Faith & Impermanence

What motivates one to start the practice of the Buddhadharma? There are always certain events at the beginning that give one the impetus to embark on the path.

All of you here have been motivated by different forces to practice the Buddhadharma. As for myself, I started the practice because I experienced an extraordinary event. You all know that in this direct experience, I was brought up from the samsaric world to the Maha Twin Lotus Ponds. When I reached that spiritual realm, I saw my previous existence, the Light Radiating Bai Lian Hua Tong Zi (White Padmakumara). I saw with my own eyes the White Padmakumara who radiated a great light, and I heard a voice telling me the name of the White Padmakumara. These were real experiences, by which I mean I actually travelled to that realm, where I truly saw and heard these things. This incident was the first event that led me to start on the path of the Buddhadharma.

Now all of you here have, of course, read the description of this experience in my books. A faith was inspired in you. Therefore, you are also treading the same path on which I have walked. In truth, the source of this Padmakumara [Lotus Bodhisattva] is the Buddha Eyes Female Buddha [Buddha Locana] whose own source is the Great Sun Tathagata. The Twin Lotus Ponds of the Buddha Eyes Female Buddha have transformed into the Padmakumara. Padmakumara, the Bliss Body [Reward Body] of the Buddha, is also currently teaching the Dharma at the Maha Twin Lotus Ponds. I, who am teaching the Dharma here today, am the Transformation Body of the Buddha. Teaching at the Maha Twin Lotus Ponds is the Bliss Body of the Buddha. Teaching at the Great Sun Tathagata is the Dharma Body of the Buddha. The Great Sun Tathagata is the Dharma Body, the Padmakumara is the Bliss Body, the present incarnation is the Transformation Body.

Last night one of the students here was taken to the Realms of Heavens in his sleep. He came to a place called Xi Jian Cheng [City of Happy Sights] and heard many heavenly beings talking about going to attend a teaching. Out of curiosity, he asked them, `Who is giving the teaching?` They replied that they were going to hear the Padmakumara teach. He was surprised, `Isn`t the Padmakumara Sheng-yen Lu? Isn`t Sheng-yen Lu going to give a Dharma teaching tomorrow at the Rainbow Villa? When has he come to this Xi Jian Cheng to teach the Dharma?` The reply was that the Padmakumara at Xi Jian Cheng had been teaching at their city for almost two months. This student exclaimed, `That can`t be right! Our Grand Master, Sheng-yen Lu, will give his first day`s teaching tomorrow, so how could he have been teaching at the Xi Jian Cheng for two months now?` He went along to hear the teaching and, when he arrived at the podium, he looked up and saw that the Padmakumara was indeed the Grand Master. He asked himself, `The Grand Master is clearly still in the Seattle area, how could he be teaching at the Xi Jian Cheng in front of so many heavenly beings and have been teaching for almost two months?` This morning the student came to tell me about his experience. He mentioned that the theme being discussed by the Padmakumara at the Xi Jian Cheng was `Penetrating Into Madhyamaka [the teaching of the Middle Way].`

This morning the student asked me how could there be two Sheng-yen Lu`s? Why is there a Sheng-yen Lu in Xi Jian Cheng and another one here in Seattle? This is what I told him, `Sheng-yen Lu is present everywhere, not just in Seattle. At this time, there are many Padmakumaras teaching simultaneously in many Heavenly Kingdoms and Pure Lands.` This is the phenomenon of manifestation of multiple bodies which may number in the billions and assume any kind of form or shape. This is extremely difficult to perceive. It cannot be expressed in words. We know that the Dharma Body of the Buddha is pervasively present throughout the whole universe. The Bliss Bodies of the Buddha can manifest in any of the myriad Buddha Lands. The Transformation Bodies of the Buddha are equivalent to the Buddhas emanating from each of the skin pores of the Bliss Bodies. Here lies the greatness of the Buddhadharma. The three bodies of the Buddha ?the Dharma Body, the Bliss Body, and the Transformation Body ?are limitless and extend into Infinity. That is why there are Padmakumaras presently teaching the Dharma in the Heavenly Realms while a Padmakumara is teaching here in the samsaric world. Therefore, one should not harbor any doubts when one listens to the Buddhadharma. The Buddhadharma is unimaginably difficult to conceive. There are exceedingly great numbers of worlds and phenomena that one cannot see and hear with one`s physical faculties. The penetration into the Buddhadharma begins with `faith` and not with `doubt.` Therefore there is this quotation found in the Buddhist scriptures: Only faith can penetrate the vast ocean of the Buddhadharma. Only through faith can one enter this doorway.

