“He who enters the dharma path without improving himself is simply a debt collector.
He who enters the dharma path without improving himself but with confused, foolish mind is just a Devil’s being.
He who enters the dharma path without improving himself, and continues to envy and wish, is demon's thought.
He who enters the dharma path willing to abolish his attachment, achieve his completed vow, aiming at the truth, the goodness, and the beauty is the builder of the right dharma. The dharma protector, having seen the Buddha for many times, vowed to offer to Tathagata.” –TV
Self-Enlightenment Sutra
- 4. The Primary Principle Period: Teaching the Great Career Vehicle (Mahayana)
One day, He had burned seven incenses and declared before the main Hall: “The Blessed one Reverend Sir, from now on, I will no longer indulge the disciples.”
From the Hinayana, He has been gradually guiding all the disciples to practice, examine, understand, and resolve all dharma, based on the courage mind to enter the Mahayana. No longer indulging the disciple means showing them the seed karma of attachment. Clearly, it belongs to the challenge sect of the immediate tradition.
“When a disciple is willing to get liberation through wisdom, he will face many challenges to overcome for the advancement. If the disciple patiently builds his virtue with advancement of overcoming challenges, he will enter the door of the gradual tradition.
The immediate tradition is a school, giving rise to wisdom, which is why the Buddha used to say: “If the disciple ceaselessly concentrates and creates himself the base of his fixed and attached virtue. He will create naturally, ignorance, without being useful to the liberation through wisdom, and will only receive the blessed reward of men and devas.” –TV
It is very difficult for the Hinayana, who used to practice for the blessed reward of men and devas, to advance into the Mahayana. In its true meaning, the Mahayana preached by the Supreme Pure King incarnating Lord Supreme Maitreya, is not easy to receive. Many disciples have studied and recited the Mahayana Sutra, focusing on rites, formality, praying and supplicating and still remained in the Hinayana.
“If the disciples eliminate their attachment that continuously based on the immediate tradition, they will intentionally or unintentionally get their wisdom, but may be lost in dishonest opinions and have to receive the seed of the three evils.”–TV
The Devadatta, in the time of the Sakyamuni Buddha, was a man of a refractory mind. The damages he sowed could not be avoided at the time when the Supreme Pure King incarnating Lord Supreme Maitreya had taught dharma. The Devadatta's descendants were getting into Phap Tang Buddhism of Vietnam too, together with the patriarchs and the saints at the time of the Buddha. Activated by their mind, they are as evil as in the past, using violence, fabricating wicked plans, and trying to create disorder within the religion. Their false steps will lead them to hell and suffering ceaselessly in the evil life.
“That is why the disciple has to precede parallel to the knowledge and the condition – focused effort - result, as well as the form and the nature to be able to make the right contribution to the truth. This is the supreme wonderful dharma subject of liberation from reality.
Similarly, the right way of taking medicine can cure the disease of stupidity. Taking medicine carelessly, more practice will cause you to become even more ill. The more you practice, the more you fall into immeasurable decadence.
For that reason, the patriarchs restrain and strengthen the dharma school in order to help the disciple progress through many lives and acquire the truth.” –TV
The patriarchs are controlling their disciples, not allowing them to follow evil faculty, and reminding them to maintain the good faculty. The dharma school offers a place to recall, guiding the disciples to maintain their morality and meditate in order to stabilize their thoughts. It reminds them not to think obscurely but to do it clearly, and helps them make their way through many lives to acquire the Truth.
“Therefore, all the dharma subjects are applying to pray to the Buddha, practice tranquility, create mindful benefits and wait for the Awakened One to guide them correspondingly to the spirit of the dharma subject, for retribution. He would classify them according to their capacity so that they may be paid back for their benefits from men and devas, the Srota-apanna, Sakradagami, Anagami and arahant and being able to attain enlightenment.” –TV
In the Dharma-Ending Age, the Supreme Pure King incarnating Lord Supreme Maitreya has clearly and meticulously taught the attestation of the patriarchs, both in the past and future. I heard: Sakyamuni Buddha has only ordained the Bodhisattva Samantabhavera, Manjusri, Avalokitesvara, Ksitigarbha and Maitreya for the attainment of the supreme truth enlightenment. The patriarchs are only attested from the awareness, great awareness to, at most, the ultimate awareness, belonging to the class of sravaka, pratyaka and arahants. The patriarchs have preached the Buddha teachings, and written about the unique career and the supreme career vehicle at the level of supreme enlightenment. Regardless of their proclamation and explanation, they were not yet attested by the Sakyamuni Buddha, and have to wait for the apparition of the Maitreya Buddha in this last period in order to be verified, checked and attested. During His 37 years of teaching the dharma, He has not yet acknowledged them, to enter the unique career not to mention the supreme career. Except the only Venerable Moggallana who’s later life was Master Hsuan Tsang in his unthinkable sutra questing journey, which will be presented afterward. He was one of the noble disciples of Lord Supreme Maitreya in the Final Law Period.
The patriarchs, from the rank of dharma protectors to the rank of venerables, all taught the faithful disciples to practice the integrity and correct their true nature to acquire the truth. They should wait for the Awakened One from the rank of the bodhisattva, maha bodhisattva or Maitreya Buddha to teach them the enlightenment by using the existent Buddha power to attest their rank. Until then, the faithful disciples could enter the constitution according to their high or low rank of attestation to be effective and efficacious, which is unthinkable.
Just like in a nation, only the Prime Minister, Minister, General Director or Chief of Province, appointed by the king or the Supreme Leader or the President, have the authority and power to carry out the function of, assuring the citizen peace and contentment with their occupation, according to the high or low assignment. All the others, though qualified and proclaiming themselves without authoritative appointments, have no true power. Therefore, it is very difficult to meet the Awakened One in the above spirit. The disciple who is in self-attachment can't recognize the Awakened One even though He is right beside him.
“The awakened man is a leader who guides by meticulously understanding the karma seed of the living creatures. He truly knows the special exigency of every sickness of the practitioners in order to guide them into eternal ordination.”–TV
Since the practice of the dharma in the Dharma-Ending Age is based solely on the sutra, through study with a high degree or the writing of many books about the Buddhist dharma. The disciple who truly wishes to be enlightened has to separate from his self, nothingness, and rethink the above teaching of the Buddha. This is very practical and useful to him and he no longer needs to reason, write or preach in his dream any more.
All His disciples, from the Mahayana upward are uniquely grouped, guided and none have been originated themselves. If they were, they would remain in the Hinayana and receive rewards in accordance with their wishes.
“Once being lost in ignorance and indefinite dream, you should follow the bodhisattva’s path and receive confidence, obedience, and respect, taught by the Buddhas, to practice. Without confidence, obedience and respect, you would be caught in the self-ego, and lost in birth and death. What I said here is not for my benefit, but for yours from now to posterity.”–TV
The disciple in the Final Law Period, who can’t realize the insight, cannot yet be enlightened. Regardless of how good his reason is, he will be lost in the dream without the hope of liberation and still creates the birth and death cycle. You should practice in compliance with the dharma subject conception, ‘life is just a dream’, in order to avoid the mistaken ego of ignorance.
“You should practice in accordance with the Confidence - Obedience - Respect spirit.”–TV
* By Confidence: You should have confidence in the teaching in order to improve yourself, correct your mind, annihilate stupidity and believe in the dharma subject under the guidance in order to be liberated through wisdom.
* By Obedience: Having confidence, you hear and understand more or less that you have to practice and make up your mind with a conduct-vow to carry out the teaching of the leader. That is obedience.
The fully confident and obedient disciple’s mind is developed, his knowledge is enlarged and he becomes more respectful. This may apply to the spirit of disciples trained for the liberation through wisdom in the Dharma Ending Age in accordance with the dharma canon path.
“If you believe a noble man to be a Buddha and show admiration and respect for him in order to request foolish things in your mind, you do not consent to receive the teaching or study the lessons to improve yourself. You are, therefore, not coming to the real confidence, obedience, and respect, and it is difficult for you to get true liberation through wisdom.
I wished that those who have practiced the dharma would carefully read this part of sutra, copying it for large distribution. This acts as a compass for the disciple to give up his illusive thinking and attain liberation through wisdom.”–TV
When alive, He had mostly taught and distributed the sutra, but few disciples tried to understand it thoroughly. Due to their ignorance, the disciples are prevented by the evil power from recognizing the sutra. If they can recognize it, they will evidently know its immeasurable value. Those who realize this would no longer regret secular matters and immediately give up their wishful, pleasurable and desirable life in exchange for meeting an awakened one and practice for liberation through wisdom.
* Scholars and taught men who have taught and written about the great career vehicle (Mahayana) and the unique career vehicle (Buddhayana), would you please consider whether Long Hoa Chief Monk Maitreya Buddha's teaching of the great career vehicle (Mahayana) is the same as yours?
This is an important teaching that He has given on the Mahayana. Here is what I heard and witnessed at the Central Assembly, at number 42, Hong Bang Street, Nha Trang:
4.1 Self-Improvement
At that time, inside the Main Hall, all the disciples were sitting and discussing the difficulties of making a living while practicing dharma. Suddenly, the bell rang, announcing the Long Hoa Chief Monk's arrival for the testifying of the Great Ceremony. All the disciples then solemnly stood up and waited for the ceremony to begin.
He was descending from his residence, accompanied by His attendants, the venerables and the dharma protectors to the main hall at the same time. He then sat on the canvas chair, which was ordinarily placed there for Him to rest and read the sutra. Because it was different from the ordinary rite, all the disciples were rather astonished, but they automatically arranged themselves in order and solemnly worshipped. He waved His hand for the disciples to sit down, and taught afterward as follows:
“I'd like to praise you for your perseverance. From the comfortable to the difficult circumstances you patiently and diligently train, not tiring of the formality and your confidence and obedience toward the teaching subject remains the best. Being born in the Dharma Ending Age, when mankind is in revolution, you are not as perverse as other people. The congregation and I, we still observe the principle of celebrating the traditional ceremony on the 8th day of the 4th month of the lunar year. This is the birthday of the Sakyamuni Buddha passed down through many centuries from the great antiquity.
In fact, our improvement is much more important than the proper formality of the ceremony and the worship in the practice of the dharma. It gives rise to the self, creating many contradictions, conflicts, and delicate arguments, making the disciples run after the false appellation. Therefore, the mind was distracted and the spirit lost even on the birthday of the Buddha, which was influenced by the difficulty of life. How can the dharma sutra be free from errors? It is quite absurd.”–TV
The Supreme Pure King incarnating Lord Supreme Maitreya has entered the right concentration of Samadhi, seeing and knowing everything very well a hundred thousand years ago. He has affirmed that it is wrong to be attached to the full moon to change the true birthday of the Buddha. He has continued to affirm the 8th day of the 4th month of the lunar year as the birthday of the Buddha.
“The Blessed One has to leave his royal palace in exchange for His self-improvement. He has accepted the suffering conditions to seek for the ultimate truth in order to save mankind. It is today, an evidence of self improvement rather than formality reform.”–TV
It is essentially for the disciples of the Mahayana to reform by themselves. It is necessary because they have to change their narrowness and pettiness into a generous spirit, which loves, and is concerned with helping others to reform themselves, and to join in the practice for liberation through wisdom. It makes one live more at ease and no longer chained by the evil power.
“The Blessed One still relies on the precious dharma of natural knowledge, not being constrained to live in the austerity of the being known... He then went to the foot of the bodhi-tree and sat down to meditate to attain the enlightenment. He told Himself: Don't put yourself into suffering and pray for the enlightenment. Don't damage your body because of the request for the noble fruit, which is too difficult to attain.” –TV
Through Insight, you can get the precious dharma of the natural knowledge. When a disciple corrects his nature and gives up his everyday bad habits, it is truly self improvement. At a certain point, his continuous efforts are no longer neglected and considered as the food of the vowed bodhisattva. He will suddenly feel fulfilled and the natural knowledge then appears. There’s no need for thinking and reasoning. The insight is the knowledge the right and wrong dharma and the recognition of his mistakes. When there are no more mistakes, we will clearly understand all dharma before us and around us.
“From then until today, He has left behind what He has trained and practiced through the years, the Triple Canon Sutra. He has helped to relieve the suffering and annihilate a lot of stupidities, obstruction and attachments. He went quietly from being- enlightened, being-cultivated and natural fulfillment to the insight.”–TV
The result of the improvement of oneself that is continuously maintained by the Blessed One is called the maintenance practice. He that has never neglected any of the dharma is called the ‘training practice’. Every dharma respected and practiced to completion is called the ‘conduct practice’. All of these precious experiences are taught to His disciples so they could maintain and practice them, forming the Triple Canon Sutra.
Living in the time of advanced science, we can't escape from the demands of the better living standard, which is beyond our existent capacity and engulfs us in materialism. This gives rise to the careless mind. If the demand for better living is not met, we feel disappointed, frustrated and hateful. The extreme wishes lead us to greed, generated stupidity, and narrowness, disrupting the suchness. No matter how long or how diligently we practice, we are still subjected to being practiced and being enlightened. By abolishing the suchness and enjoying what life has given to us, we shall be at ease and in peace.
“From the improvement of himself to the liberation and the vow of saving living creatures, the disciple is classified in the vowed bodhisattva rank. I'm reminding you not to be discouraged because of the poor life standard and neglect the practice. If you embed that wishful thinking in your mind, you just create sufferings for yourself.”–TV
Continuously maintaining the dharma conduct while not being flexible, open and tolerant to the evolution of all dharma progressing scene makes your mind easily hot- tempered and sad. Your wisdom will be difficult to develop and will only bring you suffering for yourself. Those who know how to exterminate the dharma in order to correct the living creatures’ nature themselves are determined to relieve the mind and body and vow to follow the bodhisattvas way. This doesn't mean giving up the dharma conduct, but sometimes we have to clear the dharma to develop our mind and to get the parallelism of wisdom and virtue. The Maitreya Buddha in the Final Law Period has reminded all the disciples:
“THE PARALLELISM OF WISDOM AND VIRTUE IS REALLY THE ORIGIN OF INSIGHT.” This is the vow of the Bodhisattva.
The disciple aiming at natural insight is guided and helped by all the past, present and future bodhisattvas. He will surely meet the Buddha.
“To clear through the liberation mind, you have to follow the example of the Blessed One, giving up the narrow mind in exchange for the generous one. You must remember that leaving behind present narrowness and difficulty leads to the attainment of the development.”–TV
The disciples, who yearn to be liberated, should diligently practice with utmost determination. Once abilities and merits are fully created, they will certainly be enlightened and relieved from the cycle of birth and death. Like the Supreme Master, who sacrificed all to seek the dharma, he has given up all his property and precious things and left without regret. He has gone from the narrow mind to the generous one, which is truly unique.
“Today, you meet me and pay homage to me. Isn't it coming from my usual honest words? I am always improving myself so I have the determination to lead you to true enlightenment and help you to get out of the cycle of birth and death. I know well what the true dharma is and how it can lead to true enlightenment.”–TV
One time, at the Central Congregation, I heard: “What is the true dharma?” The Lord asked.
None of us could answer. He has then pointed to a disciple and told him to answer according to his own knowledge. The disciple hesitated for a minute and replied:
“All the Triple Canon Sutras and teachings of the Blessed One are true dharma.” The Long Hoa Chief Monk sweetly said: “The Triple Canon Sutras and the teachings of the Sakyamuni Buddha are all true dharma, but when passed down to you, they are no longer true dharma. Why?
In the practice of the dharma, every thought, word, and act of yours is generated from your confused conception. The Blessed-One's sutra that you are learning, studying and writing leads to becoming enlightened. You practice according to your judgment, which results in being understood.
You have to seriously reform yourselves to get your true nature. The Blessed-One's sutra passed on to you then becomes the orthodox precious dharma.”
So, listen: ‘The true dharma’ is the dharma without attachment.”–TV
That is why the orthodox Mahayana disciples are vowing: Taking neither the wrong for right nor the right for the right. Such a practice is full of abilities and merits, and may directly lead to true enlightenment.
“I have myself lived in pain and suffering and tried to build up my merits relying on the suchness insight. Therefore, I am free from wrong reasoning, my teachings are all perfect and they neither strictly follow the sutra nor seperate from it. They provide a complete condition guide, which is the orthodox true enlightenment.”–TV
In His existence, the Long Hoa Chief Monk did not allow the dharma protectors and venerables to strictly follow the sutra when they preached, but they had to rely on their true nature.
During His journey of teaching the dharma in this saha world, He always asked His disciples to vow to resolve when they encounter all the painful and suffering dharma. Once resolution is completed, you are no longer in ignorance. The clear sighted solution was not inscribed in the Buddhist sutra, so it is called the unidentical sutra. Resolving all dharma to perfection, the formers as well as descendants have an identical point known as the orthodoxy, also called inseparated sutra. Since hearing, seeing and knowing are all dharma, everything in this secular word is connected to dharma. The disciples who could resolve righteously, roundly and clearly will get deep natural insight when reading Buddhist sutra and no secular brain can compare.
A disciple attaining righteousness is precious. He is truly happy 24 hours a day, which is unthinkable in the present and future. Facing difficult situations (all dharma), I resolve righteously that they are mine; it is the true mind and the orthodoxy. Wherever the disciple is, there is always peace and joy, no matter what life it is. The true enlightenment cannot be expressed in words.
“If you complain about the chaos of life and the world, you are naturally contracting the dharma precepts of severity and desire. You are putting up a barrier for yourself and also wish for liberation through wisdom. It's the same as carrying a heavy load, and not consenting to give it up to be comfortable. You keep on bearing it and wish for a light load, which will never happen.”–TV
When the disciple wishes to be enlightened and liberated from the cycle of birth and death, he has naturally to resolve all painful, difficult dharma, but not by complaining and praying to end that difficulty. Whatever dharma subject one follows, he must take the same way through the path of resolving the evolution of all dharma in order to be considered as orthodox Mahayana.
“You may not understand what I am saying now, because you may not have enough ability. You must keep on practicing, and don’t neglect it until you get enough ability and your mind is no longer creating more dharma and wishful thinking. Whatever the situation may be, it remains the food given to you by the liberation through wisdom.”–TV
The imperfect mind, which is still the mind, wrongly activated, will give rise to stupidities. If the disciple patiently and diligently resolves all dharma, he is on the right path of past bodhisattvas. The result of attaining enlightenment may be fast or slow, depending only on how soon or late the disciple improves himself.
“My words are only the “paper cake.” You have to rely on your abundant merits and the true cake will come naturally to you.
