His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s Puja Teachings – April 11, 2021

His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche ascended the Dharma throne, and led the attendees in chanting the Great Six-Syllable Mantra. He then expounded on “Scroll 17, ‘Amitayus Tathagata Assembly’ (Chapter 5, Section 1)” of the Ratnakuta Sutra.

“Sutra: ‘From the beginning, not entering joyfully, the Nirvana in Sravaka and Pratyekabuddha.’

When sentient beings need help from the Dharma, we do not enter Nirvana. At the time when we start learning Buddhism, we usually like to have a sense of serenity without affliction; actually, we do not practice meditation for this. If you like such a feeling, you will easily enter the Arhat Path for practices of Sravaka and Pratyekabuddha. This is not related to Mahayana Buddhism, and is impossible to learn the Bodhisattva Path. Shakyamuni Buddha has been very compassionate. At the beginning, He pointed out that for those who are beginning to learn Buddhism, it is very easy for them to have a wrong mindset, whether they are monastics or the laity.

The mindset of learning Buddhism at the beginning should not be in the joyful learning of Sravaka and Pratyekabuddha because such a learning is for reaching the fruition level of an arhat, which is for practices to liberate only oneself from reincarnation. Rather, one should practice the Bodhisattva Path to benefit others. You need to have a right mindset when you start learning Buddhism. Otherwise, you will not obtain achievements later on from your practices. It is like what Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha said, ‘I will not attain Buddhahood unless and until all of the hells are empty.’ Without such a concept, you will not learn the Bodhisattva Path. Then again, you are not qualified to practice the Arhat Path either. What are you to do then? Some people will say, ‘I will just recite sutras, and then I can be reborn in the Pure Land.’ If it is for one to ‘go’ there in such an easy way, the Buddha would not have taught us so much in the Infinite Life Sutra.

If, from the beginning, you do not want to practice Mahayana Buddhism or the Bodhisattva Path to benefit sentient beings, you will be unable to realize the state of Emptiness and will have attachments. You will not know when you have acted wrong and will still think you are right; in other words, you have your own self-views, the so-called hindrances of knowledge. If you have not determined to practice the Bodhisattva Path while you are alive, you cannot be reborn in the Land of Amitabha. In the beginning, if you practice for the purpose of living a good life, hoping to have a calmer mind so as not to quarrel with others, or to have no affliction, with everything going well for you, your practices then will have nothing to do with the Bodhisattva Path, nor will you ‘go’ to the Land of Amitabha. For those who are reborn in that land, they are ‘registered’ Bodhisattvas. Thus, on this Earth, if one does not have a mindset to practice the Bodhisattva Path how can one be reborn in the Pure Land? Being in the Land of Amitabha does not mean to live a good life there. Do not think that before one’s death one does not suffer any pain; a thought like this is wrong.

Yesterday, there was a disciple who implored me for the transmission of the Four Uncommon Preliminary Practices. The monastics here reported to me that this disciple had passed the face-to-face interview with them. I asked them about the contents of the interview. They said that the reason the disciple in question imploring for this Dharma method is for not harming sentient beings. Although not harming them is not unrelated to advancing to a higher stage to learn the Bodhisattva Path, the aim for practicing this Path is not for that. If one observes the Five Precepts, one naturally does not harm sentient beings. This disciple wants to learn the Four Uncommon Preliminary Practices but his purpose of such a learning is not for practicing the Bodhisattva Path, therefore, I will not transmit the method to him. In the Glorious Jewel Buddhist Center, the Four Uncommon Preliminary Practices are not transmitted casually. The selection of disciples who are to receive the transmission is a very strict process.

For learning the Bodhisattva Path, besides having the basic foundation of having practiced Exoteric Buddhism for ten years, you also need to complete the practicing of the Four Uncommon Preliminary Practices and receive empowerments. Only after having received empowerments, can you understand why empowerments are necessary. Otherwise, you will not be able to learn the Bodhisattva Path. One needs enough of good fortune in order to learn this Path. Otherwise, one will view ‘virtuous Dharmas’ as ‘negative Dharmas’ because the person does not have good fortune to accept ‘white Dharmas’. Even when his or her guru’s teachings are based on sutras, such a person will still think of other things in other areas because of lack of good fortune. The thinking will still be about living a comfortable, easy life without suffering. This naturally does not relate to the practicing of the Bodhisattva Path. On all the Dharma taught in the sutras of Mahayana and everything the guru has demonstrated, this person will give rise to doubts because in his or her mind, there is no auspicious Dharma; the practices such a person has done are all for self.

This quote is warning us that from the beginning of our learning Buddhism, we should have right concepts about the learning. Otherwise, there will definitely be issues happening to us later on. When thinking about dealing with matters, one only pays attention to surfaces and then goes ahead to handle things, without regarding residual effects; one often does things wrong but not even knowing that they are wrong.

