* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download Tathagata Meditation - phaptangmeditation.org
Faith in Buddhism wikipedia , lookup
Sanghyang Adi Buddha wikipedia , lookup
Buddhism and sexual orientation wikipedia , lookup
Gautama Buddha wikipedia , lookup
Buddhist texts wikipedia , lookup
Pre-sectarian Buddhism wikipedia , lookup
Mindfulness wikipedia , lookup
Buddhist ethics wikipedia , lookup
Tara (Buddhism) wikipedia , lookup
Enlightenment in Buddhism wikipedia , lookup
Bhūmi (Buddhism) wikipedia , lookup
Buddhist cosmology of the Theravada school wikipedia , lookup
Buddhist philosophy wikipedia , lookup
Buddhism and Hinduism wikipedia , lookup
Buddha-nature wikipedia , lookup
Buddhism and psychology wikipedia , lookup
Women in Buddhism wikipedia , lookup
Triratna Buddhist Community wikipedia , lookup
TABLE OF CONTENT I. RESTATEMENT OF TATHAGATA MEDITATION • Tathagata Meditation 3 • What Does No False Mindfulness Mean? 7 • What Does No Infatuation Mean? 7 • What Is Using The Tathagata 12 • How One Established Main-Idea With Detachment • How To Establish Essence Enlightenment • Why Is Buddha’s Speech Called 14 15 Precious Dharma 17 • What Are The Six Meditation Subject Doors? 18 • What Are Four Liberating Signs? 29 II. ESSENTIAL NATURE OF MEDITATION • Essential Nature of Meditation 34 • Why Does Meditation Sect Apply The Meditation Transmitted From Mind To Mind For Complete Salvation? 46 III. MEDITATION PROCEDURE • Style Of Sitting 57 • Arrangement Of Sitting Place 58 • How to Enter Into Meditation 60 • Why Does Meditation Sometimes Ascend Or Descend or Sometimes Comfortable or Weary? 61 • Climate Condition 62 • Procedures At The Time When Patriarchs Established The Sects 62 • Way Of Instructing 66 • Why Is Nature Changed? One Is Challenged When One Does not Know How To Utilize Yet • 72 What Are Three Regulations Of Practice Attestation Field? 78 PART I RESTATEMENT OF TATHAGATA MEDITATION TATHAGATA MEDITATION. As far as Tathagata Meditation is concerned, only the Mahavairocan Tathagata Buddha can manage completely, the other incarnated Masters who are similar to Buddha can only follow the supremacy to guide the realization of the Tathagata Meditation. They use the circumstance-adapting procedure to guide Bodhisattva practicing the conduct and establish the sect until Bodhisattva acquires the Supreme Tathagata Meditation. Therefore, in the present life or in the next, if the faithful disciple can meet Buddha who can only authorize, guiding him in conformity with the Tathagata Meditation that is only the right Tathagata Meditation, otherwise it is difficult to obtain Tathagata Meditation. Furthermore, when the faithful disciple meets Bodhisattva, who either claims creating the appellation of Tathagata Meditation or he just strictly, follow the main ideas of this Tathagata Meditation Sutra, using all the means to teach the disciples. Therefore, the disciple later may acquire the meditation subject that is not the attested Tathagata Meditation but only the Bodhisattva one. If it is the Arahants, Solitary Enlightened One, Praøtyeka, Sraøvaka, ordinary man or a heretic who practices this Tathagata Meditation Sutra and preaches it to the disciples by strictly following the main ideas will attain the result. However, this result only corresponds to their degree of Arahants, Praøtyeka, Sraøvaka, solitary enlightened one ordinary men or heretic. Tathagata Meditation is a wonderful, ultimate mind transmitted to mind, Seal-Attested Subject, closely connected with the basic rank of enlightenment. Which are also supreme, matchless perfect and all embracing. Such is the Patrician who acquires integrally. That’s why the Honest-Intellectual guide should be a whole-enlightened one, the faithful disciple is seal-attested, initiating into the Tathagata line through the great ceremony. If one can practice Tathagata meditation, which is unthinkable and not discussable subject, is wonderful. Tathagata Meditation cannot use reasoning, argument writing or study to fully understand the eye-store. One cannot guide others about Tathagata Meditation since one is not enlightened yet to be conscious, why? Because unenlightened practitioners whose minds are still abound in illusory expectation and doubt attachment. One, therefore, cannot justify Tathagata Meditation. The more they use reasoning to guess and the argument called meditative argument to resolve, the farther they go from the origin. The more Former Impression, Imperfection Purity, fixed thought a practitioner has, the more he stumbles over with mistakes. Only He who acquires Dharma Nature, conducting self-assessment the essential nature of Tathagata Meditation is fully aware of the Tathagata Meditation, which is comprehensive and unique. Such a practitioner is known as Intelligent Meditation, Thanks to Intelligence Meditation, the patrician can lighten the karma seeds of each meditation disciple who is attached at his karma consciousness and be enlightened at different levels. Because one can assess others and one also is able to assess one own karma-imperfection, he is, therefore, truly attested and attains wisdom through liberation. The time when the Patriarchs taught Meditation Sect is the truly transmitting one. In the middle life, believers perfectly observed BelieveObedience; because lack of research and study, they did not use reasoning or argument to contradict to the Sect. In spite of that, The Patriarch ought to establish authentic target as a Guide to believers who rely on it so as they may not be diverged. The target is Sect, Main Ideas, Essence, and Application. Eliminating the false Mindfulness to establish the Sect. Using the no false hope to establish the Main Ideas Using the Pure Mind to establish Essence. Using the mind to establish the Application. Later, some Venerables, Reverends refer to the Sect - Main Idea – Essence - Application establishment in order to guide the believers. Since they have limited knowledge of the subject, they are mistaken and lost. As a result, they practice any way as they please while they continue to study the subject. From the Absolute Meditation Nature, True Enlightenment Essential Nature to the Intuition enlightenment, which are all erased and abolished. Since one complies with confused wrong consciousness on research, one sticks to writing, and distinguishes the gain from the loss. One, as a result, practices with wild reason. Therefore, there is no Intelligence to be fully aware of meditation nature. That’s why; they are lost and unable to attain the result of liberating Dharma. WHAT DOES NO FALSE MINDFULNESS MEAN? False mindfulness on the meditation sect means the expectation of Buddha- Saint-Fairies’ apparition while meditating. Why? Because the expectation of apparition is derived from a delusion. The apparition on the hope of falseness is derived from 55 kinds of phantoms. It’s not really formed from confused imagination, distinct from the spirit of the essential nature’s enlightenment exactly as imagination’s process is deceived by Phantom karma and becomes mad and uniquely relies on Meditation Nature to brighten nature. WHAT DOES NO INFATUATION MEANS? From one thought arises initiating hope, initiating hope produces the outburst of false mindfulness. It’s not different from: Water acted upon by wind produces wave. False hope creates Desire. Desire will leads to Ambition. Ambition often murmurs no-Truth, no truth practices in conformity with seeking Passion, the greater seeking Passion is, and the greater expectation is. If meditation practitioners initiate delusion on false imagination, the True Mind turns confused. That’s why Patriarchs use Pure Mind to establish Essence, aiming at disciplining confused false hope to return to true nature, which is the essential nature. The essential nature itself is the source of Self-Enlightenment, whereas meditation practice aims at Enlightenment. Therefore, meditation shouldn’t initiate false mindfulness along with false hope. In the old days, Patriarchs established Meditation Sect carefully and perfectly. They acquired Pure Mind, which is based on Essential nature, and Body-mind of practitioners, so they used pure mind to establish Essence, that’s very wonderful. Why? Because practitioners’ Essential nature and Body-mind themselves contain pure mind, on account of delusion and false mindfulness, the essential nature follows delusion, attaches false mindfulness, stupidity confusion and oscillation. For that reason Patriarchs established Pure mind as basic essence of practice in order to return to absolute essential nature. He still used Intelligence as a comprehensive lightening torch. The enlightened Practitioners in relation to Buddhism and believers aimed at taking believers to the achievement of liberation through wisdom. On account of the purpose of Buddhism, original vow and common strong will, the enlightened practitioners even though established Meditation Sect, Pure land Sect or Fairies’ abode Sect, and they used topic procedure to bring result to believers, which is liberation. Because of the previous will and aim, Patriarchs established Sect - Main Ideas, Essence-Application that are much interrelated and take believers to the outcome of liberation through wisdom. False mindfulness is innumerable; one should practice until one achieves True Mindfulness. Where does false mindfulness come from? From stupidity, once one is stupid, one is still obsessed with false hope and confusion. As one is enlightened and fully aware, one has no more even one delusion, even one delusion is not left; one has no more to think aimlessly. Buddha said: If one is not yet enlightened, then True Mindfulness is still considered to be False Mindfulness. On the other hand, when one is enlightened; false mindfulness is treated as True Mindfulness. False or true pertains to Stupidity and Enlightenment. This Tathagata meditation volume does not only aim at anything other than liberation through wisdom, but it also explains the contemporary Final law Period which is the one when men exchange Arguments, It’s strange and difficult to conceive. Why? Because Meditation lost its true transmission, Patriarchs do not use the seal to pass it to others. It’s the obvious reason for criticism during this lost believes time. If there are those who at the Final Law Period pessimistly look at life and initiate the mind to practice, when they succeed, they are aware that all the given periods are the same, we all have Buddhist nature and True Dharma. As one’s mind becomes unsettled and negligent and does not eagerly confide oneself and one wrongly divide into three main periods: Dharma-ending, Supreme Period and Final Law Period. When one begins seeking for enlightenment, the time is True Dharma. When Practice is neglected and infrequent, it is the Final Law Period. Nowadays, the Tathagata