The Four Immeasurable Vows
Now I shall continue with the Complete and Detailed Exposition of the Liturgy of the True Buddha Tantric Dharma. What I discussed during the first two days is considered the Prologue Section, and today I will begin the Main Body. The Prologue Section consists of the Purification Mantras, Invocation, Great Homage, Mandala Offering, Fourfold Refuge, and Armor Protection. Actually, in our True Buddha Tantric Dharma, one more step, the Four Immeasurable Vows, may also be included. The Four Immeasurable Vows also are extremely important. One's mind will have achieved greatness when one can truly understand the meaning of the Four Immeasurable Vows. The Four Immeasurable Vows are Benevolence, Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity. Benevolence is to give happiness to sentient beings. Compassion is to uproot the sufferings of sentient beings. Joy is to carry out Benevolence and Compassion with infinite joy. Equanimity is to be able to sacrifice the self or enter into the state of No-self when practicing Benevolence, Compassion, and Joy.
When one is able to enact the Four Immeasurable Vows, one becomes a saint. When one practices the Four Immeasurable Vows, one's heart becomes infinitely large. If everyone's heart becomes infinitely large, the world will become the ideal and perfect society propounded by Confucius. However, people in the world do not practice Benevolence, Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity What do they practiceinstead? They want happiness for themselves but misery for others. They feel unhappy and out of sorts when they see other people doing good deeds. They become resentful when they observe other people renouncing the egotistic self. Sentient beings can be mean, narrow-minded, and petty. Therefore, it is very important to learn to practice the Four Immeasurable Vows: to give happiness to sentient beings and to uproot
their sufferings, to carry out these deeds in infinite joy, and in a state of No-self.
The Body Offering Practice
There was a famous Tibetan yogini, the Honorable Machig LabdrOnme, who was a female guru who popularized the Body Offering Practice [ChOd]. How is this practice of No-self done?
One visualizes one's two eyes transform into the sun and moon, one's skin transform into the land, one's bones and flesh transform into mountains and earth; blood becomes bodies of water such as rivers, lakes, and oceans, one's breathing becomes the wind, and one's hair becomes the trees. The Honorable Machig Labdriinme used this visualization to dissect and give away all of herself. This is the gist of the Body Offering Visualization established by the Honorable Machig LabdrOnme. When one completely sacrifices all of one's body to give to sentient beings to use, the self is transcended, and one becomes No-Self. If one is unable to give and make sacrifices, then one still has greed.
Transcending the Self is No Simple Matter
It is easy to speak of "No-Self," but achieving it is no simple matter. For example, one comes to the Rainbow Villa to listen to these seven days of Dharma teachings and, since one sometimes has to make an offering, one divides all the money one has brought along into seven portions. One portion for each day, so there are seven portions. Well, on second thought, it won't do! How is one going to survive without any money? One then sets aside half of the money, as there is the hotel bill to pay and one has to have some bread and eggs for breakfast.
As for lunches and suppers, one may count on the Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple, as meals are served there at noon and in the evening. Nonetheless, sometimes one needs to go to Costco, or Sears, or some other department store to buy some necessary items. When one sees something good in the store, one wants to purchase it. Some students from Taiwan might even want to buy a toaster oven to bring back home. So one needs to reserve some money for oneself. Say there is originally one thousand dollars. After setting aside the seven portions for offerings, there is only three hundred dollars left.
Well, on further thought, how about reserving nine hundred dollars for personal use [audience laughter] and using one hundred dollars for the offerings? After putting ten dollars into each red envelope, one still has thirty dollars left over for evening snacks. As one computes the figures, one can't help feeling that this is just wonderful! [audience laughter] As a matter of fact, it is appropriate for students to have such considerations. When one travels, one has to pay for taxi cabs or other transportation, and one also has to buy this and that. I would feel disconcerted if one emptied all one's pockets for me. [laughter] Apart from making offerings to the Grand Master, one should also make offerings to other people. For example, when one has the opportunity to do good or meaningful deeds that are beneficial to other people, one should make a commitment to do them. As a result of making such offerings, good karmic relationships will be generated between oneself and others. Good results will soon generate from the seeds of such good actions.
The Benefits of Donating Meals
It is very popular now for people to offer to pay for meals at temples. For example, one goes to visit a certain temple and suddenly someone there offers to pay for the total food cost for that evening's meal. Whoever eats that meal becomes the receiver while the person making the offering is the giver. The act of giving should be done without expecting anything in return. One should not say, "Well, all of you have accepted my food, and you will have to pay me back in the future." One should not have this kind of thought. However, such an act does create a positive karmic affinity between the giver and the receivers. Today one accepts a meal that costs ten dollars, how much karmic interest might this ten dollars generate in one's next life, which might be sixty, seventy, eighty, a hundred, or even a hundred and twenty years from now? When the giver and receiver meet again in their next human life, the receiver will definitely be well disposed towards the giver because of the acceptance of that one meal in their previous lives! [audience laughter]
In the next life, the giver might become a woman and the receiver might turn out to be a man, and when they meet, the man will have a favorable impression of the woman and will want to marry her and pay her back. [audience laughter] So, no matter how often the wife pinches him, smacks him, or scolds him, this husband will still find the wife very dear and will obey her orders. [audience laughter] Because of that one meal, he is paying back the debt to her! [audience laughter] This boss for whom one works perhaps accepted one's offer of a meal in a previous life, so in this life he might find one very pleasing to the eye and, out of the blue, decide to give one a raise. Why? Because he is paying back a debt for a meal from the last life.
