Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo | Tibetan Buddhist Altar

Impermanence

September 6, 2016 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

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

If you think about the food that we eat, you think, oh well, once you’ve eaten the food, it’s part of you and it’s nourishing. You forgot the rest of the story. Don’t you remember what happens to food after a few hours? Food changes. When you eat big chocolate cake… Or what would you like to eat? Let’s see, what are we having today? I would like to have chocolate mousse. How about that? So I’m going to eat my chocolate mousse and “yum yum yum” it’s so good. And you think, “Oh this chocolate mousse is really spectacular! I don’t have to share it with anybody. There’s nobody in the room, and I can eat the whole mousse myself. Well, chocolate mousse! I can eat the whole chocolate mousse myself and don’t have to share it with anybody. Nobody is looking, I can even lick that [bowl]., You know, I can really enjoy this and I don’t have to give it away. And once I eat it, it is mine! No one can demand it back. Except that, after a few hours it seems to exit the body. And before it does, it creates some minor distresses on the way down. That delicious experience with one’s food, even assuming the food was not chocolate mousse , but something nourishing from which you might receive benefit and energy, ultimately is impermanent. Even the condition of taking in nourishment is impermanent because, after having taken in nourishment, then even the most delicious food results in waste. And what is good in the food we use to make energy and the energy is expended.

So everything that we know and understand in our life experience is changing. You are not the same person that you were seven years ago. Everything about you has changed. Literally the cells in your body have changed and been reborn with very few exceptions. There are some cells in the human body that do not change that quickly, but the majority of cells change every seven years. Quite remarkable! It’s really interesting to wonder, to ask ourselves, why is it then that we maintain physical scars from when you’re younger? Isn’t that odd? I mean, if we constantly create new cells and they are changed every seven years, what’s that [scar] doing there? I fell on a piece of glass and wire when I was a little girl playing in a vacant lot and cut my arm right there. Why is that still there? I was a little girl when it happened. I’ve changed many times over. It’s because we do not understand impermanence.

Can You Take It With You?

September 4, 2016 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

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

Our consciousness sees everything as being solid. And it’s so odd, isn’t it, because seven years ago we were completely different. If you think about what you looked like ten years ago, twenty years ago… Don’t take my word for it, bring out the pictures. You look completely different. I look completely different. I’m sure you do also. So even though we have a sense of self-nature being inherently real and solid and very permanent, still we are this very impermanent condition that thinks of itself only in a certain regard. But when we first meet with the path we are taught that all things are impermanent and we are led to a study of that.

The study should look like this. We understand in this way: When we are born, we are born drawing on the karma of our previous existences, and that scenario is catalyzed by the environment around us. Whatever karmic potentials are within our mindstream are then ripened and matured and brought forward due to certain catalytic events in our environment. Then beyond that, we continue to habituate ourselves. We have certain propensities due to our karmic flavor, if you will. These certain propensities look like habitual tendencies and they are, in fact, habitual tendencies. One person may have a great habit toward generosity and look for ways to engineer their life going on the track of generosity, compassion. Another person may have the habit of self-absorption and angerand regard only their own feelings, not taking into account the feelings of others in the environment, being very self-absorbed and wishing that others would help them, would be of benefit to them. That kind of selfishness becomes, then, a deep habit and very difficult to break. So another person may have that kind of habit.

Unfortunately there are sentient beings with many different kinds of karma. One may have had the habit pattern through many lifetimes of creating this habitual tendency of harming others, or hurting others, or killing others. The kinds of animals that are, by their type, predators, are actually beings who have within them the habitual tendency of killing, and they manifest as predators due to that habitual tendency. So we come in with certain kinds of habits, and then we tend to reinforce them throughout the course of our lives.

