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Vairocana

December 24, 2014March 25, 2014 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is an excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo offered during a Phowa retreat:

On the first day, it is Vairochana Buddha that will appear. He either manifests in the form of a Buddha, according to our beliefs, should we have the capacity to recognize, or he will manifest in the form of dazzling blue lights and geometric shapes. These dazzling blue lights are just that—they are dazzling. They are unlike anything we have ever seen on the physical level. They will knock you for a loop. Literally knock you for a loop. It will be unlike anything you have ever seen. The ultimate light show, friends. And it will be different than you have ever seen it. So one needs to practice in order to be able to recognize the nature that is Vairochana Buddha.

At the same time that this almost violent, dazzling, ultra-dazzling blue light will appear, another softer white light will appear. The softer and white light will be more welcoming, but this softer white light corresponds to the world of the gods. Do not follow. Go to that light which is dazzling, perhaps more unfamiliar, perhaps more frightening. Call out to the Buddha. Try not to take the easiest way out, but ask yourself, require yourself to recognize the Buddha. If the person seeing this has no idea of what is happening, the sheer brightness of the light of the Buddha is somehow terrifying. If they haven’t practiced, you see, they are unused to it, so it is terrifying; and one will be more inclined to follow the light of the worlds of the gods, as it is soft and pleasing. So beware of that.

Here are the two correct attitudes, according to this lama, that are very helpful to adopt in order to face the situation. The first one consists of becoming conscious that the blinding blue light manifests the presence of Vairochana Buddha. So we pray every day from now until the time of our death, and especially around the time of our death, that he will dispel the suffering and phenomena of the bardo. And particularly when we see him, when we see this very bright blue light or when we recognize that the Buddha is present, we pray to him and ask him to dispel the delusion and make the way clear for us. The second method requires more profound knowledge than the first one. The first one, you only have to have heard; literally, you now have enough to do that. You have heard, and through the force of your caring about this hearing and wanting to internalize it, it is that force that will make you remember that you have heard that Vairochana will appear at this time. Now you know that. You are expecting to be in the bardo; you are expecting to see light that you are uncomfortable with. You are expecting to see things you do not recognize or feel familiar with, and you will know not to be afraid. That’s the first way, you see.

The second way requires more knowledge than the first way, and it involves recognizing that the light which appears that is Vairochana has no external existence separate from oneself. That it is the manifestation of one of the five Buddhas present within our own mind. And he says here that, “Their manifested aspects are externally expressed, but in truth their light has no intrinsic external existence.” This blue is actually the luminosity of our own minds; yet we cannot recognize it because we have not become familiar with our own minds. And so the second method, in order to get through this particular aspect of the bardo, is to recognize that this has no inherent existence outside of ourselves. That this is, in fact, a display of our own inherent Buddha nature, and in that way, to become familiar with it and non-dual. Remaining fully aware that the light and the mind are one will free us from the suffering of the bardo. On the other hand, if we are enticed by the white light of the god realm, we will be seduced to be reborn as a long life god—the god that lives a long time and smells good and looks good, feels good, but then eventually, pffft., A bad end to that vacation. So we do not wish to be reborn in the god realm. Do not go for instant gratification in this case. Trust me on this one.

The Challenge of Limited Perception

December 16, 2014February 16, 2014 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is an excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo offered during a Phowa retreat:

Now you have to examine yourself, and you have to ask yourself: What are your habit patterns? If it has been your habit that you have not finished tasks, then you have to train yourself in a way that you have never trained yourself before. If it has been your habit that you have thought of yourself as inept, incompetent, not worthy, and a failure, and you think that probably you will begin this but you will not be able to finish it, you will not be able to succeed at it… You have the idea that you’re not going to go all the way with it, and you could feel yourself slip-sliding away… You could feel yourself kind of going in a direction that you mentally have the habit of going in, but one that is not productive to you and will absolutely lead to the end of this situation that you find yourself in. Then, of course, you will have to train yourself in a way that you have never trained yourself before. And the reason why is that, first of all, you must understand this: You can. That’s the first reason to do it. Because you have the habit pattern, that does not excuse you from changing the habit or from learning how to apply the antidote. Because things have been this way up until this time does not mean that you have no aptitude for training yourself with method. Through using method and through relying on the method and relying on the help from your spiritual friend or teacher, there’s no reason you cannot do that, even if you have never done that before.

