Tenzin Khenchen

My latest video-- Animals and Buddhas

2012-02-06T09:00:00.001-08:00

My Birthday Video

2011-12-21T21:29:00.000-08:00

This is the video I made for my B'day!!!

From Rinpoche's youtube

2011-12-20T01:49:00.000-08:00

Hi, it is me again, Sean. This is my blog, Tenzin Khenchen. I guess you would already have known that from the title of the blog. Haha!

Have you ever felt tired or stressed out while you are in the hustle and bustle of the cities? Well, I think you do because I get stressed out.

A few minutes ago, I went to Rinpoche's blog. Then, I saw a link to another part of Rinpoche's blog then I clicked on it and it went to Youtube. The sounds relaxed me so much. I think that you guys should listen to it because it is BEAUTIFUL!!!

If you want the link to the blog post, here it is:

http://blog.tsemtulku.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/inspiration-worthy-words/something-special-for-my-blog-friends.html

Ok! Listen to it! It is good for you!

BYE!

Dear Readers

2011-12-20T01:40:00.000-08:00

Dear Readers,

I know that there aren't many but there still are some. I am deeply sorry for not making more videos recently and I am also deeply sorry for not posting any new blog posts.

As most of my loyal readers should know, the biggest vice I have is that I am lazy. So, I have been lazy to make more videos and write more blog posts.

From now on, I will write more, I will film more. I promise.

I will change the rules a bit for my videos. Instead of the two videos per week, the amount of videos will be random as I can't have a foresight regarding what will happen so I will do as much as I can :D

Also, the information in some of the videos will be a bit outdated. For example, I want to make a video about my Birthday even though a few weeks has passed etc. So, don't worry. I will be writing in the description box on Youtube if the information is old and/or outdated so I will write te date of the trip :)

So, get watchin' cause more vids will be up!

Love,
Tenzin Khenchen
SeanSays97

Part 2 to the trip

2011-12-11T23:14:00.001-08:00

The following happened in Bangkok. Just to let you readers know, most of the things that happened in Bangkok were shopping related.

Day 1

When we got out of the airport, we went to Pat Pong Night Market. We went to buy a lot of clothes.

Day 2

In the morning, we went somewhere to offer Dhana to the monks. I really like offering Dhana to the monks. I remember I saw this little monk that was very cute :)

After that we went to a place called Imagimax studios. It was very nice. I really liked the place. Uncle Sy helped explain things that happened around there.

After that, he dropped us off at Platinum shopping centre which is the biggest fashion mall. I got bored pretty fast. Mama got bored too. So, we ate crepes and had a smoothie.

Then, Sy, Dato' Ruby, Mama and I went to a thai restaurant for dinner.

Day 3

We went to a community mall called K Village for lunch. Then we came home.

I know it is not much but I just wanted to share my trip in Bankok even though it was a bit eventless :)

India and Bangkok - Part 1

2011-11-30T03:40:00.001-08:00

Hey guys, I just came back from an amazing trip. I went to Bodhgaya, India and Bangkok, Thailand.

DAY 1

Mama woke me up very early in the morning. We quickly packed our stuff into a taxi and drove off to KLIA airport.
First, we took a flight to Bangkok. We stayed in Bangkok for about 3 hours. We went shopping and before our flight, I grabbed a snack at Subway. I had a veggie patty sub. It was 165 baht. That means that if I were to convert it to ringgit it would be 16.90 MYR! That was insanely expensive. Mama had a veggie burger at Burger King. It was 211 baht, which would mean that it would have cost 21.59 MYR! The veggie patty sub was very tasty. I really liked it. The patty was made out of corn, carrot, potato and other vegetables.

