Pathgate News

Guru Devotion

Of all the 84,000 teachings given by Lord Buddha and the 64,000 tantric texts, the teaching of Guru Devotion is the single most powerful, most expedient means to realisation. It is the heart-essence of all Buddhist practice, as practised by all the Buddhas, and without which it is impossible to have any success in either the path of the sutrayana or tantrayana.

Thus begins an extract of teachings on Guru Devotion given by Venerable Lama Dondrup Dorje before many students received refuge vows from the late Holiness Penor Rinpoche.

Venerable Lama Dondrup Dorje explains that the qualities we see in others are the qualities we manifest ourselves – a greedy person is likely to see others as greedy, an angry person sees others as angry. In order to practice Guru Devotion, one should see one’s teacher as the Buddha. Since what we project onto others is simply a reflection of what is in our own mind, by training ourselves to see only the good qualities of our spiritual teacher, we will engender the possibility of realising the Buddha-nature that already lies within all of us. This essential advice extends into all walks of life, where, by approaching all things with humility, we can learn from everything, whereas, to only see faults in our spiritual teachers or in others will only reinforce our own short-comings and strengthen our negative attitudes. It is through our whole-hearted commitment to a spiritual teacher, by showing him respect, by serving him, and by making offerings, that we build up the positive potential that allows us to become liberated from all of our suffering.

To listen to or download this and other teachings, visit Audio Teachings by Lama Dondrup Dorje.

Students from 23 countries attend the Pathgate Summer Retreat

A record number of students from around the world attended the Pathgate Summer Retreat, held in Epidavros, Greece this August. Their countries of origin included: Australia, Brazil, China, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Romania, Serbia, Singapore, Slovenia, UK, and the USA.

The retreat began each morning before sunrise with group practice of prostrations, followed on most mornings by qigong and meditation on the beach as the sun rose from beyond the eastern horizon. A typical day at retreat was filled with prayer practices, pujas, Dharma teaching, instruction on Classical Qigong, and continued on until late in the evening.

Venerable Lama Dondrup Dorje compassionately gave teaching on a wide range of Dharma topics and practices, in addition to leading students in prayer, giving daily instruction on Classical Qigong and answering questions from students throughout the day and into the night. Teachings began with introductions to Buddhism, to the meaning and purpose of prayers, to the need for devotion and in how to apply the Dharma teachings in our daily lives. Teachings were often explained with stories from the time of Lord Buddha and with personal anecdotes from Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje’s wealth of time spent in the devoted attendance to the late Holiness Penor Rinpoche.

Retreatants were treated to an extensive explanation on a range of Dharma subjects from the course work of the Dharma Foundation Studies that covers the Buddhist understanding from the perspective of: cause and effect, consciousness of mind-stream, Buddha Nature, karmic imprint and karmic condition, the three realms of existence, and the formation of the universe. Other preliminary subjects introduced the students to the goal of Dharma practice, the paths it encompasses, the methods it utilises, and the essential pointers on the journey. Students also received teachings that covered the importance of renunciation, introduction to the Bodhisattva path and explanation of the paths of the nine yanas, four empowerments, guru yoga, the ten bhumi of the Bodhisattva ground, the differences between the four types of refuge, which are the outer refuge, the inner refuge, the secret refuge and the ultimate refuge and commentary of the Seven Line Prayer to Guru Rinpoche from the text Pedma Karpo by Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche.

All these teachings were to prepare the students to receive the main transmission of the retreat, Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche's Classic text 'Khepai Tsulla Jugpai Go' - Entrance to the Ways of the Wise, from which Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje focussed retreatants attention on a systematic examination of The Five Aggregates. Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche (1846-1912), also known as 'Mipham the Great' was a highly accomplished master in practice, learning, composition and teaching of the Nyingma Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. 'Khepai Tsulla Jugpai Go' is a condensed presentation of the Tripitaka (Three Baskets) and its accompanying commentaries, which embodies the essence of Prajnaparamita (the Great Perfection of Wisdom), Madhyamika (Nagarjuna's Middle Way), and Abidharma (Metaphysics). This text is one of the major subjects that is taught at the Ngagyur Nyingma University at the Namdroling Monastery.

For those who enjoy qigong practices, instruction on both the common and uncommon level of the Classical Qigong was given each afternoon during the retreat. These teachings covered an extensive range of Classical Qigong practices with individual energy initiation given by Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje to those students qualified to receive in accordance to the lineage of the Secret Refuge and the Chan tradition.

To facilitate the ease of learning for students from different countries who had difficulties in understanding English, simultaneous translation of the teaching was available in Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese, French, Italian, Greek, Spanish, Portuguese, and German.

