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Intention and Vows

February 8, 2016 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

An excerpt from a teaching called Bodhicitta by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

From this very moment forward, I offer this life as a gift to the Three Precious Jewels. My pure intention is to accomplish the purpose of self and others, supreme enlightenment, quickly and surely. Thus I vow that all my life, every portion shall be used to accomplish that goal. All my activities shall accomplish that goal. All my thoughts and feelings are directed towards that goal. All my possessions shall be strengthened to support that goal. I shall seek all appropriate teachings, empowerments, and spiritual activities in order to secure that goal. My own enlightenment is now considered to be equal to and non-dual with the enlightenment of others. Therefore I vow to support fully and without hesitation the practicing spiritual community. I vow to support fully with unconditional love the Three Precious Jewels, the recitations, the Sangha and the temple. I will not kill; I will not lie to accomplish selfish purpose. I will not steal. I will not become intoxicated and therefore forget my purpose and vows. I will not engage in adultery, promiscuous activity by which my intention will be compromised.

I fully intend to do all that I can to accomplish the liberation of all sentient beings. I consider the realization of all beings to be equal with my own and of equal value. I fully support the spiritual community and its purpose on Earth. Should any activity, or possession or relationship be contrary to those purposes, I will systematically change them or eliminate them from my life. This I promise so there will be an end to hatred, greed and ignorance in my mind stream and in the 3,000 myriads of universes so that all beings and I myself shall achieve the precious awakening.

The Refuge Vow

I take refuge in the Lama,

I take refuge in the Buddha,

I take refuge in the Dharma,

I take refuge in the Sangha.

The Bodhisattva Vow

I dedicate myself to the liberation and salvation of all sentient beings. I offer my body, speech and mind in order to accomplish the purpose of all sentient beings. I will return in whatever form necessary under extraordinary conditions to end suffering. Let me be born in times unpredictable, in places unknown until all sentient beings are liberated from the cycle of death and rebirth. Taking no thought for my comfort or safety, Precious Lama, make of me a pure and perfect instrument by which the end of suffering and death in all forms may be realized. Let me achieve perfect enlightenment for the sake of all beings. Then by my hand and heart alone, may all beings achieve full enlightenment and perfect liberation.

True Nature

February 7, 2016 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

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

Bodhichitta is, in fact, our nature, as much our nature as Buddhahood. We are, in our nature, this fundamentally compassionate reality. Buddhahood itself has no other capability, other than that of Bodhichitta. Yet it has within itself all potential, unborn, and yet spontaneously complete. This is the great mystery. It cannot be understood in language. Our language betrays us in this way. Even as I speak these words there is probably a little voice in some of your heads that’s saying, “That’s not possible. How can that be so? I haven’t seen it. I haven’t smelled it. I haven’t touched it.” And that’s true, because the five senses are extensions of our ego and they are meant to interpret and measure our egocentric experience about which we already have pre-constructed beliefs.

But Buddhahood has nothing to do with that. Buddhahood is simply the “primordial wisdom ground of being.” It contains all potency, all potential. It is unborn yet spontaneously complete. How can one understand that? Certainly not with the intellect. Eventually, as one moves forward in one’s practice, one comes to understand experientially. And the Bodhichitta is like that too. Within the Bodhichitta is every potential. The Bodhichitta is inseparable from Buddhahood in the same way as the sun’s rays are inseparable from the sun. It is the same essence, the same nature. So within the Bodhichitta that is also our nature, there is all potency, all potential and the Bodhichitta as well. While it is spontaneously accomplished and fully complete, it is as yet unborn.

At first when we begin to understand what Bodhichitta actually is, and put it into our practice, there is a kind of distance and a kind of confusion that naturally occurs. This occurs because we ourselves have not had that experience yet. We have not tasted our nature. We have not tasted what it’s like when the mind remains absorbed and stable in that nature. Yet this is how the Bodhichitta naturally arises. If somehow you could magically remain absorbed in the fully awakened state the way the Buddha is, every activity that you would engage in, every interaction with any sentient being that you would have, would naturally be completely in accordance with the Bodhichitta. So the teachings that we have from the path of Dharma, from the Buddha himself, tell us that, in fact, if (now this is the big if) one has attained enlightenment, if one has attained this precious awakening, then all of one’s activities from that time forward are naturally that of the Bodhichitta, no matter what they look like.

