A DHARMA DRUM AND THE BANNERS OF LIBERATION

DHARMA WARRIORS

This teaching then is for Buddha Dharma Warriors who are prepared to roar on the Dharma Battlefield like lions against stained and shallow Dharma teaching and yet treat those injured with Bodhisattva kindness and compassion. Our task then is to promote Bodhisattvayana but prevent the Bodhisattva ideas from degenerating to a crass religious compassion and benevolence in which Buddha Dharma is (although without the presence of a Godhead or soul) no different than eternalist religions ruled by Identity.

The current problem with present teachings is that it is so easy to fall into a dreadful trap. The greedy hands of commerce are strangling the planet and while all speak of social justice there is none. It is natural then for those with an open heart to extend a hand to help, not just in the areas of suffering but everywhere where injustice prevails and confusion and hatred open the doors to violence and oppression.

That is the work of Bodhisattvayana, but we must remember that the Dharma must be spread so that the doors to higher understanding can remain open. That was Buddha’s main task. It is the main task of Buddha Dharma.

We must indeed help all individuals burdened in this world, but we must remember that there are, in the Buddha Dharma pure mind, no individuals. Suffering is like a giant octopus which has covered the world with its black ink so that few can see the truth through the obscurity of Ignorance. Its multifarious tentacles stretch out randomly, and wherever the tip of a tentacle touches all that is potentially human, duality bears fruit in the dual consciousness of individual existence and consequential suffering.

Let those who can, battle in this world with compassion and benevolence directed at helping individuals within Bodhisattvayana. It is a noble path fit for the Sons and Daughters of Buddha Dharma. Let those who lead and travel this path be likened to Great Healers.

Let those who will, battle to lead all individuals away from identity domination and suffering while upon the way of Dharmayana. That too is a noble path.

Let those who teach and travel upon that path be likened to Moses who led his people from Darkness.

And let those with the capacity to strike directly at that octopus that darkens the world, with only the shield of a pure mind and the sword of expedient means, destroy all Duality in the minds of men and women.

 As they enter into mortal combat against Mara, let them advance in the shoes of the Conqueror himself. These teachers of the Dharma Law of Awakening (with the lion's roar), though they may in the end lose their life, are, as Buddha declared, “worthy” true noble sons of the Dharma.

This is then a strong call for all to generate noble and correct Dharma Intentions This is a strong call for correct Dharma Actions. The question may be asked, “are we really in a time when there is a fall in Dharma understanding and practice that needs such strong measures?” It may seem not, for kindness and benevolence are preached like never before within the assemblies and temples.

Buddha Dharma is in a mess.

QUO VADIS?

There is then for us a choice.

1:  Do nothing and adopt a fatalist attitude and see the gradual destruction of Dharma once more, trusting that there will be some valid Masters who find a place to weather the storm.

2:  Fight now to preserve the purest seeds of  Dharma knowledge for those Masters trusting that there will come a moment when it can be reborn again, perhaps in a more fortunate time, when there is a better readiness to accept the Dharma truth.

But even if there is no other Completely Awakened one to come and all is in vain, the veridical Dharma Truth of No-Mind and the knowledge of the various untainted paths to that Dharma Truth must be kept alive as long as possible.

 How?

CORRECT TEACHINGS   (Changed position)

Our emphasis here in this web page then is upon correct Bodhisattvayana and Dharmayana teachings, because it would be mirroring folly if we simply declared what was incorrect without providing teachings that are correct, allowing each student to see by direct experience where the truth lies.

This is important, for only by direct experience can the the truth be made clear.

Many have heard the words of the Surangama Sutra, but listening and understanding is of no use if it is not put into practice. The message is clear.

It may indeed seem strange for many that the term Dharmayana, so often associated with the early teachings of Buddha, should be paired in this page with a gold line drawing of a Bodhisattva and his consort, but there is a reason why this has been presented in this form.

First, it is to draw attention to the fact that Dharmayana, the Dharma path, is fundamental to even the most apparently esoteric teaching of Buddha Dharma.

Second, it is to make evident that although the Bodhisattva concept is not emphasized in  early Buddhism, the intentions of Buddha Dharma, which is the liberation of Suffering and the elimination of Identity, include the necessity of pursuing a life of generosity and benevolence. After the council that split Buddha Dharma in two major divisions, Dharmayana was re-affirmed and re-established and the Bodhisattva idea introduced to stop the Identity from regenerating itself even in the lives of arahats who had not advanced beyond duality.

Third, it is to make the clear statement that there is just one Buddhism. Now this does not just mean that all Buddhism is based upon the same fundamental ideas, but also that even the higher teachings are identical and are masked only by the superficial external colorings of the various practices, which are seen to be identical if one looks beyond the external trappings. In fact, a realized Bodhisattva sees no difference in the essentials of the paths and being a Master of one is a Master of all.

There have been attempts to draw the threads of Buddha Dharma together at the roots searching out and uniting apparently different groups on the basis of common fundamental threads. These threads naturally enough are found within the Bodhisattva ideal. Noble though this endeavour is at a time when “love between human creatures regardless of belief” seems important, there is an inherent flaw. It builds and generates the new Modern Buddhism and tends to mask the higher ideals of Buddha. It becomes too comfortable, too secure and too attainable. As a result, a religious doctrine of compassion and love is built, as we have said, which is not different than any of the world’s religions except in the non-acceptance of a supreme power and a lasting soul.

The concern of those who tread this path is not doubted, nor is their honesty, their integrity or intentions. Their work in social areas is correctly within the framework of Buddha Dharma but it falls short. It is incomplete Buddha Dharma and it simply camouflages the differences within meditation and practice that are alien to the true Dharma and that forge idealistic separation, causing dual thought and enmity at levels where there should be unanimity and comprehension.

THIS INCOMPLETE BUDDHA DHARMA MUST BE CHALLENGED.

The Bodhisattva shown with his consort is representative of the highest level of the path,

which is the Unification of the masculine principle of true Compassion and understanding 

of the unity of all things with the feminine principle of the Wisdom and Understanding

of the internal essence of life within every creature. He is the means, she is the path.

You will see too that the Bodhisattva wields a sword. That is because he is Manjushri and his 

sword represents the cutting away of Ignorance wherever it is found. No matter whether it is

 within or outside of the Buddha Dharma realm, ignorance must be cut away. No matter whether

 it is within initiations or higher teachings, ignorance must be cut away.

No matter whether ignorance is within the words of adepts or masters, it must be cut away.

That is also our task in this page.

If it is not, then Buddha Dharma will decay and be lost. Perhaps the eventual loss is inevitable.

But perhaps there will spontaneously arise another human creature who will reach beyond the 

mundane, realizing the no-mind is prepared to fight against the great blanket of obscurity that 

darkens the world. Our task, however, is to let the Dharma truth last as long as possible,

even as a seed in the ashes of civilization. But who can be trusted to teach Dharma Truths?

It is the Warriors of Higher Dharma, Masters of Bodhi Dharma who must actually present

the correct teachings of Bodhisattvayana and Dharmayana. These are the Guardians.

It cannot be left only in the hands of those who do not fully understand.