Dear HHLIM,

Thank you for your question. What you have described is not normal. Dorje Shugden is the emanation of Manjushri, who is the Buddha of Wisdom. As a Buddha, he cannot affect people in negative ways. When we see a Buddha image or hear their prayers and mantras, we can only be affected in positive ways. This is because all Buddhas operate from the highest form of compassion. They only do what is the best for us and they can never harm us.

I think what is happening to your father is probably due to his state of mind. You should talk to him and explain to him who Dorje Shugden is, his benefits and that he is an emanation of Manjushri. That might help to ease his mind. Sometimes having an image of a deity can disturb some people's minds because they do not know who the deity is. This is especially the case if they are not familiar with the form of the deity. To them it may seem strange at first, but once they know the benefits of Dorje Shugden then their minds will calm down. You can explain to your father about the benefits of Dorje Shugden's practice. You can find a list of these benefits here: http://www.dorjeshugden.org/benefits/how-dorje-shugden-helps.

Since your father is an amputee, he may be suffering from mental stress at having lost his limbs. This is very common with people who have been amputated, even if not recent. If you father is open to the idea, you can ask him to chant Dorje Shugden's mantra, which will bring him a lot of peace. You can also move the image to another location of the house if your father does not like it where it is. I hope this helps. Thank you.

Dear Alberto Vassallo,

Hello! It is very nice to see you here. Unfortunately, I do not know of any Dorje Shugden centres in or around Genova. However, there is a very famous master named Gangchen Rinpoche who has a centre in Italy. The address of the centre is:

Via Campo dell’Eva, 1
28813 Albagnano di Bée (VB) Italia
Tel +39 0323 569601 – Fax +39 0323 569921
reception@ngalso.net

They also have a website which you can visit here: http://ahmc.ngalso.net.

I hope this helps and was what you were looking for. Thank you.

Hello Ken,

It's nice to see you here again. As for your question, this would depend on what sort of Chenrezig initiation that you have received, as there are many lineages of practice. If you have received a practice that involves front generation (visualizing the deity in front of you) then you would not visualize yourself as Chenrezig during the invitational verses to Dorje Shugden. However, as you have the initiation, you can visualize Chenrezig on top of your head instead of Lama Tsongkhapa.

If you have received the practice in which you can self-generate (visualize yourself as the deity) then yes, you can visualise yourself as the deity and then visualize the lights from your heart. Usually, Dharma protector practice is done before the dissolution of the main deity sadhana, in this case Chenrezig. However, if you have received initiation you should check with your Lama, during which section of the sadhana you can insert Dharma protector practice. I hope this helps.

Thank you.

Dear Ken,

Thank you for your interesting question! You are indeed right about needing initiation to engage in the corresponding visualization of lights emanating from one's heart to invite Dorje Shugden. This can be any deity initiation in which you are given permission to generate oneself as the meditational deity. In the case of Dharma protector practices, one engages in these meditational deity practices before one engages in Dharma protector practices. For those without initiation, we engage in the Guru Yoga of Lama Tsongkhapa.

For those of us without initiation, when we recite the invitational verses, we can visualise Lama Tsongkhapa sitting on top of our heads. His size is similar to the size of our thumb. One should concentrate on visualizing Lama Tsongkhapa sitting on top of our head. When we recite the line that says "rays of light from my heart, invite from the natural sphere..” we imagine that lights shine out from Lama Tsongkhapa's heart, not ours, to invite Dorje Shugden. I hope this helps. Thank you.

Dear Eddie,

Unfortunately, I do not know of any centres in Bangkok that practice Dorje Shugden. However, depending on where you live in the world, there are many centres all across the globe that practice Dorje Shugden and where you can learn more about his beneficial practice. You can search online, or you can even reply here to area you live and we can help you locate the nearest centre to your location. I hope this helps. Thanks.