Everywhere She Goes

Every time I go to our temple, I find myself in complete awe that such a place exists in the Washington, D.C. suburbs. When I was a brand new student in Arizona and learned that our main temple was located just outside D.C., I winced. I couldn't imagine a temple where prayer was offered on a 24-hour basis and where people came for peace, existing so close to the nation's capitol.

I am what you'd call a slow learner. It wasn't until I actually moved here that I began to understand.

One of the main symbols in Buddhism is the lotus plant. It grows only in ponds with the muckiest mud at the bottom. It takes root there and the stem grows up through the murky water. Once it has grown several inches above the water, it blooms and the flower that emerges reveals nothing of its muddy origins--it is stainless, pristine, exquisite and perfect.

The lotus is used as a symbol to demonstrate how each of us-- trapped in the muck of our negative habitual tendencies-- can follow the path of compassion and wisdom and eventually purify our mindstreams of all non-virtue.

It's also a symbol of purity. When the Buddha walked, lotus flowers bloomed beneath his feet.

I think of the lotus when I consider what my lama, Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo, has done in the world. On land where slavery once flourished and the Civil War once raged, she has placed a Buddhist temple. Adjacent to the chaos and frenzy of D.C., she opened a prayer center whose doors are never locked to the public, and which houses what is unheard of even in Buddhist temples in Asia-- a 24-hour prayer vigil dedicated to the end of suffering for all beings. In a nation that values skyscrapers and celebrity mansions, Jetsunma has built numerous precious stupas that freely offer infinite blessings to all beings. In the material insanity of Western culture, she teaches about living a life that is devoted to benefiting others.

Jetsunma's purity is evident in everything she does, even when it looks like ordinary activity. She plants foliage in her yard based on how many lives it will support and shelter. The branches of all her trees are laden with bird and squirrel feeders. When the flood waters of Katrina invaded New Orleans, she inspired a dog rescue that continues to pull dogs off death row in shelters all over the country. Her adoption of one neglected cockatoo began a parrot rescue sanctuary. She creates music that is fun to listen to and yet infused with the purest and most profound teachings of Buddhism.

Jetsunma's activity is an endless string of lotus after lotus growing, rising, blossoming. Everywhere she goes, compassionate activity appears in the world.

It is staggering to contemplate. It is the mind of a fully realized Bodhisattva on display.