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True Buddha School Introductory Handbook THE TRUE BUDDHA SCHOOL INTRODUCTORY HANDBOOK THE true buddha Living Buddha Lian-sheng Sheng-yen Lu His Holiness Living Buddha Lian-sheng is the Root school Guru of True Buddha School. He is referred to as INTRODUCTORY HANDBOOK Grand Master by his disciples, and he is regarded as the emanation of Amitabha Buddha. As the lineage holder of the Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya and Gelug schools of Tibetan Buddhism, Liv- ing Buddha Lian-sheng has attained the highest frui- tion in those schools including the Great Perfection, Mahamudra, Lamdre, and Yamantaka Sadhana. Living Buddha Lian-sheng teaches both exoteric and esoteric Buddhism, and also incorporates ele- ments of Zen and Taoism into his teachings. He emphasizes actual practice and encourages students to integrate his Buddhist teachings into their daily lives. The quintessence of his personal journey, his methods of cultivation and his realization are embodied in the True Buddha Tantra, which is an inspiring, practical, and powerful teaching that is well-suited for people in modern society. Living Buddha Lian-sheng leads a disciplined life which includes spiritual practice, teaching, writing, and painting. He is an excellent model for spiritual culti- vators in this degenerated age. As of today, over five million people have taken refuge in True Buddha School. With over 400 chap- ters worldwide, True Buddha School is recognized as a major Buddhist group today. Living Buddha Lian-sheng has written over 200 books in Chinese on topics ranging from Vajrayana Buddhism to Feng Shui, Zen Buddhism, and Taoism. Many of these books are now being translated into English and various other languages. THE TRUE BUDDHA SCHOOL INTRODUCTORY HANDBOOK THE TRUE BUDDHA SCHOOL INTRODUCTORY HANDBOOK Content: PART ONE Testing Our Faith 03 Importance of Faith 03 Reasons Why We Believe in Buddhism 03 Differences between Traditional Buddhism and Vajrayana Buddhism 09 Significance of Taking Refuge 15 Significance of Taking Refuge in Living Buddha Lian-sheng and True Buddha School 17 Why Empowerments are Necessary 19 Meaning of “Living Buddha” 21 Why the Founder of True Buddha School is Known as Living Buddha Lian-sheng 22 Lifetime Accomplishments of Living Buddha Lian-sheng 25 Why Disciples Worship the Images of Living Buddha Lian-sheng 25 Importance of Cultivating the True Buddha Tantra 27 PART TWO Introduction to True Buddha School 32 Founder of True Buddha School: Living Buddha Lian-sheng 32 Heritage and Lineage of True Buddha School 46 Circumstances and Goals of Establishing True Buddha School 47 Organizational Structure of True Buddha School 48 Fundamental Beliefs of True Buddha School 49 Principle and Goal of True Buddha School 50 Principle and Function of the True Buddha Sangha 50 Extraordinariness of True Buddha School 55 PART THREE Essential Steps for Cultivating the True Buddha Tantra 56 Precepts after Taking Refuge 56 Fundamental Principles of Cultivating the True Buddha Tantra 58 How to Cultivate the True Buddha Tantra 59 Levels of Accomplishment of the True Buddha Tantra 63 Miscellaneous Questions 65 Appendix 1: The True Buddha Sutra 68 Appendix 2: The High King Avalokitesvara Sutra 72 Translators: Cheng Yew Chung and Lianhua Zhiwei Editor: Jason Yu and Harmony Proofreading: Renee Cordsen and Jackie Ho Design and Layout: Cheng Yew Chung 1 Acknowledgements The True Buddha Translation Teams would like to thank the following persons for making this translation possible: Living Buddha Lian-sheng Sheng-yen Lu for his blessing and guidance; Master Lianxiang for her encouragement; Master Lianseng for his support; Cheng Yew Chung and Lianhua Zhiwei for translation; Jason Yu and Harmony for editing; Renee Cordsen, Jackie Ho and Zhou Dan for proofreading; Cheng Yew Chung for design and photography. THE TRUE BUDDHA SCHOOL INTRODUCTORY HANDBOOK THE TRUE BUDDHA SCHOOL INTRODUCTORY HANDBOOK PART ONE Testing Our Faith Importance of Faith Religious faith provides one with a goal and a form of spiritual reliance. Faith is important because it gives rise to a powerful invisible strength. Through the cultivation of one’s speech and actions, one’s morality and spirituality are uplifted, and as a result, one will be able to reach the realm of sainthood. Reasons Why We Believe in Buddhism UNDERSTANDING KARMA AND REINCARNATION Karma is simply cause and effect. Everything in this world is governed by karma due to the fact that cause and effect is ever present and exacting. For instance, there are people with great talents and skills who never have the opportunity to live up to their potential. However, there are also people who are illiterate yet they excel in all endeavors and become leaders in their fields. Karma spans many lifetimes and if we want to understand why certain events happen to us in this lifetime, we must know this: “What we are today is a