CHAPTER 8

FOUR TRUTH.VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.

To build a solid desire to be free from samsara, we must examine our conditions and consider the reasons we want to be liberated. The first thing to realize is that our bodies and minds are oriented towards suffering. The Four Noble Truths (the Four Noble Truths) - the first teaching of the Buddha - address this issue directly. These truths are the truth about suffering (the Noble Truth), the truth about the origin of suffering (The Noble Truth), the truth about ending suffering (the Noble Truth), and the truth about the path to end suffering (the Noble Truth). The Buddha's decision to teach the truths in this continuum has great implications for our practice. To emphasize the importance of realizing that what we often consider happiness is actually suffering, Buddha first taught the truth about suffering.

When you realize that you have fallen into an ocean of suffering, you will develop the desire to be free of that suffering, and for that purpose, you will first realize that you need to eliminate the cause of pain. suffering. When searching for the cause of suffering, you find ignorance and karmic actions. Then you will be able to realize that the cycle of birth and death and its sufferings are caused by your own karmic actions, which in turn are driven by ignorance, deeply rooted in false belief. wrong about the solidity or innate existence of the ego. If we analyze how we think of the ego, we will realize that we tend to assume it exists by nature, independent of the mind and body. However, when we try to locate it, it avoids us.

In many lands, one group does not accept any life after death and one group accepts. Those who accept life after death can be divided into two groups: one asserts that the ignorance and pollution of the mind can be eradicated and purified, while the other group believes that they cannot. . The latter asserts that as long as the mind is there, we can never purify and separate the mind from the delusion. Therefore, the elimination of ignorance means that the mind has to be stopped. In the group of people who believe that eventually the mind can be separated from its defilements and ignorance - that is, people who believe in Nirvana - some people identify Nirvana with a place completely free from suffering, a pleasant pleasant place in a noble realm. Others identify Nirvana with a state in which the ignorance is completely dissolved into reality. Nirvana exists right on the basis of self-consciousness. This is the Buddhist perspective

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The Truth about Suffering (Suffering Soles)

To understand the first truth, which is suffering, one has to meditate on suffering. We consider ourselves the most valuable thing in the universe, and we treat ourselves as if we are more precious than a Buddha. But that kind of attachment does not lead to full bliss. From beginningless time we have been through the cycle of life and death and there have been countless lives. From childhood to now, we have been ups and downs, enduring all kinds of disappointments and mistakes. Our lives are surrounded by problems, suffering, extreme, disappointment. Eventually this life will end with death, and then we will not be sure where it will lead us. We should really consider whether or not there is a way to free ourselves from this unpleasant existence. If life is something that arises independently of causes and conditions, and cease to have no further continuity, then we will have no way out. And if that is true, we should live the principles of pleasure. But we know that suffering is something we really don't want, and if it is possible to have complete freedom of it, that freedom is worth achieving.

The actions of body, speech, and mind are what bind us to the cycle of birth and death and suffering. As we know, we can accumulate these actions even for a moment, and that moment can throw us into a lower realm. This attachment is rooted in a mind that is not subjugated and caused by our own ignorance, our own misconception of the ego. This instinctual notion of an independent, isolated ego motivates us to ponder in all kinds of negative actions, which lead to suffering. This self-centered attitude has been our teacher, we have always obeyed its commands. We must realize that we have no benefit in obeying its instructions. As long as we do that, there is no chance to be happy.

It is the experience of birth that is hard for both mother and child. After we are born, ignorance has an instinctual influence on our body and mind, preventing the mind from turning to the Dharma practice. Our own bodies become the causes for the arising of ignorance. For example, when your body is weakened by certain illnesses, you become angry, and when it is healthier you have desire. Birth is certainly followed by death, and following death is another rebirth. If this is not enough, rebirth itself will be the basis for further suffering, because this rebirth prepares the environment for further ignorance, which promotes the negative actions that cause the consequences. karmic retribution.

What this human existence we hold as a treasure arises from something unclean. Our bodies are born from a combination of parental, sperm, and egg components. If we see blood and semen on a towel or a drop dripping down the ground, we will be freaked out. Yet we continue to worship our own flesh. We try to cover our bodies with good clothes and cover its smell with perfume. Our parents are born from the same substance, as are their parents and grandparents. If we trace it back, we will see the body as the result of all these impure substances. If we go a step further, we can see that the body is like a machine for producing feces and urine. When you see earthworms eating mud on one end and then excreting it on the other, You find them pitiful. In fact, our own body is similar; we continue to eat and continue to excrete. Such a body has nothing to cherish.

