In Panama I expounded ''Kalachakra Sun-Moon Disc Practice.'' At the True Buddha Society of Houston I introduced ''Kalachakra's Five Wheels.'' At Seattle Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple I transmitted Mahabrahma Practice. At True Buddha Florida St. Dak Tong in Florida I transmitted the ''Supreme Divine Water Practice.'' In New York I gave a talk on the ''Mahapratisara Bodhisattva Practice.'' In Philadelphia I talked about the authentic Padmakumara dharma lineage flow of the True Buddha School. All of these dharma practices are extremely important.
Mahabrahma, the ''creator,'' whose practice I transmitted at Lei Zang Temple in Seattle, is the first of the three main gods of Hinduism. Today I am transmitting the second deity of the Hindu Trinity, Mahesvara, who is the ''destroyer.'' Mahasvara is the opposite of the ''creator.'' When ''Tathagata'' is added to ''Mahesvara'' therein are many secrets. The Hindu Trinity also includes Vishnu, the ''preserver.'' In Hinduism the three deities of ''creation,'' ''preservation,'' and ''destruction'' rule the cosmic rhythm of the universe as a whole. The ''Hindu Trinity'' represent the cosmic cycle of Hinduism.
It can't be said that Buddhism originated entirely in Hinduism. Buddhism was also derived from the buddha's realization within himself all the fundamental cyclic patterns, principles and essential truths of the entire cosmos. It was because of his fundamental awakening and realization that he founded Buddhism.
Shakyamuni Buddha is the founder of our Buddhism. It's said that ''The king of kings is the Lord of the Sixth Heaven; The saint of saints is the great enlightened Buddha.'' The ''sixth heaven'' is the heaven of Mahesvara, the abode of Mahesvara Tathagata.
In Japan there is a religious sect, a branch of Buddhism, whose practice consists solely of reciting the Lotus Sutra. What is this sect called? The ''Nichiren Sect.'' They never allow anyone to see their Gohonzon. In their Gohonzon, Namo Shakyamuni Buddha occupies the center. To Shakyamuni's left is the so-called ''Mahesvara Mara.'' Mahesvara Mara is within their venerable Gohonzon. What I am now telling you is that this is a great secret. This secret is rarely spoken of by anyone. But today Master Lianzhe said he wanted to have a homa for ''Mahesvara Buddha.'' All of you searched through all the Buddhist sutras and Buddhist dictionaries for ''Mahesvara Buddha'' but did you find any mention of this deity? A few Masters are saying ''no,'' some are just keeping quiet, and some have a blank face. There is no mention of ''Mahesvara Buddha'' in the Buddhist dictionaries but Master Lianzhe still requested a homa for Mahesvara Buddha. He even faxed questions to America asking ''What is the mudra and the mantra of Mahesvara Buddha?'' I had to perform a homa for ''Mahesvara Buddha'' within two days of my return yet no one knew Mahasvara's mudra or mantra. Today if I hadn't known Mahesvara Buddha's mantra and mudra, how would I be able to transmit the dharma? It would be ''Chuan Ji lei mo'' in Taiwanese and ''Chuan yi ge mo'' in Mandarin (meaning useless). Did you know the mantra and mudra before I taught them to you? You completely didn't know. There is a Master here today from Japan. ''Domo konichiwa'' (''how are you'' in Japanese.) ''sumimasen'' (''I am sorry'' in Japanese). Everyone just knows about ''Mahesvara.'' Nobody has ever heard of ''Mahesvara Buddha.''
The universe is truly astounding and wonderful. There is a reason why Hinduism has the ''Hindu Trinity'' of ''creation,'' ''destruction'' and ''preservation.'' Likewise in Taoism things happen for a reason. A ''Taiji'' symbol is depicted with an ''S'' running down the middle. One side of the symbol is white and the other side is black. The white is called ''yang'' and the black, ''yin.'' The white represents daytime and the black, nighttime. The ''yangji'' of Taoism means pure yang, and yinji, pure ying. Other than that, everything else is either yin with some yang, or yang with some yin. Yin and yang come in cycles, one after the other. Yin and yang together is the path. In addition, yang represents ''fire'' and yin, ''water.'' Yang also symbolizes the ''father'' and yin, the ''mother.'' Mankind and the universe are a cycle. Nothing will keep expanding forever because when a certain point is reached that expansion will transform into ''yin.'' And when the yin reaches its ultimate point it will itself ''give birth to yang,'' renewing itself back into yang. ''some yin in yang'' and ''some yang in yin'' imply a cycle, a reincarnation.
