In response to several important issues raised by everyone and the serious misconceptions that have arisen from consultations, the office hereby announces the following:
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The Buddha teaches everyone about the law of cause and effect, urging us not to commit evil deeds and to practice virtuous actions. This is the ultimate reliance for the liberation of all sentient beings. Therefore, Shakyamuni Buddha and all Buddhas in the ten directions are the only masters of all Buddhists. Hence, they are referred to as "the root master Shakyamuni Buddha." Buddhists are disciples of the Buddha, while the term "disciple" is used for followers of other paths! We are fortunate to live in the era of the Third Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche. Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche and all Buddhas in the ten directions are the masters of all Buddhists! If someone were to say one day, "Since you have taken refuge in a spiritual teacher, there is no need to take refuge in the Buddha anymore," it indicates that this spiritual teacher has been invaded and contaminated by demonic influences. Therefore, their thoughts and actions are extremely evil, to the extent that they are ignorant of the fact that the Buddha is the fundamental teacher. When encountering such a teacher, disciples must choose another qualified master! The term "root master" is not applicable; the root is the Buddha, and all teachings are spoken by the Buddha, hence it is called the Buddha Dharma.
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Once again, it is clarified that the Third Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche is not a secret sect but a legitimate form of Buddhism, just like Shakyamuni Buddha. Moreover, the Third Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche opposes certain teachings of the secret sect, such as the "Fifty Verses of the Guru."
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All Buddhists are equal and have the autonomy to choose a specific guiding teacher to learn from. Any teacher must establish moral conduct and should not force or induce others to follow them. Otherwise, they are not good teachers.
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To determine whether views and understandings are correct or not, it must be based on the certainty of higher realization and not on lower realization. However, except for the Buddha and great Bodhisattvas, judgments are often not necessarily correct. Even if it is a Bodhisattva, they need to discern higher awakened Bodhisattvas, which will inevitably lead to mistakes. Therefore, Buddhists are repeatedly advised to rely on the Buddha's scriptures and teachings of the Third Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche as a guide, deeply study the scriptures, practices, precepts, and methods of Shakyamuni Buddha, which have been decisively determined to be flawless. As long as one falls into the 128 evil and erroneous views, it is definitely an evil bias, and that person has deviated from the right path.
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The Buddha Dharma belongs to the Buddha and is used to teach sentient beings with affinity, to establish moral conduct, increase merit and wisdom, and achieve liberation. Protecting the Dharma is the responsibility that every Buddhist disciple cannot ignore and is immeasurable in merit. Protecting the Dharma means protecting the Buddha's teachings, not the words of a particular spiritual teacher. Any spiritual teacher (including great saints) does not have their own teachings; the teachings they learn are the Buddha's teachings. If their views are biased and deviant, they are no longer a Buddhist teacher who follows the teachings. Why do many people fail to learn the Buddha's teachings? Why can't they receive the transmission of the great Dharma? It is because these people have not even understood the fundamentals. Think about it, which Buddha would recognize the views of disciples of other paths? If one's own thoughts and actions fall into evil, the decision will not pass. How can they talk about the arising of the causal conditions for learning the Dharma?
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As long as one learns the true Buddha Dharma and practices it in accordance with the teachings, one will definitely achieve complete liberation with perfect merit and wisdom.
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The Third Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche admonishes: As a Buddhist, one must be rooted in great compassion, refrain from committing evil deeds, and practice virtuous actions!
Office of the Third Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche
July 21, 2020
Source: https://www.hhdcb3office.org/html/information/announcement_no57_2020_07_21.html