His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s Puja Teachings – December 26, 2021

At the Glorious Jewel Buddhist Center in Taipei, His Eminence Rinchen Dorje Rinpoche lit lamps as an offering to the Buddha, and then presided over the auspicious Simple Rituals Used for Cultivating Mind-Essence of Phurba’s Activities. Rinpoche also bestowed precious Dharma teachings.

“Why are there no Vajrayana practices in Exoteric Buddhism? Although in its sutras, there is a mention of a ‘Vajra strong man’, and also, even there were Vajras protecting Shakyamuni Buddha at His side, because Mahayana, as mentioned in sutras, has not been practiced in Exoteric Buddhism, Vajrayana has not been practiced in it either. In the practices of Mahayana, there are four Dharma methods and they are Subduing, Placating, Increasing, and Vanquishing. Then, in these four methods, there are also four groups as Action Tantra, Performance Tantra, Yoga Tantra and Highest Yoga Tantra. If one wants to gain a fruition level on the Bodhisattva Path in this life, he or she must practice the methods of Subduing, Placating, Increasing, and Vanquishing to a perfect completion; the person also needs to master the four groups of Tantra in Action, Performance, Yoga and Highest Yoga. Only after all these practices have been gone through and achievement has been attained can one gain a fruition level in this life.

The key point of Vajrayana is that if one wants to attain Buddhahood in this life, one must master Vajrayana practices. It is like the situation that in the Drikung Kagyu, towards the end of one’s cultivation, one must practice the Chakrasamvar and the Hevajra. The definition of ‘Vajra’ (‘Diamond’) means the heart of the yidam is the same as Vajra and will not be changed. This means the compassion and the bodhicitta to benefit sentient beings will be eternally unchanged. The heart of a guru who learns Vajrayana will not be changed no matter what kinds of profit-enticements, threats or intimidations, et cetera of the mundane world he or she encounters. The guru’s practices will not be changed. In many ways we all need the help of the Yamantaka of Vajrayana because we have done too much of good and negative karma through lifetime after lifetime. All such karma will hinder us, making our practices go wrong frequently but we are unaware of them. Another definition of ‘Vajra’ means the yidam can destroy all the practicing hindrances. If a meritorious guru has not achieved attainment in Vajrayana, he or she will be more toilful to liberate sentient beings in the Age of Dharma Decline.

Why do yidams of Vajrayana have a wrathful appearance? It is because such yidams have specialized in liberating sentient beings who are stubborn and disobedient. It is like the ways parents teach their children. At first, parents will persuade a kid pleasantly. If the kid still does not listen continuously, the parents’ face will be changed to an angry look, hoping their kid will be obedient. The reason that yidams of Vajrayana have a wrathful appearance is that sentient beings are all in anger or wrath. Only when yidams are in a wrathful appearance, can these types of sentient beings be liberated. Monastics who have learned Exoteric Buddhism have more or less attended the Great Water and Land Puja. In this puja, there is the Black-Faced King of Ghosts, an emanation of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. The appearance of this King is one as that of sentient beings in the Hungry Ghost and the Hell Realms. This is the appearance demonstrated by Avalokiteshvara so as to liberate the sentient beings in those realms. In the Age of Dharma Decline, sentient beings’ minds are very stubborn and disobedient, and their negative karma is especially heavy. If there were no Vajrayana, it would have been very difficult to liberate sentient beings in this Age.

If sentient beings do not have good fortune – good fortune here does not mean how much money, power or influences one has or how respectful one shows, but it refers to a certain level of good fortune that has been accumulated through one’s accumulated past lifetimes – they will not have opportunities listening to Vajrayana expounded, or being involved in it. They will not even have a guru helping them by performing its Dharmas for them; they will not be able to learn Vajrayana on their own either. Because the heart of ‘Vajra’ is the utmost of compassion, there is nothing that can destroy Vajra’s compassion. If one has not mastered the practices on the compassion of Emptiness it will be very dangerous for the person to learn Vajrayana; such a person will think that he or she is very amazing and then will become arrogant. In the Ratnakuta Sutra, it is mentioned that Shakyamuni Buddha had said that people who have practiced the Bodhisattva Path cannot be proud or arrogant. Nowadays, many people who have been learning Tantra think that because they have learned some of its Dharma methods, they themselves are incredible and are different from others. This is arrogance. Once you have given rise to it, in your practices, the Bodhisattva Path will become ordinary-person path. Even if you chant a yidam’s mantra, it is of no use.

There are three reasons that this Dharma will be performed today. Firstly, it can subdue the greed, hatred and ignorance in your mind through the awe-inspiring power of Dorje Phurba. Secondly, the ritual can subdue the forces of your good and negative karma produced from your accumulated past lifetimes so that your learning Buddhism and practicing it will not be obstructed. It is not that after you have attended Vajrayana pujas, everything will become fine for you, you will not fear for anything or ghosts will be afraid of you. Ghosts will be afraid because they do not want to hinder you on your learning and practicing Buddhism. Thirdly, after you have passed away, if, (while alive) you were not so much a wicked person or ‘a person of great virtue’, during seven stages, each having seven days, a total of forty-nine days, there will be yidams of these groups – Buddhas, Bodhisattvas or Vajrayana – appearing to receive you. If the yidams coming to you are of the groups of Buddhas or Bodhisattvas, and if you have no affinities with them or have no faith in them, you will lose the opportunity of being received by them.

Finally, yidams of Vajrayana will come to receive you. Usually, when such yidams appear, they will have a wrathful appearance. This is because that if your karmic hindrances have not been heavy, you will already be received and led away by the yidams of the groups of Buddhas or Bodhisattvas; you will not have let go of the opportunity and you will follow the lead. This means there are many of your enemies, who have resentments towards you, obstructing you and not letting you be led away. However, once the yidams of Vajrayana appear, they will drive away those enemies of yours who are resentful towards you. Nevertheless, if the deceased had not involved in Vajrayana while alive, he or she will be like normal sentient beings in reincarnation. When seeing the yidams of Vajrayana showing up, this person will turn around and run, faster than anyone, for not daring to go closer to the yidams. This is the reason that this ritual of Vajrayana will be performed today.

The practitioners of Dorje Phurba refer to those who cultivate it will not use its methods to reach their own goals or purposes; rather, they utilize what they have learned in Dorje Phurba to help and benefit sentient beings. If, at every turn, such practitioners use methods of Dorje Phurba to drive away things here or other things there, these practitioners are not the practitioners of Dorje Phurba. The word ‘meritorious’ means possessing all merits.”

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Updated on April 23, 2022