Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo, recognized as an emanation of Princess Mandarava, talks about her experiences during a pilgrimage to Maratika Cave where Mandarava and Guru Padmasambava accomplished the Long Life Practice of Amitayus and consort.
Teachers
Dharma in a New Land
From a series of tweets by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo:
Tonight I’d like to say a few words on the issue of how Buddhism moves west, and spreads throughout the world. Some things change; some naturally, remain the same. The Vajrayana monastics will change in that they must make and touch money, eat, often after dark, some are nurses which must tend and therefore touch. Some are doctors and must touch others. Sometimes they travel and cannot always sleep on a low bed as prescribed.
There is no doubt monastics that must not be rigid; particularly in that as Bodhisatvas, that vow always takes precedence. The reason is, that each level of Buddhism has its own vows. Theravadens focus on strict Vinaya rules to purify. Mahayana gives rise to the Great Bodhicitta, and tame their minds with renunciation and Compassion. In Vajrayana (Tibetan) Buddhism all levels are combined into one Supreme view. The vows are kept on the outer, inner, and secret levels; quite profound and impossible to accomplish without a Supreme Guide.
Vajrayana encompasses all three levels and is hands down the more “mystical.” In the USA we take mystical as license. It is not. It does address flexibility according to capacity for view. A Bodhisattva will minister without much concern for monastic rules only if there is suffering to remedy, causing the necessity for a deeper view. In Vajrayana there is Tantra, generation of the Diety or Yiddam and attaining the qualities and view of the Yiddam. We generate Passive Yidam to grow, heal, and expand. We generate Wrathful Yidam to subdue, pacify, and overcome.
If everything remains the same as Tibet or India we would not succeed. Kyabje His Holiness Penor Rinpoche was flexible that way; he understood Buddhism was moving out of Tibet. His Holiness Penor Rinpoche allowed monks to have TV, Soccer, games. That was unless they got distracted or worldly.
They make plays about our history. His Holiness Penor Rinpoche was completely Orthodox and had never broken His vows on the three levels. But He had view, compassion, as well as common sense. He understood the times and His community. Palyul, my Lineage has always persisted because the combination of enlightened Wisdom, Compassion, and Awareness of this world. The Palyul Khenpos did not like these methods, as is the style of scholarly Khenpos, haha, the different perspective is normal and natural – wonderful, really.
But the Tulkus were somewhat different. They are the Treasures of Vajrayana, they alone have crossed the ocean of samsara and guided, successfully their disciples. They are the wisdom beings in flesh and usually each Tulku has their history with their own monastery. They have the clarity and wisdom.
When Lamas come to my Palyul temple they often weep for joy that so many are ordained here in this place. How we have numerous and Holy Stupas; we have gorgeous altars, thangkas, and a full library of texts. When His Holiness Penor Rinpoche was in India He managed to go back to Tibet and rescue ancient and extraordinary rare texts and kindly gave them to us. He himself made robes for the Ordained. His Holiness Penor Rinpoche brought them in privately to take vows, cut hair, and be formally dressed by Palyul Monks. Each felt HIS compassion, purity and wisdom. Some failed; most made it. Others were ordained at retreat in New York. Ngakpa vows are given.
We are told frequently, even by Kagyu Lamas, that the ordained here have amazing good qualities. Heart. I love and trust my monks and nuns so much more than I can possibly express. I respect their journey with my body, speech and mind. They are my family, my children. They are ALL named Thubten, His Holiness Penor Rinpoche’s ordination name. Palyul is exquisite in every way.
His Holiness Penor Rinpoche even approved my handwritten vows! I wrote them and when His Holiness saw, he giggled and said, “These are Refuge, Bodhisattva and Genyen vows.” He was the real deal, a living Buddha, and I worship the very ground where His feet were placed.
Each Lineage is unique and perfect in its way. Has a story just like this. Therefore it is never appropriate to criticize another Lineage. Mainly because you don’t know the Miracle that is it’s blood and bone, and never will. It is Karma! Therefor respect my Lineage, my Tsawei Lama and our Monks, Nuns and householders. I promise, if you have a Lineage I will respect and Honor yours, as I train my students to do. Will we now form a community of Dharma, wholesome, undivided? THIS IS MY PRAYER! Kye HO!
Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo. All rights reserved
Tibetan Schools and Palyul
Tibetan Buddhism has four main traditions:
Nyingma “the Ancient Ones” This is the oldest, the original order founded by Padmasambhava andSantaraksita. Whereas other schools categorize their teachings into the three vehicles: The Foundation Vehicle, Mahayana and Vajrayana, the Nyingma tradition classifies them into nine vehicles, among the highest of which is known as Atiyoga or Dzogchen “Great Perfection”. Hidden treasures (terma) are of particular significance to this tradition.
Kagyu “Lineage of the (Buddha’s) Word” This is an oral tradition, which is very much concerned with the experiential dimension of meditation. Its most famous exponent was Milarepa, an 11th century mystic. It contains one major and one minor subsect. The first, the Dagpo Kagyu, encompasses those Kagyu schools that trace back to the Indian master Naropa via Marpa, Milarepa and Gampopa, and consists of four major sub-sects: the Karma Kagyu, headed by a Karmapa, the Tsalpa Kagyu, the Barom Kagyu, and Pagtru Kagyu. There are a further eight minor sub-sects, all of which trace their root to Pagtru Kagyu and the most notable of which are the Drikung Kagyu and the Drukpa Kagyu. The once-obscure Shangpa Kagyu, which was famously represented by the 20th century teacher Kalu Rinpoche, traces its history back to the Indian master Naropa via Niguma, Sukhasiddhi and Kyungpo Neljor.
Sakya “Grey Earth” This school very much represents the scholarly tradition. Headed by the Sakya Trizin, this tradition was founded by Khon Konchog Gyalpo, a disciple of the great translator Drokmi Lotsawa and traces its lineage to the Indian master Virupa. A renowned exponent, Sakya Pandita 1182–1251CE was the great grandson of Khon Konchog Gyalpo.
Gelug “Way of Virtue” Originally a reformist movement, this tradition is particularly known for its emphasis on logic and debate. Its spiritual head is the Ganden Tripa and its temporal one the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama is regarded as the embodiment of the Bodhisattva of Compassion. Successive Dalai Lamas ruled Tibet from the mid-17th to mid-20th centuries. The order was founded in the 14th to 15th century byJe Tsongkhapa, renowned for both his scholasticism and his virtue.
Within these, Kunzang Palyul Choling is Nyingma
There are six “Mother” Nyingma Monasteries:
- Katok Monastery, in east Tibet, was founded during the twelfth century, and expanded in 1656.
- Dorje Drak Monastery was founded in central Tibet, in 1659.
- Mindroling Monastery, in central Tibet, was established in 1676.
- Palyul Monastery, founded in east Tibet in 1665.
- Dzogchen Monastery, in east Tibet, established in 1685.
- Shechen Monastery founded in east Tibet, in 1735.
Within these monastic traditions, Kunzang Palyul Choling is Palyul.
Palyul Monastery — one of the Six “Mother” Nyingma Monasteries. It was founded in either 1632 or 1665 by Rigdzin Kunzang Sherab, a disciple of Terton Migyur Dorje, and Karma Chagmed. The monastery specializes in kama practices, the termas of Ratna Lingpa and Tulku Migyur Dorje (1645-67). The current head of Palyul Monastery is the Fifth Karma Kuchen.
The inspired masters who contributed to the teachings practiced within Palyul
To date, Palyul has had 12 throne-holders in its history. According to His Holiness Penor Rinpoche, while Nyingma is generally practiced as a Ngagpa tradition, within Palyul it has never been true. The Lineage Holders of Palyul have always been fully-ordained.
Important “elder statesmen” of Palyul, contemporaries and close senior students of His Holiness Penor Rinpoche, are:
It is because of these pure Lineage teachers that we continue to have a pure unbroken stream of wisdom to guide us today to reveal our own enlightenment.
