On September 19, 2018, the "Victorious Fire Offering Ceremony" was officially held at the Holy Temple in the United States, presided over by Venerable Jushengde, and it was a complete success.
There are two types of participants in this rare and precious ceremony: the first type consists of holy monks and abbots of Buddhist temples and leaders of Buddhist organizations, all determined by one Jade Venerable, Wangzha Shangzun, Mozhijiao Zun, and Ludongzan Fawang. The second type is those who participate by chance, if they happen to encounter it, they will participate.
The fire offering ceremony is a major practice in Buddhism, especially in Tibetan Buddhism. In Tibet, India, and other places, almost everyone is familiar with the famous practice of dispelling disasters, avoiding difficulties, removing obstacles, and increasing blessings. This Buddhist practice is also known as the "Victorious Fire Altar Homa", but it is rare to see a true "Victorious Fire Offering Homa" in hundreds of years, and the ones that people usually participate in are regular fire offerings. The blessings generated by the "Victorious Fire Offering Homa" and regular fire offerings are vastly different, like the difference between one step and a thousand miles.
Wangzha Shangzun and the two great holy monks talked about their personal experiences. In the past hundred years, there were famous masters like Pobangka and Kansa Rinpoche who practiced this practice in Tibet. One of the great holy monks, who had reached the second stage of realization, said, "I have learned this practice, but I have not succeeded in practicing it. It seems that my spiritual power and skill are lacking, and I still need to make efforts. In recent decades, I have not seen any great holy monks, great Dharma kings, or great masters who have successfully practiced the Victorious Fire Offering. If the Victorious Fire Offering is not successful, it can only function as a regular fire offering." So what is the difference between success and failure? First of all, in regular Tibetan fire altar offerings or East Tantric fire offerings (stacked wood fire ceremony), it is claimed that they are accomplished, but from what I have learned, they are all ignited manually. How can they be blessed by the sacred fire of the Buddha? The Victorious Fire Offering is different. It must invite nine Tathagatas, Vajra Mothers, Prajna Mothers, and the assembly of Dharma Protectors to personally come to the fire altar, and the Vajra Mother who arrives from the void will personally ignite the fire. This is the true Victorious Fire Offering.
In this Victorious Fire Offering ceremony, the participants were seated in the main hall of the temple, and they witnessed the process of the ceremony up close. Many different ritual objects were used on the fire altar, which was a newly constructed copper stove without any electrical or fire appliances. There was a flat table with all the ritual objects, including the stove. More than ten volunteers cleaned the objects from top to bottom on the spot, placed the stove on the flat table, and put wood and sandalwood inside. The flat table was then brought close to the entrance of the main hall. Venerable Jushengde followed the practice and sat at a distance of about fifty meters. The "Guardian of Ignition" was a holy monk named Podi Wentu, who held a fire stick soaked in butter and recited mantras step by step as he walked towards the stove. When he was about six meters away, he was originally going to ignite the fire, but suddenly changed his mind and stood still, shouting to the sky, "This Victorious Fire Altar Homa is presided over by Venerable Jushengde. Please let the Vajra Mother ignite the fire. If the Vajra Mother does not ignite the fire, I will do it!" After saying that, he bowed deeply. Venerable Jushengde shouted loudly from a distance, "Please let the Vajra Mother ignite the fire to eliminate obstacles and increase blessings for all sentient beings!" As soon as he finished speaking, the Vajra Mother from the void appeared. I saw the blue Vajra Mother point her finger and a flash of light appeared, and the stove was ignited. The stove suddenly burst into flames without any fire beforehand, which scared Podi Wentu and made him run and jump, but then he turned around, held his head, and bowed. Everyone at the scene saw the flames suddenly ignite up close, and they immediately knelt down and bowed, excitedly starting the prayer burning.
One Buddhist devotee voluntarily placed the Vajra Demon Subduing Bowl used in the Victorious Fire Offering upside down on a small flat table. According to the Dharma, the bowl would gather and subdue the demonic karma of everyone in the fire offering ceremony, and any demons trying to escape from the bowl would cause the bowl to vibrate with all its might. At this critical moment, a loud "boom!" was heard, and the Vajra Mother sent a flash of lightning to turn the demons and black karma in the bowl into dust. The demons' souls were then taken by the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to the Pure Land for strict discipline.
Venerable Jushengde did not approach any ritual objects or tables from a distance. He then performed the "Secret Offering to Bodhisattvas" practice, and everyone present saw and heard a loud noise as the Vajra Demon Subduing Bowl on the flat table, with its mouth tightly sealed, suddenly exploded with a flash of fire that spun around and then disappeared. Then the congregation turned the bowl upside down, and there was nothing left underneath or inside the bowl. The "secret offering" to the Bodhisattvas had been taken away, disappearing right before everyone's eyes. The Victorious Fire Offering had been successfully completed! The burnt demon corpse emitted an extremely foul smell, worse than any stench in the world. Anyone who smelled it could not resist it, and their senses were distorted. The true nature of the Victorious Fire Offering had been perfectly achieved.
It is understood that there has not been a Victorious Fire Offering in more than 80 years. All the previous offerings were based on reasoning, without the appearance of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. No matter who practiced it, there has not been a true Victorious Fire Offering like this, where the true nature is manifested. In other words, in Tibet, India, and other countries, there was such a remarkable fire offering more than 80 years ago, and now it has appeared for the second time. We personally witnessed the supreme greatness of the true Dharma of the Tathagatas on the spot.
Even more remarkable, in addition to the unprecedented sacredness and infinite power of this Victorious Fire Offering ceremony, the smoke from the fire altar rose in the main hall, filling the entire hall, but the smoke detector on the ceiling remained silent. This is truly miraculous. In this hall, as long as someone smokes a cigarette, the alarm will sound and water will be sprayed down. The power of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the Victorious Fire Offering ceremony is so extraordinary and subtle.
In this way, the Victorious Fire Offering appeared with incomparable sacredness and miracles. The participants of the ceremony were very excited, and even the renowned Mozhijiao Zun lost his composure and became ecstatic. Everyone made offerings to Venerable Jushengde, but he did not accept any money and asked them to keep it for themselves.
Since then, the Holy Temple has established a true secret altar in this world, because everyone personally witnessed the "secret offering to Bodhisattvas". However, Venerable Jushengde said that it would be best for everyone to find a great holy monk who possesses the "Golden Vajra Three Sticks". Only then can there be physical evidence of the offerings and the establishment of a true secret altar.
I personally participated in this true Victorious Fire Offering ceremony, and it deeply impressed me, just as Venerable Jushengde said: "Compared to the Victorious Fire Offering, regular fire offerings are nothing more than a drop in the bucket, child's play." No wonder a Dharma Zun said, "The merit of the Victorious Fire Offering performed by the Vajra Mother personally igniting the fire on the spot is thousands of times greater than that of a regular fire offering."