I open a new chapter of new Buddhism / page19~ page 23

 I open a new chapter of new Buddhism

I bear witness that I have passed2 the Path of a Bodhisattva (the

examination of teaching and saving Bodhisattvas)of the family3 of the true 

Dharma of the Buddha, and that the Body of the Buddha is made of the 

Immeasurable Light

I, kasyapa Gwangmyong Manduk, personally met the

Buddha who abides in true suchness in the Absolute Realm of

Constant Quiescence Light, and have put the vivid teachings 

that I have heard from him together with Ananda Jajae

Manhyon here in the 21st Century Buddha's Message I, 

II. With these teachings, I wish to open the first chapter of 

new Buddhism.

2 By ceaselessly pursuing bodhi (enlightenment) on the one hand and 

by practicing the actions of a Bodhisattva over countless kalpas of lives on

the other hand, when one reaches ultimately the level at which one can

achieve Buddhahood, one will be confirmed as possessing the capacity of

a Buddha from the Buddha.  Afterwards, one must cultivate the ability

(wisdom, compassion, patience, observation of precepts, Samadhi of deep

concentration) to teach and save heavenly beings, holy multitude arhats,

undefiled great arhats, heavenly goddesses, preparatory Bodhisattvas, and

Bodhisattvas and must pass a final examination of no-self to become a

perfect Buddha. (If one is to become a doctor, it is the same as having to

study and finally graduate in order to become a qualified medical 

specialist.)

3The family of the true Dharma of the Buddha includes the Five

Tathagata Buddhas with our King of Buddhism, Buddha the World-

Honoured, at the top, numerous Buddhas in the Three Realms,

Bodhisattvas, holy multitude arhats, and all Buddhist sentient beings in the 

six realms who have taken refuge in the Buddha.

                                          I open a new chapter of new Buddhism _ 19

It is 2600 years since the Buddha who came to the land of 

India as the Responsive Transformation Body departed and all

were filled with deep sadness as if the sky had fallen.  Thus

how can I express in writing and speech the overflowing joy

and the deep emotions that I experience when I meet the

Reward Body Buddha of Sakyamuni Buddha again in the land

of South Korea who is in the form of human character made

of the Immeasurable Light?  That I can make an offering to

him every day as a Buddha who has succeeded the Dharma,

and that I can also be with him all the time ?

  I am serving the Buddha like this all the time, but the

present Buddhist circles say that there is no Buddha and tend

not to believe in even transmigration in the six realms, and

their precepts of purity have broken down.  In this latter

Dharma time of an evil period of the five defilements, the 

teaching of the Buddha has been distorted too much and has

also become diminutive.

  I, Gwangmyong Manduk, want to take as the first teaching

of new Buddhism, Yongsan Buddhism, by witnessing the

existence of the Buddha and his great real substance based on

my experiences and views as a Buddha who possesses

the Three Bodies.  It is deeply regrettable that  I am unable to

open to our Buddhists the Dharma secrets of the realm of the

Buddha and my practice diary for lack of space.  I will

reveal here the vivid course of passing through difficult

gateways that I have experienced while taking the qualifying

examinations of various stages for teaching and saving

heavenly beings, holy multitude arhats, undefiled great arhats, 

heavenly goddesses, preparatory Bodhisattvas, and 

Bodhisattvas to become a perfect Buddha after having

attained Buddhahood from the Buddha.  I want to use as the

20_The 21st Century Buddha's message 1

  

preface of this book the course of thses qualifying

examinations, and to bear witness to the Buddha Body of the

Buddha made of the Immeasurable Light.

1.  Earnest practice in To-gool at Amsa-dong in Seoul for three

years4(In ancient times, the cave was called To-gool and whilst it is no

longer a cave, the name 'To-gool' is now used to refer to a place where a 

practitioner practices intensively.)

 I went into a bold and vigorous practice, prepared all the

while for death, putting a sharp and glittering knife in front of

me from the beginning.  I succeeded in moving an image of

the Buddha in Seokguram Grotto onto the wall in 100 days.

I will not write here about the process of desperate practice I

took before being confirmed as a Buddha by entering a deep

complete concentration, seeing the Immeasurable Light, and

meeting the Buddha in person.

