CHAPTER IV: TRANSMISSION OF THE PRECIOUS DHARMA
A. DHARMA PRACTICE IN CONFORMITY WITH THE SUPREME PRINCIPLE OF THE BUDDHAS
7. Speech Delivered at the Congregation and Attested Afterward in the Great Ceremony by Reverend Long-Hoa Sangha Chief, Incarnating Lord Supreme Maitreya Buddha
LORD MAITREYA AND LONG HOA
CHAPTER I: Bodhisattva Maitreya's Past Incarnations
CHAPTER II: Where Did I Come From?
CHAPTER III: Appearance as A Layman
CHAPTER IV: Transmission of The Precious Dharma
A. DHARMA PRACTICE IN CONFORMITY WITH THE SUPREME PRINCIPLE OF THE BUDDHAS
B. VIRTUE: Joyful Detachment Is Virtue
C. DOCTRINE
CHAPTER V: A Nation of Peace and Delight
Meditation Master Mahasattva-Bodhisattva
Di Như,
The First Inherited Patriarch of the Dharma Constitution Vietnamese Buddhism,
1938–2019.
A. DHARMA PRACTICE IN CONFORMITY WITH THE SUPREME PRINCIPLE OF THE BUDDHAS
3. Attestation and Promulgation: Trust-Obedience-Respect
4. The Dharma of Holding Sutra
5. Promulgation of the Bodhisattva Proclamation
6. Reverend Long-Hoa Sangha-Chief’s Teaching the Day before Entering the Eight Masses of Nirvana
8. Reverend Long-Hoa Sangha Chief, Incarnating Lord Supreme Maitreya Buddha, Wept for Monks and Nuns
9. The Practical Dharma Subject Following the Footprints of the Buddhas
Namo the Eastern-Salvation Medicine-Master Lapis-Lazuli-Light Tathagata.
Namo the Western, Extremely Joyful Amitabha Buddha’s World.
Namo the Present Head of Religion, Founding Master Shakyamuni Buddha.
Namo the Supreme Maitreya Buddha.
Dear Reverend Lord,
Today, the 29th day of the ninth month of the Lunar Year of the Dragon, 1988, at this sacred moment, the Lord, through His respected and loved golden body, is manifesting and attesting the Great Ceremony. In the presence of the domestic and international Four Followers, in their solemn divine-level robes, and with their wholly respectful and sincere mind, I representing Four Followers in this Period of Return and Dharma-Ending, respectfully present to the Reverend Long-Hoa Sangha Chief, incarnating the Supreme Maitreya Buddha, the Dharma practice path that leads to the rare result: the truth of the Supreme Level that the Reverend Lord has labored immeasurably to create and grant to us.
Dear Reverend Lord,
From the no-beginning no-ending, all living beings inherently have Buddha nature within them perfectly. However, they are habitually polluted with greed and hatred, which brings about ignorance and passion. Therefore, they create a devil nature that suppresses the Buddha nature in them. The devil nature creates devilish force. The Four Species are controlled and dominated by this Dharma precept of devilish force, which is difficult to overcome. In reality, when a Tao practitioner wishes to overcome the belts of Dharma precepts of devilish force, they must heartily and eagerly seek the Good-Intelligent-Awakened One, who is either a Buddha or Mahasattva Bodhisattva, for guidance on creating appropriate effortful and virtuous merits by themselves. Then, in accordance with their degree of trust, obedience, and respect toward this One, they will be salvaged appropriately and equally.
In the order of the Dharma-practicing process, a Tao practitioner must always first pay attention to correcting their nature. In this first step, endurance of dishonours is especially crucial for carefully examining thousands of Dharmas. Only through millions of instances of endurance can the practitioner reach the state of calm needed to observe thousands of Dharmas without error; they know how to recognize mistakes caused by themselves; or their individual acts, individual natures that created their own karma, not caused by someone else. The Good-Intelligent-Awakened One only provides guidance; they must themselves intuitively recognize the unceasing movement of the consciousness karma in the cause of situation, but they are not attached on the situation nor reliant on the mind. The Tao practitioner who has such intuition has basic Buddhist intelligence.
