CHAPTER IV: TRANSMISSION OF THE PRECIOUS DHARMA

C. DOCTRINE


4. The Suchness Truth Period: Salvation at The High Level (Mahayana)

4.3  The Effortful Deeds

Tao practitioners need effortful deeds, with the fervent mind and will for seeking the Tao Dharma, to overcome each prevented force from the Devilish Karma, hindrance and deceit from the External in order to attain one’s wish of returning the Truth-Goodness. —T. V.

In the presence of a difficult situation, a Tao practitioner needs to have the courageous mind and will to overcome it. That is called the effortful deeds. Only with a firm fervent mind, one could have enough strength to realize that thousands of Dharmas are all just insubstantial. Because of the karma created by conception, one’s conducting vow in the Dharma practice is always prevented and blocked, not overcoming the situation — that is called the devilish karma. A Tao practitioner therefore must be perseverant, following the Bodhisattva path that has been left, in order to attain the Truth-Goodness-Beauty. Illusory thought is the External; though knowing the Three Constitutions of Sutras, a Tao practitioner is still blocked by passionate errors, being unable to reach the True Enlightenment.

C. DOCTRINE

For Tao practitioners knowing how to brightly examine, they will recognize that it is the consciousness karma from one’s thoughts, the karma power from one’s rooted karma; it precisely is the clever External ‘walking and standing’ on one’s conception and words, evolving upon one’s thoughts. Sometimes, it causes one considering oneself to be enlightened, immediately being deceived by the External. That is a waste of labor to practice in such a way, to be not enlightened, mistakenly lost in the External and entering into the wrong way. —T. V.                                                                                                      

Consciousness karma precisely is the thought; it is also called the conception accumulated and moving in the Four Species. It creates the ignorance force that the living beings, the Fairies, the Deities, and the Saints cannot escape from, thus it creates the karma power.

The karma power is very clever and delicate. It can hear, see and know things far away and ahead of time; no matter how far, it comes in advance to inhibit and prevent living beings. For the Tao practitioners of the two levels (Dviyana) rank, it does not allow them to generate the Bodhi Mind in their Dharma practice. If living beings meet an ordinary monk, it let them live in peace; but when they are moving to meet a Sacred Monk, a Bodhisattva, or a Buddha, it will be so clever and delicate, penetrating into their body to prevent or block, causing paralysis. However, the living beings do not realize it. Even the clever ones who know it will be still blocked from conducting their vows. The experience shows that only by meeting a Good-Intelligent-Awakened One and showing trust, obedience, and respect to Him that one could be saved in order to fulfill. Once the karma power is enframed, it will become the conservatively rooted nature called the rooted karma. Even by numberless lives of practice, one will not be able to detach this deeply rooted karma.

For an example, a Tao practitioner is accustomed to the reciting sutra, the praying and supplicating, that creates a familiar thought called the consciousness karma. If they have an opportunity to meet a Venerable, who tells them to correct their bad nature and habit to improve themselves, they will become rebellious. The rebelliousness is generated from their thoughts because that is different from the concept used to reciting sutra and praying. Once recognizing the advantage of the correction of one’s nature, they’re then immediately prevented from listening to the preaching and practicing sitting meditation. This is precisely the karma power. The practitioner then neglects or gives up their unfinished practice, returning to the previous practice of reciting sutra and praying — The rooted karma has already formed.

During the period the Lord was still in the world, many true disciples failed on the way moving from the Low Level (Hinayana) to High Level (Mahayana). The total of true disciples, who followed the Lord with applications and registers kept by the management team, reached the number of 3000. Until 1975, the period of the High Level (Mahayana), it remained only 200 true disciples, who still continued to attend and receive the teaching; the others stayed home to recite sutra and from time to time paid the Lord a visit. They stayed away from the hours that the Lord was teaching the Buddhist Dharma. They neglected whatever the Lord advised. Their rooted karma did not change itself, even with the Lord’s help, they still remained unchanged. Without creating ourselves the effortful deeds, no one could save us; even the Buddha has come into the world, the fixed karma has been strongly formed, the Lord could do nothing about it.

In the Buddhist practice path, Tao practitioners must at least have the cultivating effortful deeds to carry out the vow salvaging living beings, in order to make the root-cause developed and thus, to profoundly comprehend the deep wonderful Dharmas. —T. V.

It is the same with a student who is diligent in class, listening attentively to what the teacher says. When coming home, they must do their homeworks; having difficult math problems, they must ask their friends or their teacher to guide to the solutions. After graduation, the student will get a worthy job, become a good citizen, and feel satisfied. There is not much difference for a Tao practitioner who practices for liberation through knowing, seeing, and solving.

There are some who merely think without practice, whenever seeing a thing conformed to their thoughts, they consider themselves to be the enlightened. That is a great danger because they are under the domination of devilish force, called ‘being entirely invaded by the External,’ but they do not recognize it. They have to execute the vow clearing their living being natures out, that is called the salvaging living beings. Only then they are  able to escape from the toxic External. Stop sitting and thinking. It is only by self-developing effortful deeds firmly that a Tao practitioner hopefully acquires the truth. Such practice is the way of relying on the Bodhisattva conduct.