The next Pathgate Summer Retreat is scheduled to take place in August 2010. For details of other upcoming teachings by Lama Dondrup Dorje, please visit Teaching Schedule

Puja of Compassion vs Wildfires in Greece

In 2007, some of the worst wildfires in decades broke out in Greece and killed more than 70 people. Two years later on the 20th August 2009, large number of wildfires broke out once again in this Mediterranean country, torching forest, farmland, olive groves and houses in part of central and southern Greece as well as on the islands of Evia, Skyros and Zakynthos. Wildfires which started from the north of the Marathon plain swept rapidly across Mount Penteli towards the urban area of Athens while to the northwest of the capital, blazes were getting closer to the coastal town of Porto Germeno. Hospitals, campsites, villages and suburban areas around the outskirts of Athens had to be evacuated as gigantic clouds of dark smoke blackened the sky over the capital and showers of ashes covered the city below. Hundreds of firefighters joined by army and emergency services from Austria, Cyprus, France, Italy and Turkey battled to contain this late summer inferno.

Venerable Lama Dondrup Dorje who was conducting the Pathgate Summer Retreat in Epidavros (125 km from Athens) at the time was not informed of the wildfires until the evening of 23rd August when one of his students who owns a newspaper in Athens placed an urgent phone call to him requesting him to help in any way he could because the extremely windy conditions had made it impossible for the fire fighters to put out the fires. When asked what he intended to do, Venerable Lama Dondrup Dorje explained that at this late stage of the wildfires, only rainfall could put out the blazes. He further added that the coming of rain would be preceded by sea breezes. Those who heard this reply were doubtful that rain would materialise in August since there is usually no rainfall during the summer months in Greece, which tend to be hot and dry from May to October.

Early next morning on 24th August, under a cloudless blue sky, Venerable Lama Dondrup Dorje commenced to perform a series of puja and prayers with such strength of compassion and clear ferocity of purpose that few students could keep up with the momentum of his chanting. Within hours, sea breezes began to gather strength off the shore of Epidavros while masses of rain clouds formed in the sky above the retreat area. By the time the first part of the evening practice was concluded, a heavy rainfall showered upon the retreat site for over an hour as the rain cloud continued to expand and shift in the direction towards Athens. Reports from Athens later that evening confirmed the sky over the entire city was blanketed by masses of rain clouds and no more wildfire was sighted anywhere around the capital. Venerable Lama Dondrup Dorje response to the news was simply that the Local Deities and Dharma Protectors have been very supportive and helpful, but there was still some work in Athens for him to finish once the retreat was over. No one at the time had any idea what Venerable Lama Dondrup Dorje meant until the following Monday when some students were sight-seeing in Athens. For the remainder of the retreat, Greece was again baking in dry summer heat.

The following Monday after the retreat was brought to a successful conclusion, three of Venerable Lama Dondrup Dorje’s students from Singapore, Germany and England were on their way to take the sightseeing bus to the National Gardens in Athens, but they missed the 3pm bus by one minute. They decided to walk there, but lost their direction and ended up walking towards Lycabettus Hill instead. It was a 45-minute up-hill walk, but for some strange reason, they just kept going, and when they finally got up the hill, they saw storm clouds gathered over an area to the north of the city surrounded by otherwise cloudless sunlit blue sky. They were so intrigued by what they witnessed that they took a series of photographs of the storm cloud. The storm cloud then opened up with loud thunder and a heavy shower rained upon an area, which they found out later, was ravaged by wildfires only days before. What they also failed to realise at the time was that Venerable Lama Dondrup Dorje was actually in that area at the time when the thunderstorm occurred.

Venerable Lama Dondrup Dorje explained that the rainstorm was necessary to regenerate the vast area of scorched earth which was once green belt of the city. When asked how it is possible that weather could change so immediately as a result of his practice, Venerable Lama Dondrup Dorje’s response is simply that a Dharma practitioner whose action is motivated by true compassion; whose expression of body, speech and mind embodies that of sincerity, whose store of merit is vast due to practices of the Six Perfections of Generosity, Discipline, Patience, Diligence, Concentration and Wisdom, whose faith in one’s heart guru is firm and who thus has the support of the lineage blessing, is capable of achieving what others perceive as impossible. Simply put, the effectiveness of one's practice has everything to do with the authenticity of one’s strong faith and devotion in one’s spiritual master.

