August 23, 2026 Highlights of the Padmasambhava Homa Ceremony
By TBSN
Dharma Discourse by HH Living Buddha Liansheng
Next week is the eighteenth day of the seventh lunar month, which is the holy birthday of Golden Mother of the Jade Pond. Therefore, we will conduct a Golden Mother of the Jade Pond Homa Ceremony.
Padmasambhava, also known as Guru Rinpoche and Ocean-Born Vajra, was the lotus-born child who manifested from a five-colored lotus in the Dhanakosha Lake of western India. He is the vajra emanation body of Amitabha Buddha, Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, and Shakyamuni Buddha, embodying body, speech, and mind. At the invitation of King Trisong Detsen of Tibet, Padmasambhava traveled from India to Tibet to propagate the Dharma. He taught the Dharma in Tibet for fifty years and established Samye Monastery. He is revered by the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, and Tibetans honor him as Guru Rinpoche, the greatest and most venerable patriarch. Once one attains spiritual union with Padmasambhava, one will naturally attain spiritual union with Amitabha Buddha, Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, and Shakyamuni Buddha. This is what is meant by: Once one attains union with one dharma, one will attain union with all dharmas.
His Holiness explained, “What does it mean for people to become one?” In Daoism, it is the Wuji, the Ultimate Void, represented by the Golden Mother of the Jade Pond. In Buddhism, the Tathagata is the One. In Christianity, it is the oneness of Jehovah, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. In Vajrayana, “Om” is Wuji, “Ah” is the One, and “Hum” is everything.
In fact, this world is originally one, because in the eyes of Buddha, there is no difference among mind, Buddha, and sentient beings. Why are we unable to return to oneness? It is because of delusional and inverted thoughts, which cause us to transmigrate according to our karma in the Saha World. Those with better karmic circumstances are reborn in the heavenly realms; the human realm is more arduous, while the three lower realms are the most painful. The difference between the heavenly and human realms is that beings in the human realm have physical bodies. The physical body gives rise to various conditions and is subject to illness and pain.
His Holiness said that all Buddhas come from the Land of Perpetual Quiescent Light. In fact, we all originally came from the Land of Perpetual Quiescent Light; it is only that our wondrously luminous true mind is obscured by ignorance. As long as practitioners cultivate and manifest light, they will naturally return to the Land of Perpetual Quiescent Light. They can also manifest countless emanation bodies because their Buddha-nature is nondual with the Buddha-nature of the Tathagata.
Q&A
Question from Lotus Junren (Malaysia)
I respectfully pay homage to my Root Lineage Guru, Living Buddha Liansheng.
With deepest reverence, I greet Grandmaster and wish for Grandmaster to remain healthy, peaceful, and endowed with myriad auspicious blessings.
The ninth day of the first lunar month is the birthday of the Jade Emperor. Among the folk customs is the ritual of worshipping Heaven, while Buddhism and Daoism have their own offering rituals for the Heavenly Deities.
In “Tiangang and Disha Jiao Ritual” of The Mystical Power, Book 26 of the Corpus of Living Buddha Liansheng, Sheng-yen Lu, Grandmaster taught disciples to prepare seven plates of offerings representing the Five Elements of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth, as well as mountain delicacies and seafood: Metal—daylily; Wood—wood ear mushrooms; Water—glass noodles; Fire—tofu; Earth—shiitake mushrooms; mountain delicacy—ginger; seafood—salt. Fresh flowers and fruits are also offered in worship of Heaven and Earth.
During the worship, one may recite:
“Disciples, on behalf of all sentient beings throughout the entirety of space, respectfully offer incense and pay homage to all Buddhas, all Right Dharma, and all great Bodhisattvas, Pratyekabuddhas, Arhats, and holy beings.
Above, from the heavenly realms, Heavenly Emperors, and heavenly beings; to the sun, moon, and stars, and the constellations; the Southern Dipper and Northern Dipper; the gods who govern cosmic justice and fate; the Wind God and Rain God; and all spiritual deities who govern celestial creation and transformation, we respectfully pay homage to them all.
Below, we respectfully pay homage to the earth deities, great mountains and vast seas, all mountains and waters, and all spiritual deities who govern earthly creation and transformation.
In the middle, in the human realm, we respectfully pay homage to all spiritual deities who govern blessings and calamities. May all wholesome aspirations be fulfilled.”
I respectfully ask the Guru Buddha:
I am grateful to Grandmaster for answering my questions. I respectfully receive the teachings.
His Holiness’ Answer
It is permissible to set up offerings according to the offering method of the jiao ritual and combine them with the True Buddha Repentance to offer birthday blessings to the Jade Emperor. There is no problem with doing so.
As for the second question, His Holiness replied that it is also permissible. Regarding the third question, His Holiness said that there are no other methods.
His Holiness said that his latest collection of writings is titled The Final Secret (temporary translation, subject to change upon the book’s release). It contains the principles and realizations he has accumulated through many years of spiritual cultivation, which he has written down and left for his disciples.
What Buddhism calls “everything is consciousness” and “everything is mind” refers to mind-to-mind communication. People with expansive minds can merge with everything and manifest illusory bodies outside their physical bodies. Practitioners can communicate with Buddhas and bodhisattvas, as well as spirits and deities, and attain the Five Eyes and Six Supernormal Powers. Once the six sense faculties are purified, practitioners will naturally have only mind-electricity, which is the Buddha-nature.
His Holiness’ Commentary on the Surangama Sutra, Volume Five
At this time, Shakyamuni Buddha asked the bodhisattvas and arhats present where they had begun their cultivation when they first brought forth the resolve and realized the eighteen realms.
Bhikkhu Kauṇḍinya rose from his seat, bowed at the feet of Shakyamuni Buddha, and said: “I cultivated at the Chicken Garden in Deer Park, where I listened to Shakyamuni Buddha explain the Four Noble Truths. Hearing the Buddha's voice explain the Four Noble Truths, I awakened and attained Arhatship. My realization came through hearing the voice and Dharma of Shakyamuni Buddha. Therefore, I attained realization through sound.”
His Holiness said that those who attain the Way through hearing sound regard sound as supreme. Many times, when we hear the mantra sounds of different principal deities, we become so moved that we shed tears because the sound touches the practitioners’ hearts. Sound easily enters the ears, and therefore easily enters the practitioner's heart. His Holiness also praised the Indonesian version of Incense Praise, saying that it sounded beautiful, and everyone present sang it together as an offering to His Holiness.
Sound can also lead to the attainment of Buddhadharma. The voice of Shakyamuni Buddha moved Bhikkhu Kauṇḍinya to bring forth the resolve to cultivate, eliminating all his karmic obstacles and enabling him to attain Arhatship.
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