Highest Yoga Tantra and Mahamudra
By Master Sheng-yen Lu
Translated by Cheng Yew Chung, Edited by Dance Smith
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.
The word `leave` suggests departing, and the word `residence` refers to the physical body.
Together, they illustrate the soul leaving the physical body.
When death comes to those who have not practised any form of cultivation, they are often received by deceased spirits, such as their ancestors spirits who appear in order to receive the deceased. Those who see their ancestors appearing to welcome them are bound to end up in the lower spiritual planes.
Some who have performed virtuous acts will see the gods appearing to receive them, and they will ascend to the heavenly worlds.
Those who follow the Pureland School and single-mindedly recite the Buddhas name will experience the Three Sages of the West appearing before them upon death.
This indicates that they will gain rebirth in the Western Paradise of Ultimate Bliss where Amitabha Buddha will appear to receive them.
These ten dharma realms, the four holy states and six mundane realms, involve layers upon layers of truth, which would fill many books if we went into it.
As I write this Mahamudra of Leaving the Body within the Teachings of Mahamudra, I find myself wanting to cry, as the memory of meditating in my room surfaces, when I was shown how few sentient beings in the universe ascend to the heavenly realms upon death, and how few actually make it to the Western Paradise of Ultimate Bliss.
Those who practise the Mahamudra of Leaving the Body are few and far between.
The Saha world is evidently filled with many people who do not know how to cultivate.
Yet among those who do, many have gone astray, falling onto wrong paths and conned by pseudo-psychics.
There are indeed many pseudo dharma masters, fathers, priests, psychic mediums, magicians, masters and gurus.
These individuals appear to be practising virtuous deeds, but beneath their acts they swallow the donations of the kind-hearted, embezzling more than the amount they use to print good books and perform good deeds.
Those who end up in the lower spiritual planes and even in hell include these dharma masters, fathers, priests, mediums, magicians, masters, and gurus.
Those who are without dharma, yet claim to be dharma masters, will suffer a greater retribution than others.
When I observed this situation through my meditation, it naturally brought me to tears.
I have great pity[sympathy-would be a better noun here] for sentient beings who do not hear and learn of the dharma, and do not know how to cultivate.
Therefore I began my writings by first teaching the simpler doctrines, and advanced progressively to this highest teaching of Mahamudra.
I have tolerated all the slanders thrown at me by the dharma masters, fathers, priests, mediums, magicians, masters, and gurus.
I have borne the accusations of the world and the evil words of the hypocrites.
Why do I put up with these?
I am only trying to deliver a few souls who have the right affinity, for only a handful in this world know the Mahamudra of Leaving the Body, and only a few would continue speaking and reveal the supreme heart teachings of Tantrayana.
Therefore this is an expression of great compassion, great guidance, and great sympathy.
Sometimes I think that my writing about the Highest Yoga Tantra and Mahamudra may invite statements like `I also know that stuff` from the pseudo masters, who probably would be the least grateful after reading this material.
And they may well use these materials to con even more people. Isnt that worse?
However, knowing that all sentient beings shall bathe in the grace of the Buddha, experience the dharma taste, and cultivate the right teaching so that together they may attain Nirvana, I am determined to reveal this material.
This is what I am made of; my character is straight-forward and unselfish.
When a person is nearing death, many illusory visions may appear.
This phenomenon is caused by the reactions that occur when the four elements of earth, wind, fire and water disintegrate.
Eventually, the physical light is extinguished beyond the realm of the six consciousnesses.
The physical body and the mind gradually lose their connectivity, following which the water element begins to disintegrate and the mouth and nose experience dryness.
Next the fire element disintegrates, and the body gradually loses its temperature.
After that, the breath dissipates.
The order is thus:
First the earth element disintegrates, then the water element, following that, the fire element, and finally the breath.
This is the disintegration of the four elements.
Upon the death of the physical body, a person who has not practised any cultivation finds his spiritual essence lacking its own power to move at will, and he is subjected to the forces of negative karma, which lead him down the path of suffering where he is reborn in the six realms: heaven, the human realm, the asura realm, hell, and the hungry ghost and animal realms.
However, a person whose spiritual essence is active in his life due to his cultivation will experience, upon the death of his physical body and upon his last breath, the appearance of smoke and fog. Amidst this smoky fog one finds the manifestation of light.
To produce light from this smoky fog requires that one first eliminate the three poisons of greed, anger and foolishness.
While one can purify oneself of the three poisons during ones lifetime, they have to be completely purified after ones death.
These three poisons can be further categorized into the thirty-two states of anger, the forty states of greed, and the seven states of ignorance.