Sutra: ‘Obtaining the samadhis of non-arising and non-ceasing.’

Do not worry that you will have some sorts of pain because you have not entered Nirvana. When learning the Bodhisattva Path, there is no need to think about entering Nirvana; you still can obtain the ‘samadhis of non-arising and non-ceasing.’ This is because you know that all Dharmas are Emptiness in nature; namely, all phenomena arise from conditions and are Emptiness in nature. Furthermore, there are no arising and no ceasing to exist in everything. The opposite side of this concept – things’ arising and their ceasing to exist – comes from our own thinking, having appeared from our affliction and karma. This is also the law of causes and conditions. In other words, causal conditions’ arising and ceasing to exist are not eternal.

Samadhi is the force of meditation. When we know that there are no arising and no ceasing to exist in all phenomena, we will not have any affliction. Even if the affliction of the mundane world appears, you will do your best to handle it but, at the same time, you will not feel pain. It sounds very easy to do but reaching that state through your practices is not easy. It is like what is mentioned in the Heart Sutra that all things are ‘void’. The ‘void’ here does not mean ‘non-existent’. Rather, the Buddha continuously taught us that we do not need to worry; while not entering Nirvana we still can obtain the samadhis of non-arising and non-ceasing.

Even today when there are any pains appearing to you in the reincarnation’s sea of suffering, such pains are also in the concept of ‘no arising and no ceasing to exist’. The last verse of the Prayer of Four Immeasurables is ‘getting far away from desire, hatred and attachments, abandoning them equally.’ We should forsake what we like or what we detest the most with indiscrimination of the mind. This is because that liking or disliking is also in the law of arising and ceasing to exist. If one chooses only what one likes and keeps them, while throwing away things of what one dislikes, this is against the principle of ‘arising from conditions and being Emptiness in nature.’ Then, in this way, practicing any Dharma methods will not make one master them.

There were women who came seeking an audience with me and they told me how their husbands made them suffer. When they got married, they saw only their husbands’ goodness, but not the bad parts of them. What kinds of suffering were there then? Even if the women said they had been ‘blinded by a ghost’ (selective blindness caused by a ghost, failing to notice dangers), they were actually blinded by their own desires. How can there be a situation of ‘blinded by a ghost’? This can also be viewed as the appearance of the karma of collecting debts.

If you do not practice the Bodhisattva Path, and if you are not qualified to practice the Arhat Path either, there will not be any good fortune for you at all. Even as you have the appearance of the ordained or as you have taken refuge, you will still be feeling afflicted because you have made wrong decisions. The hindrances of knowledge are about your opinions. For those who have strong self-views, they will be unable to learn the Dharma because everything they see is wrong, and they will think that only their own views are right. If you still have such a habit, I advise you not to learn Buddhism anymore. If you are a monastic, it will be useless to practice because you will forever not attain realization in Emptiness; you will not understand the principle of ‘no arising and no ceasing to exist’.

As long as you have attained realization of ‘all phenomena arise from conditions and are Emptiness in nature’, and you are able to comprehend and be enlightened, your mind is in the state of meditation eternally. Being in a meditative state does not mean sitting there cross-legged for a few hours. It is not like the situation of Venerable Mahakasyapa either, who is still in the state of meditation; this is his causal condition and is unrelated to you. ‘Samadhis’ means that your body, speech and mind will not be moved by all external or internal affliction. You live by adapting to each rising condition, and it is your idea that all things good or bad about sentient beings are reflections of the law of causes and conditions. I have often said that there are no good people or bad ones in the eyes of Bodhisattvas. Bodhisattvas only look at people’s causes and effects, not at what they do. Whatever they have done, good or bad, are also in the law of causes and conditions. In the minds of Bodhisattvas, all sentient beings are equal. No matter what kinds of the causes and the effects, virtuous or negative, that a sentient being produces and gets, they are also from the law of causes and conditions.

This is why the last part of the Prayer of Four Immeasurables says, ’getting far away from desire, hatred and attachments, abandoning them equally.’ When you are attached to a certain thing, whether or not wanting to keep it, it is for you to get ready to reincarnate. Do not think that monastics will not be in reincarnation. The thoughts like ‘I like this sutra’, ‘I don’t like this part of the mantra,’ or ‘I don’t like this kind of chanting’ are all attachments. If you think these ways, be prepared to get reincarnated because you have established strong self-views and attachments; then you will not be related to what is described in the quote, ‘Obtaining the samadhis of non-arising and non-ceasing.’

