X-Tour: Hangzhou & Putuoshan in China

 （Putuoshan)

 (West Lake)

 (Lingyin Temple)

(Xixi Wetland)

We just returned from Shangrila in August recently, with our next trip being planned sometime next year, in 2016. However, when I read about the up-coming Buddhist ceremony which would be held on 13 December 2015 in Hong Kong, presided over by Grand Master, I decided to make another trip soon to Hangzhou and Putuoshan, as part of our trip to HK, in view of a very special spiritual connection between us and the teaching that would be transmitted in this ceremony.

There were quite a few students who took refuge in me through our Internet webcast; it is time for us to meet one another now. So, once again, we boarded an “iron bird” on 6 December 2016, and headed towards Hangzhou, transiting via Hong Kong. 

As per every X-Tour, rainbows of circular shape and vertical shape appeared around our flights throughout the whole period of both flights, escorting us from Singapore to Hong Kong, and then from Hong Kong to Hangzhou. The dharma protectors always keep us company. I felt so touched! The day before our arrival in Hangzhou, it snowed heavily – a rare occurrence indeed and an obvious  sign of auspiciousness.

We only stayed in Hangzhou for one night. On the following morning, we departed for the Pure Land of Avalokitesvara in this secular world – Putuoshan. My last visit to Putushan was some twenty years ago. This time, we planned to visit the Purple Bamboo Groove, Refuse-to-leave Avalokitesvara Temple, Sound of Wave Cave, Huiji Temple, Avalokitesvara of the Southern Sea, Dharma Rain Temple and Sanskrit Voice Cave.

There were five halls in the Dharma Rain Temple. After visiting the first three, we went straight to the fifth one. After finishing our prayer at the fifth hall, I finally noticed that the fourth hall was just beside the fifth one. It enshrined a statue of the Thousand Armed Avalokitesvara. We could not enter this hall because the door was locked. We just remained outside the hall while reciting the Great Compassion Mantra and paying our homage to the Thousand Armed Avalokitesvara. When we were about to leave, someone suddenly yelled: “A monk is inviting us to go inside the hall to do our prayer!” At this stage, the door to this hall was already opened. So, we went in to do our prayer. On our way out of the temple, our local tour guide, Lee, told me that the monk who was in-charged of this hall saw me and told her that he recognized me. He told her that I am a Buddhist master and I visited this temple in the past. I was utterly surprised by his remarks! Because I dressed like a layman on that day and I had never been to this temple in the past. “This monk is indeed very unusual，“ I was thinking to myself. Lee said, “One’s appearance is a reflection of one’s inner state of being. Although you dressed like a layman, any wise man can tell who you really are based on your unusual demeanor…….”

There was another special experience at the Sanskrit Voice Cave where we recited the heart mantra of Avalokitesvara. Suddenly, one of the members passed me a white khatta as offering to Avalokitesvara. After I threw it out into the space before us, a sudden gust of wind appeared and blew the khatta back towards me. I tried throwing it out again, and this time another gust of wind appeared and blew the khatta upward gracefully, and finally hanged it on the rock about 10 meters in height. What an amazing phenomenon! Later, Dharma Brother Shao told me that he had a vision of Avalokitesvara accepting my offering of khatta and returning it to me. He also had a vision of many resident practitioners who came forward to pay their respect……

When we returned to Hangzhou from Putuoshan, we visited Lingyin Temple (made famous by the Crazy Monk – Jigong). We paid our homage at all the main halls. Dharma Sister Ju told me that there should be one more Medicine Buddha Hall, according to the pamphlet she picked up at the temple. However, I had a feeling that there should be one more Jigong Hall somewhere. When we made a right turn, we saw a Medicine Buddha Hall indeed. However, a small Jigong Hall was just standing beside it! We entered the Jigong Hall to pay our respect to Jigong. The moment I stepped into this hall, Jigong immediately descended and gave his blessing to our group. Dharma Brother Hong suddenly sprang into action, forming the mudra of Jigong and knelt down before Acho…… Subsequently, Jigong followed us throughout the rest of our trip. What an inconceivable spiritual connection between us and Jigong! 

