We will continue our class on the many evil and erroneous views commonly held within Buddhism concerning just who is a holy person on September 6, 2020 at 2:00 pm and hold as many sessions as we need to investigate what H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III has taught us about this matter. We will continue to use the “Seven-Dharmas System” for this series of classes. CLICK for rules and how we will hold debates and reflection sessions after we complete our discussion of these teachings. If you wish to participate in the debates, please let me know asap. You may ask as many questions as you like after others have their turns. I will tell you who else has signed up for the debates so you can determine who you would like to ask your questions.
CLICK for the reading I gave at today’s class with links to related charts. You should study the dharma discourses given below on each of the views we are considering.
If you have not already done so, CLICK to register for Dharma Class on Five Evil and Sixteen Erroneous Views concerning Holy Beings starting September 6, 2020 at 2:00 pm Pacific Daylight Time.
[To see the start time in your timezone, use this timezone converter. On the right hand side put the start time (2:00 PM) and “Pacific Daylight Time” in the two boxes. The left top box should show the start time in your local timezone.]
The following views are taken from a preliminary draft of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha’s Supreme and Unsurpassable Mahamudra of Liberation. They are followed by brief dharma discourses given by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III on each of these views.
Evil View #14 THE VIEW THAT REGARDS AS A BODHISATTVA SOMEONE WHO DOES NOT ACT OUT OF GREATLY COMPASSIONATE BODHICITTA: Within society, there are various kinds of dharma kings, rinpoches, masters, and great dharma teachers. Some of them do not have bodhicitta and do not act out of bodhicitta. However, certain publicity portrays them as great Bodhisattvas. In reality, they are false people of holy virtue. Therefore, one who does not have bodhicitta of great compassion is not a Bodhisattva no matter what status he may have. The view that regards as a Bodhisattva this type of person who does not act out of greatly compassionate bodhicitta is an evil view.
Evil View #18: THE VIEW THAT FAMOUS LAMAS OR FAMOUS MONKS ARE DEFINITELY PEOPLE OF GREAT HOLINESS AND VIRTUE: Whenever those with this view meet a famous lama or famous monk, they conclude that he is as a holy monk or a person of great holiness and virtue. What is meant by the terms famous lama or famous monk? They are a type of eminent monastic who has great fame or who is regarded around the world as being amazing. Those with this view conclude that such monastics are people of great holiness and virtue. In reality, such monastics might be people of holy virtue, and they also might not be people of holy virtue. There are even some extremely famous dharma kings of Buddhism who actually are ordinary beings.
Evil View #23: THE VIEW OF BELIEVING IN SOMEONE’S POSITION AND STATUS RATHER THAN THE DEFINITIVE TRUTH: There are some great dharma kings, great rinpoches, and great dharma masters whose positions are quite high. They can even be ranked as first or second class great dharma kings, great rinpoches, or great dharma masters. When we hear them mistakenly expound the dharma, we do not apply the correct and definitive truth to recognize such mistakes, and we do not apply Buddha-dharma principles to judge whether their words are correct. We think that the dharma they expound must be correct simply because they have the status of a great dharma king or some other position. Such a view is an evil view.
Evil View #24: THE VIEW THAT LIVING BEINGS WERE BUDDHAS WHO LATER DEVOLVED INTO LIVING BEINGS: There are some people who frequently describe living beings as Buddhas. They say that in beginning-less time living beings were once Buddhas but later devolved into living beings due to the arising of ignorance and defilements. This is an evil doctrine expressed by those who do not understand Buddha-dharma. Living beings have always been living beings and since beginning-less time have never been Buddhas. Living beings are surrounded by karmic hindrances, such as the sufferings of birth, aging, sickness, and death. However, all living beings possess Buddha-nature. They can become Buddhas through learning Buddhism, cultivating themselves, and practicing according to the dharma. You must understand that living beings definitely did not devolve from Buddhas into living beings. Living beings are living beings. There is no such thing as Buddhas devolving into living beings. If Buddhas could devolve into living beings, then when would Sakyamuni Buddha devolve into a living being?
Evil View #28: THE VIEW THAT A MASTER WHO LEARNED A GREAT DHARMA IS DEFINITELY A PERSON OF GREAT HOLINESS: Some people think that because a certain master received a great initiation or learned a great dharma, he must be a person of great holiness. That is incorrect. If you have such a view, you have fallen into evil ways. A master who learned a great dharma has not necessarily succeeded in his practice of that great dharma. A master who learned a great dharma does not necessarily abide by the precepts according to the dharma. You must determine whether this master follows any of these 128 evil and erroneous views. Therefore, you should not think that someone who learned a great dharma is definitely a person of great holiness. One becomes a person of great holiness through one’s own concrete cultivation.
