English
< March 1, 2015 Dharma King Lian-sheng Sheng-yen Lu Dharma Discourse on Tiger Head Vajra at New Year Wealth God Welcoming Trinity of Holy Mother Water Offering Ceremony Held at Emperor Temple in Taiwan >
(This translation only includes content pertaining to Tiger Head Vajra)
Today, we are transmitting Tiger Head Vajra Dharma. In Taiwan, there are tiger deities enshrined at many temples. It is believed that, by its awing presence alone, a tiger deity can protect against all kinds of inflictions. So, what is the difference between these tiger deities and Jade Pond Golden Mother’s Tiger Head Vajra?Tiger Head Vajra truly has his own historical background. The background of Jade Pond Golden Mother’s Tiger Head Vajra is different from that of these tiger deities who are called Tiger Master or Tiger God because the spirit of a tiger has descended into the statue. How about Tiger Head Vajra? If one reads the book Shenxian Zhuan or Biographies of the Deities and Immortals, one will understand. Jade Pond Golden Mother has a jade hairpin called Yu Sheng. When Golden Mother inserts the Yu Sheng into her hair, she instantly transforms into a formidable tiger.
Because Tiger Head Vajra is a transformation of Jade Pond Golden Mother, this deity is different from the tiger deities enshrined in most temples. Jade Pond Golden Mother is the Tiger Head Vajra and the Tiger Head Vajra is the Golden Mother. Jade Pond Golden Mother is a Golden Immortal and Tiger Head Vajra is likewise a Golden Immortal. Jade Pond Golden Mother is a Daluo Golden Immortal and Tiger Head Vajra is also a Golden Immortal. The power of this vajra deity is therefore different from the power of these tiger deities.
Tiger Head Vajra, a transformation of Jade Pond Golden Mother, not only bites unrighteous deities, but also guards against inflictions and disasters. Therefore, if one enshrines this image at one’s home (Grandmaster holds up an image of Jade Pond Golden Mother riding on Tiger Head Vajra), disasters will be eradicated.
If you pay close attention to how Jade Pond Golden Mother transforms into Tiger Head Vajra, you will see that when Jade Pond Golden Mother inserts the Yu Sheng into her hair, she instantly transforms into Tiger Head Vajra.
The power of Tiger Head Vajra is equal to the power of Jade Pond Golden Mother because Tiger Head Vajra is a transformation of Jade Pond Golden Mother. Tiger Head Vajra can ward off all disasters; this is the mighty power of Tiger Head Vajra. Bird flu has been going around Taiwan this year, hasn’t it? The epidemic started in southern Taiwan, spread northward to Taoyuan, and has now affected most of Taiwan.
Pestilence gods will avoid and flee from any location, such as a cattle ranch, where Tiger Head Vajra has been enshrined. The merit of Tiger Head Vajra is truly extraordinary and different from that of an ordinary tiger deity which only protects the temple where it is enshrined. Tiger Head Vajra bites both unrighteous deities and pestilence gods, all five pestilence gods. Therefore, in addition to protecting residences, this vajra deity can protect factories, ranches, farms, and even an entire country. The power of Tiger Head Vajra is indeed incredible!
Has anyone read the book Shenxian Zhuan? If so, please raise your hand. Has any Master read Shenxian Zhuan? No? The book I read was titled Shenxian Zhuan. But the title of the book was later changed to Liexian Zhuan. Let me ask another question. Did anyone read the book Ancient Myths and Legends? (Yes!) Who read the book? Please raise your hand. Good! Please stand up.
Let me give you a little test. It’s just a simple and easy test. Long ago, in ancient times, there lived a person who is the first character to appear in the book of Ancient Myths and Legends. What was his name? You read the book when you were little and have forgotten? In that case, there’s no need for you to stand up. Please sit down.
We Chinese are the descendants of the Fiery Emperor and the Yellow Emperor. So, may I ask, who was the Fiery Emperor? No one knows? Amitofo! Shennong or Farmer God was the first of the legendary Fiery Emperors. “Fiery” is namely Shennong (Farmer God); and “Yellow” is namely Xuanyuan [the surname of the Yellow Emperor] of the Emperor Temple.
Today, we are talking about Xuanyuan in the Emperor Temple. Xuanyuan was the ancestor of the Chinese. He cultivated and became an Immortal, which is to say, the Yellow Emperor became an immortal. Therefore, the Yellow Emperor is able to protect this temple. The Emperor Temple is a place to revere ancestor Xuanyuan, the earliest Chinese ancestor, who later became an Immortal. This is recorded in the book Shenxian Zhuan.
In middle school and high school, I read many books. Ancient Myths and Legends has three volumes: Vol. I, II, and III.
