LONG HOA HIGHNESS ASSEMBLY, SECOND PERIOD

“Wonderfully, today, i have just realized the supreme middle way, which is precisely the unique way that accepts both the good and the evil, the fullness and the emptiness, to get the absolute liberation from the duality, to regularize without errors. Actually, the mind and will in the Buddha Path are perfect and clear, it is relative in the suffering and absolute in the liberation vigorously, neither separation nor discrimination.” –T.V.

The supreme middle way is very necessary for the faithful disciple to solve all dharma the most judicious, rational and adequate way in the present life, and to understand the unification of the dharma and the life. It is the absolute way leading to the perfect attainment of the fruit of the achievement.

Dissolving all dharma in one way would be caught in the relativity, and not yet cleared. The following story shows clearly a memorable middle way for dissolution of all dharma.

One day, Long Hoa Chief Monk wanted to have a picture of “Lord Supreme Maitreya is Emptying His Haversack”. He ordered me to take care of it. Returning to Saigon, I met an artist and explained about the intention and significance of the picture. The artist drew it with a great labor and finished his work after one month. I brought the picture back to Nha Trang, feeling happy for completing the task and having offered a merit that might please Him, which was mainly to express my enthusiasm for the dharma. When the picture was hung, everybody paid nice compliments. About 30 minutes later, the disciple Phap Dung also presented another picture of “Lord Supreme Maitreya is Emptying His Haversack”. I thus knew that He had already ordered me to take care of the picture and at the same time, He also ordered Phap Dung to do the same.

When the second picture was hung, He said that the picture from Phap Dung was better, and now what were we going to do with yours, Phap Kha?

I then examined myself to see whether I still felt sadness, anger or grief in me. Fortunately, these species natures did not present in me at all, and I said: “Phap Dung's picture is the better one, we should keep it, and mine should be burnt." He kept silent. About 15 minutes later, He asked me again. I naturally replied: We should burn mine because having two pictures of the same character at the Central would produce discordance in the future. One hour later, returning from His private room, He asked me once again.

I continued to answer with a clear conscience without any anger. He then ordered to burn the picture. I was sincerely delighted because there remained now the only picture for a model.

The picture was burnt. He then said: “I attest you to enter the supreme middle way.”

“According to the scripture of the supreme middle way sealed-indicated by the blessed one in the lucky kalpa, the dogma of guide for the believers must be carried out with two sides, relative in the concordance, but absolute in the acquirement to be enlightened. It is measurelessly far from the millions of previous centuries and very close to this twentieth century, but I myself have mistaken. How could the disciples avoid what I have confusedly done.” –T.V.

This example implies that we have to examine impartially to be in concordance with the two sides, that is the relativity. Afterwards, choosing the better and giving up the other, that is the absolute. That is the most rational and judicious way. That manner of management is called the supreme middle way, the way to the liberation through wisdom.

Not dissolving it adequately and correctly, we are still mistaken. Before attaining enlightenment, nobody could be free from mistake, but for those who have shown the good will to practice for the dharma, they are joyfully detached, not acting for the sake of their own individuality and personality, and by that way they could be free from mistake. There are rarely those who are sincerely practicing for enlightenment, so they could not avoid mistakes in the middle way path for many lives, many lifetimes.

“Wonderfully! Nobly! The Supreme Blessed One, He has taught the supreme middle way path, one should not give up or take all the relative mistakes, thus involve with the conflict, fall into the deficiency or sufficiency together with many sufferings. They are only in discordance because of their differentiation. They are greedy because of their fullness and emptiness, they are doubtful because of their jealousy, that is the black and the white, the white and the black, the two ways of birth and death.” –T.V.

The Sakyamuni Buddha has always taught us the supreme middle way. The relativity is the wrong dharma. We have to be in concordance with the relativity to attain the absolute. That is the way of enlightenment. Leaving or taking, fullness or emptiness have and have not and deficiency or sufficiency all is the relativity, which give rise to discordance, greed, and doubt. That is the way of birth and death.

In the daily life, the concentration on realization of the supreme middle way would bring about perfect results.

“We have to patiently practice step by step, from one stage to another, being joyful and detached in presence of Impurity. Until one day, we could understand by ourselves the words of the Blessed One: kindness, compassion, and joyful detachment are our goal, my heart is generating itself the philanthropy to be assimilated with human beings.” –T.V.

Fulfilling it, that is the supreme middle way. The disciples have to recognize and dissolve judiciously dharma by dharma. If he preferred the purity, and rejected the impurity, not being joyful and detached, would create the obstruction, how he could have kindness and compassion. To have the kindness and compassion to help living creatures, one first must give up bad characters and habits. Compassion means to be rounded, capable of rolling everywhere. When a man was completely clean and free from living creatures’ nature, he could then help living creatures effectively. That is the kindness and compassion. Those who have kindness and compassion would have the sense of joyful detachment. The philanthropy would spontaneously originate from it.

Still living with attachment and obstruction, we could not have the kindness, compassion and joyful detachment. if we have not yet realized perfectly and clearly towards the purity and impurity, we still do not understand thoroughly kindness, compassion, and joyful detachment either.

“It is by well knowing your own nature that you could receive the emptiness universe of Tathagata eye store, being in accord with everything in everywhere to attain full enlightenment.” –T.V.

There are plenty of good and evil in the life, and the forms as well as formless are everywhere, we have to be in accord with them to understand in full detail the perfect truth in both sides of favor or unfavor and control the stupidity. Not attached to the dharma, but understanding it thoroughly, that is the penetration into the emptiness, into the Tathagata store to see and know all that is the Tathagata eye store, that belongs formless but we could still see it.

“The Buddhist Master has pondered at this point. He has then re-adjusted his robe, faced towards the eastbound and solemnly bowed down seven times. He has silently spoke with respect: Blessed Sir, the Supreme, you are precisely the Perfect Supreme Reverend for all, equal to thousands and millions of conducts, with countless and boundless merits of Buddha transferred to the right enlightenment. Therefore, under the vision of the Buddha, all are equal to Tathagata, without nature of discrimination, without impregnation of species, without attachment of right enlightenment, without base of clinging manner. I am now examining, on behalf of your honest order, preaching the dharma to save this generation and future generations to the posterity who would lean on the supreme middle way to practice and attain the entire truth of enlightenment.” –T.V.