Letter
from Zopa Rinpoche
For the world in
general and especially for the people of the Snow Land of Tibet to have
concordant thinking, without bias, in friendship and like a family in a
harmonious relationship that is completely unified as one and to preserve and
disseminate the stainless, precious teachings of the Buddha in this world.
I, bearing the name of
a reincarnation, Thubten Zopa humbly present, in love and friendship these
honest true facts. For the benefit of those who do not understand, in order to
discover this.
Please undertake an
honest investigation without the stained mind of biased discrimination.
This reliance on Dhogyal,
be it by pure Dharma practitioners or by those for business or financial
reasons, I wonder if this has not been more harmful than the forceful
annexation of Tibet by the Chinese Government and the destruction of the
teachings of the Buddha.
If we ask, "Why is
this?
Many of those who rely
on Dhogyal have received teachings and initiations in the presence of His
Holiness the Dalai Lama and have relied on His Holiness as their most kind Guru
(Virtuous Friend). Nevertheless, later they have come to regard His Holiness as
an enemy.
As you know very well,
if you see your root Guru as an enemy, you have to experience the sufferings of
the evil gone realms (lower realms) endlessly.
Like, stated in the
Root Tantra of Guhyasamaja: "Even if you accumulate the five most heinous
negative karma (without break of another life), it is still possible to attain
the state of a Buddha in this life. But, if you have despised your Guru, it is
impossible to attain Buddhahood in this life."
If one belittles or
criticizes the Guru, then one belittles and criticizes all the Victorious ones.
If one first relies on as Guru and then later makes mistakes in devoting to as guru.
If that happens it becomes an extremely great loss in one’s life, because the
Guru is the action of all the Buddhas to subdue oneself. Manifested as Guru.
The Guru is the form of action of all the Buddhas. Even the teacher who teaches
you reading, even that teacher, even if you secretly despise and criticize,
then one has criticized or belittled the Guru, and then that becomes the same
as belittling or criticizing all the 10 direction Buddhas. This is from the
text “The Essential Nectar”.
Ones Virtuous Friends
is the actions of all the Victorious Ones manifested into one’s own Guru. Not
having respect toward them is like not having respect to all the Victorious Ones.
There is no heavier ripening aspect result.
After having had thought
this is my Savior, then one becomes the disciple and then belittling them is
the same as having belittled all the Buddhas, from that one will achieve
suffering all the time. For many eons one will not meet with a Virtuous Friend or
the precious teachings of the Buddha, and one will be reborn in the
inexhaustible hells for many eons and have to experience unfathomable
suffering.
Not only that, when
oneself is not a Bodhisattva, getting angry to a Bodhisattva, even for a second,
destroys a thousand eons of roots of virtue, as stated by the great Bodhisattva
Shantideva:
"Whatever
wholesome deeds,
Such as offering
to the Buddhas and generosity,
That have been
amassed for a thousand eons
Is destroyed by
one instant of anger."
This is in dependence
upon the power of the object, which becomes very powerful with a Buddha and
even more powerful than this, is one's Guru. Due to this, for many eons one
will never meet with virtuous friend and never meet with the teachings of the
Buddha as well.
Therefore, relying on
Dhogyal is extremely harmful to oneself. I think this is a great harm to the
world in general, as well as to sentient beings and to the teachings of the
Buddha.
Dhogyal is one, who in
the past has broken samaya (pledges) and made harmful, mistaken prayers to the
teachings of our Founder/Teacher: Buddha. This has been stated by one who knows
the past and future.
Those who strongly
practice Dhogyal eventually end up dying in the most dangerous manner. For
example Geshe Yeshe Wongchuk, learned in
scriptures and from the great seat of Sera Me Monastery, who invited the
reincarnation of Pabonka Rinpoche to Tibet and made the incarnation take the
life entrusting initiation of Dhogyal and the Heruka Body Mandala from Gonpa Sa
Rinpoche. One day when travelling in a vehicle, they came up on a pass and
although there were many people in the vehicle he alone fell out of the window,
down the cliff and died.
