The Highest Wisdom

When one reaches the realm wherein one has completely released one`s Egotistical Self, a state of free expansiveness and weightless buoyancy is engendered. Thoughts will come to a cessation. One`s body and mind can either expand to become very huge or contract to become very small, shifting between macrocosmic and microcosmic perceptions. What I mentioned the other day ?gliding along with the snowflakes or hiding amid the stamens of a flower ?can become a reality. In the twinkle of an eye one can travel to places thousands of miles away. One will be completely free, totally unstained, and unperturbed by any phenomenon. This is a very important realization. One is able to experience all of this when one enters into meditative stabilization.

When one is able to instantly appear at a location thousands of miles away (the siddhi of fleetness in running), when one has knowledge of happenings from other lifetimes (the siddhi of knowing other lifetimes), when one can view scenes from far away (the siddhi of divine vision), when one can hear sounds from far away (the siddhi of divine hearing), when one has knowledge of all kinds of happenings in the Universe (the siddhi of mind-reading), when one truly arrives at the state of non-outflow without any leakage of light drops (the siddhi of non-outflow).... In other words, when one possesses these six siddhis or transcendental faculties, won`t one then be a Buddha? [audience applause]

So, one must first cultivate the precious chi in one`s body. Without the conscious chi, one cannot engage in the Internal Practice which I will be teaching in the future. After this, one must develop the inner fire and use it to incinerate the light drops, transforming them into crystallization. One then transports the crystallized light drops on the truck along the freeway to each of the five chakras, opening them up, transforming them into the `Five Fierce Deities.` After this, one may go on to practice the Highest Tantra Practice and the Great Perfection Practice.

Breath counting, chih and kuan, and the various visualizations used in Vajrayana Buddhism are employed to cause a shift in one`s attention from coarseness to subtlety, until it reaches and abides in the state of cessation of thoughts. In the process of bringing the mind to one-pointedness, one is able to kindle the inner fire and attain the Flame Samadhi. Even visualizations such as the Skeleton Visualization, Impure Visualization, the Merging of Personal Deity and Self, and the Emptiness Visualization can bring one into a meditative stabilization. From such disciplines comes stabilization; from stabilization, wisdom is engendered.
What is wisdom? Wisdom is the light that illuminates and allows one to see and understand. Albeit invisible to physical eye, wisdom may be experienced. Inherent in wisdom is the Dharma Taste of meditative stabilization. Like a precious sword, wisdom can enable one to make swift decisions, keeping one from entanglements in all one`s undertakings. The chih [cessation] in Chih Kuan Practice refers to the cutting through of all neuroses using the precious sword of wisdom. As a result, one is able to handle even very subtle situations with perfect finesse and ease and attain the `subtle fruition.`

The Buddhadharma wisdom is a transcendental wisdom and not the conventional kind of wisdom. Conventional wisdom is what enables one to do business in the world and make a living, such as using one`s intelligence to develop computer software. The Supreme Wisdom of the Buddhadharma belongs to the domain of Supreme Enlightenment and is concerned with the true meaning of existence and the Truth of the Universe. [audience applause]

We know there are five aspects to the Buddha Wisdom. The first aspect is called the `wisdom of ultimate reality,` which is the basis of all things and can be experienced as the realm of Dharma Taste. The `great mirrorlike wisdom` signifies the reflective aspect of this wisdom, which allows one to observe, analyze, and realize the innate fullness. The third aspect is the `wisdom of equanimity.` After Shakyamuni Buddha attained Enlightenment, the first sentence he spoke (while still under the bodhi tree) demonstrated this equanimity aspect ?`The great Earth and sentient beings all have the Buddha Nature.` The Buddha Nature only seems hidden in them because of contamination and obscurations. The fourth aspect is the `wisdom of discriminatory awareness.` Through discriminatory awareness, one gains an insight into the true nature of all phenomena. The fifth aspect of the Buddha Wisdom is called the `all-accomplishment wisdom.` It enables one to carry out all of the karma yogas. These are undertakings which help bring sentient beings to Enlightenment and yet allows one to remain free from all attachment to the results.

