Month: November 2018

The following is an excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo called “Tools to Deepen in Your Practice”

We see ourselves in a dualistic way.  We have very concrete roles as to how that dualism plays out: in the way that we procreate, in the way that we die, in the way that we’re born.  We have very exacting ways in which it plays out because of our belief systems, because of the system of duality.  And we’ve had a long time to work out the kinks.  So, when we believe in physical reality as being essentially real, we can find all kinds of facts and information and people who will agree with us.

And if you wish to avoid awakening to the primordial state, you’ll have lots of friends,  because most everyone is locked into that confusion of the five senses.  Like a dream. We know how it is when we’re in a dream.  We may on some level understand it’s a dreamlike state, but the emotions are so strong.  It just pulls us into it.  A dream can be very sensual.  It can be very alluring.  It can be very stimulating in that you’ve had dreams with interesting things that happen and interesting colors, or something.  But we’ve had all kinds of dreams. We’ve had all kinds of phenomena as well.

That’s a terrible obstacle.  That’s a mean one, oh boy!  Because when you are getting ready to generate the deity, you cannot even allow the deity to arise naturally, as it does, from the from the wisdom that is emptiness because your brain has a better idea.  That’s unfortunate, because it is that wisdom that we need.

Here in Tantric practice, particularly with the Nyingma tradition, we are considered the ‘ancient’ ones, the oldest.  They say, “How many Nyingmas does it take to change a light bulb?  Well, none.  We all meditate in the dark.”  (much laughter).  So we are the ancient ones and we like to meditate in the dark.

So in Vajrayana, what is the most precious capacity is that capacity to simply let go the thoughts, the conceptualization, the products of the five senses—you know, all the conceptual proliferations that we’ve built around what we sensed.  It is letting go of that. It is opening the senses to allow the view. That is the wisdom that we really work on that becomes the very foundation for any accomplishment that we have on the Path. That’s the foundation for it.

Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Norbu Lhamo All rights reserved

Here is another excerpt from the first chapter of A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life called “The Benefits of the Awakening Mind.”  May these words written by Shantideva inspire all who encounter them.

The following is an excerpt from a public talk given by His Holiness Jigme Phuntsok:

As we begin here this afternoon, I would like to mention a little bit about the great deeds of our sole guide and protector, Lord Buddha Shakyamuni, who before he became the Buddha initially gave rise to the awakened mind, the Bodhicitta, after which he worked for countless aeons to accumulate merit, finally culminating in his enlightenment under the Bodhi tree in Bodhgaya, India.  Then 49 days later, for the benefit of all those gods and human beings and many others who would benefit indefinitely in future times as well, he turned the Wheel of the Dharma for the first time to bring the precious and holy Dharma into the world.  Now, in fact, this is the auspicious day which commemorates the first turning of the Wheel of the Dharma, and because of that I feel that all of the outer, inner and secret omens have come together to make this a most auspicious occasion.

Also at this time, on this fully endowed occasion, in this world the greatest country that exists, the most sublime, the most exalted country in terms of fame and freedom and glory which is unequalled by any other, is the United States of America.  Today for the first time I find myself in the capital city of this great land teaching the Dharma, and I am filled with joy.  Furthermore there are three reasons why I am filled with joy. I feel that the leaders of this great land, who are actually the leaders of the world, are men and women who are concerned with bringing peace to this world and establishing the beings of this world in bliss and happiness. Towards this pursuit, they work effortlessly because they have the noble qualities and the abilities and the intelligence to actually make this come about.  So I feel that they are here close to us, and this is the first reason why I feel a sense of joy: knowing that leaders such as this are in this vicinity.

The second reason I am filled with joy is because the general population of the human beings who live here in the United States of America are people who are endowed with a great amount of power and a great amount of material wealth.  Just by the fact that they live in this country they also have freedom—freedom of choice and human rights.  The condition is fully endowed. And when I think about all the people of this country having such auspicious and wondrous conditions, it is a great marvel to me, which makes me very glad.

Thirdly, the environment of this place, the particular endowment of the external environment, is that it is quite beautiful.  There are beautiful rolling hills and forests, and although it is of cyclic existence, it seems to be somewhat like a celestial realm, a god’s realm, rather than an ordinary city.  To see such a beautiful place as it is, I also feel great joy.

