FAQs
What is samsara? What is the cycle of reincarnation?
In Buddhism, living beings are divided into six categories: heavenly beings, asuras or demi-gods, human beings, animals, hungry ghosts, and those in hell. It is generally understood that each category of living beings has its own realm of existence. Migration through these six realms is known as samsara, a Sanskrit term for wandering. However, viewed from another angle, one can find these six modes of existence in just the human realm alone. Many of us have experienced these states.
What is a vajra master and how can I find the right one?
The practice of esoteric Buddhism depends on establishing the proper relationship with an authentic vajra master. This requires that a karmic affinity exists between the master and the disciple. A disciple must carefully choose his or her master and the master must select the disciple as well to determine whether or not the potential disciple is a suitable vessel to receive and understand the teachings of Buddhism. An unqualified disciple is not allowed to receive the great tantra. Once the relationship between a disciple and a vajra master is established, the disciple must respect his or her master as a Buddha throughout his or her lifetime. Once you have found an authentic master, you should begin to learn the teachings in a fully committed, whole-hearted way. If there are Bodhisattva masters present, you should learn from them. The rules of the dharma require that you must learn from your vajra master in order to attain accomplishment.
Meditation (Samadhi)
So let’s start with the purpose of practicing Buddhism or becoming a Buddhist. We have stressed the “practice” of esoteric Buddhism, which includes studying both the exoteric (Tripitaka) and the secret esoteric (Tantra) scriptures of the Buddha and cultivating yourself so as to become enlightened or liberated from the cycle of birth and death. Esoteric Buddhism includes the more secret or tantric teachings, but both esoteric and exoteric paths are authentic ways to train your mind. Cultivation is merely putting into practice in your daily life and in your dealings with other living beings what you have learned from the teachings of the Buddha. You could say it is managing your karma. You don’t eliminate your negative karma, but you push it back by only accumulating good karma so you can start to experience the good fortune that results from doing good.
Supernormal Dharma Powers
The five great supernormal powers or superknowledges (abhijna) are 1) rddhi-saksatkriya: the ability to be anywhere or do anything at will including flying through the air and performing other miracles; 2) divyasrotra: the ability to hear sounds anywhere including those that normally cannot be heard, such as the sounds of ants walking or sounds emanating from a far away place, even in another realm of existence. This is also known as clairaudience or “the divine ear;” 3) paracittajnana: the ability to know the thoughts or read the minds of other beings; 4) purvanivasanu-smrtijnana: the ability to recollect previous existences or past-lives of oneself and others; and 5) divyacakus: instantaneous view of anything anywhere including the ability to see things that occur outside one’s presence, such as things happening at a far away place, even in another realm of existence. This is also known as clairvoyance or “the divine eye.” The sixth supernormal power (asavakkhaya) is unique to Buddhism and enhances the powers of the other five. Non-Buddhist can achieve the first five powers, but without the wisdom that comes from complete enlightenment they are not as great as those available to a Buddha.
What Are Saints or Holy Beings in Buddhism?
[pp 24-25] “It is through the understanding and practice of the Buddha-dharma that one becomes a holy person. Sainthood in Buddhism has a somewhat different meaning than that held in Christianity although both refer to people who live an exceptionally holy life, are very compassionate, and can demonstrate certain “miracles.” In Buddhism it also means one who has become enlightened—been liberated from the cycle of reincarnation and all its related suffering. The Christian saint aspires to be born in the Christian heaven, but this is not the goal of a Buddhist…
The Ways to Become a Holy Being or Saint
These charts are representative of how one progresses on the path to Buddhahood and the belief that all sentient beings are on such a path, even if that is not yet their conscious goal. They are very simplified and do not reflect many of the details or nuances within the various categories. The first chart shows the difference in goals, in general terms, among the world religions and the two main branches of Buddhism. The second chart provides basic information about what the other religions and the four categories of Buddhist practice include—the level of attainment involved in each and the time required to become accomplished. The third chart lists some of the vows and actual practices done in each of these categories. Please remember that the charts represent generalizations about the various systems of belief and are not absolutely true for any given practitioner within that system.
The Quick Path to Enlightenment
Shakyamuni Buddha taught 84,000 methods on how to become enlightened and leave the suffering of ordinary existence and the vicious cycle of reincarnation. H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III has told us that Shakyamuni Buddha only taught about 30% of what he knew, because that was all the people of His time were able to accept. Although many of the original teachings have been lost or corrupted, many do still exist. The Vajrasana Temple recognizes and supports any authentic system of practice taught by the Buddha. However, we teach and practice the vajrayana teachings of both Shakyamuni Buddha and His teacher H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III as a quick path to enlightenment, which can enable you to become enlightened in this lifetime. From the chart on the various paths to become a holy person, you will see that the Vajrayana includes all of the exoteric teachings of the Mahayana and Lesser Vehicles.
What is the "Vajra Array" and "Samsara Eight-wind Array"?
