The following is a prayer from “The Great Perfection Buddha in the Palm of the Hand: The Lama’s Oral Instructions Upon the Recitation and Visualization of the Preliminary Practice of Ngondro” as revealed by Vidydhara Terton Migyur Dorje

The syllable GURU is the Guru in the hell realms, Guru Nampar-nön.

Reddish-black in color, he [...]]]>

The following is a prayer from “The Great Perfection Buddha in the Palm of the Hand: The Lama’s Oral Instructions Upon the Recitation and Visualization of the Preliminary Practice of Ngondro” as revealed by Vidydhara Terton Migyur Dorje

The syllable GURU is the Guru in the hell realms, Guru Nampar-nön.

Reddish-black in color, he holds a vajra and a scorpion,

Protecting all beings in hell from the suffering of heat and cold.

The syllable PED is the Guru in the hungry spirit realm, Guru Nam-nang-ched.

Maroon in color, he holds a vajra and an iron phurba,

Protecting all hungry spirits from the suffering of hunger and thirst.

The syllable MA is the Guru in the animal realm, Guru Seng-ha-ten,

Blue-black in color, he holds a damaru and bell,

Protecting all animals from the suffering of inferior persecution,

The syllable SID is the Guru in the human realm, Guru Pema Jung.

White and red in color, he holds a skull and a vajra,

Protecting all humans from the suffering of birth, old age, sickness and death.

The syllable DHI is the Guru in the jealous gods realm, Guru Nam-par-gyal.

The color of smoke, he holds a Khatvanga and skull,

Protecting all jealous gods from the suffering of competitive warfare.

The syllable HUNG is the Guru in the god realm, Guru Sid-thub-dzin.

Yellow-white in color, he holds a vajra and bell,

Protecting all gods from the suffering of falling to the lower realms.

These six Gurus protect beings from the suffering of the six realms.

(Here one may repeat the Vajra Guru Mantra as many times as possible)

OM AH HUNG BENZAR GURU PEMA SIDDHI HUNG

How do we accomplish the aspiration to “not even see the faults of others” and at the same time not engate in “idiot compassion”? Jetsunma talks about how you can move toward enlightenment by engaging in the [...]]]> The following is a full length video teaching offered by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo at Kunzang Palyul Choling:

How do we accomplish the aspiration to “not even see the faults of others” and at the same time not engate in “idiot compassion”? Jetsunma talks about how you can move toward enlightenment by engaging in the view of all as the Buddha.

Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo. All rights reserved

The following is a prayer from the Nam Cho Daily Practice Book by Palyul Ling International:

Lord Guru, Dharmakaya Buddha, to you I pray.

Grant blessings to cleanse the darkness of ignorance.

To the Sambhogakaya guru, I pray;

Grant blessings that meditative absorption will develop in my mind.

To the compassionate manifestation body of [...]]]>

The following is a prayer from the Nam Cho Daily Practice Book by Palyul Ling International:

Lord Guru, Dharmakaya Buddha, to you I pray.

Grant blessings to cleanse the darkness of ignorance.

To the Sambhogakaya guru, I pray;

Grant blessings that meditative absorption will develop in my mind.

To the compassionate manifestation body of the Guru, I pray;

Grant blessings that experience and realization may arise in my mind.

To the body of the Guru, Gyalwa Gyatso, I pray;

Grant blessings to accomplish the two purposes of teaching self and others.

I pray to the Lama’s body;

Grant blessings that bliss and heat may blaze in my body;

Bestow the siddhi of immortal life.

I pray to the Lama’s speech;

Grant blessings that the power of my speech may increase;

Bestow the siddhi of purity of speech.

I pray to the Lama’s mind;

Grant blessings that realization may arise in my mind.

Bestow the siddhi of the Great Mahamudra;

Bestow upon me all pure qualities and miraculous activities;

Grant blessings to fully receive the four empowerments;

Bestow the siddhi of accomplishment of the four concerned activities.

Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Norbu Lhamo.  All rights reserved

The following is a plea written by Rigdzin Zeoli, caretaker of the Garuda Aviary Parrot Rescue and Sanctuary:

Doug Ratcliff of Union Township was not an animal hoarder. He is trying to start a parrot mill. The horrific photos that brought the world’s attention to Union Township were not unfamiliar to me. The sight [...]]]>

The following is a plea written by Rigdzin Zeoli, caretaker of the Garuda Aviary Parrot Rescue and Sanctuary:

Doug Ratcliff of Union Township was not an animal hoarder. He is trying to start a parrot mill. The horrific photos that brought the world’s attention to Union Township were not unfamiliar to me. The sight of parrots living and dying in filth and squalor is often what you find in a parrot mill.
As an experienced parrot handler and primary caretaker for Garuda Aviary parrot rescue and sanctuary, I recognized Doug Ratcliff’s methods as being consistent with other inhumane parrot breeding “facilities” deemed parrot mills. An associate of mine who was on the scene in Union Township during the rescue phase of the horrific “Troy Parrots” story confirmed my suspicions by reporting the presence of rows of “breeding boxes” where the parrots were kept on Ratcliff’s property.
Parrot mills are very similar to puppy mills in that the breeding animals are denied basic health care in an attempt to increase profits. If one of the breeding animals get sick or injured, the breeder will often let it die rather then pay for it’s medical care.
Doug Ratcliff is trying to regain custody of the 10 parrots currently under the care of Dr Brauer at the South Dayton Veterinary Clinic in Kettering. It is no surprise he wants these birds returned as they represent the core of his breeding population.
Returning these parrots to Mr. Ratcliff would be a unconscionable crime. He has multiple animal cruelty and neglect violations in his history of parrot keeping.
I have seen parrots kept in inhumane negligence. The conditions seen on Doug Ratcliff’s property were probably the worst conditions I’ve ever encountered. It has been extremely difficult for Dr. Brauer to keep some of these birds alive and to get them to some semblance of a healthy state.
With all of the negative press Ohio has received recently regarding the inhumane treatment of animals, the LAST thing the people of Ohio would want in their area is a parrot mill. Anybody with even a vague interest in the humane care of animals would regard this as proof that Ohio’s perspective on animal welfare is cruel and archaic.
I am sending this plea out to anybody who might have relevant authority regarding this issue.
Dr. Brauer is filing an injunction to gain ownership of these 10 parrots still under his care so that he may find the proper rescue facilities to continue their recovery.
On my hands and knees, I beg, BEG you to help Dr. Brauer gain ownership and deny Mr. Ratcliff these very special exotic birds.
If these parrots are returned to Ratcliff, they will suffer in filth and illness and many will die. There is NO reason to believe otherwise when one sees his past record of criminal negligence.
PLEASE do the right thing and help see these exotic birds to safety.

Thank you
Christopher Zeoli
Garuda Aviary

If you would like to add your voice to the call for protecting these precious lives here is some contact information:

Send a letter via http://governor.ohio.gov/Contact/ContacttheGovernor.aspx

HSUS Ohio State Director
web form: http://www.humanesociety.o​rg/forms/states/contact_oh​io_director.html

Prosecutor Gary Nasal
email: prosecutor@co.miami.oh.us

Mayor Michael L. Beamish
email: mayor.beamish@troyohio.gov

An excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo from the Vow of Love series

You may ask, “Why do I have to think about suffering? Why is it that the Buddha talks about suffering and nobody else does? Why is it that today’s New Age thinkers are saying, ‘I want to be me. [...]]]>

An excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo from the Vow of Love series

You may ask, “Why do I have to think about suffering? Why is it that the Buddha talks about suffering and nobody else does? Why is it that today’s New Age thinkers are saying, ‘I want to be me. I want to be free,’ and the Buddha is still talking about suffering after thousands and thousands of years?” It is because the Buddha has a teaching that is very logical and very real.

If we want to exit a room, but there is a chair between us and the door, we have a number of choices. We can say that the chair is not there. We can pretend that the chair is not an obstacle to our passing through the room and that it’s not important. Or we can notice that the chair is there and get on with our journey by walking around it. That is the essence of the Buddha’s teaching. The Buddha doesn’t stop at saying, “There is suffering.” The Buddha follows that by saying, “There is a way out of suffering.”  And that’s the ticket.  You cannot motivate yourself to follow the path out of suffering until you generate the commitment through the realization of suffering. You can’t make yourself walk around the chair to get to the door until you face the fact that the chair is blocking your way. You have to look at the chair.

