The Four Fundamentals Practice of True Buddha School
consist of the Great Homage, the Great Mandala Offering, the Fourfold
Refuge under the Vajra Teacher, the Buddhas, Dharma and the Sangha, and
the Vajrasattva Practice.
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3.0: Vajrasattva and Eight Personal Deity Practices (22 MB)
(A sermon delivered by His Holiness
Living Buddha Lian-sheng at the former Waken Rey Tseng Temple on May
10th, 1997; translated by the TBSN Translation Team)
Good evening, fellow Acaryas and reverends, fellow True Buddha disciples
(the assembly replied, "Good evening, Grand Master!" Applause)
I feel very light-hearted on this visit to the Waken Rey Tseng Temple.
(Applause) This is my second visit to Waken Rey Tseng Temple since its
completion. Actually, my first visit should be considered as that during
its consecration ceremony, and hence this is my second visit to Waken
Rey Tseng Temple.
I realise that very great improvements have been made. I am very
pleased. (Applause) There are many changes. Each time, I notice an
increasingly number of people taking refuge. Dharma affairs have
gradually expanded. They are gradually prospering and expanding. This is
a very good phenomenon.
When speaking on Dharma matters, we are generally talking about the big
and significant undertakings. Of course, we ought to stress the
important matters. But on the other hand, we must also pay attention to
the details. The details of managing Dharma affairs include: The
necessity to resolve the problem of limited parking spaces. The number
of ordained persons is fast increasing, thus accommodation will soon be
a problem. The kitchen... the kitchen is all right, but the dining room
is too small, so the dining room constitutes another problem. The
clothing... you have got to make your own robes, you cannot always
borrow from the Seattle Rey Tseng Temple. (Laughter) You may have to buy
them. They (referring to the reverends from Seattle) bring quite a
number of robes with them today. I heard that they have brought a lot
here today. These are for sale.
Food... I am not talking about restaurants, but about our dining room.
The dining room is too small.
Transport... the issue of limited parking spaces for vehicles is
problematic. You must think of a solution.
You must overcome these problems in future. This will free everybody
from such unnecessary worries, so that they can settle their mind down
to focus on practising the Dharma, on practising meditative
stabilization. There should not be any difficulty.
There is also a small problem today. When I came to this temple, I had a
slight hunch that there would be a fellow-disciple requesting to be
ordained. Dharma-sister Yan-ping wants to renounce. I am not saying that
she is getting married! (pronounced as chu-jia, same as the
pronunciation of the two Chinese characters for 'renunciation') It is
renunciation... renunciation. Since she is going to be ordained, we have
to write the Plaque of Precepts. Master Lian Man and Master Lian Chuan
were preparing to write the Plaque of Precepts. Okay, they write and
write and write, finally the plaque is ready. She needed an ordained
name, but what name should we give her? At that time, I did not have any
records at hand. Her name is Yan-ping, so I combined the pronunciations
of the two characters, yan - ping - jian, it is the character jian, jian
as in 'to see'. The combination of the two pronunciations yan and ping,
is therefore jian. I checked the past records and found out that there
is no reverend by the name Lian Jian. This is just right.
Each time when someone renounces, we have to provide him with some
financial allowances. This is a symbolic gesture to signify that he will
always have ample resources for his future spiritual practises. I saw
Master Lian Jie* walking about the place...he never spoke of this
matter. No one in Waken Rey Tseng Temple was holding out any red
packets, nor putting money into one. In the end, I could only give out
of my own purse. (Laughter) I see. Sigh! I had to take from my own purse
and put into the red packet. Hey! Yes! She also offered me a red packet
and in return, I gave another one to her. Isn't this a fair deal!
Thus I took from my own purse and placed it there. I also had the Book
of Precepts. I walked to the other side. Who is going to hold the plate?
These things should be placed here! (referring to the plate which should
contain the Plaque of Precepts and the red packet) I was thinking to
myself, "Sigh! Still no one around." In the end, I thought,
"Sigh! Should ask Master Lian Yin from the Seattle Rainbow Villa to
hold the plate." Then I thought again, "Sigh! Something is
wrong. Something is amiss." I had this feeling that something is
lacking. I thought, "Hey! Isn't she here to receive the tonsure?
She needs a razor! The sort of razor used by barbers... but no one was
carrying any razor. You mean I should...?" (Grand Master
demonstrates a scissors-cutting motion with His hand) Okay, I asked Lian
Jie to look for one. Wow! Lian Jie was shouting all over the place. He
has a loud voice. He wanted this. Finally he found it. Meanwhile, I had
a feeling, "Is it electrically charged?" (Laughter) Now we
have the razor. But that razor needs to be connected to an electric
plug-in. It can be used only if charged with electricity. Normally, I
will charge my own razor before using it. After using it, I will
recharge it. Next time when I want to use it, I just pick it up and use
it. After using, I recharge it immediately. That is why when Lian Jie
only managed to find a razor at the last minute, I was wondering if it
is electrically charged.I was thinking to myself, it would be
embarrassing if I raise some more questions, because I had been seeking
so much troubles for Waken Rey Tseng Temple. If I persisted in doing so,
people might just chase me off. (Laughter) I was sitting here, and I
pressed the button. 'Click!' Just as I had expected, there was no power.
