51 - The Supreme Being
teaches: I am grieved by the division among you.
Tây Ninh Holy See, the
5th day of the 5th month of the year Mậu Thìn (6-22-1928 )
Your Master is here!
Children, each of you
have chosen your own path. I am grieved by the disagreement among. I shall
leave you alone to decide how to be: virtuous or evil. If you are of a
determined and strong character, the Tao would be in harmony, and you shall
advance toward My presence; if you vacillate in your virtue, the road of
notoriety shall lead you to the abyss. Expending your strength on dividing
yourselves would simply exhaust you; you would have nothing left over to
uplift, support or counsel one another
The fair and just path
that can save living beings is the path of the Tao. The divine light is always
illuminating that path for you. It’s totally averse to Evil. Remember My words.
Do not neglect them, but instead contemplate them carefully in order to
understand.
What a disaster! Many
times you did not heed My words, and I was heartbroken to see you get lost.
Alas, such challenges must be put to profane minds!
(Ascension.)
(p. 163, Collection of
Selected Holy Messages, Book Two, 1972)
52 - The Supreme Being
teaches how to refine sugar in comparing sufferings to black sugar.
Holy See, the 11th day
of the 5th month of the year Mậu Thân ( 6/28/1928 )
H…, let me tell you how
to refine sugar. Do you know how to make black sugar into white?
(H…H… Master, I don’t
know).
Listen.
Pour black sugar into a
jar with a hole in the bottom until two-thirds full. Then fill the jar with mud
to the rim. Expose the jar to the sun for one week. When you remove the mud,
you will have sugar all sparkly white and delicious.
Your sufferings are
like this sugar*, My child. Do you know that I have wept as you do?
If I had not, how could
you be My child? Just remember that I love you; that would be enough. You
should not trade the love of the world for My discontentment; rather you should
suffer the hate of the world but deserve instead My love. What would you gain
if you meet with My discontentment?
C…, CH Take care of the meditation hall along with
your younger brothers.
T…, you have become
lazy!
C…, call your two older
brothers to attend the great corbeille à bec. Don’t let them continue to be
skeptical!
(Ascension.)
(p. 164, Collection of
Selected Holy Messages, Book Two, 1972)
*Comment from the
translator: the heart exposed to sufferings would be purified like the sugar
under the mud.
53 - Tiêu Sơn Taoist teaches:
Be cautious of your steps so that your efforts are not wasted.
The 4th day of the 6th month of the year Mậu Thân (
1928 )
You
are a ship aware of its own destiny,
A
soul tossed on tempest’s wave.
It’s
time to pray for God’s mercy,
As
one who recalls the blessings He gave.
Tiêu Sơn Taoist
The Tao has just passed through many difficulties;
however, it is still endangered. Be cautious of your steps so that your efforts
are not wasted.
Know yourself, know the Tao. Know the situation,
know the people; know the difference between good and evil, right and wrong, in
order to adjust your actions.
The Tao is not yet manifest because people still
lack virtue. Virtuous people lack clear vision. Intelligent people lack
godliness, modesty, sincerity. People on the whole still yearn for wealth and
honor.
Bustling upon the same road, pushing toward the
same destination, most fail to yield to one another. Those who are downtrodden
are accosted by others sure of their bearings; others rush forward without
heeding pitfalls. In this situation, nobody wins, no one is wiser, and the road
to Glory is deserted. Persons of evil hearts and stained souls are incapable of
guiding others on the right path. Do not count on the notorious as exemplars; better
to take account of yourself.
The followers of the Tao have witnessed dignitaries
engendering separation; this is the fruit of evil minds. The Hiệp Thiên Đài, a
miraculous and precious organization, has become useless because of the errors
of some dignitaries. No wonder the Tao is in turmoil! The Hiệp Thiên Đài is
supposed to be the foundation supporting the Tao but is no longer trustworthy,
dooming the Tao for the foreseeable future. The world has become a nonsensical
realm where might makes right. Be careful!
The Hiệp Thiên Đài is headed by the Supreme Being,
Who bears supreme judgment over all. The New Code is still deficient because
dignitaries from the Hiệp Thiên Đài do not themselves heed it. This chaotic
situation has resulted in the power of the Cửu Trùng Đài. You will receive more
instructions later. Many parts need clarification.
If you followers know your limits and keep
yourselves from defaming the Tao, you will hold its miraculous key in the
future.
Transgressions will receive judgment; good works
will be rewarded. Try to maintain your position. Try to understand Me.
(Ascension.)
