A Long Way from Home | 来自异国的她
（译文请往下阅读）
Antoinette with Tsem Rinpoche in front of the Vajrayogini stupa in Kechara Forest Retreat
(Posted by Pastor Seng Piow)
Pastor Antoinette Kass first came to Malaysia all the way from half a globe away – Luxembourg to meet His Eminence Tsem Rinpoche in 2011, after getting know and learning Dharma from Rinpoche just from online resources (Youtube, blog, Facebook…). She has always been spiritual and had visited places like Findhorn in search of spirituality. On the first meeting, Rinpoche had a nice chat with her and presented her a Vajrayogini statue to encourage her in the Dharma path.
She did not have personal contact with Rinpoche after that, and yet from that single meeting of just one hour and her promise to Rinpoche to do more Dharma, she has been keeping her promise and is very consistent about it. Since then, she has been coming back to Malaysia yearly to volunteer and learn in Kechara (most of the time did not have the opportunity to meet Rinpoche), and lately made plans to relocate to Malaysia so that she can pursue her Dharma aspirations full-time.
She is from Luxembourg, one of the countries furthest away from Malaysia, she is not super rich, she is not familiar with Asia at all having lived in Europe all her life, she has not a single family member nor friend here, yet just for Dharma and her trust in guru Tsem Rinpoche, she has the courage to go through all the “obstacles” to be near her guru and Dharma.
She has to arrange the logistics herself in relocating, she has to get a car herself so that she can move around without depending on others, no one help her financially, she receives no stipend from Kechara, over the past 4 years she met Tsem Rinpoche personally less than 10 times, in total spent less than 24 hours with Rinpoche, yet it is enough for her to uproot herself from her comfort zone and engage in the path of Dharma for the rest of her life.
Just one month ago, Tsem Rinpoche went to Kechara Forest Retreat (KFR) and was going around for photo-shoot and suddenly thought of Antoinette who was also there, so Rinpoche called her along, went around KFR with her and had a chat with her, and encouraged her to go even further and all the way in her Dharma path. And again just from that short meeting and talk, she made up her mind, shaved her head and became ordained as a Buddhist pastor on the holy Wesak Day 2015.
Over the years I have seen numerous students of Rinpoche, many who have the comfort of their home country, received salaries for doing Dharma work, received a lot of gifts and personal care from Rinpoche, received Dharma teachings from Rinpoche for hundreds to thousands of hours, spent personal time with Rinpoche for hundreds to thousands of hours…yet when a little obstacle arose, they dropped everything and left, and some even slander Rinpoche and the organization that had shown nothing but Dharma, kindness and generosity to them all this while.
Antoinette is a shining example of a true Dharma practitioner, who goes all the way just from one meeting with the guru, just from one sentence of advice from the guru.
Thank you Antoinette for being a great inspiration for us Dharma practitioners.
Click here to learn more about Kechara Pastors whom Antoinette is a part of: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/?p=55610
Antoinette first met Tsem Rinpoche in 2011, she came all the way from Luxembourg
Antoinette in Kechara Puja House making torma
Antoinette enjoyed gardening in Kechara Forest Retreat
Antoinette bought her own car to get around in Malaysia
Antoinette shaved her head and became ordained as Kechara’s Buddhist pastor on the holy Wesak Day 2015
Antoinette with Pastor Moh Mei in front of Lama Tsongkhapa in Kechara Forest Retreat
Antoinette teaches the Feldenkrais relaxation method in Kechara Forest Retreat
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安托瓦内特•卡斯（以下简称卡斯）来自卢森堡（欧洲西北部的一个小国），她在2011年通过网络得知并向詹杜固仁波切学习佛法，然后前来马来西亚与仁波切 会面。卡斯热衷于追求精神探索，经常到有灵性的地方如英国的Findhorn去。在那一次会面中，仁波切送她一尊金刚瑜伽母圣像以鼓励她的灵修。此后，仁 波切没有再和她联系，但卡斯一诺千金，每年必定前来马来西亚参加克切拉团体的佛法活动，虽然大多数时候都没有机会再见到仁波切。
