Chapter Nine: Turning of the Wheels

At a certain stage, Rinpoche was not particularly healthy and was inevitably distressed by various physical discomforts. Later in seclusion, Rinpoche ardently practiced the four powers of Vajrasattva, the Vajra Armor, the Five Warrior Syllables, and others for purification and blessing, and every day witnessed a new level of achievements. With the continuous purification of the prana, nadi, and the bindu, the confusion caused by karmic obstructions and physical ailments dissolved, leaving his body transformed/purified from the inside out.

Due to the harsh environment and lack of resources and infrastructure in his homeland, many patients with an open mind came seeking treatment. Rinpoche spared no effort, applying Tibetan medical texts combined with mantra practices. He used methods such as fire moxibustion with hot iron, incense, stones, and copper, tapping and blowing nectar water onto afflicted areas. He also prepared nectar pills tailored to different ailments, benefiting both local and distant followers. As a result, patients of all conditions — from those too poor to afford medical care to the mentally ill and cancer patients — arrived in droves.

On top of this, Rinpoche would work tirelessly to pray for the deceased, for all sentient beings to be free from any affliction, and chanted mantras for the rain to guarantee the autumn harvest. Despite the lifelong dedication to eliminating illness and sorting out worldly affairs for sentient beings, Rinpoche firmly believes that although worldly actions may temporarily benefit sentient beings, they did not contain the ultimate way of liberation. To liberate sentient beings from the samsara of pain, curing the pain is not the ultimate solution. The ultimate way of liberation is to elevate all beings ensnared by the Three Poisons (greed, aversion, and confusion), thus illuminating the darkness of the Dharma-Ending Age.

With this conviction and perseverance, and at the request of many great monks and nearby believers, Rinpoche presided over the Dharma Assembly in Dhongkhor village for the first time, inviting many eminent monks from the Yushu area, amid a growingly supportive government attitude towards religion. Almost 1,000 people from over ten villages on both sides of the Yangtze River, as well as from the Tridu County and the Yushu Prefecture participated in the Assembly. Rinpoche recited the Six-Syllable Mantra and Guru Padmasambhava’s Heart Mantra, guiding the practitioners through the Avalokitesvara ritual and Bardo Thodol. Rinpoche also taught the fundamental doctrine of distinguishing between good and bad to the monks and lay practitioners, and bestowed many profound teachings and empowerments. Amid great joy, Rinpoche also chanted many majestic Songs of Excellence, which made the present believers shed tears of respect and profound faith. With the compassionate vow between Rinpoche and the believers to never be separated, Buddhism is shining in the Gaduo area of the Kham region once again.

After that, Rinpoche followed in the footsteps of his predecessors and visited many serene and sacred sites in Tibet, such as the retreat cave of Patriarch Nhangon, Drolma Lhakhang, the seclusion cave of Narodakini in Rewugou village, the holy land of White Rock Monkey, the dakini retreat cave of Padma Shyesu, the dakini retreat cave of Padma Shyesu, and the Sunshine retreat cave in the Nangqên area, where Rinpoche engaged in retreats and the promotion of tantric practices.

During the retreat in the seclusion cave of Narodakini, Rinpoche attained the realization of the Three Roots and the mandala of hundreds of peaceful and wrathful deities within. Meanwhile, many auspicious signs appeared externally: an imprint of the bowl's bottom on the stone where it had been placed; white flowers blossoming from the water source; a rainbow appearing in the sky; the creek turning milky white; fragrance wafting from the ravine; and occasionally, pleasant sounds of cymbals were heard.

In order to fulfill his great vows to benefit countless sentient beings throughout his life, Rinpoche entered retreat in the seclusion cave of Zhuqing Yama in Sichuan Province, the serene and secluded sacred site of Zacha Rinchen – the seclusion place for Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye. Therefore, Rinpoche established Dharma ties with the nearby Derge Parkhang, the Zochin Buddhist Academy, and Palpung Monastery, and acquired a large number of Dharma instruments, the Tripitaka, and the treatises of many patriarchs and great masters. These sacred objects were brought back to Tuptin Monastery, which supported the monastery’s mission of promoting the Dharma and liberating sentient beings.

