 Dearest Friends @ CAS,
A Lam Rim Overview
It seems pertinent to have a summarised overview of the Lam Rim since we have now jumped straight into the Graudated Stages of the Tantric Path. It is a summary bestowed by one of the greatest Masters of our time, and an important lineage Teacher of CAS at that !! The Most Venerable Kalu Rinpoche has given major empowerments to Ven Drikung Ontrul and several of CAS's very close Teachers. So, it is simply proper to share Him with all our friends and foes alike !!
"Hundred Deities of the Land of Joy"
As Khensur Rinpoche, like our late Teacher the 100th Ganden Trisur, is a hallmark of the culmination of a life-long cultivation and maturity of Tsongkhapa's teachings, it will not do, not to request His bestowal of Je Tsongkhapa's principal Guru Yoga, the "Hundred Deities of the Land of Joy". Also, Rinpoche is scheduled to arrive on Je Tsongkhapa's anniversary. So, even the constellations are in the right place !!
Lord Buddha Amitabha's Pure Land of Infinite Bliss
Moreover, Loseling Khensur Rinpoche will be offering the Empowerment of Lord Buddha Amitabha as well as important teachings on rebirth into His Pure Land. It will not do not to lnik the programme up with an introductory prelude - this time, also as taught by the Most Venerable Kalu Rinpoche.
The Pure Land teachings given by Lord Buddha is arguably THE singularly most suited to the general Buddhist: the Buddha Himself said so no less than 4 times in the Amitabha Sutra itself, the late Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok openly exhorted every one of His students to make prayers for rebirth into Lord Amitabha's Pure Land as this assured a complete break out of samsaric existence. It is most accessible at that !! The practice does not demand complicated initiations, practices and all. The Nam Cho literature, Je Tsongkhapa's writings amongst literally thousands of other such authoritative texts couldn't have been clearer. One needs only to see Kalu Rinpoche's teachings below to know.
See you all with Amitabha !!
"AMITUOFO !!" bb & so many creatures @ CAS basking in the glory of Amitabha's land
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The PROGRAMME
10 Dec - Rinpoche and monks arrive in Singapore
11 Dec - Teaching on Ganden Lhagyama ( Day of Anniversary of Je Tsongkhapa - 7 to 9 pm )
12 Dec - Dharma Talk on "How to Achieve True Happiness and Overcome Your Difficulties?
13 Dec - Dharma Talk on "What the Buddha Taught?" ( 6 to 8 pm )
14 / 15 Dec - Teaching on Lama Chopa ( 12 pm to 3 pm daily )
16 / 17 / 18 Dec - Teaching on Je Tzongkhapa's "A Letter of Practical Advice on Sutra and Tantra" -
Lam Gyi Rim Pa Mdo Tzam Du Bstan Pa ( 12 pm to 3 pm daily )
19 Dec - Empowerment of 6 Arm White Mahakala ( 7 to 9 pm )
20 Dec - Empowerment of Buddha Amitabha ( 7 to 9 pm )
21 Dec - Teaching on "Buddha Amitabha's Pure Land" ( 12 pm to 3 pm )
21 Dec - Empowerment of 6 Arm Black Mahakala ( 7 to 9 pm )
22 / 23 Dec - Rest and touring Singapore
24 Dec - Rinpoche leaves Singapore
Logistical details are pending still.
Students relying on shugden, the evil spirit, should not receive teaching/s or empowerment/ Do pray for the Dharma programme to be of highest good to all !! ____________
What's in store ?? 1 Excellence:
The Great Lama Je Tsongkhapa
1.5 Teachers' blessings THE Most Venerable Kalu Rinpoche talks
3 Quote/s from the Buddha's holy scripture: Inconceivable Refuge !!
4
The Sure-Steps to Enlightenment: Into the Vajrayana: Preparatory + Generation Stage
5 Support Dharma Propagation Fund ( DPF ) - Special Projects:
The Great Abbot Emeritus of Drepung Loseling - Singapore Dharma Tour 2009
6 You got to know this !! THE Most Venerable Kalu Rinpoche teaches on the Pure Land of Lord Buddha Amitabha
7 For Friends of CAS:
- Late !! ____________ 1 - Excellence
 An old thangka showing the Great Je Tsongkhapa.
