attained lamas in the last 350 years. The source most contemporary Gelugpas now refer to was written by His Holiness Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche in his sungbum…
Dharma Demystified: Invocation of Dorje Shugden
by Steve Lee The invocation prayer of Dorje Shugden is performed at the beginning of the puja to request the deity to descend from his celestial abode at the invitation of the practitioner. The invocation liturgy is recited slowly and with it, the practitioner does the mudra of invocation by holding the vajra up and…
Dharma Demystified: The Mantra of Dorje Shugden
The practice of reciting mantras as a formal way of practice originates from ancient India. The Sanskrit word ‘mantra’ literally means mind protection, after ‘manas’ for mind and ‘tram’, which means to protect. Thus, mantras are a sacred verbalized formula recited to enact protection and transformation of the mind. The use of mantras came from…
Dharma Demystified: Melody of the Unceasing Vajra
By Steve Lee According to the colophon, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama composed this auspicious prayer during his brief stay at Dungkar Monastery, the seat of the legendary Domo Geshe Rinpoche, prior to his exile into India. The Dalai Lama was requested to compose this prayer by Dorje Shugden himself, via the famous oracle…
Complete Collected Writings of H.H. the 10th Panchen Rinpoche Lobsang Trinley Lhundup Gyaltsen (1938-1989)
His Holiness the All-Knowing Panchen Rinpoche was a massive figure among the Tibetans for centuries. Known for his scholarship, occult abilities and strong compassion to disseminate the dharma to all who came in contact with him. We are very fortunate the complete compilation of his writings, meditations and prayers are offered here. Although it is…
10th Panchen Lama Writes Prayer to Dorje Shugden
His Holiness the Gyalwa Panchen Rinpoche, any of the line of this reincarnated line in Tibet, each of whom heads the influential Tashi Lhunpo Monastery (near Shigatse) and until recent times was second only to the Dalai Lama in spiritual authority within the dominant Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism. In fact spiritually Panchen Lama is…
Dharma Demystified: The Significance of A Buddhist Shrine
The setting up of a shrine for the purpose of worship is perhaps one of the most common Buddhist practices and yet, one of the least understood, and its significance is not fully appreciated. Contrary to popular belief, being Buddhist is not just about worshiping the Buddha and hoping to be granted a boon or…
Dharma demystified: Golden Drink Offering (Serkyem)
By: Steve Lee The Golden Drink Offering or Serkyem, part of the Dorje Shugden Kangsol, is central to a Dharma Protector’s practice. In Tibetan, Ser means golden and Kyem means beverage. Despite the existence of Serkyem-offering liturgies composed by High Lamas to certain Yidams, it remains largely a unique aspect of the Dharma Protector practice….
Dorje Shugden’s Clairvoyance
Growing up in Asia, to see deities/spirits taking trances in a human is quite common, be it in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan etc. I have seen quite a few oracles taking trances of various deities/spirits in various temples, but my first experience with a Tibetan oracle taking trance of Dorje Shugden was just a…
The Four Great Sera Mey Lamas
Below are four great masters from Sera Mey who are Dorje Shugden practitioners. Not only are they great masters, three of them are also respected ex-abbots. 1. Gyalrong Kensur Ngawang Thekchok of Sera Mey Monastery Gyalrong Kensur Ngawang Thekchok Rinpoche was the 82nd abbot of Sera Mey Monastery and was a member of the…
Dharma demystified: Trikaya – The three bodies of a Buddha
By: Steve Lee According to the Mahayana Buddhist tradition, a fully enlightened Buddha is able to manifest in three forms. These three forms are called Trikaya or the three bodies of a fully enlightened Buddha, and are respectively called the Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya and Nirmanakaya manifestation of a fully enlightened Buddha. When a being achieves full…
Dharma demystified: Kawang – A confessional practice
Dharma Protector practice may appear to the untrained eye to be shrouded in the mist of mystery rendered thicker by the passage of time. However these practices accord tremendous benefits to the practitioners and by all written accounts, these practices are originated by and descend from the greatest of Buddhist masters. Time has not diluted…
Panglung Oracle
The current renowned oracle (photo above) from the Panglung tradition hailed from Sera monastery. He was personally blessed, trained, and had his body points opened by His Holiness Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche in order to take trance. This current oracle is renowned for his gentle disposition, clean monk vows, and also is a very kind monk. He…
The Dalai Lama’s picture at Shar Ganden
By: Stevie Lee On the altar of Gen Tenzin (not his real name) sits beautiful statues of the Buddha and also traditional offerings, such as bowls of water to represent the Three Jewels, which are very much in accordance with Tibetan Buddhist culture. Prominently placed at the front-center of the altar, which is a position…
The Tulku System is Crucial for the Lineage to Endure
Reincarnation is an important fundamental belief in Buddhism just as karma is a driving factor. Probably the best authority to reinforce the existence of reincarnation is the Buddha himself, as he developed retro-cognitive powers and recalled all of his past lives. Just like all sentient beings, the Buddha, born as Prince Siddharta, had lived as…
A Teaching by Dorje Shugden, Losar 2013
Dorje Shugden, the uncommon protector of the Gaden lineage, has been famed for upholding the sacred lineage of the great tricosmic master Lama Tsongkhapa. One of the special qualities of this great protector is that he gives teachings of the Dharma for he is an emanation of Manjushri, the Buddha of Wisdom, as well as…
Becoming a Divine Messenger: How Oracles are Created
This article, extracted from the DorjeShugden.com forum, was written in response to a question posted about how someone is chosen to become an oracle. Question: How does a Lama pick a person to become an oracle? What are the criteria? Does anyone know and can a layperson also be chosen to be an…
Get your copy of Modern Buddhism here!
A reader of DorjeShugden.com recently wrote to us saying that meeting Geshe Kelsang Gyatso changed his life. In his sincere comment, he drew our attention to this free eBook provided by the New Kadampa Tradition which he says includes “the entire path of sutra and tantra”. We wish to share the work of this attained…
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