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Crossing the Ocean of Life and Death
- Book 163: Crossing the Ocean of Life and Death
- Chapter 03:
Padmakumara`s Finest Hour
- Written by Sheng-yen Lu
- Translated and edited by True Buddha Foundation
- Translation Team (Cheng Yew Chung, Satch)
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The Phowa Practice transforms consciousness into wisdom. As Padmakumara ascends into space, he is really no different from the very wisdom being who dwells in space.
I finally understand my vision of Amitabha Buddha in Beijing (while on a flight from Beijing to Taiyuan), and my vision of the Medicine Buddha and other deities in Korea as they appeared before me: there is, in reality, no real difference between us.
When my spiritual body leaves the boundary of my physical body, it results in the loss of the six senses, the six defilements, and the six physical perceptions. The spiritual dimension reflecting one`s cultivation will then emerge. This is the secret doctrine of Tantrayana, and this is why I am able to see things as they really are.
When the spiritual body (Buddha Nature) is awakened, the space is filled with praises and joyful singing from the millions of dakinis, not to mention the Buddhas of the Ten Directions, the Bodhisattvas of the Ten Directions and Three Times, the Vajra Protectors, and all the deva deities who are equally joyous about the occasion.
Let me share with you that this is what enlightenment is all about, what seeing the Buddha Nature is all about, what being a Mahasiddha is all about, and what attaining Buddhahood is all about. It is simply beyond description.
It is as if all of creation has come alive, where new leaves sprout from what was once a barren land. Like the wilderness of flowers that bloom, turning the world into spring; like a man who awakens from his slumber, his new day is refreshed with a completely new beginning. The sun rises, emitting rays of light that display a new lease on life.
My True Buddha Tantric Dharma has verified the presence of the One Reality Dharma Realm. When the human body reveals the presence of the wisdom being, the sea of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the Ten Directions will reveal their presence. It is like a moon revealing itself in thousands of rivers, and like a room filled with ten thousand lamps, with each individual light adding to the room of lights.
My True Buddha Tantric Dharma includes the Vairocana Pure Land, the Mind-Only Pure Land, the Eternally True Pure Land, the Ultimate Bliss Pure Land, the Reward Pure Land, the All Directions Pure Land...
The True Buddha Tantric Dharma is difficult to fathom
The Tantrayana of Prajna is the perfect enlightenment field
All Buddhas abide in the union of Yoga
This special doctrine will continue to shine for ten thousand years
Was Sheng-yen Lu dead? The answer is evidently no. Anyone with the vision of right view can tell that, to an enlightened person, to die is to live in another dimension. `To live` simply means having the departed spirit return to the physical dimension, and then move from the physical dimension to the dimension of the the Pure Land, and then return to the physical dimension from the Pure Land. This state of neither coming nor going is known as the Tathagata, or Thus Come One.
I did actually experience the Head Splitting Syndrome and the disintegration of the four elements, which are the earth, water, fire and wind. Our human body is made up from the karmic combination of these four elements, which is configured by the hardness of earth, the moisture of water, the warmth of fire, and the movement of wind. If these elements are not in harmony, the physical body will disintegrate and be destroyed.
Seen from the invisible perspective, the splitting head was the cracking of the earth element. The blood and fluid were spilling all over. The pressure of fire within the head shot up, and the chilling wind within the whole body was blowing all over. It was fortunate that the disintegration of the four elements in me had occurred in the invisible realm, which no doctor could detect. These four elements are the very ingredients that form all things, as everything is in fact a combination of these four elements. If I were to really die, my whole body will return to dust. Though my physical body felt weak and painful, it was still intact, and thus I remained alive, going through the splitting headache and the disintegration of the four elements. It was simply unthinkable!
With what was remaining of my life, I wrote this book, Crossing the Ocean of Life and Death, with the greatest of sincerity. I felt this made the project meaningful, because I truly understood that the biggest event in life is death, and for me to write about death and rebirth to the Pure Land would make the most sense. I describe in detail the process of death and what I saw in the bardo planes, and equip you with the ways to confront death. Since none of us are immune from death, you must therefore learn to face, to understand, and to realize the very truth of death.
Let me say it clearly:
Living beings are the incarnation of those who were dead. Dead people die because their karmic conditions for being alive are no longer there. Past lives, future lives, before death and after death are intertwined with the six realms of cyclical existence.
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