In memories of a great practitioner - Geshe Ngawang Longtho

In memories of 84-year-old Geshe Ngawang Longtho, who passed away this evening. Geshe la was from Gaden Shartse Monastery and visited Singapore Gaden Shartse Dro-Phen Ling numerous times.  Geshe-la was a great practitioner and adept in conducting powerful pujas. 

Message from Gaden Shartse Dro-Phen Ling: 

"Currently Geshe Ngawang Longtho remains in clear light meditation (thugdam) after clinical death. Thugdam is an honorific term for meditative practice during the period following the death of a great master, during which time they are absorbed in clear light. 

A realized practitioner may remain in that meditative state for a number of days. Geshe-la manifests extraordinary practice as there is still a certain color of glow in his face, his skin remains soft and flexible, his body does not become stiff, and there is still warmth at his heart."

Way even before I became aware of Geshe Ngawang Longtho's qualities as a great practitioner, I somehow knew he possessed certain special skills and power. And this was because of a dream I had once. 

In that brief dream, I was walking along a dark, empty and misty road, with no one in sight. Then Geshe-la appeared all of a sudden and was walking towards me. Relieved and happy to see him, I put both palms together to greet him. Geshe-la smiled and blessed me by putting both his hands on my head and chanting prayers. Then he turned to leave. However, he paused and turned back to me again and decided to continue his chanting, both hands on my head again. After a few minutes, to my amazement, I saw a gulf of black air, like droves of bees, coming out of my chest and escaped in rapid speed, which then disappeared into thin air. I believe that was somewhat a purification and healing ritual! When Geshe-la finished, he instructed me to adopt a certain deity practice on a daily basis. End of dream. 

It was kind of a special dream. Even though I have never chatted with Geshe-la in real life before (because he was  quite serious looking and did not smile much, plus we would have been a chicken and a duck talking), the dream convinced me to have faith in Geshe-la's abilities and powers during pujas.  Geshe-la was among the group of highly respected old geshes in Gaden Shartse Monastery who are really skilful in conducting pujas which are so effective in clearing obstacles. 

I last saw Geshe Ngawang Longtho in 2012 when we visited him. At that time, he was already quite thin, frail and weak. He gave us heartfelt advice and told us to keep His Holiness the Dalai Lama's precious teachings in mind. Inside his small room where almost 50 of us tried to huddle together, there were no dry eyes for most of us that day. Understandably, I knew it would be my last time seeing him. 

May Geshe-la continue to benefit many beings in all lifetimes wherever he chooses to take rebirth. He will be dearly missed. 

Good bye and see you soon, Geshe-la! 

Dream of my guru on Chokhor Duchen

Here's a post which I wrote a couple of months ago which was still in Draft mode.  On 23 July 2013, it was Chokhor Duchen, one of the 4 great holy days of Buddhism. Also known as the Festival of Turning the Wheel of Dharma, Chokhor Duchen commemorates the anniversary upon which Shakyamuni Buddha first began teaching the Dharma. For seven weeks after his enlightenment, the Buddha did not teach. After this period, Indra and Brahma offered a dharmachakra and a conch shell and requested Shakyamuni to teach. Accepting, Buddha Shakyamuni turned the Wheel of Dharma for the first time at Sarnath by teaching on the Four Noble Truths.

At dawn of Chokhor Duchen, I dreamt of my guru Kyabgon Dagyab Rinpoche. He was sitting on a high throne seat and giving blessings. It was on a big platform with no shelter, in an open space, with clear white skies and tall mountains behind. Rinpoche was wearing very elaborate ceremonial robes, complete with a hat (more like a jewelled crown) with thick and heavy colourful robes draped over him. He looked like a King or Prince from ancient times. I have never seen Rinpoche in this appearance before, besides his usual monk's maroon robes and tall yellow hat in official occasions. I also joined the people who were queuing up to offer khata and to receive blessings from Rinpoche. Most of them were Caucasians. As usual, Rinpoche was full of wide smiles for each one of us when he blessed us. 

Afterwards it seemed that the platform which Rinpoche was sitting on became like a vehicle and it started moving. Then, what looked like four giant warriors appeared instantaneously on the platform surrounding Rinpoche. They were tall and twice the size of Rinpoche, had a fierce demeanor and armed with weapons and wearing thick armors and helmets. From where I was standing, the giant warriors were looking sternly ahead as the platform slowly moved from my left towards my right. Dagyab Rinpoche also looked solemn as he sat on the throne on the moving platform. Then in a few seconds they were gone, vanished, and what remained was the quiet clean air of the tall mountains in the background. 

It has been a while since I last had a dream of my guru and I was quite happy it was on the auspicious day of Chokhor Duchen.  Om ah hung benza guru padma siddhi hum!

 

Guru in my dream

A soothsayer told me before that my life would be very busy and hectic once I reach my present age. It's totally true. I find myself squeezing for time everyday. No longer am I the happy go lucky one who breezes through days of idyllic pace of the past. I am also equally busy at night because normally I have a lot of dreams, mostly nice ones. However I usually cannot recall them when I woke up.  

A couple of nights ago I had a dream and this time it was quite clear. I was in a big room, like a small hall which was a gompa. There were a throne seat and a table full of tormas and offerings, although there weren't any thangkas. I saw people streaming into the gompa to take their seats on chairs. The people were unfamiliar to me. I have not met them before. There were a couple of them who were handicapped. There was another who exhibited a little weird behaviour. As I looked around I still could not find any familiar faces. 

