Teachings | Tibetan Buddhist Altar

Confidence

March 9, 2012 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

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

Good afternoon all! It is gorgeous today, cool and sweet. I’m wishing all a great day.

My fall yesterday still is blue and sore but I am happy to be home. And otherwise feel well.

I am, oddly glad my stalkers are/were so cruel and insane, as I found I am very strong. And Am ready for their worst. I know who I am, what I am capable of, and that compassion is the strongest condition of all. Hate has no power. And I don’t intend to give it any. I’ll do whatever it takes to remain firm.

And as soon as the leg heals I’ll be teaching. Can’t climb the Throne, actually, not yet. Soon.

Coming Home

March 6, 2012 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

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

I am now at KPC Maryland, thought I’d stop by before the stalkers knew about it. But the minute I got here I knew I would stay.

The sangha that prepared for me made everything so lovely, so elegant, I felt welcomed home. So I will stay.

I went to make an offering and prayers. It was so lovely and peaceful I felt healed and safe. The power of the Stupas is such – no one can harm me here.

Stupas are Living Buddhas and have a blessing range of about 100 miles, radius. And more. So, the peace and beauty, the prayer flags, offerings are not just superficial. They are true power and compassionand wisdom. This is my seat of power and I’m back to what matters. Benefiting sentient beings. I won’t leave, I will build KPC stronger, and will teach, only leaving to travel or teach.

If I hear the stalker is going off again I will go to the Stupa and pray just as I did today. And feel healed some more. I have faith. I see again what I’ve accomplished.

And it is sacred and gorgeous, therefore my work for Palyul is truly an act of love and grace.

And I did it with the Guru’s blessing. I’m in love with my sangha, my monastics, and temple again. Mama Lama is back! And no one will scare me off again.

Recognize What Is Sacred: A Message for Monks and Nuns

March 6, 2012 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

An excerpt from the Mindfulness workshop given by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo in 1999

I want to talk to the monks and nuns about how to keep mindfulness, the awareness of emptiness and bodhicitta as being the true meaning of one’s path, one’s practice: the two eyes. Somehow, we have to embark more deeply on practicing a way to attain pure View. What keeps us from attaining pure View? It’s our constant need to recognize and reaffirm self-nature as being inherently real, and then the rest of it – our desire, our clinging, our egos. And then there’s always the reaction going on. We have to see that. These are the reasons why we are asleep in this narcotic state. As a monk or a nun, we should be constantly striving for a state of deeper recognition, for a better sense of View. How can we do that?

We have all kinds of ideas about how we should relate with one another. We have all kinds of ideas about how we should conduct ourselves, carry ourselves. My suggestion is that we develop some new patterns, some new habitual tendencies so that we can develop something other than that strong sense of I-ness, of ego-clinging. Remember that the point is to recognize what is sacred. That may not coincide with what you think; it may not coincide with what you want; it may not coincide with the way you’re used to doing things. But that’s okay, because the point of practicing Dharma is to change. It’s not to remain the same, right?

Now, all you feminists, calm down. When the Buddha first taught, he taught men, right? Those were the first aspirants. There are all kinds of traditions about nuns sitting in the back and monks sitting in the front, and because we’re all feminists and we’re all girls, we don’t like that very much. But like it or not, the Buddha taught men first, and so the idea is not to worry about what body we’re wearing right now, what ego we’re stuck in right now. In fact, to identify with being ordinary males and females and to think, “Oh, females have to be there and men have to be there,” is to stay stuck in ego. So the reason for women to practice an honoring of monks is not because men are better, but because the Buddha taught men first. They are our eldest practitioners. They held the Lineage all this time and made it possible. It is the ordained male sangha that held the full Lineage of ordination intact through all this time and made it possible for ordination to occur today in its fullness, both genyen and gelong. So that has been held properly by men. So as nuns, we should honor the monks.

The monks, however, should not honor themselves. The monks should honor the women, the nuns, because in pure View, she is the Goddess. She is Tara herself. Her nature is indistinguishable from what is most precious to us, so as a Vajrayana practitioner, women are elevated. She is the Goddess, she is Tara, she is the spiritual consort. She is the one with whom we can practice in such a way as to overcome samsara, so she is extraordinarily elevated.

So the nuns get to lose their egos by honoring the monks as the primary practitioners who, through their generosity, morality and kindness, have kept the vows all this time and have made it possible for us to practice in the way that we are now. That should be something you should think about every time you see a monk, good or bad. Get out of the habit of saying, “Oh, that one’s a good monk, and that one’s a bad monk.” When you see those robes and they’re on a monk, you should feel exactly the same. The same thing applies for the monks. You should not worry about feeling that way about yourself. You’re here. That’s good. So the monks, when they look at women, they should not see a good nun or a bad nun or one that’s dressed one way or one that’s dressed another way. They shouldn’t see that. These women who are holding the robes of the Buddha, who are practicing in that way, are nothing less than Tara incarnate. They are nothing less than the appearance of the Goddess. The only hope any of us have is to practice in spiritual union, whether that’s on a spiritual level or on a physical level, and so when we look at the female principle, she is everything. Every time a monk looks at a woman, particularly a nun, he should see the Goddess. It should be like that, even if it’s a laywoman. You’re not looking at the clothes, remember? See the nature. Behold the Goddess, and in that way, develop the habit of just doing that little bow. Nobody has to see it, men! It’s okay! It could be like one vertebra, you know? Pick a vertebra. I realize what a hard time men have with that – women, too. It’s this battle between the sexes. But that is ordinary phenomena, and we’re trying to get around that, past that, through that.

The point is to carry the View and recognize the nature of one another without holding ourselves in high regard because we are so “fancy.” The point is to carry the View without getting the ‘rah-rah nuns’ or ‘rah-rah monks’ thing going: I’ve heard the nuns say, “You know, the monks never support one another. They’re not being nice to one another. They don’t cook for each other. They don’t make each other’s beds. They don’t do anything for each other.” That’s what I hear from the nuns. And the monks are saying, “You know, the nuns, they’re sloppy. They just run around doing ooh-ooh, ah-ah stuff, all those hugs and squeezes and all that stupid stuff. They’re not very together.” We tend to think like that and we have these ideas. It’s that kind of thing that creates not only dissension in the sangha, but it’s also ordinary view. What do you have to do with that? What is the point of practicing as you do without holding View? There would be no point.

When the Law Won’t Help

March 1, 2012 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

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

I’m pretty much at a low point in recovery from PTSD. It’s not just feeling safe; it’s what it does to you. Like it’s hard to think and remember what is important. And I wish I could sleep all the time. I want to go home but it’s not safe. Am having difficulty concentrating, learning new things and studying. I have no ambition. In short, I have every symptom of a stalked person. Without exception.

I was doing well with the self defense, but the flu knocked me out. Now to start over seems like too much.

But I must get over this. I can’t find any stalker laws to protect us. There is no interest in providing safety for women. We have better luck with animal rights. Shameful.

Why would a judge or any man want to legislate safety for women? After all, they want to own us. Tell us how to be. Many women choose these days to be alone. It is better to take no chances. What a shame! Especially financially independent women choose lonely over bullying.

So how many women choose to make their own way financially? Not enough. How many men rule by keeping money from women? Many.

So why can’t we women wake up?

Well, no law protects us. And most is written by men. (Or not written) And we need their help. But they have no desire to help, as they might lose the opportunity to abuse and control. And that would be inconvenient.

Mirror that Illustrates the Crucial Points: From “Drops of Nectar”

March 1, 2012 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is respectfully quoted from “Drops of Nectar” by Ngagyur Nyingma Institute:

The Ultimate and Meaningful Instruction: Longchen Rabjam

Supreme glorious master, all-pervasive lord of the hundred Buddha-families.
Who combines into one, the power of compassion and enlightened activity.
Of the limitless mandala of the infinite Victorious Ones,
I constantly pay homage at your feet.

Ema, fortunate yogins listen to me. We have all now obtained this perfect human body with the freedoms and endowments. We have been introduced to the precious teachings of the higher vehicle. We have the freedom to behave in accordance with the sublime dharma. At this time, we should make sure that our human life does not go to waste and pass without meaning. We must establish our ultimate goal correctly. The categories of teachings are innumerable, the doors to the teachings are countless, and the commentaries to the teachings are vast.

If you cannot practice the essential points of the teachings, then although one knows a hundred thousand volumes of scriptures by heart, certain benefit at the time of death is difficult to achieve. Although you may have acquired boundless qualities of knowledge through study and contemplation, if your mindstream does not accord with genuine dharma you will not be able to tame the enemy of delusions. Moreover, if you don’t commit to an attitude of not needing anything, even with control over the one billion world systems, contentment won’t arise.

Without preparing soon for the uncertain time of death, you will not accomplish the great essential objective when death occurs. If you don’t correct your own mistakes and train in unbiased pure perception, being motivated by attachment and aversion, you won’t fully enter t dharma of the greater vehicle.