Or say one is appearing in court and is extremely nervous, as one has been found guilty. The judge who is writing the sentence takes a look and finds one surprisingly familiar because the judge has accepted a meal from one in his or her previous life. Therefore this judge decides to give one a lighter sentence. Perhaps in lieu of imprisonment, one only needs topay a fine. There are many benefits in treating others to meals. In the next life, the receiver might have such a favorable impression of the giver that the former will lend or give anything to the latter and become his or her benefactor. One can count and see how many benefactors one will have in the next life. Good affinity is formed each time one donates food to other sentient beings and, in turn, one will be well received by the others the next time around.
The American singer, Michael Jackson, definitely donated many meals in his previous life! [audience laughter] When people see him, they all become crazy and, for all his events, want to buy tickets to hear him sing. He is able to attract many sentient beings in this life because all these people have accepted a meal from him in a previous life. An affinity has been formed, and all these people are paying him back. By donating meals and making sacrifices, many good karmic ties are formed which will blossom in the future, bringing one friendship, wealth, assistance, the Buddhadharma, good knowledge, and enlightened teachers.
No-self Giving and the Jataka Tales
I am using food offering as just one example of giving. There are countless other methods of giving. If the giving comes from the heart, then one eventually will reach the highest level of "No-Self giving." "No-Self giving" leads to Buddhahood. Recorded in the Jataka sutras are stories of the Buddha's previous incarnations. Giving is the theme of all these stories. Slicing one's own flesh to feed the vulture and offering one's own body to feed the tiger are examples of giving [sacrifices].
The many stories of deer kings and elephant kings in the Jataka sutras are also about giving. Does everyone know this? From these stories, one can understand that a mind that is filled with Benevolence, Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity [the basis of self- sacrifice] is very great and can lead to Buddhahood. Enlightenment is attained when the state of true "No-Self giving" and the state of "No-Self' is reached. Therefore the Four Immeasurable Vows are very great vows.
Now I shall continue with the Complete and Detailed Exposition of the Liturgy of the True Buddha Tantric Dharma. What I discussed during the first two days is considered the Prologue Section, and today I will begin the Main Body. The Prologue Section consists of the Purification Mantras, Invocation, Great Homage, Mandala Offering, Fourfold Refuge, and Armor Protection. Actually, in our True Buddha Tantric Dharma, one more step, the Four Immeasurable Vows, may also be included. The Four Immeasurable Vows also are extremely important. One's mind will have achieved greatness when one can truly understand the meaning of the Four Immeasurable Vows. The Four Immeasurable Vows are Benevolence, Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity. Benevolence is to give happiness to sentient beings. Compassion is to uproot the sufferings of sentient beings. Joy is to carry out Benevolence and Compassion with infinite joy. Equanimity is to be able to sacrifice the self or enter into the state of No-self when practicing Benevolence, Compassion, and Joy.
When one is able to enact the Four Immeasurable Vows, one becomes a saint. When one practices the Four Immeasurable Vows, one's heart becomes infinitely large. If everyone's heart becomes infinitely large, the world will become the ideal and perfect society propounded by Confucius. However, people in the world do not practice Benevolence, Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity What do they practiceinstead? They want happiness for themselves but misery for others. They feel unhappy and out of sorts when they see other people doing good deeds. They become resentful when they observe other people renouncing the egotistic self. Sentient beings can be mean, narrow-minded, and petty. Therefore, it is very important to learn to practice the Four Immeasurable Vows: to give happiness to sentient beings and to uproot
their sufferings, to carry out these deeds in infinite joy, and in a state of No-self.
The Body Offering Practice
There was a famous Tibetan yogini, the Honorable Machig LabdrOnme, who was a female guru who popularized the Body Offering Practice [ChOd]. How is this practice of No-self done?
One visualizes one's two eyes transform into the sun and moon, one's skin transform into the land, one's bones and flesh transform into mountains and earth; blood becomes bodies of water such as rivers, lakes, and oceans, one's breathing becomes the wind, and one's hair becomes the trees. The Honorable Machig Labdriinme used this visualization to dissect and give away all of herself. This is the gist of the Body Offering Visualization established by the Honorable Machig LabdrOnme. When one completely sacrifices all of one's body to give to sentient beings to use, the self is transcended, and one becomes No-Self. If one is unable to give and make sacrifices, then one still has greed.
