General Buddhism: Course 4 - lesson 3 of mercy

Universal Buddhist Studies

SRAMANA. Thich Thien Hoa

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Fourth Session

Pratyekabuddhas and Bodhisattvas of Buddhism

Lesson 3

Compassion Shop.VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=THICH CHAN TANH.

A. Open Topic

Among the causes of suffering for oneself and for oneself, anger is a great cause, as bad as greed and ignorance. From vo to now the construction of his species is immense; the destruction caused by their anger, is also tremendous. Humans build and destroy, destroy and build incessantly, just like children who build houses on sand, build and then pedal, and then rebuild. And the cause of that destruction is anger. There was little anger in the house between husband and wife breaking the dishes; There is anger among brothers that cause swelling of the forehead; there are tantrums between friends making a way off the road; there is anger between a rival, or a business colleague, who needs to pay with a blade, a gun tip or a squint; there is greater anger, between one country and another, one skin color and another,

All of these disasters are caused by anger. Anger lies in everyone's heart, like smoldering flames, like gunpowder fumes ready to explode at any time. Fire meets fire, gunpowder meets gunpowder, not to say, not everyone knows how big the harm caused by them!

B. Right Concise

I. Definitions

Often, people have the misconception that: Compassion is compassionate, soft, mourning, negative ... It is thought that as long as people are compassionate, everyone who wants to do whatever they like will suffer, living in circumstances I follow anyway, lack the spirit of progress ... In short, compassion in the common sense is mourning and feeble.

In fact, compassion according to Buddhism has a different meaning. Buddha taught: "From the fierce energy most sentient beings touch; Most compassionate energy set sentient beings suffering. " Meaning Word for the enjoyment of all sentient beings; Bi is eradication of suffering for all species. To end suffering and to enjoy it is all the aspirations and acts of benefiting and saving the life of a compassionate person. So compassion is not passive, fleeing life or feeble. The suffering and joy mentioned here are not only physical and pleasure but also suffering and spiritual joy.

To be miserable and to be happy is an aspect of life, but we cannot leave each other. When a part is happy, that is, partly less suffering, it is in Compassion; and on the contrary, when part of suffering is reduced, that is having such a part of happiness, it is in Compassion. Just like a child who is miserable because he has lost his way, when someone suddenly shows him the way, he immediately rejoices and runs out of misery.

So compassion is a great boundless compassion, which causes people to use all their abilities, thoughts and means to make everyone and everything free from joy.

II. Comparing Compassion With Uncle Aùi

Charity is great love. In this way, charity and compassion have the same nature in a narrow, deep, shallow place. Some people believe that charity is broader than compassion. It is because we do not fully understand the word Compassion. As above defined: Words are for the pleasure of all beings; Bi is eradicating all suffering for all species. We know Buddha used the word sentient beings to refer to all living things. So Xu is for fun of all creatures, not just for humans. All things with life are shared by that love. And Bi is eradicating all suffering for sentient beings. We should note that in the sentence that defines Chinese characters, sutras use the word "tarpaulin" to mean rooting. Yes, to eradicate the root of suffering, not just to alleviate the present suffering, but leave the cause causing suffering forever.

Thus, compassion, in terms of space, includes all species, and in terms of time, includes all past, present and future. And charity only focuses much on humanity but pays little attention to creatures; and just take care of suffering, give happiness in the present and think little of the fruit in the future.

In other words, Compassion is all about the meaning of charity, and charity does not cover the reason of compassion.

