8. The Unique Principle Period of Teaching the Buddhayana

The Bodhisattva becomes the non-ego though walking in the ego. The ordinary man becomes the ego though walking in the non-ego.

The Bodhisattva has diligently vowed through several stages, from the purity to the Impurity of countless living creatures, with the object of worshipping and offering to Tathagata, vowing to achieve the success. So he is not at all polluted nor impregnated and never hindered in what he is doing, what he is going to do, what he has to do today, with the serenity of a bodhisattva, only the disciple who has attained and made their vows universally could understand it thoroughly. -The Supreme Special Scriptures

8. The Unique Principle Period of Teaching the Buddhayana

In the period of teaching the unique career vehicle (Buddhayana), He has taught the faithful and devoted venerable who have overcome the dharma of non-rebellion, non-attachment. Only 4 or 5 venerables among the whole dharma school could attend the teaching because of, from the degree of saint and sage to pass on to the diligent practice, from the arahant to the bodhisattva in reality that is very hard, indeed.

With the accurate spirit, He has already known in the future which venerables would attain the ultimate awareness, then taught the unique career vehicle, aiming to achieve the complete enlightenment.

Though in the same conference hall of the dharma school, He has taught the truly faithful disciples separately and the less faithful ones would not know. During His teaching if there were someone not belonging to that class who come to hear, He has then changed the dharma accordingly in order to make it match the degree of the newcomer. Therefore, the disciple of lower class would never know His wonderful application.

The venerables receiving His teaching conducted the vow and carried it out to the bodhisattva rank they are very faithful and sensible to whatever He has taught them to do.

“However, you are disciples of the same rank, of the same dharma subject, diligently practicing for the wisdom, but in reality between you there is considerable difference from one to another in your degree, in your thoughts; it is the diversity of conception that creates such dharma limits.

As far as the dignity is concerned, the bodhisattvas in comparison with the arahants, the Pratyeka Buddha and the gravak are millions of levels apart from each other.”–TV

The Supreme One's words are quite right, once having received the sealed ordination of the Maha Bodhisattva, he, in reality, would be their master for the next incalculability of lifetimes, but it is due to that conception they all are the disciples of the same teacher that they sometimes speak inconsiderately, believing all of them to be of the same rank. The awakened one has to keep silent because of their stupidity and erroneous self.

Later He said: “Like me, I am ill-treated by human beings because of my wonderful application to save living creatures, you should willingly guide them to achieve the awareness, the true enlightenment if they returned to you and repent according to their volition. By realizing adequately the Tathagata's limitless. You then have the completed vow, fully achieving your merits and offering them to Tathagata to attain the Buddhahood.”

The Bodhisattvas are those who have precisely practiced with the true supreme. They have already heard, seen, and known thoroughly superstitious dharma, so they have a practical and appropriate daily lifestyle of theirs.

The disciples, who have long practiced estimated to Ullambana season (Yulan), although having the faithful mind or the enthusiastic mind, but unable to recognize themselves to be superstitious, they would still lose their way in the practice of the dharma. Therefore, it is irrational to base only on the long and short time of practice. You also could not light yourself the torch to walk either.

The bodhisattva usually dissolves stupidity and attachment that is the food source of bodhisattva. The bodhisattva often manipulates himself perfectly the motion of all the dharma in his own nature to make it return to the mind. In the presence of difficult situations, he still calmly and heartily dissolves them in peace. That is the bodhisattva's robe.

The bodhisattva facing the adverse circumstance no matter how difficult and thorny it may be, he himself still observes and understands it well, but his mind neither complains nor grieves. Those are the pure eyes, pure ears of bodhisattva; As a result, he could have the view of the true enlightenment, obviously beyond the clear sight of the arahant.

“Because of the diligent practice, the bodhisattva has achieved the eyes-store of satellite which universally and infallibly lightens the secular world as well the outer of secular world without mistakes.”–TV

The bodhisattva often uses lovely words and noble behavior, inducing the living creatures to respect. Hence, he becomes closer to living creatures and knows the secular world and the outer of secular world as the fairy, deity thoroughly and infallibly. The bodhisattva knows every dharma nature, every original appearance of each living creatures, how they are polluted, how he should react accordingly. The bodhisattva helps to relieve the pollution very effectively. Hence, the living creatures dissolve their stupidity, free from errors.

The bodhisattva has never preached the dharma bluntly, but relying on his pure eyes and his pure ears, he could observe meticulously and guide living creatures to apply the practice of the dharma, resolving the situation right at home and at work. Later, through careful checking, he would show the right and the wrong of each situation, gradually helping living creatures to do less wrong and more right, till there is no more wrong and only the right remains. The faithful disciple then feels peaceful and comfortable knowing what he is doing, to sense his own words and relieve ignorance.

The bodhisattva would not calmly sit preaching the greed and the hatred, but he practically and wonderfully applies the dharma, guiding the faithful disciples involved directly with the greed and hatred. After struggling and experiencing the failures, they would be conscious that they are polluted by the greed and hatred thus they would discard them to be comfortable. The bodhisattva has closely accompanied the Buddha and experienced the greed, hatred, and ignorance. Having received the wonderful applications of the Buddha, they would certainly know how to help living creatures and the arahants adequately without being caught up in the greed, hatred and ignorance.

It is difficult to meet those who know the practical and wonderful applications to guide the sravaka conduct, the pratyeka conduct, the arahant conduct, and the bodhisattva conduct.

“The Bodhisattva knows how to use wisdom dharma on the top of the head for entering into and emerging from the meditation to penetrate clearly the three worlds and can measure the weights, the forms throughout the three thousand universes, moving comfortably in every tiny second, just like civilized countries using spacecraft to discover the universe. Thanks to his fully established abilities and free from doubt and attachment, He has usually said: I have not doubt and attachment at all.”–TV

The disciples who attain the awareness, the great awareness, and the ultimate awareness to the supreme enlightenment know how to use the top of the sinciput in a high or low, large or narrow manner according to their attainment. They all rely on the physical nature to be aware of the meditation (Jhana) that is the meditation nature. The physical nature of the Jhana does not differ from the dharma nature. The physical nature of the Jhana leans on every fictitious hope and false perception of the disciples, who run after their desire, it is thus limited. Those who know how to rely on the Jhana that is relying on the physical nature to dissolve stupidity would perfectly know that the physical nature originally is the perfect serenity, the existent brilliance in human beings to be enlightened. However, depending upon the superficial and profound penetration, they will attain great awareness, ultimate awareness and supreme enlightenment.

