Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo | Tibetan Buddhist Altar

Daughter of the King of Zahor: From “The Lives and Liberation of Princess Mandarava”

June 26, 2014 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is respectfully quoted from “The Lives and Liberation of Princess Mandarava” translated by Lama Chonam and Sangye Khandro:

Glorious yogini mother of the buddhas, from within the oceans of exalted pure realms, the play of your emanations appears in one hundred million embodied forms. Limitless beyond measure is the marvel of the indication of your presence throughout many aeons.

According to the capability of sentient beings, you display the dance of the miraculous activity of mundane appearances. With stainless natural wisdom, you reveal the profoundly extensive essence of the path of maturity and liberation. You are well known as the mother of all the conquerors, who maintains virtue in the four states of existence. All the heirs of the buddhas without exception have bowed to your lotus feet and attained true realization. As the very basis for the appearance of all wisdom dakinis, like space itself, you are the queen consort of the space of truth. All the dakinis who have appeared in this world throughout the three times are only the clouds of your own radiance. Akshobhyavira, your vajra major and minor marks reveal the expanse of the nature of emptiness. Like a great downpour of rain, you appear — for the benefit of beings — from the supreme realm of the nirmanakaya as the natural manifestation of the five families and the inconceivable magical net of perfectly arranged manifestations. As a dakini your enlightened powers are manifest in an infinitude of miraculous activity. Known as Mandarava, your fame encompasses the three realms of existence. Unwavering from the essential nature, may you remain in the center of the lotus in my heart, indivisible and firm, until the heart of enlightenment is realized. Respectfully, I bow to you to encounter my own true nature.

Prayer for KOPCC

June 11, 2014June 11, 2014 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

It is with joy that we share this news.

At the request of one of her students, Jetsunma Ahkon Norbu Lhamo composed the following prayer on June 7, 2014:

From the land of Tibet came forth many lineages to the United States of America.

Among them is the Great Palyul Lineage.

From that Lineage came Kunzang Odsal Palyul Changchub Choling.

May noble Palyul and Kunzang Odsal Palyul Changchub Choling thrive until the end of time, and continue to flourish, prosper and benefit all sentient beings.

May 24 hour prayer continue and bring boundless merit and blessings.

May all beings benefit.

From “How to Follow a Spiritual Master” – From the Vinaya

May 8, 2014 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is from “How to Follow a Spiritual Master” – According to the Vinaya:

We should first request and receive the pure precepts or vows from him and further make abundant offerings, honouring him at all times with out body, speech and mind. The three hundred verses of the precepts of novice give us step-by-step guidance on correct behaviour.

In the morning, we should arise before our Master, wash and make prostrations to the Buddhas, our Master and recite prayers until daybreak. Then we should visit our Khenpo and knock quietly, prostrating whilst entering, enquiring about his well-being. We should further enquire what kind of activities we should have in the morning.

We should keep his residence clean, prepare all toiletries for his bath, as well as laying out all he needs, washing his begging bowl and so on. We should serve him so as to avoid letting him become tired. We should prepare the mandala offering and receive his teachings. In all activities of our three doors, we should have respect according to Vinaya monastic rules. In spare time, we should endeavor to practice meditation and study earnestly. In the evenings, prostrations to the stupa, teachers and supreme objects of virtues, should be performed. The Master’s feet should be cleansed with clean water. We should enquire what we should do during the night and follow his instructions without falling asleep at that time.

Usually when we are close to our Teacher, we should get up immediately when he stands, when he is sitting we should enquire what he needs, providing according to his wishes. When we go as his attendant, we should not precede him as we are showing our back to him. If we walk behind him we should not step on his footprint. We should not step over the shadow on his right but walk to his left slightly behind.

However, if there is some danger about, we can precede him. We should not step over his seat nor use his means of transport (horse, vehicle etc.).

We should always take care to keep our vows pure following our Master with respect from three doors avoiding disrespect such as not rising when the Master does so. When the Master is seated, we should seek a lower seat, not standing, behaving calmly and humbly. During alms round we should not go ahead nor stand on the right of the Master but follow him behind on his left. Among the few possessions we are allowed to keep through Lord Buddha’s instruction we should offer the best to our Master without stinginess.

Whatever we do for our Master, we should do so out of pure respect not arising out of pretension, disinterest nor grudgingly. Such impure motivations are not in accordance with the teachings and they are not genuine. The sole purpose of the above is to make our Master happy.

By making our Master happy though we are not benefiting him nor rendering a service to him. However we have many opportunities to accumulate merit, cleanse our bad habits and tame the wildness of our mind. Henceforth this behavior is very beneficial for us and lays the foundation for he growing of trust and respect.

