Always Helping Every Day

My journey with Dorje Shugden is a very new one as I was given this practice in January 2015. I was initially worried to commit to this practice. However, after listening to a teaching by my spiritual guide, H.E. the 25^th Tsem Rinpoche, I discovered that my worries were baseless and I knew that my Guru gave me this practice for my benefit.

My story about how Dorje Shugden has helped me is nothing dramatic like being cured of an incurable disease or a miraculous escape from a fatal accident. Mine are regular everyday stories that showed me how our Protector is very close to us and very swift when we rely on Him.

Being new to this practice, my spouse was initially skeptical but remained supportive of my decision. When the Venerable 7^th Panglung Kuten came to Kechara Forest Retreat in June 2015, I invited my husband along to the puja as it is such a precious opportunity to attend a puja performed by such an esteemed and pure monk. From agreeing to attend just one puja, my husband ended up attending all the pujas. After the first puja, he followed me there not just as a mere attendee but became involved in the preparation process as well. He offered help in any way he could as he could see how much work was involved in pujas such as these.

The turning point for us was the trance where we could see the proof right before our eyes that Dorje Shugden was indeed an Enlightened Being and was expounding the precious Dharma in an electrifying one and a half hours through Kache Marpo. My faith in my Dharmapala grew even stronger after that and to my pleasant surprise, my husband began developing faith in Him too.

As a “new kid on the block”, there were many firsts for me when it came to puja preparations. I went from a clueless “newbie” who had no idea how to shop for offerings to someone who could make torma flowers out of butter! Making torma flowers is a feat for someone like me as I am just an ordinary person with no special talents or anything but I relied heavily on Dorje Shugden to help carry me through all those times when I had doubts or worries as to whether I could complete the task beautifully and successfully.

I remember one particular puja when I was getting frustrated as my fruit offerings just would not stay put and would roll off every time I tried to stack it up. I was on the verge of giving up as I realised that the odd shapes and sizes of the fruits would make it a rather impossible task. Out of sheer desperation, I looked up to the big Dorje Shugden statue in Kechara Forest Retreat and pleaded to Him, “Dorje Shugden, please, please help hold the fruits together for the puja. JUST the puja.” I then attempted one more time and to my utter delight, the fruits stayed put! When I was doing the second bowl, the fruits were obviously rolling about as well. After a couple of tries, I looked up again and said, “Errr… please help me with this one too. Thank you.” Happy to report that the two fruit offerings stayed intact for the puja.

This year I undertook a major project filled with many challenges given the nature of the work and my lack of experience in an industry I knew nothing of. Once again, I relied heavily on my Protector, doing many serkym offerings to help clear our hurdles. Indeed, I was very blessed to have my Dharmapala beside me every step of the way and the project was completed on schedule. There were many times when I was faced with issues for which I hadn’t the slightest idea how to proceed but somehow, I knew that we would make it work because in my heart, I knew my Protector would not abandon me and would provide the conducive conditions.

The latest hurdle that my Protector helped clear was for my older son. He was placed in a secondary school that was not of our choice as we understood that the school had disciplinary problems and was generally not a choice for many parents around the area. We were told that it was going to be very difficult for us to get him into our preferred school as it is located in a different district and there were already many students applying to get in. When we went to the school to enquire, the school administrative staff also said the same thing. Prior to submitting the form to the Ministry of Education to change to our preferred school, I did a Dorje Shugden prayer complete with serkym offerings. I am happy to share that my son now will be attending the school of our choice.

My testimony is not about one episode of miracles but is a continuous story of how my Dharma Protector has never left my side, especially in times of need. He has carried me through many doubts and fears. He has even brought my husband and I spiritually closer, which is essential in a marriage and as parents. Dorje Shugden has helped me in many ways, and in ways that I may not even know or realise. I thank my precious Guru, H.E. the 25th Tsem Rinpoche with folded hands for this beneficial practice and hope that many more will embrace this Protector to receive his benefits.

Sharon Ong