The killing karma is decreasing among the Buddhist practitioners nowadays. But they still depend too much on the External—the disturbance of the Devil’s Tao, from the state of mind, the consciousness to the conception. That is why in the pagodas, monks and nuns keep and exhort the Buddhist form of their practice; in reality, they do not know the External well that they are nourishing the devilish force, living with the outlook, making their practice with the color of following dogmas of sutras in all forms. —T. V.

When The Founding Master came into the world in India, the Deity Tao was in vogue, they killed animals to worship Deities and poor people were considered as slaves. The Lord taught them the law of cause and effect. Nowadays, the killing karma is much reduced. True Buddhist disciples no longer kill living beings. But their Dharma practice does not aim at dissolving the ignorance, only emphasizing on organizing the formality of practice with all colors. They therefore do not recognize their conception is in lost direction, causing their practice to be completely covered by the External. The devilish force is so clever and tricky that Tao practitoners could not identify its true character. Because of the devilish force, Tao practitioners are dividing into parties, losing the essence of Buddhism.

The majority of Tao practitoners do not know it, as long as they could get the position of Superior Monk or Nun or High Virtue. Also, they are consenting together to tolerate the External, consequently practicing within their parties with their followers everywhere, making the Buddhism decrease its value—the value of being aware of natures, seeing and knowing the Buddha path—day after day. —T. V.

As for the Dharma practice in the Dharma-Ending Age, Reverend Long-Hoa Sangha Chief witnessed that many Tao practitioners do not know anything about the practice of ‘Self-Nature, Awareness of Nature,’ which aims at dissolving the invading devilish karma. They are only concerned about the position organization, letting in the reign of the External. It divides Tao practitioners into parties, struggling against each other and destroying the true meaning of Buddha path. However, they falsely believe that is the practice seeking for liberation through knowing, seeing, and solving.

I am hereby speaking with the spirit of responsibility. The Dharma practice has been mistakenly lost in the External and thus, most of the situation here is not developed. —T. V.

In the Dharma-Ending Age, the Lord spoke up to make Tao practitioners, who seek for enlightenment, not emphasize on organizing the formality, but develop and improve themselves to help the society and the nation to live truly in happiness. The Lord’s spoken word is representing the Three Postures and has gotten the ordination of The Founding Master Shakyamuni Buddha.

There are also Tao practitioners who actively, seriously, and solemnly practice the Dharma, trying to correct themselves to break up the karma, and relying on the sutras as golden words. Unfortunately, their knowledge is still limited, which can be compared as a piece of bait for their temporary practice and awareness, yet they readily consider themselves to be able to know the Tao Dharma; even those who are only aware of the nature of True Emptiness, they believed themselves to acquire the Dharma. —T. V.

In the Dharma-Ending Age, Buddhism not only lost its True Transmission, but also is considered as passive. As a matter of fact, Buddhism is very active, it helps living beings to live a practical and active life. The titles of Most Venerable, Venerable, and Highly Virtuous One are only the given names, they should not be complacent and rejoice it, but must break up the devilish force, which is invading their whole body. The position is not the acquisition. In order to gain the knowledge of Tao Dharma, one has to develop their effortful deeds, eliminating the devilish force. True Emptiness is not the acquisition. It is still far, too far from the enlightenment path.

True Emptiness, in fact, has many levels of attainment through the Dharma practice, from passive attainments to the true attainment. From the secular philosophy to the True Emptiness of the Fairies and Saints are all still maintaining activities of the External. Because of activities of the External, the Bodhisattvas must practice through many lives to penetrate into Dharma precepts, carry out their vows, examine their inner self and intuitively acquire from the exterior, aiming at enlightenment according to their rooted capability. By this way, the Bodhisattvas could avoid the mistakes causing by the External, which proposes the low or high attainment level to Tao practitioners. Resultingly, there are the birth of transformation, the being born, and the blessedly born; as well as the self-born—the ultimate liberation through solving. —T. V.

One day, the Lord taught about the True Emptiness levels of Tao practitioners attaining. Here is briefly what I heard:

In fact, living beings are mistaken, relying on it to live and believing that it is true; however, it is only formed by illusory thoughts. A Tao practitioner must be willing and earnest to build up effortful deeds with constant advance and taught by a Good-Intelligent-Awakened Bodhisattva or Buddha that they could escape from this EMPTINESS.

For instance, Dharma Master Hsuan Tsang who did not reside in his temple, practicing to the end of his life, but went to foreign countries to quest for the Tao Dharma, enduring the bitterness, hardship, suffering, as well as experiencing happiness. Until he eliminated all his living being natures, he then was able to quietly sit down to translate the sutras. Facing closely with the reality, his mind and thoughts became free and generous, so his translation was close to its true meanings and conformed to the Buddha path.

The essential thing to a Tao practitioner is to make a great vow to build their effortful deeds. If they are inclined to their self benefits and not to other benefits, being narrow and worried, they will not have enough capability to succeed. Neither act nor vow, having neither effortful deed nor goal — wishing to reach enlightenment, yet not willing to go! Neither making effortful deeds to carry out the vow nor moving, but quietly sitting, then no matter how long a Tao practitioner has practiced, they will only get the emptiness of isolated stillness.

