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.

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.