His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s Puja Teachings – November 6, 2022

Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s great vow is this: ‘I vow that I will not attain Buddhahood unless and until all of the hells are empty.’ Since His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche has propagated the Dharma, he has made a great vow that ‘I will not attain Buddhahood unless and until sentient beings have attained Buddhahood.’ His compassionate vow is attuned to this yidam. At a time when coronavirus pandemic spreads around the globe and there being wars happening frequently, for the purpose of helping sentient beings form affinities with Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha to eliminate their negative causes of continuous reincarnation, His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche presided over the auspicious Ksitigarbha Puja on November 6, 2022 at the Glorious Jewel Buddhist Center in Taipei. Rinpoche performed the ‘Invigorating Dharma Bestowed for Eliminating Affliction and suffering of Sentient Beings.’ He also led the attendees reciting the Ksitigarbha Dharaṇi Sutra. The Puja came to a pure and perfect completion and its merits protect all immensely.

After lighting lamps as an offering to the Buddha, Rinpoche ascended the Dharma throne and bestowed precious teachings.

“Today I will perform the Dharma on Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, and it is called ‘Invigorating Dharma Bestowed for Eliminating Affliction and suffering of Sentient Beings.’ So long as people are from the Chinese nation, they have heard of the name of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha. Even if they do not practice the Dharma methods of this Bodhisattva, they know the name. However, in folklore, there are many misunderstandings or misconceptions that people – including the so-called practitioners – have towards Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha. Many of them misunderstand that this Bodhisattva has only liberated ghosts. In fact, Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha has liberated sentient beings in the Six Realms; there are no differentiations made about whom to be liberated.

Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha is one of the Eight Great Bodhisattvas, and among them, he has an appearance of a monastic in the Human Realm. He appears in a different form in other realms. Nevertheless, as the forms appearing in those realms had not remained, and had also not been practiced, we do not know in what a form he appears in other realms. I possess something that shows the form of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha liberating sentient beings in hells. That form has a very fierce appearance. It is not a form you usually see as Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha.

Why do people continuously misunderstand that Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha specializes in liberating ghosts? Because his vow is ‘I vow that I will not attain Buddhahood unless and until all of the hells are empty.’ This sentence does not mean he only liberates ghosts in hells. The key point here is that he helps all sentient beings not to fall into hells, and only then can hells be empty. If he had only liberated those in hells, there would still have been people falling into hells unceasingly. Then, how can hells be empty? Hence, the focal point is that Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha is mainly to teach and help sentient beings not to have opportunities falling into hells. So, all subjects mentioned in the Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows are to tell us on what things we do will let us fall into hells.

Many people think that reciting this sutra is just that – to recite it, but they wonder if what have been said in it will occur. Things will constantly happen as mentioned in the sutra because there is no need for Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha to intimidate or threaten you. All the things you have said or acted, or the thoughts you have given rise to can create causes of your falling into hells. This is why in the Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows, it is stated very clearly that ‘Every thought produced by an ordinary person generates karma and vices.’ Many people do not admit their thoughts are for karma and vices. They think they are not at fault, and the thought are like these: ‘What are the wrongs I have done? These are all other people’s errors. I have been harmed by that person because the person misunderstood me. It was not what I meant.’ If one has such thoughts, it shows that his or her thinking generates karma and vices. Why is that? Because thoughts that one gives rise to are for oneself.

For example, if there is someone having instructed you to handle a certain thing with this method, contrarily, you have not listened and have done it by another method with a bunch of reasons too about your way of doing it. Such acts are your karma and vices. Nowadays, there is an atmosphere in our society that mistakes are made by other people, and are their faults. People think errors happen in ways they should happen; one will also find lots of reasons to explain that one is not at fault. Such attitudes will have no advantages for this society and people living in it. If one does not believe in causes and effects, thinking that these causes and effects will no longer exist once the person has made repentances, such a person and people who think the same will be forever unable to achieve a little attainment in their practices. It is a simple matter for us to fall into the manifestation of causes and effects. It is easy, easier than our breathing. We need a lifespan and a physical strength so that we can breathe. Even if we breathe with the help of some medical devices, we still need money to get them. Nonetheless, having thoughts does not need all these things. Even when one dies, his or her thoughts still exist in the consciousness. So long as one is in the Six Realms, one’s thoughts change or are in motion constantly.