We toured the scenic Xixi Wetland. According to legend, Song Emperor, Song Gao Zong, saw this place and was very impressed by its beautiful landscape. As he could not take it away, he said, “Xixi may stay.” This was the place where a Chinese movie “If You Are The One” was made, starring Geyou and Shuqi. They said the exact line in the movie.  Xixi was indeed a place that makes one longing to stay…..

Our group prayers on the last two nights in Hangzhou were even more unbelievable! Dharma Sister Li, after taking refuge in me in Hangzhou, had a vision of Avalokitesvara and Acho Rinpoche descending during the group prayer and conferring blessing in the form of light to her brother who had fallen sick but was somewhere else. When she was going through the refuge rite, she knelt before me and stared into my eyes – she saw bright golden light emitted from my eyes; she was so touched that she cried three times later and hugged me tightly. Dharma Sister Yue’s father had some leg injury and so he had to sit on a chair during the group prayer. When he entered the state of Samadhi, he suddenly felt that he had ascended to the sky above, and he could even see a snow capped mountain beneath him. After the group prayer, he realised that he could now sit on the floor despite the earlier leg injury. Dharma Sister Yue’s mother had even more fascinating stories to share…… Earlier on, Dharma Sister Yue’s mother had to visit her father (grand father of Yue) regularly at a hospital while he was being hospitalised. She recited the heart mantra of Acho Rinpoche while visiting the hospital each time, blessing the many sentient beings and patients there. After which, her left middle finger became swollen badly and she asked me for blessing. On the following day, she found her finger back to normal again!

Our final stop was Hong Kong. We attended a Shambala Empowerment Ceremony with about thirty thousand attendees. It was presided over by our Grand Master. During his sharing, Grand Master said that the Japanese and Koreans are all descendants of the Chinese – we are a family! Why are we still fighting over the ownership of Senkaku Island (Diayu Dao) then? Grand Master also revealed the exact location of Shambala – it is somewhere around the ancient country of Xi Xia, beneath a mountain called Dang Xiang. However, this ancient country that existed more than eight hundred years ago had a very large territorial boundary – with Yellow River on its east, Jade Gate on its west, Xiao Gate on its south, a huge dessert on its north, and a total land area of more than ten thousands “li” (old unit of measurement for distance), with Mt. He Lan within its region. Where on earth is this Mt. Dang Xiang then? In our new book titled “In search of the Real Shangrila”, we mentioned the mysterious Shambala. Now, Grand Master said that the real Shambala exists underneath Mt. Dang Xiang. Where is Mt. Dang Xiang? So what if we know the exact location of Shamala? It is actually inaccessible to an ordinary person because it is a world made of rainbow light! So, it will be more important for us to practise the Vajrayana sadhana with vigor. I firmly believe that when we have truly accomplished our practice, Shambala Pure Land will naturally appear before us……

  When I just stepped out of the event hall where the ceremony was held, two Dharma Sisters asked me, consecutively, unplanned, “How come Grand Master and you said the same things? 'We are a family, the whereabout of Shangrila, Vajrayogini, Avalokitesvara, and Shuqi…..'”

Acho Rinpoche

16-12-2015 

The Real Purpose of Buddhism Practice

Tonight, Acho Rinpoche gave a very crucial teaching about the practice of Budhdism.

Someone asked Sodaji Khenpo, “I do sadhana, mantra chanting, sutra recitation and meditation with vigour. Are these the real practice of Buddhism?” Sodaji Khenpo replied, “No!”

What then is the real practice of Buddhism? Sodaji Khenpo has the view that by doing inner reflection of one’s own mind stream and rejoicing in the good deeds of others are the real practice of Buddhism. Actually, what Sodaji Khenp is trying to say is that the real practice of Buddhism is just “mind training”. I have been stressing on the same point too – mind training.

Mind training simply means that one should constantly reflect inward, watching his own mental fabrications triggered by the external environment, including the inner thoughts and emotions. One should continuously watch his own mind and refine his mind set, and move away from his self-interest. Instead, he should learn to be more concerned about the interest of others as such practice will eventually help to eradicate his sense of ego (the source of all mental afflictions).

