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

Tomorrow evening KPC is having a potluck feast with His Holiness Karma Kuchen Rinpoche for Palyul students. Both PCD and KPC. The sincere wish and prayer is that all Palyul will be truly united. For the sake of all sentient beings and [...]]]>

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

Tomorrow evening KPC is having a potluck feast with His Holiness Karma Kuchen Rinpoche for Palyul students. Both PCD and KPC. The sincere wish and prayer is that all Palyul will be truly united. For the sake of all sentient beings and the return of His Holiness Penor Rinpoche. It is the strength of pure devotion that will bring back the Yangsi and we must abandon gossip now, and be in harmony for Palyul.

Together we can benefit the western Dharma practitioners. With unity. Separate we can do little, and fighting and gossip will harm us all. Let’s be a powerful worldwide force for Dharma, compassion community and peace. Let’s lead the way, a great pure Lineage of kindness.

We should stop fooling ourselves that somehow, magically, with envy and self-importance we can be of any use. It simply isn’t possible. Love and respect really work! We don’t need or want more petty wars! They are a true blight and poison on the Earth. The more respect we give is the best way, and appreciation for each other is the only way to make a peaceful world.

OM AH HUNG BENZAR GURU PEDMA SIDDHI HUNG

Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo.  All rights reserved

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

Palyul totally rocks, moves my heart, and is my beloved family. The tea with His Holiness Karma Kuchen Rinpoche was wonderful! There was so much to tell each other. I shared what hellishness has gone on the past few years. His Holiness [...]]]>

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

Palyul totally rocks, moves my heart, and is my beloved family. The tea with His Holiness Karma Kuchen Rinpoche was wonderful! There was so much to tell each other. I shared what hellishness has gone on the past few years. His Holiness Karma Kuchen said it doesn’t matter. Palyul is huge, and I am 100% supported by the great Palyul. And so importantly, His Holiness Karma Kuchen Rinpoche supports me. As I do all Palyul, always have.

All feels good now. Palyul is thriving again. We lost His Holiness Penor Rinpoche, beloved Tsawei Lama, but now we are marching forward. Palyul Tibet, consisting of many monasteries is also doing well with His Holiness Karma Kuchen as the Head of all Palyul. His presence is so luminous, peaceful. He is so much like His Holiness PenorRinpoche it is baffling, clearly His Holiness Karma Kuchen Rinpoche has mixed his mind with the Tsawei Lama. I am re-inspired! Did the Precious Guru ever leave me? Never. Never since I saw the precious face in this or any lifetime.

Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo.  All rights reserved

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

I am happy that Palyul Throneholder His Holiness Karma Kuchen Rinpoche is here and settled in. He seems comfortable and happy. And His Eminence Muksang Tulku will be arriving tomorrow. How fortunate we are! We are blessed to gather again we have [...]]]>

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

I am happy that Palyul Throneholder His Holiness Karma Kuchen Rinpoche is here and settled in. He seems comfortable and happy. And His Eminence Muksang Tulku will be arriving tomorrow. How fortunate we are! We are blessed to gather again we have been close many lifetimes. And the Sangha is blessed to have the merit to be with this young Throne Holder, a living Buddha!

Palyul is rich in wisdom, having indeed been the astounding effort and lifelong work of His Holiness Penor Rinpoche, without whom nothing of this would have happened. We are very fortunate beings!

We will be busy for a few days, but I’ll tweet when I can. Thank you for your friendship! May all be rich with blessings and love!

Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo.  All rights reserved

Prince of power this is the hour This is the time when you must shine I see it on your face, in your mind You awaken right on time To honor our Guru, our Lord Sublime.

You alone are well prepared This time would come, you were  aware He gave you his [...]]]>

Prince of power this is the hour
This is the time when you must shine
I see it on your face, in your mind
You awaken right on time
To honor our Guru, our Lord Sublime.

