December 1, 2019, Rainbow Temple, Manjushri Homa Ceremony
[TBS News]
Lamdre Exposition by Dharma King Lian-sheng
Summary of Dharma Talk

On December 1, 2019, the Dharma King Living Buddha Lian-sheng presided over the Manjushri Homa Ceremony at Rainbow Temple.

According to Mūlajāta-hṛidayabhūmi-dhyāna-sūtra, Manjushri regards the “Three Buddhas of the Past, Present and Future” as his mother; he also regards the “Buddhas of the Ten Directions” as the initial Bodhicitta. These [Buddhas] are in fact a manifestation of Manjushri’s transformational powers for instructional purposes.

Manjushri is regarded as the Number One Wisdom-Holder – he is the Tathagata Dharma King leading the group of Bodhisattvas. In the past, he was the teacher of the Seven Buddhas, and hence today, he is also known as the Marvelous Auspicious (Chinese: Miao Jixiang) Bodhisattva or the Mother of Great Enlightenment (Chinese: Jue Mu). Among the Huayan Three Sages (consisting of Shakyamuni, Manjushri and Samantabhadra), Manjushri is often portrayed as the able attendant of Shakyamuni, and in several sutras, Manjushri is described as propagating the dharma on behalf of Shakyamuni.

In the dharma of Manjushri, the Bodhisattva is shown as having the gift of the gab. His speech is astounding [piercingly to the point] and his behavior is jaw-dropping. His magical powers are manifested through many incidents, the most iconic of which is the case of “Manjushri in Summer”. In the Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa sutra, Manjushri is mentioned in the incident of Vimalakīrti visiting the sick. In fact, it is one of the most supreme, exciting Ko’an cases ever.

The Dharma King said in his speech, the merit of Manjushri is so broad and limitless that it extends into eternity. Manjushri uses artful but kind methods to succor sentient beings – from young girls in the palace, songstresses and dancers, prostitutes who are looked down upon, gypsies, to even the Mara King, Māra-pāpīyān. Manjushri can manifest his magical ability with unfathomable depths and dimensions.

The Dharma King continued with the discourse on Lamdre.

In the text, the seven chakras were mentioned: the heart chakra, the navel chakra, the throat chakra, the brow chakra, [the solar plexus chakra], the secret chakra, and the root chakra. The Dharma King explained, “All these chakras are moving. The only exception is the heart chakra which contains the Life Qi. If the Life Qi moves, death is imminent. The Life Qi will move when one is about to enter Nirvana.”

In spiritual cultivation, the practice of Qi is a very important process. The Dharma King emphasized the importance of the effects in summoning and moving the Qi. The Dharma King said, “Whenever there is pain in the body, just move the Qi to that place. After some time, the pain will be eradicated. There will be no more pain once the ‘knot’ in the bodily channel unties.”

After the elucidating discourse, the Dharma King bestowed the refuge-taking initiation on the new disciples as well as the empowerment for Manjushri. All ended well in auspiciousness.

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