It isn’t only about walking around a chair so that you can get to the other side of the room, so that you can get out the door. There’s more to it than that. You must understand that your commitment is two-fold. In order to become the deepened practitioner that you must be, to really sink your teeth into the Buddhadharma, you must have compassion for others that is so strong and so extraordinary it will nourish you even when you are dry.

© Jetsunma Ahkön Lhamo

The following is dedicated to the wonderful neighbor, an angel, who brought our Brenna back home to us:

Thus have I heard. Once the Blessed One was dwelling in Rajagria at Vulture Peak Mountain, together with a great gathering of the sangha of monks and a great gathering of the sangha of [...]]]>

The following is dedicated to the wonderful neighbor, an angel, who brought our Brenna back home to us:

Thus have I heard. Once the Blessed One was dwelling in Rajagria at Vulture Peak Mountain, together with a great gathering of the sangha of monks and a great gathering of the sangha of bodhisattvas. At that time, the Blessed One entered the samadhi that expresses the dharma called “profound illumination,” and at the same time noble Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva mahasattva, while practicing the profound prajnaparamita, saw in this way: he saw the five skandhas to be empty of nature.

Then, through the power of the Buddha, venerable Shariputra said to noble Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva mahasattva, “How should a son or daughter of noble family train, who wishes to practice the profound prajnaparamita?”

Addressed in this way, noble Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva mahasattva, said to venerable Shariputra, “O Shariputra, a son or daughter of noble family who wishes to practice the profound prajnaparamita should see in this way: seeing the five skandhas to be empty of nature. Form is emptiness; emptiness also is form. Emptiness is no other than form; form is no other than emptiness. In the same way, feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness are emptiness. Thus, Shariputra, all dharmas are emptiness.

“There are no characteristics. There is no birth and no cessation. There is no impurity and no purity. There is no decrease and no increase. Therefore, Shariputra, in emptiness there is no form, no feeling, no perception, no formation, no consciousness; no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind; no appearance, no sound, no smell, no taste, no touch, no dharmas; no eye dhatu up to no mind dhatu; no dhatu of dharmas, no mind consciousness dhatu; no ignorance, no end of ignorance up to no old age and death, no end of old age and death; no suffering, no origin of suffering, no cessation of suffering, no path, no wisdom, no attainment, and no non-attainment. Therefore, Shariputra, since the bodhisattvas have no attainment, they abide by means of prajnaparamita.

“Since there is no obscuration of mind, there is no fear. They transcend falsity and attain complete nirvana. All the buddhas of the three times, by means of prajnaparamita, fully awaken to unsurpassable, true, complete enlightenment. Therefore, the great mantra of prajnaparamita, the mantra of great insight, the unsurpassed mantra, the unequaled mantra, the mantra that calms all suffering should be known as truth, since there is no deception. The prajnaparmita mantra is said in this way:

TADYATA    OM GATE GATE PARAGATE PARASAMGATE BODHI SVAHA

Thus, Shariputra, the bodhisattva mahasattva should train in the profound prajnaparamita.”

Then the Blessed One arose from that samadhi and praised noble Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva mahasattva, saying, “Good, good. O son of notble family; thus it is, O son of noble family; thus it is. One should practice the profound prajnaparamita just as you have taught and all the tathagatas will rejoice.”

When the Blessed One had said this, venerable Shariputra and noble Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva mahasattva, that whole assembly and the world with its gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas rejoiced and praised the words of the Blessed One.

Lotsawa bhikshu Rinchen De translated this text into Tibetan with the Indian pandita Vimalamitra. It was edited by the great editor-lotsawas Gelo, Namkha, and others. This Tibetan text was copied from fresco in Gegye Chemaling at the glorious Samye vihara. It has been translated into English by the Nalanda Translation Committee, with reference to several Sanskrit editions.

