资料库

The True Dharma of Buddhism Manifests in the United States#

Seven Sacred Realms Appear Before Our Eyes, Witnessing the True Bathing of the Buddha#

Reprinted from the International Daily, June 2, 2004
Reporter Zhuo Ga Los Angeles report

On May 26, 2004, the birthday of Shakyamuni Buddha, the weather in the United States was exceptionally sunny. On the lawn of a temple, in a solemn altar city surrounded by a huge blue curtain, great living Buddhas, great masters, and great lay practitioners from all over the world gathered together for a grand "Bathing the Buddha Dharma Assembly." This is not the ordinary chanting and recitation of bathing the Buddha that people are accustomed to in temples, but a truly authentic bathing of the Buddha ceremony, which must be inspired by the Buddha and Bodhisattvas' spiritual powers and manifest sacred realms. It is a grand event in the Dharma realm where the Buddha himself is present, the Dharma protectors manifest their holiness, and the Eightfold Division of Heavenly Dragons smiles in the sky, with various sacred realms appearing that ordinary people cannot imagine. The Dharma Assembly was presided over by the Great Dharma King Yang Eche Nuo Bu, the head of the Exoteric and Esoteric Vajrayana.

The Dharma Assembly was divided into two altar cities, the inner altar city being the central bathing city, and the outer altar city being the Dharma realm. The participants in the Dharma Assembly included eminent monks and virtuous monks such as Akong Rinpoche, Zaxi Zhuoma Rinpoche, Longhui Master, Juehui Master, Dagongla Rinpoche, Bodiwentu Rinpoche, Kui Zhi Master, Ruohui Master, Ciren Jiaco Great Lay Practitioner, Miaokong Master, and Baolian Master. The outer altar city included Fucang Wanghu Rinpoche, Yanlong Rinpoche, Awang Nuobu Rinpoche, Kangqin Rinpoche, Xirao Zhiben Rinpoche, Yixi Kambu, Cikong Master, Fahai Master, Cixin Master, and Haoling Master.

According to the Dharma rules, the purpose of the Bathing the Buddha Dharma Assembly is to bathe the Buddha with the Dharma water and to prove the spiritual powers by bathing the heavens. It is to explain the blessings of the Buddha to the heavens, the Eightfold Division of Heavenly Dragons, and the seven disciples. Therefore, it is necessary to successfully "prove the spiritual powers and take the water" in order to have a true Bathing the Buddha Dharma Assembly.

This Dharma Assembly also fulfilled the "Seven Sacred Realms." The seven sacred realms are as follows: 1. The wind celebrates the altar city. 2. The trees rain flowers. 3. The Dharma instruments manifest their holiness. 4. The clouds form an umbrella. 5. The Heavenly Dragons smile. 6. The living Buddha gives a decree. 7. The Dharma water changes color. The successful "proof of spiritual powers and taking of water" is the crucial content of the Dharma Assembly, and it is where the true Bathing the Buddha Dharma Assembly lies. It means that the three to five thousand pounds of Dharma water used for bathing the Buddha must be used to bathe the heavens, that is, to bathe the heavenly beings in the celestial realm. When bathing the heavens, the Dharma water must be transferred from the lotus pool for bathing the Buddha to the lower heavenly pool. The water cannot be touched by the human body or collected in worldly containers, because the human body and worldly containers are contaminated with impurities. The water can only be lifted and poured as a whole. However, how can such a heavy Dharma water be poured into the heavenly pool? It depends on the spiritual powers of the participants in the Dharma Assembly. At most, ten people can participate in lifting, otherwise it will be considered a non-sacred Bathing the Buddha. If the Dharma water cannot be successfully poured into the heavenly pool for bathing the heavens, no matter what kind of supernatural powers and sacred miracles appear in the Dharma Assembly, it cannot be called a "sacred Bathing the Buddha Dharma Assembly."