The enlightened disciples should deeply penetrate to enter into the sphere, to emerge from the sphere, should diligently practice the purity and impurity about 10 years, 15 years or 20 years before entering the concentration. Those who practice for great awareness would get the great concentration and those practicing for the ultimate awareness, from the great concentration would leave the concentration to get the ultimate concentration. If the faithful disciples were willing to penetrate into ignorance, they would attain the wonderful sound dharma. If they continue to penetrate deeply into Ignorance, they would acquire the equality dharma. Those who attain the supreme enlightenment with sufficient abilities and merits will enter the right concentration. From the right concentration, they have to practice lively and aggressively the form and formless then to enter the Samadhi, and acquire perfectly the supernatural power of the Samadhi.

Regardless what religion you belong to, you should only attain one dignity at a time. This is the only path of the boddhisattva to the Tathagata Buddha. Other paths are only man claim to be Buddha form.

To the Buddha, body and mind are only one, and to living creatures they are two. By practicing until body and mind become one, you then would be able to emerge from meditation. Some are really excellent with their mind free from the hindrance, the attachment, and the entanglement. After the awareness, they are able to enter into meditation, but unable to emerge from meditation. They only make use of fixed perception to emerge from meditation by the way of fairy deity mind. These are in great numbers.

Following the Lord Supreme Reverend Maitreya to practice the dharma, the disciples can see the immensity of the universe, He has to dig out, to excavate all dharma without omission, to be able to enter into and emerge from meditation. It is incredibly difficult and unthinkably joyful, which is impossible to express through writing.

“The Buddha nation contains the solemn precious dharma, administrating by the Buddha-Power, and is the dwelling of the bodhisattvas. Because of that, even those of very good faculty and very good will would not be able to recognize it.”–TV

The nation of the Buddhas in the past as well as the present nation of Lord Supreme Maitreya Buddha is adequately solemn. The faithful disciples following Him in their practice are all protected from difficult circumstances by the miraculous Buddha-Power. The bodhisattvas take refuge in this Buddha-Power to practice the dharma. In their insurmountable situations, the faithful disciples and bodhisattvas are all protected by the strong and miraculous Buddha-Power and they are all free from the calamity and suffering.

Making the vow, practicing the dharma in this Dharma Ending Age and meeting Lord Supreme Maitreya Buddha, you can recognize that His Buddha-Power is full of tolerances and unthinkably helpful to living creatures. The more disciples have become confident, obedient, and respectful, the more He has initiated the contrary dharma. Occasionally, their patience ran out and they left Him, but wherever they are, they could still receive the Buddha-Power, which helped them to repent, just as Ci Tian Dah Sheng with the guiding sphere on his head though leaving, but he could still receive the great power, the great compassion of the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva.

The true disciples, who are not the member of constructing dharma, are on the outside circle of the central organization and do not understand at all. Thus, we can see that though being in the same dharma school, in the same conference, but the manner of practice and comprehension have varied greatly and made them different from one another. Therefore, whatever the degree of their good faculty and good will is, without participating in the construction of the true dharma, they would not be able to recognize His path of salvation for living creatures.

“After attaining the Buddhahood, the body and the mind become the universal Tathagata. As for the enlightened one, his body is originally the Tathagata, it is naturally not the two forms.”–TV

The Sakyamuni Buddha has ordained the Maitreya Bodhisattva to be Buddha in this Dharma-Ending Age. Lord Supreme Maitreya has acquired the supreme perfect enlightenment at that time. He has practiced the deep penetration of the dharma sphere - Until now, after 2539 years of the Buddhist calendar; He has attained the Buddha hood. It is extremely difficult, isn’t it?

At the present time, He has reviewed and realized that quite a number of cultivators who acquired the supreme enlightenment only in theory, in hypothesis, with their superficial practice of all dharma, and hastily proclaimed themselves to be Buddha, fell in the Buddha sphere being ignorant.

As explained above, the precedent Buddha has ordained the succeeding bodhisattva to be the next Buddha in the future who should circumspectly teach the dharma in order to be attested. If not, whatsoever he acquired He is still subject to revolving in the six ways and unable to enter the constitution of the universe and would not be recognized by the Tathagata.

The Buddha ought to have the appearance of the superior bodhisattva with the rank of the holy disciples. For what the claiming Buddha teaches the living creatures, they will recite and hear later by themselves, because they are too far from the truth and full of ignorance, and they have to learn from the patriarchs, the saints fundamentally.

“In the Vimalakirtinirdesa Sutra, Ananda asked for the milk, the Vimalakìrti has blamed him: Ananda, you shouldn't say that. The Tathagata is eternal, He is not ill at all. If you say that, the heresy hears that and learns from it, it would generate the mind of birth and destruction. That made Ananda embarrassed and confused, he brought his bowl back. Later, he has heard a voice in the air: Take the milk and offer it to the blessed one. Because all living creatures are ill, He has to appear ill; in fact, He is not ill at all.”–TV

In the time of the Sakyamuni Buddha, the Vimalakirti has explained to Ananda to avoid the mistake for the posterity. For living creatures, form and the mind are two separate things so they are still subject to birth and death. The rank of second is also subjected to birth and death. For the Buddha, the form and the mind are only one. The Buddha's body is just the Tathagata body. Especially the Blessed One and Lord Supreme Maitreya all have achieved the Golden Body; their body of four elements could conveniently remain or enter the Nirvana. The living creatures’ nature of the Buddhas has no more illness and is called the Buddha nature. The living creatures’ nature of the four orders of disciples practicing with Him is still ill, so the Blessed One has to appear with His ill body of four elements to show it to the four orders of disciples.

I have witnessed in the time of Lord Supreme Maitreya that He has determined to give the precious gems to the four orders of disciples, but most of them have wrongly believed that the Lord Supreme Reverend Maitreya is sick with a lack of bloodflow to his brain. As all living creatures are having the sickness of mind deficiency, therefore, the Lord Supreme Maitreya Buddha has to appear with a mind deficiency. He has then wonderfully applied the dharma, expelling, excluding, and manifesting severely with the true disciples of the inner circle and allowed the true disciples of the outer circle to disturb, creating the chaos to keep guard and drive these faithful inner circle disciples out so that they could not come to see Him. That is the second examination.

