A ‘chela’ is a Sanskrit word meaning ‘student’. In particular this word refers to the student of a spiritual teacher. Within this series of short posts, I will be sharing stories about His Eminence the 25th Tsem Rinpoche. Hopefully through these stories, you will get a glimpse of how Tsem Rinpoche and the Dharma...
Posted in Behind The Scenes, Guest Contributors | 7 Comments »
The Yeti — a Sherpa word for “wild man” has cast a spell over the world since British explorer, Eric Shipton found a Yeti footprint and took a picture of it in 1951. Since then, numerous expeditions were organised in search of the Yeti, including one funded by the American millionaire, Tom Slick that...
Posted in Creatures and Monsters, Current Affairs & News, Yeti/Bigfoot/Sasquatch | 5 Comments »
Recently, several mushrooms were found sprouting in the private garden of H.E. Tsem Rinpoche in Kechara Forest Retreat. Phenomena like these are considered to be highly auspicious and they indicate the arrival of good news or that something good will happen soon. Tibetans believe mushrooms growing spontaneously is a harbinger of good news and...
Posted in Buddhas, Dharma & Practice, Current Affairs & News | 12 Comments »
’65. Okay, so ’72, I would be seven years old, eight is ’73, nine is ’74, 10 is ’75, 11 is ’76, 12 is ’77, 13 is ’78, 14 is ’79. Yeah, 14, 15. About 19… Okay, back around 1979, 1979, 1980, around that time I was around 13 or 14 years old. I...
Posted in Autobiography, Me | 5 Comments »
Having had the fortune of meeting Rinpoche when she was just 11 years old, the ‘Growing up with Rinpoche’ series captures Pastor Jean Ai’s growth under Rinpoche’s guidance. In this series, she recounts some of Rinpoche’s myriad Dharma activities to benefit sentient beings. Oftentimes, Rinpoche will share quotes, teachings and stories about...
Posted in Behind The Scenes, Guest Contributors | 1 Comment »
Dear friends around the world, I’m very happy to share the latest addition to the Bentong vegetarian dining scene – our very own Bigfoot Café. My long-time student and friend, Pastor Yek Yee has led a group of dedicated people to establish a Bigfoot themed café in Bentong town, less than five kilometres from...
Posted in Animals, Vegetarianism & Environment, Food & Recipes, Kechara - 13 Depts, Malaysia | 8 Comments »
The Mighty Manslayer, Scourge of God, Perfect Warrior. A man known by many names and feared by many, Genghis Khan (1162-1227) was an illustrious warrior who founded the Mongol Empire. He launched a military campaign to conquer a substantial part of Eurasia, and by the end of his life, he managed to conquer a...
Posted in Celebrities & People | 4 Comments »
For thousands of years, since the inception of Buddhism, adherents having been creating images of the enlightened beings. Within Buddhist scriptures, it is said that even just seeing the form of a Buddha plants the seeds of enlightenment in one’s mindstream. Each part of the body of a fully enlightened being corresponds to spiritual...
Posted in Travel | 3 Comments »
(译文请往下阅读) Brief Introduction About Manjushri Manjushri, whose name means ‘Gentle Glory’ or ‘Sweet Splendor’ in Sanskrit; ‘Wen Shu Shi Li’ (文殊师利)in Chinese; ‘Monju Bosatsu’ in Japanese; ‘Moosoo Posal’ in Korean; ‘Jampel-yang’ in Tibetan) is one of the most important Bodhisattvas in the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions. Manjushri is also known as ‘Manjugosha’ (the Gentle-Voiced One); ‘manju’ refers to how the continuum of his life has been rendered ‘gentle’ by his grasp of transcendental wisdom, and ‘gosha’ refers to his perfect ability to commu...
Posted in Art, Architecture & Culture, Buddhas, Dharma & Practice, China 中国, 中文 | 3 Comments »
Suvarnạdvīpa Guru, according to his biography, used to clean out his own room. The source of this practice is a sūtra that says: “The Bodhisattvas sit cross-legged in clean surroundings.” The reasons why you must clean your room are as follows: If you invite your guru or some officials to your home, you would...
Posted in Buddhas, Dharma & Practice | 10 Comments »
Maha Bodhi Ta Htaung is a renowned monastery located in the Monywa Town, Sagaing Region of Myanmar (Burma). The iconic feature of the monastery is the second tallest standing Buddha statue in the world, with the name of Lay Kyun Sakkya. The religious site also contains thousands of Buddha statues in various sizes, a...
Posted in Asia, Buddhas, Dharma & Practice | 5 Comments »
Dear friends around the world, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been ill and is manifesting illness more and more of late. A highly attained being like His Holiness will manifest sickness to remind us of impermanence. So it is important for us to generate merits and dedicate these merits to His Holiness’ continued presence in our world. Therefore when you are able, please recite OM MANI PEME HUNG as much as you can and dedicate it to His Holiness’ long life. We here at Kechara are doing the same and we are making light offerings to t...
Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments »
It says in the 50 Verses of Guru Devotion that Vajradhara has stated very clearly for any of our practices to bear fruit or to fruition, we must rely on our teacher or, in Sanskrit, our Guru. Our teacher, being our Guru, introduces us to the basic teachings and foundations of Dharma which...
Posted in Buddhas, Dharma & Practice, Great Lamas & Masters, H.H. Kyabje Zong Rinpoche | 4 Comments »
Dear friends around the world, In recent years, it is common to hear stories of people or families who choose to live off-the-grid with limited modern facilities, especially in Western countries. These people adopt this unique lifestyle for various reasons. Some of them do so to maintain their financial freedom, while others opt to...
Posted in Animals, Vegetarianism & Environment | 13 Comments »
在藏传佛教中,甘丹、色拉和哲蚌三座寺院是格鲁传承知名的三大寺或三大支柱(藏语:den sa sum)。这并非因为它们是藏地传统上最大的寺院,而是因为这里的修持者一般都被委以守护宗喀巴大师纯净传承(格鲁传承)的重任。正因如此,这三大寺院的修持和仪轨都被视为经得起多个世纪大师们严格审判和千锤百炼的的纯正格鲁传承。
Posted in China 中国, Dorje Shugden, 中文 | 2 Comments »
Dear friends around the world, I’m always asked where I come from and how I came to be a Buddhist monk. While I have blogged some articles about my life, ranging from my childhood until where I am today, I have not really written much about the heritage stemming from my biological parents. From...
Posted in China 中国, Me | 2 Comments »
Dear friends around the world, I’m always asked where I come from and how I came to be a Buddhist monk. While I have blogged some articles about my life, ranging from my childhood until where I am today, I have not really written much about the heritage stemming from my biological parents. From...
Posted in China 中国, Me | 2 Comments »
I met Kyabje Zong Rinpoche at 18 I was 18 years old when this was taken back in 1983 in Los Angeles, California. Here I am in this photo with my most precious root guru, His Holiness Kyabje Zong Rinpoche. He has profoundly changed my life for the better forever. Not a day goes...
Posted in Great Lamas & Masters | 1 Comment »
About four years ago, Joel Brown, the founder of Addicted2Success.com, an Australian entrepreneur, speaker and author visited Kechara Forest Retreat in Bentong, Malaysia. He was very much inspired by H.E. Tsem Rinpoche’s life story and Rinpoche’s creative and unconventional method of presenting ancient Buddhist philosophies in ways relevant to the 21st century’s global conscious...
Posted in Buddhas, Dharma & Practice, Inspiration & Worthy Words | 13 Comments »