sacred objects | Tibetan Buddhist Altar

Offering the Miraculous

August 13, 2017 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is an excerpt from a teaching given by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo during a “Good Heart Retreat“

There are some that may criticize the building of the Migyur Dorje stupa. I understand that it cost a couple of hundred thousand dollars. You might say, ‘Well, gee, if you’re going to spend a couple hundred thousand dollars, why don’t you feed the poor?’ Well, I feel like I am. I feel like that’s the point of the stupa. I begged and begged His Holiness for these relics and the ability to build the stupa because in this country there’s no place to go when you have no hope. There’s simply no place to go when all the doctors have told you they can’t help you. There’s no place to go when you’re at your last moments and maybe even the karma for this life has run out and you know that you haven’t really attended to your spiritual life. You know that you haven’t practiced very much. Or when your life is such that you got the ‘can’t fix-its’; don’t know how to put it back together again.

I know that in other places, in other lands, there are deeply inspiring religious pilgrimage places. I know that in Tibet almost all of the Tibetans, at one time or another, take some sort of major pilgrimage; and it’s a life changer. There are so many stories of pilgrimages turning out to be major healings. Where people will go to these holy places in which they have tremendous faith, where there are extraordinary relics there that are left by extraordinary Lamas, and healings take place that are miraculous.

I also knew that in this country there is AIDS which has been growing incrementally, cancer which is killing so many, and people constantly dying from all sorts of diseases that seem to be the afflictions of this day and time. There are so many diseases that we haven’t found any cures for, including simple mental unhappiness. Because of all this, I really wanted to offer this stupa to our community. What we have built here is, yes, at great expense, yes, at great effort; but also done with great joy. We have been able to gather together enough money, enough energy, and enough time to make this dream a reality. And now we have something here which over time, hopefully by word of mouth, hopefully by your good works and your good faith, the word will spread out that we have this amazing stupa here. Now anyone at any time, no matter what they have experienced as their spiritual path, if they’re ever down and out and without hope, can come here and make prayers. There is a potency to that pilgrimage. I’m hoping that it will become known that these same relics from Terton Migyur Dorje, these relics, of which there are pieces in different places of the world, not too many, but particularly in Tibet, have brought about amazing cures. I want people to know about this. I want them to come and feel better. To me, it’s like the ultimate soup kitchen, you know? You can offer this nourishment, this food, to your community.

So we went through the effort of building this thing, and thank you all for everything that you’ve done to make it possible—the work and the money, all of it—and now we have this tremendous gift to offer the community. To my way of thinking, this is one such group or community effort that we have made together in order to provide for and to nourish the community and make our hopes for the world more visible and more heard. That’s one way to do it. But I think at this point it’s time to move even beyond that.

Opportunity and Responsibility

March 22, 2017 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is an excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo called “Take Control of Your Life”

When we go to another country and we see they are poor, maybe they have no prayer, we shouldn’t think, “Oh, I’m high and you’re low. Therefore I will teach you.” We should think like this: Lord Buddha has taught me that you are the same as me. You are Buddha but you have forgotten. Let’s remember together. This is the way. Let’s wake up together.

I promise you I will not abandon samsara so long as there is one student with one connection, however small, and difficult to return for. But I also promise you that you must do your part. You must practice Dharma every day. You must awaken to the true nature of your mind. You must create the space in your life to awaken. This is the way of happiness; this is the way of benefit. And this is what our perfect teacher has taught us.

I’m telling you these things in American words, in American ways, because I’m speaking to you. Therefore, I’m offering you the opportunity and the responsibility of hearing. So please listen and please practice, And please accept the entire banquet, not just the crumbs under the table, not just the dessert—as though you can take the dessert and not the rest of the banquet. Don’t fool yourself. Practice. Practice. Practice. Change your mind. You are here to be changed. You are here to be changed. Dharma is meant to change our ordinary minds.

In Asian cultures, that’s an accepted idea, but here we resist. And so I beg you to reconsider your habitual tendencies and to go within and to practice self-honesty. You will have to look at your unfortunate qualities. But when you look at them, don’t look at them like “I’m bad. I hate myself. I hate somebody else. I hate something.” Just look at them and say, “Oh, that’s that habit again. I see that habit. Yuck.” Remember the kids rolling over in their beds. You want to roll over in your bed, but you’re saying, “You know, that’s my habit. I think I’ll go check around and see if there’s anything wrong. Just go check around.” In other words, you’re growing a new habit.