Just as I was about to sit down, I saw my guru Dagyab Rinpoche appeared at the door. He was wearing his robes. He was alone and came in smiling brightly as usual. He did not ascend his throne seat. Instead he smiled and greeted everyone. He walked towards the audience and to shake their hands as well as blessed those who offered karta to him. He also greeted me and smiled when be saw me. Then he blessed the stuff which was on the table before going up his throne seat. Once sitted, Rinpoche's face became quite serious. He said in a stern voice, "today I am going to give you an initiation."

Abrupt end to the dream. To me this dream was significant in a certain way and a prelude to the present. 

"If we do not heed the Buddha's teaching, even if we make offerings to him, it is useless"

A couple of days ago, at dawn about 6am, I dreamt of my guru Dagyab Rinpoche for a brief moment.  I was in a big building and a few of my Dharma friends were around. It seemed like it was a chalet or resort in tropical surroundings, very airy, with lots of plants. The walls were painted white.   

Then suddenly Dagyab Rinpoche appeared with his family and followers behind him. As usual, Dagyab Rinpoche was smiling widely and very happy as he greeted the few of us, holding our hands as he walked past. Rinpoche had just arrived in Singapore for teachings. We quickly led him to a room, supposedly his apartment. End of dream. 

This is the second time I dreamt of Dagyab Rinpoche. Technically, it is true that Dagyab Rinpoche would be arriving in Singapore in a couple of months. Rinpoche is one of the most amicable gurus I ever met... no airs, no formalities. He does not like any pompous arrangement for himself, despite being one of the highest tulkus in the history of Tibetan Buddhism. 

Precious photo of Dagyab Rinpoche with the late His Holiness the 16th Karmapa (left) who achieved the rainbow body and also his current reincarnation, the 17th Karmapa. 

Dagyab Rinpoche, has for many generations been the patron (Kyabgoen) of the Dagyab region in eastern Tibet. He is currently the 9th Kyabgoen and holds the name His Eminence Loden Sherab Dagyab Rinpoche. He is the spiritual leader, protector and also the secular head of the Dagyab region. He is known to hold the most transmission of the Gelugpa lineage, as well as a vast number of transmissions of the Sakya and Kagyu schools.  

A new Facebook Page, "Dagyab Kyabgoen Loden Sherab Rinpoche" has been started to share about Rinpoche, his news and teachings.  

Below is an excerpt of Dagyab Rinpoche's teaching which I transcribed earlier this year.  

"Many hesitate to die, we are afraid of dying. Actually, to die is not so serious. What is dreadful is what comes after death. Think of the cause and condition. However we have the power to change karma. We can determine our karma. Our karma is in our own hands. Dealing with karma is like taking refuge. It is not just saying prayers to the Three Jewels but we need to go for refuge from our heart. This was correctly taught by the Buddha. He taught karma, cause and condition. If we do not heed the Buddha's word/teaching, even if we make offerings to him, it is useless.

Dharma practice needs to be done from our heart. We have the freedom to determine the results. Therefore we need to understand the Four Noble Truths, and to learn to deal with karma the proper way. If we know this well, we will practice and be strong. By being disciplined and to concentrate, this will destroy our ignorance, and from that, realisation of Emptiness will arise." 

- Dagyab Rinpoche

I saw Maitreya Buddha!

Today is Guru Tsog day.  Even though it is Labour Day, which is a public holiday, I woke up at about 6am. Since it was sooooo early I decided to do my prayers. Found that it was actually very nice and conducive doing prayers this early, and the morning breeze smelled different - very fresh and light.  After that I was incredibly hungry, but I fell asleep again.

I had a dream.  I was in some place which looked like a cafe but it was empty, no one was there with no tables or chairs.  A friend appeared and asked me to have coffee and after which we were supposed to visit our mentor's house. We hang around for a while at the place then we set off. We reached the block of flats, our Singapore's pigeon hole houses, which our mentor was supposedly staying in.  We got up to a certain floor.

When we entered the house, it was very big and spacious and our mentor was busy talking to somebody else. My friend led me to the balcony of the flat.  I was so shocked and stunned to see an incredibly awesome scenery in front of us.  We were facing the ocean, with the blue waters at the same level as us, and just a few steps away! It was weird because we were supposedly at a very high floor of that pigeon hole flat! At the side were a couple of mountains with beautiful bright greenery and the ocean was turquoise blue. I gasped because it was really a surprise. There was a couple of people on a small boat, frolicking in the sun.  I had wanted to get into the waters too.  My friend explained to me about the house, how that there was no ocean or mountains when they just moved in... etc... hmmm... 


Then we walked to the back of the apartment and when we got out through a small door, we came out to a garden, with a hill in the background.  As we strolled along in the cool air, we saw an adorable white dog walking past us. Then within mere seconds as I looked up again, somewhere almost perched at the top of the hill, I saw a huge statue of Maitreya Buddha! It was shiny gold in colour. In the dream, I oohh-ed and aahh-ed at the sight, feeling very happy. The end of dream. I think this is the very first time I saw Maitreya Buddha in my dreams, and it is very significant to me personally. May I strive to achieve liberation as soon as possible within this lifetime and be fortunate to be reborn in Buddha Maitreya's pureland, Tushita, be able to see Buddha Maitreya in person and to be able to receive his teachings directly. 

