Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo | Tibetan Buddhist Altar

Hearty Exhortation toward the Practice

January 8, 2017 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

This is respectfully quoted from “Drops of Nectar: Collection of Spiritual Advice from Great Tibetan Masters” Rigdzod Editorial Committee Ngagyur Nyingma Institute, Namdroling 2004

Chapter V

Again, at this very time, seeing the essential nonexistence, I sang this song of diligence in solitary practice.

Ignorance is as vast as the sky and
The might of grasping and fixation is extremely dark,
As the affliction of unknowing is beginingless and endless,
Confused one, I now offer you this counsel!

Today, in this life, though you are pursuing the path of liberation,
You are not diligent in your practice, and are still distracted by entertainment and diversions.
What is the use of the activities of this life, mere illusory appearances?
Today, I urge you to the practice of the essential meaning!

The joy and happiness of this life are just like phenomena in dreams.
None will be of any benefit and must definitely be abandoned when you depart.
Leaving behind your food and wealth, what will you do?
Today, I urge you to the practice of the profound truth of Dharma!

Although meetings end in partings, like visitors to a market place,
One by one, various kinds of friends and companions tie us up.
What is the use of having many people around you?
Today, I urge you to practice truth constantly.

Wondrous renown and praise is like a dream.
This delusion beguiles ordinary people and their conceptualizing grows.
What’s the use of the esteem and respect of others?
Today, I urge you to practice the essential luminosity!

Any activity of this present life, whatever it may be,
Such deeds are all meaningless and the cause of suffering.
As activities are delusory, what use are they to you?
Today, I urge you to practice the truth of nothing to be done!

Leaving all that is close to you, at the time of departure, you will go alone.
Your various activities, whatever they were, will not help you in the slightest.
The phenomena of this life, what use will it be to you?
I urge you to practice what will benefit during the great going forth.

Whoever is near, whatever you possess, as much as there is,
Nothing except your virtue and negativity will follow after you
So what’s the use of your friends and relatives, your possessions and wealth?
All that is born will die, so I urge you to practice the sublime view of dharma.

In the outer world there are many objects of bliss and happiness
But however, great the experiences of mental and physical joy and pleasure,
At the time of death what use will they be to you?
I urge you to gain confidence in what will help when body and consciousness separate!

Note fearful when sick, nor regretful when dying,
The profound essential meaning of Dharma frees one from remorse at the moment of death.
In the space of the nature of reality of one familiar with self-cognizant awareness,
I urge you to achieve the stability of the true natural state!

You are not free because of constantly being born again and again in samsara.
So, today, here in this life, by capturing the throne of reality itself
In the primordial space-like sphere of unchanging Dharmakaya,
I urge you to achieve the level of the Dharmakaya of self-cognizant awareness!

These are suggestions from my heart, so listen with respect!
Practice diligently in solitude and the attainments will arise!
Nurture the state of awareness and confidence will be born!
This is condensed oral instruction of the key point of the profound meaning!

As my mind was disheartened by distraction,
In order to encourage myself to practice tranquility in solitude,
These stages of instructions as advice for myself,
Are also offered to the ears of the fortunate ones who have come!

May their virtue fill my peaceful mind
With the vast wealth of qualities of profound treasure!
And may the four precious doors of the gathering place of oceans of Dakinis,
The hidden land, be open!

From the Vajra Song of Instruction for Rousing Myself, this completes the fifth chapter of urging wholehearted practice. The “Vajra Song of Instructions for Rousing Myself,” was sung by the great yogi of the Mahayana teachings, Longchen Rabjam, at the slope of Gangri Thodkar, known as Orgyen Dzang, the excellent abode of Buddha Samantabhadra, which is glorified by the crystal reflection of the moon. Shubam!

What Causes Happiness?

January 8, 2017 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is an excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo called “Faults of Cyclic Existence”

In order to understand what to do, we have to understand the definition of the cessation of suffering. The cessation of suffering doesn’t happen when everything external gets all right. Can you learn this? Can we all learn this, please? If we learn this, it will change your life! The solving of this problem occurs when we are able to cut off the causes of suffering at the root. And the causes of suffering have to do with desire and the experience of duality.

