The Four Noble Truths in Daily Language.VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=THICH CHAN TANH.AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.
I am very happy to be in Halapa again. The topic that I was asked to discuss tonight is about karma. Of course, when learning about a certain topic in Buddhism, it is important to have some ideas about why we want to learn it, what its importance is and how it is appropriate. within the scope of Buddha Dharma. Basically, the Buddha talked about each person's experience, what we have experienced in life, what is happening. What is the most basic thing that we all experience? It is sometimes sad and sometimes we are happy. This is how we experience life, right?
When examining the state of sadness, when we are happy, we will discover that there are many problems related to this. When we are sad, it is obviously suffering. Nobody likes to be sad, right? We can be sad for many things, such as when a friend goes away, or when listening to things that are hard to hear, and we may not be happy to think about many different things with many different emotions. But sometimes, we feel sad and this does not seem to have a connection with what we really hear or see, or what is happening around us. This is a problem, right?
What about fun? Sometimes we feel happy, right? I feel happy when I see, hear the things and news of a loved one, and I can also be happy to think about something, like remembering the wonderful time I shared with someone. But if you look deeper, you will find that the joy that we have has some problems in it. First of all, it never lasts forever. I don't know how long it will last and it doesn't seem to be enough. We can be happy when eating a spoonful of food, but that's not enough - we want to eat more, more and more. In fact, this is a very interesting question - how much food do you have to eat to really enjoy it? Think about this. Another mistake, another shortcoming of this joy is that we don't know what will happen after that. We can continue to be happy in the next moment, or maybe sad. It may change, so there is no guarantee of this joy.
In fact, for Buddhism, this kind of insight or analysis of joy and sadness in this way is not something special; Many great thinkers around the world have observed this and taught it. However, what the Buddha taught, what he understood was a deeper problem, or a suffering. He looked at the ups and downs in the circumstances of each person's life, into the joys of sadness and ups and downs, rising and falling more deeply, and what He understood as the cause of this incident was truly part every moment we experience. In other words, how we experience things with happy and sad ups and downs will prolong this dissatisfaction.
So the Buddha contemplated and saw the cause that existed in each moment, what is prolonging this dissatisfaction, and He sees that it is ignorance of reality. In other words, it is ignorance about how we are, how each person around us exists, how the world is.
This is completely different from what many others have said. For example, some people think that basically, the ups and downs of sadness and suffering that we experience are due to reward and punishment, whether or not we comply with the law. In the opinion of many teachers, the fundamental problem with joy or sadness is obedience, but the Buddha said: no, that is not the problem. The real cause is our ignorance, not the obedience problem; it is ignorance about life. After that, the Buddha went on to say that such ignorance is not an integral and essential component of life, of how we experience things. It does not need to be present: it is a thing that can be removed, and it can be completely removed, never returned.
Excluding this ignorance is not to ask others to remove it for us, but to change our own attitude fundamentally, changing our understanding of reality. If it is possible to replace misunderstanding with insight and get it all the time, we will discover that we do not have to go through the continuous ups and downs of this sad joy, and we will not prolong this . Therefore, this is a very basic teaching of the Buddha, speaking in simple language.
When examining the state of sadness, when we are happy, we will discover that there are many problems related to this. When we are sad, it is obviously suffering. Nobody likes to be sad, right? We can be sad for many things, such as when a friend goes away, or when listening to things that are hard to hear, and we may not be happy to think about many different things with many different emotions. But sometimes, we feel sad and this does not seem to have a connection with what we really hear or see, or what is happening around us. This is a problem, right?
What about fun? Sometimes we feel happy, right? I feel happy when I see, hear the things and news of a loved one, and I can also be happy to think about something, like remembering the wonderful time I shared with someone. But if you look deeper, you will find that the joy that we have has some problems in it. First of all, it never lasts forever. I don't know how long it will last and it doesn't seem to be enough. We can be happy when eating a spoonful of food, but that's not enough - we want to eat more, more and more. In fact, this is a very interesting question - how much food do you have to eat to really enjoy it? Think about this. Another mistake, another shortcoming of this joy is that we don't know what will happen after that. We can continue to be happy in the next moment, or maybe sad. It may change, so there is no guarantee of this joy.
In fact, for Buddhism, this kind of insight or analysis of joy and sadness in this way is not something special; Many great thinkers around the world have observed this and taught it. However, what the Buddha taught, what he understood was a deeper problem, or a suffering. He looked at the ups and downs in the circumstances of each person's life, into the joys of sadness and ups and downs, rising and falling more deeply, and what He understood as the cause of this incident was truly part every moment we experience. In other words, how we experience things with happy and sad ups and downs will prolong this dissatisfaction.
So the Buddha contemplated and saw the cause that existed in each moment, what is prolonging this dissatisfaction, and He sees that it is ignorance of reality. In other words, it is ignorance about how we are, how each person around us exists, how the world is.
This is completely different from what many others have said. For example, some people think that basically, the ups and downs of sadness and suffering that we experience are due to reward and punishment, whether or not we comply with the law. In the opinion of many teachers, the fundamental problem with joy or sadness is obedience, but the Buddha said: no, that is not the problem. The real cause is our ignorance, not the obedience problem; it is ignorance about life. After that, the Buddha went on to say that such ignorance is not an integral and essential component of life, of how we experience things. It does not need to be present: it is a thing that can be removed, and it can be completely removed, never returned.
Excluding this ignorance is not to ask others to remove it for us, but to change our own attitude fundamentally, changing our understanding of reality. If it is possible to replace misunderstanding with insight and get it all the time, we will discover that we do not have to go through the continuous ups and downs of this sad joy, and we will not prolong this . Therefore, this is a very basic teaching of the Buddha, speaking in simple language.
Career Contact With Causal Behavior
When we talk about karma it is a basic explanation of how and why our sad and joyful experiences go up and down - that's all about karma. In other words, how does our ignorant mind produce sad and happy ups and downs, experience pleasant and unpleasant experiences? In other words, it is related to cause and effect, and cause and effect are an extremely complex topic. As the Buddha said, a basin of water is not full because of the first drop of water or the last drop of water, which is due to the accumulation of all droplets of water. Similarly, what we experience in life is the result of not just one cause - the cause is not just one thing that we create immediately before this moment, or what we have done. a increase in past lives. It results from a large mass of predestined factors.