On the contrary, if you ignore my words and do not consent to rely on your abundant merits, you will eat only the “paper cake” and you will not enjoy any efficacy.”–TV
Self-Enlightenment Sutra
4.2 On the Merits
“The stained merits are the offering of clothes robes, incenses, flowers, fruits, and the building of temples to offer refuge to the Sangha. The stainless merits are the faithful practice of the merits. Most new disciples are still interested in the blessed reward of men and devas or the practice for liberation from the birth, and reaching the Western Paradise Pure Land. They are succeeding according to their wishes and based on their merits.”–TV
He is very much concerned with merits, and has taught His disciples. I heard: To build a stable house, we have to build a firm and strong foundation. The higher and heavier a building is the more solid the foundation must be to bear the building. Comparing life with the dharma, merits are extremely necessary and critical on the path toward liberation through wisdom.
As a little boy, He wanted one day to make offerings to the Buddha, but he did not have anything. He then took a glass to the well and gently descended the bucket to prevent the water from becoming muddy. While pulling it up, He avoided covering the bucket with His own shadow. He put the glass of water on top of his head and slowly walked without spilling a drop. After offering the glass of water to the Buddha, He stood there, admiring the Buddha’s image. He continued His teaching: Being poor, but faithful, you could still make offerings and have merits as well. All the Buddhas should have measureless merits to become the Buddha.
The experience showed that only the merits in the practice path might help to attain the Nine Classes of the Lotus Flower... every great stained merit, with its full timely meaning that you make, you acquire one class. Throughout the journey to meet Long Hoa Chief Monk, only the merits of diligence may lead to the result of the dharma. Preaching without practicing is just like a drawn cake, not a real cake.
At the time, when He was in a miserable situation, He lacked of necessary things such as food, clothing, medicine, and had no breath to speak. Many of His comfortable and affluent disciples seemed to ignore His hardship, keeping their eyes closed although they enjoyed a good living standard. One day, He said: “I was born in poverty, which is why the disciples’ offerings would have great value. It is from the fulfillment of the stained merits that you could really receive the stainless merits. The widely opened stained merits, with full accord of your mind, would truly give rise to the stainless merits.”
“There were disciples who were applying to enrich their merits, creating their basic ability and practicing for the liberation through wisdom. Having created abilities, they could maintain their meritorious deeds and offer immeasurable merits without saying or demonstrating anything.
The true disciple keeps his mind, not in sulking with others and outsiders, and yet diligently practices his meritorious deeds.”–TV
The disciples create their abilities, which is the endurance by having meritorious deeds and not being sulky. When blackened, you could maintain your merits. These are the stainless merits offered to Tathagata, which is the practice for the enlightenment.
“From the measureless donations to the precepts practice, diligence, patience all aim to help others. Complete and unconditional help given to others who truly need it, without seeking gratitude, is a meditating mind.” –TV
Speak softly when you make a donation and do not rely on your donor’s position to be authoritative. This is the precept practice in donation. When making a donation, you are giving your love to suffering people. This is called patience in donation. Making immediate donations to the right dharma is the diligence in donation. Making donations in due time when living creatures are in need, is the wisdom in donation. Making donations to accomplish your condition without hesitation and discussion is the meditation in donation.
The true disciple must know that there are precept practices or ethical behavior, diligence which is enthusiastic effort, patience, wisdom, meditation, and generosity in a donation; they are the ‘six paramitas’; the fearless donation is the mita.
Therefore, there are six paramitas in a donation. So the Mahayana dharma requests the practice of the Paramitas Prajna (Literally ‘Crossing over to wisdom’).
“From there, you can enter the path of bodhisattva practice in order to illuminate all natures of the living creatures’ natures. Creating the dharma dhatu is thus called the living creatures dhatu.”–TV
The dharma subject of the Buddha has taught Bodhisattva to practice The Six Paramitas: Four all-embracing virtues, cooperation with and adaptation of oneself to others, affectionate speech, self-profit, and conduct profitable to others.
The Mahayana demolishes stupidity and attachment to clarify greed. While the Hinayana, fearing the false arising of greed, dares not hear, see or know to try to annihilate greed. Being doubtful and wrongly wishful is not clarifying greed. Turn to your introspection and lighten your own natures to see your true nature together with that of other living creatures. There are as many living creatures natures in the ‘four species’ as there are in you. The only difference is that each person has more accentuation on one character than the others. Some people are very hot tempered, some are not hot tempered, but stingy, and others are more generous... each character gives rise to a dharma dhatu that remains from this life to the next life. Knowing the dharma dhatu well helps to acquire the dharma nature. The one who acquires the dharma nature is complete and can remember his past life. The ability to remember more, or less, of the past lives depends on the high or low level of acquisition of the dharma nature. Some of them are capable of remembering their past time when practicing dharma under the guide of the Buddha 2538 years ago. They are numerous in the Phap Tang Buddhism of Vietnam.
There are those who acquired divine eyes and divine ears, and knew their former lives perfectly, but were not as perfect as those who have acquired the dharma nature.
“In this world of living creatures, not only man, but all the others are caught in attachment and generate different species. The living beings, nature, man to fairy, deity and saint, all are being born and rotated in the cycle of birth and death.”–TV
Each living creatures’ species is attached to a behavior and generates a body with several aspects in the Three Thousand Major Heaven Worlds.
The dog’s dharma nature is to guard the house. Those who know its dharma nature are always cautious around the dog whenever they enter a strange house. The dog is impregnated with the behavior seed of taking care of the property, so it bites whoever trespasses. It is the fault of the visitor who doesn't know it, not the dog.
The cat’s dharma nature is to eat on the sly. He who knows that has to cover the food carefully. If you are careless, she will eat the food. The one, who doesn't know it and strikes the cat is wrong, not the cat.
The dharma nature of the gods is cleanliness, walking leisurely, speaking softly and keeping the house in order. They would not accept living in a dirty and disorderly place.
The deities’ nature is: loving, kind, and helpful with a hot tempered character. They will harm all those who contradict them.
Therefore, we know that every living creature is attached to a unique behavior and led by this behavior in whatever lifetime. If you diligently practice, but do not clearly know the origin of dharma nature, you are only speaking and preaching and not practicing the exact Bodhisattva way. You will be imprisoned in the interminable cycle of birth and death, which is why the disciple has to be guided by an awakened one ordained by the Buddha so he could attain enlightenment.
“The Awakened One can see throughout the universe called the ‘constitution’. The measureless world of living creatures is called the acquisition of the dharma body, or Buddha body.”–TV
Each behavior creates a world of living creatures, whose measureless world is the exact dharma body of the Buddhas. To acquire the dharma body, you have to practice gradually in the right way in order to be relieved of all dharma nature of living creatures. This way, you can reach the Buddhas’ world and penetrate the whole universe.
“Rely on the merits to recognize your dharma body in order to clearly know that dharma and mind are unified. You can then joyfully say that the mind, which represents the nature and the form, which is the dharma, are only one, and not two. How wonderful it is.”–TV
Hearing, seeing, and knowing are all dharma. After the dharma is relieved, it immediately returns to the mind. Therefore, the dharma and the mind are only one.
For example, facing a difficult dilemma, I am suffering. Once this sadness is relieved, it returns to the mind. Originated from the nature, the dharma becomes dharma nature. Falsely recognizing the nature not attached to it, it returns to the mind. Thus the dharma, the nature and the mind are only one, and not two or three.
We come to know the behavior through the form. For example, a man is walking and he is confused in speech. The confused form reveals a neglected behavior and form and behavior are only one.
The dharma, behavior, mind and form are only one. Though bearing different names, they are all originated from the mind. It is wonderful that the practitioner knows it well without separation. Thus, the insight of the true mind is hidden within the false mind. Once the false mind clears, the true mind naturally appears. How wonderful it is because the true mind is nowhere, but everywhere. By the same form, the same nature and dharma, with attachment, is false mind. Once the false is cleared, the truth returns. Therefore, the Mahayana gets the true mind through hearing, seeing, and knowing and does not strictly follow the sutra for reasoning. Wonderfully, the Buddhas have been entirely enlightened, so the bodhisattvas have deep attainment.
“At that time, merits based on virtue, which achieve the completed condition and the vow, are called merits offered to Tathagata. You should lean on Tathagata to thoroughly understand the dharma commandments and patiently avoid creating dharma. Is that the precious and unthinkable dharma?”–TV
Joyfully resolving a difficult situation in a virtuous and generous spirit, without complaint and hatred, are the great merits offered to Tathagata. Leaning on all dharma to resolve difficulties means: leaning on Tathagata with neither generation nor destruction of the situation. Leaning solely on the dharma is the understanding of the dharma dhatu.
Being patient and always keeping silent will not give rise to intelligence, and you would gradually lack of intelligence. Leaning on the dharma to resolve difficulty in the practice is the digestion of insight, carefully examining to resolve is the patience. Remaining diligent, with neither a hot temper nor silence, for resolution is endurance. Each dharma resolution is the mindfulness of dharma, and the mindfulness of the dharma is precise praying to the Buddha. You can then acquire patience to endure without creating dharma, which is the indispensable preliminary to attain the dharma body of the Buddha.
Without knowing the way to attain the patience to endure without creating dharma, you will never be able to penetrate the constitution of the universal, no matter how long you have been practicing.
“Each developed virtue has such a high value and previous successful practitioners went through it. The follower should try to practice it. As for me, a present perfectionist still leans on my merits and developed abilities, from the immature to ultimate enlightenment, attaining the unthinkable supreme enlightenment.”–TV
Before entering the Great Eight Pari Nirvana, the Supreme Pure King, Long Hoa Chief Monk incarnating Lord Supreme Maitreya's last word to me was as follows: “It is only by your merits that you can reach Buddha hood!”
During His life, He has directed and offered all his merits to Tathagata and built His useful work by that, winning the admiration from the Ten Directions of Buddhas!
4.3 On the Abilities
“The disciple should inevitably need abilities or labor, with the fervent and free will for the dharma, to overcome every obstacle from the external evil karma which separates and deceives you, in order to attain the expected true perfection.”–TV
Facing a difficult situation, the disciple should have the courageous mind to overcome it. That is the ability. It is by earnestly keeping firm your mind that you could realize all dharma which are false dharma. Because of the karma created by conception, the vow of the practitioner is often blocked or interrupted, and cannot overcome the situation that is the evil karma. You must be patient to attain the goodness and truth by following the bodhisattva’s path. Delusion is external. Although knowing the Triple Canon, you would always be stupidly separated and unable to attain the true enlightenment.
“Otherwise, if the disciples realize well that it is the karma consciousness from their thoughts, the karma power from their faculty, it is the clever external management based on the literature and conception, evolving upon the thoughts, sometimes considering ourselves to be enlightened, that is deceiving by the external. It is a waste of labor to practice in such a way, yet be enlightened, falsely lost in the external and entering into the wrong way.” –TV
Karma consciousness is the thought; it is also called the accumulated conception and actively moving in the Four Species. It creates an ignorant power that the living creature, the fairy the deity and the saint cannot escape from, thus it creates the karma power.
The karma power is very clever, delicate, and powerful. It can hear, see and know everything far away and ahead of time; it inhibits and prevents the living creatures, second rank, from making up their Bodhi mind to practice dharma. If the living creatures meet an ordinary monk, it let them live in peace, but when they were moving to meet a sacred one, a bodhisattva, or a Buddha, it will cleverly penetrate into their body to prevent or block and paralyze the living creature without letting them know it. Even the clever ones who know it will still be blocked from conducting the vows. The experience shows that only by meeting the Awakened One and showing confidence, obedience, and respect to him that you can be saved in your practice. Once the karma power is enframed, it will become the innate virtue called karma faculty. Even by numberless lives of practice you will not be able to detach this accumulated karma faculty.
Let’s take an example: a disciple is accustomed to praying and worshipping, that creates a familiar thought called Karma consciousness. If he could meet someone who tells him to correct his bad habit and manner thus improving himself, he will become rebellious. That is the rebelliousness generated from his thoughts, because it is different in concept compared with his previous habit of praying and reciting sutra. Once recognizing the advantage of the correction of his habit, he is then contravened from listening to the preaching and practicing sitting meditation, which is precisely the karma power. The disciple then neglects or gives up his unfinished practice, returning to the previous practice of reciting sutra and the praying. Thus, the karma faculty has already formed. During His time, many disciples who changed from the Hinayana into Mahayana failed in large number.
When He was alive, the total disciples who followed Him with application and registers have reached the number of 3000. Until the Mahayana period of 1975 it remains 200 true disciples, who continued to attend and receive the preaching, the others stayed home to recite sutra and from time to time paid Him a visit. They have stayed away from the hours that He has taught the Buddha dharma. They neglected whatever He had advised. Their faculty karma did not change itself, even with His help; they still remained disposed. Without creating ourselves the abilities, we could never be saved, because the destined karma has been formed and even if the Buddha is born, He could do nothing about it.
“In the dharma path, the disciple should at least have the cultivating abilities to conduct his vow of helping the living creatures in order to make the root-cause develop and to clearly penetrate into all the wonderful dharma.”–TV
It is the same with a student who is diligent in class, listening carefully to what the teacher said, doing well all his homework and asking his friends or his teacher for help in solving difficult problems. Once graduated he will get a worthy job, the student will become a good citizen and feel satisfied. There is not much difference for a disciple who practices for the liberation through wisdom.
There are some who do not practice and meditate, whenever seeing a thing conformed to his thoughts he considered himself to be the enlightened. That is a great danger, because they are entirely invaded by the external force that is the evil power, taking control of the mind without knowing it. They have to practice to clarify their living creature’s nature that is to help the living creatures to be able to escape from the external toxicity. Stop sitting and thinking. It is only by creating in yourself firmed abilities that you can acquire the truth. Such practice is the way of leaning on the vow of the bodhisattva’s path.
“The destroyed karma is decreasing in the Buddhist practitioner today. But they still depend too much on the external disturbance of the evil one from the state of mind from the consciousness to the conception. That is why in spite of the exhortation of the Sangha, and the Buddhist form of their practice, in reality, they do not know that they are tolerating external evil power, living and practicing with the outlook, which has accordingly a mixture of cultivation and full of dogmatic formalities.”–TV
When the Blessed One was born in India, the theology was popular and growing, they killed animals to worship deities and poor men were considered as slaves. He has taught them the law of cause and effect. Today, the killing karma is much reduced. True Buddhist disciples are no longer killing living beings. But the practice is not aiming at annihilating the ignorance, but only emphasizing on the organization, making the practice colorful and attractive, not recognizing their erroneous direction and their practice is covered with external power. The evil power is so clever and tricky that the disciple could not identify its true character. It divided the disciples into parties, and the followers lost their Buddhist essential background.
“Most of the disciples do not know it. They are aiming only at getting the position of venerable or high virtuous. They are consenting together to tolerate the external, practicing within their parties with their followers everywhere, making the Buddhism decrease its valuable true nature day after day, realization of the Buddha path.”–TV
As for the practice of the dharma in the Dharma-Ending Age, Long Hoa Chief Monk has seen that most of the disciples do not know anything about making clear their true nature in order to break up the invading evil karma. They are only concerned about the organization and title itself. They are letting in the external power reign. It divides the disciples into parties, struggling against each other and destroying the true meaning of Buddha path. They believe that is the liberation through wisdom.
“I am hereby speaking with the spirit of responsibility. The practice of the dharma is erroneously guided by the external thus most of the situation here is yet developed.”–TV
In the Dharma-Ending Age, He has spoken up to make the true disciples realize, aiming at the enlightenment not to emphasize the organization and formality, but to develop and improve themselves to help the society and the nation to live truly in harmony and happiness. His speech is representing the Three Dharma Elements and has gotten the ordination of the Sakyamuni Buddha.
“There are also disciples who are actively and seriously practicing, trying to correct themselves to break up the karma, relying on the sutras as golden speech. Unfortunately, their knowledge is still limited, likely to show off their provisional consequence from a temporary practice and they consider themselves to be able to know all the dharma, even the ones who have only acquired their emptiness and believe themselves to be enlightened.”–TV
In the Dharma-Ending Age, Buddhism not only lost its orthodoxy, but also is considered as negative. As a matter of fact, Buddhism is very positive, helping the living creatures to live a practical and active life. The titles of venerables and high virtuous are only the given names, they should not be complacent and rejoice it, but we have to break up the evil power, which is invading their mind. The title is not the acquirement. Accumulating the firmed abilities and eliminating the evil power is the acquirement. The emptiness is not the acquirement. It is far, too far from the enlightenment path.
“The emptiness apparently has many levels of attainment, from the being enlightened to the actual enlightened. From the secular philosophy to the emptiness of the deities and the saints are all still maintaining the external manifestation. Because of the external manifestation, the Bodhisattvas have to practice through many lives, penetrating dharma dhatu, carrying out their vows, examining their inner self, directly insight the exterior, and aiming for enlightenment according to their faculty in order not to be mistaken by the external that forms the low and high grade of attainment, by the birth of transformation and the being born, the natural born and the creation thus achieved the liberation goals.”–TV
He has taught about the frequencies of emptiness of the ones who attained, I briefly heard as follows:
The living creatures practice the destruction of dharma to get emptiness, the emptiness of no-hearing, no-seeing and no-knowing. This kind of emptiness is very dangerous and fatal.
The Fairy chooses a mountainous, tranquil and clean place to establish their heavenly dharma. This kind of emptiness is still born from the dharma dhatu; because the body is protected by the practice, nourishing their body by the purity. For a period of time, they become vigorous and have a longer life than the other normal living beings, but it is still subjected to the birth and death cycle at a certain limit.
In fact, living creatures are always mistaken; making believe that it is true, which is only formed by virtual image. It is only by heartfelt and faithful desire to build up your abilities, aiming at the result and being taught by the Awakened One, the bodhisattvas and the Buddhas that you could escape from this emptiness.
For instance, the Master HSuan TSang who did not reside in his temple, practicing to the end of his life, but has gone to foreign countries to quest for the dharma, enduring the bitterness, hardship, sufferings and happiness. Until he has eliminated all his living creature natures, he then has quietly sat down to translate the sutras perfectly to its true meanings of the Buddhas.
Facing closely with the reality, he had his mind free and generous, so his translation was exact and conformed to the Buddha spirit.
The essential thing to a Buddhist follower is to make a great vow to build his abilities. If he is inclined to his self interest, stingy and worried, not interested in others, he will not have enough abilities to succeed. He neither practices nor vows and he neither has ability or goal. Wishing for enlightenment, but not willing to rely on emptiness for creating the practicing and vowing ability nor activity and mobility. No matter how long you have practiced, you will get an isolated emptiness.
For instance, the Milarepa La Ma of Tibet underwent so many difficulties to make his living creature nature completely eliminated, thus making his vows and founding his place to accomplish the true originality. Practicing by renunciation until the old age, living in a tranquil isolated place so that you could attain enlightenment, is needless.
