A Great Opportunity

The following is an excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo offered at Palyul Ling Retreat in New York 2012:

We have a great opportunity here.  When I come here, I don’t take advantage because I am shy and I don’t like to come out, but I still practice and I still do what I can to benefit sentient beings. For instance, I think about ordinary things, and I think about how I can bring benefit to people who have ordinary lives and ordinary situations. One thing that I did was to start a food bank, so that we can feed the people in our neighborhood and in our community who have nothing. It is not a rich area. Those who have nothing can have food. They can come and get food for their families. There is no expense or anything like that. We do ask that if you take something, then bring something. If you take some beans and bread and that sort of thing, bring something, even if it is just a tiny something to make that exchange, to make that connection. There are a lot of people in my community that are eating very well because of our efforts. And I don’t feel like that is separate from Dharma. There’s practical Dharma and there is ultimate Dharma, and I feel that both are essential. And all are supported by the great bodhicitta.

Another thing that we have done is to create an animal sanctuary for rare and exotic parrots. Before these parrots came to us, they were abused. Many of them lived all their lives in cages that were too small for them to spread their wings. Many of them had never seen the sky. Many of them were fed graham crackers, and stupid things like that, that they should never eat. There was so much cruelty in the exotic bird community, so we decided to see if we could do anything. And we did. And now my son runs that exotic bird sanctuary, and all the birds get to go outside. We have a huge area for them, and they can actually fly, which they never could do before. It’s beautiful to see.

As you remember, His Holiness loved animals; he especially loved birds. In India he used to keep birds. When His Holiness saw the birds in the aviary, he was so happy about that. His Holiness saw them and loved them. He felt that that was Dharma in action. Activity Dharma.

Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo.  All rights reserved

His Holiness Penor Rinpoche: Compassion in Action

The following is an excerpt from a teaching given by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo at Palyul Ling Retreat in the summer of 2012:

I am very pleased by all the effort that you’ve put forth to make this place grow and shine as it has, keeping it going even in great adversity, for instance the passing of His Holiness Penor Rinpoche.  We all suffered and now we’re doing what we can to bring about the causes that he can return to us.

I remember back in the beginning when I first met His Holiness Penor Rinpoche.  It was on his first visit to the United States.  He wanted to see me.  Back in those days dharma was kind of confusing.  We didn’t understand each other when the lamas first came to America.  It took awhile for us to come to that point, where we really understood each other.  Mostly it was our lack of understanding as Westerners that made the problems.

You all have beautiful, nice, and condensed practice books.  I want to show you what we were working with.  We mostly had loose-leaf sheets of paper, pictures, and books stuck together.  [Shows an old practice binder]  There are things here that I don’t even recognize anymore.   We all made our own books.  We were all new and we did our very best.  I wanted to show you this because I thought, ‘What a mess.’  I thought you’d get a kick out of it.  Those were my first practice books.  And it was a long time ago.

Personal reflections on His Holiness Penor Rinpoche

I had the happiness of knowing His Holiness for a long time, and had many wonderful experiences with him.  I don’t mind sharing them with you if you’d like to hear some of them.  I’d like to tell you about one time when I was in India and we were traveling around looking for statues.  It was so unbearably hot.  We were staying in this hotel and it was about 104 degrees Fahrenheit or more.  His Holiness was used to heat but he made sure to put me in a hotel with an air conditioner, which I stuck to, and that was very nice.  While at the hotel, I met the woman who cleaned my room, and she told me about her husband.  He was sick, had cancer and was dying.  She said, “Would you come and give a blessing to my husband before he dies?”  And I said, “Oh, it’s worthless if I give him a blessing, but if His Holiness gives him a blessing, that’s something. That’s definitely worthwhile.”  And so she said, “Oh!  Would he do that?”  And I said, “I don’t know.  I’ll ask.”

They were Hindu.  When I asked His Holiness, he said, “I don’t think Hindus like Tibetans very much.  We eat meat.”  And I said, “With due respect, Holiness, I think in this case it doesn’t matter.  These people so want to see you.  They so want the blessing.  These people are going through misery.  They live in a tin box on top of the roof, and she has to raise children by herself.”  His Holiness was very wrathful with me.  He said, “I had to leave Tibet and come to America.  I watched my own people die.  And now I am supposed to think that this is important?”  He was very wrathful.  But I know what he was doing.  He was creating the merit, and clearing the obstacles for this event to happen.  But as you know, His Holiness was very kind.  So finally he stomped his foot and he said, “Ok.  I’ll go.”

We climbed up to the roof, and it was hellish really.  His Holiness’ knees were bad then too.  I was so sorry and embarrassed that I had put His Holiness through that, but then I was so happy for the people that would receive the blessing.

