Reverend Long-Hoa Sangha Chief, Tịnh Vương Nhất Tôn
Qui Nhơn, 06-20-1970.
I would like to present all of the pictures on this small screen as follows:
The first picture is my mother, Nguyễn Thị Phụng.
Mother of Reverend Long-Hoa Sangha Chief, Nguyễn Thị Phụng.
—Nha Trang, 1973.
The second picture: We are entering the Precious Dharma Place[6] in Qui-Nhơn City, Bình-Định Province.
The Long-Hoa Sangha Chief, Reverend Tịnh Vương Nhất Tôn (left) getting out of a car and walking in the Qui-Nhơn Precious Dharma Place.
[6] A temple of the Dharma Constitution.
In the third picture, the lady standing up, I would like to introduce the wife of Mr. Linh Quang Viên, the Lieutenant-General in Nha-Trang City at that time. That was when Mrs. Nguyễn Thị Nghĩa, the wife of Lieutenant-General Viên, on a ceremonial occasion, went on a pilgrimage to Huế.
Mrs. General Viên guided a delegation to Huế for a pilgrimage while I was on my trip to Đà-Nẵng. The two sides had met; they asked my permission to let them attend the ceremony when I was in Qui-Nhơn, inviting all true Buddhist disciples of the Dharma Constitution to join the ceremony and listen to the Dharma preaching.
This is the image of Mrs. Nguyễn Thị Nghĩa standing up, expressing her opinion about the Dharma Constitution that she had the chance to encounter: The Dharma Constitution specializes in doctrine, sitting meditation, and practicing the Buddha path; this association uses no form that could be called politics. She also spoke up about her favorite aspirations toward the Dharma Constitution.
This is the photo taken at the time when I went from Nha-Trang to Đà-Nẵng by a Boeing plane on September 9, 1973. Upon arrival, I was welcomed by the Four Followers of Đà-Nẵng back to the Dharma Precious Place. The Dharma Precious Place of Đà-Nẵng provincial city was located at the house of Phùng Nồng, who was an oriental medicine physician and running a medicinal herbs shop.
The Four Followers of Đà-Nẵng gathering in front of the airplane stairs and welcoming Reverend Sangha Chief (in the middle of the stairs).
Reverend Tịnh Vương was coming to attest at the Tao Dharma opening in Đà Nẵng.
The Four Followers welcome Reverend Sangha Chief from Đà-Nẵng airport, coming to the gate of the Dharma Precious Place of Quãng-Nam Đà-Nẵng provincial city, which is located at the house of Mr. Phùng Nồng, an oriental medicine physician, at 59 Trưng Nữ Vương Street, Đà-Nẵng city.
And here is the photo taken when Mr. Linh Quang Viên was appointed to be an ambassador in a foreign country. I forget the name of that country. He invited me to have an intimate meal to see him off to go abroad to be an ambassador somewhere near France… In Morocco, that’s right.
Reverend Sangha Chief is sitting in the middle. Mr. Linh Quang Viên is sitting on the left of the Reverend Lord, and his wife, Nguyễn Thị Nghĩa, is sitting on the right of the Reverend Lord (her Dharma name is Tạng Thảo).
This image is a pilgrimage. At that time, my wife, namely Phan Thị Kim Yến, together with the female Four Followers, went on a pilgrimage to pagodas in Khánh-Hòa Province.
The woman standing in the middle is the Reverend Lord’s wife, Phan Thị Kim Yến. Standing to the right of the Reverend Lord’s wife is Mrs. Nguyễn Thị Nghĩa, the wife of Lieutenant-General Viên.
The image was taken at the Avalokitesvara statue, on the Rù-Rì Pass, Nha-Trang, 1974.
In the year 1974, Reverend Sangha Chief attested the Dharma Precious Place in Huế City. That was also the year when the Lord transmitted “The Doctrine Words” and “The Precious Dignity Comes into Being—True Sutra” at the Central Supreme Association.
This is an image of my family sitting. After finishing ceremony, we come together to be intimate in the usual family gathering. It must be like that.
The Reverend Lord’s family gathering during the Tao birthday, the Reverend Lord’s birthday, at the Central Supreme Association on December 24, 1973 (lunar calendar).
This picture is an image of me sitting on the porch of my wooden house. It is very small, like a hermitage. I usually sit there enjoying the cool afternoon breeze. That is my usual life, sitting routinely there.
I still remember clearly: when I was sitting there, taking the picture, that was the year I wrote the book The Judgement About the Universe Toward Human Being.
I have found out the quintessential substance in the Universe. This quintessence is the living substance. If human beings do not have the quintessential substance, they are not in the condition of being nourished by the Universe. Nevertheless, humans must have the living substance of quintessence.
To my close people: Just read the book The Judgement About the Universe Toward Human Being to see my clear explanation about this quintessential substance in more detail. Reading it would be much clearer than if I were to try to summarize it here.
The Lunar Year of Dragon 1976.
—On the porch of a tranquil house, 42 Hồng Bàng, Nha Trang.
This is an image for the purpose of practicing the Dharma, but still developing, such as the cultivating that is taking place in the picture. This is so that all Tao practitioners gain the life of self-reliance, being vigorous in life, not coming into a pagoda to be a ‘Buddha,’ sitting there and being fed by others. That lifestyle is not suitable to my life; I still struggle and overcome in life. Every student of mine is "a human standing among other humans," very virtuous.
In this picture, Reverend Tịnh Vương is standing on the left wearing sunglasses; Master Di-Như is standing in the right corner (at that time, the Master had the Dharma name of Pháp-Khả). They are planting trees in the A-Đề forest.
The Four Followers of An-Nhơn district respectfully asked Reverend Sangha Chief (here, in the right picture, Reverend Tịnh Vương wearing sunglasses and walking ahead) to attest the foundation for building a Dharma Precious Place. A-Đề forrest, 1971.
Here is the image of a land plot I was granted, 30 kilometers from Nha-Trang city, called Vĩnh Phước, Phú-Hữu village. That garden is A-Đề garden at the bottom of the mountain. My aspiration was to deforest that place, for what? For later, when we can use a small amount of money to build a hut or a temple that can become a place of cultivation for brothers and sisters to come and practice the sitting meditation.
The Reverend Sangha Chief in Phú-Hữu village, 07-14-1962.
In 1962, the Lord attested the first Tao Dharma place opening in Phú-Hữu village. In that year, the Lord also wrote the poem "The Unceasing Half-Piece" on December 24, the lunar year of the tiger, 1962. The Lord also transmitted the Dharma Doctrine in this year.
Reverend Sangha Chief preaching the Tao Dharma in Phú-Hữu village
Reverend Sangha Chief (holding the incense stick) attesting the A-Đề Forrest
I say hello to the Four Followers: I wish for you to generate the Bodhi Mind and Vow, the great vow following the Bodhisattva conduct, to use Form-Hearing-Odor-Taste-Touch-Dharma without impregnation. That is the path of the Bodhisattva conduct, the highest rank among all other Dharma Subjects.