Mozhi Jiaozun said: “Can’t believe there are people who put it in writing to pretend themselves a great guru and ask their disciples to chant it every day. They are shameless! My Dharma Brother Wangzha Shangzun is also a rinpoche of Tibetan Buddhism like me. He and I used to chant the Four Refuges before. We both have now changed to chant the Three Refuges instead.”
Why did these two great holy beings want to change from the Four Refuges to the Three Refuges? Anyone who says the Three Refuges are incomplete must be a neophyte to Buddhism or a swindler, except for a Tremendously Holy Guru like Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva or Manjushri Bodhisattva. The most authentic are the Three Refuges, not the Four Refuges, who have the additional phrase of ‘taking refuge in the guru’ added by the patriarchs later.
The Lord of our Buddhism in this world is Shakyamuni Buddha, who has established the three refuges. No matter how great a patriarch one is, one must be beneath Shakyamuni Buddha. We can assertively guarantee it today: whoever says the three refuges are incomplete must not be a holy being at the Gold Button level. A holy person of the Gold Button level will not tell such sinful words. If you don’t believe it, call the Buddhist Association Headquarters and inquire about their level.
You must understand that the targets for us to take refuge in are the Three Jewels—Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. It is not the guru because there are always two types of gurus: the correct and the evil. As for the additional chant of “Namo Gurubei” added by the Esoteric Schools, it is OK if the guru is a great holy being. However, the Esoteric Schools emphasize “to rely on the guru to attain accomplishment,” as such, they forcefully control the disciples to respect the guru first and foremost by way of the Fifty Stanzas Of Guru Devotion. That is a severe problem! Have you thought about it? Is the guru whom you take refuge with a topmost great holy guru? Are they a Bodhisattva? Where is their achievement in Five Vidyas? Are they more significant than the Buddha? Are they free of any sin for placing themselves before the Buddha? What is even more terrifying is if your guru is not a holy being but a swindler or an evil person instead, and you rely on your guru attempting to attain accomplishment, then you will become a swindler or a wicked person yourself for sure!
We can see that if a guru is holy, They will not call Themselves a great and wonderful guru. That is a fact. Nobody who coerces the disciples into respecting them is a good person. Would a real holy being issue a decree to force the disciples to revere them? Will they care if their disciples mistreat them? There are evil masters and lying, cheating masters who brandish a great lineage all over the world nowadays. Why don’t you understand such simple reasoning?
Of course, if what you rely on was a Guru like Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, Manjushri Bodhisattva, Guru Padmasambhava, Master Marpa, Master Tsongkhapa, or Master Jigme Lingpa, then it would be correct if they decree the disciples to respect Them and rely on Them to attain accomplishment. It is because all They promote are the Dharma teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha. Even so, Dorje Chang Buddha and Shakyamuni Buddha are above Their heads. Do you understand? There are only Buddhist disciples in the world. We have never heard of a guru’s disciple, have we?
Actually, a Buddha or a Bodhisattva will not consider whether living beings are slandering or praising them. They will not require disciples to revere them. Instead, They will always be humbled; They will always benefit others. H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III is a living example. Be careful! Don’t be cheated by those evil people who are so audacious as to wreck the three refuges that were established by Shakyamuni Buddha. Don’t be a “guru’s disciple,” the descendant of those evil people.
What is the level of the master you have taken refuge with from the holy test? Are they Gold-Level sacred beings? You should watch “A Video That is Hard To See In a Thousand Years.” Maybe the one who collapsed and crazily ran away from my Tummo heat in the video is that master with whom you have taken refuge! Even if your master wasn’t present in that video, the level they obtained from the Holy Test can tell it all. They cannot fool people!
International United World Buddhism Association Headquarters
October 31, 2016
(The English translation was done by Eric Huang, It was last revised on 2024-07-25)