The first human being was named Hundun. Why this name? Because when he was born, he had no eyes, nose, mouth, or ears, nothing whatsoever. He was a person who saw nothing, heard nothing, and said nothing. There was nothing at all. Let me tell you. This is called “the unperturbed primordial spirit”, meaning a being without eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, or mind. This being, which can be referred to as the unperturbed primordial spirit, is the primordial human being.
Later, the Four Great Gods, the Five Great Gods, and the Eight Great Gods came from all four directions and opened the being’s orifices. One god opened the eye orifices, one god opened the nose, one god opened the ears, and one god opened the mouth. Hundun then died.
The first person mentioned in the book Ancient Myths and Legends is Hundun. That’s “Hundun” not “wonton”. Why did Hundun die immediately after his orifices were opened? The story can be understood as a metaphor. If one is born with primordial qi in one’s body, one is an Immortal from the beginning. However, when the seven orifices of eyes, nose, ears, and mouth are opened, one’s journey toward death has begun. If one is originally an Immortal, why would one die? The journey to death results from opening the seven orifices. The eyes now see what should not be seen. The ears hear what should not be heard. One breathes in what shouldn’t be breathed in, and one eats what shouldn’t be eaten. As a result, one dies.
In the book Ancient Myths and Legends, Hundun was originally born into this world as a deity, an Immortal beyond death. But when the gods opened his orifices, he became contaminated and subject to death. As long as one is uncontaminated, one is full of primordial qi, an Immortal of great origin. In other words, every person is a Dalou Golden Immortal, which is to say, every person is a buddha.
At present, because one’s eyes have been opened to see what shouldn’t be seen, one’s essence, qi and spirit are leaking out; one’s nose is breathing in what shouldn’t be breathed in, resulting in leakage of one’s essence, qi and spirit; one’s mouth is tasting what shouldn’t be tasted, resulting in the leakage of one’s essence, qi and spirit; and one’s ears are hearing what shouldn’t be heard, resulting in leakage of one’s essence, qi, and spirit. It is all because of the outflow; one is continuously leaking from the upper or lower region.If one wishes to be an Immortal, one must first end leakage by closing one’s seven orifices. When the seven orifices are blocked, leakage will stop. One’s body will fill with primordial qi and non-inherent qi. One will then become an Immortal.
How do you write the Chinese character “qi” of “primordial qi”? The character “qi” of “primordial qi” is written like this (Grandmaster demonstrates the strokes.) The lower part of the character has four dots, like four running horses. The upper part of the character is the simplified character for “nothingness”. This “qi” character is the “qi” in “primordial qi”. Later, the character “qi” is written as the “qi” character in “kung qi” [“air”] with a rice character in the lower part.If you understand Shenxian Zhuan and the book Ancient Myths and Legends, then you will understand that Jade Pond Golden Mother is located in the west. The west belongs to metal. What is metal? Metal means tiger, that is, a white tiger. The east is wood, symbolized by the Cyan Dragon, the dragon being located in the east. The tiger is in the west. There's a vermilion bird in the front and a Gouchen in the back. Do you know the shape of the vermilion bird? The vermilion bird is a red sparrow. It is like a bird, the shape of a bird. East is the dragon, the Cyan Dragon. The west is the White Tiger. The vermilion sparrow is in the front; and Gouchen is located in the back. What is Gouchen? Master Lezhi said it’s like a tortoise, a Ninja turtle. That is correct! The Gouchen has the shape of a tortoise with a dragon head, kylin feet, and a dragon tail. The Cyan Dragon, the White Tiger, the Vermilion Bird, and the Gouchen are called Four Holy Beasts. If you ever studied Taoism, you will use this.
If you have never read Ancient Myths and Legends, Shenxian Zhuan, or Liexian Zhuan, then I am probably talking to kindergarteners! I heard that our masters are omnipotent. Upon becoming a master, they start giving spiritual consultations, hearing spiritual voices, seeing spiritual beings, and giving geomancy advice. When asked: “Did you learn this from Grandmaster?” One master answered, “I learned very little from the Guru. My knowledge was handed down to me from my own ancestors.” Every master knows about geomancy and understands feng shui. Strangely enough, since you already understood feng shui before I even taught you feng shui, I should ask you to be my teacher!
Tiger Head Vajra has a true and authentic background. In the book of Ancient Myths and Legends, Tiger Head Vajra is extremely formidable. Because the West belongs to tiger, Jade Pond Golden Mother transforms into a tiger, a fierce tiger.
Someone asked me, “How do you pray for rain? Where do you go to pray for rain?” One time, when I was meeting with the Mayor of Taoyuan County, he asked, “Why is it that as soon as I assumed my official duties, a fire broke out?” He asked me how he should deal with a fire. “That’s easy.” I said. “Use water to overcome the fire.” In the five elements, water overcomes fire. How does water overcome fire?