For example, the Complete and Detailed Exposition on the Basic True Buddha Tantric Dharma is a teaching which has taken me years of painstaking labor to develop and which I have shared openly with you. You are able to obtain this teaching for a very reasonable small reasonable price. With the installation of the video cameras here, you may now purchase video tapes of these precious teachings. I understand that the price of the whole set of video tapes ranges between NT 1,500 ?2,000 (approximatly US $60 ?$80). You decided might decide decided to purchase the NT 1,500 set because you think the NT 2,000 set is too expensive. The difference is only a few hundred Taiwan dollars. Do you realize that this painstaking labor of my whole life is worth only two thousand Taiwan dollars? [audience laughter] My teaching is always open to videotaping and one is free to buy whichever tapes one chooses. One is, of course, happy to find the cheapest and best produced work! But this is not what I want to bring to your attention; the purpose of my teaching here today is not to endorse the more expensive and inferior set. You are free to buy whichever set you like. What I mean is that this Complete and Detailed Exposition on the Basic True Buddha Tantric Dharma is a labor of love that has taken me more than twenty years of painstaking effort to produce. When I first went to my guru to ask him to teach me, I had to go through innumerable hardships and the offerings I made to him were the monthly wage pouches I received from my military service. You are able to tape all these teachings in one week`s time. I have spent a long time studying them and distilling their essence, so they could be delivered in a week`s teaching.

Actually, the teaching is priceless. If, after viewing the tape, one has faith in what I said, the teaching is, priceless. If one finds those details, which I explain in the teaching, make great sense and if one agrees with them and truly uses your consciousness to practice them, then the teaching become invaluable. It is beyond any price.

When one generates this kind of faith, one will receive the priceless treasure. Such being the case, if one tells me, after viewing the tapes or listening to the actual teaching that was given here, that one does not like the True Buddha Dharma and wants to leave the True Buddha School, will I grieve or not? I have laid bare my heart and my blood is on the ground for the sentient beings to tread upon.

In any case, I have already offered you my heart and my blood. When you practice the teaching thoroughly, you can attain Buddhahood. If a student comes to me and says, `I don`t like the True Buddha School, I want to leave,` he is stepping upon of my heart and breaking it into pieces! Shouldn`t I be crying my heart out? I have given you the best thing in the world and I have completely disembowelled myself to offer you my heart and all that is inside me. That is why a cultivator once said that, before Enlightenment he lived a miserable life; after Enlightenment he still lived a miserable life. The first misery was due to the fact that he has not attained the Truth of the Universe. The second misery was that, when he realized the Truth and offered this Jewel to others, others did not want it. It was a double blow of misery.

Therefore, in the future, if a student wants to leave the True Buddha School, he can come to tell me directly and I shall prostrate to him. Why should I pay homage to him? The prostration is to signify my respect for him, as well as to indicate that I have forsaken everything that I have. As the True Buddha School does not forsake any individual, if a student decides to leave, then I must prostrate to him for the two abovementioned reasons. Do you understand the meaning of this or not?

Only faith and confidence can penetrate the Buddhadharma. Why do I have such strong faith and confidence? Whether one has left the True Buddha School, or is still with the True Buddha School, one should understand the importance of faith. Even if one has left the True Buddha School, as long as one still believes in Buddhism, one is still within the True Buddha School. One is no longer within the True Buddha School only if one has decided not to practice Buddhism. This is because our True Buddha Dharma is the authentic Buddhadharma! In this teaching one may practice the very insightful Buddhadharma, attain the very profound skill of Zen meditation, and Supreme Wisdom. Wherever one goes, one is still within the Supreme Wisdom! So, can one really become disengaged from the True Buddha School?