After that, I met up with Ah Kong and Po Po, my grandparents. Mama showed Rinpoche's video to them. The video was a video specially made by Rinpoche as a message to my grandparents. I was so touched. Here is the video:

My grandfather was smiling after the video. It was the type of smile I never seen on him for a very long time. I can't even remember the last time he smiled like that.
After saying hi to them, we boarded the plane to India. The flight was a bit boring as I spent the whole trip playing Tetris.
Then, we landed in India. We loaded our stuff in the car. Some people helped us. They asked for money in return. It was such an annoyance.
The car was driving so freaking fast. It was dodging all the cars at the last second. I was really surprised that we did not end up in a car accident. It was such a scary experience.
Then, we reached our hotel. I did not expect much as I was in one of the poorest states of India. The hotel was called Vishar International. I went in there. The place looked clean at the time. The "restaurant" looked very simple. They gave us internet that was very stable.
Then, things went bad. My bed had bed bugs, black stains and holes. The TV was badly coloured. There was no toilet paper. My grandfather's toilet had some plumbing problems.
During the day, Mama and Dato' Ruby went to Mahabodhi to check it out. She came back with many robes, one of each colour. I then remembered from the video that we were going to do the offerings to the Buddha statue.
Then, a glimmer of hope. We went to a hotel called Naranjana Hotel. It was 100x better.The place was much more comfortable. The toilet was functional. Everything was better.

Day 2:

I went to Mahabodhi temple. My grandfather was very happy and energetic. That made me very happy.
Before we went near the stupa, we went to the market that was near the entrance to the temple. We bought some fruits and we also bought another set of robes.
The first thing we did in the temple was go to the stupa. There was a very big statue of Buddha in it. It was very beautiful. I really felt happy looking at it. Then, we offered the robes and the fruit. The fruit was offered in bowls in front of the Buddha. Then, something cool happened. There was a monk in a glass casing. I found out that robes that were offered to the Buddha will be given to the monk and the monk will hang the robes across the Buddha statue.
Then, we walked our first round. The surroundings of the stupa were very cool. There was a place with the actual footprints of the Buddha in the stone. It was so cool. The Bodhi tree towered above half of the temple. People of all ages would dash towards each leaf. I thought it was very cute to see even an elderly lady chasing a leaf around.
While my grandparents, Mama and Dato' Ruby walked around the stupa. I sat down to collect leaves. It was very fun. At the end of the day, we collected many leaves. After walking around the stupa 21 times, we sat down and did dedications.
At night, we went to do butterlamp offerings. The night was illuminated by the tables that were filled with lit butterlamps. It felt very nice lighting the butterlamps. The people who sell the butterlamps kept on asking us to light more, even when we lit around 500.

Here are some photos:

Here is the stupa at night. It was very beautiful. In some other photos (which I will not put in this blog post), it looked like a pillar of light.

The stupa during the day. It was very beautiful. The sun was just setting.

This is the platform where Buddha walked back and forth in deep meditation. Each lotus is where he rested his feet.

This is the Bodhi tree that towers over half of the temple. There is a covered area near the Bodhi tree. There is where the Buddha sat and gained Enlightenment.

The Buddha's footprints. He must have been HUGE!

The butterlamp offerings.

The Buddha statue. It is so beautiful.

My grandfather praying to the Buddha. This picture make me so happy. It is one of my most favourite pictures here.

Extra Review- RWJ

2011-11-22T03:05:00.000-08:00

Dear my loyal blog readers.... Oh, just skip the formalities. I am going to do a special review on my blog for my loyal blog readers. This article will be so that more people will go to my blog as there are more things here for you guys to enjoy.

Today, I will writing about one of the most popular youtube stars out there. *queue drumroll* Ray William Johnson.

Here is a link to his youtube page, do check it out (if you haven't I bet you aren't on youtube often):

http://www.youtube.com/user/RayWilliamJohnson

Ray William Johnson is a 23 year old comedian on Youtube who lives in Los Angeles. He became famous through his YouTube show, Equals Three. He is also part of an animated musical comedy group whose Youtube channel is called Your favorite martian and Breaking NYC/LA.