This fits perfectly with the scientific point of view, because it assumes that events do not happen in an isolated way, but that everything really depends on each other. As long as there is a very simple example, we won't all be here, in this room, to listen to this presentation if the Spaniards didn't come to the US, right? That is just a reason for us to be here. Likewise, there are many different causes, directly and indirectly, that contribute to the fact that we are experiencing right now, or any moment.
However, karma is explaining the causes that relate specifically to our minds, but there are many other causes that contribute to what we experience - physical causes, such as weather and etc. Many things affect us not only from our own minds, but also from other people's minds. Give examples of politicians, who decide many different policies and they affect us, and these can also be mixed with some confusion, right?
Karma does not talk about faith, it does not talk about destiny or predestination and things like that, but rather, it talks about how we experience things and our attitudes will affect the way we experience life. how. Word now ( karma) used in a very extensive way to refer to everything related to causal behavior; In other words, the causal link comes from our attitude and behavior. "Karma" can refer to the whole subject of causal behavior in general, or it can be specific about one aspect of the whole process. Therefore, if we want to understand the mechanism of karma, we must consider it more accurately.
This fits perfectly with the scientific point of view, because it assumes that events do not happen in an isolated way, but that everything really depends on each other. As long as there is a very simple example, we won't all be here, in this room, to listen to this presentation if the Spaniards didn't come to the US, right? That is just a reason for us to be here. Likewise, there are many different causes, directly and indirectly, that contribute to the fact that we are experiencing right now, or any moment.
However, karma is explaining the causes that relate specifically to our minds, but there are many other causes that contribute to what we experience - physical causes, such as weather and etc. Many things affect us not only from our own minds, but also from other people's minds. Give examples of politicians, who decide many different policies and they affect us, and these can also be mixed with some confusion, right?
Karma does not talk about faith, it does not talk about destiny or predestination and things like that, but rather, it talks about how we experience things and our attitudes will affect the way we experience life. how. Word now ( karma) used in a very extensive way to refer to everything related to causal behavior; In other words, the causal link comes from our attitude and behavior. "Karma" can refer to the whole subject of causal behavior in general, or it can be specific about one aspect of the whole process. Therefore, if we want to understand the mechanism of karma, we must consider it more accurately.
Some Career Explanation Systems
When we begin to examine more accurate explanations in Buddhism, we will soon discover that there is not only one explanation. Some Westerners find this a little inconvenient, but if there is a problem or a difficult situation, we can explain it in a few different ways, depending on our point of view. In the West, we do so, we can explain things from a social point of view, from a psychological point of view, from an economic standpoint - this is not surprising. Diverse explanations help us understand what is happening more fully. And each one explains what is happening based on a certain ideological system - the psychological system, the political system, the economics and so on. We have something similar here. in Buddhism, therefore, We see that there are a few explanations from different philosophical dogma systems about how karma works. We also have this in the West, even in a subject like psychology - there may be an explanation from the psychological perspective of the Freudian school, an explanation of the Jungian view; one can explain things according to the way of socialism, or capitalism. We see this in Buddhism, and it is really helpful to look at some of these systems, because they give us different insights into how karma works. For our purposes, we need not go into details about the differences between these systems, but it is useful to know that there are several systems in Buddhism.
Of course, that implies that we also have Western systems that explain what is happening to what we are going through. This does not necessarily conflict with what we say about karma.
Of course, that implies that we also have Western systems that explain what is happening to what we are going through. This does not necessarily conflict with what we say about karma.
Career as the Spiritual Element of an Ending
When talking about karma as a specific subject, a specific incident, karma itself is referring to a mental element, if followed by an explanatory system. When we talk about "mental factors", what does it mean? The mental element is a way of perceiving something. Take an example: I see someone and walk towards them. There are many spiritual factors involved here, for this experience. There are many different aspects to how we perceive this person. Some aspects are very basic, such as distinguishing one person from another, with the wall. Excitement - it is a way to be aware of this person and it will accompany you when you see them. Mental concentration may be present, different emotions may be present. All of these are spiritual factors, and they work together in the moment we see this person and move towards them.
Which mental factor is karma? Karma is the spiritual element that attracts us to this person; it is the impetus that comes when we see this person, then walks towards them. That is why in some theories, karma is explained almost as a physical ability. Of course, there may be other mental factors, as intended. What are we going to do with this person? We may want to hug them or punch them in the face. There are many other factors involved in it, but karma is simply a motivating element, making us take action to embrace the other person or punch their face, when we see them and move towards them. Moreover, remember that mental impulses are not just physical actions, such as hugs or fights. We can also have a spiritual impulse when we think about something; it is not only about the functional aspect or doing something physically. Whatever we are thinking about, saying something, or doing something, all of this is related to some spiritual impulse.
Which mental factor is karma? Karma is the spiritual element that attracts us to this person; it is the impetus that comes when we see this person, then walks towards them. That is why in some theories, karma is explained almost as a physical ability. Of course, there may be other mental factors, as intended. What are we going to do with this person? We may want to hug them or punch them in the face. There are many other factors involved in it, but karma is simply a motivating element, making us take action to embrace the other person or punch their face, when we see them and move towards them. Moreover, remember that mental impulses are not just physical actions, such as hugs or fights. We can also have a spiritual impulse when we think about something; it is not only about the functional aspect or doing something physically. Whatever we are thinking about, saying something, or doing something, all of this is related to some spiritual impulse.
The Effect of Karma
Like science, Buddhism teaches a lot about causality. Then, if you have this karma, this impulse, lead, you will do things, talk and think about things, then create a result. Karma does not talk too much about the impact of our behavior on others - although it certainly affects others. That's because most of the influence other people get from what we treat them is up to them. Some of the influences that other people get from what we do to them are only physical factors: you hit someone and their skin is bruised. It is only physical causation; I am not talking about this for karma. However, the influence that the other person has on how they feel about what we say or do to them is up to them, right? Example, I can tell someone something very cruel and they may feel very hurt, very uncomfortable. However, they may also think that we are completely stupid, so they don't believe us and don't take us seriously, or even, they may not hear me, or listen in a way mistake. They may be concerned about something else, for example. So even if we really intend to hurt that person's feelings badly, there is no guarantee that this will happen, although it is clear that Buddhism teaches us to try not to do it. hurt anyone. However here, this is not related to karma. or hear wrongly. They may be concerned about something else, for example. So even if we really intend to hurt that person's feelings badly, there is no guarantee that this will happen, although it is clear that Buddhism teaches us to try not to do it. hurt anyone. However here, this is not related to karma. or hear wrongly. They may be concerned about something else, for example. So even if we really intend to hurt that person's feelings badly, there is no guarantee that this will happen, although it is clear that Buddhism teaches us to try not to do it. hurt anyone. However here, this is not related to karma.
When talking about what karma of karma, it is the karma that we will experience as a result of this action based on this dynamic and pressing way, with the impulse of karma.
What effects will we have ourselves? One of the influences - and this is very similar to what Western science says - is that we will condition ourselves to think, speak and act in a certain way, then it creates a tendency. re-direct that action. The result of the tendency to repeat action and also a potential to repeat that action - we also have a partial distinction between potentials and trends, though not necessarily in details about what This - we will want to repeat that action.
What does this trend or potential really produce? This tendency creates a feeling - the feeling of wanting to walk towards you and embrace you, for example, or the feeling of wanting to go to you and say something evil. And then, when I feel like doing this, of course, we have the choice to do this or not. It is a very important point when we realize that we have the choice to do what we want to do or not. But if we decide that we will do it, or even don't think we will do it or not, then move on, then the next stage is when it manifests itself. Karma is the impulse, the kinetic energy, the impulse that thanks to it, we perform an action.
After that, many other things are ripe from these trends. Basically, one of these is also the content of what we go through. "Content" is a slightly broad word; I think we have to speak a little more clearly. Here, for example, the problem is meeting this person without meeting the other person . It also relates to the way people treat themselves. We have to be very careful about how to say it to be more accurate. Our karma does not make the other person scream at me - they scream at me as a result of the tendencies they have to shout to others, but my own karma is responsible for enduring others shout at me.
Of course, this is not the easiest to understand, but I think an approach to understanding this problem is an example. If a child carries a leftover and is a cholera, he must bear this; The child must live with the filthy condition it creates. Let aside the whole problem of whether or not anyone changes the baby's description, but the point here is that if you create a dirty situation, then you have to endure the filth. We create confusion in life, and when life goes on, we will have more trouble. On the basis of that, things go like that. More explicitly, when we act with others, they will treat us in the same way. However, there is another very important principle for karma that this does not happen immediately.
This is the reason that we must bring the whole discussion about rebirth here, to truly understand karma, because the thing goes on for a very long time before they produce an effect, and maybe they do not create an impact in the present life. In fact, they almost never work in the present life. This is not easily accepted by Westerners. For some people it seems that Buddhism says, "Be a good person in this life and you will enjoy heavenly results after death; If you are a bad person, you will have to suffer in hell after this life ends. ”
We must consider this quite closely: Is Buddhism also saying the same thing, or is it different from this? This is not an easy topic, it is a very complex topic, because in order to truly understand the karma of karma, we need to understand about rebirth - the Buddhist concept of rebirth, not the view of rebirth of non-Buddhist schools. Who created a cause and who suffered its results? Is there a rewarded or punished "me"?
However, if the problem is reborn and anyone experiences it, as I mentioned at the beginning, Buddhism is not about a reward system based on following the rules. Buddhism does not talk about this life as a challenge, and we will take the result of this trial in the next life. It simply says that it takes a long time to create its effect. We can see this in terms of the environment. We act in a certain way and this creates some influence in this life, but it will produce more great influences in the lives of future generations. That is the same thing.
When talking about what karma of karma, it is the karma that we will experience as a result of this action based on this dynamic and pressing way, with the impulse of karma.
What effects will we have ourselves? One of the influences - and this is very similar to what Western science says - is that we will condition ourselves to think, speak and act in a certain way, then it creates a tendency. re-direct that action. The result of the tendency to repeat action and also a potential to repeat that action - we also have a partial distinction between potentials and trends, though not necessarily in details about what This - we will want to repeat that action.
What does this trend or potential really produce? This tendency creates a feeling - the feeling of wanting to walk towards you and embrace you, for example, or the feeling of wanting to go to you and say something evil. And then, when I feel like doing this, of course, we have the choice to do this or not. It is a very important point when we realize that we have the choice to do what we want to do or not. But if we decide that we will do it, or even don't think we will do it or not, then move on, then the next stage is when it manifests itself. Karma is the impulse, the kinetic energy, the impulse that thanks to it, we perform an action.
After that, many other things are ripe from these trends. Basically, one of these is also the content of what we go through. "Content" is a slightly broad word; I think we have to speak a little more clearly. Here, for example, the problem is meeting this person without meeting the other person . It also relates to the way people treat themselves. We have to be very careful about how to say it to be more accurate. Our karma does not make the other person scream at me - they scream at me as a result of the tendencies they have to shout to others, but my own karma is responsible for enduring others shout at me.
Of course, this is not the easiest to understand, but I think an approach to understanding this problem is an example. If a child carries a leftover and is a cholera, he must bear this; The child must live with the filthy condition it creates. Let aside the whole problem of whether or not anyone changes the baby's description, but the point here is that if you create a dirty situation, then you have to endure the filth. We create confusion in life, and when life goes on, we will have more trouble. On the basis of that, things go like that. More explicitly, when we act with others, they will treat us in the same way. However, there is another very important principle for karma that this does not happen immediately.
