Four Noble Truths.VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=THICH CHAN TANH.AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.
The first thing the Buddha taught is "the four noble truths." This means there are four truths that anyone who is highly real and can understand reality, will understand that those things are true. These four facts are:
We have unhappiness, pain, and of course it comes from some kind of cause. For example, we can act in a very worrying way - with a lot of anger, for example. Nobody is happy when angry, isn't it? Therefore, we need to realize that here, the mind of anger is causing unhappiness for us and we have to eliminate the anger, one way or another.
The problem that makes us not feel happy can also be always worrying. Anxiety is a very uncomfortable mood. Nobody is happy to worry, right? President Tich Thien, a great Indian Buddhist master, said that if you are in a difficult situation where you can do something to change it, why worry? Just change it. Anxiety will not be useful at all. And if you can't do anything to change, then why worry? That will not be useful at all. Because of ignorance about the uselessness of anxiety, we worry about continuing. The bottom line here is that there is no benefit to worry about.
Then we also have problems at a different level, which is a problem of discontent. Of course, we have experienced happy times, but unfortunately they don't last forever, and we always want to be happier. We never have satisfaction. We are not satisfied if we only eat the food we like once, is that it? I want to eat it again and again. And if we eat too much for a while, then the joy we have at first becomes an abdominal pain. So we are a little confused about this kind of happiness. Instead of just enjoying things like that and realizing that it will not last, and will never satisfy you, then we cling to it; and when we lose that happiness, we feel very sad.
It is similar to being with a close friend or someone you love, and then they leave us. Of course they will leave us sometime, so we need to enjoy the time we spend with them. There is a very beautiful image that we sometimes use. When some great person I love so much comes into my life, it's like a wild bird flying into my window. When the wild bird stops at its window, we can enjoy its presence, but after a while, of course it will fly away, because it has freedom. And if we act very gently, the bird might come back. But if we catch birds and put them in cages, the bird will be very miserable, maybe even die. Similarly, these people enter our lives like this beautiful wild bird, and the best thing is to enjoy their time with you. When they leave for any reason, for how long - it will happen. If we are peaceful and calm about it and don't ask that - "Never leave me. I can't live without you, "something like that - they can come back. If not, our attachment and demand will only drive them away.
When we mistaken about the nature of happiness and ordinary joy in life, of course, we will encounter problems. We cannot even enjoy the happy times we have, because we are worried and afraid we will lose them. We are like a dog with a bowl of food - the dog is eating but also looks around and growls to make sure no one comes to take its food. Sometimes, we are like that, isn't it, instead of just enjoying what we have and accepting that when it ends, it will end. But of course this is not so simple - perhaps it does not even seem simple - but it requires training, familiarizing with another perspective to see things in life.
We are not only satisfied with temporary liberation from these problems, right? It's similar to going to sleep - when you're sleeping, you have no problem with a difficult relationship. So that's not the solution, because when you wake up the problem is still there. It's like you go on vacation somewhere, but then you have to go home, and when you get home, the problems are still there. Therefore, a vacation is not the best, sustainable and deepest solution.
The Buddha did not say that just silently accepting his problems and living with them, because that is not a very good solution, is that it? Because after that, we will feel quite helpless - we can't do anything, so we give up and don't even try. Efforts to overcome your problems are very important. Even if there is not much progress, at least, we feel that we have worked hard.
In addition, one of the biggest causes of problems is their selfish mind. Much of our selfish mind originates from ignorance of reality, because anyway, it seems that we think that we are the only person who exists in this world. Even if we admit that others exist, it is clear that we are the most important person in this universe, the center of our universe. Because of this misconception, we think, "I always have to be right. I always have to get what I want, ”and if we don't get it, we'll be sad.
But that is a very wrong view of reality, because in general there is nothing special about me. We are all the same, in the sense that everyone wants to be happy, nobody wants to suffer; Everyone wants to get what they want and no one expects to get what they want. Anyway, we still have to live together, because we live together. Therefore, we need to increase compassion and compassion, concern for others and altruism in ways to overcome or prevent problems. Like we want others to help us, likewise, they want us to help them.
- The real problems we all face.
- The real causes of them.
- What happens if these problems really end, so we don't have them anymore.
- How to understand, act and so on, to end all our problems.
Our Real Problems
Buddhism talks a lot about problems and ways to solve them. In fact, all the teachings of the Buddha are intended to help us overcome difficulties in life. Approach is really very reasonable and practical. That method assumes that any problem we encounter comes from causes. Therefore, we must consider our own inner mind very honestly and deeply, to see what difficulties we are facing. For many of us it is not an easy process. In fact, it is quite heartbreaking to consider to see difficult areas in our lives. A lot of people deny that. They are not willing to admit that they have problems - for example, in an unhealthy relationship - however, they experience suffering. However,The Real Causes of Our Issues
After that, we need to consider to discover the causes of our problems. The problems do not exist on their own, without origin. It must have a reason, and of course there are many levels of factors involved in causing an unintended situation. For example, when there are conflicting personalities in a relationship, there may be more economic factors such as not having enough money, etc., problems with children, or their people. other goods. There may be all kinds of situations that contribute to the problem, but the Buddha said that we have to go deeper, deeper and deeper, to find the deepest cause of our problems. we; and that is a mistake about reality.We have unhappiness, pain, and of course it comes from some kind of cause. For example, we can act in a very worrying way - with a lot of anger, for example. Nobody is happy when angry, isn't it? Therefore, we need to realize that here, the mind of anger is causing unhappiness for us and we have to eliminate the anger, one way or another.
The problem that makes us not feel happy can also be always worrying. Anxiety is a very uncomfortable mood. Nobody is happy to worry, right? President Tich Thien, a great Indian Buddhist master, said that if you are in a difficult situation where you can do something to change it, why worry? Just change it. Anxiety will not be useful at all. And if you can't do anything to change, then why worry? That will not be useful at all. Because of ignorance about the uselessness of anxiety, we worry about continuing. The bottom line here is that there is no benefit to worry about.