The Buddha Wisdom cannot be verbalized, nor can it be expressed entirely through the actions and interactions of others. It is, however, completely merged with a spiritual cultivator`s body and mind. Each movement, word, and deed of the spiritual cultivator is impregnated with this invisible wisdom.
Throughout the process of acquiring stability, one must have wisdom. In learning about wisdom, one also must have stabilization. Therefore, the cultivation of stabilization and wisdom go hand-in-hand. The two are entwined and cannot be separated. Earlier sages have remarked that stability is like a lit electric bulb, while wisdom is the electricity. For the light bulb to light up, it requires the existence of both the bulb and the electric current. To illuminate, one needs both stabilization and wisdom.

Among the Six Pararmitas [the six virtues perfected by a Bodhisattva in the course of his development] are meditative stabilization and wisdom –both deemed by Shakyamuni Buddha to be the most important virtues. Stabilization and wisdom belong to the domain of the inner world, while the remaining four Paramitas are more externally oriented. Together with Discipline, Stabilization and Wisdom constitute the Three Non-Outflow Studies.

Regarding the Practice of the inner fire, the formula for its success lies, of course, in achieving stabilization, (i.e., achieving a concentration of the mind.) This is a practice that requires co-ordination of consciousness, visualization, and body posture. One has to know the proper body postures in order to kindle the inner fire to incinerate the light drops.

When my guru, the Rev. Monk Liao Ming, taught me this practice, he stipulated that I restrict the teaching of the body postures to students of the Internal Practice. Prior to the transmission of the Internal Practice, only Tantric practice rituals are taught. So, in the future, students who want to learn the Internal Practice must first cultivate the chi, then the inner fire, then the opening of the middle channel, followed by the opening of the five chakras (which is the Practice of the Five Fierce Deities). Afterwards, they may advance to the Highest Tantra Section [the esoteric level] and Great Perfection [inner-esoteric level].

I have explained the Internal Practice of Energy Yoga using the metaphors of freeway, truck, and cities. The five chakras are the cities. One should now have a clear picture of what the practice entails. Very few people today can give a lucid explanation of the Buddhadharma and Tantric practice. [audience applause] I am able to enter into meditative stabilization and observe some of the eminent Dharma masters and monks, and to find out why some of them have such great power. I then understand, `Oh, he has the backing of the Great Brahmadeva, and he was a deva before. No wonder he is so powerful now.` Many people have asked me the whereabouts of their ancestors. When I meditate, I can travel to the realm of Hell to investigate, to learn if that particular ancestor is now in the realm of Hell and the cause behind it. This does happen. In the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Original Vow Sutra, the maiden Kuang Mu, who was a previous incarnation of the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, asked an Arhat about the whereabouts of her deceased mother. The Arhat told her that her mother was still in the realm of Hell and communicated to her the causes that had led to the mother`s state of suffering.

All the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas enshrined behind me do exist! When you attain realization, you will be able to perceive them. One evening, I came here alone to invoke the deities and sing praises to them. I beat the drum and started chanting their epithets one by one: Namo the Fundamental Teacher Buddha Shakyamuni, Namo Kuan Yin Bodhisattva, Namo the Crystal Light Medicine Tathagata, Namo Amitabha, Namo Chia Lan the Revered Temple Guardian, Namo the Revered Guardian Yang Chun, Namo Golden Mother of the Jade Pond, Namo Four-armed Kuan Yin, Namo Green Tara, Namo Manjusri, Namo Padmasambhava, Namo Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, Namo Jambhala, Namo Ucchusma, Namo Cundi Buddha Mother, Namo Padmakumara, Namo Achala, Namo Ganapati, Namo Four Deva- kings, Namo Mahasthamaprata, Namo Earth Mother, and the Namo Goddess of Auspiciousness. Afterwards, I went upstairs to bed. In my sleep, a local Earth God came to me and said, `You neglected to chant my name.` So, the next morning when I awoke, I went downstairs to sing the praises one more time, making sure that I included the local Earth God this time. The hurt feelings of the local Earth God were then soothed. [laughter and audience laughter] Every one of these deities is alive! Not one of them is a fabrication! Can I meet with the Buddhas? Can I meet Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and Shakyamuni Buddha? I am the one who knows Shakyamuni Buddha the best! [audience applause] All I need to do is to enter into another realm, and I can see him. I only have to enter the state of meditative stabilization, the realm wherein the Egotistical Self is transcended and released, and wherein the realm of Emptiness is realized. Then I can invoke the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas with my intent, and I can see them. You will also be able to do this in the future. As long as you use your wisdom and enter into the authentic meditative stabilization, you will also become a Buddha. In the future, everyone will become the Buddha! [audience applause]

Om Mani Padme Hum.