Expect to change. Expect to be uncomfortable at times. Expect to deal with the issues of individuality and democracy. Because in America we love individuality and democracy. But not here. This is Dharma. And in Dharma, we have to trust our teachers. We have to trust the Three Precious Jewels. We assume that our teacher has crossed the ocean of suffering and can show us the way. Therefore, practice. Don’t be foolish, taking the attitudes and posturing like Dharma but not practicing Dharma. Because what you’re doing is looking at a feast of delicious food but choosing to eat the imitation plastic stuff from K-Mart that little kids play with—little pretend food. That’s what you’re eating.

Instead, practice Dharma. And if you are filled with concern for yourself and your own path, remind yourself that all beings are equal. If you are raising yourself up to Buddhahood, thinking that you can do it without raising others up to Buddhahood, well you’re wrong. It’s foolish because there is no separation. To get lost in your own little Dharma world, in your own little practice, in your own little thing is only more self-absorption. Sure, you’re practicing a little Dharma, but you’re also practicing a lot of self-absorption. And so the way is to benefit others, to reach others, to benefit others, to test your limits. Unfold your wings. Help others to break through and to achieve some virtue, some merit, whether they are Buddhist or not. Be a real practitioner. Let everything you do, everything you think and everything you say be something that contributes. Have respect for others—animals, humans, even those beings that cannot be seen. You can assume that they are there, and you pray for them too.

These are the recommendations that I am making to you. And I’m asking you, practice sincerely. We’ll see each other a lot more if you reach for the enlightenment that is your nature. If you reach for the Three Precious Jewels, they will respond. But you must reach. This is the removal of obstacles between the student and the teacher. You must call out. You must reach.

Honor the Three Precious Jewels. On the inside this temple is clean, but on the outside it’s falling apart. The Stupas were falling apart until we started fixing them. What respect is that? What loving kindness, what care for sentient beings is that? Even His Holiness house is simply falling apart. I’d like to see one of you be a real sucker, a real dope. Out of just pure compassion and devotion, I’d like to see you take a toothbrush and start cleaning that house. What a sap, you’d be telling yourself. Here I am on my knees with a toothbrush, cleaning that house. Who could be stupider than me? That’s what your ordinary mind would be telling you. But on the inside, your heart is going, “Yes, yes. This may look stupid. But I am practicing Dharma.”

Accepting the Offering of the Buddhas

March 8, 2017 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is an excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo called “The Lama Never Leaves”

I have seen amazing things. My own students do amazing things. When they weren’t healthy or when they weren’t fit they would do amazing things and they would benefit the stupa and create the causes for continued accomplishment. I’ve seen them do amazing things. I saw once one nun who was determined to get to one of my teachings. Her knees were so bad she couldn’t walk. I saw her crawling, crawling. And I immediately dedicated that merit to her swift enlightenment. And you know, I didn’t think to myself, “Oh, look at that, she’s crawling to see me.” I thought to myself, “Eh ma ho. How beautiful. How beautiful.”

So we have to stop thinking in such an ordinary way. We have to start thinking in the way of Dharma, in the way of practitioners. You can’t wear robes and live an ordinary life. You have to do for the sentient beings. You have to maintain this garden of refuge across the street for their sake as well as your own. You have to do for the Sangha. It’s just as much merit to do for the Sangha, to make offerings to the stupas, to make offerings to the Lamas. This is extraordinary. To make offerings even to the Sangha. I know the wonderful Chang family has been offering food for myself and also for the Sangha here. What a tremendous, tremendous gathering of virtue that is. What an awesome family. What values to teach your children. My goodness. What an extraordinary wealth to pass on to your young. Sure you could pass on a few dollars, but what is that? To pass on the wealth of how to be happy… My goodness.

Yet we just kind of trudge around in our habitual tendencies without seeing the beauty of it all, the wonder of it all—that here in this place lives Lord Buddha himself, Guru Rinpoche himself, without doubt in Nirmanakaya form, and we can always go to pray. You know, we might say, “Oh, I can’t practice right now, because my practice is not going very well.” Well, that’s when you practice. That’s when you crawl across the street to the stupa if you have to and you recite prayers to the stupa. You say, “Please, I’m begging you with tears in my eyes. Help me in my practice. Come to me as wisdom. Clear my self-absorption so that I can benefit sentient beings and before I die let me do something meaningful other than to hang out with my own distorted phenomena. Let me make this world a place with less suffering. Please, I’ll do anything.”

