【#TBS News/Reported from Seattle】
The World Health Organization (WHO) has proclaimed COVID-19 to be a worldwide pandemic.
The Dharma King urges everyone to employ tangible and intangible measures because the COVID-19 epidemic will not be over anytime soon.

For the benefit and good fortune of sentient beings, on March 15, 2020, Dharma King Living Buddha Lian-sheng held a grand Tara Who Saves From Contagious Diseases Homa Ceremony at Rainbow Temple.

To protect the health and safety of ceremony attendees and the public during this period of coronavirus epidemic prevention, Rainbow Temple, the ceremony organizer, adopted preventive measures and policies in accordance with Washington State and King County regulations. The number of ceremony attendees was strictly controlled, and multiple health monitoring measures were put in place at the Rainbow Temple entrance and various other locations. With the assistance of manpower from the True Buddha Foundation and Seattle Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple (LSCTT), staff members were able to keep close tabs on the measures at their respective posts. Both those entering in vehicles and those on foot were required to undergo body temperature testing and turn in health evaluation forms.

Inside Rainbow Temple grounds, an epidemic prevention quarantine area was temporarily established away from the regular parking lot in case of incidents. Fortunately, with these different layers of preventive measures, everything went well.

When 3:00 pm arrived, Master Lianyin, the abbot of Rainbow Temple, accompanied by Master Liantseng, Master Lianman, Master Lianchuan, Master Lianwang, and Master Lianhua Bizhen, along with the reverends, represented the four assemblies in requesting the Dharma transmission of the Practice of the Tara Who Saves From Contagious Diseases from supreme Dhama King Living Buddha Lian-sheng.

As the ceremony began, the sound of mantras resounded with solemn and majestic power and the fierce flames of the homa fire rose upward. On behalf of sentient beings, Dharma King Lian-sheng formed mudras for calamity eradication, enrichment, magnetization, and subjugation, and prayed that Tara's boundless compassion would enter and merge with everyone's heart.

During the dedication of merit, Dharma King Lian-sheng paid wholehearted homage to White Tara, Green Tara, and all the 21 Taras, and prayed for the great compassion of the Tara Who Saves From Contagious Diseases. Grandmaster supplicated the Tara that, according to her vows, she would eradicate the illness, suffering, and death from the epidemic of sentient beings, bless the COVID-19 epidemic to be eradicated, and cause all sentient beings to be auspicious during day and night and during the six time periods of the day. Grandmaster then requested that registered netherworld beings would be able to be reborn in the pure land and the merit accumulation of sentient beings would be increased. Lastly, he prayed that sentient beings would have wisdom, light, health, auspiciousness, and complete love and respect.

During his discourse, Dharma King Lian-sheng explained the sign made by the homa fire as follows: the flame to ignite the fire was small as a pea, much smaller than usual, and consequently, it took some time for the joss papers that were used to ignite the homa fire to begin to burn. This means that the COVID-19 epidemic will not be easily eradicated. Just as stated by Chen Shihchung, the Head of the Central Epidemic Command Center in Taiwan, the COVID-19 epidemic will not be eradicated quickly, and we are not yet near the end of this epidemic. However, the Dharma King did clarify that although the epidemic would not be over soon, it would ultimately come to an end.

Dharma King Lian-sheng recalled a Year of the Rat (2020 New Year) interview held at LSCTT around the end of 2019. During this interview, the Dharma King made two major predictions. First, he predicted that 2020 would be a most turbulent year with the appearance of a supervirus epidemic. Second, he predicted that in 2020 the vitality of the world economy would receive a score of just 20%, and there would be a global economic recession. These predictions turned out to be only too true, so true that the Taiwan news media proclaimed that Living Buddha Lian-sheng's predictions were ''divinely accurate''!