Therefore, learning Buddhism absolutely is not about learning how to attain enlightenment or to eliminate karmic hindrances. In fact, regardless of types of Dharma methods, their helping you eliminate your karmic hindrances means eliminating those negative thoughts that are not good, helping you suppress and control such thoughts for not been arisen easily, and helping you give rise to good thoughts on all your thinking, and only then will your thoughts gradually become good ones; your karma can then be transformed from being negative to the goodness. Do not think that if you have made repentances and have chanted the Hundred-Syllable Mantra, your karmic hindrances will be eliminated. No, they will not be. It is because of your thoughts and your greediness.

Our practices of the yidam of Vajrasattva are not for eliminating our own karmic hindrances. Rather, we need to make repentances because all our negative karma created through lifetime after lifetime have obstructed our own practices, hindering our help for sentient beings to attain accomplishment. I have said it before that I need to make repentances on any day when I have not attained Buddhahood. Why? Because I do not have the great capabilities or attainment of the Buddha to benefit immensely boundless sentient beings. Only if one makes repentances with this kind of thought, can the chanting of the Hundred-Syllable Mantra be useful. Do not think that ‘I have finished chanting the mantra, so my karmic hindrances have been eliminated; my practices will improve.’ No, they will not. If you are incessantly attached to the idea that ‘I want to attain enlightenment; I want to get improvement on my practices,’ then, you have been practicing the ‘Conditioned Dharma.’

It has been mentioned very clearly in the Diamond Sutra that ‘All things are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows.’ A monastic here explained this as ‘unreal or real appearances.’ It is a wrong explanation. The quote ‘All things are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows’ refers to this: so long as there are thoughts that you have given rise to, they are ‘dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows.’ This means your mind is not real – it is unreal. Our learning Buddhism is to reveal our real mind and to get unreal mind reduced a little. How? Through making repentances. It is not that they will make things better for you. I am saying it anew now. Do not think making repentances will let you attain enlightenment or get your practices improved. What are the improvements? It has been clearly stated in the Dharma that practices are to rid of all the things that should not exist in you. How will there be improvements from your practices then? If you say the practices have improved, then you are wrong again; what are the wrongs? Our pure mind always and originally exists. It is only that you have helped yourself create many karmic hindrances, and your mind is concealed by you. You say you want improvements; what kinds are they?

The term ‘diligence’ mentioned in sutras does not mean to work very hard and make you improve. Rather, it is that you are to concentrate all your physical strength or spirit to do a certain thing so that in your practices, you will not stop and make no progress, like treading water without moving. You are to move forward to the land of a Buddha; this does not mean to improve yourself. It is not about a thought that ‘I have improved; I have attained realization or enlightenment in this.’ It is like the push-or-knock story happened in the past. There was a monk who returned to his temple late at night. He did not know whether he should push and open the temple door or knock it to get someone opening it for him. It turned out that he stood there – outside the door – and thought about the solution until dawn. Now, you are just having this kind of attribute of push-or-knock in that you continuously handle things by ‘push’ or ‘knock.’ You have not been practicing wholeheartedly.

(Translator’s note: In Chinese, the name of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha is usually pronounced in three syllables as ‘Di Cangwang.’ In transliteration, the term means ‘earth,’ ‘hiding,’ and ‘king,’ respectively. The first syllable ‘earth’ can also mean ‘hells,’ and the second one ‘hiding,’ as ‘treasure.’)
In the name of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, ‘earth’ does not refer to areas in hells. Instead, it means the growth of all things needs to be developed or nurtured by earth. Thus, the merits or bodhicitta of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha is like the earth, letting sentient beings’ roots of virtue get planted in it. This will help sentient beings develop the true direction and mindset of their practices in learning Buddhism. Hence, the word ‘earth’ in Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s name refers to the merits of this Bodhisattva that are like mothers on the earth. Such merits have developed or nurtured us unceasingly, letting us have roots or a firm earth, as bases or a fundamental, in the processes of our practices.

The middle word, ‘hiding,’ of the transliteration in the Bodhisattva’s name does not mean ‘to hide;’ it is the ‘treasure of Tathagata.’ Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s practices have been in accordance with pure nature – the so-called nature of the Buddha – which is his fundamental requirements. Therefore, the term ‘hiding’ in the Bodhisattva’s name is ‘treasure of Tathagata.’ What does the last word, ‘king,’ of the name mean? It is not that Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha is a king; this is a metaphor. A king rules a country, and he can make the people there live a very happy life. Only the king has such a power; there are nothings that can be done for ordinary people to have that. So, the ‘king’ of the transliteration in the name here refers to this: because there are all the merits of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, gained from his practices, with such merits, he has the power and capabilities to help sentient beings.