When one knows how to endure, endures all resentful and harmful things, accepts hardship without being unstable and even faces thousands of agreeable or contrary Dharmas, they are still patient and calm and find appropriate solutions, moving thousands of Dharmas in accordance with time and space until they have enough effortful and virtuous merits to immediately have the intuition and attain advanced Buddhist intelligence. They then continue to penetrate into Dharma precepts and progress to Prajñà Buddhist intelligence. This intelligence is precisely the Sword of Seven Gems that cuts everything shatteringly, no matter how hard it is. The one who attains Prajñà Buddhist intelligence will not be such that “the mind creates the situation”; rather, they can clearly see that greed and hatred create ignorance and passion. Being ignorant and passionate, mistakes will follow in Asamkhyeya of lifetimes.
One must be willing to endure dishonours millions of times and to still be patient, moving thousands of Dharmas correctly, no matter what kind, to generate Prajñà Buddhist intelligence and penetrate deeply into thousands of Dharmas. At that time, one realizes the use of the Tathagata Constitution and then the suchness truth, being clearly aware of endurance of dishonors, and immediately witnesses the No-Birth Endurance of Dishonors. The full achievement of endurance of dishonors is exactly a Tiny Dust Buddha, also called a Precept Buddha of Endurance.
Even when doing charity, by being clearly aware of our compassionate hearts through resolution, we immediately witness the No-Birth Compassion, which is exactly a Tiny Dust Buddha, also called a Precept Buddha of Compassion.
Even by keeping the precepts, being diligent, gaining Buddhist intelligence, and practicing contemplative meditation, once we completely resolve, we immediately witness the No-Birth Keeping-Precepts, the No-Birth Diligence, the No-Birth Buddhist Intelligence, and the No-Birth Contemplative Meditation. These are also exactly Tiny Dust Buddhas, which are also called a Precept Buddha of Intelligence, a Precept Buddha of Diligence, a Precept Buddha of Result[65], and a Precept Buddha of Contemplative Meditation. All are Tiny Dust Buddhas, from the acts and words to the thoughts, and all of them entirely manifest Tiny Dust Buddhas, instant Buddhas, immeasurably and without boundary, and all are entirely witnessed as the No-Birth.
Penetrating into Dharma precepts, the Tao practitioner who naturally feels happy when they are praised and ashamed when they are blamed or dishonored, but neither becomes attached nor lets hatred invade their whole body, immediately witnesses the No-Birth. This is worship with the whole mind, the practitioner is then intuitively awakened to offer the Tathagata willingly and respectfully in all four periods,[66] ending the ego and any possession of their body-fate, and for this reason it’s called “having the body, but non-body.” This practitioner has acquired the Crown Dharma of Tathagata, thoroughly attained Prajñà Buddhist intelligence, and correctly realized that all Dharmas are inherently equal; they are therefore impartially executing without fear among thousands of Dharmas. They have witnessed that the Four Masses[67] are inherently the No-Birth—this is the real form of suchness truth, and they are therefore releasing themselves from birth and death.
Every nature is composed of many qualities and quantities of real form and formlessness, which are all in motion and transforming. Being clearly aware of the real form with resolving, while being neither attached nor detached, immediately leads to the profound attainment of the formless and the enlightenment of the No-Birth.
By relying on birth, be clearly aware of birth. Neither generating nor destroying, witness the No-Birth birth.
By relying on death, be clearly aware of death. Neither accumulating nor renouncing, witness the No-Birth death.
No-Birth does not mean “without birth”; rather, birth, once it is profoundly understood, is witnessed as No-Birth. Through intuition, enlightened mindfulness is immortal mindfulness, the true mindfulness that nothing arises from the mind, being neither passionate nor attached to anything in all four periods; the True Mind is appearing.
The karma is surrounding, in motion, transforming, and detering every conducting vow. Those who have advanced Buddhist intelligence brightly examine things and are clearly aware and able to resolve, while those who do not immediately strengthen their karma. Each karma is the universe of a small ego.
