David's Space...

The New Kechara House Opens!

Finally! The day that all Kecharians have been eagerly awaiting!

The inauguration of the new Kechara House Gompa has finally come! Well, the inauguration took place last night. The inauguration took just one evening but it was really a culmination of many months of hard work and planning. Therefore, the opening of the New KH Gompa defined 2010 as the year, Kechara House grew another level. 

Enough of the big words and hype, the event was pretty evident on Kechara's street because a humongous marquee was set up. It was no ordinary tent but a fancy with one with air-conditioning, sumptuous hors d'oeuvres (small servings of savoury food for those of you who are exceptionally cultured) from Kechara Oasis' (that means they are delicious, vegetarian and very kind to animals).  

The purpose of the marquee is for our members and guests to settle to conversations about Kechara and Rinpoche while being served with good food while awaiting Rinpoche to arrive. The new KH Gompa would only be opened once Rinpoche cuts the ribbon and offers a few words of benediction. 

Anyway, have any of you been a marquee that was air-conditioned? Well, I haven't and it was really quite a posh experience. I know I sound rather kampung (hill-billie) here but thats truth. There's always a first for everything. 

Check out the purple cocktail tables and the posh ambiance! Who would have thought this was going to be the opening of a Buddhist temple. That is typical Kechara-style for you! Well the food was great too... I heard. I didn't eat much because I was busy playing the host to a visiting Theravaden monk, Venerable B Sri Saranankara Nayaka Maha Thero (pictured here on the right).

I was busy sharing with him about Rinpoche and Kechara while the waiters were coming one-by-one and I wanted to take pictures of the food but dare not. I didn't want to give a bad impression of a Kechara glutton. (although some people might already have that impression of me.)

I realised Theravaden monks are trained to restrict expressions of emotion. Initially, I felt that I was boring him or he wasn't interested in what i had to say. However, he warmed up and later I found that was a trait of a Theravaden monk, which is quite different from Rinpoche's charismatic outburst of wit and humour.

Anyway, just before Rinpoche arrived, there were 3 performances and the first one was my favourite. It was the Vajrayogini dance by Margaret Lee and I must say, she sure did a fantastic rendition of the traditional sacred dance. The background music was a pre-recorded vocals by James Long that was hauntingly similar to the actual traditional chant. Check out these pictures of Margaret as Vajrayogini... Spectacular!

Photos of the performances are from Kok Yek Yee's facebook.

There were two other performances. The next one was the Migtsema Candle dance...

and a Tibetan folk dance... 

But the star attraction came after all the performances....

Rinpoche arrived in his complete monk robes and pandits hat! Looking grand, tall and majestic, he cut the ribbon, uttered a few words of benediction and entered Kechara House New Gompa. 

Photo from Khong Jean Ai's facebook 

At the Gompa, Rinpoche offered the mendel tensum (offering of a world mandala),

...a Buddha body...

...Buddha speech....

and Buddha mind to the Dalai Lama's throne which represents all of Rinpoche Gurus and lineage Gurus.

Then, Rinpoche ascends his own Dharma throne and gives us a fantastic Dharma talk. Before that, he signs a plaque to officiate Kechara House and thanks a whole list of who's who including the Liaisons and numerous guests of honour. We even have the Ambassadors of Argentina, the mentioned Reverend, Mother Mangalam (our own Malaysian Mother Teresa) and come to grace our event. Unfortunately, I didn't take any of their pictures. 

Thus the new KH Gompa is officially consecrated by a wonderful Dharma session on the universality of spirituality, the true meaning of spirituality which is finding similarities instead of differences and transformation into a kinder, more compassionate person. Rinpoche's words were of course more eloquent and meaningful than what I express here. At the end, Rinpoche spent a few minutes reciting a few sacred prayers and all of us recited Migtsema and a simple dedication. The recitations itself was simple, elegant and heartfelt. Rinpoche finally declared Kechara House New Gompa is consecrated and officially opened! 

Photo from Sharon Saw's facebook account.

Uruvasti : Light of the Morning Star

Nicholas Roerich, also known as Nikolai Konstantinovich Rerikh (Russian: Никола́й Константи́нович Рéрих; October 9, 1874 – December 13, 1947), was a Russian painter, philosopher, scientist, writer, traveler, and public figure. He created about 7,000 paintings (many of them are exhibited in well-known museums of the world) and about 30 literary works. Roerich was an author and initiator of an international pact for the protection of artistic and academic institutions and historical sites (Roerich’s Pact) and a founder of an international movement for the defence of culture. Roerich earned several nominations for the Nobel Prize. (brief bio taken from Wikipedia)

I found this artist on the Internet a few months ago while researching on something else. I instantly fell in love with his artwork, especially those with a Buddhist theme. There is a certain desolate and dreamy quality to his landscapes that I rather like. So I am sharing some of my favourite pieces here for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

P/S: Urusvati which means light of the morning star was the name of the Institute of Himalayan Studies in the Kullu Valley of West Himalayas started by Roerich. 

Buddha the Conqueror before the spring of life

Tibetan Lama 

 

Tidings of the Eagle

Tsong-kha-pa

Command of Rigden Djapo

Dorje, the Daring One



Milarepa

Kuan Yin

It is all about me!

I  am thirty this year (2010)...

*silence* 

It's not that bad, right? I am not that old!  That's what I keep telling myself while I am looking at my ever-expanding waistline. My name is David and I started blogging ever since my first book, There's No Way But Up was published (Hence, this blog is named as such). This blog is barely a year old and there is only 30-40 people reading my blog. It's alright.  

I am born and bred in Petaling Jaya and unofficially a nerd but officially a  really cool guy. <-- I love subliminal advertisement. Anyway, I am really a cool Buddhist and a vegie-monster (I am vegetarian! For those who didn't get it). I completed my Bachelor of Computing at Monash University in Australia but never entered  the IT industry. I found myself in a sales job instead. (Yes, that's me screaming away in the picture above.)

Somehow with a stroke of good luck, I met H. E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche about 7 years ago and became his friend and student. One thing led to another, I would myself working in Kechara Mystical Treasure (as a salesman, again!), did a short stint of assisting Rinpoche in the Ladrang and then... Kechara Media and Publications! Yes, I have a great passion for the Buddhas and the Dharma but I am far from being a monk or a teacher. Hence, friends would call me a walking dictionary (of Buddhist terms) or Reshe - a wannabe Geshe (monks who had been awarded a degree in Buddhist studies). (Yup, the picture on the right is me when I was 'running' around with Rinpoche as his assistant. Boy! Was I skinny then.)

As mentioned, I am the proud author of There's No Way But Up, the autobiography that Rinpoche requested that I write. It is not really a bestseller.... yet and I have heard some people say that some parts of my book is too plain and serious but I have also heard that people loved the book and said it had inspired them and made them understand Rinpoche better. That was all I needed to hear.

At a book reading of There's No Way But Up.

I have also collaborated with Paul,  the head of Kechara Discovery (he is also my housemate) to come up with the Vajrayogini and Other Power Places in Nepal coffee table book. He collected the relevant pictures, liaised with the designer and arranged the funding while I wrote the text for this book. I must say that the book just looks spectacular! Don't you think?

I am also been appointed as Apprentice to the Liaison Council of H. E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche. That means I get to be part of important meetings and decide upon the direction of the Kechara organisation. Well, that sounds like a big shot but I am really just a big shot in training. <-- Subliminal messaging again!  (One of the first things I have to learn as an apprentice is to sing karaoke...)

Enter the Lama's World....

Here is the grand audience room of H. E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche in the new KH Gompa. This is where he meets guests and so the throne is knee-high to make it more 'accessible' to talk with people privately. The silver staff on the left side is a monk's staff to denote the Lama is the holder of the Vinaya or monk vows. The thangka behind is a unique one depicting Lama Tsongkhapa (with the yellow hat) on an elephant with 5 emanations of Manjushri above and various other Buddhist deities around them. An antique Buddha of wealth and generosity, Dzambala sits aptly and grandly on the side table. The yellow Tsongkhapa robes are placed on his seat symbolic of the Lama's presence and his ritual implements are humbly covered with a blue cloth cover so as not to advertise the Lama's Tantric attainments or supernatural powers. 

The back of the room has a row of nice seats for a comfortable and private audience. Powerful and elegant black and white images of the lineage Lamas line the walls depicting Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche (left), Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche (middle) and Kyabje Zong Rinpoche (right). The thangka depicts a beautiful red Vajrayogini. 

There is another view of the audience room showing a powerful painted Setrap thangka. I remember Rinpoche mentioned this thangka is very blessed and had displayed miraculous signs before. 

