Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo
Encyclopedia
Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo is an enthroned tulku
within the Palyul
lineage of the Nyingma
tradition of Tibetan Buddhism
. In the late 1980s, she gained international attention as the first Western woman to be named a reincarnate lama
. She continues to serve as Spiritual Director for Kunzang Odsal Palyul Changchub Choling
, a Buddhist center in Poolesville, Maryland
, which includes one of the largest communities of Western monks and nuns in North America. She went on to found a center in Sedona, Arizona
, U.S.A. Jetsunma has been described by her own teachers, as well as many other Tibetan Buddhist lamas who have visited her temple, as a dakini
or female wisdom being, and is thus viewed in that way by her students.
on October 12, 1949, to an Austrian/Dutch Jewish mother and Italian father, alternately attended the Dutch Reform Church and Catholic Church as a youth. The family moved to Hialeah, Florida
when she was 14. Enduring a home life of alcoholism and physical abuse of the children, Zeoli tried unsuccessfully to run away at age 17. After finishing high school, she married Jim Perry and gave birth to her first son, Ben. The marriage soon ended in divorce and she moved to a farm outside Asheville, North Carolina
with Pat Mulloy. They got married and she had another son, Christopher.
It was at that farmhouse in Asheville where, based on a series of instructive dreams starting at age 19, she began meditation practice and independent spiritual training, culminating in a spiritual experience at age 30. She studied with a New Age teacher named Jim Gore and gave channeled psychic reading
s at the Black Mountain Light Center in North Carolina.
In 1980, she met Michael Burroughs, a graduate student in religions at the University of Virginia
. She and Mulloy separated in 1981.
Zeoli moved with Burroughs and her two sons to Kensington, Maryland
. She married Burroughs in 1983 and changed her name to Catharine Burroughs. Together they formed the Center For Discovery and New Life beginning with former members from the Black Mountain Light Center. She continued to give channeled teachings from a being called Santu, the prophet Jeremiah, as well as a being named Andor.
Her group quickly expanded, with the students practicing the meditation techniques Zeoli herself practiced from her dreams, a version of Jim Gore's Light Expansion Prayer, and taking vows of compassion that Zeoli composed. The group began a 24-hour prayer vigil in the basement of their Kensington home in April, 1985 inspired by her experiences when she searched for a place to pray and found locked doors.
's main lay attendant, who was selling rugs to support Namdroling monastery. The students sponsored seventy Namdroling monks. A few months later, H. H. Penor Rinpoche stayed with the Burroughs on his first visit to the US. During that week, he interviewed most of Jetsunma’s students, as well as Jetsunma herself, about what was being taught and what they were practicing. At the time, he concluded that Zeoli had been “teaching Mahayana Buddhism without any formal instruction” and attributed it to a very high level of practice accomplished in previous lifetimes. Penor Rinpoche then gave Jetsunma's students the traditional Refuge
and Bodhisattva Vows
, which constitute formal entry into the Hinayana
and Mahayana
Buddhist paths respectively. Rinpoche visited the meditation and prayer center operated by the Burroughs, which at the time was nonsectarian rather than Buddhist.
Thereafter Zeoli continued the channeled teachings, but they took on a more Buddhist flavor, for example gradually shifting terms such as "Christ consciousness" to "Buddha consciousness" between 1984 and 1987. Beset by health problems, she also made a trip in 1986 to Ashland, Oregon
to visit Ven. Gyatrul Rinpoche, one of Penor Rinpoche’s other hosts on his American tour the previous year. She formed a “strong and immediate” connection with Gyatrul Rinpoche, himself recognized as the incarnation of Palyul
Monastery’s First Throneholder, Rigdzin Kunzang Sherab. Gyatrul Rinpoche echoed the sentiment that the practices and teachings that naturally arose in Zeoli’s mind were due to many past lifetimes as a lama, and encouraged her to visit Penor Rinpoche in India to investigate the matter further.
. They also purchased numerous large crystals weighing hundreds of pounds and held a three-day retreat to bring in Universal Spirit as they reinstituted the 24 hour prayer vigil at the new location. Already overextended with their new mortgage, the crystals, as well as extensive renovations in anticipation of HH Penor Rinpoche's first visit, the temple was forced to refinance.
Participants have maintained two-hour prayer shifts. The vigil is dedicated to the end of suffering and has remained largely unbroken. In 1999, Kunzang Palyul Choling
(KPC) began another 24 hour prayer vigil shortly after Alyce established the Sedona, Arizona location.
In 1996, in addition to the temple, prayer vigil, teachings and stupas, Jetsunma's vision for Kunzang Palyul Choling included a place for pilgrimage with a hospice, school for children, a monastery and an institute for higher education in the Buddha's teachings. The school, called Pema Choling, ran from 1992 to 1997, and the Migyur Dorje Institute continued from 1996 through 2001.
, 11th Throneholder of Palyul
Monastery, former Supreme Head of the Nyingma
tradition, described as a rather unassailable figure in Tibetan Buddhism, officially recognized Jetsunma in 1987 as the tulku of Genyenma Ahkon Lhamo during her visit to his Namdroling Monastery in Bylakuppe
, Karnataka
, India. As is customary, Penor Rinpoche sought confirmation of his recognition before announcing it. He received it from both His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (1910–91), the then Supreme Head of the Nyingma tradition who was on a teaching visit to Namdroling at the time, and the most senior Palyul tulku, the Second Dzongnang Jampal Lodro Rinpoche (d. 8/87).