You alone are well prepared
This time would come, you were  aware
He gave you his essence with such care
I would have known Him anywhere.
You mixed your minds like water and wine

I hear His song in your mind.

Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo.  All rights reserved

From a series of tweets by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo while at Palyul Ling Retreat Center in Upstate New York:

To the victorious Guru Karma Kuchen I pray – for the sake of beings in these degenerate times, ascend the Lion Throne of Palyul fully endowed with every strength and virtue! May we who long [...]]]>

From a series of tweets by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo while at Palyul Ling Retreat Center in Upstate New York:

To the victorious Guru Karma Kuchen I pray – for the sake of beings in these degenerate times, ascend the Lion Throne of Palyul fully endowed with every strength and virtue! May we who long for your blessing be satisfied!

In previous times you came to us as Karma Tashi to clear our ignorance, our attachment to ordinary confused appearance!

You again sat on the glorious Palyul throne to grant us the awakening to Primordial Buddha nature as the great display Karma Gyurmed, the dance of suchness, as it is!

Then you returned as Karma Tegchog Nyingpo, also known as Tsawei Lama by the peerless Guru, the Third Drubwang Pema Norbu Rinpoche.

You now have come again as Karma Kuchen, pure and stainless. Kye ho! Such are the many miracles of your display for the sake of beings. Now please abide steadfast upon the Lotus Throne of my heart. Rise this very moment, clear all obstacles to mighty Palyul, banish the enemies of the Heart Essence Nectar given to us by the second Buddha Padmasambava through the child Terton Migure Dorje. Restore us all to original purity, clear recognition and perfect virtue!

May Palyul remain as the great unbroken refuge it is in the world now. Please establish the work of your predecessors and that of our Guru. Protect with mighty vigor the insurmountable accomplishment of our Guru Kyabje Pema Norbu, may nothing be wasted, and may all beings benefit!  Live long! Strengthen the Throne of Palyul and remain in perfect health! Show your holy face as we hunger and thirst; and we need you now more than ever, in these darkening times we need your light, the sun of Palyul, Guru within my heart, grant your blessings!

Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo.  All rights reserved

The Fourth Throne Holder

The First Karma Kuchen Rinpoche, Karma Tashi (1728 – 1791)

The first Karma Kuchen was born as Karma Tashi in the twelfth rabjung year of the Earth Monkey (1728) in the town of Ahchog in Do Kham. His birth was foretold in [...]]]>

The Fourth Throne Holder

The First Karma Kuchen Rinpoche, Karma Tashi
(1728 – 1791)

The first Karma Kuchen was born as Karma Tashi in the twelfth rabjung year of the Earth Monkey (1728) in the town of Ahchog in Do Kham. His birth was foretold in many prophecies. He was recognized as the incarnation of the condensed essence of many Great Vidyadharas of the past. Karma Tashi himself recalled he was a manifestation of Migyur Dorje. Other revelations acknowledged him as the body emanation of Kundrol Namgyal, the speech emanation of Kathog Drimed Shing Kyong and the mind emanation of Duddul Dorje.

He became the heart disciple of Drubwang Pedma Norbu and received all the transmission and practices of Mahamudra and Dzogchen from his root guru. He was enthroned by Drubwang Pema Norbu as the fourth Throne Holder of the Palyul Lineage in the presence of the thirteenth Karmapa Duddul Dorje and the tenth Sharmpa Chodrup Gyatso. With a great vision to promote the Dharma to greater heights, he propagated strict doctrine among his disciples and established many retreat facilities within the grounds of the monastery.

Tsenltha Rabten, King of Gyarong, had been at war with China for thirteen years when Karma Tashi was invited to China. A Bonpo lama who served as the guru of King Rabten decided to use his power of black magic to unleash a massive shower of rocks upon the Chinese forces from the sky. Out of compassion for the safety of the Chinese troops, Karma Tashi offered special protection cords to the soldiers to protect them against the ill fortunes of war. As a result, not one single soldier who wore his protection cord was harmed and Tsenltha Rabten was defeated. It was an overwhelming victory for China and the Chinese Emperor Chan Lung, in a gesture of gratitude, appointed Karma Tashi as the State Guru of China.

