A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN FPMT LAMA

Geshe Pal Tsering, from Sera Je Monastery, has been the resident lama at Dorje Chang Institute in New Zealand since 1992. English monk Ven. Sanjay asked him how he spends a typical day at the Auckland center, where he lives with a community of five monks and nuns and nine lay people.

I wake up about 5:30, have a wash and then clean the room and arrange the offerings on my altar. I bless my speech, recite the multiplying mantra and request blessings from all my gurus and offer The Seven Limbed Prayer. This is followed by prostrations and recitation of the Prayer to the Thirty-five Buddhas. Then mainly to purify and accumulate merit I offer prayers to Vajrasattva and recite his mantra.

Then with strong visualization of my gurus at my heart I recite prayers to White Tara to help them live long. I then do Six Session Yoga, refuge practice and pray to Shakyamuni Buddha, the Two Supreme Jewels [Nagarjuna and Asanga] and the Six Ornaments [Aryadeva, Vasubandhu, Dignaga, Dharmakirti, Gunaprabha and Sakyaprabha]. Then I do Ganden Lha Gyema and recitation of the Migtsema mantra. I offer at least ten mandalas, reflecting on the three spheres of emptiness.

At about eight o’clock I have breakfast and continue with my practice til lunch time. In the afternoon I am free to see visitors and give them advice. Sometimes I walk around the center grounds and relax.

Every month I try to perform the two self-initiations of Vajrayogini and Yamantaka, as the students here are developing more of an interest in these deities. Three times a month I take the Mahayana precepts. On the eighth of the Tibetan month we offer prayers to Tara and on the tenth and twenty-fifth we do Guru Puja: everyone – the geshe, the translator, the residents – attends. I also sometimes give permission to practice [jenangs] some of the protectors and long-life deities. On the four Wheel-turning days we take the eight Mahayana precepts and sometimes incorporate a nyung-nä retreat.

By moving here to our new place, conditions have improved, and I wish to expand the center further. Teaching Westerners is very good and I find that they get very easily moved by talks on love and compassion: a good sign that there is a change in the mind! I’m not discouraged if only a few people come for teachings as Buddhism is very new here, and to have proper understanding of Dharma will take time. It is hard for people to practice in this environment, and they have to work as well. I try to explain the Dharma so that they may have better renunciation.

I generally advise them to follow the ten virtuous actions and explain to them that keeping these creates the causes for enlightenment. I also give Kadampa advice and tell students not to expect quick results from their practice, especially those who are a little depressed. I try and make them feel lucky and see how precious their lives are. If their minds are too high, I tell them to reflect on impermanence and death. So usually I give advice according to the lam-rim.

Now that I’ve been here for some time I am getting used to the environment and culture, so I don’t miss much. The passing away of Gen Rinpoche [Geshe Ngawang Dargye] made my future here uncertain, as I now have no one here to devote to. I feel a great loss. He was kinder than Manjushri and Maitreya. I follow his example and wishes by staying on here.

I feel that my recent trip to Malaysia was extremely beneficial as they have no real teachers of the Mahayana path. The lam-rim talks were well appreciated, and because they are Buddhists, their faith increased.

I try to teach with sincere motivation, and now I can see the great value in having translators like Lobsang Namgyel from Kopan Gompa, without whom I wouldn’t be able to give any advice.

I don’t know if I can stay on here in New Zealand…Maybe…Ask Lama! But I will make strong prayers to be able to do so for as long as possible. May the teachings flourish!