Among the six realms of the three worlds, there is not even a single sentient being who has not been your parent. If you do not regularly and continually aspire and pray for their well-being and happiness with the compassionate mind of enlightenment, the treasure of benefiting others will not be revealed. If you do not cultivate the devotion to your root guru that regards him as even more kind than the actual Buddha, the power of blessings will not be great.

If genuine blessings do not enter into you, the sprout of experience and realization will not emerge. Without realization dawning from within, the fruit of enlightenment will not be obtained through mere intellectual understanding or empty talk. In short, if you do not mingle your mind with dharma, merely appearing like a practitioner will not bring about your purpose. Consider that you do not need more than is merely sufficient to support your life force and vital energy.

Pray single-pointedly to your guru and practice Guru Yoga. Whatever virtuous activities you do, always focus on the benefit for sentient beings, your parents. No matter what happiness or sorrow, good or bad might occur, always meditate on the compassion of your guru. Within the expanse of self manifesting non-grasping self-cognizing awareness, abide in non-fabricated and unforced naturalness. Whatever thought arises; know its nature and liberate everything as the play of the true nature of reality.

Without so much as a hair tip of something solid to meditate on, and without falling for even a moment under the power of perpetual ordinary delusion, maintain undistracted mindfulness in all your daily activities. By training in recognizing all sights and sounds — whatever arises of the six consciousnesses — as magical play lacking true existence, you will gain mastery over the experiences of the bardo.

In short, at all times and on all occasions ensure that whatever you do accords with the sacred dharma and dedicate all virtue for the attainment of enlightenment. Acting in that way, you will not only fulfill the intentions of your root guru but also be of service to the teachings. You will repay the kindness of your parents and spontaneously accomplish the two benefits, of self and others.

I request that you retain this in your hearts. Even if you meet me in person, other than these instructions, I have nothing more to say. Therefore, at all times and on all occasions, practice!

The powerful conqueror, the excellent Longchen Rabjam wrote this when he lived on the slope of Gangri Thodkar. May it be virtuous!

An Attitude of Gratitude Opens All Doors

February 22, 2012 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is a full length video teaching offered by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo at Kunzang Palyul Choling:

Using the attitude of gratitude we can make the best use of our precious human rebirth – which goes by faster than we could ever imagine. OM AH HUNG BENZAR GURU PEDMA SIDDHI HUNG.

Emptiness and Compassion for Westerners: Full Length Video Teaching

February 22, 2012February 22, 2012 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is a full length video teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo offered at Kunzang Palyul Choling:

Jetsunma examines the various ways that the Judeo-Christian thought field in which we were raied has affected our thinking. We think we understand the concepts but often miss the point through our confusion.

Develop the Mind of the Dakini Part 4 of 4: Full Length Video Teaching

February 18, 2012 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is a full length video teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo offered at Kunzang Palyul Choling:

In this final part of the workshop, Jetsunma goes through the practice she developed of Supreme Generosity (called Chod by Tibetan Buddhists). Through this she was able to deepen in her practice. We hope you will too.

Let Good Intention Guide Your Life: Full Length Video Teaching

February 17, 2012 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is a full length video teaching offered by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo:

Following on the visit of H.E. Mugsang Tulku Rinpoohce, Jetsunma used him as an example of using your intention to benefit beings in all aspects of your life. By offering all y see, do, hear or anything for the benefit of all – this is a living mandala practice and can transform your life to an extraordinary one.

Endowed with Garland of Flowers: The Reasons for Exhaustion by Longchen Rabjam

February 16, 2012 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is respectfully taken from “Drops of Nectar” published by Ngagyur Nyingma Institute:

Endowed with Garland of Flowers: The Reasons for Exhaustion by Longchen Rabjam:

Om Svasti Siddham!

The delightful enlightened form, like a blooming lotus garden,
Whom gods and humans honor as the omniscient one,
The glorious Samyepa of mountain retreat,
Offers some verses to the ears of people with clear minds!
Nowadays, some people have been, in a manner of speaking,
Claiming I lack knowledge of appropriate manners, wealth and
short of an unconfused frame of mind,
That I am not firmly established in solitude and am extremely exhausted.
To all these, I answer. Listen as I speak!

Although criticized by sublime beings, non-dharmic evil behavior is increasing.
Lies, cunning and fraud are the basis of deceiving others,
Causing regret at the time of death and falling to lower realms in future lives.
Such appropriately worldly manners are better done without!

Sublime beings criticize sensual pleasures as the lasso of samsara.
Bringing on quarrels with everyone, it is the basis for many kinds of suffering.
Even if you have enough, you’re not satisfied and craving increases.
Since it’s the cause for downfalls, it’s fine to be devoid of wealth!