Here are links to his other channels:

http://www.youtube.com/user/Yourfavoritemartian
http://www.youtube.com/user/BreakingNYC

He is one of my favourite youtubers. Whenever he makes a new video, I usually watch it before he removes the comments (which he does quite quickly).

Well, I guess that is all for now. So, have a nice day :)

Madman or Mahasiddha

2011-11-16T06:06:00.000-08:00

I am a regular columnist in No More Caves (NMC), which is the quarterly newsletter of my Dharma Centre, Kechara House. Jamie Khoo is the editor of NMC, so thanks to her, I can share my experiences to everyone through NMC.

I wrote an article regarding gurus around a month ago in the latest issue of NMC. In case you have never seen it before, I have posted what I wrote in my column.

The title of the article was Madman or Mahasiddha. This is referring to my guru , H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche who has his own brand of "crazy" wisdom that will benefit others.

Here is my article:

______________________________________________________________

I believe that the guru is the kindest person in the universe. He
loves me and cares for me like a son yet he treats everybody else the
same without expecting anything back.

Rinpoche is one of the few REAL people in the world, meaning that he
cares for anyone with no agenda. He always shows care for everyone he
meets, even strangers. When I met Rinpoche for the first time, he gave
me a Lama Tsongkhapa Tsa Tsa. He gives so many gifts to everyone and
treats everyone equal regardless of race, gender etc.

I heard many stories about how Lamas have this sort of "crazy wisdom"
where they would push and prod you and you will become a better
person. Rinpoche advised me to volunteer at the Kechara flea market
every Sunday. I find that experience very good. I learn a lot from
volunteering in the flea market, like calculation and also patience
because you have to really wait for customers to arrive. This proves
that Rinpoche's advice helps me be a better person.

There are times when I don't listen to his instructions such as
studying hard. It makes people feel sad. I know that all the
instructions that Rinpoche gives is to help me make others happy. So,
I am working on following Rinpoche's advice and everyone becomes
happy.

My guru is important to me because he is the only one who is able to
guide me when it comes to the Dharma other than my Mama. He is the
only person who can help me in the course of spirituality and mind
transformation. He is the most important person in my life.

Everyone needs a spiritual guide to help us be better. That is because
they are all the Buddhas in one nice package. At least that is what I
believe!
______________________________________________________________

Please share with me in the comments regarding what you think of your guru, such as how has he helped you, does he have any form of "crazy wisdom" etc.
I would love to hear from my readers. For now, bye and have a nice day.

Sincerely,
Sean
Seansays Production
(Tenzin Khenchen)

The sorcerer and the white snake....

2011-10-21T09:07:00.000-07:00

The above is my video. Watch it.

I will transcribe and translate the chinese in the video :

Today, I will also be talking about movies. The movie that I will be talking about is "The Sorcerer and The White Snake"

The actor of the movie is Jet Li. I have no intention of finding his name in Chinese.

I don't quite remember the plot. But I thought that the movie was a bit of a bore. I imagined that Jet Li would be a fighter with fists coming from all directions. Then, I found out that it was a love story. I felt quite sad. I always thought that Jet Li would always be in a fighting movie.

When I watched this, I was very bored. I watched it with my mother and I partially fell asleep on her shoulder.

This movie would be great if you are going with your "best friend" meaning your boyfriend or girlfriend or if you are going with you husband or wife.

The fighting scenes are very exaggerated as one punch can crush a whole wall.

The translation ends here.

Hope you liked the video!

SEAN WILL APPEAR NEXT TIME IN
Sean Says Review --- SMOSH!

The BIG SURPRISE

2011-10-13T07:13:00.000-07:00

Alright! My big surprise is up! My youtube channel!

http://www.youtube.com/seansays97

There, I will be giving reviews and stuff. I think I explain it better in my first video (down below):

Don't worry, my fellow blog viewers. This will not replace my Dharma Articles! In fact, there will be more!!!!! I will be adding more Dharma related things.

