The Affection Practice of Ragaraja

CHAPTER 24 – The Affection Practice of Ragaraja

Translated from Grandmaster Lu’s 51st book, Highest Yoga Tantra and Mahamudra 《無上密與大手印》

By Master Sheng-yen Lu

When I was traveling in Japan, I came across a statue of a vidyaraja (wisdom king, Myo-o in Japanese) which appeared unique. This vidyaraja had two heads. His left face appeared wrathful while his right face was loving. He was seated on a red lotus. I asked the abbot of the temple who this statue was, and he told me it was Ragaraja (Aizen in Japanese), a combined form of Acala and Ragaraja. The vow of this Ragaraja is affection and harmony.

Later, I learned that Ragaraja can appear in the form with two heads, as well as the form with a single head with six arms where each arm carries a ritual implement. His most significant implements are the bow and arrow. When he shoots at the hearts of sentient beings, he brings them love and passion. Ragaraja has three eyes, and sits on a lotus throne.

It was later, when my master transmitted the teachings to me, that I learned how this Ragaraja may appear outwardly wrathful, but is actually quite the opposite inwardly, where his nature is one of affection and love, surpassing that of all other rajas. Should any man wish for a girl in his heart, he may write the word ` female` and place it in the hand of the vidyaraja. If a girl desires a certain man, she may write the word `male` and place it in the hand of the vidyaraja, and her wish shall be fulfilled. This is attributed to the fact that the original vows of Ragaraja are largely connected with the aspect of love.

This is the reason that I once taught couples with strained relationships, those whose marriages had broken down, men who desired certain women, and women who desired certain men, to cultivate the affection practice of Ragaraja, through which they received swift and great responses. This mystical Tantric practice, together with the original vows of Ragaraja, produces the most supreme dharma power.

For the sake of the men and women in emotional distress, sentient beings engaged in love and passion, and couples who are separated and need to patch up their relationships, I decided to reveal the Sadhana of the Ragaraja Affection Practice:

(Image of Ragaraja)

The practitioner must first enshrine the image of Ragaraja. The description of Ragaraja with one head and six arms is as follows: His body is red in colour with three eyes depicted in a wrathful expression. His head is adorned with a lion’s crown; his five coloured hair knots extend to his ears. His body has six arms. The first of his left arms holds a vajra bell, the second a bow, and the third and lowest arm holds a lotus flower. The first of his right arms holds a five-pronged vajra, the second holds an arrow, and the third also holds a lotus flower. He is seated on a red lotus throne. The practitioner may find an artist to paint an image of Ragaraja, or get a sculptor of Buddhist statues to carve one.

(Offerings)

First, find the stamen from a red lotus and remove 108 strands from it as an offering. Also make offerings of other foods with a mix of the five tastes: sweet, bitter, sour, salty and hot.

(Preliminary Practices)

Perform the Fourfold Refuge, the Great Homage, the Great Mandala Offering, and the Four Immeasurables.

(Mudra of Ragaraja)

Form the Root Mudra of Ragaraja: The two hands have fingers crossed and inwardly clasped like a vajra fist, except for the middle fingers which stand erect and crossed over each other. Form the mudra first before entering into the visualization.

(Visualization)

Visualize Ragaraja descending from the light of the sun. Visualize flames surrounding the body of Ragaraja. Visualize your loved ones appearing within the flames. Visualize the arrow of Ragaraja shooting towards the hearts of the loved ones.

(Recite Ragaraja Mantra)

Recite the mantra of Ragaraja: OM MAHARAGA VAJROSNISA VAJRASATTVA JAH HUM BAN HOH

Recite this mantra 108 times, or 1080 times, counting the recitation with your mala beads.

(Entering Samadhi)

Sit in meditation and enter into samadhi. The practitioner visualizes himself entering into the heart of Ragaraja together with his loved ones.

(Dedication)

Once he comes out of his meditative absorption, the practitioner dedicates the merits and asks that Ragaraja keep his vows to bring fulfilment to the desired love and relationship.

(Great Homage)

After performing the Great Homage, take the 108 strands of the red lotus stamen combined with sandalwood incense powder and burn the mixture before the statue of Ragaraja. When you cultivate this practice, a miracle may happen after only a day.

