CHAPTER IV: TRANSMISSION OF THE PRECIOUS DHARMA

C. DOCTRINE

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

4.5 Miraculous Dharma

You should remember that for each period when a Buddha is appearing, what the Buddha says is the exact words of the True Enlightenment’s Dharma Flowers considered as the Miraculous-Dharma Connecting-Flower Sutra to be remembered and recited. There is no one whose words could be called the Dharma Flower Sutra, nor anyone who could claim to be able to explain the Lotus Flower Sutra. —T. V.

By the time of The Founding Master, 2538 years ago, upon the Buddhist calendar, the society honored morality; most people lived honestly. By profoundly knowing that, the Buddha concentrated on opening the enlightenment about the flowering Dharma nature in conformity with that time. The Lord made use of hearing, seeing and knowing in life to resolve Dharma flowers for the Four Followers wonderfully through their practice and act, called the Miraculous-Dharma Connecting-Flower Sutra.

In the Period of Return, Lord Maitreya came to life in the scene of the Dharma-Ending Age. The Lord also profoundly knew the extremely exploding toxicity of the flowering Dharma nature in this period. Accordingly, the Lord enlightened the Four Followers wonderfully without omission. Therefore, there is also the Miraculous-Dharma Connecting-Flower Sutra of this Dharma-Ending Age. However, many Tao practitioners have not seen and known the rhythmic movement of the flowering Dharma nature, which is extremely rebellious in this Dharma-Ending Age. They have preached the Dharma Flower Sutra of the [Shakyamuni] Buddha in accordance with their study, becoming impractical; it is not the current living Dharma. It is the strict compliance with the sutra without being fully enlightened its meaning, which has slandered the Three Postures of the Buddhas. Each Buddha’s period has its own Miraculous-Dharma Connecting-Flower Sutra corresponding to the life, called ‘neither leaving the sutra nor strictly following it’.

C. DOCTRINE

The Lord is using a Royal typewriter to write sutra.

I am applying to guide the way of Dharma practice, following the Supreme Compassion–Flower Sutra step by step. The Compassion–Flower Sutra is all about the path experienced previously by the Bodhisattvas, the Buddhas and currently by the Four Holy Practitioners; all attestations of the Dharma practice are ordained through the Compassion–Flower Sutra. —T. V.

The Compassion–Flower Sutra was a sutra preached by The Founding Master to the Bodhisattvas for their whole practice. Nowadays, Lord Maitreya guided the Bodhisattvas in conducting their vow to enter the constitution of Buddhas. All diligent Tao practitioners could hear the voice of the Buddha, of the Dharma, and of the Sangha; and the sound of perfect serenity, of non-possession, of Pāramitā, and of non-acquisition; as well as the sound of no-birth no-extinction, of great kindness, of great compassion and of ordination in full of miraculous voices.

In this Dharma-Ending Age, Reverend Tịnh Vương, the Long-Hoa Sangha Chief taught the Four Followers, adequately the way of practice according to the Supreme Compassion–Flower Sutra, which was taught by The Founding Master to His Four Holy disciples. In this period, the Four Holy Followers have also ended their sorrow, with a peaceful joyful calm mind, being free from birth and death, free from all ties while not being far away from all chaotic Dharmas.

Though Lord Maitreya has now entered the Eight Masses of Nirvana, His Buddha-Power full of great compassion, of great will, and of great bravery has remained over everywhere. This makes the Four Holy Followers who are walking have the strength of concentration, the strength of observing all goodness’ and super goodness’ Dharmas; and the strength of Samadhi, of meditation and of Prajñà Wisdom.

For those with a sincere earnest heart, but with a deficient Buddhist intelligent, being in difficulty to resolve unconscious attachments practically, the Lord immediately showed directly and straight talked about the sutra: “The Buddha preached the Amitabha Sutra with the objective of helping those who diligently recite the Amitabha Buddha’s appellation to readily access the Tranquility-for-Salvation World,” showing that the Lord’s guidance was according to the disciples’ rooted capability, whereas the attestation of  attainment was at the Compassion–Flower Sutra. —T. V.

For Tao practitioners who still believe in the Buddha, but do not practice on resolving thousands of Dharmas, and are still opposing in presence of disagreeable situations, they are in unconscious attachments. The Founding Master taught the diligence in reciting the Amitabha Buddha’s appellation so that the practitioners would be reborn in the Tranquility-for-Salvation World according as their effortful and virtuous deeds. For example, a Buddhist practitioner specializes in reciting sutra, supplicating and praying in front of a picture or clay statue of the Amitabha Buddha, but neither correcting their nature nor resolving thousands of Dharmas, then after their death, and after their karma debts are paid off, they will be reborn in a place where there is the temple worshipped a picture or a clay statue of the Amitabha Buddha; they will come to that temple to practice the Dharma at a certain age like before. This happening is according to the practitioner’s root-capability in the Dharma practice; that’s precisely their own Dharma nature providing for them as their wishes. It’s not true that accessing the Tranquility-for-Salvation World is being able to meet the Amitabha Buddha.

In the Dharma practice, a Tao practitioner is able to meet the true Lord Amitabha only when becoming a Buddha. That is what Tao practitioners must notice. There are some who have practiced the Dharma for a long time in a temple; nearly the day of their death, they met Lord Amitabha showing them a lotus throne in their dream, and believed in themselves that they became a Buddha like Lord Amitabha. That is quite wrong.

For the Amitabha Sutra the Buddha preached, the Lord skillfully straight talked that the establishment of the ‘Self-Nature’, the construction of one's mind, and the willingness of Dharma practice would lead to the following success:

The Amitabha Buddha Sutra is still reserved for Tao practitioners of High Level (Mahayana) to resolve thousands of Dharmas, to practice the ‘Self-Nature, Awareness of Nature’, to construct their generous tolerant mind, and to resolutely self-practice the resolution, and that is also conserving the True Dharma eternally. —T. V.