Erroneous View #21: THE VIEW THAT ONE WHO SUCCEEDS TO THE POSITION OF HEAD OF A HUGE TEMPLE IS DEFINITELY A PERSON OF HOLY VIRTUE: Some temples are very big. Once someone succeeds to the highest position of such a temple, everyone thinks that this successor is definitely a holy one. That is not true! Remember what I say here. The successor to the position of head of a huge temple is not necessarily a holy person. He might be a holy person. He also might be an ordinary person rather than a holy person. Everything must be based on the definitive truth, not on anything other than the definitive truth.
Erroneous View #22: THE VIEW THAT A SMALL TEMPLE HAS NO EMINENT MONASTICS: When those with this view see a very small temple with only two monks, they ask how such a temple could possibly have any eminent monk in it. To them, that is impossible. Such a view is likewise erroneous. A small temple might also have eminent monastics. Whether someone is an eminent monastic is not determined by the size of the temple he resides in or by his particular linage. If his cultivation, accomplishment, and realization are great, then he is an eminent monastic. Ordinary people do not know about the dharma lineage of some eminent monastics because those true eminent monastics do not boast and praise themselves out of attachment to self. They do not reveal themselves. Take, for example, the question of where Kaichu Rinpoche learned his true tummo powers. Ordinary people have no way of knowing the lineage from which he received such Buddha-dharma. They still do not know.
Erroneous View #25: THE VIEW THAT ONE WHO HAS NUMEROUS DISCIPLES IS A HOLY AND VIRTUOUS PERSON: When those with this view see that someone has a large number of disciples, such as over one hundred thousand, over a million, or three or four million, they think, “That is amazing. He is a person of great holiness!” Such a view is wrong. No matter how numerous his disciples may be, he might still not be a holy one. Among those with numerous disciples, there indeed are people of great holiness. One of them is H.H. Dharma King Dodrupchen IV Thupten Trinle Palzang, who is the incarnation of Guru Padmasambhava. Therefore, you must remember to be very careful. The pervasiveness of one’s fame does not reflect the nature of one’s holy realization. I know three people of great holiness and virtue who have holy realization. One of them has a few disciples who are rinpoches, and the other two have never had any disciples. However, among those false dharma kings, false rinpoches, and false great dharma masters who have over a million disciples and who speak hollow theories, which one has attained the high realization and great accomplishment that those three have attained? They are not even close to the level of those three. Therefore, it is wrong to determine that someone is a holy person based on the number of disciples he has.
Erroneous View #26: THE VIEW THAT IT IS ACCEPTABLE TO REGARD SOMEONE WHO HAS NO HOLY REALIZATION AND BODHICITTA AS BEING A TRUE HOLY PERSON: Some people have neither holy realization nor bodhicitta. However, their dharma speeches attract listeners and are pleasant to hear. Moreover, because worldlings do not understand the sutras and treatises, they misjudge such people. All of these result in such people being regarded as true holy ones. This is wrong. A true holy one must have holy realization. He must also have bodhicitta. Neither of the two can be missing.
Erroneous View #35: THE VIEW THAT ONE WHO DOES GOOD DEEDS AND GIVES TO OTHERS IS DEFINITELY AN EMINENT MONASTIC OR GREATLY VIRTUOUS PERSON: When those with this view see someone who is regarded as an eminent monastic or greatly virtuous person doing good deeds and giving generously to others, they think that since he is so kind and likes to help others, he definitely is an eminent monastic or greatly virtuous one and he definitely is a holy person. However, they do not consider whether he understands the sutras, whether he follows evil and erroneous views, or whether he possesses holy dharma. This is wrong.
Erroneous View #37: THE VIEW THAT THE FIVE VIDYAS CAN BE ATTAINED BY THOSE WHO ARE NOT BODHISATTVAS [Already studied]: The sutras say that the Five Vidyas are attained by Bodhisattvas. However, some people say that Bodhisattvas are not necessarily proficient in the Five Vidyas. A question must be posed to those people about the truth. Are Bodhisattvas inferior to ordinary people? All great Bodhisattvas must be proficient in the Five Vidyas. If the wisdom of a so-called Bodhisattva does not even surpass that of ordinary people, he must be a false Bodhisattva, or at the very least he is not a great Bodhisattva. Think about it and you will understand. How can having wisdom power inferior to that of ordinary people possibly show that the composition of his body, speech and mind is that of a Bodhisattva who possesses holy wisdom power?
Erroneous View #40: THE VIEW THAT IT IS ACCEPTABLE TO PRAISE OR BOAST OF ONESELF AS A VIRTUOUS PERSON, HOLY PERSON, OR MODEL FOR OTHERS: One with this view praises or boasts of himself as being a moral and holy person. Following this view includes you yourself acting like that or approving others acting like that. Anyone who boasts of himself as a virtuous person, holy person, or model for others is definitely an ordinary person who is acting incorrectly.
