September 4, 2024 marks the 5th parinirvana anniversary of His Eminence the 25th Tsem Rinpoche. To commemorate Rinpoche’s extraordinary life and enlightened deeds, a special all-day prayer service will be held in Kechara Forest Retreat in accordance with Tibetan Buddhist tradition.
Event Details
PROGRAMME
If you are attending this puja, you can offer kuyong (a token monetary offering) to the Sangha who will be conducting the puja.
A Day of Auspicious Prayers
Tsem Rinpoche’s parinirvana anniversary begins with an extensive 1000-Offering Lama Chopa Tsog. Known as Je Tongchoe in Tibetan, this extremely meritorious puja includes the offering of 1000 candles, 1000 tormas, 1000 incense, 1000 water bowls and 1000 flowers so that disciples can accumulate oceans of merits for our lama to return once more to continue turning the Wheel of Dharma.
In the afternoon, there will be auspicious prayers of Tsem Rinpoche’s Guru Yoga and Name Mantra chanting to make special requests for Rinpoche’s blessings, and recitations of Manjushri Namasamgiti and Tsem Rinpoche’s Swift Return Prayers to create the necessary causes and merits for the successful search, recognition and enthronement of Rinpoche’s new incarnation.
We hope you will join us in prayer on this special day, and visit the Tsem Rinpoche Relic Temple to make prayers, offerings, prostrations, and circumambulations at Rinpoche’s Relic Stupa — as one of the holiest pilgrimage sites for a sincere practitioner is the lama’s stupa and abode.
How to join
Tsem Rinpoche’s Parinirvana Anniversary is an annual prayer festival in Kechara Forest Retreat, attended by important lamas of our lineage and monastic representatives from Shar Gaden, Serpom, Phelgyeling and Segyu. This year’s programme takes place from late August to late September 2024.
It is a special time for Rinpoche’s disciples and all spiritual practitioners to gather in prayer and meditation, generating a tremendous accumulation of merits and positive energy dedicated to the health, well-being and happiness of all sentient beings, and most importantly to the swift return of our precious guru His Eminence Tsem Rinpoche.
Admission to all pujas is free and everyone is welcome. To ensure we have enough seating for all guests, please RSVP your attendance here.
How to contribute
We seek your kind sponsorship to support over 20 pujas and ceremonies that are part of the parinirvana anniversary programme.
Your contribution will help with the cost of:
Donate online to the Tsem Rinpoche Parinirvana Anniversary Fund at VajraSecrets.com or WhatsApp us at wa.me/60103020999. Any amount is welcome and deeply appreciated.
Why we celebrate the Guru
After H.E. Tsem Rinpoche entered parinirvana on September 4, 2019, we celebrate our lama on his parinirvana day instead of his birthday. In the past, we requested Rinpoche to live long but now, we are requesting Rinpoche to swiftly return, and that we may have the merits to find his unmistaken incarnation.
Similarly, when Rinpoche was physically with us, we devoted ourselves to our lama through deeds. Serving the lama is considered much more important than making offerings and prayers to him. Now that Rinpoche has entered parinirvana, offerings and prayers to our lama are of utmost importance in our practice of guru devotion.
Therefore, we can maintain our spiritual connection or samaya with our lama through daily practices, pujas, following his instructions and advice, and especially by celebrating his parinirvana day.
The lama’s parinirvana day is also a precious opportunity for students to recall his kindness and compassion, to rejoice in his enlightened deeds, and to contemplate with gratitude on all that they have received from their lama.