New Kadampa Truth SA

Gen Kelsang Legden is the Resident teacher at the Vajrapani Buddhist Centre in Johannesburg.Below is a copy of an email he sent to one of his students who was living in the UK at the time…

 Nathaniel,
 
I hope this finds you in time. I have only realized this morning, that the sms you have sent had come from you. I was under impression it was from Antony , so I replied to him.
Anyway, to cut the long story short, I believe you have abandoned the wish to become ordained and I can only guess on what basis. When I tried to analyze the sms and saw the word ordained in inverted comas, I gathered that you have been on to the internet and have come across some smear of anti NKT propaganda, and I know, there is plenty of it. Knowing your inquisitive mind a bit and how you enjoy browsing the internet, I can only imagine that you have been badly influenced by some of the horrible accusations and assumptions people have. Please check the website http://www.newkadampatruth.orgto also see the side of Geshe-la’s. I think you owe this to him. How can we trust the defiled and unreliable minds of ordinary beings and come to quick conclusions? This is very silly and dangerous! In the past this has happened to many people, which is very sad. For a long time we are still very week in our faith and therefore very vulnerable. Faith can be so
quickly destroyed, just one word is enough at times. Unless we protect ourself from such dangers, we will be plunged into doubt very quickly and then blow the most precious opportunity we have been given. Trusting others and our own deluded and disturbed mind. What a grave mistake!! Please think about this decision once more and contemplate deeply how you have strong tendencies to break away from what is actually offering you protection. Have you asked yourself ever why you have lost your own dad so soon? With your Dharma understanding you can remember the teachings on cause and effect. Without a cause, there is no effect. If we don’t continuously create the cause for what we need, we will never have it in the first place. So you have lost your dad, then you took refuge in the “Pureland Tradition” which proofed not to be what you wanted. Then you came to the VBC, gained some experiences, met Venerable Geshe-la and even received HYT empowerment,
the highest initiation within Buddhism. Took refuge in a pure being, Geshe-la and asked him to grant you ordination, which he promised to do. What good, great fortune!! Received amazing assistance and help from your step-dad, and not recognizing his kindness but take it for granted…Then moved to the UK and found a sincere and pure teacher, who offered to help you in many ways. How kind of him. Following your delusions, left and moved to another Centre where you again received amazing assistance and great support. And now, following your delusions once again, blow the most amazing opportunity to become a monk within Geshe-la’s mandala, the NKT. What more can you wish for? How many times do you think can you still run away for? This seems to be a very strong tendency to keep running way and abandon the most precious advise, support, love and refuge. Where do you think can you find the ‘real’ tradition? The real Sangha, the real Guru etc? If you
don’t stop running away, you will never find it. It exists in your own mind, but as long as you don’t remove the mental obscurations from your mind, you will never be able to perceive it. An impure mind perceives an impure world…Now is the time to remove these obscurations and don’t run away from them. You know yourself how that is not a solution for your problems. Stop trusting your own deluded mind but listen to those who have more experience and overcome your pride. Who do you think you are? It is only a humble mind that can take on advise and develop accordingly. So I’m appealing to you to drop this pride and get back down onto the ground of reality. There are many people out there with crazy minds, coming to quick conclusions based on experiences and what they see, trusting their own defiled (by delusions) mind and follow it blindly. This is spiritual suicide. You are responding similar to the way many others have responded, due to
delusions. You have had the experience with Jan, who also ran away due to following his own delusions and the monk at Amogasiddhi Centre who disrobed, all similar situations. So Please Nathaniel, for your own and others sake (including your mothers), think it over and pull yourself together. This will otherwise never stop. Unless you create the causes for having more pleasant experiences, from its own, it will not stop. Buddha said: you are your own enemy and you are your own protector. There is no one else to blame. Open up your wisdom eyes and stop believing your delusions. They will only lead you deeper in to suffering.
Anyway, this is just to give you some more food for thought. It is not too late yet and you can still change your mind. I am telling you all this with a mind of love and compassion. You know I love you and it is my wish to see you happy. I will always care for you but you will have to have the wish to be helped too, otherwise no matter how much I try, I will not be able to succeed.
Please give me a call if you wish or get me on Skype. Our classes are between 11am and 1pm and from 4.30pm – 6.30pm. you can leave me a message or send an sms.
Take care and allow the Buddhas to bless your mind.
Much love
From Legden