Commitment: From “The Way of The Bodhisattva” by Shantideva

The following is respectfully quoted from “The Way of the Bodhisattva” by Shantideva as translated by the Padmakara Translation Group and published by Shambhala:

Commitment

1.
With joy I celebrate
The virtue that relieves all beings
From the sorrows of the states of loss,
And places those who languish in the realms of bliss.

2.
And I rejoice in virtue that creates the cause
Of gaining the enlightened state,
And celebrate the freedom won
By living beings from the round of pain.

3.
And in the buddhahood of the protectors I delight
And in the stages of the buddha’s offspring.

4.
The intention, ocean of great good,
That seeks to place all beings in the state of bliss,
And every action for the benefit of all:
Such is my delight and all my joy.

5.
And so I join my hands and pray
The buddhas who reside in every quarter:
Kindle now the Dharma’s light
For those who grope, bewildered in the dark of suffering!

6.
I join my hands, beseeching the enlightened ones
Who wish to pass beyond the bonds of sorrow:
Do not leave us in our ignorance;
Remain among us for unnumbered ages!

7.
And through these actions now performed,
By all the virtue I have just amassed,
May all the pain of every living being
Be wholly scattered and destroyed!

8.
For all those ailing in the world,
Until their every sickness has been healed,
May I myself become for them
The doctor, nurse, the medicine itself.

9.
Raining down a flood of food and drink,
May I dispel the ills of thirst and famine.
And in the ages marked by scarcity and want,
May I myself appear as drink and sustenance.

10.
For sentient beings, poor and destitute,
May I become a treasure ever plentiful,
And lie before them closely in their reach,
A varied source of all that they might need.

11.
My body, thus, and all my good besides,
And all my merits gained and to be gained,
I give them all away withholding nothing
To bring about the benefit of beings.

12.
Nirvāna is attained by giving all,
Nirvāna the objective of my striving.
Everything therefore must be abandoned,
And it is best to give it all to others.

13.
This body I have given up
To serve the pleasure of all living beings.
Let them kill and beat and slander it,
And do to it whatever they desire.

14.
And though they treat it like a toy,
Or make of it the butt of every mockery,
My body has been given up to them–
There’s no use, now, to make so much of it.

15.
And so let beings do to me
Whatever does not bring them injury.
Whenever they catch sight of me,
Let his not fail to bring them benefit.

16.
If those who see me entertain
A thought of anger or devotion,
May these states supply the cause
Whereby their good and wishes are fulfilled.

17.
All those who slight me to my face,
Or do me any other evil,
Even if they blame or slander me,
May they attain the fortune of enlightenment!

18.
May I be a guard for those who are protector less,
A guide for those who journey on the road.
For those who wish to go across water,
May I be a boat, a raft, a bridge.

19.
May I be an isle for those who yearn for landfall,
And a lamp for those who long for light;
For those who need a resting place, a bed;
For all who need a servant, may I be their slave.

20.
May I be the wishing jewel, the vase of plenty,
A word of power and the supreme healing;
May I be the tree of miracles,
And for every being the abundant cow.

21.
Like the earth and the pervading elements,
Enduring as the sky itself endures,
For boundless multitudes of living beings,
May I be their ground and sustenance.

22.
Thus for everything that lives,
As far as are the limits of the sky,
May I provide their livelihood and nourishment
Until they pass beyond the bonds of suffering.

23.
Just as all the buddhas of the past
Embraced the awakened attitude of mind,
And in the precepts of the bodhisattvas
Step by step abode and trained,

24.
Just so, and for the benefit of beings,
I will also have this attitude of mind,
And in those precepts, step by step,
I will abide and train myself.

25.
That this the most pure and spotless state of mind
Might be embraced and constantly increase,
The prudent who have cultivated it
Should praise it highly in such words as these:

26.
“Today my life has given fruit.
This human state has now been well assumed.
Today I take my birth in Buddha’s line,
And have become the buddhas’ child and heir.

27.
“In every way, then, I will undertake
Activities befitting such a rank.
And I will do no act to mar
Or compromise this high and faultless lineage.

28.
“For I am like a blind man who has found
A precious gem within a mound of filth.
Exactly so, as if by some strange chance,
The enlightened mind has come to birth in me.