Dharma King Lian-sheng expressed his feeling that it's not a good thing if his predictions are accurate and not a good thing if they are inaccurate. Unfortunately, his predictions were accurate this time. The best he can do is to supplicate the Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases to think of a way to help the world solve the epidemic as soon as possible. The Dharma King also mentioned that viruses and bacteria are without eyes and don't discriminate who or what you are. Many things, such as life and death, poverty or wealth, are predestined. Dharma King Lian-sheng, who has great compassion for sentient beings, again stated that he is willing to give crown blessings to his fellow Chinese suffering in mainland China. He thanked the Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases for her protection which has allowed him to maintain good health in his busy Dharma propagating activities.

Dharma King Lian-sheng commented that on the day prior to the Dharma ceremony, Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases descended and instructed him how to transmit the dharma. The Dharma King described that, as Tara descended, she transformed into dense points of red light which swirled into lines of five-colored light. The lines of five-colored light transformed into a net of five-colored light. Above the net of five-colored light was a net of red-colored light. This net of light surrounded the Dharma King and transformed into a light orb. Tara told the Dharma King that this was a ''protective net''. Any bacteria or virus that touched the net would be repelled and unable to penetrate it.

Subsequently, the Dharma King taught the audience the following practice personally transmitted to him by the Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases. Buy equal quantities of these six herbs from a Chinese pharmacy: Common Cnidium Fruit (蛇床子, Shechuangzi), Prepared aconite (制附子, Zhifuzi), Radix Polygalae (遠志Yuanzhi), Radix Glycyrrhizae (甘草Gancao), Cortex Cinnamomi (桂心, Guixin), and Realgar (雄黃, Xionghuang). Grind the herbs into powder, place the powder on one's shrine, then cultivate the Practice of the Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases. One may then make medicine packs from the powder and wear one of the packs on one's body. This will protect against infection.

The Dharma King instructed that one should cultivate the practice according to the sadhana. First visualize a great sun with Tara's seed syllable 「」 ''dang'' appearing in the center. The 「」''dang'' revolves and Tara Who Saves From Contagious Diseases then appears within the sun. One then visualizes Tara's image and her treasure vase.

The treasure vase that contains not-dying nectar opens. Visualize the nectar emitting bright light which shines on the six herbs. One may also visualize the nectar showering over one's body. Then visualize the deity entering into one and one entering into the deity, self and deity merging as one, and enter samadhi.

When one perceives the not-dying nectar of the Tara Who Saves From Contagious Diseases sprinkling the six herbs, one may then use the herbs to save oneself and others. One may form the herbs into packs for wearing on one's body. One may also use the herbs to form protective boundaries. Take 25% of the herb powder and place it in the four corners of east, south, west, and north of one's residence. This will protect one's residence. Similarly, one may also place 25% of the powder in the east, south, west, and north corners of a community building. Those within the protective scope of the herb powder will not become infected. Grandmaster explained that the six herbs are on the yang side while the virus belongs to yin. Therefore, the yang of the six herbs that have been empowered by a practice can overcome the yin of the virus resulting in one being able to avoid infection by the virus.

At the conclusion of his discourse, the Dharma King used humorous stories to guide his disciples. He mentioned that karmic hindrances should not be taken lightly. Many so-called coincidences are really connections made by the force of karma causing certain things to happen at certain times. For instance, Grandmaster's books were once pirated by a foreign publisher. Grandmaster said that this unauthorized publishing had a good side and a bad side. The bad side was that the pirate publishing company never got permission from the owner of the copyright. The good side was that, as a result of the publication, Grandmaster was able to save a million disciples in that country.

Following his discourse, Dharma King Lian-sheng bestowed empowerment for the supremely marvelous Practice of Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases on everyone at the ceremony. The ceremony was perfectly concluded in complete brilliant light and auspiciousness.

Note: When cultivating the Practice of Tara Who Saves from Contagious Diseases, for one's own and others' health and safety, one should comply with the epidemic preventive measures undertaken by local government authorities. We hope everyone is, in the words of Dharma King Lian-sheng, ''everything auspicious all the time''.

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