III. How Compassion Saving and Fun For You

In comparing compassion and charity, we have said, spatially, compassion covers all species. Indeed, the ordinary of Buddhism is extremely large. Buddha taught not to kill human beings but also animals. True Buddhists, thoroughly following the Buddha's teachings, not only do not kill the creatures to eat, nor kill the animals in their hunting or fishing for pleasure. In the old days, monks before drinking water from ponds and lakes, had to use a filter to filter the water, so it was just hygienic, and avoid killing the small creatures in the water. Whenever entering the bridge, the practitioners have to knock on the ground for three hours, letting the creatures under the bridge know to avoid it first. These gestures, although small, have sincerely demonstrated the compassion of true Buddhists. Thanks to that compassion, life is less cruel,

But if just for fun and kill suffering in the present money without thinking for fun and destroy suffering in the future, it is not called compassion. Therefore, it is necessary to cause joy and eliminate suffering. Where do happy and suffering people have? In the business often teaches: Suffering due to career, career or. Or ie afflictions. Disturbance is in our hearts. The mind is the source of all actions, of all results. Then the result is dukkha or pleasure only by the mind. Sentient mind is full of defilements, bad habits, containing countless seeds of bitterness and bitterness. Of course, those seeds will bear hardships. Therefore, Buddhism is very focused on the problem of cultivating the mind, nurturing the nature for oneself and others.

Want to save true suffering, not only worry about saving suffering, but also pahon except suffering for early. That is exactly the same as the aforementioned definition of the word BI (The most important part is that of beings). For example, in order for a person to be free from suffering of imprisonment, labor, persecution, persecution, we must teach them not to be greedy, robbers and necessary to know how to give and respect their wealth. In order for people not to suffer because of division, murder, and hatred, we must teach them not to be angry but to be gentle and patient. In order for those who are free from suffering because of the foolishness of temptation, exploitation, and disdain, we must teach them to be lucid and enlightenment to life. When they understand, of course not telling them to avoid, they still avoid.

In order for this benefacting career to be completely accomplished, the compassionate cultivator has a duty to teach people around the methods of spiritual practice to be effective, such as reciting Buddha's name, taking meditation, for example Their territory is growing merit.

IV. The Compassionate Method

In the preceding paragraphs, we have separated the meaning and effects of compassion. We have seen the good and great value of compassion. Let us now address the issue: "how to train compassion".

One of the effective methods to train compassion is "consistent compassion." Compassion Restaurant has three levels of low and high, depending on the basis of three classes of austerities:

1. Being conditioned from. This custom is usually for Hinayana practitioners.

Being conditioned from, meaning compassion due to contemplate the suffering of beings that arise.

Beings that are referring to the term of passion, being immersed in the pool of sarnsaric suffering, are still entangling within defilements. Such as hell species were fined enough things, hungry hungry hungry ghosts, animals being spared execution scenes, A tu la struggled, slaughtered. Come as sentient beings in the realm of fun, but still five active general failure, reincarnation, fallen as usual. But above all, human beings also suffer from so many miseries, from material to spiritual, from individual to mass. Especially the law of impermanence: birth, old age, sickness, death, no one has escaped yet. He could not escape, but he also accidentally went around causing more misery, sometimes forgetting the old age, every day piling up, how pitiful!

So, facing the sufferings of sentient beings, what should Buddhists do? But how can that compassion be given?

The Buddha taught us to observe all sentient beings in the six paths, the ten directions as familiar relatives.

This is the first method to get along with all sentient beings. Use affection and practice Compassion. In the past, we had a habit of being something other than "us", rarely paid attention to. Now, compassion means that we have broken that narrow selfishness and enlightened and realized that:

The human world we are here in is a big house, a place of reunion and solidarity. Still know that humanity is different in color and race; those other things are just different in appearance, but everyone who has the same flesh and body is also afraid of misery, bad luck and good knowledge, etc. So for older people, we must respect as parents and grandparents; peers or approximate age, as siblings; Younger people even look like great-grandchildren ...

Expanding one more floor, for them sing in five categories, let us consider as members of the extended family is uncle, aunt, aunt, aunt ... Still know that in form, the human race is different from other species, and sometimes we don't see each other anymore, but after all, being sentient beings, of course, we all share the same source of life, and when we are alive, of course we all want to live in fear of death, and we all feel joy and suffering. The closest we can see, meet and depend on is the animal. Although they cannot speak like us, if we treat them kindly, they also love and loyal to us. Although they have no education, they still listen to us and help us in a lot of hard work. It is because of heavy karma, so they are animals in this life, but maybe in the previous life, they are not my brothers? And after,

Although this method of Hinayana has not broken the ego, but has also expanded the narrow scope of the small self and merged into the bigger self, the big family; and then from that big emotional self, will gradually move into a higher sublime reason, by following the "Dharmakyamma" from the following.

