Yamantaka Vajra
A question raised by a disciple of Vajrayana on behalf of the candidates attending the Determination through Holy Selection:
“I attended the Determination through Holy Selection of the Dharma of Yamantaka Vajra this time. I am grateful to all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and the holy virtuous persons for giving me this opportunity, which enabled me to have the good fortune of seeing the true appearance of Yamantaka Vajra in my current lifetime. However, we just cannot understand the fact that among the 27 candidates attending the Determination through Holy Selection, only two have successfully practiced the Dharma of Yamantaka Vajra and manifested the true appearance of Yamantaka Vajra. The other 25 of us all have been practicing the Dharma of Yamantaka Vajra and made diligent efforts for several decades. We practiced in accord with the Dharma and took the red-white Bodhi nectar pills to sustain the affinity with the Dharma, but so few of us received benefits. In particular, there are practitioners whose ages are between 70 and 80 or are close to 100. There is a respected virtuous person who has established the merit of expounding and explaining the sutras and commentaries to broadly benefit many people. For several decades, he gave discourses to people on the Broad Commentary on Levels of Bodhi Path, the Treatise on the Middle Way, the Abhidharma-kosa Treatise, the Prajna Treatise, and the Treatise on the Mahayana Liberation Path. He basically practices at least one session of the ritual of the Dharma of Yamantaka Vajra everyday. With such merit and practice he still could not manifest the Vajra state.”
“Speaking of lineage, my dharma lineage is the authentic lineage of Tibetan Buddhism from Master Tsongkhapa. I received the initiation and dharma transmission from the same master and in the same mandala as Master Panchen of the last generation. Master Panchen already successfully cultivated the state of accomplishment of an uncorrupted flesh body, but I have no benefits to manifest. Why? Where didn’t I accord with teachings or correspond to the Dharma? Where am I wrong? We beseech the holy virtuous persons to give us practitioners a discourse and empower us. Please apply loving-kindness and compassion to us.”
Reply:
Before replying to your question, we would like to give a brief introduction. Your question is both important and is a matter of principle. For the purpose of broadly benefiting Buddhists, a recorded Dharma discourse should have been produced, but WBAH does not have any holy virtuous person who has the qualification to give a recorded Dharma discourse. Wang Zha Shangzun said,
“As a humbly cultivating monk at the level of Golden Button Grade 3, how can I be qualified to give a recorded Dharma discourse? People in the world have such a description, ‘A person not possessing mental strategy and physical capacity is a common person, not a talented person.’ Within Buddhism, a person unable to present the three Vajra Phurbas in the aspect of physical capacity or not possessing the holy wisdom of the five vidyas in the aspect of mental strategy is not qualified to give discourses on the Tripitaka or esoteric scriptures. Although I have the physical capacity to present the phurbas, my mental intelligence is somewhat short, with shallow abilities in two or three of the five vidyas. The level of presenting a petition to a Bodhisattva is as high as a tall mountain that I have to raise my head to face. I have no certainty that I can accomplish that. Being so inferior and incomplete, how dare I speak of the way and the Dharma in an audio recording for the world?”
However, since you are seeking the way on behalf of many people, we at the World Buddhism Association Headquarters (WBAH) must beseech our beneficent Buddha Master. But our beneficent Master, H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, does not agree to impart an audio recording to speak for us. The reason is that His Holiness the Buddha has unfavorable opinions toward esoteric Buddhism as well as the many deeds of some masters within esoteric Buddhism. Thus, we could only reply to the question raised through this announcement. We are willing to bear this extremely big responsibility on causality, since we jointly researched and studied the essence and principles of correct cultivation and correct Buddha-dharma as led by Wang Zha Shangzun to give this discourse. We would also like to inform everyone that Determination by Holy Selection is limited to Vajrayana and can be equally applied with respect to the conduct of Bodhisattvas, Arhatship, and so on.