According to this teaching that the Buddha has given us about impermanence, we understand that there is nothing, not one thing, that we can accomplish or accumulate during the course of our lifetime that we can take with us at the time of our death. Meaning this: Let’s say that we accumulate a great deal of money. Let’s say that in the past we have been very generous to others and so we have the karma of being able to manifest money fairly easily. Many people do. It’s that simple. It’s due to having been generous in the past. This element of money coming into one’s life is like greased lightning. It just really comes in very easily.

So, if that’s the case, then let’s say during this lifetime we spend a great deal of time making a lot of money and yet, even though we had the habit of being very generous in the past, somehow the impact of receiving so much money in this lifetime is a shock.. It reminds me of the story about the man who is making lots of money with computers these days. He came from nowhere, Mr. Computer Geek, and then suddenly he’s a multi-billionaire. It seems, from everything that I have read about him, that he is shocked and he just doesn’t get it. To have several billion dollars that you can get your hands on if you really need to, and then to think that you need to make more before you can be generous is really an unusual way to think. I mean how many billions can you spend in one lifetime?

So for somebody like that, obviously he was very kind and generous in the past, but here he has been hit with this amazing shock of money just flying into his pocket. Now he is in danger of making the mistake of spending his energy and his opportunity increasing that money without increasing the generosity, and therefore in the future he will not have the same results, because none of that money that he’s making now is going to go with him. This is the Buddha’s teaching, that we cannot take even one sesame seed’s worth of our accumulated wealth with us when we go into the bardo.

But, according to the Buddha’s teachings also, supposing we were to make the choice of being extraordinarily generous and using our wealth to make the world a better place, to benefit others, to support others who are in need, that sort of thing. Then we can take this habitual tendency of generosity, this karmic potential,. with us into the next life by virtue of the fact that we have given so much to others and been so kind and generous, because it isn’t measurable like a sesame seed. It is the karma of one’s mindstream. It is the habitual tendency of our consciousness, and that does go into the next life. These are the Buddha’s teachings: We actually have the opportunity to create benefit in this life that does last into the next life; but it’s nothing material, nothing that we can ever create in samsara, that will go with us. Nothing that has weight, size, dimension. Nothing we can hold. Nothing material. Only the habits of our mind. So these are the teachings that we receive when we first come to Dharma.

Awareness of Change

September 3, 2016 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

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

One of the main thoughts that one hears when one begins to turn the mind toward Dharma is the idea of impermanence. Now when we hear that all things are impermanent, we take this just as it sounds. We know from our own experience that all things are impermanent, or at least we know that roughly. We know that if we buy ourselves a quart of milk that the quart of milk will either sour or be used up. We know that if we buy a car or a color TV or something like that, that eventually the car or the color TV will break down. Then we’ll have to buy another one and go through the entire process again. We also know that what is young becomes old, much to our dismay, and that no matter what we do, what we do only works temporarily—what was young becomes old. We also learn that what is high will become low; what is low will become high. What is brought together will separate; what is separate will be brought together again. These aspects of the idea of impermanence we don’t really hold to; we don’t really understand very well. We try to have a more superficial view of impermanence because the idea is painful. It’s not our favorite concept.

When the Buddha taught us about impermanence, he taught us about impermanence as a way to understand the faults of samsara, and as a way to understand how suffering is all-pervasive. Again, as human beings, we like to ignore the idea of suffering. Of course, when we are suffering and we can feel it very deeply, it’s pretty hard to ignore, but when we are feeling pretty and feeling comfortable, the idea of suffering becomes sort of distant and cloudy. When we feel up, in a way, we have mixed feelings. We feel as though it’s always going to be this way and life is pretty good. But then, by the same token, we’re afraid to feel too up, because we know if we feel too up we’re going to have too far to fall. It’s odd. We have this neurotic capacity for seeing the truth, and yet using it against ourselves or hiding it from ourselves. It’s like we know, but we close our eyes because we don’t want to know.