Sources include Wikipedia, Rigpa Wiki, and most of all Pathgate.org, who gave us permission to use their thangka images and biographies
I Wanna
Lyrics by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo
I wanna change
I wanna change
The world
I wanna stop the pain
And make the people sing
I wanna bring
I wanna bring
The end of war
And set the people free
I wanna see
I wanna see
The end of lies
And hear the truth
As open as the sky
Chorus:
OM BENZAR SATO SAMAYA
MA NU PA LA YA
BENZAR SATO TE NO PA
TISH TRA DRI DHO ME BHA WA
SUTO KHAYO ME BHAWA
SUPO KHAYO ME BHAWA
ANU RAKTO ME BHAWA
SARWA SIDDHIM ME PRA YATTSHA
SARWA KARMA SU TSA ME
TSITTAM SHRI YAM KU RU HUNG
HA HA HA HA HO
BHAGAWAN SARWA TATHAGATA
BENZAR MA ME MUNTSA
BENZAR BHA WA MA HA
SAMAYA SATO AH
In the View, I confess all commitments broken through mental activity. Knowing the View is the all-pervasive foundational Bodhicitta; realizing that the View exists in non-existence, and practicing meditation that is non-existent, realizing that activity is neither existent nor non-existent, the Bodhicitta is without expectation or disappointment. All root and auxiliary commitments, breaches and failure to uphold them, are unborn, ungenerated, and liberated in the indivisibilty of the object to confess and the confession itself.
OM BENZAR SATO HUNG
Chorus
©Jetsunma Ahkön Lhamo
Pith Advice – Learning to Discern
From a series of tweets by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo:
If someone tells you they are never wrong it usually means they usually are.
If someone tells you this is exactly how they meant things to turn out it usually means they are clueless about a lot!
If we boast a lot about our dharma practice we should remember the best practice is alone, and silent.
If a practitioner tells you their mind is completely pure, and says they abide in emptiness and light, ask them kindly to turn down the volume!
If a Dharma practitioner does nothing to benefit all sentient beings they are walking on one leg. Dharma is Wisdom and Compassion!
Put your energy into gathering not the goods of the world. Gather the gifts of Wisdom, Compassion and virtue. Only these have value.
If someone harms you and you become afraid, work with it. If you allow the fear you have allowed the suffering: they win!
We are equal in need, equal in nature, equal in love and loss. Therefore we should learn to have empathy and kindness.
We are equal in fault, equal in sorrow, equal in longing and sickness, and death. Therefore we should have empathy, and LOVE.
The great being atones for the suffering of others no matter the cause. A middling being atones for their own. A lesser being accepts no burden.
A great being cares for all beings equally. A middling being cares for family and friends, mostly. A lesser one cares for no one but self.
Paradox: a great being does not differentiate between high and low, having view. A middling being sorts out those differences. A small being uses all this to get what they want.
A lesser being walks the earth. A middling being examines the world. A great being takes wing and flies! The sky is for dancing.
Here in this land we must learn to empathize, to care, to love, to minister to each other, to feed, to heal; and most of all to fly!
Here on Earth we must learn and study our equality. To be without prejudice, to know each other’s suffering, to cherish culture and be color blind in spirit!
May the dirt on their feet be the crown on my head; may their suffering be only mine. May I wipe their eyes, and fill their hearts with LOVE.
Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo. All rights reserved
To Whom It May Concern
Lyrics by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo
Hello my friend, you got your best face on
And I see what you sayin,’ and why you been gone
Oh, I know all the reasons, it’s the same old song
You see I met a lot of people, since I was born
And you can always tell a good man, by what he has done
You say you’re outstanding in your field, I see you standing alone
Don’t take it personal, I’m just tellin’ what I see
And I’m trying to do my Dharma, ‘cause I wanna be free
But if you cause a gal to suffer, the result is what you see
Think about it Honey, what have you done for me
When it comes down to giving, all I have is free
I guess you had your own agenda, and your own misery
Let me tell you one thing, that I know to be true
Every single pain you cause, will come right back to you
It’s time to be a stand up man, and pay your own dues
Don’t take it personal, I’m just tellin’ what I see
Trying to do my Dharma, ‘cause I wanna be free
But if you cause a gal to suffer, the result is what you see
©Jetsunma Ahkön Lhamo 2007
Waking From the Dream
From a series of tweets by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo:
Today I was sent a very good question and would like to answer it here. The question concerned the Buddhist ideal of “awakening”. The writer wonders: “if this is a dream, and we try to wake up, what is there to awaken to?”