Being wrongly attached to the small ego, we are living beings. The karma sees the karma; it is seen by itself. It delicately covers our hearing, seeing, and knowing. Everyone can easily be mistaken; once we are clearly aware, we immediately witness the No-Birth karma.
Even by relying on the form, resolving, and being clearly aware of the form, we immediately witness the No-Birth Form. It is the enlightened mindfulness of the form. Even for the No-Birth, not being attached to it, we immediately witness the full No-Birth. Relying on sound, odor, taste, touch, and Dharma, resolving and being clearly aware of them, we immediately witness the No-Birth sound, odor, taste, touch, and Dharma: that is the enlightened mindfulness of sound, odor, taste, touch, and Dharma.
Be clearly aware of each small ego! Intuit each enlightened mindfulness! Clear awareness of countless enlightened mindfulness is the intuition of countless small egos, countless tiny dusts, instant devil-kings. Everything, once one is clearly aware, is resolved, smooth No-Birth, and in utilization with a corresponding combination and transformation, is a Tiny Dust Buddha, an Instant Buddha. Buddha nature and devil nature are one; they cling to each other like shape and shadow. When we are erroneously passionate, our Buddha nature is hidden in the devil nature. When we intuit, the devil nature has nowhere to stay, and then that nature is the Buddha nature, appearing everywhere.
Every living being contains in itself the seeds of both good and evil. But there is no good or evil in the intuitive aspect. In the absolute Dharma, all these Dharmas are no longer guilty; a Dharma becomes guilty only when it is judged in the condition of no intuition. Those who have intuition still need to penetrate into thousands and thousands of Dharma precepts for their effortful and virtuous merits to abound, and for them to see its authentic brilliant illumination.
Abundantly acquiring through witnessing leads immediately to great enlightenment. Being greatly enlightened leads to full enlightenment. Those with full enlightenment witness the immortal, returning to the original nature, naturalness. Naturalness is the original characteristic of living beings. Living beings of naturalness are very close to the Buddhas. The Buddhas' essence is perfectly bright and lasts forever everywhere, unchanging and already existing in every stratum from the no-beginning no-end.
It is unexpected that there would be no Buddha without living beings, and no enlightenment without ignorance. With sufficiently effortful and virtuous merits, one’s constitution is integrated with those of living beings and one becomes intimately close to them, and then the Buddha and living beings are in the same constitution. However, when erroneous passion arises, ignorance follows, and the living being is immeasurably separated from the Buddha.
Because of ignorance, living beings do not know the Buddha; only the Buddha knows living beings. Being in the No-Birth is witnessing the formless, and yet being enlightened to its form. In the full No-Birth, the Dharmas are neither birth nor death, neither accumulation nor stillness, neither increase nor decrease. The full No-Birth witnesses that the Dharmas appear miraculously with full strength of benevolence and compassion everywhere.
The permanent, inherent characteristic of Dharma is absolute in its own essence. It is at this intersection that the Bodhisattvas’ minds respectfully make their offerings to the Buddhas. It is also at this point that the minds of the Buddhas of Ten Directions and Three Generations permanently reside and are perfectly brilliant without change. From the no-beginning no-end, no Dharma is higher than another one; [witnessing that] all appearing Dharmas are co-equal. Being co-equal, the mind is immediately unsurpassed level; and Dharma and the intelligence are also unsurpassed level. No mind or Dharma is higher than any other. That is beyond thought or discussion. Why? It is beyond the preaching, practicing, seeking, and thinking; we cannot fully express it in examples of the secular world.
Co-equal Dharmas witness Prajñà Dharmas, and co-equal minds witness Prajñà minds. These minds escape from education, no longer using the intelligence of the body to think nor using consciousness in thinking. This is a point of self-attestation that is profound and miraculous; it’s natural self-knowledge, natural management with Suchness Intelligence, which is also called the own-power; it’s also known as the most practical intelligence, entering the level beyond thought or disscussion.