So now we have to find a solution that is not anywhere in samsara. How in the world are you going to fix this? Well, you’re not… in the world. Where in the world is your solution? Guess what? Nowhere. Then we have to find something else. And what is that something else? Well, now we are looking to understand that desire and this original ideation is the cause for all suffering. So the way to cut that would be to cut it off at the root. We have to move beyond the realm of cyclic existence in order to get any satisfaction, in order to get an answer, in order to understand, literally in order to prevent the causes from manifesting. In order to cut them off at the root, we have to move outside of the realm of samsara., So we look to see if everything we’ve known and experienced arises from the idea of self-nature being inherently real. What is outside of samsara? Well, it is the one thing that, as samsaric beings, we cannot perceive. It is our own Buddha nature, the primordial wisdom nature that is the innately wakeful , sheer luminosity called Buddha.

While we are revolving in the realm of duality, we cannot see this nature. Yet it is this very nature that is the cessation of the causes of suffering.. In order to cut off suffering at the root, one would have to cut off the connection to the potency of the desire realm. We, as samsaric beings, are desire beings. We are motivated solely by desire. and the Buddha teaches us that this is the very cause of suffering. So what we’re hearing here is that everything we know, everything we call “me”, every habitual tendency, everything that has come together to knit the tapestry of our lives, is of that cause for suffering.

What monumental effort should happen in order to reach beyond that? How to even define what is beyond that when, by definition, we are the samsaric beings whose first assumption is that of self-nature being inherently real? This is where the power and the majesty and the potency of the practice of refuge comes into play. Because when we look at the appearance of the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha in the world, and the inner and secret refuges as well, we can see that that which we call Buddha nature, that which we call Buddha, does not originate from the desire realm. It is that ground—uncontrived, innately wakeful luminosity—that is the underlying primordial wisdom state, suchness, from which all display, all emanation actually comes.

This that we are caught in and experiencing is simply some offshoot, some manifestation in a way, whereas the fundamental all-pervasive truth of our nature, is to us unseen. Yet it is that nature, that which we are naturally, which we must strive toward in order to be awakened, That is the clue; that is the key. In our natural state as Buddha, as that sheer luminosity, there is no distinction, no distortion, no conceptualization, no idea that self is separate from other, no understanding that it could even occur that way. No distinction. Only suchness, one taste, that nature which is conditionless. As we are now we cannot even imagine a conditionless state, a conditionless nature, and yet this is our nature.

So when we practice refuge, we do it in stages. The ultimate refuge is when we understand and awaken to our own face, our own true nature. But in the beginning we practice by conceptually isolating that which is without conception. We have to. On an ordinary level, let’s say the goal was physical fitness and strength. Well, that’s an abstract concept. How do you get that? You can’t buy that. You can’t hold that in your hand, but you can do the exercises, you see? Same thing. Buddhahood. We can’t buy it, we can’t hold it in our hand, but we can establish the method.

The method begins with the recognition of the Buddha which is the primordial, uncontrived nature that happens to have appeared in cyclic existence at this time, during this aeon, as a man. But the man is not the thing. Lord Buddha is the display of that nature. We use his image and his teachings as a way to understand because he speaks directly from that nature. But we understand that we are awakening, awakening, awakening. That’s the understanding of refuge. We are looking for that which is not composed of the causes of suffering. And here while we are suffering and revolving endlessly, and watching others revolve endlessly, here while this occurs, we are that, in truth, which is the cessation of suffering, Buddhahood.

Revealing the Hidden Faults by Lonchen Rabjam

January 6, 2017 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is respectfully quoted from “Drops of Nectar: Collection of Spiritual Advice from Great Tibetan Masters” Rigzod Editorial Committee Ngagyur Nyingma Institute, Namdroling

Instructions for Rousing Myself: Longhchen Rabjam

Namo Guru Bhaya! Feeling truly wearied by the worldly experiences of myself and others at Orgyen Dzong, I, “The Yogi of Various Kinds of Self-liberation”, Longchen Rabjam (1308-1363), roused myself with this song of advice.

Chapter 1 Revealing Hidden Faults

The great ship of the primordial wisdom of vast compassion Liberates all beings without exception from the ocean of cyclic existence.

I bow to the feet of the glorious teacher, the sacred guru Who has gone to the precious continent, peaceful and immaculate.

The ocean of samsara is extremely difficult to cross;
With its raging waves of birth, old age, sickness and death,
It is hard to escape from the boundless deep.
To you confused ones who are floundering here I offer these suggestions from my heart!

Without applying these suggestions to dig out hidden faults,
There will be no time to cast off all your unwholesome behavior.
Without looking back into your inner mind,
There will be no time to see your negative faults.
Therefore, today I offer these suggestions from my heart!
Keep this in mind. It is beneficial spiritual advice.

Even if you live in solitude, you can become more accustomed to depending on others;
If you are not free of the eight worldly concerns and the distractions of this life,
You can become someone who appears to benefits others while pervertedly benefiting himself.
Consider whether you can get by with such conduct!

By abiding in solitude, the Victorious Ones of the past attained enlightenment
And even former practitioners of the dharma achieved accomplishment,
But you are completely distracted.
Consider whether you can get by with such conduct!

Not recognizing all material wealth, fame, glory, and valuable possessions as magical illusions
And deceptive obstacles to accomplishment,
It’s like you are receiving something from one person and giving it to another.
Consider whether you can get by with such conduct!

Not recognizing as manifold demons of distraction and illusion
All kinds of business with many different people,
You think that babbling platitudes about the dharma will benefit others.
Consider whether you can get by with such conduct!

Being uncertain about exactly where you are heading,
You gather material wealth, build castles on dung heaps and so on.
Reckoning that you will live there forever, you take illusory appearances to be real.
Do you think such conduct will suffice?

Failing to tame and stabilize your own mind,
But hoping to tame and stabilize the minds of others,
You will experience incessant suffering and torment.
Do you think such conduct is good enough?

Never applying yourself to actual essence,
While day and night making great efforts in this life is a great mistake.
Such childish and imprudent ones are objects of the noble beings smiles and laughter.
Consider whether you can get by with such conduct!

When a group of many aimless ones have gathered,
Distracted teachers and students fetter one another.
This is like making an aimless search for a guesthouse.
Clinging to never-ending appearances of magical illusion
As happiness and bliss, you lose the enlightened path to liberation.
Do you think such conduct is good enough?

This year is the dwelling ground of the Female-Fire-Hog,
And twelve years from now will be the ground of the Male Iron-Dog, when
Foreign invasion is prophesized. Yet you make no effort to escape.
Do you think such conduct will suffice?

From all directions, war and strife will increase,
People will become intolerant and there will be many types of destruction.
But you are not trying to find the precious hidden land.
Consider whether you can get by with such conduct!

Even if you always perform good deeds without deceit,
Since there won’t be time to complete this, both inside and out,
The foundation of purposeless suffering will be uninterrupted.
Do you think such conduct is good enough?

You become completely careless and your occupations never end.
Consider whether you can get by with such conduct!

Although you mentally renounce this life, you cannot let it go;
Although you dismantle deluded ego clinging, it doesn’t fall apart.
Even remaining alone in the mountains, you’ll find no occasion for solitude.
Do you think you can get by with that kind of conduct!

Although with words you talk about needing nothing, you pursue food and clothing;
Although you speak of the impermanence of life, you’re still not mindful of death;
Even remaining in solitude to practice, you’re still distracted by entertainment.
Consider whether you can get by with such conduct!

Despite talking about the delusion of ordinary life, you chase the eight worldly concerns;
Despite talking about the pointlessness of illusory appearances, you still find a lot to do;
Although you say all things are equal, you maintain your partiality.
Do you think that kind of conduct will suffice?

Even if you sit down to accomplish the natural state, present worldly concerns deceive you;
Even practicing the Dharma of your own free will, external inluences mislead you;
Whatever you do, day and night you are beguiled by illusion,
Consider whether you can get by with such conduct!

Although you ponder everything, this is not the essence.
Whatever you do lacks meaning and is a cause for suffering.
Abandon everything in an empty place without people.
If you could go today itself, it would be best!

At the outset, the virtue is to abandon your present worldly activities.
In the middle, the virtue is to discard entertainment in solitary retreat.
In the end, the virtue is to achieve exhaustion in the natural state.
Ease in this present life and happiness in the future is the intention of this advice!

I composed this advice by myself and for myself.
To encourage others as well I offer this instruction.
It will be excellent if both others and I listen carefully!
Please pursue this excellent permanent aim from today!

From the Vajra Song of Instructions for Rousing Myself, this completes the first chapter of exposing one’s hidden faults.

Letting Go of Judgment

January 6, 2017 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is an excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo called “Bodhicitta”

We should begin to think of these teachings that the Buddha has given us in such a way that we awaken within ourselves a real caring for the well-being of sentient beings. If you saw a tiny rabbit caught in a trap, and its leg was bleeding and bruised, I know that you would open the trap and let the rabbit be free. If you saw a child that was really hungry, hopefully you would be not in the circumstance where you would make all kinds of judgments about that hunger, such as, if you looked at a bum who was drinking alcohol or something like that where your discursive mind got in the way. But if you just looked at a child, just a child, a helpless child, who was hungry; if you had food on your plate, I know that you would give some to that child. In this way, you should think of other sentient beings and begin to, through utilizing that kind of thought, understand their plight. It is most necessary to understand their plight, and through that begin to polish away the dirt and the filth that covers that precious jewel which is our inherent nature.

We should take a hold of ourselves in such a way that we do not feel separate from Bodhicitta as though it were a thing that we have to get, but instead begin to develop the understanding that ultimately it is the awakened state. Because of supreme awakening, we will understand fully the faults of cyclic existence. We will understand absolutely the awakening that is the cessation of all suffering and be naturally and completely motivated to bring about the end of suffering for all sentient beings, because at the same time, we will understand that the self that we cling to, the one that causes us to think only of selfish concern, this self is also illusory.

Having realized that, there is literally nothing to do other than to emanate in a form or to engage in miraculous activity that brings about the liberation of all sentient beings. So this activity is not something we do when we get kind. It isn’t something that we collect as though it were wisdom. It is the natural state of awakening.

Looking for Happiness

January 5, 2017 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is an excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo called “Faults of Cyclic Existence”

If we broaden our perspective, we look out from our own self-absorption into our immediate environment which is generally pretty easy for most of us. We have friends and relatives that we don’t mind increasing our space to include and we look at them and we consider them part of our lives. But let’s move out and see all the rest of humankind. They are all, in the same way as we are, striving to be happy. And then look out beyond that to the animal realm. Even though these animals don’t have a forehead, even though these animals cannot conceptualize in the same way that we do, still each one of them in their own way is trying to be happy according to their capacity. The predator is trying to be happy when it chases its prey. The prey is trying to be happy when it fixes itself or creates for itself a safe environment and develops coping mechanisms with the reality that the predator is always out there.

There are many different ways to view this, but we can see if we really study, that we all have that in common and so we become, in a sense one family with a fundamental genetic code. Even across species, even across the form and formless realms, we become one family with this particular underlying reality in common. Now if we were to really contemplate this issue in this way, we might come up with a new world view. Wouldn’t that be wonderful! We might come up with a new, more universal perspective. Wouldn’t it be delightful! We could use that tool as a way to end self-absorption, and to really open our eyes and look at everything around us with a new kind of vision, a new kind of empathy, a new kind of understanding, a new kind of willingness to put oneself in the place of others, a new kind of planetary human, you know, aware of life around itself, a new kind of cosmic perspective, a new understanding as to what life is all about.

Now how does this relate to refuge? Well, as we are turning our minds towards Dharma, that means softening them, preparing them, fertilizing them, plowing the field so that the mind is turned toward the path that leads to liberation and renouncing what does not lead to liberation.

Where does the idea of Bodhicitta actually come into play? Actually it comes into play as both a motivator and as a clarifier. As a motivator , we understand that part of the process of turning the mind towards Dharma is to truly look at the six realms of cyclic existence and all the conditions and situations of sentient beings. Having done that, we see that cyclic existence is faulted and that these sentient beings, although they do wish to be happy, have no understanding of the causes of happiness. That’s the main different between a Dharma practitioner, and the serial killer. The Dharma practitioner wants to be happy just like the serial killer, but they are engaging in method. Method means we are looking at cause and effect relationship. We see the faults. We look at cause and effect relationships and we are trying to work it out where we produce the causes that allow the desired effect.

The serial killer is also trying to do that. He perhaps feels some kind of need build up in him and then he goes and tries to satisfy that need. So in his way, this serial killer is doing the same thing. He is engaged in trying to create the causes that produce happiness. The difference is he does not understand. There is such heavy delusion that there is no understanding of what causes produce happiness, so the serial killer is in a way, like a completely ignorant, completely confused, completely hatred-oriented basket of misconstrued ideas acting in a knee-jerk way to get some kind of result. He is not able to think it through and has no guidance to think it through. So the serial killer is yes, engaging in method, but what method? The serial killer is engaging in the method of hatred, is engaging in the method of destruction, is engaging in the method of harm-doing, and is thinking that it will bring some sort of power or happiness or relief in some way. And yet what this person doesn’t understand is that the seed and the fruit cannot be unrelated. You cannot produce happiness from the fruit of hatred, destruction, ignorance and harm doing. You cannot produce happiness in the same way that a peach seed cannot produce a banana tree.