To the long-time students of Venerable Lama Dondrup Dorje, incidents such as sudden change of weather and many other phenomenon, which others perceive as miracles, are common occurrences around Venerable Lama Dondrup Dorje. His advice to students on such matters is to approach it with equanimity without focussing on the phenomena, but instead strive to implement the essence of reverence, humility and gratitude in one’s daily life for the benefit of all beings.

To read more about the phenomenon around Venerable Lama Dondrup Dorje, you may visit the personal accounts of students featured in the Healing Account of the Buddhist Medicine & Healing, Pathgate Journal, and Miraculous Acts of Truth.

Palyul Sangha Attend Lama Choepa In Hong Kong

On the Saturday evening of 27th June 2009, a large congregation of Palyul sangha and Buddhist devotees in Hong Kong gathered together at the Assembly Hall of the Fo Jiao Huang Feng Xiang Primary School in Hong Kong to attend a special Lama Choepa Puja (prayer ceremony) in honour of the Mahaparinirvana of the late Holiness Pema Norbu Rinpoche. The event was organised by the Penor Rinpoche Charity Foundation in Hong Kong and was well supported by the presence of many Tulkus and Lamas of the Palyul lineage, which included HE Gyangkhang Rinpoche and HE Mugsang Kunchen Rinpoche from India, Lama Nyima Tsering from Taiwan and Lama Dondrup Dorje from the UK.

After the completion of the Lama Choepa Puja, HE Gyangkhang Rinpoche, the Chairman of both the Namdroling Monastery Management Committee and the Penor Rinpoche Charity Foundation reminded the congregation with a talk based on the teachings of the late Holiness Pema Norbu Rinpoche. He reassured the Hong Kong sangha that the wishes of the late Holiness Penor Rinpoche to relocate the current Hong Kong Palyul Centre to larger premises will be honoured and it is the intention of the trustees of the Penor Rinpoche Charity Foundation (HK) to finalise the securing of new premises before the end of the year. He also took the opportunity to announce that Lama Pema Tsewang Sherpa has been appointed to take charge of the Hong Kong Palyul Centre.

A long-time friend of Lama Dondrup Dorje, Lama Pema Tsewang Sherpa had spent over five years as a resident lama at the Hong Kong Palyul Dharma Centre from the late 90s before returning to Namdroling Monastery in India to complete a three year-three month retreat at the Samten Oseling Retreat Centre. His appointment was a popular choice since he is already well known to the Hong Kong Palyul sangha.

HE Mugsang Rinpoche also gave a brief talk to the Hong Kong sangha reminding them of the importance of cultivating the correct attitude in their Dharma practice and that the practice they undertake should not be separate from the teaching they received from the late Holiness Penor Rinpoche. At the conclusion of his speech, Kudung Rilbu (relic pills) and small pieces of the sacred robe of the late Holiness Penor Rinpoche were distributed to all who were present.

A large selection of photos, which capture the proceedings of the evening, can be viewed at the website of the Penor Rinpoche Charity Foundation (HK): www.palyulhk.org

Meaning Of The Heart Sutra

In response to the request of students in Singapore, Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje gave a three-hour discourse on the Meaning of the Heart Sutra in Singapore during his recent visit there. In spite of the short length of the sutra, which contains only 260 words in its Chinese version, Heart Sutra (Sherab Nyingpo) embodies the heart essence of the teaching contains within the 25,000 verses of the Sutra of the Great Perfection Of Wisdom. It was Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje’s intention to give only a brief explanation on the meaning of this sutra due to the lack of time available and the vastness of the subject involved, but he succeeded in conveying to the students the message behind the sutra through a concise explanation that covered both the Tibetan version of the sutra as well as the much shorter Chinese version.

Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje first gave a historical account on the origin of this sutra before directing the attention of the students methodically through the different levels of understanding which begin with the perspective from the human view points that habitually centre upon the fixation of the Relative Truth, which comes into being due to the presence of the five aggregates. This was followed by examining the sutra from the perspective of the Universal Law and the dynamics between the presence of sense organs and the objects of attention, and the reason why one who is not separated from the Ultimate Truth may attain liberation from the karmic conditions of worldly suffering. He then directed the students’ attention to the Law of Causes and Effects, which gives rise to the karmic conditions that are inter-dependently related through the past, the present and the future.

The final three sections of his discourse covered the Way of the Bodhisattva, the Attainment of Buddhahood and the concluding part, which sum up the message of the Heart Sutra. Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje will return to Singapore in September to give further teaching on Buddhadharma and Classical Qigong.

