INTRODUCTION ( DAY FOUR )
Master and fellow cultivators, good afternoon. Today is the fourth day of the Complete and Detailed Exposition on the Buddha Tantric Dharma. Before the teaching, I would like to briefly discuss the subjects of "Buddhahood by Guidance" and "Buddhahood in the Present Body".
There was an eminent Buddhist monk who, during one of his Dharma teachings, was asked by many people if it would be possible to attain "Buddhahood in the present body". This eminent monk replied, "Practically, there is no such thing as Buddhahood in the present body." So-called Buddhahood in the present body" is most likely a fib." One can deduce from his answer that this monk had not given much thought to the question, because this reply he gave was equivalent to reprimanding Buddha Shakyamuni. As we all know, the enlightenment of Buddha Shakyamuni is a perfect example of “Buddhahood in the Present Body”. While in samsara, sitting under the papal tree, Shakyamuni caught a glimpse of the Luminous Star [the nature of mind], directly recognized the pure nature of being, and thus became a Buddha.
When this eminent Buddhist monk announced that there was no such thing as: “Buddhahood in the Present Body”, that it was just a fib, was he not accusing Buddha Shakyamuni of not really attaining Buddhahood in samsara, and that the while incident was just a hoax?
Buddhahood in the Present Body is Possible
There are also some people who think this way: Buddha Shakyamuni was an exceptional being of incomparable faculties who could achieve “Buddhahood in the Present Body” after many lifetimes of spiritual practice; however, it would be impossible for ordinary cultivators to attain instant awakening. Again, from that eminent monk’s point of view, all the billions of other sentient beings are denied the chance to achieve “Buddhahood in the Present Body”.\
And yet Buddha Shakyamuni reached the realm of Buddhahood directly from the realm of men. With a foundation built upon many samsaric lifetimes of spiritual cultivation, there definitely comes one lifetime wherein one may directly ascend to become a Buddha.
What then is the different between “Buddhahood in the Present Body” and “Buddhahood by Guidance”? I will address this later. Did anybody else, besides Buddha Shakyamuni, directly realize Buddhahood in the human realm? Yes, Nagarjuna and Ashvaghosa are such examples, and so are many other Bodhisattvas. However, attaining “Buddhahood in the Present Body” is not confined to those in the human realm. For example, the Adi or Primordial Buddha attained “Buddhahood in the Present Body” from the Fourth Immaterial Heaven [where there is neither thinking nor not-thinking] within the Formless Realm. The Great Sun Tathagata or Vairocana Buddha attained “” from the Mahasvara Heaven within the Realm of Form. Buddha Shakyamuni attained “Buddhahood in the Present Body” while in the samsaric realm of men. These are just some example of “Buddhahood in the Present Body”, human or otherwise.
Tantrayana teaches the practice of “Buddhahood in the Present Body” while exoteric schools generally teach the practice of “Buddhahood by Guidance”. What then is the difference between these two phenomena?
Buddhahood by Guidance
The secret of exoteric schools’ “Buddhahood by Guidance” lies in the practice of “a single –minded concentration”. It is recorded in the Amitabha Sutra that, when one is dying one can chant the name of Amitabha with a single-minded concentration for one to seven days. Amitabha Buddha will then manifest before one to lead one to His Pure Realm of Sukhavati. There is a similar practice in Tantrayana called the Buddhahood in Seven Days. In this practice, one constantly visualizes oneself transforming into the seed syllable HUM, and the Buddha is envisioned as the Syllable AH. For one to seven days, one visualizes this AH descending from above, with the hook hooking through the circle part of the HUM and pulling the HUM up towards the heavens. This is the Buddhahood in Seven Days Method taught in Tantric Buddhism. Nevertheless, whether it is the Scriptural Seven Days or Tantric Seven Days Method, it is still a “Buddhahood by Guidance” method.
Yesterday, I described how a Buddhist practitioner who is very skillful in the practice of chanting, be it the chanting of a mantra or Amitabha’s epithet, can attain a level of continuous pure consciousness which will invoke Amitabha into manifestation when one dies. When such practitioner closes his or her eyes at the critical moment of death, Amitabha will manifest to direct the consciousness from the dying body to His Pure Land.
