"Buddhist life", a theme that the Sakyamuni himself preached many times, but specifically and clearly in the Sutras the Buddha taught his son, La La La, after Rahula La renunciation. 

This sutra has been engraved on the stele of Bhàbrà in the fourth century BC, calling on all monks and Buddhists to recite it.

We are not the sons of the Buddha like Rahula, but are the spiritual children of the Buddha. The words of love and wisdom of the Buddha. The Buddha's intimate and intellectual teachings to Rahula, nearly three thousand years ago in India, are also teachings for all of us, the Vietnamese Buddhists, as well as at home. Gia, male and female, young and old.

Today, on the day of the Great Buddha's Birthday, let us ponder together the Buddha's teachings on the Buddhist way of life and Buddhist life.

The Buddha said: "Hey, La La La, what do you think? What is the purpose of the mirror?".

Rahula answered: "The White World, the goal is to counteract"

"Also, the Buddha said:" Hey La La La, after reflecting many times, practice your karma, after revealing many times, practice the karma, after reacting many times, practice your karma. " .

Moral lifestyle is a lifestyle that always reacts, does not let go, is not free. The mirror that the Buddha said is not a mirror, but a mirror of the soul reflecting on all the thoughts, words and deeds that match or not with the religious life; Buddhist life, ie the Buddha's teaching of La La La, is harmful or not harmful to him; For people, benefit or not benefit, for themselves and for people, bring happiness or cause unhappy suffering for themselves and for others.

Why does the Buddha advise us to reflect many times?

This is due to the process of karma, which can be divided into three phases: the first stage is the mind-use stage, also called the intention. Usually, we call it a will. For example today is Buddha's Birthday. But even from yesterday and before, there was a desire to go to the Buddha's temple today, listen to the lecture, do many Buddhas and other good deeds. But there are also people who are probably only a few people on Buddha's birthday and want to go to see fortune-telling, see math, and hope to "go to the bridge" for a trip to finance and distribute fortune.

Right in this stage of will, we must also reflect, we must consider whether it is right or wrong, right or wrong with the religious life, Buddhist life, to benefit ourselves and for the good. No, bring happiness or cause suffering, for yourself and for people or for both.

If, in the period of will, you reflect on the Buddha's birthday, going to see fortune-telling is not appropriate, it is an example of bad superstition for your wife, children, friends and others. Please resolutely give up that will. On the contrary, for the will to go to the temple, to worship Buddha, to listen to the sermon, to do many Buddhas and other good deeds. You reflect on the desire to be good, bring peace to yourself and others, now and then, you are determined to implement that will, but also because of the great majority. You have had a good will, so today we have the grace to preach in such a large and cheerful audience like this.

If everything we do, every word we say, all our thoughts are countered to consider carefully from the moment of the will, as the Buddha taught La La, how many mistakes, Crime and unhappiness did not happen in this painful world.

The Buddha said: "Hey La La La, if while revealing you know" This karma I want to do, this karmic body can lead to self-harm, can lead to harm, can lead to both , this career time is unwholesome, leading to suffering. Such a karmic body, this La La La, your house should definitely not do. This La La La, if after the province, people know: "This karma we want to do, this karma of ours cannot lead to self-harm, can not lead to harm, can not lead to harm two, this time of karma is good, brought to peace, brought to peace and peace, such a karmic body is good, this should be done by La La La.

The second phase is the period when one thing has begun to do, is doing. Even at this stage, the stage of work is happening, we still continue to reflect: this is what we are doing or not in accordance with the religious life, Buddhist life, causing damage to us, giving others, for both or not, or vice versa, can they bring peace to others, for others, for both? If we go back to the province, we see that it is not harmful for us, for people, for both, we must be determined to continue the work, even if there are difficulties.

Just like today, you are happy to come here to worship Buddha, listen to the sermon, do many good deeds and the Buddha, in your heart feel the peace, happiness and wisdom of the growth. If you think it is worth it, then be sure to continue to do, on this Buddha's birthday, as well as on other Buddha holidays, or whenever you have conditions.

On the contrary, there are things you are doing, in progress, but in the process of doing it, you find that it is not beneficial for you, for people, not for both of you, even if the initial will is good. Also, you should immediately stop that job.

