Answer 3 On Day 3 of the Lunar year
The effect of Inner-tantric Initiation is to invoke the Yidam, who is a Buddha or a Bodhisattva, to come to the mandala to accept the disciple. As long as the disciple cultivates themselves in accord with the dharma, attaining liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth is one hundred percent guaranteed! If a person who has created the merit of pure karma has the karmic condition to meet a Tremendously Holy Guru, this person can immediately become a holy one after receiving the initiation.
The requirement for receiving an Inner-tantric Initiation or an Initiation of State Practice is that one must be a person who has made real and wholehearted contributions to practical Buddhist undertakings and has established great merits. The following are some excellent examples: doing good things, relieving disasters, spreading true Buddha Dharma, making great vows, carrying out deeds of good karma, not practicing evil teachings, and contributing to temples of true Tathagata Dharma, such as the True Dharma Temple or the Ancient Buddha Temple.
How much money should one donate or present as offerings to be considered as a contribution to genuine Buddhist undertakings? If a person who even struggles to make a living, can scramble to save just one dollar to use on actual Buddhist work, then that is a significant contribution. On the other hand, if a wealthy person, who has hundreds of millions or billions of dollars, only donates one million dollars towards building a temple of true Buddha-dharma, it is by no means wholehearted offerings but an insincere engagement instead. The key is to have a genuine mind and sincere intention and put it into practical action.
Do note the following in particular. Even you have made real and wholehearted offerings and established great merits, but you tell lies or speak falsely to your master who presides over the inner-tantric initiation, the Yidam will still not accept you in Zejue (lit. Determination by Holy Selection). You will not receive a successful initiation!
Some people put the Buddhist undertakings as the first priority and their living the second. Their such doings surpass great merits and directly perfect the flawless merit of pure karma from total devotion. Having established the flawless merit of pure karma with their mind and conduct, this type of Buddhist practitioners can see the Yidam who is a Buddha or a Bodhisattva in space within twelve hours after they meet a Tremendously Holy Guru. The Buddha or Bodhisattva will restore to its original form a declaration that was previously written and burnt in public, and bring it to the hand of the disciple who has the merit of pure karma. The disciple will receive this written declaration given by the Yidam, who is a Buddha or a Bodhisattva in person in a dream, and after waking up, find this written declaration in his or her hand.
This declaration was written before the crowd and burnt at that time. However, it is then restored by the Buddha or Bodhisattva and given to the disciple in the dream. After waking up, the disciple’s hand will hold this written declaration. Having this written declaration given by the Buddha or Bodhisattva in person to one who has the merit from pure karma, this utmost sincere disciple will undoubtedly receive the First-Class Initiation of Dharma Affinity with the Yidam. Then, after presenting a petition to a Bodhisattva, the disciple will receive the Utmost Precious Holy Amrit. The disciple will then perfectly and directly transcend to enter holiness and become a holy one! But one must conduct himself by abiding by the precepts! One must benefit living beings by basing himself on great compassion.
At a holy temple in the United States on a day in mid-February 2018, people were originally going to welcome Gelan Deqian Shile Yuzun, Wangzha Shangzun, Venerable Mozhi, and others in joining for a Chinese New Year celebration. Right at the time, the theme of the gathering changed due to the karmic conditions. A person of firm vows and with merits from pure karma of presenting offerings to a Tremendously Holy Guru appeared among the crowd in the public gathering. She insisted on giving all her personal wealth and her life as offerings to the Tremendously Holy Guru instead of to regular holy virtuous ones such as Arhats or Bodhisattvas on that day. Although the Tremendously Holy Guru declined and did not accept a cent from her offering, this kind and virtuous disciple’s merit from her genuine mind and pure karma moved the Tremendously Holy Guru. The Tremendously Holy Guru said, “You take me seriously. You presented me with such a valuable present. In this lifetime, this is the first time I met such a sincere and pious Buddhist disciple. Remember, I will never accept a cent of offering from you. However, your pure intention has been accepted by me as well as by Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. According to the dharma, I should give you a gift in return. My gift is that between 1 AM and 5 AM after midnight tonight, a Yidam who is a Bodhisattva will come from space to your residence to meet you.”
All the people present were greatly astounded at the time. The Tremendously Holy Guru wrote a declaration before the crowd and instructed everyone to take a good look before burning it. Sure enough, at about 4 AM after that midnight, a golden Bodhisattva emitting shining golden light made His presence. The Bodhisattva delivered the hand-written declaration that had gone in flames into the disciple’s hand in her dream. After she woke up, she found herself holding that piece of document restored from burning in her hand, which is precisely the same manifestation as described above. The four types of Buddhist disciples on-site, including bhikkhus (i.e., male monks), bhiksunis (i.e., female nuns), and male and female laypersons, saw with their own eyes the entire process. It is an unprecedented holy state that is difficult to encounter in the world, and the first part of the prelude to the “First-Class Initiation of Dharma Affinity with the Yidam.”
The Inquiry Center of the World Buddhism Association Headquarters
Written on behalf of the Greatly Holy Gurus
February 18, 2018
(English translation last revised by Zunba 2020-06-04)