For instance, the Milarepa La Ma of Tibet underwent so many difficulties to make his living being natures crushed, only then he built his own hermitage to enter meditation, quietly sitting to acquire the Original Truth — It is not true that one has practiced by renunciation from little until the old age, living in a tranquil isolated place so that one could attain enlightenment.

The Dharma practice itself is not liberation; the understanding is not liberation; the knowledge is not liberation; the ‘knowing and seeing’ is not liberation. Liberation has its own characteristics of liberation. Therefore, there are many levels of attainment. The Devas and Fairies belong to the transformation birth. Living beings are born due to their karma power, called “being born.” If one has a noble and ascendant life, with a generous mind one will be blessedly born in the Divine world. The Truly Enlightened One gives birth to themselves because they are no longer controlled by the consciousness karma, suffering karma, and rooted karma.

When we are still in insane chaos, the Buddhas have taught us about the non-ego according to our effortful and virtuous merits deeply or superficially. Having the great self of all-embracing, that is the awaken enlightenment up to the True Enlightenment. By not being aware of natures, not seeing our own natures, many practitioners are attached to the emptiness and thus fallen into confused imaginary thoughts. Fairies and the emptiness practitioners are still being affected by the External’s evolution; their achievement is not the true ultimate liberation.

Your bodies have stored thousands of masters who have taught you in various periods, preventing you from accepting My teachings and refusing Me. Therefore, you have not yet received what I have taught you. If you have a clear direction with firm effortful deeds, reducing the barriers, overcoming obstacles in each period so that those masters could leave one by one, reducing in number and you, at the same time, are able to hear and see what I have said —you just receive it today! After these recommendations, the Lord turned to the Supreme Maitreya Buddha and attested Him as the successor, called the Incarnation Return Supreme Maitreya Buddha. —T. V.             

Thousands, millions, and countless thoughts talked back and forth, calculated back and forth. With the strong devilish force, they made themselves to be the master of Tao practitioners so the latter could not hear what The Founding Master taught.

They cleverly prevent Tao practitioners’ practice by creating all kind of barriers; once a barrier is overcome, they immediately take chances to create another. One must truly understand them to daringly barter to win this External devilish force. When the devilish force is eliminated or greatly reduced in one’s body, only then a Tao practitioner could receive the teaching of a Good-Intelligent-Awakened One. Because of uncountable difficulties, The Founding Master ordained this Return Supreme Maitreya Buddha to bear the External and to move through each predominance so that the Lord could teach the Four Followers to practice Tao Dharma during this Dharma-Ending Age, making millions of our internal passionate error masters gradually leave — it’s exactly as same as what The Founding Master taught His Four Followers to practice Dharma in the past.

When there is no more the External devilish force surrounding, a Tao practitioner, only then, truly hears, truly sees, and truly knows through intuition; they are clearly aware of and thoroughly understand the devilish force. At that time, they only need a single word, readily ‘knowing and seeing Buddha’, readily reaching the ‘Buddha's knowledge and sight.’

Wonderful! The Founding Master cared for the future generations. The Lord knew well that only the Great Power could acquire the full capacity to resist against the invading External. —T. V.

The Founding Master knew that in this Dharma-Ending Age, only the Great Power of Lord Supreme Maitreya Buddha could remove the External. The Lord is the only One who has sufficient capability.  It’s a fact, we can see that there are many who have erroneously termed themselves Meditation Masters or the Buddhas, but are unable to escape from devilish forces. Indeed, by meeting the Lord in this Return Life, we could recognize that it’s unable to self-remove the External’s toxic pollution; it’s due to not having enough effortful deeds, all is completely covered. The proven fact is that the Lord lived in the fire hell, but He won over the Devil King.

At that time, the Great Power Lord then makes use of the form, sound, smell, and taste without being polluted, leaning on them to thoroughly understand the External to be truly enlightened. —T. V.                             

The Dharma subject of Lord Maitreya is the entering into form–sound–smell–touch–Dharma without being polluted, in order to understand thoroughly all polluted habits of the External causing birth and death. Here, the form–sound–smell–touch–Dharma in the secular world, being in contact with, thoroughly understanding and resolving them that precisely is the way practicing with sufficient effortful deeds of the High Level (Mahayana).        

The Great Power is not only for human beings and the Four Species in the Three Thousand Universe[80], why? Because the Great Power perfectly attains the mysterious factors that have been laid into the sack, thus He has the power of removing the External’s toxic pollution for faithful Tao practitioners who practice for seeking liberation through knowing, seeing, and solving. —T. V.

The Lord returned to the world in this period!  During 37 years of teaching, the Lord directly showed and attested a number of faithful Buddhist disciples who met Him. For those who made up their minds, they all were removed the External’s toxic pollution by the Lord, but they were only a few in comparison with the 3000 true disciples practicing at the Dharma Constitution Vietnamese Buddhism.

In reality, I myself witnessed: Tao practitioners, who met the Good-Intelligent-Awakened One but did not decisively make up their minds to practice for liberation through solving, would not be relieved. Having met but not realized the value, just keeping on praying for the blessed reward as Divine Humans, they still remain in the birth and death. It’s not true that every Tao practitioner could be relieved from the External’s toxic pollution. One day, the Lord taught: 

The World’s Most Venerable has recommended the Lord that: “living beings' minds and thoughts, in the Dharma-Ending Age, are as fragile as a thin clay casserole, you have to handle with care, avoiding firm shock. Otherwise, it will easily be broken.”

