How Buddhists Think

May 31, 2018 by Holly

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By Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

An excerpt from a teaching called “How Buddhists Think”

Some years ago, His Holiness the Dalai Lama took part in an interfaith discussion at a cathedral in Washington, D.C. The Episcopalian ministers and Catholic priests repeatedly stressed the sameness at the core of all religions. His Holiness stood up and said that in some respects we are all the same: we all wish for peace on Earth, we wish for the benefit of beings, we wish for the end of suffering, we wish to attain a level of consciousness in which we are unified with our optimum goal, whatever that might be. “But,” he said, “between your religion and my religion there are fundamental differences. And that has to be okay. There has to be unity in diversity.”

Although I would certainly never speak for the Dalai Lama, I assume that the “fundamental differences” to which he referred have to do with Buddhism’s lack of an external God. This is generally not understood by Westerners. The Buddha’s teachings do not advocate the attainment of oneness with a God, with anything external. Instead, the Buddha teaches the essential sameness of all phenomena, pointing out that in the beginning there was no distinction. The Buddha tells us that such a distinction exists only in our mind, which is fixated on self-nature as being inherently real.

In truth, our Nature is all-pervasive. There is no separation. There is no distinction. When Realization is achieved, it is a non-specific awareness, a luminosity, an innate wakefulness. The process of fixation, of contrivance and distinction, is pacified. That is not the same as attaining oneness with anything external. The Buddha leads us to pacify the delusion that causes fixation on duality.

There is no optimum state one has to create, no supreme being towards whom to move. For a Buddhist, the goal is awakening. It is an awakening to the Nature that cannot be nearer, or stronger, or better than it is now. It can never be tainted, pushed away, destroyed. It remains stable and unchanging. It is simply “Suchness.”

Undefiled Awareness

February 28, 2018 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

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

As Buddhists, we are not as infatuated with the idea of gods and goddesses as people in some other religions. Why not? Because we think of them as part of cyclic existence. Long-life gods can grant blessings. But can they get anybody enlightened? No! They don’t have Enlightenment. You can wait around for someone to give you a blessing––or you can practice Dharma.

Neither are Buddhists impressed by talk about going to heaven or going to God. For us, all this is just part of perceptual experience––just phenomena. I’m not saying that phenomena don’t exist, but the goal of a Buddhist is beyond all phenomena, beyond the fixation of being caught up in cyclic existence. It is not a goal that can be externalized. It is pure, awakened Awarenes. We talk about being reborn in Dewachen (which can sound similar to “being reborn in heaven,” and in one sense it is), but what is actually meant by that is to be reborn in the Dharmakaya state––to be born in a state of pure, undefiled Awareness. To shed ignorance and to be reborn in undefiled Awareness is the only goal of a Buddhist. It is not a conceptual process. It is liberation from all the components of suffering.

To download the complete teaching, click here and scroll down to How Buddhists Think

Life is Fleeting

February 26, 2018 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

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

Have you ever seen someone made completely miserable by neediness? Some people are like a big gaping hole, and all the love you could pour in there would not be enough. Haven’t you ever gone through a phase like that yourself? We’ve all had extremely needy, hungry-ghost-like phases.

Have you ever been prideful, arrogant? Deludedly thinking that you’re better than other people? Have you ever felt yourself so attractive that you thought you were hot stuff? Do you ever think you smell better than other people? I do. I wear Estee Lauder. Many people have that kind of pridefulness. Haven’t you seen people being arrogant––while you wondered why they considered themselves so special? It’s a kind of dream-like delusion from which they’re not able to wake up.

We have seed-like causes planted within our mindstream that we may be unaware of, among them our jealousy and competitiveness. Have you ever been so angry that you were hell-bent to get someone’s goat? That was all you could think about until you realized that you had put yourself in a kind of hell. Have you ever seen other people living that way, continually frothing at the mouth and hell-bent on being right? We can detect these things in our own mind––the impressions of them, like footprints in the sand.