Erroneous View #46: THE VIEW OF BELIEVING IN SOMEONE WHO TALKS OF HIS WONDROUS FEATS AND SPEAKS HOLLOW THEORIES ABOUT THE DHARMA WITHOUT TESTING HIS VAJRA POWERS: Many people like to talk about their wondrous feats. They often say things like, “Look at the Buddha light that appeared while I was practicing a dharma here,” or “Look at the mist that appeared all around while I was practicing a dharma here,” or “Look at those mountain deities who began prostrating while I was practicing a dharma here,” or “You can see that all of the leaves on that tree fell while I was practicing a dharma here,” or “You can see that nectar fell from that tree while I was practicing a dharma here.” In reality, it was just rain drops that fell. They may talk about a rainbow in the sky or other such things. All such phenomena are just illusory. All such talk is unreal, false, and part of this erroneous view. Those people talk about their seemingly wondrous feats and speak hollow theories about the dharma. They talk about hollow theories in a convincing, logical, and impressive way. Listeners who are not experts do not understand anyway. Those listeners would not be able to differentiate what is true and what is false even if there were a lot of mistakes throughout the entire speech. The goal of masters who act like this is collecting offerings of money. However, those who make offerings do not know that they should test the vajra powers of those masters. If such a master wants your offerings, you must first test his vajra powers! How is he qualified to accept offerings if he does not meet the qualifications of a master? The highest test of vajra powers is forming a mandala telekinetically through the blockage of a boulder. Next highest are the three divisions of vajra powers. I am ashamed that I do not have vajra powers. That is why I do not accept offerings. In The Supreme and Unsurpassable Mahamudra of Liberation, you will see the entire six divisions of tests to confirm the qualifications of masters. Those tests are mandatory and may not be changed! I will not elaborate more on this now.
Erroneous View #58: THE VIEW THAT REGARDS ONE WHO IS MEDIOCRE IN THE FIVE VIDYAS AS A PERSON OF GREAT HOLINESS AND VIRTUE [Already studied]: Although someone is mediocre in the Five Vidyas, some people still say that he is a person of great holiness and virtue because he is very good in certain aspects. This is wrong. You must understand that a person of great holiness and virtue is a great Bodhisattva. There are only very few of them on earth. Think about it. Can one with the wisdom of a great Bodhisattva have only mediocre abilities in the Five Vidyas? Could such a person be inferior to worldlings? A great Bodhisattva has tremendous wisdom. Manifesting the worldly Five Vidyas is an insignificant skill as far as a great Bodhisattva is concerned. Therefore, regarding one who is mediocre in the Five Vidyas as a great Bodhisattva or a person of great holiness and virtue is an erroneous view.
Erroneous View #69: THE VIEW THAT ONE WHO EXPOUNDS THE DHARMA IN A GENTLE VOICE IS DEFINITELY A BODHISATTVA: Those with this view think that people who expound dharma in a very gentle voice and whose tone of voice is very compassionate are definitely Bodhisattvas. You should bear in mind that some people put on an act by purposefully changing their voice to make it sound soft and compassionate. Many people are deceived upon hearing their voices and regard them as incarnations of Bodhisattvas. Actually, they are just purposefully assuming a mysterious air by pretending to be compassionate. All of the dharma they expound is heresy rather than the definitive truth and goes against the teachings of the sutras. Therefore, you should not think that one who expounds the dharma in a gentle voice is definitely a Bodhisattva. Whether one speaks in a gentle voice or loud voice is not determinative of whether he is or is not a Bodhisattva. Whether one is a true or false Bodhisattva is determined according to the principles of the Buddha-dharma.
Erroneous View #70: THE VIEW THAT USING THE VAJRA VOICE TO EXPOUND DHARMA AND ELIMINATE KARMIC HINDRANCES IS NOT COMPASSIONATE: Those with this view think it is not compassionate to give a discourse on the dharma in which the vajra voice is used to severely reprimand, criticize, and wake up ignorant and stubborn living beings. This is an erroneous view. Some living beings can only be woken up by being seriously scolded in the vajra voice. Otherwise, they will continue in their confused ways. This use of the vajra voice is not uncompassionate. Rather, it is an act of true great compassion. Whether an act benefits living beings or not is the basis for determining whether that act is in essence compassionate or not.
