Tibetan Buddhist Altar

Astrology fro 6/22/2017

June 22, 2017 by Norma

6/22/2017 Thursday by Norma

Beware of overdoing- giving more than is reasonable- and using an emotional justification for your actions. Boundaries are necessary now. Two forces are at work: feelings and reason. Feelings say you should hand over your pension to someone who did you a favor in college, logic says you might need the pension yourself one day. Tiptoe carefully and run your thinking past an impersonal party, someone unaffected by the matter at hand. The wish to stand by your words conflicts with the fact that you’ve changed your mind. Fess up, admit you’re human and move on! Afraid others will blame you? They will, but so what. Winston Churchill said, “We shall not be judged by the criticisms of others but by the
consequences of our acts.” This is a good day to tend to domestic matters, think about food, build things and earn money.

Calling to the Guru – Yeshe Tsogyal

June 21, 2017 by anisonam

The following is an excerpt from Mother of Knowledge translated by Tarthang Tulku

Yeshe Tsogyal is calling out to Guru Rinpoche as he prepares to leave Tibet to tame the land of savages:

The sun that warms the land of Tibet,
shining over both gods and men, has set.
Now who will warm us, who are totally naked?
The luckless Tibetans have lost their eyes.
Now who will lead us, who are blind and alone?
Our hearts have been torn from our breasts.
Now who will guide the mindless corpses?
You came here to benefit beings.
Why couldn’t you stay just a little while longer?

Kye Hud! Orgyan Rinpoche!
A time of thick darkness has come to Tibet:
A time when hermitages are empty;
a time when the Dharma throne is vacant;
a time when vase initiations are no more.
Now we can only guess as to the nature of the teachings;
now we must look to books for teachings;
now we can only visualize the lama;
now we must use images as his substitute;
now we must rely on dreams and visions;
now a grievous time has come!

Astrology for 6/21/2017

June 21, 2017 by Norma

6/21/2017 Wednesday by Norma

Three planets in Cancer reflect the wish to stay home and reminisce about family, the past and feelings. Empathy is king today. Put yourself in yourself in other people’s position, see life from their perspective and give comfort where needed. Everyone’s feeling a bit tender and in need of mothering. Abraham Lincoln said, ” I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.” It has been observed that wounded solders most common cry in battle is “Mom!” This is a good day to follow your feelings in business as well as personal matters as Cancer is astonishingly good in business. Cancerian sensitivity can spot a lie a mile
away, isn’t persuaded by fancy words and knows what’s going on beneath the surface. Stay well nourished, follow your instincts and don’t express your wounded emotions in public.

Bit by Bit: Cultivating Compassion

June 20, 2017 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

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

We have been revolving in cyclic existence for literally aeons and all during that time, in some form or another, we have conceived the idea of self-nature. Our habit, then, is to hold the idea of self-nature as being very, very solid and very, very real. Our habit, absolutely from the get-go, is to distinguish between self and other. Our habit is to react toward other with hope and fear. Our habit is to think in that relative sense and that comparative sense. There is no compassion in any of that, and it’s not going to happen.

In order to truly develop compassion, we have to first get the idea and really take to heart the idea that the only thing blocking us from giving rise to the great bodhicitta, or great compassionate activity, is our habitual tendency. So no matter what we feel, if we have the stupid idea that we are good or bad (or whatever our ideas are about life if you have them), set them aside for a moment, and address the singularly important fact that you simply don’t have the habit of truly empathizing and having compassion for the condition of other sentient beings in any consistent and real sense. It’s a question of habit and not a question of good or bad. Are you able to feel compassion? Many students have come to me and said, ‘Well, I love the idea of compassion. I think it’s wonderful. I hope you are good at it. I hope you continue to teach it to others. But I just don’t really feel compassion for other people. So I don’t think I can be a Mahayana Buddhist.’ And, really, I cannot count on all of your fingers how many times it has happened to me that a person has said, ‘I love it, but it won’t work for me. I just don’t have any compassion.’