What Is Bodhicitta?

February 6, 2016 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

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

Bodhicitta is the one subject that is taught from the first moment that one enters onto the path until the last moment before one really engages in completion stage practice. It is a primary and necessary fundamental foundational meditation, an absorption that one should remain in from the first moment upon hearing the Dharma to the last moment before one actually enters into nirvana. There should never be a moment when the the idea of Bodhicitta is not part of your life and part of your heart.

So what is Bodhicitta? Bodhicitta means the “great awakening,” and it has to do with the awakening mind. The Bodhisattva, one who is engaged in the practice of Bodhicitta, is one who is an awakening being. The Bodhisattvas take a vow by which they do not actually go into Buddhahood. They move further and further along what are called the bhumis, or steps, further and further into this precious state of awakening. Upon taking the Bodhisattva Vow, remaining fully absorbed in that vow, and beginning to accomplish that vow, one then begins to enter the first bhumi which is a very major step, a very major accomplishment. Then from the first bhumi one goes to the second, third, fourth, fifth, and so on, and at the tenth bhumi one is then able to step very easily into full Buddhahood. However, the Bodhisattva who is on the tenth bhumi holds back and does not take that final step in order to remain in the world for the sake of sentient beings: appearing in a form that is of benefit to sentient beings, and being able to teach and guide them.

So we are practicing and studying this Bodhicitta which is so precious and so important. Many of the religions in the world have the idea of compassion. That idea of compassion is stated in various ways, but in the Buddhadharma, it is not only one of the teachings, it is considered to be one of the two main legs of the path of the Buddhadharma. There is the wisdom and the Bodhicitta, wisdom and compassion. So these are the two legs of the path. It is considered that if one cannot accomplish compassion, if one cannot accomplish the Bodhicitta, then whatever else one is doing on the path amounts to very little. Bodhicitta is the cornerstone, the key. It is the essence of development. The Bodhicitta is the practice of compassion, when it is seen in a relative environment, such as this earth, filled with materialistic view and material phenomena. In this world of duality and relativity, when we think of Bodhicitta, we think of it as a practice in order to attain. But actually in truth, Bodhicitta is the very display or essence, the nature of the ground of our being.

Buddha is not just a historical man that lived a long time ago. Buddhas are not just the little statues, some of them fat little guys and some of them fancy guys. Buddha is our nature and can be considered the primordial ground of being. It is that essence, suchness, which is very difficult to describe. In fact, once one describes the nature of Buddhahood, then one has actually left the nature of Buddhahood. It cannot be described in such a way that one remains stable in the view of Buddhahood because once conceptualization and discrimination actually occur, then the meaning of Buddhahood is changed. So, ultimately, Buddhahood can only be understood in one’s meditation practice.

The closest we can come is to describe Buddhahood as being the fundamental ground of being. It is neither empty nor full. It is both and it is neither. It is neither silent nor filled with sound. It is both and it is neither. It is neither form nor formless. It is both, and yet neither. Buddhahood is that ultimate mystery that cannot be described in terminology that we understand because our terminology requires duality. It requires us to separate ourselves from that which we describe as though we were an audience. It requires us to discriminate and conceptualize. Discrimination and conceptualization are not in accordance with a true view of Buddhahood, because when one realizes and gives rise to that precious awakened state called Buddhahood, one cannot detect any separation. One cannot determine definition. One cannot judge where one thing ends and another thing begins. If we were to view from the fully awakened state that the Buddha was in when he described himself as being awake, we would not be able to determine where one being ended and another being began. That whole concept would be lost in the state of Buddhahood.

We think of Bodhicitta as the practice of compassion that we should attain to. We only have that idea because we are in a fundamentally deluded state, in a separated state, believing that self and other are in fact separate, believing that relative view and the view of Buddhahood are somehow separate. So that’s how we view Bodhicitta, as some thing that we do, some thing that we practice, but in fact the Bodhicitta is the very breath, or first movement or display or dance of the Buddha nature. If the Buddha nature is like the sun, radiant in every conceivable way, then the Bodhicitta can be considered like the rays of the sun. The rays of the sun cannot occur without the sun in the same way that Bodhicitta cannot occur without Buddhahood. In the same way, the sun does not occur without its rays; therefore Buddhahood does not occur without Bodhicitta. These two are inseparable. They cannot be determined as separate in any way, shape, manner or form other than through the dialogue of confusion, which is how we talk—language based on separation and delusion.

