Blessings of the Guru on Mahamudra
■Book 51─Highest Yoga Tantra and Mahamudra
■Written by Master Sheng-yen Lu
■Chapter seven
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After these beings spoke, a thunderclap was heard. At once, the beings ascended into the air. They had red spots on their bodies, along with white bellies and large massive jaws. All in all, there were nine dragons that danced in the sky. The golden armored god rode on one of the dragons and paid homage to the guru. My disciple was astonished to witness this vision and gained even greater reverence for his guru.
There was one disciple who went into the mountains to cultivate Guru Yoga. He found a cave and sat crossed-legged to practice. His residence was in Sumatra, and he lived on a mountain where tigers roamed. Later, a tiger appeared and its presence sent fear into the heart of my disciple. The tiger stared at him while he was seated, and his mind ran wild. He shouted, “Guru save me!” Upon hearing that, the tiger was taken aback by the sound, lowered its head, and made some growling noises before turning away. The disciple immediately ran down the mountain in the cloak of darkness. By shouting “Guru save me,” the tiger was frightened away!
One disciple was very respectful of the guru, and he prayed for the guru's blessings in his daily practice. He was a famous artist and painted a huge painting of the guru that could fill an entire wall. On the day of its completion, he hung the painting on his wall and lit a stick of high quality incense. As the smoke from the incense rose to the level of the guru's face, it stopped rising and circulated around the guru's face for about five minutes before dissipating.
On that very night, the artist dreamt that the guru took him to the artist's backyard. The guru pointed to a spot beneath the wall before disappearing into space. The next day, at the same spot, he unearthed a huge box that contained many Vajrayana practice texts, ritual objects, and a piece of a dharma robe. Upon investigating his family history, he found out that his great grandfather had been a great adept of the Vajrayana teachings and had studied Tibetan Buddhism under [an earlier reincarnation of] Tai Situ Rinpoche, from whom he had received His Holiness' dharma robe. Before he passed away, he was concerned that the ritual objects and practice texts might be mistreated, so he decided to place them in a box and bury them underground. Because his present day descendent had taken refuge in Tibetan Buddhism, the ritual objects therefore reemerged. Among the practice texts that he found, one of them was a major practice that was extremely rare and precious.
Another practitioner, who belonged to the Nyingma order, had practiced for many years. He himself was a master. He cultivated the Black Retreat, and practiced the Guanyin [Chenrezig] Yoga. When he attained yogic union, he saw Guanyin Bodhisattva informing him that a Mahasiddha had appeared, and he was none other than Master Sheng-yen Lu. The bodhisattva urged him to take refuge in Master Lu and learn the Dharma from him. This Nyingma master had learned of Sheng-yen Lu's fame earlier, but he was unconvinced of his attainment. Thus, one can imagine his astonishment when the bodhisattva told him about Master Lu.
After coming out of his retreat, this master did not come to look for me immediately. He was already eighty years old, while I am still in my forties. He is a senior master and I am a junior master. Yet, one night, he sat in meditation and heard the Tara's mantra resonating all around him. He saw himself transforming into the face of a baby held in his mother's embrace. When he looked at his mother's face, he was shocked to see the face of Master Sheng-yen Lu. At this point, he had a realization, and decided to put aside the differences of seniority and age, and wrote to seek refuge and empowerment.
Another disciple insisted on gaining yogic response with the guru's statue. Yet, for a long time nothing had happened. He already purchased a statue of the guru for himself, and purchased a few others for those who couldn't afford one. Despite this, he received no spiritual responses.
Then one night, he dreamt of his guru touching his crown and pulling something out of his head with his hand. Finally, the guru pulled a long black worm out of his head, and told him that the black worm of karma had prevented him from receiving any yogic union. The guru informed him that the following day his practice would definitely yield results.
True enough, on the following day, he saw white light entering his crown, and there was a clear path from his navel to the crown. Spiritual vitality filled his entire being. This disciple was able to gain penetration into all Vajrayana teachings, and could transform his crystal clear heart into the form of a lotus flower. He received many major Vajrayana practices and gained yogic union with all of them. Amazingly, he accomplished the Phowa Yoga and could help others open the pathway to the crown chakra.
These are just a few examples to illustrate the spiritual power of the guru's blessings on Mahamudra. I hope all disciples will practice in accordance to these instructions. I am sure that you will all have great accomplishments.
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