His Eminence Tsem Rinpoche’s throne in front of the traditional Tibetan altar in his previous dharma centre, Tsem Buddhist Centre (TBC) in Singapore’s Jurong Reptile Park

I have been a student of His Eminence the 25th Tsem Rinpoche for over 15 years. Through the years, I have witnessed Rinpoche’s compassion and the unconventional methods he uses to benefit others. Some of the short stories I share will tell interesting miraculous events that Rinpoche will not mention due to his humility. I hope these stories will serve as an inspiration in your own spiritual journey.

I Witnessed the Compassion of Tsem Rinpoche

It was the year 2001, if I recall correctly. I was going through a very difficult time in my life with regards to my career and I needed some answers. One day while I was at work, I was thinking to myself, “Who can I ask for advice? Who can I trust?”

At the time, I felt really jaded with the world. I had experienced so many deceptions in life so it was really hard to think of or find someone I can trust to give me some good advice. Suddenly, a thought came to me that I should contact Tsem Rinpoche. I barely knew Tsem Rinpoche then as I had only met him once during a dinner gathering with my sister a year earlier. Somehow, something told me that I could trust Rinpoche and that I should consult him. So, I texted my sister to ask for Rinpoche’s email and proceeded to write him a long email about my situation. I asked Rinpoche what I should do about my career and if I should leave my current job or stay on. To my surprise, Rinpoche emailed me back almost instantly with a simple instruction. I was to head down to his centre in Singapore to meet him and that I should ask my sister to drive my partner and I down as soon as possible.

Next thing I knew, we were trying to get into the very busy Jurong Reptile Park in Singapore. Pastor Chia greeted us at the entrance and showed us the way to the centre which turned out to be a small teaching hall located directly above a snake pit! Not knowing anything about Buddhism or Rinpoche’s background, I thought to myself that it was very odd to have a temple above a cave where snakes were exhibited. Now that I think of it, a temple above a snake pit actually has a lot of significant meaning. A snake pit can mean, “Any institution (such as a school, prison, hospital, etc.) run in an inept or inhumane way, or full of hostile or treacherous people.” https://en.wiktionary.org

Having a temple on top of snake pit could mean having the Buddhadharma as an antidote to counter our mental afflictions. And, Rinpoche and his centre were where the Buddhadharma was coming from and being disseminated to heal many beings.

When I entered the teaching hall, it felt like I was entering another realm where all the chaos from the outside just disappeared and there was only peace. Curiously, I began to check out the traditional Tibetan altars in the centre and it was the first time I gazed upon the beautiful twenty-one Taras and Lama Tsongkhapa. I also noticed a Tibetan throne in the prayer hall and thought that it must be for Rinpoche.

People started coming in and taking their seats as Rinpoche was about to arrive. When I first met Rinpoche back in 2000, Rinpoche was actually quite plump. Little did I know that Rinpoche had slimmed down so much that when he entered the prayer hall and sat on the throne, I had no idea it was him. I did not recognise Rinpoche and I even asked my sister, “Where is Rinpoche?”, she simply pointed at the throne.

H.E. Tsem Rinpoche in his centre in Singapore, giving a Lamrim book to a very young Pastor Jean Ai then, who had just taken refuge with Rinpoche back in 2001

Rinpoche started to give us a dharma teaching and I just remember feeling awed because he spoke in perfect English and Rinpoche’s presentation of the dharma was very relatable, funny and clear, I felt I could just sit there for hours listening to Rinpoche’s wisdom. Towards the end of the teaching, Rinpoche started picking people in the audience to ask some dharma questions. This was when I started feeling extremely nervous and was hoping Rinpoche will not pick me, but of course, the more you hide, the more you will be picked on, and obviously, Rinpoche picked me. Rinpoche asked, “What is the colour of Tara?” relief I thought to myself, “Thank goodness Rinpoche had given me a picture of Tara a year ago when I first met him!”

After the teaching, everyone approached the throne to get a blessing from Rinpoche, and this is when I witnessed something really extraordinary that I have never ever seen before.

His Eminence Tsem Rinpoche when he was younger

A mother had brought her son for blessing. The boy looked like he was in his early twenties and his limbs were twisted. He had to be carried to Rinpoche’s throne. Then, I saw Rinpoche chant some mantras under his breath and began blowing all over the boy’s arms, head, and body. The boy seemed calmed by Rinpoche blowing mantras all over him. I have never seen anyone doing such a blessing before so I asked my sister, who proceeded to ask Pastor Chia, “What was wrong with the boy?”