Then we also have problems at a different level, which is a problem of discontent. Of course, we have experienced happy times, but unfortunately they don't last forever, and we always want to be happier. We never have satisfaction. We are not satisfied if we only eat the food we like once, is that it? I want to eat it again and again. And if we eat too much for a while, then the joy we have at first becomes an abdominal pain. So we are a little confused about this kind of happiness. Instead of just enjoying things like that and realizing that it will not last, and will never satisfy you, then we cling to it; and when we lose that happiness, we feel very sad.
It is similar to being with a close friend or someone you love, and then they leave us. Of course they will leave us sometime, so we need to enjoy the time we spend with them. There is a very beautiful image that we sometimes use. When some great person I love so much comes into my life, it's like a wild bird flying into my window. When the wild bird stops at its window, we can enjoy its presence, but after a while, of course it will fly away, because it has freedom. And if we act very gently, the bird might come back. But if we catch birds and put them in cages, the bird will be very miserable, maybe even die. Similarly, these people enter our lives like this beautiful wild bird, and the best thing is to enjoy their time with you. When they leave for any reason, for how long - it will happen. If we are peaceful and calm about it and don't ask that - "Never leave me. I can't live without you, "something like that - they can come back. If not, our attachment and demand will only drive them away.
When we mistaken about the nature of happiness and ordinary joy in life, of course, we will encounter problems. We cannot even enjoy the happy times we have, because we are worried and afraid we will lose them. We are like a dog with a bowl of food - the dog is eating but also looks around and growls to make sure no one comes to take its food. Sometimes, we are like that, isn't it, instead of just enjoying what we have and accepting that when it ends, it will end. But of course this is not so simple - perhaps it does not even seem simple - but it requires training, familiarizing with another perspective to see things in life.
The Truth of Our Problems
The Buddha said that we could end our problems forever, and the way to do that is to eliminate the causes. It is a very reasonable, very reasonable method. If we remove fuel, there will be no fire. And Buddha said that it is possible to eliminate these problems in a way that they will never return.We are not only satisfied with temporary liberation from these problems, right? It's similar to going to sleep - when you're sleeping, you have no problem with a difficult relationship. So that's not the solution, because when you wake up the problem is still there. It's like you go on vacation somewhere, but then you have to go home, and when you get home, the problems are still there. Therefore, a vacation is not the best, sustainable and deepest solution.
The Buddha did not say that just silently accepting his problems and living with them, because that is not a very good solution, is that it? Because after that, we will feel quite helpless - we can't do anything, so we give up and don't even try. Efforts to overcome your problems are very important. Even if there is not much progress, at least, we feel that we have worked hard.
Methods to End Our Problems
However, if we really want to achieve the true end of these problems, a true end, the Buddha taught the fourth truth, that we need to follow certain methods and get some right understanding, to eliminate the deepest cause, which is my ignorance. But having a good understanding is not enough, if we cannot always remember that, so we need to develop force. But for the power to remember and focus on that understanding, we need to keep the precepts. Therefore, the general Buddhist methods that we use to prevent our problems are to follow the path of discipline, right concentration and right understanding (sometimes called "wisdom"). ).In addition, one of the biggest causes of problems is their selfish mind. Much of our selfish mind originates from ignorance of reality, because anyway, it seems that we think that we are the only person who exists in this world. Even if we admit that others exist, it is clear that we are the most important person in this universe, the center of our universe. Because of this misconception, we think, "I always have to be right. I always have to get what I want, ”and if we don't get it, we'll be sad.
But that is a very wrong view of reality, because in general there is nothing special about me. We are all the same, in the sense that everyone wants to be happy, nobody wants to suffer; Everyone wants to get what they want and no one expects to get what they want. Anyway, we still have to live together, because we live together. Therefore, we need to increase compassion and compassion, concern for others and altruism in ways to overcome or prevent problems. Like we want others to help us, likewise, they want us to help them.
Deal with Mindfulness
Of course, not everyone is a saint or a bodhisattva, that's true. Everyone is ignorant at one level or another. Because of ignorance, we act under the influence of defilements. For example, if I think that I am the center of the universe and I am the most important person, then the emotion that comes with it is insecurity, right? When you are ignorant, you feel insecure and think, "I should be the most important person, but people don't treat me like that." So there's insecurity there.
What ways can we use when insecure - ways to try to make us feel more secure? One of these ways is: "If I can have all the things around me, then I will be relieved. If I have enough money, enough attention or love, then I will be happy. ”But then as I have seen, the nature of this kind of happiness is that we never have enough, we don't now satisfied and always wanted more.
Think about this. It makes sense. Do we really want the person we love to say "I love you" only once? If they only say it once, and that's enough - will they never have to repeat it to us again? I never feel relieved with that. I always want to hear it again, again and again, is that it? And I never get to the point where I will say, "Okay, I don't have to say that to you. I know it. ”Then when it comes to greed, it's not just about greed about material and money. We are also greedy for love, and most of us especially want to care about others. We see it in young children. So that's a mechanism: if we can have everything around us, it will make us feel secure.
The next mechanism is anger and hatred: "I will be relieved if I can stay away from what I feel is threatening me." But we never feel safe; we always feel threatened; Always be wary of when someone does something you don't like - then get angry and drive them away. Sometimes, this may cause me to defeat myself. I am thinking of an example of a relationship where I feel that the other person does not pay enough attention to me, does not spend enough time with me, and I yell at them. We are angry and shouting, "You should care more about me! You should spend more time for me! ”And so on… What are the consequences of that? Often they stay away from us even more. Or they give us a great privilege and stay with us for a while, but you can feel that they are not comfortable with it. How can we think that being angry with someone will make them love us more? That's ridiculous, isn't it? We use many of these mechanisms, in the hope that it will make us more secure, but it really just makes things worse.
