DATIN NG WEE CHIN's - Kechara

He also had an unusual attraction to H.H.
the Dalai Lama and would spontaneously
chant Om Mani Peme Hung and think of His
Holiness as a Buddha without anyone telling
him to do so. Rinpoche also used to pray to
Manjushri to do better at school. Certainly
none of his classmates prayed to a Buddha
for their school work!
There were other examples of Rinpoche’s
unusual connection to the Dharma. As
a child, he used to see a red lady in his
imagination and would think, “This practice
can take us from this world fast”. Many
times, he would miss the school bus because
he had spent the previous night secretly
reading Dharma books under his blanket (so
his mother wouldn’t catch him). Reluctant
to walk to school in the rain, he would pray
to Medicine Buddha, reciting Om Mani Peme
Hung as he did not know any other mantras.
The rain would stop, and only start again just
as Rinpoche arrived at school! Once, he even
dreamt that the Medicine Buddha appeared
from the sky and stopped other children
from teasing him!
With such powerful imprints from
previous lives, it is not surprising that
Rinpoche would meet his first Guru, the
highly realised Master of Vajrayogini practice
and Abbot-Emeritus of Sera Monastery, H.E.
Kensur Lobsang Tharchin, at Rashi Gempil
Ling (RGL), a Mongolian temple just 10
minutes from his home in Howell, New Jersey.
Sera Mey Kensur Lobsang
Tharchin Rinpoche, the
abbot of Rashi Gempil
Ling and Rinpoche’s first
Guru who gave him his
first Dharma teachings.
From that point onwards, Rinpoche would
spend every free moment at RGL, helping
out, mowing the lawn, washing the dishes
and cleaning. He had a strong desire to work
in the temple and serve his Guru. Attracted to
the wrathful deities, he would spend hours in
the gompa praying to Palden Lhamo.
Of those years in RGL, Rinpoche says,
“I would die to get teachings. I would
tremble with excitement, anticipation
and glee before teachings and initiations.
I would sit there through the whole thing
with my breath held. When it finished, I was
depressed because I loved the Dharma and
I didn’t know what was waiting for me at
home.”
Despite his parents’ opposition to his
Dharma practice, Rinpoche would borrow
Dharma books which he would read
voraciously. He would also call up Michael
Roach, another student of Kensur Rinpoche,
and talk for hours to clarify Dharma
questions.
It was here in RGL that Rinpoche met
H.H. the Dalai Lama for the first time, from
whom he received the oral transmission of
Om Mani Peme Hung and the Eight Verses
of Thought Transformation. After many
requests, Rinpoche also finally received his
first initiation from Kensur Rinpoche; it was
of the “red lady” of his dreams, Vajrayogini.
“My first initiation – I was so excited
for weeks. And also afterwards. Even now
I’m excited when I talk about it! It’s like a
tightness in my chest, that I can’t breathe,”
Rinpoche shares now.
However, in the midst of such excitement
and joy, there was a certain sadness for
Rinpoche for he could not share any of
this with his family, who were completely
unsupportive of his Dharma practice. He
had to keep it all a secret, with devastating
consequences – physical and emotional
abuse, and being grounded – if found out. At
one time, his mother even started spreading
unfounded rumours among Mongolians
about his Guru, Kensur Lobsang Tharchin
Rinpoche.
His foster parents were strictly opposed
to his passion for Dharma and Rinpoche
received the harshest physical and
psychological punishment every time he was
caught at the temple or reciting mantras in
his room.
Everything having to do with Dharma
practice had to be a secret; Rinpoche had to
hide his Manjushri statue in his bedside table
and read Dharma books under the covers
by torchlight; even mantras were recited
secretly and quietly. He had to lie to his
parents every time he went to see his Guru
or to the temple, saying that he was meeting
friends or cousins.
His parents wanted him to study, attend
college, start a family and just pray once
in a while. But although he excelled in his
studies, Rinpoche had a severe dislike of
going to school, finding it a waste of time.
He would constantly pray to do Dharma and
to be a monk. The urge to look for a cave,
meditate and do mantras was overpowering
and consistent.
In spite of the difficulties, Rinpoche
never gave up. He reflects, “I got caught a
few times and was severely beaten for it. But
I kept lying for years. If I went to the temple
and got beaten once, it was worth it. Lying is
bad karma, but not getting Dharma is even
more bad karma.”
Things at home were never easy, but Rinpoche
always found solace in the Dharma.
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