Actually, as members of the Group of Holy Virtuous Ones, we are not in a position to give a discourse to all of you who are great virtuous ones of Vajrayana. Since the question has been raised, we just tell you truthfully based on the essence of the Dharma as we know it.
Speaking of Buddhism, the first thing to know is that there are four parts: 1) precepts; 2) cultivation; 3) dharma practice; and 4) the study of Buddhism. Precepts are inseparable from cultivation and dharma practice. The study of Buddhism is theoretical knowledge, including the studies of the commentaries and so on. The study of Buddhism is independent and has no relationship to Buddha-Dharma at all. Nonetheless, the study of Buddhism can develop one’s view in knowledge and understanding and is related to worldly Buddha-dharma. What we talk about here is not related to the study of Buddhism and refers to Buddha-Dharma in the holy sense. This is because a Yidam does not respond to requests related to the study of Buddhism.
What you asked about is a Vajra Dharma. Vajra Dharmas are related to the Vajra Division of supreme yoga within Tibetan esoteric Buddhism. The Vajra Division separately exists in Nyingma, Kagyu, Gelug, Sakya, Jonang, Tang Esoteric, Eastern Esoteric, and other sects. Each sect has Vajras specific to the sect, such as White Peace and Joy Master Vajra, Lion Vajra, Kalachakra Vajra, Ucchusma Vajra, Yamantaka Vajra, Chakrasamvara Vajra, Hevajra, Vajrakilaya, Mahakala Luga, Mahakala, and others. Moreover, each Vajra Dharma can have different ways of practice. Take, for example, the Dharma of Yamantaka Vajra in the Determination by Holy Selection performed this time, there are different types of Single-Zun, Double-Zun, Four Faces and Eight Arms, Duhsiong Nengbu Nine-Head Vajra, and so on.
The above-mentioned Vajra Dharmas all have been performed successfully by ancient virtuous persons and patriarchs. Yet, there are also many people who did not receive benefits after practicing the Dharma for an entire lifetime. The main and crucial reason is in whether the disciple receiving the Dharma obtained a genuine transmission at the time of receiving the Dharma. It is especially important to know whether the master transmitting the Dharma has received the true lineage or not.
A very important principle regarding lineage is that there are two major types of lineages, which are lineage through the master (worldly transmission) and lineage transmitted by the Yidam (holy transmission). Stating the truth in simple words, a lineage through master entails an exoteric-tantric initiation and is just a verbally spoken inner-tantric lineage that manifests no real form. On the other hand, a lineage transmitted by the Yidam will confer a holy inner-tantric initiation. For instance, when the Dharma of Determination by Holy Selection was performed this time, the holy state of the Yidam Yamantaka Vajra was truly manifested. What is meant by the Yidam is the chief holy being of each Dharma. For example, Kalachakra Vakra is the Yidam of the Dharma of Kalachakra Vakra. The Yidam is absolutely not a human such as the master.
You can ask people who cultivate within the scope of Tibetan esoteric Buddhism. In Tibet, Qinghai, Mongolia, India, and other regions, the total number of people among followers of Tibetan esoteric Buddhism who practice Vajra Dharmas exceeds one million. When a dharma king or rinpoche holds an initiation ceremony to transmit a dharma, the number of attendees typically ranges from several dozens to several thousand. However, in the end, how many have cultivated successfully to attain accomplishment? The answer is almost none. Even among the dharma kings, rinpoches, khenpos, geshes, and masters who sit on the dharma dais transmitting the dharma to you, it is very difficult to see any of them who truly attained accomplishment. For those of you who are at the level of an apprentice, you almost have no relevance to a Bodhisattva and are even farther away from cultivating successfully the real Vajra form.
Sakyamuni Buddha stipulated that the accomplishment of a Bodhisattva is attained through the five vidyas. Which one among you truly possesses the five vidyas? Where can your five vidyas be seen? Also, where are the five vidyas of the masters who transmitted the dharma to you? Without supernatural abilities in the vidyas, where can the Vajra wisdom be manifested? How can the standards of a Bodhisattva stipulated in Buddhist sutras be met? Such masters only have the false five vidyas at the commonplace level.
