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By Jetsunma on September 3, 2010
An excerpt from a teaching called How Buddhism Differs from Other Religions by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo
When we study Buddhism, the first thing we come to understand is the equality of all that lives. This is a direct teaching from none other than Shakyamuni Buddha himself. He taught that all beings are essentially equal in their [...]
Posted in How Buddhism Differs from Other Religions, Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo, Teachers, Teachings
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By Norma on September 3, 2010
An emotionally difficult situation must be faced early in the day. Something at home, or an upset person must be dealt with. Be kind and compassionate. Later, an almost magical influence is present and it seems your wishes are coming true. They are. You are inspired, and you combine action with love and creativity, and [...]
Posted in Astrology
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By Norma on September 2, 2010
Excellent communication today! Diplomacy prevails, and relationships that had become strained are worked out! Honey drips from your tongue, and you instinctively know the right thing to say to ease any situation. Call everyone you ever had a falling out with, talk things over, and voila! your relationships have multiplied. Ask for what you want! [...]
Posted in Astrology
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An excerpt from a teaching called How Buddhism Differs from Other Religions by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo
When we study Buddhism, the first thing we come to understand is the equality of all that lives. This is a direct teaching from none other than Shakyamuni Buddha himself. He taught that all beings are essentially equal in their nature and that they all have the same exact desires that we have. We want to be happy. We strive for happiness in our own way everyday. We go here and go there to be happy. We rest to be happy. We wake up to be happy. We have our weekends to be happy. We hope the weekdays will be happy. It’s something that’s a theme in us and whether we consciously realize that we are striving for happiness or not, it is an underlying fuel that runs the machine. And when we are not happy, we are filled with desire. And when we are not happy, we are suffering.
The Buddha taught us that each and every sentient being – humans, animals, and even nonphysical beings mainly wish to be happy in the simple way that we do. I watch MSNBC news sometimes, and I watch Chris Matthews and Keith Oberman. And Chris Matthews always says in one of his commercials, “This is something uniquely American. This is something that really shows us who we are.” We are Americans, because in America there is the hope that this day is going to be the best day. And that this is going to be our favorite day, and that we are going to be really happy today. And so we wake up in America with that hope because we have the freedom to gain that happiness. We’re not oppressed or starving or homeless or something where there is no real potential for true happiness, comfort, or ease. I disagree with Chris Matthews even though I am a fan. I don’t think that only in America do we wake up with that thought. Maybe in America it seems more attainable. But the truth of the matter is, no matter where we are, what diseases we suffer from, what poverty or hunger or disability we endure, or what oppression or warlike conditions, every single person has the wish for the freedom to be happy, and wishes for happiness.
When we realize that all sentient beings are exactly the same in that way, an understanding comes up in our minds. It is a sense of the equality of all that lives. Perhaps it is a sense of budding compassion or understanding. That’s the goal anyway.
So, how does that work? Sometimes we hear about really terrible situations, and really terrible people, such as a serial killer who has murdered like Jeffrey Dahmer. Have you ever heard about him? He was a serial killer that used to cannibalize people, and live with their dead bodies, and stuff like that. Now, of course our understanding of that is that the man was extremely sick. We can understand that, but do we understand that as strange and abhorrent and bizarre, and as ghastly his behavior was, he was striving to be happy? But the confusion, the delusion in his mind was so thick, that in order to be happy, he had to completely dominate another life form. Yet underlying that, even while killing, maiming and torturing people, he was striving to be happy. That’s a bizarre thought, but it helps us to understand a little bit about the nature of suffering sentient beings.