When a person practises the sadhana, mantra, sutra and meditation out of self-interest, he will certainly end up on the evil path; the highest level of achievement of such practice is none other than the King of Mara of the Mahesvara Heaven (the highest state of being within the Desire Realm). Therefore, mind training is the core teaching of Buddhism and the most crucial practice.

Is it alright then for a person to just practise mind training and forego the sadhana? The answer is “no”. However, if a person must sacrifice one of them for whatever reason, he should then choose mind training over sadhana. Although mind training can eventually help one attain the ultimate state of enlightenment, it is a very slow and gradual process. Sadhana is designed to augment the mind training practice, expediting the completion of the mind training. Therefore, mind training augmented by sadhana is the perfect path of practice.

A practitioner should be more concerned about the interest of others over his own. A practitioner should do inner reflection and watch his own mind stream, identifying his own shortcomings and make amend. He should not look outward and pick on the shortcoming of others. One should look inward into his own mind and change himself.

Last but not least, Vajrayanists must observe strictly the precepts of the Fourteen Root Downfalls of Vajrayana. Fellow vajrayanists must not create conflicts with one another. Instead, a practitioner should not pick on the shortcoming of others but his own and make amend.

This was a teaching given by Acho Rinpoche on 26 Sep 2015.

X-Tour: Yunan Tour (Dali, Lijiang, Shangrila, Deqin)

(Mt. Meili seen outside of the hotel room window)

In 2002, we planned to visit Yunan, Dali, Lijiang and Zhongdian but were advised by Weidong from Beijing that it would be too cold in December then. Instead, he suggested the Southern Silk Road which was warmer instead (an ancient route for horse and tea leaf trading). So, we travelled to Kunming, Ruili and Tengchong and gave the scenic Dali, Lijing and Zhongdian a miss.

This time, however, we are fully prepared to fulfil our original plan. 13 years later, on 2^nd August 2015, 21 of us took a flight to Yunan which we have been longing for, with two other members from Hangzhou meeting us at Kunming. Our airplane were encircled by a rainbow throughout the whole flight, lasting more than 3 hours.

On the first day, our tour guide, a dark and skinny lady, kept telling us about the current social problems facing China. Those born in the 80s and 90s are experiencing a high divorce rate today, and she said a marriage will end up being a divorce without fail. She even illustrated her point by sharing with us a real story that happened to someone she knew – a couple decided to go their separate ways over a bag of garbage! China, after going through ten years of mishaps, followed by speedy economic development, is facing many social ills now. Finally, when she told us that she wished to be born as a panda in her next life, I was completely dumbfounded!

On the second day, we ascended Mt. Jizu. It was a very formidable task to a Singaporean making our way up the mountain (3,240 m in altitude), despite the fact that we took a cable car ride to complete the first part of the journey. When we arrived at the foot of the mountain, a sun halo appeared in the sky, showing the presence of the enlightened beings and the dharma protectors and their firm commitment to be with us at all times. When we reached the Huashoumen (cave), we did a Avalokitesvara Prayer and made offering of buttered lamps. Dharma Sister Bing later shared with me that she “saw” the entire cave transforming into rainbow lights. She could see the rainbow lights whether she opened or closed her eyes. She had a vision of Mahakasyapa and Avolikitesvara appearing in the rainbow lights. Dharma Brother Shao had a vision too that he “saw” all of us entering the cave to pay homage to Mahakasyapa who has entered a state of profound meditation since more than 2,500 years ago. He has been waiting for the arrival of Maitreya Buddha in this world, as instructed by Sakyamuni Buddha during his time, to hand over his robe to Maitreya in future. Everyone in the group made a vow before Mahaksyapa, “In future, when Bodhisattva Maitreya comes to this world to attain his Buddhahood, we will join Mahakasyapa in welcoming his arrival.”

On the third day, our official tour guide, Xiao Shan, finally appeared. She also shared the same story about the couple who divorced over a bag of garbage! It is obvious that China is facing a serious social problem today! Only the teachings of the Buddha can cure the social ills by treating the mental health of the people.

