Highest Yoga Tantra and Mahamudra 

By Master Sheng-yen Lu
Translated by Cheng Yew Chung, Edited by Dance Smith

This was translated from Grandmaster Lu's 51st book, 無上密與大手印.

CHAPTER 7 - Blessings of the Guru on Mahamudra

Anyone who is involved in the practice of Mahamudra must pray to his guru for blessings prior to entering each meditation session. This is how Tibetan lamas recite the prayer of invocation [Dorje Chang Thungma]:

DOR JE CHANG CHEN TELO NARO DANG 
Great Vajradhara, Tilopa, Naropa,

MARPA MILA CHO-JE GAMPOPA 
Marpa, Milarepa, and Lord of the Dharma, Gampopa,

DUSUM SHE JA KUN KHYEN KARMAPA 
Knower of the three times, omniscient Karmapa,

CHE ZHI CHUNG GYE GYU PA DZIN NAM DANG 
Lineage holders of the four great and eight lesser schools:

DRI TAK TSAL SUM PALDEN DRUKPA SOK 
Drikung, Taklung, Tsalpa, glorious Drukpa and others;

ZAB LAM CHAK GYA CHE LA NGA NYE PE 
You who have thoroughly mastered the profound path of Mahamudra,

NYAM ME DRO GON DAKPO KAGYU-LA 
Unrivaled protectors of beings, the Dakpo Kagyu,

SOLWA DEB SO KAGYU LAMA NAM 
I pray to you, the Kagyu lamas,

GYU PA DZIN NO NAM TAR JIN GYI LOB 
Grant your blessings that we may follow your tradition and example.

ZHEN LOK GOM GYI KANG PAR SUNG PA ZHIN 
Detachment is the foot of meditation, it is taught.

ZE NOR KUN LA CHAK ZHEN ME PA DANG 
Attachment to food and wealth disappears,

TSEN DIR DO TAK CHO PAY GOM CHEN LA 
To the meditator who gives up his ties to this life;

NYE KUR ZHEN PA ME PAR JIN GYI LOB 
Grant your blessings that attachment to ownership and honor cease.

MO GO GOM GYI GO WOR SUNG PA ZHIN 
Devotion is the head of meditation, it is taught.

MEN NGAK TER GO JE PAY LAMA LA 
The lama opens the door to the profound oral teachings;

GYUN DU SOLWA DEB PAY GOM CHEN LA 
To the meditator who always turns to him,

CHO MIN MO GU KYE WAR JIN GYI LOB 
Grant your blessing that uncontrived devotion be born within.

YENG ME GOM GYI NGO ZHIR SUNG PA ZHIN 
Unwavering attention is the body of meditation, it is taught.

GANG SHAR TOK PAY NGO WO SO MA DE 
Whatever arises is the fresh nature of thought;

MA CHO DE KAR JOK PAY GOM CHEN LA 
To the meditator who rests in naturalness,

GOM JA LO DANG DRAL WAR JIN GYI LOB 
Grant your blessings that meditation be free from intellectualization.

NAM TOK NGO WO CHO KUR SUNG PA ZHIN 
The essence of thought is dharmakaya, it is taught.

CHI YANG MA YIN CHIR YANG CHAR WA LA 
Thoughts are nothing whatsoever, and yet they arise in the mind;

MA GAK ROL PAR CHHAR WAY GOM CHHEN LA 
To the meditator who reflects upon the unobstructed play of the mind

KHOR DE JER ME TOK PAR JIN GYI LOB 
Grant your blessing that the inseparability of samsara and nirvana be realized.

KYE WA KUN TU YANG DAK LAMA DANG 
Through all my births, may I not be separated

DRAL ME CHO KYI PAL LA LONG CHO CHING 
From the perfect Lama and so enjoy the glory of the dharma.

SA DANG LA GYI YON TEN RAP DZOK NE May 
I completely accomplish the qualities of the path and stages,

DOR JE CHANG GI GO PHANG NYUR TOP SHOK 
And quickly attain the state of Vajradhara.