Here’s why. When we deal with our own lives and our own self opinions, our own ideas about ourselves, our own habitual tendencies, our own ways that we function, and particularly our own ways in which we think about and perceive ourselves, there’s a certain degree of flexibility. There is very little about life that will come up and slap you in the head in such a way as to tell you exactly what you are doing wrong. Life will slap you in the head, no doubt about that, but it may happen ten years after you’re making the mistake that you’re making now. It could happen in the next life. You may never have the opportunity to make the connection as to what you did wrong, what happened, where you fell short, and why things didn’t pan out.

So life isn’t really a good teacher. We like to say that we learn from life. Life confuses us more than anything else. We don’t learn from life because many of the causes that we begin within our own lifespan in this lifetime won’t even ripen in this lifetime. When they do, consider yourself fortunate. If you conduct yourself in a way that is inappropriate—unkind, lacking in generosity, self-absorbed, hateful, or whatever—and you see the ripening of it within a short enough time to where you can recognize the connection, that is Guru Rinpoche’s blessing; and you should consider it Guru Rinpoche’s blessing. Really, you should immediately drop to your knees and do some prostrations, because that is luck. That is a blessing. But what usually happens is that the result of what we have done becomes hidden by years, and by all of the flip-flop, inside-out movements that we make during the course of our lives. There are so many options, so many ways that we can go, that we literally don’t have the kind of mind that can follow the threads through. See what I’m saying? We don’t have the kind of mind that can pull the thread and follow it from beginning to end, coupled by the fact that we have the additional problem that relatively, proportionately, very little of our non-virtuous causes will ripen during the course of this lifetime. Most of them will ripen in the bardo state after death, or in the next life, or the life after that. There are no guarantees. So it’s very difficult to learn.

Excitement

October 24, 2013 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo called “Desire Blocks Happiness”

I don’t know how many times people have come to me and said, “Gosh, I’m so excited about this path! I would love to practice this path. It seems so wonderful! I’m so excited about this path. But you know, that’s like me. I always get really excited about things, and I jump into them; and I get really on fire, and then I burn out real quick. But maybe this one is different! This could be it!” Well, you know, that’s the example that I can give you that I see again and again and again and again. But people are like that about everything! Whenever we get a new object, we get real excited about it, or we become attached to it; and we think this is the thing that is going to make us happy. But it isn’t. Or we get a new relationship, and we just get all in love, and in friendship, and whatever it is, enamored. And then we think, “Oh, this is going to be the one that makes a difference!” And then, well it does, but it isn’t. It really isn’t.

What are we actually seeing? First of all, we’re actually seeing the faults of cyclic existence. What begins must end. What goes up must come down. What causes us to be supremely elated must also cause disappointment. What comes together must result in separation. That is the fault of cyclic existence. That is its quality. We’re seeing the reflection of the condition of cyclic existence. More than that, we are seeing the reflection of our own mind. Our own mind. Our own mind has within it the karma, or cause and effect set-up, if you will, to be able to experience that kind of thing again and again and again. That is our habitual tendency. We are suffering from a kind of inflammation of the mind. The mind is inflamed. Interestingly, the very thing that causes us to be so inflamed by some new toy, you know, some new relationship, some new thing that comes into our life, some new event, some new job, some new spiritual path, some new idea… Something that comes into our mind that causes us to be so oh, gosh! everything’s going to be different now! So breathlessly excited. Everything that comes into our mind like that, that quality of inflammation. And it is like an inflammation, isn’t it? We become all puffed up and red like inflammations. That quality of inflammation is the same quality that will actually lead to the downfall of that particular circumstance to satisfy us, because that very inflammation is an indication of the instability of our minds.