(Grand Master and the assembly laugh) So what should we do if there was
no power? This was really troublesome. I could not possibly recharge it
then! Lian Jie, standing beside me, suggested that I should just perform
it symbolically. (Laughter) I then told He Yan-ping that I would perform
it in a symbolic manner. She would have to do the rest of the shaving by
herself later. This was all right. The blessings would still be there.
(Applause)
These are about the great matters and the smaller details of Waken Rey
Tseng Temple. In reality, we cannot say that, as Dharma-cultivators, we
are able to pay total attention to the many matters we have at hand.
This is quite impossible. But we must still try our best. Whilst
treading the path of spiritual cultivation, we have to be meticulous
with the details. On the other hand, we need to be bold as well. Bold
and unafraid of experimenting with new things. In the meantime, we must
be meticulous and pay attention to the details. Adopt this attitude
towards the management of evangelist affairs. You shall find it very
easy to salvage and draw sentient beings towards our cause.
If everything is neglected, then some disciples may recede from the path
of spiritual cultivation, for they feel that the monasteries and temples
lack the power and dynamism which appeal to them. This poses a problem.
Likewise, when we are salvaging sentient beings, we need to attend to
every detail, whether it be a significant issue or a triviality. We
should perceive and treat all fellow-disciples equally. They are all
equal. They are all True Buddha disciples. You must take good care of
them.
As an Acarya or a reverend, you should treat every Vajra brother
equally. You should treat each other with care and concern. This will
then enable Rey Tseng Temple to receive more sentient beings. This is my
opening address for today's sermon.
We all know about the Four Preliminary Practices. Today, I am going to
speak on the Four Preliminary Practices. Everyone knows the preliminary
practices. We cannot ignore the doctrines of the Sutrayana school. We do
not give sole emphasis to Tantrism and overlook the Sutrayana
principles. Neither do we stress on Sutrayana teachings at the expense
of Tantric practices. I can say that True Buddha School strikes a
balance between Sutrayana and Tantrayana cultivation.
Therefore, the teachings of Sutrayana Buddhism cannot be disregarded. We
cannot look down on them.
They are the fundamentals of Dharma practices. Sutrayana and Tantrayana
are the same and equal.
Today, all Dharma-methods, whether they be the advanced or the
relatively basic ones, must be equally emphasized. Why is this so? Why?
This is because Tantrism stresses spiritual response. Spiritual response
is very important. It is only after you have gained spiritual response
in the elementary methods, during the early phase of your spiritual
cultivation, that you can achieve rapid accomplishment in the subsequent
Dharma-practices. This is a fact.
So, do not think that, "Well, since this is a great practice, I
shall only cultivate this."... and hence you neglect the
preliminary practices. You will not gain spiritual response. Once you
have gained responses in the preliminary practices, you have established
a spiritual foundation, it will then be very easy to attain spiritual
response for the Guru Yoga. It will be very easy to attain spiritual
response for the Deity Yoga.
When you proceed to cultivate the Internal Practices in future, you will
also find it very easy to accomplish. You will succeed very easily in
the cultivation of the Internal Energy, Energy Channels and the
Brilliance Essence.
This is very strange. I myself practise in this manner. My personal
experience is that once you have achieved in the preliminary practices,
you will gain spiritual responses for the subsequent practices.
Similarly, once you have accomplished in the Guru Yoga, it will be very
easy to accomplish in the Deity Yoga. These practise sequences are
identical! Therefore, immediately after gaining spiritual response for
the preliminary practices, you will achieve very swift accomplishment in
every Dharma-method. As such, do not start from the advanced practices.
You think that it is an advanced practice and you begin to cultivate it
for ten, twenty or thirty years, without achieving anything. Other
people however, start from the preliminary practices and gain spiritual
response. They manage to achieve in the various Dharma-methods by
progressing systematically along the proper stages. This is why the
preliminary practices are so important.
If you have not attained any spiritual response, you will not gain the
type of spiritual capacity that comes with it. You will not gain any
spiritual capacity. Others however, can accomplish steadily in stages as
they start to practise from the basic methods. This is an important
formulae of spiritual cultivation.
Hence, do not look down on the on the Four Preliminary Practices.
Neither can you disregard the Guru Yoga or the Deity Yoga. You cannot
begin your spiritual cultivation by practising the advanced Vajra Yoga.
Don't do that! You better cultivate with a pragmatic approach. After
gaining spiritual response in the fundamentals, you will not withdraw
from the path of spiritual cultivation. You will retreat from the
spiritual path if you start with the advanced practices. Accomplish in
stages and you shall not retreat from your practises. This is an
important point of note.
