Originally posted by Steaks:What’s done has been done.The only thing is to get used to a vegetarian diet from now on.Me and Yanning can only learn from this experience.We plan to take our 3 refuges next year.Right now,the vegetarian diet and lots of mediation is important to us in our daily lives and to repent or chan hui from our sins.
We are still getting visits from those Taoist deities in our dreams and we were still warned of pain of punishment if we refuse to give ourselves to them cos they said that our uniforms had been chopped with their seals with the red ink at the temple that day so we technically belong to them.
Was wondering…should I and Yanning throw away those uniforms or burn them up so that they would not pester us anymore?
In the six realms of samsara, there are 3 lower realms, 3 higher realms. The 3 lower realms are hell, ghost, animal. The 3 higher realms are human, asuras, heaven.
Where are we? Human realm, of course.
Where are those deities from? Not heaven... those deities you see in temples, communicate through mediums, those are spirit-deities.
Spirit-deities are ghosts from the lower realm. However because they have relatively better karma than the other ghosts, they sort of 'control' the ghosts and also receive worship from superstitious people. Notice that they have 'mafia-like' characteristics - they also have desires, craving, and they try to 'control their followers' such as by appearing in your dreams and warning you. But if you set your mind straight and have the intention to turn to Buddhism and take refuge, and make up your mind about your religion, probably they will stop bothering you.
As my Master said - those spirit-deities belong to the lower realm, they do not have happiness themselves, how can they bring happiness to others? Even we are in a higher realm than them.
Of course I am not saying they are all bad... many spirit-deities also want to do good deeds, they also advice people to do good deeds. Those spirit-deities also want to accumulate good karma so that they can be reborn in higher realms or have better karma. They try to help people in mundane ways through their supernatural powers (all ghosts have some limited supernatural powers).
However, we should not be superstitious about spirit-deities. As my dharma teacher told a friend of mine many years ago,
>Subject:
Reply to your questions
>Date: Sun, 10 Oct 2004 23:41:27
+0800
>
>Hi C,
>
>I'm Li Zhu lao shi's daughter,
& replying on behalf of her.
>
>1) Those "chosen" people were
possessed by some other spirits who claimed that they were the Tua ya bei, Ji
gong and so on, all these spirits were those human beings who were very
superstitious when they were alive and like going to all these superstitious
places to learn these kind of teachings & practice them. All these teachings
would lead human to the habit of greed, darkness, ignorance, dependent &
insecurity. These spirits would always get angry & develop hatred easily
when their wishes were not fulfilled. They would punish those "chosen" people,
making them sick or worsen their living. Therefore, a wisdom human wouldnot
believe & accept these stupid & superstitious beliefs. They would rather
choose the Bliss & Wisdom teaching which would lead them to brightness &
rightful thinking.
>
>
>2) Some temples tie white strings
around many golden buddhas statue is because it's a form of superstitious
tradition which they think the white strips would bring them brightness &
luck to them. So from here, we know that all humans like to choose the brighter
path & not the darker one. Only through Buddha teaching, would you achieve
it.
>
>
>
>Lastly, if you wish to become a monk in
future, you must start to learn the Buddha teaching now, through reading
Buddhist books & listening to the CDs or coming to our centre to join our
activities.
>
>May Buddha Be With You,
>Li Zhu lao shi
If you pray to spirits or local gods, due to your affinities with them, you can be reborn to become part of their retinues (ie. servants) upon death. This has been told in past case-histories.
If you wish to learn more about dharma, you can attend our dharma classes... there is adult class, youth class, children class. I mostly attend adult class but there is also a class catered to the younger age (the youth class). In any case, you can find the adult class timetable at http://humanbliss.org.sg/forum/bbs/viewthread.php?tid=18&extra=page%3D1
Although this is not related to the topic, but a Buddhist master with high attainments once told me. Alot or most of the new-age energies/guides/etc are actually spirits/local gods in disguise. Of course, whether they will help you or harm you is another topic altogether. But in the spiritual world, just as in the human world, beware of deceptions as they are plentiful.
