Tulku Migyur Dorje Blessings for Palyul

May 6, 2017May 4, 2017 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

“The following is an excerpt from a teaching offered by Tulku Dawa Gyalpo at Kunzang Palyul Choling in Maryland. Future posts will continue with the teaching on the Life of Migyur Dorje.

Tulku Migyur Dorje organized many of these great sadhanas, and retreats. He made great sadhanas for doing Vajra Guru mantra, BENZAR GURU PEDMA SIDDHI HUNG mantra and OM MANI PEDME HUNG mantra. He made a 1.3 billion BENZAR GURU mantra retreat.

Whatever money he got from the teachings he gave while traveling, he spent for that purpose. Like now here also Jetsunma is doing. It’s a good thing. We appreciate that. I know this from two years ago, but sometimes appreciation is not coming so openly. That shows that whatever Tulku Migyur Dorje does, he does only for others. Even whatever wealth he received, he spent for others, giving teaching, empowerment, instruction. He didn’t need it. He had already accomplished by doing retreat.

Then he turned twenty-three which was the end of his life. Let me tell it briefly. When he was about to die, he got very bad diseases. Bad diseases. He was very ill. At that time, he wrote a letter to Karma Chagme, and he sent some Dzambhala statues made in Nepal, not from India. India doesn’t make the kind of metal [lima?]that these statues were made from. In Tibet, lima is considered very precious because they don’t have it there. However, when Tulku Migyur Dorje was very ill, he sent a Dzambhala statue made from li, this kind of metal, and also some other things to Karma Chagme. In a letter, he wrote, “I’m really very ill and struggling far away from you. I have nobody taking care of me like you.” He did have somebody taking care of him, but he was saying that when he was with Karma Chagme, he was very comfortable. When he left Karma Chagme, even though he had somebody serving him, it seemed that he didn’t feel so confident as he did when he was with Karma Chagme. He wrote this letter to Karma Chagme that he was very ill and in a difficult situation. Karma Chagme got very sad and from his retreat, he did lots of prayer for him, long life prayer and so forth.

Now I will go to the end. When he was about to pass away, about to change his life, then he became more weak. During the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the lunar calendar, he was feeling very strange. He had someone who was taking care of him at that time. His name was Khyentse, but not Dilgo Khyentse. Khyentse became his very close assistant at that time. Tulku Migyur Dorje asked him to read some prayers so he could meditate even in that very painful situation. He asked Khyentse to read what we are reading right now, the Nam Cho lineage masters invocation. He asked him to read that while he was meditating. While he was meditating, Tulku Migyur Dorje spoke out to him that,… “some kind of white things are coming to me and taking me toward the eastern direction. At the same time, many monks are flying with me, and Khyentse, you are also flying with me.” He said that. Right after, he said, “But don’t worry. Don’t think anything.” He was saying you are not going to die. It seems that you are coming later. He’s saying, “Don’t worry, but don’t worry. Don’t think anything. Just let it be.” The hundred deities mandala appeared. During that very painful time, still that kind of experience happened to him. On the night of the sixteenth day, the last day of his life on this earth, he sat up and crossed his legs in meditation posture. Khyentse and many other lamas surrounded him. All of them expected that he would get better. They requested him to live long, but he just sat in Vajra posture and meditated.

A little bit later, there was a very strong thunderstorm. It felt like the whole earth was shaking. The ground and the mountains were trembling, shaking. Khyentse, his assistant, said that. Karma Chagme wrote in accordance with what Khyentse said. Right before Tulku Migyur Dorje also wrote a letter. It seems that he didn’t give it to anybody, but nobody knows what happened to it. Some people said that he himself hid the letter for the future. Somebody else said that during that time there were so many lamas, maybe someone took the letter from him. Karma Chagme said, “We know that he wrote a letter, but we don’t know right now what happened after that.” This is lost information. At the end this very strong thunder happened. Everybody felt like everything was shaking. Then Tulku Migyur Dorje asked Khyentse to give him two cups of nectar. After consuming the two cups of nectar, he straightened up his body. In his left hand, he was counting with the rosary, but his voice could not be heard. He couldn’t talk anymore. Then he was just silent, totally silent in meditation. At that time, Khyentse and the other lamas asked him to please come back again for them. Khyentse said he shook his head three times then he went.

