Sakyamuni Buddha.  Altar of Phap Tang  in Las Vegas, U.S.

Sakyamuni Buddha, before his entering Nirvana, stated that the great compassionate bodhisattva Maitreya would return to the world in the Dharma Ending Age to come to save all living creatures. Maitreya would attain the level of Buddha and become the fifth Buddha succeeding the Sakyamuni Buddha. He would reform the teaching of Buddha while maintaining the true teaching of all Buddhas to make it survive for 5,000 years.

According to the Buddhist calendar, in the past 2,500 years, Lord Maitreya had returned six times. Three times he preached the Buddhist dharma in this saha world. These events were known by a great number of Buddhist followers. He had returned three more times, but in these he kept silent. Nobody knew about it. He was, in one incarnation, an adviser to the king and religious authority. In another incarnation, he was the king of China. He was also the teacher of dharma in Tibet in another incarnation. This will be discussed in more detail in later chapters.

1. Pho Dai Si

In one of his former lives, the Bodhisattva Maitreya returned to China with the name Pho Dai Si. It was not until His death that secular people would know that the Pho Dai Si was actually the incarnation of Lord Maitreya.

2. The Great Reverend QI-CI (CHANG DINGZI)

Great Reverend QI-CI

Also in China, at the time of Liang Dynasty, the Bodhisattva Maitreya had appeared again in this world with the title of Great Reverend QI-CI. His body differed from that of secular people. His forehead was wrinkled. His abdomen was enlarged. The trunk of his body was plump. When departing from life, He sat in meditation without any illness and passed away in meditation. By that time, secular people knew that the Great Reverend QI-CI was the Bodhisattva Maitreya who came to this Saha world.

3. Bodhisattva NAGARJUNA

In another past life, when the Bodhisattva Maitreya had returned to the world in India, He bore the name NAGARJUNA. At his passing, the secular people realized that the NAGARJUNA was just the incarnation of the Lord Maitreya. Whenever he appeared in this saha world, he always did numerous deeds for the living creatures according to his fundamental vows.

After the Second World War, and until now, all great reverends, great venerables, venerables, monks, and nuns believed that this is not yet the reappearance time of Lord Maitreya. They believe he is still in the Tusita Heaven, so there would be many more lifetimes before he would be reincarnated to continue the true dharma of the Sakyamuni Buddha.

On the contrary, in South Vietnam, there were a lot of predictions and prophecies that Lord Maitreya had returned to Vietnam and embodied himself in religions such as Catholicism, Buddhism, Caodaism, Tay An Monk, Hoa Hao, and in the Sage and even learned men. They firmly believed that Lord Maitreya was born in South Vietnam, but nothing happened. Time went ongoing, and nobody could hear or see the apparition of strange phenomenon, according to the Book of Oracles, in order to see him in person. Many people became more and more anxious and doubtful. According to the Great Collection, 2,500 years after Sakyamuni Buddha entering Nirvana, signals the Dharma Ending Age and Lord Maitreya’s reincarnation. But it is now the year 2538 of the Buddhist calendar and Lord Maitreya has not appeared in the world which made the learned men and faithful Buddhist disciples more doubtful.

4.  Lord Supreme Maitreya was Himself Kung-Ming

Statue of Kung Ming.  Bought in Dalat.

Just before entering Nirvana, He visited Dalat city and bought a statue of Kung Ming, which He brought back to Nha Trang (left). He then inscribed below the statue:

“Life is an Ocean of Suffering; nobody can avoid the sufferings of life.
Even as the Prime Minister, Kung Ming Chuko Liang, had to bend his head to a pile of books, and take pains to find out a way to help life to be free from suffering.
The Universe never helps us. It is only our Mind that can save us.
The heartless are the cruelest.” –T.V.⁽¹⁾

Lord Supreme Maitreya’s conception about the dharma path was very clear. The disciple can not always rely on others, or simply supplicate and pray. He has to be diligent to correct his nature adequately to undergo the evolution of all dharma, and resolve to clear up his karma. After enlightenment, he will suddenly feel compassion for living creatures, love them as himself, and will not sit quietly and watch living creatures sink in the ocean of suffering.

One day Lord Supreme Maitreya taught (the author) as follows: You and I have been found throughout many lives side by side. Once I was chief advisor in China and I could not keep my eyes closed before the people who were groaning and suffering. I had to make use of my intelligence to try to find a way to salvation for life. Making the decision to practice the dharma today - though deprived of a strong army, a guard, or physical weapons beside me, I used my Buddha power, which is a thousand times stronger than before, to effectively find a salvation for life.