The Lord then attestedly transmitted to all Tao practitioners in the Lost Dharma Period to clearly know that:

The External invading that is the consciousness karma, the rooted karma, the suffering karma, and the hindered karma. When the invasion penetrating, that is called the fetter karma.

Suffering karma is the seeds of nature impregnated for many lives, forming the karma, which is attached firmly to living beings. They could not release it by themselves.

For example, a person with stingy and miserly habits wants to be rich. The Buddha then teaches them: They need to make donations to open their mind; Later, their stingy and miserly habits will be eliminated naturally. The disbeliever will fear of wasting their wealth. Their mind therefore is not opened and they hold their miserly nature from life to life without change, that is the suffering karma. Though the eyes can see and the ears can hear to perceive while the mind is not opened, it will not be practically useful at all.

Hindered karma: In the presence of unfavorable Dharmas, the one with hindered karma will denigrate and dislike them. Unknown passionate errors are also creating ignorance and called hindered karma.

The consciousness karma and rooted karma have already been previously explained.

[80] It means the Universe of the Three Thousand Great Thousand Worlds.

[81] Here, it means the invading External.

A Tao practitioner being not clearly aware and thoroughly understanding [the invading External] will not know well the ignorance by themselves; they need the help from a Good-Intelligent-Awakened One.  With their trust, obedience, and respect, this Venerable One will open favorable and unfavorable Dharmas to make them be clearly aware of it. The Buddhas completely eliminated ignorance.

What is the way of practice to completely eliminate ignorance? If we are seeking clearness and brightness, it will be the brightness of consciousness, not the true brightness. We have to gradually see our error, our mistake and our objection clearly. Practicing that way daily until the moment of having an adequate sense of the ignorance, and suddenly we intuitively enlighten the ignorance. Intuitive enlightenment of the ignorance means there is no more ignorance, getting the brightness naturally.

The true disciples, who were completely trustful, obedient and respectful of the teaching of Reverend Long-Hoa Sangha Chief, incarnating Lord Maitreya, were very serious and strict. At night before going to bed, they reviewed all their activities throughout the day: to see whether they said any wrong words or hot-tempered words with someone, whether they acted any incorrect deed —all were examined. Gradually, they eliminated their bad habits, cruel characters. Later, they were checked and challenged by the Lord. That is why a great number of true disciples, who have not fulfilled, gave up the Dharma practice.

Living beings have the ignorance of living beings.

Sravaka has the ignorance of Sravaka.

Pratyeka has the ignorance of Pratyeka.

Dharma protectors have the ignorance of Dharma protectors.

The enlightenment of ignorance to be bright is at different levels, different depths. Therefore, there are also different levels of intuition, and that could never be told completely. You would be frightened, escaping away and unable to understand when hearing the Lord teaching on the ignorance of the Bodhisattva rank. It is indeed of immeasurable difficulties.

The Lord utilized Dharma miraculously and unthinkably. To clear the ignorance for the faithful true disciples, the Lord scolded, drove away, and beat them. Those who could endure it would be cleared. And the bystanders who were joyfully detached, not getting unacceptable of those who were scolded and beaten, would truly see and know — that is called the Seeing-Knowing. But most fellow practitioners while being bystanders were not aware; they often criticized, disliked, and avoided those who were cleared up their ignorance and their mistake. Those who criticized mistakes would have mistakes forever; they have never gotten insight into the ignorance and thus, they cannot expect the coming brightness. It’s just as cooking gravels and pebbles and expecting it to turn into rice.

Once able to get insight into one subject, that will be the momentum to advance and return to the interior, opening all things by examining them, and finally anything at its right level will continue to be intuited, nothing can indeed be as happy as this!

The Lord often told us to correct our natures, along with being joyfully detached to make our mind empty. When we truly believed, the Lord scolded to show us the error. If one got angry and left the Lord, they later remembered His words on the joyfully detached, and with repentance they intuited that their bad habits were justly scolded; naturally, they went back to Him. When being suitable, the Lord then continued to miraculously utilize Dharma in compliance with the true Buddhist disciples’ wishes.

When a Tao practititoner is rebellious against something, the hostile nature will immediately appear. The nature remaining in their body, whenever facing similar situations, is the Dharma nature. The Dharma nature is perfectly harmonious and impartial. One’s Dharma nature is exactly what one’s nature is without omission, because the Dharma nature is inherently no-hesitant. If it is described only by words, one could not thoroughly understand it. The Dharma nature is not hesitant in the tranquility or in the disturbance, in the wrong or in the right; it’s also regardless of the time and the place. It acts only upon the wishes of the Four Species to serve them satisfactorily. Therefore, by whatever manner of practice, a Tao practitioners could always get what they wished for. Though a Tao practitioner knows that the Dharma nature is the passionate error, but if they are wishing, it will indulge them, making them believe it to be true and be delighted.

