LONG HOA HIGHNESS ASSEMBLY, SECOND PERIOD

The great boddhisattva who has already known how to offer to Tathagata, practices closely to the Tathagata. He has realized the Tathagata store, entering and emerging completely from all dharma. While practicing liberation through wisdom, he has been attested by the Lord. Furthermore, he has to practice the dharma subject of enlightenment to achieve the complete enlightenment. Wishing to practice completely, adequately, the buddhayana, which is called three vehicles unified into one that is called the supreme worthy conduct.

The supreme worthy conduct consists of the hinayana, mahayana and buddhayana. The bodhisattva realizing mahasattva is also called the great bodhisattva who manifests every way in the supreme middle way that is the path manifesting the physical body of samadhi, thus it is neither affected by the dogmatic nor relies on the dharma subject. Why? It is because the bodhisattva has understood and known how to appear from his words to his acts which is neither following strictly the sutra nor separating it, so he has thoroughly attained the ultimate dharma of the Tathagata store.

“Even for the rank of conducted bodhisattva, vowed bodhisattva relying on their conducting the vow, they are still in the vagueness. So they are retrograding and have to practice the prajna till reaching the no-regression bodhisattvas and entering the ultimate dharma of the true supreme buddhayana to attain the ultimate dharma of the Tathagata store. For that reason, many disciples have wrongly conceived of the secret reason of the Tathagata. In fact, the Tathagata is not secret. Because of their stupidity and vagueness, they believe in the closure and opening of the Tathagata. In fact, the Tathagata is neither opened nor closed.” –T.V.

Those who are still practicing the conducted bodhsattva, vowed bodhisattva, are not yet accomplishing the bodhisattvahood, and are still vague about the truth because their seeing and knowing of dharma spheres are not yet profound. The bodhisattvas realizing mahasattva have fully attained the realistic truth, in every minute and second of it, they thoroughly know, meticulously see the movement of all dharma within their body, accomplish the joyful detachment and manipulate all dharma. The rank of arahants at highest degree is the ultimate awareness, they clearly recognize the joyful detachment, but this is an eternal embarrassment where they have to manipulate successfully all dharma to be able to enter into the unique career vehicle with non-dualistic form.

In this final law period, all the patriarchs of the past are excellent in both preaching and joyful detachment. Unfortunately, reaching this stage, they stand still. The Lord Chief Monk of Long Hoa has employed the examination to verify, but many of them are still caught in the Buddha sphere and could not overcome it. Some have been taught the path of the unique career vehicle. Nevertheless, they do not pass the exam. For that reason, the Lord does not attest them, why? Because they could not see and know profoundly the consciousness karma, aiming to be liberated completely. They become fed up with it. That increases the faculty karma and fetter karma. Furthermore, some are preaching the prajna, but in reality they do not judiciously carry out the prajna, manipulating the dharma with neither self-confidence nor affirming between the right and wrong, they vaguely become embarrassed reasoning on the prajna.

The disciple who does not attentively resolve all dharma, which is unstably obscure and unobscure, wrongly believes that Tathagata has a secret; that Tathagata has a closure and opening. In fact, the hearing-seeing-knowing is existent, so the disciple with limited feeling, being conservative, will become non-suchness. Consequently, we can see that the Tathagata is not secret; it is neither closed nor opened.

“The Buddha dharma: The very Buddha is without dharma, but there will be no Buddha without acquiring the dharma. Like as: the enlightenment is the cessation of stupidity, but in the stupidity, you should practice to seek for enlightenment.” –T.V.

The very Buddha is without dharma. Why? Because the Buddhas have accomplished the Buddha nature, and the whole physical body of samadhi is appearing everywhere, each moment is an atomic Buddha, an instant Buddha. In the eyes of the Buddha, there is only a unique form without the dualistic form, so the Buddha is without dharma.