On the Dharma practices of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, if you just think superstitiously that he will let you see him and help you eliminate your karmic hindrances and yet you constantly repeat the acts mentioned in the Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows, how can your karma be eliminated? In this sutra, it is stated very clearly that what causes you have planted will make you obtain the resulted effects. It is exactly to advise you not to do such acts again. If you do, no matter how many repentances you have made, they will be useless. Hence, there is a continuous reminder in the sutra about thoughts produced by us. Do not think that just having a thought arising will not have a karmic retribution, or that just thinking a thing a little will be all right. So, when a thought is arising and you become aware that it is negative, you need to stop the thinking, not letting it continue to be thought of. Many people incessantly think of negative thoughts very easily. For example, you have been instructed by your guru to do a certain task but because of mistakes you have made, you get scolded by him. Then, you will keep on thinking, not about what wrongs you have done, but about this: ‘Why did he scold me? Does he think he is amazing?’ You will think of this continuously. This is the accumulation of negative thoughts. Many people have this fault in their thinking that ‘my father has scolded me;’ they think about it endlessly. Thus, thoughts produced by us are very important modes for us Buddhist practitioners to be careful about.

When you give rise to a thought, you need to be aware whether it is good or negative. You need to learn to have the ability to distinguish this thought being good or negative. For letting you get this ability, you absolutely need to, with persistence, observe the precepts you have received and follow the rules described in the Thirty-Seven Practices of Bodhisattvas. If you do not do these as well as complying with Ten Meritorious Acts, then all your thoughts will generate karma and vices. Do not think that it is all right if a thing you have done shows a bit of mistake. Will there be something bad happening? Yes, there will be because little mistakes will slowly accumulate and turn into negative consequences. We created our negative karma through lifetime after lifetime. In this life, it is already very difficult to eliminate such karma, so why do we still add more of it in our current life? The more the negative karma is added, the more it is accumulated; then there are nothings that can be done to help you.

Many people think that if they do the Dharma practices of Amitabha, they will certainly see Amitabha coming to receive them, and they will surely see Avalokiteshvara coming if they do the Dharma practices of Avalokiteshvara. It is not necessarily so. I had an experience once when I was still at the stage of learning Exoteric Buddhism. The father of a good friend of mine passed away, and my friend could not find people for recitation assistance for the deceased, so he asked me to do it to help his father. At that time, I was witless, knowing nothing. Once I arrived at the venue, I continuously recited the name of Amitabha. I kept on reciting it. Because I had learned how to do sit-in meditation in my childhood, I could enter a meditative state very easily. At the end of my recitation, I saw – in my visualization – that Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha came, received, and led the deceased. It was not Amitabha. Why was that? Because my friend’s father loved hunting while alive, killing many birds. Also, he had not learned Buddhism before he died. Even though I recited the name of Amitabha for him, he was not qualified to go the Land of Amitabha. This is the reason that I have often told you that reciting the name of Amitabha does not mean it is exactly Amitabha who will come – as I had this experience just described.

My friend’s father had a stroke and been bedridden for almost 10 years. When he was dying, the fingers on both of his hands curled up, just like a chicken when it is being killed. What does it look at the time of being killed? All of you ate chickens before. Their claws curl. Therefore, before the old man passed away, his hands curled up and could not be straightened out no matter what had been done. How dreadful the causes and effects are. When he brought birds home, some of them had not died yet, so my friend’s mother would make them dead by hitting them and then helped pluck feathers from the birds. Hence, before she passed away, she crawled on the ground like an injured bird. As this good friend of mine did not know that I had this ability of meditation and visualization, he asked many psychics about his father’s death. They told him that it was Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha who came to receive his father; it was not Amitabha. So, from that time on, he had kept his distance from me.

Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s great vow is that so long as sentient beings help the deceased by reciting the Buddha’s name very sincerely, the Bodhisattva will come. Of course, ordinarily they need to have some kinds of requirements, like being vegetarians or observing precepts. If they are non-vegetarians or do not observe precepts, Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha absolutely will not come. If one considers he or she is very amazing, the Bodhisattva will certainly not come either. Rather, only for those who do such help for the deceased very sincerely, and not for gaining any benefits for themselves, that the Bodhisattva will come. Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s great vow is a representation among the Eight Great Bodhisattvas, and it is unlikely that we can make such a vow. See, when Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha was a daughter of some family, she implored the Buddha for letting her know which realm her then-mother had been reborn in. This daughter had sold her mansion, made offerings to the Buddha with all her money, and made prostrations to the Buddha even to the extent that she bled and was fainted from the effort; yet, she continued doing the prostrations. Thus, nowadays, when I tell you to make grand prostrations for 200 or 300 times a day, I am already very polite. In accordance with what have been mentioned in the Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows, none of you is filial; do not say you are very filial. You have said this: ‘Rinpoche, I am very filial. Now I make grand prostrations on behalf of my father.’ You have not made them to a level that you bleed; even when there is a bit of bleeding, you will cry out and make complaints. In the past, we practitioners made prostrations to the point that we got bruises. We were not like you that now you have such good welfare, having a mat to slide on and a bunch of related devices to use when you make prostrations. Therefore, if one can master his or her practices, it surely does not rely on one’s luck.

The main point of this Dharma text is to show that Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha has blessed us. His blessings let us have opportunities not to fall into hells and have chances to help sentient beings in the future. At the very beginning of the Dharma text, it mentions that we need to pay obeisance to our guru, Buddhas, and Bodhisattvas first, and to give rise to aspirations. We should be true and sincere towards Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, a saint, with utmost respect. In general, this kind of Dharma text is not available universally. Nevertheless, there are no differences on meritorious auspiciousness between other Dharma texts and this one. In it, the mentions contain many meanings, but there are also many of them that are not expressed. The most important point in this Dharma text is this: With a sole faith to bear weight. It means so long as you have a faith, you can take on all important matters. If you do not have a faith, and still do things with and for your own thoughts, then it will be of no use.”

His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche started to perform the Dharma method of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, and bestowed the teachings during the progress of the Dharma performance.

“In the Dharma text, it has been mentioned that the meanings and activities of the Eight Great Bodhisattvas and the Buddha are about equality for all. In essence, the Eight Great Bodhisattvas have attained Buddhahood. However, for the purpose of liberating sentient beings, these Bodhisattvas have the manifestations, again and again, that they have achieved attainment in bodhicitta. Yet, for saving and liberating countless sentient beings, the Eight Great Bodhisattvas, among Bodhisattvas, have given rise to aspiration to do that. Even sentient beings in the void have acted as Samantabhadra and gathered in lands of Buddhas. In the Dharma Realm, the Eight Great Bodhisattvas have given rise to the wish of benefiting and liberating all sentient beings in the void so that they can be truly liberated from the reincarnation’s sea of suffering. The Buddhas of Three Periods, any mundane history that has not yet been recorded, the biographies of the most auspicious, rare, and unfathomable saints, the Dharma methods in accordance with the saints’ practices, and the transmissions of the Dharma methods of complete pith instruction have not been spread to the Land of Snow (Tibet) before.

This Dharma text had been transmitted personally from Vajravarahi to a practitioner of southern Tianzhu (India) in the Western Regions of China. There are already 108 of Dharma methods transmitted by Vajravarahi in person. This Dharma method is one of the 24 expedient methods of the Eight Great Bodhisattvas. It has been passed down unceasingly from Vajravarahi through the lineage gurus of past lifetimes to this day; then it has been transmitted to me. In such ways of practicing, chanting mantras, and going through stages of pith instruction are the methods done by Great Bodhisattvas. Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha had practiced and received the pith instruction. First, for you to listen to this Dharma, we will have the Mandala-Offering Ritual to be performed.”

The Mandala-Offering Ritual was then performed. On behalf of sentient beings, the monastics made mandala-offerings to implore Rinpoche for the Dharma.

Rinpoche led the attendees in reciting the Refuge Aspiration Prayer and expounded what have been written in the Dharma text: “You need to feel grateful and be moved to tears towards your guru.” Then Rinpoche taught everyone how to do visualization and led the participants chanting the mantra sentence by sentence.

“You need to think of the blessings of all the words of Tathagatas and the Buddha. After that, finally, a vajra guru uses all his majestic power to get the words entering the mouths of his disciples with no obstructions.” Then the vajra guru continues the blessings with his prayer beads.

Rinpoche held high his prayer beads and chanted the mantra to bless the people in attendance of the puja. Everyone felt a very strong heat flowing into their body by the movements of the prayer beads, and felt also that earth moved. After the blessings, Rinpoche instructed all the attendees to sit still for a little while. He then continued to perform the Dharma.

