Buddhism and the word ULLAMABANA.( BUDDHIST MOTHER DAY ).VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.

---

Every year, on the occasion of the Vu Lan festival, we all gather here, to read the Buddha's teachings on Hieu, and warmly remind each other to fully implement those teachings in life. live our daily life.

First of all, let me recall a characteristic of our religion that is speaking and doing. Buddhists do not lie. Speaking without doing is a form of lying. Buddha once taught that, saying good words without doing, is no different from beautiful flowers without incense (Dharma Owl). For parents, we must wholeheartedly respect and nurture, especially when their parents are old, sick, and need our considerate care.

The Buddha once taught that taking care of the sick is like taking care of the Buddha. If that sick person is our parents, then the care must be a hundred thousand times more considerate. Unfortunately, in the world, people often do not. Old and sick parents are often abandoned by their children and grandchildren. We are Buddhists, we absolutely must not do that because doing so is not only contrary to the common morality of the world but also the Buddha's own teaching. Left to two times, contrary to the Buddha's teaching to take care of the sick, contrary to the Buddha's teaching to respect parents, to take care of the sick like taking care of the Buddha.

Respect for your parents is a very fine and long tradition of our Vietnamese people. That tradition has been maintained from ancient times and passed down from generation to generation to this day. Many songs and proverbs vividly reflect that tradition:

"The father as a mountain

Mother means like water in the source flowing out.

One Heart Worship Mother Glass Father,

For all the word filial piety is the religion "

Or:

"Through many hardships are not fraying

For all eternity I still miss my gentle mother. "

Buddhism entered Vietnam, further reinforcing that good tradition:

"Night and night pray to the Buddha of heaven

May your parents live with you".

1. The Buddha praised his parents' gratitude for being enormous, hard to repay.

Those are Vietnamese verses, which almost everyone of us knows by heart. But the Buddha's teaching about the word Hieu is much more specific, the image that the Buddha uses as an example is much more vivid:

"Bhikkhus, this is more, that is, the breast milk you drink, while you circulate for a long time, the proof is not water in the four seas" (Samyutta II, 208 ).

The Buddha continued:

"There are two classes of people, bhikkhus, I say cannot repay. What is two? Mother and father. If one shoulder carry mother, monks, if one shoulder carry father, do so all the time?" 100 years to the age of 100. Thus, bhikkhus have not done enough or repaid enough for mother and father. inconvenience, urination, even so, monks have not done enough or repay enough for their mother and father ... "(Tăng Chi I, 75).

Then the Buddha explained, why the merit of parents to their children is so great.

"For the reason? For that, monks, parents have done a lot for their children, raised and raised them, introduced them into this life" (Sang Chi I, 75).

2. Families with children who are filial with their parents' praise are equal to Pham Thien

The Buddha reminded us to honor our parents, take care of them, take care of them, because doing so is not enough to repay their parents, but according to the Buddha's law of cause and effect, the merit of a filial son. Thao was also extremely great. And the Buddha praised the merits of filial families, and filial piety as follows:

"Which families, monks, in which the children pay homage to their parents at home, these families are accepted on par with the Brahma. Which families, monks, in which, The children pay homage to their parents in the house, those families are accepted as the masters of the past. Which families, monks, in which the children honor their parents in the house, families it is accepted as worthy of an offering ".

"Pham Thien, monks, are synonymous with parents; old masters, monks, are synonymous with parents, deserve to be donated, monks, are synonymous with parents. Help a lot, monks are parents to their children, raise them, raise them, introduce them to life "(Sang Chi I, 147).

The Buddha was a great wisdom, enlightened one, nothing unknown, nothing not seen. How the cause is like, the Buddha knows clearly, clearly seen in the palm of his hand. What Buddha knows, Buddha sees, we don't know we don't see, or just know and see roughly.

The merit, the karmic retribution of families, the children who are filial to their parents, is extremely great, but only the Buddha can see clearly, know well and explain to all of us in a way. so vivid and specific.

The poet Nguyen Du, author of the story of Kiều, has the following sentence:

"Although building nine times of suit

Not equal to being a person ".

