The Eastern Salvation Period: A period of assimilation with human beings. The Lord was incarnated as a layman to guide Tao practitioners to return to the Supreme Truth Appearing Enlightenment.

THE VERSE:

The Western Paradise means that Tusita Heaven is full of peace and joy in the golden light of Tao.

The Incarnation started opening Salvation from the East: The Lord was reborn in the East (“Salvation from the East” also means living as a layman). “The Incarnation” means that Lord Maitreya started opening Tao Dharma.

The Lord used all of the wonderful means to indicate that LIFE IS TAO AND THEY ARE ALWAYS IN A PAIR, always appearing as the form and the shadow. Despite being two, both share one form. The Lord accommodated for human beings, aiming at guiding them on a unique practicing path, the path of enlightenment.

When the Lord started opening Tao Dharma, the Four Species increased their intensity of competition and harmed each other in chaos; they have constantly lived in unconsciousness.

THE INTERPRETATION:

I come to the Western Salvation … I return to the East...: Reverend Tịnh Vương Nhất Tôn incarnated today is precisely the reincarnation of Lord Maitreya. Conducting at the Divine Level (renouncing family) in the past,[19] the Lord now appears and conducts Himself as a layman, pulling up the curtain of ignorance for the erroneous practice of Tao Dharma in the Dharma-Ending Age. The Lord brings harmony to human beings through using hearing-seeing-knowing in life to practice Tao Dharma, transforming the hearing-seeing-knowing into thousands of Dharmas without being attached. Upon fulfilling this, humans will live peacefully and happily, families will be stable, and nations will be peaceful and joyful.

ONGOING ACTIONS:

The Lord often came to places such as Nha Trang, Qui Nhơn, Đà Nẵng, Huế, and Saigon where there were true disciples to teach Tao Dharma. There were also some monks and nuns, those who renounced their families, who came to meet the Lord and read His sutras of liberation. They only knew that the Lord was Master Tịnh Vương. During the Lord’s itinerary, none of these monks or nuns tried to search and understand the Dharma subject of liberation. They did not pay attention to it and even considered this way of practice as unnecessary and completely strange.

Alongside teaching Tao Dharma to the surrounding Four Followers, the Lord also had a difficult great vow, which was His determination to use the Buddhas' Precious Dharma to rebuild the human world, transporting from the East to the West, bringing a realistic method of Dharma practice to them —that is the correction of one’s nature, giving up one’s bad habits, and resolving circumstances for a bright mind and liberation from suffering in each and every family. This work of transforming the whole world in this time was not understood by any of the religious leaders.

THE CONSEQUENCES:

“The Divine Fairies are applauding happily.”

Why? In the Fairyland, Divine Fairies were observing the Lord’s returning journey to the human world. Divine Fairies are those who live outside of our earth and are very sensible. Sympathetic to the past and the future, they are clearly aware and fully enlightened to the movement and manipulation of thousands of Dharmas that are either appearing or circulating. They are only inferior to the Bodhisattvas’ rank: they do not really know how their own body-fate is changing in order to solve birth, death, old age, and suffering.

The Divine Fairies saw the Universe and people living in peace and safety. In the Period of Return and Degenerate-Life, when hell emerged and the karma of suffering was widespread, they saw the Great Power saving the Four Species, which is why they applauded happily.

“The puzzled Land Fairies wrinkle their eyebrows lamenting.”

Why? The Land Fairies were always drawn to the Middle Life Period, which is also called the Gentle Life Period. In that period, the Dharma practice respected those who were virtuous and saintly. When seeing the rising fires from hell, the Great Powerful Maitreya used all means suitable in the Period of Return to save the world. The Land Fairies, who did not understand this, upon seeing Saints and Bodhisattvas working as hard as a buffalo or horse, conceived the degeneration of the Buddha’s Path in the Dharma-Ending Age and thus lamented. This happened while the Saints and Bodhisattvas were penetrating into “The Universal Door Chapter,”[20] entering Hell’s fire and undergoing bitterness, dishonor, and corporal punishment in order to save living beings from suffering and bring salvation to them.

“Human beings are bewildered in their behavior.”

Why? Human beings lived an unstable and chaotic life: The plenty became empty, the tranquil became chaotic, the united became divided, the cool became hot, and the cozy became homeless. Both secular people and Tao practitioners lost their balance, their direction in life, and their true faith in Buddha, after Hell’s Fire toward a new horizon… Everyone was astounded, anxious, bewildered, and adventurous.

“While Bodhisattvas laugh joyfully.”

The Saints and Bodhisattvas have vowed to penetrate into “The Universal Door Chapter.” Therefore, when faced with harsh circumstances, their bodies and minds still recognized them, yet remained empty and joyful. Saving others from suffering was the food of Bodhisattvas. Therefore, they were joyful to undergo extreme difficulties to follow the footsteps of Buddha.

“The Three Realms shake unceasingly.”

