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The Founder of Secret Buddhism.

From Tibetan Buddhist Encyclopedia
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The secret founder of this religious sect is not Sakyamuni Buddha, as many people have wrongly believed. It is the Creator or the Supreme Universal Ruler known as the Great Sun Buddha or Mahavairocana Buddha (Sanskrit). Who is He? The various Buddhist sects of the Great Vehicle system and the Secret sect have explained that the Buddha has three Bodies: The Dharma Body (law, doctrine), The Precious (or Bliss) Body, and the Incarnate (or transformation) Body.


1. THE DHARMA BODY


In Sanskrit, Vairocana Buddha, the Great Sun Buddha, symbolizes the personality of Truth, which is as brilliant as the sun in the infinite space. He resides in the magnificent world of beautiful flowers weaved by thousands of lotus petals (Kusukatala). Garba, Vyu Halamkara, Lokadhatu). In the tradition of the Great Vehicle Buddhist School, the Dharma Body taught the scriptures of superior knowledge such as the Avatamkara and Brahmajala Sutra to high ranking Bodhisattvas only. They are the only ones who can hear and see the Creator’s manifestation of the Truth. His world is called the Land of Permanently Still Light. The Dharma Body (Dharmakaya or Dharmata) is also the nature of all Buddhas (Buddhata) and all beings. All doctrines come from the Dharma Body. Without the Dharma Body, the universe does not exist. In this sense, the Dharma is the essential


Mahavairocana


nature of all things that exist. This is illustrated by a saying from a Zen monk: “The real nature of the Dharma Body of the Buddha can be compared to infinite space, from which all things reflect themselves like the moon reflects itself in the water”. “Greenish bamboos are Dharma Body, the multitude of yellow flowers are Prajnas (wisdom)”. As such, the Secret Buddhism Foundation is compatible with the religious foundations of other religions. That foundation is the Truth of Truth (satyasya satyan). All religious philosophies point to a unique understanding of the basic principle of the universe. That principle is the mysterious power of heaven and earth, which also lies deep in the human’s subconscious. It is the inability to understand this principle that leads human beings to miseries. To be saved one must discover, understand and becomes one nature with it. This is also the basis of all sciences. How is it done? For this question, every religion has different answers and different solutions. However, all the solutions have lead to a unique foundation, which is a moral and spiritual life that conforms to the Way and to the Truth. That principle is the supreme and ultimate reality that is experienced in the Brahman of the Vedanta philosophy, God of Christianity, Allah of Islam, and Jehovah of Judaism, Heaven by the Vietnamese, and Dharma or The Great Sun Buddha by Secret Buddhism.



2. THE PRECIOUS BODY (Sambhogakaya) - also called the Bliss body.


It is the spiritual self of Bodhisattvas, enjoyed by the Bodhisattvas as the result of successful practice of virtues. This result is attained over three kalpa (a very long period of time) During which time and under the law of karma, all errors and wrongdoings were totally erased.

3. THE INCARNATE BODY or Manifestation Body (Nirmanakaya) comes from the great compassion (Mahakarana) of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas upon mankind. The Bodhisattvas do not enjoy the results of their good deeds but want to share them with mankind. The Bodhisattvas will not hesitate to suffer in the place of sentient beings, or to give out their merits to enlighten them if it is possible to do so. They would go through difficulties for the sake of humanity in their Incarnate Body. The Incarnate Body can self-divide into hundred of thousands of appearances. The Bodhisattva can incarnate as insects, worms, saints or devils depending on the required situation, so to save people from ignorance, sorrows and of all kinds of life's pollutions. The following stories illustrate the notion of the Incarnate Body. Japanese literature has the legend of Fugen Bodhisattva’s manifestation of a Geisha. Her name was Goddess Eguchi. She was a contemporary of Saigyo, a Zen master and a poet monk in the years of Kamakura. On his religious mission, Saigyo arrived in Osaka when darkness fell, and had no place to stay for the night. He came to Eguchi’s home, but she refused to let him in, saying that she was by herself. Monk Saigyo wrote this stanza for her:

If I was still attached to this world, Your heart might be hard Why must you reject me? It's only a night in this illusory world.

Eguchi's action was not to reject or to give the monk a difficult time. It was only to preserve his reputation. Then, the goddess Eguchi disappeared. The travelling monk could still hear the echo of a woman's voice surfing on the waves of Yodo. Looking up, Saigyo saw Fugen Bodhisattva on a white elephant escorted by Deities disappear slowly in the bright clouds.

This is another legend of Kwan Yin Bodhisattva in China. In the Tang Dynasty, Yuan He (806-820 A.D), there was a beautiful girl in the community of Shan You. She was much sought after for marriage by many men. She gave the candidates a condition that they must memorize the Kwan Yin Lotus Sutra within one afternoon. The next morning, twenty men were successful doing this. She told them that she would marry the one who can memorize the Vajracchedika Sutra overnight. For this request, ten men were successful. That was still too many for the marriage. She then gave her third condition that is to memorize the seven books of the Lotus Sutra in just three days. A man named Ma Lang was the only one successful and so she promised to be his wife. Just as the wedding ceremony was starting, she suddenly became ill, her beauty faded away and she died right in front of the guests. A monk attending her funeral saw her bones became pure gold. He told the guests that she was not an ordinary person of this world. She had manifested herself by the Upaya method of Bodhisattva because she wanted to convert them. As the monk finished his speech, he flew up towards the sky and vanished.

Hieun-Tsang was a virtuous monk in China on his way to India to get the scriptures. He always recited the Prajna Paramita Sutra when he encountered adversities like snowstorms, tornados, or wild animals. It was said that Kwan Yin Bodhisattva appeared to Hieun-Tsang in the form of a sick monk and recited the Prajna Paramita Sutra to comfort him in his distress.




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