You can’t hide out in that any longer. That’s not a valid excuse, because the fact of the matter is that we are all in the same condition. No one here truly has the habit of compassion. Well, we have a little. Every now and then a jigger of compassion gets mixed into the cocktail of life. (Pretty cute, huh?) But in truth, we have very little. If we had a great deal of compassion, our whole lives would be given over to benefiting others. There would never be another choice. There would never be another choice. Everything that we do would come out as benefit to others. It would be like magic. You wouldn’t even have to think about it if you had really given rise to the bodhicitta and broken the habit of self-absorption. There would never be another option.

But that’s not the case for sentient beings. We are all in the same condition. So what we have to do is stop waiting to feel compassion, because you are always going to paint yourself into a corner with that one. You are never going to be satisfied with what you are feeling. Until enlightenment, we are never going to be satisfied with anything. So you can’t hide out in that excuse. You simply have to develop a new habit. Sometimes when you are developing that new habit, it can look like this: OK, it doesn’t so much matter what I want here. There are other people that want things in this room, and I’m going to give it up. It can look like that at first. That doesn’t mean that you’re not doing a good job; and it doesn’t mean that you are wrong. It doesn’t mean that you’re bad, and it doesn’t mean that you are a martyr either. It doesn’t mean that you are making an extremely valiant effort and should be rewarded. It doesn’t mean anything. It only means that you are developing a new habit, bit by bit.

Astrology for 6/20/2017

June 20, 2017 by Norma

6/20/2017 Tuesday by Norma

The urge to say JUST ONE MORE THING comes and goes today. Bear in mind that tomorrow you’ll see things differently and perhaps feel foolish, but go ahead and say it. The Moon in peaceful Taurus encourages you to do a bit of shopping and to spend money on those you love. It’s important to be a gracious receiver today, even if you’re offered something you don’t want, be aware that the real gift is the goodwill behind it. Someone cares! Baha ‘llah said, ” A thankful person is thankful under all circumstances. A complaining soul complains even if he is in paradise.” This is an excellent day for medical cures, for image enhancement, for a push to solve a lingering problem, and for partnership.

Jealousy

June 19, 2017 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

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

The next realm is the jJealous gods realm. The jealous gods realm is actually the war-like gods, the competitive gods. We have stories about them in our old testament, don’t we? We have stories about a god that is very jealous and war-like. We have stories about Old Testament,not Buddhist but Christian-Jewish Old Testament. The jealous god realm consists of gods who are very willful and very bossy and very competitive; and they really want things done their way, now. And if you don’t do it, kaboom, thunderbolt to you pal, turning you into salt or something like that. They are constantly fighting each other. They are constantly doing things that make you look at them and say, “Get a life.” I mean I wouldn’t do some of the things that they do, and what do I know? They act like three year olds. (She looks up at the ceiling in anticipation of retaliation. laughter) Don’t you hope that I would get away with that? If I got struck by lightening, though, it would prove what I just said, maybe.

Anyway, there is terrible suffering in the jealous gods realm; and that suffering is the suffering of warfare and competitiveness; and it is ongoing. It never ends. There is a violence there; there is a constant, violent outpouring there. It is a very strong war-like energy. They are not particularly happy. They are happy in some ways: They have lots of riches, and they have lots of people underneath them. I guess that makes them happy. They are actually always engaging in some kind of very active war-like activity; and therefore they are not happy and eventually they die. All of these realms are impermanent. They all begin with birth and end with death.

So what is the cause of being born in the jealous gods realm?. The cause of being reborn in the jealous gods realm is jealousy, competitiveness and jealousy—that kind of arrogance, ego kind of thing. Have you ever seen people like that? Have you ever been like that? Have you ever seen people who just think they are so glad that they have it and you don’t? Have you ever seen people who sort of set themselves up in a very high place and they really engage in activity to try to get as much money as they can, and they compete and they really like the game? Think of the movie Wall Street. Remember that a few years back? That kind of thing. That is jealous god activity right there, a perfect example of what is going to happen. The people involved with that when they take rebirth could very likely end up in a jealous gods realm. They were like gods, and they were always engaged in that kind of competitive activity.

