The following is a full length video teaching on The Four Thoughts that Turn the Mind given at Kunzang Palyul Choling by Khenpo Tenzin Norgay:
Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo
21 Homages to Tara: Verse 13 Commentary Khenpo Tenzin Norgay
Thupten Shedrub Gyatso, who was a Tulku in one of the Palyul Monasteries, wrote this commentary. His present incarnation, Rago Chogtrul currently lives in Tibet.
Translation by Khenpo Tenzin Norgey ~ Spring, 2004,
Palyul Retreat Center, Mc Donough, NY USA ~Wood Monkey Year 2131
Homage to you, who dwells amidst garlands
Blazing like the fire at the end of an eon.
With your right leg outstretched and left leg drawn in
Your joyful turning destroys enemy forces.
The thirteenth homage is to Drapung Jomma,Tib the “Tara Who Averts War”. She averts wars and obstacles, and leads beings to victory in the war with form and formless enemies. She is red in color and dwells amidst garlands of wisdom fire swirling like the fire at the end of an eon. Her right leg is stretched out and left leg is drawn in. Sparks of fire fly from the prongs of the vajra she brandishes, subduing all harmful enemies. She comforts them by gathering them under the vajra-tent that protects them from their own evil. With every skillful means[i], she turns the wheel of dharma, according to the disposition of the beings to be tamed. She makes them content and joyous, and subdues the malefic forces of the two obscurations. The inner meaning is that this indicates the realization that “exhausts all phenomena”. Just as the fire at the end of the eon consumes the world, when the primordial wisdom swirls in dharmadhatu, the outer earth and stones, the inner animate body, and the secret conceptions are also exhausted. So the foes of the two obscurations[ii] are subjugated, and the joy of the great tranquility of the core of inner clarity of primordial wisdom[iii]that does not dwell in the extremes of samsara and nirvana is experienced.
[i] skillful means ~ The Mahayana practice of adapting the doctrine to the capacities of one’s audience.
[ii] two obscurations ~ There are two types of obscurations: those preventing liberation from the cycle of samsaric suffering, called afflictive obscurations, and those preventing omniscience, called the obscurations to the objects of knowledge.
[iii] primordial wisdom ~The wisdom that has realized the primordial nature of all phenomena.
We The People
The following is a series of tweets from Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo offered in support of the #Occupy movements:
For those who bring compassion to the people OM MANI PEDME HUNG! May you abide in the comfort of love.
For those who may die or are being hurt from the struggle. OM AMI DEWA HRI. You will be crowned as a protector of “we the people.”
For those who break through ignorance with the sword of wisdom. OM AH RA PA TSA NA DHI – You are the bringers of the way for “we the people.”
For all who hunger for the clear light of Primordial Nature and safety – Long Life for all OM TARE TUTARE TURE PUNYE PUSHTIM AH YOU PUSHTIM KURU YE SOHA. You may save us all!
For you who treasure truth and pray for the liberation of “we the people” – OM AH HUNG VAJRA GURU PEMA NORBU SIDDHI HUNG- I treasure you, the beautiful.
For those who wish to serve the people and feed the poor – OM TARE TUTTARE TURE SOHA – May you have, and share, every gift in every form. I love you.
May “we the people” gather, talk, march, pray, be together as one to birth a new world of virtue and compassion for all.
I believe. I believe in you.
Thank you all for your good efforts.
Peace. Occupy Earth!
Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Norbu Lhamo. All rights reserved
Love is the Medicine: Quotes from Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo
The following is from a series of tweets by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo:
No true Dharma Master behaves with rage, hate, ranting, self- importance. These are signs of mental instability, a character flaw. Never follow such a one as that.
One should rest with a peaceful and loving mind. Even wrathful emanating Buddhas manifest solely out of the wish to liberate beings.
Respect kindly all religions that teach loving kindness, and have no respect for envy and jealousy. Never follow hate.
No being incapable of controlling their own mind or developing ethics and a loving character can ever be a Master. First we must have accomplishment.
If we develop a good heart we will progress to true compassion, and awaken Bodhicitta. This is the way of the Buddha’s method.