Moreover, humanity has the potential to threaten the very survival of the earth. Because the mind is not subdued, there are those who not only accumulate a treasure of negative actions but also affect the lives of countless people, causing misery, suffering, and torment.

Then there is suffering due to aging. The aging occurs slowly; otherwise we won't be able to stand it at all. As we age, we lose the flexibility we had when we were young; we cannot digest food that we once loved. We cannot recall the names of people or objects that we vividly recall. Gradually our teeth fall out, and we lose our eyesight and hearing. Eventually we reach a period of decline in which people begin to see only one of our hideous scenes. When you get to the point where you need the help of others, people will alienate you.

Next, there is suffering from illness. The physical suffering and sorrow in the mind increases, and you have to spend many days and nights devastated by illness. Illness prevents you from eating your favorite food, and you are prevented from doing what you love to do. You have to take drugs that smell scary. The next is suffering from death. You will part with your precious possessions, and you will part with your own loved ones, and you will part with your own body that has accompanied you throughout your life. The suffering of death is very clear to us; There is no need to explain it any further.

Then there is suffering due to encountering unwanted things, like enemies. In this life, many experiences occur against our wishes. We Tibetans have lost their freedom; This is the pain of unwanted meeting. Even people in a superpower like the United States are beset by everything. Because they were raised in such material abundance, sometimes they became corrupt. Due to uncompetitive competition, their lives are more worrying than other peoples. The competition is good to a point, but if it is out of control like in the United States, it creates jealousy and full of discontent. In materially developed countries, there is so much food that people sometimes dump them into the sea, whereas on the other side of the planet are countries, like countries in Africa, which have millions of people. starving.

Next is suffering from being taken away from what one wants. We Tibetans lose their homeland and have to part with their loved ones. There is also suffering due to not achieving the desired things even after seeking. Whether you work in fields, you don't harvest a good crop, or if you start a job, it doesn't work.

Another perspective on suffering is to contemplate the suffering of uncertainty. In this cycle of birth and death, going through the process of many rebirths, and sometimes in a single life, everything changes. Our parents become enemies, our relatives will become enemies, our enemies will become friends, later our parents will be born our own children. There is no certainty. Tsong-kha-pa said that we should try to prevent this kind of anomalous change of nature when dealing with others, based on discrimination or classifying some as enemies and a others are relatives or friends. We should think about the uncertainty of the whole of life in this cycle of birth and death and try to develop some disgusting consciousness for samsara.

There is also suffering due to a lack of contentment. If we actually examine how much food we have consumed throughout the course of a person's life, we feel frustrated and wonder what is the benefit of using it. But that is only in this life, if we consider all our past lives - for example, what would the total milk we drank from our mothers when we were babies? It is beyond imagination. You should think about all kinds of successes and sufferings in this cycle of birth and death and think that there is no type of experience that you have not experienced in samsara. We try to enjoy things to enjoy the mental content, but when we try to enjoy the pleasures and happiness of the cycle of birth and death we still do not have satisfaction; It is endless. You should think about this dissatisfaction, which in itself is a great suffering. We have had all these experiences and gone into samsara from countless lifetimes. When thinking about the futility of such experiences, you need to determine that if you do not stop this vicious cycle of life and death right now, then continuing on is completely futile. So you should develop a profound sense of boredom towards all the experiences in this samsara.

There is the suffering of having to renounce the body countless times. So far we have lived so many lives and so many lives, and we still cannot use them in a meaningful way. We have not achieved anything just by carrying these innumerable bodies. We have suffered conception many times. The Buddha said that if we count the number of our mothers by separating the pebbles, each representing our mother, this count cannot end.

Reflect on the fact that all prosperous success in samsara ends in some kind of misery and despair. As the texts say, the end of harvest is exhausted, the end of great status is collapse, the end of meeting is separation, and the end of life is death. In short, all the experiences, joys, and happiness in this cycle of birth and death, however strong and powerful they appear, end with misery.

Finally, a further perspective on the three types of suffering. The first type, called suffering due to suffering, is the obvious experience of physical and mental pain that we often see as suffering. The second type is called suffering due to change. Because all the joy and happiness of the world eventually turn into sufferings, they are called suffering due to change. The sufferings of change are misidentified as happy experiences. For example, if you have a fever or feel very hot, when cool water is thrown on you, you will feel something blissful. This is what we consider happiness. Or if you are walking for a long time and after a while you have a chance to sit down, then that moment seems really joyful. However, it is actually not a blissful experience; What you are really experiencing is a gradual cessation of previous suffering. If sitting down is a genuine joy, continuing to sit must create the same joy for you, but if you continue to sit, a while later you will feel tired and will want to stand up.