Trees Rain Flowers#

Inside the Bathing the Buddha altar city on this day, the atmosphere was sacred and solemn, and the Great Dharma King Yang Eche Nuo Bu was dressed in the robes of a Dharma King, with an incomparably majestic appearance. A statue of the Prince Siddhartha, made of bronze, stood in the altar city, and in the center of the altar city was a square lotus pool weighing seven hundred pounds and three feet high. On the pool were beautiful lotus flowers the size of wheels, and below the bathing pool was a rectangular heavenly pool one foot high. Ninety barrels of incense soup prepared for bathing the Buddha were placed in the altar city. This incense soup was made from sandalwood, agarwood, and saffron, and it had a light coffee color. When the Dharma Assembly began, the Great Dharma King performed the Dharma practice according to the Buddha's teachings. As soon as he started, a tree on the lawn that was covered with purple cherry blossoms immediately showered down a rain of blossoms, and the purple cherry blossoms danced in the golden sunlight, spreading all over the altar city and the dozens of barrels of incense soup. The auspicious clouds rolled in the sky, and the altar seemed to be no longer in the human world, but like a holy place in the Buddha's land. The rain of blossoms continued to fall for more than three hours, and the petals fell on everyone, but the Great Dharma King did not have a single petal on him. When the Dharma Assembly ended, the rain of blossoms immediately stopped.

Dharma Instruments Manifest Their Holiness#

In order to demonstrate the unity of the Exoteric and Esoteric Buddhist teachings, the Great Dharma King did not assign the first-class masters and great Rinpoche to perform the rituals and ceremonies, but instead assigned the Chinese monk Longhui, the chairman of the International Buddhist Sangha Association, to perform the rituals, and Juehui, Kui Zhi, Ruohui, and Miaokong to assist. Longhui led the assembly to pour incense soup into the bathing pool, and the assembly of living Buddhas, masters, and lay practitioners quickly filled the ninety barrels of light coffee-colored incense soup into the lotus pool for bathing the Buddha. The assembly then returned to their seats and respectfully invited the Great Dharma King to consecrate the bathing pool and incense soup. The Great Dharma King held a white vajra wheel and walked towards the lotus pool, placing the Dharma instrument in the pool. This Dharma instrument was as thick as half a coin and as large as the palm of a hand. According to the Buddhist teachings, this vajra wheel is owned by the Vajra Dharma King, and after being blessed by the Vajra Dharma King, the Dharma protectors will come to the Dharma instrument. The Dharma instrument will move up and down in the bathing water, and from then on, the sacred Bathing the Buddha Dharma Assembly can be practiced. The assembly gathered around the pool to watch the Dharma instrument. After a minute or two, everyone saw the vajra wheel moving in the water. No one touched the lotus pool, but the Dharma instrument freely moved and traveled in the water, sometimes sinking and sometimes floating on the surface of the water. They also saw a red light of samadhi true fire emitted from the bottom of the vajra wheel when it was about to reach the bottom of the water. Many people saw eight Dharma protectors standing on the Dharma instrument, and some saw Mahakala and the Goddess of Auspiciousness appearing on the vajra wheel. The assembly was filled with joy and delight.

Wind Celebrates the Altar City#

After the manifestation of the Dharma instrument, the assembly recited the prayer together. Suddenly, a strong wind blew from the west, shaking and shaking the altar city that was originally calm, and the purple cherry blossoms fluttered in the wind. The assembly was extremely surprised, and an indescribable auspiciousness and joy filled the entire altar city. The Buddha Shakyamuni had descended to the altar city, the sky was filled with the presence of the Dharma protectors, and the Five Dragons of Heavenly Dragons were smiling. The assembly chanted mantras in unison to welcome the arrival of the Buddha. The strong west wind blew for about thirty seconds and then suddenly stopped, and everything returned to normal. The auspicious atmosphere filled the altar city, and in the chanting of the assembly, the sacred bathing of the Buddha officially began. Master Kui Zhi invited the statue of the Prince Siddhartha to enter the lotus pool for bathing. The assembly respectfully invited the Great Dharma King to bathe the Buddha, and after the Great Dharma King completed the bathing practice, the assembly bathed the Buddha three times in order, with Juehui and Ruohui wiping the statue of the Buddha with a white scarf and dressing the Buddha in robes before placing it on the throne.