29.
“This is the draft of immortality,
That slays the Lord of Death, the slaughterer of beings,
The rich unfailing treasure-mine
To heal the poverty of wanderers.

30.
“It is the sovereign remedy,
That perfectly allays all maladies.
It is the wishing tree bestowing rest
On those who wander wearily the pathways of existence.

31.
“It is the universal vehicle that saves
All wandering beings from the states of loss–
The rising moon of the enlightened mind
That soothes the sorrows born of the afflictions.

32.
“It is a mighty sun that utterly dispels
The gloom and ignorance of wandering beings,
The creamy butter, rich and full,
All churned from milk of holy Teaching.

33.
“Living beings! Wayfarers upon life’s paths,
Who wish to taste the riches of contentment,
Here before you is the supreme bliss–
Here, O ceaseless wanderers, is your fulfillment!

34.
“And so, within the sight of all protectors,
I summon every being, calling them to buddhahood–
And till that state is reached, to every earthly joy!
May gods and demigods, and all the rest, rejoice!”

 

Biography of His Holiness Pema Norbu Rinpoche

The following is respectfully quoted from “How to Follow a Spiritual Master” as translated by the Ngagyur Nyingma Institute:

H. H. Pema Norbu Rinpoche, an emanation of Pundit Vimalamitra, was born in the twelfth Tibetan month of Water Monkey Year 1932 at Powo in Kham, Eastern Tibet. His father’s name was Sonam Gyurme and his mother Zom Kyid. At the time of his birth, sweet scented flowers miraculously bloomed in his village where no flowers usually appear in the cold and dry winter month. He was recognized as the Third Drubwang Penor Rinpoche through the prophecy of the Thupten Choekyi Dorje, the fifth Dzogchen Rinpoche.

In the upper region of sacred Powo,
At the foot of a majestic hill,
Surrounded by beautiful trees and lakes,
With large rivers flowing from the south,
To a couple bearing names, Sonam and Kyid,
A noble child will be born in the Water Monkey Year,
Possessing great qualities, he will benefit the doctrine and beings.
I the fifth Dzogchen prophesy this.

Khenpo Ngagchung, a prominent Dzogchen adept of the time, foreseeing the exceptional destiny of the new incarnation, gave him the refuge vow and empowerment of Manjushri, a sacred statue and composed a long life prayer used by thousands of his followers around the globe today. Penor Rinpoche was brought when he was five to the Palyul Monastery, the seat of his previous incarnations and was enthroned by Thupten Choekyi Dawa and Karma Thegchog Nyingpo as the incarnation of the Second Drubwang Penor Rinpoche and was the eleventh throne holder of the Palyul tradition.

Palyul Namgyal Jangchub Choeling, one of the six great Nyingma Monasteries, was established under the patronage of Lachen Jampa Phuntsog, the King of Dege and Trichen Sangye Tenpa in 1665.

Rigzin Kunsang Sherab, a prominent Dzogchen master and Terton prophesied by Guru Rinpoche became the first head of the monastery. He was a close disciple of Mahasiddha Karma Chagme and Terton Migyur Dorje, who discovered the Namcho Cycle. Both through the influence of his masters and his own inspiration, the monastery grew rapidly into one of the largest in Tibet. In the following centuries, Palyul often referred to as “the Glorious Palyul of the East”, became the famous center of ardent learning and practice under the guidance of successive throne holders. Hundreds and thousands of monks attained the rainbow body or other spiritual accomplishments from there. Penor Rinpoche was to oversee this large monastery comprising more than four hundred branch monasteries and over three hundred thousand monks and nuns.

Penor Rinpoche spent his early youth in Palyul and Dago, studying and receiving teachings from many masters including Karma Thegchog Nyingpo (the Tenth Throne holder) who prepared him to become the eleventh throne holder. When, as a small child, he was playing with a precious Vajra, he accidentally dropped it, breaking it into pieces. Fearing that his teacher would reprimand him, he quickly glued it back together with his own saliva, making the Vajra stronger than ever. On another occasion, he accidentally dropped a fragile ritual bell on the stone floor. Everybody present assumed that the bell had broken, and yet when Rinpoche picked it up, the bell was as whole and the ring more melodious.

