Tibetan Buddhist Altar

The Heart of Dharma

January 19, 2016 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

An excerpt from a teaching called Dharma of Technology by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

I really hope from the depth of my heart that all of you really fully intend to accomplish Dharma. What comes to your mind when you think, “accomplish Dharma?” One of the dangers, I think, when you see monks practice in the traditional way, especially if they are really polished in their practice is that we think that must be accomplishing Dharma. We think that what accomplishing dharma is getting the hand movements right and looking very disciplined and very ordered and in sync. And it’s part of it. That is the mechanical part, the skill that is necessary. Pujas and practices, all the different kinds of practices, whether they are recitations of different kinds, the making of tormas to all of the different kinds of offerings that you would make, to accomplishing tsog properly, to doing the mudras properly. These things are all the technical side of practice and they’re all important.

There is a reason why they are in the practices that we do. They all have a specific role to play in ripening the mind. And one of the things that makes tantra tantra, is that there is this outer, inner and secret level of meaning and that there is actually a physical thing that you do in order to accomplish what you’re doing, such as making a torma or making a certain kind of food offering at the same time that you’re accomplishing on the inside. And they’re done together, hand in glove and one is meaningless without the other. Not completely in the sense that you can make an offering in your heart and if you don’t have anything physical to give, it’s still a valid offering, but still, it’s universal in the Vajrayana path that you do all these different things together. So it’s a great skill and it’s really good to learn these things and that’s part of accomplishing Dharma.

Don’t be overwhelmed by watching people play bells and damarus in sync. Don’t be overwhelmed by watching the different technical things that you can do in Dharma and think that if you could just learn to make your hands go smoothly and do all this stuff at one time or if you could learn all the different parts of puja and do them absolutely correctly, then you will automatically have accomplished Dharma. If you have any understanding of Dharma by now, you’ll understand that Dharma is in the heart.

If you have the heart of Dharma, then to accomplish the technical side of Dharma is extraordinary. If you could have both of these components, it’s extraordinary. It’s a tremendous blessing. It’s a blessing beyond description. On the other hand, if you have the heart of Dharma without the technical side, you still have the heart of Dharma and that heart remains with you. It’s not something that dies at this lifetime. It’s something that remains with you and it changes you and it brings about the results that you want. But if you only have the mechanical part of Dharma, if you only have that without the meaning, without the heart of it, then you come away unchanged, and there again you’re in danger of collecting these skills in a material way. And if you collect them in a material way, it will be like any other form of materialism. It has the danger of pride, it has the danger of greed, it has the danger of lots of different things.

Now hear me. I am not saying that you should not become proficient in accomplishing these physical parts of Dharma, but I’m saying that if you do, be certain that you don’t lose an inch, a centimeter of your understanding of what Dharma is and in fact, be sure that your understanding of the heart of Dharma increases accordingly.

I’m not saying don’t bother to learn the technical side. I hope from the depth of my heart that we can learn the technical side. I really encourage all the monks and nuns to learn the technical side of Dharma, but I warn you not to do it without the heart.

In truth I have to tell you there have been one or two of you doing the offering mudras every chance you get and I see that there is no concentration and no real fixation or stabilization of your mind so that as you do the mudras you remember that you’re actually making an offering to the Buddhas and the bodhisattvas or an offering to the specific deity. I think that’s sad. I think it’s sad if you pay a lot of attention to what your hands are doing and very little attention to what your heart is doing. I think that’s kind of like a shell. Do you see what I am saying? So I think it is very important for you to accomplish Dharma from the heart.

When I say “from the heart,” I don’t mean in an emotional way. I don’t mean that you should think about Dharma in such a way that you make it into a vast, blissful experience. It isn’t like that at all. The real heart of Dharma is compassion and it’s the very hardest part. If you had a teacher that sat there beside you, you could learn all the different parts of Dharma practice and you could learn them very well. Relatively speaking, even though there is a lot to learn and even though we’re actually technically too old to start now and learn it all. But even if we could, we could accomplish it sufficiently to be pretty good at it or to look pretty good at it.