When we arrived at Lijiang, we headed straight to the Vajrayogini Cave. Sakyamuni Buddha called it “The Most Supreme Spiritual Cave in Jambuvipa”. It is connected to 25 other dakini caves. Today, there is a majestic looking Tibetan temple being built right in front of the cave and the abbot is Yingba Vajra Master from the Karma Kagyud. Someone said that Yingba Vajra Master did his retreat in Southern India for more than 10 years. He was identified by H.E Tai-situ as the right candidate to build a monastery at Vajrayogini Cave. So, he returned to China to fulfil the task assigned by his teacher. There is a place within the vicinity of the Vajrayogini Cave that is believed to hold the key to the Huashoumen. Legend has it that when Mahakasyapa left India with the robe of Sakyamuni Buddha in his hands, he came to this Vajrayogini Cave to pay homage to Vajrayogini. He left behind the key to the Huashoumen before heading his way to Mt. Jizu. Traditionally, the Tibetan Buddhists would draw the key from here before heading to Mt. Jizu. We saw the video footages of Venerable Haitao on his pilgrimage tour to Mt. Jizu and learnt about this history. Venerable Haitao has a strong connection with H.H Karmapa. His pilgrimage tour to Mt. Jizu was quite an important event in the Buddhist circle. According to the legend, the 1^st Karmapa had a vision of this Vajrayogini Cave in his meditation. The 8^th Karmapa personally made a pilgrimage tour to the cave. And the 10^th Karmapa stayed at the cave for more than 20 years. This cave has a strong karmic connection with the Karma Kagyud indeed.

On the 7^th day, on the 8^th of August, we came to Zhiyun Temple. It was so coincidental that August is the period when the Karma Kagyud holds its annual grand ceremony. This time, the 17^th Dongbao Zhongba Rinpoche personally presided over the ceremony attended by thousands of layman Buddhists and ordained monks. We took part in the ceremony too since we happened to appear at the right place at the right time. We offered khattas and our X-Tour books to Dongbao Zhongba Rinpoche too.

Of course, we also visited the ancient cities of Dali and Lijiang, including the Mt. Yulong. We did not spend much time on these locations partly because it was the summer holiday of China, where every place was full of crowds. They were also not our places of interest anyway. When we reached Shangrila, we merely made a brief stop at Songzanlin Monastery which was also very crowded. Very quickly, we headed straight to Mt. Meili as it was one of the most important stops in our plan.

Mt. Meili ranked first in the list of eight sacred mountains within the region of Big Tibet. It is ahead of Mt. Kailash. The road was bumpy. Xiao Shan told us that Mt. Meili hardly showed its face. It will be even more difficult for us to catch a glimpse of it in this rainy season. Song Song, our local tour guide told us that this is the year-of-birth (year of goat) of Mt. Meili, where Tibetans have the tradition of doing pilgrimage tours around the mountain during this period. She already did it this year. She also had a dream last night that she found herself arriving at Mt. Meili. When we were approaching Mt. Meili, the cloudy sky (it has been raining daily since our arrival) suddenly changed into a sunny sky near the area of Mt. Meili. Nearly all thirteen peaks showed their faces right before our eyes. We felt exhilarated! Our group did a Padmasambhava Prayer before Mt. Meili. All the clouds suddenly seemed to come to a stand-still, exposing Mt. Meili before us. When the prayer was over, Padmasambha appeared in the form of cloud above the sky. It was absolutely inconceivable! We prayed before every sacred Buddha statues that we came across – not knowing that we actually became part of the scenery to the Chinese tourists who either stood around watching us or joining us in the prayer at times.  

On our way back to Shangrila, we visited a small temple – Feilai Temple. The image of the mountain god – Gawagebo of Mt. Meili was enshrined within the temple. When we paid our respect to him, he descended and gave blessing to everyone. There were many Tibetans who came to this temple who requested me to touch their heads as a form of blessing. Surprisingly, the person in-charge of the temple asked me if I could help to invite Dongbao Zhongba Rinpoche to visit this temple? Obviously, Donbao Zhongba Rinpoche must be too pre-occupied by the various religious activities that he has not been coming to this place for a long time.

