An Overview of the Buddhadharma By Living Buddha
Sheng-yen Lu The Consort Practice Many Tantrayana students engage in the Consort Practice, and I dare not claim that none of our students engages in this practice. A person may feel that he is capable of doing the Consort Practice but, at the end, as a result of the Consort Practice, a child is born. [audience laughter] My God! [audience laughter] What kind of Consort Practice is this? This is just ordinary conjugal relations as practiced by couples. How can it be called the Consort Practice? It is an error to mistake the “married life” for the Consort Practice. An authentic Consort Practice will not give rise to the conception of a child. The birth of a child is an indication that there is still leakage of light drops, or vital essence. Such false claims of Consort Practice constitute an infraction of the precepts and may cause one to descend to the Vajra Hell. The Consort Practice does exist in Vajrayana Buddhism. One cannot deny its existence in the past in the Highest Tantra Section of Tibetan Vajrayana. However, the practice was so greatly abused that almost everyone started engaging in the Consort Practice. No wonder there are so many lamas! [audience laughter] Even here in the state of Washington, there was a great Tibetan lama who engaged in the Consort Practice with an American woman, and she gave birth to a little lama! Now the child is training to become a little lama in Nepal! Such a happening did occur, but was not the Consort Practice! Calling such an activity the Consort Practice is a grave infraction of the Vajrayana Precepts. The minimum requirement for Consort Practice is to first develop the transport vehicle, one’s conscious chi. One then elevates the light drops, placing them in the truck and sending them to be accumulated at the five chakras. This way, all the light drops are centralized at the five chakras. When there are no longer any light drops at the root charka, one may practice the Consort Practice and enter into a Great Stabilization of Ecstasy and Emptiness. Padmasambhava himself had five female consorts. During the Consort Practice, he would enter completely into the Condition of Emptiness and abide in the Great Stabilization of Ecstasy and Emptiness. This is a kind of stabilization that can transform Ecstasy into the Condition of Emptiness. “Ecstasy is Emptiness; Emptiness is Ecstasy.” [audience applause] This is a practice that benefits both participating parties. During the process of such a practice, there is no longer any movement of conscious chi, Ecstasy is generated and transformed into the Condition of Emptiness. When the point of the complete Emptiness is reached, it then gradually transforms back into Ecstasy. At the apex of Ecstasy, the condition transforms and reverts to that of Emptiness. The stability resulting from the cyclic movements between Ecstasy and Emptiness is known as the Great Stabilization of Ecstasy and Emptiness. Not many people have knowledge of the techniques of the Consort Practice; there are also very few who are qualified to engage in this practice. Yet many people still claim the Consort Practice as a pretext. Do not trust such pretexts, as they can lead to the conception of babies. We who can “see” the energy, can immediately see whether or not someone is qualified to do the Consort Practice. We can ascertain whether there is sufficient chi, whether one can maneuver the chi, and whether the central channel is open. When a person does not have a transport vehicle, a “truck,” and one’s light drops are leaking, how is one then qualified to engage in the Consort Practice? I have offered a clear explanation of the prerequisites for entering into the Great Stabilization of Ecstasy and Emptiness. The first requirement is the possession of a full and sufficient chi. One must be an adept in the practice of Chi Kung, and be able to maneuver the chi to ascend or descend. With a “truck” in the body, one may elevate the light drops. There are techniques that involve movements of the head and body, as well as the legs. There is a certain posture the body must assume for the elevation of the light drops. These instructions are taught to one by one’s guru. If one does not possess the knowledge or the ability to do such a practice, one is actually doing what the Chinese proverb calls, “building a cart behind closed doors.” Or, in this case, building a truck behind closed doors. [audience laughter] Except, in this case, a baby, rather than a truck, is produced. This is the difference between the Buddhadharma and conventional practices. If one does not know how to relinquish one’s egotistical self and enter into the Condition of Emptiness, one will experience only “pleasure” and not Emptiness. Herein lies the problem! Therefore, the practitioner has to first realize the Nature of Emptiness and then, during the practice, co-ordinate it with the other element, Ecstasy. Padmasambhava likened this process to that of “taking the pearl from the tongue of a poisonous snake.” There are some people who claim that if you pay them a certain sum of money, they will open your central channel for you. With one’s “freeway” open, one can drive one’s truck around. Did the Buddha ever say anything to this effect? Can someone else open one’s central channel for one? As one’s central channel is in one’s own body, one must open it oneself. How can someone else open it for one? “How can you be so naive as to believe that it can be done by someone else?” [spoken in Taiwanese to audience laughter] It is possible for me to give you a little boost of energy, but you yourself still have to maneuver the chi to transform it into the conscious chi. This is a key point. One still has to do one’s own cultivation. [audience applause] |
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