Why I recognised it was Maitreya Buddha, is because he is seated with legs pendant and not crossed.  This is the posture of a teacher, and also represents his being ready to descend from Tushita Pureland. His hands are in the dharmachakra mudra, or the gesture of turning the wheel of Dharma, each holding the stem of a lotus that supports a wheel to his right which represents the teachings he will give when he appears as Buddha on earth and a vase to his left that indicates that he will be born as a Brahmin. The stupa that crowns his head is said to have appeared when he meditated with intense devotion on the present Shakyamuni Buddha whom he considers to be his teacher. 


Maitreya is a Bodhisattva currently residing in the Tushita Pureland. He is considered to be the author of an important commentary on the doctrine of emptiness known as the Abhisamayalankara (Ornament of Clear Realisation), as well as several other texts, collectively known as the Five Treatises of Maitreya. In the far distant future, when the teachings of Shakyamuni, the Buddha of the present era, are lost and forgotten, it is believed that this Bodhisattva will manifest as the Buddha Maitreya and will propagate the perfect path to enlightenment once more.

Arya Asanga transmitted the lineage teachings of
the extensive bodhisattva practices from Maitreya

The story of how the teachings of Maitreya came to be widespread in India goes as follows. The great Indian scholar, Arya Asanga, who with Nagarjuna is regarded as one of the pioneers of Mahayana Buddhism found himself perplexed. He had questions that he felt only the Bodhisattva Maitreya could answer. Consequently he went into retreat to engage in intense meditation on Maitreya. On two occasions he almost gave up in frustration and then finally, after twelve years, when he still had not had a vision of Maitreya, he gave up. 


Going into town, he came across a very sick dog he had ever seen. Thin and weak, she was covered with sores and maggots. Filled with intense compassion, he wondered what he could do for her. His first thought was to remove the maggots until it occurred to him that although this might help the dog, the maggots would be harmed. Cutting a piece of flesh from his own leg for them, he knelt by the dog leaning forward to remove the maggots gently with his tongue. Immediately, the dog vanished and in her stead was Arya Maitreya radiant to behold. Deeply moved, Arya Asanga exclaimed, “Lord, why have you only appeared to me now?” Maitreya replied, “I’ve been here all the time, but your own karmic obscurations prevented you from seeing me. The compassion you showed this dog, cleared the last of these obscurations away.” Maitreya took him to his celestial realm, Tushita, where for a whole day Asanga was able to record his teachings. When he returned to earth and wrote them down these were the Five Treatises of Maitreya.

Buddha Maitreya, the coming Future Buddha who personifies 
loving-kindness (maitri), an aspect of compassion

Is Lati Rinpoche coming back soon?

One day last week, at dawn, I had a very long dream. I was in a place, in a big building with many rooms. I was with a friend (I will call her XX).  We were exploring the place which was quite happening.  In one place, there was a pond with clear water and big stones. One guy was standing on a big stone in the shallow pond, and reciting some prayers. We thought the sight was a little weird.  

As we walked around, I kept telling XX that I was hungry, needed to find food.  She kept wandering off to some corners.  We passed by a room which looked like a classroom with many people talking inside. Then we entered another room. It was already evening time. There was a big bed in the room. Then I saw my Grandma. I was very happy to see her. My Grandma was sitting on a big mattress on the floor.  Somehow we got to know from Grandma that the big bed was occupied by someone else. Grandma asked me and XX to bunk in with her on the big mattress on the floor.  We lay down on the mattress for a while, but we could not get to sleep, so we decided to go look for food as we were hungry. We came to a big room, where there was supposed to be food being served. While we were waiting, I did not know why I was so restless and kept getting distracted and I went off to change my clothes a few times. XX was pretty bemused. 

The last time I saw Lati Rinpoche at the airport, Nov 2008. His final trip to Singapore. 

I cannot recall most of the rest of the dream but towards the end of the dream, I entered a room with no one inside. I was alone. So I hung around and waited. I made myself comfortable and was reading some books. It was so quiet and calm. Then someone knocked at my door. When I opened it, Mama Karen appeared. Pointing to the door of another room inside, she told me, "I am here to see Lati Rinpoche." It was then that I realised Lati Rinpoche was supposedly inside that room the whole time! In the dream I was so happy that Lati Rinpoche was there and I could be seeing him soon.  End of dream.

Although I did not see Lati Rinpoche in the dream, I am very happy to hear his name. Lati Rinpoche is one of my earlier gurus. He followed His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama into exile in India in 1959. In 1964, he was appointed as the Spiritual Advisor to His Holiness, whom he served faithfully until his Parinirvana in April 2010. I have a very very strong feeling that Lati Rinpoche will be coming back very very soon, any time now (and remember, you hear it here first from this blog).  I could be, as in the dream, be seeing him real soon.

Lati Rinpoche was particularly close and connected to his students in Gaden Shartse Dro-Phen Ling, being the only centre outside the Monastery which he visited often during the latter years of his life. May the reincarnation of Lati Rinpoche return quickly and reunite with many of his disciples and students. _/|\_

“The greatest gift is to give people your Enlightenment, 

to share it. It has to be the greatest.”
- The Buddha.

