Download Tathagata Meditation - phaptangmeditation.org

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