The Buddha taught La La La: "Hey La La La, when your home is making a karma, you need to reflect that karmic province as follows: This karma I am doing, this karma of mine leads to self-harm. , bringing harm to people, leading to harm to both, this karmic time is unwholesome, leading to suffering, bringing suffering and suffering. If this is the case, if you are against the province, you know that the karma is doing. It is unwholesome, so please give up such a karmic body, but if, in this case, La Hau La, while you are awake, your family knows the following: the karma we are doing now does not lead to self-harm, no brought to harm people, did not bring harm to both, this career time was good, brought to peace, brought to peace and karmic retribution like this, this La La La, you need must continue to do. "

Stage three is the stage when something has been done. We also need to reflect on what we have done in accordance with or not with the Buddhist life, the Buddhist way of life, whether we cause harm or not to ourselves and to people, causing damage to both , whether to bring peacefulness and happiness to ourselves and to others or to both. If you reflect and realize that what you have done causes harm to you or to others or both, then we must honestly eat guilt, honestly make mistakes with the guru or with fellow practitioner, my partner. After that, I decided not to do such a harmful job from now on. But if, through revenge, realize what I have done is in accordance with the religious life, Buddhist life, bring happiness and happiness to myself and others, or both,

The Buddha himself also recommended that La La La should do so, after each of his works: "Hey La La La, after your house has finished a karmic body, you need to reflect that karmic province as follows: "This career we have done, this karmic body of mine leads to self-harm, brought to harm others, brought to harm both, this career time is unwholesome, leading to suffering, bringing results of suffering, If in this province, La La La, you know as follows: This career has done, leading to self-harm, bringing harm to people, bringing harm to both, this career time is unwholesome, leading to pain. suffering, resulting in suffering. Such a karma, that La La La, you need to give up, you need to show it, you need to present it to the masters, or to the other Pham Hanh companions. After saying that, reveal, present,

"Again, if in this province, La La La, you know as follows: This career I have done, did not lead to self-harm, did not lead to harm, did not bring harm to both, my career This is good, brought to peace and brings peace and peace, so this La La La, you must stay in the joy of joy, study for yourself day and night in the good faith ".

For every job of the body, ie karmic, whether it is a will, or when it is doing, or after it is done, the Buddha advises La La La as well as all our Buddhists. so be considerate, be good or unwholesome, if you are good, then cultivate day and night to grow those good deeds. And if it is unwholesome, please try day and night to remove, eliminate, prevent, repent, and apologize, so that those unwholesome deeds will never be repeated.

Not only for work in the body, but also for the words, for every budding thought in the mind, the Buddha also advised us to reflect on whether it is good or unwholesome. If it is good, then learning to promote growth, if it is akusala, then strive diligently to eradicate and eliminate. And only after so many reflections on our work, our words and our thoughts, can we move towards all of our three karmas, karma, karma, and karma gradually. clean and bright, perfectly suited to the religious life and Buddhist life. We gradually follow the Buddha's teachings, as stated in the Dhammapada:

"Do not do all evil, 
Achieve good deeds, 
Mind keeps the mind clean, 
It is the Buddha's teachings".

Keeping the mind clean, must be a constant and top concern of all our Buddhists, monastic or homeless. Why? Ladies and gentlemen, this is because, normally, people think first and then say, just do it, we all think of the verse I of the Dhammapada:

"Italy leads the French, 
Italian mastery, the idea, 
If with the intention of pollution, 
Speak up or act, 
Suffering follows the steps, 
Like the wheel of scissors"

That is: The mind has been unwholesome, dirty, full of greed, the words and actions with such a mind will also be unwholesome, unclean, full of ignorance, and bring about retribution.

On the contrary, as the Dhammapada says:

"If with pure intentions, 
Speak up or act , peaceful 
steps follow, 
Like the ball does not leave the image".

Moral lifestyle, Buddhist life, is a clean mind. It is also a happy life. A happiness I created for myself, giving me, not someone else, even my parents, my relatives could not do it. That is the meaning of the verse 43 in the Dhammapada:

"What my mother and father 
cannot do, 
Eight directions can do it, 
Do it better!"

The right mind is the mind of good, the mind is pure, the mind is pure.

