KECHARA

PEOPLE • PASTOR ORDINATION
81
The pastorship role was
conceptualised by His Eminence
the 25th Tsem Rinpoche to
preserve the Dharma and to
give lay people the opportunity
to commit to benefit others.
The first Buddhist pastor at
Kechara was ordained on 24 th
October 2011 and every year
since then, more pastors have
made this commitment to bring
the Buddha’s teachings to the
people of our modern era.
Kechara’s Buddhist pastors
receive their ordination from His
Eminence, whose vows stem from
an unbroken lineage of Tibetan
Buddhist masters, tracing all the
way back to Lord Shakyamuni, the
historical Buddha. In addition to
holding their Refuge and Pastor
vows, which is to serve others
with sincerity and without a selfish
motivation, they also undergo
various levels of training in their
spiritual advancement before
becoming one of Kechara’s
Buddhist pastors. The selection
and training is a rigorous
process, and the appointment of
the pastors must be approved by
Kechara’s Board of Directors and
blessed by Tsem Rinpoche.
There are two types of pastors
within Kechara:
Lay Pastors:
people who are committed to
their spiritual practice but have
pre-existing obligations to family
and other commitments.
Sanghas-to-be:
people who aspire to become
fully ordained members of the
sangha (monastic community) in
the near future.
Today, there are 17 pastors
and sanghas-to-be who have
sincerely devoted their time,
energy and efforts to be of
service to society and to spread
the teachings of Buddhism as
profoundly encapsulated by
Tsem Rinpoche. In 2015, two
separate ordinations were held in
Kechara to solemnise and honour
the appointments of four new
Buddhist pastors who joined the
existing team of spiritual heroes.
The Wesak Day celebration,
which fell on 3 rd May 2015, was
even more special this year as the
Kechara Organisation celebrated
its sixth Pastorship Ordination
Ceremony. On this auspicious
day, three new Buddhist pastors
were ordained, and one of
whom has also requested to be
ordained as a nun.
Towards the end of the year, on
30 th October 2015, the seventh
Pastorship Ordination Ceremony
was held, during which a pastor
and sangha-to-be requested and
received his vows after being a
full-time Dharma staff in Kechara
for more than seven years.
Both Pastor Ordination
Ceremonies this year were
conducted by Pastor Kok Yek Yee
as authorised and empowered by
Kechara’s Founder and Spiritual
Advisor, Tsem Rinpoche.
The ordination of Buddhist
pastors was His Eminence’s idea
to bridge the gap between the
ordained sangha of monks and
nuns, and lay people. Empowered
through the blessings of His
Eminence, pastors are lay
persons committed to sharing
the Buddha’s teachings, conduct
rituals and services like pujas, to
offer counselling to those in need
and perform wholeheartedly any
activities that are beneficial to
others.