The Buddha From Brooklyn asserts that the students determine what title they will use for their own teacher and that Zeoli's ex-husband, Michael Burroughs, selected the title 'Jetsunma' for her. This is a title rarely given to even the most revered Tibetan Buddhist women teachers.
Monastery (founded 1665).[8] She is remembered both as being instrumental in the founding of Palyul (now one of the Nyingma’s Six Mother Monasteries) and for leaving an extraordinary relic. During the cremation of her body, her kapala (top half of the skull) is said to have flown three kilometers and come to rest at the foot of the teaching throne of her brother. Found to be miraculously embossed with the sacred syllable AH, the kapala became one of the most treasured relics at Palyul
monastery.
Penor Rinpoche has recounted how, as a young tulku in Tibet (he was recognized and brought to Palyul Monastery in 1936, at the age of four), inspired by seeing the skull relic, he made prayers to find Ahkon Lhamo’s incarnation. Though most of the kapala relic was pulverized into dust during the Cultural Revolution
, one Tibetan man managed to save the silver dollar-size piece on which the syllable “AH” appears. Penor Rinpoche acquired it from him on a return trip to Tibet in 1987. He had it preserved in a crystal lotus and presented it to Jetsunma just prior to the occasion of her enthronement ceremony at Kunzang Palyul Choling (KPC) in 1988. The relic remains at KPC and is displayed on auspicious days (see image at right).
’s teaching cycles known as terma
. This was the first time that these teachings had ever been conferred in a Western country., According to Penor Rinpoche’s explanation at the time there is a point toward the end of the Rinchen Terdzod transmissions, during the conferral of the Vajrapani empowerment from Rigdzin Godem’s Jangter (“Northern Treasures”) cycle, where it is customary to perform enthronement of tulkus. Thus, on September 24, 1988, Penor Rinpoche conducted this ceremony for Jetsunma as the tulku of Genyenma Ahkon Lhamo. Jetsunma considers Penor Rinpoche to be her root guru, along with Ven. Gyatrul Rinpoche, Spiritual Director of Yeshe Nyingpo based in Ashland, Oregon, who is recognized as an incarnation of the first Ahkon Lhamo’s brother, Rigdzin Kunzang Sherab.
Among the more than 100 tulkus Penor Rinpoche has recognized, one of the only other Westerners was Steven Seagal
. Penor Rinpoche
announced at Namdroling Monastery
in India in February, 1997, that Seagal was an incarnation of the 17th c. Palyul
terton
Chungdrag Dorje. Because of Seagal’s international renown as an action movie star, the announcement sparked numerous derisive articles in the mainstream US press and called into question both of Penor Rinpoche's American tulkus. Penor Rinpoche
subsequently released an extensive public explanation describing the Tibetan tradition of tulku recognition in general, Seagal’s recognition specifically, and delineating the difference in meaning between the recognition of a tulku (Seagal’s case), in which he or she “does not take on any formal responsibilities at the time,” and the following step of enthronement (Jetsunma’s case), which “formally invests the tulku with the responsibility of furthering the activities associated with their particular tulku lineage.”
Orgyen Kusum Lingpa
indicated in a long life prayer he composed that Jetsunma was an emanation of Lhacham Mandarava
, the Indian princess of Zahor and one of the consorts of Padmasambhava
, a tantric master who helped establish the Buddha's teaching in Tibet. In 1996, she traveled to India and visited many of the places where Mandarava was known to have practiced. Inspired by the recognition, several of Jetsunma’s students sought out and found a copy of Mandarava’s middle-length spiritual biography, revealed as a terma in the 17th c. by Samten Lingpa, at the U.S. Library of Congress. They then sponsored the first English translation of the text, published as The Lives and Liberation of Princess Mandarava in 1998. Jetsunma’s connection with Mandarava was further reinforced in a long life prayer composed for her in 2004 by His Holiness Dorje Lopen Ngawang Tenzin Rinpoche, one of the most highly respected lamas in Bhutan.
The Maryland vigil continues unbroken to the present day. A simultaneous 24-hour Prayer Vigil was conducted by KPC students in Sedona, AZ from October 31, 1999 to August 31, 2008.
; Ven. Gyatrul Rinpoche; HH Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok
& Ani Mumtso; HH Karma Kuchen Rinpoche; Mugsang Tulku; Khentrul Gyangkhang Rinpoche; Khenchen Tsewang Gyatso; Khenchen Pema Sherab; Khenpo Namdrol; HH Ngawang Tenzin Rinpoche (Bhutan
); Ven. Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche & Ven. Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche; Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche
; Ven. Yangthang Tulku; HE Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche; HH Chetsang Rinpoche; Tulku Sangngag, Choji Rinpoche; Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche
; Ven. Ngagpa Yeshe Dorje; HH Orgyen Kusum Lingpa
; Tulku Rigdzin Pema; Bhaka Tulku; Khenpo Tenzin Norgey; and Lama Kuntuzangpo, Baasan Lama, and Lama Baasansuren (Mongolia
).
’s conferral of the Rinchen Terdzod, 25 of Jetsunma’s students underwent the traditional ordination ceremony to become monks and nuns, instantly creating one of the largest communities of ordained Westerners in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition in North America. Though some have since left their ordination or passed away, others have joined, and as of 2008 KPC’s ordained numbered 40.