You lay down your pride, you lay down your thoughts, you lay down your body, you lay down your efforts, you lay down your offerings and you rise up a practitioner. The way of Dharma is to turn our minds from ordinary things—those things that are so relentlessly stupid as to take up all of our time and all of our effort and give us zero, zilch, nothing in return—and to pick up and accept and cherish that which is here for us, that which holds out its arms to us, like our own primordial mother, and says “Come, I’m here for you. Bring the others. I’m here.”

Do not turn a blind eye to these offerings that I and other lamas have given you. They are for you. These stupas, what we have here, is only for you. And so I ask you to accept once again. I ask you not to be beggars under the table lapping up crumbs, but to come to the feast. Come to the feast at last.

That’s our Dharma talk for today. I hope it is of some benefit to you. And I really sincerely mean for this to result in activity.

Let me make one more mention. We talk about creating the causes for bringing the lama back, so we maintain the house for the lama. If the lama has a habit of putting a wrap on their legs when they’re by their chair, the wrap should be by the chair. The lama’s slippers should be by his bed. The lama’s favorite cup should be out on the counter. The lama’s altar should be opened every day. If you really want to create the causes for the lama’s return, that’s how you do it. The lama never leaves.

When the lama is not here, the lama’s picture should be on the throne. And we should think like that. The lama has never left. And that’s our practice. That’s our guru yoga. And we have the visible means of support using the stupas that way as well.

Utilizing the Antidote

March 7, 2017 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is an excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo called “The Lama Never Leaves”

Now it’s also said that the stupa has a mandala of enlightened activity around it the same as a living Buddha does. That is to say, that a stupa that is powerfully consecrated with relics, and consecrated by an enlightened lama who has accomplished the mantra, has a radius of about 100 miles of influence. Isn’t that amazing?

Yet, we are not keeping that strength going, that fire going. The power of the stupas will be, by definition of mind, diminished because our minds are not with them. So it’s a terrible, terrible frightful waste. It’s really like having all the lamas of the lineage across the street. Oh, we pride ourselves that we have robes and we can go places and we can do practices. Some of us even have the more advanced practices. We can stare at bindus and stuff like that. But if we don’t walk across the street and take care of the stupas, you can say we have no practice. You could say that. Because it’s like the lamas of the lineage are there, and no one is honoring them. We call them to our practice. We pray to the lamas of the lineage. We visualize them gathering in front of us, but we abandon them. And so what is this cartoon in the sky in front, when we have abandoned the actual Nirmanakaya form?

They say that the lama and also the stupas have this 100 mile radius, approximately, of activity. I built these stupas here because I was hoping that they would influence our government, but I don’t think that has happened as yet,. I could be wrong, but I don’t see it. So I’m wondering if I could prevail upon each and every one of you to take these stupas into your heart, to think of them as your guides, your objects of refuge and to honor them in the way that they should be honored so that the lamas through these magnificent stupas can carry out their enlightened activity. Because these stupas are an extension and an appearance of the Buddha’s enlightened activity.

It’s up to us to plant that firmly in the world, to make the roots deep and to keep the causes pure and untainted for future accomplishment and future happiness. There are so many stories in Buddhist teachings about particular practitioners that came to their own fruition through some slight, almost mindless, deed in the past concerning a stupa. I’m a terrible Buddhist storyteller because I forget the details and I get the punch lines wrong, but I’ll try. I’ll try to tell you a little bit of what I remember.

There is this one story, for instance, about a pig who was being chased by a dog. And the pig was a pig. He had been wallowing in mud, and he was all dirty. He had a muddy body and a muddy face and a muddy tail. And the dog thought, “Oh, I’m gonna’ get me some pork chops,” and started chasing the pig. And round and round this stupa they went. After they went round the stupa a few times, the pig smashed into the stupa accidentally and the mud from his body fixed a little crack in the stupa. That [pig] was reborn in Dewachen, or some enlightened paradise, because of that cause and immediately received teachings and the ability of accomplishment. He was reborn as a bodhisattva, and was given every means to accomplish; and accomplishment was gained. A pig! Accidentally! These stories are told to us as an indication of what you’re missing, of how amazing the merit is of caring for the body of the Buddha.