A more advanced approach within the scriptural tradition is to chant while visualizing the image of Amitabha. This is a method that surely can enable one to arrive at the Sukhavati through the guidance of Amitabha.
Nowadays, the goal of most Buddhist is “Buddhahood by Guidance”. Success in “Buddhahood by Guidance” requires a combination of both the “power of oneself” and the “power of the Buddha”. The latter refers to Amitabha’s vow that, as long as one chants his name single-mindedly for one to seven days. He will come to lead one to Sukhavati. What is the “power of oneself”? This refers to the effort one puts into the chanting of the Buddha’s name. When one is able to focus one’s mind on chanting without any distraction and if, at the moment of dying, one’s mind is still completely focused on Sukhavati and on Amitabha, then Amitabha will manifest to lead one away. This happened when the power which is generated from one’s own longing for Sukhavati reaches out and becomes connected with the power generated from the vow of Amitabha. This kind of liberation, which is achieved through coordination of “self-power” and “Buddha-power” is called” Buddhahood by Guidance”.
Buddhahood in the Present Body
What is “Buddhahood in the Present Body”? It refers to the achievement of Enlightenment and Buddhahood in the present life through a complete reliance on one’s self-power developed in spiritual practice. One directly realizes the supreme wisdoms of the Buddhas through transforming the ordinary obscured mind into the pure unobscured nature of mind. The karmic distortions of ordinary body, speech, and mind are purified to reveal the Transcendent Body, Speech, and Mind of the Buddhas. When one attains the secret of the Great Sun Tathagata which is the purification of body, speech, and mind, one’s ordinary mind is transformed into the five attainment of “Buddhahood in the Present Body”.
When one integrates one’s three dimensions of being with the Action, Expression, and Awareness of the Enlightened Ones, the result is a transformation of the ordinary i=human consciousness into the five great wisdom energies of the Buddha’s being. The three bodies of Buddhahood – Dharma Body, Bliss Body, and Emanation Body – are manifested through oneself. At the highest level of Tantrayana practice, when one completely identifies with the subtlest, most essential state of “Buddha Nature,” one attains “Buddhahood in the Present Body”. At such moment, one does not need to rely on the guidance of Amitabha, because one continuously experiences the Five Buddha Wisdoms and a complete liberation from within. Therefore Tantrayana is an extremely lofty practice as it enables one to achieve “Buddhahood in the Present Body”. Both “Buddhahood by Guidance” and “Buddhahood in the Present Body” are very great achievements, yet they belong to two different levels of practice.
The Assurance of Enlightenment through Tantric Practice
The path of spiritual cultivation if the most important and valuable path one can pursue during one’s life on earth. I hope everyone understands what “Buddhahood by Guidance” and “Buddhahood in the Present Body” are and the differences between them. Some students have expressed the feeling that they find “Buddhahood in the Present Body” too difficult to attain in this life and they would rather aim at achieving “Buddhahood by Guidance” when they die. That is all right. If one learns how to do the Deity, then I can assure that one will obtain “Buddhahood by Guidance” when one dies. If one decides that the Internal Practice of “chi, channels, and light drops:, the Highest Tantra, the Great Perfection, or the abolition of Duality is too hard to pursue, one should at least attempt to achieve communion with one’s Personal Deity through the Personal Deity Yoga.
In Tantra, if one attains a yogic response in the Four Preliminary Practices, the one has already laid down a foundation for “Buddhahood by Guidance.” So, if I don’t come to guide one when one dies, then it could be I am on vacation! [Audience laughs]. Actually this won’t happen because, when one attains yogic response in the Guru Yoga, Padmakumara, being a manifestation of the Dharma Body, will know when one is dying and will come to give guidance. Even if I am on vacation, the other manifestation of the Dharma Body, Padmakumara, will certainly come to guide one to the Maha Twin Lotus Ponds. If one achieves yogic response in the Personal Deity Yoga, the Personal Deity will definitely come to guide one to Sukhavati or the Personal Deity’s own Pure Land. One can see that the attainment of yogic response is a kind of assurance. Without a yogic response, there is no assurance. One surely knows that one has achieved yogic response when one chants constantly the Guru or Personal Deity’s mantra and, as soon as one closes one’s eyes, one can immediately see the Guru or Personal Deity in the mind’s eyes.