Transcending the Self is No Simple Matter
It is easy to speak of "No-Self," but achieving it is no simple matter. For example, one comes to the Rainbow Villa to listen to these seven days of Dharma teachings and, since one sometimes has to make an offering, one divides all the money one has brought along into seven portions. One portion for each day, so there are seven portions. Well, on second thought, it won't do! How is one going to survive without any money? One then sets aside half of the money, as there is the hotel bill to pay and one has to have some bread and eggs for breakfast.
As for lunches and suppers, one may count on the Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple, as meals are served there at noon and in the evening. Nonetheless, sometimes one needs to go to Costco, or Sears, or some other department store to buy some necessary items. When one sees something good in the store, one wants to purchase it. Some students from Taiwan might even want to buy a toaster oven to bring back home. So one needs to reserve some money for oneself. Say there is originally one thousand dollars. After setting aside the seven portions for offerings, there is only three hundred dollars left.
Well, on further thought, how about reserving nine hundred dollars for personal use [audience laughter] and using one hundred dollars for the offerings? After putting ten dollars into each red envelope, one still has thirty dollars left over for evening snacks. As one computes the figures, one can't help feeling that this is just wonderful! [audience laughter] As a matter of fact, it is appropriate for students to have such considerations. When one travels, one has to pay for taxi cabs or other transportation, and one also has to buy this and that. I would feel disconcerted if one emptied all one's pockets for me. [laughter] Apart from making offerings to the Grand Master, one should also make offerings to other people. For example, when one has the opportunity to do good or meaningful deeds that are beneficial to other people, one should make a commitment to do them. As a result of making such offerings, good karmic relationships will be generated between oneself and others. Good results will soon generate from the seeds of such good actions.
The Benefits of Donating Meals
It is very popular now for people to offer to pay for meals at temples. For example, one goes to visit a certain temple and suddenly someone there offers to pay for the total food cost for that evening's meal. Whoever eats that meal becomes the receiver while the person making the offering is the giver. The act of giving should be done without expecting anything in return. One should not say, "Well, all of you have accepted my food, and you will have to pay me back in the future." One should not have this kind of thought. However, such an act does create a positive karmic affinity between the giver and the receivers. Today one accepts a meal that costs ten dollars, how much karmic interest might this ten dollars generate in one's next life, which might be sixty, seventy, eighty, a hundred, or even a hundred and twenty years from now? When the giver and receiver meet again in their next human life, the receiver will definitely be well disposed towards the giver because of the acceptance of that one meal in their previous lives! [audience laughter]
In the next life, the giver might become a woman and the receiver might turn out to be a man, and when they meet, the man will have a favorable impression of the woman and will want to marry her and pay her back. [audience laughter] So, no matter how often the wife pinches him, smacks him, or scolds him, this husband will still find the wife very dear and will obey her orders. [audience laughter] Because of that one meal, he is paying back the debt to her! [audience laughter] This boss for whom one works perhaps accepted one's offer of a meal in a previous life, so in this life he might find one very pleasing to the eye and, out of the blue, decide to give one a raise. Why? Because he is paying back a debt for a meal from the last life.
Or say one is appearing in court and is extremely nervous, as one has been found guilty. The judge who is writing the sentence takes a look and finds one surprisingly familiar because the judge has accepted a meal from one in his or her previous life. Therefore this judge decides to give one a lighter sentence. Perhaps in lieu of imprisonment, one only needs topay a fine. There are many benefits in treating others to meals. In the next life, the receiver might have such a favorable impression of the giver that the former will lend or give anything to the latter and become his or her benefactor. One can count and see how many benefactors one will have in the next life. Good affinity is formed each time one donates food to other sentient beings and, in turn, one will be well received by the others the next time around.
The American singer, Michael Jackson, definitely donated many meals in his previous life! [audience laughter] When people see him, they all become crazy and, for all his events, want to buy tickets to hear him sing. He is able to attract many sentient beings in this life because all these people have accepted a meal from him in a previous life. An affinity has been formed, and all these people are paying him back. By donating meals and making sacrifices, many good karmic ties are formed which will blossom in the future, bringing one friendship, wealth, assistance, the Buddhadharma, good knowledge, and enlightened teachers.
No-self Giving and the Jataka Tales
I am using food offering as just one example of giving. There are countless other methods of giving. If the giving comes from the heart, then one eventually will reach the highest level of "No-Self giving." "No-Self giving" leads to Buddhahood. Recorded in the Jataka sutras are stories of the Buddha's previous incarnations. Giving is the theme of all these stories. Slicing one's own flesh to feed the vulture and offering one's own body to feed the tiger are examples of giving [sacrifices].
The many stories of deer kings and elephant kings in the Jataka sutras are also about giving. Does everyone know this? From these stories, one can understand that a mind that is filled with Benevolence, Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity [the basis of self- sacrifice] is very great and can lead to Buddhahood. Enlightenment is attained when the state of true "No-Self giving" and the state of "No-Self' is reached. Therefore the Four Immeasurable Vows are very great vows.
Basics [13]. 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
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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