Proof of Spiritual Powers and Taking Water#

After bathing the Buddha, according to the ritual, the incense soup used for bathing the Buddha must be transferred to the heavenly pool for bathing the heavens. This is the crucial and sacred ritual that must be performed for the sacred Bathing the Buddha Dharma Assembly. Master Longhui announced that the assembly should lift the lotus pool and pour the incense soup into the heavenly pool. The assembly members came forward one after another, with ten people forming a team, but no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't lift the lotus pool. Later, fourteen strong men violated the rules and tried to lift the lotus pool together, using all their strength, reciting mantras loudly, and adopting various postures to lift it, but the lotus pool remained motionless. The fourteen people had to step back with an embarrassed smile. It should be known that the lotus pool, which weighs more than seven hundred pounds, plus the ninety barrels of incense soup, weighs a total of four thousand two hundred and sixty pounds. Unless it is a large crane, ordinary people, even the world's strongest, cannot lift it. The assembly looked at the pool with sighs and helplessness. Master Longhui, feeling both laughter and tears, had no ritual to perform. Seeing this situation, the master thought of the Great Dharma King's disciple, Akong Rinpoche, who came from Tibet and could make the Mani boulder fly in the air. So he asked her for help. Akong Rinpoche said, "I need someone to assist me." She immediately invited lay practitioner Ciren Jiaco to join her on the stage. Lay practitioner Ciren Jiaco had realized the emptiness of the Prajna Paramita and had achieved extraordinary spiritual powers. He was a great accomplishment in the realm of Dharmakaya. Akong Rinpoche and Ciren Jiaco each held one side of the lotus pool. Akong Rinpoche recited a mantra, "Om Ah Hum!" The two of them activated their arms, and the lotus pool suddenly rose up with a loud noise, and the sacred bathing water poured into the heavenly pool. Another "Om Ah Hum!" was recited, and the lotus pool was lifted again by the two of them, and the silver pillar-like Dharma water poured into the heavenly pool. The assembly was shocked and stunned! Fourteen men, who had used all their strength together and couldn't move the four-thousand-pound lotus pool, were able to lift it effortlessly in the hands of a young woman and an elderly man. What a powerful and mighty Vajra, a true embodiment of the true Buddha Dharma! The virtuous should know that these two people do not have innate divine power, but because they have followed the Great Dharma King and cultivated the true Dharma to a high level of spiritual attainment, they were able to complete the crucial ritual of taking water in this Dharma Assembly. The sacred Bathing the Buddha Dharma Assembly thus reached a state of perfection.

Heavenly Dragons Smile#

After obtaining the pure water for bathing the heavens, the Great Dharma King began to practice bathing the heavens, and the assembly had just chanted the bathing the heavens verse when suddenly a strong wind swept in, lifting the curtain with a loud noise, flipping the thangkas, and making the support frame of the curtain creak as if it was about to break. Even the sandbags used to secure the curtain were blown up and moved. In the wind, two-thirds of the people heard a low and loud dragon chant accompanied by rolling thunder in the air, and one-third of the people only heard the sound of the wind, which also proved the greatness of the Buddha Dharma and presented different causes and conditions. At this time, the sun was shining brightly, as if it was shining even more brightly because of the joyous chant of the heavenly dragons! The Eightfold Division of Heavenly Dragons arrived at the bathing altar city to receive the Buddha's bestowed bath! At this time, the assembly remembered that a few days before the Dharma Assembly, when setting up the curtain and Dharma platform, the Great Dharma King personally came to the scene and repeatedly urged everyone to fix the base of the platform and curtain very well so that they would not be blown down by the wind. A lay practitioner named Xu told the Great Dharma King, "The meteorological station forecasted that there will be no rain or wind for the next seven or eight days." The Great Dharma King told everyone, "There will naturally be no rain during the Dharma Assembly, but there will be strong winds during the practice. Especially when the Eightfold Division of Heavenly Dragons arrives, there will be a strong wind. Therefore, the base of the vajra must be firmly fixed." Fortunately, the Great Dharma King predicted in advance, and today during the Dharma Assembly, the heavenly dragons smiled in the sky, and although the wind was strong, the Dharma platform and curtain were unharmed.

Living Buddha Gives a Decree#

After the Great Dharma King practiced bathing the heavens and the heavenly dragons, he instructed the assembly to observe whether the vajra wheel in the water was moving. Surprisingly, after the two spiritual practitioners with extraordinary spiritual powers poured the Dharma water from the lotus pool into the heavenly pool, the four-thousand-pound vajra wheel did not move at all, and the Dharma instrument remained in its original position. Many people saw eight Dharma protectors blowing air above the Dharma instrument. At this time, a fat living Buddha weighing two hundred and eighty pounds requested the Dharma instrument to exert its power and bless him to eliminate residual karmic obstacles. The Great Dharma King approved and placed the Dharma instrument in front of the fat Rinpoche's chest. At the beginning, the living Buddha felt the coolness of the Dharma instrument, but then the Great Dharma King recited a mantra and lightly flicked his finger in the air. The living Buddha immediately let out a scream, his face turned pale, and he looked like Sun Wukong wearing a tight-fitting golden hoop, transforming into various forms, as if he couldn't support it. That was the samadhi true fire emitted by the vajra wheel through the Great Dharma King's practice, and the temperature suddenly became high, which the living Buddha naturally could not bear. At this time, the Great Dharma King flicked his finger again, and the samadhi true fire immediately disappeared, and the Dharma instrument immediately cooled down. The living Buddha instantly returned to normal without any harm, leaving only the mark of the Dharma instrument on his chest. The Great Dharma King gave a decree that a relief of the Dharma instrument would grow on the mark on the chest of the fat living Buddha after a week. The fat living Buddha was very delighted and grateful to the Great Dharma King for blessing him and eliminating his karmic obstacles. He vowed on the spot to benefit sentient beings to the best of his ability.