So here we think of the Buddha’s statement when asked if he was a man, or a god, a saint, what was he? He replied, very simply “I am awake”. To awaken is to realize the empty, dreamlike quality of all phenomena perceived with our ordinary five senses. This ordinary perception actually arises from our own minds, and is due to perceptual habit. Even scientists find that once we have seen an object with our eyes, the brain files it away. When we “see” it again we actually fill in, once we “decide” what it is, almost all the detail is from memory. We may, in fact, never see the same object twice. Once we identify we fill in the actual “seeing” with our own habitual thinking.
Now try this. Scientists also recognize that all solid appearance is mostly empty space. The chair, the floor- all empty space, as atoms and molecules etc are mostly space with nuclei and other micro bits. So why don’t we fall through? Because we also are mostly space, atoms, molecules… What holds it together on an ordinary level is electromagnetic fields of energy.
On a deeper view, we are dreaming. It is our own habitual tendency and view that supports this. Once we see we react. Once we react we have formed preconceived notions. That is mostly what we see – from deeply ingrained habit.
Now suppose we could liberate our minds from such notions, and “see” deeper – beyond notion and our superficial senses – beyond any contrivance. What would we find? Try to imagine turning one’s eyes inside out and backwards. And turn all our senses within, what would happen? First our senses would change so radically they would no longer see the solid appearance of phenomena. We would “see” that all phenomena arises from our own mindstream, which is “colored” with our own karma. By the way, that is why two people can see the same event and track it very differently. Drives cops crazy!
So our very lives are a dreamlike, trance like appearance, and that is the shallow appearance. The deeper view, what the Buddha called awake is the inner view of the emptiness of all appearances of self-nature. We view our mind stream, our primordial spacious empty nature and abandon the dream of solid appearance. This cannot be done by self-will. Only self will appear – the dream.
We dedicate our intention to building the capacity for this pure view through step by step, stage by stage practice and study. No “AHA!” here! It is not an intellectual process! Eventually we practice Dzog Chen, at the Togyal and Trekchod level. This is the practice that “turns our eyes inside” to see the true face of our primordial wisdom nature; the very ground of being from which all phenomena arise. That is awakening! No words can describe that profound nature very well, because it must be known through direct experience. No books, no words can teach what mixing one’s mind and view with the Holy Ones, the Buddhas and Boddhisattvas, the Gurus who before us have already accomplished, and shown us the sublime “way!”
This tweeching is dedicated to JOYCE, who wrote to me.
Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo. All rights reserved
The Heart Sutra
A video teaching by Khenpo Tenzin Norgay
Can We Take the “Fighting” Part Out?
From a series of tweets by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo:
Been thinking about the last few days, feeling grief for the terrible divide in our nation. There are some of us fighting for status quo, and some of us fighting for change and progress. How can we take the fighting part out of it? Of course we will disagree! People do.
But the fighting? The hating? Is this necessary? For myself, I hate confrontation; but I realize “energetic” discussion is necessary. Why does it have to come to physical violence, shootings? Does anyone really want this? If we do we are a sick and dying nation. We must strive to be healthy and balanced. It is a fact that intelligent and wholesome people will disagree. Nothing will ever be solved by hate.
And now, we are dealing with climate change and petty wars. There will be short resources, water, and frightening change. How will we make it through if we are this negative at such an early stage? People of faith attack each other – haters, hurters, everyone out for themselves. Why? What is the point? Hate has no point to make. Hate is not intelligent in that it only leads down. It does not support life, happiness or health. It is suppressing rather than uplifting. It blocks the way, rather than showing the way. It is not the method of accomplishment.
Intelligent people do not need to war. We have ideas, hopes, fears we can all express. This is the one thing about being online that really harms us. We sit behind our computers and act in ways we would never act in public. We would be ashamed. Online we think we are invisible and that our non virtue doesn’t count. We think like that about our own thoughts too. But what we don’t realize is that every thought and action brings their appropriate result. Always, karma is exacting as the Buddha taught. If we are blind to that truth we are ignorant; and suffering from hatred and ignorance both, we will always be asleep to our true nature. And we will not attain happiness and bliss.
Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo. All rights reserved