In the days when Buddha Shakyamuni was teaching, he did not teach us so many things! When someone joined the group, the Buddha would teach the newcomer to generate the bodhicitta and to abide by the disciplines. When meal time approached, they all went outside to accept food offerings from others. When they came back, they practiced meditation to cultivate stillness. This was what the Buddha taught: how to carry out the normal daily activities which included eating (accepting food offerings), dressing (the donning of cassocks), practicing (entering into meditative stillness), and participating in the spiritual community (the monks went places as a group). The Buddha also taught the use of disciplines and the bodhicitta to govern conduct. What is the goal for doing all these things? The aim is to arrive at a state of stillness! One must have stillness! What does one need stillness for? In stillness the power of confidence is generated. In practicing meditation today, if one is able to enter into stillness, one will definitely grow in confidence and no longer be confused. When one says that one wants to leave the True Buddha School, this indicates that one has not yet acquired stillness! That is why, in the beginning, the most important thing the Buddha wanted us to learn was stillness. The whole teaching of the Buddhadharma may be summed up in this one word stillness. Stillness is important because it gives rise to confidence. The series of events that lead one to sprout an initial faith in the Buddhadharma is not sufficient to sustain one. Spiritual evolvement is a process that takes ongoing tempering and polishing.

We know there are many kinds of faith. `Superstition` is a kind of faith, but it is a blind faith that one has before obtaining the Right View. The practice of the True Buddhadharma always starts with a faith which precludes superstition and is characterized by the possession of Right Faith and Wisdom Faith. Right Faith is Right Knowledge. One has already contemplated and stripped the Buddhadharma to its core and decided that it is a correct teaching based on correct views. This kind of faith is Right Faith. What is Wisdom Faith? In the Wisdom Faith, one works and trains one`s wisdom until it opens up and reaches the Supreme Wisdom. This kind of faith is called Right Faith and Wisdom Faith. It is not superstition.

Today you are here, listening to my teaching of the Buddhadharma. There are outsiders who would ask you not to be so superstitious, who would ask you not to believe in transcendental powers and things that are intangible. These people say they will believe it when they see and hear it. How many people are there who have this kind of faith?

There are not that many people who truly possess the Right Faith in their belief of the Buddhadharma. The number of people in possession of the Wisdom Faith is also few.

Take a look at your own faith and examine its components. How much of it is superstition? How much Right Faith is there? How much Wisdom Faith is there? Examine it slowly and make a judgment. Are you seeking blessings from the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas? Are you seeking a longer life? Children? Marriage? Do you wish the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to bestow some fortune on you? Are you seeking Enlightenment from the Buddhas? Or are you seeking self enlightenment through self cultivation? In this last case, you are not seeking anything, but at least you are working on yourself.

Why are you practicing the Buddhadharma? The most important goal is to liberate yourself from all kinds of neurosis and from the cycle of life and death. Are you seeking `elimination of neurosis and liberation from the bondage of life and death`? How many of you are truly seeking this goal? If you are not seeking this goal, not training yourself and walking on the path towards the goal of `elimination of neurosis and liberation from the bondage of life and death,` then don`t you really belong to the group of people whose faith is superstitious and blind? Therefore give this question some thought and ask yourself if you are walking on the right path or the wrong path.

The purpose of the Buddhadharma and its practice is to attain Liberation from the bondage of life and death, to attain Enlightenment, and the elimination of neurosis. If you have deviated from these goals, then there is a possibility that your faith is just a superstition, a blind faith, and you are doing something wrong.

For example, there was this one person who wanted to practice and take refuge in the Buddhadharma. Perhaps he was so excited at the thought of taking refuge, he bounded down the stairs too fast, slipped, and sprained his foot. He uttered, `This is a bad omen. I am not taking refuge!`

There are also many students who, besides studying the Buddhadharma, also do practices to ask riches from the Dragon King and money from the Yellow Jambhala`s mongoose. The Ganapati statue over here has gotten the most requests, as one can tell from the number of colorful ribbons people have put around his neck. Many people have gone all out to beseech money from the Ganapati because he had once manifested to me and said that any request from me would be fulfilled. These students don`t realize that this promise was made to me alone. After I related this incident, many students tried desperately to beseech rickes from Ganapati and have given him all these extra adornments. [audience laughter] You have not listened carefully, those words were spoken to me and not to you. Therefore, requests from me will always be fulfilled, while those made by you may not always materialize. But I do think Ganapati should have a bit of sympathy for you and answer some of your requests. After all, you have put in such a great effort. There was one student who, after receiving no response for his request, sent back his refuge diploma certificate to us. I don`t really know what to say to that. When we practice the Buddhadharma, we have a very high and lofty ideal, an ideal that is rarely found in ordinary life, which is to liberate oneself from worries and troubles in life, transcend the bondage of life and death, and realize Enlightenment. This kind of faith is the Right Faith.