In contrast, people with akusala mind are also the most unfortunate people in the world, a greater unhappiness, more frightening than the evil beasts bring themselves. The Dhammapada Sutra writes:

"Oan hurt the 
enemy , The enemy harms the enemy, 
Not with the mind towards evil, 
Causing evil for himself".

Why does the Dhammapada say so? This is because akusala citta is an enemy inside, the enemy does so insidiously, so is the most feared enemy.

There is a question: How to keep the mind always clean and healthy? How to keep the mind no longer thinking evil, thinking unwholesome? How to avoid greed, hatred, and ignorance, even though it is wrong to be greedy and miserable, miserable?

It is a very legitimate question, Buddha once said: "Puppet rename humanity!" (Kandakara Sutra, Central II, Sutra 51). Some people know that smoking is harmful but still smoking, knowing that drinking alcohol is harmful but still drinking. It is the power of habit, a terrifying power. Just as a person goes on forever in the morning, how the shirt is also soaked with mist. Want to dry your clothes, how many days must be exposed! So is the mind. The mind of an evil thinker or a good thinker is also a habit. But it has become a habit, especially a bad habit, must be elaborated, take time to get rid of.

First of all, create yourself a good environment with good environments, intellectuals, as the Buddha book often says. In the Sutra of Manchu Sutra (Sutra of Central China No. 110), the Buddha introduced us to what is the life of an unwholesome person. An unwholesome person, who is full of unwholesome things, such as having no faith, being shameless, not afraid, listening to less, being lazy, losing his mind, being less intellectual. The inconvenient person contemplates as the unrighteous person, reflecting on himself, meditating to harm others, contemplating harm to both. Unwholesome people speak like unrighteous people: lie, say two tongues, speak cruel words, speak frivolous words. The unwholesome acts as a nefarious person, observing the birth, taking of the not giving, the wrongness in the senses. So,

Buddhists often come here to worship Buddha, listen to lectures on reading books, talk together morally, do Buddhist and good works, which is to create for themselves a good environment with the exception of evil thoughts, arising good thoughts, good thoughts. It is difficult for a person to do, or it is difficult to start working. But if there is an organization, many people work together and do it many times, become familiar and become sticky, the hard work will also be done well.

Having a good environment, good friends, we have to do our best.

The Abhidharma Sutra (The 20th Sutra, Central Sutra 1), teaches us the right method to cultivate the righteous thoughts, eliminating evil thoughts. There are five measures of all An Tran Sutra Sutra:

- The first measure: is to take the healing concept to ward off evil thoughts. For example, taking the thought of compassion to chase away the anger and anger of the Buddha, for example, a skilled carpenter, using a wedge or a good thought (wholesome thoughts) beats another wedge (evil thought).

- Second measure: Reflecting on the disastrous consequences of evil thoughts will lead to crimes and punishment. Just as an observer found himself wearing a dead dog's neck, too scared, throw it away. Like today, smokers who think smoking can cause themselves and their children (smoke smoke) to get cancer, are afraid to quit smoking.

- The third measure: to try, forget evil thoughts, don't think about it anymore. Buddha took for example a person who closed his eyes to avoid seeing something that could motivate him to do evil.

- The fourth method is to stop the evil spirit, so that it will reduce its power. The Buddha used for example a person who was running, turned to go, then moved to stand, then sat, then lay. I can take an example of smoking to illustrate Buddha's words. An addict, saw that the cigarette pack was taken immediately, pulled out the match pill, took two steams. Now see a bag of cigarettes, drill for a bag, and when you have already taken it, drill down the rqa cigarette, drill a match, or have lit a match, then take a breath, etc. Because, every time As such, we can all reflect, remembering the doctor's advice about how tobacco causes cancer, how a wife's message of smoking costs money etc., so it can Stop smoking.

- The fifth measure: is to use will, force to control evil thoughts, not allow it to arise, Buddha for example, a healthy person falls a weak person.