Another mechanism we use is to build walls. That is based on innocence, thinking that if we don't deal with the problem, it will not exist anyway or it will disappear by itself. "I don't want to hear that anymore" - sort of by this attitude, and you set up the wall. But of course that innocent state is also ineffective. The problem will not disappear just because we ignore it or not acknowledge it.
Therefore, based on these afflictions, the fact is that we have acted in all negative ways. We shout. You can even hit someone. If you feel that, "It's a pity for me, I don't have anything," then you can go stealing because you think it will help you anyway, or I'm thinking about a For example, when I lived in India for many years. India is a land of insects - a lot, lots of insects of all kinds that you can imagine. And you cannot kill them cleanly; You have no way to do that. The only solution is to learn how to live with them. If you don't like many insects living in your room, then you sleep in a mosquito net - you have a mosquito net around you and you are in a safe space. It is a peaceful solution, instead of going into the hunt for all the mosquitoes in your room, and you will stay up all night because there will always be mosquitoes to kill. There is always a gap underneath the door, or closed windows - so your room will always have mosquitoes. But the impulse of that negative behavior kept coming up: "I have to eliminate them!"
There are many different types of negative behaviors. Lying, verbal abuse, adultery, rape - all of this is negative. And when we act in a negative way, basically, this will create suffering - suffering not only for others, but especially for ourselves. If you think about it, Buddhism speaks very strongly about not killing, right? Now, the key point is that if you get into the habit of killing any creature you don't like - like mosquitoes for example - it will be your first automatic reaction, right? And not just about killing. If there is something we don't like, we will grab it in a very rough way - maybe in words, physically or emotionally - instead of learning how to deal with it with a calm mood.
Of course, sometimes you may have to kill. For example, there may be plant-eating insects; there may be disease-carrying insects, etc. Buddhism is not a way of life like a fanatic. But you should not be naive about killing. Try to do it without anger and hatred in your heart - "I hate these malaria mosquitoes!" And you shouldn't be naive about the negative consequences that will follow. Take a simple example: If we use pesticides to irrigate our vegetables and fruits - but we also eat them, and it can cause illness. So there are negative consequences. The key point here, returning to our original starting point, is that our methods are precepts, concentration, and wisdom, complemented by kindness and compassion.
What ways can we use when insecure - ways to try to make us feel more secure? One of these ways is: "If I can have all the things around me, then I will be relieved. If I have enough money, enough attention or love, then I will be happy. ”But then as I have seen, the nature of this kind of happiness is that we never have enough, we don't now satisfied and always wanted more.
Think about this. It makes sense. Do we really want the person we love to say "I love you" only once? If they only say it once, and that's enough - will they never have to repeat it to us again? I never feel relieved with that. I always want to hear it again, again and again, is that it? And I never get to the point where I will say, "Okay, I don't have to say that to you. I know it. ”Then when it comes to greed, it's not just about greed about material and money. We are also greedy for love, and most of us especially want to care about others. We see it in young children. So that's a mechanism: if we can have everything around us, it will make us feel secure.
The next mechanism is anger and hatred: "I will be relieved if I can stay away from what I feel is threatening me." But we never feel safe; we always feel threatened; Always be wary of when someone does something you don't like - then get angry and drive them away. Sometimes, this may cause me to defeat myself. I am thinking of an example of a relationship where I feel that the other person does not pay enough attention to me, does not spend enough time with me, and I yell at them. We are angry and shouting, "You should care more about me! You should spend more time for me! ”And so on… What are the consequences of that? Often they stay away from us even more. Or they give us a great privilege and stay with us for a while, but you can feel that they are not comfortable with it. How can we think that being angry with someone will make them love us more? That's ridiculous, isn't it? We use many of these mechanisms, in the hope that it will make us more secure, but it really just makes things worse.
Another mechanism we use is to build walls. That is based on innocence, thinking that if we don't deal with the problem, it will not exist anyway or it will disappear by itself. "I don't want to hear that anymore" - sort of by this attitude, and you set up the wall. But of course that innocent state is also ineffective. The problem will not disappear just because we ignore it or not acknowledge it.
Therefore, based on these afflictions, the fact is that we have acted in all negative ways. We shout. You can even hit someone. If you feel that, "It's a pity for me, I don't have anything," then you can go stealing because you think it will help you anyway, or I'm thinking about a For example, when I lived in India for many years. India is a land of insects - a lot, lots of insects of all kinds that you can imagine. And you cannot kill them cleanly; You have no way to do that. The only solution is to learn how to live with them. If you don't like many insects living in your room, then you sleep in a mosquito net - you have a mosquito net around you and you are in a safe space. It is a peaceful solution, instead of going into the hunt for all the mosquitoes in your room, and you will stay up all night because there will always be mosquitoes to kill. There is always a gap underneath the door, or closed windows - so your room will always have mosquitoes. But the impulse of that negative behavior kept coming up: "I have to eliminate them!"
There are many different types of negative behaviors. Lying, verbal abuse, adultery, rape - all of this is negative. And when we act in a negative way, basically, this will create suffering - suffering not only for others, but especially for ourselves. If you think about it, Buddhism speaks very strongly about not killing, right? Now, the key point is that if you get into the habit of killing any creature you don't like - like mosquitoes for example - it will be your first automatic reaction, right? And not just about killing. If there is something we don't like, we will grab it in a very rough way - maybe in words, physically or emotionally - instead of learning how to deal with it with a calm mood.
Of course, sometimes you may have to kill. For example, there may be plant-eating insects; there may be disease-carrying insects, etc. Buddhism is not a way of life like a fanatic. But you should not be naive about killing. Try to do it without anger and hatred in your heart - "I hate these malaria mosquitoes!" And you shouldn't be naive about the negative consequences that will follow. Take a simple example: If we use pesticides to irrigate our vegetables and fruits - but we also eat them, and it can cause illness. So there are negative consequences. The key point here, returning to our original starting point, is that our methods are precepts, concentration, and wisdom, complemented by kindness and compassion.