So, bye for now and have a nice day!

Karma- An easy way of saying it

2011-10-12T04:55:00.000-07:00

This is a very easy way to define karma.

When we hurt someone, eventually, we will be hurt ourselves.

When we slap someone, we are most likely to be slapped back in the future.

If we do not work hard, we will fail in the future.

Karma is simple.

Notice it. Fear it. Prevent the causes of bad karma. Create the causes for good karma.

The domino effect as presented above has its good and bad points. Use the good and discard the bad!

Simple!

Lam Rim Class for last friday

2011-09-26T03:46:00.000-07:00

The class have already reached the medium scope of the Lam Rim. Wow! Time sure flies huh? Here I am going to write about what I learned while referring to my notes and then I will elaborate a bit.

It is said that the Buddha gave his own flesh so that he can learn the Dharma. We are also reminded of the three pots which would either be leaky, contaminated, or upturned.

Now, i am going to write about a form of meditation.

Think about these few things. What is it that everyday we think of the most? What would be a bad day? What would you do on this bad day to make yourself feel better?

Think about it. Make a mental note about it. What? You want my answer?

The thing that I think about mostly would be food and school. A bad day to me is if things do not go along my way. My solution is not got and it is impermanent. What I do is that I go online or play some computer games. Usually, i do both.

If you did it right. You will only need 3 minutes. Yet, it felt so long. To me, it felt like as if I was already halfway through the class by the end of the meditation. This is quite noticeable. Try it! Come on!

When we are quiet, we will see our thoughts. There is one downside. You might get bored or tired because our mind is like a monkey mind. Our mind really does not like to stay in one place, it is like a monkey, hence the term "monkey mind".

Meditation is a key necessity to become Enlightened. If you want to become Enlightened, you have to meditate.

We all have the capability to meditate. In fact, we do it all day. We just meditate on the wrong things. We meditate on food, entertainment, a boy or a girl etc.

The Vajrayana Path, which is the path I follow, tells us to understand and acknowledge any feelings you have inside. That way, we can get to see our maras, our negative qualities , basically all the crap inside of us.

This meditation teaches you to recognize all those negative qualities. Also, you can also lean how to change your negative qualities and use them to benefit others and yourself. For example, if you are a very stubborn person, instead of being stubborn over detaching yourself from bad deeds, you can be stubborn in the sense that when you are doing the Dharma, you will be stubborn to stop.

We never get to know our own good or bad qualities if we do not do meditation.

We do not want to sit still as we have bad thoughts and we want to move about. Control it. Take note of it.

If you do the meditation in a group, you might be able to notice a pattern or certain similarities. If you all feel uncomfortable when you keep silent, then it is the silence that is bothersome. That is not entirely true, there most likely would be a slight difference in the thoughts so that there could be one person that likes the silence. So, it is not the silence.

That was just the opening to the lesson!

The day that the class was covering that day was Day 14. This day covers the sufferings of samsara.

Training your mind in the stages of the stages of the path if the path shared with the medium scope.

1)Developing thoughts of yearning for liberation.

a)Thinking about the general sufferings of samsara

i) The bane of uncertainty

We are unsure of things. We are never certain about anything. It can be like this one day and then it will be different another day. People do change nearly everyday and for some people, they can change in mere hours. There is no such thing as certainty. This causes a lot of pain for some people as they would not have things go a certain way.

ii) The bane of being dissatisfied.

