by Lazhen:
A few days ago, a practitioner called “Always Cultivating the Operations of the Mind” left a message on a blog. He hoped that I would help him correct the mistaken views of an internet user who is learning Buddhism. The following quote is an excerpt taken from a letter written by that internet user to him:
“…For example, there is an internet user called Lazhen. She recently wrote an essay on the dual character of Buddhist theories; that is, “the sect of theories, views, and understanding” and “the sect of theories and true holy realization.” The principles of that essay seem to be flawless. However, the tone of Lazhen’s essay is resolute, decisive, and overbearing. How is she qualified to represent “the sect of theories and true holy realization” and criticize this and that? Moreover, in books there is certainly much written about true holy realization, but how many people have actually seen such realization? Most people have only heard about it from others. She cited Master Marpa’s practice of the Duoshe Dharma whereby he brought back to life animals that had already died. She went on and on about how amazing such realization powers are. However, like others, she copied such stories from books. Can Lazhen say that she was there and personally saw supernatural powers that are described in Buddhist books? Furthermore, she very much defends so-called Dorje Chang Buddha III, who has a deep place in her heart. He must belong to the sect of true holy realization, right? No one can say with certainty whether one has holy realization or not. Storytellers in China tell exaggerated tales in extravagantly colorful language, but in the end it is just storytelling. It is false. What is the real difference between such storytelling and Lazhen’s essay?”
I would like to say something to that internet user who is learning Buddhism. You can choose not to believe in the holy realization of those holy persons and patriarchs throughout the generations. You can also choose not to believe in the holy realization of Shakyamuni Buddha, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats that is described the Tripitaka. You can regard their accomplishment and holy realization as made-up lies. You can also completely deny the realness of liberating and holy realization that is based on the Buddha-dharma. However, in so doing, you will be committing the offense of insulting the holy ones and the Buddha. Thus, you will experience the resulting bitter fruits. I would like to ask you what your purpose is in learning Buddhism. I do not think that every Buddhist understands the goal of learning Buddhism. Many practitioners are muddle-headed and ignorant.
I have repeatedly emphasized that there is only one goal for the existence of the Buddha-dharma in the world; namely, to save living beings from samsara. One cannot rely on written theories to be saved from samsara. Rather, it is like saving someone from a burning house or saving someone who has fallen into a mud pit. One must actually use a type of power to pull those people out of their predicament. Therefore, the dharma teachings of the Tripitaka and the dharma teachings the truly holy ones and patriarchs throughout the generations all revolved around spreading a central thought: acquiring holy power that enables one to extricate oneself from the fiery pit of samsara. Moreover, the cultivation of living beings should also revolve only around this center as they forge ahead.
If one day this liberating and holy realization is taken out of the propagation and practice of Buddha-dharma, then the Buddha-dharma will become meaningless intellectual frivolity. To put it in clearer terms, it will become a sham involving abstruse discussions and will have nothing to do with liberation from samsara. In this universe, Buddha-dharma that is separate from true holy realization does not exist. When holy realization is taken out of the Buddha-dharma, it is no longer Buddha-dharma. Rather, it is rhetoric; it is false dharma. Followers of “the sect of theories, views, and understanding” cannot attain actual holy realization through their practice simply because the dharma teachings handed down to them are not whole. Nonetheless, they have never denied or doubted the existence of holy realization. That is why they often cite the holy deeds of the patriarchs to support the practical applicability of their theories. Because they learn orthodox Buddhist theories, they deeply understand that the ultimate goal of all Buddhist teachings is attaining holy realization whereby one transcends samsara and reaches the great nirvana in which one does not abide in either samsara or nirvana.
In this present-day world, who can represent the Buddha-dharma of the sect of theories and true holy realization? I have never said that I represent the sect of theories and true holy realization. Although the Buddha-dharma of the sect of theories and true holy realization is very rare, it really does exist. For example, the Great Perfection Longchen Nying-thik Essence Dharma that the 4th Dodrupchen Dharma King possesses is genuine Buddha-dharma of true holy realization. The Dharma King’s realization is very high. There is also a small amount of other Buddha-dharma of true holy realization. I will not specifically list such dharmas here.
I myself am quite ashamed. I am still at the stage of theories, views, and understanding. However, fortunately, the Buddha-dharma that I have received and practice is perfect Buddha-dharma of the sect of theories and true holy realization. If I practice in accord with the dharma over a long period of time, I am quite confident that I will become accomplished, attain holy realization, and become a member of the sect of theories and true holy realization. Such confidence does not totally come from me. Rather, it comes from the true Buddha-dharma; that is, the perfect and correct dharma of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, which is dharma of the supreme and magnificent sect of theories and true holy realization. Why do I say this? Why am I so sure that the Buddha-dharma of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III is Buddha-dharma of the sect of theories and true holy realization? How high is the realization of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III after all?
Although the book H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III contains examples of the true holy realization of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, such examples reflect merely a tiny bit of His Holiness’s enlightenment. Nonetheless, such examples are very real. Still, there are some people who are obstructed by the power of karma. They do not learn what they should learn. They create complications, mislead themselves, and mislead others. As a result, time and time again they doubt the holy realization of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III.
Take, for example, those thirty categories of accomplishments based on wisdom. People constantly skim over the words “thirty categories” without pondering the import of those words. Let us calmly take a look at ancient times to the present and see how many fields of knowledge an ordinary, intelligent person could possibly become involved with in one lifetime and how much he could accomplish in those fields. Let us then compare such accomplishments to the thirty categories of wisdom accomplishments of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. We will clearly see just how great the difference is between the two. To put it bluntly, if there is any person in the world today who has accomplished half of the accomplishments of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III in those thirty categories, then I will walk five thousand meters on my knees to worship such person, even if my knees are scrapped off in the process. Unfortunately, the wisdom accomplishments of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III have set such a high threshold that even ordinary Bodhisattvas of great holiness and virtue cannot cross such a threshold, not to mention those with no abilities.
No matter how dissatisfied those ignorant people with mistaken views are with this result, and no matter what concepts they use to make their points, it is all useless. Why is that? I will give you an analogy. Let us say the best blacksmith in the world forges the best sword in the world. No matter how dissatisfied you may be with that blacksmith, even to the point of saying that he does not understand how to make iron products, and no matter how much you speak ill of him to others, even to the point of having famous people and high government officials criticize him, and even if you speak of him as being an idiot, he is still the best blacksmith in the world. That is because the best sword in the world that he forged is there for all to see. Because of his accomplishment of making the best sword in the world, he is the best blacksmith. This accomplishment cannot be erased. Only when another person makes a sword that can cut in two the world’s best sword made by that blacksmith will that blacksmith no longer hold the title of the best blacksmith in the world. It is just that simple of a principle. No matter who the dharma king or greatly virtuous person may be and no matter what perspective he may have, all of their irresponsible remarks about H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III are of no use. That Buddha’s wisdom and holy realization, as well as His supremely holy sword that can cut off the cycle of birth and death, are there for all to see. His Holiness is a Buddha because He has the holy realization of a Buddha. Such realization is real. Nobody can erase it. Those who make irresponsible remarks about His Holiness only demonstrate their own lack of abilities and hypocrisy.
For example, H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III enabled a disciple by the name of Yushan Hou to visit the Western Paradise of Ultimate Bliss and then come back to the human realm. After saying goodbye to his family, that disciple passed away at the pre-arranged time. Who else can you find with the realization to make that happen? Another example involves Dharma Teacher Liaohui, who is a Buddhist nun. She had already passed away. Amitabha Buddha was escorting her away. H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III asked Amitabha Buddha to bring her back and thereby caused her spirit to be returned to her dead body. There is also the example of the laywoman Caichun Yu Lin. She had died of an illness. Her grieving family beseeched His Holiness to resuscitate her and allow her to live until she could celebrate her next birthday. H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III resuscitated her. After she celebrated her next birthday, she passed away. Could it possibly be that this is not the Duoshe Dharma?
There are other examples that are even more telling. With the snap of His fingers, His Holiness instantly brought back to life a mouse that had already died. After being revived, that mouse jumped about excitedly. There were about twenty or thirty ants that were scalded to death by boiling water due to someone’s carelessness. H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III revived all of them. Under the magnifying glass, it could be seen that the intestines of one of those ants was exposed and its stomach was damaged. His Holiness ordered that its intestines and stomach return to its abdominal cavity, and the ant was healed. A moment later, the ant came back to life, turned over, stood up, and briskly walked away. There was also a bee that had drowned to death. In front of many people, H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III caused its spirit to return to its body. However, after that bee died, insects ate one of its wings. Therefore, after it returned to life, it could not fly. H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III snapped His fingers, and the bee instantly grew a new wing and flew away.
Who else within Buddhism in our present-day earthly realm has such huge power over life and death and such huge power that transcends samsara? There were many witnesses to those holy deeds. They are not simply hearsay. They can be checked and verified. There is yet another example. I will now make public part of the transcript of an interview. If after reading it you look into your heart and still have doubts about whether H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III has the holy realization of a Buddha, then your offense is great!
A few dharma teachers and some laypersons from Taiwan had doubts about the true holy realization of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. Therefore, in 2003, Wujin Chilie Dorje Rinpoche took them to mainland China to conduct a broad investigation and verification of such realization. What you will read below is a portion of the transcript of an interview that was videotaped as part of their investigation and verification. Because the content of that transcript involves profound esoteric dharma, the persons concerned did not make it public for six years. As a result of extraordinary and coincidental karmic conditions, I was able to obtain that videotape from the place of a rinpoche. Today I boldly reveal it to the public in the hope that it will awaken living beings to find the correct path that leads beyond samsara.
The interviewees are one man and one woman, who are husband and wife. They are from Sichuan and are still living and in good health. The laywoman is about five feet one-half inches tall and now weighs about 165 pounds. The layman is about five feet five inches tall and now weighs about 187 pounds. In the early 1980’s, the two of them were in the beef business and killed almost 1,000 cattle. Those cattle corpses covered an entire hill. As a result of this evil karma, the laywoman contracted cancer. She sought treatment from all of the famous and large hospitals throughout China but experienced no improvement in her condition. She became so emaciated she was basically just skin and bones.
In 1984, at a time when they had almost given up all hope, they became disciples of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. In a very short period of time, that laywoman was healed. The only thing people knew was that H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III empowered her and thereby healed her. Each time the two of them were asked about the specific process by which her cancer was eliminated, they would smile without answering the question. At most they would say, “The Buddha Master specially practiced a very great dharma.” It was not until 2003 when they finally described what really happened. They did so in front of the rinpoche and dharma teachers who came to examine and verify His Holiness’s realization. What they related involves real people and real events. It is only because the two of them are practitioners of the esoteric dharma that I will not use their names. I will refer to them as layman and laywoman. Nonetheless, the content of this transcript can be backed up with witnesses and evidence. The evidence is irrefutable. Their account of what happened is definitely not fabricated. If I, Lazhen, am speaking falsely and deceiving everyone, then may I experience all resulting karmic retribution and descend into the vajra hell! Part of the transcript of that videotape is as follows:
Laywoman: The Buddha Master has saved many lives. For example, Zhuang Zi-Gong’s son, Zhuang Yan, had skin cancer. He had a large tumor. After the Buddha Master personally empowered him, he was completely cured. He was empowered and cured completely. That reminds me of something else. Last night, my husband fellow-disciple and I were discussing something at great length. We have something very important to relate. We have not yet told anyone else of this. After careful thought, we decided that we would tell you dharma teachers about it today. Why have we not told anyone else? It is because at the time the Buddha Master told us not to reveal it to anyone else. However, I decided that I still want to relate this story to you, even if in doing so I violate the precepts. It is a true story involving magnificent deeds of the Buddha Master. I will tell you dharma teachers this story. That year I had cancer. There is something that is very much worth pondering. After an old friend introduced us to the Buddha Master, the Buddha Master said, “Curing your cancer is very simple. I could get rid of it for you. Through practicing a dharma, I could get rid of it for you.” With all our energy, we begged His Holiness to save me. The Buddha Master then said, “You have heavy karma relating to killing. You have killed so many cattle. But you still must kill a bull.” We were horrified! I said, “What a terrible thing it would be for me to kill yet another bull! I have fallen into this miserable state because of all the killing I have done. If I killed another bull, wouldn’t my negative karma simply become heavier? What a terrible thing that would be! Buddha Master, I cannot kill a bull again.” The Buddha Master said, “If you want to live, then you must kill a bull. If you don’t want to live, then I can’t do anything about it.” My husband fellow-disciple and I then discussed what we should do.
Layman: We thought the Buddha Master might be testing us.