Meditation volume is compiled, proving that the Tathagata existed long ago. Because, Tathagata Meditation is immortal. For Tathagata Meditation or the Truth Meditation who practices the selfconfident and self-enlightened, applying good deeds to make up mental power, and relying on Dharma to be aware of Dharma. At any given period, Truth is the ultimate goals of the Present. One should neither need the Past nor the future. As for Perspective-Expecting Practice, when one is expecting and dreaming of perspective, one still practice illusions. When the hope of perspective fails, the practice way is annihilated with his fixed orientation. The hope of perspective is defined by Buddha as Confused-False-Hope, which is discarded from essential nature. Such a way of practice doesn’t reach any goal even one practices for ten thousands of lifetimes. The authentic practitioner who realizes his own ignorance and bad karma by aiming at dissolving them is the True one. Tathagata Meditation relies on True Nature and Essential Nature to lighten Meditation Nature, such a way of practice will provide infinitely success. The Tathagata Meditation is a subject, including six Meditation-Subject Doors, It is therefore called Blessed One Tathagata Meditation which includes Exoteric Sect Tantrism, Exoteric-Tantrism, dual practice, Hiding-Appearing is uniform Tathagata Meditation includes Sect-Main Ideas - Essence – Application. The practitioners on reading Tathagata Meditation Sutra should consider the target Sect - Main Ideas–EssenceApplication. When one fully understands it, meditation will result in great success. Otherwise, one only pursues with lessen success. The practitioner relies on the Target as a guide this Tathagata Meditation Sutra including Sect - Main Ideas - Essence - Application is not very different from Sect establishing. It is different from detachment on any point to establish the sect, which means using the mind relying on using the Tathagata for aiming at fully enlightened as follows: Using the Tathagata to establish the Sect. Using the Detachment to establish the Main Ideas. Using the Enlightenment to establish the Essence. Practicing the vow to establish the Application. WHAT IS USING THE TATHAGATA? Talking about “Using the Tathagata”, only Bodhisattva relies on Tathagata’s merits to establish Conduct-Vow, penetrating into Dharma limit and acquiring Dharma, one has to apply the Perfections of wisdom in order to comprehend “Using the Tathagata”. When one explains it, one can say: Dharma on achieving a real sign is called Form Dharma. Form Dharma includes: State land, Pure land, Mountain-River localities, which become the Three thousand world. Form Dharma stands on Form: Dharma-Body-Buddhism. As using the Tathagata is the time when Dharmas are moving not yet appearing, still hidden, but they will appear, not yet completed, but they will be completed, not yet combined, but they will be combined, not yet enlightened, they will be enlightened, not yet acquired, they will be acquired. Although Tathagata’s use has no shape, but patricians once fully comprehend Tathagata, realizing how Tathagata has been processing, so it is called Tathagata Essence In the universe, there are air, emptiness, world, super world, Heaven’s region, Buddha’s region, and Fairies’ region. All lies within One-Essence Tathagata. The term Tathagata embraces essentially everything; one cannot use the term Tathagata to denominate a small group, referring to Tathagata. The Diamond sutra contains this sentence: Tathagata neither Comes from somewhere, nor Go anywhere either. That is called Tathagata. When the practitioners practice Tathagata Meditation, they should apply Detachment as a complete path. If from this life to the next one, the mouth utters: I practice Tathagata Meditation and the practitioner clings by the process of Fixed Thought or expects Nirvana in the far confusing Hope, He will not achieve Tathagata Meditation. He, therefore, should cling at the six meditation doors and pick one out as an attachment door. Why? Because Tathagata meditation includes six subjects pertaining to the Tathagata Meditation, so it is called Blessed One. Blessed One Tathagata Meditation Sutra established sect, Using Tathagata’s practices, Buddhist-vehicle fully comprehends Unique Essence in order to be completely enlightened. HOW ONE ESTABLISHES MAIN IDEAS WITH DETACHMENT. Establishing Main-ideas means building a road which runs everywhere in one essence without attachment. True Detachment Dharma is the PermanentTrue Dharma. Therefore, Detachment practice aims at penetrating into Dharma limit to be aware of Tathagata’s use of Tathagata Meditation. The faithful disciples who only wish practicing in the spirit of Buddhism, from Esoteric sect to Meditation sect, they nourish a unique will, practicing Permanent-True Dharma. Practicing Permanent-True Dharma, one can reach the changeless Truth of frequency. HOW TO ESTABLISH ESSENCE ENLIGHTENMENT? Establishing essence enlightenment. Essence means the instinct of practitioners. If practitioners perform meditation and the instinct and the essential nature of the practitioners are not yet Enlightened, sitting meditation is useless, it only brings more Stupidity, False Hope or Dream. He is, therefore, even inferior to those who have not practiced yet. Practicing aims at understanding Ignorance and dissolving Ignorance. If he cannot dissolve ignorance, he will not be considered to have even one day of practice yet. Therefore, Tathagata meditation establishes Detachment Main-idea; the patrician go through the self- enlightened instinct Dharmas, using Essential Nature to dissolve Stupidity. Sect-Main ideas–Essence- Application mutually and correspondingly help. When practitioners vow to help all living creatures to apply Attention, Intelligence, Language, Virtue, Four absorption Dharma, Perfections of wisdom, all of them are supporting elements that will lead patricians to the path of enlightenment. Sect- Main Ideas – Essence – Application of Tathagata Meditation is just a perfect Dharma-Saving. Patricians from Labor to Practice should have an orientation as a guide on which one attains liberation through wisdom, that’s why it’s difficult to achieve because of deficiency. COMPARASON TABLE Tathagata Meditation Using the Tathagata to establish the Sect. Using the Detachment to establish the Main Idea. Using the Enlightenment to establish the Essence. Practicing the Vow to establish the Application. Meditation Transmitting Sect Eliminating the False Mindfulness to establish the sect. Using the No false hope to establish the Main Idea. Using the Purity to establish the Essence. Using the Mind to establish the Application. The practitioners who read the comparison table of Tathagata Meditation and Meditation Transmitting Sect at the items Sect-Main Idea-EssenceApplication have a main purpose to have them as Doctrine-Supporting element, which brings satisfactory results to practitioners. WHY IS BUDDHA’S SPEECH CALLED PRECIOUS DHARMA? Buddha who preaches, aiming at dissolving doubt attachment, eliminating imperfections and errors and bringing about benefits. When Bodhisattva comprehends the teachings and applies them, the result is precious so it is called Precious Dharma. Those who read Three-store Sutras acquire them, and carry out practice-attestation successfully finds the precious Dharma lively, exciting and vivacious. For those who only read Sutras and never full comprehend will not acquire enlightenment. How can they start practicing? This meditation Sutra teaches Essential nature, Meditation practice, aiming at fully being conscious of Meditation nature, Meditation’s nature is not different from Dharma’s nature. Meditation’s nature relies on each false mindfulness, each false hope of practitioners, from Blessed One Meditation-Sitting to six heretic subjects, they are called six Meditation-Subject doors. As previously stated, six meditation-sect doors are derived from delusion, now meditation practitioners detach, absorbs comprehensively to reach Tathagata Meditation. Through detachment or attachment in meditation and not fulfilling six sects yet, the practitioner is erroneous at Fairy path or Deity path, He is not completely liberated. WHAT ARE THE SIX MEDITATION SUBJECT DOORS? The first Meditation door is: Meditation of Martial art and Psychic Power. The second Meditation door is: The Impromptu Meditation. The Third Meditation door is: Meditation of Deity Power. The Fourth Meditation door is: Meditation of Man and Heaven. The Fifth Meditation door is: Meditation of Stillness and Solitude. The Sixth Meditation door is: Meditation of Fairy Path. The above six meditation subject doors are formed from the personal preferences and bring about by Condition-faculty. The number of levels of stupidity is equal to the number of faculty-nature. From stupidity and attachment are derived six ways: Heaven, Man, Asura, Domestic animals, Arahants, and Hell. When practitioners like and love attachment meditation. As they die, they are reincarnated at the Heaven, Man, Asura, and Hell, enjoying Fortunate reward or unfortunate result, accordingly. So are the six above meditation doors, they comply with the preference or expectation of attachment practitioners for matching the vow, accordingly. When the practitioner likes or loves Martial Art or Psychic Power for attachment, the practitioner approves of them as absolute truth which no other Meditation subject matches. When the practitioner likes or loves impromptu meditation for expecting attachment, He does not remark the other meditation practice. He admits it as the absolute truth, which no other meditation subject matches. When the practitioner likes or loves Meditation of Deity or Deity Power He beseeches and expects attachment, He respectfully accepts the spiritual power, authentic and absolute highest one no other Meditation sect matches. When the practitioner likes or loves Man and Heaven Meditation in order to expect disembodying soul which forms the direct Deity consciousness that is free and contacts Deities, lightens the earth, longevity and immortality, Holy Man - intelligence for attachment, the practitioner admits them as absolute Truth which no other sect matches. When the practitioner likes stillness and Solitude Meditation for attachment, admitting stillness as a Dharma for leaving the world, dissolving Karma Imperfection, Karma fetter obtaining Pure Mind, indifferently or unintentionally engaged in the Fairy Path or solitude, is erroneous from lack of knowledge. Admitting stillness and Solitude is an absolute truth, achieving Buddhahood. In addition, there are practitioners, preferring Fairy path meditation in the hope of escaping from birth and death cycle. Practicing meditation aims at absorbing attachment, they admit Fairy path is easy to practice