Buddhism for Beginners

In her teaching “Experience the Equality of All Beings,” Jetsunma Ahkön Lhamo dismantles the misconception that compassion is a fleeting emotional display, defining true bodhicitta instead as an intentional habit forged through steady spiritual practice. Rather than resting on polite sentimentality, genuine equality is rooted in Buddhist philosophy: every sentient creature—from an amoeba or insect to a predatory shark or human being—shares the identical, fully complete, and unalterable Buddha nature. Across beginningless lifetimes in samsara, every mindstream has accumulated karmic seeds for every realm and disposition; what manifests today is merely which seeds met the right catalysts to ripen, like pulls on a cosmic slot machine. Jetsunma directs practitioners into a ruthless, personal contemplation: look upon all forms of life—as well as the specific individuals who trigger our deepest disgust or aversion—and recognize that the exact same nature, vulnerabilities, and latent tendencies exist within oneself. By confronting the truth of "I could have been that," ego pride and the illusion of human supremacy dissolve. With only one "self" set against countless displays of that very same nature in suffering beings, dedicating one's life, merit, and practice toward the liberation of all lives becomes the only logical path forward.

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We are taught to never truly surrender our heart, to never risk in order to experience great passion, to always keep something aside for ourselves. Our quest for safety leads us to compartmentalize our experiences and keep everything in a neat, controlled place. Jetsunma calls us to give rise to the phenomenal flame of compassion as the only thing that will truly keep us safe. If our feeling of safety comes from having control over our experiences, we are the least safe of all.

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Growing up in a materialistic culture, being taught to "be all that you can be", actually produces obstacles to the path to enlightenment. The definition of neurotic is acting in a way that is inappropriate according to reality. The Buddha teaches that this "self" into whose pockets you are putting things, is an erroneous concept. Instead, Jetsunma advises how, through the practice of devotion on the Vajrayana Path, one can stop developing the ego through all this collecting. Discriminating between what is ordinary and what is precious, one can look at one’s teacher and say, "This is the face of Truth", and thereby enter the door to liberation.

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Most of our day involves one habit after another. Jetsunma Ahkön Lhamo teaches us how to make compassion a stronger and stronger habit, so we will experience happiness, and eventually liberation.

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 You must have a qualified teacher to practice Vajrayana Buddhism. Jetsunma Ahkön Lhamo clarifies the qualities to look for and how to avoid making a mistake.

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Jetsunma Ahkön Lhamo encourages us to unravel the many concepts we have, because they stand between us and having pure view.

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Jetsunma Ahkön Lhamo takes us on a journey through samsara, emphasizing the light (Guru) that guides our path.

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Jetsunma Ahkön Lhamo explains the many ways it's important to have patience and courage as we begin a path to change our habits.

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Buddhism often gets a bad rap for talking about suffering. Jetsunma Ahkön Lhamo explains why it is totally unfounded.

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Jetsunma Ahkön Lhamo takes the concept of perception and describes just what it is like for us in samsara.

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