Every Dharma precept has a moving scene forming its own precept scene. Like an impoverished person who is accustomed to using mediocre furniture, when having money, they will not replace these items with the expensive ones. It is their precept scene forming their Dharma nature exactly like that. Each species living in their sphere will not be satisfied if they are subjected to live in another one, because their Dharma nature only is suitable to move to its familiar place.  The one covered by the ignorance often complain and blame; they do not know that it is adequately provided by their Dharma nature.

Self-seeing one’s own nature, that is the ‘Self-Nature, Awareness of Nature’, will knowing the movement of the Dharma nature. The one, who does not have their own desire and individuality, can find and recognize the movement of Dharma nature. Therefore, Tao practitioners need to conduct the vow of salvation for living beings. If they were stubborn, continuing to create their own desires, they would not be able to know and see the Dharma nature, running after the birth-death, called the ‘running after passionate errors and illusory thoughts.’

Once all the illusory thoughts are eliminated, readily seeing that each precept has its own corresponding nature, therefore without complaint and lament, a Tao practitioner immediately acquires the Equality of Nature and Intelligence. Only then, they are clearly aware of thousands of Dharmas, free from mistake, and knowing well to no longer run after the birth-death. Not leaving one’s desires is having illusory thoughts. Having illusory thoughts is being unequal, how can one successfully practice the Equality of Nature and Intelligence level by level?

The Good-Intelligent-Awakened One truly knows that the desire has led the living beings and Tao practitioners of the two levels (Dviyana) to run around ceaselessly in the six Taos, making them always remain in the living being precepts and sink in the birth-death. Therefore, to save living beings,[82] a Tao practitioner must lean on the desire to lead living beings to clearly know it and thus be free from illusory thoughts. If destroying the desire, one will not know what to cultivate. Leaning on it in order to resolve it is the best way of understanding the Dharma nature.

Like a cruel person who is accustomed to butchery and carnage, they then immediately have a Dharma nature creating the precept scene, which has to be inflicted retribution with the sufferings in hell correspondingly and without omission. —T. V.

Thus, from the ones with rooted goodness to the others with rooted evilness, they are all served adequately by the Dharma nature according to their desires.

[82] Here, “living beings” means one’s living being natures.

All Dharmas are precisely the Tathagata, but the Dharma Body is distinguished separately because the lack of acquisition in the practice. Hearing, seeing, and knowing are thousands and thousands of Dharmas. The Dharma inherently is the mind. The body is just a form or dimensions. A form receives its shape or colors being impregnated, thus there is ignorance, which gives rise to rebellion.

Once the thoughts being generated, the body immediately metamorphoses, being born into countless of Dharma forms, yet one is in passionate error to consider those as true, and thus one relies on their desires and wishes. Consequently, there are the Three Thousand Great Thousand Worlds, the blessed rewards of Divine Humans, and the retribution of hungry ghosts, animals, hell; as well as the Salvaged Nation, the Tranquility-for-Salvation Nation... Thenceforth, there are each corresponding body and Dharma Body. The corresponding body is also called the metamorphosed body and is exactly the Dharma Precept. Passionate error is called the living being precept.  For those Tao practitioners who know how to conduct the vows in the Dharma practice, self-seeking the true nature, they will be enlightened, recognizing that the living being precepts is homologous to the Dharma Body —That is the acquirement of the Dharma Body.

For example, analyzing a drop of seawater, it adequately has all the ingredients as the unbounded ocean itself. If it drops back to the ocean, it will dissolve immediately and be mixed in the seawater, no longer separated from it. A living being, who knows how to live collectivity without individuality and personality, readily communicate with the universe — that is the communication with the Ten Directions of the Buddhas, integrating themselves into the Tathagata Buddha as one. Therefore, the correction of oneself, the giving up of bad habits and complete resolving of fettered pollution are very necessary in the Dharma practice. If we are not able to save our own living being natures, how can we teach the Tao Dharma to save others? It is just preaching for the fun of it only.

If a Tao practitioner bases on their learning, their long studying to teach and practice the Tao Dharma, they are not different than any scholar, engineer, doctor or professor, who have also gained their knowledge through learning and studying. What makes a Tao practitioner surpass to be a master of living beings, how could they make others know that Buddhism is supreme above living beings and science?

It is easy to talk about correction of one's nature and giving up one's bad habits, but even a Highly Virtuous One or a 70-year-old Most Venerable might not be able to do it, if they do not know the Dharma practice path of the Patriarchs, the Bodhisattvas or the Buddhas. The Return Period is almost over and the True Dharma of the Buddhas is appearing. It is essential now to speak frankly in order to seek for the way of resolving the birth-death transmigration. It is really wasteful to neglect a current lifetime as human beings. In reality, it is not easy to be reborn as a human again if ignorance still remains! One will only be reborn as human after completely paying their mouth debt.

From hearing, seeing and knowing that generate one’s own self, called the differentiation forming Dharma precept. There are numberless Dharma precepts; they all share the same characteristic of entanglement in the birth and death. Dharma precept is a restriction, a frame of attachment, also called the living being precept.

“Buddha speaks, Buddha hears. Living beings hear, yet living beings repeat by their own meaning.” The Meditation Master laughed off after writing that, He then continued: “Living beings have never understood what the Buddhas said, because from living beings’ angle, what the Buddha said are all the Precept Buddha’s words. When living beings are hearing, the places for their hearing are all the hearing place of living being precepts, how could they perceive the Buddhas' words through their hearing.” —T. V.