Again, another business
man Dorje Gyaltsen, who was a very strong practitioner of Dhogyal in secret,
when he was tormented by sickness, he asked his wife to go to the usual place
to propitiate Dhogyal. Not having known that he was a daily practitioner of
Dhogyal, the wife although, very shocked had no choice but to comply with his
wishes to go and make the tea offering (relying on Dhogyal for the success of
actions) on his behalf. Then directly from the mouth of the sick person came
the words, "Up until now, Dhogyal has deceived me. I can see the actual
ghost form of that vicious one. I have been deceived. I have been mistaken
until now. I apologize and confess to my Gurus."
As he took his last
breath, there was great fearful appearances and he died foaming at the mouth
with an expression of being strangled. In the end, when his body was taken to
the cemetery to be given to the vultures, even the vultures flew away without
feeding on his flesh.
The other, is the one
whose kindness is greater than the Buddhas of the three times, the one whose
name is difficult to mention my great virtuous friend Gyen Thubten Yeshe, who
was a strong practitioner of Dhogyal. When passing away, before his the last
breath, he showed very clearly the expression that Dhogyal was not perfect.
This has been my personal experience, from being together at the time of
passing away.
For further information
on this please read the letter recently sent from Tibet. Here you have no one
to point finger at, out of biased thoughts of discrimination. For these signs
of misery and downfall you can point your finger only at Dhogyal, for these are
very clear signs. These are just examples. Please read the letter recently sent
from Tibet.
The
letter from Tibet.
A collection of stories on manifested
inauspiciousness in relation to Dhogyal.
In 2007, when visiting relatives in
Baa Thang, I accepted an invitation to visit Sangwa Khato in the region of Baa,
a town of twenty families. There, I heard directly from the people of the place
about the manifested inauspiciousness in relation to Dhogyal.
Ten years ago, for the sake of
timely rains and plentiful harvest in the region, they requested Baa Lakha
Rinpoche for a divination of the prayers to be undertaken. Rinpoche advised
them to build a stupa at a site seen from every direction. The stupa was built
on top of a hill, in the upper part of the region. This was struck by a
lightening which destroyed half of it. When the people of the region rebuilt
the stupa, again it was struck by a lightening and half destroyed. When they
rebuilt it again, before long the stupa on its own became crooked.
At that time Drakara Chophel, who
had spent some years living in Drepung Monastery in South India became
suspicious. So he had the inside fillings of the stupa searched and he found a
thanka painting of Dhogyal. Everybody suspected that this was the cause of it
all. Those who identified with this burnt the thanka.
Later, upon further investigation
of the Dhogyal thanka they suspected the old monk Sangwa Kalsang from the area,
who in the past was a practitioner of Dhogyal. But then, when His Holiness the
Dalai Lama advised a few times, about the necessity for stopping the practice,
some of them pretended to have stopped the practice. But in reality they had
not done so and did the practice in secret. The Dhogyal thanka was placed in
the stupa discreetly without the knowledge of the ordained and the lay people
of the region.
Even this old monk, one day, he
went to the home of a family to do the prayers of dispelling interferences with
the ritual cake (tormas), but when he went to throw the ritual torma, all of a
sudden he lost consciousness and died in a state of inauspiciousness.
For the last six, seven years,
since the rebuilding of the stupa nothing of the sort has happened. The people
of the region say in unison, that they have had timely rains, good harvests and
the whole area has been completely rejuvenated.
In the past, the temple of the town
used to have a statue of Dhogyal, which the people of the area had taken
outside the walls of the temple and buried it within four solid walls.
I have destroyed the statue and the
walled encasement so that nothing remains of it.