We all know that the Four Preliminary Practices of True Buddha School
consist of the Great Prostration, the Great Offerings and the Fourfold
Refuge under the Vajra Teacher, the Buddhas, Dharma and the Sangha. Just
now, Master Lian Jie talked about the different visualization methods
for these practices.
You only need to focus on one type of visualization for each practice.
Cultivate accordingly and spiritual response shall definitely be
generated.
The Great Prostration alone will build up your internal energy. This is
a form of physical exercise. It is also a very pious rite of expressing
our reverence to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Practising the Great
Prostration is equivalent to paying indiscriminate respects to all
Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Vajra Guardians, Dakas and Dakinis of the ten
directions. The full-bodied prone prostration which you are performing
is a very vigorous exercise. You prostrate this way. (Grand Master
demonstrates with His hands) You get up in this manner and you bend down
this way. Push both hands forward. Cha! And then you rise. It is very
fast. You touch the floor. Shua! Get up straight-away. This is very
vigorous. This is not a practice that can be easily done by old people.
Even youngsters can perspire and start to grasp for breath after
repeating it for a few times. This is a very vigorous form of exercise.
Like the Chinese-style prostrating posture, the practice demands that
one kneels on both his knees. Last time, they also had the single-knee
kneeling method. There are many variations. The ones practised in our
True Buddha Tantra are simply too easy. When we are performing the Great
Prostration method...I mean when you are practising the Great
Prostration by yourself, do it either in the complete prone position or
in the double-knee bending and kowtow posture. These are the two valid
methods. Do not perform the visualised Great Prostration. You may think
that simply by visualising, you can repeat the prostration for a hundred
and eight times, or a thousand and eighty times, or even a hundred
thousand times. You can finish all your repetitions within a short while
or within one day. Pi li pa lah! Pi li pa lah! Pi li pa lah! By just
raising your hands to and fro, and you say, "Well, I have already
completed a hundred thousand prostration in one day. How come there
still isn't any spiritual response?" This is incorrect. Visualised
Great Prostration is only used during group practises, whereby there
isn't any space for you to kneel down physically to pay homage.
As for the Fourfold Refuge mantra: "Namo Guru pei! Namo Buddha ye!
Namo Dharma ye! Namo Sangha ye!"... it must be repeated for at
least a hundred thousand times. This is the basic number of repetitions
required. You must visualise too. This is another form of training. You
have to chant the mantra with a settled mind. You should also visualise
at the same time. This is to train your single-minded focus.
The Great Prostration, the Fourfold Refuge and then the Great Offering.
How long has Grand Master Lu been practising the Great Offering? I tell
you, ever since I started to cultivate Dharma at the youthful age of
twenty-six, I have not stopped practising the Great Offering until
today. I have repeated it for innumerable times. I have been performing
the Great Offering everyday for decades. Every time when I do the Great
Offering, there is spiritual response. Today, Grand Master Lu will not
sit here and say, "Well, I do the Great Offering. Okay, I have
finished doing the Great Offering. I do, I do and I do. I touch between
my eyebrows. 'Kok!' I turn my back and return home. I do not know if
there is any spiritual response."
Today, as I perform the Great Offering, I can tell you that I experience
spiritual response in my practises everyday. Everyday... and that
includes today. Everybody here is forming the Offering Mudra.
"Around the Sumeru mountain, under the sun and moon, filled with
treasures transformed as offerings to the Buddhas....." You then
chant and chant and chant. 'Kok!' Touch quickly between your eyebrows.
You do not even know whether all your Seven Precious Objects and Eight
Treasures have been transformed into offerings to the Buddhas and
Bodhisattvas. Have these things been transformed? Do you have any
spiritual response? Once you have visualised the transformation, did the
Deities jump down immediately from the Emptiness to receive your
offerings, as if receiving a basketball? Have you experienced all these?
I am telling everyone, whenever Grand Master Lu performs the Great
Offering, He experiences spiritual response. (Applause) Once you have
transformed and tossed your offerings into the Emptiness, the Deities
will immediately receive them. Let me put it this way, I am just like
the pitcher. I throw the offerings and the Deities immediately receive
them like catchers (as in a baseball game). Spiritual response is like
that. This is true spiritual response! You know for sure that the
catcher has caught your ball. This means that Buddhas and Bodhisattvas
have received the offerings which you have transformed. Only Great
Offering as such counts!
I dare to tell everyone that, as you were performing the Great Offering
today, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, like catchers, did descend to receive
what you had offered. I have this kind of response. This is true
spiritual response. Today, while you are doing the Great Offering, you
must know if the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have descended. Once your
practise has matured, you will gain spiritual response and generate
spiritual capacity. You can then emit your power into the Emptiness and
embrace the energy of the Deities. When the spiritual capacities from
both sides come into contact with and 'touch' each other, you will know
what is spiritual response. You will know what is spiritual union.
Before you can generate this kind of spiritual capacity, you will not
know about such spiritual phenomenon. That is why many people who have
practised Sutrayana Buddhism for a long time, still come to ask me,
"Can I gain spiritual deliverance into the Western Paradise?"