Living beings still carry their karma, holding many bad characteristics, and confusedly thinking. Because not realizing their passionate errors, they are not able to hear the Buddha’s teaching. In fact, they need only to perceive a single word of the Buddha to immediately be enlightened. Because living beings have the conception of their own personality, when they are hearing, it is the living beings’ mind hearing.

The Buddhas constantly detach precepts and resolve all kinds of attachments, while living beings unceasingly generate thoughts. If living beings willingly learn and carry out the teaching of the Bodhisattvas and Buddhas, detaching precepts every hour and minute, they will be able to hear the Buddha's words.

Living beings are often polluted with the praise or the blame, the good or the bad, the clean or the dirty, always attaching themselves to one Dharma precept, then to another precept unceasingly. They are able to hear the Buddha's words only after being freed from attachment and softening their character. Because of passionate errors, they have been mistaken in the belts of Dharma precepts. It is only the Buddhas or Bodhisattvas, who could teach and guide living beings to know how dangerous the Dharma precept is so that they could resolve and detach it by themselves.

Speaking to this point, the Meditation Master looked at the spreading cloud, the falling yellow leaves, and the doomsday of posterity. The Lord then slapped His thighs and stood up, rubbed His hands and knitted His brows, thoughtfully. He came to His bamboo bed and laid down, not yet daring to speak. —T. V.

The Lord not only enlightened His true Buddhist disciples, but also was a Meditation Master who knew meticulously the past and future events in the Three Thousand Great Thousand Worlds. If the Lord spoke straightly and showed directly to the people in this Degenerate-Life Period, they would not only refuse to hear Him, but also show a disdainful attitude toward Him. So the Lord said: If I say what is not yet coming they will condemn me to be reactionary, but if I speak of what happened they will say I'm speaking after the fact, thus the best thing to do is to keep silent.

In fact, Dharma precepts of the cruel ones are the Dharma precept of destruction. Dharma precepts of the virtuous ones are very respectful and listening to know which is the right and which is the wrong; these ones will certainly meet the Buddha or Bodhisattva coming to life and being very helpful for the living beings.

Even the Buddha, Gentle Saints coming into this world must endure the sufferings, those are precisely the extreme Dharmas of the ending Degenerate-Life Period. That’s what doomsday means. The more advanced science is, the more satisfactory human life is, but the utmost of science is doomsday. Why? It is because Dharma precepts of the learned ones are running after the profits, including the inventing many we­­­apons of mass destruction. The disaster of the atmosphere pollution, which has an influence on the weather and climate, is also the disaster of doomsday. Accepting and legalizing homosexual marriage is a sign of doomsday.

These intellectuals know very little or do not know anything about the Suchness Intelligence of a Meditation Master. Science is running after the intellectual development in the unendingness of birth and death. The Meditation Master has improved himself diligently, spoken only about the truth, lived actively, and improved living beings effectively, bringing about true happiness, the truth, goodness and beauty to living beings.

Suddenly a butterfly from outside flew straight into the room. Not knowing the way out, it was still flying back and forth. The Meditation Master looked at it with a fresh smile. He said: “Butterfly, you are precisely a Dharma precept. You have a precept on two flying wings, a precept on couple of eyebrows; your six legs are all precepts. Your permanent characteristic is flying up and alighting on the flower, exploiting its nectar. Owing to the blooming flowers, giving your birth, you are pretty and beautiful.” He then stood up; using a paper fan, He guided the butterfly to fly out! —T. V.

Every thought is a Dharma precept; every word creates a Dharma precept; every act creates a Dharma precept. All are resulting in forms and shapes of the immortal Dharma precepts. Speaking about a butterfly, it is a Dharma precept. Each divided part of it is also a Dharma precept; there are countless Dharma precepts on it. Its wings are a Dharma precept; its long antenna is a Dharma precept. The Dharma nature of butterfly is beautiful; many people like to look at it, that is also a Dharma precept. Metarmorhosing from an egg on a branch of flower is also a Dharma precept. The fixed Dharma nature of butterfly is precisely its permanent characteristic; its activity and its kind of life are unchangeable in all times. It is really very difficult for a Tao practitioner, who seeks for liberation through knowing, seeing, and solving, and who needs to know all things without being impregnated with Dharma precepts. The deeply acquired One is really needed to show how to detach precepts, in order to hope for getting out of the Dharma precepts’ chasm.

Dharma precepts inherently are mere appellations, but an appellation is after all a precept. Reaching the state of understanding thoroughly the precept, one can realize that a Dharma precept itself is not a Dharma precept, but its appellation is really a Dharma precept, truly a Dharma precept. —T. V.

When a butterfly is hovering with all its parts it is called butterfly, but its six legs alone are not named butterfly, nor are its couple of antennas and its couple of wings. Butterfly is exactly an appellation including all parts called the formed precept. The knowledgeable one is clearly aware to call butterfly as an appellation, a Dharma precept, but each of its divided parts cannot be called a butterfly Dharma precept. Through the example of butterfly, we can see that countless Dharma precepts are only appellations, but living beings dispute, struggle, live and die for it and thus, they are ceaselessly in the birth and death.

