Zhaxi Zhuoma Rinpoche
On this most auspicious occasion, I would like to share two true stories about my wonderful Buddha Master, H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, that I have never told before:
Some time ago my Buddha Master, asked me to practice the Modesty and Patience Dharma taught by Shakyamuni Buddha. The Buddha Master taught me how to respect persons lower than myself and told me to prostrate to those who were lower than me in their cultivation. To tell you the truth this bothered me. How could I possibly prostrate to them? The Buddha Master told me that in His past lives Shakyamuni Buddha prostrated to everyone. Shakyamuni Buddha practiced in this way to cut off self-attachment and practice forbearance.
One night at Hua Zang Si, a rinpoche attempted the Hidden Mani Stone Selection Dharma. After finding the first stone, he tried for a long time and was never able to locate the second stone that we had hidden. However, I was able at that time to see them. Because he found one of the mani stones, the temple arranged for me to prostrate to him at the end of the Dharma Assembly. To tell you the truth, my first reaction was resentment—I was almost even angry. Based on my own practice, how could I prostrate to this person who had not been able to successfully complete the test, when I could have easily done so? When this thought just appeared, I saw my Buddha Master teaching me forbearance again and I was very ashamed. However, several days passed, but I was still bothered by this, so I went to see my Buddha Master and asked: “How can I prostrate to a person who doesn’t have my vajra power in front of so many people?” My Buddha Master asked me, “Did you forget the true story I told you about Shakyamuni Buddha? Putting yourself as low as possible is the true way to true cultivation.” At the same time I saw that my Buddha Master had the best understanding in all of esoteric and exoteric Buddhism and had complete mastery of all five of the vidyas. My Buddha Master is a great Dharma King. At that time His identity as a Buddha had not yet been announced to the public, but we already knew that He was a great Dharma King. How could I not listen to His teachings?
I thought for some time, just which great Bodhisattva is my Buddha Master? Then I had a shocking experience that I have not shared publicly. I actually saw my Dharma King Master drastically change His appearance in a very short period of time. Even though my Buddha Master had predicted that He would on such and such a day take on the negative karma of others and would not be available to meet the public, I was not prepared for what I saw. He appeared on the predicted day looking very ugly and old—His face was bloodied as if He had just been severely beaten. His eyes were swollen and half closed! There were many people standing around, but they seemed to be accepting of this condition. I had been thinking that, because of His accomplishments in both exoteric Buddhism and esoteric Buddhism and the Five Vidyas, my Master must be a Buddha, but how could this be true when He looks so old and decrepit? I could barely stand looking at my beloved Dharma King Master when He was like this. Remember, at that time we did not know that our Dharma King Master was a Buddha. In less than an hour, I looked again, and my Buddha Master had changed to a beautiful young man. I was shocked. Oh, my God. How could this be? My Master is a Buddha! What I was thinking is true! He is not just a Bodhisattva, but a Buddha. I looked around, but no one else was shocked or showing any reaction at all to what had just happened. I looked again at my Master and He just smiled. He put His finger to His mouth and quietly said “shhh” and I realized that no one else had seen this transformation, but I knew this fact about the Buddha. I was not to tell anyone. I had seen my Buddha Master totally transform His appearance before everyone knew about this ability. Now because of the fact that the Buddha Master’s ability to change His appearance from old to young is known internationally, I can tell you all what I experienced, and you will be able to see photos similar to what I saw. Amitabha!