The Inner Yama Raja blazes in front.
____________ The great Lama Je Tsongkhapa
is the Founder of the Gelugpa Tradition. The Gelugpa Tradition is the principal lineage the Dalai Lamas and the Panchen Lamas are primarily affiliated to.
Je Tsongkhapa is an enthusiastic and eclectic student of almost every major Buddhist lineages of Tibet during His time. He brings together, clarifies and teaches-writes all these teachings in a way truly unprecedented in their depth, insights and clarity. No objective eyes could fail to be impressed and touched by His works which remain very much influential and defining.
More than a dry intellectual, Je Tsongkhapa's accomplishments are astounding but sometimes, i feel, unnecessarily, unfairly downplayed - by His students themselves !!
Thankfully, we have His Secret Biography which offers us an amazing and beautiful glimpse into the inconceivability of His attainments !!
Prophesied by the Buddha Himself and Guru Padmasambhava, Je Tsongkhapa's influence and thoughts unleash unprecedented dynamism and wild flourishings of the Dharma in Tibet and way beyond, now, across every continent in the world.
His impact is so profound and powerfully beneficial that it was believed that the Buddha's pure teachings will be kept 500 years longer instead of degenerating earlier as initially thought so.
The greatest of the Karmapas, the 8th Karmapa, Mikyo Dorje, too, wrote a moving song in praise when memories of Je Tsongkhapa overwhelms him as He passed near the hills of Ganden.
Veneration for Je Tsongkhapa are so high that He is considered not just an emanation of a Bodhisattva, but the syncretic aspect of Chenrezig, Manjushri and Vajrapani. In His Guru Yoga practice of the "Hundred Deities of the Land of Joy", His prayer-mantra called the Migtsema elaborates upon this and at the same time, containing many hidden and overt oral instructions related to this practice for attainments of purification, wisdom of debating, composing and all and we are all awfully fortunate to receive this transmission from this highly venerated Master !!
This probably ranks on par with some of Tibet's most popular Guru Yoga practices such as that of Guru Padmasambhava'
On the anniversary of this unparalleled Master, the Loseling Khensur Rinpoche will transmit the main Guru Yoga practice of Je Tsongkhapa. This practice incorporates the inconceivable 7 Limb practices of the Great Bodhisattva Samantabhadra as well as the combined Compassion, Wisdom, Power of the Buddhas of the 3 times, so embodied in our Root Teachers. Basing upon this, many holy masters have called this the "King of Prayers".
As Tsongkhapa is said to sit immediately to the left of Lord Maitreya in Tushita ( Lama Jowo Je Atisha is said to sit at the right ), listening to Lord Maitreya's blessed discourses before finally descending with Him into our human realm when Lord Maitreya manifests Buddhahood, practice of Je Tsongkhapa's "Hundred Deities of the Land of Joy" yields a certain rebirth in this Pure Land. The "Land of Joy" refers of course to the Tushita Pure Land of Lord Maitreya wherein innumerable buddhas and bodhisattvas manifests from a single ray of light shining forth from the ushnisha of Maitreya .... and where inconceivable merit and qualitiies adorn the land, "identical to Buddha Amitabha's Pure Land", quoting the "Ascending into the Tushita Pure Land Sutra".
See Je Tsongkhapa's short biography:
Listen to the "Migtsema" - the prayer-mantra of Je Tsongkhapa:
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1.5 Teachers' Blessings Most Venerable Kalu Rinpoche is one of the most distinguished Tibetan Buddhist Masters of our time. A recognized emanation of Jamgon Kongtrul the Great, Kalu Rinpoche has exchanged or offered teachings and empowerments to the 16th Karmapa, Khyentse Chokyi Lodro, the late Shechen Kongtrul, the late Dilgo Khyentse, Chatral Sangye Dorje, Sakya Dagchen, Sakya Dezhung Rinpoche, Thrangu Rinpoche, Tenga Rinpoche, Situ, Shamar, Kongtrul and Gyaltshap tulkus. ____________
Most Venerable Kalu Rinpoche: "The Excellent Great Guide, Lord of every aspect of the Victor's Doctrine in the snowy regions of Tibet, the Supreme Source of Refuge, His Holiness the Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso took care of me with great love and affection, giving me the glorious Kalachakra and many other profound and secret instructions. Whatever his wish, I followed it as a command. With an incomparable concern to help the teachings of all schools, the lord of refuge, tutor to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Trijang Rinpoche most graciously gave me the monastery and attached properties at Sonada. His Holiness the ( 16th ) Karmapa gave his consent with great pleasure ..... during this time, a monastery has been developed in which anyone who wishes to enter as a young or new monk, and any member of the sangha of the Sakya, Gelug, Kagyu or Nyingma schools who wishes to stay here may do so." Advice to my Students "For all those people who, in knowing about me and my life, wish to follow the life to freedom of their lama, I say these few words. Because all of us are followers of the benevolent Buddha, we should, in our actions, words and thoughts, refrain from all non-virtuous and unwholesome actions to the best of our ability, and we should work at virtuous activities as much as we can. All beings of the six realms are our kind parents and have for ages experienced the whole range of suffering and frustration in samsara. For these beings we should cultivate love and compassion and precious bodhicitta. We should constantly meditate on Taking and Sending ( "tong-len" ) and recite enthusiastically prayers of far-reaching aspirations to complete the realization of all facets of buddhahood, to create and refine domains of Enlightenment, and to ripen beings spiritually. In general, the aim of all spiritual traditions, Buddhist or other, is twofold: immediately, to provide refuge from the lower realms and to set beings on the path to the higher realms*; and ultimately, to provide refuge from all the sufferings of samsara and to set beings on the path to freedom. Since all these traditions come from the enlightened activity of Buddhas manifesting in ways which are suited to the nature of the individuals to be guided, we should have faith in them all. In particular, all Dharma which came to the snowy In summary, to follow the lama's life to freedom, we should always foster these qualities: [ The Sutra Teachings: Fundamental Buddhism of the Arahants and Pratyekabuddhas ] - renunciation born from an understanding that samsara is suffering; - lucid, intentional and confident faith in the Three Jewels; [ The Sutra Teachings: Mahayana Path of the Bodhisattvas ] - devotion and respect for our lama as being fully enlightened, a Buddha - compassion for all sentient beings from the knowledge that they are all our parents; - a way of living in which the two accumulations* [ The Tantra Teaching: Vajrayana Path of the Bodhisattvas ] - the Development Phase in which appearances and sounds are experienced as deities and mantras; - the Completion Phase in which natural awareness is maintained without manipulation; [ General-Personal Instructions ] - virtuous action which puts an end to rampant desires and self-importance; - comportment which avoids unwholesomeness like poison; - faith which avoids sectarian attachment and hostility; - and help to beings which places anyone with whom we have some contact on the path to freedom. If we adhere to all these points and follow the lama's life to freedom, the free and well-favoured precious human existence which we have obtained becomes meaningful, the intentions of our lamas are fulfilled, the kindness of our parents is repaid, and the benefits for both others and ourselves will be fully realized." Because of his sacred appreciation of all traditions, the holy Kardorje Rinpoche of Sera, earnestly requested me to write; ( and I was also ) requested by the excellent incarnation Bokar Rinpoche. I, Karma Rangjung Kunchab ( Most Venerable Kalu Rinpoche ) composed this account in prayer form in my 80th year with the intention of helping the Doctrine. ( Quoted from "The Chariot for Travelling the Path to Freedom" - the Life Story of Kalu Rinpoche. Translated by Kenneth I. McLeod. Published by "Kagyu Dharma", 1985, * Contemporary Masters have attributed religions such as Christianity, Islam to offering teachings to their followers the means of rebirth into the higher realms and avoiding rebirth into the lower realms through leading an ethical life and engaging in socially beneficial works amongst others. ** The Two Accumulations of Merit ( through the first 5 Perfections of the Bodhisattva Path ) and Wisdom ( through the last 6th Perfection of the Bodhisattva Path ), culminating into the Form and Truth Bodies of a Buddha. 3 Quote/s from the Buddha's holy scripture At that time, Shakra, lord of the gods, with his mind uplifted, uttered these verses:
"Those who take refuge in the Buddha
do not have a bad rebirth.