(Special Note)

Some individuals may request a sculptor to carve a small statue of Ragaraja out of white sandalwood, about the length of one’s finger. You may enshrine the statue in your shrine, and bring it along with you when you leave the house.When you practice doing this, you shall find fulfillment in all things, especially earning respect from people.

During my cultivation, many sentient beings have requested my help, and am

ong them are many whose marriages had broken down, leading to tragedies such as extramarital affairs or lonely men and women craving for love. I sympathize with these people who experience lost love, and decided to publicly reveal this supreme secret Tantric teaching in my book. With this, I hope everyone who practices this method will benefit from it. However, remember that this practice is meant for those who are sincere and honest, and will not work for people with ulterior motives.

If a female who is flirtatious and married desires another male, this practice will never work.

If a male who craves the opposite sex desires another lady when he alread

y is married, this practice will never work.

If a prostitute with ill intentions desires to catch a rich man, this practice will never work.

If a male whose heart is fickle and whose actions are topsy-turvy, speaks of love but actually desires sex, this practice will never work.

Here is a verse:

Supreme as Ragaraja himself,
Whose merits and vows are kept firmly in his heart,
When you are sincere and your love is strong as gold and rock,
Pray to him and receive his pure light
Which quickly transforms a relationship to one of affection.
As the self-nature is dissolved into the realm of affectionate beings,
All hindrances shall be eliminated,
Closing the gap between those truly in love

I feel that problems involving love have become increasingly severe in our times. Many men and women are unfaithful in love, resulting in a high divorce rate throughout the world. Apart from citing incompatibility, the issue of beauty versus ugliness enters the picture. I once had a friend who was deeply attracted to the beauty of a woman. After they got married, he met another woman who was even more beautiful. What happened next was he fell in love with the second woman as he considered his wife no longer attractive, and kept his distance from her.

According to Buddhist teachings, beauty and ugliness are illusory, and must not be attached to. Most people will want to get close to a pretty girl, and this may bring multiple relationships into her life. On the other hand, we stay away from ugly looking girls and they may never get married. The buddhadharma says that though many women are born ugly, they may have good hearts and be very capable. These women are nuggets of gold among the grains of sand. Like the lotus flower that grows out of the mud, completely uncontaminated, their virtue is unmatched by most beautiful women.

The true buddhadharma is really depicted as `form does not differ from emptiness; emptiness does not differ from form`. It can certainly be described as `form itself is emptiness; emptiness itself is form.` Which is to say that ` when one sees that form is actually emptiness, one attains great wisdom. When one sees emptiness as form, one gains great compassion.` Thus, my writing of this article is based upon the great compassion of seeing form.

However, I want to teach sentient beings the way of great wisdom. We must know that any beautiful appearance is inherently empty, subject to the laws of birth and extinction. No beautiful woman can preserve her beauty forever. This is like the trees which, come winter, will shed their leaves, leaving their trunks bare and empty. During the days when I lived in Taiwan, I would often travel all over the country to help people find burial sites with good feng shui. Having seen and examined many places, I could not help feeling melancholy about what I saw. These beautiful women would eventually become heaps of bones. After the bones are exhumed, they are arranged and stacked in an urn. When you look at a skull with two hollows for eyes, with the nasal cavities and the opened upper and lower jaws, where does the beauty lie?

Hence, what appears as beautiful and hideous is really the same thing, and there is not much of a difference at all.

Regarding what is pure and impure, in the sphere of extinguishment of phenomena, where the self is non-existent, there is no differentiation between what is impure and pure, for these things are illusory. Those who practise the Highest Yoga Tantra and Mahamudra must understand this principle.

Our bodies will perish one day, and all that is attractive and unattractive boils down to the same thing. The only thing that matters is the soul. Those who practise Mahamudra shall attain buddhahood, and those who do not end up as ashes, and their souls are drawn towards reincarnation in the six realms by the pull of their karma.

Such is the reality where all phenomena arise and cease according to their respective causes and conditions. Knowing this truth, we must exercise compassion and wisdom concurrently.