December 7, 2019, Padmakumara Group Cultivation

[TBS News]

In Seattle, the wintry cold, the drizzle and the mist created an air of calm around Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple. As one stepped foot on the temple grounds, one left behind the baggage of the samara world and entered a sanctuary that provided soothing balm for the soul.

That was when, on December 7, 2019, Grandmaster presided over the Padmakumara Group Cultivation and expounded on the Lamdre. After the cultivation session, Grandmaster said that the most important aspect in Yidam spiritual cultivation is the merging of one’s being with one’s Yidam until there is no differentiation. One should not just strive to remove one’s karmic hindrances; one should also transform into the Yidam. In Tantrayana, the triumvirate of the Guru, the Yidam and the Protector forms the Samaye [vow]; they belong together and are not separate. Once a cultivator achieves singularity [with the three], he or she is the Guru, the Yidam and the Protector -- all in one.

Padmasambhava is known as a lotus-born Bodhisattva. A Bodhisattva that is a Nirmāṇakāya transformation from a lotus is naturally known as Padmakumara [Lotus Youth]. Hence, there is no difference between Padmasambhava and Padmakumara. Padmasambhava once expounded an important concept, “I didn’t come or go”. This sentence has deep meaning: fundamentally, Padmasambhava was never born, nor did he die. Hence, he didn’t come or go.

If one has sincere faith and is always thinking of Padmasambhava, one will see Padmasambhava manifesting before oneself and expounding the dharma. On the 10th day of every lunar month, Padmasambhava will tour the world and inspect the disciples.

Each time before Grandmaster blesses disciples on the crown, he would close his eyes and pray to the three Fundamentals [the Guru, Yidam and Protector]. In his prayers, he would invoke Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Protectors, dakas and dakinis, all Heavens, and Lineage Patriarchs to bless everyone. The last [entity] to manifest would be the Yidam responsible for blessing everyone on the crown then. Hence, as can be seen, they [Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Protectors, dakas and dakinis, all Heavens, and Lineage Patriarchs] can manifest themselves to bless everyone. Today, in the group cultivation of Padmakumara, if we sincerely chant the mantra of Padmakumara, Padmakumara will manifest and bless everyone, just like Padmasambhava [can do so].

Grandmaster spoke of a miracle that happened recently. An Indonesian disciple, dharma brother Huang Hanfei, had suffered a stroke and was in a coma in the hospital. His wife kept chanting the Padmakumara mantra at his bedside; she also entrusted a dharma sister in Seattle, Li Tian, to inform Grandmaster of Huang’s condition and to provide Huang’s photograph for Grandmaster to bless.

While Grandmaster was blessing Huang in Seattle, Huang’s wife was simultaneously chanting the mantra in the hospital in Indonesia, eventually dozing off due to tiredness. At that point, she thought she saw Grandmaster enter the hospital ward, stretch his hand into Huang’s brain and retrieve a black blood clot from it. Grandmaster had smiled triumphantly at the substance and said, “It’s all good,” before walking off. Huang, who was lying unconsciously on the bed, miraculously woke up. The doctor was astonished over this impossible feat, because the brain clot was as big as the ear of an adult and even if an operation were to be performed to save Huang’s life, Huang would have remained comatose afterwards. How could he even have woken up at all?

There are other anecdotal cases in which Indonesian disciples were saved by the blessings of Grandmaster.

As seen, Padmakumara can manifest to save lives. Grandmaster said, some people have visited the Maha Twin Lotus Pond upon chanting the mantra 8 million times. Some have experienced miracles. Hence, one should not look down on this simple manta, “Om, Guru, Liansheng, Siddhi Hum”. The “Om” represents all Buddhas in the consciousness of the universe, “Guru” stands for the Great Teacher, “Liansheng” denotes the Nirmāṇakāya transformation from the lotus, “Siddhi” represents the Pureland of the Nirmāṇakāya transformation from the lotus, and “Hum” means attainment.

The overall meaning of the mantra is that it can lead one to attainment – one can simply chant the Padmakumara heart mantra to the stage of “Chi Ming”, which means chanting to the extent of emitting brilliance.

In Tantrayana, “Chi Ming” is very important, and one should diligently chant mantras and sutras. GM illustrated with a recent example: A few disciples had sought his guidance, citing undesirable effects of karmic hindrances. Grandmaster then advised them to chant the Marici mantra and sutra. This is because, as mentioned in the Marici sutra, the chanting of the sutra can prevent one from being bullied or getting into harm’s way. Thus, this is the overall meaning of the sutra. Marici Bodhisattva will protect the cultivator if he or she chants the mantra or the sutra.

Next GM expounded on the essence of the Lamdre.

The central channel of the body is the main channel that extends from the crown chakra right down to the secret chakra and the root chakra. This central channel is not straight and there are blocked portions along the channel. The blockages are a result of the meridiens and blood vessels getting entangled with the central channel. There are 32 spots where such entanglements with the central channel can take place; these need to be undone. It is very important that the tantric practitioner’s central channel is smooth and unblocked. The Lamdre mentioned that the blockages are due to these 32 spots in the central channel that have become so narrow that flow viscosity is affected.

Grandmaster said, the Treasure Vase practice ensures that the Qi enters the central channel, and if one pumps in more Qi, the Qi will pry open the entanglements one by one. The central channel will then be smooth without blockages or entanglements.

Lamdre also mentioned “Yeshe and the 12 lotus girls”. Who are they? Grandmaster explained, “Yeshe” refers to Yeshe Tsogyal, Tibet’s first and foremost Buddha-Mother or consort. The term “lotus girls” refers to consorts with the characteristics of the lotus. The “lotus girls” are one of the many types of consorts. The Lamdre mentioned the use of a technique [pertaining to Yeshe and the 12 lotus girls] to undo the entanglements in one’s bodily channels. The technique is part of the third-level empowerment (wisdom empowerment). With this, one will experience Great Bliss (Pramuditā-bhūmi), thus upping one’s spiritual cultivation to another level. As one cultivates spiritually toward the Stage of Great Wisdom, entanglements in the channel are pried open one by one.

The Lamdre mentioned, “Stop and sever”: this is the method that leads to the firm-up of Qi and Lightdrops. In inner spiritual cultivation, the emphasis is on one’s breath, which is essentially Qi. One uses the power of Qi to pry the body’s channel entanglements loose, so that the Lightdrops can be abundant in the whole body as hormones. Lightdrops are therefore very important, without which, a person’s body will age and enter menopause or andropause. Hence, a Tantric cultivator must know how to use Qi to push through the channels, to ensure that the secretions of Lightdrops are abundant, so that he or she is full of vitality and strength. Men’s semen and women’s menses are all Lightdrops. Hence, cultivating the non-leakage dharma involves retaining these Lightdrops. Grandmaster achieved non-leakage at the age of 40.

After the ceremony, 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 touched the crown of every disciple to help them in the fulfillment of their wishes.

The compassionate teachings of Grandmaster touched the heart of every disciple. If we believe in and always think of the Root Guru and also chant the Padmakumara mantra, Grandmaster will expound the dharma to disciples by manifesting himself in front of them. Let us respectfully bow with utmost gratitude to our Root Guru.

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