His Holiness Karma Kuchen photo by Mannie Garcia

October 23, 2009

Dear Palyul Students and Friends:

The Great Vidyadharas – all of the Palyul Throne Holders of the
past up to our present root teacher, the late His Holiness Pema
Norbu Rinpoche, the Eleventh Throne Holder – have purely upheld
the authentic teachings of the Palyul Lineage.

His Holiness Penor Rinpoche has enthroned me as the Twelfth
Throne Holder of the Palyul Lineage, and following his advice
and enlightened intention, along with the assistance of his two
heart sons, I have accepted the responsibility for upholding the
Buddha Dharma, as well as overseeing and serving the Palyul
mother monastery, and all of its branch monasteries and dharma
centers worldwide. I have full-heartedly taken on this
responsibility, and I am doing my very best.

Therefore, I advise all of our Palyul students and friends to
not become entangled in any unnecessary confusion and worries
but rather to devote yourselves to learning and practicing the
dharma, and to continue your support of the Palyul dharma
centers. At this time, for the sake of peace and harmony for
all, it is my fervent request that you mingle your mindstream
with the dharma and earnestly practice the teachings.

With blessings,

Signed
Paltrul Karma Kuchen

NGA GYAI TSUG GYEN PEN CHEN BIMALA
You are the crown jewel of five hundred scholars,

LAR YANG SID PA ZUNG WAI TSUL TEN CHING
The great scholar Vimalamitra, who has taken birth once again;

NYING POI TEN PA PEL LA DA DRAL WA
You who have no rivals in spreading the heart essence of the
teachings:

PEMA NORBUI ZHAB LA SOL WA DEB
I pray to Drubwang Pema Norbu.

GANG GI YANG SID CHOG GI TRUL PAI KU
Hold us with your compassion

NYUR WA NYID DU JON PAR TUG JE ZUNG
Through the swift coming of your reincarnation, the supreme
emanation!

This email was sent to those identified as members of the CLOSE
STUDENTS list of the Palyul.org email list who have expressed an
interest in thi type of content. The contents of this letter are
intended for Dharma students of Palyul and anyone else who might
benefit.

May all beings benefit!

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 is an account by a Palyul monk of meeting his teacher, Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo. 

Unequivocally it is easy for me to say that Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo has been the most profound positive influence in my life.

Here is why:

I had already been ordained as a monk in the Gelug tradition at a Buddhist Centre in the Queensland rainforest, having determined that Buddhism was the path for me and that being a monk was the way to practice.

However I was ill with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. At times it was quite horrendous.  There were a number of occasions where I felt my life force slipping away and that I was going to die. People who saw me on those occasions often wanted to call an ambulance. After blanking out for 12-14 hours or so I would wake finding that I was alive, though still feeling exhausted. This was my life.

Eventually it became obvious that my health was too bad to stay at the Buddhist centre and I moved to my parent’s house. During this time I had a picture of His Holiness Penor Rinpoche (head of the Palyul lineage) on the wall in my bedroom. Whenever I saw it, I would cry and cry. I didn’t know why.

One day I went to a friend’s place to watch a video of his teacher. The teacher was Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo.  As soon as I saw her, tears welled in my eyes; I felt instant recognition of her amazing qualities. Instant familiarity.

During that teaching Jetsunma talked about meeting HH Penor Rinpoche (her root teacher) for the first time. As she was explaining this, lightning bolts went off in my head. It was the same experience I was having sitting on the sofa watching her on the video. I had found my home. I had found my lineage. It was that simple.

During the following months I had frequent dreams of Jetsunma. She would appear as herself or in the form of a deity. She would smile at me, emanate compassion, and emit rays of white light, which would pass through my body and heal me. I was not cured overnight but each time my health improved.

This process enabled me to move interstate to seek treatment and eventually to be healthy enough to fly to the US to meet Jetsunma in person. The lama I found was the same being as in the video and in my dreams. A being of infinite compassion who has the ability to reach out across vast distances, through time and space.

Needless to say I have been to America twice now, taken full ordination in the Palyul tradition, and am very much in the recovery phase of Chronic Fatigue. No longer do I feel like death, for now I am being held in the arms of the Dakini.

I find her teachings to be the most direct, pith instructions of natural realization I have heard – a perfect antidote for these chaotic times.

On September 24, 1988, Alyce Zeoli was enthroned as Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo, throneholder of the Palyul Lineage, by His Holiness Penor Rinpoche.  In honor of this exquisite blessing, and in commemoration of the 21st anniversary of Jetsunma’s enthronement, we will be doing a series of posts from her students about what her presence and her teaching have meant in their lives.

To view a video of the enthronement ceremony, click here

As we expand our KPC Community beyond Poolesville, Sedona, Australia, and Mongolia, we invite you to participate in this process by commenting on our blog. As a first entry, we thought it would be a fitting tribute to share memories and stories of His Holiness Penor Rinpoche and how he has impacted our lives.