How to Transform a Human Body into a Buddha Body

CW32_No.76

Yogi C. M. Chen


Part II

The Anuttarayoga gives the more important details and unique technical psycho-physical practices which enable the practitioner to achieve success in transforming a human body into a Buddha body in this very lifetime. I shall deal with them in this booklet in a systematic way without quoting many trifling matters or Sanskrit terms which are unfamiliar and puzzling to the western reader.

In general, the Anuttarayoga contains the Six Secret Methods as edited by Naropa which Western Buddhists had been introduced to many years ago. In particular, each Yidam has his own Anuttarayoga with different stages thereof, e.g., the six stages, i.e., Vivekakaya-krama, Viveka-vak-krama, Viveka-citta-krama, Maya-dehadeha-krama, Prabhasvara-krama and Yugannadbha-krama, or the five stages, i.e., Vajrajapa-krama, Citta-visuddhi-krama, Svadhisthana-krama, Sukkadhisambodhi-krama and Yuganadbha-krama. These two above mentioned systems are in the Guhyasamaja Tantra. The four stages, i.e., Visuddha, Dharma, Mantra and Sansthana are found in the Mahayama Tantra, and the six stages, i.e., Pratyahara, Dhyana, Pranayama, Dharana, Anusmriti and Samadhi are found in the Kalacakra Tantra. They are similar in most respects. All are under the classification of the Four Initiations or Six Secret Methods. In the Hevajra Tantra, which has been translated into English and published by Oxford University Press, all the practices have been divided under the topics of Four Initiations. However, without reading my booklet New No. 78 entitled "A Safe Guide to the Practitioner of Hevajra Tantra" one would not find out the exact practical sequence to be followed because the text handed down to us has been purposely confused for the sake of keeping it secret. Now our age is quite different from the ancient ones. People now have deep and curious interest in discussing the Truth, but have rather little faith in practice. Hence I now have to introduce it frankly and plainly and accurately without any perplexities and confusion.

An adumbration should be sandwiched in here before setting forth the statement about Anuttarayoga to complete the whole system of the Tantric doctrines concerning the Buddha-body.

  1. When one is practicing the Kriya Yoga, one is frequently connected with the Buddhas, Budhaesses, Bodhisattvas and Holy Gods (Gods who are Bodhisattvas). Just as a child is always copying the actions of his parents, so is the practitioner imitating all the good manners and appearances of Buddhas. He would not disregard himself as a sinner without recognizing the entity of Buddhahood. To make his connection to the Buddhas much deeper, he is taught to practice the following eighteen ways daily: (1) To purify his sins enabling him to be close to the Buddhas. (2) To ask the Buddha of the Buddha department to purify the crimes committed by his body. (3) To ask the Buddha of the Lotus department to purify the scandal uttered from his mouth. (4) To ask the Buddha of the Vajra department to purify the wickedness conceived in his mind. (5) To wear the Vinaya-armour to protect the pure body. (6) To build the diamond net around the place where ones hermitage is situated. (7) To build the diamond wall around where one is living. (8) To visualize the Mandala of Buddha within ones hermitage. (9) To visualize the Maha Bodhisattva Akasagarbha to adorn this Mandala. (10) To visualize a carriage to welcome the Buddhas. (11) To guide the carriage to come rightly into the Mandala. (12) To welcome the Buddhas when they are in the Mandala. (13) To cover the Mandala with gnostic fire. (14) To spread the Vajra net above the Mandala. (15) To cover the gnostic fire all the places inside the Mandala. (16) To offer holy water to the Buddhas for bathing. (17) To offer a lotus for sitting upon. (18) To offer every other kind of good things.
  2. In short, every action done by the practitioner is like that of a Buddha and not like that of a human body.

  3. When one is practicing the Carya Yoga, besides ones body which is connected to Buddhas body, the mind, which is the master of the body, plays an important part in this Caryayoga. In this practice there are four holy conditions: First, the practitioner should visualize himself as a Buddha body in the position of Cause; Second, in front of him, on the sky, there is visualized a Buddha in the position of Consequence; Third, in the heart of the practitioner should be visualized a moon which indicates the Buddhas gnostic mind; Last, the moon should be seen in Buddhas body in front of the practitioner. Hence, through the movements of the incantation around the moon in both the Practitioners and Buddhas heart, ones wisdom is identified with the Buddha. The master of the human body is thus sublimated. The movement of the incantation is the life energy which is the chief energy among the five energies upon which a good foundation of the materialization of the Buddha body is well based.
  4. When Yogic Yoga is practiced, both the five forms of the Buddha body and the five elements of the Pagoda are identified. Then the philosophy of the Six Element Yoga which contains the mental element of Right View (or the ninth holy consciousness) and the five material elements is stressed more. The Buddha body and the palace of the Buddha body have gotten their good foundation. Starting from this stage there is no more differentiation between mentality and materiality, or the spirit and the flesh, or the mind and the body, or the psychical and the physical, or the metaphysical and material sciences. Every practice henceforth has no duality. It is real yoga, by which is meant the total unity of every opposite in total harmonization. One who practices this yoga and those yogas following henceforth should keep this point clear in mind.