Pastor Chia then explained to us that this mother and her son have been coming to see Rinpoche regularly to receive special blessings and healing because the boy is actually possessed by a spirit. It seems the spirit has been living inside this boy for years and was trying to take over his body, which would mean killing the boy. It became really bad when the possessed boy started cursing and hitting his own mother, eating bloodied raw chicken, and sleeping in the toilet. Apparently, the mother had gone to many different bomohs (Asian witch doctors) and spiritual masters of various religions, but none of them were able to help the boy and the spirit was getting stronger by the day. The spirit has even caused the boy’s limbs to become twisted, rendering him immobile.

A shrine specially dedicated to the Dharma Protector Setrap Chen who showed many miraculous signs in Tsem Buddhist Centre (click to enlarge)

Finally, she met Rinpoche who recognised that the boy was possessed by a very angry snake spirit who wanted to take over the boy’s body. Rinpoche gave the mother a special mantra to chant daily on behalf of her son since he could not chant. By then, he had lost all ability to speak. Rinpoche also asked the mother to bring the boy to see him on a regular basis to get blessings and healing. It seemed that after going to see Rinpoche a few times, along with the mother’s daily mantra recitation for her son, he began to improve. One of the clear signs of his improvement was that the boy stopped hitting his mother and eating raw meat. I was so shocked when I heard the story at that time as I had never seen anyone being possessed by a spirit. It was the first time I witnessed Rinpoche’s special ability to help people who were possessed and his great compassion.

Rinpoche was helping a mother and her son who were not Buddhists and, unlike many bomohs, Rinpoche did not charge them a cent. Seeing how Rinpoche compassionately helped the boy and his mother without any expectations, I realised that Rinpoche was a genuine spiritual teacher. This is how all true spiritual teachers should be; not bias, does not discriminate, no expectations of any reward, praise or ego trip. From that day onwards, I knew Rinpoche was a real spiritual teacher and a very special lama, a high lama as Tibetans would call it, and I knew that whatever Rinpoche does, it is 100% to help the person irrespective of race, colour or creed. It reaffirmed to me that I can definitely trust this lama.

After the healing session was done and Rinpoche had finished meeting everyone, Rinpoche took us out for supper and this was when I got to see the other funnier side of Rinpoche. At the end of my short trip, I had my questions answered. Literally, my whole life changed as I had to make a few tough decisions about my career and personal life. This trip marked the beginning of my spiritual journey.

A mini dharma “shopping” corner in Tsem Buddhist Centre. This clearly shows how Rinpoche has always wanted to make Buddha statues and dharma practice items available for practitioners, in order to enhance their spiritual practice.

A few years later, I heard from Pastor Chia that the mother had finished chanting the mantra and the boy was completely healed! The first thing he uttered was to ask his mother for some cooked food! After years of torment by a snake spirit who occupied his body, made him eat disgusting raw chicken and beat his mother, he was finally free. His mother cried tears of joy and embraced her son.

Meeting Rinpoche in Singapore really opened up my eyes and some karmic seeds in me. I came back to Malaysia feeling blessed and fortunate to have met someone who gave me some sense of direction when I was feeling lost. This trip became a turning point in my life where I started to tread on the Buddhist path and follow Rinpoche’s life-changing advice, and the rest as they say is history.

Thank you for reading my story. Humbly,
Joy Kam

Joy Kam back in the early days

For more interesting information:

• Discovering Yourself: A Teaching on Karma & Mindstream
• Snake Spirit
• Discovering Yourself: A Teaching on Karma & Mindstream
• The Miracles of Tsem Rinpoche (True Story 11) | 詹仁波切的奇迹（真实故事 11)
• The Miracles of Tsem Rinpoche (True Story 8) | 詹仁波切的奇迹（真实故事 8)
• The Miracles of Tsem Rinpoche (True Story 12) | 詹仁波切的奇迹（真实故事 12)
• The Miracles of Tsem Rinpoche (True Story 17) | 詹仁波切的奇迹（真实故事 17）
• The Promise – Tsem Rinpoche’s inspiring biography now in ebook format!
• My Short Bio in pictures
• What was Rinpoche doing around 3 to 4AM?

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