White Tara said:
“There are many Buddhist practitioners who claim to have attainments even though they don’t, and claim to be realized. These claims are exaggerated and not true. Grandmaster Lu, you know this violates the precepts. Such false statements break the samaya of speech!”
When I heard this, I sweated! Because in the “Highly Confidential Register of Those Fallen into the Three Lower Realms,” far too many people have made exaggerations and false statements. Therefore, it is essential to seek and follow a teacher of real virtue to avoid the influence of mara.
There was a “Boastful Dharma King” who was full of grandiose claims and self-aggrandizing assertions that almost everything was an exaggeration. This boastfulness went too far!
For instance:
The Boastful Dharma King said:
“Adi-buddha (the primordial buddha) manifested and called me his father. He paid homage to me, made offerings, and prayed for my blessing. Indeed, I am the unsurpassed buddha who has been in existence before him.”
(In fact, the Boastful Dharma King did not really know much about Buddhadharma.)
The Boastful Dharma King said:
“My supernatural abilities are unexcelled, and the universe was created by me. With limitless spiritual power, the Five Dhyani Buddhas and even innumerable buddhas were all taught and trained by me so that they could become buddhas.”
(In fact, the Boastful Dharma King had never cultivated any dharma practices.)
The Boastful Dharma King said:
“Grandmaster Lu is a person with some supernatural power, but I am the one who gave him that power. I have the ability to end his life with just a breath. He should seek refuge in me for his safety. He is only alive because of my compassionate heart. There’s no need for me to exert excessive effort over this simple matter. With just a single thought, I can bring him into the state of nirvana!”
The Boastful Dharma King said:
“Although Padmasambhava, Nāgārjuna, Virupa, Naropa, and Tsongkhapa wished to become my disciples, I actually refused their requests. Their natural capacities are all too inferior, and I attained the fruition of buddhahood earlier than them. Unlike them, I did not need to practice meditation, and had already become buddha, whereas they all needed to practice meditation before they could become buddhas.”
(To be able to become a buddha without meditation is indeed strange!)
The Boastful Dharma King said:
“I am one who does not need dharma lineage, as I am the origin of the lineage. Below me, masters of the Nyingma, Gelugpa, Kagyu, and Sakya sects, are all my disciples and disciples’ disciples. True Buddha School’s Grandmaster Lu is a distant disciple of mine, and he ought to come and serve me.”
(To claim accomplishment in the absence of dharma lineage is an extreme exaggeration.)
The Boastful Dharma King said:
“I am one who does not need Buddhadharma, as I am above Buddhadharma. I do not need Dharma teachings as that is only necessary for those with inferior capacities. I do not need to follow precepts, as I am above precepts. Since the very beginning, I have already attained liberation and enlightenment. Buddhadharma and precepts are all just garbage in my eyes.”
(No Buddhadharma, no precepts. Sutras, Vinaya, and Treatises are all rendered void by him!)
The Boastful Dharma King said:
“Learn liberation from me, and you don’t need to practice any dharma. You only need my blessing power, and you can quickly become a buddha. Even if you are in the three lower realms, if I call out your name, you will be liberated and become a buddha. As for hell, it is within the nail of my little finger; all I need is a mere snap of my fingers.”
The Boastful Dharma King said:
“There is no need for the six paramitas, no need for effort and diligence. The key to accomplishment or not is entirely dependent on me, the Dharma King. There is no need to go through tribulations. If I think about you, you will become liberated.”
The Boastful Dharma King said:
“The path of liberation is just a name, the path of bodhi is just a name. What is real is my blessing empowerment.”
Oddly enough, while some people were stunned by these claims, others actually believed the Boastful Dharma King.
However, real Buddhist practitioners must keep this in mind: