Earth Mother Bodhisattva Dharmalakṣaṇa Introduction
On Saturday, Mar. 25, 2017, 3:00pm, at Taiwan Lei Tsang Temple, True Buddha School Dharma King Living Buddha Lian-sheng Sheng-yen Lu will preside over an Earth Mother Bodhisattva Homa Ceremony followed by the empowerment of Earth Mother Bodhisattva Uncommon Practice and the teaching of the Lamdre.'
n her right hand Earth Mother Bodhisattva holds a celestial dust-whisk. Her left hand holds an Eight Trigram compass while her left foot steps on the earth (ground).
【Dharma Discourse by Living Buddha Lian-sheng Sheng-yen Lu - Earth Mother Bodhisattva Background and Magnificence】
Earth Mother Bodhisattva, also known as Earth Mother Goddess, is a truly great and remarkable bodhisattva. In her right hand Earth Mother Bodhisattva holds a celestial dust-whisk. In her left hand she holds an Eight Trigram compass. Earth Mother Bodhisattva's left foot steps on the earth (ground) which represents that Earth Mother Bodhisattva has collective charge of the Earth, Mount Sumeru, the Four Continents, the Eight Small Continents, the Seven Merit Seas and the Seven Fragrance Seas.
Earth produces all kinds of precious metals including gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, tungsten and manganese. In addition, precious treasures and corals, as well as the seven jewels and eight treasures, all originate from this great Earth and belong to Earth Mother Bodhisattva. One should therefore honour and pay respect to the Earth Mother Goddess and view the Earth as one's Mother.
There are two legends surrounding Earth Mother Bodhisattva. One regards Earth Mother Bodhisattva as a motherly transformation of Drdha Prthivi [Steady Earth Deity]. The second suggests that she is Prithvi [Mata], the wife of Drdha Prthivi.
There are three Buddhist sutras relevant to Earth Mother Bodhisattva. They are the Earth Mother Sutra, the True Earth Mother Sutra and the Sublime Earth Mother Sutra. The Earth Mother Sutra is a sutra in which Earth Mother does her utmost to influence and convince sentient beings.
In Tibetan and Shingon Buddhism, Earth Mother Bodhisattva, the Earth Mother Goddess, is non-existent. However, as for the beliefs in Taiwan, Earth Mother is viewed as a truly great bodhisattva. Because the motherland of the True Buddha School of Vajrayana is Taiwan, the True Buddha School holds the Earth Mother Bodhisattva in high regard and has great respect for her. While he was sick Earth Mother blessed Living Buddha Lian-sheng by bestowing on him a cup of water, for which he was truly grateful.
According to the Earth Mother Sutra, Earth Mother is the most excellent and honorable. Who would one pray to for money, wealth and treasure if not Earth Mother?
The wealthiest in heaven are the Four Heavenly Kings and Devanam Indra; at sea, the Dragon King; and on land, the Mountain God, Drdha Prthivi and the Earth deities from various directions. However, the Four Heavenly Kings belong to the Dijutian Realm which is situated halfway up Mount Sumeru. This heavenly realm also belongs to the Earth Mother Goddess.
Apart from this, the Dragon King in the sea also belongs to the Earth Mother Goddess. In fact, each and every mountain god, earth god, wealth god, the Five Direction Wealth Deities, and the Five Jambhalas of Tibetan Vajrayana are all ruled by the Earth Mother. Therefore, Earth Mother is truly the greatest wealth god.
According to traditional Chinese teachings on the five elements, gold is produced from the earth, that is, gold originates from the earth. Earth is the mother, and heaven, the father. In the Eight Trigrams, Heaven is the Qian and the earth is the Kun. Together, Qian and Kun bring about the existence of all sentient beings. Therefore, we have to honour and pay respect to both heaven and earth. This is the key point. The merits of Earth Mother Bodhisattva are indeed truly magnificent.
Earth Mother Bodhisattva's mantra was previously Om。di-mu。sid-dhi-hum。 However, Earth Mother Bodhisattva recently indicated that her heart mantra, which is different from her name mantra, is Om。bie-zha。ma-ma。po-li-ti-pi。so-ha。 This stands for the principal wisdom deity of the entire universe. Ma-ma indicates the maternal side, po-li-ti-pi [Prithvi], the Earth Mother, and so-ha, accomplishment.
Earth Mother Bodhisattva's mudra is the same as that of all female deities. Golden Mother of the Jade Pond's mudra is also formed like this, same as the mudra of Earth Mother.
With Earth Mother's mudra, mantra, and image, we have the elements of a tantric practice. The Earth Mother Goddess Practice is an Uncommon Practice of the True Buddha School and Earth Mother is our greatest wealth god.
Earth Mother Bodhisattva Sadhana