, Chandrakirti, Asanga
, Ngari Panchen, and Mipham Rinpoche. This curriculum was supplemented by annual 30-day retreats teaching the traditional Nyingmapa sequence of the inner tantra: Ngondro
, Tsa Lung, Trekchod, and Togyal. With Penor Rinpoche
’s development of a similar program at the Palyul Retreat Center in McDonough, NY, the MDI program has been discontinued.
Tulku
In Tibetan Buddhism, a tulku is a particular high-ranking lama, of whom the Dalai Lama is one, who can choose the manner of his rebirth. Normally the lama would be reincarnated as a human, and of the same sex as his predecessor. In contrast to a tulku, all other sentient beings including other...
within the Palyul
Palyul
Palyul is one of the six mother monasteries of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Founded in 1665 by Rigdzen Kunzang Sherab, the monastery is the seat of the Nam Cho Terma of Terton Migyur Dorje. His Holiness Penor Rinpoche was the 11th throne holder of the Palyul lineage...
lineage of the Nyingma
Nyingma
The Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism . "Nyingma" literally means "ancient," and is often referred to as Nga'gyur or the "old school" because it is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Tibetan, in the eighth century...
tradition of Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
. In the late 1980s, she gained international attention as the first Western woman to be named a reincarnate lama
Lama
Lama is a title for a Tibetan teacher of the Dharma. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term guru .Historically, the term was used for venerated spiritual masters or heads of monasteries...
. She continues to serve as Spiritual Director for Kunzang Odsal Palyul Changchub Choling
Kunzang Palyul Choling
Kunzang Palyul Choling is a center for Buddhist study and practice in the Nyingma tradition . Founded as the Center for Discovery and New Life in 1985, and then given to His Holiness Penor Rinpoche and renamed by him in 1987, KPC was Penor Rinpoche's first Dharma Center in the US.- Teachers :The...
, a Buddhist center in Poolesville, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, which includes one of the largest communities of Western monks and nuns in North America. She went on to found a center in Sedona, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, U.S.A. Jetsunma has been described by her own teachers, as well as many other Tibetan Buddhist lamas who have visited her temple, as a dakini
Dakini
A dakini is a tantric deity described as a female embodiment of enlightened energy. In the Tibetan language, dakini is rendered khandroma which means 'she who traverses the sky' or 'she who moves in space'. Sometimes the term is translated poetically as 'sky dancer' or 'sky walker'. The dakini, in...
or female wisdom being, and is thus viewed in that way by her students.
Early years
Zeoli was born in Canarsie, BrooklynCanarsie, Brooklyn
Canarsie is a neighborhood in the southeastern portion of the borough of Brooklyn, in New York City, United States. The area is part of Brooklyn Community Board 18....
on October 12, 1949, to an Austrian/Dutch Jewish mother and Italian father, alternately attended the Dutch Reform Church and Catholic Church as a youth. The family moved to Hialeah, Florida
Hialeah, Florida
Hialeah is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 226,419. As of 2009, the population estimate by the U. S...
when she was 14. Enduring a home life of alcoholism and physical abuse of the children, Zeoli tried unsuccessfully to run away at age 17. After finishing high school, she married Jim Perry and gave birth to her first son, Ben. The marriage soon ended in divorce and she moved to a farm outside Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...
with Pat Mulloy. They got married and she had another son, Christopher.
It was at that farmhouse in Asheville where, based on a series of instructive dreams starting at age 19, she began meditation practice and independent spiritual training, culminating in a spiritual experience at age 30. She studied with a New Age teacher named Jim Gore and gave channeled psychic reading
Psychic reading
A psychic reading is a specific attempt to discern information with clairvoyance and the resulting statements made during such an attempt. The term is commonly associated with paranormal-based consultation given for a fee in such settings as over the phone, in a home, or at psychic fairs...
s at the Black Mountain Light Center in North Carolina.
In 1980, she met Michael Burroughs, a graduate student in religions at the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
. She and Mulloy separated in 1981.
Zeoli moved with Burroughs and her two sons to Kensington, Maryland
Kensington, Maryland
Kensington is a town in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,873 at the 2000 census. Greater Kensington encompasses the entire 20895 zip code and its population is an order of magnitude larger than that of the town at its center....
. She married Burroughs in 1983 and changed her name to Catharine Burroughs. Together they formed the Center For Discovery and New Life beginning with former members from the Black Mountain Light Center. She continued to give channeled teachings from a being called Santu, the prophet Jeremiah, as well as a being named Andor.
Her group quickly expanded, with the students practicing the meditation techniques Zeoli herself practiced from her dreams, a version of Jim Gore's Light Expansion Prayer, and taking vows of compassion that Zeoli composed. The group began a 24-hour prayer vigil in the basement of their Kensington home in April, 1985 inspired by her experiences when she searched for a place to pray and found locked doors.
Meeting Her Root Guru
In 1984, Zeoli’s growing group of students met a Tibetan man named Kunzang, H. H. Penor RinpochePenor rinpoche
Kyabjé Drubwang Pema Norbu Rinpoche was the 11th throne holder of the Palyul Lineage of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, and said to be an incarnation of Vimalamitra. He was widely renowned in the Tibetan Buddhist world as a master of Dzogchen...