From the Great Lotus

February 5, 2016 by Holly

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An excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo from the Dakini Workshop

When the Buddha’s activities are accomplished in the world, through our lack of understanding, we will see lots of different things. For instance, in this temple, we may see the need for fundraising, and we may see the intensive effort that is supposed to go into that. We may see the need for expansion and how intensive the effort for that can be and we may see the extent of our own effort, which seems to be awesome. Yet, every bit of that perception is only based on the belief in self-nature as being inherently real. There is no one to struggle if the belief in self-nature is not clung to. It is that clinging that is the basis for the struggle.

From the point of view of enlightened intention, one can understand that from a tiny event that seemed in our continuum to take place 2,500 years ago and then continued on with a thread of different experiences and different incarnations, it may seem that that tiny event gave birth to the oddest things in the oddest of places in Poolesville, Maryland where the Dharma is born. Then we think about all of the things in India and we think about all the things in Tibet and we think about all the things that are happening around the world concerning the Buddha’s activity. From the point of view of the intention of that one life, that is a very small piece of effort. But from our point of view, of course, we are seeing the great effortfulness and it seems to be continuing endlessly, especially within the context of our lives. We seem to think that it is continuing endlessly.

One must understand, however, that even thinking that all of this came from one small life, even that is an outrageous delusion. It is a contrivance that we make to satisfy ourselves. One must understand that from the point of view of enlightenment, from the unborn vast expanse of emptiness, of blissful emptiness, within that sphere of truth that we call the great mother, all potency spontaneously arises and is born, demonstrates itself or dances or moves in as many displays, forms, formlessnesses as we can possibly imagine and beyond what we can imagine. And even as it is born, even as it moves, it is inherently and therefore immediately complete. That means that all sentient beings have within them the inherent Buddha nature and therefore will achieve enlightenment, but that is our confusion. In fact, we have never been separate from the sphere of truth. We have never been anywhere else but born and completed in the great lotus of the great mother. Anything else is complete fabrication.

We have never left the space of emptiness and we have never lost the scent of emptiness. From the point of view of enlightenment we have never beheld or looked at anything other than emptiness. We have never seen anything other than our own face. We have never lost a moment’s time.

Yet, here we are trying to understand the nature of the dakini, like trying to be seduced back into remembering our own face, straining to hear the sound of our own name. From the point of view of the enlightened activity that is consistent with the dakini nature, there is no loss. There is no distinction. There is no separation. There is no need for struggle. Yet it is clear that we remain fixed on the idea of separation between self and other. We remain hooked with concepts such as the distinction between dirty and clean. We remain addicted to the idea of hatred, greed and ignorance and seem to be unable to let them go so that they can simply do what they do naturally so that all phenomena, the moment that it naturally arises, is immediately completed.

From the point of view of enlightenment, no phenomenon continues itself. No piece of what we experience, whether we wish to experience or do not wish to experience, by its nature continues or completes itself. The experience of continuation that we have is only due to our own continuing it, our own determination to continue it. No phenomenon is exempt. All things arise from the sphere of truth. They are spontaneously born and instantly complete.

Cessation of Suffering

February 4, 2016 by Holly

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An excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo called “How Buddhists Think”

The Buddha’s next teaching is that there exists a cessation of suffering, which is the same as the cessation of desire. This cessation is called Enlightenment, and it is the only true cessation of suffering.

In a very poor society, people focus on basic survival. But what happens in a society like ours, in which survival is not a main concern? (If nothing else works, we can go on welfare.) Since we don’t need to focus on survival, we have time to be neurotic. The more we seem to satisfy our needs, the more needs we develop.

In cyclic existence, there is no way to solve all our needs. Everything constantly changes. And temporary happiness is almost a mixed blessing: it always ends, and in the meantime, we are preoccupied with it. The problem is that we haven’t done anything about viewing our true Nature. It’s almost as if we keep ourselves satisfied by eating the icing off the cake; never really obtaining genuine nourishment.

When the Buddha taught that there is an end to suffering, it was a major revelation. Why? Although the great yogis and gurus at that time taught that one could achieve God-consciousness, cosmic consciousness, the Buddha superseded that. Due to the ripening of his great generosity in past lives, he was able to come to a level of meditation in which he realized the cessation of fixation––fixation on godliness and even fixation on the consciousness of self. He attained a level of realization that was simply “Awake.” No consciousness, no sameness, no union. Simply pure luminosity: “I am Awake.”