(P 164-165,Collection of
Selected Holy Messages, Book Two, 1972)
54 - Chơn Cực Lão Sư teaches about
the destiny of the Tao.
7/18/1928
Chơn Cực Lão Sư (Taoist Master)
Greetings to followers:
You have listened to Holy Teachings regarding the
destiny of the Tao. Have you understood the forthright goal of the Tao? M.N.,
try to tell me.
It’s the administration. How about the goal? What
is cooperation for? What is brotherly love for? You understand, but not
profoundly.
You should know that before spreading the Tao to
foreign countries, you have to develop a secure connection with people of this
Southern country, to guide them out of this suffering world and create a
peaceful life. At that time, just like birds returning to their nests, and fish
to the streams, people will climb back upon the spiritual ladder.
As long as there is no concordance in the Tao,
people strive to control each other rather than show the way with a clear,
impassioned mind; the disciples remain greedy and base-willed, attracted by
honors and wealth. The Tao cannot
succeed under such circumstances, and none of you may find the way home to your
divine position. You disciples need to be selective in your choices to find
people with sincerity and determination to cooperate in building a common
house, so that sometime in the future you may enjoy the prosperity of the Tao,
rather than still subsisting on the physical plane, frantic in mind and spirit
all day with no time to think about the future of your souls.
The Tao is not a funeral home nor a market; nothing
is for sale here as you may have thought.
What a sadness! Some followers are as ungainly as a
newlywed stumbling blindly into the bridal chamber for the first time, both
mind and feet numb. Some untalented souls still battle with and denigrate each
other, only proving themselves inferior.
Out of love, the Supreme Being has sown seeds of
the Tao, to bring the lifeboat ashore for all people to sail to Nirvana. But how can one who cannot comprehend escape
drowning? The Tao deteriorates with the separation between people; though
gathered from many disparate places, you must finally reconcile the disparities
between yourselves.
M… N… Use rituals as instructed at the Cầu Kho’s
séance. Do not invent new ones
(Văn Pháp addressed….)
Indeed, but there is still insufficiency. You need
to abandon anything that is not useful save the music and the solemnity of the
rituals.
There is still deficiency in the music as well. The
music for greeting Superior Spirits should be different; musicians should dress
cleanly and purely, and musical pieces should be played in clear harmonies. You
should improve it.
You should not attend any temples where the rituals
differ from these instructions.
(Ascension.)
(p. 165-167 , Collection of
Selected Holy Messages, Book Two, 1972)
55 - The Supreme Being teaches: You would be awakened,
realize you have strayed, and return to the right path.
Cholon, July 28, 1928 (year Mậu Thìn)
Here is your Master,
children!
You have been without
My holy teachings for quite a while now. I felt your desire for Me to come back
to guide you. I am sad to see you children foundering in this mundane
existence.
Children, out of love,
I guide you like a father raising a child, watching them grow, expecting them
to mature into a great person, leaving their name to future generations. The
manifestation of the Tao greatly moves My authority, My honor, even My
position. I am glad in your success, sad in your failure, and I suffer when you
suffer. In this world, both contentment and repentance are like rivers and
mountains that I created. They may merge, rivers into rice fields, mountains
into valleys and oceans, sadness into elation, fame into ignominy and scorn,
peace into disasters.
I have mercy for those
of you who dare to denounce your secular life, to follow Me to guide your
incredulous younger brothers and sisters. But alas, how cruel mortality! A
lowly insect may ruin a golden harvest; the men at the helm of karma can
founder even the Heavenly Lifeboat. I hope you may understand.
Children, the more I am
moved by your sincerity, your impartiality, and your modesty, the more I would
like to erase all cunning and treacherous people, who are always running after
honors and wealth, from the Earth. Alas! I have belabored myself over your
plight, hoping each of you would be awakened, realize you have strayed, and
step off your interminable paths to return to the right path and follow Me once
more. That would please Me most.
Tr…, Don’t fret! I have
pre-arranged an appropriate position for each of you. The disaster will soon be
over. Take comfort and be at peace so that I can rely upon you. Understand My
divine authority is reserved to guide all of you, not for its own sake. Be of
noble mind in order to bear the hardships which befall all beings.
Secular life is mundane
and rife with temporal attractions, but the Tao is eternal.
Weigh the true
importance of matters taking place in the illusory world; trust in Me. I have
arranged your life and your destiny.
Tr…, you understand?
Tr…, try to console
your spouse, and follow Lý Bạch‘s words. Those are two matters that I entrust
to you.
Blessings to you all.
(Ascension.)