They are actually asking me if they have the ability to attain rebirth
in the Buddhaland. Tantrayana is different. In Tantrayana, so long as
you have practised until spiritual capacity is generated, you will
naturally know if you can gain rebirth into the Buddhaland.
As a result, you yourself guarantee your own deliverance. But what form
of guarantee do you have? Your spiritual capacity is your guarantee. If
today you do not have any spiritual capacity, and you dare to claim that
you can gain deliverance into the Western Paradise, gain rebirth into
the Pureland, you are speaking of a near-impossibility.
Therefore, I feel that Tantrism has two very special characteristics:
the first is spiritual response, or yoga; the second is the generation
of spiritual capacity. These two are very important and you can forget
about the rest. The rest of the theories, even if preached in eloquent
and flowery language, are useless. Knowledge of the theories is useless
so long as you do not possess these two characteristics. The logic is
very simple. Let me give you a test. Tonight you go back and have a
dream. See if you can control yourself in that dream. In a dream, you go
east when prompted to go east, go west when prompted to go west, go
south when prompted to go south, go north when prompted to go north. You
cannot control it and you do not know that this is a dream. This is not
right!
In Tantrism, there are methods which allow you to practise spiritual
cultivation in dreams. It is only when you can control yourself in
dreams that you are able to control yourself upon death. This is because
the experience of death is similar to falling into a dream. Many visions
and illusions will appear before you. If you cannot control yourself at
this crucial moment, how can you be guaranteed rebirth into the
Buddhaland?
This is why today I am telling everyone to practise the Four Preliminary
Practices diligently. You should repeat the Great Offering, Fourfold
Refuge and the Great Prostration, each for at least a hundred thousand
times.
I also wish to speak on? (Master Lian Jie sitting beside reminds Grand
Master of the Vajrasattva method) There is no need for you to add on to
what I have said. I have stuck out three fingers, I still have one more
to point. I am still going to speak on the Vajra Heart Bodhisattva
method. I am telling you that the Vajra Heart Bodhisattva method should
be the main emphasis. Don't you think so?
The Vajra Heart Bodhisattva method is the last item of the Four
Preliminary Practices. I do not think that this is an insignificant
cultivation-method. I consider this a great practice.
Who is Vajra Heart Bodhisattva? He is the Vajrapani Bodhisattva. He is
also known as the Vajrasattva. He is an ancestry master of Tantrism.
Tantrayana Buddhism is imparted by and passed down from Him. All Tantric
ancestry masters are eventually considered Vajrasattvas.
As we all know, Kuan Yin Bodhisattva is the greatest Bodhisattva in the
Western Paradise. Do you know who is the greatest Bodhisattva in the
Avatamsaka Pureland? He is Manjushri Bodhisattva. Do you know that the
greatest Bodhisattva in Tantrism is Vajrasattva? Vajra Heart Bodhisattva
is actually Vajrasattva!
These are divisions of the Absolute Body, the Retribution Body and the
Incarnation Body. That is why there are distinctions between Vajrasattva,
Vajra Heart Bodhisattva and the Vajrapani Bodhisattva.
They are the same. All of them are Vajrasattva. You practise Vajrasattva,
the Vajra Heart Bodhisattva method? Wow! It is already over nine o'clock
and I still have a lot more to say. Many important principles can be
extracted from the practice of Vajra Heart Bodhisattva. There are many
procedures, many finer points to take note of. Even when cultivating
this last item of the Four Preliminary Practices, you still have to
perform the Great Prostration and the Great Offering. These are all
included in the ritual! You must do the Fourfold Refuge, evoke the
Deities, recite mantras, visualize and enter into Samadhi!
Within the practice, there is also the cultivation of the Four
Immeasurable Hearts. Everyone knows about the Four Immeasurable Hearts.
To give others happiness is known as Loving Kindness. To relieve others
from sufferings is Compassion. Sympathetic Joy? Sympathetic Joy is to
carry these out with boundless joviality. Equanimity? Equanimity means
to treat everyone, whether they be our foes or kin, equally. This is
Equanimity?to give boundlessly, to perceive our foes and kin equally. I
have said before that this impartial perception of foes and kin is most
difficult to achieve!
Today, your son and daughter extend their hands and ask for money. One
is my son and the other is my daughter. I will of course give to them.
Suddenly, the children of other people also come to get money from me.
Sigh! Why should I give it to you? This is a baffling situation. It is
improbable that I will give money to the sons and daughters of other
people, when suddenly requested by them to do so.
Today, your girlfriend tells you, "I want money, I must go to
school, I need to pay my school fees." She has financial
difficulty. She needs to borrow from her boyfriend. The boyfriend will
be very happy to give money to her. Today?how should I put it? Let's
see. The colleague whom you hated most stretches out his hand and asks
for a loan from you. Will you lend the money to him? (Answer from the
assembly, "No!")