近年来，卡斯甚至下决心搬到马来西亚长住，好让自己能够更接近上师和全职从事佛法事业。这期间，她必须处理很多搬家的琐碎事情（从欧洲搬到半个地球之远的 马来西亚不是件容易的事），她必须自己买车，她不是很富有，没有人在经济上资助她，她没有领取任何津贴，她一辈子住在欧洲，根本不熟悉亚洲文化，她在这里 举目无亲，也没有朋友，但她还是一一克服了这些“障碍”。就因为那仅仅一次与上师的会面，和上师一句鼓励的话，就足以让她放弃自己的“舒适地带”，只身前 来陌生国度追求佛法。前前后后卡斯见仁波切的次数没有超过十次，相处的时间加起来也没有超过二十四小时。
上个月仁波切去克切拉禅修林拍照，突然想起卡斯也在那里，便邀请她一起去。期间仁波切鼓励她把自己的灵修更提高一层，并全力以赴。卡斯便毅然剃短了头发，并在前几天的卫塞节受戒为克切拉讲法师，为以后出家为僧做好准备。
仁波切身边出现过一些“弟子”，他们之中很多享有住在本土国家的福利和便利，他们从事佛法事业领取薪金，他们从仁波切那里获得了无数小时的佛法开示，还有 礼物和关怀，但是当遇到一个小障碍，就放弃上师放弃佛法立刻走人，有些甚至诽谤曾经细心教导和关怀他们的上师和佛教团体。
感谢卡斯 为佛法修行人树立了很好的榜样，对上师的话一诺千金，排除万难，全力以赴。这才是在佛法修行上获得成就的不二法门！
点击这里了解更多关于克切拉的讲法师们，卡斯也是其中之一： https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/?p=55610
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A beautiful story of how Pastor Antoinette Kass came all the way to be in Malaysia. She is from Luxembourg meeting H E Tsem Rinpoche in 2011, learning Dharma online from Youtube, blog, Facebook in search of spirituality. Later in 2015 finally she left her comfort zone to be ordained as a Buddhist pastor . Pastor Antoinette’s spiritual journey is an inspiration to many of us. With her determination and courage she found her way here . Wish her the best .
Thank you Pastor Seng Piow for this sharing.
Pastor Antoinette’s spiritual journey with Rinpoche is an inspiration to many of us. I greatly admire her courage and determination in uprooting from her home in Luxembourg to come so far into the East to receive precious Dharma teachings from our highly attained Guru. Her affinity must be strong and after her initial meeting in year 2011, she has committed to being a Kechara Pastor and a Sangha to be. Pastor Antoinette always has a smile on her for everyone and a kind heart that is willing to help. May her aspiration of being a spiritually attained Nun be fulfilled and may she be always blessed by Rinpoche, the Buddhas and special protector Dorje Shugden.
Thank you Pastor Seng Piow.
A true and interesting story of.Pastor Antoinette Kass..which i do enjoy reading it. She just simple amazing coming to Malaysia all the way from a place half the globe. Pastor Antoinette sacrifice all to be here in KFR to meet Rinpoche and to become a Pastor.Not easy after all somehow with her determination and will power she over come it.Pastor Antoinette is an example to all.We are blessed to have Pastor Antoinette to spread the dharma teachings of Rinpoche .A big salute to Pastor Antoinette and all the Pastors at KFR .
Tonight , I feel like want to support Kechara pastor in financial way so I search the link in Rinpoche’s blog and I found out a article about Pastor Antoinette. I am very admired Pastor Antoinette can sacrifice many things and relocated to KFR to be ordained Pastor. She had to start new life from nothing in KFR .Dharma teachings and sharing are the motivator for her to do that. she will teach us all the dharma teachings given by Tsem Rinpoche.
I am very proud and blessed to be Kecharian especially we had such a good and
responsible pastor. I will practice all the dharma and do my best to support Kechara Pastor.
Thanks Pastor Seng Piow write up to let more people know well on Kechara Pastors.
It is very inspiring to learn about the story of Pastor Antoinette Kass. She first met His Eminence the 25th Tsem Rinpoche in 2011. Over the next four years, there were less than 24 hours of personal meeting between Pastor Antoinette and Rinpoche. Yet on Wesak Day 2015, Pastor Antoinette took a bold step forward by shaving her head and joining the big family of Kechara by becoming a Pastor.
Kechara’s Buddhist Pastors received their ordination from His Eminence, whose vows stem from an unbroken lineage of Tibetan Buddhist masters, tracing all the way back to Lord Shakyamuni, the historical Buddha. Pastors bridge the gap between the ordained Sangha and the everyday practitioner. By holding their Pastor’s vow, they make the Dharma more accessible to people, giving guidance and sharing their knowledge. You may find out more information about Kechara Pastors here : https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/kechara-13-depts/support-the-kechara-pastors.html
Thank you Rinpoche and Pastor Seng Piow for this blogpost.
Humbly, bowing down,
Stella Cheang
Antoinette is a very sincere practitioner of the dharma and very easy to be with and work with her. Looking forward to her spiritual growth.
