Announcement 20150108: A brief description of the differences among those of the same holiness level; The Eight-wind Array
Again, Buddhist disciples are reminded to clearly understand that the holy and virtuous ones of the same level, who hold certificates of the same holiness level, can have totally different levels in the actual content of their accomplishment! The difference primarily lies between the holy and virtuous ones who passed the test on only a single item and those who passed the test on their overall quality. The ones who passed the test on a single thing have accomplished an item of virtue, and the ones who passed the test on the overall quality have achieved the overall rate of goodness. The difference is that one is the holiness in one item that is cultivated and realized, and the other is the general essential holiness constitution that is developed and substantiated.
Pay attention! The overall quality of virtue does not mean you can combine one item or a few items from each of the four major categories and ask to be tested that way. When registering for the test, you must ask to be tested on your overall accomplishment. Even if you are only signing up to be tested on one item in one category, if you also say you want to be tested on your overall level of accomplishment, it is considered a test on the overall quality of virtue. For example, you can put down on the registration document: “I, whose name is so and so, am a holy guru of so many stars and such a level,” “I am an Arahat,” or “I am a Bodhisattva of such a stage.” Then, that would be for a test on your overall accomplishment. In other words, it would be for a test on your holiness content attained through your three karmas—conduct, speech, and mind.
Reading what has been said so far, some people may think they will not pass the test on the overall quality of virtue anyway, and it is not worth the effort to just be tested on a single item. As such, they have decided that they will not take the test since it would only end in a rotten situation for them. Buddhist disciples, you must observe it at this juncture. Those masters, who usually only know to brag about themselves or use others’ words or writings to inflate themselves as the incarnation of some wonderful holy beings but are afraid to take the test now, are either evil people who pretend to be sacred or just ordinary people and liars. If you do not leave that kind of master, you will suffer terrible retribution yourself. You must understand that even those who can pass the test on a single item are much superior to those who cannot and those who dare not take the test because they already have the rare and precious content of holy conduct.
After reading the brief description of the Vajra Array in Public Announcement 20150107, some people argued that the Vajra Array is not a mundane Dharma. Though they have understood that clearly, they are worried perhaps this Eight-wind Array, on the other hand, is an ordinary trap. Therefore, we will discuss the Death and Rebirth Cycling Samsara Eight-wind Array next.
If it was a mundane and artificial trap, how could it make such a fair and definitive determination on the level of accomplishment? If that were the case, would the candidates be convinced? The Eight-wind Array is an entirely different Dharma and formation than the Vajra Array. Its formidable powers are only second to the Vajra Array. It, too, is by no means a mundane or artificial trap. It generates a corresponding destruction force opposite to the candidate’s eight emotions—greed, hatred, ignorance, love, joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. It is purely an authentic Dharma of Buddhism where Mahāmāyūrī Vidyārājñī (the Peacock Bright King) is the Yidam. It gives the final determination on the disciple after the disciple has completed the exam of the specific testing subject in the teaching of Tripitaka, the keeping of their cultivation, the correctness of their knowledge and views, or their dharma power and realization abilities. This final part is the holy test that is definitive and without error because the Yidam and Dharmapalas decide the result and cannot be influenced by humans!
The Eight-wind Array is held in either the Large or the Small Array. The Large Array is about 5 acres. In the center is the gate to being alive and accomplished (成就生門), which is almost half an acre and is green. The name of the area is called the Auspicious Zone of Bliss and Joy (福樂吉界), and the outside area surrounding it is the Death and Rebirth Samsara Zone (生死輪迴界), which is about four and a half acres and is black. Connected to the gate of the array is a vast and wide passage about 20 meters long. It goes straight to the Auspicious Zone of Bliss and Joy from the gate. The candidate first practices walking into the Auspicious Zone of Bliss and Joy a few times. After becoming familiar with the process, they burn their test document by themselves and then walk to the Auspicious Zone of Bliss and Joy. If the candidate is qualified for the level they are tested for, they can step into the Auspicious Zone of Bliss and Joy smoothly. If they are not eligible, they cannot walk into the Auspicious Zone. They see the zone in front of them clearly, but no matter how they try, they just cannot walk in. The more they try to walk towards it, the farther away they will become until they are engulfed in the Samsara Eight-wind Array and entangled in the Samsara Black Zone without any way to escape. Could a mundane, artificial trap have that kind of power? The candidate trapped in the Samsara Zone can only be rescued back to life by the Holy Gurus at the end.
The overall power of the Large Array is 8 out of 8. But because it is too strong for the candidates to take, we have only set up 3/8 of power. The power of the Small Array is only set to 1/8. It has been proven with an actual survey that the Small Array not only can accurately determine if someone is qualified for the level they are tested at with the result seen but the candidate will also not be harmed a bit. Seventeen witnesses on-site, including seven holy gurus and ten witnesses proctoring the test. Anyone who has entered the Auspicious Zone of Bliss and Joy can validate the test result. Initially, the candidate drew the Divine Divination in an enclosed covered bowl. Neither the candidate themself nor the proctoring masters knew what the outcome of the Divination was inside the bowl. The candidate then opened the enclosed bowl in front of the seven holy gurus and the ten witness masters to validate the result of Divine Divination. Suppose the result matches the level the candidate achieved in the Eight-wind Array. In that case, the candidate will be conferred with a holiness certificate of their corresponding class that is endorsed with the vows made by the proctor masters.
United International World Buddhism Association Headquarters
June 29, 2015
(This announcement was translated from Chinese to English by Eric Huang. Last updated on 8/27/2023.）