(p. 167-168, Collection
of Selected Holy Messages, Book Two, 1972)
56 - The Supreme Being
teaches about the current situation of the Tao as a disease. Everyone likes to
enjoy personal sovereignty and to fight against you.
Cầu Nhiếm, the 19th of
the 6th month of the year Mậu Thìn (August 5, 1928)
Your Master is here,
children!
Tr…, Th…! You two have
dedicated your time to travel to spread the Tao, yet you don’t comprehend the
current situation of the Tao. The Tao presently is an undiagnosed patient at
the threshold of malignancy; without treatment, the malady expands from within,
unrecognized, with deadly power over the life of the patient.
You might think the Tao
has prospered, but there is internal poverty.
Consider the Sở dynasty trying to control the Tần dynasty; in the Sở
dynasty, people are divided behind an aura of external strength. If this
division is not rectified, the Sở dynasty will fall. Everyone likes to enjoy
personal sovereignty. No different for
spokesmen of the Tao, but they become like merchants battling merchants for
ownership of the goods! What is the reason for such a farce? They lack
self-regulatory skills, are arrogant and thirsty for high titles and honors,
and do not possess the necessary virtues to administer people, thus creating
animosity. You two should realize this weakness and find ways to create harmony
and cooperation between disciples so that they would look to the Holy See and
pray for blessings. Each of you has the responsibility to cease your own
hatred, correct your attitudes, rally educated persons to the cause, and lead
people to recognize the pricelessness of the Tao. In time, vacillation will
yield to surety, the few to the millions, and the guidance of disciples will
hold sway in the face of obstacles.
One day of delay in the
spreading of the Tao means one day of harm to the people. If each of you keeps
causing animosity among people, the Tao would become a farce, and when would
there be completion? When would the Tao be spread across the Earth?
If you still harbor
confusion within, how can you create harmony without? You are well aware that
since antiquity, anything going against people’s hearts would not last. The
practice of cooperation in peace should be the only practice to be applied to
the Tao.
The arrogant want only
to be served; they care not for the humble or modest among society. Such are
the kings who destroy their own kingdoms. Organizing a congregation is not much
different from organizing a country; in fact, your duty and responsibility are
greater and more difficult. You must correct yourself, and reconcile with
others so as to prevent the destruction of the Tao. Create harmony,
cooperation, solidarity and freedom among people. This would be the most
precious achievement ever.
Out of love for living
beings and empathy for all your striving, I have no heart to let the
congregation deteriorate, but if among you, no one takes the responsibility to
create harmony, then animosity between people would cause chaos, ruining My
efforts of guiding you since the beginning. Then would you drown in the ocean
of suffering evermore. If you won’t love one another, then the more numerous,
only the more turmoil, animosity, and disparities you would create, until you
all become totally useless. Understand!
I bless you all.
(Ascension.)
(p. 168-170, Collection
of Selected Holy Messages, Book Two, 1972)
57 - The Supreme Being
teaches about precept "Not to kill"
The Year of the Earth
Dragon (1928)
Children, your Master
proclaims:
DO NOT KILL LIVING
BEINGS!
I have told you that
when there was nothing in this universe, the cosmic ether gave birth only to
Me, and My throne is the universal monad. I divided the monad into the diad
which is Yin and Yang, and then into the tetrad and then into the eight
trigrams. The latter changes continuously to form the universe. I then divided
My spirit to create ten thousands things, constituting the elements, and
finally living things: plants, insects, animals and humans.
You should understand
that everything emanates out of My spirit; wherever there is life, there am I.
I am the progenitor of life. My love of life is unfathomable. Life is given
freely to all living beings out of My Being. I distribute life everywhere in
the universe. Life erupts like a flower from a tree: it develops from the bud
into bloom, and evolves to form fruit that seeds more trees ad infinitum. If
someone cuts that flower, the fruit of life is interrupted and future evolution
is prevented.
Each life has its own
Karmic plan. It does not matter whether it is an original or secondary living
being,* its life on this earth is divinely appointed. If you kill any living
being, you shall be punished; no one knows whether a living being may have been
an Immortal or a Buddha reincarnating to Earth. As I have said, all life is Me.
To destroy life is to attempt to destroy Me. And it is not easy to destroy Me.
Teach that to human beings.
(Ascension.)
* Original living
being: a living being whose spirit is directly coming from God's spirit.
Secondary living being:
a living being whose spirit is coming from the original living being. The
original living being may divide his/her spirit to form many living beings, who
are called secondary living beings.
