The First Three Extreme Disciplines Support Sho-jin (Devotion, or tenacious efforts)
I spoke about offerings, the observance of commandments and patience. Then what is next? I think you all know it. That is Shojin or devotion.
It is devotion to the practice and devotion to go on the true path. We start to practice devotion, making the previous three extreme disciplines as its basis: offering, the observance of commandments and patience.
In short, all kinds of virtue you have made become the basis for devotion.
Based on the three practices, what should we devote ourselves to? For example, you read the scriptures and spread the teachings of the truth.
This is different from Ho-se (offering of the true dharma) in the extreme discipline of offering. Ho-se is merely to tell the truth to people around you, however, it is not enough for extreme discipline of devotion.
You have to go out to many places and tell the truth. You say, "Everybody, you are wrong. This is the true dharma." This is extreme discipline of devotion.
If you practice devotion through meditation, you have to absorb yourself in meditation, placing it above everything. Otherwise it can not be devotion.
For example, there is a man in a cooking group who is washing dishes intently while others (participants of the AUM seminar) have a meal.
What he is doing is extreme discipline of devotion as well as that of patience, isn't it? He washes dishes to serve you clean ones at a meal time so that you can practice pleasantly after that.
He's doing it with all his might. Every day he only washes dishes.
He is no more than a man. While he does such a thing every day, I think that he comes to feel like quitting it halfway. However, he continues it patiently.
This is how practice of patience should be. He has realized that this was also part of his training and is working harder than before to help others in their practice.
This is praise-worthy devotion. I believe this is beautiful.
In this way, you can practice anything. The point is to recognize, "This is part of your training," and practice it to your limit every day.
Then It gets certainly connected with the true dharma. This is how extreme discipline of devotion is.
The point here is whether or not your practice is connected with the true dharma.
What Is Zenjo?
Only after completing this stage (the practice of devotion), you can get into Zenjo, a real meditative practice.
I told you this in the March (AUM) seminar. There are two paths you can choose from when you start meditative practice.
One is the way to become a Mahayana Buddha the other is the way to become a Tantra Buddha.
So, there are two kinds of Buddhas, as you know.
A Mahayana Buddha only realizes the truth and preach the dharma of the truth.
A Tantra Buddha not only realizes the truth and preaches its dharma, but also he shows super-siddhi (superhuman power) and gain faith of people.
Thus there are two types of Buddhas.
First, speaking of how to become an ordinary Buddha, namely a Mahayana Buddha, you should practice Zenjo first. Zenjo is a Chinese word which means meditation.
Meditation here does not mean only to sit still on the floor.
The most important point of this meditation or the assignment for this meditation is to solve the questions: "Who am I?" and "What am I?"
Well, I am Shoko Asahara. However, it does not show its real nature. Shoko Asahara is no more than the idea of a name exchanged between you and me.
There would be no difference if Shoko Asahara were Superman or Mr. X.
Who Am I?
Now, let me talk a little bit about the meditation of "Who am I?" Who am I? I am a human being. No, we need to take this out, because "a human being" is also a fixed idea.
The word "a human being" does not express anything substantial. We should not leave its substance unclear, using the word "a human being."
I am a living being. What about this? This is right. At least I am a living being. Even if I become a vegetable, I am at least a living being.
If I die, however, I can no longer say that I am a living being. At this point the definition of "I" was changed so easily. Then I am not a living being, am I?
Now I want you to remember that this is an example of meditative process for those who believe that a soul stays alive even after death.
Emancipated men clearly recognize permanency of a soul through "experience of death" and the like.
Now let's continue meditation. Am I sense organs? Am I something which I feel with the sense of touch? Is that me? Well, Am I not existing if I lose senses? Yes I'm still existing. If so, I'm not sense organs.
I'm living even if I become blind. I'm living even if I go deaf.
I'm living even if I lose a taste organ. I'm living even if I lose my sense of touch. So I am not a sense. Then what am I?
Now I guess you have realized that what I am doing now is meditation of Shinenjo (the Four Points for Consideration). This meditation makes us realize that I am neither a mind nor ideas.
Then what on earth am I? I wrote only this much in the Shambala Newsletter
(Editor's note: the newsletter for AUM members).
Today I will explain more.
Am I a will which makes a decision? Or what I believe lamina dream or what I believe I am in the Astral World? No, I am not so.
Am I the consciousness in the Causal World which is projected in the Astral World? No, I am not so, either.
At this point a Bodhisattva who has passed the four extreme disciplines (the first four of the Six Extreme Disciplines) suffers from a deadlock. He suffers much with the question of "Who am I?"
While pursuing the answer hard, the idea comes across his mind.
"I got it. I am just like lucid water." You can understand this only when you yourself experience it by the practice. For it is impossible to express this state of mind.
Now if you reach this stage, you can know everything intuitively. The man in this state is called the awakened one or a Buddha. This is a Mahayana Buddha.
Well, it might sound strange. We (Japanese) call the great Buddha statue of Nara (a Japanese city in Kansai districts) a Buddha or Tathagata.
But it is not a Buddha but a statue of Buddha. The same is true of the great Buddha statue of Kamakura (a Japanese city in Kanto districts).
The true Buddha is, as I told you, the awakened one. He can persuade everyone logically and can understand every movement of the world.
Do you understand? I think this is enough. This is how a Mahayana Buddha is.
The Mastery of the Basics Opens the Path to a Tantra Buddha.
However, some Buddhists thought, "It is far from being satisfactory. If only one is a little bit sharp, he can become a Buddha." Therefore the practice of Tantra was born.
Tan means initiation and ira means a mantra. That ig some sect of Buddhism started to make a secret practice and chant a mantra for attainment of emancipation.
A Buddha who attained emancipation with this practice has superhuman power.
At AUM we are doing this practice of Tantra. We are aiming at emancipation as a Buddha with superhuman power. O.K.? I told much about this practice at the time
of Guru Yoga Initiation and in Chundali Initiation done from March to April. So I won't tell you any more now.
However, remember what you are practicing is the technique to become a supreme Buddha: a Tantra Buddha. (See the Seventh Speech for the practice to become a Tantra Buddha)
I can give you the most advanced technique during this seminar. However, the technique is useless unless you have mastered the basics.
For example if you can't sit in meditation for a long time, if you can't do pranayamas well or if you can't do the four extreme disciplines that I told you before, it's hard to master the advanced technique.
It's like scooping water with a zaru, a bamboo basket with so many holes. So you should approach me or my best disciples positively and absorb much from us.
Think what you should do now and learn much from us. Decrease your weaknesses. Practice Chundali meditation and Guru Yoga meditation.
Then you will be able to become Guyasamaja for sure. Guyasamaja is Shakyamuni Buddha in Tantra'. incarnation of the Buddha.
Resolve Your Questions
The seminar is very short. It is only six days long. So, I can teach you only a little. You must want to make rapid progress in practice. So I'm teaching you a supreme technique.
Therefore I'd like to stress this once again. You should master the basics by yourself.
If you have a problem, consult our instructors. When your instructors can not answer your questions, they come to me to solve them, so don't worry.
Solve your questions and assimilate answers. By so doing you will certainly become a Buddha in this life.
Glossary
1. The beginless past: there is, in fact, no beginning and end of time. So the author uses the terms of the beginless past".
2. Self-realization: the final and supreme enlightenment. (There are many stages in enlightenment.)
3. Mahayana Buddha: a Buddha means an awakened or enlightened man. Mahayana means the activity to save all beings (to take them lo the true. world). So, Mahayana Buddhas do salvation.
On the other hand Hinayana Buddhas cut their relation with others and reach the state of enlightenment hy themselves.
4. Causal World: the world in another dimension made up of only data. Data there are lights.
5. Guru Yoga initiation: initiation of one of Highest meditations in Yoga which are supreme meditative techniques.
6. Chundali initiation: initiation of one of the Highest meditations in Yoga.