Pastor Antoinette does not speak a lot and when you ask her to talk about herself, she does not indulge in self promotion. However, Pastor Antoinette does speaks passionately when she shares about Feldenkrais and Bach Flowers because she believes that people can heal through these two “solutions”. Her desire to heal others is not limited, she shares her Bach Flower concoctions generously with the plants and animals in Kechara Forest Retreat!
It is because of Pastor’s conviction to this cause that I call her our Green Doctor.
I am glad to have pastor with us and look forward to seeing her benefit the people around her in the Western as well as Eastern hemisphere.
Like Pastor Seng Piow said, Pastor Antoinette is from the other side of the earth. She knows nothing about our culture and language, she didn’t know anyone here. She’s here for Dharma, when she found H.E. Tsem Rinpoche on the youtube. Having this strong karmic connection with Rinpoche, she came all the way to meet Rinpoche 2011 and today she is already a Pastor nun-to-be. Wow, a true Vajrayana practitioner, fast track!
Pastor Antoinette,
You are a very dear friend to have. You had taken a huge step in Dharma in order to serve others better. I rejoice for you ordination. Your determination is very inspiring. Thank you for chosen Dharma path as your life journey. You will bring many to Dharma.
Congrats Antoinette. May the Dharma spreads far and wide under Rinpoche’s guidance. 🙂
It is great to see that Antoinette came all the way from Europe to join Kechara. It really is pleasing to see that someone could leave her nice and comfortable home, just to be near the Dharma. Of course such cases are rare, because not many people want to leave their comfort zone and also make the long journey all the way from Europe where life is quite simplified.
Antoinette was also willing to make life in Malaysia, which could be a bit hard as the weather, language and other factors are different compared to Luxembourg.
Congratulations Pastor Antoinette for being ordained as a Pastor and a Sangha-to-be. You have come a long way in search for your spiritual path and you have found your “home” in Kechara. Your faith and trust in H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche and your determination and courage to pursue your spiritual path is an inspiration to many.
May you always be protected by The Three Jewels. May your spiritual practice grow and may you spread the dharma and help those who are in need.
Dear Pastor Antoinette Kass, following Rinpoche’s unique footsteps, you made your extraordinary journey in travelling across the world from Luxemborg to fulfill your hearfelt desire. That is truly a shinning example of a Dharma practioner. All of us will pray hard for your success to overcome all your future hurdles and obstacles in fulfillment of your selfless desire to bring happiness to others. Our most heartfelt congratulations to you, and may successes crown you constantly! Om mani Padme Hung.
Thank you Pastor Seng Piow for the sharing on Antoinette Kass journey towards her decision to take up the holy vows to become a Pastor.
We had met her on Wesak Day to witness her ordination along with 2 other pastor.
We could feel that Pastor Antoinette has a sincere and caring personality .She would be an excellent example to share Dharma knowledge with others as she truly believes in Kechara existence to spread the holy Dharma to all those with interest in transforming their mind through dharma practice.
Keep it up Pastor Antoinette ,may you find joy in your Dharma sharing to all those in need….
Pastor Antoinette Kass has come all the way from Luxembourg to pursue her Dharma journey in Kechara under the guidance of Rinpoche. Her persistent effort, hard work, kindness, compassion and selflessness has become our inspiration and motivation to do more for Dharma to benefit many people and all sentient beings. Thank you Pastor Antoinette. May you receive the blessings and protection from the 3 Jewels and all the Buddhas in this lifetime and many future lifetimes.
From bewilderment to serenity and peace. With a face that inspires. These are the phrases I would describe our new Pastor Antoinette, as this is the simple and empowering way she has transformed from arriving in Kechara 3 short years ago.
It was bewilderment for Pastor Antoinette as Kuala Lumpur is very very different from Luxemburg, but she took it all in her stride based on her strong faith in HE Tsem Rinpoche and His gift of the Dharma to all of us.
Overcoming her experience of ”strangeness” Pastor Antoinette assimilated into our eastern culture and looking at her now is simply awesome.
My heart felt wishes and congratulations to Pastor Antoinette.
I like this story a lot ask your guru for no thing
Shave your head and study
Grow it back again or make a stand against the stainless steel industry.
And never shave your head.
The important thing in this series is the answer lives inside you
You are the guru and the student.
So having suggested this do the things that bring the maximum happiness to those around you.
Now consider all things three past present and future then consider all of the dimensions you can not consider
Thank you Pastor Seng Piow for the sharing.
Congratulation Pastor Antoinette Kass. Your journey is truly aspiring and encouraging. May you have a successfully spiritual journey and all your wishes come true.