Hold the Ethics
How will we take these preventive measures to avoid problems in life? The first level, the first thing we do, is to apply moral preservation, to avoid acting negatively. Acting negatively is an act of affliction such as anger, greed, attachment, jealousy, innocence, arrogance and so on. That means when you feel you want to act one In a negative way, we will decide very clearly, "No, I don't want to behave like that."
When I feel like shouting at you because of a mistake you've made, I know that yelling will only make the situation worse. I may have to correct you or solve any mistakes you have made, but yelling will only make it worse, right? Especially the curse and curse of you - of course it will not help the situation. Therefore, keeping morality is to know as soon as possible, even before we act in a negative way, that we are about to be urged to act in a negative way. There is an impulse that makes me act like that and we will distinguish that: "This will not be useful," and we will control ourselves to not act on our impulse.
Now here, we don't say that you keep your anger in your heart, then it erodes you, and you go on suppressing, suppressing it until you explode. That is not the method. If we can't deal with it and it keeps growing in our hearts - but, don't pour it on another person. But punching the wall will only hurt your hand, so that's stupid. Then how will you relieve it, right? Punch your pillow or clean your entire floor - the "mother's wisdom" method used to deal with anger and frustration, and actually do hard work, jogging, or Strong exercise in the gym will help you dissipate the energy of that frustrated anger.
When I feel like shouting at you because of a mistake you've made, I know that yelling will only make the situation worse. I may have to correct you or solve any mistakes you have made, but yelling will only make it worse, right? Especially the curse and curse of you - of course it will not help the situation. Therefore, keeping morality is to know as soon as possible, even before we act in a negative way, that we are about to be urged to act in a negative way. There is an impulse that makes me act like that and we will distinguish that: "This will not be useful," and we will control ourselves to not act on our impulse.
Now here, we don't say that you keep your anger in your heart, then it erodes you, and you go on suppressing, suppressing it until you explode. That is not the method. If we can't deal with it and it keeps growing in our hearts - but, don't pour it on another person. But punching the wall will only hurt your hand, so that's stupid. Then how will you relieve it, right? Punch your pillow or clean your entire floor - the "mother's wisdom" method used to deal with anger and frustration, and actually do hard work, jogging, or Strong exercise in the gym will help you dissipate the energy of that frustrated anger.
Mindfulness and Power
If we become more and more familiar with this behavior, and restrain ourselves so as not to act negatively when we feel we want to act in that way, then what we are using here is called. is his "elegant mind ( shes-rab )". We distinguish between what is beneficial and what is harmful, and based on that, we can be calm and not keep our anger in our hearts. Then the main thing that we are nurturing here is what is often interpreted as "mindfulness ( dran-pa.)."). ”It means“ remember ”. It is like a disciplined mental glue - what I want to do, how I want to be in life, how I want to act in my life - it is the preservation of these things and don't forget them. That is mindfulness. It means "remembering actively."
So, what we try to do is become more awake. The word "Buddha" actually means "a person who is fully awake." We try to be aware of what emotions we are feeling, about certain strong impulses that are pressing up in our hearts. I, make myself act like this or that, and we try not to become slaves to these things, but when we realize that with understanding, we can choose how we act. How it works. If my mood is bad, it can change; I can do something to change it.
Sometimes, the solution to a bad mood is quite simple. One of the simplest methods is to "put a cranky child to bed." I feel like a baby who has been awake for so long and cries "oa" all day and so on ... Usually when unhappy, we are like that. So lie down, take a nap, go to sleep. When we wake up, often things get better.
Or if you are in discord with someone, and the situation is very intense - then you know that in this situation, the other person is no longer really listening to you, and you are not really listening. they. It is better to end the discussion - "Go back to this issue after both of us have calmed down" - and take a walk, or do something similar to calm down.
These are very simple methods. In fact, Buddhism teaches methods to act more deeply than that, but this is the beginning. We need to start by applying the methods we can really apply. But the principle is important, and the principle is to consider what is the cause of the problem, and do something to fix them. Don't just act as the victim of the problem. In other words, control what is happening in your life.
Now, if we can develop mindfulness to keep an understanding of what our behaviors are useful and which are harmful. If we can notice what is going on and remember the way we want to act, then adjust it, if we haven't acted that way. If we can do that along with how we are behaving with our bodies, verbally, then we have developed the power to be able to do it with our minds, with what we have thinking.
So when we start to have a stream of anxious thoughts, or thoughts like: "It's a pity for me. Nobody loves me, "etc. ... and so on, such thoughts, I will say," Come on! I do not want to continue lurking in self-pity, anxiety and so on. This will only make me sad, ”and I bring my attention back to something more positive. There are more positive things that we can do with our body and mind, instead of just sitting there and worrying. There are more positive things that we can think about, rather than thinking how bad things can be, like when we are worried. You see, because what we are trying to develop here is concentration, so that we can bring our attention back, when it starts to wander.
For example, when you are talking to someone and your mind starts wandering - it is not necessarily anxiety but it may be about: "When will they stop talking?" Or "I will eat What is it for dinner? ”, it may be a thought of anything - and we stop paying attention to the opposite, or we are commenting in our hearts:“ What they say is silly, "Let's bring our attention back and just focus on listening to them.
This is a very practical application of concentration, but it requires discipline; and we develop that discipline first physically and verbally. When you develop this skill, the skill of bringing your attention back and adjusting any deviation, you can apply it in all situations. It is really very helpful. For example, you start to be mindful of how you keep your body. If your shoulders bulge and need attention, and your neck heaves and etc. - if you are mindful and aware of it, just lower your shoulders and relax them. This is just a matter of attention, remembering and doing something related to that attention. Or when you start getting too excited and it's completely inappropriate in this situation, and you start to speak louder and more aggressive towards others, you will realize it and just change it. You just need to calm down, like lowering your shoulders, but you do it in terms of vitality and emotion.