In order to realize “Buddhahood by Guidance”, one must practice until one achieves yogic response in the Personal Deity Yoga and is able to go to the Personal Deity’s Pure Land. When one achieves yogic response in the Guru Yoga, one is able to go to the Maha Twin Lotus Ponds. When one achieved a spiritual response in the Four Preliminary Practices, one already has laid down the groundwork for the realization of “Buddhahood by Guidance”. That is why in the practice of our True Buddha Tantric Dharma, one has to achieve a yogic response in the Four Preliminary Practice, the Guru Yoga, and the Personal Deity Yoga in order to be assured of “Buddhahood by Guidance”. Such a level of realization equals the level of realization that can be reached by the Sutrayana practice. In fact, such a realization in Tantric practice even exceeds that of the Sutric school because, in addition, we practice entering into Samadhi!
Today I am going to discuss how to enter into Samadhi. Samadhi means inner stability developed through formal meditation. The Pure Land School, of course, also uses the term meditation, but in the sense of simple recitation and single-minded concentration on rebirth in the Western Pure Land. In truth, this single-minded concentration is a kind of stability! In our True Buddha daily practice, one is already practicing meditation and, when one becomes skillful in meditation, one will be able to purify the faculties of body, speech, and mind, and transmute the ordinary obscured mind into the wisdom mind. In other words, through meditation, one can attain “Buddhahood in the Present Body”.
The Quickest Way to Instantaneous Enlightenment
One should be aware of the implication of “Buddhahood in the Present Body”. When one attains Buddhahood in this life, one’s ideas and concepts will differ radically from those held by the ordinary people of the world. An enlightened person soars to a very lofty and transcendent realm of consciousness wherein the manifest world is no more than a speck of dust or a grain of sand. How can one describe this? Some people liken it to a grain of sand returning to the mountain or a drop of water merging with the ocean. This kind of analogy, while perhaps not the most appropriate, at least can be easily understood. So, realizing the Buddha Mind or Enlightenment is like a grain of sand returning to the mountain or a drop of water returning to the ocean.
Once, a student of Guru Norras wanted his guru to teach him the quickest and easiest way to achieve Instantaneous Enlightenment, Holding a knife in his hand, this student threatened his guru, “Don’t be so wordy. Today I just want you to tell me the one practice that will swiftly bring Enlightenment to me.” He demanded that Guru Norras tell him right away. Under such circumstances, Guru Norras simple responded, “Take a deep breath and then exhale. While you breathe out, let your mind follow the outgoing breath. This way you will attain enlightenment.” Oh! It sounds very simple! Just inhale deeply, exhale, let the mind follow the breath out, and one will attain Enlightenment!
It can be easily described, but it is hard to carry out. This is a method known as “Returning to Emptiness Method”. Is there anyone who is able to release the mind simultaneously with the outgoing breath? Indeed, when one’s mind goes out with the outgoing breath, one will truly attain Enlightenment!
Just consider this: the key of the Tantric Bardo Deliverance Practice (the Great Illusory Net Transformation Tantric Practice) relies solely on the release of the mind through the crown of the head at the time of death. The mind is the Buddha! When one’s mind (the subtle consciousness) follows the exhalation out, exiting through the crown, is that not liberation? What is most frightening is when the subtle mind cannot find any suitable exit at the time of death or when it is too obscured by habitual involvements to leave the human world and the physical body. When that happens, suffering and torment occur. Therefore, if one is able to completely let go of the body and transport the innate Buddha Mind out into the Universe in one breath, one will indeed attain Enlightenment. The words of Guru Norras contain a profound truth, but it will take a great deal of practice before one is able to transport one’s mind out with one’s breath.
Basics [20]. More to come.....
Readers can write to asklotuschef@gmail.com for a .pdf or .doc copy of this book.
