Power of Reliance
Amid all this is the power of reliance. After taking refuge in a certain guru, one has to obey the guru and treasure the practices transmitted by the guru. One should not change the pronunciation of the mantras, nor should one alter any of the practices taught by one's guru. Why not? Because all these practices and mantras have within them the power of lineage transmission and the power of reliance.
What if one feels that the guru's practices are flawed because the guru has an idiosyncratic pronunciation of mantras? Of course my pronunciation of the mantras carries a Taiwanese accent because I am Taiwanese. However, do not assume that one is being one hundred percent correct by following a Tibetan pronunciation. In Tibet, there are three dialects. Tibetan tulkus from different districts would have different pronunciations of the same mantra.
There are more than two hundred dialects in the Himalayas. Each guru, depending on the district, will pronounce the same mantra differently. Which one of them is to be considered "correct"? Furthermore, the Tibetan mantras came originally from the Indian Sanskrit, which evolved from Primitive Sanskrit. Primitive Sanskrit is the original, correct sound. Therefore, as long as one relies on the mantra sounds transmitted to one by one's guru and, if one's guru has attained realization through these same sounds, then it won't be wrong. What kind of power is this? It is the power of reliance.
Are there any differences between the Tantric practices transmitted by me and those transmitted by existing practice texts? Yes, there are. Differences can be found in the three elements of mudra, mantra, and visualization. Which version should one choose? One should choose the version directly transmitted to one by one's root guru, as that would be the correct one. What kind of power is this? It is the power of reliance.
If one visits another teacher and finds that the mudra used by this other teacher is different from the one transmitted by me and, if one then thinks the root guru has made a mistake and decides to use the other teacher's mudra, one would be in error. One would thus lose the power of reliance.
Once a True Buddha student came to see me and tell me that he had taken refuge in another guru. I spoke to him, "That is very good. What has this guru taught you?"
He replied, "His mudra for the Ucchusma Practice is different from yours!"
"Oh, is that the case? Then what did you do?"
He then said, "Grand Master, I could tell that he is much older than you are." [audience laughter]
I then asked him, "What do you mean?" [audience laughter]
What he meant was that the guru who was more senior in age must be right.
According to this student, his other guru was an adept in the Ucchusma Practice, so I asked him to show me the mudra he had learned from his other guru. Following my request, he started to fashion a mudra like this [Grand Master makes a quick hand gesture movement and audience laughs.] No sooner 52 than it was formed he released it, apologizing at the same time that he really could not teach me how to do it.
I found this quite amusing.
Actually I learned the Ucchusma Mudra a long time ago. The late guru (Master Hui San) who taught me the Ucchusma Practice was one of the three Buddhist masters from whom I received the Bodhisattva Vows. This is the mudra he taught me. [Grand Master demonstrates]
That student was afraid that I would learn his mudra; therefore, he behaved the way he did. Actually it did not matter, as the Dharma I have learned stretches to infinity. How many gurus do I have? I myself have more than twenty gurus. I have learned and practiced the Dharma for more than twenty years. Could it be possible that I do not know how to form the Ucchusma Mudra? Since this student made a comparison and decided to learn from the other master, he may have lost the chance of obtaining the authentic Ucchusma Practice from me. In the future, I will eventually teach the Ucchusma Practice and, perhaps, this student could learn it from me, if he stayed on with me. As with the Achala Practice which I have transmitted, there are many keys and secrets to the Ferocious Deity Practice. If one practices according to my instructions, one will obtain the power of reliance on the lineage transmission. If one alters the practice by substituting certain portions with teachings from other gurus, one loses the power of reliance.
Have you read a book called Gurus of the Himalayas? It was written by Swami Lama. I read it more than ten years ago in Taiwan. I don't know whether or not you noticed a very important chapter in the book. In it, a guru climbed a tree from which hung a beehive. He talked to the bees, "Please do not sting me, please do not sting me." None of the bees touched him, and he climbed back down safely. A disciple witnessed the strange event and asked his guru, "What kind of mantra did you use to keep the bees from stinging you?" His guru replied, "You only need to remember to tell them 'Please do not sting me' and the bees will not sting you." So this student climbed up the tree and spoke to the bees, "Please do not sting me." Indeed the bees all obeyed him, and he came back down unscathed.
This student thought to himself, "Wow, how wonderful!" Hurriedly he went to teach other people the same method. Consequently, someone followed his advice and climbed up the tree and repeated the same saying, but got stung to death!
