Buddha is not a title. It is a word of immense merit, sacrifice, love, mercy, compassion combined, and more – wisdom as well. It’s not a title. So even if Devadatta self-proclaimed the title “Buddha,” or any of the stupid disciples followed him and agreed to that, he had nothing! He had not the Power of the Buddha. The Buddha blessed people; they became liberated. Devadatta lured people in; they all went to hell with him! All followers should remember this. All disciples, you should know your levels and do not act harmfully to others by boasting about your attainment when you have not reached that yet.
He (Devadatta) couldn’t do anything to help anybody. He could not even lift one body’s hair up from afar in the same district, not to talk about in different countries far away. But that is the Buddha. The Buddha could do all that. Even some Bodhisattvas can already. We have all kinds of stories in Buddhist legends, and I have read many to you already. It’s the same with many other worthy religions’ folklore. We had many as well. I have read them to you. So it’s not the Buddha alone. Many Saints and Sages sacrificed for love, for feeling pity for beings, and also because God has ordained Them to come down to the difficult and suffering world, to help other brothers and sisters in the system of Godly hierarchy.
It is not the title – my God! Even if you think you’re a Buddha, you are nothing! How can you be a Buddha when you know nothing? And sometimes, you may rely on some system to have a message from the Buddha, for example – but if you’re too low, you can’t even hear well. Or your low level will attract only demons, who are so happy to feed your ambitious EGO with garbage, then laugh at you! You make all the mistakes; you hear it all wrong, and you copy it down all wrong. And then you might spread it out all wrong to all the faithful. And all wrong together – this is the problem. Because if we are not highly developed enough spiritually, then we do many wrong things.
“Excerpt from ‘THE BUDDHA WAS RIGHT: The End of the Dharma Could Be Very Near’ – THE LIVING BUDDHA HAS BEEN ARRESTED: Born in the beautiful and mysterious land of Nepal, the birthplace of the Buddha. Ram Bahadur Bomjon became known worldwide when he left home at just 16 to become a monk. Renowned for his ability to meditate motionless for six months without eating or drinking, Bomjon was regarded as the spiritual leader of Nepal. Thousands of people from all over came to meet and worship him, viewing him as a reincarnation of the Buddha and calling him the ‘Buddha boy.’ However, 20 years later, many were shocked when the ‘Buddha boy’ had been arrested and sentenced to 10 years in prison for sexual assault and other unexpected charges. Bomjon, often revered as a living Buddha, was arrested while attempting to flee. The 34-year-old man faced charges of sexually abusing an underage girl who had previously lived as a nun at his ashram. The police stated that they had been monitoring Bomjon and arrested him as he was trying to escape. They also seized more than ten mobile phones, five laptops and tablets, 30 million Nepalese Rupees (about US$225,000), and other foreign currencies worth US$22,000.”
“Excerpts from ‘MONKS PUNISHED BY THE BUDDHIST CHURCH’: On June 19th, the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha announced a disciplinary action against monk Thích Chân Quang. Accordingly, he is prohibited from preaching in any form or presiding over large gatherings at Thiền Tôn Phật Quang temple or any other location for two years. This decision was based on a notification from the Standing Committee of the Executive Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha. According to the notification, the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha received numerous complaints from Buddhists, the public, and the media, stating that the teachings of Most Venerable Thích Chân Quang caused confusion in society, provoked community reactions, diminished faith in Buddhism, and damaged the reputation of the Sangha. Monk Thích Chân Quang is well-known on social media for his controversial statements about karma, calls for donations, and his criticisms of other monks. On social platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok, it is easy to find his contentious remarks. Some of monk Thích Chân Quang’s controversial statements include: ‘You must find high-denomination bills and give them to the abbot. Only then can the abbot carry out the religious work,’ ‘Why do you have such a beautiful face? It’s because in a previous life, you participated in a statue casting ceremony and also made offerings,’ ‘Those with a true religious heart will even donate their house to the temple and move elsewhere,’ and ‘Those who sing karaoke a lot have a high risk of becoming mute ghosts after death.’ If Mr. Thích Chân Quang is found to have violated regulations, strict action will be taken. According to the same newspaper, monk Thích Chân Quang’s statements in online videos are inconsistent with Buddhist teachings, laws, cultural traditions, and the history of Vietnam, and he altered the precepts in the Three Jewels Certificate of Buddhism.
On June 6th, the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha issued a disciplinary action against Venerable Thích Nhuận Đức, prohibiting him from preaching in any form for one year. According to the Sangha, many of Venerable (Thích) Nhuận Đức’s statements and sermons eroded society’s faith in Buddhism and the Sangha. Some of his controversial statements include: ‘Some ladies chanted the Buddha’s name so much, their legs get tired. Some wear wide pants, and when someone is releasing birds, the birds fly into their pants,’ ‘After chanting the Buddha’s name for a long time, you women become so beautiful, and when you sit in front of me, I can’t help but drool,’ and ‘If you make offerings, offer something delicious; after all, don’t the monks enjoy good food?’
Venerable Thích Trúc Thái Minh, abbot of Ba Vàng Pagoda, has made numerous statements, actions, and activities that have caused public uproar over the years. Earlier in 2024, Venerable Thích Trúc Thái Minh was reprimanded by the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha for organizing an exhibition of the ‘Buddha’s Hair Relics. Furthermore, he was fined 7.5 million VND (US$300) by the Uông Bí city People’s Committee in Quảng Ninh province for violating the Law on Belief and Religion by organizing this event. Following that (incident), Venerable Thích Trúc Thái Minh and Ba Vàng Pagoda were instructed not to hold any international exchange events at the temple for one year. Over the years, Ba Vàng Pagoda has conducted various activities such as calling spirits and ‘cleansing’ karma. Notably, those wishing to cleanse their karma had to pay significant amounts of money. These activities have sparked considerable debates.”
