Astrology

11/30/2010     Tuesday

Still excitable, you may feel anxious early in the day.  At a certain point, everything settles down, and a steadier tempo can be held.  An unusual combination of dreamy joy combines with a zippy, chatty enthusiasm.  These two qualities are not really compatible.  Be careful that you don’t try to talk to someone who is asleep, for example, or to relax during a rugby match when you’re a player.  Beware of the temptation to mix incompatible things or people.  Have a sense of time and place.  There is one thing you can do, in the midst of all this, says Joseph Addison,  “What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity.  These are but trifles, to be sure, but scattered along life’s pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.”  You can’t misjudge a smile.

The daily astrology post affects everyone. Because individual charts vary, the circumstances outlined in the post will affect people differently. Some will feel this energy in the personal arena, some in finances, some with children or family, some in work and so forth. There are many departments of life. Look to see where the dynamic affects you!

My CrackBerry & Suffering!

An excerpt from a teaching called the Eightfold Path by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

In the Four Noble truths, the Lord Buddha taught that all sentient beings are suffering.  Even if there is temporary happiness, there is suffering in samsara and that the origin of suffering is attachment or desire.

I thought I would tell you about my Blackberry as an example of this.  There is nothing inherent in this box that means suffering. There are wires and buttons, and a SIM chip in it.   It even lights up and does funny things.  The things I can do with this are just amazing.  So there’s really no unhappiness with this, right?  Wrong.  I have become a Crackberry addict.  Hi.  My name is Jetsunma, and I’m an addict.  From the first moment I got it; it’s been a joy and a horror at the same time. The joyful part is you could practically control the world from it or at least try to.  The less than joyful part about it is that it will try to control you.  And you cannot get a minute’s peace if you are carrying around your little computer, because emails are constantly coming.  So it’s a mixed blessing, and I knew that desire had struck me.

It’s such a great Buddhist lesson because like I said, this gizmo’s great.  There’s nothing wrong with it.  It should not cause suffering.  But I have these nightmares.  I’ve actually had nightmares that I lost my Blackberry.  And because of that I couldn’t call anybody, and I was somewhere where I didn’t know where I was, and I couldn’t call anybody to come get me, because once you have a Blackberry, you don’t remember any phone numbers.  Everything’s on speed dial.  That was my first dream.

My second dream was in a terrible situation. I couldn’t find my two dogs – my two heart children – Jada and Ewok.  I couldn’t find them, and there was nobody around to help me look for them.  And I’m thinking, “I’ve got to call for some help.  I’ve got to call for some help.” Guess what?  It was busted.  So, there I was grieving about my dogs, and dying about my CrackBerry!

This is a perfect display of what the Buddha taught.  The Buddha taught that it is attachment and desire that bring us suffering. Now, before I had this thing, I didn’t desire it.  But once I got it, I’m all over it.  I tell you, I’m an addict, and I’m going to do the steps.  Because of attachment, I have fear that I’ll lose this thing. And I’m watching my mind do this.  It is so absolutely essential to watch your mind when it plays those games and does those trips to you.  It is so educational and so awe inspiring, because although obviously the Buddha wouldn’t have known about a BlackBerry, he knows the condition of my mind due to attachment and desire.  I love the stuff this thing does.  I can get weather from three different sources.  I’m a real weather wonk. I can read news on my BlackBerry.  But here I am with this very cool thing that is now causing me suffering.

Now it’s a silly example because most of us suffer from things a whole lot worse than losing a CrackBerry.  I call it CrackBerry because that’s what it is.  People suffer from more horrible things but it is a good example to show you that even something that’s a gift becomes a terrible burden when there’s too much attachment and too much desire. This is a silly example because I can put this thing down.  In fact, I can throw it in a lake, and then it’s over.  The suffering is ended.  I can control that, but so many people have things that are happening in their lives that they have no control over, or at least they feel that they don’t.  It seems as though things are happening from the outside.  And because of what happens to us and because of what we are given and what we are programmed with, we develop these very strong attachments.  If it’s to a person, it’s obvious.  If it’s to a car, it’s obvious.  If it’s to a BlackBerry, it’s obvious.  If it’s to a house, it’s obvious.  You know what the deal is there.  But most of the time our desire is so mixed and so churning, that we can hardly see or hardly track our mind well enough to know what exactly is going on.  And so as the Buddha taught, we tend to think that we are suffering because of circumstance when in fact we are suffering because of desire.