As time progresses, these two qualities in turn will naturally develop into faith and devotion and form the support required from our side for the pouring of blessings. In this context, our self-centered society has lost any means to even understand the concept or even the need for respect, rendering service to others even less honouring. Instead, we are constantly focusing our our personal needs, emotions, and well-being. No wonder that, since everyone is pursuing the same type of ideals, we experience ever-increasing conflicts, first in the wildness of our untamed mind, in the relationship between close and distant families, social classes, work colleagues and even nations. When the only means of focus is self-interest and increase in personal gains, whatever kind they may be, conflict is never far away. Thus, the first step in training of the mind is that of basic re-learning process of respect through the recognition of our Master’s qualities, qualities we do not possess ourselves as yet but we feel are worthy of emulating.

In essence, the teacher we meet is the result of the quality of our view and the consequence of our past karma. There was once an illiterate man with great faith in the dharma and his Master who was sitting at the back of the monks during prayers. As he could not read or even fully understand all which was recited, he used to pray very simply, may I too accomplish whatever they are saying. And so, through the power of his devotion his short prayer bore fruit.

and further:

The best way to serve him is to dedicate our life to practice and uphold the teachings.
The next best way is to serve him in body and speech that will cleanse our obscuration.
Lastly we should make offerings to him that allows us to perform the two accumulations.

Caretaking the Gift

April 21, 2014 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is an excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo called “Commitment to the Path”

It is so important and so precious that we have this human existence. We should consider ourselves caretakers of that—that prize, that gift, that blessing—that it should not be taken lightly.

Sometimes we think, “Oh, you know, I would really like to live a life that is warm and fuzzy. I don’t want to live a life where I have to know about all these bad things and apply antidotes all the time. Oh gosh, that’s just so… I’d rather be warm and fuzzy like a puppy.” Well, all right, but I have puppies and I can tell you that I love my puppies so much I can’t explain it. They are so adorable. I love them so much. They are so good for me. I am so good for them. I love my puppies. They are like my kids. However, my puppies cannot hear the Dharma. They cannot look at me and say, “This is my teacher.” The devotion they feel is clearly based on food and scratching behind the ears and I hope it’s not the same for my students. They cannot attain view. They cannot recognize anything but the most minimal cause and effect relationships. They know not to sit in an uncomfortable place if they’ve sat there before or they recognize something hot if they’ve seen it before, like that—the simplest associations—but they have no capacity for practice.

And yet, I have my students that say to me, “Oh, they are so lucky. They get to live with you all the time and go with you wherever you are and they sit on your lap.” No they’re not. You don’t want to travel with me all the time, be with me all the time and sit on my lap. What is that going to do? How is that going to get you through life? And what are you going to do in the bardo?

So we have to understand that Buddhism is about really examining what is in front of us, seeing what is on our plate. And although we may not be so glib and so cool and savvy with the positive remarks and the upbeat thinking, we will be savvy and smart and intelligent and able to change things that would seem to be impossible to change once we understand what the Buddha has taught.

Astrology

April 17, 2014 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

Circumstances have a tendency to whip up emotions, to inflame the crowd today. Don’t fall for it. If you are faced with an upsetting situation do your best to relax, to move into a happy state. This changes your life. Two paths are open. One is inflamatory and exciting. Avoid this, it’s perilous. The other is relaxed, peaceful and natural. Take this route and a million dangers are avoided. Of course, the exciting one is hard to resist. Lyman Beecher said “Never chase a lie. Let it alone and it will run itself to death.” Food and family continue to be wonderful. Home is where it’s at.

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!

Drakmar Tulku Visiting the Phurba Terma

April 15, 2014 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is a YouTube video recorded Friday April 11th, 2014 on the occasion of Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo showing Drakmar Tulku the naturally occurring Phurba she found in Dakini Valley, Arizona:

Drakmar Tulku on Termas

April 14, 2014 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

On April 11th, 2014 Drakmar Tulku visited Jetsunma Ahon Lhamo in Dakini Valley, a retreat land in Arizona. While there Jetsunma showed him a naturally occurring Phurba she had found in a rock formation. This is the teaching Grudrag Khentrul Rinpoche offered to the students that were gathered there.

Posted with Blogsy

Commitment to the Dharma Path

April 6, 2014 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

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

In an upbeat manner, Jetsunma describes the faults of cyclic existence and how to make the most of the path that Dharma offers to end that suffering.

Vairocana

December 24, 2014March 25, 2014 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is an excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo offered during a Phowa retreat:

On the first day, it is Vairochana Buddha that will appear. He either manifests in the form of a Buddha, according to our beliefs, should we have the capacity to recognize, or he will manifest in the form of dazzling blue lights and geometric shapes. These dazzling blue lights are just that—they are dazzling. They are unlike anything we have ever seen on the physical level. They will knock you for a loop. Literally knock you for a loop. It will be unlike anything you have ever seen. The ultimate light show, friends. And it will be different than you have ever seen it. So one needs to practice in order to be able to recognize the nature that is Vairochana Buddha.