So this particular suffering of samsara becomes to us somewhat hidden; and actually the hiding of this particular truth leads us to many disappointments. For instance, in the case let’s say, of meeting someone that you love very much, meeting a loved one and coming together with that loved one in some capacity. Perhaps if it is a romantic relationship, and there is a coming together in marriage or something of that nature. If it is the coming together of a parent and child such as in the birth of a child, then the parent sees the child and the child sees the parent. The parent, being the elder, has the capacity to perhaps recognize something very familiar about that child, or to feel that this isn’t a new acquaintance, that there is a deep and profound connectionwith this child.

Sometimes people will meet each other in a very casual way and will become instant allies and best friends. I know that’s happened to each one of us at some point in our lives. It certainly has happened to me. You meet someone and suddenly this person becomes your ally, your friend, someone who is really a helper to you and who understands; and it feels as though you have been friends for a very long time.

So in each of these cases, when we have these wonderful meetings that bring us so much joy, at that point we like very much to forget that that joy is impermanent. Yet, everything we know and everything we’ve seen teaches us and leads us to believe that everything is impermanent. We have seen that even in the case of romantic relationships that result in marriage. Should that marriage go really well, then ultimately the bond will be separated through death. And we know that in the case of parents and child, no matter how close the parent and child are when they are younger, the relationship will evolve and change. In some cases the relationship becomes very distant, unfortunately. In other cases where that does not occur, then even when the relationship between parent and child stays loving and has mutual concern in it, still eventually one will leave the other. There will be the separation of death. The separation of death always happens. Even within that experience of togetherness, there is so much change that you can literally say that two people who married in their twenties are not the same people that are together in their sixties and seventies. They look completely different. There are worlds of difference between a twenty-five year old and a sixty year old. There is a vast amount of experiential living and maturity that has occurred. That person at twenty is quite different when they reach sixty, very different.

I remember being in my twenties, and where I was and where I wasn’t. And I know that I am not the same as I was. I know that many of my understandings, beliefs, habits, even values have matured and changed. So it is impossible to think that we will remain in the same comfortable, stagnant condition for the rest of our lives, let alone the fact that we are all separated by death.

The Motivation of a Bodhisattva

September 2, 2016 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

As long as space endures, and as long as sentient beings exist.
May I, too, remain, to dispel the misery of the world. -Shantideva

The following is respectfully quoted from the Preface of “Enlightened Courage” by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche:

Bodhisattvas are those who seek enlightenment for the sake of all other beings. Their path is the way of selflessness whereby the mind is trained to go beyond its ordinary self-centered preoccupations and anxieties and learns, by gradual degrees, to place others at the focus of its interest and concern. This altruistic attitude forms the basis and heart of all the Buddha’s teaching of Mahayana, or Great Vehicle…

Extraordinary Relationship

September 1, 2016 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is an excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo called “Neurotic Interaction to Guru Yoga”

If we rely purely on an emotional level, not much will come of the path. If we do not challenge ourselves to truly understand all of the thoughts that turn the mind (and you’ve been taught them many, many times. You can go back and re-listen to the teachings if you aren’t sure what they are), if we do not require of ourselves to really recognize this precious opportunity, we won’t get very far. And now the recognition has to go even deeper than that. Number one, understanding that the teacher is a spiritual ally, a spiritual friend—someone on whom you can depend as a spiritual guide or a spiritual friend—is a really important first realization. Secondarily, you must understand that this reality that you are looking at when you see your teacher, when you see the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha, is to be considered separate from ordinary samsaric cause and effect conditions, or separate from the wheel of death and rebirth, because this is all the result of the Buddha’s teaching which arises from the mind of enlightenment and, like a seed, it must always create a fruit that is appropriate to that seed. So if this reality rises from the mind of enlightenment, it results in enlightenment as well. The seed and the fruit are always consistent.

