Clarification #19: Response to Wang on Propagating the Dharma

By | December 30, 2019

from The Office of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III:

Recently, a Buddhist with the last name of Wang continuously wrote to the Office of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III to raise some opinions. Due to the fact that the thoughts of this Buddhist have certain commonalities and yet he also asked in his letters for not publishing letters, based on the foundation of loving-compassion and for not to bring distress to him, our Office will not publish his letters and will only announce the reply to his letters. We hope that all of you can gain correct knowledge and understanding from there and acquire benefits of the Dharma.

The following is the reply from the Office of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III to this Buddhist with the last name of Wang.

The Office of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III

 

 

To this Buddhist, auspiciousness to you!

The Office of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III has received your letters.

First, we must say that your making suggestions on propagating true Buddha Dharma is a good deed. It shows that you not only intend to become accomplished through learning from Buddha for yourself, but also want to propagate the great Buddha Dharma to living beings. This is a correct action. Therefore, your suggestions show a very good conduct. This is what a Buddhist should do and also must do well. It belongs to the inherent duty of a Buddhist!

Yet at the same time, we should tell you that some of your opinions deviate from Buddhist teachings and Buddha Dharma and are even evil views. Your suggestions are erroneous and seriously violate the rules of Buddha Dharma. For example, you said that the current organization format is like multi-level marketing and the way of propaganda is like an underground party. We do not know much about multi-level marketing and have only heard that it is a means of making profit for oneself and may even harm some people while making profit for oneself, causing others to lose money or fail. As to the structure and operation of an underground party, we have no knowledge about that at all. However, the teaching and conduct of our Buddha Dharma is completely open, including publicly replying to the questions you raised.

On the other hand, since you have been learning from Buddha for so long and have become a master of Dharma-listening sessions for more than 10 years, haven’t you understood that the teachings in the recorded audio Dharma discourses selflessly benefit the great masses? You understand even less that teaching Buddha Dharma must be based on causal conditions. Shakyamuni Buddha said, “One cannot be saved without conditions!”

Due to your lack of proficiency in the Tripitaka, not awakening to the truth regarding the meaning of principles, and not understanding the precepts and reality regarding the importance of karmic conditions related to Dharma and the relationship between Dharma and living beings’ causality, good-root, and Dharma-vessel, you simply do not know the basic way of treasuring Dharma. How valuable, precious, and hard to seek is Buddha Dharma? Dharmas of all Buddhas in the ten directions are all like “’Is it to be well kept in a cabinet or to wait for a good purchaser to come and buy?’ ‘To be sold! To be sold! I am waiting for the buyer.’” (Note by the translator: The quoted dialogue is an analogy in the form of Confucius’ words.) This is not asking for a high price and, rather, is to see that the morality, character, and nature of the person learning the Dharma constitute a qualified Dharma-vessel.

Regarding the evil conduct of spreading Dharma without respect through the internet, that is only due to the desire on the part of Mara’s descendants to confuse living beings about the Dharma. However, practicing Dharmas with such confusion will not generate beneficial effects and will thereby cause learners to slander Buddha and slander Dharma. That is why only the cultivation part can be published on the internet to transmit in good manner, to benefit the great masses and develop their good-roots. When one becomes a good Dharma-vessel, Dharma can be transmitted.

Even the recorded audio Dharma discourses expounded by His Holiness the Buddha cannot be spread carelessly without respect through the internet. Whoever does so is definitely a demonic person or descendant of the Mara or one who is manipulated by charlatans to harm and deceive the public. This is because, once the Dharma discourses are disseminated in this way, there will definitely be evil persons and demonic masters trying to profit from that. They will take such opportunity to redact and edit the Dharma discourses to keep what is beneficial to themselves and delete what is not. Then the Dharma discourses will be completely different from the original, mixing errors and confusions into the absolute truth. At that time, the situation will be totally out of control. This is because, during the current dharma-ending era, demonic evil persons and swindlers are everywhere throughout the oceanic human population. Under such circumstance, no one can tell which Dharma CD has the Dharma that was imparted in the original words of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III and, as a result, countless people will be harmed.

Suppose we start from an extremely incorrect premise to assume that Buddha Dharma is worthless and follow your evil view to act with disrespect, not care about the learner’s quality and ability, and disregard the precepts, wouldn’t that be an act of planting the cause to descend into the hell realm? How could Buddhas and Bodhisattvas or the Yidams accept disciples who have such evil hindrance and disrespect to the Dharma?

Think about a fact. If Buddha Dharma is put on the internet to spread and propagate, how could there be an initiation? The Yidam of which Dharma manual or ritual would dare to accept the disciple? For many times, little evil masters emerged in the internet who accept refuge by remote control. Do you wish to see big demons who conduct initiations through remote control? Transmitting Dharma through the internet would be nothing other than transmitting false Buddha Dharma by swindlers and demonic persons.

