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Introduction This lecture aims to introduce the concept of the “Mandate of Heaven” and the validation of the Patriarchs “Mandate of Heaven” is another name for the will of God The reason that Tao is upon this world and people can began the process of Ascension is due to the “Mandate of Heaven” Introduction Another reason why God has mandated the Tao upon this world now is due to the Universal Season of the Autumn (the age of the White Sun) Maitreya Buddha (the Buddha of Abundance and Happiness) represents the spirit of Autumn, and thus was commissioned by God for the mission of the Great Salvation Introduction The mission entailed that Maitreya Buddha to retrieve 9.6 billion souls back to Heaven in the next 10,000 years With such a great mission, Maitreya Buddha needed the assistances of all the holy spirits as well as Buddha and Bodhisattva of all heavens Amongst the holy spirits are two very special spirits: Ji-Gong Living Buddha and Yue-Hui Bodhisattva Introduction Therefore, Maitreya Buddha, Ji-Gong Buddha and Yue-Hui Bodhisattva all reincarnated to the world as the Great Teacher, Father Teacher and Mother Teacher, respectively. They had reincarnated in the ShanGong Province of China and begun the mission of the Great Salvation (we will give detail explanations of their lives in tomorrow’s lecture) Introduction The scope of this lecture is to confirm and validate the Teachers’ Mandate of Heaven through the following: 1—The Lineage of Tao 2—Prophecies of Ancient Texts 3—Spirit Transmissions 4—The success of the Temple Communities The Lineage of Tao The Tao is not a modern Phenomenon or a new religion It has a lineage that dated back to the prehistoric era of China There were three eras throughout the tradition: Ancient Eastern era, Later Western era, and Later Eastern era We are at the end of the Later Eastern era of the lineage The Ancestry of Tao First Saint (initiator of I-Ching): Fu Xi (BCE 2952–2836). There were many myths regarding Fu Xi (and his goddess sister Nu Wa), but the spirits acknowledged him as the first to receive Tao and to have the Mandate of Heaven to lead the people Fu Xi with his sister, Goddess Nu wa The Ancestry of Tao The Second person to receive Tao and the Mandate of Heaven was another legendary ruler: Emperor Shen-Nong (~2800 B.C.) He was attributed to be the first to initiate Chinese Medicine— Herbology. Emperor Shen-nong The Lineage of Tao The third person to receive Tao and the Mandate of Heaven was the first recorded Chinese Emperor—the Yellow Emperor (~ 2697 BC to 2597 BC). He was the first to unite the various tribes in China and was attributed with many inventions (i.e. Silk, Compass, Agriculture, etc.). The Yellow Emperor “Huang Di” Ancient Chinese Tradition After the Yellow Emperor, the Tao remained with the Emperorship for many generations The following are the subsequent emperors (not direct descendants): “Shao Hao” “Z’wan Yu” Emperor “Ku” The Three Sage Emperors: “Yao, Shun & Yu” “Ye Yin” Ancient Chinese Tradition Emperor “Ye Yin” was the first to receive Tao and the Mandate of Heaven from his father (Emperor Yu)—this officially began the first dynasty of China: Xia Dynasty (2205 B.C. ~ 1766 B.C.) The Tao remained with the emperorship for the next 700 years until the Chou Dynasty Chou Dynasty (1045 BC ~ 256 BC) King Wu defeated the tyrannical Emperor Zhou’s army and forced Zhou to commit suicide. King Wu soon died of an unknown illness and the great responsibility of a new dynasty fell upon the shoulders of his younger brother Chou Gong Chou Gong Chou Dynasty (1045 BC ~ 256 BC) The Tao went to Chou Gong and he governed the new dynasty with great virtues and benevolence. Chou Gong managed the affairs of the dynasty until his nephew (King Wu’s son) became of age; Chou Gong then restored him to be the rightful emperor and retired to the nation of Lu. This marks the transition of Tao from rulers to the teachers (Tao was no longer a royal right). Tao Transition to the West The next teacher to manifest Tao was the greatest Taoist Teacher: Laotze (~500 B.C.) After conferring with