Month: April 2023

True Events Seen at the Side of a Buddha

steve16581 Comment

True Events Seen at the Side of a Buddha

by Jue Hui Shih

Every time we mention holy occurrences related to H.H. Dorje Chang III Wan Ko Yeshe Norbu Holiest Tathagata, our discussions never ends. Such are the facts. Wherever H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III goes, mysterious and unexpected phenomena nearly always appear. It seems abnormal for holy phenomena not to appear.

For example, there was one time when H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III practiced the Torma Offering Dharma in which food was offered to the Buddhas and then given to living beings. The most excellent and precious food offered to the Buddhas that time was nectar pills made from mixing real nectar bestowed by the Buddhas at the invocation of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III together with flour and butter. Those nectar pills were hand-made the night before by rinpoches, dharma teachers, and others. Many holy phenomena occurred at that dharma assembly during the course of making offerings to the Buddhas.

First of all, an image of Sakyamuni Buddha was in the middle of the mandala that day. An image of Dorje Chang Buddha, the primordial sambhogakaya Buddha, was above the image of Sakyamuni Buddha. To the right of the image of Sakyamuni Buddha were holy relics of the Buddha. To the left of the image of Sakyamuni Buddha was an image of Guru Padmasambhava. A bright-colored array of fresh flowers, rare fruit, various types of food made from Tibetan roasted barley flour, fragrant cheese, and other offerings dazzled the eyes and filled three offering tables. The nectar pills were placed in the middle of the offering tables.

Before offerings were made to the Buddhas, the nectar pills were placed inside a jade bowl. At that time, the nectar pills were level with the lower edge of the brim of the bowl. Those nectar pills were piled up evenly and filled the entire bowl. The Buddha Master later empowered the fifty-nine attendees of that dharma assembly by giving each of them some of those nectar pills. As a result, the nectar pills that remained in the jade bowl were lower than the lower edge of the brim of the bowl by about 1.5 centimeters. We saw that the nectar pills neither lessened nor increased from 7:03 p.m. when the practice of the dharma began until around 8:10 p.m. when the offerings of the three karmas to the Buddhas was completed. At that time, a holy event nobody ever imagined suddenly took place. In an instant, the nectar pills grew in number. Not only did the pile of nectar pills rise more than 1.5 centimeters filling the entire bowl, its top part formed a dome that rose high above the brim. Everyone was ecstatic at the sight of that holy occurrence.

Nectar pills before they miraculously increased in number.

Furthermore, the nectar pills were moist and soft right after they were made. Everyone decided to use a microwave oven to dry the nectar pills so that they would become dry and hard as soon as possible. A few dharma teachers placed four nectar pills inside the microwave oven as a test to determine the appropriate microwave time. Shortly after those nectar pills were placed inside, to everyone’s surprise the microwave oven began emitting smoke and a burning scent. Everyone quickly took out those pills only to discover that two of them were burning and had become like black coal, while the other two were still their original bright red without any sign of being burned.

The Buddha Master decided to mix the two nectar pills that were burned black and the two that were still bright red into the jade bowl that contained nectar pills to be offered to the Buddhas. A few minutes after this was done, the two nectar pills that were burned black surprisingly disappeared in the bowl. Everyone had no choice but to spill the nectar pills onto a large platter and carefully look for those two nectar pills. However, no matter how meticulously all of us looked, no trace of those two black nectar pills could be found. At this time, Venerable Xirao Jiebu said, “How could there be any differentiation in the Buddha-dharma tathata (true-suchness) of the Buddha Master? None of you will ever find those two pills. How could there be the concepts of burned black and not burned black with respect to true nectar that is Buddha nature? How could there be differentiation of colors?”

Second, the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and dharma protecting deities bid farewell to H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III when that dharma assembly to make offerings to the Buddhas ended. At that time, the starry and cloudless sky suddenly rumbled with thunder four consecutive times. All of the people there heard this. Of course, that was the laughter of the dharma protecting deities. It was the height of summer in the Los Angeles area. It had not rained for a few months, and the sky was full of stars. How could there be thunder under such circumstances?