Again, under the jurisdiction of
Dho Kham Lithang region in the town of Drarukha, there is a small monastery called
Zangcho Dratsang. At this monastery is a monk, from Pompora House in Sera Me Monastery,
South India, a Dhogyal practitioner by the name of Lobsang Norbu. After
attaining a small level Geshe degree, he returned to his home town. Although,
he had used his title of a Geshe to become the principle person of the
monastery but the ordained and lay people of his home town did not like Dhogyal
practitioners at all. He had also stated that he did not practice Dhogyal. But
everyone, beginning with the ex-abbot of the Dratsang, Lama Jamyang, ordained
and the lay community all suspected him of being a practitioner.
To deceive the public and in order
to have a huge gathering, one day, he announced the teachings on Maitreya’s
Wheel of Dharma. On the day of the actual event, during a break in the
sessions, a dog came and broke the hands of some of the statues which had been
made from blessed clay. These statues were the holy objects of the temple.
There has been such news of inauspiciousness.
Then before long, lightning struck
the monastery, broke the pole holding the victory banner in half and threw it
in front of the monastery. After this, one night without any known reasons, the
monastery caught on fire. Although the monastery was situated in the middle of
the town, nobody noticed the fire. At day break, other than the charred
grounds, everything else had been burnt to ashes. There was such
inauspiciousness.
These stories of actual events in
the past, I offer to the Jewel of our world His Holiness the Dalai Lama, in
support of His Holiness' strong discouragement of Dhogyal practice and hoping
in some small way to help.
Presented with respect and
prostrations on the 12th of November, 2011.
Although, His Holiness
the Dalai Lama did the practice of Dhogyal, earlier in his life, after many
years of examination, he came to the very clear conclusion, that this practice
is very harmful to the Dharma and sentient beings. His Holiness' advice, not to
practice Dhogyal has been greatly criticized and contradicted by some of the
highly learned Geshes of the main monasteries, who have written many books on
this issue and well publicized them.
Recently, due to a
highly learned scholar, Jangtse Geshe Gyen Drati, criticizing His Holiness over
this issue, his monastery staff went before their protector Dharma Raja
(Dhamchen Choegyel) and requested an answer sign as to whether it was better to
expel the Geshe from the monastery or not. When it was answered that it was
better to expel him, as the dough ball containing that answer came out, his
writings criticizing His Holiness were read before the entire assembly of monks
and he was expelled.
This kind of heavy
negative karma, which brings the experience of unthinkable, inexpressible
suffering for many eons is mainly due to the mistake of relying on Dhogyal
practice.
More kind than all the
Buddhas of the three times, Refuge and Protector, Lord of the Victorious Ones,
the All Knowing One, the Highly Seeing Sublime One, His Holiness the Dalai
Lama, has been prophesied by our Founder, Buddha, the Destroyer Qualified Gone
Beyond. This was prophesied to a close entourage of Bodhisattvas whose name was
Limitless Supreme Awareness.
Also, from the
Guhyasamaja Tantra Treasure: Founder Vajradhara said to the Dharma King
Indrabuti and so forth; "Amongst the limitless entourage of Bodhisattvas,
listen Limitless Supreme Awareness. You, Bodhisattva, are a great Founder of
transmigrating sentient beings. Until samsara is empty, till then, you will
become the holy object of refuge and savior of transmigrators. Especially in
the country of Snow Land, you will take birth in a holy body of form to
disseminate the teachings of the Three Baskets of Dharma and enjoy benefitting
transmigratory beings. 'Limitless Supreme Awareness', the Snow Land is the
place to be subdued by the Bodhisattva Mahasattva Arya Avalokiteshvara. This
region of the Snow Land is the place that will be subdued by you. Bodhisattva
Avalokiteshvara 'Limitless Supreme Awareness', in this place you will brightly illuminate
the Dharma teachings of the Three Baskets and the unsurpassable Vajra
Vehicle." It has been thus stated.