That being the case, this is understood as something different. Now, if you wish you can, like that Tibetan man with His Holiness Penor Rinpoche regarding his opinion on my enthronement (this student did not agree with His Holiness Penor Rinpoche’s recognition of Jetsunma) waste the opportunity by just playing out your little intellectual ‘here’s my idea, what’s your idea. I’ll see you as something equal to my common ordinary intellectual mind in the world. You know, I’ll see you as that.’ Or you can play the game where “O.K., you’re the Guru, so I’m going to call you the real thing, but in my heart, in my mind, I’m pretty much just going to keep doing exactly what I’m doing, but I’ll have a teacher,” rather than gathering oneself together in order to understand something about this primordial wisdom nature, rather than trying to move further on the path of accomplishing pure view, rather than utilizing the teacher as a way to untangle some of our neuroses and actually seeing the condition of our mind and how different that is from what the Buddha described when the Buddha said simply, “I am awake.” The Buddha didn’t say, “I’m different from you.” The Buddha didn’t say “I am better than you.” The Buddha said “I am awake.” Awake to that nature that is also your nature.

Now supposing that you could use the relationship with the teacher to puzzle that out, to work that out. It’s such a fine line how to you give rise to or at least, shall I say not suppress, not give rise to, conflicting thoughts that you may have. How can you not suppress them and still utilize the teacher faithfully in the best possible way? Not as something common and ordinary that is equal to your own conceptual proliferation because then you could do that with anything. We do that with all of our relationships. We do that with all of the areas in life that we work with. We have preconceived ideas that we play out in our lives. Why would the teacher be different then? Why would it be precious? What’s the value then of having a teacher?

So it becomes the student’s responsibility to harness their mind. It isn’t about going brain dead. It isn’t about suppressing your ideas and your thoughts and your feelings. It’s about recognition between what is ordinary, habitual, definitely part of birth and death cyclic existence, that which arises from ordinary cyclic existence, and always therefore results in more ordinary cyclic existence, or that which arises from the precious primordial awakened state that is also your nature, and therefore always results in that precious primordial state that is also your nature—enlightenment. You are the one that must make the distinction.

So the Buddha recommends this: Take a long time determining your relationship with your teacher. If at first you have an emotional reaction, that’s fine. You don’t just suppress that either, but don’t stop there. It’s a big mistake just to stop there, because otherwise you just stay in some kind of wacko bliss thing. You could get that wacko over a cute little puppy or something, or a new car, or a new honey. You gets lots more wacko about a new honey, don’t you? Way more wacko about that! So your responsibility then becomes the responsibility of recognition. You have determined that this teacher has the necessary qualities to give you what you need. You can travel on the path now. You can understand very clearly. The teacher has a way of explaining to you and you can understand. You can hear it. You mind is opening. It is ripening. It’s deepening. Your compassion is increasing. Something is happening here and you are able to determine that this is not ordinary because this didn’t come from ordinary experience.

You’re travelling the path of Dharma and this is precious. This teacher has hooked you onto the path of Dharma, placed your feet there, deepened and ripened your mind, provided for you all of the necessary accoutrements. Therefore this is precious. You then must determine that this is different for you. You see, it’s not up to the teacher to provide proof for you. It’s not up to the teacher to convince you. It’s up to you to determine for yourself. Take your time, do it right, move through all the foundational teachings and decide for yourself: Is this precious to me? Then if it is, treat it like it is.

The Seven Branch Offering: Commentary by His Holiness Penor Rinpoche

August 30, 2016 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The Seven Branch Offering

The following commentary was extracted from a teaching given by His Holiness Penor Rinpoche at Kunzang Palyul Choling in 2001 on the occasion of offering the Bodhisattva Vow. To see the verses of the ceremony for the Bodhisattva Vow to which His Holiness was referring you can click here.

From Words of My Perfect Teacher:

The Vajrayana path includes many methods and is without great hardships. It is intended for those with sharp faculties. If we constantly train ourselves to accumulate merit and wisdom with a strong mind, everything that would otherwise take a whole great kalpa to accumulate through the six paramitas can be accomplished in an instant, and liberation can be attained in a single lifetime.