2. French predestined words. Dhamma-condition from love is the compassion caused by predestined "Dharma-nature". This is the customary law for the Hinayana.

Practitioners while practicing this practice, observing all sentient beings, with him and her all having the same "dharma precepts," so suffering beings are suffering; so the practitioner begins to be compassionate and saves suffering for all sentient beings. To this position, they no longer distinguish as male or female, no longer perceive themselves different from people, do not think that they are relatives, only find themselves with the same "legal precepts". The Bodhisattva has received sentient beings and has one being, so when it comes to saving suffering, no matter who it is, and when it does, it doesn't accept what it has done. Beings are miserable, Bodhisattvas have Bi. This natural sympathy is like the sacred love between a mother and her child. With this meaning, in the Trung A Ham business there is an example: Before a victim was hit by that poison immediately.

The salvation of sentient beings, for Bodhisattvas who have witnessed this "predestined dharma" as well, is only for the purpose of making others happy.

3. ungainly from. Within the scope of this article, we should only learn through the two classes of compassion above, namely: Compassion due to our conditions for sentient beings and suffering, or due to our conditions and sentient beings with a single nature. initiates. And the third kind of compassion, meaning "ungainly", is a special sublime type of the Mahayana, we do not have enough root-base and level of practice. However, in order to have a full idea of ​​compassion, we should also know about this kind.

Ungainly, is compassion without love affinity and predestined scenes, no longer use, no longer observe, treat between himself and him, himself and things like the two previous compassion. This compassion is worthy according to the nature of the mind that arises immeasurably, throughout, without bias anywhere. Just as the sunlight shines all over the near and far, regardless of high and low, not paying attention to any place, illuminating everything in a carefree and effortless manner.

V. The Benefits of the Compassionate Dharma

Some people worry that if everyone is compassionate, they will become weak, the nation will be weak, and the desire for exploitation will be illustrious, etc.

Worry like that is too far away, so it is not realistic. From the past until now, human beings do not have to suffer because they are too compassionate, the society is not weak, the island is crazy because the situation is too vast. On the contrary, the suffering of individuals and groups, in large part due to the cruelty of the human heart. A judgment that no one can deny is that the more civilized a society is, the less the evil will be, the more love will increase, or vice versa, the more love will increase, or the wickedness will decrease, the more civil society will become. clever, happy. Let fear of compassion make people weak, but only fear, if hatred and cruelty does not diminish, then humanity will surely be destroyed.

According to Tang Nhat A Ham, the Compassionate Ben Quan will get the following benefits:

a) When waking or sleeping, all are at peace

b) Currently many people love

c) Live in your life without a robbery accident

But practicing the dharma of compassion, not just to let us pray for our own karmic benefits, and that much. Our purpose in cultivating is how we and all sentient beings in the Six Paths are free from suffering. Of course, during cultivation we will:

Except for the cruel anger

Quitting narrow ego

Unite with everyone

Thanks to that, the life of individuals and groups is thus fun and meaningful.

C. Conclusion

Compassion is a remedy for the mind of anger. Anger is a formidable murder, a key to all treasures of sin. eliminating it means eliminating death, and suppressing the stinger of chaos. How many guns and especially atomic bombs will become useless. Among mankind, no one is the enemy sheep no longer have class exploitation, struggle. Everyone is pitiful, worth helping. Between people and people, between people and things will have a close contact, solidarity. People will be extremely happy to see around them are relatives, four seas are brothers and harmony in Buddha nature. END=NAM MO SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).WORLD VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST ORDER=GOLDEN AMITABHA MONASTERY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.21/1/2020.