(Book 51 Highest Yoga Tantra and Mahamudra《無上密與大手印》)
‧Written by Sheng-yen Lu‧
After the publication of my fiftieth book, I plan to write a book detailing the pith instructions that have been secretly Highest Yoga Tantra and Mahamudra, and the debut of this masterpiece will awaken and tremble the whole universe. As a result, Vajrayana Buddhism [a.k.a.Tantric Buddhism] will become an eternally glorious rainbow in the sky, liberating and blessing all sentient beings and heavenly beings. I will be the first in modern times to completely reveal these ancient teachings in writing. (This book shall be my fifty-first book.)
I have been secretly practicing the Highest Yoga Tantra and Mahamudra for many years, and these teachings were transmitted to me by the Sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa and Guru Padmasambhava. Now, Master Sheng-yen Lu will unveil the closely guarded secrets of this lineage. These secrets are the supreme quintessence of Vajrayana Buddhism. They contain the extremely rare and pith instructions for all Vajrayana practitioners to attain Buddhahood. I, the Holy Red Crown Vajra Guru, am the master of the inextinguishable dharma lamp. I am the master that knows all secrets and who expounds the Highest Yoga Tantra. When this book is published, it will send shockwaves throughout the world.
In the past, Vajradhara (a secret epithet that represents the great authority of Vajrayana Buddhism) first transmitted the Highest Yoga Tantra and Mahamudra to Tilopa, who later transmitted them to Naropa. [Naropa then passed the dharma baton to Marpa], who was originally from the snow-capped mountains of Tibet. Marpa estab lished the Kagyupa School, the white sect of Tibetan Buddhism. Marpa’s successor was Milarepa, who attained Buddhahood in his present body, as the result of his attainment from the Highest Yoga Tantra and Mahamudra.
When I received the secret empowerment from the Sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa, His Holiness conferred the teachings of the Highest Yoga Tantra and Mahamudra to me. He also entrusted me with the responsibility of propagating the principal teachings of attaining Buddhahood to everyone, when the time was ripe for Vajrayana to blossom in the world. When I received this transmission, I vowed to offer my entire body and mind to all buddhas of the ten directions, transforming myself into hundreds and thousands of bodies. I vowed to be continually reborn in order to liberate sentient beings from the great ocean of samsara.
The lineages I received come from a mix of different traditions and lineages, which include the following:
The Red Sect/Nyingma School – bestowal of the empowerment of the Great Perfection of the Nyingma School in my meditation.
The White Sect/Kagyu School – bestowal of the secret transmission by His Holiness the Sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa and the Twelfth Tai Situpa Rinpoche, Pema Donyo Nyinje Wangpo.
The Yellow Sect/Gelug School – bestowal of the empowerment from Guru Thubten Dargye.
The Flower Sect/Sakya School – bestowal of the great empowerment from Sakya Zhengkong Lama. In the Zongchi Temple, Guru Pufang gave me Cundi Bodhisattva Empowerment.
About two thousand years ago, the lineage holder Marpa validated the Highest Yoga Tantra and Mahamudra after practicing diligently for eighteen years in India. It then took Milarepa [Marpa’s disciple] twelve years to practice the pith instructions, in the White Horse Tooth Cave of the high mountains of Tibet. Milarepa was able to achieve yogic union through Mahamudra, and achieved all supernatural faculties. Among the yogic practitioners of the Kagyu lineage, Milarepa was among the most famous and highly accomplished.
(to be continued)
previous post
next post
