BK154 The Auro of Wisdom/C4 Spiritual Response

It is relatively easy to receive spiritual responses through the cultivation of Vajrayana teachings.

This is a well-known fact. It is due largely to the vajra master, who embodies the Three Jewels of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. He holds the immeasurable merits of all the buddhas, and has the remarkable power of blessings.

An enlightened vajra master may bless a person who keeps a firm and pure faith but has yet to begin any form of practice.

This is like a person holding a jug of Dharma milk and pouring it into the empty bowl of the receiver. The person who is blessed immediately receives the Dharma milk which fills his or her being, achieving the fulfillment of spiritual response.

In Vajrayana, it is common to have a person who has not done any prior cultivation, and who has just taken refuge or received empowerment, and yet is able to gain immediate response.

If you experience a string of responses and spiritual phenomena, it is important to remain calm, and treat these events as normal occurrences. Your mind should maintain a sense of balance, and ideally remain in a state of non-attachment and renunciation. Whether you have spiritual responses or not is perfectly fine, for we should not be too attached to such matters.

When you have responses, you may talk to a master, or relate them to your fellow disciples. It is best to share your experiences with a master, and use your responses as a basis of encouragement among disciples. Refrain from telling outsiders. Why? People outside your spiritual circle may not believe in such matters, and you may invite criticism, causing more afflictions instead.

A person with spiritual responses should be cautioned against showing off his or her experiences, which would be a display of pride. Know that ego is the seed of the mara,

and many have fallen into the path of mara upon receiving spiritual responses due to this mentality. Hence, the further you cultivate with such a mindset, the further you deviate from the right View, completely unaware of being on the wrong path.

If your body, speech and mind are pure, it is normal to receive responses.

If you persist in cultivation, it is also normal to receive responses from the respective deities and dharma protectors.

You must not think that you have attained the highest spiritual state, and surpassed the achievements of all dharma friends, monks, nuns, and masters. When such a thought arises, you are being deluded by mara.