Reply to the inquiry:
Regarding your inquiry about Venerable Zhizhuang, I'm not sure which Venerable Zhizhuang you are referring to. If you are referring to Venerable Zhizhuang who renounced the improper position as the Grinada United Nations Ambassador and became a monk with a letter of appointment, he is a bhikkhu who has received the Three Platform Precepts and should be respected by lay Buddhists. Our Holy Virtue Group has respectfully consulted His Holiness the Third Dzogchen Rinpoche for confirmation. The Buddha Master said, "Venerable Zhizhuang is the third-generation successor of the authentic Avalokitesvara Empowerment Dharma transmitted by Shizhengda Jiao Zun. The Avalokitesvara Empowerment Dharma he has been practicing so far belongs to the orthodox tradition and does not belong to the evil masters. The people who have received this empowerment are receiving the empowerment of the Dharma. As long as they refrain from doing evil and practice good, participating in this empowerment ceremony and benefiting sentient beings can receive blessings."
Our Holy Virtue Group must say that the purchase of temples is ultimately due to karmic relationships. However, a properly managed temple should be presided over by ordained individuals who follow the monastic rules, and laypeople assist in propagating the Dharma and benefiting sentient beings. This is meritorious and in accordance with the rules of the Namo Shakyamuni Buddha's Buddhism. Proper temples are managed by ordained bhikkhus or bhikkhunis. In short, if there are no ordained individuals locally, laypeople can temporarily manage the temple, but when qualified ordained individuals appear, they should be invited to preside over it. This is the institutional arrangement in the history of Buddhism, unless the layperson is a Jin Kou Holy Virtue or at least a sectarian Dharma King or a lay practitioner with profound cultivation. As for any extra expenses beyond daily living, offering them to Jin Kou Holy Virtue or ordained individuals who comply with the monastic rules for the construction of temples for the benefit of the public is unquestionably a cause of merit.
World Buddhist Headquarters Consultation Center
September 12, 2021