LONG HOA HIGHNESS ASSEMBLY, SECOND PERIOD

On the Merits

“The stained merits are the offering of clothes robes, incenses, flowers, fruits, and the building of temples to offer refuge to the Sangha. The stainless merits are the faithful practice of the merits. Most new disciples are still interested in the blessed reward of men and devas or the practice for liberation from the birth, and reaching the Western Paradise Pure Land. They are succeeding according to their wishes and based on their merits.” –T.V.

He is very much concerned with merits, and has taught His disciples. I heard: To build a stable house, we have to build a firm and strong foundation. The higher and heavier a building is the more solid the foundation must be to bear the building. Comparing life with the dharma, merits are extremely necessary and critical on the path toward liberation through wisdom.

As a little boy, He wanted one day to make offerings to the Buddha, but he did not have anything. He then took a glass to the well and gently descended the bucket to prevent the water from becoming muddy. While pulling it up, He avoided covering the bucket with His own shadow. He put the glass of water on top of his head and slowly walked without spilling a drop. After offering the glass of water to the Buddha, He stood there, admiring the Buddha’s image. He continued His teaching:

"Being poor, but faithful, you could still make offerings and have merits as well. All the Buddhas should have measureless merits to become the Buddha." –T.V.

The experience showed that only the merits in the practice path might help to attain the Nine Classes of the Lotus Flower... every great stained merit, with its full timely meaning that you make, you acquire one class. Throughout the journey to meet Long Hoa Chief Monk, only the merits of diligence may lead to the result of the dharma. Preaching without practicing is just like a drawn cake, not a real cake.

At the time, when He was in a miserable situation, He lacked of necessary things such as food, clothing, medicine, and had no breath to speak. Many of His comfortable and affluent disciples seemed to ignore His hardship, keeping their eyes closed although they enjoyed a good living standard. One day, He said: “I was born in poverty, which is why the disciples’ offerings would have great value. It is from the fulfillment of the stained merits that you could really receive the stainless merits. The widely opened stained merits, with full accord of your mind, would truly give rise to the stainless merits.”

“There were disciples who were applying to enrich their merits, creating their basic ability and practicing for the liberation through wisdom. Having created abilities, they could maintain their meritorious deeds and offer immeasurable merits without saying or demonstrating anything.

The true disciple keeps his mind, not in sulking with others and outsiders, and yet diligently practices his meritorious deeds.” –T.V.

The disciples create their abilities, which is the endurance by having meritorious deeds and not being sulky. When blackened, you could maintain your merits. These are the stainless merits offered to Tathagata, which is the practice for the enlightenment.

“From the measureless donations to the precepts practice, diligence, patience all aim to help others. Complete and unconditional help given to others who truly need it, without seeking gratitude, is a meditating mind.” –T.V.

Speak softly when you make a donation and do not rely on your donor’s position to be authoritative. This is the precept practice in donation. When making a donation, you are giving your love to suffering people. This is called patience in donation. Making immediate donations to the right dharma is the diligence in donation. Making donations in due time when living creatures are in need, is the wisdom in donation. Making donations to accomplish your condition without hesitation and discussion is the meditation in donation.

The true disciple must know that there are precept practices or ethical behavior, diligence which is enthusiastic effort, patience, wisdom, meditation, and generosity in a donation; they are the ‘six paramitas’; the fearless donation is the mita.

Therefore, there are six paramitas in a donation. So the Mahayana dharma requests the practice of the Paramitas Prajna (Literally ‘Crossing over to wisdom’).

“From there, you can enter the path of bodhisattva practice in order to illuminate all natures of the living creatures’ natures. Creating the dharma dhatu is thus called the living creatures dhatu.” –T.V.

The dharma subject of the Buddha has taught Bodhisattva to practice The Six Paramitas: Four all-embracing virtues, cooperation with and adaptation of oneself to others, affectionate speech, self-profit, and conduct profitable to others.

The Mahayana demolishes stupidity and attachment to clarify greed. While the Hinayana, fearing the false arising of greed, dares not hear, see or know to try to annihilate greed. Being doubtful and wrongly wishful is not clarifying greed. Turn to your introspection and lighten your own natures to see your true nature together with that of other living creatures. There are as many living creatures natures in the ‘four species’ as there are in you. The only difference is that each person has more accentuation on one character than the others. Some people are very hot tempered, some are not hot tempered, but stingy, and others are more generous... each character gives rise to a dharma dhatu that remains from this life to the next life. Knowing the dharma dhatu well helps to acquire the dharma nature. The one who acquires the dharma nature is complete and can remember his past life. The ability to remember more, or less, of the past lives depends on the high or low level of acquisition of the dharma nature. Some of them are capable of remembering their past time when practicing dharma under the guide of the Buddha 2538 years ago. They are numerous in the Phap Tang Buddhism of Vietnam.

There are those who acquired divine eyes and divine ears, and knew their former lives perfectly, but were not as perfect as those who have acquired the dharma nature.

“In this world of living creatures, not only man, but all the others are caught in attachment and generate different species. The living beings, nature, man to fairy, deity and saint, all are being born and rotated in the cycle of birth and death.” –T.V.

◊ Each living creatures’ species is attached to a behavior and generates a body with several aspects in the Three Thousand Major Heaven Worlds.

◊ The dog’s dharma nature is to guard the house. Those who know its dharma nature are always cautious around the dog whenever they enter a strange house. The dog is impregnated with the behavior seed of taking care of the property, so it bites whoever trespasses. It is the fault of the visitor who doesn't know it, not the dog.

◊ The cat’s dharma nature is to eat on the sly. He who knows that has to cover the food carefully. If you are careless, she will eat the food. The one, who doesn't know it and strikes the cat is wrong, not the cat.

◊ The dharma nature of the gods is cleanliness, walking leisurely, speaking softly and keeping the house in order. They would not accept living in a dirty and disorderly place.

◊ The deities’ nature is: loving, kind, and helpful with a hot tempered character. They will harm all those who contradict them.

Therefore, we know that every living creature is attached to a unique behavior and led by this behavior in whatever lifetime. If you diligently practice, but do not clearly know the origin of dharma nature, you are only speaking and preaching and not practicing the exact Bodhisattva way. You will be imprisoned in the interminable cycle of birth and death, which is why the disciple has to be guided by an awakened one ordained by the Buddha so he could attain enlightenment.

“The Awakened One can see throughout the universe called the ‘constitution’. The measureless world of living creatures is called the acquisition of the dharma body, or Buddha body.” –T.V.

Each behavior creates a world of living creatures, whose measureless world is the exact dharma body of the Buddhas. To acquire the dharma body, you have to practice gradually in the right way in order to be relieved of all dharma nature of living creatures. This way, you can reach the Buddhas’ world and penetrate the whole universe.

“Rely on the merits to recognize your dharma body in order to clearly know that dharma and mind are unified.  You can then joyfully say that the mind, which represents the nature and the form, which is the dharma, are only one, and not two. How wonderful it is.” –T.V.

Hearing, seeing, and knowing are all dharma. After the dharma is relieved, it immediately returns to the mind. Therefore, the dharma and the mind are only one.

For example, facing a difficult dilemma, I am suffering. Once this sadness is relieved, it returns to the mind. Originated from the nature, the dharma becomes dharma nature. Falsely recognizing the nature not attached to it, it returns to the mind. Thus the dharma, the nature and the mind are only one, and not two or three.

We come to know the behavior through the form. For example, a man is walking and he is confused in speech. The confused form reveals a neglected behavior and form and behavior are only one.

The dharma, behavior, mind and form are only one. Though bearing different names, they are all originated from the mind. It is wonderful that the practitioner knows it well without separation. Thus, the insight of the true mind is hidden within the false mind. Once the false mind clears, the true mind naturally appears. How wonderful it is because the true mind is nowhere, but everywhere. By the same form, the same nature and dharma, with attachment, is false mind. Once the false is cleared, the truth returns. Therefore, the Mahayana gets the true mind through hearing, seeing, and knowing and does not strictly follow the sutra for reasoning. Wonderfully, the Buddhas have been entirely enlightened, so the bodhisattvas have deep attainment.

“At that time, merits based on virtue, which achieve the completed condition and the vow, are called merits offered to Tathagata. You should lean on Tathagata to thoroughly understand the dharma commandments and patiently avoid creating dharma. Is that the precious and unthinkable dharma?” –T.V.

Joyfully resolving a difficult situation in a virtuous and generous spirit, without complaint and hatred, are the great merits offered to Tathagata. Leaning on all dharma to resolve difficulties means: leaning on Tathagata with neither generation nor destruction of the situation. Leaning solely on the dharma is the understanding of the dharma dhatu.

Being patient and always keeping silent will not give rise to intelligence, and you would gradually lack of intelligence. Leaning on the dharma to resolve difficulty in the practice is the digestion of insight, carefully examining to resolve is the patience. Remaining diligent, with neither a hot temper nor silence, for resolution is endurance. Each dharma resolution is the mindfulness of dharma, and the mindfulness of the dharma is precise praying to the Buddha. You can then acquire patience to endure without creating dharma, which is the indispensable preliminary to attain the dharma body of the Buddha.

Without knowing the way to attain the patience to endure without creating dharma, you will never be able to penetrate the constitution of the universal, no matter how long you have been practicing.

“Each developed virtue has such a high value and previous successful practitioners went through it. The follower should try to practice it. As for me, a present perfectionist still leans on my merits and developed abilities, from the immature to ultimate enlightenment, attaining the unthinkable supreme enlightenment.” –T.V.

Before entering the Great Eight Pari Nirvana, the Supreme Pure King, Long Hoa Chief Monk incarnating Lord Supreme Maitreya's last word to me was as follows:

During His life, He has directed and offered all his merits to Tathagata and built His useful work by that, winning the admiration from the Ten Directions of Buddhas!