The practice of the dharma, the understanding, the knowledge, and the wisdom, is not liberation. Liberation has the characteristics of liberation. Therefore, there are many levels of attainment. The gods and the deities are born by transformation. Living creatures are born due to their karma power, called “being born”. If they have a noble and ascendant life, with a generous mind they would be born in the heaven world. The Enlightened One gives birth to himself because the consciousness karma. The defilement karma and the faculty karma no longer control him.
When we are in confusion, the Buddhas have taught us about the non-ego according to our deep and superficial merits. Having the conscious self all over from the awareness to the enlightenment, since their practice cannot yet clarify their true nature, many are attached to the emptiness and fallen into the non-perception.
Fairy and the emptiness one are still being affected by the external; the achievement ironically is not yet the liberation goal.
“Your bodies have stored thousands of masters who have taught you in various periods, preventing you from accepting my teachings and refusing me. Consequently, you could not yet receive whatever I have taught you. If you have a clear direction with firm abilities, reducing the barriers, overcoming obstacles in every period so that those masters could one by one leave, and reduce in number, you at the same time are able to receive what I have said. After these recommendations, He has turned to Maitreya Buddha and attested Him as a successor, called the actual Reborn Maitreya Buddha.”–TV
Thousands, millions and countless thoughts talked and everlastingly repeated. With the strong evil power, they make themselves to be the master of the disciples so the latter could not hear what the Blessed One has taught.
They cleverly manipulate and try to prevent your practice by creating all kind of barriers. Once a barrier is overcome, then another is created, repeatedly. You must truly recognize and know them thoroughly to be able to win this external evil power. This is very important to your success of the attainment path. Whenever you eliminate or reduce the evil power, you then could receive the teaching of the Awakened One. Because of these difficulties, the Blessed One has ordained the returning Lord Supreme Maitreya Buddha to endure the external, to move through every predominance, and to teach the living creatures to practice dharma during this Final Law Period. Those make millions of our internal stupid masters gradually come out and go away. Similarly, the Blessed One has taught the disciples to practice in the past.
When there is no more surrounding external evil power, the disciple, only then, could truly hear, see, know, and yet thoroughly understand the evil power. At that time, you only need ‘A word, straightaway to comprehend the Buddha, immediately to acquire enlightenment.’
“Wonderfully! The Blessed One was concerned with the future generations. He has known well that only the great power could acquire the full capacity to resist against the invading external.”–TV
The Blessed One has known that in this Dharma-Ending Age only the Powerful Lord Supreme Maitreya is able to relieve the wrong path of toxicity. He is the only one who has sufficient power. It’s a fact, we can see that there are some who have claimed by themselves to be Buddhist Masters, the Buddhas, but are unable to escape from evil power. Indeed, it is by meeting Him in this Dharma-Ending Age that we could relieve that toxic wrong path, which is completely covered. The proven fact is that He has lived in the fire hell, but He has won over the Mara power.
“The Powerful Lord has then made use of the form, sound, smell, and taste without being polluted, leaning on the external to enlighten.”–TV
The dharma subject of The Lord Supreme Maitreya is penetrating the form, the sound, the smell, the taste, the touch, and dharma without being polluted, in order to understand thoroughly the contraction of birth and death of the external. Facing, understanding and resolving perfectly the form, the sound, the smell, and the touch, that was the way of practicing with complete abilities of the great career vehicle (Mahayana).
“The great power is not only for living beings of the Four Species in the three thousand universes, why? Because the great power understands well the great mysterious factors that have been laid into the haversack, thus He has the power of relieving exogenous toxicity for faithful believers who practice for liberation through wisdom.”–TV
He has returned to the world in this period! During 37 years, He has taught, sealed and attested a number of faithful Buddhist disciples who have previously met Him. They have made up their minds and are relieved from wrong path toxicity by Him, but they are only a few in comparison with the 3000 true disciples practicing at the Vietnamese Buddhist Dharma School.
In reality, I have already witnessed. The disciples, who have met an awakened one without making up their minds to practice for liberation, would not be relieved. Having met, but not realized the value just keeping on praying for the blessed reward from men and devas, they will still remain in the cycle of birth and death. It is true that not everyone could be relieved from the wrong path toxicity. One day, He said: The Blessed one has recommended Him that living creatures' minds and thoughts, in the Dharma-Ending Age, are as fragile as a thin clay casserole, you have to handle with care, avoiding firm shock. Otherwise, it would easily be broken.
He has then sealed and transmitted to all disciples in the Dharma-Ending Age to clearly know that the toxic wrong path invasion included: Karma consciousness, karma faculty, karma defilement and karma Impediment. They are all called the fetter.
Not yet known and understood, that is the ignorance.
Not yet penetrated, that is the moving nature, or dharma nature.
Not yet succeeded in the practice, that is the dharma body.
Not yet been relieved and still attached, that is the dharma precepts.” –TV
Karma defilement: The seed nature of the species, impregnated for many lives, forming the karma, which is attached firmly to living creatures. They could not resolve and release it themselves.
For example, a man with stingy and miserly habits wanted to be rich. The Buddha had then taught him: He needs to make donations to open his mind. Of course, his stingy and miserly habits would be offended. The man does not believe it for fear of wasting his wealth. Therefore, his mind is not opened and he holds his miseries from life to life - that is the karma defilement. The seeing, the hearing and the knowing from practicing without opening the mind would not be practically useful. In the presence of contrary things, the karma impediment would denigrate and detest it. An overlooked error also creates ignorance and is called karma impediment. The karma consciousness and karma faculty have already been previously explained.
* “Not yet known and understood, that is the ignorance.”
The disciple who has not yet known and understood thoroughly would not know well the ignorance by himself; he needs the help from an awakened one who would show him the favorable and unfavorable to be cleared through confidence, obedience, and respect. Only the Buddhas could perfectly eliminate ignorance.
What is the way of practice to eliminate ignorance? If we are seeking clearness and brightness, it will be the clearness of consciousness, not the true clearness. We have to see clearly our error, our mistake and our impediment. Practicing that way daily until having an adequate senses of the ignorance, and suddenly we intuitively recognize the ignorance. Intuitive recognition of the ignorance means there is no more ignorance and we naturally get clearness.
To the disciples who are confident, obedient and respectful, the Supreme Pure King has given serious teaching. At night before going to bed, they review all the activities throughout the day. Every deed, action and word is carefully examined. Gradually, they recognize and eliminate their bad habits, cruel characters. Later, they are checked and challenged by the Chief Monk. That is why a great number of disciples who are not truly practicing have given up.
- Living creatures have the ignorance of living creatures
- Sravaka has the ignorance of Sravaka
- Pratyaka Buddha has the ignorance of Pratyaka Buddha
- Dharma protectors have the ignorance of dharma protectors.
The understanding of the clearness to be cleared is at different levels, different depths. Therefore, there are countless different kinds of insights. You would be frightened, escaping away and unable to understand when hearing Him teaching on the ignorance of the Bodhisattva rank. It is indeed very difficult to comprehend.
He has skillfully and unthinkably utilized the dharma to clear the ignorance for the faithful true disciples. He has scrutinized, blamed, scolded, driven them away and even stroked them. Those who could endure it would be cleared. And the bystanders who are joyful and detached, not getting rebellious and take notice of those who are blamed and stroked, would see and understand that is the wisdom. But most disciples while being bystanders are not yet cleared; they often criticized, disliked and avoided those who have been cleared for their ignorance and their mistake. Those who blamed on mistakes will always make mistakes, they have never understood the ignorance thus they will not be cleared ever. It is just as cooking gravel and pebbles and expecting it to turn into rice.
Once penetrating one door, we could use it as the momentum to advance to the interior, opening all things by observing them, and finally everything at its level will continue to be penetrated, how happy it is!
He has often told us to correct our nature, be joyful and detached to make our mind empty. When we are truly confident, He has criticized and showed us the error. If we got angry and left Him, then remembered His words on the joyful and detached, and with repentance we understood that our bad habits have been justly criticized, and we went back to Him; He then continued to skillfully manage in compliance with the true disciple's wishes.
* Not yet penetrated, that is the changing nature, or dharma nature.
When a disciple is rebellious against something, the hostile nature will immediately appear. The nature remaining in his body is the dharma nature. The dharma nature is tolerant and impartial. The dharma nature is exactly what the nature is without omission, because its nature is fearless. One could not understand thoroughly just by reading literature. The dharma nature neither obstructs the purity, the impurity, the wrong and the right nor considers the time and the place. It acts only upon the wishes of the Four Species to serve them satisfactorily. Therefore, by whatever manner of practice, the devotees could always get what they wished for. The devotees know that the dharma nature is the wrong, but if they are wishing, it would often yield to them, making the devotees believe it to be true and be delighted.
Every world has a scene that is moving and creating a familiar sphere. Like an impoverished man who is accustomed to using mediocre furniture, when having money he would not replace these items with the expensive ones. It is his familiar sphere that has formed his dharma nature.
Each species live in its sphere, and would not be satisfied in another one because it wants to be suitable with its ambiance, that creates its own dharma nature. The one hindered by the ignorance often complained and lamented, he did not know that he has been satisfactorily provided by his dharma nature.
Seeing your own nature, that is nature-enlighten- nature, thus you will know the mobility of the Dharma nature. The devotee, who is not greedy and without individual nature, can recognize the mobility of dharma nature. Therefore, he would have to vow and practice the salvation if he was attached and wanted only to do what he wished. He would not be able to know the dharma nature, and keep on running after the cycle of birth and death. That is the wrongful thought.
Once the wrongful thought is eliminated, one could see clearly the nature of each world. He no longer either complained or lamented and soon acquired the equality of nature and mind. He has then understood all dharma and could be free from mistake, no longer running after the cycle of birth and death. Not leaving his wishes is a wrongful thought. Having a wrongful thought is being unequal, how can he practice successfully the dharma and have the equality of nature and mind knowledge?
Being an awakened one, he would truly know that the wrongful thoughts have led the living creatures and the second rank to run ceaselessly in the six paths, making the disciples remain in the living creature’s world and sink in the cycle of birth and death. Therefore, to save living creatures, one has to lean on one’s wishes to lead them to know how to be free from the wrongful thought. By talking of its destruction, there would be nothing more to practice. Leaning on it in order to resolve it is the best way of understanding the dharma nature.
“Like a cruel man who is accustomed to butchery and carnage, he then has the dharma nature of creating his familiar ambiance and has to be inflicted with the sufferings in hell correspondingly and without omission.” –TV
Thus, from the ones with good faculty to the others with evil faculty, they are all served adequately by the dharma nature according to their wishes.
* Not yet succeeded in the practice, that is the dharma body
All the dharma are Tathagata, but the dharma body is distinguished separately because the lack of success in the practice.
Hearing, seeing, and knowing are all dharma. The dharma is originally the mind. The body is just a form or dimensions. A polluted form with its ignorance becomes rebellious.
That is why the body has metamorphosed into countless of dharma forms, which are erroneously thought to be the true ones and according to their wishes. There are the Three Thousand Great Thousand Worlds, the blessed rewards of men and devas, and the acceptance of hungry devils, animals, hell, majestic land and pure land...since, these have become each of appeared body and dharma body. The appeared body, also called the incarnation, is the dharma world. The confusion is called the living creatures’ world. For those who practiced by seeking their true nature and are enlightened, their living creatures’ world is homologous to their dharma body. That is the acquirement of the dharma body.
For example, analyzing a drop of seawater, it adequately has all the ingredients as the ocean itself. If it drops back to the ocean, it will dissolve immediately and be mixed in the seawater, no longer separated from it. A living creature who knows how to live collectivity without individuality and personality nature, could communicate with the universe that is the Ten Directions of the Buddhas, and integrates himself with the Tathagata Buddha as one. Therefore, the correction of oneself, the giving up of bad habits and annihilation of pollution and fetter is very necessary in the practice of the dharma. It is by having the Abilities to save yourself that you could preach the dharma and save other living creatures. If you are unable to correct your living creatures’ natures, how can you preach the dharma and correct others? It is just talk for the fun of it only.
If a devotee preaches the dharma and practices it from his long learning and study, so could any scholar, engineer, doctor and professor. What does he surpass to be the master of living creatures, how could he understand that the Buddhism is supreme above living creatures and science?
It is easy to talk about correction of one's nature, giving up one's bad habits, but even a high virtuous individual, a 70 year old venerable, might not be able to do it, if he does not know the founders, the bodhisattvas and the Buddhas' way of practice. The Final Law Period is almost over and the true dharma is appearing. It is essential now to speak frankly in seeking the way of resolving the transmigration and the cycle of birth and death. It is wasteful to neglect a lifetime as human beings. In reality, it is not easy to be reborn as a man if you still have ignorance. You would only be reborn as man after having acquitted your speech debt.
* Not yet relieved and still attached, that is the dharma dhatu
From hearing, seeing and knowing, we created our own self, called the differentiation that forms the dharma dhatu. Dharma dhatu are numberless and all of them have the same characteristic of being attached to the cycle of birth and death. Dharma precept is a restriction, a frame of attachments, also called the living creatures’ limits.
“The Buddhas could speak what they hear. The living creatures could only speak and they hear of their own account. The Buddhist Master has laughed quietly to Himself after writing that and He has continued: Living creatures could never understand what the Buddhas said, because living creatures conceive that what the Buddhas said are all Buddhist limits. What they can hear are only the living creature limits, how could they perceive to hear the Buddhas' words.” –TV
Living creatures are still receiving many bad characteristics and they are wrongly thinking. Because not realizing their idiocy, they could not hear the teaching of the Buddhas. They need only to hear a word of the Buddha to be enlightened. Living creatures have the conception of their own personality. Therefore, when they hear, it is the mind that living creatures hear. They could hear the Buddhas' words only after having annihilated their dharma precepts and no longer being attached.
The Buddhas are constantly liberated from limits and annihilate all kinds of attachments, while living creatures are unceasingly creating new problems. If the living creatures are willing to learn and practice the teaching of the bodhisattvas and Buddha, liberating their limits every hour and minute, they could certainly hear the Buddha's words.
Living creatures are always polluted with the praise and the blame, the good and the bad, the clean and the dirty, changing unceasingly from one dharma limit to another... They could hear the Buddha's words only after having been freed from attachment and softening their character. Because of their idiocy, they have been caught in the belts of dharma limits. It is only the Buddhas; the bodhisattvas who could teach and guide living creatures to know how dangerous the dharma limits are so that they could liberate themselves.
“Speaking to this point, the Buddhist master has looked at the spreading cloud, the falling yellow leaves, and the doomsday of posterity. He has then slapped his thighs and stood up, rubbed his hands and knitted his brows, thoughtfully. He has come to His bamboo bed and lay down, not yet speaking.” –TV
For teaching the true Buddhist disciples, He is a Buddhist master who has known meticulously the past and future events in the Three Thousand Great Thousand Worlds. If He has spoken openly and showed clearly to the people in this Final Law Period, they would not only refuse to hear Him, but also show a disdainful attitude toward Him. So He said: If I predict what is not yet coming they will condemn me to be reactionary, but if I speak of what happened they would say I'm speaking after the fact, thus the best thing to do is to keep silent.
In fact, the dharma precepts of the cruel ones are the dharma limit of destruction. For those of great virtue who are respectful and listened to know which is the right and which is the wrong, they would probably meet the reborn Buddhas and bodhisattvas who are very helpful for the living creatures.
Even the Buddhas, the sacred born in this world have to endure the sufferings that are the last dharma of this Final Law Period, so does this mean doomsday? The more advanced science is, the more satisfactory man’s life is, but the end of science is the doomsday. Why? Because, the dharma limits of the learned ones are running after their profits and inventing countless weapons of mass destruction. There are atomic bombs, bacterial bombs, hydrogen bombs and nuclear bombs. The pollution of the atmosphere, which has an influence on the weather and climate, is also the sign of the doomsday. Accepting and legalizing homosexual marriage is a sign of the doomsday.
These intellectuals know very little or do not know about the wisdom of the Buddhist master. Science is running after the developable intellectuals in the continuity of birth and death. The Buddhist master has diligently improved himself, spoken only about the truth, lived actively and effectively, improving living creatures, and bringing about true happiness, the truth, goodness and beauty to living creatures.
“Suddenly a butterfly from outside flew straight into the room. Not knowing the way out, it was floating about in the air. The Master has looked at it and a cheerful smile came to His lips. He said: “Butterfly, you are the very dharma limit. You have the dharma limit on your flying wings, on your eyebrows, and all your six legs, which are dharma limits. You are flying up and alighting on the flower, exploiting its nectar. Owing to the flowers, you are pretty and beautiful. He has then stood up; using the paper fan He has guided the butterfly to fly out!” –TV
Every thought is a dharma limit, every utterance; every act creates a dharma limit. Speaking about the butterfly, which is a dharma limit. Each part of it has countless dharma limits. Its wings are dharma limits, its long antenna; each of its parts is dharma limit. The dharma nature of the butterfly is the flying up and down in a floating manner, different from that of the birds, which are of the same, dharma limits. The sucking of the nectar of flower, which cannot be exploited by other species, is also a limit. The dharma nature of a pretty butterfly admired by many people is also a dharma limit... Coming from an egg on a branch of flower is also a dharma limit. The fixed dharma nature of the butterfly is precisely its appearance, its activity, and its kind of life unchangeable in all times. It is very difficult for the devotee to know all things without being polluted with dharma limits. The fully enlightened is needed to show and to solve it, in order to emerge from the chasm of the dharma limits.
“Dharma limits are originally a nomination, but nomination is after all a limit. Knowing thoroughly the limit, one can realize that it is not dharma limit, the nomination is the dharma limit, truly the dharma limit.” –TV
When a butterfly is floating with all its parts it is called butterfly, but its six legs alone are not named butterfly, nor are its antennas and its wings. Butterfly is exactly a nomination including all parts called the formed limit. The learned one called it the butterfly, as a nomination, the dharma limit, but once separated, it cannot be called the butterfly dharma limits.
Through the example of the butterfly, we can see that countless dharma limits are only nominations, but living creatures are disputing, struggling for them and they are continuously caught in the cycle of birth and death.
“As it is not the world, but it is the nomination of world, it is truly the world.” –TV
For example, the globe with its mountains, rivers, houses, and gardens... is named the world, but it is only a nomination. Because when we said “house” it is not the world, the mountain alone is not named the world, nor are the forest, the rivers. All of these are named the world. They are not themselves the world, but its nomination is the world.