The person whom I hated most comes to borrow money from me. It is quite
impossible that I will give the money to him. The virtue of Equanimity
is therefore most difficult to practise. It requires us to treat both
our foes and kin impartially. Ordained persons must remember this..
abbots and their deputies must take note of this: Here comes a wealthy
benefactor. Welcome in! Money, come on in! But when you see an old woman
who is very poor. Quickly! Chase her out! Chase her out! Just because
she is going to eat in the kitchen at the back of the temple. Not only
does she eat there, she even wants to pack the food up and take them
home. She wants to take the food away. When she comes to eat, you pull a
face. You try to discourage her from coming again. It is thus very
difficult to perceive our foes and kin equally. This is most difficult
to accomplish.
As such, Dharma-cultivators should practise until they possess the
quality of Equanimity. To treat all beings equally. The above are the
Four Immeasurable Hearts. Remember, these are what the Four Immeasurable
Hearts require you to cultivate. Vajrasattva, or the Vajra Heart
Bodhisattva Practice teaches you to cultivate the Four Immeasurable
Hearts.
The Vajra Heart Practice also teaches you to repent. Why is it so? Why
is the Vajra Heart Bodhisattva Practice also a repentance method? You
know, the meaning of the Hundred Syllables Mantra is very much similar
to our Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra?that forms of personality, being,
lifespan and ego are actually non-existent. This concept is mentioned in
the Hundred Syllables Mantra.
It is only after you have reached the stage whereby everything is
transformed into Emptiness, whereby everything becomes formless, that
your karmic hindrances can be dissolved. Just now, Master Lian Jie said
that you cannot bring along your car, house, friends and money when you
leave this world. Good. Okay! Since you cannot bring them with you, give
everything to me then. (Laughter) You may say, "How can I do that!
Hey, I am the abbot of Waken Rey Tseng Temple! Waken Rey Tseng Temple is
built with my money and is constructed with great difficulty! Isn't this
the case?! It is all mine." Now you think this is yours! Just now
you said nothing belongs to you! Since you can't bring it along, why not
give it to me? Therein lies the difference between conceptualization and
reality. (Grand Master and the assembly laugh)
It is not wrong to say that there is some distance between
conceptualization and reality. Everything is of Empty nature. There are
actually spiritual cultivators who practise until they can perceive all
things as of Empty nature! They can let others preside over the temples
and monasteries which they have spent lots of money and energy building.
They can really do it! You should have this type of magnanimity. What is
this? This is also considered the Immeasurable Hearts, the Four
Immeasurable Hearts!
This concept is also mentioned in the repentance method. The repentance
method stated that everything is of Empty nature. Everything is
Emptiness. When you have verified with the Empty nature, then all Karmic
hindrances, as what you have said just now, all the smoke, the black
smoke will be dissipated from your body, actually dissolving into the
air. It is because you have been transformed into the Emptiness that
even the smoke is gone. It is very easy to enter into meditative
stabilization at this moment. It is because there is no obstacle in your
mind that you shall not have fears, and be distanced from confused
dreams. You mind has no obstacle. If you mind is free from all
attachments, then it will have no obstacles. If you have no obstacles,
you will be distanced from all confused dreams. Everyone here today has
confused dreams because he or she has not attained enlightenment.
Therefore, he or she is still living in a confused, dreamy state. When
your mind has no obstacles, your confused dreamy state will end.
I am thinking, if someone were to give me a temple, a very large
temple?You know anything about the Tibetan Living Buddhas? Do you know
why some of them are called the great Living Buddhas? Who are the big
Rinpoches? Who are the great Living Buddhas? A person is addressed as a
great Living Buddha because he has many temples. A small Living Buddha
has only one temple. If I am a small Living Buddha, that means I have
only one temple. If I am a great Living Buddha, then it means that I
have hundreds of temples. If someone were to give me a temple today, I
will say I do not want it. This is because though the pillars of the
temple are big, I can't embrace them everyday and eat them up like
cakes. Those are not cakes! The temple does not belong to you. You can't
bring the building with you when you leave this world. It stays forever
on this planet. Thus, it is meaningless to crave over things as such!
Temples are only places where one practises spiritual cultivation. You
should therefore understand the true nature of things and enter into
wisdom of Emptiness. You will then succeed in your repentance. The Vajra
Heart Bodhisattva Practice is a great repentance method. It enables you
to perceive the empty nature of all things and gain true repentance. If
you want to practise a repentance method today, your mind must be free
from all obstacles and confused dreams. You should think like Shakyamuni
Buddha upon His renunciation, that is, you only focus on achieving
spiritual enlightenment.
Temples are only places where we can gather temporarily for mass
spiritual cultivation. It is nonetheless very ideal to have premises
like that. This is of course very good. If you do not have a proper
place to practise Dharma, you will be chased around by other people. If
you have a place to practise Dharma, then it is very good. It does not
matter who own this place. This is the correct attitude you should
adopt.