One day when Rinpoche was a small boy, and old man who insisted that Rinpoche practice phowa on him approached him. Rinpoche innocently complied with the old man’s request. To his dismay, he realized that he had actually killed the old man. He immediately practiced again to revive the corpse that lay before him. To Rinpoche’s utter relief, the old man came back to life and said, “For heaven’s sake, why did you call me back? I was already in the pure land of Lord Amitabha.”

Another incident illustrating Rinpoche’s extraordinary power at a tender age occurred when he left his footprints permanently etched in a stone. This incident among others testifies to the karmic continuity of Rinpoche’s former practices. Penor Rinpoche also used to make intricately woven knots in a blessing cord using only his tongue.

Among his numerous masters, Penor Rinpoche benefited immensely from a very warm and close relationship he enjoyed with his master Thupten Choekyi Dawa. At the age of thirteen, he received novice ordination from him, at twenty-one full ordinations and a vast number of teachings including essential instructions and empowerments from the Nyingma tradition. Despite his old age and poor eyesight, his master said, “If I am not able to give the entire teachings, instructions and empowerments to Penor Rinpoche, then I would not have lived my life.”

Penor Rinpoche then underwent a long-term retreat with Thupten Choekyi Dawa at Darthang. Beginning from preliminary practices to the most profound esoteric teachings of Dzogchen, he stressed every practice until naked truth was revealed to him. His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse once said,

Penor Rinpoche is a saint who has transcended the boundary of samayas”.
Khenpo Jigme Phuntsog repeatedly applauded him as an enlightened Buddha in flesh and blood.

During an accomplishment ceremony (Drubchen), many monks saw a rainbow appear around the mandala and amrita boiled in the skull cup. While conducting the accomplishment ceremony of Magon, the ritual cake of Dakinis was seen shaking vigorously. One day while receiving Kangyur transmissions, Penor Rinpoche had a recollection of Lord Buddha seated at the bank of a river giving profound teachings to him and thousands of others.

According to Khenpo Ngagchung, Penor Rinpoche is also a manifestation of Vajrapani. Rinpoche’s recollection clearly indicates that he had sat at the feet of the Enlightened One in a previous lifetime in the form of Vajrapani.

It was a dream of every Tibetan to make a pilgrimage to Lhasa, especially to see the famous Jowo. In 1956, at the age of twenty-four, Penor Rinpoche with a large entourage began to travel to Central Tibet. There they visited numerous monasteries, ancient temples and sacred places, which revealed the sanctity and glory of Tibet’s past. He also visited His Holiness the Dalai Lama at his winter palace, the Potala and received a long life empowerment. Lhasa Monlam Chenmo was in progress and he offered tea and money to the entire assembly of monks. By then the situation in Lhasa was very tense. With a heavy heart, Penor Rinpoche returned to his monastery in Palyul.

Foreseeing the irreversibility of the Chinese occupation and the threat this would pose to the very existence of the Buddha dharma, Penor Rinpoche and three hundred others fled together to the North Eastern Frontier of India. Only thirty people reached India. Many died at the hands of the Chinese. The journey was a long and a dangerous one. Bullets would fall at Penor Rinpoche’s feet sending clouds of dust. Hand grenades would fall at his feet and when he had moved to a safer distance, they would explode. To survive, people with him would kill animals for food. Penor Rinpoche could not see innocent animals being butchered. Therefore he use to walk ahead and drive away those possible victims. He reached Pema Koe in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh with his group and in 1961, moved to South India in Mysore with approximately six hundred people.

The purpose of Rinpoche’s escape from Tibet was to keep the flame of Buddha dharma alive so that beings would not plunge into the darkness and gloom of ignorance. Keeping this in mind, Penor Rinpoche re-established the great Palyul Monastery, Thegchog Namdrol Shedrup Dargyeling in Bylakuppe, Mysore. Rinpoche had at his disposal only a paltry sum of three hundred rupees to rebuild his entire life and that of his monastery. Rinpoche had, however, insurmountable hidden resources – his enormous courage and determination.

People around him did not see the vision that he had and therefore insisted he reduce the size of his planned monastery. At that time, there were only a handful of monks. When later monks by the hundreds crammed into the monastery and found no place to sit, one can only wonder at the foresight that Penor Rinpoche had three decades ago. Few masters of Penor Rinpoche’s status would have undergone the hardships that he went through. In the hot scorching sun, he would carry bricks and sands and would work the cement, his hand bleeding and full of sores. Lack of water and motor roads made the construction even more difficult. Penor Rinpoche had to fetch water from the river that runs by the side of the monastery.