He then ordered His men to draw a picture of Koang-Kung (Quan Di) and hang it in his private study. Upon entering his room and seeing the picture of Koang-Kung in the position of escorting the imperial carriage, I suddenly remembered my former life and His intuitively. I was astonished to discover that he had been the Kung Ming of the Han Dynasty, chief advisor at the time of Liu Pei, also named Liu Xuande, in China.

What a strange thing! I was beyond astonished to see as far back as the year 191 with Liu Pei, Koang Kung, and Tchang Fei. After a discussion, they had arranged the initiation for their friendship the next day at the peach garden behind Tchang Fei’s house, laying out offerings and celebrating before heaven and earth.

Kung Ming, at that time, was the Lord Supreme Maitreya Himself. In the eyes of the Buddhist mediator, recognizing friendship became a very good cause for incarnation of this ever changing existence of human beings. We are now side by side in this modern and scientific era of this 20^th century! Lord Supreme Maitreya’s two verses that follow were also Kung Ming’s in the past. They remind us of the transmigration of souls and that we could meet each other in bodily form again if we have strong feeling for each other! 

“We were acquaintances in past lives, now we meet each other again, That means we have had a very deep attachment with each other in the former life.” –T.V.

From ancient history, until the present, mankind has advanced greatly in its civilization and modernization. Kung Ming, now with the title the Supreme Pure King, has also changed himself accordingly. He was successful in the domain of science and even in this world’s political domain. How wonderful it was!

Lord Supreme Maitreya appeared in this Saha World with only a third grade education, not having completed primary education. Compared to scientists and highly educated people with doctorate degrees and impressive scholarships, who have done many useful things for the betterment of humanity, they could not stand against his basic guidelines and primary truths. Scriptures of his entering into deeply enlightened medidation were scrutinized and admired by highly educated people who could not thoroughly understand His insight. Thus we clearly see that no level of education can surpass true enlightenment.

Koang Kung “Invisible Protector” Altar of Phap Tang.

During the Time of the Supreme Pure King’s ministry, Koang Kung, now an “Invisible Protector” and Deity, volunteered to guard the True Dharma. Koang Kung had diligently gone into the communist countries where he was greatly needed. He caused the blockade of temples to be lifted, reopening them for the faithful disciples who came there to worship, admire the Buddha, and practice according to their will. Thanks to the vow of salvation on the part of devas, deities, dragon deities, dharma protectors, and especially to Koang Kung, monks and nuns in communist countries were allowed to live in the temples and continue practicing dharma until the reform of the nation. Koang Kung often went to China and Taiwan to help the people there live in peace. Sometimes the situation was so grave that Koang Kung received orders himself directly from the Supreme Pure King incarnate, Lord Supreme Maitreya, to resolve indescribable difficulties.

It was Koang Kung personally (in the role of Invisible dharma protector) who had gone to the USSR several times during the period of tension between the USSR and China to prevent the USSR from pushing their troops into China.

Koang Kung had indeed earned a great merit for his assistance to devas, deities, dharma protectors and dragon deity dharma protectors, in promoting peace in the world in support of the true dharma under the guidance of the Supreme Pure King. This was a true miracle! It was Kung Ming of the past, now reincarnated as the Supreme Pure King who was truly behind such miraculous activity. Without this intervention all of the efforts by the west and others would have failed! Now the invisible dharma protector, Koang Kung, at the level of deity, followed the Pure King to open the way for practicing dharma. The Five Tigers Team as well as the courtiers of Liu Pei in the Han dynasty had also decided to practice in Phap Tang, which was “Long Hoa Association”.

Pic of The Five Tigers Team.   Hang on at Central Highness   Assembly at Nha Trang city

The Kings and their close advisors, of the dynasties of Dinh-Le-Ly-Tran, were also reborn and followed Him to practice the dharma in new bodies and under new names in this life. This is not strange because the groundwork had been laid beforehand. We can see from history that these dynasties were devoted to Buddhism. It makes sense that in their search for liberation through wisdom today, they could naturally meet again in this lifetime.

In this time, Liu Pei, with his assistants, was reborn as a man, and followed the path to enlightenment.

Koang Kung, also called Quan Van Truong (Vietnamese), was not reborn to be a man, but still remained in the invisible deity rank to help the true dharma. He often went to the USA and other places in the free world. The former Tchang Fei was President Chiang Kai Shek of Taiwan. Just before entering into Nirvana, the Supreme Pure King demonstrated that Koang Kung was an invisible dharma protector and advised me: “Later, you should tell those in the temples to worship Koang Kung!”

 It is truly remarkable that the dharma nature is now bountiful at the time of Kung Ming, just as it was in the past. The Five Tigers Team is also in the center of the ministries today helping with the diffusion of the dharma so that all people can practice with Him. Besides His true disciples, there are numerous descendants of Devadatta who also practiced the dharma. These tended to be nuisances however, full of jealousy and suspicion.