I told the county mayor, “County Mayor Zheng, if you pray to the northernmost Earth God it will rain.” County Mayor Zheng listened to my words and visited the northernmost Earth God temple located in Guishan, Taoyuan. Right after he finished praying and walked out of the temple, it started to rain.
Last Saturday in the temple, Grandmaster said, “It will rain as soon as the ceremony is over.” Did it rain? (Yes!) Let me tell you. That day, it was Saturday, Grandmaster loudly shouted out, “It will rain as soon as the ceremony is over.” If it hadn’t rained right after the ceremony was over, but instead rained right after the homa fire was extinguished, right after I finished crown blessing, right after I returned home, or right at 12:00 AM, my prediction would have been inaccurate!
If it hadn’t rained immediately after the ceremony, my prediction would already be inaccurate, not to mention if it had rained during the ceremony, right before the bestowal of empowerment, or at midnight. What I mean is, my prediction would only be considered accurate if it actually began to rain immediately after the ceremony was over.
I told County Mayor Zheng to pray to the Earth God in Guishan for rain. As soon as he finished praying and walked out of the temple, it started to rain. Isn’t this accurate? (Accurate!)
Yesterday, if I had announced during the ceremony, “It will rain as soon as the Hevajra Ceremony is over,” then I would have embarrassed myself because it did not rain yesterday. If one is a true and genuine Immortal, one will have the power to summon wind and the rain. Tiger Head Vajra has the power to summon wind and rain. This particular statue shows Jade Pond Golden Mother holding a command flag in her hand. Take a look at this! Jade Pond Golden Mother is holding a command flag. It is precisely this command flag that is so awesome. In ancient times, the yellow flag was called the apricot yellow flag. If, on the apricot yellow flag, there is a decree from the Jade Pond Golden Mother, the flag will be so powerful that it can summon wind and rain. Summon the wind and the wind will come. Summon the rain and the rain will come. This is summoning the wind and rain.
All right, I want to quiz you some more. Who is the author of the famous book Fengshen Bang? (Lu Xixing). Someone in the audience knows the answer! Lu Xixing was a Taoist. The masters up here on the stage don’t recognize this Taoist. The flag Zhiang Ziya is holding in his hand is an apricot yellow flag. Who is the earliest ancestor of those surnamed Lu? He had the surname Zhiang. His name was Zhiang Ziya. Zhiang Ziya is the main character of Fengshen Bang. He carries an apricot yellow flag. If anyone here has read the book Fengshen Bang, please raise your hand. Wow, there are quite a few. Who is Zhiang Ziya’s master? I’m asking those of you who just raised your hands. Please stand up and answer. Now I’m giving the quiz to these Immortals, the Masters here on stage. Yuanshi Tianzun (Primordial Celestial Venerable)! Who answered? Someone in the audience answered. It was a reverend who answered, “Yuanshi Tianzun.” That is correct. Zhiang Ziya was a disciple of Yuanshi Tianzun.
When Zhiang Ziya came down the mountain, he was wearing a garment with eight trigrams on it. Who drew the eight trigrams? They were drawn by Fuxi, a person of the highest intelligence. Fuxi was accompanied by Nuwa. I just tested you on the characters in Shenxian Zhuan. Fuxi created the eight trigrams. Within his eight trigrams, there are heaven, earth, thunder, wind, pond, water, fire, and mountain, which can represent a universe, country, family, or individual. From an individual to a family, to a country, a world, even to an immortal or a buddha, they are all included in the eight trigrams. All of evolution proceeds from the eight trigrams. It is so clever that the eight trigrams were created with the eight combinations of three whole or broken lines. It can represent the entire universe, the heaven, earth, thunder, wind, pond, water, fire, and mountain. If one understands the eight trigrams, one will understand the five elements, metal, wood, water, fire and earth. One will also understand the seven positions, the nine hall diagrams, ten perfections, three entities (Heaven, Earth and human), four aggregates, two complementary forces (yin and yang), the Taiji, and Wuji.
The Wuji generates the Taiji; the Taiji generates the two complementary forces. The two complementary forces generate the three entities; the three entities generate the four aggregates; the four aggregates generate the five elements; the five phases generate the six directions; the six directions develop the seven positions; the seven positions transform into the eight trigrams; and the eight trigrams evolve into the nine hall diagrams. If one does not understand this evolution, one will not understand how these developed, and will not know that the east belongs to wood, which is where the dragon resides. The west belongs to metal (gold), a gold tiger, transformed from Jade Pond Golden Mother, guarding the west.