Confucius, Laotze rode the water buffalo toward the West to initiate a king and was never seen again in China Laotze (~500 B.C.) Tao Transition to the West According to legend, Laotze reached India and initiated the Gautama Buddha to the Tao tradition. Buddhist legend revealed that when Prince Siddhārtha (the Buddha) visited the fourth gate of his capital, he saw a man with a golden radiance on a buffalo who began to instruct him on the way of immortality. This inspired the prince to leave his kingdom and eventually attained enlightenment and became the Buddha Tao Transition to the West Meanwhile, the next great teacher in China was Confucius (the Fourth and Final Saint of IChing). His teachings inspired subsequent generations of people and the emperors with his words of wisdom. Confucius (551 BC – 479 BC) Tao Transition to the West Confucius continued the Tao tradition in China and the Ancient Eastern Lineage was completed after three more generations of teachers: “Tseng Tse” (a disciple of Confucius) “Tse Xe” (Confucius’ grandson) Mencius (a disciple of “Tse Xe”) The Buddhist Tradition Gautama Buddha (563 BC to 483 BC) As the Ancient Eastern Lineage of Tao came to a close, the tradition of Tao continued with the Buddha. The Buddha amassed thousands of disciples during his life and thus began the Western Lineage of Tao. The Buddhist Tradition Gautama Buddha (563 BC to 483 BC) The Buddhist Tradition After the passing of the Buddha, the monks were inspired to gather and organize. The first Buddhist Council was formed 400 B.C. and Mahakasyapa (a major disciple of Buddha) was elected the first patriarch. The Tao remained with the patriarchs in India for twenty-eight generations, thus completing the Western Lineage. The Buddhist Tradition The list of twenty-eight Buddhist patriarchs are: (1)Mahakashyapa (2) Ananda (3) Shanavasa (4) Upagupta (5)Dhritaka (6) Mikkaka (7) Vasumitra (8) Buddhananda (9) Buddhamitra (10) Parshva (11) Punyayashas (12) Ashvaghosha (13) Kapimala (14) Nagarjuna The Buddhist Tradition The list of twenty-eight Buddhist patriarchs (continue): (15) Aryadeva (16) Rahulabhadra (17) Samghanandi (18) Samghayashas (19) Kumarata (20) Jayata (21) Vasubandhu (22) Manorhita (23) Haklenayashas (24) Aryasimha (25) Vasiasita (26) Punyamitra (27) Punyatara (28) *Bodhidharma Tao Returns to China Bodhidharma (440 – 528 AD) Bodhidharma was the last patriarch of the Western Lineage. He received the Divine Mandate to restore Tao to China. Legend has it that he walked all the way from India to China and crossed many rivers riding on a straw Bodhidharma (440 – 528 AD) Tao Returns to China There were many legendary tales surrounding Bodhidharma He was attributed to have taught the Shao-Lin monks their martial art (the world famous Shao-Lin Kung-Fu). He reinstated the Tao lineage back in China, thus begins the Later Eastern Lineage of Tao. The Zen (Chan) Tradition The First Six Patriarchs of Zen (Chan): (1) Bodhidharma (達摩): 440 – 528 AD (2) Huike (慧可): 487 – 593 AD (3) Sengcan (僧燦): ~ 600 AD (4) Daoxin (道信): 580 – 651 AD (5) Hongren (弘忍): 601 – 674 AD (6) Huineng (慧能): 638 – 713 AD Huineng (the Sixth Patriarch) was considered to be the one who glorified Zen (Chan) Buddhism in China Post Sixth Patriarch Era Huineng (638 – 713 AD) Bodhidharma had prophesized that Tao would enter a state of concealment after the Sixth Patriarch (he ordered a stop on the transmission of the sacred articles—robe and bowl) Huineng (638 – 713 AD) His mummified body is still in display today in Nan-Hwa Temple of China Tao Concealed Starting with the Seventh Patriarch, Tao went into a state of concealment. Only the destined few continued the Tao lineage and the public never heard of Tao in China during the next one thousand years. Despite inactivity, the patriarchs were instructed to wait for the coming of Maitreya Buddha. Tao Concealed The list of patriarchs since the Sixth are: (7) Dual patriarchs: “Bai Yu-Chan” & “Ma Duan-Yang” (8) “Lor Wei-Chun” (9) “Huang Der-Huai” (10) “Wu Xse-Shon” (11) “Her Liao-Ku” (12) “Yuan T’wai-Ang” (13) Dual patriarchs: “Shu Huan-Wu” & “Yang Huan-Xe” (14) “Yao Her-Tian” (15) “Wang Xi-Mong” (16) “Liu Ching-Xe” Thus ended the second age, the Age of the Red Sun The next era (the current era) is known as the Age of the White Sun. In this Era, the Tao is transitioned from the teachers to the people 17th Patriarch (Lu, Zhong-Yi) was the reincarnation of Maitreya Buddha 18th Patriarch and Matriarch (Zhang TianRan and Sun Hui-Ming) were the reincarnations of Ji-Gong Living Buddha and Yue-Hui Bodhisattva, respectively Salvation Managers The 17th and 18th Patriarchs The precious Tao was propagated to ordinary people at the end of 1800 . It was the beginning of the White Sun Era. The Prophecies There were many prophecies in the past, which revealed the coming of Tao Many of these prophecies also validate the 18th patriarchs’ Mandate of Heaven These prophecies confirms that Father Teacher and Mother Teacher are the true enlightened patriarchs of our time Prophecies from China An ancient stone tablet was found in Shan-Xi province of China containing the following verses: “Mother established Third Sun to restore Original Sons; returning emperor Xi as Tao’s origin. Arrival of Tai-Gong to teach the way of Kings; Peace come TianZhen to complete the cycle.” Prophecies from China The verse revealed that Tao is to arrive at the time of the White Sun Emperor Xi is referring to Fu-Xi, the first patriarch of Tao Tai-Gong is referring to ChouGong, the first patriarch of Tao, who was not an emperor The name “Tian Zhen”, which is the divine rank of Father Teacher, was to complete the lineage of Tao Prophecies from China Another ancient prophecy was found on an ancient dam of the Yellow River The text was incomprehensible at first, because it was not composed with ordinary Chinese writing arrangement of right to left It was later discovered that it had to be read from the center Prophecies from China The verse revealed Maitreya Buddha as the Buddha with the Mandate to restore all souls The verse revealed the name of Father Teacher as the one with the Mandate to glorify Tao The verse also revealed the name of Mother Teacher who was to continue the propagation of Tao after Father Teacher’s passing The word Messiah and Maitreya has the same meaning. The a Biblical Prophecies There are many verses in the Christian Bible that is referring to the Tao The Crucifixion of Christ is a powerful example of the Tao in the Bible There are also many examples in the Bible that gave confirmation to the Teacher’s Mandate of Heaven Biblical Prophecies “…but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear; he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost , and with fire:” (Mathew, 3, 11) Recall the Three Treasures ritual, it’s true baptism with fire and Holy Ghost The transmission of the First Treasure (The Center Light is the Light of God) and Part Two of the ritual (the summoning of holy spirits) Biblical Prophecies “Whose fan is in his hand and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner,” (Mathew, 3, 12) Teacher Ji-Gong Buddha is the only deity who carries a fan on his hand Teacher is to gather up the destined souls and restore them to Heaven I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending. This the validation of the third Treasure. Spirit Transmission During Dharma Meetings and other holy gatherings, holy spirits often visit the temple members through the Holy Medium These visitations brings divine messages from God and often gave specific instructions to members These spirit transmissions validate the Mandate of Heaven Success of Temple Communities It has only been 85 years since the 18th patriarchs received their Mandate of Heaven (1930) As of today, the Tao has flourished to over 80 nations and has over 10,000,000 Tao members This is truly the work of God and the holy spirits and a true validation to the Mandate Conclusion The Tao is upon the world because of the Mandate of Heaven Father Teacher and Mother Teacher are the current enlightened Patriarchs of Tao Tao lineage, ancient prophecies, holy spirit transmission and the success of the Tao communities are all confirmations of the Mandate of Heaven Questions? Comments? Opinions?