CHAPTER IV: TRANSMISSION OF THE PRECIOUS DHARMA

C. DOCTRINE

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

4.9 Preaching on the Corresponding Response

As far as the document of the Buddha path is concerned, it is a wonderful, effective drug, helping to know the origin of the erroneous passion. Because of the individual self-satisfaction, the Dharma practice is established to correct oneself. Must practice the Dharma in reality from the outside to be able to recognize millions of mistakes in the corresponding response. —T. V.

The Dharma practice is aimed to practise thousands of Dharmas in the secular world in order to be self-aware. The more active, the deeper penetration will be. Owing to that, looking back after having experienced, a Tao practitioner could clearly see their own mistakes: they have been drawn in millions of Dharmas in all directions correspondingly, making themselves going with the flow, unable to get out of this corresponding response. Must be perseverant and courageous to be able to comprehend millions of paths to avoid the mistake, not being drawn in the corresponding response.

C. DOCTRINE

Many Tao practitioners are afraid of depravity of the corresponding response, their thoughts therefore become gentle, aiming to avoid going wrong. —T. V.

When unpeaceful Dharma happening, a Tao practitioner choosing not to resolve, afraid of sinking, they will be gentle, but their Buddhist intelligence will not be developed. Those who avoid facing thousands of Dharmas cannot see their mistakes and thus, continue to make mistakes. Those who could improve themselves from their mistakes, will be free from mistakes. For those who consider themselves to have Buddhist intelligence, if they do not have vowed conduct, their intelligence is not really advanced and their illusory confused consciousness karma still remains.

 There are some who often examine their mistakes, willing to repent, finding the way of resolution for their consciousness karma and illusory confused rooted karma; however, no matter how much they keep practice, they still see confused illusion in themselves. They seek places to go for solitude, completely destroying, becoming the Fairy Tao or the Two-Levels (Dviyana) with attested practice rank. —T. V.

There are some Tao practitioners who highly pay attention to examine their mistakes, sincerely repenting with the intention of avoiding mistakes. They examine from the illusory confused thoughts to the rooted nature creating karma, but they could neither dissolve all confused thoughts nor control them. They have entered in hermitages to cultivate alone, far from all contact, in order to avoid the hearing and the seeing, destroying confused thoughts to be tranquil. This kind of tranquility is an isolated tranquility, very dangerous.

As for the corresponding response, it is naturally and readily fitting in with individual wishes of the Four Species in the Universe. From the high to the low, every one of them agrees with the corresponding response. From human to the Fairy, Deity and the Saint, all are erroneous in the corresponding response. —T. V.

Conceptions as well as polluted habits of each race of the Four Species, those are all the natural corresponding response in concord with their class and frequency. From the higher rank to the lower one, every one of them is equally corresponding to its class. Why? The universe and the Four Species, including the humans, Fairies, Deities, and Saints, all are inherently homogeneous. Like foam, ice, fog, snow... all are originated from water. Depending on temperature and climate, the water has a corresponding response transforming into foam, ice, fog, or snow, ... It is ready fitting in each region to transform into all forms.

For human beings, according to the level and class, the corresponding response makes everyone fit in a world satisfactorily, no more and no less. For those who know how to improve themselves and their morality, the corresponding response helps their intelligence transformed, from an ordinary person to a noble holy Tao practitioner separated from the secular world.

The only distinction between the Buddha and living beings is the complete knowledge and the having-not-known. Therefore, the Buddhas do not have precepts. Living beings with precepts are erroneously passionate. The Buddhas without precept are fully enlightened. —T. V.

“Without precept” hereby does not mean the immobile sitting, avoiding entering thousands of Dharmas to be empty. As a matter of fact, it really is the entering into thousands of Dharmas, all kinds of favorable and unfavorable, form and formless Dharmas without omission of any Dharma in order to get the complete knowledge without keeping any precept.

It is so simple at the first hearing, but to practice having the complete knowledge of perfect enlightenment, a Tao practitioner must experience uncountable strata through countless lifetimes. Unless they can meet the Buddha, who leads them to the Bodhisattva rank. Therefrom, this Bodhisattva must continue to conduct His vows in later lives until clearance of all precepts, only then He is able to become the Buddha.

An image of the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva

When the Avalokitesvara Tathagata Buddha and later the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, has attained the perfect harmony and equality, corresponding with Tathagata, the Lord has made a vow in the Universal Door Sutra saying that whosoever expressed a wish, the Lord would appear there to preach the Dharma. The Lord said: “Whenever a Brahman, an Upasaka or Upasika[83]... pray Me, I will appear as a Brahman, an Upasaka or Upasika … to preach the Dharma.” Is that the corresponding response appearance in equality without limit or differentiation, becoming the practice of observing Tathagata, and being ordained by Tathagata? —T. V.

