The Lord of our Buddhism in this world is Shakyamuni Buddha, who has established the three refuges. No matter how great a patriarch one is, one must be beneath Shakyamuni Buddha. We can assertively guarantee it today, whoever says that the three refuges are incomplete must not be a holy being of the Gold Button level. A holy person of the Gold Button level will not tell such sinful words. If you don’t believe it, you can call the Buddhist Association Headquarters and inquire about their level.
You must understand, the targets for us to take refuge in are the Three Jewels—Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. It is not the guru, because there are always two types of gurus: the correct and the evil. As for the additional chant of “Namo Gurubei” added by the Esoteric Schools, it is OK if the guru is a great holy being. But the Esoteric Schools emphasize “to rely on the guru to attain accomplishment”, and as such, they forcefully control the disciples to respect the guru as the first and the foremost by way of the Fifty Stanzas Of Guru Devotion. That is a severe problem! Have you thought about it? Is the guru whom you take refuge with a topmost great holy guru? Are they a Bodhisattva? Where is their achievement in Five Vidyas? Are they more significant than the Buddha? Are they free of any sin for placing themselves before the Buddha? What is even more terrifying is, if your guru is not a holy being but a swindler or an evil person instead, and you rely on your guru attempting to attain accomplishment, then you will become a swindler or an evil person yourself for sure!
We can see that if a guru is a holy being, then They will not call Themselves a great and wonderful guru. That is a fact. Nobody who coerces the disciples into respecting them is a good person. Would a real holy being issue a decree to force the disciples to revere them? Will they care if their disciples mistreat them? There are evil masters and lying, cheating masters who brandish a great lineage all over the world nowadays. Why don’t you understand such simply reasoning?
Of course, if what you rely on was a Guru like Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, Manjushri Bodhisattva, Guru Padmasambhava, Master Marpa, Master Tsongkhapa, or Master Jigme Lingpa, then it would be correct if they decree the disciples to respect Them and rely on Them to attain accomplishment. It is because all They promote are the Dharma teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha. Even so, what is above Their heads are Dorje Chang Buddha and Shakyamuni Buddha. Do you understand? There are only Buddhist disciples in the world. We have never heard guru’s disciple, have we?
Actually, a Buddha or a Bodhisattva will not consider whether living beings are slandering or praising them. They will not require disciples to revere them. Instead, They will always be humbled; They will always benefiting others. H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III is a living example. Be careful! Don’t be cheated by those evil people who are so audacious as to wreck the three refuges that were established by Shakyamuni Buddha. Don’t be a “guru’s disciple”, the descendant of those evil people.
What is the level of the master you have taken refuge with from the holy test? Are they a Gold Level holy being? You should watch the video titled “A Video That is Hard To See In a Thousand Years”. Maybe the one who collapsed and crazily ran away from my Tummo heat in the video is that master with whom you have taken refuge! Even if your master wasn’t present in that video, the level they get from the holy test can tell it all. They cannot fool people!
International United World Buddhism Association Headquarters
October 31, 2016
(English translation by Zunba, last edited 2020-05-30)