Laywoman: We wondered whether the Buddha Master was testing us. How terrible it would be if I again incurred a karmic debt for having taken a life. We were very torn. We went to the Buddha Master to beseech Him to not have us kill a bull.
Layman: I went and pleaded with the Buddha Master, “Could the Buddha Master allow us not to kill a bull? We cannot kill anymore. We have killed so much that we are full of negative karma. My wife has even contracted cancer, and the Buddha Master still wants us to kill a living being.” The Buddha Master angrily said, “If you don’t want to kill a bull, then it is very simple. Leave. You will not learn anything more under me. Leave!”
Laywoman: The Buddha Master said, “What’s the big deal about killing a bull? Is there any day when bulls, chickens, pigs, and sheep are not killed? I feel very happy to kill such things!” We wondered how the Buddha Master could say such things. What was going on? We had doubt in our hearts. We were suspicious as to why the Buddha Master said what He said. Must I still kill? We said, “We had better not kill.” The Buddha Master then said, “If you don’t kill a bull, then leave! Leave! Do not ever enter my door again!” My husband fellow-disciple and I briefly discussed this matter again. We thought that the Buddha Master might be testing us. We then agreed to kill a bull. The Buddha Master then said, “Good, good. Since you have agreed, go and get ready a bull. It should be a strong bull, one with a lot of meat. Go and get one ready!” We said, “All right, all right.” We then left. After we returned home, we promptly called that elderly man in Abazhou who we previously contacted to kill cattle. We asked him to buy a large bull for us.
Layman: We wanted a large, meaty, very strong bull.
Laywoman: We also asked him to prepare and lend us a sharpened knife used to slaughter cattle. The next day, that elderly man told us that he had already bought a bull. We reported this to the Buddha Master. The Buddha Master was very happy and said, “Killing a bull is very good. Let’s go!” The Buddha Master said, “Let’s go, let’s go! When will we go?” I replied, “We will go early tomorrow morning.” We began our trip early in the morning the next day. We made our way to Abazhou that same day. That place is about 100 to 200 kilometers from our home.
Layman: It is more than 100 kilometers from our home.
Laywoman: We drove there. After we arrived, we saw that the bull was tied to a tree at the side of a forest near a river. That is a place of grasslands. The bull was tied to a tree there. When we saw that bull, we were startled. It was so large, tall, and strong. That bull’s horns were this long.
Layman: It was quite a formidable bull. Most people would be a little frightened at the sight of that bull. It was very strong. It was not like those meek bulls that lack vigor. It was extremely large and very powerful.
Laywoman: That elderly man was there. After we gave the money to him, we told him to leave. We would handle the killing ourselves. We took out the knife.
Layman: We also untied the rope.
Laywoman: After we untied the rope, the bull did not leave. It stood there. That was very strange.
Layman: After we untied the rope, the bull did not leave. I felt that bull was quite strange. Since the rope was untied, it should have run away. It didn’t. How strange.
Laywoman: The Buddha Master then said, “Go ahead. Take out a knife and go kill the bull.” I looked at the knife. Before, I would have other people kill the cattle for me.
Layman: How could she herself do the killing? At the time, she was only about 78 pounds. She was very weak.
Laywoman: That day, I was going to kill the bull myself. As I held the knife, I was trembling in my heart. I started to walk toward that bull. As soon as I was about to approach it…
Layman: She was afraid that bull would do something to her.
Laywoman: That bull then made a kicking motion toward me. I quickly retreated and fell backwards. My buttocks hit the ground. The Buddha Master said, “You are hopeless. Quickly kill that bull. The two of you go over there and kill it.” The Buddha Master ordered the two of us to go over and kill that bull.
Layman: My heavens! That bull was not tied to a tree, nor was it tied up. We had never personally killed a bull. If we didn’t succeed in our attempt to kill it, then it would surely kill us. We were very frightened. We couldn’t bring ourselves to do it. What’s more, her cancer was in such a serious state. She couldn’t kill a chicken in her weak state, let alone a bull. She had no strength at that time. Furthermore, she was frightened. Her hands were trembling.