Om Guru Lian Sheng Siddhi Hom
Lama Lotuschef
Master and fellow cultivators, good afternoon. Today is the fourth day of the Complete and Detailed Exposition on the Buddha Tantric Dharma. Before the teaching, I would like to briefly discuss the subjects of "Buddhahood by Guidance" and "Buddhahood in the Present Body".
There was an eminent Buddhist monk who, during one of his Dharma teachings, was asked by many people if it would be possible to attain "Buddhahood in the present body". This eminent monk replied, "Practically, there is no such thing as Buddhahood in the present body." So-called Buddhahood in the present body" is most likely a fib." One can deduce from his answer that this monk had not given much thought to the question, because this reply he gave was equivalent to reprimanding Buddha Shakyamuni. As we all know, the enlightenment of Buddha Shakyamuni is a perfect example of “Buddhahood in the Present Body”. While in samsara, sitting under the papal tree, Shakyamuni caught a glimpse of the Luminous Star [the nature of mind], directly recognized the pure nature of being, and thus became a Buddha.
When this eminent Buddhist monk announced that there was no such thing as: “Buddhahood in the Present Body”, that it was just a fib, was he not accusing Buddha Shakyamuni of not really attaining Buddhahood in samsara, and that the while incident was just a hoax?
Buddhahood in the Present Body is Possible
There are also some people who think this way: Buddha Shakyamuni was an exceptional being of incomparable faculties who could achieve “Buddhahood in the Present Body” after many lifetimes of spiritual practice; however, it would be impossible for ordinary cultivators to attain instant awakening. Again, from that eminent monk’s point of view, all the billions of other sentient beings are denied the chance to achieve “Buddhahood in the Present Body”.\
And yet Buddha Shakyamuni reached the realm of Buddhahood directly from the realm of men. With a foundation built upon many samsaric lifetimes of spiritual cultivation, there definitely comes one lifetime wherein one may directly ascend to become a Buddha.
What then is the different between “Buddhahood in the Present Body” and “Buddhahood by Guidance”? I will address this later. Did anybody else, besides Buddha Shakyamuni, directly realize Buddhahood in the human realm? Yes, Nagarjuna and Ashvaghosa are such examples, and so are many other Bodhisattvas. However, attaining “Buddhahood in the Present Body” is not confined to those in the human realm. For example, the Adi or Primordial Buddha attained “Buddhahood in the Present Body” from the Fourth Immaterial Heaven [where there is neither thinking nor not-thinking] within the Formless Realm. The Great Sun Tathagata or Vairocana Buddha attained “” from the Mahasvara Heaven within the Realm of Form. Buddha Shakyamuni attained “Buddhahood in the Present Body” while in the samsaric realm of men. These are just some example of “Buddhahood in the Present Body”, human or otherwise.
Tantrayana teaches the practice of “Buddhahood in the Present Body” while exoteric schools generally teach the practice of “Buddhahood by Guidance”. What then is the difference between these two phenomena?
Buddhahood by Guidance
The secret of exoteric schools’ “Buddhahood by Guidance” lies in the practice of “a single –minded concentration”. It is recorded in the Amitabha Sutra that, when one is dying one can chant the name of Amitabha with a single-minded concentration for one to seven days. Amitabha Buddha will then manifest before one to lead one to His Pure Realm of Sukhavati. There is a similar practice in Tantrayana called the Buddhahood in Seven Days. In this practice, one constantly visualizes oneself transforming into the seed syllable HUM, and the Buddha is envisioned as the Syllable AH. For one to seven days, one visualizes this AH descending from above, with the hook hooking through the circle part of the HUM and pulling the HUM up towards the heavens. This is the Buddhahood in Seven Days Method taught in Tantric Buddhism. Nevertheless, whether it is the Scriptural Seven Days or Tantric Seven Days Method, it is still a “Buddhahood by Guidance” method.
Yesterday, I described how a Buddhist practitioner who is very skillful in the practice of chanting, be it the chanting of a mantra or Amitabha’s epithet, can attain a level of continuous pure consciousness which will invoke Amitabha into manifestation when one dies. When such practitioner closes his or her eyes at the critical moment of death, Amitabha will manifest to direct the consciousness from the dying body to His Pure Land.