I invite you as we study the Four Noble truths and the Eightfold Path to begin to research your own mind.  Begin to see, and watch yourself.  Watch the way you perceive.  Watch the way you think.  Begin to learn from your own mind.  You may be surprised.   We don’t realize how attached and filled with desire we are even when we are trying to practice renunciation.  And it takes examining the mind.

For instance, I could have said, “Well, this is a necessary evil.  I have to have it because of my job, which I do. And I could blame it on outward circumstances, and say, “Oh poor me.  I have to have this because of my job.”  I could go round and round about it, but the truth of the matter is that it’s my own attachment.  I was fine without it and I’ll be fine after it.  It’s the attachment, it’s our reaction that sucks us in and makes us habituate.

I just wanted to mention that as part of the Four Noble Truths, to give an example of how the arising of suffering is the same as the arising of desire and attachment.  That’s really what causes our suffering.  Our own reaction.  The good news about that is that we have some power.  We have some control.

It’s hard to control your desire when knives are coming at you.  But for the most part, that is not what people are suffering from.  They are not suffering from knives coming at them.  They are not suffering from something that’s so profound and so reactive and so immediate that they have no time even to even things out.

We have a marvelous capacity to watch our own minds, and this is unique to humanity.  In none of the other six realms of cyclic existence, except for the human realm and only under certain karmic conditions, is there the capacity to watch one’s own mind and to practice and awaken, and to accumulate merit most of all.  There is simply no way in any of the other realms.  And that’s why being a human is a precious rebirth, and worth more than you could ever assemble in a hundred lifetimes in terms of material goods, because of what is capable, what is possible here by following the Eightfold Path and using our minds to sever the sickness and narcotic of desire and attachment.

© Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

Astrology

11/29/2010     Monday

Indecision plays a role today.  You can’t make up your mind about something or someone you care for.  It’s a fun issue, related to a relationship or entertainment.  The harder you try, the less you decide. Your mind feels like a yo-yo.  Later in the day, you change and know exactly what you want and what you are going to do.  Avoid making a decision until certainty comes.  You are overly active, chomping at the bit, raring to go!  Normally you have to urge yourself to get going, but today you have to consciously put on the brakes.  Avoid yelling out your opinions to everyone you meet.  Try not to act too wild.  Apart from these things, it’s a nice day.

The daily astrology post affects everyone. Because individual charts vary, the circumstances outlined in the post will affect people differently. Some will feel this energy in the personal arena, some in finances, some with children or family, some in work and so forth. There are many departments of life. Look to see where the dynamic affects you!

Sincerity on the Path

Today I woke up early, feeling sad at the way Westerners insist on changing Buddhism into something they like better. It’s because they simply do not understand where the power of Dharma comes from. The power/blessing comes from a traceable unbroken line of transmission from Guru to disciple and stretches back to the original source of blessing. The Buddha, Guru Padmasambava, who himself said “I will always be with you in the form or your Root Guru”. His blessing brought Tantra to Tibet and translated the texts with a committee of scholars

So the Diamond Path of Vajrayana in Tibet is one Throneholder to the next in unbroken succession. That is the way of Tibetan Buddhism. One can change it up. This is a free country, after all. But then, you are not practicing as Tibetan Lamas do and there will be no good result.

What I don’t understand is why. To make your little circle happy you destroy Tibetan Buddhism for everyone else? Many of us prefer to practice purely, without having our lineage, our Method dragged through the muck of someone’s Samsara and poor view. Why dismiss the rights of other practitioners who really want to practice as taught? What makes someone superior and self cherishing enough to do that?

We wish to practice well and deeply. We want to purify our poisons, gather merit etc. No one who prints lies has the right to put us down. It is like the Enquirer paper – built on lies and half truths. So we wake up and see that our Lineage and faith has been crucified again.

Too bad they will not talk to people who currently cherish Palyul and practice it’s teaching. To destroy that is cruel and hateful.

We love Palyul! Always have and always will. It would take character, compassion and ethics to stop the lies. Be an honest broker. Try.

Astrology

11/28/2010     Sunday

Early in the day you are motivated to work hard, do it!  You can complete the last bit of work on a project and wrap it up.  Finish up any type of work associated with governmental bodies, organizations, licenses, and credentials.  Worldly activity is highlighted early in the day.  Later, be careful not to “fix” spiritual matters.  Your work or critical mode carries over, and you could find yourself debating spiritual matters.  You can criticize yourself and others.  Today is the classic “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s” day.  This means discriminate in your work, and be open and accepting in your spiritual situation. Know the difference. Trouble can be avoided by this awareness..

