【Mahesvara Buddha Mudra :】



Put your palms together. Keeping your thumbs, index fingers, and little fingers straight, cross your middle and ring fingers over.

【Mahesvara Buddha Seed Syllable :】


Blue Ah

【Mahesvara Buddha Mantra :】

Mahesvara Buddha Mantra:
「Om。mo-xi-shi-la-po-ye。bu-da。so-ha.」
Great Rescue Mantra:
「Ta-chi-zha-zha-la。ta-chi-lu-lou-li。 ma-ha-lu-lou-li。ah-la-mo-la。duo-la。so-ha。」

【Mahesvara Buddha Dharmalakṣaṇa Brief Introduction】

Blue Mahesvara Buddha wears yellow kashaya and possesses Buddha's thirty-two major physical characteristics. He sits upon a lotus seat while his hands form the Turning the Dharma Wheel mudra.

【Living Buddha Lian-sheng Sheng-yen Lu Dharma Talk - Mahesvara Buddha Background and Magnificence】

The first deity of the Hindu Trinity in Hinduism is the Creator and the second deity, Mahasvara, is the Destroyer. The third deity, Vishnu, is the Preserver. Therefore, in Hinduism, the trinity of Creator, Destroyer, and Preserver rule the entire cosmos and represent the cosmic cycle.

Shakyamuni 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'' in the former is the heaven of Mahesvara, the abode of Mahesvara Tathagata. The saint of saints in the latter is namely Shakyamuni, the great enlightened Buddha.

There are six heavens in the Desire Realm. The beings in all the heavens have shapes and forms similar to those of humans. Our human realm, which is also in the Desire Realm, has shapes and forms such as male and female forms. The highest heaven of the Desire Realm is the Sixth Heaven, which is the utmost marvelous heaven.

The heaven of Mahesvara, whom we call ''Mara,'' is where the king Mara resides. Many of the ''heavens'' contain pure lands. The pure land in the heaven of Mahesvara is called the ''Supreme Palace of the Dharma Realm.'' The buddha who resides in this pure land is Mahesvara Buddha. Many buddhas come and go from the heaven of Mahesvara.
The heaven governed by Mahesvara Mara has has an inner court and an outer court. The inner court is where Mahesvara Buddha resides. Mahesvara Mara dwells in the outer court. Each heaven has an aspect that is positive and an aspect in opposition to this positive. There are residences for heavenly beings, residences for bodhisattvas, and residences for buddhas as well.

There is a sect in Japan called the Nichiren Sect. The Nichiren Sect inscribed a Gohonzon and placed it in a shrine that is normally closed when no one is chanting. It is opened only when someone is chanting. The Nichiren Sect chants the Lotus Sutra in Japanese. The Lotus Sutra is in the center of the Gohonzon. The Mara of the 6th Heaven is next to the sutra. The Nichiren also gave the highest respect to the Mara of the Sixth Heaven.
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.

Why does Nichiren Sect worship the Mara of the Sixth Heaven? Isn't Mara terrifying? It says in Buddhist sutras, however, that Mara in fact is a bodhisattva of a high ground. What does ''high ground bodhisattva mean?'' One whose Buddhist cultivation is at a significantly high level may use adversarial or antagonistic methods for the purpose of delivering sentient beings. Being ''adversarial'' means they will hinder and oppose you. By transcending their opposition you will attain buddhahood.

The Buddha said that Mara is a bodhisattva on a significantly high ground. A very high level bodhisattva is equivalent to an enlightened bodhisattva, which is a bodhisattva on the tenth ground. A bodhisattva of the eleventh ground is called ''marvelous enlightenment'' and is equal to a buddha. So you can say Mara is a bodhisattva of a high ground, equal to a buddha. You can say that Mahesvara Mara is Mahesvara Buddha. They are a unity with two faces. Buddha and Mara are one thusness.

''Mara'' actually is a manifestation of ''Buddha,'' a transformation of Buddha. They are the same kind. The universe ultimately returns to oneness. It is the same for humans like us. We will also return to oneness. Today ''Mahesvara'' is transformed from ''Buddha.''

So, how was Mahesvara Buddha engendered? Use the image of Mahavairocana (Great Sun Tathagata), a buddha of the 13th ground, as the image of Mahesvara Buddha.
Mahasvara has mantra and mudra. As for his physical image, he wears garments which are the same as a buddha. Mahasvara's appearance is the same as a buddha. His body is deep blue and he is outwardly covered with a precious yellow cloth. His seed syllable is ''Ah.'' His mantra is 「Om。mo-xi-shi-la-po-ye。bu-da。so-ha.」
''Om'' is the universe. ''Mo-xi'' is actually ''Mahesvara.'' ''Shi-la-po-ye'' is ''shi-po'' for short (Shiva). Altogether it is: ''mo-xi-shou-luo-tian-shi-po-shen. '' ''Bu-da'' is the buddha, and ''so-ha'' perfects everything. This mantra contains both ''Mahesvara'' and ''Buddha,'' which means Buddha and Mara are the same. They are one.
The Sixth Heavenly King has another mantra, the Great Rescue Mantra. Isn't he Mara? How could Mara have the mantra of Great Rescue? I say, Buddha and Mara are one entity but with two sides.
Mahesvara Buddha transmitted ''Great Rescue Mantra,'' to Living Buddha Lian-sheng: 「Ta-chi-zha-zha-la。ta-chi-lu-lou-li。 ma-ha-lu-lou-li。ah-la-mo-la。duo-la。so-ha。」
When sentient beings encounter calamities, I will recite this mantra to save them. Once this Great Rescue Mantra is put into action, disaster victims who have escaped death or are trapped in disaster areas will all be protected by the mantra. It is also a catalyst for countries to pay attention to relief operations and is a catalyst for the rescue operations of disaster relief organizations. Through this mantra refugees from disasters will not suffer from illnesses such as major epidemics etc. in the aftermath of the disaster,
Those who have passed away can be delivered with the Rebirth Mantra and the Great Rescue Mantra is also capable of deliverance. For survivors, we can protect them with the Great Rescue Mantra.
I have told everybody about the utmost secret buddha named ''Mahesvara Buddha.''

Do you know what a lotus stands for? It represents supra-mundane mind. What is moon disc? It represents bodhicitta. What is ''buddha? '' It stands for ''true dharma.'' My teaching today on Mahesvara Buddha is to guide you to depart from the heaven of Mara so you can become a real buddha.

Mara is Mara, forever subject to criticism. However, the day Mara can stand very straight he will be praised and honored because he is now Mahesvara Buddha. There was at last one person who emerged from evil and became a buddha. It was the same for Shakyamuni. Without Mara, Shakyamuni would have never been able to become a buddha. In order to become a buddha in the human realm he had to pass through the ''Mara King Heaven.'' The one able to depart from Mara and stand up the straightest was Shakyamuni.
Mahesvara Buddha and Mahesvara Mara are one person with different names. One who can save oneself is ''Mahesvara Buddha.'' One who falls into the hell of the three evil realms is ''Mahesvara Mara.'' This is the utmost profound truth!

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.

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