Jetsun Drolma, p2

True freedom and prayer

When it comes to enemies, we want to gain independence from external forces that keep us from accomplishing what we want to do. In America, the idea of independence is very important and we place a great value on independence and freedom. We have representations of freedom like the Statue of Liberty. She's holding the torch, a symbol of freedom. That's an external ideal of freedom. But what does internal ideal of freedom look like? Who would we go to? For this, we could look to a wisdom being such as Tara, Jetsun Drolma, Venerable Tara. We can see that she holds the lamp of wisdom. And if we look to Jetsun Drolma, we pray to Jetsun Drolma, we have confidence in Jetsun Drolma, then we can understand what real freedom means, what internal freedom means, what it means to be free inside of ourselves.

In order to experience such freedom, ultimately, we need to address the internal afflictive emotions. That's what we need to do if we want to experience true freedom, not external freedom, not the freedom that we talk about in America or other places, but internal freedom. We can pray to Jetsun Drolma, Tara, and other wisdom dakinis and wisdom beings. We can supplicate them, have faith and confidence in them. This is something that I have done in my own life; I have continuously prayed to Jetsun Drolma, Tara. As a result, a lot of suffering and hardship has been removed on account of my reliance, faith and trust in Tara.

It's said that Jetsun Drolma, Tara, originates from the wisdom mind and the compassion of the Buddha of the three times Chenrezig, Avelokiteshvara. We can say that Tara arises from wisdom and compassion: that is her source. The same is true for a deity such as Troma Nagmo, as revealed, for example, by Dudjom Lingpa. The practice of Troma Nagmo is a very profound dharma, a very profound teaching. Through this practice, we can come to understand our our self-discerning wisdom, so sor tog pe yeshe, the self discerning wisdom, the wisdom of discernment.

Prayer is very helpful for times like these when the afflictive emotions of craving or desire, anger, ignorance, these three poisons have increased in the minds of beings and they've become very intense, very strong, very course, very obvious within our minds, these affective emotions and poisons. Prayer can be helpful. You can work with a peaceful deity such as Jetsun Drolma, or in such as times like these, when afflictive emotions have become very strong and very intense, then it can also be helpful to work with a deity such as Troma Nagmo, who has a more wrathful appearance.

Jetsun Drolma, Tara, is one of the beings or deities to whom if we supplicate, if we pray, it can be very helpful. This appears again and again in the history of the Buddhist tradition. When Lord Atisha came from India to Tibet, he supplicated and relied on Tara very, very intensely. There are stories of how she helped him come to Tibet and establish his teachings and his lineage, how she helped to remove obstacles.

Relying on Tara

There are many Tibetan lamas who have prayed to Tara and have gained much help and assistance in removing obstacles and accomplishing what they needed, in protecting their lives and more. I remember being in Larung Gar with His Holiness Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok when I was young, and he would always supplicate and call upon Tara in times of need, whenever obstacles needed to be removed. And when I was even younger, before Larung Gar, both before and afterwards, I prayed to Jetsun Drolma to remove obstacles. This has always been important to me, I've seen great benefit from it.

We are not only talking about accomplished lamas or high lamas who pray to Tara. Through history, there are many stories of ordinary beings, ordinary people who have relied upon Tara, prayed to her, and received great benefits from that.

When I was young, I lived in a nomadic area. There weren't many people, there was a lot of open space, open land. We had what I could call a neighbor, although this neighbor was very far away, with nobody around. I walked and I would sometimes come across neighbors who lived in a very isolated area.

In Tibet we have dogs, but they're not like the dogs here; they're big, ferocious looking creatures who guard the household, the livestock and animals. These dogs are kind to their owners, they help their owners and the families that they belong to, but when they see strangers or people they don't know, they can hurt or even kill.

I came across a house and there was nobody there, nobody home. Usually a dog is tied up or is behind a gate so that they can't get out. But this dog, somehow he had come free and was running towards me.

I became very frightened, filled with extreme, intense fear of the dog. In that moment of fear my mind instantly went to Tara and I began to recite the the supplication to the 21 Tara's, and in particular, to one of the emanations of Tara.

This dog's mouth was open and he was looking right at me, seeing me, running towards me. My prayer to Ozer Chenmo was to please make this dog close their mouth, to bind closed their mouth, and also to affect their mind so that the dog can't see me anymore. "Please make that happen," I prayed very earnestly, sincerely, intensely. In that moment, I was filled with great fear, but also relying upon Tara. And it happened that the dog closed its mouth. And then it was as if it couldn't see me. Its mind had been protected in the sense so that it couldn't see me anymore. Really, it happened like that. This was due to my faith and trust in Tara.

The blessings of Jetsun Drolma Tara are inconceivable in their vastness and in their power. Speaking for myself, I had at that young age a very stable faith and trust in Tara. Of her I really thought, "I have no other refuge, I have no other hope than than you, Tara." That is what was in my mind. That faith was so stable. These very ferocious dogs, by the way, are capable of killing wolves, they can actually kill wolves. So, of course, they would have had no problem to kill a child like me, who at that time was very small. But because I had confidence in Tara and a single thought of faith and trust, then Tara was able to protect me in that moment.

A warrior's reliance on Tara

The blessings of Jetsun Drolma are inconceivably vast and powerful. There are many stories such as mine, of ordinary individuals who pray to Tara and who had very obvious or clear results. My Dharma brother, Adzom Gyurme Gyamtso, his mother's father was somebody who prayed to Jetsun Drolma continuously. His name was Rigdrol Yeshe. He was an ordinary being yet he was somebody who had great faith in Tara. He was actually a warrior, a warrior who would engage in external warfare with people. He used to continually pray to Tara. He would do the 21 Taras supplication, and he strongly relied upon her such that he was always protected even from sword attacks that hit him. Because of his prayers, because of his supplications, the attacks wouldn't harm him. Even arrows didn't harm him. Many lamas told him that it was because of his reliance, his faith and trust in Tara, that he was spared so many times.

At another point in his life, he was sick and couldn't sleep. He prayed to Jetsun Drolma many, many, many times, thousands and thousands of times, hundreds of thousands. Through those prayers, he was able to behold, not in dream but in waking life, to behold the form of Tara and to behold her pure land, as if he was in her pure land, and to see that. This was not in a dream.

In his life, when he passed away, there were many signs of Tara and in relation to Tara. The blessings of Tara helped him throughout his life, and all through his passing.