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Click here to go to Choden Rinpoche 2013 visit event page
Hayagriva is a wrathful manifestation of Chenrezig, the embodiment of all the Buddha’s compassion. Devotion to and practice based upon Hayagriva is a swift and powerful means to overcome negative forces and obstacles. Prayers to Hayagriva are especially beneficial in these degenerate times when sufferings and illnesses are rampant due to the strong delusions of sentient beings.
Relying on this practice dispels obstacles created by naga energy such as cancer, leprosy and skin diseases, landlord spirits which manifest as paralysis or spirit harm, and epilepsy which is connected to spirit harm. The principal cause of these illnesses is one’s negative karma, while the non-human entities are precipitating conditions.
Hayagriva is in the Annutara Yoga, highest yoga, class of tantra. You may attend with the intention to receive the initiation in which case during the ritual you will receive the bodhisattva vows, which are taken for life. You can read about them at The Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive. You will also receive the tantric vows for life. A commitment for those taking the initiation will be the practice of 6 Session Guru yoga, and Rinpoche suggests that we recite the Hayagriva mantra as often as possible. The mantra is: HRIH VAJRA KRODHA HAYAGRIVA HULU HULU HUM PHAT.
When you receive an initiation from a lama you enter into a relationship where they become your vajra teacher. It’s important to check-up prior to the empowerment to ensure you have respect for and faith in Choden Rinpoche as a master.
You may also attend as a blessing without taking vows or formal commitments. Geshe Tenley explains that when this empowerment is given in the monastery in India, many people come from afar to receive this powerful blessing.
Most Secret Hayagriva is the special protector deity of Sera Je Monastery, the monastery of Choden Rinpoche, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Geshe Tsulga, Geshe Tenley and other teachers with connection to Kurukulla Center. Recently it has been advised to do as many Hayagriva mantras as possible dedicated to the long life of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, the Spiritual Director of Kurukulla Center.
Open to all. Can be taken as a blessing.
Born in 1933 in eastern Tibet, Choden Rinpoche was recognized at age three as the reincarnation of the previous Choden Rinpoche, who had been a candidate for the Twelfth Dalai Lama. At eight he entered Rabten Monastery, and at fifteen he went to Sera Je Monastery near Lhasa. Choden Rinpoche was one of the two Sera Je lamas selected to debate with the Dalai Lama during His Holiness's geshe exams.
Following the Communist Chinese takeover of Tibet in 1959, Choden Rinpoche stayed on in Tibet, going into solitary retreat for nineteen years. He never left his tiny, dark room in Lhasa from 1965 to 1985, pretending to be an invalid and thereby avoiding the ravages of the Cultural Revolution. All the while, without texts, ritual implements, or an altar, he meditated, profoundly deepening his realizations of Buddhism's core insights. In 1985 he was allowed to leave Tibet for India, where he has since taught thousands of students at Sera Je Monastery in South India. Regarded as one of the foremost experts on the Vinaya (the monastic discipline), Rinpoche has inspired many Tibetans and Westerners to ordain. In 2007, Rinpoche founded Ananda Dharma Center located in San Jose, California where he resides when he is not traveling and teaching.
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