Reply to Inquiries No. 20190101
The Holy Gurus of the World Buddhism Association Headquarters hereby address the three inquiries below and reply as follows:
1. Buddhist disciples beware! No temple in this world can represent the Ancient Buddha Temple, True Dharma Temple, or the Holy Miracles Temple. Any other temple can only speak for themselves. They cannot represent the three great temples: the Ancient Buddha Temple, the True Dharma Temple, and the Holy Miracles Temple! These three great temples with true Buddha Dharma are officiated by Tremendously Holy Gurus and Great Holy Gurus at Bodhisattva levels.
Some people claimed that their temples were recognized by His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III and that His Holiness the Buddha had also named their temples. The fact that H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III accedes to requests from Buddhists to name the temples that they have built or will build, and to bestow upon them calligraphic scripts of the names of those temples, is entirely for the sake of encouraging Buddhist disciples to truthfully cultivate themselves in accordance with Buddhist teachings and rules.
H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III once said that whenever a Buddhist temple or an academy for learning from Buddha is built, His Holiness the Buddha would have no hesitation writing a calligraphic script for the name of the temple or academy. However, it is not true that once a temple is given a calligraphic script penned by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III that such a temple is proven to be a temple with true Dharma or following the teachings of Buddha. This is because after a temple is built, changes could happen in the process of impermanence and the coming together of different karmic factors. It is hard to foresee who will take the helms and whether they will mix up correct and evil teachings or practices because people interpret the teachings of Buddha in their own ways. Hence, the fate of these establishments cannot possibly be predetermined.
For this reason, just having a calligraphic script of the name of the temple penned by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III is but a conditioned phenomenon. How could the fate of a temple be predetermined by this one conditioned phenomenon? As a case in point, the Bodhi Tree under which Shakyamuni Buddha attained enlightenment was such a great sacred site where human and heavenly beings all went to pay their obeisance to the Buddha. Who would have thought that the same site has now become a marketplace where fallen leaves of the bodhi tree are trampled by horses and donkeys? Hence, all conditioned phenomena are but dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows. How could any conditioned phenomena be unchanging even for a split second? Follow and practice the teachings of Buddha immediately. Abandoning all evil and doing all that is good is the correct way. That is how you could eliminate calamities and obtain good fortune.
However, you have to be aware that for any other temple, as long as the abbot, the leading monastic or the monastic at the helm follows strictly the Buddhist rules and precepts, is proficient in Sutra, Vinaya, and Shastra, does not feign to be a holy person to deceive the public, then that is a temple officiated by one with conduct befitting of an eminent and greatly virtuous monastic. Such a temple is worthy of respect. On the contrary, if a temple is led by someone who claims to be a holy person, yet in essence, they have not attained the level of holy realization, then that is certainly a temple officiated by one who is an evil master and a cheater.
2. Another inquiry of yours was about two persons of Han Chinese ethnicity claiming to have received Geshi degrees from a Buddhist academy in Tibet and accomplished Five Vidyas upon passing a sutra debate. You asked if that was in accordance with Dharma rules and whether the Five Vidyas could be attained through a sutra debate.
First of all, this Headquarters does not know who these people are. These kinds of people are not limited to the two persons but are everywhere. We hereby answer your question based on the examples to which you referred. Currently, there are no Geshes of Han Chinese ethnicity. Even Tibetan Geshes are not necessarily Buddhist scholars in true essence. This is because the government there no longer recognizes such an exam system for the religion. From our understanding, to be recognized, one must be approved by the specific department of the government to obtain a certificate. Otherwise, their recognition has no standing. Saying that someone has attained the Five Vidyas based on having passed a sutra debate is total nonsense. To say it bluntly yet factually, which of those who officiate sutra debates has Five Vidyas themselves that they could recognize Five Vidyas in others? If there is such a person, please provide their name.
Moreover, even if someone has obtained a Geshi degree, it does not mean that they possess true Buddha Dharma because a Geshi is merely a scholar of empty theories. The degree absolutely cannot represent the holder’s accomplishment in true realization power. Only the written exam of 100 questions on Sutra, Vinaya, and Sastra, and the most sacred and solemn Holy Exam can be the ironclad proof of one’s true knowledge and realization power. To the very least, even if one attains a Gold Button level through the holy exam, it has nothing to do with the Five Vidyas because Five Vidyas cannot be attained through sutra debates or scholarly discussions. Five Vidyas are the results of true realization power, not a sliver of the true essence of Five Vidyas can be obtained through empty debates. One must truly present results that could be seen. These results must be superior to the highest standards that the worldly experts can achieve.
The true meaning of Five Vidyas is generally misinterpreted in Buddhism. Amateurs who do not know consider the Five Vidyas to each represents one single discipline, classifying them into the major Five Vidyas and the minor Five Vidyas. For example, the Five Major Vidyas would be 1. the study of art and craft, 2. the study of medicine, 3. the study of musicality, 4. the study of logic, and 5. religious study; and the Five Minor Vidyas would be 1. Rhetoric, 2. Lexicology, 3. Phonology, 4. Dramatics, and 5. Astronomy. In truth, how could Five Vidyas be limited to such pathetically simple matters?
