Validation of Facts in Response to Letter of Inquiry from The Office of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III:
The following is the original text of the letter received that sought verification of facts from the Office:
The “Outrageous” Forthright Words from a Person Learning Buddhism
Namo H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, Namo Kuan Shi Yin Bodhisattva, and Namo all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas as well as holy dharma protectors!
Extremely venerable holy and virtuous ones at the Office of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III,
Auspiciousness to you!
Disciple I and others are extremely grateful to the holy and virtuous ones at the Office for the hard-working efforts you made to help living beings firmly establish the correct knowledge and views and to prevent them from stepping into evil paths.
Since the establishment of the website of the Office of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, Buddhist disciples now have an “unprecedented demon-revealing mirror.” “As long as you all visit the website of the Office of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III (the Office) to view and read the Office’s public announcements and statements (explanations), you will reach the correct knowledge and views. You will then recognize and determine whether a so-and-so person is a good person or a bad one.” This has become the consensus among Buddhist disciples. In the minds of Buddhist disciples, the Office of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III is extremely solemn and cannot be violated.
However, the five “Validations of Facts in Response to Letters of Inquiry” recently published by the Office caused many confusions in my mind. After contemplating and hesitating over and over again, Disciple I eventually decided to say a few words from my heart. Disciple I felt that only the extremely venerable Office of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III can provide satisfactory answers to the questions that I will state forthrightly and resolve these confusions.
Confusion No. 1: Do the writings of the Office of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III represent the decrees of dharma of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III?
The recorded dharma lessons expounded by His Holiness the Buddha as well as the writings from the Office of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III all clearly pointed out an important principle. That is, no person has the authority of representing H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. “Regardless of the status and identity a person possesses and regardless of what this person says, as long as he or she does not produce as evidences a letter of authorization stamped with the fingerprint seal of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III and signed by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III along with a video recording of His Holiness the Buddha stating the authorization, all speeches and actions of this person are just his or her own conduct, and have nothing to do with H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III.” Additionally, Public Announcement #32 also stated clearly, “As of now, H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III has not issued a document of authorization to anyone yet. This is because no one can represent His Holiness the Buddha!”
However, Disciple I also heard often from fellow brothers and sisters that the Office of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III represents H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. Moreover, the Office also stated in the recently published “Validation No. 4 of Facts in Response to Letter of Inquiry” that “…… the Office’s writings reflect the speeches of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III and will not have even a little bit of mistake.”
I would like to ask what “reflect” as stated here by your Office means. Does it mean that all documents and writings in the website “reflect” or only some of the documents and writings reflect the speeches of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III? Does this mean that the documents and writings represent the decrees from His Holiness the Buddha or the documents and writings from your Office have been reviewed and authorized by His Holiness the Buddha?
Please forgive Disciple me for my boldness. I respectfully beseech the Office of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III to provide a clearer explanation regarding the word “reflect” as referred here. I also respectfully ask you to publish on the website the evidences of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III authorizing your Office to “reflect” the speeches of His Holiness the Buddha or to represent His Holiness the Buddha, to show us a role model of holiness.
Confusion No. 2: Can what His Holiness the Buddha stated be called “speeches”?
From the silly opinion of Disciple me, referring to what His Holiness the Buddha stated as “speeches” in the reply from the Office is something needing consideration. In “Validation of Facts in Response to Letter of Inquiry No. 4,” your Office stated, “You all should clearly know …… the Office’s writings reflect the speeches of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III and will not have even a little bit of mistake.”
From the silly opinion of Disciple me in understanding this, using the term of “speeches” in the context of His Holiness the Buddha is disrespectful to His Holiness the Buddha. This is because the so-called term of “speeches” has the interpretations of conversation, commenting, discussion, and opinion of worldly dharmas, and is an argument created from the advocated contents. Speeches can be right or incorrect, include correct doctrines as well as fallacies, could be complaints from ordinary people’s daily life or judgmental commentaries that are timely and to the point for important matters, and can have other types of positive or negative meanings. On the other hand, everything expounded by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III with the defilement-free omni-wisdom and the supreme, perfect, and correct enlightenment including each word, each tone, each pause, and each punctuation mark is a supremely sublime and wonderful dharma that brings living beings brightness and leads them to liberation. Everything stated represents scriptures, decrees of the dharma, and discourses. Everything in the discourses belongs to the ultimate truths of the universe and the human life. Can such supremely magnificent and wondrous dharma be defined by the worldly term of “speeches” that is ambiguous and unclear and can used to describe both truth and fallacy?