Our enjoyments are like drinking salt water. Just try to be content, there is no need for more than needed.

iii) The bane of repeatedly leaving bodies

We do not stop changing. A car engine is easier to maintain than a human body.

iv) The bane of being conceived and born over and over again

The pain of being born over and over again is painful. It is like being crushed.

v)The bane of moving high to slow over and over again

It is going from heaven to hell. It is like going from ceo to slave then you go back to ceo.

vi) The bane of having no companion

Simple loneliness. As if no one gave a damn about you. We are born alone and we die alone.

b) The specific sufferings

i) The suffering of birth

Being born is painful. The small, fragile baby is being crushed by the birth canal. Then, the baby suddenly feels a different temperature. Then, the baby get slapped. I bet the baby would be thinking, "OMG, What the Firetruck are you doing to me." Even the softest fabric may feel like sandpaper to the baby's tender soft skin.

ii) Aging

'Nuff said.

iii) Illness

Some people have physical illness cannot move, but have a great mind. Vice versa.

iv)Death

Death is harder to relate to. We still cannot escape from death. The Dharma will help you prepare.

v) Separated from the beautiful

Being separated from things that are good

vi) Meeting with the ugly

Opposite of the above.

vii) Seeking things that you desire but you do not find them.

Such as if you plan what you are fdoiung next but you do not succeed.

c) Sufferings of the Demi-gods

They suffer a lot of mental suffering. They go to war because they do not have enough power. They go to war with the gods. They are very jealous.

d) Sufferings of the Gods

For those who believe in the one God thing, I am happy for you. In Buddhism, we still put God under samsara because we believe that Gods (there are more than one) can die. This is how (try to imagine):

After thousands to million years of enjoyments, you have never experienced suffering or pain. Your once golden color body turns dark like ashes. You find your throne disgusting. You once beautiful and colourful flower garlands rot and wither. Your robes catch stains.

There, not so nice isn't it?

There are three types of suffering:

1)The suffering of change

This would include feeling happy then sad. We will have contaminated happiness.

2) The suffering that pervades condition phenomena

3) The suffering of suffering

Saying out loud that you are suffering. That is the suffering of suffering.

So that is day 14.

I am sorry again

2011-09-26T03:45:00.000-07:00

My big surprise will have to be postponed again till next week.

Attacked by mosquitos

2011-09-22T01:06:00.000-07:00

Today, when I was waiting outside of the house. When I rung the doorbell, the sound of the doorbell probably awakened some mosquitoes.

First, there was a duo of mosquitoes. I killed them in cold blood. Then, a massive swarm came. I killed most of them. Some of them managed to escape. Some were still alive as they fell out of my hands. I was in such a frenzy, I proceeded to step on their semi-motionless carcasses. I could not control myself.

I regret so badly. I feel so sorry for all the Aedes Mosquitoes I have murdered. I feel sorry for those families whose mothers were murdered. If mosquitoes had human-like feelings, which I believe they do, they would be mourning the deaths of their parent, their loving mother, who would risk their lives to absorb blood from people and potentially give people fatal diseases.

I hope that those I have killed would be guided by Lord Setrap and Lama Tsongkhapa through Bardo and have a human life where they can be able to learn the Dharma without any problems.

I can confess but their blood is still on me. The stains 0f the mosquito's blood would still be in my mind. I will most likely go to the lower realms as I have took the lives of many. I took the lives away from 26 mothers which most likely do have children that they struggle to feed.

Why I call all of the mosquitoes that I have killed a mother? This is not for a spiritual reason. Just to let you know. Because only female mosquitoes feed on human blood.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito

A picture of the type of mosquito that I murdered and regret murdering:

R.I.P 26 Aedes Mosquitoes

Sorry

2011-09-19T07:29:00.001-07:00

For the past few weeks, I have been pretty busy with my life and have not been able to post any new videos. Well, I am going to tell you that from now on, I will be posting more videos in my youtube channel.

This is just a short notice. Once again, sorry.

Sorry

2011-09-19T07:29:00.000-07:00

The big surprise will be postponed till next week. Sorry!

Hey how does free cash sound to you

2011-09-16T01:19:00.001-07:00

http://www.churpchurp.com/tenzinkhenchen/share/churpchurp-invite

Free cash up above! Just sign in

Massive Surprise

2011-09-16T00:59:00.000-07:00

I have a massive surprise waiting for you guys on Monday. Try and Guess!!!!!