What I have just described is merely one example from among the many feats of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. Actually, we at the International Buddhism Sangha Association often receive emergency phone calls. In the vast majority of those phone calls, the caller beseeches H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III to save his or her life or the life of another person. Of course, without exception, those close to death take a turn for the better and are out of danger after being empowered by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. We then receive their calls expressing gratitude toward H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. Thus, in our eyes H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III truly acts as an emergency treatment center that relieves the sufferings of all living beings.

At times like those, H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III often promptly gives a discourse to everyone about how the law of cause and effect, or karma, never fails or about how living beings must cultivate themselves in order to change or postpone karmic retribution. H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III has told us that it is useless to rely on empowerment alone. Although empowerment has the effect of temporarily blocking one’s karmic hindrances, one will ultimately still experience karmic retribution if one does not cultivate oneself.

One day we learned that a layperson with the surname Yan had contracted cancer of the nose and pharynx (nasopharyngeal carcinoma). For seven days and seven nights, he only ate a few spoonfuls of thin rice gruel. He was in the final throes of late-stage cancer with only a few hours left to live. There being no alternative, H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III was asked to
save him. H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III told him that his situation was the manifestation of karma, or cause and effect, and that there was no way to save him. However, being unable to withstand the strenuous and sorrowful supplications of layman Yan’s family, H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III went to layman Yan and gave him a nectar pill. Unexpectedly, after this person who was on the brink of death ate that nectar pill, he regained a clear state of mind that very evening. In less than a half month, his cancer disappeared, and he became completely well. He even taught people the martial arts. His entire family was tremendously grateful to H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. However, H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III simply said, “What I did is of no use if he does not cultivate himself. He will still pass away.” Given these words of His Holiness, what happened to him five years later was indeed expected. Although his cancer had completely disappeared, his mouth ulcerated as a result of his previous late-stage cancer. He was no longer able to speak clearly. One day he suddenly came up with a strange idea. He decided to use the flesh on his body to fill the gap in his mouth caused by the ulcer. Layman Yan died in the hospital as a result of that operation.

Thus, I would like to sincerely offer the following advice. We should not hope that H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III will completely eliminate our karmic forces simply because H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III is alive in our world today. First of all, do you have the karmic affinity to meet His Holiness? Even if you meet the Buddha Master, will the Buddha Master accept you as a disciple? Even if you are accepted as a disciple, do you practice virtue such that you are qualified to learn the Buddha-dharma? Even if you learn dharma transmitted by the Buddha Master, can you practice that dharma with your three karmas perfectly corresponding with the teachings of the Buddha Master? We should avail ourselves of the time this Buddha is in our world to follow the correct course of cultivation shown to us by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III and practice the highest Buddha-dharma that His Holiness has taught us. This applies to our daily lives and daily meditation. We will then be able to truly attain good fortune, wisdom, accomplishment in the dharma, and liberation!

Link: https://wisdomtea.org/2023/04/27/true-events-seen-at-the-side-of-a-buddha/

Dharma Protectors

steve16582 Comments

Dharma Protectors

By Zhaxi Zhuoma

The Sanskrit term dharmapala literally means the guardian of the dharma.  For the protection of its teachings and institutions, the vajrayana called upon this group of beings who can also be invoked by the individual practitioner. Dharma protectors are sometimes emanations of Buddhas or Bodhisattvas, and sometimes spirits, celestial beings,animals, or even demons who have been subjugated by a Great Master and bound under oath. Dakinis are also considered dharma protectors. When you have the desire to benefit and make happy all sentient beings and keep your precepts, the dharma protectors will come to protect and uphold your practice, wipe out your demonic obstructions and assist you in becoming accomplished. The dharma protectors will safeguard your road to liberation. The dharma protectors will not allow nectar to be bestowed or other initiations to take place unless the recipients are qualified according to the dharma. It is the dharma protectors who will open your chakras to enable you to receive supernormal powers. If the holy dharmapalas are properly evoked by one who practices the correct dharma, they can also bestow blessings and empowerment that will enable that person to quickly become an enlightened holy being.

