Dharma Talk by Living Buddha Lian Sheng on 10/07/96

Cultivation secrets are known as `Mi Xing` in Chinese. Today I shall divulge one such magnificent, and hard to come by cultivation secret.

Someone once asked me this question. `Pranja (wisdom) and Pure Vijnana (thought only) are very high spiritual levels. Can we use any physical object to represent them?` In other words, what can we use to represent Pranja and Pure Vijnana?

Can we use the swastika sign, `Wan` in Chinese to represent them? (the emblematic of Nazism with two cross `Z`)

My research and practical experience show that there are three kinds of Pranja namely wisdom of letters, wisdom of meditative enlightenment on reality and absolute wisdom. We have to contemplate on these three Pranja when we cultivate.

The swastika sign cannot be used to represent them. Once we gyrate the swastika sign, a circle with a dot in its circle can be seen, and this is how absolute Pranja arises.

Only those who have fully assimilated Pranja and Pure Vijnana can explain the meaning of this sign.

The circle represents Pranja and the dot represents Pure Vijnana. The swastika sign can only be used to represent superficially the Dharma power of a Buddha. Once the sign is gyrating, nirvana without remainder will result. What is nirvana without remainder? It is the dot in the center where the Dharmakaya (truth body) of all Buddhas abide. The area in the circle and beyond the dot is known as nirvana with remainder - where sambhogakaya and nirmanankaya (complete enjoyment body and emanation body) of all Buddhas abide.

Let us look at the Taoism emblem. It is a circle divided by an English letter `S`, with a dot on each side. The circle is used to represent the whole universe. The black side of `S` and the white side of `S` are used to represent negative and positive forces respectively. Chinese call this sign Tai Chi, and use it to represent everything in the universe !D!D what a marvelous thought it is!

The Chinese philosophy is `Human follows earth, earth follows heaven, heaven follows Tao, and Tao follows nature`. Tai chi is an illusion of universe. It divides the universe in two contrasting forces of negative and positive and calls it Tao - the Nature State of the universe.

Taoism adopted this emblem to show nature is the truth of Tao. Tao is also a contrasting concept. It talks about negative and positive; good and evil, black and white, Buddha and Mara.

On the other hand, the Buddha that I know is absolute. The circle is used to represent cosmos consciousness; ant the dot at the center is used to signify Buddha and Mara are one and the same. There is one dot only and not two. Since Buddha is absolute, when Buddha and Mara congregate at this dot, it is a nirvana without remainder !D!D Pure Vijnana (thought only).

The dot is pure Vijnana. The dot and the circle are the absolute. The contrast used by Taoism has encompassed Science and Philosophy.

Today I have revealed a top secret of cultivation i.e. gyration of swastika can be used to represent Pranja.

When our spiritual level is high enough, we can transform ourselves into Pranja. We can show our Pranja, by changing it to a rainbow and radiating rays of clear light. We can also enter into nirvana with and without remainder and transform ourselves into Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya and nirmanakaya.

When Shakyamuni Buddha attained his enlightenment, he is the dot in the center. The rest are nothing but expedient ways to his Buddhahood.

Expediency is the means; while the central dot is the end. The former is conventional truth, and the latter is the ultimate (absolute) truth. This is how Buddhadharma is classified.

By spiritual cultivation, we can prove to ourselves that the absolute truth is:

All the Bodhisattvas reside in the bright circle and all the Buddhas abide in the dot. The circle has no boundary. Time and space never exist in it.

After years of cultivation, I dare to reveal this secret. It is the true states of Pranja and Pure Vijnana. That is all for today.

Om Mani Padme Hum