When the whole tour was about to come to a perfect closure, we met a local lady at the airport who has been working for Silk Air for more than 20 years. She saw how cheerful our members were – chatting and laughing in a carefree manner – a social behavior that is hardly seen in China for a long time. She felt very touched and requested to take a photo with us. She told me that she has been working here for 20 years for a reason – for a meeting with me today! She sent me off at the boarding gate, and returned to her duty with much reluctance. We only met once, and yet she has so much faith in me, and we felt so familiar with each other. I saw the tears in her eyes, when she finally turned away……

Only the true teachings of the Buddha can help all sentient beings during this degeneration time…… I truly believe in this, especially when I visited Yunan, Dali, Lijiang and Shangrila this time.

Acho Rinpoche

14^th August 2015

 Blessing the Tibetans

 Mt. Jizu

 Yingba Vajra Master, Abbot of Vajrayogini Cave.

 Xiao Shan & Song Song, our tour guides.

Mt. Meili

Diligence

(Veda)

Tonight we celebrated the birthday of Bodhisattva Veda. Veda will be the last Buddha appearing in our present bhadrakalpa. He vows to protect the Buddha Dharma and will only attain Buddhahood after the rest of the Buddhas in this kalpa have done so. He will be known as Rudita Buddha by then.

Acho Rinpoche stressed the need of being diligent in our practice. He cited the example of Grand Master who continues to practise with vigour till now, without missing a single day of prayer. He even does his prayer on the plane too when he is travelling abroad. Acho Rinpoche said he did not think that he has any supernatural power but things usually worked out well because of the blessing of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas who helped him because of his diligence in practice. He does not think that doing a sadhana session per day is adequate to help one attain enlightenment. An ordained monk should do at least four sadhana sessions a day (morning, noon, evening, night). When a practitioner is diligent in his practice, he will not forget about the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, when he is overwhelmed by the many activities in life. If a practitioner does not practise with vigour, he will eventually lose himself to the many temptations in life, including his work, financial gains, family and enjoyment etc.

Acho Rinpoche has been practicing for more than 30 years by now and he continues to do at least four to five rounds of sadhana session every day (morning, before lunch, after lunch, evening, night). Grand Master also stressed the importance of practicing the individual paramitas of the Six Paramitas (Six Perfections) with vigour, in order to be able to attain enlightenment.

In addition, there is a precept that must be observed by a Vajrayanist – one must not mingle around with ordinary people who indulge in their secular activities. Ordinary people are only concerned about secular enjoyment and their conducts will continue to make one stranded in the samsara (cyclic existence) perpetually. A practitioner will be influenced by his ordinary friends who are non-practitioners and become slack in his practice that will only lead him to the downfall. Practice is likened to a boat moving upstream that it will certainly be washed downstream if it does not maintain its pace moving upstream.

It is very important for a practitioner to participate in a group prayer too. Practising alone will make it hard for a practitioner to keep up his momentum of practising with vigour. Over time, he will just become slack in his practice and will finally give it all up. Group prayers will help the participants motivate one another and keep up the momentum of practising with vigour. The power of blessing bestowed by the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas on a group prayer is very powerful and can help cleanse the negative karma of all the participants effectively, while engendering a sense of vigour in them.

Acho Rinpoche has not become slack in his practice after his retirement, as he continues to do a few rounds of sadhana sessions every day. He even continues doing his sadhana in his dream and could help other sentient beings during his sleep. Samsara is indeed a very scary phenomenon. When a person truly feels the pain of samsara, he will naturally practise with vigour in order to break free of samsara sooner. When a practitioner finally attains enlightenment, he may do anything that appears to be unrelated to a spiritual practice in order to help other sentient beings; but that will be a different story altogether.  

In gist, diligence is a very important quality of a practitioner. One will remember the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha when doing his sadhana, when his mind will not be distracted by the external environment which is both illusionary and transient in nature.    

