In July 2, 2023, we met Ven. Tsemang, full name being H.E. Denma Tsemang Great Dedengba II Venerable Longzhi Tanpe Nyima. He is a close disciple of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III and has accumulated enormous merit—an unbelievable amount that could crush me to death. For the title of this post I wanted to use “I have utmost respect for him,” but I think by definition I need to reserve that for my Buddha Master, H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. Why do I have so much respect to Ven. Tsemang? He spoke to us for 2 hours straight without a break (In my 2023 note I wrote 2hrs 15min, however I’m unsure if that’s exact.), nor did he get impatient with our flurry of questions. He kept answering questions until no one had anymore questions to ask. Our group was about 40 people, closer to 45 I think. He stopped when we stopped.
After I came back to Vancouver, I said during a Zoom call that he truly has the Hetu Vidya.
He is very very humble. Maybe I’ll share more about this in the future.
I have to say, my fellow Canadian Dharma brothers and sisters really asked great questions. This is what we call “group karma” (共业). Almost every single question was a question that I’d be willing to ask.
I asked a question regarding my problems with my mom, who was also there. I find myself arguing with my mom a lot, even over small things that aren’t even that important but that I just can’t seem to control myself to not defend my point. This is because of my bad habitual tendencies (恶习) caused by self-attachment. These are my key takeaways from our talk: 1. wait 3 seconds before replying (think before acting) 2. kindly and gently persuade (善劝). There was more to this, but these are highlights that I didn’t really think about or didn’t put enough emphasis on in my cultivation. Though through my Buddha Master’s Dharma discourse I had learned about filial piety and what I should do, I know I still haven’t fully understood what my Buddha Master imparted nor have I remembered everything He imparted (more accurately, I haven’t even understood and remembered a small fraction of what I have listened to and read). I still wanted a holy being to help me with my specific situation and confirm my interpretations.
Here’s one of Ven. Tsemang’s talks. I read it in Chinese when it came out.
Subtle Use of Supernormal Powers
After we were finished this 2hr session, everyone started getting up. I remember only hearing the rustling of clothes. I was or about to get up and thought in Chinese, “需要供養嗎？(Do we need to give offerings?) ” (Because before this we prepared offerings in red envelopes not knowing which holy being we were meeting. We were prepared to give offerings first. However when we entered the room I don’t recall anyone trying to give him offerings.). He immediately said “不需要供養 (no need for offerings).” I got up 90% at this point, I think. I then thought in Chinese, “需要禮拜嗎？(Do we need to prostrate?).” Immediately he said, “不需要禮拜 (no need to prostrate).”
I wasn’t shocked or anything at the time, but when I thought about it later on it was obvious. I didn’t do any actions, not even a bow to indicate I wanted to prostrate. I didn’t pull out my red envelope to indicate I had offerings. He answered me with zero delay. Maybe for bystanders, what he said would have even seemed weird. It’s as if he’s talking to himself, and with ego.
I’ve shared this on multiple occasion to my family and Dharma brothers and sisters.
