Angel Kumārajīva 
(Kumarajiva) and the Mahayana.

 

 The Lotus Sutra, commonly referred to as the Lotus Sutra, is the most important and famous Mahayana sutra of Buddhism, for the sake of the Sutra affirms, through the knowledge of the Buddha, we can all become Buddhas, and the proletariat of the Sutra is not beyond the ambition of the Buddha when enlightened; Showing to beings see, receive and enter the see, know of the Buddha.

The original Sanskrit text. There are at least three translations into Chinese, but only Kamarajiva's translations are widely spread. Venerable Thich Tri Tinh has relied on this translation to translate into Vietnamese. The history of Zen Master Kumarajiva is very special. We can draw many good things in it. So, first of all, I would like to summarize your biography in order to give you readers, which is not a useless thing.

Kumarajiva was born in 344. Her father was Kumarayana, the son of a senior Indian official. Because of the devotion, Kumarayana abandoned his family life to find teacher, soon to be famous and respected. When traveling to Kucha, a country in Central Asia between India and China, the king came to the border to welcome and invite the country. He had a beautiful young sister named Jiva, aged twenty. From small Jiva was famous smart. Growing up she did not look at any boys in the country, but when she met Kumarayana, she fell in love immediately, and secretly wished to get Kumarayana. The king said, give her Jiva to Kumarayana. Kumarayana does not refuse.

Shortly after Jiva conceived. Before that, Jiva often go to the temple in the area to hear the Noble Sermon though she did not understand much. But since there was a natural Kumarajiva, she understood the Buddha-dharma and quickly developed wisdom. The contemporary Arahant remarked that the child in Jiva's belly is not a child, but rather a great intellectual, who may be like the sage, the disciple of the Buddha. (This case is similar to that of the mother of Sumeru: when she brought the relics, she always won in the Dharma discussions with her brother, although she had always lost before.)

Sitting Kumarajiva for a short time, Jiva wishes to leave home, but Kamarayana not consent. A few years later, she gave birth to another son. When Kumarajiva was 7 years old, and had long understood the truths of suffering, not self, impermanence and emptiness of the ten thousand Dharma, Jiva decided to give up family life. Kumarayana also intended to attend the monastery, but since his beautiful wife, high rank, should abandon the intention. Not only that, he also blocked his wife's spiritual desire. Jiva made vows: if she did not go to the monastery, she died, and she started a hunger strike. At first, Kumarayana did not notice, but when he saw his wife too weak after six days of fasting, he promised: "I want to go home, but eat to restore health already." She changed her mind and said, "Please invite the Dharma Master down to your hair first." Do not know how, Kumarayana had to invite the monk of the temple, where Jiva often listened to the sermon given to her. Satisfaction, Ms. Jiva devoted himself to studying Buddhism with sincere heart, soon after attained Arahant. Because she is the King, she was offered many things. Not wanting to live in material comfort, sincerely cultivate the Dharma, she led Kumarajiva wandering religious practice, although her husband disagreed. She often leads her children to the temple to listen to the Buddha and the Buddha. At the age of seven, Kumarajiva saw people burn incense Buddha also burn incense Buddha. In the 9th year of Kumarajiva, Jiva brought her children to study with a great Theravada Buddhist teacher known as Bandhudatta. Kumarajiva studied very diligently, in the morning and in the morning, and recited the morning prayers according to the memory of the morning scrolls. Satisfaction, Ms. Jiva devoted himself to studying Buddhism with a sincere heart, soon not attained A-La-Han. Because she is the King, she was offered many things. Not wanting to live in material comfort, sincerely cultivate the Dharma, she led Kumarajiva wandering religious practice, although her husband disagreed. She often leads her children to the temple to listen to the Buddha and the Buddha. At the age of seven, Kumarajiva saw people burn incense Buddha also burn incense Buddha. In the 9th year of Kumarajiva, Jiva brought her children to study with a great Theravada Buddhist teacher known as Bandhudatta. Kumarajiva studied very diligently, in the morning and in the morning, and recited the morning prayers according to the memory of the morning scrolls. Satisfaction, Ms. Jiva devoted himself to studying Buddhism with a sincere heart, soon not attained A-La-Han. Because she is the King, she was offered many things. Not wanting to live in material comfort, sincerely cultivate the Dharma, she led Kumarajiva wandering religious practice, although her husband disagreed. She often leads her children to the temple to listen to the Buddha and the Buddha. At the age of seven, Kumarajiva saw people burn incense Buddha also burn incense Buddha. In the 9th year of Kumarajiva, Jiva brought her children to study with a great Theravada Buddhist teacher known as Bandhudatta. Kumarajiva studied very diligently, in the morning and in the morning, and recited the morning prayers according to the memory of the morning scrolls. Because she is the King, she was offered many things. Not wanting to live in material comfort, sincerely cultivate the Dharma, she led Kumarajiva wandering religious practice, although her husband disagreed. She often leads her children to the temple to listen to the Buddha and the Buddha. At the age of seven, Kumarajiva saw people burn incense Buddha also burn incense Buddha. In the 9th year of Kumarajiva, Jiva brought her children to study with a great Theravada Buddhist teacher known as Bandhudatta. Kumarajiva studied very diligently, in the morning and in the morning, and recited the morning prayers according to the memory of the morning scrolls. Because she is the King, she was offered many things. Not wanting to live in material comfort, sincerely cultivate the Dharma, she led Kumarajiva wandering religious practice, although her husband disagreed. She often leads her children to the temple to listen to the Buddha and the Buddha. At the age of seven, Kumarajiva saw people burn incense Buddha also burn incense Buddha. In the 9th year of Kumarajiva, Jiva brought her children to study with a great Theravada Buddhist teacher known as Bandhudatta. Kumarajiva studied very diligently, in the morning and in the morning, and recited the morning prayers according to the memory of the morning scrolls. Kumarajiva see people burn incense Buddha also burn incense Buddha. In the 9th year of Kumarajiva, Jiva brought her children to study with a great Theravada Buddhist teacher known as Bandhudatta. Kumarajiva studied very diligently, in the morning and in the morning, and recited the morning prayers according to the memory of the morning scrolls. Kumarajiva see people burn incense Buddha also burn incense Buddha. In the 9th year of Kumarajiva, Jiva brought her children to study with a great Theravada Buddhist teacher known as Bandhudatta. Kumarajiva studied very diligently, in the morning and in the morning, and recited the morning prayers according to the memory of the morning scrolls.