Then we think about animals. For those of you that don’t know, I just adore animals. I feel very close to them, and I have a bunch. They are my family. Animals suffer too, and I have come to understand through my own experience, not just from the teachings, that animals also strive every day to be happy. I see my dogs move from a hot place to a cool place, from a cool place to a warm place, and it’s about wanting to feel comfortable, to be happy. Whenever you buy them a new toy or a new treat, they are gung-ho on it because they want to be happy. I’ve seen for myself that desire for happiness in humans and in animals. And so I absolutely and totally understand that what the Buddha has said is true. While we are striving to be happy, we have absolutely no understanding as to how to go about it. And therein lies the rub, as they say. Therein lies the problem.
© Jetsunma Ahkön Lhamo
An emotionally difficult situation must be faced early in the day. Something at home, or an upset person must be dealt with. Be kind and compassionate. Later, an almost magical influence is present and it seems your wishes are coming true. They are. You are inspired, and you combine action with love and creativity, and you cannot
fail. Look for the open door, and avoid banging your head against the closed door. “Go in when the door is open” is the slogan for today. You could have to pay someone or something back, do so cheerfully. Be as good natured returning the favor as you were when you asked for it.
The daily astrology post affects everyone. Because individual charts vary, the circumstances outlined in the post will affect people differently. Some will feel this energy in the personal arena, some in finances, some with children or family, some in work and so forth. There are many departments of life. Look to see where the dynamic affects you!
Excellent communication today! Diplomacy prevails, and relationships that had become strained are worked out! Honey drips from your tongue, and you instinctively know the right thing to say to ease any situation. Call everyone you ever had a falling out with, talk things over, and voila! your relationships have multiplied. Ask for what you want! Directly, with no equivocation. Don’t hint, tell. This is a day of fortunate communication, use it well. Be aware of the power of words and wit. General Chesty Puller said, “They are in front of us, behind us, and we are flanked on both sides by an enemy. They can’t get away from us now!”
The daily astrology post affects everyone. Because individual charts vary, the circumstances outlined in the post will affect people differently. Some will feel this energy in the personal arena, some in finances, some with children or family, some in work and so forth. There are many departments of life. Look to see where the dynamic affects you!
The following description of the 4 types of non-virtuous speech are from “The Way To Freedom” by the Dalai Lama:
“ The next four negative actions are deeds of speech.
The firs is telling lies. This includes speaking contrary to what one has seen, heard, or knows to be fact. Lying can be motivated by attachment, hatred, or ignorance. The intention is to confuse the other person, and it can be carried out either by speaking or nodding the head and gesturing with a hand. Any action done out of the intention to confuse someone constitutes the negative action of lying. If the other person hears it, that constitutes completion of this act.
Next is divisive talk. The intention is to cause dissension between friends or people in the spiritual community for one’s own sake or for he sake of others. Whether one succeeds in causing dissension or not, the moment the other person hears the divisive talk, that constitutes the completion of this act.
Next is verbal abuse. The intention is to speak harshly, and the deed is complete when the abusive words are heard by the person to whom they are directed. Abuse includes insulting others, speaking about their faults, whether true or untrue; if one does it to hurt the other person, it is abuse.
Next is senseless gossip. It is frivolousness without any purpose, and it can be motivated by any of the three poisons. One’s intention is simply to chat without any reason, to just gossip without any purpose.The execution of this act does not require a second person. You do not need a partner; you can do this by talking to yourself. Idle gossip would include talking about wars, the faults of others, or arguing just for the sake of argument. This would also include reading unimportant books out of attachment.”
 Bodhisattvas by Artist Karma Phuntsok An excerpt from a teaching called How Buddhism Differs from Other Religions by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo
There are fundamental differences between practicing the Buddha Dharma and practicing other religions. While it might seem that the right thing to say is that at the bottom of every faith, there is the same truth that we all share, Buddhists don’t quite put it that way. Buddhists say that no matter what one’s faith is, within each of us is the seed of enlightenment, the Buddha seed. In that way we are completely, absolutely equal in every measurement. It means that each one of us, whether human, animal or unseen beings that we cannot see with our physical eyes because they are other dimensional, has the potential for Buddhahood. Whatever kind of sentient being – a being with senses, that feels and has consciousness – in their capacity to reach Buddhahood is exactly the same. That means that each and every practicing Buddhist should hold every life form in high regard.
