Remembering Choden Rinpoche (1933-2015)

It's been months and thus the cobwebs here. 

In August when His Eminence Ling Rinpoche was here in Singapore, we had the Grand Puja over at MBS. One of my readers approached me at my booth to chit chat and catch up. I was very happy when he shared that he is now working part time as a care taker in a day care centre for the elderly. He is more relaxed and patient. At least he is not as stressed compared to when he was a telemarketer. He was asking why it has been ages since I last updated my blog. I was quite touched he still remember I have a blog. ;) So thank you so much, if you are reading this, and also for the drinks you bought me during the Grand Puja. 

Choden Rinpoche in Borobodur, Indonesia

On 11 Sept, one of my precious gurus, Choden Rinpoche passed away around midnight. I found out the news from a friend who whatsapped me during breakfast. It was the last day in Dharamsala India. I excused myself from the breakfast table and went up my hotel room. Alone, I cried. I was heart broken. The rest of the day, I remained pretty upset and devastated on the flight to Delhi. 

11 Sept was the day which the entire Sera Jey Monastery monks and students were supposed to be there to conduct an extensive long life puja for Rinpoche. It was ironical yet a suitable day Rinpoche chose to leave (and went into clear light meditation), because everyone was present to attend this long life ceremony. 

Choden Rinpoche has always been a special guru to me, even though I did not manage to receive many teachings from him in this lifetime. I only first met him in 2010. He did bestowed me some precious empowerments and teachings. He was the one and only guru whom I first met in a dream even before I met him in real life. This is something special and significant to me. In that dream, I was in a huge crowded teaching ground inside a huge building where the walls were all white and clean. I remember Choden Rinpoche walked in slowly, smiling gently, holding a rosary in his palm. I didn't even know his name or who he was in the dream. 

Also Choden Rinpoche was the first guru who personally agreed and promised to guide me in all my lifetimes until enlightenment is attained. For this, I am very grateful. 

Choden Rinpoche's words of wisdom:

"The future life is more important than this life – this life is just like a dream. Future lives are much more important than this life. When we die we don’t just vanish. We have to take rebirth, and we don’t have any choice in that birth, only what our karma determines – whether we’re reborn in the lower realms or upper realms. If you’ve done positive things in this life you can take rebirth in the human realm, and you can enjoy the result of these actions. If you do negative actions, the karma does not vanish; even the smallest karma accumulated you have to experience in the future.

The future is very long, many eons. This life is so short, it’s just fiction, just a dream. Your mind continues infinitely, and when you die in the next life, again it doesn’t vanish, and again you continue to the next life, and the next – many lives you have to go through. So all of these are determined by the present actions. You have no choice. So the present action is very important. This life is so short, perhaps only one hundred years – very small compared to the future lives. This is why the future lives are more important than this life".

May my precious guru return soon to guide me.