That’s why we have to meditate a lot, be humble, be grateful, until truly God tells you that you are a Buddha. And even then, it’s not always your job to go out and rescue other people, because you don’t have enough power. Maybe you can rescue one or two; it depends on how much merit, how much power you have in your “bank account.” And that “bank account” has been accumulating there for I don’t know how many eons. So all the Masters had to practice over and over again, for many, many, many eons of lifetimes if They started from the beginning. It’s not like you reach the Fifth Level or even a little lower, then you have the merit to save the world or at least some number of people.
Many people who had a near-death experience came back and they even know that that is the Fourth Level in the system of the Five Levels that we have, that are reachable to humans. Not all the levels in Heaven, higher Heaven, are reachable to humans. So, there is a Fifth Level established there for the Masters. Many Masters have to rest there and prepare Themselves if They are destined to be a Master. Then God will give Them much, much, much Power so that when They come down, They won’t be killed or harmed immediately and that They can have enough capital to rescue other beings according to God’s Order and also according to their karma.
If you walk one step, the Master will walk 99 steps with you, toward you, and help you to walk further. So, even if we meditate only like one-tenth of the day – two and a half hours during 24 hours, that’s one-tenth – so that is the true tithing. It’s not the money that you have to give to the church, the temple or the ashram in order to do your tithing correctly. No, no, no. It’s not like that. I never heard Lao Tzu mention that you have to give tithing – one-tenth of your income, or one-tenth of your property, or anything like that. No. Maybe in some country later, when they were in desperate need, in war or in famine or something, then maybe some Master would have told the disciples to do that. But not for Him to eat, or to spend, or to live in luxury.
The Prophet Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him – in the Hadith, I read that maybe He told the followers that they can give, they call it “Zakat.” Just a tithing – just like giving some portion of your property, of your money, your wealth, to charity, to help others who are less fortunate. When Lord Jesus was alive, He never asked for any tithing. He never asked for anything; He walked barefoot and He wore very simple clothes. And when the Buddha was alive, there was nothing asked like that. If anyone wanted to contribute to the Sangha, then they would just do it. Otherwise, the Buddha would use His magical power to know where the treasure is and to tell some of His donors to go and get it, for example like that. But not so that the Buddha can live in luxury – no, He lived in a hut!
They called it the perfume room, just like other rooms or other huts. Probably it was a little bit more isolated, not in the middle of the Sangha or the public. But it’s just a room like every other room they could have for the Sangha. Sometimes, they did not have enough rooms, so the Buddha even asked – or maybe He didn’t ask, but some big reverend, elderly monks came to the ashram where the Buddha and the Sangha, the monks, were living, and there was not enough room. So His son, Rāhula, must go to sleep in the bathroom. Well, I hope the bathroom was good at that time. Poor Rāhula. The Buddha was very strict with Him, because the Buddha wanted Him to be excellent, knowing how teenagers and children react. I feel sorry for the son of the Buddha also, because He was young, and He had to eat just one meal like everyone else. I feel really sorry for Rāhula. But that was the way. The Buddha was fair and just. He never treated anybody special.
Even Ānanda – Ānanda was His best attendant, always very close to Him, did all kinds of things for the Buddha, and even remembered all the stories, all the lectures of the Buddha – the Buddha did not treat Him special. And Ānanda also did not want to be treated special. So before the assembly voted for Him to be the Buddha’s personal attendant, He asked for some conditions before He accepted. Like, before He accepted the position to be the attendant of the Buddha, He told the assembly that it’s not allowed for Him to take the left over clothes from the Buddha or given to the Buddha and Buddha wanted to give them away. Or, He cannot eat from the alms bowl of the Buddha, because in the alms bowl of the Buddha there are delicacies, or maybe blessed food, and all those kinds of good things. So, He did not want to eat from the Buddha’s bowl, for example like that – meaning He wanted the assembly to know and to accept His condition, that He didn’t want to profit from the position as the Buddha’s attendant, because that is very important. That’s the only position. And Ānanda got it, because the Buddha liked Him. It’s not like the Buddha favored Him. It’s just that They had affinity with each other many, many lifetimes.
If you read Buddhist stories, you will know the Buddha and Ānanda were often together, life after life, doing many things together for the benefit of other beings, even though, at that time, the Buddha was not manifested openly as the Buddha. But the Buddha had been Buddhas for a long, long, long time already. Devadatta also had been with the Buddha a long time, but he always had been there just to harm the Buddha, to obstruct the Buddha, to make trouble for the Buddha to become Buddha. Or, when the Buddha was traveling on the path toward Buddhahood, Devadatta was always there somehow, in the shadow or somewhere nearby, to harm the Buddha. And he did many other things, like slandering Him, making bad propaganda against the Buddha and good propaganda for himself, Devadatta, for example like that.
It’s probably just a system in this world that for whoever becomes a Master, there are always some of the maya’s subordinates that have been appointed near Him, next to Him, to obstruct Him, to cause hell for His life and His spiritual attainment as well. It’s very difficult to be a Buddha in this world. Not that the Buddha has not already been a Buddha, but it’s just that He has to come down and make affinity with other sentient beings in order to come back as a Buddha, and then when He has enough Power, He can liberate them. That’s why. That’s why some Masters go back and forth – from Nirvana back to the Earth and then back to Nirvana again – and suffer a lot, a lot, a lot, untold suffering. But nobody can see… not much.
Photo Caption: A Hero Treasure and Beauty. In the Heart History!