Hint:

Tomorrow is Malaysia Day

2011-09-15T06:06:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is Malaysia Day. A holiday that has never been celebrated until this year.

I do not really know what is Malaysia Day about and I am not really interested but just to show I am a bit patriotic about my country, I will copy paste the jalur gemilang song and link to a video.

Original lyrics

Merahmu bara semangat waja

Putihmu bersih budi pekerti

Kuning berdaulat payung negara

Biru perpaduan kami semua

Puncak dunia telah kautawan

Lautan luas telah kauredah

Membawa semangat jiwa Merdeka

Semarak jaya kami warganya

Empat belas melintang jalurnya

Semua negeri dalam Malaysia

Satu suara satu semangat

Itu sumpah warga berdaulat

Jalur Gemilang di bawah naunganmu

Jalur Gemilang kami semua bersatu

Perpaduan ketaatan

Amalan murni rakyat Malaysia

Jalur Gemilang megah kami terasa

Jalur Gemilang kibarkanlah wawasan

Merah, putih, biru, kuning

Jalur semangat kami semua

(2x)

Berkibarlah!, berkibarlah!, berkibarlah!,

Jalur Gemilang!

[edit] English translation

Your Red represents steely will

Your White represents clean and kind character

Yellow of the Sovereign, the country's protector

Blue for all of us in unity

You have reached the heights of the world

You have traveled the wide waters

Bearing the spirit of Merdeka ('independence')

We are members of its successful will

Fourteen stripes across

For each of the states of Malaysia

One voice, one spirit

So its sovereign citizens solemnly swear

Jalur Gemilang, beneath your care

Jalur Gemilang, we unite

Sovereign unity

Malaysian citizens' good charity

Jalur Gemilang, how proud we feel

Jalur Gemilang, proclaim our vision

Red, white, blue, yellow

Are the stripes of our resolve

(2x)

Flutter-on, flutter-on, flutter-on; Jalur Gemilang!
copied from wikipedia.org

Thank you!

Sheep problems

2011-09-15T05:55:00.000-07:00

You see the picture above. What do you think? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.

What I think.

I would visualize the car as a person such as myself. The sheep would represent all things that would be distracting me or upsetting me etc.

Even though, the car would be stuck driving against the current of sheep. The SHEEP WILL GO BY.

Nothing is permanent. Even emotions and such. I know this is a very abstract angle to view that picture. Well, I am quite an odd person myself.

Suffering is not permanent. You just make it seem as if though it is.

Thank you.

Poem

2011-09-15T05:36:00.001-07:00

I most likely would not be a poet of any sort but I just thought of writing this. Do not blame me for any bad poetry skills.

The Guru is so great,
Learning from one would be the greatest fate.
The Buddhas are so kind,
Creating a beautiful treasure to find.
The Dharma is so wonderful,
It is a treasure so beautiful.
The Sangha are so wise,
They will help you rise.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I bet some people out there may not think it is good. But to me it is good enough. This is actually the first original poem that I composed.

Well, at least I am not telling you the days of the week like Rebecca Black. Oh, is that outdated. Never mind.

The thing that inspired this poem was this refuge prayer:

Namo Guru Beh,
Namo Buddhaya,
Namo Dharmaya,
Namo Sanghaya.

As you might have figured it out by now that I placed the Guru, Buddha, Dharma and Sangha top to bottom respectfully.

I hope you guys like it. May everyone have a good day!

Kechara Tea House

2011-09-15T05:22:00.000-07:00

The Kechara Tea House in Shanghai has finally been opened to the public. That is really cool.

Rinpoche posted an article on it on his blog:

http://blog.tsemtulku.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/kechara-13-depts/official-opening-of-kechara-tea-house-shanghai.html

The exterior was so mesmerizing. I think many people will be attracted to go and dine in the Tea House just through its exterior design. Then, I saw the images on its beautiful interior.