Now I should introduce the main practices in the Anuttarayoga, i.e., the Evolutional Yoga and the Perfect Yoga.


I. The Evolutional Yoga

The Evolutional Yoga itself bears a name which is another title for the first stage of transformation of the Buddha-body. Here the body does not mean the flesh one only. It is psychophysical and anthropomorphic. It cannot be separated from the mind of Samadhi of the Sunyata. Shame is mental, but the blood which makes the face red and the hair stand up is physical. They occur at the same time and cannot be separated. Though the practice of visualization is mental, the form which appears in oneself and others visual impression is vividly physical. Hence this practice of the visualization of the Buddha body in the last stages only contains some Mantras, Yantras, and Mudras. But in this evolutional yoga, the realization of these three conditions or standards are more stressed while those Mantras and Mudras are not so often practiced again. The three conditions or standards are:

  1. Clarity. All the hairs on the whole body such as eyebrows, eyelashes and so on should be visualized not only clearly in their outward appearance but so that the nature of Sunyata is obvious in every hair. Outwardly the hair is like a shadow in the mirror, but inwardly it is quite empty like a bubble. The hair is visualized thus and the other parts of the body which are bigger than the hair should also be visualized in the same manner.
  2. Firmness. After this Clarity is accomplished, to make this clear appearance durable throughout ones whole life without one second of disappearance, Firmness is the second condition to be held. Firmness must be kept with respect to quantity, not only all the parts of the body but also all the parts of the Mandala; and to time not only in meditation but also in walking, in talking, in sleeping and even in sexual intercourse. It may be likened to a wooden image which is engraved with a knife; the deeper you engrave it, the more obviously the lines stand out.
  3. Holy Pride of Buddhahood. As the human body is formed by the past profane karmas, so one may always consider oneself to be a man, just a common man who cannot become a God nor a Buddha. Once I asked a Father of the Catholic Church why Jesus asked God three times to remove the cup. The Catholic Father said it was His human nature. In Christianity even Jesus may have human nature, but to the Tantric Buddhist, human nature should be forbidden to appear. That is why one has to keep the Buddhas Pride instead of human nature. Though human nature is a bad seed in the field of the Eighth Consciousness, it is supported, persists and flourishes by ones own egoism. If Sunyata meditations are practiced frequently, and the Buddha body visualizations are gradually increased, the Pride of Buddhahood will eventually be accomplished. One should think that since one is initiated and dignified by the wisdom-Yidam, who has no more human body, whenever one does, says, or thinks of something, one does it, says it and thinks of it respectively like the Buddhaones Yidam. One should offer peace where there is war, food where there is hunger and drink where there is thirst. Whenever one meets with anger in someone, pacify it! A request from a beggar, grant it; an inquiry, answer it; a patient, cure him! If lustful thought arises from ones mind, one should ask oneself: Should a Buddha still have lustful thought? If selfish thought arises from ones mind, one should ask oneself; should a Buddha still have selfish thoughts? When evil thought is cut off, bad action cannot take place. Thus one not only accomplishes the outlook of a Buddha body, but also achieves a Buddha mind. What a pragmatical method there is in the Anuttarayoga!

To explain the distinction between human pride and Buddha pride, a few more words should be given. Human pride is a sorrow. If a good person is proud of the lot of good Merits which he has done, he could be reborn only in the Asura realm but not in the Heaven. And the false Guru who says, "You are a great sinner. I am the only Buddha in this whole world. You have to offer your wife, concubine, daughter and maid to me as my Dakinis; and your land, buildings, fields and gardens as my properties." These constitute human pride but not Buddha pride. The former always accompanies lust, anger, ignorance, and egoism. Whereas the latter accompanies non-egoism, Sunyata, compassion and vinaya. One should recognize them clearly.

