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- The Practice of Crystal Light Immersion
During Sleep
- By Living Buddha Lian-sheng
- Translated by Janny Chow from an article
written by Shui-yun in Issue 161 of True Buddha News, published
3/19/98.
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On Thursday, February 26th, 1998, at the Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple
in Redmond, Washington, H.H. Living Buddha Lian-sheng gave the following
teaching at the end of the afternoon group cultivation:
A spiritual cultivator has to do the Sleep Light Practice, a method
that aims at light immersion during sleep, when he or she goes to
bed.
Prior to falling asleep, the practitioner prays to the Root Guru
to appear in the space above, shining great lights on him or her.
First one visualizes the Root Guru emitting a diamond white light
from his brow-point, a ruby red light from his throat, and a sapphire
blue light from his heart. The shining of these brilliant lights
on the practitioner is known as "the blessing of three lights."
Next the practitioner visualizes the Root Guru transform into a
swirl of white light which enters through the practitioner's crown
and opens into his or her central channel to sit upon the open heart-lotus.
This is the "entering of the Deity into the self."
Next, the Root Guru inside the heart of the practitioner radiates
brilliant great lights, completely transforming the internal organs,
as well as skin, hair, and bones into a massive ocean of light.
This is the emitting of light accompanied by the transformation
into light. Next, the whole body of the practitioner turns into
light and becomes indistinguishable and inseparable from the Personal
Deity and the Root Guru. During sleep, the practitioner is one with
the guru, and his or her body is completely immersed in light, while
the light of the Root Guru in his or her heart is being emitted
to shine and light up all phenomenal worlds. At this point, the
room is transformed into light, and the whole universe transforms
into light, like that of a crystal ball. In this Sleep Light Practice,
one immerses one's inherent light into the realm of crystal light
as one peacefully falls asleep.
Living Buddha Lian-sheng taught that only by transforming into
light can one immerse into light. During this Sleep Light Practice,
the practitioner immerses into the world of crystal light, becoming
a part of the crystal ball and its light. The light of the whole
universe, like that of a crystal ball, envelops the practitioner
and enables him or her to sleep restfully and peacefully within
its realm of light.
Regarding the many techniques of light immersion in Vajrayana
practices, Living Buddha Lian-sheng further explained that if one
wants to supplicate to the lineage gurus for blessings of light,
one should visualize from above the "Great Sun Buddha,"
followed by the "Buddha Eye Female Buddha," "Padmakumara,"
and "Living Buddha Lian-sheng." These should be visualized
in a vertical chain of light, and the four then integrate into one
bright pinpoint of light to enter into one's heart. At such a moment,
light is engendered in one's heart, filling the whole body and radiating
out through every single skin pore. The practitioner thus becomes
a "body of light" through the "empowerment of light"
bestowed by the lineage gurus.
For this transformation into light to occur in a Vajrayana practitioner,
the first and primary requirement is that one is able to completely
put aside one's three poisons of "greed, anger, and ignorance."
Only then can one transform oneself into light, having this light
immerse into light, and therefore sleep peacefully through the realm
of light. When the Root Guru immerses into one's body, and one immerses
into the heart of the Root Guru, one then transforms into light
and becomes unified with the "light body" of the whole
universe, becoming part of a giant crystal ball. In this way, one
will have a very restful sleep.
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