Renunciate Vow for Lay Practitioners

October 2, 2013 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following vows were composed by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo who received permission to offer them to her students from His Holiness Penor Rinpoche:

Renunciate Vow for Lay Practitioners

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 toward that goal.
All my possessions shall be to strengthen and 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 and with unconditional love the three precious jewels and their manifestations: the Sangha and 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, or 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 and my own equally.
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 these purposes I will systematically change it or eliminate it from my life.

This I promise so that there will be an end to hatred, greed and ignorance within my mindstream and within the three thousand myriads of universes and so that myself and all beings shall achieve the precious awakening.

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 circumstances 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 might be realized. Let me achieve perfect enlightenment for the sake of all beings. And then, by my hand and heart alone, may all beings achieve full enlightenment and perfect liberation.

Refuge Vows

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 Seven Line Prayer as Practice

September 15, 2013 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is an excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo called “The Guru Is Your Diamond”

Likewise, when the student accepts the teacher, they must honor that vow and they must make a similar vow in their own way. That vow is contained in The Seven Line Prayer. “Following you, I will practice.” Even though the prayer is directly to Guru Rinpoche, the prayer has an inner, outer and secret level of meaning. So we recite it thinking of Guru Rinpoche on a lotus and having the intention, hopefully, to understand that even though this appears as Guru Rinpoche on the lotus, it is inseparable from our own root gurus—same nature, same taste, same essence, same uncontrived primordial essence. And so, every time we recite the prayer to Guru Rinpoche, The Seven Line Prayer, we reconfirm that entire process: recognizing that Guru Rinpoche was the one who came from Orgyen; that he was born on a lotus in an extraordinary way. This is like our saying, ‘I understand that this is not ordinary. I understand that this did not happen as ordinary births, as ordinary conditions happen. And so having understood, I also promise to follow and to practice.’ And then we ask for the Guru’s blessing, Guru Pedma Siddhi Hung. Guru Pedma, grant me your blessings.

There is so much condensed into the power of that little prayer that I make you say again and again and again. There’s so much. One can go so deeply with just that one prayer. One can move through the stages of recognition to a depth that we didn’t think we could ever reach. One can create that connection by reciting again and again and again, “Following you I will practice. Following you I will practice.” And so those meaningful words, even though they are simple, we can understand them more deeply and more deeply and more deeply. “Following you I will practice.” What does it even mean? Does it mean I dress like Guru Rinpoche, or act like Guru Rinpoche, or do I wear some of his funny earrings, or what do I do? (I’ve got some funny earrings on, by the way.)

That’s not it. “Following you I will practice.” First, we practice the way Guru Rinpoche practiced, for the sake of sentient beings. That’s how Guru Rinpoche practiced. He came and was born into the world for no reason other than to benefit beings. He didn’t have to come and learn; he didn’t have to come and hang out. Like Lord Buddha himself, he didn’t have to come and learn or hang out. And yet he came for the benefit of sentient beings. And so that’s the way in which we promise to practice. Not only throughout this prayer, throughout this hour that I am practicing, but throughout this day, throughout this week, throughout this month, throughout this year, throughout all my lifetimes, may I follow the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and liberate beings. We’re talking here about liberating beings from suffering. This is what Guru Rinpoche did. Yes, he taught. Yes, he hid termas. Yes, he gave us the means, the method. But the intention was about liberating sentient beings. Following you therefore I will practice.

And so that’s our commitment. We take on this tremendous commitment, this tremendous opportunity to liberate beings from the clutches and the ravages of samsara. And that means we’ll live the week like that, the month like that, the year like that, the decade like that, our lives like that. And at the time of our death, we will make prayers to be reborn following Guru Rinpoche. And in our next life, we are reborn again to continue and to benefit beings. This is the method. This is the way. This is the powerhouse. We rely on this promise, this blessing.

