Mindrolling Jetsun Khandro Rinpoche – Skype address – 2-21-11 9:15 AM

Mindrolling Jetsun Khandro Rinpoche has been talking to her students when they gather for programs via Skype. This is what she had to say at a program dedicated to Ngondro, aka "the Preliminary practices."

Practitioners must believe in the power of purification of karma. That’s why you are all intellect (?). If you didn’t believe it, there is no way you could having confidence in possibility of enlightenment.

Exertion on path – to be honest, whole-hearted. Very strong confidence in accomplishment stage of realization that becomes cause of liberations of all sentient beings. The full enlightenment, freedom from samsara for self and other.

Of all practices, ngondro emphasizes this most important. What kind of a result we all believe in. must encourage meditator- to have the power to hold the result in your hand – results in purification of karma and attainment of merit.

Buddha-nature in the Pali Canon

One troubling thing in the Dharma that I've heard about a bit is the whole "Hiniyana vs. Mahayana" difference, which is usually seen as Mahayana literature spelling out why the Hiniyana (literally, "Lesser Vehicle") is so inferior. I personally think the differences and dividing lines are WAY overblown. Drikung Kagyu founder Lord Jitgen Sumgon said that all the three turnings of the wheel of Dharma contain each of the others, so all of them - Hiniyana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana - are mixed together in a way that makes them impossible to extract. 

I got these quotes from the Pali Canon - the scriptures used by Theravadans of Southeast Asia - from Douglas Duckworth, an excellent translator that has been up at TMC in Frederick several times in the last few days.

These words of the Buddha do seem to more than imply the presence of Buddha-nature - Thagatagharba - the underlying nature of enlightenment in all living beings.  That is generally seen as the core teaching of the "Third Turning of the Wheel of Dharma", which is most often associated with Vajrayana (since it is required in order to explain how Vajrayana 'works').

Khandro Rinpoche Closing Comments at the Künzang Gongpa Zangthal

I am working on doing a write up about the Künzang Gongpa Zangthal event that concluded at Lotus Garden a few weeks ago. In the meantime, here's some footage from the end, when Her Eminence Mindrolling Jestun Khandro Rinpoche gave her closing talk and thank-yous that she has done in the past at the very end of the Annual Retreats. It's good advice for any practitioner of any level, so I think it should be ok to share.