In Buddhism, Mahavairocana Buddha is in the center; Akshobhya Buddha, east; Amitabha Buddha, west; Ratnasambhava Buddha, south; and Amoghasiddhi Buddha, north. Taoism talks about metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Therefore, the center has the Yellow Earth; the west has the Golden Mother; the east has the Wood Lord; the north has Water Gold; and the south has Fire Honorable. One must have this knowledge in order to perform geomancy. How can one perform geomancy if one doesn’t know this? Even worse, one cannot even tell the dragon side from the tiger side. Which side is the dragon side? Which side is the tiger side? Using the Emperor Temple as an example, this side is the dragon side and the other side is the tiger side. Isn’t that correct? If you turn entirely, here’s the east, south, west, north and center. The center is the Yellow Earth. Therefore, you will need to divide them into jia, yi, bing, ding, wu, ji, geng, xin, ren, gui stems. You will need to understand which direction each belongs to; jia, yi, and wood belong to the east; bing, ding, and fire belong to the south; ren, chen and water belong to the north; wu, ji, and earth belong to center; and geng, shen, and metal belong to the west. When using a eight-trigram compass, be sure to invoke the deity of the Eight Trigrams. You also need to chant the mantras. If you are going to pick a geomancy point of a land, you must understand where the Jia-yi wood is, so do the geng-shen metal, bing-ding fire, ren-chen water, and wu-ji earth.If you don’t even understand these basics, how can you perform geomency? Do you know yin, yang and the five elements? Metal belongs to the west, where it is protected by the white tiger, namely Jade Pond Golden Mother. In Buddhism, the Five Buddhas correspond to Taoism’s Five Great Golden Immortals protecting the five directions. You see, the Jade Pond Golden Mother is the one and same as the Tiger Head Vajra; she can transform back and forth. Tiger Head Vajra and Jade Pond Golden Mother have equally tremendous power.
Are you now able to perform geomancy? I have explained the basics of feng shui, so later on you will not disgrace yourself when you perform geomancy. When one is performing geomancy, one must be able to explain what is east, what is west, and what overcomes what. One truly understands feng shui when one knows what complements what and what overcomes what. How can one perform geomancy if one has no knowledge of what complements what and what overcomes what?
Because Tiger Head Vajra is transformed from Jade Pond Golden Mother, they have equally mighty power. Jade Pond Golden Mother opened my divine eye, so I understand her Dharma very well. What are the benefits of Tiger Head Vajra? Tiger Head Vajra can help one obtain wealth. In feng shui, this is obtaining the water element.
When observing mountains and water, one performing geomancy should know what mountains represent. What is the meaning of a mountain? It symbolizes people. By observing mountains, one can divine how many people are in a household. What does water represent? Water represents wealth. The most basic feng shui is to find a geomantic location that has something to rely on from behind, something bright in the front, something which embraces on both sides, and bubbles in the center of the brightness. These are the four key formulas of feng shui. One must remember them.
For example, the Emperor Temple is sitting here, there’s a tall mountain behind the temple, a pond in front, bubbles coming out from the pond, and the terrain is embraced from both sides. Taiwan Lei Tsang Temple has the same feng shui. There’s a mountain that can be relied on from behind, and the temple is embraced by mountains on both sides. There is light in front. Wait, it does not have a pond in front; so, why does it have light? Let me tell you, if it’s taller than an inch, it is called a mountain; if it’s lower than an inch, it is called water. There is no need to see the tangible shape of mountains and water! There is indeed abundant light in front of Taiwan Lei Tsang Temple. At night, one can clearly see the lights of Caotun Township near the temple and off in the distance. One must know how to find water, topographic hands, and the dragon qi of the earth. Whether the Emperor Temple is built on a precious land spot is determined by whether it is built on a dragon, the vital point, the right surrounding, water, and direction. These are the five major elements of geomancy.
Whether one is evaluating a house, a yang residence, or a grave, a yin residence, if the feng shui is negative, one can place a Tiger Head Vajra in the residence. The Tiger Head Vajra will bite away any inflictions. If there is any negative energy at all, everything will naturally turn out well as long as the residence comes under the protection of Tiger Head Vajra. The vajra deity has this benefit.
The deity I introduced today can also be practiced as yoga. The physical image of Tiger Head Vajra is just like this statue. I taught Senior Reverend Wen to create an image like this one. Jade Pond Golden Mother rides on Tiger Head Vajra. They are equal to each other. The Tiger Head Vajra Mantra is, “Om, jin-mu, sid-dhi, hum, hum, pei.” I will demonstrate the deity’s mudra for you. Interlace the fingers of both hands inwards. Straighten both thumbs and keep them apart outward like a tiger head. With the mantra and the image, one can perform the practice. I will end today’s discourse on the Tiger Head Vajra here. I have also talked about feng shui.Om Mani Padme Hum.
Translated by the TBTTs
Translator: Yun Pennington
Editors: Henry Wolf and DJ Chang
