A Brief Introduction of “Yidam”(4)
There was a yogi who specifically meditated Vajrasattva dharma and had seen Yidam. He always saw Vajrasattva shining with golden light, appearing majestically in the empty sky, with unparalleled solemnity. He was very self-congratulatory; however guru knew that what he saw was not the true Yidam, and so told him it was wrong. The disciple did not believe. Guru instructed him to find some dust above the Great Scriptures (Kangyur) in the Sutra Pavilion, put it into water, use the water to wash his eyes, and then take a look. The disciple followed the instructions, swept some dust from the Buddha sutra, put it water and washed his eyes. He then saw the golden light of “Yidam” disappear and the stateliness of the body become dirtiness. In fact, it was the transformation of a dead monk. The original shape of the splendid golden light was the dirty old cassock.
Guru said, in many cases, severe ghosts in the world turn into Buddha and Bodhisattva to scam offerings. I could not help laughing a little after hearing that: don’t the cheaters who pose as solemn guru do the same thing?
Therefore, you should not only have a sincere heart but also wise eyes.
Reading this part, some readers may laugh at me for being superstitious. So I will tell readers now that I write this book not only as a scholar and a writer but also a disciple of Shangpa Kagyu. What I express strives to maintain the original appearance of Shangpa Kagyu culture. I have seen many authors using their own hearts to estimate Buddha’s hearts, turning the magnanimity of Buddhism that is beyond the world into the practical knowledge of society, which is a tragic atrocity. Therefore, I do not like the plain text translations of Buddhist sutra, and like the dharma teaching records of some so-called saints, such as the popular books and videos of certain dharma teacher, even less. Though there are theories in accordance with dharma, there are more words that insult dharma. Especially when tantra is mentioned, the baton is always blindly waved and very ridiculous. The shallow man can only proclaim shallow sayings, the blind men’s hearts have no image of the whole elephant.