Everything seems very important in this history, particularly how Rigdzin Kunzang Sherab received all the teachings that we are practicing right now from him; also whether those treasures are authentic or not. We can understand from his history and we can also understand by looking back to our Palyul lineage history too. People like our late Holiness become that kind of person because the teachings are authentic. These teachings are the one idea, the method, that make that kind of person. Likewise if you go all the way back [to the beginning of the] lineage, back, back, back, we are only talking about lineage masters, because obviously these are important persons; but there are so many other great practitioners, whose history we don’t keep because they did not become important persons. Our late Holiness also used to tell us about these histories of the time of Palchen Dupa, before Palchen Dupa, and all of Karma Kuchen’s incarnations, the previous Karma Kuchens, taking care of the Palyul lineage: How Palyul retreat was famous in the Kham region. Even Paltrul Rinpoche came to Palyul retreat center and took the siddhis from the Palyul retreat center. Do you know how he took the siddhis from Palyul retreat center? He took siddhis from the retreat center sewage. He took the siddhis from the sewage. That’s how they showed this retreat was profound. He actually drank the sewage because it came from those practitioners inside. Patrul Rinpoche is considered a very great master, a dzogchen practitioner, and he’s appreciated that retreat. Likewise Mipham Rinpoche praised the Palyul retreat center and the previous Dodrupchen Rinpoche, and the previous Situ Rinpoche. Those great masters also recommended that people go there and practice. So many lamas achieved siddhis from their retreat. Therefore others came and took the siddhis. Otherwise they would not come. They are not fools. They are very wise.

During their own time, those persons, like Paltrul Rinpoche and Mipham Rinpoche, are kind of like one person in Tibet. They are like that. One piece, scholar. These histories also show that what we have right now is authentic and profound. Precious. Our late Holiness said there is a prophesy that through this practice that Tulku Migyur Dorje revealed, there will be ten million great masters. Through these teachings, this practice. Now among the ten million, some have already come. It has been over three hundred years. Still there are many chances. We, I, also could be one of them. There are prophesies. That’s what our late Holiness used to tell us. During Tulku MIgyur Dorje’s short time, what he achieved was so immeasurable. Still today his blessing remains here for us.

The life story of Migyur Dorje will continue in future posts.

If you are inspired by these stories and wish to engage in the profound practices revealed by Tulku Migyur Dorje, there is an opportunity to receive these teachings and empowerments directly from Palyul Masters in New York each summer. To register for Palyul Retreat in New York in July 2017 please click here: http://retreat.palyul.org/registration

Migyur Dorje and the Beginning of the Palyul Lineage

May 3, 2017 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is an excerpt from a teaching offered by Tulku Dawa Gyalpo at Kunzang Palyul Choling in Maryland. Future posts will continue with the teaching on the Life of Migyur Dorje.

Some other prophesies happened to Tulku Migyur Dorje, saying he must go to Kham and open some sacred place, a holy place. He can’t go in [to Karma Chagme’s retreat], but he wrote a letter, asking can I go or not? Karma Chagme gave back the letter telling him, “said everything to you. Now this is your time to make decision. Please make sure that you write down whatever kind of special things happen to you and send it to me.” That’s what he said. “Please this is very important. Write down everything that happens to you during those times and bring those letters to me” is how he collected all the letters even after Tulku Migyur Dorje was not with him.

After that, Tulku Migyur Dorje started to teach again, giving empowerment and giving those instructions again. Many different monasteries invited him and requested him to teach, give empowerment, instructions. He went to so many different monasteries. I have the name of one monastery, [Tibetan name]. He went back to Kathog monastery. Also he went to some Kagyu monasteries; Kagyu monks, Sakya monks, even the Bon practitioners were inspired by him. They also requested teaching from him. He all gave empowerment, teaching, instruction, and everything to whoever requested it. Then, especially in that monastery, [Tibetan name], he did the one sadhana that we do in Namdroling, the eight day Drupchen, the great sadhana, that all the monks together continuously recite mantras day and night. He did it in accordance with Sky Treasure [Tibetan]: the collection of one hundred thousand MANI mantra and also [Tibetan] the sadhana of reciting one hundred thousand MANI and another sadhana called Do Drup, kind of like mendrup. We make this medicine. Medicines are actually made this way. It is a blessing, not just collecting all the herbs. After collecting all the herbs, then we make sure everything is balanced. After that, we do sadhana. Also during the sadhana, there has to be some sign of accomplishment. Otherwise, we won’t use this mendrup. Our late Holiness also used to do that in Namdroling. After Tulku Migyur Dorje was nineteen, he did that in that monastery particularly. In those eight days, so many signs appeared as the success of this mendrup. They made pills and they had the signs of kind of flying up. This was not something just seen by him, but by everybody in the mandala. There were other signs like very sweet scent pervading all around the mandala, and also some sounds came up, and those small pills increased. There were common signs like rainbows and flowers raining down. The signs continuously happened until the sadhana was finished.