Laywoman: As soon as we said, “Let’s go!” that bull would begin its kicking motion. I was terrified. I said, “Buddha Master, we truly cant’ do it. We cannot kill anymore. We do not dare kill it!” The Buddha Master said, “If you don’t kill it, who will kill it? Both of you go over to that bull again. Go over there once more and kill it.” The two of us then went toward that bull. We truly had no way to kill that bull. The Buddha Master then said, “Forget it. Forget it. Come over here. I will do it!” The Buddha Master then took the knife and put it in his mouth. That knife was about this long. The Buddha Master was several meters from that bull. His Holiness was more than eleven feet away. I don’t know how His Holiness did it, but with a sudden big stride forward, the Buddha Master grabbed the bull’s horns, turned the horns, and with one heave the bull was on the ground!
Layman: The Buddha Master held it down with one hand. Before we could notice, the knife had already entered the body of that bull. The blood of that bull splattered all over the Buddha Master. While pressing down the bull with one hand, the Buddha Master stabbed the bull. The blood of that bull immediately came gushing out.
Laywoman: Less than half of the bull’s neck was slashed.
Layman: That bull was a common type of Chinese bull called “yellow bull.” Its neck was very long. I saw that bull begin to struggle while lying on the ground. It extended its legs, but it had no success in its struggle. The Buddha Master’s strength was great, and he pressed the bull down. That bull put up a struggle at the verge of death. We saw that it had died. The Buddha Master then told her (the laywoman) to drink its blood. “Quickly come over here and drink it!” His Holiness said. The Buddha Master then spread a handful of the bull’s blood on her body.
Laywoman: The Buddha Master’s clothes were covered with blood. The Buddha Master told me, “Quickly come over here and drink its blood! Quickly come over here and drink its blood!” I smelled the heavy stench of blood. I was also scared at the sight that bull. I did not dare go over there. The Buddha Master said, “You are not coming over here. Come here quickly! Come here quickly!” I had no other choice than to walk forward. The Buddha Master said, “Come here quickly. Dip your hand in the blood and drink it from your hand!” I moved forward a bit, but I simply dared not go any farther. I retreated. The Buddha Master scooped up a handful of blood from that bull. His whole hand was full of blood. He then smeared that blood all over my face and mouth. The Buddha Master then said, “Quickly lick it up! Quickly drink it! Quickly drink it!” I drank it. That salty taste made me nauseated instantly. The Buddha Master said, “Drink it again!” I walked forward again. The Buddha Master again dipped his hand in the bull and gave me a little blood. I drank it. Seeing the killed bull, I felt very bad. I thought how terrible it was that I had again incurred such a large karmic debt for having taken a life. The Buddha Master then said, “You see. I told you to drink the blood, but you did not drink it. I told you to kill the bull, but you did not kill it. Your cancer will not instantly be cured. It will take at least seven days before it is cured. You still have mental hindrances.”
Layman: Right. The Buddha Master said, “You still have mental hindrances. You still have mental hindrances. Your cancer might take seven days before it is cured.”
Laywoman: After the Buddha Master said this, He said, “All right. Quickly take off your jacket!” I took my jacket off. The Buddha Master took it. The bull’s legs were still kicking and moving. Less than half of its neck was opened. I could see that when the Buddha Master stabbed it, He twisted the knife a few times. Blood quickly came gushing out. I was so frightened I began to tremble. I gave my jacket to the Buddha Master. The Buddha Master wrapped my jacket around the bull’s neck. After that, the bull continued kicking. It kicked its feet for several minutes and then stopped moving its feet. Its eyes were half-open. Upon seeing this, I felt very bad. I thought, “A living being was killed because of me yet again.” Standing there, I felt sorry. After the Buddha Master wrapped my jacket around the bull’s neck and wiped His hands, He said, “Take out the food that you brought with you. It’s time to eat.” We brought some steamed buns and snacks like that. We first respectfully offered our food to the Buddha Master. The Buddha Master happily ate a few steamed buns. The two of us couldn’t eat a thing. The Buddha Master said, “Take this steamed bun, dip it in the blood of that bull, and eat a little of it!” I said, “I cannot eat that.” I said, “I will not eat that.” The Buddha Master said, “All right. If you won’t eat it, then forget it.” The Buddha Master said, “If you won’t eat it, I will. You won’t even eat such a good thing.” The Buddha Master continued to eat His steamed buns. After the Buddha Master finished His steamed buns, the two of us did not dare say anything. We just stood there. We dared not utter a word. We saw that the blood of that bull had flowed all over the ground. I felt very bad. We stood there without moving. The Buddha Master happily finished eating his steamed buns.
