Appendix: The Perfect Bliss of Hevajra: There is Neither Creation Nor Destruction
(A dharma discourse given by His Holiness Living Buddha Lian-sheng on September 9, 2012 at Rainbow Temple, North Bend, Washington, U.S.A.)

Book 223 Stories of Supreme Spiritual Responses《無上殊勝的感應》「2012年9月9日彩虹雷藏寺開示」
Translated by Janny Chow
A US Daden Culture Publication
(continued from pg A7 , TBN issue # 1146)

You have to intuit that the so-called yab-yum actually symbolizes the union of emptiness and form, wisdom and compassion. This is a most profound and subtle wisdom. Hevajra himself has the most profound and subtle wisdom. When you have this profound great wisdom, you are able to reach enlightenment and attain the great bliss. The union of emptiness with form, the union of emptiness with bliss, the union of wisdom with skillful means, the union of a fleeting moment with eternity, the union of meditation and Samadhi. At this point, you are a powerful Vajra being who has experienced perfection and subjugated all greed, hatred, delusion, doubt, pride, jealousy, and enviousness. With this great wisdom, you become fearless and no longer have any delusion of separateness.

Let me talk about the Olympic Games briefly. Someone asked, “Why are Chinese archers so excellent?” “This is because the Chinese are used to having one eye closed and one eye open.” “Why do Chinese weight-lifters do so well?” “This is because Chinese people are holding up life’s unbearable weight.” These are jokes, so do not take them seriously. “Why were Chinese swimmers able to win gold?” “Because Beijing, the nation’s capitol, is also a swimming pool, and you die if you can’t swim well.” Beijing has had floods, and everyone has had to swim, so their swimming is also not bad. “Why have Chinese diving teams done so well?” “This is because they have been diving into the stock markets.” These are jokes. The fact is, if we attain Hevajra’s wisdom, we will have no fear. Why? When you enter into emptiness, there is no more delusion. Without delusion, there is no fear. If you do not penetrate deeply into emptiness, you will not understand emptiness. Generally people have delusions of the existence of the self. With such delusions, you will be fearful. Once fear takes hold, it leads to depression.

The great bliss mentioned here is absolutely not a conventional kind of carnal pleasure. The conventional kind of pleasure is short lived and sometimes painful. There is a saying: “A moment’s happiness results in eternal grief.” When one pursues such fleeting happiness, disasters will follow. What trails behind happiness is suffering. In the human world, happiness and suffering are linked. You want to be happy, but what you end up with is suffering. Most married people have experienced this. One wishes for marital bliss, but what ensues may not necessarily be happiness but pain. “A moment’s happiness results in eternal grief.”
(to be continued)