Disciple I would like to express my opinion here. Since the website of the Office of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III is an “unprecedented demon-revealing mirror” for Buddhist disciples, is the standard website for living beings to acquire correct knowledge and views and to recognize and judge truth and fallacy, and reflects “the speeches of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III,” it is extremely solemn. Then, writings and publications on the website are not permitted to have even slightest errors in terms of expression, the accuracy of wording, and even a punctuation mark. Doing so reflects the true respect toward the Buddha and is being responsible for living beings’ opportunities of acquiring wisdom. Based on this thinking, Disciple I dared to bring up my doubt toward the wording of “speeches.” Disciple I is ignorant. I respectfully beseech the holy and virtuous ones at the Office to teach and transform me compassionately.
Confusion No. 3: Why is mentioning doing businesses and opening dharma-listening centers as comparable matters a big insult to Buddha-dharma?
In the Validation of Facts in Response to Letter of Inquiry No. 5, the Office of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III stated, “…… Doing businesses is operating affairs within samsara. The purpose is to make money for living. This belongs to the conduct of worldly production and sustaining. Opening dharma-listening centers is entering the gate of exiting from worldly matters and learning Buddhism. The purpose is to benefit the great mass. This belongs to advancing on the path of becoming liberated and attaining holiness. Mentioning doing businesses and opening dharma-listening centers as comparable matters is a big insult to Buddha-dharma!”
This is a teaching from the holy and virtuous ones at the Office to Buddhist disciples for having the knowledge and view of cultivation and expounded the relationship between worldly dharmas and transcendental dharmas.
Disciple I is deeply aware that, as a devout Buddhist disciple with the pure and correct faith and questing for liberation and accomplishment, one should put Buddha-dharma at the first place and ought to make all efforts to proselytize many people who have the karmic condition to come and listen to the dharma and to open more and more dharma-listening centers to enable more and more living beings to come to learn and benefit from the true dharma. Disciple I remembers my kind master’s teaching, “A Buddhist disciple should not forget his vow at any time and should not forget about benefiting others at any time. Moreover, one should engage in the actual conduct of establishing real merit.” However, this does not necessarily mean that pursuing the holy path must abandon the conduct of worldly production and sustaining.
In A Brief Explanation of the 128 Evil Views and Erroneous Views, H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III clearly pointed out that “The View That One Must Give up One’s Work in Order to Cultivate Oneself and Learn Buddhism” is an erroneous view. His Holiness the Buddha discoursed, “A true cultivator acts in accord with the teachings of Buddhism no matter what circumstances he is in. One should not think that only by quitting one’s job and focusing entirely on cultivation is one acting in accord with the teachings of Buddhism.”
Disciple I firmly believes that the holy and virtuous ones at the Office are all holy ones and are great holy ones. It is impossible for them to commit even slightest violation in the erroneous views and it is even more impossible for them to not understand the Buddhist doctrines of “Buddha-dharma is for applying to worldly affairs and, therefore, attaining enlightenment from Buddha-dharma cannot be separated from worldly affairs” and “cultivating both good fortune and wisdom.” However, Validation of Facts in Response to Letter of Inquiry No. 5 clearly pointed out that “Mentioning doing businesses and opening dharma-listening centers as comparable matters is a big insult to Buddha-dharma!” This truly made Disciple me confused. Disciple I does not know how to understand this sentence. As a result, I specifically seek validation on my knowledge and views in the following.
According to the silly opinion of Disciple me, to a Buddhist disciple who carries out his vow in his conduct and practices according to the teaching, all senses and feelings from life, regardless of whether they are related to work and living, family and friends, sadness or joy and union or separation, or praise or insult, can gradually transform into meritorious resources of good fortune and wisdom and karmic conditions for advancement. Good fortune versus wisdom on the path of cultivation, doing business versus opening and operating dharma-listening centers, and the conduct of worldly production and sustaining versus the practice for liberation and accomplishment all resemble the left and right arms of a person. The two complement each other and have no contradiction or conflict between them, just like the left arm does not insult the right arm and vice versa.