From that point of view, that kind of accomplishment is relatively easy. It’s doable. It’s doable to anyone of normal intelligence or perhaps a little bit above. But the heart of Dharma – if you sat with a teacher and yet you were not receptive or you had any of the karmic obscurations that I have described in previous teachings, it may be that you could sit with an excellent teacher for many years and never accomplish the heart of Dharma, which is compassion. Of all of the things that you can practice in Dharma, compassion is the very hardest. As a monk or nun, you can keep your vows exactly. You could read them every day and you can measure your bed and you can never clean a toilet again in your life. You could do all these things that would keep your vows exactly. But I bet anything if you examined your heart, you have not kept the bodhisattva vow for one hour.

Astrology for 1/19/2016

January 19, 2016 by Norma

1/19/2016 Tuesday by Norma

Conversation and the news is everything today! Go for a walk or a drive and think about what has happened. Share ideas and air out your thoughts. It’s a good day to hear other points of view. Four planets in earth signs are keeping your nose to the grindstone, and conversation is a relief. On a different front, an underground force is gaining strength, and it’s something you’re not talking about. A favorable discovery, the result of careful excavation and detective work, is possible. Secret matters come to light. You are under observation, but you’re ignored unless you’re doing something wrong. What’s good today? A joyous, happy spirit that elevates everything it touches. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common.”

The astrology post affects everyone differently, depending on individual horoscopes. Look to see where this message affects your life!

Did the Buddha Get Thirsty?

January 18, 2016 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

An excerpt from a teaching called Perception and Karma by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo, July 19, 1989

In a previous teaching we talked about the six realms of cyclic existence and how they would see a cup of water. How would the Buddha see a cup of water? The Buddha would know it’s innate nature. The Buddha would know innate nature. In that awareness there is no thirst, there is no need. There is relaxation, space, and freedom from desire. Even though the Buddha might live in a life where he drinks water, there is spaciousness in that experience, because he knows the nature. He knows the nature of desire and of thirst. He knows the nature of the experience itself. He knows the nature of the thought, “I should drink now.” In the heart of every piece of phenomena, and every single experience of any kind, is that profound nature, completely unified, completely inseparable, the same. Even to say that in the heart of that experience is that nature isn’t true. It implies that you might think of it as being like one of those chocolate covered cherries. In the heart is the nature, and the rest of it is something else. It’s not. That’s the only way we have to describe it. This that I call a cup of water is emptiness. It is emptiness. The water, the glass, the color, the taste, the desire, the need, the experience, everything is emptiness. Knowing that nature, experiencing the relaxation and spaciousness as the Buddha experiences each experience has as its core unlimited supreme bliss, bliss that is united with compassionate activity.

I am not a Buddha therefore I cannot speak as one, but a hypothetical difference may be this: I’m going to drink this because my mouth is getting dry. My mouth is getting dry because I believe in self-nature as being inherently real. My mouth can be satisfied by this water because I believe this water is other. I’m taking a drink. The Buddha experiences the nature as a result of that awakening because the very nature of that awakening is perfect compassion. The Buddha appears in the world and takes a drink of water. Within the experience of this cup, within the experience of this water, in this experience of the movement, in the experience of the decision to take the water, within the experience of being here, is the heart of emptiness and at the core, each experience is bliss. The Buddha experiences that because he knows the nature and has awakened to that nature to the extent that there is no self-craving. Therefore each experience is potentially, though it may look ordinary to you and I, potentially the experience of the primordial view, as pure, as blissful, as luminous, as inseparable from that nature in ways that we cannot understand. Yet the Buddha did come to the earth and did drink water. I assume, I wasn’t there, but I assume he did.

