LONG HOA HIGHNESS ASSEMBLY, SECOND PERIOD

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Translated English version of the 'Proclamation Attesting the Bodhisattva':

The ‘Certificate of Venerable’. I have been practicing Phap Tang for one year, on the 30th day of the 9th month of the lunar year, 1970, at the annual Great Ceremony of attestation; I was attested by Lord Long-Hoa Chief Monk Maitreya Buddha, who has given me the ‘Certificate of Venerable’.

After twenty years of constant practice, I trained through millions of hardships with plenty of trials and many times intentional use of unfavorable situations by the Lord to test my virtue and wisdom. I can hold firm on myself and am capable of controlling and restraining all cravings, which resulted from the evil karma.

His 3000 true disciples have refused to come to practice at the Central Assembly, continuing the way of training He has shown at home. I was one of only 7 disciples remaining in Nha Trang.

One day He had told me to make a repentance report.

“Have you thought, you have offered me your wife? - You have to write down that you have abandoned your wife and children, being unable to make ends meet for daily life. Therefore, I have to resolve your family's problems.”

From 1975 onward, every family was confounded, and the life was very hard, too. For my part, I was reeducated, imprisoned and unable to take care of my family. This brought about many hardships to the Supreme Pure King for my sake.

I know that saving living creatures’ nature means happily undergoing things whatever they may be, without refusing. Not following what the Enlightened One has shown would lead to negligence. I have written the repentance report, in compliance with His wishes and submitted it to Him.

The 'Proclamation Attesting the Bodhisattva'. Then at 6:30 a.m., on July 23, 1989 (the 21st day of the 6th month of the year of the snake), in the Central Highness Assembly, the Principal Hall was filled with the sweet scent of incense and sandalwood. Long-Hoa Chief Monk was calmly sitting, in front of Him was me, the Venerable Phap Bang, the true disciple Tang Than, and the true disciple Dieu Hanh all sitting semi-circular as usual. He had given me the ordinance of bodhisattva and maha bodhisattva, and told me:

“Phap Kha, I'm now granting you the ‘Proclamation of Bodhisattva’. You are the only disciple who receives this ordinance bearing my seal and signature. No one else has this principal text. I have given other disciples the same ordinance, but not My seal and signature.”

Then He has turned to Venerable Phap Bang and said:

“Phap Bang, you have to practice in two or three more lives before you can be as good as Phap Kha now. As for Tang Than, you will teach others what you have learned”. Upon these words, I got up and the three others solemnly did the same.  I prostrated seven times before the Chief Monk to show my gratitude for His offering the ordinance to me, by which I already have become bodhisattva, realizing maha bodhisattva in the universe, taking over the path of the Buddhas of Ten Directions and Three Periods.

• Jealousy. Just like the Lord has entered the Great Eight Pari Nirvana, Mrs. Tang Trinh, as the Chief Monk’s wife, did not allow me to organize and conduct the Great Ceremony (see sidebar for more information) and Venerable Phap Bang secretly had somebody cut out my pictures in the video of the Great Ceremony. Venerable Phap Bang had to leave during the ceremony due to an earlier motorcycle accident.

As for the true disciple Dieu Hanh, He said nothing. To the Buddhas, two or three more generations mean two or three more lives of the Buddha. In reality, a disciple remaining in the depth of the dharma dhatu belt still remains in the continuous ignorance for countless lives, making it very difficult to get over confusion and clear up the ignorance by himself. Due to his enormous cause, he may find a fully enlightened Buddha or bodhisattva who more or less abolishes the ignorance, depending on his level and this counts for one life. Clarity brings knowledge; therefore, the disciple knows by himself how to practice correctly while conforming to the path of the Buddhas without becoming lost. So He has reorganized everything this time, and the practice of dharma must follow the main ideas strictly, conforming to the declaration of faithfulness, obedience, and respect. It is the only way that the patriarchs and the bodhisattva could go to the Buddha. Those who disapprove and practice dharma on their own will not reach the Buddha. As for Tang Than who teaches the others with his education, that means studying Buddhist Sutra and teaching through thought and reasoning. He has no insight yet.

Just enough time to train only one Bodhisattva to practice Maha-Bodhisattva. The next morning I came to receive the teaching just like I did every time I went from Saigon to Nha Trang. He has told me:

–“In the future, you will return to the world to teach the patriarchs and walk through the fire for the wonderful fruit of Buddha hood. You must know, returning to the world, during the journey of propagation of the dharma, I have just enough time to train only one bodhisattva to practice maha bodhisattva. For My future disciples who are “hungry for dharma” and go seeking for it, only you can teach them efficiently.” –T.V.

It was the same as at the time of Sakyamuni Buddha. When He has attained Great Eight Pari Nirvana, all the venerables were too proud to come to the Venerable Maha Kassapa. Only the Venerable Ananda, ranged as second patriarch, was beside Kassapa.

At the present time, we entertain the same concept: Since they and I are all disciples of the Lord, how can they have the Insight and clear up the ignorance and confusion?

In fact, when Long Hoa Chief Monk incarnating Lord Supreme Maitreya Buddha gives the ‘Ordinance of Bodhisattva Practicing Maha Bodhisattva’ for someone, he is able to embody into the universe and communicate with the Buddha's Power. He has sufficient abilities and merits to preach to the Four Species, as well as to mankind, heaven, fairies, deities, sage, dharma protector bodhisattvas such as the sravaka, arahant, Pratyeka Buddha in the Three Thousand of Thousand Worlds of Great Heaven in conformity with the main ideas of the proclamation. Those who act oppositely or disapprove of the bodhisattva will be tardy not only in this life, but also in countless lives to come.

Lord Long-Hoa Chief Monk Maitreya Buddha is the supreme leader of Phap Tang. The handling of the dharma support is entrusted to the principal chief of the central dharma support committee. This responsibility is given to me.

The Central, Provincial, District and village Executive Committees are elected every two years to be in contact with the political power on administrative matters. * ftn (Regardless of the “elected” ones position, it is the attested bodhisattva that is the enlightened leader of the religion.)

To Change Phap Kha to Di Nhu. In his last lunar New Year festival of 1993, on the 12th day of the 1st month, after the Great Ceremony marking the year, He told me:

“Phap Kha, you are the highest graduate of our community and you will have your dharma name changed. From now on, you will be named Di Nhu.”

I prostrated three times before Him to receive His offer.

Previously, He has told the true disciples that He would change all their dharma names and they would have the family name of Di. But long afterwards He did not make any change for them. So, He intentionally said that in order to cause neither surprise nor disapproval for anyone, he would consider changing their dharma names into Di.

On my practice path to the enlightenment, many of my disciples, friends, and relatives, who notice my absolute faithfulness, obedience, and respect toward Him, told me that I was a lunatic. In the physical world, I had to undergo countless hardships, but after nine times of dying and reviving, I still held firm, seeking for Buddhahood. I remember one of my former lives in which I underwent hardships, about one hundred times more than those of the period when I traveled from China to India to seek for the dharma.

It's true. He who goes across the bridge will experience that.

He has often told many of His disciples: “I have used a mass of gold as large as Phap Kha's body to create him. What a marvelous achievement!”

After He had given me the ‘Ordinance of Bodhisattva’, every time I went from Saigon to Nha Trang to receive the dharma, He often drove me away, scolding me for betraying Him. Many of his disciples who witnessed this felt happy and said that I was being suppressed and that there will soon be another to replace me to handle the teaching of the dharma.

They were waiting impatiently, but He chose no one to replace me, and I went on handling the practice for Him as usual. The Devadatta's descendants showed their hatred more intensively, expressively. For three times, they have planned to assassinate me, but I had gotten out of danger all three times. In the meantime, the police of the city of Nha Trang forbade Him to practice the dharma. He had already known that if he declared His successor, the government on one hand and His disciples on the other hand would kill the successor.

Only one Ordinance bearing His seal and signature. One morning, He told me at the center: “You have received the Ordinance bearing my seal and signature. You are the First Patriarch”; I bowed to him and retreated. He said: “In order to save you, I have released ten notices, resembling ten eels, and nobody knows which ones to catch.”

Within a few days of handing down the ordinance, He has met and advised me in front of Mrs. Dieu Khiem: “You must go immediately to Saigon. Otherwise, somebody will assassinate you.”

Indeed, He has since handed down ten ‘Ordinances of Bodhisattva’, but none of them has the seal and signature. Most of the recipients were happy.