There can be no doubt that the single most excellent, secret and insurpassable field of merit is the vajra master. This is why the practice of accumulating merit is combined with the Guru Yoga. The seven parts of the Offering of the Seven Branches include all the innumerable methods for accumulation of merit and wisdom.

Prostrations:

The branch of prostrations is a remedy for arrogance. Sometimes we have arrogance; we feel we are more qualified then the masters and teachers. So, this is a remedy to remove the arrogance.

Offering:

After the prostrations to the Buddhas, bodhisattvas and all disciples, you now have to make offerings to them.. Imagine all the things in the universe as an offering, which is a very good offering. All the offerings will be the sacred flowers and the sacred garlands and musical instruments, perfumes, superior parasols, superior butter lamps, superior incense. All these things will be the offering. Just imagine you are offering them. So, this is the offering. This is the remedy for attachment to our belongings.

Confession:

Now comes purification of negative actions. We have to purify the negative actions by thinking negative actions are like poisons that are inside your stomach. Also, you make a commitment that you will not do those mistakes or bad negative actions again. Also, you think that in order to purify all the negative actions that are in this world that are done by other sentient beings, I am doing these purification prayers. This is the remedy for removing anger.

Rejoicing:

We have to rejoice in the accumulations of merits done by other beings. This is the antidote for jealousy. Sometimes we feel jealous of other beings that practice. In order to remove the jealousy, we have to rejoice in whatever practice they are doing. This is the remedy for that action.

Requesting Enlightened Beings to Teach:

The next stanza is requesting the enlightened beings to teach. We request them to teach because sometimes when they come here for the purpose of teachings, they feel kind of upset when they find the bad reactions of the people. So they feel upset and don’t want to teach. So we have to request them to teach. That is how we are requesting it.

This is the remedy for ignorance, thinking the teaching is nothing, thinking the teaching will not have any result. This chanting will remove the ignorance.

Enlightenment depends on the understanding of the teachings. Without teachings, there is no way of getting enlightened. But some people, those who don’t know, who aren’t in favor of the teachings, then they don’t really see the teaching as worthwhile. They criticize the teachings and those who do the teaching.

Requesting Enlightened Beings to Remain:

The reason why enlightened beings pass away is that they want to show human beings that enlightened beings are very real and they don’t last long if we are not very careful. So, we have to request them to remain as long as possible to turn the Wheel of the Dharma. This is the request to remain with a long life.

This is the remedy of wrong view of Buddhas. Some people think the Buddha is nothing, just a liar. So, they have a lot of wrong views of Buddhas. This way of chanting will remove the wrong view of Buddha.

Dedication:

The last one is a short form of all the seven branches of practice. It’s an offering. This is the dedication of the merit that you have accumulated. You have to dedicate all the merit accumulated by other beings to other beings. In order to get enlightened you have to dedicate the merit.

This is the remedy for doubt. Sometimes we have doubt whether it is true or not. This way of chanting will remove or clarify our doubt.

Navigating the Path with Guru Yoga

August 29, 2016 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is an excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo called “The Guru is Your Diamond”

Should it happen that we cannot meet with the Guru for some reason, or there is some difficult point in one’s path, some difficult moments, some difficult times, maybe even some difficult months or years, still, so long as the Guru remains in the world, we can turn our face towards the Guru and know. It’s like falling off a horse. You can always get back on. But the problem is—and there is a problem with that—if you waste your time with that precious jewel and don’t collect its interest, the jewel somehow becomes more distant, less potent, less present, less precious, less everything. And we think to ourselves, “Why is the Guru not in my life so much?” And we tend to think, “Oh, it’s because the Guru’s over here or the Guru’s over there, or the Guru is not speaking right now, or the Guru is this, or the Guru is that.” And you can think that way if you want to but it won’t help. We must think, “Now I’ve come to this place. I have chosen my Guru and I am steadfast. I have seen the door of liberation. Yet somehow things are a little mixed up here, I can’t quite get to it. I don’t feel focused. I don’t feel like I understand this blessing. I feel outsourced. I feel like I’m out to lunch somewhere on the Path here.” And so we think, “Oh, what is the problem?”

