July 12, 2026
Highlights of Red Manohara Vasudhara Homa Ceremony
By TBSN
Dharma Teaching by HH Living Buddha Liansheng
Red Manohara Vasudhara originates from the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. Because she hooks all that is beautiful and auspicious into the Western Pure Land, all worlds throughout the ten directions praise Amitabha Buddha's Land of Ultimate Bliss. Besides the Amitabha Sutra, the Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva’s Perfect Penetration Chapter is of tremendous importance for attaining rebirth in the pure land. It is a precious treasure among the teachings of the Pure Land tradition.
Once reborn in the Western Pure Land, one lacks nothing. Simply by hearing the Dharma, one naturally develops the aspiration to cultivate, and body, speech, and mind naturally become purified. Whatever one wishes in the mind is spontaneously fulfilled.
Next week's homa ceremony will be dedicated to Mahabala, a Vajra Protector formed from the combined manifestations of Amitabha Buddha, Golden Mother of the Jade Pond, Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva, Mighty Envoy, and Padmakumara, making him an exceptionally great Dharma Protector.
Q&A
Question:
Beloved Root Guru, may Guru Buddha be well and at peace, your disciple from afar.
To pray for Guru Buddha to remain in this world, disciples have diligently dedicated both their worldly and spiritual practices to praying for Guru Buddha's long life and continued presence in the world.
Guru Buddha has taught that longevity is cultivated by reducing desires and being content, practicing Amitayus Practice, performing feast offerings, and carrying out great acts of virtue. Guru Buddha has also taught that one great virtuous deed is equivalent to 3,000 merits.
This humble disciple respectfully asks:
Is practicing the purity of body, speech, and mind itself the highest form of great merit and great virtuous action? Yet maintaining such purity consistently is extremely difficult and requires long-term cultivation.
This disciple sincerely prays that Guru Buddha will instruct us: How can disciples accomplish the equivalent of 3,000 small meritorious deeds within a relatively short period of time to create one great act of merit, dedicate it toward Guru Buddha's longevity, and pray for the Buddha to remain in the world?
In this way, Guru Buddha's lifespan may be extended for the benefit of all beings, while disciples also elevate their own spiritual realization. This would truly fulfill both worldly and transcendent aspirations.
With deepest respect,
Your humble disciple
HH Living Buddha Liansheng's Answer
In truth, this is not easy. As taught in the Surangama Sutra, one may understand today but forget tomorrow. Maintaining the purity of body, speech, and mind is indeed very difficult, yet it is also the greatest merit. To truly accomplish this is already the state of an Arhat.
Whether one attains Buddhahood or continues in samsara depends upon the six sense faculties. The difference lies solely between delusion and awakening. One is illusion; the other is the awakening of one's Buddha-nature.
Human beings live in the Saha World, a realm of illusion, yet few recognize it and continue revolving within it. Shakyamuni Buddha taught enlightenment to help people realize that this world is ultimately illusory, and that practitioners must awaken to their own inherent Buddha-nature.
HH Living Buddha also shared that his recent illness carries profound meaning. Experiencing sickness and physical suffering, to the point of barely being able to move, naturally weakens one's worldly desires and reveals that even the physical body itself is not ultimately real.
Speaking of the animal realm, he explained that many animals were once human beings. Animals are sent to slaughterhouses and consumed by humans; the leftovers from human meals are then recycled into animal feed. This forms a continuous cycle. He recalled that when he once wore a tiger skin, people fled in fear upon seeing him. The Buddha then explained to him that this illustrates the nature of the animal realm.
Although beings may be reborn throughout the six realms, regression remains possible. Therefore, everyone should strive to attain rebirth in a pure land. There, all practice together by reciting the Buddha's name and listening to the Dharma, naturally inspiring diligent cultivation.
Although spiritual practice in the Saha World is difficult, life here is itself a great test. One must remain vigilant to avoid falling into the three lower realms. Treat the elderly as one's parents, peers as brothers and sisters, and the young as one's own children. Through this, one cultivates both compassion and impartiality.
HH Living Buddha also encouraged everyone to support the Sheng-Yen Lu Foundation, as its charitable work benefits people throughout the world.
HH Living Buddha's Commentary on the Surangama Sutra, Volume Five
Shakyamuni Buddha's compassion for all beings is immeasurable. Although those present were already cultivating the path, they had not yet attained the realization of the non-arising phenomena (Anutpattika-dharma-kṣanti). For their sake, and for all future beings, the Buddha prepared to explain the causes and conditions of the six sense faculties. He gently touched Venerable Ananda's crown, whereupon the worlds of the ten directions shook in six ways. Every Buddha throughout the ten directions emitted a radiant light from the crown of his head, and those lights converged upon the place where Shakyamuni Buddha was teaching. Everyone present witnessed this extraordinary and unprecedented scene.
HH Living Buddha emphasized that mistaking the false for the true is the very nature of delusion. Only by recognizing one's wondrous, luminous True Mind can one truly be said to have awakened. The world in which we dwell is but an illusion, whereas the realization attained by Buddhas alone is the unchanging truth.
Attaining realization in the Four Noble Realms is not easy. Yet only by entering these holy realms can one truly transcend the six realms of rebirth and no longer be deceived by the six sense faculties.
Although HH Living Buddha is a realized being who has returned to this world, he still undergoes the human experiences of birth, aging, illness, and suffering. By personally experiencing these conditions, he is able to develop even deeper empathy, compassion, and loving-kindness.
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