Sakyamuni Buddha also said that one who does not possess the five vidyas should possess holy power. Do those masters have such holy power? Can they present the three phurbas? They cannot present even the most basic first phurba. How can a weak physical body have to do with holiness? How many vidyas do they possess? Simply speaking, one who is unable to present the three phurbas and does not possess the five vidyas can only be a master with the physique of an ordinary person.
The least required verification of a lineage transmitted by the Yidam is a holy test. Without the verification, the lineage can only be a master-transmitted lineage, not a lineage transmitted by the Yidam; and the initiation is a verbally spoken inner-tantric initiation and not a true inner-tantric initiation, much less likely a holy inner-tantric initiation! You can check yourself to see which type does the dharma you learned belongs to.
In order to attain accomplishment through practicing a Vajra Dharma, only a lineage transmitted by the Yidam provides a one-hundred-percent guarantee. With the lineage transmitted by the Yidam, you only need to practice in accord with the Dharma to attain accomplishment. An initiation with the lineage from the master means worldly dharma practice. At the time of initiation, the Yidam will not be present to approve you and accept you as a disciple. Thus, such initiation is equivalent to the study of Buddhism, only in a different format. That is like something that sounds reasonable and is nice to hear but useless. The nectar pills or Vajra pills used in your dharma practice are either made of the five defilements and the five types of meat or barley flour, which can only provide empowerment for practicing the dharma, without any manifestation related to the holy state of the Yidam’s real appearance. Such things belong to the theoretical domain at the invisible spiritual level and have no real material effect.
Only when you receive a holy inner-tantric initiation, an initiation with the lineage transmitted by the Yidam, the Yidam who is a Vajra Bodhisattva will immediately appear before you and accept the “petition by a close disciple” from you. That is manifested by real matters and is a real entity which can be seen and felt, rather than a doctrine at the spiritual level which is hollow learning having mental sensation but not actual material matter. What is meant here by the Yidam manifesting as a real entity is totally different from the situation in a ceremony of Empowerment by Guan Yin’s Great Compassion and is not an illusory phenomenon generated from contemplative visualization. Rather, you and the entire congregation would see in a live scene the real entity with your eyes wide open, just as what happened in the Determination through Holy Selection of Yamantaka Vajra this time and the holy fire-offering dharma assembly held on September 19, 2018 when the Vajra Maternal Buddha appeared in the sky and ignited the fire in the fire-offering caldron.
According to what you said, 25 of the 27 attendees received an inner-tantric initiation at the time of learning the dharma. That should be a verbally spoken inner-tantric initiation that is always seen in the worldly Tibetan esoteric Buddhism. Such an initiation is not truly inner-tantric. Among the other two holy virtuous persons who manifested the real appearance of the Vajra this time, one practices the “Yamandaga Yidam” and the other practices the “Duhsiong Nengbu Yidam.” Both of them received a holy inner-tantric initiation at the time of learning the Dharma, with the lineage transmitted by the Yidam. There are real numbers stipulated by the Dharma specifying which stage of a Bodhisattva one can attain after practicing the Dharma for how many sessions. The fact is so simple. No matter what commentaries you study, there is no alternative to meeting this requirement.
Additionally, we would like to remind you that when you say that you have received an inner-tantric initiation within the context of Tibetan esoteric Buddhism, the question to ask is whether you took or still keep a Yamantaka Vajra Pill that is alive and can change its size or height in your hand or not. If not, such an initiation is the verbally spoken inner-tantric in the Tibetan lineage without doubt. If yes, then the initiation is a true inner-tantric one in Tibetan esoteric Buddhism. Though not a holy inner-tantric initiation with the lineage transmitted by the Yidam, such an initiation is still at a rather high level. If you practice in according with the Dharma, you will definitely become accomplished.