The Buddha taught that these six realms exist and that we all have the karma to be reborn in any one of them. He also taught that we have the right, the power, and the responsibility to produce the causes to ripen auspicious karma––to be reborn in an auspicious way. In other words, there is no predestination. No one is doomed. No one is jinxed. We all have both beneficial and unfortunate karmic potential in our mindstreams. To the degree that we decide, we can engage in the ten virtuous activities which produce an auspicious rebirth. No one is special, no one is flawed, no one is damaged, no one is brain-dead. While you’re human, you have many options.

Having understood that rebirth in any of these realms is possible for each of us, we must make the best use of our time now. There is an urgency in Buddhist thinking: you are asked, please, to make use of this fortunate human rebirth. Don’t waste your time. If you feel pushed to do as much as you can, the purpose isn’t to entrap you or to tell you that “there is only one right way.” It is only to urge you to use your time effectively and courageously––because there is so little of it.

Buddhist teachings describe this human life as a waterfall. Now, where is the drop of water that even a moment ago was at the top? That’s how our lives are. They appear stable, but they go by in a flash. We need to use our opportunity.

To download the complete teaching, click here and scroll down to How Buddhists Think

Turning the Mind

December 1, 2017 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

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

In the preliminary stages of this path, we must engage in a practice called “turning the mind.” What does that mean? Our minds are fixated on gratification and self-satisfaction, on the idea that “if I dance fast enough, I’m going to get happy somehow.” The Buddha teaches us to turn our minds to face the facts, rather than continuing this chronic, habitual fixation on delusion. We must see that cyclic existence is an impermanent, changing process that results in death and rebirth. And the rebirth takes a form we cannot foresee, a form determined by our karma. Once we understand this, we must act accordingly. Realizing that we have a choice, we can act intelligently.

The Buddha has made clear that all our suffering occurs due to habitual fixation on self-nature as inherently real, and the resultant desire. He also gives us a way to antidote that desire: a clear look at cyclic existence and its faults. We can see what the faults of cyclic existence are, and we can use this as a medicine, applying it till the end of our incarnation. Then we can look back on our lives, perhaps at age eighty, and say: “I have spent that time well.”

If we remain fixated on material things (a chicken in our pot, our boat, our color TV), dancing really fast, we may still reach the age of eighty before we die. But not even a sesame seed, as the teaching says, can we take with us.

If we choose wisely, we will reap the benefits of applying the antidote the Buddha prescribes. These benefits will come from purifying our mindstream and thereby pacifying our habitual compulsive tendencies.

According to the Buddha’s teaching, every bit of experience you now have is the result of your karma. Would you like to have a full-life reading about your past lives? Well, let me tell you how you can get one. Look at yourself now. Look at your cravings, your selfishness, your sadness. Look at your happiness, your generosity. Look deeply at yourself, with honesty and courage. Look at your appearance, at how you act. Everything about you is a reflection of your past actions, of cause-and-effect relationships. So you don’t need to pay someone a hundred dollars to give you a fancy life reading. Just look in the mirror.

It’s Your Mindstream

October 10, 2016 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

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

Certain aspects of the Buddha’s teachings are foundational to the way Buddhists think. My purpose here is not to render any teachings in a complete form but rather to discuss why Buddhists think the way they do. My hope is that you will take the responsibility of keeping these ideas in your minds and that they will have the effect of shaping the way you think. The best way you can use these teachings is to allow them to permeate your thoughts, reminding yourself of them continually. This will take some effort on your part. The result will be changes in your view of things––and in the decisions you make.

You must understand that any problems you have in being able to embrace your practice are caused by the karma of your mindstream. The obstacles to your practice are really a reflection of very old habitual tendencies. You have developed them, and you carry them with you. There is no one to blame––not society, not anyone who keeps you from your practice, not your non-Buddhist parents, not your jobs that take too much time. What we’re really looking at is an externalization of the content of the mindstream.

We must understand that we are looking into a mirror. If we’re too busy to practice, if we’re too materialistic to see the big picture, if repeatedly we stumble over these problems, we need to understand them as reflections of the content of our mindstream.

So what should you do? You should apply the antidote. For some people, this would be jumping onto the Path hog wild, really going for it––even though they may need to slow down a little later. Some people need time to adjust to the pace that is naturally best for them. Others can only take one tiny bite at a time.

You start where you are, and that has to be okay. Therefore I suggest three cardinal rules: 1) Do the best you can. 2) Give yourself a break. 3) Don’t let yourself get away with murder.

These rules are not the Buddha’s teaching; I made them up and take full responsibility for them. They actually work very well. You are where you are. Do what you can do. And watch yourself––because you will try to get away with murder. This is the way you should approach the Path.

To download the complete teaching, click here and scroll down to How Buddhists Think

I Choose Enlightenment

October 3, 2016 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

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

People ask: “In your tradition, is Buddha like God?” No, Buddha is not like God. “Is Guru Rinpoche God?” No, Guru Rinpoche is not God. “Well, what do you call God in your tradition?” We don’t call anything God. There are gods, but they are not the goal. Westerners try to find a way around that, saying something like, “All right, then what is the goal?” I tell them, “Enlightenment.” They reply, “Okay, then Enlightenment is God.” No, it’s not. The goal is not anything as personalized and externalized as that. There is no “other.” The moment we are caught up in “self and other,” we have lost the essential Nature. We are fixated, stuck in duality.

This is about Awakening, which is the pacification of such fixation. You must understand the fundamental distinction between Buddhism and Western thinking––whether you are considering beginning the Path or are already a practioner. You must understand this difference, so that you will know what your true objects of refuge are.

The statement “I take refuge in the Buddha, I take refuge in the Dharma, and I take refuge in the Sangha” is an essential element throughout your practice of the Buddha’s teaching. What does this statement mean? It means you have looked at the faults of cyclic existence, and you have seen that it produces no real happiness. You have learned that the Buddha said there is a cessation of suffering, this cessation is Enlightenment, and it is also the cessation of desire. So you have decided to go for Enlightenment. That means you have to really understand the faults of cyclic existence––even if these ideas are difficult to swallow. It’s like taking a medicine that tastes bad until you get used to it. It is like that in the beginning.

Having decided to take this medicine, you look at those who deliver it. We look to the Buddha, and this includes all those who have attained Buddhahood, not just the historical Shakyamuni Buddha. We look to the Dharma, which is the revelation or teaching brought forth from the mind of Enlightenment. And we look to the Sangha, the spiritual community to which we belong. It is the Sangha who are responsible for treasuring and propagating the teachings.

In the Vajrayana tradition, we also say, “I take refuge in the Lama,” who is considered representative of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. Without the Lamas, you would not hear the Buddha’s teachings. And without the Lamas, there would be no Sangha.

When you say you take refuge in all of these, what you are saying is: “I choose Enlightenment. I choose the cessation of suffering.” You move away from the faults of cyclic existence, and you remain focused on the ultimate goal.

In a deeper sense, however, you must understand that you are ultimately taking refuge in Enlightenment itself. You must understand it as both the Path and the intrinsic Nature. So you are taking refuge in the Nature of your own mind. If you understand this thoroughly, you can never be duped. But you do have to work very diligently and with discipline towards the goal.

The method is very technical, very involved. It isn’t easy because it must cut through aeons of compulsive absorption in self-nature. It must cut like a knife! It must be powerful––and it is powerful. You have to think of Dharma that way. The technology has to be strong––and real. You can’t just talk about it. There is work to be done!

Although it is strong, the technology is very flexible. You need not be afraid. You will not be forced to go any deeper than you want to go. You have the right to practice gently. You will still be accumulating causes for a future incarnation as a human with these auspicious conditions, and then you will be able to practice well and dilligently.

There are people who only do very small, very gentle practice. And that’s fine. There is a large tradition of that in the Buddha Dharma. There are also people who are more deeply involved, though in a mediocre way. They practice an hour or so a day. They do a good job, and they’re faithful, and that’s it. Then there are people who practice many hours each day. They continually try to propagate the Teaching, and they work very hard. So you have a choice. You can determine the level of your involvement.

To download the complete teaching, click here and scroll down to How Buddhists Think

Enlightenment is Awakening

October 2, 2016 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

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

In their Nature, all sentient beings are essentially the Buddha––all humans, all animals, even all the microscopic little beings running around on the tips or our noses. We should regard that Nature as the basis or seed of the Path. The Buddha’s revelation of the Path came directly from his awareness of this Nature. Even though we ourselves are this Nature, we have a fixation on self-nature as inherently real. Any idea we have now, any conceptualization, anything that comes from us, arises from thinking of ourselves as a self.

The Buddha gave the Path after he attained Enlightenment, and it arose from his Enlightened intention, from Enlightenment itself. The Path is considered to be “the method.” All the Dharma teachings you receive, even the commentary teachings I may give, all derive from the Buddha’s teachings, or have as their basis the Buddha’s teachings. They are considered precious because they are the “method” that arises from the mind of Enlightenment.

You can only achieve the result of Enlightenment if the method you use arose from the mind of Enlightenment. And you can be certain that this is the case only if you know that the result has been proven again and again. This is because we ourselves cannot recognize the Buddha Nature––not in ourselves, not in any other being. Not yet. All we have to go on is a proven, result-bringing method.

The basis, or cause, brings forth the method, or Path, which is not separate from the goal, the fruit––which is the Awakening into our inherent primordial wisdom state. These three (the basis, the method, and the goal) are inseperable, indistinguishable one from the other. Therefore, we Buddhists never consider that we are moving towards an external goal. We never make the mistake of those involved in a more Western idea of linear development––thinking that they are building a higher self, or even making a connection to a higher self. And we never make the mistake of thinking that we are becoming great beings, or Masters, as those who are involved with linear thinking may do. From our point of view, we haven’t moved at all. Attaining Enlightenment is not gathering together a bunch of facts, as you might do in college. Nor is it the gathering of a bunch of experiences. We are indeed the total of our experiences, but only in a karmic sense.

Enlightenment is actually the “Awakening” to the naked state––the state that is free of all experience, the state that is pure luminosity. We don’t go anywhere. There is no building, no tearing down. There is nothing of the accumulation we value in our life. We have only pacified our chronic, compulsive fixation on self-nature, the fixation we have had since time out of mind. This constitutes a profound difference between Buddhist philosophy and Western metaphysical or religious thinking.

To download the complete teaching, click hereand scroll down to How Buddhists Think

Ten Virtuous Activities

May 21, 2016 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

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

You should think of the Buddha’s teaching as a philosophy that you can follow according to your capability. You don’t need to look or act a certain way. Basically, what you’re learning is cause and effect. You learn that there are ten virtuous activities that bring about Realization, if they are done frequently and consistently. These are: 1.) Composition––the creation of prayers or stories which increase others’ faith. 2.) Offering––even a simple butterlamp, offered daily to the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha creates causes for Buddhahood at some future time. 3.) Generosity and kindness to others, even at the expense of your own comfort; you are one, and they are many. 4.) Attentiveness to the teachings––sometimes difficult when you want to go outside or fall asleep. 5.) Recitation––of prayers, practices, and mantras. 6.) Memorization––of the teachings and instructions for practice. 7.) Teaching––appropriate to do only when we are ready. 8.) Praying. 9.) Contemplation––of the teachings you receive. 10.) Meditation.

First we receive training about how to perform these activities; then we practice them the best we can. Some people will spend a whole week contemplating the teaching I’m now giving; others won’t think about it until they come back for another teaching. But they come back! And there is virtue in that.

The ball is in your court. Your progress will depend on how hard you work, how well you take hold of your mind, how much you demand of yourself, how courageous and honest you are, and how much true generosity you develop. Accordingly, you will pacify the obstacles that keep you from achieving the Awakening to your own primordial Wisdom Nature.

Until you do this, you will wander helplessly in the six realms of cyclic existence. It would take weeks to give a thorough traditional teaching on these realms, but the purpose here is only to explain how Buddhists think.