As long as you follow and practice the methods that the Buddha taught, there is definitely a path for you to let you attain Buddhahood. In the Ratnakuta Sutra, it is about Mahayana and Emptiness. The Madhyamaka Sastra, written by Bodhisattva Nagajuri, is from the contents of the Ratnakuta Sutra. I asked for an instruction from His Holiness before about whether or not I should read the Madhyamaka Sastra. His Holiness said, ‘No, you don’t need to. Once you have mastered the Mahamudra, you will know about that sastra.’ The Mahamudra is the Drikung Kagyu’s special method on meditation. When reading the Madhyamaka Sastra, from just the words themselves, one will get confused. In it, for example, there is no mention of ‘to have’, or ‘not to have’, and no indication of things being, say, ‘on the left side’ or ‘in the middle’; then where? When Bodhisattva Nagajuri expounded the Madhyamaka Sastra, he in fact was teaching it to Great Bodhisattvas. For ordinary people, as they have not yet decided towards what directions they want to practice, how can they understand the Madhyamaka Sastra? They might as well spend more time chanting the Great Six-Syllable Mantra.

The Buddha taught that ‘Not entering joyfully, from the beginning, the Nirvana in Sravaka and Pratyekabuddha’ as well as ‘Obtaining the samadhis of non-arising and non-ceasing’. Nevertheless, these can only be obtained if one practices the Bodhisattva Path.

Sutra: ‘And obtaining all the Dharma methods of Dharani.’

All Dharma methods of mantra-chanting can be obtained. For those who practice the Bodhisattva Path, they definitely know about mantra-chanting; they will get samadhis of non-arising and non-ceasing through chanting mantras. This is because, in the end, for those who chant mantras, the ‘knots’ in their minds will be unfastened one by one, and they will naturally be attuned to yidams and be able to obtain the samadhis of non-arising and non-ceasing.

Sutra: ‘A vast number of root capacities have been ascertained by and demonstrated in the eloquence.’

(In Chinese, ‘eloquence’ consists of two words, ‘debating’ & ‘expert’, pronounced as ‘bian’ and ‘cai’.) The ‘bian’ here does not refer to ‘debating to explain’. Also, ‘eloquence’ is not derived from reciting or listening to sutras, or reading sastras. It means this: After obtaining the samadhis of non-arising and non-ceasing, you will be practicing the Dharma methods of mantra-chanting; then through chanting mantras, conducting retreats, et cetera, you can use your Six Roots – eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and consciousness – to explain clearly about the sensibility of doubt in sutras that people may have. ‘Eloquence’ is not using sutras to debate or argue back and forth with others. If you do your practices in such right ways, you will naturally unlock your wisdom – there is no need to implore for opening up your mind.

Sutra: ‘Knowing very well the treasured methods of Bodhisattvas.’

Each Bodhisattva has different kinds of vows, activities and merits; the situation is the same for the Eight Great Bodhisattvas. When we are able to become quite eloquent and adept at explaining in regard to the Dharma, we will naturally know about the ‘secret treasure’ of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas (the methods of their becoming Bodhisattvas); we may know this slowly or quickly.

Before, when I learned new mantras of yidams, I could not comprehend what such mantras were about. Now in these few years, I have understood them. A mantra consists of a few words that a yidam’s vows, activities and merits are revealed in. When you chant a mantra of a certain yidam, you chant the yidam’s compassion, merits, activities and wisdom. If you continuously chant such a mantra, you will naturally know what this yidam’s ‘treasure of Bodhisattvas’ is. There is no need for the explanation.

Many people like to explain very clearly on the Great Compassion Mantra. It should not be so. When a mantra is explained in human thoughts, it is then not a Bodhisattva’s mantra; it becomes a mantra of this explainer. In the past, when I was learning Exoteric Buddhism, some people wanted to show me the explanation of the Great Compassion Mantra, and I said I didn’t need to read it. In sutras, we are not taught to explain mantras; we have been taught only to chant them, how to make vows and to amend our own behaviors. Many people ask what mantras mean. Their contents and meanings are irrelevant to you. This is because that if you don’t practice the Bodhisattva Path, the mantra words you chant are just a few sounds of syllables. As you have not determined to practice the Bodhisattva Path, to you, chanting mantras are just strengthening a little of your virtuous roots, but you cannot attain accomplishment. If you have decided to practice this Path, then any yidams’ mantras can help you attain accomplishment; that means helping you and sentient beings get liberated from birth and death.

If you think that mantra-chanting can change your current issues, such a thought is wrong. What has happened to you now are manifestations of karmic retribution from what you had done in the past. Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have not taught that chanting their mantras can change your karmic retribution. If chanting the Great Six-Syllable Mantra can do that, then there is no karmic retribution arising from chanting this mantra either. Chanting mantras can only lessen effect of your karmic retribution, or when such a retribution manifests, your mindset of learning Buddhism will not be damaged in that you will insist on learning it continuously.