  I took tough examinations over and over again in order to

qualify as being able to teach and save heavenly beings5, holy

 4 From the beginning, the way of my practicing chanting the Buddha's

name was to first read the Diamond Sutra once, recite a Buddha's dharani

three times and then chant the sacred name of 'Sokkamonibul.' I was

taught this by a Buddha (through exquisite and sonorous voice of 

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva coming from the empty space; Gong-

cheong denotes an exquisite and sonorous voice of a Buddha or a

Bodhisattva coming from the empty space when a practitinoer is in the

state of a perfect Samadhi).  I call this 'the recitation of the sacred name

of the Buddha with the practice of the Noble Eightfold Path'- this is to

ask you to become a Bodhisattva by receiving empowerment of the

Buddha and to chant the sacred name of the Buddha, observing the 

precepts of the Dharma to attain Buddhahood.

5 This denotes the six heavens in the realm of desires.  When these

are looked at in more detail, there are the heavens of 54 levels.  When

one puts the five precepts and ten virtues into practice, one can be reborn 

in one of the heavens.

                                                       I open a new chapter of new Buddhism_  21

multitudes, undefiled great arhats and heavenly goddesses

after having been confirmed as a Buddha.  In this process, I

came to know that there are 54 levels of heavens, and there is

King Sakra who teaches and saves the kings of the respective

heavens.  My ability to teach and save all of them has been

confirmed.  I competed with holy multitudes,6 undefiled great

arhats and heavenly goddesses (of the Pure Land of Heavenly

Goddesses7), and Buddha the World-Honoured has confirmed

my ability to prevail and supervise them.

2.  Life in To-gool at Bo-gwang-dong(Itae-won) for three years

  I entered various kinds of Samadhi through bold and

vigorous practice in order to pass the examinations of

preparatory Bodhisattva8 and the Path of a Bodhisattva(an

examination of teaching and saving Bodhisattvas).  The examination

at this time was the practice of mastering and learning all the

Dharma of 'having no I and living for the benefit of others.'

  6It means the holy multitude arhats.  They are the beings of heaven of

the Form Realm and the Formless Realm who have entered the rank of a

saint.  One can be born in that heaven when one can enter deep and

complete concentration.

  7This is the realm of all women saints who serve BAUDDHAS, AND WHERE

they let rain of flowers be sprinkled when there is an event involving a 

Buddha.

  8This is the heaven of a Pure Land which is above the Pure Land of

Heavenly Goddesses and is immediately below the Realm of UItimate

Bliss where a preparatory Bodhisattva can be reborn.

22 _ The 21st Century Buddha's Message 1

  Buddha the World-Honoured, Sakyamuni Buddha, and the

Sixteen Teachers 9 sat on their respective diamond thrones,

and the examination given over several hours made me

extremely strained and I  was faced with various difficulties.

  I entered Samadhi of recitations10 of the Noble Eightfold

Path for 10 - 13 hours, sometimes 18 hours, each time with

painstaking preparedness for death.

  Dark barley tea in a big kettle was almost the only thing I

ingested, and I kept missing meals over many day, so I could

not relieve myself.  I could not tell how emaciated I was

because of the daily practice that made me exhausted and

tired, and I also spent time being completely absorbed in

perfect Samadhi almost without soeeping by virtue of Samadhi.

But my physical strength was maintained by virtue of the

awesome spiritual powers of the Buddha.

9 16 Buddhas worked hard in the noble work of teaching Gwangmyong

Manduk aND jajae Manhyon to become Buddhas.  They are Sakyamuni

Buddha, the Five Tathagata Buddhas and the most -prominent Buddhas

among all Buddhas in the Three Realms - Manjushri, Samantabhadra,

Avalokiteshvara, Mahasthamaprapta, Maitreya, Ksitigarbha, Mountain

King Buddha, Stars Ruling Tathagata Buddha, Myongsang Buddha, Hwa-

gwang Buddha, Daewon Myo-eum-wang Buddha.

10 Samadhi through recitation of the Buddha's name that I have

mentioned here has a great difference in depth from pratyutpanna Samadhi

That Samadhi is a profound stage of practice that one can

meet the Buddhas fof the Three Realms.  One meets the Buddha who

eliminates one's karmic hindrance, removes the heavenly maras that have

been possessing him, protects one from various mara-hindrances, leads

one to Samadhi, provides one with wisdom, eradicate the root of the three

poisons of greed, anger(hatred), and makes the body (the four spiritual

bodies) change to the spiritual bodies of light(the Buddha Body) by

pouring the Immeasurable Light. 

                                                I open a net chapter of new Buddhism- 23