[Translators note: The last four sentences were omitted from the original text, however, the complete prayer in Tibetan does include them.]

Those who recite this prayer in Tibetan should take note of these points:

1. This prayer is a literal translation from the Tibetan language, and is provided only as a reference. As languages differ from country to country, correct pronunciation of the prayer may not be achieved. If one should aspire to recite it properly, it is best to seek guidance from a Tibetan lama. However, each lama may pronounce the prayer differently, as the Tibetan language is coloured by many different local accents.

2. The phonetic transcription of the invocation prayer, taught to me by a disciple of the 16th Karmapa, approximates the pronunciation of the Tibetans.

3. Words such as DANG, SOK, PE, LA, ZHIN, DE, LOB signify the end of a sentence.

When one aspires to practise the Mahamudra, one must receive the necessary empowerments and oral teachings from the root guru. The practitioner must first establish yogic response with the physical guru, and through him seek response from the lineage holders. Only by receiving this response in stages can one gain accomplishments. This is necessary, for the practitioner of Mahamudra must rely upon the blessings of the guru, whose holy mind shall cleanse his defiled mind. When the practitioner gains a secret response, in which his mind is in tune with his gurus mind, he shall have great accomplishment.

The guru is the embodiment of the Triple Jewel of the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. When one takes refuge with the guru, it is tantamount to taking refuge with the Dharmakaya (Truth Body) Buddha, the Sambhogakaya (Bliss Body) Buddha, and the Nirmanakaya (Emanation Body) Buddha. Such great accomplishment must begin with taking refuge, where a person cleanses himself of karma by transforming karma into right wisdom. This constitutes the first step of a mundane being stepping into buddhahood.

The grace of the guru bestowed upon the practitioner opens his spirit and mind, for the gurus spiritual light is omnipresent and resides in space. The guru is one who has realized the Nirvana of Perfect Enlightenment through his practice of the Highest Yoga of Mahamudra. Such is the great spiritual mother light that spans all space. In empowerment, the human guru and lineage holders are transformed into globes of spiritual light that enter the practitioner through his crown chakra. Only then can one gain accomplishment in the practice of Mahamudra.

The Mahamudra of Gurus Blessings is performed through visualizing ones human guru on ones crown chakra. Above the guru are seated the lineage holders in yoga posture in multiple levels, arranged in ascending order beginning with the human guru at the base and reaching Vajradhara, or Dorje Chang in Tibetan, at the top. In this case, the guru is Holy Red Crown Vajra Guru Master Lian-sheng, Sheng-yen Lu. Above him is seated the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa, and so forth. Visualize the lineage holders transformed into light drops, which are absorbed into the body of the practitioner. As the practitioner gains yogic response with the guru, he eventually receives the great spiritual light.

Here are the verses of praise for the blessings of Mahamudra:

To all Gurus: I pray to you 
Bestow upon me your great spiritual light. 
Grant that in my practice of Mahamudra 
All is complete and continues without pause.

To all Gurus: I pray to you 
Bestow upon me your great spiritual light. 
Grant that in my practice of Mahamudra 
I shall become the mandala itself.

To all Gurus: I pray to you 
Bestow upon me your great spiritual light. 
Grant that in my practice of Mahamudra 
My three channels will be filled.

To all Gurus: I pray to you 
Bestow upon me your great spiritual light. 
Grant that in my practice of Mahamudra 
My body shall be filled with psychic heat.

To all Gurus: I pray to you 
Bestow upon me your great spiritual light. 
Grant that in my practice of Mahamudra 
All impurities shall be purified.

To all Gurus: I pray to you 
Bestow upon me your great spiritual light. 
Grant that in my practice of Mahamudra 
The dharmakaya shall soon appear.

To all Gurus: I pray to you 
Bestow upon me your great spiritual light. 
Grant that in my practice of Mahamudra 
I shall be freed from delusion.

To all Gurus: I pray to you 
Bestow upon me your great spiritual light. 
Grant that in my practice of Mahamudra 
I shall attain buddhahood soon.