A more advanced approach within the scriptural tradition is to chant while visualizing the image of Amitabha. This is a method that surely can enable one to arrive at the Sukhavati through the guidance of Amitabha.
Nowadays, the goal of most Buddhist is “Buddhahood by Guidance”. Success in “Buddhahood by Guidance” requires a combination of both the “power of oneself” and the “power of the Buddha”. The latter refers to Amitabha’s vow that, as long as one chants his name single-mindedly for one to seven days. He will come to lead one to Sukhavati. What is the “power of oneself”? This refers to the effort one puts into the chanting of the Buddha’s name. When one is able to focus one’s mind on chanting without any distraction and if, at the moment of dying, one’s mind is still completely focused on Sukhavati and on Amitabha, then Amitabha will manifest to lead one away. This happened when the power which is generated from one’s own longing for Sukhavati reaches out and becomes connected with the power generated from the vow of Amitabha. This kind of liberation, which is achieved through coordination of “self-power” and “Buddha-power” is called” Buddhahood by Guidance”.
Buddhahood in the Present Body
What is “Buddhahood in the Present Body”? It refers to the achievement of Enlightenment and Buddhahood in the present life through a complete reliance on one’s self-power developed in spiritual practice. One directly realizes the supreme wisdoms of the Buddhas through transforming the ordinary obscured mind into the pure unobscured nature of mind. The karmic distortions of ordinary body, speech, and mind are purified to reveal the Transcendent Body, Speech, and Mind of the Buddhas. When one attains the secret of the Great Sun Tathagata which is the purification of body, speech, and mind, one’s ordinary mind is transformed into the five attainment of “Buddhahood in the Present Body”.
When one integrates one’s three dimensions of being with the Action, Expression, and Awareness of the Enlightened Ones, the result is a transformation of the ordinary i=human consciousness into the five great wisdom energies of the Buddha’s being. The three bodies of Buddhahood – Dharma Body, Bliss Body, and Emanation Body – are manifested through oneself. At the highest level of Tantrayana practice, when one completely identifies with the subtlest, most essential state of “Buddha Nature,” one attains “Buddhahood in the Present Body”. At such moment, one does not need to rely on the guidance of Amitabha, because one continuously experiences the Five Buddha Wisdoms and a complete liberation from within. Therefore Tantrayana is an extremely lofty practice as it enables one to achieve “Buddhahood in the Present Body”. Both “Buddhahood by Guidance” and “Buddhahood in the Present Body” are very great achievements, yet they belong to two different levels of practice.
The Assurance of Enlightenment through Tantric Practice
The path of spiritual cultivation if the most important and valuable path one can pursue during one’s life on earth. I hope everyone understands what “Buddhahood by Guidance” and “Buddhahood in the Present Body” are and the differences between them. Some students have expressed the feeling that they find “Buddhahood in the Present Body” too difficult to attain in this life and they would rather aim at achieving “Buddhahood by Guidance” when they die. That is all right. If one learns how to do the Deity, then I can assure that one will obtain “Buddhahood by Guidance” when one dies. If one decides that the Internal Practice of “chi, channels, and light drops:, the Highest Tantra, the Great Perfection, or the abolition of Duality is too hard to pursue, one should at least attempt to achieve communion with one’s Personal Deity through the Personal Deity Yoga.
In Tantra, if one attains a yogic response in the Four Preliminary Practices, the one has already laid down a foundation for “Buddhahood by Guidance.” So, if I don’t come to guide one when one dies, then it could be I am on vacation! [Audience laughs]. Actually this won’t happen because, when one attains yogic response in the Guru Yoga, Padmakumara, being a manifestation of the Dharma Body, will know when one is dying and will come to give guidance. Even if I am on vacation, the other manifestation of the Dharma Body, Padmakumara, will certainly come to guide one to the Maha Twin Lotus Ponds. If one achieves yogic response in the Personal Deity Yoga, the Personal Deity will definitely come to guide one to Sukhavati or the Personal Deity’s own Pure Land. One can see that the attainment of yogic response is a kind of assurance. Without a yogic response, there is no assurance. One surely knows that one has achieved yogic response when one chants constantly the Guru or Personal Deity’s mantra and, as soon as one closes one’s eyes, one can immediately see the Guru or Personal Deity in the mind’s eyes.