When he came to the door of the tin shack they were living in on top of the building, it must have been 115 degrees inside.  It was so horrible.  We said, “His Holiness is here to give the blessing.  And the woman got down on the floor, and put her head to his feet and then she prostrated again at his feet.  She couldn’t stop.  She just kept doing it.  It was heart breaking to see the devotion that she felt for someone who would not abandon her in this terrible time; who would provide comfort and some help.  And His Holiness did that.

He spoke to her in Hindi.  And he asked her, “What is the problem?  How long has he been sick?”  She could hardly speak.  They were both so grateful and happy to have his blessing, and that he would think of them, because they were lowly people according to the caste system in India.  They were lowly people and poor beyond belief.  They said that some days he didn’t even eat, because there was no food.  And so His Holiness was told the condition of this man, and you could see in his face that he had great compassion.  The man had cancer of the mouth.  You could see that something was terribly wrong, but he had no medicine.  The agony that he was experiencing was hard to understand.

Here’s the kicker.  His Holiness said, “Open your mouth.”  When he said this, I tried to peak, and what I saw in there was horrible.  His Holiness said, “Open your mouth wide.”  He started pounding out mantras. Nothing I recognized.  He really pounded out the mantras.  And as he did that, he was blowing, blowing, blowing in the man’s mouth.  Holiness pounded out more mantras, and blew in the man’s mouth.  He kept doing this for quite a long time.

The couple was so thankful.  They offered Holiness food and drink, which of course he didn’t take.  They offered him food and drink.  He was working his heart out for them.  As we were leaving, they were bowing and bowing, and bowing.  It was so beautiful.  When we got down towards the room, I said to him, “Holiness is he going to live now?”  And he said, “No, there’s no chance.  The merit is gone.  There’s no chance for him to live now,” he said, “But he will have no pain.”

Already the man’s mouth was chewed up with cancer, and yet His Holiness said he would have no pain, and I know that’s true, because I met the woman again on the next day of our travels.  She said he had no pain that day.  I was so happy that happened.  I was just thrilled.

I left the my room door open so I could see where His Holiness was, and he could see where I was, and when he went passed by room, I just went down to him and I said, “Holiness, I know that was difficult, but thank you.  On behalf of them, thank you so much.  I don’t know how to express my gratitude.”  And he said, “No, I thank you.”

I will never forget that story.  He was grateful that I had insisted that he take this opportunity to help them.  He saw the value of it.  He saw that these people were helped and that they were just regular, innocent people.  His Holiness helped them so much that to my knowledge the man never had pain.  The woman and I wrote back and forth for a little while after that, and she said that he never had pain.  To me that am the most moving story about His Holiness that I know.  And I find it impossible to have seen that and not understand that he was Buddha, that he is Buddha.  No one but a Buddha would or could do something like that.  I miss him so much.  I know that you do too.

Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo.  All rights reserved

 

Refuge and Bodhicitta

The following is respectfully quoted from the Namcho Daily Practice book published by Palyul Ling International:

OM AH HUNG

KHA NYAM SI ZHI KYAB KUN NYING PO CHU
Of all the refuges in samsara and nirvana present throughout space, the quintessence

WANG DRAG RIG DZIN PEMA TO TRENG SAL
Is the powerful and wrathful vidyadhara, Pema To Treng Tsal.

KHYOD KUR NANG SI GYAL WE KYILKHOR DZOG
The phenomenal world is totally perfected within his body as a Buddha mandala.

DRO KUN SI LE DRAL CHIR KYAB SUM CHI
We take refuge so all may cross over unenlightened existence.

Repeat three times

SANG CHOG YESHE OSAL TIG LE SHIR
We generate Bodhicitta on the fundamental ground (alaya) of the sphere (bindhu),

DRO KUN DRIB SUM DAG NE KU DANG SUNG
The supremely secret clear light and ultimate wisdom,

TUG CHI TIG LER LHUN DRUB NANG ZHI NGAG
So all beings may purify the three obscurations,

SHON NU BUM KUR DROL WAR SEM KYED DO
And attain the spontaneously self-perfected bindu of body, speech and mind, and through the four spontaneous visions, attain liberation in the youthful vase body.

Repeat three times

Bodhicitta in the World

The following is an excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo given at Palyul Ling Retreat 2012:

They say that I am a Dakini.  I’m not so sure but they say I am.  The Dakini has to do with the activity of the Buddhas.  And so that being the case, I feel it is my responsibility to try to bring some benefit in the activity way.  So I try to feed everybody – animals, people, and the birds outside my house.  Everybody knows that we spend a lot of money on feeding people and feeding beings.  And it is a happy thing to do.  It makes us all happy.  So many beings are fed.  And they are having what they need because of the kindness of His Holiness Penor Rinpoche, and what he taught me.  The precious bodhicitta, the nectar of kindness that is inherent in the dharma.  This is what I was taught, what I learned, and its what I practice.

