Explanation of the Title "Third Incarnation of Dorje Chang Buddha"#
On April 3, 2008, the book "The Third Incarnation of Dorje Chang Buddha" published by the Global Buddhist Publishing House and the World Dharma Sound Publishing House held a solemn and grand launch ceremony at the Library of Congress in the United States. The Library of Congress officially collected this book, and it was then that people came to know that the highly respected Master Yiyun Gao and the Grand Master Yangyi Yixi Nuo Bu, who had always been respected by everyone, were recognized by the leaders or regents of the major Buddhist sects in the world as the third incarnation of the Buddha Dorje Chang, with the title of the Third Incarnation of Dorje Chang Buddha. Since then, people have been calling him "Namo Third Incarnation of Dorje Chang Buddha". This is similar to how before Shakyamuni Buddha became enlightened, his name was Siddhartha Gautama, but after Shakyamuni Buddha became enlightened, he was called "Namo Shakyamuni Buddha". Therefore, we now call him "Namo Third Incarnation of Dorje Chang Buddha". Especially on December 12, 2012, the United States Senate Resolution No. 614 officially named the Third Incarnation of Dorje Chang Buddha as His Holiness (H.H. Third Incarnation of Dorje Chang Buddha), and since then, the title of Namo Third Incarnation of Dorje Chang Buddha has been officially established. Moreover, the Third Incarnation of Dorje Chang Buddha is also the legal name recognized by the government, and the previous titles of "Yiyun Gao" and Grand Master and Supreme Dharma King no longer exist. However, this news was published before the official announcement of the title of the Third Incarnation of Dorje Chang Buddha, and at that time people did not yet know the true identity of the Buddha, so in order to respect the truth of history, we still retain the name used before the official recognition of the title of the Third Incarnation of Dorje Chang Buddha in the news. But everyone should be clear that except for the name of H.H. Third Incarnation of Dorje Chang Buddha, which is legal, the previous name no longer exists.
Taiwan Daily, June 9, 2003, Monday
Devoutly Praying to the Buddha, Hou Yushan Hopes to Be Guided by the Buddha and Bodhisattvas to Rebirth#
Hou Liqingqiu Personally Witnesses Shakyamuni Buddha and Others Guiding Her Husband, and Her Husband Urges Her to Follow Master Yiyun Gao in This Life#
Buddhist disciple Hou Yushan peacefully passed away on June 1 at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 73. His wife, Hou Liqingqiu, witnessed Shakyamuni Buddha, Amitabha Buddha, and Guanyin Bodhisattva coming to the sky to guide her husband to rebirth in the Pure Land. Before his death, Hou Yushan urged his wife to follow his teacher, Master Yiyun Gao, and practice Buddhism in this life.
Hou Liqingqiu, a licensed traditional Chinese medicine practitioner in California, spoke to more than twenty monastic monks who came to the house to perform rituals on the day of Hou Yushan's passing, describing Hou Yushan's journey in Buddhism and his peaceful passing:
Hou Yushan had been practicing Buddhism for many years. Four years ago, he was diagnosed with lung cancer and suffered from long-term painful treatments. A year and a half ago, Hou Yushan and his wife went to the Yiyun Gao International Cultural Foundation and were shocked to hear the teachings of Master Yiyun Gao. They never expected such a profound Buddhist teaching in the world. After hearing the true Dharma, Hou Yushan had infinite respect and sincerity towards Master Yiyun Gao. He never missed a single teaching session by Master Yiyun Gao and even volunteered at the foundation, which greatly impressed his colleagues at the foundation. They advised him not to overwork himself at the foundation and to go home and rest, but he said, "No, I am doing Buddhist work, which you cannot understand. I only hope to meet Master Yiyun Gao as soon as possible."
In February of this year, Hou Yushan and his wife, guided by the Venerable Losang Jiacuo Rinpoche of the Yiyun Gao International Cultural Foundation in the United States, took refuge in Master Yiyun Gao as their teacher. When they met the master, Hou Yushan and his wife were surprised to find that Master Yiyun Gao was completely different from what they had imagined. They had thought that Master Yiyun Gao was unapproachable, but after meeting him, they realized that Master Yiyun Gao was very approachable. They sincerely requested empowerment and teachings, and offered their savings as offerings. However, Master Yiyun Gao said, "I cannot set a precedent by accepting your offerings." He politely declined. But without hesitation, Master Yiyun Gao gave him the empowerment and teachings. After receiving the teachings, Hou Yushan diligently practiced and quickly reached a deep level of realization, and all his cancer pain suddenly disappeared.
On the day of Vesak, in May, Hou Yushan and Hou Liqingqiu met Master Yiyun Gao again. Master Yiyun Gao asked him what he wanted this time. Although Hou Yushan was terminally ill, he did not ask for relief from his illness. He respectfully and sincerely requested guidance from his Vajra Guru, Master Yiyun Gao: "I don't ask for anything else, I just want to know how to be reborn in the Pure Land smoothly. This is my only wish." Master Yiyun Gao told him, "Since that's the case, you need to change your practice method. You should switch to the Pure Land School's method of reciting the name of Amitabha Buddha, 'Namo Amituofo'. But the most important thing is that I will teach you a secret rebirth mudra, and you will soon be able to see the realm of Amitabha. In this way, the Buddha and Bodhisattvas will guide you to the Pure Land as soon as possible." With great compassion, Master Yiyun Gao called Hou Yushan to sit beside him and secretly transmitted the mudra to him. Hou Yushan received the profound method of reciting the name of Amitabha Buddha, and he was extremely excited and happy.