result of our deeds in our past lives, and our future is determined by our deeds in the present life.” Buddhism is based on the law of karma which moves in cycles of past, present and future. The law states that any good or bad karma that is created today leads to either happiness or suffering in the future. There is a Chinese saying, “Calamities and blessings never pass through a doorway except when they are invited.” In other words, “We reap what we sow.” To elaborate on this, “Good deeds bring good fruits, and bad deeds bring bad fruits. Karma is not unfair; it’s just that the time is not ripe yet.” 4 3 THE TRUE BUDDHA SCHOOL INTRODUCTORY HANDBOOK THE TRUE BUDDHA SCHOOL INTRODUCTORY HANDBOOK Due to their actions, sentient beings attract all Rising from the Ordinary Realm to Sainthood and Liberating from kinds of karmic consequences. Subsequently, they Samsara: spend lifetimes dwelling in the six realms of samsara In Buddhism, the universe is classified into ten realms. They are: (the heavenly realm, human realm, asura realm, buddha, bodhisattva, pratyekabuddha (solitary buddhas), sravaka (sound- animal realm, hungry ghost realm, and hell realm). hearers or arhats), heaven, human, asura, animal, hungry ghost, and hell. This is known as reincarnation. Metaphorically The first four realms are known as the “Four Holy Realms,” while the speaking, karma is the axle that drives the wheel remaining six realms are known as the “Six Mundane Realms.” The higher of reincarnation and it is the reason why sentient that the realm is above the human world, the greater the blessing is in that beings are continually imprisoned in the cycle of realm. Likewise, the lower that the realm is below the human realm, the life and death. The Buddha once said, “Despite greater the suffering is in that realm. Once we understand the principles hundreds and thousands of kalpas, the karma you of karma and reincarnation, we must eliminate all of the negative karma create does not disappear. When the circumstances created from our past lives, and we must purify ourselves and lift ourselves arise, you must bear the consequence of your karmic actions.” to a higher and purer spiritual realm. Through cultivation, we can free ourselves from suffering, and ultimately liberate ourselves from samsara PROPER CULTIVATION WILL LEAD YOU OUT OF REINCARNATION and the wheel of life and death. Happiness and suffering are intertwined in our world. We must endure the physical suffering of birth, aging, sickness and death, and the Liberation of the Spirit and Gaining emotional suffering of separation, hatred and unfulfillment. There is also Rebirth in the Pure Land of Ultimate the suffering that arises from the five skandhas (aggregates). These are Bliss: the eight kinds of suffering in life. The average human lifespan is less than a The purposes of cultivation are to remove all past and present karma, hundred years, and when we leave this world, to remove hindrances and to receive purification, all through the practice everything that means so much to us – our of the correct Dharma. Cultivation ensures that upon death, we can have spouse, children, and wealth – are lost in the a smooth journey to the Buddha’s Pure Land without encountering any blink of an eye. Our karmic burden is the obstacles along the way. only thing that we can take with us. One life after another, we go through this wheel of Assurance of a Place after Death: reincarnation and we act out our different The true meaning of life is to improve the level of our spiritual roles, which are bounded by the forces of awareness in order to transcend the six realms and attain liberation from karma. Yet, these lives return to emptiness in all of our worries. We must prepare for the inevitability of death. Once the end. our time is up, we can take nothing with us except for our karma. Hence, The purposes of cultivation are therefore we must gain control in this lifetime regarding our next place of rebirth. to gain self-realization, attain liberation from In order to do this, we need to have all the necessary conditions for samsara, and return to the Four Holy Realms. liberation from samsara. We do not want to remain in the endless cycle 6 7 THE TRUE BUDDHA SCHOOL INTRODUCTORY HANDBOOK THE TRUE BUDDHA SCHOOL INTRODUCTORY HANDBOOK THE EIGHT MOST DIRECT METHODS OF ELIMINATING KARMIC HINDRANCES 1. Recite the High King Avalokitesvara Sutra one thousand times (eliminating hindrances through the power of sutra). 2. Recite the Root Guru Mantra one million times (eliminating hindrances through the power of mantra). of the six realms. By cultivating the correct Dharma, we can be liberated 3. Cultivate the Repentance Practice two hundred times (eliminating and be reborn in the luminous Buddha Land without being subject to hindrances through the power of Dharma). reincarnation again. Therefore, we have the power to transcend the three 4.
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