's main lay attendant, who was selling rugs to support Namdroling monastery. The students sponsored seventy Namdroling monks. A few months later, H. H. Penor Rinpoche stayed with the Burroughs on his first visit to the US. During that week, he interviewed most of Jetsunma’s students, as well as Jetsunma herself, about what was being taught and what they were practicing. At the time, he concluded that Zeoli had been “teaching Mahayana Buddhism without any formal instruction” and attributed it to a very high level of practice accomplished in previous lifetimes. Penor Rinpoche then gave Jetsunma's students the traditional Refuge
Refuge (Buddhism)
Buddhists "take refuge" in, or to "go for refuge" to, the Three Jewels . This can be done formally in lay and monastic ordination ceremonies.The Three Jewels general signification is: * the Buddha;* the Dharma, the teachings;...
and Bodhisattva Vows
Bodhisattva vows
The Sanskrit term Bodhisattva is the name given to anyone who, motivated by great compassion, has generated bodhichitta, which is a spontaneous wish to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings. What makes someone a Bodhisattva is her or his dedication to the ultimate welfare of...
, which constitute formal entry into the Hinayana
Hinayana
Hīnayāna is a Sanskrit and Pāli term literally meaning: the "Inferior Vehicle", "Deficient Vehicle", the "Abandoned Vehicle", or the "Defective Vehicle". The term appeared around the 1st or 2nd century....
and Mahayana
Mahayana
Mahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...
Buddhist paths respectively. Rinpoche visited the meditation and prayer center operated by the Burroughs, which at the time was nonsectarian rather than Buddhist.
Thereafter Zeoli continued the channeled teachings, but they took on a more Buddhist flavor, for example gradually shifting terms such as "Christ consciousness" to "Buddha consciousness" between 1984 and 1987. Beset by health problems, she also made a trip in 1986 to Ashland, Oregon
Ashland, Oregon
Ashland is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States, near Interstate 5 and the California border, and located in the south end of the Rogue Valley. It was named after Ashland County, Ohio, point of origin of Abel Helman and other founders, and secondarily for Ashland, Kentucky, where other...
to visit Ven. Gyatrul Rinpoche, one of Penor Rinpoche’s other hosts on his American tour the previous year. She formed a “strong and immediate” connection with Gyatrul Rinpoche, himself recognized as the incarnation of Palyul
Palyul
Palyul is one of the six mother monasteries of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Founded in 1665 by Rigdzen Kunzang Sherab, the monastery is the seat of the Nam Cho Terma of Terton Migyur Dorje. His Holiness Penor Rinpoche was the 11th throne holder of the Palyul lineage...
Monastery’s First Throneholder, Rigdzin Kunzang Sherab. Gyatrul Rinpoche echoed the sentiment that the practices and teachings that naturally arose in Zeoli’s mind were due to many past lifetimes as a lama, and encouraged her to visit Penor Rinpoche in India to investigate the matter further.
Expansion
In 1985, the Center for Discovery and New Life formed a corporation and purchased an antebellum style mansion in Poolesville, MarylandPoolesville, Maryland
Poolesville is a town in Montgomery County, Maryland United States with a population of approximately 5000 people. It is surrounded by the Montgomery County Agricultural Reserve, and is considered a distant bedroom community for commuters to Washington, DC.The name of the town comes from the...
. They also purchased numerous large crystals weighing hundreds of pounds and held a three-day retreat to bring in Universal Spirit as they reinstituted the 24 hour prayer vigil at the new location. Already overextended with their new mortgage, the crystals, as well as extensive renovations in anticipation of HH Penor Rinpoche's first visit, the temple was forced to refinance.
Participants have maintained two-hour prayer shifts. The vigil is dedicated to the end of suffering and has remained largely unbroken. In 1999, Kunzang Palyul Choling
Kunzang Palyul Choling
Kunzang Palyul Choling is a center for Buddhist study and practice in the Nyingma tradition . Founded as the Center for Discovery and New Life in 1985, and then given to His Holiness Penor Rinpoche and renamed by him in 1987, KPC was Penor Rinpoche's first Dharma Center in the US.- Teachers :The...
(KPC) began another 24 hour prayer vigil shortly after Alyce established the Sedona, Arizona location.
In 1996, in addition to the temple, prayer vigil, teachings and stupas, Jetsunma's vision for Kunzang Palyul Choling included a place for pilgrimage with a hospice, school for children, a monastery and an institute for higher education in the Buddha's teachings. The school, called Pema Choling, ran from 1992 to 1997, and the Migyur Dorje Institute continued from 1996 through 2001.
Buddhist recognitions
His Holiness the Third Drubwang Padma Norbu (“Penor”) RinpochePenor rinpoche
Kyabjé Drubwang Pema Norbu Rinpoche was the 11th throne holder of the Palyul Lineage of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, and said to be an incarnation of Vimalamitra. He was widely renowned in the Tibetan Buddhist world as a master of Dzogchen...
, 11th Throneholder of Palyul
Palyul
Palyul is one of the six mother monasteries of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Founded in 1665 by Rigdzen Kunzang Sherab, the monastery is the seat of the Nam Cho Terma of Terton Migyur Dorje. His Holiness Penor Rinpoche was the 11th throne holder of the Palyul lineage...
Monastery, former Supreme Head of the Nyingma
Nyingma
The Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism . "Nyingma" literally means "ancient," and is often referred to as Nga'gyur or the "old school" because it is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Tibetan, in the eighth century...
tradition, described as a rather unassailable figure in Tibetan Buddhism, officially recognized Jetsunma in 1987 as the tulku of Genyenma Ahkon Lhamo during her visit to his Namdroling Monastery in Bylakuppe
Bylakuppe
Bylakuppe kannada:ಬೈಲಕುಪ್ಪೆ, Tibetian:བལཀུཔེ is the location of "Lugsum Samdupling" and "Dickyi Larsoe" , two adjacent Tibetan refugee settlements, as well as a number of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries. The area is located in the west of the Mysore district in the Indian state of Karnataka...
, Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
, India. As is customary, Penor Rinpoche sought confirmation of his recognition before announcing it. He received it from both His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (1910–91), the then Supreme Head of the Nyingma tradition who was on a teaching visit to Namdroling at the time, and the most senior Palyul tulku, the Second Dzongnang Jampal Lodro Rinpoche (d. 8/87).
The Buddha From Brooklyn asserts that the students determine what title they will use for their own teacher and that Zeoli's ex-husband, Michael Burroughs, selected the title 'Jetsunma' for her. This is a title rarely given to even the most revered Tibetan Buddhist women teachers.
Predecessor
The first Genyenma Ahkon Lhamo, a meditator recognized as a primordial wisdom dakini was one of the main disciples of Terton Migyur Dorje (1645–67) and sister of Rigdzin Kunzang Sherab, Migyur Dorje’s Dharma heir and the First Throneholder of PalyulPalyul
Palyul is one of the six mother monasteries of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Founded in 1665 by Rigdzen Kunzang Sherab, the monastery is the seat of the Nam Cho Terma of Terton Migyur Dorje. His Holiness Penor Rinpoche was the 11th throne holder of the Palyul lineage...
Monastery (founded 1665).[8] She is remembered both as being instrumental in the founding of Palyul (now one of the Nyingma’s Six Mother Monasteries) and for leaving an extraordinary relic. During the cremation of her body, her kapala (top half of the skull) is said to have flown three kilometers and come to rest at the foot of the teaching throne of her brother. Found to be miraculously embossed with the sacred syllable AH, the kapala became one of the most treasured relics at Palyul
Palyul
Palyul is one of the six mother monasteries of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Founded in 1665 by Rigdzen Kunzang Sherab, the monastery is the seat of the Nam Cho Terma of Terton Migyur Dorje. His Holiness Penor Rinpoche was the 11th throne holder of the Palyul lineage...
monastery.
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
, one Tibetan man managed to save the silver dollar-size piece on which the syllable “AH” appears. Penor Rinpoche acquired it from him on a return trip to Tibet in 1987. He had it preserved in a crystal lotus and presented it to Jetsunma just prior to the occasion of her enthronement ceremony at Kunzang Palyul Choling (KPC) in 1988. The relic remains at KPC and is displayed on auspicious days (see image at right).
Rinchen Terdzod Ceremony
From June to September 1988, Penor Rinpoche was in residence at KPC in Poolesville to transmit all of the teachings contained in the Rinchen Terdzod (“Treasury of Precious Termas”), Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye’s massive 19th c. compilation of all of the extant revelations of Guru PadmasambhavaPadmasambhava
Padmasambhava ; Mongolian ловон Бадмажунай, lovon Badmajunai, , Means The Lotus-Born, was a sage guru from Oddiyāna who is said to have transmitted Vajrayana Buddhism to Bhutan and Tibet and neighbouring countries in the 8th century...
’s teaching cycles known as terma
Terma (religion)
Terma are key Tibetan Buddhist and Bön teachings, which the tradition holds were originally esoterically hidden by various adepts such as Padmasambhava and his consorts in the 8th century for future discovery at auspicious times by other adepts, known as tertöns. As such, they represent a...
. This was the first time that these teachings had ever been conferred in a Western country., According to Penor Rinpoche’s explanation at the time there is a point toward the end of the Rinchen Terdzod transmissions, during the conferral of the Vajrapani empowerment from Rigdzin Godem’s Jangter (“Northern Treasures”) cycle, where it is customary to perform enthronement of tulkus. Thus, on September 24, 1988, Penor Rinpoche conducted this ceremony for Jetsunma as the tulku of Genyenma Ahkon Lhamo. Jetsunma considers Penor Rinpoche to be her root guru, along with Ven. Gyatrul Rinpoche, Spiritual Director of Yeshe Nyingpo based in Ashland, Oregon, who is recognized as an incarnation of the first Ahkon Lhamo’s brother, Rigdzin Kunzang Sherab.
Among the more than 100 tulkus Penor Rinpoche has recognized, one of the only other Westerners was Steven Seagal
Steven Seagal
Steven Frederic Seagal is an American action film star, producer, writer, martial artist, guitarist and reserve deputy sheriff. A 7th-dan black belt in Aikido, Seagal began his adult life as an Aikido instructor in Japan...
. Penor Rinpoche
Penor rinpoche
Kyabjé Drubwang Pema Norbu Rinpoche was the 11th throne holder of the Palyul Lineage of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, and said to be an incarnation of Vimalamitra. He was widely renowned in the Tibetan Buddhist world as a master of Dzogchen...
announced at Namdroling Monastery
Namdroling Monastery
The Namdroling Nyingmapa Monastery is the largest teaching center of Nyingmapa – a lineage of Tibetan Buddhism – in the world....
in India in February, 1997, that Seagal was an incarnation of the 17th c. Palyul
Palyul
Palyul is one of the six mother monasteries of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Founded in 1665 by Rigdzen Kunzang Sherab, the monastery is the seat of the Nam Cho Terma of Terton Migyur Dorje. His Holiness Penor Rinpoche was the 11th throne holder of the Palyul lineage...
terton
Tertön
A tertön is a discoverer of ancient texts or "terma". Many tertöns are considered incarnations of the 25 main disciples of Padmasambhava. A vast system of transmission lineages developed...
Chungdrag Dorje. Because of Seagal’s international renown as an action movie star, the announcement sparked numerous derisive articles in the mainstream US press and called into question both of Penor Rinpoche's American tulkus. Penor Rinpoche
Penor rinpoche
Kyabjé Drubwang Pema Norbu Rinpoche was the 11th throne holder of the Palyul Lineage of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, and said to be an incarnation of Vimalamitra. He was widely renowned in the Tibetan Buddhist world as a master of Dzogchen...
subsequently released an extensive public explanation describing the Tibetan tradition of tulku recognition in general, Seagal’s recognition specifically, and delineating the difference in meaning between the recognition of a tulku (Seagal’s case), in which he or she “does not take on any formal responsibilities at the time,” and the following step of enthronement (Jetsunma’s case), which “formally invests the tulku with the responsibility of furthering the activities associated with their particular tulku lineage.”
Further recognition
A further recognition of Jetsunma occurred in 1994, when TertonTertön
A tertön is a discoverer of ancient texts or "terma". Many tertöns are considered incarnations of the 25 main disciples of Padmasambhava. A vast system of transmission lineages developed...
Orgyen Kusum Lingpa
Orgyen Kusum Lingpa
Orgyen Kusum Lingpa was a terton and Nyingma lineage holder within Tibetan Buddhism. His name means "Holder of the Sanctuary of the Trikaya of Oddiyana Padmasambhava."...
indicated in a long life prayer he composed that Jetsunma was an emanation of Lhacham Mandarava
Mandarava
Mandarava is, along with Yeshe Tsogyal, one of the two principal consorts of Padmasambhava and is considered a female guru-deity. Mandarava, born a princess in Mandi, Himachel Pradesh, India in the 8th Century CE, renounced her royal birthright in order to practice the Dharma, and became a fully...
, the Indian princess of Zahor and one of the consorts of Padmasambhava
Padmasambhava
Padmasambhava ; Mongolian ловон Бадмажунай, lovon Badmajunai, , Means The Lotus-Born, was a sage guru from Oddiyāna who is said to have transmitted Vajrayana Buddhism to Bhutan and Tibet and neighbouring countries in the 8th century...
, a tantric master who helped establish the Buddha's teaching in Tibet. In 1996, she traveled to India and visited many of the places where Mandarava was known to have practiced. Inspired by the recognition, several of Jetsunma’s students sought out and found a copy of Mandarava’s middle-length spiritual biography, revealed as a terma in the 17th c. by Samten Lingpa, at the U.S. Library of Congress. They then sponsored the first English translation of the text, published as The Lives and Liberation of Princess Mandarava in 1998. Jetsunma’s connection with Mandarava was further reinforced in a long life prayer composed for her in 2004 by His Holiness Dorje Lopen Ngawang Tenzin Rinpoche, one of the most highly respected lamas in Bhutan.
24-hour prayer vigils
Jetsunma believes strongly in the transformative power of prayer. She initiated a 24-hour Prayer Vigil for World Peace in her Kensington, MD shrine room on April 18, 1985. It relocated later that year to the newly purchased World Prayer Center (now Kunzang Palyul Choling). Students engage in traditional Buddhist practices in the Nyingma tradition. In addition for the ongoing prayers for peace, members and individuals not associated with KPC request prayers be dedicated to loved ones, pets, the recently deceased, or those hit by natural disasters. Occasionally Jetsunma asks that the vigil be dedicated to specific situations. For example, the members dedicated eight months of prayer for Asia Claus, a three-year-old daughter of temple members who was suffering from her second bout of cancer. The effort concluded when doctors could find no trace of the cancer, sparking renewed media attention.The Maryland vigil continues unbroken to the present day. A simultaneous 24-hour Prayer Vigil was conducted by KPC students in Sedona, AZ from October 31, 1999 to August 31, 2008.
Stupa construction
Like many Buddhist Lamas, Jetsunma has long extolled the benefits of building stupas, Buddhist reliquaries said to represent the mind of enlightenment in architectural form. Her students built one of the first large stupas in America, the 36’ Enlightenment Stupa, as an offering to Penor Rinpoche on the occasion of his conferral of the Rinchen Terdzod empowerments in 1988. Other stupas built by Jetsunma’s students include:- The Migyur Dorje Stupa, 38’, in KPC Maryland’s Peace Park
- The Amitabha Stupa, 39’, in Sedona, AZ
- The Long Life Stupa, 18’, surrounded by eight 6’ stupas in a traditional symbolic depiction of the Eight Great Deeds of Shakyamuni Buddha
- The Ngagpa Yeshe Dorje Stupa, dedicated to the long life and swift rebirth of the renowned Nyingma yogi of the same name
- The White Tara Stupa, 6’, Sedona, AZ
- Seven other smaller stupas placed throughout KPC Maryland’s 72 acres (29.1 ha)
- Nine small stupas inside the main KPC Maryland temple
Hosting of important Tibetan Buddhist teachers and teachings
Jetsunma has invited and hosted many important Nyingma and Kagyu lamas and offered her centers in Maryland and Arizona as venues for their teachings, including: HH Penor RinpochePenor rinpoche
Kyabjé Drubwang Pema Norbu Rinpoche was the 11th throne holder of the Palyul Lineage of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, and said to be an incarnation of Vimalamitra. He was widely renowned in the Tibetan Buddhist world as a master of Dzogchen...
; Ven. Gyatrul Rinpoche; HH Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok
Jigme Phuntsok
Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok was a Nyingma lama from the Dhok region of Kham Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok (1933 – 2004) was a Nyingma lama from the Dhok region of Kham Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok (1933 – 2004) was a Nyingma lama from the Dhok region of Kham (in what is now the modern Chinese province of...
& Ani Mumtso; HH Karma Kuchen Rinpoche; Mugsang Tulku; Khentrul Gyangkhang Rinpoche; Khenchen Tsewang Gyatso; Khenchen Pema Sherab; Khenpo Namdrol; HH Ngawang Tenzin Rinpoche (Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
); Ven. Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche & Ven. Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche; Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche
Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche
Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche was a teacher of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism. He was known and respected in the West for his teachings, his melodic chanting voice, his artistry as a sculptor and painter, and his skill as a physician...
; Ven. Yangthang Tulku; HE Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche; HH Chetsang Rinpoche; Tulku Sangngag, Choji Rinpoche; Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche
Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche
Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche is the title of a tulku lineage of Tibetan Buddhist lamas. They originate with Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye, one of the most illustrious lamas of recent history, known for his central role in the rimé or non-sectarian movement in 19th Century Tibet. Jigme Namgyel is the...
; Ven. Ngagpa Yeshe Dorje; HH Orgyen Kusum Lingpa
Orgyen Kusum Lingpa
Orgyen Kusum Lingpa was a terton and Nyingma lineage holder within Tibetan Buddhism. His name means "Holder of the Sanctuary of the Trikaya of Oddiyana Padmasambhava."...
; Tulku Rigdzin Pema; Bhaka Tulku; Khenpo Tenzin Norgey; and Lama Kuntuzangpo, Baasan Lama, and Lama Baasansuren (Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
).
Community of monks and nuns
In September, 1988, toward the end of Penor RinpochePenor rinpoche
Kyabjé Drubwang Pema Norbu Rinpoche was the 11th throne holder of the Palyul Lineage of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, and said to be an incarnation of Vimalamitra. He was widely renowned in the Tibetan Buddhist world as a master of Dzogchen...
’s conferral of the Rinchen Terdzod, 25 of Jetsunma’s students underwent the traditional ordination ceremony to become monks and nuns, instantly creating one of the largest communities of ordained Westerners in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition in North America. Though some have since left their ordination or passed away, others have joined, and as of 2008 KPC’s ordained numbered 40.
Mongolian Buddhism Revival Project
Growing out of a friendship with then Mongolian Ambassador Choinkhor and his wife Maijargal (Mongolians often use just one name), Jetsunma asked her students in 2004 to create the (MBRP) to help with Mongolia’s post-Communist revival of its Buddhist culture, especially the Nyingma lineage. Permanent staff was sent to Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar, in early 2005. Since that time, the MBRP has raised the funds to send many young Mongolians (men and women) to study at Penor Rinpoche’s Namdroling Monastery in India; reprinted all the fundamental collections of Nyingma scriptures that were completely missing in Mongolia and offered them to the country’s main Nyingma monastery, Khamariin Khiid; sponsored translations into modern Mongolian of philosophical texts and practice liturgies; and started a practice and study group in the capital. In June, 2009, at Jetsunma's direction, staff was removed from Mongolia.Prison program
Since 1990, KPC volunteers have been guiding inmate Buddhist groups within the Maryland State Correctional Facility system. The project began in 1990 with visits to one inmate, and grew to a formal study program in 1998. As of 2008, there were active groups in three institutions.Migyur Dorje Institute
From 1996–2001, Jetsunma hosted the Migyur Dorje Institute of Higher Buddhist Studies (MDI). Under this program, taught by Khenchen Tsewang Gyatso, students received complete commentary teachings on classic Buddhist texts by ShantidevaShantideva
Shantideva was an 8th-century Indian Buddhist scholar at Nalanda University and an adherent of the Madhyamaka philosophy of Nagarjuna....
, Chandrakirti, Asanga
Asanga
Asaṅga was a major exponent of the Yogācāra tradition in India, also called Vijñānavāda. Traditionally, he and his half-brother Vasubandhu are regarded as the founders of this school...
, Ngari Panchen, and Mipham Rinpoche. This curriculum was supplemented by annual 30-day retreats teaching the traditional Nyingmapa sequence of the inner tantra: Ngondro
Ngöndro
Ngöndro refers to the preliminary, preparatory or foundational 'practices' or 'disciplines' common to all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism and also to Bön...
, Tsa Lung, Trekchod, and Togyal. With Penor Rinpoche
Penor rinpoche
Kyabjé Drubwang Pema Norbu Rinpoche was the 11th throne holder of the Palyul Lineage of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, and said to be an incarnation of Vimalamitra. He was widely renowned in the Tibetan Buddhist world as a master of Dzogchen...
’s development of a similar program at the Palyul Retreat Center in McDonough, NY, the MDI program has been discontinued.
Monastery
In 1990, Jetsunma announced ambitious plans to build a monastery for 500 monks and nuns on 65 acres (26.3 ha) of land purchased by KPC. Sixteen monks and nuns were temporarily housed in a retreat center until the monastery could be built. As reported by Mirabella magazine, by 1992, Jetsunma asked that the ordained offer the retreat center to be renovated into a Lama residence. The monastery has not yet been built though some ordained live on KPC property. Plans for a future monastery are still pending.Discography
- Invocation, 1992, ISBN 9-991-33545-5
- Revolution of Compassion, 2007, ISBN 9-991-55428-9
- Delog, 2007, ISBN 9-991-55430-0
- Ellinwood Ranch Blues, 2008, ASIN B0018BA2TO
Current
- Palyul Productions - records Jetsunma's teachings with the intent to preserve and disseminate them.
