VAJRAPANI AT HOME

Thank you to all those involved in this Spring Festival! It has been a pleasure for us to be able to watch it at home on our TV. Although we are at home it feels like we are at the Temple and that we are in Changlochan Pure Land.

Both Gen-la Khyenrab and Gen Rabten are full of compassion and love just beaming from their face and eyes. For me they are definitely Vajrapani! We are so blessed by all the Buddhas and Geshe-la and so fortunate to have this special empowerment during these degenerate times. I feel and imagine the entire world getting this empowerment with us. We are all transformed into Vajrapani with pure compassion wisdom and power to destroy inner and outer obstructions.

I especially feel touched by the explanation of spirits in our world and will have many questions for my teacher about them.

I enjoyed the explanation of clarity and profundity that the Vajrapani I first imagine is not the real Vajrapani but that Vajrapani is emptiness. And how these empowerments are on our very subtle mind forever. Remaining part of us and that will become enlightened one day. This gives me hope that although my gross body is here I have a subtle mind that has Vajrapani in it.

I cried at Gen-la’s look after the intro talk and at the video of Geshe-la’s statue, out of pure joy!

It gives me great hope that as each one of the statues is made a Buddha is born. How wonderful. I rejoice!

I love the videos being made by Sangha and hope to make one soon with our family. 

Chandra, USA

FEELING THE PRESENCE OF THE SPIRITUAL GUIDE

I can feel the presence of my kind root Guru, Venerable Gueshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, everywhere during this Festival.

He has prepared these festivals for a long time and given us so much through the teachings, the blessing empowerments, the books, the Sangha and the study programs.

Everything that appears to me reminds me of his presence, his work, his devotion and his love and compassion for us.

What encourages me most is when he says that he promises that Dharma will always make us happy and that we are able to attain enlightenment in order to liberate every living beings.

Thank you so much Gueshe la, your work is so complete.

May I repay your kindness by following your example.

Kelsang Sukha, France

GRATITUDE FOR LIFE'S DIFFICULTIES

The sensation of waking up and thinking: uff...it was just a dream... sounds familiar to me. Applying this to my reality has touched me deep inside.

I've developed a little bit more understanding of the real meaning of emptiness and I've come to the conclusion that the role I'm playing in this play-dream (my life) isn't that important.

In the second meditation today I've understood that thanks to those moments of real difficulties in my life, it was impossible to remain as I was. Thanks to those moments I decided to make a move and looked for help and thanks to them I have ended up on the Buddhist path.

And today I felt deep gratitude for those experiences that a month ago I considered unfair and terrible. Deep and sincere gratitude. I was really surprised!

Stella, Spain

EMPOWERMENT IN THE STILL OF THE NIGHT

The beautiful Vajrapani plaque produced by the Kadampa Art Studio made me think about how meaningful their activities are.

The wheel of Dharma is continuously moving, and the old is now the new. It's really incredible that they are producing more and more amazing, wonderful, in-house art that is so precious for us as a community and which reflects a continuity of faith stretching back thousands of years.

I hope that in the future I can be involved with their inspiring work - and it's really this Festival that has made me think about that so much.

Although we are all physically in different places, everyone has come together in this unique way to share and reflect. I love the honesty of the accounts about how everyone is working with these conditions - some people experiencing teachings in the quiet of the night and so on.

I listened to the empowerment as it was streamed. I had to listen through headphones in bed at 1 am so as not to disturb my family. Although a very unique way to receive the empowerment, I loved being able to join in with others. The next day I had the chance to actually see the empowerment through replaying it!

I'm very grateful for everyone who has helped make this Festival happen.

Rob, Taiwan