Notes on the Title “Heavenly Truth”  天理

Từ điển Nguyễn Quốc Hùng:  Lẽ trời mà con người phải tuân theo.

According to Nguyen Quoc Hung’s dictionary, this is the “Heavenly Truth which everyone must obey”

Thiên lý refers to several meanings.  According to Confucianism, it means natural law, universal justice, method of moral standards, etc.  In general, it also means Heavenly Tao, which pervades all human and physical activities.  Knowing how to observe Heavenly Tao is central to viability.

1.-This line originates from the Chinese literature: “The jade hides in the Con (Kun), gold falls in the Le river.” That means, if one wants to find jade, they must climb the Kun Lun mountains and break this mass of rock, and it will take days or years to fetch it. By the same token, if one wants to prospect for gold, they must mine the Le river.” Kun Lun and Li Jiang are well known for their grandeur as tourist sites. In a figurative sense, only if one must work so hard, can they achieve their goal. In Vietnam, also at Thi Nai village, Chi Linh township, Hai Duong, there is “Con Son” mountain, where two famous mandarins, Nguyen Trai and Tran Nguyen Dan lived. Especially on its peak, there is the pagoda of the most venerable Monk Master Huyen Quang (the third patriarch of Truc Lam school, a zen one originating from the Vietnamese. In a figurative sense, the place is only for the Saints to reside. In theory, the sentence emphasizes the Buddhahood already existing in each individual like a precious stone.

2.-Line 8: These are the music notes of the Vietnamese classics corresponding to the Western notes, Do, Re, Fa, Sol and La.

3.-Line 18:  Giọng Bắc Hòa Nam: This is a poem which by its rule, is made up of a pair of seven syllables for each of the first two rows, and of a pair of one six syllable line and the other eight syllable one for the last two rows, no matter how long it is. The first two lines are read fast and tight (high-pitched), and the third and fourth lines are read loose and low-pitched. When Lord Master was at the Heritage Temple (Hoa Hao), He often said every evening: “Let me chant Tien for you to hear!”. Then He immediately read the oracles according to “Giong Bac Hoa Nam”, a blend of Northern and Southern voices, as described above.

4.-Line 21: It refers to Lord Master Himself. In the Oracle Volume I, He mentioned his name as “Blue Jade”.

5.-Line 58 – Long Hoa: According to Buddhism, Lord Sakyamuni Buddha predicted: At the end of the Lower Age, there will be Maitreya Buddha to descend, the fifth of the Five Buddhas, a Bodhisattva who will succeed Shakyamuni Buddha to become the world teacher for the living. The succession also marks the end of the Lower Age with the Nirvana entering of Shkyamuni Buddha, and the birth of Lord Maitreya Buddha, but eventually, the dharma remains unchanged with the Upper Age burgeoning with a new generation of its citizens who have fully observed the dharma and accumulated good deeds. Those who have distinguished merits in the previous lives shall be appointed to positions of high responsibility so that they can contribute to the rule of the new realm. This Gathering to prepare for this new era is called the Assembly of Long Hoa, that means ‘dragon flowers’ which bloom from a tree under which Maitreya Buddha used to meditate and became fully enlightened.

6.-Line 58: The Lower Age is the last of the Three Ages, the Upper Age and the Middle Age. The Three Ages belong to the same cycle in which they follow each other, and each Age may last many millennia, according to the Heavenly Machine, which predestinates what will happen. This conception of the universe is one of the fundamentals in Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. However, despite the powerful circulation of the universe, men can change their fates if they know how to live according to its laws, for example, by renouncing their evildoing, accumulating good deeds, improving their character and mind, consistently and faithfully thinking of the Supreme Being. In this way, the practicer can survive the doomsday and live on to the Upper Age which is dubbed “Golden Age” for the impeccability of its land and people.

7.-Line 72: Ha Tien here is not about the Province of Ha Tien, Southwestern Vietnam, but Tien Giang, the Northern tributary of the MeKong River. Ha or Giang, in Han Nom, means river, Tien the first. It is the first river, that is, Tien Giang. In a Han Viet phrase, the adjective normally stands before the noun. In Quoc-Ngu scripts, the order is reversed. However, most of the Vietnamese national names follow the former order for its official titles as the Vietnamese Imperial Court normally used the Han-Viet scripts to write their official documents.

8.-Line 59: The Lower Age is the last of the Three Ages, the Upper Age and the Middle Age. The Three Ages belong to the same cycle in which they follow each other, and each Age may last many millennia, according to the Heavenly Machine, which pre-destinates what will happen. This conception of the universe is one of the fundamentals in Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. However, despite the powerful circulation of the universe, men can change their fates if they know how to live according to its laws, for example, by renouncing their evildoing, cumulating good deeds, improving their character and mind, consistently and faithfully thinking of the Supreme Being. In this way, the practicer can survive the doomsday and live on to the Upper Age which is dubbed “Golden Age” for the impeccability of its land and people.

9.-Line 78: Copper columns of Ma Yuan (Vietnamese: Cột đồng Mã Viện) were a pair of copper columns erected by General Ma Yuan of Han China after his successful suppression of the Trung sisters’ rebellion in 43 AD. The columns stood at the southern frontier of Siang Lin (in Indochina, near Cape Varella) to mark the boundary of Chinese territory against the barbarians.[1] Ma prayed to heaven: “if the columns break, Jiao zhi will be destroyed.” (銅柱折交趾滅) Vietnamese collected many big rocks to put beside them in order to prevent them from bebroken, later, they became two hills and disappeared from historical records.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper_columns_of_Ma_Yuan.

9.-Line 79: The three referred hereto means three religions, Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism, but Buddhism finally serves as a mainstay for the three.

10.-Line 81: The name of a River in China called Ha (He in Pinyin).

11.-Line 89: Thirty Six Buddhas and Saints who will have descended to salvage the sentient beings from the ravages by three thousand six hundred heretic cults which will appear by all means of magic or evil methods. The Long Hoa Assembly will be established after that to return harmony and peace to the world and start anew the Upper Age when people will enjoy longevity and lasting happiness (see The Note “Tam Thập Lục Nhơn” on the Collection of Poems: Vietnamese version)