Abandoning human bodies,
they take up divine bodies.
Those who take refuge in the Dharma
do not have a bad rebirth.
Abandoning human bodies,
they take up divine bodies.
Those who take refuge in the Sangha
do not have a bad rebirth.
Abandoning human bodies,
they take up divine bodies."
Then the Blessed One, approving of these words of Shakra, lord of the gods, said, "Quite so, Kaushika. Quite so -
"Those who take refuge in the Buddha
do not have a bad rebirth.
Abandoning human bodies,
they take up divine bodies.
Those who take refuge in the Dharma
do not have a bad rebirth.
Abandoning human bodies,
they take up divine bodies.
Those who take refuge in the Sangha
do not have a bad rebirth.
Abandoning human bodies,
they take up divine bodies."
Shakra, lord of the gods, rejoiced and delighted in the words of the Blessed One. Then he venerated with his head the feet of the Blessed One, circumambulated the Blessed One three times, and bowing to the Blessed One with hands respectfully folded and cupped, vanished on the spot.
From "Indra-Brahmana Avadana" - Wisdom Publications; translated by Andy Rotman.
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"The Sure-Steps to Enlightenment. ( Meditation on the Ngag Rim - rough, authentic notes. ) See CASonline's FEATURE: Tantra - Generation Stage ____________ 5 "Support Dharma Propagation Fund ( DPF ) - Special Projects"
As all of you should have known by now, one of Tibet's greatest Masters is scheduled to come in December.
We will truly need every assistance possible:
Financial
1) translator costs
2) air tickets
3) webcasts
4) adverts
5) etc !!
Volunteers
1) distribute brochures / pamphlets / posters
2) bringing food for Rinpoche and monks ( Rinpoche is diabetic )
3) transporting Rinpoche to and / or from venue
4) carrying equipments - audio / visual recording / webcasts / texts
5) etc !! We will truly need every assistance possible: financial ( translator costs / air tickets / webcasts / adverts etc !! ) / volunteers ( distribute brochures / pamphlets etc ) !! CAS's hard-pressed volunteers have offered almost everything they could - over the years !! - to flourishing of the Dharma and to our precious Teachers .... do help !!
Every contribution counts and reaps unbelievable benefit to all !!
This is how you can contribute: http://www.casotac.
____________ 6 You Got To Know This !! The Pure Land of Lord Buddha Amitabha
Most Venerable Kalu Rinpoche taught:
"Pure Lands are domains of manifestation created by the Buddhas. Thus, the Land of Bliss was created by Amitabha, the Buddha of Infinite Light, in conclusion of his wish, formulated before attaining Awakening, for the manifestation of a pure land that is easy to access... it is a pure land where all manifestations of the five elements and all sense perceptions are joy, pleasure, and beauty. The word "suffering" is unknown there. Things and beings have a luminous and immaterial quality and Amitabha's body emits a light brighter than the sun and moon....
Gaining rebirth in the Land of Bliss is only possible after certain preparations in this life. One must receive Amitabha or Chenrezig initiation, recite their mantras, or make wishes and prayers. By the orientation given to our mind, once in the bardo, we become conscious that we are dead and we see Amitabha coming to welcome us. We will recognize him, and wish for rebirth in his pure land. This thought is enough to make us go these immediately. .... the lotus opens, one sees Amitabha and his entourage and one obtains the first level of a bodhisattva. This attainment bars all possibility for rebirth in the six classes of beings ( that is, samsara ) under the constraint of karma and entails an immense increase of the abilities of mind. The bodhisattva on the first level can produce one hundred simultaneous emanations of himself or herself, simultaneously go to one hundred pure lands, receive the teachings of one hundred Buddhas.....
Generally, for rebirth in the Land of Bliss, it is necessary to collect four factors.