Layman: The Buddha Master then said, “The bull has been killed. I had better perform a Buddhist rite for it.”
Laywoman: The Buddha Master said, “I have eaten my meal and the bull has been killed. If you don’t want to eat, then forget it. I have eaten. I had better perform a Buddhist rite for the bull.” The Buddha Master sat there without saying a word. The two of us sat there watching. We had not been sitting there very long when…
Layman: We did sit there for a long time. We sat there for more than an hour.
Laywoman: No, it wasn’t that long. All in all, maybe it was one hour. After sitting there about a half- hour, we saw one leg of that bull start to move. I told my husband fellow-disciple, “Look. That bull is moving!”
Layman: A hind leg was moving.
Laywoman: My husband fellow-disciple said, “It is moving! That is impossible!” As we continued to watch, another leg began to move. Both legs moved repeatedly.
Layman: I also asked, “How could it not have died by now?”
Laywoman: As we continued watching, its forelegs again began to move. My husband fellow-disciple said, “Buddha Master, look. Even its ears have begun to move!”
Layman: I still thought that it had not yet died.
Laywoman: Right. He thought that the bull had not yet died after such a long period of time. The Buddha Master did not say a word. The Buddha Master continued to sit there in silence. We continued to watch that bull. After it started moving its legs, it began attempting to stand up. It tried to stand up twice but failed. It fell down. After a pause, it again began to move. I said, “It is alive! It is alive! Buddha Master, it is alive!”
Layman: Its head was also moving! It lifted its head a bit.
Laywoman: I told the Buddha Master that it was alive. The Buddha Master said to the bull, “Stand up!” That bull attempted to stand up and a moment later did stand up!
Layman: What happened was after bull lifted its head, its forelegs and hind legs also moved. At first, it was lying down. A few minutes later, it crawled into a sitting posture. It raised its head a bit. It wasn’t lying down anymore. It had been lying on the ground at first. It then sat there but did not stand up. After a few more minutes, the Buddha Master said, “Stand up!”
Laywoman: The Buddha Master said, “Stand up!”
Layman: That bull obeyed the Buddha Master’s order and surprisingly stood up. My heavens! We were astounded. That large bull actually stood up! Not only did it stand up, it also walked around! I said, “My heavens!”
Laywoman: Let me finish. There is a detail that you did not mention. After that bull stood up, it swung its head about, casting off my jacket. We saw that the bull was all covered with blood and that there was a slight scar from a knife wound right here. There was nothing other than a small scar!
Layman: There was blood.
Laywoman: Blood was everywhere. But its knife wound was completely healed!
Layman: The wound on its neck was healed.
Laywoman: It swung its head repeatedly and cast off my jacket. Its wound was completely healed. I was so happy. It then began to walk around.
Layman: I was not very happy. I was astonished!
Laywoman: I was happy. I was thinking that the bull was killed and then came back to life. I was not thinking of anything else. We then promptly prostrated in front of the Buddha Master. That bull continued to take a few steps back and forth. The Buddha Master said to the bull, “Why are you still here? Go and eat grass!” The Buddha Master told it to eat grass.
Layman: Right. The Buddha Master told it to eat grass. It was very obedient. It did not run about wildly. It was not tied to a rope.
Laywoman: After seeing all of this, we promptly prostrated before the Buddha Master. The Buddha Master truly is…
Layman: At that time, we came to a sudden realization. My heavens! We quickly knelt in front of the Buddha Master and thanked Him. We realized that we had encountered the true Buddha-dharma.
Laywoman: We thanked the Buddha Master. The Buddha Master then said, “All right. You did not want the bull to die. It is now alive. I took care of this matter today. I have also performed that Buddhist rite. You should leave it at that. Do not mention today’s events to anyone else.” That is why for all these years we have never mentioned this to anyone.
Layman: Right. The Buddha Master said that the events of that day should stop there and that we should not tell anyone else about them. From that time on, we did not tell anyone. We thought for a long time about telling all of you today.
