Highest Yoga Tantra and Mahamudra By Master
Sheng-yen Lu This was translated from Grandmaster Lu's 51st book, 無上密與大手印. CHAPTER 1 - Homage to the Lineage Holders of the Mahamudra How long have I been practising the Tantric dharma in secret? To be frank, if the readers were observant enough, they would notice a revelation of my Tantric cultivation on line 8, (line 1 of original Chinese book) page 3 of my first spiritual book, Encounters with the World of Spirits. This book has been published for more than ten years, and my cultivation of Tantric practices has been for that length of time. Readers who come across this book, Highest Yoga Tantra and Mahamudra, are connected with great affinity, for this doctrine is considered the most supreme dharma in Tantric Buddhism, and has been guarded in secrecy. Now that you are able to read about it, there is certainly an affinity of the utmost degree. Therefore, you must first pay homage in gratitude to all the lineage holders of the Highest Meditation Path of Tantrayana Mahamudra. Let us prostrate to the lineage holders in the celestial realms! In ancient India, the being Vajradhara transmitted this teaching of Mahamudra to Tilopa (988 - 1069 AD), who lived in India during the period of the Song Dynasty. Tilopa then passed the lineage to Naropa, and from Naropa it was handed to Marpa, then to Milarepa, Gampopa, and the Karmapas?hese are the lineage holders who transmitted the highest heart teachings of Mahamudra. In modern times, His Holiness the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa (1924 - 1981 AD) transmitted this teaching to the Holy Red Crown Vajra Guru, Tantric Master Sheng-yen Lu. With the spreading of the Tantric teachings from east to west, this heart teaching of the great secret of Tantric Buddhism has finally taken root in the west, and western students of Master Lian-sheng, Sheng-yen Lu thus receive the true lineage of Tantrayana and gain the wonderful wisdom of attaining Buddhahood. Hence, westerners are given the opportunity to attain the realm of liberation from Samsara. In one particular deep meditation session, I found myself wearing my precious buddha crown and ascending on my precious lotus throne towards the Tushita Heaven in the company of many holy sages. Upon arrival, I met Bodhisattva Maitreya and the lineage holders. They respectively pressed their palms upon my forehead, and urged me to undertake the heavy responsibility of delivering sentient beings in the human world. They instructed me to spread the word that we should sincerely repent when we prostrate to the Mahamudra lineage holders. This elucidation of the doctrine of the Highest Yoga Tantra and Mahamudra is of itself a great meritorious act that a Bodhisattva undertakes to turn the dharma wheel. It is thus an occasion of great dharma affinity in which a major revelation of the Tantric dharma takes place. Thus, it is an act of emitting the Buddha power of great compassion towards sentient beings of the ten directions. He who believes in the doctrine, takes refuge, and cultivates the practice shall have the opportunity for attaining Buddhahood. The lineage holders converged at the residence of Bodhisattva Maitreya and requested that I write a book on the highest unexcelled heart essence of the Meditational Path of Mahamudra. This would bring about the purification of the body, speech and mind of sentient beings so that they would be ready to communicate spiritually with the highest cosmic consciousness, interconnecting with the supreme spirit through heart and soul. This shall bring deliverance to many sentient beings, and I shall be the first in this world to reveal this heart teaching of Mahamudra completely. From the light of the great mirror-like wisdom revealed from within me, the lineage holders were seen seated above my head arranged in multiple layers. In the highest position was seated the being Vajradhara, followed by Tilopa, Naropa, Marpa, Milarepa, Gampopa, Karmapa and so forth. Immediately above me was the Karmapa, and I, being the present lineage holder, was known as the Tantric Master Lian-sheng, for I have achieved accomplishment of all Buddhadharma and attained Buddhahood in this very body. Tibetan Buddhism regards Guru Padmasambhava as its founding teacher, as Tantric Buddhism only entered Tibet in the year 747 AD. Whether through Subhakarasimha, Vajrabodhi, Amogha of the Chinese Esoteric Buddhism, or the doctrines of Tibetan Buddhism, the spread of Tantric Buddhism has met with many obstacles, especially the language barrier, which impeded communication. Thubten Dargye, my guru in the Gelug order, once told me that the true heart essence of Tibetan Buddhism was not easily available due to the many hindrances that were present. Moreover, in the past the heart essence of Tantric Buddhism was passed from master to student through oral transmission. These pith instructions, which are the quintessence of Mahamudra that allows one to attain Buddhahood within this very body, were transmitted within the lineage and only to individuals with supreme inborn faculties. Hence, the transmission of Tantric Buddhism has remained infrequent and rare. I hope that those who come across this book and wish to practise the teachings take refuge with a guru, seek his blessing, and receive the true heart essence from him. Only then can the practice be assured to be accurate and one`s cultivation achieve yogic response. In the past, one who had wished to practise Tantric Buddhism had to first study the exoteric doctrines for a number of years, taking and passing the examinations of a Geshe, and gain mastery over the doctrines of the Sutric system before entering