As I have said, the surrounding or Mandala of the Buddha body should also be visualized with the above three conditions. Besides these, the indications or the symbolism of each part or thing in the Mandala should also be well meditated upon. As ones own body has been personified in Buddhahood, his place or rooms or hermitage should also be sublimated into Buddhas as Mandala. The diamond of wisdom is its foundation, the eight-fold paths are the pillars, the four-noble paths are the four memorial precious gates, lotuses, vajras and skulls are the materials forming the walls. Outside the walls are eight graveyards which manifest impermanence. Inside the Mandala, flowers denote wisdom, lakes reveal mercy, light indicates the Samadhi, voices utter the preachings and fires express the powers. Outwardly, they all appear as things; inwardly, they all are Dharmas; profoundly, they all are Samadhi of Sunyata.

Furthermore, based upon the philosophy of non-duality, inside the Buddha body one may have the Mandala, and outside the Mandala one may have the Buddha body. Body and Mandala are not differentiated. Every part of the Buddha body indicates a Dharma, and every part of the Mandala also indicates a Dharma. Body and Mandala both contain mentality and materiality. Both contain the nature of Sunyata inside and the conditions of Sunyata outside. Shadow in the mirror, mirror with the shadow; both are two, yet one and one, yet two. All dissimilar existences have their mutual penetration. Biwapa became a stone image. Chunpolongo lived in a small bottle. Mandala yet Buddha body, Buddha body yet Mandala. Subjectivity is equal to objectivity. One Mandala may have one Buddha body or five Buddha bodies or nine, or thirteen, or one hundred and eight or an even larger number of Buddha bodies. The chief and the retinue are different yet harmonious, harmonious yet different. One in all, all in one. Milarepa was invited by many of his students. He appeared to every student simultaneously. The Wisdom Buddha body in the Pure Land may be invited into the Samaya Buddha body of the practitioner. The visualized incarnated Buddha body may be sent to the Pure Land. The wisdom Mandala may be invited into the visualized mandala. These have been done by many accomplished Gurus on the occasions of Initiations. Either broad one or narrow one, either hidden one or manifested one, either present or future, either subject or object, either form or voice, either merit or demerit, whenever or whichever takes place or is in action, all the others and all the times are acting simultaneously. The so-called Evolutional Yoga is evolving in this mystic manner. From the Sunyata nature it is produced and with the Sunyata conditions it appears. It is not like the common things or beings, some of which grow in an arithmetical progression while others in a geometrical progression but it evolves in a philosophic and mystical progression. No matter whether one is able or unable to do it, one has to try to practice it in this way when one is working at this stage of the course.

Nevertheless, the above evolutional practice lays more stress on the visualization within which, though, the motive is the philosophy of the Six Element Yoga. Yet the right view mental element plays an important role and the five material elements have not yet been taken on the shoulders of the practitioner. To have many irons in the fire of visualization and of the exercises and meditations, the quality of the five elements of materiality should at least, if not more, keep balance with the mentality of Right View or the Ninth Consciousness and undertake all the steps of practices of Anuttarayoga. Hence the quality of the five energies themselves, the way they pass through, and the essence they move with, and these three things i.e., breath, nerves, and semen-like drops, should be taught in a gnostic way of Buddhahood. Then and only then the Buddha body under such a practice would not only be a visualized one but also a matter of fact one which will integrate the quality of the real Buddha body. This is the main work of the second great initiation of the Anuttarayoga.


II. The Perfect Yoga

A. Second Initiation

1. Breathing or Holy Energies

From coarse to fine, from gross to subtle, from vulgar to gnostic and from violent to quiet, the practice of breathing has been well taught and well trained in both Hinayana and Mahayana. This is a good foundation for Breathing in Vajrayana. Vajrayana doctrines have elaborately pointed out to the practitioner the five different energies with their different functions and roles in the different positions of the Buddha body. When the practitioner practices the Tomoyoga in this second initiation, he should do it in the following sequence: first, practice the light bottle-like deep breath; second, the heavy bottle-like deepest breath until a certain degree of realization is attained, and the different functions of the five are utilized. These foolish and ignorant Hinayana believers usually say that they also have breathing practice. This is just like primary school pupils saying that they too have science and mathematics like those in high school and college. Actually they have not even dreamed of the names in differential calculus and integral calculus and how could they recognize the theory of relativity put forth by Einstein who was inspired by the non-absoluteness of Buddhism? My good readers, if you are still a Hinayana believer, please open your mind to learn more doctrines of the Tantra. It will not harm you even though it may be very hard for you to benefit from it.

2. The Holy Nerves

The way which lets the wisdom energies pass through is the gnostic nerves. The lioness?milk should be kept in a precious bottle, not a bottle of inferior quality. All the gnostic nerves belong to Buddhahood. The most important median nerve is a representative of the Dharmakaya; the two great nerves on the left and right sides of the Buddha body and the main seven wheels around the median nerve are pertaining to the Sambhogakaya; and the small nerves pervading the whole body are of and in the same Sambhogakaya yet it produces Nirmanakaya. There are 12 wheels in the four limbs, 30 wheels in the fingers, 30 wheels in the toes and 72000 fine nerves under the skin.

Besides the five energies which pass through different nerves, there are four-fold holy things which are contained in the nerves. Outwardly, the ten Dharmadhatus, the great universe; Inwardly, all the Gods, Angels, and Asuras of the heavens; Secretly, all the Protectors, Dakinis and Bodhisattvas; Most secretly, all the Herukas and Buddhas. All stay in the nerves and within their different Mandalas. The above three realizations or conditions of the visualization, i.e. Clarity, Firmness, and Buddha-Pride, should be practiced with all these nerves.

Most modern authors either of the East or of the West mistake the human body as the Buddha body. They like to say that the median nerve is in the spinal column, and the two great nerves left and right are the sympathetic and cerebral spinal system or the arteries and veins, that the five main great wheels are the five organs, and that the wisdom drops within the five wheels are the different hormones. This is quite wrong. The human body has been meditated away when one practices the doctrines of the Hinayana. Impermanence meditation and the nine meditations on a dead body concern the human body. After one has gone through the eight voidness meditations of non-egoism in the Mahayana, ones body of flesh and blood has been cast behind the scene. A body of meditation is brought out. When one practices the Buddha body in which there are only wisdom and compassion, only meditation and light, nothing of flesh should be thought of, no spinal column or any other thing. Each of them may be "corresponding to," but not "is." Before ones body is really transformed into a Buddha body these correspondences are important. One has to take more care of them in ones daily life but not in the meditation of a Buddha body as the latter has its own whole system which does not allow any flesh thing to appear or to be thought of in the meditations.

Furthermore, each of the main wheels surrounding the median nerve has its special function when breath and wisdom drops are well controlled, and certain supernatural powers may manifest. The wheel of the hair-tuft may open a holy gate to the Pure Land and the yoga of Phowa which enables the practitioner to transmit his own consciousness into that of Buddha Amita or any other Buddhas. The wheel of the head may get heavenly eyes to see everything under the heavens, and heavenly ears to hear every voice of the heavens and earth and enable the practitioner to get the light of the Dharmakaya. That is why it is also referred to as the Dharmakaya wheel when the five kayas are dealt with. The wheel of the throat may succeed to make one skillful in dreams and in the four kinds of holy abilities for debate, and enable the practitioner to attain the position of Sambhogakaya. The wheel of the heart may get the supernatural power to read others?minds and enable the practitioner to obtain the Sahajakaya or Svaghavikakaya. The wheel of the navel may get the supernatural power of knowledge to know the past lives of oneself and of any others and enable the practitioner to get the Nirmanakaya. The wheel of the abdomen may get the supernatural power of a magic body and enable the practitioner to get the Mahasukhaprajnakaya through vajra love practice.

3. The Wisdom Drops

Regarding the wisdom drops, the Ancients used to classify them into four kinds: drops of food, drops of breathing, drops of incantations, and drops of wisdom. Drops of food are semen or ova belonging to the human body. Drops of breathing are energies. Drops of incantations are bijas and true words. These three are pertaining to the lower three Tantras. It is only the drops of wisdom belonging to the Anuttarayoga which should not be confounded with the semen as those ancient authors had done. Many Tibetan famous works have mentioned that all the organs, such as the heart, liver, stomach, kidneys, spleen and pancreas are formed from drops of food. In short, except the energies and the nerves, all parts of the body belong to the drops of food. They are different from one another by the degree of purity. In my opinion, all those parts are only of the flesh body which should be treated as an impure thing as Hinayana doctrines have taught. The Buddha body has only wisdom drops which should be practiced in Anuttarayoga under the second and third initiations. At the bottom of the median nerve are situated the red wisdom drops which is the Tomo and the wisdom essence. At the top of the median nerve are the white Wisdom drops which are the great compassion through wisdom. The former contains the five elements in general but water in particular. After they are mixed with each other, the other three elements will be produced and by their different qualities, colors, and functions, the fire element and five wisdoms will be completely produced and entirely worked upon.

Each drop contains a Buddha and his Pure Land. It may be a great one as the Dharmakaya which used to be called the "Only-One-Drop," and also may be as many as the different Herukas and Buddhas and Sambhogakayas and Nirmanakayas.

What is the form and color of a wisdom drop and who has seen it? Many Tibetan works mentioned only a few words on this topic. The wisdom drop is round in form and the size of a garden pea, qualified with four characteristics: i.e., (1) round and perfect, (2) clear and transparent, (3) bright and clean, (4) merciful and moist. But Majerabdro, the mother of Prajna Paramita, described it more elaborately: It is in the form of an egg with light; the size of the small finger and smooth like oil; and with the color of the blue gem of the holy place named Bubhali. In the cave of Bubhali there is a hermitage called Sambhapa which is a triangular palace of the Holy Dharma surrounded with a rainbow. It looked very beautiful and maintained every kind of virtue gathered with many holy beings such as Dakinis, Bodhisattvas, Buddhas and Herukas. The wisdom drop also has all these merits. And she also said: "I lived in a forest of Chandan trees in which there is a special bird with the name of Goshun. Its plume is blue with a tinge of dark green. Its wings are marked with white crescents. Its tail is bright and in five colors, under its feet there are white conches. It has a white beak, white toes and red eyes. Its neck and head are like those of a peacock. On its crest stand three long red feathers from which it shines many rays of light. Bees cannot come close to it. It does not kill any insects. It always stands on the flowers and never walks on the ground. It repeats only the incantation of Taraour Holy Mother, in a very pleasant sound. Whenever its mind is pleased, it repeats the incantation as a bliss to the person who meets with it. Otherwise, it does not do so. It feeds on the buds of good scented flowers and some medicine herbs. Sometimes it likes to stay on the branches of the Camphor tree and sleeps on large and good scented flowers like the Lotus. It possesses good characteristics and beautiful countenance. Its eggs are rare, a female Goshun lays only two eggs; one will be hatched out to be a male, and the other a female. They are usually laid on the camphor tree. The chicks grow up with the blessing of our holy mother Tara. That is why this bird is called the incantation of Mother Tara. Its stool is a good medicine. Whoever takes it, the four hundred and four diseases will not harm him. When the stool is made into a holy pill and is kept on ones body, one myriad and eight thousand disorders or calamities will never bother the keeper. When it is mixed with oil, any kind of sore may be cured. Anyone who eats the meat of Goshun after its death may get accomplishment of worldly things. One who offers its feathers may get excellent achievement of Buddhahood. One who sees its countenance or hears its voice at least will not fall. The people who live in the forest of Chandan trees on which it stays will never be reborn in the three bad realms. This kind of holy bird is very rare. If ones merits are not great enough one could not meet with it. It always preaches to the bees and other insects. It helps them to get a good rebirth in the heavens. When the chicks grow up they fly far away and never come back; it is a kind of renunciation. They build their hermitage until they lay two eggs, then they fly away. This is their traditional habit. Those eggs are scarcely seen by persons, even those with no sins. The holy bird is an oriole, but its head is a little longer than that of an oriole. The egg shell is reddish white. It is transparent and smooth. It emits rays of light twelve feet long in five colors which indicate the five wisdoms. Inside the egg there are five-fold of lights. The light of the outermost circle is white, that of the second circle is red, the third is green, the fourth is blue, the fifth is like the cloudless sky. Inside the fifth circle there is a drop in the size of a mustard seed in the light of mixed colors which is the entity of Sunyata. It is like the moon in the water and the shadow in the mirror. This mixed colors is in six different hues which show the Darchichon and his five disciples of Buddhahood. This egg possesses many good virtues. The wisdom drop of our Buddha body should be visualized like this."

As far as I have read in Tibetan Tantric works, there is no more detailed description than this. For emphasizing the practice of the wisdom drop, I introduce it to the readers. We should know the quintessence of the Buddha body is the wisdom drop which is the crystallization of the Dharmakaya, the bliss-coagulation of Sambhogakaya, and the compassion-seeds of the innumerable Nirmanakayas. It is the holy life when it is transmitted into Amitas mind, one becomes Amita Buddha; into Cakrasambharas mind, one becomes Cakrasamabhara Buddha, into any other Buddhas mind, one becomes the same Buddha as him. It is the body pleasure from which victorious and transcendent light is issued and the Sahajakaya is formed. It is the perfect wisdom from which the great bliss reaches its maximum and the Mahasukha Prajnakaya succeeds which is the highest aim of the Vajrayana and which is never dreamed of by the believers of Mahayana and those of Hinayana.

For a distinguished study, I should state a few more words. Though semen may correspond with the wisdom drops, they are quite different. The former is produced by sorrow of lust and pertains to Avidya, while the latter is produced by wisdom of Sunyata and belongs to Vidya. When one gets the initiation of Vajrayana, he is born from the parents of Dajeechongthe Guru. Original Buddha nature is in his Sunyata nature and has been drawn out and brought to the Gurus body, passed through his median nerve to the Gurus Vajra while holy sexual intercourse with his Dakini is going on and sent to her wisdom womb and through her double bliss, a wisdom child is born. This is an infant of a Buddha body. After the practitioner has been initiated, the real Buddha body is united with the new born Buddha body and his wisdom drops is a crystallization of Buddhss wisdom and Buddhas great compassion. There remains no egoism or lustful sorrow.

All the above three holy factors or energy, i.e., breath, nerves, and drops, form the Buddha body which is not only materialized but also harmonized with the truthnon-egoism or Sunyata. They are three in one and one in three. When the Sunyata nature covers all the Sunyata conditions, it is the Buddha body of Dharmakaya or so-called the "Only-One-Wisdom-Drop." When it functions and manifests in Sunyata conditions, it is the Sambhogakaya and Nirmanakayas and they play a lot of mystic transformation for the sake of salvation. They are the three holy wisdom things in the Buddha body that have their certain orders and rules. And all these practices are the means to reach the Consequence of Buddhahood. He is taught by the Buddha Himself and may be successful in this lifetime.

Why does a practitioner still need the Third Initiation? The reason may be found in the following.

B. Third Initiation

Though all the practices have already formed the materialization of a Buddha body, a practitioner still needs to integrate the Buddha body much more perfectly through the help of a Dakini. Just as a human body is formed by some main conditions, i.e., fathers semen, mothers ovum and the consciousness of the being itself, so is the Buddha body which needs the Buddhas wisdom drop, the Dakinis wisdom drop, and the practitioners?ninth consciousness. A male practitioner has more wisdom drops of Shakta but less wisdom drops of Shakti; a female is vice versa. The males whole body is of Shakta, only the reproductive organ is Shakti; and the female is vice versa. During holy sexual intercourse, the Lotus and the Vajra both draw in their own supplementary drops mutually. There are still some other reasons for the necessity of the practice of Vajra Love.

The physical feature of a male is the sign of skillful means and compassion but that of female is wisdom. The lines and curves of the females breasts and hips are attractive and beautiful which are the signs of wisdom, the manner of the male are the signs of skill, strong muscles and rough. They need to help each other.

As the median nerve is the palace of wisdom or of Dharmakaya, the three things which get through this nerve, (breath, nerve, and drop) are sublimated into Buddhas wisdom. The two ends or two gates of this gnostic nerve should both be practiced by the practitioner. The upper gate is used to practice the Tantric breath while the lower gate, that is the reproductive organ, should also be used to practice the vajra love. Hence through both gates comes the wisdom energy from the male Buddhas and female Dakinis. It may shorten the time to achieve full Enlightenment.

To get rid of lustful sorrow by escaping is a method of Hinayana; by treating it as voidness of Dharma is a method of the Mahayana; but by penetrating it, subduing it and making it as a means to save others is a method of Vajrayana. The higher the wisdom, the deeper the sorrow it may subdue. It is just as seeing a robber we should go after him and seize him. If we want to get a tiger cub we must go to the tigers den. When we are poisoned we apply an antidote which is the poison itself to counteract with poison. When water blocks the ear we may use more water to wash the water out. When we fall down on the land we get up by supporting ourselves on the same land. Readers are advised to read my book Buddhist Meditation: Systematic and Practical and booklets New No. 47, 72, and 78; from these you will find out many good reasons for the practice of Vajra love.

Besides the reasons theoretically recognized, the secret methods of practice should be learned from the Guru personally. This kind of instruction is not printed or written but is obtainable only by oral instruction and impartation. One should find a Guru who has such experiences and such a Guru from his own diligent practices may get some new methods which are suitable for this modern age.