Well, the first thing we have to do is correct our view and think, This is the door to liberation. It is present in the world.” Period. End of story. “What must I do? What must I do?” Sometimes it takes traveling to see your Guru. Sometimes it takes sitting down and doing Guru Yoga like you never did it before. It can work out a myriad of ways according to one’s karma, according to one’s blessing. I’ve had it both ways. I’ve traveled to see my Guru and the blessing was immeasurable and phenomenal. And then I’ve stayed home and practiced Guru Yoga and with amazing signs. The blessing was amazing and fundamentally life changing. And one, I saw the Guru’s face; and one, I saw the Guru’s face.

That’s the nature of this blessing. It doesn’t depend on time and space. It doesn’t depend on ordinary things at all. And unless you neglect it, it cannot lose its potency. We must think, as pertaining to Guru Yoga, that everyday, even while now we sit in comfort and enjoy being together, that everyday, even this day, we should earn the blessing to see the Guru tomorrow. How will I see the Guru? Maybe I’ll see the Guru’s picture and it will jump out at me and touch my heart. Maybe I’ll see Guru Rinpoche’s picture and it will jump out at me and touch my heart. Or maybe I’ll say The Seven Line Prayer. And wow, that one really…, that one did it. Or maybe I will do my practice and it feels deep and rewarding like an underground stream that has come suddenly to the surface and has given us something precious to drink.

Guru Yoga can always be depended on to reestablish and continue the blessing. I promise you, if we call out to the Guru with a full heart, with determination and with fervent regard and recognition, the Guru will respond, whether it’s in the way that you would like which is “Hi I’m here for lunch.” Or whatever. It may not be that way. It may be something quite different. And sometimes it’s not something that feels good right away.

I’ve seen one of my favorite students work herself to death and forget to practice sometimes and then periodically she does things like break her back or, you know, injure herself in some way. And then she practices and amazing things happen. I wish she wouldn’t do it that way, but she does. You know who I’m talking about, out in Sedona. I have other students that kind of orchestrate separation and return in order for that feeling of return. But I wish they wouldn’t do that because that feeling of separation often comes with some cause and effect relationship. Again if it were my diamond, I’d be shining it up all the time. I’d be collecting that interest all the time.

We use Guru Yoga that way to create the causes for continuation on the Path. The teacher should never be frightening. The teacher is your friend. Your friend who will take your hand and walk you, lifetime after lifetime, even when you stumble and you fall. Something will arise through the devotion that you practice in this lifetime, to protect you even in your next life. So eventually we come to the place where we see everything as the blessing of the Guru. Everything. Sometimes we feel some confusion, and maybe even feel confusion for a long time; but you know that that Guru would not let you down. You know that. And so you count on that, even the confusion, to be a blessing. Eventually because of that devotion, the confusion will clear and the Guru will appear, again like an underground spring coming once again to the surface.

Short Confession: From Nam Chö Vajrasattva Ngondro

August 28, 2016 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is a Short Confession found in the Nam Chö Ngondro practice of Vajrasattva revealed by Tertön Migyur Dorje:

In the View, I confess all commitments broken through mental activity,
Knowing the View is the all-pervasive foundational Bodhicitta;
Realizing that the View exists in non-existence,
And practicing meditation that is non-existent,
Realizing activity is neither existent nor non-existent,
The Bodhicitta is without expectation or disappointment.
All root and auxiliary committments,
Breaches and failure to uphold them, are unborn, ungenerated,
And liberated in the indivisibility of the object to confess and the confession itself.