- Buddhist Relief - a disaster relief organization established in response to the 2005 Hurricane KatrinaHurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
disaster in New Orleans. The organization is currently focused on supporting the efforts in Burma as a result of military action against monastics.
- Tara's Babies - an animal sanctuary founded in 2005 to rescue animals abandoned during the Hurricane KatrinaHurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
evacuation. Initially caring for 130 dogs, the sanctuary is set in 148 acres (59.9 ha) of former ranch land nestled in the three-million acre (12,000 km²) Tonto National ForestTonto National ForestThe Tonto National Forest, encompassing 2,873,200 acres , is the largest of the six national forests in Arizona and is the fifth largest national forest in the United States. The Tonto National Forest has diverse scenery, with elevations ranging from 1,400 feet in the Sonoran Desert to 7,400 feet...
near PaysonPayson-People:* Edward Payson , American Congregational preacher* Edwin Blake Payson , U.S. botanist* Phillips Payson , American minister for the town of Dorchester, Massachusetts from 1728...
, ArizonaArizonaArizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
.
- Garuda Aviary - rescues macawMacawMacaws are small to large, often colourful New World parrots. Of the many different Psittacidae genera, six are classified as macaws: Ara, Anodorhynchus, Cyanopsitta, Primolius, Orthopsittaca, and Diopsittaca...
s and many other neglected and abused parrotParrotParrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...
s, based in Poolesville, MarylandPoolesville, MarylandPoolesville is a town in Montgomery County, Maryland United States with a population of approximately 5000 people. It is surrounded by the Montgomery County Agricultural Reserve, and is considered a distant bedroom community for commuters to Washington, DC.The name of the town comes from the...
. - Blinded By View - produces Jetsunma's music.
Former
- Ladyworks - Jetsunma designed a hair care product line which sold in The Sharper ImageThe Sharper ImageThe Sharper Image is an American product brand, formerly associated with a defunct retail company, now licensed for use on consumer electronics and gift products....
. In 1996 Ladyworks created a million-dollar infomercial for the products featuring Jetsunma.
- Skydancer - Jetsunma sang the lead vocal in Skydancer, a Buddhist rock group founded by Jetsunma's former husband and musician.
- Tara Studios - Tara Studios, producing small Buddhist statues, was founded in 1991 with the hopes to financially support KPC's monks and nuns.
- Chocolate Passion - A dessert company formed in 1992 also in hopes to financially support KPC's monks and nuns.
See also
- Esoteric transmission
- NgagmaNgagpaIn Tibetan Buddhism and Bon, a Ngakpa is a non-monastic practitioner of Vajrayana, shamanism, Tibetan medicine, Tantra and Dzogchen amongst other traditions, disciplines and arts....
- RinpocheRinpocheRinpoche or Rinboqê is an honorific used in Tibetan Buddhism. It literally means "precious one," and is used to address or describe Tibetan lamas and other high-ranking or respected teachers. This honor is generally bestowed on reincarnated lamas, or Tulkus, by default...
- Tantra techniques (Vajrayana)Tantra techniques (Vajrayana)Tantra techniques in Vajrayana Buddhism are techniques used to attain Buddhahood. Vajrayana partially relies on various tantric techniques rooted in scriptures such as tantras and various tantric commentaries and treatises...
- Vajrayogini
- YidamYidamIn Vajrayana Buddhism, an Ishta-deva or Ishta-devata is a fully enlightened being who is the focus of personal meditation, during a retreat or for life. The term is often translated into English as tutelary deity, meditation deity, or meditational deity...
Further reading
- Coleman, James William. The New Buddhism: The Western Transformation of an Ancient Tradition, Oxford University Press, 2002. ISBN 0-195-15241-7
- Jetsunma Ahkön Norbu Lhamo. The Practice of Generosity, publisher unknown, Ahkön Norbu Lhamo, 1991.
- Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo. Stabilizing the Mind. Palyul Press, 2005, ISBN 1-4116-6102-8
- Khandro, Sangye. The Lives and Liberation of Princess Mandarava: The Indian Consort of Padmasambhava, Wisdom Publications, 1998. ISBN 0-861-71144-0; ISBN 978-0861711444
- Morreale, Don. The Complete Guide to Buddhist America, Shambhala, 1998. ISBN 1570622701
- Miller, Timothy. America's Alternative Religions, State University of New York Press, 1995. ISBN 0-791-42398-0
- Paine, Jeffrey. Re-Enchantment: Tibetan Buddhism Comes To The West, publisher unknown, 2004. ISBN 0-393-32626-8
- Prebish, Charles S. and Kenneth Kenichi Tanaka. The Faces of Buddhism in America, University of California Press, 1998. ISBN 0-520-21301-7
- Zangpo, Ven. Tsering Lama Jamapal, translated by Sangye Khandro. A Garden of Immortal Wish-Fulfilling Trees: the Palyul Tradition of Nyingmapa, Snow Lion Publications, 1988. ISBN 0-937938-64-5
- The Truth: About the Five Primary Religions and the Seven Rules of Any Good Religion. The Oracle Institute, 2005. ISBN 0-977-39290-2
- Encyclopedia of Women And Religion in North America. Edited by Rosemary Skinner Keller, Rosemary Radford Ruether, and Marie Cantlon, Indiana University Press, 2006. ISBN 0-253-34688-6