Purple Lotus Publisher > Journal > Volumn NO. 12

The Power of Lineage Transmission

by Living Buddha Lian-sheng Sheng-yen Lu

Translated by Janny Chow from p. 24 to p. 28 of Volumn II of TheWisdom Sword of Tantrayana (published in June, 1995), a commentarygiven by the Living Buddha on Tsongkhapa's An Exposition on theGraduated Pathway of Tantrayana

After receiving empowerments from me, some students have asked me if they now have the power of lineage transmission. It is stated very clearly in Tantrayana teachings that after one receives an empowerment from the guru, one will inherit this power of lineage transmission. Why have you lost this power? You have to ask yourself, do not ask me. You know it well, why are you asking me? It shows that you still don't understand what the power of lineage transmission is.

There are four points you need to remember. You have to know that after you receive an empowerment, you will inherit this power of lineage transmission. In Tantrayana, each time you do a practice [sadhana], you are in effect receiving an empowerment from the flow of Cosmic Consciousness or Spirit. This eternal river of empowerment never runs dry. Earlier when you were doing the practice, you were opening up yourself to this empowerment.

"Namo Guru bei, Namo Buddha ye, Namo Dharma ye, Namo Sangha ye." When you chant this fourfold refuge mantra, are you not praying to the flow of consciousness from the Guru, Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha to be instilled in you? Don't you know that this is tantamount to requesting for an empowerment? The river of empowerment runs forever and will never be exhausted. If you don't do your practice, then the river of empowerment will dry up for you. If you practice accordingly on a daily basis, how can it run dry? It won't! The river of empowerment never runs dry!

When you are able to truly attest to the development of a psychic or spiritual capacity in yourself, you will be able to feel this instillation of flow of cosmic energy into you. You will not find youself unaware of it. Since you asked me if the power of lineage empowerment had disappeared in you, it signifies that you have not been able to feel it yet. The river of empowerment from the Cosmic Consciousness is constantly empowering you on your crown, and you receive it each time you do your practice.

The second point is: the blessing power from the guru does not disappear. The guru gives you empowerments and blessings, you have to often recall and think of your root guru. Do you recall and think about your root guru? Maybe since the empowerment three years ago, you have never thought about him. Once in a while, perhaps during the time of new year or some festival, you will bring him a free range chicken which is not too bad since it is quite nourishing!

This is how it works: if you often recall and think of your guru, the guru's empowerment will not disappear. However, if you basically never think of him, all you are interested in is doing business and making more money, you have forgotten about doing practice and recalling your guru, then how can the guru continue to empower you? The initial empowerment will fade over time and you will lose it. This is very simple!

The third point: you follow the levels of practices in an orderly graduated fashion. To inherit the power of lineage transmission, you have to keep to the proper order of graduated practices. Do not rush! The proper order is: Four Preliminary Practices, Guru Yoga, Personal Deity Yoga, Treasure Vase Chi, Inner Fire, Opening of Central Channel, Opening of the Five Chakras, the Five Vajra Practices, the Unexcelled Yoga [Union of Bliss and Emptiness], and Great Perfection. Follow the prescribed pathway level by level. When you receive confirmation that you have succeeded on one level, you may proceed to the next level. You come to tell me the yogic signs you have received from a certain level and then ask for the empowerment for the next higher level practice.

This is not an arbitrary matter. You cannot go and do the Vajra Practice today because it suddenly dawned on you to do it. Suddenly you want to do the Great Prostration, so you go and prostrate from morn till night till your forehead is almost splitting open. Then, all of a sudden, you change your mind and want to do the repentance practice. As soon as you see some good practices, you switch again: from Mahakala to White Mahakala to Green Tara to White Tara to Padmasambhava. Come what may, you drop whatever you are practicing and switch to something new. The proper sequence is completely disrupted! The practice of Tantrayana follows a graduated pathway. The sequence I just cited is the proper order of progression

So, when you commit yourself to this pathway, you have to remain steady and follow the sequence in a successive order. I have not given you an empowerment for a particular practice, yet you already start doing that practice on your own. Then, you go to another teacher to receive some other empowerment, and you start doing that practice. You run to one lama for an empowerment, then you see and like another empowerment being offered by another rin poche, and you run over to receive another empowerment. Then after practicing for a while, you don't feel anything, and you come back to me! Doing so, you have thrown your own prescribed pathway and lineage into chaos. Therefore, you must abide to the prescribed order of practices.

The fourth point: you must respect and have faith in your root guru. When you have respect and strong faith in your root guru, you will not lose this power of lineage transmission this is a fundamental principle. If you practically have no respect for him, then, sometimes when others slander and criticize your guru, you also follow suit and say, "That is quite possible!" Your faith is shaken when your hear critisms about your guru, how can you still open yourself to the power of lineage transmission? The thought that others' accusations may be true shows that your confidence in your guru is already undermined! It shows that you do not have respect and a strong faith in your root guru.

When you cannot engender a respect and faith in your guru, then there is no point in doing the practice. Since the practice was taught to you by your guru, and if you lack a respect and faith in him, why bother doing the practice? Isn't this so? You will starts lighting the dharma and practice he taught you. You will think to yourself that the practice he transmitted to you is probably a so so practice. When you don't take the practice seriously, how can you hope to achieve some success at it? You will not inherit this power of lineage transmission.

These are the four key points for success: the river of empowerment never runs dry; the energy of empowerment never disappears; you follow a proper sequence in your pathway and avoid taking refuge and empowerments and doing practices in a random manner; you alway shave respect and faith in your root guru. This way, you will have the power of lineage transmission in you. In the future, you don't need to ask me; if you asked me, it means that you have already lost the power of lineage transmission. This is a simple matter! Ifyou are certain that you have accomplished these four points, then the power of lineage transmission will always exist in you.

The power of lineage transmission is very important! You have to attach a great significance to Tantrayana practices becasue it is not easy to enter the door of Tantrayana. That is why the Vajrapani Empowerment Tantra says that one has to generate a great bodhicitta and take up the bodhisattva way before one can learn and study esoteric mantras, mudras, and enter into the Great Mandala to obtain the sacred teaching and practices.