In Kumarajiva 12 years old, the mother and daughter return to Kucha. When, through the mountainous north of Kusan, an Arahant sees General Kumarajiva, he says, "Take care of this samurai carefully, if he does not break the precepts by 35, he will propagate the Dharma, save countless sentient beings like the Upagupta quartet in India. " On the way back, the mother and daughter stop in Kashgar, in a temple. Here, Kumarajiva was taught the Dharma and realized the truth of Van Qui Nhat, all things are due to the transformation of the Mind. Kumarajiva stayed in Kashgar to learn about Abhidhamma, and it was there that Kumarajiva was exposed to the Mahayana Dharma and realized that: While the Hinayana is wonderful, Mahayana is wonderful in itself. the wonderful.

The king of Kucha sent messengers to summon Jiva's mother and son back to Kucha. At the age of 20, Kumarajiva officially ordained in the king's palace and studied with Vimalaksha, a well-known monk of virtue, from Kashmir to. Before going to India to attain the third level of Arhats (Iris). Jiva finds that love with China should be said: "The Dharma (the Hinayana-Mahayana) is very profound, it needs to be spread widely in China, I have the ability to do it, but personally You will not get anything. What do you think? Kumarajiva replied: "The bodhisattva's wish is to forget oneself, to benefit people. If you can teach enlightened beings, even if you jump into oil cauldron not be afraid".

Kumarajiva in Kucha for two years, studying the Mahayana sutras. The king of Kucha, the uncle of Kumarajiva, made a golden lioness for Kumarajiva to sermon. But Kumarajiva wanted to leave Kucha because he wanted to teach Mahayana to his former teacher, Bandhudatta. This discourages the King from thinking that Kumarajiva is not responsive to the King's treatment. Incidentally, Bandhudatta comes to Kucha. King and Kumarajiva come to the place. The king asked, "What reason have you come from far away?" Bandhudatta replied: "First of all, the poor son of the monks, the monks, the monks, the monks, the monks,

Kumarajiva was very happy to see the old master, who taught the Mahayana teachings to the master. After hearing this, Bandhudatta asked: "Compared to Hinayana Mahayana has special benefits what?" Kumarajiva replied, "The Mahayana advocates of the law are none, the Hinayana accepts the title." Bandhudatta: "The Mahayana talks about No, but not only No, Nothing .. If everything is not, then learn What to do?" Kumarajiva preaches: "In the No-Yes, there is the Noble Truth in the Noble Truth, the Mahayana is the ultimate Dharma, not as the Hinayana constrains itself in the name of the order so that it does not lead. completely liberated ". "I have an example of the No of the Mahayana: A madman asks the weaver, weave for a silk," said Bandhudatta. "The madman of the first silk is not delicate, The second silk is still rough, and continues to deteriorate until the weaver is able to stand, reaching for empty hands, spreading his arms and saying, "This is the most sophisticated silk." "There is nothing in it," said the madman. The weaver said: "This fine silk is to me as a weaver, and I do not see it." Crazy people are happy and treat the weaver. Many other weavers imitate mad fools for money. The Mahayana is the same: You say in No, there is, but no one sees that there. "Kamarajiva replied," That is not so. "And continued to preach the No and the Miracle. Having been in Bandhudatta for more than a month, Bandhudatta finally said, "I want to be your teacher." Kamarajiva replied, "How can you do that? The disciple has made the master teacher, why can he disciple disciples as teachers. "Bandhudatta said:" That matter is not worth the attention. "I am your teacher, you are my Mahayana teacher. So both have Hinayana and Mahayana to follow. " Kamarajiva accepted Bandhudatta as his disciple.