As the world itself is not the world, but its appellation is the world, the truly world. —T. V.

For example, the globe with its mountains, rivers, houses, and gardens... is named the world, but it is only an appellation. That is because when we said “house” it is not the world, the mountain alone is not named the world, nor are the forest, the rivers. All of these are together sufficiently named the world. It is not itself the world, but its appellation is the truly world.

The immeasurable Dharma precepts are a common belt including all the Four Species, human beings, Fairies, Deities, and Saints. No one is able to get out of this belt, causing all the Four Species to be lived in the birth and death.

Only the Truly Enlightened Buddhas could control Dharma precepts. Being caught in such belt [of Dharma precepts], one become a living being precept. Once being a living being precept, they are living in ignorance, not in enlightenment.

The Buddhas miraculously utilize, entering and exiting out of the Dharma precept; while living beings up to the Sravaka are difficult to cross it. They are often sunk in the Dharma precept. The rank of Pratyeka and Arahant are clearly aware of the Dharma precept, but they are not completely free from it. The Bodhisattvas are completely free from the Dharma precept. Only the Buddhas thoroughly knowing the Dharma precept could enter and exit out of it with self-mastery, without hesitance. For those who remain caught in only one precept, they are still in passionate error.

Unable to resolve only one remaining precept, one is still subject to the Precept Buddha’s regulation. —T. V.

In the universe that contains the belts of Dharma precepts; a Tao practitioner, who has claimed by themselves to be a Buddha while one more Dharma precept is still not resolved, is called a Precept Buddha. For example, Devadatta with his great vigorous character, though he could enter and exit out of all Dharma precepts. However, every time solving a Dharma precept, he was accustomed to using his great vigorous character. Even becoming Buddha, he was only a Precept Buddha, called the Appellation Buddha and teaching the descendants of great vigor rank. He was not the Buddha of True Rank True Enlightenment. Even acquiring the Dharma of Supreme Rank True Enlightenment, but resolving thousands of Dharmas according to his great vigorous mind, he was still a Precept Buddha called Pratyeka-Buddha.

Those, who acquired the Supreme Dharma, but conducting the vow only in the presence of easy Dharmas and giving up in the presence of difficult ones, though becoming Buddhas, are only Precept Buddhas. Others, acquiring the Supreme Dharma, but not conducting the vow adequately to completing Dharma precepts are also Precept Buddhas.

During the time the Lord was still in the world, He said that: It is immeasurably difficult; Out of a million people who have acquired the Supreme Dharma, there is only one who could perfectly get out and in of the Dharma Precept, achieving the Miraculous Bodhi Fruit. In this Inferior-Life Period, there is in fact only one Lord Supreme Maitreya Buddha not two: the Lord was living in the fire of hell, enduring and overcoming all things so living beings could freely practice the Dharma and reach enlightenment.

The Meditation Master has experienced and surpassed the straits of Dharma precepts.  From His mind of observing [His own] living beings, the consciousness constitution has lighted the consciousness, maturing the Dharma precept. —T. V.

For instance, when the Lord was making His debut to execute the Tao Dharma, His family was very poor and in great difficulties. For the Lord, such a True Supreme Venerable, who had not even a place for teaching of Dharma, or a table to write the sutras; all the livelihood activities must be set aside. What a strait of hard dilemma, the Lord had to observe and examine all His inner seeds of natures, which sometimes pushed Him forward, sometimes pulled Him backward, making Him discouraged (the consciousness constitution). Finally, the Lord chose the most appropriate way, at that time: the determination to resolve (the consciousness) until being free of obstacles, by preaching the Buddhist Dharma at first to His relatives, then to those of His acquaintances. Enduring all dishonors, being patient, gradually, day after day, month after month, there was one then two, three... believers following Him in the Dharma practice. There were thus an amount of daily Buddhist works — a mature Dharma precept, neither avoiding nor reversing unfavorable Dharmas; A Tao place was thence formed at home.

It is much easier in the pagodas, where Dharma precepts are not difficult because all secular people believe “the pagoda is a place for practicing Dharma,” which they often come to visit. Practicing Dharma as a layman is like opening a road, deforesting for clearing, establishing villages and hamlets peacefully, what a heavy work!

By the non-attached consciousness, thousands of Dharmas naturally are progressing from one Dharma to the other, without anything called the Dharma precept. —T. V.

Once the Tao place was established, whenever there were circumstances, the Lord accordingly resolved, sometimes indulging, sometimes rightly and wisely solving, that is the non-attached and non-dogmatic consciousness. Once every Dharma in progression is harmoniously resolved, there is no more fixedness. Without conservation, without attachment, without immobility and fixed form; without passive knowledge and when it’s adequate, there is intuition, perfectly resolving from one Dharma to another by the Self-Nature, there is therefore nothing called the Dharma precept. That is called ‘it’s neither exactly like the sutra nor separated from the sutra’, the path of the Buddhas.

The Meditation Master has experienced this condition. He has based on His mind and will to examine and clear up all things. Otherwise, if one has not reached the level where they must make use of their mind and will, they have never clearly known how the Dharma precept and the karma arise. —T. V.

