5.Chapter 3 The bright-drop and Chi of Tibetan Secret Schools


3.1 Bright-drop and Chi

The practices of bright-drop and Chi (the energy-flow in the channel of a human body) are very important in Tibetan Secret Schools since they are closely related to the practices of meditative concentration, consciousness transference, Couple-Practice Tantra of attaining Buddhahood, the realization of fruition, etc. Starting from the state of an ordinary person up to “Buddhahood”, all the practices are linked with bright-drop and Chi. Thus, the bright-drop and Chi play very important roles in tantric practices.

The bright-drop, Chi, and Couple-Practice Tantra of Highest-yoga became three basic tantric practices during the later period of Tibetan Secret Schools. They are tightly related and called the “Buddhist samadhi” (meditative concentration) by tantric practitioners. Usually, the practitioners should complete the practices of bright-drop and Chi before they can receive the secret empowerment of the dual operations of bliss and emptiness and do the further practice of Couple-Practice Tantra. Therefore, the bright-drop and Chi are necessary practices for the future cultivation of “attaining Buddhahood in a lifetime”.

As stated in The Six Yogas of Naropa:

The human life locates in the central-channel and the central-channel, with white outside and red inside, locates in the spine. There is a swelling (called a “joint” sometimes) in the central-channel. The overall shape of the central-channel is like a snake swallowing an egg. The snake is like the central-channel and the egg is like the swelling. There are three swellings and they should be burned by the abdomen heat. When a man has sex with his wife, enjoys the sexual bliss, and wants to ejaculate, the entire Chi in the central-channel will gather at his secret place. If he is about to ejaculate, he should separate his body from his wife and keep his semen inside. Without ejaculation, he can make his body stronger and enjoy the sexual bliss. But if he cannot hold on and has ejaculated, all his previous achievement will become in vain. Only the wise persons who are able to avoid ejaculating can practice this method. [62: 64-65]

In general, tantric practices require practitioners to complete the cultivation of bright-drop and Chi before they can perform the real Couple-Practice Tantra with their practicing mates. Thus, the bright-drop and Chi are very important practice methods in Tibetan Secret Schools. I will give further details on the union of bliss and emptiness of Highest-yoga Tantra in Chapter 8 and 9.

Most of tantric gurus advocate that one should perfect the practices of bright-drop and Chi before one can take the secret empowerment and do the real Couple-Practice Tantra. But, that is not always necessary. For example, The Lotus Born said that one can practice bright-drop with a female consort if one still cannot progress after long-time practice on bright-drop and Chi.

A male practitioner may perform the action-seal (to perform Couple-Practice Tantra with a female consort) to make progress on the practice of bright-drop. During this practice, he should choose a sixteen-year-old girl with thick lotus (vulva), fat breast and slim waist, who can make him generate happiness and clearly visualize his and her deities. … Then, the practitioner will be able to perform the real dual operations with his Vajravarahi (female consort) from night till dawn without resting. His sexual organ will become powerful and big, and his channel-realm can operate orderly. These are the main teachings. [34: 553-554]

After fulfilling the practices of bright-drop and Chi, the practitioners can easily achieve the inner heat concentration (Heat-yoga, gtum-mo). By those achievements, they can then practice the union of bliss and emptiness of Couple-Practice Tantra, and attain Buddhahood in a lifetime. Hence Yogi C. M. Chen said:

One will be able to attain Buddhahood in a lifetime if one practices inner heat on the deity’s body and practice luminosity (bright rainbow light). … If one fulfills Heat-yoga, the other five kinds of dharma will be subsequently achieved. Therefore, it is so important to practice Heat-yoga!’ [32: 242]

The practices of Chi and Heat-yoga in Tibetan Secret Schools are slightly different from the Chi-practices of Taoism and fist technique which I learned in my youth. In addition, there are many publications about the Chi-practice of Tibetan Secret Schools available already. Therefore, I will not describe the details about tantric Chi-practice in this book because my main purpose is to clarify dharma. For further details on Chi-practice, readers can refer to The Esoteric Books on the Practicing Methods of Tibetan Secret Schools Vol. I - V, edited by Mr. Lv Tie-gang and printed by Beijing Mandarin Publisher, The Esoteric Breathing Practices translated by Marpa, or Yogi Chen's Literary Work Collections, by Yogi C.M. Chen.

Nomzi khenpo and Blo-bzan-grags-pa Zam Lam, the authors of The Six Yogas of Naropa, once gave the following oral pithy instruction:

After completing the practice of abdomen heat, one can then practice normal stages. As mentioned previously, one should guide the Chi into the central-channel, and then into the joint. The joint is composed of two bowl-like semi-spheres. The upper white one is the moon and is made of one’s father’s semen, and the lower red one is the sun and is made of one’s mother’s blood. The joint was born in this shape at the very beginning of life in the womb and one’s life locates inside it like a bird in a cage. … When abdomen heat burns, both the white and the red semi-spheres melt and merge together. At the beginning, the white encloses the red since the white is stronger. After that, the red becomes stronger and encloses the white instead. … Now let me talk about how the Chi enters the avadhuti (the joint in the central-channel) during practicing. The life, hides inside the avadhuti, is also called the heart. But this heart is the heart of life rather than the physical heart. What I am teaching is the way toward the bright illusory-body which is very unique and has been well described in Guhyasamaja tantras. After the Chi is gathered in the central-channel and squeezes the bright-drop to ascend, one can see (by visualization) the white descend from top, and then the red ascend from bottom. Afterward, both the white and the red combine together and one feel dark gradually like sunset. After that, one will become totally ignorant of everything like an idiot. Then, the joint of the white and red suddenly opens slightly and the bright-drop flies out like a bird escaping from a cage. One can see the slightly yellow light just like sunshine in the morning. At that time, the one who has practiced frequently will be able to think about: “I am dead; my death is impermanent; and all dharma is empty.” Upon those three notions arising, one can see a seed-syllable appears in emptiness. The seed-syllable then turns into the deity and the deity emits light from his heart to plead with the wisdom buddha to merge into one’s body. … The meaning of emitting light from the deity’s heart is actually to “open for the light”. Once the opened light shines on the wisdom buddha, the buddha will notice one’s pleading and arrive at one’s place with a ray of light. At that moment, Dza Hum Bam Ho melts into the deity’s body in union. … The gist of the practice is to cultivate the mind. Only with the tranquil mind, one can possibly become a buddha. Initially, one feels extremely dark and is totally ignorant of everything. Then, the life flies out and one can see the bright light. During that time, one should visualize oneself as a buddha and emits light from one’s heart to plead for all buddhas’ empowerments. After empowered by buddhas, one is able to emit light to benefit sentient beings. All mentioned above is the essence of both the preliminary and the main practices. If one understands all those practices, one will know all the meanings of ritual mantras when one chants them; otherwise, it will be meaningless to chant. If one still cannot achieve after long-time practice, one should work hard on visualizing hugging a female consort because it will help one achieve quickly. During this visualization, the mind of all happiness will concentrate at a single place, and the Chi will melt into the central-channel and descend to the secret place. One should use the Chi to push and squeeze the bright-drop so that it can arrive at the secret place and then ascend back. When the bright-drop ascends, one should keep mouth closed and disperse the bright-drop into branch channels. That is, one should perform the Chi-ke-seal (Original author’s note: closed fists with the index and the little fingers stretched out), cross both arms in front of chest, look upwards to see the Hum seed-syllable above head, and chant “Hum” for twenty-one times with strength on hands and feet. … Afterward, one releases hands, feet and the whole body; and the Chi can be dispersed to each part of the body. If the Chi is dispersed completely, one’s body will be benefited; otherwise, one will get serious illnesses soon or even lose one’s life. The teachings mentioned above only belong to the main practice rather than the preliminary one. [62: 209-219]

Many places of above passage are very irrational and absurd. Due to limited space, I would like to comment only on the tantric Chi-practice (the method of practicing semen and Chi). In my youth, I had cultivated the Chi-practice and Heat-yoga, so I can confirm they are attainable. There are some people who want to strengthen their bodies and live longer have attained those too. But I do not encourage people to practice them for Buddhist cultivation. Some practitioners, because of weakness, may practice Chi to make their bodies stronger for continuing with Buddhist cultivation. But those achievements have totally nothing to do with the practices for Buddhahood. We should not take the Chi-practice as the root of becoming a buddha.

For example, the tantric gurus wrongly regard the semen and Chi as the roots for Buddhahood.

Semen is the most valuable human treasure. It is not difficult for one to become a buddha by using semen well. Through the functions of semen, one can become a buddha with numberless embodiments in the future. [62: 79]

Whether or not one can become a buddha or live long totally depends on semen, so we should cherish it. When semen is formed, it is stored in a small pool near testicles. The semen fills up the pool every seven days. A practitioner had better not ejaculate; it is the best without any ejaculation forever. When practicing in wintertime, one can take a kind of medicine to prevent ejaculation within three days. Without taking the medicine, it will be hard for one to avoid ejaculating in the dream. Ejaculating in the dream is a symptom of demon visiting. Thus, one should not have any lustful desire and should not speak of nonsense. One should treat the young female like one’s sisters and the old female like one’s mother or aunts so that one will not have any lustful desire and thus can avoid ejaculating. Without any ejaculation, then one can become a buddha. [62: 89]

However, the embodiment buddhas manifested in the Buddha ground are never from the achievements of practicing semen and Chi. They are actually from the achievements of four dhyanas (meditations) of observing, simmering, permeating and practicing, measureless samadhis, and perfecting the realization of the all-seed-wisdom. Therefore, all the attainments of realization proclaimed by ancient or modern gurus totally violate Buddha Sakyamuni’s doctrines. Those are all from the gurus’ illusory thinking, and exaggerated by their successors blindly. Such claims are absolutely not the true Buddhist realization.

Many people in Tibetan Secret Schools falsely regard semen and Chi as the roots to become buddhas, and all ancient and modern tantric gurus have the same heretical view too. Why are they trapped in this heretical view? It is because the basic doctrine of Tibetan Secret Schools is totally wrong. They falsely regard the great-seal in the dual operations of bliss and emptiness as the way to Buddhahood, and name it Highest-yoga. With this kind of wrong basic teaching, it is very difficult for all tantric patriarchs and learners to prevent from the heretical view. Their dharma is evil from the basic theory and is not the Buddha dharma at all. Nevertheless, they are so proud of the main practice of Couple-Practice Tantra for becoming buddhas in a lifetime. They think that practice is very unique and superior to exoteric Buddhism. Thus, it is almost hopeless to expect Tibetan Secret Schools to correct their doctrines.

Moreover, concerning the root of life, tantric gurus always mistake it for “the bright-drop stored in the central-channel” and entirely misunderstand the Buddha dharma.