Basics [8]. 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
Amid all this is the power of reliance. After taking refuge in a certain guru, one has to obey the guru and treasure the practices transmitted by the guru. One should not change the pronunciation of the mantras, nor should one alter any of the practices taught by one's guru. Why not? Because all these practices and mantras have within them the power of lineage transmission and the power of reliance.
What if one feels that the guru's practices are flawed because the guru has an idiosyncratic pronunciation of mantras? Of course my pronunciation of the mantras carries a Taiwanese accent because I am Taiwanese. However, do not assume that one is being one hundred percent correct by following a Tibetan pronunciation. In Tibet, there are three dialects. Tibetan tulkus from different districts would have different pronunciations of the same mantra.
There are more than two hundred dialects in the Himalayas. Each guru, depending on the district, will pronounce the same mantra differently. Which one of them is to be considered "correct"? Furthermore, the Tibetan mantras came originally from the Indian Sanskrit, which evolved from Primitive Sanskrit. Primitive Sanskrit is the original, correct sound. Therefore, as long as one relies on the mantra sounds transmitted to one by one's guru and, if one's guru has attained realization through these same sounds, then it won't be wrong. What kind of power is this? It is the power of reliance.
Are there any differences between the Tantric practices transmitted by me and those transmitted by existing practice texts? Yes, there are. Differences can be found in the three elements of mudra, mantra, and visualization. Which version should one choose? One should choose the version directly transmitted to one by one's root guru, as that would be the correct one. What kind of power is this? It is the power of reliance.
If one visits another teacher and finds that the mudra used by this other teacher is different from the one transmitted by me and, if one then thinks the root guru has made a mistake and decides to use the other teacher's mudra, one would be in error. One would thus lose the power of reliance.
Once a True Buddha student came to see me and tell me that he had taken refuge in another guru. I spoke to him, "That is very good. What has this guru taught you?"
He replied, "His mudra for the Ucchusma Practice is different from yours!"
"Oh, is that the case? Then what did you do?"
He then said, "Grand Master, I could tell that he is much older than you are." [audience laughter]
I then asked him, "What do you mean?" [audience laughter]
What he meant was that the guru who was more senior in age must be right.
According to this student, his other guru was an adept in the Ucchusma Practice, so I asked him to show me the mudra he had learned from his other guru. Following my request, he started to fashion a mudra like this [Grand Master makes a quick hand gesture movement and audience laughs.] No sooner 52 than it was formed he released it, apologizing at the same time that he really could not teach me how to do it.
I found this quite amusing.
Actually I learned the Ucchusma Mudra a long time ago. The late guru (Master Hui San) who taught me the Ucchusma Practice was one of the three Buddhist masters from whom I received the Bodhisattva Vows. This is the mudra he taught me. [Grand Master demonstrates]
That student was afraid that I would learn his mudra; therefore, he behaved the way he did. Actually it did not matter, as the Dharma I have learned stretches to infinity. How many gurus do I have? I myself have more than twenty gurus. I have learned and practiced the Dharma for more than twenty years. Could it be possible that I do not know how to form the Ucchusma Mudra? Since this student made a comparison and decided to learn from the other master, he may have lost the chance of obtaining the authentic Ucchusma Practice from me. In the future, I will eventually teach the Ucchusma Practice and, perhaps, this student could learn it from me, if he stayed on with me. As with the Achala Practice which I have transmitted, there are many keys and secrets to the Ferocious Deity Practice. If one practices according to my instructions, one will obtain the power of reliance on the lineage transmission. If one alters the practice by substituting certain portions with teachings from other gurus, one loses the power of reliance.
Have you read a book called Gurus of the Himalayas? It was written by Swami Lama. I read it more than ten years ago in Taiwan. I don't know whether or not you noticed a very important chapter in the book. In it, a guru climbed a tree from which hung a beehive. He talked to the bees, "Please do not sting me, please do not sting me." None of the bees touched him, and he climbed back down safely. A disciple witnessed the strange event and asked his guru, "What kind of mantra did you use to keep the bees from stinging you?" His guru replied, "You only need to remember to tell them 'Please do not sting me' and the bees will not sting you." So this student climbed up the tree and spoke to the bees, "Please do not sting me." Indeed the bees all obeyed him, and he came back down unscathed.
This student thought to himself, "Wow, how wonderful!" Hurriedly he went to teach other people the same method. Consequently, someone followed his advice and climbed up the tree and repeated the same saying, but got stung to death!
Basics [8]. 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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