The Three Realms are the three heavenly worlds of desire, form, and formlessness. Seeing the human world encroached by Hell’s fire, they became worried and anxious, and their bodies shook sorrowfully, too.

“I'm sitting on the precious throne, forever beautiful and fresh.”

The Lord knew that these were only illusory scenes of the human world, and in this unique rebirth, He would attain Buddha’s Fruit—always beautiful, fresh, and everlasting.

 THE SEAL–INDICATION:

“Human beings faithfully seek for Tao Dharma.”

The Lord knew that numerous human beings now practice Dharma by following Buddhism. Most of them rely on monks and nuns in temples and mountain forest sanctuaries, seeking for Tao Dharma with a faithful mind because they are tired of life. The Lord still lamented:

“Those who are not clearly aware of Long-Hoa become insanely confused.”

This verse clearly discloses that Lord Maitreya came to the world, opened Long-Hoa, and taught morality for living beings sinking in the ocean of suffering to arrive at the shore of enlightenment. None of those who waited for the Lord in any religion could recognize this realistic way of practicing in this Degenerate-Life Period: Self-Nature, Awareness of Nature[21] and resolution of the flowering Dharma nature. Instead, they are insanely confused and illusively wait for the explosion of the Thất Sơn Mountains.[22]

“The Nagarjuna’s incarnation is now perfect in a secular body.”

The Lord now directly indicates that Tịnh Vương in this life is truly Nagarjuna appearing in the secular body. The body of Nagarjuna in a past reincarnation is presently Lord Maitreya embodied in this human world.

“With the mind, brain, and intelligence of Fairies, Saints, and Deities.”

Fairies, Saints, and Deities are those who have a more sensible outlook than that of laypeople. These words are as lucid and conscious as the brain and intelligence of the Fairies, Saints, and Deities. The Lord directly indicates that enlightenment is right in our minds and bodies. Why not accept it rather than keep looking from outside? These are truly the words of Buddha.

“I come in this period to restore,”

The Buddha comes to life to exclusively bring human beings direct indications of restored enlightenment, which is also the Seal–Indication of three generations of Buddhas. According to the teachings of Reverend Tịnh Vương Nhất Tôn, the incarnation of Lord Maitreya, this period is the Inferior-Life Period: The Degenerate Dharma overshadows the True Dharma; Tao practitioners prefer to make use of education and the study of Buddhist sutras, and favor form and sound to seek Tao Dharma, becoming passively enlightened.

The Lord did not create a new religion, but only restored and modified the way of practice according to the path of liberation through knowing, seeing, and solving—the path of self-enlightenment exactly following the principle of the three generations of Buddhas.

 “Appearing as a layman: Indication-Seal-Accomplishment,”

The Lord clearly let human beings know that He comes to life as a layman, taking on the characteristics of a layperson.

·         “Indication” means the direct indication.

·         “Seal” means the sealed attestation of the Universe and humankind.

·       “Accomplishment” means the restored enlightenment and the accomplishment of the incarnation of the three generations of the Buddhas.

Today, most Tao practitioners do not follow the Seal–Indication above and are conducting themselves in a way that accuses Buddhism of being passive; and the heretics, through their worship offerings, are pushing the faithful believers to fanatical practices. They focus on praying and supplicating rather than correcting one’s own nature and creating the rooted goodness to resolve the devilish force.

“When Buddha appears in the world, He has two guiding paths.”

The path of emptiness means the renunciation of family: living in a pagoda, temple, or hermitage and having no spouse or children and thus being free of familial ties. Provided that the mind is harmonious and open and not polluted by external circumstances, enlightenment is still accomplished.

The path of tangibles means the layperson conduct—living in a family with one's spouse and children, undergoing all hardships and conveniences of family circumstance, sometimes joyful, sometimes sad, sometimes comfortable, sometimes sufferable…with thousands of Dharmas proceeding in immeasurable ways in life. Provided that the mind is not polluted while getting in and out of Dharma precepts, one is still enlightened.

Whether or not family is renounced, practicing on the right path of intuition still yields enlightenment. As for the Lord, He chose to live as a layman, living in a family with His wife and six children. This made Tao practitioners who left their families to practice in a temple, upon meeting the Lord, feel strange and disbelieving.

Tao Practitioners who renounce their families—also known as those of the Divine Level’s Conduct—represent the tranquil practice group, using tranquility for salvation. They must also take the reliability–morality–vow from hearing–seeing–knowing, which are thousands of Dharmas, aiming at liveliness to resolve Dharmas. They gradually become aware of ignorance, no longer being polluted and returning to the tranquility of restored enlightenment.

Otherwise, living in quiet peace and avoiding conflicts through being tranquil is called isolated tranquility. It is a dangerous way to practice Dharma and never allows one to reach the shore of enlightenment. The practice of escape, avoiding what is dirty and choosing the cleanness of Tao practitioners who have renounced their families, unintentionally leads to the intelligence of a Fairy or Deity and can never allow one to reach restored enlightenment.