To all Gurus: I pray to you 
Bestow upon me your great spiritual light. 
Grant that my practice of Mahamudra 
Will transform my consciousness so that I may turn the dharma wheel.

To all Gurus: I pray to you 
Bestow upon me your great spiritual light. 
Grant that in my practice of Mahamudra 
I shall attain great accomplishment.

To all Gurus: I pray to you 
Bestow upon me your great spiritual light. 
Grant that in my practice of Mahamudra 
I shall swiftly attain nirvana.

Before every meditation session, we must first recite the Lineage Prayer of Invocation, and then visualize the human guru and all the lineage holders transformed into light drops entering into the body of the practitioner, following which we recite verses praising the blessing of Mahamudra. Next, we enter into practice. The various practices that we undertake must be completed in gradual stages. However, we can be flexible in the arrangement of practices. Some may begin with Guru Yoga and follow with Ekagrata or one-pointed meditation, and continue with the ignition of psychic heat practice and so forth. Others who have more time at their disposal may adopt an approach where they perform all three practices in a single meditation session. You can choose whatever practices and arrangement you wish, but we must still regard the Guru Yoga Practice as the most important.

When the practitioner faces his guru, he must view his guru as indivisible from the Buddha. When invoking the presence of Padmakumara the Vajra Guru, Master Practitioner of the Secret Teachings, there are three recitations to be made:

Homage to the constantly abiding Dharmakaya, the Thusness of the Three Times, the Maha Twin Lotus Ponds, the White Robed Chief Deity Padmakumara.

Homage to the pure Sambhogakaya, the Thusness of Space, the One of Perfect Radiant Features, the White Robed Chief Deity Padmakumara.

Homage to the transforming Nirmanakaya, the Infinite Wonderful Dharma, the Holy Red Crown Vajra Guru Padmakumara.

A disciple who cultivated the Guru Yoga Practice suddenly saw the guru arriving on a cloud in his meditation. The guru held a white lotus in his hand and descended gradually, passing the lotus to the disciple, who was in meditative absorption, before disappearing immediately.

Another individual had prayed for the blessings of the guru. In his meditation, he saw the guru riding on a huge elephant with six tusks, his hand holding a pen that he used to write the Sanskrit letters of the Green Tara Mantra in the air. The guru recited every syllable of the Green Tara Mantra, teaching the practitioner until he learned it. Once the mantra was learned, the guru disappeared, leaving the disciple overcome with tears of joy.

Another disciple had prayed for the gurus blessings, and during his meditation he saw the gurus facial and bodily features transformed into a three-headed, six-armed statue several storeys tall. The statue was holding magical dharma weapons. His faces displayed a wrathful look; his body was engulfed in tongue-like flames; his eyes darted with an electrifying stare that the disciple could not look at directly. Subsequently, the disciple felt remorse, for he had committed acts of misconduct, which resulted in the guru manifesting a wrathful form to warn him. During his meditation, he could feel the ground trembling to a degree that he could not sit still and fell towards the floor. Later, he wrote a letter of repentance.

Another individual had prayed for the gurus blessings. This disciple was suffering from an illness and had come down with a high fever. He suddenly saw the guru approaching, holding a bottle of nectar in his hand which the guru poured into his body through his crown, curing him of his high fever. He saw his guru touching his head with his hands, and felt a surge of gratitude filling his heart, leaving him in tears. This disciple who was suffering from high fever felt a rush of fresh coolness in his body when the nectar entered his head. He recovered completely the next day.

A certain individual who had prayed for the gurus blessings proceeded with his practice for forty-nine days. During his meditation on the forty-ninth day of his practice, he suddenly felt a shaft of white light descending from the sky, and in an instant he experienced a clear vision of all things. His body and mind were transformed into white light, and he experienced a sudden increase in his wisdom. What he had not understood in the past suddenly made sense to him. He was a different dharma student. In the past, he faced difficulties in each step in his study of the dharma. Since receiving the blessings of the guru, he gained yogic response in his study of dharma. He felt the constant presence of his guru, and enjoyed a sense of lightness in his body and mind, finding a joy that he had never experienced before. The teachings, which were once incomprehensible to him, were now accessible, and he could apply them to his life.