If revulsion towards worldly dharmas does not arise,
There will never be liberation from the ocean of existence.
Toward impermanent and essence-less phenomena,
It’s good to be unattached and better if you are short of worldly plans!

While staying together as one, attachment and hatred naturally increases.
Distractions, diversions and activities become even greater.
By binding one to existence, ego clinging is the cause of bondage.
In this kind of situation it’s better not to have any certainty!

Even my exhaustion is not without a cause.
As I ponder the auspicious throughout the day and night,
[I see] the ocean of samsara, with its waves of birth and death.
We wander here from the natural illusion of ego clinging.

Having seen the deep ocean of existence that is difficult to cross,
I despair and, shedding tears, become exhausted!
Please listen to how I am even more wearied by
Examining behavior of other people.

Venerable abbots, teachers and lamas, though quite secure,
Do not pursue the path of Dharma but chase after sense
pleasure and entertainment.
Outwardly peaceful, they are extremely arrogant within,
Having seen their cunning ways, I become exhausted!

Even those endowed with the Dharma pay attention to the wealthy.
The straightforward guides as well are more benevolent
towards their dissimulating retinues.
They pursue the eight worldly concerns, those versed in non-Dharma.
Seeing mere reflections of the Gurus, I become exhausted!

The slanderous ones who engage in divisiveness know nothing
about what is meaningful.
The crooked demonic ones who never take a stand but who live by flattery
Are not pleased by goodness and separate two who are in harmony.
Seeing friends like this, I become exhausted!

Unable to bear it themselves, while expecting others to cope with effort;
Not helping in times of need, and upholding others’ unworthy positions.
Displaying all kinds of moods even for minor things;
Seeing friends like this, I become exhausted!

If you teach those who have no proper respect, you evoke harsh words.
Lacking faith and devotion, rigid as unyeilding wood
They run after food and leave behind the activity of exertion.
Seeing students like this, I become exhausted!

They praise you to your face, and speak badly behind your back.
Not striving on the path of Dharma, but chasing after sense pleasures,
As the final return for your nurture they manufacture quarrels.
Seeing students like this, I become exhausted!

If your food and clothing are inferior, you’re cast down even if
you’re learned.
With great wealth, even the stupid are venerated
And reckoned as talented although their companions are evil and cunning.
Seeing this kind of people, I become exhausted!

They look on those who live in an honest way as being completely uncultured.
They take those who lack wealth as having merit.
They say that those who follow the Dharma have accomplished
only worthless methods.
Seeing this kind of people, I become exhausted!

Those who are expert at fitting into the ordinary are counted
excellent scholars.
Those who mimic good qualities are said to be wise in Dharma
Those who are good at using harsh, stupid and deceitful words
are considered quite exemplary.
Seeing this kind of people, I become exhausted!

With only verbal generosity, they dedicate as though the merits
were complete.
Bringing harm, they are proud as though they had created virtue.
Engaging in non-Dharma, they clearly believe they have
accomplished the journey to the bliss realm.
All these perversions make me quite exhausted!

Without Dharma, obtaining mere trifles is counted as happiness.
And genuine monks without wealth are scorned by all who see them.
When fools are more valued than noble ones,
If there is any feeling, exhaustion is appropriate!

At this time and place, principles are perverted.
Being the opposite of one’s mistakes, good qualities are
reckoned as erroneous.
Just as the beings of Tsuta (a realm where all beings have only one leg) laugh at two-legged humans,
Saying one leg is extra,
The one called Samyepa who composes, teaches and debates,
Now faces insults for acting in accord with the Dharma!

When I expound this truth, the throng of heedless, ignorant fools,
The most stupid who pretend to be studying and contemplating
the system of logic,
The foolish hypocrites with their imposing air of mastery of the
supreme precious three trainings,
And those lofty associates who easily befriend them, are most displeased.

However my body of discipline is superb; the petals of the
three trainings are formed and expanded.
And the excellent ones who can discern the causes assemble at
the fortress of honesty.
In order to awaken delight in their minds I arranged this composition.

All whose minds are clear, please examine whether the
meaning is true or false.
In this manner the sweet-voiced one of mountain retreat
I, Tshultrim Lodro Zangpo composed this.

By this virtue, may I and all beings,
Sit before the great tree of the essence of enlightenment;
After defeating the devils of unpleasant speech,
May we become Dharma Kings with the spontaneously established three kayas!

With the intention of a perfect exposition, this answer, called “Endowed with Rosary that Completely Subjugates”, was composed by the greatly learned poet, the glorious Samyepa, Tsultrim Lodr. It is here complete.