Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

An excerpt from a teaching called Bodhicitta by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

From this very moment forward, I offer this life as a gift to the Three Precious Jewels. My pure intention is to accomplish the purpose of self and others, supreme enlightenment, quickly and surely. Thus I vow that all my life, every portion shall be used to accomplish that goal. All my activities shall accomplish that goal. All my thoughts and feelings are directed towards that goal. All my possessions shall be strengthened to support that goal. I shall seek all appropriate teachings, empowerments, and spiritual activities in order to secure that goal. My own enlightenment is now considered to be equal to and non-dual with the enlightenment of others. Therefore I vow to support fully and without hesitation the practicing spiritual community. I vow to support fully with unconditional love the Three Precious Jewels, the recitations, the Sangha and the temple. I will not kill; I will not lie to accomplish selfish purpose. I will not steal. I will not become intoxicated and therefore forget my purpose and vows. I will not engage in adultery, promiscuous activity by which my intention will be compromised.

I fully intend to do all that I can to accomplish the liberation of all sentient beings. I consider the realization of all beings to be equal with my own and of equal value. I fully support the spiritual community and its purpose on Earth. Should any activity, or possession or relationship be contrary to those purposes, I will systematically change them or eliminate them from my life. This I promise so there will be an end to hatred, greed and ignorance in my mind stream and in the 3,000 myriads of universes so that all beings and I myself shall achieve the precious awakening.

The Refuge Vow

I take refuge in the Lama,

I take refuge in the Buddha,

I take refuge in the Dharma,

I take refuge in the Sangha.

The Bodhisattva Vow

I dedicate myself to the liberation and salvation of all sentient beings. I offer my body, speech and mind in order to accomplish the purpose of all sentient beings. I will return in whatever form necessary under extraordinary conditions to end suffering. Let me be born in times unpredictable, in places unknown until all sentient beings are liberated from the cycle of death and rebirth. Taking no thought for my comfort or safety, Precious Lama, make of me a pure and perfect instrument by which the end of suffering and death in all forms may be realized. Let me achieve perfect enlightenment for the sake of all beings. Then by my hand and heart alone, may all beings achieve full enlightenment and perfect liberation.

Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo. All rights reserved

An excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo from the Dakini Workshop

When the Buddha’s activities are accomplished in the world, through our lack of understanding, we will see lots of different things. For instance, in this temple, we may see the need for fundraising, and we may see the intensive effort that is supposed to go into that. We may see the need for expansion and how intensive the effort for that can be and we may see the extent of our own effort, which seems to be awesome. Yet, every bit of that perception is only based on the belief in self-nature as being inherently real. There is no one to struggle if the belief in self-nature is not clung to. It is that clinging that is the basis for the struggle.

From the point of view of enlightened intention, one can understand that from a tiny event that seemed in our continuum to take place 2,500 years ago and then continued on with a thread of different experiences and different incarnations, it may seem that that tiny event gave birth to the oddest things in the oddest of places in Poolesville, Maryland where the Dharma is born. Then we think about all of the things in India and we think about all the things in Tibet and we think about all the things that are happening around the world concerning the Buddha’s activity. From the point of view of the intention of that one life, that is a very small piece of effort. But from our point of view, of course, we are seeing the great effortfulness and it seems to be continuing endlessly, especially within the context of our lives. We seem to think that it is continuing endlessly.

One must understand, however, that even thinking that all of this came from one small life, even that is an outrageous delusion. It is a contrivance that we make to satisfy ourselves. One must understand that from the point of view of enlightenment, from the unborn vast expanse of emptiness, of blissful emptiness, within that sphere of truth that we call the great mother, all potency spontaneously arises and is born, demonstrates itself or dances or moves in as many displays, forms, formlessnesses as we can possibly imagine and beyond what we can imagine. And even as it is born, even as it moves, it is inherently and therefore immediately complete. That means that all sentient beings have within them the inherent Buddha nature and therefore will achieve enlightenment, but that is our confusion. In fact, we have never been separate from the sphere of truth. We have never been anywhere else but born and completed in the great lotus of the great mother. Anything else is complete fabrication.

