Dorje
I went to the fish store looking for some small parrot fishes/goldfishes. Then a 22 inch golden Koi caught my eye among many Kois. He is very friendly, he comes to the surface to ‘greet’ you while the others stay away. He somersaults in the water, plays and very gentle. I fell in love with him there and then…. and adopted him. Now he is in my large outdoor tank right next to my bedroom and swimming happily. He swims around the sacred Vajra Yogini statue I have on the pool… Amazingly he lets you pet him and stroke his beautiful shiny body. He does not swim away and lets you touch him. I love Dorje (the new name I just gave him).
I just did a prayer and dedicated him to the Three Jewels. I will take very good care of him with nice food, lots of oxygen, greens and clean water. I will also put holy items in the water to bless them all. I want them to be happy now and plant seeds of enlightenment in their minds for their future lives.
Tsem Rinpoche
Dorje comes up to the surface nearby you without any fear..
Update: 10/02/2011
This is a 3 minute video that was taken of my fish pond. You can see Dorje and his other friends swimming around the sacred Vajra Yogini statue. It’s very beautiful to see the fishes with lots of space to swim… we should always give our pets the very best that we can.
Tsem Rinpoche
Or view the video on the server at:
http://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/ginrinchagoi.flv
































































He comes close because he thinks you’re going to feed him.
How Wonderful! Dorje’s story lifted my heart, and yes, I can see how you fell in love with him. So beautiful! A La la Ho!
I am sure Dorje will have a great rebirth!
Many blessings
Dorje is beautiful and so fortunate to have you caring for him.
what a lovely picture. . the last one is
Dear Rinpoche,
I’m not much of a fish fan, I see them and don’t feel affected much (probably because, unlike a dog, you can’t see any emotions on their faces).
After reading this post, and reading how Dorje will swim to the surface..and that Rinpoche will touch him and that Dorje doesn’t move away – it almost “humanizes” the fish.
Thank you for posting this blog post up – hopefully it’ll make others think twice about eating fishes! It sure made me.
Thank you,
Jean Mei
I am guessing that Dorje knows who Rinpoche is. There must have been a past life connection between Dorje and Rinpoche and Kechara. Dorje is one of the luckiest fishes on Earth as Dorje has the merits of being in the Lama’s fish tank. While he is in the fish tank, he can listen to all the prayers that Rinpoche chants. The story of Dorje really lifted my heart. May Dorje have a smooth and happy life and have many good human rebirths so that he can be liberated from Samsara.
Dorje is a variety of Japanese Koi known as Chagoi. From the photos it seem that Dorje has shimmering scales. If that is the case, and the shimmers are not due to reflection, then Dorje falls under the ‘ginrin’ type of koi i.e. kois with shimmering scales. Therefore, Dorje is a Ginrin Chagoi.
Chagois are known to be particularly friendly, and are often used to tame other kois in the same pond to be unafraid of human presence.
Dorje the Koi fish must have been connected with Rinpoche in past life. Just like Mumu and Oser. Although Rinpoche loves fishes, birds and all kinds of Animals. Why do some of these animals and birds attract him so much? And I am sure its the Karma that in one of the past lives of Rinpoche this fish may have been a human and very closely connected with Rinpoche. When I looked at the title of the subject I thought Rinpoche was writing on the Dorje and Bell Ritual items for puja. I got a surprise when it turn out to be a write up of a Koi fish which Rinpoche had named Dorje. I am sure Dorje is very special and hope he will take a good rebirth and be able to practice Dharma.