T273 蓮生活佛英文文集148-咒的魔力 The Vajra Teeth 2

■Book 148─Power of Mantra

■Written by Master Sheng-yen Lu 

■Chapter Four

 

I finally told Jiang Wei, “Alright! I do know that within Vajrayana teachings, there is a Bodhisattva known as Vajrayaksa [also known as Vajra Teeth Bodhisattva]. I'll consult him and ask him how to help an adult grow a new tooth. Who knows, he may have a solution for you.”

Jiang Wei left happily.

To help Jiang Wei, I picked an auspicious time and date to construct a shrine for Vajrayaksa Bodhisattva. In the shrine I placed a lotus throne for Vajrayaksa Bodhisattva, together with the offerings of incense, flowers, perfume, lamps, tea and fruits.

I chanted the Mantra of Purifying the Dharma Realms: 

[transliteration:] Om, nam, so-ha

[Sanskrit: OM NAM SVAHA]. 

I formed the Vajrayaksa Bodhisattva Mudra and visualized the Bodhisattva descending onto the shrine to receive my offerings. [I chanted:]

May this scent of fragrant flowers permeate the dharma realms throughout the Ten Directions

To all buddhas and saints dwelling in the countless pure lands 

Please accept this offering and extend your help 

Please deliver sentient beings from their suffering

And help them attain enlightenment together

Devas of earth, water, fire, and wind, I summon you to appear

May the requested deities respond immediately to this summons

I sincerely invoke the presence of Vajrayaksa

Transforming this offering to present to you

I saw Vajrayaksa Bodhisattva descending from above, promptly seated on a precious lotus throne. His golden body emanated endless circles of light.

I went straight to the question, “Is there a method to help an adult grow new teeth?”

Vajrayaksa Bodhisattva laughed and said, “Are you aware of the reason I have Vajra Teeth?”

“I only know about the teeth, but I do not know what the teeth are used for.”

“I, Vajrayaksa Bodhisattva, am not here to help anyone grow new teeth. My Vajra Teeth symbolize the strength and toughness of teeth that grinds away all demonic hindrances. The teeth also symbolize the crushing of all the greed, anger and ignorance of humans. I will bite all demons and ghosts into pieces if they dare to approach me and thus, the teeth represent crushing all evils.” 

“I understand now,” I said. 

Vajrayaksa Bodhisattva continued, “Ekajati, with her single tuft of hair, one eye, and one tooth, also symbolizes this, as do the teeth of Hayagriva. Together, we form the Trinity of Teeth.”

“Is there a way to help an adult grow new teeth?” I asked.

“No.”

“Who should I approach for help?”

“I don't know.”

I saw Vajrayaksa Bodhisattva off and knew the fact that no bodhisattvas of the Ten Directions or any wise beings could offer a way to grow new teeth for an adult. Even the Trinity of Teeth could not offer a method.

I thought I knew everything. I thought I understood the ways of heaven and earth, the ways of human beings, the teachings of the Dharma, and all principles. In the end I realized how little I actually knew. I knew nothing and could do nothing. I was such an ignorant fool!

I thought of how the buddhas and bodhisattvas express their compassion. We need to help remove and transform the suffering of all sentient beings and do it with the greatest joy. Besides purifying our own karma, we need to help others purify their karma.

When we help others resolve their karma, we need to enlighten them on the underlying causes and effects that affect them as they journey through life. We need to untie the knots of karma that bind us.

Only when karma is purified can the knots be unraveled. When all karma is resolved and Buddha-nature surfaces, and when Buddha-nature reveals itself through your cultivation, you are enlightened. Thus, helping ourselves and others find enlightenment is a sign of a truly compassionate bodhisattva.

                                                         -To Be Continued-

T272 蓮生活佛英文文集148-咒的魔力 The Vajra Teeth 1

■Book 148─Power of Mantra

■Written by Master Sheng-yen Lu 

■Chapter Four

 

When I was young, my mother, Lu Yunu, told me a story. Once, there was an old woman who had lost all of her teeth due to her old age. It was very difficult for her to eat anything without her teeth. She could not eat solid food, so she could only eat liquid food.