Pictured above is the exterior

I think that all of the designing were mostly due to Aunty Li Kheng.

This is another great feat of Kechara to spread two things. Buddhism and Vegetarianism. Now, people as far as China will be able to experience Dharma the Kechara Way.

I would like to say congratulations to Kechara Tea House. I hope that business will go well. I am sure it will because everything Kechara Tea House is doing is very meritorious and many people will benefit.

May the flower of Kechara continue to bloom,
May its Dharma spread far and wide!

For those who don't know, here is the address and info:

Red Town, G113, Building 28, 570 Huaihai (W) Road, Shanghai.
It is opened from 8am to 9.30pm
contact: +86 21 5237 1716.

Concentration

2011-08-08T00:25:00.000-07:00

I read a post on Rinpoche's blog on Concentration.

http://blog.tsemtulku.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/great-lamas-masters/the-perfection-of-concentration-by-geshe-rabten-rinpoche.html

Our mind is like a monkey always moving, always busy. Here are some ways to help generate concentration.

The practice of concentration requires sitting in your proper posture, to which there are seven points:

1. Legs crossed and feet resting on the thighs, with soles turned upward. If this causes too much pain, it distracts from concentration. In which case, sit with the left foot tucked under the right thigh and the right foot resting on the left thigh.
2. The trunk set as straight and erect as possible.
3. Arms formed into a bow-shape, with elbows neither resting against the sides of the body nor protruding outward. The right hand rests in the left palm, with the thumbs touching lightly to form an oval.
4. The neck straight but slightly hooked, with the chin drawn in.
5. Eyes focused downward at the same angle as the line of the nose.
6. Mouth and lips relaxed, neither drooping nor shut tightly.
7. Tongue lightly held against the palate.

It works! I just tried it. I manage to concentrate for at least 5 seconds (the amount of time I tested it). I bet that if I did it longer it would work longer.

I need to tame my mind or else I will end up in the three lower realms.

There is also a "chart" showing the stages of the mind.

It is so cool.

The person who taught this form of meditation is Geshe Rabten (Pictured Below)

He looks cool.

Refuge

2011-08-07T20:02:00.000-07:00

Recently, I entered a school essay competition. I doubt I would win because the thing I wrote about was about Buddhism and I bet that none of the teachers would understand.

The question of the essay was to end the essay with this sentence, "I shall not forget this day for the rest of my life."

I wrote about taking refuge under my wonderful spiritual guide, H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche. It was the first thing that popped into my mind.

Here is the essay (I modified it a bit for more detail as there are no word limits here and I also forgot certain parts of what I had written) :

Out of all the memorable things that happened in my life, there is only one day that would stay in my mind forever, because that day changed my once worthless life into something worth living for. That was the day I took refuge under my spiritual guide, His Eminence Tsem Tulku Rinpoche.

I took refuge a few years ago. It was an auspicious day and it so happened to be my birthday!

I was so nervous that day. I remember I did not know the first thing to do.

Then, H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche walked in the prayer hall. I settled down on a cozy cushion in front of the throne and followed the instructions to take refuge.

After that, Rinpoche said out the names of all those who have received refuge and gave out their refuge names. I was there but I did not have any refuge name. Mama asked Rinpoche about my status of refuge because I did not get my refuge name. Rinpoche said, "Okay, Lets do it now."

I sat down in front of Rinpoche while Rinpoche sat on a chair. I did all the instructions as I have done them before earlier that night. Then, Rinpoche gave me my refuge name, "Tenzin Khenchen" which means bringing up the Buddhist Teachings intelligently.

Because of the amazing feeling I had that day, I thought to myself, "I shall not forget this day for the rest of my life."

That concludes my essay.

Thus, ever since that day, I am a student of H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche and my refuge name is Tenzin Khenchen.