and to be attested. The leisurely and heavenly is an absolute originality, which no other meditation matches. The six meditation subject doors meet the needs of practitioners as meditation nature depends on fixed thought, false mindfulness, false hope, level, and self-attestation, more or less stupidity. It’s not right enlightenment, not Permanent-True Dharma either. Why? Because attachment uses imaginary self and so it is Buddha preaches: “He obtains what He wants, Meditation nature is formed from his expectation.” Here are in general: HERE ARE IN GENERAL: Sect - Main Ideas – Essence – Application of Meditation Subjects: MEDITATION OF MARTIAL ART AND PSYCHIC POWER. Using the Efficaciousness to nourish the Spirit consciousness and Establish the Sect. Using the Dharma energy, Divine energy to establish the Main Ideas. Using the Meditation Force to seize and to establish the Essence. Using the Calmness and vegetarian fruits to establish the Application. Nowadays The Meditation Martial art Sect is divided into many groups, in Tibet one uses Meditation power to produce heat in winter, the one in charge of meditation takes a blanket to cover the body of the sitting meditation practitioner depending on the energy, level of heat arising, the blanket is taken away when it is dry. This sect uniquely admits the level of practice in proportion to taking a wet covering blanket in cold winter. The highest-level practitioner can endure seven blankets covering his body. In the others the Meditation is sewed to exercise the Invulnerability or to prepare the spell used in the tattoo and to train the Martial Art while in Vietnam it is the seven mountains. THE IMPROMPTU MEDITATION Using the Uposatha, faithful worship to establish the Sect. Using the Writing for penetrating in the body and impromptu poems to establish the Main Ideas. Using the Calm meditation and Supernatural Saint to establish the Essence. Using Drums, Castanets and Ceremonies to establish the Application. This sect is found in great quantities, and divided into diverse forms because of different degrees of superstition, such as the praying for the Bodhisattva-Mother, for the great Saint, for the Divine Fairies, the falling into trance, shadow seeking, the penetration in the body, temple building, all are based on the improved writing eve. MEDITATION OF DEITY POWER Using the Brilliant Efficacious Deity to establish the Sect. Using the Faithful worship to establish the Main ideas. Using the Laborious meditation with Faith to establish the Essence. Using the Purity of the Shrine Deity and drums castanets to establish the Application. This subject belongs to Meditation Deity – Saint sect concentrating on the powerful spiritual, therefore the disciple should heartily pray, expect Deity-saints to patronize and to give blessings, they often offer buffaloes and calves, build pagodas of great size according to the country and the locality and the degree of ceremony. This sect has existed since the Antiquity. In that time, the people were lack of knowledge and superstitious and did not know where wind, rain, fire, mountain come from. The people wrongly thought The Heaven sent The Rain Deity, The wind Deity, The Thunder Deity, The Thunder bolt Deity. The Saints give blessings to save the country. Nowadays this word still exists. Later science discovers the Truth Earth –Water – Wind–Fire; the superstition of their powers decreases. In the Time of the incarnated Blessed one, which is the most popular time of Deity power. Hundreds of thousands sheep were taken by the king as offerings to Deities in a year; there are hundreds of thousands of animals which were offered to Deities. Some localities offered to Deities Men and women. The Deity Power sect is the one whose ceremony superstition is innumerable: Since the time Buddha was born, He dissolved superstition, He promulgated the law which prohibited killing animals, using the spirit of self-enlightened, man-enlightened essential nature saving how so many animals and men, discarding cruelty promoting goodness, thanks to it, the situation is better. MEDITATION OF MAN AND HEAVEN. Using the Ascension to the Heaven to establish the Sect. Using the Thinking and the Exercise of the Quintessence to establish the Main Ideas. Using the Calm study of the Meditation to establish the Essence. Using Fine and Noble vowing speech to establish The Application. This sect is esteemed and studied in many countries. Most Ascension Intellectuals research in two ways. The first way is Spirit-nourishing, Body- nourishing and Disease-curing. By using Meditation to receive Heaven-energy, disembodied of the soul to take the Deity quintessence mutually sympathized with the spiritual communication with the Heaven, brightening the universe. The second way is to use Meditation to study Buddhism, aiming at wisdom through Metaphysics. At Present, Zen and yoga are practiced in Japan while the Theosophy is widely popular in South Vietnam. MEDITATION OF STILLNESS AND SOLITUDE. Using Rigorous Discipline to establish the Sect. Using the Quiet Practice and the Separation from the love and family to establish the Main ideas. Using the Meditative begging for food to establish the Essence. Using Merits and Meritorious Deeds to establish the Application. This sect is formed in conformity with Meditation sect of Patriarchs, the canon of the Blessed One, so Doctrine-school established Purity institutions, and the patricians are denominated as monks, bonzes. The costume is the reproduction of that of the Buddha’s time, the hand holding a wooden bowl; He walks solemnly, aiming at going out from the world. As they are disorientated and untimely, Monks cannot apply common laws and order laws, As a result, the sect does not thrive. When the sect does not achieve, Main Ideas – Essence – Application are mistaken, the sects practice Purity From Meditation of stillness and solitude destined to be purity-enlightened, Purity enlightenment should leave ego and possess ego to achieve Enlightenment-Purity. If one doesn’t leave yet, and bears Form-Dharma Sign-Part the way of practice become illusory Sign – Buddha. From Sign Buddha Imperfection – Purity that aims at separation and dark calmness – Isolation, the truth is vague, the outcome is negligible. In addition, there is a sect which attaches to the above sect-main idea and more comfortable and looks for the process to dissolve stupidity, severe regulation and relies on the degree and the morale less constraining, this sect is labeled as original. MEDITATION OF FAIRY PATH. Using the Forest by leaving home to establish the Sect. Using the Pure and Quiet mind to establish the Main Idea. Using the Meditation and leaving desire and love to establish the Essence. Using the Austere life with vegetarian diet to establish the Application. Fairy-Path is based on Faculty nature, character, and degree of reasoning, fixed thought, including Fine, Rough, and Subtle to practice Meditation. That’s why successful fairy practice is characterized by level. Fairy-path meditation Dharma is uniquely fixed thought, collecting fine and noble Dharmas, give and take, and making choices, to acquire practice. Fairy-Path meditation practitioners, for the most part, prefer isolated places such as high mountains. Some patricians are disgusted with life, left the world behind and ascended the mountain, looking for a Buddhist Master to practice. Fairy patricians are farfetched at this time. Only Buddhist practitioners, who are unintentionally engaged in disoriented way of practice, will not be liberated through wisdom. They practice only Blessing- responding human meditation and caught in Fairy Path. Error is not just happened at present time. In the old days, Man is already disorientated, that’s why the Diamond Sutra says Four Liberating Signs are destined to be left to the posterity for it not to be mistaken. WHAT ARE FOUR LIBERATING SIGNS? Four liberating signs are: Heaven sign, Man sign, Leaving Creature sign, and Longevity Form sign. Heaven sign is the attachment Fixed thought sign which falsely hopes, expects, makes choices between good and evil, avoids honesty – cruelty, and practice wrongly engaged in Fairy Path. Secondly, Man sign, Man sign means attachment. Who is attached, rebellious, and conservative individual? One believes that one is engaged in authentic practice, loves and hates instinctively. One practices in conformity with the deciding vocation. The patrician keeps on believing Buddha but the direction is wrong and falls into Fairy Path. Thirdly. Living creatures sign doesn’t base its practice on some standard. When one is excited, one practices much, when one is bored, he neglects his practicing. He often raises his pride, and thinks himself to be wiser and more malicious than anyone. On the other hand, Living creatures’ sign often blames his own bad karma faculty for neglecting meditation and living in misery. Buddha preaches No-increase and No- decrease Sutra to bring living creatures’ sign back to No-increase and No-decrease, why? Because if one decreases, he is caught into Hell, whereas if one increases, he is drawn into Fairy Path. The Fourth sign is Longevity Sign, the Longevity sign is the Longevity Self which holds that his deed is Right, thinking and argument are right, his behavior is necessary, his sign decision is infallible. So Buddha teaches disciples to eliminate the ego by practicing to reach the authentic ego, leave imaginary small ego and reach the great ego, and Complete Nirvana. Buddha path’s Sutra is perfectly clear, its teaching is complete, but very few can understand it fully. Understanding should undergo each stage of practice full of merits to constitute mental power. One bases on metal power and merit to restate the Way of Practice. Restating on Tathagata Meditation requires a basic authentic way, clairvoyant recommendation that means that one can’t practice on any way or what one says is accurate. Tathagata Meditation is a Meditation Sutra which records the Final Law Period, at the Final Law Period faithful disciples behave in conformity with the morale, necessarily; they enjoy much at the Authentic Dharma. The Tathagata Meditation Sutra is compiled from the hearty words containing Buddhism’s survivals. As Man is lost in stupidity and misinterprets the precious Dharma, my heart doesn’t hope anything better than faithful practitioners who should apply practicing in conformity with True Nature and Conduct-Vow to be saved through Dharma limits, aiming at fully understanding Dharma, practice without attachment, parallelism of Virtue-Mind, uniformity of Intelligence and Virtue, It is the offerings of the Three Gem Throne. CHIEF MONK PURE KING BLESSED ONE. REPLACING THE SUPREME PURE KING BUDDHA Sealed Teaching Tathagata neither teaches nor expound One essentially believes sudden illumination to be aware of