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Chapter Fourteen : Prospects 18
Sŏ Taewon asked, “What will the world be like when the era of Maitreya Buddha has fully arrived and the Dragon-Flower Order has been for the most part established?” The Founding Master said, “During that era, people’s intelligence will become much more advanced, so that there will be no mutual harm between things. By distinguishing pretense and substance, truth and falsity, the practice of praying before buddha images for longevity and blessings will gradually disappear, but will be extended to include heaven and earth, the myriad things in heaven and earth, and the dharma realm of empty space. We will sow our merits according to situations and circumstances over the whole range of the myriad things in heaven and earth and the dharma realm of empty space, whether praying for wealth, honor, or longevity. Each and every person will become a living buddha and deliver one another; each and every person will realize that he or she possesses the authority of a buddha; and every household will have buddhas living among them. There will be no need to designate a specific place as the site of the order, for one will come to the Dragon-Flower Order wherever one goes. How can such grandeur be fully described with words and letters? In a world where this order has been established, the buddhadharma will pervade everywhere under heaven, the differentiation between monk and layperson will vanish, secular laws and the Way and its power will not be mutually obstructive, spiritual practice and mundane life will not be mutually obstructive, and the myriad living things will all be edified through its virtue.”
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