If
I further clarify this sutra quotation: when His Holiness the Dalai Lama
visited Geshe Sopa's center: Deer Park, to give some teachings. One day the
staff of the center had an audience with His Holiness. They expressed to His
Holiness that His Holiness has stated many times that He Himself does not have bodhicitta
and the realization of the right view. They said, "If His Holiness does
not have the experience of these realizations, then ordinary beings like us
don't have any hope." At that point, His Holiness feeling unbearable,
(compassion, not wanting them to loose faith) and slipped out from the holy
mouth that His Holiness did remember, that in the past life when His Holiness
was a Bodhisattva in the entourage of the Buddha in the Arya land of India. His
Holiness gave a very clear answer.
Therefore
Tibetans from the Snow Land ought to know that they are unbelievably fortunate.
In short not just Tibetans, in this world many millions of people for eons
after eons are led to peace and happiness, liberation and the state of
omniscience. Is Holiness does unbelievable great activities unlike any other
great holy being preserving the teachings of Buddha.
If
the Precious Victorious One, His Holiness the Dalai Lama is not the actual
Buddha and Arya Avalokiteshvara then you can say that in this world there is no
emanation of Buddha benefitting sentient beings. In this way bodhicitta and the
entire teachings of the Buddha becomes false. Therefore by practicing Dhogyal
and practicing the teachings of the Buddha becomes contradictory to oneself. Then
it becomes practicing that which is false by regarding it as truth.
At the great seat of
Gomang Monastery College, one great Lama who strongly practiced Dhogyal, he
took the great responsibility and spread the practice. Due to that he broke His
Holiness’s advice and became against His Holiness and then when he passed away
his heart cracked apart in many pieces and his eye balls came out and so forth.
This is just another example.
It is not only His
Holiness the Dalai Lama who after many years of examining has advised against
the practice of Dhogyal, many others, who are like one sun rising eliminating
the darkness in this world, who have done great extensive works for the teachings
of Buddha and transmigratory beings, such as Karchen Yeshe Gyeltsen and Thukyen
Losang Chogye Nyima and many high valid Geluk Lamas and so forth have also
advised to stop the practice of Dhogyal.
You can understand this
if you look in the collection of their teachings. His Holiness the Dalai Lama
has put together the advice that those great holy beings have given, and if you
want to read them, please request the Private Office for the texts.
There have also been learned
Geshes and valid Lamas who have practiced Dhogyal. For example Kyabje Pabonka
Dechen Nyingpo, who did extensive benefit for the teachings of Buddha and
transmigratory beings. People believed this was because he practiced Dhogyal
that he was able to bring this extensive benefit through his holy actions. But
this is a complete hallucination, without examining the facts, and because of
that, with blind faith so many people practiced Dhogyal.
Kyabje Pabonka Dechen
Nyingpo in the past practiced Most Secret Hayagriva - the circle of dharma from
the pure appearance of the 5th Dalai Lama. But later he stopped
those practices. One day he told his attendant: “tomorrow there will be a fat monk
who will come to see me. But don’t allow him inside my room”. He said this
precisely, but the attendant forgot what he said and when the fat monk came the
next day, he allowed the monk to go inside the room (this was as an obstacle
for those not practicing Dhogyal and especially for those practicing Dhogyal).
Later when the
attendant entered inside the room, it seemed Lama was not happy, and looked
sort of possessed. The thankas of Most Secret Hayagriva and others had been
taken down and the Lama had changed in his actions.
But Kyabje Trijang
Rinpoche and Kyabje Dechen Nyingpo are Buddha. Their practice of Dhogyal is the
act of showing ordinary aspect for us. Showing ordinary aspect means showing
mistakes. Otherwise there is no other meaning of showing ordinary aspect.
Without showing this ordinary aspect for us, there is no method to guide us
from samsara. Therefore by showing the aspect of having mistakes – this is what
leads us to enlightenment. It is so extremely kind of the Guru to show this, it
is like the Guru is giving us skies filled with wish-granting jewels.
