White Maha Padmakumara
大白蓮花童子
His Holiness Living Buddha Lian-Sheng
In the 1940s to 1950s, the world was in a post-war state of materialistic deficiency and in need of reconstruction. His Holiness Living Buddha Lian-Sheng grew up in a deprive environment such as this. In those days, people struggled to survive, and His Holiness Living Buddha Lian-Sheng was thus stirred into proactive pursuit for religious exploration on a spiritual level. With his talent in writing and drawing, he went on to become a dharmarājan author publishing writing and painting to spread the Buddhist ideals.
His Holiness Living Buddha Lian-Sheng explored, experienced and gleaned wisdom from various religions from Christianity, Daoism, soulology, Exoteric Buddhism and Esoteric Buddhism. With his deeply integral connection with Esoteric Buddhism, His Holiness Living Buddha Lian-Sheng devoted many years to the Buddhist practice and received the tantric empowerment of the Red School, White School, Yellow School and Flower School masters of the Esoteric Buddhism along with their heritage items. He has witnessed the Grand Double Lotus Lake in Western Paradise as a dharma practicing achievement, as well as seeing his previous life as the White Maha Padmakumara. His heritage originates from Vairocana Buddha, hence the title of Fundamental Heritage and Lian-Sheng.
With the belief that “The Buddha within me is not a faraway solitary star but one that misses and embraces all sentient beings,” His Holiness Living Buddha Lian-Sheng founded the True Buddha School in Seattle, the US, in 1983, to pass on the teachings of Esoteric Buddhism. He had his head shaved and became a Buddhist in 1986.
“I came for the wisdom that shall guide the populace to Buddha,” and that was His Holiness Living Buddha Lian-Sheng’s intention, namely, to advocate Buddhist dharma, lead all sentient beings onto the right path and comfort them with the grace of Buddhist dharma.
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Thousand-armed Thousand-eyed Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva
千手千眼觀世音菩薩
Thousand-armed Guanyin Pledges a Noble Wish of Saving the Humanity
So the story goes that Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva first vows to deliver all sentient beings to enlightenment, but seeing that the number of people that needed to belifted out of their suffering had not diminished, the deity became so distressed about the reality going against her wishes, and her head is shattered into ten pieces and her body fragmented into a thousand pieces. Fortunately, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva received tantric empowerment from Amitābha and is thus protected and transforms into a body of 11 faces and one thousand eyes and one thousand arms. In her new physical form, she goes on to pledge the grand wish of saving all sentient beings.
Thousand-armed Thousand-eyed Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva’s most renowned mantra is the Great Compassion Mantra, and it is said that chanting “Witnessing with thousand eyes and protecting with thousand arms” shall abate disasters, bring your opponent to surrender, expand one’s good fortune, create harmonious interpersonal relationships and increase wisdom.
Fazho Retreat Center intends to draw strength from the divine power of His Holiness Living Buddha Lian-Sheng, have Thousand-armed Thousand-eyed Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva on the side for her supporting power, with a view to model after her pledge of saving the sentient beings and protecting the practitioners of True Buddha School.
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Amoghapasa Bodhisattva
不空羂索觀音
Amoghapasa is also written as Amogha-pāśa in Sanskrit. Her Chinese names include “不空羂索菩薩, 不空王觀世音菩薩, 不空廣大明王菩薩, 不空悉地王菩薩, 不空羂索菩”, and is one of the seven Guanyins in the Guanyin Court.
This Bodhisattva is known to love, protect, and guide all sentient beings with her lasso of compassion to the pure land of Buddhism and that all wishes one may have be granted. Her greatest vow lies with her “lasso” and “infallible.” She is able to eradicate calamities, empower, love and respect, and subjugation.
The Amoghapasa Bodhisattva statute stands dignified at 120 cm, in full-color gold cast, adorned with many jewelries. In 2014, His Holiness Living Buddha Lian-Sheng performed the enlightening ceremony on the statute. It is hoped that those who come to pray to the statute will have their wishes granted.
Amoghapasa Bodhisattva has three heads and four arms, with three eyes and four arms on each side.
- Rosary beads in one hand: Say the deity’s name, and you shall be guided.
- Lotus in one hand: Lotus shall absolve and dispel all disasters, eliminate bad karma and enhance good fortune.
- Cleansing Vase in one hand: Those with bad karma shall take the scared water from the cleansing vase and the bad karma will be eliminated, bad karma including those related to hell, starving ghosts and beasts.
- Lasso in one hand: Tie your wish with the lasso and you will have all your wishes come true. The lasso can also guide you to the paradise in the west.