I had heard about this place before in Asia where I live, and it’s not until today that I actually come here. Now that I’ve really come and I am able to see for myself just how fully endowed it really is, that all the things that I heard are actually true and inconceivable, truly, then I feel even more joyful.

Now, we are Tibetan Buddhists, and in Tibet there are many traditions of Buddhism. Amongst them is the great Palyul tradition, the founder of which was the Vidyadhara Kunzang Sherab.  Kunzang Sherab’s sister was the great dakini, Ahkön Lhamo, and she was very important in helping to establish and uphold the Palyul tradition at the time when it was first initiated in the land of Tibet.  The great omniscient mind of primordial wisdom, His Holiness Penor Rinpoche, is the one who recognized her, who lives here in this land , in this incarnation, , I am especially happy to find her so well, in good health and so happy.  To meet her here at this time gives me a great amount of joy.

As for all of the rest of you, the assembly of disciples, it is clear to me that you have very strong faith in the Buddhadharma, and this is also something that is very wonderful.  You see, in Tibet there are many thousands of students who have been training in Dharma for many years, so it is not difficult for them to have faith and devotion, but here it is something quite extraordinary because this is not a Buddhist country.  It is clear to me because of the kindness of Ahkön Lhamo who has brought many of you to the path of Dharma that this is why you have made this connection and this is why your faith is so strong at this time.  I am very happy to see how this connection has been made and to see how the Dharma is flourishing here due to her kindness.

Especially too, here in the United States of America, with His Holiness the Dalai Lama as the leader, many other great lamas have come to this land, have stayed here for long periods of time and have given the Dharma teachings extensively.  I visited some of those places at this time,  however, the Dharma center of Ahkön Lhamo is different.  I haven’t seen or felt any other place like it.  That is because in Ahkön Lhamo’s center there are many ordained Sangha members.  To see the robes of the ordained is something that brings me tremendous joy—to see how the Sangha, or the ordained community, has been established in the center.  So, in particular, due to having seen the Sangha community flourishing in this way, I am extremely happy.

Generally speaking, in whatever country the Dharma may become established, it is very important for there to be a combination of the fully ordained, the partially ordained and the lay householders as a gathering of what we call the community of the Sangha.  If you have just only the lay community and no fully or partially ordained community, it is incomplete, and vice versa.  To have all of the different categories of holders of the Pratimoksha precepts together maintaining the Sangha community, it is considered to be fully endowed and complete, and that is what I see here in this center.

In particular, the category of ordination known as getsul, or novice, which of course includes the fully ordained, means those who have renounced the ordinary life of a lay person and who have taken on the life of an ordained practitioner.  Now this status is something extremely important for the survival of Buddhism in any country at any time.  This is something quite different from those who are called ngakpa, or mantra precept holders, who have no ordination according to the Pratimoksha per se.  It is different because the doctrine can completely decline and vanish, and has over the course of time completely declined and vanished in places where there are only those holding the mantra precepts.  In order for the survival of Buddhism to be assured anywhere in the world at any time so that it will always be flourishing, it is totally dependent upon the survival of the ordained Sangha.

Also as well in terms of the survival and the propagation of the Doctrine following this point of the survival of those who hold the Pratimoksha precepts, particularly that of full ordination, there is a prophecy from Lord Buddha which states that for 500 years occurring in ten successive stages of time, the Doctrine will increase and be propagated in the regions of the world.  Now there are other prophecies that have to do with the land of Tibet and the Doctrine spreading to the north and surviving only in the north and then later going to the west and surviving in the western countries.  According to this prophecy about the survival in the north, this refers to Tibet, which is the northern Snow Land of Tibet, the northern region of the world, and so there, of course, the lineage of ordination has propagated and survived.  Then also according to the prophecy that it would spread into the west, that seems to indicate the western world, not necessarily western Asia.  So when we look at the world in general and see now how in fact the lineages of ordination are moving into the western lands, then we can see how this prophecy is actually coming to pass.  This is also something to rejoice about.

Henceforth, in general, because of Ahkön Lhamo’s efforts, the Doctrine is being established in this place, and also the lineage of ordination, which I will also pray, I do pray now and I will continue to pray to be ever increasing, to always be fully endowed, and that due to this there may always be peace and happiness for all the people of this place.

The following is an excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo called “Tools to Deepen Your Practice”

Today I would like to discuss the depth at which one practices. That is to say, how to avoid practicing in a superficial way where there is no mental or emotional investment. That’s really not the ideal kind of practice.  It’s a little bit like watching TV, or listening to the radio, or something like that where you do it with half-a-mind, you know, and the rest of the time, of course, the mind is involved with other things.  And so, we’ve all heard that we don’t want that to happen, that we want the mind to be gentled and stilled but yet we have a hard time understanding that really the key to that is the depth, the level, and the absorption with which we practice.  That depth or that absorption is called the Dakini’s breath.  That is actually what makes one’s practice relevant, delicious and sweet, meaningful and nourishing. Without that depth and that level of absorption, it’s very difficult to practice in any way that is more profound than say, recitation by rote.  So that’s the effort that we want to make. In order to do that, I would like to explain things a little differently, perhaps a little more deeply than you may be used to.

One of the things that I would like to mention is that in Tantrayana,  or the path of Vajrayana (which is the same thing), which is where we are now, you could say that the Path has two eyes or two legs, two supports.  Another way to say it would be that the Path can be distilled to its essential nature in two words: wisdom and compassion.  In fact one sees in many of the thangkas, the traditional paintings that are all around, pictures of a female and male in union, two lamas as consorts in union.  And of course having ordinary minds and being used to billboards and stuff like that, we think “Oh, what is this?” But we shouldn’t look at those pictures with an ordinary mind because they have a profound meaning.  The meaning of the union between lama and consort is the union of wisdom and compassion, the union of emptiness and method. The union of emptiness and method is the perfect balance, the perfect ship by which to cross the ocean of suffering.  It’s the perfect vehicle.  And of course, first we should understand what it means.  Wisdom and compassion or emptiness and method. . .  What does it really mean?

Well the meaning is this.  First of all, wisdom is something that you cannot arrive at by accumulating facts, because facts are phenomenal. They are believed to be self-existing. They are part of samsara, even if they are very smart facts.  Even if they are PhD-style facts!  Even if they’re MD-style!  No matter how many facts you know, you can never accumulate wisdom through the accumulation of facts, or what we would call the accumulation of knowledge.  It’s not to say that the accumulation of knowledge is not necessary.  If that were the case, then none of us would need training.  We would simply sit and do our best at meditating.

Of course facts are necessary.  It is necessary for us in our practice to understand how it is that the preceding lamas and excellent practitioners  accumulated merit and how they accumulated tremendous achievement.  It’s tremendously helpful to know facts, for instance, about the great lamas and the great saints and the Buddhas that have come in this time, and in other times, in order to understand with our ordinary minds what it is about them, how they come to be.  In fact, to some degree, our ordinary minds do require satisfaction.  And that’s where Vajrayana is ideal, because Vajrayana gives us ‘mental food.’  We have visualization. We have mantra recitation. We have the absorption in emptiness and then the springing from emptiness as the deity; and then the vajra confidence and the vajra pride.  It’s busy work!  Sometimes when people who are used to just sitting quietly and doing whatever it is they do, you know, when they have that habit of just sitting quietly, and there is a part of Vajrayana Buddhism in which you do sitting meditation; but if students only have that experience, they come here and they say, “Well, my mind is not calm.  I’m reciting all this stuff and I’m really stressed because I can hardly pronounce it.  And the tunes—forget about it.  And so there!”  And of course the response to that is, “Well really in Vajrayana the task is not to calm the mind.  The task is to awaken to the emptiness of all nature,to awaken to emptiness, that is, to perceive emptiness.”

Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Norbu Lhamo All rights reserved

The female plays an important role in Tibetan Buddhism.In this video, Khenpo Tenzin Norgey teaches about the female manifestation of enlightenment – the Dakini or Khandro (Kha = Sky and Dro = Dro).“Khandro” is frequently translated as “Sky Dancer.”In an ultimate sense, “Space” or “sky” can be translated as emptiness, that which is beyond conditional phenomena.Empty but still dynamic.The Khandro is the root of enlightened activity.

The full length teaching is available at Palyul Productions