This is the precise path of the Tathagata Level (Tathagatayana)[68] or the Supreme Buddha Level (Buddhayana). It has neither past nor future because it moves perfectly in correspondence with the motion of the universe. For example, it cannot say that a man previously looked likable but now is ugly and unlikable. Because the Buddha Level relies on present existence, is clearly aware of present existence, and completely cleans present existence, it can predict and discreetly manage things according to the Tathagata motion, unceasing the previous moment or the next, rhythmically and tranquilly relying on our mind in concordance with the mind of the universe. The mind of the universe is that of Tathagata; being clearly aware of the Equality of Nature and Intelligence, and that delicate utilization leads to a profound and smooth attainment of the Samadhi Dharma Subject of Real Form and Formlessness.
Managing tangibility and intangibility and smoothly enlightening the birth allows the mind to integrate into and communicate with the universe, no longer being born by the universe.
Being No-Birth, the Dharmas are no longer generated and destroyed. They are inherently immortal but change their forms in so many ways that even the Sravakas, Pratyekas, and Arahants—those who have insufficient effortful and virtuous merits—cannot see all of them either. Only the Bodhisattva, who has witnessed the Supreme Dharma, knows how to transfer His merits sufficiently to be intuitively and deeply enlightened by the opening of the Buddha, and He therefore understands them profoundly.
Tao practitioners, who are not fully aware, are often wrongly confused by seeing the generated or destroyed form of a Dharma, and hastily conceive that this Dharma is generated or destroyed. In fact, Dharmas are perfectly still, neither generated nor destroyed.
A Tao practitioner holding an unreal reputation in the form of an ego—that is, fame—is wrongly impregnated with the self. Once they have the self, self-possession will follow, and they will misperceive the Dharmas, supposing them to be generated and destroyed. The seed of the self yields a seed of its sorrow, which covers the Supreme Enlightenment.
By practicing Tao Dharma until self-knowing that the Dharmas are inherently neither generated nor destroyed, a Tao practitioner immediately relies on the Dharmas to resolve and be clearly aware of them. They are no longer mistaken about the Dharmas, understand them profoundly, and become miraculously tranquil and joyful.
During the period of smooth mind, constantly being enlightened in all four periods that the Dharmas are inherently co-equal, a Tao practitioner is immediately thoughtful in all time and thus perfectly acquires the Dharma, managing thousands of Dharmas, moving the impeded ones, and making obstacles as enormous as the Sumeru Mountain[69] disappeared; the Dharma has returned to the mind. This is called moving the Sumeru Mountain into a mustard seed, but the living beings in that world did not know.
When a Tao practitioner profoundly comprehends in all the four periods, with the Supreme Mind and without separating time and space, his body is immediately transformed, always having the three generations of the Buddhas:
The boundless space is where the past Buddha appears.
The boundless space originates its effect, the appearance of the future Buddha.
Relying on present existence to resolve and profoundly attain it, the present Buddha appears.
At this time, each of this practitioner’s speeches, gestures, and thoughts corresponds to and appears with the same great compassionate powers as the Three Postures, and is communicated with the Buddha power. Witnessing the no-destruction and no-ending of ignorance, he is tranquil and at ease all the four periods. His every act spontaneously emits miraculous Dharma; he carries out thousands of moralities to perfection to achieve the unique morality. This great compassion, deeply vowed by a Bodhisattva, can’t be measured by the sentiments of living beings.
Then it becomes clear that a Tao practitioner who has not cultivated the supreme intelligence, remains in a confused spiritual consciousness of knowledge and cannot enter sufficient depth. Spiritual consciousness is the basis of birth and death. It is only with plenty of measurable virtuous merits, including unbounded great virtuous merits, that it on rare occasions leads naturally to the achievement of immeasurable virtuous merits.
At this point of achievement, all suffering karmas are ended forever, no longer increasing in accordance with causes. One’s nature becomes tranquil and fully bright, and suffering-free seeds are found everywhere. By attaining the no-suffering, the enlightenment of fearlessness comes; the opposed and impeded Dharmas, birth-death karmas, all are ended, reaching perfection without any place of fear and no more suffering. This is called the supreme enlightenment of fearlessness.
From here, the Prajñà appears. That is the [supernatural] result of No-Birth and no-distinction, and of no-Dharma and no-distinction. The real Prajñà form of living beings is inherently sufficient. Only because masked by ignorance are they unable to realize the Prajñà formlessness. That is why they can't attain the Samadhi.
