8.3 The Samadhi of the Pratyeka

• Being able to perceive thousands of Dharmas.

• Being able to know thousands of Dharmas.

• Being able to manipulate the Dharma: resolving and transporting thousands of Dharmas.

For example, one planned to go a predetermined place. However, when they are preparing to go or going, something happens to obstruct them from going to that place. That is the perception of things going wrong. Upon knowing that, they use all means to resolve to overcome the obstacle, no longer having hindrance. Such a Tao practitioner knows how to manipulate thousands of Dharmas. That is called the transportation of thousands of Dharmas to be clear.

• Perceiving the Dharma is solving the first unconsciousness.

• Knowing the Dharma is comprehending the second unconsciousness.

• Manipulating Dharmas to be clear is comprehending the third unconsciousness.

 Resolving these three unconsciousness in the Dharma is the Samadhi of the Pratyekas.

8.4 The Samadhi of the Arahant

• The real form.

• The formless.

• The transportation of thousands of Dharmas.

When The Founding Master Shakyamuni Buddha was showing a stem of flower in the conference hall, the Venerable Mahakassapa smiled. The Lord immediately knew that the Venerable Mahakassapa has acquired the Samadhi Dharma Subject of Real Form and Formlessness.

Why did the Venerable smile? It is because he gained an intuition about:

• The real form: What kind of the flower is.

• The formless: Each flower has its own Dharma nature, what it is used for, how its tastes and smells . . .

• The transportation: The right application, for instance, which flower is offered to the Buddha, which flower is offered to the Kitchen God …

Comprehending the three unconsciousness of each Dharma precept is the perfect comprehension of Dharma precept. A Tao practioner needs to obserse every Dharma to thoroughly know it, until they achieve the miraculous observation, profoundly recognizing the three unconsciousness of each Dharma. The function of Samadhi is to dissolve the unconsciousness for Tao practitioners effectively. Therefrom, a Tao practitioner carries out the resolution of thousands, millions of Samadhi in order to obtain the true acquisition, reaching the truth without entanglement in Dharma precepts.

As for the Buddha King Maitreya, His making of salvation for the living beings is truly unthinkable. When the Lord returning to the world and becoming a Buddha, the Buddhas of Ten Directions praised Him; while the Bodhisattvas, Devas, Fairies, and Dragon Deities, as well as the Four Teams of Deities admired and welcomed Him with respect. Every time, the Lord emerged from meditation for complete salvation, there was a shaking of the Three Thousand Worlds. Meanwhile, a great number of Tao practitioners termed themselves Buddhas; by relying on the fixed thoughts, they knew that there was the appearance of Long-Hoa, but they could not meet the Lord. If practicing the Intuitive Apparition that could provide sufficiently effortful and virtuous deeds of the holy rank. Thereupon, a practitioner would be admitted to Long-Hoa without needlessly waiting for it.

The Buddhism is always based on the noble affection. Therefore, a true Tao practitioner themselves examines their faults to avoid the errors. The more eminent the thought is, the more the supernatural power appears. For those who are not yet perceiving a hearing, not yet understanding it, the Tathagata Constitution still accumulates this hearing, this knowledge, into its square containers. Until one day when they meet the Bodhisattva of full attainment, who only teaches a right sentence corresponding to what they heard in the past. Naturally, the mysterious constitution immediately gives it back to them. Each one, who practices rightly the ‘Self-Nature’, will see themselves in daily progress — that is the path in the universe approaching towards the Buddhas.

For a learned person, the supernatural power transforms into their intelligence. However, without practicing the Dharma, they are still wandering in the path of the birth and death. If someone is neither attached nor rebellious, their body is light and easy to receive the supernatural power; the more it comes in and out the more intelligent they are. Every Dharma has its permanent characteristic. For instance, the Dharma of a carpenter only knows about wood and all the tools of carpentry; When he is given an iron bar, he will obviously not know quite what to do with it.

As for the Dharma of a blacksmith, if he manufactures the door, with a piece of wood, he will not know how to do with it in the right way. Each career is a Dharma with its permanent characteristic. The one who is familiar in any career will make the supernatural power enter into their body; even while they are eating, resting, and sleeping, they also see it come into their body and ‘stand’ there. Therefore, for those who do not believe and think about, the spiritual consciousness cannot make its access.