The immeasurable dharma limit is a common belt including all the species, human beings, the fairies, the deities, and devas. Unable to get out of this belt, the Four Species are living in the cycle of birth and death.
“Only the Buddhas could control the dharma limit. Being caught in this belt, people are in the living creatures’ limit, and being in this living creatures’ limit they were living in confusion, not in awareness.
The Buddhas skillfully entered and exited out of the dharma limit while living creatures up to the Sravaka could not cross it. They are usually sunk in the dharma limit. The rank of Pratyaka Buddhas and arahants know the dharma limit, but they are not free from it. The bodhisattvas are free from dharma limit. Only the Buddhas who know well the dharma limit could enter and exit out of it with authority, without obstruction. But those who remain caught in only one limit are still in confusion.
Unable to resolve only one limit, one is still caught in the regime of Buddha limit. ” –TV
In this immense universe that contained the dharma limit belt, the disciple who has claimed by himself to be Buddha while one more dharma limit is left is not yet achieved. That is called the Buddha limit. For example, the Devadatta with his malicious behavior, though entering and exiting out of all dharma limits. However, every time solving the dharma limit, he is accustomed to use his malicious behavior. Even becoming Buddha, he is only in the Buddha limit, called Buddha by nomination and assigned to teach the descendants of maliciousness rank. He is not the fully enlightened Buddha. Though attaining the supreme enlightenment, but solving all things in the spirit of maliciousness he is still caught in the Buddha limit called also Pratyaka Buddha.
Those, who attained the supreme dharma, but practice only the easy dharma, giving up the difficult one, though becoming Buddhas, are only the Buddha limit. Others, attaining the supreme dharma, but not practicing adequately and completely all dharma limits are also the Buddha limit.
During his existence, the Lord has said that, the immeasurable difficulties are: Only one of one million disciples attaining the supreme dharma could freely enter and exit out of the dharma limit and achieve the noble Buddhahood.
There is in fact only one Maitreya Buddha not two. He was living in the fire of hell, enduring and overcoming all things so those living creatures could satisfactorily practice the dharma and attain enlightenment.
“The Buddhist master has experienced and surpassed this turning point of dharma limit, and He has matured out of the dharma limit from His outstanding spirit, from His consciousness store, which has lighted His consciousness.” –TV
Most of the disciples are joyful and live in peace in presence of favorable dharma, but when there is unfavorable dharma, they could not see clearly the disturbing seeds. They often give up in the presence of difficulties and could not overcome the dilemmas of unfavorable dharma. The consciousness store contains all the seeds of the good and the evil, the beautiful and the ugly, the pure and impure. Realizing well all dharma, and being able to distinguish between right and the wrong, good and evil is the most rational and appropriate resolution, relying on the consciousness to penetrate living creatures’ natures, more deeply penetrating their thoughts to find out and to create the appropriate dharma limit in each circumstance.
For instance, when He was making His debut to practice the dharma, His family was very poor and in great difficulties. For Him, such a supreme venerable, who has not even a place for teaching of dharma, or a table to inscribe the sutras, all the livelihood activities must be set aside while He was teaching. What a hard dilemma, and He had to observe and examine all his inner seeds natures, which sometimes pushed Him forward, sometimes discouraged Him (the consciousness store). Finally, He chose the most appropriate way, at that time, to resolve (the consciousness) until comprehension, by preaching the dharma at first to His relatives, then to those of His acquaintances, patiently, diligently. Day after day, there was one then two, three... faithful disciples following Him in the practice. There were thus a lot of daily Buddhist works (maturity of the dharma limit) which were unavoidable and irreversible: A dharma school was thus formed at home.
It is much easier in the pagodas, which are thought of by the people as a place sacred and tranquil for practicing which they often come to visit. Cultivating as a layman is like opening a road, deforesting, establishing villages and hamlets comfortably, what a heavy work!
“By the non-attached consciousness, there will naturally be progression from one dharma to the other, without dharma limit.” –TV
* Once the dharma school is established, if there is circumstance we should accordingly resolve with sweetness, rigorously and wisely, that is the non-attached and non-dogmatic consciousness. Every dharma in progression is generously resolved and there is no more immobility. Without conservation, without attachment, without immobility, without passive knowledge and with abundance, it brings about insight, resolving everything accordingly to its nature, freely passing from one dharma to another. In these conditions there would be no more dharma limit that is either attached or separated from the sutra. That is the path of the Buddhas.
“The Buddhist master has experienced this condition. He has based only on His will to clear up all things. If you were not able to make use of your will, you would never know what the origin of the dharma limit and the karma is.” –TV
He has overcome the most difficult time of the dharma limit many times, released toxicity from His body. He has wisely utilized diligence and patience to clarify the dharma limit, resolving satisfactorily and reasonably the most difficult time of one’s life. Being negligent, careless and discouraged, you will not be able to resolve profoundly and adequately the limits. Even an atom left means the karma is left, because you have to release all the dharma limits to be free from karma.
If the dharma limits are not released and dissolved, the karma would develop. Once the karma and the dharma limit dissolved, you would be free from confusion and ignorance, and once the confusion released there would be no more ignorance. Practicing to dissolve ignorance would bring it to an end. Dissolving confusion through wisdom would put an end to the confusion.
“The fully faithful disciples, not having a great courage, are relying only on their conscious mind to practice.”–TV
* No matter how faithful and fervent a disciple could be, if he were not concentrating to resolve a situation where the all dharma are difficult and in a presence of crisis, just kept on praying and supplicating, he would not be conscious of all dharma. His mentality is confused, his thoughts are disturbed and he is not precisely orientated. Such a disciple would have difficulties to know the dharma limit; he often lives with his constantly changing thoughts - that is living in confusion of the crazy consciousness. The intelligent man would bravely resolve the difficulty with morality, leaning on the expressed thoughts in order to resolve it perfectly.
For example, a man suffered day after day from his ulcerated abscess. The wise would go to see a doctor to be treated. The doctor examines the wound and orders the surgeon to operate the abscess. For those who bases only on his will, being afraid of the painful operation, he refuses the treatment. Therefore, when the wound becomes more and more severe, the patient would inevitably die. But for those who are clever enough to accept the pain to be operated on, cares for and receives the medication treatment according to the recommendation of the doctor, he would have been completely cured. The latter knows how to rely on their conscious mind and has good judgment to obey the guide of the learned men to clear himself. He would get well. It is the same for practicing; you should rely on your conscious mind, carefully listening to your body and the Awakened One’s guidance in order to attain the liberation through wisdom.
“Those who know how to use their consciousness store to light their karma consciousness are those who already have the courage, which is resulted from their merits; without merits means without development of courage.” –TV
The disciples who know how to clear up the good and the evil thoughts themselves are those who know the progression of the karma consciousness. Those who have a strong will and are determined to lean on it to resolve it are among the rare ones who recognize and realize it from within. They are truly brave to oppose against the external Mara-power. These men are esteemed highly on the path of liberation through wisdom.
Leaning on one’s joyful detachment, one has the merits of Tathagata and all dharma are widely opened, the mind is no longer stingy and miserly. It daringly offers without hesitation, venturing, and worrying about tomorrow’s occurrences. One suddenly has the insight of courage; hence he makes up his mind to follow the Awakened One to practice for enlightenment. Therefore, if there weren’t merits and sacrifices, there would never be patience and courage. Practicing with an opened mind, you would have patience and courage
Patience and courage are necessary to be fearless, self satisfied. They are essential for advancement, dissolving the dharma limit on the Buddha’s and the bodhisattva’s path of practice. If there were no patience and courage, there would be no attainment.
“The Buddhist master thinks over. All dharma are insubstantial; one could only recognize its insubstantiality after having overcome it and looked back. Without practicing, one could not know the insubstantiality from the truth.” –TV
* Practicing by entreating the truth you could never find the truth. First of all, you have to consider all things to be false and temporary, in the present, in the past, not truly permanent. They are impermanent, appearing and disappearing, continuously revolving and changing. Everything from the perceptive to the non-perceptive has to endure the impermanence. So, all things are rhythmically determined in the birth and death cycle. It is by ignorance that we believe them to be permanent.
From the formation to the destruction, they are always in accord respectively with the four stages: Formation - Existence - Destruction - Nothingness in the impermanence. Try to pass over the falseness without regret in order to come to the constant permanence, avoiding the mistake of being joyful from the progressing impermanence of dharma that is the false knowledge, to attain the truth of no-birth.
For example, a highly ranked officer entrusted with the authority over everybody is happy and comfortable, having beside him his attendants, the highly ranked officer and his relative are very proud. But when he is in misfortune, losing position and authority, his relatives would be all sorrowful, blaming and lamenting for their poor fate.
Through this story, we can see that living creatures are always living in the impermanence dharma, they are glad to be successful, and sorrowful when defeated. Reunion and dispersion, closeness and separation, these are always evolving from the beginning of time to the present and also in the future. It is originally constant permanence and there is no birth and death. By confusion we do not see that it is unceasingly progressing and believe it to be true, so we are attached to live in the cycle of birth and death. If you know that it is falseness, but believe it to be yourself, you are then under control and attached. Until, you are not under control and led by it, the falseness becomes the truth.
“The Buddhist master has to improve the defect on the way of practice rather than practice for the advancement in the Buddhahood. Why? Because not yet having the compassion, will, and courage and the faith, practice, and vow, how can you attain the legitimate worship of the true principle or the deep eminence of the virtue conduct to reorganize the pure land?” –TV
* As the Lord has taught, here is what I heard: The improvement of the defects means to review and correct the imperfect natures of the species. It is a simple thing to say, but courage and strong will are needed to overcome all dharma with a perfect character without being controlled by the Mara-Power. If you are not yet faithful in yourself to resolve it with virtue through practice, not yet being resolute, carefully vowing to resolve all the limits in your body, it will be difficult for you to be aware of the legitimate path of the Buddhas of Ten Directions and of Three Lives.
If you were not cleared and perfect that means you are not able to save yourself, how could you save others? How could you be free from the Mara doctrine? Resolving all things with virtue, conformable with yourself, and beneficial to others, is a high virtue. This leads to peace and Purity. That is the Pure Land.
“The Buddhist Master truly and completely knows well. A complete Prajna Wisdom and a serious attitude in the practice are the most important things for those of great will and great compassion to follow, leaning on their great vow to realize and break up the belt of dharma limit.”–TV
Those who realized clearly the resolution of all dharma are at ease towards all things. They are those of Prajna wisdom. The true disciples always turn inward seriously to review and examine themselves, never being self satisfied, but faithfully seeking the Awakened One to be completed. By just a word, a skillful act, they could enter the ocean of awareness, communicating with the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of Ten Directions. They are living a life, but concentrating all to the practice of the dharma, considering it to be an essential daily food.
They have sufficient great will and great compassion and attained leisure through their vow of practicing. Those who are so generous are called those of great compassion. No matter how difficult and bitter it may be, those who diligently and patiently practice dharma are called those of great will. Those who are resolute to improve their defect in order to be beneficial to themselves and to others, no longer crawling with species nature are called those of great vow.
It is by concentrating to practice, without useless words, immediately censuring every dharma and clearly resolving it, which is the basic path of the Mahayana’s practice, one could certainly break up the densely covering belts of dharma limits.
4.4 There Are Three Ways of Detecting Dharma Limits
“The first way: Detecting dharma limit by thoughts.”–TV
The starting point is thought. Each thought is a dharma limit. It is necessary in the first step to sit for meditation in order to detect the coming and going thoughts in the body. The cruel thoughts are the obscure ones; the healthy thoughts without bitterness are the bright ones. A further step to the penetration of the thoughts is the comprehension by which one can see more clearly the coming and going of the thoughts in the body.
The thoughts are unceasingly changing. It is the beginning of the cycle of birth and death. Therefore, every hour, every minute in a day, the thoughts come and go. Those are numberless dharma limits. In practice, once reaching the end of the rise and fall in our thoughts, one could hear and see all the beginning of disorders, which are rightly the eternity perception. Concentrating, observing to lighten it, that is the meditating thought. The meditating thought is used to judge if the disciples strongly focus. That would create supernatural power. They, therefore, would be in the fiction and still living in the dharma limit.
Deities, fairies are all caught in these fixed thoughts and fallen in the dharma limit, unable to be free from life and to resolve the cycle of birth and death.
“There are also three worlds of devas which become the Three Thousand Great Thousand Worlds up to Dragon Man. Eighteen heaven worlds are managing the secular world. Each world, each domain is in general the world of thoughts. Because the difference in the level of retributions, and consequences of the previous existence, which results in differences in ideals that are reborn, there are countless varieties of the limits of the Tathagata Store.” –TV
* Living creatures are different from one another by their high and low class, each class is a separate world, also called a domain. Each domain is constituted of thoughts. From the heaven world to the secular one, each represents a framed limit. The difference in the nobility and common, broadness and narrowness resulted in several kinds of rewards and punishments. Making up one's mind to practice for complete liberation through wisdom will bring about the direct retribution of the Buddha body. Direct retribution of one's previous existence or results of one’s deeds, all are created and wished by the living creatures themselves, it is the very Tathagata dharma. The Tathagata dharma without differentiation from all seeds is exactly the Tathagata store. Each store has its dharma limit called Tathagata eye store or Tathagata store limit.
It is very difficult to achieve enlightenment without practicing the Tathagata dharma daily, but only emphasizing on the learning of the Buddhist dharma, strictly following the sutra. How difficult the path of practice for liberation from birth and death is.
The result of the practice of dharma is just what the practice is in the beginning. You should necessarily practice without formality and fixed thought. You should be forwards to attain the spontaneous form for emancipation. Therefore, the starting point is very significant. You will be satisfied at the end of your life in the same manner you have thought in your practice without guidance of the Enlightened One, who would guide you to follow the path of Buddhas and bodhisattvas.
“The second: Favorable and unfavorable acts create dharma limit.”–TV
The act is typical of a high or low class and each act is also a dharma limit. Every class has its own act with its invariable characteristics.
According to the good and bad act, there is favorable and unfavorable dharma limit. There are some who tried to help living creatures by their good acts, but they do not correct their own character, making others impregnated with their bad nature. For example, they worship the Buddha, admire the Buddha statue, and are on vegetarian diet, but in presence of a difficult situation they are unable to control their hot temper and everyone around him feels discontented.
There are some who preached the dharma like a Buddha, but having a favorable situation they intrigue to make a profit for themselves and secretly do evil things to others. Not caring to correct the opposition between the theory and the practice would also create a dharma limit. It would be difficult to attain enlightenment as long as there is the difference between nature and form, which is not one yet.
“If the consciousness store is not yet unified with virtue and conduct, how can one attest the attainment?”–TV
The consciousness store is truly the original good and evil nature; it belongs to the nature while virtue and conduct belong to the dharma form. If nature and form were not unified, the disciple would still receive the results of his usual impregnated deeds. That is the reason behind the existence of Mara, devil and Devil Buddha.
There are some who know well the Buddha dharma, but are attached to the no obstruction, being hot tempered and deceitful which are harmful to their peers, to the honest and innocent believers who follow them in the practice without the fear of bad consequences.
The Buddha Fairies also know well the Buddha dharma, but they act so nobly, avoiding the rudeness and the dirt, but are also attached and could not be free from the dharma limit. Therefore, they would never attain enlightenment to be truly Buddha.
“The act is the symbol of the most recent former life which is reborn in this life.”–TV
Character and behavior are impregnated through accustomed acts in the career, friendship, and family. The truly successful disciples can know clearly the former life of living creatures just as they are walking, standing, laying, sitting in the four stages, just by observing their acts and their language in the present.
Therefore, the most essential thing to do for the Awakened One is to guide faithful believers in how to dissolve their dharma limit. Secondly, he has to create love and respect among the faithful believers around him to prepare for them a dharma limit of good cause, so that they could receive the blessed reward from men and devas, avoiding the destination of hungry devils, animals, and hell.
Those who are clever gradually try to dissolve all dharma, being patient in his good cause, not exploding suddenly. Once having sufficient abilities and merits, they would acquire the dharma patience of no-birth and receive thoroughly the dharma limit, clearing up the dharma limit of no-birth and bringing about true happiness and peace to the clever disciples.
Even an awakened one, who does not know well the dharma limit that is his original aspect, would have not satisfactorily completed the three bodies.
“The third way: The eternal original form of the dharma limit.”–TV
There are countless species, each species with its special and fixed form different from the others and invariable for generations. For example, man, though Eastern, Western, Southern, Northern, always has an invariable original form. For animals like cows, buffaloes, horses, each species is born with a fixed form, invariable through generations, which is called the eternal dharma limit.
Disciples, who attain the complete combination, liberating from dharma limit are very rare. They have perfectly achieved, without omission, the four bases of sympathy, the six perfections, the compassion, will, and courage and the condition, focused effort, and result. Some of them consider these to be very ordinary and familiar, but in reality practicing this knowledge is very difficult.
We believe by confusion that the form is destructible. In reality, the Four Species remain intact through millions of years. The birth and death, the death and the birth are succeeding each other eternally. The Mahayana believers have to rely on the dharma limit to practice, dissolving the dharma limit, escaping from the dharma limit belt and understanding thoroughly the dharma limit.
At the time of the Blessed One, He has frequently taught and explained the dharma limit belt to the bodhisattva rank, but He has only created a precept whenever a monk or a nun has made a mistake, to prevent them from repeating the offence. Therefore, at the end of His time, there have been only 250 precepts for the Bikkhus (appointed monks) and 348 precepts for the Bikkhuni (appointed nuns). We have to practice and cultivate these precepts to avoid falling into the three ways of evil in order to receive the blessed reward from men and devas and have to wait for the rebirth of the bodhisattvas and Buddhas who would teach us the dharma limit belt.
4.5 “The Wonderful Dharma.” (AbhiDharma Pitaka)
“Do remember: For each period, there will be the appearance of one Buddha, and what the Buddha said is exactly the words in the Enlightened Lotus Sutra considered as the SadDharma Pundarika Sutra to be remembered and recited. There is nobody who could say the Lotus Sutra nor pretend to be able to explain it.” –TV
By the time of the Blessed One, 2538 years ago, upon the Buddhist calendar, the society honored morality; most of men lived honestly. Knowing that, the Buddha has concentrated on teaching the flower of dharma nature in conformity with that time. He has made use of hearing, seeing and knowing in life to explain the flower of dharma nature to help the Four Species to cultivate in a wonderful practice called the SadDharma Pundarika Sutra.