Take opening and operating dharma-listening centers for example. The fact is, if a living being does not have economical resources and has to run around all day to support his family, he would need assisting karmic conditions from external sources. How could he establish many dharma-listening centers? Then, how could he accomplish the “practice of charity” in the Six Paramitas? On the contrary, if a living being uses the money earned from his business that is legitimate and abides by the precepts to help other living beings to establish dharma-listening centers, to support temples advocating the true dharma and monastics with correct faith, and truly treat “the conduct of worldly production and sustaining” as the auxiliary karmic conditions of “the practice for liberation and accomplishment,” how could mentioning the two as comparable matters be a big insult to Buddha-dharma? Of course, giving up the act of establishing dharma-listening centers that broadly benefits sentient beings for the sake of doing business is seriously wrong.
At the same time, let’s look from the aspect of “there is no realization of Buddha-dharma without worldly phenomena.” Take an orchard farmer planting fruit trees for example. There would be no crop of fruits if there is no fertile soil in the field. From the stance of the orchard farmer, how can we possibly say that “mentioning soil and fruit as comparable matters is a big insult to the fruit”?
Therefore, Disciple I thinks that there is a serious dissent to the statement of “Mentioning doing businesses and opening dharma-listening centers as comparable matters is a big insult to Buddha-dharma!” made by your Office. At least, there should be more in-depth analysis of this dharma. Unfortunately, your Office only mentioned this lightly. That is easy to cause ambiguity in people.
Disciple I thinks that the key is not in mentioning “doing business” and “establishing dharma-listening centers” as comparable matters or not. It is in the motivation of all these actions.
Suppose a cultivator made a vow of bodhicitta and applied it to his conduct. While doing business, he strictly abides by the precepts and acts in accord with the teaching. He carries out the ten good deeds and the four limitless states of mind. He also always remembers to proselytize his business partners and customers to come to listen to the dharma. Then, what appears to be business dealing is actually the site of practicing for enlightenment to this cultivator. Disciple I saw many such “business people” around me. Some fellow brothers even established their dharma-listening centers in their companies. If the view of “Mentioning doing businesses and opening dharma-listening centers as comparable matters is a big insult to Buddha-dharma!” is correct, is establishing a dharma-listening center in a company also a big insult to Buddha-dharma?
On the other hand, there are many false cultivators who seem to have established dharma-listening centers. However, they use the dharma-listening centers to hurt living beings with the acts of entrapping and deceiving. Or they may use the dharma-listening center to give sales pitches or make direct sales. Can that place still be called a dharma-listening center? It is really a demon’s cave that destroys living beings’ opportunities of acquiring wisdom.
Disciple I thinks that true Buddha-dharma is bright. When did we ever see brightness being insulted or being contaminated? The true Buddha-dharma is free of any defilement, embodies everything, and beneficial to living beings. The essence is not the superficial appearance and is in the inner mind. As long as one is truly sincere, has the pure faith, and keeps the pure and correct vow of benefiting living beings, everything in life is nothing but Buddha-dharma and is an auxiliary karmic condition for us to advance in the path toward holiness. If one has no business or financial resource or is even in the poverty of not having food to eat, can this person focus on learning Buddhism or establish dharma-listening centers?
You are holy and virtuous ones. Living beings dare not have the slightest doubt about your knowledge and views or statements. You hold up the holy flag of “the Office of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III.” Living beings dare not have the slightest doubt about the writings published on the website of the Office of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. However, Disciple I upholds the Buddha’s teaching of “expressing the mind forthrightly belongs to cultivation” and follows the dharmas of “one should follow the dharma and should not follow people” and “one should follow the ultimate truth and should not follow status or identity” taught by the Buddha. Therefore, I boldly question the dharma expounded in the Office’s Validation of Facts in Response to Letter of Inquiry No. 5.
Disciple I believes that you will be glad to see my questioning, which has “the biggest defiance in the world.” This is because you are holy and virtuous ones, are great holy and virtuous ones, represent brightness, and are role models of living beings. Every word in the writings you publish and every sentence you state have to do with living beings’ tender opportunities of acquiring wisdom. You bear important and great responsibilities. Disciple I think that a person learning Buddhism should keep a pure and correct motive and have a broad and open mind. Say what one has to say. There is no need of applying the calculative mentality of “hesitating before speaking” to cultivation, just as my kind master said, “There is no darkness below brightness. The space between the sky and ground is open and clear and no evil can hide.”
Disciple I knows that I am only an ignorant and piteous living being. However, it is because I am ignorant that I want to learn Buddhism. Therefore, I respectfully beseech you holy and virtuous ones to compassionately teach me and resolve my delusions, for the sake of Disciple I being a family member of yours since the beginning-less time. If there are heresies and disrespect in my knowledge and views, I beseech forgiveness from the greatly compassionate Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and dharma protectors in heavens. I also sincerely request the holy and virtuous ones at your Office not to categorize Disciple me into the rank of “demons and devils.” Disciple I will be tearfully grateful and prostrate to thank you.
Disciple I hereby makes a solemn and truthful statement. Before sending out this letter of mine, I did not report this matter to any master. Nor did I let any master or anyone read it. Whatever that is wrong is my fault of ignorance, is my fault of not listening to the dharma earnestly in my life, and is my fault of not carrying out the teaching of my master. This is completely my own personal act and has nothing to do with any master or anyone. If I am wrong, Disciple I is willing to openly repent in any way after receiving the compassionate teaching from holy and virtuous ones. Amitabha.
I beseech and wish H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III stay in the world forever and save all sentient beings in the three spheres!
I beseech and wish that the holy and virtuous ones at the Office of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III stay in the world forever to save all living beings who have the karmic conditions!
I beseech and wish that all sentient beings have the opportunities and karmic conditions of listening to the dharma expounded by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III and that they all make great vows, practice for attaining enlightenment, and become liberated!
A humble person learning Buddhism: Zhuowa Gongbo
Respectfully prostrated four times
Written at the night of Christmas, December 25, 2013
Validation of Facts from the Office of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III
We don’t know what to say about the knowledge and views of this Buddhist disciple named Zhuowa Gongbo. To anyone who is truly learning Buddhism, even if just a beginner, we believe that he or she would know what problems you have in your state of understanding regarding learning Buddhism and cultivation.
There exist many problems related to principles even in this short writing. That means you are not proficient in sutras’ teachings and have only very limited superficial or even erroneous understanding of the terminology of Buddha-dharma and the text of sutras.
For example, you do not understand the most basic term of meritorious resources of good fortune and even regarded doing business as meritorious resources of good fortune. Also, you do not know that, at the stage of entering the grave barriers, affairs not related to Buddha-dharma are external karmic conditions that create the fault and trouble of defiling the mind. That was why you stated that using a company or business dealings can do this and that. Going in your direction, suppose Sakyamuni Buddha had grabbed the power of the king, then couldn’t he have used the king’s power to propagate Buddha-dharma and let people in the entire kingdom learn Buddhism? How could such shallow thinking of yours work in real situations!
Therefore, there are many things you have to learn. Your letter had too many problems. Here, we only make a brief reply on several important ones:
1. …… the Office’s writings reflect the speeches of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III and cannot have even a little bit of mistake! H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III said that people should all notice one important fact. This Office is H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III’s Office, and is the only Office of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III in the entire world. H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III said, “Correct. This Office is my only Office.”
2. H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III has always been very modest and never told us that what He said is decree of dharma. Rather, He said to us, “As a humble one, what qualification do I have to let what I said be decree of dharma?” However, even though His Holiness the Buddha said so, we Buddhist disciples must respect H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III and cultivate in accord with the teaching by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. What Zhuowa Gongbo doubted and wrote to us to seek validation of is not a teaching given by holy and virtuous ones. Rather, it is a decree of dharma from His Holiness the Buddha.
3. You all should understand the public announcements from reading them. A public announcement said, “H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III does not involve in any business.” As to what any other person does, as long as a business is legitimate and complies with the law of the government, we always wish peace and success in that person’s life! However, doing business belongs to commercial affairs and is one of the required ways for making one’s living. It is a process involving the five aggregates to cling to and grasping the gain to sustain one’s short and brief human life. The gain being pursued belongs to the aggregate of form. The nature of this aggregate falls in greed and clinging. This process plants causes for reincarnating within the samsara. Therefore, it belongs to matters of a worldly person’s life. On the other hand, establishing and operating dharma-listening centers belongs to the affairs of Buddhism, is a conduct of benefiting others, and is the practice of bodhicitta from making contributions to the eternal liberation and happiness of the entire category of living beings. Doing so plants the cause of attaining holiness.
Actually, many people can understand this fact without seeking validation. What kind of people’s logic is it to regard doing business and establishing dharma-listening centers as comparable matters for judging and determining the merit? Validation of Facts in Response to Letter of Inquiry No. 5 clearly informed you of the answer, but you did not understand it from reading. Since you still do not understand, we can only tell a publicly known story from history to let you ponder.
There were two groups of Buddhists gathering at the gate of the Buddha’s court. Both groups claimed that they were cultivating. The Buddhists at the East side set up a big selling booth to sell sugar cakes. They were peddling loudly, “Sugar cakes can make money for you! Sugar cakes smell delicious. Sugar cakes taste sweet. You can buy from here at a low price and then resell to make money. With money, you can pass the exams on holiness and virtue.”
The Buddhists at the West side also set up a big selling booth. They were selling sutras. They also peddled loudly, “Namo Amitabha! Sutras are good. Sutras are treasures. You can beseech respectfully to get them without spending money. Propagate Buddhism benefits others and can accumulate perfect merit.”
At this time, the Buddha walked out of the court and asked, “What were you yelling?” Both groups of people said that they were cultivating. The Buddha said, “To cultivate, you should listen to the dharma I expound.”
After listening, people at the East side blushed and felt very embarrassed. They immediately held their palms together and started to chant the Buddha’s name. Meanwhile, people at the West side said, “Let’s continue selling the sutras and chanting the Buddha’s name.” The Buddha said, “That is good. Only by cultivation and learning Buddhism can you be enabled to pass the exams on holiness and virtue.”
You should ponder over this. Can “Sugar cakes can make money for you” and “Namo Amitabha” be mentioned together as comparable matters? If one says that “Sugar cakes can make money for you” and “Namo Amitabha” have equal merit, this person is absolutely a descendent of Mara the Evil One!
Therefore, categorizing the statements of mentioning doing businesses and opening dharma-listening centers as comparable matters and putting commercial affairs of satisfying one’s own desire and planting the causes for reincarnating within samsara and affairs of Buddhism of benefiting others and planting the causes for attaining holiness on a par as “big insults to Buddha-dharma” is a very light definition. Actually such statements belong to the conduct of demons. You can think from this fact. If doing business is cultivating to benefit others, Sakyamuni Buddha would not have given up the position of the king that had abundant rewards of good fortune to cultivate in hardship.
We hope that this Buddhist disciple Zhuowa Gongbo can respectfully listen to the recorded dharma lessons of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III in earnest and truly understand from listening. You have to use the correct knowledge and views to guide your cultivation and correct your extremely evil and deviated mental conduct. Only then can you have hope. After you read and understand Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Heart Sutra, you will no longer have so much evil knowledge and views.
Perhaps you would like this Office to validate all questions you raised. That is not a problem. However, you must state your real name and fax your passport or document of identity. You are also welcome to come to the United States. We will have holy and virtuous ones to lead you into the state of Buddha-dharma to prove that you knowledge and views are evil.
Of course, this Office must say that you did not do an outrageous conduct. Your intention was good. Without mentioning Buddha-dharma, it suffices to say that you have not done enough work in the learning of Buddhism as a faith and in the study of Buddhism. As long as you repent and correct the evil views, we believe that you can cultivate diligently as guided by the teaching and in accordance with the dharma. Then, you will become a holy and virtuous one with the mind and practice of bodhicitta.
From the Office of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III,
December 26, 2013