(p. 170-171, Collection of Selected Holy
Messages, Book Two, 1972)
58 - The Supreme Being
teaches about precept "Not to steal"
The Year of the Earth
Dragon (1928)
Children, your Master
proclaims:
DO NOT STEAL.
Alas! When I created
you, I loved and respected you so profoundly, I sent you to this world with a
sacred body made in My own image, so that originally you did not need to eat in
order to live, or to make clothes to cover yourself.
However, you did not
listen to Me but were seduced by materials, tastes, sexuality, power and wealth,
which ultimately led to suffering in this world. I reserved enough wealth for
all of you to share, but because of greed, some of you took too much, leaving
others to suffer and hunger without sustenance.
I granted the same
powers to you that I granted to the Genies, Saints, Immortals, and Buddhas so
that you could discipline yourselves to respect and honor My saintly love of
life. Unfortunately, these powers have become a tool to treat other beings as
slaves. Alas! What a travesty! I am so disappointed! Do you know why people
become so dishonest and greedy?
The principal needs of
people are food and clothing--no one can avoid those needs. Unfortunately, many
people bicker for exclusivity over the distribution of these necessities, and
put their own needs above others’. They struggle for material goods beyond all
reason, stockpiling beyond all possible need, regaling in trickery and evil to
satisfy their cravings for material gain. And how do they acquire this power?
They bend the meek to their will until the power is betrothed to them to call
evil, good. The brutes acquire all, while the meek lose all. Thus society falls
into chaos. There is no justice as God's laws are no longer observed; this is
the cause of all suffering on Earth.
When dishonesty and
greed penetrate your heart, there is no room for virtue. When they penetrate
your home, there can be no moral teachings. When they penetrate your country,
there can be no honorable administration. When they penetrate the world, Genies
and Saints cannot arise.
Crime is the natural
outcome of dishonesty and greed; therefore, dishonesty and greed in the heart,
even unmanifest, are crimes against God’s laws.
(Ascension.)
( p. 171-172,
Collection of Selected Holy Messages, Book Two, 1972)
59 - The Supreme Being
teaches about precept "Not to be obscene"
Year of the Earth
Dragon (1928
Children, your Master
proclaims:
DO NOT BE OBSCENE.
Why is obscenity a
severe crime?
Ordinary people see the
physical body as a single unit. In reality, it is a mass of innumerable living
cells, assembled to form a body with a divine essence. This body is nourished
by still more living things such as vegetable matter, fruit, and rice; these
all contain vital matter, as all these foods are fresh with the essence of life
and potential, they are not dead. Foods already dead do not carry this life
essence, this potential. Cooking by steam or quick-frying simply disinfects
foods and prepares them for our digestion. The nutritional energy of these
foods does not disintegrate after being cooked like this.* Foods are then
transformed in your gastrointestinal system into "Khí" (vital
energy), and then their life essence is carried into the blood. As you have
been taught, there is spiritual energy in "Khí" and in blood. It is
transmuted from spirit into the human body as a result of the cycle of [death
and] birth. Therefore, even a drop of blood has a certain amount of spiritual
energy contained within it.
Since sexual
"Tinh" (life matter) is composed partly of blood and partly of
"Khí," excessive sexual activity thus causes an unnecessary
expenditure of Tinh and therefore of spiritual energy. After your death, you
will be confronted with and judged by this spiritual energy, and the manner in
which you wasted it, at the "Nghiệt Cảnh Đài."** You will not be able to deny how you wasted
your spirit. So, you should observe this precept closely.
(Ascension.)
* Foods change only in
form during the process of digestion and absorption. Foods do not die after being
cooked or digested because they constitute elements comprised of atoms. Atoms
are not destroyed--they only change their arrangement, form and purpose.
** "Nghiệt Cảnh Đài" is a place
in the spiritual world where the spirits, after the death of their physical
body, will revisit all their actions—both good and bad—they have committed
during their physical lifetime.
(p. 172, Collection of
Selected Holy Messages, Book Two, 1972)
60 - The Supreme Being
teaches about precept "Not to be drunk"
DO NOT DRINK ALCOHOL.
(DO NOT INTOXICATE YOURSELF.)
Why abstain from
intoxication?
I have taught that your
body is composed of a mass of everlasting spirits contained within living
units. You should understand that the internal organs of your body are also
formed by these living units whose function, whether they are aware of it or
not, is commanded by Me. I therefore use your body to teach.
