The Ten Admonitory Sermons
from Mother of Her Children
Prelude
Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and Immortals are terms used to describe the different peerages of the Kingdom. Contrary to popular belief, the term "Buddha" is not specific to Buddhism. A Buddha is a perfect enlightened being. As such Lao Tzu, Confucius and Jesus are also Buddhas.
The Ji Guan or the Yu Heng is an instrument used in writing the sermons.
The Four Heavenly Kings are responsible for guarding one of the four domains in the Heaven of Spirits.
The Twenty Eight Constellations refer to the twenty eight divine beings in charge of the twenty eight constellations.
The Thunder, Wind, Tiger, and Dragon Units are the divine beings responsible for the thunders, winds, clouds, and rains that we experience in nature.
The Ship of Truth is the Tao or Truth. It is the ship of salvation.
The Golden Self refers to the soul which is our true self.
The Eight Trigrams are the eight directions that the Yin (negative cosmic energy) and the Yang (positive cosmic energy) permeate. They also represent the cultivation of the Heaven of Spirits, Earth, mankind, substance and all beings. The Nine Regions refer to the Eight Trigrams and its center.
Pure Land of the West is another name for the Kingdom.
The Four Nobles are Immortals, Buddhas, Saints, and Deities.
The Five Domains are Heaven, Earth, Human, Mountains, and Water. Here they refer to the deities or spirits responsible for each region.
The Golden Thread is the glittering path to the Kingdom.
The Nine Two refers to all the deities/devas, man, animals, and ghosts.
The Nine Continents and the Four Seas refer to the world.
First Sermon
The life cycle of the Universe comprises 12 phases, with each phase lasting about 10,800 years. The first six phases (Zi, Chou, Yin, Mau, Cheng, and Si) are the period of birth and growth of Heaven and Earth. The Hai phase is the final phase where the Universe will end.
Qian and Kun are the positive and negative respectively.
Second Sermon
The Mystical Gate, Wordless Sutra and Unity Seal are the Three Treasures.
The Three Awes are to be in awe of the following: heavenly decree, superior man and sages' words.
The Nine Considerations are: discerning of matters, attentive listening, pleasant countenace, right attitude, sincere speech, proper conduct of affairs, seek clarification if in doubt, when get angry think of the difficulties, and benefits to be righteously gained.
The Three Self Examinations are: Are we loyal when we work for someone? Are we trustworthy in friendship? Have we put into practice what we have learned?
The Four Prohibitions are: see no evil, hear no evil, think no evil, and do no evil.
The Two Nine Patriarch refers to the eighteenth or last patriarch of the Truth (or Tao) in the East. They are Saints Tian Ran and Sun Hui Ming. They are also the incarnation of Ji Gong Buddha and Yue Hui Bodhisattva. Patriarch refers to saint who is given the heavenly mandate by Mother to transmit the Truth. The first patriarch is Emperor Fu Xi of ancient China who lived about seven thousand years ago.
Third Sermon
The three realms refer to the Kingdom, Heaven of Spirits and our World.
The Ten Quarters means all quarters.
Every five days constitute a Proper Period. Thus six Proper constitute a month.
The Seven Constitutions are Jupiter, Venus, Mercury, Mars, Saturn, the Sun, and Moon.
One here refers to the Tao or the True One.
The Three Saints are Lao Tzu, Confucius, and Gautama Buddha.
Long Hua Assembly is the assembly where the Three Buddhas (Maitreya, Ji Gong, and Yue Hui) will select and confer peerages on the practitioners of the Truth.
The seven emotions are happiness, rage, sadness, joyousness, love, hatred, and lust.
The six desires are the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind.
Fourth Sermon
The world with the five filthy elements refers to our Earth. The five filthy elements are lust, greed, anger, drinking, and smoking.
Mirror of Sins, Deep Frying Pot and Nai River. There are some of the things found in Hell. The Mirror of Sins captures all the misdeeds one had committed during the lifetime. The Deep Frying Pot is used to carry out punishment by torturing the souls in boiling liquid. The Nai river is where all the filth is gathered.
