Dzogchen | Tibetan Buddhist Altar

What Really Matters

July 26, 2017 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is an excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo called “Love Now, Dzogchen Later”

You should read stories about lamas in the past, stories of the saints, where lamas in the past have gone into retreat or gone to their teachers and said, “I really want to accomplish Dharma. I’m ready. I want to accomplish Dharma right now. So what will I do?” And the lama would say, “Take some retreat. Go into the cave and practice a certain mantra.” And time and time again students would go to the caves and would practice mantra. And they would come back out and they would say to the lama, “I’ve practiced this mantra and yet I don’t seem to have any result.” “Well,” lama says, “then you need three million more. Go back into the cave and practice some more.” And then again more advice. “Well I’ve not been able to practice any Dharma. Not given rise to realization although I’ve said mantra repeatedly.” Then the lama would give some other advice. “Well, go back and accomplish the bodhicitta. Accomplish the motivation.”

There are just uncountable stories like that of these great saints who struggled like you do, like we do, to accomplish their practice. And they didn’t go and get promoted every year. They had to accomplish the underpinnings, the basics, before they could move on to the next level. And it’s according to the lama’s wisdom. The lama would be able to see whether that accomplishment had really happened. And there are also many stories of disciples who would come to the lama after practicing in a cave some time or practicing in some kind of retreat, and they would say to the lama, “I have accomplished this.” And the lama would say, “See ya. Keep trying. Go back. Another three years for you.” Because that’s not what you say to your lama.

So, uncountable stories, uncountable stories that seem completely ridiculous and irrelevant in this time because of the experience that we’re having. But I’m telling you that they are not irrelevant. It’s something for each of us to take personal responsibility to study. And I really think that some of the elder monks and nuns should take on the responsibility of studying the lives of these saints and then reporting on them to other students. Maybe we could take turns giving some classes on that.

But just to go every summer and say, “I have Dzogchen. I must be okay to die now.” Or something like that, you know? Thinking that, you know, somehow magical thinking. You’ve got the bumpa on the head and you’re just set to go. I’m afraid not. I wish that it were so. There is no bumpa on this planet that is hard enough. I mean how many times has His Holiness said that without giving rise to Guru Yoga, to true devotion, you know, egoless devotion, the lama could literally bang you on the head with the bumpa until it was dented and you are too, and there wouldn’t be much value. Even though the lama had practiced. Even though it had been an unbroken chain all the way down to the original source of the teaching. Because in our practice there is a call and response. The lama gives the blessing; the student is invited to respond accordingly. It’s in the call and response connection that the growth occurs. It isn’t really what the guy above you tells you to do that makes you grow.

Our concern should always be loving concern for the welfare of sentient beings. If we are so puffed up with our own view of ourselves that we cannot bother ourselves to be of benefit to sentient beings; we cannot rouse ourselves to do something that will bring benefit to all sentient beings; we cannot bring ourselves to study on the suffering of humans, of animals—these being the two that we can mainly see on this planet— and to bring some relief, let alone worry about sentient beings in other realms that we cannot see and know are suffering,… We can’t even be bothered to look at human beings and animals. But we are going to sit there and do secret teachings, and look at others and wonder why they can’t do the same. Not appropriate. Not appropriate at all, and no benefit. No benefit.

Essential Motivation

July 25, 2017 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is an excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo called “Love Now, Dzogchen Later”

Ngondro purifies the five senses to such a degree that many of the gross defilements. The ones that you meet up in your life where you are happily going along the road of life and you get punched in the face by karma. Those obstacles. You know. They purify some of that and they keep that sort of thing from happening or they make it happen more benignly pacified is the idea. And then accumulation of the Three Roots stabilizes the mind. Begins to ripen the mind. At that time we are trying to accomplish the Vajra confidence of the deities, their very pure qualities. Their ability to establish virtue. Their ability to accomplish view. All of these things are accomplished through this recitation. But nowadays, we don’t even have to do that. We go to Tsa Lung. And we don’t even have to finish Tsa Lung. Then we can go to Trekchod, and then we can go to Togyal. I think that is right. We don’t really have to graduate. And you have to ask yourself at this point. What has changed? Did His Holiness change?

I think of His Holiness like the Copper Mountain. Our perception of the Copper Colored Mountain may change. It may be connected to our own capability but does the Copper Colored Mountain ever change? No. It is absolutely empty of self-nature and yet spontaneously accomplished. Figure that one out. So, there is no fault here. The fault is not with His Holiness. His Holiness made a decision based on the times and I understand his decision. It is not for me to agree or disagree, but I absolutely understand what his method is. But the thing that I want to express to you is that it puts the responsibility on us. To accomplish when we are not with His Holiness what we have to accomplish in order to make what he is teaching us next worthwhile.