The daily astrology post affects everyone. Because individual charts vary, the circumstances outlined in the post will affect people differently. Some will feel this energy in the personal arena, some in finances, some with children or family, some in work and so forth. There are many departments of life. Look to see where the dynamic affects you!

Astrology

11/27/2010     Saturday

Today is an excellent day for action and thought.  Your instincts are accurate, and your thinking is canny.  Activity initiated today can have a positive and far-reaching outcome.  The big picture of life is clear to you, and you can correctly predict the long-term results of what you are doing.  It isn’t often that outcomes can be so clearly seen.    Luckily, you aren’t plagued by doubt.  Act, and let the chips fall where they may.  George Washington Carver said, “Ninety-nine percent of all failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.”   Today is the exact opposite of that statement.

The daily astrology post affects everyone. Because individual charts vary, the circumstances outlined in the post will affect people differently. Some will feel this energy in the personal arena, some in finances, some with children or family, some in work and so forth. There are many departments of life. Look to see where the dynamic affects you!

Excerpts from “The Spirit of Peace” by the His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Some excerpts from The Spirit of Peace by the Dalai Lama:

To be cruel is tantamount to stopping in the middle of the path. It is like renouncing the attempt to go deeply inside ourselves. It is being attached to the surface reality and becoming irritated or exasperated by it. And yet harmony does exist. We have all experienced it at times. It resides in the depths of our being. It is our primordial nature.

On slander: It is more useful to be aware of a single weakness in oneself than to be aware of a thousand weaknesses in someone else. Rather than speaking badly of other people, or talking in a way that promotes conflict or problems in their lives, we should adopt a purer attitude toward them.

If your mind is dominated by anger, you will lose the greatest part of your human intelligence: wisdom, that is, the ability to discern between good and evil. Anger is one of the greatest problems that we have to face in the world today.

In the course of our daily human relations, if we speak straightforwardly and in a reasoned way, anger is not necessary. Any points of difference can be discussed. Whenever we cannot justify ourselves through reason, that is when anger arises. It is when reason ends that anger begins. In my experience, even if anger gives us the strength to react or to respond in the event of conflict, the energy it gives is blind and difficult to control. The only advantage that anger has is the energy it brings us, but we could find this energy just as well from other sources without having to harm ourselves or others. Anger is a sign of weakness.

Four Seals of Buddhism: All composite phenomena are impermanent; all conditioned phenomena are by nature unsatisfactory. All phenomena are empty of self-existence; and Nirvana is true peace!

The Dalai Lama

WOW! The extraordinary wisdom of His Holiness the Dalai Lama – who can argue with that? Thank You! Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

Astrology

11/26/2010     Friday

Confidence!   You have it.  Men and women get along extremely well.  Dress up; look good!  How you do today depends on how you present yourself, so pay close attention to externals.  Your appearance is your gift to the world.  Make it a good one!  George Washington Carver said, “When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world.”  Be aware that the spotlight is on you.  Don’t shirk it or try to run away.  Important people are open to you, so ask your question, press your cause.  Be like the sun and shine today!

The daily astrology post affects everyone. Because individual charts vary, the circumstances outlined in the post will affect people differently. Some will feel this energy in the personal arena, some in finances, some with children or family, some in work and so forth. There are many departments of life. Look to see where the dynamic affects you!

Thanksgiving Message

From a series of tweets by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo (@jalpalyul) on November 25, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all! Whatever your life is like, let’s take this time together in gratitude for all the blessings we have.  Even if this year has been difficult, still let’s leave trouble at the front door and celebrate the good with family and friends!

Thanksgiving really isn’t about food. It is about learning to live together in community and kindness, to respect one another, and share bounty.  I pray we all feel connected in unity and love, and come to realize we are one essence, non-dual, always.

© Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

Astrology

11/25/2010     Thursday

Happy Thanksgiving!  What a nice day!   Happiness is present, and everyone is willing to be agreeable.  Still, you are talking too much, but the overall mood is friendly and fun.  Something lucky or favorable just happened.  It’s good to remember the past and to count your blessings.  Reminiscence and gratitude is in order. Spend time with dear ones; spend time reviewing the past. You feel sentimental.  A visit to a cemetary or remembrance of those who are departed is in order. Confucius said, “Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses.”  Make a decision to repay all the kindnesses you have received and to forget all the injuries you have suffered, and this day ends happily.

The daily astrology post affects everyone. Because individual charts vary, the circumstances outlined in the post will affect people differently. Some will feel this energy in the personal arena, some in finances, some with children or family, some in work and so forth. There are many departments of life. Look to see where the dynamic affects you!

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