To find out more about the teaching schedule of Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje, please click Teaching Schedule

Malaysia Welcomes Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje

Over the course of several years, many students from Malaysia had travelled far and wide outside Malaysia just so as to attend teaching given by Ven. Dondrup Dorje. Touched by their devotion, Ven. Dondrup Dorje went to Malaysia in early July to give a series of teachings to the Dharma devotees there. His first stop straight from the airport was to pay a visit to the Tara House in Kajang. Tara House is a Vajrayana Centre founded by the students of the late Tulku Urygen Rinpoche. Ven. Dondrup Dorje’s presence at the Tara House was much appreciated by the sangha there. After spending two hours giving private audience and answering questions forwarded by the sangha members of the Tara House, Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje travelled on to Selangor where he had a late dinner with his students there before settling in for the night.

During his stay in Malaysia, Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje gave a series of teachings at the invitation of various Buddhist Groups. At the Selengor Centre of the Buddhist Gem Fellowship, Ven. Dondrup Dorje gave a teaching on Buddhist Medicine and Healing to a large captivated audience. At the Malaysia Chinese Association in Kuala Lumpar, participants were given the opportunity to learn more about meditation and to experience for themselves the benefit of Classical Buddhist Qigong. At the Malaysia Chinese Association in Cheras, Ven. Dondrup Dorje gave a teaching on the Buddhist View on Health and Well-being. To the members of the Pathgate Study Group in Kuala Lumpar, Ven. Dondrup Dorje gave a discourse on the Four Noble Truths.

On his last evening in Malaysia, Ven. Dondrup Dorje was invited to give a talk on How to be a Buddhist in a Modern World at Sukhi Hotu, a well known Dharma bookshop and publisher in Petaling Jaya. At the end of his talk, the host gave a speech of thanks by describing the teaching as not merely profound and enlightening but that the range of subjects it covered were so extensive and vast that it requires one to have a comprehensive understanding of every single Dharma book in his store.

Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje is scheduled to return to Malaysia in mid September. For more details, please click Teaching Schedule

Anniversary of Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche

The month of June has been a busy period at Namdroling Monastery in India. Two weeks after the completion of the Kama Drubcho (Great Accomplishment Ceremony that confers the Supreme and Common Siddhis of the Kama Teachings) which took place from the 1st to the 7th of June (9th to the 15th day of the 4th Tibetan month), and Saga Dawa Duchen which celebrates the three miraculous events of the Birth, the Enlightenment and the Parinirvana of Shakyamuni Buddha on the 7th of June (15th day of the 4th Tibetan month), came the 97th Anniversary of the great Dzogchen Master of the Nyingma tradition, Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche (1846-1912).

To commemorate this special annual occasion, an all-day ceremony based upon Jampal Gyu Lug (the traditional Manjushri Tantra practice) was held on the 21st of June (29th day of the Fourth Tibetan Month). Throughout the day, discourses on various aspects of Buddhadharma were presented by the students of the Ngagyur Nyingma University. In the evening, the ceremony resumed with recitation of the Manjusrinamasamgiti (Names of Manjushri) and the Chekyi Gyaltsen Legpar Tsug (the Perfect Hoisting of the Dharma Banner) before more presentations of dharma discourses were presented. This was followed by bout after bout of Tsoglang (formal debates between two monks before an audience of religious leaders, scholars and fellow members of the sangha). The celebration of the Anniversary was eventually concluded at around 11.00pm after the recitation of Tsig-Zang (chanting of the Buddha’s Four Truths for the Noble Beings), and Zangchod (prayer of dedication).

Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche was an extraordinary and most influential figure in the history of the Nyingma lineage of the Tibetan Buddhism. He was born in the region of Derge in eastern Tibet in 1846. From an early age, he received extensive lineage transmission from many great masters that include Patrul Rinpoche, Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo Rinpoche, and Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche. By the age of sixteen, he had already completed an eighteen month intensive retreat on the practice of Manjushri who is the embodiment of the Wisdom of all the Buddhas. Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche was known for his practical approach in implementing the teaching of Buddhadharma. He also wrote many classic texts which range from subjects as diverse as medicine, poetry, cosmology, divination and alchemy to the profound teachings of the Dzogpa Chenpo (Great Perfection). One of his most famous texts is the Khepai Tsulla Jugpai Go (Entrance to the Ways of the Wise) - a condensed presentation of the Tripitaka (Three Baskets), which embodies the essence of Prajnaparamita (the Great Perfection of Wisdom), Madhyamika (Nagarjuna's Middle Way), and Abidharma (Metaphysics). For the benefits of Dharma devotees, Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje has decided to teach this classic text at this year’s Pathgate Summer Retreat in Greece. For details, click Summer Retreat

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