After that, he gave all these special teachings that we are practicing during our summer retreat. He started giving those teachings then. At that time, our first lineage holder, Kunzang Sherab was there, and also many others. I think it is important that we know he was there because that was when our lineage started. There were many other disciples as well, not just him. Then Tulku Migyur Dorje started to give the Ngondro, and the togyal and the threkchod teachings that we practice every summer. Also the tummo. He gave all these dzogchen teachings from Ngondro to the threkchod togyal two times. During those two times, Kunzang Sherab was there; and he gave the tummo teaching which we practice many times. During that time also, Kunzang Sherab was there, receiving all this teaching from him. Likewise he gave the P’howa which we do to many people. If somebody asked him to do P’howa for their dead person, he did it for them. He gave teaching so people could practice P’howa as we continue to do today. These same practices that we are doing today started then. He traveled and gave these teachings.

At that same time, he opened some important sacred places as well. He gave the introduction. The sacred palace opening already existed there, but people like Tulku Migyur Dorje introduced the place, told who came there before, what blessing they gave, and what retreat to do there. These are the places where if you do retreat, there is more potential. He opened that kind of sacred place. Through that and by giving teaching, he got so much wealth and money and so forth. All of the things that were given to Tulku Migyur Dorje, he just gave or used for the purpose of the Dharma. He didn’t keep anything for himself. What it says literally here is whatever he got he used right away. He purely used everything for the sake of Dharma.

Our late Holiness was also like that. Whatever he got, he spent for the Dharma. He didn’t waste any money. Therefore it becomes worthwhile to offer. Your offering is not going to be misused.

Why Lineage is Important

September 9, 2011 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

Written by Gelong Palzang

One of the questions that often comes up for Western practitioners is why is lineage important? As long as you find a teacher you like, what difference does it make if he or she has a lineage or not?

Here is what His Holiness, the 12^th Gyalwa Drukpa, head of the Drukpa Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism, has to say about that:

Many years ago in India, Tibet, Japan, Korea, and Thailand many people got enlightened, with the support and encouragement of wise and experienced teachers. Not many people are experiencing this kind of spiritual enlightenment in the West, in modern life and times. Why not? Because they are depending too much on the intellect; they’re not depending on the lineage blessings and experience. You can learn, you can know, but not necessarily be accomplished. You can be very big in your head, but that doesn’t mean anything, except your head will be very heavy. And the teachings won’t go to the heart because there’s no lineage, no transmission of the authentic mind-to-mind non-conceptual blessings, from wisdom heart to your heart.

Q. What is it about authentic lineage that is passed on or transmitted?

A blessing. The blessing is something very mysterious, actually. It is not only mysterious, it has a lot of substance. There are also years and decades, centuries of experience here, amidst the blessings and teaching. There’s an unbelievable sense of transformation of your mental state, liberating your mind and opening your heart. How can I express it, because it’s like tasting honey? It’s sweet. But sweet means what? It’s inexpressible. I feel very happy, delighted, delicious, but I can’t express it—until you taste it, and then we can share something of the experience together. This is one aspect of the blessing, of course, which a book cannot give you.

But this is not the only important aspect. What I care about is that the blessing is truly transforming. Your life transforms into the divine state of mind. Even though you live the same way, everything is different—concepts, precepts, everything is different. Yesterday maybe you were unhappy; perhaps you were stealing, cheating, drinking, or simply dissatisfied or depressed. But last night perhaps by good karma you have seen the appropriate guru and have been inspired to change and today you have changed.

This is not necessarily overnight, it may take years or decades but time doesn’t matter. It changes everything, the whole world, your whole attitude. Your whole life can be transformed. From my point of view, if there is no guru, there is no way to get enlightenment. I’m one hundred percent sure. You have to have a personal transmission from a qualified genuine guru, one who has the lineage and is qualified to give this. If you don’t have the lineage, your practice and path is uncooked, unfinished. If you don’t have a human master who gave you the lineage, it cannot be received from a book. (From an interview, “Blessings Like Honey”, with His Holiness by Lama Surya Das)

So His Holiness is saying that without a lineage, there is no blessing to be passed on to the student. Without a lineage of masters behind the teacher, the teacher really is not qualified to teach.

Karma Chagme (Raga Asya) was a well-known Drikung Kagyu lama who also served as Tertön Migyur Dorje’s attendant for years. Tertön (Treasure Revealer) Migyur Dorje was the founder of the Palyul Lineage of the Nyingma School. He revealed many teachings that he received directly from the deities themselves. He started receiving them when he was just a young boy. Karma Chagme literally followed the young tertön around to write down everything that was revealed to him as the revelations could happen at any time. Here is what Karma Chagme had to say about lineage:

The crucial, primary qualification of a spiritual mentor is stated by Naropa, “The qualification of a spiritual mentor is that he possesses the lineage.” The Single Meaning of the Vajra Speech states, “There is great profundity in the connection within the lineage of the holy Dharma.” The real lineage of the realization of this Dharma, which transfers blessings, is the unbroken rosary of Buddhas. (From A Spacious Path to Freedom, by Karma Chagme , commentary by Ven. Gyaltrul Rinpoche, translated by Alan B. Wallace, Snow Lion Publications, Ithaca, New York, 1998, p.22)

The Palyul Lineage became known in Tibet for the purity of its teachers and the level of accomplishment they had.