We, however, continue to suffer because we don’t have that space. Our minds are not relaxed. We are constantly engaged in the rigidity of reinforcing self and other and constantly at the mercy of the compulsion of our karma and constantly at the mercy of our own automatic habitual tendency to exaggerate and continue to build more suffering.

The moral of the story is, be a Buddha now. Ask me how. That is a joke, of course, but if you follow the Buddha’s teachings you are changing. You are constantly changing in the only way change is meaningful. If you really use the techniques deeply, in a contemplative way, really thinking about this, then there is hope. If you sincerely think in the ways that I’ve instructed and do the practices that you are given, you will begin to transform your awareness into the pristine, primordial experience, which is your true nature. You will have a taste of that nature and that taste will surely grow.

Astrology for 1/18/2016

January 18, 2016 by Norma

1/18/2016 Monday by Norma

This is a fabulous day to move forward with productive business, make financial deals and come to a meeting of minds with those in charge, provided you stick to the previously-agreed upon agenda. Don’t forget that Mercury is retrograde, helpfully accomplishing strategies from the past, cheerfully dunking brand new plans. Listen to emotionally stable people and elude an assertive person trying to catch your attention; this one is annoying and unhelpful. William James said, “The art of being wise
is the art of knowing what to overlook.” What’s good today? Banking matters, thoughtful purchases, stable friends and satisfying conversations. Someone inspires you!

The astrology post affects everyone differently, depending on individual horoscopes. Look to see where this message impacts your life!

Experience the “Lotus” of Dharma

January 17, 2016 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

From a series of tweets by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo:

The thing about Dharma is how expansive it can be; and is. So many different levels, almost like a wedding cake. To trivialize one in favor of another only indicates one’s propensity toward grasping and clinging. Ego must identify itself by its “containers” of concepts and often the “structure” of Dharma is understood much better than the nectar or essence of it.

Dharma is more like a lotus. Many petals and secret, fragrant parts, the root is in the mud of samsara. Yet the nature of every atom and molecule are Buddha rising from primordial clarity. The Lotus is pure, beautiful, and fragrant; it can be understood in many ways. Many compute the facts of the image. Some feel the soft insinuation of the image. Others will want and taste the fragrance. Feel the essence of it. Touch. Hold. Meld.

We are a community of Buddhists who cannot allow each other to be one of those lotus petals while letting one be pristine, another rusted; one shiny and new, and another nearly gone. But if we could…imagine the fragrance, the mystery, the color, the goodness, the texture and perfume the Buddha Dharma could be in the West! We could all have our different little rules but the perfume of Bodhicitta, compassion, the very display of loving kindness on all levels…we can bond into a great worldwide Dharma community if we looked out for each other. Displayed the beauty, connected, not argued.

We are taught by our Lamas that all phenomena even at the most subtle levels occur on outer, inner, and secret levels. Even in traditional empowerments and pujas it is so – those three levels.

So, will we argue about the grossest outer forms? Or give rise to Bodhicitta without which no one can awaken. Will we cling to form, or will we drink deeply of the nectar that Lord Buddha and later Padmasambhava brought?

The question is like asking if you wanna go out to chow down at a restaurant? Or humbly, gratefully, at the table of the Buddhas, their daughters, and their sons?

As for me and mine, we pray and intend to feast on love.

Astrology for 1/17/2016

January 17, 2016 by Norma

1/17/2016 Sunday by Norma

An expense or charge that you thought was forgotten comes due today, with good results. Paying what you owe opens the door to excellent things, so pay up cheerfully! This is a good day to receive inspiration from out of the blue, seemingly, that actually is the result of your own generosity. Material objects are important; look at items carefully to assess quality. Take what’s good and leave the rest. Pubilius Syrus said, “Observation, not old age, brings wisdom.” Elsewhere, a joyous message or happy time with others is fun and inspiring. It’s a great day to travel, to notice your surroundings and to enjoy others. Evade direct questions regarding commitment to future activities, another week will pass before you are ready to plan ahead..