Therefore, when you have cultivated until you can really understand what
I have just said, you will attain the true essence of repentance. The
Vajra Heart Bodhisattva Practice also includes the generation of Bodhi
Heart. "Om, Bodhi Zhi Da Biezha Samaya, Ah Hum!" "Om,
Bodhi Zhi Da Biezha Samaya, Ah Hum!" This is the Generation of
Bodhi Heart Mantra. When reciting this mantra, you must visualise your
heart opens up and blossoms like a lotus. Atop of the lotus there is a
moon disc. Within the moon disc there is a "Hum" syllable in
Sanskrit, which is the seed syllable of Vajrasattva. This signifies the
opening up of the Bodhi Heart within you.
As we all know, there are three levels of spiritual practise in Tantrism.
The "Great Discourse on the Bodhisattva Path" written by
Atisha, the honored Buddhist scholar, mentions the following three
levels of practise:
The elementary level of practise refers to the cultivation of goodness
and the termination of evildoings. Do charitable deeds to prevent the
occurrence of misfortunes. Do charitable deeds and refrain from
performing evil acts. This form of practise will enable you to gain
karmic merits in the human and heavenly realms. You can ascend to and
enjoy in the heavens. According to Master Atisha, this is the elementary
level of practise.
The intermediate level of practise is the path towards Arahathood. The
cultivator only focuses on achieving spiritual emancipation from his own
life and death. He observes the precepts, practises meditation and gains
wisdom. He does not care about others. I practise, gain enlightenment
and become an Arahat myself. I do not care about others. This is the way
of the Smaller Vehicle (Hinayana Buddhism). This is the intermediate
level of practise. The advanced level of practise is pursued by those
who follow the Bodhisattva Path of the Greater Vehicle (Mahayana
Buddhism). Consequently, Tantrism also belongs to the Greater Vehicle.
The advanced level of spiritual practise teaches you to generate the
Bodhi Heart, to generate a great and boundless heart for the salvation
of all sentient beings. Not only must you attain enlightenment yourself,
you should also teach others the way to achieve spiritual
accomplishment.
For instance, we are actualizing this Bodhisattva spirit by propagating
Dharma at the Waken Rey Tseng Temple today. Otherwise. I will be
admiring the moon at the top of a mountain. I might as well go and
admire the moon, or I can go cruising at sea. There are cabin cruisers
here. I can also admire the moon. I can go to the rotary restaurant to
eat, drink and enjoy the night scene. It is very comfortable there. I do
not have to perspire here.
Today however, I am sitting here perspiring and delivering sermon for
everybody. My throat is very dry. I am also sweating. What is the
purpose of propagating Dharma? This is the generation of Bodhi Heart,
that is, to tell everyone what I have known and understood. What is
repentance? What are the Four Immeasurable Hearts? I am explaining to
everyone what I have known. So long as you have generated the Bodhi
Heart, you will think for all sentient beings and not for your own
self-interest.
The Six Paramitas and the Myriad disciplines, the generation of Bodhi
Heart?all these are practised for the sake of sentient beings. You must
cultivate accordingly in order to be a Bodhisattva. Hence, the Vajra
Heart Bodhisattva Practice teaches you these methods.
Next, you should visualise. Visualise the appearance of a moon disc,
Sanskrit syllable and the Vajrasattva. Visualise them emit the
three-colored lights to shine unto and bless you. Recite the mantra:
"Om, Biezha Sa Duo Ah, Hum Pei!" "Om, Biezha Sa Duo Ah,
Hum Pei!" Just chant the short mantra will do.
If you have time, you should chant the Hundred Syllable Mantra. After
mantra-recitation, you must enter into Samadhi, that is, practise and
enter into meditative stabilization. Do you know what is the purpose of
studying Buddhism? The "General Discourse on Systematic Tantric
Cultivation" mentions three types of spiritual accomplishment. The
first type is Brilliance-holding Accomplishment achieved through
mantra-recitation. Consequently, many Tantric masters are also known as
mantra masters. In ancient Tantrism, these masters are known as mantra
masters. They are masters who chant mantra. Brilliance-holding
Accomplishment is attained through mantra-recitation.
Make offerings to the Buddhas. What do we perform fire-offering for? To
make offerings to the Buddhas.
What's next? The practise of meditative stabilization, of entering into
Samadhi. These are the three great accomplishments mentioned in the
"General Discourse on Systematic Tantric Cultivation". The
three great accomplishments of Tantrism: Brilliance-holding
Accomplishment, Samadhi Accomplishment and the Homa Accomplishment. The
three great accomplishments.
Today, our True Buddha School preaches and practises in accordance with
these three great accomplishments.
Every ordained person and Dharma cultivator of our school should
cultivate for the attainment of Brilliance-holding Accomplishment,
Samadhi Accomplishment and Homa Accomplishment. Enter into Samadhi,
visualise and chant mantra.
Shakyamuni Buddha had spoken a lot about Samadhi in the "Perfect
Enlightenment Sutra". You should read the scripture carefully on
its practices. Tantrism also emphases on entering Samadhi. Many ancestry
masters stressed and gave numerous instructions on matters pertaining to
entering Samadhi, on entering into meditative stabilization.