He set out to perform three tasks:

He made an offering to his guru every month without fail.

He practised a total of 108 sessions of the Ksitigarbha Deliverance Tantric Practice that was transmitted to him by the guru, and liberated many astral spirits.

He became a great dharma protector for his guru, and revered the guru as a buddha. He vowed to follow the guru in all future lives.

A certain disciple had prayed for the blessings of the guru. He had an experience in which he witnessed spots of white, red, green, yellow and blue coloured light the size of medicine pills. The disciple was amazed. The appearance of medicines in space corresponded with the disciples practice of the Medicine Buddha Practice, and these medicines made three circles in space before falling into his hand. Ever since then, the patients who received help from him through the Medicine Buddha Practice were healed of their illnesses. He was overjoyed and wrote a letter to inform me of this occurrence. Actually I knew it long before he wrote his letter.

There was a disciple who practised Guru Yoga diligently. However, his practice was ridiculed by a Tantric practitioner from a different order. Once, the Tantric practitioner slandered me before my disciple, and in defence, my disciple said, Master Sheng-yen Lu is the Vajra Lion King. He is a master who has attained the supreme perfect enlightenment. How dare you insult my guru! If my guru were false, you would certainly have no sin. But if my guru is a genuine one, try insulting him forty-nine times and you will receive retribution at once.

The Tantric practitioner laughed out loud and condemned me, repeating, Sheng-yen Lu is a false master forty-nine times. Upon completion, he retaliated by asking, So, where is my retribution? My disciple left in silence. Three months later, the same Tantric practitioner went to a friends place, which happened to be a timber factory. A crane was picking up a huge log, which accidentally struck the Tantric practitioner as it rotated. The practitioner instantly vomited blood and later died at his home. This incident happened in Malaysia.

A disciple had requested the blessings of the guru, and in his meditation he saw many gods entering into his meditation room, encircling him one after another. Subsequently a god in golden armour came and said to the rest of the godly beings, Master Sheng-yen Lu has arrived in the sky above. The gods looked up and saw white light illuminating the sky, painting it as bright as lightning flashes. Upon closer examination, they saw the guru appearing in a body of gold, seated on a lotus throne and emitting rays of moon essence from his crown. Then the assembly of gods placed their palms together in respect and uttered their praise, In this universal great dharma circumstances we shall take refuge. We the dragons and gods are willing to protect the dharma.

After these beings spoke, a thunderclap was heard. At once, they ascended into the air, their bodies spotted in red with white bellies and large, massive jaws. All in all there were nine dragons that danced in the sky. The golden armoured god rode on one of the dragons and paid homage to the guru. My disciple was astonished to witness this vision, and gained even greater respect for his guru.

There was one disciple who went into the mountains to cultivate Guru Yoga. He found a cave and sat crossed-legged to practise. His residence was in Sumatra, and he lived on a mountain where tigers roamed. Later, a tiger appeared and its presence sent fear into the heart of my disciple. The tiger stared at him while he was seated, and his mind was running wild. He went ahead and shouted, Guru save me! The tiger was taken aback by the sound, lowered its head and made some growling noises before turning away. The disciple immediately ran down the mountain in the cloak of darkness. The shout of Guru save me had frightened away the tiger.

A certain disciple was very respectful of the guru, and he practised the invocation of the blessings of the guru in his daily practice. He was a famous artist and painted a huge painting of the guru that could fill the space of an entire wall. On the day it was completed, he secured the painting to his wall and lighted a stick of good quality incense. As the smoke from the incense rose to the level of the gurus face, it stopped rising and circulate around the gurus face for above five minutes before dissipating.

