LONG HOA HIGHNESS ASSEMBLY, SECOND PERIOD

The Four Nobles:

             - Dharma Protectors
             - Dharma Protector Bodhisattvas
             - Bodhisattvas attaining Bodhisattvahood
             - Maha Bodhisattvas vowing to become Buddhas

• The First Class of Nobles: Dharma Protector

“In the beginning, it includes the willing dharma protectors, the faithful dharma protectors, and the voluntary dharma protectors. Whatever could be their way of protecting the dharma, they would remain in the rank of living creatures’ dharma protectors.” –T.V.

The willing dharma protectors and the faithful dharma protectors have gone through many lives of understanding the Buddhist dharma, becoming interested and faithful in helping living creatures to follow Buddhism. They generally have not yet sensed in giving up their individuality natures. For the dharma protectors who are neither discouraged in all situations nor abandoning their practice in critical moments, they are called voluntary dharma protectors. These dharma protectors are very willing and never contravened by any obstacle in their practice to help the life and create virtue; they were called unthinkable dharma protector.

Through many lives of being voluntary dharma protectors and when their merits become abundant, they would meet a reborn Buddha or a maha bodhisattva who would attest them. Then and only then, they could definitively become dharma protectors. Otherwise, they would have remained in the rank of “living creatures dharma protectors” no matter how ready or qualified they might be.

As far as the Buddha path is concerned, the rank of the dharma protector actually is not easy to enter the constitution of the universe that means penetrating the constitution of the Tathagata Buddha. That is how Buddhism is. It is similar in real life, no matter how excellent you might be; you have to wait to pass an entry exam before you are admitted in any professional school.

Therefore, dharma protector and boddisattva rank need the attestation from the Buddha who has been attested by the Tathagata that is the Lord Supreme Maitreya.

In this return to the world, Lord Supreme Maitreya Buddha has attested no more than 30 of the total 3000 true disciples noted above in the Supreme Long Hoa to be the interior member of Dharma Protectors.

• The Second Class of Nobles: Dharma Protector Bodhisattva

“The dharma protector bodhisattvas practice the bodhisattva conduct, deeply penetrating the dharma world to help living creatures, carrying out their vow of offering to Tathagata Buddha and gradually progress in their practice through many lives to attain the voluntary bodhisattva of prajna, the unthinkable bodhisattva. Then step up to the position of mahasattva called the maha bodhisattva.” –T.V.

Though practicing in the same dharma school with plenty of faithful disciples and dharma protectors; however, the venerable rank is specially helped and taught to practice the bodhisattva conduct.

This rank has to acquire one of the three dignities:

        • The Non-Productivity of Dharma Patience
        • The Equality of Nature and Mind
        • The Samadhi Dharma subject of Real Form and Formless

And they have to attain from awareness to ultimate awareness to have sufficient abilities to follow the bodhisattva conduct.

Every day the dharma protector bodhisattva rank unceasingly clears up his living creature’s natures in order to penetrate deeply into all dharma spheres and to offer to Tathagata Buddha.

Through many lives of offering to Tathagata sufficiently and clearing up his living creature’s natures, they could attain the level of bodhisattva, and they also have to be determined to practice for prajna, willing to practice the unthinkable dharma protector, like the Master Hsuan Tsang in His quest of sutra. He has to endure the likes of the cruelty in this last period where there are neither virtue, nor morality and everything as deadlocked as in hell fire, and gradually resolve all entanglement to understand thoroughly.

If the venerables try to keep away from all dharma, practicing insufficiently for the clearance of living creature’s natures, they are not yet achieving the conduct fully to become bodhisattvas. Until any life when they would thoroughly and clearly realize the form and formless, they have to wait for the attestation from either the Maha Bodhisattva or the would-be-Buddha in order to enter the rank of bodhisattvas.

• The Third Class of Nobles: Bodhisattva attaining Bodhisattvahood

“From the maha bodhisattva called the great bodhisattva who has to undergo the no-receding bodhisattva and achieving abundant merits, then enters the rank of the great bodhisattvas.” –T.V.

Lord Supreme Maitreya would never attest the dharma protector bodhisattva, who is not yet acquiring the nine dignities of lotus flower in their practice, to be bodhisattva.

Within the nine dignities of lotus flower, the bodhisattva as the right meaning of the Buddhas has to know what dignities are those from the first dignity to the ninth dignity. Recovering yourself would make you know sensitively - neither strictly follow the Sutras nor the dogmatic. The ninth dignity is the supreme enlightenment. He who is termed to be a bodhisattva must know how to follow exactly the footprint of the bodhisattvas in the past, step by step, to be truly attested supreme rank, supreme master. Not knowing in ones self the order of Nine Dignities is the supreme rank, supreme master by theory and hypothesis without attestation.

In the dharma school, there is one case of terming oneself supreme rank who has neither been recognized nor attested to be dharma protector by Lord Supreme Maitreya. The awareness of the hypothesis is eternally erroneous. These ones are usually mistaken and they have to penetrate deeply in the dharma sphere thousands and thousands of times to acquire the supreme rank, supreme master. In this Final Law Period, there are countless cases of mistaking theory, hypothesis and terming oneself Buddha, which are caught in the Buddha sphere. They also concentrated their thoughts to get supernatural power and made the living creatures erroneous. The disciple is attached because of not knowing clearly the path of the bodhisattva.

The Lord has said: “The acquisition of the supreme enlightenment the Blessed One has ordained. Since the Bodhisattva until now, the year of 2538 of the Buddhist calendar, The Lord Supreme Maitreya could attain the Buddha hood. Thereby, His words could represent the Three Dharma Elements and be realistic.”

After being attested by the Buddhas, the bodhisattva could vow to be the maha bodhisattva. The maha bodhisattva also called the great bodhisattva could overcome all extreme difficulties, extremely miserable obstacles and yet he is neither discouraged nor giving up on his vow. Therefore, he could create abundant merits and offer to Tathagata to be able to enter the great bodhisattva rank.

• The Fourth Class of Nobles: The Maha Bodhisattva vowing to become Buddha

“Becoming Buddha by just one rebirth. The four periods of the four nobles, are actually too long, one undergoes countless lives, countless merits, countless dignities offered to Tathagata, to the Buddhas before becoming Buddha. One cannot become Buddha by just one lifetime of practice. The becoming Buddha in one lifetime has been already sowed, planted beforehand, so that the attainment of enlightenment is possible today.” –T.V.

Now you should adore Lord Supreme Maitreya who has become the Buddha in this Final Law Period by just one rebirth. The year of 2500 has come. Long Hoa Chief Monk Maitreya Buddha has achieved perfectly the wonderful Bodhihood in this atomic era. The doomsday of the posterity is approaching the critical point. Such a fact is unique second to none.

The immobility, unable to manipulate all dharma in any difficult circumstances, would disqualify one from being the Buddha, although acquiring the supremacy, He is also mistaken, the attachment is caused by the self and self-possession, indeed such a waste of time to practice. It is already difficult to become an arahant in this Final Law Period; it is even more difficult to be the bodhisattva, as for the Buddha that is an utmost discrepancy. An extreme excellence, not ordinary with the wrong thought, which termed to be the Buddha. That really is a sin for the lifetimes of incalculability.