July 19, 2026 Highlights of the Mahabala Homa Ceremony
By TBSN
Dharma Teaching by HH Living Buddha Liansheng
His Holiness explained that above Mahabala’s crown is Amitabha Buddha. The staff carried by Mahabala represents Padmakumara, while the dust whisk symbolizes the Golden Mother of the Jade Pond. Mahabala himself is the attendant of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, known as the Mighty Envoy, and is the wrathful manifestation of Padmakumara. The Mahabala depicted in the True Buddha School is unique to the lineage.
Grandmaster likened attending a ceremony in person to watching a sporting event on-site, which provides an immersive experience that cannot be replicated remotely. He encouraged everyone to attend the upcoming Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva Fall Ceremony in person.
Grandmaster also shared that every night before going to sleep, he bids goodnight to every Buddha and bodhisattva. Although they may appear only as thangkas or Buddha statues, practitioners should believe that they are truly living presences. When practitioners cultivate with genuine sincerity, the Buddhas and bodhisattvas naturally offer their protection. Without genuine sincerity, many practices become nothing more than going through the motions. What truly matters is wholehearted devotion, which the Buddhas and bodhisattvas can perceive, naturally bringing about transformation. Ultimately, cultivation depends upon single-minded sincerity.
Q&A
Question from Disciple Lotus Weiren of Dayi Temple, Taiwan
The disciple respectfully pays homage to the Root Lineage Guru, His Holiness Living Buddha Liansheng.
May the Guru Buddha remain in the world and abide forever in our hearts. May I, throughout all future lifetimes, continually reunite with the Root Lineage Guru and receive the blessings of the lineage.
Regarding the Emptiness Mantra
The disciple respectfully requests Guru Buddha's compassionate guidance regarding the use of the Emptiness Mantra.
At present, two versions of the mantra are in circulation:
Version 1: Om, suo-ba-wa, su-da, sa-er-wa, da-er-ma, suo-ba-wa, su-do-hang.
Version 2: Om, si-ba-wa, su-da, sa-er-wa, da-er-ma, si-ba-wa, su-do-hang.
Are both pronunciations acceptable in practice?
Recently, while organizing, revising, and preparing sadhanas, I have frequently encountered different phonetic versions of various mantras used during group practices and cultivations, such as the Green Tara Heart Mantra and the Hundred-Syllable Mantra. Although the transliterations differ slightly, I firmly believe that the pronunciation transmitted by the Root Guru carries the greatest blessing power of the lineage.
I have also heard Guru Buddha compassionately teach that "both pronunciations may be used." Nevertheless, to provide clear guidance for future practitioners and to establish a consistent basis for revising sadhanas, I respectfully ask Grandmaster to kindly confirm this once again.
With deepest gratitude for Grandmaster's boundless compassion.
His Holiness' Answer
"The pronunciation is essentially the same; only the written characters differ. Even when transmitted by the same Tibetan guru, mantra pronunciations may vary slightly from one region to another.
In ancient Tibet, when Minister Thonmi Sambhota traveled to India to bring the Buddhadharma back to Tibet, Sanskrit mantra sounds were transliterated according to the closest available Tibetan pronunciation. As a result, there were inevitably some differences from the original Sanskrit sounds.
Within the True Buddha School, what is most important in mantra recitation is to follow the pronunciation transmitted by His Holiness. Whatever pronunciation His Holiness uses naturally carries the blessing power of the lineage."
His Holiness' Commentary on the Surangama Sutra, Volume Five
Although Venerable Ananda heard the Buddha's teaching, he still could not understand why the six sense faculties are both the root of samsara and the root of liberation. Therefore, he asked Sakyamuni Buddha how both Buddhahood and rebirth within the six realms could arise from the very same six faculties.
Sakyamuni Buddha explained that both originate from the same source. Bondage and liberation fundamentally share one origin. The six sense faculties are like flowers appearing in empty space. They have no inherent existence but arise through deluded thoughts. These phenomena are all illusory; only Buddha-nature is ultimately real.
His Holiness further asked: since we can clearly feel and touch our bodies, why does the Buddha regard them as illusory? The reason is that everything subject to arising and ceasing, everything that changes, is ultimately unreal.
He added that there is often no need for people to fight with one another. Sincere dialogue is always better than harming each other. Human life, with its birth and death, is itself like flowers in empty space. Houses, land, our bodies, and even the elements of earth, water, fire, and wind all arise through dependent origination. They come together temporarily and eventually disperse.
Continuing his explanation, His Holiness said that we recognize the external world because the six sense objects exist, and we encounter those objects because we possess the six sense faculties. Although the six sense faculties and the six sense objects have no inherent Buddha-nature, they nevertheless fully embody Buddha-nature. Like two reeds leaning against each other, they exist in mutual dependence.
His Holiness then remarked that when he eventually departs this world, nothing here will truly belong to him. Everything will remain with the True Buddha School. Even this land belongs to everyone. Once one truly understands this, one naturally lives happily and is free from afflictions.
When facing death or separation, there is no need for excessive sorrow. It is natural to grieve for a while, but one must also learn to let go. Death is simply a transition to a better realm, from the visible to the invisible. The Buddhas and bodhisattvas are the same. Although we cannot see them, they are ever-present. Sakyamuni Buddha entered parinirvana more than two thousand years ago, yet whenever a practitioner sincerely thinks of him, he remains by that practitioner's side.
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