■Book 51─Highest Yoga Tantra and Mahamudra
■Written by Master Sheng-yen Lu
■Chapter One
For more information, please call +1(510)473-4818 or fax +1(510)437-1987.
Contact Address: 3440 Foothill Blvd. Oakland CA 94601, U.S.A.
In the past if one wanted to practice Vajrayana Buddhism, one had to first study the exoteric scriptures for a number of years. Then one had to pass the examinations of a Geshe to prove one’s proficiency in Sutrayana, before being admitted into the Tantric monasteries. Only after that could one learn Tantric Dharma from the guru. The Vajrayana teachings are the ultimate dharma gate of Mahayana. They represent the highest order of teachings, which were hidden from the public and transmitted in secrecy between the teachers and students. This form of transmission constitutes the fundamental principle of Vajrayana Buddhism.
Now that we are in the degenerative stage of Buddha-dharma, the sublime teachings of the Three Secrets are openly propagated and revealed. Vajrayana is blossoming and the traditions of Tibetan, Chinese, and Japanese Esoteric Buddhism are becoming mainstream again. These forms are certainly not as rigid and strict as they used to be.
I received the heart essence of Mahamudra and I possessed the two authority seals. I also obtained the great secretive, perfect empowerments from the four Tantric schools of Nyingma, Gelug, Kagyu, and Sakya. As the contemporary spiritual holder of the Vajrayana Buddhism, I have been validated by gaining yogic union and have obtained the blessings of the lineage holders. I am entrusted with the responsibility of writing this book on the Highest Yoga Tantra and Mahamudra, and I will provide the pith instructions in detail without hiding or holding anything back. In this way, everyone may know these teachings and receive the benefits from them. With this book, I hope to plant the seeds of Vajrayana so that all sentient beings may be born into a family that practices Vajrayana Buddhism, whether in the present or future lifetimes.
These vital points of Mahamudra were developed by the Kagyu order, commonly known as the White Sect in Chinese Buddhist circles. Before the time of Milarepa, the lay adepts who attained buddhahood wore white clothing. Hence, they were called the White Sect. According to my knowledge, however, there is another meaning to this name. It signifies the transformation of black karma into white karma, which leads to buddhahood. This is one of the major meanings of the White Sect.
Some Tantric masters have asked me, “Master Sheng-yen Lu, who exactly are you?”
I shall herein disclose everything about myself: I was born on May 18, 1945 (lunar calendar) at noon, in Houhu, County of Jiayi. My father’s name is Lu Ershun and my mother is Huang Yunu. My last name is Lu and my first name is Sheng-yen, and I was born during the midst of air strikes by Japanese warplanes. Therefore, my parents were on the run and I was born on a chicken farm. 1945 was the year of the rooster.
My religious journey led me to follow Christianity, Taoism, the Tiande Sect (Heavenly Virtue), Sutrayana, and Vajrayana Buddhism. Later, I saw that I was the emanation of White Mahapadmakumara of the Maha Twin Lotus Ponds in Sukhavati, who had returned to the human world due to my previous vows to deliver sentient beings. This is my fourth reincarnation on earth.
I practiced the respective sadhanas of the four Vajrayana schools, according to the respective transmissions of the lineage orders. In the Kagyu School, I am the forty-second lineage holder counting from Vajradhara, the seventeenth if you count from the Karmapas, and the thirty-third counting from Tilopa.
Amitabha Buddha of Sukhavati, Guru Padmasambhava, and the Karmapas all entrusted White Mahapadmakumara of the Maha Twin Lotus Ponds, with a heavy responsibility to incarnate four times on earth. These reincarnations are evidence of his great compassion. The Holy Red Crown Vajra Guru, Master Sheng-yen Lu is also the Immovable Vajra Master who is not affected by any slanders or criticism. In the future, he shall become a Buddha with the epithet, the Non-Evil Eye Tathagata. The Maha Twin Lotus Ponds is a realm that was manifested by the Non-Evil Eye Tathagata.
I first had my spirit awakened by my teacher Lin Qiandai. Later, through various circumstances I received trainings from the invisible spirit guide, the Eminent Sanshan-Jiuhou. I cultivated according to the teachings of Taoism, Sutrayana, and Vajrayana, beginning first with Taoism, then Sutrayana and finally Vajrayana. My teachers include Lin Qiandai, Taoist Master Qingzhen, the Eminent Sanshan-Jiuhou, Venerable Yinshun, Venerable Leguo, Venerable Daoan, Venerable Huisan, Venerable Xiandun, Venerable Jueguang, Master Xiao Changming, the Sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa, the Twelfth Tai Situpa Rinpoche, Guru Pufang, Guru Thubten Dargye, Sakya Zhengkong Lama, Guru Padmasambhava and others. I have mastered the teachings of the Great Perfection, Mahamudra, Lamdre and Yamantaka Sadhana. Examples of these accomplishments include the Seven Treasures, the Mother-Child Luminosity Tantra, Clear Light Yoga, teachings of Kunga Drolchok, and sadhana on the peaceful and wrathful deities, among other practices. I received spiritual responses in all of them.
I have been endowed with the blessings of the buddhas, bodhisattvas and the power of White Mahapadmakumara through my yogic union. This profound revelation of the Highest Yoga Tantra and Mahamudra will allow sentient beings to be guided by the buddhas’ light, and be empowered by the buddhas to attain buddhahood. Those who hold this book should immediately pay homage to the Mahamudra lineage holders because the emergence of this kind of dharma work is rarely seen. This book constitutes the great secret of Padmakumara’s mission to ferry sentient beings to the other shore.