Remembering Ah Gong

I know it's CNY and everyone is busy preparing for their reunion dinner on CNY eve. Somehow I have not caught the CNY mood yet, even though I have done all the necessary spring-cleaning at home and put up 'cheena' CNY decorations. Tomorrow, I will be helping my mom make Ngoh Hiang, her very own version of five-spice pork rolls. It is our annual CNY ritual thing to do.

Reading @skinnylatte's touching blog post earlier about her late grandfather, made me think of my own Ah Gong. I have blogged about Ah Gong a couple of times before.

Ah Gong from young to old

I did not have that many memories of Ah Gong as he left when I was only 6 years old. Although I knew him for that short period of only 6 years, I remember he was someone very special to me. He was my baby sitter in the day, and we were practically inseparable.  Everyday, he would bring me to kindergarten and by the time school ended, he would be there outside waiting for me. Often he would have bought me a little toy, ie. books, sweets, cars, guns (yes, even toys for boys, because I guess Ah Gong did not know how to buy girly stuff), drawing boards (he knew I like to draw) and crayons etc... 

The old Cecil Street

Then sometimes Ah Gong would bring me to visit his friends or business associates, it was always around 大柏 or 小柏 (Shenton Way or Beach Road area). Most of the time we hanged around Cecil Street neighbourhood where we lived in a shophouse, the spot where Prudential Tower stands today. Ah Gong would bring me to the nearby park or the Esplanade, or to old Lau Pa Sat to have ice kacang or kambing (mutton) soup. Sometimes I played at the Market Street Carpark (which is still there today) opposite my house. And I remember vividly Ah Gong and I eating fried dark noodles from a street peddler somewhere near our shophouse.  Usually, by the end of the day, after each adventure, my Mom would be shocked to see me, because my attire would be dirty, sweaty, untidy with unkempt hair.  How would an old man know about keeping me clean? 

Ah Gong and me

Then one day, Ah Gong decided to pay a visit to his homeland, Kinmen, Taiwan. That early morning at the airport where we were to send him off, he thanked my mom for taking good care of him all those years. It was as if he knew he might not be coming back again.  Just as he was going into the departure gate, he turned around, smiled and waved goodbye to me. I could still recall this scene vividly till today. I remember I burst out crying. I did not know then that I would never see him ever again.

Ah Gong had a heart attack during his trip to Kinmen and died in his homeland. He was 69. He had a grand funeral in Kinmen, but sadly, none of his immediate family could be there. When his personal belongings were flown back to Singapore, inside his wallet was a small note.  It was a little piece of paper which I had written and sent to him just a few days earlier before his heart attack. In all of my 6-year-old knowledge then (and probably with the help of my father), I wrote in English: "Grandpa, how are you?" and in Chinese, "公公, 你好吗? 我很想你."  I still keep this tattered little piece of paper with me till today.

At that time, we held a religious ceremony for him at my home in Singapore. Shortly after, I had a dream. The scene was exactly that same ceremony at my house. I saw myself standing near the main door of my house during the ceremony, while all the adults were standing near the altar, their heads bent, praying and listening to the chanting from the monk.  All of a sudden, right outside my door, I saw my Ah Gong standing there. He was waving at me, his ever-so-kind face was smiling at me.  Then merely a few seconds later, he turned around to leave, then looked back again and gave me a good bye wave as he walked away. Then I woke up.  As I got older, I realised that  Ah Gong had appeared in my dream to say good bye to me. It's a sign to me that he doted and loved me dearly, and that dream was his final gift to me. It has been decades since Ah Gong left abruptly, but I still miss him very much whenever I think of him.

A dream of Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava

A few days ago I told a friend of my wish to invite a very big statue of the lotus-born Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava 莲花生大师 into my home one day if I am able to afford it and if I have the good karma to. This is because I simply love Guru Rinpoche alot. Last night, I dreamt of Guru Rinpoche again, although it was brief and vague.

In the dream, I was outside walking along a very misty road. I saw some old houses. Everywhere seemed grey and dull in colour, foggy and blur but the air was crisp and fresh.  Somehow, as I strolled along, I was looking or searching for something. In my mind, I was thinking of Guru Rinpoche and supplicating to him, "Guru Rinpoche, please can I invite you to my house?"

Then I saw an old house with its door opened. I entered it and standing at the entrance, when I looked inside the house, there was a golden statue of Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava, mounted on a round pillar, right in the center of the room. The other times when I dreamt of Guru Rinpoche, he was in very colourful resplendent robes. This time, it was a brilliant gold, which was a stark contrast to the old and dull room. Guru Rinpoche was emanating a shining blinding light in the center of the room. With my palm closed, I walked nearer to him. The statue was less than a metre tall. I bowed my head and lowered it to touch the extended right foot of Guru Rinpoche for his blessings. End of dream. I think I got the answer to my earlier question.

I had recently offered a blue rosary mala to a huge statue of Guru Rinpoche in a holy place and placed it on his left hand in which he is holding a skull-cup brimming with nectar, containing the vase of longevity that is also filled with the nectar of deathless wisdom and ornamented on top by a wish-fulfilling tree.

Because I feel so connected to Guru Rinpoche, I embrace the daily practice of reciting Guru Rinpoche's Seven-Line Prayer (invoking him to come) embedded in a short sadhana and faithfully chanting his mantra many times. I cannot explain more the immense benefits of this practice as I had previously blogged about. In fact I am trying to accumulate a certain number of the mantra.