On that very night, the artist dreamed that the guru took him to his backyard where the guru pointed to a spot beneath the wall before disappearing. The next day, at the same spot he unearthed a huge box that contained many Tantric practice texts, ritual objects and a piece of a dharma robe. Upon investigating his family history, he found out that his great grandfather had been a great adept of the Tantric teachings and had studied the Tantric teachings under His Holiness the Four Treasures Dharma King, from whom he had received his dharma robe. Before he passed away, he was concerned that the Tantric ritual objects and practice texts might be subjected to abuse, so he decided to place them in a box and bury them under the ground. As his present-day descendent has accepted my Tantric tutelage, the ritual objects therefore reemerged. One of the practice texts is a major Tantric practice that is extremely rare and precious.

A certain practitioner belonging to the Kagyu order had practised the Tantric teachings for many years. He himself was a master. He cultivated the Black Retreat and practised the Guan Yin or Chenrezig Practice. When he attained yogic response, he saw Guan Yin Bodhisattva informing him that a Mahasiddha had appeared on earth and he was none other than Master Sheng-yen Lu. The Bodhisattva urged him to take refuge with Master Lu and learn the dharma from him. This Kagyu master had earlier learned of Sheng-yen Lus fame, but he was unconvinced of his attainment. Thus, you can imagine his astonishment when Chenrezig told him of Master Lu.

After coming out of his retreat, this master did not come to look for me immediately. He was already eighty years old while I am still in my forties. He is a senior master and I am a junior master. Yet one night, he sat in meditation and heard the mantra of Tara resonating all around him. He saw himself transformed into the face of a baby held in his mothers embrace. When he looked at his mothers face, he was shocked to find the face of Master Sheng-yen Lu. At this point he had a realization and decided to put aside the differences of seniority and age, and wrote to seek refuge and empowerment.

Yet another disciple insisted on the practice of seeking the gurus blessings. He was determined to gain yogic response in his cultivation, yet for a long time nothing happened. He purchased a statue of the guru to pray to, and purchased a few more statues to give away to those who were too poor to afford one. Despite this, he received no spiritual responses.

Then one night he dreamed of his guru touching his crown and digging something from his head with his hand. Finally, the guru pulled a long black worm out of his head and told him that the black worm of karma had prevented him from receiving any yogic response. The guru informed him that the following day his practice would definitely yield results.

True enough, on the following day, he saw white light entering his crown and a clear path from his navel to the crown. Spiritual vitality filled his entire being. This disciple was able to gain penetration into all Tantric teachings, and could transform his crystal clear heart into the form of a lotus flower. He received many major Tantric practices and gained yogic responses with all of them. Amazingly, he accomplished the Phowa Yoga and could help others open the pathway to the crown chakra.

These are just a few examples to illustrate the spiritual power of the Mahamudra of the Gurus Blessings. I hope all disciples will practice in accordance with these instructions. I am sure you will have great accomplishments.

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Up
01 - Homage to the Lineage Holders of the Mahamudra
02 - Mahamudra is the Method of Attaining Buddhahood
03 - The Meditation of Vairocana
04 - Psychic Heat, Drops and Inner Fire
05 - The True Practice of Speech Purification
06 - The Fourfold Mindfulness of Nagarjuna
07 - Blessings of the Guru on Mahamudra
08 - Ekagrata Meditation
09 - The Circulation of Mantra and Breathing
10 - The Techniques of Mahamudra
11 - The Dual Functioning of Tranquillity and Contemplation
12 - The Spiritual State of Supreme Bliss
13 - The Spiritual State of Immovability
14 - The Mahamudra Practice of Dreaming
15 - Clear Light Mahamudra
16 - Mahamudra of Leaving the Physical Body
17 - The Bardo Deliverance Yoga of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva
18 - Mahamudra of Opening the Crown
19 - The Samadhi of Observation
20 - The Mahamudra of Eternity, Bliss, True Self, and Purity
21 - The Mahamudra of Dispelling Delusion
22 - The Levels of Mahamudra
23 - The True Significance of the Master
24 - The Affection Practice of Ragaraja
25 - The Yoga of Great Secret Accomplishment
26 - The Practice of the Mantra of Vajrapani
27 - A Brief Introduction to the Many Practices of Tantrayana
28 - The Conclusion to the Highest Yoga Tantra and Mahamudra