Two weeks ago, there were two female believers who came together seeking an audience with me. A younger brother of one of them was in an Intensive Care Unit because of impaction of intestine obturation; they said that his intestine had been ‘attacked’ by some sort of cells. I went into a state of meditation and in my visualization, I saw that he had sat for ten hours a day without moving; he liked to eat fried chicken, soy-sauced eggs or fat meat. I had never met this person but I knew his situation. After my blessings, I told his older sister that his feet need to be applied to with hot towels and his calves, to be massaged. Now he is in a stable condition; he is all right. His mother came yesterday and greedily wished and implored for his immediate recovery from his illness. I was saving his life. If he wanted to be cured, he should go to see doctors.

If I have not mastered the chanting of mantras, how could I have helped him? It is exactly because I have done what have been described in the previous quotes: ‘Obtaining the samadhis of non-arising and non-ceasing.’, ‘And obtaining all the Dharma methods of Dharani.’, ‘A vast number of root capacity have been ascertained by and demonstrated in the eloquence.’, and ‘Knowing very well the treasured methods of Bodhisattvas.’ This is why your practices relate to your mindset of learning Buddhism at the beginning. If you have not determined to practice the Bodhisattva Path, it is not late to change your minds. Otherwise, the Dharma is only relevant to you, at the most, for getting you the good fortune of the Human and Heaven Realms; it is impossible for you to be liberated from birth and death.

You may say, ‘I cannot do what Rinpoche has accomplished and be so remarkable as he is. What can I do then?’ Well, to that question, you will just listen and do what you are told to do; then you will be all right. If you cannot attain accomplishments on this Earth, it is okay; you can do your practices in the Land of Amitabha. There are still opportunities for you. Shakyamuni Buddha is so compassionate. Before He expounded the Forty-Eight Vows, He had taught us these principles. You need to practice them first, as conditions required, successfully. Do not be superstitious; do them yourselves. This is not saying that you are a Bodhisattva now, but you should have such a mindset, making your decision. It is not important as to when you will become a Bodhisattva because that depends on your good fortune, merits, causes and conditions.

If you cannot bear suffering or endure hardship you are not qualified to be a Bodhisattva. For accomplished practitioners in past generations, they had been through much suffering in their lifetimes. For monastics here, if you have not experienced suffering before, please go for it. Do you think you will live a good life and get enlightened just because you are the ordained? This is not mentioned in sutras. If you have not been in suffering before, how can you understand it? For not having comprehended it, how can you help sentient beings break away from it? If you, the monastics and all the laity, think that learning Buddhism is to live a comfortable life, I exhort you not to learn Buddhism.

In my life, I have experienced much suffering, in all those you can describe; except for the pain from surgeries, I have gone through all other affliction. If one who practices the Bodhisattva Path fears about suffering, how can he or she help sentient beings solve the problems of their suffering? There is a saying, ‘To “eat” suffering is like eating nutrient food’. Having been in suffering…. Good! It lets you repay your debts. I was so poor before that I didn’t have money to buy food; I was very happy though because I had repaid another debt. When you are ill, you will cry out loud, thinking ‘Maybe I have not done well, so Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara has not protected me.’ I have taught you many times that those practicing the Bodhisattva Path should think thus, ‘If falling into hell is good for me, let me fall down there.’ or ‘If getting sick is good for me, let me get sick.’ This means ‘letting me pay up all of my debts’! Yet, you are just afraid of falling into hells. You pray every day that ‘Bodhisattvas, please let me be healthy so that I can benefit more sentient beings.’ You don’t need to implore for such a thing. Whether you are healthy or not is related to your good fortune. Many people have ‘walked’ on wrong paths, or made wrong decisions, in their learning Buddhism. Shakyamuni Buddha compassionately pointed out your problems with just a few simple sentences.

Sutra: ‘In the Dharma magnificence of three samadhis, attaining enlightenment at any time.’
(In Chinese, the word, ‘magnificence’, also means ‘flower’ in olden Chinese written language.)

This ‘magnificence’ means ‘flower’ and the ‘three samadhis’ refers to precepts, meditation and wisdom. Many people say that they want to unlock their wisdom. Wisdom is originally existent and is not to be implored for.

At the state I have reached to through my practices, I can attain enlightenment at any time. Once the causes and conditions are manifesting, the realization is achieved; there is no need to implore for it. As long as you practice according to this Dharma method, you don’t need to implore for anything and the enlightenment is naturally yielded. It is like what His Holiness has said that my attaining accomplishments through my practices have been produced naturally. If you have practiced to the degree that your causes and conditions are manifesting with enough of good fortune, your enlightenment is naturally brought forth. Is there any need to implore for it? The reason why I can get into a meditative state while chanting mantras is described in this quote. If you have mastered the method you don’t need to implore for the enlightenment because it will be produced at any time once the causes and conditions are manifesting. When you have completed all practices in the Bodhisattva Path to perfection, you can attain Buddhahood whenever you want; you don’t need to gain it by making a special trip to be under a bodhi tree. The Buddha taught that you will attain enlightenment at any time as long as you have mastered and accomplished all you have been taught to perfection.