Erroneous View #71: THE VIEW THAT ONE WHO USES THE VAJRA FORM OF BODHI CONDUCT TO BENEFIT OTHERS IS NOT ONE OF HOLY VIRTUE: Bodhi conduct is manifested through a compassionate face and loving expressions. On the other hand, vajra conduct is manifested through severe reprimands and punishments. It is manifested by using fierce dharma. It is a completely erroneous view to think that those who use the vajra form of bodhi conduct to teach and transform living beings are not holy ones. That is because Buddhas engage in various kinds of deeds and manifest in various forms. For example, Kuan Yin Bodhisattva manifested as Truton, the most powerful king of the evil spirits in the hell realm. Truton tore evil spirits into pieces and ate them. In this way, Truton taught and transformed countless evil spirits. In reality, he acted out of the greatest compassion, for he used such skillful means to raise those evil spirits to higher realms of existence. In esoteric Buddhism, there are many vajra Bodhisattvas whose appearance is very ferocious. Actually, they benefit living beings out of the greatest compassion. Take, for example, the dharma-protecting deity Ruonama, who is a very formidable golden king of great power. He is the highest overlord of ghosts, but he also possesses holy powers and has the realization of a holy one. Other examples are the dharma-protecting deity Rehula and the dharma- protecting deity Ekajati, both of whom look extremely fierce. Many people are frightened when they see such an image. They think, “How could they be holy ones? They are not compassionate at all. How frightening!” That is wrong. They are masters of great compassion who benefit living beings. It is just that their methods are different from those used by most others. Therefore, the view that one who uses the vajra form of bodhi conduct to benefit others is not one of holy virtue is an erroneous view.
Erroneous View #75: THE VIEW THAT ONE WHO HOLDS A RECOGNITION CERTIFICATE ISSUED BY A GREAT DHARMA KING IS DEFINITELY A PERSON OF TRUE HOLINESS: Suppose a certain great dharma king wrote a recognition certificate for someone, or two dharma kings wrote a recognition certificate for that person. Those with this erroneous view would think that such person is surely a true holy one. Such thinking is incorrect. It must be determined whether it is a recognition in the highest sense or a recognition in the worldly sense. It must be determined whether the method used to recognize was observing a lake, divination, figure creation from hitting water, spinning a pill made out of roasted barley flour, or some other method. Recognitions in the worldly sense may be accurate, and they also may deviate from the truth. Therefore, a recognition in the worldly sense cannot conclusively determine that the person recognized is a holy person. It also cannot conclusively determine that the person recognized is not a holy person. Even if the recognition was made in accordance with the dharma, we still need to see whether the person recognized follows these 128 evil and erroneous views. On the other hand, one who does not follow these 128 views in his practice and thereby does not violate the standards of these views is undoubtedly a true person of holy virtue even if he does not have a recognition certificate.
Erroneous View #82: THE VIEW THAT ONE TRAINED AT A FAMOUS TEMPLE IS DEFINITELY AN EMINENT MONASTIC: Those with this view think that if someone is from a large temple with one thousand or even several thousand monastics living in it, he definitely is an eminent monastic. They think that someone with the title of narenpa geshe who won first place in his sutra debates is certainly an eminent monastic. This is wrong. I tell you that this person is not necessarily an eminent monastic. He could even be a bad guy, scoundrel, or swindler. One becomes an eminent monastic through cultivating oneself and realizing the definitive truth. You will not be able to determine whether one is an eminent monastic by simply looking to what temple he comes from.
Erroneous View #83: THE VIEW THAT ONE WHO LEARNED UNDER MANY MASTERS IS DEFINITELY A HOLY PERSON: There are those who learned under many masters. They received more than one thousand initiations and formally acknowledged one or two hundred people as their masters. They claim to have practiced tummo concentration dharma, Kalachakra dharma, and Great Perfection dharma. Moreover, they say that they entered the highest division of Kalachakra by successfully practicing the Vajra Substitute Body Meditation. You hear this and think that such people are definitely eminent monastics. You are so confused! You just believe what you hear and do not follow the definitive truth. Did you verify through a scientific examination that the crown of their head is open? Can their consciousness leave and return to their body at will? Without verification, you cannot draw the conclusion that they are accomplished practitioners of the Vajra Substitute Body Meditation. Why is that? The reason is very simple. Whether someone is an eminent monastic or not depends upon his own cultivation and practice. If one’s cultivation and practice are not good, how many masters he formally acknowledged means nothing. Therefore, it is wrong to think that if someone learned under many masters he must be an eminent monastic or holy person.
Erroneous View #84: THE VIEW THAT THE SPIRITUAL FOUNDATION OF FEMALES IS NOT AS GOOD AS THAT OF MALES: Those with this view think that the spiritual foundation of females is not as good as that of males. They think that males have better spiritual capacity. This is an erroneous view. Those with a good spiritual foundation can be found among both males and females.
Add comment