Once the Dharma precept is not released and resolved, the karma will develop. When completely resolving, the karma is ended and so are passionate errors in Dharma precepts; once there is no more error, there is no more passion. Practicing on resolving passion will bring passion to an end. Practicing on errors by using Buddhist intelligence to dissolve errors will put the end to errors.

For great faithful Tao practitioners, not having a courageous will yet, they should rely on their conscious mind to practice to perfection. —T. V.

For example, a person suffered day after day from their ulcerated abscess. The wise will soon go to see a doctor to be treated. The doctor examines the wound, saying he has to order surgery to remove the abscess, and will write a description of medicine for them to use after that. For the one who base only on their own volition, being afraid of the more painful operation, they will refuse the treatment. Consequently, when the wound becomes more and more severe, the patient will inevitably die. But the one understanding the problem, they will accept the pain to be operated on, making all the poison eliminated; and after taking medicine as directed by the doctor, they will be completely cured. The latter knows how to rely on their thoughts of conscious mind to resolve effectively, being well. It is the same for practicing the Dharma: relying on our conscious mind, listening to spoken words in our body, then rightly judging to accept the Good-Intelligent-Awakened One’s guidance for self-overcoming from obstruction; through this way, a Tao practitioner could hope for the liberation through knowing, seeing, and solving.

Those who know how to use their Consciousness Constitution to light their consciousness karma are those who have already had the courageous will, which is resulted from their virtuous deeds; without virtuous deeds means without development of courageous will. —T. V.

Tao practitoners who know how to brightly examine their own good and evil thoughts are those who know the progression of their own consciousness karma. Those practitioners having perseverance and determination to lean on it to resolve it are among the rare ones, who recognize and realize it from its starting right in their mind; that really is the brave and strong will, opposing against the devilish force of the External. Those Tao practitoners very much value the path of liberation through knowing, seeing, and solving.

Owing to leaning on while one’s mind-body is in the tendency of joyful detachment, one has the Tathagata Virtuous Merit, thousands of Dharmas are widely opened to them, and their mind is no longer stingy and miserly; they dare to make offerings worthy of virtuous merit without hesitating, without venturing, and without worrying about tomorrow’s occurrences.  Suddenly, they intuit the courageous will; since then, they make up their mind to determinedly follow the Good-Intelligent-Awakened One to seek for True Enlightenment. Therefore, if there weren’t virtuous deeds and sacrifices, there would never have the courageous will. It’s very easy for everyone to speak, yet in fact, in the Dharma practice having the courageous will only when the mind has opened. The courageous will is necessary in progress to fearlessness and self-mastery. It is essential for advancement, dissolving Dharma precepts on the Dharma practice way following the Bodhisattvas, the Buddhas. If there were no courageous will, there would be no attested attainment.

The Meditation Master thinks over: Thousands of Dharmas are just insubstantial; one could only recognize its insubstantiality after having overcome it and looked back. By doing nothing, how can one recognize this, up to see and know the insubstantiality becoming the truth? —T. V.

From the beginning of each formation to its destruction, it is always rhythmically in accordance with the order of four Dharmas: Formation - Existence - Destruction - Nothingness in the impermanence. Only after trying to pass over insubstantial Dharmas without regret, one is able to reach the constant permanence, avoiding the mistake of being joyful when having something and being sorrowful when losing them from the progressing impermanence of Dharma — that is called seeing and knowing the unsubstantiality, reaching the truth of No-Birth.

For example, a mandarin entrusted with the authority over everybody is happy and comfortable, having beside him his attendants. This mandarin and his relatives are very proud and happy for his position. But when he is in misfortune, losing position and authority, he and his relatives will be all sorrowful, blaming and lamenting for their poor fate.

Through this story, we can see that living beings are often living in the Dharma impermanence, they are glad when successful, and sorrowful when defeated. Being united and then separated, being close and then distant, these happenings are usual phenomena evolving from the no-beginning to the present and forever in the future. It is inherently constant permanence without the birth and death. It is progressing for a while and in a certain time, but living beings do not see that; they wrongly conceive it to be true, being attached to it and subjected to live in the cycle of birth and death. If we know it as unsubstantial, yet conceive the unsubstantiality to be ourself, we are readily controlled and attached by it. Until not being controlled and led by it, the unsubstantiality becomes the truth.

A meditation master needs to improve the defect on the way of practice rather than practice for advancement in the fruit. Why? Because not having the Compassion-Will-Courage and the Reliability-Morality-Vow, how can one acquire the fruit in the Legitimate Supreme Truth or the deep morality to restore the Tranquility-for-Salvation World? —T. V.

If we are not clean and smooth means we are not able to save ourself, how could we save others?  How could we be free from the devil’s preaching? Resolving thousands of Dharmas in morality, conformable with ourself and beneficial to others, that is the high morality, leading to peace and tranquility. That is the true Tranquility-for-Salvation World.

The Meditation Master truly knows well. A perfect Prajñà Intelligence with a serious attitude in the Dharma practice is the most related important thing for all Tao practitioners of great will and great compassion, leaning on their great vow to really absorb, acquire, and break up the belt of Dharma precepts. —T. V.

It is by concentratedly executing, not simply speaking; whenever having Dharma, immediately reviewing, examining to resolve it, that is the basic path of the High Level (Mahayana) practice, capable of breaking up the dense covering belts of Dharma precepts.