Cultivation-methods of the Great Perfection Tantra such as trekcho and
thogal, are all concerned with the practise of meditative stabilization.
Likewise, the Mahamudra Tantra also speaks on the practise of meditative
stabilization. Doctrines of the Ganges Mahamudra, Substantive Mahamudra
and the Brilliance Mahamudra stress on the practise of meditative
stabilization. Many masters from the Zen school also stress on the
practise of meditative stabilization.
The attainment of meditative stabilization is therefore very important.
It is from meditative stabilization that the Dharma Body and Wisdom Life
can arise. It is from the Dharma Body and Wisdom Life that the
Buddha-wisdom of perfect enlightenment is derived. It is only through
meditative stabilization that you can have wisdom and thus gain perfect
enlightenment. This is very important. What should we do after exiting
from meditative stabilization? After exiting from meditative
stabilization, we must dedicate merits. This is the final phase. You can
chant praises at this point, or you can form mudras for miscellaneous
blessings. You can either pray for disaster-eradication, enhancement,
subduing or betterment of human relations. You can use the Vajra Sceptre
and Vajra Bell to bless your prayers. Use the hand-drum for chanting
praises. This is a bit loose. (Grand Master refers to the Vajra Bell and
Vajra Sceptre in His hands) This piece is not very firm. There are
certain techniques to wield the bell and sceptre. You can perform
ancillary blessings in your Dharma practises. There are worldly or even
supra-mundane endeavors which you may want to accomplish.
What are worldly concerns? As I have said before, worldly concerns are
things that you hope to achieve within this lifetime. These are mundane
endeavors. If you wish to attain transcendental enlightenment, to gain a
form of spiritual enlightenment, an awakening towards life, then you are
referring to supra-mundane concerns.
Last time, Vajrasattva did teach me the techniques of employing the bell
and sceptre. These methods belong to our True Buddha School. Let's look
for someone with a bell and a sceptre, to show us the methods of
wielding the implements. Everyone follow suit and practise together.
Reverend Lian Ning, please come forward to demonstrate. You stand in
front. (Reverend Lian Ning demonstrates the various methods of using the
Vajra Bell and Vajra Sceptre)
Repeat the movement continuously for three times. There is this rule?one,
two three, four, five, six, seven, then rotates. Wield them once?good,
twice. (Reverend Lian Ning demonstrates) Okay! Good.
(Applause)
I used to practise in this manner myself. I have taught reverends at the
Seattle Rey Tseng Temple ways of wielding the Vajra Bell and Vajra
Sceptre. But today, when I look at how he employ the implements, I
realise that this is not the same as my own methods! (Grand Master and
the assembly laugh) Why is there a sudden tap on the Vajra Bell? This is
a style which you have evolved yourself!
Nevertheless, there are correct methods to wield the implements. If you
want to learn the right techniques, you can refer to the
video-recordings produced by the Seattle Rey Tseng Temple. When he was
swinging the implements, he appeared stiff and inflexible. The movements
of his hands are simply too rigid. In actuality, the Vajra Bell and
Vajra Sceptre should be employed in a relaxed fashion.
For example, the handling of Vajra Bell and Vajra Sceptre. (Grand Master
demonstrates. Applause) It is done in a very relaxed way. My methods of
wielding them are also not of the very standard type. Let's put it this
way, when you are wielding the implements during group practises,
everyone should perform it uniformly. This means that you must move your
hands and swing the implements in the same motion as everybody else.
I can wield in whatever way I like since I am normally the one presiding
over Dharma ceremonies, where no one except me is required to employ the
implements.
If we are wielding the implements together, then we must perform it in a
regimented and systematic manner. Everybody has to be the same. However,
his style is too regimented. It is too regimented. You have to relax.
You tap here (Grand Master demonstrates) and you turn this way.
Although the employment of the implements is very relaxed, it has its
intrinsic significance. Disaster-eradication for example, (Grand Master
demonstrates) this is the wielding method for eradicating disasters. The
betterment of human relations is like this. (Grand Master demonstrates)
For the betterment of human relations, you turn the sceptre within the
bell in a circular motion. Subduing. (Grand Master demonstrates). For
the subduing practice, you have to form the Wrathful Mudra. For the
Enhancement practice, (Grand Master demonstrates) you swing the
implements and move your arms in to-and-fro and left-to-right motions
respectively.
These are our school's wielding methods. I have seen Rinpoches from the
Tibetan Tantric schools wield in this manner. (Grand Master
demonstrates) Rinpoches from Tibetan Tantric schools usually do it this
way.
Our wielding methods include the betterment of human relations,
disaster-eradication, enhancement and subduing. (Grand Master
demonstrates) There are different transformations and rotations in the
movements. Moreover, they encompass all kinds of ancillary blessings.
Everybody knows that there are expedient practices in Buddhism.
Expedient practices can fulfill your worldly needs within this lifetime.
