Ignorance is the Origin of All Problems.VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=THICH CHAN TANH.AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.
If we learn about ignorance, we will find that one aspect of it is the error of causal behavior. We don't know what to do or say, and what will happen. We can be very confused about which job to choose, get married, whether to give birth or not, etc. If we marry someone, what will be the result? We do not know. The idea of the outcome of my choice is actually just imagination. We may think that if we have a deep relationship with someone, we will live happily ever after, like a fairytale. If you feel uncomfortable in a situation, you think that if you scream, it will make the situation better. We have a very misguided idea of how the other person will react to his actions. I think if we scream and say our feelings, I will feel better and every move will be fine, but things will not work out. I want to know what will happen. In despair, we go to see astrology or to cultivate hexagrams The Book of Changes , or The I Ching . Why do we do that? Because we want to control what will happen.
Buddhism says that a deeper level of ignorance is a mistake about how we and others exist, how the world exists. We are completely misguided about the issue of controlling things. I think I can completely control what happens to me. That's why we're disappointed. We cannot always control the situation. That is not practical. The reality is very complicated. There are many factors that determine what will happen, not just our actions. This does not mean that we are completely out of control or dominated by outside forces. We have to decide what will happen, but we are not the only factor deciding what will happen.
Because of ignorance and insecurity, we often act in a negative way without even knowing it is negative behavior. It is because of the effects of emotions, disturbing attitudes and impulses that arise from your habits. We not only have to act negatively on others, but also for ourselves. In other words, we create more problems for ourselves. If you want to reduce the problem, or get out of trouble, or beyond that is able to help others solve their problems, we need to acknowledge the source of our limitations.
Escape from Ignorance
Suppose we can identify the source of our problem as ignorance. This is not too difficult. Many people have to say, "I am really confused." I feel so confused. ”Then what? Before joining and paying for this course or retreat, one should seriously consider that we have truly believed we can escape ignorance. If I don't think this is possible, then what should I do? If we only attend the retreat in the hope that we can escape ignorance, this idea is not very sustainable. It is a dream.
We may think that we will have freedom in some way. I may think that someone will save us. It could be a sublime character, superior to me, like God, so that we can have faith again. In other words, one can expect a spiritual teacher, a mate or someone else to help us escape ignorance. It is very easy for us to depend on others and act immorally in these situations. We are often so desperate, hoping to find someone who can save us, so much that we rely on others without mature choices. We can choose a person that they themselves have not escaped ignorance, or someone, because of their own disturbing emotions and attitudes that take advantage of our innocent faith. This is not a good way to behave. We cannot expect a spiritual teacher or a relationship to help us erase all ignorance. We have to erase our ignorance.
The relationship with a spiritual teacher or partner can bring about a favorable situation, only when it is a healthy relationship. If it is not healthy, the situation will get worse. It will lead to more confusion. At first, we can sink deeply in denial, thinking that the teacher is perfect, the partner is perfect, but in the end, my innocence disappears. When we begin to see the defect of the other person and realize that they cannot save us from all our ignorance, we will have a mental breakdown. I will feel cheated. Our faith and trust have been deceived. It was a terrible feeling! It is very important to try to avoid this situation from the beginning. We need to practice Dharma, which is a precautionary measure. We need to understand what is possible and what is impossible. What can a spiritual teacher do and cannot do? We will take preventive measures to avoid mental collapse.
We need to develop an absent mind. Understanding, the opposite factor of ignorance, will prevent, do not let ignorance arise. Our job while practicing Dharma is to observe our inner mind and focus on our attitudes, on the negativity, impulsive behavior, urgency or dementia. This means being willing to see things that are not very good in yourself, instead of denying them. When realizing things that cause trouble for you, or what are signs of trouble, we should apply antidote to overcome them. All of this is based on cultivation and meditation. We have to learn how to identify disturbing emotions and attitudes and their origins.
