The Empowerment of the Three Lights
The empowerment of the three lights is to cleanse and restore the original integrity of one's body, mind, and speech. The process of cultivation is an ongoing purification of the mind. In this visualization, there are spiritual lights from the Siddhi, Buddha Nature, and Dharma Body shining upon one and purifying one's heart and mind ! Let me tell you, when one completely identifies oneself with this light, one no longer has to fear death. When one gets old and sick, running out of time, and actually about to die, what does one rely on at that moment? The moment one dies, the Pure Land and Amitabha will appear if one has developed this inner identification beforehand! That is what one has been training for during ordinary times. The Pure Land, Buddha Nature, Personal Deity and Dharma Body will manifest themselves in front of one! Once one's eyes are shut and death comes, consciousness enters Sukhavati, just as in the visualization practice one does when one is alive. This is the most elementary method of achieving Buddhahood under the guidance of the Buddhas. When the Buddha Pure Land, one's Buddha Nature, and Dharma Body manifest, one then transforms into the Dharma Body and enters directly into the Buddha Pure Land to become a Buddha.
Sutrayana's method of chanting Buddha's name does not reach this level because this realm is reached only by combining visualization with chanting. One can chant "Namo Amitabha" day and night, but lacking visualization, then what actually comes is only mud, as mud [muddy consciousness] is what one has in mind. Without visualization, one cannot enter Amitabha' s Pure Land. Although one may very sincerely chant "Namo Amitabha," without the practice of visualization Amitabha's image will not manifest and the three Holy Ones from Sukhavati (Amitabha, Kuan Yin, and Mahasthamaprata) will not manifest to guide one to the Pure Land. The chanting is useless then!
Only if Amitabha is very compassionate (not that Amitabha is not compassionate — He is innately compassionate) [audience laughter] and finds that one is indeed very sincere and has been devoting one's mind single-mindedly to chanting His name, will He say, "Very well, since you chant my name sincerely, even if your mind thinks only of mud, I will transform the mud into a lotus to bring you to my Pure Land." So a single-minded concentration is still requisite to the practice of chanting.
Chanting with an image in mind is the same practice as chanting while doing a visualization. When one has properly practiced this kind of method during ordinary times and knows exactly what one is doing, at the time of death, Amitabha will manifest to lead one to Sukhavati, and one will certainly be reborn in the Maha Twin Lotus Ponds. Compassionately, Amitabha will emit the three lights of white, red, and blue from the lotus held in His hands. These will shine upon [one's forehead, throat, and heart respectively] and empower one. This is the visualization, does everyone understand? There are many kinds of visualization that one can do, the visualizations of the "Moon Disc," "Seed Syllable," and "Personal Deity" are just what I have discussed today.
Jambhala Visualization
There are many different kinds of visualization. For example, in the Yellow Jambhala Yoga, one must visualize the Five Dhyani Buddhas in addition to the Yellow Jambhala, who is suffering from a swollen, right big toe. One then chants the Empowerment Mantra of "Om hum, jen se oh" and visualizes five colored lights shining from the Five Buddhas on the Yellow Jambhala, causing the swelling in his toe to slowly subside. All at once, the Jambhala will be so happy that he starts ringing the bell, which is an expression of joy! Actually, I have not previously taught anyone about the bell ringing, so it is all right if one does not ring the bell, as long as one visualizes the Yellow Jambhala very happy with relief of the swelling in his toe. When the Jambhala is happy, his mongoose will also be very happy and will open its mouth to spit out material wealth one desires, such as cars, houses, and American dollars! This is how I visualize the American dollars: bundles and bundles of them, like the ones collected in the bank at the end of the day. The bundles pile up like a mountain. One becomes very small in front of this mountain of money. How much money is there in such a pile? One should be happy when one thinks of that! [audience laughter] The Yellow Jambhala is also happy.
Subtle Penetration of Mind Through Detailed Visualization
There are other kinds of special visualizations. For example, the Cundi Buddha Mother has three eyes and eighteen arms with eighteen hand-held implements. If one is able to visualize every single one of the implements, one is indeed very extraordinary. If I were the Cundi Buddha Mother, I would be impressed [audience laughter] and would exclaim, "How wonderful of you to visualize me so clearly and in such detail!" She would be very fond of anyone who could accomplish that.
In any case, during visualization, subtler thoughts bring a more peaceful awareness. The more one penetrates the subtle levels of the mind, the more completely one can achieve a quiet mind and a balanced breath. The more one penetrates into the subtle levels of the mind, the more one's awareness and sensitivity expand. The coarser one's mind is, the less one will experience such results. By a coarse mind, I refer to poor visualization, in which one does not care if the sky has clouds or if the ocean is polluted. [audience laughter] One does not care about the moon disc at all! When the moon disc appears, half of it is missing! [audience laughter] Either the upper half or the lower half is gone. When the Personal Deity manifests, it looks like a Buddha and yet it does not quite look like a Buddha. The same thing can be said about it in regard to its resemblance to a Bodhisattva or Dharma Protector. It is totally nondescript. [audience laughter] So after half a day of such a visualization, one feels nothing when the Deity bestows empowerment. When the visualization is done, one automatically starts to chant the mantra. Many people perform their visualizations in this perfunctory way.
The more detailed the visualization, the more profoundly and subtly will one be able to penetrate into the mind When one meditates with the most subtle consciousness, one will attain extraordinary results.
