View and Search Online Advice Book
Below is a listing of advices in the Online Advice Book. They are sorted and grouped by the date posted on our website, with the most recent additions showing first. You can enter a keyword to search for advices containing that term.
Advices posted during the month of October 2021
Holy Objects > Advice on Holy Objects > Prayer Wheels
A student asked Rinpoche to be their guru and requested for life practices. The student had a prayer wheel which they turned while reciting prayers and mantras and reading texts. They also asked if taking refuge and vows by listening to audio...
Death and Transitions > Impermanence and Death > Impermanence and Death
Rinpoche advised the importance of training the mind in lamrim and especially remembering impermanence and death, in this letter to a student who requested life practices. Rinpoche suggested preliminary practices to purify obstacles and collect...
Path to Enlightenment (lam-rim) > Lam-rim Study and Practice > Training the Mind in Lam-rim
In this letter, Rinpoche recommended several preliminary practices and explained how to benefit others by reciting Chenrezig’s mantra, OM MANI PADME HUM and meditating on the lamrim, the graduated path to enlightenment.
Working for the Dharma > Service and Support of the Dharma > Generosity and Charitable Projects
A student had taken out life insurance and nominated Kopan Monastery as the beneficiary. Rinpoche heard about this and was very pleased.
Working for the Dharma > Conflict and Obstacles at the Center > Conflict With Others
A student had been asked not to attend a Dharma center, even though they had offered service as a volunteer there. The student felt left out. Rinpoche had previously advised them to just keep rejoicing in all that they had done for the center in...
Buddhist Practices > Advice for New Students > Advice for New Students
Rinpoche outlined the entire path to enlightenment for a student who asked for direction on their spiritual path. The student had several tattoos of deities and mantras on their body, and Rinpoche also advised what to do about these.
Sickness and Health > Addictions and Mental Illness > Addictions: Drugs and Alcohol
Rinpoche sent this letter to a student who wrote that her daughter had become a heroin addict and her son had recently committed suicide. They had both experienced childhood trauma many years ago.
Contemporary Issues > Politics and Conflict > Prayers for Peace
Students at a Dharma center asked what they could do for the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan after the fall of Kabul in August 2021, when hundreds of thousands of Afghans were displaced by Taliban militants.
Advices posted during the month of September 2021
Sickness and Health > Brain and Nervous System > Insomnia / Sleep Disorders
A student asked Rinpoche what he could do about nightmares which he had been experiencing for many years.
Contemporary Issues > Dharma in Daily Life > Dharma and Worldly Activities
Rinpoche observed some people jogging when he was out for an evening walk with Sangha from Taichung’s Shakyamuni Center. Rinpoche paused and gave this advice.
Working for the Dharma > Advice to Dharma Centers > Practice Advice for Centers
Rinpoche advised these practices to overcome obstacles for a new director and for the center.
Meditation and Retreat Advice > Retreats > Obstacles to Retreat
A student was about to start three-year retreat and asked Rinpoche if there were obstacles and what to do.
Buddhist Practices > Practicing in Prison > Practices for Death Row
A student had been helping a prisoner on death row for about fifteen years. They had studied the Lamrim Chenmo, texts by Shantideva and Nagarjuna, and were reciting the sutras and reading commentaries. The student asked Rinpoche for...
Working for the Dharma > Service and Support of the Dharma > Offering Service
A student offered practices they had done and also thanked Rinpoche for being able to work for him for the last ten years in the Dharma center’s office.
Path to Enlightenment (lam-rim) > Guru Devotion > When the Guru Manifests Illness
A family offered Rinpoche a special Padmasambhava thangka after he manifested a stroke in April 2011. Rinpoche thanked the family for their gift and advised that his sickness has been a great teaching and an incredible way for people all over the...
Compassion and Bodhicitta > Developing Compassion > The Good Heart
Rinpoche discussed the meaning of loving oneself with a student. Rinpoche typed his own responses; lightly edited for ease of reading.
Sickness and Health > Cancer > Tumors
A student’s mother had a tumor in her intestine. Rinpoche checked and advised these practices.
Sickness and Health > Brain and Nervous System > Dementia and Alzheimer's
A student wrote that they had dementia and their condition was deteriorating.
Advices posted during the month of August 2021
Negative Emotions > Depression > Advice on Depression
A student asked Rinpoche for advice about depression which had developed after a relationship breakup. The student wrote that they became depressed after reflecting on the sufferings of aging, sickness and death.
Path to Enlightenment (lam-rim) > Lam-rim Study and Practice > Training the Mind in Lam-rim
A student wrote that they had a mental illness and asked about practices for life. The student said they felt a strong connection with Manjushri. Rinpoche recommended effortful meditation on the basis of Lama Tsongkhapa’s lamrim texts, along with...
Death and Transitions > Caring for Others at the Time of Death > Caring for the Dying
Rinpoche sent this message to a family whose daughter was close to passing away.
Contemporary Issues > Politics and Conflict > Advice and Practices for Various Countries
Rinpoche sent this letter to a government official from the Lahaul and Spiti district in Himachal Pradesh, India. Rinpoche wrote about his wish to build a rotunda or room for healing the sick and explained the Method to Transform daily...
Sickness and Health > Cardiovascular and Respiratory > Cardiovascular Disease
Rinpoche gave this advice to a student who had been experiencing heart palpitations for about two years and had recently been hospitalized three times.
Sickness and Health > Cardiovascular and Respiratory > Cardiovascular Disease
A student wrote that a relative had heart bypass surgery, which was supposed to be a simple procedure, but he was admitted to ICU after the bypass because his lower intestine had stopped functioning. The student asked Rinpoche to check on his...
Sickness and Health > Brain and Nervous System > Dementia and Alzheimer's
A student was showing signs of Alzheimer’s disease, a type of dementia. Rinpoche checked and offered this advice for their health.
