The One Hundred Holy Assemblies hosted by me, Wangzha, is formally closed today. I have held the entire ritual for the One Hundred Holy Assemblies. During the time of the One Hundred Holy Assemblies, some Buddhist cultivators were very serious and responsible. Their minds and deeds were very focused on chanting the sutra, chanting the Buddha’s name, chanting the mantra, and singing the praise. Consequently, they received a lot of beneficial effects. Some other people, however, were distracted and looked at others’ expressions or actions, listened to others chanting or singing, and most deplorably, commented on others’ behavior. That has brought impure karma to the holy assemblies. Fortunately, they did not destroy the chance for the Yidam Dharma Affinity Initiation. I announced before that anyone who completes the one hundred holy assemblies has accrued tremendous merit and can obtain one Blue Button or one Black Button. More importantly, he or she can obtain the Yidam Dharma Affinity Initiation. That involves the Yidam Dharma every Buddhist cultivator practices in innumerable past lifetimes through many eons. Because it is the supreme inner-tantric initiation, many people have generated thoughts: “Does this monk, Wangzha, have the Dharma power to invoke and invite Buddha and Bodhisattvas in the space to come and give us initiations?” I, who am a humbled bhikkhu, will now answer you. You can rest assured and stop thinking nonsense. Even though this initiation is the highest, it is a small feat. I, Wangzha, did not have the necessary holy power. Still, Yinhai Shengzun, Gelan Deqian Shile Yuzun, Diouke Shangzun, and I have reached an understanding, and we made vows. Even if we did not have the necessary holy powers, would the great compassionate H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III leave us alone? Wouldn’t it be a small feat if it is the Buddha who is to summon the Yidam? Not to mention the four of us should be quite capable of invoking and inviting the Yidam.
The Yidam Dharma Affinity Initiation is the first and foremost of all the inner-tantric initiations. It is also called the Holy Esoteric Tantric Initiation. To receive this initiation is more challenging than climbing Mt. Everest. Guru Padmasambhava once gave this initiation to the Tibetan King Chisong Dêzän and Yeshe Tsogyal. The Buddhist disciple receiving the initiation needs to ask the Yidam the following questions: What are his or her Dharma affinity in the innumerable past lifetimes and this lifetime? Which Dharma has he or she practiced the most in the many previous lifetimes, including the current? And who is his or her Yidam?
Regarding Yidam, no holy guru, regardless of his or her holiness level, has the right to call it. It must be a direct consultation between the Yidam and the disciple getting together, from the Buddhist disciple having a face-to-face discussion with the Buddha or Bodhisattva in the space. Except for the Dharma of Buddha Bestowing Holy Amrita, what other Inner-tantric Buddha Dharma would you say has such real powers and can compare with it?
According to the meaning of the Dharma, it is a cast-in-iron stipulation that the great holy guru administering the initiation cannot sit on the Dharma platform and must stand by the side of the disciple. There are three classes in the Dharma Affinity Initiation. Based on the different levels of the disciple receiving the initiation, the Yidam will meet the disciple in various levels of holy appearance. In the Top Class of the Dharma Affinity Initiation, the Buddha or Bodhisattva, i.e., the Yidam, will personally see the disciple face to face and answer the questions brought by the disciple. He will also personally bestow the Dharma Affinity Great Treasure Pill to the disciple. In the Bottom Class, when the disciple asks a question, the Yidam will manifest the Yidam Dharma in person to the disciple and will also bestow one Dharma Affinity Great Treasure Pill to the disciple. Even in the Bottom Class, the disciple can interact with the Yidam. The master does not speak or manifest Dharma powers on behalf of the Yidam. If the master speaks on behalf of the Yidam, that master is a witch! The disciple must gain an understanding of the Yidam Dharma from the Yidam. The initiation does not complete till after the disciple gets the Dharma Affinity Great Treasure Pill. Only then can the great holy master, who is standing by the side to enforce the Dharma rules, have the right to speak and transmit the Yidam Dharma to the disciple according to what the Yidam told the disciple about the Yidam dharma rituals. Therefore, from the beginning of the initiation and before the Yidam told the disciple in person, the Greatly Holy Guru can only beseech the Buddha or Bodhisattva to arrive in the mandala and answer the questions to the disciple. The master has no rights to speak during the initiation. If the master should speak, what he or she says would be evil!
For those Buddhist cultivators who did not take part in or did not finish the One Hundred Holy Assemblies, you can just go and release captured lives or do charity work and participate in events that benefit the society and public. That would be more practical than acquiring merits from attending dharma assemblies. I guarantee that you can receive an Inner-tantric Initiation and the corresponding Yidam Dharma, as long as you can do the following: Do all the good deeds and abstain from all the bad deeds; use the 128 Evil And Erroneous Views imparted by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III as the bearing for verification; learn well the book Learning from Buddha, and carry out yourself according to the staged Bodhisattvas’ Holiest Bodhi Practice of Emptiness Oceanic Mind Essence or the Xiaman Special and Wonderful Oceanic Mind Essence.
The One Hundred Holy Assemblies, hosted by Wangzha Shangzun, have ended in perfection today. The first thing the Shangzun said in closing is: “Take the audio recording of my speech in the conclusion meeting of the holy exams on December 30 last year and play it to people.” This audio recorded Shangzun speaking in Tibetan with Chinese translation. Shangzun has practiced a Dharma for extinguishing the eight winds and blessed its power on every audio recording the Buddhist cultivators respectfully get back. Therefore, it has an immense beneficial blessing power to those listening to it with respect. Besides the Dharma Listening Centers, every Buddhist disciple can personally and independently request to respectfully receive this audio recording from the World Buddhism Association Headquarters and listen to it at home. Please contact the Dharma masters at the World Buddhism Association Headquarters by phone at 626-789-1001. We re-issue this paragraph because there was a typo error in the last announcement.
World Buddhism Association Headquarters
March 26, 2017
(translation by Zunba)