Question: Venerable Henghsing Gyatso Khu-ston brTson-‘grus g. yung-drung, we know that you are the incarnation of an ancient virtuous being and that in a prior life you were one of the four most outstanding disciples of Venerable Atisha. You truly are a person of great virtue. You have suffered on behalf of living beings by prostrating more than 1,000 kilometers. Your hands and feet are scraped all over, yet you do not mind at all. You are truly remarkable. You have prostrated a longer distance than that traversed by Dharma Master Heng Sure when he performed kneeling prostrations all the way to the Temple of Ten Thousand Buddhas over ten years ago. Moreover, you made full prostrations after each step! I know that what you say during this interview will be truthful and dependable since you are a true cultivator, a famous and venerable rinpoche. I heard that there are twelve levels of disciples under H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III Wan Ko Yeshe Norbu Holiest Tathagata. You must be in the upper tier of disciples at the first or second level.
Answer: Amitabha! H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III Holiest Tathagata does not classify disciples into various levels or categories. Whether the disciple is holy or ordinary, H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III will use great compassion and bodhicitta to save the disciple by teaching according to the particular circumstances and karmic conditions of the disciple. However, different grades of disciples have naturally formed as a result of their different levels of goodness and cultivation. You have referred to the first level too casually. I do not belong to the first level since I am quite ordinary. There are those who are higher than I am who are also not within the first level. The first level of disciples under my Buddha Master is composed of Buddhas. They have been Buddhas for years and years. Take a look at the congratulatory letters sent by the great Bodhisattva H.E. Tangtong Gyalpo and H.E. Dorje Rinzin Rinpoche. Then take a look at the lineage refuge tree. You will then know what is meant by the first level. Even disciples of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III on the second and third level are all holy beings on the level of a great Bodhisattva. Each and every one of them is the incarnation of a famous ancient being of great holiness. Everyone would know who they are if their names were mentioned. We who live in this contemporary era cannot pretend to be them.
Question: That is wonderful! Can you tell us who they are?
Answer: The first level is composed of the five Buddhas in the five directions as well as other Buddhas. The second level is composed of twelfth-stage Bodhisattvas and higher. The third level is composed of tenth-stage Bodhisattvas and higher. The fourth level is composed of fifth-stage Bodhisattvas and higher. The fifth level is composed of first through the fourth-stage Bodhisattvas. The sixth level is generally composed of those on the level of venerable ones. There are Buddhas and great Bodhisattvas among the current disciples of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. For example, there are disciples of great holiness and virtue who passed the test to become a Golden Throne Holder. During those tests, which were held completely in accordance with the dharma rules, those disciples manifested true realization in front of many people. Having passed the test, they received a Golden Throne Holder certificate. Other examples of disciples are H.E. Tangtong Gyalpo Bodhisattva, who is famous in Tibet, and H.E. Denma Tsemang II Longzhi Tanpe Nyima Rinpoche, both of whom were disciples of Guru Padmasambhava. Those two are probably on the fourth or fifth level. Other people who in this lifetime have become disciples of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III include Venerable Dachu II Hengsheng Rinpoche, who in a prior lifetime received teachings directly from the founder of the Jueyu sect, Dangba Sangjie; Venerable Xirao Jiebu, Venerable Muya Jiongzha, and Venerable Xiangge Qiongwa, all of whom in a prior lifetime were disciples of the founder of the Nyingma sect, Master Shantaraksita. Everyone knows that they are disciples of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. They should be at the fifth or sixth level of disciples. There is also Venerable Dharma Teacher Long Hui of the temple called Hua Zang Si, who is a dharma teacher on the level of a venerable one. Of course, there are other disciples of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III whose status is even higher. However, I cannot tell you who they are because that is a secret. Actually, many people know about this without me having to say anything. I bear responsibility for what I say based on the law of cause and effect.
Question: As far as I know, among the disciples of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III are dharma kings and rinpoches. There is also a non-Tibetan Chinese Geshe. Great Dharma Teacher Qingding was also a disciple. Can they be called fourth-level disciples?
Answer: As I just said, the first level is composed of Buddhas. Those on the level of a Golden Throne Holder or dharma king belong to the second or third level of disciples under H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. Dharma Teacher Qing Ding only belongs to the sixth or seventh level. To be within the sixth level of disciples under my most venerable Buddha Master is something remarkable. One must have true realization and high morals. Such a person is surely an eminent monastic or a greatly virtuous practitioner. Take, for example, Venerable Akou Lamo Rinpoche and H.E. Gar Tongstan IV.
They were able to lift an over 4,000-pound lotus tub used to bathe the Buddha. Still, they are only on the fourth or fifth level of disciples under H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. Those disciples who are relatively low have not attained the realization in which all greed for money is cut off. It is out of the question for those who do not have true realization to rise to the mid-level of disciples under H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. No matter how much such a person may brag of himself, without true realization he is just making false claims.
Question: Then, should all the lay disciples be classified as belonging to the lowest levels?
Answer: That is not the concept at all. Their level will be determined by the Three Branches of Yinming (Logical Reasoning). It is not a matter of empty talk. Their level is determined by examining their direct awareness and their reasoning. Lay disciples are equal to everyone else in that they must show their realization for all to see and for seven witnessing masters to see. Their different levels result from differences in knowledge and realization. Many lay disciples of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III have attained very high accomplishment in the dharma. Aren’t there lay disciples who have passed away in the cross-legged posture while in total control over their own death? Aren’t there lay disciples whose body emitted light after their death? Aren’t there lay disciples who left behind sariras (holy relics) after their cremation? Cultivation emphasizes real accomplishment. Boasting about oneself is of no use.
Question: We heard that there are some persons of great virtue who claim that they represent H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III in transmitting dharma and accepting disciples. Do they truly have such rights?
Answer: Of course, there is such a right. If you want to represent H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III in expounding the dharma, you must be on the first level of disciples. That is, only a Buddha has that right. Even Mahasattvas on the second level of disciples fall short of the right to represent H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III in expounding dharma. That is because they are not Buddhas. Thus, no matter who the person is, if that person is not a Buddha yet claims the right to represent H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, then that person is a fraud. You can see that even great Bodhisattvas do not have the right to represent H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III.
Question: Rinpoche, forgive me for asking a question I should not ask, but to which level do you belong?
Answer: Me? At most I belong to one of the lowest levels. I am a very ordinary rinpoche.
Question: Being so modest, you are truly amazing. We know that you sat in meditation for twenty-two days without eating and drinking–that was not something an ordinary person can do. Moreover, you are the incarnation of one of the four most outstanding disciples of Venerable Atisha. You are a great rinpoche, a venerable one.
Answer: Amitabha! I am quite lacking. I am an ordinary person.
Question: Thank you very much for accepting this interview.
Answer: You are welcome, you are welcome.
Interviewee: Venerable Khu-ston brTson-‘grus g. yung-drung V
Henghsing Gyatso Rinpoche
Interviewer: Huei-Chin Yang
(This text was translated from the Chinese text that follows.)
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頂禮 H.H.第三世多杰羌佛-- 正法 