By Grandmaster Sheng-yen Lu
Translated by disciples of Grandmaster Lu.
Dharma discourse on December 11, 2022 at Taipei Arena.
Prior to transmitting this dharma, I need to first supplicate the Primordial Buddha:
[The mantra of Adharma Buddha in TBSN romanization is Om Biezha Ahdaerma Dadu Soha. Please note that this is only a notation. Remember to always follow and emulate the pronunciation of our lineage root guru.]
Let us invoke and pay homage to the Primordial Buddha—Adharma Buddha—Samantabhadra Tathagata. We invoke the lineage gurus of Dzogchen and Mahamudra: the Precious Mind (Bao Yi) Bodhisattva and the Supreme Precious (Bao Shang) Bodhisattva, also known as Bao Yi Youth and Bao Shang Youth. We invoke Prahevajra; we invoke Manjusrimitra; we invoke Sri Singha; we invoke Guru Padmasambhava. We pray to the Dzogchen lineage gurus to bless Lian Sheng in his dharma teaching of the Great Perfection Dharma. We pray to the Mahamudra lineage gurus to bless Lian Sheng in his dharma teaching.
Now, I would like to tell you that by receiving the topmost dharma of the nine vehicles, the Rainbow Light Transformation, you will be able to transform into rainbow light in the future. Guru Padmasambhava himself transformed into rainbow light. Just now in our invocation, Guru Padmasambhava manifested in the space above and blessed all attendees.
We all know that Guru Padmasambhava is the body, speech, and mind manifestation of Sakyamuni Buddha, Amitabha Buddha, and Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. In fact, he is an emanation of Amitabha Buddha. Padmakumara, too, is an emanation of Amitabha Buddha.
Today, I would like to sing a song, since this is the Taipei Arena, right? It is the place for concerts and singing! What song should I sing? Since Guru Padmasambhava appeared in the sky above, with the reappearance of the Lotus-Born, today is his birthday! Those who can see Guru Padmasambhava in the saha world would be able to see him today. Out of all of you here, many people can see Guru Padmasambhava, and some can see Guru Padmasambhava and Padmakumara appearing together in the sky.
So I would like to sing an Indonesian birthday song.
Thank you everyone.
Next, I would like to tell you several key points. Our human body is the most perfect altar or mandala. An altar is not outside, inside, nor in between, and it is essentially formless. The sky—the whole cosmic space is an altar. And, of course, including all sentient beings, they are all [part of] the altar or mandala.
When Sakyamuni Buddha gained enlightenment and attained buddhahood under the bodhi tree, he stated, “So actually, all sentient beings have buddhanature.” He pronounced that all sentient beings in the saha world have buddhanature.
Sakyamuni Buddha was about to leave the world upon his enlightenment and attainment. Why did he want to leave the saha world? Why did he not want to deliver sentient beings? Have you thought of the reason? It is because he understood that all sentient beings will eventually attain buddhahood on their own accord. This is something you have never heard of before. In the future, all sentient beings in the saha world—each person, each living being—will attain buddhahood.
What I would like to tell you next is that you are also the Primordial Buddha. You are the pure dharmakaya buddha—a buddha in a pure dharma body. Buddhist practitioners adorn their sambhogakaya (reward bodies) with buddhadharma. By constantly doing good and keeping away from all evil in samsara, you are a nirmanakaya, or a buddha in a physical body. Let me tell all of you. Dharmakaya, sambhogakaya, and nirmanakaya—these three bodies—are identical with no differences among them.
Afterward, Mahabrahma Deva and Lord Indra supplicated the Buddha to stay in the saha world. Subsequently, Sakyamuni Buddha stayed and taught the eighty-four thousand dharma gates. The most important dharma gate is what I am teaching today, the great dharma of Rainbow Light Transformation.
In his teaching, Sakyamuni Buddha had said that there are nine vehicles (yanas). On the sravakayana, one practices based on the Four Noble Truths and attains arhatship. In the pratyekabuddhayana, one reaches attainment through the Twelve Links of Dependent Arising, and they are called the pratyekabuddha. In the bodhisattvayana, one practices the six paramitas and becomes a bodhisattva.
Sravakayana, pratyekabuddhayana, and bodhisattvayana are the three yanas belonging to the Mahayana tradition. In Tantrayana, there are kriyatantra, caryatantra, yogatantra, and then mahayoga, anuyoga, and atiyoga.
Mahayoga is the Yoga of One Taste. What is the Yoga of One Taste? It is a spiritual union with the yidam. Once you gain spiritual union with the yidam, you are of the same taste as the yidam. This One Taste is absolute—only one, not two. Thus, it is called One Taste.