This is the reason that we must bring the whole discussion about rebirth here, to truly understand karma, because the thing goes on for a very long time before they produce an effect, and maybe they do not create an impact in the present life. In fact, they almost never work in the present life. This is not easily accepted by Westerners. For some people it seems that Buddhism says, "Be a good person in this life and you will enjoy heavenly results after death; If you are a bad person, you will have to suffer in hell after this life ends. ”
We must consider this quite closely: Is Buddhism also saying the same thing, or is it different from this? This is not an easy topic, it is a very complex topic, because in order to truly understand the karma of karma, we need to understand about rebirth - the Buddhist concept of rebirth, not the view of rebirth of non-Buddhist schools. Who created a cause and who suffered its results? Is there a rewarded or punished "me"?
However, if the problem is reborn and anyone experiences it, as I mentioned at the beginning, Buddhism is not about a reward system based on following the rules. Buddhism does not talk about this life as a challenge, and we will take the result of this trial in the next life. It simply says that it takes a long time to create its effect. We can see this in terms of the environment. We act in a certain way and this creates some influence in this life, but it will produce more great influences in the lives of future generations. That is the same thing.
Happiness and Misfortune
The karma in a completely different space - in other words, the results from these kamma belong to another dimension - relative to what we talked about at the beginning of this presentation. It is the space of happiness and unhappiness. When we repeat certain actions, we will experience certain things - others treat us in a certain way, or maybe a stone from the top of a cliff will fall on our heads. me. We experience these things with happiness or unhappiness. Think about this. There are some people, when stepping on a cockroach, they feel very happy - we caught this horrible thing! Others, when stepping on a cockroach, they feel disgusting and very sad. Some people are beaten and shouted by someone, they feel unhappy and very sad, and others feel happy, “Yes, I am a sinner; I am not good; I'm evil; I deserve to be scolded and beaten. ”
You probably know this saying, I think it comes from here, in Mexico (Mexico), or maybe someone has set the story and I believe in it, but the saying is: "If My husband beat me, which means he really loves me; if he doesn't beat me, it means he doesn't love me. ”
This happiness or unhappiness is almost a different kind of space, isn't it? What happens to us in a space is what we have done urgently, repeating many times, and what we experience, what happens to us - it is a space; and other spaces are how we really experience it, with happiness or unhappiness. What we experience, these two spaces, both are maturing from past practices, but from different karma. If we just look at the space of happiness and unhappiness, this is a very general space. It comes from how we act in a negative or constructive way. If we act in a negative way, as a result we will experience unhappiness; If we act in a constructive way, the result will be a happy experience.
You probably know this saying, I think it comes from here, in Mexico (Mexico), or maybe someone has set the story and I believe in it, but the saying is: "If My husband beat me, which means he really loves me; if he doesn't beat me, it means he doesn't love me. ”
This happiness or unhappiness is almost a different kind of space, isn't it? What happens to us in a space is what we have done urgently, repeating many times, and what we experience, what happens to us - it is a space; and other spaces are how we really experience it, with happiness or unhappiness. What we experience, these two spaces, both are maturing from past practices, but from different karma. If we just look at the space of happiness and unhappiness, this is a very general space. It comes from how we act in a negative or constructive way. If we act in a negative way, as a result we will experience unhappiness; If we act in a constructive way, the result will be a happy experience.
Building Action and Negative
Now things become very interesting, when we learn what Buddhism means when it comes to constructive and negative behavior. Naturally, there are a few explanations about this. However, as we have seen, we cannot really define the nature of an action in terms of the influence it creates for another person, because no one knows what effect it will have: very many other factors involved in it. So construction or negativity involves a state in your mind, when we act. If our actions are based on greed, or attachment, or anger, or utter ignorance, then it's negative. On the other hand, if our actions are not based on anger, not greed, not grasping, not foolish, then it's constructive. Obviously farther, if it is based on loving kindness and compassion, almsgiving, v.
In addition, there are other factors. It is very interesting to consider other factors that make an action become constructive or negative. An element is moral dignity, or moral dignity. This relates to the concept of self and self-esteem. Without self-esteem, we will not care about the impact of our actions on ourselves. It is an "okay" attitude. With such low self-esteem, we will act in a negative way. In other words, if I think about myself positively, if I respect myself as a person, then I won't act like an idiot. I will not act foolishly, cruelly, because I do not want to lower myself to act like that - I have a much higher idea of myself, of what I can do. This is the element we are talking about here: whether there is a sense of moral dignity or not. This is an extremely important factor, as it determines whether we will act in a constructive or negative way.
Another factor is how interested in how our behavior will reflect on others. What are we talking about? If we create a terrifying action, how will it reflect on my family? How does it reflect about my hometown? If I had a terrible act, what would people think of Mexican people? If we are Buddhists but I go drinking and fighting with others, how will this reflect on Buddhism and Buddhists? Because we have respect for our families, organizations, or any individual, like religion, nation, or city, with a sense of concern about the impact our behavior will create, with care about how our actions will reflect on others, if this is the case, we will avoid negative behaviors. Without it, we will act in a negative way. This is a particularly profound insight of Buddhism. What is the main factor? Being self-respect, self-respect and spirit of respect for our community.
This gives us a great understanding of some of the factors that need to be considered in dealing with terrorism. If we deprive them of a person and their community of all the sense of dignity, make their lives really bad and have terrible thoughts about them, they will feel even if they It doesn't matter what you try to do. If they are not aware of their own values or their community values, why not act in a negative way? They feel that they have nothing to lose. I think this is a useful thing to remember about how we deal with others, especially in troublesome situations around the world. It is important not to deprive anyone of the sense of dignity or the sense of value of their community.
Here are some mental factors associated with what makes an action negative or constructive. It is also important to appreciate the fact that the way we act and behave towards others will affect them. This is about having care or care - I call it "caring attitude." But sometimes, we're naive, I think I can say anything to you and won't have all. I really don't care about your feelings seriously. So we don't have the attitude of caring for others.
If we act by kind of mental factors like greed, anger, unaware of self-worth, not caring about how we behave, we will reflect on others, without care, Do not see that what we do will affect others as well as ourselves, what is the result of this? Is unhappiness. However, this unhappiness is not a punishment.