Link to The Seven Line Prayer with audio files for practice accumulations.

Vajrayana: For This Time

September 9, 2013 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is an excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo called “The Guru Is Your Diamond”

On the path of Vajrayana, we are given something like a rocket ship, rather than a slow boat, to cross the ocean of samsara. When Lord Buddha first came to the planet and taught, when he was there as Shakyamuni, he gave teachings that were absolutely necessary for that time. During that time, we were not in Kaliyuga, which is a more degenerate age. During that time, it was easier to practice. It was easier even to speak Dharma. Peoples’ minds were more spacious and more expanded so that if one were to accomplish Dharma, it would be more easy to accomplish Dharma during that time. And yet, there was a difficulty. And the difficulty was that during that time, because there was more space in the mind, there was also more relaxation, maybe more joyfulness, less reason to feel compelled to exit samsara. So there are good and bad things in both times.

True that this is Kaliyuga. True that this is the time of degeneration. There are many false teachers and many false paths. And sometimes delusion rises up like a tsunami flood, and it is a difficult time. We look to the people that even guide this country, and you wonder where is the clarity, where is the morality. So it’s difficult. Even this country that was once the prince of countries, and can still be the peacemaker, the one who guards the little guy, instead now we’ve changed. So these are all indicative of this time of delusion.

Yet at the same time, we are so pressed because of our delusion, our neuroses, which means an inappropriate response to something that is not understood well anyway. Our neuroses also thicken and deepen, and with that comes an increase in pain, fundamental pain. Maybe not even a particular pain about something, but rather an all-pervasive sense of suffering.We are more unhappy, really, now when things are happening faster and materialism is in some ways more attainable, in many ways more attainable. Still we have become more and more unhappy and continually create the causes for unhappiness. So this pushes us to find a solution. And for some people, we look to psychology or psychiatry; and for other people, we look towards creating the causes for happiness through walking the path of spirituality. But many of us are seeking, and that’s important. That is something that is useful and to be treasured during this time.

For many of us, we’ll think that what drives us to seek is this pain, this angst, this modern angst that we all seem to carry around. That pain, on the one hand, seems sometimes unbearable, and then other times, just there. And we are uncomfortable and we can’t say exactly why. We feel wobbly, unguided, unknowing and we really can’t understand why that is. That suffering, of course, even though painful, can ultimately become part of the blessing that brings us to the Path. Maybe we didn’t even come here thinking, ‘What I need is a good Path.’ Maybe we came here for some other reason: Because we heard about this place; or we’ve heard a little bit; or we’ve read some books about Dharma; or maybe His Holiness the Dalai Lama has given us some wonderful teaching through his books; and something has just hooked us a little bit. Maybe we heard about the crystals. That brings people! Whatever it is, it’s that sense of things not being wholesome or right. It’s that sense of fundamental unhappiness that drives us forward.

And so, in the beginning, that’s how it feels. It can be a very poignant kind of search and we feel deeply moved by it. So when we begin to examine the Path of Vajrayana, we find that rather than being the gentle ship that crosses a relatively gentle ocean as was in the time of Lord Buddha’s physical life, now we have a different situation. We are propelled by the depth of our feeling, by our discomfort; and we’re looking for something. And we seem to, in this time, connect with something that is more potent, maybe a little fiercer in a certain way, more condensed definitely, than the original teachings of Lord Buddha.

The Seven Line Prayer: An Introduction

August 21, 2013 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is an excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo called “Experiencing the Hook of Compassion”

The Seven Line Prayer is so important. It is a magnificent prayer. It was not made up or composed by an ordinary person. It was miraculously manifested when primordial wisdom dakinis appeared literally from the sky to devout practitioners and told them, “This is how one calls the Guru. This is how one practices.”One will actually move toward enlightenment and can achieve enlightenment merely by reciting this prayer. Whenever a student asks me formally to be their teacher, I ask them to repeat this prayer many, many times. In fact I hope that each student will repeat it a hundred thousand times. Now that sounds like a piece of work, doesn’t it? In fact, it is. But eventually you will learn to say the prayer so well that you can say it really quickly. You don’t have to say it slowly; you can say it very quickly and you can do a whole mala, that’s a whole prayer beads’ worth, in maybe ten, fifteen minutes. That’s pretty easy to do. That’s pretty easy to do. And then you can get to eight minutes. I don’t know what the world record is, but you can do it. You can, but you’re a blur. Your lips go “bluhbluhbluh..”.

