Hello, my name is Dan Kendall and I am a follower of buddhist master Living Buddha Dechan Jueren, or Master Yu Tian Jian. I spent two years living and travelling with Living Buddha Dechan Jueren and this article is about one of my experiences while travelling with the master in China.
Living
Buddha Dechan Jueren:
Ancient Wisdom in the Modern World
By Dan Kendall
The smell of coal smoke hangs lightly in the air, and my feet crunch in the
cold snow. Wishing I had worn another layer, I roll up the collar of my light
winter coat to cover my neck. The streets are deserted and although it is black
with darkness, snowflakes can be seen falling in the light of the street lamps.
It is new year's morning in Beijing, China. Chinese New Year falls on the first
new moon of the lunar calendar, usually around the end of January or early February.
I have been in China for about a month, living and traveling with Buddhist Living
Buddha Dechan Jueren.
As we arrive at the back of the Yong He Gong Lamasery (Palace of Harmony or
Beijing Lama Temple), the large green gates swing wide and we are graciously
invited to enter by a tall young lama with bright red and yellow robes. His
giant ridged yellow hat gives him the illusion of being eight feet tall, but
maybe I am only sensing the stature of his spirit. We are welcomed with a smile,
the master is well known here, and led into a beautiful courtyard surrounded
by tall red buildings. Each building is built on giant red columns, has a sloping
roof turned up at the corners, and is decorated with beautiful ornate colors.
Yong He Gong used to be an imperial palace and was the birth place of the renowned
Qing emperor Qian Long, also a living Buddha, who transformed it into a Lamasery
around 1744. We stand for a moment in front of the Panchan Pavillion, which
was built for the sixth Panchan lama. Above the door is a plaque in Mongolian,
Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Chinese surrounded by dragons. Inside is the Bampa, a
solid gold urn used to identify Living Buddhas by drawing ivory ballots, its
twin sits in a temple in Tibet.
In the quiet pre-dawn darkness, I can now hear soft chanting.
As we approach the hall of eternal happiness, bright candlelight can be seen
through a haze of incense smoke.
Inside, some 60 lamas are chanting mantras in a dharma rite. I follow behind
the master as offerings are given to all the lamas. Passing each one, I bow
and tap my forehead, and get lightly brushed with a sutra. Every lama has a
shaved head and wears a dark red cloak over his robes. I pull my hat down tighter
and wonder how they keep their heads warm in the sub-zero cold. Their voices
rise and fall in concert with the occasional beat of the drums, clash of the
cymbals, and the deep resounding peal of the horns. We settle in to enjoy the
dharma rite, and I reflect on the good fortune that brought me to this place.
Here I am, in a Tibetan Lamasery of the Gelugpa School, under the watchful guidance
of a Chinese Living Buddha. My master is the Dharma King of the Hanmi lineage
of Chinese Esoteric Buddhism. He is the heir to the complete teachings of the
Mahavairocana Buddha handed down by Nagarjuna Bodhisattva. Around 720 A.D.,
three Buddhist masters, Subhakarasimha, Vajrabodhi, and Amoghavajra brought
Buddhism from India to China. They combined the Buddhist teachings with the
local Chinese language, culture, and religion, including Confucianism and Taoism.
Buddhism was considered by the imperial court to be the national religion for
nearly three generations and was widely practiced throughout China. Finally,
a young emperor named Tang Wu Zong came to power who disliked Buddhism very
much, and so extinguished the teaching by burning temples, sutras, and killing
monks. As Buddhism was being destroyed in China, Master Padmasambhava was transmitting
Buddhism in Tibet.
History had recorded that Huigo, Amoghavajra's disciple, went with Kukai (or
Kobo Daishi) to Japan establishing the Japanese Esoteric School, and that the
Chinese lineage was extinct. Unknown to history, Amoghavajra had another disciple,
named Huisu, who received the complete transmission as well as all dharma instruments
and became the next lineage bearer. Since then, it was passed on in secret from
one master to one student, who then became the next master. Living Buddha
Dechan Jueren is the 49th successor. His master told him it is his job to
open the teaching to the public again.