One of the worst things that I have seen happen, that is a terrible result, and indeed it is not unusual in the sense that it is different from the way the world is acting now. But still I have to say that it is not a good result and that is that most people on the path blow right by giving rise to the Bodhicitta. Giving rise to the great compassion, to the way that actually is the very essence of awakening. The Bodhicitta. Now, His Holiness always teaches about Bodhicitta. He never denies an opportunity. Never abandons an opportunity. He teaches about the Bodhicitta every time. Like for instance when he starts to give a teaching or he starts to do a practice, often he will remind us to establish our motivation and the Khenpos will always say that we must establish our motivation or that we must understand that we are hearing this teaching not just to hang out here or that we are doing some practice not just because we are bored or for some other self-oriented reason. But the only valid, righteous and appropriate motivation to accomplish Dharma is for the liberation and salvation of all sentient beings. So, we can repeat that back. We’ve heard this so many times. And we can say if I say to you, “Why are you doing this practice?” You’ll say, “Oh, liberation and salvation of all sentient beings.” We’ve heard this so many times that we can parrot it back. Sort of like a Malaccan Cockatoo or an African Gray. But have we really given rise to the Bodhicitta? Have we really accomplished it? Have we worked really clean? Thank you! Somebody said no. I appreciate that. You know? Have we worked cleanly and purely with our motivation? Do we tutor ourselves on our motivation everyday, every moment? And when we have choices to make, do we reestablish the motivation so that we can make the correct choices by saying, “Thus for the sake of sentient beings, I will open this altar, close this altar, pray, circumambulate, do my practice, study some Dharma. Benefit sentient beings in some way. Feed the hungry. Heal the sick. Walk a dog.“ Anything! Anything. Do we remind ourselves that that is our reason for taking our next breath? That other than giving rise to compassion, giving rise to the mind of Bodhicitta which by the way, is the pure awakened state, our primordial wisdom nature, that that is the reason for anything that we do. And should remain so. And if we do not have the proper karma to be born in a monastery amongst many learned monks and nuns and many learned Khenpos, and lamas and Rinpoches, then we must accept that as our karma. And shouldn’t leave ourselves to say, “Oh those poor guys. They have to work for years trying to accomplish some Dharma and all they get is a couple of maroon colored sheets and a rug. And you know, they just stay there in the Monastery. And gee, I get to hang out here in America with cars, and TVs, and you know, stuff. I have a great house. And I can buy another car if I want. And you know there are so many things that I can do do do. And have have have have. And yet I get some Dzogchen. Whoopee! I must be the most fabulous person in the world. “

Unfortunately, our response to being given this great blessing is a little more like the whoopee part than it is the honest internal watchfulness that makes us ask ourselves, “Have I given rise to the Bodhicitta? Have I accomplished good qualities?” I mean when you practice the root deities, the Three Roots you accumulate so many repetitions of the mantra and you put so much energy into visualizing their different hand held implements and even their posture, which means something. The handheld implement and the posture are the very display of the deities’ excellent qualities and activities. So, we practice many repetitions of the mantra of the root deity. And we think now we have accomplished the qualities of the root deity. What are the qualities of the root qualities of the root deity? We study the hand implements. We study the posture, and we begin to inhabit those qualities. We begin to display those qualities. We accept those qualities. We habituate towards those qualities and even one of the qualities that we habituate toward is Vajra pride.

Vajra pride which is different from American pride. American pride is the bullshit that knocks you off the path. Vajra pride is the confidence in the method. Confidence in the method through meditating on Shunyata and giving rise to the deity. And so there is the confidence. Not having practiced mantra like that. Not having gone through those different accomplishments, we instead have given rise to ordinary pride. And ordinary pride is stupid pride. It tells us to argue with the elder sangha members, lamas, and Khenpos, thinking that we know better, or to make up our own religion. Or to just do it the way we want to, or to just self cherish. To meditate on self-cherishing, ego cherishing, which is giving rise to the ordinary pride and back to that ordinary cycle. But when we accomplish the deity, something different rises up. And then when we move on to the other levels, we move on with Vajra confidence and unshakeable Bodhicitta – compassion.

Now, when that foundation is properly laid, and we have properly practiced Bodhicitta, and we have properly accumulated mantra and we have purified our senses through the Ngondro, then when we are introduced to Dzogchen. The mind is matured. The blessing of the lama, particularly if we have accomplished purely the accumulation of Vajra Guru mantra within the context of Guru Yoga in Ngondro. And what is it, 1.5 million of those? Or 1.2, I forget. Huh? 1.2? Thank you. She knows but did you do it? Oh see! Yeah. So, after you accomplish that many Vajra Guru mantras in the context of Guru Yoga, you have changed. Your capability is different.