He, who is still practicing, should lean on all dharma, aiming to know them and thoroughly understand them until he completely acquires them. When he is enlightened, all his hearing-seeing-knowing are enlightened without stupidity. Furthermore, the disciples who are still in the stupidity, should search for the true nature to practice, should emphatically intend to be aware of their own nature. While they are feeling slightly in doubt, attachment with vagueness, and yet cleared up the flowering dharma nature, they are still in the stupidity. It is impossible to express in words how the living creatures are mistaken in the dharma. The Buddhas have dexterously passed down the Triple Canon to dissolve stupidity, to demolish doubt and attachment, aiming to help living creatures be liberated through wisdom as complete as they are. For that reason, the Buddhas have never had any dharma of their own. It is only with the purpose to dissolve the stupidity of living creatures that they transformed the dharma to bring about liberation from birth and death for the living creatures, the saints, and the bodhisattvas.

“Those who understood thoroughly the Tathagata store know clearly that the Tathagata is permanently existing, available for all, from the Tathagata Buddhas to all living creatures, equally and perfectly. Due to their virtue, their restricted quantity of instinct, the generosity and narrowness, long and short, square and round of every aspect that they will receive accordingly. When having received every atomic Buddha, they will inherit that atomic Buddha. Otherwise, even receiving either the whole mass or thousands of masses, either a weight or thousand and one weights thus they will themselves inherit it, it is not being given by anyone, should they accomplish that by themselves to inherit the Tathagata store entirely? ” –T.V.

Those who thoroughly understand the Tathagata store know clearly and meticulously that all dharma will return to the true mind without rises and falls, purity and impurity, increase and decrease. That is the unified Tathagata who unanimously unifies the store, which is called the Tathagata store. Therefrom, he has the perspicacious intuition. Then he knows the Tathagata store that permanently exists everywhere. The Tathagata Buddha and the living creatures are orderly in equality.

living creatures themselves discriminate and run after the distinction to create the dharma sphere.  Every dharma sphere has its specific characteristic called the living creatures sphere. The dharma sphere particularly has many various aspects such as the height and depth, long and short, square and round. Each sphere is appropriate to itself thus receives accordingly. Everyone receives what he himself has created; it is not given by anyone.

When the practice entirely reaches enlightenment, every dharma sphere is an atomic Buddha. As someone becoming the Buddha has countless atomic Buddhas. In each atomic Buddha there exists its particular characteristic, quality and quantity. Therefore, when the bodhisattva achieved the fruit of attainment, the arahants could not understand it properly. As for the Lord Supreme Maitreya who has become the Buddha, nobody could understand sufficiently about His apparition. Except the case of that who realized as superior as the degree of great bodhisattva. The Lord has secretly sealed the Tathagata store and continued to realize until the follower becomes the Buddha through just one rebirth.

Thus, without the Buddha we could never find out the way to advance continually, even after countless lifetimes. That is practically said, otherwise everyone can freely preach on the theory. For the Buddhas, there is only a unique buddhayana, not the third vehicle. For that reason, the confident, obedient, respectful bodhisattvas belong to the unique buddhayana, while living creatures belong to the third vehicle because of their different root faculties. The Buddhas have based on that to teach them.

“Those who thoroughly accomplished the attainment actually feel affection towards living creatures, really love living creatures as much as they love themselves. There are no more barriers between the Buddhas and living creatures. They have only recognized their meticulous accomplishment, which the living creatures have not yet required, they have only realized in themselves the immeasurable precious gems, the innumerable precious diamonds, the incalculable precious emeralds, the unlimited precious sapphires, and the uncountable precious topazes. Consequently, they are intimate to living creatures as the teachers and pupils, they have pretended to be brothers, husbands and wives, parents in order to give them the precious gems under the great deal of capacities and roles according to the formalities and aspects. Providing that the living creatures either blossom out into an idea or express into a thought, they would be soon given the five kinds of precious gems. Although those are partially fallen away and dropped out because they do not yet know how to use them. Indeed, they have never yet lost those which have been given to them completely.” –T.V.