The way of loving kindness is what is to be accepted. Love! The benefit is clear. Rage, hate are the way of chaos and darkness – to be rejected.
In short: if one has nothing of value to say, only that which is impure defilement, avoid them. They are masters of the dark. Of no use.
Always walk in peace and beauty; in grace and love, speak only truth and you will be blessed. Where we are, let there be light.
Hate is the last refuge of the ignorant. Love is the medicine. Compassion is the gift of the awakened ones.
Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Norbu Lhamo. All rights reserved
21 Homages to Tara: Verse 12 Commentary Khenpo Tenzin Norgay
Thupten Shedrub Gyatso, who was a Tulku in one of the Palyul Monasteries, wrote this commentary. His present incarnation, Rago Chogtrul currently lives in Tibet. Translation by Khenpo Tenzin Norgey ~ Spring, 2004, Palyul Retreat Center, Mc Donough, NY USA ~Wood Monkey Year 2131
Homage to you, whose diadem is a crescent moon,
All your adornments dazzle brightly.
Excellent perpetual light shines
From Amitabha at your topknot.
The twelfth homage is to Tara, Tashi Dongyed Dolma,Tib the “One Who Bestows Auspiciousness” who brings timely rain, helps with childbirth, and makes places auspicious. This golden Tara sits on blue lotus and holds an auspicious knot. From the rays of her crescent moon diadem, showers of nectar fall, improving crops and vegetation. Clear and brilliant white light radiates from all of her precious jewels and silken attire. Amitabha, the lord of her Buddha family sits on her black hair knot. From him too, boundless unceasing compassionate rays shine for the benefit of sentient beings. These rays bring a shower of auspicious signs and articles. They cleanse the poisonous bad omens of animate and inanimate existence, causing all beings and their environments to enjoy perfect, glorious, auspiciousness. The ultimate meaning of the first line is ‘direct perception,’ the second line means the ‘enhancing experience’ and the last two of the lines mean ‘the completion stage of the expansion of primordial wisdom and kayas of the fourth empowerment[i],’(Word).
[i] empowerment ~ A ritual transfer of power, an initiation. The authorization to hear, study and practice the teachings of the Vajrayana. This takes place in a ceremony that may be extremely elaborate or utterly simple, conducted by a Vajra master.
The Gift
The following is from a series of tweets by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo:
A peaceful mind is a precious jewel, more precious than any gem in the world. It is because jewels cannot make you happier for long, and they can be lost, stolen, or broken. That is not the case with a peaceful mind.
If one trains the mind in calm abiding, subdues greed, trains in Bodhicitta, gains view of the condition of samsara, and discovers its impermanence, then understanding will come. There is no gift, no wealth, no treasure like a peaceful, loving mind. Nothing worldly is worth striving for except the opportunity to serve others. If we do that, our dominating ego quiets, the endless craving, the endless hatred, the boundless confusion of pride, and neediness for attention, all gradually and gently disappear like an early morning mist. It does take effort, yet the mist will vanish and reveal the glory and beauty of our true face, the natural, unborn, yet completely fulfilled Primordial Ground of our nature – the Buddha nature. It is so present, so fresh, so now, yet seems totally out of reach. That is why we must study method. No good result can possibly come from poor conduct, and wild acting out with an unstable mind cannot bring satisfaction, love, peace, joy or character.
Here the nation is falling apart, losing freedom due to fear and negative intention. Our planet is being raped and poisoned by those who think, pridefully, that it is their right to do so. We are being crushed under the weight of our own twisted confusion. What we still don’t understand is that the main battle is within. If we wake up in time, as is the case with Occupy Wall Street, we must also understand that what we are doing in our head is also important. If altruism is not the basis, hate will rule. If kindness is not there, the result will be more of the same. If greed wins, we will have nothing.
So train well in spirit and heart-mind long before the time comes when we will see this new, brave world convulse itself into birth. This way we will actually contribute to a better world, rather than build a shiny new floor over the same old hate and societal insanity. We cannot afford this. Mama Earth cannot afford this. The bliss and joy of true accomplishment and awakened view is so immediate and beautiful in a new, pristine way. We have Buddha in the palm of our hand! The gift.
Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Norbu Lhamo. All rights reserved
21 Homages to Tara: Verse 11 Commentary Khenpo Tenzin Norgay
Thupten Shedrub Gyatso, who was a Tulku in one of the Palyul Monasteries, wrote this commentary. His present incarnation, Rago Chogtrul currently lives in Tibet.
Translation by Khenpo Tenzin Norgey ~ Spring, 2004,
Palyul Retreat Center, Mc Donough, NY USA ~Wood Monkey Year 2131
Homage to you,
Who can summon hosts of the protectors of earth.
By your frowning movements and HUNG syllable,
You bring freedom from all poverties.
The eleventh homage is to Thronyer Chenma,Tib the “Frowning Lady” who bestows wealth and dispels poverty. She summons the goddess of earth, the nagas, the god of wealth, yakshas and other lords of ten directions and their retinues to serve her activities. She is holds a treasure vase, and is orange in color. She is majestic, with a scowling face and a furrowed brow. Light radiates from the HUNG syllable at her heart, drawing in the wealth and prosperity of gods, nagas and humans. She showers the poor and needy with wealth, satisfying all their needs and freeing them from their sufferings. The inner meaning is that by purifying the earth-like ignorance that supports the world, the primordially perfect great merit is revealed, clearing samsara and nirvana of all poverty. This also indicates the Secret and Wisdom path.
21 Homages to Tara: Verse 10 Commentary Khenpo Tenzin Norgay
Thupten Shedrub Gyatso, who was a Tulku in one of the Palyul Monasteries, wrote this commentary. His present incarnation, Rago Chogtrul currently lives in Tibet.
Translation by Khenpo Tenzin Norgey ~ Spring, 2004,
Palyul Retreat Center, Mc Donough, NY USA ~Wood Monkey Year 2131
Homage to you, lady who unfurls
Garlands of joyous majestic light from your crown.
By your piercing laughter of TUTTARE,
You subjugate the world and maras.
The tenth homage is to Jigten Sumgyal,Tib “Victorious Over Three Worlds”, who subjugates worldly beings. She is red and holds a victory banner. Multi-colored lights radiate from her crown, giving perfect joy and fulfilling the temporal and ultimate wishes according to the desires of beings. By saying the TUTTARE mantra melodiously with the eight attributes of laughter, (of the wrathful deity) she confuses and subjugates the demonic lords of the (sensory god realm), who are known as the “Controllers of Other’s Emanation”. She also subjugates kings, ministers, sorcerers, and wealthy householders and leads them to the path of liberation. In the root text, “the outer phenomena change only when self-appearances transform.” Therefore, subjugation is possible if the intention of the spiritual mother (non-dual emptiness-compassion) is attained, and there is no alternate method. The inner meaning is the four joys subjugate demons and afflictions. The subjugation of the three doors by blissful primordial wisdom is subjugation of the three worlds.
21 Homages to Tara: Verse 9 Commentary Khenpo Tenzin Norgay
Thupten Shedrub Gyatso, who was a Tulku in one of the Palyul Monasteries, wrote this commentary. His present incarnation, Rago Chogtrul currently lives in Tibet.
Translation by Khenpo Tenzin Norgey ~ Spring, 2004,
Palyul Retreat Center, Mc Donough, NY USA ~Wood Monkey Year 2131
Homage to you, who holds your fingers marvelously
In the mudra symbolizing the Triple Gem at your heart.
Swirling masses of light adorn you,
Permeating every direction in beautiful circles.
The ninth praise is homage to Sengdeng Nagi Drolma,Tib the “Tara of the Rosewood Forest” who protects from all kinds of fears. Her color is dark green, with the dazzling radiance of emeralds. Her right hand is in the boon-giving mudra, and the thumb and ring finger of her left hand holds a blue lotus engraved with a wheel. Her remaining fingers are held gracefully upright at her heart in the mudra symbolizing the Triple Gem [i]. The swirling wheel of light, (a metaphor for protection) adorns her like the finest of garments, and it protects like a shield against all torments. Likewise, all beings of the world in ten directions are protected from all kinds of fears by the all-pervasive light that beams from her body, clearing their fears in a display of extraordinary radiance.