Firstly, I’ll explain
why alcohol is harmful to your physical body. Your physical body is still like
an animal’s and needs to eat in order to live. When alcohol is ingested, it is
absorbed into all internal organs of your body including the heart which is the
foremost mechanism of life. Alcohol forces the whole cardiovascular system to
function excessively, and the lungs do not have adequate time to purify
(oxygenate and purge carbon dioxide) the blood, so that waste products will
accumulate in the whole body, polluting the living units, leading to
progressive sickness and finally to demise of the living units of the organs
and then of your whole body. Many people’s bodies are half-dead just because of
alcohol.
Secondly, I’ll explain
why alcohol is harmful to your spirit.
I have said that the
soul forms the “second body.” It is composed of the "Khí," which
surrounds your body like a mold. Its center is the brain, and the portal by
which your second body enters and exits is the fontanelle on top of the head
which is guarded by the Hộ Pháp. (With meditation, there is unification of the
"Tinh," the "Khí " and the "Thần," leading to
enlightenment.)
The brain is thus the
origin of the "Khí." When polluted blood accumulates in the brain,
the brain is disrupted by confusion and languor so that your spirit and human
intelligence are clouded, no longer in control of the body. The body will lose
its human personality and revert to its animal essence. Lost is the hope to
advance to the states of Genie, Saint, Immortal, and Buddha. At the same time,
when the brain is confused, it becomes an open gate for evil, wreaking havoc on
your environment and pushing your soul into continuous reincarnation.
Therefore, listen, I forbid you to drink alcohol!
(p. 173, Collection of Selected Holy Messages, Book
Two, 1972)
61 - The Supreme Being
teaches about precept "Not to sin by words"
Year of the Earth
Dragon (1928)
Children, your Master
proclaims:
DO NOT SIN BY WORD.
Why is lying forbidden?
I have said that I have
set up a spirit in your physical body that protects your life. As you have been
taught, this spirit is impartial and can communicate with the Genies, Saints,
Immortals, Buddhas, and Superior Spirits of the Ngọc Hư Cung (Cabinet of God)
and can record all of your good and bad actions. They then transmit this
(Akashic) record to the Celestial Judgment Court. All will be recorded
there.
Moreover, this holy spirit not only has a duty to
protect you, but to educate you as well, through what most people describe as
the "conscience." Thus, Confucian Saints have said: "One who
despises people despises one's own heart. God has determined that this is a
crime from which there is no escape." When you lie to people, you first
lie to yourself, to your own conscience, and thus to your own spirit (which is
a part of God).
As I have said, this spirit will submit your every
word to the Celestial Judgment Court--and even though you may never have acted
on your words, you will be punished for them just the same, because the effect
on the spirit (and therefore on God) will have been the same. Therefore, at the
Celestial Judgment Court, none of your words will be omitted. This is why I
have instructed you to be careful in your words and your virtues. You should be
twice as careful in your speech as in your actions, because the punishment for
morally reprehensible speech is the same as punishment for morally
reprehensible actions.
It would be wise for you to remember this.
(Ascension.)
(p. 174)
62 - The Supreme Being teaches: Your self-cultivation of
virtue is stalled so that the congregation would be shattered.
Year Kỷ Tỵ (February 10, 1929)
Here is your Master, children!
Time is creeping by, yet the road to the Tao seems
endless. Each year, you have to walk a mile, but in looking at you disciples, I
find you still hesitating to take a step forward. Alas! Time inexorably flows,
and while your self-cultivation of virtue is stalled, your tendency to stray
off the path is not! You would let the great spiritual foundation I have set
out for you all go to ruin, as you compete to be the worst of the worst,
leading to deep division among the congregation. Brutish people are still
entranced by honors and wealth; there would seem to be no way to cure this
disease infecting the Tao. I am so heartbroken, but I Myself will not change
you. I have entrusted important responsibilities to the most reliable among
you, but they were too disillusioned to manage these responsibilities, and the
congregation was invaded by evildoers.
Alas! Time has flown away; so has your life and the
life of the Universe. Children! If you could only bear the difficult situations
of life, concede honors, sacrifice self for others, shed tears in exchange for
the joy of others, sustain hardship in your livelihood, keep your mind clean
and clear, to be touched by others’ sufferings, your soul would be purified,
and you would be able to return to Me.
You should correct yourself without delay. Try to
cooperate with each other to shun the evildoers; this would sustain your merit.
I bless you all.
(Ascension.)
(p. 174-175, Collection of
Selected Holy Messages, Book Two, 1972)
63 - The Supreme Being teaches about the death of the
Thượng Phẩm
Tây Ninh Holy See, April 16, 1929 (the 7th day of
the 3rd month, midnight)
Your Master is here, children!
M… Ng…, ask your brothers to call the female
disciples up here, the poor women kneeling down there!
I told you clearly that Thượng Phẩm had to return
to Me before all of you, but out of sloth, you did not read My holy teachings
in order to know.
T…! Do you remember I told you that the Tao is the
nothingness; if Thượng Phẩm does not return to his divine position, who is
going to guide souls to the celestial gate? Moreover, you are guiding living
beings in this world on My behalf; so, there should be someone on the divine
plane to receive those souls. (Smiling!)
Th…! You have to build a tomb for Thượng Phẩm in
front of the tree with three branches, facing East, like facing Me at the
altar. The roof should be of three levels, and covered with tiles exactly like
the roof of a Chinese pagoda. Don’t build it like Bảo Đạo’s tomb, because their
titles are different. Around its base, the octagonal tomb should look like it
has posts. There should be a hole at the top center to allow the sunlight to
shine upon the coffin.
You will be reprimanded by Thái Bạch. Try to follow
his counsels to correct yourselves and make peace with him. Heed Me!
(Ascension.)
(P. 175-176, Collection of
Selected Holy Messages, Book Two, 1972)
64 - The Supreme Being teaches: If you cannot love each
other, I forbid you to hate each other.
January 11th, 1930 (the 12th day of the 12th month
of the year Kỷ Tỵ)
Here is your Master, children!
I’ve often told you that you are the body of love,
and you don’t even know what it is, where it is from? T…, try to find out.
(T… responded)
No, child! Love is the source of life in the
universe.
With love, all living beings can be at peace and
the universe tranquil. With peace and tranquility, there would be no animosity,
no mutual destruction, and subsequently there would be maintenance of life and
evolvement.
Do you know who is against life and evolvement? T…,
try to find out!
(T… responded)
No! You are blaming evil spirits, but in reality,
Satan is the one who destroys evolvement. I am life and Satan death. Tell Me
how Satan can harm you.
(T… responded: Satan induces people into hatred to
create turmoil among people).
Why don’t you use the word “death” to express it
more profoundly? Because of hatred, people would despise, then fight each
other, leading to the destruction of the world. Therefore, from now on, if you
cannot love each other, I forbid you to hate each other. Obey!
(Ascension.)
(p. 176, Collection of
Selected Holy Messages, Book Two, 1972)
65 - The Supreme Being teaches: The practice of the Tao
is the opposite of living the secular life in order to get closer to the divine
illumination. You cannot practice the Tao and run after secular desires at the
same time.
Tây Ninh, February 7th, 1930 (the 9th day of the
1st month of the year Canh Ngọ)
Here is your Master.
Children, I am determined to manifest Tao out of
Love, to save humanity in this last era. But the congregation is not perfected;
the path has not reached its goal. Many of you have not had good faith in
listening to Holy Teachings, thus the congregation is shattered.
Virtuous people became sad and discouraged, and
sincere people are not happy to participate. Evildoers have invaded the
congregation; wicked, ill-minded people, leading to the deterioration of the
cultivation of love and virtue, straight to the wrong path.
The Tao is invaluable and miraculous. When one
understands the Tao, one knows self, knows people, knows the situation, knows
the moment, understands the non-permanency of honors, distinguishes persistence
from death, develops a conscience. One would know that life is a farce full of
suffering for its human actors. The wise
man distinguishes honorable actions from shameful ones, and thus knows how to
manage one’s life. He overcomes the present kind of infighting and competition,
through which there would be no hope of reaching immortality or Nirvana.
My blessings were shattered by greedy and ignorant
disciples, under the influence of greed for honors and wealth. With the perpetration of these evils, they
have led humanity into the abyss, rather than to the Tao; thus has the spirit
of the Tao become faint for thousands of years.
Many of you have tried to sacrifice self to become
leaders of the Tao. But have any of you yet deserved the title? M… Ng ?
M… Ng… answered: ………….
Alas! For the sake of millions of souls, I wouldn’t
have the heart to see all your positions destroyed. Based strictly upon divine
justice, none of you deserve to succeed. The practice of the Tao is the
opposite of living the secular life. It must be that way in order overcome the
mundane and get closer to the divine illumination. I have noticed that many of
you on one hand want to practice the Tao, but on the other hand don’t want to
abandon secular life; the secular life would extinguish the divine flame. You
have to have a very strong mind to resist the secular path, or all your efforts
toward illuminating the Tao would be in vain.