We really have to think deeply about this. Is the mood that contains all these negative elements really a happy mood, and can it actually produce a happy experience in us, or can it only create any happiness? happy? If we think about this more then we will see that this is actually reasonable, that the state of mind, the negative state of mind, will result in unhappiness, and if we there is an opposite state, without greed, anger and all other things, it will produce happiness. Therefore, we have these types of general behaviors - construction and negativity - and they will result in experiences of happiness or unhappiness.
Moreover, there are specific types of actions that we create such as shouting at someone, or being kind to anyone and so on, and these also have its influence on the tendency to repeat that action and The tendency to fall into situations where others will treat us this way.
Another result of our career - but there is no need to go into much detail here - regarding what kind of rebirth we will experience: we will be reborn with a body and mind of a child. a dog, a cockroach, or a human. The kind of body and mind that we will have as a context for certain experiences will happen to us and how we behave in some way. There are many other details here, but in this introductory presentation, I just want to mention the most general principles.
In addition, there are other factors. It is very interesting to consider other factors that make an action become constructive or negative. An element is moral dignity, or moral dignity. This relates to the concept of self and self-esteem. Without self-esteem, we will not care about the impact of our actions on ourselves. It is an "okay" attitude. With such low self-esteem, we will act in a negative way. In other words, if I think about myself positively, if I respect myself as a person, then I won't act like an idiot. I will not act foolishly, cruelly, because I do not want to lower myself to act like that - I have a much higher idea of myself, of what I can do. This is the element we are talking about here: whether there is a sense of moral dignity or not. This is an extremely important factor, as it determines whether we will act in a constructive or negative way.
Another factor is how interested in how our behavior will reflect on others. What are we talking about? If we create a terrifying action, how will it reflect on my family? How does it reflect about my hometown? If I had a terrible act, what would people think of Mexican people? If we are Buddhists but I go drinking and fighting with others, how will this reflect on Buddhism and Buddhists? Because we have respect for our families, organizations, or any individual, like religion, nation, or city, with a sense of concern about the impact our behavior will create, with care about how our actions will reflect on others, if this is the case, we will avoid negative behaviors. Without it, we will act in a negative way. This is a particularly profound insight of Buddhism. What is the main factor? Being self-respect, self-respect and spirit of respect for our community.
This gives us a great understanding of some of the factors that need to be considered in dealing with terrorism. If we deprive them of a person and their community of all the sense of dignity, make their lives really bad and have terrible thoughts about them, they will feel even if they It doesn't matter what you try to do. If they are not aware of their own values or their community values, why not act in a negative way? They feel that they have nothing to lose. I think this is a useful thing to remember about how we deal with others, especially in troublesome situations around the world. It is important not to deprive anyone of the sense of dignity or the sense of value of their community.
Here are some mental factors associated with what makes an action negative or constructive. It is also important to appreciate the fact that the way we act and behave towards others will affect them. This is about having care or care - I call it "caring attitude." But sometimes, we're naive, I think I can say anything to you and won't have all. I really don't care about your feelings seriously. So we don't have the attitude of caring for others.
If we act by kind of mental factors like greed, anger, unaware of self-worth, not caring about how we behave, we will reflect on others, without care, Do not see that what we do will affect others as well as ourselves, what is the result of this? Is unhappiness. However, this unhappiness is not a punishment.
We really have to think deeply about this. Is the mood that contains all these negative elements really a happy mood, and can it actually produce a happy experience in us, or can it only create any happiness? happy? If we think about this more then we will see that this is actually reasonable, that the state of mind, the negative state of mind, will result in unhappiness, and if we there is an opposite state, without greed, anger and all other things, it will produce happiness. Therefore, we have these types of general behaviors - construction and negativity - and they will result in experiences of happiness or unhappiness.
Moreover, there are specific types of actions that we create such as shouting at someone, or being kind to anyone and so on, and these also have its influence on the tendency to repeat that action and The tendency to fall into situations where others will treat us this way.
Another result of our career - but there is no need to go into much detail here - regarding what kind of rebirth we will experience: we will be reborn with a body and mind of a child. a dog, a cockroach, or a human. The kind of body and mind that we will have as a context for certain experiences will happen to us and how we behave in some way. There are many other details here, but in this introductory presentation, I just want to mention the most general principles.
Theory of Decision or Freedom of Will
So on the one hand, I repeat over and over again certain types of behavior and things that happen to me; and on the other hand, we experience all these things with the ups and downs of happiness and unhappiness, things that are sometimes suited to our actions and sometimes, seemingly unrelated. All this ups and downs, going up and down all the time, and we don't know what will happen after that. Of course, what happens to me is not only created by me and my own karma. It is also influenced by what is happening to all the others in their universe and their karma, and what they are doing, plus what is happening to the physical universe - meteorological phenomena of the universe like weather, earthquakes, such kind of phenomena. Therefore, it is very difficult to predict what we will experience afterwards - the factors that affect things are too complicated, and in fact,
We have to understand here, because so many people ask about karma - is it a decision theory or do we have free will? There is no right thing, both are extremes. Decision theory often implies that others have decided for us what we will do or experience - an outside character, a higher person, or any other person. Buddhism says it is not this; not everyone else has decided what we are going to do and we are just puppets, showing some role someone else has written for us.
On the other hand, free will is a bit like someone in a restaurant, holding a menu in front of them and deciding what they want to eat. Life is not like that. Buddhism says that if you imagine that life is not true, it is a mistake. It seems and seems to have a separate "me" - separate from life, experience, an outsider with everything that is happening, can see life as a menu and choose the dishes in there. There is no "me" separate from life, or experience and what will happen to us does not exist as small dishes on the menu that we can choose, as if they were available there, already We just need to push the button and they get out of the vending machine, or something like that. I think this is a useful image so we can see how silly it is. Not that existing experiences like ready-made dry dishes in a vending machine and what choices you want; press the button, remove the money and it runs out for you. Life is not like that, is it? It is not that we decided first, "Today, I will be happy and everyone will be kind to me." Then we put money into the machine of life and what we choose will come to us. That is free will, right? Free will to decide what will happen to you and what you will do. But what happens to us is completely subtle and more complex than the two extreme types of decision theory and a lot of free will. right? It is not that we decided first, "Today, I will be happy and everyone will be kind to me." Then we put money into the machine of life and what we choose will come to us. That is free will, right? Free will to decide what will happen to you and what you will do. But what happens to us is completely subtle and more complex than the two extreme types of decision theory and a lot of free will. right? It is not that we decided first, "Today, I will be happy and everyone will be kind to me." Then we put money into the machine of life and what we choose will come to us. That is free will, right? Free will to decide what will happen to you and what you will do. But what happens to us is completely subtle and more complex than the two extreme types of decision theory and a lot of free will.
