The answer is, “No.” They may represent a true lineage of a genuine sect of Buddhism, but most of the leaders of Buddhism today, in this Dharma-Ending Age are shams because their cultivation and practice are false. That is why we have an annual examination to test our leaders. Until you reach very high levels of realization you can still regress and we have seen our own high ranking rinpoches fall into evil ways. The scandals that have besieged other lineages are legend. Unless your master has bodhichitta and holds none of the erroneous or evil views that we are reviewing in this blog, you cannot be assured that your master is a worthy one.
Many of the evil and erroneous views relate to evaluating your master including number 48 that provides a detailed description of what a master must do to perform the Vajra Bodhi Initiation. It is very rare to encounter an authentic master who can perform the required predictions and manifestations of these advanced dharmas. In ancient times such dharma kings and holy ones did exist, but not today.
Be careful. Study the 128 Evil and Erroneous Views from the Supreme and Unsurpassable Mahamudra of Liberation. Review the various announcements published by The Office of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III and the World Buddhism Association Headquarters (WBAH) for more guidance.
Erroneous View No. 19: Acknowledging that holders of a legitimate lineage are all upright great masters. Those with this view think that a master who leads a legitimate dharma linage must be a legitimate leading master of his sect. This kind of situation has caused great confusion and chaos in Buddhist circles and is a most serious problem. It can be said that among one hundred so-called leading masters of a sect with a legitimate lineage, almost all of those one hundred are shams. Is their linage genuine? Their linage is genuine, but it is often the case that their cultivation and practice are false. Among one thousand masters who lead a sect, perhaps only one is a genuine leading master of his sect. That is because cultivation is a matter of one’s own conduct. Whether one is a legitimate leading master of a sect depends on his own concrete cultivation and practice. You cannot simply look to his dharma linage to determine his legitimacy. For example, I, Dorje Chang III, directly transmit dharma. This is a true dharma linage. My disciples generally cultivate themselves and practice well. The supernatural powers that they have truly realized are very rare and seldom seen in this world. However, I still have quite a number of disciples, including some who are masters, who follow evil and erroneous views. Moreover, they do not just follow one or two of those views. Therefore, all of you should all pay attention to this problem. Use these 128 views to determine whether someone has right understanding and right views and whether someone is a legitimate leading master of his sect.
Some disciples told me, “Buddha Master, can you talk about this erroneous view in a more delicate way? Otherwise, how can we go out and save living beings? Which other sect says disciples in their own sect have problems? No matter what, aren’t we much better than certain so-called eminent monastics and greatly virtuous ones in other sects?” I told them, “Whether you are a lot or a little better is of no use. You must become pure masters on the path to enlightenment. Even if masters in Buddhist circles, including all of you, all have complaints about me and all leave me, I still must talk about right understanding and right views that uphold the true dharma of the Tathagata and that protect the wisdom roots of living beings that lead to liberation.”
Erroneous View No. 48: Acknowledging as a Vajra Bodhi initiation master one who does not make the predictions associated with that initiation. The Vajra Bodhi Initiation is one of the great initiations. Many people think that a Vajra Bodhi Initiation is considered complete upon the performance of a short ceremony following the initiation, without a holy prediction. In fact, the most important aspect of a Vajra Bodhi Initiation is the holy prediction. It is definitely the case that only great acaryas can perform such an initiation. Ordinary acaryas who are dharma kings will not be able to do so. At the time of initiation, 250 bodhi pills marked with a white spot and 250 vajra pills marked with a blue spot are mixed together. All 500 pills are put into a container. Each pill is exactly the same size. Five hundred people will receive the initiation. Each of them will pick one pill from the container. None of them will know whether he picked a bodhi pill or a vajra pill. That is because the container is covered, and the white or blue spot on the pill is very tiny, almost as tiny as the tip of a hair. The spot on the pill is not easy to see. Moreover, the disciple is not permitted to look at the pill he picks. When he picks a pill with his fingers, he is in a dark tent and has to immediately put the pill into his dharma tube and seal the tube right away. Then he will exit the dark tent with his dharma tube. The great acarya who is performing this Vajra Bodhi Initiation has to plant a bodhi-vajra seed for each recipient of the initiation. Once the bodhi-vajra seed is planted, this karmic affinity will never go bad. Even if a recipient of this initiation later creates all kinds of negative karma causing him to descend into hell, after completing the experience of karmic retribution in the hell realm, he can still come back and reconnect to the dharma through this karmic affinity. How does one know whether bodhi-vajra seeds are successfully planted or not? One cannot simply believe the words of the acarya that the seeds were successfully planted. A true great acarya is very modest and would not say, “Ah, good! Today I have successfully planted for all of you indestructible bodhi-vajra seeds. The initiation is now considered completed. Quickly make your offerings to me!” There should be no such thing. A great acarya would say, “Disciples, now I am going to prove your karmic affinity. You will be able to see whether your karmic affinity has been planted or not. I will divide all of you 500 people into two groups. Those on this side will be the ones who picked bodhi pills, and those on the other side will be the ones who picked vajra pills. However, do not open your dharma tube now to look.” The dharma tubes containing either a bodhi pill or vajra pill are all sealed. Each was sealed by the disciple after he picked a pill and put it inside his dharma tube. The great acarya did not distribute the pills to the disciples. When each disciple puts the pill into his dharma tube, the great acarya is at least 30 meters (98 feet) or even over 100 meters (328 feet) away from those disciples. After each of the disciples puts a pill into his tube, the great acarya will practice a dharma. He will then call out the name of each disciple and tell that disciple which side to sit on, left or right. The great acarya will send all of the disciples to one of two sides, with 250 disciples on each side. He will then announce which side has all of the bodhi pills and which side has all of the vajra pills. After that he will order the disciples to open their tubes and look at the pill inside. All of the disciples then immediately do so. At first glance, all of the pills are red pills of the same size and appearance. However, after the disciples very carefully examine their pill, they discover that the disciples on one side are all holding a bodhi pill with a white spot on it, and the disciples on the other side are all holding a varja pill with a blue spot on it, just as the great acarya predicted. This is called a holy prediction. Therefore, practitioners have an erroneous view when they regard a master as a great acarya of the Vajra Bodhi Initiation even though that master did not make a holy prediction when he performed the Vajra Bodhi Initiation. Such a master is a false Vajra Bodhi Initiation master and does not possess the qualifications of a true great acarya.
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