Pay attention! Five Vidyas must be understood based on the realization powers of Bodhisattvas. For example, Craftsmanship Vidya means the highest state of accomplishment in craftsmanship. That is a kind of brilliance. One’s achievement must surpass the levels of experts in the world. Five Vidyas encompass a broad perspective. Just take the Craftsmanship Vidya as an example. This Vidya is not just about being able to carve flowers out of frozen butter, draw face masks, make Tangkas, create oil paintings, ink paintings, watercolor paintings, pastel paintings, graphite sketches, wax crayon paintings, chalk paintings, spray paintings, or make sculptures. Having accomplishment in all these aspects and surpassing experts of national standing still cannot be considered as having true Craftsmanship Vidya. There are infinite aspects to true Craftsmanship Vidya, which does not only include painting, but also construction, architecture, sand sculpting, sculpture, decoration, landscaping, scenic landscaping, lighting design, the styling of clothes with shoes and hat, hair styling and ornamentation, wall hangings, curtains design and patterned decorative windows, interior furniture, and interior design, color decorations of pavilions, colorful gift wrappings, knotting and ribboning, and even one’s mannerism including how one carries oneself when one walks and sits, and how one keeps one’s dignified presence, etc. One must attain the level of an international expert in every single aspect. Simply speaking, only when one attains the highest level of enjoyment in all things of beauty in the universe can one be considered to have attained the Craftsmanship Vidya.
For another example, Healing Vidya is not just about curing human beings, animals, and birds of their illnesses. It also means having the ability to optimize conditions of inanimate objects and restore living beings to their health conditions. Only that can be considered Healing Vidya.
It is the same for the other three Vidyas. In particular, the Inner Realization Vidya is the summation of the other four Vidyas. Inner realization refers to the attainment of inner holy realization. Vidya refers to the high-level manifestation of inner realization power, such as the physical inner realization power, which one can show in one’s appearance and also apply to external objects. One who has Inner Realization Vidya has transcended the ordinary to become holy and can communicate directly with Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. They are extraordinary, wondrous, and majestic to the utmost. We will not further discuss it here.
The true Five Vidyas cannot be attained by people with titles of Dharma kings, venerable ones, Dharma masters, or Geshes. It requires the true power of realization and not just empty theories. Namo Shakyamuni Buddha holds everything in the universe within one palm. The Buddha excels in all aspects of the Five Vidyas and has superior abilities at the pinnacle of achievement in every professional field. Unfortunately, the accomplishments by the Buddha in the Five Vidyas have been damaged in the process of impermanence. In more than 2000 years of Buddhist history, other than Namo Shakyamuni Buddha and H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, nobody has ever attained perfection in the Five Vidyas, not even Holy Gurus at the patriarch or matriarch level. That’s why we could not find any such precedence. There is no way for us to list the name of anyone who can show their accomplishment item by item to validate their Five Vidyas.
You must know that true Five Vidyas are neither hollow theories from books nor so-called five major vidyas or five minor vidyas. Five Vidyas refer to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas mastering the rules of change that govern all spiritual and physical existence of myriad phenomena in the universe. What is not good, They turn to good. What is useless, They optimize their usefulness. They are unimpeded in their debate. They know the correlation between science and logic; they know what is mutually constructive or destructive. They turn afflictions into bodhi. They have attained liberation from death and rebirth and are at the pinnacle of transcending the mundane to become holy. They are greatly enlightened and capable beings who have attained accomplishment at the level of Equal Enlightenment Bodhisattvas, Marvelous Enlightenment Bodhisattvas, or Buddha.
Throughout history, none of the great Geshis truly possessed Five Vidyas, and as such, no one could show any accomplishment in these five major categories. Nowadays, people’s knowledge and realization power are shallow and minuscule. Those Geshis are truly shameless claiming to possess the Five Vidyas. The falsity of these ordinary people is inconceivably absurd; they think they could open up the sky and swallow the ocean, yet they are far from the realm of Five Vidyas. If anyone should challenge this, they could demonstrate their Five Vidyas to validate their claims openly. At that time, both holy beings and ordinary beings would all be offering their respect.
3. Someone inquired if the International Buddhism Sangha Association Headquarters assigned people to officiate the Great Compassionate Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva Empowerment Dharma Assembly. It is necessary to point out that all offerings received from the Great Compassionate Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva Empowerment Dharma Assembly can only be used for releasing captured lives and beneficent deeds. Also, all the offerings must be used up within half a month. There is no such thing as a separate donation for releasing capture lives. Collecting a separate donation for releasing captured lives is not in accordance with the Dharma. If those who have done such a thing do not repent and correct themselves, once the Headquarters has verified the facts, no matter who they are, we will openly criticize them by name.
Furthermore, it has been checked and verified that the International Buddhism Sangha Association Headquarters has not even once sent anybody to anywhere to officiate a Great Compassionate Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva Empowerment Dharma Assembly. If according to your letter, someone said that the International Buddhism Sangha Association Headquarters sent people to officiate a Great Compassionate Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva Empowerment Dharma Assembly, then these people were simply using the International Buddhism Sangha Association Headquarters as their front; what they did was an act of their own.
Inquiry Center, World Buddhism Association Headquarters
December 1, 2019