We have to understand here, because so many people ask about karma - is it a decision theory or do we have free will? There is no right thing, both are extremes. Decision theory often implies that others have decided for us what we will do or experience - an outside character, a higher person, or any other person. Buddhism says it is not this; not everyone else has decided what we are going to do and we are just puppets, showing some role someone else has written for us.
On the other hand, free will is a bit like someone in a restaurant, holding a menu in front of them and deciding what they want to eat. Life is not like that. Buddhism says that if you imagine that life is not true, it is a mistake. It seems and seems to have a separate "me" - separate from life, experience, an outsider with everything that is happening, can see life as a menu and choose the dishes in there. There is no "me" separate from life, or experience and what will happen to us does not exist as small dishes on the menu that we can choose, as if they were available there, already We just need to push the button and they get out of the vending machine, or something like that. I think this is a useful image so we can see how silly it is. Not that existing experiences like ready-made dry dishes in a vending machine and what choices you want; press the button, remove the money and it runs out for you. Life is not like that, is it? It is not that we decided first, "Today, I will be happy and everyone will be kind to me." Then we put money into the machine of life and what we choose will come to us. That is free will, right? Free will to decide what will happen to you and what you will do. But what happens to us is completely subtle and more complex than the two extreme types of decision theory and a lot of free will. right? It is not that we decided first, "Today, I will be happy and everyone will be kind to me." Then we put money into the machine of life and what we choose will come to us. That is free will, right? Free will to decide what will happen to you and what you will do. But what happens to us is completely subtle and more complex than the two extreme types of decision theory and a lot of free will. right? It is not that we decided first, "Today, I will be happy and everyone will be kind to me." Then we put money into the machine of life and what we choose will come to us. That is free will, right? Free will to decide what will happen to you and what you will do. But what happens to us is completely subtle and more complex than the two extreme types of decision theory and a lot of free will.
Ignorance is the Origin of Karma
We said in the previous part of the sermon that the Buddha's characteristic taught the cause of the continuous rise and fall of the experiences of happiness and unhappiness, about the cause of all things. what happens is that we really don't want it and there's no control. The cause is part of every moment of our experience and it is extending this whole syndrome - that is ignorance. Not only that, but when we act out of ignorance - whether negative or constructive - it enhances the so-called "invariant habit" - the habit of acting continuously with ignorance - therefore, We continue to act with ignorance in every moment.
What is this ignorance? It is a very profound topic in Buddhism; but if it is very simple, what we are talking about is ignorance about how I am, how you exist, and how everyone is. For example, we think that I am the center of the universe; I am the most important person; things should always happen at my disposal; I'm always right; others should always have time for me. We can recognize this attitude when using mobile phones: we feel we can call anyone at any time and bother them, regardless of what they are doing, and they must have hours for me, because what I have to say is more important than anything they may be doing. Based on this ignorance, one can behave in a negative way to someone, like shouting at them, treating them cruelly, And we'll do it because they didn't do what I want them to do, or they're doing something I don't like. They should do what I like because what I want is obviously more important than what they want. Or, based on the same ignorance, we can do something good for someone, be kind to them, because I want them to like me; I want them to be happy with me. I feel I need to do something for someone I think needs help, so I will tell my daughter how to raise children, how to care for the house. Is this not helpful? No matter if my daughter needs advice and help, but I think I am the most important person, I want to be the one who needs it, and obviously I know my daughter better about nurturing. children, and obviously she needs to listen to my advice.
So there is this ignorance, and it is hidden behind both negative and constructive behavior. Because of this ignorance, we extend this cycle of ups and downs. So we have to consider how to get rid of it.
What is this ignorance? It is a very profound topic in Buddhism; but if it is very simple, what we are talking about is ignorance about how I am, how you exist, and how everyone is. For example, we think that I am the center of the universe; I am the most important person; things should always happen at my disposal; I'm always right; others should always have time for me. We can recognize this attitude when using mobile phones: we feel we can call anyone at any time and bother them, regardless of what they are doing, and they must have hours for me, because what I have to say is more important than anything they may be doing. Based on this ignorance, one can behave in a negative way to someone, like shouting at them, treating them cruelly, And we'll do it because they didn't do what I want them to do, or they're doing something I don't like. They should do what I like because what I want is obviously more important than what they want. Or, based on the same ignorance, we can do something good for someone, be kind to them, because I want them to like me; I want them to be happy with me. I feel I need to do something for someone I think needs help, so I will tell my daughter how to raise children, how to care for the house. Is this not helpful? No matter if my daughter needs advice and help, but I think I am the most important person, I want to be the one who needs it, and obviously I know my daughter better about nurturing. children, and obviously she needs to listen to my advice.
So there is this ignorance, and it is hidden behind both negative and constructive behavior. Because of this ignorance, we extend this cycle of ups and downs. So we have to consider how to get rid of it.
THOAT VOI VOI.
When we look at the structure of how the karmic and spiritual races are ripe, especially the karmic strains, they all relate to our attitudes to joy and sadness and downs that we went through. Here, we have two elements of significant spiritual companionship with sad and joyful experiences. The first factor is "craving". When we experience happiness, we aspire - that is, we have very strong desire - not far from happiness. "Don't leave, stay here with me forever, you can stay longer" - something like that when you're having fun with someone. Or we are enjoying and feeling happy with eating chocolate cake, so we don't want to leave that joy. So we continue to eat more, eat more and more, right? It is craving. Then when experiencing unhappiness, We want to stay away from it as quickly as possible. Below both of these are the second mental element - a strong attitude assimilated to the "I", a solid "I", with what we're experiencing. I must have this joy and anything that brings me happiness, more and more, and not separate from it. I have to be isolated from what I don't like. I don't like what you're saying, so it's better to shut up, or I'll scream at you.