The human life locates in the central-channel, and the central-channel, with white outside and red inside, locates in the spine. There is a swelling in the central-channel. The overall shape of the central-channel is like a snake swallowing an egg. [62: 64]

There are three major channels going along the spine. The middle one is the central-channel, which is the most important. The other two locate on both sides of the central-channel, called the left-channel and right-channel respectively. There are many other branch channels, which branch off those three major channels, all over the body. The “joint” in the central-channel is called “avadhuti” in Tibetan, since its shape is like a joint. Two bowl-like semi-spheres combine together to form it. The upside is white and the downside is red. This is the place where the life is stored. The wind (Original author’s note: the consciousness) from outside also accumulates here. If this joint moves slightly, one will get sick. If this joint opens, one will die. There are three knots at a distance of two fingers above and below the joint respectively. When one fulfills the main practice, the clear-light from one’s mind can untie these knots. Thus, one’s soul can enter or exit easily. However, ordinary people’s knots can be untied by their souls only when they are about to die. At that time, the soul exits but cannot return again, and then the person dies. [62: 97-98]

No matter which method you practice, it is very important to understand the reason why eighty kinds of wind Chi become twenty-five kinds after entering one’s body, and then become three kinds finally. It is the best if the wind Chi melts into the central-channel. It is also very good if it melts into the navel chakra. The life exists everywhere in the whole body rather than just in one place. But the life in the central-channel is the headquarters and the most important one. For instance, the life also exists at one’s secret place and its leaving can kill the person too. [62: 117]

There is a seminal-drop with the size like a soybean in the central-channel. When one practices Chi, this seminal-drop can ascend or descend along the central-channel. This soybean-like seminal-drop is the “joint” mentioned before which contains one’s life. The central-channel is just like a tube of pen. The wind Chi enters it to push the seminal-drop up or down accordingly. When one performs consciousness transference, the seminal-drop opens slightly and the life leaves it. Then, this life will move up along the central-channel, exit one’s body from the crown aperture, and can go anywhere following one’s will. This life is in fact our consciousness—or another name as the folk saying, the soul. [62: 136]

The central-channel with the shape like a bamboo tube is empty inside and has a tiny channel-point in it with a size only like a mustard seed. This tiny channel-point is the heart of life. But this heart is not the physical heart. The physical heart is big but this heart of life is tiny. This heart of life is actually inside the physical heart. Upon death, the physical heart still stays inside the body, but this tiny heart of life leaves the body. It is also said “The shape of this heart of life is like a upside-down seed-syllable ‘Hum’ in the dharma chakra of the central-channel; the remaining portion of the central-channel is not the heart of life. The leaving of seed-syllable ‘Hum’ means that the heart of life leaves. When the heart of life leaves the body, the person dies.” [62: 141]

The image that one visualizes should be inside one’s body rather than outside. Practicing like this way for quite a long time, one can then move the point following one’s will. Namely, the point follows one’s will and is able to go to any place inside the body. This point is the seminal-drop mentioned previously and its size is as big as a soybean. The seminal-drop is not normal semen. It is like a point of light of a blaze, and one’s life is stored inside of it. It can be called the point, life, bright-drop, or seminal-drop. Actually, they all mean the same thing. [62: 143]

Now let me talk about how the Chi enters the avadhuti during practicing. The life inside the avadhuti is also called the heart. But this heart is the heart of life rather than the physical heart. [62: 210]

In order to learn this method, one should cultivate the main practice first so that the Chi can melt into the central-channel. The Chi is the consciousness actually. [62: 125]

The first consciousness transference is the method of transferring one’s own life (Original author’s note: the consciousness) through the crown aperture to some other places outside the body. This is the greatest and supreme method of the highest school, which any other school does not have. [62: 315]

Such teachings contradict each other so that the readers do not know which one is correct. Those prove that the tantric patriarchs describe the consciousness simply based on their illusory thinking rather than their actual realization of the root consciousness—Alaya. They totally misunderstand the entity of the eighth consciousness. In addition, they are completely ignorant of the true meaning of the root of life. In fact, the root of life is manifested by the eight consciousnesses, the fifty-one mental functions and the eleven kinds of form-dharma altogether. It never corresponds with both the conscious mind and the true mind, and is only a set name by human; thus, it is also called “the dharma not interactive with the mind.” Eventually, the root of life is not a real dharma and never exists in the world.

When a person is living in the world, we say this person has a life or a root of life. But in fact, the reason why a person can survive is because of the fruition of one’s karmic seeds, which are made from one’s previous lives and stored in the Alaya consciousness rather than in the bright-drop or central-channel. The bright-drop is never the root of life either. The practitioners of Tibetan Secret Schools wrongly regard the semen, Chi and bright-drop as the roots of life, and thus treat those like precious treasures. Therefore, in order to live longer for practicing the dharma or even to become buddhas, they practice Chi with the hope of “keeping the semen inside and making it strong.” Those are all illusory thoughts.

It is not possible for people to live to the age of one hundred through practicing Chi only. If people want to live longer in their next lives, they should care for and be kind to all sentient beings rather than cultivate Chi-practice. We can easily confirm it by observing whether tantric patriarchs lived long or not. In summary, all of the semen, Chi and bright-drop are tantric gurus’ illusory thoughts and by no means the roots of life.

On the other hand, Tsongkhapa wrongly regarded the wind as the root of life:

Then, you should know: “The wind which enters or exits through the eyes, ears, mouth, navel, genitals, anus or pores is the life.” [21: 79]

Such a saying is also a kind of heresy and completely contradicts the Buddha’s teachings. Therefore, the learners of Tibetan Secret School should contemplate the following question: “What is the purpose of learning tantric practices?” If the answer is for worldly purposes, they can continue with the practices of body-strengthening and the long-lasting lustful bliss; it will not matter as long as they can keep five precepts well and do not have sex with other people’s spouses. But if the answer is for learning Buddhist Liberation-way or Buddhahood-way, being wise persons, they should abandon the theories and practices of Tibetan Secret Schools.

 

3.2 Four kinds of bright-drop

Yogi C. M. Chen said:

Ancient people categorized “bright-drop” into four types: the material-drop, wind-drop, mantra-drop and wisdom-drop. The material-drop is male’s semen or female’s blood; the wind-drop is Chi; the mantra-drop is mantra or seed-syllable; the wind-drop and mantra-drop belong to the first three divisions of tantras; the last one, wisdom-drop, belongs to Highest-yoga Tantra. Do not mistake the last one for semen. Some ancient researchers had made the same mistake. [38: 673]

Yogi C. M. Chen had his very unique view. He stated:

The male semen or female blood is the material-drop; the Chi from Chi-practice is the wind-drop; the visualized mantra or seed-syllable is the mantra-drop; as for the wisdom-drop, it should be practiced through the accomplishment of practicing the material-drop, wind-drop and mantra-drop, together with the visualization of melting the upper white and the lower red bright-drops and merging them into one. Then, one should purify one’s material-drop through the dual operations of Couple-Practice Tantra in Highest-yoga Tantra. Finally, the purified material-drop combines with the merged bright-drop and becomes the so-called wisdom-drop.

Yogi C. M. Chen’s viewpoint on the tantric practice can avoid the contradictions mentioned in the previous section, and thus is very unique and beyond all other ancient and modern gurus’ viewpoints.

Among these four kinds of bright-drop, the buddha-body only has the wisdom-drop, which is the achievement from the second and the third empowerments of Highest-yoga Tantra. The lower end of the central-channel is the red bright-drop, which is the inner heat and wisdom-drop. The upper end is the white bright-drop, which is the great compassion realized from wisdom. The red bright-drop contains five-elements, but mainly the fire; the white bright-drop contains mainly the water. From the union of the water and the fire elements, the other three elements are created and five-wisdoms will arise for use. [38: 673]

But in fact, five-elements are not contained by the red bright-drop and the water is not contained by the white bright-drop either. Should five-elements be contained by the red bright-drop, then the white bright-drop would not contain the water element. It is not reasonable. Moreover, the saying about five-wisdoms is not a correct teaching either. We will illustrate more about them later. The four-wisdoms of the Buddha ground such as The Wisdom of Great Mirror, etc. are by no means attained by the visualization of bright-drop, nor realized by the function of bright-drop during the dual operations of bliss and emptiness of Couple-Practice Tantra. Rather, they are attained by the practice and realization of all seeds in the eighth consciousness.

Yogi C. M. Chen said:

The form-aggregate, manifested from the external scene, is the formed bright-drop of five-realms. … The red and the white bright-drops are purified material; the white one, most preciously obtained from one’s father, locates at the upper end of the central-channel. It has the size as a seed of mustard, and is clear like glass. … The red one is Vajravarahi’s essence, also named as the spring bright-drop. … These two pure parts are the red and the white bright-drops mentioned in the praise. Their locations, appearances, sizes, and colors have been exemplified. The so-called fire-on-the-sea is to illustrate their heat and color. Auspicious Heruka said: “The red part is Vajravarahi’s essence and is also named the spring bright-drop.” These two depend on the eighth consciousness and life Chi. [34: 414-415]

The above saying is correct. The red and the white bright-drops are all material bright-drops and they should not be called the original consciousness—the Alaya consciousness. Both of them depend on the Alaya consciousness and life Chi, and hence are not the permanent indestructible things. This Alaya consciousness (true-suchness) is exactly the Buddha’s dharma-body.

However, Hevajra tantra wrongly stated:

The appearance of the physical semen is The World-honored One (Buddha) and its peaceful pleasure is the pleasure of craving. [34: 415- 416]

The learner should recognize Yogi C. M. Chen’s saying rather than the false one in Hevajra. As mentioned above, the white bright-drop locates in the four-leaf lotus of the great-happiness chakra on the head; the red bright-drop locates in the navel chakra and is Vajravarahi’s nature bright-drop.

The initial practice of bright-drop is to visualize the red and the white bright-drops:

The main practice of the unsurpassed secret school emphasizes abdomen heat. Abdomen heat locates inside abdomen and is the red material from one’s mother (Original author’s note: the red material is Tara, a goddess). One should practice to make both the white material from one’s father on the head melt and descend, and to make the red one melt and ascend. After melting, both the descending of the white one and the ascending of the red one will generate four kinds of joy. [62: 51]

That is the further practice of visualization after the achievement of visualizing bright-drop. It belongs to the gist of the first three divisions of tantras. As for the practice of bright-drop and Chi, please refer to Bibliography Volume 62 and 162 in Appendix of this book respectively.

After completing the visualization of bright-drop, one should further practice Vase-Chi Yoga so that one can break through the central-channel. I will elaborate on this portion in Section 3.3 later. After achieving both Vase-Chi Yoga and bright-drop visualization, one can make the bright-drop ascend or descend following one’s will. Without the practice of Vase-Chi, the white and the red bright-drops will never descend or ascend, and merge together; thus, the successive practices will not progress either.