Only when entering the Prajñà Intelligence, a Tao practitioner is able, from time to time during the four periods, to carry out their vow completely for the earth twelve stages. Otherwise, having not completely attained the Most Practical Seed Intelligence,[70] a Tao practitioner cannot carry out enlightened utilization, so they will never have the supreme intelligence even if they meditate effortfully in four periods of a day and learn and study thousands of sutras. They will remain at the level of spiritual consciousness to know the Buddha Dharma, which it is difficult to escape from by reasoning.
A Tao practitioner who is able to fulfill complete knowledge of “vowing to serve the boundless Tathagata” is closer to living beings, deeper in understanding them though they are not aware of it. When each thought, each act is mutually communicated in full correspondance with the earth twelve stages; and the Nine Qualities of Connecting Flowers and the entering into the Samadhi are completely achieved, the practitioner could then communicate with the Buddha power of the ten directions.
Dear Reverend Lord,
We vow to lean on the present existence of thousands of Dharmas to skillfully preach and handle them in order to profoundly understand present existence, witness the No-Birth, and follow the same immortal path as the Buddhas of Ten Directions and Three Generations.
True Buddhist Disciple Pháp Khả, representing all Four Followers, respectfully offers.
[65] This is the result of supernatural power, attaining through the process of Precept–Contemplation–Result.
[66] The four periods: walking, standing, lying down, and sitting.
[67] The Four Masses among the Eight Masses, also called the Eight Parts, of Nirvana are Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind.
[68] Also known as the Tathagata Vehicle.
[69] In the Buddhist sutra, the Sumeru Mountain is commonly used to represent the insurmountable obstacle for Tao practitioners.
[70] This intelligence is the most practical one. It can control each starting seed, starting thought, and starting nature.
Before the day of the Great Ceremony, the Lord knew that I had acquired the Supreme Rank True Enlightenment. At the time of the ceremony, the Lord taught, and I heard Him say these words:
Mr. Pháp Khả, you went in the wrong direction for thousands and thousands of lifetimes. Now you have met me, and I have saved you through love. So you should, with love, save living beings just as I have done for you.
If any living being seeks liberation through knowing, seeing, and solving, you should teach them liberation through knowing, seeing, and solving. If any living being seeks complete enlightenment, you should teach them to be completely enlightened. Mr. Pháp Khả, do you hear that? Will you remember that?
I kowtowed to the Lord and received what He has entrusted to me. The other Four Followers present at the ceremony also kowtowed to the Lord seven times simultaneously with me. After that, the Lord taught in the presence of a number of the Dharma Constitution’s true disciples:
From now on, I have an inherited Bodhisattva to succeed the True Dharma. I’m no longer worried. If, in your future path of offering salvation to living beings as you have vowed, you meet the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, you should be respectful to them. As for those who claim to be Supreme Rank or Supreme Master, you should stay close and harmonize with them to see whether their supreme rank or supreme mastery is the same as the Suchness Truth from which I put so much effort to form you. If they do not possess the true transmitting Mind-Seal, you must know that “Supreme Rank, Supreme Master" is merely doctrine and hypothesis, not the truth.
In the Period of Return, the universe could produce only one True Venerable, not two. If there were two, they both would already meet the Buddha during the time the Lord was incarnated. During this period of science, some people have practiced Tao Dharma by studying and learning sutras, claiming themselves to be supreme rank or supreme master and saying there is neither hell nor other worlds besides the human world. As a result, countless beings have lived in a carefree manner and been not anxious about cause and effect in the future.
Reverend Long-Hoa Sangha Chief noticed this and responded to them as follows:
Even the ranks of Devas, who run out of blessed rewards, will fall into hell and be subjected to punishments of shackles and hunger. Such harmful speech could cause others to end their good conditions on the Buddha path and cause oneself to undergo the Avici Hell for hundreds of lives until one generates the Bodhi mind-vow—only then could one’s damaging speech be liberated. Knowing that, advice is often given to many people to vow in their minds to practice Tao Dharma, aiming to dissolve the hell of those ill speakers. —T. V.