Because of all the chaos, the faithful inner circle disciples would not return to see Him. He has then reminded them, complaining about them for not paying Him a visit, but when they do, He has again bluntly expelled them. The disciples with joy and detachment have to sit patiently in the drawing room, waiting for the occasion to look over the window to see Him.

He has skillfully used the Devadatta's descendants to expel the faithful dharma protectors, venerables, and bodhisattva. Only then, they would have clearly manifested their true cruel faculty. Afterwards, He has ordered the descendants of the Devadatta to assault, expel the dharma protectors, venerables, and bodhisattva of the inner circle. Because of the outburst of His mind sickness, the acts of expelling and assaulting match the natural disposition that is the dharma of suchness. As for the Most Venerable of Ti Dien, he represented the formless belonging to arahant's conduct, not the dharma of suchness. By using the formless of the mind sickness to attain the Suchness.

Lady Tang Trinh of the Venerable rank who is very close to Him is still mistaken, saying that He is ill. Again, the Golden Body is the Tathagata, which is never ill at all. Because the four orders of disciples are ill, He has to appear to be ill, mainly guiding them to overcome the attachments of obstruction, of doubt, and help them perceive the precious pearl that is the dharma of suchness.

Those who took the opportunity to manifest all the obstruction, cruel faculty and jealousy in attempt to physically injure and verbally humiliate the faithful disciples of the inner circle, showed the descendants of the Devadalta to be derived from the mara and devil, the pirates and bandits.

He has appeared having the cerebral disease derived from the suchness dharma. He also ordered His inferiors to assault upon more than ten disciples in the list of the inner circle, because that is the suchness dharma. However, none of them has become attached and hindered. On the contrary, they have tried to find the way, taking better care of Him.

It is extremely hard to go into the Buddhayana (Unique Career Vehicle).

“How noble it is! Leaning only on a small point to get the infinity of direct retribution of their individual previous life, with the tolerance in their mind and body, the respect and forgiveness to all, they have put themselves in a very wonderful position. So, the bodhisattva has made the great vow: I’m vowing to serve the limitless Tathagata.”–TV

You have just to recognize the suchness dharma in His appearance to save living creatures, just by a small beginning point to get into the way of liberation through wisdom and to have the infinity of direct retribution of your individual previous life. Though being assaulted, they did not get angry with Him nor did they complain about the cruelty of the Devadatta's descendants. Hence, the body and mind have become generous and tolerant, that is very wonderful.

The Bodhisattva who has not yet comprehended thoroughly the Golden Body and the Buddha-Power thus he would not yet be sensible to recognize entirely the suchness dharma. The suchness dharma is the very no master. By that time, he should be self-aware to accomplish the Mahasattva. The Ci Tian Dah Sheng in the memory of the Western travel has symbolized the mind of the Master of Tipitaka, even though the Ci Tian Dah Sheng could realize supernatural things and jump as far as to the horizon, he could only under protection of the Buddha's hand. That means the disciples who practiced for fairy-deity mind are able to receive the protection and salvation of the Buddha-Power. Although, no matter how talented the Ci Tian Dah Sheng was, he ought to honor Tipitaka as his Master. That implies wisdom and virtue should be in parallel to the utmost. The parallelism of the virtue and wisdom lead to the acquisition of the true originality.

In Long Hoa Association, the Lord Supreme Reverent Maitreya has usually recommended very meticulously that the bright disciple should improve morally through practice in order to be paralleled. It is only with the parallelism of virtue and wisdom that one could acquire the true vow. Having intelligence in realistic life, you would be more clever than other human beings, but your every single act depends upon the intelligence, using human beings’ intelligence to exploit others and be on top of the world. Eventually, it comes to an end until everything would collapse, and destroy terribly. For that reason, you should build up virtue; even if you have some deficiency in intelligence it is still more beneficial to life.

The dharma protector who needs to improve himself morally is the one whose moral level is low. He has to consider carefully and curl his tongue seven times before speaking, calmly making a choice between the bad and the good before acting to avoid falling in the evil faculty.

“The disciple once surmounting an obstacle and thoroughly understanding the evolution of all dharma could see that there is no devil nature any longer. They should overcome every minuscule obstacle, arising from the internal. Therefore, the disciple could fully understand that the separation and obstruction originating from the devil karma and the karma power of the devil power is very considerable. Whenever surmounting the obstacle, controlling perfectly his original nature, the disciple could be truly aware of the three worlds, six ways and know about the dharma body through his own nature, in an adequate manner, to attain the enlightenment of eight elements.”–TV

In the reality, it is extremely hard for the Bodhisattva to practice the dharma under the guide of Lord Supreme Maitreya Buddha. Every time he makes a vow, he is just contravened by the dharma, which continuously paralyzes the vowed-will Bodhisattva. Consequently, many venerables have given up or gotten tired of difficulties and eventually left, too. These are in great numbers, though they understand well the truth. Finally, it seems easier for them to sit, preaching the dharma, and they are thus impregnated with the Sravaka conduct, and unable to cultivate perfectly the Pratyeka-Buddha conduct.

Rarely, the Lord has found a Bodhisattva who could surmount the obstacles and thoroughly understand the evolution of all dharma. By that time, he could be self- aware that he not only needs to surmount the devil nature that it is not derived from Mara the devil nature. The disciple needs to be conscious of overcoming every obstacle where body and mind become one, and there is no more devil karma called contravening karma power. Simultaneously, he makes the deliverance of suffering and patiently follows the vow of the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva and the Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva. So that he makes the vowed will close to the Samantabhavera Bodhisattva and enters the Buddhayana or unique career vehicle.

From the disciples to the living creatures, if laziness exists then it requires working hard that is called diligent practice. Once laziness is nullified, diligent practice is no longer needed. If more diligence in that conditions then it becomes an illness. In the unique career vehicle dharma, the Bodhisattva knows to do what is necessary; hence, there is no generated dharma. For living creatures, as there are still diligence and laziness, there are still birth and destruction. The relative dharma is stupidity, but the absolute dharma is enlightenment. Until whatever you do is right, you would attain the eupreme enlightenment.

The disciple's practice is limited within the three spheres and six ways. Those are sense sphere, form sphere and formless sphere, and the six ways that are deva, man, asura, animal, hungry devil and hell. Adequately accomplishing the three spheres and six ways, you would attain the full dharma body of eight elements. The eight elements are eight natural great purities: The eight elements comprise the soil element, the water element, the wind element, the fire element, the emptiness element, the conscious store element, the Tathagata element, and the enlightened form element.