We have never left the space of emptiness and we have never lost the scent of emptiness. From the point of view of enlightenment we have never beheld or looked at anything other than emptiness. We have never seen anything other than our own face. We have never lost a moment’s time.

Yet, here we are trying to understand the nature of the dakini, like trying to be seduced back into remembering our own face, straining to hear the sound of our own name. From the point of view of the enlightened activity that is consistent with the dakini nature, there is no loss. There is no distinction. There is no separation. There is no need for struggle. Yet it is clear that we remain fixed on the idea of separation between self and other. We remain hooked with concepts such as the distinction between dirty and clean. We remain addicted to the idea of hatred, greed and ignorance and seem to be unable to let them go so that they can simply do what they do naturally so that all phenomena, the moment that it naturally arises, is immediately completed.

From the point of view of enlightenment, no phenomenon continues itself. No piece of what we experience, whether we wish to experience or do not wish to experience, by its nature continues or completes itself. The experience of continuation that we have is only due to our own continuing it, our own determination to continue it. No phenomenon is exempt. All things arise from the sphere of truth. They are spontaneously born and instantly complete.

Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo. All rights reserved

An excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo called “How Buddhists Think”

The Buddha’s next teaching is that there exists a cessation of suffering, which is the same as the cessation of desire. This cessation is called Enlightenment, and it is the only true cessation of suffering.

In a very poor society, people focus on basic survival. But what happens in a society like ours, in which survival is not a main concern? (If nothing else works, we can go on welfare.) Since we don’t need to focus on survival, we have time to be neurotic. The more we seem to satisfy our needs, the more needs we develop.

In cyclic existence, there is no way to solve all our needs. Everything constantly changes. And temporary happiness is almost a mixed blessing: it always ends, and in the meantime, we are preoccupied with it. The problem is that we haven’t done anything about viewing our true Nature. It’s almost as if we keep ourselves satisfied by eating the icing off the cake; never really obtaining genuine nourishment.

When the Buddha taught that there is an end to suffering, it was a major revelation. Why? Although the great yogis and gurus at that time taught that one could achieve God-consciousness, cosmic consciousness, the Buddha superseded that. Due to the ripening of his great generosity in past lives, he was able to come to a level of meditation in which he realized the cessation of fixation––fixation on godliness and even fixation on the consciousness of self. He attained a level of realization that was simply “Awake.” No consciousness, no sameness, no union. Simply pure luminosity: “I am Awake.”

At that moment, all the cause-and-effect building blocks accumulated throughout time out of mind, all the building blocks from endless involvement with subject-object fixation, all the fixation on ego as real––all of this was pacified. The Buddha realized the sameness and indivisibility of subject and object, the inseparability of action and stillness, the sameness, the “Suchness” of all that is. All was dispelled in clear, uncontrived, luminous awareness. This non-specific awareness is the pure view of one’s own true Nature. It is simply being awake. The Buddha teaches that this is the end of all suffering, because it is the end of what you make suffering with. It is the end of cause-and-effect relationships––and therefore, according to Buddhism, the end of karma.

Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo. All rights reserved

The following is from a series of tweets by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo:

I went to the river. Once again dry, but for the tears in my eyes there was none for me to drink. I need to drink.

When water runs dry… We wait, the fish wait, the animals wait all of us wait. It cannot be found.

Later I saw the river again. Willows had grown, sucking up water. Since there was food for the Moose, I do not cry.

The Moose is so hungry, but the willows, they cry…will the water return by and by? The Raven sighs.

Once I brought three lotus to the river. Not one could stay. I cried, and walked away. Alone.

The scent lingers. The willows continue their thirsty way. Moose grows fat.

Someone must bring the rain. Soon we will all be gone. The feast of sweetness abandoned.

Here is a Lotus in my window. I pray the fragrance is pure.

Here is a candle shining. Here is a hope.

Soon I must bring a Lotus to the river with joy. But I do not know if it will float downstream. They often do.

Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo.  All rights reserved

From a series of tweets by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo:

What is “Right Speech” in Buddha Dharma? Mostly as with the Eight Fold Path, we must do no harm. To understand right speech one must first understand what non virtuous speech is. That is where one speaks in a way as to be hurtful, offensive to another. Like name- calling and bullying others. Hate speech, in other words. Any speech that elevates oneself at the expense of others. Mean speech, speech without foundation, especially, which is gossip. Divisive speech. Speech that is not factual – lying. Telling tales to hurt a person’s livelihood. Lying speech causing one to prosper while others cannot as a result. Some think brutal honesty is right speech. Not so. Take the brutality out. Some think they are always right so brutality is necessary. Never the case!

We can always use right speech if we try. And to try we must be warm hearted and caring. Willing to take a back seat and applaud another’s efforts. At that point we can develop right speech, that is helpful. We can nurture, build confidence, benefit others with right speech. It is teaching, helpful and loving. When right speech is accomplished, in a future life one’s voice will be gifted and empowered. One will bring happiness and good result from teaching. One will be born with a beautiful voice, that is well loved and can transmit many blessings. That is the power of right speech, and one can see if they have spoken kindly in a previous life. The voice will be a beautiful thing, like a golden magical flute. All will benefit and Dharma will be spoken.

Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo. All rights reserved

The following is an excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo called “Keeping Heart Samaya”

The Buddha has taught us some main points. These main points necessarily pervade all other levels of Buddhist doctrine or Buddhist philosophy or Buddhist teaching. They are the foundational thoughts that you have to use to think through the logic of the Buddhadharma. Without these fundamental thoughts, nothing that we accomplish in Dharma will make any sense or have any real weight. We are encouraged as Dharma students not to have some kind of blind faith based on no recognition of cause and effect relationships, but instead to have a faith that is based, yes, on heart, but also on logic, on reasonableness.

Lord Buddha himself taught that you should examine the teachings. If, having learned these foundational thoughts, they do not seem reasonable to you, if it doesn’t seem thoughtful and reasonable and intelligent to continue on in the way the Buddha has prescribed, then you shouldn’t do it.

The Buddha has taught that the Dharma should be logical and reasonable. And the way that the Buddha laid it out, it is. It is. For myself (some of you know my story), I was not born in the Tibetan monastery. I was found here, in America. I was born in Brooklyn of half-Jewish, half-Italian heritage, a little Catholic, a little lox and bagels. When my teacher found me, I was 38 years old, so I was already established in whatever habits I had, probably most of them bad. We have a lot of bad habits by the time we are 38, don’t we? By the time I found my teacher, I was quite established in a certain way, but I have found that in that meeting with my teacher a certain communication about the Buddha’s teaching has come to me that is logical and reasonable. There is a certain way to follow through the teaching that even appeals to a hard-headed, Brooklyn-born, half-Jewish, half-Italian gal like me. Now, I am a very practical person, a very practical person. So when I view the Buddha’s teachings, I want to know that they make sense to me. I want to know that they are reasonable. I, myself, would have difficulty following something that did not seem reasonable to me in some way.

Taking into account that sentient beings cannot actually gather all the necessary data by which to evaluate this logical Buddhist teaching, we have to rely to some degree – to a large degree actually – on the Buddha’s perception. For instance, all sentient beings do not have the capacity to actually evaluate samsara or the wheel of death and rebirth, conditioned life, realistically. In the same way, if we had no TV cameras and no satellite communication, none of our modern tools, we wouldn’t know for sure, let’s say, that there are people in China. We could hear about it. We could even hear Chinese people in America tell us that it exists, but for ourselves, unless we had gone there, we would never know. Not really, not for sure. But today we have TV and news reporters and newspaper pictures and satellites that broadcast information, and we can see China with our own eyes, even though it is on the other side of the world. So in a way, the Buddha acts like that for us.

Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo. All rights reserved

[google72e18ae637cd3487.html]

The following video was filmed live at Kunzang Palyul Choling in Maryland. Khenpo Tenzin Norgay offers advice on the challenges of practicing Dharma during the degenerating times: