English
(This translation only includes content pertaining to Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases)
First, let us pay homage to the lineage gurus: homage to Venerable Monk Liao-Ming, homage to Master Sakya Dezhung, homage to HH 16th Karmapa, homage to Master Thubten Dargye, homage to the Three Jewels on the altar, and homage to the main deity of today’s homa, Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases.
Good afternoon to Shimu, Tenzin Gyatso, masters, senior reverends, reverends, Dharma Instructors, Dharma Assistants, Chairpersons, disciples, those watching online, and honored guests.
Today’s homa… Shall I read this also?
( Master Lianyan, “Grandmaster, that is the total recitation count of the Mantra of Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases calculated by the True Buddha Foundation.”)
Okay, I will read this: Since the True Buddha Foundation called on cultivation venues and disciples worldwide to collectively recite the Mantra of the Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases in February, 245 cultivation venues have participated in this mantra recitation event. In six weeks, the number of mantras chanted by disciples reached 51,414,490. At the Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases Homa Ceremony at Rainbow Temple presided over by Grandmaster, disciples are presenting this to Grandmaster as an utmost sincere offering and in support of Grandmaster’s turning the marvelous Dharma wheel of Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases. This is to inform everyone.
Today, we held a mantra recitation event and homa ceremony of Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases. We have not yet transmitted the Practice of the Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases. So far, based on signs appearing during the homa offering, the indication is that the epidemic will not subside quickly. However, it will eventually be resolved. This is what I observed. I was lighting the joss paper, which usually ignites almost instantly. This time, however, it took awhile. This slow igniting of the joss paper was a sign that the current epidemic is not going to subside in the near future. The flame for lighting was very small, only about the size of the little finger. I don’t know who prepared the lighting flame this low. If I had lowered the joss paper down into the lighting flame, the flame would have been completely extinguished. I couldn’t try to light the joss paper from too far away or it wouldn’t have lit at all. On the other hand, if I put the lighter too close to the joss paper, the flame would have snuffed out.
Everything is predestined. For example, the breeze which suddenly came from behind me during the Usnisavijaya Ceremony. As I was touching the joss paper to the lighting flame, a puff of wind from behind me extinguished the flame. Reverend Lianxu, who was standing close by, tried to reignite the joss paper with two long lighters. The first lighter made a snapping sound, but no flame came out. The second lighter didn’t ignite either, although it definitely had fuel. The third try didn’t work either, and neither did the fourth. Finally, pa pa pa pa pa, a little bit of fuel shot out and there was enough flame to ignite the joss paper. What happened was kind of strange. The moment I tried to ignite, a wind circled around from behind me and blew out the lighting flame. I am referring to what happened during the Usnisavijaya Ceremony.
What happened this time? Ordinarily, the lighting flame is quite forceful. This time, however, the flame was miniscule, like a pea. Had I pressed the lighting flame any closer, I would have snuffed out the “pea”. If I had tried to light the paper from too far away, it would not have ignited. So, I closely aimed the flame for several minutes until it finally ignited. From this omen, I could tell that the epidemic is truly serious and will not easily disappear. Chen Shihchung, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) Head in Taiwan, said “This epidemic will not be over soon. We have not yet seen the light at the end of the tunnel. This is a global pandemic.”
I can tell you that toward the end of 2019, I participated in a Year of the Golden Rat media interview at Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple. Ms. Wan Peipei from Taiwan was the program host. Dharma Sister Wenbin (Qin Wenbin) conducted the interview. Dharma Sister Wan Peipei handled the broadcast and the True Buddha Foundation organized the event. During the interview, I made two predictions:
- 2020 will be a year of major turbulence, that is, a year of upheaval; 2020 is a year when an epidemic will occur. Additionally, I mentioned a super virus. Even though I knew nothing about the novel coronavirus or any infectious diseases at that time, I predicted that a super virus would emerge, and would be a pestilence. This prediction has unfortunately come true.
- For the year 2020, I forecasted the global economy would be 20 points, when passing is 60 points. Therefore, 20 points is a very low score, which means every business will face recession. This is really… Taiwanese TV stations described my predictions in two words: “divinely accurate!” The media also broadcast “Auspicious Around the Clock” (Editor: “Yiqie shi zhong jie jixiang” in Chinese. It was Grandmaster’s calligraphy on a banner in front of Taiwan Lei Tsang Temple which had just been changed for the 2020 New Year). The “shi zhong” happens to be “Shihchung” Chen, the head of CECC. Taiwan Lei Tsang Temple shared the media interview video about my prediction of the appearance of a super virus. Both predictions were unfortunate but happened to be accurate.
How did I make these predictions? It’s a mystery. I predicted that in 2020, there would be a global super virus. I predicted that there would be turmoil throughout the world, and that the world economy would only get a score of 20 points. At present, the whole world is on lockdown and many businesses have closed their doors. Being too accurate is not necessarily a good thing. Being inaccurate is also not good. Neither is good. Therefore, all we can do now is pray that Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases will help us think of a way to quickly resolve this crisis. There is sickness on a global scale. The whole world is sick. Sickness is everywhere.
Here is a joke related to the epidemic. Last week, two men, coughing and wearing face masks, walked into a bank during business hours. Everyone looked at them nervously and panicked. The masked men yelled “Don’t move, this is a robbery!” Everyone let out a sigh of relief after hearing this. Apparently, staying alive has proven to be more important than keeping one’s money. Then, people panicked again when the robbers said, “Men and women separate into two lines and hand over your face masks!” Now it looked like face masks were more valuable than money. Finally, everyone joined forces to arrest the robbers because people will do anything to keep their face masks. This time, the global pandemic is very severe. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), this virus has spread worldwide and become a global pandemic.
In today's ceremony, I could see that the delay in lighting the homa fire was a sign that we are nowhere near resolving this epidemic. Just as Chen Shihchung said, everyone must take necessary precautions because we have not yet seen the light at the end of the tunnel. Last night, while I was meditating, Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases appeared to me. She mentioned that I had never transmitted her dharma, and instructed me to transmit it to everyone.
Grandmaster hasn’t worn a face mask since the epidemic began. Not once. As I previously mentioned, I am willing to go to Wuhan and give crown blessings to fellow citizens. I also said I won’t wear a face mask. Therefore, if all of you were wearing face masks right now and I was wearing one too, then the balloon would burst, wouldn’t it? When presiding over a homa, I will never wear a face mask. I shouldn’t rub my nose either, even though rubbing my nose is a habit that’s hard for me to break. We are warned not to make contact with our nose, eyes, and mouth, but can one floss without touching one’s mouth? When you floss after brushing your teeth, are you able to not touch your mouth? Yes, I do make contact with the inside of my mouth. I then rub my nose. This happens all the time. Look at Bruce Lee. When he is practicing martial arts, he brushes his hand against his nose (Grandmaster demonstrates rubbing his nose.) He had a certain posture as part of his routine. Bruce Lee is buried in Seattle. Many people visit his grave.
Last night, Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases appeared. I could sense that she was helping me. She transformed into dense red dots before my eyes. The red points began to revolve and then became red lines. The red lines transformed into a net. The net then transformed into multiple colors, seeming to be five colors. The five-color lines completely surrounded me. There was a red-colored net above me, surrounding me, and beneath my legs. It was as if I was surrounded by Four Layers Protection of vajra net, vajra wall, vajra foundation, and vajra flame. I was surrounded in an orb like this.
I asked Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases about the net. She said it was a protective net. Any bacteria or virus would be repelled by the net. No virus or bacteria would be able to penetrate it. This is great! Really great! I saw a protective net around me last night when I was in deep meditation. I didn’t just visualize the net as one would visualize the vajra wall, vajra net, vajra flame, and vajra foundation. I did actually see it. I wasn’t visualizing. Her light naturally transformed into red dots, very condensed. They then swirled into five-color lines, very fine light. They surrounded me above, below, and all around. It was a protective net.
With this protective barrier, Grandmaster has nothing to fear. It does not matter. Grandmaster can give crown blessings without the slightest worry. Prior to giving blessings, I wash my hands. Afterwards, I wash them again with hand sanitizer. I do this protection based on the standard. On top of that, I also have invisible protection. I am now going to teach you about invisible protection.
Let’s talk about the situation in Iran a bit. The Iranian President is in isolation. The Iranian Vice President is also confirmed positive, so are the Chairman of the National Security Foreign Policy Council, the former Attorney General, and the Deputy Minister of Health. The Mayor of Tehran is in isolation. A member of the State Council has died, so has the Deputy of the Senate, the Clergy Leader of the Vatican Embassy, and the former ambassador to Egypt.
The COVID-19 epidemic has accomplished the impossible, something that has not been done before, so this virus is indeed poisonous. It can infect anyone. I’ve often said, “Life and death are predestined; wealth resides in Heaven.” This virus will infect any host without discrimination, even a president or a vice president. It makes no difference who you are. Grandmaster is doing fine because Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases protects me. Otherwise, I would also be contracted or dead. Actually, I am in more danger than anyone, because on a daily basis, I interview many people who are seeking spiritual consultation. I may not even know them and they may have associated with many people prior to meeting me, but I must still receive them.
Also, it’s a strange coincidence that the design of the Wuhan High Speed Railway Station resembles a bat with its wings outstretched, although the original architect thought that he designed a Garuda spreading its wings.
It’s also odd that looking from above, the railway station resembles a face mask. This is another coincidence. The shape of the Wuhan High Speed Railway Station looks like a bat with outstretched wings, and when viewed from above, it resembles a face mask. (Grandmaster shows pictures) This demonstrates that everything in life is predestined. I have always said “Life and death, poor or rich, it's all destined.” Don’t think being president will give you a pass against infection. Even if you are the president, it’s all the same. This virus will infect anyone, no matter who they are.
I am going to discourse what Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases taught me, so listen closely or you won’t hear the details. First, go to a Chinese pharmacy and purchase equal quantities of the following six herbs:
- Common Cnidium Fruit (蛇床子)
- Prepared Aconite (制附子)
- Radix Polygalae (遠志)
- Chinese Liquorice (甘草)
- Cortex Cinnamomi Bark (桂心)
- Realgar (雄黃)
Tara's body is red-yellow in color. Her right hand forms the Wish-fulfilling Mudra while her left hand forms the Lotus-holding Mudra. A treasure vase atop the lotus is full of not-dying nectar which dispels pestilence. Her eyes, which resemble the sun and the moon, radiate infinite, brilliant light.
Her mudras are the Wish-fulfilling Mudra and the Lous-holding Mudra. Her seed syllable is “ཏཱྃ༔” (dang). We have her image, her seed syllable, and her mantra: Om Tara Tuttara Tura Namo Hara Hera Hom Hara Soha. This mantra is easy to remember because in Taiwan when people meet they say “Hara Hara.”
As I mentioned previously, grind the six herbs into equal portions and place the herb mixture on the shrine. When cultivating, visualize that the Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases appears before you. Visualize that her not-dying nectar radiates bright light into the six herb mixture. When you have finished the practice and actually perceived Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases radiating light onto the medicine pack, you may carry the pouch on your body. You will not be infected by the epidemic because you have built a protective boundary for yourself only. To protect your household, take some herb powder and place ¼ in each of the four corners of your residence. Your residence will be protected. If protecting a community building, place the herb powder in each of the four corners of the building and the entire community will be protected. In an area like Rainbow Temple, place the mixture in the most distant four corners of the area. No one residing in the area will become infected.
For individual protection, wear the herb mixture on your body. Cultivate the practice the same as usual, that is, sit in the seven-point Vairocana position. After sitting in this position, perform the Great Homage, Mandala Offering, Fourfold Refuge, and Four Immeasurable Vows. One may recite the Repentance Mantra or the High King Sutra. After the seven steps of the preliminary practice, continue with the main practice, such as visualization, forming the mudra, mantra recitation, and entering samadhi. One concludes the sadhana by dedicating the merit, exiting the shrine, and performing the Great Homage once again. The cultivation is the same.
As for Tara manifesting herself before one, first visualize a “great sun”, namely the Sun. In the center of the great sun is the syllable “ཏཱྃ༔” dang, which is the seed syllable of Green Tara and all the 21 Taras. The “dang” syllable is easy to remember. The “dang” syllable has a circle on top representing the sun. An upwards facing semi-circle, representing the moon, is beneath the circle. A “5” is below the semi-circle, and a hook is below the 5. Visualize that the “ཏཱྃ༔” within the sun revolves and transforms into Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases.
Form the respective mudras: form the Wish-fulfilling Mudra with the right hand and the Lotus-holding Mudra with the left hand. Visualize a treasure vase above Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases opening up. Not-dying nectar in the treasure vase transforms into light which radiates into the six herbs on the altar. The not-dying nectar also flows into oneself. Visualize the deity entering into oneself and oneself entering into the deity. Practitioner becomes one with the deity (one enters the heart of Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases and Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases enters one’s heart). One transforms into Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases. One enters samadhi and then exits samadhi. The most important element of the visualization is the great sun. Do you understand? There is a 「ཏཱྃ༔」“dang” syllable in the center of the great sun. The “dang” transforms into Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases. Can you perform this practice? It should be easy.
In this practice, after one actually perceives the not-dying nectar of Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases entering into the six herbs, one may use the herb mixture to save others. The six herbs are yang in nature. The virus is yin. Yang overcomes yin. One may wear the herb packs on one’s body, and may also place them in the east, south, west, and north corners of one’s residence. In addition, one may place the herb packs in the east, south, west, and north corners of a community building to save the residents of the building. This method will save oneself and one’s family from becoming infected. Do you understand?
The six herbs are: Common Cnidium Fruit, Prepared Aconite, Radix Polygalae, Chinese Liquorice, Cortex Cinnamomi Bark, and Realgar. Is there anyone here with knowledge of Chinese medicine? How about you Dehua? You understand Chinese medicine. Do you know anything about these six herbs? If the Chinese pharmacy tells you they don’t carry these six herbs, then I was misinformed by Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases. I am telling you that you can use these six herbs to protect yourself from infection: Common Cnidium Fruit, Prepared Aconite, Radix Polygalae, Chinese Liquorice, Cortex Cinnamomi Bark, and Realgar.
The medicinal herbs are yang in nature, and have no qualities of yin. They are therefore very strong. When worn on one’s body, they overcome. When herbs blessed by the brilliant light of Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases are worn on the body, they prevent the toxic yin virus from entering one’s body. One may also help and save others by placing the herb packs in the four corners of one’s residence or in the four corners of a community building. This is the method. Does anyone have any questions about the practice?
Within the great sun is a “ཏཱྃ༔” which rotates and transforms into Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases. Her image is as I previously described. (Grandmaster holds up an image of Tara.) Her mantra is: Om Tara Tuttara Tura Namo Hara Hera Hom Hara Soha. It’s funny that the “Hara Hara” in the mantra is namely “to chat” in Taiwan’s slang. I am hara hara with you or I am going to your home to hara hara, all means to chat. Master Lianji especially enjoys hara hara with people wherever he goes. From the elevator girl to the gas station girl, Master Lianji won’t stay put, but his “hara hara” is only directed at females, Master Lianji will never “hara hara” with men. Women only.
The mantra is easy to recite. When I saw the two “hara” in it, wow, it’s so simple. How do the Japanese say “hara hara?” Does anyone here speak Japanese? This seems to be Mandarin. I remember my parents saying “Wala Wala”. Can this wala wala be right? I am not sure. Anyway, when my parents spoke Japanese, it was all just wala wala. Right? See, someone confirmed that I was right.
There is an exceptionally coincidental historical phenomena. International Olympic Committee officials announced that, due to the pandemic of the COVID-19, the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo may be delayed or canceled. The last time the Olympics were canceled was in 1940. These Olympic Games, which were to be held in Tokyo also, were canceled due to Japan’s strengthening their invasion of China. When the Japanese army invaded Wuhan, the entire populace fought to protect Wuhan. Because of intense economic stress, Japan voluntarily canceled the Olympics. Now, 80 years has gone by and another Olympic Games in Tokyo has been canceled, once again due to a fight to protect Wuhan. It's such a historical coincidence.
The Tokyo Olympics were cancelled twice due to a connection with Wuhan. How can such a coincidence happen in the world? Of course it can. Those who cultivate Buddhism know that karma is very powerful, especially where there are issues involving karmic connections. From a Buddhist perspective, karma is extremely powerful, and many so-called coincidences actually occur as the result of karmic connections. Let’s look at the time frame. 80 years ago the Olympic Games in Tokyo were cancelled. 80 years later, another Olympic Games in Tokyo was cancelled. Both cancellations had a connection to Wuhan. Merely coincidence?
The High Speed Railway Station resembling a huge bat, and the station from above looking like a face mask, is also a coincidence. A Hong Kong publishing company called Majianji who pirated my books and sold the books worldwide. There was another publisher in China who also pirated my books and sold them in mainland China. Where was the publisher? Coincidentally, it was also located in Wuhan. Master Changren visited their office in one of the commercial buildings, and sure enough, that’s where my books were being pirated. There is an upside and a downside to pirating my books. The downside is that the publisher infringed my copyright by publishing my books without my permission. The upside is that I gained millions of disciples in China.
That’s all for today.
Om Mani Padme Hum.
Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases Sadhana
True Buddha Dharma-character Treasury - Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases
Q&A Concerning Mantra Recitation of the Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases
Q&A II Concerning Mantra Recitation of the Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases
Q&A III Concerning Mantra Recitation of the Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases
!!Please be aware that before engaging in any True Buddha Vajrayana practices, one must first take refuge and receive the respective empowerment.!!
Translated by the True Buddha Translation Team
Translator: Rev. Lianting
Editors: Henry Wolf and DJ Chang