The reputation of Kamarajiva is growing. In 384 he was invited to China, in the North of France to spread the word. In 402 the king invited him to Trang An capital and ordained the National Teacher. Every day, thousands of monks and nuns will come and listen to him. For more than 10 years in Trang An, he translated 72 Buddhist texts from Sanskrit into Chinese. In 413, he was 69 years old. 

The above is a brief biography of Kamarajiva, a monk who has translated many Buddhist scriptures into Chinese so that we can indirectly enjoy the precious treasure. Reading his biography, we can draw something like this:

As written in Sutta 42: "It is difficult to give when poor, it is difficult to learn when rich". Kamarajiva's father had intended to become a monk, but when he was beautiful, high, he forgot everything. This shows that not everyone can practice. Only those who have a special place can follow the path of "tri-merge". Knowing that is not practical nor know because all is just know to borrow. Those who tell themselves a lot about Buddhism ask themselves a question: "Return my knowledge for books, headphones, eyes, what is left?" In addition, if the lay people we see the monk who broke the precepts for not being able to resist the material temptations in life, then do not be upset because it is the ordinary world. But this does not mean that we accept and cultivate behaviors that are contrary to the Buddhist monk's standard of practice. We all know, in Buddhism, the problem of morality, the morals of the monks are at the top. The role of the Dharma protectors of the lay community includes many aspects, especially the material means for the religious practitioners to practice the Dharma. But if any practitioner is immersed in material temptations, then the duty of the layperson is to advise and find a way to end the sinking. No one can laugh at people for one reason or another, and live a normal life. But no one can accept and nourish those who practice religious practices and ethics contrary to the morality of the Sangha. Dhammapada, v. 9, states that "

Jiva is a wonderful mother, which has a lot of influence on Kamarajiva. She cultivated with heartfelt sincerity and determination, the necessary conditions to achieve results in the practice. This is the same in Buddhism.

Kamarajiva is intelligent but also very diligent in studying the Buddha. This shows that intelligence and hard work will lead to success in any field, not limited to studying Buddhism.

The Upagupta quartet practiced in a rock cave, but many came to study. Whenever one was able to reach him, he broke a bamboo stick into the cave. After the cave is full of bamboo sticks proved he has been countless people. This shows that magnificent temples are not necessarily a necessity for spreading Dharma or living beings.

Evidently the ancients regarded me as very light, and the understanding of the Sangha was genuine knowledge. The ancient Dao as a teacher, meet the higher than can bow to the teacher and do not care about rank, status. If not, Bandhudatta never again honors his Mahayana teacher.

Reading the Kamarajiva biography, there is a point that need to be implemented. Otherwise, the problem is not clear. I'm sure there will be many people wondering: "Kamarajiva preaching what, more than a month later, persuaded the old master Bandhudatta to follow the Mahayana?" I must say right away that I am not capable enough to answer this question satisfactorily, because reading the biography of Tripitaka Kamarajiva I only know the general as above, but no other details. At the very least, however, we can be sure that Kamarajiva preached Mahayana sutras and the theme of Kamarajiva's preaching to Bandhudatta was THE FOOTBALL, the foundation of all Mahayana thought. In my opinion, it may not be more than a month to get the essence of the thought of Chan Dieu Huu in such a short time. The following,

The thought of Chan Dieu Huu originated from the Prajñā Sutra, the ancient and basic sutras of the Mahayana, and later, the Sutras such as Huayan, Sultan Tigers, Lotus, Vimalakirti, Mahayana Credits, etc., gradually develop the Dieu Huu aspect in the vacuum.

In order to understand the concept of the Noble Truth of the Buddha, we first need to understand what is the vacuum of Buddhism, and then proceed to find out what is in the No, the Buddhist term called the Noble Truth. The concept can be summarized as follows:

"The practitioner must cultivate to obtain the wisdom of Prajna, that is, the wisdom that leads to the deep realization of the reality of all things." The true nature of all things is emptiness, and wisdom This non-study (due to study) will form a life, activities free, unobstructed (to practice).

This is the position of Chan Dieu Huu of the.