Karma Tashi, also known as Chopal Zangpo, dissolved his mind into the pure realm of truth at the age of sixty-three. The bone relics he left behind were preserved within a bronze Stupa and placed inside the Chag-dra-khang temple of Palyul monastery.

Reference:  Pathgate Institute of Buddhist Studies

Nyingma “the Ancient Ones” This is the oldest, the original order founded by Padmasambhava andSantaraksita.  Whereas other schools categorize their teachings into the three vehicles: The Foundation Vehicle, Mahayana and Vajrayana, the Nyingma tradition classifies them into nine vehicles, among the highest of which is known as Atiyoga or Dzogchen “Great Perfection”.  Hidden treasures (terma) are of [...]]]>

Tibetan Buddhism has four main traditions:

Nyingma “the Ancient Ones” This is the oldest, the original order founded by Padmasambhava andSantaraksita.  Whereas other schools categorize their teachings into the three vehicles: The Foundation Vehicle, Mahayana and Vajrayana, the Nyingma tradition classifies them into nine vehicles, among the highest of which is known as Atiyoga or Dzogchen “Great Perfection”.  Hidden treasures (terma) are of particular significance to this tradition.

Kagyu “Lineage of the (Buddha’s) Word” This is an oral tradition, which is very much concerned with the experiential dimension of meditation. Its most famous exponent was Milarepa, an 11th century mystic. It contains one major and one minor subsect. The first, the Dagpo Kagyu, encompasses those Kagyu schools that trace back to the Indian master Naropa via Marpa, Milarepa and Gampopa, and consists of four major sub-sects: the Karma Kagyu, headed by a Karmapa, the Tsalpa Kagyu, the Barom Kagyu, and Pagtru Kagyu. There are a further eight minor sub-sects, all of which trace their root to Pagtru Kagyu and the most notable of which are the Drikung Kagyu and the Drukpa Kagyu. The once-obscure Shangpa Kagyu, which was famously represented by the 20th century teacher Kalu Rinpoche, traces its history back to the Indian master Naropa via Niguma, Sukhasiddhi and Kyungpo Neljor.

Sakya “Grey Earth” This school very much represents the scholarly tradition. Headed by the Sakya Trizin, this tradition was founded by Khon Konchog Gyalpo, a disciple of the great translator Drokmi Lotsawa and traces its lineage to the Indian master Virupa. A renowned exponent, Sakya Pandita 1182–1251CE was the great grandson of Khon Konchog Gyalpo.

Gelug “Way of Virtue” Originally a reformist movement, this tradition is particularly known for its emphasis on logic and debate. Its spiritual head is the Ganden Tripa and its temporal one the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama is regarded as the embodiment of the Bodhisattva of Compassion. Successive Dalai Lamas ruled Tibet from the mid-17th to mid-20th centuries. The order was founded in the 14th to 15th century byJe Tsongkhapa, renowned for both his scholasticism and his virtue.

Within these, Kunzang Palyul Choling is Nyingma

There are six “Mother” Nyingma Monasteries:

1. Katok Monastery, in east Tibet, was founded during the twelfth century, and expanded in 1656.
2. Dorje Drak Monastery was founded in central Tibet, in 1659.
3. Mindroling Monastery, in central Tibet, was established in 1676.
4. Palyul Monastery, founded in east Tibet in 1665.
5. Dzogchen Monastery, in east Tibet, established in 1685.
6. Shechen Monastery founded in east Tibet, in 1735.

Within these monastic traditions, Kunzang Palyul Choling is Palyul.

Palyul Monastery — one of the Six “Mother” Nyingma Monasteries. It was founded in either 1632 or 1665 by Rigdzin Kunzang Sherab, a disciple of Terton Migyur Dorje, and Karma Chagmed. The monastery specializes in kama practices, the termas of Ratna Lingpa and Tulku Migyur Dorje (1645-67). The current head of Palyul Monastery is the Fifth Karma Kuchen.

The inspired masters who contributed to the teachings practiced within Palyul

To date, Palyul has had 12 throne-holders in its history.  According to His Holiness Penor Rinpoche, while Nyingma is generally practiced as a Ngagpa tradition, within Palyul it has never been true. The Lineage Holders of Palyul have always been fully-ordained.

Important “elder statesmen” of Palyul, contemporaries and close senior students of His Holiness Penor Rinpoche, are:

It is because of these pure Lineage teachers that we continue to have a pure unbroken stream of wisdom to guide us today to reveal our own enlightenment.

Sources include Wikipedia, Rigpa Wiki, and most of all Pathgate.org, who gave us permission to use their thangka images and biographies

It’s raining now, but I can see That soon the sun will be with me. It’s pouring now, but I can tell That soon the bliss will come, as well.

That kiss of sunlight, a warming spell Reminds me that when darkness fell It [...]]]>

Jetsunma greeting His Holiness Karma Kuchen

It’s raining now, but I can see
That soon the sun will be with me.
It’s pouring now, but I can tell
That soon the bliss will come, as well.

That kiss of sunlight, a warming spell
Reminds me that when darkness fell
It seemed I’d lost you for a while
But then the gift- your blessing smile.

I knew that it would take some time
That soon the glory that is your Mind
Will come again, and in a while
You will come as a precious child.

Oh, lead me swiftly to that day
When I can close my eyes and pray
When I will know in that secret way
He has come!  He is here!  The great display!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

In late October of 2010, after repeated requests by many devoted students, Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo agreed to begin formal training in offering empowerments, or wangs.  In so doing, Jetsunma is offering an incalculable blessing to Western students. She has said in her teachings that she was born in Brooklyn, as a woman, for a [...]]]>

In late October of 2010, after repeated requests by many devoted students, Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo agreed to begin formal training in offering empowerments, or wangs.  In so doing, Jetsunma is offering an incalculable blessing to Western students. She has said in her teachings that she was born in Brooklyn, as a woman, for a particular purpose – to display to Western students, especially female students, that enlightenment is possible for all, that it transcends culture and gender, that it is not the exclusive product of some exotic foreign culture.

Jetsunma, born Alyce Zeoli, was the first Western Woman to be recognized as a Tulku, or incarnate Lama, and formally enthroned. His Holiness Pedma Norbu Rinpoche, the 11^th Throneholder of Palyul, and at that time the Supreme Head of all Nyingmapa, His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, and Dzongnang Rinpoche all agreed that Alyce Zeoli was indeed the reincarnation of Genyenma Akhon Lhamo, the sister of Rigdzin Kunzang Sherab, the First Throneholder of the Palyul lineage. In 1988, during the first bestowal of the Rinchen Terzod in the West, she was enthroned as a Lineage Holder of  Palyul by His Holiness Pema Norbu Rinpoche.

During her enthronement ceremony His Holiness made the following statement:

What is her responsibility at this point, as a tulku, is that she is responsible for propagating the Dharma and for being of benefit to sentient beings, and she has no other responsibility but that. See video of the Enthronement Ceremony here

By enthroning Jetsunma as a Lineage Holder, His Holiness Pedma Norbu Rinpoche was declaring that students could have total confidence in her qualifications. In the following excerpt from Great Perfection Buddha in the Palm of the Hand, Gyaltrul Rinpoche describes the significance of this title:

Otherwise, any lama whose name appears in any of Guru Rinpoche’s prophecies, who is a designated lineage or terma holder, or who is the owner of a dharma transmission, can be relied upon straight away. Such a lama is a supreme lama to receive dzogchen transmissions from. – Great Perfection Buddha in the Palm of the Hand, page 44, Yeshe Melong Publications, 1992