Now I always pray that all of your businesses will thrive and that none will close down. I am afraid that, if you go bankrupt, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas will get blamed. In reality, according to my knowledge, the amount of fortune a person will have is already determined. How much food and drink, even including snacks, that one can consume is determined and related to how many blessings one has accumulated. How much money one can earn is also fixed. It is true that doing the practice can improve the situation, but one cannot expect an instant turnaround. I don`t mean to rule out all such possibility, as sometimes the result can be quite swift. [audience laughter] If I tell you blessings do not come so quickly, you will stop your practice. [audience laughter] So I tell you that sometimes, under the right conditions, the supplication will be quickly answered.

Therefore it is important to have the Right Faith. Although fate is inevitable and Buddhism does not discuss readings of fate, it does offer the viewpoint that one can use the Buddhadharma to rupture fate`s hold on one. It is precisely because fate exists that there exists ways to release one from its bondage. This is a type of conceptualization, a kind of wisdom. A Wisdom Faith recognizes fate as well as the shattering of fate. I will give a simple illustration. I have said in the past there was nothing that I would not eat with the exception of two things: gold and diamonds. Gold is too hard to swallow and diamonds are too expensive. Since how much one can consume is predetermined, I now find that, after approaching fifty, there are certain things I have to refrain from eating. I have gone from being able to eat anything to being able to eat nothing! [audience laughter] Simply put, this is inevitabe. One cannot eat too much sugar, because of diabetes. One cannot consume too much salt, because of hypertension. One cannot eat too much fat, because it will cause blockages in the arteries as well as other health problems. My mother says that squids have a high amount of cholesterol in them and a high blood cholesterol level can lead to narrowing of the blood vessels. So one cannot eat too many high cholesterol foods. Some people will tell you that a certain food can cause cancer and that other foods can cause hormonal imbalances. Many such problems are surfacing now. Therefore, every spoonful of food or drink a man takes is predetermined by fate. This kind of faith is based on wisdom and is called Wisdom Faith.

Your practice of the Buddhadharma has to be qualified by Wisdom and Right Faith. Only by possession of Wisdom and Right Faith will you be able to achieve illumination and accomplishment on the path to Buddhahood. Otherwise, you are no different from ordinary people. Like them, you are just worshiping gods, wishing for fortune, longevity, children, marriage, fame, and profit. When your wishes are not met, you stop worshiping. This is the behavior of ordinary people. Therefore, practicing the Buddhadharma differs from ordinary worship, which seeks fortune, leans towards superstition, and is still within the boundary of conventionalism.

Your practice of the Buddhadharma today is a walk on the path towards Wisdom, the Supreme Wisdom. The goal is to transcend the bondage of life and death, to understand the meaning of life, to reach Enlightenment, and to eradicate all your neurosis and problems. Today you have come to listen to this discourse on An Overview of the Buddhadharma. Now you have to understand what is Right Faith and Wisdom Faith, and walk on their corresponding paths; then you will not go wrong. If today your faith is blind, or if you only seek to enhance your fortune, longevity, children, marriage, fame, or profit, then your faith is just a kind of superstition within the conventional world.

What I would like to emphasize today is that faith marks the beginning of the practice of the Buddhadharma. One sprouts an initial faith because one wants to understand the Truth in life, to achieve Liberation and the Supreme Wisdom. With this initial faith, one enters the door of the Buddhadharma.

Impermanence

After the `initial faith,` the next concept to be discussed should be `impermanence.` This world is impermanent. In fact, not just this world, everything in our lives is impermanent. In Buddhism, `impermanence` is the most frequently discussed idea. Padmasambhava asked us to give the idea of impermanence some sympathetic consideration. You have to know that the span of a human life is very short. Our assembly here today was brought on by some very subtle causes and conditions and will only last a very short while. Very quickly people are brought together and very quickly people are dispersed. Buddha Shakyamuni has very clearly explained the condition of `impermanence.` Birth is definitely followed by death. If one is living, one is inevitably walking towards death. A good health will eventually deteriorate. When the Buddha was in his old age, his health was poor. A perfectly healthy body can also become unhealthy. Death follows birth, withering follows flourishing, and dispersion follows assembling. We have gathered together for this extraordinary occasion but, in a few days, we will go our separate ways. In the future, such assemblies at the Rainbow Villa will probably take place only once or twice a year and the teachings will probably focus on internal practices, with the enrollment of students numbering forty, fifty or, at most, one hundred. This time our talk is open to more students, but the next time, there will only be fewer. Therefore, one can say that this is the second and last time for an open seminar here at the Rainbow Villa. In the future, a student will need to submit a dissertation before being admitted to the classes. This assemblage will only last a moment, as all assemblies will inevitably be followed by dispersals. This is `impermanence.`

I have given an example earlier of how I used to be able to eat almost any kind of food. I used to have a tremendous sweet tooth. I loved to eat all kinds of sweet cakes, including the Japanese style and Taiwanese style cakes. I loved cakes stuffed with sweet bean paste, and my favorite was the kind of big, round wedding cakes popular in the Tainan area. In the past, whenever Mrs. Lu happened to see me eating the cakes, she would always be alarmed by how fast I could gulp down a big chunk of those cakes. She would say, `You shouldn`t eat anymore.` As soon as she said that, I would immediately consume two more pieces in a row. [audience laughter] I had this personality trait of self-determination and would not listen easily to others. If someone asked me not to eat anymore, I would deliberately eat a little bit more. When we were invited out for dinners, we were served desserts at the end which would include pastries, fruits, or a sweetened soup. In the past, whenever this sweet soup was served, I would always help myself to a second bowl when I finished the first bowl. [audience laughter] When Mrs. Lu, who was sitting next to me, noticed that, she would say, `How could you eat two bowls?` Then I would eat a third bowl. [audience laughter] But you should know that, when you exceed your limit of sugar consumption, `impermanence` makes its call. When `impermanence` beckons you, you cannot eat anymore because your blood sugar level is too high! Then you have to refrain from sugars. So I tell everyone, do not act like your teeth were made of steel. don`t be stubborn.

When you exceed your amount of food consumption, `impermanence` will signal you to stop. Then you have to obey quietly. Well, when I realized what was happening to me, I decided to defend myself against these chemical imbalances by practicing some chi exercises. Fortunately, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas care very much for me and they told me that practicing certain chi exercises would be enough to help me.

Generally speaking, many people have illnesses. I also have illnesses! You can tell others about this, it doesn`t matter. I am not afraid of others talking about me. Many spiritual cultivators feel that they cannot be ill, as if illness signifies a loss of spiritual power. [audience laughter] Actually I have had many illnesses, such as diabetes, heart problems, hypertension, dermatitis, and also cancer [laughter], bone cancer! Very severe illnesses! And there was also, I remember in the past, athlete`s foot! These were ailments I have had in the past! [audience laughter] I remember when I was small I even had polio for a while. I still remember that, for a while, I was limping on my way to grade school. I also suffered from a skin illness where both of my legs looked like red bean popsicles with red beans-like bumps all over them. I also have had rheumatoid arthritis, back pain, and imbalance of kidney and bladder functions. You know when your bladder muscle is weak, you become incontinent [audience laughter]. There were also bony spurs, stomach pains, and many other problems related to the stomach. I also have suffered from respiratory problems and bronchitis. It`s not that type of bronchitis, though. [The term `bronchitis` in Mandarin soulds like the term for being `henpecked.`] It is the real kind of bronchitis. And there was allergic rhinitis and red eye. [audience laughter] My red eye disease was healed by the Kuan Yin Bodhisattva and this I remember very well. My ears were often congested and I had to clean out the wax every three months. [audience laughter] This is true. That was why I liked to visit Taiwan because one can obtain the service of having one`s ears cleaned out. I visited Taiwan every three months in order to have my ears cleaned out. This side of my temple hurts and my cerebellum isn`t that highly developed [audience laughter] I will probably get the Alzheimer`s disease in the future. With Alzheimer`s disease, the brain shrinks somewhat. Sometimes, the corners of my mouth would crack and become inflamed, and my tongue would be scraped, making eating quite a chore. There were also nose bleeds. When I first arrived in the United States I had a very serious nose bleed problem, as well as allergic dermatitis.

Where is Master Chang Ren? You notice that he looks as if he has gained quite a bit of weight recently. Why? This is because he has been poisoned! [audience laughter] After coming down with a flu and ingesting a mixture of several different kinds of cold medicines, his skin became red all the way from the soles of his feet to the top of his head! The redness has now disappeared, but his face and body are still very much swollen. This is a toxic reaction.

Why am I now so obese? I used to be very skinny, so what has caused me to gain all this weight? My younger sister was a saleswoman for a product called `Eagle Brand Three Ocean Nutrient Formula` and after I started taking that nutritional supplement, my appetite was greatly increased. That supplement induces great changes in one`s body chemistry, which is tantamount to poisoning one`s body. Therefore obesity can be attributed to many factors. One factor is the accumulation of excessive water in the body, another is the body has been poisoned or chemically changed, still another is that one`s consumption of calories exceeds its expenditure, as in the case of Master San Yuan. I think he belongs to neither the first nor second condition. His case belongs to the last condition of over-consumption of calories. [audience laughter]

Do I have any tumors inside my body? I do. When I cure someone of a big tumor, a small tumor will grow inside me. This is due to `supercedence!` The number of small tumors correlates exactly to the number of tumors I have helped to get rid of in others, but I will maneuver my internal chi to eliminate these small tumors. When I cure someone of cancer, I will get the cancer myself. Therefore I have many kinds of cancer in my body. I have had bone cancer and several of my intimate disciples were aware of this. But then I gradually eliminated the cancer. When I cured someone of a bony spur, I found myself come down with a bony spur and it was very painful. I had to do practice to grind it off. I also have had stomach cancer, and all kinds of cancer except uterine cancer! (audience laughter) When I conducted the Healing Fire Ceremony in Hong Kong, for three consecutive days I experienced hundreds of different kinds of illnesses. Wouldn`t you say that this was a miracle? During those three days and nights I was in a stupor and did not eat any solid food at all. Many people witnessed this and were puzzled at the time. Why was Grand Master starving himself and refusing to eat his favorite foods? Was he demonstrating his transcendental powers? No, I was not. I was really unable to swallow anything except water. For three days and nights I was doing the task of `supercedence.` Because of this supercedence, I was able to make the child with polio and muscular dystrophy stand up from his wheelchair, the man with the crooked spine stand up straight, and the tumor disappear from the baby! To effect such healing, I had to take over their illnesses during those three days and nights.

The human body is a transitory phenomenon. In fact, impermanence is the fundamental essence of existence. Can things remain unchanged forever? Is there a norm that stays unvaried forever? Why do high officials start practicing Buddhism? Why do generals start practicing Buddhism? I have said before, generals are often arrogant fellows but, in their old age, they start to see the shadows of ghosts. The people they have killed come back to haunt them. They have no choice but to practice Buddhism.

Has anyone been to the Buddha Light Temple at the Kuan Yin Mount in Pu Li in Taiwan? That was the residence of Dharma Master Reverend Le Kuo who was one of my gurus in the scriptural schools. He had given me the refuge name of Tao Yen and Mrs. Lu the name of Tao Hua which rhymes with `sweetpea flower` in Taiwanese. [audience laughter] When I visited the temple, I learned that many of the monks there were retired generals who had nonetheless held on to some of their old habits. Why did these high officials and generals turn, in their retired years turn to Buddhism and live as monks? This is impermanence! No matter how high a position one occupies, one must eventually descend from it. Even the president, who is the highest ranking official, has to someday come down from his position, let alone more minor officials. Likewise, rich men could become impoverished while poor men could become prosperous. This is impermanence! The generals who had assembled there at the temple to do their practice were still quite set in their old ways. When the kitchen failed to buy any hot chili peppers, the monks started hitting the tables and causing a racket. The old soldiers wanted hot chili peppers for every meal and they just did not feel good without them. Considering the fact that they had been generals, it was amazing that they did not have the dining tables overturned. The feng-shui at the Buddha Light Temple is not very ideal, the monks there always fight with each other and once a nun was beaten to death by the monks. [laughter] Reverend Le Kuo himself did not know much about feng-shui. When I went to take a look at the geomancy, I found that the temple was standing on land that is known as Fire Star Dragon in geomancy terms, which is associated with very hot and dry air. That is why people living in the temple cannot help but have hot and irritable tempers.

It is impermanence when retiring high officials and generals turn to Buddhism, when rich people turn to Buddhism in their old age, and when healthy people turn to Buddhism when their time comes. Many married couples have taken renunciation vows together to do Buddhist practices. Do you think the affinity between two people can stay forever unchanged? That is not always possible! There is of course much love and affection in newlyweds, but some love relationships last a very short time. Just a week into their marriages, some couples are already fighting. They might call each other `darling` in the morning but in the evening they are heading towards divorce. This is the phenomenon of impermanence.

That is why Padmasambhava has asked us to consider and experience impermanence. If one often contemplates `impermanence,` one will sprout a strong faith and grow confident in the Buddhadharma. Why is it that I am able to extricate myself from all the worldly troubles? Because I am mindful of impermanence. In this life of mine, I have encountered many twists and turns, multitudes of obstacles, and heaps of outside criticism and slander. Why am I able to rise above these things? Because I am mindful of impermanence! I am mindful that, although I have been healthy in the past, my health might deteriorate one day; although I have a good life now, there might be a day when I will become very miserable. Our True Buddha School is growing and flourishing now, but there might be a day when ... The Tathagata himself had said that Buddhism would only flourish in India for five hundred years. This is impermanence. Why would the excellent Buddhadharma only thrive for five hundred years in India? This is due to impermanence.

The transience of health and sickness, prosperity and poverty, prestige and anonymity, and within human relationships enables us to experience the impermanence inherent in all worldly phenomena. It is due to this constant awareness of impermanence that I am able to sprout and maintain my faith. After profoundly experiencing impermanence, one will find that the whole phenomenon of the Universe is a state of Emptiness. Due to the penetration into this Emptiness, one may rest in peace and tranquility. The fundamental nature of all phenomena is impermanence! So how can one be perturbed and upset by any problems? When one day the originally wealthy you suddenly become poor, it will of course trouble you! But, as long as you are mindful of impermanence, you will rise above the trouble. When the previously healthy you suddenly become stricken with a grave illness, you have to be aware of impermanence, then you can rise above the trouble. You have been the executive of a company, but suddenly your job is taken away from you; if you can understand and penetrate impermanence, you will not grieve. You must know that all phenomena of the world are inherently transient. When you penetrate deeply into this impermanence to experience it, you will not feel that you have gained or lost anything. One has to understand this truth before one can transcend worries and troubles.

Because of the impermanence in the worldly phenomena, we have to search for the Supreme Wisdom. That is what gives meaning to our lives. Why do you think we are practicing the Buddhadharma? It is because of impermanence. Because of impermanence, we want to seek the meaning of life. The most meaningful thing in life is to practice the Buddhadharma and do spiritual cultivation. Apart from this, each of us is in a state of transitory change, so why compare oneself to others? What is there to be proud of? Why be so arrogant? Everything is constantly changing. There is a Taiwanese saying, `A family`s prosperity does not last three generations.` In fact, sometimes prosperity does not even last one or two generations. Do you think you have really made a lot of money? Do you think you have really built yourself a big mansion? Didn`t I give an example of this the other day? A man is building a mansion for himself and his family. While the mansion is still being built, the demolition man has already arrived. The owner is so happy when the mansion is finished! Subsequently, inside that mansion his wife gives birth to a child who turns out to be the demolition man. The child has come with the intention to dismantle the whole building. This is impermanence! So, do not be too overjoyed when you build a big mansion; neither should you grieve when the mansion is demolished. Do not feel elated because the Buddhist religion founded by the Buddha is thriving, or sad because it is crumbling and disintegrating. In the future, when tens of millions, or hundreds of millions, of students come to take refuge in this True Buddha School, you need not be happy. Neither should you be sad when all students run away and not even one stays behind. At the beginning of this talk I described my grief a little overzealously. Actually there is no need to have any grief. I was trying to convey the state of my mind when this most precious practice, which is a labor of my love, is offered to others and others turn it down. In fact, to a truly Enlightened Being, there is no such thing as gain or loss. He is in a completely sovereign and satisfied condition.