The Supreme Pure King also had the three verses inscribed, expressing the piety of Koang Kung:

“To be ungrateful to one’s parents will bring about serious disasters. Such as severe corporal punishment, incurable diseases Excessive penalty and continuous accidents”                                                         –Koang Kung

Scientists and philosophers did not accept mystical explanations, seen in the eyes of a Buddhist master; they needed concrete evidence to be demonstrated. Although it was concretely demonstrated, they could not bring themselves to accept it as they lacked the eyes and insight of a higher level Buddhist.

When the Supreme Pure King was enlightened, he remembered all the former lives in the past. Lives that spanned hundreds and thousands of years could be completely seen. The future of humanity on this planet as well as the future of the Three Thousand Great Thousand Worlds was visible to Him. Explaining this to some would only give rise to arguments and would not help them open their eyes.

A few years ago, the news reported on seven planets appearing at the same time in the sky. The vast majority did not understand the significance. The Lord Supreme Maitreya had realized it, despite his knowledge, others could not be satisfied. If they would go to Vietnam to study, learn from the oriental, and discover right in their own body, hopefully that would be enough to satisfy them and help them develop a close association with the universe and God. Just as he did in the Proclamation for Attestation, He affirmed the presence of the invisible world. He told of the Three Thousand Great Thousand Worlds and worlds without number. Scientists today have also confirmed that there are numberless planets, but they cannot discover the meaning of life, which can be seen only by the eye of the Buddhist master.

Why? Because the Buddhist master is always ascending, basing His experiences on the applied knowledge of life to control His nature. As a result, He becomes like a super-human, a sacred philosopher who can truly see everything. As long as selfishness still exists, using knowledge as a means to enlightenment is useless.

5.  Emperor LI SHIMIN (TAIZONG)

Emperor LI SHIMIN

Under the TANG dynasty in China, Emperor LI SHIMIN was actually the Bodhisattva Lord Supreme Maitreya. In the mean time, the incarnation of the Venerable Moggallana was actually Hsun Tsang, who went on a pilgrimage of sutra from China to India. Thus the Supreme Pure King incarnating Lord Supreme Maitreya stated:

“The Bodhisattva (Maitreya) acquired the highest point of determination. He was spontaneously tranquil, without polluted-love. He respectfully worshipped the Amitabha Buddha by, first, dwelling in the pure land, and then made the great vow to return to the world.

Returning to the world, he would be a brilliant king, a leader capable of saving his country and his people, delivering them from the yoke of slavery. Wherever he was reborn, he became a salvation leader, never being an ordinary man. Why does he have to be a king or leader? Being a king or leader, he could later possess a majestic nation and become the Buddha, first to save his people and later to master the universe. That is, of course, an obvious matter.” –T.V.

He has also taught: Being a king aims to cultivate the talent, which brings about the wisdom. The virtue had been accumulated through many lifetimes of practice. The wisdom was then needed to balance virtue with wisdom. The disciple had to acquire a superior goodness to get virtue as large as the sea. The supreme wisdom is the matchless one. It is by possessing a transcendent virtue and wisdom that one could become the Buddha. This one is thus, neither gentle nor cruel, good nor evil. It is by practicing the right way where re-birth ends and one can become immortal, which is a matter of course.

The sage goes only on the right side of life since he has insufficient talent to face the wrong side. He is subject to die without complaint. He nevertheless shows his compassion for them. This dharma path has neither enlightenment nor supreme wisdom. The only wisdom a sage could attain, at most, is awakening. The fully awakened one is the enlightened one, who should wait to personally see the great power, Lord Supreme Maitreya, and undergo many tests and verifications before attesting to enter into the constitution.

Sakyamuni Buddha has attested to the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, and Maitreya Bodhisattva, and others. In this final law period, Long Hoa had been opened for thirty-seven years by Lord Supreme Maitreya, but those who proclaimed themselves the “Enlightened Ones” did not come personally to see Him in order to be Attested. They proclaimed themselves to be the Buddha. Obviously, they were not true Buddhas. Proclaiming with insufficient abilities and merits, they will be caught in the disastrous “Buddha sphere” through incalculable lifetimes.

On the other hand, the faithful disciples knew that when the Lord Supreme Maitreya returned to the world, all of the patriarchs, from the time of Sakyamuni Buddha, drew close to Him to practice the Dharma.

During China’s Tang Dynasty, Emperor Li Shimin, coming into the world, was actually the Bodhisattva Maitreya. He lived at the same time as the Venerable Moggallana incarnating Master Hsuan Tsang, who went on a pilgrimage for sutra. A noteworthy point: The faithful believer has to recognize that before Master Hsuan Tsang’s passing, one of his true disciples named Yen-Ts’ung, and others asked him:

“Are you sure that you will be reborn in the Tusita Heaven?”