Do We Know How to Be Happy?

January 4, 2017 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is an excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo called “Faults of Cyclic Existence”

When we broaden our view and look out, we see that this is happening to a greater or lesser degree to all sentient beings. All sentient beings are striving to be happy. They wish to be happy, but in varying degrees, they do not understand the causes of happiness. We see this also in our own lives. See, we’re the good guys, we’re the Dharma practitioners. But even in our lives we see that we engage in compulsive, neurotic habitual tendency time and time again. Cyclically actually. We’ve noticed this and we talk about this and we laugh about it. You know, women get together and we have girl talk. We know this one really well;. And men are in the same situation. We repeat patterns that are nonproductive. Is that a light-weight way to say it? We literally put ourselves through the lowest of the realms. We put ourselves through hell, literally. We are not our own best friends. And we only see it when we are coming out the other side of the compulsion and it didn’t bring us what we want. Then it’s like, “Well I knew that! Why didn’t I think of that! I knew that! How ridiculous!” And then you know, six months later there we are, going down the pike again.

In one way, then, our compassion is increased because we see that the serial killer is busy bumping off everybody else in order to get happy, and we are busy bumping off ourselves to get happy. And the confusion and habitual tendency is there. It’s there. We have that in common. So we look out and we say, “Wow, if this is the case for myself and I am a Dharma practitioner, how much more so the case for those beings who have had no information on what produces happiness? We are the children of a materialistic society. We were told that if you have two good cars, a chicken in your crock pot and several more in your freezer and a good husband or wife, good children, all these good things—everything that’s good has been labelled, you know, we already know what’s good—and an ongoing prescription of Prozac that we could be happy.Aand an occasional face lift. It gets more complicated as you get older. Did you notice that? I mean, at first it was just finding the right man andyou’re home free. Now it’s find the right man and make sure once you’ve got him, these things don’t drop. And it’s beat gravity and beat the clock and all that other stuff.

So we are, in our way, almost as clueless. We still engage in these funny things that we do. And every time that we do them, we think they’re going to make us happy. And then we come out the other side of it with open eyes—like whoops, that didn’t work! But you know, we’ve noticed for ourselves how limited our capacity is to learn. Is that not the most astonishing thing? How really intelligent people cannot learn? Is there a button we’re supposed to be pushing that we don’t know about.? I mean, where is the input button? We just don’t know. So this is the condition of sentient beings.

Now I know, as you must know, how much I want to be happy. You know how much you want to be happy, right? I mean, if push comes to shove, you’re pretty motivated by this. Isn’t that right? Of course you want to be happy. You’d be a maniac if you didn’t want to be happy. Are you a maniac? So we want to be happy. I certainly want to be happy. And there are days, are there not, when the yearning to be happy and the feeling that you are very distant from that happiness is so strong that there’s a lot of grief, isn’t there? A lot of upheaval and grief. There are times when it’s just so difficult and so very far away. It’s funny how it happens.

Now if we were to take that grief and that feeling and project it outward and think, “Here I am with all the understanding that I have about what makes happiness, and all the skill that I have and all the intelligence that I have and all the good fortune that I have that makes it possible for me to get a grip here and really see what’s going on, and still I can’t manage it. How much worse must be the condition of other sentient beings who are completely out to lunch about the subject?” Now if you think about the animal realm, they don’t even have the capacity to take in the information about cause and effect, an extraordinarily limited capacity to learn cause and effect. Have you ever watched a dog that has the habit of chasing cars? No matter what you do to them, they will chase the car. They are terrified because they are so close to getting killed and somehow they know it, but they can’t learn! They can’t learn that not chasing that car is going to make them feel much more relaxed. They simply can’t learn that.

So how much less is the capacity for other sentient beings to be free of that kind of suffering? Now we look out and we really see that all around us is this terrible, terrible grief and suffering and disappointment that is masked in certain ways, is covered in certain ways, is disguised, is transmuted, is rearranged, is redirected, is re-routed, is lied about. And yet underneath it there is that grief, there is that loneliness, there is that difficulty that we have in understanding what makes us happy, and how to be happy.

So this then becomes a causative factor when we engage upon the path. It’s one of the reasons why we practice refuge so sincerely. We use this idea not only as a practice in itself, but as a way to motivate ourselves. Literally, as practitioners we should come to the point where we look around and we see for ourselves that all sentient beings are wandering in this confusion and we develop a profound sense of compassion. If we really were to study and look around and emphathize and see beyond ourselves how others are suffering even more than we are, that feeling of great love and great compassion would well up within our hearts, and this feeling that enough is enough! Enough! There has been enough suffering in the world. Enough!