“If the disciples are not yet enlightened from their own nature, the self, dharma body, all is in the dharma sphere and Buddha sphere. Being caught in the Buddha sphere, you will quietly dwell in the dharma body. With time, there will be appearance in the three spheres to guide living beings to attain the supreme enlightenment of Great Eight Pari Nirvana.”–TV

The Self catches those who are quietly dwelling in the Buddha sphere, their dharma body has not fully practiced and they have to go through three spheres, six ways, helping living beings without deficiency of any dharma sphere before you can have complete salvation. It is by saving living beings that you could attain the supreme enlightenment of Great Eight Pari Nirvana. The salvation is truly difficult, why?

In doing strange unconventional facts, you have to pray to the enlightened Buddha for teaching, manipulating strange dharma to be able to see strange, wonderful things. The strange dharma is hard to hear. You should not be rebellious and doubtful toward whatever you are hearing, you have to know perfectly the dharma nature and be joyful and detached. Until, you could spontaneously hear, even those are very hard to hear, with disentangled mind, without boredom, and yet tirelessly finding the opportunity to improve.

 You should be aware of yourself in that way about your hearing and seeing. As for knowing, you also need to observe carefully even the smallest thing without negligence, and you should neither be self-proud or self-satisfied with great knowledge. The more you help living creatures’ nature, the more you enrich your knowledge, that is very joyful, but you should not be attached to that joyfulness either. Until, you have acquired the supreme enlightenment. Practicing that way, you would not fall in the Buddha sphere. For that reason, the Venerable Ananda has written in the beginning of the sutra: Initiating the sutra, the supremacy and the profundity of the wonderful dharma. Among the thousand, and thousand of dharma, it is hard to meet a supreme enlightened Buddha with sufficient sovereignty and Buddha-Power to become Buddha. If you could meet a Buddha, that would be your profound root-faculty, miraculously to perceive the words, thus acquiring the preservation of the truth and vowing to interpret the whole Tathagata dharma in its true meaning.

“In the past period, a previous life of the Sakyamuni Buddha had existentially appeared as a bodhisattva who is called the Sadapariluta Bodhisattva in the Sutra of the Lotus (Saddharmapandarika Sutra):

At that time, the Sadapariluta Bodhisattva had acquired the essential form of the Samadhi, seeing that all living creatures are the corresponding forms of the Buddha’s appearance. He has known well the corresponding with Tathagata, manifesting hundreds of thousands of conducts of walking, standing, laying, sitting that are full of the good and the evil, the clean and the dirty nature. He has then come to each of them bowing and respectfully said: You are Buddha yourself. All of them believed Him to be crazy. They do not comprehend that the one who is passionately playing cards and passionately practicing the Buddha dharma, at the same time, could even become Buddha, the one who is passionately playing fairy and at the same time passionately practicing for awareness could still become Buddha. That is the full enlightenment without sphere.”–TV                                       

The Bodhisattva acquiring the Samadhi practices the salvation of living creatures’ nature in a unique way. This is something that all the bodhisattvas of the past, the present and the future have to go through. He sees that all living creatures originally have the Buddha nature with thousands of incarnations and each incarnation is an appearing Buddha, but because of their stupidity, their greed, hatred, ignorance and competition in various ways, their Buddha nature is completely hidden.

All bodhisattvas should know how to manifest their bodies in various conducts in order to save effectively living creatures’ nature, so He creates the conduct to make living creatures disdain and blame Him by manifesting all the good and the evil, the clean and the dirty. He then reviews His mind to see whether it is perfectly clearly; if there is still fluctuation. He has to practice voluntarily to make it clean, that is the salvation. Afterwards, the bodhisattva attains the conduct of Sadapariluta that means even the living creatures disdaining and blaming the Bodhisattva neither feels being disdained, blamed nor hateful, but exceedingly becomes more joyful and detached in offering it to Tathagata.

 Therefore, the bodhisattvas do not neglect any dharma in their practice in order to save themselves and others. Living creatures and those of second rank vehicle often disdain and blame the bodhisattvas so that they become tardy and cannot follow the path of bodhisattvas. Actually, it is very hard to have an opportunity to meet again in order to diligently practice for the liberation through wisdom.

Those of second rank vehicle have seen the conduct of Sadapariluta of the Bodhisattvas, hastily call down evil upon the Bodhisattvas; their merits are thus considerably damaged. Without preservation they will fall in hell to receive the results of their deeds.

When Sakyamuni Buddha had practiced for bodhisattva in the past and has realized the vowing of Sadapariluta and the Maitreya Bodhisattva and has also created the conduct of Sadapariluta in this Dharma Ending Age, afterwards He has formed the conduct of solemnity to attain the Buddhahood. The way in the past and the present of the bodhisattvas aiming to attain the wonderful fruit of Bodhi should be manifested in the essential form of the samadhi until complete perfection is acquired. There is no other way than this unique vehicle to access the supreme vehicle.

Living creatures should not be rebellious in seeing the vowing of bodhisattva injured immensely and should not cherish and hope for the obscure dream either. You should see and hear the appearance in the essential form of the samadhi of the bodhisattva in order to acquire the self-knowledge of the formless the enlightened form. The enlightened form is precisely the Buddha form.

The Bodhisattva does not establish dharma subject in practicing for the wonderful fruit of the Bodhihood, but he must have multiple conducts because living creatures have multiple sicknesses. There is no dharma subject in this Final Law Period either; the salvation is based only on how deep their fundamental abilities, the motive power and the negligent condition and the enthusiastic condition are. The Bodhisattvas must have known well the path of the present Buddha who recently attained the Great Eight Pari Nirvana, so they all must focus in dissolving wrong conceptions which produces karma in order to save living creatures. There are no Buddha’s footprints in the emptiness, but the bodhisattvas can recognize the Buddha’s footprints and follow them without error.

Although in the emptiness there are no marks left, it is marvelous to discover the footmarks so the bodhisattva has pointedly made up his mind to dissolve in natural tranquillity for the living creatures, those of second vehicle and the arahant rank who are attaining only. Because of that, those who are passionately playing cards, impregnated with the fairy path, if leaving attachment and rebelliousness and meeting a bodhisattva would be guided to escape from the immersion and attain enlightenment.