Meditation
Meditation means the practice of applying different treatments in a controlled context, to get used to how to apply them, and then, to practice them in real life. For example, if we get angry with other people when they don't act as we want, while meditating, we'll think about this situation and try to look at them from different angles. The other person acts against us for many reasons. Just because they do not love us, they do not necessarily act with hatred. During meditation, I tried to disintegrate this attitude: "My friend doesn't love me anymore, because he doesn't call me."
If we can practice experiencing this situation with a more relaxed, knowledgeable, and patient mood, then if the friend doesn't call for a week, we're not too sad. When you start to feel sad, you will remember that this friend is probably very busy and if you think you are the most important person in their life, it is selfish. This will help calm the sadness.
France Is a Full-Time Job
Practicing Dharma is not a hobby. That's not what we do as a sport or to relax. I will not go to the Buddhist center just to be a member of a certain group, or to have a social atmosphere. Maybe if we go there, that's good, but that's not my purpose. Moreover, we do not come to a Buddhist-style center for an addict to find satisfaction - satisfied with the inspiration from an attractive and interesting teacher, making us feel comfortable. If we do so, we will quickly get bored when we go home, then we need another satisfaction. France is not opium. The teacher is not opium. Practicing Dharma is a full-time job. We are talking about transforming our attitude towards everything in life. For example, If you are practicing love development for all sentient beings, you need to apply it in your family. Many people sit in the room to meditate on love, but cannot get along with their parents or their partners. This is sad.
Avoid Extremes
We need to avoid extremes while trying to apply Dharma to real situations at home or at work. One extreme is to blame the other completely, and the extreme is to blame all the sins on yourself. What happens in life is complicated. Both parties contribute to it: others contribute a part; so are we. We can try to make others change their behavior and attitudes, but I am sure that with our own experience, we all know this is not easy - especially if we enter the world by thinking of ourselves. yes, I am holy and accuse others. Changing yourself is much easier. Although we can advise others if they accept and not become more aggressive when listening to our advice, the main job is still ourselves.
While working with ourselves, we have to observe another extreme pair: it is completely preoccupied with our emotions and not aware of them. The first extreme is the attitude of selflessness. We only care about our emotions and tend to be indifferent to other people's emotions. We tend to think that our emotions are much more important, compared to the feelings of others. On the other hand, we may be completely unaware of our emotions, or completely feel nothing, as if our emotions were paralyzed because of the anesthetic. Away from these extremes requires skillful balance. This is not easy.
If we are always observing ourselves, it creates a dualistic illusion - ourselves and what we are doing or feeling - so we don't really relate to anyone, or be present. with someone. The true art is in acting and relating to others naturally and honestly, while part of our mind is directed to our motivation, etc. However, we should try to work This does not act in a broken manner because it is not present to the other person. I should also point out that when we consider our motives and emotions in the process of contacting others, sometimes sharing with others is also helpful. However, if I think I have to It is too selfish to say it. Often others don't care about our emotions. If you think that they want to know how our emotions are, then it's important to be self-centered. When you realize that you start acting selfishly, you just need to stop without saying it.
Another extreme pair is that they are completely bad or absolutely good. If you are too focused on your difficulties, problems and troubles, you may begin to feel that you are a bad person. This is very easy to degenerate into guilt. "I should practice Dharma. If not, I will be a bad person. ”Basically, this is a very crazy practice.
We also need to avoid that extreme, which is too focused on the positive. "We are all perfect. Just see your Buddha nature. It is very dangerous, because it implies that we do not need to let go of anything, we do not need to end any negativity, because all we need to do is to see your Buddha nature. "I am wonderful. I am perfect. I don't need to end my negative behavior. ”We need a balance. If you feel that you are too low, remind yourself of your Buddha nature. If you feel a bit indifferent, focus on your negative side.