the proceeding scene. PART II ESSENTIAL NATURE OF MEDITATION ESSENTIAL NATURE OF MEDITATION Meditation. At the time when the Blessed One was alive, there existed no sect at all. After the Blessed One’s time. Among the Patriarchs, each one acquired a subject. Then he initiated the vow to maintain the Precious Seal. Each one established a group engaged in teaching the believers. Such a group was known as Sect, There were in all 12 Sects, but only 5 of them were popular, such as: Meditation Sect, Exoteric Sect, Tantrism Sect, Western Pure Land Sect, and Avatamsaka Sect. Buddhism, dated from the Supreme Dharma Period to the Final Law Period, was taught at each period by one Hereditary Patriarch. At some time, Patriarch taught much. At other time, Patriarch taught little. There was time when teaching was conducted by a Bodhisattva at the efficaciousness apparition. Other time, teaching was entrusted to the Incarnated Buddha. The Incarnating Period taught 12 sects, along with 10 Denominations. The Buddha or the Patriarch should comply with the Time or Living creatures’ Karma to dissolve not withstanding the believers are laymen or monks. They all may practice, providing that they confide in Buddha, Dharma subject or monk’s guidance. There is no discrimination among those practitioners whether or not who can or cannot practice as long as one should be faithfully or eagerly has an Ethics – seeking mind. One will be liberated through wisdom. As Meditation’s essential nature is restated, it creates itself through the classification of Living creatures seed karmas. When they are stupid, they are erroneous. As they are erroneous, they are mistaken. They are opposed to one another, they compete with one another, and they are entangled with one another. As a result, they are thrown into the state of hating one another. On the other hand, they are neither opposed nor hate to one another; they will burst out sympathy and correlation into clinging karma. From sympathy to hatred stretches the birth – death cycle. As one is fully enlightened, one is aware that essential nature is necessarily perfect; the above state is derived from stupidity. The Essential Nature is perfect and clairvoyant and inherent in human beings but because of their false hope, initiating hope, expectation, human beings run after their hope and their thirst from this limit to that limit. For that reason, the Essential nature becomes a Seed-Nature. Seed natures become separated with high-low, wide-narrow standard. So they are classified into four separate and different castes: Living creature’s seed nature, Bodhisattva’s seed nature, and Buddha’s seed nature. The last one, in its hidden state, stupidity and enlightenment are not distinct, is called Buddha’s nature. When enlightenment is achieved, it is called the Nature of The Buddha, to Tathagata nature’s seed nature. Why does Tathagata have nature? Tathagata is motionless and spotless. The Bodhisattva who fully examines Tathagata ought to use universal immobility to observe Tathagata. When Tathagata is fully examined, that is called Tathagata’s Nature or Tathagata’s Eye-store. Restating on essential nature, let’s wonder what essential nature can do. Essential nature can do everything, come everywhere, it doesn’t need anyone for blessing; one has just to exploit essential nature to achieve everything. That’s why human beings practicing Buddhism, knowing to rely on essential nature to dissolve stupidity that will lead to enlightment. Practicing meditation, one relies on essential nature to meditate in order to acquire Meditation’s nature. Thanks to Meditation’s nature, one can communicate with the Three Worlds, and understand Three Thousand, eliminating stupidity and are enlightened. They should not falsely hope to see The Three Thousand, not expect in vain to attain the Three worlds through disembodying souls and entering the scene of Three Worlds. Even though the practitioner may attain The Three worlds through illusion and discarding essential nature, one may reach the destination. However, the destination lies within false confused and achieved expectation. It’s not everlasting. The wise man practicing meditation needs to examine himself from ability to mental power, from the spirit of ethics-seeking to bad karma how they hinders his way of practice. If he notices some weaknesses, he should improve it. If he notices some bad karmas, which makes practice non-confident, nonconduct-vowing, non- persuading, he should dissolve, and readjust so that his essential nature may work well. That is the way of practicing through essence nature exploitation. Then one understands that the essential nature is in conformity with the original essential nature of the universe as one is stupid and obscure due to the action of the delusion of karma consciousness, one has to endure the situation of Living Creatures’ Seed Nature and fully be aware and eliminate those weaknesses. Moreover, Living creatures’ seed nature has four points worthy of note. The four characteristics worthy of note are: First: Increase Second: Decrease Third: Imperfection Four: Purity People with Increase illness are often proud, self- satisfied. As they are proud, they consider themselves to be superior to others. As they are selfsatisfied, they think that they are always right. Through Increase-illness, they wrongly think that they fully comprehend the Dharma and think they achieve upgrading Eshics-fulfilement; they practice and study little, looking for outstanding Dharmas to practice. It’s very dangerous and induces the Monk to discard the essential nature. As for Decrease part, decreasing is a degrading essential nature disease. One neither confide in oneself nor one’s body and life. One leaves one’s life to the Heaven-Earth-Phantom-Deity. One blames oneself for the heavy karma; one insults oneself to be stupid, obscure and asks the Superiors for favors. Two Illnesses of Increase-Decrease distort the Essential Nature. Buddha, therefore, advises practitioners to leave Self and possess Self in order to diminish illness of Increase, and making use of Energy Dharma-Subject to support Living creature’s Decrease. As for Imperfection, It is an illness, which obstinately constitutes and preserves. Imperfection is caught from Impurity, usual impurity, self-caught. Self-caught comes from imperfection. Furthermore, expectation and false hope created on dream become Karma. Imperfection gives rise to thousands of shapes, and ten thousands of signs, Three thousand seed natures as the Dharma of imperfection is one of the transmigration of birth and death cycle. Buddha taught Benevolence, Compassion, Sympathy, Joy equanimity, aiming at creating Virtue. The Dharma of perfections of wisdom is derived from imperfection. Otherwise, if there is no imperfection, the mind is free and perfect. If there is no imperfection, the essential nature works well. Living creatures’ seed nature on imperfection is reluctant. Imperfection is the barrier of Living creatures’ cycle seed nature is very hesitant. Imperfection represents a barrier, which limits living creatures. As for Purity, It is a means of Salvation when Mobility? Purity is like a sleeping pill, which relieves the patient when he is enduring pain. Living creatures’ nature takes purity to nourish feeble state or benefits one at old age, or enduring patricians often yield to end competition and quarrel and so it is called Pure Land-Mobility. As for Purity’s essential nature, meditation practitioners do not fully comprehend, at the beginning stage, their essential nature or Meditationnature and they are often shaken by confused delusion, they make use of Purity to clear away confused delusion, Finishing to clear away confused delusion, they fully comprehend confused delusion. Such a fact is known as Pure Enlightenment. One has to practice the enlightened purity to understand meditation nature, Essential Nature that is unique. Otherwise, if the disciple is not Purity enlightened, he uses Purity to practicing Purity and is entangled by imperfection Purity and the disciple is led into the calm isolated Meditation door. Increase, Decrease, Imperfection, and Purity are four Precious Gems to the well-informed practitioner who can manage and discipline himself. If he is informed, he returns to the True Constitution from the wrong way. Otherwise, if he does not know how to practice, how to utilize, the more he practices, and the more he is polluted. Why does he know how to manage? Because the Intelligent Disciple notices the living creatures who neglect practice, should increase labor, increase actively that is to know how to manage and discipline himself. However, when one is extremely active, the Essential Nature knows to what level he must decrease to reach the average level that is the one who knows how to discipline himself and to manage. As for Imperfection, when Imperfection abounds, it creates karma. If imperfection is missing or cleared away, it still bears karma, if Imperfection uses itself, which means Former Impression and collection, Former impression created aims at full understanding. On fully understanding, imperfection is naturally balanced, it is not different from Pure Land mobility, which understands Mobility is perfect, and Pure Enlightenment. The previous interpretation enables one to understand whether the Dharmas are utilized or not. From the world to the Supra world, everything must be lively and flexible. An Industrial enterprise, all machines must work simultaneously as well, so is the immense universe, the universe lives within the cloud and the wind. Therefore, the truth always proceeds extremely lively and actively to the Intelligent disciple. The Intelligent disciple will see the Buddha at any given period. Buddha seeing is not implemented through contemplation or imagination. Following the footprints of the Buddhas who left, the disciple will advance, the farther he steps, and the clearer The Buddha’s teaching is. It is clearly the evident element. Truth is a Reason of Reality. Relying on the reason of reality, one acquires the Truth. Practitioners, who seek the True Nature for practicing, gradually understand Essence, transmit with the Meditation Nature, realizing the way of Practice is living, the enjoyment is promising. Using Intelligence for dissolving and mental power for overcome the hindrances, one admits that the Salvation in Buddhism is ultimate and appropriate at the present and the adaptation is clear. To the Truth, Buddhism has no humane - cruel – good - bad dharmas, fortunate or unfortunate, only the disciple does not comprehend the flexibility, activity, and livelihood of Dharmas yet. He only reads sutras and does not fully comprehend their significance. Practice without dissolution is Former Practice. Practice using dissolving intelligence to fully understand the