Preface – Thus Have I Seen

        I want this book to be first, a description of what I have seen and heard while following my Buddha Master, H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III (FIGURE 1). I will tell the stories, the miracles, the practices, the steps forward and back, warts and all. It includes my aspirations, the aspirations the Buddha Master has for me, and my resistance. And, most importantly, it includes an introduction to the Buddha Dharma¹ brought to this world by my Buddha Master. I must offer an important caveat; it does not attempt to discuss the entire body of Dharma imparted by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. It is only about the part that this humble student is aware of, as I do not read or understand Chinese. I believe it does offer an overview of what is known to English-speakers and I hope it can help you know how to learn from the Buddha and realize that you, too, can and will become a Buddha.

        But second, I want to share what I think all of this means—what I have learned or understand from all this. I am sure there are many errors in this book, so many that I cannot even ask my Buddha Master to critique or approve it. However, I believe and hope that it will be useful to others who will (I hope) soon have access to more of the Buddha’s teachings and can make their own evaluation. There are many Dharma Teachings available in Chinese by my Buddha Master, but not many English translations of the books and recorded discourses have yet been published. The karmic conditions have not yet matured, but the time is near.

        Late in 2019, while leading a Dharma class in San Diego on a draft translation of the book Learning from Buddha, ² it became clear to me how exquisitely all the varied teachings given by my Buddha Master that I know of, fit together and supported one another. It was like solving a giant puzzle. I do not yet have all the pieces and don’t fully understand some of the pieces I do have, but I had the overall vision of how the teachings we do have complemented each other. It was then that I became determined to share that vision with whomever I could. I want to be clear that I am not qualified to explain or teach the correct Buddha-Dharma that can enable you to become enlightened. However, what I can do and want to do in this book is introduce you to that Dharma and share what I have seen and understand about the Dharma so that you can gain access to the wonders and joy of what the Buddhas teach. I can also transmit some of the dharmas you need to start on this path.

        I started with a sort of curriculum in my head with classes at the temporary site of the Xuanfa Holy Heavenly Lake Dharma Center in Hesperia, California. There were some good old students finding ways to participate and some eager new students who seemed to have good karmic roots for learning the Dharma. Then COVID-19 hit and the classes had to stop. Only they didn’t. They grew. We started holding large weekly international virtual classes via Zoom on Sunday afternoons and held smaller, more intimate Saturday morning open mike-like sessions to further discuss what we were learning and anything else that came up. The Dharma came alive. I wrote this book in the hope that by sharing my unique experiences, I can help make the Dharma come alive for others and that they will be motivated to learn and follow that Dharma to find joy and a good life and ultimately become enlightened beings. From my experience with these online classes and creating a virtual international temple online with students from all over the world joining us to chant and sing our praises to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and to sit together in both silent meditation and to reflect on what we have learned from the Buddha, I realized that there was much more I could and should do. This book is part of that effort.

        I had for the past few years become quite frustrated—even despondent—over my own Dharma practice, my lack of progress, and my inability to bring people to the Dharma. It started when we lost the ability to provide recordings of preliminary translations of the Buddha Master’s Dharma discourses to those wanting to start Dharma listening centers. True, they could still come to my temple in Sanger, California and I could read them these draft translations, but Sanger is a long way from just about anywhere and most of the students did not have the time or the resources or priorities to take the time to come to Sanger to do that. A few did and they progressed, but most did not. Besides they needed Dharma discourses and translations of the basic texts to be able to study and practice on their own and develop their own Dharma centers and bring people to the Dharma. I know I made mistakes and alienated students as well, for which I am truly sorry.

        Even when I was able to have preliminary translations of the amazing Supreme and Unsurpassable Mahamudra of Liberation and the profound Imparting the Absolute Truth through the Heart Sutra at the temple, it only attracted a very few to my temple to hear or read them. The ones who came and were able to hear and read even preliminary translations were thrilled and some became quite accomplished. I can see how their practice has prospered as a result. But they were few in number. I knew others who I thought would also benefit, but they simply could or would not come to Sanger. The Seven-Dharma Seminars, discussed later, generated some interest as did the Xuanfa Five Vidyas University, but nothing sustainable. Again, we needed authorized translations of the discourses and Dharma texts. But what could we do until that happened? What can those of us who do not and probably will never be able to understand or read Chinese do? What can I share of my experiences that might be helpful? Many of these stories and events I have reported before on the temple website and more recently in my blog, “Thus Have I Seen (Heard).” That was really the beginning of this book, but some I have not shared before. Still, they were merely random news articles. I wanted to publish these events in a, hopefully, more coherent format that would be more helpful to others.