Jetsunma's advice to fight with Bodhicitta

(Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo, Spiritual Director, Kunzang Palyul Choling)


On March 15th, Jetsunma gave a teaching to students of Kunzang Palyul Choling (KPC) in Poolesville, Maryland (just outside Washington, D.C.). The following statements are adapted from her remarks that day:

We saw it in Tiananmen Square. In Rangoon and the Burmese countryside. Now, as in 1959, in Lhasa and throughout Tibet. In this uncertain time, selfishness, unwholesome actions, brutality, and force . . . and for the time being, darkness seems to have the upper hand.

The attack on Dharma is happening all over the world. For as long as we can hold out as Dharma practitioners, we are charged with defending our faith. We have a right to defend against the darkness. The Tibetan people have a right to defend their faith. The monks and nuns who are standing up in Tibet, in Burma as well . . . I join them in body, speech, and mind. They have seen that it is time we cannot be pushed any further.

This is the time to rely most on our deepest and purest intention and our most wholesome qualities. It means being solid practitioners. It means not being afraid to speak up to defend one's sangha, or one's temple, or one's monastery. Remember that we are fighting, not with weapons, but with Bodhicitta, with virtue. So when we defend the Dharma, we want to do it for the intention of all sentient beings.

If those monks and nuns in Tibet are willing to be shot dead, we should be willing to stand with them.

For further information on upcoming teachings on Bodhicitta (The Great Compassion), as well as a retreat with Jetsunma, please visit the Events section of KPC's website here.