Since receiving the transmission of the method of reciting the name of Amitabha Buddha on Vesak, Hou Liqingqiu, who is a doctor, has seen golden light radiating from her husband's head and back at all times, shining brightly and auspiciously. He no longer looked like a cancer patient! From that moment on, all the cancer pain in his body disappeared without a trace. The pain, swelling, and even the morphine injections prescribed by the hospital were no longer needed. One day, he asked his daughter Lily, who works as an anesthetist in a hospital, "How do I look? How is my complexion?" His daughter replied, "Dad, your complexion is really good, you look energetic, and I can't tell that you are a patient." On the morning of May 25, Hou Yushan told his wife, "Last night, while practicing, I entered the Samadhi state and went to the Pure Land. The Pure Land is truly beautiful. The red color there is indescribably beautiful, as well as the yellow color, green color, purple color, and so on. I can't describe how beautiful they are to you." Hou Liqingqiu asked, "Can you give me an example to describe how beautiful it is?" After thinking for a moment, Hou Yushan said, "The Pure Land is incomparable in this world. As for the scenery, do you remember when we were young and visited West Lake? The early morning at West Lake, the colorful scenery created by the morning glow shining through the mist on the lake? The Pure Land is much more beautiful than that. Moreover, the Buddha told me that he will come to guide me in seven days and asked me to tell the world that the best Dharma in the world is with our teacher."
On May 31, Hou Yushan made all the arrangements for his family affairs and left a message for his daughter, saying, "You must not blame your mother for anything she does in her life, except for one thing, if your mother deviates from the Buddha Dharma and falls into a state of regression, you must criticize and remind her to seriously practice under our teacher Yiyun Gao and never regress." Then he said to his wife Hou Liqingqiu with great emphasis, "In your life, it doesn't matter if you do other things right or wrong, but there is one thing that cannot be wrong, which is to follow our Vajra Guru and practice diligently. Only by following him can you achieve success, and his Dharma is the true Dharma." After finishing the arrangements, Hou Yushan told his wife that he would leave tonight and told her, "Tonight, you must pay attention. At the moment of my passing, I am afraid of falling into a state of unconsciousness and entering a demonic realm. You must not sleep and remind me to visualize the Vajra Guru above my head and visualize Amitabha Buddha above my head, and recite the mantra with single-mindedness." That night, at their seaside home, Hou Liqingqiu had already foreseen that her husband, Hou Yushan, would be reborn in the Buddha's Pure Land, so she set four alarm clocks to ring at different times, every hour. Sure enough, at 6:15 a.m. on June 1, Hou Yushan's pulse slowed down, and his breathing became slow. Hou Liqingqiu shook his bed and they recited together without stopping, "Namo Vajra Guru! Namo Amitabha Buddha!" Hou Yushan received the secret mudra transmitted by Master Yiyun Gao.
At that moment, Hou Liqingqiu suddenly heard celestial music playing, and Hou Yushan's body emitted increasingly powerful golden light. She saw Shakyamuni Buddha, Amitabha Buddha, Guanyin Bodhisattva, and other Buddhas and Bodhisattvas appearing in the sky by the seaside. The light of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas merged with the light of Hou Yushan, becoming stronger and stronger. After about five minutes, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas disappeared, and the celestial music also disappeared. It was then that she remembered to quickly check Hou Yushan's pulse. Hou Yushan's pulse and heartbeat had already stopped.
Zhang Tianyou, the president of the Yiyun Gao International Cultural Foundation in the United States, was the first to arrive at Hou's home after Hou Yushan's passing. He saw Hou Yushan lying on the bed as if he were sleeping, with no signs of pain on his face, and his hands holding the secret mudra for rebirth. His face was peaceful.
Venerable Longhui, the chairman of the International Buddhist Sangha Association and the abbot of Huazang Temple, was deeply moved by this event and praised the greatness of Master Yiyun Gao. She said that she often saw the pain of cancer patients at the end of their lives, especially lung cancer, which was indescribable. They couldn't even recognize people, let alone recite mantras. However, the Pure Land method of reciting the name of Amitabha Buddha taught by Master Yiyun Gao allowed a lung cancer patient to radiate auspicious golden light and eliminate all pain within less than a month. The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas personally guided him to the Pure Land. Such a great Dharma of the Tathagata cannot be described in words!
On the night before Hou Yushan's passing, he personally packed gifts and $5,000 in US dollars and said to his wife, "The teacher never accepts offerings from me during my lifetime. Since I will pass away tonight, tomorrow you should take these offerings to the teacher and ask him to accept them." On June 1, Hou Liqingqiu followed her husband's instructions and brought the offerings to Master Yiyun Gao. She knelt on the ground, tears streaming down her face, and earnestly begged Master Yiyun Gao to accept the offerings, shouting loudly, "My supreme Vajra Guru!" Master Yiyun Gao said to her, "You should not address me like this. I am not a Vajra Guru or a Buddha. I am just an ordinary practitioner like everyone else." Hou Liqingqiu explained that these were offerings left by Hou Yushan, and Master Yiyun Gao said, "It seems that there is no other way. I cannot refuse to accept them." He reluctantly accepted the offerings and arranged for them to be displayed in the temple, where they cannot be used for personal purposes. He immediately took $6,000 from his own living expenses and sent it to Hou's home as a burial subsidy, and notified the monks from two large temples to come and assist in accumulating merit. (Reported by Su Jingrong, Los Angeles)
[Newspaper photo caption]: Hou Liqingqiu, the wife of Hou Yushan, tells the monastic monks who came to participate in the chanting ceremony in front of the family altar about the extraordinary deeds of Hou Yushan before taking refuge and passing away.