Answer 33 On Day 33 of the Lunar year
The reason why the World Buddhism Association Headquarters implemented the test system is to help Buddhists find masters and friends who genuinely have virtue and ethics so that they can avoid taking on the wrong paths. In the Dharma-ending Era, which we are currently in now, fake masters are all over the world who engage in deceit while brandishing the sign of a Great Holy Guru or a Great Bodhisattvas. Those who just started learning from Buddha and cultivating themselves, because they lack Buddhist knowledge and have not even entered the gate of true Buddha Dharma, over ninety percent of them fall prey to the swindling. Those vicious masters also ask them to make vows on loyalty or be cursed for any change to prevent them from following other masters. These evil masters and swindlers are as vicious as fierce animals, and they seriously violate the teachings and precepts of Shakyamuni Buddha. Therefore, to help Buddhists from being cheated, the World Buddhism Association Headquarters has to test all the masters, whether they are real or fake, to protect everyone.
Dharma King Gar Tongstan, the Chair of the World Buddhism Association Headquarters, said: “As the Chair, I never have a sliver of selfish mind for myself when I carry out these tests. The new Chair, the Ven. Mozhi, also has no selfish mind. The two of us do not accept any disciple. We do not want you to learn from us because we are serving everyone with our whole heart. You can follow and rely on someone as long as that someone is an eminent monk or a great virtuous one.”
We found that those who pretend to be a Great Bodhisattva but are merely ordinary people usually are those who either wear Blue Buttons or no button at all. None of them passed the level of Gold Buttons. Not only are they not Bodhisattvas, but they also are not even Arahats, for they do not have any dharma power or qualities that a holy virtuous one has. They also do not have the slightest learning, knowledge, and ethics that an eminent monk or a great virtuous one has. Therefore, these ordinary people who pretend to be holy have no power or ethics; they violate the hierarchy and cheat on people. They are real-live evil spirits who cruelly hurt living beings. These types of people are all ordinary people plus charlatans.
After the written test on Sutra, Vinaya, and Sustra given by the Headquarters, the facts have proven that those so-called great Bodhisattvas and world-famous great rinpoche masters who usually cheat their disciples into totally admiring them all became outsiders to the Sutra teachings in the test. The answers given by many people had nothing to do with the questions at all and were full of errors. They even emptily bluffed and said they have holy realization internal powers, or their body is as strong as a Vajra and indestructible. But as it turned out after the test, their physical strength is depleted, and their body is weak. As someone whose age is between twenty and fifty, they cannot lift the Earth Pestle weighing 200 pounds onto the offering table with one hand. In contrast, a person between fifty and seventy years old who has real inner dharma power can lift 200 pounds onto the offering table without any problem.
The evil masters and charlatans would say without shame: “Lifting 200 pounds on the offering table is too trivial for me!” Then the chief guru presiding over the test would say, “Since you are so arrogant, why don’t you just directly present the Dharma Pestle and show your power as a holy being!” As such, he would completely expose himself, having no holy power at all when it comes to actual realizations and beneficial effects. He is downright clueless about Buddhism, an ordinary person, a cheater, a sickly body having an empty appearance, an idiot in Sutra teachings, cultivation, or Dharma meanings. He is an entirely evil spirit. Such a clueless person about Buddhism deceives people by giving nonsense teachings full of fabrications. They also compile textbooks. As such, they have hurt a lot of people. They let people give prostration to them; they deplete people’s wealth in making offerings to them. They make people rely on evil practices and cause them to descend into bad realms.
This awful situation continues to grow in society, and it cruelly harms living beings. You all must be particularly careful! The examination held by the Headquarters is to serve and help everyone so that you can tell the difference between the true and kind masters and the false and evil ones.
Inquiry Center of the World Buddhism Association Headquarters
Written on behalf of great holy virtuous ones to answer questions raised
March 20, 2018
(translation last edited by Zunba 2020-12-08)