Understanding the Nightmare – by His Holiness Penor Rinpoche

August 26, 2016 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is an excerpt from a teaching by His Holiness Penor Rinpoche on “Meditation” reprinted with permission from Palyul Ling International:

And there are many, many beings that don’t know much about Buddha or Enlightenment or the Dharma teachings or liberation. They really don’t have any idea of such things. Even with all the explanations we could find in these Dharma teachings, and even though so many lamas and other qualified teachers give these teachings, still one might think that these teachings are just myths. And so you can’t truly accept them or believe in the absolute reality.

Everything is based on what is called the Law of Karma which is the actions that we do, the causes and conditions we create ourselves. Furthermore there is a Law of Karma which is known as the Collective Karma, the actions, causes and conditions we create together. There is no way we can change ourselves other than understanding Karma. Moreover, when one cannot understand all these deeper things, then one thinks that these things do not really exist.

When the lamas and the many other qualified teachers¹ teach on the sufferings of Samsara, of course it is not really nice to hear and then one feels like, “I don´t want to hear these kinds of teachings.” Certain people when lama gives these teachings on suffering even say, “I’m not interested to listen about the sufferings of Samsara. This lama doesn’t seem like he can give out good teachings!” These people prefer to just express their own ideas.

However, when taught by a qualified lama, it is indeed the Dharma, the truth. These teachings about the nature of Samsara and the reality of the faults of Samsara have been taught by all the Enlightened Beings such as Shakyamuni Buddha. The Enlightened Beings, the Buddhas, all gave these teachings because if we could just understand the nature of Samsara, we could then move on to the actual practices through which we could purify our obscurations. We could have the ultimate realization through which we achieve peace and happiness, and through that we could manifest ourselves to benefit all other sentient beings in Samsara. For that purpose Buddha gave all these teachings. It is not that Buddha wanted to be famous and so gave these teachings, nor was the Buddha showing off his skills in teaching, nor was he explaining things to us so that we would become frightened. These teachings are mainly about how all sentient beings can believe and act to attain complete Enlightenment, to liberate themselves from the sufferings of Samsara. So you see, Buddha gave these teachings with great compassion.

Take the example of a having a nightmare. Within such dreams, no matter what you do, you still cannot escape the scary feeling of a nightmare until you wake up. At the same moment, someone who is awake and watching beside the bed, can see that you are having a dream. We can understand something of the nature of Samsara from this dream example. While we are in Samsara experiencing all different kinds of sufferings, it is exactly like somebody who is having a nightmare.

Prayer to the Root Guru

August 25, 2016 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following prayer is from the Nam Chö Ngondro by Tertön Migyur Dorje:

Alas

Glorious condensed essence of the miraculous activity of the Buddhas of all directions and times,

Great Lotus Guru (Padmasambhava) of loving kindness,

Myself and those like me who are without a protector and tormented by suffering,

Look upon us with your loving compassion and grant us your blessings!

In this time of extreme degeneration of this aeon, when demonic forces, corruption, incurable disease and perverted prayers are increasing,

During this terrifying time of armies and weapons in the four directions, grant us the breath to breathe fearlessly, like a vajra.

Impure sentient being’s hearts are confused and their intellects distorted. So as not to follow our ingrained habitual instincts, tame us in whatever skill means are necessary by actually arising in the Rupakaya.

Lead us upon the path to the realm of Great Bliss.

Concerning myself and all others on the path to Awakening, by pacifying our obstacles and non-conducive circumstances and greatly increasing our life span and endowments,

May our vital airs and mind be controlled to realize the common and supreme spiritual attainments.

May we never be separate from our root Lama!

…repeat this prayer with intense fervent devotion (until one’s tears uncontrollably well up from within) after which repeat the essence prayer, the Vajra Guru mantra OM AH HUNG BENZAR GURU PEDMA SIDDHI HUNG.