An Ocean of Blessings by Penor Rinpoche

Author:Penor Rinpoche
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Shambhala
Published: 2017-11-07T05:00:00+00:00

PADMASAMBHAVA

THERE ARE COUNTLESS different religions in this world, but foremost among them are the extraordinary teachings of the omniscient Buddha Shakyamuni. The Buddhadharma is based on great compassion for all beings, not on pride, a desire for fame, or any of the disturbing emotions. The chance to study and practice these teachings is due to great merit, so it should not be squandered.

Upon attaining perfect enlightenment in Bodhgaya, Buddha Shakyamuni thought, “I attained perfect realization of the absolute nature of phenomena, profound and vast, but since nobody will be able to understand it, it’s useless to teach.” Nevertheless, both Indra, who is the king of the gods, and Brahma presented him with vast offerings of white conch shells turning clockwise, golden Dharma wheels, and so on, beseeching him to teach. Thus he gave the first Dharma teachings, turning the Dharma wheel of the four noble truths in Sarnath for his five original disciples. The four truths are the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of cessation, and the truth of the path.

During the Buddha’s time, there were often debates and discourses between scholars of different religions arguing which tradition was true. Hinduism and Buddhism both being very profound, two brothers, who were great Brahmin scholars, were unable to decide which teaching to follow. They tended to debate and argue a lot, leading their mother to scold them, “Why are you always arguing? If you really want to know the truth, go to Mount Kailash, for there you will come to understand everything.” So they went to Mount Kailash, where they came upon the goddess Umadevi plucking flowers in a meadow. They asked her why she was picking flowers, and she replied that the Buddha had been invited there and was expected to arrive the next day, so she wanted to make him a flower offering. The two scholars decided to join her to meet the Buddha and his retinue. The next day, they made offerings to the Buddha and received teachings, and thereby they gained confidence in the Buddhadharma. In fact, each of the brothers wrote a book delineating the differences between Hinduism and Buddhism. They explained that perfect enlightenment depends on realizing the true nature, and thus they praised the Buddhist teachings as superior.

The buddhas in nirmanakaya form usually teach just the Vinaya, the Sutras, and the Abhidharma but not Secret Mantra. When the buddhas teach Secret Mantra, they appear in sambhogakaya form, and the teachings of the Great Perfection originate from the dharmakaya buddha. So, for ordinary disciples, Buddha Shakyamuni mainly taught the Tripitaka: the three baskets of the Sutras, Vinaya, and Abhidharma. However, in the form of a heruka, he also taught the Secret Mantra and the Great Perfection to a few special disciples. For example, Shakyamuni gave King Indrabhuti teachings on the law of cause and effect and interdependent origination, and he told the king about undergoing severe hardships. But the king, who was very powerful and always surrounded by

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