So by that compassion and that love, we become motivated. And the times that we are feeling undisciplined or feeling dry or off-track on the path, we can rely on that love to come up and nurture us. It’s happened even on an ordinary level within our lives. We make a determination to take a more difficult route to accomplish something, even not so much concerning the path, but a difficult route to accomplish something in our lives. Then to accomplish that requires such a great herculean effort like changing, that after awhile, somewhere in the process, we lose focus. We ask ourselves, “Now why am I doing this again? I really can’t remember today!” Then we look at someone else near us who is suffering terribly, just suffering terribly, and we vow to organize everything around us to make it better so that the person next to us is not going to suffer so much. We’re motivated by that and it brings us back into focus.

The same kind of situation happens on the path. We utilize the suffering of others, the understanding of that suffering, to center us, to motivate us, to keep us nourished on the path. At the same time, and here’s where the double blessing comes in, at the same time, we are also giving rise to the Bodhicitta which is the awakening mind, the mind that is in its essence the very display of compassion.

The Dharma

January 3, 2018January 4, 2017 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is from a series of tweets by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo:

The Dharma is as vast as samsara, and is also as stable, as long as there is samsara there will also be Dharma.

As long as there is Dharma there will also be Samsara, because the Dharma is natural, uncontrived and would not exist without Samsara.

All Sentient Beings Wish to Be Happy

January 3, 2017 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is an excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo called “Faults of Cyclic Existence”

When we are considering the thoughts that turn the mind, we consider the teachings on the six realms. We consider the faults of cyclic existence. We consider teachings on cause and effect. We consider teachings on impermanence. But also we consider teachings on compassion, and they start with, and are absolutely related with, those teachings that you have just had on the six realms of cyclic existence and the faults of cyclic existence.

The idea of compassion, of Bodhicitta, is intimately related to that. The way that they are related is like this:When one is actually considering entering onto the path, or considering making one’s relationship with the path much more firm and solid, or if one is a more advanced practitioner, to deepen on the path, one always has to go back and re-examine the faults of cyclic existence. One of the main thoughts that we have concerning the faults of cyclic existence is that we look around and we see the Buddha’s first teaching in action. We see that all sentient beings wish to be happy. We all have that in common —we all wish to be happy. It is our motivating force. Whatever it is that we are doing, whatever form it takes, underneath that is the wish to be happy. Now each one of us has delusions. Each one of us has habitual tendencies. But underneath all of them is the wish to be happy

One way to understand this and to really broaden the perspective on it is that in some cases it is very easy to see that a person is striving to be happy. You might see one person, one particular type of personality, for instance, using every skill that they have to maintain happiness and joyfulness and equilibrium and that sort of thing. Maybe they go to psychotherapy in order to clear out neuroses, or maybe they do a lot of affirmations, you know, positive thought—thinking in affirmations about themselves in order to try to be happy. And for the people like that who are trying to maintain a certain kind of energy in their personality, it’s very obvious that they are trying to be happy. You can mark that and see it very easily.

But what about somebody like a criminal? What about someone who is a committed criminal? I mean a serious criminal, somebody who has done something unthinkable, such as even a serial killer? I don’t mean somebody that kills cheerios, I mean, kills people in a row—a serial killer. Let’s say somebody like that. We can’t even understand what the mind of a serial killer would be like. They are filled with obsession, filled with compulsion, filled with hatred. In many cases they are psychologically incapable of empathizing with other human beings. It’s like they have a microchip missing. They are all kinds of messed up. All kinds of messed up. To many of us their thinking, their world, may not even be recognizable. It may not have even the same landmarks. And internally, certainly, if we could go into their minds, it would not be recognizable as any kind of internal reality that we’ve ever experienced. So they would seem very different from us.

But there is one factor that we have in common with somebody like that, and that is that we are both equally, in our own way, trying to be happy. Believe it or not! This person who commits such a horrendous crime, and does so repeatedly, is compelled to continue doing so. If we were to really go within and try to slice and dice enough to find out what moves this person, what is happening here, we would find out that there would be a lot of jungle to go through. I’m sure that that’s the case. There are a lot of entanglements in there and a lot of mental confusion. However, underlying the dynamo that drives this engine is aperson who wishes to be happy and, in that way, is completely the same as you, completely the same as you.