Basics [17]. 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
The empowerment of the three lights is to cleanse and restore the original integrity of one's body, mind, and speech. The process of cultivation is an ongoing purification of the mind. In this visualization, there are spiritual lights from the Siddhi, Buddha Nature, and Dharma Body shining upon one and purifying one's heart and mind ! Let me tell you, when one completely identifies oneself with this light, one no longer has to fear death. When one gets old and sick, running out of time, and actually about to die, what does one rely on at that moment? The moment one dies, the Pure Land and Amitabha will appear if one has developed this inner identification beforehand! That is what one has been training for during ordinary times. The Pure Land, Buddha Nature, Personal Deity and Dharma Body will manifest themselves in front of one! Once one's eyes are shut and death comes, consciousness enters Sukhavati, just as in the visualization practice one does when one is alive. This is the most elementary method of achieving Buddhahood under the guidance of the Buddhas. When the Buddha Pure Land, one's Buddha Nature, and Dharma Body manifest, one then transforms into the Dharma Body and enters directly into the Buddha Pure Land to become a Buddha.
Sutrayana's method of chanting Buddha's name does not reach this level because this realm is reached only by combining visualization with chanting. One can chant "Namo Amitabha" day and night, but lacking visualization, then what actually comes is only mud, as mud [muddy consciousness] is what one has in mind. Without visualization, one cannot enter Amitabha' s Pure Land. Although one may very sincerely chant "Namo Amitabha," without the practice of visualization Amitabha's image will not manifest and the three Holy Ones from Sukhavati (Amitabha, Kuan Yin, and Mahasthamaprata) will not manifest to guide one to the Pure Land. The chanting is useless then!
Only if Amitabha is very compassionate (not that Amitabha is not compassionate — He is innately compassionate) [audience laughter] and finds that one is indeed very sincere and has been devoting one's mind single-mindedly to chanting His name, will He say, "Very well, since you chant my name sincerely, even if your mind thinks only of mud, I will transform the mud into a lotus to bring you to my Pure Land." So a single-minded concentration is still requisite to the practice of chanting.
Chanting with an image in mind is the same practice as chanting while doing a visualization. When one has properly practiced this kind of method during ordinary times and knows exactly what one is doing, at the time of death, Amitabha will manifest to lead one to Sukhavati, and one will certainly be reborn in the Maha Twin Lotus Ponds. Compassionately, Amitabha will emit the three lights of white, red, and blue from the lotus held in His hands. These will shine upon [one's forehead, throat, and heart respectively] and empower one. This is the visualization, does everyone understand? There are many kinds of visualization that one can do, the visualizations of the "Moon Disc," "Seed Syllable," and "Personal Deity" are just what I have discussed today.
Jambhala Visualization
There are many different kinds of visualization. For example, in the Yellow Jambhala Yoga, one must visualize the Five Dhyani Buddhas in addition to the Yellow Jambhala, who is suffering from a swollen, right big toe. One then chants the Empowerment Mantra of "Om hum, jen se oh" and visualizes five colored lights shining from the Five Buddhas on the Yellow Jambhala, causing the swelling in his toe to slowly subside. All at once, the Jambhala will be so happy that he starts ringing the bell, which is an expression of joy! Actually, I have not previously taught anyone about the bell ringing, so it is all right if one does not ring the bell, as long as one visualizes the Yellow Jambhala very happy with relief of the swelling in his toe. When the Jambhala is happy, his mongoose will also be very happy and will open its mouth to spit out material wealth one desires, such as cars, houses, and American dollars! This is how I visualize the American dollars: bundles and bundles of them, like the ones collected in the bank at the end of the day. The bundles pile up like a mountain. One becomes very small in front of this mountain of money. How much money is there in such a pile? One should be happy when one thinks of that! [audience laughter] The Yellow Jambhala is also happy.
Subtle Penetration of Mind Through Detailed Visualization
There are other kinds of special visualizations. For example, the Cundi Buddha Mother has three eyes and eighteen arms with eighteen hand-held implements. If one is able to visualize every single one of the implements, one is indeed very extraordinary. If I were the Cundi Buddha Mother, I would be impressed [audience laughter] and would exclaim, "How wonderful of you to visualize me so clearly and in such detail!" She would be very fond of anyone who could accomplish that.
In any case, during visualization, subtler thoughts bring a more peaceful awareness. The more one penetrates the subtle levels of the mind, the more completely one can achieve a quiet mind and a balanced breath. The more one penetrates into the subtle levels of the mind, the more one's awareness and sensitivity expand. The coarser one's mind is, the less one will experience such results. By a coarse mind, I refer to poor visualization, in which one does not care if the sky has clouds or if the ocean is polluted. [audience laughter] One does not care about the moon disc at all! When the moon disc appears, half of it is missing! [audience laughter] Either the upper half or the lower half is gone. When the Personal Deity manifests, it looks like a Buddha and yet it does not quite look like a Buddha. The same thing can be said about it in regard to its resemblance to a Bodhisattva or Dharma Protector. It is totally nondescript. [audience laughter] So after half a day of such a visualization, one feels nothing when the Deity bestows empowerment. When the visualization is done, one automatically starts to chant the mantra. Many people perform their visualizations in this perfunctory way.
The more detailed the visualization, the more profoundly and subtly will one be able to penetrate into the mind When one meditates with the most subtle consciousness, one will attain extraordinary results.
Basics [17]. 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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