Come to think of it, it doesn't really matter whether I have a statue of Guru Rinpoche in my home anymore. To me, he is always there very close to my heart. Om ah hum vajra guru padme siddhi hung!

13 Sept - I dreamt of Lama Lhundrup just after his cremation

Last night I finished blogging the previous post, about Lama Lhundrup's last days and cremation. This morning, just before I woke up at 7am, I dreamt of Lama Lhundrup! I was very very very stunned as I laid on my bed.

It was a very long dream but I could not really remember the earlier part. I was in some place like a clean empty hall with nothing. Someone came and wanted me to do some food tasting. I said ok. Then I was given 2 strings, each in different colour and was told to taste each of the strings to identify the essence of the food. I was a little taken aback. How was I supposed to do that? Anyway, I tasted both strings, and managed to tell from taste and flavour, what food that was ( I could not recall the exact details now).

Then there was some commotion going on, and I was walking along outdoors on a bright day in the open. I met some kids along the way, and when I was passing by, I saw a long stretch of wall white in colour on the outside. I did not know and could not see what was inside the compound. Then a little boy handed me a big brush and asked me to paint the entire stretch of wall. I took the brush and a pail of paint from the boy and started to paint. When my brush touched the white wall, the paint was a brilliant gold. I was surprised but continued painting the entire stretch of wall gold in colour. I dripped a little of the gold paint on the floor along the way.

Then, poofed! I was inside a big room. I was chatting with a friend when all of a sudden, Lama Lhundrup appeared and walked towards me, smiling and laughing heartily. He was his normal plump and stout physical appearance. I was surprised and delighted to see him. Then I started digging my bag in search of a red packet (ang pow) in which to offer money to Lama Lhundrup. I found 2 ang pows already packed, so I decided to give both ang pows. I told Lama Lhundrup, "Rinpoche, I would like to make offering to you".

Lama Lhundrup, whose palm were pressed together, and standing about 2 metres away from me, said, "Ok, wait wait, I go sit!" in his usual basic english. He actually ran and climbed up the throne seat. Quite a comical, light hearted moment and sight, seeing him getting up the throne seat in a hurried and cute manner. As there was a table in front of the throne seat, I went to the side of his seat. I offered khata, and he blessed me. Then I handed him the first ang pow. Lama Lhundrup tilted his head very close to mine, in order to hear what I wanted to say. I said, "Rinpoche, may you have a very long life." Lama Lhundrup nodded his head and accepted the ang pow.

I took out the second ang pow and paused for a moment. I did not know what to say. Then I told Lama Lhundrup, "Rinpoche, may I be able to meet you lifetime after lifetime." He also paused and seemed to meditate for a moment. Then he tried to look for and found a pen on the table. Pointing to the angpow, Rinpoche instructed, "Must write down and indicate." I said ok. However, Lama Lhundrup took the ang pow from me and wrote it down himself. This was what he wrote... "personal guru, lifetimes". Then I woke up from this vivid dream immediately.

Wow wow wow! You can imagine how stunned and thankful and very very very touched I am to have had this dream of Lama Lhundrup just merely hours after his holy body has been offered to the fire. I teared. I want to cry very badly thinking of his immense kindness by manifesting through this dream. I am very touched and grateful, yet sad that I did not spent much time with him in this lifetime. Thank you so much, Khenrinpoche Lama Lhundrup, thank you so much for your blessings. Indeed, may I be able to meet you lifetime after lifetime until enlightenment. _/|\_

My other blog posts on Lama Lhundrup:

29 Sept 2011 - Project Swift Return

25 Sept 2011 -  A closer look at the growing relics of Khensur Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup, an amazing blessing!

20 Sept 2011 - Discovering Khensur Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup's Holy Relics 

18 Sept 2011 - Devoting to a guru

13 Sept 2011 - My dream of Lama Lhundrup just after his cremation  

12 Sept 2011 - Khensur Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup's last days and cremation  

9 Sept 2011 - Beautiful memories of Lama Lhundrup  

8 Sept 2011 - Passing into Parinirvana - Khensur Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup Rigsel  

22 Feb 2011 - Dream of Khen Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup  

28 Jan 2011 -  Khen Rinpoche back in Kopan Monastery

19 Jan 2011 - Update on Khen Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup's health

14 Jan 2011 - Prayers for Khen Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup

20 Sept 2010 -  Healing in a matter of time, but it sometimes also a matter of opportunity

Whoever wishes to see a Buddha...

Today marks the final day of Losar (Tibetan New Year) and also the 15 days of miracles performed by the Buddha in order to bolster the devotion and faith of disciples. Today is an auspicious time when all activities, both positive and negative are multiplied 100 millions times. It is a good time to make offerings for loved ones, to help those in need, and in general, to do deeds beneficial to all sentient beings.

Although in these degenerate times, we cannot see the Buddha directly, and even if we are able to meet the Buddha, we probably do not recognise it is the Buddha due to our deluded mind. However, there are many ways in which the Buddha can manifest; in the form of the guru, the perfect teacher, the Bodhisattvas, as well as the teachings.