Conversely, we are told that to leave a stupa in decay and to not honor the stupa properly will bring nothing but obstacles. And we’ve had lots of obstacles here. We’ve had obstacles to seeing the teacher, and that’s me. I’ve tried very hard to get here many times and yet there are obstacles. And I believe in my heart that these obstacles are because when I left, the stupas were not like this. I’ve returned to this, and this is the body of the Buddha.

Now I’m not saying this to make myself seem like a high up person or anything like that. Normally in monasteries, the Khenpos get to tell these stories about their lamas. I wish we had that condition, but we don’t. So, allow me to just commit the non-virtue of telling you what the other lamas have said about me. They’ve said that if you don’t see this teacher very much because of who she is, you should understand that this is because your own merit is diminishing, not because she’s not here to serve you, not because she doesn’t want to serve you. It’s strictly cause and result here. Because of the nature of this teacher—and because of the nature of my teacher and because of the nature of the other teachers of this lineage—their merit is such and their accomplishment is such that we must always create the causes of continuing to meet with them. They’re just not a collection of Tibetan jimokes that do their thing over there and then come and do it over here. These are beings who have accomplished Dharma and who have returned solely to benefit sentient beings. Their only wish is to bring benefit., and yet we are not creating the causes for that.

Now that I know what the stupas look like, I will wait before I ask His Holiiness to return here until they are better. I would not break his heart like that. And I’m not saying I’m a good mama and you’re bad kids. It’s not like that. I’m telling you that this is your practice. I want you to be happy. I want you to be free of obstacles. I want you to attain that pure awakened state where you know what to accept and what to reject. I say to you, “Reject your own phenomena that tells you I don’t wanna. I’d rather have fun. Reject your own phenomena that says I can’t because I’m sick, I’ve got a headache, I blah blah blah. Reject your own phenomena and accomplish Dharma instead.”

Go to the stupa and if you can bend a little bit, you can bend to offer. If you can bend a little bit, you can bend to clean. I tell you if you are sick to death and worried for your life, you should crawl to the Migyur Dorje stupa saying prayers all the way, because that’s what a smart Tibetan would do. That’s what I would do. If you can’t walk, get there anyhow.

Discerning the Extraordinary

March 6, 2017 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is an excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo called “The Lama Never Leaves”

Now, we have these amazing stupas. How amazing! Even when the lamas are not here, we have this occurrence of the living Buddha here on this property. The living Buddha remains on this property. The problem is that our mind is so deluded and so lacking in wisdom that we don’t see that. We let the Buddha sit there with no company. Not that they need company, but we need them. Rarely do we go and visit the Buddhas. Rarely do we make them offerings. Rarely do we offer them a little cleaning, you know, to take a little cloth and say, ”Even though the Buddha doesn’t need to be cleaned, may I offer you this. May I take this dirt from you. And by that merit, may all sentient beings be free of suffering.” We don’t do that because we’ve forgotten. Because we go to sleep in our minds whenever our living lama is not around to shake us awake.

The teaching that I want to give to you today is how to avoid that. First of all, let me tell you the way that Asian cultures, particularly Tibetans (I can speak for them), that have stupas, chortens, available in their land, normally incorporate them into their lives. Usually once a year, around the time of New Years, Losar, there are certain days when one does religious activity and that religious activity is increased by 100,000 or 10,000. And of course, we have our 10,000,000 days where we look to accomplish a great deal of practice. Tibetans always think of times like that as a very joyful occasion, particularly during Losar, a time to celebrate. They all get out and the wealthier patrons (by the way, that’s how they get to be wealthy) buy the gold wash or the white wash or whatever color they are going to repaint the stupas with. They clean the stupas and give them a fresh coat of gold or white wash. And that’s a very joyful thing because they realize how much merit they are accomplishing, and they are already, because of their confidence, enjoying the fruits of that. Because of their confidence!

We’re saying, “Boy, when’s it gonna happen?” And they’re saying, “I rejoice in my future merit. By this merit, there will be plenty of clothing, I will be warm and comfortable. All sentient beings will be pleased and this is tremendous. I am so happy about that.” And so with the simplicity of just the joyful accomplishment, they are able to experience the happiness right away. It’s like a festival. After they finish doing that, there’s always a lovely dinner; and maybe the great patrons will offer a beautiful dinner for the Sangha. And there is always a beautiful tsog offered to the Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas. It’s a gathering of the Sangha and the Lamas and all the people that is extremely joyful. Because we all say, “By this merit, may we never be separated,” it becomes a very joyful event. And so, of course then, the stupas are living Buddhas that are brought into the occasion because they are washed, they are cared for. We offer great offerings to them—of course the eight auspicious offerings of water to drink, water to bathe in, all the different offerings and their different meanings. We make offerings of food and butter lamps or candles. Sometimes Tibetans will make Mani rocks—write the Mani mantra on rocks and offer many of those. So there are many things that the Tibetans do during that time to celebrate and to incorporate the stupas as living beings in their lives.