In this state, you are the yidam, what you say is mantra, you are the mudra, all your movements are mudra. Your thoughts are completely the same as the thoughts of the yidam. This is One Taste. Where you live is the palace. All the people around you are bodhisattvas—friends, relatives, and people you interact with are all bodhisattvas. Once you gain spiritual union with the yidam, everything in your life, what you see are bodhisattvas, what you hear is mantra, and your thoughts are the yidam’s thoughts. This is what is called mahayoga.
Anuyoga is the practice of the vital energy (qi), channels, and lightdrops1 after you gain spiritual union with your yidam.
Today, I am teaching the great dharma of Rainbow Light Transformation. Where does light come from? How come there’s light? The light comes from our own bodies; it is concealed within our bodies. In Tantrayana, we speak of qi. Guru Padmasambhava has said that the best food is qi—the air. The best kind of food is the air we breathe. Human beings cannot live without air. Without air, we would be dead. A mouthful of air is what we need to keep alive. So air is extremely important.
Taoism speaks of essence, vital energy, and spirit, and essence refers to lightdrops. The vital energy is the result of transforming essence into air. Lightdrops are light, and qi is also light.
This is the first key point: where does light come from? From qi—the air we breathe. When qi enters the central channel, there will be light. Guru Padmasambhava has said that all merits [attainments] come from the Treasure Vase Energy. The Treasure Vase Energy Yoga is a tantric practice that presses down the upper qi and lifts the lower qi, like two cups joining at the dantian (four-finger-width below the navel) to form a vase there. Then by holding your breath, qi will gradually enter the central channel.
This is the practice of descending, ascending, holding, and dispersing the qi. By pressing down the upper qi and lifting the lower qi, the treasure vase is formed. At such time, holding your breath will make the qi enter the central channel. When the central channel is filled with qi, it emits clear light radiance, and it is called the radiant wind channel. That’s where the light comes from. Tantric gurus assert that qi is light. Secondly, that inner fire is light. And thirdly, the lightdrops are also light.
By employing the inner fire that you have ignited to touch and melt the bodhicakra [lightdrops reserve at the brow area] to make it descend and merge with the inner fire, you open your central channel inside your body. Subsequently, you can open all the seven cakras.
First, you open the central channel. Then you open the heart cakra. And your inherent buddhanature will appear. The buddhanature is light.
This is a crucial point! All I’m teaching today are key points. The treasure vase energy yoga is to train you to make the qi enter the central channel. When the central channel is completely open and filled with qi, it is called the radiant wind channel. After you ignite the inner fire and melt the congealed lightdrops (bodhicakra), then you blend the inner fire and lightdrops to open all seven cakras—crown cakra, brow cakra, throat cakra, heart cakra, navel cakra, sacral cakra, and base cakra.
Every cakra represents one color. The brow cakra is the white light. The throat cakra is the red light. The heart cakra is the blue light. These three colors are definite, however the colors of the remaining cakras vary according to various lineage gurus. I’d casually say the navel cakra is the yellow light, the sacral cakra is the blue light, the crown cakra is the black light, and the base cakra is the purple light. The most important three lights are [as in] om ah hum. Om is white light. Ah is red light. Hum is blue light.
When the seven cakras are completely open, light appears, and it radiates from all your skin pores. This is where the light comes from. What I’m saying is the absolute! No doubt about it.
Sakyamuni Buddha taught for forty-nine years and spoke on eighty-four thousand dharma gates; altogether they are called the thirty-seven enlightening factors. What is the key point? There is only one absolute vehicle, and none of the so-called great vehicle, middling, small, vajra, or nine yanas. Everything is absolute. That’s why I am telling you all that you will definitely and absolutely attain buddhahood. You will also absolutely attain the rainbow light transformation body.
We want to cultivate spiritually. According to Tantrayana, we first practice the purification of body, speech, and mind—to have pure body, pure speech, and pure mind. Let me tell you what “pure” means. We want to meditate in our spiritual cultivation. Spiritual cultivators love to meditate as meditation and wisdom are the pair of wings to buddhahood. So, when you meditate until you have no thoughts whatsoever—the state of No-thought, then that’s called the absolute purity.
It is written in Grandmaster’s True Buddha Sutra: No-thought is the Buddha Jewel of Right Realization. Only in the state of No-thought can one emit clear light radiance. No-thought is clear light radiance!
Remember this crucial pith-instruction! The topmost formula of the Great Perfection Dharma is No-thought. The topmost formula of Mahamudra is also No-thought. It is right to say that qi, channels, and lightdrops are all lights. So are the red bodhi and white bodhi, they are all lights. But most importantly, in the state of No-thought, your whole body transforms into rainbow light.
Nevertheless, it’s extremely difficult to have no thoughts! I tell you. Back then, the foremost disciple of the Buddha, Sariputra, practiced No-thought. He often stayed in deep forests or caves by himself, meditating. One goes from having thoughts to the absolute, and from the absolute to emptiness—No-thought. It is written in my True Buddha Sutra that the Buddha Jewel of Samyaksambodhi is in No-thought. When you reach the state of No-thought, all the lights in your body will appear.