This is the whole secret of how to apply the French means in life. Just remember and have enough discipline to implement, apply them. And you do it not because you want to be a good person, or want to make your guru happy, or something like that. You do it because you want to prevent problems - difficulties - because you know that if you don't do anything, you'll just make yourself miserable, and it's not fun, is that it? Then we need to apply self-discipline on the mental sphere, in terms of concentration - even about dealing with our emotions. Of course, dealing with emotions is more subtle, much more difficult. But as I said, if you become too excited, you can calm down.
So, what we try to do is become more awake. The word "Buddha" actually means "a person who is fully awake." We try to be aware of what emotions we are feeling, about certain strong impulses that are pressing up in our hearts. I, make myself act like this or that, and we try not to become slaves to these things, but when we realize that with understanding, we can choose how we act. How it works. If my mood is bad, it can change; I can do something to change it.
Sometimes, the solution to a bad mood is quite simple. One of the simplest methods is to "put a cranky child to bed." I feel like a baby who has been awake for so long and cries "oa" all day and so on ... Usually when unhappy, we are like that. So lie down, take a nap, go to sleep. When we wake up, often things get better.
Or if you are in discord with someone, and the situation is very intense - then you know that in this situation, the other person is no longer really listening to you, and you are not really listening. they. It is better to end the discussion - "Go back to this issue after both of us have calmed down" - and take a walk, or do something similar to calm down.
These are very simple methods. In fact, Buddhism teaches methods to act more deeply than that, but this is the beginning. We need to start by applying the methods we can really apply. But the principle is important, and the principle is to consider what is the cause of the problem, and do something to fix them. Don't just act as the victim of the problem. In other words, control what is happening in your life.
Now, if we can develop mindfulness to keep an understanding of what our behaviors are useful and which are harmful. If we can notice what is going on and remember the way we want to act, then adjust it, if we haven't acted that way. If we can do that along with how we are behaving with our bodies, verbally, then we have developed the power to be able to do it with our minds, with what we have thinking.
So when we start to have a stream of anxious thoughts, or thoughts like: "It's a pity for me. Nobody loves me, "etc. ... and so on, such thoughts, I will say," Come on! I do not want to continue lurking in self-pity, anxiety and so on. This will only make me sad, ”and I bring my attention back to something more positive. There are more positive things that we can do with our body and mind, instead of just sitting there and worrying. There are more positive things that we can think about, rather than thinking how bad things can be, like when we are worried. You see, because what we are trying to develop here is concentration, so that we can bring our attention back, when it starts to wander.
For example, when you are talking to someone and your mind starts wandering - it is not necessarily anxiety but it may be about: "When will they stop talking?" Or "I will eat What is it for dinner? ”, it may be a thought of anything - and we stop paying attention to the opposite, or we are commenting in our hearts:“ What they say is silly, "Let's bring our attention back and just focus on listening to them.
This is a very practical application of concentration, but it requires discipline; and we develop that discipline first physically and verbally. When you develop this skill, the skill of bringing your attention back and adjusting any deviation, you can apply it in all situations. It is really very helpful. For example, you start to be mindful of how you keep your body. If your shoulders bulge and need attention, and your neck heaves and etc. - if you are mindful and aware of it, just lower your shoulders and relax them. This is just a matter of attention, remembering and doing something related to that attention. Or when you start getting too excited and it's completely inappropriate in this situation, and you start to speak louder and more aggressive towards others, you will realize it and just change it. You just need to calm down, like lowering your shoulders, but you do it in terms of vitality and emotion.
This is the whole secret of how to apply the French means in life. Just remember and have enough discipline to implement, apply them. And you do it not because you want to be a good person, or want to make your guru happy, or something like that. You do it because you want to prevent problems - difficulties - because you know that if you don't do anything, you'll just make yourself miserable, and it's not fun, is that it? Then we need to apply self-discipline on the mental sphere, in terms of concentration - even about dealing with our emotions. Of course, dealing with emotions is more subtle, much more difficult. But as I said, if you become too excited, you can calm down.
Understanding Right
Once you have developed the power tool, at least to a certain extent, what you really want is to be able to keep your focus on the right understanding of what is going on. We have all kinds of ignorance about reality - about how we exist, how others exist, how the world exists - and because of that ignorance, we have all kinds of fantasies about The real thing is not true, right? We can think that: "I am not done. I am a loser. ”Or we can imagine:" I am the best thing in the world. " Nobody loves me. ”But if we really analyze people in our lives, it means that my mother never loves me, my dog never loves me - nobody ever has love me
Then we are projecting these illusions and believing they are true; That is scary. We believe we can be late, or not present in an appointment, and that's okay: "You don't have that feeling," right? And then we are very lack of attention to others. But everyone has feelings, just as I have feelings. No one wants to be ignored. No one would be interested if they had an appointment and the other did not make a phone call or be late. Nobody likes that. So what we need to do is use our forces to cut out illusions, and stop projecting all that nonsense, for example thinking that our lack of interest doesn't hurt. others, because that is really the deepest cause of our problems: "I am the center of the universe. I have to always be okay. I am the most important person. ”This is obviously a projection of illusion. No one is the most important person. But on the basis of the belief that our illusions are right, we become selfish. So, if you want to overcome the mind of selfishness, you need to break that illusion and stop projecting it. Although it felt as if I was the center of the universe and I was the only one who existed (because when I closed my eyes, this voice echoed in my head, and I saw no one else, so it seemed that I being the only person in existence), we must remember that this is an illusion and try not to believe in it: "It is not so. It just seems like that. ” But on the basis of the belief that our illusions are right, we become selfish. So, if you want to overcome the mind of selfishness, you need to break that illusion and stop projecting it. Although it felt as if I was the center of the universe and I was the only one who existed (because when I closed my eyes, this voice echoed in my head, and I saw no one else, so it seemed that being the only person in existence), we must remember that this is an illusion and try not to believe in it: "It is not so. It just seems like that. ” But on the basis of the belief that our illusions are right, we become selfish. So, if you want to overcome the mind of selfishness, you need to break that illusion and stop projecting it. Although it felt as if I was the center of the universe and I was the only one who existed (because when I closed my eyes, this voice echoed in my head, and I saw no one else, so it seemed that being the only person in existence), we must remember that this is an illusion and try not to believe in it: "It is not so. It just seems like that. ” and I don't see anyone else, so it seems that I'm the only one who exists), we have to remember that this is an illusion and try not to believe in it: "It's not like that. It just seems like that. ” and I don't see anyone else, so it seems that I'm the only one who exists), we have to remember that this is an illusion and try not to believe in it: "It's not like that. It just seems like that. ”
As the Buddha said, keeping that understanding in mind at all times is the righteous way to achieve the end of our problems. If we always have the right understanding, we will not have any ignorance. And if there is no ignorance, we will not be angry; there is no attachment, greed, etc. And if there is no any affliction, then we will not act in a negative way. If we don't act in a negative way, we won't cause all kinds of problems for others and ourselves. That is the basic Buddhist method of dealing with difficulties in life.