The most important thing is to eliminate all the karmic conditions, greed, anger and foolishness.
This is indeed the greatest heart essence.
The light that first manifests usually resembles the glow of a firefly.
This is ones own light, which later transforms into a light like the light of a lamp.
At this stage, when all outer karmic conditions are cut, a massive light gradually approaches, shining with the backdrop of a cloudless sky.
The very light that emits from the spiritual essence of the cultivator spirals through the central channel and ascends, moving out of the crown chakra and connecting with the light of the great sun.
The Karmapa once told me:
Ones own pure dharmakaya is the Child Light.Heres a verse:
The nature of the supreme cosmic consciousness is the Mother Light.
As the physical light and form fade away,This illustrates the Mahamudra of Leaving the Body at the time of death, a complete quintessence which teaches that the dying practitioner must renounce all worldly karmic affinities such as wealth (thoughts of greed), family ties (thoughts of foolishness), and all love and hatred (thoughts of anger), cutting all karmic ties in the physical world.
As thoughts and consciousness are removed,
Consciousness, when eliminated, finds itself arise again.
At this moment the clear light begins to dawn.
Light and early dawn blend as one.
Here exists the manifested and unmanifested knowledge,
Merging the manifested into the primal ground.
Thus one is said to attain fruition and gain accomplishment.
It is only when all discursive thoughts are eliminated and one abides in the realm of the light that the Child Light manifests itself.
It is the very pure state of the Child Light that attracts the Mother Light of the supreme cosmic consciousness.
As the Child Light spins and ascends through the central channel, both these lights merge into one, these two lights which in truth are of the same essence. Like old friends who meet again, these pure lights merge into each other.
This is in essence the final return to the Ocean of Vairocana; entering into Nirvana, achieving enlightenment.
An individual who has not done any cultivation will experience fear upon dying.
This is because he will feel that his body is crumpling like a mountain and he is no longer able to get up.
He shall feel an earthquake trembling all around, and everywhere people running after him and wanting to kill him.
The individual finds himself wanting to escape from the killers, yet unable to find his way out.
He experiences strong winds, thunder and lightning.
As he keeps running frantically, he may run into the soft white light, which is the heavenly realm.
If he runs into the foggy light, he enters the hell realm.
If he enters the soft yellow light, this is the human realm.
If he enters the soft red light, that is the hungry ghost realm.
If he enters the soft green light, he enters into the asura realm.
This is the reality of the six realms of Samsara.
This is what separates the practitioner from the non-practitioner.
Many readers often ask me if hell really exists.
This is my reply, Hell exists on earth, and many of these hells have already manifested in the human world, such as operating rooms in hospitals where the hells of opening the skull, grafting the skin, and operating on the heart exist.
And in war-torn areas you find the hells of knife mountain and fire mountain.
Hell is described in Tantric Buddhism in this way:
In the hell realm there is a huge city with high walls fabricated of black gold.
An iron gate opens at each of the four directions of the city, and trees are planted on the sides of the gates, which are hung with banners.
A human head is positioned on top of each tree.
Lord Yama is in charge, with his left attendant recording bad deeds and right attendant recording good deeds.
This Tantric hell is recorded in the Sutra of Ten Kings.
Actually, Lord Yama is known as the Spirit of Illumination in Tantrayana.
He entered into the Netherworld to take charge of the hell realm.
He is included in Tantric teachings as a heavenly deity known as Yama Deva (Japanese: Enmaten) who resides on the side of the west gate of the vajra division in the Womb Mandala.
In the Diamond Mandala, he is stationed to the north of the outer court among the Twenty Deities (Nijitten).
In the Tantric version of the image of Lord Yama, he rides on a buffalo, his right hand holding a human head banner and his left hand palm upwards.
He has two female devas as his attendants, two ghostly guards in red and black colours who carry a knife and a battle halberd respectively.
Lord Yama rides on a buffalo with his right leg dangling. This description is different from the Taoist description of Lord Yama.
From what I know based on my studies, the Womb and Diamond Mandalas of Tantric Buddhism are arranged in the order of the stars and constellations of the cosmos.
The heaven and hell realms depicted in Taoism are based on legends, and the hell realm lies beneath the floor of the ocean.
Whatever there is, I am aware that within the human body exist the divisions of heaven and hell.
When your heart is inclined towards hell, hell appears before you.
If your heart looks towards heaven, heaven appears before you.
Heaven and hell are created by our hearts.
The Mahamudra of Leaving the Body is a wonderful heart essence teaching.
If one does not believe in this teaching now, when death arrives one will be able to verify it and realize that what I say is indeed true.
Amituofo
Lotuschef
Pure Karma
True Buddha School
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