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New Revelations from the Buddha King
- Book 120: New Revelations from the Buddha King
- Chapter 01:
The True Identity of Mr. Three-Peaks-Nine-States
- Written by Sheng-yen Lu
- Translated by Janny Chow
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The Most Mysterious Person Hidden in the Mirror
The first teacher who entered my spiritual life was Mr. Three-Peaks-Nine-States (San-shan Chiu-hou Hsien-sheng). He was a Spirit Master from the invisible realm, and he taught me for a total of three years.
Some readers have criticized me for choosing to call my teacher Mr. Three-Peaks-Nine-States. They questioned why I was addressing Him as `Mister` (hsien-sheng). They even wondered about his qualifications since I did not address him as a master.
I have given the term `Mister` (hsien-sheng) much thought. In fact, in ancient times, the term `Mister,` unlike the way it is used today, was considered the highest and most honorable title one could give to an individual. Therefore, the term `Mister` in my teacher`s title has no contemporary connotation. It actually refers to someone who is `the most reverent` as used in the ancient dynasties. I hope this clears up any misunderstanding readers may have.
Addressing Three-Peaks-Nine-States as `Mister` is a give-away that His Origin is exceedingly extraordinary, because, in the ancient dynasties, only very few individuals were qualified to be addressed as `Mister.`
People Trying to Solve the Puzzle
After the appearance of the name Mr. Three-Peaks-Nine-States in my spiritual books, a great deal of controversy arose. People were venturing all kinds of guesses to His identity.
A Taoist mailed me a copy of Mi-chuan Wan-fa Kui-tsung (Secret Transmission of Practices to Return to One`s Origin). The contents consist of Liu Chia divination, Inner Chou-i Ting Chia divination, inner workings of the way of heaven, earth and men, poems written by a lineage master called Three-Peaks, as well as the mentioning of a celestial being by the name of Mr. Three-Peaks-Nine-States. In addition to Taoist practices, the book also lists mantras, some of which actually end with `by the decree of Mr. Three-Peaks-Nine-States, ji-ji-ru-lu-ling.`
I have asked my Spirit Master about this matter. He replied, `It is not unusual for people in the world to have the same names. For example, your name is Sheng-yen Lu. Can`t there be other people called Sheng-yen Lu?`
I thought over his answer and it made sense to me. When I was attending school in Kaohsiung during my childhood years, there was a youngster at Tso-Ying whose name was also Sheng-yen Lu. We are two different people having the same name, Sheng-yen Lu. As to the given name, Sheng-yen, there are even more people using it. Many Japanese like to use Sheng-yen as a name.
Therefore, the Mr. Three-Peaks-Nine-States in the book Secret Transmission to Return to One`s Origin is not my Spirit Master Mr. Three-Peaks-Nine-States.
The Nine Apes on the Three Mountains
A Dharma master with self-proclaimed psychic ability warned me especially to watch out for demonic forces. He felt that the name Three-Peaks-Nine-States referred to, as its name suggested, nine old powerful ape spirits living in three mountains. [In Chinese, the word for `state` is similar to the word `ape.`]
This Dharma master even knew of the following Three-Peaks-Nine-Apes cultivation practices: `developing psychic communication with the old ape spirits,` `alchemy practices of the old ape spirits,` `charm and mantra to invoke the old ape spirits,` and `the old ape spirit out-of-body travel practice.`
Is Mr. Three-Peaks-Nine-States indeed nine apes?
I was dumbstruck by such a suggestion. At that time, I had already developed a great transcendental ability. Using the `Cloud Light Method of the Golden Mother of the Jade Pond,` I travelled in my spirit body, penetrating through layers of Heavens and arriving at the deep end of the Jade Pond. I soared right by the jade abodes and pearl palaces until I came to the Golden Mother under her Jade Throne.
I asked her, `Who is Mr. Three-Peaks-Nine-States?`
The Golden Mother of the Jade Pond replied,
`The Great Awakened Golden Immortal is formless,
From birthlessness and deathlessness the Three Mountains arise,
Freely abiding in the True Condition of Original Nature;
Through time the Enlightened Masters of the Nine States traverse.`
After I emerged from my meditation session, I realized that Mr. Three-Peaks-Nine-States was hardly just any old ape spirit living on three mountains.
The Nine-States Temple
In southern Taiwan, there is a temple named Nine-States Temple. A Taoist with the surname of Chen publicly claimed that he and I were fellow students since Mr. Three-Peaks-Nine-States was also his teacher.