In 2005 His Holiness referred to his recognition of Jetsunma at his New York Retreat:

Jetsunma, a long time ago, I met with her, I examined her for a while, and found her to be the incarnation of Rigdzin Kunzang Sherab’s sister known as Ahkon Lhamo….Jetsunma is a good and perfect teacher. I don’t think that she is deceiving anybody. Among Jetsunma’s students there are a whole bunch of monks and nuns and all of them are disciplined by her. What other woman in America could do that? There is nobody else. She is good and special.   See video of His Holiness’s comments here.

At the time of her recognition and enthronement, Jetsunma had not received any formal training in Buddhism. She has, since that time, received extensive empowerments, lungs and teachings both in India and at her center, Kunzang Palyul Choling (KPC) in Maryland, from many Great Masters.

She also had an opportunity to receive the entire transmission for the Rinchen Terdzod directly from His Holiness, all of the empowerments, all of the pith essential pointing out instructions and commentaries that are found in that precious terma treasury, and she received it in a way that an elderly lama would receive it, an elderly Tibetan lama.  And so she had this opportunity to completely internalize all of those blessings, which is very extraordinary. His Holiness Jigme Phuntsok See video of this commentary here

Jetsunma has therefore gathered all the necessary requirements to offer empowerment, the wangs, the lungs, the pith instructions, she has accumulated millions of mantras and accomplished the practices, has been recognized and enthroned as a Lineage Holder and carries the blessings of her teachers.

Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo, born in a “barbarian” land (according to the Buddhist teachings a “barbarian land” is one where the Dharma does not exist,) as a woman, growing up without the supports of the tradition, without formal training, yet through the profound accomplishments of her past lives was able to give rise to the Dharma from her own mind, to the point where her teacher, His Holiness Pedma Norbu Rinpoche, traveled across oceans and continents to find her and establish the Palyul Lineage in that same, once barbarian land.

Having overcome the lack of formal training in the traditions of her Lineage through diligent practice and study, Jetsunma is now, in response to the devotion of her students, undertaking a new level of training.

Jetsunma had her students send a letter to the current Throneholder of Palyul, His Holiness Karma Kuchen Rinpoche informing him of their request for Jetsunma to begin offering wangs and her intention to begin training. Word was received today that His Holiness Karma Kuchen was surprised by this communication, replying it was “unusual for him to be told.”  He was surprised we felt the need to inform him. At enthronement the Tulku is given all the blessings of the Lineage, at that time the Tulku may upon training, immediately give empowerment.

When visiting KPC on his last visit to the US, His Holiness Karma Kuchen referred to His Holiness Pedma Norbu Rinpoche’s recognition in the following way:

As you all know how this center started, the late His Holiness Tulku Pedma Norbu Rinpoche, a Palyul Throneholder and Tulku, with the intention to spread the Buddha Dharma and especially the Secret Mantrayana Teaching, he recognized Jetsunma as the incarnation of Ahkon Lhamo, who was the sister of Rigzin Kunzang Sherab, the founder of the Palyul Lineage. See video of this commentary  here

Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo is continuing to fulfill the wishes of her root teacher by undertaking this new training. May those with faith in the profound Buddha Dharma rejoice!

May any merit or virtue generated by this account be devoted to the swift liberation of every suffering being, and to the long life, strong health and enduring happiness of Jetsunma Ahkon Norbu Lhamo.

I confess any faults or errors in this account are purely my own, through the limitations of my poor view and ordinary understanding.

Thubten Sonam Dolma

RAB  JAM  SE  CHE  GYAL  WAI  SANG  SUM  LHA

Infinite buddhas and their heirs, the deities of the Conqueror’s three secrets,

CHI  MED  TOB  DANG  WANG  CHUI  DEN TSIG  GI

By the truth of your ten powers and the strength of your immortality