If we want to have happier relationships, we need to realize that:
Therefore, if we want to have healthy relationships, we need to accept the reality. As I said, the fact that everyone has strengths, weaknesses, and anyway, we need to learn to live together, and no one is the center of the universe. You will then see the general teachings in any humanistic religion or philosophy, namely kindness, concern, love, etc., becoming patient, generous, forgiving. Every religion and every human philosophy teaches the same things, and so does Buddhism.
The same principles apply in our working relationships. If you are kind to those who work with you in the office (or be kind to your employees, if you hire someone else to work), the whole job will run more smoothly. If you are working in a store and you are kind and happy with customers, the working atmosphere will be much more pleasant, isn't it? And if a person is honest in his or her transactions - not deceiving others and so on ... - like that, things will get better. That does not mean that we are not trying to make a profit and make a living, but the essential point is not greed for profit.
And when others deceive us - because not everyone will behave in the manner mentioned above - what do you expect? But from a Buddhist point of view, we will not say that these are bad people; I will only say that they are ignorant. They are ignorant. They do not understand that acting in this way will only cause more and more problems for them: no one will love them. Therefore, they are the object of compassion and not the object of hatred. If we consider them to be objects of compassion and patience with them, then we will not suffer when they are deceived, and then, we try to be more careful with the next ones, so as not to be deceived. Again. But what do we expect from humans? A lot of people cheat like that. So that's real. The assumption that everyone is true is a fantasy. Not everyone is honest! If everyone is honest, it will be very good, but not everyone is like that. So at least we can try to be honest.
Then we are projecting these illusions and believing they are true; That is scary. We believe we can be late, or not present in an appointment, and that's okay: "You don't have that feeling," right? And then we are very lack of attention to others. But everyone has feelings, just as I have feelings. No one wants to be ignored. No one would be interested if they had an appointment and the other did not make a phone call or be late. Nobody likes that. So what we need to do is use our forces to cut out illusions, and stop projecting all that nonsense, for example thinking that our lack of interest doesn't hurt. others, because that is really the deepest cause of our problems: "I am the center of the universe. I have to always be okay. I am the most important person. ”This is obviously a projection of illusion. No one is the most important person. But on the basis of the belief that our illusions are right, we become selfish. So, if you want to overcome the mind of selfishness, you need to break that illusion and stop projecting it. Although it felt as if I was the center of the universe and I was the only one who existed (because when I closed my eyes, this voice echoed in my head, and I saw no one else, so it seemed that I being the only person in existence), we must remember that this is an illusion and try not to believe in it: "It is not so. It just seems like that. ” But on the basis of the belief that our illusions are right, we become selfish. So, if you want to overcome the mind of selfishness, you need to break that illusion and stop projecting it. Although it felt as if I was the center of the universe and I was the only one who existed (because when I closed my eyes, this voice echoed in my head, and I saw no one else, so it seemed that being the only person in existence), we must remember that this is an illusion and try not to believe in it: "It is not so. It just seems like that. ” But on the basis of the belief that our illusions are right, we become selfish. So, if you want to overcome the mind of selfishness, you need to break that illusion and stop projecting it. Although it felt as if I was the center of the universe and I was the only one who existed (because when I closed my eyes, this voice echoed in my head, and I saw no one else, so it seemed that being the only person in existence), we must remember that this is an illusion and try not to believe in it: "It is not so. It just seems like that. ” and I don't see anyone else, so it seems that I'm the only one who exists), we have to remember that this is an illusion and try not to believe in it: "It's not like that. It just seems like that. ” and I don't see anyone else, so it seems that I'm the only one who exists), we have to remember that this is an illusion and try not to believe in it: "It's not like that. It just seems like that. ”
As the Buddha said, keeping that understanding in mind at all times is the righteous way to achieve the end of our problems. If we always have the right understanding, we will not have any ignorance. And if there is no ignorance, we will not be angry; there is no attachment, greed, etc. And if there is no any affliction, then we will not act in a negative way. If we don't act in a negative way, we won't cause all kinds of problems for others and ourselves. That is the basic Buddhist method of dealing with difficulties in life.
If we want to have happier relationships, we need to realize that:
- I am a person. You are a human being. We all have the same emotions, etc.
- Everyone has strengths. Everyone has weaknesses. I have them, and so do you.
- No one is the Charming Prince or Princess on the white horse.
Therefore, if we want to have healthy relationships, we need to accept the reality. As I said, the fact that everyone has strengths, weaknesses, and anyway, we need to learn to live together, and no one is the center of the universe. You will then see the general teachings in any humanistic religion or philosophy, namely kindness, concern, love, etc., becoming patient, generous, forgiving. Every religion and every human philosophy teaches the same things, and so does Buddhism.
The same principles apply in our working relationships. If you are kind to those who work with you in the office (or be kind to your employees, if you hire someone else to work), the whole job will run more smoothly. If you are working in a store and you are kind and happy with customers, the working atmosphere will be much more pleasant, isn't it? And if a person is honest in his or her transactions - not deceiving others and so on ... - like that, things will get better. That does not mean that we are not trying to make a profit and make a living, but the essential point is not greed for profit.