Actually you can feel the wind on your nose.

This prayer actually occurs on three different levels. It has three different levels of meaning. The most profound level of meaning is so profound that the teachers do not give that level of meaning until you have accumulated three hundred thousand repetitions of that prayer. Isn’t that amazing? This prayer has in it everything. It has refuge; it has bodhicitta. There is every kind, every element of practice within this prayer; but it’s in such a succinct form, that it’s just a prayer. It isn’t really a practice. You know, pujas in the Tibetan tradition take hours and hours and hours. There are all kinds of mudras that you do, and instruments that you play, and all kinds of amazing technologies that you apply. But this prayer, in a very succinct form, really has the seed of everything.

On the most external level, it is, according to the translation, an invocation to Guru Rinpoche, who is the actual emanation and display of Lord Buddha who brought Vajrayana to Tibet; and he is supremely realized. On a deeper level, there are so many different levels of meaning, layer upon layer of meaning. The syllables that are in this prayer are power syllables. They have some particular power due to the way in which they were given through miraculous means, and due to the vibrational quality that is associated with these syllables. As you sound the syllables, they actually purify the inner, psychic channels, winds and fluids, that in sentient beings are polluted and kinked and distorted and actually blocked. The sounding of these syllables begins the process of purifying them and unkinking them, and actually changing you in some profound way, some psychic way, that is really extraordinary, actually extraordinary. Plus in a hidden and symbolic secret way, all the elements of practice are in this prayer, including extraordinary devotion to one’s guru . As you begin to sound it with faith that this miracle will take place, the change begins to occur, even though you are not doing the full practice. So if you want to begin, learn how to say this practice. Learn how to say this prayer.

See the prayer and listen to Jetsunma recite it by clicking here

The Teacher

August 12, 2013 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is an excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo called “Experiencing the Hook of Compassion”

The teacher is considered to be the very door of liberation. The students are looking to walk through, just as they’re wanting to exit that burning house. They want to walk through that door. And it’s a really amazing thing.

In the Vajrayana tradition, we are taught that when a tulku appears in the world, a tulku is considered to be an emanation of Lord Buddha or Guru Rinpoche’s enlightened compassion. The teacher is considered to be an extension of that. Guru Rinpoche himself said, “I will appear in the world as your root teacher.” The root teacher is defined as the one with whom you have such a relationship that upon meeting this teacher, upon hearing this teacher, you have immediately understood, or perhaps over time, have understood something of the nature of your mind. You have seen something; you have recognized something. And -perhaps through some words that the teacher has given you, perhaps simply through being with the teacher; perhaps through some experiences that you have had while you are with the teacher, you have come to understand something of your own mind. You’ve come in some small way to see your face. That may not necessarily be pleasant at first. You see? You think that that should be a beatific experience, and you’re waiting for the Hallelujah Chorus . That may not be the way it happens to you. It may be painful at first. You may realize how puffed up you are at first. You may realize how vapid your life has been thus far. That’s painful. Of all realizations, that’s the most painful. And you may take account of yourself; and the account may not be so good. And suddenly, suddenly you have this urge and this yearning. That’s your face. That’s your face just as surely as if you had been struck enlightened immediately upon seeing your teacher. That is your face. That face that turns you around and moves you… That’s your face too.

So when you meet your root teacher, that relationship becomes so fantastic, so wonderful. And that is the display of Guru Rinpoche’s touch. That is how Guru Rinpoche has appeared in your life. You cannot doubt that. That is how the Buddha has appeared to you, because that is the beginning. That is the face; that is the movement; that is the method of enlightened awareness. That is the beginning of the awakening. So that must be the Buddha. That must be the Buddha appearing in your mind.