Responsibility
Basically, for self-development and eliminating the problem, we have to take responsibility for ourselves. Of course, we need support. It is not easy to do this yourself. We can get help from our spiritual teachers or Sangha, who are like-minded people, who are improving themselves and not blaming others for their problems. That is why in a relationship, it is important to have the same attitude, not to blame the other person for any problems that may occur. If both of them blame each other, it will not be done. If there is only one person who improves himself, the other person cannot blame the opponent. If in a relationship the other person always accuses us, while we are finding out what we have contributed in this matter, does not mean the two have to break up, but this case is more difficult. We must avoid being subjected to torture in this relationship. “I am enduring all this. It is difficult. ”Things can be very stressful.
Get Inspired
Sometimes, the form of support we can receive from spiritual teachers, from Sangha or friends is called "inspiration." The Buddha's teachings place great emphasis on receiving inspiration. from the Three Jewels, from the gurus, etc. The Tibetan word "jinlab" (byin -rlabs ), often translated as "blessing force," is an improper translation. We need some kind of power to continue to practice.
The way to follow Buddhism is not an easy path. It copes with the bad things of life. We need a solid source of inspiration. If our inspiration is myths about miracles and the kind of things that teachers tell about themselves or other characters in Buddhist history, it is not a very sustainable source of inspiration. . They are certainly interesting, but we have to consider how they affect us. For many people, they reinforce an imaginary world in which we wish for the salvation of miracles. We imagine that a great magician will help us with his miraculous power, or suddenly we can develop these marvelous things on our own. We must be extremely cautious with these mystical stories. They can inspire our beliefs, etc., and this may be helpful, but it is not a solid foundation of inspiration. We need a strong foundation.
A perfect example is the case of Buddha. The Buddha did not try to "inspire" or impress others with magical stories. He did not appear to be a master by going everywhere to give blessings to people, or to do similar things. The similarity that Buddha used, was repeated throughout the entire Buddhist teachings, was a Buddha like the sun. The sun does not try to warm people. Due to the nature of the sun, it automatically brings warmth to everyone. Although one can see the lightheadedness when listening to a mysterious story, touch the head of a Buddha image, or have a red string to wear around the neck, but they are not solid. Solid inspiration is how a teacher demonstrates the spontaneous and natural qualities of a person, their personality, how he expresses himself from the result of practicing Dharma. This is the inspiration, not the actions that people create for us to entertain. Although this may not be as interesting as the mythical stories, it will give us a sustainable inspiration.
When there is progress in practice, we can get inspiration from our own progress, not from the miraculous powers, but from the slow change in xinxing. Dhamma always emphasizes your intercession for your good deeds. The very important thing that we should remember is that progress in practice is never a straightforward path. It does not simply progress better every day. One of the properties of reincarnation is that our moods constantly change up and down, until we are completely freed from samsara, and that is a situation of tremendous progress. We must anticipate that there will be times when we feel happy, sometimes unhappy. Sometimes, we can act in a positive way, and other times crazy habits prevail. Things will go up and down like that. Often miracles do not occur.
The doctrine of secluded distance emphasizes not being complacent when things go well, and not getting bored when they are not going well. Life is so. We need to look at long-term effects, not transient effects. For example, if we have practiced for 5 years, compared to 5 years ago, we have a lot of progress. Although sometimes confused, if we realize that we can solve the situation with reason and emotion in a calm, more intelligent way, this shows that we have made progress. This is the inspiration. It has no dramatic substance, although we want it to be and feel lightheaded with dramatic plays. It is a solid source of inspiration.
Be Real
We need to be quite practical and practical. When practicing the purification of Vajrayana, it is important not to think that the Vajrayana Saint is purifying us. It is not an external character, a great saint will save and give us blessing with purification. It is not exactly such a process. Vajra Bodhisattva manifests the natural purity of the mind of clarity, which is not infected by ignorance. Ignorance can be excluded. This is done by identifying the natural purity of the mind with effort, knowing that we can let go of our guilt, negative potentials and so on. This allows the process of purification. work.
Moreover, while practicing all these practices and trying to bring the Dharma into daily life, we need to recognize and acknowledge our current level. It is essential not to boast or assume that I should be at a level higher than the current level.