And when others deceive us - because not everyone will behave in the manner mentioned above - what do you expect? But from a Buddhist point of view, we will not say that these are bad people; I will only say that they are ignorant. They are ignorant. They do not understand that acting in this way will only cause more and more problems for them: no one will love them. Therefore, they are the object of compassion and not the object of hatred. If we consider them to be objects of compassion and patience with them, then we will not suffer when they are deceived, and then, we try to be more careful with the next ones, so as not to be deceived. Again. But what do we expect from humans? A lot of people cheat like that. So that's real. The assumption that everyone is true is a fantasy. Not everyone is honest! If everyone is honest, it will be very good, but not everyone is like that. So at least we can try to be honest.
Are People Not Buddhists Can Use These Methods?
Currently, do we have to follow the strict Buddhist spiritual path of meditation, etiquette and so on, to apply these methods? Not necessarily. We don't have to pursue a strict, standard spiritual path to apply all this. The Dalai Lama is always talking about secular ethics and human values such as being kind, more mindful, not naive, not projecting illusions, and so on. These are general guidelines that anyone can follow.
And when we talk about meditation, we only talk about a method to make ourselves familiar with this way of thinking, by sitting down and trying to think like that, and when our minds wandering, then Please bring it back. You can do it while meditating and focusing on a Buddha or your breath, but you can also do it while reading a book, cooking, while doing anything. When you are cooking, just focus on cooking, and when the mind has crazy thoughts, just bring it back to cooking. This is not necessarily a formal Buddhist meditation. There are many, many ways that we can familiarize ourselves with ways of thinking, acting more favorably and etc., without having to participate in any formal Buddhist rituals or environments.
So, this is how we apply Dharma - preventive measures - to help us avoid problems. What questions do you have?
And when we talk about meditation, we only talk about a method to make ourselves familiar with this way of thinking, by sitting down and trying to think like that, and when our minds wandering, then Please bring it back. You can do it while meditating and focusing on a Buddha or your breath, but you can also do it while reading a book, cooking, while doing anything. When you are cooking, just focus on cooking, and when the mind has crazy thoughts, just bring it back to cooking. This is not necessarily a formal Buddhist meditation. There are many, many ways that we can familiarize ourselves with ways of thinking, acting more favorably and etc., without having to participate in any formal Buddhist rituals or environments.
So, this is how we apply Dharma - preventive measures - to help us avoid problems. What questions do you have?
To avoid problems, do we always have to focus our spirit?
To avoid problems, do we always have to focus our spirit? In a sense, this is true. But that is not a complete image. For example, one can be very focused on shouting and hitting someone, but that is not a complete image. We also need awareness in the sense that we need to be aware of what's going on inside - our thoughts, emotions, etc. - and at the same time, aware and alert about what is happening. come around yourself, with others. When someone comes home - a member of my family, or a loved one, or anyone - you find that they may be very tired, very tired. You have to be alert about that. It's not the beginning of a big discussion with them about what's important, because they're tired. So you will always want to be alert, Focus on focusing on what's going on around you. You need to know what other people's circumstances are, not just your situation.
Therefore, we do not go to an extreme, just be aware of ourselves and not aware of others; or fall into another extreme, only paying attention to others and not paying attention to yourself. That is also an extreme need to avoid. Many people have a syndrome of not being able to say "no," and therefore, they always do many things for others, their families or anyone, and then they are so tired and exhausted that mental collapse or anger. It is important to pay attention to your feelings as well as take care of your own needs. When we need to rest, rest. When we need to say, “No, I'm sorry; I can't do this. It's too much for me. I am not capable, "then say" no. "Ideally, if possible, give them some other solutions, when we say" no ".
In short, be aware of everything that is going on, outside and inside, then apply the right understanding, kindness and compassion.
Deal with anger
He talked about sweeping houses as a way to deal with anger and other negative emotions, but he pointed out that Buddhism has more profound methods. Can you give at least one suggestion where can I find these methods?
The question is I have talked about some very short-sighted, temporary methods to deal with pitch pitch - like when you have a lot of pent-up angry emotions, then heavy manual labor can be useful, like cleaning the entire floor for example - and I suggested that there are more profound methods, so can I suggest a few ways to deal with pitch pitch?
If you go a little deeper, a level to deal with anger is to develop patience, when we are angry with anyone. Now, how will we develop patience? There are many methods, but for example, a method called "targeted patience": "If I don't set a goal, nobody will hit it." For example, I ask you to do something. for me and you are not doing it right. My trend is to be angry with you. Or you didn't do anything. So whose error is it? Actually it was my fault, because I was too lazy to do it myself and I asked you to do it. So what do I expect? When you ask someone to do something, what do you expect? For example, you ask a two-year-old to bring you a cup of hot tea and it spills tea. Of course it will spill tea.
So I realized that in fact, my own laziness caused problems. You don't need to be angry with others. And I know that when I ask you to do something for me, it's because I'm too lazy to do it myself - one is too lazy, or there's no time, for any reason. But the bottom line is that if I ask others to do it, I should not expect them to do perfectly - or the way I will, in the end, my way may not be right. I also make mistakes. If I do it myself and make a mistake, there is no reason why I will be angry with myself. "I am not perfect - no one is perfect - so of course I will make a mistake." Therefore, you only need to accept the fact. "I am a person; but people can make a mistake: I've made a mistake. "And if I can correct it, I'll fix it. I am not angry with myself. Being angry with yourself is useless. If possible, I just need to correct it. If I can't correct it then - just leave it like that and try not to repeat the mistake in the future.
A much deeper level of dealing with the pitch is a real understanding of yourself. Currently, I'm talking about a very simple level, but even at that simple level, it's still useful. "I am not the center of the universe. Why should everything always be my opinion? Why? What do I have in particular that always matters in my opinion, instead of following others? in the universe. The "me" is solid. Then of course you can destroy more, more and more. When you have a "me" perspective that is solid here and I must always be okay, of course you will get angry when things don't happen at your disposal, right?