About bright-drop, a tantric guru had such a delusion:

… I would like to present the details of the bright-drop practice, which I have never seen in Tibetan tantras, to the readers so that they can progress faster. The readers should know that the essence of the buddha’s body is bright-drop. The bright-drop is the crystal of dharma-body, the seeds of the great bliss of reward-body and the great kindness of countless embodiments. It is the most precious life. One will become Buddha Amitabha if this bright-drop is transferred (by the yoga of consciousness transference) into Buddha Amitabha’s mind; one will become a specific buddha if one’s bright-drop is transferred into that buddha’s mind. Therefore, one can become any buddha following one’s will. The bright-drop is the perfect and ultimate wisdom. One’s great bliss can reach the climax from it. It will result in the fruition of the great bliss wisdom body, i.e., the highest gist of Vajra-vehicle which the practitioners of Great-vehicle or Small-vehicle never dream about. [38: 676]

Tibetan Secret Schools wrongly regard the dependently arising bright-drop as all buddhas’ origins rather than the original Alaya consciousness (named true-suchness in the Buddha ground). They proclaim that all Buddha dharma is from bright-drop and only the obscene couple practice can achieve the ultimate Buddhahood. They totally misunderstand the true Buddha dharma and their tantric teachings completely contradict the bodhi way of the Buddha’s teachings. But all gurus of Tibetan Secret Schools do not know their teachings are totally wrong and consistently proclaim that their tantric practices are the supreme Buddha dharma beyond all others. This is a general misconception they have.

Another fallacy to uphold bright-drop is:

The above mentioned bright-drop and Chi are resulted from the manifestation of the worldly bodhi mind. They are the causes of the inherent wisdom and are called the vajra body. The real Hevajra said: “During the bliss with the female consort’s lotus (pudendum), the buddha has the excellent thirty-two major marks and eighty minor characteristics. It is the substantial nature of bright-drop.” Without bright-drop, there will be no bliss or functions, and of course no deity’s yoga bliss either. This bliss is exactly a buddha rather than a normal or unreal thing; it has the appearance of face and hands, the unchangeable great bliss entity, and the sentient being’s inherent fruition. It is important to fully understand these meanings. [34: 427]

As such, tantric practitioners falsely and overly endow the bright-drop from visualization, Vase-Chi or Couple-Practice Tantra with a too sublime position. And mistakenly treat it as the root of Buddhahood. It is truly against the right Buddhahood-way or Liberation-way because any kind of bright-drop is only a worldly matter. Those bright-drops have nothing to do with Buddhahood-way and Liberation-way at all. As for the fallacy of consciousness transference, I will elaborate on it later.

 

3.3 The Overview of Vase-Chi Yoga

The following passage is the overview of Vase-Chi Yoga, as stated in The Six Yogas of Naropa:

One should keep one’s body in full lotus posture, straighten lower back, press knees hard by hands, close left nostril, and breathe in through right nostril only. During inhaling, one should imagine that all good things and winds in the universe enter one’s body through this nostril and transform into merits and virtues. After that, one should close right nostril, open left nostril and slowly breathe out through left nostril until all the air is out completely. During exhaling, one should imagine that all evil retributions are expelled out of the body together with the air. One should breathe in and out by turns through right and left nostrils respectively, and keep one’s mouth shut all the time. By this way, the Chi will enter the central-channel during inhaling and exit from the central-channel during exhaling. As a result, all internal five chakras will be connected from inside to outside of the body. Practicing like this way for some time, then one can practice breathing with two nostrils concurrently. At that time, one should breathe in through two nostrils and try to keep the air inside the body for a long time. While the air stays in the body, one should imagine that one’s body is full of Chi and each chakra is pushed by Chi and turns clockwise except the navel charka, which turns anti-clockwise. When the Chi descends down to the place under one’s navel, one should swallow a little saliva and the saliva will go to each branch channel; without swallowing saliva, the Chi will not enter each branch channel. After swallowing, one will fart slightly. Then, one should slowly exhale the air in abdomen out of the body through two nostrils. If exhaling it too fast, one will die soon. During exhaling, one should imagine that the inside of the body is totally empty and all dharma is empty too. One should practice this way gradually and frequently. If one can practice everyday, the Chi will be kept in the navel charka finally. This method will enable the practitioner to live longer and is the so-called fullness of the vase. [62: 83-85]

The beginner should breathe out after breathing in. It is not tolerable if the abdomen is full of air without breathing out. But after long-time practice, the frequency of breath will reduce gradually, and finally the breath will stop. Milarepa said: “If the Chi of left and right branch channels can enter the central-channel, one will feel slightly comfortable; if one can stop breathing and keep the air inside the body for a while, one will feel very comfortable; if one can stop breathing totally, one will feel the most comfortable.” It will be difficult for the Chi to enter the central-channel even for only a slight leak through nostrils. That is because the vase cannot gather the Chi anymore and Vase-Chi lasts only for a very short instant then disappears. When it comes, the abdomen will become warm and the Chi will enter the central-channel gradually. One will become sleepy if the Chi does not enter the central-channel but leaks out through nostrils instead. This drowsiness will cause one to lose self-control and fail to keep the Chi inside the abdomen. Then, one will fail in the practice of Vase-Chi Yoga. In order to achieve it successfully, one should practice frequently and keep away from all worldly affairs. Each time before starting to practice Vase-Chi Yoga in the morning, one should invite the buddha and review all the stages mentioned above. Then, one should sit in the lotus posture and put hands below the navel with both palms upward. After that, one should hold the breath and keep the air inside the body for a period of six snaps of fingers and visualize that the Chi enters the vase. Through frequently practicing, if one can hold the breath for a period of thirty-six snaps of fingers someday, Vase-Chi will come and enter the central-channel. Finally, if one can hold the breath for a period of one hundred and eight snaps of fingers, one thus will achieve Vase-Chi Yoga. If one can hold the breath for a period of one or two hundred snaps of fingers, one will live forever. During holding the breath, one should use right hand to snap fingers, use left hand to count beads and concentrate on “all dharma being empty and my death being impermanent.” That is the root of attaining Buddhahood. If one can often think that my death is impermanent, one will definitely become a buddha eventually. [62: 175-176]

The practice of Vase-Chi Yoga is to keep the abdomen-heat around the vase and fill the vase fully with Chi. [62: 165]

The way of practice is through the fake to the truth. What is visualized will become real finally: “It is so-called the ideal being the root of the real.” To practice following methods, one should visualize with the same sequence and practice it frequently. [62: 177]

As stated by Yogi C. M. Chen:

At first, one should understand an important principle: “An abstract theory can become a real firsthand experience through the daily practice of concentration.” I have personally experienced something mentioned in this song, like holding the breath, stopping the pulse or heartbeat. Those are real. [34: 924]

However, the truth is that what is visualized can never become real; the air can never enter the central-channel through holding the breath and visualizing the Chi. It is because the visualized central-channel is false and unreal, but the air is physically real. These two unreal and real things can never be merged and stay together. The practice of Vase-Chi Yoga is actually a fallacy. Anyone who has common sense on physics and medical science can easily understand it. But surprisingly, such a fallacy, which contradicts the nature of the physical world, has been widely propagated in the current twentieth century and many highly educated people believe it. Furthermore, the Chi of Chi-practice is actually not the air. Chi is something like the electrical energy (named temporarily since there is no other better and proper term available) that is generated in the channel of one’s body after one has achieved the Chi-practice. It is by no means the air mentioned by Tibetan Secret Schools.

In addition, the temporary stop of the pulse and heartbeat is not the real samadhi at all. To achieve the real samadhi, one should practice through four-dhyanas and eight-samadhis. It is a real samadhi after attaining the firsthand experience on the first-dhyana. Moreover, after entering the middle samadhi between the third-dhyana and the fourth-dhyana, the practitioner can truly stop both the pulse and heartbeat for several hours or even several days. That is a real samadhi too. As for the tantric samadhi through the practice of bright-drop and Chi, which enables the practitioner to hold the breath for five, ten, or fifteen minutes at most, that is something like a diver’s holding breath rather than samadhi. Most divers, with some professional training, can hold the breath for more than ten minutes. Some well-trained divers can hold it even longer. But all of those are only a matter of physical training rather than the practice of mental samadhi. Blo-bzan-grags-pa Zam Lam’s (one author of The Six Yogas of Naropa) statement about holding breath for one hour is a boast and not believable. The practice of Vase-Chi Yoga is another boast and has nothing to do with the true practice of mental samadhi. Practitioners can never attain four-dhyanas and eight-samadhis through those tantric practices. People should not be confused and misled by those patriarchs of Tibetan Secret Schools.

As stated in The Six Yogas of Naropa:

One should try to make the Chi merge into the central-channel. If the Chi can enter the central-channel, the eighty consciousnesses can enter it too. The consciousness (the bright-drop) is the life. Once the life enters the central-channel, it can ascend, and then exit the body through the crown aperture. The life is only a bright-drop in the central-channel, but after exiting one’s body, it will become one foot tall. The one who has fulfilled the practice can transform the exited life into countless embodiments to benefit sentient beings. [62: 178]

That the eighty consciousnesses merge into a consciousness after one’s death is a very strange illusion from Tibetan tantric patriarchs. Buddha Sakyamuni said clearly in many sutras that all sentient beings including humans have only eight consciousnesses rather than eighty consciousnesses invented by Tibetan Secret Schools. Since there is no such a thing as eighty consciousnesses, all the subsequent statements about the eighty consciousnesses merging into twenty-five consciousnesses, then into one, and finally exiting the body through the crown aperture are all illusive too. Furthermore, the real Alaya consciousness does not have any form, appearance or color, and hence the statement that the height of the life is one foot is completely illusive.

The practice of turning chakra in Vase-Chi Yoga is the second method of The Six Yogas of Naropa:

Yesterday I talked about the practice of the vase and Chi. One should gather the Chi in the navel chakra, and then one can move the Chi to any place following one’s will. Today, I will talk about the second method of the six yogas––the turning of chakras like the turning of a wheel. During the practice, one should sit with bare feet and in lotus posture, grasp two big toes hard, straighten the arms, breathe in, and then hold the breath for a very long time. Some practitioners can even hold the breath for one hour. The chakras can turn only during the holding of breath. One should breathe through the nose rather than the mouth. Only breathing through the nose, can the Chi enter or exit the central-channel, and also stay in it. A human body has five chakras, with a total of seventy-two thousand channels. Briefly speaking, there are one hundred and twenty branch channels: the heart chakra has eight; the reward chakra at the throat has sixteen (Original author’s note: the sixteen branch channels are the sixteen unmovable reward buddhas; once moved, they will become countless embodiments.); the great-happiness chakra on the head has thirty-two with a shape like a precious umbrella; the navel chakra has sixty-four. These four chakras have totally one hundred and twenty branch channels. The happiness-protecting chakra at the secret place is not included, which has another thirty-two branch channels. These one hundred and twenty branch channels are very important and the practitioners should be familiar with them since all Chi and blood flow through them. [62: 87]

Another practice of hooked fists in Vase-Chi Yoga is the third method in The Six Yogas of Naropa:

One should sit in lotus posture, hold the breath, make fists hooked, extend the hooked fists forward, raise them overhead quickly, stay overhead for a while, and then move the hooked fists down to the heart slowly. At that time two hands hold each other and two forearms are connected into a line. One then pulls two clasped hands toward two opposite sides as if one tries to separate the hands. The Chi will move to the hands during that time. Afterwards, one separates two hands with strength and extends two hands leftward, then rightward. After that, one grasps two big toes firmly, straightens the arms, and turns the body slightly leftward and then rightward. One then makes fists with little fingers straight, extends two arms leftward and rightward respectively, and then draws hands back on ribs. During the practice, one should do all of those with strength and hold the breath. One should do like this way once at the beginning and then increase the times of practice gradually. Those practices can keep one away from all kinds of illnesses. [62: 91]

Yogi C. M. Chen’s sayings are the same (refer to [34: 195]). As for the details of the fourth, fifth and sixth methods, please refer to The Six Yogas of Naropa. About the details of practicing visualization, please refer to Section 2.4 of this book.

