72. The Patriarchs’ Establishing Procedures of Zen.

“The meditation way accounts for 28 patriarchs besides the other enlightened ones. Very popular were the meditation sects of the dynasties of Le, Ly and Tran of Vietnam.

The patriarchs, in accordance with the spirit of the meditation way, taught the devotees how to be faithful to their vows, associated with wisdom, that are the essentials of the meditation. Those who lack these two primary vows can’t become meditative practitioners at all.” –T.V.

These twenty-eight patriarchs came down to us from the time when the Sakyamuni Buddha has started His teachings from the Patriarch Mahakassapa to the 28th Patriarch.

In the Dharma-Ending Age of the year 1956, Lord Supreme Maitreya Buddha has focused His attention on the supreme meditation. To the request of the true Buddhists, He has made His decision on establishing the Dharma-Store Supreme in 1965, which was regularized later under the name of Vietnamese Buddhist Dharma-Store. There have been about three thousand true Buddhist followers until the year 1975, but they have no meditation monasteries. The true disciples, as a result, have made their own houses the temporary dharma schools ranging from the Central to all the Provinces in South Vietnam. They wear the yellow robes during the celebrations as the renunciation. Nevertheless, they are dressed as the lay people when they go to work for their living. He has made use of the Buddhist dharma as non-separation from the secular world and established the four orders as follows:

– Believers: Those who have just entered into Buddhism, and they are incorporated into a collectivety that fits them after a judgment and evaluation.

– Caretaker: Those who take care of the dharma school, incense burning and offerings.

– Dharma Protectors: Those who are responsible for the teachings.

– Attendants: Those who serve the Chief Monk

LORD SUPREME MAITREYA WITH LONG HOA