Last part of the little audience room is the dragon carpet. The Tibetan term for the dragon (Tib. 'brug but pronounced drug) refers to the sound of thunder. It is a powerful sign of imperial power and magnificence of the Chinese emperors. This symbolism is brought over to the Dharma to signify the majestic power and awe of the Dharma. The colour yellow on the dragon signify increase of the Dharma and coupled with the symbolism of the dragon, it is a befitting offering to a Lama. It is like saying may the majestic power and awe of our Lama's teachings touch the lives of many who come and meet him for the Dharma. May his works flourish and may it bring much benefit.

Paradise Found In a Theme Park!

After Kek Look Thong, we decided it was too big of a rush to head to the Lost World of Tambun so we checked into a hotel and stayed overnight. The next day after breakfast, we drove over to the theme park. The theme park was nice but the backdrop view of the mountains made it spectacular. The theme park had a hotspring, some fun water rides and many interesting theme park rides. However, we didn't come all this way to enjoy just another theme park. One of the other highlights of this park is the Petting Zoo and that was where we were heading. There were sections for rabbits, guinea pigs, hedgehogs and much more.

Then, there was the huge aviary pictured above and it was so big, there is a little stream that flows right through the middle with numerous trees planted throughout the aviary. Part of the aviary is covered on top for birds that don't want to shower when it rains. Although the picture below is devoid of birds but the aviary is actually full of birds of all shapes and sizes flying around, chirping and basically looking for little seeds to peck. 

 

The aviary is filled with gentle bird songs, bubbling of the gentle stream and the rustling of the green trees. This is just the perfect environment that Rinpoche had been longing for and I think he would like to recreate this beautiful aviary one day. Look at the little birds walking all over the little path. I saw one boy held out his hand that was filled with seeds and half a dozen little birds flew onto his hands to peck at the little seeds. It was such a heavenly experience! 

 

 

Colourful birds abound and if you feed them right, they might even let you stroke their beautiful heads and allow you to voice a few mantras to bless them. After leaving the aviary, we chanced upon this lake with a fantastic view. So we hired paddle boats to enjoy the view. Here is a selection of photos for your viewing pleasure...

Ipoh is so lucky! There are beautiful limestone mountains all over and they all look like they came out from a Chinese painting. 

"That's all folks!", screams Paris. Well actually, she is just screaming to the camera. Great having you with us on our sojourn to Ipoh. We bought lots of gifts from the Theme park giftshop for our friends back home. It was one great adventure and unlike my bland pictures and writing, Rinpoche always makes every moment exciting and a great adventure. So, it is back to KL....

A Cave Hideaway

After the brief visit to the Arowana fish farm, we had a delicious vegetarian lunch and planned our visit to Kek Look Tong cave temple. We were rather worried because it started to rain midway through our meal but it died down not long after. So, Seng Piow armed with his GPS 'thing-a-magic' led the way. Rinpoche teased Wai Meng all the way because he was born in Ipoh but hardly knew the roads and so his 'GPS' just didn't work. (He He!)

We parked near the entrance of the cave and quickly noticed the large yawning mouth of the cave. Next to the cave is a large Kuan Yin statue standing serenely in the middle of a little man-made pond. We tossed coins at Kuan Yin's feet only to discover there is actually a little pot for that reason. However, only Wai Meng and Monlam managed to get a coin to rest on Kuan Yin's lotus with KWPC in mind of course. It is a Chinese belief that those who coins enter the little pot or onto Kuan Yin's feet, she will fulfill a wish. There were lots of beautiful and ethereal koi fishes swimming around the placid pool. 

 

After joking and teasing, we entered into the cave and what we saw took our breath away. The sheer immensity of the cave and the cool breeze blowing right through was refreshing. The floor was completely cemented and part of the walls are layered with marble. Across the main hall is an altar enshrining 3 rather refined statues of 3 Taoist patriachs.

We took a flight of steps towards a deeper part of the cave that brought us eventually to a bright shining exit. Just before the mouth of the exit is 3 rather beautiful Chinese statues of Buddha Vairochana flanked by Bodhisattva Samantabhadra and Manjushri upon 3 pedestals! I love the refined detail of these statues! Just check out the picture of Manjushri and me. I dunno why I love Manjushri so much and so I gave a really big fat smile just for Manjushri. (Maybe because I am just stupid and Manjushri is wisdom... Get it?)

There was a Weituo (A Chinese Protector, emanation of Vajrapani) and a Chinese emanation of Maitreya as the fat laughing Buddha. Rinpoche paid obeisance to him and we walked towards the light and what emerged was a Shangrila-like green garden guarded by magnificent limestone mountains. All of us went wow! I certainly didn't expect this! It was like we have discovered the hidden kingdom of Shambala! 