What Buddhism taught us is we should train our mind, and be mindful of our own actions and consequences. If we do not meet perfect teachers, then we should realise that is our own karma, and we should resolve to act more skillfully and pray that we always have the good karma in meeting qualified teachers in the future. Because we are not yet enlightened, everyone, friends, teachers and the whole world will appear non-enlightened to us. As we train and our minds become clearer, we will realise that the world is perfect but we are like a person living in a house with dirty windows looking out and thinking the world is a dull sad place.

The Buddha taught in the Sanghata Sutra,

The Sanghata Sutra is a teacher,

manifesting in the form of a sage.

The Sanghata manifests, out of kindness,

even bodies of buddhas.

As many grains of sand as the Ganges holds,

in just that many forms it teaches.

It teaches in the form of a Buddha.

It teaches even the essence of Dharma.

Who wishes to see a Buddha,

Sanghata is equivalent to a Buddha.

Wherever the Sanghata is,

always there the Buddha is.

The Blessed One also said:

"By whatever form it is that sentient beings are to be subdued, I teach the Dharma in that very form. Thus, Sarvashura, I teach the Dharma to sentient beings in many ways. If one should wonder why that is, Sarvashura, it is because just as sentient beings hear the Dharma in many ways, so too those sincere sentient beings will make roots of virtue in many ways: They will engage in acts of generosity. They will make merit. They will also go without sleep for their own sake. They will meditate on the mindfulness of death, too. They will do such virtuous actions as these that are to be done. Due to having heard the Dharma, they will remember these previous roots of virtue. That will come to be for the long-term aim, benefit and happiness of devas and humans. Sarvashura, that being so, as soon as the Sanghata dharma-paryaya is heard, the good qualities and benefits in this way become immeasurable.” - Sanghata Sutra

These verses are from the incredible Sanghata Sutra. The Buddha says, "...even if as many tathagatas as there were sesame grains should all proclaim the merits of the roots of virtue from hearing the Sanghata dharma-paryaya, even by means of an analogy, that merit would not be exhausted. As for one who writes and recites and has it written, there is no need to mention. Compared to the mass of merit too of one who writes down just one syllable of this dharma-paryaya will produce a much greater mass of merit". 

May all be auspicious.

Omniscient and somewhat morbid little adventures in a dream

Last night, I had the longest and most weird dream ever. Or rather, it  was a series of different short dreams, about 6 dreams, or more (which I cannot recall).  They are unlike the usual auspicious dreams I have, nor are they bad dreams. Just, weird.  And each dream ended abruptly. The funny thing was, after the end of each short dream, I would wake up for a while and then fall asleep again, and start another dream, and then wake up again, and again another dream started, and so on and so forth. I probably did not sleep much, but I woke up feeling very calm.

First dream - Despondency & Death

In the first dream, I believe I was in a Dharma event. It was very happening as there were many people and familiar faces around. I was on the move all the time, walking and walking and bumping into people, all of them familiar Dharma brothers and sisters.  And all of them, including myself, were busy with something. The recollection of the people I met is hazy, like flashes to me now. I just remember going up and down the lift many times. Then I received a call from a friend, who within seconds, began to cry on the phone.  As I was comforting her on the phone, I was waiting for another friend to appear. Suddenly someone came and told me that the friend I was waiting for has just died!  I was so stunned with disbelief, as his smiling face kept flashing before me. 

Second dream - "Wherever The Sanghata Is, Always There The Buddha Is"

This is a very short dream, or rather, it was too vague and I could not remember the entire dream.  I dreamt that I was lying on my bed, going to sleep. And just as I was drifting off to sleep, I opened my eyes. This is because there seemed to be something bright, prompting me to open my eyes.  Then I saw the golden book which is the Sanghata Sutra  in front of me. The Sanghata Sutra is opened in the space above me, where I was lying down. Then all of a sudden,  I heard a voice in the space above, and the voice seemed to be melodiously reciting the Sutra to me. Yes it sounded as if it was the Tatagatha,  the Arhat, the perfectly complete Buddha.  It made me feel very calm and I woke up shortly, very calm. I am so amazed by this short dream. I attribute it to the recitations of the incredible powerful Sanghata Sutra I have been busy with these days (I will elaborate on this in another post).

Third dream - Wedding & Wealth

I was in a big house of what seemed like the abode of a very wealthy Indian couple.  There was a celebration going on as the huge house was lavishly decorated with opulence.  I realized there was a wedding going on. The rich Indian couple was marrying off their daughter. Then an Indian ex-colleague (whom I affectionately called Mr Mad) appeared. He was walking next to me, chit chatting with me. I was telling Mr Mad about being impressed with the elaborate on-going wedding, and that the Indian man could be a billionaire.  Mr Mad seemed doubtful. He warned me to be careful about that man. Then he took out his wallet, and dug out a big stack of $50 dollar notes wrapped with a rubber band and he gave them to me. He said, "here, take this, and you no need to pay me back".  Wow, haha, I am also stunned with this dream. How nice it is to have someone give me money, albeit in a dream.   

Fourth dream - The Search In The Misty Dark

It was night time. I seemed to be searching for someone. I was walking and walking alone in the streets, on a mission looking for someone. It was a little misty and very dark. I realized I am in Geylang (our red light district). There were many men hanging around, they looked like the foreign workers from China. There were some prostitutes too. I recalled in the dream, I was a little wary and began to be anxious for my safety as I hurried along in between the dark back lanes. I did not find the person I was looking for. 