Guan Yu

Statue of Dharma Protector Guan Yu at Hua Zang Si.

Statue of Dharma Protector Guan Yu at Hua Zang Si.

Every year Hua Zang Si and other temples celebrate the holy birthday of the Dharma Protecting Deity, Guan Yu to pray that disasters will be minimized, evil eradicated, and good promoted so as to bring harmony to families and happiness to our life and to safeguard the country.

The couplets on the pavilion of the Dharma Protecting Deity express the profound dharma expounded by H. H. Dorje Chang Buddha III Wan Ko Yeshe Norbu. The first line of the couplets is “Yu quan shan zhong li miao tang di jun gui fo men.” This explains that Guan Yu took refuge in Master Zhiyi at Yuquan Hill. He then manifested great supernatural power and constructed the Yuquan Temple overnight on a barren lot, where he resolved to become a protector of Buddhism. The other line of the couplet is “Guan sheng ting quian yao qian yun ling gan shi guo yin.” Even before the statue of Guan Yu was installed at Hua Zang Si, it has manifested great efficacious power. It is for these reasons that it is most auspicious to have this pavilion and statue in the temple garden.

Skanda Bodhisattva

Skanda Bodhisattva

Skanda Bodhisattva

While Guan Yu Bodhisattva watches over and protects our worldly affairs, Skanda Bodhisattva protects our spiritual affairs, watching over dharma matters.

The Holy Shrine of Skanda Bodhisattva at Hua Zang Si has two couplets about Skanda Bodhisattva written by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III:

xian san zhou gan ying ding huan yu

you liu dao you qing zhen qian kun

The first line of the couplet by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III Wan Ko Yeshe Norbu is “xian san zhou gan ying ding huan yu.” Its basic meaning is as follows. Skanda Bodhisattva is a great dharma protector who is constantly with us. He protects all sentient beings in the entire universe. Through meditation, he looks over the entire universe.

The second line of the couplet is “you liu dao you qing zhen qian kun.” Skanda Bodhisattva has great compassion. He compassionately blesses and protects all living beings whose lives are in correspondence with the dharma. He comes and goes day and night as he supernaturally observes what happens on earth. He often uses his samadhi powers to stabilize all things in the universe.

Skanda Bodhisattva’s birthday is celebrated on or near the third day of the sixth lunar month each year.

Guan Yu Bodhisattva watches over worldly matters while Skanda Bodhisattva watches over dharma

Link: https://wisdomtea.org/2023/04/20/dharma-protectors/

Avalokiteshvara (Kuan Yin)

steve1658Leave a comment

Avalokiteshvara (Kuan Yin)

Avalokiteshvara or Kuan (Guan) Yin Bodhisattva is a well-known great Bodhisattva. She had attained buddhahood countless eons ago and was known as Zheng Fa Ming (Correct Dharma Realization or True Dharma Brightness) Tathagata. Based upon her holy bodhicitta and vows of compassion, she manifests in this earthly realm as a bodhisattva to help liberate living beings from all sufferings. Many disciples of H. H. Dorje Chang Buddha III Wan Ko Yeshe Norbu have reported seeing Kuan Yin at various times. One disciple was able to capture a picture of Her standing on the clouds. She appears in many forms–sometimes standing with two arms and sometimes sitting with four arms, as well as other forms including as a thousand arm being. John Blofeld, who was a professor of religion at the University of California at Berkeley and a Buddhist, tells of traveling with a Jesuit priest in Asia and meeting a shining apparition. The priest saw this other worldly being as Mary, the mother of Jesus, and John saw Kuan Yin. Although the Chinese refer to Kuan Yin in the feminine and the Indians (Avalokiteshvara), Tibetans (Chenrezig) and others see him as more masculine in form, he/she is neither male nor female.

Kuan Yin’s birthday is celebrated each year on or near the 19th day of the second lunar month of the Chinese calendar.

Link: https://wisdomtea.org/2023/04/13/avalokiteshvara-kuan-yin/

The Incarnation of Dorje Chang Buddha

steve16583 Comments

The Incarnation of Dorje Chang Buddha

by the International Buddhism Sangha Association from the book H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III

Dorje Chang Buddha is Buddha Vajradhara. Dorje Chang Buddha is not “Vajradhara.” In English, people often use the word vajradhara to refer to a “Practitioner [or holder] of the Vajra.” Actually a vajradhara is a master or guru. Buddha Vajradhara is a Buddha. Moreover, Buddha Vajradhara is the primordial sambhogakaya Buddha whose sambhogakaya manifested out of the dharmakaya of Adharma Buddha (Adi Buddha, or Samantabhadra Tathagata). All of the Buddha-dharma of Buddha Vajradhara originated from the tathata (true suchness) of Samantabhadra Tathagata. With respect to the dharmakaya of Samantabhadra Tathagata, there is no past and no future. Without form yet not empty, He neither comes nor goes. There are no Buddhas above Him to become. There are no living beings below Him to be saved. Such is His absolute truth. Thus, the dharma-body state of Samantabhadra Tathagata is without signs or characteristics, without speech, and without form. As such, there is no subject or being who could expound the dharma. Without such a subject or being, the multitudinous living beings could not be saved.

Because of such karmic conditions, the formless dharmakaya Buddha generated the first sambhogakaya Buddha with form. This sambhogakaya Buddha with form transformed into Vajrasattva and other nirmanakayas. In order to make a distinction between those three, the dharmakaya Buddha was named Adharma Buddha; the sambhogakaya Buddha was named Dorje Chang Buddha; the nirmanakaya was named Vajrasattva. Actually, all three are Samantabhadra Tathagata, all three are Adharma Buddha, and all three are Dorje Chang Buddha. In truth, there are not two Buddhas. These distinctions are due to the dharmakaya, sambhogakaya, and nirmanakaya aspects. Based on this, Samantabhadra Tathagata did not directly incarnate. Even the ancient Buddha Dipankara and Vajrasattva were the nirmankayas of Dorje Chang Buddha.
Dorje Chang Buddha is also called Buddha Vajradhara or Ruler of the Vajra Beings. In the entire universe, Dorje Chang Buddha is the first Buddha with form and is the highest Buddha. That is, the highest leader of Buddhism in the entire universe came into being in the form of Dorje Chang Buddha. It was Dorje Chang Buddha who began transmitting dharma and saving living beings in the dharmadhatu. As a result, Buddhism was born and the Buddha-dharma began spreading.
However, many sects and lineages list Samantabhadra Tathagata as the first Buddha who began all the lineages in the dharmadhatu. This way of thinking is actually correct as well. That is because although Samantabhadra Tathagata is a dharmakaya without form and has no way of speaking, the origin lies with this dharmakaya from which the sambhogakaya Dorje Chang Buddha manifested. This sambhogakaya Buddha was the first one to spread the Buddha-dharma in the dharmadhatu. That sambhogakaya Buddha also transformed into Vajrasattva and other nirmanakayas who spread the dharma in the triloka (three spheres). Because of the birth of Dorje Chang Buddha, living beings were thus able to become holy beings in accordance with His dharma teachings.

We often see in dharma books a blue image of Adharma Buddha. Actually, this image is a symbol. Such a symbolic form is necessary since the tathata emptiness of Adharma Buddha is invisible and cannot be depicted in a thangka. There is no way to draw the shape of emptiness. The dharmakaya has no features that can be pictorially depicted. In fact, the concept of dharmakaya is the absolute truth of the universe that is not born and does not perish. The sambhogakaya Buddha (Buddha Vajradhara) manifested out of this concept of not being born and not perishing.
Dorje Chang Buddha is the ancient, primordial sambhogakaya Buddha. He has the unsurpassed virtuous appearance that all of the Buddhas in the ten directions have. He was the first in the dharmadhatu and triloka (three spheres) to express the dharma. Therefore, Buddha Vajradhara, or Dorje Chang Buddha, is actually the greatest leader of Buddhism in the entire dharmadhatu. He is the original ancestor of Buddhism.
However, many Buddhists misinterpret Dorje Chang Buddha, or Buddha Vajradhara, as being a or Practitioner [Holder] of the Vajra (i.e. vajradhara). This is a mistake in a matter of principle that carries with it a karmic offence. Buddha Vajradhara has the meaning of one who is in charge of and has supervision over all of the vajra beings. Thus, He is the Ruler of the Vajra Beings, the one who has dominion over the vajra beings. On the other hand, the Practitioner of the Vajra (i.e. vajradhara), is one who learns the dharma and teaches others. Such a person enlightens himself and others. The term Practitioner of the Vajra, connotes Vajra Master. There is a world of difference between a Practitioner of the Vajra on the one hand and a Ruler of the Vajra Beings on the other hand.

Buddha Vajradhara has passed down dharma to all of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, who received such dharma. All of the Buddha-dharma of both exoteric and esoteric Buddhism was originally transmitted by this Ruler of the Vajra Beings. The 84,000 dharma methods that Sakyamuni Buddha taught were transmitted to Sakyamuni Buddha by the ancient Buddha Dipankara, who was a nirmanakaya of Dorje Chang Buddha. Tibetan esoteric Buddhism, which contains all of the dharma of the Nyingma, Sakya, Jonang, Kagyu, and Geluk sects, including the Kalachakra Vajra Dharma transmitted by Sakyamuni Buddha; Japanese esoteric Buddhism; and esoteric Buddhism taught by Sakyamuni Buddha contained in the Tripitakaall come from the lineage of which Dorje Chang Buddha is the original ancestor or from the lineage of His nirmanakaya, Vajrasattva. Buddha Vajradhara or Ruler of the Vajra Beings is the supreme leader of Buddhism in the dharmadhatu. He is not a Vajra Master who is a Practitioner of the Vajra (i.e.vajradhara).

When disciples find a qualified master, they should visualize their Vajra Master as being a Buddha. This is done out of respect for the dharma and respect for one’s lineage. However, no matter what type of master he may be, if his identity or status has not been recognized as a Buddha by rinpoches of great holiness in accordance with the dharma, then he is not a Buddha. Still, the disciple must visualize Him as a Buddha. Even the holy and venerable Vimalakirti, who as the second Buddha Vajradhara, was affirmed as a Tathagata (Buddha) through an announcement of Sakyamuni Buddha.
The incarnation of Dorje Chang Buddha is different from the nirmanakayas of any other Buddha. Such an incarnation is a primordial manifestation of the existence of Buddha-dharma. In each world of living beings, there can be at any one time only one incarnation of Dorje Chang Buddha, who manifests or expresses the existence of the true dharma. There will not be a second incarnation of Dorje Chang Buddha in the same age or era. Only after the first incarnation of Dorje Chang Buddha leaves the world can the second incarnation be born based on karmic conditions relating to the good fortune of living beings. For example, the holy and venerable Vimalakirti, who was the second Dorje Chang Buddha, took birth in this earthly realm in the past. The third Dorje Chang Buddha, H.H. Wan Ko Yeshe Norbu, took birth in this earthly realm more than one thousand years after Vimalakirti left it and only when karmic conditions relating to the good fortune of living beings had matured.

Nobody can get away with falsely claiming to be the incarnation of Dorje Chang Buddha. In order to protect the dignity of the Buddha-dharma in the dharmadhatu and prevent demons from falsely claiming to be Buddha Vajradhara or the Ruler of the Vajra Beings, Buddha Vajradhara must be born with His own dharma and realization so that He may manifest or express the dharma. No other Buddha is able to manifest realization equal to the realization of Dorje Chang Buddha. That is because in order to protect the true dharma, the Buddhas do not manifest realization powers at the same holy level as the realization of Dorje Chang Buddha. Conversely, all demons lack the power to manifest such realization and therefore cannot manifest such realization.

When Sakyamuni Buddha lived in this world, Dorje Chang Buddha took birth as the holy and venerable Vimalakirti, who helped Sakyamuni Buddha teach the 500 monks and 8,000 Bodhisattvas. The holy and venerable Vimalakirti, who was the second incarnation of Dorje Chang Buddha, had the highest wisdom and the greatest ability to manifest supernatural powers as an expression of dharma. No other holy being could match Him.

H.H. Mahavairocana Tathagata formally pronounced that the third incarnation of Dorje Chang Buddha, H.H. Wan Ko Yeshe Norbu, must meet five conditions: He must successfully invoke the Buddhas to bestow nectar. He must be able to perform the Golden Vase Selection of Karmic Affinity and predict the results of that ceremony beforehand. He must be able to eliminate the karmic obstructions of disciples. He must be able to take mist, place it inside a hollowed out sculpted boulder, and have the mist stay there. He must be able to carve wondrous multicolored sculptures.
The formal pronouncement stated that no other holy being could achieve those five types of accomplishments. It also stated that if any other person of great holiness achieved those five types of accomplishments, then Mahavairocana Tathagata’s recognition that H.H. Wan Ko Yeshe Norbu is Dorje Chang Buddha is false, and the pronouncement has deceived the public in order to build up a false reputation.

The facts have proven that in this world there is no being of great holiness and virtue or even an expert who is able to match the accomplishments of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III Wan Ko Yeshe Norbu. Furthermore, great dharma kings on the level of a Buddha or Bodhisattva have unanimously recognized the identity of H.H. Wan Ko Yeshe Norbu through recognition certificates. This thoroughly proves that no one can get away with falsely claiming the identity or status of Dorje Chang Buddha.

In order to prevent demons from wreaking havoc by falsely claiming to be the incarnation of Dorje Chang Buddha, the required number of many holy beings must recognize the incarnation of Dorje Chang Buddha. Furthermore, many additional holy beings must bear witness to the veracity of the recognition and respectfully offer congratulations. The many holy beings who recognize the incarnation of Dorje Chang Buddha must be Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, or great dharma kings. Those who bear witness to the veracity of the recognition and respectfully offer congratulations must be extremely holy and virtuous Bodhisattvas. All of those who recognize, bear witness, and respectfully offer congratulations must be famous leaders within Buddhism and great rinpoches. If the identity of the person was not recognized by those on such a holy level, if congratulations were not respectfully offered to him by those on such a holy level, and if he does not have legitimate recognition certificates, then his claims that he is a holy being are false.

People say, “So-and-so rinpoche is universally recognized as the incarnation of Buddha Vajradhara.” This way of speaking is based on heretical and erroneous understanding. It is not in accord with the rules of true Buddhism. Where is the realization of this rinpoche that an incarnation of Buddha Vajradhara would have? Does this rinpoche have complete proficiency in both exoteric and esoteric Buddhism? Does he have full mastery of the Five Vidyas? Which five dharma kings have recognized his identity as being Buddha Vajradhara and which ten dharma kings or rinpoches have certified that recognition? Can he show others a recognition certificate showing he is the third Buddha Vajradhara? Which several famous people of holy virtue respectfully offered congratulations to him for being recognized? No matter how high a certain monastic may be, if he does not have true realization and the required written recognitions and congratulations stating he is the third incarnation of Buddha Vajradhara, then all claims by others that he is Buddha Vajradhara are flattery, exaggeration, and rumors.

Hence, one must understand that Buddha Vajradhara is  a Buddha. On the other hand, a  vajradhara is a lama (master). Anyone who misinterprets a lama as being a Buddha Vajradhara is undoubtedly placing the status of a mere vajra master over that of Amitabha Buddha and other Buddhas. Such conduct is a terrible offense because according to the sutras and esoteric scriptures Buddha Vajradhara is Dorje Chang Buddha, the Master of the Five Buddhas and other Buddhas.

Link: https://wisdomtea.org/2023/04/06/the-incarnation-of-dorje-chang-buddha/