“Sure”, replied the Master. And He said:

“This toxic body of Master Hsuan Tsang is truly boring. Now that my work has ended, I really should not remain here. I would like to transfer all of my merits and knowledge to all living creatures, wishing that all of us would be reborn in the Tusita Heaven to follow Lord Maitreya Bodhisattva, to practice dharma and to serve Him.

When the Buddha returns to the world we wish to be able to return there with Him to accomplish Buddhist works until the supreme purpose is attained.”

After saying these words of farewell, the Master continued to enter into meditation. Then, He recited a verse of eulogy to the Lord Supreme Maitreya and established His vow before being reborn in the Tusita Heaven. After the recital, His breath gradually became weaker, and he passed away tranquilly. His skin was still with good color and His countenance was joyful. After seven days, His countenance did not change and His body did not emit any unpleasant odors. It was the year 664 of the 7^th century. This oath of vow, until now in the 20^th century, has been responded to in the most vigorous manner and with the highest sincerity, and has been attested to by the Supreme Pure King incarnating the Lord Supreme Maitreya. This can affirm that the transmigration cycle of reincarnation is true.

Emperor Li Shimin and  the Master Huyen Trang  (Hsuan Tsang–Chinese)

Lord Supreme Maitreya returned this time at the second half of the 20^th century. He appeared as a layman, the Master Huyen Trang (Hsuan Tsang – Chinese) also appeared as a layman. The patriarchs, from the time of the Sakyamuni Buddha appeared now with the full conduct of laymen at home. All of them were married, had children, and practiced all careers in the South Vietnam society.

They were now gathering in sufficient numbers following Lord Supreme Maitreya, to practice. Among them, Huyen Trang, in His new incarnation and new name, was selected by the Supreme Pure King incarnating Lord Supreme Maitreya to be head of the central ministry, to progress the Buddhist works during the path of ministry of the Lord in this world. Huyen Trang also underwent the difficulties and hardships of the Final Law Period. These hardships were a thousand times greater than when he went on a pilgrimage of sutra. Many true disciples of the Lord Pure King, practicing side by side with Huyen Trang, had tried through conspiracy to thrust, subvert, and thrash the later... but they did not have enough of the prajna mind, so they were defeated after numerous attempts.

Really, it is a rare thing: The ancient vow, made in the seventh century, holding true in the twentieth century, the century in which the Lord Supreme Maitreya appeared. Today, this vow is resolved with an accurate outcome.

Once again: “When the Lord Supreme Maitreya returns to the world, we would like to come along with Him, progressing the Buddhist work until we attain the Supreme Purpose.” This vow had been realized and had been fulfilled. This has been attested to by The Lord Supreme Maitreya Buddha in the Great Ceremony, (the 30^th day of the 9^th month of the lunar year 1989.)

We can discern that the disciple with the faithful, fervent mind is always concerned and attested by the Buddhas of Ten Directions without omission. If the Master Hsuan Tsang had not been reborn in the Tusita Heaven, according to his concluding vow, how could we see that in this final period? Lord Supreme Maitreya and Hsuan Tsang appeared at the same time as laymen, and they meet each other in the final lifetime when Lord Supreme Maitreya became Buddha. Hsuan Tsang had also successfully served in conformity with his vow. There were reunions in all previous lifetimes, but whenever Lord Supreme Maitreya lived as a layman, all the disciples also appeared as laymen. For this reason we should know that there was an arrangement of the Lord before His returning to the world. All had been gathered and arranged beforehand.

In the second half of the eleventh century, the Venerable Moggallana, reborn in Tibet, was the Lama Milarepa. History had written this event in the book “Milarepa, the Transcendent Man”. Lord Supreme Maitreya was then the Master who taught the dharma to Milarepa. So many lifetimes of actively fulfilling the vow belonged to the category of inconceivability, which was waiting to be attested to in this Final Law Period. The continuous long chains of effort were accomplished in many lifetimes of diligent, tireless practice. The hard endurance through the evolution of all dharma, on some occasions, was worn out. Many cultivators ran away in this Dharma-Ending Age, unable to endure and returned to the temples and homes, while avoiding the evolution of all dharma in the world!

One day The Supreme Pure King incarnating Lord Supreme Maitreya said: Among his countless true disciples today, (those of lowest rank) were also the officers and advisors. The others were the high officers in the time of Kung-Ming and that of the Emperor Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty. They all presently made up their mind to practice the dharma. These things affirm that the foundation was deeply set and today is able to stand unified./-

(1) T.V.: Abbreviation of Tịnh Vương, Supreme Pure King Buddha.
     One of original Vietnamese titles of Lord Supereme Maitreya Buddha.