A disciple asked Rinpoche, “After receiving the Jambhala Empowerment, I cultivate the Practice piously once every day without interruption. However, when I’ve practised for more than one hundred times, there’s still not any correspondence. I thereupon increase the number of practices to five hundred times. Nevertheless, why don’t I get a fortune so far?”
Rinpoche answered with a humorous metaphor, “I know that you’d like to have a fortune very much. First of all, you have to spend a little of your own money to buy a steel helmet and load it on just in case. Otherwise, when the Jambhala throws a piece of golden brick down from the sky at random, if it happens to hit your head, you’ll probably lose your life!”

What does Rinpoche mean by saying such a metaphor? He would like to tell you not to make extravagant demand that you can get without any ‘labour’! At least, you have to pay a little ‘labour’ force as well. Do a little work and make a little money to buy a steel helmet. If you do not go to work but wish upon the sky every day hoping that the Jambhalas will grant you wealth, or perhaps you do not want to go to work day and night but look forward to winning the lottery suddenly so that glory, splendor, wealth and rank will flock in in an instant. Due to the power of bad karma in one’s past lives, one is in poverty and distress in this life which in turn results in the lack of money in this life to practise Dana (donation). If one does not do any Dana, not even a little bit, or maybe one has ever made some Dana which one thinks that it is considerably big and much. In the eyes of the Jambhalas, the Dana you have made is perhaps only a smattering that is not worth mentioning. As a result, praying round the clock to the Jambhalas for bestowing you wealth is only an extravagant hope.

Staying at home every day instead of going to work, one cultivates the Jambhala Practice and chants the Jambhala mantras all day long hoping that the Jambhalas can grant oneself great wealth and possessions. In that case, one does not need to worry about food, clothing, housing and transportation (the basic necessities of life) anymore without the need to do any labour services in the coming days. In fact, this is also the hope of many practitioners. However, practitioners have forgotten to consider the power of virtue they achieved in their previous lives. Even if you have already donated a little money, made offerings to the Guru, sponsored Buddhist centres and endowed plenty of charitable works concerning Buddhism in this life, you may not (necessarily) receive the return for cause and effect immediately in this life. Practitioners are advised to calm down and think about this thoroughly.

It is better to cultivate the bestowing of food simultaneously with the cultivation of the Jambhala Practice so that one can give Dana to sentient beings by means of food donation. This fulfills the principle of ‘self-saving, saving others,’. The ways of bestowing food do not confine only to Lhasang Smoke Offering Puja or Fire Puja in Esoteric Buddhism, Buddhist rituals like Meng Shan giving food etc. in Exoteric Buddhism are also acceptable. Besides the aforementioned, one practises Dana, helps some ‘decent and proper’ charitable and rescue works in the world. In addition, when one encounters people whose financial capacity is relatively poor or beggars, one can take the initiation to give them moderate Dana as well.

A piece of post-joke
From then on, whenever there are disciples or worshippers (including those from other Sects) coming upon to ask Rinpoche why they cannot have Correspondence in their Jambhala Practice, Rinpoche will grant them a question, “Have you bought a steel helmet yet?”
Disciples or worshippers respond, “Puzzling!”