 

We could hear the birds chirping, insects creaking away and the low humming sound of the nearby factory almost spoilt the whole natural setting. As we walk around the lake, we could see a large pylon nearby that brought the place down a little. Nonetheless, the garden was still very well maintained and we got ourselves settled in a Chinese pavilion for a puja. 

Just before the puja, Rinpoche told us of his plans for Kechara Animal Sanctuary and how much Sara had affected him. He said he is taking a bank loan and going ahead although he has very little financial support for his plans. He said he was held back by fears and worries before but seeing Sara suffer, he felt selfish and decided to go full-steam ahead. He told all of us to do the same with ourselves and not let small hurdles and setbacks hold us back because years down the line, we would regret not putting our best and the huge setbacks and problems would seem small and insignificant. 

Somewhere along the line, Rinpoche taught us how to propitiate Setrap in times of danger or when we are in a haunted location. The following is the visualisation that Rinpoche taught and I am repeating here to the best of my memory...

First, we visualise lights from a multitude of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas flow forth and merge into Setrap. From Setrap's image, red lights flow forth and make a multitude of offerings back to all these Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Then little red Setraps emerge from these Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the form of red lights that flow into the crown of our heads and fill every part of our body with red light. This red light overflows from the pores of the body and completely envelopes our body in a red bubble.  

This visualisation is to be accompanied by the recitation of Setrap's mantra. After Rinpoche taught this visualisation, we did our puja and black tea to Setrap. Just before we left, Rinpoche noticed this tree and mentioned that he really like trees like this one that spreads its branches generously all over. I think he mentioned that he would like trees like this in his Ladrang. 

We took a slow stroll back to the car while enjoying the green vegetation and Rinpoche cheerfully telling us what Buddha statue he would place at almost every corner of the park! He told us many unusual ideas and even asked for a few ideas from us. However, I really liked his idea of a large Balinese stone-carved Tara statue that is smiling and overgrown with moss. 

That's all folks! This is a last silly grin from me and the Kek Look Thong stork saying good bye for now...

Where Dragon Fishes are bred...

Well, there is really no such thing as a dragon fish. But to the Chinese, the Arowanas look remarkably similar to a dragon. Although they are highly prized the Chinese because of that but these fishes are not indigenous of this region but are actually from South America. They were obviously brought over a long time ago. There are three main types of Arowanas - the red, gold and green. These are of course the colour of their beautiful dragon-like scales. 

On our journey to ipoh, I drove Fat Monk and Monlam up along the highway along with Jamie, Jean Ai and Wai Meng in Jamie's car. Our first destination was the Arowana fish farm and we found our way on a dirt road filled with large industrial fish farms that reared Arowanas. We found our way to Bintong farm and rendezvoused with Rinpoche soon after to check out the farm.

Adolescent and adult Arowanas are reared in these large tanks. Arowanas are predators in their natural habitat where they prey on small fishes and insects in shallow lakes and rivers. Arowanas can live up to 80 years old if they are kept in ideal conditions. 

Here are the incubation tanks where the little Arowanas babies are nursed to maturity. Here, Rinpoche is asking me whether I want to take rebirth as a baby Arowana. I said no of course but the very thought bothered me for a the next hour. 

Look at these poor fellas, having to carry their yoke sacs until maturity. It ain't fun to take rebirth as one of these guys only to live in a small glass tank for the rest of their long lives!

These are the love ponds of the Arowanas and this is where the male and female Arowanas are placed for love-making and of course reproduction. Arowanas are 'mouthbrooders', which means the male keeps the little Arowanas in their mouths until maturity. The caretaker here told us that a typical male fish take approximately 40 to 50 little babies and they don't eat for that entire month. That is also how the caretaker notice that Arowanas have babies. The male fishes surface at night and the head of the male fishes that are carrying babies are noticeably larger. Rinpoche thinks this is fantastic as it is very rare to have the male take responsibility of child-bearing in the animal realm. 

Here, Monlam gives his best impression of an inviting male Arowana fish - steady, strong, and promises to take care of children... Well not in his mouth of course! Paris! Take hint! 

Sojourn to Ipoh

On Monday evening, I found out that I was invited to go on a day trip to Ipoh, in the Perak state. The itinerary included a visit to Arawana fish farm, Kek Look Tong cave temple (Yay!) and the Lost World of Tambun theme park. It looks like its going to be a fun-filled trip and to top it off, we had Rinpoche with us. No one is more fun to travel with than Rinpoche and its been awhile since I last travelled with Rinpoche. 