You want to wear religious raiment and stand in
front of human beings as religious leaders, ostensibly to follow the paths of
Saints and Immortals. But at the same time, you are still seduced by wealth and
influence, using the name of the Tao to build up your own name. You build
mansions on earth, wear suits of silk with gold-lined pockets—of what are you
the Master? Better to be master of your
soul, clothed in virtue, building your mansion in heaven! Alas! Alas! What
religious garb you do wear! Wayward children who resist my teachings!
In ancient times, followers of the Tao survived
dire sufferings, living by self-sacrifice and enduring abject poverty for their
souls’ sake, never seduced by honors and wealth. They earned divine positions.
They were not like those of you today who prefer wealth to empathy, power to
virtue, division to brotherhood. You are averse to sacrifice yet contend to be
following the right path. Now I ask you, whosoever would agree?
Your music and rituals are not worthy. You are
putting on such airs of superiority, relying on others’ talent and claiming it
as your own; it doesn’t take Confucius to quote
Confucian books! You will be tried under divine jurisprudence for your
impudence. Whoever realizes his divine origin, and repents his worldly flaws,
escapes divine wrath and evil pitfalls on his way to the Tao. But what a shame
that this congregation has sunk so low! Now you must take on the responsibility
with which I’ve entrusted you, to cooperate with one another in the salvation
of living beings for eternity.
M…N…, I allow you to show My holy teachings to your
brothers Tr…, Tr…. If the rituals at the Holy See are not perfected as I have
previously instructed, evil would come and take control.
I counsel you:
With
sincerity, follow the steps of the Tao,
Renounce
riches and secular honor,
Bear
up under sackcloth and poverty,
That
you may avoid the clutches of Karma.
I
bless all of you.
(Ascension.)
(p. 177-178, Collection of
Selected Holy Messages, Book Two, 1972)
66 - Nhàn Âm Đạo Trưởng explains the verses
The rooster in the cage, although being fully fed
every day, would not know when it is going to be slaughtered,
While the crane, although not having enough to eat,
is able to fly freely in the sky.
April 12, 1930 (the 17th day of the 3rd month of
the year Canh Ngọ)
Nhàn Âm Đạo Trưởng (Nhàn Âm Taoist Master)
Greetings to all disciples.
It has been a long time since I have addressed you
about the Tao. Today, I’d like to congratulate some of you, who have put all your
mind and heart into self-cultivation, but I am sad for many others, who value
secular life more than the progress of your soul. The Supreme Being has
forgiven you out of love, hoping for peace in the congregation someday.
Therefore, you have to cooperate with one another and get back to guiding
people in the Tao. This is the only way to repent, and to improve yourselves in
order to return to your original spiritual positions. You should have concern
for your own futures.
H…., are you now more learned in Vietnamese
literature? Many followers have deeply
studied the Holy Teachings, so I would ask you to interpret the following poem:
On the way Home, never mind stumbling blocks,
Slowly but surely, you would reach Nirvana.
(1) Though
the stomach is empty, the crane is free.
(2) Though
fully fed, the rooster is caged.
(3) Behold
all the abandoned tombs of youth,
(4) And the
surface of water always rippled by the wind.
Each turn of life leads up one step,
If you hesitate, time evaporates.
(Many people interpreted the poem but without
understanding of the four central verses, so explanation is given:)
Verses (1) and (2) are from the poem of Lý Bạch:
The rooster in the
cage, although being fully fed every day, would not know when it is going to be
slaughtered,
While the crane,
although not having enough to eat, is able to fly freely in the sky.
In other words, one
would rather be suffering and free, than comfortable yet doomed. Being one with
the Tao, one would be divinely free like the crane, although suffering in the
physical plane.
Explanation of the
verses (3) and (4):
If one looked into who
were buried in those abandoned tombs, one would find that they all died young.
Life is like a brief ripple in water; one may die at any time. If one does not
hasten to follow the Tao, one may die before finding It.
Sakya Muni Buddha has
said:
Don’t wait until
becoming old to learn the Tao,
For many are the
abandoned tombs of youth.
You disciples
understand?
Verse (4): The water’s
surface rippled by the wind, is like a human face grimacing under the weight of
the mortal coil; only the Tao can help one escape this oppression.
Old literature has also
said:
The mountaintop is
white, not from great age but from the snow,
The lake ripples, not
from angst but from the winds that blow.
Try to understand.
Every body understands
the last two verses.
You disciples try to
learn the Tao. Obey!
(Ascension.)