The bodhisattvas understanding profoundly the ignorance could thoroughly know its true meaning of precious gems. At first, they are as the living creatures who have ever cultivated with abundant abilities and merits until there are no more barriers to comprehend all precious gems; they understand the living creatures’ nature. Therefrom, they actually feel affection towards living creatures; really love living creatures as much as they love themselves.

The bodhisattva observes himself before achieving the intuition, when he is still as living creatures with immeasurable doubtful attachments, the innumerable anxieties, the incalculable petulance, the unlimited desires, and the uncountable astonishment. Afterwards, the bodhisattva has emphatically intended to realize the compassion-will-courage, the morality -meditation -wisdom, and the six perfections tirelessly to overcome all unfavorable dharma without fictitious habits. There is no more doubt on the dualistic dharma of the body and circumstance, gain and loss; every place is literally perfect. The bodhisattva then could perceive wonderfully! By overcoming the above five seed-natures of living creatures, he has acquired immeasurable precious gems, the innumerable precious diamonds, the incalculable precious emeralds, the unlimited precious sapphires, and the uncountable precious topazes. His mind is not entangled and his thought is not regressed, he then enters into the sojourn for forty-two days to pass over the farther side of the limit and thoroughly acquires all the manifestations of the very mind of suchness. Only less than the Buddha with His forty-nine days and nights of accomplishment is to pass over to the farther side of the limit. Only he who has acquired the degree of bodhisattva realizing the mahasattva could comprehend it. Otherwise, it is beyond the range of speaking, reasoning and understanding.

The bodhisattva truly knows that, living in the secular world, one should have parent, wife and husband, children, brothers and relatives. The bodhisattva feigns stupidity to incarnate appropriately in order to give them plenty of means, makes some of them comprehend the path of the unique career vehicle. That is neither complimenting nor disapproving, neither right nor wrong, neither good nor evil, neither moral nor immoral, neither in concord nor in conflict, neither intimate nor separate. All are confined within these five precious gems, which are mentioned above. Though the majority could not yet receive them. However, these are not lost and are stored instead in all the cavities of the Tathagata store, waiting to appear when there is sufficient faculty, long or short according to determined mind.

“You should remember well and carefully realize that: the enlightened one explicitly explains from the precious treasury of Buddha which comprised the five precious gems mentioned above, preached in the presence of the bodhisattvas who carry out the instructions and the devas who respectfully admire the treasure dharma. Therefore, they eulogize the five gems of the precious dharma in the golden preaching of the Buddha.” –T.V.

The disciple should pay attention to reading, to remembering and to recognizing carefully these words of the Lord Supreme Maitreya; it is just from the explicit explanation of the precious treasury of Buddha that the bodhisattvas realize the supreme worthy conducts. And the devas are sensible so they worship and admire for a while until they have intuition to enter the conducted bodhisattva, the vowed bodhisattva. Therefrom, they would understand that the five gems are really the precious golden words. Even with the abundance of materials in life, prosperity, luxurious house, they cannot resist the desire nor dissolve the sufferings from birth, old age, disease, and death because they are still entangled in the formal desire. The Buddhas have really known that the original source of living creatures is not the chaotic desire. All of them have already possessed the perfectly tranquil enlightenment. Due to the desire, which they think about then act according to their wisheses to make them their own that produce all dharma that is called the karma. As they are karma, they would be polluted by the toxicity and mistakenly accepted it to create the transmigration of birth and death.

“The living creatures who lean on the dharma to practice and acquire the dharma, who rely on the dharma to dissolve in returning to the true supreme dharma and acquire the Buddha Dharma, attaining the Tathagata store. Being aware of their individual nature, having no way, but understanding the way, perfectly understanding the Tathagata store, this path is called dharma store.