The following is from a teaching given by Venerable Gyaltrul Rinpoche at Kunzang Palyul Choling:

We must take care not to fall prey to actually disbelieving the infallible truth of the law of cause and result, not to hold incorrect or wrong view, which would be again, thinking that there is no truth to [...]]]>

The following is from a teaching given by Venerable Gyaltrul Rinpoche at Kunzang Palyul Choling:

We must take care not to fall prey to actually disbelieving the infallible truth of the law of cause and result, not to hold incorrect or wrong view, which would be again, thinking that there is no truth to this law.  If I practice Dharma, for example, there will be no good result, so why should I bother, these types of attitudes.  If I accumulate non-virtue, if I just do whatever I want, if I engage in negativity, there is no lower rebirth, it doesn’t matter.  And so, thinking in this way is definitely the wrong direction.  All of us must know this and focus on the Buddha’s teachings, initially, the Four Noble Truths, the truth of suffering, that there is non-virtue. We all know that there is suffering, because we are experiencing that and knowing the truth of the cause, that there is the cause to the result of our suffering and so Buddha taught the truth of the cause of suffering and the truth of suffering is the result of that cause and so now, while we are free to do something about accepting and rejecting, that’s precisely what we should do.  If we have intelligence, we would figure out that is the way we would lead our life.

Believing in the laws of cause and result is virtuous.  Not believing in the law of cause of cause and result is non-virtuous and so that marks the difference between being noble and a wholesome individual on the path of wholesome conduct or being ignoble or going into the wrong direction.  So when we are going into the wrong direction, because of not acknowledging the law of cause and result and engaging always in non-virtue then that’s why we get left behind so to speak.  There’s not much progress in our life.  When we notice everyone else is going along and having some positive directions and some progress and we’re not, this is the reason.

By going to school nicely and being wholesome and having dignity, careful in what we do, then we will come to know this truth, we will see how this works in our life by observing, by listening, by checking.  We will see the truth of the law of cause and result.  If we don’t come to know that and see that in our lives, then we’ll always be overwhelmed by the passions and poisons of the 10 non-virtuous results, which includes desire and jealousy, anger, delusion, based on those passions, killing, stealing, adultery, lying, slander, gossip, ill will, craving, incorrect view, all of these non-virtues will proliferate, based on delusion because of not knowing the law of cause and result.  And so by not knowing this, then we are always accumulating causes for lower rebirth especially in the three lower realms of the hell beings, the deprived spirit beings and the animals, where there is inconceivable suffering.  These are the real places of samsara, the places of rebirth in samsara, these lowest realms, where there is no happiness.

Like for example, in this life, if one takes the life of others, then it shortens one’s own life and it also brings about many different illnesses and diseases.  The reason that we have a short lifespan or we acquire some disease or illness is because of having taken the life of others in the past as well so that affects us in this life.  From having stolen, then in this life, no matter how hard one tries, one is always poor, lacking endowments, lacking abundance, never quite being able to get it together financially.  So this is the ripening, the fruit of the cause.  These things don’t come about for any other reason.

So that’s why now it’s so important to listen to one’s parents and to follow the guidelines of whatever religious tradition one believes in.  Certainly there is good in all spiritual paths, so whatever one is able to believe in, learning that, contemplating, thinking carefully and following the guidelines of knowing, coming to know what to accept and what to reject so that qualities can develop in your own stream of mind to become a decent person and to have a happy life, otherwise, not following any guidelines, not believing in anything, having no discipline, just doing whatever you want, being careless, it’s really worse than an animal.  Even an animals don’t do that.  And so it may seem, if you are still young, that that is OK, you can get away with that, because temporarily you are still under your parent’s wings so parents are taking care of you and feeding you and giving you shelter and you are still young so you not sick yet and in fact you don’t even think about it or worry about it, you have no fear of death.  Even if the Lord of Death came before you, you would be fearless because you are still young and everything is great.  But sooner or later, when all of that shifts and changes, because it will, then sickness comes, poverty comes and everything turns upside down if you haven’t learned how to be a decent human being who knows how to follow rules and practice what to accept and reject.  Everything turns upside down and everything becomes like your enemy and when you die and go to lower realms, it’s also even worse and so that’s why it’s so important to think about these things now while you can, while you are able to.