Now I’m not recommending that because of that we should be nice and pat them on the head and let all the serial killers out on the street. I’m not saying that. I realize that this issue is far more complicated than I am presenting it, but the fact that I’m mentioning does not change, no matter how complicated the situation is. And that is that this person has something in common with you that is very strong and it is what drives both of you. You wish to be happy. Interestingly, neither one of you really knows how to be happy until, as a mature practitioner, you have really contemplated and studied the Buddha’s teaching and learned something about that, and then maybe had enough life experience, in terms of maturity, to go within and approach oneself honestly, to look at oneself and examine one’s habitual tendencies. These are the kinds of skills that we learn as life skills, and skills that we learn on the path in order to help us to begin to learn what comprises happiness, what actually makes it up, and to develop the skill of how to produce it.

But until that happens, we are the same as anyone else. All sentient beings are exactly the same in that way. Maybe not in too many other ways, you know, but in that way we are exactly the same. And this is true of all the beings in all the realms of cyclic existence, not only in the human realm.

Polishing the Diamond

January 2, 2017 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is an excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo called “Bodhicitta”

I have been aware that people in our age and people who are awakening to spirituality and meditation and these different philosophies have been exposed to the idea that we have lived only just a few times, whereas the Buddha teaches us that is not true. The Buddha teaches us that we have lived, we have revolved in cyclic existence over countless aeons. An aeon alone is a very long time. And countless aeons, that kind of terminology is inconceivable to us. In order to have revolved since beginningless time, in countless aeons of cyclic existence, we had to have parents every time unless we were born in a realm in which parents were not the way of birth. But whether we were animals or humans or some other form that we don’t recognize at this time, whether we were born in the form or formless realms, there is a great potential for all sentient beings to have been our parents endlessly. And the way in which to understand the kindness of all sentient beings, the way in which to understand their kindness to us so that we can begin to build Aspirational Bodhicitta, is to understand that at this moment we’re here. We are hearing the Buddha’s teaching and we are experiencing comfortable circumstances in which to practice. We have no defects of mind or body that would prevent us from practicing the Buddha’s teaching. We are capable and we are able and we have the leisure to accomplish practice. We have very auspicious circumstances.

To have come to this point, we must think of the kindness of all of the situations that have brought us to this point. We shouldn’t think that our parents had any capability to prevent us from coming to this point, because they haven’t prevented us from coming to this point. So we shouldn’t think of their cruelty. We should think of their kindness because somehow, having birthed us, they have given us this precious opportunity to accomplish enlightenment. This is true for all of the circumstances that we have ever experienced, all of the births that we have ever experienced. Having come to this point, we should be thankful and grateful and happy, filled with joy realizing that this auspicious moment has occurred at last. And like finding a precious jewel while sifting through garbage, here we are and we have found the Dharma.

So having experienced this joy, we can begin to understand that all sentient beings have been our kind mothers and fathers, and that we owe them a great debt. We can remember once again that cyclic existence is just that, it is cyclic and endless, and that they are struggling night and day working very hard to make themselves happy and have no way to do it. We should think again and again that they are lost. Although they have given us birth in such a way that we can accomplish Dharma, and that all of these many parents who have birthed us over these many lives in order to help us to create the causes by which we might meet with this perfect Dharma, that even while they have participated in that, they themselves have not done it. It reminds me of a form of animal that I read about. It’s actually an insect called the midge. It conceives its young within itself and the young, as they begin to grow, actually eat the inside of the mother; and consume the mother. By the time they are ready to come out, the mother is dead, and they simply break out of her body as though it were an egg. We should think of that, and we should think that perhaps all sentient beings have done that for us. If they remain in a condition of suffering and we have now found the perfect path by which to alleviate their suffering, then perhaps it’s time to begin to develop the kindness that will liberate them from their unbearable suffering and their continued involvement in cyclic existence.