We have a prison program also.  We like to forget people who have done something wrong and just throw them away, but we have a program where we can go and teach prisoners some dharma, because these men will die in prison.  And they will have no way to get any kind of help or straighten themselves out for a proper or good rebirth.  They don’t know how to die well.  They have no teachings on Phowa.  It makes us sad, and so that being so said, we’re able to go out and do these things.  And it is why KPC is always broke.  We don’t have any money because we spend it on the needs of sentient beings, and I am very happy about that.  That makes it worth it to me.

In our food program there are many people who don’t know how to cook the kind of food that we provide for them, because they are poor people and they are used to cheap food.  And so we have been trying to teach them how to cook lentils, and beans, and rice and things that are very nourishing.  We try to teach them how to make protein, and how to eat well so that they feel better.  This is a totally new thing for them.  They don’t know how to be healthy, and their children don’t know how to be healthy.  Many of them eat too much sugar and too much candy and they are unwell.  And so we are teaching them.  We are involved enough in the community to teach them how to cook, how to prepare food and what food is nourishing, and what is not.  These are great pleasurable things that we do.  Not that they are so great, but they are great pleasure.  To see people become nourished.  To see people learn some dharma, whether they understand it or not.  To even understand, Om Mani Pedme Hum.  To even repeat Om Mani Pedme Hung is so much better than anything else they could receive in the ordinary world.  Very simple things like that can make the world of difference, as you know.

Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Norbu Lhamo All rights reserved

Official Announcement of Recognition of HH Penor Rinpoche’s Reincarnation

HHPR

The following is respectfully quoted from Palyul.org’s official announcement:

It is a matter of great joy and pleasure to inform all the disciples and well-wishes of His Holiness Penor Rinpoche residing around the globe that our beloved root guru has been reborn in Tibet. According to His Holiness Jadrel Rinpoche’s prophecy letter, Penor Rinpoche’s Yangsi (reincarnated being), was born near Leten Tramo Drag or Dung Lung Tramo Drag, the sacred place where the Nyingthing Yabshyi (The Four Cycles of Heart Essence Teachings) was revealed. Based upon this prophecy letter, combined with pure visions of Tulku Thubten Palzang Rinpoche, the Yangsi was authentically recognized.

On 31st July 2014, the auspicious day of the Buddha’s First Turning of the Wheel of Dharma, the 4th Day of the Sixth Tibetan month–2141 Royal Year–the Yangsi will be enthroned.

We request all our Dharma brothers and sisters to carry out the following prayers for the long life of the Yangsi and to overcome all the obstacles thereby ensuring the success of the enthronement ceremony.

1. Barche Lamsel (Prayer to Avert Obstacles on the Path)
2. Sampa Lhundrub (Prayer to Spontaneously Accomplish All Wishes)
3. Neten Chagchoe (Supplication Prayer and Offering to the Sixteen Elders)

We will inform later about additional prayers needed in times to come.

Thank you,
General Secretary
Namdroling Administration

Jetsunma Ahkon Norbu Lhamo would like her students to begin reciting the Sampa Lhundrup for the long life and removal of all obstacles to the Yangsi.

PDF Download of SAMPA LHUNDRUP 5x8k

Heart Teaching by His Holiness Penor Rinpoche

MG-86-18 HHPR

The following is an excerpt from a Heart Teaching by His Holiness Penor Rinpoche given at Palyul Ling:

Without any kind of doubts and with complete determination, carry through the supplication prayer.  Until we attain complete enlightenment, we have to rely on and depend on the lama.  Through gratefulness to the lama we can enter the actual path. With our afflictive, emotional mind, it is possible for us to give rise to all sorts of conceptual thoughts.  Our mind has so much afflictive emotion, which constantly arises with all sorts of doubts.  This will always obscure the path of liberation.  In the past, all the great masters and highly accomplished beings, without caring about the eight worldly concerns, completely dedicated themselves through the practice to abandoning all the afflictive emotions.  Then with single-pointed mind, they spent their whole lives continuously doing the practice.  Of course we all really like the idea of getting into those high bhumis, high realizations or high paths.  But still somehow from beginningless lifetimes, we have gotten so habituated to all sorts of defilements and afflictive emotions that are constantly arising and from which we cannot liberate ourselves.  For instance, from the moment that a child is born, he or she spontaneously has all the afflictive emotions.  Nobody has to give any teaching or training on afflictive emotion.  It is naturally there.  However to turn one’s mind towards the Dharma, one must work hard and train.  It seems so difficult.