The Avalokitesvara Tathagata Buddha accomplished the perfect harmony and equality, observing the sounds of the Four Species that are naturally coming. As for the One, who has practiced accordingly to the Dharma subject of observing the sounds of the Four Species to resolve and relieve the suffering to save living beings, He precisely is the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. He has accomplished the perfect harmony and equality, corresponding with Tathagata, why?

The equality of the body, mouth, and thought is the practical and miraculous Dharma, nothing can be compared with it. The karma of the body equally transforms to the words. The karma of the words originated from the mind. Therefore, the karma of the body is equal to the mind. Once the body, mouth, and thought are equal, everywhere is equal — It’s same as in the sea, everywhere has the common salty taste.

[83] Upasaka is a male and Upasika is a female Buddhist disciple who remains at home and observes the five precepts.

The Lords have made a vow: whosoever has a wish, the Lords will appear accordingly to preach the Dharma, such as:

When the mind reaching the state of completeness without nature, the self correspondingly has no nature in itself. This Dharma nature is reaching the state of equality with nothing else higher, without limit or differentiation; when the sorrow karma comes, there no longer have bindings nor liberation. The Bodhisattvas, who have vowed to base on equality, knowing how to make use thousands of Dharmas in a perfect harmony of body, speech and thought, would surely be mysteriously protected —this protection is an entry door used as a means. Such a Bodhisattva is perfectly harmonious and impartial in everywhere; that is the Secret Seal, the Secret Solemn Universal-Door, which universally illuminates and appears all the majesty from His perfectly harmonious and impartial body, majesty in all His words, and the True Dharma in all His sound. The universal illumination of His mind appears all the seeds, in which no seed is not a seed of the most practical intelligence seed, and all the intellgence-seeds are the Samadhi.

Such a Tao practitioner, the Bodhisattva, came and met the Tathagata completely, being perfectly harmonious and equal, having nothing other than “the suchness”; He was ordained by the Tathagata.

It is by opening the Avatamsaka Sutra that we could see the Buddha has said these words: “You should know that the Bodhisattva is relying on the virtuous merits of Tathagata. Tranquilly sitting and preaching the Dharma to countless living beings in Himself simultaneously so that these living beings could hear the Dharma and understand the explanation; they all then acquire many subjects of liberation. He is the One who has given offerings to the Tathagata and thus could do so today.” —T. V.

The Buddha has taught clearly and meticulously in the Avatamsaka Sutra, aiming at preventing Tao practitioners from mistaking the hypothesis. In fact, a Tao practitioner must lean on thousands of Dharmas from hearing, seeing, and knowing to resolve with joyful detachment, in order to ascendingly transfer all attachment and obstruction in the mind to return to emptiness. That is called the relying on the virtuous merits of Tathagata to preach the Dharma to countless living being natures of oneself so that they could hear and clearly judge, thereby being liberated and thus, there is no more living being natures clinging in the mind. Such a practitioner is the one who knows how to give offerings to Tathagata and that is the Dharma subject of liberation.

When preaching the Dharma, the preacher should hear their own speech first. The preaching is sometimes corresponding to the bright sermon, imaginably that is of the Buddha, but their theory and act do not correspond. Learning too much theory without applying it in their practice is making the preacher have rebellious reasons. Avoid the erroneously holding self to be able to understand the invaluable Sutra words of The Founding Master in the Avatamsaka Sutra. Most Tao practitioners preach the Dharma well, but they neither understand thoroughly their preaching nor get such good fruit; they need to relearn what they said, so they need to rely on the virtuous merits of Tathagata in preaching the Dharma in order to avoid the holding self.

By the corresponding response, it is very easy for one to be caught in mistake, especially for those who are in lack of knowledge but in plenty of literature, preferring the extraordinary expectation. On the other hand, a Tao practitioner of seeking for True Enlightenment, knows how to be self-respectful in the instinct of viruous merits. —T. V.

Those learning and studying preferably make use of their intelligence to think, so they correspondingly believe themselves to be enlightened. This is illusory thoughts, not concentrating mainly on resolving and correcting their nature, thus becoming erroneous judgement. A true Tao practitioner knows how to examine their own body and ability to develop a practical way of cultivating right in life to make virtuous deeds offering Tathagata —That is called the virtuous merits.

Every time releasing, leaning on the corresponding response, vowing to learn — such a Tao practitioner is in the state of reviewing their ability, conduct and morality aiming to attain the fundamental; it’s really difficult to accept mistakes in the last minutes of a period practicing Dharma. —T. V.

Those who have the mind and intelligence of resolution to practice seeking liberation are not attached to the sutra word by word, but they diligently practice for their instinct going smoothly, using their good deeds and character of rooted goodness as a base, not wishing for the extraordinary expectation, only intuitively recognizing the nature, always keeping the harmonious mind, completely resolving their natures to get the tranquil mind. Such Tao practitioners, even at the moment of leaving their body to depart, will not have a single generated thought of illusion. They only realistically practice by correcting themselves, thereby without mistake even in a single Dharma.