Sutras in order to put them into practice is the way of the Intelligent disciple of the conscious Present. The essential nature is always living, when the meditation practitioner initiates false hope, How his intelligence and behavior are, How his wish is, The meditation is the practitioner’s nature manifested at each stage, the disciple thinks that it is Meditative efficaciousness and becomes attached and sunk in it. So Buddha teaches: “what he expects, His meditation nature will relies and responds to his expectation, proceeding as if it were reality. He thinks it is: To Enter And Come Out And Expect Clinging at Meditation Nature.” Upon fully understanding Buddhist Dharma, the practitioner pursues some way of practice; he should also estimate how much practicing is appropriate. If appropriately, there is dissolving intelligence at each hindering stage. Otherwise, if one practices on the reasoning basis, the expected spot brings about confusion, one should manipulate Buddhist Dharma not separable from the world enlightenment. The world is a leaning spot to ponder in order to be enlightened with the Buddhist Dharma; it’s an immortal document. The substances combined, they are metamorphosed; similar sounds respond to one another; similar friends help mutually. This phenomenal is called Compatibility and Faith. Buddhism definitely proceeds on this principle. They practice in compliance with conformity and assimilation known as stupidity dissolving. The Buddha’s mind and living creatures’ mind are not different but truly they are different. As living creatures do not match The Buddha’s mind yet, they do not become the Buddha. The mind needs to be an authentic mind; it should rely on practice to be in conformity and assimilation. For that reason, The Bodhisattvas should practice on the Dharma procedures, which formerly the Buddha implemented. Nowadays, the Bodhisattvas should practice in accordance with Buddha’s mind in order to become Buddha. Nowadays the practicing practitioners who seek the Truth advance progressively. The Bodhisattvas should inquire exactly as today’s practitioners. When the Bodhisattvas fully understand the principle of Compatibility and Faith, they initiate the vow of Compassion-Courage-Will, implementing Sila-Samadhi-Panna to be in conformity with mankind and Tathagata Metamorphosing to become Buddha. The boundless universe and all the places of Dragon-Men are called Constitution or Tathagata’s Constitution. As for practitioners from the constitution resides individual nature, which is called Essential Nature. When one practices meditation, it is called Meditation Nature. When one does something bad, it is a bad character, when one obtains a blessed thing, it is called good character. Therefore, it is not outside essential nature. The essential nature is of what is called Natural Self-Enlightened. Owing to this, the practitioner is in conformity and assimilated with the constitution universe. When the practitioners engaged in the way of practice in which they do not use Merit yet to create Virtue. How can they obtain Merit-Virtue offered to Tathagata? Without merit-virtue offer to Tathagata, how can they fully be understood and enlightened? When practice and exercising accompany each other, they are in conformity in order to assimilate. The practitioner should follow the footprint of the Bodhisattvas. Nowadays practitioners should practice, study and behave exactly as the Buddhas who fully used Compassion – Vow - Enlightenment-Communication. The Bodhisattvas should also apply conduct-vow to obtain complete communicated enlightenment, which is the only way. WHY DOES THE MEDITATION SECT APPLY THE MEDITATION TRANSMITTED FROM MIND TO MIND FOR COMPLETE SALVATION? As the meditation sect specializes in the Self-Enlightened, it does not use writing. Even if it uses writing, it is only the finger, aiming at Intuition. That’s why one always relies on Meditation Nature to obtain Nature-Enlightening; it is not Meditation Clinging to be enlightened. So it is called the Body-Mind transmitted from mind to mind for complete salvation. The disciples who practice meditation, getting rid of essential nature, do not fully understand Meditation Nature and yet form fixed thought. Study or guesses are all wrong. It does not differ from Him who uses lime to make bread, flour is flour, and one cannot take flour as lime and lime as flour. The meditation sect should resolutely start from essential nature to achieve authentic enlightenment. Meditation includes four levels as follows: At the Primary Period- one ceaselessly concentrates. At the Middle Period- one observes clearly. At Eternal Calm Light Period-one collects knowledge and readjusts it. One fulfills all-round brightness. In practicing meditation, there are four levels of accomplishment, from Primary to Secondary Meditation, from third to fourth faultless Meditation. All these four level disciples have already learned meditation procedure from the Blessed-One’s sutras. However, their intelligent meditation is acquired with their level with the exploration of the practical truth to the thorough acquisition as follows: The Primary Meditation Those of the Primary Meditation rely on their Merit-Virtue to dissolve or their reasoning to realize the Buddhist Dharma, which always attached to the world Enlightenment. One could clearly see, know and hear what is not perceived by the secular people in this world. The practitioners of the primary meditation can have a better understanding. As an idle pulled down by the Karma and caught in binding circumstances, we wish we could escape from this vicious circle. But the more we try to get away from it, the more it runs closer after us. We are all possessed by the Dharmas with thousands of ways. We try our best to free ourselves from the birth and to overcome the hindrance, controlling the Dharmas in order to see and understand the Buddhist Path. On the contrary, no sooner had our virtue and ability at the primary meditation advanced further more than we could have a fuller perception. It is the body and minds of ourselves that passes all the Dharmas. We ourselves give birth to the karmas and there is no reason to complain to nobody. We tie ourselves with the birth and at the same time we want to escape from it. Those who realize it can go up to the Secondary Meditation without losing their way to the Meditation Sect. The Secondary Meditation Regulation is an important Meditation. Precept leads to the discreet body, the discreet mouth and discreet idea. It is through the discreet body-mouthidea that the Meditation can regulate the motion of all the Dharmas. Why? It is because the body in Meditation is moving and transforming, in one moment it is smaller, in another it is bigger your eyes can see the mountain, river and the scenery; your ears can hear the divine music; but your thoughts should not be overjoyed, your mouth should not speak during the process of the Meditation because that will keep you caught in the self-attachment The Secondary Meditation practitioners have to recognize: Most of them are mistaken one another. Scenery induces sentiments; disagreement creates circumstances. Each of them conservatively declares oneself to be good and right, which leads to the frequent discord independently of one’s will. The Secondary Meditation disciple perfectly knows that these results come from the “acquisition” accidents and that acquisition depends on each individual, and also on his degree and position. Furthermore, it is partially influenced by one's career. The acquisition is founded on these two bases: the lovely favorable acquisition and the hateful unfavorable acquisition. The Acquisition in every individual and in every class results in disputes and competitions: Life has countless faces and the earth has countless directions. The King Buddha and the Buddhas all have a unique source of Enlightenment. The manifestation of the acquisition is an Eternal Truth. With a mind free from passions, how can we be attached to the sorrow? The Secondary Meditation practitioner acquires the Meditation nature; the Meditation Dharma has appeared correspondingly to the expectation of his mind and opinion. When the mind and opinion expect Deities and Saints the Meditation Dharma appears in Deities and Saints. Sometimes there is a corresponding apparition without expectation. Not knowing that, it is the acquisition the practitioner erroneously realizes about the wish. As for a Second Meditation disciple, he considers it to be the corresponding apparition of the Meditation nature and that is not wrong. Why? It is because the Meditation is a matter in which the cultivation of the practical truth results in a MeditationMind; otherwise all are fictitious self-appellations. There is thus no mistake. From the old time to the present day, people are losing their way from the Dharma because: they are practicing, as they like, without the guide of the basic Sealed Decision. Why? It is because by following the Sealed Decision they would fall in the dogma, while following their wish they will be disoriented. A few of them could practice correctly to the time of Meditation in order to attain the Four faultless and ceaseless Meditations. Though attaining the Four faultless and ceaseless Meditations, the disciples still belong to the Fairy Way Meditation; they are not as perfect as the Tathagata Meditation. I am strongly confirming today that the way to the Meditation subject is a sacred vein of the Practical Truth of Meditation Mind. While the Meditation aspect is a way of creating ability and virtue, supporting the development of the Meditation Mind. Certainly neither by relying on the Form Meditation to be enlightened, nor on the sound in the Heaven to be Awakened, only the Meditation Mind, the Enlightenment Mind and the Natural Mind of the Essential Mind could thoroughly know every seed-mind and the Enlightenment completely. For the Meditation Sect, all things in the Final Law Period are the zero of basic understanding. All or most of the practitioners of the Meditation are making use of the Insight Meditation of form and sound, which correspondingly appear, and considering it to be his goal. They become thus unsuitable to the Principal sect and develop the Telepathy, the Meditation with the leaving-soul, Therapy Meditation, Study Meditation attaining the Saint and Deity Degree. This is very clear for the Secondary Meditation disciples. Why? It is because the Meditation Nature is moving and acquiring accordingly to the false mind, to the wish of practice. A few of them ultimately focus on the mind, becoming Meditation Mind. The Secondary Meditation practitioner, by regulating his Body-MouthIdea, had gone from the mean consciousness of census to the generous temper of joy and detachment. With a discreet mouth, he only expresses