At that moment, all the cause-and-effect building blocks accumulated throughout time out of mind, all the building blocks from endless involvement with subject-object fixation, all the fixation on ego as real––all of this was pacified. The Buddha realized the sameness and indivisibility of subject and object, the inseparability of action and stillness, the sameness, the “Suchness” of all that is. All was dispelled in clear, uncontrived, luminous awareness. This non-specific awareness is the pure view of one’s own true Nature. It is simply being awake. The Buddha teaches that this is the end of all suffering, because it is the end of what you make suffering with. It is the end of cause-and-effect relationships––and therefore, according to Buddhism, the end of karma.

The River

February 3, 2016 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

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

I went to the river. Once again dry, but for the tears in my eyes there was none for me to drink. I need to drink.

When water runs dry… We wait, the fish wait, the animals wait all of us wait. It cannot be found.

Later I saw the river again. Willows had grown, sucking up water. Since there was food for the Moose, I do not cry.

The Moose is so hungry, but the willows, they cry…will the water return by and by? The Raven sighs.

Once I brought three lotus to the river. Not one could stay. I cried, and walked away. Alone.

The scent lingers. The willows continue their thirsty way. Moose grows fat.

Someone must bring the rain. Soon we will all be gone. The feast of sweetness abandoned.

Here is a Lotus in my window. I pray the fragrance is pure. Here is a candle shining. Here is a hope.

Soon I must bring a Lotus to the river with joy. But I do not know if it will float downstream. They often do.

The Power of Speech

January 28, 2016 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

From a series of tweets by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo:

What is “Right Speech” in Buddha Dharma? Mostly as with the Eight Fold Path, we must do no harm. To understand right speech one must first understand what non virtuous speech is. That is where one speaks in a way as to be hurtful, offensive to another. Like name- calling and bullying others. Hate speech, in other words. Any speech that elevates oneself at the expense of others. Mean speech, speech without foundation, especially, which is gossip. Divisive speech. Speech that is not factual – lying. Telling tales to hurt a person’s livelihood. Lying speech causing one to prosper while others cannot as a result. Some think brutal honesty is right speech. Not so. Take the brutality out. Some think they are always right so brutality is necessary. Never the case!

We can always use right speech if we try. And to try we must be warm hearted and caring. Willing to take a back seat and applaud another’s efforts. At that point we can develop right speech, that is helpful. We can nurture, build confidence, benefit others with right speech. It is teaching, helpful and loving. When right speech is accomplished, in a future life one’s voice will be gifted and empowered. One will bring happiness and good result from teaching. One will be born with a beautiful voice, that is well loved and can transmit many blessings. That is the power of right speech, and one can see if they have spoken kindly in a previous life. The voice will be a beautiful thing, like a golden magical flute. All will benefit and Dharma will be spoken.

What Makes Buddhism Different?

January 24, 2016 by anisonam

An excerpt from a teaching called “The Importance of Shakyamuni”

Without the teachings of Lord Buddha, there would be no perfect path by which to achieve supreme enlightenment. There have been and still are paths on this planet by which one can move forward spiritually. There are many ways in which one can accumulate merit. There are many ways in which it is possible to make some kind of spiritual progress. But the kind of spiritual progress that produces supreme enlightenment is quite different.

Lord Buddha said that all beings are suffering, and he didn’t say that to be negative. He said that because he looked around and saw that even those beings that were most happy, most beautiful, and most productive would still get old, sicken, and ultimately die. Each being of the six realms of cyclic existence ultimately gets old, gets sick, and dies.

That is why Lord Buddha said that there is no comfort and no happiness in cyclic existence. He wasn’t denying the possibility of achieving some sort of momentary happiness or fleeting joy. Everyone knows we feel really good when we can eat a piece of chocolate cake or watch our favorite TV program or go swimming or have some friendly conversation or something like that. But the kind of joy that Buddha wished for all sentient beings was long lasting, one that ultimately did not betray us. The kind of joy that is available in cyclic existence has a beginning and therefore an end.

