莲师化生人间日 The birthday of the emanation body of Padma Sambhava

今天是藏历五月初十，是莲师的诞生日。《大涅槃经》记载：释迦牟尼佛向阿难尊者明确宣说其殊胜化身将于涅槃8年后于无垢莲花中出生并广弘稀有无上密法----可以一生成就佛果的大圆满窍诀。于是根据佛陀授记，莲花生大师在释迦摩尼佛涅槃8年后，经诸佛共同加持应化于娑婆世界。

    三世诸佛总集化现的莲花生大师，在人间没有示现涅槃，始终以无死虹光身和种种功德、慈悲、神变传播诸佛正法、广利一切如母有情。莲师在娑婆世界广弘佛法圆满后，去往罗刹国度化众生。然莲师悲悯我等有情，由心间化现了千万化身---与莲师无二无别的具德金刚上师阿阇黎，留在我们生活的南瞻部洲继续广弘佛法，度脱有情。

    为了纪念、祈祷莲师，也为了忏清罪业，大家应行持殊胜荟供。

于显宗中沙弥和比丘的戒律如果出现了违缘，则通过结夏安居的方式，或者在十五和三十那天，按照规定的仪轨去忏悔罪业，使戒律恢复清净。那密乘用什么来消除戒律上的一些违缘呢？就是荟供。　

    有的业是自身所违犯了本来的因果规律，还有一种业，是因为你在某些情况下，接受了某种佛法时产生了一些戒律，却没能完整地守住，这就是违犯了戒律的业。这种业用什么来消除呢？最好的方法就是荟供。

    所以在这样殊胜的日子时应以珍品供养莲师等三根护法众，祈祷莲师等一切圣尊加持，圆满功德。

嘉样堪布

Today is May 10th according to the Tibetan Calendar, and it’s the birthday of Padma Sambhava. It is recorded in Mahaparinibbana Sutra that Sakyamuni Buddha told Venerable Ananda that he would be reincarnated in a pure lotus eight years after his nirvana to develop the rare paramount Tantric path  widely——the path to the Great Perfection which can help one attain Buddhahood in one life. Hence, following the Buddha’s Vyakarana, eight years after the Buddha’s nirvana, Padma Sambhava incarnated in the Saha world with the empowerment of all Buddhas.

As the general embodiment of all Buddhas from the past, present, and future,the Great Master Padmasambhava doesn’t manifest nirvana in this world. Instead, he has always been spreading 

Buddha-dharma in his immortal rainbow body with a variety of merits, mercy, and Abinna, to benefit all mother-like sentient beings.

After completing his Buddha-dharma spreading in the Saha world, Padma Sambhava goes to the Rasetsukoku to liberate the sentient beings there. However, due to his compassion and mercy for us sentient beings, he makes thousands of his embodiment emerge from his mind——Vajra Guru Archarya, Buddhist teachers with virtues, who are no different from Padma Sambhava——to stay in the Jambudvipa where we dwell on promoting Buddha-dharma widely and delivering the sentient beings.

To commemorate and pray to Padma Sambhava to repent all our evil karma, we should practice incredible feast-offering.

In Exotoric Buddhism, if acolytes and monks violate precepts, they remove the evil karma during the summer retreat or do it on the 15th or 30th on lunar calendar following the ritual to restore the teachings. Then what if there are precept violations in Esoteric-yana? The answer is to practice feast-offering.

Some karma is due to violations of the law of cause and effect proper, while some other karmas are consequences of one’s failing to keep to the precepts accompanying some specific Buddha dharma that one has accepted, That is. one has the karma of precept breaking. Then, how to expunge it? The best way is feast-offering.

Therefore, on special days like today, we should offer precious things to Padma Sambhava and all other three Roots Dharma guardians, and pray to Padma Sambhava and all other Blessed ones to bless us with perfect merits.

Khenpo Jamyang