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The following is an excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo called “Keeping Heart Samaya”

The Buddha has taught us some main points. These main points necessarily pervade all other levels of Buddhist doctrine or Buddhist philosophy or Buddhist teaching. They are the foundational thoughts that you have to use to think through the logic of the Buddhadharma. Without these fundamental thoughts, nothing that we accomplish in Dharma will make any sense or have any real weight. We are encouraged as Dharma students not to have some kind of blind faith based on no recognition of cause and effect relationships, but instead to have a faith that is based, yes, on heart, but also on logic, on reasonableness.

Lord Buddha himself taught that you should examine the teachings. If, having learned these foundational thoughts, they do not seem reasonable to you, if it doesn’t seem thoughtful and reasonable and intelligent to continue on in the way the Buddha has prescribed, then you shouldn’t do it.

The Buddha has taught that the Dharma should be logical and reasonable. And the way that the Buddha laid it out, it is. It is. For myself (some of you know my story), I was not born in the Tibetan monastery. I was found here, in America. I was born in Brooklyn of half-Jewish, half-Italian heritage, a little Catholic, a little lox and bagels. When my teacher found me, I was 38 years old, so I was already established in whatever habits I had, probably most of them bad. We have a lot of bad habits by the time we are 38, don’t we? By the time I found my teacher, I was quite established in a certain way, but I have found that in that meeting with my teacher a certain communication about the Buddha’s teaching has come to me that is logical and reasonable. There is a certain way to follow through the teaching that even appeals to a hard-headed, Brooklyn-born, half-Jewish, half-Italian gal like me. Now, I am a very practical person, a very practical person. So when I view the Buddha’s teachings, I want to know that they make sense to me. I want to know that they are reasonable. I, myself, would have difficulty following something that did not seem reasonable to me in some way.

Taking into account that sentient beings cannot actually gather all the necessary data by which to evaluate this logical Buddhist teaching, we have to rely to some degree – to a large degree actually – on the Buddha’s perception. For instance, all sentient beings do not have the capacity to actually evaluate samsara or the wheel of death and rebirth, conditioned life, realistically. In the same way, if we had no TV cameras and no satellite communication, none of our modern tools, we wouldn’t know for sure, let’s say, that there are people in China. We could hear about it. We could even hear Chinese people in America tell us that it exists, but for ourselves, unless we had gone there, we would never know. Not really, not for sure. But today we have TV and news reporters and newspaper pictures and satellites that broadcast information, and we can see China with our own eyes, even though it is on the other side of the world. So in a way, the Buddha acts like that for us.

Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo.  All rights reserved

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The following transcript was found while cleaning under an altar in Jetsunma’s house. Jetsunma has agreed to allow the teaching to be shared so others may benefit:

Teaching – September 8^th in the early 2000’s

Question: Is the reason that the Vajrayana works so well… in following the Guru’s instruction without opinion (In regards to breaking down conceptualization allowing the Wisdom mind to BE – i.e., responding to Jetsunma’s previous instructions (teaching on the microcosm and the macrocosm being the same, inner and outer being the same, no distinction)

Jetsunma (from taped teaching): …that helps you let the Wisdom mind de-obscure or open up and be and assert itself in a way if you don’t make those discriminations. Then the Wisdom Mind begins to assert itself and you practice that by letting the Wisdom Mind_, in the form of your teacher, assert itself in your life. It’s just the perfect practice, really because it’s so nuts and bolts you won’t long get away with faking it. It will come up one way or the other so to practice closely with your Guru like that is very, very important, even if you only get to do it a couple of times a month when your Guru tells you, look, I see what your mind is doing. Here’s what it is. Take advantage of this information. Practice like that. Do exactly what I say. You won’t get that any place else. That’s the value of being close to your teacher. See what I’m saying?

Student: I clearly hear what you are saying. Every time I hear you say something like that I feel so bad about how I haven’t.

Jetsunma: Well, you can go to guilt but now listen. You can go to guilt but I have found that just ends up with useless emotion that just shakes you up and gets you totally off point. Guilt is a pretty useless and time consuming emotion. You know. It’s just very rarely useful. Once in a while when you have to really take a look at yourself. But these times are for something different, instead of going to guilt you just have to follow it like a river. Just like, oh my teacher just put me in the water, pushing me. Now I’m going to swim in just that direction exactly. See what I’m saying? That’s exactly what you should do. It’s so much more fruitful. Don’t you see the logic of that?

Student: Absolutely.

Jetsunma: If you want to be guilty, do it another time.

Student: Even if the instruction was given a while back, you can start now?

Jetsunma: Exactly, exactly. The thing is not to make a big deal of that. It’s like if the teacher pushes you off, in that moment, in that space, and you are there, swim exactly the direction he/she pushes you. Just go exactly that way. You won’t get there anywhere else—it’s priceless in samsara—other than from your own Root Guru. Trust me.

Student: Who else could we trust?

Jetsunma: Right, of course. So if you want to practice being open-hearted and free of contrivance and letting that Wisdom flow and the Bodhicitta flow in your life, that is the moment to practice it. Right then. Do it like that with the Guru Yoga.

12/9/2015 Wednesday by Norma

Pull inward today, to the extent that you can, and spend time in quiet thought and study. Learn something, ponder something and avoid the prevailing temptation to run around scattering your energy for no meaningful purpose. A well-considered understanding is crucial for what comes next, and you won’t gain it without contemplation. Edith Sitwell said, “My personal hobbies are reading, listening and silence.” Study all the clues like a detective, and you’ll come to an understanding of what you must do: then you can charge into action! Romance, artistic expression and work are also highlighted, if you have time. (Consider making time!)

The daily astrology post affects each person differently, depending on individual horoscopes. Look to see which area of life this message affects for you!