The third type of suffering is suffering from being dependent all over, is the fact that our minds and bodies are so dependent that it can suffer at any time. The three types of suffering can be illustrated in this way. If you have a burn and you use an ointment that gives you a kind of sense of protection and pleasure, it's like suffering from change, because even though it's transient, It will not last. Then if someone accidentally touches the burn or the hot water splashes into it, you will really feel pain. It is the obvious suffering, the suffering caused by suffering. What makes these two types of suffering possible is that we have burns first. If we were not burned, we would not have the following experience. Burns provide conditions for greater suffering, just like our possession of a body and mind causes us to suffer greater strength. And the nature of the body itself provides conditions for burns. It tends to suffer. This is suffering due to total dependence, all over.

We should realize that the sufferings of the animals, the hungry ghosts, and the beings in hell can also happen in mankind. Many people die of starvation. It seems that sometimes they have to eat leaves and also some insects and insects. Those things are very similar to the experiences of ghosts. Similar suffering is happening today in Africa, where millions of people are dying of starvation. When nations are at war, due to political differences, the suffering people are mostly living in hell.

Even the gods suffer. They can foresee their own death so they suffer in their minds. It is said that their wreaths wilt, their clothes and bodies begin to stink. Having experienced all the pleasures of heaven, they exhausted their full potential to take positive actions. As a result, when they die, they will go directly to the lower realms of samsara. Tsong-kha-pa said that, having contemplated the general sufferings of all sentient beings in samsara in general and the specific sufferings of each species in the realms of reincarnation, then we should develop a deep boring feeling for all experiences in samsara and develop a deep renunciation. Later, we will begin to really examine exactly what causes such misery and despair. So the question of the second truth, the truth about the cause of suffering, will come later.

The truth about the cause of suffering

Delusion (ignorance) is the main cause of rebirth in samsara. Without delusions, karmic actions will not have the power to create rebirth; they will be like burned seeds. The most important thing is to find ways to treat delusions, and that in turn depends on whether you identify the delusions correctly. Therefore, we must be very knowledgeable about the general and specific characteristics of delusion. As the first Dalai Lama says, submit to an enemy within, that is delusion. The enemies on the outside may seem very dangerous, but in later lives they can turn into my friends. In spite of this, they provide us with the opportunity to practice patience and compassion because at the foundation we are all the same: we all want happiness and dislike suffering. But the inner enemy, the enemy of ignorance, does not have positive qualities; it is just something to be resisted and destroyed. So we have to identify the true enemy and find out how it works. Any mental state that destroys the tranquility of the mind and brings mental suffering, it disturbs, disturbs and torments the mind, called a delusion (ignorance).

Let us identify a few main delusions. First, there is desire, a strong desire for beautiful people, beautiful things, or pleasant experiences. Desires are very difficult to get rid of; as if your consciousness becomes attached to the object. Another delusion is anger. When someone becomes angry, one can see immediately that they lose their composure, their faces turn red and wrinkled, and even their eyes become bloodshot. The object of anger, whether there is life or inanimate, is something that is perceived as undesirable and disgusting. Anger is a mind that cannot be subdued, downright gross and unstable. Another delusion, conceit, is an attitude in which one feels proud of one's own identity, status and knowledge, based on a self-centered attitude. Regardless of whether we have actually achieved anything or not, they feel complacent. People with deep pride will be very swagger and seem very complacent. Next is ignorance, the misconception about the characteristics of the Four Noble Truths, the law of karma, and so forth, etc. In this particular area, ignorance refers to a completely stupid mental element. with the nature of the Three Jewels and the law of karma. The delusion of doubt is the thought of whether or not the Four Noble Truths are there or not, the law of karma.

The other category of delusions is wrong views, living false perceptions about the nature of reality. The first of these wrong views is a mentality focused on the ego of man and the delusion that it exists truly and essentially - imagining that in our impermanent body and mind there is a some kind of ego is permanent, independent. Other kinds of wrong views are the belief that there is no life after death, there is no law of karma, and there is no Triple Gem. Based on the wrong view of the ego, other delights arise. For example, if you have a slightly dark and curled rope, you may mistakenly assume that the rope is a snake. Then the wrong idea that a rope is a snake will increase all kinds of reactions in your mind, like fear, and will lead to all kinds of actions, like an area running away from home or trying to kill a snake, it is all based on a mere misconception. In the same way, we mistakenly believe that body and mind have some kind of ego, and thus every other delusion, like desire and anger, follows. Because of this self-centered attitude, the delusion about this self, we distinguish between ourselves and others. Then based on how others treat us, we consider some people as close and feel attached to them, and consider others to be distant and classify them as enemies. Then we have experiences of anger and hatred and clinging to ourselves, we become complacent and proud. Then, if the attachment of delusion about the ego is too strong, we can begin to question the value of the Buddha himself who taught the non-self. Therefore, we may begin to doubt the law of karma, the Four Noble Truths, and the Three Jewels. These wrong views lead to doubts. All of this arises because of false beliefs in an intrinsic existential ego.

