【His Holiness Sheng-Yen Lu 20th July Dharma Talk ～ TBSky News Bulletin】 His Holiness Lian-Sheng Living Buddha elucidated the mantra, and also revealed the 《Inner Three Stages》 Kriya Tantra (事部), Charya Tantra (行部), Yogacara / Yoga Tantra (瑜伽部) and the three major 《Yoga Stages (瑜伽次第)》 have a profound meaning.
（TBSky News/Reported by Master Hui-Jun）20th July 2013 dharma talk, His Holiness Living Buddha Sheng-Yen Lu presided over the 《 Padmasambhava group cultivation (蓮華生大士同修) 》and gave dharma talk on the 《The Nine Stages Dharma of the Great Perfection (Dzogchen)》 at United States Seattle Temple.
Dharma talk was given after the Homa, Grand Master brought up the query by Acharya Lian-Lai (蓮萊上師): Is disciple able to chant the short mantra of Padmasambhava like Grand Master ～ 《Om Beh Cha Padma Hom》?
Grand Master explained: According to the teaching of Esoteric Buddhism, both long mantra and short mantra have the same merits, disciples can chant long mantra if is able to have a longer cultivation time, short mantra can be recite when the cultivation time availability is short. (But disciples cannot learn to be lazy.)
The so-called heaven has a short mantra of 《Hom》, this word is equivalent to chanting 20 celestial realms. The word when reciting 《Bulong (部隆) 》 and the wrath mantra 《Pei (呸)》 mean consists of everything. 《Pei》 word means refuse, stop and cut-off. (Grand Master has also disclosed formally that this word can eradicate delusions.
Chant the long Padmasambhava mantra: 《Om Ah Hom Beh Zha Gu Lu Padma Sidhi Hom Seh.Om.Yisi Cuo Jia. Man Da La Wa (嗡阿吽別炸古魯貝瑪悉地吽些。嗡。移喜措佳。曼達拉哇)!》, chanting Padmasambhava’s two favourite consorts’ names will please Padmasambhava even more.
Short mantra can be chanted while chanting the Hundred Syllable Mantra(百字明咒): 《 Om be-zha sa-do-a hom pei(嗡別炸薩埵阿吽呸)》。（Depends on your availability and time） The merits are the same.
His Holiness Lian-Sheng Living Buddha Sheng-Yen Lu specially made an introduce of 【The Nine Stages Dharma of the Great Perfection (Dzogchen)】 on 13th July 2013, what is the 【Nine Stages Dharma (九次第法)】:
- 「Outer Three Stages (外三次第)」（Triyana / The three vehicles） is defined as Sravaka-yana (that of the hearer or obedient disciple 聲聞乘) , Pratyeka-buddha-yana (that of the enlightened for self or objective is personal salvation / the vehicle of conditional-awakener 緣覺乘) and bodhisattva-yana (the objectives is the salvation of all livings 菩薩乘), these are transmitted by Sakyamuni Buddha.
- 「Inner Three Stages (內三次第)」（Vajrayana） is defined as Kriya Tantra (事部), Charya Tantra (行部), Yogacara / Yoga Tantra (瑜伽部) of Vajrayana Buddhism, and are transmitted by Vajrasattva (金剛薩埵). (Please refer to the detailed dharma talk of 《The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Esoteric Path (密宗道次第廣論)》 by Grand Master.)
- Yoga Stages (瑜伽次第) "Inner Tantra/Vajrayana" （內密乘） defined as: Mahayoga (大瑜伽), Anuyoga (Immense Yoga 阿努瑜伽) and Atiyoga (Anuttara Yoga 阿底瑜伽)，are transmitted by Adharma Buddha (阿達爾瑪佛)!
Grand Master has also explained the query by Acharya Lian-Lai in regards to cultivation of 【Inner Three Stages (內三次第)】 this time: Vajrasattva has mentioned ～ within the dharma of 【Kriya Tantra (事部)】, personal deity is the owner, sadhaka (religious practitioner) is the servant who serve the personal deity. 【Charya Tantra (行部)】is defined as personal deity is the friend of the sadhaka, meet and live in the void. 【Yoga Tantra (瑜伽部)】 is defined as integration or union, personal deity enters sadhaka’s body, to unite. Can I know what are the differences and distinctions when applied on cultivation please?
