|
Crossing the Ocean of Life and Death
- Book 163: Crossing the Ocean of Life and Death
- Chapter 24:
Self Discipline on the Lust for Sexual Attractions
- Written by Sheng-yen Lu
- Translated and edited by True Buddha Foundation
- Translation Team (Cheng Yew Chung, Satch)
|
I have stated that bardo spirits are capable of spiritual or astral travel. They can travel anywhere just by using their thoughts. However, this situation is somewhat unstable, as there is nothing for which the bardo spirit can hold on to, and its body is weightless and experiences constant changes. The bardo spirit is also mentally confused.
However, the great benevolent friend must caution you to not use the power of astral power to tour the Four Continents of: Purvavideha in the east, Apara-godaniya in the west, Jambudvipa in the south and Uttarakuru in the north. You must not be mesmerized by whatever beautiful sceneries that you may come across. You must hold your thoughts firmly, and do not be drawn or attached to anything, because any sense of craving and attachment will draw you towards the path of rebirth.
Those with heavy karma will encounter: yaks, rain, darkness, hurricanes, gigantic ghosts, ferocious ghosts, monsters, and strange forms.
Those with light karma will encounter: beautiful sceneries, fragrant flowers, strange plants, delicious food, a sense of joy, happiness, relaxation and comfort.
Whatever it is, be it good or bad, the great benevolent friend advises you to forgo all cravings and attachments. The words of the Sixth-Patriarch Hui-neng would ring some truth here: `Think neither of good, nor bad.`
You should seek the blessing of your guru and the Triple Jewels, and remain unaffected and calm during the meditation of Mahamudra, and pray for your guru and the Triple Jewels to receive you.
At this point, whatever you think of will manifest. So it is most crucial that you maintain a constant flow of pure thoughts and always remember your guru and the Triple Jewels, steadily focusing your thoughts on them. Do not be distracted, because whether you are liberated or reincarnated is determined by your state of focus.
If a practitioner still holds onto his habitual pattern of lust and evil thoughts, and is unable to contain them, he will soon see the images of man and woman engaged in sexual union. This is the appearance of lustful imageries. Many people today are fond of watching pornography, and most mundane mortals are subjected to such lustful habits. But cultivators should have self-restraint and avoid pornography, for the Buddha had taught us that lust is the root of Samsara.
If you are in the bardo state, anything you think of will manifest; and if you think of sex, then you have placed yourself in a dangerous position. That is, if you are unable to control yourself when you see the images of a man and woman having sex, your lust for sexual imageries will draw you into the womb.
Noble lotus practitioner, at this stage you must recall the books which Master Lu had written: Living in this Moment of Purity, Living in this Moment in Illumination, and The Secret Diary.
Therefore contemplate:
The appearance of red and white shades of skin
Dotted with greenish and yellowish blotches on a rotting body
Please open your eyes and discern clearly
It is the same person actually.
The skin and flesh peel off
Exposing the internal organs
Please examine closely this corpse
What is there to crave for?
Her beauty no longer exists
Covered only by a pool of blood
Where lies one`s beauty and ugliness
The bodily form is decaying beyond recognition
The decomposed body is an appalling sight
Its stench is unbearable
Where the decayed flesh is now
Had once been scented with sweet fragrance
The meat is consumed by animals
Which had once been consumed by man
Therefore between man and beast
Which is smelly and which is fragrant?
The form deteriorates and disintegrates
Its limbs begin falling apart
A streamlined body once existed
Where lies its beauty today?
The body is but a skeletal structure
That once had mesmerized many
A false facet while alive
In death today one sees its true form
The fire of cremation burns fiercely
The corpse suddenly turns to nothingness
Amid the smoke and flame
Is there anything that you crave for?
This is the Song of Praise to the Visualization of the Impurities. The Buddha had expounded on the Visualization of the Impurities to those sentient beings who were caught in lust. When one visualizes the impurities over time, the desire of lust and craving will be removed. One will then cross the river of lust and ocean of suffering.
Here`s another song:
All attraction and love would someday end
This body will not last long
To whom we mourn and shed our tears
And who would contemplate and understand it
Remember her gorgeous feature
Which now turns suddenly into a bloated corpse
The young lady that lies before you
What happens to her face now
`See beyond the illusion of sexual union of man and woman!`
`See beyond the illusion of sexual union of man and woman!`
`See beyond the illusion of sexual union of man and woman!`
See beyond the illusion! If you cannot see through the illusion, your lust for females will make you a male by birth, and your lust for males will make you a female by birth.
Alas! You have entered the womb. How dreadful! How pitiful! You must begin reincarnation again. Sometimes, when we enter a womb, it may not turn out to be a human womb, for it could be the womb of a horse, a goat, a dog, a cow, or the embryo of a chicken. In fact the four types of birth are commonly regarded as wombs.
If we cannot see beyond the illusion of lust and sexual attraction, we are truly mundane mortal fools. It is our attraction towards sex that draws us to the cycles of reincarnation. This is the reason for the endless spinning of the wheel of reincarnation, for sinking and floating in the Ocean of Samsara stems from our sexual lust, rendering us forever trapped in the six realms.
When a bardo spirit comes to the door of a womb, sees the imageries of a man`s penis and a woman`s vagina, and then longs for them, it is certain that it will be reborn [into the six realms]. At this time, your salvation comes from the recitation of the mantra, `OM GURU LIAN-SHENG SIDDHI HUM.`
Upon the sound of OM, the image of sexual union vanishes. Why is this so? OM is the true nature of the universe, and is perpetually immovable.
Upon the utterance of GURU, you (the bardo spirit) think of your root guru, and his light will bless you.
Upon the utterance of LIAN-SHENG, you are prevented from rebirth in any of the four types of birth of: egg, womb, transformation and moisture. Instead, you are received by a lotus and gain rebirth in purity.
Upon the utterance of SIDDHI, the Buddha`s Pure Land shall appear before you.
Upon the utterance of HUM, you have attained accomplishment! You are liberated! You are free!
You must commit to memory the Guru Heart Mantra, because when you are in the bardo state, that is the most crucial moment to use it. Noble lotus practitioner, you must remember the Guru Heart Mantra. You must be determined to be reborn in the Maha Twin Lotus Ponds in Sukhavati. I have explained the Guru Heart Mantra many times. Have you not understood it? Why are you still hesitating?
Be determined to seek rebirth in the Pure Land! Do not be fickle-minded! Do not listen to the slander and criticism! Never change your decision!
OM GURU LIAN-SHENG SIDDHI HUM.
This mantra is not meant for me, but for you. Noble lotus practitioner, recite the mantra! Do not crave for the temporal joy of sexual attractions, for the penis, vagina, sexual desire are nothing more than an illusion, a passing sound, an image in the mirror, a reflection of the moon in water, as its joy bursts quickly like a bubble. Sukhavati, the Land of Ultimate Bliss, is a much better place to be!
|
|