Plus, the Tibetans that care for stupas would not think of letting the sun rise without offerings being present on the stupas. To let the sun rise without these offerings would be unthinkable. That would be, in the way Tibetans have been taught, in the way that they teach us, that would be like if your Root Guru had spent the night outside and was cold and hungry and needed her attendants or his attendants to come and no one brought him any tea to warm him. It would be like that. Would you do that to your Root Guru? Even before you took your own coffee in the morning, wouldn’t you bring your Guru his tea? I certainly would. I certainly would.

What does that say if we have our own coffee in the morning before we make an offering to the Buddha. That says ‘my ego is more important.’ That says, ‘I take refuge in me’ or ‘I take refuge in my coffee,’ which I know is not hard to do. Of course, we don’t all of us live with the stupas, and so each in our own way, in our homes, maintain altars and, hopefully, we make offerings to the Buddhas before we take any offering ourselves.

Traditionally, lamas have a little cup. It looks like a protector cup but it’s not exactly. It’s a little tiny cup, and it has a removable top that you can turn over. A lot of times the lamas will take their first tea of the morning and offer it in the little top and put it up on the altar for the Buddhas. Such a simple gesture but so beautiful. And so profound. To do that every day of one’s life is quite beautiful. Some have the custom that whenever a family gathers for a big meal, the Buddha always gets the first portion. Perhaps for the Sunday meal here at the temple, we can make the first portion and give it to the stupa outside. Or in a home family situation, the householder family can celebrate their lives together as Buddhists by creating a meal, whether it’s an ordinary family meal or whether it’s Hanukkah or whether it’s Easter or whether it’s Christmas and offering the first portion to the Buddhas. That’s the way that a householder practices.

We should always think of the objects of refuge as being so sacred to us that we care for them very mindfully, so mindfully that we, through thought, word, and deed, indicate to ourselves in our own practice and also to all sentient beings, that our caring is such that our eyes are opened. Spiritually our eyes are open and we see the preciousness and the value of the objects of refuge. We recognize their exquisiteness and extraordinariness and how much more important they are than our own phenomena.

The Nature of Stupas

March 5, 2017March 4, 2017 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is an excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo called “The Lama Never Leaves”

Today, I would like to talk about what we have here. Not only the objects of support that I’ve talked about, but we have the stupas. I would like to explain to you the nature of the stupas. I would like to explain to you a little bit about the treasures that we have here. To say that there is nothing like this in America sounds prideful. Yet, I am not the one saying it, really. I’m telling you what other teachers who have come here and who have been around America have said—that there’s nothing else like this, that this is quite remarkable. And I say, “Well, we’re just getting started. I hope it’s good.” We have here these extraordinary stupas that have been built according to the ancient Palyul tradition by a number of lamas—His Holiness, and then Tulka Rigzin Pema Rinpoche who is a renowned stupa builder. The stupas have been blessed by every lama that has come here; but they have been properly consecrated, about that there is no doubt.

The stupas have different levels and ultimately when they are born, that is to say, after they are completely built and the lama actually generates the entire mandala of the deities and all the objects of refuge, , and descends that entire mandala into the stupa, the stupa becomes then a living presence. The stupa becomes like the Buddha in Nirmanakaya form, that is to say in the physical form.

On the bottom of the Stupa, there are many objects there that indicate the things of the world to be overcome, such as objects of violence like knives and guns and weapons, and they are buried underneath. There are prayers and objects and images of suppression, including symbols of death, that go on top of that and they suppress the things of the world that are harmful., At the time of the filling of the Enlightenment Stupa, His Holiness said, “Well, it would be good if we had the skull of a wolf to put down underneath there.” I went, “The skull of a wolf? In Maryland???” So we were rushing around thinking, “How in the world does one get the skull of a wolf?” trying to figure it out. And then we had the great good fortune, I guess… A fox up the road got run over and we had an intact fox skull. So we brought the poor little fox skull to His Holiness and said, “Would this do?” And he went, “This is pathetic. Look how small it is. Well, if that’s what you call wolf in America, this will have to do!” So it turns out, the fox gets in there asthe symbol of death. We have symbols of old age, of sickness, of death, of all kinds of suffering, and the suppression of that.