When delusion arises in you, it upsets the calm, the awakening of your mind, and it also hides your judgment about others. It left behind a very powerful trail. It not only harms you but also others. For example, if you are so angry that you start beating others, then you cause trouble for your neighbors. Anger will reduce your virtue and will cause you to lose property and friends. When a person is under the dominion of anger, he truly loses his humanity. We humans are naturally equipped with an extremely sophisticated brain, and we have the ability to judge what is right and wrong and weigh the right and wrong sides of a situation. We have that natural privilege, compared to other forms of reincarnation, which is unique to humans, but when we are heavily influenced by delusion, we lose that power. Although we may decide to do something, we lose our ability to judge. Subduing the mind is the most important task in life.

The truth about the End of suffering

As Tsong-kha-pa said, all the realms where we can be reborn in samsara, from the summit of existence to the lowest hell, have a painful nature.

These sufferings do not occur without cause, nor are they caused by some kind of omnipotent God. They are the product of our own delusions and karmic actions motivated by unconquited attitudes. The main cause of all suffering is ignorance, it mistakenly perceives the nature of phenomena and considers itself to exist. This ignorance leads us to exaggerate the state of phenomena and create the categories "we and others." These bring experiences of desire and hatred, which in turn lead to all negative actions. If we do not want these sufferings, we should decide whether we can get rid of them or not. If ignorance of misperception is a false sense, it can be eradicated by correcting the mistake. This can be accomplished by generating in our minds an understanding of the direct opposite of that deluded mind, an intelligence that realizes that such self does not exist by nature. When we compare these two mental states - one that believes in an existential nature by itself, the other mind perceives the absence of such a self - awareness of the ego can appear. At first extremely powerful and powerful. But because it is a false sense, it has no logical basis. That type of consciousness, the understanding of non-self, may be very weak at the beginning, but it is logical. Sooner or later, the intellect that realizes this self will prevail. At an early stage, the truth may not be very clear, but as we get closer to it, it becomes more and more self-evident. What goes wrong at the beginning may seem very strong and certain, but eventually, when we investigate further, it becomes even more fragile and eventually disappears.

Delusion is separate from consciousness; It is not the essential component of the mind. For example, someone is very angry but sometimes his soul is at peace. Even a person who is extremely angry doesn't mean he has to be angry all the time. Therefore, when these deluded emotions such as anger and desire arise in us, they are truly very intense and powerful, but as long as we are conscious, there is no way they can always show them. exposed. Another factor is that we cannot have two types of opposing mentality focused on one object at a time, such as being deeply resentful about a person and at the same time deeply compassionate that person.

In our minds we have many different aspects, which are very subtle, some are negative, some are positive. In these two opposites, we realize that it is also evident that the more we increase and increase our familiarity on the one hand, the attachment on the other side becomes weaker. So the defilements and delusions in our minds can be eradicated. Our own experience confirms that some people were really angry and aggressive at a young age, but later they transformed into very cute people. This shows that we can change our mood. When we familiarize our mind with compassion, the power of anger will slowly diminish.

The truth about the way to end suffering

Having seen all the experiences in samsara have a nature of suffering, we need to develop a genuine desire to be free of it. Motivated by that wish, we need to enter the path of the three types of practice: virtue, meditation, and wisdom. In these three types of wisdom, the realization of non-self is the opposite of the Dharma which will eliminate delusion. To achieve this goal, we first need the spiritual solidification of meditation as the foundation, and that depends on the observance of pure conduct. Therefore, we also need to practice virtue. At the initial stage, spiritual practice must be given priority; It is an instant weakness.

Tsong-kha-pa said that mindful awareness and insight are the basis of the entire Dharma. In order to have a pure moral observance, we need to have the proper insight and awareness mindfulness. The refraining from doing the ten negative actions of the male and female laity in observing the pure conduct is the basis of the practice of the path to enlightenment. If we do not consider the necessities of practice, such as observance of morality, but instead seek more complex ones, our practice will only be a sham and Not so serious. With the practice of these three types of practice, we should work for the attainment of liberation, not only for ourselves but also for other sentient beings.