Fifth dream - The Bodhicitta Meal

I was craving for a particular dish, something like nasi padang.  I was inside a hotel, and I was walking around searching for a restaurant which was supposedly an Indonesian restaurant. After a long time, I finally found the restaurant which looked very modern and big. There were many many many tables, and most of them were empty. A waitress or captain was waving at me to choose a table and sit. I do not know why I was undecided where to sit. Then I noticed a few tables in front of me, there was a middle-aged couple  who were dining and placed in front of them was the dish I had wanted to order.  The couple did not looked local. They looked more like a Gurkha couple or a Tibetan couple because they looked quite tanned. They were very modern and well dressed, the man wearing a grey suit and the lady was in a bun.  Then I overheard them chanting some prayers in Tibetan enthusiastically before having their dinner! And it was the prayers for Taking Refuge and Generating Bodhicitta! I was quite amused.

        Sang gya chhog dang tshog kyi chhog nam la

         Jang chhub bar du dag ni kyab su chhi

         Dag gi jin sog gyi pa so nam kyi

         Dro la phan chir sang gya drub par shog

Sixth Dream - An Unusual Birth

This dream completely blew me away. I could not remember if I was watching TV in the dream or the scene was right in front of me. I saw a woman lying down on a bed with a man sitting beside her. Her tummy was revealed. I did not notice the bared tummy which was flat at first, until the man's hand moved to touch the belly button of the woman.  As he did so, I noticed the woman's tummy began to bulge, growing bigger and bigger to a size of a basketball. Then, to my amazement, her elastic belly button expanded and grew bigger and I saw a baby's head popped out from the belly button! A baby in foetal position came out head first, then its whole wet body (although it was not bloody) appeared and slipped through and the baby was elevated up vertically and was floating/suspended in the air, just above the woman. Very amazingly weird! 

Don't you think all these dreams were totally amazing and/or weird??? Never in my life have I had such weird dreams and all 6 of them in one night is totally unbelievable!! I  strongly believe that these dreams might be the result of the recitations of the Sanghata Sutra, as I have heard that many who recited the Sanghata Sutra have undergone powerful transformative experiences already in this lifetime - some even during the very act of reading or reciting. In this case, just as the Buddha mentioned in the Sutra, I would consider the fearful things I saw in the dream as purifying my bad karma and that through these dreams, delusions have been burnt. May all be auspicious!

Dream of Khen Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup

The 3 full days of glorious Grand Puja in Suntec City led by Dagyab Rinpoche and 20 monks from Gaden Shartse Monastery has finally come to a blissful completion.  On the last night after the event, as I knocked out, I had a very brief dream.  Actually I simply could not recall most of the dream in the beginning. 

Khen Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup during Medicine Buddha Puja in ABC Sep 2010

There were a few people as well as Lama Zopa Rinpoche, but I could not remember what all of us were doing in the dream, very vague, only we were running around doing something inside Rinpoche's house, or a place he was staying in. I only remember a carpeted floor, and a table. The very last part of the dream, was Mama Karen appeared and called me. As I went up to her, she was talking or explaining to me about something seriously, I could hear her voice but I did not know what she was talking about in the dream. Then with a blink of the eye, she disappeared. And with another blink of the eye, I saw Khen Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup suddenly appeared before my eyes, standing right in front of me!  He was very close to me, barely a few centimetres away, and he seemed bigger than normal. He was smiling brightly, and looked well and strong. I think I was kneeling down in the dream, for Rinpoche's head was right above me when I looked up. He was holding a vajra vase which was unusually bigger than normal, and he gently tapped my head with it.  Why I said the vajra vase was bigger is because when Khen Rinpoche placed the vajra vase on the crown of my head, the base of the round vajra vase was able to cover the top of my head completely. Right after Rinpoche tapped on my head gently with the vajra vase, he too disappeared into thin air. Then I woke up.

I am amazed as this was the first time I had dreamt of Khen Rinpoche. Although I do not know the meaning of this dream, I take it that it is a blessing. Khen Rinpoche is currently in Kopan Monastery recuperating from cancer.   

Khen Rinpoche with Khandro-la.

When Lama Zopa Rinpoche was here a couple of weeks ago, he has updated us that due to his checks, the best cure for Khen Rinpoche would be from receiving treatment and supervision by one of His Holiness the Dalai Lama's top doctor in Dharamsala, as well as Khandro-la.  Khandro-la is a special healer who has cured a person with the similar conditions as Khen Rinpoche. Both Dagri Rinpoche and Khandro-la have been performing pujas for Khen Rinpoche's health and long life and reciting lots of mantras.  Khen Rinpoche has also received many blessed substances from high lamas such as His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Hence the stomach cancer is currently well controlled. Kopan Monastery has sent thanks to many people worldwide who have been very concerned for Khen Rinpoche. The Monastery said, "due to the vast number of messages, we are unable to give individual replies but please know that your kind thoughts are appreciated and that Khen Rinpoche is aware of all of your best wishes".

I am very thankful for this very brief dream. May Khen Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup live long and come back to Singapore soon in order to give us teachings and blessings.

My other blog posts on Lama Lhundrup:

29 Sept 2011 - Project Swift Return

25 Sept 2011 -  A closer look at the growing relics of Khensur Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup, an amazing blessing!