Our habitual tendency is to respect people who we are taught to respect. We respect our teachers and our parents, and our family. And we love the people that we are connected with and so forth, but for the most part we feel somewhat alienated from the rest of the world. Certainly in America our culture is such that we feel alienated from other cultures. And so in the Buddha Dharma we begin to break down that kind of divisive separation idea. We begin to understand that no matter how each person appears, they have exactly the same capacity for realization, for Buddhahood.
And yet in Tibetan Buddhism a teacher sits on a throne. If we are all equal, why would a teacher sit on a throne, and others sit down below? It has to do with the degree of awakening and the capacity for Bodhicitta – great compassion – having studied it and given rise to it. And it has to do with one’s past karmic potential and how that has ripened.
For instance, when I first met my guru, he told me, “Oh, you have been reborn as a bodhisattva many many uncountable times. And so the reason why you know the Dharma without being taught is you have that habit in your mind. And so now we’ll teach you more, and you’ll know more.” That was his way of explaining how it is that I am in this position and somebody else might not be. But the truth of the matter is, even though I appear to be sitting on the throne, and maybe someone else is on death row in a jailhouse, our capacity is exactly equal. Our level of awakening is not equal, because a person who is awakening, who is giving rise to the great compassion, would not be capable of killing. They would not have the habit or conceive of it in their mind. It’s not to say that the very same person would not say, “I could just kill my kid today. She’s driving me nuts!” or something like that, but that statement is so thin. It’s utterly meaningless when you realize that there is no habit or propensity for doing harm.
© Jetsunma Ahkön Lhamo
Foot in mouth day! If you really feel you must tell someone something, be careful. At least tell them in person, don’t put it in writing. Horace said “Once a word has been allowed to escape, it cannot be recalled.” If you are the one who is hurt, remember the times you’ve done the same thing to someone else and be forgiving.
After the verbal messes have been cleared up, this is a pleasant day. Partnerships flourish, love is lovely and life is fun. You’re still working on straightening out
things from the past. This is a perfect day to write, edit, think, read, and learn new ways of doing things. Your can earn a credential that you’ve needed but never
gotten.
The daily astrology post affects everyone. Because individual charts vary, the circumstances outlined in the post will affect people differently. Some will feel this energy in the personal arena, some in finances, some with children or family, some in work and so forth. There are many departments of life. Look to see where the dynamic affects you!
KHEN LOB CHO SUM RING LUK CHE
May the great tradition of the Abbot Shantarakshita, the Master Padmasambhava, and the Dharma King Trisong Detsun
DZAM LING SA SUM KHYAN PAR PEL
Increase and spread throughout the three realms of this world.
DRO GYUD CHOG SUM NANG WA DANG
May the appearance of the Three Jewels and the mindstreams of beings
MI DRAL DU SUM GE LEK SHOG
Remain inseparable and bring sublime well-being throughout the three times.
Composed by Kyabje Dudjom Yeshe Dorje
A first rate purchase is made today. Good buying, good shopping! But be sure you buy something you’ve hankered for in the past. Anything brand new
that catches your attention will prove disappointing in the long run. Be cautious about jumping into new deals or situations. You’re still cleaning up issues
from the past. Relationships are pleasing, and someone from the past comes back to let you know they still care for you. Nice! Later in the day be
careful someone doesn’t waste your time. You can start talking, or go somewhere, and later be sorry you did it. Hint: the more alluring the activity,
the more you’ll regret it later!
The daily astrology post affects everyone. Because individual charts vary, the circumstances outlined in the post will affect people differently. Some will feel this energy in the personal arena, some in finances, some with children or family, some in work and so forth. There are many departments of life. Look to see where the dynamic affects you!
An excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo from the Vow of Love series
All of our suffering is brought about because we have desire in our mindstreams. Having desire, we have attachment and aversion, hope and fear. Examine your own thoughts. Every one of them is either a thought of hope or a thought of fear. There isn’t one that doesn’t have as an underlying cause of hope or fear, attraction or aversion. Every one. That is the way the mind of duality works. So all of the experiences that we have, according to the Buddha, are caused by the karma of desire. Making wishing prayers to return in a form in which you can benefit beings purifies the mind of desire. You will find that desire rules your mind less and less. Compassion is the great stabilizer of the mind.
Never stop cultivating aspirational Bodhicitta. While you are practicing aspirational Bodhicitta your mind becomes firm and stabilized. You are so on fire that you need to practice, in the same way that because you are determined to live, you always remember to breathe. With that intensity, you should be absolutely determined to accomplish compassion and benefit all beings. You always remember to practice and be mindful. Then you begin to practice practical Bodhicitta.
Practical Bodhicitta has two divisions. It has a lesser and greater division, or personal and a transpersonal division. Compassion on the personal level is what we call ordinary human kindness. It is invaluable. There is never a time in your life that you should not practice ordinary human kindness. I am sometimes dismayed at people who have a high-fallutin’ idea about compassion and how to practice the Vajrayana path, and they know how to do the proper instrumentation and they can chant and they can do all these wonderful things. But they aren’t kind to one another. How you can think of yourself as a real practitioner and not even be nice to the person next to you? How can you be arrogant?
Ordinary human kindness must be constantly practiced. If you know of someone who is hungry, you should do your best to feed them. If a starving child were in front of you, wouldn’t you feed him or her? If someone that you loved really was lonely, wouldn’t you try to help them? Of course, these are ordinary human kindnesses. We’re not even perfect in that, are we? I mean, we let ourselves and our families down. We let everybody down on a regular basis. Sometimes ordinary human kindness is impossible to achieve.
Ordinary human kindness is not lesser in its fabric or nature, but it touches less people. For instance, let’s say you needed a friend. If I were to stay with you for some period of time, we would talk and we would share. Maybe I would teach you to meditate, if I were to discover that you’re the kind of person that would really respond to that. But if I don’t do that, maybe I’ll have the time to teach a large group of people. Essentially I might be able to benefit many people as opposed to benefiting one person, even though you are very important and precious to me. Yet even teaching a larger group of people is actually an intermediate level of practice. There are only so many people that can fit in this room and can be taught.
What is the highest level of compassion? What is the highest level of Bodhicitta? You have to go back to the Buddha’s teaching to figure this one out. The Buddha says that all sentient beings are suffering and that there is an end to suffering and that the end to suffering is enlightenment. That’s the only true end to suffering. If you fed every one that’s hungry everyday and provided them each with a companion so that they’re never lonely, gave them nice clothes, they still will experience old age, sickness and death. There’s nothing you can do about that. And you have no control over how they will be reborn in their next incarnation. They could come back in a form in which they still suffer. The only end to suffering is to eradicate the cause of suffering from the mindstream.
The root cause of all suffering is the belief in self-nature as being inherently real. It’s the mother of all-pervasive desire in the mindstream. The children are hatred, greed and ignorance. The mind of duality causes us to act in certain ways that create the karma so that our lives manifest in certain ways. If we suffer from hunger or old age or sickness or death, whatever it is that we suffer from, the root cause for those sufferings is the belief that self-nature is inherently real. How can you possibly uproot all of that from your mindstream? How can you rid the very seed of suffering from your mindstream? According to the Buddha, that is to achieve enlightenment. To help sentient beings remove these causes from their mindstreams, we must ourselves first achieve enlightenment. The purpose of self, which is to achieve enlightenment, is the same as the purpose of other, which is to achieve enlightenment. They are the same, in the same way that we are non-dual, these purposes are non-dual.
© Jetsunma Ahkön Lhamo
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