Fifth Sermon
The Three Catastrophes are Water Catastrophe (Green Period), Fire Catastrophe (Red Period) and Wind Catastrophe (White Period). The eight types of disasters are famines, plagues, insects, beasts, droughts, floods, monsters, and demons.
The final autumn refers to the period the world is in now. The time has come for the good to be separated from the evil.
Nine times nine equals eighty one. Thus Nine Nine refers to a total of eighty one catastrophes the world will experience during this White Period. The eighty first catastrophe will be the most devastating and will occur during Doomsday.
Yao, Shun and Yu are the ancient sage emperors of China. They were exemplary rulers who had the welfare of the people at heart. They were also the patriarchs of Tao.
The Three Bonds are the bonds between kings and ministers, parents children, and husbands and wives.
The Five Virtues are benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness.
The Five Relationships: rulers be just to subjects, parents be benevolent to children, husbands and wives recognize each other, siblings respect each other, and trust be kept among friends.
The Cardinal Virtues are filial piety, fraternal love, loyalty, trustworthiness, propriety, justice, integrity, and knowing shame.
The Three Followings of Buddhism are: Follow the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.
The Five Precepts are abstain from killing, theft, lust, intoxication, and false speech.
Sixth Sermon
Bells are used to sound hours. Here to ring the golden bell means to sound warning to humans.
Thirty six hundred saints and forty eight thousand sages is the number of peerages to be conferred at the Long Hua Assembly.
Seventh Sermon
The Five Thunders are the thunders of Heaven, Earth, Yang, Yin, and Dharma.
The Three Submissions for women are: to follow the father before marriage, the husband upon marriage, the son during widowhood.
Tao Pan Cha Bu refers to the ancient period when one must fulfill his vows before the Truth is revealed to him.
The Four Virtues for women are dignity, proper expression, proper appearance, conversant in housekeeping.
Eighth Sermon
Jiang Tiang Gong is known for his help to King Wu in establishing the Chou dynasty.
King Wen is the father of King Wu. He is known for his work in establishing the interpretations of the sixty four hexagrams to foretell changes.
Qiu Chang Chun lived during the Song dynasty. As one of the successors to the Taoism heritage, he propagated that the one Truth is embedded in Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. He later attained the Truth.
Princess Miao Shan is Guan Yin or the Goddess of Mercy. She had incarnated into this world on numerous occasions out of her compassion to save the sentient beings.
Sun Bu Er lived in the South Song dynasty. She gave up her wealth and defaced herself to show her determination in cultivating the Truth.
Dan Tian is the essence of life in the human body.
Huang Ya is the true water.
Ninth Sermon
Three Thousand refers to the entire Milky Way Galaxy.
Three Classes or Three Flowers are the three treasures of the body: vitality, spirit and soul.
The Five Energies are the energies associated with the five internal organs and the five fundamental elements. They are the energy of the heart and its related element to fire, live (wood), spleen (earth), lungs (metal), and kidney (water).
Yi literally is changes. There are three attributes to Yi: the Non-Change, the Change and the Interaction.
The Foolish Son is a term used by Mother to refer to Maitreya Buddha. Foolish here implies simple and honest.
The Crazy Son refers to Ji Gong Buddha. Crazy here implies innocent and humorous.
Tenth Sermon
The Eight Noble Guards are divine beings of the Kingdom.
When the Wheel of Truth turns all emotions and desires will be crushed. Eventually, one will be enlightened.
The term 'dragon' represents the wood element. Wood can generate fire.
The term 'tiger' represents the metal element. Metal gives rise to water.
These are Taoist terms. To subdue the dragon and tiger means to descend the fire and ascend the water so that they complement each other.
'One Ten Eight Little Child' hints a person.
Bodhi wine is the spiritual energy bestowed by Mother to our true self.
Conclusion
The Golden Rooster symbolizes the coming of Maitreya Buddha. Maitreya will manifest three times before the Final Catastrophe.