into the Tantric colleges to learn the Tantric dharma from the guru. Thus, the Tantric teachings are the ultimate dharma gate of Mahayana, the heart essence of the highest order. These teachings were hidden from public access and transmitted in secrecy between teacher and students. This form of transmission constitutes the fundamental principle of Tantric Buddhism. However, we are now at the degenerative stage of history and the wonderful teachings of the Three Secrets are being openly propagated and revealed. The dharma traditions of Tantrayana are blossoming, and the spiritual currents of Tibetan Buddhism, Chinese Esoteric Buddhism and Japanese Esoteric Buddhism are returning. These traditions are certainly not as rigid and strict as they used to be. I have received the heart essence of Mahamudra, and am endowed with two seals of authority. I have received the great secret perfect empowerments of the four Tantric schools of Nyingma, Gelug, Kagyu and Sakya, and am succeeding as a new spiritual holder of the Tantric dharma gates. I have indeed received the verification of attaining great yogic response and received the blessings of the lineage holders, and have been entrusted with the responsibility of writing this book on the Highest Yoga Tantra and Mahamudra. I shall elucidate in detail the pith instructions and blessings received in this book without hiding or holding anything back, so that everyone may know these Tantric teachings and receive their benefits. By doing so, I hope to plant the seeds of Tantrayana so that all sentient beings may be born into a family which practices Tantric Buddhism in this present or some future lifetime. This heart essence of Mahamudra was developed by the Kagyu order, known commonly as the White Sect. The adepts who attained Buddhahood as laypersons before Milarepa wore white clothing, hence, the `White Sect`. However, to my knowledge, there is another great significance to calling the Kagyu order the White Sect. It strives to convert bad karma into white karma, as Buddhahood is attained when black karma is transformed to white karma. This is one of the major doctrines of the White Sect. Some Tantric masters have asked me, `Master Sheng-yen Lu, who exactly are you?` I shall reveal my secrets here. I was born in the year 1945, on the eighteenth of May (lunar calendar) at noon, at Hou-hu in the county of Jiayi. My father is Lu Er Shun, and my mother is Wang Yu Nu. My last name is Lu, and my first name is Sheng-yen. My birth took place during bombardments by Japanese warplanes, so I was born on a chicken farm while my parents were on the run. The year 1945 happened to be the year of the Rooster. My religious journey took me to the beliefs of Christianity, Taoism, the Tian De Sect (Heavenly Virtue), and Exoteric and Tantric Buddhism. Subsequently, I realized I was the emanation of White Padmakumara of the Maha Twin Lotus Ponds in Sukhavati who returned to the human world due to my vows to deliver sentient beings. This is my fourth emanated incarnation on earth. My practices of the respective sadhanas of the four Tantric schools were transmitted according to the traditions within the lineage orders. In the Kagyu school, I am the 42th lineage holder counting from Vajradhara, the 17th if you count from the Karmapas, and the 33rd counting from Tilopa. White Padmakumara of the Maha Twin Lotus Ponds was entrusted with a heavy responsibility by Amitabha Buddha of Sukhavati, and requested by Guru Padmasambhava and the Karmapa to incarnate four times on earth. This is evidence of his compassion. The Holy Red Crown Vajra Guru Master Sheng-yen Lu is also the Immovable Vajra Master who suffers all slanders. In the future, he shall become a Buddha with the epithet, the Non Evil Eye Tathagata. The Maha Twin Lotus Ponds is a manifested realm of the Non Evil Eye Tathagata. I first had my spirit awakened by my teacher Madam Lin Qian Dai. Later, I received my training under the tutelage of the invisible spiritual guide Mr. Three-Peaks-Nine-States, and learned under varying circumstances. I cultivated following the teachings of Taoism, the Sutric system and Tantric Buddhism concurrently, beginning with Taoism, then adding the Sutric system and eventually Tantric Buddhism. My teachers include Lin Qian Dai, Taoist Master Qing Zhen, Mr. Three-Peaks-Nine-States, Venerable Yin Shun, Venerable Le Guo, Venerable Dao An, Venerable Hui San, Venerable Xian Tun, Venerable Jue Kwang, Master Xiao Chang Ming, the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa, the 12th Tai Situpa Rinpoche, Guru Pufan, Guru Thubten Dargye, Guru Sakya Zheng-kong, Guru Padmasambhava and others. I mastered the teachings of the Great Perfection, Mahamudra, Great Perfection Profound Wisdom, and Yamantaka practice. Examples of these teachings include the secret teachings of the seven treasuries, the heart essence of offspring and mother light, the heart essence of clear light, the joy of victorious liberation, the peaceful and wrathful deities, and so forth, receiving yogic response in all. Endowed with the blessings of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and the great power of response of White Padmakumara, my revelation of the Highest Yoga Tantra and Mahamudra shall allow sentient beings to be profoundly guided by the Buddha power of the most victorious light, giving them the empowerment for attaining Buddhahood. Those who hold this book should act immediately to pay homage to the Mahamudra lineage holders, for the emergence of this work of dharma is rarely seen, and it constitutes a great secret of Padmakumara`s mission of deliverance. |
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