1) The support - imagining the field of accumulation. One inwardly imagines the Land of Bliss as a beautiful and pleasant place. One sees Amitabha with Chenrezig and Vajrapani at his dies, and, all around him are innumerable arhats and bodhisattvas. One imagines that they are really present in front of us.
2) The fundamental cause - accumulation and purification. In front of the support that one visualises as said, one presents, in the imagination, infinite offerings. Homage is given with body, speech and mind. One confesses faults committed during innumerable past lives and believes one is purified.
3) Auxiliary factor - generating the mind of Bodhicitta. One develops compassion for all beings, particularly in connection with the Land of Bliss, by formulating wishes, always in the presence of the field of accumulation: "May all beings be free of suffering, and have happiness. May they all be reborn in the Land of Bliss. May, I, myself, take rebirth in the Land of Bliss and lead all beings to it".
4) Operating condition - perfect wishes. Generating deep aspiration, one thinks, "May i take rebirth in the Land of Bliss".
To go somewhere by car, it is necessary to have a vehicle in good ocndition, a good driver, and to make the decision to go to a chosen place. Similarly, to go to the Land of Bliss, it is necessary to add the wish to go there to the favourable inner foundation.
When these four factors are gathered, it is almost impossible not to take rebirth in the Land of Bliss...... However, our egocentric grasping is strong and makes us very attached to our relatives, parents, children, husband, wife, or friends... if our attachment is very strong, we will hear the voice of the person to whom we remain attached tell us,"Do not abandon me, do not go to the Land of Bliss." This voice will be very clear and convincing. The power of attachment will lead us then to look at the person who calls. We will turn back, and the wish to go to the Land of Bliss will leave our mind.
There is a method to avoid this danger. Let us consider from now on that our own body, belongings, and all to which we are attached in a mandala that we offer to Amitabha. We think,"All this, i offer to you. Henceforth it no longer belongs to me, but ot you alone." The benefit of this offering is twofold, it allows us to accumulate merit and attachment decreases. Especially, when touched by fatal illness, we must think with great force,"I am going to die soon. My body is the support of the illness and sufferings that i now endure, but it no longer belongs to me. I have offered it to Amitabha. All those who are dear to me, parents, children, spuse, brothers amd sisters, and friends, i have also offered them to Amitabha. I no longer need to take care of them. It is Amitabha who will take care of them. This illness will lead me to death and i am happy, because i am going to leave this world of sufferings to go to the Land of Bliss." In this way, no obstacle will be able to prevent our rebirth there.
The power of mind is great. Mind has the energy to achieve its goals, all the more if it relies on faith in the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and Gurus.
.... Even if we cannot intensely devote ourselves to the accumulation of merit and purification, we can simply develop an aspiration for rebirth in the Land of Bliss. If we pray sincerely for that and recite texts that express this aspiration with great faith, at death, by the conjunction of our own wishes and those of Amitabha, we will be reborn in this field of pure manifestation. .... one is totally free of suffering there, since it is said that there is not even a single strand of hair of suffering ....we will possess the ability .... to help beings on Earth and other worlds. .....
Tibetan, Chinese or Japanese people are heirs of ancient Buddhist tradition, with the result that they spontaneously accept, without doubting, the reality of the Land of Bliss. Aspiration for rebirth there is a natural extension of their faith.....
one must also note that, from the moment one is in this field of manifestation, it is no longer possible to fall back into samsara."
Excerpted from: Secret Buddhism - Vajrayana Practices ( Clear Point Press )
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7 - For Friends of CAS His Eminence Khejok Rinpoche should right now be turning the Wheel of Dharma. Do contact viriya2000@gmail.
____________ tELL A fRIEND "KNOW DHARMA; SHARE DHARMA !!" Be part of our thousand++ "Friends @ CAS" ( that belongs to Chenrezig & other holy beings ) xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx "I wanna number my days in samsara. sUBSCRIBE mE NOW !!" Email contact@casotac. ____________ See www.casotac. CASonline - Your Buddhist online news and teachings. ( All online articles lovingly archived at http://www.casotac. |
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