News 
March 9, 2009 - Hong Kong, China
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Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche Returns to Hong Kong in 2009
Watch photo slideshow from this visit
Wisdom of Emotions Teachings
As DPR entered the filled-to-capacity shrine room
of the Hong Kong Karma Kagyu Buddhist Society, the look on everyone's faces said
it all - one of sheer joy. The Karma Kagyu Buddhist Society is located in
Wan Chai, at the heart of Hong Kong city, and was founded in 1980 by H.H.
the 16th Karmapa. Ponlop Rinpoche, then aged 15, was attending His
Holiness during this tour. For two evenings on March 5th and 6th,
2009, Rinpoche returned to give teachings and instructions on how to work with emotions.
He jokingly opened the talk by saying "I don't need to tell you what emotions are. You all know. Let's go home." With his usual penetrating humor, Rinpoche
proceeded to give profound yet very practical advice on methods for
working with our everyday minds and recognizing the wisdom of
emotions.
Wild Awakening Teachings
Rinpoche's next major event in Hong Kong was teachings on his book,
Wild Awakening,
at Olympic House on March 7th and 8th. Preregistration for this event had filled
completely within 10 days of its announcement. While speaking to well over 300
people about Mahamudra and Dzogchen, to everyone's surprise, Rinpoche
occasionally used Chinese terms, eliciting enthusiastic applause from the
audience. In addition to these profound teachings, Rinpoche also offered refuge vows and
attended a book signing, giving everyone the opportunity to make
or renew a personal connection with him.
In January of this year, in Taiwan,
Rinpoche attended the launch of the new, Chinese translation of
Wild Awakening.
Since its release, the book has been the #1 best seller in the
spiritual titles category, and was the overall #4 best seller in Taiwan
for several weeks. The weekend program at Olympic House was efficiently
organized by Nalandabodhi students and friends in Hong Kong.
Both the Wisdom of Emotions and Wild Awakening programs were attended by resident teacher Khenpo Rinpoche, lamas, and Buddhist students from Hong Kong, Taiwan, mainland China, and westerners
who travelled from as far as New Zealand.
"About Consciousness" Event
On Monday, March 9th, Ponlop Rinpoche gave the opening talk for the "About Consciousness" conference at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. During this conference, many guest speakers
were invited to share their views and participate in discussions on the nature of consciousness.
In his opening talk, Rinpoche spoke about one of the Buddhist theories of consciousness, explaining the eight consciousnesses and how they relate to the five wisdoms.
Immediately following the talk, Rinpoche was joined by Venerable Hin Hung from the Centre of Buddhist Studies at Hong Kong University, Prof. Cecilia Chan (Director of the Centre on Behavioral Health, HKU) and Dr. Vincent Tse (President of the Association of Life and Death Education) in a panel discussion on consciousness after death. The event was well attended, and marked an auspicious beginning to this conference.
Meeting with Psychologists and Caregivers
In an intimate setting at the Excelsior Hotel in Hong Kong, Rinpoche spoke to a small group of psychologists and caregivers on Tuesday, March 10th. Rinpoche gave a short talk on how to be of the greatest benefit to those near death. The floor was then opened for questions. As usual, Rinpoche answered with clarity and humor, bringing smiles to the faces of each person he interacted with. Following the Q & A, Rinpoche mingled with all the guests, making sure to meet with all those who wanted to speak with him.
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