"Vajra Array" and "Samsara Eight-wind Array"
※ This text is provided solely for reference. To avoid fragmented or mistaken understanding caused by taking passages out of context, one should further read the full original announcements.
…During the time of the test, there will be seven holy gurus and ten witness masters rigorously monitoring the test onsite. Other than the Divine Announcement by Holy Divination (打卦神諭), the most challenging part is the Samsara Eight-wind Array, the authentic way to protect the Dharma. The candidate will first present their document, stating which item of which category specifically they choose to be tested. The candidate must genuinely understand the content of the item on which they will be tested. This document will be read and then burned in the test site. If the candidate forges a document for the test, e.g., if the candidate only knows some jargon but does not know anything about the content, they falsify the document for the test, then they will be engulfed in the cycle of birth and death of the Samsara Eight-wind Array. Not only can they not pass even Level 1, but the array’s power will also be instantaneously increased on the spot. The candidate will end up being extremely miserable!
That is the test for the holy and virtuous levels. A separate Vajra Array is set up to test the status of Arahats and Bodhisattvas. On the surface, the Vajra Array may look very peaceful, calm and splendid, as if it was in the gentle Springtime wind where everything is promising, but in reality, the entire space in the array is full of the power to tear apart the candidate’s four great elements and is extremely dangerous and harmful. It is 100 times scarier than the Samsara Eight-wind Array and is mainly used to validate the status of Arahats and Bodhisattvas.
…The Buddha mentioned that we Buddhists cannot play with Daoist array formations. We sincerely declare that the array formations used in our test are Buddhist array formations, which have nothing to do with Daoism or any other non-Buddhist religion. As mentioned earlier, these arrays are initiated with the Heart Sutra, the Diamond Sutra, the Agama Mantra, the Great Compassion Dharani (Nīlakaṇṭha Dhāraṇī), the Mahakala Mantra, the Kalachakra Mantra, and other holy Buddhist mantras. They do not contain a bit of non-Buddhist flavor. They are not from the fabled story Feng Shen Bang but rather tangibly realized Buddhist arrays.
Every Vajra Dharma in Buddhism has a formation array. The Agama Mantra is associated with the Agama Emptiness and Form Demon-Subduing Array*1 (楞嚴空色伏魔陣), the Great Compassion Dharani is related to the Great Compassion Array of Taking Demon Down to Hell*1 (大悲降拿地府陣). The Homa Holy Fire Offering Dharma and the Four Means—Extinguishing (calamities), Increasing (good fortune), Beseeching (joy), and Killing (demons)*1 (息誅懷增)—in Tibetan esoteric Buddhism, as well as the Water and Land Dharma Assembly in the exoteric Buddhism are the arrays to save living beings and subdue demons. It is just that their powers are too weak to be manifest in any tangible or real form on the spot. Additionally, many high monks and greatly virtuous ones of later generations did not learn the dharmas in their entirety and subsequently could not inherit the dharmas completely.
Buddhist arrays are deployed to help living beings, benefit living beings, save living beings, and eliminate demons and evil. Only true Arahats and Bodhisattvas who have certain powers can penetrate these arrays. In particular, the Vajra Array will never harm an Arahat or Bodhisattva, albeit extremely ferocious, unless that Arahat or Bodhisattva falsifies or inflates their level, in which case the array will punish them.
To be careful, we asked a holy and virtuous person at the Three-Star Sumita Wheel level to experience the array. No sooner had we gone into the gate of the array with him than we felt a force coming at us from nowhere that would disintegrate the four great elements in us. The force went right inside the body of every one of us. It was so strong that the holy and virtuous person could not stand it. With our assistance, he ran out of the array in a flurry. He kept shaking his head and said: “I cannot enter this array! It is too ferocious! The entire space in the array was filled with a great force. It is too wondrous! There was nothing when you looked at it. The force was not on the ground but in the space. It seemed to be dissolving me!”
He then reported the situation to H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III severely criticized us and said: “What are you guys doing? Playing tricks?“ We explained to the Buddha that this array would never harm living beings. So, we went with the Buddha into the array. To our disbelief, just as H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III took the first step into the gate, all the force of the Vajra Array which had been initiated suddenly disappeared completely, including the disintegrating force that had already been applied to the ushering holy and virtuous ones who went in ahead of us. What baffled us was the Buddha had not come to break the array specifically. The Buddha told us that we must abstain from all evil deeds, do all good deeds, and not err on the law of causality or violate our precepts. The Buddha was saying that a rinpoche was now facing sickness, pain, and death because he had evil views and understanding, and as such, he could not change the karmic retributions he was getting. The Buddha was saying all these things when the force of the Vajra Array suddenly disappeared. We saw that the Buddha had just entered the array’s gate. That was very strange, it was unprecedented! Albeit extremely powerful, this array became a powerless and empty formation before the Buddha!
We were very shocked. So, we beseeched the Buddha to expound the Dharma and tell us why the force of the array, which had been initiated, suddenly disappeared the moment the Buddha went in. The Buddha said: “Don’t be mysterious! I never saw anything in there. Of course, I know I am a humbled cultivator; maybe I do not qualify to see it. It is fine if I cannot see it. I am not curious. I still say the same thing: What I want is cultivation.”
However, we must say our array formation is truly existent. Its ability to select the holy and virtuous ones or distinguish the true Arahats and Bodhisattvas from the fake ones is precise beyond compare. To achieve safe and accurate test results, we can only rely on a little bit of power from the array formation to examine the validity and level of the holy gurus. We know well that living beings are our family. We do not have a sliver of mindset to scare or harm them. We only have the conduct to help Buddhist disciples to guard themselves against being cheated by evil. It will naturally frighten the evil masters and the lying masters. They will be too scared to go into the test site, and Buddhist disciples can see their ugly true faces for not daring to take the test.
The Adamantine Seal in the Vajra Array is entirely out of the league of the fabled and inane Heaven-tumbling Seal, which is as trivial and tiny as a dirtball. From the surface, the Adamantine Seal is the fundamental seal of Ucchuṣma Vajra (穢跡金剛), a transformation of Shakyamuni Buddha, but on the seal, there are eight great vajra pestles. Therefore, this seal is also called the Invincible Vajra Seal, for it combines the powers of Supreme Peace and Joy White Vajra*1 (無上安樂白金剛), Kalachakra Vajra (時輪金剛), Vajra Kilaya (or Dorje Phurba, 普巴金剛), Yamantaka Vajra(大威德金剛), Maha Heruka Vajra (大赫魯嘎金剛), Aparājita Vajra (無能勝金剛), Heaven-Covering Vajra*1 (蓋天金剛), and Hayagrīva Vajra (馬頭金剛). It is invincible throughout the Dharmadhatu!
…Although the Samsara Eight-wind Array and the Vajra Array set up for the Holy Test are powerful beyond compare, we will also allow a door of escape for the candidate trapped in the array. The Eight-wind Array has eight levels, but we have decided only to set up the array at the first level. The Vajra Array for validating one’s reincarnated status from an Arahat or a Bodhisattva is powerful without parallel, where the Adamantine Seal in the array will fly in the air and then press down on a candidate who falsifies the test document. It will also suddenly emit the power to disintegrate the four great elements of the candidate’s body. An evil demon will be pressed into body powders right there and then. However, an Arahat or Bodhisattva with authentic status and truthfully filled out the test document will feel that moving Mt. Taishan is as easy as pushing a plate.
For safety, we will only set up one-thousandth of the total power in the Vajra Array to show its extremely ferocious holy power and validate the candidate’s truthfulness with it. The Adamantine Seal in the Vajra Array is not an empty fabled story like the Heaven-tumbling Seal in Feng Shen Bang. It is tangible, accurate, and without falsity. If a holy and virtuous person of Blue Button Level 3 wants to explore if they have already belonged to the fruit level of the Gold Button Arahat, they can also take the test in the array and experience the one-thousandth Vajra Array power.
These two Buddhist arrays can achieve the goal of selecting holy gurus accurately and letting candidates experience the actual form of the powerful faithful Buddha Dharma in person. It also enables candidates to receive lessons safely to assist their advancement. Those individuals who regard themselves pompously or who deludedly fake to be holy will correct their wrongs to become right. They can completely shed the evil speech and conduct of pretending to be a Bodhisattva. It allows them to voluntarily correct themselves from within their mind and vow to bring people benefit and joy. Even if they cannot obligatorily help living beings without receiving any offerings as H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III does, they will no longer cheat people on purpose. That is the only way for them to shoulder the Buddhist undertakings based on great compassion to benefit living beings.
…One can also write, “I am an Arahat” or “I am a Bodhisattva,” but that is quite risky. To be tested as a true reincarnation of an Arahat or a Bodhisattva, one must first penetrate the Vajra Array. After that, penetrating the Eight-wind Array would be as easy as pie.
To be tested for the regular holy and virtuous status, if one has submitted an untruthful test document, one will be engulfed in the Samsara Eight-wind Array to reveal one’s true form as an ordinary person. More seriously, the candidate taking the test in the Vajra Array must enter the array in person. Suppose the candidate going into the array does not have the actual status of an Arahat or a Bodhisattva but pretends to be one. In that case, the Adamantine Seal will come pressing down on the candidate, who will then have their true colors revealed, be disgraced and end up in misery! On the other hand, a true Arahat or Bodhisattva can penetrate the array easily and advance into the Holy Guru level of 1-Star Sun-Moon Wheel or Gold Button Level 1. A reincarnated Arahat or Bodhisattva can also bypass the Vajra Array and have their status validated through the holy determination by Vajra Faman Initiation.
…Translator’s Note:
*1 The English name of the term needs further confirmation
*2 Feng Shen Bang: It is a Chinese novel about ancient wars among humans, celestial beings, and ghosts
(Eric C. Huang translated this announcement into English. It was last revised on 2024-10-07.)
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