The astrology post affects everyone differently, depending on individual horoscopes. Look to see where this message impacts your life!

On The Suffering of Beings

January 16, 2016 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

A slideshow compiled by a student of dharma who was inspired by the compassion retreats of Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo, founder of Kunzang Palyul Choling:

The music accompanying this video is a prayer offered by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo for the benefit of any being who is suffering (human or non), especially those suffering from illness or death. More information on this prayer and a download link can be found here: https://www.tibetanbuddhistaltar.org/prayer-to-be-reborn-in-dewachen/

Astrology for 1/16/2016

January 16, 2016January 16, 2016 by Norma

1/16/2016 Saturday by Norma

Consider your options carefully today, two doors are possible. Door one represents a calculated, fearful way of doing things. Door two represents optimism and broad-based hope for the future. Take door two, please. Shoot for the stars, not for the 7-11 next door. A Navajo Blessing says, “May you walk in beauty on a rainbow trail and dwell in the house of happiness with beauty all around you.” Think big! Be happy as you go about the business of cleaning up issues from the past. What’s good today? Tending to matters in a pleasant manner, household maintenance, fixing things, caring for pets, employees, health and preparing for the future. You want to be ready when that important moment comes!

The astrology post affects everyone differently, depending on individual horoscopes. Look to see where this message impacts your life!

Astrology for 1/15/2016

January 15, 2016 by Norma

1/15/2016 Friday by Norma

A buoyant spirit pervades the environment, causing people to tap their toes and zip around excitedly. Avoid sedentary work, your fidgeting will drive everyone nuts. Be out and about! This is the day to run errands, marathons and roadblocks! A joyous spirit brings fun and laughter into everything you do. Use the happiness to tackle, respectfully, your toughest jobs, and be amazed at the results! It’s an expansive time. Anonymous said, “He who makes room in his heart for others, will himself find welcome accommodation everywhere.” Be open, friendly and accepting with everyone you meet. Yes, you’re still solving issues from the past, but that doesn’t mean you need to bring old attitudes with you.

The astrology post affects everyone differently, depending on individual horoscopes. Look to see how this message impacts your life!

True Refuge

January 14, 2016 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The Buddha is the Master who reveals the true Refuge, and the Sangha is like a true friend on the path to Enlightenment. The actual refuge is the Dharma, because it is the Dharma that will free us and pacify suffering. The absence of or freedom from delusion is cessation. If we do not apply the antidote to our faults and delusions they continue to arise. But after the remedy, if the delusion is totally uprooted, it will never rise again. That state, free from delusion and the stains of the mind is a cessation. Bottom line- anything we wish to abandon like suffering and its causes, can be eliminated by applying the opposite forces. The final cessation is called Nirvana, or Liberation.

The Buddhas, fully enlightened ones are inconceivable, as is the Dharma, their teaching. The Sangha is also inconceivable so if you develop inconceivable faith there is no doubt the result will be inconceivable. It is said in our scriptures that if the benefit of sincerely taking refuge in the Three Jewels could be measured in relative, physical terms, the entire Universe would not be able to contain its value just as a great ocean cannot be measured in a tea cup.

Having learned the value and benefit we should rejoice in the opportunity to make offerings to and take Refuge in the Three Precious Jewels of Liberation. Here in this way we will be able to alleviate the influences of our negative actions as well as karmic obstructions. All these can and will be eliminated, and we all will be counted as sublime beings, which will surely please the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and our own kind Gurus and Lineage Masters!

It is this we should focus on, not the ego or our pridefulness for results. The consequences of karma are definite. Negative actions bring suffering, always. And positive actions bring happiness and freedom, always even a small action can bring a large consequence; so mindfulness is required. And the ability to examine ourselves honestly is essential to all spiritual progress!

To all spiritual progress!

OM MANI PEDME HUNG!

OM AH MI DEWA HRI!