“The dignity of the Buddha Nation in the Vimalakirtinirdesa Sutra said as follows:

The insight-mind is the Bodhisattva's pure land. When the Bodhisattva becomes Buddha, the living creatures with non-competition are reborn in that land.

The body-mind is the Bodhisattva's pure land. When the Bodhisattva becomes Buddha, the living creatures with sufficient merits are reborn in that land.

The digestion of insult is the Bodhisattva's pure land. When the Bodhisattva becomes Buddha, the living creatures with the adequate thirty two beautiful forms are reborn in that land.”–TV

Being ordained high virtuous, most venerables get older or ill, lose consciousness and die after a long practice of the dharma. Why?

When your body follows your thought, and you are acting accordingly to your words that you still are the living creatures protecting dharma. That is the living creatures mind. Therefore, your body and your mind are the two. When you have corrected yourself so that your body could do exactly what you are thinking, and they are only one, you have acquired the truth then.

Most would rather study, recite, and read the sutra and preaching it well than endure suffering to correct the character and bad habits. So the body and mind remains separated in two. That is the living creatures’ way. The truth is a unique path that leads to awareness. Many truly believe are in the Buddha form, but do not practice for their mind. Sometimes, the mind accepts the correction, but the body refuses to practice it, so there is no Insight. For the Bodhisattva, the body and the mind are unified; the mind and the dharma are fused into one. That is the Bodhisattva's Pure Land.

 The disciples with unsettled thoughts in their mind should meditate to achieve the pure mind. Having the pure mind that is obviously the pure land of bodhisattva, they would acquire wisdom. And the wisdom without attachment that is everywhere is the pure land and the insight mind is penetrated.

Meditation and pure mind are originally unified as one. If they are only one, you will have wisdom. Lack of meditation would neither develop wisdom nor penetrate the insight mind. Reliance upon meditation achieves enlightenment. In the time of Long Hoa Chief Monk Maitreya Buddha, He had meticulously recommended diligently practicing meditation. However, many disciples lazily meditated, neglecting or even giving up meditation because of difficult situations arising. He has advised and coaxed them as a loving father would do to his unwise children.

The disciple, whose body and mind are separated in two, despite a long time of practice, after he departs from life, will be reincarnated to this secular world and can not go to anywhere else. When the body and the mind are not unified, the mind and the dharma will be separated into two parts which will oppose each other. Just like the disciple follows the Buddha, his mind wisheses for enlightenment. On the other hand he rejects all the dharma whenever it comes to him. Evidently, because of the separation of his mind and the dharma, he cannot have access to the pure land. When becoming the Buddha, his entire living creatures’ nature, which has been tranquilized, will be sent back to the solemn land of Buddhas and reborn in the Buddha nation.

The digestion of insults, which knows how to dissolve all dharma with the virtue conduct, will directly perceive the pure land of Bodhisattva. That is also called the patience of the third vehicle with cessation of birth and death. On the other hand, the living creatures who are just patiently keeping silent neither corrects nor dissolves the dharma for a while and will become stupid, without wisdom.

“The Bodhisattva relies on the Tathagata's merits. Calmly sitting in preaching the dharma to countless living creatures of His to make them receive the dharma and understand the interpretation, all of them have achieved many various ways of liberation. It is those who have previously offered to the Tathagata that can say it today.”–TV

The Bodhisattva never prepares the text for his lesson, nor studies the sutra for his dharma teaching. The Bodhisattva is very close to the four orders of disciples and living creatures. He relies on them, creating merits through practical cultivation, realizing that hearing seeing and knowing are exactly the Tathagata dharma and basing on the living creature's sickness and that of the faithful disciple to preach the dharma correctly accordingly to their acquired seeds, acquired karma, making them understand and be enlightened. Indeed, by vowing so the Bodhisattva could get numerous documents and various ways of liberation to offer to Tathagata and become Buddha.

The Bodhisattva gradually intuits the sufficient sravaka conduct, the pratyeka conduct, and the arahant conduct, comprehensively having no more the desires of individuality, personality, only leaning on the spontaneous dharma in himself, in the living creatures, in the faithful disciples to make salvation.

“There was at that time a master bodhisattva acquiring supernatural power who traveled all over the Three Thousand Worlds of the Dragon-Man. Using the power of destruction and defilement, he could know the living creatures' defilement karma. Using the power of penetration of minds, he could understand the dragon-man's mind. Using the power of full life, he could see the longevity in every sphere. And using the supernatural power, he could see clearly the self of the devas and fairies.”–TV

By practicing closely to Long Hoa Chief Monk, we could see that He has fully the six supernatural powers to manifest countless miraculous and marvelous things to save the four orders of disciples in the dharma and human beings as well as the Four Species in this Dharma Ending Age. He has known all of the faculty karma and defilement karma of every true disciple and unceasingly advised them to detach in order to be clear of their defilement karma.  Therefore, He has often wonderfully applied the formless to the disciples at the Central, but they have still remained faithful, obedient and respectful to Him. For those who are practicing in the same Long Hoa association without one-pointed mind and being non-committed, they could never understand His wonderful application. He has still helped them in their favor to have a material, happy life according to their wishes.

“The Master Bodhisattva has often made use of his five eyes and six supernatural powers to measure all. Men, devas, fairies all are receiving the direct retribution of their previous lives and are reborn with their physical body. The Master Bodhisattva is surprised and bursts out these words: How strange it is! Having the body without self-authority, and living upon the corresponding birth and death without fully awakening is just like a dummy.”–TV

 In this Dharma-Ending Age, the Bodhisattva Maitreya has witnessed and attested all kinds of disciples from human beings to fairies and devas who are reborn with such a body and mind because of their karma seeds. The manner of your conduct, your lifestyle and your pollution would make you reborn in a corresponding place to receive fairly the direct retribution of your previous existence and receiving the results of your deeds.

Having the body without authority is the body without practicing for the comprehension with the Buddha. Without enlightenment we would not truly have the authority of Buddha-Power, it is only the Mara-Power, which commands irresistibly while the body is just a dummy, twisting and turning upon the person who has created the dummy.