His Holiness Lian-Sheng Living Buddha Sheng-Yen Lu gave an insighful reply as following:
- 【事部】 In terms of "Kriya Tantra", according to the rule, we must beseech the empowerment from personal deity during cultivation, and also require to construct the mandala altar. Lots of lamas are needed to construct the Mandala altar in Tibetan Tantra, to adjust the line to form an inner circle and a rectangular outside, like a palace with four doors. Sutra chanting is needed after the construction to beseech deity to descend. For an example: In order to transmit Prajnaparamita (般若佛母) empowerment and beseech Prajnaparamita to descent, apart from the several days construction of sand mandala, 《Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra (also named as Great Wisdom Sutra 大般若經) 》chanting for 7 days and 7 nights or 49 days is needed after the construction, followed by a solemn ritual, invocation and Mandala offering. Such preparation for the deity empowerment would have consumed about two weeks to a month’s time.
- 【行部】 It is simpler with "Charya Tantra", the consolidate quintessence of 《Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra》is 《Vajra Sutra (also named as Diamond Sutra 金剛經)》, will only need to chant 7 chapters per night, and do not require to construct such a complicated sand mandala.As long as Prajnaparamita is in the middle, other dependants or relatives are around her side will do. Even a mound in the middle represent personal deity and the rideau beside represents the relatives or dependants is allowed too.
- 【瑜伽部】 In terms of Yoga Tantra, own body is the mandala, this is due to sadhaka has attained the unity with personal deity, as long as personal deity descent and unite with the sadhaka, empowerment transmission to the sentient beings can be done. Therefore, there are lots of deities, even hundreds of deities descent to the central channel of Grand Master and integrate into the body of Grand Master, to transmit empowerment to the sentient beings.
When Lian-Sheng No.1～3 bridge were completed at Taoyuan, His Holiness accepted the invitation to preside the ceremony, the local Mountain God and Earth God from the four corners of the region descend to the central channel of Grand Master and integrate with the body. There are also 5 deities descend when Grand Master gave a live demonstration on how to use the Ghanta and Damaru at Seattle. The body of Grand Master is the mandala of deities.
Grand Master conclude: 【Kriya Tantra】 must build a mandala; 【Charya Tantra】 is to make a simple mandala; 【Yoga Tantra】 body is the deity mandala, personal deity and sadhaka integrate and unite.
Grand Master has also emphasized specially that: It will be better if deity transmit empowerment after the cultivation. To transmit empowerment needs to prepare lots of 「Torma (多瑪)」（offering）, prepare liquor and meat to offer to Dharmapala, Grand Master must visualize as much of 「Torma」 as the clouds. Even though Grand Master is presiding the group cultivation of Maha Guru Tantric Dharma, but will still need other deities to enter into the body of Grand Master. There are only royal family is able to practice Tantric dharma in the past, but it is being spread widely now.
Grand Master then revealed the profound meaning of the three Maha Yoga:
- 【摩訶瑜伽】 The secret of “Mahayoga” 「A Great Yogo」 is greater than "Yoga Tantra", which is transform own self to personal deity, own home turn into palace, wife is Vidyarajni (Buddha Mother 佛母), sons at home are turned into buddha’s family members, daugthers are bodhisattva’s family members, friends are relatives, all of the mountains and rivers and land have become Pure Land, everything is Buddhist land. This is a convenient method. Treat the happiness and light of the enjoyment as the nature of emptiness. 【Mahayoga】 is comprehensive. Mountain, river, land, house, and own self’s physical, speech and thought are transformed by personal deity. The physical if the physical of Buddha, speech is buddha’s speech, mantra are spoken in all speech, thought is the heart of Buddha, equivalent to cultivation of living in Buddhist Pure Land.