Besides this example
there are many ways the Guru shows the aspects of having mistakes. For example
showing the aspect of being sick so that we have to explain which foods harm
and what not to eat. Another example is when there is no road or if there is a precipice
and we have to explain to not go that way. There are many ways the Guru shows having
mistakes. When the appearance of mistakes in the actions of the Gurus comes it is
extremely important to use that increase devotion, as this is the cause for
oneself to achieve full enlightenment, or to support and to increase Guru
devotion which one has generated in ones own mind without degenerating.
It is mentioned in the Tantric
text Tent (Gur):
Oneself, is called Vajrasattva,
and manifested in the form of the master (Guru), abides in ordinary form, with
the aim to benefit sentient beings. The Tathagatas in degenerate times manifest
as the Lama (Guru).
This is not only
mentioned in Tantra but also it is mentioned in Sutra.
Buddha was giving a teaching
on an extremely high mountain in the southern direction and at that time the Bodhisattva
Meaningful to Behold thought: now the Buddha is giving teachings to us, but in
the future, after Buddha has passed into the sorrowless state, there will be no
one who will gives teachings. As he thought this the Destroyer Qualified Gone Beyond
- Guru Shakyamuni Buddha proclaimed:“Hi, Meaningful to Behold, when the future
comes I will abide in the body of the Abbott, I will abide in the form of the Master,
and in order to ripen sentient beings I will show birth, old age, disease and
death”.
Even the Guru is the actual
Buddha, but from one’s own side if one does not look at Buddha, then as it is
mentioned in the Kadampa Geshe Potowa Blue Pepung: even if Manjrushri and Chenrezig
actually descend in front of you, but it won’t benefit at all, if from one’s
own side one did not look at Buddha, then one cannot receive the blessing, one
does not receive the profit, only loss. Like the story of the Gelong
Lekparkarma, who served Buddha for twenty two years and in all that time he
only looked at the Buddha as a liar, and as a result he was born in the lower
realms, the inexhaustible hot hell realms, for eons.
Even if from the Guru’s
side is not Buddha but from one’s own side if one devotes as Buddha then one receives
only profit and no loss. For example the old mother actually believed the dog
bone was Buddha’s tooth, she generated faith and from the blessings of the
Buddha’s actual tooth entered and she received Buddha’s relic from the dog bone.
In reality in this way the
disciple can attain the path and achieve enlightenment before the Guru, and
then be able to do perfect works for sentient beings.
Also the 5th
Dalai Lama mentioned: To the mind which is hallucinated, the opposite mid, ones
mistakes manifest in the gurus actions. Realize that this is one’s own mistakes
and abandon it like poison.
So by seeing mistakes
in the Guru’s actions, according to the Lama Tsong Khapa tradition, it becomes
a support to develop Guru devotion. Please think well on these quotations.
Having mistakes is like
having a black mark on one’s own face and seeing it in the reflection in the
mirror. That is a sign that one’s own face has the black spot, not the
reflection.
If the Guru takes
poison, we don’t need to also eat poison. We need to examine, this is what I
think. Like the peacock who by eating poison is able to live and become
healthier, their magnificent color develops, like that if you are able to take
poison and live, then it’s ok to take poison. If you can transform poison into
nectar, then can definitely take it.
AH LA LA HO
AH HO MAHA SUKHA.
From the teachings of Gyalwa Ensapa:
In short whatever great
or small realization is generated, this is due to whatever great or small
devotion one has generated towards the valid Guru, who is originator of all the
attainments. Keep this advice as your heart practice, looking at the qualities of
the Guru and not looking at the mistakes.
Until one is free from negative
karma and obscurations, even if every single Buddha directly descends in front
of you, you would have no fortune to see the supreme holy body, adorned with the
holy signs and exemplifications, except this present appearance of the Guru (this
means this ordinary appearance). To be able to see one’s own Guru in the supreme
holy body adorned with the holy signs and exemplifications, it is said that one
needs to achieve the Path of Great Merit of the five Mahayana Paths, such as
the Path of Contemplation of Continual Dharma and so forth.
