Many people who sincerely devote themselves to Buddhist practice have been deceived by fake Buddhism. There are too many fake saints in the Buddhist world today. Some grand living Buddhas, great dharma kings, and masters all claim to be great saints who can fly and transform into rainbows, but in reality, they are not. Over the years, these so-called masters have not demonstrated any supernatural abilities or the ability to transform spirituality into material wealth. They are not even qualified to carry the shoes of a true master. These fake saints have deceived practitioners and there are even people standing outside the threshold of Buddhism claiming to be experts. For example, there are several fraudsters recently, such as a person named Li Yanxin who lives in Jinmen, Taiwan. He is completely ignorant and foolish, not even knowing the meditation practice recognized by the Buddha. He dares to deceive teachers and distort the practice of meditation, attempting to use it as a means to deceive people. He is full of negative karma and wrong views, and is pitifully naive! He is simply a fraud. The International World Buddhist Headquarters officially invites him to take the holy virtue examination today. We don't require him to achieve a high score, as long as he can pass the first level of the examination, I will publicly apologize to the world. If he dares not take the examination, he is a fraud because he shamelessly claims to be able to modify the Buddha's meditation practice. We ask him: Where are the five wisdoms? Where is the esoteric teaching? He is truly a shameless ordinary person! Anyone who associates with such a person will share in his negative karma and will definitely fall into the hell of Avici. In today's world, we see Buddhists being deceived by all kinds of unscrupulous people. Our organization feels ashamed but powerless to change the situation. We can only fulfill our responsibility and duty by doing some beneficial Buddhist work, helping everyone to see the true nature of these supposed holy masters, so that those who seek to study and practice Buddhism will not be deceived. That is why we have established the system of the holy virtue examination. Everything is done to prevent falsehood and promote truth, without any selfish interests. The Chairman of our organization, the two-star Sun and Moon Wheel Great Saint Virtue Lutongzan Dharma King, said, "When I came to this world, due to my poor qualifications and shallow cultivation, I knew I was not qualified to accept disciples. I only accepted one student during the holy virtue examination. This is the only one in my life. I want to spend my time on practicing and studying the Dharma. Life and death are important matters, and I dare not be negligent. When I truly become a bodhisattva, I will do my best to benefit all sentient beings."
Some people think that holy virtue is too simple, but it is not as simple as ordinary people imagine. "Venerable, great dharma king, grand living Buddha, great master, having a lineage and a great reputation means being a saint and truly understanding Buddhism." This is really absurd. It is not easy to achieve the level of a blue button in the holy virtue examination. It is already very difficult to find one out of a hundred thousand dharma kings, living Buddhas, and masters who can pass both categories of examination. It is even more impossible to pass all three categories. Now there are some people who are ignorant and help their evil teachers deceive others. They boast about their masters being great bodhisattvas. Have you ever thought about it? Even if your master can pass one category, it is not enough to have the level of a great bodhisattva, let alone him. He is far from it, right? Take a careful look at how many criteria he has passed among the three categories. Check and see which criteria he has passed and what his strengths are. Is he qualified to be a disciple of the arhat? What kind of bodhisattva is he? How many levels of the golden button has he achieved? Is he qualified to give teachings? What will happen if you listen to his teachings or read his writings? It is not easy to find a guru at the level of an arhat, let alone a bodhisattva!
The Third Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, who is worried about practitioners being deceived, has been reminding everyone in recent years, saying, "Any teachings that are not given by a three-star Sun and Moon Wheel Great Saint Virtue will definitely be seriously wrong and have distorted views. The Buddhist world is already in chaos. Fake saints and fraudsters are everywhere, pretending to have lineages and using the banner of transmission, but they don't understand the fundamental teachings, principles, and practices of Buddhism. They are not true Buddhist teachings! They even deceive the public while claiming to be saints. Your examination is a way to help people distinguish between good and bad. It is a virtuous act that benefits the public. You should focus on not doing evil and doing good, and not waste time on magical and strange things. Even if you can fly in the sky, it will only waste time and cannot liberate you from birth and death. Is it more useful than an airplane? An airplane can carry hundreds of people! The essence of liberation lies in the two main practices of the Mahamudra and the Great Seal. You should study the true meaning of the Heart Sutra. Do what is beneficial to sentient beings and stay away from what is not. Human life is precious. No matter what situation or personal attacks and slanders you face, do not hold grudges. If you cannot let go, then endure it forcefully. Remember not to leave behind a bad, negative, and dark mentality and actions in this world. When you leave this world, everything will be bright. Only then can you be worthy of yourself and sentient beings." The teachings and blessings of the Third Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo are priceless treasures to us!
Anyone who claims to be a holy virtue must pass the examination to prove that they are truly a holy virtue. They must also meet the requirements of the holy virtue star wheel rank to be qualified to wear the holy virtue robe and be respected as a holy virtue by practitioners. Otherwise, claiming to be a holy virtue without daring to take the examination is deceiving practitioners and being a true fraud.
The holy virtue examination is divided into two categories: "common categories" and "uncommon categories." This involves an interview with the main examiner and invigilators, and the final result is determined by the divination of Manjushri Bodhisattva combined with the decision of the protector deity Kongque Mingwang. The "common categories" have three examination items: "Cultivation and Attainment," "Ethical Conduct and Virtues," and "Scriptural Studies and Discourse."