You can think about another example. Why did Patriarch Milarepa go through suffering, torment, hardship, and other tests while he was learning Dharma from Master Marpa. Could it be that Master Marpa had lacked loving compassion? If Master Marpa had not been compassionate, how could Master Milarepa eventually cultivated into a greatly accomplished one? Master Mihong also underwent similar hardship while learning Dharma at Shigatse.

Another example is the feat of Gensang Rinpoche who was a great holy virtuous one. He had tried all ways and means in order to learn Dharma from Rigu Wenbo Rinpoche but was declined. Later, he took advantage of the opportunity of serving as the translator for Master Puqin who was known to have burnt his own heart as lamps to make offering to Buddhas in order to remove calamities for living beings. Only then, he received an initiation from the Yidam and learned great Dharma.

For seeking true Dharma to end the cycle of birth and death, Dharma Master Xuyun started the journey of pilgrimaging Mt. Wutai, prostrating at every step on the way. He drowned in a river and was saved and revived by a beggar, who advised him not to continue the pilgrimage. However, his will was firmly determined. He did not change his original intention and continued to prostrate until arriving at Mt. Wutai. It turned out that the beggar was Manjushri Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva personally transmitted to him a great Dharma by an initiation of Dharma Affinity with the Yidam, enabling him to become a great holy Bodhisattva in the same lifetime.

In the case of Huike of the Chan (Zen) School seeking the Dharma from Patriarch Bodhidharma, he severed one arm causing bleeding all over the ground. As Patriarch Bodhidharma was touched, he received great Dharma.

Have you heard about the process of determination by selection? Why is determination by selection required? What role does determination by selection play? You should listen to the recorded audio Dharma discourses earnestly and more frequently, to learn and have the principles, etiquette, and rules of treasuring Dharma and respecting Dharma. One should first do well in cultivation to become a truly kind good person. That will definitely cause the rising and maturing of conditions leading to receive initiation and learning Dharma. We hope very much that you will have such a day.

Separately, we do not have organizations. Nor do we sell things or have anything to do with multi-level marketing. We only engage in selfless giving and do not get even one penny of profit. Does such multi-level marketing ever exist in the world? You must even more clearly know the fact that in the undertaking by the World Buddhism Association Headquarters and the International Buddhism Sangha Association to broadly advocate cultivation through learning from Buddha, all of the information is open to the public and have been published on the internet for so many years already. Where is anything that can’t be seen by people? Where is anything that is untrue or ambiguous? Nor do we have anyone to give directions. Learning from Buddha is based on one’s own wish. Masters of Dharma-listening sessions including you are also voluntarily leading people to listen to the recorded audio Dharma discourses expounded by His Holiness the Buddha, to help them receive benefits. There exists no one who directs you or tells to submit any money, not even a penny, to our Office or any individual. The teaching and transmission of Buddha Dharma at any time, at any country or region, must always be based on the living beings’ karmic conditions and carried out according to the laws and rules applicable to the locality. We have never issued any announcement to order you or have any person to direct you to violate the laws and rules governing where you are.

Additionally, since you have made the vow to guard and support the supreme true Dharma of Tathagatas, what have you actually done to guard and support the supreme true Dharma of Tathagatas? Through this many years, how many people have been added into your Dharma-listening centers? What are their names? Do they serve lonely single elderlies or women and children? Or, have they done things to benefit the community or contribute to society? Do you advocate to them to defend Buddha Dharma? Have you communicated with your contacts and the department(s) in charge of religious affairs of the government? Do they support you? What propaganda have you done to benefit the public and serve society with the teachings on cultivation by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III? Since you want to learn Buddha Dharma and defend and support Buddha Dharma, you should do so by taking real action and not end with speaking hollow words that are recklessly uttered.

Therefore, we want very much to hear from you concrete suggestions, suggestions that can be actually put into practice and carried out in operation so as to cause more people to learn the correct conduct and true Dharma of the Buddha, cause them to become kind, compassionate, and actively progressing good people, cause families to become more loving and harmonic, cause people to get along peacefully and amicably with one another, cause society to become more developed and stronger, cause the country to become more thriving, more prosperous, and stronger, and cause the world to become more peaceful. How good will that be? Then, you will also become a meritorious person in propagating the Dharma and benefiting sentient beings and will possess the basic cause of becoming a Bodhisattva.

We wish you progress in cultivation and increased benefits in good fortune and wisdom!

 

Group of Replying to Letters Received, the Office of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III

December 30, 2019