In spiritual cultivation, our conduct is neither pretentious nor manipulated. Lotus Youths or Padmakumaras never manipulate; they always speak truthfully. And I’m telling you truthfully, that the highest and purest of spiritual cultivation is No-thought. That’s why it’s written in the True Buddha Sutra that No-thought is the Buddha Jewel of Right Realization.
With our human bodies, how should we cultivate spiritually? Externally, we need to abide by Sakyamuni Buddha’s precepts. Lay practitioners should abide by the five precepts: not killing, not stealing, not committing sexual misconduct, not lying, and not taking alcohol/intoxicants. Ordained practitioners should abide by their ordination precepts, the bhikkus following 250 precepts and the bhikkunis 500 precepts. That’s in general. Externally, you need to abide by the precepts.
Internally, you need to practice the qi, channels, and lightdrops—red lightdrops and white lightdrops. The red lightdrops are the inner fire and the white lightdrops are the bodhicakra. You need to purify your habitual tendencies by having no thoughts—which is achieved through meditation and wisdom. You need to meditate and develop wisdom, the combination of which allow you to reach the state of No-thought. In this way, spiritual cultivators will naturally purify the habitual tendencies from all their past lives.
In addition, you should generate bodhicitta [the enlightened mind for the sake of all beings]. This is the bodhicitta the Venerable Atisa learned from Guru Serlingpa in Jambi, Srivijaya. It is also called the compassionate mind or the generous/giving mind.
In mahayoga, we emphasize the spiritual union with the yidam. In anuyoga, we practice the qi, channels, and lightdrops. And in atiyoga, we cultivate to reach the state of No-thought, where our body transforms into rainbow light.
Where does the pure light come from? Where does light come from? From the qi, channels, lightdrops, and from having no thoughts. And most importantly, from No-thought! No-thought!
Amitabha! I’m telling you the most crucial point—the very pithy formula. The key is on No-thought. The key point is No-thought!
In atiyoga, there are trekchö and tögal. I translated trekchö as stopping and cutting, like chöd—the cutting or the severance practice of Machig Labron. In this practice, you make an offering of your whole body to the buddhas, bodhisattvas, and the ten dharma realms. The method of Machig Labdron’s spiritual practice is the body severance practice, which is also stopping and cutting. That is trekchö.
How about tögal? I translated it as leap over. Tögal is the leap over after trekchö. Trekchö is stopping and cutting. Cutting what? Cutting off all your thoughts to reach the state of No-thought. And then, upon No-thought, there would be tögal! Immediately, you leap over and transform into rainbow light and attain buddhahood.
Just now, I blessed everybody so that you understand that the saha world is a mere illusion. It is all illusory—a mirage. Many people are still deluded by wealth, name or status, and looks or sex. Like, just now before the ceremony, Master Lian Miao put on loads of powder and makeup on me, including lipstick! Too much powder on my face made me look pale, as if it was emitting white light. Then she tried to wipe the powder off with some water, but it was still too white. She did not wipe off the lipstick though. She said it would look better on camera. See? She’s attached to looks! During the press conference, when the cameras started, I looked so pale on the camera, as if I am nearing death! So, more of the white powder was taken off.
I am giving you blessings today, so you understand and be awakened from samsara.
Think about it, what can you get in the saha world? The most important statement in the Heart Sutra is on unattainability. When I gave blessings to Mr. Han Guoyu from Taiwan, I told him, “It’s right that you can memorize the Heart Sutra. But do you know that the Heart Sutra you chant is also unattainable?” And he replied, “Oh, that’s too deep. I don’t understand.”
Let me tell you, no matter how high your position is, even if you’re a president, you also gain nothing. No matter how much money you have, [it will be like this:] When a person is in heaven, his money is still in the bank, his wife is on some other man’s chest, and his brothers are fighting for his inheritance. So what has he gained? Perhaps he has gained heaven; at least, he is not in hell! When I told Mr. Han Guoyu that the Heart Sutra he memorized was unattainable, he could not understand.
There is nothing—not one thing—that you can gain. This is unattainability. Since you cannot get anything anyway, what is it you are thinking about? This is No-thought.
I am speaking here today—my buddhadharma teaching—is to awaken you. It’s true! I’m not kidding! Don’t stay asleep in the saha world! Wake up! Wake up! Get up! Wake up from the saha world! That’s my first blessing for you.
My second blessing is for you to have pure body, speech, and mind. Many people talk so much, days in and days out, endlessly. Why do that?! That’s not purity. All they talk about is nonsense. Don’t gossip! Why not chant the buddha, dharma, and sangha instead? By chanting the buddha, dharma, and sangha, your speech will be pure. Your body, speech, and mind should be pure. Then it is “one.” That would be purity.
My blessing is so that your body, speech, and mind will be pure. Of these three, the most important one is the purity of the mind—which is the state of No-thought. Why are you talking? Why are you thinking? Because you have something to ask for. When you have nothing to ask for, you won’t think or talk.
There are two kinds of true state of No-thought. First, is when you reach the attainment, and second is when you have been reincarnated into the six rebirth realms, or when you are in heavens.
My third blessing is for you to cut off all your greed, anger, ignorance, pride, and doubt—the five poisons. Cut off your greed, anger or hatred, ignorance and delusions. The realm of greed is hell, anger is the hungry ghost, and delusion is animal. You want to cut off the three lower realms by cutting off greed, anger, and delusion.
Once you understand this, you benefit yourself, but you also want to benefit others by spreading this dharma to others. My fourth blessing is so that you benefit others as well as yourself.
I, Padmakumara, descended to the saha world to execute my own vow. And this is my last blessing.
In the Body Transformation into Rainbow Light, where does the light come from? It’s from qi, channels, and lightdrops, and from having no thoughts, from purity. Purity is No-thought. We use our wisdom to think, and once we understand, we cut off all our thoughts to reach the state of No-thought. Amid No-thought, there will be clear light radiance.
The topmost pith-instruction of the Great Perfection Dharma and the Mahamudra Dharma is No-thought. No-thought is the anuttara samyaksambodhi—the unexcelled right realization and right equality. Anuttara samyaksambodhi. Anuttara samyaksambodhi. Anuttara samyaksambodhi. Anuttara samyaksambodhi is No-thought.
Every one of you will eventually reach the state of No-thought. However, [in most cases of no thoughts,] one cannot control themselves and thus be reincarnated in the six rebirth realms. Therefore, before death, you want to understand and reach No-thought, so you have light on your body. When light radiates from your body, then that is anuttara samyaksambodhi.
The death of an ordinary being is different from the death of a sagely being. In death, a sage transforms into rainbow light and merges with the cosmic space—this is the attainment. An ordinary being will also have no thoughts at the end, but they are still bound by reincarnation and will suffer in the six rebirth realms. Now do you understand clearly?
[Grandmaster shares a few jokes as examples of desire, anger, pretense, and choosing the right speech.]
A man was looking for his sweater and asked his wife for it. She said that since it had shrunk during washing, she gave it to her elder brother. When he couldn’t find his pants, his wife also told him that they had been given to her younger brother because they had shrunk too. He became very angry and told her that she might as well shrink him and give him away to her younger sister! This is desire and anger!
The teacher told Ming who often misused and picked the wrong wording to practice more, so he asked Ming to say an idiom to describe the teacher’s joy. Ming picked an idiom that meant “having no regrets in life, he smiles even in his grave.” Thus, choosing the appropriate wording is important. Pay attention to use the right wording in the appropriate context. And do not speak too much! Instead, we should chant the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.
Ming requested to be excused from class and told his teacher that he needed to undergo an operation to remove bodily parts that are devoid of any neural systems. The teacher asked him to say it in plain language. So Ming said, he needed to get a haircut. As a spiritual cultivator, we should not devise, scheme, fabricate, counterfeit, or manipulate our actions, and we should never be pretentious or manipulative.
Today, I am telling you that the Buddha Jewel of Right Realization is No-thought; the Dharma Jewel is the pure body, pure speech, and pure mind. By taking refuge in the True Buddha School, you are the Sangha Jewel.
So, all of us here listening to the dharma are the most precious! Now, you finally understand where the light comes from. Light comes from qi, channels, lightdrops and lightdrops practices—inner fire, and from having no thoughts. When you are in the state of No-thought, then your body will transform into rainbow light.
You have learned the methods of meditation, from the myriad existences to singleness, and from singleness to zero. Zero is emptiness, and emptiness is No-thought. This is your own inherent buddhanature. You transform into rainbow light and merge with the universe. You are now the anuttara samyaksambodhi—the unexcelled right realization and right equality. You are eternally present together with the cosmic space. And you are the Buddha!
Now, do you comprehend this great dharma of the Rainbow Light Transformation? It is amid meditation in your practice of the qi, channels, and lightdrops to focus on singlemindedness, and transform singlemindedness into No-thought, where No-thought gives rise to clear light radiance. This is the body transformation into rainbow light. You transform into rainbow light like Guru Padmasambhava.
May Guru Padmasambhava, Prahevajra, Manjusrimitra, and Sri Simha bless all of us, so we know how to cultivate spiritually, how to practice the rainbow light transformation and reach the attainment. Therefore, in the future, all of you will transform into rainbow light and reach attainment!
Thank you everyone!
Om mani padme hum.
1 Qi is also called prana, channels are nadi, lightdrops are bindu, and the innerfire is tummo.