The heaven of Mahesvara, whom we call Mara, is where the king Mara resides. Grand Master has spoken of the existence of many pure lands. Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's pure land is called ''Chiwei Pure Land.'' Maitreya Bodhisattva's pure land is the ''Maitreya Pure Land'' located in the inner court of Tuṣita Heaven, which is also a heaven realm. Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's pure land is located in hell. Mahesvara also has a pure land. Where is Shakyamuni Buddha's pure land? It is located in ''Akanistha,'' the highest of the material heavens. Shakyamuni's pure land is a palace in this heaven. In the west there is Amitabha Buddha's ''Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.'' In the east there is Abhirata Pure Land of Aksobhya Buddha and the Lapis Lazuli Light Pure Land of Medicine Buddha. Many of the ''heavens'' contain pure lands and such is the heaven of Mahesvara. It has a pure land called ''Supreme Palace of the Dharma Realm.'' The buddha who resides in this pure land is Mahesvara Buddha.
Sutras frequently mention that ''The king of the kings is the king of the sixth heaven.''The sixth heavenly king is Mahesvara. Mahesvara Buddha is another king residing in the Supreme Palace of the Dharma Realm in the heaven of Mahesvara. Many buddhas come and go from the heaven of Mahesvara. Therefore there are many buddhas in this realm. How then was Mahesvara Buddha engendered? I told Master Lianzhe that he should enshrine the image of Mahavairocana, a buddha of 13th ground, as today's image of Mahesvara Buddha. And may I enquire, which deity's image was used today? It was Mahavairocana? It was the image of Mahavairocana Buddha with the Turning the Dharma Wheel mudra. There are a great many different representations of Mahavairocana but the deity in the thangka we have today is that of Mahavairocana with the Turning the Dharma Wheel mudra.
H All of you must think it's strange. How does ''Mahesvara'' have the ''Supreme Palace of the Dharma Realm?'' Moreover, Mahesvara Buddha dwells there? Here, there are several mantras. ''Om'' is the universe; ''mo-xi,'' everyone thinks ''mo-xi'' is the ''Moses'' of Christianity, the Israelite ''Moses'' mentioned in the Book of Genesis of the bible. At that time, there was a Hebrew named ''Moses'' in Egypt who led the Hebrews out of Egypt (the ''Book of Exodus''). But the ''mo-xi'' of this mantra is not this ''Moses.'' These two ''mo-xi'' have different meanings. ''Mo-xi'' is actually ''Mahesvara.'' ''Shi-la-po-ye'' is ''shi-po'' for short (Shiva). All together it is ''mo-xi-shou-luo-tian-shi-po-shen.''
''Bu-da'' is the buddha, and ''so-ha'' perfects everything. The mantra of Mahesvara Buddha is formed like this: ''Om。mo-xi-shou-luo-tian-shi-po-shen。bu-da。so-ha。'' This mantra contains both ''Mahesvara'' and ''Buddha,'' which means Buddha and Mara are the same. They are one.
According to what is in the ''Eight Trigrams,'' ''yin'' and ''yang'' are in conflict, but they are actually a whole. ''Buddha'' and ''Mara'' are in conflict, but they are also one and the same. Look at the ''yang'' and the ''yin'' of the Taiji symbol of Chinese Taoism. Together they are the Tao. ''Buddha'' and ''Mara'' together are also the Tao. Within this mantra there is ''Buddha'' and there is ''Mara.'' So then, what are humans? Within the human body there is ''yang'' and ''yin,'' ''fire'' and ''water,'' and ''father'' and ''mother.'' A human being is a microcosm whereas the universe as a whole is a macrocosm. When one is able to utterly exhaust yin and transform the yin into pure yang, one will then be able to find the truth. In Taoism one reaches the truth through ''pure yang.'' It is the same in reaching Buddhahood. You must find the truth within yourself.
Glossary:
Gohonzon: In Nichiren Buddhism, a honzon or gohonzon usually refers specifically to the moji-mandala (文字曼荼羅 ''script mandala'' or ''mandala written with characters'') that is the object of veneration in various Nichiren schools.
!!Please be aware that before engaging in any True Buddha Vajrayana practices, one must first take refuge and receive the respective empowerment.!!
Translated by TBTTs (sections relevant to Mahesvara Budddha only)
Translator: Henry Wolf
Translation Accuracy Editor: DJ Chang
English Proficiency Editor: Henry Wolf