Above that, there are different layers. There are the practices: beginning stage practice, generation stage practice, completion stage practice, accomplishment. Then there are the objects and prayers and mantras that are associated with all these different levels wrapped in a very succinct way, arranged perfectly like the mandala of the deities. It has to be arranged very perfectly, and it’s all very secret and careful. Nobody can look in there unless they’ve been on the stupa diet, which is no animal flesh, no alcohol, no sexual activity and no ordinary stuff of any kind while you’re building the stupa. And the many many gizillions—I don’t even know how many—of mantras , with saffron water sprayed on them that are rolled so tight, some done by machine, because we could get them rolled tighter, and some of them done by students who themselves were reciting mantra at the same time they were rolling them very tightly and sticking to the stupa diet. So everything very carefully arranged, everything very perfect. You can’t leave a drop of sweat or a bit of DNA in the stupa unless you have achieved enlightenment. So nobody gets to really climb in there without being clothed up and very very careful.

When the lama then brings the stupa to fruition, there is of course the vestibule in which the deity sits, and the deity itself is completely consecrated like the deities on the altar, and they themselves have all the accomplishment figures in them. And then the relics are at the top. Some of them are wrapped up to the spine, that is a very large piece of wood with mantra written all over it going down the middle. Some of them are wrapped body, speech, and mind mantras of enlightenment. So then when the lama descends the deities into the stupa, the stupa is completely able to receive every blessing that the lama is capable of conferring. All the materials are blessed, purified and perfect. All the needs have been met.

The lama that actually empowers the stupa is always a lama of accomplishment. That is to say, Tulku Rigzin Pema Rinpoche is known as a stupa lama and maintains the stupa diet always. He maintains retreat a lot of the time in order to keep the stupa-related accomplishments fresh in his mind as though they were like fresh bread, just right there at the tip of his tongue or the tip of his mind—however you would put it—able to be conferred. Then of course His Holiness Penor Rinpoche who empowered the Enlightenment Stupa is a living Buddha and is known worldwide as a living Buddha. In Tibet, people gather the dirt that he walks on and save it and put it on their altars. His foot-print even. He never is not practicing. I’ve seen the way his mind works. He is like… Well, he is a living Buddha. There is no other thing to say about it.

Stupas: Wish Fulfilling Jewels

February 19, 2017 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is a slideshow of images of KPC Stupas. To learn more about these Sacred Structures join us at KPC Nov. 30 – Dec. 2 for a retreat weekend with Tulku Sang Ngag Rinpoche on the Power of Stupas:

A Variety of Stupas

August 22, 2016 by Holly

An excerpt from a teaching called Cosmology of a Stupa by Tulku Sang-ngag Rinpoche

Stupas can be roughly divided into two categories – Theravada or Hinayana stupas, and stupas in the Mahayana tradition. There are further subdivisions of those stupas, with different shapes and designs.

In the Hinayana tradition, there are stupas that are roughly in the shape of the Buddha’s body, some in the shape of his robes, some in the shape of his alms or begging bowl, and some in the shape of his throne or in the shape of a staff. There are different renditions.

BurmeseStupa

In the Mahayana tradition, there are eight principle stupas. At the time after the Buddha was cremated, his relics were divided into eight piles and given to eight different great kings who made stupas for those relics. According to the great teacher, Nagarjuna, there are eight principle stupas that perform eight different functions.

These eight principle stupas in the Mahayana tradition commemorate the great deeds of the Buddha’s life, from the time when he was born till his passing into nirvana. For example, there is a stupa that commemorates his birth, that moment just after his birth when he took seven steps in the four directions. Each time he took a step, a lotus flower blossomed under his foot. And so, there is a stupa that commemorates the birth of the Buddha.

stupa-types-1 stupa-types-2

There is a stupa that commemorates the fact that the Buddha studied a whole variety of topics in his youth and mastered them all. There is another stupa called the auspicious many-gated stupa. The Tashi Gomang stupa celebrates the fact that the Buddha descended back down from Tushita Pure Land, where he was teaching his mother.