The old woman’s daughter-in-law was very filial and caring and always served her mother-in-law with the greatest care. She was sad to see how the old woman struggled with food, but she did not have a solution for the problem.

The daughter-in-law gave birth to a boy one day and she breast-fed the baby. Her breast milk was very nutritious and filling. After feeding the baby, she continued to produce milk. The daughter-in-law thought of her mother-in-law and instinctively took the old lady into her arms and breast-fed her. Her mother-in-law was old and was so light that it felt like she was cradling a small child in her arms.

The old woman had no teeth and could only drink her liquid food, so she suckled on her daughter-in-law’s milk and had a full meal.

The baby grew well and the old woman’s mental acuity and health greatly improved after the breast-feeding. The baby’s teeth began to come through, but the most amazing thing was the fact that the old woman’s gums began to harden. Eventually she grew thirty-eight new teeth! Don’t you think this is amazing?

When I first heard this story, I thought it was simply impossible. My mother had mentioned that:

1. Breast milk is more nutritious than any manufactured milk products.

2. Breast milk is rich in calcium.

3. The filial act of the daughter-in-law moved the heavens.

This was a rather familiar story. Later in life, a traditional Chinese doctor told me that human breast milk is very nutritious. Babies that feed on their mother’s milk usually do not fall sick very easily, and they have a naturally strong immune system.

The doctor told me that breast milk was known as “celestial wine” in traditional Chinese medicine:

Celestial wine,

Celestial wine,

Here on earth you will readily find.

* * *

My life was touched by the spiritual realm and thereafter I began my mission to help and liberate sentient beings in every way possible. Throughout all of this, I have encountered the strangest things and some of these encounters were simply magical and beyond comprehension. One of them even involved teeth!

There was a Buddhist by the name of Jiang Wei who came to me for a consultation.

“What would you like to find out?” I asked.

He kept silent. Instead he opened his mouth to show me his teeth.

I noticed a missing front tooth in the upper row of his teeth and it was obvious to anyone there was a gap there.

Jiang Wei said, “I lost this front tooth naturally. It just loosened up and dropped off. Now I am stuck with this gap. First of all, it looks ugly. Second, there’s a lisp whenever I talk. Next, my saliva shoots out uncontrollably and lastly, according to the book of face reading, having a broken tooth contributes to a loss of wealth.”

“You want a …?” I began to ask.

“I wonder if I can ask you for a talisman which can help me grow a new tooth to replace the old one.”

“Ha!” I laughed, “You need a dentist to help you with that!”

Jiang Wei said, “It is costly to consult a dentist. Without the root of the tooth, you need a fixed-bridge supported by the adjacent left and right teeth. Thus, it is best that I grow a new tooth.”

“There is no such thing as growing a new tooth, you know. You are not a kid anymore.”

“I heard you are able to solve any problem.”

“Nonsense!”

“It’s not nonsense. It’s true,” Jiang Wei said.

I told Jiang Wei, “What I have here are talismans to help an infant’s teeth come through, to cure toothaches, and to treat inflammation of the gums as well as tooth decay. Your condition doesn’t seem to fit into any of these.”

“All I need is a talisman to grow a new tooth.”

“No way,” I said.

“Why not?”

“They only work for infants and you’re not a baby.”

Jiang Wei said, “I’d like to give it a try!”

“The effectiveness of talismans depends on the sincerity of one’s heart. There is no room for frivolous attempts.”

“But my heart is sincere when I request a talisman that can help grow a tooth.”

“That’s for an infant,” I repeated. 

“Why don’t you treat me as an infant baby then?” Jiang Wei insisted.

“If the talisman doesn’t work, don’t blame me.”

“I won’t.”

I could not refuse Jiang Wei’s repeated request. I drew a talisman for him that helped grow new teeth, which was meant for infants. Naturally, the talisman had no effect on him.

Any infant whose teeth have not come through needs only this talisman to help push the teeth out. It works every time.

Jiang Wei was not about to give up so easily. He came to see me again.

“My friends told me you have the best solutions for everything and that you have great power,” Jiang Wei said. “What is impossible miraculously becomes possible in your hands. I hope you can create a miracle for me.”