20 Sept 2011 - Discovering Khensur Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup's Holy Relics 

18 Sept 2011 - Devoting to a guru

13 Sept 2011 - My dream of Lama Lhundrup just after his cremation  

12 Sept 2011 - Khensur Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup's last days and cremation  

9 Sept 2011 - Beautiful memories of Lama Lhundrup  

8 Sept 2011 - Passing into Parinirvana - Khensur Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup Rigsel  

22 Feb 2011 - Dream of Khen Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup  

28 Jan 2011 -  Khen Rinpoche back in Kopan Monastery

19 Jan 2011 - Update on Khen Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup's health

14 Jan 2011 - Prayers for Khen Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup

20 Sept 2010 -  Healing in a matter of time, but it sometimes also a matter of opportunity

I saw His Holiness the Dalai Lama!

I woke up early this morning, fresh from the memory of the partially vivid dream last night. So I have to immediately jot this down, in case I forget again.

I could not recall the first part of the dream which was very vague and patchy, I could only recall different brief moments. I was in a certain country, supposedly on a tour. The air was cool and comfortable. I was with my sis and her 2 kids and a small group of about 10 people, which includes 2-3 Indians (I remember an elderly lady in sari). In the dream we were in a place, in an elongated room which looked more like a laboratory. Could not recall what we were doing inside the room.

Then we were supposed to be heading somewhere, so everyone got into the car which looked like a huge black London cab (surprisingly the 10 of us could fit into the car). It was parked by the roadside. And just when we were about to leave, I recalled that I had forgotten to keep something valuable which I did not want to bring along with me. So I got out of the car, went up to the door of the elongated room. It was a glass door which I could see through. There were some chairs inside the room. In some miraculous way, with the glass door unopened, I tried to put the black messenger bag I was carrying onto one of the chairs inside. As though by magic, my black messenger bag suddenly appeared on the chair, with me still standing outside the glass door. And in a blink of an eye, I saw my black messenger bag being covered by a black-greenish thick blanket. I am not sure how that was supposed to "hide" the bag. From the window of the London car, the indian lady in sari was instructing me how to "hide' the bag. Hmm...

Then in a few seconds, we were transported to somewhere else. We were outside a very nice two-storey standalone house which looked like a chalet. It was a wooden house with dark wood and there were a few white blankets hanging on the balcony of the house on the second floor. We did not enter the house, but it seemed to be the place we were supposed to stay. I think the group of us spent some time admiring the surroundings of the chalet.

Yet in another scene, we were transported to a park with mountains nearby. Could not recall what we did, except walking around the place. Vaguely I remembered I was searching for something which had apparently gone missing, but I did not even know what that was. I only remember searching for that something while enjoying the great view of the mountains before my eyes. I was not even frantic. On the side, I always have dreams of the mountains.

Then, yet again, we were next transported to a slightly dim hall. Immediately I knew it was a prayer hall of a typical Tibetan monastery. There were no Buddha statues and no monks around. I only saw an elaborate throne seat. The small group of us were supposed to sit on chairs which were arranged in a circular manner, and there was only one row. It was like sitting around in a campfire manner, with the throne seat in the center. Then in a blink of the eye, I saw His Holiness the Dalai Lama sitting on the throne! And suddenly everyone was queuing up for his blessings. I became very excited to see His Holiness. Then in the dream, somehow I knew I was in Dharamsala, India. I was in His Holiness' monastery.

Although there was only a small group of people in the queue, everything seemed like in a slow motion, and the blessings took place very slowly. His Holiness was talking and blessing each person at the same time. As I was queuing behind, I was suddenly frantic that I did not have a karta with me as I looked around trying to find the traditional white scarf which we were supposed to offer to the guru, for blessings. Then, in a blink of the eye, I saw a very beautiful golden yellow and long karta appeared suddenly on my palm. I was so relieved.

Then in a few seconds, I was worried again. Besides the karta, I also wanted to offer something else to His Holiness, and again frantically searched around and wondering what I could offer. The queue seemed like taking a long time before my turn. The elderly Indian lady wearing a sari was behind me in the queue. I turned around and I asked her what should I offer to His Holiness. She touched her hair which was in a bun, and suddenly she placed on my palm a tuft of hair! I thought it was not an appropriate gift, so I chuck it aside. Then in a blink of the eye again, on my palm, I saw a very beautiful shiny small hair pin.

It was finally my turn for the blessing. This part of the dream was the most vivid. His Holiness was smiling very widely. He blessed me with the karta. Then with my palm clasped together, I told His Holiness, "I am very happy to meet you, Your Holiness. This is my first time in Dharamsala." His Holiness nodded his head, then he pointed at me, and said, "Yes, I am very happy too. You must come and attend my teachings in Dharamsala next time." His voice was very loud and clear. I was fighting back tears, as my head touched his throne seat for blessing, his hand reached and touched my head, blessing me. End of the dream.

I think the message of the dream is very clear. I need to meet His Holiness soon. It amazes me that whenever I am having some doubts or feeling down, His Holiness appears in my dream. While I am not at all close to him physically, he makes me feel so very close and connected to him in spirit and in mind. Always when I woke up from dreams of His Holiness, I would be very calm and peaceful.

This is my first dream of His Holiness in 2011. The previous recent dream was last month in December. I am very blessed indeed. Om mani padme hum! _/\_

Some of my previous dreams of His Holiness:

I dreamt of the Dalai Lama again

Dream of His Holiness

I dreamt of Chenrezig!

They were here