I have never been to the Nine-States Temple, and I do not know what kind of skills Taoist Chen practices. Therefore, even though he claimed that we were serving the same Master, I was unable to confirm his claim because I was afraid that I would be used by him. These are my honest words and I hope he will not mind.
The Elderly Mr. Li
There is a Mr. Li, an elderly gentleman, who practices both Taoism and Buddhism and has founded a sect. He called himself the teacher of Sheng-yen Lu.
His disciples asked him, `Why is Sheng-yen Lu your student?`
`I am Mr. Three-Peaks-Nine-States,` he answered.
His students pressed again, `In that case, why has Sheng-yen Lu not come to recognize you as his teacher?`
He replied, `I just call upon my magic powers and silently go to teach him. In that state, I am formless. That is why he is unable to recognize me even though he learns from me.`
Thus, his students wrote to me, asking me to admit that he was my teacher.
The elderly Mr. Li was not the only one who claimed to be my teacher. There were also a Mr. Nan Kung, a Mr. Chu, and others who proclaimed themselves to be Mr. Three-Peaks-Nine-States. Out of the blue, I suddenly gained several teachers.
The True Identity of San-shan Chiu-hou Hsien-sheng
It has never occurred to me to place my teacher on a high pedestal so that I myself would be elevated. It also had not dawned on me that my Spirit Master, Mr. Three-Peaks-nine-States, had come from such an inconceivably high realm. In retrospect, knowing the realm where I, the student, have come from, it does not seem inappropriate for the teacher to have come from a very high realm. The two complement each other and, inherent in this, is a very profound and significant relationship.
In fact, there is not just one Mr. Three-Peaks-Nine-States. While Three-Peaks denotes `three` and Nine-States refers to `nine,` the name represents a total of twelve different Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Although some of the twelve deities share the same names, they are of different ranks. I will explain this in detail in the future, as such examples of the ranking of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are found in abundance in Buddhism.
Now I shall first unveil the true identity of Mr. Three-Peaks-Nine-States, then I will provide the reasons for my identification.
The Three-Peaks:
Dharma Body Buddha - Vairocana Buddha
Bliss Body Buddha - Rocana Buddha
Emanation Body Buddha - Shakyamuni Buddha
The Nine-States:
(These are the Nine Deities found in the central court of the Womb Mandala [Garbhadhatu Mandala].)
1) Central Mahavairocana Buddha - All-pervading Vajra
2) Eastern Precious Banner Tathagata - Fortune Gathering Vajra
3) Southern Blooming Flower King Tathagata - Equality Vajra
4) Western Boundless Life Tathagata - The Purity Vajra
5) Northern Sky Drum Thunder Sound Tathagata - Immovable Vajra
6) Southeastern Samantabadra Bodhisattva - Immutable Vajra
7) Southwestern Manjushri Bodhisattva - Auspicious Vajra
8) Northwestern Kuan Yin Bodhisattva - Right Dharma Vajra
9) Northeastern Maitreya Bodhisattva - Swift Vajra
It was easy to perceive that there were twelve deities in Mr. Three-Peaks-Nine-States. When they descended to teach me, I was able to tell through my own perceptions that there were different ones of them. Through their different `teachings,` `sounds,` `strengths,` `contacts,` `energy patterns` etc., I learned that my teacher was made up of different deities.
When I formed the Three-Peaks Mudra and chanted the mantra, `Namo Sam-man-do, Mo-to-nam, Bo,` I knew that the mudra and the mantra were the Shakyamuni Buddha`s mudra and mantra.
Shakyamuni Buddha`s mudra is called the Three-Peaks Mudra, which is the same Three-Peaks as in the Three-Peaks-Nine-States. The Three-Peaks refers to the Three Bodies of the Buddha: Dharma Body, Bliss Body, and Emanation Body. The verse spoken to me by the Jade Pond Golden Mother also came to my mind: the Great Awakened Golden Immortal is formless. The Great Awakened Golden Immortal referred to by the Golden Mother was Shakyamuni Buddha.
Whenever Shakyamuni Buddha descended, my hands would spontaneously move to form the Three-Peaks Mudra, and I would start chanting, `Namo Sam-man-do, Mo-to-nam, Bo.`
How did I know the Nine-States represented the Five Buddhas and Four Bodhisattvas from the Womb Mandala (the Nine Deities in the central court of the Womb Mandala)? I knew this because the blessings from them were distinctly divided into five different lights: white, red, yellow, green, and black.