(p. 179-180, Collection
of Selected Holy Messages, Book Two, 1972)
67 - The Supreme Being
teaches: Try to cultivate your virtues in order to prevail against evils.
The 23rd day of the 3rd
month of the year Canh Ngọ (4-21-1930 )
Re-evocation.
Here is your Master,
children!
Tr…, out of love, I
founded the Tao according to the divine mechanism to guide millions of souls to
return to their original spiritual positions. I know that many souls have
reincarnated with the mission of guiding humanity. They do not mind hard work.
So I have asked the Three Religions Court
Alas! The Superior
Spirits and I have endeavored to help, but you haven’t shown much sincerity. Many
times the Superior Spirits have wanted to doom you for your impudence, but I
was so heartbroken that I have gone so far as to modify the divine mechanism to
give you more time, more strength, to guide each other in fulfilling your
duties. However, evil has still prevailed. Secular seductions have led you to
the wrong path. I am heartbroken to see you lost to evil; some of you for
money’s sake, others by lust, still others by crimes of power and passion. Each
by his own weakness have you lost your way and fallen into cavernous evil,
creating separation between you and causing animosities that sap all strength.
Weakness has prevailed, severing your cooperation, your connection, stimulating
you to fight against each other so that you became weakened, having no more
strength to resist. I considered leaving you to the abyss, but I looked into
the divine book and saw that alone, 80% of you would not prevail, so I deigned
to bend justice by revealing secrets to help you to correct your own steps, to
treat each others’ wounds and avoid further injury. Evil has often prevailed
though I trusted you to resist. And although you have taken the wrong steps on
many occasions, thanks to the merciful guidance of Superior Spirits, you have
corrected yourselves in time. I have pity for many others who fell into evil
beyond redemption.
The Tao is powerful,
but evil power is not negligible either. If you cannot control your temper, the
fire inside your heart would incinerate itself. Try to understand My words. If
you don’t use the authority that I have granted to you to guide your younger
brothers and sisters to fight against evil, the latter will lure them all away.
You would then be left alone, a single phoenix without strength to rise out of
the ashes, and thus the world would change—you would be exiled to the 72nd
planet, the lowest planet, with even more sufferings. Realize your important
responsibility! If you cannot meet the challenge, you cannot return to your
original spiritual position at the end of the divine path.
B…! I have blessed you.
You merited My holy blessings, which would have protected you. So why didn’t
you fulfill your important responsibility? Why did you hurt others? The chief
of the Phnom Penh
I am heartbroken to
look into the divine book; those are the last important words for you. It’s the
same right here, as well as in Phnom Penh
I bless all of you.
(Ascension.)
(p. 180-182, Collection
of Selected Holy Messages, Book Two, 1972)
68 - Quan Thánh Đế Quân
teaches to return to the right path
The 15th day of the 5th
month of the year Canh Ngọ (June 8, 1930)
Here is Quan Thánh Đế
Quân (Kwan Kung)
Greetings to all
disciples,
The congregation has
not yet been fully established, and already people are too lazy to cultivate
their holy virtues, they would compare themselves to Superior Spirits, in
trying to show off their broad knowledge.
The situation of the
world has changed. According to the divine book, global disasters will soon
occur. From the South to the North, from the East to the West, chaos has broken
out, occasionally destroying cruel people. Even with unmanifest divine spirit
inside, if they aren’t awakened, these people would be destroyed. Alas! The
divine spark has ignited people’s minds, yet are they confused and try to burn
the sun itself. They wish to haggle with the Tao until even the Merciful Father
cannot meet their price! How they prize their titles—shouldn’t they instead be
humble, and follow the example given by ancient Superior Spirits, who were
all-suffering, all-giving, fully deserving of return to their noble position?
In this illusory life,
your existence is like water vapor! You should repent, return to the right
path, cultivate virtue, and avoid evil. Arrogance digs your grave; remember
that, in order to correct yourself. Contemplate the following verse:
The earth’s exemplars fall short of perfection,
Pearls of wisdom grow not from this earthly shell,
Growing old, but still confused with fame and shame,
Only spiritual lessons will thus serve you well.
Gold is poor payment for steadfastness of spirit,
Virtue more precious than pearls at your throat,
The divinely ordained have no reason to barter,
For which the battle of heaven’s already been fought.
The world’s situation keeps evolving, and disasters will rise,
Before smiting your brother, you should lift up thine eyes!
You divinely appointed disciples should explain this poem to living beings.
(Ascension.)
(p. 182-183, Collection
of Selected Holy Messages, Book Two, 1972)
Home 
[ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 6 ] [ 7 ]
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét