Reply to Inquiries No. 20180102: Regarding the Holy Fire Offering and Dharma King Gar Tunstan
The difference in the powers of empowerment between the Holy Fire Offering Buddha Dharma and the Regular Fire Offering Buddha Dharma is enormous, as massive as the difference between heaven and earth or between a big mountain and a small rock. It is tough to encounter the Holy Fire Offering worldwide. Wangzha Shangzun and two great holy and virtuous ones talked about their personal experience. In the last one hundred years, the well-known Master Pabongka and Kangsa Rinpoche in Tibet practiced this Dharma. One of the great holy and virtuous ones, who is of Gold Button Level II, said he had learned this Dharma but was unsuccessful in practicing it. It seemed his Dharma power and level still needed further improvement. There has not been a great holy and virtuous one, a great Dharma king, or a great Dharma master who has successfully practiced the Holy Fire Offering Dharma.
In the Holy Fire Offering, other than Vajra Homa* touching the fire altar in person, there is a separate Vajra Homa Bowl whose purposes are three-fold. The first is related to the living beings’ sinful hindrances and black karma; the second is related to the vicious evil spirits that are hard to contain, and the third is associated with sending a petition to Bodhisattva privately.
First, the practitioners’ black karma and heavy sins are collected and contained in the bowl. Second, all the vicious evil spirits that are hard to contain are also collected in the bowl. Third, a petition is sent to Bodhisattva in private, at which time the evil spirits and their black karma are suddenly burnt up in flames in the fire altar and turned into powders, thus removing the karmic hindrances from all the sins committed. The smell of the burnt black karma from the heavy sins and the corpse of the evil spirits is so bad that it is beyond compare. The evil spirits are taken by the Equal Enlightenment Bodhisattva or the Marvelous Enlightenment Bodhisattva, who receives the petition sent to Them in private, to a Buddha Land where they will be nurtured to attain the correct fruits of cultivation.
At that time, the people at the Fire Offering will smell the excessively fetid odor from the burnt corpse of the evil spirits, a smell that is so bad that people can hardly resist. The Holy Fire Offering is the most powerful and significant Dharma in containing evil spirits and removing living beings’ sinful hindrances and black karma among all the Dharmas, except the Dharma of Inviting Buddha to Bestow Holy Amrites. This Dharma belongs to the supreme class of principal Dharma. It can contain evil spirits and eliminate the heavy sins of the five impurities. It ranks alongside the Dharma of Sending Petition to Bodhisattva in Public and the Dharma of Yidam Dharma Affinity. The regular Fire Offering Dharma, which the inquirer asked about, cannot hold a candle to it.
What is worth celebrating the most is that Namo H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III has agreed to the unanimous request from the holy gurus and the high monks earlier this year to hold a Homa* Fire Offering Dharma. Namo H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III said: “I know I am a commoner and a humbled one. Even though you have requested the Dharma repeatedly, I can only practice it and chant it according to the Dharma ritual passed down from ancient times. I will try my best. Please do understand if the practice is not successful.”
Next, regarding your following inquiry: “Dharma King Gar Tunstan wrote to the Juexing Temple in Taiwan several years ago and clearly stated that he would not be their abbot because there was no way he could have the time to wait for their temple to be completed. He again stated that this year, he would not be able to attend the laying of the foundation for the Ancient Buddha Temple because he would pass away. We would like to ask when Dharma King Gar Tunstan will pass away in a liberated state?”
Here is the answer. Two board members of the Headquarters went to implore the answer to the question that people raised regarding when the Dharma King will pass away in a liberated state from the Dharma King today. Dharma King Gar Tunstan said that He has attained liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth by practicing the Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III Yidam Dharma. He will finish practicing the last Dharma as soon as possible, write a document of his resolution to pass away, and then pass away immediately without missing the mark of time. One board member asked Him what would be written on the resolution document to pass away. The Dharma King happily smiled and said, “What would you say will be written? What meaning will there be if everything is said?” Both board members asked Him to consider staying so that He can promote Buddha Dharma and save living beings. The Dharma King said: “Buddha Master is in this world. How will my realization level be of any use? Life is a dream, and we all must go sooner or later. We become beings when the cause and conditions come together and disintegrate when the conditions are done. Never mind! I will not stay. Dharma masters! Do learn and practice it well from Buddha Master!” Dharma King Gar Tustan said: “For my state of liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth, I can call the shots myself. I can leave whenever I want to leave. That is not the same as the case of Layman Zhao Yusheng, who still needed Buddha and Bodhisattva to come to take him at a certain time.”
Inquiry Center, World Buddhism Association Headquarters
September 14, 2018
(Eric Huang translated this public announcement from Chinese to English. The translation was last reviewed and edited on 2024-06-04.)
Translator’s notes:
*There are two ways of writing in Chinese of the fire offering. The first is written as 護摩, pronounced as hoo-mo, which is a transliteration from Homa, a Sanskrit word meaning fire offering; and the second is written as 伏魔, pronounced as foo-mo, which literally means to contain evil spirits in Chinese.