“To make an adult grow a new tooth? Aren’t you stretching it a little too far?” I said.

“That would be a miracle. A true miracle.”                              

                                                                                                                           -To Be Continued-

T271 蓮生活佛英文文集148-咒的魔力 Grandfather's Prayer Beads 3

■Book 148─Power of Mantra

■Written by Master Sheng-yen Lu

■Chapter Three

 

Thus, I wrote a verse:

Filled with joy while reciting the Buddha's name and mantra

Now there is lineage in the Saha world

Continue to recite sincerely and respectfully

The blessing of deities and spirits will be with one perpetually

There is another story related to the Earth Deity Mantra.

There was a period when an epidemic swept through Taiwan and many livestock were killed. I observed many plague ghosts roaming in the wild and biting the animals to death. Owners of many farms approached me for help.

I studied the constellations and noted that the Five Plague Deities had descended from the southeastern area of the sky. This meant that an epidemic would sweep across the region, resulting in the deaths of many chickens, ducks, cattle, sheep and pigs.

I was worried, so I approached Cheng Huang, the City God, for help. He said, “This is fate, it has nothing to do with me!”

“Even if it is the will of the heavens, I cannot just watch people suffer.”

“Don't interfere. People's hearts are too corrupted.”

“It's hard for me to be at peace if I don't try to help them!” I said.

Cheng Huang said to me, “You, Sheng-yen Lu, try to help people every day, but their suffering is due to their own actions. One day, if someone hurts you, I wonder if anyone will save you.”

I answered, “If someone hurts me, that's my own karma - but looking at all these livestock suffering, I really feel for them in my heart.”

Cheng Huang then taught me a solution.

Take four sticks of bamboo and chip away the green outer layer. Each stick must be one foot six inches long. On an Accomplishment Day of the lunar calendar, chop the bamboo sticks. On each stick, inscribe the letters of the Earth Deity Mantra in either Chinese or Sanskrit.

In the afternoon of a lunar Removal Day, consecrate the bamboo sticks. Recite the Earth Deity Mantra one hundred and eight times for each stick. The more you recite the better. On a lunar Stability Day, hammer the bamboo sticks into the four corners of the ground of the respective farm.

When this is completed, a plague will not touch the respective farm. I taught this method to the farm owners and it worked! Each farm that was lined with the mantra-empowered bamboo sticks was protected from the plague. Not even one livestock animal died.

However, many other farmers were unaware of this method and during that year when the epidemic occurred, a lot of livestock died. There was hardly enough time to bury every dead chicken and cattle, and the carcasses piled up high like a hill.

One farm owner relayed this incident to me.

One night, he overheard a conversation that took place outside his farm. However, it was not human beings but plague ghosts who were talking. A large number of them arrived outside the farm.

One ghost exclaimed, “An aura produced by a certain mantra surrounds this farm. We cannot enter.”

“What mantra?” another asked.

“The Earth Deity Mantra.”

“That mantra is no big deal. It cannot stop us. Let's go!” 

“No way!”

“Why not?”

“The Earth Deity is, after all, a virtuous god.”

“We have our orders by heavenly decree!” the ghost shouted.

“But this mantra is empowered by Living Buddha Lian-sheng, Sheng-yen Lu himself.”

“Really!”

The ghosts fell silent. One of them suggested, “Let's leave this place! We can feed ourselves elsewhere. Besides the small Earth Deity Mantra, there's also the Buddha's edict. It's better to leave it alone.”

Thus, this bunch of ghosts left the farm.

Let me share this with you. Many wealthy men owe their riches to the help of spirits. Many disasters are the result of mischief from spirits. All of these incidents are caused by spiritual entities.

Confucius once said, “Respect the spiritual world but keep your distance.” This means that the spiritual world does exist, but keep your interactions with them to a minimum.

 

 

In the Bible, Jesus once expelled spirits and exorcised demons. In the Catholic's instruction for the Exorcistate, the third of the Minor Orders, it outlines the rite of exorcism. The seventy-five-year-old Father Amorth is himself a famous Catholic exorcism priest!

The invisible spirits are worthy of our attention!

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