This is the definition of expedient practices. We also have
transcendental practices, which are cultivation-methods that require you
to renounce everything and seek great spiritual enlightenment. This is
the definition of transcendental practices. Consequently, Tantric
cultivation consists both expedient and transcendental practices. These
methods are included in the Vajrasattva or Vajra Heart Practice. After
the dedication of merits, you can pray either for worldly needs or for
enlightenment in the wisdom of Emptiness.
There are many spiritual levels in Buddhism. The Nyingmapa sect speaks
of the Nine Vehicles. Nine Vehicles are too many. They are too detailed.
As I have said before, if you want to be reborn either in the human or
heavenly realms, you should observe the Five Precepts and practise the
Ten Moralities. You belong to the Human-heavenly Vehicle. If you only
want to emancipate yourself from your own life and death, you belong to
the Arahat Vehicle. An Arahat is one who has a greater determination to
renounce.
Like Mahayana Buddhism, Tantrayana Buddhism also demands that one
generates the Bodhi Heart and vows to salvage sentient beings. The is
the Bodhisattva Vehicle. The main emphasis of the Bodhisattva Vehicle is
the salvation of oneself and others, and the generation of Bodhi Heart.
The important thing here is the generation of Bodhi Heart. In addition,
Tantrism stresses on the Perception of Emptiness, that is, you have to
understand Emptiness. This is because the wisdom of Emptiness is very
close to the level of spiritual enlightenment.
Shakyamuni Buddha and many other great ancestry masters of Tantrism
possessed the Perception of Emptiness. Therefore, the Perception of
Emptiness is an important aspect of Tantric cultivation. You have got to
understand this.
After you have finished the visualization, mantra-recitation and
entering into Samadhi, you exit from your meditative stabilization and
begin to dedicate merits. Dedication of merits is the last step of your
entire practise. You can chant praises, dedicate merits and perform
other ancillary blessings. You can transfer merits to reinforce your
prayers for the future. For instance, in our present dedication of
merits, we pray that we can gain rebirth in the Pureland. This is a type
of merit dedication. This is the Vajra Heart Bodhisattva Practice.
Today, I have reminded everyone that the importance of Tantrism lays in
the generation of spiritual response and the attainment of spiritual
capacity. These are the important points of Tantrism.
Which practise then, is the easiest method to attain spiritual response?
It is easier to gain spiritual response if one cultivates the Four
Preliminary Practices. These practices can also enable the generation of
a form of spiritual capacity. Once you have accomplished in the Four
Preliminary Practices, your conviction in the Dharma will be firm. Once
you have spiritual response, your conviction in the Dharma will be firm.
Without spiritual response, you can retreat from the path of spiritual
cultivation easily. You will be disheartened easily by the words of
others. As such, the emphasis of my sermon today is spiritual response.
It is with spiritual response that a form of spiritual capacity is
engendered.
Do not think that the Four Preliminary Practices are relatively
insignificant cultivation-methods. I tell you, once you have
accomplished in the Four Preliminary Practices, you will achieve
spiritual response for all your subsequent practices. You will be
guaranteed rebirth into the Buddhaland. You can gain spiritual union
with all the Origin Deities. This is due to the fact that Vajrasattva
Himself is the greatest Bodhisattva of Tantrism. If you can gain
spiritual union with Vajrasattva, which other Deities can you not
achieve union with?
So, this is an important point of note. Although you may think that the
Four Preliminary Practices are insignificant, I perceive them as great
cultivation-methods. The reason is here. You should practise diligently.
The practices of Tantrism can produce very swift spiritual responses.
Besides, they can also enable you to accomplish spiritually within this
lifetime. Spiritual accomplishment within one's present lifetime. This
is indeed very precious.
I hope that everyone will treasure the Four Preliminary Practices. You
should focus on the method which you are practising even for the
recitation of mantras. There are certain types of mantra which you must
recite for a hundred thousand times. Basically, these include the
mantras of your Origin Deity, Master and Dharma Guardian. These are the
three important mantras which you must chant for a hundred thousand
times. This is the Brilliance-holding Accomplishment.
The Fourfold Refuge Mantra must also be repeated for at least a hundred
thousand times. Therefore, I hope that everyone will practise
pragmatically and attain genuine spiritual accomplishment. You must not
be too ambitious and unrealistic. It is impossible to climb from a
higher platform. You fall from it and you will die. You should start to
climb from the lower ground. Even if you fail to reach it, you will not
get injured!
This is extremely important. Insignificant practices are great
practices; great practices are insignificant practices. Today, if you
are cultivating a great practice, I will say that this is a trivial
practice. The Four Preliminary Practices that you are cultivating today
are actually great practices.
Om mani padme hum
*Note: Master Lian Jie, better known as
former Master Allen Hou, and the Waken Rey Tseng Temple are no longer
associated with TBS. Although some changes have happened since this 1997
article, it still contains precious wisdom dharma teachings from Grand
Master which is unchanging.
