On September 19, 2009, with pleasant and amiable weather, the heaven drizzled mellow dew. A Saturday group cultivation was being held at Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple in metro Seattle area, with personal blessing and a Dharma exposition by Grand Master. Followers from Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, Europe, People`s Republic of China, U.S.A., Canada and other areas had come to bask in the radiance of Buddhas, to listen to the teachings of Grand Master and to be blissful of Dharma totaling about three hundred people.

The group cultivation session of the night was led by Vajra Achayra Master Lian-Zhu featuring ``Root Guru Padmakumara Yoga Practice .`` After the cultivation session ended, an exposition of the Dharma was given by Dharma Instructor Lian-Yeh on the subject, ``Psychic phenomena should be regarded as an encouraging factor and not as the ultimate goal of Dharma practice. Only by taking refuge with Grand Master and practicing the True Buddha Tantric Dharmas assiduously and progressively, one shall spontaneously gain attainment.``

Next, Master Lian-Zhu elaborated in his exposition, ``The human embodiment within the Six Divisions of Perpetual Reincarnation serves to facilitate spiritual endeavors and we are fortunate to have chanced upon His Holiness, the Living Buddha Lian-Sheng who imparts the affinity of Padmakumara. As long as honoring the Master, treasuring the Dharma and practicing assiduously, attainment shall be within reach in future.`` Vajra Achayra Master Lian-Zhu encouraged the fellow devotees to seize the opportunity of this lifetime to practice the Dharma earnestly and steadfastly to attain (spiritual) liberation.

Following that, Grand Master continued on with his exposition on ``The Altar Sutra Spoken by the Sixth Patriarch,`` halfway through Chapter 2: ``Learned Audience, when rain comes in a heavy downpour, plants which are not deep-rooted are washed away, and eventually they succumb. This is the case with the ones with low innate capacity....`` Grand Master expounded that the Sudden School (of Dhyana) is antithetical to the Gradual School (of Dhyana). What was taught by the Sixth Patriarch is the Sudden School (of Dhyana). He started out his teachings by imparting the modus operandi of achieving enlightenment and let the disciples cultivate retroactively thereafter. Achieving enlightenment is very difficult because of high degree of intangibility of the ``enlightened`` frame of mind and one is not easily awakened to the Truth. The master can not expound the gist explicitly; he can only hint at it, thereby guides the disciples to enlightenment. The Sudden School (of Dhyana) can be likened to rain coming in a deluge; disciples with high innate faculty can catch on upon hearing it. On the other hand, disciples with low innate faculty can not accept it at all and can even raise doubt.

Grand Master pointed out, predestined Karma can not be written off, but it can be changed. This is the case with the (renowned) Carved-in-Iron-Slate Diviner, Kang-Jieh Shao, who was capable of accurately predicting the future and depicting the past for general populace, but was not accurate with earnest and steadfast practitioners of Buddhadharma, inasmuch as practicing Buddhadharma is a great virtue in its own right, thereby predestinated factors in one`s destiny can be changed. As long as one recites increasingly more mantras, e.g. Medicinc Buddha Heart Mantra, Maha Mayuri Heart Mantra, etc., or practices Tantrayana in cultivating spiritual rapport with one`s Principal Deity, fate can be changed. The Maha Mayuri Tantric Dharma transmitted in the Autumn`s Ceremonial Assembly just past, can be used to change predestinated factors in one`s destiny. The reason being that spiritual rapport is the same as spiritual interfusion with one`s Principal Deity; consequently, one would merge with the Principal Deity with whom one then becomes self-identified. When the spiritual interfusion of self and Buddha occurs, a new Buddha comes into being thereby fate and predestinated factors in one`s destiny are changed accordingly. For as long as a practitioner being not able to attain spiritual rapport with a Buddha or Boddhisattva, he or she is till considered a mundane human being and not able to break out of the Wheel of Perpetual Reincarnation.

At last, Grand Master reminded all devotees that enlightenment is absolute and human existence is relative, therefore human existence is full of suffering. There are eighty four thousand Dharma antidotes for eighty four thousand kinds of suffering. As long as practicing True Buddha Tantric Dharmas assiduously and reciting innumerous times of Buddhas, Boddhisattvas and Principal Deity mantra, the Hundred-Syllable Mantra and High King Avalokitesvara Mantra, one`s destiny can hence be changed. This is the miracle of True Buddha Tantric Dharmas.

After the group cultivation and Dharma exposition finally ended, Grand Master sanctified Buddha statues, blessed the Great Compassion water and bestowed refuge empowerment on new initiates. Upon leaving, Grand Master also bless-empowered all the attending followers by palming their heads. The company of followers then prostrated themselves to pay homage, as well as faithfully accepting and committing to implement the teachings. With rejoice, all followers hence departed.

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