On September 14, 2003, he was enthroned at Agui temple in Inner Mongolia and
was formally acknowledged with the spiritual title of "The Great Enlightener
Golden Crown Dharma King" by the 17th Karmapa Rinpoche, the 19th Tilopa
Rinpoche, and the 14th Naropa Rinpoche.
The lamas rise and file out of the building as the dharma rite ends. After a
short pause to bow to the Buddha, we follow. I shade my eyes from the bright
sunrise and enjoy a brief stroll through the temple grounds before it is time
to exit the rear gate of the lamasery and head back to the master's house for
a new years meal of hot dumplings and a glass of fiery rice wine.
I have been very fortunate to be able to live and travel with Living Buddha
Dechan Jueren for 2 years. My experience in China was not at all what I had
been expecting from what I had seen in the western media. My travels have taken
me throughout the length and breadth of China and Mongolia, and I visited many
thriving Buddhist temples. We were met by high government officials and treated
to banquets in several cities. The Chinese people are warm, friendly, and very
hospitable.
I have had many teachers over the years, some with very high levels of attainment,
but they all had some form of human limitation. Not so with Living Buddha Dechan
Jueren. He embodies all the qualities of a true enlightened being; completely
selfless, continuously sacrificing himself for the benefit of others, and expecting
nothing in return. No matter how many times a student makes a mistake, he is
always ready to forgive. He displays his level of attainment by healing people
of terminal illness. He is innocent as a child, ever ready to joke and laugh,
but serious when it is time to teach dharma. When he teaches, he relays information
that is impossible for anyone to know except for those who were actually at
Shakyamuni Buddha's side. I spent two years as Living Buddha Dechan Jueren's
personal attendant, and I never saw him spend any time preparing a speech. All
of his knowledge comes from his photographic memory of past lives. By practicing
his teachings, I have experienced a fundamental change deep within myself and
have witnessed similar changes in others.
The goal of a practitioner of Hanmi Buddhism is to attain to Buddhahood with
this body in this lifetime. Master advises his students to do this by becoming
'a great one of merit.' How does one achieve this? "By treating all beings
as if they were your own father or mother, and by truly learning to be receptive
and to forgive others often, one will slowly develop a heart of tolerance. This
is only the foundation to become a great one of merit."
His basic teaching is to help and do service for others, but before one can
help others one must be able to help oneself. "Only he who is able to free
himself from his own suffering has the ability to help others. For those who
cannot even free themselves from suffering, wanting to help others is only a
beautiful dream, it cannot be a reality."
"In order to learn the ways to help yourself, first you must know yourself
well, and develop the habit of changing yourself." According to the master,
the fastest way to do this is by practicing and attaining to the dharma.
Practitioners who attain to the dharma no longer fall ill or experience any
physical problems. It takes a healthy body to realize wisdom. They also experience
a dramatic improvement in good luck and in wealth. A practitioner needs money
in order to have the time to practice, especially in this society. For a western
person, poverty is one of the obstacles on the path to enlightenment. Those
who attain dharma no longer experience disasters, and every thing in their life
goes according to their will. This means they are able to quickly bring their
ideas to fruition and the world manifests their intent.
All of this comes at a price: hard work, discipline, and effort. The master
says, "Wisdom will only come through one's own effort, and it will only
happen naturally. Wisdom cannot be given to you by anyone else. Only through
your own effort and practice will you realize wisdom."
Some of the side effects of realizing wisdom are knowledge of your five previous
past lives, and understanding the past life connections to all the family, friends,
and people you are currently involved with. It also means attaining siddhi powers
which enable you to do service for others in ways you never dreamed possible.
For advanced practitioners, realizing wisdom brings knowledge of your own death
and where you are going after you die, even to the point where you choose what
you will do and where you will go in your next incarnation, or whether you even
want to come back to this earth at all. Accomplished practitioners make that
choice for themselves.
Living Buddha Dechan Jueren has over 1000 disciples in North America
and has empowered many of them to be healers.
Visit the Dari Rulai Temple to learn more.