Rinpoche expounded this: “What had just been performed now was letting us know the mantra of the yidam, and in later part of the performance, it is to implore the yidam for blessings. For performing this Dharma, it must be in a place with clean land and houses. The term ‘clean’ here means the land has not been a burial ground, a location for a slaughterhouse, or a place where wars and the karma resulting from killing have occurred.”

Then Rinpoche continued the performance of the Dharma. He instructed that everyone was to stand up for the Mandala-Offering Ritual as the monastics hung a khata above a thangka showing a statue of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha.

Rinpoche instructed the disciples in the Dharma Affairs Team to hand out the sutra to the participants, and he led them in recitation of the Ksitigarbha Dharaṇi Sutra. After continuing to perform the Dharma, Rinpoche led the attendees to chant the mantra. During the progress of the Dharma performance and the chanting of the mantra, many people smelt a fragrant scent, heard slight sounds of a monk’s staff touching the ground and the clinking of necklaces, saw a very dazzling golden light irradiated by the guru, and felt that earth moved and the heat emitted from their body; they even felt sweating. This was like when several Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha Pujas were held and presided over by Rinpoche in Japan, everyone in attendance in those pujas also heard a peculiar, auspicious, and wonderful Dharma voice. As what has been mentioned in the Sutra of the Questions of Bodhisattva Subahu-Kumara about attainment achieved through chanting mantras, when a practitioner presiding over a Dharma performance, and who is attuned to the yidam, the practitioner can benefit all sentient beings abundantly. The attendees received the blessings from the guru on his auspicious Dharma performance. There was no one who was not feeling grateful and moved to tears.
Then the Tsok Ritual and tea-offering ritual were in progress. Every person present received a share of offering items that had been blessed by His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche, as well as the rare and auspicious causes and conditions to dine with the guru, the Buddha, and Bodhisattvas during the puja.

After these rituals had been completed, Rinpoche bestowed the teachings. “I obtained this Dharma text quite a long time ago. Before, I supported the Drikung Kagyu’s first center in Taiwan for all their expenses occurred. All the monthly expenditures there had been paid by me. In the end, I did not have much money left, but I still supported that center for their expenses. I was willing not to pay the rent for my company but I wanted to support that center first. Such an attitude of mine was the reason that I obtained this Dharma text. It has been passed down from a Rinpoche in Qinghai, China. It seems that in other Buddhist centers, this Dharma text of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha and the Ksitigarbha Dharaṇi Sutra are not very complete.”

After leading the attendees in the Dharma Protector Achi ritual and dedication prayer, Rinpoche asked a disciple who is in charge of registering of the purchases of Dharma CDs, “On what I expounded before in Japan on the Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows, how many Dharma CDs are there?” (The disciple answered that perhaps there were about 20 discs.) “How many people are there who have implored for the CDs?” (The response was that no one did.) “It is because you think that it will cost a lot for 20 discs.

All of you are not afraid of, or do not believe in, causes and effects. I just turned the pages of the sutra casually and read this section, and now I feel like that I want to scold you again. Many people think that if they just recite sutras, they will see a Bodhisattva, or hear a Bodhisattva speaking to them. It is mentioned in this section about the ‘bright-eyed daughter.’ In it, it was even an arhat telling her what to do.

‘Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows’: “After having heard this, the ‘bright-eyed daughter’ immediately forsook things she treasured. She sought someone to get the Buddha’s image painted and made offerings to it. Also, she paid obeisance to the Buddha with esteem in her mind, weeping grievingly.”’

‘After having heard this, the “bright-eyed daughter” immediately forsook things she treasured.’ This sentence means after the daughter heard what had been said, she gave up what she treasured. For a woman, what she treasures refers to jewelry or the most precious things. The word ‘forsook’ means ‘to sell.’ ‘She sought someone to get the Buddha’s image painted and made offerings to it.’ This description indicates that she then sought someone to paint an image of the Pure-Lotus-Eyed Tathagata. What does ‘made offerings’ mean? It means offerings were made either by reciting sutras every day or chanting mantras and making prostrations to the Buddha. There are many ways of making offerings too when we practice Tantra. ‘Also, she paid obeisance to the Buddha with esteem in her mind, weeping grievingly.’ The phrase ‘with esteem in her mind’ does not mean ‘a mind with curiosity.’ It is not a mind of feeling ‘there being lots of fun’ either, thinking whatever one asks, one should receive an answer from the other party – the person who has been asked. In this section of the sutra, it is not mentioned that the Buddha certainly made a reply to the ‘bright-eyed daughter.’ The arhat did not say to her what would happen either; he only told her what she needed to do. She then did it quietly. On her acts described in the sutra that ‘she paid obeisance to the Buddha…., weeping grievingly,’ have you done it? You are still in a situation that the more prostrations you make the more delightful you feel, which gets you smiling. At the end of the time on your making prostrations, you will be very tired or have a very aching body, and then you will say you cannot make them anymore. In this way of practicing, you are not a Buddhist practitioner then.