In the "Cultivation and Attainment" category, there are two main aspects: (1) the sequence of realizing the true nature and (2) the sequence of perfecting the realization. (1) The sequence of realizing the true nature has many criteria, such as the practitioner's realization of the nature of the Dharma, the practice they have cultivated, the level of realization they have attained, the level of meditation they have achieved, and the level of concentration they have attained. (2) The sequence of perfecting the realization also has multiple criteria, such as the practitioner's attainment of a certain transcendental state, the development of specific wisdom, the realization of the five wisdoms, the demonstration of their own achievements, their ability to perceive and transform spirituality into material wealth, and the external manifestation of their abilities.
In the "Ethical Conduct and Virtues" category, there are criteria such as kindness, righteousness, honesty, loyalty, compassion, selflessness, cultivation of the bodhisattva mind, diligent propagation of the Dharma, protection of the true teachings of the Buddha, and staying away from superstitions and feudal beliefs.
In the "Scriptural Studies and Discourse" category, practitioners are required to deeply study the twelve divisions of the Tripitaka, have a certain level of understanding, give teachings or write discourses, and determine whether their teachings and views are correct or wrong.
If someone has attained the level of an arhat or is a true bodhisattva returning to this world, they can directly apply for the "Diamond Dharma Robe" examination conducted by the Sun and Moon Wheel. Practitioners need to pass the "Diamond Dharma Robe" decision, but they must be aware that it is a risky move. If they submit false information in their application, it will not pass the examination. The examination results are determined by the decision of the "Diamond Dharma Robe" or the combination of the decision of the protector deity and the divination. There will be no mistakes in the examination results. The protector deities and the Dharma protectors will not make any mistakes in the cause and effect. I, as the presiding examiner and the examiner of the "Diamond Dharma Robe" examination for the International World Buddhist Headquarters, want to say to the practitioners taking the examination that no matter how famous you are as a venerable, great dharma king, grand living Buddha, great master, or an ordinary teacher, if what you report in your application is false, you will not pass the examination. The decision of the "Diamond Dharma Robe" or the decision of the protector deity combined with the divination is the result of the examination. It will not be mistaken. The great saints and protectors will not make any mistakes. I have prepared two couplets and a horizontal scroll to explain this. The first couplet is "If you are not qualified, don't dream of advancing to the next level." The second couplet is "Only report what you have achieved, don't try to add more." The horizontal scroll says, "The decision of the protector deity combined with the divination, the decision of the protector deity is not biased, the presiding examiner and the main teacher are responsible for their own cause and effect." This clearly states that the presiding examiner is not responsible for the cause and effect, but the protector deity is responsible for their own cause and effect. The presiding examiner knows that the protector deity understands that the presiding examiner has clearly stated that they are not responsible for the cause and effect, and the protector deity must be responsible for their own cause and effect. Therefore, the protector deity knows that the presiding examiner has understood and stated that they are not responsible for the cause and effect. The protector deity will not compromise for the sake of helping you. Therefore, it is very easy to pass the examination. You just need to do two things: write the truth in your application and meet the requirements of the cultivation, virtues, and scriptural studies. If you report false information and do not meet the level requirements, you will not pass the examination. This can be illustrated by the example of the "Diamond Dharma Robe" examination. If someone submits a photo of Shakyamuni Buddha and claims to be Shakyamuni Buddha in their application, they will definitely not be recognized as Shakyamuni Buddha. The reason is that Shakyamuni Buddha is a true Buddha. If someone submits a photo of Master Ji Gong and claims to be Ji Gong in their application, they will not be recognized because Ji Gong is a fake Buddha. Therefore, if Master Ji Gong wants to be recognized, he must be reported as a reincarnated living Buddha. Therefore, the person taking the examination should report the truth in their application based on their own confidence in which category and criteria they have realized. If you are not confident in your realization, do not report false information. Otherwise, you will be regarded as an evil person who knowingly violates the rules and insults the holy site, and you will be punished to warn the world.
After this announcement is issued, you will see that some people who usually boast and deceive others will be at a loss and will find various excuses to escape and avoid the examination. Those who usually claim to be great bodhisattvas, great saints, great dharma kings, grand living Buddhas, and great masters will become like mice on a beam. Why is this? Because they are fake and have been deceiving their disciples with lies. They are nothing more than worthless objects. How can they dare to enter the alchemical furnace? Their true nature will be revealed in the examination. Therefore, knowing that they have to take the examination, they will panic and try to hide and deceive for a while, but unfortunately, everyone knows the truth. If they dare not take the examination, they are fraudsters and ordinary people! There are also some people who have the status of holy virtue but still have the intention to deceive others. For example, they may pass the examination and achieve the level of a blue button, but because of their selfishness and greed, they will not wear the appropriate robe. Their only purpose is to claim a higher level of holy virtue to facilitate their fraud. Therefore, they do not wear the robe.
Please forgive us for our blunt words in this announcement, but this is the truth. If you are a true holy virtue, you have nothing to worry about. Even if you can only pass one criterion, it is honest and honorable. It is a moral action and can be a role model for others. If you are an evil teacher who deceives others or someone who has made exaggerated claims but cannot live up to them, you should immediately restrain yourself, sincerely repent, and stop deceiving others. Quickly become a good person who benefits others, cultivate true practice, and let everyone hear the teachings of the Buddha. In this lifetime, you will achieve success! Everyone will understand and forgive you as long as you change for the better. You will become a good teacher.
International World Buddhist Headquarters
April 7, 2015