Sutra: ‘Possessing all sorts of extremely profound states of meditation.’

So long as you chant mantras and practice the Bodhisattva Path you will possess all kinds of what you think the most profound states of meditation. One time when I was conducting a retreat, only then did I attain realization on the difference between ‘meditation of non-arising and non-ceasing’ and ‘entering into a state of meditation’. Many people think that meditation is in a state of Emptiness. However, the state of ‘non-arising and non-ceasing’ actually has a very subtle change in the mindset. To those who practice the Bodhisattva Path, any kinds of meditation can be attained. As long as one wants to liberate sentient beings, one will enter the state of meditation. For example, whenever I bless sentient beings in helping them, I am always in a meditative state; in this way, I am able to know what have happened to them. It is like the story of the believer I just mentioned. His family members did not say what food he liked to eat but I was able to know. Also, his father is acquainted with His Holiness and told his daughter that this Rinpoche is very strict; she needed to implore for help from the Rinpoche.

As long as you practice the Bodhisattva Path, as a Buddhist, you will naturally have all things, which you don’t need to make deliberate arrangements to get. I had participated in activities like One-Day Meditation, Three-Day Meditation or Seven-Day Meditation as well as the Seven-Day Recitation Retreat. However, I had not done them by giving rise to bodhicitta nor with methods of practices in the Bodhisattva Path. If you just wish that after completing such activities you will feel quieter, more peaceful or be less troubled, these acts will be of no use to you.

Sutra: ‘All Buddhas see you and they appear.’

This does not mean that you know all Buddhas; rather, they know what you have been doing. So long as you practice the Bodhisattva Path and have made such a determination for doing it, Buddhas will know that you are now practicing this Path. Then, will they bless and protect you? In the Avatamsaka Sutra, it is stated that if a sentient being has made a great vow and given rise in the mind to a great aspiration to practice the Bodhisattva Path, Buddhas will praise this sentient being. Say, if it is you, Buddhas will slowly transform your karma. Your karma cannot be transformed now because you are still in the range as being an ordinary person.

Some people think that if they practice the Bodhisattva Path, they themselves will immediately be recognized as Bodhisattvas. This then is wrong again. Bodhisattvas are not attached to forms because they generate a form based on sentient beings’ karma. If all these people are not Bodhisattvas, how can they produce a form of Bodhisattvas to show it to other persons? It is just like this situation: I liberate ordinary people like you, so, of course, I appear as a form of an ordinary person to show me to you; I cannot possibly have a ‘heavenly eye’ opened on me, or like Four-Armed Avalokiteshvara, showing you four hands.

The language used in Tang Dynasty was different from the one used in modern time. What have been described in sutras cannot be explained with modern language. As you have not practiced to attain the Buddha’s state of being, how are you able to know Him? This is why Shakyamuni Buddha introduced Amitabha to us. Such an introduction had not been presented by Bodhisattva Samantabhadra or Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara because only when Buddhas are in the same state of being can one Buddha understand what another Buddha’s state of being is.

When we have decided that we will do our practices in such ways, and when we enter into a state of meditation, the Buddha will naturally know. The Buddha doesn’t know that you are practicing because you are not in a state of meditation. During your chanting mantras, as you worry about the hours that your husband or sons might get back home, how is it possible that the Buddha will know you? Why is your reciting the name of Amitabha not effective? It is because while you recite it you are anxious about whether Amitabha will come or not; then you are not in a state of meditation. The Buddha is continuously in the state of it; He is unmoved. You need to keep an immovable mind so that your chanting of the Buddha’s mantras can then be in contact with the Buddha’s vows. Then the Buddha will know that such a person like you is practicing. The Dharma protectors around Him will then move, and the blessings will come to you.

You absolutely should not think that entering into a state of meditation means that you know all Buddhas. Even if you have practiced and reached the level of a Bodhisattva of the Sixteenth Ground, before you have achieved attainment of the fruition of a Buddha, you really do not know the Buddha’s state of being. What is the state of Nirvana of the Buddha? Only through words can we briefly know a tiny bit of it, but we really don’t understand it. It is like that for elementary school pupils they will not know how deep the knowledge a person with a Ph.D. degree has. Even if you explain such knowledge to these pupils, they will not understand. In our situation, we are now just like elementary school pupils. It is only the Buddha knowing the state of being for a Buddha or for a Bodhisattva. When you have mastered what you have been taught previously, Buddhas in the ten directions will know that you are practicing the Bodhisattva Path, and they will naturally come forward to bless you.