In summary, the theory of Vase-Chi Yoga is totally wrong throughout every stage of the practice, from the beginning breath practice till the final embodiment one. There are many illusive and false statements such as: The air is taken for the Chi; the Chi is imagined to merge into the visualized central-channel; the visualized bright-drop is taken for the real consciousness or the life; the holding of breath is taken for samadhi; the visualized embodiments can help others, etc. All those statements are not logical by common sense. In addition, the practice of Vase-Chi Yoga is only a worldly method. It is completely irrelevant to the four-dhyanas and eight-samadhis of worldly samadhis, not to mention the supra-mundane Buddhist samadhis.

3.4 Tranquilness-insight in The Six Yogas of Naropa

The practices of bright-drop and Vase-Chi are the first method in The Six Yogas of Naropa. One of their purposes is to practice tranquilness-insight so that tantric practitioners can attain samadhi.

If one cannot attain samadhi after practice for some time, one can practice Chi to attain it quickly. During this practice, one should sit in the lotus posture and meditate by keeping one’s mind stable like the fire inside a lamp that does not flicker even in the wind. One will keep tranquilness-insight when the wisdom consciousness comes. In this state one can remain mentally steady even many people shout around. To achieve this state one definitely needs several-year practice. [62: 105]

One should eliminate afflictions and bring forth the great compassion before practicing this “samadhi”:

One should give up all the worldly pleasure and pursue the pleasure of nirvana instead. But if only staying in nirvana state, one will fall into two-vehicles. Therefore, one should think that all sentient beings were my parents in my previous lives, pity them because they always suffer bitterness without knowing how to save themselves, and bring forth the great compassion to rescue them. By thinking of that, one’s bodhi mind will arise. But the bodhi mind arisen at the first time is false. The true bodhi mind comes only after long and frequent practice. After that, one will always think of benefiting all sentient beings. … One can achieve it only with the conditions of keeping precepts, fulfilling six paramitas (perfections) and being diligent as well. This is the common method used by all practitioners of exoteric Buddhism. (Original author’s note: The tantric methods of samadhi in six paramitas are tranquilness-insight and trans-insight; the wisdom arises after mental tranquil cessation; and the insight can be enhanced by using the wisdom; thus, one should practice it well to manifest these two insights.) After completing the practice of orthodox Buddhism, one should learn Vajra-vehicle, listen to The Empowerment Sutra, and keep vajra precepts. … One should understand the rule of cause-and-effect, know all conditioned phenomena being unreal like a dream, realize the sufferings of transmigration, and pity sentient beings for their ignorance. Therefore, one vow to learn Buddhism in order to rescue them, and then the bodhi mind will arise. If one can attain the tranquilness-insight, one’s bodhi mind will arise naturally. Tranquilness means that the mind is totally calm and still; insight means the observation of all worldly phenomena being empty and false. To practice samadhi like this way is the true Buddhist samadhi. [62: 19-21]

One should stay in a cave and keep both mind and mouth quiet during practice. To keep the mouth quiet means that one will always be quiet even when someone talks. To keep the mind quiet means that, even beaten or shouted, one should ignore everything, keep calm and concentrate on the practice. One should shut the functions of seeing and hearing, and keep the mind in complete cessation. … Keeping the mind immovable is tranquilness-insight. (Original author’s note: Insight is translated from Tibetan; it can also be translated as trans-insight.) [62: 48-49]

Tantric practitioners wrongly think that they can attain the worldly four-dhyanas and eight-samadhis after the achievement of bright-drop and Chi-practices. Thus, they practice Chi for meditative concentration rather than the right methods of practicing the worldly four-dhyanas and eight-samadhis. They have the following illusory statement: “Absolutely, practitioners can attain samadhis if they practice Chi.” [62: 105]

Nevertheless, they claim that tranquilness-insight, being attained after long-time practice of bright-drop and Chi, is the bodhi mind. This insight is actually only the thoughtless pristine awareness. Such awareness can be easily attained through practicing our method of Buddha-remembrance Without Appearance for several months. How come tantric practitioners must practice bright-drop and Chi for so many years to attain it? Obviously, their methods are very inefficient.

In addition, Tibetan Secret Schools falsely believe that the practices of bright-drop and Chi can make them be reborn in the heaven of the desire-realm, or even the form-realm or formless-realm, and that the visualization of nine “Ah” seed-syllables can make them attain vajra bodies and thus realize their Alaya consciousnesses:

The resolution of dhyana: If the practitioners, after receiving the nectar to increase the pure part, can achieve dhyana with the pain from Chi, I will teach them the reason of resolution. [61: 371]

According to different theories of the vajra body and differences among tantras, the mind is the Alaya consciousness, on which a sentient being’s habits rely. … Through the combination of both channel seed-syllable at the base and “descending from top”, the scene appears. From that, the mind and Chi are held in the white “Ah” seed-syllable of the heavenly path. The previous perceptive pleasure is the heavenly perception and one perceives oneself becoming a heavenly being. The “dancer” in the praise is the person whose body is transformed and with garland. The “chanter” is the person who can use the mantra and speak the heavenly language. … The praise states: “the samadhi at the ‘Om’ dhyana.” That means if the mind and Chi are held in the “Om” seed-syllable of dhyana, the following perceptive samadhis of four-dhyana-heavens in the form-realm will arise: (1) the samadhi with awareness and subtle perception, (2) the samadhi with joy and happiness, (3) the samadhi away from happiness but with joy, and (4) the samadhi with equal renouncing and purifying. … The praise states: “really melting into the buddha-mother’s empty ‘Ah’ seed-syllable and feeling the emptiness of three-realms.” That means if the mind and Chi are held in the “Ah” seed-syllable of wisdom, the following perceptive samadhis of four-boundless-places in the formless-realm will arise: (1) the samadhi on infinite space, (2) the samadhi on infinite consciousness, (3) the samadhi on nothingness, and (4) the samadhi of neither existence nor non-existence. [61: 486, 487, 492 and 493]

However, such realization of the “Alaya consciousness” is still the conscious mind because the perceptive mind able to visualize things is the mind-consciousness and the visualized “Ah” seed-syllable is the state received by the mind-consciousness. Both of them do not relate to the Alaya consciousness mentioned in Buddhist sutras at all.

To attain four-dhyanas and eight-samadhis through such practices of bright drop and Chi is a fallacy and can never be achieved. The true practice of four-dhyanas and eight-samadhis should keep the conscious mind in a single-pointed state of concentration and it can be achieved only through long-time practice; In order to achieve that state, one should apart from all internal appearances (including the internal image of seed-syllable), abort the operations of Chi, and eliminate five coverings of wisdom.

The tantric teaching about “equally-arriving the first-dhyana samadhi state or above without getting rid of image” is totally ignorant of the true samadhi; the teaching about equally-arriving the second-dhyana with the continuous operation of Chi is an illusion too. There is no such an equally-arriving state of the second-dhyana in this world, not to mention the third-dhyana or even the higher samadhi states. Nevertheless, Tibetan Secret Schools boast that they can attain four formless samadhis through the practices of bright-drop, Chi and mantra chanting. Those people who have attained the true dhyana or samadhi can easily tell the real fact. How come Tibetan Secret Schools do not know their sayings completely contradict the true samadhi practice? Such kinds of ignorance can prove that they have never attained four-dhyanas or eight-samadhis.

Among five coverings of wisdom, the first and most serious one which must be eliminated is the desire, mostly the sexual desire. Without eliminating the sexual desire, one can never attain the first-dhyana. By contrast, tantric practices are always together with the sexual desire; they allege that they can leave desire with desire but actually they cannot leave it at all. It is because they use visualization and the lustful tactile sense of Couple-Practice Tantra as the way of practice. With such heavy sexual desire, they can never attain the first-dhyana, not to mention the advanced four-dhyanas and eight-samadhis. Therefore, the practices of bright-drop and Chi are the obstacles rather than the right way to attain four-dhyanas and eight-samadhis. It is impossible to attain samadhi by that way. The practitioners of Tibetan Secret Schools should have the wisdom to distinguish the differences. In addition to tranquilness-insight of The Six Yogas of Naropa, other tantric practices for samadhi, such as the method of Sakya School, are illusory teachings too. One who practices those tantric methods definitely can never attain the true four-dhyanas and eight-samadhis.

3.5 The supra-mundane fruition not from the attainment of practicing bright-drop and Chi

The Way and Its Fruit (Lamdre) of Sakya School falsely states that one can get away from three evil paths, attain the supra-mundane fruition and become a “non-deluded bodhisattva” by the attainment of practicing bright-drop and Chi (Refer to [61:470-491]); it also states that, through practicing the “42 learning places” of three guiding ways (the Chi guiding way, realm-nectar guiding way, and channel-syllable guiding way), the practitioners can keep away from three evil paths in a lifetime.

However, all those kinds of perception, including some on three guiding ways like five-kind-of-Chi, five-element- power-growth, four-element-equal-part, etc., are still within the scope of the mind-consciousness, and never touch the eighth consciousness. Such practice methods of Tibetan Secret Schools are complicated, time-consuming and unable to make practitioners realize the true reality. Actually, the true reality is the eighth consciousness which consists of the natures of inherence, self-nature, purity and nirvana; the eighth consciousness with inherence, self-nature, purity and nirvana is exactly the true reality. Exoteric Buddhists should realize this eighth consciousness to verify the true reality of prajna. But Tibetan Secret Schools teach their followers to practice three guiding ways, rather than to realize the entity and functions of the eighth consciousness, to verify the true reality. By that way, how can they ever realize the bodhi way and become “non-deluded bodhisattvas”?

Most of tantric patriarchs wrongly think that bright-drop is the origin of life and the root of all dharma:

One should not misunderstand the emptiness-nature of bright-drop. The luminosity of bright-drop is exactly the emptiness-nature of no-birth; the entity of bright-drop contains the dependently arising of no-extinction. The entity includes functions; the entity is the dharma-body and its functions are the physical body. The entity is the ultimate truth and its functions are the worldly truth. This kind of bright-drop is what one should firmly reside in. [34: 883]

Thus, they regard bright-drop as the dharma of no-birth in Buddhist sutras. But in fact, the true dharma of no-birth in Buddha’s three-vehicle sutras is the permanent existence of the eighth consciousness since the beginningless time. The eighth consciousness is the “consciousness” on which the name and form depend, and is functioning all the time. This very consciousness is exactly the reality of nirvana, and is the only dependence of the remainderless nirvana. It still keeps functioning uninterruptedly even in the five ceasing states of the mind consciousness like in the sleep without dreams, in a coma, etc. Because it permanently exists, it is called no-birth; because it is absolutely indestructible, it is named no-extinction. This is the true meaning of no-birth in exoteric Buddhist sutras.