into words when it is truly necessary. When it is not the time of speaking, he keeps silent to inquire the reality and only speaks at the due time, and due moment his nature mind is so simple, but he can perfectly attain the Meditation nature. It is by such a maturity and discretion that he can accomplish the Dharma precept in order to penetrate every Dharma sphere, he is thus named the Regulator Great Man and judiciously goes up to the Third Meditation”. TV The Third Meditation The Master of both the Supreme Being and all the creatures. The practitioners of the third Meditation are immaculate. Their mental ability has undergone the ultimate end. They recall neither the past nor the future; they only keep to the present as their target. As a result, they can realize the Meditation Nature, getting insight into all the living creatures, which appear and disappear at a time in a certain circumstance. They live collectively a life, both inner and outer, intimate and then hostile. Their body and face keep on changing continuously with either happiness or unhappiness. This change results from the mistaken. Hence, the transformation comes into being. The Change occurs in conformity with his personality, said the practitioner of the third Meditation. In the Three Thousand Great Thousand Worlds, each place, each scene from the Divas to the Dragon, Men, Mara, Monsters, birds and animals; all of them have the particular characters of their own. All the ways they use to communicate each other such as gesture, deportment, speaking, roaring... are quite similar to those used by a community overjoyed at singing, loving, dancing, arguing and fighting etc. When being disagreement they consider it to be wrong; but when being in good accord, they consider such a thing to be right. The Hearing-Seeing of each world and each scene are contrary to that of the Meditation-Minded practitioners. It is because the third meditation practitioners who make use of the Enlightenment to see the Form while all the others use the Form to see the Form; therefore they meet with difficulties in recognizing the Enlightened Form. Those of The Third Meditation while examining themselves on the basis of the cultivation of the Meditation Mind, illuminating their character, erring in the Acquisition, said, How wonderful the Virtue and the Ignorance are! Now I just realized it. In presence of my body all the disciples stand in awe of it and call me a Master. But they could not understand Me at all and in the meantime, my whole body and Mind are transforming into evils or playing the Mara or Monster who can recognize Me in order to realize Me? The Third Meditation practitioners keep on saying, to tell the truth, I have realized the transformation. When being transformed into the Buddha, I haven’t rejoiced in this name. When being transformed into Devil or Mara, I am not afraid of it. I usually realize in myself a pure characterization, considering the transformation to be an adequate food; hence, my mind is not caught with fear, my idea with no attachment, my conscience with satisfactory understanding because it is I who transform all of them. I have never emerged from Meditation. But due to the need of being normal, I ought to do so. I do not accept the Entrance into Meditation, but I illuminate the Eternal Calm Light to become the Entrance into Meditation. For me, no place is right or wrong because I have many times got into and out of all the worlds. In one place there is fullness, and yet it is emptiness in another place; there is plenty in some places and deficiency in others; therefore there is a subject- matter taken here and a course given there. For that reason, I have never thought of the practice as a wish of mine, I am only afraid of being as caught in attachment. The Third Meditation practitioner is precisely the One who has almost attained the Prajnaø Mind and come to the third Meditation with the super frequency of the Meditation Mind, respectfully relying on the Tathagata to accomplish perfectly their vow. Therefore, they are called the Master of the Supreme Being and all the creatures. The Fourth Faultless and Ceaseless Meditation. When the Blessed One was alive, a few of the meditation practitioners have attained the rank of the Fourth Faultless and Ceaseless Meditation, besides the Blessed One; therefore, some of them have erroneously practiced and had to go to the Great Misconception, the damage results from the mistake on the Emptiness. This Empty place is a place of the all-round Brightness of the Meditation called the Fourth Faultless and Ceaseless Meditation fully enlightened from the Primary Meditation to the All-round Enlightenment. As far as he uttered these words, the Master’s eyes seem to show respect for all the Patriarchs. He nodded, getting up with a long breath, and said: The layman cares for no reputation, He vows from the bottom of his heart To convert all the Human Beings. He offers his life to the Perfect Bright. Whether known or unknown is his only way. The layman realizes the Truth, Wouldn’t he entangle himself with this world? He will be over whelmed with enjoyments. When the Dharma School extends boundlessly. PART III MEDITATION PROCEDURES MEDITATION PROCEDURE The first thing to do in the Meditation is to Pray to Buddha. The practitioner should wash his hands, his face, and it is good to take a bath, if possible. Then he burns incense on the Buddha’s altar and prostrates three times. Afterwards, he reaches his hermitage or private room. STYLE OF SITTING. The practitioner sits semi-crossed legs, his face turns to the north with his two soles upwards, the right hand underneath, the left hand above, the two arms straightened, two palms upward below the navel, between the semi crossed legs soles. After a moment of calm sitting, he begins to pray to Buddha 10 utterances, 10 times for each utterance. When one is not accustomed to the process yet, he can recite only Namo supreme pure king Buddha for about 15 minutes. The best way of praying is performed silently in one mind without saying. After praying, he makes a bow. Arrangement of the sitting place. The practitioner sits on a mattress, approximately 80 square centimeters each side, or longer than the sitting table is also ok. It’s better for him to sit on a plank-bed or a bed with a mattress. He should not sit on the ground without a mattress. In the old days, the patriarchs often built his own hermitage. It’s better if the practitioner to have his own hermitage. However, meditation may be performed in his own room. One should remember that if the dwelling-room is equipped with the Buddha’s altar, one should burn incense on the altar, if the altar is not available; one can practice in one’s room. Before meditating, one prostrates three times, and then he prays to Buddha. MEDITATING When praying to Buddha, the practitioner should wear a wide robe or a traditional thin suit. After praying to Buddha, the practitioner prostrates one time as previously instructed. Before the actual sitting semi-crossed legs, the practitioner changes his robe, wearing comfortable clothes such as “short”; the belt at his trousers should be loosened, because the tight belt will not allow a free circulation of dharmas which may later brings about lumbago or a bellyache. The dharma meditation should be quite at ease and comfortable. In Tibet, practicing meditation, the practitioner wears a loincloth. So it is in Japan, providing that the practitioner avoids binding or hindrance. After making a thorough arrangement, the calm sitting meditation practitioner remains silent for five minutes. The practitioner starts meditating by mind-praying counting, the ears perceive, he shouldn’t count aloud. On the first night, he counts from 1 to 200 or 320, when counting is over, he should stop thinking and relaxing, and eliminating all thoughts. That is meditation practice. Such a process lasts 20 minutes to 40 minutes. The longer he can meditate, the better he is, that is up to faculties, the effort and confidence of the practitioner. On the second night, the practitioner keeps on praying to Buddha: mindpraying counting counts from 01 to 320 or 490. Mind-praying counting should be performed slowly and shouldn’t be hasty. Mind-praying counting aims at pure mind for meditation entering, when counting is over, one should eliminate all thoughts. Every night meditation should last from 20 minutes to 45 minutes or 60 minutes. Remember to perform mind- counting process for the first 7 nights only. How to enter into MEDITATION? To enter into meditation does not mean that the practitioner’s soul penetrates deep into the meditation so as to be called entering meditation. It does not imply a complete silence without sensing anything around so as to be called entering meditation. The practitioner in meditation does not resemble a corpse at all so as to be called entering meditation. Such old-age interpretations are wrong and must be nullified. The practitioner, when caught in meditation, feels like being afloat on the cloud or in the mid-air. However, he is aware of what is happening around while his inner stillness remains with him. The practitioner may perceive some scenes during the meditation. No matter how short or long the scene is or how clear or vague the scene is, it depends on his effort of practice for the pure calmness. However, other practitioner may not see anything yet or just have a feeling of floating or being slightly drunken in meditation. This is a normal process. Do not be discouraged and impatient. It takes time. Those practitioners should try their best to keep hold of their good will, when their labor grows full, they will arrive at their wishes. The meditation practitioner always takes tenacity and courage for their target as the travelers try to get to their destinations after a long and strenuous journey. WHY DOES MEDITATION SOMETIMES ASCEND OR DESCEND, SOMETIMES COMFORTABLE OR WEARY? As body and mind are not yet harmonious, so is the mouth. Therefore, some night, labor is easy and effortless, it ascends, now it descends and it is dark. As such, practitioners are tired and lazy from which often cause sluggishness. Meditation practitioners should be patient, courageous, resolute and endurable. Meditation practitioners should be great noble- minded men who consider men’s behavior inadequate, it is not different from boat rower who lifts the anchor and is determined to reach enlightenment shore. As such is practitioner’s mind and spirit. One is often bombarded with daily activities, even with unwelcome, unpleasant events or circumstances, causing worrisome and tiredness. It is, therefore, extremely difficult to practice meditation at night. However, one must have great will, fighting vigorously to overcome the temptation of neglecting the daily routine meditation and chase lazy phantoms away. CLIMATE CONDITION Climate and sitting meditation spot should be appropriate and pleasant that will support practitioners. Practitioners should consider whether the weather is hot or cold or the room temperature is comfortable or not. The appropriate attire is necessary for the entire duration. In Tibet and Japan, the meditation practitioner wears a loincloth. Pleasant climate will facilitate the meditation. Buddhist masters and practitioners, therefore, build hermitage at the place where the climate is favorable. PROCEDURES AT THE TIME WHEN THE PATRIARCHS ESTABLISHED THE SECTS. As history records the order of patriarchs, the meditation sect accounts for 28 patriarchs, the other enlightened ones do not take into account. Very popular were the meditation sects of the dynasties of Dinh, Le, Ly, and Tran. Such procedures still exist in Japan, Tibet, Vietnam and other inconsiderable countries, although they are not very popular, they still preserve meditation sects. The patriarchs, in accordance with the spirit of the meditation sects, should establish trust-conduct- vow along with morality-concentration-wisdom, which are fundamental to meditation sect. Those who are lack of these two primary vows can’t become meditation practitioners at all. As for the place of meditation sect, the patriarchs seek peaceful places with year-round moderate climate. The patriarchs have private rooms built which are 5 meters or 10 meters distant from each other. A meditation practitioner occupies each private room. At the beginning stage, the newly practitioner should only practice praying to Buddha for the first 3 months. Then the patriarch evaluates the practitioner who attains a required trust-conduct-vow, before he is admitted into the sect through a ceremony. The admitted practitioner, varying with the degree of meditation, should fulfill every day and night from one to four labor times of meditation. Some practitioners should begin meditation at 12 o’clock midnight, 12 noons, 6 o’clock afternoon, 6 o’clock evening, and some patricians vows to stay in his hermitage, practicing until he is meditation enlightened. Later, venerable Hu Van has changed the setting for his sect from the traditional, individual, separated small private room to a pagoda, which divided into small room, occupying by practitioners known as meditation places. As far as the spirit of meditation sect is concerned, the meditation sect is not very different from patriarchs. But from the procedure point of view, the meditation sect is far much different on the fact that from the principle of the doctrine, there is much preaching. There is a central meditation building entrusted to a Buddhist master who manages the pagoda. At that time, there are some concerns that some faithful practitioners begin neglecting their commitment to meditation, but Hu Van’s effort obtains considerable results. In the final law period, 1956 the pure king concentrated his attention on meditation sect subject, not knowing how to pass on the successive meditation subject to the followers at the final law period. He initiated such a project, but the situation of the time did not permit it because he was a layman, earning his living by doing business. In 1959, he achieved his volume “unique tathagata meditation dharma”. But not until 1961, he planned to have it published or printed on newspapers. However, the unified Buddhism unexpectedly initiated the struggle against Ngo Dinh Diem regime. He postponed it and rectified lots of items. When the final edition was completed in 1964, he had it typed in 6 copies along with 4 copies, which made up a collection. Even though, the collection “unique tathagata meditation dharma” was not yet published. However, his relationships with faithful followers are filled with love and compassion. He continued helping and teaching a number of disciples since 1956. In 1965, upon the request, he established venerable meditation tathagata store. When the decision was made on the night before, the next morning, a seventy-two year-old man accompanied by a seventeenyear old young man besought him to have the young man converted. He intuitively remembered his previous inaugurating-ethics. He nodded agreeing and had the old man and the young man converted first. During the venerable meditation tathagata store, only teaching was available, there wasn’t any program and organization. It was later officially legalized and bore the denomination: Vietnam Buddhist dharma store in 1971. In reality, the number of disciples and believers is great. The practice is simple and very efficient, but the meditation building and the pagoda were not built. One often uses the Buddhist believers’ houses as an instructing place from the center to South Vietnam towns. WAY OF INSTRUCTING The common way of instructing, which includes exoteric sect, meditation sect, pure sect; all uses the means of Buddhist dharma inseparable from world enlightenment. He wears a robe only when he conducts ceremonies. Otherwise, he still wear his daily regular clothe, earning his living. Each true Buddhist believer resides at his home because the pagoda was not built. He often says: when world and creed are unified, Buddhist canon lasts forever. He had four species established as follows: -BELIEVERS, -CARETAKERS -DHARMA PROTECTORS -ATTENDANTS Each species has hundreds of disciples practicing in compliance with its conduct along with its merit-virtue-conduct in conformity with its conduct-vow. dharma protectors species who only specializes in preaching; caretakers are financially responsible for the institution by taking care of institution, offered incense-light, attendants serve the chief monk. Believers have just joined into Buddhism. They are incorporated into a collectivity that fits them after the evaluation. The way of instructing enables the followers, acquiring both virtue and intelligence simultaneously. PROCEDURES OF SITTING MEDITATION The procedures that he taught in his time are not different from those in this volume of tathagata meditation. At first, those practitioners who faithfully joined Buddhism are only taught dharma of praying to Buddha. Later, they are carefully and appropriately examined to be classified as such. They should also be on a vegetarian diet for seven days. Practicing meditation, practitioners first pray to Buddha. Secondly, they keep calm for five minutes. Thirdly, they recite the denomination: “Namo supreme pure king Buddha” 7 times. During these 7 times of praying to the Buddha, one should only pray by thinking for 10 minutes or 7 minutes, then he releases all for meditation entering. As for the dharma subject of tathagata meditation, there are corresponding between meditation sect, tantrism sect and apparition. their apparition depends on the patrician’s faculty during meditation. Someone practices meditation whose meditation part is eight and tantrism is 2, whereas another one’s meditation is 3 and tantrism is 7. It goes on proceeding until there is pure calmness and perfection, the result is wonderful. FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF TANTRISM As stated above, tantrism or meditation makes apparition according to faculty, one cannot imitate or expect. The patrician whose tantrism faculty is available is just the one who has just apprenticed meditation practice. On meditation exercising, the body moves as the electric current, which runs throughout the body, the head moves, and the body oscillates. These movements depend on how strong the tantrism the practitioner has. The patrician who can stay calm results in releasing karmas and defects. Then the patrician should improve his behaviors. He examines all his defects; he should release them, he shouldn’t become attached to them. He should refer to tathagata meditation sect-main ideas-essence-application without attachment. Tantrism changes at every stage, sometimes through the talisman, sometimes through the art of fighting. The patrician should be alerted not to let the outsider know and criticize. He should act as follows. DISCREET BODY – DISCREET MOUTH – DISCREET IDEA MEDITATION CANON Practicing meditation, the patrician should endeavor labors regularly. Daily routine meditation will bring great results. Irregular and interruption practices only prolong the process. The important thing is that the meditation practitioner expects to see the meditation scene. The second important thing is that the meditation practitioner regrets: the first regret is that he doesn’t obtain the expected result; the second thing is that he doesn’t achieve completed result during the meditation session. Meditation practice needs a great deal of stupidity dissolving doctrine. Listening to doctrine renders body and mind clairvoyant and fully aware of meditation nature, which dissolves doubt and attachment. Outside acquirement of the ethics-seeking dear relatives is needed along with inside comfort. Most important of all, meditation gives intelligence to dissolve stupidity; meditation is a dharma subject that led to wisdom through liberation. Meditation practitioner may not discard doctrine to be truly enlightened. On the same token, listening to doctrine alone, without practicing meditation, is also uncompleted. For that reason, in his time he instructed the denomination blessed one pure king, the basis of corresponding doctrine and meditation. Unified virtue and intelligence along with the canon and purpose of tathagata store is virtue, doctrine, and meditation. These three fundamental elements are the core for wisdom through liberation. Until 1976, in the middle of April, the labor party seized the authority; the four species were forced, engaging in laborious camps throughout the country. Therefore, only the old, faithful believers were remained close to him. At his spare time, he re-examined the tathagata meditation volume carefully, at the same time he entered authentic concentration for more than two weeks, he edited, elaborated, creating the new tathagata meditation volume from the original, unpublished “the unique tathagata meditation dharma”, then he obsolete the unique tathagata meditation dharma entirely. He said: the unique tathagata meditation dharma is erroneous because a few religions, without his authorization, made use of the denomination to modify and deviate it, so I ought to change and elaborate appropriately, so the doctrine is accurate for this life and the following life, not to lose authentic mind precious dharma. As he finished saying, we (four species) respectfully besought him to explain the tathagata meditation in order to clarify the dharma store time. He said: WHY IS NATURE CHANGED? ONE IS CHALLENED WHEN ONE DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO UTILIZE YET. Most practitioners know how to seek true nature to practice; they often evaluate and examine themselves and are aware of their own inappropriate characters in order to correct them, dissolving the ignorance. As a result, they notice changes in their characters and behaviors. As for meditation practitioners, their intelligence always correct and eliminates defects, hindering, and hot temper illnesses so that body and mind may be calm and pure. They aim to practice meditation, for that reason, the characters and behaviors have changed. The meditation practitioner corrects his own characters, realizing others’ characters. He cures his own sickness and helps others to cure theirs. Such a way of practice is innumerably valuable. However, the easiest thing is to realize others’ defects, but not one’s own. So the bodhisattva takes himself as a main target. When he sees others, he does not hurry to criticize, but he hurries to look at within himself for correction. That’s innumerably valuable. The practitioner, who adopts tathagata meditation dharma, engaging in the bodhisattva vow, he should imitate the bodhisattva to lighten himself for correction in order to integrate and help all those around him. He and the others are mutually integrated, avoiding conflict and hindrance. Thanks to such a practice, such a way of assimilation, body and mind are not reluctant to engage in meditation. The meditation scene proceeds, the mind is not entangled, so one can accomplishes tathagata meditation on sect-main ideas-essence-application, reaching for liberation through wisdom. As for change of characters, it’s a very useful way of learning for those who know how to utilize the self-correcting method to enlighten one’s nature in order to be nature enlightened. If one doesn’t know how to utilize, one is struck with fear and held it to be karma and exhaustively destroyed. He steps into the way of the bud is dry, the seed is spoilt of practice. Attestation of second vehicle. Most practitioners were disgusted with life, because men are greedy, deceptive, and manipulative. Practitioners, therefore, seek the way of practice imbued with better reasons for living in order to practice meditation dharma. necessarily up-orientating character, sanctified common mind, one is inclined to holiness and discarded from commonplace, one is engaged in practice for a time, one notices that vulgar karma seeds are thrown into passions, and greediness in many way one happens to despise and distinguish between stupidity and enlightenment, as these last two items are acutely different, they burst out, opposing to each other. One doesn’t recognize that one’s character often changes, man’s character changes with each asking for pardon. Practicing meditation, one will realize and know how to correct one own characters, realizing the movement of the characters rhythmical on the six ways and therefore one is fully aware of natures. As for those who don’t engage on the way of practice yet, one keeps on living with conservative nature deeply rooted in greed and passions. The practitioner and nonpractitioner are different from each other on that point. He who adopts bodhisattva conduct practice and blessed one dharma does not give much attention to the distinction between stupidity and enlightenment, holiness or vulgarity. He consequently seeks the essential nature of those who doesn’t engage in the way of practice. If he notices any good feature he absorbs it for himself. As for himself, if he is found to be at some place or some situation, or one’s mind is entangled, he releases it in order to establish relationship; at the same time one approaches and help him for him to be happy and enjoyable. Such a behavior is known, as “one who approaches the vulgarity does not lose holiness”. If practitioner does not carry out the previous teaching and nourishes the dream of saint and monk. When he meets with hindrance and becomes reluctant, such a state draws a practitioner into dreams and he does not find out the truth of life. Practitioners are introduced into a calm isolation place. The first point he engages in the fairy path, the second he doesn’t engage in the second vehicle practice way exhaustively. The bodhisattva needs mental power to correct his characters and merits, which match with other living creatures. That’s why the bodhisattva is fully aware of essential nature and absorbs practice attestation of no-birth patient dharma. Bodhisattva conduct is fully aware of how ignorance is formed, hindrance of individual natures not in conformity give birth to ignorance, if they match, one is fully integrated and clear-minded, one doesn’t mind separation at all. When a patrician engages in meditation, the nature-supporting body and mind varies along with his nature. At that point one enters authentic concentration, if they do not match, one cannot enter authentic concentration. Those are sincere words of this tathagata meditation volume. In the lucky kalpa middle time, meditation practitioners take up the target of dissolving hindrances as the basis of the progress; engage in six recon ciliated monks as a gauge. In that time, the patriarchs often said: stupidity is derived from dharmas, one steps into dharmas to practice; one being fully aware of dharma is enlightened. Exactly as: stepping on thorn, one should take thorn to pull it out. As for meditation sect, from the intellectual point of view, practitioners should apply one’s profit and another’s profit; one will obtains profit from one’s practice. As such, one should initiate requisition of enlightenment mind. Such a vote is not outside confidence-conduct-vow along with morality – concentration - wisdom. Why is confidence-conduct-vow in parallel with morality-concentration-wisdom? with mind practicing, it will lead to enlightenment. With conduct practicing, it will lead to life-saving. As one initiates vow, one is fully enlightened. Three fundamental targets, all practitioners should apply so that they will engage in authentic practice to obtain authentic attestation. Confidence-conduct-vow is a useful practice attestation dharma subject. Why? Because the more fervent a practitioner is, the greater the awareness and understanding is. The nobler and more up orientating morality the patricians promote, the more confidence and esteem monks and nuns have. As a matter of fact, confidence-conduct is the original-vow of the bodhisattva, serving unique vow. Once practitioners engage in confidence-conduct-vow practice, they already practice morality-concentration-wisdom. Because confidence- conduct-vow implies morality-concentration-wisdom. It does not mean practicing wisdom. morality-concentration-wisdom Why? As practitioners preserve to be and morality-concentrationrespect confident-mind, confident-mind includes orientated unique mind that is true-enlightenment concentrated mind. Patricians practice conduct, which is noble, and serious, naturally it lies within morality. There are three regulations of three practiceattestation fields. WHAT ARE THREE REGULATIONS OF PRACTICE ATTESTATION FIELD? First Regulation: five regulations, ten goodness, good faculty, blessedgoodness are known as ethics-school-regulation. Second Regulation: to be careful not to undermine the religion, not to consider everything around one to be non-confident that ends Buddha’s cause. Not to insult Buddha’s practitioners who can abandons practicing. Not to deceive practitioners, who may have doubt about Buddha teaching known as three-world regulation. Third Regulation: one-conduct regulation, this regulation is known as fully attested Buddha-regulation. As practitioners apply confidence-vow and morality-concentration that means corresponding wisdom-vow. As such one states confidence-conduct-vow and morality-concentration- wisdom, which are rhythmical and corresponding. Practitioners and faith disciples: Buddhism is just a wonderful canon and purpose, which persist at the enlightened conscious mind at each level; it solves birth-death-sickness-old-misery resolutely. At any time, Buddhism is the highest civilized religion. He who can dissolve stupidity and destroys hindrance and practice in conformity with the true nature, including clear mind and nature perceiving can admit the previous statement is true. Practitioners and faithful mind believers! When you initiate requisition of enlightenment practice from apparition sect, tantrism sect, meditation sect, western pure land sect, which are not outside self-abandonment, dissolving doubt-attachment and relying on no-self to practice true-self to be fully enlightened. Such is true practice, span of self-life practice, on account of a negligible cause, which makes faithful practitioners doubtful, and reluctant to abandon practice, it’s wasteful. Not only bring true enlightment to practitioners stated in this tathagata meditation volume, it also demonstrates the true nature, essential nature and meditation nature, pertaining to the unique constitution. Faithful mind patricians! The reason of stupidity is not to be aware of changed nature or know how to change patricians and faithful disciples, therefore, should endure reluctance and mutual opposition. If one is fully aware of it and knows how to utilize it, patricians and faithful disciples will acquire dharma nature. Once being aware of dharma nature, one will acquire dharmas of Samadhi supernatural knowledge and innumerable ten thousands of Buddha along with heavens, deities, saints and pure lands all are perfect to the utmost. Practitioners and faithful believers. Don’t practice meditation when you work or when you are free to initiate wrong expectation or expect meditation, which enables one to meet fairies, deities along with the reason of dream and expectation in order to know, to come, to obtain. The knowledge, the destination, the acquirement are all false, dreamy, confused. They are not useful to practitioners and faithful believers. It only steers you in the wrong direction. I only wish that practitioners and faithful believers corrected the behaviors and treat others as they want be treated with utmost respect. May they dissolve stupidity every day and their intelligence be widened. May they initiate the great vow of true application? True practice, one reaches invariable true attestation. Faithful believers and practitioners! Everyone build houses with bricks, mortal, wood and others, he does not built houses with dream and reflection. Dreams and reflections are only knowledge, they are needed to study, analyze and conclude whether the enterprises are appropriate. The same statement applies to meditation patricians and faithful believers should use labor to obtain merits, virtue, when one meets with hindrance, one use intelligence to dissolve in order to be aware, that is: Virtue and intelligence match original intuition The document is complete on 26-6-1976. Nha Trang Central Superior Congregation. Pure King Blessed One