On this most auspicious occasion, I would like to share two true stories about my wonderful Buddha Master, HH Dorje Chang Buddha III that I have never told before:
Some time ago my Buddha Master, asked me to practice the Modesty and Patience Dharma taught by Shakyamuni Buddha. The Buddha Master taught me how to respect persons lower than myself and told me to prostrate to those who were lower than me in their cultivation. To tell you the truth this bothered me. How could I possibly prostrate to them? The Buddha Master told me that in His past lives Shakyamuni Buddha prostrated to everyone. Shakyamuni Buddha practiced in this way to cut off self-attachment and practice forbearance.
One night at Hua Zang Si, a rinpoche attempted the Hidden Mani Stone
Selection Dharma. After finding the first stone, he tried for a long time and
was never able to locate the second stone that we had hidden. However, I was
able at that time to see them. Because he found one of the mani stones, the
temple arranged for me to prostrate to him at the end of the Dharma Assembly.
To tell you the truth, my first reaction was resentment—I was almost even
angry. Based on my own practice, how could I prostrate to this person who had
not been able to successfully complete the test, when I could have easily done
so?When this thought just appeared, I
saw my Buddha Master teaching me forbearance again and I was very ashamed.
However, several days passed, but I was still bothered by this, so I went to
see my Buddha Master and asked: “How can I prostrate to a person who doesn’t
have my vajra power in front of so many people?” My Buddha Master asked me,
“Did you forget the true story I told you about Shakyamuni Buddha? Putting
yourself as low as possible is the true way to true cultivation.” At the same
time I saw that my Buddha Master had the deepest insights in all of esoteric
and exoteric Buddhism and had complete mastery of all five of the vidyas.Even at that time my Buddha Master’s identity
as a Buddha had not yet been announced to the public, but we already knew that
He was a great Dharma King. How could I not listen to His teachings?
I thought for some time, just which great Bodhisattva is my Buddha
Master? Then I had a shocking experience that I have not shared publicly. I
actually saw my Dharma King Master drastically change His appearance in a very
short period of time. Even though my Buddha Master had predicted that He would
on such and such a day take on the negative karma of others and would not be
available to meet the public, I was not prepared for what I saw. He appeared on
the predicted day looking very ugly and old—His face was bloodied as if He had
just been severely beaten. His eyes were swollen and half closed! There were
many people standing around, but they seemed to be accepting of this condition.
I had been thinking that, because of His accomplishments in both exoteric
Buddhism and esoteric Buddhism and the Five Vidyas, my Master must be a Buddha,
but how could this be true when He looks so old and decrepit? I could barely
stand looking at my beloved Dharma King Master when He was like this. Remember,
at that time we did not know that our Dharma King Master was a Buddha. In less
than an hour, I looked again, and my Buddha Master had changed to a beautiful
young man. I was shocked. Oh, my God. How could this be? My Master is a Buddha!
What I was thinking is true! He is not just a Bodhisattva, but a Buddha. I
looked around, but no one else was shocked or showing any reaction at all to
what had just happened. I looked again at my Master and He just smiled. He put
His finger to His mouth and quietly said “shhh” and I realized that no one else
had seen this transformation, but I knew this fact about the Buddha.I was not to tell anyone. I had seen my
Buddha Master totally transform His appearance before everyone knew about this
ability.Now because of the fact that
the Buddha Master’s ability to change His appearance from old to young is known
internationally, I can tell you all what I experienced, and you will be able to
see photos similar to what I saw. Amitabha!