Ipoh Beckons!!!....  

Arawana Fish Farm.... A fishy adventure!

Kek Look Tong Cave temple.... An off-the-beaten track spiritual hideaway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The ordinary theme park with an extraordinary view and a great Petting Zoo...

I would like to put all the pictures and tell you all the stories right now but its 5 am and I have got to work tomorrow. Keep your eyes peeled for the full story! 

Sara's Ordeal

This is Sara and she was found breathing heavily near Kechara Saraswati Arts (KSA). Her backside is bloody and was very weak so kind Beng Kooi, Jean Ai, Fang and Martin Chow brought her to the vet. The doctors gave her blood transfusion because she only had 9.5 litters our of 44 litters! She had bled all of it out! I am not normally an animal-lover but the sight of these two pictures was enough to make me sob. I did some mantras to Tara, Medicine Buddha and offered black tea to Setrap for Sara.  

I see the reasoning behind Rinpoche's Animal Sanctuary and pray that it will arise. I am sure there are many stray dogs, cats and other animals out there suffering in similar or worse conditions with no one to help them. The very least one could do to contribute to this cause is to be vegetarian (Rinpoche explained how can we begin to help animals when we keep eating them) and I am glad to say that I have been vegetarian for many months now. Some people think it is difficult. It is initially but once you get used to it, you don't even notice that you are not having meat anymore. Well, that is from my own experience so it's not so bad. 

What made me vegetarian was not health or even Buddhist principles but having watched so many videos of animal slaughters that was posted by Rinpoche on his blog and elsewhere. Some are really graphic but it did wonders to lessen my cravings for meat. The first few times watching it, I went on vegetarian diet and it lasted for only a week. So, I didn't go cold turkey on meat but slowly weaned myself off meat like I did with cigarettes several years ago. It wasn't easy as I slipped many times but eventually managed to do it for longer periods. I think you can too if you are not vegetarian yet. 

For a full account of Sara's Ordeal, check out Rinpoche's blog at...

http://blog.tsemtulku.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/2010/11/dog-day-and-sara-heartbreaking.html

Billions of Buddhas in One

Enshrined within the new KH Gompa are three large statues of Lama Tsongkhapa, Vajrayogini and Setrap. Combined, there would be a staggering 493.4 billion Buddha images within these three statues. These images are actually stored upon 27 hard disks collectively and placed within the statues. 

Here are how the actual Buddha images (stored within the hard disk) look like...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Manjushri - 48.3 billion images                            Lama Tsongkhapa - 30.8 Billion

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

   Vajrayogini - 30.7 Billion Images                     Dukkar - 41.9 Billion Images

 

 

 

Buddha Shakyamuni - 35 Billion Images      Amitabha Buddha - 37.8 Billion Images

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

Setrap - 46.1 Billion Images                     Yamantaka - 175.5 Billion

Kyabje Zong Rinpoche's hand written Vajrayogini mantra - 47.3 Billion

According to the Buddha, just looking at a line drawing of the image of a Buddha in anger will plant a seed of enlightenment in the mind stream of the beholder. Just imagine the merit accumulated if we were to make offerings, prostrations and prayers to this image instead. Now, multiply that by 493.4 billion times for all the 3 Statues in the new KH Gompa and that is a whole lot of merits! Hence, each time we prostrate, make offerings and prayers to the 3 statues, the blessings will be multiplied billions of times over. All this merit is accumulated in relations towards a enlightened body of a Buddha.

That means we create the direct cause towards attaining a Buddha body ourselves. So what does that mean?

By 'attaining a Buddha body', we purify lifetimes of negative karma related to the body - killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, etc. In that way, we attain longevity (a long life), a body free of disease, charismatic, beautiful to look at (especially in future lives) and attain success in worldly and especially spiritual endeavours. We also attain the 112 major and minor marks of a perfect Buddha body. That means we would have understood, realised and embody the entire Lamrim (Entire teachings of the Buddha that is presented in stages by Atisha and Lama Tsongkhapa) because the body of each Buddha contains the roadmap of the entire Lamrim. 

Therefore, the tradition of filling the statues of Buddhas with billions of images and mantras are meant to create as much merits towards achieving a Buddha body for those who supplicate, prostrate, make offerings, prayers and recite mantras towards these holy statues.