By contrast, the bright-drop results only from one’s visualization practice and will disappear at any other time. It will not appear at all when one is in the sleep without dreams, in a coma, during death, etc., and even stops permanently when one enters the state of the remainderless nirvana. Therefore, bright-drop is a dharma of dependently arising. Anything can be created will be extinguished sometime. Hence, bright-drop should not be called the dharma of no-birth. The previous examples can prove that those gurus falsely regard bright-drop as the entity of life and misunderstand the Buddha’s true meaning of no-birth. They pursue the Buddha dharma but ignore the true mind of the eighth consciousness, the thus-come-store, and thus can be entitled heretics.

As stated by Yogi C.M. Chen:

Dharma-character School of consciousness-only researches on ordinary people’s mental phenomena such as the opposition between sense-organ and sense-object, the arising of afflictions, the distinguishing between good and evil, and the formation of differently maturing. These kinds of research are very helpful to the beginners who want to study the Buddha dharma. As for the advanced fivefold-consciousness-only view, even Hsuan-tsang and Kwuei-ji could not practice and realize it, and thus did not set good examples. Finally when consciousness-only becomes empty, all eight consciousnesses will change into four wisdoms. Besides, in order to attain fruition, this school should rely on the practices of other schools to complete the stage of way and fruition. For tantric practitioners, the theory of so-called “three-realms being consciousness-only and all dharma being mind-only” is no more suitable for them because it contradicts the right view of tantras. One reason is that all tantric schools, regardless of the new, old, red (Nyingma), or yellow (Gelug) school, refute consciousness-only and emphasize the middle-way view; the other reason is that Tibetan Secret Schools specially emphasize physical five-elements between the mental and the physical things. They transform the karmic Chi of five-elements into the wisdom Chi of five-elements, cultivate Chi-practice, use female consorts, regulate eating and drinking, do vigorous exercise, etc. All of those show that they put emphasis on material, unlike the school of consciousness-only that always negates material. As far as the dharma-body view of great-seal and the inherent wisdom view concerned, they do not talk only about the mental dharma. The so-called bright-drop is not a mental thing either; it actually means all dharma-realms, including both the mental and the material worlds. [34: 895-896]

However, not only Yogi C.M. Chen misunderstood the right meaning of consciousness-only, but also the most famous Buddhist leader, dharma master Yin-shun, who had studied Buddhism for over sixty years, misunderstood it too. Thus, how could the gurus of Tibetan Secret Schools, who do not study much on the true Buddhism, not misunderstand it?

Regarding the fivefold-consciousness-only view, according to the historic records of Chinese Buddhism, dharma master Hsuan-tsang and his student Kwuei-ji of Tang Dynasty are the first two persons who realized it. It is not as Yogi C. M. Chen said. None (except the patriarchs of Tibetan Jonang School) of the ancient or modern Tibetan tantric gurus have really understood the true meaning of the fivefold-consciousness-only view because they have not realized the eighth consciousness. Since the theory of consciousness-only is based on the eighth consciousness, those gurus do not even realize the eighth consciousness to attain the entry level knowledge of consciousness-only; how can they realize and understand the right meaning of the more advanced fivefold-consciousness- only?

Based on the wrong views, those tantric gurus criticized dharma master Hsuan-tsang, who was a third-ground bodhisattva and had attained the seed-wisdom of consciousness-only. They do not know that the theory of consciousness-only is about the all-seed-wisdom, the most ultimate knowledge of the Buddha dharma; therefore they devalue the seed-wisdom of consciousness-only, which is the best dharma, as the non-ultimate one and have thus committed the gross evil karma of “slandering the bodhisattva-store”. According to the Buddha’s teaching in The Lankavatara Sutra, such a person is called icchantika, the one without any root of goodness, and will be reborn in hell after death. It is really a pity that those tantric gurus do not know that they had already committed such severe sins of the suffering in hell for future long eons by devaluing the true dharma and slandering dharma master Hsuan-tsang, who was a third-ground supreme bodhisattva.

Furthermore, the seed-wisdom dharma of consciousness- only is never the dharma “that always negates material” as Yogi C. M. Chen said. Rather, it explains that all material in three-realms is actually induced by the eighth consciousnesses of all related sentient beings; thus, the eighth consciousness is the origin of all material. It also explains that the eighth consciousness is possessed of “the nature of element-seeds”; through this nature of element-seeds, all human beings can absorb necessary material to grow up from fetuses to babies and further from babies to adults; it is also the same nature of element-seeds and karmic seeds in the eighth consciousness to make sentient beings grow old, dead and reborn again. Therefore, the seed-wisdom dharma of consciousness-only is the ultimate dharma which perfectly explains the origin of all material, rather than “the dharma of negating material”.

In addition, all the unconditioned dharma is based on all the eight consciousnesses and the form dharma; without those consciousnesses and the form dharma, none of the six, eight, nine, or twelve kinds of the unconditioned dharma can be manifested, not to mention making people practice the unconditioned dharma.

However, the dharma of bright-drop, great-seal of dual operations of luminosity and emptiness, Highest-yoga of dual operations of bliss and emptiness, etc., which Tibetan Secret Schools think is the most valuable practice and could let them become buddhas in a lifetime, are in fact heretical and are totally irrelevant to the authentic Buddha dharma. Tibetan Secret Schools completely misunderstand the true Buddha dharma and try to replace the eighth consciousness of inherent no-birth nature with the false conditioned bright-drop, visualization, and the dual operations of bliss and emptiness. They use those dependently arising methods, which are all heresy, to replace the inherent no-birth dharma, devalue the right meaning of consciousness-only as the non-ultimate one, and slander dharma masters Hsuan-tsang and Kwuei-ji. Those accusations prove that tantric gurus are totally ignorant of the most ultimate consciousness-only theory of the true Buddha dharma.

Nevertheless, such ignorant ordinary persons proclaim bright-drop is the most ultimate one and use it to replace the true dharma:

Although the original nature is emptiness, bright-drop exists and appears in the emptiness away from all subjective and objective aspects. This is the real origin. The state of taking refuge and the bodhi mind are all included in bright-drop; the buddha’s appearance, sentient beings’ appearances, seed-syllables Om-Ah-Hum and moving or staying of Chi cannot keep apart from it either. This bright-drop is the very origin of the dharma. One cannot touch any part of it, nor can one keep apart from it even for a moment. [34: 1266]

Thus, all those tantric gurus wrongly regard the visualized illusory bright-drop as the dharma of no-birth and have completely no idea of the true meaning of seeing-the-way in three-vehicles. They falsely proclaim that the practices of Chi and bright-drop can enable practitioners to leave three evil paths and be free from the life-and-death cycles of three-realms, and that those heretical practices can let them attain the supra-mundane fruition. Therefore, we can definitely conclude that they do not know nor realize the right theory of liberation.

3.6 Practicing bright-drop and Chi unable to achieve prajna paramita

The ancient and modern gurus of Tibetan Secret Schools usually falsely state that they can attain prajna paramita through the achievement of practicing bright-drop and Chi, and keep away from the subjective perception able to eliminate things and the objective eliminated things. As it is stated:

Now, I will teach you the supra-mundane perception. It includes two parts: the fruition and the way. The fruition perception is stated in the verses as: “If one can merge oneself into the palace of the great buddha-mother, prajna paramita mother, etc., one will perceive the dharma-body and can be released from two attachments.” This means the mind, Chi, etc., are held on the seed-syllable “Ah”, which is located at the lower tip of left seminal channel branch. At this state one can tell the difference between removing the subjective perception able to eliminate things and removing the objective eliminated things, and can further eradicate these two attachments to attain the great bliss of the realized dharma-body. On the other hand, the way perception is stated in the verses as: “Keep the seed-syllable ‘Hum’ clear and light; the self-arising wisdom is extremely clean like emptiness.” This means the mind, Chi, etc., are held on the seed-syllable ‘Hum’ of dual operations and the samadhi of the great self-arising wisdom will be generated. At that time, the mind is clear, the body is light, and the cleanness and emptiness is the similes of this state. They do not arise in order, but their warm appearances can be easily held with. The above is the perception of the initial accumulation-realm and has been perfectly explained. [61: 494-495]

Nevertheless, the real paramita, stated by Buddha Shakyamuni in the prajna sutras of Great-vehicle, is prajna paramita rather than “the bright-drop and Chi paramita”. One can never be free from life and death, and reach the opposite bank by practicing bright-drop and Chi because bright-drop and Chi are totally the worldly conditioned dharma. The wisdom through the realized prajna enables practitioners to be free from life and death, and reach the opposite bank of liberation. It is because prajna is actually attained from the realization of the eighth consciousness, the thus-come-store, which is no-birth inherently and no-extinction forever. This eighth consciousness is the true reality of the dharma realm. After realizing its nature of inherent no-birth and permanent existence, one can bring forth the prajna wisdom, which belongs to Great-vehicle only. In addition, one will eliminate the self-view and self-attachment, and bring forth the wisdom of liberation after one has observed, based on the thus-come-store, the illusory and impermanent nature of eighteen-realms. In summary, only by the prajna wisdom, one can thus leave this bank of life and death, and reach the opposite bank of liberation. This is the true meaning of prajna paramita.

However, the tantric practice of bright-drop and Chi never corresponds to prajna. Tibetan Secret Schools are totally ignorant of prajna and wrongly regard their achieved state of Chi-practice, visualized bright-drop or visualized seed-syllable in the central-channel as prajna. But in the Buddha dharma, the true meaning of prajna is the realization of the natures of the eighth consciousness, i.e., the middle-way (apart from both sides), inherence, self-nature, purity and nirvana. Since all the ancient and modern tantric gurus do not realize the eighth consciousness and understand all the natures of it, they do not know Buddhist prajna either. With such ignorance, how can they possibly remove the subjective perception able to eliminate things and the objective eliminated things? Therefore, we can conclude that their claims to remove “the subjective perception able to eliminate things and the objective eliminated things” are all illusions which cannot be relied on.

The perceptive mind, which can stay in the state of visualizing the bright-drop, is exactly the recognizing conscious mind and has the characteristic of the subjective perception able to eliminate things. On the other hand, the bright-drop, which is perceived by the conscious mind, is exactly the object to be recognized and is one of the objective eliminated things. Both the perceptive mind and the perceived bright-drop should be eradicated by Buddhist practitioners in order to attain liberation. Without truly understanding the illusory nature of the subjective conscious mind and the objective bright-drop, how can tantric practitioners realize prajna? Thus, their sayings on removing the subjective perception able to eliminate things and the objective eliminated things are all ridiculous.