The words ‘seeing you and appearing’ refer to this: when you practice the Bodhisattva Path, all Buddhas know that you are practicing this Path and their blessings for you will come to you, meaning that their Nirmanakaya (emanation-body) will appear. Many people had such an experience that when they had implored and prayed earnestly for my help, they saw me appearing. What they saw was not my emanation. Rather, when they implored me, very sincerely, to assist them, they were unwittingly entering into a state of meditation. Being in a meditative state does not mean that a person is unmoved; it means that his or her mind is set on a certain thing, like a Dharma name or a mantra. In this way, this person’s pure nature is unlocked. Once such a pure nature is in contact with that of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas, the Buddha and Bodhisattvas will know the person, and then the Buddha’s Nirmanakaya, mentioned in sutras, will appear and lead this person. If you have not practiced the Bodhisattva Path when you are living, it is impossible for the Buddha to appear in front of you, letting you see Him.

Sutra: ‘With one thought, journeying through the lands of Buddhas.’

There are several explanations on this quote. For example, in the ‘Sixteen Visualizations of the Pure Land’ it is stated that for each visualization, one is to visualize what things there are in the Pure Land. This means that with one thought, the Pure Land can be seen. Although this is by way of a visualization, actually the Land of Amitabha has also been transformed into existence through visualizations. In the foolish and ignorant minds of sentient beings, this land is a ‘stately land of actual incarnation’, however, at the beginning, it comes from visualizations on the Buddha’s vows and thoughts.

The practicing of Yoga Tantra in the Tantric practices also relies on a thought about seeing lands of Buddhas. Our visualizations of yidams being in the Pure Land are from this concept. ‘With one thought, journeying through the lands of Buddhas.’ We do not go there with our bodies, souls or consciousness; we journey there with one thought. For those who practice in the Pure Land School, they must adhere to the principles of belief, vows and actions. Do not doubt whether there is a Pure Land or not; if you believe it exists, there is one. All things are only created by the minds; all phenomena are produced by the minds. If you think, ‘Because I am blessed and protected by the Dharma and Rinpoche, I am the happiest person.’ – then you are happy. If, all day long, you think, ‘Rinpoche cannot agree with what I think or fulfill my wishes; I am very miserable.’ – then you feel very painful. These are all from your own thinking.

We are living on this Earth. Even so, if we practice according to this Dharma method, and when we give rise to a thought that we are on a pure land, then we are indeed on a pure land. We usually need to train ourselves in our mind to think of the term, ‘pure mind in the pure land of the Buddha’. Shakyamuni Buddha’s ‘Buddhist center’ is right on the Earth. In it, there are many messes around, however, His mind is pure. All bad things you have seen are produced from your karma and attachments. In the Buddha’s mind, all things are of ‘non-arising and non-ceasing’. By visualizing that this is a pure land, then right here, it is a pure land.

If we think that our Center here is a pure land, then it is a pure land. When performing Dharmas here, each time before I start the ritual, I will visualize that our mandala is in a pure land. With such a thought arising, this place is a pure land. In my practices, I have not reached the level of having the supernatural power of teleportation (being able to fly about); I can only use my thoughts. As long as you have mastered the requirements taught earlier, one thought from you can let you journey through all the lands of Buddhas; this means that the light illuminated from you will reach those lands. It is mentioned in sutras that there are 10 trillion lands of Buddhas. When one has not attained realization in Emptiness or practiced the Bodhisattva Path, one is to have such a concept first.

When performing the Phowa to liberate sentient beings to be reborn in the Land of Amitabha, I do not think of 10 trillion lands of Buddhas; I have only one thought. With this thought arising that it is the Pure Land that the deceased will be in, then it is where he or she is going. It is not that my thought is on the 10 trillion lands of Buddhas; there are no ways to reach there, not with rockets either. How do we ‘go’ there then? The speed of our thoughts is faster than that of light. At the present time, there are no scientific instruments to detect which speed is faster between thoughts and brain waves. The speed of thoughts is faster. Look at it this way: If we do not have a thought arising, our brain wave does not move; only when we form a thought first, will the brain wave move. There are just so many advantages for those who practice the Bodhisattva Path.

Sutra: ‘When dealing with matters, for going forward and coming backward, there is no difference in time.’

For going forward and coming backward there is no time difference. When I liberate the deceased, I bring them to the Land of Amitabha. For that, I myself need to know how to get there because I want to take them there first, and then I will come back immediately to this world. These have all been processed with my thoughts. How do we train our thoughts? By observing precepts, practicing meditation, developing wisdom and chanting mantras. When strong thoughts have been generated, there will be no false sense of time produced on the act of going forward and coming backward with one thought.

In space, if planets are not moving, there is no concept of time in the deepest part of the universe. Time has been brought forth by the thoughts of humans. It is like the term, ‘break free the form of longevity’, mentioned in the Diamond Sutra. However, the ‘longevity’ here does not mean life span. ‘No form of longevity’ means ‘there being no time existing’. It is like that believer who had been ill because of the impaction of intestine obturation. I only knew about his name and I did not know which hospital he was in. Nevertheless, between ‘going forward and coming backward’ I already knew his situation. This was because that there was only one thought in me that I wanted to help him. Once this thought arose in my mind, the yidam blessed me and let me know about the matter of this believer.