At times during the working day, he and his monks did not mind mixing dirty river water with tsampa. In the early days of settlement, he lived in a tent making Tibetan tea with cheap cooking oil, as he had no butter, and drinking out of a tin can. Rinpoche even cut his zen to share it with another lama. An old woman found him one day digging sewage alone in a deep trench for one of his monks staying in retreat.

One day a man arrived at the site where Rinpoche was working with the group of monks under the sun, he briskly walked up to Rinpoche and said, “I have come a long way to see Rinpoche. May I see him?” “Oh! Sure, why not?” replied Rinpoche. He then took his visitor to his humble room and asked, “Yes, what can I do for you?” The man was both surprised and embarassed. He never expected Rinpoche to be so earthy and accessible. His idea of Penor Rinpoche was different, a well dressed monk on a high luxurious throne. But Rinpoche appeared as a true gem lying on the common soil upon which he himself toiled.

Year after year, Penor Rinpoche with inexhaustible energy and commitment, trudged steadily along the path of progress, undeterred by the numerous obstacles and hardships. The energy that Penor Rinpoche invested was not spent in vain and has borne him abundant fruits. Today Namdroling monastery in Bylakuppe, with over four thousand monks and nuns can bost of being the largest Nyingma monastery in the world. Penor Rinpoche established the Ngagyur Nyingma Institute in 1978 unable to bear the sight of priceless Nyingma doctrine at stake. The NNI, which is now a renowned center for advanced Buddhist education and research studies, has become a special pride for Penor Rinpoche.

Namdroling monastery also hosts a retreat center where several dozen undergo intensive three-year retreats. Penor Rinpoche personally instructs them on the Dzogchen Longchen Nyingthig cycle and Namcho Cycle of Terton Migyur Dorje. Every three years, a large group of Vajracharyas comes out of the retreat. Each year, Rinpoche also gives instructions on Ngondro, Tsalung, and Dzogchen during a month long retreat undertaken by a large number of monks, nuns and lay people. Studies are always coupled with practice and therefore Penor Rinpoche’s monastery is an ideal place for both intensive study and practice. That was Penor Rinpoche’s dream and that is what he still emphasizes today.

Over eight hundred small monks go to the primary school where they are taught basic reading and writing both in Tibetan and English. They also learn basic monastic duties and primary Buddhist teachings. Senior students from the institute teach these young monks. In 1993, Penor Rinpoche also founded Tsogyal Shedrubling Nunnery where over five hundred nuns study and practice and a home for the elderly where thirty people live and practice. These elders can be seen with their prayer wheels and malas, either sitting under the trees or circumambulating the sixteen large stupas that Penor Rinpoche built and dedicated to world peace.

The compassion of Rinpoche also extends to the local Indian people too. He has constructed many roads and bridges to benefit people. The money that he receives in the form of donations is always spent on worthy causes, such as the above named projects. While both in India and Tibet, Penor Rinpoche is also famous for making timely rain when the seasonal rainfall does not fall. The local Indians have nick named him, “The Rain Lama”.

Penor Rinpoche has given the entire Rinchen Terzoed Empowerments six times and the Nyingthig and Namcho Cycles several times more. He was the first Tibetan Master to give Rinchen Terzoed in the West. Rinpoche is looked upon by so many as having an infinite variety of skills and capacities. To his followers, especially to his beloved monks, he is more than a father, doctor, psychiatrist, therapist, healer, and teacher.

Being a peerless full-fledged monk himself, Penor Rinpoche has given ordination to thousands of monks and nuns. Apart from the teachings and empowerments he dispenses, he provides solutions to various human problems. Day in and day out, he selflessly works for the benefit of the living and dying or dead. The marvelous activities of His Holiness are expanding exponentially. During his four return visits to Tibet since 1959, he renovated the mother Palyul Monastery and its numerous branch monasteries. He further established new dharma centers in the Himalayan region as well as Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines. There are also centers in the USA and Europe. Rinpoche travels tirelessly throughout India, the Himalayas, South East Asia and the West bestowing teachings and empowerments to his countless disciples.

The representatives of the Nyingma Buddhists around the world unanimously appointed Rinpoche in 1993 during the Nyingma Monlam Chenmo under the Bodhi Tree at Bodh Gaya. He assumed responsibility and title formerly held by His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.

