Books by Jetsunma
Jetsunma’s teaching style is conversational and relates to the everyday experiences of her students. Here are some of the books that have resulted from her teachings… with more on the way! May they be of benefit to you as you travel the path of realizing your true nature.
Stabilizing the Mind – A Meditation Technique
Tibetan Buddhism is increasing in popularity throughout the world. Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo Rinpoche is a Western woman and a recognized lineage holder in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Her simple yet profound meditation techniques bring the wisdom of the East to Westerners who hunger for peace of mind and inner wellbeing. Stabilizing the Mind meditation has been practiced since the time of the Buddha and presents a relevant antidote to our busy lives today.
Boundless Treasury of Blessings
The teachings of the Buddha have come to the West in many languages from many cultures. In this book, you will see page after page of Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo Rinpoche’s presentations of the Buddha’s teachings in prose and poetry, in song and in practices designed for Western students. Since Jetsunma began teaching over 35 years ago, she has made Buddhism meaningful in the English language in a way that is compatible with and accessible to Western culture. The words are an expression of the very fabric of her being. Jetsunma is here to teach, to guide, and to inspire us to discover our Buddha-nature, the universal truth – to live in accordance with that truth, and to help others in whatever way we can.
Vow of Love – Living an extraordinary life of compassion
In Vow of Love, we are shown a profound way to look at suffering that helps us understand, on a deep level, what must be done to bring it to an end. Practicing compassion consistently over time will overwhelm any other goal we may reach for. Explaining the difference between being a truly compassionate person and a kind person, Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo Rinpoche shows how one is a totally selfless goal, while the other may anticipate reward or praise, being as much about self, or even more about self than about other.
Developing a mind of compassion requires deepening in one’s understanding of the nature of suffering. However, the suffering that we are able to see–sickness, poverty, loneliness, hunger, old age, death–are only symptoms. The true causes of suffering, according to the Buddha’s teaching, are hatred, greed, and ignorance. These causes cannot be relieved by money or medicine or any method of contemporary technology that is available to us.
How then can suffering be cut off at its root? In Vow of Love, Jetsunma explains that compassion for all beings, seen and unseen, is the cure. If one develops a level of compassion that is so unshakeable that it causes self-concern to slowly and methodically fall away, that compassion becomes the motivating force for one’s existence.
Jetsunma shows us the logic of a path of compassion. By examining suffering, its causes, and our inability to end it by ordinary means, she inspires us to acknowledge our most profound feelings and thoughts and to embark on a path that will fulfill our deepest longing for spiritual freedom for ourselves and others.
Viewing the Guru Through the Lens of the Seven Limb Puja
Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo Rinpoche gives an inspiring and down-to-earth interpretation of the key aspects of devotion and the proper way of viewing an authentic spiritual guide. Through the lens of the Tibetan Buddhist practice, the Seven Limb Puja, Jetsunma brings to light the essential aspects of Guru Yoga for the Western mind. The seven limbs of this particular practice refer to paying homage to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, making offerings, confession, rejoicing in the good fortune of others, requesting teachings, beseeching the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and Lamas to remain in the world, and dedicating. Jetsunma begins the commentary by reviewing how we err by creating non-virtue rather than virtue as we offer up hatred, greed, ignorance, jealousy, pride, and turning away from the Guru, our source of blessings. Jetsunma’s teachings are authentic to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and as a Westerner herself, she is able to present them in a way that is accessible and understandable. Throughout the book, the translated text of the Seven Limb Puja is juxtaposed with Jetsunma’s commentary on how to apply the practice. The complete text in Tibetan with the English translation and transliteration is displayed at the end of the book along with a glossary.