Monks and nuns are afraid of Dharmas, so they must practice the dispassion to prevent the access of the spiritual consciousness. Until, penetrating the Tathagata Constitution, one realizes that the more eminence in the Dharma practice and the more excellence in the way of harmony are, the faster they know the supernatural power. The secular person with intelligence takes the spiritual consciousness. The Mediation Master neither takes nor leaves the spiritual consciousness, thereby entering the Tathagata Constitution; he therefore acquires the Supernatural Power of Samadhi.

Secular people are hearing with their ears, seeing with their eyes, and knowing with their heads, so their intelligence is still limited. Only Meditation Masters hear by the hearing, see by the seeing, and know by the knowing. Therefore, their intelligence becomes more transcendent, profoundly attaining the supernatural power.

A person succeeding in a career has already the Samadhi. One needs only to realize a Dharma and knows it well; the other Dharmas completely returns and serves them.

Only the Meditation Master looks at the spiritual consciousness of living beings to know them all. Looking at someone, the Meditation Master literally knows their thoughts, their characters. He therefore enlightens them according to the sickness they are infected in order to resolve their erroneous passions. It is not by making the pulpit and preaching interminably the Dharma in a certain way, then expecting the listeners to hear and realize it all. In fact, the Master must be close to his followers and solemnly teach each level, each Dharma every day, making them gradually awakened. In reality, teaching the Dharma to Tao practitioners to awaken them is not easy, it’s very difficult. The Enlightened One must know how to use great means in the hope of saving his followers to become enlightened.

The Westerners study through material experimentation and announce the achievable outcomes to everyone known and seen. However, besides some advantages, there are some disadvantages as well—that is frequently destroyed later.

Through many generations, the Easterners have already known long ago that the human body and mind is covering all over the universe. Because the insubstantial combination of the Four Masses creates the corresponding body for the universe, both the interior body and exterior body are homogeneous; the human beings sympathize and receive the supernatural power of the universe. As for the Westerners, they do not exploit adequately the human body, so they have not yet truly known it.

The Buddha path does not accept the soul; it only recognizes the thoughts, which represent the soul. The soul is covering all over the emptiness and universe, so there are divine senses in correspondence to the soul. Human beings cannot judge the place where the thoughts are generated; they must follow the generating and destroying thoughts until having sufficiently effortful and virtuous deeds, they profoundly comprehend the immortal thoughts; only then will they have an understanding of the soul before they have an intuition of the supernatural power.

The soul is the non-dualistic form. The soul is supreme, clear-sighted, and unchangeable, bright and unending, that is the Tathagata Buddha. The Buddha path presumes IT to be the GREAT-EGO, the only self. The self in human body and in the Four Species is the temporary self, called the fictitious SMALL-EGO. The great ego is a precious pearl. The small ego is of that pearl’s light. In the eye of the Enlightened One, the soul is the Tathagata, inherently existing sufficiently supernatural powers. It does not accumulate nor reject. If accumulating, grasping, keeping, or rejecting are all far away and in wrong way.

Human beings, once being formed with an adequate body, naturally have the hearing-seeing-knowing. It is from the Soul Great Ego manifested to be correspondent to the body, which is generated from the Tathagata, so the supernatural power is naturally appearing from the Tathagata. There is all of that in the living beings, but when the Great Ego manifests in the human beings and the Four Species—where it is called the corresponding body, also known as the transformed body—who want to receive particular characteristics and they are thus separated. The Buddha has thoroughly known and so the Lord has said: all living beings have Buddha nature.  That means they all are able to progress to comprehend and attain the universe.

Only the step-by-step realistic practice will lead to the attainment. Otherwise, using intelligence to understand, consciousness to know, but neither understanding nor knowledge leads to attainment. A Tao practitioner wishing to have tranquility, even in a minute, still cannot get it because they are surrounded and evolved by the Devil Force. Therefore, when the Buddha enlightening the Bodhisattvas, who must have full belief, obedience, and respect in order to demolish the belt of Devil Force by themselves, which has imprisoned them for many lifetimes. This is neither an ordinary matter nor a minor affair... A Tao practitioner, though having an unwavering mind, fervent mind, but failing to conduct the vow in thousands of favorable and unfavorable Dharmas, only keeping on avoiding, annihilating the Dharma to be tranquil, will never truly get the clearing through this tranquility even in thousands of lifetimes. Being not clear, how could one receive the Secret Seal, which is conferred by the Tathagata Buddha?