As the correct way of Buddhist practice, one should use one’s perceptive mind which has the subjective perception to observe the unreality of this mind and thus cut off the illusory view of one’s permanent being. One who has removed the self-view and self-attachment by this way can then eliminate both the subjective perception able to notice things and the objective noticed things, and further eradicate both the subjective perception able to eliminate things and the objective eliminated things; one will thus become an arhat who has permanently eliminated the two attachments of discrimination. The state achieved by the arhat is by no means the realization of bright-drop and the conscious mind which realizes bright-drop. Without correcting the wrong view on the conscious mind and bright-drop, it is impossible to fulfill the elimination of subjectivity and objectivity of the conscious mind and to attain liberation. Thus, the attainment through practicing bright-drop and Chi is still a state of the worldly conditioned phenomenon. This attainment has nothing to do with the liberation of life and death in Small-vehicle, not to mention the prajna of the true reality in Great-vehicle. In summary, the so-called “paramita,” if tantric practitioners insist to call so, which they realize through bright-drop and Chi, is only a worldly affair rather than the true Buddhist prajna. It is impossible for them to attain prajna paramita of the Buddha dharma by that way.

3.7 Practicing bright-drop and Chi unable to achieve four kinds of pure-land

Tantric patriarchs usually advocate that practitioners can achieve four kinds of pure-land by practicing the chakras (energy-centers) in their bodies. As it is stated:

How does one establish four kinds of pure-land in the six and a half chakras? One can establish the embodiment pure-land in the secret place, navel, and heart chakras respectively, establish the reward-body pure-land in the throat and brow chakras, and establish the dharma-body pure-land in the crown chakra. How does one establish the pure-land at the thirty-two channel-knots of the central-channel? One can untie sixteen channel-knots to establish the embodiment pure-land, untie twelve other channel-knots to establish the reward-body pure-land, untie three and a half other channel-knots to establish the dharma-body pure-land, and untie the remaining half channel-knot on the head to establish the nature-body pure-land. How does one establish the pure-land in the four altars? One can establish the embodiment pure-land in the altar of body channel, establish the reward-body pure-land in the altar of seed-syllable, establish the dharma-body pure-land in the purified bodhi mind, and establish the nature-body pure-land in the altar of stored wisdom Chi. How can one manifest the pure-land in the state of wisdom functioning? It is summarized as: The pure-land of a turning-wheel king contains four continents; an embodiment pure-land contains forty billion continents; a reward-body pure-land contains forty billion embodiment pure-lands; a dharma-body pure-land contains forty billion reward-body pure-lands; such three-body pure-lands are a measurable number. The nature-body pure-land has the equality nature of samsara and remainderless nirvana, and it means that ‘a buddha and sentient beings have the same continuity.’ [61: 552-553]

The above practice about establishing four pure-lands in chakras, the knots of the central-channel, altars, etc. are all illusions. The definitions of those pure-lands contradict the right meanings of the true four pure-lands, and will make tantric learners misunderstand four pure-lands and thus commit severe deceptions.

Why? Because the dharma-body pure-land is exactly the self-dwelling state of the eighth consciousness in the Buddha ground and is not established from the crown chakra of the central-channel fabricated by Tibetan Secret Schools; the reward body pure-land is exactly the ultimate Buddha’s reward-body, His self-reception state in The Highest Heaven of the Form-realm, and His manifested solemn reward-body for the bodhisattvas in all grounds. It is by no means the worldly state in the chakras of throat or brow; the embodiment pure-land is exactly the mundane world where all sentient beings live rather than the states of chakras.

The tantric patriarchs mistake those states achieved by practicing bright-drop for pure-lands and mislead practitioners by teaching that the practitioners will achieve the state of dharma-body once they attain some state of the crown chakra. Hence, those tantric followers believe they have achieved the state of dharma-body, regard themselves as buddhas, claim their achievements, and thus commit severe deceptions. Such kinds of wrong teachings have significantly harmed tantric practitioners and should be removed from Tibetan Secret Schools. All gurus must think over this problem and take immediate actions to fix it so that they will not mislead their followers again.

The wrong view on regarding the bright-drop as the bodhi mind can be found in many places of ancient or modern tantric gurus’ teachings. Yogi C. M. Chen said:

As stated on Page 22 in The Great Seal of the Ganges, Tilopa said, ‘If one really leaves one’s mind and intentions, one can then master and hold the mind in the state of bright-drop.’ In another transcript, the same statement is translated as, ‘In order to get the really superior mind of no intention, one should cut off the root of mind and stay in the state of bright-drop.’ Those clearly indicate that the bright-drop is where Single-minded (Yoga) must securely reside. The secure residence of mind is another name of Single-minded. The saying of cutting off the root of mind provides enough evidence to support my emphasis that substituting the ‘bright-drop’ for the true-suchness or perfect enlightened mind is the most suitable explanation on the basic theory of the great seal. It well explains ancient people’s original meanings. [34: 776]

Yogi C. M. Chen mistakes the bright-drop for the true mind, the eighth consciousness, and wrongly regards the visualized bright-drop, which depends on many other conditions, as the true reality of the dharma-realm. Based on Tilopa’s heretical view, he proclaims that the bright-drop is the true and perfect subtle mind and advocates it complacently. Such a kind of action is exactly the same as many ancient Indian tantric patriarchs who substituted the worldly heretical practices for the true Buddha dharma, and had completely replaced it finally.

At that time in India, many tantric patriarchs substituted the heretical dharma for the true Buddha dharma and spread the heresy widely. Unfortunately, no body could stand out, refute their heresy, and defend the Buddha’s true teachings of the Alaya consciousness. As a consequence, it resulted in the ruin of the true Buddha dharma in India. The substitution of the eighth consciousness by the bright-drop is just like grafting the plum branch onto the peach trunk: The peach flowers and fruits will all disappear and the whole tree will become one that will grow only plum flowers and fruits. The tantric bright-drop theory is just like the plum branch which grafts onto the Buddhist trunk and tries to replace the Buddhist flowers and fruits with the tantric heresy. If no one could stand out and cut off all tantric branches, the genuine Buddhist trunk would blossom and fruit with heretical views. At that time, Buddhism will become a religion that has Buddhist terms only but with the heretical essence.

This crisis of replacement has existed since the appearance of tantric secret schools in ancient India; even in the future, the situation will remain the same. If no one dare stand out to refute their evil views and identify their heretical practices, the tragedy of Buddhism ruined by tantric secret schools in ancient India will happen again soon or later.

The Commentary of Original Praise and Diamond Verses on the Way and Its Fruits (Lamdre) of Sakya School wrongly states that practitioners can achieve the three-bodies and four-wisdoms of the Buddha ground through the practice of bright-drop and wisdom secret empowerment (refer to Chapter 8 for details):

It is stated in the praise for the merits and virtues of wisdom empowerments, “attaining the self-comfort of three-bodies and five-wisdoms.” This means one must rely on the pure body seal and three thoughts, use the greed fire (the internal heat and the greedy desire for orgasm during practicing Couple-Practice Tantra) to melt the pure part of realm in the body (to melt the pure part of semen) through equal induction of wisdom and expediency (equally inducing both the male’s and female’s lustful desires through practicing Couple-Practice Tantra), gather the pure part from all channels to the “Hum” seed-syllable in the crown chakra, and descent the bodhi mind from top to throat. By this way, one can eliminate the afflictions of pervasive attachments and inherent ignorance, and bring forth the little wisdom of happiness, called joy-wisdom. At the beginning of elimination, one can only cease half of them and realize the selflessness of sentient beings and the way of sound-hearer. And then, one should make the bodhi mind (bright-drop) descend from the throat chakra to the heart chakra. At that time, the perception of happiness, called supreme joy-wisdom, will increase gradually. The afflictions eliminated in this stage are ignorance and pervasive attachments, rather than dormant afflictions. By this way one can cease the first three afflictions except the fourth one, realize the selflessness of dharma and the theory of no self-nature, and cut off the way of solitary-realizer. One can thus attain the self-comfort of reward-body by enjoying these two kinds of happiness. When the bodhi mind descends to the navel chakra, the happiness of no discrimination, called leaving joy-wisdom, arises. One can eliminate all dormant afflictions and the way of bodhisattva, and attain the self-comfort of dharma-body by ceasing all the meaningless arguments of no discrimination. Next, when the bodhi mind descends to the secret chakra, due to the merging of both happiness and emptiness, “inherent joy-wisdom” arises and one can cease the eliminated afflictions, cut off the way of the great bodhi, and attain the self-comfort of embodiment because the bright-drop is not yet fixed. By these three-bodies one can attain the self-comfort. In addition, The Wisdom of Great Mirror means showing the transference of merits and virtues, explaining the self-comfort of five-wisdoms, and manifesting the essential nature of no-birth in all phenomena by means of the inherent wisdom of perceiving happiness and emptiness (the wisdom of perceiving happiness and emptiness during the lustful happiness of Couple-Practice Tantra). The Wisdom of Equality means realizing the equality nature of all samsara and nirvana. The Wisdom of Wonderful Observations means realizing the worldly bodhi mind which is always keeping the pervasive attachments. The Wisdom of Accomplishing Deeds means fulfilling the true-suchness. The Wisdom of Essential Nature of Dharma-realm means no discrimination. [61: 559-561]

Such “three-bodies and four-wisdoms” are completely different from what Buddha said. The three-bodies, as Buddha taught, are the combination of the eighth consciousness and the other seven consciousnesses. However, the tantric three-bodies, invented by Tibetan Secret Schools, are from the achievement of bright-drop.

Furthermore, the so-called tantric five-wisdoms, namely, the Buddhist four-wisdoms plus The Wisdom of Essential Nature of Dharma-realm, are totally different from the Buddha’s sayings and are invented by the patriarchs of Tibetan Secret Schools too. Exoteric Buddhist learners usually do not know the truth, and are easily deceived so that think tantric patriarchs are superior to Buddha because they have realized the Buddha’s four-wisdoms and an extra one. Tantric learners do not know the details either and falsely think that they have attained Buddhahood after fulfilling those heretical practices. Thus, they claim that they are buddhas and bring forth the arrogance to subdue exoteric Buddhist practitioners. It is really a pity that they hold such arrogance and do not know they have committed severe deceptions already. The more details on the errors of five-wisdoms will be illustrated in Section 11.5 later.

It is impossible to realize the four kinds of pure-land, to achieve three-bodies, or to attain five-wisdoms, through practicing bright-drop and Chi in the central-channel because those are totally unrelated to the Buddha’s bodhi wisdom. It is just like that one tries to cook sand for rice and can never succeed. In fact, the achievement of three-bodies, four-wisdoms and four pure-lands of the Buddha ground must be attained through the following practices: first, realizing the eighth consciousness, then, attaining the specific-phenomenon- wisdom, and finally practicing the all-seed-wisdom to achieve Buddha’s three-bodies, four-wisdoms and four pure-lands. Therefore, the eighth consciousness, thus-come-store, is the right cause for the merits and virtues of the Buddha ground.

Unfortunately, all ancient and modern tantric patriarchs wrongly regard practicing bright-drop and Chi as the cause of achieving Buddhahood. For those tantric practitioners who want to learn the true Buddha dharma, they should carefully review their gurus’ teachings and had better have the wisdom to identify the right practice from the wrong one. Otherwise, they will violate severe precepts and commit unrecoverable sins.