Yin Hai Shengzun and Gar Tongstan Rinpoche separately manifested world-astounding accomplishments preciously because They have received holy inner-tantric initiations with the lineage transmitted by the Yidam. Yin Hai Shengzun went to the Buddha-land with great accomplishment. However, at the place where the Shengzun’s revered body was worshipped inside the Guan Yin Hall in the Holy Miracles Temple, a great holy miracle has manifested now! His photo is worshipped at the place where His revered body was, for viewing respectfully by the public. The holy mighty manifestation can be seen by everyone. There is no way to explain this fact by science. Such is a manifestation of the magnificent supreme Buddha-Dharma. No one can attain such accomplishment with worldly Buddha-dharma.
Additionally, regardless of whether you learned the Dharma in a worldly way or a holy way, it also depends on which type of the Dharma you learned. Some dharmas require 90% in cultivation and 10% in dharma practice, while some others may require 80% in cultivation and 20% in dharma practice. Some may require the practitioner to study the sutras and commentaries at the same time, but some others may not have this requirement at all. For example, Patriarch Milarapa did not emphasize the study of the sutras and commentaries because he had received a holy inner-tantric initiation with the lineage transmitted by the Yidam. There exist big differences in the fast or slow and the easy or difficult in learning the Dharma to attain accomplishment. Once a holy dharma practice is transmitted to you by Buddhas and Bodhisattvas based on your conduct of kindness and merit of protecting the Dharma, you can successfully cultivate the real form of the Yidam with no effort required at all. Then liberation from the cycle of birth and death can be attained easily like flipping a palm. Even assuming that you are not able to receive a holy inner-tantric initiation and, in a much less magnificent situation, could only receive an inner-tantric initiation of Tibetan traditions, you will definitely attain accomplishment. However, the questions are: Do you meet the standard? What is your qualification? Are you truly sincere and pious? What Buddhist work have you done that can move the holy beings to transmit the supreme lineage from the Yidam to you, or confer you a true lineage transmitted by the Yidam?
Meanwhile, you should also understand that no matter how difficult to get a Dharma is, there exists no obstacle before a truly sincere person. Even if you do not have the qualification to receive an initiation with the lineage transmitted by the Yidam now, you should have the persistent determination to strive for a true inner-tantric initiation of esoteric Buddhism, just as what the Buddha said, “Dharma gates are countless and you should vow to learn them all; afflictions are endless and you should vow to cut them all off.” Even if you temporarily cannot receive a true inner-tantric initiation, you should see clearly that we are all extremely fortunate persons in countless eons with our current karmic conditions. In this lifetime, we have the affinity to encounter the opportunity of being transmitted Buddha-Dharma in person by His Holiness the Buddha and are taught by the Dharma treasure from H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, the utmost precious recorded Dharma discourses. The recorded Dharma discourses inherently possess special empowerment. As long as Buddhists follow the teachings and practice in accord with the Dharma, one will naturally attain accomplishment. No master who is reincarnated by a Bodhisattva or Arhat can possibly provide empowerment with any resemblance.
We would also take this opportunity to inform everyone that WBAH has decided to hold a Determination by Holy Selection on practitioners of the Kalachakra Vajra Dharma within the January-February timeframe of 2019. The scene will be similar to the manifestation of the real form of the Vajra during the Determination by Holy Selection with the Dharma of Yamantaka Vajra this month and the manifestation of Vajra Maternal Buddha in the sky applying mighty holy power to ignite the fire cauldron with the flame emitted between Her eyebrows as seen by the attending congregation during the holy fire-offering dharma assembly in September last year. Attendees and practitioners will all be able to see the Yidam manifesting with their own eyes. From March to May, there will be a Xianliang discovery of terma Dharma treasure. After that there will be dharma assemblies of Determination by Holy Selection for practitioners of the Vajra Division, the Lotus Division, the Karma Division, and the Yoga Division. The dates are to be scheduled. We hereby provide this information to all of you.
World Buddhism Association Headquarters (Seal Stamped on Every Page)
January 14, 2019