Yes, of course what he said is true. Thats why I say don't always believe in new age channelling :) Truly wise spirits are super rare (the only one I know is Aaron)... most are just local spirits disguising in many names (guan yin, 'The Source', jesus, whatever)
Best is simply to rely on the infallible three refuges and cultivate wisdom with compassion
Keep things simple and you will not get yourself into trouble. Many times, complications can arise from the sorrow of greed.
Originally posted by Dawnfirstlight:Ha ha.... I'm not qualified to be a guru. May be AEN can be your guru. I'll be very glad to guide you, bring you and your friend to take 3 refuges. I brought forummers to take 3 refuges at Bright Hill Temple before. I shall pm you later. The nearest date to take the 3 refuges will be in March next year. Yeah, the Venerables will guide you on how to repent before Buddha when you take the 3 refuges.
Nah.. I'm not a guru haha
n
Seriously man... those ghosts also stupid, they think they can coerce followers into submission through fear and torture and worse - lies?
What do you chant?
You must understand that only You yourself can choose your own path - nobody else, not me, not Buddha, not the deities. YOU must make the descision. I can only tell you what I will do if I am in your shoes.
Don't listen to them. If you cut off all ties from them, your afterlife will be much better than if you follow them. You will never fall into hell due to not following the orders of ghosts (lower realm beings), in fact you will be much better off.
If you follow them, you risk high chance of falling into the lower realms - the ghost realm - simply because you are building a strong karmic connection with beings from the ghost realm. If you cut off your ties with them and follow Buddha, you will much more likely get either liberated from samsara, or reborn in higher realms. Why? Because you can only attain enlightenment and nirvana through practicing Buddhist teachings, and rebirth in higher realms is entirely dependent on your own good karma and **have NO relation to following a god at all!** No god can choose where you are reborn in your next life, only your own karma will show.
If can, tell your friend the right concepts and don't get tricked by the lies of those ghosts.
Chant Namo Di Zhang Wang Pu Sa �無地�王�� often every day, and you can also chant Shurangama Mantra for protection against ghosts. http://www.dharmaradio.org/chanting/ShurangamaMantra28Lines.htm
Also, take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, even now. Read aloud the refuge verses here: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/tisarana.html . Then take refuge formally in the presence of a real sangha when the time comes.
If you happen to heed my advice to take refuge, understand that taking refuge also means renouncing refuge in other gods and deities. Make a strong resolution never to follow ghost-deities ever again in your life, renounce all your former affiliations to those practices only to follow the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha from now on. It is foolish to follow them and end up like them in next life.
If you end up becoming a medium, you will have short life (can ask people around - its true) and you will reborn in ghost realm.
If you are a Buddhist, you must aim to attain liberation and enlightenment, and if you are not able to achieve this life, at least rebirth in the higher realms. Nobody wants to be reborn in a miserable lower realm.
Also, when you meditate, don't meditate wrongly. It is easy to fall into trance and get posssessed by ghosts if you don't meditate properly. Meditating wrongly will make you end up become a medium.
If in your meditation, you don't maintain very strong presence of awareness, and when you relax, let go, and enter into a trance, this is where spirits can enter. This is when 'tiao dang' can happen. You must not let this happen.
If you meditate, follow these instructions:
http://www.jenchen.org.sg/cultivat.htm#stateofmind
Observe the mind to purify it
We are all human beings and we all have a mind. We are frequently ‘deceived’ by our minds. For an entire lifetime we are ‘deceived’ and ‘misled’ by our minds without ever realizing it! If the mind is good, then of course, it is all very well. Such a mind creates a good person; one can ascend to the heavens or one can perform a lot of virtuous deeds. What happens if the mind is evil and becomes defiled? It can drag us to become animals, ghosts and deities, or descend to hell. This is because our mind is not pure, and therefore the world becomes a sea of suffering. This suffering world of ours is called the "Saha World". It means having to endure and is also called the "World of enduring sufferings".
If we all purify our minds, then the world becomes a heaven. Everybody is very happy and there is no suffering. In learning and practising Buddhism, the most important thing is to purify our minds. When we can purify our minds, then naturally there will be happiness in our world.
To do that we have to observe the non-arising of the mind. This is called ‘contemplation of the mind’. When the mind is polluted, then we cleanse it with the dew of the Buddha. And when our minds have been purified, then they are the same as those of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. In this way, we will progress very quickly in our cultivation.
Observing the mind is very simple. It is like watching out for the mouse. Everybody dislike mice because they steal our food or they damage our clothings. An idiom describes this sentiment with the phrase, ‘When the mouse crosses the street everybody goes after it.’ Obviously mice are not welcomed and they have to be dealt with. One method of dealing with it, is the cat. At the sight of a mouse, the cat puts his paws firmly on the ground and fixes its steely eyes on the mouse. On seeing the cat, the mouse trembles with fear, not daring to make even the slightest movement. Treat your mind as if it were a mouse and your awareness as the cat. At every moment observe your mind, in the same way as the cat watching the mouse. The mouse wants to live and hardly has time to think of its own safety, let alone of stealing food. If we can observe our minds, then we will hardly have time enough to treasure our wisdom life, let alone think of committing evil deeds.
Therefore when we are learning and practising Buddhism, we need to learn to "contemplate the mind". In this way, we will very quickly be able to avoid all evils and do all that are good.
"Avoid all evils; do all that are good; purify one’s mind. These are the teachings of all Buddhas". Besides avoiding all evils and doing all that are good, we need to purify our thoughts. When our thoughts have been purified, then the mind is pure. The purpose of learning and practising Buddhism is to purify the human mind. If the minds of everyone in the family is pure, then our home is pure; if the minds of everyone in this society is pure, then our society is pure; if the minds of everyone in the country is pure, then our land is pure; if the entire human race in the world is pure, then our world is as happy as the Western Pure Land.
Our mind is like the stealthy mouse, ever watchful of a chance to creep out to commit evil deeds, and we are not even aware of that. I hope all of us will keep a cat to watch our minds, so that we can become Buddha quickly.
................
When you have presence of awareness, your mind will be bright and not allow the interference of spirits. It is important to note that if you can't do that (maintain the presence of awareness), if you cannot maintain presence of awareness, don't meditate for now. If you fall into an unconscious trance, it is dangerous.
Originally posted by Steaks:You mean once I or Yanning fall into the ghost realm by following them,whether we become humans again will depend on what we do in the ghost realm?Is the worse secenerio never to be reborn again as humans but stuck forever in the ghost realm to harm others?
If that is so,it is real scary…We don’t want to be slaves forever to them.Yanning has got more of a docile character,I am more aggressive.But 2 of us still have the potential to fall into the ghost realm if we are not careful.
Had another dream last night…Will share asap.We must really be more focused on mediating and chanting correctly and keeping to our vegetarian diet.Thanks.
Hi steaks
Try http://www.yogichen.org/gurulin/efiles/e0/e0040.html
There is a picture there you can print out and also the mani mantra sheet to invoke the protection of Wei Tuo bodhisattva.
If you are truly sincere about following Dharma path to realisation, there is no doubt that Buddhas and Bodhisattvas will help and guide you.
You can chant what AEN tell you. Like Di Zang Pu Sa name is very good. If too long, you can also chant NAMO BUDDHAYA.
Have courage!
Originally posted by Steaks:You mean once I or Yanning fall into the ghost realm by following them,whether we become humans again will depend on what we do in the ghost realm?Is the worse secenerio never to be reborn again as humans but stuck forever in the ghost realm to harm others?
If that is so,it is real scary…We don’t want to be slaves forever to them.Yanning has got more of a docile character,I am more aggressive.But 2 of us still have the potential to fall into the ghost realm if we are not careful.
Had another dream last night…Will share asap.We must really be more focused on mediating and chanting correctly and keeping to our vegetarian diet.Thanks.
Rebirth in ghost realm is not permanent, but very very long - like thousands of years or more. It is very hard to get out.
What do you chant? Some of the mediums teach you certain chant, can get you possessed easily. Just chant Di Zhang Wang Pu Sa for now
Originally posted by An Eternal Now:Rebirth in ghost realm is not permanent, but very very long - like thousands of years or more. It is very hard to get out.
What do you chant? Some of the mediums teach you certain chant, can get you possessed easily. Just chant Di Zhang Wang Pu Sa for now
Yep... agree with AEN's advice.
Don't worry too much. The spirits are trying to scare you and your friends into doing their work.
Sorry, to divert a little while on my query now:
Can I also chant Namo Di Zhang Wang Pu Sa �無地�王�� and Shurangama Mantra?
I find I quite prone to ghosts. Last night, I had nightmare ghostss!!!!!
Thanks.
Anybody can chant..
Thanks. Encouraging to know non buddhist can chant. Is there any chinese version to the Shurangama Mantra?
How many times at one time must we chant everyday?
For ghosts, Om Mani Padme Hum works for some friends.
After you chant and dedicated to all sentient beings, remember to dedicate to any ghosts that are around too. Sometimes, they are just asking for your help.
As much as you can, no fixed number... don't need to count but you may set a timer on your clock if you want.
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哆侄他。唵。阿那隶。毗��。
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楞严咒咒心注音：
duÅ� zhí tuÅ�。Å�ng。Ä� nà lì。pí shÄ› tí。
pí là bá shé là tuó lì。pán tuó pán tuó nÇ�。
bá shé là，bàng ní pàn。
hÇ” xìn，dÅ« lú yÅ�ng pàn。suÅ� pó hē。
Originally posted by Steaks:In my dream last night,me and Yanning were locked up as prisoners in the cells with our ITE uniforms.A few small ghosts then came and dragged us out and were given a whipping before being taken to a olden Chinese court and made to kneel down in front of a woman who was sitting at a kind of judge’s table.She asked us if we would follow them and be their slaves.I shouted angrily that I would not even if I die.Yanning told her the same thing.Then the woman ordered the small ghosts to hang Yanning by the legs from a pole and one of the three figures took a long sword and cut between her legs and through her body and she was cut into 2 halves screaming.I then abused the woman with vulgarities and she ordered the small ghosts to cut off my tongue…It was so painful and I could not chant anything at all.The woman said that she would get us sooner or later.If we submitted to her,our lives will be spared.But opposing her will bring us a horrible death.I shook my head at her and the small ghosts stripped me and used long hooks to pull my heart and organs out of my body.I can’t describe the pain I went through and it was like I am in hell.After that,we were locked back in our cells with a last warning to follow them if not we would be tortured every few days until we agreed.We were also warned not to seek help from others as it is useless to do so.Sooner or later,we would be part of them so we had better submit to them.
I told Yanning just now that we must fight to the end…If we submit to them,then I think we would be a different people liao.Actually,I am very tired and thought of giving in…but I dunno.Tried all ways but does not seem to work.
Did you make any kind of promise before?
If you can't handle it mentally, do you want to seek the help of high Gurus? You can go to this site and seek the help of Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche. http://www.gloje.org/en/
There is a email address to contact him. He is a very great Rinpoche who help many people already. If you are sincere and karmic conditions right, he may be able to give you help.
You can read some of his doings here:
http://www.gloje.org/en/traces-of-liberating-beings
Don't give up. It is not an option to give up. You will sink further if you give up.
they sound like evil spirits. dont believe a word they say. resolve that you follow and take refuge in buddha, dharma, sangha, and no one else. you can follow dharmadhatu advise. chant di zhang wang pu sa often in daytime