- 【阿努瑜伽】 "Anuyoga" is the yoga of the cultivation focuses on the channels, energies and vital essence of the body (meditates on the inner or subtle body), perfection stages, joyful, illumination/luminous, sunyata (emptiness 空性). For an example, when Grand Master transmitted Hevajra (喜金剛) in the past and explained the prana, nadi, bindu, joyful illumination and sunyata, this is the Dharma of Wisdom Perfection Stages (智慧圓滿次第之法). There is a symbolization of wisdom, just like when we form a mudra (手印) which is also a wisdom. We can hook deity when we form tamrachuda (勾印)（Index finger extended as hook-shaped). Visualize the phony eyelashes such as hook, blink the eyes a few times can secretly summon personal deity to descent.
However the flowing of sadhaka's nadi is very important, so that deities are able to descend and unite with sadhaka. Grand Master present the ringing bell as a substance offerings to deity, Grand Master gave a live demonstration, the body stoop for a while, and there is a deity arrived to accept the offerings from Grand Master. Grand Master has attained the opening of the central channel/pulse (nadi), able to do offerings visualization during meals, and Grand Master can also see personal deity, yidam and also Yoginis to accept the offerings. Therefore the practice of central channel (nadi) flowing is very important, must medidate with its prana, the mind must be empty and cannot have any distracting thoughts, otherwise there will be a blockage in the central channel (veins/nadi) easily.
If the sadhaka (practitioner) is envy and jealous of anyone, the mind is full of distraction thoughts, personal deity is not easy to enter through the nadi of sadhaka.
Inner or subtle body meditation is wisdom cultivation, therefore the purity of mind is essential. True Buddha Sutra written: 「The purity of physical (body), purity of speech, purity of mind」. Else the there will be a blockage within the central channel (nadi). After the opening of central channel (nadi), one needs to medidate with its prana (subtle energies), nadis (the inner pathways along which one's energy travels), descry the luminous bindu......What is the purest, the most purity is have no distracting thoughts!
Speech and articles written are gentle, modest, elegant, meaningful and not criticizing others, shall think of everyone's goodness and merits, this is the purity of mind.
- 【阿底瑜伽】 "Atiyoga" is plenary and utmost, which means that sadhaka saw his/her Buddhahood. This is the highest point, to allow the sadhaka knows that they the Buddha, knowing ownself is attaining the full aspect, find one’s true self themselves and attain enlightenment.
Great Perfection 【Nyingthig (寧提)】 also named as 【Heart Essence (心髓)】, the pithy formula is the quintessence of the heart. To allow yourself to understand of the heart and able to see the Buddhahood. The infinity of the world or knows no limits or boundaries is the Dharmakaya Buddha (法身佛). Clear light manifestation is Sambhogakaya Buddha (報身佛). Appearing as the tamer of various beings is Nirmanakaya (應身佛). Functioning by the dharma power or manifestation of the dharmakaya is Nirmanakaya (應身佛).
Also, in regards to the fate between a child that Grand Master and Grand Madam are very fond of and themselves, His Holiness said: "Why am I so close with Ping-Er (平兒) (three years old), this is due to she is the Dakini I brought from celestial realm. She has clairvoyance, and saw a female disciple body has lots of worms. But Ping-Er sees Grand Master body is full of red light!]
His Holiness also mentioned that he is able to see lots of Dakini dance in the void to please Buddha. Dakini has also sprinkled 2 big drops of Amrita (blessed water) on Grand Master on a fine cloudless day.
Disciples at the site also put up their hand to testify the witness of Dakini sprinkling Amrita.
Disciples' eyes lit up when Grand Master reveals numerous profound meaning of cultivation on the day, the dharma joy is immeasurable. Everything is auspicious!
Chinese Version:
【盧勝彥尊者7月20日開示～真佛天空新聞報】聖尊蓮生活佛闡釋心咒、並透露《內三次第》事部、行部、瑜伽部與三大《瑜伽次第》甚深奧義。
♟ Translated by: TBSky News Translation Group (TYN)
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