With the utmost reverence, I address the holy gurus of the Headquarters!
I am pleading with you to resolve a doubt that several Buddhists and I have long had.
Our master often handed us assignments and asked us to do things for him. When we found out the assignments were not correct or violated cultivation, he would say that he was using them to test us.
Of course, we should carry out what the master wishes. But is such testing correct or not? Should there be testing at all? We have heard that there is a test by the four straightforward ways and a test by the four hidden ways. What kind of a master specifically can hold such testing? Concretely, what level must a master have to qualify him for using the four straightforward ways and the four hidden ways in testing his disciples? We feel that our master does not possess the level to carry out the testing, but he often hints to us that he is a great Bodhisattva. Many of us have this same question. Therefore, we would like to seek an accurate and precise answer to the question: what class of bodhisattva, what level must one have to be qualified to carry out such a Buddha Dharma as testing?
With abundant gratitude, Buddhist disciple Yueli