Negative thoughts will induce people who have these thoughts to harm others. Good thoughts, on the contrary, will lead those with such thoughts to help people. If you think, all day long, of journeying through the lands of Buddhas, you will go there. This is not saying that you are crazy or are daydreaming because, for journeying through those lands, there are sequential orders in practices. You will be taught how to visualize and how to get there. After you have learned and practiced the methods, once you enter into a state of meditation, it is exactly like you are in the land of a Buddha.

In a ‘Great Indiscriminate Amitabha Puja for Transferring Consciousness’, there have been a few millions of ghosts coming to receive being liberated. It is impossible to liberate so many ghosts just by one person’s – my – power alone. Had I not visualized lands of Buddhas and not been attuned to the yidam for the yidam’s coming there and then, how could I have liberated those ghosts? Only after I have attained all the previously required conditions, entered a very profound state of meditation and obtained Dharma methods of Dharani, can I liberate sentient beings. Thus, there are many rituals helping me to visualize lands of Buddhas and in this way, those sentient beings coming to receive the liberation will feel that such a venue is a very good place, so they have come.

By just reciting sutras one cannot liberate sentient beings. If you cannot visualize lands of Buddhas and are unable to be attuned to the Buddha, when sentient beings have come to this place (say, a venue) they will feel it is not different from hell. Only when you make them think this is a good place, will they come. If a practitioner does not have enough of a visualization power, he or she cannot do liberation. Do not think that by reciting sutras or the name of Amitabha you can liberate sentient beings; it is impossible to do that if you have not mastered the practices that you have been taught before.

I have not read this section of the sutra before, but I know what it means to liberate sentient beings. Although there have been many members in this Center and many of them had passed away, there are no recitation-assistance groups here. This is because I do not want to harm you or the deceased.

When performing the Chod, once I have blown through the Dharma instrument fashioned from a human leg bone, there are countless sentient beings coming to receive being liberated. That is why, during the performance of this Dharma, I need to visualize that the Center is the Pure Land so that it can accommodate them. After they have ‘entered’ here they will not be able to ‘see’ you. Do not think that your deceased father will see you because you have earnestly recited his name (as part of the ritual). No, he will not. Because of your sincere recitation, you are attuned to the guru’s compassion, which is in turn attuned to Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, and then the Bodhisattva calls your father to come forth. When these sentient beings rush in, all they can see are just things, in front of the mandala, that they can eat.

The Grand Puja of this year will not be held. It is because you don’t understand the meaning of it. You think that asking people to attend the Grand Puja is just to cope with me. If sentient beings are willing to learn Buddhism I will not mind to work harder. However, as they are not willing to, why do I bother to hold the Grand Puja? I will need to conduct a retreat for two days beforehand, to get up early on the puja day, and to spend four hours to perform the Dharma. Why will I get myself so tired for?

Sutra: ‘In the boundaries of distresses and non-distresses, being able to understand all boundaries.’

There is a population of 7.3 billion on Earth and there have been many people passing away every day. Which ghost (a deceased) can a practitioner find to get it liberated? Every time, it relies on the help of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. It must be that only a Great Bodhisattva can select that particular ghost. When I first started practicing the Dharma method of consciousness-transfer, it was quite difficult to find such a ghost to liberate, but now it is very easy for me to do.

We know that there are many things making us think that it is very difficult to learn Buddhism. As long as you understand the principles of ‘no arising and no ceasing to exist’ or ‘all phenomena arise from conditions and are Emptiness in nature’, you will then realize that the reason we find learning Buddhism being difficult is our having self-views and attachments. If you think that you cannot learn the Dharma well, then you cannot. When can you find ways to do it well then? By continuously practicing it, you will definitely be able to attain accomplishments someday. It may not be in this lifetime, but at least you will know, before your death, whether or not you have mastered your practices or you have suffered. The situation will be very clearly shown and it cannot fool other people.

To liberate sentient beings is considered very difficult because it is felt that there are boundaries. In our views, are there boundaries when sentient beings in the Hell Realm are to be liberated? Can we go down there to liberate them? Impossible. Then, why can they come out? It is because that all things are related to causes and conditions. When a sentient being has implored for help, in the guru’s mind a thought then arises wanting to help this sentient being. If, at this time, the Dharma method practiced by the guru is attuned to the yidam, the yidam and the guru are then attuned to each other. In such a situation, the yidam naturally will help the guru to solve all difficulties and find this particular sentient being to get liberated.

