Recently, the American Esoteric Society requested the Office of the Third Dzogchen Rinpoche to provide an answer regarding the issue of Rinpoche playing his own recorded CD. Since this matter is of general concern, the Office of the Third Dzogchen Rinpoche is now forwarding its response to all organizations. In the future, similar questions will be handled in the same manner.
Office of the Third Dzogchen Rinpoche
June 16, 2010
Attached: Response from the Office of the Third Dzogchen Rinpoche to the American Esoteric Society.
American Esoteric Society:
Regarding your letter requesting that "Rinpoche wants to combine his self-produced Dharma audio with the audio of the Third Dzogchen Rinpoche and request that they have the same status," this is a very unfortunate and terrible statement. It is an act that lacks Buddhist rules, etiquette, morality, and goes against the principles of the Dharma. Not to mention the position of identity, just based on the five wisdoms, how many of these individuals have reached a world-class level? Why don't they present their five wisdoms and stand on an equal footing?
First of all, except for the Buddha and the extraordinary Bodhisattvas, anything that any Bodhisattva or Rinpoche speaks is not considered Dharma audio, but rather a discussion or debate. The CD recordings produced by this Rinpoche cannot be officially called Dharma audio because they have not been personally approved by the Third Dzogchen Rinpoche. It is inevitable that there will be numerous errors in the translation, let alone the fact that the content played by a Rinpoche (including the Dharma King, venerables, and teachers) is completely unqualified to be placed on the Dharma throne of the Buddha. Rinpoche can be divided into many levels, roughly speaking, there are those with realized qualities and those without realized qualities. Among those with realized qualities, there are three levels, divided into six categories of teachers. The highest level is the teacher of the path of supreme enlightenment, the second is the teacher of the middle ground path, and the third is the teacher of the master's path. The next level is the teacher without realized qualities, including great virtuous ones and spiritual friends. In addition, there are also great saints and saints who are different from the three categories of teachers, which means they possess the realization of saints, but not necessarily the qualifications of the middle ground path and the master's path, and definitely not the qualifications of the teacher of the path of supreme enlightenment. Even if it is a teacher of the path of supreme enlightenment, as long as they are not a Buddha, but an extraordinary Bodhisattva, they are not qualified to place their Dharma audio on the position of the Buddha. Just as no matter how high the position of a great Bodhisattva is, they are not qualified to sit on an equal footing with Shakyamuni Buddha. By extension, it can be understood that whether it is a Rinpoche, a Dharma King, a venerable, a teacher, or any institution, temple, dharma center, or place of hearing the Dharma, whenever it involves teachings, discussions, or instructions, it should be classified into one of the three categories of teachers and offered accordingly. If one does not understand this point, the disciple has wrong views, and the teacher is a mad demon of a chaotic world, an untrustworthy false teacher.
The English audio tape mentioned in your letter is an audio of the Third Dzogchen Rinpoche translated by another Rinpoche, but this content has not been approved by the Third Dzogchen Rinpoche, so it definitely contains errors in translation. Furthermore, the Rinpoche can only read it as a narrator, but in order to help everyone gain some benefit, this Rinpoche can share the audio recording he made with everyone. The voice on the recording belongs to a specific Rinpoche, and the tape should be placed on the Dharma throne of that Rinpoche. Not only for English translation, but for any language translation of the Dharma audio of the Third Dzogchen Rinpoche, such as Tibetan, Thai, Vietnamese, Filipino, French, German, Japanese, and even the written records of Chinese itself, as long as they have not been personally approved by the Third Dzogchen Rinpoche, they definitely contain errors. Even if there are one or two sentences that are incorrect in terms of meaning, they cannot represent the Dharma audio of the Third Dzogchen Rinpoche. In the future, any correct translation that has been personally approved by the Third Dzogchen Rinpoche will be marked with the words "approved by the Third Dzogchen Rinpoche" and will not be read by Rinpoche or the teachers, but will be read and recorded by professional narrators and released on CDs worldwide for everyone's respectful listening. This qualified audio recording should be placed on the Dharma throne of the Third Dzogchen Rinpoche and treated with the same respect as the Dharma audio of the Third Dzogchen Rinpoche. Therefore, any Rinpoche, Dharma King, venerable, teacher, or any organization, temple, dharma center, or place of hearing the Dharma, when encountering such matters, should handle them in this manner. Otherwise, they are ignorant of the Buddha's teachings, ignorant of the precepts, and people with wrong views, insulting the Buddha and going against him. If they do not repent, the disciples should not rely on them for study and practice. Everything is for the benefit of sentient beings and to enter the path of right knowledge and right view.
Office of the Third Dzogchen Rinpoche
June 16, 2010
https://www.hhdcb3office.org/html/information/statement_no9_2010_06_16.html