from World Buddhism Association Headquarters Inquiry Center:
Holy Gurus of the World Buddhism Association Headquarters (WBAH) hereby give the following replies to the three inquiries:
- Buddhist disciples beware! No temple in this world can represent the Ancient Buddha Temple, the True Dharma Temple, or the Holy Miracles Temple. Any other temples can only represent their own temples. They cannot represent the three great temples: the Ancient Buddha Temple, the True Dharma Temple, and the Holy Miracles Temple! These three great temples are temples with true Buddha Dharma and are officiated by Tremendously Great Holy Gurus and Great Holy Gurus at Bodhisattva levels. Some people claimed that their temples were recognized by His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III, and that His Holiness the Buddha had also named their temples.
The fact that H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III accedes to requests from Buddhists to name temples that they have built or will build, and to bestow upon them calligraphic scripts of the names of those temples, is entirely for the sake of encouraging Buddhist disciples to truthfully cultivate themselves in accordance with Buddhist teachings and rules.
H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III once said that whenever a Buddhist temple or an academy for learning from Buddha is built, His Holiness the Buddha would have no hesitation writing a calligraphic script for the name of the temple or academy. However, it is absolutely not true that once a temple is given a calligraphic script penned by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III that such a temple is proven to be a temple with true Dharma or follow the teachings of Buddha. This is because after a temple is built, changes could happen in the process of impermanence and the coming together of different karmic conditions. It is hard to foresee who will take the helms of those temples and whether and how correct and evil teachings and practices are present there because people interpret the teachings of Buddha in their own ways. Hence, these establishments could not possibly have a predetermined fate.
For this reason, just having a calligraphic script of the name of the temple penned by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III is but a conditioned phenomenon. How could the fate of a temple be pre-determined by this one conditioned phenomenon? As a case in point, the Bodhi Tree under which Shakyamuni Buddha attained enlightenment suddenly became such a great sacred site where human and heavenly beings all paid obeisance to the Buddha. Who would have thought that the same site has now become a marketplace where fallen leaves of the bodhi tree are slipping from the backs of horses and donkeys and trampled by them. Hence, all conditioned phenomena are but dreams, illusion, bubbles, and shadows. How could any conditioned phenomena be unchanging for even one instant? Follow and practice the teachings of Buddha immediately. Abandon all evil and do all that is good is the correct way. That is how you could eliminate calamities and obtain good fortune.
However, you have to be aware that for any other temples, as long as the abbot, leading monastic, or monastic at the helm follows strictly the Buddhist rules and precepts, is proficient in the sutra, vinaya, and sastra, does not feign to be a holy person to deceive the public, then that is a temple officiated by one with conduct befitting of an eminent and greatly virtuous monastic. Such a temple is worthy of respect. On the contrary, if a temple is led by someone who claims to be a holy person, yet in essence they have not attained the level of holy realization, then this is certainly a temple officiated by one who is an evil master or a charlatan.
- Another one of your inquires was about two persons of Han Chinese ethnicity claiming to have received geshe degrees from a Buddhist academy in Tibet and that they have achieved the Five Vidyas upon passing a sutra debate. You asked if that was in accordance to Dharma rules and whether the Five Vidyas can be attained through sutra debate.
First of all, WBAH has no knowledge of who these people are. This kind of people are definitely not limited to the two persons but are everywhere. We hereby answer your question based on the examples to which you referred. Currently, there are no geshes of Han Chinese ethnicity. Even Tibetan geshes are not necessarily Buddhist scholars in true essence. This is because the government there no longer recognize such an exam system in religious affairs. From our understanding, in order to be recognized, one must be given approval by the specific department of the government to obtain a certificate. Otherwise, their recognitions have no standing. Saying that someone has attained the Five Vidyas based on having passed the sutra debate is total nonsense. To say it bluntly yet factually, which of those officiating sutra debates have the Five Vidyas themselves so that they could recognize the Five Vidyas in others? If there is such a person, please provide their name.
Moreover, even if someone has obtained a geshe degree, it does not mean that they possess true Buddha Dharma because a geshe is merely a scholar of empty theories. The degree absolutely cannot represent the holder’s accomplishment in true realization power. Only the written exam of 100 questions based on sutras, vinayas, and sastra,s and the most sacred and solemn holy exam can be ironclad proof of one’s true knowledge and realization power. To the very least, even if one attained a level of gold button(s) through the holy exam, it has nothing to do with the Five Vidyas because the Five Vidyas cannot be attained through sutra debates or scholarly discussions. The Five Vidyas are the results of true realization power, not a sliver of the true essence of the Five Vidyas can be obtained through empty debates. One has to truly present results that could be seen. These results must be superior to the highest standards that experts can achieve.
The true meaning of the Five Vidyas is generally misinterpreted in Buddhism. Amateurs who have no knowledge consider the Five Vidyas to each represent one single discipline, classifying them into the major five vidyas and the minor five vidyas. For example, the five major vidyas would be 1. Craftsmanship, 2. Medicine, 3. Musicality, 4. Logic, 5. Religious knowledge; and the five minor vidyas would be 1. Rhetoric, 2. Lexicology, 3. Phonology, 4. Dramatics, 5. Astronomy. In truth, how could the Five Vidyas be limited to such pathetically simple matters?
Pay attention! The Five Vidyas must be understood based on the realization powers of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. For example, the Craftsmanship Vidya means the highest state of accomplishment in craftsmanship. That is a kind of brilliance. That is, one’s achievement must surpass the levels of experts in the world. The Five Vidyas encompass a broad perspective. Just take the Craftsmanship Vidya as an example. This Vidya is not just about being able to carve butter flowers, draw face masks, make Tangkas, create oil paintings, ink paintings, water color paintings, pastel paintings, graphite sketches, wax crayon paintings, chalk paintings, or spray paintings, or make sculptures. Having accomplishment in all these aspects and surpassing experts of national standing still cannot be considered as having true Craftsmanship Vidya. There are infinite aspects to true Craftsmanship Vidya, which does not only include painting, but also construction, architecture, sand sculpting, sculpture, decoration, landscaping, scenic creation, lighting design, styling of clothes, shoes and hat, hair styling and ornamentation, wall hangings, curtains design and patterned decorative windows, interior furniture and interior design, color decorations of pavilions, colorful gift wrappings, knotting and ribboning, and even one’s mannerism including how one carries oneself when one walks and sits, and in one’s dignified presence, etc. One must attain the level of an international expert in every single aspect. Simply speaking, only when one attains the highest level of enjoyment in all things of beauty in the universe can one be considered to have attained the Craftsmanship Vidya.
For another example, Medicine Vidya is not just about curing human beings, animals and birds of their illnesses. It also means having the ability to optimize conditions of and resolve the problems of living beings as well as inanimate objects. Only that can be considered Medicine Vidya.
It is the same for the other three Vidyas. In particular, the Inner Realization Vidya is the summation of the other four Vidyas. Inner realization refers to that attainment of inner holy realization. The Vidya refers to the high-level manifestation of inner realization power such as inner realization power of physical body that is exuded from one’s appearance and that can be applied to external objects. One who has Inner Realization Vidya has transcended the ordinary and entered holy realm, and They can communicate directly with Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. They are extraordinary, wondrous and majestic to the utmost. We will not further discuss this here.
The true Five Vidyas cannot be attained by people with titles of Dharma king, venerable one, Dharma master, and geshe. It requires true realization power and not just empty theories. Namo Shakyamuni Buddha holds everything in the universe within one palm. The Buddha excels in all aspects of the Five Vidyas and has superior abilities at the pinnacle of achievement in every professional fields. Unfortunately, the accomplishments manifested by the Buddha in the Five Vidyas has been damaged with deficiencies in the process of impermanence. In more than 2000 years of Buddhist history, other than Namo Shakyamuni Buddha and H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, nobody has ever attained the perfection of the Five Vidyas, not even Holy Gurus at the level of patriarchs and matriarchs. That’s why we could not find any such precedence. There is no way for us to list the name of anyone whose accomplishments can be shown item by item to validate their possessing the Five Vidyas.
You must know that the true Five Vidyas are neither hollow theories from books nor the so-called five major vidyas or five minor vidyas. The Five Vidyas refer to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas mastering the rules of change that govern all spiritual and physical existence of myriad phenomena in the universe. What is not good, They turn into good. What is useless, They transform into usefulness. There are unimpeded in their power of debate. They know the correlation between science and logic, what are mutually constructive or mutually destructive. They turn afflictions into bodhi. They have attained liberation from death and rebirth and are at the pinnacle of transcending the mundane to become holy. They are greatly enlightened and capable beings who have attained accomplishments at the levels of Equal Enlightenment Bodhisattvas, Wondrous Enlightenment Bodhisattvas, or Buddha.
Throughout history, none of the great geshes truly possessed the Five Vidyas, and as such, no one could show any accomplishment in these five major categories. Nowadays, people’s knowledge and realization power are shallow and miniscule. Those geshes are truly shameless in claiming to possess the Five Vidyas. The falsity of these ordinary people is inconceivably absurd; they think they can open up the sky and swallow the ocean, yet they are far from even knowing the meaning of the Five Vidyas. If anyone does not agree to this, they could demonstrate their Five Vidyas to validate their claims openly. At that time, both holy beings and ordinary beings will all respect them.
- Someone inquired if the International Buddhism Sangha Association Headquarters sent people to officiate the Greatly Compassionate Kuan Yin Bodhisattva Empowerment Dharma Assembly. It is necessary to point out that all offerings received from the Greatly Compassionate Kuan Yin Bodhisattva Empowerment Dharma Assembly can only be used for life release and beneficent deeds. Also, all the offerings must be used up within a half month. There is no such thing as additional and separate donations for life release. Collecting separate donations for life release is not in accordance to the Dharma. If those who have done such a thing, whoever they are, if they do not repent and correct themselves, once WBAH has verified the facts, we will openly criticize them by name.
Furthermore, it has been checked and verified that the International Buddhism Sangha Association (IBSA) has not even once sent anybody to anywhere to officiate a Greatly Compassionate Kuan Yin Bodhisattva Empowerment Dharma Assembly. If, according to your letter, someone said that the International Buddhism Sangha Association sent people to officiate a Greatly Compassionate Kuan Yin Bodhisattva Empowerment Dharma Assembly, then these people were simply using the International Buddhism Sangha Association as their front; what they did was an act of their own.
World Buddhism Association Headquarters Inquiry Center
December 1, 2019