Accessing the Dharma from the Catholic Context
Most of us here are from the Catholic context. When we approach Buddhism and start learning, we don't need to think that we have to give up Catholicism to follow Buddhism. However, it is important not to mix these two practices. We do not pay homage three times at the altar before settling in the church. Similarly, when practicing Dharma, we do not visualize the Virgin Mary (Virgin Mary), but will visualize the deities (yidam). We will practice each religion separately. When I go to church, I only go to church; When meditating Buddhism, we only meditate on Buddhism. There are many similarities, such as emphasizing love, helping others, etc. At a basic level, there is no contradiction. If we practice love, do volunteer work, help others, We are all good Catholics and Buddhists. In the end, however, we will have to make a choice, but this is only necessary when we are ready to put the whole effort into great spiritual progress. If you want to go to the top floor of a building, you can't go on two stairs at the same time. I think this is a very useful metaphor. If you only practice at the basic level, then in the corridor. I won't have to worry about this. We can benefit from both religions. I won't have to worry about this. We can benefit from both religions. I won't have to worry about this. We can benefit from both religions.
Avoid Placing False Faithful Places
When applying Dharma to life, we have to be careful, avoiding abandoning our native religion, seeing it as evil or inferior. It was a big mistake. Then we can become a fanatic Buddhist and fanatical anti-Catholic. People also act like this for communism and democracy. A psychological mechanism that is considered misplaced loyalty will occupy the position. This is a tendency to be loyal to your family, to your context, etc., so you want to be faithful to Catholicism, even though you have renounced it. If you are not faithful to your context and completely reject it as a bad thing, you will feel very bad. Because this is extremely uncomfortable, in the unconscious, we feel the need to seek and be faithful to something in our context.
The tendency in the unconscious is to be faithful to some less beneficial aspect in your context. For example, we can give up Catholicism, but bring strong fear to hell when it comes to Buddhism. A friend of mine who used to be a very sincere Catholic, after that, she followed Buddhism vigorously, then suffered a crisis of existential problems. “I have quit Catholicism, so I will fall into Catholic hell; but if I leave Buddhism and return to Catholicism, I will fall into the hell of Buddhism! ”Although this sounds funny, it is really a serious problem for her.
Unconsciously, we often carry certain opinions from Catholicism to Buddhism. The most common viewpoints are guilt, seeking miracles and hoping someone to save them. If we do not practice, we feel that we should practice, otherwise we will feel guilty. These views are of no use. We need to realize this when we think like that. We need to consider our context and acknowledge the positive aspects to be loyal to the positive, rather than negative. Instead of thinking, "I have inherited the guilt and the search for miracles," one might think, "I have inherited the love and charity and helped the unfortunate people of the Catholic tradition. "
We can do the same for our families. We can deny them and be faithful to their negative practices in unconsciousness, instead of having a sense of loyalty to positive things. For example, if we admit that we are grateful for the Catholic context that we have, we can go on our own path without conflict with the past, nor to let emotions Negative continuously harms spiritual progress.
It is important to try to understand the psychological value of this. If you think of your past, including your family, your religion from birth, or whatever, is negative, you will tend to have a negative attitude towards yourself. On the other hand, if we can acknowledge positive points in our context and past, we will tend to have a positive attitude about ourselves. That helps us become much more stable on the spiritual path.
Final Comment
We need to move slowly, step by step in practice. When listening to very advanced teachings, attending the tantric empowerment, etc., even though the great masters of the past have said, "When listening to a doctrine, practice it immediately. ie, "we need to consider whether the doctrine is too advanced for our level or that it is something we can practice immediately. If it is too advanced doctrine, we need to be aware of the steps needed to prepare ourselves when practicing it, then follow those steps. In short, as a teacher of mine, Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey, once taught, "If we practice delusional methods, we will have illusory results; If we practice practical methods, we will reap practical results. ”END=NAM MO SAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.GOLDEN AMITABHA MONASTERY=AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.1/3/2019.