As for samsaric or worldly activity, we work our whole lives, but still we can’t get rid of our attachment or clinging to it.  No matter how much difficulty and hardship we go through, still we have a great deal of patience.  No matter what material wealth or belongings we try to get, we are never content.  We never have satisfaction thinking, “Oh now I have enough.  This much is ok.”  We are never satisfied.  We collect all these material belongings.  Even if we collected so much stuff that we filled up an empty house, we would still want more.

Our mind is also emptiness and that is why no matter how much wealth we may have, we never feel satisfied, and still want more.  We should have less attachment to material or worldly activity, and try to be content.  We should always try to give rise to devotion, inclination, and faith in relation to Dharma practice.  Within samsara no matter what sorts of sufferings we are experiencing, we should realize that there is even more suffering, and through that we should turn our mind towards the Dharma and concentrate on the real practice.  With one’s mind, body, and speech all together, concentrate on the supplication prayer with single-pointed devotion and faith, and inclination in relation with one’s root teacher until one attains complete enlightenment.  Until enlightenment one takes refuge and supplicates to continue with these practices.

You also need to generate compassion and loving kindness towards all sentient beings who, in one lifetime or another, have all been your parents and very kind to you.  Because of obscurations and not recognizing their true nature, they wander in samsara experiencing all sorts of suffering, even in the unbearable hell realms.  Understanding that, one needs to generate compassion and loving kindness.  To obtain the ultimate happiness, complete enlightenment – Buddhahood, we have to concentrate on the bodhicitta through which we can get onto the right path.  All the countless past Buddhas and Bodhisattvas concentrated on the thought of bodhicitta and benefitting other sentient beings, and completely abandoned self-cherishing.  In that way they attained the ultimate happiness.

Somehow from beginningless time, we have been constantly concentrating on self-benefit and self-cherishing, always working to accomplish that.  That is why we still are not liberated, and are wandering in samsara.  What we need to abandon and what we need to apply into practice has been completely and clearly taught by the Buddhas and all the masters.  For a moment, when we hear all the teachings, we have some sense or feeling, but we cannot retain it in our mind, and then again we forget everything.  The most important part of this practice is to obtain the ultimate happiness or Buddhahood.

With full devotion, inclination, and single-pointed faith, do these prayers.  With one’s single-pointed mind, completely relying upon the Guru, do these supplication prayers.  Have a stabilized mind with the inclination to receive the vase empowerment, the secret empowerment, and then the wisdom empowerment or word empowerment from the body, speech, and mind of the root teacher.  One’s root teacher in the form of Guru Padmasambhava is inseparable with the enlightened mind of all the past, present, and future Buddhas.  Having that sense of understanding and belief, as we do the meditation on the Guru dissolving into oneself, mingle one’s body, speech, and mind with the Guru’s enlightened body, speech, and mind.  Try to rest in that nature.  Breathe very softly and in a relaxed way with the exhalation a bit longer than the inhalation, not breathing in right away.

Pilgrimage and Blessings: Paying it Forward

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

KPC and it’s stupas are an excellent pilgrimage. Someday we will have meditation huts for those that attend Palyul summer program in N.Y. who seek a place to practice the rest of the year. We will start with camping. And it’ll be rough. Pilgrimages are supposed to be! It will take time, as does everything we want quickly.

We need volunteers to clear land. I hope to have retreat camps near the stupas for all serious practioners all year.

When we run dry spiritually, intense practice and pilgrimage to Holy places are especially helpful. As are teachings and empowerments.

Don’t deny your spiritual requirements. Take care of business -say- family, then take care with your path. And pay it forward. Always pay it forward….

Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Norbu Lhamo All rights reserved

Hope for All

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

It is going well here, I’m still in NY, happy and meditating. It is so lovely here. The Lamas are teaching, so the students are doing well.

Here we try not to gossip or make bad feelings, or divide the Palyul sangha. When His Holiness Penor Rinpoche was here, he set the precedent for not allowing gossip and we try hard to maintain. I’ve been around a while and seen for myself the glory of His Holiness Penor Rinpoche’s pure and kind leadership, and how He kept expanding and growing, even when he was sick.

I am sure His Holiness Karma Kuchen will carry on with the highest Bodhicitta. So there is confidence in the future.

Remember, if there is no heart in one’s practice there is no Bodhicitta and no result. Remember, in Tibet many pure practitioners without formal training would accumulate mantra with great heart all day and night and achieve the rainbow body. So we need not fear! There is hope and realization for all. And room for all types of practitioners, just do your Dharma!

 Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Norbu Lhamo All rights reserved

Heart Teaching from Palyul Ling in Upstate New York

The following is a teaching offered by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo at Palyul Ling in upstate New York on July 29th, 2012:

 

Video streaming by Ustream

You can download an mp3 file of the teaching here:

Kindness is The Way

 Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Norbu Lhamo All rights reserved

WP2Social Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com