Ugyen Yangdon and Tshwang Zangmo from Bhutan, with Acho Rinpoche
The guests and Singapore students.
Acho Rinpoche was giving the precious Guru Rinpoche Sacred Pills to the students.
The precious Guru Rinpoche Sacred Pills blessed by H.H Namkai Nyingpo Rinpoche in his recent 3-year retreat.
Tonight, we have two special guests from Bhutan joining us for
our Guru Rinpoche Practice – Ugyen Yangdon and Tshwang Zangmo (who are
sisters). After the prayer, Acho Rinpoche told us about the strong karmic bond
between him and Ugyen. In 2012, we visited Bhutan. Ugyen joined us for a dinner
as she was an acquaintance of Konde Rinpoche. At the first meeting, Ugyen felt
a sense of familiarity with Acho Rinpoche without knowing why. In 2016, we
visited Sikkhim, to pay homage to H.H Dodrupchen. Ugyen entered Sikkim from
Bhutan and joined us in the meeting with H.H Dodrupchen. After that, she
continued to keep in touch with Acho Rinpoche closely through WeChat.
Acho Rinpoche recalled that when we were visiting
Tiger Nest in Bhutan, Dharma Sister Ping told him that she dreamt of a past
abbot of the Tiger Nest abdicating his throne to Acho Rinpoche. Acho Rinpoche told us
that he had indeed reincarnated in Bhutan many times. So, his karmic bond with
Bhutan is very strong and Ugyen was actually one of this students cum attendant
in one of his past lives in Bhutan. He told us that he went back to Bhutan many
times in his dream, blessing the sentient beings there. He also commended Ugyen
for being a diligent practitioner. Ugyen took refuge in a few great Buddhist
masters including H.H Chatral Rinpoche of Nepal, H.H Dodrupchen of Sikkhim and
H.H Namkai Nyingpo of Bhutan. It was Ugyen who first introduced H.H Dodrupchen
to Acho Rinpoche in the past. Buddhists in Singapore and Malaysia were more
familiar with H.H Dudjum Rinpoche and H.H Dilgo Kyentse Rinpoche in the past
because their books were circulated in this region; Dudjum Rinpoche even had a
seat in Singapore. The names of Chatral Rinpoche and Dodrupchen were unheard of
then. In 2007, we visited Nepal. There was a Nawang Rinpoche joining us for the
tour and he tried to introduce Acho Rinpoche to Chatral Rinpoche during the
trip in vain because Chatral Rinpoche was already very advanced in age and not
feeling well then. Later, Princess Roshana Lama from Nepal also mentioned
Dodrupchen Rinpoche and Chatral Rinpoche to Acho Rinpoche, and provided greater
details about the two great masters.
Next, Acho Rinpoche shared with us an article in the
209th book written by Grand Master. Grand Master mentioned that he
is a “teacher of Rinpoches” because a few of his students have been recognized
as the reincarnated masters of Tibetan Buddhism and were given the title of
“Rinpoche”. He also mentioned that H.H Penor Rinpoche ever said that “Taiwan
is the terminator of Rinpoches.” Reason being that the many Rinpoches living in
India and Tibet are usually contended with the poor living conditions in these countries as they enjoyed
the spiritual practice very much. However, they could quite easily lose their
way in Taiwan, succumbing to the worldly temptations such as
monetary wealth and sex. They are likened to a bird flying into a net and a fish hooked
by a bait. There was an occasion when Grand Master toured the realm of hell and
saw the Yama King busy working on the expansion of hell. The Yama King told him
that recently there was a big group of Rinpoches falling into hell and he
needed to expand the hell in order to accommodate them! Acho Rinpoche mentioned
two great adepts in India including H.H Dodrupchen Rinpoche and the late H.H
Chatral Rinpoche, with the latter banning his students from going to the countries
in the east, especially Taiwan, for the propagation of the Buddhahdarma because he
knew that they would fail the tests in those places. Acho Rinpoche also
mentioned the third teacher of Ugyen, H.H Namkai Nyingpo Rinpoche, whom he got
to know through Facebook because Ugyen often posted his news in this social
media. Namkai Rinpoche is a very diligient practitioner who spent most of his
time in retreat. This time, Ugyen brought some precious Guru Rinpoche Sacred Pills
blessed by Namkai Rinpoche during his recent 3-year retreat. Such pills are
very precious because they could cleanse the negative karma in the person who
ate them.
Ugyen told us that she dreamed of Acho Rinpoche many
times. Every time when she saw the image of Guru Rinpoche or recited the heart
mantra of Guru Rinpoche, the face of Acho Rinpoche will somehow appear in her
mind instead. She viewed Acho Rinpoche as Guru Rinpoche. She prayed for the
longevity of Acho Rinpoche and his incessant enlightened activities to help the
sentient beings. She was envious of the Singaporean students because we are so near
Acho Rinpoche. However, Acho Rinpoche told us that, “Physical distance is actually
immaterial. You only need to hold me in your heart. On the contrary, you could
be just standing next to me and yet treat me like a shit, then I’m just a shit
to you. When you view me as Guru Rinpoche, I am just Guru Rinpoche!” Acho
Rinpoche told us about his meeting with Penlop Rinpoche from Bhutan who sought
medical treatment in Singapore recently, whereby there was a hidden meaning in
this meeting between the two of them. Ugyen has been sharing with her friends
in Bhutan about Acho Rinpoche and his many inconceivable experiences. So, there
is already a group of Bhutanese who know Acho Rinpoche. She also thanked Konde
Rinpoche for introducing her to Acho Rinpoche. Lastly, Acho Rinpoche advised us
that we should have learnt by now the true teaching of the Buddha, through the
personal experience of Ugyen. However, we must apply the teaching in our
daily lives, in order to attain enlightenment.
Acho Rinpoche also shared another article in the 259th
book written by Grand Master, entitled “A Great Spiritual Master in Modern
Times”. There was a woman who was
possessed by an animal spirit and an aborted baby spirit, who came to seek help from
Grand Master. When Grand Master tried to bless her, she reacted violently
against him. Finally, the enlightened beings advised Grand Master to just leave
her alone and let her calm down on her own. This woman had lost her sleep for
more than one and a half year by now, and she needed to rest fully in order to
recover from her mental illness. What Grand Master was trying to tell the
readers is that “One’s mind must be calm and composed at all times, in order to
avoid being possessed by the spirits.” So, sufficient sleep and a calm mind are
key to resolving such problem. Acho Rinpoche stressed that there are things that
cannot be resolved even by a Buddha, as the effect of karma cannot be simply negated
by supernatural power. One must eradicate his own negative karma through his personal
practice, which is the ultimate solution to resolving the problem caused by his
negative karma.
Finally, Acho Rinpoche concluded the session by
saying, “Ugyen has great faith in me, and I have great confidence in her too. I
wish that she will continue to practise with vigor and help others in Bhutan
when she is ready. I also hope that our X-Tour books on Sikkhim Tour and Bhutan
Tour will be translated into English soon, to benefit the English readers in
Bhutan and Sikkim. Recently, there was a Tibetan lama who posted in the
Facebook saying that he liked one of our English books entitled 'Dancing in the
Sky'. It is clear that our books can indeed help those who truly wish to
practise the Buddhadharma. I hope that more of our books, especially the important
ones, will be translated into English soon, to benefit the westerners who are
keen to practise the Buddhadharma too. "
Reported by Sun-Moon KFS on 15-Jul-2017