Buddhism talks a lot about how we exist and how people exist. We exist, but we do not exist in these impossible ways, but we think that we exist, such as a tiny "me" sitting in my mind, and that is the author. of voice in my head. Seems like a tiny "me" inside is talking, complaining: "What should I do now?" Oh, I'll do it, ”and then your body moves like a machine. But that is an illusion. You can't find any "ego" inside, right? Anyway, I exist - I talk; I do things. So we have to get rid of our beliefs about these fantasies, because it seems to fit with reality. It seems like that. There is this voice speaking,
So Buddhism offers so much in the whole field that we call "psychology."
Take Care of Your Body
I have two questions. The first is: Can you talk a little more about how to take care of the body? He mentioned that we need to relax our bodies, but maybe we need to do a few more things. And the second question is: What is the origin of all these fantasies? For example, this person is talking inside our heads - why does that happen?
Of course, there are many disciplines that we can apply to physical health. For example, the Buddhist medicine that you find in Tibetan tradition is very much related to balancing the energy in the body. In general, your diet and behavior greatly affect our energy and health - behaviors such as when you're cold outside and you don't wear warm enough, you will get sick. We are talking about that kind of behavior. Or overwork - this kind of behavior will make you sick.
We also strive to remain aware of the state of our bodies. The more calm your inner mind is, the higher your consciousness will be, not only in the state of your mind but also in the state of energy in your body. When you notice your energy is very stressful, for example - you can feel it with a very fast pulse and so on - there are very basic things that you can do, even just a thing Adjust your diet. For example, we can stop drinking coffee and dark tea, and we can use heavier foods to lower our energy, like fatty foods - cheese or whatever. And keep warm; do not wind or where there is wind. Don't be beside high-powered machines, screeching like this: "Bzzzzrrrrr". These will disturb the energy more. Stay in a quiet environment. So there is such a level of practice.
Tibetan tradition itself does not emphasize physical exercises, or the way of physically activating the way you have with martial arts in the Chinese or Japanese Buddhist tradition, for example. But of course many different types of martial arts such as tai chi, qigong, something like that, can be very helpful. They are also methods of developing concentration, through mindfulness of your movements. Physical exercises that Tibetans practice are more subtle, involving the operation of energy systems in a different way, not in the martial arts method. It has a different way, more about yoga. So, that's how you take care of your body.
The Source of Voice in Our Head
Regarding the origin of the voice in our mind, it is related to the nature of mind and is a bit complicated. In Buddhism, when talking about mind, we are not talking about something. We are talking about mental activity, and that mental activity is related to thinking, with knowledge, with emotions. It is immense. What is happening in that activity is the arising of a certain kind of mental hologram. For example, when we see something, light hits the retina, causes electrical impulses and chemical reactions in nerve cells, resulting in a certain kind of holographic mind. out to reflect what an object appears in our mind. But it really is a holographic mind. It comes from all these chemicals and impulses.
However, holograms are not just about sight. These vernacular images can also be noises, like words. We don't listen to a whole sentence at the same time - you hear every part of it, in every moment - but, there's a hologram of the whole sentence and you understand its meaning. Likewise, there are holograms in the form of emotions, thoughts, and also mental images in the form of words - that is this voice. These things are just like that. There is some awareness in it. So that is the meaning of seeing, or thinking, or feeling. It is like that. And that mental activity is going on without a "me" separate from it watching or controlling it and causing it to happen. It just happened like that. Then part of that holographic mind is thoughts about "me" - "That voice is me." Who is thinking? I'm thinking. Not that you're thinking - I'm thinking. But that's only part of the whole process of these three-dimensional images.
What is the origin of this voice in our heads? It is just one of the characteristics of mental activity. It is not necessarily the way the whole mental activity works. The voice did not happen all the time, and I doubted that the earthworm was thinking in a voice. Of course earthworms also have brains, have a mind, see things and do things.
In fact, when we think about it, it starts to become very interesting. A three-dimensional picture of the sound of a voice is some form of communication, isn't it? It is a kind of concept to express or communicate a thought in the form of mental sounds of words. The interesting question is: Is someone deaf and dumb at birth, and has absolutely no concept of sound - so do they have a voice in their head, or do they think in sign language? That is a very interesting question. I have never found the answer to that.
Then whether it is a voice, sign language, or whatever - or the way the worms think - the illusion is to have a "me" separate behind it, that "me". talking, sitting at the console, and the information on the screen of the eyes, they have a microphone and they are talking, then they press the button to move their hands and feet. This is purely an illusion. But it is a kind of illusion of "me" sitting at the console, which is the object of the thought, "Oh, what will people think of me?" And "What should I do?" what we worry about, this "ego" at the console.
When we realize that this "me" is like an illusion, there is nothing to worry about. We go on saying, we go on acting. Of course it's me: I'm talking, I'm acting. And if people don't like it, they just don't like it. So what? Buddha did not please everyone. Not everyone likes Buddha, so what do I expect for me? We only use understanding, compassion and compassion, then we act. It is like that. Don't worry: "What will they think of me?" Practicing is not as simple as talking about it.
Control Yourself When Others Are Angry
When others get angry with us, how do we control ourselves?The basic thing is we consider them as a child. When the two-year-old kid got angry at me, I said, "It's time to go to bed," and he said, "I hate you. My mother is so obnoxious, "I made a fuss, can I get angry? Yes, some people will get angry; But it's just a two-year-old child, what do you expect? You will try to calm the toddler. Be gentle as you treat a two-year-old child. Think about: How will you deal with such a two-year-old child? Usually when a two-year-old child is doing a lot of matches, if you hold him up, hug and cuddle it, it will calm down, won't he? Screaming it only makes it cry more. So adults are the same - they are big children. END=NAM MO SAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.GOLDEN AMITABHA MONASTERY=AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.28/2/2019.
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