His recent visible achievements are too numerous to list fully, not to mention the full spectrum of his hidden activities for the benefit of beings, may it be his countless disciples or all sentient beings.

The below mentioned are some of his main achievements. He established among other an imposing, beautifully decorated New Temple in Bylakuppe, able to accommodate several thousand  monks and nuns. The sheer majesty of this building as well as the enormous size of the three statues of the Lord Buddha, Guru Rinpoche and Buddha Amitayus, covered in gold leaf, the extensive collection of thangkas masterpiece gracing every wall, the ornate wooden carvings have prompted the numerous Indian visitors to name it the Golden Temple. However, Rinpoche insists in saying that he has not build any golden temple yet, a feat he is currently achieving with the new project of building Sando Pari — Guru Rinpoche’s Paradise — on the site of the first temple recently brought down. The current “Golden Temple” was inaugurated amidst sumptuous celebrations and many auspicious ceremonies in the presence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and thousands of monks, nuns and invited guests on September 23rd 1999.

In New York State, in a beautiful quiet environment of the Catskills, Rinpoche founded the seat of his work in the USA, a retreat center complete with all facilities, a fully decorated Temple with statues and religious paintings where he bestows annually the whole retreat cycle of the Palyul tradition to his disciples coming from America, Europse and other Asian countries. There are rooms and outdoor accommodations for retreatants. There are also numerous students who have now offered centers to Rinpoche throughout the whole of the North American continent as well as Canada, which Rinpoche visits every year and where he bestows Teachings, Empowerments and advice to his rapidly growing number of followers.

In Mysore, he is also currently completing the building of a large hospital equipped with the latest facilities to serve the needs of a rapidly expanding community of monks, nuns, children and local people. Rinpoche finds every year extraordinary resources to provide absolutely all that is needed to accommodate, feed, cloth, educate and guide in the purest spiritual tradition all his followers and buildings are springing forth in a near uninterrupted stream to keep up with the expansion of his activities. Surrounded by over seventy tulkus whom he has recognized and enthroned, he dispenses generously whatever is needed, and well beyond to all his followers, ordained and lay people alike, upholding the purest vinaya tradition as a great unassuming Enlightened Bodhisattva.

Your Treasure is the Bodhisattva Heart: Full Length Video Teaching

The following is a full length video teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo offered at Kunzang Palyul Choling:

 

Use self-honesty find that heart within you that will bring ultimate benefit to yourself and to all sentient beings. Here’s how.

Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Norbu Lhamo.  All rights reserved

Untamed Mind


If a person is deeply obsessed with someone daily, and for a long time unrelenting, that indicates no accomplishment and a disturbed mind. That sort of person, the obsessive one, can potentially turn violent, hurt their victim and themselves. Much easier to get treatment. It is demonic, truly, to hate others who honestly and truly try to benefit others. Especially if one tries to harm them to the point they cannot accomplish their spiritual vocation, I feel it is criminal.

We all have the right to accomplish what we came here to do. Some have no such commitment. It is the Bodhisattvas who return only to benefit sentient beings. It is their responsibility to practice and teach others to practice Bodhicitta, the “great compassion,” the essence of awakening to Buddhahood. All is done to heal and help. That cannot be stopped; nor can it be accomplished by those who only want to bring harm and cry in pity for themselves. Senseless to remain so infantile. And cry for justice when one’s ego has been threatened? No. Justice when one’s life and livelihood are threatened. That is the way.

If one has no mission, no livelihood, and a damaged brain filled with hate and blame, it needs healing. That is the way. A life of generous display and heartfelt caring is the nature of the Bodhisattvas. They are true Buddhas in the flesh. Kindly support them, and leave them to their great and beneficial works. Find something else to do, other than cry.

OM AH HUNG VAJRA GURU PEMA NORBU SIDDHI HUNG

OM MANI PEDME HUNG

Where Does Desire Come From?

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

Where does desire come from? It comes from the belief that self-nature is real. According to the Buddha, if you believe that you are a self, if you believe in self-nature as being real, as being truly existent, then there has to be desire, because in order to be a self or to have a self, you have to define a self. That’s how it is. If you believe in the nature of self, you have to have an underlying belief that self ends here and other begins there. You have to have some conceptualization in your mind about what the self is, because the idea of self cannot exist without some definition. Conceptual proliferation develops, and with that, desire.