The disciple not following the Bodhisattva's footprints would be certainly commanded by the Mara-Power. It dictates every movement of the body, which is still subjected to the transmigration of birth and death. The disciple is very faithful and enthusiastic but without understanding precisely the line of the birth and death.  No matter how long he has been practicing, he is still subject to the transmigration of birth and death just like other living creatures. In this Final Law Period, He has used the five eyes and six supernatural powers to initiate the dharma path for the four orders of disciples during His 37 years at the cities of Nha Trang, Saigon, Qui Nhon, Da Nang, Hue, but those who acquire the truth are rare.

We can see how difficult the practice of the dharma is while many people, not knowing the line of birth and death, hastily proclaim themselves to be saints and Buddhas. They are all commanded by mara-power, many of them have been invaded in their whole body by the mara-power without knowing it, how strange the practice by self-feeling is.

“I am now using the supernatural power corresponding to the mind’s eye store to know, but am still wrong in the dharma sphere of full knowledge. From the outside to the inside, from the top to the bottom, if I am not fully aware of my own body, not thoroughly understanding myself and not seeing the line of the birth and death, how can I be enlightened?

After asking himself, the Master Bodhisattva calmly came to a slab of stone to rest and at the same time reviewed all over his body and mind through thousands and thousands of stages of time to attain enlightenment.”–TV

When still practicing, Lord Maitreya Bodhisattva had usually reminded the future rank of bodhisattvas to review all over their body and mind with countless living creatures natures, every promptly rising and falling thought, in order to penetrate the three bodies, four minds, five eyes, six supernatural powers and gradually move to enlightenment.

He, Himself, had to review carefully all His body and mind and make a note so that the future Bodhisattva should diligently practice and review theirs too. Otherwise, they would easily be controlled by the Mara-Power. One time, one of His true disciples in Binh Dinh, after a course of meditation in the hot weather, wishesed for a fresh wind, suddenly a cool wind blew. Delightful in believing that he has corresponded to the Tathagata universe. Afterwards, he himself proclaimed to be enlightened.

He has sweetly told him that wishesing for something and getting it while not yet having the self-power, is not yet being enlightened, that is the perception belonging to the confused activity mobilized by mara-power. You should not be attached to it. Keep on dissolving and relieving till the direct appearance that is true appears. The mara-power is very wise, it knows, sees and hears all your thoughts and plays a hoax on you by its appearance. Without the Lord, that really would be an eternal mistake. The mara three vehicles in yourself are waiting for carelessness in your hope, in your wishes to deceive you. You should not hasten to believe in it, the mara, under the name of somebody, tricks many people, it talks in such a manner to make the disciple wrongly believe in it.

“Coming to the world, the Buddha bases on the fundamental abilities, faculty and nature of living creatures to guide them to know ascending and to develop their mind to become the bodhisattva nature. The bodhisattva nature, which has the homogeneous substance of tolerance, helps countless living creatures without minding and feeling happy with the progression of the living creatures sphere. It is the same for the Buddha nature.”–TV

Each living creature nature is just a nature. Every man, even the deva and the fairy has countless natures that are called immeasurable living creature natures. The Buddha is reigning on the lotus throne with each lotus petal representing a living creature nature. He has mastered and controlled all the living creature natures, so He is sitting on the lotus throne. The lotus lives in the dirty and nauseating mud. The Buddha sits on the lotus throne symbolizing in the secular world there are adequate living creatures with the natures, which are greed, hatred, delusion, joy, anger, love, cruelty, permanence, happiness, self, and purity. He has diligently practiced in the secular world and became ascendant in presence of difficult scenes. Ascension is the Bodhisattva's seed nature, which becomes Buddha nature later. As for living creatures, in presence of hard and difficult situations they manifest their vile and bad characters called mara natures and have to live in the suffering sea of birth and death.

Once attaining enlightenment, all the clean, dirty, good, and bad living creature natures would not be polluted and have abundant merits called Buddha natures. There is a Buddha reigning in each lotus petal that is the Buddha nature. The Buddhas have skillfully made use of them in the salvation of living creatures. They remain eternal, neither increasing nor decreasing. They are immeasurable, limitless and unthinkable. Having tamed living creature natures, the Buddha achieving the Buddha nature acquires the title of supreme tamer, one of the ten titles of the Buddhas of Ten Directions and Three Lives.

 “When the Bodhisattva is willing to offer to the Tathagata Buddha, all the bodhisattvas simultaneously appear and assimilate, becoming a secret form and suchness form. Because of that, the bodhisattvas have incarnated as the mountains, rivers and lands, essentially completing pleasantly the Tathagata, generously offering, and orderly multiplying from the vegetation to the streams, from the drinks and foods to the flowers and fruits. The world is called natural.”–TV.

Under the vision of the Buddha, from the miserable beggars to the emperors, the high officers, all are bodhisattvas incarnating in all conducts. Therefore, the bodhisattva must be willing to penetrate deeply into the dharma sphere with all its conducts without omission, primarily offering to Tathagata and knowing the suchness form well, which is the secret form itself. From the mountains, rivers, lands, vegetation to the natural all are the incarnation of bodhisattvas. We can see that, by leaning on the living creatures’ nature to practice diligently the ascension, we could realize the immense Tathagata.

For the living creatures who dare not exchange their competitive nature of win and lose, pettiness, stinginess and selfishness which belonging to the mara nature that are polluted, how could they understand thoroughly the bodhisattva who is vowing all the conducts. Under the vision of the Buddha, there is only the bodhisattva; there are no living creatures. Why? Because for the Buddha, all living creature nature has become Bodhisattva Nature and Buddha Nature. Therefore, under His vision, there is only the bodhisattva. For the practitioners who are not enlightened, they have not yet met the Buddha to attest the mind seal. Therefore, they cannot proclaim themselves to be bodhisattvas.

“Simultaneously, all the bodhisattvas have appeared in limitless dharma spheres to be ordained, respectfully bowed to the Tathagata Buddha and offered to the triple gem all the precious pearls, sapphires, mother of pearls, agates, corals, amber. Dragon streamers, imperial cars with trumpets and drums welcomed and transported Buddhas of Ten Directions who assembled for talk and discussion. The bodhisattvas have primarily acquired their merits, willing to dwell in the dharma sphere of offering eternally. Through such practices, all bodhisattvas are the Tathagata's intentions.”–TV

Under the vision of Buddha, living creatures do not exist. Instead the bodhisattva natures appear everywhere along with the Buddha natures in order. Each Buddha nature is a dharma sphere with its particular quality that is called the original appearance dharma sphere. All are solemnly respectful in the constitution of the Tathagata Buddha and offer to the Tathagata Buddha the most valuable things such as precious pearls, sapphires, and mother of pearls, agates . . .