Furthermore, the Four Bodhisattvas taught me the Four Immeasurable Minds of `Benevolence, Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity.`
Maitreya is the Great Benevolent One,
Kuan-yin is the Great Compassionate One,
Manjushri is the Great Joyful One,
Samantabadra is the Great Equanimous One.
These perceptions were of a very subtle nature, yet they could be distinctly experienced. Later, when I had an opportunity to pay homage to a Womb Mandala, a magnetic force of infinitely great strength sprang forth from the Nine Deities in the central court. At that same moment, inside my heart (the physical heart), fully illuminated light meridians also emitted a continuous magnetizing force. The two forces vibrated in unison in mid-air and then merged. These two forces turned out to be replicas of each other, consisting of the same white-silks, tiny spirals, and crystalline tubules, pervading the entire Womb-realm. Thus I confirmed for myself that the source of my energies had originated from the Nine Deities located in the central court of the Womb Mandala. The Nine-States were in every way the Five Buddhas and Four Bodhisattvas from whom I had been receiving Blessings and Empowerments.
One Tantric practitioner once told me that my power came from the Diamond-realm Mandala [Vajradhatu Mandala]. However, his observation does not accord with my own experiences. For him to have erred is quite understandable, though, since the Vajradhatu and Garbhadhatu Mandalas are in unity and do not in fact exist apart from one another.
Womb Mahavairocana-Diamond-realm Mahavairocana
Womb Precious Banner Tathagata-Diamond-realm Akshobhya Buddha
Womb Blooming Flower King Tathagata-Diamond-realm Ratnasambhava
Womb Infinite Life Tathagata-Diamond-realm Amitabha Buddha
Womb Sky Drum Thunder Sound Tathagata-Diamond-realm Amoghasiddhi
Flower Light Self-Mastery Buddha
If the above evidence is insufficient, then everyone may assume that, from an ordinary spiritual practitioner, I have reached the Fruition of Flower Light Self-Mastery Buddha.
This epithet of Flower Light Self-Mastery Buddha was bestowed to me by Shakyamuni Buddha, and I have recorded this incident in my books. I do not lie. If I lied about this incident, then all of the one hundred twenty books I have written are nothing but lies.
One hundred twenty books and twenty-seven years of cultivation are the essence of my life. I assure everyone that it is absolutely true that Shakyamuni Buddha has conferred to me the title of Flower Light Self-Mastery Buddha. This event was one of the pinnacles I have reached along my pathway towards Buddhahood in this lifetime.
I admit that, ever since I began my Buddhist practice, my wisdom has rapidly increased by leaps and bounds. I have attained:
The Inner Realization of the Inherent Nature of Emptiness,
The Inherent Reality of the Eternal Illumination of Five Lights,
The All-Pervasiveness of the Glorious Great Compassion.
I have passed through the four stages of Luminosities: Appearance of Light in the Ultimate Ground of Being, Expansion of Light in Awareness, Maximizing of Light in Wisdom, and Infinite Blaze of the Ultimate Ground of Being.
Through practicing the True Buddha Tantric Dharma, I have opened up my subtle channels with the winds, and filled them with light. I have reached the realm of Purity and Wisdom. Dharma Body, Light, and Pure Land may manifest anytime when there is no more attachment to any realm of illusion.
I have attained the Three Bodies and Five Wisdoms of the Tathagata.
I realize that the Ground of Being is completely unstained by any phenomenal conditions and it is the Dharma Body. Bliss Body is the manifestation of `I` without any attachments. Emanation Body is the manifestation of all phenomenal conditions.
I have also realized the Five Wisdoms: that it is totally unstained by any phenomenon (the Ultimate Ground of Being Wisdom); it is free of obstruction (the Great Round Mirror Wisdom); it reflects all aspects equally (Equality Wisdom); it reflects all Five Lights clearly without distortion (Wisdom of Profound Insight); and that, in its root condition, everything is Light and is already accomplished (All Accomplished Wisdom).
I have been abiding in the extraordinary state of Intuitive Wisdom for sometime. Therefore, of course I know that Mr. Three-Peaks-Nine-States comprises the Three Bodies of Shakyamuni Buddha and the Nine Deities (Five Buddhas and Four Bodhisattvas) from the central court of the Womb Mandala.
As stated in the Lotus Sutra, `The supreme accomplishments of the Buddhas are very difficult to understand. Only the Buddhas can penetrate to the Ultimate Reality of all phenomena and conditions. When the Knower becomes the Known, all forms and their underlying nature, all actions and reactions, all causes and consequences, and the entire course of an event from beginning to end are known.`
I am the Flower Light Self-Mastery Buddha. Of course I know the true identity of Mr. Three-Peaks-Nine-States.
The Lay Buddhist Li Ping-nan and Venerable Master Hsuan Hua
After I started practicing Buddhism, the first eminent lay Buddhist I met was Li Ping-nan (Hsueh Lu chu-shi). Mr. Li was highly revered in Buddhist circles. He taught sutras and gave lectures to promote the teachings of the Pure Land School. When I took refuge in the Guiding Teacher Master Yin Shun, the ceremony of Refuge Taking was prepared by Mr. Li.
Later I also took refuge in the Venerable Master Le Kuo and Master Tao An, through the introductions of Mr. Chao Chi and Mr. Wang Yi-chi respectively. This was the process I went through in my formal practice of Buddhism, and I will not go into detail about this here.
When Mr. Li Ping-nan learned of my psychic abilities and the name of Mr. Three-Peaks-Nine-States, he became greatly alarmed and spoke without any hesitation, `Sheng-yen Lu is finished. He is being possessed by demons. When the demons finish sucking dry his ching and chi and leave, he is going to die. Just wait and see, Sheng-yen Lu won`t live long.`
[An issue of the Bodhi Tree Monthly Magazine, published by Mr. Li during that period of time, contained an article entitled `A Commentary on Sheng-yen Lu.`]
Later, after I came to the United States, Mr. Li passed away. Before he passed on, I saw him in my meditation. White light was emanating from his body and he spoke to me, `You and I are the same.`
After I came out of my meditation, I knew that Mr. Li Ping-nan was indeed going to be reborn in the Western Pure Land. But before he could move on, he had to bring to an end all the slander he had heaped upon me during those years. Under the circumstances, I doubt if he could have left without coming clean between us.
Just consider this, even though Mr. Li Ping-nan was a great and knowledgeable teacher on the sutras and Buddhadharma, he was unable to see who I was and who Mr. Three-Peaks-Nine-States was. Then, when it was his time to pass on, he realized that he must come to see me. His coming to see me was to bring to a close the unfinished business between us. Why did Li Ping-nan say that he and I were the same? What does this mean? I will explain this in a future article.
Next I would like to discuss Venerable Master Hsuan Hua. Venerable Master Hsuan Hua, also known as Dharma Master Tu Lun, was a student of the Venerable Master Hsu-yun and founder of the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas in Talmage, north of San Francisco. Venerable Master Hsuan Hua`s principal emphasis was on Ch`an and Vinaya. He kept to the rules of always wearing the three robes, consuming one meal a day, never eating past noon, and only sleeping in the sitting posture.
However, it is a well-known fact that Venerable Master Hsuan Hua was critical of Tantric Buddhism. He called the Tantric guru Milarepa a great demon and published a book called Smashing the Evil and Revealing the Proper: Spoken on Behalf of Living Beings (a critique of the Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa by Garma C.C. Chang).
His criticisms of the Sixteenth Karmapa was published in the monthly journal, Vajra Bodhi Sea.
He also slandered me, (Living Buddha Lian-sheng Sheng-yen Lu).
I met and talked with Venerable Master Hsuan Hua only once. My instinctive reaction was that he was tall and big and unrefined. His Dharma teachings were uninspiring and lacked Dharma Taste, and I failed to see any transcendental power in him. In fact, I intuitively found him unbearably vulgar.
Yet, what intrigued me was how it was possible for such a common and ordinary Dharma master to have created an establishment such as the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. I finally got my answer when I saw that behind his back there stood a Shurangama King Bodhisattva. It was a black Shurangama King Bodhisattva, who was sometimes there and sometimes not there. The Shurangama King Bodhisattva is revered as the King of Samadhis, and anyone with the support of the King of Samadhis would gain many followers.
Since there was the intermittent presence of the Shurangama King Bodhisattva behind Venerable Master Hsuan Hua, many people have followed him. On the surface Dharma Master Tu Lun appeared to have transcendental and miraculous powers but, in the end, I learned that it was really the Shurangama King Bodhisattva who was secretly lending a helping hand.
As I have said, Venerable Master Hsuan Hua was just an ordinary mortal. Why then did the Shurangama King Bodhisattva follow him? It turned out that, although an unrefined person, he had studied the Shurangama Sutra well and committed the whole sutra to memory. The Shurangama Sutra, an important sutra of Mahayana Buddhism in China, was written in a smooth and graceful language. In the Shurangama Samadhi Sutra are these words, `If there is someone who is well versed in this sutra, all Samadhis will follow and attend to him.`
It was simply due to Venerable Master Hsuan Hua`s reverence for the Shurangama Sutra that the Shurangama King Bodhisattva had come to give him support.
I know Venerable Master Hsuan Hua had not truly attained the Great Buddha Crown First Shurangama King Samadhi or realized the Ultimate Nature of all things. His greatest karmic transgression was in speaking ill of others. He did not just criticize Tantric Buddhism, he also denounced Venerable Master Hsing Yun as a false monk. He not only condemned other Buddhist sects, he scolded his own students. His mind was permeated by the emotional afflictions of the world.
Several years ago, Sophia, a student of Venerable Master Hsuan Hua who lived in the Seattle area, told me that the Master was ill and asked me to give him a reading with my Divine Eyes Faculty. In my reading, I saw two streams of black vapors inside his body. One stream was moving upward, passing through the heart to reach the throat chakra. Another was moving downward, passing through the navel chakra to enter into the kidneys.
Later, after Venerable Master Hsuan Hua passed away, the medical report revealed that, although he had died of lymphatic cancer, his two kidneys had long lost their function, and he actually had been in renal failure for quite some time. The medical report confirmed my observations which were made through the Divine-sight.
With Venerable Master Hsuan Hua`s passing, the business between us should have come to an end. Yet, in reality, it did not end there. Why? Since he had made false accusations against me, the case had to be resolved and brought to a conclusion. Consequently it led to the incident of a `tribunal headed by judges from three realms.`
This `tribunal headed by three judges` was comprised of:
Representative from the realm of heavens - Shurangama King Bodhisattva
Representative from the realm of hells - the Revered Yama King
Representative from the realm of men - Living Buddha Lian-sheng Sheng-yen Lu
The people on trial - Ven. Master Hsuan Hua and four of his disciples
Witness - Lianhua Shu-ying
Lianhua Shu-ying watched the whole trial from beginning to end. I will not go into the proceedings of the trial here. However, I will describe the final conclusion:
Ahead and in mid-air I was guiding, radiating light. Venerable Master Hsuan Hua and his four disciples joined their palms together and chanted my mantra, the Heart Mantra of Living Buddha Lian-sheng, `Om Guru Lian-sheng Siddhi Hum.` Under my guidance, they were led to the Western Pure Land.
When alive, he condemned me.
After death, I became his guide.
Why is this so?
This is because all rest equally in the Ultimate Ground of Being.
Actually the guidance was given out of respect for the Shurangama King Bodhisattva. Shurangama King Bodhisattva was Venerable Master Hsuan Hua`s master. At the same time, I am a Tathagata who has attained the Wisdom of Equality, so I, of course, would not have kept such trifling calumnies in my heart!
The Shurangama King Bodhisattva knows who Living Buddha Lian-sheng Sheng-yen Lu is. He also knows who Mr. Three-Peaks-Nine-States is. He knows that the Three Bodies of Shakyamuni Buddha and the Five Buddhas and Four Bodhisattvas are all my teachers, and that I am able to freely interpenetrate the Ten Dharma Realms without encountering any obstructions. This ability alone is sufficient to qualify me as a Supreme Master in all heavens and on Earth.
First there was the case of the eminent lay Buddhist Li Ping-nan, then there was the case of Venerable Master Hsuan Hua.
My teacher Mr. Three-Peaks-Nine-States has taught me for three years and thus:
From the Three Mountains auspicious lights issue in dancing emanations,
While propitious clouds from the Nine States glide off eternally;
What a lamentable thing this business of calumny is:
When the wind blows,
Smoke from the stove dissipates in all directions;
Inside the butterfly`s dream,
The man has vanished;
When the moon shifts,
Shadows of flowers climb up the railing
Amid riotous starlight;
As the changing of the night is sounded,
I suddenly realize,
Half of the deep night is over!
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