Later, Rinpoche went to the Jomda area of the Tibetan Autonomous Region and received the great transmission and empowerment of the Great Treasure Terma from the accomplished siddha Karma Norbe Sangpo. After that, Rinpoche made his way to the ancient city Lhasa, a place where Buddhism had long flourished. Compared to the decay he had witnessed before, Lhasa had been completely revitalized, with everything yearning for revival. Rinpoche paid homage to Jowo Buddha, whom Rinpoche had prayed wholeheartedly for refuge for twenty years and who was identical to Sakyamuni himself. At the entrance to the Jowo Hall, Rinpoche conducted a solemn tsog offering.

Later, Rinpoche went to worship “Looks Like Me” Padmasambhava Statue, the Sakya Monastery, the Samyé temple, Chimpu, and other holy places, where Rinpoche conducted retreat, accepted disciples, and promoted the tantric Dharam widely. Many songs of spiritual experience were composed. In the meantime, many beings entangled by illness were cured by Rinpoche, forging a deep karmic connection between them.

Rinpoche was offered many termas (hidden treasures) and recognized as the throneholder of each Buddhist sect. Rinpoche received many letters from the leaders of major contemporary Tibetan Buddhist sects such as His Holiness Sakya Trizin and His Holiness Nyingma Penor. Another siddha praised Rinpoche as one of the few who has achieved enlightenment in this lifetime, both in Tibet and in the world.

Among the masses, Rinpoche was also affectionately referred to as “the Master of the Poor”, because Rinpoche donated his offerings to the poor, and taught them patiently and kindly. Regardless of poor or wealthy, Rinpoche treated all sentient beings with equality. Rinpoche also often carried out all the common and uncommon ceremonies of the four secret tantras, such as the Great Illusion Net Mandala, Hevajra, and Narodakini, headed by the abbot of each temple. Rinpoche arranged the Vajra Acharya and Vajra of Karma in the Assemblies, manifesting the outside world as colorful as a rainbow mandala, the inside world of three mandalas of the immanent peaceful and wrathful deities, and the Secret Vajra Descendants upon the mandala of wisdom. Thus, Buddhism has once again sprouted on the barren highland.

In 1997, some Han Chinese disciples journeyed across mountains and rivers to pay homage to Rinpoche in Tashi Ling. In a spirit of joy, Rinpoche bequeathed the disciples, who came a long way, including empowerments of refuge, of Vajrasattva, and of Avalokiteshvara on eternal cessation of reincarnation, along with chanting and meditation rituals. Many Han Chinese disciples received wisdom blessings that corresponded to their respective roots.

At that time, the disciples prayed earnestly that Rinpoche would come to the Han land to preach and benefit sentient beings in the future. At that time, with all causes and conditions ripened, Rinpoche decided to fulfill his disciples' great wishes and went on a pilgrimage and retreat to Wutai Mountain in Shanxi, Zhongnan Mountain in Shaanxi, Jizu Mountain in Yunnan, Emei Mountain in Sichuan, and Putuo in Zhejiang, completing his own practice and realization.

In several cities, Rinpoche taught the practice of refuge and how to generate bodhicitta equally to nearly a thousand disciples, including bhikkhus, bhikkhunīs, and lay practitioners, both male and female.

In addition, Rinpoche also lectured on the Chanting of the Names of Noble Manjushri and Treatise on the Practice of the Proper Dharma. Rinpoche bestowed the practice of Vajrasattva, the most excellent Dharma of purifying the sins; the pith instruction of Dzogchen’s Nam Cho Ngöndro, Buddha in the Palm of your Hand; the preliminaries and actual practice of Dzogchen; the practice of differentiating Samsara and Nirvana; Om-Ah-Hum vajra mantras; and the practice of Amitabha and Avalokitesvara. Disciples with superior roots even received the teachings of Phowa, transference of consciousness at the time of death, and of the nature of mind, along with the empowerments.

Meanwhile, to purify the sins of disciples who had violated the Samaya Precept and to increase their merit and wisdom, Rinpoche held a large-scale Tsog offering.

Rinpoche also arranged a liberation ritual, where many lives were released out of compassion for all sentient beings who suffer from predation in the food chain, praying that none would fall into the three lower realms.

In the end, Rinpoche dedicated the merits to the Threefold Wheel of Essential Emptiness, the formless giving.

In the act of giving, there is no 'self' who gives, no recipient who receives, and no gift being given. Moreover, there is no expectation of reward after the act of giving.

Chapter Nine: Turning of the Wheels