By looking at the attractive countenance of the Dakini one practices the non-duality of Form and Sunyata; by listening to the articulate intonations of the Dakini, one practices the non-duality of Sound and Sunyata; by snuffing at the musky perfume of the lotus of the Dakini, one practices the non-duality of Smelling and Sunyata; by taking the nectar through kissing the Dakini, one practices the non-duality of Taste and Sunyata; by embracing, kissing, scratching, rubbing and squeezing every part of the body of the Dakini, one practices the non-duality of Touching and Sunyata. If any kind of non-duality loses some degree of Sunyata Samadhi, sexual intercourse should be forbidden until and unless pleasure and Sunyata both balance each other.

The great pleasure wisdom nerve of a Dakini is called the wisdom conch-like nerve which is in the lotus and is the end part of her median nerve. Its tip is very small and short. There are many kinds of medicine to extend it until it is able to be inserted into the urethra of the practitioner. When the two median nerves touch, Shakta and Shakti energies pass and the wisdom drops exchange, then the four Sunyata and four bliss are harmonized in a great Samadhi of non-duality. Full Enlightenment may result and the perfect yoga will make the Buddha body perfectly integrated.

C. Fourth Initiation

Why does a practitioner need the Fourth Initiation? It is said by the Ancients that the Third Initiation is the cause of the fourth and the fourth is the consequence of the third. When vajra love has been practiced rightly and skillfully, the holy light of Dharmakaya will appear and this is not easily detected by the practitioner without the witness of the qualified Guru who has the experience to recognize it. On account of that there are many kinds of holy lights, the one which is the very one of Dharmakaya can scarcely be determined by the practitioner. For instance, Jesus?light could make Saint Paul blind, God Jehovah forbade Moses to touch his light. Our Lord Buddha who shone his light many times and much brighter, never harmed any audience on any occasion. The light of Sambhogakaya illuminates much more than the Nirmanakaya, and the Dharmakaya light is the most excellent and transcendent and different from every other light. It should be identified with the truth of non-egoism. It contains many special characteristics as stated in the doctrine of Mahayana and Vajrayana but it is not dreamt of by any Arhat of Hinayana. There are no applicable modifying words or gnostic descriptions to clearly, apparently, and accurately describe this kind of light. It can only be certified by a personal Guru who has himself had the experience. There is no other kind of practice to teach this. But if false holy light appears the Guru can just point it out and ask the disciple to practice again according to the practical rules of the Third Initiation until realization of the Dharmakaya is actually attained.


III. The Great Perfection Yoga

The new Gelugpa party does not believe in the Great Perfection Yoga. The doctrines of the Great Perfection of Nyingmapa were found by sages in the earth, caves, the sea, and other hidden places. The doctrines were hidden by the great Guru Padmasambhava in Tibet and were not imparted from India. Some of these doctrines might be false ones, but some of them are quite worth while to practice.

As the holy Dharmakaya light is difficult to get, it is especially hard to get the realization of a rainbow body which not only achieves the holy light without death, but also makes the flesh body transform into a body of holy light without death, but it is only the great Guru Padmasambhava who has achieved this.

Sixty-four great volumes have been edited by the Nyingmapa sages. In most parts, Mahamudra and Mahayana meditations are mixed and mentions of the quintessence of the Great Perfection are very few.

Usually it is divided into two great sections: one is Checho which is the philosophy and practice of View, or somewhat like Chan. The other is Togar which contains many wonderful methods to practice with the sun and moon in a special position at certain times, toward certain directions and in a specially built hermitage.

To shorten the time of accomplishment, a very powerful and fruitful method called "Getting the Buddha-body in Only a Week" is taught in the Nyingmapa School. One who reads it only once may not fall. I have introduced it in my book Buddhist meditation: Systematic and Practical.


IV. Supplement Concerning the Human Body

Through the methods in the previous booklet Part I and in this booklet Part II, I have introduced in simple language all the essentials to achieve positively a Buddha body.

But how the body of flesh is destroyed negatively shall be related below.