Every Buddha nature or every Buddha incarnation appears with purity or Impurity in the constitution of the Tathagata, increasing the solemnity of the offering to Tathagata. The bodhisattva nature and Buddha nature are the Tathagata's intentions, which are perfectly used by the Buddhas. Each bodhisattva nature is an incarnation of the bodhisattva, so it is dwelling itself in the dharma sphere of the Tathagata's constitution. Because of his readily ascendant seed nature, he is appealed to offer eternally to Tathagata Buddha, from the non-beginning to the endlessness; thus the bodhisattva has increased the direct retribution of his previous existence.

“By that time, the bodhisattva wisheses to comprehend the Buddha, how would he comprehend then? He has to dissolve his sphere, save the living creatures sphere and thus can see that all are dharma that chain living creatures to the sufferings. The bodhisattva vows to use his body, wisdom, arms, legs, head, and neck as alms to give to living creatures, helping them to escape from the dharma sphere, creating a destination of tranquillity for the bodhisattva’s vow.”–TV

The second vehicle disciples have no sufficient power to command the entrance and emergence of the sphere. The bodhisattva ought to be the one, who has intuited the bodhisattva nature. He therefore could enter and emerge from the sphere easily. The living creature sphere, still sinking in its individual seed nature, is not free from sufferings and still caught in the belt of dharma sphere, that is the sea of sufferings. The bodhisattva uses all his will, his faith, to make all means of the form and formless, aiming to dissolve the sphere for living creatures who would be relieved of the dharma sphere. The bodhisattva is not polluted with joy, anger, love, and cruelty; thus he could save all living creatures without being polluted by all dharma. Because of his compassion, the bodhisattva has vowed to use his body, wisdom, arms, legs, head, and neck as alms to give to the living creatures without deficiency of anything in bodhisattva, mainly making it possible for living creatures to be tranquil. That is precisely the bodhisattva using all his energy, his mind power and his body to dissolve diligently for living creatures, helping them to achieve the entrance and emergence of the sphere, possessing the sphere... the enlightenment.

For the living creatures whose character is narrow and whose wisdom is superficial, they could not light in themselves the torch to walk by. In the Final Law Period, many disciples have come to Long Hoa and practiced the dharma with the Lord Supreme Maitreya, along with all the venerables, the patriarchs of the past. But it is quite hard for them to understand a part of it, thereupon how could living creatures be able to enter and emerge from the sphere. While full of ignorance, it is impossible to be aware of one’s own nature.

“The bodhisattva has vowed to enter and emerge from hell sphere, either accepting the sufferings of punishment or enduring the revilement, tortures on his body to allow the living creatures to dissolve their karma defilement in order to escape from the punishment. Such vowing and doing by the bodhisattva is making a destination of tranquillity for the bodhisattva’s vow.”–TV                                                                                    

In the six ways, particularly hell is the place where the bodhisattva should enter practically to endure the punishment, the suffering, the torture of his body, the revilement and all the insults in order to dissolve completely the karma consciousness, karma defilement. By doing that the bodhisattva could escape from the punishment. Having sufficiently the abundance of merits, he could help living creatures escape from hell.

During this Final Law Period, before becoming the Buddha, the Bodhisattva Maitreya Himself had to endure the torture in hell of the secret zone of Qui Nhon, Binh Dinh province for 26 months by the Vietnamese communists. His body has also been punished under all kinds of tortures in order to save his living creatures’ nature. After being relieved of the punishment from hell, He could be truly attained and able to save the human beings, the fairies, the deities and the Four Species in the three realms, six ways. Conducting such vows, the Bodhisattva could penetrate all the conducts to achieve truly. The bodhisattva has thus acquired the parallelism of theory and fact, nature and form, morality and wisdom.

“When the bodhisattva simultaneously realizes the vow and conducts the vow, the bodhisattva is never getting tired of it, passionately carrying out his vow. Why? Because the entity instinct is waiting for enlightenment, therefore, he could leave all without polluted love, offer all without polluted attachment and give all without being polluted by objective imperfection.”–TV

The bodhisattva realizes the vow that means the realization of all dharma, and should learn all the deeds from the bodhisattva in the practice of all dharma. He should use the seeing, hearing and knowing of all sounds such as the blare of the trumpet, the beat of the drum and recognizing every sound that he has heard, especially without leaving or taking any sphere. That is the practice of no birth and no destruction, no imperfection and no purity, no increase and no decrease.

Although facing the situation such as the dharma of happiness or unhappiness, favor or unfavor, rain or shine, the disciple would not stop or neglect the cultivation that is the practice of no birth, no destruction. Even though the earth could have been destroyed, the bodhisattva would never have been annihilated. Why? He can rely on the formless to know more profoundly than the arahant. The bodhisattva lives in the bodhisattva nature; he could even know how someone is just by a word! With wonderful application, he certainly understands someone’s degree of comprehension!

The bodhisattva conducts the vow to establish and nurture the true dharma. That is really hard, because he has to reorganize the line of the initiation of Buddha dharma that belonged to the Sakyamuni Buddha, which is wrongly practiced by human beings. Having understood one dharma that means all dharma would be similarly comprehended. Thus, acquiring one dharma leads to the acquisition of all dharma. Within the dharma school, the bodhisattva could see many groups of disciples forming the lotus flowers, by observing the group leader who is not good enough; he knows that the members of this group are also not that good. Along the same lines, if that group leader is excellent, the members of that group are also excellent and they are forming a lotus flower principle. That is the way by which Lord Supreme Maitreya has selected the true disciples at the Central for the realization of the vow and the practice.

Later, the bodhisattva has to penetrate deeply all the dharma without polluted love and attachment, he could master all the atomic elements and guide the living creatures to follow the bodhisattva to be enlightened, then the bodhisattva eventually becomes the Buddha.

“The bodhisattva has realized and conducted as such a vow, willingly making an effort to exchange, the bodhisattva acquired the dharma sphere, entirely admitted the dharma sphere which associates then becomes as the wife and children, husband and wife, male and female, undergoing millions of contrary scenes with all the falls and rises, in proportion to the severity of one's mistake and immersion, to receive the karma, the seed, the love and the death before acquiring the no-birth.”–TV

The Bodhisattva realizes the vow. That means the realization of the formless dharma. He does not fear the word of praise and blame nor is he concerned about disdain. He does not lose faith from the revilement of the living creatures. The Bodhisattva conducts the vow that means that the realization of the form dharma, aiming to bring about the living creatures admiration and respect within virtue conduct. Nevertheless, the bodhisattva does not rejoice over it though knowing that all dharma are originally calm and pure.

From a tiny starting-point, which is the essential key to assemble all the atomic elements, that occasionally should need an exchange, hence the bodhisattva acquires sufficiently the belt of dharma sphere, in establishing family with husband and wife, children, brotherhood and all the relatives. Every family has their own lifestyle; but after acquiring one dharma sphere, all the others will proceed in the same way. The only difference is in the characteristics such as bitterness and sweetness, good and bad. Naturally, the bodhisattva understands thoroughly and is able to find out a dharma sphere to attain the Three Thousand Great Thousand Worlds. That is the comprehension of the entire dharma sphere from just a single, small dharma. How can you understand thoroughly by practicing matter by matter? That is the initiation of the sealed mind.

“At that time, the bodhisattva takes the dharma school as his temporary happiness and the progress in the practice as his daily food. He establishes and nurtures the bodhisattva's pure land with his tolerance and generosity. The bodhisattva has to penetrate deeply into the dharma sphere, willingly dissolving it. He should consider the glory as a passing thing, not being clung to it. He is not grieved by insult and disgrace, and does not harbor resentment against it. The bodhisattva has respectfully bowed and voluntarily determined to offer all his body and life to the Tathagata, not preserving any for himself, in order to be ordained by the dharma of Tathagata in front of his head. The bodhisattva has then attained the full knowledge of all dharma spheres that is not yet of the bodhisattva thus dissolving the spheres to be ordained by the Buddhas then receiving the compatible appearance of the body of the bodhisattva.”–TV

In Long Hoa salvation, the Lord Supreme Maitreya has clearly recommended all his disciples, from the dharma protectors to the venerables, arahants, pratyeka conduct, sravaka conduct, to the dharma protector bodhisattva to follow the only way: The parallelism in practice of dharma and life is to be unified. Every disciple has a career of his own from the manual worker to the teacher, professor, engineer, physician, doctor... and all disciples should make it as a means to practice in seeking for enlightenment.

When someone in the dharma school of Long Hoa Association has attained the supreme enlightenment and is attested to be a bodhisattva through the verification, the Lord has then made a sealed decision for this bodhisattva simply to take the dharma school as a temporary residence for the realization and conduct of his vow. As far as this life is concerned, the lord has considered that this bodhisattva has sufficiently practiced, who should no longer earn his living by his career, but rather concentrating to realize the unique dharma school to cultivate himself and become Buddha.

For the saints, they have practiced for the dharma of life. Becoming enlightened bodhisattva, they are neither kind nor cruel, neither good nor evil, neither born nor having died. It is by such practice that they could dissolve their sphere and acquire the comprehension of the dharma sphere. The Bodhisattva in the superior level would not abandon those of the inferior. That is called the realization of the vow neither higher nor lower. Therefore, he could never attain the full enlightenment if he selectively picks and chooses, leaving or taking it.

The grain of soil, the granule of sand, which is lying at the foot of the mountain, becomes very solid and strong. Similarly, the more the disciple undergoes the rotation of all dharma, the greater his abilities are. Finally, he will acquire the truth. For those who keep on sitting to preach and study the dharma without overcoming the situations, it would be good for a conversation or discussion just for the fun of it. That is only the initiation of the seal.

 In the secular world everything progressively evolves. For those who seek for liberation through wisdom, their karma would burst out and develop. You should not be discouraged, but try to be diligent. If a nature were inherited for many lifetimes, it would take that many lifetimes of practice to dissolve it. For example, with the slow character, leaving the dharma school after hearing the teaching, it gradually will become slow again. The disciple who gets the dharma sphere in such a way and is conservative, it is called the diamond constitution, it is impossible to be enlightened after acquiring a dharma even on the cost of many lifetimes of consolidation.

The disciple should not practice with praying and supplicating without resolution. However, if he detaches the ego, making a vow and following it to cultivate with the bodhisattva who is realizing the Buddha hood, by just one lifetime with the utmost determination of confidence, obedience, respect, that disciples will immediately acquire enlightenment. Once understanding thoroughly what the true dharma is, what the good dharma is, he could realize the Tathagata and meet the Buddhas for the ordination. He is then recognized to have the corresponding body of bodhisattva to appear all over the dharma sphere penetrating thoroughly that is called the travelling of the supernatural power of the samadhi.

“After having experienced thousands of conducts and thousands of vows, the bodhisattva could finally recognize that all the living creatures’ sphere from the second vehicle disciple to the fairies, deities and holy ones, they are different one from another just by their nobility and coarseness, while the karma seed in their living creatures nature remains intact.”–TV

The big and coarse dharma is realizable and surmountable for the second vehicle disciples. But for the small dharma called the noble dharma, they could not overcome and recognize it. Therefore, they would not have the purity eyes. The bodhisattva who comprehends the explicit origination of the coarseness, nobility and finesse, consequently achieves the serenity nature. The character and deportment remain the same as in the past, but the form varies according to the sphere. The disciple, who does not recognize the nobility and finesse, but only sees the coarseness, should diligently cultivate with enthusiasm to have a sufficient spirit. At some time, he will remember his previous lives.

Those who sit fully cross-legged to preach the dharma are not natural, for those who preach the dharma in all situations to save living creatures according to their degrees, their karma seed, are truly the bodhisattva.

The Supreme Maitreya Buddha has cleverly preached every sickness of living creatures, whosoever has met the lord, also admired, adored and respected Him. From general observation from the outside, He appears only as a layman with His ordinary wife and children along with the same circumstances and situations as other people. In fact, those who are enthusiastic about the dharma and follow him even with the lowest result will receive the blessed reward from devas and men.

Already being a living creature, the karma seed is still intact, whenever you make up your mind to correct your natures, after practicing for a while, you will understand thoroughly all dharma. Whatever you do is always correct and precise that is the awareness. Otherwise, you are not sure if whatever you do is right or wrong, you always make mistakes. That belongs to the coarse dharma that is the stupidity.

Knowing that all dharma are insubstantial, practicing with a one-pointed mind and a sincere heart, one day you will find the truth.