From the Ship to Liberation: Refuge Verses

April 27, 2013 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is respectfully quoted from “The Great Perfection Buddha in the Palm of the Hand” from the Nam Chö Treasures by Migyur Dorje:

NAMO DU SUM GYUN CHED MED PAR DRO DÖN DZED
To those beings who accomplish the purpose of others, without interruption in the Three Times,

MI CHOG TSEN PAI RAB GYEN TRINLEY TER
A treasure of miraculous activity, supremely adorned with the major and minor marks,

SANGYE NAM LA CHAG TSAL KYAB SU CHI
To all the Buddhas, I prostrate and go for Refuge.

SHI WA CHAG DRAL CHIR MI DOG PAI LAM
To the peaceful Path of no reversal, which is separate from desire,

GYUD LUNG MEN NGAG DRUB TSOG NYON MONG DRAL
Free from delusion is the path of Tantras, Transmissions, Secret Oral Instructions and Accomplishment Practices

DAM PAI CHÖ LA CHAG TSAL KYAB SU CHI
To the sacred Dharma, I prostrate and go for Refuge.

TSOG SHING MA NOR LAM NAI NYON MONG DRAL
Free from delusion is the unmistaken field of Refuge of Beings who remain on the stages of the Path.

SANGYE TEN DZIN PHAR CHIN DRUG LHA NEI
To the holders of the Buddha’s Doctrine, who maintain the practice of the Six Perfections,

GE DUN NAM LA CHAG TSAL KYAB SU CHI
To the entire Sangha, I prostrate and go for Refuge.

GYAL KUN NGO WO KYIL KHOR KUN GYI TSO
To the essential nature of all the Buddhas and the head of all Mandalas,

YID SHIN DRIN CHEN DREN PAI NGÜDRUB BEB
Whose wish-fulfilling great kindness is the source of all spiritual attainment.

LAMA NAM LA CHAG TSAL KYAB SU CHI
To all my Lamas, I prostate and go for Refuge.

CHÖ KUI TSAL LEI DRO DON SHI TRU TSOG
As the display of the Dharmakaya, the peaceful and wrathful Deities, arise to accomplish the purpose of Beings.

THUG JEI NGANG NEINGÜDRUB KUN TSOL WAI
From whose loving kindness, all spiritual attainments are received.

YIDAM LHA LA CHAG TSAL KYAB SU CHI
To the Meditational Deities, I prostrate and go for Refuge.

DAG PA DEI TSOL DAM TSIG CHEN GYI NYEN
To the source of pure bliss, the friends of Samaya upholders,

LEG NEI TONG DZIN DRUB PAI DROG DZED MA
Bringing good fortune and befriending those who accomplish the understanding of Emptiness.

KHA DRO DAM CHEN TSOG LA KYAB SU CHI
To the Dakinis and Oath Protectors, I prostate and go for Refuge.

YE NEI TONG NYID TRO DRAL DÜ MA CHEI
Primordially, the nature of Emptiness is unaltered and uncompounded,

KA DAG OD SAL LONG YANG RANG SHIN LA
As the natural great expanse of the originally pure clear light,

DZIN MED RANG SAL JEN PAR KYAB SU CHI
In this ungrasped, naked self-clarity, I go for Refuge.

LHUNDRUB RANG SHIN YESHE NGA DEN OD
The natural, spontaneously accomplished light of the five Primordial Wisdoms,

YING RIG THIG LE RIG PA LU GU GYUD
Is the indivisibility of the Sphere of Truth and Pure Awarness appearing as a light chain of pure-awarness molecules.

RANG SAL DU DRAL MED PAR KYAB SU CHI
In this undiminishing self-clarity, I go for Refuge.

