Ani Palchen: The Full Story
Yesterday we celebrated the 49th day since the passing of KPC nun Ani Thubten Palchen. As we come to the end of the Losar period commemorating the season of the Buddha’s miracles, we take this opportunity to draw your attention once again to this auspicious story. The full details as we know them follow:
Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo, born in Brooklyn and raised without formal religious training, was recognized and enthroned in 1988 by His Holiness Penor Rinpoche, head of the Palyul Lineage in the Nyingma School of Vajrayana. Jetsunma established Kunzang Palyul Choling, the first Palyul Dharma Center in the USA. There she gathered one of the largest Vajrayana monastic communities in the West, and has overseen the spiritual development of hundreds of devoted students.
Among the very first of Jetsunma’s students to be ordained in 1988 was Ani Thubten Palchen, formerly known as Jeanne Hogue. Ani Palchen passed away on January 8 of this year, after complications from heart surgery. She was 80 years old.
On the night that Ani Palchen died, Jetsunma was notified at the very moment of her passing, and she immediately began to perform the practice of P’howa for Ani-la. In Vajrayana Buddhism, P’howa is a most precious and very precise practice of the transference of consciousness at the time of death. Accomplished Masters such as Jetsunma are able to perform this practice of transference not only for themselves at the time of their own death, but also for sentient beings in order to guide them through the bardo, the state of consciousness after death, to liberation. This was the good fortune of Ani Palchen. Because Palchen had been a devoted student and virtuous nun for over 20 years, Jetsunma, through the force of her own accomplishment, was able to liberate Ani Palchen from the Bardo to the realm of Great Bliss.
We in Jetsunma’s spiritual community have heard such miraculous stories before, and have largely kept them private. But this story, to our joy, continues with miraculous signs that can be understood and appreciated by all. Ani Palchen’s body was kept in the hospital for six days before it was sent to the crematorium. Once the body was released, Jetsunma asked that three nuns go to Ani-la’s body and prepare it for the cremation. Jetsunma gave specific instructions for dressing the body, and preparing it with incense and flowers in order to show due respect for Ani-la’s virtuous life and ordination.
When the three nuns arrived at the crematorium, they were surprised to find that there was no foul odor in the room, as they had anticipated. In fact, one crematorium staff member even commented that the scent in the room was “quite refreshing.” The same staff member also commented that this phenomenon was unusual, as there had been no embalming of the body, and there were even open wounds from an unfinished surgery and some skin grafting. Only refrigeration had been used to preserve the remains. In addition, Ani Palchen’s skin was noted to have a natural tone and color — seven days after her death! She looked as though she were simply quietly sleeping.
These phenomena are considered very significant signs at the time of death, indicating that one has in fact been liberated from cyclic existence into the pure realms.
The signs were reported to His Holiness Karma Kuchen Rinpoche, who responded “I know her from retreat! This is good! This is VERY, VERY good!” His Holiness is the 12th Palyul Throne Holder, successor to His Holiness Penor Rinpoche.
The message conveying this response from Karma Kuchen Rinpoche was delivered by Nawang Paljor, a close student to His Holiness Penor Rinpoche, who passed into nirvana in March 2009. Paljor concurred that it was wonderful for Western practitioners to see such results of devotion with their own eyes, adding, “Especially in Nyingma, faith and devotion are emphasized, and even lay people show these accomplished signs from their practice. Now for Westerners, it’s very good that they can see with their own eyes this proof of their faith, and perhaps more Westerners will be drawn to Dharma.”
We share this extraordinary story to demonstrate that under the guidance of a truly accomplished master carrying the strength and potency of a pure Lineage of realization, an ordinary nun with sincere devotion was able to achieve liberation with visible signs of accomplishment. Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo, a modern Western woman who carries the pure Lineage of Palyul, has shown that accomplishment is possible for Western students. If we, like Ani Palchen, cultivate virtue and have sincere faith and devotion toward a pure, realized Teacher such as Jetsunma, then that Teacher can be the door to glorious liberation.
