In commemoration of the 21st anniversary of the enthronement of Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo on September 24, we are presenting testimonials from Jetsunma’s students about her impact on their lives. This story is from Ani Sangye Drolma.

On June 14, 2006,  I was living in Flagstaff, Arizona when Jetsunma’s prayers literally saved the city. 

At the time, I was almost completely disabled by a mystery illness— severe pain for 8 months,  unable to walk more than 5 feet without gasping for breath,  dangerously anemic.  I was laying down in the afternoon when I noticed that the sunlight on the floor looked orange.  It was too early for sunset.  After a couple minutes, I decided to look outside.  It was excruciating to move. 

To my horror, I saw a huge pillar of flames rising several hundred feet about ½ mile from my house.  I made my way outside and met up with a neighbor.  The winds were very high, blowing straight towards us.  Flagstaff was in the middle of a 10-year drought. The forest was like a tinderbox.  We decided to begin evacuating our homes without waiting for the fire officials to come.  I didn’t know how I was going to do it.  I could barely walk the 30 feet back to my door. I began reciting 7-Line Prayer under my breath and taking Refuge over and over. 

To go in my house meant climbing two steps. This was sheer agony.  I begged Guru Rinpoche and Jetsunma to protect me and my animals,  and to hold back the flames so that our entire neighborhood could get out safely.  I was breathing as if through a drinking straw. I got my bird and two dogs safely into the car and got it running with the air vents closed.  The neighborhood was filling with smoke.  I packed my robes and as much Dharma as I could.  At times I crawled on my hands and knees to move around the house.  Though I wanted to just give up and lay down, I prayed for the strength to get out alive, so my babies wouldn’t be left alone with no one to drive them out of there.

By the time I got everything packed in my car,  my next door neighbor was just arriving home.  She was hysterical.  I told her to get her cat and bird first.  She was frozen.  She said she’d leave the windows open so her cat could escape.  I knew this would mean certain death for her bird,  as the smoke was already filling our homes.  I pleaded with Jetsunma to be with me as I climbed the small fence between our homes and helped her catch her cat.  The bird cage wouldn’t fit in her car and she kept wanting to just leave the bird.  I worried about my animals, still sitting in the car.  How could I save my own animals and leave hers?  We finally found a container for the bird and got him in her car. 

I looked around.  Our quiet little neighborhood in the woods now looked like a war zone. I could barely see across the street due to smoke. Fire engines and police cars filled the streets.  Air tankers were flying in and out, dropping red fire retardant all over the houses and trees. Firefighters were going door to door with mandatory evacuation orders.  There was fear in their eyes.  They said the fire was across a two-lane highway, and if it jumped the highway the fire could not be contained. 

I decided to head to my office downtown and figure out where to go from there.  I was sure I would be homeless.  As I drove I listened to the local news.  It was hopeless.  The fire was about to jump the highway.  The combination of high winds and unlimited fuel would certainly wipe out the subdivision.  Their greater concern now was stopping the fire before it swept over Mars Hill and into downtown.  They evacuated more neighborhoods. They predicted the fire would form a horseshoe and encircle the city.  As soon as I reached a phone I called Jetsunma’s attendant and asked Jetsunma to please pray for Flagstaff.  She gave the message to Jetsunma immediately. 

Less than 10 minutes later,  the news reported there had been a major change in the fire.  For no apparent reason,  with high winds at its back and with ample fuel, the fire had jumped the highway and just stopped advancing.  The fire chief stuttered as he gave the update, saying he’d never seen anything like it.  Though it took a few days to completely extinguish the fire, we were allowed back home late the following day. 

 A few days after the fire, I drove out to see where it had happened.  I saw the path of the fire, burned right across the highway and a few yards onto the dry grass. And there,  abruptly, was where it had stopped.  I couldn’t contain my tears of gratitude to Jetsunma for having witnessed such a miracle. 

 And as if all that weren’t enough, I experienced another miracle as a result :  The evacuation so weakened me that my doctors quickly ordered tests they weren’t considering.  This led to a faster diagnosis of the rare disease that was rapidly killing me.  Two weeks after the fire, I began life-saving treatment. 

Tags: Alyce Zeoli, Jetsunma, Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

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