I was fortunate to have spoken with Zhaxi Zhuoma Rinpoche at HHL on June 4th 2025. On June 10th, my mom, Livy, Lion and I visited her at Holy Vajrasana Temple & Retreat Center.
Originally, we had planned to go to her temple and to San Francisco on June 5, but because of another karmic connection, we ended up going to Las Vegas instead, and stayed there for a few more days than expected. Later, since we had driven to L.A., and her temple was somewhat along the route on our drive back to Vancouver, we decided to go. But truthfully, the main reason I wanted to visit was because she said she’d give me something.
During our visit, Rinpoche shared more with us about her temple, ongoing plans, and holy miracles.
From this pilgrimage to her temple, I came away with a deep sense of appreciation for her and for what she has done to help propagate the Buddha Dharma. Even though she never directly told me, “You should do this” or “You should do that” for English speakers, I found myself becoming much more determined in this direction. Since then, I have approached this work with more passion and motivation. I feel that this may be one of her abilities: she has a way of deeply influencing and inspiring the people around her.
I have not shared this, even with my Dharma brothers and sisters at Canadian Institute of Buddhist Studies Society (加拿大学佛院), nor do I plan to share it with them anytime soon. But I want to share it here, because I feel it is important to share my story with sincerity. She gave us Holy Vajra Pills from the Buddha Bestow Amrita Dharma Assembly in June 2000, which she had received from Bodhi Wentu Rinpoche (Bodhi Wentu Ruzun). She also gave Livy something special because he practiced the Dharma everyday.
She brought out her Vajra Pill to empower us, placing it on our heads while chanting a mantra. I saw the pill, contained within the stupa she held in her palm, move supernaturally. She brushed it off saying it might just be due to her hand moving.
Before this trip, she did not know us personally at all. Yet she welcomed us so warmly, receiving us with great kindness. I truly owe her a great deal for that.
At the same time, this experience also strengthened something in me: I feel even more clearly that I need to help English speakers connect with the Dharma.