Understanding the concept of vacuum or non-zero in Buddhism, we encounter an obstacle. It is: seeing the emptiness of all things is equivalent to seeing the Buddha Nature. But the Buddha-nature can only be realized, not thought, so one can not think of emptiness, because doing so puts emptiness into a limitation, while the reality of emptiness transcends all language limit. However, the definition of emptiness is not, but the ardent Sangha has realized the emptiness of all things, because it wants to lead beings on the path of liberation. , has been forced to use the ordinary language to describe some of the emptiness. In terms of this description, although we can not say what is not, we can say what is not.

"No" in Buddhism does not mean that it is not real, such as turtle feathers, rabbit horn.

"No" is neither "not empty" nor destroyed, meaning empty or before now no more, for example: in this room before there are many things now empty, nothing or Mr. A, Mrs. B, before she died, no more.

What does Buddhism mean by saying everything is "no"? Let me give you some explanations, but I will not go into detailed reasoning to explain them.

Because things are always changing, even in the shortest time we can imagine, they are not. This is not synonymous with the concept of "impermanence" in Theravada Buddhism.

Because all things are conditioned, they are no. Not here means no self, ie, self-sufficiency, self-reliance, independent, independent of anything else. No-self in the Prajnaparamita Sutra is merely an extension of the "No-Self" theory of Theravada Buddhism.

Because the world is just the totality of the State and the projection of the mind, subject to the law, everything is zero. This is the case of the Unified Manifestations in which all things exist only for living beings in the same realm, scientific terms called the same sympathetic frequency (by the community).

These explanations give us an idea of ​​why everything is not, not what we know. So we can not accept this Unfettered Being as something, somehow, appear somewhere. In other words, we have to negate even this very No, because if we assume that there is a No, we are in conflict with the very same explanation of the No. This new emptiness is equivalent to the common truth of all things things. This is the Absolute Ground, the ultimate transcendence, beyond all the Dharma and all the notions that Buddhism normally regards as: unmanageable or inconceivable (inconceivable or inconceivable: Kinh Ma).

The question is: if not can not think then Where is the place called Dieu Huu? This is perhaps the most confusing and confusing point in Buddhism's Noble Truths. Because, in principle, the practitioner must realize what is called Dieu Huu. However, we also have many theoretical ways to present the concept of Dieu Huu in the vacuum.

Scientific reasoning, we can say that Dieu Huu is right in the vacuum and never leaves the air. Indeed, two consecutive negatives give one definition: Because the very No is also No No No No become Yes.

According to the philosophy of the Two Bodhisattva of Nagarjuna: It is because of None that all things (Van Phap) can be established. This means: Because things are not, they can exist. Because if they are not No, there is no self, no independence, and so forth. There can be no change, nothing can be produced, nothing can be made. all efforts will be useless. Thus, the concept of the Noble Truth of the Prajna is the result of the reflection of the First Noble Truth and is considered the same truth. But it is the same No that is not, then return to the world of pretending to magically transform it, that is, to hold the Absolute Truth but not forget the existence of the Worldly Truth. And this is the Middle Way.

Such philosophical arguments are often abstract, confusing. For the reader to have a concept of a certain aspect of the Chanel, I would like to summarize in the nuance of Chan Dieu Huu:

Unity is all things things are not self-nature, Dieu Huu is the existence of the Van Phap, although the French have no self.

Unity is the conclusion of consciousness. Dieu Huu is the world has eliminated the mind, clear the form of the net calm.

On the Bodhicitta: The Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara is the Bodhisattva.

The Way of the Enlightened One: Finding Enlightenment (Right Foot) in the afflictions (Diệu Hữu).

Bodhisattva mainly take the living at home (Dieu Huu) as a basis for the practice of Bodhi.

The Paramitayama is the means to go to the Prajnaparamitta, and is an indispensable element in creating the world (Dieu Huu).

Prajnaparamitra is built on the basis of Emptiness Center (Chan Nhung) to complete the social morality (Dieu Huu).

I have written quite a lot about Chan Dieu Huu, but actually do not write anything. Because, the essence of the Buddha-dharmakaya thought in Buddhism is not purely intellectual knowledge.The key of the problem are the concepts, the philosophy or the doctrine, which are the themes of mindfulness meditation, the purpose of freeing people from the attachment of the self, the origin of the desires leading to suffering. pain and confusion. Only when we realize that life is so wonderful, but it is the essence of it that we can freely act in the direction of serving beings, I think this is the purpose of activity. Intersection. We hope that all our Buddhist activities are oriented towards this goal, aimed at supporting the belief that after all people in this world live in peace and happiness.END=NAM MO SAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=THICH CHAN TANH.THE MIND OF ENLIGHTENMENT.VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=GOLDEN LOTUS MONASTERY=AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.1/3/2018.