One direction has two paths. For the Buddhas, they make use of the five gems of the precious dharma in the position of the treasury dharma to help living creatures. As for the living creatures, receiving the precious dharma, they have to lean on the dharma in order to understand it and return to the true supreme dharma precious treasure of the buddhayana and be liberated through wisdom.” –T.V.

The disciples practicing all dharma have to dissolve theirs until comprehension before recognizing the Tathagata store called dharma store that is the return to the true supreme.

The practice with all dharma is the unique direction, completely understanding the Tathagata dharma and entering the store; those are the two paths. Because of the esteem of the five gems, their wisdom develops and illuminates the consciousness karma as well as the fictitious desire. Therefore, they neither prefer the nobility to the coarseness, nor prefer the good to the evil, no longer fed up with the impermanent affairs of life and death chaotically, neither practice more nor less, neither the gain nor the loss, neither the presence nor the absence, but perfectly comprehend the Tathagata dharma to know the dharma, thoroughly understand the dharma and return to the true supreme dharma of buddhayana, which is also called unique career vehicle, the way to the complete liberation through wisdom.

As for the living creatures, the five kinds of toxicities: the doubtful attachment, fear, anxiety, desire, and astonishment that makes them unable to see, hear, know about the precious things of the five gems so they should be developed for entering the Tathagata store then returning to the true supreme.

“In this world of separation and destruction those of meditation wisdom to the superhuman being, to those who know well the dharma, but not yet returning to the true supreme, they will remain in the vagueness of the dharma sphere without escape. The demands to fulfil the outcome according to the needs on the way of practice for liberation from birth and death in the faithful disciples are not few. Therefore, they have to ask the Buddhist master of bodhisattva rank this: what is the way? What is the practice to resolve the birth and death? The Buddhist master replies: “try to manage according to the birth and death, practice according to the birth and death to resolve the birth and death.” –T.V.

The meditation wisdom originated from the seed karma of living creatures. Living creatures are wrongly divided into various spheres; they become thus rebellious or feel affection for each other and create karma. Those of meditation wisdom know that it is karma that leads to the transmigration of birth and death. In fact, the physical nature spontaneously is in perfect tranquillity from the non-beginning to the non-ending in the living creatures. Those of meditation wisdom and the superhuman beings become saints, who have not yet attained the degree of complete liberation through wisdom and are still in the vagueness about the truth. Why?

Because they are not yet emerging from the belt of dharma sphere of the universe, they still return to the heaven world, fairy world... they still are in the sphere that belongs to the status of living creatures sphere. The superhuman beings can show the living creatures the way of practice to go forward to the heaven world, fairy world. But the essence of the Buddha is intentionally guiding the living creatures to escape from the universe, to stand beyond the universe, to master the universe, and to maneuver the universe in order to be liberated from birth and death through wisdom.

Thus, what is the way? What is the practice to resolve death and birth? Together with living creatures, leaning on the all dharma in living creatures to dissolve the consciousness karma, root karma, defilement karma, fetter karma, all that is the practice relying on the birth and death to be free from the death and birth.

Those of meditation wisdom who do not rely on the above physical nature of meditation, and strenuously practice the fixed perception are all practicing wastefully and are still caught in the birth and destruction. After achieving the full enlightenment, the bodhisattvas then make use of the fixed perception, neither leaving nor taking it. Therefore, they are free from the dharma sphere. That is the unique characteristic of the unique career vehicle.

“The practice for the way of liberation is extremely delicate in every particular quantity. There is a difference between those who comprehend and those who acquire the dharma. For every acquisition, there are thousands and thousands of turns, just like: those who acquire the eternal truth and rely on it to recognize themselves the equality of eternal truth are sincere. In fact, it is truly permanent and variable just in some aspects, not yet the perfection of the true supreme entirely.” –T.V.

