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Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaching at a rented venue in Penang, Malaysia, March 2016. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab. Chokyi Gyaltsen Center organized the Penang teachings and arranged the incredible altar behind Rinpoche.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teaching tour of Southeast Asia continues in Malaysia. In mid-March Rinpoche arrived at Chokyi Gyaltsen Center (CGC) in Penang after a 10-hour drive from Singapore. Rinpoche went straight into the center’s gompa and did an hour of extensively offering divine cloth (khata) to each of the holy objects there.
“Rinpoche really, really, really likes Chokyi Gyaltsen Center’s gompa,” Ven. Holly Ansett, who is traveling with Rinpoche, told Mandala. “It has incredible statues – all magnificent and arranged so neatly and beautiful with extensive offerings. The art of all the statues is all exceptional and the holy objects in the gompa are all sort of pulsating with these colored incredible lights.”
Rinpoche at Hayagriva tsog kong puja at Chokyi Gyaltsen Center in Penang, Malaysia, March 2016. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Two days after Rinpoche arrived, Rinpoche asked Geshe Deyang, who is the resident geshe at CGC, to arrange a Most Secret Hayagriva tsog kong, an extensive offering puja that is 10-12 hours long. Geshe Deyang is an expert in Hayagriva ritual and has done a lot of Hayagriva practice. He was one of the monks who for many years was part of the Hayagriva monks at Sera Je Monastery who do this puja once a month for FPMT.
The Most Secret Hayagriva tsog kong requires hundreds of tormas. Fortunately, Geshe Deyang had already prepared them to be ready if Rinpoche made the request for the puja. The puja went all day until after dinner, attended by Rinpoche and about 30-40 ordained Sangha. “It is an extremely powerful puja,” Ven. Holly shared. “Very elaborate. Rinpoche was extremely pleased for it to have happened.”
Rinpoche teaching on the Three Principles of the Path, Penang, Malaysia, March 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
The weekend of March 19-20, Rinpoche gave a public teaching on the “Three Principles of the Path,” which was attended by over 400 people. The center had advertised the teaching in the local Chinese newspaper, which brought in many new people. They rented a large venue and installed an elaborate altar with many extensive offerings.
“Geshe Deyang managed all the altars and set up, and took great care that everything was perfect, elaborate and beautiful,” Ven. Holly said. “All the center members worked incredibly hard to create this event, and you could really feel it.”
The center took good care of the 45 ordained Sangha from around the world in attendance. They had a chef cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner every day for them. The center also arranged places for Sangha to stay, rides to the teachings and sightseeing on days off.
The 21 Tara altar at Chokyi Gyaltsen Center, Penang, Malaysia, March 2016. Photo by Ven. Holly Ansett.
After the public teachings, Rinpoche gave the Most Secret Hayagriva initiation to about 250 people over a few days. Geshe Deyang took care of all the elaborate tormas. Tenzin Ösel Hita and Gomo Tulku came to take the initiation, which was extremely precious. Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi from Amitabha Buddhist Centre, Geshe Tsungdu from Losang Dragpa Centre and Geshe Tenzin Zopa were also there. Each day of the initiation stretched late into the night. The last day of the initiation ended at 4 a.m. at which time Geshe Deyang and the center staff and volunteers had to pack up everything in the the rented venue – the altar, extensive offerings and so forth – working until 7:30 a.m.
While in Penang, Rinpoche also did an extensive Medicine Buddha puja that took all day.
99-foot (30.2-meter) tall Kuan Yin statue, Penang, Malaysia, March 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
View from Kuan Yin statue pavilion, Penang, Malaysia, March 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
The day Rinpoche departed from Penang for Kuala Kumpur, Rinpoche stopped to see the 99-foot (30.2-meter) tall bronze Kuan Yin statue at the Kek Lok Si Temple. Rinpoche did prostrations and practices in front of the statue until dark and then went to a restaurant to have dinner with many of the center staff and volunteers, about 40 people. Rinpoche and the entourage left at 10 p.m. to drive to Kuala Lumpur.
CGC director Daniel, Jaya, representing Rinchen Jangsem Ling, and Pik Pin, director of Losang Dragpa Centre, requesting Rinpoche to come back to Malaysia again, Penang, March 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.