Laywoman: But we decided that we had better reveal it. The Buddha Master is so magnificent! The Buddha Master has saved so many living beings through all kinds of methods. Think about it. That bull had died. It had completely died and then came back to life. Think about what this means!…
Layman: There is no way for us to adequately repay the kindness our Buddha Master has shown us and other living beings. This is definitely the case. No matter what words I use, I could never describe such kindness. This is a fact. The kind deeds the Buddha Master has performed for living beings are certainly not limited to the few deeds we described today. There are so many other instances of kindness. Because of time constraints, we will stop here. However, I would like to say that what I said today and what she said today are all facts. What we described is true. Nothing that we said is false. All of you are dharma teachers who represent the Triple Gem. We therefore would all the more not dare lie to you. Speaking falsely results in descending into hell! We are very well aware of this. So I would like to make a vow of truth. What I have said here today is entirely true. If what I said here today is totally true, then may the Buddha Master and the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas empower all living beings so that they can all learn the Buddha-dharma and attain liberation. If what I said today is deceptive, made-up, or false, then may I immediately experience karmic retribution after I leave here! May I receive karmic retribution wherever I may be. If I am on a mountain cliff, may I fall off that cliff. If I am in a car, may someone crash into my car. If I am in water, may I drown to death. May all aspects of my life be bad. This is the vow of truth that I make. That is all.
Dharma Teachers: Amitabha!
Laywoman: I would like to add something. All of you dharma teachers represent the Triple Gem. I will also make a solemn vow. If what I said today was said to deceive living beings, to misguide living beings and lead them astray, then may I descend into the Vajra Hell! If what I said today is true, then may I, all of my fellow disciples, all practitioners of Buddhism, and all livings beings soon follow the Buddha Master and soon become accomplished in the dharma! Amitabha!
Do not think that their vows were made lightly. Those vows carry great weight, since they relate to all of the future karmic retribution of those two cultivators, such as their living or dying, their prospects for accomplishment, and their merit that leads to good fortune. No practitioner would dare take such things lightly. The solemn vows of truth made by that husband and wife enable us to see their honest and sincere hearts. Their praise of inconceivable and magnificent Buddha-dharma comes from the bottom of their hearts. That is because they themselves experienced and personally witnessed holy power that is based on the absolute truth of the universe, a power that absolutely transcends samsara and is absolutely not bound by birth and death. This is the true Buddha-dharma of the “sect of theories and true holy realization”!
Such Buddha-dharma is so astonishing and magnificent! That fierce grassland bull had clearly died. What power caused it to come back to life in a good condition? Was it killed or was it saved? Did H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III use the bull to transform all of the evil karma of those two laypersons into merit? Ordinary people are alarmed and perplexed at this, but the holy ones are able to see clearly the truth behind it! However, to tell you the truth, I do not think that this incident best represents the holy deeds that H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III has performed based upon His supreme Buddha enlightenment. This type of deed was, after all, also performed by those ancient virtuous ones who were great Bodhisattvas. For example, Master Marpa made Milarepa, who had heavy negative karma from killing, once again cause hail to fall. This helped transform Milarepa’s negative karma into merit. The son of Riguwenbo Rinpoche ate live sparrows and then revived all of them.
I believe the following is what cultivators should find most worthy of pondering. At dharma assemblies to raise the consciousness of the deceased to higher realms of existence, we often see rinpoches or dharma teachers perform Buddhist rites for several days, chanting mantras and sutras, ringing bells, beating drums, and making offerings of meat. After going through all this trouble over such a long time, no one knows whether they in fact raise the consciousness of the deceased to higher realms of existence. There have even been some venerated dharma kings with great reputations who liberated themselves from samsara at the time of their deaths only after extreme difficulty or who could not liberate themselves from samsara at the time of their deaths. They were all the more unable to save other living beings from samsara.
In contrast, the magnificent H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III can enable a disciple to travel around the Western Paradise of Ultimate Bliss before the disciple passes away, can arrange with Amitabha Buddha when Amitabha Buddha will escort that disciple to the Western Paradise at the time of the disciple’s death, and can enable the disciple to return to the human realm to say goodbye to his family before passing away. His Holiness can enable a practitioner who is an ordinary person to enter the rainbow body state within two hours. His Holiness can make the damaged and exposed intestines and stomach of a dead ant return to their proper place in the ant’s abdominal cavity and then bring the ant back to life in a completely healed condition. His Holiness can revive a dead bee and make it grow a new wing in an instant. His Holiness can resuscitate a dead mouse with the snap of His fingers. His Holiness did not even have to spend time practicing dharma or chanting mantras. The mouse was revived instantly!