Human life is said to be the best form of existence to practice Dharma and strive to bring about an end to this cycle of life and death. In mankind, the laity's life is disturbed with all afflictions and problems, and they are even more entangled with secular activities that are not very beneficial for Dharma practice. The life of a monk or nun is said to be more conducive to Dharma practice, in order to end this cycle of life and death. Tsong-kha-pa said that reflecting on the shortcomings and disadvantages of the lay life and the advantages of monks and nuns will strengthen your commitment to such a life if you have is a monk or a nun. But if someone does not choose a lifestyle like that, then such reflection will leave a very strong karmic imprint in their minds that will later give them the chance to lead such a life. In the lay life, if you are too rich, your life will be confused with problems and worries protecting your assets; If you are poor, your whole life will only be stuck in material search. Having a lot of material possessions and not knowing enough is not the way of life for a monk or nun. Monks and nuns should not be involved in business unless they are in some kind of debt. Business and too much of trying to make money when you have enough food is really something to be avoided. If you do not live in accordance with the monastic lifestyle, with the humble and contented virtue, then apart from the mere difference of outer clothing,

There was a monk at Ganden monastery who was a very serious meditator. He kept a vow never to live under the same roof and did it for years. He told me that one day he was meditating when a big snake crawled in front of him and just stared at him. The meditator looked at the snake and started to speak some religious words. I find this quite funny, because it seems that the meditator is giving teachings to the serpent. He told me that the snake looked at him for a long time and then slowly crawled away.

The Buddha himself insisted on the importance of the precepts. When he passed away, asked who would be the successor, the Buddha said that the practice of discipline should be the guide and master of all Buddhist teachings. He called the precepts his successor.

In order to overcome the delusions of delusion, it is important to control your own mind, and any stronger and more complex emotions need to be brought first. For example, some people are very lustful, some are very angry, some are very passionate and lazy. You should control your personality and try to overcome any of the clearest and most powerful emotions in your mind. As explained above, you should make every effort to ensure that none of your vows are broken. However, if you realize that some vows have been violated, you should not leave them as such, but rather take the necessary solutions and immediately repair and purify them. The purification of a breach must always be accompanied by a very profound decision not to repeat it.

Having realized the importance of virtue and contemplating how much peace you will have if you can be free from these delusions, then, as explained above, you should first identify the delusions. in a special way. Identifying them, reflect on their destructive nature, and then practice mindfulness and the power of insight. Any more powerful and obvious delusions need to be pursued immediately, just like smashing anything that sticks out with a hammer. If you completely leave them alone, they will actually harm you and others. Maze seems to be very powerful, but it does not work if you analyze it carefully. I once asked one of my teachers if the delusions were really weak, because they sometimes seemed so strong. He answered that the delusion was weak because he did not need nuclear weapons to destroy them. I began to understand what he meant. In order for the fight against delusion to succeed, all we lack is the necessary will and effort. Defeating our enemies - delusions - is a vast problem that requires the right attitude. Our mentality is so important that whenever the Indian teacher Atisha meets anyone, the first question he asks is, "Are you good-hearted today?" Sometimes you can defeat the usual enemies, but they can gather and attack again. But once the delusions have been eradicated, they cannot be revived. All we lack is the will and effort required. Defeating our enemies - delusions - is a vast problem that requires the right attitude. Our mentality is so important that whenever the Indian teacher Atisha meets anyone, the first question he asks is, "Are you good-hearted today?" Sometimes you can defeat the usual enemies, but they can gather and attack again. But once the delusions have been eradicated, they cannot be revived. All we lack is the will and effort required. Defeating our enemies - delusions - is a vast problem that requires the right attitude. Our mentality is so important that whenever the Indian teacher Atisha meets anyone, the first question he asks is, "Are you good-hearted today?" Sometimes you can defeat the usual enemies, but they can gather and attack again. But once the delusions have been eradicated, they cannot be revived. but they can regroup and attack again. But once the delusions have been eradicated, they cannot be revived. but they can regroup and attack again. But once the delusions have been eradicated, they cannot be revived.

Any awareness that you gain from your Dharma practice should be judged and judged on the basis of your commitment to the law of karma to increase, and thus the practice of gender. will your conduct become pure, and will the power of delusion, such as greed, hatred and delusion diminish? If you realize that because of your practice, you have managed to transform your mind, and have conquered some great manifestations of delusions such as anger, hatred, ignorance and desire, then That is truly a great achievement. As Shantideva said, ordinary heroes who kill their enemies are not really heroes because the people they kill sooner or later die; They are actually killing the corpses.END=NAM MO SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).GOLDEN AMITABHA MONASTERY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.26/5/2020.