When we experience sadness and ups and downs in life with this desire and a strong assimilation of a solid "I" to what is happening, which ultimately, based on ignorance - This makes all these karmic strains mature. In that way, we are maintaining the ups and downs of joy and sorrow, repeating all of our previous acts, because these are what ripen from those races. . What is frightening is that this ignorance is present in every moment of joy and sadness. It creates more moments of happiness and suffering, and they will also accompany ignorance. The ignorant mind that we experience today is the result of ignorance in the past, when we experienced happiness and sadness.
This recurring cycle lacks this control, this self-sustaining cycle, which is what Buddhism calls "reincarnation" ("samsara"). If we can escape this ignorance then the whole system of karma will disintegrate and we will escape samsara. If we replace ignorance with the right understanding - I will not go into details about what this means, but only about the general idea - if we replace ignorance with the right understanding , there will be no basis for this strong "me" - no ground for "I have to have this and there is no other thing." No craving, so there is no activation of tendencies. this direction and volume. And if nothing starts these elements, you can't say that you still have trends and exercises.
I will try to give an example. If you tend to see dinosaurs when they become extinct, you won't see them anymore when you walk in the forest, right? Previously there was this tendency: when walking in the forest, I always saw dinosaurs. Now there are no dinosaurs, so there is no longer a tendency to see them. Using that example, when there is nothing left to make a tendency ripen, it is a dinosaur that walks in front of you, making a tendency to see the ripe dinosaur, if there is nothing to warm up. That direction, you will no longer have it. And if the karmic strains are no longer ripe because there are no more karmic strains, then we will not experience the ups and downs of happiness and unhappiness, certainly we will not experience any ignorance. come with it; That is also lost.
This is how we get rid of this whole reincarnation. I no longer experience the dissatisfaction, insecurity, ups and downs of sad joy, instead, we have a very solid experience of a very different kind of happiness, a very different quality - not The kind of happiness mixed with ignorance, and not the kind of happiness "I won so this is my reward." It is the happiness we experience when we get out of a difficult situation. I think a simple example, though not a precise example, gives access to what this refers to as the happiness we feel when we take off our tight shoes at the end of the day - it is a pleasant joy because we have escaped this pain.
Likewise, what we will experience with liberation is that our actions are no longer driven by the compulsive urge of karma, causing us to act in a certain way, to experience certain things. . Rather, if we are practicing, overcoming liberation, to become a Buddha, the element that leads our actions will be compassion - the desire for others to escape suffering and their causes. This suffering.
When we experience sadness and ups and downs in life with this desire and a strong assimilation of a solid "I" to what is happening, which ultimately, based on ignorance - This makes all these karmic strains mature. In that way, we are maintaining the ups and downs of joy and sorrow, repeating all of our previous acts, because these are what ripen from those races. . What is frightening is that this ignorance is present in every moment of joy and sadness. It creates more moments of happiness and suffering, and they will also accompany ignorance. The ignorant mind that we experience today is the result of ignorance in the past, when we experienced happiness and sadness.
This recurring cycle lacks this control, this self-sustaining cycle, which is what Buddhism calls "reincarnation" ("samsara"). If we can escape this ignorance then the whole system of karma will disintegrate and we will escape samsara. If we replace ignorance with the right understanding - I will not go into details about what this means, but only about the general idea - if we replace ignorance with the right understanding , there will be no basis for this strong "me" - no ground for "I have to have this and there is no other thing." No craving, so there is no activation of tendencies. this direction and volume. And if nothing starts these elements, you can't say that you still have trends and exercises.
I will try to give an example. If you tend to see dinosaurs when they become extinct, you won't see them anymore when you walk in the forest, right? Previously there was this tendency: when walking in the forest, I always saw dinosaurs. Now there are no dinosaurs, so there is no longer a tendency to see them. Using that example, when there is nothing left to make a tendency ripen, it is a dinosaur that walks in front of you, making a tendency to see the ripe dinosaur, if there is nothing to warm up. That direction, you will no longer have it. And if the karmic strains are no longer ripe because there are no more karmic strains, then we will not experience the ups and downs of happiness and unhappiness, certainly we will not experience any ignorance. come with it; That is also lost.
This is how we get rid of this whole reincarnation. I no longer experience the dissatisfaction, insecurity, ups and downs of sad joy, instead, we have a very solid experience of a very different kind of happiness, a very different quality - not The kind of happiness mixed with ignorance, and not the kind of happiness "I won so this is my reward." It is the happiness we experience when we get out of a difficult situation. I think a simple example, though not a precise example, gives access to what this refers to as the happiness we feel when we take off our tight shoes at the end of the day - it is a pleasant joy because we have escaped this pain.
Likewise, what we will experience with liberation is that our actions are no longer driven by the compulsive urge of karma, causing us to act in a certain way, to experience certain things. . Rather, if we are practicing, overcoming liberation, to become a Buddha, the element that leads our actions will be compassion - the desire for others to escape suffering and their causes. This suffering.
Conclusion
This is a basic explanation of some career-related principles. There are many, many more things that we can say and explain. Some of the problems are explained by common principles, such as this type of action, and if this element is present the result will be stronger, and if it is not present - if love The flag, you do something contrary to the purposeful action - the effect will be different, and so on. There are many details about this issue.
Likewise, in terms of what will be in the present, it is difficult to generalize by principles, because it is influenced by all the other factors that are happening around us. What happens to us today, we not only generalize by general principles, because what happens in the present is influenced by all the other factors that are happening. Try thinking if you had an accident on the road, what made this happen? On the other side, it is karma that drives them on that path, along with traffic conditions, weather and road conditions. Many factors have gathered in this case to create a ripe accident in the present.