In the past some outer
beings (non-Buddhists) actually met the Buddha, but they saw him as an ordinary
person, not having the pinnacle or even the one fathom of light rays from the
holy body, or the other holy signs and exemplifications and so forth.
Arya Togme saw Maitreya
Buddha in the form of a female dog, whose lower part of the body was covered in
wounds and maggots.
Also Nagpa Chopa, the
great yogi, and Getsul Tsempuwa saw the mind sealed deity - Dorje Palmo - as an
ordinary lady who had leprosy.
Even the learned and
highly attained yogi Naropa, as well as all the human beings in the town, saw the
highly attained Tilopa, who is the actual Buddha Vajradhara, but they all saw
him as beggar burning and eating fish alive.
“Do not arise heresy even
for one split second in the glorified Gurus actions, see whatever actions that
are done as good, with this devotion may the blessings of the Guru enter in my
heart”. This prayer His Holiness does
not accept, this is because the holy mind of Kyabje Pabonka Rinpoche, Trijang
Rinpoche and His Holiness’s mind are one. It is a teaching that their holy mind
is one.
As it is mentioned in the
text “Calling the Guru from Afar” by Kyabje Dechen Nyingpo:
“The wisdom of great bliss of all Buddhas,
one taste with the dharmakaya,
Is itself the ultimate nature of all
kind Lamas.
I beseech you, Lama, dharmakaya, Please
look after me always without separation, in this life, future lives, and the
bardo”.
This quotation is for people like me,
who are extremely ordinary and filled with superstition, full of obscurations
and negative karma.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the principal
one who holds all the teachings of Buddha and spreads this in the world, therefore
it is so important to follow His Holiness’s request.
In this world there are so many
religions, but our founder, the great kind mighty one Shakyamuni Buddha said: You
should examine my teachings well, Bhikshus (learned ones), like burning, cutting
and rubbing gold. Then take my teachings not just out of faith.
Therefore whatever we practice in Buddhism,
we must examine it well, just as Buddha has advised and Buddha gave us freedom
to do this. This is what I am expressing, please understand this.
Therefore to follow the advice of His
Holiness the Dalai Lama, the omniscient one, this is for particularly oneself
and generally for the Tibetans to be harmonious in life, under one constitution
and to be in unity.
This is to not rise
problems life to life, and for the sun of happiness to rise in the world, for
there to be perfect peace and happiness in this world, and for oneself and others
to achieve liberation from samsara and the state of omniscience and to spread the
stainless teachings of Buddha in this world, especially for the stainless
Tibetan Mahayana Buddhism to increase and to not decrease. So it is for this
reason that His Holiness the Dalai Lama advised to stop the practice of Dhogyal.
Some learned, high Lamas
and Geshes even saw His Holiness the Dalai Lama as the enemy and criticized His
Holiness’s view. But still His Holiness’s holy speech and view did not change.
As it is mentioned that
the subduer of the Snow land of Tibet is Chenrezig, and it very clearly
explains that Chenrezig not only does the holy action of working for others and
not working for oneself, but has great bodhicitta and powerful compassion, only
doing the holy actions of guiding and saving the six types of sentient beings
and showing compassion, like all the 10 directions Buddha’s. This is the Arya
supreme one Chenrezig.
In the past when I met
His Holiness the Dalai Lama I expressed, with my big mouth, that myself being a
representative, on behalf of the whole world in general and in particular the
Tibetan people, even though the Lamas and Geshes criticized His Holiness, such
as writing books against His Holiness the Dalai Lama, but still His Holiness
never waivered in advising to stop the practice of Dhogyal, so for that, from
the heart, how unfathomably greatly kind His Holiness is.
By reading this letter
if you get upset, then just as the great compassionate Buddha practiced the
paramita of patience to the harm givers, so please practice patience and live your
life with a happy mind, this is important. Thank you very much.
1/3 translated by
Ven.Tsen la, the rest translated by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, scribe Holly Ansett,
Buddha Amitabha Pure Land, July 3 – 11, 2012, checked by Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