The eight kinds of fears are:
1. The fear of elephants represents the power of ignorance. When ignorance grows strong, one ignores the law of cause and effect, indulges in alcohol, (here the use of alcohol is a symbolic of wrong view) and becomes crazy.
2. The fear of iron chains symbolizes habituation to lust and desire that bind together the senses and their objects.
3. The fear of pishaca demons signifies the doubt that steals the life force of nirvana, as it moves in the sky of ignorance, and the doubt that harms the understanding of ultimate meanings.
4. The fear of rivers (floods) is a symbol of desire, acting savagely. By the possession of spirits, the current of desire carries beings towards samsara in its tumultuous waves of birth, sick, aging and death caused by karmic wind.
5. The fear of fire represents the power of anger that burns the forest of virtue. Anger is the cause of anxiety, which in turn causes quarrels, disputes, and partialities.
6. The fear of robbery corresponds to the wrong views that steal the treasure of the supreme goal. This causes one to wander aimlessly in the barren ground of wrong view, (and to) believe in extremes and low ascetic practices.
7. The fear of reptiles represents jealousy, the poison of intolerance of another person’s prosperity. Jealousy results in everything becoming a cause for agitation.
8. The fear of lions. Signifies pride, the conceit of holding high ones own views and conduct. Pride causes one to (metaphorically) develop claws as sharp as a lion’s to belittle others.
These and their casual factors are the eight fears.
Another set of eight fears, which are the fruition of secondary afflictions are:
1. The fear of punishment by kings caused by self-infatuation and harming others.
2. The fear of foes is caused by hypocrisy, gloom, sloth and excitement.
3. The fear of evil spirits is caused by dishonesty and deceit.
4. The fear of leprosy is caused by lack of shame and dread of blame.
5. The fear of being lonely is caused by disbelief.
6. The fear of poverty is caused by stinginess.
7. The fear of thunder is caused by anger and enmity.
8. The fear of failure is caused by indolence and carelessness.
Homage is paid to the lady who protects us from these two sets of fears. The inner meaning is that her wheel of the three primordial wisdom-minds, (the wisdom-minds of emptiness, clarity and compassion, illustrated by the mudra symbolizing the Triple Gem) eliminates the nine bonds and other afflictions, which is a cause for accomplishing the fearless vajra of self-cognized luminosity.
[i] Triple Gem ~ Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Buddha as the teacher of refuge, the doctrine as actual refuge, and the spiritual community as support for practice.
21 Homages to Tara: Verse 8 Commentary Khenpo Tenzin Norgay
Thupten Shedrub Gyatso, who was a Tulku in one of the Palyul Monasteries, wrote this commentary. His present incarnation, Rago Chogtrul currently lives in Tibet.
Translation by Khenpo Tenzin Norgey ~ Spring, 2004,
Palyul Retreat Center, Mc Donough, NY USA ~Wood Monkey Year 2131
Homage to TURE, the great terrifying lady,
Who defeats the champions of demons.
Your frowning lotus face
Slays all foes without exception.
The eighth homage is to the dark red frowning lady, Zhen Megyalvai Palmo,Tib the “Invincible Fearless Lady”. We praise the lady who averts criticism and other harms, which are the source of humiliation caused by our afflictive emotion of pride. Her hand implement is a vajra[i]. By reciting the mantra TURE, which means “Swift Lady”, another of her names declaiming her swift compassionate action, she arises in wrathful form from the tranquil dharmadhatu, and subjugates the demons difficult to tame: the afflictions, the aggregates, the lord of death, and the maras[ii].
She transforms her blossoming lotus-like peaceful face into a wrathful, scowling face, and destroys the evil mind of outer enemies. She eliminates those who hate and abuse the dharma and its upholders, those who cause obstacles for practitioners, and those who harm sentient beings. In reality, she executes all foes without a trace: the afflictive obscurations that are the foes of liberation, and the knowable obscurations that are the foes of omniscience. The definitive meaning is that the base of the wrathful male and female deities, (the serving faculties) are the pure abiding nature of the four attributes of body, and the four classes of illusory conceptions. They eliminate the foes of omniscience: the knowable obscurations, and the foes of liberation: the obscuration of afflictive emotions.