At the same time that this almost violent, dazzling, ultra-dazzling blue light will appear, another softer white light will appear. The softer and white light will be more welcoming, but this softer white light corresponds to the world of the gods. Do not follow. Go to that light which is dazzling, perhaps more unfamiliar, perhaps more frightening. Call out to the Buddha. Try not to take the easiest way out, but ask yourself, require yourself to recognize the Buddha. If the person seeing this has no idea of what is happening, the sheer brightness of the light of the Buddha is somehow terrifying. If they haven’t practiced, you see, they are unused to it, so it is terrifying; and one will be more inclined to follow the light of the worlds of the gods, as it is soft and pleasing. So beware of that.

Here are the two correct attitudes, according to this lama, that are very helpful to adopt in order to face the situation. The first one consists of becoming conscious that the blinding blue light manifests the presence of Vairochana Buddha. So we pray every day from now until the time of our death, and especially around the time of our death, that he will dispel the suffering and phenomena of the bardo. And particularly when we see him, when we see this very bright blue light or when we recognize that the Buddha is present, we pray to him and ask him to dispel the delusion and make the way clear for us. The second method requires more profound knowledge than the first one. The first one, you only have to have heard; literally, you now have enough to do that. You have heard, and through the force of your caring about this hearing and wanting to internalize it, it is that force that will make you remember that you have heard that Vairochana will appear at this time. Now you know that. You are expecting to be in the bardo; you are expecting to see light that you are uncomfortable with. You are expecting to see things you do not recognize or feel familiar with, and you will know not to be afraid. That’s the first way, you see.

The second way requires more knowledge than the first way, and it involves recognizing that the light which appears that is Vairochana has no external existence separate from oneself. That it is the manifestation of one of the five Buddhas present within our own mind. And he says here that, “Their manifested aspects are externally expressed, but in truth their light has no intrinsic external existence.” This blue is actually the luminosity of our own minds; yet we cannot recognize it because we have not become familiar with our own minds. And so the second method, in order to get through this particular aspect of the bardo, is to recognize that this has no inherent existence outside of ourselves. That this is, in fact, a display of our own inherent Buddha nature, and in that way, to become familiar with it and non-dual. Remaining fully aware that the light and the mind are one will free us from the suffering of the bardo. On the other hand, if we are enticed by the white light of the god realm, we will be seduced to be reborn as a long life god—the god that lives a long time and smells good and looks good, feels good, but then eventually, pffft., A bad end to that vacation. So we do not wish to be reborn in the god realm. Do not go for instant gratification in this case. Trust me on this one.

The Causes of This Present State

March 9, 2014 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

There are some cause and effect relationships that we become acquainted with. Especially if, as I’m sure all of you are, you are engaged in watchfulness in your life. And really wanting to progress spiritually in some way, your capacity for learning is that much greater. We may learn that if we’re really kind and loving to others, we get better result. We may learn that if we’re generous, people are generous to us. We may learn that if we’re really hateful and arrogant, we never really get anything good out of that. We may learn some lessons like that. And if that’s the case, those are all precious and valuable lessons to learn.

However, there are lots of things that we don’t learn. The reason why is that, for one thing, we really don’t fully understand how it is that we came into this life under the conditions that we have. We don’t understand how it was that we were born to the families that we were born to, or how it was that we arrived in the condition that we arrived in. How it is that we arrived at our genetic structure? How it is that we arrived with certain mental, physical and emotional propensities? Certain habitual tendencies? Why is it that they have arisen so strongly within us? And it seems as though other people, even in the same family, do not have the same habitual tendencies. We don’t have a full and complete understanding. And the reason why is because we cannot really understand the conditions that have occurred previous to this lifetime. We don’t have an understanding of that. We cannot actually view the cause and effect relationships that brought us to this present state.

Another thing is that we don’t often understand the outcome of causes that we ourselves have begun during the course of this lifetime. For instance, we may be able to see very simple kinds of cause and effect realities. Like if you walk up and punch somebody in the nose who’s approximately the same size as you, there’s a real good chance he or she is going to punch back. And you might learn some cause and effect reality by trying that. But, on the other hand, you might not learn that if you sit there and instead of punching the person who is not your favorite person, you sit there and think hateful thoughts, thoughts of wishing to do harm, thoughts of condemnation and judgment. You may think that having those thoughts, just because you haven’t said them, just because you haven’t acted on them, just because you haven’t punched, is somehow ok. That having those thoughts is secret, that no one knows about them. And that it’s really all right to think like that because you won’t see it play itself out. And even if it does play itself out during the course of that lifetime, perhaps the person that you have these thoughts toward is at some time in the future, maybe even just a couple of weeks from that time, strongly hateful toward you. You may not understand the connection. You may not see what has happened. Certainly you will not see if that cause and effect relationship ripens in some future life because you won’t remember that you just got what you deserved. You won’t remember that you had the same thoughts about that person.