Understanding the Buddha's words about Hieu, we can also say:

"Although building nine times of suit

Not equal to filial piety one day ".

Of course, this is how it is said. Children do not have to be filial to their parents one day, but their whole life.

"One shoulder carry father, the other shoulder carry mother, so for 100 years, it is not enough to repay the merit of birth and upbringing of parents" (Tăng Chi I, 75).

Buddha taught that a family that honors their parents is no different than Pham Thien. Not unlike the old Guru, and worthy of offerings. What is the meaning of those examples?

The Hindus and Brahmanism, in the old days considered Pham Thien (Brahma) as their ultimate god, but according to Buddhism, Brahma is the realm of Sexuality and Sexuality. The Buddha judged that a family that has children who are filial to their parents is no different from the Brahma world, and those living in such a family are like gods in the Brahma world. Respecting and praising filial children is no different than paying homage and praising Pham Thien. And living in families that are filial with your parents, that is also living a happy, peaceful life like living in the heavenly god Pham Thien. The ancient masters are honored as the teachers who guide the moral and spiritual life of the people. The Buddha praised those children who were filial with their parents, just like the old masters. Why? It is because, The example of filial piety is also an example of a lofty spiritual and moral life. And because the children are filial to their parents, respected by the Buddha as Pham Thien, as the masters of the past, they also deserve to be donated.

The Indians of the past saw fire as a god they called Agni. They have the custom of making fire sacrifices. His brothers Ca-Lettuce, before taking refuge in the Buddha, were those who followed the spirit of fire. But the Buddha taught that father and mother are revered fire and donated because father and mother give life to their children, just as fire brings warm light and vitality to all creatures. The Buddha taught: "What is reverent fire? Here, brahmin, his mothers, his fathers. Hey, Brahmin is worth calling respectable fire" (Sang Chi I, 74).

The Buddha said that, if a son is filial to his parents, respectful, respectful, and nurture his parents with the wealth of his own legally made, the parents also love the son again, and said to your child with good words: "Hope, he can live a long life! I hope that his life is protected for a long time!" (Increase expenditure II, 106).

3. Children who are willing to their parents will be born Thien

And the Buddha added that a child, loved by his parents, will enjoy much and lasting happiness. Such children, after their death, will be born into the heavenly realms, where they will live happily, happily, a blissful life that we humans cannot imagine:

"To worship parents properly,

Trade right, honest,

The owner is not distracted,

Born Tu Quang Thien "

(Scripture, Sutta Nipata).

Tu Quang Thien is a heaven in which sentient beings have a beautiful, luminous body. In the above verse of the Sutta Nipata we note:

"Legal worship of parents,

Trade right, honest ... ".

4. To worship and properly support parents

Being good-natured, honoring your parents is a good thing, as the Buddha praised, but you must worship, be filial, and take care of your parents with wealth that you make by yourself right, not illegal, unethical. . Slaughtering, taking free from giving, lying, saying evil, saying division, doing evil deeds to have a lot of money to take care of their parents, it is very not good that the Buddha as well as his disciples. He admonished not to do it. We pay attention to the following words of the Buddha to the young Brahmin Mahàna:

"Here, Mahànàma, the friendly son, with the assets obtained by diligent efforts, gathered by the strength of the arms, must be paid by the sweat pouring out, to do legally , respectfully, respect, pay homage, make offerings to parents ... "(Tăng Chi II, 106).

His Holiness, in the Dhananjàni Sutta (Central Vietnam II, 540), also clearly stated that the Buddha's intention was to do good, not to do evil to support his parents:

"Hey, Dharanjàni, what do you think? A man for his parents, doing illegal things, doing illegal things, or someone who is for his parents, doing the right things, doing the right things. better?".

"Venerable Venerable Sàriputta, who is doing illegal things for his parents and doing unrighteous things, he is not good. And, Venerable Sàriputta, who for your parents' sake do the right things, do the right things," that person is better ".

And Sir Sàriputta concluded:

"Hey, Dhananjàni, have other actions, receive, righteousness, with these actions, that can take care of parents, not do evil, do evil, do good. evil in order to nurture parents, also cannot avoid the karmic retribution of one's unwholesome deeds, and as such, it is impossible to use a reason to nurture parents to save themselves and to justify unrighteous deeds. mine".

The Dhananjani Sutta then explains clearly that children who do evil because their parents do evil, and bad deeds will also suffer retribution, even to hell, and cannot justify that we do evil to parent care, so do not suffer retribution, do not fall to hell.

5. Encourage parents to have true faith, true morality, almsgiving and true wisdom.

One question is that, according to Buddhism, how can children repay their parents fully? Because, as the Buddha taught, children, even though they carry their father, one shoulder carry their mother, even if they work for 100 years, it is not enough to repay their parents' merit, even though the filial son is still get great retribution and after destiny, will be born in heaven. The Buddha explicitly answered this question in the Sangha Sutra, Volume I, page 75:

"Those who pay their favor by nurturing and offering their parents with material possessions and money in time are never enough to repay their parents' gratitude. But monks, whoever does not trust parents, then to encourage, guide and dwell in faith; for parents who follow the evil world, encourage and guide their abiding in the good world; for parents who are greedy, encourage and guide the dwell on almsgiving; For parents according to evil wisdom, to encourage, dwell on wisdom, until then, monks, is to do enough and repay the full grace for mother and father ".

Why did the Buddha teach like that? This is due to the birth and nurturing merit of parents to their children like heaven, like the sea, so it is impossible to use material possessions to make up for it. Besides, all material possessions, all impermanent perish, are now lost, and have no everlasting value. On the contrary, parents do not have faith in the Three Jewels, lying to the Dharma, but their children know how to guide, encouraging parents to have confidence; if parents do evil, but the children know to guide, encourage parents to do good things, if parents are stingy, indifferent, and the children know to guide, encourage parents to give alms; if parents have bad views and wrong views and live by evil views and wrong views that their children can guide, encourage parents to give up evil views; wrong views, having the right view and living the right view, those children have done enough and fully repay the mother and father.

Of course, children want to do so, they must have true faith by themselves, believe in the Three Jewels, believe in the Dharma; to be a good person and do good deeds, to practice giving by oneself: giving property, giving dhamma, giving fearlessness (that is, ready to protect and help others for them from fear), and free-spirited almsgiving (that is, always making others happy, and sharing joys with them), learning by ourselves, practicing the correct dharma to have true wisdom, true understanding, Encouraging parents to give up evil to do good, rejoice in almsgiving and have true wisdom, such a son is praised by the Buddha for fully repaying his father and mother.

We need to pay attention: How can we build trust in parents or others if we do not believe ourselves? Without doing good, without giving, without wisdom, how to encourage parents and others to do good, giving alms and having wisdom?

6. The children who ordained are all filial children.

Here, at all times I would like to answer a question that the Confucianists raise about Buddhism. They said that those who left home, abandoned their families, prayed for liberation, were filial children. Those are the questions of those who do not understand anything about the ideal of Buddhism.

Being ordained is not renouncing parents and relatives, renunciation only means renouncing worldly fame, renunciation of narrow-minded feelings associated with worldly fame, renunciation of greed, anger, ignorance. . Being ordained is to accept all sentient beings, all people in society, regardless of body, nun, all relatives, are parents, brothers, sisters, children of their own flesh, Buddha. He is called the Father, meaning Father, because he loves all sentient beings as a mother who loves her only son. The monk too, imitating the Buddha, considers the entire society as his family, everyone in society is close relative, both like their parents, brothers, and children.

But the important thing is that the monastic renunciates filial piety by building faith for unbelieving parents, encouraging parents to give up evil to do good, giving alms and cultivating the Dharma, acquiring true wisdom. And so, according to the Buddha's teaching, it is the fullest and most complete filial piety.

The Buddha taught that belief is power. Therefore, giving parents confidence, which means giving parents strength. The Buddha taught:

"Based on a good son who has faith, family members are raised in five aspects: what is the year? Growing up in faith, growing up in gender, growing up in study, growing up in almsgiving, To grow up intellectually. Based on a good man who has faith, the family members are brought up for these years of growth "(Tăng Chi II, 49)

It should be noted that the Buddha praised faith not because of belief, but because faith leads to morality, learning, giving and wisdom. Children bring trust to their parents, which is also to bring them morality, learning, generosity and wisdom.

7. Folk story "Nam Hai Quan Yin": Dieu Thien repay his parents by freeing them

In Vietnamese folk tales, there is a poem "Nam Hai Quan Yin" which is very popular. This is the story of a princess who ordained her father, who was a very cruel man, a princess in Hung Lam in India but who went to practice in Huong Tich mountain in Vietnam. The story opens with verses, summarizing the whole concept of the story:

"Truth as Buddhism is very colored,

Center of filial piety, reciting the first word,

Hieu is a bachelor degree

Humanity is the salvation of all species ".

Buddhism has a very broad, liberal conception of filial piety and humanity. Understanding is the release of parents, guiding parents to get rid of the cycle of guilt, delusion, to virtue and wisdom. And cause is the liberation of all species, all sentient beings, that guides all sentient beings out of the cycle of sin and delusion to virtue and wisdom.

The story describes the scene of Mount Huong Tich where Buddha advised the Indian princess to go there to practice:

"Buddha just showed the path

That there is a pagoda in Huong Tich Son

Near the Nam Viet tank at leisure

To that place will be a member

The high mountains fainted

The sound of the landscape of four seasons of trees and trees

Above, the five colors each cloud

Below, the water tank looks like a mirror

Plaice fighting at the station

The crane is fond of fruit, and the deer often offers flowers.

And it was at Huong Tich Mountain that the princess practiced faithfully and:

"In the time of filial piety,

Under the time of saving sentient beings Ta Ba "

 

8. The story of "Guan Yin And Yang":

Tieu Kinh Tam treats Thi Mau like her own

Unlike the story "Nam Hai Quan Yin", the story of Quan Am Thi Kinh introduces a different feature of the Buddhist monk: Tieu Kinh Tam considers Thi Mau's son as her own, because as the Buddha taught. The monastic must have a great deal of kindness, to love all living beings as a mother who loves her only child. Tieu Kinh Tam, despite being slandered by Thị Mầu, is wholeheartedly nurturing Thi Mau's child, as attentive as her own child. Although Kinh Tam ordained in the temple, he still remembered his parents.

"Bach Van is hidden away

My two bodies are home, right?

(Quan Am Thi Kinh).

The monk does not have to cut off feelings towards parents, family, and relatives. The monastic only puts her sentiment on a broader plane, with a level of love and depth. Let us listen to the old monk Van Pagoda, sing along with the virtuous rhythm, the lyrics about Tieu Kinh Tam becoming Quam Yin Buddha, the degree of being parents, saving children:

"Now, Mrs. Thi Kinh has transformed the charm

Male model of Buddha is boundless every year

The incarnation of both parents,

Behold old friends, there are children,

The world sees it ... "

Thus, Kinh Tam ordained a Buddhist monk, fully repaying the merit of his parents, helping life to save people, the word filial piety is perfect. The story "Quan Am Thi Kinh" ends with the image of the Buddha Thien Ton appearing to everyone, telling everyone that Little Kitten Tam has become Quan Yin Buddha, Kinh Tam's parents are free, even Even Thien Si, Kinh Tam's ex-husband and Thi Mau's son, were thanks to:

"In the middle of the sky a wall and so on

The Buddha showed his whole body down to the piano

Rhymes show radiant wall loan

Trang phan, said the silent festival

Passed on to the little Kinh Tam

Thi was promoted to Buddha Quan Yin immediately

Loving the baby again,

Hands up to stand right now

Behold as ignorant Thien Si

Let the parrot stand on one side

The degree for two clusters of spring humped,

Take out the hand to step up to the court.

Super promotion escape the whole house

From here on is extremely blessed.

The story of Quan Am Nam Hai as well as the story of Quan Am Thi Kinh both have content of filial piety, according to the right and vast Buddhist conception.

Buddhism is liberation. Children, proclaiming their parents' filial piety, not only take care of their parents with all their material possessions, but also help them to have true faith, true morality, honest wisdom, understanding what is liberation and living the way of liberation.

That is the meaning of the word Hieu follows our religion.

As Buddhists, everyone should try to live fully according to Buddhism as the Buddha taught. Not only we say that, but we do it, we live like that. Not only do we ourselves live like that, we do so, but we also encourage and guide our children, friends, relatives, all people say the same, live like that, do so.

All Buddhist families must be filial families, in which children are filial to their parents, care for and teach their children, husband and wife love and respect each other, brothers and sisters live in harmony. Have fun together. All such families, the Buddha considered equal to Brahma Heaven, is the highest heaven of Sexual Realms and Morality. Those who live in such families, the Buddha considered equal to the Brahma, living in the Brahma world, deserves everyone's praise, reverence, and offerings.

9. The number of children who are not filial is more than the number of filial children

Filial piety with parents has such great merit, and is consistent with worldly morality as well as with Buddhist ethics. Yet, how absurd, in life:

"Mother raising children, like a broken sky,

I take care of my mother, I tell each day ".

In life, the number of filial children is often less than the number of filial children. The number of people who conform to worldly and Buddhist ethics is often less than the number of people living against worldly and Buddhist ethics. That's why in life, the number of unhappy people is more than the number of happy people.

When comparing the number of filial children in the world too many, and the number of filial children in the world too few, the Buddha used the following vivid example:

"Then the Blessed One took a little soil from the tip of the nail and told the monks:" What do you think, monks! Which one is more, a little bit of soil we get on top of our fingernails or is this big earth?

"This is more, White World, which means this great earth: Is it less than a little bit of earth I take from the tip of my fingernail or this great earth?

"This is more, White World, which means this big earth: less than a little soil The Ton takes from the nail ...

"Likewise, bhikkhus! Less are sentient beings honoring the mother, and more are beings disrespecting her. Likewise, less are beings having reverence for their father, and more Beings do not honor their father ...

10. The Buddha also reminded the father and mother

have obligations to children

When the Buddha advised his daughter to love and take care of her parents wholeheartedly, he did not forget to remind them of their duties towards their children. In the sutta "Poetry of Poetry" (School of sutras IV, 188b), the Buddha taught:

"Children have five duties to their parents: nurture their parents when their parents are old and weak, fulfill their child's duties towards their parents, preserve family traditions, protect inherited property and do funerals. Parents also have five duties towards their children: preventing their children from evil, encouraging them to do good, teaching their children professions, marrying worthy wives for their children, in time to give inheritance. for you ".

With a great enlightened being, great wisdom like Buddha, his teachings are always wholeheartedly. As the father, mother, and children of Buddhist families, let us ponder, carefully review the Buddha's moral and willful teachings on the word Hieu, and carry out the teachings fully. in all of our families, in our daily lives.

11. All Buddhist families must be filial families.

Why did the Buddha say that the filial children are the plural, the filial ones are the few? The Buddha said that to instruct sentient beings, as Vietnamese mothers often say: "Tears flow down, never flow back, parents always love you more than you love your parents".

But we Buddhist families cannot live that mundane and immoral lifestyle of the world. It is not just the plural but all the Buddhist families who frequented the Van Hanh Monastery, the Institute of Buddhist Studies and the High School of Buddhism are all filial and peaceful families, all realms. Pham Thien in this world deserves praise and praise from all non-Buddhist families.

On the occasion of the traditional Vu Lan festival, I sincerely pray that in this difficult society, every Buddhist family must be a bright spot, shine, light because the light is always pushed. Withdrew from darkness, love always conquers evil, wisdom always overcomes ignorance and ignorance, happiness and morality always transcend unhappiness and immorality.END=NAM MO SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).GOLDEN AMITABHA MONASTERY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.28/8/2020.