November 30, 2019, Padmasambhava Group Cultivation Session
[TBS News]

With the conclusion of Thanksgiving, we herald in the final month of 2019. At this time of the year, winter in Seattle is bitter-cold, but that does not deter TBS disciples from the USA and all over the world from making their way to Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple to attend Grandmaster’s dharma discourses.

On Saturday, November 30, 2019, the Padmasambhava Group Cultivation was held, and as always, it was completed auspiciously. After the group cultivation, Grandmaster talked about Padmasambhava.

In samsara, Padmasambhava (Chinese: Lianhua Sheng Dashi) is known to have been born out of a lotus and whose nirmāṇakāya transformation is from a lotus.

On a related note, Grandmaster was brought to see the Padmakumara (Chinese: Lianhua Tongzi) by Golden Mother of the Primordial Pond; Padmakumara is a Bodhisattva born out of the lotus and hence the nirmāṇakāya transformation is also from a lotus. In Buddhism, the Chinese term Tongzi also means Dashi, and both terms represent Bodhisattva. Hence, Padmasambhava is also Padmakumara; Grandmaster is Padmakumara.

The native land of Padmasambhava is Amitabha’s, and so when one cultivates the sadhana of Padmasambhava, one should also wear red attire because Amitabha of the Western Paradise of Ultimate Bliss is also red.

Grandmaster’s Yidam is also Amitabha. Hence, Padmasambhava and Padmakumara come from the same source too. Padmasambhava is lotus-born, and so is Grandmaster. Padmasambhava and Padmakumara originate from Amitabha. They are interconnected.

There are five famous Buddha-Mothers or consorts of Padmasambhava, namely, Mandarava from India, Yeshe Tsogyal from Tibet, Kalasiddhi from Nepal, Shakyadevi and Tashi Khyidren. For the upcoming Spring 2019 ceremony, the transmission of the Yeshe Tsogyal dharma will make a debut. In Tibet, Yeshe Tsogyal is highly regarded as the first and foremost Buddha-Mother and cultivation partner of Padmasambhava. Yeshe Tsogyal is known as the transformation of Sarasvati, whose sister is Maha Shreya. Shimu is a reincarnation of the latter.

When Padmasambhava was expounding the dharma for 50 years in Tibet, he and Tibetan King Trisong Detsen and Master Santaraksita established their first temple called Samye Temple at a place near Yarlung Zangbo.

Padmasambhava placed the pith instructions of Tantric cultivation as a terma in Trisong Detsen’s mind. Today, Grandmaster has the terma in his mind, which was the one that Padmasambhava placed. There is a secret to this: Padmasambhava was later reborn as Drogmi Yeshe; Drogmi Yeshe was the nirmāṇakāya of Padmasambhava. Drogmi Yeshe went to India’s Vikramaśīla Temple to learn the dharma, and he took Lamdre, the Sakya sect’s most treasured dharma, to Tibet. He also received Virupa’s greatest blessings and lineage.

Grandmaster is able to discourse on Lamdre because Drogmi Yeshe is Padmasambhava’s reincarnation. Padmasambhava is most adept in the Nine Stages of Dzogchen (Great Perfection); just like Padmasambhava, Grandmaster knows the most-supreme Ati Yoga.

In Ati Yoga, the most important concept is “stop” (stop and sever) and this pertains to [a spiritual cultivation that is] “superseding” (transcendent) – one that is beyond the development stages in spiritual cultivation and transcends the human world.

Hence, Grandmaster and Padmasambhava have the deepest affinity ever, with Grandmaster’s secret lineage coming from Padmasambhava. Grandmaster was brought to the grotto cave of Padmasambhava to receive two empowerments: first, Padmasambhava emitted rays of brilliance which entered Grandmaster via every skin pore; second, Grandmaster entered Padmasambhava’s mouth and exit from Padmasambhava’s secret chakra. All these took place in Samadhi. It is an extraordinary experience.

Grandmaster then spoke about a dream he once had. In the dream, his treasures were stolen by a thief whom he subsequently chased. Seething with anger, he demanded that the thief return his treasures. Then, Grandmaster woke up. A voice told Grandmaster that he had failed the test. Grandmaster said, a cultivator must not get angry because consequently all things will come to nought eventually. All treasures are nothing but rocks. If one thinks more deeply on the Supreme Truth, one realizes that these treasures are not one’s own. Once a person has cultivated to the point where the Supreme Truth is comprehended, then he or she would be able to understand the true meaning of the nature of emptiness.

Life is like a movie: you cry, laugh and fuss about while the plot develops; once the movie ends, you will still be you, and the movie will still be the movie. The “you” is liberated, free from the influence of the movie. You were immersed in the movie while you were at it.

Based on the true Tathagata wisdom, one should just watch the world go by, the undertaking of which is similar to watching a movie. One’s Buddha-nature remains untainted; there is no loss or gain. In Christianity, the concept of eternity actually refers to the Buddha-nature. The Buddha-nature is eternal; just like the Sun in space, Buddha-nature is not tainted by anything. One’s cultivation must be like Padmasambhava’s, which transcends the human world so that nothing affects one in any way. This is transcendent cultivation. True cultivation is about being unmoved by the winds of the eight directions, and no envy or jealousy prevails. That is true cultivation.

Next, Grandmaster talked about Lamdre.

The human body is made up of many channels – these can be blood vessels, tiny veins and arteries. Lightdrops are blood, semen, and body secretions.

Once a channel in the body is knotted, pain will remain localized [on the knot] and not move away. If a bodily channel is not knotted, and if one is in pain, then the pain will shift or disappear. For example, a rope which is knotted will not be smooth [to the touch] unless it is undone. Using the same analogy, in a bodily channel, pain will be localized on a knot unless it is undone. Conversely, if a bodily channel is not knotted, but merely bent or twisted, the pain can shift or disappear. The cultivator of Qi, channels and lightdrops must understand the chakras and channels, so as to prevent the formation of knots and to bring about their loosening.

How does one go about loosening knots in bodily channels to alleviate the pain? One must utilize Qi to push open the knots, while inhaling [breath] into the body, so that the Qi moves at the knotted spots. Pain will be eradicated.

When there is pain between the bodily channels, one can move one’s thoughts to that painful spot. The cultivator of Qi will naturally be able to move his or her Qi to that spot automatically. When the Qi arrives at that painful spot, the knot [in the channel] will slowly be undone and be pushed open. Grandmaster demonstrated how he does Boundary Protection daily: he used his body’s Qi to perform the Boundary Protection. As one summons Qi daily and moves one’s body, one will naturally not have any joint pains.

After the discourse, Grandmaster bestowed the refuge-taking initiation on the new disciples. He also blessed the compassionate water and performed the consecration ritual on the Buddha statues and images. Before leaving the temple, Grandmaster blessed everyone on the crown and hoped that everyone’s wishes will come true.

As we walked out of the temple, the wintry wind may be cold, but we knew Grandmaster is fitter than anyone of us, for the conclusion of the discourse tells us much. The confidence and perseverance that Grandmaster exudes indicate his limitless Tathagata wisdom, and we, as disciples, feel nothing but the utmost admiration and respect. We are proud to have taken refuge under the Dharma King who has achieved attainment.

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