These are the five measures of controlling and eliminating evil thoughts, and were preached by the Buddha in the "Immigration". These are practical and specific teachings, everyone can apply in everyday life. One thing we need to remember is that all concepts are impermanent, whether evil or good, if it is not nourished by the corresponding concepts and especially the corresponding jobs. I take the example of smoking smokers. Reciting that smoking is nourished by thoughts such as smoking is harmless, smoking more initiatives, smoking a cigarette that can reduce life for several seconds like laughing for an hour increases the life span of seven seconds etc. If we do not raise the concept of smoking with such concepts, on the contrary, oppose it, eliminate it with thoughts such as smoking causing cancer, smoking harmful lungs, smoking money, etc. The concept of smoking can gradually no longer dominate us as before. And we can move on to quit smoking without difficulty.

One more thing, we also need to remember that good thoughts are generally stronger than evil thoughts, as well as stronger light than darkness. The concept of evil that governs us is because we don't know it is ac. If it is evil it is evil, then it will naturally disappear. Therefore, the Buddhist scriptures recommend that we should always be mindful of our awareness, know what we are thinking, what to say, what to do and that thought, that word, that action is good or unwholesome, bring peace or suffering for yourself and for people. Someone who thinks evil doesn't know that he is evil. Such people are very difficult to practice and quit evil. As well as having people do good things but do not know that they do good things, it is very difficult to grow good.

The life of Buddhists must be a sober life, knowing goodness is good to promote the inherent goodness, to learn the good things we have not yet. At the same time, it is necessary to know that evil is evil to eliminate the evil that it has committed and protect the evil that has not yet arisen. In short, increasing the inherent goodness, learning the unwholesome things, abandoning the inherent evil, avoiding the evil yet: it must be the diligent lifestyle of all our Buddhists.

It is also the definition of "Right Effort", Sammà andyama, in the Noble Eightfold Path that the Buddha advised all Buddhists to practice. "The living saint of the disciple needs to be diligent in renouncing the unwholesome dhammas, achieving the good dhammas, the effort of persevering diligently, not giving up the burden of good deeds". 

Above, we have said to use the old concept of chanting to chant evil thoughts. Can you ask what kind of thought is good?

The Buddhist Sutra often teaches the practice of "Eight Right Paths" by righteous view, righteous thinking, right speech, righteousness, righteousness, righteous effort, mindfulness, right concentration, eight dharmas of dhamma into perfect humanity, eight methods of building a perfect Buddhist life, practically applied to real life. A good human being, of course, must be a person with righteous knowledge and righteous thinking, with righteous language, three righteous kamma, and righteous livelihood, having the idea of ​​being a chief and having meditation chief.

It is really wrong to have someone accuse us of Buddhism as destroying all human feelings, as non-human! On the contrary, it can be said that Buddhism is the most humanistic because it helps people to strive to become perfect people, the saints in this world, the people fully and completely the most beautiful of compassion and wisdom. People have great wisdom and love (compassion): it must be the direction of all of us, because it is an exemplary model of the human being, perfecting from the Buddhist point of view.

It is a specific direction, nothing is far-fetched telescope, the Buddha and his many generations of enlightened disciples show that the perfect exemplary person is not an utopian structure but has is, is, will be the living people, reality if you try to strive to follow the path. The eightfold Path that the Buddha pointed out.

The immortal value of Buddhism is that it outlines a specific path to help each of us become perfect people, people live happily and freely, people exemplify wisdom and love. wide.

It is also the message that the Buddha left us: the message calls for all of us to strive to become perfect people, those who are freed from the three Paths of Enlightenment, Pitch and Si, those who are liberated and intellectual liberated, deserve to be students of the Buddha, the spirit of the Buddha.

In this hateful world, let us live without hatred, set an example of life full of love. In this dark world, the darkness of threatening war, and unethical life, let us light the lamp of wisdom, of understanding and understanding.

The society does not look at us, judge us through Buddha's books and Buddha statues, but look at us, judge us through our specific people, through our work and our specific words, possibly loyal or contrasting with the Buddhist idea of ​​compassion and wisdom.

So is the Buddha, he sees us assessing us not through statues, painting Buddha, through Buddha's books to record whether he is right or not, but through the specific daily life of Buddhist monks and nuns we have It is really a religious life, Buddhist life or not. If truly, we live, behave, act according to the Buddha's teachings, even though the Buddha entered Nirvana three thousand years ago, he is always with us, following instructions. , encourage us. END=NAM MO SAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.GOLDEN AMITABHA MONASTERY=AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.18/7/2019.VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=THICH CHAN TANH.