In the Vajrayana tradition, the tantric vehicle, there are specific stupas that accomplish particular purposes. For example, there are the four main types of stupas for pacification. Some are to magnetize. Some are to increase, increase prosperity and merit, and others are for more wrathful activities. There are different shapes that the stupa can adopt, but the fundamental meaning is the same – stupas represent the enlightened body, speech and mind of the Buddha. The stupa primarily represents the enlightened mind of the Buddha.

The Eight Auspicious Symbols

May 6, 2016 by Holly

The Eight Auspicious Symbols represent the Eight Qualities of the Buddha. Here is a brief explanation of how each quality is symbolized.

Excellent Lotus Flower:

The purity of the Buddha’s mind

Golden Wheel of the Dharma

The Buddha’s unending activity of training beings in the path of liberation

Great Victory Banner

The Buddha having conquered all negativity and limitations

Inexhaustible Treasure Vase

The inconceivable blessing of the Buddha’s presence

Precious Parasol/Umbrella

The universal respect, which beings feel for the Buddha

Precious Right-turning Conch

The all-pervading call of the Buddha’s teachings

Two Goldfish

The Buddha’s eyes and, therefore, his perfect wisdom and also a symbol of royalty

Glorious Knot

The tremendous love and compassion of the Buddha and the never-ending continuity of the teachings, also longevity, the eternal nature of things and the interrelatedness of wisdom and compassion

The Path to a Joyful Mind

November 10, 2014 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is an excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo called “Take Control of Your Life”

On the Vajrayana Path, the teacher will say, “I will beat you to death if you don’t straighten up. I will just take a stick to you.” You know, His Holiness [Penor Rinpoche] is famous for doing that. He once had a Tulku who was dying and this Tulku was someone that His Holiness had a lot of hopes in. Obviously there was some obstacle to his life. What was it? We don’t know. But His Holiness realized the Tulku was dying. So he went in to see the Tulku, and the Tulku must have said something that brought up His Holiness’ awareness of this obstacle. His Holiness took off his mala and starting beating him with his mala, just beating him and beating him. And the next day, the Tulku was completely well.

Sometimes the lamas are wrathful in order to remove obstacles. Sometimes the lamas are so wrathful that they are more wrathful than any parent we’ve ever had and we see that. Or we love the lama so much that the wrathfulness of the lama seems like a big stick and we can hardly bear it. Or the disappointment of our lama seems like a big stick and we can hardly bear that. Then sometimes the lama says, “You are such a special being. You are so intrinsically special, even your karma is special. You are special to me. I love you so much. Come here. Come on.” And the lama says, “I love you.” And the lama says, “I know you.” And the lama says, “I see your heart. Feel that?” And the lama says, “I have great gifts to give you. Dharma is beautiful. It’s a joy to practice. It’s everything the Buddha has offered. I’ll set this immense banquet in front of you and you can eat the food of Dharma. How beautiful.”

Of course the lama neglects to mention that Dharma is difficult, that the path is hard, that the things that we have to face about ourselves are horrible and ugly and the things that we have to change about ourselves are very hard work. It’s very hard to change that ego-cherishing into pure generosity and bodhichitta. It’s so hard. The lama may invite you to have some tea. But if you have real potential, the lama’s going to smack you upside the head and say, “Straighten out, buddy. That’s not the way to practice Dharma.” And that’s the part that we should be grateful for. Not only should we not get mad because that would be a big mistake; but instead we should say, this is the very nectar of the Buddha’s teachings. The Buddha has instructed us how to ‘wake-up’ and now we must do the work of waking up. When we practice Dharma, Dharma is something that we practice 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. There’s no Sunday in Dharma. We’re just practicing the habits of our culture [having teachings on Sunday] and we know that you work. Otherwise, there’s no Sunday in Dharma. Dharma is every day. We shouldn’t come here to see an altar; there should be an altar in our homes. To come here and practice is wonderful. We welcome you with open hearts and open arms; but this should not be the only place you practice. You should maintain your practice every day.

This is the way to be happy. Because if you create the habit of practicing and doing some Dharma, making prayers and offerings, practicing say, Ngöndro every day, or even just reciting Seven Line Prayer every day, the mind begins to change. It’s less inflamed, less needy, less concerned with what you want, less concerned with bad habits. The mind begins to change in such a way that it’s less inflamed, more relaxed. And a more relaxed and spacious mind is the prescription for a more joyful mind.