Clouds Form an Umbrella#

From the beginning to the end of the Dharma Assembly, there was a beautiful cloud floating in the sky above the altar city, and the shadow of the cloud always covered the bronze statue of the Prince Siddhartha. The Dharma Assembly lasted for more than three hours, and as the sun moved westward, the cloud also moved with the sun, like an umbrella, shading the statue of the Prince Siddhartha. Only two or three inches away from the statue of the Prince Siddhartha, the Dharma platform was always bathed in sunlight.

Dharma Water Changes Color#

At the end of the Dharma Assembly, the assembly took out the Dharma water from the bathing pool and the heavenly pool, and suddenly they heard an astonished exclamation, "Huh? Why is the Dharma water changing!" Everyone suddenly saw that the original ninety barrels of light coffee-colored incense soup had instantly turned into clear water. The Buddha and the heavenly beings had taken away the merits of the incense soup water, and the merits of the Dharma Assembly were extraordinary and complete. The assembly worshipped and praised without end.

This Bathing the Buddha Dharma Assembly, presided over by the Great Dharma King Yang Eche Nuo Bu, was truly a sacred Bathing the Buddha Dharma Assembly, with all seven sacred realms fulfilled and extraordinary spiritual powers demonstrated. The Buddha, Bodhisattvas, and Dharma protectors personally came to the altar city to receive the Buddha's bestowed bath. Various sacred realms of the Buddha Dharma appeared one after another, and this great Bathing the Buddha Dharma Assembly is the true and authentic Bathing the Buddha Dharma Assembly established by the Dharma rules, and it is a grand event of the Buddha Dharma brought about by the causes and conditions of sentient beings' blessings. At the end of the Dharma Assembly, the two spiritual practitioners who lifted the lotus pool, Akong Rinpoche and Ciren Jiaco Rinpoche, requested to take this sacred object of the bathing pool back to Tibet for enshrinement in the Tibetan Buddhist cause. Lay practitioner Ciren Jiaco requested to keep it in the United States for enshrinement. The Great Dharma King allowed everyone to vote to ensure fairness. The result was three to two, with Akong Rinpoche losing. This bathing pool will be collected by the United Nations International Buddhist Headquarters and kept in the United States.

At this time, Master Longhui announced that the merits of today's practice should be dedicated to a great saint who had just passed away, Lay Practitioner Wang Cheng Efen. This saint was not a disciple of any other sect, but a relative of our venerable teacher, the Great Dharma King, who relied on the Great Dharma King to cultivate the Guanyin Dharma. She passed away on May 23 in Xindu County, Sichuan Province, China. The reporter received a fax from Xindu on the 29th. After the passing of this saintly lay practitioner, the sacred realm was unprecedented, and everyone saw colorful auspicious clouds appearing. Amitabha Buddha, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, and others appeared in the void, and colorful Buddha light surrounded and circled the earth. The lay practitioner's head emitted Buddha light, and she picked up more than sixty solid relics, some round and some diamond-shaped, which became an unprecedented sacred miracle in the history of the Four Great Monastic Centers of China. Moreover, the lay practitioner Wang Cheng Efen's husband, Lay Practitioner Wang Lingze, on February 15, 1991, in the afternoon in the Labor Village Street of Xindu County, spoke to people about the auspicious realms of the Western Pure Land and the Western Pure Land. After speaking, he freely passed away on the street, sitting in the lotus position, without moving for seven days, his face looking alive. His body was cremated in the Baoguang Temple, and several sacred realms appeared. After the cremation, nine solid relics were found. Both of these virtuous people were close relatives of the Great Dharma King, and they were born and liberated from life and death by relying on the Great Dharma King's cultivation of the true Dharma.