You could say that Earth Store Bodhisattva is the most dumb of Bodhisattvas and also the most intelligent. Why dumb? Because he does the things that no one else wants to do. He can bear what others can't bear and yield what others can't yield. When his parents were really mean to him, it didn't make any difference, he was filial just the same. That's why within Buddhism, Earth Store Bodhisattva is known as the Bodhisattva of great filiality and also the Bodhisattva of great vows. He said,"Until the hells are empty, I will never become a Buddha." Until every single living being is taken across, he doesn't want to attain proper and equal en lightenment. Just take a look at this kind of vow-power-doesn't it seem kind of dumb? On the other hand, we can also say he is the most intelligent Bodhisattva. That's because he stands out above everyone else. He transcends all his peers. Someone asks, "Well, is he trying to be special?" No. He does what others don't want to do and aren't able to do, and so we can say that he is the most intelligent Bodhisattva. In short, it can be said of Earth Store Bodhisattva that he has great vows, great conduct, great wisdom, and great compassion.

In Chung Kuo there are four holy mountains: Wu T'ai Mountain is the Bodhimanda of Manjushri Bodhisattva; P'u T'ou is the Bodhimanda of Kuan Yin Bodhisattva; Mei Shan is the Bodhimanda of Universal Worthy Bodhisattva; and Chiu Hua Mountain is the sacred Way Place devoted to Earth Store Bodhisattva. Earth Store Bodhisattva embodies the vow-power of all Bodhisattvas, the conduct of all Bodhisattvas, the wisdom of all Bodhisattvas, and the compassion of all Bodhisattvas. His power of vows is truly inconceivable, and so is his wisdom as well as his accomplishment.

Those of us who are living in the Dharma Ending Age should definitely recite the name of Earth Store Bodhisattva more and make vows like this Bodhisattva. In this way we can help the world avoid horrendous disasters. From times long ago until today the world has never been in such great danger. Why? Do you really need to ask? It's because every country is in the nuclear race, intent on making weapons which are designed to totally eliminate mankind. The most treacherous thing now is the laser. In Chung Wen it is called the "death ray." With this death ray, everyone is going to be destroyed, leaving no one to survive. We are going to exterminate all of humanity. Exterminate! Exterminate! This death ray has appeared in the world as a warning, telling people, "Don't continue to do evil things. If you continue to do bad things, all of humanity will be exterminated. The sea of suffering is boundless Quickly Turn around and you will reach the other shore. You should practice filiality, fraternity, loyalty, integrity, propriety, righteousness, incorruptibility, and a sense of shame. You should embody those eight virtues, and then humanity will not be exterminated. Otherwise, we have invented a weapon called the death ray and it is designed to annihilate mankind."

Not only will this weapon exterminate all of humanity, but all those in the animal realm as well. Every living thing will be exterminated. And once everything is exterminated, the world will turn into.emptiness. There will be no more people, no more material world, no creatures--what will be left? Emptiness. The world will go back to the source. So, how can you in this day and age, still be hung up on getting rich, getting some official position, seeking fame, seeking profit? You try to get a reputation at any cost and in the process you hurt a lot of people. That's really being stupid! People like this don't even recognize what day and what age they are living in. So stop and think. We have these few decades in which to live and during that time, if we don't amass some merit and virtue, then we will have lived our lives in vain.

Some of you have come especially today to bow to the Ten Thousand Buddhas at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, but it's really important that you truly bring forth the Bodhi mind. You should see that there's nothing so extraordinary or desirable about anything in this world. No matter how wealthy you become, even if you have all the gold, silver, and diamonds in this world, when the time comes for you to die, what of it can you take with you? You can't take any gold, you can't take any silver, nor can you take any diamonds and you die emptihanded. If you wait until you die to be left emptihanded, it's not as good as taking advantage of your lifetime to do useful things with your wealth and thereby amass merit and virtue. If you put your wealth to good use, then your life would not be a total waste. Since the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are helping you so that everything about your life is compliant and easy, you should certairfiy want to repay their kindness.

You should wake up from your dream. Quickly bring forth the resolve for Bodhi. Don't wait until you are old to cultivate the Way. The lonely graves are mostly filled with those who died young. And remember that an inch of time is a moment of life; and an inch of time is worth an inch of gold. If you lose the gold it's possible to get it back, but if you lose an inch of life, it's impossible to regain it.

Smart people don't do muddled things; muddled people don't ever think to do smart things. And so the good get together and the bad gather in gangs. People gravitate to their own kind. Now you are here to witness the very beginning of the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. For instance, on the two sides of this main hall there are subsidiary halls. On one side is the Hall of Merit and Virtue and on the other is the Hall of Rebirth. In the Hall of Merit and Virtue and the Hall of Long Life, those who have helped to establish the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas will be remembered in the future. And in the Hall of Rebirth, you can place the ashes of your ancestors or set up a memorial plaque for them in commemoration. That is a filial act. With those rebirth plaques, people can establish merit and virtue.

The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas is in its beginning stages. In 1976, I acquired the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas and at that time everyone looked on from the side lines and figured I must be kidding. They just stood on and watched. No one offered to help. They all said, "That's a huge place and he's such a poor monk. It's for sure he will lose it within a year. He will have to close the doors and declare bankruptcy." No one resolved to help. But the doors didn't close in a year. It has been almost seven years now. It could be said that in these seven years the City has prospet more and more each year. Why wasn't I afraid? Because I am not selfish and I'm not out for self-benefit. Whatever I do, I do on behalf of all of Buddhism. I never calculate in terms of myself alone. And because of that, everyday there are more people who leave the homelife and more Sutras are being translated into English. And now the Ten Thousand Buddhas have come and they are glowing and shining their light on the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. These seven years have passed in a blink of an eye and I still say we are at the beginning stages of our development. Earlier I showed you our new dining hall, which is being constructed. Both sides of the building will seat 2,000 people. Not only that, but we are beginning to build "the Great Hall." The Great Hall will seat 10,000. Ten Thousand will be able to come and bow to the Buddha. We can certainly say that in all of America, there's no Way Place that can hold so many people who can bow to the Buddha all at once. In fact, in all of

Asia as well, you won't find such a big hall. You ask, "Why do you want such a big place, anyway?" I'll tell you. Even that hall can't be considered too big. America is an international country. All races and nationalities come to America. In such a country, a small Way-place won't be big enough to hold all those who want to come and worship. So as an international Way-place within Buddhism,if we don't have a hall that can hold ten thousand people, then we are not functioning on an appropriately large scale.