What type of magnificent and supreme merit-power does one have to possess to perform such feats? Have you carefully weighed the import of these feats? Isn’t this holy realization what Buddhist disciples hope to attain through cultivating themselves over many lifetimes? Isn’t this the holy power of a Buddha who is not the least bit tainted by samsara and who has boundless compassion and wisdom?
DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE IT WHEN HIS HOLINESS SAYS
“I DO NOT HAVE THAT KIND OF ABILITY”?
Yesterday I posted the above essay on the internet. However, I took it off the internet since I was unable to verify with certainty one of the things described. However, when that essay was still posted, a practitioner read it and contacted the Office of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III to inquire about “the grassland bull incident.” That practitioner promptly received the following answer from that office: “H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III said, ‘Why am I unable to remember that incident? I do not have that kind of ability!’ That practitioner immediately sent an email to me informing me of that answer.
That was the third time I heard H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III say that. The first time was in April of 1996 when I went to Chengdu in Sichuan Province to visit His Holiness. I happened to encounter a wonderful event while there. Since the Chinese New Year of that year, a bundle of totally withered and dead plum blossom branches had been lying on the cement ground near the garden outside the door of the mandala. The branches were so withered that they had already broken apart. However, when H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III was expounding the dharma, those withered branches suddenly grew tender sprouts and flower buds and blossomed forth gorgeous plum blossoms! Practitioners there at the time took photographs of this. They prostrated to His Holiness. They praised the magnificent Buddha-dharma of His Holiness. However, without an expression on His face, His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III calmly said, “I do not have that kind of ability. That was the empowerment of the Buddhas in the ten directions.”
Withered and dead branches did indeed suddenly blossom forth plum blossoms. The cancer of that laywoman was indeed eliminated by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. That bull was indeed stabbed with a knife and its blood flowed all over the ground. Not only did it die and come back to life, its neck returned to its original condition within a half-hour, except for the scar left by the knife. These are irrefutable, ironclad facts. Precisely because they are irrefutable, ironclad facts, that laywoman and layman made vows of great consequence. Aren’t their vows of great consequence worth our pondering?
There is also the case of Wujin Chilie Dorje Rinpoche, who, out of confusion, led that group of people to mainland China to investigate and verify the realization of His Holiness. He later realized that the negative karma from his actions would be difficult to erase. He went to see H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, knelt before His Holiness, and beseeched His Holiness to eliminate his offenses. The rinpoche placed a bowl over his head in the hope that nectar would be bestowed in it to eliminate his offenses. H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III said, “I do not have the kind of ability to successfully invoke the bestowal of nectar. Go pour a little water into the bowl and I will recite the Diamond Sutra.” Wujin Chilie Dorje Rinpoche then carefully poured water into the bowl. As soon as H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III snapped His fingers, the water in the dharma bowl permeated through the bowl and flowed onto the dharma platform! H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III snapped His fingers again, and the dharma water soared off the platform, sprinkling the body of the rinpoche. The rinpoche’s entire body began to tremble. Right then and there, a black energy that looked like smoke came out of his nose, eyes, bellybutton, etc. The rinpoche suddenly came to an awakening, and his bright, original nature appeared before him!
Perhaps that personal experience of Wujin Chilie Dorje Rinpoche involving holy Buddha-dharma would not be credible if he alone recounted such an incident. However, there is also the experience of H.E. Tantong Gyalpo Bodhisattva, a person of great holiness who in a prior life was the supreme leader of the four main esoteric sects within India, Bhutan, Sikkim, Mongolia, and Eastern Tibet. He wrote a congratulatory letter that he sent to United International World Buddhism Association Headquarters, asking them to pass the letter on to H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. In that letter, he described his personal experience as follows: “During a dharma assembly held by the International Buddhism Sangha Association at the Hua Zang Si temple in San Francisco, I saw the awe-inspiring and peerless powers and realization of the Master. Bodhi nectar went through the walls of the bowl unhindered…That nectar can make a person’s body change involuntarily in an instant.” That congratulatory letter is published in the treasure book H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III.
Practitioners, when His Holiness says “I do not have that kind of ability,” is that really the case?
SOURCE: by Lazhen and translated from the Chinese found at http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/diamondblue-diamondblue/article?mid=627&prev=-1&next=617