In order to realize “Buddhahood by Guidance”, one must practice until one achieves yogic response in the Personal Deity Yoga and is able to go to the Personal Deity’s Pure Land. When one achieves yogic response in the Guru Yoga, one is able to go to the Maha Twin Lotus Ponds. When one achieved a spiritual response in the Four Preliminary Practices, one already has laid down the groundwork for the realization of “Buddhahood by Guidance”. That is why in the practice of our True Buddha Tantric Dharma, one has to achieve a yogic response in the Four Preliminary Practice, the Guru Yoga, and the Personal Deity Yoga in order to be assured of “Buddhahood by Guidance”. Such a level of realization equals the level of realization that can be reached by the Sutrayana practice. In fact, such a realization in Tantric practice even exceeds that of the Sutric school because, in addition, we practice entering into Samadhi!
Today I am going to discuss how to enter into Samadhi. Samadhi means inner stability developed through formal meditation. The Pure Land School, of course, also uses the term meditation, but in the sense of simple recitation and single-minded concentration on rebirth in the Western Pure Land. In truth, this single-minded concentration is a kind of stability! In our True Buddha daily practice, one is already practicing meditation and, when one becomes skillful in meditation, one will be able to purify the faculties of body, speech, and mind, and transmute the ordinary obscured mind into the wisdom mind. In other words, through meditation, one can attain “Buddhahood in the Present Body”.
The Quickest Way to Instantaneous Enlightenment
One should be aware of the implication of “Buddhahood in the Present Body”. When one attains Buddhahood in this life, one’s ideas and concepts will differ radically from those held by the ordinary people of the world. An enlightened person soars to a very lofty and transcendent realm of consciousness wherein the manifest world is no more than a speck of dust or a grain of sand. How can one describe this? Some people liken it to a grain of sand returning to the mountain or a drop of water merging with the ocean. This kind of analogy, while perhaps not the most appropriate, at least can be easily understood. So, realizing the Buddha Mind or Enlightenment is like a grain of sand returning to the mountain or a drop of water returning to the ocean.
Once, a student of Guru Norras wanted his guru to teach him the quickest and easiest way to achieve Instantaneous Enlightenment, Holding a knife in his hand, this student threatened his guru, “Don’t be so wordy. Today I just want you to tell me the one practice that will swiftly bring Enlightenment to me.” He demanded that Guru Norras tell him right away. Under such circumstances, Guru Norras simple responded, “Take a deep breath and then exhale. While you breathe out, let your mind follow the outgoing breath. This way you will attain enlightenment.” Oh! It sounds very simple! Just inhale deeply, exhale, let the mind follow the breath out, and one will attain Enlightenment!
It can be easily described, but it is hard to carry out. This is a method known as “Returning to Emptiness Method”. Is there anyone who is able to release the mind simultaneously with the outgoing breath? Indeed, when one’s mind goes out with the outgoing breath, one will truly attain Enlightenment!
Just consider this: the key of the Tantric Bardo Deliverance Practice (the Great Illusory Net Transformation Tantric Practice) relies solely on the release of the mind through the crown of the head at the time of death. The mind is the Buddha! When one’s mind (the subtle consciousness) follows the exhalation out, exiting through the crown, is that not liberation? What is most frightening is when the subtle mind cannot find any suitable exit at the time of death or when it is too obscured by habitual involvements to leave the human world and the physical body. When that happens, suffering and torment occur. Therefore, if one is able to completely let go of the body and transport the innate Buddha Mind out into the Universe in one breath, one will indeed attain Enlightenment. The words of Guru Norras contain a profound truth, but it will take a great deal of practice before one is able to transport one’s mind out with one’s breath.
Basics [20]. More to come.....
Readers can write to asklotuschef@gmail.com for a .pdf or .doc copy of this book.
Om Guru Lian Sheng Siddhi Hom
Lama Lotuschef
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