There's No Way But Up

I recall Rinpoche first telling this story of a mahasiddha making offerings to his dakini teacher many years ago during a fantastic teaching called Gurus For Hire. Since then, Rinpoche had re-told this story a number of times and it never failed to fascinate me. Over the years, I tried to look for the story in…

In 2014, Tsem Rinpoche, myself along with Pastor Seng Piow, Pastor Jean Ai, JP and William were travelling up North California. We were on the freeway when Rinpoche saw the Mt Shasta signboard and we were all intrigued. Rinpoche decided to delay our travel plans for a few days and we veered off towards Mt…

(I did research and written this blog post on the 35 Confessional Buddhas for Tsem Rinpoche’s blog. But I have reposting it here as well ~ http://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/the-35-confessional-buddhas.html) The practice of the 35 Confessional Buddhas is one of the most long lasting purification practices that has been propagated since the time of Buddha Shakyamuni. The practice itself…

Today is my late mom’s birthday and Rinpoche said that she had a strong affinity with Tara and so my dad, Paul, Zamkar (White Schnauzer) went to the Tara shrine on Kechara Forest Retreat to offer 21 candles, mantras and prayers to Tara there. Here are just some cute little pictures that we took with…

I have known about Bigfoot for the longest time since picking up my very first book on the paranormal when I was just a kid browsing through the library. I have to admit that I was not particularly fascinated with the notion of an elusive giant primate as compared to other topics like UFOs, ghostly…

This is somewhat a controversial topic in itself but I think it does warrant to be mentioned. There are a lot of horny people out there. Being horny is not bad in itself (some may even consider it healthy) but when it has reached high levels of sexual addiction, it can be damaging. Addiction usually means we…

Ever since coming into contact with Tibetan Buddhism, I had become extremely intrigued by its rich philosophy and its pantheon of powerful deities. Nothing inspires the imagination more than a deity with multiple faces, hands and implements that is one fire. There quite a number of such deities and one I had come across over and…

If you are a friend or student of H. E. Tsem Rinpoche, you would have heard or you had been an unwitting participant of a Pick Game. Naturally, I had been a part of this for many years now and naturally, the pick game exchanges of those involved – participant and audience would descend into belly-aching…

I came across this article a year ago and had bookmarked it to read later. It was extremely fascinating to read of this seer the likes of Nostradamus. In Buddhism, clairvoyance to see into the future, past and present (in faraway remote places) is not impossible. In fact, when we become enlightened, we achieve omniscience to…

My mom passed away earlier this year just before Chinese New Years’ and it caught everyone by surprise. My mom was just 66 years old! Just the year before, she was struggling with her weight – she was loosing a lot of weight after a holiday trip and she was quite ill and that was…

Earlier this year, I was invited to have dinner with Rinpoche, Pastor Seng Piow, Albert and Pastor Niral Patel. It was a fun occasion with Rinpoche and as always, casual dinner and light conversation was always infused with Dharma one way or another. This was no different. We had dinner and in between lots of…

The first time I have ever heard of Dorje Shugden’s name was when I had the fortune to visit Tsem Rinpoche’s house more than a decade ago. I had just gotten to know Rinpoche long enough that he would invite me over to his place. At that time, Kechara House was not established yet. I…

Today is Wesak day here in Malaysia and this is when Buddhists celebrate the birth, enlightenment and final parinirvana (passing) of Lord Buddha Shakyamuni. That is why I thought I do a little blog post on how to be a Buddhist and contrary to what some people think, it is not about offering joss-sticks, lighting candles…

Rinpoche had been working closely with a few of us on a number of projects. For Rinpoche, a project is not just a job. It is also a means by which Rinpoche is able to work with our internal issues simultaneously. It is obvious that all of us are heavily influenced by our parents during…

There you go… What do you think of my new video? Actually, it was your Jean Mei, the producer who suggested that the advert should be about me, which I protested initially as I really didn’t want to go on screen. My initial idea was to have another person on screen to read my book and…

A few weeks ago, I was with Rinpoche and we were watching a really good documentary on Youtube. It was about elves, faeries and all manner of supernatural beings in Iceland called “Enquête sur le monde invisible” – Investigation into the Invisible, a 2002 documentary by French director Jean-Michel Roux. Naturally, the dialogue was all in…

I am not psychic and so, I don’t have the ‘third’ eye to see spirits like the way some people do. I guess I just happen to be in the wrong place and in the wrong time. The first time, I ever saw a ghost… a REAL ghost mind you – was when I was…

Just a couple of weeks ago, H. E. Tsem Rinpoche felt that it was time to promote my books and I, as a lay pastor and author. Before I knew it, there was a whirlwind of planning for a photo shoot session in Kechara Forest Retreat. Rinpoche quickly formulated the look and feel of the entire project…

Hello people, its been awhile since I have blogged and I am just amazed that my blog views continue to increase. I guess they are mainly bots and trolls looking for a means to advertise. I get a ton of advert messages in my inbox. Anyway, I thought I start the year this time around on…

Recently, I saw someone asked this question on Facebook and then, I saw someone else post the meaning of life is to study hard, get a job, get married and have kids. My jaw dropped and there were a few exchanges back and forth with me sharing my feelings about the matter. I realize that…

Recently I was in New York and I had a little bit of free time and so, I did my best to get to the Metropolitan Museum of Art or the Met. I took a long walk from the the hotel where I was staying to First Avenue next to the lush trees of Central…

During the month of August, I found myself travelling to America for several spiritual appointments on the east coast. What was not planned was this road trip to Tsem Rinpoche’s stomping ground, Howell, New Jersey. I had taken plenty of pictures so you guys can have a glimpse of Rinpoche’s American upbringing. The cool thing…

August has been a fortunate month for me. Prior to that, I had just completed a 25,000 Migtsema retreat and midway, I was told that I would be part of an entourage who would be travelling to Italy to have audience with Kyabje Gangchen Rinpoche. Wow! I have never had the chance to have met…

I came across this little writeup by Frederick Law, a friend and fellow Kecharian on Facebook and I must say that it is pretty sound in his logic and relatively comprehensive. I share similar sentiments about this whole issue and I thought I share what this fellow Kecharian has to say about Rinpoche, lineage lamas…

I was reading Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen’s story and when I reached the part where he was ordained as a monk, he was described to be like the second Upali. I googled only discover a lot about this student of the Buddha. He has quite an incredible story of one of the Buddha’s student. It showed…

Way back in 2012, I recall these 2 original cabin containers. sitting under these white canopies. The one on the left is where Rinpoche’s cabin is and the one on the right is Rinpoche’s assistant’s cabin. Rinpoche’s sacred cabin is not a focal point in KFR as a holy spot and from where everything began….

My Dakini-woman, my queen, my lady! The visible form of my pure awareness, Form not separate from me, nor yet a part of me, The phenomenal appearance of empty space: She is beyond compare and beyond words. In Magadha there once lived a householder of low caste. He married a girl of his own social…

Tsem Rinpoche recently published in his blog a comprehensive sharing and explanation of Dorje Shugden. I am simply amazed by the scope in which Rinpoche spoke at length with regards to Dorje Shugden, the lineage that he had received and all its pertaining issues surrounding the ban on Dorje Shugden. I was there in the audience and I…

The magnificent Buddha statue in Bodhgaya that was believed to be carved in the Buddha’s likeness by a woman who actually beheld the golden face of the Buddha  During this Wesak period, I thought it would be nice to blog about the Buddha. After all, he is the founder of the faith that I profess…

Rinpoche brought back a lot of purchases that he was planning to give out to various students and friends. Amongst these purchases was an old VW van (pictured above) that Pastor Shin had purchased and offered to Rinpoche. Rinpoche related the whole extensive story of the van and its significance. Fortunately, I recorded it and have…