Reported by Sun Moon KFS on 18-7-2015

The 10th Karmapa

The 10th Karmapa Chöying Dorje (1604–1674) 

Tonight Acho Rinpoche mentioned the titles of two of the Buddhas rarely heard of in the Age of Degeneration of the Dharma. These two Buddhas are only known to one or two out of a million. However, the merits generated from reciting their titles will be tremendous beyond our imagination.

The first is “Sun Moon Lamp Buddha”. One who recites his title will be deserving of offering by all sentient beings and their prostrations. When one recites the title of this Buddha, his body is no different from a precious stupa. The pure land of this Buddha is called “Pearl of the Northen World”.

The second is “Precious Body Buddha”. One who recites his title will be deserving of offering by all sentient beings in the Three Realms (Desire Realm, Form Realm and Formless Realm). The pure land of this Buddha is called “Helping All in Difficulties”.

Actually, we do recite the title of this Buddha after our group prayers every time. 

Acho Rinpoche mentioned about our impending tour to Yunan (China) in Aug 15. We will be visiting two very special places related to the Karma Kagyud: Cloud Pointing Temple and Vajrayogini Cave. The 10th Karmapa was the religious advisor to the King of Eastern Tibet during his time. When war broke out in Tibet, the 10th Karmapa fled Tibet and came to Northen Yunan. He did his retreat in the Vajrayogini Cave for several years.

Later, he travelled alone to Tibet in order to enthrone the reincarnation of his late root guru. He changed into an ordinary attire in order to enter Tibet quietly, unrecognized by anyone. However, his students prepared a horse for him and some jewels to pay for his travelling expenses. Unfortunately, the horse attracted the attention of the robbers and he was robbed of all his personal belongings including his horse. Even his clothing were robed and he was given a beggar’s cloth in return. The robbers did not know of his status and he did not bother about telling anyone who he was. Overnight, he transformed from a precious Buddhist Master revered by many into a nameless beggar. However, he was not bothered by such a change and continued his journey to Tibet. That was indeed an exceptional behavior demonstrated by an enlightened master!   

Reported by Sun Moon KFS on 16-Jul-15

Key Teachings

(Acho Rinpoche visited Tsurphu Monastery in Tibet in Aug 2014)

Tonight Acho Rinpoche gave the following teachings after our group prayer.

1.       See Karmapa Through One’s Mind-eye

Some of the audience who attended a teaching by H.H Karmapa recently fought over their seats in order to be able to “see” Karmapa more clearly without having their views being blocked. Karmapa fell silent for quite a while after hearing such incident. Later, he broke his silence and said that he did a lot of preparations in order to bring the precious teachings to the students and he hoped that the audience would see him through their mind-eyes but not their naked eyes.  

2.       What is a Buddhist?

Gampopa ever explained the meaning of being a Buddhist and the reason for practising the teachings of the Buddha. He said, “Being a Buddhist means being prepared to face death at any moment. Not only that, one must face death without any regrets.” When we ponder upon death frequently, we will not be carried away by other trivial issues in life related to money, career, family etc., for the rest will be just meaningless when we die.

A Kadampa master said, “When we hear a teaching, apply it immediately.”

In the past, there was a westerner who was confronted by a serious illness and felt depressed. However, a Buthanese friend of his advised him to not take his illness seriously. Actually, the Buthanese people spend 5 minutes each day in the morning to ponder upon death. So, they cherish the present and do not worry about what will happen tomorrow. This is the secret of Buthanese’s Happiness Index. However, the westerners lack such oriental philosophy in their cultures.  

 

3.       Three Key Teachings

H.H Karmapa said, “Do not pick on the fault of others.” Acho Rinpoche said, a practitioner should just admire the strengths of others but not pick on their weaknesses, if he wants to break free of the cyclic existence of birth and death. In this world, the practice of the following three key teachings is far more superior then the recitation of mantras. They are:

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s my fault.”

“Please forgive me.”

A practitioner who practises these three key teachings frequently will reach the shore of enlightenment swiftly. So, we should learn to listen to the views of others and try to understand the views of others; we should not always insist on our own views.

Reported by Sun Moon KFS on 11-7-2015