3.8 Eating meat for practicing inner heat

There are two purposes for tantric practitioners to eat meat: to achieve the concentration of inner heat and to strengthen the body in order to keep from ejaculating during practice. As stated by Yogi C. M. Chen:

The practitioners must eat meat for practicing the Chi of inner heat and the red or the white bodhi. The Buddhist (Original author’s note: Vajra-vehicle) tantric regulations on food are widely used by the practitioners who practice Highest-yoga Tantra. After they have fulfilled the first and the second empowerments, the visualization of deity and the practice of Chi to hold the breath for two minutes, they start to eat meat for health. Both the yoga and dakini practitioners must eat meat to absorb animal hormones to improve the concentration of inner heat. They must attain this concentration to keep their internal red or white bodhis unchanged. Therefore they are allowed to eat meat. [32: 1077]

The Buddhist learners of Great-vehicle generally understand that Tibetan tantric practitioners must eat meat because of no grain, vegetables or fruit on Tibetan highlands. But in fact, there are two important reasons for them to eat meat: to improve the sexual capability of practicing inner heat and Couple-Practice Tantra, and to sustain the achievement of the red or the white bodhi bright-drop. Even Dalai Lama still ate beef when he visited Taiwan where lots of delicious vegetarian foods are available. Therefore, the lack of vegetarian foods in Tibet is not the real reason.

The practitioners who practice inner heat need many animal proteins. For males, those foods can enhance their sexual capabilities so that they can stay in orgasm without ejaculation for a long time, and thus have the opportunity to realize the non-duality of happiness and emptiness. Due to this wrong view, the experienced diligent tantric practitioners always eat meat and thus violate the Buddha’s teachings in The Lankavatara Sutra and The Surangama Sutra.

Yogi C. M. Chen further said:

The practitioners who cultivate inner heat must eat the meat of yellow mice, spread the bile of big oxen (Original author’s note: Guru Norlha said that they are big wild oxen in the high cold mountain.) on their skin and spread the grease of yellow geese on their feet. [34: 532]

Tibetan tantric practitioners eat meat and, moreover, use the bodies of rare animals, such as the meat of yellow mice, the bile of big oxen, the grease of yellow geese, etc. as the practice methods in order to ensure their success of practicing inner heat and Couple-Practice Tantra. Nevertheless, such kinds of achievement are all heretical illusions and unrelated to the Buddha dharma. For those practices, they kill sentient beings, eat their meat, take their bile and thus fulfill the evil karma. How foolish they are!

In order to do the tantric practice, they look for many kinds of food to enhance their sexual capabilities as ordinary people do:

If you are not a yoga practitioner like Tilopa, you had better not eat fresh fish. You can go to any Chinese fish market to buy recently dried fish for cooking. This kind of fish contains asparagine and can avoid the degeneration of testicles, clean fat and enhance the sexual capability. The Polygonum multiflorum (a Chinese medical herb) has black color with the shape like a penis. In Chinese medical science, the black food can enhance the functions of testicle and kidney. The carrot has an orange-red color like blood with the shape like a dog’s penis and can thus enhance the functions of sex and making blood. On the first, second and third days of every lunar month, when the energy flows to the secret chakra (sexual organ), the practitioners should eat those kinds of soup, but not at dinner time. If they want to have sex, they must make it after 11:00 p.m. or later. [32: 1085]

For those females who cultivate Couple-Practice Tantra, the foods are different:

The similar regulations on food can apply to female practitioners if they are qualified and keep the same precepts. The only change is replacing this medicine with the medlar. Both the shape and color of a medlar are similar to a female labium. Eating it can benefit the female’s body and mind. … The dried oyster has the same effect on females. Each part of the oyster without shell is similar to female genitals; the external wraps are similar to labia majora and labia minora; the internal part is similar to a clitoris; the part outside its mouth is similar to the pearl of pudendum; even the hair-like stuff of oyster is similar to the hair around genitals. Eating the oyster, which has similar features to female genitals, can help a female on both her body and mind. [32: 1086-1087]

Such kinds of theories and methods of tantric practices all look for the fruition and wisdom on sexual desires. It is no wonder that those concepts, deeds and regulations on food all relate to sex. How can such weird and evil schools be named as Buddhism and confuse people? The elder and the venerable of exoteric Buddhism should all deal seriously with this thing and never support them in order to keep from the replacement of Buddhism by heresy. Otherwise, the genuine Buddhism will disappear soon.

3.9 Three kinds of samadhi realized by Tibetan Secret Schools

The dhyana (meditation) mentioned by Tibetan Secret Schools is in fact different from the orthodox dhyana of Buddhist samadhi. Practitioners can never attain the real samadhi by practicing tantric methods. Those methods described by Tsongkhapa all relate to offering, chanting and visualization, which have nothing to do with Buddhist samadhi. As stated by him in the Extended Treatise on the Progression of the Esoteric Path,

There are three kinds of attained samadhi: through the heavenly-body, through the heavenly-mantra and through the heavenly-true-meaning. The first one is rough; the second one is subtler than the previous one; and the last one is the subtlest. The samadhi arises in the body in the sequence from rough to subtle gradually. At the beginning, one should make one’s heavenly-body clear and stay long in union. One should frequently practice the intention of visualization so that the heavenly-body will become more and more clear. … Before chanting, one should achieve the samadhi firmly through visualizing the heavenly-body; it is the most important. [21: 103]

“The samadhi through visualizing the heavenly-body” mentioned by Tsongkhapa means one should visualize oneself having a huge heavenly-body which will be used as a buddha-body when one becomes a buddha in the future. Once fulfilling this visualization, one will achieve “the samadhi through visualizing the heavenly-body.” Such a kind of samadhi was invented by Tsongkhapa and is totally irrelevant to the real samadhi of the Buddha dharma.

Tsongkhapa further illustrated the “post dhyana” as:

One can attain the solid dwelling state mentioned in The Sutra on What Bodhisattva Wonderful-Arm Asks, generate the supreme joy on both body and mind, and bring forth the feeling of comfort through different rough or subtle concentration by practicing heavenly-body, holding mind, practicing wind, practicing fire, etc. The joy and warmth can then be induced, and one can thus attain the no-discrimination samadhi of strength, happiness and brightness. [21: 105]

However, it is definitely impossible to achieve the decisive nature of no-discrimination through the practices of bright-drop and Chi because they have nothing to do with the Buddhist no-discrimination wisdom, nor can one attain the samadhi through those practices because the bright-drop depends on other conditions and is irrelevant to the arising of samadhi. The dependence of bright-drop is also mentioned by another tantric guru as follows:

The nature of the bodhi bright-drop comes from the water-realm and one should practice the self-mindfulness and self-attachment on this nature. As stated in the praise, “The nature of the bodhi bright-drop is generated from the water element and becomes the fire element due to the warmth from motion.” That is the entity of blood. [34: 359]

Although samadhi is also a dependently arising dharma, it can only be attained after one gets rid of all sound, image and Chi. Nevertheless, the tantric dhyana totally focuses on the visualized image, Chi and bright-drop. It is by no means the real Buddhist four-dhyanas and eight-samadhis, which can be attained by the heretic too. With such tantric methods, one can never attain samadhi because the practices of bright-drop and Chi are in fact obstacles rather than the help for attaining samadhi. Although the tantric gurus proclaim they have achieved bright-drop, Chi and samadhi, their practices are irrelevant to the real samadhi. Please refer to Section 3.4 for the details on the reason why tantric practices cannot fulfill samadhi.

Even if tantric gurus can attain the heretical samadhi, the levels of samadhi attained by them will be very low because their practices relate to the lust of the desire-realm. According to the genuine Buddhism, the attainment of even the lowest level of the real samadhi, the first-dhyana, requires the practitioner to subdue (or eliminate) the greed for lustful desires. By contrast, all ancient or modern tantric gurus practice their “tantric samadhi” according to Couple-Practice Tantra, which all focuses on the sex. It is therefore impossible for them to attain the true four-dhyanas, eight-samadhis, four measureless minds, etc. Because they cannot realize those states, they define four-dhyanas, eight-samadhis and four measureless minds by themselves, and proclaim their achievements according to their definitions in order to gain people’s respect. In fact, they cannot attain any real samadhi at all. All tanric practices contradict the theory of the real samadhi and are based on the theory of Couple-Practice Tantra, which is only a sexual exercise in the desire-realm. Thus they can never possibly achieve the first-dhyana, which is beyond the desire-realm and can be attained only after getting rid of all sexual desires. In addition, if they have attained any super-natural power, the levels of the power must be very low since the levels of super-natural power attained depend on the respective levels of samadhi they have.

Some other outrageously arrogant tantric persons proclaim that the achievement of Chi-practice can surpass the seed-wisdom of consciousness-only. For example, both Chen Chun-long and Ding Wen-guang announced arrogantly on the Internet,

Because the study of consciousness-only has only developed till the stage of “the sixth and the seventh consciousnesses changing on the cause, and the fifth and the eighth consciousnesses perfecting on the fruition,” it must be further supplemented with the theory of the tantric Chi-practice. … Why do Tibetan Secret Schools emphasize Chi? It is because that is closely related to “the enlightenment and becoming a buddha.” … But Tibetan Secret Schools have made more detailed supplements to the study of consciousness-only. Tibetan Secret Schools think that “the calm mind” causes “the smooth Chi” or vice versa; both are interactive. In order to achieve “the calm mind” or “the stable state of the sixth consciousness”, it is better to directly use the method of “the smooth Chi” rather than lots of meditative sitting methods in exoteric Buddhism or secret schools. Therefore, “the smooth Chi” (Original author’s note: the balance among the red bodhi, the white bodhi and all kinds of energy) is the basis of “the calm mind” and also the basis of “the sixth and the seventh consciousnesses changing on the cause, and the fifth and the eighth consciousnesses perfecting on the fruition” of consciousness-only. [226: 9]

Both of them are totally ignorant of the Buddha dharma and explain “consciousness-only” by their imagination on “tantric Buddhism”. They misunderstand consciousness-only and wrongly explain the relationship between it and Chi. In fact, Buddha Sakyamuni has already taught the self-nature of four basic elements of the universe in the seed-wisdom of consciousness-only. From His teachings, we can know the relationship between the thus-come-store and four-elements, and thus further understand the essence of Chi and the cause of its arising.

Knowing that principle, I took only a few days to exercise the tantric Chi-practice during the writing of this book and could easily guide the Chi to the tip of my pestle. I found that the achievement of Chi-practice is only a combination of four-elements of one’s body and is still within the scope of life-and-death cycles. It in fact results from the successful operation of the eighth consciousness according to the intentions of the sixth (mind) consciousness and the seventh (Manas) consciousness. One will never succeed the practice by depending on only the mind consciousness without the self-nature of four-elements from the eighth consciousness. The Chi in one’s body is actually achieved based on the seeds of that self-nature, which are stored in the eighth-consciousness, the thus-come-store.