Those who comprehend the dharma are those perceiving the dharma through the faculty of reason to understand it, those who acquire the equality of all dharma, the equality of the Buddha nature, are due to the non chaotic desire that they acquire the equality of nature and mind. Having achieved the equality of nature and mind can understand all the dharma without being mistaken in the birth and death. If following the faculty of reason is still having wishes in order to attain the dharma; the idea of that wish is the inequality. Being unequal would be chaotic accordingly. There are thousands of various turns depending on every occasion of acquisition.

Why? Because those who smoothly practice always consider their acquisition to be the ultimate, they are not willing to leave their ego, their self-acquisition in order to meet the brilliant Buddhist master from the rank of bodhisattva, mahasattva to the Buddha. If they meet them, just through a few simple exchanges they can benefit a lot from it, they can recognize the degree of their acquisition and which way they are taking.

For that reason, many of those who comprehend the dharma unintentionally go in the contrary direction to the way for the wisdom. Each disciple may have different levels of insight that may be profound or superficial. Consequently, the acquisition is never equal or is eternal truth sincere. Due to the dharma nature which is equally perfect and appropriate, it can lead those who acquire incompletely the dharma to mistakenly follow the desire of proclaiming themselves to be the bodhisattva, Buddha without seeing and knowing all the wrong infection of birth and death in the incalculable, uncountable lifetimes. The dharma nature helps those who wish for perfection either superior or inferior. It is the master of those who comprehend the dharma and still entertain with the vague expectation and sink in the birth and death and they remain the living creatures in all the spheres without knowing it.

The dharma nature responds to all the disciples who are still having the desire. It does not discriminate the individual character; it simply yields to the very appropriate wishes. Therefore, they are easily subject to error without the master.

“Those who are clinging to the eternal truth naturally did not penetrate deeply into all dharma, they are getting lazy and confused about the Buddha dharma. The first is to receive the eternal truth and to go to the pure land. The second is to focus the mind on training diligently, and the third is to be dreamy in the ignorance of the dharma patience and unable to be free from the birth and death. Very rare are those who attain the dharma of eternal truth to cultivate toward the truth of eternity. Why? Because the eternal truth is the first step to the equality of body and mind, the disciple has to practice till the end of his essential mind. The essence of true mind is just the return to the noble truth supreme.” –T.V.

Those who acquire the dharma of eternal truth have practiced successfully the hearing-seeing-knowing to enter the sea of Tathagata dharma; hence they have achieved the truth of eternity through cultivating entirely to attain the Tathagata store.

Cultivating in the Tathagata dharma is no more heavy or light, nor pure and impure, nor increased and decreased. It knows that all dharma are perfect in every level. It understands clearly the origin of every dharma without error. The dharma returns to the mind leading to acquire the essence of the true mind. The more meticulously inspecting dharma in every particular detail, the more complete understanding all dharma would be without superficiality. Very rare are those who acquire the Tathagata dharma cultivating toward the eternal truth.

For instance: cultivating to dissolve the suffering. To acquire the dharma that saves the suffering, to understand clearly the suffering, the disciple needs to dissolve the suffering dharma that means the thorough comprehension and the complete extermination of the suffering. He also should practice to save the suffering, carefully examining inch by inch without any aperture; the suffering cannot creep into the mind to stay there. He then clears up the suffering. Definitely, the practice in such a way is perfect and returns toward the true supreme entirely. The way of meticulous, diligent and careful practice belongs to the unique career vehicle where you can step in the vast sea of samadhi.

Attaining the essence of the true mind, you should be those who understand thoroughly the sufficient dharma spheres in every level equally. That is the return toward the true supreme. There is no need for reasoning. It may be present or absent. It is present when you want it to be present and it is absent when you want it to be absent. It is the non-duality. It has no place to point out, because all are not yet attaining the equality, are vaguely divided into two and not determined to be unique

Because of unable to determine the essence of true mind, they, therefore, get fed-up, stand still and return toward the tranquil isolation also called the pure land. In fact, the pure land is very lively, really understanding the essence of true mind. Some of those who do not stand tranquilly to save and then enter into the training of the supernatural power, mysterious power that they do not return toward the essence of true mind either. The others, who have not yet enough dharma patience, have not yet acquired the complete no-birth. Therefore, they do not thoroughly understand the essence of true mind either.

“You should know that: the return to the true supreme is the basis of complete liberation, why?  It is because you would literally have the profound knowledge, clear sight with a developed mind and without entanglement. The time when the Blessed One is still alive, his young brother, Ananda, who is diligently practicing for clearing the nature, is overcoming every bit of dharma sphere and not yet able to return to the true supreme. Thus thinking: ‘The Blessed One is walking standing, laying, sitting among the defilement and pollution of the Aha world with plenty of miseries and hardships among the mountains and rivers with the convexity and concavity.

Thoroughly understanding it, the Blessed One has descended from His sacred throne and said: Ananda, your judgement is different from that of the supreme true enlightenment, all of your thinking is wrong, all the purposes in your recognition are also wrong, quite different from the true supreme. The Blessed One has made use of his supernatural power of five precious gems to clear the obstructions. Ananda has known instinctively, inclined his shoulders to walk seven rounds and respectfully said: Sir Reverend, I do not anticipate that your incalculable merits and the equality of the true supreme makes the sacred dim sighted in solemn, the grounds have not yet the convexity and concavity at all. Nor are the defilement, pollution and sufferings, these are the five kinds i am just thinking about. Strangely, strangely i have adored with respect. The Blessed One has silently attested.” –T.V.

At the time of the Blessed One, all the venerables, saints and sages still wrongly believe that the Blessed One is living in the saha world full of defilements, very miserable, very hard as the mountains, rivers with the convexity and concavity. The Blessed One has thoroughly understood the error of the four order’s disciples. Therefore, He has used the Buddha power to make the venerable Ananda know insticntively that the pure land of the Blessed One is the supreme true supreme with an adequate solemnity. There, the mind is as smooth as the fine velvet never having a bit of defilement, suffering, and it is always tranquil and joyful at all time.

In this Dharma-Ending Age, the above error of the four orders’ disciples is similarly manifested. The Lord Supreme Maitreya of the true supreme dharma has intentionally reminded about the pure land of the Buddhas with full of solemnity, never having the convexity or concavity at all. There, it also is as fine as the velvet and sufficiently possesses the seven precious gems, neither hot nor cold irregularly. At all times, his mind is in harmony as well. The four orders of disciples have been wrong because of their deficient degree of cognition.

“Some time afterward, having received the teaching, Ananda has returned to the True Supreme to be attested, He has then bowed before the Blessed One and said: Sir Reverend, my mistake is extremely, measurelessly enormous, through many lifetimes of birth and death. In each lifetime, i have believed that it is my parents who have given me the life through everything from the tray of foods to the piece of clothes, from the comfort to the living and that have frequently been so in all countless lifetimes. Until now, i am literally recognizing my wrong thinking about the fatherhood through confused appellation. I do not truly anticipate that you are my true parents. You are the one who have raised me that my body of four false elements becomes the agate golden body.

My body is the ordinary one. You have raised me to get the appearance of the Buddhas in my whole body, because of my mean and egoistic mind, i cannot look upon myself beyond the straitened dharma sphere of the being born, and now i can feel the immense generosity throughout. You have conferred me the practical use of the precious treasure, including all the five precious gems as a savory food and with the dharma rice that you have received from the Buddhas of Ten Directions, in order to make me eternal. After saying that, Ananda has respectfully bowed to Him.” –T.V.

The Lord has reminded the four orders of disciples that it is the Buddhas who could transform the ordinary body into the golden body. Furthermore, with the egoistic mind of the living creatures, he has raised them to make the appearance of Buddhas in their whole bodies, and nothing is comparable with the practical use of the precious treasure that He has conferred during His apparition in this return.