A student who had recently started to intensify her practice, found she faced all sorts of obstacles to being able to do this. She wondered what was the source of her misfortune? Was she doing something wrong?
In our class this week we looked at the role the Dharma Protectors play in helping us or not, so she wondered if she was somehow offending them. Although Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Heart Sutra does state how and why the Dharma Protectors will or will not help us in our practice as we learned in last week’s class, there is another reason that the Buddha Master told us about in LFBCS class D07.1(A)-Buddhism for Beginners, “The Concise Discourses.” This course includes a series of very short discourses He gave in response to questions asked by several of His students in Pasadena in 2006.
When some people begin to learn Buddhism, they will encounter obstacles. How can they overcome such difficulties?
A nun asked the Buddha Master: “Honorable Dharma King Master I have a question. For some people, when they started to learn Buddhism, there will be some obstacles or hindrances appear. In Dharma King’s discourses there is a koan. There was a person who wanted to learn Buddhism. A non-human enemy from a previous life, came to him and tried to stop him. Then he went to a person called Madam Yin and asked her, “Is there anyway I can prevent this being from disturbing me?” Then Madam Yin said, “You can just tell that being that you do not want to learn Buddhism anymore. Then that being will not disturb you.” But if this person still wants to learn Buddhism, how can he overcome this obstacle?”
The Buddha Master responded: “Actually as practitioners who wants to learn Buddhism, in the beginning we cannot vow that we do not want to learn Buddhism, because we would rather give up our lives than give up the Buddha-dharma. . . One cannot use this kind of method to solve the problem. And by the way, there is only Madam Huo who experienced this sort of situation. There is no such person as Madam Yin. That’s one thing I want to tell you. The second thing is non-human beings that have past life issues with you. These non-human beings know that if the person who wants to learn Buddhism becomes liberated there is no way for that being to obtain revenge. Because non-human beings are ordinary living beings and living beings have anger, different levels of anger, they want revenge. Therefore when they know that a person wants to learn Buddhism, they become nervous, so they want to come seeking revenge. What kind of method should one use to deal with this situation? Actually this is a very simple question, as long as one truly, sincerely takes refuge in the Three Jewels of Buddha, Dharma, Sangha or Four Jewels of Master, Buddha, Dharma, Sangha and has correct view. When one recites just once, Namo Kuan Shi Yin Pusa, one will receive protection from Kuan Yin Bodhisattva. Mara will not be able to harm that person, so don’t even mention about what those ordinary non-human beings could do.“
Dorje PaMu also had a similar observation on demonic obstructions when one is progressing on the path. She said that disciples “do not know that demonic obstructions always appear when the disciple who engages in cultivation is about to realize great accomplishment!’
The Concise Discourses
This concise discourse is taken from the second video shown in D07.1(A) at around the 13:33 spot. There are many such “concise” discourses read in this class. I urge you to listen to them, if you have not already done so. These discourses are only available as an auditing or free course for everyone. There are two videos and they cover topics from how to explain “reincarnation” to westerners who do not usually have such beliefs to the source and nature of dragons. There was a magical time when the H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III would answer every question asked by His students. Like Shakyamuni Buddha, He often expounded Dharma in response to questions asked by disciples (See The Dharma of Cultivation). I understand He did this again on a trip taken late in 2021 and that the discourses that resulted from those sessions were recorded and published in Chinese and released last summer as Dharma Imparted During a Trip in Response to the Needs of Disciples. Let us hope that the English translations of these discourses will soon be available to us who can not understand Chinese.
Please understand that the Dharma Discourse quoted above is a preliminary English translation that has not been approved by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III and probably contains translation errors. It is offered for reference purposes only until such time as an official translation is available.
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