There are many Tao practitioners who can see and know well through the study of sutra, but they do not really practice to completely save the living being natures in the tranquility and disturbance, the form and formlessness. Therefore, this knowledge likely is the unseeing and unknowing, and the Dharmas of supernatural powers does not appear to them.

Thus, the Dharma practice is not fussy, there is no need to study, worship or supplicate. The unceasing thoughts are the form without rest. During the day, a Tao practitioner should conduct their vow without generating or destroying thousands of Dharmas; at the nighttime, they should practice at least an hour of exerted meditation, trying to overcome the numerous obstacles of tirelessness, boredom, and sleepiness until there are no more entering thoughts during the meditation session. Afterwards, during the four periods [of walking, standing, laying, and sitting], all become tranquil. The natural truth simply appears and therefrom knowing that the realization of thousands of Dharmas is neither taking nor eliminating, neither more nor less, neither unified nor separated; It is the One Form, the perpetual staying nature.

Meditation requires the guidance of the Bodhisattva to have sufficient Supreme-Secret. The Supreme-Secret helps to resolve consciousness karma without generating thoughts, but it needs patience because the consciousness karma is more delicate than human beings. That is easy to say, but if the practice is not on the right path, the outcome will be hard to achieve. A Tao practitioner, even with a fervent spirit, but not having Buddhist intelligence still falls into fanaticism. For that reason, Reverend Long-Hoa Sangha Chief Maitreya has handed down to the world what is necessary for Tao practitioners, who are with a fervent, faithful mind, to succeedingly realize and fully enjoy the truth. From now on, under the guidance of the Bodhisattva, Tao practitioners can rest assured that the orthodoxy will no longer be lost.

If having not yet met a Good-Intelligent-Awakened One, a Tao practitioner should practice the rooted goodness. The spirit of rooted goodness and good will to make offerings creates the quality of virtuous merits, believing in the Triple Gem of Buddhism; such that spirit is always appreciated. Should not have desire in meditation because that will lead to fictitious expectations, a practitioner therefore easily is duped by the Devil associated with the Five Aggregates, undergoing all kinds of suffering. Primarily, self-constructing body-fate should be concerned with correcting the character. Nobody else has the authority to oblige us; only our own mentality can elevate us.

A Tao practitioner having the endurance of dishonors, patience of making a concession, and perseverance, comprehends clearly and knows how to execute Dharmas harmoniously without obstruction. Afterwards, they will acquire the No-Birth Dharma of Endurance. It is through the harmony of thoudsands of Dharmas that a Tao practitioner can thoroughly achieve the perfect harmony. This is the way of practice to reach Prajñàpāramitā, surpassing the Sravaka, Pratyeka and Arahant rank. That is the Bodhisattva rank, who has all kinds of supernatural powers appearing from the naturalness and spontaneity.

After having acquired the supernatural power of Bodhisattva, a Tao practitioner still needs to penetrate deeply in the favorable and unfavorable Dharma precepts without omission, he then readily attains the complete salvation of living being natures. That is the Tranquil- Buddha Salvaged-Nation Accomplishing the Living Beings. The Bodhisattva rank profoundly acquires the relative emptiness; only the Buddhas completely accomplishes the endless relative emptiness.

The absolute emptiness differs from the relative emptiness. To the Bodhisattva rank, the relative emptiness means he has conducted the vow and realized the vow to achieve the Suchness Dharma. However, he does not store it in his mind. The Bodhisattva knows how to put it in each square container of the Tathagata Constitution. When having a Dharma, he naturally knows and spontaneously executes it appropriately with neither excess nor lack. The Dharma, after being used, it is returned to its square containers in the Tathagata Constitution. It is the Secret-Seal that the Bodhisattva knows how to use it properly.

From the time of The World’s Most Venerable to the return of the Supreme Venerable Maitreya appearing, the Lords have showed the Patriarchs and the Venerables that clinging to the absolute emptiness is becoming indifferent — They rather need to resolve thousands of Dharmas in the hope of acquiring the truth.

Entering the relative emptiness without seeing the relative emptiness but thoroughly knowing it, that is the Enlightenment about Form. —T. V.

The Enlightenment of Form with sufficiently practical utilization will achieve the Enlightenment-about-Form Part. The One with the Enlightenment-about-Form Part, in the four periods in life, always knows how to appear in His enlightened body without error when making use of favorable and unfavorable Dharmas. With sufficiency of effortful and virtuous merits, from the Enlightenment-about-Form Part readily reaches the Tathagata Part.[105]

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