Without Bodhicitta, There Is No Path: from His Holiness Penor Rinpoche

July 11, 2017 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is an excerpt from a teaching by His Holiness Penor Rinpoche on Mediation, reprinted with permission from Palyul Ling International:

Many of you are interested and have asked, “Please give us the Dzogchen teachings.” But even I myself don’t know what is Dzogchen and I don’t have anything to teach you!

Anyway, as I explained to you earlier, if one practices the Bodhicitta, that kind of pure intention to really benefit all other sentient beings, and then the samatha meditation practices to establish one’s mind in full concentration, then of course there will be the Great Perfection (“Dzogchen”) meditations.

But if one cannot cultivate the Bodhicitta within one’s mind, the path to Enlightenment is already broken. Without Bodhicitta, there is no real path. Bodhicitta is that which is without any partiality. The pure intention of Bodhicitta, the thought to benefit all sentient beings without any exception, can be understood by realizing that in one or another lifetime, each being has been one’s parent. If we understand this and think of how dearly they have taken care of us, then we will feel grateful to all the parently beings and we can generate Bodhicitta to all of them.

This present body of ours is here because of our parents. If we did not have parents, there is no possibility that we could have these bodies. And if we don’t have this physical body, then we cannot accomplish any kind of worldly or Dharma activity. So our mothers are indeed very kind and we should be grateful.

Of course, there are many kinds of parent-child relationships in this world, but we should remember that whether or not we are close to our parents is based on our own desires and our own thoughts. Beyond that sort of thing, the main meaning here is that without our parents, we could not have this body, and because of this we should understand and be grateful for their kindness. So first one really concentrates on generating Bodhicitta based on one’s gratefulness to this life’s mother, and from that one can extend this Bodhicitta to all sentient beings equally.

So the most important points are to have faith and devotion in the Dharma, then meditating and contemplating on Bodhicitta and compassion. Then one can apply these into practice through the meditations on emptiness.

In the Dharma practice one should not think, “Oh, I am doing all this practice for the benefit of this lama or for these Buddhas.” Never think in this way. The Dharma practice is for yourself. Each and every one of you as individuals has to liberate yourself from Samsara. You are attaining Enlightenment for yourself. You are attaining Buddhahood for yourself. By your practice, your lama is not going to attain Enlightenment nor is Buddha going to attain Enlightenment! Buddha has already achieved Buddhahood! And if you cannot attend to Dharma practice in the proper way, then it is yourself who will fall down into the three lower realms. It is not the lama or the Buddha who will fall into the lower realms!

So, though it is important to think spiritually of one’s own benefit and how one can attain Enlightenment, still the achievement of that kind of liberation is by the path of benefiting all other sentient beings. Without that kind of Bodhicitta one cannot attain complete Enlightenment.

The Bodhicitta we can generate right now, however vast, is beneficial. In the future, when one attains Enlightenment, according to the vastness of that Bodhicitta, that many sentient beings can benefit and liberate themselves from the sufferings of Samsara. Right now we cannot really perceive all that fruition, but if we continue to practice, then in the future we will realize it as a direct perception.

Practice With Every Breath

September 4, 2015 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

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

As practitioners we think, “Oh, I love all this stuff you’re telling me and it’s all very nice and everything, but what I’d really like is a nature of mind teaching. What I’d really like is some Dzogchen! Don’t start me with the basics. Give me that high stuff.” We think that, and then, sadly, pitifully, really, what happens is that we get this incredible Dzogchen teaching about the nature of mind, and it becomes to us something else that we, I, the ego, have collected. Something as precious as a view of the nature of our Buddhahood, of the nature of our mind becomes just another thing that we hold; that I, the ego, holds. It becomes something I have, and it makes me even greater because I have those teachings, and you don’t.

If we allow ourselves to practice in that way, by simply wanting that teaching and not requiring the recognition, not making ourselves go through the steps, we are dishonoring the Dharma. Instead of collecting great teachings from great teachers, it would behoove us to look in the mirror, to observe our own phenomena. In order to discriminate between what is extraordinary and what is ordinary, what is enlightened activity and what is samsaric activity. In order to develop this mindfulness, we have to learn to discriminate the world of phenomena. We have to learn to discriminate appearances. That never happens magically.

The terrible and painful mistake that we make is to think that eventually if we do our practice there’s going to be an experience. We think that one day we’ll do our practice, and suddenly our aura will get big, or we’ll have some kind of AHA! “There it is! Enlightenment!” and we’ll be magically changed. We even fantasize about this. You know that you do. You fantasize about other people seeing how enlightened you are. You fantasize about how honored you will be when they “get” where you’re coming from. You’re not alone, don’t worry.

This kind of idea is completely the opposite of the kind of discrimination regarding the world of appearances. In waiting for enlightenment to come to us, we’re actually practicing duality. In waiting for enlightenment to come to us, in waiting for that moment when the hallelujah chorus starts, we are actually saying, “I, ego, I am waiting for that to come to me.” So in that state it will never happen. In that state there is no such event. There simply cannot be because there is no discrimination and no mindfulness — no mindfulness of the world of appearances. In order to engage in giving rise to recognition of the empty nature of phenomena, you have to work at it. To do the practice and just wait for this recognition is inappropriate. It should be practiced with every breath. It should be practiced with every moment of our lives, and not just our spare moments.

The Immaculate Mandala: From “The Practice of Dzogchen” by Longchen Rabjam

March 24, 2012 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is respectfully quoted from “The Practice of Dzogchen” by Longchen Rabjam, translated by Tulku Thondup and edited by Harold Talbott:

In the Ghanavyuha sutra it is said:

The immaculate disc (mandala) of the moon
Always is unstained and completely full
But in relation to the days of the world
It is perceived as waxing and waning.
Likewise, the ultimate universal ground also
Has always been with the Buddha-essence (Tathagatagarbha),
And this essence in terms of universal ground
Has been taught by the Thus-Gone (Thatagata, i.e., Buddha).
The fools who do not know it,
Because of their habits, see even the universal ground
As (having) various happiness and suffering
And actions and emotional defilements,
Its nature is pure and immaculate,
Its qualities are as wishing-jewels;
There are neither changes nor cessations.
Whoever realizes it attains liberation…

The Guru in Vajrayana

February 9, 2011February 9, 2011 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

From a series of tweets by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo:

In Buddhism there are many levels of study and practice. And I speak, here, generally; in a way digestible to a general audience without much specific training in Buddhism.

For instance, in Vajrayana alone there are many levels. Preliminary, Ngondro, is like boot camp where gross defilements are pacified. Intermediate practice, mostly (but not all) consists of generating the Meditational Deity in order to develop enlightened qualities. Next is Dzogchen which also has many levels and leads to direct experience, leads to awakening (if one practices well with diligence.) And even with all this one still has the responsibility of purifying the five main poisons.

As I said, there are three main levels amongst the many methods the Buddha taught. Some during his life, others came with the great Guru Padmasambava and later the tertons he passed his treasures to. And there are many great realized masters that followed the great Guru. The other main levels are Theravaden, and Mahayana.

In Theravaden the main focus is on the Vinaya precepts, the rules by which the ordained community abide by. Even lay people have precepts to fulfill. The main focus is purification.

Then there is Mahayana, where the Bodhisattva Vow is the main vow. It does not abandon the Vinaya, but builds on it and in so doing changes focus. In strict Vinaya a monk must never touch a woman. In Mahayana the focus is Bodhisattva Vow (compassion) and here is an example:

A monk sees a woman lying by the road injured and in great distress. A Mahayana monk must help her out of compassion, and to do so he must touch her. His duty is to help.

Next Vajrayana, the seat of Dzogchen and pure view goes even further and not only includes Mahayana’s great Compassion, but also includes Vinaya, while developing in a deeper and quite profound Way. In Vajrayana the main focus, is the Lama (Guru) as representing the Three Precious Jewels, Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. The Lama is the main focus and we rely on the enlightened intention and wisdom and pure qualities of the teacher to give direct indication and mind to mind transmission. This is so to the degree that if the Lama, say, acts wrathfully toward the student, the student must never let anger and rage enter their minds. Why? Because it is the Guru Yoga discipline that ripens the mind, and opens the door to Liberation. The student mixes their mind with the Guru’s mind like milk with water. With faith, a blessed transference occurs. And devotion becomes a method like none other, especially in these degenerate times. Vajrayana is considered the one method to deliver realization in one life. This is accomplished through the accomplishment of one’s root Guru and faith.

Once I had a disciple with profound Guru devotion. She went to New York retreat to study with great Palyul Tulkus, she was simple in her practice, yet very diligent. When she passed I performed the Phowa and there were signs. Her body was kept for one week because she offered her skin to others. After a week she was brought to the funeral home to be cremated. First she was dressed in all her sacred robes, then flowers and incense offered for her pure life of loving service. The workers there said, and the four nuns I sent, were amazed that even before Ani was adorned her body was fragrant and fresh. Even though she had open wounds in her skin. Her complexion was pink, fresh and luminous.

His Holiness Karma Kuchen saw the pictures and declared this a miraculous event and she had accomplished this precious human rebirth. EH MA HO! This was a result of her practice and devotion. Her name was the Venerable Ani Thupten Palchen. And now, she is free! May she return quickly for the sake of all sentient beings! EH MA HO!

I am also reminded of how pleased His Holiness Karma Kuchen was, saying this was proof that westerners could attain in this life!

OM BENZAR SATO HUNG!