In the Dharma text of the Phowa, it is mentioned that ‘Wherever birds can fly to, the accomplishments in Dharma practices can reach and be shown there.’ This indicates that there are no boundaries. It is like the situation that once I performed a Dharma (the Phowa), from more than three thousand kilometers (about 1,900 miles) away, for a disciple who had just passed away in Taiwan. I was also able to strike a hole on the deceased’s crown chakra through an ice container made of stainless steel, where his body was. I made the hole passing through the thick metal board of stainless steel without damaging any part of it. Such an ability came from my mind, thoughts and bodhicitta.”

At this time, there was a monastic who was not concentrating in listening to Rinpoche’s teachings. Instead, she was distracted and was reading a sutra. Rinpoche scolded her directly, saying that she has not amended her bad habits, and instructed her to sit at the back of the venue.

(Rinpoche continued the teachings.)
“Sutra: ‘Showing and displaying actualities.’

After you have practiced according to these Dharma methods, you can actually show and display the signs to sentient beings and let them know about the Dharma. The Dharma is very auspicious and such auspiciousness is not based on theories or by just talking about it. Even in non-Buddhist religions, their followers will feel something after reading their scripture. Why are there no such feelings on learning the Dharma? There must be. You have not felt it because you have not accomplished what you have been taught.

I am now 74 years old and have still been learning different Dharma methods. It is indicated very clearly in some Dharma texts that before practicing a certain method an empowerment has to be granted first to the practitioner. Some Dharmas can only be practiced during a particular time in a year. You need to let the person who has received the help know the auspiciousness of the Dharma; this way he or she can have the faith in it. Do not rely on just talking about the theories on its greatness. You have been reprimanded by me quite often but you still remain because you know that I am remarkable. I am not. What I have shown are from the Dharma. I have followed, step by step, what was taught and have been taught by Shakyamuni Buddha and my own guru. I have mastered their teachings in natural ways.

Sutra: ‘Knowing very well the differences in sentient beings.’

It is not that differences in the Dharma exist. Rather, there are differences in sentient beings’ karma and its retributions. It’s like the story a disciple shared just before the puja started today. His family has a fish farm. He felt that it was fine because that farm had nothing to do with him because it was a matter of the prior generation. He didn’t tell me about this farm but I immediately pointed it out as his problem. Previously, there was a disciple who gave a frog to his kid to eat and then the kid got ill. When the family came to seek an audience with me, imploring for my help, I told them the reason why the kid was sick and it was the eating of the frog. At hearing that, the father of the kid was displeased so he turned around and left the Center. This showed that he didn’t believe in cause and effect; he was thinking ‘Would the effect have been so serious by just eating a frog?’ At the time, I had entered into a meditative state and knew what the father had done before.

Sutra: ‘Obtaining the eloquence of the Buddha and abiding by Samantabhadra’s acts.’

What I have taught you today are basics. You should know how a Bodhisattva practices to attain achievements. You cannot say that you are a Bodhisattva just because you have three small burned scars on your upper arm. (It is a custom to have such scars in Taiwan for some Buddhists.) To be a Bodhisattva, signs need to appear and be shown to people. Such a practitioner can then naturally fulfill what this quote describes, ‘Obtaining the eloquence of the Buddha and abiding by Samantabhadra’s acts.’ The eloquence of the Buddha absolutely is not to be used to win things from others; rather, it is to explain articulately the truth to sentient beings. On one’s practices, one should cultivate them ceaselessly like Bodhisattva Samantabhadra.

I have learned so many Dharma methods but it is not for myself. Sentient beings have different karma, and when I help them, I need to use the right methods; it is the so-called curing-by-correct-medicine. The issues that sentient beings are having cannot all be solved by just chanting the Great Six-Syllable Mantra, and I cannot liberate all of them with only one facial expression either. My expressions of delight, anger, sorrow, and happiness are always shown at any time. I am the best actor for I use different methods to help sentient beings based on their differences.

It is like that in an empowerment, there are four groups of methods to select for the ritual: Lotus, Dharma Protectors, Vajrayana and Gurus. If a particular sentient being needs a Dharma method from the Vajrayana Group for solving the issue, you will be unable to help this person with a method from the Lotus Group; the method you will use is one with the appearance of a wrathful vajra. All Rinpoches need to master practices to perfect completion in the Dharma methods of Subduing, Placating, Increasing, and Vanquishing. This is stated in the Dharma text of the Dharma Protector Achi ritual.

It is not saying that Bodhisattvas are especially remarkable or powerful; rather, Bodhisattvas need to learn and do many things as well as making determination. In your practices, now you are unable to reach this level of the learning, but you can make your decision that you want to; on that, you can do. When to attain accomplishments depends on a person’s root capacity, karma and determination. Such a determination is very important. The reason that in this life, I am able to attain little accomplishments is not because I am particularly smart or remarkable, but because I am rather dumb (that I have done what I have been taught).”

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Updated on October 23, 2021