‘Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows’: “Suddenly, on a late night, she dreamed that she saw the Buddha’s body, irradiating a dazzling golden light, and being as tall as Mount Sumeru.”’

The event occurred suddenly to her because she had not been prepared for it psychologically and had not known that it would be happening this way. ‘She dreamed that she saw the Buddha’s body, irradiating a dazzling golden light.’ These words are very important. If the Buddha has been seen by you in your dream, He must be in a glittering golden light, showing as a big figure; I know this because I have seen Him before. What you have seen are all ghosts. If your practices are in better conditions, these happenings are from your illusions. It is mentioned very clearly in sutras that one can see the Buddha in one’s dream. However, this person needs to be in accordance with requirements of making offerings, making prostrations to the Buddha to a level of crying, holding the Dharma in high esteem in the mind, and so on, and only then will the Buddha appear to let the person see Him. Also, the Buddha will absolutely be in a glittering golden light; I have seen Him in my dream. Surely, it is not that a Bodhisattva comes and speaks a few words to you in your ear; it is not that what you think will be answered by a Bodhisattva in your dream either. These have not been stated in sutras. Since such things are not described in sutras, why have you been thinking of them? Are you preparing yourself to be the head of a religious sect? So, on any things you do, they need to be in accordance with what have been mentioned in sutras.

The mother of the ‘bright-eyed daughter’ was to fall into the Hell Realm. It was only because of the acts of the daughter, the mother was reborn, and yet, she was reborn in a family of servants and had a short lifespan. Hence, by just making prostrations a bit, do you want to implore for birth in the Land of Amitabha? You will know very distinctly when you read the Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows that the ‘bright-eyed daughter’ certainly made more prostrations and great almsgivings than you do while you have not done all the things she did. You rely on my performance of the Dharma to help you every Sunday so that you are allowed to attend the puja and accumulate some good fortune for your deceased ancestors. Nevertheless, all of you have not implored for helping them. Rather, you have implored first for living a good life and for having a good health. It is like someone said today that he wanted me to let him have a good health, and only then could he follow me learning Buddhism. It happened again that someone threatened and intimidated me.

Thus, when one has a short lifespan, the person must assuredly have had the karma resulting from killing; it is impossible not to have such a karma. If you do not have a short lifespan, this karma will affect your next generation. The Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows is a very important sutra. It helps you on your practices because you have learned Buddhism but you have done your learnings wrong all the time, and you do not listen. Things have already been mentioned very plainly in this sutra, but you still have not listened to the teachings; you have been practicing to suit yourself with your own methods, thoughts, and concepts. If these are the ways how you have done your practices, then what do you come here to learn Buddhism for? The things in the Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows have already been stated very clearly. I turned the pages of the sutra casually and read this section about the ‘bright-eyed daughter.’ Once I read it, I knew that all of you have been wrong.

The mother of the ‘bright-eyed daughter’ did not do deeds which were seriously bad. In the sutra, it is described that she loved to eat turtle eggs; how much meat have you eaten then? As mentioned previously in the sutra, she liked to cook these eggs by stir-frying, steaming, et cetera. Then when she died, she fell into the Hell Realm. You have now been learning Buddhism in this life. If you are able to avoid falling into hells, you are in a situation of so-called ALREADY-A-MI-TA-BHA – you are already lucky. Then, do you still think of attaining enlightenment, or getting improvements? See, what Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha had spoken of, and look back and think about your own parents. Are they practitioners? On all the karma your parents have created, you have a share of it. There is not enough time for you to help your parents eliminate their karma, and you do not have enough time either to implore the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas for saving and liberating your ancestors and parents. Why do you even say that you want to get yourself enlightened or improved in this life?

When you read the Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows, you will be truly blushed with shame. None of you has done what have been described in it! You do not listen either! I expounded this sutra in Japan for a long time, and everyone knows about that. No one has implored me for the Dharma CDs of the teachings of the sutra. You think that the Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows is in Exoteric Buddhism and is too simple; also, it is not in Tantra. You, the monastics here, being included in this type of people who have such thoughts, like to listen to what I expound on Emptiness, and feel with much delights in hearing about the subject. Nonetheless, on what have been stated in the Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows, have you done all of them? (A monastic answered that they had not.) Then, what have you been learning Emptiness for?