If we are interested in this topic, we will have a large space to explore many different aspects of it. The more I learn about karma, the more useful I think it is to overcome the control of karma, so that we not only liberate ourselves from the suffering of samsara, but also can help others better.
Do you have any questions?
Likewise, in terms of what will be in the present, it is difficult to generalize by principles, because it is influenced by all the other factors that are happening around us. What happens to us today, we not only generalize by general principles, because what happens in the present is influenced by all the other factors that are happening. Try thinking if you had an accident on the road, what made this happen? On the other side, it is karma that drives them on that path, along with traffic conditions, weather and road conditions. Many factors have gathered in this case to create a ripe accident in the present.
If we are interested in this topic, we will have a large space to explore many different aspects of it. The more I learn about karma, the more useful I think it is to overcome the control of karma, so that we not only liberate ourselves from the suffering of samsara, but also can help others better.
Do you have any questions?
Question
In this range, is the sin not present in it? It has nothing to do with sin, does it?
Yes. The explanation of Buddhism about kamma has nothing to do with sin. Sin is based on a way of thinking about the aspect of a very strong "I" as a separate existence and what I have done is other individual entities, like two ping pong balls, or something like that. Then we believe that the "I" entity is too bad and the "what I did" is too bad. Therefore, there is also a judgment about two seemingly solid entities and then there is no letting go - that is sin. It's like when we never throw garbage out of the house but leave it in the house and say how horrible it is, how foul, dirty it is, and never throw it away.
It sounds very clear and reasonable. I can understand the whole system, and how to get rid of ignorance, impulse, trends and everything. But I think that understanding it is not enough to eliminate the experience or impulse of a pressing act in the present.
Yes. Yes, that's why first, we need to control our morality. Remember, we said there was a small gap between what I wanted to say, "The dress you wear today is so bad," and when I really said it. If we can capture that space, then we can decide if I tell the person that they are wearing an ugly dress, what effect will it make. And if we find that it is not a construction thing to say, we will not say what to do. It is my starting point, starting with moral principles and autonomy.
Likewise, what kind of feelings can I consider when I want to do something? Is the will to do that based on an affliction, such as greed? Is it based on anger; enchanting? Do I think that if you say your dress is bad, won't it affect you? Or my desire to do something based on kindness and more positive motivations? This is why the definition of a disturbing emotion or attitude is useful: it is a state of mind that arises when it causes us to lose peace and control.
You can say that when you lose your peace: your heart will beat a little faster; I feel a little uncomfortable. So we try to pay attention to, for example, subtle things, like is I saying something because of pride? For example, someone who says, "I don't understand that," and you say, "Oh, but I understand!" You will notice a bit of anxiety, a little pride behind this statement, an arrogance Somehow, so this is what we need to take precautions.
However, to understand reality, that is to understand emptiness and so on is very difficult, very difficult, and even when you understand it, you must become familiar with it, to get it all the time. . That is why we start with the precepts, to end negative actions.
There are a few things I don't understand. I think the professor said that there are two emotions that maintain this happiness and unhappiness, these fluctuations. Is the professor saying that one of these is craving, and what is the other?
What I have explained are two factors that trigger the karmic strains - this belongs to the doctrine of the twelve conditions. One element is craving and the other - I have said it simply - it is actually "attachment", and it is a list of about five different possibilities. This is what will result, so the most striking thing is the recognition of a solid "I" that we are experiencing, with what is going on.
Is it important to identify a solid "me" related to something? Clearly there is ignorance here, we must confront it and escape ignorance. But what exactly are we ignorant about and are we confused with?
This is not an easy question to answer simply. We are confused about the "I" that exists, the "I" convention, with the wrong "I" not really existing. What we are doing is to imagine that the actual "I" exists in an impossible way, which is an exaggeration. It adds something that is not present here. For example: I'm happy or I'm not happy. It's not that you 're unhappy but I'm not happy. When there is a happy or unhappy experience, we talk about it in terms of my happiness. Not that you are happy or else happy, but I 'm happy. The "I" or "I" is the "I" convention, exists.
I will give an example of this conventional "me". Suppose we watch a movie, say "Gone with the Wind". There was a happy scene, a sad scene, and then another funny scene. Then what is happening here? Happiness is a scene in the film "Gone with the Wind" and the misfortune is another scene of the film. "Gone with the Wind" is the way we name the convention for the whole film, for all those happy and unhappy scenes. However, "Gone With the Wind" is just a title, a name. But when we talk about "Gone with the Wind", we don't just talk about the title. We are talking about the actual movie the title is about. It is a conventional film that exists: it exists. The film is not something separate from every scene in it - a separate and independent film from those scenes will be an untrue film. It does not exist.
Similarly, we have moments of happiness in life, unhappy moments in life and so on, and how do we talk about all this? We refer to it as the "I" - the "I" convention, which exists: it is not you, it is "I". Similarly, the movie is "Gone with the Wind", not "Star Wars". But there is no "I" separate from the moments of the experience of happiness and unhappiness, and the "I" is experiencing those moments. That will be an "I" not real, an "I" does not exist. And the "I" is just a word; So "I" is merely what the word is referring to on the foundation of all the moments of experience of a life.
Then ignorance is the assumption that there is a certain "I" within this body, living in it, connecting to it in some way, pressing buttons, and now the "me" "He felt pain in my feet. I am very distressed and do not like this. It is like having a separate "me" with all the experiences inside that strange thing, called the body. Then, based on this mistaken basis of this "I", confuse this false "I" with the conventional "I" and assimilate it with the false "I", we feel with craving mind. that, " I am must be away from this sadness, this pain, the misfortune that I have experienced from physical pain. ”Of course, when there is no mistaken perception of a solid" I ", it doesn't mean that We just sat there and continued to bring pain. If my foot is in fire, of course, I will take it out of the fire, but the concept of the "me" behind it is completely different. There is no panic.
However, the concept of a false "I" compared to a conventional "I" is very complex and radical. So leave it there. Instead, end this evening with dedication. Think that if we have any understanding, any positive power from this discussion, may these things penetrate more deeply, grow stronger, and become enlightened people for the benefit of all. END=NAM MO SAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.26/2/2019.
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