  1. At the very beginning when one takes refuge in the Three Gems, one is aware of the human body which is very dangerously threatened by the family, the nation, demons and desires. One seeks only the Buddha body which is quite free.
  2. When one is taught with Hinayana doctrine, he is afraid of the impermanence of the body which will die at an uncertain time and in an uncertain manner. The time may be today or tomorrow. The means may be by disease or by murder. One seeks only a Buddha body which has neither birth nor death.
  3. The nine kinds of meditations on a corpse to curb desire should be practiced: (1) its tumefaction, (2) its bluish mottled color, (3) its decay, (4) its mess of blood, (5) its discharge of pus from rotten flesh, (6) its being devoured by birds and beasts, (7) its dismemberment, (8) its bones, (9) its reduction to dust and gas. These are practiced with tears. One who has practiced these thoroughly would not love ones own body any more but seek only a Buddha body.
  4. The thirty-six parts of a vile body which are unclean and impure are also meditated upon. One should neither love his body nor the body of one of the opposite sex in spite of its beauty. One only seeks the pure body of Buddhahood.
  5. As one does not like ones own body so one does not seek any beautiful, melodious, fragrant, sweet and soft things; but for practicing the Dharma, one has to suffer with ones body. That is why the twelve Dhutas, or disciplines are taught and eventually performed. They are: (1) to have garments made of cast-off rags, (2) to possess only the three Buddhist garments, (3) to eat only food which is begged, (4) to have only two meals, i.e., breakfast and the noon meal, (5) to take no food between breakfast and the noon meal, (6) to take limited amount of food, (7) to dwell as a hermit, (8) to dwell among tombs, (9) to dwell under a tree, (10) to stay under the open sky, (11) to stay anywhere, and (12) to sit but not to lie down. One seeks only the Buddha body which is of Dharma but not worldly. The common people shamelessly pursue only delicious dishes, beautiful clothes, expensive buildings, nice concubines, and vast farms. A practitioner would have only pity upon them.
  6. When one practices the meditations of Mahayana, one should give alms with ones body, partially or thoroughly. Many Bodhisattvas set examples by their own sacrifice. Some offered their ears, others their blood, arms or even their heads.
  7. With ones body one learns to bear the striking, biting, kicking and tearing by others, as Lord Buddha taught us in the Diamond Sutra with his personal example.
  8. The practitioner meditates on his own body to be void both outside and inside, and on anothers body, either of a handsome boy or of a beautiful girl, to be empty.
  9. The ego which is master of the body or the tenant of the house should be fundamentally treated as emptiness.
  10. When one practices the methods of yoga in Vajrayana, one should visualize both the outside surrounding of the body and the inside of the body as void.
  11. There is an incantation of Sunyata to be repeated at first and followed with the visualization of voidness.
  12. A wisdom fire should be meditated upon to burn the body until nothing remains.
  13. Even the visualized Yidams body should be meditated upon as empty.
  14. Suicide is forbidden by Vajrayana, instead of which there is the practice of self-sacrifice through visualization which is emphasized by every school including the Yellow School. The head is cut and the skull is used as a great boiler; the four limbs and the internal organs are cut into pieces and put into the boiler to be offered as a meal. Ones own body is thus treated as an offering to the Buddha, Dakini, God and deities, and as an almsgiving to the demons, spirits, ghosts, creditors, and enemies of this and past lives.
  15. When one is sleeping one should treat his body as a corpse and keep his mind united with the light of the Dharmakaya.
  16. When one is dreaming one should keep his Buddha body meditation and do everything as a Buddha does in a dream. Thus one transforms everything, every person and every place into those of Buddhahood.
  17. When one is dying one should practice the holy light of Dharmakaya.
  18. When one is going to get another holy rebirth one should remember the Phowa yoga and directly go to the Pure Land or get a rebirth in this Saha world by choosing the good womb and being born as a boy of good parentage at will.
  19. There are four methods to prevent one being born in the four kinds of birth of ordinary beings:
  1. To prevent a birth in the moisture body as a fish or a worm one should visualize the word PON arising from Sunyata.
  2. To prevent a birth in viviparous body as that of a mammal, one should practice the visualization of a Lotus in the heart.
  3. To prevent a birth in the metamorphic body as that of a moth from the chrysalis or as a deva or in hells one should visualize a moon on the lotus in the heart.
  4. To prevent a birth in an oviparous body as that of a bird, one should visualize a bija on the moon in the meaning of Sunyata. Hence there is not any chance for a flesh body of non-Buddhism to be reborn.

A needle should be sharp only on one end, the other end should have a hole but not be sharp. He who cherishes his flesh body has to lose his Buddha body. He who seeks the Buddha body, should practice this doctrine and willingly lose everything of his flesh body. The Buddha body is naturally in ones own ninth consciousness. The good chance for finding it out is equal for everyone. Time waits for nobody. The later you practice, the later you succeed. To read only about the doctrine without practicing is like looking at delicious Chinese dishes without tasting them. So please determine to practice this doctrine as soon as possible.


[Home][Back to main list][Back to Chenian][Go to Dr. Lin's works]