Each of the great throne and lineage holders of the Palyul tradition became well known as great scholars of sutra, tantra and the outer and inner sciences. The successive throne holders and monks of the mother and branch Palyul monasteries practice the vinaya code of ethics as the foundational discipline. Upon this foundation, the second root practice, the mind training of the great vehicle of Mahayana called bodhicitta is placed. The aspirant trains to develop both aspirational and practical bodhicitta for the purpose of benefiting all sentient beings.

The tradition of practice that these highly disciplined monks strictly enforced has caused The Palyul Lineage to become known as the tradition of accomplishment. (From www.palyul.org)

Therefore when one is examining a teacher, it is crucial to also examine his or her lineage. If there is no lineage, there can be no accomplishment by the student. Jetsunma says that lineage gives the student security, the trust that the teachings are authentic and have been proven over time again and again. Without that, as sentient beings we do not have the ability to discriminate between true teachers and false teachers.

Prayer for the Preservation of the Palyul Lineage

November 8, 2011June 17, 2010 by Holly

Prayer for the Preservation of the Palyul Lineage

Click the link above to hear the prayer

NAM DAG TEN PA DAR WA PAL YUL GON

Palyul Monastery is the place where pure teachings of the buddhas have flourished,

GYAL WAI NAM TRUL JON PA KHA CHOD ZHING

And the sky-land where the buddhas have manifested.

DREL TSED CHANG CHUB LAM DREN DU DE CHE

Whatever connection occurs with the gathering of this sangha leads toward enlightenment.

CHO LING DI NYI SID TAR TEN GYUR CHIG

May this land of dharma remain firm until the end of existence.

Be a Smart Shopper in Today’s Spiritual Supermarket

December 7, 2009 by Holly

The following are tweets by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo from December 7, 2009 on the importance of lineage

The dumbest thing you can do is build the ego by claiming spiritual capacity about oneself. Better others to say from experience.

The Buddha taught that to claim enlightenment without attaining it is a heinous fault. A lie to others + oneself, harmful.

I have never claimed for myself anything other than what my Tsawei Lama and our Lineage has said. What would be the benefit?

Be extremely careful with a “teacher” who recognizes themselves without the benefit of Guru and Lineage. They may be harmful to you.

Most important to know- who is their Guru! What is their lineage? Where is their Sangha? Where is their accomplishment of benefit?

And certainly one should examine their qualities. Are they truly compassionate, care for others? How? Do they have wisdom? Or just B.S.?

When we think we have found a suitable Lama/Guru we should take time to examine them, their activities. Check- today we have Google!

When walking the path to Liberation the last thing we need is a snake-oil salesman. And they are out there. I know of some.

You have to be a major CREEP to seduce innocent spiritual seekers when you have nothing true to offer. A con artist!

If the need to be a Guru is so strong that one is compelled to invent one’s status then one is Not a Guru, but is an egomaniac.

If you meet such a one as that RUN for your #spiritual life! Fast! Never put your #PATH in the hands of a charlatan!

There are many pure Lamas who willingly show their credentials and teach from a purely preserved line of accomplished Masters, or Lineage.

It is through that unbroken line of accomplished Masters that the essential mind ripening blessings are passed. Not from ego.

So be careful out there! In today’s spiritual supermarket they are selling a LOT of BALONEY! Google, search, watch, be sure.

You can find out more about Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo on the About Us page, and also on Tara.org. A Garland of Immortal Wish-Fulfilling Trees: The Palyul Tradition of Nyingmapa provides a more complete discussion of the Palyul lineage and the lives of the extraordinary Palyul lineage holders.

His Holiness Karma Kuchen Rinpoche comes to KPC Maryland

September 3, 2011October 11, 2009 by anisonam

His Holiness Karma Kuchen Rinpoche is coming to the Washington D.C. area tomorrow, October 12th. His Holiness is the 5th Karma Kuchen Rinpoche, recognized by His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche and Penor Rinpoche and enthroned as the 12th Throneholder of the Palyul Lineage. You can read more about this Precious Master here.

To see the schedule for his visit to Washington D.C. please click here.

To see the schedule for his world tour you can visit Palyul.org here.