So when we hear about this Aspirational Bodhicitta, we become confused as to how to think of it. Time and time again students have said to me, “What practice will help me develop Bodhicitta? Isn’t it true that once I begin to practice, I will develop Bodhicitta?” or, “How can I best develop Bodhicitta?” They talk about Bodhicitta or compassion as though it were something separate from themselves because we think of all phenomena, both internal and external, as separate from ourselves. That is part of the basic delusion of believing in self-nature as being inherently real. It seems to come with the package. Yet, we need to take a hold of ourselves and begin to understand that Aspirational Bodhicitta is potentially the way we are. It is not a reality separate from ourselves. It is not a mystery that we should approach in a linear way, perhaps in the way that we used to think of spiritual mastery. It used to be that, before we studied the Buddha’s teachings, we began to think of spiritual mastery as accumulating this wisdom and that wisdom and this wisdom and that wisdom and this wisdom and suddenly, you would become a great master. And that’s it. Now you’re a master. Well that isn’t really how the Buddha considers realization. The Buddha considers that you cannot collect wisdoms or knowledges and that they in a sum total will create mastery. The Buddha considers that true wisdom is the realization of the emptiness of all phenomena and the emptiness of self-nature, the illusory nature of phenomena, the illusory nature of self. This is the true wisdom, and it is not something that you can collect or gather.

In the same way, when Bodhicitta is fully realized, it is none other than the Primordial Wisdom state. It is none other than supreme awakening. Bodhicitta then, ultimately, when it is fully realized, is our own nature, and we should not treat it as though it were something separate from ourselves. We should not treat it as though it were a thing that we could collect by doing this practice or that practice. Instead, we should take a hold of ourselves and begin to uncover the diamond of Bodhichitta, the jewel of Bodhicitta. We should begin to uncover it by polishing away the delusion that occurs through the selfish concerns which are born of a lack of understanding of what awakening truly is.

Refuge and Bodhicitta: Introduction by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

January 1, 2017 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is an excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo called “Faults of Cyclic Existence”

What I would like to talk about today has much to do with the practice of Bodhicitta, which is taking the vow of compassion, committing oneself to live one’s life as a compassionate person, and moving into adopting the posture of and becoming a Bodhisattva., that is an awakening being who lives to benefit others.

Generally speaking, Refuge and Bodhicitta are considered to be almost like twins. Many times practitioners will structure their practice so that they are accumulating Rand Bodhicitta at the same time. You’ll notice that the two sections in your Ngöndro book are side by side and that one easily follows the other. To help you with understanding how to live through the muscular changes that you are going through even as we speak, one thing that you can do that I did that is very helpful is that when you’re practicing the Refuge and you’ve established the visualization, you’re halfway there to the Bodhicitta because it moves directly into the practice of Bodhicitta, using pretty much the same visualization.

If you are accumulating prostrations, either you are in retreat or you are simply upholding your daily practice commitment. There will be times when you really feel that in a physical way you simply cannot put up with the challenge of the practice. Each one of you will have a certain limit of prostrations that you can consistently do on a regular basis. If you were to do a daily practice commitment of 100 prostrations, or 200 prostrations, or 300 prostrations, whatever it is, there will be some days that for whatever physiological reason you may not be able to do that much, or it may be that you are moving from 100 prostrations to 200 prostrations and the body is stressed as it’s going to this new level. The one thing that you can do is combine the practice of Refuge and Bodhicitta. You can practice the Refuge, accumulating prostrations until you feel that you are tired and need to move on to something else or take a break. Then you can sit down and visualize and meditate on the bodhicitta section of the practice. So you could take a break, accumulate Bodhicitta Vow for awhile and use that visualization, and if that’s the only time you’re going to accumulate bodhicitta, you can close the practice at that point. But you can close the practice of Bodhicitta somewhat and then go back to the Refuge practice, or you can actually go back and forth.

Interestingly they are so connected in one’s mind, and should be so connected in one’s mind, that that’s actually an excellent way to practice and I recommend, rather than doing only prostrations, to go back and forth on a regular basis and accumulate the bodhicitta at the same time. Now the reason why this is very useful is that the idea of refuge and bodhicitta in concept are so well-connected and so interdependent, literally, it’s hard to understand one without the other.

Yesterday during the retreat we talked about the meaning of refuge. We talked about the thoughts that turn the mind. We talked about the pitfalls and conditions of samsaric or cyclic existence, the cycle of birth and death, so we talked about many different subjects. How do these subjects connect with bodhicitta and how does bodhicitta connect with these subjects?

Actually the two main legs of our entire path are wisdom and compassion—the knowledge of emptiness or the realization of the primordial wisdom state and the bodhicitta. These two are as inseparable as the rays of the sun are from the sun. If one were to examine the sun, one would understand that yes, there seems to be a place where the sun’s actual body ends, but is the energy of the sun’s rays, is that emanation form of the sun, actually in truth separate from the sun itself? Some would say no. So in many ways refuge and bodhicitta have the same kind of relationship.