Desires are not always fulfilled. There is always the contest between self and other, and from those contests the three root poisons of hatred, greed and ignorance occur. It is the presence of hatred, greed and ignorance in the mind that causes phenomena to appear as they do. If there were no hatred, greed and ignorance in the mind, there would be no cause for suffering and therefore we would not see the phenomena of war, hunger, old age, sickness and death in the world. There would be no cause. This is the understanding and commitment that you should think about and work with in your mind.

Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo.  All rights reserved

Motivation That Nourishes the Path

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

It’s almost impossible to attain the goal of selfless compassion, where you commit every fiber of your being to benefiting all sentient beings, seen and unseen, without a moment’s hesitation. It’s almost impossible to develop the kind of compassion where you understand that all sentient beings are revolving helplessly in such suffering that they can’t bear it, and you can’t bear to think it’s going on, without cultivating a deep understanding of suffering. You want to avoid the trap of making the very same prayers that the selfishly motivated person might do, but instead have the idea that you want to be a great Bodhisattva.

One goal will produce lasting results and the other will not. The person with the motivation of selflessness has the key. Through extraordinary, selfless compassion, that person has the strength to persevere through everything until he or she is awake. That person will persevere until he or she has completely purged from his or her mind even the smallest, gossamer thin seeds of hatred, greed and ignorance. The person whose motivation is to be the ‘good person’ will not be able to do the same for any length of time. The foundation isn’t strong enough. That person may need some kind of feedback, or warm fuzzies as reward for being good. Even tried and true Buddhists will find this impure motivation in your minds. Even our ordained Sangha will find that they, themselves, will have dry periods. You’ll go spiritually dry, bone dry, and you’ll think, “What am I doing here? I can’t go on; it’s just too hard.” Then the next day, you’ll wake up and you’ll think, “Another day…good.” You’ll have all these different feelings that are just so common. Everybody, everybody has them. You don’t have to be a Buddhist to have these feelings.

Why does it flip flop back and forth? Because you have not built the firm foundation of very pure, selfless compassion. You need to cultivate it every single moment. You need to get yourself past the point where you need warm fuzzies to keep you going. If you are only looking at the symptom of suffering and trying to manipulate your environment to turn suffering around, you will always need feedback. That feedback may or may not come. Your compassion, your love should not depend on that.

Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo.  All rights reserved

The Guru in Vajrayana

From a series of tweets by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo:

In Buddhism there are many levels of study and practice. And I speak, here, generally; in a way digestible to a general audience without much specific training in Buddhism.

For instance, in Vajrayana alone there are many levels. Preliminary, Ngondro, is like boot camp where gross defilements are pacified. Intermediate practice, mostly (but not all) consists of generating the Meditational Deity in order to develop enlightened qualities. Next is Dzogchen which also has many levels and leads to direct experience, leads to awakening (if one practices well with diligence.) And even with all this one still has the responsibility of purifying the five main poisons.

As I said, there are three main levels amongst the many methods the Buddha taught. Some during his life, others came with the great Guru Padmasambava and later the tertons he passed his treasures to. And there are many great realized masters that followed the great Guru. The other main levels are Theravaden, and Mahayana.

In Theravaden the main focus is on the Vinaya precepts, the rules by which the ordained community abide by. Even lay people have precepts to fulfill. The main focus is purification.

Then there is Mahayana, where the Bodhisattva Vow is the main vow. It does not abandon the Vinaya, but builds on it and in so doing changes focus. In strict Vinaya a monk must never touch a woman. In Mahayana the focus is Bodhisattva Vow (compassion) and here is an example:

A monk sees a woman lying by the road injured and in great distress. A Mahayana monk must help her out of compassion, and to do so he must touch her. His duty is to help.

Next Vajrayana, the seat of Dzogchen and pure view goes even further and not only includes Mahayana’s great Compassion, but also includes Vinaya, while developing in a deeper and quite profound Way. In Vajrayana the main focus, is the Lama (Guru) as representing the Three Precious Jewels, Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. The Lama is the main focus and we rely on the enlightened intention and wisdom and pure qualities of the teacher to give direct indication and mind to mind transmission. This is so to the degree that if the Lama, say, acts wrathfully toward the student, the student must never let anger and rage enter their minds. Why? Because it is the Guru Yoga discipline that ripens the mind, and opens the door to Liberation. The student mixes their mind with the Guru’s mind like milk with water. With faith, a blessed transference occurs. And devotion becomes a method like none other, especially in these degenerate times. Vajrayana is considered the one method to deliver realization in one life. This is accomplished through the accomplishment of one’s root Guru and faith.