To download the complete teaching, click here and scroll down to How Buddhists Think

Knowledge & Wisdom

April 4, 2016 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

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

The fourth “Noble Truth” taught by the Buddha was “The Eight-fold Path.” In our Mahayana tradition, this is condensed into “Knowledge” and “Wisdom.” Knowledge is not facts we can know and collect. Rather, it is the awareness of all cause-and-effect relationships and their function as the building blocks of cyclic existence, or samsara.

The Buddha had omniscience. When looking at a sentient being, he could see all the cause-and-effect relationships that brought that being to the present moment. If he were here now looking at you, he could discern all the generosity, all the accumulated virtuous actions that make it possible for you to hear these teachings. He could also see all the obstacles that have prevented you from being a Buddha. He would have a panoramic view of all your accumulated non-virtue and egocentric fixation, knowing not only the facts of your life, but also understanding how the causes and effects were interdependently related. This is knowledge in the Buddha’s view, and it is the only really valuable knowledge.

The Buddha also had complete wisdom. Contrary to ordinary understanding, this wisdom is not related to any accumulation of facts. It is the natural awakened state, the awareness of the primordial empty Nature. It is the awareness of emptiness, the understanding of “Suchness.”

A True Path

February 17, 2016 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

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

In America, as in few other countries, you can find a multitude of ways to be “a spiritual person.” When Tibetan Lamas first came to this country, they were appalled. They were saddened to see there are so many ways to think that you are being spiritual, that you are adopting a spiritual path. The Lamas saw this as the unfortunate, unbearable, bad karma of the American people.

Doesn’t that sound odd? Many of us might say: “No! It’s just the opposite! We can do anything we want, we can be spiritual in this place or that. We can choose to be traditionally spiritual or non-traditionally spiritual. This is the land of opportunity.”

But as the Lamas understand it, much of what is assumed to be spirituality was started less than 50 years ago. Essentially this means we don’t know if it can produce Enlightenment. Many Americans are diligently trying to cross the ocean of suffering in a boat that has never made it across a lake.

Even in the older religions in America, you can be confused about what goals to pursue. Some leaders of Christan churches admit that the original teachings Jesus gave are not found in the Bible. Many teachings have been lost, portions may have been deleted, and the true meaning may have been clouded over by layers of translations. Many of today’s Christian practitioners have no idea that they could become immersed in a mysticism that will actually change their perception. Very few understand that they could practice in a way that leads to Realization.

Lamas who came to this country understood that it would be difficult for Americans to be open to the Buddha’s teachings. So many things in America seem more flashy, seem to promise a great deal more. New Age ideas include promises of instant healing and even opportunities to talk to Masters from the Great Beyond. But has anything like that produced Enlightenment yet? Have we seen the signs?

Buddhist Lamas who came to America had seen miraculous signs. For instance, both my root gurus had seen Lamas fly through the air. A close student of one of my root gurus had seen him lift off the ground and hover for some time. Many of the Lamas had seen the miraculous appearance of the rainbow body after a Dharma practitioner died.

Not long ago, when a Buddhist Lama died, his body was cremated in a fire so hot that his very bones turned into a crispy substance, with a texture somewhere between ashes and potato chips. Yet his heart remained uncooked, raw!

Many Lamas, I among them, have relics of Lamas who died, relics that are “pearls” produced automatically by their bodies. When kept in a dark, quiet place, these pearls continue to reproduce themselves. Lamas I know have told of stupas with empowerments so strong that on one side would come a sweet nectar; on the other, a sour nectar. The flow was continual, and would never dry up. This has been happening for hundreds of years. There has been no explanation for it.

When a Buddhist speaks of “a True Path,” this is not meant as: “My religion is better than yours.” It is not intended to be haughty or prideful. Rather, we want to be on a path that has repeatedly produced results, and can be expected to do so in the future.

That is how I view the Buddha’s teachings. They did not come from any ordinary intellectual process or experience, or from a compilation of other people’s views. They arose from the mind of Enlightenment.

Some people call themselves “enlightened,” and when I hear this, I cease to believe them. The Buddha simply said, “I am awake.” He never made himself out to be a god; he never said he was different from anyone else. He simply said, “I’ve given you the Path. Now work out your own salvation.”

To download the complete teaching, click here and scroll down to How Buddhists Think