However, both Chen Chun-long and Ding Wen-guang or even tantric dharma-kings and so-called “reincarnated” great practitioners of four secret schools are all completely ignorant of this knowledge. Why would I say that? It is because that none of the dharma-kings, living-buddhas, rinpoches, etc. of Tibetan Secret Schools has realized the eighth consciousness, the thus-come-store. Without realizing the eighth consciousness, how can they realize the self-nature of four-elements in the thus-come-store? How can they attain the general-phenomenon-wisdom of prajna? Without having attained the basic general-phenomenon-wisdom of prajna, which any enlightened person has, how can they understand the more advanced seed-wisdom of consciousness-only? Without realizing and knowing all of these, how dare they arrogantly boast that their practices, which correspond to the mind consciousness, are superior to the seed-wisdom of consciousness-only? Both of them advocated on the Internet that the practice of “the calm mind, the smooth Chi and the stable state of the sixth consciousness” will enable practitioners to attain Buddhahood. They wrongly think that the ordinary worldly practice, which is superior to the seed-wisdom of consciousness-only, can achieve the Buddhahood fruition. They are just like the students of elementary schools who do not know algebra or geometry, regard the basic arithmetic as the most wonderful mathematics, and thus dare to devalue the mathematics professors of universities by ridiculing them on not knowing mathematics. It is really funny!

Although they boast that the practices of “the calm mind and the smooth Chi” will enable practitioners to achieve the state of “the sixth and the seventh consciousness changing on the cause, and the fifth and the eighth consciousness perfecting on the fruition,” all their views are still within the scope of the conscious-self of perceptive mind and will not really enable practitioners to eliminate the self-view at all. Without breaking the heretical permanence view and realizing the first-fruition of sound-hearer, how can they possibly know the prajna wisdom of the seventh-stay bodhisattvas (the lowest level of The Wisdom of Wonderful Observations and Equality)? Without the lowest level wisdom of the sixth and the seventh consciousnesses in the cause ground, how can they generate The Wisdom of Accomplishing Deeds and The Wisdom of Great Mirror from the fifth and the eighth consciousnesses of the Buddha ground? Thus their sayings are all illusions. Both of them have completely no idea of the basic knowledge of seeing-the-way in Great-vehicle, but dared to wrongly criticize the more advanced wisdom learning on the seed-wisdom of consciousness-only and to falsely talk about the way to Buddhahood. How arrogant they are!

With such ignorance of the Buddha dharma, they criticized me on the Internet with the following wrong views:

Thus we know that some practitioners who have proclaimed their enlightenment and have thus committed severe deceptions will get angry and publish books requesting for debate once they are criticized. Those practitioners requested the following pledge and published it in their books: “Anyone who loses in the debate must kill oneself for responsibility.” Such a hatred attitude of making other persons die contradicts the liberation state of all buddhas or bodhisattvas on “the dual operations of compassion and wisdom.” The persons who have that attitude must be unenlightened and we do not need to care about their arguments. [226: 9]

In addition, they downloaded the file of above passage, made a printed copy with the red note of “Page 135, The Wrong Views versus Buddha Dharma, by Pings Xiao” and mailed it to our association in order to influence someone so that he could stop me from “refuting the tantric evil and manifesting the orthodox truth.” That behavior just reflects their ignorance of the Buddhist regulations.

According to the regulations of the unconcealed hearing assembly for distinguishing right from wrong in ancient India, after the original proposer submits a statement of debate on the first meaning truth and invites anyone to debate it in public, anyone can freely go on the platform to challenge that statement if one has any different viewpoint. But in order to prevent any mischievous person from disturbing the assembly, the king will send an armed force to maintain the order and to carry out the regulations. Before going on the platform, the challenger must pledge that if he loses in the debate, he will either kill himself for taking the responsibility or become the winner’s disciple. After the debate, if the loser breaks his promise, the king will order the force to kill him. This is the exact regulations on the ancient unconcealed hearing assembly in India.

Although the challenger must make the pledge, the original proposer must make the same pledge too so that both sides will treat this matter seriously. Under these regulations, anyone must earnestly consider before one requests a hearing assembly or challenges other people, and thus the quality of the assembly can be maintained.

However, both Chen Chun-long and Ding Wen-guang did not dare to come to debate but made distortional attack on the Internet. They did not have confidence on their views and are afraid of other people’s laughing as well, thus slandered me on my action for protecting the right dharma. In fact, my announcement of making the pledge is not only for the challenger, but also for myself. Both sides are in exactly equal position and none can assure of anyone’s survival. It is also possible that I may have to kill myself if I lose. How could both of them claim that I want to make other persons die? It is irrational.

The statement of “making other persons die” with which they slandered me is only an excuse for them to step away. It is because I have another statement in the announcement that any dharma-masters who have been criticized by me can come to freely discuss with me in private without the request for making any pledge. But till now, both of them do not dare to come to debate even in private and only made the wrong and distortional statements with dishonest reasons. This proves that they do not understand the Buddha dharma. (Editorial note: None of the dharma-masters who were criticized have come to debate even in private till now. Some of them made excuses like “Pings Xiao is a layman and we disdain to debate the dharma with him.”)

History shows that dharma-master Hsuan-tsang once traveled in the countries of Indian and asked every king to hold an unconcealed hearing assembly with the same regulations. By such actions, all irrational evil sayings disappeared, the true Buddha dharma was protected and the genuine Buddhism flourished in India at that time. Can we say such behavior of dharma-master Hsuan-tsang as “making other persons die?” Can we blame him for violating the principle of “the dual operations of compassion and wisdom?” Can we say that he “did not get enlightened?”

Besides, after dharma-master Hsuan-tsang returned to China, he hung a banner with the words “The True Realization of Consciousness-only” high on the city gate of Chang-an, the capital of China, to express his realization level on the first meaning truth and would accept any request for debate from other dharma-masters. But until his death, none had come to debate with him. Can we blame dharma-master Hsuan-tsang for his “arrogance” and “making other persons die?” Not only dharma-master Hsuan-tsang but also Thus-come-sage of ancient India took similar action to protect the genuine Buddha dharma. Can we blame them for their right deeds on protecting the true dharma?

Both Chen Chun-long and Ding Wen-guang did not dare to debate the dharma either in public or in private, but instead they hid behind the Internet to criticize me with distorted fact to back them up, mailed the printed copy to one of our members and tried to influence him to cause problem for me. Such behavior is not open and upright at all.

In addition to their ignorance of the Buddha dharma, they do not know the real meaning of “the dual operations of compassion and wisdom” either. They use the tantric version of “the dual operations of compassion and wisdom,” which is only a state of sexual happiness during the couple practice, to praise themselves for the achievement. But, in fact, for those practitioners who want to achieve the dual operations of compassion and wisdom, they must first realize the eighth consciousness, the thus-come-store, attain the prajna wisdom gradually, eliminate the nature of ordinary beings, bring forth the unchangeable mind, learn the all-seed-wisdom of consciousness-only and attain the way-seed-wisdom. Then they must bring forth the great compassion to stand out to refute the evil views of Tibetan Secret Schools despite the strong influential power of these schools and rescue the people who are misled by those tantric theories. Disregarding their own lives, they dare to accept any challenge to debate the true dharma in public or private, eliminate the wrong thoughts, protect the right ones, and thus keep practitioners away from all evil tantric practices. Having attained the seed-wisdom, they can have the insight into the views and standpoints of all tantric dharma-kings and gurus. The persons who have shown the behavior as said above can really be regarded as “having achieved the real dual operations of compassion and wisdom.” By contrast, those dharma-kings, living-buddhas, and rinpoches of Tibetan Secret Schools are silent and cannot say anything about my criticism of their evil tantric theories. With the fear of debating on the true Buddha dharma, how can they be called “having achieved the dual operations of compassion and wisdom?” They are just like Chen Chun-long and Ding Wen-guang, who could only make distortional criticism on my back and would not dare to debate with me for the truth.

Furthermore, Chen Chun-long and Ding Wen-guang falsely state that the achievement of Chi-practice can lead to Buddhahood:

Why do Tibetan Secret Schools so emphasize Chi? It is because that Chi closely relates to “the enlightenment and becoming a buddha.” … The theory of Chi-practice is not complete yet by far. Ancient people tried to explain the enlightenment of breaking the emptiness by the theory similar to neurophysiology (the theory of the Chi-channel), and tried to understand which nerve (Chi-channel) makes this thing happen. It is really a great breakthrough since the ancient time to explain the sage’s enlightenment using the theory of the Chi-channel in neurophysiology. Chinese have lots of heritage of Chinese medicine and Tibetan Chi-practice. We should screen the gold from the garbage, set up more perfect theories and make them succeed. Maybe we can develop some new techniques to invent new Western medicine so that both attachments of self and dharma can be eliminated more quickly, and thus enable practitioners to achieve the practice faster. This will benefit countless people and honor our ancestors. Now Dalai Lama of Gelug School allows the best scientists around the world to conduct research work on the lamas who have attained inner heat. But the Buddhists in Taiwan still privately propagate that “the Chi-practice is a heresy rather than Buddhism.” [226: 9-10]

However, anyone who can really achieve the Chi-practice, realize the eighth consciousness and even attain the way-seed-wisdom, will understand that the Chi-practice is only a heretical conditioned method and has nothing to do with the Buddha dharma. The achievement of Chi-practice never enable practitioners attain any Buddhist wisdom—any wisdom of seeing-the-way in three-vehicles. As for the concentration state of breaking the emptiness, apparently, both Chen Chun-long and Ding Wen-guang have not realized it and hence totally have no idea of its absurdity. They do not know that it is only a state of concentration, wrongly relate it to the Buddhist enlightenment, and even ridiculously use neurophysiology to explain the state of breaking the emptiness. How foolish they are!

As stated in The Shurangama Sutra, Vol. 6,

Hence, Ananda, one can never attain samadhi without eliminating lustful desires. It is just as if one who cooks sand for rice can only get the hot sand rather than the rice. That is because sand is not the original cause of rice. If you ask for the Buddha’s fruition without leaving lust, the body is still lustful even you get enlightened. With such a lustful origin, you will have to transmigrate within three paths without ending. How can you realize the Thus-come One’s nirvana? If you want to make progress on the Buddha’s bodhi way, you must eliminate all the lustful senses on both body and mind, and eliminate the nature able to eliminate desires too. If there is any saying like this, it is the Buddha’s saying. Otherwise, it is the Devil’s saying.

Therefore, the theories to achieve “the non-duality of happiness and emptiness, and complete omniscience” through bright-drop, Chi-practice, Couple-Practice Tantra are all heretical illusions. Why? It is because all tantric practitioners practice the Buddhist way without eliminating their lustful minds and deeds. With such lustful origins, they will have to transmigrate within three paths without ending. How can they possibly realize the Thus-come One’s nirvana? If they want to make progress on the Buddha’s bodhi way, they must eliminate all the lustful senses on both body and mind, and eliminate their natures able to eliminate desires too. If there is any saying like this, it is the Buddha’s saying. Otherwise, it is the Devil’s saying. Thus the tantric practices of using bright-drop, Chi, Couple-Practice Tantra to attain Buddhahood are all the demons’ deeds. Such kinds of teachings are all the demons’ sayings.

In addition, if both of them deny the existence of Couple-Practice Tantra, which has been handed down orally from generation to generation in secret schools since ancient time, it will further prove that they are new in and ignorant of tantric practices. With such ignorance of Tibetan Secret Schools, how can they have the qualification to debate the tantric dharma for Tibetan Secret Schools?


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