Now, while learning Buddhism, you are always with partiality for its subjects, distinguishing a Dharma method being ‘big’ or ‘small.’ You consider that there is only wisdom existing if there is Emptiness; if there is no Emptiness, there is no wisdom. You think you can only achieve attainment if you have mastered the practices in Emptiness. However, on what Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha had spoken of, you have not done all of them. How can you achieve attainment then? I turned pages of later part of the sutra and found there are still a whole lot of things being mentioned.

‘Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows’: “….praising and paying obeisance to the image of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha. At times, there are negative people, evil deities, or evil ghosts, who produce illusorily the acts of ridicule and defamation towards good men and good women, slandering these people for not having merits and not having done deeds to benefit others. Or, there are times that the negative people, with their teeth shown, smile at good men and good women, or talk about these people’s wrongs behind their back, or persuade others to speak of such wrongs together, or get one person, or many people, speaking of these wrongs. There are even occasions that, with one thought arising, people ridicule and defame good men and good women. In the bhadrakalpa of a thousand Buddhas’ nirvana, for these negative people, because of their karmic retribution from the ridicule and defamation, they will still be in the Avici Hell (Uninterrupted Hell), receiving the results of committing utmost, severe vices, and only after such bhadrakalpa passes, can those people be in the Hungry Ghost Realm. Again, after a thousand kalpas pass, those people will be in the Animal Realm, and only after a thousand kalpas pass one more time, can they obtain a human form. Even though they get a human form, they will be poor, in a lowly status, and deficient in possessing organs of the body.”’

I have also spoken of this section of the sutra to you before; now you just listen to it again then. The phrase ‘talk about these people’s wrongs behind their back’ means gossiping about others behind their back. The other phrase ‘or get one person….speaking of these wrongs’ refers to situations which you liked to do before: gossiping. Then the descriptions have been continued in the quote that ‘after such bhadrakalpa passes…. those people’ will be born in the Hungry Ghost Realm, and ‘after a thousand kalpas pass, those people will be in the Animal Realm, and only after a thousand kalpas pass one more time, can they obtain a human form. Even though they get a human form, they will be poor, in a lowly status, and deficient in possessing organs of the body.’ Therefore, if you like to gossip or slander, and even if you do not speak of the subject but only think of it – these occasions being included too – you will have such karmic retributions just described. Why do you not read the Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows? Because you fear for falling into the Hell Realm. You are like an ostrich in that you treat what have been mentioned in the sutra as things you have not heard about or seen. In fact, you have done this all your life: ‘or talk about these people’s wrongs behind their back, or persuade others to speak of such wrongs together, or get one person….speaking of these wrongs.’ If you have not done it, raise your hand. I do not even dare to raise my hand.

Why have you still not been practicing vigorously, and have still just come here to participate the puja every Sunday, thinking that will be fine? Do you consider your chanting of the Great Six-Syllable Mantra for 1,000 times a day at home will be all right? By these doings, do you regard yourself practitioners? You think that you do not have enough time for practicing, you have many things to do every day, and you do not even have enough time to get to work. Yet, you have time to play on your cell phone and to chat. All of you are lazy! Now, I have realized gradually that all those people who left the Center and me were lazy; they felt that practicing was a toilsome task. You do not know that you need to work hard on the task later. You think that you will not fall into hells, have my protection, and feel being Buddhists and vegetarians. Nevertheless, cows and goats eat vegetarian food too. It is like nowadays I have 200 pigs raised, and I get all of them eating vegetarian food! Nonetheless, being a vegetarian does not indicate that you have been practicing; it only represents the fact that you will not continue to create negative karma.

The Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows is very important. Do not despise the idea that Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha liberates ghosts – he liberates those of you who are soon to become ghosts. Why did he speak so clearly to us on matters of causes and effects? Because it was precisely his vow that he did not wish sentient beings falling into the Hell Realm. Hence, he spoke to them distinctively that they should not to do these things absolutely. Do you think it will be all right if you, only one person, doing the gossiping? If you take a salary from the company you work in but gossip about the company owner, you will still have issues happening to you; it is just that your time in the Hell Realm will be shorter. If you gossip about your guru, the Buddha, and Bodhisattvas, you will still be in that realm even after the Buddha’s nirvana, as mentioned just now in the sutra.