On His return, Lord Supreme Maitreya was reborn in the scene of the Dharma Ending Age. He has also known well the extreme toxicity of the flower of dharma nature, awakening and teaching wonderfully, without omission, to the Four Species. Therefore, there is also the SadDharma Pundarika Sutra in this Final Law Period. As a result, many disciples do not see and know the rhythmic movement of the flower of dharma nature in this rebellious Dharma Ending Age. They have impracticably preached the Lotus Sutra of the Buddha in accordance with their study; it is not the current living dharma. It is the strict compliance with the sutra without explaining its meaning which has slandered the Buddhas’ Three Dharma Elements. Each lifetime of Buddha has its own SadDharma Pundarika corresponding to the life that meant neither leaving the sutra nor strictly following it.
“I have made use of it to guide, showing the way of the Supreme Karunaundarika Sutra step by step, which is the path experienced previously by the bodhisattvas, the Buddhas and now by the Four Holy Nobles, and all attestations of the practice are ordained through the Supreme Karunaundarika Sutra.” –TV
The Supreme Karunaudarika is a sutra preached by The Blessed One to the Dharani Bodhisattvas. Lord Supreme Maitreya was now guiding the bodhisattvas in the practice to enter to the constitution of Buddhas. Those who are diligent could hear the voice of the Buddhas, of the dharma, of the monks and the sound of serenity, of non-property, of perfection, of non-possession as well as the sound of no-birth no-extinction, of great kindness, of great compassion and of ordination, which are full of wonderful voices.
In this Dharma Ending Age, the Supreme Pure King, Chief Monk of Long Hoa has taught, adequately the way of practicing according to the Supreme Karunapundarika Sutra preached by the Blessed One to His Four Holy disciples. Today, He has gotten the same success. The four holy disciples have ended their sorrow, peacefully and joyfully living with a calm mind, free from birth and death, free from all ties without leaving any unfavorable dharma.
Though Lord Supreme Maitreya has now attained the Great Eight PariNirvana, His Buddha-Power full of great compassion, of great will, and great bravery has still remained over all, helping the walking holy disciples to get the power of diligence, of observing all dharma: good, super good, the power of Samadhi, the power of meditation and the power of Prajna mind.
“For those who are with a sincere with earnest heart, but feeble minded, unable to dissolve the confusion, He has directly showed and recited the sutra: The Buddha preached the Amitabha Sutra with the objective of helping those who diligently recited the sutra to be able to access the pure land, showing that according to the root cause of guidance, there would be attestation of attainment through the Karunapundarika Sutra.”–TV
* For those who are faithful to the Buddha, but do not practice to dissolve all dharma, are attached and rebellious in presence of unfavorable situations, they are erroneously clinging. The Buddha has taught the diligence in praying Amitabha Buddha to be reborn in the pure land, according to our abilities and merits. For example, a disciple who is completely absorbed in reciting sutra, supplicating and praying before... the clay statue of Buddha without correcting his nature, dissolving all dharma, would be reborn after his death. Then paying his debt, he would return to a place where the temples worshipped paper and clay statue of Amitabha, at a certain age like before. That is the fruit of his vow, according to his faculty of practice, without accessing the pure land to meet the Amitabha Buddha.
You could only meet the Amitabha after having attained Buddhahood through practice. That is what the practitioner has to notice. There are some who have practiced for a long time in a temple and expected at the point of his death the Amitabha would show him a lotus throne and believed in himself to be a Buddha. That is quite wrong.
“In the Amitabha Sutra He has taught, He has skillfully and openly spoken that the establishment of one's true nature, the construction of one's mind, the practice of one's vow would lead to success as follows:
The Buddha has reserved the Amitabha Sutra to the Mahayana believers to dissolve all dharma and to clarify their own nature in the construction of their generous mind, resolutely dissolving through practice and conserving the true dharma.” –TV
* * *
“Praying to the Buddha, adoring, thinking of the Buddha, the mind should not be clinging to the thought. Not clinging to false and obscure thoughts in order to return to the mind of kindness, compassion, joyful, detachment and ascending to the Amitabha, that is the liberation, through thinking without thought.” –TV
Supreme Special Principle Sutra
4.6 Respectful Homage
* Namo the Paradise Pure Land of Amitabha Association Measureless Brightness of Tathagata.
That means: to be able to enjoy eternally in peace the happiness in the paradise world of the Amitabha Buddha, we have to practice the dharma subject of Tathagata, which is the measureless one.
The measureless dharma subject is hearing- seeing-knowing all dharma. The strict observance of the Triple Canon in the scriptures of the Buddha is not measureless, but limited. Even the Triple Canon outside the world preached by the Blessed One during his 49 years of teaching the dharma is not explained completely. So we have to learn the Triple Canon right in the world in combination with the Triple canon of the Buddha to make it measureless. The believer needs to acquire only a smallest one to be ordained measureless.
* Namo the Paradise Pure Land of Amitabha Association the Limitless Brightness of Tathagata.
To be able to enjoy eternally in peace the happiness in the paradise world of the Amitabha Buddha, we have to practice the dharma subject of Tathagata, which is the limitless one.
The limitless dharma subject is the practice without limit, in the temple, in the house, at work, all over, and you can recognize everywhere all dharma through hearing, seeing, and knowing, not necessarily by leaving home and entering the temple. That erroneous conception is the limited practice. The believer needs to acquire only a smallest surface to be ordained limitless.
* Namo the Paradise Pure Land of Amitabha Association the No Objection Brightness of Tathagata.
To be able to enjoy eternally in peace the happiness in the paradise world of the Amitabha Buddha, we have to practice the dharma subject of Tathagata, which is that of no- objection. We must be joyful and detached in facing all dharma, by not allowing the objection to control and command the disciple.
The present mind is thus disengaged and free from sorrow. The objections hinder the true mind. The objections are false mind. The true mind was thus hidden in the false one. The false mind enveloped the true one. Once the clouds melt away, the sun would appear clearly. Without objections, the true mind naturally appears.
* Namo the Paradise Pure Land of Amitabha Association, the Volcano King Brightness of Tathagata.
To be able to enjoy eternally in peace and happiness in the Paradise world of the Amitabha Buddha, we have to practice the dharma subject of the “Volcano King”.
Volcano King is the king of all volcanoes that means there is no mountain as high, as large, and as big as this. It is an insurmountable mountain. Furthermore, it explodes and releases extreme heat.
The dharma subject of Volcano King is the one by which the disciple has to cross that most dangerous volcano by using his mind and his body.
For example, a married couple is for a long time on a vegetarian diet, reciting sutra, praying to the Buddha and frequenting temples. One day, the wife suddenly notices that her husband is not following the practice as before. She notices that he is meditating, going to listen to the sermon and correcting his nature following another Buddhist monk, not those at the temple as before.
The wife gets angry, shouting and roaring noisily, obliging the husband to abandon his way of practice. The husband does not give in. He tries to explain that his way of practicing is in conformity with the Mahayana. It is based on one's own nature and is more advanced than the former. The wife becomes rebellious and leaves the family, no longer looking after their children. Their family is broken and in chaos.
The husband has realized that his wife, who does not understand the whole procedure, has becomes rebellious. The family obviously is at the downfall, extremely panicking, caused by the encumbrance of his karma consciousness; he gives up his practice. Eventually, his wife returned.
The obstruction of the mountain is so great; nothing can be compared with “Volcano King”. Once surmounting it, one would be clear-sighted. By convincing favorably one's wife, one could easily access the pure land. Otherwise, by just praying and supplicating in reciting, one could never enter the pure land of the Amitabha Buddha.
The Mahayana dharma subject is that of resolving all dharma, not sitting in stillness and supplicating. You must exert yourself to reach where you want to be. You must practice to make it clear. Thoroughly understanding dharma is the true faith. In the Buddhist sutra, the mountain of Meru is commonly used to represent the insurmountable obstacle for the disciple.
* Namo the Paradise Pure Land of the Amitabha Association, the Fearless Brightness of Tathagata.
To be able to enjoy eternally in peace the happiness in the paradise world of the Amitabha Buddha, we have to practice the dharma subject of Tathagata, which is that of “no-fear”. No fear means entering fearful things to know them while the Mind remains intact without fear or sorrow. For the heresy of second vehicle, fearless meant destruction, avoiding hearing and seeing. Therefore, no- fear in this case did not help to know the dharma. The mind would be clear only when there is no more fearful dharma.
* Namo the Paradise Pure Land of the Amitabha Association, the Purification Brightness of Tathagata.
To be able to enjoy eternally in peace the happiness in the paradise world of the Amitabha Buddha, we have to practice the dharma subject of Tathagata, which is that of purification.
It is by dissolving completely and seriously your own flower of dharma nature that you could have the purification. The dharma of no-birth and no-extinction know clearly that all dharma are exactly the dharma of purification. A stable spirit is precisely a joyful and peaceful place, the true happiness. That is the purification. The disciple with unstable thoughts could not have purification. How could you teach the purification to others while you do not have the purification in yourself? Only those who have acquired joy and peace could be clear sighted, he could then dissolve all dharma by absoluteness. No resolution could be equal to that of the one who has entered absolute dharma. Some people considered that as selfish. How could you authoritatively prescribe for a patient the suitable medication while you are not a doctor - Is that right? Besides, the patient feels more comfortable when a qualified doctor writes a prescription.
The disciples who live with their families, have to earn their living daily, are susceptible to be involved in conflict between themselves. The true disciple knows how to dissolve happiness and misery, joy and sadness, gain or loss, and have or have not, and would be comfortable in his life. That is the invaluable happy purification. Going further into all dharma with more profundity, with more activity you will attain the great purification. The purification thus has different levels according to more or less abilities and merits. There are some disciples who practice throughout their life without a minute of seeing or knowing false and obscure thoughts. They keep on wishing to be enlightened. Whichever the dharma subject would be, you must practice to reach the purification in order to attain enlightenment.
* Namo the Paradise Pure Land of Amitabha Association the Joyful and Detached Brightness of Tathagata.
To be able to enjoy eternally in peace the happiness in the paradise world of the Amitabha Buddha, we have to practice the dharma subject of Tathagata, which is the joyful and detached one.
Joyful means the abundance of happiness, while detached means the detachment of all bitterness. The disciple who practices dissolution would be accustomed to enduring all dharma, neither would he be angry in presence of an unfavorable situation nor would he be hateful to those who have caused suffering to him. He would be at ease once the flower of dharma nature dissolved. Such disciples have conducted themselves well with morality and followed the path taken by bodhisattvas in the practicing of the sacred.
* Namo the Paradise Pure Land of Amitabha Association the Brightness of Knowledge with wisdom of Tathagata.
To be able to enjoy eternally in peace the happiness in the paradise world of the Amitabha Buddha, we have to practice the dharma subject of Tathagata, which is that of knowledge with wisdom.
The dharma subject of knowledge with wisdom means the profound knowledge never known and heard before. The knowledge in the past is restricted with tiny limits that of today are much larger. The practice in the past is erroneous. Today, thanks to dharma school, the knowledge gradually acquired is called the knowledge with wisdom.
The dharma instruction given by the disciple varies with his knowledge to help living creatures accordingly. Neither very high nor very low is called the knowledge with wisdom. The disciple could find out clearly the universal knowledge, which is that of the Tathagata’s eye store.
*Namo the Paradise Pure Land of Amitabha Association, the Brightness of Difficult Privacy of Tathagata.
To be able to enjoy eternally in peace the happiness in the paradise world of the Amitabha Buddha, we have to practice the dharma subject of Tathagata, which is that of difficult privacy.
Difficult means hard to solve. Privacy means something belonging to the personality. In the dharma door of difficult privacy, the disciple has to dissolve all difficult dharma from his privacy to be clear-sighted. That is the dharma of Tathagata. The enthusiastic and sincere disciple has to recognize exactly the way of practice, which dissolves all dharma through a thorny crisis, which obstructs his life. Otherwise, no matter how great his enthusiasm and sincerity may be, he could not obtain the result of knowledge. Those who practiced, only by praying, supplicating and severe vegetarian diet, even with enthusiasm and sincerity, would still not be able to dissolve the situation.
* Namo the Paradise Pure Land of Amitabha Association, the Perpetual Brightness of Tathagata.
To be able to enjoy eternally in peace the happiness in the paradise world of the Amitabha Buddha, we have to practice the dharma subject of Tathagata, which is the perpetual one.
Perpetual means without interruption. In the presence of a difficult situation, if the disciple could not see clearly the value of that dharma, he would readily interrupt his practice. The discouragement would make the disciple interruptory, contradictory, and demolished. Overcoming it would bring about a clear-sightedness. That is the dharma of Tathagata.
With lack of material in his daily life, the disciple often has to engage himself in this secular life, seeking more materials for meeting the demands satisfactorily. In such situations, only the highly brave disciple would not abandon his practice. The ordinary disciple, not recognizing the value and the advantage of the way of practice, which saved us from sinking in the sea of sufferings, would never obtain a result even though a sacred guide accompanied him.
* Namo the Paradise Pure Land of Amitabha Association, the Brightness of Non - Proclamation of Tathagata.
To be able to enjoy eternally in peace the happiness in the paradise world of the Amitabha Buddha, we have to practice the dharma subject of Tathagata, which is the non proclamation one.
Non proclamation meant not proclaiming oneself to be attained. It is non ego. Living creatures, attached to their selves, usually proclaim themselves in order to increase their importance. Such manner of practice is still erroneous and hidden by ignorance. The successful disciple, recognizing well the dharma of non ego, never proclaiming himself attained, is then reborn in the pure land.
When the Buddha has preached the dharma of non ego, He has implied that there is no self in this chaotic life. So that living creatures could base on it to practice without error. With non proclamation, they could find out the true self to be liberated through wisdom. Living creatures become greedy in the defense of their name and their form. From the greed, they are attached to the hatred, and being stupid. That is the very way of the cycle of birth and death. The appellation is originally false. Erroneously admitting the false ego as oneself is a false appellation. From the high virtuous, the venerable to the most venerable is all cultivating to recognize well in the practice of all dharma, which is ours. That is Tathagata's purpose.
For example, from the paddy we make the rice and from the rice we make the flour. From the flour, we make all kinds of cakes, each having its own appellation, but all are, in fact, paddy. It is transformed and bears a self-name, a self-form.
For example, the carpenters use wood to make table, chair, bookcase, bed, window and door. They are from the tree. The carpenter has sawed and carved the tree to produce them. It has been transformed and bore various self-names, self-forms, such as table, chair, bookcase, bed, window, and door. Each of them has different usage. The chair is used to sit on, the table to write on or store documents; the bed to lie on. It’s not natural to use the chair to store documents and the table to sit on. The purposed form must be used properly.
Everything bore its self-name, self-form. Therefore, to be clear, the true disciple never proclaims his appellation. That is the dharma subject of non-proclamation of the Tathagata. The self is usually altered, no more recognized falsely as the ego.
The disciple has to be subjectively non-proclaiming, that means showing his no-self and reducing his karma, no longer admitting the falsity as truth. That is the very dharma subject of the Mahayana believers who have practice for liberation through wisdom.
All living creatures are originally of the same constitution as the Tathagata of the Ten Directions, without difference.
* Namo the Paradise Pure Land of Amitabha Association, the Brightness of Super Sun and Moon of Tathagata.
To be able to enjoy eternally in peace the happiness in the paradise world of the Amitabha Buddha, we have to practice the dharma subject of Tathagata, which is that of super sun and moon.
Super sun and moon meant that the day and the night are all bright and there is absolutely no obscurity. The disciple should continuously preserve his true nature, neither thinking too much of the quantity nor of the limit. He should not be rebellious in the presence of difficult and unfavorable situations, to be free from obscurity. Solving the super morality, keeping the mind in serenity, with all dharma cleared; attaining perfect communication, resulting in perfect salvation would lead you to the Paradise Pure Land of Amitabha Association.
The disciple must be respectful to his homage, ardently willing to be completely ordained. That is the sealed indication of the Sakyamuni Buddha.
The sincere and arduous disciple deprived of a release to dissolve all dharma, keeping on only supplicating supernatural power, would still discard the way followed by the bodhisattvas in the past and that followed by the bodhisattvas in the present. The essential purpose of the practice of the dharma is to carry out the 12 above vows that are the practice of following the true path in the direction of the bodhisattvas. Therefore, the disciple should not be preoccupied only with his long or short time of practice. He should precisely conform to the above spirit to be able to enter into the rank of bodhisattvas conduct.
4.7 The One-pointed Mind
‘One-pointed mind’ is the quintessential point of the practice to attain the liberation through wisdom. The Mahayana believers only focus his mind to release all dharma in order to get to serenity. Owing to that, until one day achieving the full practice, he would appear and acquire the emptiness for his strong point to know thoroughly the path of birth and death and to be enlightened. Emptiness is not enlightenment. Emptiness is the path of the bodhisattvas, practicing to clear away the emptiness until awareness of the form of every dharma in all dharma; you could then attain the one-pointed mind of the bodhisattvas.
The diligent disciple releases his mind and body until it grows into the one-pointed mind one day. Releasing to solve all dharma is the true life, not the one of praying and supplicating illusion, away from reality. He always lights the border of obstruction and attachment in his mind and body in order to advance gradually. Constructing abilities until the one-pointed mind is achieved, solving all dharma without complaint and lamentation; that is the right practice and the right realization of the Mahayana path, the path to the true supreme branch that is the robe of bodhisattva.
By overcoming many difficulties, the ear could hear the pure ears; the eye could see the pure eyes. There are no more objections and no more clinging and attachment. One could be clear-sighted.
In fact, it is because of the multiple sicknesses of the living creatures that the Buddha must have multiple conducts. Indeed, under His vision, He does not establish a fixed dharma subject, not practicing in a clinging manner, but depending on the karma seed of each believer, which needs a particular resolution. He has an adequate insight.
“He is concentrating on dissolving the wrong conception and the false thought, which is the doubt and attachment of mankind.” –TV
Living creatures' conception is a habit, which formed the karma; it is invisible, but rooted deeply in the mind and body, making the liberation from karma impossible. To dissolve conception and facilitate the insight of the mind in order to practice correctly, the disciples have to be joyful and detached, diligently dissolving fixed thought, carefully considering any different conception, and not being hasty in criticizing. First, it is by falsely believing it to be true that we are attached, we have to see ourselves in order to dissolve for ourselves and perceive the path of birth and death.
“Today in this period of return and appearance there is still no dharma subject, and the salvation is based on the faculty and condition.” –TV
The “Period of Return” when the Supreme Pure King incarnated Lord Supreme Maitreya is similar to that of the Blessed One. He has not established any dharma subject, so as not to be clinging. The teaching of the dharma matches the period of return and there is no clinging enlightenment, the willing disciple would soon be heartily awakened, that depends on the faculty and the character of the intention of practice.
There are also some who have to be coddled, if they were confident they would be taught to know the Buddha dharma, but they are not forced to do as those with faculty who are seeking for the dharma and willing to follow the way of liberation through wisdom.
“From the confused and chaotic consciousness store, ordaining into the fairy and deity land as a place of cultivating the false, I have used the Tathagata store to establish a dharma of dissolution called, therefore, the Buddhist Dharma Store.” –TV
From the consciousness store containing all the seeds of honesty and evil, noble and rough, clean and dirty, and good and bad, the disciples who practice for the fairies and deities have wrongly chosen, preferring the honesty over the evil, the good over the bad, the clean over the dirty, conserving a silent aspect, avoiding crowded places, and choosing a still place to practice the dharma. That is called the immobile practice. That way of practice is unrealistic and only a false hope.
That is why He has used the Tathagata store, also called suchness, including all the dharma of honesty and falsehood, good and bad, clean and dirty, purity and impurity, form and formless that meant all the store of Tathagata is completely exposed to save living creatures in the Dharma Ending Age. It is because the suchness has been hidden by the sorrow, a seed nature of Mara force and by the greed, hatred, and ignorance, which are called wrong and confused dharma nature and formed the consciousness store that He has built the Buddhist Dharma-Store in order to educate all living creatures. The dharma store represents the Tathagata store, which is the authority of the whole constitution of the universe.
“I do not build temples to create a place of clinging. I only come to the faithful believers who execute the instruction.” –TV
During all his journey of practicing the dharma in this return to the world, He has never intended to build any pagoda. He had bought a house as a residence for his family where they earn their living. The front side is used as the main shrine. At the backside, He had a wooden loft built, which is His residence. His house is thus used as a dharma office. His true disciples in their locality have also transformed their homes into provincial, district and village dharma offices. On the 14th and 30th day of every lunar month, they have celebrated the Buddha and recited the dharma instruction and doctrine. The dharma protectors and venerables rank have preached the Buddha dharma to nourish the practice of the disciples.
He has come to many places to teach the dharma of cultivating right in the family, correcting nature, and practicing sitting meditation at night. Receiving the teaching at their dharma office to practice in their family, His disciples have many occasions to apply it in reality, no more vainly praying and supplicating. For many families, correcting their nature is their daily mindfulness of mental objects. Therefore, after 2 or 3 years of practicing, all the members of the family are living in happiness, knowing how to make concessions to each other and recognizing the error of their hot tempered nature. Such a disciple would attract all other members in the family. Noticing his obvious advancement, all the family has gradually changed their noisy manner of life, cautions of their tongue and the spouse lives in happiness, parents and children, brothers and sisters all are living automatically and wonderfully in conformity with one another.
Sitting meditation and praying to the Buddha right in the bedroom helps to recognize the bad nature and habits, which would be gradually diminished. The ignorance is dissolved. On the contrary, some rich families do not practice by correcting their nature; they’re always having outbursts and interminable disputes, anger and sorrow. The families pertaining to the Buddhist dharma store are very conscious and they could recognize afterward their mistake and sorrow. They have gradually improved themselves, eliminating all wrong doings, only conserving the good nature and bringing about happiness for the whole family. As a result, 80% of them have corrected their own nature. His true disciples are spread all over the country, from Saigon, Nha Trang to Hue, Da Nang, and Qui Hon. There are also His disciples abroad, like in the United Kingdom and the United States.
The individual is the foundation of the family. The family is the foundation of the society. If the family were stable, the country would be prosperous. The family is the base on which a true morality is founded. It would be very precious if every individual could realize that formal reforms are only subordinate factors. Once, the man has had a consciousness of morality; he would be less likely to commit any wrong act that could exert a pernicious influence to the society. That is truly an active and practical dharma subject.
“I need only the disciples who are confident in the teaching of dissolution, obedient in the practice of the dharma, and respectful toward the originally passed down precious dharma, that is the one-pointed mind payment of homage and the attainment of Buddhahood.” –TV
* Those who have heartily practiced the dharma with ardor and sincerity have confidence in Him and dissolved all obstructions in their families. In the presence of an unsolvable difficulty or when their family is in the lack of materials and disagreements, He always puts forth a satisfactory solution. Those who are obedient and carry out what He has taught could wonderfully overcome the thorny crisis.
They have recognized, therefore, that all the family and its daily activities are like difficult mathematics problems, which needs to be solved, so they are neither weeping nor lamenting nor supplicating. Everybody is taught the Mahayana dharma subject even the new member is guided directly into the Mahayana practice. The disciples, who are confident and obedient to Him and get the results, they are automatically respectful toward Him. He is like a good father guiding his children up the hill and down the dale in this immense universe. Where they go, where they live, they have always recognized the precious dharma in front of them. Therefore, they have confidence in the lively dharma subject everywhere. The dharma is invisible, but there is Buddhist dharma everywhere, the Tathagata dharma and the Buddhas of Ten Directions everywhere. They could now recognize, see with their own eyes and attach their life to the Three Dharma Elements of Ten Directions. Those who have attained that level are called one-pointed mind and could communicate with the Buddha-Power through their prayers.
4.8 The Parallelism of the Reason and Act
“Since the Crown Prince Siddartha has attained Buddhahood, His Sutra is a precious document. It is valuable by the fact of transforming people living in stupidity and formidableness into noble great men who could live in equality and love with the humanity and all species, avoiding the hatred and the killing of each other. All of them have relied on the document to practice by Insight the parallelism of reason and act, called liberation through wisdom.” –TV
Since the time the Blessed One has come into the world and He has taught His dharma, living creatures of ignorance and obscurity have become honest. Some of them have received the blessed reward of man and devas, some have become holy disciples, and some have become great men, bodhisattvas, Buddhas. The dharma subject has truly brought about noble love to the four species and even the animal would not be killed.
The parallelism of reason and act means the creation of morality, resulting in the knowledge of dharma, the practice of correction of bad nature, bad habits. Those who have preached well the dharma and given the best sermon, but not corrected their nature are called those of unparalleled reason and act, and the result is that their dharma could not lead to wisdom. If he has practiced well the correction of his mind and body, the doctrine would be linked with the act and the disciple would naturally get the Insight in proportion to his frequency.
“It has been over one thousand and five hundred years since the comprehension and guidance are erroneous, the true practice have not yet sufficient abilities in conformed with the quintessence of the Buddha path, the unequal knowledge is hardly developed. Furthermore, the strict application of the sutra has become disorientated dogmatic, though obtaining the result; it is only an outcome according to the judgment of each disciple. It does not have yet the faculty of insight and illumination.” –TV
Since the blessed one has attained Maha Pari Nirvana more than 2500 years ago, during the first 1000 years, the founders and bodhisattvas still have passed down the true dharma. But in the last 1500 years, the practitioners have gradually led the living creatures in the wrong path, not aiming to correct the natures and resolving the karma to dissolve the Mara force.
They have just strictly followed the sutra in their preaching, learned old fashioned dogma, being conservative and are not aware of their own nature. Therefore, having not the faculty of Insight, how could they have that of illumination? The knowledge and judgment through study and research are only hypothetical knowledge; it is too distant from the way of Insight and illumination.
“It was a good medicine, a wonderful effective drug to save, but what effect would it produce if it were incorrectly used? Consequently, that makes living creatures and the Buddha path itself undergo the decline of Dharma.” –TV
The golden words from the teaching of the Blessed One are immeasurably useful, but in this period, called the Dharma-Ending Age, Lord Supreme Maitreya has seen that in his tread of practicing dharma. People everywhere are no longer interested in dissolving the evil karma. Therefore, Mara-power is widely spreading all over, making the decline of dharma in vogue.
4.9 Explanation on the Co-Response
“As far as the document of the Buddha path is concerned, it is a wonderful, effective drug. By knowing the origin of the stupidity which results from the individual self-satisfaction, He has, accordingly, established the practice of the dharma and the correction of the self, the necessity of practicing outside to be able to recognize millions of mistakes in the co-response.” –TV
The practice of the dharma is aimed to realize all dharma in the world in order to be aware of oneself. The more active, the deeper penetration would be, the more likely you can overcome and attain the enlightenment. Looking back, one could see one's mistakes, which is entangled in all dharma in all directions, making the disciple drawn into a stream, unable to get out of this co-response. We have to be patient and courageous to be able to comprehend millions of paths and avoid the mistake, not to be drawn in the co-response.
“Many disciples who are afraid of the formidableness of the co-response, become too gentle, in order to avoid going wrong.” –TV
When the unfavorable dharma happened, the disciple chooses not to dissolve, afraid of sinking. He would be gentle, but he would not develop his wisdom. Those who avoid facing all dharma can not see their mistakes and continue to make mistakes. Those who have known the mistakes would be free from mistakes. For the one who relies too much on his knowledge and does not practice, his knowledge is not ultimate and there is still perverse karma-consciousness.
“There are some who often examine their mistakes, willing to repent, finding the way of dissolution of the perverse karma-consciousness and karma-faculty, applying to practice, always seeing perversity in themselves and trying to live in isolation, exterminated thus became fairyism or of second rank ordained.” –TV
There are some disciples who examine their mistakes, sincerely repenting with the intention of avoiding mistakes. They examine from the perverse thoughts to the natural disposition creating karma, but could not dissolve all foolish thoughts or control them. They have entered afterward in their hermitages to cultivate alone, far from all contact, in order to avoid the hearing and the seeing, destroying foolish thoughts to be pure. This kind of purity is a dangerous isolated purity.
“As for the co-response, they are naturally and readily yielding to the wishes of the Four Species in the Universe. They always show the co-response to all of them accordingly, from the high to the low. From man to the fairy, deity and the saint all have error in the co-response.” –TV
Referring to the conception and contraction of each variety of the Four Species, they have naturally the exact co-response to their class and frequency. From the higher grade to the lower one, every one of them are equally co-responding to its class. Why? The universe, from the Four Species to the men, fairies, deities, and saints, is originally homogeneous. Like foam, ice, fog, and snow... all are originated from water. In proportion to the temperature and the climate, the water is transformed into foam, ice, fog, and snow. It is ready to be transformed into all forms, according to the situation.
For man, the co-response makes him fit for each other according to his level and class, no more and no less. For those who know how to improve themselves and their morality, the co-response helps them to be intellectual, transforming from an ordinary man to a noble holy disciple separated from the secular world.
“The only distinction between the Buddha and living creatures is the full knowledge and the non-knowledge. Therefore, the Buddhas do not have precepts. Living creatures with precepts are confused. The Buddhas without precept have been fully enlightened.” –TV
“Without precept” hereby does not mean the immobile sitting, avoiding all dharma. As a matter of fact, one must penetrate all kinds of favorable and unfavorable, form and formless dharma without omission of any dharma in order to get knowledge without keeping any precepts.
It is so simple at the first hearing, but to realize and practice, to have complete knowledge of enlightenment, we have to experience countless lifetimes. Unless, one can meet a Buddha who leads us to the bodhisattva rank, then the continuous practice from the bodhisattva rank in later lives until clearance of all precepts would lead to the Buddha hood.
“When the Avalokitesvara Tathagata Buddha and later the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, has attained the perfect equality, co-responding of Tathagata, He has to make a vow in the all sided one sutra saying that whosoever expressed a wish, He would appear there to give a dharma talk. He said: Whenever a Brahman, a male or female believer... asked me, I would appear as a Brahman, a male or female believer to give a dharma talk. Is that a co-responding appearance in equality without limit or differentiation, thus becoming the knowledge of Tathagata, and are ordained by Tathagata?” –TV
The Avalokitesvara Tathagata Buddha having attained the perfect equality, judging all the sounds of the Four Species, would naturally appear. As for the One who practiced accordingly to the dharma subject, judged the sounds of the Four Species to dissolve the suffering and save living creatures, precisely is the Avalokitesvara Tathagata Bodhisattva. They have all attained the perfect equality in co-response with Tathagata, why? The equality of the body, mouth, and thought are practical and wonderful dharma, nothing can be compared with it. The karma of the body is equal to the words. The karma of the words originated from the mind. Therefore, the karma of the body is equal to the mind. As the body, the mouth and the thought are equal. All things are equal, as all things are salty in the sea.
They have made a vow that is whosoever has a wish; they would appear accordingly to give a dharma talk. If a Brahman asked me, I would appear as a Brahman to preach the dharma; that meant Brahman is a fellow of noble class, if he asked for the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, the Avalokitesvara Tathagata Buddha, he would be able to hear and to recognize the high level of his class in his nature and know how to be accorded naturally with his present class. That is the appearance in co-response of the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva to give a dharma talk.
For example, when a male or female believer asked Me, I would appear as a male or female believer to explain the dharma; that meant: A man or woman who observes the five precepts could hear and understand the useful meaning of the execution of the five precepts, similar to a sermon given in co-response by the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva appearing as a male or female believer.
If there were no nature in the complete mind, the conscious self would correspondingly have no nature in itself. This dharma nature is equal with nothing else higher or different. The “sorrow karma” has neither bound nor liberated. The bodhisattva, who vowed to base on equality, knowing how to make use of all dharma in a perfect harmony of body speech and thought, would be mysteriously protected to be an introduction used as a means. These bodhisattvas are completely impartial everywhere, that is the esoteric digital sign of a Buddha, the secret and serious dharma, which emitted all the majesty from the impartial body, majesty in the words, and all sound, is the true dharma. The reflective mind involved all the seeds. No seed is essentially all of the knowledge and all of the knowledge is Samadhi.
The disciples who have met the Tathagata are perfectly equal, having nothing other than the suchness, which is ordained by the Tathagata.
“It is by opening the Avatamsaka Sutra that we could see what the Buddha has said: You should know that the bodhisattvas are relying on the merits of Tathagata. Spontaneously in still sitting and preaching the dharma to countless living creatures of his so that they could hear the dharma, to understand the explanation, you would get many ways of liberation, and it is only those who have given offerings to the Tathagata who could do so today.”–TV
The Buddha has explained it carefully and meticulously in the Avatamsaka Sutra in order to prevent the disciple from mistaking the hypothesis, and recommends them to lean on all dharma of hearing, seeing, and knowing to dissolve, to be joyful and detached in order to convert all attachment and obstruction in the mind into emptiness. That is to rely on the merits of Tathagata to teach countless living creatures’ nature of himself so that they could hear and recognize the way of being free from birth and there is no more living creatures’ nature clinging in the mind. That is how to give offerings to Tathagata and that is the dharma subject of liberation.
When preaching the dharma, it is you who hear your speech first, the preaching is sometimes corresponding to the right sermon, imaginably that is of the Buddha, but the reason and the act is not parallel. Learning too much theory without practicing is what obstructs the preacher by the reasoning. Avoid the wrong self-feeling to be able to understand the invaluable Sutra of The Blessed One in the Avatamsaka Sutra. Most people are very brilliant in preaching the dharma, but they neither understand thoroughly their preaching nor get such good fruit, and have to learn again what they said, so they have to rely on the merits of Tathagata in the preaching in order to avoid the self-feeling.
“The co-response preaching is very easy to be mistaken for those who are in lack of knowledge and literary man falsely preferred the extraordinary expectation. Unless, the practitioner for enlightenment knows how to selfrespect the abilities of the merits.”–TV
Those who learn and study preferably make use of their intelligence to think, so they have correspondingly believed themselves to be enlightened. This is false thinking since they are not concentrating mainly on dissolving and correcting their nature. They are readily becoming erroneous. The true disciples know how to consider their body and ability to create a practical way of cultivating right in their own life to offer their merits to Tathagata. That is the conduct merits.
“Every time relaxing and based on the co-response vow of learning. They are ready to review their ability, conduct and morality in order to attain the fundamental, and it is difficult to accept mistakes in the last minutes of a period of practice.”–TV
Those who have the resolution to practice for liberation are not attached to the sutra word by word, but they always comprehend, at the same time, concentrating to cultivate by continuously reviewing their body and mind. All the attached and obstructed dharma are dissolved to keep their abilities free, using their good deeds for noble nature as a base, not wishing for the extraordinary expectation, frankly recognizing their nature, always keeping the harmonious mind, completely cleared to get the purity mind. These disciples, even at the moment of leaving their body to depart, would have neither wrong thought nor false illusion, uniquely correcting themselves through practice; they do not wrongly recognize any dharma.
4.10 Explanation of the Compatible Appearance
“The compatible appearance is the expectation of teaching and attestation. Otherwise, one could not have the compatible appearance through false hope.”–TV
All faithful disciples seeking for awareness are wishing to meet an awakened one who would appear to teach them, until clear comprehension is to be attested. If not meeting an awakened one yet in the practice, not having an appropriate compatibility, accordingly he would not appear. One could not attain it by quietly sitting and vainly thinking and hoping. All living creatures naturally have the ability of awakening, but it is hard to develop or discover it. Because of Maha power, it is difficult to see, to know, and to have enough abilities to win over the Mara-Power.
“If the disciple having the faculty of the deva or being a fairy, deity, or holy has been born compatibly and appeared in this world, he would have to accept to live according to the six ways like all man.”–TV
The natural root faculty of deva or fairy, which comprises noble natures, has the authority of governing the world. The root faculty of deity is righteous and clear.
The root faculties of the holy are walking, standing, lying, sitting in the four stages, inclined towards the importance of their respectful forms of posture, the importance of half-closing the eye, and of the good faculty. These disciples, regardless their degree and duration of practice would remain in the belt of the dharma world and would compatibly appear in the birth and death of the six ways just like all living creatures, not yet being completely enlightened. Though living in the cycle of birth and death, not yet being free from birth and death, but their conduct, of course, remains elegant and noble, their gesture distinguished from that of living creatures.
“Unfortunately, they are emphasizing too much on the form, concentrating more on the appearance of the Buddha body than on the practice of correcting their own nature. They are inclined more to worshipping and admiring than to receiving the teachings of the monks. Because of being inclined to the deva dharma and impregnated with attachment, their practice would be difficult to attain the attestation of bodhisattva conduct and they are only attested as those of Dviyana.”–TV
Most of the disciples leaving home and practicing in the temple or hermitage are too preoccupied with making their form similar to that of the Buddha. But they neither pay enough attention to correct their nature nor review and examine their bad habits in order to dissolve them thoroughly. They are instead more inclined to worshipping and praying than to deepening the truth. Because of their polluted faculty, they are not yet admitted to the rank of the conduct bodhisattvas.
The living creatures’ nature, which knows how to be ascendant and joyfully detached, would become the bodhisattva nature.
“If the disciple, having the faculty of the deva or being a fairy deity have been born, compatibly appeared among the world as meant above: When meeting a Buddha, by his clear sight and by looking at the simple deportment of the Tathagata appearing, he would have become respectful. In hearing the teaching the entire veins of his body are universally penetrating and the entire mountains, rivers and earth elements are shaking. He has then prostrated himself to congratulate. He hears the teaching that he has never heard; he sees directly the insight of the true form that he has never seen. He has then converted his mind of the multi-form to the natural form, hence practicing the vow of bodhisattva.”–TV
Devas, fairies, deities and holies once being born in this secular world and impregnated with pollution would have this conception: The Buddha should live differently from the world. If they could have a realistic view, that the lifestyle of the Buddha is simple and plain, neither half-closing the eyes nor continuously making a talisman with his hand, indeed they would have a practical and copious prospect. That is the spontaneous life of Tathagata. The disciple has then recognized the simplicity in the life of Lord Supreme Maitreya Buddha presently appearing through the body of a man living in the secular world. He would learn to be respectful, faithful, arduous and just hearing a word of the Buddha he could have the insight of the practical dharma. Immediately, his whole body of the four elements would receive a new source of life, happily receiving the lively truth right at the spot, not from other eminent places.
His whole body is re-activated; all his cells are awakened and completely renewed. The false erroneous conception suddenly disappears, which is referred to as the clearance in the veins of the whole body. Mountains, rivers and earth elements that meant the four elements of the body of the disciple including the earth, the water, the wind and the fire which are also renewed by wiping out the karma caught through the conservative conception, which they are attached to.
From then on, the body had been renewed, compatibly appeared to the suchness dharma which never hears and is heard now, never sees and is seen now, never knows and is known now. The disciple then has the insight and is no longer attached to the form, the sign, and the sound in searching of the dharma, but rather leaning on the all dharma right in the world, unifying and vowing to practice and cultivate himself. That is the vow bodhisattva.
During His return in the Dharma-Ending Age, Lord Supreme Maitreya Buddha as Long-Hoa Chief Monk has seen and I have heard that most disciples lost their way of practice, towards to fairy, deva, deity, and holy path. As for the path of enlightenment, there is rarely anyone who practiced the salvation of living creatures.
“These disciples belong to the conduct layman in the rank of bourgeoisie to practice the dharma.”–TV
* The devas, fairies, deities and holiness after having the insight and following strictly the way of enlightenment are still bourgeois and practicing the conduct of bourgeoisie.
The ranks of dharma protectors, bourgeois, attendants and believers, called the Four Beings practicing around the Buddha, are all enlightened.
“The Buddha coming into the world could not exploit the faculty dharma of living creatures. Every time a living creature is imbued, being attached to his faculty karma to create the form of second vehicle or receive the faculty karma of becoming fairy, deity, holy or becoming hunger-devil animals, even the Buddha could not help them. It is only those who are vowing to save themselves that could be free from their own faculty karma. Those are the true words. Therefore, there is a saying: The Buddha would save neither those of no-condition nor those of fixed karma.”–TV
* The living creatures who are attached created fixed faculty karma and clinging to be a practitioner with a non-parallelism of nature and form. They are ordained as second vehicle or received only the destiny of fairies, deities, or holiness; if having a great root-cause (sufficient past merits), they would meet the Buddha who would initiate them to be able to hear, see, know and have insight. But if they were unable to receive it, do not have some senses in themselves, are not determined and patient to dissolve all dharma, even the Buddha could not help them.
“When living creatures’ faculty is at the right time and yet they are living in prosperity, sinking in the desire and false hope, wishing for a more luxurious life, the Buddha has advised them to leave home and practice the renunciation conduct in order to leave the false, temporary reputation, and realizing the “Emptiness”. That would help to control the desire, overcoming the greed and returning to the natural insight.”–TV
* During the time of the Blessed One, the material life of living creatures is very simple, but they are attached to their elegant and noble class, are well served everywhere they live and are dictatorial toward their inferior beings. The Buddha has known well that they should dissolve by renunciation, leaving their families, no longer sinking in the fictitious reputation. They should be homeless, living in a hermitage dharma school to practice until reaching the “emptiness” and going alms-round, living frugally day after day. All are aiming to control their faculty nature, giving up fame and glory, without possession and attachment, and yet being spontaneous among all dharma, naturally releasing attachment, getting the pure mind and attaining enlightenment.
“At the time when living creatures are poor and miserable, using all their abilities to make their living, the activity of education and civilization could not apply the way of emptiness to guide them on the way of wisdom. Therefore, the Buddha has to appear by classing himself as a living creature, making use of the “fullness” way to guide them. For the “fullness” way, there are countless manners of evolution. Once the mind is not impregnated, the perfect achievement would come. The true originality would appear wonderfully.”–TV
* During this Final Law Period of return, living creatures’ faculty are miserable, they have to make use of their labor to earn their living by all kinds of occupations in the world. Science has invented a lot of useful, attractive and curious things. The Supreme Pure King incarnated Lord Supreme Maitreya Buddha has entirely known well that the Tathagata-Store has vigorously developed. If the disciples continued to leave their home to practice the dharma in the temples and hermitages as they did 2500 years ago, not having the career and the education, they would be behind the times. They would not face the evolution in the time of return, still concentrating on the study of sutra, and preaching on the sutra without seeing and knowing the movement of all dharma in the reality.
Therefore, he has to make use of the practice at home so that the believers would be able to recognize and practice the application of the Tathagata-Store. When a disciple has a family, has been married and has his children and their relatives to take care of, naturally, all the dharma could not be omitted with the purity and impurity. The believer should lean on the impurity and purity mind without attachment and clinging. He would then be able to know the present clearly and wonderfully. What a reforming and practical way of practicing right in the family, but still assuring the goal of enlightenment!
“Joy, anger, love, hatred, permanence, peace, self and purity are the skillfully used dharma subject of the Buddha. According to the faculty nature, the Buddha has to appear to guide the bodhisattva who received the species’ natures, not in the clinging of attestation of the Buddha.”–TV
* The disciple sometimes faces difficult, unbearable, sad situations. The Buddha has to use the Joy to dissolve it, helping him to overcome it and to put an end to the pollution of the sorrow.
The disciple follows the Buddha, but does not obey His practice, so the Buddha has to get angry to convert him to the practice. The disciple likes to be treated with consideration, so the Buddha has to use love to help him to advance. The disciple in serenity lay deeply into the dharma sphere; the Buddha has to use hatred that is the formless and impurity to make him practice fully the enlightenment. For the disciple who is confused and wrongly thinking, the Buddha has to make use of the permanent peace, self and purity in order to make him understand.
The skillful management of the Buddha to save living creatures is unthinkable. For the sake of living creatures and according to the sickness, the Buddha has correspondingly appeared to help them, but He has never been polluted.
4.11 Enlightened Nature
“The enlightened nature is contained in all the individuals with all degrees of esteem such as the natural nature, the evident nature, the knowledge of oneself is rather better than the knowledge through imitating or studying and reciting the sutra.”–TV
* Every living creature is bearing Buddha natures. The Buddha nature is the spontaneous nature, which radiated all over when it was not yet polluted. But when the living creature is doubtful, attached, hidden it is referred to as ignorance. Buddha natures, therefore, become the Mara natures. The Mara nature usually manifests chaotic scenes, which creates karma. The karma leads the living creatures unceasingly into the cycle of birth and death. The disciple who has studied a lot of sutras, not aware of correcting his nature will naturally still be greedy, hateful, and ignorant, accepting to be living creatures living in the three worlds of desire, form, formless and in the six ways of devas, man, asura, hungry devil, animal and hell.
“For human beings from the far antiquity, they are living or remembering things in the past and become falsely living ones. They are only hoping rather than sincerely correcting their bad habits to become noble, generous and would be able to understand thoroughly the sutra that is just barely passing on the level of their eyes. Therefore, there is no use of studying it.”–TV
* The disciples have usually wished to see the Buddha descending from the heaven or to hear the instructions beside their ear, dreaming of phenomenal events. Few of them are consented to observe all the dharma from seeing, hearing, and knowing or dissolving obstructions. If the disciple knows how to review and examine his mistakes, improving his character to be natural, he would understand thoroughly and naturally the Buddhist sutra when reading it without thinking or studying to understand.
“The disciple would attain the dharma in accordance with his conception.”–TV
The way of practice of a disciple would lead him to a result in function in his conception. For example, for the one who has conceived that the practice of the dharma should be noble, realizing in a quiet place far from the noisy world, his path is the fairy one. For the one who practices by ideas, thinking and acting through studying and learning without concentrating on correcting his nature, would remain polluted, his path is that of Raksasa. Because of his wrong hope, the disciple becomes fairy, deity, and holy. Therefore, there are Three Thousand Great Thousand Worlds, with wicked ghosts and devils.
“In the path of practicing the dharma, you should only worry about not knowing how to practice, but don't worry about not being liberated.”–TV
* There are disciples who have practiced without knowing the goal of their practice. Some are wishing for liberation, but do not know how to practice the dharma subject of liberation or believe in a master who could not define the dharma subject of liberation. They are thus seeking for liberation through their conception. You should only worry about not practicing correctly in the dharma subject of liberation; the correct practice will always lead to liberation. Don't seek for liberation through complex super natural ways, and don't worry about not being liberated, you rather should concentrate on the virtue, the teaching and the sitting meditation. If all three of these are well achieved you will get the nature enlightenment. The nature enlightenment is the clear-mind.
“The intellectual and learned men need more labor of practice than reading the sutra, while those of little education need to read the sutra rather than practical labor.”–TV
Those of high education are in greater need of practice to improve their nature than studying sutra, aiming to get the nature enlightenment. For those of low education they have to read sutra to know thoroughly the teaching and also improve their own nature to get the nature enlightenment. These two classes of living creatures are both impregnated so they both need supplement in order to be neither increased nor decreased.
“The speaking through self-consciousness is the Buddha's words, if not using self-consciousness, speaking means Mara’s illusive words. This paragraph requires much attention on the part of the disciple.”–TV
Those who have cleared away their living creatures’ nature are rare. They have already practiced the form and formless, the purity and impurity to be free from living creature’s nature. They have already met the Buddha, have entered into the rank of bodhisattvas and are waiting to be ordained by Tathagata. Every one of their words is based on the dharma, which is lively and saves living creatures in a practical manner. The preaching of the dharma, without clearing away one's living creatures nature and even after having learned and studied all the Triple Canon, would still be the teaching of Mara, which is based only on the thoughts, not the preaching of the Insight.
“The universe and humanity are included in the circle of generating the mind. Whenever mind generating in practicing to know one's own enlightenment nature, once nature is enlightened, one could be free from generating the mind. The one who is not caught by generating the mind is the no-born. Once the mind is cleared, this is called enlightenment.”–TV
* The Four Species including mankind are generating thoughts and running after the thoughts generated in nature. Nature is just the mind. Being generated by nature and living with it - that is “generating the mind”. Once the disciple has no more false hope and his body and mind could control, dominate, and restrain the nature, he immediately understands, getting out of the generating mind and no longer involves with it. How to do that? The self generates the mind. If we are continuously observing it, not allowing it to control us then we could control and command our mind. Therefore, we are no longer being born thus there is no more death. The one with no more birth and death is called the ‘no-born’.
Those with generating minds are called living creatures. As living creatures, there must be differentiation between the interior and the exterior of the body. The interior is the dharma mind; the exterior is the dharma form. Because of that differentiation, the mind gets the control and generates countless dharma. The ones of second vehicle see the chaos, generating the annihilation in order to attain the emptiness dharma, and become those of birth and death, not knowing that they believe it to be true. This mistake is falsely activated in accordance with the moved consciousness to become the false hope, unceasingly in the transmigration of birth and death.
For that reason an enlightened awakened one is very necessary for the practice of the dharma. It is the same for all disciples, by just a short time of negligence, lacking of control and domination, they would be subjected to the generated mind without knowing it and believe they are masters in a legitimate practice.
For example, for those who have believed in the Buddha praying and worshipping, the generated mind makes them superstitious and satisfied, if anyone told them to correct their nature, give up their bad habits, they would get angry, hateful without even looking at that person’s face.
For example, the long-term practice of worshipping and praying has become compassionate, but not intellectual. Therefore, the disciples do not know what is right and wrong, when seeing someone in suffering they become more suffered than he, because beings are inclined to the good cause. They are clinging to believe that the Buddhist believers must have pity in such manner. If there was someone doing bad things or saying cruel words, they would keep away from him and hate him, not having the intelligence to understand the origin of the wicked man’s cruel words and actions.
When they abstain themselves from doing evil things and repent to convert themselves and seek out an awakened one, who would show them the way of voluntary leaving attachment and clinging, they could finally understand thoroughly.
“Only the practitioner who has known well the ignorance is worth being called practitioner. Otherwise, the practice for practice sake, not knowing the ignorance, would not count for even one day of practice, in spite of countless lives of practice.”–TV
Self-Enlightenment Sutra
4.12 The Samadhi Dharma Subject of the Real Form and Formless
“When the Blessed One had shown the stem of a flower during the conference, only Maha Kassapa who had received it recognized it to be the Samadhi dharma subject of the real form and formless. Is that a communication with the power of the Buddha?”–TV
I heard:
One day at the Central Highness Assembly, at number 42, Hong Bang street, Nha Trang, the Unique Principle Pure King incarnating Chief Monk of Long Hoa Maitreya Buddha has said: The Venerable Maha Kassapa has recognized the Samadhi Dharma subject of the real form and formless. What is the real form and formless, then?
The rose is real form. If we brought the worm living in the rose to the chrysanthemum or to any other flower, it would not survive because it is neither been accustomed to eating chrysanthemum substance or any other flower substance nor accustomed to another environment. It is only suitable for the environment and substance of the rose. That is the formless. Hence, the Venerable Maha Kassapa has understood that a living creature of each world would know only its own world; it would not know and live in another world. In the Three Thousand Great Thousand Worlds, each world has its own environment of life, its own nourishment and everything, which is suitable for it, without differentiation.
For example, a fish, which lived in fresh water, would have died if it were brought into salt water.
Man is living thanks to the air and he would certainly not survive if the air has been lacking or gone out of the atmosphere. To be able to live, they need an oxygen tank, to breathe. From the character, the behavior, the custom, to the lifestyle, all are suitable for a fixed world. The one who has known the real form and the formless would know his own stupidities, which are the three stupidities of the disciple. He has then attained the Samadhi Dharma subject. That is the minded-seal taught by the Buddhas to help the faithful believers to dissolve the belt of the dharma sphere that is the wonderful dharma to attain the Right Concentration of Samadhi.
The real form and formless are essential in recognizing and dissolving stupidity in the presence of all dharma. If the disciple penetrated this, it is exactly the ‘middle way’. To enter into the middle way, the disciple has to be aware of his own nature, neither attachment nor obstruction, inevitably having an empty mind to be achieved. The real form and formless are also called the two dharma of fullness and emptiness. If the disciple preferred the emptiness to the fullness, he would fall into the fairy way. On the contrary, he prefers the fullness to the emptiness, as does the conduct of an ordinary man; he is often caught in the attachment and the obstruction, submerging in the transmigration of birth and death.
The founders from the old time were also in stupidity like living creatures, when they had not yet attained the truth. Initially, they had also been praying to the Buddha, listening to the dharma teaching, reading the sutra, being superstitious, being attached, and perhaps receiving the dharma of fullness and emptiness, either more or less. But by their resolution to seek for enlightenment, they have corrected the breakout of their nature and dissolved all dharma, not preoccupied with reading the sutra to know it by heart. The purpose of the founders was to know theirselves. Not desiring to be known, not to be attached to the self, attached neither to the real form nor to the formless; therefore, they had no more doubts and understood thoroughly the dharma nature.
“To be able to recognize the Samadhi Dharma subject of the real form and formless, Maha Kassapa had to experience countless Samadhi, having the supernatural power of Samadhi of all dharma. Hence, he has recognized and preferred the emptiness to the fullness, understood extremely well the nothing of emptiness and attained the Buddha form of enlightened form.”–TV
Although acquiring the truth theoretically, we have to practically penetrate deeply into the dharma sphere, experiencing thousands and thousands of real form and formless dharma to understand thoroughly, to be free from mistakes. Once clearing up the dharma sphere, that means clearing up the living creatures’ nature, understanding all dharma without obstruction, to reach the enlightened form, we are then treading on the bodhisattva’s vows, bodhisattva’s conducts, eventually entering the bodhisattva rank.
The emptiness of the enlightened form, which has ever been experienced in millions and millions of dharma spheres, entering and exiting fearlessly without attachment, is not the emptiness acquired by sitting tranquilly.
“The seeing nature which applied the formless, still could see and know, and is initiated from the original nature, demonstrated by the examination and correction of one's nature. Thanks to the practice of the dharma subject of liberation that the normal nature illuminates, consequently without nature could still see.”–TV
The living creatures need a form and a sign to be able to see and know. The disciple who always focuses on correcting his nature, examining his nature adequately could naturally discover the true nature. He is naturally lightened from his true nature. Therefore, when the dharma manifests the scenes, he will see and know the formless, which is called formless that still he could see.
For example, there are two close friends who have been in intimacy for a long time. One day, because of a complicated situation, one gets angry with the other friend, saying unpleasant words and cut off the friendship. The other, by correcting his own nature, has overcome hatred. He calmly examines to see the reason why his friend has said such words. He could understand thereafter the cause and the hidden state of mind of his friend. That is the seeing through the formless. The friend, who observes well, dissolves adequately that is called a wonderful observation and the dharma subject of liberation has cleared his true nature. That is the way to the six comprehensions. From the six comprehensions, one could achieve the Samadhi.
We should not use love, hatred or reasoning nor should we think only in one way to see, but we have to naturally and carefully examine to know.
“For those who are attached and lack knowledge, the two sects of Mahayana and Hinayana are frequently separated and in opposition. For those who have known well or better, the two sects have dharma conduct and wisdom in common. The two sects are divided into the heavy practice and the light practice called the common and the particular, the corresponding body and the dharma body of the truth. The parallelism of the dharma body and the corresponding body combined in the practice could lead to the perfect enlightenment, which is the main idea on the path to liberation through wisdom.”–TV
The Hinayana belongs to the dharma conduct, the Mahayana to the wisdom. The Hinayana attains the truth through the result of the corresponding body, the Mahayana through that of the dharma body. Therefore those who have practiced adequately the “corresponding body” needs to practice also the dharma body. Achieving a complete corresponding body and dharma body would bring about the body of direct retribution (of individual previous existence) that is the three bodies of perfection. The Buddhas have three bodies.
Some disciples have preferred the conduct to the wisdom. There are also others who have preferred the wisdom to the conduct. As a result, neither could attain the perfect enlightenment. Wisdom and conduct must be in parallel.
The Hinayana is inclined to the organization, the form. From the gesture to the words, they are noble, beautiful and gracious and are admired by many disciples. On the other hand, the Mahayana practices the dharma body, their main goal is the hearing, seeing and knowing in the life, dissolving doubt and stupidity and making the body and the mind cleared and unoccupied with a natural life. The Mahayana has followed the way of practical truth, not always having an empty mind, which rejected all the dharma from the hearing, seeing and knowing.
4.13 The Four Moral Conducts
Those who guide and save living creatures must be diligent in receiving the four moral conducts, achieving their dharma body to get the Insight, and entering into the realization, not inclined to the compatible appearance. The four conducts are:
4.13.1 The Arahant Conduct
“The Arahant Conduct is called the conduct of Buddha form. Those who are clinging to the form to attain the Buddha form are called Pratyaka Buddhas. Otherwise, if you practice the Arahant conduct, according to the degree of clinging you will attain from the heaven fairy to the great fairy limited to the compatible and direct appearance in the Three Thousand Great Thousand Worlds, called the Three Spheres.”–TV
The disciples who have acquired the truth of awareness, great awareness and ultimate awareness are mistaken to be the highest and believe wrongly they have attained the extreme of the truth.
Therefore, they are clinging to this conduct, which is the Buddha Sphere. In fact, those who are clinging to this form are only Pratyaka-Buddha also called those of Buddha Sphere. Those ones, according to their degree of attainment of awareness, great awareness and ultimate awareness, would attain the degrees from heaven fairy to great fairy called Buddha Fairy and still remain in the calyx of flower of dharma sphere, which is difficult to escape from the Buddha sphere to enter in communication with the Bodhisattva conduct in any lifetime.
At this degree of attainment those who realize the need of advancement and would not be clinging to the behavior of Buddha sphere are extremely rare. Even meeting the supreme enlightened Buddha, it is difficult for them to abandon their habits of Buddha sphere to be guided to the bodhisattva path. It is better to be a bodhisattva and continue to practice waiting for the right time to become Buddha than to be clinging to the Buddha sphere, getting into the life of incalculable, and unable to advance further.
4.13.2 The Sravaka Conduct
“The disciple of the arahant conduct basing on the four conducts to practice for enlightenment has considered the sutra as an index-finger, reading it to understand the meaning, not clinging to the words to get the insight, which is the realization of the Sravaka conduct.”–TV
The Sravaka conduct awakened through practice is also called the arahant conduct. From the arahant conduct, practicing for supreme enlightenment they read the sutra in order to understand its meaning and see truly all dharma. Reading, studying and learning sutra without knowing how to apply it to the daily life in order to understand and directly see all dharma, insightfully awakening all dharma is still being awakened that is hard to get out of it. They have usually stumbled over their self and self-possession, never knowing that they are covered by the ignorance and unceasingly caught in the scripture. They have believed that reading and studying Buddhist sutra is the unique way of practice, not knowing that the Buddhist sutra is only the base to practice the insight and escape from the dharma sphere of being known. It is very difficult for any disciple to see it profoundly to guide his own life to the practice for liberation through wisdom and to be free from stupidity for many lives.
4.13.3 The Pratyeka Conduct
“The insight applied that varies with favorable and unfavorable situations, basing neither on the pro nor on con, with a separated and obstructed mind in the purity and impurity, does not became impatient, attached and doubtful, attaining uniquely through insight, that is the realization of the Pratyeka conduct.”–TV
Adapting oneself to the favorable and unfavorable situations means in presence of the situation manifest favorably or unfavorably of the daily life, you should recognize that everyone in the world has his joyful and sorrowful situation of happiness and misery, fullness and emptiness, yet remains impartial and does not consider it to be strange, calmly examining the situation with acceptance. No matter how difficult the situation may be, you should be calm and joyful, seeking for an appropriate solution without differentiation and obstruction, no more doubt about the Buddhas and Awakened One, to the permanence, no more belonging to the impermanence of living creatures and become peaceful and joyful. Those who could get insights in the presence of favorable or unfavorable, pure or impure situations and dissolve it - that is called Pratyeka conduct.
When the Pratyeka dissolved the situation, he should not be concerned with the right or wrong solution. Even if the situation is incorrectly or inappropriately solved, he would remember it to use the defect as a lesson for his future success in order to accomplish the pratyeka conduct that is essential. Those of arahant conduct, sravaka conduct and pratyeka conduct in the right signification usually acquired one of three dignities:
- The No- Birth of Dharma Patience.
- The Equality of Nature and Mind.
- The Samadhi Dharma Subject of Real Form and Formless.
Nevertheless, the disciples should have undergone many lives of practicing before attaining the awareness, great awareness and ultimate awareness.
If the disciple meets an awakened one who is Buddha or bodhisattva who has the real sealed Mind of Sakyamuni, Maitreya Buddha, it is extremely advantageous for him. Why? Because he needs only one lifetime of adequate confidence, obedience, and respect to attain the true enlightenment without waiting many lifetimes for attestation.
There are some who have met Lord Supreme Maitreya Buddha, but still keep their selves, carrying with them an analytical scale to calculate the gain and the loss so would not obtain the result of their practice. In my life, I have seen and known too much about those facts. On His path of ministry, He has heartily given them all. But it is difficult because they are not diligent. Many of them are clinging to the emptiness, and releasing to attain the enlightenment. Unfortunately, they could not overcome until Long Hoa Chief Monk has passed away they are still clinging to the emptiness. What an eternal embarrassment!
At the Central Highness Assembly, here is what I heard about Long Hoa Chief Monk’s incarnating Lord Supreme Maitreya’s teachings.
The Dharma Ending Age is about to come to an end, we need to tell the disciples to practice carefully so that the faithful believer in the future could avoid the erroneous attachment to the emptiness, and follow the right way of enlightenment.
He has then sweetly continued his teaching:
The Chinese King Wu Liang Dynasty was very faithful in Buddhism. One day, he paid a visit to the Bodhidharma and asked:
- I built thousands of temples, offering to thousands of monks, were those merits?
- No, answered the Bodhidharma.
The King then asked:
- Do you know who I am?
- No, answered the Patriarch.
The King Wu Liang did not believe in the Patriarch, left Him and forbade all his courtiers to follow the Patriarch.
The above story showed us: The Bodhidharma does not use the immediate education at the right moment. Because the King only meets him for the first time, it is impossible to apply the immediate education.
The Patriarch should have used the dharma conduct sparingly making a gradual education to the King for some time, until he has the adequate confidence, obedience and respect before using the immediate, mainly to make the King awakened.
The Patriarch thus knows only himself, not knowing what the level of practice of the King is. The Patriarch has not attained the samadhi dharma subject of the real form and formless. Therefore, the Patriarch has only saved himself, not the others. He has acquired the truth, preaching the Mahayana, but is caught by the nothingness in the application to the life. Finally, the Patriarch had faced the wall meditating for 9 years to repent, having used wrongly the immediate education and creating this disastrous effect, and the high practice of 9 years didn’t enable him to be enlightened as many of the following disciples have wrongly believed.
Facing the wall to meditate for 9 years and avoiding the secular world would lead him into the fairy way.
- The reason: The Mahayana.
- The facts: Unable to manipulate the dharma and being caught in the emptiness
- The result: Loss in the fairy way.
As noted above, in this last period of return, during His ministry from 1957 to 1993, Long Hoa Maitreya Buddha, himself, has met the thirty-three (33) patriarchs from the time of the Blessed-One. They are reunited in large numbers. But all of them are appearing as laymen with their families, and earning their living by all types of careers in the society of Vietnam.
The Bodhidharma also came back in 1980 with a new incarnation, an existent name. Once, I witnessed Lord Supreme Maitreya Buddha has advised the Patriarch to make up his mind bravely and strongly to practice the bodhisattva conduct, not be clinging to the conduct of Buddha form, limited in the Buddha sphere and called Pratyaka Buddha. It is better to remain in the bodhisattva conduct and become a bodhisattva later in the hope one day of becoming the supreme enlightened Buddha rather than remaining eternally in the Buddha sphere, unable to get out.
The Patriarch could not accept the manner of the lively dharma, belonging to the formless, which is skillfully used by the Long Hoa Maitreya Buddha. Only one year later, he had gone back home closed the door, receiving nobody from the dharma school. He has kept closing his door in spite of the call of the Chief Monk. The dharma nature is clear and equal, since then the impregnation is manifesting for many lifetimes without any change.
These two verses written by Lord Supreme Maitreya about the Patriarch have still remained in the dharma-store.
“The way to the Buddhahood is very, very, very far.
But the Bodhidharma Patriarch carries the term of emptiness.”–TV
The Patriarch has acquired the true emptiness, but he is not yet enlightened. It is the same for the Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng. After one year of practicing in the dharma store, he has left because he is not able to accept the lively dharma. By this story, we know that the practice as layman in this lively dharma requires a lot of patience and accepts sufferings and misery to be able to overcome countless dharma spheres.
The previous life of the Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng was Channa, the charioteer in the time of the Crown Prince Siddhartha Gautama. When the Blessed One had become Buddha, Channa was also practicing in the sangha. He has not yet been attested in the bodhisattva rank.
At that time, Sariputta and Moggallana were the two active Venerables, presented now in Long Hoa, and are still practicing to go from venerables to bodhisattvas, how could that story be told of the Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng (was Channa) who attained the Buddhahood!
The five later patriarchs who are passed down to China, from the Bodhidharma to the Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng, both have attained the emptiness, but none of them are enlightened yet.
“Neither speaking well nor writing well is mine; appropriately solving the situation is mine.”–TV
Being aware of one's own nature to clear off living creatures’ natures, we must lean on all dharma to resolve, accepting purity as well as impurity, aiming to create abilities and relying also on merits to be able to attain the truth. According to the profound degree of your abilities and merits, you will attain from the awareness to the ultimate awareness. You have to establish a firm standpoint, examining and lighting your karma consciousness, karma defilement and your old fixed karma fetters, and by dissolving your stupidity and manipulating all dharma in order to attain enlightenment.
The disciples who practice for liberation through wisdom should practice all matters in order to make the dharma return to the mind. Only the right dharma-subject of liberation leads to being enlightened. Otherwise, the practice of only a gradual way or an immediate way, an exoteric or esoteric way would never lead to liberation.
Because of the practice of immediate way, you just understand the immediate one, the gradual way, you understand the gradual one, of exoteric way, you understand the exoteric one, of esoteric way, and you understand the esoteric one. You still, therefore, do not understand the dharma subject of liberation.
The disciple who practiced by desire, by the wishes for purity, is not liberated either. He has to practice accordingly to main ideas or principle guidance and a goal clearly showed by an enlightened one to get liberation, as previously discussed. The Ten Venerables and many dharma protectors during the times of the Sakyamuni Buddha are all present at the Long Hoa in this last period. They have to submit an examination organized by Lord Supreme Maitreya Buddha for an equal and explicit faith about their morality as well as knowledge and their practical training as a layman. As a result, most of them have still remained in the rank of venerables and dharma protectors.
He genuinely attests only one of the venerables as bodhisattva and realizing the Mahasatva in presence of the three true disciples.
The Patriarch Bodhidharma and the Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng are still in the dharma protectors’ rank and not yet attested as venerables. According to the attestation of Lord Supreme Maitreya Buddha in this Final Law Period, the Venerable Moggallana is advanced one Buddha-life ahead of the Venerable Sariputta, Consequently, the Moggallana will return to the secular world later, continuing his practice to attain Buddhahood, who would in turn help the Sariputta to become bodhisattva, because the Venerable Sariputta is not presently attested as bodhisattva to realize mahasattva.
As for the knowledge ones, who usually consider the right and the wrong, vice versa, that would never be the right one. By thinking some dharma to be wrong, they would like to avoid them. Those who would act without fear of failure have learned from experience to make it right the next time.
We have to penetrate into all dharma and lean on all dharma, even though it is an incorrect one, so that we could learn from it and make it right one day. That is the path of those who practice for liberation. For those who do nothing for fear of failure, the rightness of their karma consciousness is not true. They would still be caught in their thoughts and unable to escape from the belt of thoughts. Every thought has its own character when someone is clinging to it, nobody would be able to relieve them, even the Buddha coming into the world. Only those who are thinking with the goal of fixing it could readily relieve their thoughts themselves. Therefore, the Buddhas have taught: All dharma are fictitious and life is just like a dream, passing by as fast as a flash of lightning in the sky. We have to practice in the fictitious dharma, in the dreaminess until cessation of fictitiousness and dream, and then we could reach the true supreme
“In the time of The Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng he was practicing concurrently with the Venerable Shen Hsiu under the guide of the Fifth Patriarch Hung Jen.
Each of them practiced in his particular manner The Venerable Shen Hsiu inclined to the gradualness, while the Hui Neng to the immediateness. The Venenerable Shen Hsiu practiced for the dharma behavior, while Hui Neng for the awareness of the nature of extinction in all dharma. One based on the form to know the truth; the other sought for the truth to know the nature.
Finally, the Sixth Patriarch has continuously practiced the dharma behavior and the form to know the truth. Then Venerable Shen Hsiu has sought the truth in combination with the form; that was the unique path of the Buddhayana, not two ways.” –TV
At the beginning, every subject has to practice for their correction; neglecting it you would be fixed and clinging. Whatever your subject of practice is, you would be fixed and always confused and wrong for countless lives, and unable to be liberated. In this Final Law Period, many problems are difficult to hear, but true. The Venerable Avaghosa, Vasubandhu, Asanga who have taught the dharma of unique vehicle, supreme vehicle in the past are regarded as bodhisattvas; but in Long Hoa this time, Lord Supreme Maitreya has verified and attested them to remain still in the rank of venerables sravaka conduct. For the rank of arahant, they reason well but for the manipulation of dharma, which they could not yet surpass, and remained in place, that is the unparallelism of theory and action, the disproportion between the morality and knowledge is not yet in parallel either. Generally speaking, the Lord is very serious in the attestation: He has taught: In attesting holy disciples, I have never fallen into partiality. All are very clear and perfect. Owing to that, there has been the basic orthodox.
4.13.4 The Bodhisattva Conduct
“When the above three dignities are adequate, one would naturally make up one's mind to enter courageously in the way of practice of the bodhisattva conduct. Why? The conduct of bodhisattva according to the faculty that directly appears; the explicit origination in bodhisattva; when the Bodhisattva has realized the corresponding Body in himself; the Bodhisattva has pretended to be Ignorant, naturally got the adequate dignity, the majesty, the righteous words that exist in his own nature which, when emitted, neither depended on the dogmatic nor damaged the discourses as instructed by the Blessed One.” –TV
The conduct of bodhisattva is that of voluntarism. The direct apparition implies the voluntary correction of one's nature, digging of all karma fetters in one's body to be able to see, know and dissolve all dharma. It means not inclined to worshipping and supplicating any more. Once attested by the Buddhas, although the bodhisattva who is returning to the world not yet reaching the state of “wisdom”, called the bodhisattva pretended to be ignorant, nevertheless as young in age, he would already have the dignity and majesty of a bodhisattva. Those would return to bodhisattva at the same age of the previous life, suddenly directly appearing, not being covered by ignorance like living creatures.
If it was a bodhisattva in the right meaning and formed by the Buddhas, none of his mistakes could be seen and known by those of low frequency, and only the Tathagata could teach him. Therefore, all his thought, speech, acts emitted the purity and impurity without any error. All are carrying out the order of the Buddhas in teaching the Four Beings, aiming to enlighten them.
“Because these words of wisdom are all characterizing the Buddhas, what the Bodhisattva said today under their order is their words. You should neither criticize the words of wisdom emitted through apperception, nor be attached to the doubt to be clinging and never attain the Bodhihood. I’m now acting for your sake, aiming to keep you free of mistakes in your way of practice.”–TV
It is usual that the secular world criticizes what the Buddhas and bodhisattvas have done. Long Hoa Chief Monk is now reminding faithful disciples to practice for liberation, neither being attached to the doubts nor criticizing and rejecting, because their virtue was too little and their abilities much less than that of the bodhisattvas. If they criticize those of wisdom such as the rank of bodhisattvas, they would harm greatly their own merits. They should carefully preserve their fragile merits, accumulated through many lives, but not yet attested by the Buddhas and bodhisattvas.
In this Final Law Period, I witness that a lot of disciples who attached to the doubts have unintentionally destroyed the dharma and harmed the bodhisattvas, creating immeasurably disastrous consequences. So we can see that the famous words “The Great Virtue Frightens even Devils” are eternally true.
Upon His words, all the sravaka, pratyaka arahants and devas stood up and respectfully addressed:
Reverend Buddha-King, we are walking on this path and practicing in this way. If we have to wait for the end of our life, for the right time and the right occasion, not yet either to meet the Buddha or to see the Great Monk, how could we practice for enlightenment? Reverend, please preach it to save us.
His forehead was radiating into nine flows of light. His face had become extremely beautiful and His smile was like millions of udumbara flowers spreading all its petals. He said:
“Fortunately, fortunately for you: You are getting a favorable occasion; you are those who have sown the good condition for millions of lives and have lost your way. Now you are meeting an awakened one to guide you, how can you lose your way to worry and implore for it?
Upon His words, all of them are very delighted; they respectfully bowed down, solemnly admired and adored Him just like a good father who has saved his suffering children. In the high sky, the songs then resounded and all the fairylands are covered with multicolored flowers, the best flowers offered. He has silently ordained all their merits and said:
You should listen now; you should diligently recite the sutras. The four behaviors must be equaled not greater or smaller, higher or lower. The lack of one of these four behaviors would make you fail to achieve. Have you got the equality in your practice and realized the four behaviors in order to attain enlightenment?
All of them have respectfully bowed and obeyed His order.” –TV
The ranks of sravaka, pratyaka, arahant are also called Pratyaka Buddha, each of them is saving living creatures from suffering and dissolving it. From the bodhisattvas to the great bodhisattvas all must practically and skillfully make use of the sudkha dharma to realize equally in those four behaviors. Besides the equality, they have also realized them at the right time, in the right place. Therefore, the dharma is neither greater nor smaller, neither higher nor lower. Those who did not yet realize the four behaviors or yet realize them profoundly enough would not attain the full enlightenment. They are not bodhisattvas in the right meaning.
When Long Hoa Chief Monk Maitreya Buddha had returned to this Last Return Period and became Buddha, whenever and wherever, He had taught the dharma in addition to the living creatures and the four beings of the dharma store. There are also those from the heaven, and the devas who have sympathetically come to assist in great numbers. Meanwhile, a lot of monks nuns and disciples in the secular world did not have a good enough condition to assist at these teachings during His 37 years of ministry. He has also lamented. “It is very hard to reconstruct in this Dharma-Ending Age.”