LONG HOA HIGHNESS ASSEMBLY, SECOND PERIOD

Lord Supreme Maitreya has Himself inscribed the following section of sutra to hand it down to the future generations.

“In the last of the Three Periods, it is rare to see true attainment. Why?

In the first period, the doctrine and real practice existed in the training so there was true attainment. In the middle period, whenever theory paralleled with practice, there was immediate attainment. In this Final Law Period, there was theory with less practice, so attainment becomes rare. Whenever dharma goes along with practice, there will be immediate attainment; otherwise, the dharma is simply a theory. Should the training lead to attainment, it is only a theoretical attainment and not the true attainment.” –T.V.

The practicing that does not lead to the destruction of attachment in order to obtain knowledge would not count for one day of practice, even if it has been done for a thousand lifetimes. As Living Creatures, we have limited knowledge, but with good conditions we should be able to meet the Buddha coming to the world. The conditions belong to those who have previously practiced Dharma and attained the Liberation through Wisdom, escaping from the Birth and Death cycle. As for the Living beings with their conditions, they are practicing according to their wishes without knowing what they are and where it will lead. For that reason, we must practice in order to get countless benefits. What is practice? Practice is the diligent training to correct one’s nature through one's way of living. This is known as enlightened practice. Practice also means deeply penetrating the dharma to know its dharma. Each dharma is a conduct or a nature itself. By continuous correction of our conduct, we should be impregnated with integrity, and could recognize our nature to be enlightened ourselves. The practitioner who knows how to correct his own nature and faults will obtain wisdom that is the objective and means of liberation.

As living creatures, naturally we sometimes become confused no matter how long we have been practicing dharma. Words are already spoken and yet the mind does not know. So our mind cannot catch what we say. Therefore, the Lord Supreme Maitreya has said:

“If one speaks without the acknowledgement of the mind, one must be well aware of what was spoken. When one speaks with the mind and the mind acknowledges what was spoken, it is called enlightened mind, which understands the dharma.”

“During the time of Sakyamuni Buddha, there was the same situation where many venerables preached the dharma with too many beautiful words. Sakyamuni Buddha has then told them: ‘You rely on tathagata's merits to say it.’ The venerables have since realized that he must learn about the words when his mind cannot catch what he says. For the people who find themselves in confusion and illusion, they will easily be mistaken that they are, of course, conscious of what they say.” –T.V.

During His journey of practice of the dharma, Lord Supreme Maitreya Buddha sometimes has met great venerables, sangha, monks and nuns in their temples. When He has spoken one sentence, they did not understand at all and they responded with ten sentences! He was once seeking many different ways to make the community of “begging monks” believers in order to bestow the Buddha's knowledge upon them, but they did not have enough abilities and merits to perceive it. Finally, He had to embody Himself to be their friend. The monks have only praised Him for His good argument, but they could not receive His teaching.

“When he was not yet the Buddha, but still a monk, he has respectfully made His offerings, adored and worshipped Dipanikara Buddha. The Dipanikara Buddha then ordained him Buddha in the middle life, by the name Sakyamuni Buddha. Sakyamuni Buddha has appeared afterward to guide the ordination of the Maitreya Buddha, the bodhisattvas as well as well educated and uneducated men so that they became Buddhas of the period they liked. The words of the Saddharmapundarika Sutra were the decisive and sincere.

During this time, faithful believers are countless, but due to their lack of foundation, they have rarely attained the Buddhahood. Most of them have followed the fairy path called attainment. Later, with their decrease of faith, they were ordained in the deity path.

The deity path has used talisman to practice psychic power. The practitioners have become fanatics and were subjected to birth, death, sickness, old age, and suffering.”  –T.V.

What is the fairy path attainment?

It is diligence in learning, studying sutra, behaving elegantly, residing in a clean and beautiful place, being on a vegetarian diet and practicing dharma in the quietness. It also involves enjoying favorable situations while avoiding the contrary ones, as well as choosing the cleanliness and leaving the filth. By practicing in this way, we shall be able to enter the fairyland and enjoy the blessed reward of men and devas. After the fairy life ends, they shall be re-incarnated into human beings and start the practice of the dharma once again.

The master, who has emerged from meditation to go to the fairyland, could witness the truth: Everything such as food, clothes, and utensils is available. It is not necessary to work for food. Everything wished is soon obtained, thanks to psychic power. Furniture and utensils are very nice. Especially, there is no sunlight in the fairyland. The light, which flashes from the mountainsides and is always mild and the air, is like that of an air-conditioned room. The outside air is just the same. All the fairies are generous and charitable, but somewhat hot tempered. Disciples dare not disobey their master. Everyone you meet is affable in his speech and the two verses written by the Supreme Pure King incarnating Lord Supreme Maitreya describe this situation:

A party of chess or drink is not yet over in the fairyland and there are already 3 – 4 years, which passed in the secular world. One year in the fairyland is equal to one hundred years in the secular world!

The deities in the heaven usually make use of talisman. They are also charitable, but hot tempered. The air in the heaven is as cool as an airconditioned room. Some of them live in the secular world in village community houses, temples, at the foot of old trees, mountains, and rivers. Once their lifetime came to an end, they were also subjected to the wheel of reincarnation. Therefore, how difficult the right practice of dharma to attain enlightenment is! Because of this difficulty, the dharma practitioner should have a path or dharma subject guided by an awakened one in order to attain the enlightenment. Otherwise, the practice will become a formal work, or a practice for good fortune. Why? You are in ignorance and whatever practice may be yours will remain in ignorance. Even if you learn by heart all the sutras, studying all the Buddha's words, you will remain in the passive knowledge, in the ignorance.

It is the same as someone going to a pharmacy and taking all medicines he wants but does not need. Furthermore, he even prescribes medicine for someone else. As a result, both not only do not get better, they become more ill because they have taken the wrong drugs.

If a man, who is lost, tried to guide someone else, both will remain lost, and are just two companions. Thus, in this Dharma Ending Age, practitioners must rely on the dharma subject preached by the Supreme Pure king incarnating Lord Supreme Maitreya so that they can attain the true enlightenment.

In this Final Law Period, there are too many dharma subjects to practice, and no one dharma subject can lead people to true enlightenment. Lord Supreme Maitreya Buddha has to return and reorganize the way of practice, making the dharma subject clearer and more explicit, while aiming at bringing all living creatures out of the birth, death, old age and suffering cycle.

Every true disciple has his own karma. The leader then uses the right means to guide them. As for the faithful believers, they have to correct their own nature in order to create integrity and endure all challenges of every “favorable” and “unfavorable” situation of all dharma to obtain their knowledge. Once the dharma is cleared, so is the mind. Clearing the mind means being cleared of dharma. This is the essential point of the practice path. The Supreme Pure King incarnating Lord Supreme Maitreya has shown the ways so that there may be no more wrongful practice. He has founded Phap Tang and its principal meaning is Long Hoa. Phap Tang is in conformity with Tathagata. It is also named Unique Buddha Vehicle.  It uses the principle of Buddhist dharma without separating from the secular world to reach enlightenment and to explain the means used.

All faithful believers, including bodhisattvas, protectors, arahants, venerables, dharma protectors, and living creatures, have all followed the practice of hearing, seeing, and knowing to reach liberation. The Supreme Pure King, first of all in the practice, has trained them to endure and be brave in order to clarify the Tathagata store and keep the practice uninterrupted. Then, He has taught the basic practice of “condition – focused effort – result” so they might be opened to determine their attainment of awareness, great awareness, and ultimate awareness. The higher practitioner will attain supreme true enlightenment.