Do not try to test yourself on what you know or what you have learned. Before, I exhorted my disciples that if they had come here delightfully to learn the Dharma from me, when they wanted to leave here and me, they were to do it delightfully too. That saying of mine was exactly in accordance with this section of the sutra. If you feel that this Center has no affinity with you, then just leave. However, do not gossip about it as that will be truly not good for you. It is not that I will be afraid that you will gossip about this place or me. What is there to be afraid of? If you want to do that, do it then!

Think clearly about this when you get home. I have not finished yet in turning all the pages of this sutra and expounding it again. I have only emphasized the term ‘gossip.’ How many times have you done it? According to the Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows, the details about gossiping are thusly described. If you do not believe in them, do not learn Buddhism then. This was what Shakyamuni Buddha, going out of His way, asked Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha about, and was what Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, going out of his way, spoke of. It was about his saving and liberating us, as well as preventing us from creating, and teaching and guiding us not to create, any causes and conditions that will make ourselves fall into hells. Only after you have mastered your practices these ways, are you qualified to mention about attaining enlightenment. If you have not even done such practices, what is your saying based on that you want to be enlightened? What are your hopes based on that you want to go to the Land of Amitabha? When you took refuge in me, I taught you this: ‘commit no negative acts, and do all good deeds.’ All of you have not done them.

Some people even said that they had implored a Bodhisattva for help during the day, and then the Bodhisattva went to them at night talking to them. These kinds of situations showed acts of slander too. Obviously, there are no mentions in sutras that this can be done. You feel that you are different from the rest of people, and Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha made a point of treating you very well. This is also gossiping, thinking to flaunt oneself being different. This is a shortcoming of many people learning Buddhism, especially for beginners. Then again, those who have learned it for a long time will start to be the same too.

Suit yourself then. I am not forcing you to listen to my teachings. I am just telling you that since you want to learn Buddhism, if you do not understand the rules of causes and effects stated in the Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows, do not learn Buddhism then. Do not think it is a lot of fun in hearing this sutra being mentioned. All of you do not dare to read this sutra because the more you read it the more scared you become – you know you will fall into the Hell Realm. Since you know that, why have you still not amended yourself bravely and vigorously? Why have you still come to implore me for the transmission of the Great Six-Syllable Mantra? You have not gotten rid of the roots that will let you fall into hells!

We need to learn Buddhism in accordance with sutras. Although I am a Tantric guru, I cannot give up Exoteric Buddhism. If Exoteric Buddhism does not exist, there will be no Tantra. If one does not have a firm foundation in the practices of Exoteric Buddhism, one absolutely cannot learn Tantra. These few voluminous sutras are already sufficient for you to practice on. Do not speak of the Avatamsaka Sutra to me again. Reading it once will take a few months. If you can master the practices mentioned in the Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows, that will be enough.”

(Rinpoche named a monastic present, who has been ordained for many years, and asked him whether or not he had listened to what had been said by the guru. The monastic answered that he had.)

“When we expound the Dharma to sentient beings, if we do not do it about the causes and effects in accordance with what are stated in the Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows, we will delve into the subject of void, which is attachment to Emptiness, sooner or later. If you are attached to Emptiness in your practices, how are you to be enlightened? I spoke of this sentence before: ‘Attaining the true Emptiness in the mind will attain the fruition of a Buddha.’ What is ‘true Emptiness’? It precisely means there are no attachments at all. However, now you have created something in front of you and that is ‘Emptiness.’ You yourself want to have it; have you mastered the practices of it? If one expounds the Dharma to believers and the focus of the subjects is in the Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows, this person does not need to talk about lots of theories as the believers will not understand the details. When I finish my teaching of the sutra, if the believers leave and will not come here because of the fear from what they have listened to, then I am to be congratulated as I will have one less burden to worry about.

I am truly tired from teachings; I am already 75 years old. I have expounded and taught to you the Dharma all the time, but every one of you is exactly in such morality and nature. You will see then! If you want to practice the Dharma, you need to understand the Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows. Do not think it is all right if you are not clear about it. You do not even know that you break away from precepts every day.”

After the puja was completed, there was a beautiful rainbow appearing in the clear and bright sky. People who saw the rainbow had the feeling of delight arisen spontaneously, and they rejoiced and praised the merits of the perfect completion of the puja. Rinpoche’s compassionate vows are immensely boundless and will flourish forever to benefit countless sentient beings.

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Updated on November 15, 2024