from the Office of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III:
One who learns Buddhism and cultivates must possess correct knowledge and views. Otherwise, with partial and evil knowledge and views, one will deviate from cultivating and behaving according to the Buddha’s teaching and will lose the fundamental nature of cultivation. Regarding some questions that Buddhist disciples are concerned about, the Office of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III hereby issues the following public announcement:
1. In the history of Buddhism of several thousand years, it was mentioned in the sutras taught by Sakyamuni Buddha that the act of a disciple making offering to the Three Jewels or to a master who transmitted a dharma is in effect farming a land of fortune and also belongs to the basic manner of courtesy. It is what a disciple should do. As to why H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III does not accept offerings, does that reflect the good virtue of Buddhism? Today, we clearly inform cultivators: The answer is no! The purpose is for preventing masters of evil views from using the name of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III as excuses to deceive cultivators. Because of that consideration, in order to protect cultivators from being seduced by greedy masters, H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III completely gave up the offerings He should have accepted according to the stipulation of the teaching. This is also the first such act by a Buddha in Buddhism and is unprecedented.
2. The Office of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III does not manage recorded dharma lessons. The Office does not have recorded dharma lessons and has never sold recorded dharma lessons in any way. To say the least, even if we wanted to sell recorded dharma lessons, we would not be able to because we do not have them. This is because the recorded dharma lessons are produced by the International Buddhism Sangha Association. H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III never sold dharma instructions, books, Buddha statues, dharma objects, vajra belts, vajra sands or any other things and never distributed any objects for empowerment. As H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III stated, “All kinds of empowerment have to be obtained from cultivation. If a person deviated from cultivation and falls into evil views, any object of empowerment he gets is just an evil object.”
3. For any legitimately published dharma book or other book, as long as it has an ISBN number and a legitimately defined price, a person who wants the book has to spend money to buy it and should not take it for free due to selfishness and greed. This is because any publishing house has to spend money to pay for all costs and expenses, including labor, shipping, editing and printing. No publishing house can bear the burden of giving all Buddhist books to people as free gifts. As long as the publishing house legally set a price, people should pay for the books. Not wanting to spend money to buy Buddhist books is an evil and vicious act. People who do so are not only selfish and greedy but also arrogant without making offering to and showing respect to Buddhist books. Those who do so purposely are shameless ones. Using the book of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III for example, the publisher and the printing house sold the book to everyone at the lowest price. As a result, large losses were incurred to both the publisher and the printing house. As a Buddhist, do you want to take further advantage of the publisher and the printing house? On the other hand, selling Buddhist books at a price higher than the price set by the publisher is also an evil act of greed.
4. Buddhists should learn from the Buddha. This is the origin of the term “learning Buddhism (or learning from the Buddha).” Just like Christians learning from Jesus Christ, this belongs to the inherent religious morality of a religion and is indisputably right and proper. However, everyone has his own uniquely distinct root nature and karmic force. People have their own individual affinities and different understanding. Their levels of learning are also not the same. Therefore, every person’s cultivation and conduct are also different from others. To distinguish whether the conduct of a Buddhist disciple is right or evil, the only method is to use the 128 views to compare and measure one by one. Regardless of what kind of rinpoche, dharma master or practitioner one is or what dharma one learned, as long as one falls into the 128 evil views and erroneous views, this person is questionable.
5. Some people mentioned that, at the time of Dharma King Palden Lodoe taking the exam of crown opening by the State Practice Dharma of Vajra Body Substitution Meditation, they saw mandalas of different colors, different lighting intensities and different shapes that varied like flashing lights and can appear, disappear, and then reappear. They ask that the mighty and miraculous power of what dharma created such a view of Buddha-land.
This Office announced publicly long ago that, from the very beginning, we do not participate in the exams of distinguishing whether one is a holy virtuous one or not. As published in the Twenty-Third Public Announcement of this Office, H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III clearly stated that He did not and would not take part in exams of certifying holy virtuous ones. Now we are stating this position over and over again. H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III did not take part in exams of certifying holy virtuous ones and will never take part in any exam of certifying holy virtuous ones in the future. You asked for verification of the state and scene appearing in the empty space during the exam and the result of Hsi Jao Ken Teng’s crown opening from practicing Vajra Body Substitution Meditation. H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III and this Office have no knowledge about the real situation and only saw from the recorded video clips that there were illusionary objects of different sizes and colors resembling mandalas depicted in Tibetan thangkas. As to why these phenomena occurred, we were not present at the scene and are not clear about what dharma produced such phenomena. Moreover, we have no knowledge about the features and functionalities of the video camera used. Therefore, we cannot comment on this question. Since the exam was proctored by seven masters and ten witnesses on the spot, you should read the conclusions drawn by the seventeen rinpoches and dharma masters.
6. This one is the principle adhered to by the cultivation and conduct of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III in propagating Buddha-dharma and is very important!!! That is, regardless of what else you practice or study, there is no substitute for theMagnificence of Perfect Prerequisite Oceanic Mind Essence, the Most Magnificent Bodhi Dakini Oceanic Mind Essence, What is Cultivation and Expounding the Fundamental Truth in terms of the Heart Sutra, as well as the recorded dharma lessons expounded by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. Only these are the Buddha-dharma propagated by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. If you can cultivate and practice well according to these dharmas, you will certainly receive all other dharmas. Any other great dharma of cultivation and practice cannot replace the fundamental purpose of the above-mentioned four dharmas. Deviating from these four dharmas will lead one to wrong paths. H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III stated, “I did not take an exam in front of seven masters and ten witnesses. I do not have supernatural realization power. Why do I need to take such an exam? I am just a humble one. However, I possess an utmost great dharma among great dharmas. Whatever accomplishment you get from whatever great supernatural dharma will not surpass the accomplishment from cultivating and practicing the four dharmas of mine. All Buddhas in the ten directions want to see a cultivator selflessly help others, benefit living beings, bring them all constant joy and happiness, and does not see anything in return. This is the fundamental purpose of my cultivation and conduct. It is an utmost great dharma and the foundation for accomplishment.”
From the Office of H. H. Dorje Chang Buddha III,
November 15, 2011