恭喜 Antoinette讲法师. 我记得第一次见到 Antoinette 时，她连要在那里吃东西也不知道。我们大家一起去吃饭，Antoinette 到我们的部门里当义工。 Antoinette讲法师给我的印象非常深刻，非常有礼貌也很谦虚。
现在 Antoinette讲法师已经在灵修的过程迈向更大步， 我深深的祝福她。
Pastor Antoinette,
I’m so happy for you. You’ve taken your first steps to everlasting happiness. May you continue to inspire and bless us. May you guide us and may you quickly gain attainments.
Yes, Pastor Antoinette is a very courageous woman, she left her home and came to Malaysia to pursue her spiritual practice. How many of us can do that? It is like asking us to leave everything we have and go live in Siberia with a group of people who we do not know at all.
I have always admire her courage. This is how much she values Dharma. I rejoice very much for her when she made the decision to become ordained. I was very moved to see her in white. She radiates the energy of a Sangha, it is my honour to know and work with her.
Congratulations Pastor Antoinette!
Am blessed to be able to meet many inspiring people since I joined Kechara and Pastor Antoinette is just one of the many. I wish Pastor Antoinette a beautiful, smooth and successful spiritual journey.
Rinpoche is the main inspiration. He works tirelessly to benefit all of us.
It is through His hard work, care and skillful means and all of those working together with Rinpoche that Kechara and its 13 departments as well as Kechara Forest Retrait has manifested.
We have the most precious, our Guru H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche who teaches us Dharma through this blog, Facebook and Twitter. We can read and listen to His teachings at any moment, wherever we are. Teachings are available on CD, DVD as well as on MP3 for free download.
The many beneficial books written by Rinpoche can be invited through many bookstores as well as through the Internet. Dharma items are available in Kechara Paradise as well as online through http://www.vajrasecrets.com. Even Pujas can be ordered through Kechara and http://www.vajrasecrets.com.
The Kechara Pastors have many duties from teaching Dharma classes to performing pujas, giving blessings as well as performing animal liberation.
Rinpoche is very devoted and truly cares for all of us to attain the highest, Enlightenment.
I am most grateful to my Guru H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche and His organization Kechara and everyone helping to make Rinpoche’s vision come true. I am most honored to be a Pastor and to help others, relieve their suffering and bring them happiness.
May H.E.Tsem Tulku Rinpoche have long life, health and may all His wishes come true swiftly and smoothly.
Thanks to everyone who supports Rinpoche’s vision and mission and helps to make Kechara grow to benefit more people and make this world a better place.
Congratulations Pastor Antoinette on your decision to becoming a Sangha in the future. Due to this decision, You have put yourself in the forefront to be of tremendous benefits for others, selflessly and tiressly. You have decided to be the example for others instead of hoping others to become one. You have overcome your innermost fear and I am very happy for you. Due to the unknown many have put off this aspiration, let alone walking all the way. Hearing your story has inspired me to have this highest aspiration as well. ( I have never met Rinpoche till now too but I have gained tremendous benefits from His teachings and have benefited those who are close to me too, in a way) We indeed need Sangha members continue practicing, preserving and upholding Dharma teachings as long as we can. Pastor Antoinette, just follow your heart and I really hope you will achieve enlightenment in this very lifetime !!!! Thank you , really proud you!
Pastor Antoinette, your Dharma journey are truly inspiring, yet facing obstacles but you managed to pull it through.
Rejoice to you, Pastor Antoinette for choosing the Dharma path by having aspirations to relieve the suffering of others.
You Pastor have inspired me to do more. Thank you !!
Congradulations Antoinette!!! Your win is a win for all when its a win for dharma. Great example of going all the way with good devotion and trust. I am very happy for you and your accomplishments. You are a great example to all. You look very happy with your choice. May your accomplishments grow positively daily.
She has received true wealth wich is the happiness from helping others:)
Congratulations Pastor Antoinette on your ordination as Buddhist Pastor Sangha-to-be.
I am very happy and rejoice in your decision to go all the way in Dharma with your sincere motivation to benefit others.
As one of the few who was in contact with you even before your first visit in 2011 and now working in the same beautiful Kechara Forest Retreat, I must compliment you for your exceptional spiritual progress.
It is the norm for people who are on the path doing meritorious works to face challenges, and what we’re doing in Rinpoche’s mandala is for a great benefits to others. Similarly, your journey on spiritual path is never a bed of roses, yet you persevered and carried on due to your trust in our Guru and the Dharma itself. You are truly an inspiration to many.
May you be able to inspire and benefit many more people onto the Dharma path.
Your friend and sister in Dharma,
Pastor Gim Lee