The Buddhadharma emphasizes understanding and experiencing `impermanence` because it is the portal to liberation from neurosis and worries. If one cannot penetrate `impermanence,` one will not be able to generate a spiritual faith and confidence in the Buddhadharma, and thus rise above neurosis and worries. Therefore Padmasambhava asked me and all of the Tantrayana students to carefully and intimately experience `impermanence` and to grow a staunch faith. Only by contemplating `impermanence` is one able to generate faith and confidence. Only through experiencing `impermanence` can one rise above the concepts of gain and loss. If today many people were to slander you, insult you, and take advantage of you, would you be able to stay mindful of `impermanence`? This is a world fundamentally devoid of a `norm`! A `norm` does not inherently exist! When you remain calm and unperturbed, you reach realization and are able to truly transcend troubles and worries. Otherwise, without penetration into `impermanence,` how can you transcend worries and troubles? You will always be troubled and bound by neurosis and your suffering will never end.

For example, I feel that my ability to attain self-mastery and become sovereign, my contentment with the world, and my decision to return life after life to this samsara, are a direct extension of this realization of impermanence. If one realizes impermanence, one will have no fear. If one has not realized impermanence, one will always have problems. This is why practicing the Buddhadharma can lead us to liberation from neurosis. We can take a look at the Great Zen Master Lotus Pond who has written the word `Death` above his headboard. `Death` is to die, all must die. I am not cursing everyone to die, but there is a principle which is absolutely inviolate ?that all of us, including you and I, will eventually die. A hundred years from now, we will all have passed away! Can one live as long as the turtle? Can one live as long as the pine trees here at the Rainbow Villa and remain standing tall for several thousand years? Just any piece of rock or any one of the trees will outlive us! Understand `impermanence` from this. The Zen Master Lotus Pond wrote the word `Death` as a daily reminder that he would die the next day and that he had to maintain faith and confidence and to vigorously keep practicing the Buddhadharma here and now. This is why one has to be mindful of impermanence. How does one enter into the doorway of the Buddhadharma? Through `faith and confidence.` How does one sprout this faith and confidence? By being mindful of impermanence!

The phenomena of birth, aging, sickness, death, and suffering are all transient. Do not be solely concerned with making money, one also has to give some consideration to Truth. Let me tell you, many people have deviated from the path of cultivation when they gave in to the temptation of money! Money and fame have caused many to deviate from the path. The Tathagata has taught us to not become too enamored with fame or profit and he has compared money to poisonous snakes. In his time, the Buddha used to instruct us to `not look at ladies with our eyes or touch money with our hands.` But nowadays people are not just touching money, they are embracing money! It is miserable to become entangled and trapped by money. I have said before that there are two great powers in this world. The first is the power of the Tao, the Buddha, the Tathagata, or the Buddha Nature ?the greatest and most expansive power ?which penetrates and encompasses the whole Universe. The second is the power of money! And you must not place the importance of money above that of the Tao, the Buddha, or the Buddha Nature; otherwise you will be trapped and cannot become liberated. To attain liberation, you must place the importance of the Tathagata first. Modern men would fare much better to have a more indifferent and reasonable approach towards money. One should never take money from others by force or trickery. Understanding impermanence will enable one to understand about money. After all, being wealthy is not always a blessing! Sometimes it can be a nuisance. Additionally, misuse of money can create evils and turn into one`s own karmic hindrances. The more money one has, the more karmic hindrances one can create.

In the past the Buddha stated that money, like poisonous snakes, can bring about similar disasters. If you don`t have money, no one will scheme to take it away from you! Today your wealth can increase the risks to your life. This money that you own is the poisonous snake at your side! Think this over, the Buddha`s words do make sense, don`t they? Because you have money, others will think about how to take it away from you! If you were penniless today, would anyone be scheming about you? They couldn`t wait to run away from you. [audience laughter] Let me tell you, even the ghosts are afraid of the poor. [audience laughter]

Although the practice of the Buddhadharma requires one to enter deeply into the treasury of Buddhist scriptures, it is quite impossible to ask one to read all the twelve sections contained in the Three Buddhist Canons. Everyone of us lives in the world for a limited time only, so only those who are totally dedicated to the path can go and read all of the Buddhist works. Besides, even if one finished reading them all, one might not necessarily understand them or be able to penetrate their meanings. Even if one is able to read through the classics, one might not be able to gain anything useful out of them. Therefore, in today`s discourse of An Overview of the Buddhadharma, I will concentrate on the main points: Faith and Impermanence. After one generates this faith and confidence, the next step is Comprehension.