MA GAG RANG SAL DE CHEN THUG JEI LHA
To the compassionate Deity of great bliss and unceasing self-clarity,

RANG SHIN OD KYI DRO WAI MUN SEL WA
Whose natural light clarifies Beings from the darkness of delusion,

SHAR DROL THOG THA MED PAR KYAB SU CHI
In the nature which is liberated the moment it arises, and unblocked by limitation, I go for Refuge.

REFUGE VERSES:

LAMA LA KYAB SU CHIO
I take Refuge in the Lamas

SANGYE LA KYAB SU CHIO
I take Refuge in the Buddha

CHÖ LA KYAB SU CHIO
I take Refuge in the Dharma

GEDUN LA KYAB SU CHIO
I take Refuge in the Sangha

(Accumulate the Refuge Verses)

Homage to Śrī Samantabhadra: Longchenpa

January 18, 2013 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is respectfully quoted from “Kindly Bent to Ease Us” by Longchenpa:

Homage to the beginningless primordial Lord,
an ocean great and full of capabilities,
Whose range of intuition and depth of
tenderness cannot be fathomed,
Who is the birthplace of the Wish-fulfilling Gem, the
Buddhas and their spiritual sons, and
From whom cloud banks of prosperity and bliss arise.

Sheer lucency, founding stratum of meaning,
immaculate, man’s Buddha-nature,
Through ego-centered apprehensions following the loss
of pure awareness, strays into fictitious being.
Wearied and weakened in the deserts of
Karmic actions and turbulent emotions may Mind
today find comfort and ease.

Friends, a precious human body, being a unique
occasion and the right juncture,
Is very hard to find within the six-life forms.
As delighted as a blind man who has stumbled on a
precious hoard,
Use this body for prosperity and bliss.

What is meant by a unique occasion and the right
juncture?
I am a person beyond the eight unfavorable
conditions:
My mind has not been born in the realms of hells,
of hungry spirits,
And of animals, I am not dumb, and I am not one of the
long-living gods, nor one of the savages, and
I do not harbor wrong views, and do not live in a period
in which there are no Buddhas;
And I represent the right juncture; five events affecting
me directly by being complete in me–
I have become a human being, I live in the central
country, and I possess all senses,
I do not revert to inexpiable evil deeds, and I have
confidence in the foundation of spiritual life; and
Five events affecting me directly;
The coming of a Buddha, his having taught the
doctrine, the presence of his teaching now,
The following so that it continues, and the loving
guidance by others.
These are the eighteen facets of a unique occasion and
the right juncture.
While they are thus complete,
Thoroughly exert yourself and realize deliverance.

If in this lifetime you do not make good use (of your
existence)
You will in the hereafter not even hear the word ‘happy life-form’
But for a long time will roam about in evil forms of life.
Not knowing what is to be rejected and what to be
accepted, so going the wrong way,
You cannot but drift about in Samsāra that has
no beginning nor end.

Therefore, while you still have the power now,
Apply yourself to the accumulation of inexhaustible
positive qualities,
In view of the fact that you are the juncture for the path
to happiness,
And pass beyond the stronghold of fictitious being.

But if I dare not cross the endless ocean of Samsāra,
Although I have a precious boat,
What shall I do when forever
Emotional reactions and frustrations are raging in
tumultuous waves?

Then quickly don the armor of perseverance
And, in order to let the turbid state of mind and mental
events be cleared,
Set out on the path of sheer lucency, of immaculate
pristine cognitions,
And let no obstacles impede the road to limpid
clearness and consummate perspicacity.

He who has become the foundation for bliss and
happiness
And has found a precious and clean vessel,
But does not gather the refreshing rain of the
nectar-like doctrine,
Will let himself be crushed by the swelter of Samsāra.

The downpour of (the Buddha’s) truth, the refreshing
water of pristine cognitions
With clouds of glorious bliss and happiness and
prosperity,
Will fall on the pure mind of living beings, the fertile
soil of a unique occasion at the right juncture.
Therefore, with joy and from your heart engage in the
quest for the real meaning of life.