Astrology for 6/19/2017

June 19, 2017 by Norma

6/19/2017 Monday by Norma

Speedy action is a winner today! Busy yourself signing papers, notarizing or verifying agreements and telling people what they need to know. It seems you’re in communication with everyone! Energy is the gift of the day and you can barrel around putting everything in order in the time it took you to buy a newspaper yesterday. Assure others of your intentions, (“You’ll never have a friend like me!”) and you’ll hear a sigh of relief. Financial matters go well, but avoid over-shopping, one is enough if you get a good one. Robert Browning said, “Less is more.” This is a good day to talk with everyone, to
absorb new ideas, to moderate between people who have trouble coming to agreement, and to eat.

Astrology for 6/18/2017

June 18, 2017 by Norma

6/18/2017 Sunday by Norma

Sidestep a disagreement early in the day and do your best to remember the other party’s situation. Consider the source, have compassion and let the issue go. Boccaccio said, “Human it is to have compassion on the unhappy.” It is entirely possible you are dealing someone in difficult circumstances who sees no way out. Make no attempt at analysis and offer no solutions, just smile as you offer an enjoyable environment, one suited to the comfort of others. Elsewhere, exercise and vigorous activity are excellent. Be out and about today with people whose company you enjoy. Look for the goodness in the world and you’ll find it, look for trouble and it is there. Your choice! Genuine happiness lies in food, gifts, and reminding others what they mean to you.

Relief From Suffering

June 17, 2017 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

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

Now having been introduced to the six realms, you should look at all of the different qualities that produce these rebirths: anger, grasping, ignorance, doubt, jealousy and pride. You should think that the thing to do, if you have any understanding at all, is to begin to engage in activity that pacifies those kinds of qualities. How does this mesh with compassion? When you think about engaging in compassionate activity, you have to view compassionate activity in accordance with this teaching because you might think that compassionate activity would only be to be nice to people, and actually that is one kind of compassionate activity, or to give money to the poor, or to feed people. That is one kind of compassionate activity; that is one kind of bodhicitta, but it is temporary bodhicitta. It will produce a temporary cessation of suffering for the people that you help. If you give them food when they are hungry, it will produce the end of temporary suffering. If you give them money when they are poor, it will produce the end of temporary suffering. But if you really want to get into ultimate bodhicitta, which is the quintessential practice of the Mahayana vehicle, and Vajrayana as part of Mahayana—Vajrayana is what we practice here—what you really want to do is to practice ultimate or supreme bodhicitta. Ultimate or supreme bodhicitta is creating some kind of practice that will be a vehicle by which the qualities that produce this result will be pacified both in yourself and in other sentient beings.

I’ve described the six realms of cyclic existence. Where in the six realms is there relief? Nowhere. Will you find relief as a result of temporary help in any of the six realms? No, because you will be reborn again. And where? We don’t know. We just don’t know. In cyclic existence, there is no true relief. All there is in cyclic existence are the components of cyclic existence. That is all that is in that pot. You cannot expect true relief from cyclic existence. So ultimate bodhicitta and an ultimately compassionate act would be to become a Buddha yourself. To become highly enough realized yourself to make that commitment to attain realization in order to return again and again and again, emanating from the mind of enlightenment in order to be of benefit to sentient beings, because that is where relief comes from.

Now let me see if this is a typical thangka? No this is not a traditional thangka. The traditional thangkas usually show a path coming out from the human realm leading to enlightenment. As a human, you can make the ultimate gift. You can engage in the supreme practice. You can achieve enlightenment yourself and, therefore, you can be a returner. You can return again and again and again in order to lead sentient beings through a display of your enlightened compassion.

Astrology for 6/17/2017

June 17, 2017 by Norma

6/17/2017 Saturday by Norma

A novel idea, one that causes your hair to stand on end, opens a door you didn’t know existed. Go in and don’t look back! You’ll face fears and doubts on every side but trust yourself here. Your train jumps track and roars off in a different direction, and the trick of the day is to accept the change. Settle back, adjust your seat belt and prepare for something new, politely. The Earl of Chesterfield said, “Take the tone of the company you are in.” Your companions may change along the way so do your
best to fit in easily. This is a good day to listen to every opinion, make your own choice and move ahead without continuing to consider what you have abandoned. No looking back today.