When Lord Buddha saw that, he wished in his great kindness and great compassion to present a way by which we could overcome cyclic existence, not merely make progress. That really is the difference between the teachings of Lord Buddha and other spiritual teachings. The teachings of Lord Buddha have one goal and one goal only: supreme realization – ultimate liberation from samsaric existence and the final overcoming of the mind of duality that produces the conditions of samsara. This is the path that Lord Buddha created.

Our Guide in Difficult Times

January 22, 2016 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

From a series of tweets by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo:

Ngundro, or preliminary practice consists of several parts:

Refuge, or entering the gate of protection of the “three precious ones” – the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.
Bodhicitta, the practice of the six perfections and the generation of the aspiration to realize Enlightenment.
The offering of the Mandala, the accumulation of merit through skill.
Vajrasattva, the purification of obscurations through wisdom.
And Guru Yoga, receiving the blessings through which one can attain enlightenment in a single lifetime.

Nothing is more precious than this. Even a cache of jewels, a palatial home, a beautiful and healthy body, nothing is more precious than Guru Yoga, the means to awaken. I have always been taught this: that in these deteriorating times Guru Yoga is the swiftest and most powerful method as it is so easy to be distracted, make mistakes, forget to be mindful. Our Spiritual Guide is the method to keep our path as straight as an arrow and as powerful as the mightiest sword. One should always keep samaya with the Tsawei Lama, even at the cost of one’s very life. If one cannot do even that, even after the precious Dharma has been offered, there is absolutely no way to accomplish the path.

One should remain within their Lineage as well, as there is the certainty of receiving pure unstained empowerment. If we cannot do even that, we are in delusion and ignorance. The fruit of Enlightenment will not come to your mouth. Body, speech and mind, the three doors will be corrupted. Speech will be ordinary, and without any benefit or virtue.

This teaching is a combination of Kyabje His His Penor Rinpoche and my humble self. Forgive me, Guru Padma for any mistakes, and for my presumption. Lama Kyen No! To the lotus feet of the Guru I make extensive offerings! Happy Losar to all! Kye HO!

Break Free

January 21, 2016 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

An excerpt from a teaching called Bodhicitta by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

One thing I like about all of you is your great compassion. You really want to help people. I’ve always loved that about you. There are some of you that are less interested than others, but everyone here really wants to help all sentient beings. But you know what? You can’t help anyone until you yourself are free of cyclic existence, because what you have there is the blind leading the blind. While you have hatred, greed and ignorance in your mind stream, you cannot help anyone. You can generate the deity all day long. You can help little old ladies cross the street all you want. You can make them bliss out and have a beautiful experience and sing songs and play music, and rub their backs and wiggle their toes and everything, but you can’t help them, because you may give them a short experience of happiness, and sometimes that’s worse because you can give them hope where there is no hope. The only hope is to break the cycle of cyclic existence and to be free of it. Sometimes the worst thing you can do for people is to give them a lot of blissful experiences, because sometimes it causes them to be satisfied and complacent and they don’t try to grow spiritually. Sometimes it can inspire them. But very often it can do the opposite.

The most profoundly beautiful thing about you is that you really want to help people. You really do. Then doesn’t it seem logical, that you would therefore take complete responsibility for your realization? If you can help somebody by achieving liberation in such a way that you can consciously reincarnate and come back in a form to teach others to achieve liberation, wouldn’t it seem rational that you would take profound responsibility for that and say, “I will do anything. So I am going to eradicate this grasping from my mind. I’m going to practice so hard and so sincerely.” And still I see people mouthing prayers. How do you do that? Still I see you trying to have a powerful experience. How can you do that? So what if you have a powerful experience? If you are going to be reborn as a cow, what’s the big deal? Is that what you want?

You have to have courage. You have to say, “I’m finished. I’m finished with all this junk that betrays me, with all of this stuff that ends up to be a bauble and nothing more with all this distraction that I’m wasting my life on. I’ve got 20 or 30 or 40 years to live. Am I going to waste it on this kind of distraction?” Just think about that. Then what will you do? You’ll have to realize the faults of cyclic existence. You’ll have to realize how impermanent it is. You’ll have to realize how fraught with pitfalls it is. You’ll have to realize how completely unconscious you are. You are tossed about. You have no control over where you are going to be born in the next incarnation. You have no control over any of that stuff until you seriously practice Dharma in such a way that you are able to break free of dualistic mind and therefore break free of the prison of samara. That’s what it takes. It’s the only thing you can do.