Once I had a disciple with profound Guru devotion. She went to New York retreat to study with great Palyul Tulkus, she was simple in her practice, yet very diligent. When she passed I performed the Phowa and there were signs. Her body was kept for one week because she offered her skin to others. After a week she was brought to the funeral home to be cremated. First she was dressed in all her sacred robes, then flowers and incense offered for her pure life of loving service. The workers there said, and the four nuns I sent, were amazed that even before Ani was adorned her body was fragrant and fresh. Even though she had open wounds in her skin. Her complexion was pink, fresh and luminous.

His Holiness Karma Kuchen saw the pictures and declared this a miraculous event and she had accomplished this precious human rebirth. EH MA HO! This was a result of her practice and devotion. Her name was the Venerable Ani Thupten Palchen. And now, she is free! May she return quickly for the sake of all sentient beings! EH MA HO!

I am also reminded of how pleased His Holiness Karma Kuchen was, saying this was proof that westerners could attain in this life!

OM BENZAR SATO HUNG!

Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo.  All rights reserved

Refuge & Bodhisattva Vows

Refuge Vow   (Repeat 3 x)

I take refuge in the Lama,

I take refuge in the Buddha,

I take refuge in the Dharma,

I take refuge in the Sangha.

Bodhisattva Vow  (Repeat 3 x)

I dedicate myself to the liberation and salvation of all sentient beings.  I offer my body, speech, and mind in order to accomplish the purpose of all sentient beings.  I will return in whatever form necessary, under extraordinary circumstances to end suffering.  Let me be born in times unpredictable, in places unknown, until all sentient beings are liberated from the cycle of death and rebirth.

Taking no thought for my comfort or safety, precious Lama (Buddha), make of me a pure and perfect instrument by which the end of suffering and death in all forms might be realized.  Let me achieve perfect enlightenment for the sake of all beings.  And then, by my hand and heart alone, may all beings achieve full enlightenment and perfect liberation.

©Jetsunma Ahkön Lhamo

Refuge and Bodhicitta

From the ” Path of the Bodhisattva
A Collection of Thirty-Seven Practices”

Until the heart of enlightenment is realized,
I take refuge in all the Buddhas.

Likewise, I take refuge in the dharma
and the bodhisattvas and their assemblies.

Just as the sugatas of the past
aroused the awakened mind of bodhicitta

and trained in the way of the bodhisattvas
to gradually accomplish the stages of development,

similarly, for the benefit and purpose of beings,
by awakening bodhicitta and

training in the conduct of the bodhisattvas,
I shall gradually develop on the levels of training.

(repeat three times)

Today I have picked the fruit of this lifetime.
The meaning of this human existence is now realized.

Today I am born into the family of the Buddhas
and have become an heir of the enlightened ones!

Now, no matter what occurs hereafter,
my activities will be in conscientious accord with the family,

and I shall never engage in conduct that could
possibly sully this faultless family!

Like a blind man in a heap of refuse,
suddenly, by chance, finding a precious jewel,

similarly, this occasion is such that
today I have given rise to the awakened mind!

Today, before all of my objects of refuge,
the sugatas, as well as all beings,

I call to bear witness where the guests of this occasion —
the devas, the titans, and others — all join together to rejoice!

The precious bodhicitta,
if unborn, may it arise;

when generated, may it never diminish,
and may it always remain ever-increasing!

Never apart from bodhicitta,
engaged in the conduct of the awakened ones,

being held fast by all of the Buddhas,
may all demonic activities be fully abandoned!

May all the bodhisaattvas
accomplish the welfare of others, according to their wisdom mind’s intentions.

Whatever wisdom intention these protectors may have,
may it come to pass for all sentient beings.

May all sentient beings be endowed with bliss,
may all the lower realms be permanently emptied!

May all the bodhisattvas, on whatever bhumi they remain,
fully accomplish all of their aspirations!

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